2024-08-11AM- You Said I Shall Not Be Moved

The speaker discusses the importance of staying committed to promises and vows made, using examples of marriages and the commitment to God. He emphasizes the need to remember the initial commitment and not be swayed by distractions or difficulties. The Apostle Paul's letter to the Corinthians is mentioned as an example of addressing and correcting issues within a community. The speaker encourages the audience to reconsider any thoughts of moving away from God and to remain steadfast in their commitment. Lord, You've lifted me up and I have known the joy that my foes were not able to rejoice over me." He says, "...I cried unto Thee and You healed me. You brought up my soul from the grave. You have kept me alive. You have kept me out of the pit." What a grand and glorious time. What a time of rejoicing that David is here saying, I'm just going to lift you up, God, because of the good things You've done for me. I cried unto You. You healed me. You brought me up from the grave and kept me alive and kept me from going down into that pit. And he says there in verse 6, "...And so in this great time, when I remember how good You were to me, I lifted up my soul and in my time of prosperity, in the time that I knew that You had done such wonderful, great things to me, in the time that I acknowledged that everything was going well and I knew I had been delivered and the blessings of Almighty God had rested upon me, in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved." I want to talk to the church about those times of commitment that have been made right here among us and where we are. Promises that have been made to God in times of deliverance. When God moved through and a covenant of the heart had been signed by You. When God moved for you. And here's my title of what I want to preach. You said, I shall not be moved. You said, I shall not be moved. Now there are countless times all over this country, all over this world, that vows have been made between men and women. There have been packed church houses where a couple would stand in front of everyone and they would pledge, I'm with you, to have and to hold from this day forward. Vowing that for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, I will love you and I will cherish you. And we will be parted by nothing but death. Now you and I also know that as many times as those vows have been, countless times those vows have been made, there's also countless times that those vows have been abandoned by many couples. Homes have been broken up. When these two had fallen in love and they were at the height of their relationship, they went public with their commitments. And they would stand before people. And the preacher heard them say what I read, to have and to hold from this day forward. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, good times, bad times, I'm with you and you're with me. And nothing but death shall part us. The preacher heard what they said. All the family who was there heard what they said. That whole congregation heard the promises that were made that day. Then somewhere along the line, something happens. Life just seems to move on. And the passion for one another doesn't feel as deep as it once did. The feelings that were at their height at that point somehow begin to fade. Disagreements begin to divide the couple. They begin falling out of love. Maybe somebody was disloyal. Maybe somebody felt betrayed. But somewhere along the line, the vows that were made become a distant memory. And they reach a point when they finally get to the place when we can agree on one thing. It's just time to move on. You can go back to the preacher who performed that wedding ceremony. He may not care anymore. Family might be at the place where they fully understand why you felt like you had to move on. The congregation may not even remember being there and hearing you say what you said. There's a God in heaven that remembers every word that was spoken. And it would have been better and more honest, I suppose, if those vows had come with a qualifier that said, until I no longer feel what I'm feeling right now, I'll stick together with you. Until I feel as good as I feel right now, then everything will be all right. But can I tell you that, you know, there's those times when the passions do cool off. I'm married. I've been married for many years now, decades. And there's times that we're in, I mean, head over heels and we get silly with one another with love. And there's other times when maybe there's a little bit of abrasion between us. Maybe there's hard times to have conversation and the passion doesn't feel as high as it once did. But it's then that when the passion isn't high, when the love isn't being felt, when the butterflies aren't there and you laugh together, it's when you point back to a time when you made a commitment. You said, I said, I'm not leaving. I said, I'm not moving on. We're going to be together. We may not feel like we did on that day, but we're committed to one another because we made a commitment. The excitement may have died down, but it's in those times that the promises count the most. And it's so sad when we know families that have broken up and when they just say, we just fell out of love with one