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Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Loving The Things God Loves | Stephen Dufresne | World Harvest Church | Murrieta, CA
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Hi, I'm Grant Dufresne and welcome to Dufresne Ministries podcast channel. We believe that as you listen to this message, your faith will be stirred and you will be encouraged in whatever you are believing God for today. Stay tuned at the end of this message to find out more information about our ministry. About the middle of last year, I started to ask God to reveal to me about getting ready for financial prosperity in my life. The way I look at things is when I look around, I'm talking about all over the world, all over the United States, there's a lot of people looking for biblical prosperity but are not getting it. Is it true? You know, a lot of people, including myself, we confess, we do things and we expect for our lottery number to be called out of God's abundant bowl. Is that not right? Stephen Dufresne, you've been called up front for your financial prosperity. Come on up. You know, and that's not how it is. And I look around and I go, well, what makes me different from everybody else? You know, what makes me special? How do I get, how do I learn how to get the financial prosperity that God has for me? And this is the same question you should be asking God and say, father, what can I do to change me, to get ready? What can I do to be different? What can I do? Because seen some people and they're just waiting and waiting and waiting, but maybe he's waiting on us. And so that's the way I process things. And I said, father, reveal to me. Because I believe to have an abundant harvest, you have to be qualified. You just don't get money that rains down heaven if you're not qualified for it. God is very specific in who he's financially blessing because it can mess people up very badly. It can mess them up bad. And if your mind and your heart isn't right, God can only bless you to a certain measure. Because I am believing for great things in this ministry. I'm believing to have just a working budget for travel of a quarter million dollars a year. You don't do that by being the same I was last year or the year before. You have to progress in your knowledge, progress in your sincerity, progress in faith, progress in your love for him. And when you do these things, God can start prospering you in a greater way. A lot of people have a problem with money. It's a real problem. They covet it. And the Bible has talked much about it, about people consume it. It's precious to them. Why is it precious? Because they believe they can't get more of it, so they hoard it. And then, therefore, God can't use you. God can't use someone that's hoarding money. He's trying to get money out, but you're hoarding it in. And this is revelation to me because I was. Yesterday I was asking, I said, father, talk to me about being a blessing. Being a blessing. What does it mean to be being a blessing? You know, what does it really mean to be a blessing? You know, you give someone $5, is that a blessing? Sure. But is that all you want to do? Or what is it that makes me different? That God can use me in a great way? Amen. And today I want to talk about more about loving God and loving the things that he loves. But from the time that he made this place, he gave life to his man. He's given to his people. He has given, and they rejected him. They induced sin into this world. They received sin and it messed it up. And Jesus, excuse me, God sent Jesus to redeem us. What did he do? He gave and he gave. What did Jesus do from the time he was of age? He gave and he gave and he gave and then he gave some more. And then they said, you're a false prophet. You're a liar. And he says, I come, you have to receive me. If you hate me, you hate the Father. And they said, you preach blasphemy, we hate you. And what he continued to do, gave and give until he couldn't give anymore. He gave all he had. What most people are saying, father, what can you do for me? For me, for me, but what can you do for him? What can you do for him? Amen. Why do we give? This is what kind of. I heard it in my spirit and it was revelation to me. And I'll try to make it straight to you, but I saw it as, when you give, do we give financially just to be. Because the Bible says it. Yes, it does say it, but we can sometimes process. Well, the Bible says it. So I have to give. I have to give my finances. I got to give the first fruit, you know, and if someone gives me money, I mean, I really don't want to give. I mean, I wish that was free and clear that I don't have to give, you know, and it happens to all of us. And. But when you give, you become more like him. Every time you give your finances, what are you doing becoming more like him? The Bible says that we become more like our Father. More like him. The Bible says less of us, more of Him. Are we on a pursuit to be more like our Father? And to do that, we have to be givers. We give, we give, we give. And you say, well, I never receive because maybe you're not giving. Maybe you're not giving out of the right heart. Maybe when you give tithe, you see it as loss. And I've done that. Oh, here we go again. More tithe. You know, and they got this deal and they got that, and they