Shane Idleman emphasizes that while we make plans, it is ultimately God who directs our paths, which can be a source of comfort. He discusses the importance of trusting in God's sovereignty, especially when faced with closed doors or unexpected changes. Drawing from Genesis 27, he illustrates how God's will can sometimes upset others, as seen in the story of Isaac, Esau, and Jacob, and encourages the congregation to seek unity and reconciliation in their relationships. Idleman also highlights the significance of the words we speak, as they can have lasting impacts on ourselves and others, urging listeners to align their lives with God's principles and to trust in His timing.

Anybody need help with God's will? This might help. We plan, but God directs. And actually, this is very comforting because we'll plan things, but as you rest in God's sovereignty, trust Him praying. If He's directing a different way, you can just trust in that. Because my plans are usually focused on self-comfort and ease and the path of least resistance. And my plans, though, but God, You make those because you have to be moving. How do you steer a car that's not moving? So you have to have plans and you're moving. Okay, Lord, I think this is what You're doing. And then He begins to direct you. Have you ever came across a closed door that there's no way it's opening? Could it be? Or an open door that it's just clearly God? Directing. And so we're going to turn to Genesis 27. The last message I gave from Genesis was a while ago, probably a month ago. The title was, You Hurt Me, Now What? Anybody been hurt by the church or other Christians? See, don't raise your hand because it'd be everyone. And so that message, I talked about how to remove personal offenses. Because I will tell you now, 12 years into this pastoring, 20 years in ministry, that division is I think the enemy's number one tactic. Because when he can get us divided, if he can get me and Pastor Abram divided on each other, or the body divided on each other, he's like, I'll go to church, but I don't want to see them. Okay, you might as well not even come to church. You just quench the moving of the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit's not divided. So I would encourage you, if you have an issue with someone here, someone maybe outside, fix that as best you can to your ability. Paul says, as it depends upon you to live in peace with all people. And I know we get frustrated. Have you ever tried so hard, but Shane, they're not reconciled. They're not listening. Hey, if you've done all you can do, wipe your hand and move forward. Actually, you can begin now sinning if you're pressing something too much. And you're pushing. And you're trying to manipulate. Just, hey, I've done all I can do. I just need to let it go. And I shared with somebody recently, pastoring a church, we encounter that probably more than anything else. So for every relationship frustration that you have, add about 50 to that. Where I'm like, I don't know why they even left the church. I have no clue. I mean, I've tried. We've done all that we can do. And it's all I can do. Because the enemy wants to frustrate me and you through division. Because that's where we get unaffected. And I can see over the last decade for sure, I can get through difficult times with the world, what's going on, as long as you're filled with the Spirit. But when there's division and contention, it's just exhausting. And so check out that message and focus on unity because it does not come naturally. Unity does not come naturally. It comes supernaturally. Like being filled with the Spirit and asking for forgiveness and seeking reconciliation. So Genesis 27 now, we have a very interesting topic. You've heard of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Very, very important three people there that the Bible talks about quite often. That because the Messiah came from that lineage, the nation of Israel came from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And then Jacob, the 12 tribes of Israel, comes out of that. And it's such an important topic. And so what we find here is the blessing that Isaac is going to give to Esau. Isaac wants to bless Esau. That's his favorite son, let's be honest. He's a hardworking hunter, you know. And what happens though is the mom hears of this plan and her and Jacob devise a different plan. Basically, they say we're going to trick our father and make him, because he's old and his eyes are dim, we're going to make him think he's Esau, so therefore Jacob receives the blessing. A little tricky there, huh? Aren't you glad the Bible's honest about Bible characters? Because I can see like Peter, you know, I'll never deny you, Lord. And then he's pressured. And so we learn from these powerful figures that they had flaws just like us. Now it came to pass when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, he called for Esau, his older son, and he said, son, I'm getting old. I know my days are coming to an end. Please make me some savory food that I love and bring it to me and I will eat and then I will bless you. Now the reason this is important is because the blessing of the father, especially in the Old Testament, even now in the Middle East in that area, that is like the kids look forward to that because it's not like blessing at 10 and 12 and 15. The father lays a blessing upon the child that it's actually the child lives with that blessing for the rest of their life. And not a lot has changed because I believe the father can still speak life into their children. Or death. So many people living with pain even here this morning because of the words your father spoke or didn't speak into your life. And we have grown men, but still children inside because they've been still carrying those wounds of maybe not hearing I love you. Or maybe hearing you're stupid. You'll never amount