Inland Empire: Riverside
Willing or Willfull Part 2 - Audio
we need some work let's just be honest we we need a little work on our on our acapella do you know the tradition and history of our church is that they never had instruments at any services right how many of you have been in a grew up in the church they never had any instruments right yeah they're okay we've got some traditionals out there and you know it is a spiritual thing to sing out I love instruments as well but then I'm a horrible musician and I can't sing very well but I enjoy singing when somebody next to me is on key and so when I go in the back no one is singing so I was here myself so that's not good and if you're not good you know what you know you need somebody around you who is singing so I want to urge the back row people you got to repent and come sit by people who can sing on key maybe that's it maybe you're thinking you know I don't know but I think when we do a cappella I think we all got a crowd together really close right so you kind of blend in and then if you can sing then you got to sing loud now some of us think we can sing and you're saying loud because you think you can sing now the Lord says he likes a joyful noise and so I'll go with that if you think you can sing and you like singing you know what we'll work with you you know maybe we can we'll put some in near you to kind of blend your voice into somebody else's right that's the way to do it I can sing loud I like being loud but I've got to stand next to somebody who sings on key or else it's bad and I kind of I go soft at first and then I and then once I counted they're on key and I hear then I blend in and I get loud with them right you don't want to you know you can't sing well you got a you got to start off quiet kind of right and then you build up once to the key starts right once you're on the the right note you guys I'm giving you a little lesson here on how to sing a Capella amen we got to work on this I'm making a commitment to that thank you art and EJ for coordinating all the singers and all the four-part harmonies going on we need to work people are amazed when they come and everyone's actually singing you bring a friend and every singing and like wow you can sing and you're like well not really I'm blending in right but I think that that we need to have a heart and as we move forward in our worship as we go on through the years to come I really want us to be known as a group that can sing I we've got to work on that amen everybody here I know art and the whole team has a plan to get us to sing together loud and clear we're gonna continue to you know use instruments yes we want to blend in some great acapella at times too and when you see an acapella song stand up you know proud and sing loud use my advice sing loud once you get on key and then just belted on out amen I want us to have a great worship every day and singing certainly helps you guys singing the mornings on your quiet times you sing in the car how many of you sang in the car in the way here okay good good I like that a lot of the men are like singing the car in the way here who does that you be surprised you know I used to sing in the car by myself that's the only time I would like to sing right because no one could hear me and but it's good singing lists the spirits right singing moves our heart closer to God God intended it that way there's so we're spiritual beings and there's some about music that that moves us in and it can get us in really the right place spiritually and that's part of the plan so I hope you enjoyed that we're gonna sing a little more before the days out and we're gonna continue to sing till we go to heaven and then in heaven we find that they are singing in heaven you find in the scriptures they are singing praises to God in heaven so we got to learn to sing now so we can sing in heaven you know last week I talked about being willing or willful and that was part one today I'm doing part two willing or willful alright part two today's lesson willing or willful part two last week even after the lesson on being willing to be what God asked I had a bad day you guys ever have a bad day I had a really bad day it was Wednesday it was just a bad day I woke up and and just try to get things together for the day I don't think I read too much I prayed a little bit with my kids on the way to school but then I had a lot of things to do and I didn't pray enough that day just a little with my children as I was dropping them off but then I had a lot of stuff on my plate and you ever have so much on your plate so many responsibilities so your to-do list is so big right you ever feel that that you don't want to do anything that's how I felt I had so much to do so many responsibilities so many things I felt like were piled up on my desk literally but also figuratively that I was like I don't want to do anything and so I started off and I just I didn't feel well I wasn't physically sick I was just emotionally just not into it I felt bad you ever have that and I was like I don't want to do anything and I got too much to do and I got a point I can't get to and I got things I got to get done and how am I gonna do it I don't know what I'm gonna do and so the day was not going well and I basically didn't go down to my early appointments I had a phone appointment with Big Nick it was our d-time and I was like okay what am I gonna do now and I was struggling a little bit I was wrestling with what I want in my being I wanted to just go and do things that were just totally non-productive I wanted to just be sinful I just wanted to or I want to just go watch a movie or something I didn't know what I wanted to do but I just I didn't have it you ever get to a point where you just didn't have it you just felt like I don't want to do what I know I need to do and I kind of languished part of the day now gratefully I pulled out of it because I had scheduled an event at my house a