got this, and they got that. But at the end of the day, what is the Church's purpose? You think we're in here hoarding this money and some. I mean, what are we doing with it? Giving, giving, giving. And sometimes we can be consumed with, what can God do for me? But we need to ask ourselves, what can I do for you? And if he's going to make you a person of great wealth, he has to know that you will give it away. Let's think about this for a minute. How many of you have given your life to Christ? Let me see a raise of hands. Okay, process that real quick. That you said, father, I give you my life. I give you my life. Have you all said that before? My life is now yours. And he goes, okay, if your life is mine, if your life is yours, then that means all your money is his. And your house, is that part of your life? That is part of your life, everything you possess, all that. But see, we don't process that. And God was revealing those things to me, and I said, oh, my God. That's really what that means, that when I give my life, I give all that is that is mine, it is no longer mine. I give it to you. And I ask you what I will do with it. Excuse me, what you will do with it. What would you have me do with everything I have? He is looking for people that are faithful. God is looking for people most like Him. He is looking for people that will give whatever he tells them to give. I want to be just so spiritually keen in giving that I just have a small unction, a kind of a press. Bobby, come here. And I just want God to go like that to me. Father, should I give and go? I don't want to be like, give. Sit down. We need to be just spiritually keen. Because if God has to manhandle us every time it's time to give, then he's not going to use you. He's not looking for people that don't want to give. He's looking for people that do want to Give. And I need to be willing to give everything I have. The Bible says, where your heart is is where your love is. And a lot of people, you know, their love is. I'm not diminishing family, but a lot of their time, you know, family's first. They say, but what about when you gave your life to God? And God says, I'm not trying to get rid of your family, but at least come to church once in a while. You know, come and do what I ask you to do. Amen. But we have got to learn, because I am training myself right now to be how to get wealth into my life, that I can be. That I can do what God tells me to do. And as I've gotten older, I've noticed some things. Because, you know, first you just confess. You confess, you confess, you keep confessing. And there's not a problem with confession, but we can take those out of context. Like, remember last time I talked about people love, when Jesus said, when he rebuked the tree, and then he said, hey, whatever you say shall come to pass. We go, hey, we like that one. We're going to pick and choose that one. But we forget what Jesus first taught his disciples to be fishers of men, that they love people. From the beginning, he was teaching his disciples to love people. Remember when the children came to Jesus that he may lay hands on them and bless them and. And the disciples rebuked him and said, back up, get out of here. What did he do? He said, no, let him come. Let him come. And they thought they were being a help. But Jesus is here to give. He came to give. And so we need to be more like our Father. Amen. Praise God. Praise God. I want you guys to go to Romans 8:28. We need to develop, to develop a great love for God and the things that he loves. Because when we develop a love for the things that he loves, then he can use us in great ways. People used to irritate me. I used to not like people. I just wanted to be by myself and don't mess with people because people are stupid and I don't want to mess with them. But I asked God to help me. I said, father, you're going to have to help me to like people because I just naturally don't really care. And he's done that in a great way for me. And if you don't like people, then you need to ask God to help you to like people. What's God taking to heaven? Is he taking cars to heaven? Is he taking Houses to heaven, Rolls Royces to heaven. What's he taking? People. He's taking souls. He's taking people. And sometimes we can be consumed with man, I need to have financial prosperity. How do I get more money? And there's more money. But we forget what we're actually here for. We forget. And I've forgotten before, too. I thought, man, you know, because that financial pressure just screams to you. It just pounds on your head when you don't have enough money. But I said, father, how can I help people if I'm poor? I can't help no one if I'm poor. Not many very poor people are helping other people. They can't even help themselves. But when you get into God's word and he starts renewing your mind and you start growing in the word of God. God can bless us in mighty ways. Amen. Are y' all there? I told y'. All. Romans 8, 28. And we know that all things work together for good. Now, most people take that one part and apply it, that God's in control of everything. And everything is work. God's control of everything. But it's not true. It's not true because they heard that from their grandma. They heard it from their grandma. And they heard that God giveth and God taketh away. And somehow it just became that. That's