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You don't have to cross in your act of love and your act of mercy. You just call upon us to believe. Lay down our own will and our own plans and our own pride and follow you. And you'll give us heaven and earth and all eternity. We thank you for your great love. We thank you for your mercies. We thank you for the truth laid out in the scriptures. We thank you we can have hope and forgiveness. We just thank you for it, Lord. We praise your name today in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated this morning. Hallelujah. Lord is good. We welcome those of you here to Fire and Grace Church this morning. We welcome those listening by Blog Talk Radio, Mixlr, Facebook Live. I hope it's working this morning. Uh forgot my phone, so we're having to use my wife's phone that's full of stuff. It was trying not to work. But we'll see. Praise be to God. I want everybody this morning to turn with me first of all to Isaiah chapter 1. Um I've entitled today and the Lord really just gave it to me a few moments ago, Isaiah's revelation. And this is really a message for Christians this morning. So, if you're not a Christian, you may not fully understand what I'm saying, though you may like it because I'm going to deal with some self-righteous pride this morning. It's something that we have to be very, very careful about. Um can I just say this? If you start getting the idea that you're more righteous than other people or you're better than other people or your sin's not as bad as other people, even though there are differences between sins. I'll address that maybe in a moment. But once you start getting the idea you got it and somebody else doesn't, uh you're in pride. You're in self-righteousness. You're trusting in your own righteousness. And that means you're going to stumble and fall because pride goes before a fall. Unless you recognize it, you humble yourself, and you ask God's forgiveness, and you remind yourself you're not all that. You really aren't. We are nothing. We are nothing. If Jesus had not died for us,
if he had not paid the price for our sins on the cross, sent his Holy Spirit to constantly prick us and draw us and wake us up, we would be as blind as anybody else. Our only you say good point is we finally gave in and said, "Yes, Lord. I believe you. I trust you." Right? What's the what's what's it all going to come down to in the end? It's not going to be how many people you led to Jesus. It's not going to make how many people you prayed for that got healed or how many demons you cast out. I mean, all those are good things. All those are good works. God wants us to do those good works. It's not how many mysteries you understand. It's not how many revelations you have. It's not how whether you speak in tongues or prophesy or work miracles. There are a lot of people that did all of those things and ended up in pride, falling, and then falling away from God and you know, I think of the great Solomon. The great Solomon, humble, called by God. David had many sons, but God picked him. Said, "You're going to be the king." Think about that. The son of Bathsheba even, the woman David committed adultery with, the woman whose husband David had killed. After all that, after God's great mercy in David's life and forgiveness of sins, he picks Bathsheba's son, Solomon, just to show us that it's his choice. It's his wisdom. It's his righteousness. Not Can you imagine people in the kingdom at that time going, "What in the world? Solomon? Bathsheba's son after that scandal? He's going to be the next king?" But don't look at the at me like you would have been one of them. Church folk are the worst. WHAT? THE WHAT? THAT PERSON'S A PASTOR? WHAT? THAT PERSON'S A DEACON? WHAT? WELL, THEY used to What? Careful, careful. Last time I checked, the Bible said all have sinned and come short of his glory, right? All. And for you believers out there, there's a whole section of believers now that
are believing that they live sinless lives. That's got to be the funniest thing I've ever heard right there. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8. Right? Pretty plain and simple. If we, Christians, we, John was including himself, the Apostle John, if we say we have no sin, even as believers, we deceive ourselves. The truth is not in us. Why? Because the Apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 7, he said, "Even when I want to do good, I find that evil is present with me." He said, "In my flesh dwelleth no good thing. What I the things I want to do, I don't do. Things I don't want to do, I do." You know, one of the greatest awesome things about Paul in that passage, he was just very honest that even though he was a very dedicated Christian, he was dedicated to God. He was dedicated to the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was dedicated to live it out the best he could. There was no one more diligent than Paul. He even said in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 16 that God had made him a pattern to those who should believe after. So, Paul said God made me a pattern of what a Christian should be. AND YET PAUL SAYS, "I am the chief of sinners. I do not deserve to be an apostle. I persecuted the church of God and wasted it." He said, "I was a blasphemer before." And then he admits in Romans 7 that evil is constantly present with me. Things I want to do, I don't do. Things I don't want to do, I do. Even as a Christian. HE SAID, "I DESIRE to do the will of God in the inward man. The spirit man desires to do the will of God, but he said, 'How to perform it?' I don't know I don't always perform it." Would that be a true account of your Christian life? Do you always do what you should do? Do you sometimes do the wrong thing, the evil thing, the sinful thing? Yes. And if you say you don't ever, you're a liar and you're deceived. And you're in self-righteous pride. And it's time for you to say and return to the truth that I'm no better than anyone else. Just because say I've been saved longer than some of you. Just because I'm called to be a pastor, I can sit here and tell you right now that I am no better than you. I am no more righteous than you. We are both, if we are walking in Jesus
