uh
well church turn to the book of isaiah
tonight turn to chapter 6 of isaiah
tonight
as we are an exciting chapter
of the book of isaiah i got to tell you
the next several weeks you guys isaiah
chapter six isaiah chapter seven
awesome stuff
exciting stuff
from the word of god tonight we're going
to be looking at a message that
the title of course comes out of this
chapter and that is your god calling
your god calling i don't know how you
hear that i guess i could hear it in
different ways
like
your god calling like your god calling
you
okay yeah we'll talk about that
or your god calling
we'll talk about that as well
your god calling matters
as a christian tonight
how does the chapter isaiah chapter 6
equate to our lives today we're going to
see how tonight by the way if you
remember back in isaiah chapter 1 when
we got into this uh we actually started
the book of isaiah
with an introduction of chapter one and
we use chapter one to go to where the
book really begins
the book of isaiah really begins in
chapter six
that's where it begins
it begins with chapter six and then you
can go back and read chapter one two
three four five skip over six go to
seven because it begins with chapter six
because it begins with the very calling
and the commissioning of this unique and
amazing prophet of god isaiah
god called isaiah
out of his culture out of his local
world and i want to stress
local world he was in judah he was the
prophet down
in that region
of the kingdom being divided i uh israel
to the north the ten tribes judah to the
south the two tribes out of the twelve
and isaiah is called by god and being
called by god and i want you to be
thinking this way
don't divorce yourself from the ministry
of isaiah
liken yourself to him
isaiah was called by god and then
commissioned to his ministry
you are called by god you've been
commissioned to your ministry you've got
a ministry there is no way christian
that you can be a christian
walking with god and not have a ministry
it just doesn't exist to not have a
ministry see what do you mean by that i
don't know what i mean by that because
your calling and commissioning is
different than mine
yours will be different than for the
person next to you
but all of us are working together in
the body of christ now that we're saved
now that we're going to heaven what are
we doing are we twiddling our thumbs
until we die of old age heart attack or
the rapture no we are busy about our
father's business
that's what we're to be doing
and it's vitally important god called
him
to a ministry
and he does the same thing with you and
i
in fact i'm going to ask you to write
a flurry of verses down are you ready
get your pen out
get ready to write these down
god calls you
calls every one of us why
because the bible says that you are we
are saints of god romans chapter 1 verse
7. i'll explain in a moment just write
it down romans 1 7 paul wrote to the
roman believers
to all who are in rome beloved of god
called to be
saints
first corinthians 1 verse 2
to the church of god which is at corinth
to those who are sanctified in christ
jesus
called to be
saints
with all who are in every place call on
the name of jesus christ our lord both
theirs and ours
called to be saints ephesians 1 verse 1
paul an apostle of jesus christ by the
will of god to the saints
who are in ephesus and faithful in
christ jesus
colossians chapter 1 verse 2 to the
saints and faithful brethren in christ
who are in colossae
philippians 1 1
paul and timothy bond servants of jesus
christ called or to all the saints in
christ jesus who are in philippi saints
listen i know it's hard for you and i to
grasp this but it's biblically accurate
especially if some of you have been
indoctrinated into
catholic theology
you're thinking in catholic theology
that someone has got to earn the stripes
of being called a saint don't you that's
the way you've been taught you've been
taught wrong
that's been invented by men
that is a human uh catholic church
creation
that you would reach a status of
sainthood
a bunch of guys voting on you people
determining if you did enough miracles
and then somebody
they gather together and they declare
sainthood did you know that's nowhere in
the bible
the bible says if you have come to faith
in jesus christ
you are declared to be a saint what is
that saint what is that it means that
you have been sanctified by god take and
watch out of your can i put it like it
happened to isaiah out of your local
world
and placed into
a universal
church that's where you get the word
catholic by the way did you know that
the word catholic means universal church
the true universal church is not a
membership at a church
it is believing in jesus christ as lord
and savior
that places you in the universal church
of god around the world every believer
no matter what nation what color what
what kindred tribe tongue or nation the
bible says right
if you've put your faith in jesus christ
the bible says you are a saint
and that's hard for us to to receive
because we think saints walk in oil
paintings hanging in museums with a
little bit of a halo
drawn in their heads with two fingers
out there like this
and that's not what it means
it means that you've been washed by the
