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Times Square Church - Sermons
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT THERE WAS NO HOPE FOR YOUR FUTURE - Tim Dilena
00:57:42
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Pastor Tim
We start, as many of you know, chapter by chapter is going into the book of Joshua this week. And I think this is such an important part because God began to put something on my heart for today. You have no idea. And I may, I'm not going to probably tell you today. We'll see. But you have no idea what it took for me to get here today to speak. I was yesterday speaking to leaders in Brussels, Belgium and got on a flight to get here and it was nothing short of a miracle that got me here. So I said, God, either either you're testing Satan is attacking me, or you're testing me. But you must have something you want to say to everybody here. So I'm believing. I want to take you to an often skipped passage and chapter in the Bible. And I want you. You're going to see the unexpected grace of God today. Can I just say this? God's grace is greater than the curses of men. God's grace is greater than the failures of people. And God's grace is greater than the lies of the enemy. And you're going to see God's grace in a very obscure List of 48 cities in the book of Joshua. I want to talk to you about these words. Just when you thought there was no hope for your future, here comes God's grace. Just when you thought there was no hope for your future, here comes God's grace. This is for anyone that felt like you've messed up so bad that there's no coming back from this horrible decision. Don't count out the grace of God. Don't count it out. God can put the pieces back together. The Bible says he does not treat us as our sins, deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. And as far as the east is from the west, so far he has removed our transgressions from us. Can anyone say Amen? Father, in these next few moments? God, I know what you put on my heart and I'm going to pray that you would just help me, give me the. The clarity, give me the help of the Holy Spirit. And let people that may have come into this place today, watching online, whether it's on Sunday or throughout the week, let them be blindsided by grace today. Let them experience the grace of God today, Father, not just some theological explanation. Let the grace of God come today in a powerful way. In Jesus name we pray. And everybody said Amen. God bless you. You may be Seated. Thank you so much. I was reading the story of something that happened a few years ago at a Bible college in the US it was the final exam. As they were coming, as many of those are watching in the university were coming to the end of the spring semester. And it was at this seminary was for their youth pastor's class. Let me read to you the story that took place. It said. The student said, I left work early so I could have some uninterrupted study time for my final exam in the youth ministry class at my Bible school in this Missouri Bible college. When I got got to class, everybody was doing their last minute studying. The teacher came in, said he would review some of the things before the test. His review came with the study guide. But there were some things that we didn't hear about. But the teacher said it was all in the book, so we couldn't argue with that. Finally, it was time to take the test. And then these are the words that many of us used to cringe hearing as we distribute the test. Leave them face down until everyone has one and I'll tell you when to start. The professor instructed us. Now here's the part I want you to hear, he said when we turn them over. To my astonishment, every answer on the test was filled in. My name was even written on the exam in red ink. And the bottom of the last page said these words. This is the end of the exam. All the answers on your test are correct. You will receive an A on the final exam. The reason you passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get the A. You have just experienced grace,
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Congregation Member / Assistant
They said. Dr.
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Pastor Tim
Huffy then went around the room and asked each student this what is your grade now? And then he would say, did you deserve that grade? And how much did all your studying help you to get this final grade? And then he said these final words. Some things you learn from lectures, some things you learn from research. But some things you can only experience. You've just experienced grace. I love those words. You just experienced grace. I'm going to read to you 48 names of cities. I'm going to go by fast. You may recognize one. For others you may recognize two or three. I didn't recognize but just a few. But what I realized when I was reading this, as I was reading grace, I was reading the mercy of God. 48 cities that meant grace. 48 cities in the book of Joshua, that meant a second chance. It's an often over skipped over chapter because. Because the chapters that come next are really some powerful narratives in the book of Joshua. And it's easy to look at these cities that are just mentioned and just to leave it. It was given to a group of people that were told that that they would get nothing in the promised land decades earlier because of their failures, because of their disappointments, and because their father said, you won't get anything. And then grace stepped in and filled in the answers of the test. 48 cities were given to a group of people called the priests, the Levites. The Bible says In Joshua, chapter 21, verse 8, now the sons of Israel were gave by lot to the Levites, these cities with their pasture lands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses. Now folks, let me just read them to you and you're going to understand at some point why this is really a second chance. This was the grace of God. 48 cities, they are given in the promised land. And here's the cities. Kiriath, Arba, Hebron, Libna, Jader, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Judah, Beth, Shemesh, Gibeon, Gaba, Anatoth, Almon, Shechem, Gazer, Gibzium, Betharon, Eltechi, Gibbethon, Aijalon, Gathriman, Tayanak, Golan, Baish, Tera. I practiced these a little bit. Kishion, Deborah, Jarmus, Enginim, Mishael, Abdon, Helkath, Rehab, Kadesh, Hamath, Dor, Kartan, Jechneim, Carta, Dimnah, Nahalo, Bazer, Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, Ramoth, Mahanom, Heshbon, and Jazar. You should just say Amen for me getting through that right now. And this is how the book ends. Let me read to you how the book ends after all these cities. I'll explain this. Now, the Bible says this. At the end of that chapter, not one word failed. From all the good words God spoke to the house of Israel, everything came out right. I love that phrase, everything came out right. This is so important. I want to take you on a journey for just a few minutes that some of you here today, I believe are going to experience grace. Remember these words. God never fails. Remember, God keeps his promises. And remember, when you walk with