how God is. And everyone becomes a little ne in heaven. And they're little angels and that's it, right? I mean. And people go, yeah, they're in a better place. Are they in a better place? Were they born again? Well, they're. Now, they're. They're a strong angel in heaven. Are they? I mean, where are they getting this stuff? Off the Christmas tree, you know? And we know that all things work together for good to them. That what? Love God? Does everybody love God? No, not everyone loves God. There's a very small amount of people in this world that actually love God. I was praying a couple weeks ago, and he said to me, he said, most people don't love me. They like me. They don't love me. They like me. When you like somebody, you'll do a couple things for them here and there. And you'll show up every once in a while, right? But when you love somebody, you'll do anything for them. Amen. You'll do big things for them. Amen. So we need to make sure that we are developing a love for God. You say, Brother Seymour, well, how do I develop a love for God? Every morning when you get up, say, father, show me how to love you more. And then he's going to go be sweet to your wife. And you're like, hold on a minute. That was. I didn't know you asked me to do this. You know, it's her fault. It's her. Of course. Here we go. You know, what is God? God is love. God is love. And we need to be showing great love of God in our lives. We need to be. They. People need to be seeing God in us. Is that right? But most people, when they get upset, they're like, I'm gonna pound their brains out. I'm gonna hit them in the face. Boy, I'm gonna knock some fools out. And it's like, what happened? But you go to World Harvest Church, you know, and. And there's this thing of retaliation and revenge. If somebody did you wrong, you. You have to, you know, do it in return. And it's not true. Love puts down its pride. I don't care. Culturally, you know, if you're white, black, Mexican, Spanish, whatever, Cuban, it doesn't matter. When you come in and you give your life to God, that you said, I give my life to you. Therefore, you need to start living like the Master. We need to start living like Jesus did. His example that he showed more of him, less of us. Amen. Because we need the power of God to flow in our lives. We need financial prosperity in our homes. We need these things. And it's just not all about confession. It's about changing your heart, making a great love for God, letting God change you the way you think, the way. Because humankind can hold grudges for a long time, we can be upset for a long time. But the Bible says, you stop it. You stop being uptight. You stop. Let it go. Stop it. That's what love does. It says, you know what? It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. Not a big deal. There's people that just irritate the fire out of me. But I have to say, you know what? It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal, you know, so you have to keep yourself right. It is so important. Because we have so much tied with developing a love for God and becoming more like him. Because as you go further in God, your path gets narrower and narrower and narrower. And the things you used to do, you cannot do anymore. You can't look at the things you used to look at. You can't say the things you used to say. You can't fly off the handle the way you used to fly off the handle. You can't do these things. Why? Because you are becoming more like him. And it gets tighter and tighter and people say, I don't like the squeeze. And God says, okay, then stop there because somebody else is coming right behind you to take your place. He said, I am going through the whole earth and I am looking for people willing to put all on the line to serve me in a great way. And my eye is going to and fro and looking and looking. And you have to decide. And everyone likes to say, I'm that person. I'm that person. Pick me. And he goes, okay. And he starts pushing you into this, into the corridor. And you go, oh, no, oh no, oh no. And you say, no, I can't do it. He doesn't push anymore. He goes, okay, I still love you. Go ahead and back out. And when the pressure's on and you don't know what to do, when you don't know what to do, you need to praise God and say, father, oh, I worship you, Father. I don't know, boy. The finances is getting tight and things are looking worse than it was when it started. But, father, I know that you love me and I love you, father. And any dollars I have left, I give them to you. And I ask you what you would have me do with them. You know, that's something that God dealt with me. When people would give me any type of finances, any money from a $5bill to a hundred dollar bill. I say, father, I hold it up before God and I say, father, what do you want me to do with it? Because my first impression wants to go buy me something. Is that not true? But this is for me. And God said, I want you to start asking, well, you what? What I will have you do with it. And I said, yes, sir. Then I need to do that. Because why? Because I'm a giver and I need. God wants. He is looking for people that he can be a vessel that are a vessel that he can pull money out of to be given into other places that he loves. You're not the only person in this world, Jack. Neither am I. There is people that are dying and going to hell. And if God says, I want you to sell your house and give it to this, you say, yes, sir. Because I know you got more houses and you got more money and you got more. Because when I give, you give. And I'm becoming more like you. And it's just me giving everywhere. Amen. God is looking for people to give to. Amen, Ephesians. 