Gospel

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Sunday 6/23/14 Pastor Michael sermon The Cost to Overcome=Finishing What Was Started Revelation 2:12-17
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Most anything that’s worth anything is going to cost you something. There is no such thing as getting something for nothing. Advertisers offer free stuff but it has strings attached to it. There is nothing of value that comes free. If you want to achieve in life, it is going to cost you something. Having a good marriage is more than saying the vows. It is another thing to live the vows of marriage! For it to work there will have to be a sacrifice. Those of us who want to lose weight, know its going to cost something. Sacrifice grandma’s macaroni & cheese. When it is time for us to fast, then our favorite food shows up. It’s a sacrifice. It is going to cost us something.

The Bible says the race doesn’t go to the swift but to those that endure to the end. Endure to the end! If we want to dance to the music we must pay the piper. If we want to achieve what God has planned for us, we must decide to stay with it until God takes us to our place of blessing. In our text, John is on an island prison and at his lowest time, God is speaking to him. It seems we can’t hear God when we are up on the mountain top with money in our pocket and a good job. Now when we are with no job, no money then we can hear God. John is on this island and Jesus starts speaking to him abut the churches and then angels-leaders of the churches. The first church he speaks about is the church of Pegamos which was in a pagan land. Jesus is saying for them to not act like the pagans.

1) Speak Up! : Speak up about your faith and don’t be quiet about the Lord. When you get to work tomorrow, your co-workers will tell you about all the clubbing and partying they did on the weekend. You tell them about the Holy Ghost party we had in church! Tell them how the Lord is taking care of us. Tell them we are Glad that God had done something new in our lives! Overcomers don’t compromise but they speak up! The Word will always do something for us. It will either encourage us or correct us. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You must speak up about the gospel and be willing to speak up even if it cost you friends or the convenience of your position. Speak up and tell people what the Word of God says! Quote the word to folk! What Oprah, Dr. Oz or Beyonce say can’t save you! Only what God says can save you!

God is not comfortable with us being quiet. When we meet new people, we need to ask if they are saved and filled with the Holy Ghost. We need to hold up a standard with and for the people we associate with. We need to tell folk we went to worship God on Sunday afternoon. He is the one who changed our lives and we WILL worship God!! Look back and have a re-wind of what we used to be like. Praise the Lord! Praise Jesus! Give God Glory! Give God Glory!
Be glad about where God has brought us from! Don’t be intimidated. You have to speak up because you are a child of God. They are going to talk about their wild weekend. We are going to talk about our worship of God! Talk about our love for Jesus! Mary’s baby, the bright and morning star. We are in love with Jesus! Come out the closet and declare our love for Jesus! Don’t be apologetic or intimidated.

2) Speak Out! : Speak out against false doctrine, false gods, false beliefs. We must speak out against it. It’s like when the prophet Baalam was paid to lie and curse God’s people. We must speak against backsliding prophets and any false church doctrine. We must not be intimidated. When God says we are blessed, no one can curse us. God’s blessing is on our life. Don’t be intimidated by people who can’t curse us anyway. Baalam tried to curse the children of Israel and God showed up saying they were blessed. Baalam ended up blessing them instead. People, the world cannot curse us because God has blessed us! We are in the blessing zone and nothing can curse us! When we get things God’s way, no man can take it away.

The secular and the holy don’t mix. Holy and Hoochie don’t mix! This is what made the children of Israel fall because they messed around with the pagan hoochie mama women. They stepped away from the Lord. Holy and Hoochie don’t mix! Some things we have to speak out against. If the person is hoochie, stay away! Don’t have sex with hoochie because after the sex we will make excuses for the man who hasn’t had a job in ten years. After sex we will make excuses for the woman who is just a plain evil woman. This is what John was talking about to the churches. They can’t mix Holy and Hoochie. Don’t get caught up in all this mess. Jesus told them that the overcomers had a reward waiting for them in Heaven; a white stone with their name on it. Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!

AMEN

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