blood of the lamb jesus christ by coming
to him in faith he's your lord and
savior you've been sanctified that is
set apart from this world and placed
into his world and you have been called
and commissioned you're a child of
god i'm i am saint jack
when you see lisa next time will you
remind her of that please
no i'm kidding
she told me yesterday i forget what it
was it was something like uh
you need to take out the trash or
something like that something very
common and i and i was just for some
reason at that moment thinking about
abraham and i i said lisa
i don't i don't think sarah ever told
abraham to take out the trash and she
did you know she just went like this
and
i took out the trash
but we are saints
she's the saint i'm a saint you're a
saint
who says god says
i'm not asking for you to call me a say
and
god says i'm not going to argue with him
the blood of christ is of course
the basis of not only our salvation
but our very calling
and i'm excited to bring this message
tonight and i hope we get through the
entire chapter tonight it's only 13
verses but it's pretty powerful stuff
five times
in just thirteen verses five times
what's mentioned here
is mentioned in the new testament five
times it's such a powerful chapter
but this is an emotional uh chapter for
me in a way because of this reason uh
one thing i guess is because the first
time i was ever asked
to preach in a church
i was teaching our home bible study when
it when it started here in chino hills
but i was asked at the time by a calvary
chapel pastor in westminster
if i would come and do a sunday morning
service
i
after i picked myself off the floor
from shock
i said yes to that and i remember i was
just sick to my stomach for the longest
time i felt like i was dying every day
until that day arrived i was so so
nervous and
petrified
and i realized standing here right now
before you guys in isaiah 6 that's the
chapter i taught on and that was about
25 years ago
and
to see and to think what god
had in mind and what what he wanted to
do just blows my mind
and
i'm grateful to him thankful
and it plays into the message tonight
because you're going to hear from isaiah
about how he would have been the last
one to volunteer for what was about to
happen
and i understand that
i wouldn't have volunteered but i felt
strong biblically
in fact i believe my bible understanding
overrode my emotions
that if i didn't obey this
request that i would be sinning against
god
and i took that very seriously and i
still take it as seriously today
but i'm more emotional about the fact
that as you read isaiah chapter 6 this
is the main reason
is isaiah was watching the death of his
nation
and in these last 25 years i've watched
my nation go from life and vitality to
nigh and to life support this night
for some of you who are young you know
what i'm talking about
and i'm not even that old
but when i was growing up man it was a
different america
i remember going to school as a
non-believer
and we had prayer in school
public school in orange county
and
we went to summer break back in those
days by the way can you this can be a
shock for some people but everybody in
the whole united states had summer off
back in those days
we had we had three months off summer
came back
and they just announced on the first day
of school oh by the way things change
while you're away
and there'll be no more prayer in school
and uh i watched america go downhill
from that start
and you have to take my word for it you
can just look at the rise of
all of the calamities of school ever
since we removed god from school
not to mention the fact that we've just
gotten dumber since
i mean at breakneck speed
back in those days we could read
by the time we got out you know out of
the fourth grade or fifth grade we were
reading man
and it breaks my heart
back in those days there were
politicians that ran for office and you
actually trusted them
because most of them were statesmen and
not politicians
they would say things even that were
that they believed to be true or that
were true they said things even if it
cost them the election their convictions
caused them to say it and they let the
chips fall where they may but that's
what they believed they didn't lie to
you while they were campaigning
that's not the main reason why i'm
emotional tonight about this chapter
the main reason is
the church and her pastors in america
allowed america to come nigh into life
support
it's the pastor's fault in america
for the condition of this nation it's
the church's fault
where america is tonight and isaiah is
going to say to the nation
you've walked away from god
and it was a shock to him in light of
all that he saw and this is my heart's
desire tonight that what isaiah saw you
and i see
because if we see what he saw
we will never backslide we will never
play games with god
we will be hot
on the heels of god following him
anywhere at any time
because he is god in heaven above and we
are his people here on earth
so with isaiah chapter six open on your
lap we see first of all in verses one to
four your c your god calling it is
designed by god himself will you write
that down in the first four verses it's
point number one it is designed by god
