2024-02-07- God's Country

The speaker acknowledges feeling awkward but believes that God has called them to do a work and intends to do it. They mention Moses questioning his abilities but God using those who may not feel adequate. They express gratitude for their pastor's improved health and reflect on their importance. The speaker mentions being asked to do things they feel unsure about, such as singing, but believes it is God's plan for them. They discuss their purpose to preach to everyone, emphasizing that faith comes from hearing the word of God. They mention two Bible verses, one about God giving a land to Abram's seed and another about the people in Samaria not fearing the Lord. The speaker titles their message "God's Country" and talks about the land of Canaan being promised to God's people. They mention the dark times in the divided kingdom and how the people in Samaria had stopped fearing God. You may be sitting out there thinking, this thing's a little awkward, there's a lot out, I know there is, and you may be feeling a little awkward, but I feel awkward myself. Y'all know me. Y'all know that I feel like, you know, I'm an awkward person, but, you know, God has called me to do a work for Him, and I intend on doing it tonight. And I feel like He gave me something for whoever's here tonight. You know, there's times that I, and I shouldn't, I question, you know, what am I doing, why ain't I better at what I'm doing, you know. But I read today, Moses told God, you know, God gave him a mission, Sister Andrea, and to lead his children out of Egypt, and he come back with him, he said, God, I'm not an eloquent speaker, I'm slow to speak. And, you know, I feel that myself, I honestly do. But God uses those people, He uses preachers, He uses those base things, and the foolishness of the preaching. And this is His plan, that someone might be helped. And it's not for me to question who I am and why He chose to use me and why He chooses to use me. I just want to do His will tonight. I'm thankful to hear that my pastor, Brother Tim, is feeling better. I didn't know. I've been praying for him as well, Sister Michelle. And, you know, when I'm not feeling good, I really appreciate the love and the prayers and the questions and the text. But I hate the response of, yeah, nothing's much better, you know, I feel about the same. I hate having to say that. So I don't text Brother Tim all the time and say, how you feeling now? How you feeling now? How you feeling now? So I didn't know he was feeling better, and I'm so glad that you are. And, you know, it was a sinking feeling to see my pastor down there laying on the floor. He means a lot to me. He most certainly does. And I thought, Lord, what would happen if something happened to him? You know, where would I be? And I come to the realization that I will go on. I will have to go on. He's done a lot for me, but he didn't call me to preach. I'm thankful that he allows me to preach, but he didn't call me to preach. And, you know, there's some times that he asks me to do things that I think, well, I'm not that good at it. And I don't know, I feel, you know, I was thinking, you know, he asked me to sing the other day, bring a couple songs. And the first song was okay. The second song was pretty bad. And I had to lean on Sister Michelle to finish it off. You know, it went over really well, of course, when Sister Michelle sang, but the Lord moved. But, you know, there's just some times I don't feel able to do what God, I'm not pleased with myself, but God has asked me to do this. And I want to do His will. I thought, you know, what if Brother Tim called me and said, Brother Tim might call me and say, hey, I got a, you know, if he had some sheep, Brother Quinn, he might say, hey, I got a sheep out. Could you come help me round it up? And I'd say, sure. You know, I'd come over there and try to round it up. And, you know, we might get out there. And Brother Tim, you know, being the shepherd that he is, you know, we might find him, Sister Andy, and get up on him. And, you know, Brother Tim would be saying, come on now, you can do it. Come on back, come on back home, you know, come on back home. And he might get that sheep so close. And then sometimes I feel like, you know, he asked me, he said, Brother Michael, won't you try it? You know, won't you say something? Won't you try it? And are you sure? Yeah, yeah, go ahead. You know, sometimes, you know, Brother Tim would say, come on, come on, Brother Michael, you go ahead and try it. Come on back home! You know, that's the way I feel sometimes. I don't know how to do that. You know, and of course, you know, the sheep is long gone. You know, sometimes when I sing, sometimes I feel like that. But God has called me to do this job. And whether I feel like I'm adequate, whether I feel like I should be doing it or whatever else, God has asked me to do it. And, you know, before we get started, I want you to know that, yeah, there might not be very many here tonight, but I didn't come with a magic wand. I didn't come knowing exactly what everybody needs. I know y'all pretty well, but I don't know exactly what you need. I didn't come here with any preconceptions to point somebody out or get somebody to do a certain thing. But I come to preach to