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The words we speak from your word to make them powerful when we share our testimony that it would be powerful. Lord, we need that anointing, Lord God, of the Holy Spirit to bring healing, emotional, spiritual, physical healing, to see deliverance from demons. Lord, to see the truth, to break out of religion and to move in the Holy Spirit, Lord. I just pray God that you stir us, Lord, as a people to to make a priority, Lord, to be led by the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, to be, Lord God, an extension of the kingdom of God, to be one that you can work through and flow through and live through. Lord, that we would decrease and you would increase through us. Father, I pray that this morning in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Well, this morning the Lord kind of just dropped something in me and I wasn't sure if this was going to be the way he would want me to go with this or not, but I believe so. And now, this is something that I have This is a, you know, when you preach for almost 27 years, you've pretty well preached on most things in the Bible and I've preached on this particular passage and some of the things within this, but never have I preached this message ever. Not in this way. Okay? But this morning, I want you to turn to um first of all, John, the Gospel of John, chapter 12. And then we're going to go to Matthew 26. And somehow in the midst of this crazy morning, my Bible went missing, but someone was kind enough to loan me one. Hallelujah. Can somebody say hallelujah? What we're going to call this this morning is breaking the box of religion. Breaking the box of religion. Believe it or not, we all at one time or another have been in a box of religion. It can be a Baptist box. It can be a Methodist box. It can be a Catholic box. It can be a Buddhist box. It can be a Muslim box. Oh, guess what? It could be an Assembly of God Pentecostal box. A charismatic box. But I'm going to read a story that we sometimes mistake as the same story, but there's two different stories. But many of you know about the story about the woman who broke the alabaster box of oil to anoint Jesus, right?
Before the Passover and before he uh went to the cross and paid for us. I actually believe that this was the anointing that Daniel spoke about and he prophesied when the Messiah would come that he would be anointed and then he would be cut off. Um but let's read the passage from John first because there's two different passages and actually there's two different incidents. We we mistake it for the same, but man I mean John 12 and verse one. Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. And there they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. And then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, "Why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence, and given to the poor?" This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bear what was put there in. Isn't it amazing Jesus had a thief for a treasurer? Right? Somebody'd say that's a bad leadership move. No, maybe it was just a test. Oh. Anyway, just a thought. Verse 7, then said Jesus, "Let her alone, against the day of my burying has she kept this. For the poor always you have with me, but you have but me you have not always." So, we have this incident. Notice it says this was 6 days before the Passover, right? And this was the Passover where Jesus would have the Last Supper with his disciples. Uh so, 6 days before he's at the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. And Mary takes out this oil that she kept. Now, this account doesn't say that it was oil that was stored myrrh that was stored in an alabaster box. Now, an alabaster box is kind of made of what they say gypsum and and sulfur something, and it's a white almost ceramic type box, and basically, you know, almost like the you know, bottles that we have or ceramic vases that we have today and they were sealed and basically what this stuff was is back then this was basically the best smelling stuff you could get the best kind of perfume the best kind of oil and it was very expensive and it was very precious difficult to get
and of course we have here that you know to get this out the seal had to be broken or the the box had to be broken now we we're going to turn to now remember this was six days in the town of Bethany six days before the Passover now go to Matthew 26 I'll never forget when the Lord showed me this and he made it leap out at me so six days before the Passover Jesus in the house of Mary Martha and Lazarus Mary takes the oil and of course Judas Iscariot speaks up and has a problem with that all right can I just say this as we get into it folks who are bound by religion and their own agenda will always get mad at you if you break out of the box okay because they're comfortable in their box they like their box they think their box is right they think their box is good but the anointing remember this is oil and the oil in this box represents to us this morning and I believe represents a picture of the Holy Spirit and all the things that the Holy Spirit is about now I'm going to cover these things but let's just hit the high points what is the Holy Spirit about first of all Jesus revealed himself as the Holy Spirit of Truth truth truth is revealed as the word of God when Jesus prayed the prayer in John "Lord, sanctify them through thy word, thy word is truth." Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." The Bible, the written word of God, is truth, and Jesus, the living word of God, is truth, and they are one. Right? So, the truth So, the truth is represented by this oil, the Holy Spirit of truth. Can I say this? Truth will always cause you to break out of the box. Okay? Truth. And not just one truth, or two, or three, but the whole truth of the Bible, the whole truth of scripture. The whole counsel of God, everything God taught, not parts you like, and leave out the parts you don't. Matter of fact, leaving out part of a story is a means of deception. Leaving out a part of the truth, leaving out something, any part of what God gave us, is really you're building a religious box. Look, all religious boxes are built to exclude something, to shut something off. To keep the oil the Holy Spirit of truth, to keep that from reaching and filling the whole room, filling the whole world, or filling a whole church, right? The Holy Spirit is not only the spirit of truth but Jesus, you know, John, I'm I'm just
