In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing God as the creator and ourselves as His creation. He shares a personal experience from his trip to Kenya that served as a turning point for him. The speaker encourages the audience to open their Bibles to 2 Chronicles 24 and shares his goal of leaving a lasting impact on their hearts rather than being remembered by name. He challenges the listeners to heed the word of the Lord and allow Him to restore them, regardless of their past experiences or struggles. The sermon concludes with a powerful message about the choice to either burn for God now or face the consequences later, highlighting the reality of hell and God's love for His people.

That song, Approach My Soul, The Mercy Seat, I first heard that when we were living in the Middle East, and a friend from Texas came to visit, and here he was strumming and playing that song, and I just fell in love with it. And after reading the words through and through, let me ask you a question. How many people here have, anybody here own horses? If you do, raise your hand. Oh, quite a few, okay. Has, how about anybody here that's ever ridden a horse before? If you have, raise your hand. Like the whole church, okay. See, that tells us we're in Oklahoma, okay. So, interesting thing is, because I want to share an analogy, and I'm pretty sure that with this analogy, everybody in the church is going to get it. How many here have ever been thrown by a horse? Same thing, everybody. Well, you guys don't have very good horses, or you're not good trainers, or something. I was, you ever heard the term, I'm back in the saddle again, I'm getting back in the saddle? It's actually used to describe, after you've been thrown, you're going to get back on that bloody horse anyway, and you're going to ride him. And something very similar, for me, today, this Sunday is back in the saddle day for me. I've spent the last 18 years working in war zones, disaster areas, I've seen unbelievable things, I've lived with the dead, if you will, and as such, after a while, it takes a toll. Well, I came back from Africa in January, end of January, I had a team. I was actually supposed to have 18 workers there, some teams of doctors, nurses, and then some of my staff, and we were heading up into Sudan, into Darfur region, of course, Darfur, unbelievable situation there, massive genocide going on, and I've worked in Sudan for years, roughly 3.2 million people have been systematically butchered in that country, and many of them Christians. And so we were headed in there, we were going to, we had this big cargo plane, and we chartered this old Russian Antonov 32 cargo plane, and we fill it with supplies and fly it in. And well, in the meantime, Kenya, which we use as a base country for purchasing supplies, these refugee kits and whatnot that we bring in, Kenya had exploded over the failed elections. Each one was pointing the finger at the other, and basically what had happened is they broke down into a tribal civil war, if you will, and we were there, in the middle of it. Well, we were unable to get the fuel, because it's way up in the northern part of Kenya, on the border, we were unable to get fuel for the planes to actually fly into Sudan, because of all the fighting, a lot of the roads were shut down, and the fuel trucks actually couldn't even deliver fuel. So we had no fuel for our planes. Four of my team that was supposed to come, cancelled, because it was so flipped out in Kenya, they said, forget it, we're not coming. And so here I was, and I was waiting for the rest of my team. Part of my team, on the way over, they actually had somebody die on the plane, and they were diverted to Greenland or somewhere. So I go to the airport, and the rest of my team is not there. They finally came in, and I'm just like, God, what is going on? In the meantime, this flaring, this flare-ups of violence everywhere, they're attacking trucks on the road, the semi-trucks, and they've actually flipped them over, they're looting them, and it's just absolute pandemonium and chaos. And I'm praying, I'm like, Lord, I know you sent us here, we have people coming here, and, wow. Well, our team finally arrived a day later, minus a few, and as we were praying, it became very clear to me that God had put us there in Kenya for a perfect time. Because as that country was being ripped to pieces, and there was ethnic hatred and this tribal violence, they were slaughtering each other. Well, we went out with our team, and instead of going to Sudan, we went to Kenya, which we were already there, but we went into some areas like Nakuru and Molo and some of these other areas where the worst of the fighting was taking place. So I got my team out there, and, of course, it was crazy. It's certainly not one of the wildest places I've been in, but they were marching down the streets with machetes and bows and arrows. And we were at this little tiny hotel, staying there with my team, and then we would go out to the camps. And as we were coming back, in fact, we