This sermon emphasizes the cost of standing up for truth, highlighting the need to examine one's life if the truth isn't costing anything. It discusses the offense of truth, the importance of presenting truth with love and grace, and the need to surrender our will to God's will. The message focuses on Acts 5, where the disciples faced imprisonment for preaching the truth but were miraculously freed by an angel to continue speaking the words of life despite opposition.

Acts chapter 5, but I'm going to give a rather long introduction, so I'm preparing you beforehand before I read Acts 5. And we're beginning in verse 17, there should be a Bible in the pew if you don't have one. Acts chapter 5 verse 17, the message this morning is the truth will cost you. The truth will cost you. And this, I've never realized this more than in the last probably five years. The more you stand up for truth, the more it will cost you. And if the truth isn't costing you something, you may want to examine your life. Because we're supposed to count the cost, and following Jesus has a cost. And the truth upsets, the truth offends, and I want to be careful on this topic, because often I've given... Oh, something fell, it's alright, it's a chair. See I told you, the enemy doesn't want me to go forward this morning. My back was hurting, things were breaking, the heater's next door, the power point's not working, worship team's sick, you know, and lots of different things. So back on track, if the truth isn't costing you something, you may want to examine your life. Where I want to be careful is I've given people permission, not on purpose, but to take this topic and run with it without letting love and grace underscore everything we do. So they say, yeah, I should be offending people. No, you shouldn't. The truth will, but your attitude shouldn't. Yeah, I go beat them up with the Bible. No, you don't beat them up with the Bible. You present the Bible. And so I'm going to talk about that, because, yeah, you know, we talk about truth will cost, yeah, it'll cost me, and I'm going to be a jerk at work, and I'm going to press people into the kingdom, and I'm going to fight with my family. No, the truth doesn't do that. The truth actually humbles you. And you know how to present it in a godly way. And I have not mastered this area yet, I'll just be the first to admit I probably upset somebody on Facebook every day. And I usually have to hold, ask my wife, 99% of my comments I hold on Facebook or posts or different things. The 1%, you know, you just, oh, you just got to say something, right, and you got to make a difference. So I'm going to talk about that. But the interesting thing is the context of Acts 5 that we're going to read in a minute is great miracles were done in Jesus's name. And we've been talking about the last month. If you haven't been there, you might want to go check out some of the messages on the power of the Holy Spirit, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And you know it, you either have it or you don't. And this topic sometimes offends people, like, why are you talking about the Holy Spirit? Well, because the Bible talks a lot about the Holy Spirit. It's the work of the Spirit in this church. It's the work of the Spirit in our own lives to bring us to maturity. It's the work of the Spirit that leads people to the cross. It's the work of the Spirit that allows brokenness and humility to change and transform us. That's the transforming power of God through the Holy Spirit. And I've seen a lot of neglect in this area. And I wasn't joking when a lot of people say it's the Father, the Son, and the Holy Word. They avoid, they want to avoid that aspect of the Holy Spirit because of many times that things are done and misrepresented by the Holy Spirit that's not the Holy Spirit. And we see things on TV and we think, oh, I don't want that. Well, neither do I. Many times, but we want the power of God. If you want the power of God, you have to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. So that's what we've been seeing is miracles and things taking place. Great miracles were done in Jesus' name. And so what the people decided to do was, and the leaders decided to do, is imprison the apostles. Wonderful miracles, let's put them in prison. And we'll read that, we're like, what's wrong with these people? Well, that's what the truth does. It offends. These were religious leaders. They were jealous. They were upset. They were turning the whole world upside down. What are we going to do with them? Instead of bowing our knee, like the song said, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Christ is Lord. You will bow to the lion. You will bow to the lamb. It doesn't matter. You will bow to Christ. They didn't want to bow to Him. They fought Him. And they put the disciples in prison thinking that would silence them. And it didn't. So that's the context we're getting into in just a minute. But I want to encourage you, before I discourage you, is don't get discouraged because the world will rarely agree with you and God. The world will rarely agree with you and God. When it comes to bringing integrity into your workplace, do you think your boss is going to be happy about that? When it comes to integrity in certain areas, or you're in the school district, or the government, or wherever you work, if you can get by through life without any challenges, any problems, nobody upset at you, you might want to look at this little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine. That's the time of