Amen Praise God I'm a child of the King. Amen. All right acts chapter number five tonight the book of Acts chapter 5 we went here Wednesday just briefly and It's still in my heart and the subject of Ananias and and Sapphira and I would like to encourage you to go back if you haven't and heard Wednesday's message. We've been a kind of a short unofficial series about the subject of sin. I think it'd be important for you to consider and take note of and this come up and I've had never left my heart from last Wednesday. So tonight that'll be our text Acts chapter 5 verses 1 through 11. And I'd like to preach to you tonight about the dangers of keeping some back. The dangers of keeping some back. Acts chapter 5 verse 1, if you're there say amen. Amen. The Bible says, but a certain man named Ananias with Sapphira his wife sold a possession and kept that part of the price. His wife, also being privy to it, she knew what was going on, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. And Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and to keep back part of the price of the land? Now, if you need some context, remember in chapter 4, the saints had such a heart and love for one another, they had all things common. And they were selling their possessions and their lands and their houses in Acts 4.34. And they were selling them and bringing them and laying at the apostles' feet. So there's deep love for one another and sympathy for the struggles of life within the Christian church. And so Ananias and Sapphira were trying to get in on this, but kind of. In verse number four, Peter said, while it remained, was it not thine own? So you didn't have to sell it. And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? You could have kept it. You could have given it all. But he didn't. They lied. Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? And thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Verse five. And Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost. And great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in, and Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them which hath buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. And verse 10, then she fell down straightway at his feet and yielded up the ghost. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. Our Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, tonight we're thankful again to be with each other, with you, thankful for worship. Thank you, Lord, that we can Lord, exalt Your name and enjoy the freedom of worship. And Lord, I pray we grow in that. Lord, I'm afraid even at our best we fall far short of it, of making much of You. We need to heap praise upon You. Lord, I pray tonight you'd help us. You give us the words that we need. And Lord, this message would be a great help to us. In your name, Christ, we ask these things. Amen. I have a deep burden about this message. I don't know why this particular one has burdened me. From experience, it must mean that this is certainly for somebody that has a great need in this subject or in this area of your spiritual life. I know that has to be the case for every sermon. His Word will not return back into him void. It will accomplish what he sought out for it to do. And so we're trusting God's omniscience, His sovereignty, His power. He knows everything. He knows what we need even before we ask. He knows what we need even if we don't ask. So I hope and pray tonight that this sermon, if it's for you, would certainly hit its mark and that you will say amen to it in your heart and you will receive it with gladness and meekness that this is a word from God and God has sent it for you. I'm in the camp that I believe Ananias and Sapphira were Christians. I think that they were born again. Some say, well, they're not. They were hypocrites and fakes. I don't hold that position. I really believe they were Christians. I believe that in part because the subject of chastisement the Lord chastens whom he loves and we considered even last Wednesday night we use this as an example of maybe a sin into death but the wage of sin is death we know that all of us are going to die ultimately but you certainly can as a believer shorten your life that makes one to begin to realize and it should you that you are not your own you're bought with a price And since your life can even be shortened as a Christian, it should compel you to live for Christ. Because he's in charge of you. You are not your own. Your life belongs to him. And so your life is not to be lived for yourself. It's not to be lived for your, OK, now I'm saved. I'm a Christian. I'm going to go on about my business. No. People get saved, and they go on about the Lord's business, not your own. You've surrendered all. I surrender all. All to thee I give. I surrender all. And so, but I believe that they kept part of it back, as we learned. And there's some great