In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the danger of being influenced by man rather than God. He highlights the vanity and emptiness of worldly pursuits and the need to be free to walk with God in the power of the Holy Spirit. The preacher warns against the bondage of man's influence and the deception that can come from enticing words and false philosophies. He shares personal experiences of being put in bondage by others and the importance of leading rather than forcing others. The sermon encourages listeners to examine their own lives and churches for areas where man's influence has overshadowed God's will.

Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercised loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Heavenly Father, we thank you that we're here. We thank you for this day. This is the day that the Lord hath made. We rejoice in you, and we yield ourself to you. Father, I pray that you'd open up our ears to hear what you have for us today. We pray for you to be glorified. I pray for the listeners, Father, that your word would minister to to them today as it's ministered to me. And I pray, Father, that you'd set the captives free. Thank you for how you've worked in in our lives. We just give you the glory for everything. You're the one that's worthy to be praised, and we pray for any, Father, that might be listening, that that have no peace in their heart about their eternal condition. We pray that you'd open up to show them that Christ has has done it all for them in relation to their needs. He said it was, he said it's finished, and Father, I pray that we would receive by by grace and by faith that which you've done for us on the cross. You offer it as a gift, and so I pray that you'd open up any hearts that are discouraged and lost, wondering about life to see that Jesus is the answer, truly the answer, the Lord Jesus Christ is the answer. Holy Spirit, we yield ourself to you now to teach, to guide, and direct in Jesus name. Amen. Well, today is a special day for me, not just because I'm back here, and it's it's a it's life, and I'm I've got my family down here with me, and we're excited about the Lord Jesus, and how he's been working, and what he's been doing, and I'm glad to have my family here. I, the older I get, I don't like to go off with them, but it's hard to take them with me sometimes. We've got six children, and and our van seems like it's shrinking up, but I'm glad to have them with us this time, and I'd like for you to meet them. We're supposed to be ministering down in the Neosho area. I guess there's been some announcements about that, and by the way, the announcements are not for you to follow a man. If you're gonna follow me, I'll walk away from you. I want you to follow Jesus. If there's something of Jesus that will come out of my life for you, then that's what you need, and if you'd like to meet us, I guess we'll be down there in a little church called Faith Baptist Church. I couldn't tell you how to get there. I think it's at 600 Young. We just like to minister to folks, to people. You know, I was talking to an evangelist friend of mine last week, who God has used tremendously around the world in many different countries, and he said really his deepest ministry in the last year has been with individuals. He said not so much with the groups, with the large groups, but just the one-on-one contact, and I agree with that, and I was just thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of the points of ministry to us in the Gospels is where Christ had one-on-one contact with people. It's not big crowds and large meetings, but it's just where God is working a lot of times just on a one-on-one basis. This is why you're important right where you're at. You are important. You're important to me. You're important to God. I was talking with a fellow yesterday, just trying to encourage him in the Lord. Sometimes we can get so discouraged, it's like we can get into a barrel or something, and we don't see it's all dark around until we decide to look up, and when we look up, we see the light. We need to continually look up. I was thinking I might just share this a little bit. When I was driving here this morning, a friend was driving me here, I read a little bit on the Oswald Chambers today. Excuse me, and if you read that, this one part here is sort of encouraging because sometimes it seems like confusion in your lives. It seems like there's no way out. It seems like there's no hope. You wonder if God is really on the throne, and he said there are times in spiritual life when there is confusion, and it is no way out to say that there ought not to be confusion. It is not a question of right and wrong, but a question of God taking you, listen to this, by a way which in the meantime you do not understand, and it is only by going through the confusion that you will get at what God wants. And that's encouraging to me. You know, it was a little over three years ago. We were trying to move up to this area, so we'd be close to the radio broadcast, and we went to visit back up in Nebraska because one of my preacher buddies was just on the phone every week trying to get me back up there, and so, well, we decided that God was showing us to go back up there. They had revival in their churches that went for over ten weeks in this one church, and over a thousand people prayed to receive Christ in a town of 10,000, and after