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This is one of those times when I crave the ability to express the love of God. I just don't have it. Words are limited.

You can't compare it to anything. Nobody who's experienced the love of God can express it. It's one of those supernatural gifts from heaven, the love of God.

I want to thank him for it today. I want to thank him for loving me. I'll say this later, but God did love the world enough to send his own son, but he loved me and you.

I pray today that something said will trigger [music] some part of you so that you reach, lunge for this God that reached way down for you. I'm struggling a little bit this morning. I'm Yeah, I'm dealing with this terrible thing.

[music] Hard to go and some slurred speech. And I've always been honest with the congregation. It's been many, many decades.

I've always told you the truth. Sandra's not here today. She's very sick.

I left her crying. And before I left, we had prayer. And I said, just I just blurted it out, "Lord, I'm discouraged." And she joined in and said, "I am, too." And we've been through a 5-year ordeal.

And after a while, things they just get to you. You know it. Things can wear you down.

And guess what? Christians get discouraged. And you wonder why God won't just answer the prayer.

Why does he make you wait so long? Or is he going to answer the prayer? Now, be honest.

We've all had some degree of this. And if you're saying, "I wish I wish the spiritual leader wouldn't talk like that." Well, Paul was a spiritual leader. And brother, he had some low times in his life.

He despaired even of life, he said. He said, "We thought we were going to die." But God [music] is faithful. You hear me?

Balcony to the floor, behind me, and everywhere around the world if somebody's watching. God is [music] faithful. Thank you, Jesus Christ, for your unspeakable gift.

You called it unspeakable because no human being is capable of speaking it to its depths and to the the understanding that it really is. Thank you, Jesus. Now, may we be blessed.

Lord, I tell you, we would all be happy if you would save somebody today. Just I mean from sin. Set them free from their shackles.

>> [music] >> And let them know what this wonderful love of God is all about. And for the rest of us, I pray for encouragement in Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

And you can be seated. Thank you for coming today. This is really a big day.

After this, everybody knows you're headed to the farm. You're going to chase pigs and eat pigs and do all kinds of stuff. I don't know.

But right now, we've got this to deal with because Jesus might come before you see any pigs today. I I just can't uh uh get this off of my mind when Paul said, "I I want you." In fact, he said, "I pray that you might know the depth, the height, the extent of the love of God." I pray that you might know it even though you won't never you will never know it. This love of God, it's the theme of scripture.

The whole Bible is about God's unspeakable love. God's Listen, unconditional love. That's the thing we wrestle with.

Unconditional love. We know a kind of love. I know the love that I have for my children.

Parents know that love. There's nothing like it. We know the love we have for our spouses.

That's another kind of love. We have friendship love. That's very special, especially in the body of Christ.

But the love of God is deeper than that, more complex than that, because all of our love is conditional. Everybody we love, well, there's a condition to it. I love my children because they are my children.

That's the condition. I don't love your children the way I love my children. My children are really special.

And my grandchildren, oh, let me talk to you about that some other time. And the love I have for my wife, who's watching right now. She knows I love her.

I tell her. And we act it out every day. We act out our love.

But this love of God uh is something that preachers struggle to explain. And congregants wrangle with the concept of unconditional love. God loves me because he loves me.

Not because I deserve it, not because I'm worthy, not because I loved him first. The Bible's very clear. He loved us before we loved him.

And it's very clear he doesn't love you because you were good. And he won't stop loving you because you're bad. Oh, thank you, Jesus.

God is not disappointed in people, his people, even when they fall, they fail. He's not disappointed because he knew you would. He saw you do it before you did it.

God's not shocked by any thoughts that we might have that are un-Christ-like or ungodly. He knows your thoughts before you think them. So, here I am doing my best to try to get somebody to understand the love of God is offered to you not for any other reason except that God loves you.

If If I were to come to you and say, "I have a very wealthy friend. And this very wealthy friend told me to come out and find people and say to them, 'I have a wealthy friend. And this wealthy friend says that if you will go to his house, walk up the sidewalk, walk up the steps, knock on the door, and open And when they open the door, walk in, my wealthy friend says he will pay all of your debts.

You name it. Car, house, anything. My wealthy friend will wipe your debts out if you will but go, knock, and believe.' That's salvation.

I have a wealthy father. This wealthy father says to people who are lost and wandering, go tells me and you, go tell them that I have a wealth beyond imagination. And I have power beyond comprehension.

And if they will but knock on the door and believe that I can forgive, forget, heal, help, and save, every sin they've ever committed will be washed away. The kind of life they always dreamed of will be theirs. They will look no further.

There's nowhere else to go that's better. There's nobody else that can do it. Once Jesus Christ comes into your heart, it's all paid and it's all given at the same time.