dangers, obviously, in keeping part of it back. In verse 2, and kept back part of the price. Now, the circumstances might be different, but all of us are guilty of this on some levels. That we offer some of ourselves to the Lord. We give some of our time to Christ. Here they gave some of the money to the Lord. I do believe that honesty here would have been the best policy. I am convinced that maybe if they would have said, hey, we got some of it. We sold our land. We kept some of it back to pay off our tax debt. Here's the rest of it. They certainly would, I believe, got off the hook, because they lied. And that's why the Lord chastened them and took them home early. But the whole point of it was so they would look better than they really lived to be. And that was their great error. They presented themselves as being sold out, but yet they was halfway sold out. They were bargain Christians. They were on the clearance rack. They were kind of following Jesus. But the sin of it was, is that they wanted you to think they were all in. But the problem with that is, it's not so much that you're trying to convince each other that you're all in. Because the danger here and the sin was, it's not so much that they were convincing themselves they were all in, but they were trying to trick the Lord. But the Lord knew the truth, as he always does, amen? He knows the truth about our lives. And they kept back part of it to look good among the saints. But the Lord knew what was going on. And it's sad. We're more worried about impressing one another spiritually than we are about impressing the Lord spiritually. I could say so far from the text as we considered it, he ain't going to put up with it. Amen? He's not going to put up with it. You're not going to get away with it. And I've learned in my life, you don't get away with nothing. Say amen. You don't get away with nothing. You really don't. You really do reap what you sow. You're not getting out of it. Whatever you put in the ground's coming out of the ground. Amen? You don't get away with anything. You reap what you sow. And so we see they've kept back. They kept part of it back. Half-heartedness is the devil's greatest weapon against you in your life. You could say they were half-hearted. They were almost in, but not quite. Notice verse number three. And Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? The devil tempted them to do it. This is the devil's greatest weapon. The devil always suggests that you don't have to be all in. He does. He always tells you that. He says, you don't have to be all in to be in. That's what he tells you. You don't really have to sell out. And if you don't, nobody will know it. They'll think you're the best of them all. They really will. The devil says, you don't have to be all in to be in. But that's a lie. And we see the dangers of that. The devil says it's okay to keep part of it back. It's okay to keep part of your time. It's okay to keep a little bit of something for yourself. The devil told them, why don't you give some of it away, but not all of it away? It'll be okay. Just give part of it away. I would like to ask the devil before you publicly, who gave him the right to give you permission to do that? Listen, whatever the devil wants you to do, don't do it. Don't do it! Because he's a liar, and he seeks nothing more to absolutely destroy your life, to ruin your testimony, and taint your witness for Jesus Christ, and in this case, disqualify you in this life from serving Jesus. This is the devil's greatest weapon against you, to be half-hearted. You don't have to be all in to be in. Being half-hearted is all the devil wants you to be. As a matter of fact, he would rather you be half-hearted than no-hearted at all. Because I think the greatest danger or problem or harm to the Christian church isn't somebody who's not a Christian, but people who say they're Christians, but they're half-hearted in their Christian faith. It confuses everybody except the Lord, you know that, and the devil. The outside world, they look in at us and say, I don't really have to be all in. And the sold-out Christian, it discourages them, and they say, why am I doing all that I'm doing? I mean, if the devil can just get a few half-hearted church members, or a few half-hearted Christians, or one half-hearted father in the family, I mean, he can absolutely quench the direction and spirit of the entire family, he really can. You don't have to really be all in to be in, and that's what he says. You don't have to go all the way to go all the way. You can follow Jesus, but not that close. I mean, you can love Him, but not that much love. I mean, you can give some of the money, but not all of it. And we see this behavior is certainly very dangerous. And also keeping some back can bring upon you God's chastisement. And so the devil, he says, you don't have to give it all to be all in, to be in. But