everybody that's here. Brother Tim, you're my pastor. I come to preach to you tonight. If that's okay, I feel like it might be since you asked me to preach. I come to preach to everybody here. So in Paul, this is not my text, but Paul in Romans 10, 12 through 17 says, For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. But they have not obeyed the gospel. For as they have said, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Brother Jameson, I don't feel like much of a preacher tonight. But whether I feel adequate or not, that is irrelevant. I believe He's called me tonight and He's given me something for each and every one of you. I promise not to question if I'm the preacher, if you promise not to question that you are the hearer tonight. So some preachers tell you to take a look at your neighbor and say, you know, this is for you. I want you to look at yourself tonight, and I want you to tell yourself, He's preaching to me tonight. This is for me tonight. I'm not going to come here and point you out. I want you to point yourself out. If you're here, you're a hearer of the Word. I've come to preach to you tonight. The Word of God is for all of us. If you all turn with me to Genesis 12 and 7, and then we'll also turn to 2 Kings 17 and 24. I'm not going to keep you very long. I can already tell. First in Genesis 12 and 7. Then hold your place in 2 Kings 17 and 24. Genesis 12 and 7 says, And the Lord appeared unto Abram and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there builded he an altar unto the Lord who appeared unto him. Now flip over, if you will, to 2 Kings 17 and 24. While you're turning, I'll read it one more time. And the Lord appeared unto Abram and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there builded he an altar unto the Lord who appeared unto him. Unto thy seed will I give this land. And 2 Kings 17 and 24 says, And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sephirvain, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel. And they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there that they feared not the Lord. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them which slew some of them. Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed and placed in the cities of Samaria know not the manner of the God of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them. And behold, they slay them because they know not the manner of the God of the land. Brother Tim, if you would pray over the service. God, thank you so much. Thank you for this Bible, Lord, that we read tonight. Thank you for what you've laid on His heart. And I'm asking you to open our ears. He's addressed every one of us tonight. And I pray, God, that you'll give us understanding and work on us. And I pray you'll bless this man for his work. I pray you'll empower him to be a quarter-pounder, a servant. Help us to hear, God, that we might respond exactly as we ought to tonight in the precious name of Jesus. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Lord, have your way. I'd like to title my message tonight, God's Country. If we read 25 again, it says, And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there that they feared not the Lord. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them which slew some of them. In Genesis, we read of a land, Sister Andrea, named Canaan. That's the land that is promised to Abram and to his seed. And Exodus 3 and 8 says, And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. That promised land, hand-selected by God for his use and for his children. This is the same land that we're talking about. It's where God had his people to build the tabernacle. It's to make sacrifices unto him and to keep his commandments. That's the very land. It's still there today. Israel is still there today. It's still God's land. And when we get to our text in 2 Kings, it's a dark time for God's chosen people. They found themselves there many a times. But right now in 2 Kings, it is a very dark time, Brother Jameson. But it is still God's country. It's still God's land ordained for his use. It's hand-selected by him. That property, that land is his. But there's people there that no longer fear God. They no longer kept God's commandments. It's a divided kingdom. If you've been in my Sunday school, not lately but a while back, we talked a lot about the divided kingdom. There's a northern kingdom and an upper kingdom named Israel. And there's a lower kingdom named Judah. And in Judah, the capital is Jerusalem. In Israel, the capital was Samaria. And we're talking about Samaria here. Now, these Israelites stopped keeping God's commandments, Brother Jameson, near Samaria. And God allowed Assyrians to come and take them and lead them out of his country because they got into idol worship. They got into worshiping other things than God. They had disgraced his land, and God had rejected them and allowed them to come out. Now, in 2 Kings 17 and 16, it says, And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshiped all the hosts of heaven, and served Baal. So God rejected them as they have rejected God. The children of Israel are led away by the Assyrians. But the land, as I said, is still God's. The Bible tells us that people that didn't fear God moved in. They