year we sing that song and people get offended by that light. Now I'm not endorsing being offensive and mean. I hope you understand that. But when you stand for truth, when you say, I can't allow that, I can't agree with that, I don't want that, you will offend the world. The world does not like to hear the message of the gospel. So the first point under the truth will cost you, it will cost you, and I'm going to use a Facebook thing here, likes. It will cost you likes, and what I mean by that is people will not like you to the degree that you want to be liked, and that's a struggle we all have, even me. We want to be liked, don't we? And I imagine, what about Jesus, if he was here now, and what would he post? I am the way, the truth, the life, nobody comes to the Father except through me. You think everybody would be happy with that statement? Oh, he would have comments from here to China. Who are you? You're narrow-minded, you're arrogant, but to be politically correct, you'd say, well, I'm one of the ways. I mean, if you guys want to embrace me, it's okay, you can embrace me. But there's other ways too, and I don't want to offend anybody, I don't want to upset anybody. But if you embrace the truth, you will not be liked by people to the degree you want to be liked. Now, the Bible encourages us to have a good name, choose a good name over riches and wealth, and that means have a good character and be a person of integrity. But when it comes down to it, people will be offended because of the truth. Galatians 1.10, I'm going to paraphrase. Paul says, do I want the approval of man or God? If I was trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. See, it's impossible to please men and also please God. Now, this doesn't mean everything's going to upset people, but as I'm pleasing God, it's not people aren't going to be happy with that. I mean, just think about every sermon that goes out upsets somebody. Every article that goes out sure upsets somebody. The blogs, whatever, it's people get upset. They don't like to hear, can't you just be politically correct? Can't you just not be so this and so that? And so that will cost you likes. You'll watch your likes on Facebook go down probably, not up. But this is also a good reminder that in a lot of times, I think we stop and we don't do things because our friends or family are feeling judged. Has it ever stopped you from doing something or just me? Like, they're feeling judged by me. But be careful here because when you live for God and you love people, you're living for God, they don't want to be around you sometimes because of that light and that reflection, that conviction. So it's not necessarily you're being mean to them. You're living your life for Christ and they don't want to be around you. Well, I feel judged around you. How? I'm loving. I don't bring up anything. You know where I stand. So you have to be careful there because if you are making people feel bad by your attitude and actions and words you're saying, they are feeling judged and it's not good. We have to be careful in that area. But I've seen a lot of people put out their light, let this light shine, put out the light because, well, people feel judged. No, they're just convicted. They're just convicted. If you live for Jesus, you will convict people. I've got friends and family who don't have anything to do with me because of the conviction there. Be gentle. Here's how to approach this topic of truth. Be gentle, not in your face. Be selective. Be very selective. Have you known the difference between a rifle and a shotgun? A rifle, very selective, right at the target. A shotgun has a little copper thing called a, you know, yeah, there we go. No, not thinking of that. Primer. The trigger hits the primer. The metal hits the primer and engages the powder. The powder shoots out a wad and about 200 little BBs go everywhere. And you hope you hit the target. Sometimes that's what we do with our mouth. We just, well, I know it's going to get somebody maybe, and we just, and there's no thought behind it. There's no gentleness. And so be careful. When you proclaim truth, you don't always have to be right or win an argument. Let love and grace be the driving force. I mean, all the time I get things from people. And you just got to lovingly encourage them, lovingly see where they're coming from, but still hold to the truth. When you are targeted, prayed up, sincere, loving, and humble, God can work. God, see, what He does, He works in the midst of truth. You proclaim the truth and the people see the truth. But not everybody likes it, but there are some that are changed. And so we have to remember that, that we think that everybody's going to embrace this message. Everybody's going to love my Facebook post. Everybody's going to love what I stand for. No, they're not. Most often, more often than not, they don't. For example, I've taught, you've heard me teach on gay marriage or homosexuality and loving those who struggle with it, but still saying what the Bible says. Well, I get emails, often negative ones, but there's positive ones of people coming out that lifestyle because they found the video on YouTube. Just this morning, just this morning when I got here, I was going back and forth on Facebook with a Mormon in Utah. He said this, I read your article about whose truth is true. I'm a Mormon. I do agree with you on your points that the Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible. And it's wrong to believe that only salvation lies in belonging to the church. I feel that the scripture in Romans 10, 9 confessing that Christ is Lord and Savior is my saving grace. And I'm eternally grateful for you pointing that out, especially in your video where you talk about your encounter with the Mormon missionaries. So now this guy's struggling with being in this, what do I do now? You know, but that message has not made a lot of people happy. But it's not done in mean and arrogance, like, guys, look at the difference. Isn't this interesting? All you have to do is say, here's what you teach. Here's what the Bible teaches. That's all. And they get upset. They get upset. I just, all I posted the other day was, here's what Roman Catholicism teaches. Here's what historical biblical Christianity teaches in the Bible. That's all. Here's the difference. Do I upset people? