#S051-When God's Goodness Becomes A Problem (Part 1) 00:00:05.90\00:00:18.01 Do me a favor, stay to your feet 00:00:19.85\00:00:21.62 as we go into the scriptures this afternoon. 00:00:21.65\00:00:23.59 And we're going to be brief today 00:00:23.62\00:00:25.32 as we prepare to transition to the table shortly. 00:00:25.35\00:00:28.12 I want to invite you to go back with me in your Bibles 00:00:29.22\00:00:30.66 to the Book of Jonah, chapter three. 00:00:30.69\00:00:32.99 Now, some of you are here a couple of weeks ago 00:00:34.03\00:00:36.26 where we studied the book of Jonah. 00:00:36.30\00:00:37.53 Anybody remember that where we talked 00:00:37.57\00:00:39.70 under the subject, you're going the wrong way. 00:00:39.73\00:00:42.14 And there are some things that we learned 00:00:43.10\00:00:44.07 from the word just two Sabbaths ago. 00:00:44.11\00:00:45.94 One of the things that we learned from Jonah 00:00:45.97\00:00:47.84 is that agreement is not a prerequisite for obedience. 00:00:47.88\00:00:51.91 Come on and say amen. 00:00:51.95\00:00:53.58 And then we learn that sometimes when we go through storms, 00:00:53.62\00:00:56.75 that storms are not for 00:00:56.79\00:00:57.89 our destruction, storms are actually for our direction. 00:00:57.92\00:01:01.96 And then we learn from the Word of God 00:01:02.86\00:01:04.73 when they refuse that, at first they throw Jonah from the ship. 00:01:04.76\00:01:08.30 Don't let somebody else's drummer cause you to sink a man. 00:01:09.46\00:01:12.90 And so today, I want us to go back for 00:01:13.74\00:01:15.97 just a little longer to the book of Jonah. 00:01:16.00\00:01:19.04 This Communion Sabbath. 00:01:19.61\00:01:20.71 Because in many ways, it embodies the grace of God. 00:01:20.74\00:01:24.75 In a way that I had not previously considered. 00:01:25.71\00:01:27.35 Jonah. Chapter three. 00:01:27.38\00:01:29.38 And we're going to read a good bit, 00:01:29.42\00:01:30.62 but we'll be skipping back and forth, so be prepared to adjust. 00:01:30.65\00:01:34.02 Jonah, Chapter three 00:01:34.06\00:01:34.96 When you get there, let me hear you say man. 00:01:34.99\00:01:36.56 Jonah Chapter three. 00:01:37.96\00:01:40.03 The Bible says now the word of the Lord 00:01:40.06\00:01:43.03 came to Jonah the second time 00:01:43.06\00:01:46.03 saying, Arise and go to Nineveh, that great city, 00:01:47.04\00:01:50.57 and preach to it the message that I tell you. 00:01:50.61\00:01:53.71 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according 00:01:54.71\00:01:57.61 to the Word of the Lord. 00:01:57.65\00:01:59.28 Now, Nimba was an exceedingly great city, 00:01:59.31\00:02:01.85 a three day journey in extent. 00:02:02.55\00:02:04.29 And Jonah began to enter the city 00:02:05.12\00:02:07.29 on the first day's walk. 00:02:07.32\00:02:09.29 Then he cried out and said, Yet 40 days 00:02:09.32\00:02:12.93 and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 00:02:13.63\00:02:15.23 So the people of Nineveh did what 00:02:16.06\00:02:18.17 they believe. 00:02:19.30\00:02:20.20 God proclaimed the fast and put on sackcloth 00:02:20.24\00:02:23.91 from the greatest to the least of them. 00:02:23.94\00:02:26.44 Then the word came to the King of Nineveh, 00:02:26.47\00:02:28.78 and he arose from his throne and later side his robe 00:02:29.91\00:02:31.68 and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 00:02:31.71\00:02:35.42 And he calls it to be proclaimed 00:02:36.12\00:02:37.52 and published throughout Nineveh by decree of the king 00:02:37.55\00:02:40.72 and his nobles, saying, Let neither man or beast hurt 00:02:40.76\00:02:44.89 nor flock, taste anything and do not let them drink water. 00:02:44.93\00:02:49.16 And verse ten says this Then God saw their works 00:02:49.20\00:02:53.60 that they turned from their evil ways. 00:02:54.50\00:02:57.24 Somebody should say Amen to that. 00:02:58.07\00:02:59.84 And God relented from the disaster that he said 00:02:59.87\00:03:04.81 he would bring upon them, and he did not do it. 00:03:05.88\00:03:09.85 Then Chapter four says, But it 00:03:10.55\00:03:13.69 displeased Jonah exceedingly. 00:03:14.66\00:03:17.93 And he became angry. 