to anything. Why do we even have you? You know those are words? You're a mistake. As we grow up, we can play tough guy. Or the absentee father. Why did he leave? And that pain and dealing with that pain. So there's so much there with the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18.21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue. And those who love it, love good words and building up encouraging, they will eat of its fruit. So men, even women, take something from here this morning. Life and death are in the power of what you say. Why is that? Well, the pulpit commentary said speech is the picture of the mind. So what you say, you're actually giving people a picture of your mind. Of what you believe. Out of the abundance of the heart, your mouth will speak. And that's why they're so deadly and damning. James says like a tongue. It's like a fiery little thing that can set the whole forest on fire. Because it's actually a picture of how I feel. So when you lash out, it's not just words coming out, sounds out of your mouth. It's actually expressing feelings towards another. And so he was going to bless his son. But we read in verses 5-29, the whole story there, that Jacob with his mom tricked Isaac so that Jacob would receive the blessing. And so what he does is he puts some animal skin I guess on his arms, and so his father felt his hairy arms. He smelled like game, like he was hunting. Well, this smells like my son and feels like my son, but it doesn't sound like him, but obviously I guess this is him. And so he actually gave the blessing to Jacob instead of Esau. He was tricked. And Esau then loses hope. As soon as Isaac blesses Jacob, here comes Esau. He's got his food ready. And his father, eat of it and then bless me. And his father says, who are you? I just gave my blessing, my irrevocable blessing that I can't take back on your brother. And of course, he's furious. The father said indeed, the last sentence there, indeed, he shall be blessed. But again, we plan. God directs. Proverbs 16.9, a man's heart plans his way, but it's the Lord who will direct his steps. And v. 34, when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry. Can you imagine losing your father's blessing? Losing the inheritance? Losing the calling of God upon his life and how he would be blessed? And there's this bitter cry. And he said, Father, bless me. Bless me. But he said, your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing. Now, we often wonder, or I would think, why couldn't he just reverse it? And say wait a minute, this was deceit. I was tricked. This does not apply. Well, could it be that Isaac was actually disobeying God? Because we read a few chapters ago in Genesis 25, it was crystal clear, the older will serve the younger. So personal opinion, the text isn't clear. I think Isaac heard that back in Genesis 25 and said, yeah, okay, whatever, but that's not going to be the way it goes. And so actually the blessing was for Jacob. The younger receives a blessing. Now he's as the firstborn viewed, and now the older must serve the younger. God says, I have declared it. This is how it's going to happen. I'm even going to let you know. And so even in that, in that trickster, that's what his name means actually. Even in that, God's plans prevailed. And now Esau is furious. He took away my birthright. And now look, he's even taken away my blessing. And Esau hated Jacob and he vowed to kill him. Things change, though, in the next chapters as we'll continue to progress. But I was reminded here that God's will, God's will, will upset others. You better realize that now. We think, hey, I'm in God's will. Everybody's going to come alongside of me. And just ask Joseph how that went with his brothers. Highly favor Joseph. Because God's will, often when God is blessing you, others are not going to be fans of that. It brings in some animosity, some jealousy, some envy. And God's will does upset others. Maybe I should speak to that. This is interesting. I was going to write it down. I said, no, I won't write it down. Lord, bring it back to memory if You want me to talk about it. But in church, I guess in anywhere, I've dealt with it. Many of you have dealt with it. We want sometimes to, I don't even know the right word, to be maybe promoted. You know, let's say somebody wants to be on the worship team. Or somebody wants to be a leader in a ministry. Or you want a promotion at work. Or you name it, right? There's a variety of things that we really want. And we get kind of frustrated. And sometimes that's not a bad thing. The Bible even says it's good that a man desires to be an elder, a leader. It's okay to desire that. And so, but a lot of times, there's a lot of friction and fractions and fighting, even in the church, I've seen a lot over 12 years, over this issue of promotion. Like, I mean, I'm just, again, I have nobody in mind, so don't email me. I'm just, if somebody doesn't get promoted, let's say women's ministry. Well, I thought this, right? Why aren't my talents being used? Or why, you know, we can all relate. And I was reminded, it was like just clear as day to share this with you. If God wants you somewhere, nobody can stop you. Nobody can stop you. Why complain then? Why aren't I doing that? I should be up there on that stage. I should be. If God wants you up there, you think I'm going to stop it? Of course not. And I've noticed the more I rest and just wait on God, the more He will elevate. He will push. I can't say a lot now, but I've been asked to speak at some big conferences to pastors, maybe next year, and in different places, and people reaching out, can you bring Ren in the heavens to this area? Like, oh wow, I can't barely bring it to this area, you know, so, and the more you just let, Lord, what do you want to do? The more, then He will place you. And many times, He holds you back in order