your calling is my friend as it was with
isaiah in the year that king uzziah died
he says i saw the lord sitting on a
throne high and lifted up and the train
or glory of his robe
filled the temple
imagine this above it stood the seraphim
each one had six wings
with two he covered his face with two he
covered his feet and with two he flew
and one cried to the other saying holy
holy holy is the lord of hosts the whole
earth is full of his glory and verse
four the post of the door were shaken
by the voice of him
who cried out
and the house was filled with smoke the
first thing that you want to see right
now in your note taking jutted down if
you would is that your calling is
designed by god himself what do you mean
jack i mean this isaiah is a man just
like you and i
we got to get that under our belt right
now people we've got we get a sense that
god only works with super people no he
doesn't
he uses people
who are just like you and i he wants to
use you and i
and as believers in the lord jesus
christ
god issues a calling
listen he loves you that is no longer
that's not even being questioned that's
not the issue that is a given he loves
you and in your calling that he's placed
upon you in saving you he did it for a
dynamic and exciting purpose
if it was just to get you in heaven
watch this if it was just to get you in
heaven the moment you had accepted
christ you would have dropped dead and
gone straight to heaven
right think about it why are you still
living after you accepted christ
because you have a calling on your life
[Music]
think of it god wants to use you
and with that calling we'll see in a
moment that there's a commissioning with
that but the calling is designed by god
last sunday we saw people in the three
services except christ and you know what
i had a privilege of praying with all
three services by the end of the day and
i got to tell you god is so amazing
church listen you would have picked
listen there were there were people from
gangs that got saved there were
businessmen that got saved there were
moms that got saved there were people
from every walk of life
that got saved and they gathered under
one banner the name jesus and the blood
of christ and there is no way on earth
you could have gotten the the
cross cut of those people the
lives they represent you could have
never gotten them to one room
regarding any other topic
under the sun
one name brought them all together
why because god has
more to your life than just salvation
he didn't save you to set you on a
mantle or on a shelf or display you
he saved you and i because he's got a
job for us to do
and isaiah says in the year that king
uzziah died i saw the lord king uzziah
was amazing
you studied him in the introduction of
this book he reigned for 52 years
imagine having an awesome president that
you respect
and one that loves the nation and the
people
and defend your country
for 52 years a reformer and a one that
was absolutely gifted to the people and
the people loved uzziah
in fact you know what
outside of king david solomon uzziah
israel's never had a king like him since
did he have his flaws yes
but he was an amazing man of god 52
years he led the nation can you imagine
having a president for 52 years that was
a good one
imagine that
he says listen in the year that king
uzziah died i saw the lord some scholars
believe that the king's prominence over
the nation
stood in the way of isaiah seen the lord
you know there's a tendency we have that
i got to tell you right now maybe it's
different for you
but
when ronald reagan was president uh i
didn't pray so much i'll confess
you think listen those of you who are
around in the early days you know how
long isis would have lasted with ronald
reagan in office
why are you laughing you already know
the answer
there couldn't have been one
with reagan in office
i didn't pray much because you you felt
safe you felt like there was a man by
the way he loved the lord
his you got to read about his life with
him and michael reagan his son as he
would teach bible study
at palisades
church
just up the coast here north of l.a
harbor
michael reagan said he would never miss
a sunday he would drive from santa
barbara
every sunday morning to his church
to teach sunday school
you felt safe
but i got to tell you in these last uh
six seven years i've prayed i've prayed
more for our president than i've ever
prayed for any president ever
isaiah says in the year that king uzziah
died i saw the lord
and he not only saw the lord he saw all
of the things that surround god think
about it in the year that king uzziah
died listen
isaiah saw the lord sitting upon his
throne
listen no matter how bad it gets in the
world let's remember this christian
god is still seated upon his throne
and then nothing changes that
he is king
and he is lord
and the design of god is upon the
calling of the prophet and so it is a
in your life look at verse two and above
it stood the seraphim isaiah's calling
appears to be
getting the attention of the angelic
host
it's a powerful thing if you think about
it this this overwhelming glory that
isaiah sees and he not only sees the
glory of god but he sees these unusual
beings seraphim