00:03:19.46\00:03:22.26 I mean, they repented, said, I want to be baptized 00:03:22.30\00:03:26.47 and the preacher gets mad about this. 00:03:27.37\00:03:29.24 So he prayed to the Lord 00:03:31.14\00:03:33.34 and said, Our Lord was not this what I said 00:03:33.38\00:03:37.51 when I was still in my own country. 00:03:38.35\00:03:40.05 Therefore, I fled previously to Tarsus for I know that. 00:03:41.22\00:03:45.35 Listen to what he says. 00:03:45.39\00:03:47.92 Listen to his complaint. 00:03:48.49\00:03:49.56 CHURCH He says, Well, I know that you are gracious 00:03:49.59\00:03:54.46 and merciful, God, slow to anger 00:03:55.16\00:03:58.40 and abundant in loving kindness. 00:03:59.10\00:04:01.14 One who relents from doing harm. 00:04:01.84\00:04:04.07 Therefore, now, oh Lord, please take my life from me, 00:04:05.21\00:04:09.24 for it is better for me to die 00:04:10.31\00:04:13.28 than to live today saints for just a little while. 00:04:14.32\00:04:17.05 I want to talk under the subject when God's goodness 00:04:18.12\00:04:21.16 becomes a problem. 00:04:21.89\00:04:23.02 Let's pray together quickly. 00:04:24.53\00:04:26.66 Father, in this little while, would you please say much? 00:04:27.86\00:04:30.80 And Father, your love is greater than what 00:04:31.77\00:04:34.70 human verbiage can disclose, discuss or declare. 00:04:34.74\00:04:38.74 So, Lord, through the Holy Spirit, Lord, 00:04:39.67\00:04:42.94 would you allow just for us to get a glimpse of your love? 00:04:42.98\00:04:47.75 May it settle upon our hearts. 00:04:48.45\00:04:51.32 And, Lord, I pray that we would not just see Jonah's ruin. 00:04:52.49\00:04:55.19 But let us see our own. 00:04:55.22\00:04:57.39 And class, to your grace. 00:04:57.43\00:05:00.23 As if for our last breath. 00:05:00.86\00:05:03.23 Hide me in the shadows of the cross. 00:05:03.26\00:05:05.40 That Jesus alone might be seen. 00:05:05.43\00:05:07.94 That Christ alone would be heard. 00:05:07.97\00:05:10.24 And indeed of our time together. 00:05:10.27\00:05:11.57 May Jesus alone be praised. 00:05:11.61\00:05:13.68 We ask this in the name of him, who is altogether lovely. 00:05:13.71\00:05:16.31 It is in the name of Jesus that we pray. 00:05:16.34\00:05:18.65 Let those who believe say together. 00:05:18.68\00:05:20.32 Amen. And a man. 00:05:20.35\00:05:22.38 You may be seated in the House of the Lord again, talking 00:05:22.42\00:05:25.45 today on the subject when God's goodness is a problem. 00:05:25.49\00:05:31.16 You know, friends, there are 00:05:32.16\00:05:34.30 occasions in my home where my kids do some things 00:05:34.30\00:05:38.93 that they are not supposed to do, and in frustration, 00:05:38.97\00:05:44.11 I will threaten punishments of all sorts. 00:05:44.14\00:05:46.91 So at times I will promise early bedtime 00:05:47.84\00:05:50.88 or I'll withhold device. 00:05:50.91\00:05:53.62 And there is this escalating scale of justice, 00:05:54.65\00:05:57.52 depending on what the offense may be. 00:05:57.55\00:06:00.62 But there are times where, because of life's busyness 00:06:01.76\00:06:04.33 or fatigue that I may forget or 00:06:04.36\00:06:08.03 I may choose to change my mind about applying the punishment. 00:06:09.30\00:06:12.83 And this, at times, 00:06:13.37\00:06:14.64 has worked in favor of all of the kids at times. 00:06:14.67\00:06:18.24 However, when one child receives grace, 00:06:19.14\00:06:21.78 the other two will point out and remind me to say, Daddy, 00:06:22.98\00:06:26.61 you said they would get early bedtime. 00:06:26.65\00:06:29.15 They would say, Daddy, you said their devices are going 00:06:30.25\00:06:32.85 to be withhold in an attempt to out one another. 00:06:32.89\00:06:36.59 They will remind me 00:06:37.13\00:06:38.09 of the offense and the dedicated punishment. 00:06:38.13\00:06:41.66 And when they see that I'm not responding 00:06:42.56\00:06:44.50 or that I've changed my mind, they get an attitude with me. 00:06:44.53\00:06:49.44 And it's interesting because the irony is that 00:06:50.47\00:06:52.57 when their trespass was overlooked, it wasn't a problem. 00:06:52.61\00:06:56.44 When their offense was forgiven, it was okay 00:06:57.38\00:07:00.35 when their misbehavior was shown. 00:07:01.15\00:07:02.98 Grace They thought I was a good dad. 00:07:03.85\00:07:05.95 But when I show grace 00:07:06.52\00:07:07.66 to one of their siblings, my character gets indicted. 