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. How dare you put down the Pope? Here's the differences. That's all. You have to remember this. The truth invites scrutiny. If a Mormon ever said, Shane, here's what the Book of Mormon teaches. Here's what the Bible teaches. I'd say, yep, you're right. Absolutely. Good job. Not get upset. So when people get upset, it's because that word and that truth is convicting them. But you have to make sure it's of God, because there's a lot of loose cannons out there. Shotguns, they'll just shoot everything and everybody, and they're not doing anything. But if you come out that, I understand, they call it the sandwich approach in business, right? You build somebody up, then you, bam, sandwich them, and then you build them back up again. You know, like, Chris, you're a wonderful employee. You've done so much here and all this, but it's not cutting it. We're going to have to let you go. Oh, no. But you know what? God's got a good plan for you, and you sandwich that in there. And that's how I fire a lot of people, a lot of people at 24-Hour Fitness, and they always say, I feel good about being fired. Because you sandwich them, and the same thing with the truth. The same thing, you build, and I understand where you're coming from, I understand your heart, and I told the Roman Catholics, I said, listen, I understand, but just compare what the Bible teaches and what that teaches. Just compare. That's all I'm asking. Why is that so upsetting? But see, it's the truth that offends. So you have to be targeted, prayed up, sincere, loving, and humble. Choose your battles carefully. And you know who those people are. You have friends and family that don't need to hear another word from you. I've got close family members. They don't need to hear another word from Shane Eidelman. They don't need to hear a sermon. They don't need to hear, watch this little video. They don't need to hear anything. I just need to be quiet and love them. But there's other people that God will direct you to say something. Like those Mormon missionaries I mentioned, there's a video clip, and I talked to them. I ran into four of them up on the aqueduct a few years ago, and they just, they didn't have any answers to the questions. But God set that up. I mean, here I am jogging, and here's four guys sitting down studying the Book of Mormon, and I tried for 10 minutes. I'm not going to talk. Lord, please, I'm just here to exercise, and just, I can't do it. But it was like a magnet, you know? And then you play stupid. What are you guys reading? Oh, the sandwich approach, the sandwich approach. But they didn't have answers. But I love these guys. It wasn't me. Guys, listen, you're not going to be a God someday like God is. That's blasphemy. And their jaws drop. Yes, that's blasphemy. You can love someone and tell them the truth. Who said that the truth shouldn't offend? Who said that those who love can't speak the truth? Jesus did. They think that Jesus just walked around this mild, meek, mannered, little, turn-the-other-cheek Jesus. He was bold. He was in your face. He called out religious leaders. He called out entire cities because they did not repent. He was bold, but loving, compassionate, caring, but spoke the truth. He said, don't be afraid of those who can kill your body, but be afraid of those who can be afraid of him, God, who can kill both body and soul and cast your soul in hell. Boy, how's that going to go over today? Post that on Facebook. Just post that verse on Facebook, and you'll watch all the disgruntled people. Because the truth, what has happened, I've seen in our nation, I've read sermons from 150, I start even way back, 1700s, the Great Awakening, Whitefield, Wesley, going to Spurgeon's, Charles Finney, all these revivalist different sermons. And you look at sermons now, and you're like, what happened? What happened? You get the milk, you get the God is love, that's all he is. Forgiveness and grace, just continue in your sin, don't worry about anything. And you're like, what happened? So that shift, I believe, in the pulpit has also shifted the culture. So now we need to be politically correct and not offend. We gotta be careful what we say, and don't, that's gonna hurt this, and that's gonna do this, and that's gonna, we don't wanna talk about those difficult things. You better just spend time with God and ask him, what do you want me to say, Lord? Because an anointed word from the Holy Spirit with love and grace will do more than 10 years of sermon from somebody who's not spending time with God. A.W. Tozer said, listen to no man who doesn't listen to God. And that's what we're seeing, why we're departing from truth. If we could just get the pulpits back again and families back again and fathers