teen Bible talk was at my house and so I had to give and serve and preach and love up on the teens and they got my heart going and Kyle brought a bunch of his friends and teens came over and so I pulled out of the bad day by the by the early evening but I needed to have some spiritual event going on if I hadn't scheduled that I don't I would have wasted the whole day away you ever been there I share that just I'm telling you my sin because I want to relate to you a little bit I want us to all know we're all we have trouble we have struggles we all need to have a willing spirit but oftentimes we don't I want to talk about that a little bit today and how to overcome that I want to look at the willing spirit that God wants us to have let's go to God in prayer I do want to say a special prayer I just got note I just got note that Kenya Turner her brother was killed in a tragic accident this morning so I'm gonna go to God in prayer pray for him and pray for the family rather and you know certainly it'll be on our hearts we need to have a willing spirit to walk with God because we don't know our days are numbered tomorrow's not promised we don't know there's great tragedy all among us and I want to pray right now for our hearts to be ready to receive God's word and pray for that God to minister to Kenya and Rishim and their family father in heaven thank you so much for this morning this time to be together to worship you father thank you for how you love us in spite of our bad days how you love us in spite of when we don't have the heart to be or act the way we need to father we need you desperately father our world needs you desperately father I want to pray right now for Kenya and Rishim and this terrible tragedy and we know tomorrow is not promised for any of us and we ask that you administer that family minister to them and allow them to reveal you even through tragedy and we ask right now that you would speak to us open our hearts help us to grasp your will help us to have a heart to live according to your will give us a willing spirit grant us that spirit to sustain us we ask in Jesus name amen point number one simply be willing be willing see God wants willing hearts and I want to begin by sharing with you if we know the Old Testament God's plan from the beginning of time was hit to move us as individuals to serve him and live for him and to have a relationship with him and and the beginning of history demonstrates that God's plan is to help us be willing you know you look at the history of the Old Testament and we know the sin of the world caused their flood in the days of Noah and they flooded the earth right God flooded the earth and he started a new started fresh with willing hearts later on we find that the Israelites were oppressed by Egypt which was symbolic of the sin of the world how the sins Egypt is symbolic for the sins that oppress us it was oppressed in the Israelites and so God in his mercy not because the people deserved it but in his mercy he drew them out had Moses lead them out of the nation and save them by washing away the entire Egyptian army and that what happens to us when we become Christians God draws this out of a darkness out of an emptiness out of a worldiness he he draws us out how somebody invited us somebody met us somebody unveiled the Word of God somebody that we didn't ask for it's sent into our life or maybe it's your mom and daddy you didn't ask for that you just got your mom and dad maybe it's a friend maybe if some of you met cold contact they just came up to you out of the blue God in his mercy draws us out of the oppression of the world the darkness the emptiness of sin and washes it away in the waters of baptism just like he did with the Israelites and in Egypt right and when they come out there's a heart a willingness and that you know the Egyptians I mean the Israelites if you study the history in Exodus they went astray very quickly even after the ten commandments were given to the Israelites after they were new people they were told here's how you're gonna live you're a new nation here's my commandments and Moses was up talking to God and in the meantime they started worshiping false idols Aaron led them astray they turned from God very very quickly so but he was going to forgive them Moses prayed for them and we come upon Exodus chapter 35 this is after they had sinned again but then God forgave them and then he gave them a plan to build a tabernacle a sanctuary among them and it was a physical basically tent church meeting that they were gonna have where they worship God and he gave them all the detailed plans and he told them see people need a purpose in their life they need they need to realize they have been called out of this darkness in order to serve something big there's a reason for you to be here if we don't have something to do we're not you know we're not willing to do anything good we need to be given a great purpose in life to have some natural motivation and God understood that and so he gave them detailed plans of how to build the tabernacle which is the sanctuary which now if you parallel that to our world that's the spiritual the church that's the family of God right the tabernacle of God is not the building nowadays it's the family of God right it's the it's the kingdom of people who are willing to serve Jesus but in their day it was something physical which was going to be a model for what we're going to live by and he gives them this and I want you to look with me and exit this chapter 35 and we find here something about the hearts of the people that I find very encouraging Exodus 35 look in verse 4 he says from what you have taken offering for the Lord everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord and offering of gold silver and bronze and then it goes on with an assorted number of other things that they needed to bring but he says everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord these