Pastor West: [00:00:00] Good morning. How's everyone today? Blessed and highly favored. That's a good word this morning. Amen. Want to remind you we'll start showing it a little bit closer to the time, but, uh. Uh, September the 21st and 22nd. Uh winghouse. And we'll be here in Gwenda, uh, to do a conference. We'll have, uh, last year we had entrusted with this year be back here, back at home. And we'll probably have people coming from 3 or 4 different states. Uh, I think Sarah, which I've never met Sarah personally, and I know she is. She lives in that area, in the London area. She she has a healing ministry. So she she's trying to work out the details to come with him to be on this trip and to be part of that. So that'll be on the Saturday night, Sunday morning or Sunday night for special conference. And it's going to be called the The Glory Conference. Ma'am. That'd be alright y'all. The glory conference. Amen. So we're going to start this morning in the book of Luke. I'm in the passion translation. You got your inspectors on. Amen. Everything I'm going to say kind of tie in with the music and what Pastor Matt was sharing during the time of offering. It's almost like the Holy Spirit got us all together and said, map a plan out so that all co-incides one with another. But actually we don't do that. I very seldom, hardly ever know what the music is going to be unless I just request something particularly, but I didn't.
Pastor West: [00:01:50] We were singing the song. That song was the Firm Foundation, and that's where we start this morning. So Luke chapter, if I didn't tell you, Luke chapter six, start with verse 46, the Passion translation. It just puts it just right. And he says, what good does it do for you to say, I am your Lord and master? Now who's doing the speaking? Of course, Jesus says, what good does it do for you to say, I'm the Lord? I am your Lord and master. If what I teach you is not put into practice. He went on to say, let me describe the one who truly follows me and does what I say. She's going to give us a picture of the person who hears and does. He said he was like a man he likened to a man who chooses the right place to build a house, then lays a deep and secure foundation when not if, when the storms and floods rage against that house, it continues to stand strong and unshaken through the tempest, for it has been wisely built on the right foundation. But the one who's heard my teaching and does not obey, is like the man who builds the house without laying a foundation whatsoever. And when the storms, floods, rage comes against that house. It will immediately collapse and become a total loss. Which of the two builders will you be? Well, that's a sobering question.
Pastor West: [00:03:24] Notice that the storm comes to both of them. You heard me say this before, and many years ago, someone told me, said, if you and I think that they meant this, but they were kind of a young Christian themselves and they were just they had a lot of zeal, but not a lot of knowledge and not not a lot of life knowledge. And they said, if you just receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. They said, all your problems, the rest of your life will be gone. And I thought, well, I'm let's do that then. And, uh, it fixed the biggest problem of any problem that we could ever have. Right? But he laid it out like no more problems anywhere in life. Well, I want to tell you, he probably meant well, but he was misinformed because I got rid of the main problem. But I had a whole new set of problems. So notice this comes to the one who hears and obeys, and the one who hears but still does not obey. Um, we've talked about this sometimes and ministers conference, and one of them got up and he was a traveling minister, and he said probably that passage of Scripture applies more to the pastoral office than because pastors see the same people week in and week out and they see and hear him or her, whatever it is the case might be.
Pastor West: [00:04:43] And he says, well, we come in, we travel, the travel ministry, we're there for a service, 2 or 3. Then we, you know, those same we kind of blow in, blow up and blow out. But he's but he or they stay there, uh, day in, day out, week in, week out. So they have an advantage, in one sense, to see how the growth of people because of the word in their life, he said. But they also get to see in the same congregation with the same service, with the same people, with the same instruction. Those who take it here, act upon it, do it how their life changes. So having done this, January will be 30 years. That would be a true application. In other words, watching people's lives over the long haul and how many are in it for the long haul? It's not the 50 yard dash, right? Do you realize how long eternity is? It's the long haul. So you're not going to be an eternal being. You already are the eternal being. So what we're doing is we're just laying the foundation that will build our life on forever and forever and forever. Now we are still, uh, last week we kind of took a turn. We begin, uh, in Ephesians chapter one. Last week we went to Ephesians three. If you'll go there, uh, with me this morning, Ephesians chapter three, I'm going to restart reading verse 14.
