Transcript of message from TV Broadcast 652 -- taken from Closed Captioning Text

-- Brother Joel Kennedy: Praise the Lord. It's a wonderful worship service. I had something that came to me a few weeks ago and it greatly encouraged me and I believe it was for me. And as I prayed about it, it just kept coming back to me, so I thought I'd just share it and see if it's something the Lord's in.

I'm gonna read in Romans 13, and I'm gonna just start in verse 11. This is actually nothing new, but let me just read it and see if the Lord's in it. If He's not, I believe someone will get up and get us in the right direction. It says, "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."

When this came to me I just...I really feel like the Lord, for a quite a while now, He's been emphasizing a work He's doing in our hearts to get us out of ourselves, to cause us to wake up. And I looked some of this up in another translation. Verse 11, it says, Another reason for right living is that you know how late it is. Time is running out. Wake up for the coming of our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

I really believe we're living in a late hour. I believe the Lord is coming soon and I see with what the Lord is doing now and emphasizing, it's just another sign that He's coming soon. He's wanting to get us out of ourselves. In verse 12, I read it in another interpretation. It says, The night is almost gone. The day of salvation will soon be here so don't live in darkness. It says, Get rid of your evil deeds. Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves with the armor of right living as those who live in the light.

And then in verse 14, it says, But let the Lord Jesus take control of you and don't think of ways to indulge your evil desires. What encouraged me was that God is wanting to use us to reach out to others. And it came to me...what came to me, too, was the story of Esther. I don't know if I can go over the whole...but I'm gonna just refer to that. Many of you know it. There was a king and I'm not gonna say his name, but I'm gonna just call him the king.

( laughter ).

It started out...he had a queen and her name was Vashti, I believe. She wasn't the queen he needed, because she would never come when he said come. She was just totally obstinate against him. So he sent out a decree...they wanted to get him the right queen and had all kinds of virgins come before him. Mordecai knew Esther, who...her parents had died and he had her come before the king and she presented herself and it says, he loved her more than all the other women and she was made the queen. Things were going well in the kingdom and there was a man named Haman and let's just refer to him as the devil.

( laughter ).

But, he was an evil man and he was very high in the kingdom. And it was by law, I believe, you were supposed to bow down before him when you saw him and Mordecai didn't do that. He didn't do that. Haman received word of it and he got mad. He was very mad. So he devised this plot, and it wasn't just against Mordecai, but against all the Jews that were associated with him, which was Esther was one of 'em. And they were to be killed.

He went to the king. He didn't tell him it was Esther or even Mordecai. But he said, there's a people here that are against you. They're not gonna honor your laws. The king said, well, they'll have to be put to death. So Mordecai received word of this and he was just beside himself. He was renting his clothes and he sent word to Esther, 'cause she had power with the king.

As we think of Esther, we are Esther, I believe. We're the church. He sent word to her and says, listen you've got to go talk to the king. The people...our people are gonna be destroyed and you can go in there and talk with him and intercede for us.

Well she got that word and you know, things were going well for her. And she sent back word to him by her maidservant and she said, listen, I have not been called to the king in 30 days. She says, if I go in there, by law if he doesn't call me, I have to be put to death. She didn't want to do it. You know, she had a little bit of, I guess, self-preservation there 'cause things were going well.

But she was at a crossroads here. You know, she was either gonna have to go before the king and witness dying, or she stayed where she was at. What happened was that Mordecai sent her back another message and said, listen, if you don't do this, deliverance and enlargement are gonna come to our people from some other direction. But, don't think that you're gonna get by. He says, you're gonna be destroyed and all your house.

And, of course, you know these words here. How do you know, he said, that you have not been brought into the kingdom for such a time as this? And what did Esther say? Here Esther's faced at a crossroads...and let's keep in mind that we're a type of Esther. If she stays where she's at and protects herself--self interest and is not willing to go in there and speak to the king, I mean, she's gonna experience a death, based on what Mordecai said.

In this case, it was a physical death. But the Word says, where there's no vision, the people perish. Where God gives a vision, where we know that we've been brought to the kingdom and we can be an outreach, there's Life there. Now, it takes death because self has to die, and it was a death to her. So she got this message, either I go before the king, and I could be slain. She didn't know. She even said, I'll perish, or I just stay where I'm at and I'm gonna be destroyed and my people anyway.