and the bible tells us that
as isaiah looks at the throne in the
glory of all that is there
in verse two this
seraphim stand the
the i am on the end of that word
seraphim the word seraph is in the
hebrew a fiery one or a burning one it's
a very unique thing gotta circle that
and write that down a burning one or a
fiery one why is it important because
seraphim are not cherubim
and by the way the picture the little
carving of the cherubim over your
grandmother's bathroom toilet seat is
not the right depiction of a cherubim
either you know those little babies with
the stubby wings the fat babies with the
little arrow oh look at the little
cherub that's what they call them you
know
if you saw a cherub you'd pass out
not it's not a little chubby baby with a
with a bow and arrow
a cherub is
pretty awesome
there are accounts in the bible when men
of god saw cherub cherubim and they
freaked out in fear
okay a seraphim is something different
than a cherubim
seraphim apparently has
uh six wings a cherubim at best and
scripture is recorded of having four
doesn't mean they're any less they're
just different there's different types
of angelic creatures in heaven there's
the four living creatures go figure out
what those are
because it doesn't matter what scholar
you read some scholars pick them as this
some scholars pick them at that the
answer is we don't know
but we see them in the book of
revelation we see them in ezekiel
there's the four living creatures
there's angels a myriad of angels so
many that you can't count them
there's archangels
ooh
michael was an archangel
um
it appears possibly i believe it is true
where michael by the way as an archangel
is always involved in warfare whenever
you find michael in the bible he's
fighting
and he's must be terrifying
but gabriel seems to be an archangel who
doesn't fight but he's an announcer he
seems specifically
ordained to the nation of israel gabriel
michael as well but in a different
deployment of warfare
angelic beings is it amazing to think
they're unlike anything that we can
imagine
they are powerful
spirit creatures they they're created
they can't be redeemed did you know that
they're unredeemable if they fall there
they can't be redeemed
thus satan remember what satan's name is
lucifer
bright one a shining one or mourning
star brightness
the bible says
that lucifer
when the in the day that he was created
was created in perfect beauty
he was given perfect wisdom
he was the most powerful satan was the
most powerful created
i believe archangel
that that god ever made isaiah 14 is
going to tell us that it went to his
head
isn't that weird he got arrogant
that's heavy
but the bible tells us that there are
these orders of
angels and he said isaiah says i see the
seraphim and they have these six wings
and notice in the presence of god they
cover their face as well that's always
pretty amazing and verse 3 says that one
cried to another imagine the sound one
is crying out saying holy holy holy
three times by the way
remember that three times
one shouts the others are listening do
they do this in stereo apparently
possibly but
regardless isaiah sees the heavenly
scene and when they shout
listen
the post
of the heavenly temple begins to shake
we don't even know what that's like we
can't even imagine
but think about this the calling of god
comes to isaiah this is his calling
and so listen this is a test
when did
god actually call isaiah
when did god actually
biblically theologically call isaiah was
it at this event that you're watching or
was it before that event
good it's before the event hey listen
if you're a christian tonight then
you've been called
when
did you get your calling when did that
happen now you may be realizing it as
isaiah's realizing it but when did it
happen well let's start first of all in
the old testament jot it down if you
would when does our calling come
isaiah or excuse me jeremiah 1 verse 4
and 5. jeremiah 1 4 and 5 says then the
word of the lord came to me saying
before i formed you in the womb i knew
you
before you were born i sanctified you
i ordained you
a prophet
to the nations who's saying this god is
to who
jeremiah you say yeah but jack that's
that's what he's saying to jeremiah
i believe god says it to every one of
his children you may not be called a
prophet to the nations but you are
called
from your mother's womb god knows this
you'll don't even try to figure it out
it's impossible god knows
god knows and i am a firm believer in
this
that no matter how your life has gone no
matter how your life has been
up into the point of becoming a
christian
i believe and if you disagree don't tell
me because you hurt my feelings
i look back over my life and what i know
about my life from from its beginnings
and if i were not a christian i would be
a drunk
if i were not a christian i would have
been a drug addict why because i wasn't
wanted
because of rejection
because of let me play my violin
i would have been
an adult version of what i was young
angry bitter
and let me hurt anybody that gets in my
way to vent that pain
and then jesus came into my life and
made sense of it all
oh
it clicked
you mean this yep i was in that you mean
that i was bringing you through that
what about this