00:07:07.69\00:07:10.79 And there was a certain absurdity in this dialog 00:07:11.79\00:07:14.40 because there are times where I have to remind them, 00:07:15.53\00:07:17.37 when you did X and how you got away with it. 00:07:17.40\00:07:22.20 And the message ultimately, friends, 00:07:23.07\00:07:24.74 is not that you're going 00:07:25.31\00:07:26.47 to get away with doing bad, but when your friend gets grace, 00:07:26.51\00:07:30.25 you ought to celebrate it because it means at least 00:07:30.28\00:07:33.88 that Grace might still be available to you. 00:07:33.92\00:07:37.15 And friends, there is a danger in developing 00:07:38.09\00:07:41.39 amnesia about how much grace we've received, 00:07:41.42\00:07:45.49 because the truth is that we become at the kids 00:07:46.53\00:07:49.36 for the law when we forget where God has found us. 00:07:49.40\00:07:53.80 And at times we have the temerity 00:07:54.60\00:07:57.07 to only celebrate the grace that God applied yesterday, 00:07:58.27\00:08:02.24 as if we're still not living by grace on today. 00:08:03.28\00:08:06.28 In fact, there are some of us that treat grace like welfare 00:08:07.55\00:08:10.55 that helped us get back on our feet, 00:08:10.59\00:08:13.22 and now we're sustained by our own merit and power. 00:08:14.36\00:08:17.33 But do I have a witness that not only were we saved 00:08:18.46\00:08:20.90 by Grace back in the day, I'm still saved by Grace even today. 00:08:20.93\00:08:26.60 Are y'all hearing me today, friends? 00:08:26.63\00:08:28.64 And it's crazy because this is the offense of the cross, 00:08:28.67\00:08:32.31 because we like to apply grace selectively. 00:08:33.27\00:08:36.28 We believe those that we like deserve grace, 00:08:37.28\00:08:39.91 that those that we're close to deserve grace. 00:08:40.95\00:08:43.12 But we kind of get upset when God shows grace to those 00:08:44.29\00:08:47.49 that we don't like or that those that have done us harm. 00:08:47.52\00:08:51.26 And see what happens is when God shows grace to those 00:08:52.43\00:08:55.23 we don't like. 00:08:55.26\00:08:56.40 We try to put all types of stipulations around grace. 00:08:56.43\00:09:00.37 We try to put parameters around grace. 00:09:01.20\00:09:03.47 We begin to put certain conditions around grace 00:09:04.47\00:09:07.18 because we feel certain people don't deserve it. 00:09:08.18\00:09:10.61 But how many of us realize that grace, by definition, 00:09:11.75\00:09:15.08 is God's unmerited and unwarranted favor 00:09:16.02\00:09:19.99 so that it's not grace if it's given to the deserving? 00:09:21.09\00:09:24.69 It's not grace if it's given to those who warranted. 00:09:25.83\00:09:28.36 How many of us know that grace can only be 00:09:29.33\00:09:31.37 given to those that don't deserve it? 00:09:31.40\00:09:34.34 And see, I'm at a place church where I'm 00:09:35.27\00:09:37.41 not trying to count out God's mercies to you. 00:09:37.44\00:09:41.04 I'm just so thankful that God has given grace to me 00:09:42.14\00:09:45.68 that I'm celebrating whenever God shows grace to my brothers. 00:09:46.92\00:09:50.55 Is there anybody thankful today that God does not treat us 00:09:51.72\00:09:54.56 as we deserve? 00:09:54.59\00:09:56.12 But according to the multitude of His tender mercies, 00:09:56.16\00:09:59.66 does he deal with all of his children? 00:10:00.56\00:10:02.53 Can you say amen? 00:10:02.56\00:10:04.33 So. So go back with me, if you don't mind to 00:10:04.37\00:10:05.97 Jonah, chapter three and verse number one. 00:10:06.00\00:10:08.90 The Bible says Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah. 00:10:10.07\00:10:14.28 The Bible says a second time. 00:10:14.31\00:10:17.18 Now again, there's just three brief 00:10:17.95\00:10:19.55 grace motifs that I want to espouse today. 00:10:20.52\00:10:23.08 And the first thing Jonah story teaches us is, number one, 00:10:24.25\00:10:27.52 you ought not ever squander your second chance. 00:10:27.56\00:10:31.49 Notice what the word says. 00:10:33.13\00:10:34.63 The word says that the word of the Lord 00:10:34.66\00:10:37.73 came to Jonah a second time. 00:10:38.40\00:10:40.54 Okay, somebody on mischief shout. 