God, everything comes out right. Joshua 21 is the end of the story of a man that seemingly messed up his whole future. This is so important. This is the story on how an angry man miserably gets a second chance and is used by God. And in Fact, it's how a murderer gets called into the ministry. And some of you are going, are you speaking about the Apostle Paul? This is centuries before the Apostle Paul. His man's name was Levi and he killed a lot of people. And his father spoke words of death over him and cursed his future. But God was going to allow this man to experience grace after his conversion at 33 years old. The great Christian author C.S. lewis, who has books have touched so many from mere Christianity, the Narnia series are just iconic. He said, 20 years after being a Christian, he's 53 years old. He said he had this seismic reconversion that just changed everything. He writes to a friend a letter describing this experience with the grace of God 20 years after conversion, 20 years later, he's 53 years old. And he began to say that. Describe the difference between this intellectual understanding of my sins are forgiven versus this experience. There are people here that can just tell you what grace is, but has never experienced what the grace of God is. Listen to what Lewis writes to a friend. He said, during the past year, a great joy has befallen me, difficult though it is. I shall try to explain these in words. It is astonishing that sometimes we say we believe, but really in our heart, we do not believe. For a long time, I believed in the forgiveness of my sins, but suddenly this truth appeared in my mind in so clear a light that I perceived that never before, after confessions and absolutions, that I had believed it with my whole heart. So great is the difference between a mere affirmation by my intellect and. And the faith that fixed in the very marrow as it were, palpable inside of me that it became so intense that it could be felt and touched. He was talking about this awakening in him. I have to say, Joshua 21 is palpable. You're going to feel something even greater than just reading 48 Cities. What I thought was just a boring chapter of 48 Cities was in actuality, actuality, this awakening of grace. It was an experience that God does make everything come out right for those that will trust in him. It's an experience of grace that you didn't deserve, but it's by the mercy of Jesus Christ, it's experiencing Jesus that changes everything. I was telling some of our leaders, I said, I was just gone for five days last week, speaking to leaders and pastors in Brussels. And I said, you couldn't. You couldn't watch over the city for five days. You have a couple going up to the Empire State Building proposing to each Other I said you couldn't keep an eye on things. Then. Then you have all these ships and fireworks.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
You.
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Pastor Tim
You couldn't stop the heat wave coming. And then finally you have a wedding at Madison Square Garden with Taylor Swift. I said you couldn't keep things under control.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
I'm gone for five days.
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Pastor Tim
I have to tell you.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
It was just.
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Pastor Tim
I was laughing at this as someone was talking to me about this Taylor Swift wedding. No shade on her. But I just have to say something about fame today and with people and the culture we live in, folks, because I have to tell you, what's popular today won't be popular in a couple years. What? You know, now, one of the people that I've read many of his books from Switzerland said this. He says there's four levels of fame. He said, level number one is, who is Taylor Swift? Level number two, is that Taylor Swift. Level number three, that's Taylor Swift. Level number four, who is Taylor Swift?
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Congregation Member / Assistant
And it's nothing.
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Pastor Tim
It's. You could put anybody's name in there. Because here's what you have to realize is that I want you to experience grace. Not Taylor, not New York City, and not even America. Because the only name that lasts forever is the name of Jesus Christ. That's the only thing that lasts forever.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
Because when we celebrate the 300th birthday
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Pastor Tim
of America, let me just be honest with you, not many of you are
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Congregation Member / Assistant
going to be around.
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Pastor Tim
You're going to be with Jesus. So you're going like, no, but I work out and I eat tofu. You're not going to be here. You're going to be gone. You'll be out. Understand something. That's why the only name that really matters is Jesus Christ. And experiencing who Jesus Christ is. So important that we recognize that today Jesus will always be here. He is. He never changes. Now, let me just walk you through a quick journey today and show you grace today. Number one, I want to talk to you about this man named Levi. I want to talk to you about that day that messed up my whole future. I want you to put in your name there, what was that day that may have messed up? I want to tell you about Levi's Day. The great London pastor D. Martin L. Jones said this. Grace always gives sin always takes away. Grace always gives sin, always takes away. We all, we always experience the takeaway of sin. The tribe of Levi, this man Levi is going to experience both sin took away in Genesis 34 and Grace gave back in Joshua 21. I have to believe that when I read this list I was shocked to see number 15 on the list. This is going to be important because number 15 on the Joshua 21 list, I think is a trigger word. I'll explain it to you. It's the city of Shechem. It was a trigger word for this man. Let me explain to you what happened in Genesis 34 is the day that Levi wished he could have lived over again. His sister Dinah just got raped in the city of Shechem, and he is furious. It's where it all started for him. And now he's going to inherit the city that he failed in. Let me tell you about the failure. Jacob has just left his Uncle Laban after some two decades of working for him, and he's on his way back home with his wife and his family. And they stop in this city called Shechem. A man named Hamor is attracted to Levi's sister Dinah, and in a sense, date rapes her. He's attracted to her, lures, lures her in, rapes her, and then says, I want to marry you. I'm in love with you. His anger, Levi's anger is so uncontrollable that he brings in his brother Simeon, and they come up out of revenge. They come up with this elaborate plan that they are going to kill every male in Shechem. They are going to come in through this plan. This is what it says in Genesis 34.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
25.