we got up there just to go visit, the Lord said, park yourself here and help this brother, and we didn't want to. That wasn't what the flesh wanted. We wanted to be back down here, and so we did, and we parked there, and we stayed there for three years, ministering, being a servant, and working, and then trying to get down here whenever we could, and tremendous. God did some tremendous things, and now we're trying to get back again. So would you pray for us? We, you know, I was thinking about this in the times when we made moves in our lives, major moves. Many times, we've got ready to go, and God has redirected in ways that we didn't expect, and it's always been a joy to Him. Several years ago, we was planning on making a move down to Rogers, Arkansas, in the church, and right at the last moment, God redirected, and out of that, He put us up into an area where there wasn't much work up in Gordon, Nebraska, where the revival hit, and out of that, we experienced something we never dreamed. When we experienced the glory of God in a small measure, not like I'd like to see, I'd like to see it sweep over the land, but we experienced the glory of God where God worked in our church, in our area, for several months, and out of that, we got to traveling around with pastors, and working with evangelists, and going around the country, and then out of that came a time where the Holy Spirit directed me. I needed to rest. I needed to take some time off, and so we moved down into a house near Jane, Missouri, down almost near the Arkansas, almost on the Arkansas line, and out of that time of rest out there, down there, God opened up this ministry here. Matter of fact, it was September 1st, 1988, that the Holy Spirit told me, and directed, He didn't speak in words, but He really directed through my evangelist friend that I needed to back off from the ministry for a while, and take a break, and I didn't want to. My wife didn't want to. We'd been in our church six years, and we were just at the point of seeing the tree really open up with fruit, and it was really hard, and I just prayed about that for a month, and I was convinced, and she was too, that this was God speaking to us. He wanted me to let go of that ministry, and just back off, and so that's when we moved down here. He opened up a house for us to stay in, and one year later, one year later, on September 1st, 1989, I asked the Lord, I said, Lord, it was a year ago that you asked me to give up my ministry, and I'm going to ask you today to do something significant, and that day, some friends invited us up to Joplin to have supper with them, and after supper, I'd even forgot about my prayer. The man, the husband, he looked at me, and he said, how would you like to have a radio ministry, and he didn't know my heart. He didn't know I'd been praying about a radio ministry for six months, geared for revival, for ministering to pastors and churches, and I said, well, I'll pray about it, and so I did, and when I got home that night, I recognized the significance of that, of what happened, that God answered my prayer, and the prayer of my heart, and so we started off our first broadcast, and I get this, on September 12th, four years ago, today, right to the day, and so I was very, very excited that God would let me come back and be here live today, four years later, and so this is sort of an anniversary broadcast, and I had a, I have a little gift for supporters, if I can get it to you. I've already given out one, those of you that have stood behind us in this ministry, I guess I've given out three now, of a little book on Kneeling We Triumph, a tremendous book in prayer. I got them ordered out, and they priority-mailed them here, so they'd be here, and so if you could make it down, and to where I'm at today, in Neosho, I'll give you that gift, as long as the supply lasts, but it's tremendous to be here. It's just God working. Now, would you pray for us? We're anticipating moving down here again. God has cleared us up there, and we're watching to see how He directs. We're praying for a house to live in, and we're watching to see where He wants, wants us to live, and what He wants us to do, how He wants us to minister down here, so would you pray for us? The family, we're all excited about the possibility of being able to get back down here again, and there's other possibilities, and we're just really trying to be open to God, and what He wants, because we recognize that we have wills, too, and like the Lord Jesus, He said, nevertheless not my will, but thy will be done, when He went to the Garden of Gethsemane, and He looked in that cup that was laid before Him. It wasn't a cup that the flesh desired. He was repulsed by it, because there is all of our sin that He was going to die on the cross for, and He didn't like dying on the cross any more than you and I would, but He said, nevertheless not my will, but thine be done, and that is our prayer, that the Father's will would be done, so pray for us. Pray for us. We're needy. You know, a lot of times as preachers and pastors, we don't share with our people our needs, and sometimes you might get the impression that we're some kind of super saints. Well, a super saint I ain't. I'll just confess to you. I'm a man. I'm in the need of the grace of God, just like you, and I receive from my brothers and sisters in Christ, as they can minister to me, and I can can to them, I receive, and