00:10:41.57\00:10:43.91 It says the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. 00:10:43.94\00:10:47.94 Y'all still they are still not getting that. 00:10:48.88\00:10:50.41 The word says 00:10:50.45\00:10:51.58 that the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. 00:10:51.61\00:10:55.05 And see, the reason the word has to come a second 00:10:56.15\00:10:59.05 time is because Jonah rejected it the first time. 00:10:59.09\00:11:04.09 And see, when the word comes to Jonah a second time, 00:11:05.16\00:11:08.26 it is proof that God is not just showing mercy to nearby, 00:11:09.40\00:11:12.47 that God is showing mercy on to Jonah. 00:11:13.37\00:11:16.04 In other words, I need you to know 00:11:16.87\00:11:18.07 that when the word comes a second 00:11:18.11\00:11:19.97 time is proof that he hasn't given up on Jonah. 00:11:20.01\00:11:23.65 It's proof he has not replaced Jonah. 00:11:24.51\00:11:26.75 It's evidence that he's still fooling with 00:11:27.72\00:11:29.82 a rebellious prophet called Jonah. 00:11:29.85\00:11:32.89 And it's amazing because in chapter three, 00:11:33.86\00:11:36.16 we see Jonah making the most of his second chance. 00:11:37.26\00:11:40.53 He does not presume that there will be a third 00:11:41.53\00:11:43.26 or fourth or a fifth chance. 00:11:43.93\00:11:45.47 He is all the way in with his second chance. 00:11:46.40\00:11:49.00 Now, when you get home, 00:11:49.57\00:11:50.67 you've got to read Jonah's prayer and chapter two. 00:11:50.71\00:11:53.78 When he is in the belly of the fish 00:11:54.58\00:11:55.91 and verse one, he says, I cried out unto the Lord 00:11:57.01\00:11:59.71 and the Lord heard me in my affliction. 00:12:00.68\00:12:03.02 He says, The waves pass over me 00:12:03.72\00:12:05.85 that the waters were about to overtake me. 00:12:06.82\00:12:08.99 He says The seaweed was around my head 00:12:09.89\00:12:12.29 and yet I made it up in my mind 00:12:12.99\00:12:15.16 that I will look toward his temple. 00:12:16.00\00:12:17.97 In other words, friends, Jonah prays a crisis prayer. 00:12:19.10\00:12:21.87 I don't know about you, Church, 00:12:22.57\00:12:23.61 but have you ever found yourself praying in a crisis 00:12:23.64\00:12:26.91 where, like Jonah, you can feel yourself 00:12:27.84\00:12:30.41 going under, where you can feel light closing 00:12:30.45\00:12:33.75 and where you can feel are you about to get married? 00:12:34.88\00:12:37.55 The reward of your evil deeds and you pray to prayer that 00:12:38.79\00:12:41.72 when something like this, Lord, if you get me out of this one, 00:12:41.76\00:12:46.73 Lord, if you 00:12:48.13\00:12:49.23 see me through one more time, Lord, if you hang with me 00:12:49.26\00:12:53.87 here, I'll serve you better if you give me another chance 00:12:53.90\00:12:58.94 and see the word for somebody today is that don't abandon 00:13:00.24\00:13:03.91 the covenant you made in trouble when God removes your trouble. 00:13:03.95\00:13:08.18 Let me say it again. 00:13:08.22\00:13:09.52 Don't abandon the covenant 00:13:09.55\00:13:10.85 you made in trouble whenever God removes the trouble. 00:13:10.89\00:13:14.99 In other words, church 00:13:15.56\00:13:16.59 don't act brand new when you get back on your feet. 00:13:16.62\00:13:19.76 Don't forget what you prayed when your child 00:13:20.96\00:13:23.70 was still in the world. 00:13:23.73\00:13:25.53 Don't forget 00:13:25.57\00:13:26.63 how you said you would treat her if she came back home. 00:13:26.67\00:13:29.64 Don't forget what you said you would do 00:13:30.54\00:13:32.01 when you were sitting there in the hospital. 00:13:32.04\00:13:34.34 Don't go back the old way 00:13:34.98\00:13:36.24 because the pregnancy test came back negative. In 00:13:36.28\00:13:39.81 other words, church, sometimes God has to renew the trouble. 00:13:39.85\00:13:44.42 So you renew your covenant. 00:13:45.09\00:13:46.39 Oh, the Almighty quiet. 00:13:46.42\00:13:48.22 Sometimes He's got to let the trouble return 00:13:48.26\00:13:51.53 so that your righteousness will return. 00:13:52.43\00:13:54.73 And it's funny, Church, because in this moment, 00:13:55.73\00:13:58.03 your boy, Jonah, is so grateful for a second chance 00:13:59.10\00:14:02.20 that his gratitude shows up as fuel for his obedience 00:14:03.37\00:14:07.58 at this place. 