Pastor West: [00:06:09] And. We're going to build on what we said last week. This is kind of for those of you who are paying attention this way. I could have just said we were through teaching on on the other, now we're going to teach on the love of God, but it still goes in the wisdom series because we're teaching out of Ephesians chapter one, where Paul said that he was praying for the church at Ephesus. It's the Holy Ghost prayer. The Holy Spirit inspired him to pray. Um, it's New Testament is still belongs to us. And Paul prayed that they would have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, that their eyes would be opened to see. Let me tell you this. Opportunities come to your life every day. Amen. You say, well, I don't know if I believe that. That's your choice. Opportunities come to people all the time. What fails people sometimes is they don't have the eyes for the opportunity. And someone sees something that another person doesn't see, and they both have the same opportunity. Someone sees why it won't work and the other person knows why it will work. One person went to a country one time years ago. He was a shoe salesman. He went there and he went there and. And he heard that the people there, uh, you know, it might be a good market. He went there and he got off the boat and he went.
Pastor West: [00:07:35] He ran into some of the cities and the villages, and he he told them, he said, stop the boat, stop the shipment. Stop, stop, stop. Don't send it over here. No one here wears shoes. It will be a fiasco. Don't. Don't send anything. A few days later, another guy got on the ship. Went over there. He didn't know about the other guy. He went over there. He called back to the office. He says, oh, no, we got it all wrong. He says, double the order. Triple the order, quadruple the order. He says the market's wide open. Nobody here has shoes. To a totally different perspective perspectives. And they had they had the same you know, they had the same product. It's how they saw. So Jesus says, how are you going to build your house? Are you going to build to know what I say? Now what he's saying is pretty strict. He said, do not call me your Lord, and don't call me your master unless you're going to hear and do it. In other words, if you're not going to put it into act, If you're not going to put it into action, then don't call me your lord, because that's what lordship is. You know, when we give, when we tithe, you know what that is. It's not just so the church can be blessed and you know, and move on. All that happens. God doesn't get the money in heaven, I guarantee.
Pastor West: [00:08:46] It goes to the bank. And we. You know, the reason why it's cooler here this morning is because there's air conditioning. The reason why it's clean in here is because someone cleaned before you got here. The reason why there's supplies in the house is because they were bought. With what? The offerings that come into the church. Right? The reason why we're able to send missionaries around the world and helping to assist, that is because of your of your generosity to give. But it doesn't get to heaven. There is a transaction there. So what we're doing right now is we're transacting and you can take this. As I went to church, I heard a sermon. We did that where Christians, Christians ought to go to church and we did that. Or or what I mean is, you can fit church into your life, or you can make it about him being Lord, because that's what lordship is. So why do I give? Because I have to. Or God's going to, uh, you know, he's going to get me if I don't know, Why do I give? Because we give out of love. But but we understand kingdom and we understand lordship. And when you understand the lordship and the kingdom, then no matter what happens in your life, no matter what you go through, the King will answer you every time. Ecclesiastes says, for where the word of the king is, there is what? There's power.
Pastor West: [00:10:05] So when you're attached to the kingdom and you're a citizen of the kingdom, no matter what you go through, the king will always answer. I hope, I hope you heard what I said. There's no such thing as that. The King will always answer. But will we have ears to hear? Because it could come a totally different way than anything that you've ever thought. The way, the way you do life. How you react to different situations. And that's why people very seldom ever see opportunities. Because it doesn't come in the way that they think it should come. And when that happens, we tend to lean to our understanding instead of trusting in him. And we abort the very thing that God sent that would have brought the increase, that would have made the change, that would have taken you over. It's about it's about lordship is what it's about. So I give not because I'm afraid not to give or because, you know, I guess that's what Christians do. No, this has nothing to do with it. It has everything. God so loved that he did what he gave you can't. You can. No saying you could give without loving, but you couldn't truly love without giving. All giving is is expression of our love towards him. It's just a way that we keep measure here of that. That's what it's all about. I've just never in 30 years of pastor, I just never met.