God has shown me once I quit receiving, then I'm done for, and I just have a heart for you, those of you that have struggles and problems. It seems like God has so many times put us in very, very difficult places to minister, extremely difficult places. I was thinking about our last two pastorates, how God, it seems like He just sort of programmed me to to get into some tough places. Our first church we went into, man, they were fixing to shut down, and it was so hard and so tough. Nobody wanted to go in there, and and I'd asked God for a place where there wasn't anything, but the devil out there working, and we went into a place, and there wasn't a there wasn't any other fundamental churches around for a long ways out in Wyoming, and and boy, we went in there, and it was hard, but there in the hardness, one of the things about hardness is you get to know God. It makes you rely upon Him. We got to know the Lord through that, and we got to experience His blessing, and then the next church was hard, too. Oh, problems, that church had problems, and and they were fixing to shut down. They'd gone through a split, and there there'd been immorality with the pastor, and and I walked in when I when I took the church. Lord told me take this thing, and and He gave me a vision for what he could do, and the main deacon walked out, proceeded to divorce his wife, have go off with his nurse. He was a leading surgeon in the area, and and on and on. They were in debt $64,000. They owed the bank $8,000 interest. The bank's fixing to close in and take it all, and God told me go into this mess, and when I got in there, then I found out the bad stuff. So God is good, but we experienced His blessing, and out of that we experienced the revival, and the one that needed revival the most was me. God showed me that I I let a lot of these things when I went in there. I found out you know some of the bad stuff, and and I got bitter, got bitter at my people, and out of that God brought revival that has spread and continuing to spread. You know many times we don't have any idea what revival is. I didn't know what revival is. I didn't know that revival would be God coming in and just rooting my life out. I mean he just kicked the daylights out of me, has continued to give me some kickings and lickings that that I need. Revival is God moving in and cleaning house, and in the place of it is Jesus. Revival that all the word revival means is Jesus again. Vive is life and re is again. It's just Jesus again. I don't know why we just sort of sometimes we want to just squeeze them back to a corner in our in our life. Well listen, I guess this this little series I gave you on setting the captives free it's been a blessing to some of you, and that's good because this is one of the things that we want to do. We want to see the captives set free and today in the remaining time that we have I'm just going to share with you some remarks about the subject of man. Some of the things that God has showed me. You know as as I've gone through the years man has put many things on me that's brought me into bondage, and God has had to set me free from those things and and God has showed me how I've put people in bondage even as a pastor trying to get people to do things that I wanted them to do. You know I used to really sort of beat my people over the head you know in a sense because they wouldn't come out and pray. Well, that's not the way to do it. You don't beat sheep. You lead sheep and and I got bitter about that and God has been teaching me about this area man and in the remaining time I'm going to just take you through some scriptures about what the Bible says about man and I want you to ask God to show you anything in your life or your church where man has done it and God hasn't and you need maybe a revival in that area. And I'd like to start off with this question. How easily are you influenced by others? How easily are you influenced by others? I'll make a proposal to you that we many times are very easily influenced by others. Do you pray for your food at home? We said yes, we pray for our food at home. Do you bow your head and pray out loud? You said yes, we bow our head and pray out loud. Well when you go into a restaurant Do you bow your head and pray out loud you say well? No we just sort of mumble amongst ourselves or I'll just sort of scratch my Eyebrows and or clean my glasses and we'll just sort of do it like that. Why? Do you do it different in public than you do it at home? Is it that the influence of others is is affecting your relationship with God? We are easily influenced by others. You know the Lord Jesus said in Luke 16 15 For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God You know what that is that is what is it that's highly esteemed among men That's in the sight of God and abomination well It's the ways of man and we and our churches today have absorbed many ways of man many traditions Not necessarily bad, but they become bad in the sense that we put them up on a pedestal There are some religions the whole religion is based on their traditions and not on the Word of God Their traditions are over that many religions are like that matter of fact religion period is Just man's ways versus God because Christianity isn't a religion It's a relationship with Jesus Christ and you either have that relationship or you don't Are you related to God through Jesus Christ has the Spirit of