leading in this area of truth, you would see a radical change. Because it's okay to stand up and say, this is not right. This is not right. That thing with Target still has me upset. You know, a man can go in the bathroom with my daughter. Well, Shane, just don't wanna upset. We still wanna shop there. You know, no, I mean, I don't know. We just wanna, somebody has to say something. Or the agenda, all these things that are happening. So when you are that voice of truth, it will cost you a lot of likes. People will not like you. It's not our goal. It's never our goal. It's never my goal. My goal is to get as many people to like me as I can, but understand that that's not gonna happen. What I mean by that is the reputation and how I treat them. So they might like the reputation. They might like, hey, he's a nice guy, but I don't agree with what he says. Versus he's a jerk. He's in your face. I just can't stand that guy. You want to have a good reputation. You wanna have that image of Christ in you. So it's an area that's delicate. Acts 5.17, then the high priest rose up. Now here's what happened. I better give you some background because I have the background up here because I've been studying it. But the apostles just did many, many wonderful works in Jesus' name. People were healed. They were set free. They were delivered from all kinds of things. Tormenting spirits, and I believe that God can deliver people from tormenting spirits, that the name of Christ is stronger than any other name out there. If we seek Him and we look to Him. So all these miracles are happening. Then the high priest rose up. Now the high priest back, if you start with Moses and the Levitical priesthood, God appointed priests to be intercessors to go before the people. The people couldn't go before God. The priest once a year would walk into the Holy of Holies and give an offering for the sins of the people. And then he'd back out of there until next year. He'd make sure his heart was right. He would make sins for the people. So he was the intercessor. He was the priest. But then we read in Hebrews that now we have a high priest through Jesus Christ who's been tempted and tested at all points like we are, but without sin. So we can come boldly to the throne of grace because Christ is our high priest. So it eliminated that office. Jesus Christ eliminated that office. So now you have somebody, which to me I laughed, because now you have the high priest who's really not a high priest. He's just fulfilling that role. The great high priest was resurrected many, many weeks ago and now he's working through these apostles. But this person rose up and all those who were with him, which is a sect of the Sadducees, the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, and they were filled with indignation. This is not just anger. Indignation is where you're plotting to kill somebody. And they laid their hands on the apostles and they put them in the common prison. So it's interesting, this word indignation, it's very disgruntled, it's very upset, and that's what the truth will do. The reason the truth hurts and makes people so angry and so disgruntled is because it's a spiritual battle. You can mention any other name, it doesn't upset people. But when you mention Jesus Christ, people get visibly upset. They don't talk about that name. Why, because it's that demonic realm, it's that spiritual battle. You can mention every other name under the sun, everybody's, oh, they're listening, but Jesus, oh, don't mention that name here. They get very disgruntled. We saw the same thing here in the apostles' ministry. It will cost you an easy life. Following the truth will cost you an easy life. These men were thrown into the common prison. And that's a big misconception. I talked about it last week, that following Jesus is not always a bed of roses. You don't get that big house on the hill and tons of money in your bank account in this easy life. Actually, it's a life of dying to self. Paul, Jesus, Peter, all the disciples. You look back at the Old Testament, prophets, you look back at different areas throughout biblical history, the martyrs, different things. Following Him has a cost. It will cost you an easy life. And people are like, oh, Shane, an easy life, no likes, no, you're making this, no. When you follow God, it's the most abundant life you've ever known. People are miserable right now. Christians are miserable. They enjoy their sin, but they're miserable. They don't want the abundant life that Christ spoke of. It will cost you an easy life. Leonard Ravenhill said if Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified. Tell us smooth things. Tell us smooth things, easy things. Because when you talk about true things, people get disgruntled. And usually the haters are these groups. The world, religious people, and legalistic groups. So the world will obviously hate you, but so will religious people. Religious people who have a form of godliness, but they don't know God. Do you ever meet any of them? They go to a certain church or this, and they're very religious and very this, or legalistic groups that are cults that come out of, and they're so legalistic. And all these groups will not like the truth. Because it's the same spirit, the antichrist spirit. Anti against Christ, the same ruler of this world, the devil, influences that group of people. And then carnal Christians also won't like this type of message. Because although they're carnal, they're Christians, they're influenced by the world's system. So when you're influenced in