Pastor West: [00:11:30] I mean, can I just say in 30 years of pastoring, I've never met a successful Christian who don't tithe. I've never met one. I've seen people prosper and, you know, or make money if you want to call it that. But making money is the lowest form of power there is on the earth. What is the highest form of power? The anointing which removes the burden destroys the yoke. And when the summit churches that I hear about. I don't know them, but I know I know what some of the denominations that come out of comparisons. Who's in those denominations? They told me because he said the people won't give unless I just push and push and grind and grind and push and grind and and take the club out. And and he says. So we just started sending the invoices. In other words, he said, no, I married you. I married your kids, I did this, I showed up at the hospital, I did this and, you know, I did the funerals. You owe us. So, you know, if you don't start giving this marriage, they invoice them or we're taking you off the road. I just don't get it. A job cut and split firewood all day. If I ever had to go to that place. Huh? So Paul said that our eyes would be open to see what Jesus had already done. Already done? He had already accomplished. Why would had to Paul have to tell us that he prayed, and we should pray for that.
Pastor West: [00:12:57] We would gain the understanding, the comprehension, the wisdom of God to implore that because we don't really see what Christ has done, we see what we can do. We see the bad. We know how we feel. We know what our checkbook looks like. We know how much is not in our retirement account. So we said, you can have one of those. Well, let's see there. That's what I'm talking about. Well, how about you have a. How about you have a. Well, this is a really bad comparison. A 401 K in the kingdom that doesn't pay out like the US. Or anyone who invest in any kind of market or stock market otherwise. Well, that's what Paul was talking about in Philippians chapter four, where he was writing to a group of people. That verse gets taken out of context all the time. My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. No he won't. Who said he would? You say? Well, Paul said he would. Well, you didn't read the verses before that. He didn't say just because you're in. You're saved, that God supply all your needs. Paul was writing back to the churches that he about partnership, those who had partnered with him in his endeavors. Different translations says when you partner with Paul, it's like you open up an account with heaven.
Pastor West: [00:14:28] He said, and I don't write this because of my need. He says, I know what's like to have need. And Paul said, I know what's like to have way too much. He said, But I'm the same person in either scenario. Have you ever been on both sides of that? Sometime in your life where you had not enough? And then there's times that you had more than enough? I mean, everybody just said, that's me. Somewhere along the line, when you was going through life and there was more month left than there was money. And the stress of that piling up all the time. But then you get a little bit later and you got more choices than McDonald's and whatever McDonald's has on sale. Thank God for that. Well, Paul said, you have become partners with me in the endeavor that Christ has set me on. And because of that, he says, My God is going to supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. You know, you really don't want to even spend time using your faith for your needs. Mark six says he takes care of the bird. The bird gets the worm. He says Solomon and all his grandeur and his glory and his splendor and his his riches, was never clothed as good as the grass of the field. He said, why would you even worry about stuff like that? How are we going to eat? How are we going to be clothed? How are we going to wear? How are we going to pay the rent? How are going to fill in the blank? He says don't go after that.
Pastor West: [00:16:00] He says go after the kingdom. He said, leave the pantry alone and jump in the kingdom. Yeah, but but we're about to run out of milk and taters. Okay, good. Seek first the kingdom. Because you're looking down here when you should be looking up there. Get your eyes out of the basement. Get them up above the clouds. You'll see something totally different. What do you mean? Because Abraham got stuck. And it's a really good story. I'm just so thankful. This man who's called the father of our faith. We got to see the good side and the bad side. We got to see the wonderful side, the glory side, and the part that was just right down where we live. Sometimes he had this promise and nothing was happening that ought to make you feel good. Have you ever prayed or had someone give you a prophecy or something to use? Believe in God for, and it didn't happen right away. So did Abraham, the father of your faith. He carried this thing for 24 years. Now don't carry it for 24 years. He tells you why they carried it for 24 years. Because they were staggering. You said no. Romans four said they staggered. Not well. God likes to talk about God likes to be positive.