Oh, I wish I could help somebody with this thing. All the time I talk to people that say, "Well, you don't know what I did." I talk about this more and more the older I get, the more I talk about this thing where people have "Well, you don't know what I did." Why? The fellow that offers you all of your debts paid What What person would say, "Yeah, but he doesn't know me." No, you'd walk right up those steps and say, "I'll take it." Why Why would you say God doesn't know what I've done or you don't know what I've done and God isn't able to deal with what I've done.

Why would you say that? When I'm standing here and God is watching and God is listening and I'm telling you that this God says, "Whoever comes and asks me will be saved. Will be forgiven forgiven." Church and you that don't know Christ, that's all God asked.

Believe him. That's all he's ever asked from anybody. Will you just believe me?

When I tell you I love you, will you believe me? Another thing God just simply says, "Will you believe me?" is about your sins. I I love this verse of scripture.

Colossians can be a little complicated sometimes, but look at this nugget right here. And you being dead in your trespasses. Wow, dead in your sins.

Dead, hopeless, lifeless in your sins. And in the uncircumcision of your flesh, meaning you're all wrapped up in yourself. He has made alive together with him, Christ.

God raises the dead. Dead in trespasses and sins. No hope without God.

Dead because you don't yet know Christ. Dead people cannot raise themselves. Dead people cannot even think.

You cannot help yourself, you cannot raise yourself, you can't fix yourself. Is this simple enough preaching for anybody? You can't do it because you are a dead man, a dead woman, dead, wrapped up, choking, and and full of sin.

But God, who raises the dead. If he can raise himself, brother, he can raise you from the dead. He has made you alive.

I look around often in church services. I love the way we worship. I love the enthusiasm.

And you know, when people can lift their hands and rear back and enjoy this the way we do, that's life. We're not rejoicing over some dead icons, some religious leader. We're rejoicing over a Jesus who has risen from the dead.

And that same resurrection power is present even while I'm preaching. The resurrection power of Jesus is in this place. And any dead person, dead in sin, that will simply hear this.

Jesus says, "I'll raise them from the dead and I In addition, I'll forgive you of all your trespasses." Do y'all ever get tired of hearing something like this? I don't. He will forgive you of all your trespasses.

You start all over. Verse 14. Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us.

What was that? That was the law. God's requirements.

As simple as I know how to make it. You know why God gave the 10 Commandments? Do you know why he gave the law?

To show you that you could not keep it. He didn't give it and say, "Now, you better keep this." God gave it and said, "You can't keep it." Then why did he do it? To show you you need help.

That you can't please God in any way whatsoever without help from heaven. And that help is named Jesus. And I'm going to preach it again and I'll preach it till I drop dead.

Jesus did it for you. Jesus did it in your place. Jesus, before you were ever conceived in your mother's womb, had you on his mind.

I said at 8:30. We used to have a choir member, Ken Weatherwax, who was in a wheelchair up here. Anthony's his daughter.

He used to sing, "When He WAS ON THE CROSS, I was on his mind." Oh, brother, that's not just a cute little song. That's God's word. He hung ON THAT CROSS and knew you before you were ever brought into this world.

He knew every sin you would commit. HE KNEW EVERY THOUGHT YOU WOULD THINK. AND HE HUNG there anyway.

And he bled there anyway. AND HE CRIED OUT TO FOR GOD TO FORGIVE YOU ANYWAY. OH, BROTHER, hear me today.

THAT HANDWRITING OF requirements that was against you Jesus kept for you. He kept every law. He never lied.

He never HAD A BAD THOUGHT. He was completely obedient. AND WHEN YOU CALL ON HIS NAME, HE GIVES YOU EVERYTHING he has AND ALL THAT HE IS.

PRAISE GOD FOR Jesus Christ. And he has taken it out of the way. He has taken all of my sins out of the way.

He has taken all of God's righteous requirements that condemn me out of the way. And it was nailed to his cross. Oh, I don't have the words.

Nailed to his cross. The Romans took spikes, iron spikes about this long. They were experts at torture and crucifixion.

They laid Jesus Christ, the son of God, on a cross. And they took one hand and one soldier held it open. And another soldier put a spike right here.

And then he took an iron hammer and he drove that spike through the hand of Jesus Christ into that crossbeam. And he took the other hand and did the same thing. Agony.

Oh, help me, Jesus. Agony. Anguish.

Pain. Suffering. And then they crossed his precious feet.

Feet that walked on water. Feet that traveled just to meet one woman at a well. Precious feet.

Feet that were washed by one lady who was so thankful for him, she shed tears on his dusty feet and then poured expensive perfume and dried his feet with her hair. I believe with all my heart the perfume of that uh the smell of that perfume was still on his feet that day because that woman had just done that. The perfume, the aroma wafting through the air from the feet of Jesus because some woman loved him so much she poured expensive perfume on his feet.

But then, the nail. And drove it in. And the blood spurted.