going to go through these scriptures, but the supernatural side of the Lord. Uh Acts 10:38, everybody ought to know that scripture by heart. I happen to. And Acts 10:38 says this, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power, who went about doing good, healing all who were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him." So, the anointing is for healing. All right? Spiritual healing, emotional healing, and physical healing for miracles. How many of you know we need the supernatural power of God in the church? Amen. If you think everybody's okay in the church, then you are deceived. There's a lot of hurt people, a lot of broken people, a lot of wounded people, a lot of oppressed and demon infiltrated and demon contaminated people. And it's only the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the truth of the Holy Spirit that can help them. There's not You can't counsel out a demon. Right? And that's what I'm saying. That's why Here's Here's a perfect picture of I mean, we've we've got churches all over the country and people like John MacArthur who they've got their religious box. They've got their Calvinist uh religious box that shuts off and says, "Jesus doesn't heal anymore." That the church doesn't cast out demons anymore. The demons may not even be active in North America. Right? They teach that in seminaries. Right? But see, what I'm saying is that's a religious box to keep the Holy Spirit quenched, grieved, resisted, hidden. Right? But see, the people who love Jesus, and let me just tell you, Mary and Martha and Lazarus, they were not just disciples of Jesus. He called them friends and he loved them. They had a relationship. People who love Jesus and who love the truth will always break the box of religion. Always. They'll always break out. That's why Mary went and got this oil and broke it. First of all, she was being led by the Holy Spirit to do something that would be a symbol to the rest of us for all ages to come. She did something to show us, "Don't keep the truth. Don't keep the anointing. Don't keep what God wants you to to show to the world. Don't keep it to yourself. Amen. Well, didn't Jesus talk about hiding your light under a bushel? Well, any of us that went to Sunday school when we were little years ago, we sang that song, right? No, you don't put your You don't put your light under a bushel. But see, this is Listen, I say this because I've watched for years Pentecostals and charismatics who believe in divine healing, that Jesus
still the same yesterday, today, and forever. He still heals the sick, or or or Christians should cast demons out of people. We should have power and authority, or we should walk in the gifts of the Spirit. I've seen people who believe that end up going back to their Baptist box, or their Methodist box, or their Catholic box, because it was just too difficult. See, what happened when Mary broke the box and let the anointing of the Holy Spirit out, and let the anointing flow into her house? Lazarus didn't have a problem with it. He just been raised from the dead. He knew that the power of God was a good thing, right? And Martha didn't have a problem with it, cuz Jesus had corrected her and said, "You need to sit at my feet and quit worrying about everything." Right? But Judas had a problem with it. Mhm. Judas had a problem with it, because Judas had his own agenda. He had his own plans. He had his own desires, and they were more important than Jesus' desires, and more important He couldn't discern what was going on. Right? Well, let's read the account in John. Are you with me? I mean Matthew, I'm sorry. Matthew 26, verse 1. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these things, he said unto his disciples, "You know that after 2 days is the feast of Passover." So, let's stop right here. 2 days. Now, remember what we read a minute ago was 6 days before the Passover. Right? So, this is 2 days before the Passover. So, 4 days later So, we've got a different day here, right? Same week, different day. So, it says, "You know that after 2 days is the feast of Passover and the son of man is betrayed to be crucified." But Then assembled together the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people unto the palace of the high priest who was called Caiaphas and consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety and kill him. But they said, "Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people." Now, when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper So, wait a minute. It's 4 days later. Now, he's in the same town. He didn't leave town. He stayed in Bethany, in the town of Bethany. That's why I named my daughter Bethany. You know, Bethany means house of mercy or house of kindness. And that's why I told Bethany, I said, you know, her name is Bethany Grace. I said, "You're double grace. That's your name." Cuz it mean grace grace. Right? God's kindness. But he was in the same town. But look, 4 days later, different day, and he's at someone else's house, in the house of Simon the leper. Right? Everybody see that? So, he's in the house of Simon the leper. Now, when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment and poured it on his head. Now, remember
the last story, Mary poured it on his feet and then wiped his feet with her hair. This is a different situation here. Different event. But look at what happened, though. She broke this alabaster box, very precious ointment. She poured it on his head, but when his disciples saw it, they had indignation saying, "To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor." When Jesus understood it, he said to them, "Why trouble you the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For you have the poor always with you, but me you have not always. For in that she poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily, I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this that this woman has done be told for a memorial to her." And then one of the 12 called Judas Iscariot went unto the chief priest and said, "What will you give me and I will deliver him into unto you?" And they covenanted with him for 30 pieces of silver, and from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. Now, folks, I want it to be clear this morning. You will not, if you stand for the truth, if you speak the truth, if you stand up for certain things like divine healing, like deliverance from demons, like speaking in tongues and the gift If you take a stand and speak forth the truth of the gospel and the things of the Holy Spirit and the things of the anointing of God and the truth of God, you are going to have to break the religious box that you've been in and you're going to you're going to affect everyone around you. And everyone around you is not going to particularly like it. And the amazing thing to this story is the first time it happened, six days before the Passover, it was just Judas Iscariot speaking up. Now, we know he had a problem, right? We know he had heart issues and was a thief and had all these things and and had his own agenda. But then because this seed, and let me tell you, this is this happens in churches more than you realize, this seed of negativity gets sown. And usually by the time it gets sown in one and they speak it, it spreads. Oh, man, we are horrible human beings. We just are. Human beings are horrible. It's amazing that negativity and sin and ugliness can spread faster than the good. It's just the way we are, isn't it? But think about this. Two women, led by the Holy Spirit, break their religious boxes, break this precious ointment that that that is the Holy Spirit, represents the Holy Spirit to us, breaks this stuff, goes and
