 church is messy and it's supposed to be because of the people that make up the body of Christ which are full of hypocrites liars backstabbers thieves all sort of lusts and so forth because that's who God has chosen to make up the body because if he didn't use those there would be nobody because that's all that's who we are we are vile people with a lot of nasty idiosyncrasies some sinful things that we still have not yet gotten out and because of that there is going to be a lot of census mess in us there's gonna be mess in the body that needs to be brought out and it takes people in the body to deal with the body that's why Paul makes a statement in Galatians 2 speaking to Peter and about Peter the Bible says that he had posed him to his face why he says because for prior to coming to certain men from James he used to eat with the Gentiles but when they came he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof fearing the part of the circumcision in other words fearing the Jews he says the rest of the Jews joined him in his his hypocrisy with the result that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy and so the reason why you confront people the reason why you expose folks the reason why you do this is not to hurt the person it is because there are other people that will follow suit who may not know any better and the sad part is we've got preachers who do that and some of the preachers can be very well intended very well meaning but some of them may not be his name is in me not only like I said like in me do you understand angels recognize who I am devil's recognize hear the voice of God I stand the waters fire the only God and I thank God that now I'm here who was the biggest loser Satan no God out of the life come on the well for her Jude tells us in Jude 3 he says beloved while I was making my earnest effort eagerly wanted to write you about your or our common salvation I want to talk about how good our salvation is the Lord is what I did do I felt it necessary or I felt the necessity to write you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints why would you say such a thing why would we just skip over or you know what let's put on the back burner our love for the Lord and our salvation which that's not a back burner issues not a secondary issue but there's something that's pressing he says the reason why for certain persons have crept in unnoticed well how do you creep in unnoticed well you have to look like you belong you have to in some cases speak like you belong you everything about you seems like you belong and so what and matter of fact you may very well belong but the point is we have to contend for the faith the faith is the more important thing the tenets of the faith and you've got people nowadays who are going to want to vilify the scriptures and tell us that we ought not look at certain things as a matter of fact we should study the Bible and we might want to move away from the Bible that's why the idea of theology or the study of God is so asinine and sophomoric to me the pride to think that God was sitting your petri dish to be observed by you said that the Bible is the authority the Bible says the Bible teaches the word of God because of that language consequently most Christians most thoughtful Christians believe what's in the Bible are you ready for this because it's in the Bible and you have to help them change that now some people get mad because you point out their errors but look Paul makes a statement I think this is a very worthwhile statement he says he says so have I become your enemy by telling you the truth what we're going to say some things to someone who they may not agree with there are some things that I've said things that folks don't agree with and they were offended well I'm not trust me I'm not saying anything about you or what you're saying because I have an issue with you if I've ever said anything to anyone calling something out or exposing something and you were offended I apologize that you were offended I apologize if maybe how I said it was maybe wrong was maybe not compassionate maybe maybe a bit insensitive it's not my point not my intent my intent is to contend for the faith to defend the faith why because it's bigger than you or me it's bigger than any of us it's important because there's some people coming along who are going to listen to certain things and follow certain things and if we can't talk as a body if we can't be brothers and sisters and have a conversation well that's a problem which is let me tell you something third eye doesn't come because you're a christian or because you're a witch every human being is born within third eye people can say things like that and not want to be held to account but that's just not godly that's not right and it hurts people because it causes people to think of the scriptures in an incorrect fashion and then you got folks who just want to put on a show they they're all about making a scene or a spectacle i'm gonna have faith for it i'm actually gonna build my stamina i'm actually gonna do something sir ball over the communion don't care so much over the bible too go back to kick we're gonna get some emails here we go so whether it's getting tackled by some woman on stage whether it's jumping on trampoline pouring syrup on the bible or if it's kicking a football there's no regard for holiness there's no regard for the sanctity of the sanctuary not that the building is so holy but it's the fact that you have this gathering amongst the saints why to give their devotion for corporate prayer corporate fellowship in honor of who to christ to the lord and we are to approach him in a holy fashion but some people have a huge problem with it as a matter of fact some people have a bigger problem with us calling out the foolishness but if you don't call out the