in other words without god i would say
to the god i would claim not to believe
in where were you when this was
happening to me
well now that i'm a christian i say so
that's where you were when i you were
right there
through the through the pain through the
sufferings through the issues through
the embarrassment through the rejection
you were there and god says to me yes
jack i was preparing you for this moment
i was preparing you when you were 9
years old i was preparing for you to be
57 years old
and now i get to step back and say you
know what lord whatever you want to do
do it
it's good with me
oh i hope you know that
oh man i hope you're not walking around
saying well you know what i would have
been this if they would have been nicer
to me
i could have really achieved some stuff
if they would have been kinder to me
listen
you're literally defeating yourself
you're ruining your own life
god says listen you you were brought
into a fallen world this world is full
of injustice pain and sorrow but i'm the
lord
i'm the great redeemer i take those
things that would normally kill somebody
and because now i'm in your life i'm
gonna take those things and i'm gonna
wrap them in my will i'm gonna educate
you through them and buy them and i'm
going to apply my healing balm upon your
life and then i'm going to package you
up and send you out and use you because
of those things you went through
and all of a sudden you want to embrace
those
things we're no longer victims we're
victors
in christ
that's the fact that's the truth
and i love it
if you disagree don't tell me i said it
don't tell me die i don't want to know
but listen when god calls you out of
this world listen to what he says to us
in ephesians 1 verse 3
blessed be the god and father of our
lord jesus christ who has blessed us
with every
spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in
christ that's a mouthful of blessing man
that is ginormous
she whiz
just as he chose us in him that's christ
when
before the foundation of the world did
you know that
are you a christian tonight yeah i
became a christian three years ago or
last sunday or 25 years ago that's
awesome
did you know that god
was at work
before you were even born and knew you'd
become a believer
this shouldn't surprise you he's eternal
he knows what's going to happen
tomorrow he knows what you're going to
have for lunch tomorrow
he knows who's going to be born who's
going to die
he's god ephesians 1 verse 3
continues
that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love
verse 5 having predestined us to
adoption as sons by jesus christ to
himself according to the good pleasure
of his will to the praise and the glory
of his grace by which he made us
accepted in the beloved you know the
beloved is right jesus remember i talked
about being saints earlier that's why
that's how
has jesus christ accepted you
he accepts you if you say lord i believe
that you died on the cross for my sins
and that you rose again from the grave
for me
i can't save myself but you said you'd
save me jesus i submit to you
like those who did on last sunday they
submitted to the lordship of jesus
christ to his saving grace
and look what he says all the pain you
went through all the life that you went
through he says i was at work
now it's going to make sense as you
learn more of me and as you know more of
my word
your life is all going to come into
place and it's all going to be as it
were shaken into order it's going to
fall into place and then you're going to
see
that i've called you
designed by god your calling
unique from all other people on earth
your calling is
galatians chapter 1 verse 13 consider
the apostle paul's calling
galatians 1 13 says for you have heard
of my former conduct in judaism
how i persecuted the church of god
beyond measure and tried to destroy it
and i advanced in judaism beyond many of
my contemporaries in my own nation
being more exceedingly zealous for the
traditions of my fathers
but
when it pleased god who separated me
from my mother's womb stop right there
isn't that funny
isn't it amazing what he's saying are
you catching this
paul thought that in judaism by going
out and beating up christians arresting
them and having them killed he was doing
the will of god
now he says
god it turns out was the one who
separated me from my mother's womb
all the stuff i was involved with before
was not his stuff
when i came watch when i came to the
knowledge of him watch what he says but
when it please god who separated me from
my mother's woman called me through his
grace
what is that to reveal his son and me
that i might preach him among the
gentiles
man what a change has jesus changed your
life
wow
number two jot it down if you would your
god calling is found in verse five as it
was with isaiah it will be impossible
for you
to carry out it will be impossible for
you
to do what will your calling what
you mean
i don't have what it takes to do it nope
i said it was a god calling
well wait a minute i'm really uh i'm
really physically strong did god maybe
god's calling me to be a
ultimate
cage fighter
probably not then probably not
oh listen do you want to have your
bubble burst
you know the hebrews the jews