Christ in faith and best we can, I can tell you right now, we're both cleansed by the same precious blood. We have different gifts. We have different callings. We have different responsibilities in the kingdom of God, BUT WE ARE NOT ONE better than the other. It's the same thing in a marriage. It's Just because God says a man is the leader of his house, doesn't mean he's better than his wife. Now, we know I tell my wife all the time she's the best Christian I know. She's far better Christian than I am. But that doesn't mean she gets to be in charge. Oh. All right? Cuz God has an order to things. But again, it doesn't make me better. It's just I have a call to as the husband to be the leader of the home. And that's the way it is. Sometimes I don't like it. Sometimes it's tough to be the leader. Cuz in the buck stops with you when you screw up, right? It's not her fault when you screw up. It's your fault. Right? Leadership's Leadership's not always fun. Right? We got a bunch of leaders out there. We got leaders now, of course, like Obama don't take responsibility for anything. I mean, he's almost eight years into presidency and it's still Bush's fault, right? Everything's still Bush's fault. That's a bad leader. No, it's your fault, buddy. Where we are, it's all you. All right? Same thing though. Now, today is just a reminder of something. We need to always remind ourselves not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. I come to Remember that's a verse in the Bible. Romans chapter 12. Now, not to think more highly of ourselves than we we should. All right? But I said this is Isaiah's revelation. I want you to go to Isaiah. I want to show you something. Everyone thinks when they receive a vision of God or a new touch from God or or an anointing or uh God moves in your life that it's always about goosebumps and miracles. Right? It can be but not always. I want you to see something first in Isaiah chapter 1 just so you understand this. Of course, the theologians, the reason I have to bring this up is cuz we've got theologians who confuse people. Right? But verse 1 in Isaiah, I want you to notice something. He says, "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, that's King Uzziah Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah."
So, he's giving you a time span of when God called him to be a prophet. He began his ministry as a prophet. It was in the days of King Uzziah, when King Uzziah was still alive. King Uzziah was a good king, godly king, a righteous king. Though at the end of his life, he got into pride and had a severe uh discipline, chastisement of God upon him. But he was still considered a righteous king. So, I want you to see The reason I bring this up is because even in my notes here, the commentary, this theologian says, as we're going to go to chapter 6 that theologians argue that chapter 6 is the beginning of Isaiah's ministry. Well, that's not what it says at all. Cuz it tells you this vision in Isaiah 6 was when King Uzziah had died. So, meaning Isaiah's ministry began before this. Amen? Isn't it awful that I we have to straighten out theologians on something so elementary that's already written there, right? But we do. So, we go to Isaiah chapter 6. And in this we see that Isaiah's already started his ministry as a prophet. Can I say this? Ministry, doing ministry does not make you righteous. You hear what I'm saying? A lot of us think that. We think we get points. Right? Righteous points. No, no, no, no. Look what Paul said. He said that woe is me if I don't preach the gospel. Right? He said God's given me a responsibility and woe is me if I don't fulfill it. But that's not what makes you righteous. Righteousness, being right with God comes through staying humble. And looking to the cross of Jesus Christ, his blood that was shed for you and believing that and his resurrection from the dead and staying focused on that as your righteousness and not what you managed to do in the kingdom. You understand how your focus can get off real easy? Especially those who are in the ministry. We can get off real easy thinking that our works, our labor our feeding of the sheep or our ministering to people or helping people or teaching and preaching or whatever it may be, going to the hospital, feeding the poor, we begin to think that these things make us right with God. They don't. I'll show you that in a second, but I want you to see that Isaiah was already called by God, already anointed by God, already operating in the prophetic gifts, already rebuking Israel, the people of God
rebuking them over their sin, over their backsliding, over their lukewarmness, over their idolatry. Chapter 1. Just read chapter 1. You want to talk about a serious rebuke? But Isaiah has this revelation in chapter 6, a deeper experience with God even than his initial calling, even than of prophesying. He sees a vision of the Lord. And we're going to read it, but I want you to see when he REALLY SEES GOD ALMIGHTY seated upon his throne and the glory of God, what's the first revelation that he has? This prophet. What's the revelation he has? Let's look at it. Isaiah 6, "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. And his train filled the temple." We just sang the song a minute ago. "Above it stood the seraphims. Each one had six wings, and with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another and said, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.' And the post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, 'Woe is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the king the Lord of hosts.'" I can tell when someone is drawing close to God or spending time with God. Because it's they they don't see themselves as some kind of holy man or woman. You get in God's presence. You get in God's word. You get in God's truth. You have You have a revelation or a touch, a move of the Holy Spirit in your life. The first thing you're going to realize if it's real is I am a man I am a woman that is unclean. I thought I WAS CLEAN. I THOUGHT I WAS RIGHTEOUS. I THOUGHT I WAS HOLY. I THOUGHT I was doing pretty good. You get a revelation of the glory of God, the presence of God. The truth of God. The first thing you should be sitting there going, "I am worthy of nothing. God doesn't owe me anything." See, a lot of us we get upset with God if he doesn't answer our prayer or heal us when we want to or provide what we need when we want to. We want our prayer answered just like this. And and we forget We we When you start getting an attitude you get angry, you start getting upset with God about things,