anoints the feet of Jesus, another one anoints his head, the beautiful odor and aroma fills the room, and and I mean it's IT'S IT'S A HOLY MOMENT. It's a it's a special moment. IT'S A PROPHESIED moment in time. It's it's it's something that's blessed of God TO TO BREAK THAT BOX AND LET the Holy Spirit do what he wants to do, even if IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO YOU. Let the Holy Spirit flow. Let the Holy Spirit speak. LET THE HOLY SPIRIT DO IT. LET HIM OUT OF the religious box. Listen, when that happens, even people who claim to be disciples of Jesus, like Judas, and then others who are disciples of Jesus, all will fall under the attacks of the devil and the negativity of the devil and and and and not be happy about it. And here's what's beautiful. What did Jesus do? Jesus didn't say, "Oh, you know." He didn't rebuke the women. He didn't rebuke the people who broke the box. He rebuked the people who wanted to keep the anointing in a box. Listen, folks. More than anything else, we need the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit on what we do, on what we say, on when we pray, when we share. Remember when Jesus told the disciples in Acts chapter 1, he had died on the cross, he had rose from the dead, he had been with them for 40 days, he had talked to them, he had explained the scriptures to them and and given them revelation knowledge of all the prophecy in the scripture of him. You see that in Luke 24. But then he tells them, "Don't go anywhere. Don't do anything. Don't preach to anybody. Don't witness to anybody. Don't try to cast a demon out of any Don't do any ministry. Go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. You will be endued with power from on high. I'm going to baptize you with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. You need something else." What was JESUS TELLING THEM? ALL their knowledge of the scriptures that he had just given them, all of their training that he had trained them in preaching repentance and preaching the gospel and and and and casting out demons and healing the sick and raising the dead and all the things that he did, all the training he gives them, he says, "Don't even You can't even depend on your knowledge, what you know. You need the Holy Spirit power." Now, you want to quench the Holy Spirit in your life? You want me to tell you the number one way to let that happen? Is let people intimidate you. Let the fear of man come in you. I think it's Proverbs 25 and I can't remember
it's 28. I get them confused. Somebody can look me up, check me. But it says the fear of man brings a snare. What is a snare? It's a trap. Right? When you fear what people think of you, when you fear what people might say of you, whenever you fear other people, you're going to quench the Holy Spirit in your life. That's why God had to tell Timothy through Paul and Paul told him, said, "I have not given you the spirit of fear." But the first thing he said is of power. They're connected, y'all. You can't fear other men and women and have the anointing. You hear what I'm saying? You can't let people intimidate you to be quiet. And listen, at some point another, I'm not trying to beat on anybody. At one point or another, we've all wrestled with this. If I say this or if I preach this or if I speak this, I'm going to be not liked or I'm going to be persecuted or I'm going to be spoken about or I'm going to be negativity. And listen, the greatest negativity comes from religious folks. True. I My My friend and some of you know who he is, my friend Sam out in Hollywood, you know, HE HE'S SHOCKED. NOW, he's starting to take some stands and starting to speak in some public forums and even some Christian forums. He He's He's messaging me and texting me how he he can't believe how he's getting attacked BY CHRISTIANS. AND I'M LIKE, "DUDE." I'M LIKE, "MAN." I HAVE HAD PEOPLE that I led to Jesus, led to the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues, led and and discipled them and taught them and had some of them even say, "Everything I know I learned from this guy." turn against me. Because I would not give in where they wanted me to give in. One fellow wanted me to just accept the fact that he was an adulterer and let him in the ministry. You know a sad thing that I really hadn't told a lot of people, I hadn't spoke about, but one of my very very best friends that I grew up with, I mean from the time I moved back from California in fourth grade, we became best friends. And we were best friends for years and I led him to Jesus in 1987.
I led him into the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I've led him into the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I led him into the truth of spiritual warfare, right? He goes off to Bible college. Comes back. The The longer he was at Bible college, the more we drifted apart. But do you know that he defriended me on Facebook, won't even speak to me, won't have anything to do with me because why? There's certain truths that I preach that he doesn't want to have to deal with or he doesn't want to accept. And I believe it's all over the pre-trib rapture issue because I don't believe pre-trib and that's a holy grail to the Assemblies of God, somehow. And because I believe that a Christian can have a demonic problem. Imagine that. Right? But think about it. I led the band to Jesus. Led him to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Led him in the scriptures. I mean, he started believing. He got deceived at one point. I left for and came back. I had to come back. When I got came back, the Baptists got a hold of him and deceived him with once saved always saved. And because he believed that the the the Baptist deacon at First Baptist Church here in Opelika that told him he was once saved always saved, he thought, "Well, well, if I'm once saved always saved no matter what I do, I can go back to sleeping with my girlfriend and smoking marijuana." And he did. So, I had to come back and I spent months fighting the pastor at the First Baptist Church and the deacons because they were destroying one of my converts and preaching the truth to him. He got mad at me, cursed me out, wouldn't have anything to do with me. I just spent time praying for him. And finally, God's Fear of God struck him in his bed one day about 6 months later and told him he was going to be a lukewarm Baptist on his way to hell if he didn't get out of his fornication and his marijuana smoking. But I wasn't going to back off the truth because I'm losing a friend. See, here's the thing. I've lost every every Listen, you guys that I've I've ordained, I warned you. Every person that I have ever led to Jesus, discipled, or ordained to ministry or to be an elder or a pastor or whatever, every person has ultimately ended up turning against me. People I've taken through deliverance. We got We got a Baptist couple we tried to help here recently. Has completely turned against us, speaking against doesn't like us, even though we helped them, took our time to take them to through deliverance and minister to them, all because we touched on one of their favorite ministers in the area who's getting into error and we exposed that