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Pastor Tim
Two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unaware, and they killed every male in that city. You could read the story for yourself.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
It's tragic.
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Pastor Tim
It's a. It's a desert city. It's a nomadic city. Many historians believe it's probably a hundred people that he's killing there. A hundred, 100 males that these two men killed out of revenge and out of anger. I was thinking about Levi, and my mind went back to a man that. I'll tell you a story. I'll tell you a story throughout. His name was Captain John. He. He saw the power of God in his family, just like Levi did, but decided to live his own life where Levi's day that he wished he could live over was a day of revenge. Captain John wasn't out of revenge. He pursued greed in his life. Both Levi and Captain John destroyed the lives of so many people living for these two things, greed and revenge. Captain John was captain of his own slave ship at the turn of the 18th century that would take families from West Africa, some of the nations we mentioned, even on the screen today would take families, complete families, or even just rip away husbands and fathers or children and take them from the West African nations, put them in chains and sell them into a life of slavery and servitude. Both of these men destroyed families and cities. Greed and revenge are the very things that began to do this after Levi kills a hundred men. And Simeon, I want to talk to you about when horrible words get carved into your soul. Horrible words were spoken over Levi's life from his dying father. His father's name is Jacob. Jacob would prophesy about the anger of his two sons. Just 15 chapters later, the final words that Levi would hear from the lips of his own father is devastating. I want to read it to you out of the message. Listen to these words. This is what just before Jacob passes away, this is what he says over his son Simeon and Levi. He says, you're two of a kind, ready to fight at the drop of a hat. I don't want anything to do with their vandenas. I want no part their bitter feuds. They kill men in fits of temper. They slash oxen on a whim, a curse on their uncontrollable anger, on their indiscriminate wrath. And then he says this. I'll throw them out with the trash. I'll shred and look at these words and I'll scatter them like confetti throughout Israel. One of the versions says, I'm going to scatter them. They'll have no inheritance in Israel. They'll have nothing. This is a father speaking. This is a dad that's speaking over their lives. Can you imagine? Jacob had been storing this up against these two boys for decades, waiting for this moment. He just like let it out and lets it out just before his funeral. This is how he's been feeling. This, this in a sense patriarch just says, I want nothing to do with these two boys. Can you imagine these two boys hearing these words from the lips of their father? This had to be overwhelming. Sin really does take away. It was going to try to take away their future, take away a relationship with their father. I realized more and more, Let me just say this to parents. Let me say this to me as a parent. Our children hearts are like wet cement that when you say things, it gets carved in there and stays a long time. There are people that are sitting here today that you've had things that have been said to you by a father that are still. That was wet cement on a young life, a young soul, a teenager, an elementary student, maybe Even a college student. And when they said those words, it's been etched inside of you. Can you imagine, Levi, hearing these words? I hope they scatter you like confetti over the promise. I want nothing to do with you. I throw you out with the trash.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
That's Jacob.
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Pastor Tim
Those words are haunting. And some of you sit here thinking to yourself, feeling the anxiety, feeling this mental anguish of what's come on you. When we were in Brussels and getting ready to speak, I was down in the lobby and I was studying, was reading something and pastored. All over the TV down there, the news comes on and it says, if you've got mental anxiety, if you're struggling with this, with. With literally just mental. Just that your mental wellness is. Is not intact, There are new answers now. If you buy these new Nike shoes, I'm telling you, it's all over Europe. If you buy these $200 shoes, they put this new technology on the bottom, these bubbles on the bottom that help your mind to think better. If you would just wear these shoes. Those who have been struggling with mental anxiety. You've got it all wrong. You got the wrong shoes.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
You've got the wrong shoes on. Can I just help you? Today you can buy 10 pairs of Nike shoes. The only one that can keep your mind in perfect peace is Jesus himself. I'm sorry, Nike. You just can't do it. Bubbles on your bottoms of your shoes doesn't fix your mind. Jesus fixes our minds and our souls. Save your money. Go to Fifth Avenue.