what is that telling you? You're getting into pride because the humble heart says, "God, you don't owe me a thing." If he never did another thing for you, he's done more than you are worthy of. And we forget this. I can tell you often in my prayers when I'm praying, I say, "God you don't owe me a thing. I hadn't earned a thing. I have nothing to offer you of my own righteousness or my own works. I have nothing to offer but that I believe that your son died on the cross for me and that his blood is sufficient." Doesn't mean we take that and just live wicked and indulge the flesh. That's not what I'm saying at all. You guys know better than that, right? But we're nothing. Yet to him he says every hair on your head is numbered. That means he knows where all mine went. Right? Meaning he cares about every little detail of your life even though you don't deserve it. He cares about every tear you cry every pain go through, every attack, every bit of persecution you face, every time you feel depressed and lonely, every time you wish things could be different or you wish you could have done something differently, he knows about all that. And he cares about it. I love that scripture where it says, cast your cares upon him because he cares for you. I know this may sound simple this morning, but sometimes, you know, even the football team, I remember I don't remember who it was. If it was Lombardi, it was way back, one of the old coaches. When his team started losing, and getting stupid, he'd always stand up in front of them, pick up and goes, "Gentlemen, this is a football. And the goal is to take this, move it down the field, and cross that line. Right? And to do that, we have to block, and we have to run, and we have to
And that's what we're going to work on. And all of them are just looking at him like, what is this crazy man talking about? But sometimes we have to get back to fundamentals, back to basics. As Christians, sometimes we get so focused on the big things, the the big mysteries, the big acts of faith, the big miracles, being in the, you know, being in the big limelight, and we forget who we are, which is nothing, but a person who has been washed in the blood of Jesus. A person that's been forgiven, a person who was just as blind and deceived as the people you're beginning to criticize. You were no different. Right? Now again, that doesn't mean sin's okay, or we continue in sin, or we indulge sin, or we live in sin. But we got to remember where we came from. Right? I think that's one of the biggest things to keep us humble and out of self-righteous pride, just to remember that. Let me Let me show you hold your place there in Isaiah 6, we'll come back to it in just a second. Go to Luke chapter 18. Luke 18. Everybody there? Luke chapter 18, verse 9. It's what Jesus says here. It says, "And he spake, Jesus spake this parable unto certain, listen this, which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others." This is something we've got to be very, very, very careful of because, you know, I mean, I got a bunch of wicked people commenting. Oh, they comment on my YouTube videos, they comment on Facebook, they you know, I get emails, I get phone calls, sometimes from deceived people, rude people. People cussing me out, using foul language. Right? I told you last week, the Bible's full of beep. Right? You're a beep beep beep beep. Right? And sometimes I get sick of it. Right? I it gets old after a while. But then I have to remind myself, that used to be me. Right? I was blind like them. I was deceived like them. I was in darkness.
I I believed all kind of things that were wrong, lies. Did I open my own eyes? Did I save myself? No. No man, no man, no woman can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him. Meaning, guess what? You didn't open your own eyes, you didn't see, you didn't understand, you didn't believe because it was it was your ability alone. Now God gave you a free will, he gave you a choice, but he's the one that shined the light upon you. He's the one that touched your heart. He's the one that drew you. He's the one that put up with your sin and your wickedness and your evil for so long, and still kept drawing you, still kept working on your heart, still kept you alive. How many of us should have been dead before we finally woke up and came to Jesus as our Lord and Savior? I shudder so many times I should have been dead. So many times. Trey, we know Trey should have Trey's been shot and run over by a truck. Right? I've been shot at and knives pulled on me. Trey actually, how many bullets you take? One? Well, one's enough. Entire truck crossed your chest, and you were got hit by the truck. Should have been dead. But God loved you even when you were blind, even when you were running, even when you were living in sin, even when you were even after that, after he spared your life, you after you got shot and run over by you still running to sin, running to the world, running after the devil's stuff. And yet God still kept calling you. And then one day, old Trey decides to go to church with the coworker, he ends up at Fire and Grace Church. And the pastor, who has never met him, never seen him, tells him about his whole life. Remember that day? But you know what? That wasn't you or me. That was all Jesus doing that. That was all the Holy Spirit. Because I couldn't tell you about your past and everything you went through unless, guess what? Holy Spirit told me. You wouldn't have been in church unless he drew you, uh put a desire in you for you to go to go to church. Now granted, God can God gives us desires, he he draws us, he pulls us, he tries to get us. We can still say no.