in fact listen when you and i grow up or
when you and i learn about samson how do
you see samson
there you go big guy big guy muscly guy
what kind of guy like arnold
schwarzenegger kind of guy
that's how we see him do you know the
hebrews they never are they don't
they're not tempted to think like we are
we think hollywood
we think like that oh man just tatted up
muscle just
what's your name i'm samson
i could crush you right here
hey you know listen you know who to get
all the glory samson would
the hebrews they never believed that
they still don't believe that to this
day you know what they believe they
believe samson
was just like me just like you
because when the power of god came upon
him
the guy was able to do miraculous
strengths and miraculous feats by his by
god's strength does that that makes more
sense huh god gets the glory if man if
it's some you know
lou ferrigno the hulk
guy
then it's like whoa
but if it's barney fife
or uh or who would know okay because i
know there's generations in this
building so barney five for me growing
up
pee-wee herman
who
else bieber
justin bieber
[Applause]
it would be like justin bieber having
the power of almighty god upon him can
you imagine you'd go that's god that's
not him
it's impossible
you say well you know what
my friend he's a really really good
salesman down there at the car lot i
think you'd make a great evangelist
no
no no uh-uh
that's not how it works
well i've got a really big vocabulary
you think i should be a pastor no
that's not how it works
god's calling upon your life i hope
you're all sitting down because this is
going to come as a shock to you
god's calling upon your life will cause
you to let me think for a moment freak
out
when god begins to cook something on
your heart
you're gonna have a thought and it's
gonna be like hey you know what somebody
should do something about that situation
you'll be driving down the street you'll
be riding a bike you'll be like you know
whatever and you'll this thought will go
across your mind
ah
there's people dying in iraq at the
hands of terrorists
somebody should do something about that
and then you're gonna pause for a moment
and you're gonna hear him say to you
i just gave you a thought across your
mind
you're the one
and the first thought you might say
me
and you'll be overwhelmed notice those
of you are involved in ministry that's
called of god you know exactly what i'm
talking about your first word is what
the first word was from moses
ah
hi god you're amazing awesome how you
shook that mountain and all that stuff
part of the red
sea i'm in full agreement
up until right now
you're asking me to speak to the pharaoh
not going to do it
jeremiah gets called by god what does
jeremiah say
i'm only a kid
no one's going to listen to me
there's a long list
of god's people who are called by god
and it's so impossible
what do you ask you to do you want to
know why barney fife so god gets all the
glory justin bieber
pee-wee herman
when god says and he begins to cook it
on you you begin thinking and thinking
and thinking and they start praying
about it
and it's and and
you'll be somewhere and whatever it
might might be a it might be a
manifestation or one of the gifts of the
holy spirit in the in the way of giving
for example let's say let's say in your
life you just you think first of all i
don't have anything to give and second
of all if i get anything i'm gonna keep
it
and god says i want you to give
that five that last five bucks in your
pocket i want you to give it to that guy
right there
and you know what's amazing you're going
to find yourself going like this
yes
here dude take this five bucks in jesus
name if i had more i'd give it to you
man
completely not you
why because
it's impossible god's calling upon your
life will be impossible
so he gets all the glory
and when god uses people that way
other people might say did you see how
he gave that five dollars oh he's just a
champ
look at i mean just the way he moved to
give the five dollars what a nice guy
people may say that but the person given
the five bucks knows this one thing i am
a dope
they thought i would look nice given the
five bucks i know the truth
i'm nothing
when god uses you listen i'm sorry
listen when god uses you you should be
humble about it
anybody walking around saying don't you
know who i am
i'm a servant of god
one thing you know for sure they are not
a servant of god
they're a servant of self
it will be impossible
verse 5 says when he saw all of this
what did he say
he said woe is me
oh this is interesting do you remember
chapter five
remember the six woes he gave to the
nation
woe to those who take strong drink woe
to those who
pillage the poor remember that
now
now he says and that's interesting now
because remember his ministry starts in
this chapter
so chapter six precedes chapter five
now i get it
you could ask the question what gave
this guy the right to go tell the nation
woe to them
right think about it who does he think
he is
he thinks he's nothing
because he is nothing that's why he
could say woe to a nation
big difference right
you can criticize people
but they might know you
and your criticism or your judgment or
your critique falls on deaf ears