5:1. A couple months ago we talked about wisdom. Because to have financial prosperity, don't you need some wisdom? We have to learn where the precious things are in this world. The precious things. And it says here, therefore, be imitators of God as dear children, imitators. That means when you see God, do something in the word of God, you imitate that. You imitate that. But people go, oh, that's a nice scripture. I hope someone around me will imitate God, but he's. You yourself need to say, when Jesus, in the word of God, it says, stop fighting, have love for one another. And you go, that's for me, that's for me. Even if you don't want to, it don't matter if you don't feel like walking in love. We gotta be imitators of God as dear children. And verse two, and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and has given what himself for us. An offering. You see that? An offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma. Our lives should be a sacrifice to God. And not all of you willing to do that. I'm just saying you're not willing to give everything you have to God. You can change that. Every person in here can say, I will do whatever God wants me to do. I will go wherever he wants me to go. Because I know the reason people don't want to do that is because they don't believe there's help when you decide to give. They don't believe that there's any more prosperity coming your way. They just don't. And I've asked God to help me. This is a big thing that I've been teaching you guys. Talk to God about situations in your life. Just don't put them off to the side. When you go to the grocery store and you're being cheap, ask the Father and say, should I be being cheap right now? Come on, ask God. But instead, you've done it your whole life. It's just become part of who you are. And we're always clipping coupons and we always go to the $5 store. You know, ask God, should I be going here? Should I be doing these things? Should I be saying that? Should I be praying that? Should I be spending my money on these things? What should I do? And when you do that, God can use you in a great way. Amen. Proverbs 8, 17. Says here, I love those who love me and those who seek me diligently. What does it mean to be diligent? It means every day you wake up and you talk with God, you pursue God, because a lot of people aren't diligent. They're not. They're just not. It's easy for life to overtake your life. It's easy for. For. For your car to break down and you be consumed with it. Broken down and the plumbing's broke and your job calls for you and your wife and the kids have rehearsals and all this stuff. And before long, you've forgotten. You've forgotten. And it's. I mean, there. I'm being honest. There's days where I'll wake up and I forget to even confess because the day has consumed me already. And I say, father, I apologize. I mean, I'm not doing it. I didn't wake up and say, how can I be a jerk to God today? I mean, it's just something that I naturally. Just. Life happened. And so we have to remind yourself. You have to say, no, I'm putting the right things first. I'm putting these things first. So we have to be diligent. And when you're Diligent, you'll find him. 18. Riches and honor are with me, not just temporary, but enduring riches and righteousness. 21. That I may cause those who what, love me to inherit wealth. I'm not talking about the like me love. I'm talking about the real love. The. Everything you have is his love. Your car belongs to him. If he says, give it, you say, praise God. God's got a better one for me. I mean, people think that God just takes and takes and he wants to rob you of your riches, but he doesn't. He's trying to make you more like him. And you said, father, make me more like you. And he goes, okay, give. And you go, hold on a minute. Hold on a minute. Let's talk this out. Once I get enough money to go buy another car, then, only then, Lord, will I give it. He says, okay, I'm going somewhere else. I'm going somewhere else. If you're at your job and you refuse to do your job, you know what they're going to do? They're going to get ready, and what are they going to get somebody else that'll do the job. And that's the same thing in the kingdom. He's going to give you a chance. He's going, but if you refuse, he's going to say, okay, I'm going somewhere else. I'm going to go to Brother Stephen and I'm going to put the geeter on him. And I'm Going to put the twist on him and see how he does. Thank you, Lord. Amen. You got to have a backbone to get into the word of God and get everything out of it and get the blessings that come out of being a word person. Amen 21. That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may feel their treasures. So as we make a love for him, he's promised us right here, you need to take these things as promised. When it doesn't show up in a week, you don't go. I tried and it didn't work. I've done it. I've fallen on the floor and throw a spiritual tantrum. Tantrum. I've done it. Just because it looks like your needs