I mean, truly, that's that's what I started this with. The only virtuous thing any of us ever did, really, was say yes to Jesus, I I believe in you. I'll follow you. Amen? He says here, better be careful of this. He spake a parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, a religious leader, a theologian, a scholar, a student of the Bible, and the other a publican, tax collector, the most hated individuals in all Israel. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, "God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, even as this publican here. I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all that I possess." And the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes into heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." I tell you that this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone that exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humble himself shall be exalted. I want you to notice, these two men are only talking to God. You go into prayer, you do you exalt yourself? I mean, we all listen, that's the bad thing about exalting yourself or pride. To exalt yourself, you really always have to climb on over and push down someone else. Now again, that doesn't mean we don't call sin sin. Doesn't mean we don't correct when things are wrong. We have to do that. Right? But it's the same with children. We have to correct children. We have to discipline our children and correct them and teach them and instruct. Right? But we don't despise them. See what I'm saying? As God's trying to remind us, don't start thinking that your what what you know, cuz we all listen, one thing I've learned, especially in this day and age, even within Christians, everyone has in their own mind what they think is righteous and what they think is unrighteous. Oh yeah, granted. We we know the obvious stuff. What I'm saying is everybody's got their own little standards. Right? Well, I know a fellow, right? He thinks it's just absolute sin and idolatry to go to a football game
or or even I mean we even had a argument one day about saying Roll Tide or War Eagle, that that was idolatry. Right? You know who I'm talking about. But that was his that's his standard. That's you know what? That's that's what he thinks is righteous. I happen to don't feel that way. War Eagle. Right? And Roll Tide makes me want to I hear that it makes me want to throw up. Right? But see, there's certain things like that. We've got our own little standards. Can football become an idol? Absolutely it can. Doesn't mean it always is in your life. But anything can become an idol. Right? So just be careful of setting your own standard. There are things Paul said some people think we shouldn't eat this meat and other people think we should. Certain things like that. We've got all those kind of things out there. You know, we got the people who think, you know, you take a sip of alcohol, you're going to hell. And we got other ones that think you can drink as much as you want and you it has and it's no big deal. Both of those ideas are wrong. Right? But again, people set their own standards. Now again, there's only one standard. It's this book right here. Bible. God's word. When it plainly says something in here, that's right, you're wrong. Amen? You don't try to conform it to your standard. But again, we got our standards. I remember years ago, I'm going to get a little I probably shouldn't the children are in here. I won't say it. Though it's an issue. But still, there's things that the Bible is silent on. But we got churches that make it a doctrine. That if you are, you know, doing something that's not even written in the scriptures, it doesn't tell us whether it's sin or not, it doesn't tell us anything about it, but if YOU DO IT, I MEAN THERE'S PEOPLE WHO THINK YOU'RE GOING TO HELL FOR SMOKING. Like I said, I don't see anywhere it tells me in the scriptures that you're going to hell for smoking. I've said it many times, you smell like you've been there. Right? It's not good for your health. Right? To certain people would be a bad witness. But does the Bible say I can say you're damned to hell if you don't quit smoking? No, I can't say that. You get what I'm saying? Some people think it's okay. I mean I got
I know Christians that love to smoke their cigars. Even female Christians that like to smoke cigars. I know. To me that's bizarre seeing a woman with a cigar in her mouth. But hey, I you know, I'm not telling you going to hell for smoking your cigar there. Right? Paul said there's things that were lawful for him to do, but they they said they might be lawful, they might not they might not be sinful, they might not be condemned by God, but there's things that might be lawful, but I don't need to do them. Because they'd be a bad witness. I'm not you're not going to see Pastor Dean with a cigarette in his mouth. I mean I think they're disgusting. Right? I did smoke them. Marlboro Reds. That's what I smoked. I think they're disgusting. I can't stand the smell of them. But I'm not going to condemn anybody to hell over it, right? Cuz this is silent on it. We got people, you know, I shouldn't eat sweets. I you know, if you're if you're if if you know you're diabetic or borderline diabetic and you keep pumping the sweets in, then that then then smoke it. You know? You're going to receive judgment in your body, but it doesn't mean you're going to hell. No. I'm just sick of this. Everybody's got their own standard of righteousness. Now there's things that are clear. Adultery, homosexuality, drunkenness. I mean there's things that are clear that if you practice those things, you will not inherit kingdom of God. And that we can say. But that doesn't mean if we look at a person who's struggling with homosexuality or adultery or drunkenness, that we start thinking because we're not doing it at that time, that we got it together, we're better than them. No. You start thinking that and you're going to end up falling to whatever you're judging them over in the same What I'm saying judging is what I'm talking about. I mean we can say something's wrong, that's not judging. What I'm talking about is when we start looking down and despising them because they're doing something really that we used to do. And I promise you that if you start despising them and instead of praying for them and having a heart wanting God to touch them and open their eyes and save them, if you start despising and looking down your nose at them, you're going to end up doing what they do. That's why it says in Galatians, in fact, turn to Galatians chapter 6. Verse 1. He says this.