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Pastor Tim
You need to experience God's grace, because God's word is greater than man's word. Sin always takes. Grace always gives. And while we were there, I was reminded of this. It just hit me. So when we were speaking to leaders, sometimes you forget how close the other countries are. Some eight friends and pastors and leaders drove the two hours to come to this leaders conference in Brussels. And they drove in from Amsterdam. And two of the people that drove in are connected to the ministry here. It's the granddaughter and her husband that are pastors in Amsterdam who is the granddaughter of the first Teen Challenge graduate and drug addict to be set free when Teen Challenge opened its doors in Brooklyn. Her grandfather's name was Sonny Arganzoni, and she was there. She's living out a heritage. And she reminded me of something that I just kept writing down. Because whenever I talk to their family members, listen to me carefully. They talk about my father. This is an emotional part for me. They talk about my dad. Just pause, and I'm going to Tell you this story in a second. This is what I believe. When you're growing up, your heart is like wet cement and you're hearing words carved in there. Words of life and words of death. Can I tell you some good news today? When you become a Christian, the Bible gives us a new heart, that new words can be carved in there. New thoughts, new things, new truths. God's truth can be carved into our soul. The dad that may have said, I
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Congregation Member / Assistant
want nothing to do with you. You don't receive anything.
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Pastor Tim
Now all of a sudden, God begins to make the heart, the Bible talks about this in Ezekiel, soft again and allows it to. To be carved with words of truth. And they reminded me, Sonny Argonzoni's granddaughter reminded us of what my dad did. When Sonny Argonzoni became a Christian, he is. He was already on his 10th felony, appearing before 10th crime, appearing before the judge. And they're about to throw the book at him. And it's to say, you're not only a criminal, that literally we're going to put you in your habitual criminal, but you're a drug addict, you are an addicted, and you're a habitual criminal. And then I remember them telling me the story. My father told me the story. Sonny Arganzoni told me this story. He said, your father carved new words on his heart and said, because you're born again, I'm going to stand before the judge for you. And my father went before that judge and said, judge, I've never done this before, but here is a. As an inspector in the New York City Police Department, I want you to know Sonny is a born again Christian now. And I believe that God has changed his life. And I'm going to ask you to do this. I'm going to ask you to parole him into my custody. He's going to go into Teen Challenge program, and you're going to see a miracle take place in that man's life. And it was as if a New York City policeman carved in new words into his heart and said, you're not habitual.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
You're not a drug addict one time
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Pastor Tim
or a habitual drug addict.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
You are a new creation in Jesus Christ.
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Pastor Tim
And he said, think about it.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
And then all of a sudden, God
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Pastor Tim
begins to work a miracle in Sonny Arganzoni's life.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
And as a result, Victory outreach starts
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Pastor Tim
in 33 countries around the world.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
700 churches have been planted around the world, 300 programs to rescue people from an addiction of drugs and alcohol. And God did it because you know What God does is when man carves the wrong words, God will soften the heart and carve in the right words. Hallelujah. That's why the Bible says, where sin has increased, grace abounded all the more. Hallelujah.
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Pastor Tim
I have to admit, when I read Joshua 21 and the grace of God, that he just didn't give him a city, he gave him an abundance. The words of his father said, you get nothing, you get nothing. And the words of Joshua 21 says, you get 48 cities. I was reading about this distribution, and I kept thinking, how does this happen? Listen to Joshua 21, verse 1. Then the heads of the households of the Levites approached Eleazar and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, and these are the words that kept popping out, that Levi kept saying, the Lord
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Congregation Member / Assistant
commanded through Moses to give us cities
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Pastor Tim
to live in with their pasture lands to our cattle. So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance, these cities with their pasturelands, according to the command of the Lord. And when you read that chapter, you'll
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Congregation Member / Assistant
see that phrase showing up.
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Pastor Tim
The command of the Lord, the command of the Lord, which means God's word is always greater than man's words. That whole thing starts going up and
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Congregation Member / Assistant
saying, according to what my father told me, I get nothing.
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Pastor Tim
But according to what my father told
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Congregation Member / Assistant
me, he's got a blessing that he's going to give to my life here. According to my father, I messed up my future. But according to the Father, I've got, I'm going to experience his grace today and experience what God can do. According to my father, he wants nothing to do with me. But according to the Father, he's got a plan for my life. Hallelujah.