a little bit and because of the accursed objects issue. And I'm sitting here going, "What is with these Baptists? THEY CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH." I DON'T GET IT. METHODISTS, BAPTISTS, PRESBYTERIANS, LISTEN. THERE IS A Baptist box, y'all. I don't like it. I I You know, I love my Baptist brother. I And I can say this, I used to be Baptist. Okay? I don't hate them. I don't call them heretics, but folks, can I just say this? I like what Nancy says. She goes, "And And And Nancy didn't come up in that. She was never Baptist. But she got here and she started getting around folks who were Baptist and who'd formerly been Baptist and I hate to be so blunt this morning, but she goes, 'I've never seen a more cliquish group of people in my life.'" She goes, "They are really the the Roman Catholic Church of the Protestants. They think they're the church." And basically think their poop doesn't stink. Honestly. And here's the thing. And I feel sorry for them because they've got their perfect little box. Can I just speak plainly this morning? They got their perfect little box. Let me Let me tell you about that Baptist box. The perfect little Baptist box. Jesus loves me. I'm eternally secure because I prayed the prayer when I was nine. We don't believe in healing. That's not done That's not for today. It's what the pastor said, but when I'm sick in the hospital, I'll call for him to come pray for me. We don't talk about demons. Right? I got my 2.5 kids. I got my minivan. My good job. I tithe. We take the kids to Sunday school, even though we went through hell getting ready on Sunday morning. And husband and wife cussed each other out, and the kids were about to commit suicide. But we made it to church. And don't let anybody know that we're on the verge of divorce. That the depression is eating me up. That the husband's either having an affair or bound by pornography. That the children's toy box is full of demonic accursed objects. And what they do is they hide all of this destruction that's going on. And if you see him in the church on Sunday,
"Hi Bob. How are you? We're good, man. Praise the Lord. Isn't it a beautiful day?" It's the fakest bunch of crap I've ever seen. And then And then some of them manage to slip out when things get really bad and get one of us crazy Pentecostals and Charismatics to try to help them get healed or delivered or get their marriage to stop the divorce because their Baptist counseling that's based on psychology hadn't worked. Cuz you can't psychoanalyze a demon. You can't break a curse off a house and get demons out of a house that's destroying you and your health and your family because you won't even address it. But you got your Baptist box. I'm going to tell you something. If that box means that I can't tell the truth and that you're not going to like me when I when I bust your little bubble, your little box then guess what? I'm public enemy number one to you. Oh, when your favorite minister in town, your favorite guy who, you know, he's the one that takes care of the the poor and the street people and all that and and you funnel him money so you don't have to do it and don't and so that's your guilt uh massaging. You you you know, you don't take in the homeless. You don't go out to the street and witness. You don't try to help the unwed men. But let's just pump some money to this guy cuz he'll he's willing to do it. But then he starts sliding into false teaching and apostasy. But you can't touch him because he he's where we put all of our Baptist guilt. I'm talking about things going on. Those of you listening, this is this is real life here. This is what's going on in the Auburn Opelika area. But I imagine it's going on everywhere. And I'm not picking on just Baptist. That's the Baptist box. I can speak about that. You know, my dad, you want me to tell you what ruined my dad, made my dad backslide and and nearly destroyed him? My dad got saved at Northside Baptist Church here in Opelika, right down from Opelika High School. We were there for I don't know, a couple of years. I had a powerful encounter with God. I believe I was truly born again and had my first encounter with Jesus in that church. It was real. It wasn't the pastor because he was dead as a doornail, but it was some evangelist that came through. Some evangelist came through that actually had the anointing. And though I'd sat there for almost 2 years under the pastor's preaching and not one thing he said ever penetrated my heart or mind cuz he didn't have the anointing of God because he was so bound in his religious box, he wouldn't break the box and let the Holy Spirit out. But anyway, this evangelist comes through, preaches for a week, I get saved, my brother gets saved, my dad gets saved.
We get baptized in water there. But I remember my dad was on fire for God. And my mom and dad were having problems. My mom didn't want to follow Jesus at the time. And they had issues, man. My parents had issues. But at least they started, you know, my dad at least being the man of the house, he finally, you know, he said, "We're going to church." Cuz he knew things were falling apart. He knew we needed help. He wasn't even a saved man, but he's like, "We need help. Family's falling apart. Marriage is falling apart. Business is starting to fall apart." So he goes to church. He he manages to find Jesus. Some people think, "Well, oh well, if you find Jesus in a Baptist church, aren't they good?" Yeah, well, listen, the first step is not, you know, just cuz you take the first step somewhere doesn't mean they're going to take you the rest of the way. That's right. You know, I wish it was so. But it's usually not the case. But my dad my dad on fire, man. BABY CHRISTIAN ON FIRE. JUST, you know, he's he's told by the preacher, "THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD." IT'S TRUE. SO MY DAD MAKES THE MISTAKE OF READING IT FOR HIMSELF. AND STARTS READING Acts chapter 1, 2, 3, 4. MY DAD'S LIKE, "WOW. YOU MEAN there's something else besides getting saved? What's this baptism of the Holy Spirit? What's this tongues of fire? What is this?" SO, MY DAD GOES to the Baptist pastor of Northside BAPTIST. I DON'T CARE. Y'all can go back in history and find out who it was. I don't care. But, my dad goes to him and says, "What goes to him?" Sits down in his office and goes, "What is this? Acts What is this Acts chapter 2? What is this?" The pastor said, "We don't talk about that." "We don't do that." You don't understand what that did to a new believer. It immediately sowed confusion. Well, what This isn't Well, then if this is not for us now, then what is what is it? He was excited about truth. And somebody with their religious box goes, "No, no, no, no. We don't break that box open. We don't let the Holy Spirit out of that. We don't We don't talk about that. We don't even talk about that." But, they're in the Pentecostal movement group. Now, the poor Baptists have to talk about the Holy Spirit, but they always leave out the tongues issue.