And this is exactly what I'm I'm warning you of here. He says, brethren, if any man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. What he's saying if if if a brother's overtaken in a fault, that's a sin, that's a problem. Listen, I've I've walked in this thing long enough to know the strongest Christians at times get overtaken in something. They didn't plan on it, they didn't premeditate it, they didn't, you know, but just a series of events began to develop until they were in something they were overtaken by. Whether it be, you know, a lot of people came out of partying and drinking and then they begin to lax their, you know, who they hung around with and where they went and all of a sudden through a series of events something bad happens and they find themselves sitting at the bar and the next thing you know they got a DUI and the next thing you know I mean we we know the story. Look, Christian lady, what was it? Some husband died or something or had a death in the family or something, remember? I won't I don't know, but anyway but anyway, what the long story This woman wasn't a drunkard, but through a series I guess, you know, she kind of laxed her her ideas about having a drink of alcohol and then she lost someone in her family and then all of a sudden she's sitting at a bar depressed and she starts drinking and guess what? Boom, DUI, in jail. Cuz Nancy's dad was in there knew her. She had to go to jail. Now, what does that mean she's a heathen on her way to hell? No. She got overtaken in a in a fault. That's why it says you that are spiritual, meaning let me tell you something. You want a sign of spiritual maturity? Is that you can look at somebody like that that gets overtaken in something and you don't despise them or reject them or throw them out the first time they're messing up. But it says in the spirit of meekness, that means meekness is humility and it also means strength under control. And it says with a humble, gentle attitude, take that person and restore them. The word restore in the Greek here means like you would set a broken arm. You take it and you mend it. You fix it. But he says, you better do this in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Meaning if you treat them bad, Excuse Goodness, spirit of Hillary Clinton came in here for a second. Hang on.
If you treat them bad, you're setting yourself up to be tempted in a similar manner. Because that is a demonstration of pride when you think because they have fallen, I am better. No, no, no, no, no. In fact, let me be honest with you. Sometimes for us preachers, the honest ones, that are trying to see your broken parts mended, those that are overtaken, restored. Sometimes you get really, really, really weary because you're trying to help people that are have broken places and you still have broken places. And you're like, "Who am I to be doing this? Who am I to be counseling anybody, instructing anybody, teaching anybody, cuz I'm no better than them?" And I'm telling you, if you don't think that way as a minister, especially, you're in trouble. I I often say, "God, sometimes I say, God, I I'll be glad when this thing's over with cuz I just don't feel adequate to this job." Paul said it this way. He said, "Who is sufficient for these things?" You know? Who of us really has it all together? Who of us really, you know, has the right to rebuke, to correct, to restore, to instruct? I think that's why God called it the foolishness of preaching. I've said this many times, but I believe when he said in 1 Corinthians 1, it is the foolishness of preaching that God has chosen to save those who will believe. Why is it foolishness? Like I said, one messed up, broken, sinful man or woman trying to help other broken, sinful men and women. It's actually foolish. It's just crazy. But, you know, God chooses foolish thing to confound the wise. Right? That's why people think it's foolish to go to church. It's foolish to have a pastor. It's foolish to put up with the stuff you have to put up with in church sometimes. Whether it's dealing with hypocrites or having to be accountable to leadership or whatever. Get up on Sunday morning. A lot of people don't want to get up on Sunday morning. I mean, you say, "Well, it's foolishness." Well, yeah, but God's chosen the foolish things of this world to save you. Amen. We are nothing. I remember years ago, there were so many Christians that hated
poor Jimmy Swaggart. They hated him. Christians. I remember. You know why? Cuz he was A lot of them hated him cuz he was Pentecostal. A lot of them hated him cuz he was also Pentecostal tongue talker, and he was successful in the ministry. He was famous. He had a powerful anointing on his life, so some were jealous. Others hated him because he preached plainly against sin and recalled for repentance. Here's what's so bad though. When he was overtaken in his fault, when Jimmy Swaggart fell into his sin, and he wasn't always living in sin. You know, I know this. Okay? He wasn't always living in sin. He wasn't a charlatan. He wasn't a shyster. I went to his meetings. The anointing of God was so strong, you sit there in tears, crying. Millions of people. I I remember every morning, every Sunday morning before I went to church, I'd get up at 8:00 and I would watch. I'd be ready by 8:00. I would watch Jimmy Swaggart for an hour first before I went to church. Most of the time, his service that was broadcast or his crusade that was broadcast on TV that morning would be more powerful than the church service I went to. I'd sit there with tears running down my face. I'd watch him preach a simple evangelistic gospel message in Guatemala or Nicaragua or Mexico or wherever. And I'd watch thousands of people in a stadium when he gave the altar call run to accept Jesus as their Lord and savior. I mean, run. Flood the altar, tears running down their faces. So, don't tell me. But, man, when he fell, I remember how there were Christians out there rejoicing that Jimmy fell. Happy that he was in trouble. Mocking him, laughing at him, enjoying the fact that it was all coming unraveled for Jimmy Swaggart. See, look at those Pentecostals. They should be like us Baptists. See, Baptists hide their scandals. I know cuz there was a big one here First Baptist Church about the same time. They send them off to rehab counseling places quietly. But, people so I I And I remember there were a bunch of people around here because I had Bible studies all over this area, Opelika and Auburn. We do Bible studies in different people's houses and we went to different churches. I mean, we just knew just back then it was just all kind of stuff going on. And I remember people would come up to me like this.