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Pastor Tim
This judged tribe was given grace, and God commanded it. But here is what the turnaround was. This is the part I want to tell you the current the. It was as if this curse that Jacob scratched into the heart and soul of Levi was reversed. In Exodus 32. It started in Genesis 34. The grace comes in Joshua 21, packed in there. And this is what I'll close with today is Exodus 32. Some of you are looking at the clock on 11:30. He's closing. We all know what it means. Nothing. Levi. Yeah, I have one person saying, thank you, Lord. And the others are all Levi. Levi was a fighter. This is a man with uncontrolled rage. But Levi, in Exodus 32 got the fight right. That, that, that, that fury inside of him. It was when, when not given over to God, the fury turns into revenge, road rage, bitterness. But when it's given over to God, it could become a righteous anger. It could become the turning over of the tables that Jesus began to do in the temple. And this fury would turn into a righteous anger. It's the story. Exodus 32 is the story of Aaron making a golden calf to be worshiped right after the crossing of the Red Sea. And here in this horrible darkness of watching the children of Israel fall into idolatry, the shining light comes out. It's Levi. But now the anger is used righteously. Instead of revenge filling Levi's heart, a righteous anger did. It was the anger of Jesus turning over tables in the Gospels. And Levi was used by God to not murder innocent people in a city, but to go after 3,000 idol worshipers in Israel. And Levi was about to experience something that CS Lewis talked about at age 53. This would be his age 53 moment. This would be the moment in Exodus 32 that he would turn over the test and all the answers would be there. And you get an A on a test that you didn't even deserve. The tribe that heard from their father that their future would be darkened because of their anger. But now see a breakthrough. And God did something for Levi in Exodus 32. Let me show you this grace that happens here. Look at verse 25. Moses saw the people were simply running wild. Aaron had let them run wild, disgracing themselves before their enemies. He took up a position at the entrance of the camp and said, whoever is on the low, on God's side, join me. And all the Levites stepped up. And all of a sudden then Moses told the Levites, today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, for you obeyed him, even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers. Now he will give you a great blessing that what you were cursed with, now God is going to use you. You came to the Lord's side, you made a decision to cross over. And what was seemingly etched in your heart and soul, that you'd be nothing, that you will not inherit any land. Something is about to happen. The great blessing would be the priesthood. 48 cities in the new promised land. And the word of God winning over the curse of a father. That grace would win sins. Results are devastating.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
But.
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Pastor Tim
But the grace of God is greater. As I heard someone say, we could never sink so far that God's grace will not reach us. And at the same time, grace does not leave us there. It raises us up to new heights. And something is about to raise this man up to new Heights. That Joshua 21:45 is true. Not one word failed.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
From all the good words God spoke to the house of Israel. Everything came out right.
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Pastor Tim
Because it's God's word. Everything came out right. I was reading in Ron Davis book, it's called A Forgiving God in an Unforgiving World. And he tells this story about a priest from the Philippines. This priest had carried a weight of a particular sin that's never mentioned that plagued his conscience for years. That something got etched on his heart and he could not bring himself to effective ministry because this. He hasn't experienced grace. He could speak about grace, he can write about grace, but never had that age 53, CS Lewis experienced, never had the turn over the test and see the miracle of the Creator of the test. He said that this pastor carried the weight of one particular sin that plagued his conscience for years. He said, I repented multiple times, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was still unforgiven, that God was still angry, that God, that my future was sealed, that there was no hope for my future. He said at one point in his ministry, he hit the lowest point and he met a lady in his church that was a great prayer warrior. And she claimed to just have these encounters with Jesus. And he was always skeptical about it because his own. His own life was covered with guilt. His own life, he felt so distant from God. So anybody would talk about having these. These encounters with the Holy Spirit, he kind of threw off. And so the priest was so skeptical, so he skeptical. So we decided to test her by saying, I put it on the screen. Their conversation says, the next time you speak with Christ, I want you to ask him what sin your priest committed while he was in seminary. The woman agreed. A few days later, the priest asked, well, did Jesus visit you in your dreams? And she said, yes, he did. She replied, and did you ask him what sin I committed in seminary? And she said, yes, he did.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
Well, what did he say?
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Pastor Tim
He said, I don't remember. That's grace. I don't remember. As far as the east is from the west, he forgives us of our sins.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
Hallelujah. That's what happens. That makes me want to shout and say hallelujah for the grace of God.
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Worship Leader / Singer
God.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
Oh, I got. I got.
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Pastor Tim
As the, as the band comes, I got a special email from someone in New York City who many times can't be in church. And so she listens online in the subways because her job is she works in the subways, sweeping the platforms in the New York City subways. So she said last week she had a. Two weeks ago, she had to put the broom down while she was sweeping to start clapping her hands during the worship service. She said she went to the break room and the Holy Spirit was so present as she's watching over her phone,
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Congregation Member / Assistant
that she just started praising right there.
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Pastor Tim
Sweeping and praising.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
Sweeping and praising. Sweeping and praising.
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Pastor Tim
Well, I'm going to tell you what, Pam. Get ready to praise him again because
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Congregation Member / Assistant
of the amazing grace of God that's
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Pastor Tim
going to begin to come. Get ready to rejoice. Remember Captain John's story?
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Congregation Member / Assistant
Who was destroyed, who has destroyed his
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Pastor Tim
own shechems in West Africa. And he had a moment like Levi did, but God would use a storm, would be his Exodus 32 to get him back to God. And not only did it get him back to God, it would get him to serve in ministry. Like Levi, who'd become the priest, Captain John would go into the ministry. Not long before he died, he wrote these great words. Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say I am not what I once was, but by the grace of God, I am what I am today by the grace of God.