aren't going to be met, does that mean that he's not a good God? No, it means that you need to shut your mouth and get in the Bible and remind yourself what the word of God said. I don't feel like it. Neither do I. I want to be upset and I want to throw myself on the floor and roll around and be like, you know, it doesn't work. I'm going to go, you know, and come out, you know, hell fire, you know, and just mad. But if you repent and say, father, forgive me and keep moving forward, say, you know what? I'm back on track. I fell off my donkey. I'm doing good now. I'm up. I'm ready to go. He says, okay, let's go. You done? You done being a baby? Yes, sir, I'm done. I'm done. Okay? And that's very true with a lot of people, including myself. I've done but that. Remember that corridor gets smaller just because you used to jump off the donkey mad and jump out your seat mad. As your corridor gets smaller, he expects you to not act like that. He expects you to not act like that. And you get smaller and smaller. And when the finances aren't there, you go, that's all right. God's going to supply. God's going to supply his supply. But a couple years before, you used to throw a fit. If you have to ride a bicycle to work, you do it and smile and say, praise God. Praise God. God's going to supply for me. God is looking for hearty people, people that are willing to go to give everything. How do you love God? You love God? How do you show love for God? Do you just pray to him? Yeah, you can. I mean, but we have to show. How does he show love for you? He takes care of you. In return, you say, father, my finances are yours. Everything I have belongs to you. What is one of the greatest things you can always get? Money. But what is one thing you cannot get back? Time. Time is very precious. And when you come to the church and you put your time in as a volunteer or whatever, and there's a lot of people that are really ticked off that they have to come help all the time, and that's okay. If you're mad, then you know what? It's probably best you don't come, because obviously it's to no avail. You're just mad. And you're not going to get anything being mad. So it's just, you know. But when you change your heart and say, father, I sow my time. I sow my time in your kingdom. And they say, could you come clean? Clean the toilets? And you say, I don't want to clean the toilets. Stop it. Say, father, should I be cleaning the toilets? Yeah, you should. Okay, I'm going to go clean the toilets, and I'm going to smile because I know you have great blessing for me. I know that you have blessing for me. Do you know what I'm still doing when y'. All, when I'm up here preaching and y' all go home on tomorrow? Whatever. I'm cleaning the gutters, and I'm in here fixing plumbing, and I'm doing this and that and this and that. I don't always want to do that. I'm cleaning out the flower beds. I'm doing all kinds of stuff. Why are you doing that, Brother Stephen? Because it needs to be done. Nobody else is doing it, so I do it. No one else wants to do it, so I do it. And then I come up here on Sunday and preach the word of God to you. Amen. And Dee Dee gives me all kinds of weird stuff, you know, to do. I don't always agree with it, but I do it. Some of it's just crazy projects that they come up with. Amen. Let's go to Luke 18:21. I want to go back here. Let's go back up to 18 there. And it says, now a certain ruler asked him, saying, good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? So Jesus said to him, say, why do you call me good? No one is good but God. You know the commandments, do not commit adultery. Do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother. And he said, all these things have I kept from my youth. That's pretty impressive that this man has not Done any of those since he was a teenager. Most of us could not say that about ourselves. This young man was endeavoring to do right. And he thought he loved Jesus. He thought he loved the things of God because he kept the commandment. And it's rightfully so. And then Jesus went on, and then Jesus heard these things and said to him, you still lack one thing. One thing. Sell all that you have. And what? Distribute it to the poor. Why do you distribute to the poor? Because the poor can consume great wealth in seconds. It'll be gone in a flash. Is God asking him to take a vow of poverty that he was going to be poor just like the rest of them? Just poor disciples walking around Israel, not getting anything. I mean, they're just destined for failure. No, it's not true. Because he loved his wealth. Let's go on reading. You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor and you will have treasures in heaven. Come and follow me. If this man really was as wealthy he said he was, he would know how to re get it. There are certain people in this world, it is impossible for them to go broke. Look at. Let's just take an example. Elon Musk. You all know who he is. Started PayPal and then now he's a multi billionaire running SpaceX and Tesla and all these other companies. Is it possible if he were to lose it all, that he'd be out on the streets? No. You know why? Because he knows how to get wealth. And every Christian should know how to get wealth. Because when you love God enough, you know that when my duty is up, this young man. Because the way they used to travel