Why Do You Call Me Good?
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Good Morning, it is great to be back in the house of the Lord together this morning, good to see everybody, I hope and pray you all had an awesome thanksgiving and now everyone has repented of the gluttony that took place, by the way.... I did not fast during lunch on thanksgiving maybe I am unholy but I thought I should let you know.
But after what I did to myself this past weekend I ought to be able to abstain from food for at least 14 days lol
Everybody do me a favor stand to your feet, some of you may be because you were forced to be here, some of you came here because you wanted to even though you didnt feel like it, listen to me whatever the reason your here can I just say from the bottom of my heart thanks for being here.
We have just come off of a time when the blessings of God are brought to the forefront as we acknowledge all the many reasons we have to be thankful. I even posted this week on Facebook and it was just a picture of Amy and I and I said Happy Thanksgiving the Lord is good.
thanks for honoring God by putting Him first today.
But why is the Lord called good?
Say this with me: IM ALIVE, IM ALERT, AND I READY TO HEAR THE WORD
In this passage is one of the questions of Jesus. Jesus asked alot of questions in the gospels and He never asked a question because he needed someone to answer Him He asked the questions because He was trying to make a point.
Say it again.
Matthew 19:16-
Just then someone came up and asked Him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?”
“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” He said to him. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” he asked Him. Jesus answered:
Do not murder;
do not commit adultery;
do not steal;
do not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and love your neighbor as yourself.
“I have kept all these,” the young man told Him. “What do I still lack?”
Listen I wanted to talk with you this morning about something god is working into my heart. I’m 33 years old I am the same age Jesus was when He went to the cross to die for the sins of the world. I wanna say something the older I get the more I realize that there is nothing, and I mean nothing more important than the spiritual health and well being of my heart.
Now let me stop right there this question right here is what alot of people are asking. I’ve got all
NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT IN OUR LIVES THAN THE SPIRITUAL CONDITION OF OUR HEARTS.
Turn with me in your Bibles this morning to . It s alittle book in the OT its not one we read all the time. Its after Psalms
“Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and detestable practices.
Then I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.
“Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act, house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you went.
I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh”—the declaration of the Lord God—“when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight.
“For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances.
(Let’s Pray)
6 years ago i was reading through the book of Ezekiel, it was a part of my plan to try to read through the Bible in one year. Im reading Ezekiel and I am getting really confused heres this guy and he is struggling heres this guy who is ministering to people who have been taken from their homeland and put in far distant lands and made prisoner.
Amy and I are in Graceville and were sitting in a house thats 900 square feet and we have a certain time we have to be out by, at the time I thought we were in trouble graduation was drawing near and I had been accepted to Southwestern seminary in Fort Worth. We were about to move all the way across the country.
We were nervous we didnt want to leave Union Hill but we were willing to be obedient and at the time I thought we were supposed to move to Fort Worthbut something didnt feel right about it. I went into a time of prayer personally not understanding the reservations I had about leaving.
It was during that time of prayer that God woke me up in the middle of the night, I immediately sat up in bed I had this urging from the Lord to get up and get into His word, I walked out to our couch we had bought for 50 dollars that had a make shift cover on it, because the owners before us had a cat or something and it was shredded.
I sat down on the couch, and before I opened my Bible the voice of God came through so clearly it was almost audible. YOU ARE GOING TO PASTOR UNION HILL BAPTIST CHURCH.
I sat there stunned at what I had just heard, me pastor? Im not ready for that Lord, and how brother Rob is still here and there is no indication he is going anywhere so are you telling me to stay put as the youth pastor?
I had questions but the message came through very clear again YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE PASTOR OF UNION HILL. I sat there stunned I didnt know what to expect, God I hear you but I am young the arent gonna want me to be their pastor, there will be strife and trouble and things may not go very smooth, I am a little different I just dont know how that will work Lord.
God spoke again:
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
God spoke through that passage and told me very clearly I have a group of people there who need you I say that they need you, and this is where you will go.
I simply said yes Lord
I woke up the next morning and I told Amy what had happened. She was shocked but not nearly as shocked as I was when three days later I went to the church office and brother Rob called me into his office to tell me he was leaving.
the rest of the story is history as they say but I say all that to say this GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING.