to break you. And I see that, it's sad. Over the years, I'm talking last 12 years, people would, why didn't I get promoted? Why didn't I become the worship leader? Why didn't I become the associate pastor? Why aren't I leading the men's ministry? Why can't I start that Thursday study? And I see it a lot, and I'm thinking, if God wants to do it, it's going to happen. I can't stop His will, number one. Number two, I don't want to. We always say, Lord, whatever you want to do. Whatever you want to do. And so I don't know if that's helpful for someone, but the more you keep fighting over that, maybe it has nothing to do with church, maybe at your work. Oh, where can I get promoted? Why isn't this happening? If God wants to open a door, He'll open it. So to me, it tells me the waiting time is God is working on my heart. He's working on me. And I've told people that, even people that have been upset, maybe with some of the decisions the leadership has made. I say, if God wants you there, you're going to be there. But this attitude I'm seeing is not good. It's not healthy. Could it be that that is what God's wanting you to work on? Hey, He's working on me. I got some names I could name. You know, they speak into my life. They reprimand me a little bit, you know. I remember one time, it's funny. I don't even know if I should tell you this. Well, here's what happens. I tell you stuff and people use it against me a year later. You said this. Well, yeah. But I remember I first met Jim Garlow. Do you know who Jim is? And he said, we just started the church. He goes, I've been following your ministry, you know, powerful, preaching and stuff. Wow. And then, here I go. I would love to speak at Skyline Church in San Diego. And he just, it was a loving rebuke. Shane, if God opens that door, but you don't need to ask or push things like that. I'm like, oh, ow, boom. But, and I was like, I had to check my heart because I was just like, oh, that would be so cool. But, see, you know. And then as I just shut my mouth, then God begins to open doors and speak to these different areas and groups. But sometimes He'll use these things to get your heart right. And sometimes the longer the process, the longer, the deeper the work He's doing in your own heart. Because that's how we change, is by hearing no. And then what do we do with it? All right, Lord, why trust You? I'll trust You to lead me. I was also reminded that anger can delay or damage God's will for your life. Anger can damage or delay God's will for your life. You'll rarely see God move through an angry person. What I mean by that is ungodly anger. Unrighteous anger, an angry spirit, an angry heart. Actually, one of the qualifications of an elder is they cannot be easily angered. They can't be known as a man with unrestrained passions and anger. James 1.20, for the wrath of man, meaning the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. You'll never do something right through anger. The wrong kind of anger. Thank God for righteous indignation to be angry. I'm angry, very angry with what's going on around us. And that's gonna drive me to the altar. That's gonna drive us to have rent in the heavens. That's gonna drive us to fast because that anger is propelling a godly action. That's gonna cause us to do voter registration and have a voice for those who have no voice. And that's gonna cause us to do certain things because that anger is being funneled in the right direction. But unrestrained anger, outbursts of anger, that will really hinder God's will for your life. And I often wonder how much of us could do more, but anger is holding us back. Unrestrained passion. And so here's some practical application on better understanding God's will. We plan, but God directs. Number one, the absolute will of God. Now this is the will of God that no matter what you do, guess what's gonna happen? God's will. There's no if you do this, when you do this, I'll consider this, this is, here it is. This is my will. Good luck trying to stop that. Romans 9, it said that Rebecca will conceive Isaac for the children, listen to this, the children weren't even born yet. They haven't done anything right or wrong, but the purpose of God according to election might stand. Not based on any of their works, but on God who called them. And it was said, Romans 9 is quoting Genesis, the older shall serve the younger. God says, my will of election will stand. You will not stop that. No king, no kingdom, no army, no demonic desire or demonic demon is going to stop this perfect will of God. And then that's what we're gonna talk about. We have permissive will of God, different areas of God's will. We even see a demonic opposition like when Daniel was fasting and praying. Daniel's prayer was answered on day one, but it took three weeks. And the angel said, the prince of Persia held me up. Spiritual battle. So see, here's God's will, but then the enemy can come and thwart some of those plans. But when it comes to this absolute will of God, absolute will of God, we see this word election in elect in Matthew 24 as well, refers to the very elect. And so this is so funny because I don't have any of this in my notes, but the first service I talked about this point and it was a person's first time here. And believe it or not, they were struggling with this issue of election and it was able to clarify some things for them. Now I don't know exactly what clarified because this topic brings a certain level of healthy tension and anytime there's tension between two camps in Christianity, some healthy tension is good. And when you're holding up a big pole, you have healthy tension on both sides. And so what election is, to just summarize it biblically, election is, especially in the Old Testament, God elects or calls a certain person to accomplish a certain task. They are elect to do this. Abram, Isaac, and Jacob, you are the