In this sermon, the speaker warns against being deceived and corrupted by the self-centered mindset of the world. He emphasizes that our chief goal in life should not be to focus on what is best for ourselves, but rather to seek God's will. The Gentiles and the world make decisions based on factors like money, comfort, security, and recognition, but the speaker challenges the audience to consider where God fits into this equation. He encourages true repentance and a desire to clear ourselves from wrongdoing, using examples like Zacchaeus who repented and returned what he had taken unjustly. The speaker urges the audience not to be seduced by the corrupt world and reminds them to do all things without murmuring and disputing, striving to be blameless and harmless.

Greater joy that a man or a woman can know than that which comes when the heart By the grace of God and the Spirit of God and the mercy of God has been set free So that it's able to love God. It's able to want God more than anything else. There's no greater joy no greater pleasure Than to be able to know that God is our dwelling place that God is the one that we're after and that he's the one that most satisfies our deepest desire and our deepest need And I trust that this morning God's Spirit has spoken to all of us and that through the many exhortations that we have heard We have sensed the Lord's earnest desire to have a people namely us and many others whose hearts are holy after him and Who are willing in the midst of the blessings that we're experiencing? Who are willing at his bidding to lay everything down and follow him wherever he may lead us We must be reminded over and over and over again Not to be seduced by the world that we live in brothers and sisters, please Please do not be seduced and led astray by the corrupt evil world that we live in I want to bring your attention to the book of Philippians Philippians and I want to show you This the what the Holy Spirit says here vert chapter 2 verse number 14 Do all things without murmuring and disputing That you may be blameless that word means no fault and Harmless that word means no mixture God is looking for people who are without fault and Who have no mixture in their life now watch what it says here in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation or nation brothers and sisters, please listen the Bible makes it very clear that we are living in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation We must pray that God will not let us Be deceived by the crooked and perverted generation that we live in the midst of One sure way of being deceived is to become preoccupied with ourselves to become preoccupied with self-interest and To begin to think the way the world thinks We spent months and months and months preaching from the Word of God on the difference between Gentiles and sons remember and what's the chief feature of the Gentile they seek after what? Gentiles seek after things Gentiles have their heart set on things the things that the world seeks after But what do sons have their heart set on? sons on the Lord on his interests and so a sure way to become deceived and Corrupted by the perverse generation that we live in is to buy into the lie that Everything is about us to buy into the lie that Our chief goal in life is to get up morning by morning and to assess What's going on and then to ask ourself this question, what's best for me? What's best for me? Okay, and as we ask ourself this question, what's best for me? We start thinking just like the world What are some of the things we ask what's best for me? Help me out here. What's best for me? What what's part of the equation here? What's best for me? Yes money money The Gentiles and the nations of this world Make all of their decisions based on money money What's another? Factor Comfort this is the me generation. How much money is in it for me? Comfort how much comfort do I get? number-three Security number four anyone else Excellent excellent prestige Protocol Recognition all of these factors Significantly operate in the Gentiles and they Put all of these things together and They assess what to do based on these factors that's the crooked and Perverse generation that we live in let me ask a question. Where is God in any of this? What's God's will now? Let me ask a question. Listen closely. Is it possible that God as our Shepherd would lead us and Instead of Increase of money Comfort security and prestige. Is it possible that God may lead us in the way that John the Baptist prayed? Remember what John said I must what Decrease and he must increase So let me ask a question. Is it possible that God may lead his children from time to time? and I have a feeling it would be more than time to time if we'll be listening where there would be a decrease a Diminishing of money a Diminishing of our comfort a diminishing of our worldly security and a diminishing of our Recognition and protocol and prestige. Is it possible? Do you think that God may lead his children in this way? Of course it is But here's where I Believe the concern is many of God's people no longer equate a Leading That would result in the decrease and diminishing of these things as from God and so we won't hear we don't want to hear We don't want anything to do with it We resist it and we surround ourself with a form of Christianity and friends and books and whatever it is that support our belief that This must always be on the increase. This must always be on the increase. This must always be on the increase This must always be on the increase And we cut ourself right off Of following the Shepherd wherever he may lead us wherever he may lead us and so God searches our heart And he wants of people Who will be after him? whose hearts Will say Lord whatever you want Whatever you want in the midst of whatever blessing the Lord has got you in right now Maybe it might be money. Maybe it might be increased Maybe it might be security, but all dear friends do not set your heart on these things Lest they become a snare to