It's like saying, "Well, we need a car without an engine." Really? That's brilliant. I'm not Fred Flintstone. All right. Here's what I'm saying. Mary broke the box and let the Holy Spirit out. The truth. The gifts, the power. The other woman, few days later in a different house, she breaks the box and lets the Holy Spirit out. But even some of the Christians, some of the disciples got upset about it. I can't even imagine Jesus knowing. Think about him. He's like, in 2 days he and he told them, "2 days I'm going to be crucified. I'm going to be betrayed. I'm going to be crucified." And they're fussing over a woman breaking open a box of oil. Right? Breaking open a box of oil to anoint him. Over money. Right? And he's sitting there going, "What is wrong with you people?" And then that's 2 days. So he's dealt with this now, you know, for almost a week. And then on on on the Passover night, it says that there was strife among the apostles, among the who would be the greatest among them. He just want to go smack to all of them. "What is wrong with y'all?" And before that and then and then they go out to the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus is like, "Please pray with me. My soul is exceedingly sorrowful." And these jacklegs go to sleep. I'll tell you what it is. It's like being a pastor. God, y'all pray for me. It's funny. I used to lead early morning prayer meetings at 5:00 in the morning for years. Sometimes there'd only be five of us or four of us or six of us. After I'd start praying, we'd start praying and I'd pray for a while and stop to let somebody else pray, I'd hear snoring. I said, "I know what you feel like, Lord." I have to like stay home then. Stay in bed and sleep. I know the But see, the box. Now, go to uh go to Matthew 12 just because
besides the the truth issue, besides the healing issue, I just want you to see this. Matthew 12, are you all with me? It's going to upset religious folks if you start dealing with demons and the demonic realm. Always going to upset them. Why Why does it upset them so? You start talking about casting out demons and getting rid of a cursed objects that are demonic that's demonic stuff in your house. Well, why do they get so upset? Cuz they're controlled by them. They're full of them. They're controlled by them. You mean to tell me that Satan can be working through a Christian? Yeah. And you can always tell that it don't it doesn't ever make sense. Wait a minute now. I just had a person who was suicidal, depressed, ready to kill themself. They came to me, a Jesus disciple, and I laid my hands on them and I cast the demons out of them and they felt better and they're no longer depressed or suicidal. Somehow, I'm the bad guy now. I can't tell you how many times it's happened. Right? Look what Jesus said. Verse um 22. This is Matthew 12:22. Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb, and he healed him in so much that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. Now, this is What's amazing about this is here's a person that's that's blind and cannot speak, mute, and Jesus cast the demon out of him and he GOT HIS SIGHT AND COULD SPEAK, A miracle through casting a demon out. But the religious folks, Jesus broke that box. Jesus broke that box, so he's in trouble. If you're a box breaker, you're in trouble. Okay? Can I just go ahead and settle it for you, for you guys, for any of you anybody else with with church friendships and backgrounds, you if you if you break the box, they're going to hate you. They're going to turn against you. Friends are going to leave you. Friends are going to hate you. They're going to talk bad about you. You're a holy roller. You're a freak. You're this, you're that. While their lives crumble.
And it's sad because you know what? The ones of us that they're persecuting for breaking the box, we only want to help them if we can. We want to see their marriage make it. We want to see their children healed and delivered. We want to see them learn how to fight the devil and get free from the depression and the pain that they've lived in. And the only way to do that is the anointing oil and power of the Holy Ghost in the name of Jesus. And sometimes that's laying on of hands, and sometimes that's casting out a demon, and sometimes that's anointing somebody with with oil and praying the prayer of faith, and sometimes it's just the truth that they need. They need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. They need to pray in tongues for hours at a time. You see what I'm saying? They need to learn what it it means to praise and worship God. I'm sorry, but break the box and let the Holy Spirit out in your life. That's the the answer for so many and again, I know there's true believers, true Christians in the Baptist church, in the Methodist church, in the Presbyterian church, and even there's some in the in the Catholic church because even Jesus said at the end, "Come out of her, my people, out of that great of Babylon. Come out of that Roman Catholic institution." Some there people in there. People of God, people that have managed to be saved in spite of all the religion and all the deception and all the error and all the demonic problems within their religious institutions, some people managed to find Jesus. And Jesus go, "But but to grow up, to grow up in him, to get free, you're going to have to continue in the truth. You're going to have to. You can't stop. You hear me? Where did I tell you to turn? Oh, that's right. We're still reading Matthew 12. Let's keep going. Where did Oh, yeah, I stopped right up here. All right. So, verse 23, "And all the people were amazed and said, 'Is not this the son of David?'" "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, 'This fellow doth cast out devils but by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils.'" "And Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then shall his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons or devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges.'" But look at this. "But if I cast out devils by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you" or near you. Jesus is saying, "Everything I do, I do by the spirit OF GOD." WOW.