elect, the chosen, to bring in the nation of Israel. There's no way around it. That's your calling. You are elect. And then in Matthew and in other places, I mean, if we had a whole couple hours to unpack some verses, in election, initially it had to deal with the nation of Israel. And then we do see that now the church, the church Christians are worked into this concept of election. That God will choose certain people for certain tasks. Paul was on his way to kill Christians, persecute Christians. And God said enough of that. Knocked him down to the ground. And said, Paul, you're actually called, you're elected to be a chosen vessel of Mine. Okay, well, change of plans. Did you know that Isaiah, or actually Jeremiah, before he was even born, the Bible says before you were formed in your mother's womb, I called you. Hmm, that's interesting. I called you to be a prophet among the nations. I don't know if he had much of a choice in that. I mean, some people say he could have rejected it. Well, I don't know. Scripture's silent, so I'm going to remain silent. But God called him. He said I'm creating this child, this DNA, d-ribonucleic acid, in the mother's womb to be this prophet. He's elected to do that. John the Baptist was called when? At conception possibly. Mother's womb, he was filled with the Spirit. And so we see the election is clearly taught in the Bible. Where it gets challenging is some people will say and teach that God only elects certain people to salvation. In other words, of the billions and billions of people throughout history, God only chooses certain people, elects them. And that elect is the chosen. They are elect by God, predestined. They have no choice in the matter and they are chosen, elect to go to heaven. And then the billions of others who aren't chosen then are by default damned to hell because they're not elect, they're not chosen. So personally, I don't see that in the Bible. I have a hard time putting a lot of Scriptures together to teach when God says repent and believe, He's not saying, you know what? Billions of you can't. I'm just going to say that just to say it. When God commands something, it tells me that person has the ability to repent and believe. So to me, it's not a good work, it's how God created us to repent and believe and reject or accept. And so there's a divide in the church though. Just because I made that statement, some people do not come to this church. Because of that statement, oh well, I'm not here to please men. I'm just telling you how the Bible I read clearly teaches election, but it also teaches that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repent it. So what do you do with that Scripture and others? But it does teach if God, so I think God can call whoever He wants to call for salvation. I want this person, John the Baptist. I need Jeremiah and I need Paul. Okay, yes, for sure. But that doesn't necessarily mean that He elects only certain people to come to heaven. And that's a big debate between Calvinism and Arminianism. And it hasn't been solved for 2,000 years. There's been debates going on for centuries. And that's because some people feel very strongly about an issue and some people feel very strongly about another issue. A lot of it has to do with the experience. We look through biblical texts through our own experience. God clearly drew me to salvation, so obviously election must be true. God, man, I repented and I believed and I struggled and I had to make a choice, so obviously this is true. And so that's where it gets challenging as we look, don't we? We all look at, when we talk about the power of the Holy Spirit, we usually bring in our own experience about that. And so all you need to know is, I believe that the Bible has a healthy tension there. That man is responsible for his actions and judged based on those actions, yet God's sovereign plans will prevail. And if He wants to call somebody to salvation, amen, let it be me. And Charles Spurgeon even said, we see God's sovereignty and man's responsibility running like two separate lines. And we won't know where they cross until eternity. And so I just think that's very healthy because I can't for the life of me, if you take this thought process out all the way to the end, that God creates then people, billions of people creates them, there's nothing they can do, even though the Bible says, repent and believe, it's your choice, you're judged based on your choice. These billions of people are created basically to go to hell. I know I said repent, but you can't because you're not elect. I can't gravitate towards that. I can't believe that because of all the Scriptures in the Bible that talk about God not willing that people should perish, that sending His Son, all who believe. I love the whole world. And you can get really deep into theological discussions. You just need to know that God is sovereign and man is responsible for his actions, if I were to sum that up. So, the absolute will of God. Then we have the permissive will of God. The permissive will of God. Romans 1 is actually a great example of that if you read it tonight. And if you ever wonder, where does the LGBTQ issues come from? Where does the homosexuality issue come from? Where does the gay marriage issue come from? Just read Romans 1. As soon as they begin banning the Bible, that's probably going to be the first chapter. Trust me, if it was up to some legislators, you would have a whole new version of the Bible. And it talks about that God is clearly revealed. But, instead of embracing the truth, they suppress the truth. They begin to worship the creation and the creature instead of the God who created them. And they exchange the truth for a lie. And they begin to worship creation. God then gives them over to a debased and corrupted mind. And it says they begin to exchange the natural use of a body. Natural use as God