you and you cannot hear the Lord say Forsake all that now and follow me on I'm moving you on I'm moving you on You remember last week that we began Sharing the heart of the Lord regarding the house of God Lies in ruin and before we even were able to get into the Burden of the Lord in relation to the cause of why the house of God is in ruin the condition and the Consequences and the cure before we can even get into any of that we had to recognize our need To be willing to repent repent and We learned last week that repentance Was the message that Jesus first brought when he spoke publicly repent The kingdom of God is at hand Repentance is no longer a grace that the church is seeking after today We have substituted repentance for remorse. I want to turn I want to invite you to turn your Bibles We're going to get this right from God's Word so we can get a clear foundation laid because I I feel as if The Lord would speak to us oftentimes the way he spoke to the Corinthians through Paul I Wanted to feed you With me, but I couldn't the absence of the grace of repentance in the heart of the church Forbids God prevents God from wanting to speak to us many things that he would want us to hear Because as God moves us on in the maturity process and shares with us deeper depths of his heart There's a need for continual divine wrought repentance in our life we can't move on see when we stop repenting we stop moving on and So God cannot listen God cannot move us any further Than our Cooperation to keep repenting To keep changing as we'll learn what the word repent means the Lord is tired of Remorse in the house of God feeling sorry. Oh, I'm I feel so sorry that I did something wrong That's worldly Sorrow that works death that does not work life and So turn your Bibles if you would please to 2nd Corinthians Chapter 7 Paul here is we're going to begin reading in verse number 8 first 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 now brothers and sisters, please as We hear the Word of God as we listen to the Word of God ask Yourself in the presence of God Lord have I experienced past tense and am I experiencing present tense the true gift and grace of repentance Now Here's how you know whether or not you are or not When we read God's Word ask if the truth that we're about to read in God's Word is working in your life Ask if it's working in your life Do you see in your heart and in your life? that which God's Word says ought to be occurring when genuine repentance is operating and And again We want to make this very clear. We can't move on with God. You can't move on. I can't move on with God unless I come before the Lord and settle this issue and beg him to give me a heart of repentance and Then beg him to keep me in that state of having a heart of repentance Okay Now let's look to God's Word the light that shines and exposes all darkness and let's see where we stand so we can move on with God and understand why his house is in ruin and what he wants to do in order to Cure the house of God and the state that it's in Okay, here we go verse 8 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 though. I made you sorry with a letter Now he's talking about a previous letter that he wrote and in this letter Basically, what Paul did is he rebuked them? He rebuked them because they were in sin Listen they were living lives inconsistent With how people should live who claim to be Christians Okay first Corinthians Here's some of the things that were going on I love God's Word do you love God's Word I Love to hear God's Word God's Word is it feeds my soul it I can I can God's Word makes my spirit leap for joy Here's some of the things that were going on in the house of God That Paul had to rebuke the Corinthians over first of all, there was worldly wisdom operating worldly wisdom first Corinthians chapter 1 and 2 Men were using their own wisdom and their own reasoning in the house of God brothers and sisters There is no place in the house of God for worldly wisdom. Listen. This is worldly wisdom right here To try and determine the will of God for your life Based on whether or not you're going to make more money or not. That's worldly wisdom. That's running rampant in the church today That's the stuff that was in the Corinthian church that the Holy Ghost in Paul Remonstrated against stood against he didn't the Lord doesn't want that kind of wisdom in his house brothers and sisters He doesn't want us to have an eye on what's in it for me. He wants us to have an eye Lord, how can you get more glory? How can you how can your name be magnified in all the earth? How Lord how can you increase and I diminish and decrease? I? Heard Michael card last night say There's very few people who have friends that are working with him and praying with him so that they get smaller Should most people have friends and they're encouraging them and building them up and saying go ahead you can do it You can become greater. You can become wealthier. You can become more known. Come on. Come on let me help you but where's the friends that we that we have that are encouraging us to get lower and weaker and Helping us to realize that nothing matters. But the glory of God in our life and Whatever or whatever the Lord's will is where are those kind of friends? I hope you have those kind of friends in your life So worldly wisdom was in the Church of God Comfort security prestige protocol There was bickering complaining backbiting. They were lying to one another They were in fornication they were sinning sexually Remember this then there was a lot of schisms in the body they were breaking off The church in Corinth was meeting in six or seven different homes, but each home was becoming a little division Where it's in clothes house where the real truth is. No, it's in Phoebe's house. No, it's in Norman's house No, it's in Carrie's house when the Saints gather with Carrie. That's where the Lord's really moving No, it's over in it's over in uh in Jim's house when Jim has the Saints over his house boy That's where God's