"What do you Dean, what do you think?" They knew I liked Jimmy Swaggart. "What do you think about Jimmy about Jimmy sin, about Jimmy being overtaken in a fall? What do you think?" You know what I said? I remember the first thing came out of my mouth. I said, "Well, he's just a man. He puts his pants on the same way I do, one leg at a time. He's not infallible. He's not perfect. I said, "I'm praying for him that he will he will get back doing what God called him to do, that he'll get healed, that he'll get delivered, that he'll find forgiveness, and and get back on the right track." See, right now, there're people that hate me so much, Christians that hate me so much for what I preach and what I stand for, they would absolutely rejoice. They would have A PARTY. PULL OUT THE cigars and the drinks if Pastor Dean went down in flames. They would. Christians, I'm telling you. Cuz then they can feel better about themselves. They can feel better about their sin that they're hanging on to or they can feel better about the lies and deception they're feeling or the lukewarm religion they're hanging on to. All the stuff that I take a stand against and preach against and fight against, all they would be That would JUST OH! WOO! HE'S GONE! YEP. We got problems. Bunch of people in the church world trusting their own level of righteousness. Their own idea of what's acceptable, what's not, and they despise others who are not like them. You want to talk about the problem with church denominations and why we have denominations? That's cuz everybody A denomination A Christian denomination is simply this. This group's chosen to believe this much of it. This group chose to believe a little bit more of the Bible. This group chose to believe a little bit less. And so, you got different denominations. And then they despise each other cuz they all think they're better than the other. And all that foolishness is self-righteous deception. I'm going to tell you, and I'm I'm not ashamed of Some of the snootiest people are Baptists. I mean, they think the Baptist way is the only way. And if you're not Baptist, my God, can I even allow my children to play with yours on the playground? You think I'm exaggerating.
No. But, I'm not just picking on them. And this is the problem. We got a bunch of Pentecostals out there that think cuz they speak in tongues and fall on the floor they're better than somebody else. They don't realize a lot of them that they've just let the the witches and the demons flood their churches, and a lot of their manifestations are just demonic. Self-righteousness. Let's go back to Isaiah. I'm going to finish this. It's all right for me to just share what's on my heart this morning, ain't it? This is nothing of what I've studied. Not even close. I've been doing some in-depth research. I can tell you I found the cornerstone of the earth. I'll show that to you when we're here. God told Job, "Were you there when I laid the cornerstone of the earth?" I'd been asking the Lord for a while, "Well, what is the cornerstone? Where is it?" Found it. It's big and obvious, too. We'll talk about that later. What did say? Back to Isaiah 6? I got some stuff I think they'll freak y'all out. Several things that I'm just like, wow. But again, this is something that's dangerous. I And I've said this about our church before and I'm And and there's a lot of people out there in what I would call the alternative Christian truth whatever you want to call it. A lot of them don't go to church because they actually know so much more than their than the past most of the pastors that are around. So they just don't go to church, but you got to remember something. And look it up for me. I believing it's 1 Corinthians for some reason I can't remember if it's 1 Corinthians 8 or 2 Corinthians 8. Where he says charity or love edifies, but knowledge puffs up. Right? And when you start understanding mysteries, Bible mysteries, ancient mysteries, when you start understanding the scriptures, when you start understanding things that they don't even teach in Bible schools, 1 Corinthians 8 1. Knowledge is a powerful thing. It's a good thing. We're supposed to study, show ourselves approved. We're supposed to learn. We're supposed to get back. We're supposed to put the word of God, the truth of God's word above everything else. And we're supposed to research and study and be diligent and give ourselves to
reading and all that. We need to increase in all that. That's all good. But with that comes danger. Mhm? 1 Corinthians, yeah. 1 Corinthians 8. But with that knowledge he said, Paul warned, knowledge can puff you up in pride. You start thinking, well, I know this and they don't know that. Well, I mean that's true. You may know something that somebody else doesn't know. But again, that's not what makes you righteous before God. And reminding yourself, it doesn't matter how much faith I have, it doesn't have how many mysteries I understand, how many revelations I have, if I don't love people enough to not despise them because they're not like me. You know what I'm saying? Back to Isaiah 6. When your focus is on the Lord and you have a revelation of the Lord, the first thing you do is verse 5, you say, "Woe is me, for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts, Yahweh, Jehovah, Elohim." He says, "Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar, and he laid it upon my mouth, and he said, 'Lo, this has touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged.' Also, I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' And then said I, 'Here am I, send me.' And he said, 'Go and tell this people I'm going to stop right there. You want to be effective in the ministry, in witnessing, get a vision of the Lord. Get a vision of your own sin and uncleanness and unworthiness. Let God put a fresh fire upon you that takes that away. That guilt and that iniquity and that sin away. And then you are far better positioned when the Lord says, "Who's going to go do what I want you to do?" The humble are exalted. You hear what I'm saying? The humble are sent. What was God doing here? God allowed Isaiah to have this vision, this