designed it. They were filled with vile passions. Men loving men and women loving men. It's in Romans 1. It's crystal clear. There's really no debate. Are we even having conversations that men can have babies? How is this possible? Or you ask the Supreme Court Justice to define a woman. And she's, I can't. Folks, this is asinine. Is there any stronger words? This is ridiculous. This is ludicrous. It's crystal clear. But when you begin to suppress the truth, God gives you over to a debased and corrupted mind. You'll believe whatever. And people want to fight and argue. Who are you to say that men can't become pregnant? That is so malracist. Malracist racism. All you have to do is look at the design. Where's the baby coming out? I mean, golly! There's no womb to support life. I mean, it's just silly. But I know pastors, they'll say, don't talk about that stuff. The problem is, everyone else is talking about lies. And those who are supposed to be talking about the truth are so quiet so they don't offend people. That's what wokeness is. Wokeness, political correctness. You're gonna offend a whole, yeah, God's word is gonna offend quite a bit of people. And the more we progress, the more we digress, it's actually gonna get more offensive and more offensive and more offensive because we've developed, we've created a whole generation of crybabies that can't have their feelings heard. And yes, we can challenge things that are wrong. Did you know that I could come up here, I don't care if you call me political or not, but I could come up here and with the Bible talk about our borders. I could talk about sanctuary cities and the immigration issue and what's going on in Martha's Vineyard from a biblical perspective. Why shouldn't we? Did you know that President Biden can fly in immigrants under the radar at midnight or two in the morning and drop them off somewhere sneakily? But if Governor DeSantis decides to put them on a bus, put them into a sanctuary city, they said they're in sanctuary city, and puts them there now, he's evil. The hypocrisy is alarming. Grow up, wake up, and look at the truth. And just saying that, people on Facebook, I'm throwing your books in the trash. I can't believe you. I thought you were loving. I am loving. Let's do it the right way. Let's help immigrants that need help. I see the mom and their dad and their kids, like how can we help them? I love them, right? That's what we're supposed to do. And theoretically, technically, you should be able to send them to a sanctuary city. Hello, hence the word sanctuary, meaning you're welcome here, we can take care of you. But once you do that, no. See, what happens is the truth comes out. These groups are after votes, and they do not truly love people. And that's the truth. If we can't tell you the truth, who can? And now, granted, a group this size, the internet this size, I know that's not going to please everyone. Absolutely, but it's the truth. And I think we need to give, especially the younger generation, the truth. Let them know, here's what's really happening. Here's how this works. They don't want to secure the borders because they want votes. The only reason they want you to think they're out for helping the poor is to get votes. They're not really out to helping the poor, because all you have to do is check their timing records and see where the money really goes. I want to appear like I want to help people, but when the people really come that need help, Martha's Vineyard, they already kicked them all out of their area. Did you know that? All of those immigrants, why not say, hey, you know what? I've got a guest house. Let me see, is there some Christians here? Families are really... Let me see if I can help you. When the rubber meets the road, they drop the ball. It's called hypocrisy. And they need to be called out because they are deceptive and it's false narratives that are causing division in our nation. So my political rant for the day is over. But did I say anything that's not only not true, but is necessary and needs to be said in this culture? Here's why I'm so passionate about this. You see young adults, 15, 16, 17, watching deceptive CNN and being brainwashed into thinking the good people are evil and thinking the evil people are good. And that has to be, I have to say something because it's wrong. It's deceptive and that's how the enemy works. Romans 1.21, you guys are getting me off track here, the second service. Choices have consequences, good and bad. That's God's, what do we call this, will? His permissive will. He allows things to happen. Now this is incredible. This is gonna move right into number three, God's conditional will. I've gotta read this for you. Jeremiah 26, two through three. Thus says the Lord. Okay, God is saying this. Not Shane, not Jeremiah. God is saying this to Jeremiah. Do not diminish a word. What does that mean? Well, I know exactly what that means because I have to deal with the same things Jeremiah does as a preacher. That means I get up here and I'm like, such and such is here, I can't talk about that. No, you're not gonna like this one. And you're new? It's your first time? And they're such and such. They hate when I get political. You see? But is that not what this is? He says, Jeremiah, you better not. I double-dog dare. Do not diminish one word. You tell the people they are backslidden. You tell the people they are sinners. You tell the people they are spiritual adulterers and they have embraced idolatry and harlotry. Jeremiah, you call them to repentance. I don't care what they say. I don't care if they wanna kill you. But my word is in you like a burning fire and you let it out and you let it fall where it may. And I have to rely on that every single week. Do not diminish a word. And you think I'm joking, but I'm not. I do that. Oh, they're not gonna like this part. I just had a conversation