this behavior absolutely brings about chastisement in our life. You're risking, first of all, being made an example. The Lord made an example out of these two people, you know that? Look at verse number 11. The Bible says, the Lord did this and great fear came upon them all. Great fear became upon all the church and upon all as many as heard these things So the Lord he made an example out of these two First of all, this is risky business because the Lord who is our father and we've been born a part of his family He absolutely can make an example out of you So everybody else can know that this is not the behavior of the Christian Church you parents You ever made an example out of one of your kids you ever done it? Mean just made an example out of one of them. I mean the poor little fella He's got five siblings, but he just crossed you on the wrong day So what you don't want is you don't want that behavior thinking thick to convince the other children that this is OK. So the poor little fellow or poor little girl is made an example. And they really catch it. Because, and you could even, some parents have said this, I'm not doing this just to punish you, but I don't want anybody else to get the idea that this is appropriate behavior. You ever done that to one of your children? I mean, you just give it to them to make an example out of them, so nobody else will do it. The Bible even says rebuke a scorner, and the rest of them will fear. Because one bad apple, it'll ruin them all, won't it? A little fly, it'll spoil the ointment. Little foxes, they spoil the vine. And this type of behavior is risky, keeping some back, because the Lord in His infinite power and wisdom, He just might make an example out of you, so nobody else gets the crazy idea that this is appropriate behavior for the Christian life. And I'd hate to be the one the Lord made an example out of, So so sister Debbie can say I ain't doing that. I Ain't doing that because look what happened to him I'm not gonna do that because look what happened to her life and the Bible said that the Lord did this and Great fear came upon the church now back then if you was going to that church Here's what you do the next church service that they had over there at the church. You'd say I This is serious. You would make sure you're living an honest life. Now, the Lord can absolutely use this behavior as an example for other believers, so don't put yourself in that position. The Lord rejects half-heartedness. The Lord rejects holding back. The Lord rejects keeping some of it back. Listen to Revelation 3, verses 15 and 16. The Lord says, I know thy works. Thou art neither cold nor hot. I would, thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth." The Lord rejects keeping some back. He rejects half-heartedness. Hebrews 12, 5-6, And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." You might be struggling right now, and you might even say this, the Lord sure must love me a lot, because He's been chastening me a whole lot lately. Me and my wife, we was watching the show yesterday, and would you believe it, they cursed the Lord's name. They sure did. And I thought, hmm, I wish they didn't do that. Don't you? You know what just ruins it for me? Because I was really into it, Maddie. I was really into it. And then they're going to go ahead and do that. And then they went and did it again. And I told Brittany, even today, I said, we're not going to finish that. I can't do it. I can't enjoy it. The Lord won't let me enjoy it. I'm not going to drive my spirit through the ditch just so they can find out I like their show. I don't have to watch their show, amen? I don't even have to watch it. But the Lord rebuked me and chastened me, and I couldn't even enjoy it. You know, you can't enjoy life while you're under the Lord's chastisement. Won't you just straighten up, amen? Won't you just straighten up? You ever told one of your kids, you know what? This ain't my fault, it's your fault. This is the path you chose, I didn't chose it. And if you'd just straighten up, your life would be a whole lot easier. Amen? The Lord rejects, He vomits and spews out of His mouth this half-hearted, holding back Christian life. Now keeping some back also not only would it invite the Lord's chastisement upon your life, But keeping some back, as Ananias and Sapphira did, it will disqualify you from serving Jesus. It sure will. Turn to the book of Luke, chapter 14. I want you to follow along with me and put your finger on it. holding back or being half-hearted will disqualify you from serving Jesus. It sure did in our text. The Lord took them out early. Ananias and Sapphira, they could never teach Sunday school again. I'm sure if they were at Westside, Sister Debbie would have asked them to teach a Bible school class. Then about a few weeks, a good married couple like that, but they can't teach the Bible school class this