offerings let's get on down to verse 21 chapter 35 keep on down to verse 21 he says and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting for all its service and for the sacred garments verse 22 says all who were willing men and women alike came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds brooches earrings rings and ornaments they all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord everyone who had blue purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen or goat hair ramskins dyed red or hides of sea cows brought them those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to Lord and everyone who had had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun blue purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair God was looking for willing hearts to build the tent of meeting where they would meet with God where they would get to be with God where he would guide them and be before them all who were willing and notice how amazing this was there were a lot of people willing look over in chapter 36 skip over down to verse chapter 36 looking verse 2 it says then Moses summoned bezel a bezel a and ohelab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and he was willing to come and do the work so he summoned who those that had the skill and those that were willing to come and do the work he is summoning you in fact in our generation God is summoning all people to come to do the work on his sanctuary in verse 3 it says they received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary and the people continue to bring free will offerings morning after morning and if you notice there what's amazing is that in verse look down in the end of verse 5 it says the people are bringing more than enough for doing the work God commanded to be done they were doing more than was needed they had willing hearts even though they had turned from God but when he gave them a great plan to build something they had willing hearts and I believe that inside each one of us is a willing heart it's in there deep in you is a willing heart to glorify God to do something transcendent with your life to build something to the honor of God beyond what will last in the days or seen with the eyes he wants you to do something great with your life and inside you is a willing heart sadly often it gets clouded by things and the history of the Bible and the history of our lives is that our willingness easily dissipates we're gonna talk a little bit about why that happens but I'm encouraged to see that they brought so much at this time that they had more than they had to tell stop bringing free will offerings so much is being done and as a congregation God certainly has blessed our congregation built it up there's great things going on there's so many things we're doing across the globe that are very exciting and I want to hold up the congregation right now you have willing hearts in your deep down in there some of you it's it's very obvious to the congregation wow what a willing heart and we see it going on I'm so grateful for teen ministry servants right how much they do the Bartels brothers right serving and their wives Rob and Ira serving in the teens I believe it's Ira's birthday right awesome she's awesome Chad and Chad and deja willing to serve married co-op get in there I want to serve the teens team ministry can be an awesome blessing but can be challenging to I'm really great of course Jake and Kelsey aren't here right now but willing to serve hey where do you need us send us there we're ready to go I think they are uniquely skilled gifted they've been summoned by God for their skill having grown up as children of of people in the church and having struggled so many struggles you get to hear the struggles teams of Jake and Kelsey and that will help you because they have overcome they're uniquely skilled but they're also willing willing hearts God is looking for willing hearts today in this congregation he's looking for willing people we had an incredible training program in the campus ministry called leadership in training and I am so proud of the campus ministry but not only campus ministry of the whole church of the Mary's in the church of the edge ministry in the church I'm proud of them all now the leaders in training program here's why I'm so proud of it the Mary's ministry served in this regard by opening up their homes Donna Jennifer open their homes and and shared their their knowledge and wisdom to our campus leaders to help them know how can you be spiritual moving forward what's it going to take to do the work of the Lord sharing their experiences I'm so grateful for the willing heart I'm so grateful for the sadness is serving in the edge ministry but also being willing to all hey you want me to preach and teach and share to the campus I'll do that as well I'm so grateful for the leadership in the campus ministry he said whatever we got to do we will do and here's the thing that really got me yesterday we had our closed out little breakfasts for the edge for the campus leaders in training program and several of the younger college students were running after me saying Steve can I be a Bible talk leader can I be an assistant they're willing hearts what can I do I want to do more amen and we had an incredible Friday night of amen let's give it up I really appreciate that appreciate that willing hearts I want to end there I want to share we have willing hearts in here we are a willing group within the edge ministry our singles and young Mary's we call that our edge ministry they started off at a internship training program for the fall and yesterday was the kickoff and I believe we had where's my sheet right cocking him in that sheet of paper right there I want to read the names of these people that that's the one right there thank you very much I want to read off the names of the people we had open to anyone wanting to be trained this is not it okay well you know what