When we are filled with doubt His plan is ALWAYS for the best.
When we thought we were all alone, God remined us in a second IVE NOT FORGOTTEN YOU.
Ezekiel’s name means God is strong.
GOD IS STRONG
so heres the word of Ezekiel from the Bible Ezekiels propecying in dark sad days, the people are on a downward spiral because of sin, they had an 18 year old king named Jehoician. Now can you imagine being 18 years old and being a King. He rules for 3 months. Ezekiel the preacher he is 25,when all of a sudden this King named Nebuchanezzar and his people from Babylon come railing into Judah and they take all these men of God from Judah as prisoner.
The Bible says that Nebuchanezzar comes to Ezekiel and Jehoachin he steals their palace he takes thier Temple, He takes all their wealth, all their gold, all their silver, all their money. He destroys thier government he ruins their army.
By taking their soldiers and putting them in his army, he deports more than 10,000 people back to Babylon where Nebuchanezzar is from. The only people he left in Judah was the poor the sick, and the lame , and the elderly.
It would be like someone coming into cottonwood Alabama and taking anyone that has money, anybody who is healthy, anybody that has money and moving them to a different place and saying, you guys who are rich you guys are now my prisoners.
Now you have to wonder why would God allow this if God cares for us and he loves us and He wants whats best for us, why would He let this happen?
Well heres what the Bible is framing for us in the bbook of Ezekiel: THE REASON GOD ALLOWED THESE ISRAELITES TO BECOME PRISONERS OF THE BABYLONIANS IS BECAUSE THEY WERE SINNERS!
They had gone after idols, they had taken these pagan gods and they had adopted them as their own gods. They had forgotten the one true god. Then they started intermarrying with pagan tribes. god had told them hey only want you to marry other Hebrews dont have anything to do with race, it had everything to do with the god they served.
ONly marry people who believe like you do. Well they didnt do that they are marrying anybody who looked good, if she looks good shes an option, and God said because of that I am going to punish you. So the nations around Israel are watching as this happens.
they begin to mock Gods name, they begin to say your telling us that you serve the one true God then why has He abandoned you prisoners in Babylon. This is so personal to God because back when God started this nation back in the book of Genesis with a guy named Abraham, god told him that He would make him a father of a great nation.
Through your lineage Abraham Im going to bless the whole world. Everyone in the whole world is gonna know that I am God because of your people.
so this punishment they are going through is very heartbreaking to God because His people have gone after the way of idols. They have gone after the way of the world. God warned them about this in the 10 commandments Commandment number 1
HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME
DONT MAKE ANY IDOLS
DONT TAKE MY NAME IN VAIN
REMEMBER THE SABBATH ITS AN IMPORTANT DAY
Well the Israelites have done none of that and as a result God has let them suffer punishment. So here we are 36 chapters in and Ezekiels going hey man its about to get worse you thought the prisoner camps was bad its about to get worse. When all of a sudden ad the people are at their lowest point and Ezekiel comes to preach, and heres his new word.
GOD HASNT FORGOTTEN US! WHAT?!
Wait a minute are you fixing to tell us a good message that we will appreciate and that theres hope?!
YES
God is going to rescue us, but listen heres what he says
God is going to do it on account of His great Name thought we deserve punishment god is gonna give us mercy. Have you ever prayed and wondered God are you listening to me?
Nothings happening
The prayers in the Bible are never prayers based on us telling God what were gonna do or what wed like to do, or God help me with this because Im a pretty good guy I only cussed twice last week and I been going to church
those kind of prayers god doesnt answer in the Bible but listen to me these are the kinds of prayers that God answers most frequently in the Bible. When you go to god and you say OH GOD I AM A FAILURE I DESERVE PUNISHMENT I KNOW I AM WORSE THAN A PRISONER AND IM NOT TELLING YOU ANYTING GOOD ABOUT ME THEY AINTY NOTHING GOOD ABOUT ME, but God will you do this because You can and because we want your name to be made famous, on account of your name would you please help me.
When you humbly pray like that God says your ready.
He comes to them and he says listen you deserve to be prisoners but Im gonna bring you back from that foregin land I am going to restore you, I am gonna give you a brand new heart and i aint gonna do it on account of your name but on account of my name.