YOU SEE? NOTICE Everybody say this with me. I need I need the spirit of God. The spirit of God. to flow through me. to flow through me. But remember just a few weeks ago, a couple of weeks ago, I preached on all the scriptures. First 1 Thessalonians 5, "Quench not the Holy Spirit." Right? You can quench him. You quench him by what? Despising prophesying, despising the gifts. Cuz the very next thing says what? "Quench not the Holy Spirit. Despise not prophesying." Right? Don't despise the gifts of the spirit. Don't despise the things of the spirit. Listen, I hate to tell you, but John MacArthur and a lot of Baptist preachers and a lot of Presbyterians and a lot of Methodists and a lot of people with their religious boxes, they really despise the Holy Spirit. And I hate to tell you, you can't have much of the anointing when you hate the things of the Holy Spirit. When you hate the gift of tongues, when you hate divine healing, when you hate talking about the faith faith. I mean, I have Christians ridicule faith. AND ONE OF THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS FAITH, THE GIFT OF FAITH. BELIEVING SUPERNATURALLY an ability to supernaturally believe God before you see it. Right? WHY DO YOU RIDICULE FAITH? SOMEBODY HAS A VISION, DISCERNING OF SPIRITS. You ridicule that, they're a weirdo. If you ridicule the gifts and moving of the Holy Spirit, you do not have the Holy Spirit. You are a Pharisee, you are a Sadducee, or you're a Judas, or you may be just a confused, messed up disciple because you've listened to Judas. Oh, boy. So, here's the good news. Were the true disciples, did they get messed up? Yeah, remember? It was Judas, then it switched over to all of them. See what I'm saying? Which one are you? Oh, boy. Here's the good news, you can be a Mary. You can be in the story. You know, we know who Jesus is. But you can be a Mary or the woman who broke the box and let the anointing flow, or you can be the Pharisees and the Sadducees and Judas and the disciples who wanted to keep that box closed up and try to make money off of it. Oh. See, let me tell you. The reason a lot of these churches, like First Baptist here, the preacher won't speak on some of these things cuz he'll get fired.
Money. Or you started you started having prayer for the sick at First Methodist, half over half, probably 3/4 of the congregation would leave. Then we can't pay for our pretty building. Oh, that building project's gone down the tubes. I'm sorry, y'all. But the fact of the matter is they said, "Why was this not sold? Why didn't we keep the Holy Spirit in a box so we can make money?" THAT'S THE WHOLE TEACHING of the seeker-sensitive movement. Let's not have tongues. Let's not have casting out demons. Let's not have healing the sick. Let's not look like Pentecostals and charismatics because that drives people away. They'll think we're weird or strange and we got to have more and more people so we'll have more and more money. Oh, boy. LISTEN, I KNOW IN Montgomery the biggest big old Methodist church, Frazer, and I know it goes on here. Kevin was even told, "Listen, if you're going to start a new business in town in Montgomery, Alabama, you got to become a member of Frazer so you can pass your business cards around." Cuz everybody who is somebody goes to Frazer. Do you know that church is full of unsaved people? The singles ministry is nothing but a bar without alcohol. It's a meat market. All the politicians in town and all the big businessmen in town and all the big lawyers, they're there to schmooze each other and pass out cards and and and and slap each other on the back and make money. See? They hate. They hate you. And yes, I use the word hate. Cuz that's what it is. They hate you when you don't care about money. When you don't care about numbers. When you don't care about a fancy building or a salary and you'll speak the truth no matter what it cost you. And listen to me, folks. Listen to me. The gospel of Jesus Christ. And when I say that, I mean everything the prophets taught, everything the apostles taught, Old Testament, New Testament, the whole truth, nothing but the truth of the word of God. For you to believe it, for you to speak it and preach it, for you to stand up and be that light and let the Holy Spirit spread the truth all of it out through you. It will cost you something. I don't understand that we act like it's strange that we might lose some friends. Or that we might lose a job like I did over speaking the truth of the gospel.
Oh, yes. Drive out some some members of the church. Or be lied about, ridiculed, persecuted. Come on, y'all. This is what the Bible says will happen if you stand up for the truth. Right? And I emphasize, it's not just the truth you like. There are matters of life and death here. Look Look at what the the being denied the truth of the baptism of the Holy Spirit did to my father. That was 19 80. He backslid, quit going to church. It so shook him and discouraged him cuz here he's got a pastor saying, "We don't We don't deal with this part of the Bible." Right? And it took What was it? 8 years later? It took his son getting radically saved, on fire for God, baptized in the Holy Spirit. And I went and visited him in Oklahoma. He was talking about it the other yesterday when we were on the phone. And it was in January of 1988 when I went to visit him in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and I sit down with him and shared with him Acts 2, Acts 10, and Acts 19 about being baptized in the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues and beginning to flow in prophecy and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and told him that it had happened to me. And Dad said, "Well, I've always wanted that, but the preacher told me that we didn't talk about that. We couldn't have that." AND IT WRECKED HIS LIFE. HE LIVED IN DEPRESSION, he lived in all kinds of problems and health problems. And let me tell you something, I laid my hands on my own father, and I prayed for him to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and the power of God came on him and filled him with the Holy Spirit, he began to speak with other tongues, AND IT TRANSFORMED his life. That man BEGAN TO PROPHESY, he began to really walk in in in the gifts of a prophet in the office of a prophet. And how many times he's blessed my life by praying for me and by praying in tongues for me and by sharing what he felt or discerned. You don't rob people of truth. Just cuz it's going to cost you something. And listen, you teenagers, I hope and pray that y'all realize cuz there's such pressure on you to be liked and to not be viewed as different and so that people will like you and they won't make fun of you and all the b-b-b-b-b. But you know what? That's what pitiful followers do.