back then, I mean, when you traveled, you were gone. I mean, there was no way to know what was going on at home, get rid of it. But you can get it back. But he said, I can't do that. And when he heard this, he became what sorrowful for he was very rich. So he walked away from God's goodness because money had him. When money has you, God can't use you. He can't use you in a great way. Amen. Are y' all being helped today? Are y' all just like man, I hurry up, Manny. Wish you'd hurry up and be quiet. God said this to me. People want to act like the prodigal son, but have the riches of the Father and most. Because we want our natural bodies to be happy. And to do that, you have to get into sexual sin, alcohol, not being with God for sure, lazy, all those things. And that's what happened with this young man. He said, father, give me the wealth that belongs to me. Because he already planned to go live hell on earth. He did. He said, I'm going to go with prostitutes, I'm going to go get drunk. I'm going to just waste it all. And obviously he lost it all and he ended up eating with the pigs. And he said, my servants, my father's servants eat better than I do. And here I am with nothing to show for my wealth. Amen. God, somebody that knows about money, you know that when you invest it in the right ways, it makes money for you. And God is a great investor and he knows the secrets to investing. He knows if you can get enough money, it can make money for you and you don't have to do anything. God is trying to get his people to live in that flow. Remember, dad, you say we should be able to take off a whole year without doing anything and have enough to cover and eat out every meal and to do all the things we need to do. And we still haven't reached that position. And I can still hear my dad preach that sermon. And I say, stephen Dufresne, what are you doing? What are you doing to pursue that? That God told him that's where the Christians should be, that right? I know you guys heard it. And I am pursuing to get to that position that because God never fails. And as long as you have you think he's going to fail you, you better get back in the word and apologize and say, father, show me in your word. I ask you to lift me up. Father, I'm asking for your to show me, show me, show me. And he said, he's the revealer of secrets. He has so much wisdom that your mind would be blown if he could give you some of it. But I'm asking God for wisdom because he's looking for responsible people that he could put money into. He's not looking for fashion queens to go just spew it all on junk. And it's kind of become this thing with prosperity and Christians. If you don't have a nice house, you don't have a nice car. And I'm not saying you shouldn't have those things. I believe every Christian should. But you should be willing to give it all away. I really don't believe that God is a God, that he's going to rob you silly and leave you bone dry and say, aaron, I a good father. Amen. Jesus said, what evil man gives a stone to his child in place of bread and what does the other one in place and gives him a snake. And most Christians believe that's what God is actually doing. He's screwing them over. That's what most Christians think, you know, I better hold on to my money. And he's not that kind of God. He's trying to get blessing to us, but we have to trust him, him in all ways. We have to give ourselves to Him. Amen. Y' all being helped. John 15:17. And it says here these things, I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that. It hated me before you. It hated you. Let's go down to 23. I saw something here today, 23, that I've never seen before. And it says, he who hates me hates my Father also. Did you know there's other religions in this world that serve the same God you and me do? They do. But I thought, well, maybe they do love God. And then I saw that this morning. I said, there's no way that they love God because they don't love Jesus. And if you don't love Jesus, you don't love God. And they would say, you're a liar. You're blasphemy. Jesus was not. He was nothing but a prophet. It was this and that. It's not true because the word of God says it. He who hates me hates my Father also. You can't get around it. Amen. I want to go to. Let's go over John 6:60. We have to be sober about how much we love God. There's a lot of people think that they're the bee's knees in being faithful servants of God. But there was a lot of people that used to follow Jesus coattail, and they messed up. And what makes you better than them? So we need to ask ourselves and be sober about ourselves always being correctable. Amen. This is the sermon where he says, he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. I'm going to go to 60. Therefore, many of his disciples, when they heard this, they said, this is a hard saying. Who can understand it? So they're already talking and saying, boy, you said something that you shouldn't have said. And it's backfiring now. And Jesus knew in himself that his disciples complained about it. And he said to them, does this offend you? I'm going to go down to 63. It is the Spirit who gives life, and the flesh profits nothing. The word that I speak to you are spirit and they are life. But there are Some of you that do not believe. And Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe. I'm