year. Wow, they were half-hearted. They kept part of it back. The Lord takes care of this problem too. The church didn't even know it. They lied to the church, but they didn't make it. They can't teach in Bible school this year. They can't put on the Christmas play this year. Who knows what they could have been for Jesus, but they are disqualified because they kept part of it back. In Luke chapter number 14, this is an amazing chapter in the book of Luke. This is the chap same chapter where the Lord he he he gave the parable of a certain man that made a great supper And if you remember one by one they began to make excuse in Luke chapter number four why they couldn't come One of them said in verse 18. I bought a piece of ground I can't come another one says I've bought five yoke of oxen therefore I can't come another one said in verse number 20 I've married a wife and therefore I cannot come he's saying I would come but I got married I would come but I got me a new car. I got five yoke of oxen Would come but I bought me a piece of land or I bought a new house and I got to clean the gutters and therefore I Cannot come and the Bible said that the Lord of that of that of that supper He was wroth and he was angry and in Luke chapter 14 the Lord goes on to give us this qualification for Christian service it's as if The Lord is trying to speak to us in Luke chapter number 14. Because that He is. And don't ever think that the Bible is compiled in some random order. Luke 14 is emphasizing into our lives that we are to be all in for Jesus. We are to be sold out for Christ our Lord. And in verse number 25, the Lord said, and there were in a great multitudes with him. And he turned and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and his mother, and his wife, and his children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, even hate his own life also, he cannot, the Bible said, be my disciple." Notice the word cannot. He cannot be. He cannot be my disciple. In verse number 27, Jesus said, And whosoever doeth not bear his cross, And I can hear some now. I would come, but it's so hard. I would follow you, but the way is just so rough. I want to come. I really want to come. I want to come, but you know, the cross is just so heavy. I mean, I want to go do other things, but you mean you love your life more than Jesus. And Jesus says, if you love your own life more than Me, You cannot, he said, be my disciple. Whosoever doeth not bear his cross, in verse number 27, and come after me, he cannot be my disciple. Notice the cross is before coming after Jesus. There is no coming after Jesus unless thou first carries a cross. The cross is heavy and hard to bear. Sometimes it's embarrassing and time-consuming. Sometimes it is unbearable, it seems, the weight of it, the agony of it. Sometimes it's as if you're losing your life while you're carrying it. But you have to carry that cross. And if you don't, you cannot follow Jesus. It disqualifies so many, and so many cannot come. But whosoever will, let them come. But if they do not, they cannot be my disciple, Jesus says. I often think about a job position being open. And it's been advertised, there's a job, a place is hiring. And thank God, there's jobs everywhere if you want one right now, amen? There sure is. And I've often imagined the job position's just been posted online, and you have to work from 7 to 3.30, Monday through Friday. And if you'll take the job, the benefits will be amazing. The hourly rate will be great. You'll have 401k, they'll match you up to 10%. You'll have a 401k plus a pension. They'll even provide for you work boots and all kinds of clothes. If only you'd come Monday through Friday, 7 to 3.30. You apply for the position, and then at the interview, you say, well, I would like to do it. I really want the job. And let's say they're even offering you the job. We're willing to offer you the job, but then you say this. Well, I can work. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. But I cannot work Thursday. But I would like to have the job. And maybe the one that's interviewing you says, yes, but we need you to work Thursday. And then you interrupt him and you say, yes, but I want the job. I really want it. But the man who's offering the job says, but I need you to be here on Thursday. I must have you here on Thursday. Yes, but I really want the job. Why can't you work Thursday? Listen, if you don't work Thursday, then we cannot hire you. You cannot work here unless you work on Thursdays too. But I really want it. Listen, you cannot work here unless you work here on Thursdays. You cannot work here. It's nothing personal. It doesn't mean anything. But if you want to work here, you have to work here on Thursdays. Why can't you work on Thursdays? Well, that's the day I have cookouts at home. That's the day I visit my mother. Hey, that's cool and all. You go visit your mother. That's