Ezekiel 36:
I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh”—the declaration of the Lord God—“when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight.
He says I am about to bring you back to purity before me.
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
Im about to cleanse you from all sin, im gonna pour clean water on you, Im gonna take away anything that takes away your holy affections
HOW IS GOD GONNA DO THIS?
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
So here are these people with no money, no king, no cars THEY GOT NOTHING and God shows up and whats the first thing God is gonna do for them?
HES GONNA USE HIS SPIRIT AND GIVE EM A BRAND NEW HEART!
You see sometimes the thing we think we need God isnt even interested in cause He knows how He is gonna take care of that but what you need is a new heart.
CAUSE WHEN YOUR HEART GETS RIGHT EVERYTHING ELSE GETS RIGHT!
On the other hand if everything about your life looks good but your heart remains hard, and lifeless then you are far from God BUT IF YOUR HEART THE INSIDE OF YOU, IF YOUR HEART IS RIGHT EVERYTHING ELSE STANDS THE CHANCE TO BE RIGHT AS WELL!
The biggest need in your life is a brand new heart every single day that can only be given to you by the Holy Spirit of God.
(Heart issue)
HERES EVERYTHING I NEED TO TELL YOU IN ONE SINGLE SENTANCE
The Spirit of God is the strongest when my heart is the softest.
Say it out loud with me
the Spirit of God is the storngest when my heart is the softest
Everybody in this room has a heart moving in one or two directions:
Nobody in this room has a neutral heart
Your heart at this second is either moving further and further away from God or your heart is moving nearer or near closer and closer to God.
Nobody in this room is hanging out in the middle.
The only thing in the middle of the road is yellow lines and dead animals nobody is in the middle, your moving firther or closer.
Here are some examples of some moving firther from God in
Jesus talks about the faithless heart, His disciples had just witnessed this miracle where Jesus fed 4,000 people just because he could.
so these disciples start going across the water afterward and you know what they started arguing about? We left the bread on the shore we dont have any bread. Jesus had just fed 4,000 people and now they are afraid because they dont have any bread. As if that would be a problem for Jesus and he turned to them and he said
Aware of this, He said to them, “Why are you discussing that you do not have any bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Is your heart hardened?
Some of us here today dont think God can really do anything about our circumstances and God is going IM THE ONE WHO OUT THE STARS OUT LAST NIGHT! YOU THINK IM GONNA HAVE TROUBLE WITH YOU IN LITTLE OLE COTTONWOOD ALABAMA?
Some of us have deceptive hearts
Jeremiah
The heart is more deceitful than anything else,
and incurable—who can understand it?
Alot of people will say if you only knew my heart..... YOU DONT EVEN KNOW YOUR OWN HEART!
youre heart will lie to you in a minute your heart will decieve you!
Your heart will lie to you AND YOU WILL NEVER BE HAPPY UNTIL YOUR HEARTS RIGHT!!
They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. Their consciences confirm this. Their competing thoughts will either accuse or excuse them
But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.
when you hear the word of God have a soft heart, when you hear the word of God say thats for me I need it!
GREAT HEARTS
God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
I need a new heart
The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
He saves those crushed in spirit.
So if your here this morning and your heart is sad or broken or its has been devastated your heart will be so close to him.
Proverbs
Guard your heart above all else,
for it is the source of life.
dont give your heart to people before marriage you guard your heart, dont give pieces of yourself to people before you mature enough to handle the responsibility that goes with it.
Listen to Your servant’s prayer and his petition,
Lord my God,
so that You may hear the cry and the prayer
that Your servant prays before You,
For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.”
The ones whose hearts are all mine those are the ones Im gonna be strong for.
A little boy Zeke looks at his daddy and says daddy I wanna get baptized the dad said really buddy why do you want to baptized?
He says well i just really know God has been speaking to me and he is doing it at church and he says I feel like God is speaking to my heart! The dad said how do you know?
He says daddy I know its God and he is saying He wants to rescue me
God wants to rescue me, the dad said buddy He is speaking to your heart and I cant wait for the day when you understand it all and the gospel makes sense to you and your daddy will be so happy to baptize you.
Everybody has a heart going in one or two directions its either moving closer and clser to Christ or futher and further away.
Where are you this morning?