another. But that wasn't part of the commitment on day one. It was. I'm not leaving and you tell me that you're not leaving until one of us dies. The couple needs to remember we made a lifelong commitment. I made a promise. I made a vow. We read there in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the Apostle Paul said to those people, I preached the Gospel. You received the Gospel. I preached it. You received it. It is the spiritual foundation upon which you stand. And then for 56 verses, the Apostle Paul launches into a good course in apologetics. And he gives signs and cause for standing firm and having confidence in God. And in the last verse of that chapter, he says, therefore, because of everything I've just told you, after he's offered reason to have faith in the past, how he's opened up and made it very clear about the commitment to have to God, for this reason, I am expecting you to be steadfast and unmovable. There's a reason, a good reason, for you to be unmovable. And so I've got to wonder, as I look out on this congregation, my family, my friends, I've got to wonder sometimes, what would make somebody to begin moving in the wrong direction? What would make somebody who had committed themselves to being holy, somebody who had committed, I'm going to be faithful, somebody who said at the height of good times, I've given absolutely everything to the Lord, what would make somebody move when you said, I shall not be moved? The Apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter chapter 1, that all those who have drifted away from God, he had forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. That's where the problem was. He's forgotten what it felt like to finally be relieved from the burden of sin. He's forgotten what it felt like to crawl out from under the heavy burden of conviction and find relief in the loving arms of Almighty God who gave Himself for us. He has forgotten that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead to give life to those who are dead in their trespasses and sins. And we sing the song sometimes, How could I forget? Maybe it is a forgetfulness that happens sometimes in the Christian life. Or maybe there comes that strain in the relationship where you're disappointed with how things turned out. I thought it would go this way. I prayed that it would go this way. And it went another way. I just am not understanding here. And that strain comes in the relationship. Or maybe something in this world has caught your eye and made you think about something else and stolen your devotion away from God when you said, I shall not be moved. Can I tell you right now, this is a dangerous place for someone to be. When once their heart was so on fire for God, when they made commitments in the prosperity and I said, I shall never be moved. When once God has brought a soul up out of a horrible pit, and once He has set that individual on the right solid rock, and once He has established His going, you said that you would not leave. You said you could not leave. You said, I'm going to be so devoted to you for what you've done for me. But somewhere you got distracted. You got bored. You became distressed by the situation around you. You began feeling restricted, smothered by the requirements of God's good Bible. And so you moved. After declaring to the God of heaven, I shall never be moved, you moved. So I want to call today for somebody to call to remembrance the commitment that you have made to God. And I'm going to ask you today that the Holy Ghost, oh, I will pray that the Holy Ghost will move today, put His finger right where it needs to be, and get you to reconsider moving away from God. The Apostle Paul wrote this great letter, 1 Corinthians, to this church. And I only can picture in my mind the man that he was and how difficult it must have been for him to write this letter. But then I think of somebody like me opening up this scroll and beginning to read it before the weekend service. And thinking, I'm supposed to read this to these people? Because it would be an awful tough letter for someone to receive. I mean, right out of the gate, he begins to rebuke them for the divisions that they had among themselves. And then you had people that were in the midst of these divisions that they felt more spiritual and justified for them to be divided against one another, choosing sides. He calls them at one point, immature babies. You need a bottle. You ought to be farther along than this. He chastened them for having poor attitudes. He rebuked them in chapter 5. One of the most awful things that somebody would have to read. Chapter 5, he rebukes them for open immorality accepted within the church. When people turn their eyes away from fornication. I can't imagine what it was like to have to write a letter like that. These people argued among themselves and they needed to be corrected. In this book, he teaches them about family issues and he addresses their complaining and about their desire for the fads and the fashions of the culture that surrounded them. He had to talk about stuff like that. He taught them about church ordinances and he reproved them concerning the operation of the spirit in their midst. He had to straighten them out on a few things. And then he comes to this point. It's