fine. But you cannot work here unless you work here on Thursday. I often imagine people telling the Lord that, yes, but I want to follow you. But you cannot be half-hearted and be my disciple. Amen? You cannot be. Yes, but I want to be, but you cannot be. I really crave to be, but you cannot be. It's not as if I'm choosing you over another. But you cannot be. No, you cannot be my disciple. being half-hearted, keeping some back. It will absolutely disqualify you from serving Jesus. I often think about this battlefield of our own, and sometimes I get discouraged, and I do, I sure do. Brittany knows. You know what? It's the simplest thing that motivates me in Christian work. That the Lord is my general. And I'm to be His soldier. And Paul wrote Timothy in the book of 1 and the book of 2 Timothy. That you better be a good soldier for Jesus' sake. And suffer all things for the elect's sake. You suffer for my people. You suffer for my people. And Paul the Apostle, he's calling the young preacher. He's saying, I'm calling you to suffer for Jesus' sake. Well, I don't want to suffer. Then you cannot be His disciple. Suffering and Christian work goes hand in hand. And it will keep you from serving Jesus. And I often think, and it motivates me, is that on my post, where I'm assigned, or where the general sends me, I might not like it. It might be rainy. It might be hot. It might be cold. That's where he assigned me to be. And that's where he told me to go. And I'm to say, yes, sir. I'm in my post. You say, well, I don't really want to. Well, then you cannot be. You cannot be. I'm sure Ananias and Sapphira said, well, I really want to do this and I really do that. But they can't. They can't. Why? They kept part of it back. They kept part of it back. Don't keep nothing back. Don't do it. You could argue it's very dangerous. It is. Especially if you know him. Because if he don't chasten you, then you're illegitimate and you need to be saved. But if he does chasten you, If your upbringing was like mine, here's what happened. You better not do that anymore. OK. A lot of times that was enough. But then if I cross the line again, sometimes I might get another one. You better not do that again. But then if I did it again, you know what happened next. You know. And then if I went on to do it again, it was incrementally more unbearable. You know what happened after the third time? That's it. This ain't worth it. It just ain't worth it. Is it worth it? No! I wonder how many some hearts here this morning or this evening say, you know what, this misery, it just ain't worth it anymore. It'd be easier just to sell out for Jesus' sake, you know it? than to spend all these days and hours in agony trying to manipulate what will you keep back and what will you give, what day is his day and what day... If you could just surrender all, it'd save all kinds of heartache. From a child speaking from experience, you're not going to win. You're not going to win. And the sad part is, people will lose. I even think about the consequences of the family. Whose idea was it? Was it Ananias? Was it Sapphira? I mean, do they think they're going to get away with it? Does what I do affect other people in my family? Absolutely it does. I mean, who led the other one astray? Do they have kids? Wonder what their parents think. I mean, who is associated with these two? Look how, I mean, now I know the complexities of families and the ties and the love bonds and all of that. I mean all of that suffering and anguish and heartache and grief because they kept part of it back. Who was affected by this decision? They kept part of it back. It's dangerous. It's dangerous. Don't keep nothing back. 1 Thessalonians 5 19 says quench not the spirit. You know what that means? Don't put the Spirit's fire out. That's what it means. Don't quench the Lord's fire. Don't keep nothing back. Matter of fact, stoke it. Stoke it. Blow on it. Put more wood in the fire. Don't hold nothing back. Aren't you tired of a boring life of self? Everything's based upon you. You want to go on a big adventure? Say, yes, Lord. It'll be adventurous. I want to close in telling you about a man, a young man named, and I might have mentioned him before, his name was William Borden of Yale College. He died when he was 25 years old from spinal meningitis. But where he died is interesting. He died in Egypt because he was learning Arabic because he was sent by God to be a missionary to the Muslims in northern China. But you think, well, that's interesting. He's a missionary. But it's his background that makes it even all the more amazing. William Borden was a rich young heir from the Borden family. He was a millionaire back in the early 1900s. I guess that'd make you a billionaire today. You know, there is a thing called inflation. Have you seen how much a stick of lumber costs? I mean, just to build the Vacation Bible School sign out there, you're