really moving. They they're carnal. They were they were backbiting and they were in competition one with another This is what was going on in the Corinthian Church And so all these things were going on now. These are these are believers now. These are believers Paul called him called sanctified saved preserved under the coming of the Lord filled with all knowledge and utterance Okay so this is why he said I Though I made you sorry with a letter. I don't repent. I don't regret it. Why though I did repent For I perceived that the same epistle hath made you sorry though it were but for a season Now I rejoice not that you were made. Sorry. Listen carefully, but that you're you sorry sorrow to Repentance. Oh Please please follow this right here follow this Paul was sad because he wrote a letter and he rebuked him for all of their sin, but He felt bad but nevertheless he got over it and the reason why he got over it was because their sorrow Led them to what Repentance there you go Their sorrow led them to repentance For you sorrowed For you sorry to repentance for you were made Sorry after a godly manner that you might receive damage by us and nothing Watch this verse 10 for godly sorrow works repentance Unto salvation not to be repented of or in other words You don't have to regret being made sorry when your sorrow Produces godly repentance and you change Did you get caught? Don't regret it If getting caught means you changed Don't regret it. It's good that you got caught. It's good that the Lord found you out. Don't regret it Don't regret anything that's ever happened in your life. I Don't care what it is. Don't regret it if in fact It brought godly sorrow and true repentance. Thank God for it What freedom here? Huh? What freedom what freedom? But the sorrow of the world works death There you go The sorrow of this world works death now listen ask yourself two questions. Look it Godly Sorrow produces repentance worldly Sorrow Produces what? Death Now what are some of the characteristics of worldly sorrow? Feeling bad guilt Anyone else feeling bad guilt regret Regret So you can have all of these feelings working in you regarding sin in your life. You could feel bad You can have regret you can feel guilty You might even have sinned against someone and you might go to them and say I'm sorry And then keep doing it over and over and over again. I'm sorry over and over and over again Okay That's worldly sorrow But here's godly sorrow godly sorrow produces repentance. Now. What did we learn last week the word repentance means? change a change in heart a Change in mind and ultimately a change in what? action Now We'll prove that by the word right here Look at what Paul uses in verse number 11 to describe 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 verse 11 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 verse 11 mark this in your Bible. This is the fruit of true repentance Every Time we truly repent about something this Should be what follows in our life watch this For behold this self same thing what self same thing that you sorrowed after a godly sore Paul saying hey you guys really repented your sorrow was godly and Look what happened What carefulness it wrought carefulness concern? true repentance produces a Genuine God-wrought concern in our heart for the thing. That's not right in our life It produces such concern that we are before the Lord We are very diligent and earnest in our heart and broken before God to the point where we say God I am so concerned. I'm so concerned about this wicked thing in my life You've got to change me. You've got to free me. That is repentance That's when you know, you've been given the grace of repentance when it's when you when there's carefulness wrought in your life Mark these down Brothers and sisters don't buy into the the lie of the world. They don't repent with Carefulness Now watch this Watch this carefulness it wrought in you what clearing of yourself? the second quality true repentance works The desire Within us to clear ourself from the wrong that we have done To clear ourself from the wrong that we have done What did Zacchaeus do When he repented and he stood in the presence of the master What was the confession that came out of his mouth? What clearing There's repentance remember that Zacchaeus Lord Lord if I have taken anything from anyone unjustly I'll return it back to him four times just to prove that I'm really a changed man My that's what the Lord's after What clearing you see what clearing of yourself? What zeal what desire to set things, right? You want the Lord to move us on? You want the Lord to grow you up more? You want to grow as a Christian you want to grow more with other brothers and sisters This has got to start working in the life more and more or we're not moving on and you know What frightens me about the thought of not moving on? You you don't stand still you move on or You go backwards Okay What clearing of yourself what indignation? Now what would why would what would it why would repentance work indignation? Everyone have another translation there Indignation same word I Tell you what the Lord's after here what indignation what? Anger over the sin that we've committed See God wants us to be angry. He just doesn't want us to sin in our anger. We need to be angry We need to be angry at the things God is angry at What indignation what anger what? Fury it puts in us not toward people but toward the sin We should learn and pray God help me to hate the sin that I've committed help me to hate it Help me to despise it. What does it say about our blessed Lord and Savior thou has loved righteousness and hated iniquity Therefore God even thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Oh my goodness Do we want to know the anointing that rests on Christ the Anointed One? Do we want to share in that anointing then? We must pray God work in me the indignation against sin that the Son of God has who lived a life pure holy and undefiled and separate from sinners This is what we dealt with three four