Pastor West: [00:17:12] Yeah, he said he staggered. Not. That's an Alabama lie. That boy staggering all over the place in Genesis. Him. She's laughing and he's staggering. Look, when they can't have a child and she says, go take my, my, my young handmaid and have a child with her, he said, okay. Well, I never thought of that, but that's a good, good plan. So they went and got Hagar. What were they going to do? They were going to force the promise of God to come to pass. Mhm. So they got a child. Have you noticed we got a problem in the Middle East right now. You know what? That comes from Hagar. That comes from Abraham. Instead of being in grace, getting into works. Grace will supply faith. I have to work it out or not. I mean, but the law works it out. The flesh works it out. Grace walks it out. Grace supplies. It's called supply and demand. And so we just. Our whole thing is going back. If you back a few weeks ago, we talked about citizenship and we talked about the word is access. All we're doing is we need to do is just access what the father has. How do we do that? By faith. Through what? His grace. Grace is fully supplied you. Now let's just access with the kingdom has for us. How do you do that? Find out who you are and what he's done and be in faith.
Pastor West: [00:18:40] But it's not hard. It's real simple. We preach same thing. We just served up a different way. I mean, I've only been given one book for a whole lifetime, right? 66 books. But no one's ever mastered it because it's just full. It's absolutely full. So Ephesians chapter three. Thank you all for getting me back on course right there. Ephesians chapter three. Let's quickly go here. Uh, for this reason, I'm, uh, I think this is King James. I'm not really sure, but, uh, for this reason, I bow my knees before the father, Paul said, for whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that according to the riches verse 16, of his glory he might grant you to be strengthened with power through His spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love. That was our title last week. Being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him who is able to do far more abundantly than we all can ask or think, according to the power at work in us. That probably was the e s v, I imagine. But anyway, I want to read verse 17 and eight through 20 in the passion if I can, but verse 17 through 20.
Pastor West: [00:20:02] So if you don't have that, just look on the screen. Yeah, but don't we. Oh yeah. Look at that. It says then by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you. And the resting place of his love will become the very source and the root of your life. Then, then you see, being grounded and grounded in love. You'll come to a resting place. See in the very source. Who's the source? He's the source and he's the root of your life. Then. Then you'll be empowered to discover what every Holy One experiences. The great magnitude and astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far reaching is his love, how enduring and inclusive it is. Endless love beyond measurement that transcends your understanding. This extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God. Verse 20 never doubt God's mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and he will exceed your wildest imagination. He will outdo them all for his marvelous power constantly energizes you. Is that good or not? So we said that rooted and grounded, meant to build under a deep and stable foundation of knowing and understanding the love of God to you.
Pastor West: [00:21:36] So we talked about not not just generalizing the love of God or, you know, over a mass of people, but but make it specific even to yourself. In other words, make it personally, not just generally. Now let's jump in to this morning. In Colossians chapter three, I want to read verses 12 through 14 and the NLT if I can. I think I read this last week, but I want to I want to hook the two together today. Colossians chapter three, verse 12 to 14 and NLT says, Since God chose you to be his holy people that he loves, you must close yourself with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Verse 13. Make allowance for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others also. Above all, clothe yourselves with love which binds us all together in perfect harmony. Now you don't have to go there on the computer. But now listen to this in the message. Forgive as quickly and completely as the master forgave you. Forgive as quickly and completely as the master forgave you. Now listen in, regardless of whatever else you put on. Where. Love. It's your basic, all purpose garment. Never be without it. Go into your closet. Put on perfect love. So there's a lot of love. There's. There's a lot of songs on the radio about love and all that, and always has been.