And the blood poured. And then they stood him up. And that cross fell into a hole with a dull thud.

And every movement was pain for Christ. Here's what I'm trying to tell somebody somewhere. Your sins were nailed to that cross.

Jesus became sin for you. Yes, he was the Son of God, but he became the Lamb of God. And your sins and my sins.

Who hears me this morning? Your sins, all of them, were put on Christ by God the Father. And your sins were nailed to that cross.

That's all God asked you to believe. He asked you to believe that he loves you. He asks you to believe that your sins were paid for.

And he asked you, "Now that you are mine, will you trust me to sustain you, take care of you, bless you?" Here's how Jesus said it. Oh, precious words. Oh, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Did you get it?

Wherever you put your time, your energy, your money, that's where your heart is. Jesus said, "Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life." Hear it, church? What?

Don't worry about what you will eat or what you will drink or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air.

They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? What does worry do? It doesn't change anything but my health.

It doesn't make me taller. It doesn't give me more faith. It doesn't give me more wisdom.

It just wears me down and steals my joy and blinds me to the love of God. So, why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.

They neither toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, oh you of little faith?

Therefore, Huh, I'm looking at it again. Therefore, do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat? What shall we drink?

What shall we wear?" For after all these things the Gentiles seek. The sinners seek. People that don't know God.

For your heavenly father knows that you need all these things. And before I go to that next verse, I just want to tell you something. I'm not the only one that came to church discouraged today.

I'm not the only one that struggled to get here today. There are some people who don't know what to do next. There are some young couples that find themselves in a bind.

And you have no idea what to do. In your mind you have you are trying everything. You don't know whether to get a lawyer, call the banker.

You don't know what to do. There are people here today who found out something's wrong in your body. And you don't know what to do next.

I'm not the only one. Discouragement is a regular part of walking with Jesus. I hope that I have never preached such an idealistic gospel that makes people think when you get saved, things will be a whole lot better.

Well, things may get a whole lot worse. Should you be telling people that, pastor? I should be telling the truth.

I WANT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING. I've had things in my life get a whole lot worse. Before I came to this pulpit at 8:30 this morning, two people just called me and said, "I want to tell you something, pastor.

I have lived through hell the last 4 months. My prayers seem to fall to the ground. My spirit is dead.

I try to read. My family's in a mess. I cannot I cannot figure out why God is so silent.

I've been going through hell." Well, let me just tell you something, sir, ma'am. You are not by yourself. And what Satan wants to do is to make you think you're by yourself.

And I want to say this again. When people confess this, they are not faithless. When people talk like this, they're being real and honest.

I want to tell you life can smack you in the face. And you'll feel like the the heavens are made of brass. And you will wonder why you ever try this anymore.

Does it work? But God is faithful. WHETHER HE TALKS OR NOT, he's on the throne AND HE'S IN CHARGE OF EVERYTHING.

>> [applause] >> YOU HEAR ME? GOD'S FAITHFUL. AND I'VE BEEN AROUND long enough to KNOW WE'RE COMING OUT OF THIS THING.

I don't know when, BUT I'M COMING OUT of this thing. I'M HAVING TO HOLD ON here this morning. I don't KNOW IF I LOVE TO WALK AROUND AND PREACH.

I LOVE TO SPIT. I LOVE TO scream and yell and holler. I can't do it anymore because of this thing.

But I can stand here and I CAN TELL YOU GOD IS A FAITHFUL GOD. GOD IS A GOOD GOD. >> [applause] >> GOD WILL BLESS YOU for every sacrifice you ever make.

Every time you prayed when you didn't feel like praying. Every time you read WHEN YOU DIDN'T FEEL LIKE READING. EVERY TIME YOU GOT UP and drug your carcass TO CHURCH WHEN YOU'D RATHER LAY IN the bed.

Every time YOU MAKE A SACRIFICE FOR GOD, GOD CHALKS ONE UP IN HEAVEN. YOU HAVE LAID up treasures in heaven and A DAY IS COMING WHEN GOD [screaming] IS GOING TO BLESS YOU, REWARD YOU, AND LAY IT OUT BEFORE YOU. >> [applause] >> BUT SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

SEEK IT FIRST. YOU KNOW WHY I TITHE? Sandra and I ARE TITHERS BECAUSE THAT BELONGS TO GOD.

THE FIRST TENTH BELONGS to God. Go through the scripture. GOD NEVER asked for the second or the third or what's left over.

HE ASKED FOR FIRST AND BEST. AND GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF THE REST. EVEN THOUGH YOU TITHE and give, you sometimes find yourself a little FINANCIALLY STRAPPED.

THAT'S ALL RIGHT. GOD IS A FAITHFUL GOD. IT'S A MATTER OF TIME.

YOU WILL GET OUT OF THIS. HE WILL BRING YOU THROUGH THIS. I'M FEELING STRONGER AND STRONGER.