had packed up our stuff. We were getting ready to head out, and there was literally a mob of people coming down the street with machetes and bows and arrows. In front of them were hundreds of people running and screaming for their lives, and they actually came running into the lobby of our hotel for protection. As we were leaving, they were throwing stones at our van. We'd already had our van busted into. Incidentally, somebody broke in and stole a bunch of our Bibles, so hopefully they distributed them. I mean, if you're going to have a thief steal something, you might as well have him steal the Bible, right? So no loss, right? It was a win-win. They got something, and we were happy as well. They also sold some of our medicines and various other things, but the Lord knows. And in the midst of all this, of course, we ended up trapped in this town called Nakuru. I had to get my team back. They had to get on a plane and fly from Nairobi back to America. Now, this has been my life for 18 years, and I get a call on a mobile phone or my satellite phone. I can't remember. At any rate, I get a call. It's one of the pastors that we were working with, and he says, Where are you? Where is your team? I said, We're in Nakuru. He says, No, where exactly in Nakuru are you? I said, Well, we're actually just outside of Nakuru at the park. He said, You cannot leave. You stay there. I said, What? Well, we were up on a hillside, and we were looking back down, and we were watching. There were about 11 fires burning throughout the city. And as we were looking, I thought, My goodness, there's got to be some violence taking place and whatnot. Because we happened to be up on this hill, so we had this vantage point. Well, he said, You can't leave. He said, They've barricaded all the roads. They've tipped over vehicles, lit them on fire, and they are there with machetes and poisoned arrows, and they're just on a killing rampage. If you try and go past those roads, they'll kill you. Well, I had a team that I'm responsible for, and I remember I just took a walk through the bush there in Africa all by myself and the baboons that were running around me. And I said, God, I need to hear your voice. I need you to tell me what I'm supposed to do. Because, see, I have the responsibility of 14 people that really want to see their wives, their husbands, their kids again. And I said, You know, God, and I've been, like I said, for years doing this, and I said, I'm sick. I'm sick to death of making decisions that involve people's lives. So you better speak to me. Well, I didn't hear a single word, not a word. And I was so angry. Whoa. And I said this in defiance. I said, God, good, don't say a word. I'll take care of it. I'll get them out of here, just like I always do. Don't worry. Obviously, you understand the arrogance in my speech, you know, that that's not the proper attitude to respond towards God. It was months later I was praying one day that I finally realized I was going through the temptations of Jesus. And you remember when Jesus was finally in the desert fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, Satan comes to him. And, of course, one of those episodes, he's on the pinnacle of the temple, and Satan speaks to him and says, Jesus, cast yourself down, for it is written, Thou shalt give his angels charge concerning thee, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. And what did Jesus say? It's written, Thou shalt not put the Lord your God to the test. And instantly it hit me. When I was back there in the bush with the baboons, I had put God to the test. Because what I said is, you will speak to me and you will speak to me this way. And I won't accept anything else. This is how you, God, are going to work. You see the dangerous thing there? See, on the outside it could sound good, it could sound religious. You know, what's wrong with praying to hear God's voice, right? I mean, shouldn't we pray to hear God's voice? The danger, however, is that when in the vestibule of our heart, we limit how it is that God, creator of the universe, can speak. And as I can tell you on other occasions, I learned that God is in heaven and I am on this earth, because He is to command me and not the other way around. I don't command Him. I am the creation, He is the creator. He commands me. I am His possession. And the possession does not dictate to the possessor. Well, all of that to say that I came back from Kenya and had an incredible episode. The culmination, I guess, it was a straw that broke the camel's back. But by the beginning of February, all I wanted to do was sit in a dark room by myself, and I was diagnosed with an incredibly severe case of PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder. And some of you might be familiar with this. A lot of it happens in war. Soldiers will come back. I was four and a half years working in Bosnia, for instance, during the war. I went into a town called Turale, in southern Sudan, where 38,000 people had just been systematically slaughtered. I walked through