00:14:08.01\00:14:09.08 He is so thankful that he'll go wherever God says go. 00:14:09.11\00:14:12.65 He'll do whatever God says do, and he'll say whatever 00:14:13.78\00:14:16.82 God puts in His Spirit. 00:14:16.85\00:14:18.79 And the reason He'll do it is because his gratitude is fresh. 00:14:18.82\00:14:23.89 AC One of the things I've come to believe, friends, 00:14:24.99\00:14:27.50 is that when your gratitude is fresh, 00:14:28.40\00:14:30.67 guess what your obedience is great. 00:14:31.43\00:14:33.70 But when you let your gratitude become stale, guess what? 00:14:34.87\00:14:37.81 Your obedience gets stale as well. 00:14:37.84\00:14:40.71 In fact, when you reach happiness 00:14:41.44\00:14:42.61 three and four, you literally see a progression at work 00:14:42.64\00:14:46.31 that as long as he is grateful, he does good and obeys. 00:14:47.45\00:14:50.89 But when his gratitude food wears off 00:14:51.75\00:14:53.36 and he walks in his self worthiness, 00:14:54.16\00:14:55.92 then his obedience begins to get stale. 00:14:56.86\00:14:58.99 And that's why, friends, I don't believe that we have to 00:15:00.20\00:15:02.16 always look at our sinful past, but we need some mechanisms 00:15:02.20\00:15:06.50 in place to keep us mindful of where 00:15:06.53\00:15:09.70 God brought us from. 00:15:10.24\00:15:13.21 You'll hear me today, France. 00:15:13.24\00:15:15.58 And so the word comes to Jonah a second time. 00:15:15.61\00:15:18.91 And to his credit, at least initially, 00:15:19.81\00:15:21.38 he goes all the way in with his second chance. 00:15:22.35\00:15:25.22 He does not presume a third chance. 00:15:26.09\00:15:27.49 He does not presume a fourth chance. 00:15:27.52\00:15:29.76 He does not squander the additional mercy 00:15:30.69\00:15:32.53 that God extends to his life. 00:15:33.23\00:15:34.66 But the thing I want to pass to say, beloved, 00:15:34.73\00:15:37.10 is that the greatest regrets in life should not be the mistakes 00:15:38.37\00:15:41.37 that we make. 00:15:41.40\00:15:42.50 It ought to actually be the second chances we squander. 00:15:42.54\00:15:47.74 In other words, I need somebody to understand 00:15:48.78\00:15:49.91 that God has built grace into your life. 00:15:50.78\00:15:52.88 He has literally built it into the margins of your journey, 00:15:54.12\00:15:56.69 because God 00:15:57.09\00:15:58.29 knows that our knows our frame, and he remembers that we are. 00:15:58.32\00:16:02.02 But does he knows that you're going to mess up along the way? 00:16:03.26\00:16:06.09 But that's not really the issue. 00:16:06.80\00:16:08.23 The problem is not my mistake. 00:16:08.26\00:16:10.50 The problem is how I handle my second chance. 00:16:11.50\00:16:14.74 I see the proof of the truth is today 00:16:15.74\00:16:17.74 is that some of us have been given multiple chances 00:16:17.77\00:16:20.64 to amend our habits so that we can preserve our health. 00:16:21.84\00:16:25.28 Some of us have been given a second chance 00:16:26.25\00:16:28.25 to better our home and win the hearts of our spouses. 00:16:29.38\00:16:32.95 Some of us have gotten a second chance 00:16:33.86\00:16:35.39 to get back into school and fulfill your purpose. 00:16:36.49\00:16:38.76 Some of us have gotten 00:16:39.33\00:16:40.46 a second chance in grace to turn away from wickedness. 00:16:40.50\00:16:44.30 But the question is, are you going 00:16:45.13\00:16:46.33 abuse your second chance? 00:16:46.37\00:16:48.84 I see friends of mine. 00:16:49.57\00:16:50.47 I need you to know I'm old enough 00:16:50.51\00:16:52.37 and just walking with God 00:16:52.41\00:16:53.74 long enough to know that God is not so exacting the way 00:16:53.78\00:16:57.91 he only gives you one chance and if you mess up, he moves on. 00:16:57.95\00:17:02.55 But God is going to build elasticity into your journey 00:17:03.72\00:17:07.02 so that you have room 00:17:07.59\00:17:08.46 to turn from the errors that you have made 00:17:08.49\00:17:11.69 so that all of us are going to get at least 1/2 chance. 00:17:12.89\00:17:16.26 In fact, let me pause and amend myself. 00:17:17.27\00:17:19.63 Sermon. 00:17:19.93\00:17:21.10 It's actually a sin to call him the God of a second chance. 