encounter. What was he doing? He was letting his servant, his prophet, be reminded, "You're not all that. Yes, you're prophesying. Yes, I called you to cry out against Israel's sin. I've called you to expose the prophets, the false prophets, and the false shepherds. I've called you to speak out against these things, but don't ever let it go to your head, son. You are not righteous in your own good works or because you're doing what I called you to do. That doesn't make you righteous. You getting your eyes on me, keeping your eyes focused on me. I am the one who purges you and cleanses you. This was a reminder. Don't get in pride, self-righteous pride. Don't do it. To me, that is the greatest revelation we can have as the people of God is to never allow ourselves to let our good works or attempts to our strive striving to enter in that straight gate or or or what we're pressing into Jesus for to begin to think that we are something better than others who might not be where we are or who might not see what we see. Isaiah continued this revelation. In fact, go to Isaiah 64, just quickly. Want you to see this. This is something and I and I'm showing you this because I want you to see this was repeated in his book of prophecy. Verse 1, Isaiah 64 verse 1, he's praying that the Lord would move in their midst. Basically, this is a revival prayer. Lord, come down and do mighty things in our midst. He says, "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, as when the melting fire burneth and the fire causes the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence. When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down and the mountains flowed down at thy presence." So he's saying, "Lord, I I wish you would I wish you would come down and move in power, Holy Ghost. I wish you would show your enemies, those that hate you, your great presence, your great power, WHO YOU ARE. SHOW YOURSELF, GOD. THIS IS FOLKS, this is a revival prayer. This is something we SHOULD BE PRAYING. SHOW YOURSELF. SHOW YOUR GLORY. Show your your presence AND YOUR POWER. SHOW THAT YOUR NAME MIGHT BE KNOWN TO THIS world cuz there's so MANY UNBELIEVERS. THERE'S SO many agnostics and atheists and haters OUT THERE NOW. GOD, COME DOWN. This is a prayer we
should pray. And he says verse 4, "For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath eye seen, oh God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waited for him. Thou meetest him that rejoices and worketh righteousness. Those that remember thee in thy ways. Behold, thou art wroth, for we have sinned. In this In those is continuance, and we shall be saved." But look what he says in verse 6, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and our righteousness are as filthy rags. And we do all are all we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And he says, "There is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee. Thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us because of our iniquities." He's saying, "God, you've got to show yourself. All of our righteousness is filthy rags." You know, you could come to me and say, "Pastor Dean, I witnessed to 10 people this week." I say, "Good job." "Man, I feel like I'm right with God." I'd be like, wrong. You should say, "I prayed this week and I said, 'God, forgive me my sins. Jesus, I'm nothing, but because of your blood.' And I'll say, 'Oh, yeah. See, that's what makes you righteous.' Was it good that you witnessed to 10 people? Yes, it was excellent. That's what God wants you to do, but it does not make you any more righteous than anyone else. And you street evangelists, you're the worst. A lot of these street preachers think they're right with God cuz they go out on the street. They're willing to go out there where no church is going and no man is going. But a lot of them won't even go to a church. They won't submit to a pastor. And their righteousness is as filthy rags. They're preaching the gospel. That is what they think makes them better than someone else. You know, I love it. I love to see people go. I've gone out on the street myself for years on and off at different times. I can attest to you. I've stood at Auburn University open-air preached and seen 300 people gather
around and listen. In the rain in January. Okay? I've done that. Didn't make me any more righteous than when I'm not doing that. Right? What's the old hymn? Can't remember it. Our righteousness, what does it say? Our righteousness is Jesus' blood. Pretty much it. I can't remember the song now. It's partially in my head. Amen. Why do I put that up? Because there's a lot of people Listen to me. We're going to I'll close with this. There's a lot of people in this world that believe that if they're a good person, you know, they help at the soup kitchen. They give to church or charity or missions. They go give a homeless man food. Nothing wrong with those things. Those are things are wonderful. But there are people who think that is what will get them to heaven. Even a lot of Christians. And Paul made very clear. He said 1 Corinthians 13 when he said, "You can speak with the tongues of men and angels. You can understand all mysteries. You can have all faith to move mountains. You can give everything you have to feed the poor and your body to be burned, but if you do not have love and what he's talking about, love, the commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. You cannot be righteous without just loving God and loving humility. Loving is mercy. That's what he's saying. He said, "You can do You can give everything you have to the poor. Understand all mysteries. Right? Have faith to move mountains. You're a miracle worker. But you can do all those things and find yourself in pride trusting your own righteousness, trusting your own works. And this is where we have to lift up. There is but one way to be saved. Your good works alone will not save you. Your good works do not out if your they outweigh your bad, that's what makes it you righteous and on your way to heaven.