we'll have to go with my notes right here which I think I might have missed a few but hopefully I got him I got him correct listen to this we had quite a few people willing to go for our internship training program for the LA church right here in our congregation we had Matt willing to go Matt Jackson we had Sophia Rose Caroline Desiree Stephanie Lucia Kimberly Melissa Chanet crystal and then after you know I knew this thing was going on I was talking to some of the campus students one of the campus guys is moving into the edge ministry and he just finished the leadership and training program with a willing heart and then he and then he was now going to move in that was his final event with the campus and he's moving to the edge and I said you know there's an edge training - it's gonna be every Saturday can you make it he goes they told me about that I think I'm gonna go I'm ready I'm gonna do that one too and so that's Ryan Moyo he'll be moving in I'm so grateful for Ryan he's gonna serve what a willing heart that is the kind of heart God desires now if you notice when I read there were a lot of women on the list weren't there all right brothers I think you need to hear that the there were like ten willing sisters I got calls all week long because I just said anyone wants to go let me know if you're willing we want to be a part of it and a lot of sisters very well I want to hold them up the women are very spiritual they have a heart they just want to do great things for God and our men do as well I know they do they serve in all kinds of ways but I do think men that's sort of like okay we had one and we have a future another one but we had ten and one ten and one you do the math men we need to pray okay Congress we need to pray man we got where's the willing heart nobody is being made it's a willing issue and I know we have willing hearts church God loves a willing heart he loves it that's what he's looking for that's what he desires and he wants to give you the willing heart interesting I was thinking about why were they willing after they were so sinful when we have a great purpose when we have spiritual people around us and we do when we have a great congregation when God puts spiritual things in your life we have that deep innate willingness it's in there it's in you I believe each of us it's fundamentally willing to please God now we have a simple nature within this as well that is warring against it but there is something in us that says I want to do something great we've seen it time and time again I want to hold up one more time the married congregation because you know what we had in here we had a ton of willing married couples to host people from the Middle East when they came over back in July open up their homes driving miles spending money and time and energy what a blessing to say wow we are a church of willing hearts God's calling us to continue that to overcome your bad day that you might have had to be willing to host to be willing to serve to be willing to do great things as a congregation skies the limit God is simply looking for willing hearts one thing we need willing hearts I'm gonna put it out there before the congregation is the Middle East conference has come and gone and we are starting a Middle East outreach and we had Bible talks going on at the rocks home every Thursday night and what we realize we need is we need the Holy Spirit to put it on some of your hearts to commit your life to the Middle East outreach right here we're having Bible talk at the rocks house and we need a few of you who have willing hearts to say this will be my ministry for at least a year I will I will be invested I will go to every Bible talk I will do all my studies I will be tied into that I need one of you Mike and I both need one of you to leave it we need somebody Mike's gonna help coordinate and be involved no question but somebody here we need to ask you are you willing to say I'm gonna step up and and maybe you're a current Bible talk leader a family group leader but the Holy Spirit is putting it on you maybe you want to be a Bible talk leader like some of these campus guys hey make me an assistant if you have the spirit of the spirits you know prompting you please come and talk to me come and talk to Carrie come and talk to Mike and Libby they'll be back this week we need willing hearts because our plan is to build the Middle East ministry starting right here in the Inland Empire but if somebody doesn't deliberately commit doesn't deliberately say that that is my calling I'm going to get involved and you can't do it part time any ministry that's going to be successful it you got to be all in right when we're in the team ministry we expect to be all in you're not in any other you're not in another ministry you're in the team ministry you're in the campus you're in the campus ministry if you're in somebody's Bible talk you're not in two or three Bible talks at once you're welcome to visit at times but all of us need to belong to one ministry we need to belong to something to build something we have skills and gifts and God's looking for us to be willing to be invested in one ministry pouring our life out for that ministry following through with that ministry because then he begins to bless amen but what makes us unwilling how do we get such willful hearts some of us have not only bad days with bad weeks some of us have bad months some of us have bad years I heard one preacher say I had a bad decade never heard about that I heard I heard a preacher show that one of ours in our fellowship he showed me and I had a bad decade he had an unspiritual decade the great thing is he repented he's doing awesome some of you might know I'm talking about but we can have a bad day we can have a bad decade why what happens let me tell you what destroys us sin it's pretty simple scriptures teach that Jesus came to destroy the devil the devil's work but it is sin that gives you a bad day why