weeks ago. What did God say to the Israelites when they went into Canaan? Destroy them don't make a peace treaty with them. Don't learn their ways God was saying to Israel when you go into Canaan learn to hate the practices of the Canaanites and the Jebusites and All the heights he said don't ever ever ever let your heart begin to to to go toward the practices of that ungodly land And what's happened today We don't even blush and immorality and nakedness anymore We hear somebody's cheating the government. We laugh good for them You know government deserves to be cheated We hear about dishonesty we hear about lying We see violence on TV. We've become accustomed to it It's the ways of the Canaanites and the Jebusites and instead of the church praying Oh God, give me indignation against the foul unclean crooked perverse ways of this generation We have bought into it and now we've taken them into our home We've taken them into our bosom and the things that the world does doesn't bother us anymore. We should cry and weep Shouldn't we? Shouldn't we? Is this not biblical? Christianity is why We're still in pampers And hot milk, this is why brothers and sisters Because the Lord's Word It's not precious to us What fear fear what's the beginning of wisdom Where's the fear of God in the house of God, where is it? Who trembles at God's Word anymore and goes to it he says Oh God, this is your word Help me to bow before it help me to make it the authority of my life Where's the fear of God the Holy Fear though? He were a son What does it say about Jesus? Though he were a son All of those things are right, but I'm thinking of the the one in Hebrews where says He he he he was heard by God in that what? He feared He feared so these preachers who are telling you that now that we're Christians. You don't need to fear God. That's an Old Testament concept They're deceived because Christ was the Mediator of the New Covenant and he feared God he feared his father. He had no reason to fear because of Inherent sin, but yet he feared he revered God He trembled before God why because he knew the awesome power of his father in heaven Where's the Holy Fear of God in our hearts? And I've said this before and I want to say this again. Watch out when you buy into a grace That doesn't teach you to fear God Watch out The reason why a lot of Christians don't fear is because they've they believed a false grace a grace that says Hey, it's okay God loves you. You're saved and They don't fear Sin because of forgiveness So brothers and sisters pray right here it is that God will work these qualities in us What zeal? Look at this what revenge in all these things you have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter There you go. I But the air conditioning is stuck on that's why we're not turning it off So we have the doors open But I apologize. It's a little frigid Okay, brothers and sisters Now ask yourself this question Ask yourself this question Husbands ask your wife wife ask your husbands kids. Ask your parents parents. Ask your kids Do you see any evidence of this kind of repentance working in your life Do you see this kind of repentance working in your life? true godly change You remember the book of Jonah Jonah Was about a day a city called Nineveh You know Nineveh was possibly the most ungodly nation or ungodly city in the Old Testament They had horrible terrible abominable practices That's what the book of Jonah is about It's about God telling the prophet Jonah to go to Nineveh and warn them that if they didn't repent God was going to destroy him Listen carefully We know the story about Jonah the disobedient prophet and how he decided to disobey God And he got himself in trouble and ended up in the belly of a whale But nevertheless he made in his disobedience. He made the whale so sick the whale vomited him out Let me tell you if a disobedient prophet makes a whale sick. What do you think it does to God? Makes him sick. It makes him sick. That's why Jesus said to the Laodiceans Listen You are not hot. You're not cold You make me sick, that's what he said, I'm gonna vomit you I'm gonna throw you up. I mean, why do people throw up? right Because they feel sick And it's not a pleasant feeling. Is it that's that's the language the Lord's trying to use He's saying when we're in a state of lukewarmness, it makes the Lord sick So anyway to make a long story short Jonah Got right with God he went to Nineveh and he preached to Nineveh and You do you know what happened in that city that wicked city Huh They repented verse 7 chapter 3 and he calls it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by decree of the King and his noble saying let neither man nor beast herd nor flock taste anything Let them not feed nor drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily unto God Yay, let them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that is in their hands Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not now watch what it says And God saw their works that they turned from their evil way and God Repented of his evil and he said that he would not do to them what he said he was going to do There's repentance Now, let me ask you a question. We're gonna close now. Hopefully next time we get together God be willing the spirit be willing and free Now that we have laid this foundation We're going to go into the house of God why it's lying in ruin and I hope to God we can approach this subject with a repentant heart because if we just sit and listen to this information that God has for us and we're unwilling to change and we're unwilling to say Lord Show me where my show me where I'm contributing to the ruin that's in the house of God and we're not willing to say Lord Give me a repentant heart then it'd be better if we not even hear it Be better if we not even hear it Now, let me ask a question as we close Where in your life? Has the Lord dealt with you? About an area of sin and you see All of the qualities of Worldly sorrow working in your life. You see regret you see feelings