re-inhabited God's land. And they didn't serve God. And God was not happy about that. So he sent lions. Believe it or not, he sent lions into his land. He was not happy. And it slew some of those people. We learn a valuable lesson from that. When God decides that it's mine, whatever it is, it is his. When he says that is for my use, it is his. It doesn't matter if the devil doesn't like it. It doesn't matter if somebody else doesn't like it or wants to use it. He said that's mine, and that's the end of it. And he will decide when and how he uses what he wants. He is God. Now, before I get too far into my message, we don't believe in something called supersessionism, replacement theology. There's a covenant for God's children of Israel. And the church does not negate that. We didn't take that place. That's still in effect. We are something totally different. God has a promise for us as well through the spirit of adoption. We did not take over Israel's promise. God was not confused or he did not know that the Israelites were going to do this. So we did not take their place. But we can be saved, the Jew and Gentile alike. But we did not replace that, but we can learn from this. God has a promise covenant for the Jewish people. But what does that mean for us? I don't believe anybody in here is Jewish people. But what does God's country really mean? I'm sure we've all heard the term God's country. I have. I mean, I've used it myself. Usually when we talk about God's country, what do we think of? Usually we think of maybe we'll get down in Pigeon Forge. We were there a little while back, and we've seen those mountains, and it's beautiful. And somebody would say, oh, that's God's country down there. Somebody else might look at an open field, Sister Carrie, just as far as you can see, and you can see the horizon and the sunset coming over. And we'd say, oh, that's God's country. Now, nobody would ever go to the industrial park in E-Town and say, oh, that's God's country. Nobody would ever go to New York and see all those skyscrapers and all the smog and all that stuff and say, well, that's God's country right there. Those have been overtaken by man, and large structures are there. But when we think about God's country, we usually mean something that's been untouched by man. And that's just how we use the term God's country. People often refer to America as God's country. But I can remind you, and we all know, in 1962, prayer in schools was deemed unconstitutional. On January 24th of this year, and we all heard about it a few years ago, a county clerk named Kim Davis, Kentucky County Clerk, this past month had been judged to give $260,000 because she felt that it violated her Christian beliefs and constitutional rights to sign a marriage license between two homosexual men. So I don't know if we can really claim that this is God's country. You know, that $260,000, I thought every one of those dollar bills will have on it, in God we trust, going to those homosexual men. And I thought, you know, Brother Anthony, he's not here tonight, but I thought, I don't know if that $260,000 is going to fit very good in those skinny jeans. He brought up skinny jeans the other day. But America hasn't trusted in God for many years. But if God, make no mistake, if God decides to use America for His glory, He will. No matter who's in office, no matter what bills get passed, no matter what, if they take the Ten Commandments out of a government building, Sister Andrea, if God decides to use America for His glory, He will. It will be God's country. When God decides to use something, it is His. I thought about gospel at Holiness Church here. And I'm really, to be honest with you, I'm tired of the whole gas station thing. You know, we've kind of moved on from that. Thankfully, it don't look as much like a gas station as it used to. We'll refer to that forever, I know we will. But I heard people calling us the Salvation Station, and I don't know if that's a mockery, but I hope that this is the Salvation Station. That is not a mockery to me. And that's fine. But Gospel Light Holiness Church is here as a place for salvation, as a place for somebody to come and give their needs to the Lord and meet the Lord. And that's what we want this here for. And I asked Brother Quentin a while back, and I think Brother Tim had mentioned the other day, that this property used to be, there was a tent revival here. Brother Gene Taylor and Brother Gerald Taylor, I think Brother Mark had talked about that. And they had tent revivals here on this very property. And I thought, you know, this is God's country. It's not a coincidence that we found ourselves right back here, that Holiness Church has found itself right back here because God decided, this is mine, it's ordained for me. The foresight of Brother Gene Taylor and Brother Gerald Taylor at bringing God here and the blessings that used to be on this property, I believe can be revived today. I believe we've seen it. And Sister Callie and Sister Haley and my mom has gotten saved. And Brother Juddy has gotten saved. And we've seen things after things here that God has done. And we believe that God is using this property again. There may be cigarettes that were sold out there. There may be lottery tickets or whatever. But