a field and saw vultures eating the bodies of children. That kind of stuff. Eventually, it took its toll, and I thought that I was mortally wounded. So, raise your hand again if you said you've ever been thrown off a horse. You do. Now raise your hand if you've ever gotten back on. Me too. Nothing but grace. For I can tell you that I felt for many months that I had been mortally wounded. Never to rise again. So, you have the blessing today of being able to listen to a wounded soldier who's getting back on the horse. And this is the first time I've spoke in a church, preaching, since I've come back. And so I'm very excited to do that. Are you excited to be here this morning? You know what the Bible says? It says, For who is like unto the Lord our God? He looks down on the poor and the needy, and He lifts us up out of the ash heap and the dunghill, and He sets us at a table of princes, the princes of His people. And then the psalmist breaks into doxology. Drop down, ye heavens, and drip with badness. Oh, and let the glory of the Lord come in. You see, redemption is an amazing thing. Redemption. To have something that was sold, something that was owned, bought off into slavery. Something that had become owned by another owner. And now, its rightful owner comes and says, I will pay the price. You shall not have Him. No wonder we sing, Approach, my soul, the mercy seat, where Jesus answers prayer. There humbly fall before His feet, for none can perish there. Folks, the greatest thing that can happen today is you can get a fresh revelation of the majesty of Jesus Christ in your hearts. The greatest thing that can happen today is that He can revive you, strip the religious veneer that encrusts my soul and yours, and bring us into a new, a fresh, a vibrant love relationship with the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. No wonder they say, Worthy! Worthy is the Lamb! Folks, if you're not interested in saying it here, then please do me a favor, don't bother going to heaven, because they say it there, continually. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive honor and power and glory and dominion, and of His kingdom there shall be no end. Well, let me just say this, since it's my first time back in the saddle, and as some of you know, it's nice to, when you do get back in the saddle, ride that horse for a long time, put your seatbelts on, because now I'm going to give a sermon. Okay, first of all, I have to put out a disclaimer. I did not come here to kick you in the side today. I didn't come here to poke you in the eye. I haven't come to bruise the bride. I have come to exalt the bridegroom, and then in so doing, prepare the bride, right? Well, I do want to share, I actually, I promise not to keep you past five tonight, but I do want to share, I do want to share just a little bit, and you know, like when you get on that horse, you start to feel the breeze through your hair again, and you're like, wow, that feels better than hitting the ground after I've been thrown. Well, hopefully today, we'll feel a little bit of the breeze of God's word blowing through our hearts, huh? What I want to do is, if you would, open up your Bibles, we're going to go to the Old Testament, and open up your Bibles to 2 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles 24, 2 Chronicles 24, and as you find that, I just felt, well, it's a good chance to give a little background on myself, so that you know who it is, I guess, that's speaking to you. My goal is not that you remember my name, by the way, I could care less, but if, after I've left, you say, like my brother had said, did not our hearts burn within us? Remember when the disciples walked on the road of Emmaus with Jesus, and he was veiled? You know what's so amazing is, even Jesus veiled, still gets his message through, and he got done speaking, and can you imagine one of those moments, and they just kind of look at each other, and they go, wow, did not our hearts burn within us? You know, fire begets fire. You ever try and light a fire without a match? How about light a fire with a match that's already been spent? I mean, you can hold that there a long, long, long, long time, and you're not going to get a fire. Fire begets fire. Well, as the man who discipled me said, if it doesn't burn in you, then don't expect it to burn in anyone else. If you don't have the ignited heart of the Holy Spirit working within you, if Jesus is not your all in all, then don't expect for that to happen to somebody else through you, because spent matches don't light fires. Let's look at it. Let's read the text. By the way, the title of my sermon today is called The Man Who Repaired the House of God but Never Met its Owner. The Man Who Repaired the House of God but Never Met the Owner. Now, let's read the text. Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Joash, and listen, this is a very important verse if you do write in your Bible, this would be a good place to write in it. And Joash, this is a great one to underline, did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. And Jehoiada took for him two wives and he begat sons and daughters. Now that verse number 2. And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. That's one to underline. And it came to pass after this that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord. And he gathered together the priests and the Levites and said to them, go out unto the cities of Judah and gather all of Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year and see that ye hasten or hurry up with this matter. Now, by the way, if you're following along, I'm reading from the King James, but just keep with the numbers because I know sometimes it sounds a bit different. How be it the Levites hastened it not. In other words, they didn't do it. And the king called for Jehoiada the chief and said unto him, why hast thou not required the Levites to bring it out of Judah and out of Jerusalem, the collection? Where's the money? According to the commandment of Moses, the servant of the Lord and of the congregation of Israel for the tabernacle of witness. And he's saying, hey, come on. I gave you a command. You're the high priest. You're supposed to get the Levites, get your guys, get out there, collect the offering and bring it back in. Well, let's see what he says. If you look with me at verse 7 of 2 Chronicles 24, you see, for the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God. That's an interesting one right there. And also, all of the dedicated things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon Balaam. So they wrecked the house of God and then they took the dedicated things and used them in worship to Baal. This is what Athaliah... By the way, this is... You know who Athaliah is? It's the daughter of somebody. Ah, Jezebel. Athaliah is the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Now that ought to give you a little bit of insight into her character. Now verse 8, And at the king's commandment they made a chest and they set it without at the gate of the house of the Lord. By the way, in case anybody ever asks you, there is scriptural proof of having a piggy bank. This is the first one. Now I guarantee you, being Jewish, it didn't look like a pig. However, here it is. Here's the first piggy bank. This is the first Jerusalem National Trust here. And they made a proclamation, the verse 9, through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring into the Lord the collection that Moses, the servant of God, laid upon Israel in the wilderness. So what they're doing is, he's saying, hey, let's go back to the Old Testament, which is what they lived in. Let's go back to the laws of Moses. Let's look at what it says. Let's fulfill it and do it. So they're okay, fine. And the princes, and verse 10, And all the princes of the people rejoiced and brought in and cast into the chest until they had made an end. Now it came to pass that at what time the chest was brought unto the king's office by the head of the Levites. And when they saw that there was much money, the king's scribes and the high priest's officers came, they emptied the chest, they took it, they carried it to its place. And then it says, Thus they did day by day and gathered money in abundance. Verse 12, And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of service of the house of the Lord. They hired the masons, the carpenters, and all of the individuals. And now, jump down to verse 14, And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof they made vessels for the house of the Lord, even vessels to minister. So, here we have, and by the way, the reluctance that takes place, and you can read about this in 1 Kings chapter 12. What had happened is when Jehoiada sent out his Levites and priests, they had to put this money in a chest. And initially, when they just went to get a collection, just to give you an idea, and this gives you insight into the morality of what was going on among the priesthood at this time. And it will remind you of much of what's going on today. Do you know that when they first went out to collect up offerings, nobody would give any money? Because they didn't trust the priesthood. They refused to give money. So what happened is they actually had to go out with the piggy bank, and they had to cut a slot in the top of it, keep it locked, and only the high priest had the key. And then, once the people knew that it was safe and secure, and they could slip their money in there and not have the priest pilfering, guess what? There was money in abundance. In fact, they had money for the rest of the items of the temple. But until that time, no. Because they didn't trust the priesthood. Now that tells you a lot for the spiritual state of what was going on in Israel. Okay? Very important. And then of course, it goes through, and it basically, it talks about Joash. It talks about his life. In fact, you can see that all in 1 Chronicles 24. Now due to time constraints, I won't read it all, although normally I would. But due to time constraints, I won't. But here's