Pick a Side

http://hishiddenvoice.livejournal.com/2382.html

Pastoral Prayer: Lindsay Lagasse
Special Music: Psalm 101, sung by Jack Marti
Sermon: Lindsay Lagasse
Closing Prayer: Thoughts About God (http://www.thoughts-about-god.com/prayer/opening-prayer.html)

Pastoral Prayer: Heavenly Father, oh how merciful You are. Each breath we take, is only taken by Your absolute and merciful grace. We would have no hope for the future, if not for knowing we have a kind and just Lord to turn our eyes to. We raise our prayers to You this day, Father, knowing they are falling into capable and willing hands. Sit with us here as we dive into a discussion and study of Your word, that we may come to understand Your works, so that we may be able to honor and glorify You with a gleeful heart. We pray all this in the name of our beloved Brother, Christ Jesus. AMEN.

Special Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4yAVwoGA1s

Psalm 101:1-8 I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O Lord, I will sing praises. I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness. Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure. My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, That they may dwell with me; He who walks in a perfect way, He shall serve me. He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.

I have fallen short of my heavenly Father. I must confess this sin to you, beloved family. Those around me, they are not pure. But I find much pleasure in their impurity, their humor that roars so crudely. I think that being around them is not enough to raise unease in the Father. I think I am strong enough to be around and to overcome. I use the excuse that I plan on teaching them to Good Word. But I don't. I stand and I laugh at what they laugh at. I am wicked.

The Father above does not wish us to walk away from these who do not know Him. We are not to separate ourselves from their lives, or else who can the Lord work through to save them? But we mustn't surround ourselves, burying and drowning ourselves, with nothing but filth. We can not make the dangerous assumption that we are strong enough. By the grace of God, we can overcome all temptation, but do not test Him. We are not to test the Father. He will make it clear who we must devote our energy to; do not take it upon yourself to save the world.

"I will behave wisely, in a perfect way". How can we do such if all we ever see is unwise, immoral images? We must discard such evil from our sight (as if said in Psalm 101 as well). Focus your mind on the clean of thoughts, recharge your battery with the light of the Father's word. We mustn't let Satan win by playing his games while we are weak. "I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me". Do you hate the Devil's work? Then why do we let ourselves enjoy it? It surrounds us, swallows us whole. And we accept it. We seem to live by the phrase "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em"! But we CAN beat them! We just have to trust in the Father, stand firm, and let His will be done.

Why, Brothers and Sisters, do we use so much energy trying to convince ourselves that what we are doing is okay? Is that really the easier route? Deep down, we know what we watch, think, and say (all the purpose of being accepted among men) is wrong. But yet, we justify it with "I need to gain their trust by doing what they do, so that they'll listen to me when I go to teach them of the Father". No. Simply N-O. In this process, the Devil will grab hold and drag you to his level. Teach by example and the Lord will impress curiosity in the hearts of those we must save. Lead a life of joy the way God intended, and people will see your smile and realize there's something to all this "God stuff". Do not condemn yourself in order to save the condemned. If you do, you're helping the Devil. He will be "killing two birds with one stone".

Pick a side and stay loyal to that side. Do not endure a proud or perverse heart, or house the wicked. Be Christ-like in every sense. Look at Jesus! He never once fell to the level of the wicked, and yet He saved millions of people! He had not needed to risk His salvation in the small chance that He'd save ours. If He had, chances are, we'd have no future to this day. So, dear friends, who's side are you on?

Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, as we come to the end of our time together we thank You for what has been accomplished here today. May the matters discussed serve as a catalyst to move us forward and cause us to advance and see growth in all areas of our lives. May we leave here recognizing You are the God of all wisdom and You are willing to lead us forward. This we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.