almost the end of this letter. A very weighty letter. And he reminds them in chapter 1 of their commitment. I preached the gospel and you received it. And I want to remind you, you said you were sticking with this way. God had been so good to you, you knew what it was like to be born again. You knew what it was like to feel the power of God come down from heaven on you. And you said, I shall not be moved. He closes this letter after addressing all of their problems. And I just think how much love the apostle must have had for this church. How he must have so been concerned about these people. Because after all of these problems, he didn't close that letter and say, well, I hope you all can work it out again, because I'm done with you. No. He said, I preached the gospel to you. And I was there when you received the gospel. There's a good foundation that you stepped onto. And I'm telling you, there's good reason to stay on that foundation. And he wraps up this chapter and he says, I'm asking you now, I want you to be steadfast. I want you to be unmovable. Remember the promises that you have made toward God. Now maybe when he got to this place, maybe when he's writing this letter and putting it all down, he may be even thinking of another church that he's had to deal with. Galatians 1 and verse 6, he wrote to those people, I marvel! I marvel that you are so soon removed from him. Paul was shocked when he got a hold of these people when he heard that they had lost their footing and they had been removed away from the true gospel of Jesus Christ unto what he called another gospel. The true gospel of Jesus Christ is going to bring all the hope that any soul is ever going to need. Why would you step away from the true gospel and turn to another gospel? I don't understand it, but the truth of the matter is, and the Spirit of the Most High knows, there are some who have moved. Moved away from the commitments that they've made. Commitments that they've made never to be moved. I made a commitment to God and I told Him, You've got every part of me. But something happened. Vows were made and not kept. Promises were spoken and then they were broken. The Holy Ghost moved on you in a time of great passions and you told God, I will never allow myself to move away from this precious place. You confessed. You signed covenants with God. And in my prosperity, David said, I said I shall never be moved at the height of your blessings. In the best of times, you said, I shall not be moved. Somewhere along the line, the temptations of the enemy has come in and caused you to reconsider commitments that you have made. The devil has moved in hearts and made people, maybe not out loud, but have said within their own mind and in their own heart, well, maybe I don't see it like that. It's a dangerous path to be upon when you can read the Word of God and then begin to say, I just don't see it like that. When the world doesn't seem to be as corrupt in your eyes anymore, when the standards that are written in this Holy Bible all of a sudden become lower in your eyes and actually become trivial in your sight as if they really don't matter anymore. Where once there was a passion for God and the things of God, now you're distracted by trinkets of this world. And the love that you have for Almighty God has cooled off. And in its place, there is a temperature that's been rising, simmering for the things of this world. Things that you have promised that you'll never do again. Here they are. Words that you've said, I'll never say that again. Creeping back into your vocabulary. Places that you said, I will never go again. They're having that pull that they used to have on you. And you quit praying. You said, I shall not be moved. And yet, uncomfortably, you would have to admit today, I have moved. You know when you don't pray, you know what you're actually telling God? I like it exactly how I have worked it out myself. I really don't need your answers, so I'm not going to bother asking. I really don't need your guidance. I think I've got this figured out. I really don't need your help. I'm going to do just fine all on my own. And so you don't pray. We've come to a place in our lives today that we're doing so well that prayer is not a necessity. I've heard somebody say before that we don't have to pray for rain so the crops will grow. All we do is go to the grocery store, buy our canned goods, buy our boxed goods, go to the freezer section, the refrigerated section, and pick up the things that we want. We don't even ask God, would You send rain? We might pray for rain because it gets dry and the grass is dying. We might pray for rain because it's just so hot around here and we could use some relief. But we don't need it anymore. We've found a difference in a better way. And we end up being like the Laodicean church who said, I am rich. I am increased with goods. And I have need of nothing. And when your attitude grows into that mindset, you'll not pray anymore because you don't need anything that God is willing to supply. And when the Laodicean church ended up saying, I don't need anything. I'm rich. I'm increased with goods. Everything is fine with me. There came a knock at the door of the church. It wasn't the poor. They weren't knocking on the door and saying, look, I