with somebody who left because I am too political. I don't know what to tell you. Do not diminish a word. It's what God puts on my heart. You're not gonna find the perfect church. And I do it. Oh, there's the big givers. Oh my gosh. Now, we don't know that because I don't see offering records at all, but sometimes people, they'll, hey, here's a $10,000 check. Here's a $20,000 check. Put it towards children's ministry, whatever you guys want. And then, oh, is this gonna upset them? Oh, and then they don't want me, you know? And if there's new, I've had, and we love all ethnicities, but being careful with what I, you know, people get upset, Hispanic community upset at the immigration issue. When we're saying the same thing, we love all groups. How can we help? Do it the right way. And if I talk about it, back when I used to just mention five letters, I've had some African-Americans leave the church because I mentioned Trump too much. And so, but I understand what they're feeling. I understand it once I talk to them. You know what I mean? So I'm just trying to tell you, I understand. And I ask, Pastor, am I talking about this too much? Am I upsetting? Ask him, ask him. Every other week or so, it's just, and people, I'll ask people, I'm open for feedback, but it has to come from the right heart. I don't want to hear from negative Nelly or judgmental Jerry. I want to hear from people who love the church and will speak the truth and love. And I go to dozens of core team members. And when they all say, no, we need to hear this, then I'm just going to set my course and let the chips fall where they may. So that's what he's saying here. That's why I did like COVID. I just had a camera. Here's what I got to say. I can't see anybody. I'm just going to preach and I'll see you next week. But he's saying that, do not diminish your word, which tells me he might want to diminish your word because there's cowardliness and weakness coming in. When the flesh comes up, the Holy Spirit may be quenched. And he's saying, Jeremiah, do not diminish your word. Why? Why? This is amazing. God said it, not me. Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way. So that's why I still have hope for America. They might not listen, but the hope is there that they call them to repentance. Oh, wayward nation, would you come back to God again and drink deeply of the fountain of living water? Would you repent of your sin and embrace the one true and living God? They might not listen. Hollywood might want to strip me of my license, even though I don't have one. They might want to kill me. But God says they might listen. So again, again, I love my Calvinist brothers, but this brings that doctrine into question. They might listen and repent. The Bible often says, you were not willing. You did not repent. It never says you could not repent. Never says you could not. It always says you would not. See, the choice goes back on them. Oh, I just upset a lot of people today. I'm telling you. So, funny for you guys, not for me. My poor wife, she goes, I don't know that many people don't get upset. I just don't share it with you. You gotta just guard. Amend your ways. This is God. Amend your ways. Telling the people, amend your ways. Change your ways. Repent and obey the voice of the Lord. Then the Lord will relent concerning the doom He has pronounced against you. So if you read Scripture, if you believe Scripture, do you believe that? Because that tells me inside God's permissive will, next screen, will be His conditional will. That tells me God can change His plans within His permissive and conditional will. I don't know what else to do with that. Jonah, in 40 days, I'm going to destroy Nineveh. Well, what happened? They repented, revival, and it was 150 years. I think it was Nahum who came. Yeah, Nahum of Achaemena. Nahum came and pronounced judgment. Don't quote me on that, it's just coming to my mind. But 150 years later, it bought them 150 years. There's another verse. Man, I see it somewhere every time I come to church. If my people, hmm, will humble themselves and pray, seek my face, turn from their wicked ways, then I will heal their land. So see, there's a lot of things within the conditional will of God. If that nation against whom I've spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. Change your plans. And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all of your heart. Could it be that some of you are distant from God and not finding God because you're not searching for Him with all of your heart? You say, Lord, why aren't you doing this? Why aren't you doing this? Well, this is conditional. This is conditional. When you search for me with all of your heart. This might change the way some of you live. Because how we live is how the Scripture has lived out. Searching for God, fasting, praying, 6 a.m. morning worship on Sundays, Wednesday nights, worship nights, rend the heavens, devotional time in your own home, worship in your own home, getting rid of the junk that pulls you down and get excited about God. Do you know men especially, you know it's okay to get excited about God? You guys get all excited when your favorite fighter won last night. You guys get all excited when your favorite fighter won last night. UFC guys, UFC guys, remember? You get all excited. Nate Diaz wins again his final contract with the UFC. Oh my God, I can't believe it. You're all jumping up and down. But when you come into the house of the living God and shout for LeBron, or James, and have that 24 ounce in your hand and get all excited. No, the problem is the devil has got you bound from your excitement and your joy of the Lord. You love the things of the world but hate the things of God. You need a spiritual rebirth or a mindset of the mighty baptism of God's spirit in your heart and in your life. But see, that's the conditional will of God. If you ask