What makes you right with God and on your way to heaven is faith in the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross. Not Buddha, not Allah, not Krishna. People say I'm a hater. I got accused of being a hater of cuz I speak against other religions. Well, guess what? Muhammad didn't die on the cross for my sin. Buddha didn't die on the cross for my sin. Those individuals are not God in the flesh. They don't have scriptures hundreds and thousands of years before they came into being, before they were born, pronouncing they would be the Messiah and the savior of the world who would be the sacrifice for sins, who would rise from the dead. There is no one like Jesus Christ. THERE IS NO BOOK like the Bible. There is one savior, one Lord, one way to heaven. His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and you must believe that he is God in the flesh, the second person of the Trinity, the son of God, who died for sin, shed his blood that was sinless, born of a virgin. He rose from the dead on the third day. And that only through believing in him and being willing to take up your cross and follow him can you be saved, washed in the blood of Jesus, forgiven of your sins, and made righteous before a holy God. You will not escape hell by thinking Jesus was just a prophet or a teacher or a good man or a religious leader. If you don't believe what I'm saying, you will die in your sins. And you will go to hell for all eternity. And that's the thing. If you believe the truth of who he is, if you truly believe it, it will change your actions. Amen. All right. Isaiah's revelation. Beware of self-righteous pride. Beware of your own standards. Beware of letting ministry and good works become your little checkpoint. Your little check on, you know, your little star. You know how the teachers used to put a star on the board when you did something right? I didn't get too many of those. I don't guess Patrick did either. He's laughing over there. Right?
We're not trying to fill up a a board of stars. Draw near to the Lord through faith in his blood and his cross and his resurrection. Learn to hear his voice. Do what he says and be humble about it. Amen. All right. Doesn't mean you can't be bold, but be humble. All right. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you that while we were yet sinners, blinded, deceived, living in sin, Christ Jesus died for us on the cross. When we weren't thinking about him, when we weren't Some of us, of course, most of us now not even alive yet. Lord, you knew us before we were even formed in our mother's womb. You knew the sins we would commit, the rebellion, the evil we would practice. And yet you went to the cross and you took our sins in your body on the cross. So we could be saved. So we could have an opportunity to be forgiven, cleansed, and made ready for eternal life. Lord, I pray today that someone out there, whether here or listening or watching, they thought, "Well, I'm a pretty good person." But they're not really walking with you. They say, "Oh, I believe in Jesus." But they're not really a disciple. They're not really walking with you. They don't love you more than they love their own plans or the world. Lord, I pray that today they'll understand they must love you with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. They must walk with you. They must believe you to be righteous. Lord, I pray that that would become real. And that many would be saved by submitting to your righteousness and your will and your plan for their lives. Father, we pray that today. And it's simple. If you're listening this morning, you're watching, just say today, "Lord, forgive me. Jesus, forgive me for trusting in my own righteousness. Forgive me for thinking I'm okay, that my good works will outweigh my bad, and I'll make it. And yet I haven't really surrendered to you as Lord. I haven't really followed you as a disciple. I haven't really loved you with all my heart. God, forgive me. Today, I give you my heart. I give you my life. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me on that cross. He rose from the dead.
Today, I ask you, Lord, to wash me clean and help me take up my cross and begin to follow you. Lord, I will love you because you first loved me. I will dedicate my life, the rest of it, to you. In Jesus' name. If you prayed that prayer this morning, if you made that decision, if you're finally going to be a disciple, let me know. Email, text, Facebook, let us know. We'll help you any way we can. My email's simple. deanodle111 @yahoo.com. deanodle111@yahoo.com. Let us know. Amen.