looking at over $200. I mean, I know, I know if he was a millionaire, a young millionaire, Young millionaire an heir of a millionaire for millionaires I mean he was worth maybe a billion dollars by today's standard, but you know what happened to William Borden He got saved before he became a millionaire and his greatest treasure wasn't his money It was Christ who paid for him and purchased him from the hand and the grip of the devil and saved his soul So William Borden's like that's it. That's it I'm following Jesus. Yeah, but you're rich and I'm going to follow Jesus. Amen? Yeah, but you've got a lot going on in your life. I want to be his disciple. Yeah, but you're pretty busy. I just want to follow Jesus. Right? And that's what happened to him. When he told his buddies at college that, see, he was so rich at his 16th birthday, his parents, for his birthday present, gave him a trip around the world in the 1900s. They didn't have no airplanes. And while he was traveling around the world, William Borden, his heart began to ache for all the masses of the world that didn't know about Jesus. And so at 16 years old, God's dealing with him, and he's out there in some rich, fancy yacht. He's looking over there at the seashore, and looking, and he went to all kinds of places, and his heart began to ache, and he thought, these people don't know about Jesus. I need to tell them about Jesus. But he's 16 years old, and he's a rich man, and he finally goes to Yale College. And God begins to deal with him even more. One of his buddies said about his life, and he told him, I want to be a missionary. His friend expressed disbelief. And he said, you're throwing yourself away as a missionary. You're going to throw your life away. That's what he said. You're going to throw your life away. You can't ever throw your life away in the arms of Jesus Christ. Amen? You can't do it. Can't do it. As a matter of fact, without Jesus, your life will grow even more and ever more insignificant and meaningless and no purpose at all. It will. You try and see what happens. You'll be yawning in boredom, and you'll spend the rest of your days trying to find out what's good is on TV. And then when that fails you, you'll say, I need another recliner. And you'll go to Knoxville Wholesale Furniture, and you'll buy the most expensive recliner that they have. And you'll buy the biggest TV that they have. And you'll get the biggest cable package that they have. And you'll sit there, and you'll say, now my life is going to mean even more. And you turn it on, and you'll find out it's the same boring life. Why don't you carry a cross? Why don't you have a burden on your back? Why don't you have a reason to get up in the morning other than yourself? Why don't you live for Jesus and really live? I mean, go and get after it. You want to have some meaning and purpose? He's calling you. He's saying, follow after me. Follow after me. He came to give you abundant life. Not a comfortable life. Not this, not that. No. But a life with meaning and purpose. And young William Borden said, you know what? I'm going to follow Jesus. Borden was quoted one time, he said, say no to self and yes to Jesus every single time. That's what he said. Say no to self and yes to Jesus every time. You see, maybe the heart of the preacher was heavy at the beginning because maybe the Holy Ghost is calling us out of a life of meaninglessness. for a closer walk with Christ. All we need is one William Borden of Yale, that's it, that could change the world. I wonder about the life of Ananias and Sapphira. Could it be? Let's imagine that Ananias and Sapphira had a little boy named Borden, and God had placed his hand on young Borden, young William Borden, and God said, he's a chosen vessel for me. I'm going to use this young man to spread the gospel around the world, but his mommy and his daddy are leading him astray. Could it be? That's when the Lord said, I have a plan for William Borden, and Ananias is not going to stand in the way of it. I'll not have it. You think the Lord can't do that? He certainly can. He died, I told you, at 25 while he was studying the Arabic language. He stopped in Egypt to learn Arabic so he can tell the Muslims about Jesus. And he died of spinal meningitis. Some might say he wasted his life. He never got to go, Pete. He never got to go. I want to remind you there is no wasted life in Jesus' name. It's not one. Don't, in the words of John Piper, don't waste your life. Don't waste your life. Don't do it. It'll be here and gone before you know it. You know it? Get sucked out into the vacuum of meaninglessness. Useless. No. I'm 38. Let's see. Yeah, 38. I'll be 39 in July. It won't be long, I'll have another birthday. Jason's 43. Old man. Old man. When I turn 39, I wonder will my life have meaning? Will my adult life have meant something? Was it in service for Christ? I do wonder that. Am I sold out? Am