Leaders don't care. Leaders go, "I'm not going to be conformed and be like everybody else. I'm going to lead you into something that's going to help you." Come follow me. I'll take you somewhere where there's life, where there's power, where there's truth, where there's freedom, where there's joy, where there's hope of eternal life. I'll take you to something else. And I don't care if it makes you make fun of me or it makes you ridicule me or even if it makes you spit on me or if I lose some friends over it. Listen, I I've lost more friends than I have, y'all. So what? Who cares? My wife tells me, "Well, you know women, we're relational." Yeah, well. Women The Bible also tells women to be strong like men. Spiritually it's talking about. Be strong. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of men that act like women. Don't get me on that. And I'm not talking about the homosexuals. Listen to me. You will either led by the truth of the word of God and the Holy Spirit or you will be led by your emotions and your flesh. Now, has it hurt my feelings at times when I've lost a friend? Yeah, I'm not a cyborg. I miss some of my friends that I had. You know what I mean? I miss the times that I I I I could tell you all something. My I've lost almost everyone who was my best friends. But it was over me standing for truth. And when I stand for truth, I love you and I hope I'll see you on the other side and you'll understand where I had to where I had to be and what I had to do in heaven. You may not understand it now. Right? I know some of you may think, "Well, he just don't he's just he just has no feelings." No. I cry.
I get depressed. I get discouraged. I wish everybody loved me, but they I I don't ever have to worry about that, do I? Patrick. Right? But see, I know when it's over. I don't take it personally anymore. You know, frankly, immaturity thinks it's it's really you thinking it's all about you. No. If I speak the truth of Jesus Christ in the word of God, and people are offended, family, friends, it's really not on me. It's really not about me. Their issue is with the Bible. Their issue is with God. And I really don't take it personally. You know, there's something I've had to tell my wife. Sometimes I get frustrated with stupid things that go on at the house or whatever, you know, plumbing problems. It's like, one problem after another. And sometimes I get frustrated, and that frustration shows. Now, I don't walk around the house cussing, but it shows. And my poor wife, sometimes she thinks I'm upset with her. And I don't know how many times I've had to tell her, it's not always about you. If I'm upset, it doesn't mean it's I'm upset at you. I'm just UPSET THAT THE TOILET'S NOT working or that You know what I'M SAYING? I'M UPSET THAT, YOU KNOW, the there's problems that I can't seem to fix them all. Right? Sometimes I get frustrated. And that's why I'm saying, it's not People get mad at you over you standing for the truth and preaching the truth or or some truth in the Bible. LISTEN, IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. But you will either let them quench you, or you will keep going. See, this is why Paul told Timothy, "Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." He knows it's going to be times it's going to be hard. And one thing we learn about Timothy by the two books that letters that Paul wrote to him is he had an issue being timid. He had an issue being afraid. He had an issue about not being accepted. He had issues and and Paul kept having to tell him, "Don't be ashamed of the gospel. Don't be ashamed of me. Don't be ashamed. Don't let fear and intimidation. Don't let any man despise you because you're young. Speak the word. In season, out of season, reprove, rebuke. Be strong." THAT WAS THE WHAT THAT WAS THE MESSAGE
of Paul. Don't be moved by people. Move them. Amen. The pressure to conform and quiet down is only going to grow, y'all. So, don't let them put you in a Baptist box or a Methodist box or a Presbyterian box or a Pentecostal Assembly of God Church of God box or whatever. Don't let them put you in a Roman Catholic box or what's coming, the Antichrist religion of all It's everything. And all religions lead to God. Just don't say Jesus is the only way or we'll kill you. There Satan is always about trying to get you and I to shut up. Quiet down. Don't make waves. Go along with what everybody accepts and everything will be cool. But you start talking about Jesus being the only way. You start talking about sin and you have to get out of sin to be saved. You start talking about casting out demons or getting the cursed objects out of your house or whatever it is. You start talking about Jesus can heal the sick. You start talking about you're not once saved always saved no matter how you live. You can fall away. You start speaking THE TRUTH YOU'RE GOING TO DRAW HATRED. You're going to draw persecution. You're going to draw rejection. You're going to get the You're going to BE IN THE FIGHT. DON'T BE SURPRISED. RIGHT? YOU MIGHT GET FIRED FROM A JOB. I mean, we know what's coming with Christian for Christians down the road. I mean, if you know no one can buy or sell unless they take the mark of the beast. Where do you think it's going to leave us? Depending on God. Not caving in. Listen, folks, many many many many many many people in those boxes out there, in those religious boxes, are going to cave to the pressure and they're going to take the mark and they're going to deny the Bible. Listen, the denial of Jesus This is This is where we make Oh, I would never deny Jesus. But the moment you say that there's another way to heaven besides him, you just denied him. The moment you deviate from the word of God, you deny him. That's why Jesus said if you're ashamed of me and my words in the day of judgment, I will be ashamed of you. Why did he say you're ashamed of me and my words? Can you have one without the other?