anything, if you ask anything in my name, I will do it. And could it be that as we seek the heart of God during Ren the Heavens, oh God, Ren the Heavens, and come down and visit your people. God says, if you do this, if you cry out to me, if you meet together, if you make me your all-consuming passion and I become your priority, that is a deal I cannot break because my permissive will says, if you do these things, I will do this. God's bound by His Word. He is bound by His Word to honor the actions of His people. And then finally, the will of God that's based on principles. The will of God based on principles. When you get an idea, don't immediately assume that it's from God. Amen? If you are ignorant of God's Word, you will always be ignorant of God's will. Billy Graham. And so the whole point of God's will, I mean, I've taught on this before, that's why I didn't want to spend too much time, is God's will based on principles. Do you know the Bible has principles? Do you know you don't know the person's name you need to marry, but you do have principles you should look for? People are so confused, like I don't know who to marry, what's the principles? The Bible says, I mean, it says God's will is for you to be saved. See, that's another, that's His will is for you to be saved. His will is for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit. His will is for you is to make disciples, to live holy and blameless before Him. His principles are outlined there. So I don't know what God's will is. Well, are you in His Word? Because the older I get, I realize God's will is not as hard as I used to make it be. Like some great mystery, like you're putting together, have you ever seen those thousand piece puzzles? Like, oh, you know where it's, it's like, hey, basically live your life based on God's Word. You're not gonna be perfect, but you get back on track, you stay repentant, you stay broken, you stay humble, you stay prayered up, you stay in obedience of His Word, and you just say, Lord, I trust you, I trust your sovereignty, and you allow God to open doors, close doors, and you make decisions based on His Word. And there's a lot of trust in that, in sovereignty. The reason we're so worried of getting outside of His will is because we're often not living in His Word. And so our decisions are not that smart. And we're worried about that. We know what's happening. We know why we're in this pickle, because God's Word has to be the standard. And that's why churches get into trouble. Especially churches that, you know, they call it emotionalism, touchy-feely, you know, all those terms, hyper-charismatic, and ooh, it's just about loud, and weirdness is going on, they don't have any grounding in the Word of God. Because that's where your grounding is. Theology doesn't say if it's odd, it's God. Actually, quite the contrary. It needs to make sense according to God's will, God's Word. Now, things will happen that you might not agree with, but it's in God's Word. For example, I've thrown this out there many times over the 12 years. And I have a feeling not everyone will be sticking around if what happened in the Bible after waiting in an upper room happened in this place. You would not stick around. Many of you, I'm out of here, this is, it's in the Bible though. Correct? Tongues of fire. The Holy Spirit baptizes 120 believers and they are on fire for God? Whew, that's too much heat for a lot of Christians. Am I not just being honest and real? I'm telling you. And so see, but it's in the Bible. It's in the Bible, so things might happen that you might not be comfortable with, but it's thoroughly biblical. Because I've noticed when God moves, really moves, and you're on fire for Him, it's not comfortable. The proud and arrogant and judgmental, they will judge you. The carnal Christians will say, I'm never coming back to that church. Oh my goodness, I'm too convicted. And it's really just the Word of God coming alive. Think about that. Could you handle that many people speaking in tongues? Now then Paul though, then gives us edification and encouragement, 1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14. If you come together, don't speak in tongues. An uninformed person's gonna think you're out of your mind. I'd rather speak five words in a known tongue than 10,000 words because prophecy edifies and do things, all things done decently in order. So things must have got a little chaotic. So see, that doesn't tell you the church is wrong. It tells you the church needs some rules. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says living children need rules. Dead children don't. So if you're a church that nothing in 1 Corinthians applies to you, you could be dead spiritually. Absolutely true. You need no rules because you're spiritually dead. You cut 1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14 out of your Bible as if that doesn't happen anymore. And I can't do that because I've experienced all of that in profound and powerful ways. I've shared this before too. I'm very conservative. And so sometimes maybe I lean towards that too much. I'm finding that balance. It's hard though, right? You guys, you know, we don't wanna be, you know, you see stuff, I don't wanna be anything weird, but I want more of God. Because anytime you try to put controls around God, it's not fun. They'll just bust you or bust open. But then inside of that atmosphere, and the only reason I'm telling you that is I feel big things for this church with Ren in the heavens and God moving. But how do you steward that environment? How do you steward the environment where God is moving, but so is the enemy? So is the enemy. Welcome to our world. It's challenging, but again, my whole point was, if we look to God's Word, what does the Word say? What does it say? Can people get healed? Why does it happen? Does God still give words of wisdom, words