the world's system, you don't like to hear the truth. I'm enjoying the world's system, Shane. Don't tell me the truth. Are you telling me I can't go to Vegas for the weekend and put some Everclear in my margarita and watch Cain West? Well, that's probably not a good idea. I can't go here and do this, and I can't enjoy this type of relationship. The Bible says this. Well, I don't like what you say. Right, because you're enjoying your carnal lifestyle. So once we lovingly just say, hey, you might wanna consider what the Bible says. Well, I don't know, you're judging me. No, the Bible's judging you. I'm not judging you. But be careful, because we're not called to be sin sniffers, right? Just walk around, hmm, let me see what I can find. Let me see what I can find, hmm. Right, because that's, but we're called to be fruit inspectors. And if somebody's hurting their life, and you're praying, God, give me some open doors here to speak with them, have them approach me. Go to God first. Ask for wisdom, ask for discernment. And God will open tremendous doors, but if you steamroll ahead, you're going to hurt that person often. And they're not gonna be receptive, they're not gonna be open until God opens that door. So carnal Christians do not like the truth either. I've noticed that. It's like, leave me alone. I like this comfortable Christianity that I developed, that God is love, and he's just gonna wink while I live my life carnally. And I'll come to church when it fits my schedule. And I'll, the Bible, I guess, I have it somewhere in my house, they just hate the carnal, the carnal Christians, they drive me crazy because I was one. I know exactly, I lived that life for many years, right? You show up to church, I'm a good person, I'm here, aren't I good, I'll see you next month. Or I'll see you at Easter, I'll see you at Christmas, and probably at a funeral. But I love that sin, even though he's miserable. And so when somebody told me the truth, because here's the truth, God has a standard. And the problem isn't that we raise the standard and miss it, it's that we lower it and hit it. And the standard is holiness, and purity, and living right, and removing things, and removing weights, and distractions so we can be filled with the Spirit of God. I wouldn't trade that for anything. So when you tell people here's what's involved to do that, they don't want to hear it because they're enjoying that type of carnal lifestyle. So let's go back to this again, the high priest role. The high priest role, the New Testament does not recognize this role. Like I said in Hebrews four, that we have Jesus now is our high priest. So this brings up the question. The uscatholic.org says this, current church teaching sees celibacy as a gift bestowed to those who are called to the priesthood. That's why priests are celibate. Among the church's argument in defense of celibacy is the example of Jesus, which must be reflected in the life of a priest. Hmm. Two problems. Number one, God doesn't call people to the priesthood. We have a priest. That mediator is Jesus Christ. You don't go to man to get to Christ. You don't go to Mary to get to Christ. You go boldly to Jesus Christ. And I'm already gonna get a lot of upset people on this message for sure. But when did we read or where do we read that we need to be quiet about these things? See, if Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah, any religion out there, if it's good and it's right, let's talk about it. Let's see the differences. But see, we don't wanna talk. So Shane, why do you do this? Why are you bringing, why? Because I'm showing you the difference and the distinction. And there's a big difference here. There's no priesthood anymore. Now, so what does God do? He calls elders, he calls pastors, he calls leaders according to guidelines in 1 Timothy that they must be the husband of one wife. There goes your celibacy argument. And if you go to the Old Testament, he told the priests, marry virgins. Don't marry widows and don't marry those who have been divorced. Marry virgins. Priests, there's no grounds for celibacy. Zero grounds for celibacy. Actually, in my opinion, that will lead to perversion if you're not allowing God to work in this area and you're creating all these rules and regulations. So there's no priesthood. It doesn't exist anymore. It's a wasted office. And celibacy is not taught in the Bible unless you have the gift of celibacy. And if you have that gift, let me tell you, you will know it. You will, it's clear. I know a few people that they're fine. They have this gift of celibacy. They're fine. God's called them to be single. I'm like, bless you, brother. Just thank God he didn't call me that. Because it's a gift thing. So see, you miss it in this area. And I'm preparing. I guess I'm really kind of rabbit trail here because I'm meeting with a couple priests, one in a large church away from here because somebody set up this conversation on why can't Catholics and Christians just get along. So I said, well, I'll meet you and I'll tell you why, even though I wish we could, here's why we can't. I've got a whole list of 10 things because we desire that, but the priesthood, praying to Mary is co-redeemer. Purgatory, purgatory. We actually have to go to purgatory and be purged of our sin. What is the point of this? What is the point of that? It makes no sense. And if you die, or you're dying in a deathbed, hurry, go get a priest for last rites. You have to confess to the priest. So you have to keep confessing after every sin. I'm in heaven now, I'm in hell tomorrow. I'm in heaven now, I'm in hell tomorrow. I'm in this, see, it's all unbiblical. It's all unbiblical. And these are leading millions of people astray. Why should we not be passionate? Why should we not be passionate? One lady said, well, I love my Catholic faith. And I want to say, but do you love Jesus? But do you love Jesus? That's the answer. That's the answer. And I was caught in that system. I was an altar boy. I know that it's a dangerous system. And so people get upset. So if it's true, why not talk about it? But when you talk about, well, here's what the Bible says. Yeah, but you know, the papacy meant, and they've decreed certain things. 