Right? That's why I you know, people think I'm harsh. But Jesus is the one talked about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the one said the works that I do you shall do also. Jesus is the one said go into all the world and preach the gospel to everybody. Cast out demons. See, we think it's just say tell them Jesus loves them. No, he said go preach the gospel to every creature, cast out demons, heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead. You tell them Jesus loves them, you'll never get any persecution. So we know that's not the gospel. Cuz Jesus added that casting out demons thing. Jesus added that healing thing. Jesus added that speaking in tongues they'll speak with new tongues thing. That's what gets them riled up because you know what happens when you when you believe that and you step out in those things and you receive those things, you're receiving power from on high. You're receiving Holy Ghost power. That's the stuff that defeats the kingdom of darkness and that's what FRIGHTENS THE DEVIL. GOD, I WOULD RATHER HAVE, Y'ALL, there's an old saying. I heard a preacher say this years ago. I'd rather have a little wildfire than no fire at all. Right? Like I preached a while back, remember that old preacher of Gene Mayze? I'd rather be a wet water walker than a dry boat rider. Right? I'd rather be out in the fight than sitting back making no impact. Amen. Listen, I catch H E double L and the attention of the Department of Defense and US Cyber Command for things I put on. The website, things that I say publicly, things that are on YouTube. But you know what? I get the emails. I get the phone calls. You know what? I was driving back I was driving back from the ultrasound, Brittany's ultrasound the other day from Georgia, from Carrollton. Driving in the car through the country and I get a phone call from Ireland. Of a woman in Ireland who saw the YouTube video of what I shared at the SermonIndex conference and it touched her heart in a powerful way and she said, "I just I have to talk to this man." I get phone calls and messages of people telling me, "I got saved. I got saved cuz somebody shared something that you posted on Facebook. I went to your website and I listened to your messages. I got saved." You hear what I'm saying? And you know what? Even though I ticked off my friend, listen, even though we're
not friends to this day, his name's Craig. I'll just put that out there. If he hears this, he knows it's him anyway. But here's the thing about it, let me tell you I'm what I'm proud of in a good way. I'm glad that when he backslid and when he started believing lies that I didn't give up on him and that I kept telling him the truth and I kept praying for him. Because even though he's turned against me and didn't want to have anything to do with me, that's okay because you know what? He stayed with Jesus at least. And he's preached the gospel and he's been on mission trips and he's he's led some people to the Lord. You get what I'm saying? So, because I fought for him that brought more people to him, to the Lord. You you get what I'm saying? I'm willing to give you the truth and lose you if at some point it gets you right with God and you win somebody else. It's worth it. It's worth it to me to lose you if you end up right. Amen. Let's pray. Thank you, Jesus. Lord, we praise you. Lord, I ask you, God, to make us bold. Lord, you said that Christians were to be bold. The righteous are bold as a lion, but the wicked flee when no man pursues them. That we're to be bold and strong. That we're to break the religious boxes and let the Holy Spirit anointing flow out through our lives to other people. And that means the whole truth and nothing but the truth, every bit of it. The truth of the word of God. Lord, we love you today. I pray that you would touch your people. And you know what? Before we leave this room, I want everybody to stand this morning. I think we need to do this song before we go. The healing in your glory. The glory is is just another term for the Holy Spirit and his moving among his people. And God's moving in this church. And God's moving through the ministry of this church, the media part of ministry of this church out to the world, y'all. Thousands of people are being touched because of your prayers, your giving, your faithfulness to pray for your pastor and to stand with us. Listen, our church may be small, but remember what the Lord told me. He said that we were the five loaves and the two fish. And he takes what we do for him and he can multiply. That's why never think what you do is small. Because God always takes it and he multiplies it beyond what even you see. And yeah, I get to see a little bit of it, but I still have no comprehension. When I look and see that 4,000 people
have have, you know, gone on to the website, I have no idea what seed was planted or how it affected them or what change it brought in their life. I won't find out until heaven and neither will you. A lot of us will not find out until heaven what God did with our little five loaves and two fish that we said, "Here, God." You know? Maybe Oh, here's one. Maybe I I only had $20 or $30 to give in the offering, but that paid our Fire and Grace website bill and kept that going. And then another four or five thousand people. See You see what I'm saying? We think what we do is not significant, but everything that's in truth, that's done according to the word of God and speaking the truth and letting the Holy Spirit move, he can take whatever and use it powerfully. Amen. That's why, you know, I I don't care if I have the big biggest ministry or if I'm on TV or not on TV or have a building or don't have a building. None of that matters because if I know if I do what God wants me If I break the box open and let the Holy Spirit flow through me and the truth flow through me, that God can take that and he can multiply it beyond what I could ever imagine or think. Sometimes you may you may Think about the person who led, say, you know, Jimmy Swaggart or Billy Graham to the Lord. That was just one person that ended up preaching to millions. You know what I'm saying? You never know. You might You might lead a child to the Lord and a few years later they're leading thousands of people to Jesus. You never know.