know that you're rich and you're increased with goods and you have need of nothing. Can you help me out here? It wasn't the lost soul who said, I've seen you and I need what you have. It wasn't the sick and the infirm saying, with all your wealth, surely you can help somebody like me. But the knocking that was heard at the church door, it was Jesus who was standing outside the church saying, I stand at the door and I knock. I'm outside, but I want inside. I'm not in there, but I sure would like to be. And if you would simply turn the knob and open the door, I will come in where you are. I used to come in there. We used to have time together. I used to bless you. That was when you made those commitments. I shall not be moved. The prodigal son of Luke chapter 15. He moved. He moved. We pick up the story in Luke chapter 15. He's about a grown boy. He's old enough to make his own decisions now. That's when we're introduced. We know nothing about what was in the past. But if he was like most children who were raised by a loving father, there's no doubt that a little boy would walk up to his father, wrap his arms around one of his legs, look straight up at him and say, I love you, Daddy. I love you. Everything is provided for me. And there's children who said, Mommy, I ain't never going to leave here. I love you too much. Daddy, I don't ever want to leave because I love you so much. Would hold on to that strong hand of his daddy and feel safe. Would know the security. This was a place where he felt warm, where he felt comfortable, where his soul and his body was secure. The father's house contained everything that that boy needed. But somewhere along the line, that boy began to grow discontent. Somewhere along the line, he began to fall in love. First, he fell in love with an idea. An idea that made him think that there's a lot more freedom and pleasure outside somewhere else. He fell in love with a dream. A dream! I can be my own boss. I can make my own decisions. A dream where he could have all the things that he had been denied while in the father's house. He fell in love with that dream. Somewhere along the line, he fell in love with the world. You know if you love the world, you're at odds with God. That's the Scriptures. You cannot hold to this world and have a friendship with God at the same time. This young man fell in love with the world. Fell in love with a world that he didn't even know a whole lot about. Just those ideas. Just those dreams of how things could be. The amusements. The entertainments that I've been denied in the father's house. It's kind of like somebody falling in love with someone they've never met. An online profile. Smile and picture. A profile doesn't tell you how somebody reacts when they're angry. A profile doesn't show you how somebody reacts when they're sad and when they're disappointed. And to fall head over heels in love with something that you don't even know a whole lot about is foolish. That's what that young man did. And so he picked up and moved. Packed his bags. And he moved on from a place that he had committed himself to stay. He just felt like he had to get away. I've just got to find pleasure. I've got to find something out there that I don't have. And no doubt, he thought, I just want to taste it. Just for a short period of time. Maybe, he said, I won't go very far. But I wonder if after he got outside of the boundaries of the Father's house, it was hard to commit those things and still have the Father's house in view. And so he traveled on a little bit farther. And he got to moving farther and farther until he ended up in a far country where he didn't have to think about the Father's house anymore. Where he didn't have to think about the rules and the regulations. Where he didn't have to feel bad that he might find out about what I'm doing. But I would dare say he went a whole lot farther than he had ever intended for himself to go. He found pleasure. Yes, he did. For a short period of time. But he didn't have to do that. His soul was not destined to make scars upon his life that he would live with the rest of his days. He didn't have to do that. Fortunately, that young man at some point came to himself and was welcomed back home. And that's a good thing. But I've heard preachers say it before. Not every prodigal makes it back home. Not everybody that moves on ever moves back. Not everybody finds that opportunity. So I'd like to tell somebody today, under the sound of my voice, be ye steadfast. Be ye unmovable. There is a work of the Lord to be abounding yourself in. You know when you get bored? It's when you're not busy. He said always abounding in the work of the Lord. For as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Now Paul had this reason. 