an interesting story. Let's go back, rehash it historically. We have a dismal time in Judah. Remember now, Israel was divided. We had the northern kingdom, southern. We had Israel and Judah. We had Joash, who was the king of Judah, who was from where? David. From the tribe of David. From the line, from the loins of David. Now here is Joash. And what happens is, if you look in the previous chapter, there's a kudetah. Athaliah, okay, what had happened is, the king, kudetah, and all of the king's royal blood, David's, was being slaughtered, killed. Now I'm paraphrasing, just for time sake, but all of the royal family was being killed. But there was one small boy, his name was Joash, and what happened is, Jehoiada, the high priest, his wife, ran in, and she grabbed the little baby and the nursemaid, and she fled. While Athaliah was on this just bloodthirsty craze to kill all of the descendants. Why? Because she was the daughter of who? Ahab and Jezebel. What did she want? To rule. That way she could be the queen of Israel. And by the way, she did become queen of Israel for six years. I'm sorry, queen of Judah. And she ruled in Judah for six years. But what happened is, she didn't realize that Athaliah, the baby, had been taken. And guess where, when the baby was taken and hidden from Athaliah, guess where they hid the baby? They hid that child, Joash, in the temple. With the high priest and the high priest's wife. Now, by the way, you know who Joash's stepbrother was? In essence, because he was raised by them. Joash's stepbrother was Jehodiah's son. His name was Zechariah. Now, this is important. This is very important to remember. So, here's Joash, king. He's got a stepbrother. His name is Zechariah. Now, obviously, we hear that name mentioned in the Bible. But Jesus also talked about this particular Zechariah. In fact, he said to Israel, you who stone the prophets, who kill the righteous Zechariah between the porch and the altar, that Zechariah, the guy who was murdered, martyred for the Word of God. Now, Joash is his half-brother. He grows up six years. He's hid in the temple. So, it only seems right that after that, Joash would grow up with an affinity towards the house of God, right? I mean, can you imagine if you were rescued from a bloody rampage, all of your brothers and sisters were killed, but you alone were grabbed by the pastor and his wife, and they hid you here at First Baptist Church, Barnsdall, and the first six years of your life were spent in the confines of this building, and you never left it. Now, do you think you wouldn't know every nook and cranny? Do you think you wouldn't know how to crawl through the attic space and all the other things here? You would. And you'd probably be pretty fond of it, too, right? Because it was a shelter where your life was spared. Now, what we see is, of course, at seven, Jehoiada says, that's it. He sets up a plan. He arms the priest, the whole shot, and he says, we're going to put Joash on the throne where he belongs. And so, in this process, they put Joash on the throne, and then, of course, we see Joash later on. And it came to pass after this that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord. Now, he'd been hid there for six years. Now, this is the man who paid to rebuild the temple, but never met the owner. Why do I say that? Well, what we see is a couple important things. Remember when I said to underline verse 2? Let's look at it quickly. And Joash, verse 2, Chronicles 24, 2, and Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada, Jehoiada the priest. Interesting distinction now, because it does not say, and Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of his life. So what we see here is that Jehoiada actually was fulfilling a ministry that a lot of pastors do today. I call it the prop up ministry. He was propping up Joash, and the minute the godly influence of the high priest was gone, guess what? Joash was exposed for what he was, and he fell. Now, we often do that in the ministry today. We prop people up. We constantly say, oh, don't worry, I'm sure you're saved. Well, I know all this is going on. Hey, you need to claim that verse. Claim the verse, brother. I know you don't have any witness to the Holy Spirit. I know you don't have any conviction of sin. I know there was never repentance. Don't worry. We're going to send you to hell feeling good about yourself. This is what Jehoiada was doing. He was propping up Joash, and Joash, now it sounds on the outward like there's piousness here, because here is this young man says, hey, and he even gets on the Levites. He says, you get out there and get that money. And so he repairs the temple. Now, I have to digress here. Let me ask you a question. How many of you have ever went to see, say, one of your best friends, and you knock on the door, and you knock on the door, and when they come and answer it, you don't talk to them. But instead, you just kind of stand on the outside. Wow, those shutters. I never noticed them before. You have such a beautiful front