Pastor West: [00:23:03] But. But they're not talking about the God kind of love. They're talking about the phileo kind of love, you know, that we have with our feelings. Right? So the love of God is, if God had feelings like that, no one would have made it past the age of two. He would have had woke up one day we'd all been gone. So thank God he doesn't love us that way. He loves us with agape love, The unconditional kind of love of God. Right? Uh, I was looking at this, uh, some of y'all may, if you like country, country, western singing. Uh, Alan Jackson wrote a song years ago, and here's some of the lyrics. He says, when somebody loves you, there's nothing you can't do. When somebody loves you, it's easy to get through. Well, the sin of that may not be absolutely true, of course, but it's a whole lot better than the other old country songs. You might have heard this one. It's an old classic. It says, I went back to my fourth wife for the third time and gave her a second chance to make a first class fool out of me. Fourth wife, third time. Give her two more chances to make a first class fool out of me. That would not be the I you said. Why did you tell that? Well, that's not quite the the agape love. That's more on the human level, right? That's right. Yeah.
Pastor West: [00:24:19] So. But Romans five says the love of God has been shed abroad in our heart. Okay, now let's hit it this morning. So now I'm in Ephesians chapter one back there. Uh, and this is the message translation. This is so good. I don't know what we're going to have to do. I don't know what you're supposed to do. What do you do when something's too good? Take up another offering. That's what I've heard Minister say through the years. Ephesians chapter one, verses three and four. This is the message. Translation. How blessed is God. What a blessing he is. He's the fire. He's the father of our master, Jesus Christ. And he takes you to the high places of blessing in him. Wow. That's good. Long before he laid down Earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as his focus of his love to be made whole and holy by his love. Long ago, he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. So notice what Paul is saying here concerning God's love or God's intentions. One he said, The Father has blessed, and you ought to put your name in there. So I'm going to say, Eric, right. The father has blessed Eric. You ought to have your name in there with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm, because Eric is united with Jesus. Then then the next thing Paul said was long before he laid down Earth's foundations, he had Eric in mind.
Pastor West: [00:25:43] What's your name? Nobody knows their name. See how much power she has to work all the time. It's like I need a crowbar sometime. Long before he laid down the Earth's foundation, he had. Thank you, Jesus. Praise God in mine. Are we on the same page? We are. Okay. Just like has settled on as the focus of his love to be made whole and holy by his love. So long before God created the world. If the Bible is true, is the Bible true? So if the Bible is true and you say that it is, and I were in agreement long before God created the world who was on his mind. Because he wanted a family to love and he settled on you. As the focus of his love. By making us one with him. Notice his desire was to make your heart whole by his love. He looked the whole thing over. He settled on you. The word whole means to be complete, to lack nothing. He created you to find. He created each of us that we would find our identity, our identity in worth. And we would find it in Him and His love for you. Now, we read this last week. We won't go there. But first John four eight says, God is love. So that means you and I were created to be loved by him, by the very one who created you. So we were we were made.
Pastor West: [00:27:22] We're talking about this morning. The love. The one who loved us and created us out of his love for us. And that he created us to love one another. Uh, I had in my notes we didn't get there last week, but I should have. It's really kind of, uh, a whole teaching in itself. But, uh, the scripture that, uh, in John 1334 and 35, Jesus said, I give you a new commandment, that you should love one another, just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another. Then Jesus said, by this love, by this love. What love? The love that I love you with. Now notice he didn't say the scripture doesn't say I give you a new suggestion. It says, I give you a new commandment to love one another the way that I loved you. But what if they hurt me or they offended me? They remain there. Ugly. Didn't mention that you don't know what they treated me like all my life. Didn't mention that you don't know what I went through as a kid. Didn't mention that. Well, that's just really easy for you to say that. No, I just read it. See? Go back to the very beginning. A wise man will hear and do. He puts the foundation in. The other one will say, well, that's really for him to say. He didn't grow up the way I did. How do you know? How do you know? And it wouldn't matter if I did or didn't.