but if you're a broken person
and that broken person now is as a glove
with god's hand inside
is used by god people will sit up and
take notice
why because the vessel doesn't exist so
to speak it's invisible
now now we understand his ministry a
little bit
he was first brought to the place of woe
is me
this is impossible for me
for i am undone
because i am a man of unclean lips
sinful lips and i dwell in the midst of
a people of unclean lips for my eyes
this is why for my eyes have seen the
king the lord of hosts i've seen god
and it changes his whole perspective now
i got to throw this in before you panic
you know a lot of people didn't talk
about self-esteem you need more
self-esteem
i don't believe that
i believe by nature you and i are born
with this tendency to
if we don't get esteem from people we'll
create our own
because that's how the human psyche
works
listen you want to pursue self-esteem
you're never going to be satisfied or
content
but do you want to be completely
satisfied and content
goddess name
what does that mean
know what the bible says know what god
says about you
because you know what let's be honest
some people will say today what is today
wednesday they'll say
you're you're so nice
and you'll go thanks
and then tuesday next week they'll say
you make me sick
you know what i'm talking about
did you know god will never do that to
you
never
he says i have loved you
with an everlasting watch you put it's
past tense you said in the past tense
i have loved you it means he doesn't
love us anymore
i'm not done quoting the verse he says
i have loved you with an everlasting
love
therefore
with loving kindness
have i drawn you
it's all in the continuum it's eternal i
love you
always have loved you reaching out to
you
because i love you
that's what god says to you and he's not
going to wake up tomorrow with a
different mind didn't that need
he can't change his mind the bible says
it's impossible for him to change his
mind aren't we glad
of that charles spurgeon said i'm so
grateful that god called me before the
foundations of the world were ever laid
because he said he wouldn't have called
me after i was born
now of course he's kidding but it's kind
of cute you know
it's impossible for us
to do what god calls us to do but god
does the impossible through us and he
does it with
isaiah in second corinthians chapter 2
in second corinthians chapter 2 verse 14
listen to what the bible there says now
thanks be to god who always leads us in
triumph in christ boy there's a verse to
memorize right there huh just the
opening end of that verse 14.
and through us diffuses the fragrance of
his knowledge everywhere what does that
mean
that those who are saved we who are
christians god
causes us to affect
atmospheres
isn't that kind of neat think about it
you know everywhere you go you affect
people did you know that by the way no
matter who you are you can be saved or
not saved christian or not christian
wherever you go you affect the
atmosphere around you do you know that
it's true
people who are just bitter rotten ugly
mean people they just stink up the
atmosphere huh
and nobody wants to be around them
right there's people that they come they
they walk into the room and morally
ethically you want to take a shower
after they leave you know what i'm
talking about
it's like oh man
there's people for example i mean he
said he talks about
diffusing a fragrance
have you
have you noticed where
uh
the person's not even there and it's
like
what's that smell was bob here
old spice
i smell old spice
was bob here
you know i'm talking about
that kind of thing
where the the smell of their
after presence remains
my daughter um
and her husband live in chino hills and
i mean
they have a house on one side and chino
hills on the other side
and
this week we pulled up to the house and
my son-in-law is hosing off the driveway
and there's
blood on the driveway i mean not not a
little and i'm thinking this is
interesting
and i look
and there seriously had to be 11 12 15
or more vultures
all around their home
in their trees on the ground you know
how big those things are
those things are terrifying
i mean they're ugly i don't think
they're gonna chase you down and kill
you or anything but they
they're scared look like they could
but
a a cow had died just a couple about 100
yards or less from their house
in the hills
right there and so the vultures were
eating the cow
and
they looked this up online and they
figured out because it said right there
that
what they what they did was an act of
self-defense what they did was they
determined well here's a dead cow
and that house is too close to the dead
cow
so they came over to my daughter's house
and they they began to bombard the house
throwing i didn't know this look it up
it's a shocker i didn't know this but
vultures throw up
the meat and blood of the thing that
they've been eating as a defense
mechanism to ward off enemies
and so there was blood splattered in
there and
their poor dog wilson got hit i mean the
bird just went
boom and nailed them
can you imagine
i'm not kidding
you can look this up
and the stink
of death
and paul says listen
as believers wherever we go when we walk
into a room we are to