of knowledge? Where are they? Now granted, that's what our prayer room's for, actually. We see a lot of spiritual fruit there. And I would encourage you to go there for prayer sometime and just be open to what God wants to do in your heart and in your life. But the danger of the inner light without the outer light is not good. The outer light of the Word of God. The danger of the leading of the Spirit without the leading of the Word. The danger of listening to voices instead of the voice of the One who already spoke. Be careful, those who call yourself charismatic. Don't be, oh, God told me, God told me, God told me, God... I heard this, what's the Bible say first and foremost? Because my inner voices need an anchor. Yours do too. Don't act all spiritual. Over the years, and I'm just... There's so many rabbit trolls. But it's important. I think it's... Over the years, spiritually mature people I've looked up to, like I would say, man, they are just so on fire for God. Gifts of the Holy Spirit. There's times they miss it. There's times they miss it. They're not always walking on clouds and everything they say is perfect. That's why you can't be led astray by every wind of doctrine, every prophetic word. What are the prophets saying? What are the prophets saying? What is this ministry doing? And we're led astray. Instead of grounded in God's Word is so important. But then on the flip side, if all you've got is the Word, and you're legalistic, hard, overbearing, controlling, and filled with anger and frustration, that Word is lifeless. The letter kills. It's the Spirit that gives life. And we are not a perfect church. We make mistakes. I own it. Open for constructive criticism, but I tell you, we are a church committed to the truth of God's Word and the power of the Spirit. That's our commitment. And the irony is, is that's where most of the disputes are at. You either have this group. You just beat me up with the truth. Golly, that stinks. And then you got the Holy Spirit side. Holy Spirit, You are welcome. No, we don't care, Lord. Just do whatever you want right now. Just do cartwheels and just, you know, weirdness. Do you see that's like an angel up there in the corner? Can't you see? No, it's the light's reflection off the thing, you know? And I'm not poking fun to poke fun. I'm telling you, that's the truth. You got to find the middle. I mean, that's just not healthy. Not healthy. 20 years of ministry. I know people that are like this and they are not grounded in Scripture. They are very unhealthy, very unstable. And I know arrogant Pharisees who are demeaning and their kids can't wait to get out of the house. They're mean-spirited and it hurts. And see, we try to join. I just need the power of the Spirit and the truth of God's Word. We have to have both. I don't know about you. I don't want a pastor at church that doesn't have both because there's a lot of stuffiness on this side. Can you, you know, just, oh, stiff neck, stuffiness. What Bible translation do you use? Where did you go to seminary? Your theological persuasion on pneumatology doesn't line up with my eschological view of the end. Don't get happy, weird side. You're just, you know. You know, you guys. You're talking so much. Holy, God is downloading. Hold on. I'm going to tell you just a minute what he said. What I say, I'm going to say, when was the last time you spent a lot of time in God's Word? I don't, brother, I, you know, that was, I did when I was a child, but now I've got, no, see, that's not healthy. See, that is not healthy. Boy, this is an interesting message. But it's all helpful and needed because you need to know what the church is about. And then finally, the principle behind salvation. I'm going to talk about this and I'll close out. 2 Peter, the Lord is not slack concerning His promise. In other words, the Lord is not lazy. He's not just delayed to be delayed, but He is what? Long-suffering toward us, not willing that, I don't know what to do with that one, but that some, all come to repentance. 1 John, if we confess, act, if we repent, you can see there's the principle behind salvation. Maybe some of you, a few of you need to hear that this morning or watching online. There is a conditional call on salvation. God says, if you do this, if you repent, if you believe, if you confess that Christ is Lord and Savior, God's not going to lift you up, drag you to the altar and make you. He says, if, if, if, if, call out to me and times of refreshing will come from the presence of the Lord and God will fill you heart with His Spirit, mightily fill you with His Spirit and love and peace and joy will flow out. So if you need that this morning, God's not slack, He's waiting on people. He's waiting on people to repent and believe and experience these times of refreshing. So we're going to do two things as we conclude the service. We have communion available. And I didn't get it. I got into the first service, but I'm not going to read it now. Communion is a solemn event where we have to examine our hearts. We have to look at our hearts before taking communion. We want to make sure we don't take it unworthy manner. Number one, it's for believers. You've repented, you've believed. And number two, it's for those who get their heart right beforehand. Because in 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote about the church coming together and they were just taking it with a lot of gluttony, a lot of not caring for others. And they were actually bringing sickness and death to their own bodies. And Paul said, if you rightly judge your own character, God will not have to judge you. So examine your heart. Do you need to repent? Do you need to get rid of a critical spirit, an angry spirit, a frustration, jealousy, backbiting, anger, addiction? These things that you've been just holding onto, don't leave here still holding onto those things.