foolishness then you might be the person that's in sin paul says do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness but instead even expose them for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret but now what's happening the things that are being done in secret or thought about or spoken of in secret they're making their way out to be boldly stated in public to be boldly acted out in public these people's inner inhibitions are coming out on stage things they talk about things they do even vulgar things things that just let me just let me just throw a little bit of a sexual innuendo out there you all know what i'm talking about and it's okay because we're all adults here give that man some pasta give that man some peace and i'll let y'all fill in the other pee somebody should have ran around the church so i'm just playing that was good the three peas and you know what that woman needs she needs dedication yes some dollars and i'm gonna let y'all figure out the other team well you can only say something like that because you have given the feeling by people or because no one has held you accountable to think that you're more than what you really are again we're not contending for each other the bible doesn't say contend for each other we are continuing for our faith this faith that is given to us by our father and so we should make sure that no one including other christians make a mockery of that that's what paul says in first Corinthians five he's speaking about this man who is sleeping with his father's wife and it's going to apply to us as well in our own local church as he says for for i on my part thought absent in the body but present spirit have already judged him who has committed this as though i were present in the name of our lord jesus when you are assembled and i with you in spirit with the power of the lord jesus i've decided to deliver such a one to satan for the destruction of his flesh so that his spirit may be saved on that day paul says kick him out put his behind out get rid of him put him out why not because we want to destroy him but turn him his flesh over for destruction in hopes that his soul his spiritual life might be saved on or by or in the day of the lord he says you guys are both sick because you think that i'm not being too judgmental where we live and let live let the lord deal with them paul says your boss is not good do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole dough clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump so the problem is we let this stuff go on because we don't want anyone to think that we're judgmental we don't want and probably maybe the biggest reason why we have that is because we have people that do not love the scriptures do not hold tighter the scriptures don't value the word of god because they don't value god so much so that anybody who just has any sort of fanciful feeling can decide that you know what i want to be a pastor even though i'm not qualified either by gender or my understanding or my actions or my lifestyle or my heart i'm not qualified but what the heck why not yeah i'm very start a church with my partner just i mean it ain't no big traditional churchy church mess but i'm sick and tired of church people with all this judgment and all this crap i'm sick and tired of it like it's i'm over it i don't want a holier than thou's at no church than i'm a part of amen keep your holier than thou ass at home and not just someone like her we've got folks that just feel like that they deserve some sort of adoration they feel entitled why because people have become heaping praises upon them and so they feel good about it and when they feel good about it they start acting like they get this little god complex this little king complex or queen complex they love you so much mama it is such an honor to serve you i honor you as your spiritual daughter i love you and you're my favorite you're my favorite person you're everything to me you're my spiritual mom you're my david because i have this complex to where no one can tell me anything they end up saying any and everything i mean things that are just clearly ungodly they make it up as they go and still no one holds them to account god cursed the earth because of adams mess up but the devil messed up when he got the woman to be the seed and god said because you've done that snake i'm gonna put in the tea in between her and you her seed and yo see so when doctor won't get up and preach the way she preached and then she get upset because she has what the man don't have is called enmity so god put enmity between the woman and say no you're missing the point sir but again no one holds them account because they don't read the scriptures do this do this reign subdue all of the things god told adam to do do you know the greatest problem with that you know the most powerful issue with that you know the most profound challenge with that adam did not have a body and adam didn't have a body how silly is that that you are more than the mistakes that you have made that the great i am lives in you and whatever he is you are too and then of course whatever god is you are because after all we're just like god we're little gods as a matter of fact this is the stuff that we are called to contend for and the fact is guys this is going to be messy i can love you you can love me you can call me out if i say something wrong it can be messy i can feel bothered by it but if it's right it's right again we should be the church should be the body should be big enough and godly enough humble enough to be able to take what someone says if we see it is incorrect if it's wrong paul says we should preach the word be ready in season matter of fact let's go to this patch look what he says and let's just follow this as our guideline he says be ready in season