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Congregation Member / Assistant
And Captain John, who destroyed lives, lives,
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Pastor Tim
his shechem moment, wrote these words when he experienced grace. He called it something in 1772 that we still call Grace today. Captain John Newton wrote these words in a song to describe his 48 cities. This is what he wrote. Amazing grace, how sweet the sounds.
- [35:50]
Congregation Member / Assistant
This is an ex slave trader that
- [35:53]
Pastor Tim
saved a wretch like me.
- [35:56]
Congregation Member / Assistant
Let me just stop there on that wretch part.
- [35:58]
Pastor Tim
There are people trying to change that word in our hymnals and they're trying to put in there that saves someone like me.
- [36:04]
Congregation Member / Assistant
Don't read if someone changed it in your hymnal, don't go to that church. I'm telling you right now, get out of that church. If they change wretch to someone, they got it all wrong because then they don't believe in a great Savior. That sin saved a great sinner like us. So he didn't just save someone, he saved a wretch like me. Any other wretches in this place that have been saved? So if they're hymnal open up, look in the back and find amazing grace. And if they've got one of those updated hymnals that pulled out wretch so it doesn't offend anybody. I'm offended at that. Get out of that church. And when they ask you why you're leaving, tell them Pastor Tim told you. Saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I'm found Come on. Was blind Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed all this part when we We've been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun We've no less days to sing God's praise Than when we first begun Hallelujah Just when you thought there was no hope for your future Here comes God's grace Here comes amazing grace Hallelujah.
- [37:37]
Pastor Tim
Stand with me today Hallelujah. How sweet the sound Come on. You sing it.
- [37:58]
Worship Leader / Singer
That sweet sa.
- [38:06]
Pastor Tim
Come on. Lift those hands and say I once was lost Tell them right now.
- [38:16]
Worship Leader / Singer
But now I'm found Was blind but
- [38:26]
Pastor Tim
can we kick it up?
- [38:27]
Congregation Member / Assistant
Come on.
- [38:27]
Pastor Tim
Come in with me.
- [38:28]
Worship Leader / Singer
Come on.
- [38:29]
Pastor Tim
Come on, man.
- [38:29]
Congregation Member / Assistant
Come on. Twas grace Twas grace Come on. Twas grace. And grace by fears Come on. Sing it. How precious. Hallelujah. And my favorite part when we've been there. Come on. Hallelujah. Ra. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
- [40:06]
Pastor Tim
Just when you thought there was no hope for your future Here comes grace Just when you thought I messed up so badly. Here comes grace not just grace but amazing grace have you had one of those seasons? One of those days? One of those moments where you feel like you forfeited your whole future? We felt like. I've messed up everything. Just like Levi. You had your Sheka moment. A Captain John on that ship. You would think these men have messed up families. They're responsible for murders the responsible. Think about this, Captain John. Putting people in chains. Levi, who would be a priest one day, killing people. 100 people. And God goes, I'm gonna make you a priest, Captain John. I'm gonna make you a pastor. One day. I'm gonna give you a song that they're gonna sing hundreds of years later to remind themselves of the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. So I tell you today, don't let people mark your soul. Let God's word mark your soul. Don't let people mark your soul. They would come in. I. I challenge you, Fathers. You speak words of life to those kids. They're wet cement right now. Speak words of life to them. To think of Jacob's words. I don't want anything to do with you. I'm going to spread you like confetti. So the father that said, you'll have nothing, you'll be spread all over the place. God not only redeemed that and said, I'm going to take the city it all happened in. And instead of that city controlling you, you're going to walk into that city knowing it's the grace of God that puts you there. Can I just tell you, some of you are in a city right now. You're in this city right now. This city right now. And for some of you, it messed up your life. It messed up your life. Something got carved into your soul. But I'm here to tell you there's amazing grace. There's amazing grace that begins to come. God begins to do this. God begins to come. That season that you thought, how could God even use me, what I've done, how I've hurt people? And I can tell you, you could probably talk about grace, but maybe you haven't experienced the grace of God today. That's why there's something better than 48 cities to you. The son of God is waiting for you. Just before Jacob died, he curses his own son, his two sons, nothing to do with you. You'll get nothing. And just before John Newton died at 82, he wrote these words. He says, my memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things. I'm a great sinner and that Christ is a great savior. He says, that's what I remember. Can I tell you if you're gonna remember anything, remember that. If you're gonna. If you could forget all the names you want. Forget. Get everything you want. It's okay. Just remember those two things. I'm a great sinner, but I have a great savior.