emit jesus christ
and it's interesting because only then
does he say in corinthians that when
people reject the gospel of jesus christ
the very fragrance that was beautiful in
the room that fragrance to them becomes
the smell of death
because of rejection isn't that
interesting
what should have been life
well look he says it
right here in second corinthians 2
where he says in verse 15 for we are to
god the fragrance of christ among those
who are being saved and among those who
are perishing to the one we are the
aroma of death leading to death and to
the other the aroma of life leading to
life and here's the punchline to this
verse and who is sufficient for these
things
isn't this awesome statement by the
apostles say what does that mean paul
says we're just humans listen up
everybody we're just mere humans but
we've been saved
and we've been called by god to give
testimony of the doctrines of god the
bible we're the word to give the bible
don't give the world to us that's not
going to help them we're to give the
world god
and to those who receive
oh i have life
do you remember when we were not saved
we thought we could see
and then once we got saved and we could
see we realized that we were lost we
couldn't see a thing
we listen before we were christians we
would tell people how to live their
lives
and now that we're christians it's like
god tell me please how to live my life
now isn't it amazing
but the moment somebody rejects the
gospel for the last time i say for the
last time because you know
you can witness to people over and over
again but at some point in time god's
god gives up god says i know they're not
going to turn and shuts the door imagine
at that moment the very gospel that
could have rescued them becomes the
gospel that brings to them the smell of
death
who who determined that god or that
person
the person did
as we shall see
it's an amazing thing though you guys
when he says what was me
and paul echoes that who is sufficient
for these things the answer is nobody
my dear christian brother and sister we
handled the word of god
before there was ever a sun
a milky way jupiter angels
creation
there was this
and god has called us to tell others
about this
how do you qualify for this oh i've got
my degree from harvard
please
i've got my degree from liberty or biola
or
not going to help
you cannot be qualified
you must be called
now you can educate and strengthen the
calling absolutely that's great
but paul said it who's sufficient for
this
who has got the stuff
to traffic among the living and the dead
that's us
do i hear bills
time's up
oh thanks
she just said no the bells are in your
head keep going
great
we still have to get to
that with the god calling comes the
equipping
we need to get to what the god calling
comes the commissioning we need to get
to with the god calling comes your
purpose
and we need to get to the with the god
calling comes
your burden
so we'll see you next wednesday night
father we love you god
who are we to speak about eternal things
but we have your word
the bible
without error perfect it's so great god
that we get to be here tonight because
the word
we don't have to uh defend your bible
this is the best part we don't defend
your bible it defends itself
you don't need us
we don't work out and do squats and take
vitamins so that we can preach the
gospel
that's your spirit's business
we can't invest in wall street
so things can be good
on the golden streets
nope
we as mere little humans fallen
sinful
but now redeemed by the blood of the
lamb
god it is amazing for us to go from this
place tonight to be reminded now that
i'm a christian
i'm called by
god this is when all the excitement
begins
as we will be infused in our lives
before friends and family and co-workers
and neighbors
and ever so slowly sometimes
sometimes
at times abruptly no doubt
we will be given the opportunity
to bear witness
of jesus
maybe conversationally
maybe in passing
maybe directly
we would turn to someone and say
you know
i've become a christian
or this is what god has been doing in my
life lately
and lord in all these things
we pray lord that you would take us in
this world
and use us more than you ever have
father i know i'm not praying this by
myself i know there's a host of people
agreeing with me that whatever you've
done thus far in our lives we're so
grateful for
but
may it be nothing
compared to what you're about to do
we're still breathing
we're still able
to ask
will you do radical things lord through
us
you who are strong and i am weak will
you be my strength
lord
i who cannot speak but you
who can will you through me
lord i who cannot do anything right
will you do what's right through me
through us
woe is me
but we've seen your glory god
church let's stand right now as we sing
our song of worship to him
and my friend tonight i hope that you've
been provoked tonight maybe perhaps
i know the message was abbreviated but
maybe you heard enough tonight
to be provoked to a sense of jealousy
that
how is it these people are enjoying
god
and are excited about him
oh my friend listen you need to come to
him tonight
you need to say jesus i want you tonight
be my lord be my savior
you ask him tonight
he's faithful
[Music]
you