second time before two and out of season that means all of the time he says reproof that means to prove someone wrong if that's the case rebuke that means if they are wrong and they don't want to get right you correct them even if it bothers them exhort that means to encourage them how do you do all those things with great patience and instruction all the time constantly and do so why how with instructions using the scriptures that necessarily means guys that it has to be or it has to involve reproving rebuking and exhorting believers as well this is not this is not a game guys this is this is life literally life and death and he says to do so why because the time will come when they will not endure sound doctor we've seen examples of these people who don't who don't have sound doctor and they get a large following and because now some of those folks not all those folks that that are following are ungodly not all those folks that are following and listening are unsaved as a matter of fact some of the preachers who might be preaching and stuff many of them are saved they just are how does Mike Todd put it you can be saved and stupid treat that you can be saved and stupid now Paul says in doing so to fulfill your ministry be sober and fulfill your ministry as an evangelist spreading the gospel we want people to know the gospel there's two things we want to do we want to let folks know the gospel the true gospel to reprove rebuking exhort but also we have to contend for the faith we've got to call things out notice Paul in his deathbed does say this he says Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm the lord will pay him according to his deeds be on guard against him for yourself why for he vigorously opposed our mess this is paul's deathbed so there's there has to be a balance between calling something out but also spreading the gospel let me just say this if all you ever do is call people out if all you ever do is expose if all you ever do is engage in the dirty messy stuff then i'm going to submit to you that not that you're not saved but that you are immature that you are not concerned about the other things the things that we are most responsible for which is to preach the gospel and so if all you could ever do is name what is wrong and that's all you got to offer within you don't have much to offer you have a critical spirit an attitude of criticizing however let me say this because we don't talk about this as much as well if all you ever do is give the gospel and you never warn anyone you see danger coming and you don't warn your brother what you are is also equally immature because it shows a lack of love a lack of love for the person a lack of not caring you may yourself not be a believer because if you don't care or love for the other person whom you see danger coming and you don't warn them could you imagine knowing that there is some sort of terrorist some vile person someone waiting around the corner to hurt people and you see your brother sister going that direction and you don't say anything about it what does that say about you you know the bridge is out and you don't warn people hey the bridge is out you know there's a fire in the building you get all of your stuff and you leave and you don't tell anyone what kind of person are you and so there's got to be a balance again oftentimes we might try to balance it too and we might not do so artfully we might say something harshly or too harshly if i've ever done something i'm pretty sure i have i apologize the goal is to spread the gospel and also to warn even brothers and sisters who might be involved in that and so guys make sure that you have a balance but also if someone warns about you or calls you out accept it go back and look and see and then if you think that you're right well then defend it you cannot be we cannot be the kind of people that we don't listen to someone who disagrees with us as a matter of fact we either vilify that person or we ignore that person and call that person a heresy hunter a whatever you want to call them no if the person has a legitimate concern remember you're not the only person that's saved and if you're saved and they're saved as paul says am i your enemy because i tell you the truth well i'm not your enemy i'm a friend of god i'm a friend of the gospel i might be wrong myself and if you don't speak to me then i'll never know the other side i'm calling what i see i could be wrong and so it's incumbent on you whoever the you are or me to explain this is why i believe what i believe you should have an open door policy not a public open door policy where we display these things out in public but at least the ability to discuss with folks why this is and if you are a preacher if you are leading a flock and you can't defend what it is you're preaching then you shouldn't be preaching it if you don't have the ability to walk through the scripture and say this is why this is this is why this is not then you have no reason to be in the stands if you can't let the text speak for what it says and you want to dress it up you also have no no reason to be there because now you're just trying to put your imprint your personality and let that be it if the word doesn't speak for you then don't you speak for it and so yes church our church our body is messy it's supposed to be it's a work in progress as paul says we are all filthy filthy rags before the lord and so the cleaning process oftentimes we see a spill it's the cleaning process that people don't want to get involved it's easy to make a mess it takes some time you got to get down on your knees and get your hands dirty to clean the things up and so we want to make sure that we present the gospel as well as we possibly can even with people who we at times might disagree with and so let's continue for the faith together amen