God decided, that is my country and I'm taking it back. And I'm going to use it for my glory. And I believe that He's doing that. He may do that tonight. I'm looking for Him to do that tonight. This is God's country. Make no mistake, 1 Corinthians 3 and 16 and 17 says, Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. No matter who you are, where you are in your life right now, whether you used to live for God or never have, you were meant for His use. You are the temple of God. You are meant for Him. You are God's. Revelation 4 and 11 says, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. You were fearfully and wonderfully made, crafted for God's pleasure. Whether you believe it or not, whether you're living for Him or not, you are for God's use. I've came with a warning tonight. Yes, you do have free will. I'm not preaching against free will. You may decide whether to serve Him or not. You have a choice to decide whether to serve Him or not. You can keep His commandments. And know the blessings of serving Him, or you can go on rejecting Him. You can do whatever you want to do. You can try to forget the Lord has ever used you or ever wants to use you, whether you've been saved or you're not saved. You have that choice. You have that free will. But someday, and someday soon, I believe, He's dealt with me, He will claim what is His. Philippians 2 and 9 says, Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of the things in heaven and things in the earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. You need to acknowledge Him while you can. Can I encourage you to acknowledge Him on this side? There's a point when a man wants to die, and after this, the judgment. But you can bow before Him today and live for Him today. You don't have to wait until the time is up. He loves you. He wants to use you. He's come to claim what is rightfully His. I would like to talk to the backslider for a minute. You know that you've run long enough. You've done things your way long enough. You've ignored God long enough. Let go of God's commandments until it doesn't bother you as much anymore. But can I tell you that it still bothers Him? Can I tell you that He still knows where you're at? Can I tell you He's still looking for you and He still loves you no matter what you've done, no matter how long you've gone away, no matter if your conscience has been seared, no matter if you've ignored Him and quit coming to His house, He still loves you and you are for His use and you can find Him right here. Can I tell you that if you plan to wait until your final days, it's not going to work. You will not find yourself loving Him in the future. If that is your plan, that will not work. Yes, He's long-suffering. We've all heard of men that have come to a deathbed salvation and we're thankful for that. But if your plan is to love Him later, to give Him your life when it's about over, when you've done everything that you felt like you wanted to do and you know that your time is running short and that's your plan to start serving Him and to love Him then, brother Landon, it will not work. That's your plan, not His. There's example after example in the Bible of giving Him your first and foremost and your best. If you know to serve Him right now and if you're here under my voice, you know that you should. You know now. Your plan will not work. God will not be mocked. God will not accept your last. Now, let's paint a picture. Me and my wife's been married for 25 years. Now I can decide, I can go to her tonight. She loves me. I can go to her tonight, brother Tim, and I can say, you know what, there's a lot of women out there and I tell you, I've got an eye for it and I just want to go live my life and I want to go see other women and I want to just have a good time but I will come back. Before I die, I promise you, I will. When I'm old and decrepit and no good to you, no use for you, I will come back and I will love you again. Does that make any sense at all? Okay, then it won't work for God either. Now let me talk to the lost soul for a minute. If you didn't know before tonight, you know now that you were made to serve Him. God has told you and He wants to help you. He's not a cruel taskmaster. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. You can come to Him. If you've never come to Him before, you can come to Him now. Like I said, I'm going to preach to everybody tonight. Child of God, know you not that you are the temple of God? It don't matter if you've been coming to church for 20 years and never stopped. You are the temple of God. Those things that you have let in don't belong there and you know it. Only things that fear and revere God are allowed on His property and you are God's property. He's calling you to keep those promises that you made when you got saved. He's not angry. He just wants to free you from those things. Preacher, friend. There's preachers here tonight. Have you slipped up a bit? Have you found yourself slipping up a bit? Did the devil pull one over on you? Did you let something in that you really didn't think was so bad, but now it's got a hold of you? God wants you to let those things go. You need to fear God. He's here to help you. Sister Michelle brought up Peter. When Peter slipped up, Jesus