1516, they decreed this. In 1620, they decreed, I don't care what they decreed. What does this say? What does this say? And they teach apostolic succession, that Peter was the first pope, and that's been passed down. And you just follow that, and there's not good reason for that. It's not biblical. So here's the dilemma. We know the truth, but we can't present the truth because it's gonna offend people. Isn't that ironic? You think Jesus would be having the struggle that people have? He'd just lay it out. You're wrong. Here's where you're wrong. He told the religious leaders, here's where you're wrong. Your traditions make the word of God of no effect. You say, whatever we're supposed to give to our parents, we're gonna give to God, so we don't have to help them. And Jesus said, you just rule out the word of God because of your ungodly traditions. And that's what's happening. People are caught in a false system from all these different religions. And people get upset. Well, Shane, who are you to say that your way's the only way? I didn't say it. I didn't say it. I'm quoting from 2,000 years ago that I am the only way, the only truth, the only life. Nobody comes to the Father except through Christ. Either you believe that or you don't. If you believe it, you're gonna live a lot different. You're gonna be bold in your faith. You're gonna tell all these different movements that wanna remove God from everything. You know you came up against the wrong person. I'm bold now. I'm filled with the spirit of God. I'm gonna hold this ground that God has given us. That's what they used to do. But now we've become passive and weak and we don't wanna offend people. And I feel the pain because I don't wanna offend people either. I don't want to, but it's a byproduct of living for the Lord. God just opens tremendously. Yesterday, we were moving furniture. Four Jehovah's Witness walked right past me. Said, oh, what are you guys doing? I said, we're a church and we're helping people move. And they're like, okay, good thing. I'm like, Lord, open that door. Open that door. Come on, open that door. But he didn't. Okay, thank you, bye, but we'll just keep walking. But see, there's so many. So what would I do? Well, I mean, what do you do? Do you just encourage and we're all on the same page or do you say, I'm Jehovah's Witness. You're not, you're in a cult. What? What, you removed all the deity of Christ from the Bible? The Bible calls that antichrist. That's blasphemy. Do you tell them the truth? I mean, how do you? Now, you might not wanna just go right off the bat and say that. You might wanna talk with them, get to know them a little bit and say, you know, have you considered this? You know, we've got Greek manuscripts that say that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God. Your Bible says a God. Do you know how that happened? And, oh, okay, and you listen and sandwich approach. Remember the sandwich approach. You don't get to the meat yet. Kind of work there. But the truth will offend because it's almost, and I can't explain. It's just bubbling over. It's like, you gotta say something. Have you ever been there? I gotta say something. I mean, I gotta, I gotta. I'm still called a hater now that I said when Hillary endorsed partial birth abortion, I've got a problem with that. I've got a problem when you can remove baby parts from the womb and say it's okay. Call me stupid. Call me silly. But that's wrong. That is wrong. But see, don't get political. Well, really, you tell the child that who's in the trash can. You tell all those millions of children, don't get political. Be quiet. You don't wanna upset. No, it's time to upset. It's time to upset. Trust me, if I was a married man and I didn't have kids, I would upset a lot more people. I'd be just full of fire in the spirit. But you have to be careful, safety issues, because the world's getting difficult. So qualifications of an elder, that's who God has called to lead the church now, is elders. We see that, not priests. And you see all these differences. So it will cost you likes. It will cost you an easy life. It will cost you comfort. Comfort. By the way, what I'm doing, it's called, I think I made it up myself, expository topical. Because people go, is your church expository, or are you topical? What they mean by that is exposition. Are you an expository teacher, where you take the verb and the nuance and the participle and the present participle and the Greek and the Hebrew, and you break down every little thing, which is wonderful. I listen to a lot of those guys. I read those types of books. But then you have a topical, like, say, Spurgeon, and you just take a verse. Blessed are those who call upon the name of the Lord, and they shall be saved. And the whole sermon is focused on that verse. But I like to go through the Bible, but then also bring in topics that are relevant. And this topic is very relevant right now, because the truth will cost you comfort. It's not comfortable to speak the truth. But at night, verse 19, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out. Can you imagine that? The angel opens the prison doors. You know what I'd say? It's time for a hot dinner and a hot shower, and I'm going to bed, or I'm hiding. Wouldn't you? I'm, let's run, let's get out of here. In the flesh, right? The Spirit will probably have you do something different. But here's what the Spirit of God said. Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people again. Wait, isn't God, He's funny sometimes. You're released? No, don't go and hide. Go and speak to the people again. Listen to this. Speak to the people all the words of this life. Isn't that interesting? All the words of this life. This is life. That's why Jesus said, you feed on me. He wasn't talking about cannibalism. You feed, it's life. It's living, it's active, it's sharper than any double-edged sword. You live on that life. He said, go and preach all the words of this life. And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together with all the elders of the children of Israel, and they sent to the prison to have them brought. So, isn't that funny? The disciples are freed, they're out preaching. The priest and all the leaders think they're still in prison, so they said, okay, go get them. We need to talk to them. Now, I'm gonna cover the rest next week on what happens there. So, it's a cliffhanger. You need to be here for that. But I thought about this. If you're sitting, because here's where I kind of, just my own personal struggle. Why does he deliver them but not others? Why does he rescue Daniel from the lion's den, but John the Baptist gets beheaded? Why the three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, escape the fiery furnace, but it said that Isaiah was sawn in two? I don't know about you, but being sawn in two, you're stretched out on this board, and they saw you in Manasseh, Wicked King Manasseh. Lord, help me understand this, because I know you're able, but will you? And I want to encourage you, you have to get to a point to where you totally trust God's sovereignty in this area, because it will not be comfortable. Actually, the three Hebrew boys, right before they were thrown in, they said, oh, Wicked King, we will not bow down to you. Our God is able to deliver us. But even if he doesn't, how many of us could say that? Even if you don't heal me. Even if you don't set me free. God, even if this relationship isn't restored, I will still serve you. I serve you unconditionally. That's a very healthy balance to have. God, I know you're able, but will you? And I'm trusting in you regardless. So living for the truth will cost you comfort. Speak the words of life. There is no other name. There is no other truth. Don't be embarrassed. Don't be like, oh, I don't know how people are going to take it. When God gives you a word to give to somebody, speak the truth. Listen, I don't see too many mentions of cowards in this book. And I am one from time to time. I'll back away from things, and I know I shouldn't have, and it's hard, but when God calls us to do something and lovingly speak the truth, you will see lives changed. And here's what you'll hear at first. People get upset, but you've planted that seed. If I ever get about eight minutes, I'm going to read this testimony that I think it happened in Australia many years ago about this little old man that would run out of his store and give people a track. It said, if you die tonight, do you know where you're going? And they'd, give me that old man. They'd get upset, throw in the trash. For years, I think it was like 15, 20 years he would do that. And then this minister, I don't remember exactly who he was, but he began to hear stories all over the world. Like a leader at some conference. How'd you come to know the Lord? Well, back in Australia, there was this little old man who handed me this pamphlet, and I couldn't sleep all night, asking me where would I spend eternity? And then you get to some other place, and you'd meet this person who was leading some event. He'd go, how'd you come to know the Lord? Well, there's this little old man in Australia. He gave me the, and he kept hearing these stories everywhere. He says, I gotta find this guy. And he went and found him. By now, he's old, he's frail, he's in his apartment. And he'd sit down, have a cup of coffee, and he'd share with him. That old man began to cry because he said, I never heard, never heard that I ever led anybody to the Lord through that. But I promised God, I promised God that I would do it for the rest of my life. My goodness. You gotta hear the testimony of that. I'm tempted to play it. But that's what we do. We don't know about the, see, we wanna see the fruit. I don't know about you, but when I go to Home Depot and get an apple seed, I'm not gonna, I don't wanna wait three years. I'm ready for that apple now. So you'll go and you'll buy those trees that are already made, and you want it now. But God says, plant the seed. Plant the seed. And there might be, there's some people in this room you know you need to be bold with. And there's other people you know you need to be loving with. It's hard to decide, Lord, do I push on the gas pedal or do I push on the brake? Help me. Help me. But as you wait, and here's the thing, as you're filled with the Spirit, if you're filled with all the news, you're gonna go off on everybody. But if you're filled with the Spirit of God, it's