00:17:21.14\00:17:26.88 Because how many of us know that we use our second chance 00:17:26.91\00:17:30.78 a long time ago? 00:17:31.38\00:17:33.78 He's not the God of a second chance. 00:17:33.82\00:17:36.35 He's the God of another chance. 00:17:37.05\00:17:39.22 He's the God who is abundant in mercy. 00:17:40.12\00:17:42.69 Is there anybody less thankful that you had more chances then? 00:17:43.93\00:17:47.30 You can't count on both hands. 00:17:47.30\00:17:49.66 But God does not deal with us as we deserve. 00:17:50.67\00:17:53.64 But He deals with us. His grace. 00:17:54.34\00:17:55.67 In other words, I need somebody to know 00:17:55.70\00:17:57.74 that every day you wake up 00:17:58.37\00:18:00.64 is another chance 00:18:02.08\00:18:04.35 to get a covenant with God. 00:18:05.01\00:18:07.02 I've been living 16,933 days 00:18:07.68\00:18:12.55 and that 16,000 chances that God has given me 00:18:13.52\00:18:17.59 to walk in relationship with him. 00:18:18.43\00:18:20.46 And that's why the Bible says to number your day 00:18:21.50\00:18:24.77 is that you might apply your heart to wisdom. 00:18:24.80\00:18:28.67 And see, the thing I want to say, friends of mine, 00:18:29.70\00:18:31.61 is that the foods that you are thankful for and second chance 00:18:32.87\00:18:36.11 is not your shout. 00:18:36.14\00:18:37.51 The proof, your 00:18:39.15\00:18:40.05 grateful is your obedience. 00:18:40.08\00:18:43.22 See the way you say. 00:18:43.25\00:18:44.32 Thank you for 00:18:44.35\00:18:45.42 mercy is not with your mouth or outstretched hands. 00:18:45.45\00:18:48.59 It is with a life that is in harmony with God. 00:18:49.62\00:18:51.93 Let me say it this way. 00:18:53.43\00:18:54.46 I remember when I first had graduated from school, 00:18:54.50\00:18:56.80 I had a little credit card my parents gave me and I. 00:18:57.93\00:18:59.37 I didn't always do right by that credit card. 00:19:00.44\00:19:01.74 Don't have at least one witness out there today. 00:19:01.77\00:19:03.91 And so I remember before I went to grad school, 00:19:04.97\00:19:06.17 I was trying to get a new car because my old ones was just 00:19:06.21\00:19:10.05 reached the end of its life cycle. 00:19:10.88\00:19:11.85 And see, the problem was my credit 00:19:11.88\00:19:14.02 was not strong enough to be able to get approved for a new car. 00:19:14.05\00:19:18.19 And so what my parents did was they decided to cosign 00:19:19.32\00:19:22.72 for me to get a new car. 00:19:24.16\00:19:26.53 And I needed to know that I was approved 00:19:26.56\00:19:29.23 not because of my credit, 00:19:31.13\00:19:33.23 but on the strength of somebody else's credit. 00:19:34.27\00:19:36.91 Now, I need you to know that I made every payment on time, 00:19:38.14\00:19:41.21 not because I was trying to be approved, 00:19:42.14\00:19:44.28 but because I was so thankful 00:19:44.98\00:19:46.92 that they put their name on the line 00:19:47.72\00:19:49.82 that my gratitude showed up in a perfect performance. 00:19:50.99\00:19:54.22 Y'all, Mr. South. 00:19:54.72\00:19:55.86 I didn't do it to get approved. 00:19:55.89\00:19:58.13 I had already been approved. 00:19:58.16\00:20:00.26 I was just so thankful for what they did. 00:20:00.30\00:20:03.06 I had to validate their trust in me and see how many of us know 00:20:04.30\00:20:07.64 that salvation is a divine cosign. 00:20:07.67\00:20:11.04 You can't get approved on your merits. 00:20:12.41\00:20:15.04 You get approved on the strength of his credit. 00:20:16.08\00:20:18.28 But the reason I live right is not to get saved. 00:20:19.35\00:20:22.52 I'm already saying 00:20:23.49\00:20:25.69 I'm on Jesus credit, but I live right 00:20:25.72\00:20:29.46 because I'm so thankful that he cosign my foolish debt. 00:20:30.59\00:20:34.73 Oh God. 00:20:34.76\00:20:36.16 Then I walk up rightly 00:20:37.07\00:20:39.43 to validate his trust in me. 00:20:40.10\00:20:42.47 I hear in the word today. 00:20:43.30\00:20:45.87 Second thing, the story Jonah teaches us quickly is that 00:20:47.01\00:20:49.74 you can't tell who's going to repent by 00:20:49.78\00:20:52.95 looking at them 00:20:52.98\00:20:54.72 friends. 