didn't get angry at him. He denied God. She just said it. She said it way better than I ever would be able to. He denied God. But what did Jesus do when He came back and seen him? He said, Do you love me? And Peter said, Yes, Lord, I love you. He said, Peter, do you really love me? And He said, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And He said, Peter, do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know I love you. Then feed my sheep. Just feed my sheep. He didn't get mad at him. Just get back to it. Get back to it. Get back to the way things were. He's not hanging things over your head. He just wants you to get back to what you was doing. Now, if you're a preacher that has let things in, and you want that anointing back, if you feel like you've lost that power a little bit, just come to God. You don't have to let me know. I'm not here to try to talk people into doing things and say, oh, I've got that one to pray. I'm not doing that. Just get back to the way things were. God wants what is His. But can I tell you, especially, preacher friend, if you keep letting things go, that He will get angry? Exodus 4 and 24, we read. I'll just turn to it. I wasn't going to. Exodus 4 and 24, we read where Moses, we just talked about it, Moses just met God. God had spoke to him in that burning bush. And He gave him this grand, this great mission to go lead his children out of Egypt to stand before Pharaoh. And Moses is the man, okay? He's the chosen man. God said, I want you, I mean, how many of you have seen a burning bush? How many of you have heard God talk about a burning bush? I never have. He's called me to preach, and I'm thankful for that. Moses was the man to lead the children out of Egypt bondage. And look, just a few verses later in Exodus 4 and 24, it says, And it came to pass, by the way, in the end, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at his feet and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go. Then she said, A bloody husband thou art because of the circumcision. What is going on? To be honest with you, I didn't catch this. Casey brought this to my attention a couple years ago. She came up to me and she said, Dad, was God going to kill Moses? And I've read this a thousand times. And it just kind of slipped in there. And I was like, no, no, no. And she's like, well, it looks like he is. And I was like, you know, I don't think so. And I think I might have even texted Brother Tim, and I texted Brother Rodney, and I read it myself. And sure enough, God was going to kill Moses. After what he just did. After he gave him this grand mission. This great man of God, Moses. God was just fixing to kill him because he wasn't keeping his own house in order. He had to have his own house in order to lead the children out. And preacher friend, if you have something slipped in, if you don't have your life in order, and you're flirting with things, and you're trying to do both, and you're trying to get this world's entertainment a little bit, and you're also trying to have the anointing and preach God's Word, it will not work. And God is coming for you. He is not pleased with that. We have to be careful. So I don't care if you're a backslider. I don't care if you're a child of God. I don't care if you're lost. I don't care if you're a preacher. I'm preaching to you tonight. Get things right with God. Make sure it's right with God. The Pharisees were always trying to trip up Jesus. They ask him in Matthew 19, concerning divorce, wherefore they are no more twain, but one, they ask him concerning divorcements, and Jesus says, wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. Notice that Jesus says, what therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. Whatever, what therefore. We always use this at weddings. You'll hear that quote at a wedding, and rightfully so, but that's where it comes from. That's what we're talking about here. But he says, what therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. It don't matter what it is. If God is that concerned about a union between man and wife, how much more is he concerned about the union between him and you? There's coming a time that my daughters, and I hope soon, is going to want to get married. Maybe have a few grandkids, hint hint, someday, soon. But, you know, I could pick out a man for them. I could say, you know, this man over here, he's got a house, he's got a good job, he can provide for you, he's got everything you need. And they may know him, but they may say, yeah, I know that. They may be able to confess it with their own mouth, but they have to have it in their heart. It doesn't matter that they know that this man can provide for them. They have to know it and love him in their heart. Romans 10 and 9 says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, confess that He is the Lord Jesus. But then it goes on, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. It's not enough to know that Jesus died on the cross for your sins. It's not enough to confess that He did. You have to believe it in your heart. You've got to get it in your heart. You've got to want to live for Him, Brother Camden. It's not enough just to know about it. So you see, there's two options the way I see it tonight. You can come to yourself