So here's what she did. She sent a message back to Mordecai and said, okay, I'm gonna do it. I may perish, but here's what I want you to do first. I want you to fast for three days, 'cause I'm gonna need a little bit of empowerment to go before the king. And I'm gonna get everybody I know to fast and do that for three days. She received a word to wake up. It was a wake up time for her, and she's backing it up with prayer because she knows she's been brought into the kingdom for such a time as this.

And I believe we're at that crossroads too. And I see us moving ahead. I do. I believe we're charting this course. So she's gotten the word. She's praying. And then it comes time, and the Word says, and she made herself ready to go see the king. She made herself ready. She didn't just go in there...she made herself ready.

You know, I was reading...what I read in Romans about shedding your evil deeds and putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, I see the emphasis of the Holy Spirit, for this is what He is doing for us. And the whole purpose is there's a people that need to be delivered. It's some of us here...I mean, I need that Life.

But there's folks out here that need...our children, folks we're praying for that we want to see something in. We've been brought to the kingdom for such a time as this. She made herself ready. And I believe God's helping us to do that and we're backing it up with prayer.

So, it's come time for her to go see the king. And she goes into this courtyard. You just don't go up there and see the king. You go in the courtyard. She went in the courtyard and all she could do is just wait. She's down there just waiting. She could be killed, by law. And the king...he's up on the throne and he looks down and sees her. And, I'll tell you what, these words here are just so amazing. And it says, the king saw Esther and she gained favor in his sight--she gained favor in his sight. If we...and as we come God's way and what He's proclaimed for us...to pray, to seek His face, to shed these evil deeds...and it takes His grace, we're gonna gain favor.

( congregational amens ).

How'd you like to hear those words? The Lord just...you've gained favor in My sight. And because we've been brought to the kingdom for a time as this and then right on the heels of that, I want you to listen to what the king said to her. He looked at her and he says, what do you want me to do for you? Isn't that amazing? What do you want me to do for you? She's followed what God has set before her. He says, what do you want me to do for? I'll give it to you, even half of the kingdom. I believe this.

And she...there's other things she could have prayed for, but her whole purpose in coming was, there's a people...she knew time was running out. And it's running out right now in this day. We're in the last days. I believe that. And God's brought us to the kingdom for a time as this. I believe, as I've thought of this and the Lord encouraged me with this, He just sent these words--just stay the course--stay the course. Keep seeking God.

You know, we've been encouraged to pray. I mean really get back to prayer. I'm gonna say this. If you've got some evil deeds you're having a tough time shedding, get a prayer pal. Call somebody up. You don't have to tell 'em what it's about. You know what? I'll take all the prayer I can get. There's nothing wrong with saying, brother or sister, I'm struggling with something. Specifically remember me in prayer. And God hears that--He hears that. That's part of making ourselves ready.

'Course this story goes on and just gets better, 'cause I think the king asked Esther what she wanted. She didn't come right out...but she said, look, I'd like to have a great feast--make a great feast. And what she wanted was Haman to be there...she knew he devised this plot...and the king to be there. Haman got word of this and he was just thrilled. He was thrilled because Mordecai wasn't invited here. He was invited. So he just knew things were going well and he was going back to his house and he saw Mordecai again. Mordecai didn't bow before him and it made him madder. So he went home and told his wife. She said, tell you what. You've got this feast coming up. Why don't you build these big, old gallows, high... an area where he could be hanged. It was huge. It would have made Clint Eastwood proud.

( laughter ).

( laughing ).

So they did that. They built these huge gallows. And you know, 'course there's a scripture that says, no weapon that's formed shall prosper. And says, we'll will rise up and condemn it. You know that scripture didn't say, weapons wouldn't be formed. And I believe this. The closer we get to pleasing God and knowing we've been brought to the kingdom for a time as this, the devil...he's gonna have his WMD's. He's gonna build his gallows and everything, but it's not gonna prosper. And you're gonna see that as the story goes on.

So, he's got these gallows being built and he's just loving life, he thinks. Keep in mind, Haman's the devil. So, I think one night the king...the gathering is coming close. But one night the king couldn't sleep. God wouldn't let him sleep. So he got up and in order...he would have people read to him. So he had this book brought to him. It was Chronicles, which showed some things that had gone on through the kingdom.