God done a work in your life where you have truly been born again by the Spirit of God You won't see God unless you have been born again Spiritually had a spiritual birth the script the scriptures will show us where we're at Listen to this statement matter of fact the context of Luke that passage that says for that which is highly esteemed among men is Abomination in the sight of God the context of that is where Jesus said no servant can serve two masters You're either gonna love one or hate the other Do you love Jesus do you love God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind with all your strength Listen to this statement the blind spot for many of us lies in seeking to stand well with or be thought of highly by officialdom or the leaders of the Ecclesiastical powers that be how many good men of God have been ruined by denominational Politics you won't get a promotion if you don't sort of go along with the way that we think the way things are going you won't have any open doors brother to move up in the in the bigger churches, I remember when I left my Last church been in there six years. We went in this church was gonna sink. It was in a denominational Organizations that part of it and it was a long ways from the main stream of the other churches, but We went in there and we hadn't been in this denomination. We didn't go to their schools and and God blessed and the church Made it. Well when we left I was talking to one of the leaders and and about the possibility of another church and the fellowship and he says You need to go to one of our schools. You won't have any doors opened up to you Unless you go to one of our schools. Well, that's man trying to do something to me. Well, that's fine I don't I don't need that kind of stuff. You can have it, but I'm walking away from it One time I was candidating at a church many years ago Back after I'd graduated and went in there and boy everybody's excited and then they pop the question. Well, what school did you go to? Well, I went to that school. Well, that's not the right school. See you and they let me go Where does God fit into our lives are we going to just do all these things because We do them are we going to check and see what God wants You know the Lord Jesus said this behold in Revelation 3 11 I come quickly hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown That's Stephanos the crown of victory Many of us are losing the victory in our life because we're being put under the bondage of man when Christ comes He said it's going to be quick and he said be careful lest man influence you not to be a winner One of the great dangers in our Bible schools today is we have academics versus the cross You go in there and you're taught all these academics and I was too and then the Word of God Itself will be attacked and chopped to pieces where you come out not believe in it How much are you or your church influenced by others? I? Listened to a sermon by a friend of mine a few weeks ago where he says image is everything Title of his sermon was image is everything. We've got to have the right image It seems like today unless and if you don't then you don't fit in Proverbs or Psalms 31 20 Says thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues We need to live in the presence of God use him for our our peace The scripture says in Psalms 39 6 surely every man walketh in a vain show Surely they are disquieted in vain. He he put up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them We have all of this stuff that we have to put up with so many times that takes our time and our money Denominational reports you got to turn in and say what's the size of your congregation? We have the size of crowds instead of Discipleship we have emphasis on Offerings instead of giving to the poor and ministering to the needs of people brother How many did you have in church last week? And boy, he's counted everything that moved a dog walked in and he got counted too Why is that so that we'll look good before others a lot of this stuff is vanity Psalms I think it was 144 3 said Lord. What is man that thou takest knowledge of him? Verse 4 man is like to vanity God's not impressed. He's not impressed with all these games that we're playing How have you been influenced in the past? How are you being influenced now? How will you be influenced in the future? You know Jesus said no man can serve two masters for either he will Hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other Matthew 6 24 You cannot serve God and man mammon after riches after pleasure after promotion power Listen, God is interested in you and me being free Free to walk with him in the power of the Holy Spirit To let him minister to others through us and we need to walk away from this stuff. That's not of God You know, there are dangers. They're extreme dangers. There's the danger of deception. I was looking in The scriptures at this area how in the last days the Lord warned us about deception and being deceived it's so easy to be deceived to be beguiled as Colossians says to in 2 4 and this I say lest any man should beguile you with enticing words Ephesians 5 6 let no man deceive you with vain words Colossians 2 8 then no man spoil you beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy in vain deceit After the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ, you know, I liked it didn't graduate my senior year when I graduated because