door. Was this house recently painted? Now, I'm being facetious. Because the assumption is, is that when you go to your friend's house to visit your friend, you go inside and fellowship with your friend. You don't stand on the outside admiring the exterior. You've not come to see the house. You've come to meet your friend that lives in the house. Joash built the house of God, but was content to never meet the owner. And I have to ask, how many of you are content to day in, day out, maybe some for 50 years, maybe some for five weeks. There's no time limit on it. But how many of you have been content to day in and day out, come to the house of God and never meet the owner? God doesn't dwell in a place made by the hands of men. He comes to live in our hearts. It's Christ in you, the hope of glory. Not Christ in First Baptist building. It's Christ taking up residence in the vestibule of your heart. It's when your passions are His passions. When your desires are His desires. When your cares are His cares. When the things that break His heart break your heart. When you have a sense of conviction over sin, and listen if you've lost that. I don't care if you've been in that tank 10 times. Repent! Salvation is not an act. When Adam and Eve were in the garden and they stood before God naked. Man, do you think it was an act that was destroyed there? No! It was a relationship. Because God walked with them in the cool of the garden. And the most heartbreaking verse of the Bible is to hear the Creator of the universe walking through a garden and He's crying for His creation. Adam! Adam! Yoo-hoo! Adam, where are you? And they were hiding. You know what's so beautiful about redemption? Do you know what they hid themselves with? What did they try and cover themselves with? The Bible says fig leaves. And here we see the first mention of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Because God says, okay, now that you're where you're naked, I'll make you a covering. And a lamb was slain that they might be covered. See, relationship was severed in the garden. And what was restored at the cross and the empty tomb? A relationship. And you know what's so beautiful about that? The garment that man had provided for himself as a covering was rejected. It was the Lamb of God who became the covering for us and for them. And here's what's so beautiful. Did you ever wonder why on the way to the cross, the Bible says that Jesus stopped and He cursed the fig tree? You know why? Because He was in the garden. And He remembers when man said, I'll cover myself from God with a fig tree. And on the way to the cross, He cursed it. And you know what He was saying? No more shall man ever seek his own covering, but the covering that I shall give him. And that's why Genesis chapter 11 tells us that and mud had they for brick, and slime had they for mortar. And what were they trying to do? Raise up a tower. And they were unified. Oh, isn't that beautiful? I always wonder why Unitarian Universalists even bother going to church. I mean, really, what's the point? It doesn't matter. All worlds lead there, right? I mean, you might as well watch the game or something. Why are you here? Is it because you believe that there's actually a power in the cross and there's redemption and that it works out in you and that it works through you and it touches others? Could it be that you believe the message that the Bible says? Or are you Joash? Maybe you're related to Joash. You give money to the church. Man, you've got a spotless attendance record. You even came and volunteered to help paint. You probably paid for maybe even some of the pews. But have you taken time to meet the owner? I'll tell you this right now, if you haven't, you're dead men's bones. I know I'm going to keep you a little bit long. I promise you, you won't die. But I promise you this, if you die without Christ, you will spend an eternity in hell. Now I know preaching on hell isn't popular today. Most ministers just want to tell us how wonderful we are. They're content to sing us lullabies while we drift into hell. I'm not. I'm convinced it's real and that real people are going to go there even though it wasn't initially created for them. And therefore, I will stand as a dying man speaking to dying people and persuade you not to go that way. I'm back in the saddle again. Because of the grace of God who worked exceedingly on my behalf, I'm just standing here as a redeemed creature. Nothing special other than that God set His affection on me. And just like He sets His affection upon you and you and you, please don't allow Him to be going through the garden of your heart saying, Adam, Adam, where are you? Are you hiding from God? Joash. In the end. And here's what's interesting. And here's what will happen by the way. I'm just going to make this point and then we'll close. But here's what will happen. If you think externalistic zeal will get you into heaven, I tell you this, and I back this with Scripture, that your heart will become so hardened and you will become so religious that you will despise the very Word of God and kill with your tongue those who proclaim it. Now if you don't believe me, then we have to finish what 2 Chronicles 24 teaches us because we go on and it says this. And now let's just jump ahead. 