00:21:01.52\00:21:02.52 The word says that nobody is in such bad shape 00:21:02.56\00:21:06.46 that their wickedness 00:21:07.03\00:21:09.73 comes up before the Lord. 00:21:09.76\00:21:12.67 In other words, their transgressions are so great, 00:21:13.77\00:21:16.27 their iniquities are so gross that God puts a 40 day 00:21:17.41\00:21:22.54 clock on their existence. 00:21:22.58\00:21:25.51 And it's crazy because when God sends Jonah to Nineveh, 00:21:26.61\00:21:30.95 it is not just to bend Jonah's wheel to his wishes, 00:21:32.05\00:21:35.79 but because he knows there are folk infinite power 00:21:35.82\00:21:39.96 that can 00:21:43.06\00:21:43.90 be saved if he gives them another chance. 00:21:43.93\00:21:47.37 Not a crazy thing is saints that you would never know 00:21:48.54\00:21:51.01 that Nybo would repent by looking at them. 00:21:51.04\00:21:54.48 Okay. 00:21:55.24\00:21:56.01 Do you realize that none of those repentance 00:21:56.95\00:22:00.48 comes after the peak of their wickedness? 00:22:01.42\00:22:04.22 Okay, well, what the church said today, like their repentance, 00:22:05.45\00:22:08.52 literally falls on the heels of the peak of their wickedness. 00:22:09.72\00:22:13.53 In other words, Nympho can't go no further. 00:22:14.50\00:22:16.53 Never, but can't get any worse. 00:22:17.23\00:22:19.00 I can't go down any more. 00:22:19.77\00:22:21.70 Morally noble cannot get further from God. 00:22:21.74\00:22:25.31 But how many of us realize that sometimes the dawn comes 00:22:26.44\00:22:30.51 right after the darkness? 00:22:30.55\00:22:32.95 And it's crazy because, well, there's something 00:22:34.62\00:22:36.65 about the sinful nature 00:22:36.69\00:22:38.02 that sometimes you have to reach an exhaustion point, 00:22:38.05\00:22:41.69 that sometimes the sinful nature has to go as far as it can go, 00:22:42.92\00:22:46.43 that sometimes that sinful nature has to bottom out. 00:22:47.50\00:22:49.40 It is an interesting that sometimes 00:22:50.23\00:22:51.70 sometimes you've got to go all the way out 00:22:51.73\00:22:54.14 before you can go all the way in. 00:22:55.37\00:22:57.41 Oh, this is crazy. 00:22:58.01\00:22:59.44 In an interesting that sometimes the best members 00:22:59.47\00:23:02.74 used to be the worst sinners. 00:23:03.45\00:23:05.05 And the reason that's the case 00:23:05.75\00:23:07.58 is because you are fully persuaded in your own mind, 00:23:07.62\00:23:11.39 you know, this world ain't got nothing out there for you. 00:23:12.59\00:23:14.82 You all the way, Ed, because you used to be all the way out. 00:23:16.02\00:23:18.93 But the reason 00:23:19.36\00:23:19.86 some of us are 00:23:19.89\00:23:20.86 not all the way it is because we ain't never 00:23:20.90\00:23:23.20 went all the way out 00:23:23.23\00:23:24.70 and we still think there's 00:23:24.73\00:23:25.97 something out there and our benefit cuts 00:23:26.00\00:23:29.07 and it's crazy because never turns around 00:23:30.44\00:23:34.11 on the heels of its worst spiritual day. 00:23:35.04\00:23:37.61 Why am I saying that? 00:23:38.35\00:23:39.78 I'm saying this on behalf of some praying mother, 00:23:39.81\00:23:42.42 some praying grandmother, some praying auntie, 00:23:43.45\00:23:45.82 who is praying for some child to turn around, some husband 00:23:47.06\00:23:49.72 to turn around, some wife to turn around. 00:23:49.76\00:23:52.43 And you're looking at where they are today. 00:23:53.33\00:23:55.00 And for somebody, it looks like they can't get worse. 00:23:56.10\00:23:57.90 It seems like they'll never turn around. 00:23:58.83\00:24:00.50 It seems like they can never see the light. 00:24:01.50\00:24:03.10 But if you learn anything from none of that, 00:24:04.11\00:24:06.17 sometimes repentance is right there on the heel of wickedness. 00:24:06.21\00:24:11.18 And the word to somebody today is, don't turn up your position, 00:24:12.41\00:24:15.42 your petition, don't see your prayer. 00:24:15.45\00:24:18.19 Because God does a work that you can't see 00:24:19.09\00:24:21.96 with your eyes. 00:24:21.99\00:24:24.96 In other words, when you look at John Chapter three, 00:24:26.03\00:24:27.83 John Jesus compared the work of the Holy Spirit 00:24:28.86\00:24:30.67 to being a nun, to the work of the wind. 00:24:31.53\00:24:33.17 He says, You don't know where it's coming from, 00:24:34.24\00:24:35.44 you don't know where it's going. 