was I having a bad day I didn't want to do the good I know I needed to do and that says in James 4 17 is sin anyone who doesn't do the good he knows he ought to do since sin it heartens our heart it makes us willful turns me to do to run me chapter 7 I'm gonna give you my second point for the day and it's simply this smash the stones of sin smash the stones of sin in Deuteronomy chapter 7 go over there and we're gonna go back here as the Israelites are our model right now we find that God warns them in Deuteronomy 7 Moses is writing and talking about God's plan and I want you to see here in chapter 7 of Deuteronomy what he says says when the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations the Hittites Girdershites Amorites Canaanites parasites and Jebusites seven nations larger and stronger than you now let's stop right there remember the Bible says everything that was written in the past was designed to encourage and strengthen and educate us it all has spiritual parallels to your walk with God to how you're living today this is the Bible of the first century church as Nick shared in the welcome house they devoted themselves yes the apostles preached the word that Jesus had shared but Jesus himself read the Old Testament he read these words of Moses and knew them inside and out spiritually speaking it is the Lord our God who brings us into the land of hope and he's the one that drove out these nations stronger what are the nations the nations that are residing in your heart the nations of sin that are residing in your heart and he drives them out he demonstrates to you why they are wrong he shows you through the cross right the cross demonstrates to us how sinful sin really is how damaging it is how much it hurts and it makes us want to change also our sin itself just begins to depress us right I didn't have well I had a bad dad you know I didn't like my day why because I didn't do the good I know I needed to do I felt bad it's intended that you would feel bad when you sin that's how God made you so you won't do it again but he drives these things out of us and he says he says he's gonna drive him out even though they're stronger than you without God we can't do it and then verse 2 says and when the Lord your God has delivered you delivered them over to you and you have defeated them then you must destroy them totally make no treaty with them and show them no mercy do not intermarry with them do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods and the Lord's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you this is what you are to do to them break down their altars smash their sacred stones cut down their ashrop holes and burn their idols in the fire for you are a people holy to Lord your God the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the year to be his people his treasured possession smash the sins the stones of sin that is how you can keep a willing heart but there's stones there's sacred stones in each of us has to overcome to be even become a Christian we have to admit those stones we have to say yes get rid of these stones the challenge is those stones want to lodge back in our heart even after we say Jesus is Lord and for those of us that haven't said Jesus Lord repent and empathize you know they they are just controlling your life the stones of sins are controlling our life what are some of these stones well you get the stone of compromise ready says don't make a treaty with these people these ungodly people and we may compromise this too easily in fact as some of us even study the Bible we're always looking for a way to not have to take it the full distance so many times I study the Bible over the years with with singles or our college men and they want to cut corners I remember one brother was living with non-Christian women and I challenge him you you got to move out he didn't want to do it oh it's no it's fine and you got to move out well I'm not being impure I'm not being I'm not being immoral okay but you're in a bad situation and it's not beyond reproach and it's not godly it's a stone it's a compromise to cut corners in that area those that smash that stone become Christians and several that I studied with did even some from among us here today and some that won't smash that stone they don't make it compromises will destroy you compromises will lead you astray compromises in who saved and who's lost you got to be clear you know we're not the judge of the universe but we get to make a judgment about what we think it really takes to be right with God or not right with God we're not the final judge god is but you have to make a judgment to have a conviction so you know what to even teach people when's the last time you did a Bible study on who's lost and who saved based on your knowledge of the Scriptures based on the blueprint of how you become a Christian and then held yourself up to it that's a challenging study but is there anything more important than evaluating eternal life is there anything more important than figuring out you know we can't compromise our convictions about you know what we think we you know I'd like to be wrong and that you know I'd like everybody to just be in heaven when I die but the Bible's clear it's a narrow road you find it smash the stone of compromising your heart you know another stone in our heart is the stone of relationship that's maybe I've seen 22 years of being a disciple the thing that destroys faith is girls or if you're a guy or girl it's guys it's relationships it's ungodly relationship you see right there over and over and over in the Old Testament and in the New Testament it talks about stay away from people relationally and romantically is what he's talking about who are not equal to you in their faith who are not totally devoted to God stay away from those who may seem like they have some kind of godliness but they're not faithful to Jehovah God do not intermarry with them do not connect