15. 2 Chronicles 24 15 But Jehoiada waxed old and was full of days when he died. He was 130 years old. It says, And they buried him in the city of David among the kings because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and toward his house. Now listen to this. Verse 17. This ties in with verse 2 by the way. Verse 17 Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah and they made obeisance or they bowed down to the king. Who was that? Joash. Then the king hearkened unto them. Now before that, Joash hearkened unto Jehoiada the high priest. But after he died, and that's why verse 2 says he did that which is right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada's life. And then after that, who did he hearken unto? The flatterers. The kings came down it says. The princes of Judah. Oh my goodness. The GQ men are here. The fancy dressers. The upwardly mobile. You know they've got Audis and Porsches and they're cool and I want to hang out with them. Well they said well fine man we're going to take you into our club Joash but we just want you to know can you tone it down a little bit? It's almost kind of a little bit too much rhetoric here. Can you tone it down? Because if you do you're going to fit right in with the in crowd. You're going to be part of the club. And Joash was just panting in joy. Yeah. I'm in. I didn't like hanging around with that old man anyway. 130 year old priest. Religious guy. All he ever did was talk about the Lord. I was getting tired of him anyway. It's time for new blood. Well look what happens. And they left the house of the Lord, God of their fathers, and served groves and idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this trespass. Now verse 19. Here's what's happening today by the way. For all of you who have been enamored with the house of God but never met the owner, read verse 19. Yet He sent prophets to them to bring them again unto the Lord and they testified against them but they would not give ear. Listen folks. If you are here content because you have been baptized, because you made some profession of faith some years ago, I ask you to hear me and hear me well. In the church at large today there are various doctrines. One is eternal security. Now there are different theological slants that come along with that. But the basic gist that it's been reduced to in the average church is this. If you prayed one time, no matter how long ago, to ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart and be your Lord and Savior, then you are eternally secure. No worries. You will never have to fear again. In other words, you can live like hell and still get to heaven. And then there's others that come along and granted it's been reduced, but they say no. If you do that, you'll lose your salvation. Then one camp says, well, if that happens it's because they were never saved. And the other one says, well, no, it's because they lost their salvation. Well folks, let me just boil it down for you. In the end, does it matter? Whether you never had it or you lost it, you're going to hell. So let the theologians in the ivory towers quibble over the participles and tenses. But you, here's the question, is Christ being formed in you today? Are you living for Jesus now? Is He alive in you? Do you have a desire to know Him? Do you have a love for Him? When He calls in the cool of the morning, do you say, I'm here! Now put any theological tag you want on it. Backslidden, lost, never saved. I don't care. But I pray to God, you will bow your knee today. I don't care how long you've been involved in religion and that you would not perish like this man because it says He sent prophets to warn them to bring them again unto the Lord and they testified against them and the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah. Remember now, this is who Jesus spoke of. This was Joash's half-brother. And the son of Jehoiada, the high priest, which stood above the people and said unto them, Thus saith God, why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord that ye cannot prosper because ye have forsaken the Lord, therefore He has forsaken you. And they conspired against Him and they stoned Him with stones at the commandment of the king, Joash, in the court of the house of the Lord. Listen folks, they didn't have the wherewithal to drag this man outside. They killed him in the court of the Lord. Now you mark it and mark it well. If you allow the religious veneer to encrust your soul, if you become enamored with external religion, all those things that you do externally to please God, and yet at the center of your heart you do not have a love relationship for Him, you are in danger today. And if I had an alarm, I would set it off. And if I could blow it, I would blow it. Because listen folks, nobody