I wasting my life? The great fear of my life is I'm wasting it. Birthdays come and go. You ever notice that? At a faster clip than they ever have before. You know, we say, thank God another year. But I wonder what we've done for Christ in that year. Don't waste your life. As he was dying of spinal meningitis, or after he died, they found his Bible by his bed. A man with a Bible is a dangerous thing in the eyes of the devil. And after he passed away, they found in his Bible, written in one of the pages, he said, no reserves. That means spend all that you have. Spend all that you have. No reserves. No retreat. Never give up. Never give up. Ever. Ever. Maybe the Lord wanted you to lose the battle. Don't ever give up. You with me? Don't ever give up. In the words of Winston Churchill, if I can remember them correctly, don't ever give up, don't ever quit, unless in matters of good moral judgment that you should quit. But don't ever quit. Don't ever quit following Jesus. No reserve, spend all. No retreat, don't ever give up. And then lastly, he wrote, no regrets. No regrets. I want to die with no regrets, don't you? No half-heartedness. All the way. All the way. A hundred percent. Pedal to the metal. Coming around the last turn. All the way. Wide open. For Jesus' sake. I really don't want to... Do you think about it? Ease off into glory? No. Like Brother Wiley Shelby. You know why he ain't here today? He's off preaching. He is. almost 95 years old, roll right on, roll right on. No reserves, no retreat, no regret. You might say, well this message, it's, I know it is, I'm not ignorant. It's convicting. It'd be like somebody cooked a meal and they don't know how it tastes. You know, you know. It's convicting, it's convicting. Does your heart feel convicted? Does it feel responsible for the message? Then that's for you. That's for you. It's not for him. It's not for her. It's for you. Receive it. Embrace it with meekness and gladness. And have your heart say this tonight. I'm glad tonight I came to the house of God and heard the truth. And I wasn't merely entertained. The Lord spoke to me. You know, the easiest way to be chastened is through a sermon. It is. Just through a sermon. And you say, yes, Lord. And you leave out of this building straightened up, a little bit closer. From my experience, though, the easiest way is through a sermon. But my upbringing and my experience spiritually says this. If it's not a sermon, Then for the believer, what will it be next? Or will it be next? What will it be? And don't think, well, it's just some mere chance hand this happened. The tree fell on my house and took out quarter of it. Oh, you think, oh, what some strange wind that blew. Do you not know from the New Testament who has the power to not only rebuke the winds and they do obey him? You say, oh, that couldn't be. Don't be so ignorant. They'll be so foolish. You'd say, well, I've just had a string of bad luck. Well, maybe you have, but I don't believe in luck. I believe in sovereignty. I believe in God's providence. I believe in the purpose of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. And if you're asking yourself, why oh why? Then I would ask this. Is there some sin in my life that needs to be confessed? Am I on the wrong road? And through the mercy and the goodness of God, is the Lord making the road hard, and put a lot of bumps in the road, so I'll get on a different road? Could it be that? Could it be the Lord's trying to draw you closer to Him, and the only way He knows to do it, as the old cliche saying goes, it's full of truth, and dripping in truth, should say, maybe you don't ever look up to your flat on your back. Don't keep nothing back. nothing back. Because if you do, you'll regret it. You will. No reserve, no retreat, no regret. Amen? They kept part of it back. They kept part of it back. Let's stand to our feet this evening. Don't waste your life. Don't let the devil tell you, well, you don't have to be all in to be in. That's not true. Well, they do tell a halfway lie. No, they told a lie. Just a little lie. You can't be halfway in and halfway out and be all the way in. It's impossible. They told a lie. They kept part of it back. Don't keep nothing back. But now's the time. Now's the time. Maybe you'd like to come and pray. Maybe you'd like to seek God's wisdom. Maybe you want to say, Lord, help me. Lord, why? Lord, I need to know. Show me the way. Forgive me, Lord. Help me to be all in, all in, all the way. Maybe you've gotten cold and dreary in your Christian life. You know what you need? An adventure. That's what you need. needing some new mountain to climb, some new sin to overcome. Has your life gotten boring? Boring, same day, same thing every day. You know what you need? A cross to carry. It won't get boring then, it won't be boring at all. You want time? Carry your cross. If there's a need this evening, you come. You will