Pastor West: [00:28:59] It wouldn't change the words of Jesus, would it? Because you have to remember, Romans five five says, the love of God, the love of God, not the love of the world, the love of God was shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost. In other words, he knew many people would be in these situations growing up or in their life somewhere. They would have to apply that. And he knew they couldn't do it in their own ability. So what did he do? He furnished the love, his love, and put it in you to be able to walk out the command. If he didn't, if he didn't, if if he didn't supply the love to do it, there's nobody telling us to do it because we couldn't do it. No, it's not that you can't do it. It's just that you haven't done it. You haven't trusted him enough. And his love. He didn't say, pay him back. Now, that doesn't mean the relationship, uh, you know, and I don't want to get bogged down this this morning, but because you can get this in a lot of different ways and, you know, marriage counseling sometimes through the years. And I'm not embarrassed. I'm not a trained marriage counselor. I mean, I go to the scripture and if someone wants to go and should go and they feel like I would encourage them to go, you know, to get whatever professional help is.
Pastor West: [00:30:13] But if they're if this professional help that you're getting and paying gobs of money for, if this foundation is not this, it ain't going much work. They gave you these little vices to do and, you know, tell you to tie a string around your fingers every time you want to slap somebody and, you know, look down at the string for 30 days and create a new habit and you know, you know, quit hitting and spitting each other and you know, and so they'll tell you, you know, stick your hand in the bucket of ice. I mean, I've heard all of it. These are things that you try to get you to create new habits so that you'll be a more likable person and, you know, give you all the kind of things. Then you got to go through all the psychiatry and they ask you how you felt about this. And when they did this to you, how did you feel about this and how did you feel about that? Jesus ain't never asked you how you felt about anything. He told you how to feel right now. That's just truth. And I know a lot of people don't like it that way. They like it, you know, the smooth and silky. And Jesus was both a lot of times. But a lot of times he was just like, you know, well, he was over like, if you if you don't drink my blood and eat my flesh, he said, you can't be part of me.
Pastor West: [00:31:15] And you would have thought he actually was going to tell them what that actually meant. But he said he just left it there. And they said there were so many people there. And they said, he's talking about cannibalism. He thinks we're supposed to eat his flesh and drink his blood. And they said, and they just went away by the hordes of people. And, uh, all Jesus did. Only thing after that happened when they began walking away while he's ministering to him, he looked at his disciples. He said, y'all want to go with him? They're like, uh, well, uh, I left my business for you and left my home. Oh, God. He wants to drink his blood. And this is. He's done. He's done handed up the game. And Peter said, well, I, you know, seemed like you have the words of life, but that was a hard one. The Scripture says he's he spoke hard sayings. The Lord God is love. Could speak a hard saying. You know, sometimes, sometimes love has to speak something in a hard way if it's really love. When I taught any of my kids how to drive, I just told them, before we get started, just know this that if something has to happen in a hurry, I don't have time to say no baby like this.
Pastor West: [00:32:31] I mean, we're fixing to have a head on collision and you don't even know it. You know, per se. We'll talk afterwards. You know, I can hand you a handkerchief. Well, I had that happen with different ones 2 or 3 times. And, I mean, it was a split second. I said, no, you know, I had to grab the steering wheel real quick and do something. You know, I didn't have the little mailman thing over here. I could like whatever. I mean, I didn't feel too good being over here, you know? You feel defenseless. I mean, you're in the left hand lane, you know, with your blinker on, and then you just turn right on a four lane and don't even think there could be a car in the right lane. I said, why would you do that? Well, you said to get in the middle lane when you want to turn. I said, you have to turn left. Oh, does that matter, Singh? Mhm. There's thank God there wasn't a car coming in the right lane. Well I didn't have time to say. Sweet child. Sweet sweet child. Well, there was nothing I could do about that. And that already happened. For it already happened. No, it wasn't him. She did it. One Christian. It was a it was one of my oldest son's oldest. Oh, praise the Lord. Anyway, there it is. Chad got better. Amy and Christian had the advantage of driving a golf cart, so they learned, you know, to drive and steer and compensate.
