The Most Dangerous Place on Earth
Opening Scripture:
“Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping,
and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.”
??Joel? ?2:12-32? ?KJV??
Prayer-
Body:
Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wa
Title:
The Most Dangerous place on Earth---
The most dangerous place on earth
is being stuck in the middle
of the porch and the altar .
Porch defined, vestibule- being tied to the building
Altar-place where you lay it all on the line for God to deal with you.
You have to be intentional in your walk.
You must learn to be intentional.
Being in the middle is no good,
a place where you aren't really sure.
You are still close enough to the vestibule to be tied down by the things of the world,
But also close enough to the altar to be able to feel the glory of God.
Torn between two worlds,
Halfway between the natural carnal world ,
and the spirit realm.
Feeling the pull of God knowing that you should follow but not yet willing to cut ties with the life that you have grown used to living .
Scared to step out and completely give yourself over to God,not knowing what awaits.
V12 saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
V15- blow the trumpet in Zion
sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly.
You create a good future by creating a good present.
There are 86400 seconds in each day.
We don't live by days,
We live by seconds .
Your decisions are determined by seconds.
Today is a gift,
that's why it is called the present.
You must move from being a spectator in your salvation to being a participant.
The world says that you can live life on your own terms but that is a lie,
your life doesn't belong to you,
it belong to the One that created you.
Come out from the middle!
Step up and let God do something with your life!
Let him use you for His glory, not yours.
He's calling you today church and you must heed the call.
He is calling you out of bondage,
calling you away from being tied to the porch ,
and He is drawing you into His presence at the altar today.
Don't get comfortable in the place that you are stuck in!!
It is the most dangerous place on earth.
I am preaching to every person in the house.
Those that are on fire for God,
Those that are in a lukewarm state,
and those that are lost and don't know where to turn.
Every son
Daughter
Father
Mother
It's time for an upgrade!!
It feels weird when you get a phone and use it for two years,
then it's time for an upgrade and you have the same phone but you have to learn to reuse it.
The same buttons have different roles.
Your hands are no longer used for sin but for praising and worshipping and touching the clean things of God.
Your mouth is longer used to speak evil but speak life!!
Your heart desires the things of God instead of the world.
Your tongue is no longer an unruly member but is used pray in the language of God.
I'm here to tell you that where you are is not
your final place!!
There is more for you the closer you get to the altar,
The closer you get to God,
the more you feel the shackles fall away.
You start out standing tall on the porch,
but the more that you get in the presence of God,
the lower you find yourself.
the more you humble yourself,
the more your life changes before your eyes.
There is a change that takes place in the process of moving from the porch to the altar.
You countenance changes,
Your speech changes,
The way you see the world around you changes.
give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them:
Your bloodline changes.
You raise those babies in an Apostolic church,
and when they get in the presence of the heathen,
they know it isn't right!
they know the feeling off an old fashioned altar.
We have many people in this city that sat here with their grannies and they remember the feeling of this altar but their spirit is stuck on the porch.
Oh that God would bring them home.
Oh that He would send them a dream of what it used to be like when they wept at the altar with their granny or their mom or dad.
Oh backslider come home!
My prayer is that today before we leave this church,
That somebody would decide to come out of the rut and complete the journey to the altar.
Don't be afraid!
V22. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed
Don't be afraid!
He says not only will you feel what you felt as a child,
the former rain,
but you will also be renewed with the latter rain
which is the Holy Ghost!
You will receive the HG
and you will be restored.
His promises will never die-
Your floors shall be full of wheat !
and the vats will overflow with wine and oil!
He will restore to you the years that the locust cankerworm and Palmer worm have eaten .
Some of y'all have been stuck in the middle of the porch and altar for years and can't even remember how it feels to let God move on you.
Some are new and have never felt that,
but i'm telling you today that if you desire
that close relationship with God
He says come on,
Don't be afraid!!
He shall eat in plenty,
and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord
that hath dealt wondrously with you.
Someone today needs to make the decision in your heart and in your mind
where your soul will spend eternity .
I have determined that I am going to go to heaven.
My mind is made up,
and I don't care what it costs me.
The days of weeping between the porch and altar are not over!!
The days of fasting and prayer are not over.
Your miracle awaits you,
Not at the porch but at the altar.
In the middle, church, is a dangerous place to be.
Complacency has damned more souls to hell than we want to admit.
Jesus said I would rather you be hot or cold,
But not in the middle.
Draw some lines in the sand!
Joshua 24:15
And if seem evil unto you to serve the Lord,
Choose you this day whom you will serve.
You will either serve the devil
or Jesus but you cannot serve both.
You have to make a choice!
-Closing-
I heard a story told by a preacher about a young girl that was brought up in church and she met a boy that wasn't exactly who a father would choose for his daughter and they moved in to the fathers house on the condition that they must attend church services.
They would come into church and sit in the back row laughing and joking and passing notes and making fun of the service.
The church played a song about why don't you choose Jesus. Why don't you make a choice.
The service ended and everyone left and not long after,
the Father's phone rang and the young couple had been in a horrible accident.
The father rushed to the hospital and His daughter was hanging onto life by a thread.
The boy was hurt but would be okay.
The father went to his daughters bedside and she was mouthing and whispering something.
He leaned on she whispered
"Where's the book?
Get me the book. "
Over and over.
He went down the hall and asked the young man what book she was talking about.
The young man told him it was a hymnal in the church where they sat.
The father rushed to the church,
Found where they were sitting and found the hymnal, and flipped through it to see some writing.
Where the title of the song said "why don't you make a choice",
His daughter had written
"Because I don't want to"
He took the hymnal and rushed back to the hospital but not before his daughter died lost.
Don't get stuck in the middle ,
it is a very dangerous place to be church.
Why don't you choose Jesus?
Why don't you make a choice?
When you make the choice,
The altar feels like home to you,
Not awkward.
Not some foreign place where only the desperate reside, but a place to dwell in the presence of God!
Pull yourself out of the rut,
Get out of the middle,
Collect on the promises that God has given you.
Let Him restore you,
Let Him love you
Let Him heal your broken heart ,
V12turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
V28“And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”
??Joel? ?2:27-29? ?KJV??
It's time church
Get off the porch!
Many people today stand on the porch looking in the windows
but never make it to the altar.
The relationship is at the altar
the mercy is at the altar
the grace is at the altar of repentance
Make a choice!
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
??Matthew? ?11:28? ?KJV??
If you are tired of the rut. Come.
If your tired of living on the porch. Come.
If you are tired of trying to do it alone.Come.
If you are tired of being just a face in the crowd.Come.
If you are just tired. Come.
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”
??Acts? ?17:30-31? ?KJV??
The time of God over looking sin is over.
You need to come.
You need to get n the ark before it's too late.
The water is rising.
God is tired of a generation that has ignored the call.
I have to tell it!!!
There are preachers and pastors that will pay for holding back!!
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?”
??Ezekiel? ?34:2? ?KJV??
The most dangerous place to be is stuck between the porch and the altar.
Won't you come today?
Won't you let me baptize you and wash away your sin today?
Won't you talk to Jesus and tell Him that you want to speak in that heavenly Language and receive His spirit inside of you?