to them do not emotionally and romantically intertwined with them because they will lead you astray it says right there early on in the Bible and it's the same lesson for us today I know that's a strong temptation for us to want a relationship out for a man or a woman to want that a romantic to want that comfort it's a strong temptation God did make us to be in relationships with each other but he's very clear if you're going to fall in love romantically to some of the need to be disciples of Jesus do not even entertain the thought do not even get close to the thought I remember Carrie coming out to a retreat back in 1992 and I thought she was pretty I was a disciple she was not and I thought well she's pretty but I hope she studies the Bible I can't say I wasn't hoping I wanted her to become a disciple but in my heart I knew to draw strong lines you know at that retreat I smiled at her a few times and gave her a hug when I met her and I saw through treat saw the first night you know what we didn't even talk the rest of the retreat wasn't like I was weasel in ways in order to get more time to talk to her yes I wanted a pretty awesome young woman to become a disciple of Jesus I didn't know what that meant for me I knew what God would you start to do great things I thought well I've just another great sister I could get encourage and take out I hope she makes it and yes when she ended up coming back out to church and midweek which I was happy to see the girls got her on out I made sure I fella shipped her and asked her how she was doing but I did it with a heart that was definitely committed to how are you doing with God I remember her doing some unspiritual things and I told on her she did some unspiritual things and I told on her to the girls hey do you know she's doing such and such I heard this is going on and they're like yeah we know we're dealing with it we're dealing with that okay good you know it's normal we want we want great people to become disciples but we got to draw a line when it comes to any romantic interest at all we got to be very strong in our convictions we don't cross lines and if you know in your spirit there's a weakness in you that you are tempted to cross the line you stay miles away Kerry was very spiritual wasn't manipulative or in that way even her weakness at that time wasn't tough to be a flirty person she was she was eager to be right with God it was it was in her some of us aren't that way some men are very flirty some women are very flirty and if you know that's one of your your predispositions stay away from anyone not spiritual as stay away the Bible so clear this can destroy smash the stone of improper relationships amen you know you gotta smash the stone there's it talks about the sacred stones what's sacred to you smash the sacred stones is money the most important thing to you have you fallen prey to America has the American dream become your hope and desire yesterday the family for several hours went out to the beach it was a beautiful day yesterday we drove on down and had dinner and went down to the actually the exact place for Kerry and I got baptized on rose cramps in the beach right Manhattan Beach both of us were baptized there and we pointed that out kids we were baptized right there and they're like oh that's cool dad and where we going you know they care I don't want to throw them but it was just fun you know it's like remembering I was like and I was telling stories I've told before to all the kids and my wife's I've heard that one before I heard that one for well this is where this happened I heard that before okay okay but when I got down there was so beautiful oh it's so beautiful look at these you know it's just so nice after being there about two hours I remember oh yeah and I remember why I became a Christian this place is worldly the American dream is flashed in front of everyone's eyes right there in those rich beach cities all the UCLA and USC grads are mowing around in their BMWs and acting like they are really happy and yet underneath you can see the emptiness there's a darkness there's a superficiality to our world the American dream is fake it's so fake I felt the fakeness I sense the glitz in the glam and and everybody trying to look beautiful and then something else happened while we're down there we were walking back up to go to dinner and we saw a woman in her car and she was sort of leaning over the steering wheel and a couple guys had noticed and they were like banging on the window they thought me she'd fall asleep or passed out and so we noticed what's going on what's going on and she was right there down on the beach right in her car parked real close to the pier and you know it was a nice car she seemed like you know girl they had all the gas she's sleeping and then we paint she woke up and first thing she shows us the Bible and we're like okay well and then other guys go get the Bible I guess you're fine says they walked away and we're like well we're ministers we had her she got a Bible we better talk to her figure out what's going on and we sense something was wrong so we so carry knocks in the window so that she you know would feel like a more it'd be easier to approach a woman and she did that she rolled down the window and we asked her can we help she was crying and she started to share that you know her family hates her you could tell she you know she'd been on the beach and she you know she was an athletic beautiful woman that that looked like her life was a wreck you could tell she was living that that veneer of life the exterior the exterior at first it looked okay but underneath there was darkness she was crying and she said you know my my boyfriend and I broke up and she just wouldn't stop crying and she wasn't really coherent there was there was something else wrong we could tell there was you know we're not sure exactly but to me it seemed like there were issues as we talked and she shared her brother