Pastor West: [00:33:55] You know, instead of just like this. You got to bring it back, though. You can't just go like this. I mean, your whole life is not going to be a left turn. They're going to be some. But you can't just go left all the time. So it was hard sayings. Jesus might say something to you to get your attention sometime. If you're going in the wrong way. See, I well, I'm about to say he's not going to like. Oh, give us more of this now. Okay, I get that, I get that. But people of wisdom and people who want to exceed in life and succeed in him, like to be told the truth. They do. I'm not talking about just personality. Personality may play into it, but people who are serious about building a life and a firm foundation and having their life succeed don't want everything to come fly with. They say, just, just tell me the truth. And they live their life that way because they they always put in a firm foundation. If you ever want to build a house, you better catch Scott before he retires. Because when the foundation goes in, I mean, I know a storm could take anything out, but if it's just regular life, I mean, that thing's going to be there for 14 lifetimes. It will have plenty of firm foundation here.
Pastor West: [00:35:28] We've always kidded about different church projects and sometimes we taking things away. You know, like I told you about the stage, just be one thing. And it's like me and Roger was taking Bart one day and he says, he said, I don't know. He said, pastor, if I ever get a house, I can never build me a house. He said, I'm going to get Scott to build my house. I said, why? Because he was down there trying to take all the nails out. You know, he said, because I know he won't just throw it together. And I said, no, he won't. I said, uh, I said, I hope he's not charged by the nails with the screws because this is going to be there, man. When the wind comes, if the wind's going to take it, it was going to go anyway, right? Well, but see someone like that generally that's how they build their life and it goes into their life and it goes into their family and it goes into their children and it goes into their finances. Why? Because that's how they build their life. Doesn't mean there's not improvement. It's just. That's how they think. That's how they think. But he came when he was 28 years old. Not not really. Growing up in church and in a way that really worked to his advantage. I think maybe he could understand that better now because there was nothing to undo. So, you know, I'm not saying he didn't know things, but I'm just saying but But not growing up in just a church atmosphere week in and week out, that when he saw it in the word now as an adult, he said he could just say, oh, they just go do it.
Pastor West: [00:36:48] Oh, just go do it. Oh, and just go do it. Well, see, that's why you and people like him have made it long haul and prospered because you weren't doing the fly by night. You were in when it wasn't fun and it wasn't bad or. And it was bad. You were just in. You did it when it was easy. You did it when it was hard. Because that was who you are. That was your life. I preached sick, I preached with everything. There's times that that, you know, I started calling myself, but I had to call in to myself and tell myself I wasn't coming in, and I didn't, but I just did it anyway. Now, I'm not saying, you know, there's not times or whatever, but I'm just saying. But I have been in, I guarantee you, much worse condition ministering than most people stayed home with. And that's the pat me on the back. I'm just saying. But that's that was just a decision I made. But see, that carries out into my faith so that when the storm does come and it will come, then if I went past the scratchy throat test.
Pastor West: [00:38:00] Or it's been a hard week and.
Pastor West: [00:38:03] Pull the covers over. Well, we're going to go on whether you come or not, whether you give or not. Right. But that will carry over into every life, in every area of your life. And when you when you give less than your best at anything, then you'll give less than your best at everything. Either either you know the employees or you've. If you're an owner of a business, you've had employees that do just enough to keep them getting fired, and you have those that they think it's their company. Those are good people to have. If you can hang on to them and they're all out there, there's the guy who does everything you tell him to do, and he's good, but he's not that great. Why? Because you have to tell him everything. Do you know, after 15 years, he ought to. He ought to, like, look around and know some things. And when the boss leaves, the leaves the job. What happens? Break time. But that will carry. And you say, well, you know, I didn't get fired, but that's going to carry into your life everywhere that you go. And that's not who you are. That's not how God made you to be. Jesus didn't come and give the best that he could to keep from losing his lordship as Lord. He put everything on the line. You know, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he's sweating blood. I was capillaries, he's sweating blood. You ever sweated blood? Sweating blood? My opinion. But I believe my opinion is right. Of course we all do, right? He wasn't praying.