I'M TELLING YOU, THERE IS A GOD ON THE THRONE. HE DOES NOT FORGET. HE SEES WHAT YOU DO AND YOUR TIME IS COMING.

BLESSED BE THE name of the Lord. >> [applause] >> But seek the kingdom first. The kingdom.

What's the kingdom? It's everything that has to do with God. Seek it first.

And his righteousness. See, there's the real secret to living right there. You live >> [snorts] >> for God.

Everything is about God. Not He's not a weekend God. I'm not a weekend warrior.

I'm a child of God. You seek the kingdom first. Go after it.

Seek it. Long for it. Reach for it.

CRY OUT FOR IT FIRST. And his righteousness. You crave to walk in truth.

To tame your tongue. To put blinders on your eyes. To keep your mind sanctified and clean.

You work at righteousness. You You labor at holiness. YOU PRESENT YOUR BODY AS A LIVING SACRIFICE, holy and acceptable unto God.

And when you do this, he says, "Everything else" IN FACT, HE CALLED IT THINGS. All these things shall be added to you. Things You let Hey, I've Again, I'm lived long enough to know what I'm talking about here.

If you go after things, you may catch some of them. But when you do, you'll say, "IS THIS IS THIS IT? THIS IS WHAT I LOST sleep over?

This is what I neglected my family over? This is what I paid an exorbitant price for? This is it?" I got to tell it.

I know I I just got to tell it. One of my daughters is here. The others are somewhere.

Eight is back there somewhere. But Oh, when they were little, they we went up to Gatlinburg. Oh God, what in the world?

Gatlinburg. And there was this wax museum. "Dad, can we go in there, please, Dad?

Please? We want to go in there. We've never been in there.

All of our friends have been in there. We want to go in there, Dad." And I looked at the price and I said, "You've got to be kidding me. Going in to look at wax?" "Oh, yeah, Dad, we want to" And I said, "Okay, fine.

I give up." Dad just give up after a while. And so, I laid the money down. And we walked through these little dark corridors and looked at a wax thing of Elvis and then Prince Charles and a Madonna and all these other people and suddenly we came to a door.

IT WAS THE BACK DOOR. AND I SAID, I HONESTLY SAID, "IS THIS WHAT I PAID FOR? Is this WHERE MY MONEY WENT?

NOW WE'RE GOING RIGHT BACK out onto the street and all we did was look at some wax figures. I'M TRYING TO PREACH A message here. The world can make you THINK THAT IT'S GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU AND I PROMISE YOU IF YOU GO AFTER IT INSTEAD OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, WHEN YOU GET IT, YOU'LL SAY, "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS?

I DIDN'T WANT THIS TO START WITH." >> [applause] >> LET ME FINISH. LET ME FINISH BEFORE I FALL. BUT I'VE NEVER I'VE NEVER BEEN DISAPPOINTED IN THE GOODNESS OF GOD.

I'VE NEVER SAID, "WHERE IS IS THIS WORTH IT?" I'VE NEVER SAID, "I'M BORED WITH GOD." GOD HAS ALWAYS SUPPLIED [screaming] NEEDS. GOD HAS ALWAYS GIVEN US EVERYTHING THAT PERTAINS TO LIFE and godliness. HALLELUJAH TO GOD.

>> [applause] >> DAVID SAID, "I have been young and now I AM OLD AND I HAVE NEVER seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread." DAVID SAID, "I'VE LIVED MY WHOLE LIFE. I'VE SEEN PEOPLE GO THROUGH IT AND UP AND DOWN IN IT, BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN GOD NEGLECT ONE OF HIS CHILDREN. HIS CHILDREN DON'T GO WITHOUT AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO BEG.

ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS ASK AND THE FATHER TAKES CARE of them. HE IS A GOOD GOD. THEREFORE, DO >> [screaming] >> NOT WORRY.

>> [applause] >> DID YOU GET IT? THEREFORE, no need to worry. >> [snorts] >> I'm going to ask our council members and their wives to come on up front stand here if you would, please.

I've hit my limit. >> [cough] >> And I'm going to I'm going to do something that will uh you You just got to be honest about it. >> [snorts] [clears throat] >> I'll be honest with you.

Chip, my heart breaks for your family. [music] His son-in-law was killed in an accident >> [music] >> and left three little girls behind, a wife and three little girls. Now what?

Oh, I'm thinking of somebody else. He had a heart attack. Oh, I'm thinking of I'm thinking of Yes, her son-in-law was killed.

See, it's everywhere, folks. It's everywhere. [music] You think there might be a occasion for discouragement in any of these situations?

[music] I'm just simply going to ask you. If you're dealing with [music] discouragement, come down. Let these couples pray with you.

You know, why don't you be the first to come? Don't wait on somebody else. And I haven't [music] preached very long, so this gives them time to pray with you.