complains when the fire truck is at 2am sounding its alarm because they know a house is burning down! There's a fire! And let me ask you this, when's the last time you had to advertise one? You never have to advertise a fire. 3 o'clock in the morning! People will stand out and watch it burn. You make a vow before God because the Word says He makes His ministers flames of fire. You make a vow before God to let Him come in and consume you afresh. Today, I guarantee you this, He will set you ablaze. And people will come to watch you burn. And know what I say is this, and dear saints, hear me well. You can either burn for God now, or you can burn without Him later. There's no middle ground. Now if that sounds cold and condescending, I can tell you that I say that with a broken heart and with an absolute conviction that Scripture teaches that hell is a reality. But rather than the focus being upon hell, what I say is this, God in His infinite mercy sent prophets because He loves you. And that if you would hearken and hear the Word of the Lord, He will restore you. Now some people are saying, Yeah, well you don't know what I've been through. You're right, I don't. Some people are saying, Yeah, you have no idea what I have to live with. You're right, I don't. Some of you, hiding secret sins, you are pulled down by the fact that you can't keep your eyes off of certain things. Others are enamored with how somebody else treats you because they seem to care more than that other person in my life. Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of the life. Those were the three sins in the garden. And John tells us, now here's the test, because now that we've had a little bit of history lesson, a little bit of preaching, and a little bit of personal sharing, I'm going to give you a test. The test, by the way, was already written for us in 1 John. And here's what it is. The one who says, I know Him, but does not do what He commands, is a liar. And the truth is not in Him. If I say, I know God, then clearly Scripture says that your life should reflect it. And if that's not the case, I don't care if you're the largest donor to this church. You need to re-examine your relationship and the direction of your life. So, let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we come before Your throne in the name of Jesus. And by the way, while I pray, if you feel so led and you want to come to this altar, maybe you want to have a time of prayer with your family, your spouse, or alone, I ask you to come. If you are feeling the conviction of God, no matter how old or how young, no matter what your situation, come. It's between you and God. The altar is a place of sacrifice, it's a place of dedication, and it's a place where God will do business with your heart. Father, we come before You in the matchless name of Christ our King. We ask that You would consume our hearts and lives, that You would restore unto us the joy of our salvation. Father, that we would examine ourselves, as Scripture says, to see whether we be in the faith. Lord God, I pray that today You would strip the religious veneer that has encrusted our souls, including mine, off of our hearts. And Lord God, that we corporately cry out and say, God, forgive us! Have mercy on us, God! Create in us a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within us. Restore unto us the joy of our salvation. Lord God, I pray that You break our hearts, that our eyes will be filled with tears, that a spirit of repentance would come upon us. O Holy Spirit, come and send the fire, the black match, the spent match. Ignite it once again. Lord Jesus, above all, You're a God of hope. Would You please, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, put hope within us once again. Lord God, we can recognize that it's not an external religion, an observation of rules and do's and don'ts, but it's about a religion of heart. It's about Christ being formed within us afresh. So breathe on us, O breath of God. Purify us and make us zealous and holy once again. And start, Lord God, in our hearts, in my heart, revolutionize First Baptist Church, Lord God, by simply coming broken before You. You sent prophets to warn us. May we not stone them, and worse yet, may we just neglect them. Lord Jesus, have the all in all of our hearts and lives. I thank You that You're a good God, abundant in mercy, able to forgive, to cleanse and restore. You've done it for me so many times. Do it in us. Father, we pray that You would stamp eternity on our eyeballs today. Give us a hunger for You once again, God. May the older folks of the assembly, may they truly be the mothers and fathers in the house of Israel. May they grab hold of the younger ones and say, follow me as I follow Christ. May the younger ones, with their strength and their energy and their zeal, may they not be despised for their youth, but lead as an example in all things. Lord, touch our families. Touch our lives. We commit ourselves to You in the matchless name of Christ our King, and God's people said, Amen.