56 verses that he laid out the reason why you should stand and why you should be unmovable. It's the Gospel. And that's good enough. It is the Gospel that Christ died for our sins. It is the Gospel that He was buried. It is the Gospel that He rose from the dead the third day. And this Gospel makes sure that because Jesus Christ is alive right now at the right hand of the Father, there is intercession being made for every individual who will stick with Him. Jesus made this promise, Because I live, ye shall live also. Colossians 1.22 says that Jesus gave His life to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight if you continue in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel. The Son of God, the Founder of our faith, died. He was dead. He was dead. He was dead. But right now He is alive. And when you realize that He gives life, you made a commitment. You said, I shall not be moved. Paul does not encourage the Corinthian church just to stand to prove that you've got the strength to stand. He's not asking you to put your confidence in philosophy or the traditions of men. There is a real reason that you and I should stand is that God gave His only begotten Son for us. And we have been granted eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Why do you want the world? Why are you attracted to the things of this world? Why, those things that shall be burned up in the end, are you so drawn to those things? Because there was a time you said in your heart, I shall not be moved. Michelle, would you come to the piano please and get a song that will fit here? So I want to encourage somebody, would you get back where you're supposed to be? Would you get back to the place that you said you were never going to leave? David, in a time when everything was sweet, made a promise, in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. You've said it. But I wonder if today you'd be willing to repent of the backsliding in the heart. Would you get back to the place where you told God, I will not leave this place. Will you stand with me please? I would that it would be said among us today as Peter wrote, ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. I wish I could even be more plain. I wish I could. I do. I wish I could make it so obvious. You say, Lord, I'm sorry. I moved. I said I wouldn't. But I did. The world caught my attention. I said that it wouldn't anymore. I've been longing for things that I know I have no business longing for. I've been thinking about things that I can't wait to try. I've been moving in a direction that I have no business moving. I want to ask you today, as the Holy Ghost would put His finger upon you, return. Return unto the shepherd and the bishop of your soul. Father, I honor You today. I know, Lord, I'm not much. But I am dependent on You. I can't convert a soul. I can't talk to people well enough. I cannot counsel good enough to keep a soul from turning who's bent on turning. But I know You can. You did it for me. There are people in this place, You've done it for them. When they had moved away, oh, they caught their senses and You brought them back. I'm asking You today to move in the way that only You can. I pray for the restoration of a soul today. Let conviction really settle on somebody. I don't want to lose somebody to this world. Lord, I don't want to lose not one sheep to the lusts of the flesh. I don't want to lose not one soul because they got distracted or bored. So I'm asking You today, God, deal with hearts. In Jesus' name. I'm making the invitation now. I'm asking somebody to step out of where You are. I know we're a holyness church and I know that there's high expectations for every one of us. And it's never comfortable to step out and admit I've been looking somewhere else. I'm not talking about the church. I'm not talking about gospel light. I'm talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ. You've been thinking, if only I could have a few moments. If only when nobody's looking, I want you to come back and renew your vows. I want you to return and tell God, I'm sorry. I moved. I didn't get far, but I'm coming back before I get any farther. I'm asking You, church. I'm asking You. Don't keep moving in that direction. Do not keep going but turn around. You're only a few steps away from getting back to the place that you said you'd never leave. How about it? Come on now. Come on now. Come on now. God's dealing with somebody. God's moving on somebody's heart. Why would we fake it when so much is at stake? Why do we want to pretend? Oh, God. Oh, Jesus. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. Hallelujah. If it was just me, He'd say, go ahead, turn me away. But if the Holy Ghost is touching your soul, He's not one to trifle with. He's not one that you just say, let me think about it a little while. He's already pointed you out. Surely, come on. The psalmist said I was almost gone. My feet had well nigh slipped. And when I said my feet had slipped, thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. He's willing. There'd never come a message like this if He was looking to say, you just go right on ahead. I've got plenty to take your place. God's not like that. Somebody. Somebody come. Praise the Lord. We sure would want the sinner to come, wouldn't we? We sure would expect for somebody who just comes in the door, why would they turn away an invitation like this? Alright, come on church. Come on in and let's all pray. To the place where I prayed through, I'm going back to the altar again. Back to the place where God's mercy ends. Back to where I found life anew. I'm going back to the place where I prayed through. I'm going back to the altar again. Down on my knees where God's mercy begins. I'm going back to where I found life anew. I'm going back to the place where I prayed through.