like the prodigal son, and I wasn't going to read that, but let's read that real quick. In Luke 15, Luke 15 and 11 starts, and he said, a certain man had two sons. My son preached out of this the other day. And he said, a certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that follow to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have killed, had filled his belly with the husk that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger? I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants, and he arose and came to his father, but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him, and the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found, and they began to be merry. So you have two options tonight. You can simply say, You know what? This is silly the way I've been living. I need to live for the Lord. It was good the way I had it. It was good in my father's house. I had it so much better at my father's house. And you will find love and mercy. No sooner than you start down the aisle, He will hug your neck. You will find Him forgiving and merciful. You will find Him meeting you and running back to you. Or there is one more option. You can keep doing what you're doing, but you do need to know something. And I felt the Lord deal with me on it. He can release the lions. And claim what is His. And I'm not trying to scare anybody out of fear and try to save you, because fear will not save you. You have to love Him. You have to come to Him willingly. Fear might straighten you up for a little bit, but you will have to love Him. There are lions of mercy sent by God to claim what is His, Brother Jameson. There is another lion, the devil is a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour. Seeking whom he may devour. But thank God, sometimes those lions, or that lion, can miss the mark. But I'm talking about God's lions dispatched by God to claim what is rightfully His. It never misses the mark. It doesn't just seek. It always finds what it's looking for. And when you don't pursue Him, when you don't come to yourself and pursue Him, He will release lions in your life. It doesn't always feel like mercy, Brother Tim. It doesn't always feel like mercy. He had to release lions on me. And let's get real. Everybody knows. It didn't feel like mercy at the time. He had to stop me in my tracks. And it was embarrassing. Sister Andrea, you can still see the bite marks. You can tell that I've been mauled by God's lion. And it hurt. And it was embarrassing. And it felt awful. But can I tell you, it was lions of mercy. And I thank God that He didn't give up on me. It may have taken that because I was too stupid to run to Him. He had to release those on me. And I wish it never took that. But it did. And it was lions of mercy. Because He wanted to give back what was His. What was rightfully His. I was the temple of God. And I had let things in. And I didn't fear Him any longer. I wasn't keeping Him's commandments like I was supposed to. And He wanted me for His use. So why did He have to do just like He did in Samaria? He released some lions. And He had to slay some things in my life. And it was embarrassing. But thank God He did it. And thank God that I survived it. It was a last ditch effort of love and mercy. I was stubborn. But I thank God every day for those lions of mercy that got my attention and turned me around. I wouldn't be here tonight if it wasn't for His lions of mercy. If He wasn't concerned about His property. I am God's. I am His property. For His use. And I thank God that He did that. But it was a last ditch effort. It would have been much easier for me to turn to Him. Can I tell you that even as a preacher, I still carry those scars. You still see them. There's still things. There's still that old man that I have to pay the price for, Brother Austin. There's things that I can always go into that still are attached to me. Things that I've done back then where I didn't keep His commandments. I'm still suffering from those things. Most of you know that I've been looking for a job. I lost my job a while back. Me and my boss kind of got into it in a way, in a sense. And I lost my job. And I've been looking for a job. And rejection don't feel very good. And, Brother Tim, Christy quit watching Benny Liu and things have gotten a little bit tight. I mean, real tight. And I was telling God, please, God, direct my path and lead me to that one that's going to give me employment. And, you know, I've gone to a couple of interviews and they went really well. And I thought, this is it. You know, I feel like it went well. And the phone never rang, Sister Michelle. It didn't ring. And I started seeing a pattern. And this week, this week I went to a job interview. And I won't tell you what it's about because I don't want to distract from the message. But I went to a job interview. And just like always, I'm awkward as all get up, but it felt like it went well. They asked me questions about myself and I had to sell myself. And that's probably the worst thing about me is that I can't sell myself. I have zero confidence in myself. And I think that's probably what I said. I don't know. But I hate questions like that. But it went really well. But even towards the end, I was like, well, I don't know. You