- [43:30]
Congregation Member / Assistant
Today,
- [43:34]
Pastor Tim
some of you have been stuck because of what's been carved on your soul. You feel like your future is gone. You feel like, man, there's nothing because of this was said to me, my mom, my. My uncle, my teacher. I have friends that have gone to Bible school that people have looked at them saying, you will never be anything. You will never be anything. I'm here to tell you then that person has never experienced the amazing grace of God. Can I just tell you, for all those that are watching, maybe sitting here today, whether you teach at our seminaries or you teach at our Bible school, listen to me today, don't just teach on grace. Let those young people experience grace today. But if you're here today, a Christian or not a Christian, and I'll talk to non Christians at the end. But if you're here today and say, I'm stuck. I need to experience grace. I know stuff, but I. I need to know. I need to know that my future, my future is in God's hands, not the words that are put on the cement of my soul. When you surrender your heart to God, the Bible promises, he makes it soft again. He makes it soft again. He takes the hard heart and he makes it soft again. Why soft? So it can be reintroduced to the right words. Reintroduced to truth that maybe was never spoken over your life. Reintroduce to God's word. That's why Levi kept saying, the Lord commanded, give me my property. The Lord commanded, I got 48 cities coming to me. The Lord command, Those are always good things to say. The Lord said this. The Lord said this. The Lord said this. And today I want grace just to come. And some of you are here. Balcony, main floor, online. We'll pray for you. So don't. Don't just leave. But if you're here today, just when you thought there was no hope, just when you thought there was no future, just when you thought you were stuck. Here comes amazing grace as we sing this. You may have had your Genesis 34 moment. What I did in that city, what I did in Shechem, what I did on that ship that Captain John talks about, and for some of you, it's what I did on that cruise. Cruise ship. And God's going, bring that to me. Experience grace. Experience grace today. Grace. You can't fix this. Do you understand? You can't fix it yourself. Or let me say it to you this way. You can't buy sneakers to fix this issue that's going on. You can put those Nikes on and you're still gonna face that stuff. Don't. Don't buy those, those Nike sneakers. Experience grace. I may buy them just. Just to show people they don't work, but just to say, I'm gonna show them, I'm gonna go bubble bottoms or Jesus. It's gonna be one of those two. Because they say if you walk on them, it affects your brain and you can get rid of the anxiety. I have anxiety just right watching the commercial. And so if you're here today and just say, we're going to sing this, we're going to sing Amazing Grace, that first verse. If you're here today and say, pastor Tim, I felt like my future has been in cement. But today I need to experience grace. Balcony, maple. Get down to this altar. I just want to pray for you today. Quickly get out of your seat and just say, I want grace. I want My future in God's hands. Come on, as we sing this song, you begin, you begin just to come down
- [47:20]
Worship Leader / Singer
sing praise how sweet the sound that Satan. But now I found what blind but now I see. Twas grace. Twas grace that to my heart to fear and raise my fears. How precious that grace appear. I.
- [48:49]
Pastor Tim
Could you look at me just for a moment? Let me just talk to you for a second. I don't know what Shechem is for you.
- [48:54]
Congregation Member / Assistant
I don't.
- [48:54]
Pastor Tim
I don't know what that. What that means for some of you. Some of you can tell a whole story that would just maybe shock people when you come to God and you.
- [49:06]
Worship Leader / Singer
You.
- [49:07]
Pastor Tim
You lay before him. Shechem. You lay it and you just go, God, this is it. Is it what you thought was going to disqualify you? And you lay it before him. What a word. To come before Jesus and say, remember what I did in Shechem. And to hear the words, I don't remember because I just forgave your sin. As far as the east is from the west. And some of you may feel like, do you understand what I did? Do you understand what I've. What I put myself through? I've watched it. I've seen it with people. I've seen it. I've. I've talked with people that. That were God where God has. Has done miracles in their life. And because they wouldn't trust even the gender that God made them, they would begin to find themselves trying to reverse that and going, can God even forgive me? Of, yes, yes, yes, he can forgive.
- [50:01]
Congregation Member / Assistant
You know why?
- [50:01]
Pastor Tim
Because the Bible says this, that he doesn't pay us back for what our sins deserve. He doesn't. Can I just tell you, if he gives me what we deserve, we're all in trouble today. But he is an amazing grace giving God. And so just for a moment, would you just raise your hand and say, God, I thank you for forgiveness today. And say, I thank you for grace today. Tell him right now and just say, God, what has been carved into my soul? I'm asking God, carve your words. Carve the word of God into my soul and heart today. God, I'm praying as you begin to speak new words over their lives, new words over their souls that begins to say, you're mine, I forgive you. I don't remember. I have.
- [50:45]
Congregation Member / Assistant
I have.
- [50:46]
Pastor Tim
I have forgiven your sins as far as the east is from the west. And God, today to. Today is a day to not just know the word grace. Unmerited favor. No, no, no, no, no. No, this is a day to experience grace.
- [51:01]
Congregation Member / Assistant
It's a day for God to come
- [51:02]
Pastor Tim
with his power and say, you're my son, you're my daughter. To say no matter what Shechem was
- [51:08]
Congregation Member / Assistant
or what that slave ship was, that
- [51:11]
Pastor Tim
Captain John or Levi, whatever those things were, we say in Jesus name, you
- [51:17]
Congregation Member / Assistant
can turn murderers into ministers. You can turn adulterers into missionaries. You can. You can change people's lives. Oh, God, that. Father, we believe this morning for a change. Not just here at 51st and Broadway, but even around the world. Those watching in Asia and Africa, Central and South America, those watching in North America come and change our lives today. All over Europe. Oh, God. No matter what we have given ourselves to, enough is enough. We need grace. I don't just need God to know how to write the answer on the test. I need to experience it today. So, Father, I'm praying. Send grace. Send amazing grace here today.