going to go down to 66. And from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked with him. What? No more. Why? Over something he said and they didn't understand. They just didn't understand it. Instead of saying, you know what? I don't understand Jesus. Can you explain that to me a little bit more? They just said, I'm not getting involved in this, because that's crazy. And they walked away over something. Somebody said, if you hear something from the pulpit and it offends you, get over it and ask God and say, father, is that right? Is that right? There can be a lot of religion that is put into us from a young age. And sometimes you think what Mama said is biblical, but really it's not. Amen. So you put it with the word of God, and if it lines up, then praise God. You get corrected, you move on. And Jesus said to the 12. So he turned to his main guys, do you also want to go away? For Simon Peter answered him and said, lord, to whom will we go? You have the word of eternal life. So these men were understanding. I don't understand. But I know there's nowhere else better for me to be. There's no way better. Just because you've heard something that you didn't understand or you agree with, that doesn't mean it's wrong. And these men obviously thought it was wrong. When you look back at Jesus life, they. Everyone's goal, pretty much everybody's goal that was somebody was to kill him, to kill Jesus. He went to the synagogue and he preached. And he told him. He said, I'm saying what God has put inside of me, that you're of your father, the devil. And they just lit up. They're like, what? You know, I mean, they were just infuriated over this teaching. And there was other people, other people in the synagogue that knew Jesus was right and he was proving it was signs, wonders and miracles. But they refused because they liked the praise of men. They wouldn't separate to go that way because they didn't really love him. They just liked him, you know, Amen. There is. We look back at Solomon. You know, Solomon had one of the greatest empires that mankind has ever known, and God blessed him tremendously. But as he got older, he started to gather more wives and more wives. And he loved women so much that he let their gods. It says that the Pharaoh's daughters and all these other women, the ammonites whatever, all those started to wane his eye off God. And as he got older, he starts worshiping Ra and the sun God and all these other gods. What happened? He had a great love for God. God wouldn't have blessed him if he did. He gave a great offering of, I think it was like a thousand head of cattle. He burned them. They're gone. But he got off. And Jesus said, God said, because you've got off, all this will be gone. All this will be gone because you forgot about me. And we have to make sure that we keep that love for God alive and don't let life. What happened? He let these gods. But it doesn't have to be the sun God or the alligator God. It can be a car, a house, a relationship. And that becomes your God. It consumes you, you worship, takes you out of church, it causes problems in your family, but you gonna keep it because it's your God. Amen. Am I helping some folks? Amen. Who's God hanging out with? People most like him. That's who God is, hanging out with people most like him. He's looking for people that have pure hearts and want to be right. If you just think you're right, you're probably wrong. Because people that just think they're right, they're probably wrong. And so therefore, when you're always correctable, you say, father, am I right? What do I need to change in my life? And God can use us in mighty ways if we do that. Amen. John 12:42. I'm almost done. This is the scripture I just said. Nevertheless, even among the rulers, many believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. You say, well, what about. I ask you, what about your family? If you go to church so much, is your family going to put you out? Is people in your family going to put you out? And there's a lot of families that do that, that you're too crazy about Jesus, right? I mean, that's all you talk about, Stephen, is Jesus. Can we talk about something else? I mean, you listen to preaching tapes all the time. I mean, what are you doing? I mean, you just do all this stuff. You have to be careful that you don't try to win their approval by acting like them. Just because they don't agree doesn't mean you have to win their approval. You don't have to be like them. They should think you're crazy about God. Absolutely. Don't even talk to Stephen because he's crazy about God. Don't even talk to Dee Dee because she's crazy about you, Jesus. Don't even try to change her mind. Don't try to keep her out of church. Right, girl? I know, because she's going to call your eyes out. 43. For they love the praise of man more than the praise of God. So it is so important, brother and sister, about what we put first in our lives, about the way we worship God and the way we commit ourselves to God. Because I am trying to get into some flows that I can't get with basic revelation. I can't. I can't just get there by confessing every day. I have to start refining my spirit, refining my thinking into a greater measure. Amen. We remember Pilate. I want to go to Matthew 27:22 and then I'll close. There is people that will be. I could say it like