know, I still don't know. But that morning, Brother Tim, I prayed. And I mentioned in my Sunday school that no matter what the task is at hand, we are first and foremost children of God. And we're supposed to be a witness. And I was praying to that effect. And I told God, I said, God, no matter if I get this job or not, no matter if it's your will that I get this job or not, I want to be a light and a witness to this person that I'm sitting across from. And I got there. I got there to the interview. And like I said, it went well. And thanks for coming to it in the end. And I wasn't sure. I really didn't think I was going to get it. It's just like, well, we'll call you if we think you're a good fit and blah, blah, blah, the same old story. And I said, she said, is there anything that you would like? Is there anything else that you want to say? Is there any questions that you have for me? And I felt God say, you told me that you was going to be a witness for me, that you was going to tell her. And I really did. I felt the Holy Ghost check me really strong. And because I wouldn't have been able to do it if I didn't. And I said, you know what? I said, there is something I want to tell you. I said, it's kind of private. And she said, yeah, go ahead. And I told her, I said, you know, I said, I don't know if y'all are going to do background checks or not. But I said, what's really bothering me is I got to tell you something. I said, when you go to do that, something might come up. And I said, I got to tell you, brother Tim, I got to tell you what you see there, that's not me anymore. And I went down, I said, I battled with this thing for five or six years or more. And I said, you know, but I said, it's not been a part of me for a year, over a year. And I said, you know, I hit rock bottom a little over a year ago. But I went to church and I asked God, I got desperate and I got down and got real with God. And I said, He saved me, Sister Andrea. And I said, He changed me. And I said, what you don't know is He's made a significant change on the inside. And He's set my direction. And I said, a little bit, a couple of weeks later, I said, I felt the call to preach on my life. And I've been working for Him. And I'm teaching Sunday school down at my church. And I said, He's done a mighty change in my life. And I said, whether I get this job or not, I want you to know that when you see that, that I'm not that man anymore, that God saves and He still saves and He saves me. And I was crying, brother Tim. I've never cried in a job interview before. And I looked at her and I probably had been looking down out of nervousness. And I looked up and she had tears in her eyes. And brother Tim, she said, I've never done this before, so I don't know how it works. But she said, would you accept the position right now? And I said, yeah, I will. I said, oh, certainly. And she said, there's just something good about you. And I just told her the worst thing that I'd ever done in my life. My biggest mistake, I had just told her, but I gave it to her with the glory of God. And I told her what God can do. And what she seen in me was God. She didn't see anything good in me. She saw God. And I brought God into that room. And there's nothing, y'all know, there's nothing good in me. But it made me change, brother Tim. Because I gave God the glory. Thank you, God. Teach us all, Lord. Teach us all. Sister Michelle, will you give me a song? Teach us all. Brother Austin, it don't matter. But that's the mercies of God. I never had to go through those things. Never. I could have ran to Him. He didn't have to come pursue me. But God has come here tonight to claim what is rightfully His. You can walk out them doors the same as you came in. What I want you to know is He's telling you that it is time. It's time to make a change. You know, I've said it before. You can hear a lion's roar from five miles away. And can I tell you that's your warning here tonight? This is the lion's roar. If you choose to keep running from God, the pursuit is on when you walk out them doors. I promise you. This is your warning. And it's a lion of mercy. But it don't have to be that way. He wants you back. You have free will tonight. If my wife decided to leave me tonight, she can. She has a right to do so. I won't hold her down. I won't bind her with fear. Yeah, I'm bigger than her. I could tie her to the wall and keep her there. I could scare her into staying. But that would not be love. But you better believe, if she does decide to leave me, the fight will be on. And it will be a fight of love. And can I tell you that God is getting ready to pursue you? There will be a fight on your hands. And it may not feel like mercy. It may not. But it is. If it's on this side, it's mercy. I would like for everybody, every one of the hearers here tonight, to just pray where you're at or come to the front. Do whatever you want to do. You don't owe me anything. But God has come to claim what is rightfully His. And He's asked me to tell you, if you don't pursue Him, He's going to pursue you. By any means necessary. You are His. He loves you. So everybody that will, come tonight. Make sure you're right with God. Everybody. Yes. Yes. Thank you, God. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.