Pastor West: [00:39:34] Lord, if we cannot do this, let's don't do this. He knew what he knew. He was going to the cross. He. He knew why he was born. He knew he wasn't trying to get, uh, get out of the crucifixion. I mean, I don't think he was looking forward to it naturally, as a man. Of course he wasn't. But you know what? He'd never have done. He'd never experienced ever in his life. Ever. Not one time. He never knew what it was like to be separated from his father. And he knew that was about to happen for the first time. And he's saying, if there's any other way to do this without me being separated, he said, please let this please let this pass for me. I don't I've never been separated from you and your love. Well, he wasn't separated from his love, and I believe that's what he's saying right there. Not if we can. I mean, I've changed my mind. I don't want to do this. He rebuked Peter and different disciples when they were telling him. Uh, when he kept telling them, you know, how this thing was going to end. And they kind of picked up on it one time and said, not so, Lord. And he rebuked them for it. Paul said, if you're going to go with him all the way, then you'll go with him even to the things that he suffered. But then you're also going to go into the places of glory that he went. In other words, you're with him all the way. Is this okay with y'all? I mean, all this none of this is in my notes right now.
Pastor West: [00:40:58] What, you're going to be with him in the hard times and the easy times. Amen. What they did when they persecuted him, they're going to persecute you. Has nothing to do with sickness or disease. Has nothing to do with your time. Their time. There's time. Must be my time. Now, a lot of people use my time. Not my time. His time. But. But because everything in their mind falls on sovereignty. Well, everything's not sovereignty. Even though God's sovereign. Some people go through things because they weren't using their faith for it, it wasn't because it was their time or wasn't their time. You know, the Scripture tells you many things that you could do with your faith that will extend life. There's things, the scriptures that you could do to shorten your life. It wasn't like your number came up. It's like you quit. This is exciting, isn't it? This is not caboose food. This is locomotive food. This is for people who like truth. Huh? Yeah. I am the way, the truth and the life, Jesus said. We jokingly say, how do you know that's true? He said he was. That's it. That's the end of it. You don't have to look for another cross reference scripture. He's the way, the truth, the life. Because he said he was the way, the truth and the life. He has supplied all my needs. Why? Because he said he supply my needs, So then I just start looking around and say. Well, the wisdom of God began to show me where it is.
Pastor West: [00:42:21] Do this. Don't do this. Get involved here. Don't get involved there. Give to this, don't like this. Follow these people. Don't do this. Why? What's guiding me? The spirit of wisdom. Revelation. The knowledge of him. He will give you those Holy Ghost connections. And then he might say, invest here, do this, do this. Walk through that door. Don't go there. That's not for you. Guidance. The Holy Spirit is your what? Guide. He's guidance. How can. How do you know that? You can trust it? Because if it's him, then it's love. And love will never lead you. Lead you in the wrong path that's going to bring you hurt your destruction. He wants you to have the exceedingly, abundantly above all that you can ask or think, according to the power that works in you. What is the power that works in you? His love? Yes, his Holy Spirit, but it's his love in context. Ephesians three. The power that works in you is the Holy Ghost and the spirit of love, which he told you for. For you to have the Ephesians 320, then you're going to have to be rooted and grounded in the love of God for you. And when you find out how much he loves you, then you can see how much he loves somebody else. And if he can love you. And you and I were dead wrong sometimes, then we are to love someone else when they're dead. Stinking wrong. That's right. Don't pay. He didn't pay you back. He paid you up.
Pastor West: [00:43:52] He settled your course. He settled your case. He nailed your situation to his cross and say. Debt paid forever. No more payments.
Congregation: [00:44:00] Amen. Lord God. Lord God.
Pastor West: [00:44:05] That'd be a good place to stop. Right there waiting. Y'all ain't never seen me do that. Watch here. Amen. We'll pick up here next time. God bless you. Amen. I heard the Holy Ghost say, do that. And I'm telling you, boy, I'm fighting the Erik in me. Like. Mhm. Mhm. Cause I know it's just a head but I'm like okay Lord. I was like ah. But that's what the Holy Ghost said. Amen. God bless you. Amen. Hurry before I change my mind. Hurry, hurry.
Write a comment