timely. It's like a rifle that hits the target. It will cost you comfort, and finally, it will cost you your will. It will cost you your will. My will, Shane's will, and God's will are not friends. Never friends. Because my will, right, wants comfort and ease, and God's will is not what my will is. What I mean by that, my carnal nature, the Adamic nature, theologians would call it, this DNA I inherited from Adam does not like God's will because it's difficult, it's challenging, it pulls you out of your comfort zone, you gotta get up early for prayer, you gotta be nice to people, you gotta have the right attitude, you gotta be careful what you view, what you watch, how you raise your kids, everything, my will doesn't like God's will, but nevertheless, Lord, not my will, but your will be done. Hang on to your plans very loosely is the point I wanna make here. Because these disciples, I'm guessing, when they're freed from prison and want to go home, they probably did not want to do that, or maybe they were receptive, I'm not sure, but it will cost you your will. You can't keep going on in a certain direction unless you're ready to repent and give it to God. But what could be better than allowing the God of the universe to guide you? Have you ever heard of Youth for Christ? There's a person who founded that named Torrey Johnson, I'm gonna get to the end real quick here, so don't worry. He was being, God was putting on his heart, commit to go to Africa, commit to go to Africa, he's like, no, no, no, no, he was miserable for days, he was miserable. And then finally he couldn't win anymore, he just said, Lord, I will go to Africa. And then he said the desire left. That's it, he didn't go. God began to work, but he showed him, what's your thing you need to give to God? Is it your house? It doesn't mean go sell it, but is it your career, is it your image, is it your reputation? There's something, there's often something, our will we have to give to God. Is it a habit? Is it a relationship? Is it unforgiveness? Is it anger? Is it pride? Something has to be given to God, something in our will is holding us back. But Shane, how do I know? How do I know? It's very easy, because the Bible says, if you believe on me, as the scriptures say, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water. So if all these millions of people believe in America, I want to know where the river of living water is. Where is it? Because we don't see it that often. There's a disconnect there. So God says, come back to me and rekindle the fire. Come back to me and rekindle the fire. You've got to want it bad enough. And I believe, I truly believe, I'm going on record saying this, I believe one of the reasons God put West Side out here is so that it's not convenient. If I hear one more person say, well, that's not very convenient. Well, listen, they'll go watch Coldplay in Anaheim. Cain West at the Forum. They'll go to Bakersfield for George Strait reunion. And Faith Hill and Tim McGraw when they're in Vegas, they'll be there. But when it comes to seeking the one true and living God and to be broken before him, we don't have time. Why not? Why not? Do you see where I'm going with this? God has to be the priority. You've got to be desperate for more of God. He's got to be an all-consuming passion. My will gets out of the way, but Lord, let your will be done. The truth will cost you. Folks, the truth will cost you. How long are you gonna keep holding on to attitudes and wrong things and all these things that are getting in the way and not be filled with the spirit of God? Truth will cost you. Yes, there is pain. I'll tell you right now. There is pain when you proclaim the truth, but joy cometh in the morning. There is sorrow, but he will wipe away every tear. There is persecution, but he will set the captives free. There is loneliness, but he will never leave nor forsake you. There is fear, but he is the great comforter. Do you truly know him? There's brokenness, but he will restore. There are setbacks, but he's the God you can trust. There is discouragement, but he said, call on me and I will be there. Yea, though I've walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because God, you are there to comfort me. Your staff and your rod, they comfort me. You present a table before me in front of my enemies. That means he's my security, my protection. You anoint my head with oil, means you anoint me with the power of the Holy Spirit. My cup runneth over the blessings of God. All the days, mercy and grace and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. David said, one thing do I desire. One thing, not money, not recognition, not all these things. One thing do I desire, to live, to be in the courts of the Lord all the days of my life, and that will I seek. We have a seeking problem. My goodness, that's enough, I'm done. Guys, we need the power of the Holy Spirit. We need the power of the Holy Spirit. That's the only thing that brings unity. That's the only thing that brings love. That's the only thing that will restore homes and restore our lives, and we need that. We need that brokenness, we need that humility, how bad do you want it? Yeah, no, God's not convenient. I'll tell you that right now. God's not convenient. Prayer's not convenient. Getting up early when it's cold is not convenient. Seeking God with all your heart is not convenient. Putting Him first is not convenient. But there is power in that. There is passion. The blessing comes later. After the obedience, then the blessing. The discipline, then the blessing.