this, demonically influenced to try to break you. There is people that will mock the things of God. There was a man that was. He was in a town, and he was. My mom was there, and he was, I guess, a family friend for a long time. And he got and came to the house, and they were talking, and he started mocking the things of God with a great way. He said, well, Nancy, can you lay hands on me and make me heal? And then just laughed at her and laughed at the things of God. And that is. I mean, you gotta be half crazy in my mind to say those things about God. Am I gonna sucker punch you? I don't know, but I know Brother Graves will. And they mock God and they mock the things of God. And they say, oh, look at me. I'm gonna lay hands on you. You know, they're making fun of it, and it's beyond inappropriate. It's devilish. It's devilish to make fun of the things of God. Pilate said to them, I'm in Matthew 27:22. And Pilate said to them, what then shall I do with this Jesus that you call Christ? And they said to him, let him be crucified. Then the governor said, why? What evil has he done? What has he done? He's out healing people. I mean, he came in on the Sabbath, whatever, and he calls himself a king. Pilate didn't understand it, but he knew, why are we killing this man? What's the point of killing this man? That if he was crazy, why is he, you know, if he says he's God, it doesn't really matter. And they said, no, no, no, no, no. And they cried out all the more, saying, let him be crucified. Then Pilate saw that he could not prevail. So they were just in turmoil and screaming and just beside themselves. So here's a man that comes from a society of false gods and realizes this is demonic. This is crazy. You guys are just like, devil's coming out of your head. And the people answered and said, his blood be on us and our children forever. Whoo. I just got chills saying that. That is beyond demonic, that you would say he's done nothing wrong but make him upset. And this is what people are doing in the world. The devil is influencing people to provoke you and to mock the things of God. God came to give. What's the opposite? The devil does take. God gives and the devil takes. We have got to be more like God. Amen. Have you been helped today? Let his blood be on us and our children forever. And they released the thief that had been stealing from all of them. What kind of jacked up head do you got to have to do this? What did Jesus do when he was hanging on the cross? He said, father, we do the same whether you want to or not. Father, I ask you to forgive them because they know not what they do. He knew that Satan was behind this. He knew they were being influenced in a great way, but he said, forgive them. That man that said that about when Mom, I got pretty ticked and I didn't think it was funny, but he's going to a place for eternity and I should have compassion on that man's soul because he don't want anything to do with God and he don't want to change. And I think, oh, my God, bless him, Lord, in any way you can send people across his path that he sees the things of God because he is going. Dad used to say, go ahead and stand up. Dad used to say, if I wake up every morning and have to get in the airport at 3 o' clock in the morning and fly across the world and do this my whole life for one soul, for one person, it's worth it. Amen. And so I encourage you. We're here for a reason. We're not here for God to consume us with his wealth. He will do that. But as you give out, Jesus said to his disciples, I want you to be fishers of men. When Jesus came back, Peter came back to him and he said, said Peter, remember, Peter denied Jesus. I know he had a love for Jesus and the things of God. I know he did. But he was under great distress for his life. People were saying, we know that you. And he said, I don't want anything to do with this man. I don't know who he is. And he rebuked him. And he said, I don't know God. And he was in a bad place. But when Jesus came back, Jesus said, you see the compassion? I mean, the natural point, Once it says, you deny me, you're a complete jerk. You know, I don't want anything to do with you. And he came back and he said, peter, do you love me? He said, I love you. Do you love me? I love you. Do you love me? I love you. Then feed my sheep. It is so important, brother and sister, that we don't forget while we're here. You know, you have revelation about God and the things of God. You may not be Morgan or me or Pastor Nancy. You may not have as much revelation as we have. And I'm not saying I have very much, but I'm saying be confident in what you do know and ask God for more. And don't just sit around and say, well, I don't know much about God, then that's your own fault. Learn more. Get greater wealth about God. Get greater wealth about his love and say, father, show me your love. Show me how to love your people in a great measure. Show me how to have compassion and God can use us in a great way. Amen. I love you guys. You guys are important to us. We really do love you, or else we wouldn't be here. We love you guys more. We trust you've enjoyed this message. Visit us at defrayministries.org to learn of our upcoming meetings, share your testimony, become a partner, or visit our online store. This program has been made possible by the friends and partners of DefrayMe Ministries.