00:24:36.14\00:24:37.14 In fact, 00:24:37.17\00:24:38.07 the only reason you know the wind is blowing 00:24:38.11\00:24:39.67 is because the leaves are rustling 00:24:39.71\00:24:41.81 and the limbs of the tree are shaking. 00:24:42.71\00:24:44.01 How many of us know 00:24:44.55\00:24:45.58 that the work of the Spirit is an invisible work? 00:24:45.61\00:24:48.82 So what I want to encourage us to do 00:24:50.29\00:24:52.15 is know you can't judge a book by its cover. 00:24:52.19\00:24:56.02 What do you mean? 00:24:57.26\00:24:58.09 You'll remember that Luke Chapter 11, 00:24:58.13\00:24:59.76 when Jesus preached to the Pharisees, 00:24:59.79\00:25:02.63 he says that none of us 00:25:03.20\00:25:05.47 is going to stand up in judgment of this generation 00:25:06.57\00:25:10.77 because they heard the word and repented it. 00:25:11.77\00:25:14.51 In other words, if you saw the Pharisees 00:25:15.38\00:25:17.38 and they filled factories and priestly garments 00:25:18.45\00:25:20.28 and you saw those wretched folk turning up and none of you 00:25:21.45\00:25:24.12 would assume that these are the ones that would repent, 00:25:24.15\00:25:27.52 but those are the ones 00:25:28.09\00:25:29.16 that heart in themselves against Christ, 00:25:29.19\00:25:31.43 while those in need of us 00:25:32.06\00:25:33.16 are the ones that repented at the Word. 00:25:33.19\00:25:35.46 And what I'm saying 00:25:36.00\00:25:37.17 that somebody today, as you can tell, who's going to repent 00:25:37.20\00:25:40.37 by looking at them. 00:25:41.37\00:25:43.37 Matter of fact, spend less time looking at their appearance. 00:25:43.41\00:25:47.34 Spend more time looking, gets old. 00:25:48.18\00:25:50.11 So stop trying to get the plank out of somebody else's eye 00:25:50.15\00:25:55.18 and get the beam out of your own eye. 00:25:56.05\00:25:57.99 The old sounds headed this way. 00:25:58.69\00:26:00.19 Sweep around your front door 00:26:00.22\00:26:02.56 before you try to sweep around mine. 00:26:04.39\00:26:06.63 Are you all hear what I'm saying today? 00:26:06.66\00:26:09.40 Because I need to know the spirit works beneath 00:26:10.37\00:26:12.27 the surface. 00:26:12.30\00:26:14.00 It works in a way that your eyes can never detect. 00:26:14.04\00:26:16.60 You can never really see 00:26:17.17\00:26:18.31 what it is that the spirit is doing inside of a person. 00:26:18.34\00:26:21.08 It's crazy, man. 00:26:21.51\00:26:22.51 The spirit works even in our worst wickedness. 00:26:22.54\00:26:24.95 Have you ever noticed how when somebody gets drunk, 00:26:26.08\00:26:29.45 they always want to debate religion? 00:26:30.92\00:26:34.06 Oh, y'all quite. Oh, yeah. 00:26:34.09\00:26:35.16 Oh, that ain't never been. You okay at all? 00:26:35.19\00:26:37.46 When somebody gets high, they want to talk about 00:26:37.49\00:26:39.36 the doctrine of the church. 00:26:39.39\00:26:41.30 Have you ever noticed that even when you own the club, 00:26:41.33\00:26:43.73 there is something that don't feel right 00:26:44.67\00:26:45.73 about being a come on and say men today? 00:26:45.77\00:26:48.00 I mean, the real truth is that I only ever get worried 00:26:49.17\00:26:51.07 when somebody is mad at the church, 00:26:51.11\00:26:53.11 because when you're mad, it's because they're still love. 00:26:54.34\00:26:56.21 I don't get scared when they get mad. 00:26:57.08\00:26:58.18 I get scared when they get indifferent toward church. 00:26:58.21\00:27:02.15 And what I'm saying to somebody today is that the spirit does 00:27:02.18\00:27:05.39 this work underneath the surface. 00:27:05.42\00:27:08.36 And that's why sometimes you got to pray 00:27:09.29\00:27:11.69 and plant and let God do the rest. 00:27:12.46\00:27:16.10 Thank you so much for joining us. 00:27:17.37\00:27:19.70 Well, the breath of life 00:27:19.73\00:27:20.90 television ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell. 00:27:20.94\00:27:24.74 We hope and pray 00:27:25.17\00:27:26.24 that you have been blessed by his powerful message. 00:27:26.27\00:27:29.04 Join us next week for part two of the message 00:27:30.05\00:27:32.75 “ When God's Goodness Becomes A Problem” 00:27:33.78\00:27:36.25 You don't want to miss it. 00:27:36.28\00:27:39.02 Breath Of Life Music 00:28:07.15\00:28:12.72