And they read where two men had devised a plot against the king and someone had thwarted it. That man was Mordecai. He said, well was anything ever done for him? They said, no. So, he said, well gosh, I'm gonna get some...something from some of my men...some ideas and see what we can do for him. He said, who's in the courtyard I could ask? Guess who's coming in the courtyard? Haman. He was coming in there to tell him about hanging Mordecai.

( laughing ).

But here he is...he's getting ready to come tell the king about Mordecai, to get him hung and all the Jews and the king calls Haman in there. He says, listen, before you come and tell me what you're gonna tell me, let me mention this to you. He said, there's someone who's done something great for me. What do you think would be the best thing to do for him. Well Haman, right off the bat, figured it was him. He said, oh boy.

( laughter ).

So he laid it on thick. He did. I mean, he went down a list of things to do for him. And then the king said, great, that's what we'll do. He said the man's Mordecai. Go do it.

( laughing ).

( laughter ).

Haman...

( laughing ).

I'm not gonna say, poor Mr. Devil, but he just hangs himself. Anyway, Haman went to do this for Mordecai and when he finished, it said he went back to his house mourning. He was not happy. And the feast is coming up. So, he goes back to his house and his wife is there and all his advisors and he tells them what happened. And they look at him and say, boy, you've had it. It don't look [good] for you. They said, you just not gonna recover from this.

And, 'course, they didn't know the half of the story, 'cause while they were talking to him, the knock came on the door...it's time to go to the feast. He didn't know what was gonna happen at the feast. Well, he got to the feast and the king goes to Esther again and says to her, what would you have me to do for you? And she tells him about the plot. The king's filled with wrath. The scripture says, Haman...he is frightened. And he should be, because the next thing that happened, he got hung. They hung him. No weapon that's formed shall prosper. And I'm gonna tell you this. The devil's gonna hang himself every time.

( congregational amens ).

I don't care what it looks like. I don't care how big those gallows get to be built. The devil is gonna hang himself.

( congregational amens ).

Especially as we see more and more that we've been brought to the kingdom for a time as this. He wants to stop this outreach. He wants to try to thwart us being living examples and bearing this fruit. You know what I read in Romans? It's all about bearing fruit. And it's just not...you think about the Lord coming back. I remember when I first came, back in the early 70's, there were a lot of people that visited us. I'll say a lot of nuts. But a lot of 'em would come around and say, well, we're looking. They were looking for that perfect church--looking for that perfect church. And, Brother Thomas would say, well when they find it, it won't be perfect no more.

( laughter ).

But what makes a church...if you want to say the word perfect, is the blood of Christ. There's only one thing that qualifies us for heaven and that's the blood that has been shed.

( congregational amens ).

And we will always cherish that old rugged cross. But I see, in God making us ready...and ready and bearing fruit. There's just one purpose for bearing fruit. There's just one purpose for right living. "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit..." But the scripture says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life..." And I need that life. There's people out here that need it.

We've got our children we're praying for. Let's stay the course. We've been brought to kingdom for a time as this, and I see us moving on. The Holy Spirit is emphasizing this strongly. It might not be happening as quick as you'd like, but I'm telling you, we're on the right course. Let's stay the course.

( congregational amens ).

-- Brother Ron Peters: You know one of the things that really blessed me about what Joel said this morning was his spirit. It was the spirit that it was said in. And it was true for me...some of the things he was saying. But you know, truth sets you free.

( congregational amens ).

You know when the Lord speaks, it's like things just roll off of you. I know...I wasn't planning on coming to church this morning because I'm just under so much pressure right now. I told Linda...I got up at three o'clock this morning to start working and I told Linda before we came to church, I said, my nerves are shot. That's not the Lord.

And, when Joel got up, it was just like somebody just poured cool life on me--just cool water. I was burning up, but somebody gave me a drink of cool water. That was the Lord. And you know, what Joel was saying there...he's not...what he read over here in Romans and I want to go back over there for just a second, Romans 13, especially the last verse. "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."

That's not legalism. That's not do's and don'ts. You know, Paul said over in Galatians, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." And, if we've put on Christ...I see Christ as this pure garment. It's the garment that--the robe that the father went and got for the Prodigal when he came home.