- [51:58]
Pastor Tim
Amazing grace to this place. In Jesus name. In Jesus name. In Jesus name. Hallelujah. Just say, I receive grace. I receive your grace. Grace today. I receive your grace today. Tell them my future is in your hands. You're in charge of my future. You're in charge of my future today. Now, folks, look at me for a second here.
- [52:24]
Congregation Member / Assistant
We're going to.
- [52:24]
Pastor Tim
We're going to sing one more song before we go. But if you're here today, listen, there's people we know. We got weddings at Madison Square Garden, proposals on top of the Empire State Building, got fireworks and ships. Everyone's talking about America, Taylor Swift and the Empire State Building. And none of that can change our soul. No, listen, I'm so grateful for this country. And I did. When Ricardo was saying I had something. God bless America. I'm thankful. I've been to a number of countries that. I'm so grateful. We have our flaws, we have our problems, but thank God. Thank God can preach the gospel. Still here, but I'll talk to you about that in a second. That's for another time. I'll mention that later. But the second thing is this. But you've never experienced God. I don't want you to experience New York City. I want you to experience Jesus. Some of you are here on a New York City trip. Experience Jesus today. Maybe you're here and maybe. Maybe you came here and said, I'm leaving my ship today. And we have some of our great men and women that are serving our. Our nation on those ships and in the Navy and from different countries around the world. Maybe you just said, I'm slipping out into a religious service today. Maybe you're here today. I don't want you to experience New York City or 250th birthday. I want you to experience Jesus, experience his grace. And maybe you've never experienced it before. How does that happen? Jesus calls it. How do you get that new heart? Jesus calls it being born again. That's it. Just as you had a first birth physically, you need a second birth spiritually. It's when God comes in and changes us from the inside out. How does that happen, Pastor Tim? It's as simple as ABC A, admitting that we're sinners, that we can't fix ourselves. There's not a program, a priest, there's not a promise you can make and even a prescription you can take to fix it. We're not mistakers in need of. We're not in need of correction. Sinners in need of a savior. And then the B word is believe. Believe that God sent his son 2,000 years ago to fix me, to become my sin bearer. If you could fix yourself, then why would God have to send his son? Be the worst case of child abuse in human history. Think about it. I'm going to send Jesus, die on the cross, rise from the dead. But if you want to go to heaven, you got to. You got to really do good. That's not grace. And finally at sea, confessing him as Lord. What does that mean? He's in charge of our lives now. And when he's in charge of our lives, our lives end. Like Joshua 21, everything came out right. Can I just tell you that when God's in charge of your life, everything comes out right. Everything comes out right. And maybe you're not at the salt. Maybe you're up at the balcony, main floor watching online. If you say, tim, Pastor Tim, I've never experienced grace before. I've never experienced Jesus. Grace is not an abstract thing. It's connected with Jesus, the person of Christ. If you're here today and just say when you pray that born again prayer, would you just include me? I want to be part of that prayer. I'm just simply going to ask you to raise your hand, say, include me in that prayer. Hold your hand up high. Say, I want that grace today. Keep them up, keep them up, keep them up. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Look at all these hands all over. Wave them a little bit so I can see if that's it. Yes, yes, yes, yes. All the way. Yes. Come on. I want everybody to pray this with me. Everybody say this with me. Dear Lord, Jesus, I believe you're the Son of God. I believe that on the cross you took my sin, my shame and my guilt and you died for it. You faced hell for me so I wouldn't have to go. You rose from the dead to give me a place in heaven, a purpose on earth, and a relationship with your Father. Today, Lord Jesus, I turn from my sin to be born again and experience amazing grace. Now say this with me loud.
- [56:28]
Congregation Member / Assistant
God is my Father, Father Jesus is my Savior, the Holy Spirit is my helper and heaven is my home in Jesus name. And everybody said amen and amen and amen. I don't know, some 40, 50 hands went up today.
- [56:47]
Pastor Tim
Let me just say this.
- [56:48]
Congregation Member / Assistant
If you did it online, you can just email decided or you can text decided 51,000.
- [56:53]
Pastor Tim
But would you just look to my your right, my left up here, those two, the two twins from West Africa, from Burkina Faso right over there.
- [57:03]
Congregation Member / Assistant
The two twins from West Africa right over there.
- [57:06]
Pastor Tim
If you want just need a Bible or you can just go meet with them five, seven minutes. They'll give you a Bible, get you started on your next steps. If you raise your hand right at exit seven. Exit seven.
- [57:18]
Podcast Host / Announcer
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