they've thrown in a Philosophy course because this one guy happened to come on staff that that was his area philosophy and he was doing nothing but teaching plain old paganism That's all he was teaching us the ways of Satan in these men and I rebelled my spirit rebelled and I only got a D out of that course That was the ways of man and I I was really sickened rebellious against that the philosophy of man and then judging one another in Colossians 2 and 16 let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in regard of a holy day or Of the new moon or the Sabbath days. We have men that have set themselves up to be judges Instead of examples to the flock they Lord over the flock all of this stuff double-mindedness where we have men that's supposed to be men of God and also in our churches Leaders in the churches they have they have one thing they do on Sunday But you get into the business world with them and there's something else you better watch out my friend. That's not of Jesus That's of the devil. What about anger the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God Do you have a man that gets angry? Miguel on the other hand you turn around and and Sunday He's supposed to be a spiritual man and but yet he's got a violent temper the wrath of man worketh not there's man The righteousness of God what about pride, you know? first Peter 2 24 says the glory of man or all the flesh all flesh is as grass and All the glory of man as the flower of grass and the flower faded but the word of the Lord endures forever We have the glory of man What about things we do because of the pressure that's given up? how many times have you ever taken out of your bill flow or your purse and put a dollar in the offering because it was Being passed in front of you and you didn't want others to see you not putting something in Well, that's not the way we're supposed to give let every man give according as he purposed it then his heart not of necessity What about the pressure we put on people make them do things? So that we can have the money to do the things that we want to do using God as a front Jesus said take heed that you do not your arms before men to be seen of them Otherwise you have no reward of your father which is in heaven What about this Jude 16 says having men's persons in admiration because of advantage? What about will you confess to others you'll talk about Jesus when you're with other Christians But you get in a crowd where it's just you're the only Christian then do you keep quiet or will you talk? We speak not as pleasing men Paul said in second Thessalonians 2 for How is it that you've been influenced by others Let me tell you we maybe have been influenced a lot more than we know of Maybe God wants you to stand against the tide of carnality that's coming into your church Rock music that's bringing in the doctrines of demons 2nd Timothy 3 to said men shall be lovers of their own selves lovers of pleasure Going on down there. They have a form of godliness We need a revival in our churches today. We need to turn back to God You know, we have the doctrines of men Jesus said what what God has joined together Let not man put asunder, you know The divorce rate has been brought in this tremendous Turnover because of the clergy bringing in the teaching that you can do it Jesus said what God has put together. Let not man put asunder We are responsible For the things that we teach and say and God is judging us. We need to be careful We need to live in the realm of love in our churches You know what the scripture says that Jesus will not commit himself unto them He had these people gonna come follow him because he knew what was in man. Be careful who you commit yourself to Ultimately be ready to walk away from the man that doesn't have the character of God impressed on his life He may have some of it But there'll be something there that may turn and come out You need to be ready to walk away and keep walking with Jesus so that you don't get under the bondage of man man will try to manipulate us and use us and In snare us. Well, I don't know how much time we got left here It's about time to be shutting down. So we better circle the field and be thinking about Closing down. Let me tell you I love you. I'm not your enemy There's only one enemy and that's Satan there's only one Savior and that's Jesus we need to be hooked on Jesus completely in Him we live and move and have our being he's the purpose for life. He's our goal. He's our joy He's our strength. He's our provision And we need to be careful. We don't pick up excess weight weights You know you go hike up a mountain and oh you see a pretty rock you pick it up You go along a little bit more and you see another pretty rock and you pick it up pretty soon You're gonna be weighted down You're gonna be panning and puffing and you may not reach it to the top Because of all the weight that you picked up on the way Well, let me encourage you to unload today if you got some excess baggage and let's just go with Jesus You know Jesus said coming to me all of you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest Sometimes to the only way we make it to Jesus is we got to lay aside the weight and the sin which does so easily Beset us and just go to Jesus just go to Jesus. Well, I'm gonna close down. Remember Jesus is all you need But my friend is he all you want may God bless you. It's been good to be with you today