( congregational amens ).

If God gave us that garment, shouldn't we put it on? Shouldn't it be on us? And, you know, it's not a matter of us...you know that scripture over there...it spoke of some other things. "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying." Put away the works of darkness. There's a lot of things there in that particular text of scripture.

But, I'm gonna tell you, it's not a matter of just buckling down and doing those things and then marking 'em off as you do 'em. It's not a matter...if we're serving Christ out of a need to keep the law or to measure up or to be able...if it's just do's and don'ts. If that's the only way that we're serving Christ, then we've missed it. We've missed it.

I was reading over in Psalm 103 this morning...just one short verse. But it spoke to me. You know, God is not gonna just dump His grace, His mercy, His blessings...He's not gonna just dump that on somebody like a bucket of honey...that's somebody that's not looking for it, or don't desire it. He's not just gonna pour it on you.

But, I was reading over here and it says...you know this whole scripture here is talking about how "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more."

But it says this in verse 17, "But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting..."--but He qualifies this--"...Upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them." This isn't talking about do's and don'ts.

I was sitting there thinking. You think about any beast of the field. Let's just say, a cat. A cat comes in, sits down, and he cleans himself. He's not doing that to merit something or anything. He's doing that because he's a cat. A dog does...you know, I thought about Lassie. Lassie used to go out and pray with me. She'd go out and she'd grab a rat and chew him up. She'd go chase a cat. She did all kinds of things, but she did it 'cause she was a dog. That was her nature. When Christ comes into a heart, you do things because you want to.

( congregational amens ).

And when you don't do things, you're not happy about it. But, that's the love of Christ. You know, you think of the churches that Christ tried to...spoke to over in Revelation. He spoke to church after church. And He would tell them, I have ought against you. I have one thing against you.

He got down to the Laodicean church. It was the worst church in the whole group. But still He spoke to them out of a heart of love. He was reaching out to them, showing them something to help them get a hold of Him, to help them get their eyes on Him because that's what they needed. This...what Joel said this morning...I believe with all my heart that's Christ.

( congregational amens ).

He is coming to this Church and He is saying--He's saying, now's the time. Prepare yourself--prepare yourself. That is God. I believe that's God's Word to us here this morning--prepare ourselves for Him. Those things that we've just kind of drifted back into, over and over and over again...I'm gonna tell you something. We've got something far greater, far more precious to live for than those things.

( congregational amens ).

We have Christ. We have something that this world desperately needs. We get letters every week...e-mails, people crying out. People asking us if we'll come over, and we'll share Christ with them. Beloved, we need to take this seriously. We are called to the kingdom for such a time as this. I don't know what God's gonna do. But I know this. If a church becomes content where they're at and if a church just settles down and it has no more concern for just their four and no more...if a church ever gets to that place, it's gonna die.

( congregational amens ).

We need to always be reaching out.

( congregational amens ).

There are people that we come in contact...each and every one of you sitting in this church this morning, there's somebody you come in contact with, that you can be an influence for Christ--that you can influence in a positive way. But you see, when we're...like I was this morning, when you're in such a state that you're all geared up about all these other things that are temporal and that are meaningless--when you're all geared up in that, people don't see Christ in you. They see somebody full of strife. They see somebody struggling. They see somebody...boy, I don't want what he's got. And I can't blame 'em. But Christ has given us something wonderful here this morning.

( congregational praise ).

Christ has given us something wonderful here this morning. He has. He's met with us. He's given us truth. And Jesus said, if we'll continue in that truth--if we'll continue in His Word, the Word that we heard this morning. If we continue in that, we're gonna know the truth and the truth is gonna make us free. Free from all these things, because they are...they're just draining. They're vain and they just drain you. This gives us life. God's Word gives us life. God has given us something wonderful here to share with people. We should be, like Don said, we should be a thankful people.

( congregational amens ).

We should be...when we go out into the workplace...and I know it's tough. It was tough on Paul and Silas when they sat down there with stripes on their back. They were in pain. But, I'm gonna tell you, they praised God anyway and God blessed it. And God will bless us if we learn to praise Him. I believe that the Lord would have us to prepare ourselves for His soon coming.

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