her boyfriend had been on crystal meth addicted to crystal meth maybe the most damaging drug in our generation it's destroying lies if you have any family members connected to that just run for the hills tell them do anything you can to get it away from them it's destroying people in our generation so the veneer was oh everything's good it looks pretty everything's great that's all the people acted down there but here was this woman parked right there in her nice car empty and dark and spread distressed didn't know what to do where can we help you a police officer comes by right then he's like hey what's going on but apparently these guys told the police officer about her and she was like I'm not giving you my ID she was scared and petrified you want to hear why who are you you're just a parking cop you you can't have my ID and we try to encourage her just let he just wants to make sure okay are you okay we have friends you know we knew we have an awesome edge ministry down or a singles ministry down in the beach cities I thought man Marcos got 200 singles down here somebody certainly can reach out to them Ruthie's down here somebody can help her and give me your number will help you and she wasn't really open to that she's no I'll be fine and she she was just not really coherent so we gave her you know my card carry put her number said please call us please calls will help you I hope she calls us the world is fake what you see it's it's just it's a facade it's a facade there are stones of darkness of sin greed and what you look like the stone of my appearance is my my my security it's a lie the stone of having a relationship it's a lie the stone of the American dream it's a lie you got to smash the stones of sin you got to eradicate them out of your life whatever it takes and I remember myself when I was in my early 20s just living that facade of a life trying to look good having my sports car living right there right down by the beach in Manhattan Beach and I was so empty empty because my I had no real purpose you know we're needed amen we're needed you're needed everywhere you go you are needed everywhere you look there are hurting people just peel off the facade and realize you are needed every one of us in here you are needed to have a willing heart because God intends to change this world and he needs you to have the willing heart but you can't let yourself fall back into all this garbage and you got to totally eradicate the sin out of your life totally eradicating you cannot compromise and that means total honesty you must be honest you cannot think that here's the thing is getting a lot of people I've run across this in our own congregation we sin some of us have a bad day and instead of just not doing you know a project that you need to do which is sin we sin grievously we do things that we would never have imagined we sin horribly some of us in here have done that we do disgusting that we do illegal things we do things that are perverted and disgusting and shouldn't even be mentioned I want to urge you on your bad day don't do that go watch a cartoon or something go eat a bowl of ice cream or something call a friend do anything to get through your bad day go pray go walk go do something schedule something at your house so you'll pull out of it but don't destroy your life by doing something you can't change that you're gonna have to deal with the repercussions for for years and if you've done something like that get open get open please get open if you don't get open it will come out and the damage will multiply if you don't get open it's going to come out we're not playing a game walking with God and serving God is not a game there is life and death there is heaven and hell Jesus is real you cannot run from him he's watching he's the truth he knows you just get open and begin to heal to get that willing heart back and then you know let me show you how to get the heart back we're gonna skip down to Psalm chapter 51 go to Psalm 51 we know a man who sin grievously and he's one of the great kings of Israel right David Slayer of Goliath a man after God's own heart and yet David had a bad day and had sex with Bathsheba sinned horribly then killed her husband horrible sin and he suffered for it and the ramifications for that sin went on the thing is I believe David's in heaven David's gonna be with God or the end of all days he'll be with us he repented but he sinned grievously but we find in Psalm 51 him talking about having a willing spirit and if you sin grievously there is hope because of the grace of God and because of the cross and we find in Psalm 51 David praying after he had been rebuked for his sin after it came on out and he says in verse one have mercy on me oh God according to your unfailing love skip down to verse 12 he says restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me you can change no matter where you've been at I believe deep down there's a willingness to do what is good in us but we're gonna have to own our sin we have to smash the stones of sin we got to eradicate them we got to run from sin you got to clear it out of your life and you got to surround yourself with those with willing hearts and if you have sin you got to ask God to restore to you the joy of your salvation to grant you a willing spirit he can grant that through confession and repentance he'll grant you that willing spirit in that what we want a willingness to to do great things that can change this world let's not be willful let's not fight God but let's see God inspire all of us to have a willing heart to start new ministries to serve existing ministries to build this Middle East ministry to build up each one of our separate ministries let's have a willingness smash those stones and have a willing spirit amen I love you guys you [BLANK_AUDIO]
Steve gives a part 2 lesson on having a willing heart to serve God. We all have a willing heart, but what's stopping you from being willing?