[0:00] Oh, N switch. That works really good. Amen. So good morning, Bible Baptist Church, Selmar. It is a blessing to be here for me, hopefully for you as well.
[0:12] My name is Brian. I come from a little church down in San Pedro called Bayview Baptist Church. I kind of grew up around this church. I had the blessing of first kind of meeting some of the folks here back at a family camp.
[0:25] Amen. That was probably about 20 years ago. So it's been a little while, but it is definitely a privilege to be here. And I'm thankful that you are as well. To be honest with you, I have a bunch of messages. Amen.
[0:41] I have them all printed up nicely. Amen. They got verses all over them. But I have I have this message that just doesn't seem to leave me alone. There's two pieces of good news for this. Amen.
[0:55] The first is this. There's a good chance it's going to be a shorter message. Amen. That's that's your favorite part. Amen. The second one is this. This is going to make sure that you really miss your pastor.
[1:07] Amen. So if you would turn with me to Psalms chapter seven. Psalms chapter seven. One thing that I think that all preachers should do their best to do is include as much Bible as they can and every single message that they that they preach.
[1:24] And so I would apologize that there's not a lot of verses in this. But I think this is the way the Lord would have me to do it this morning. So I'm just going to go with him and and hope it works out.
[1:38] Amen. But if you'll bow your heads with me, it'd be good to pray before we start. Heavenly Father. A good message on paper isn't worth anything, Lord.
[1:54] And I'm kind of a little afraid to preach this message, Lord. I don't know where it's headed. Maybe that's better, Lord. So I pray that you get involved, Lord. May you direct it as you so choose.
[2:05] I thank you, Lord, for for doing all that you've done for me. So help me to do something for you. I know you deserve it, Lord. So please bless as only you can. I love you, Savior.
[2:16] And as your child, I ask and beg for your help. For I ask it in the name of my truly precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.
[2:27] Psalm chapter seven. Psalm chapter seven and verse 15. Actually, we'll start back a little further.
[2:37] Amen. Verse 11. Verse 11. So Psalm chapter seven and verse 11 says this. God judges the righteous and God is angry with the wicked every day.
[2:51] If he turn not, he will wet his sword. He hath bent his bow and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death.
[3:02] He ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity and hath conceived mischief and brought forth falsehood.
[3:14] Verse 15 is our text. He made a pit and digged it and has fallen into the ditch which he made. Tyler, my message this morning is this. Still in the ditch.
[3:25] Still in the ditch. Amen. You are still in the pit. This passage describes a person who's not traveling the right road. Amen. And they have all these intentions in their mind.
[3:37] And that's probably where I would start as this. His intentions are different than what happens. His intentions are different than what happened. Amen. If you were to look at the Bible and you were to study your adversary, the devil, two things that would probably stick out to you besides the fact that he's evil.
[3:54] Amen. He likes to destroy. But a couple of things that would really stick out to you are his pride and his subtlety.
[4:05] His subtlety. Amen. You notice in this passage it talks about somebody who has made a plan. Amen. Here in verse 15 we'll read it again. He made a pit and digged it and has fallen into the ditch which he made.
[4:19] There was a different purpose that he had in mind. Amen. When he started to dig. Amen. He thought his purpose would be accomplished. When they start they think it's going to work.
[4:31] Amen. If you're like me you have this whole plan. Amen. It has all these facets to it. You have it all lined up. There's step by step process. How you're going to get there. Amen. If you fail to plan you plan to fail.
[4:44] Amen. And so if you want something good in your life. For me personally. Amen. I try to figure out the steps that are involved to get there. Amen. If you want to be a spiritual person. Amen. Well you probably need to pray.
[4:56] You need to read your Bible. You need to be in church. And you write these steps down. Where you want to get to. And how you would get there. Amen. This individual did something similar. Amen. They said here's a purpose that I have.
[5:07] And this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to dig a pit. Amen. And I want you to think about the purposes that you have in your life. Amen. What are the purposes that you have in your life?
[5:20] I want to make a lot of money. I want to drive a nice car. Amen. I want to be popular. Amen. That's a big one nowadays. I don't know if it always has been.
[5:30] But being popular. Amen. I've heard of people that get so upset. Because somebody they don't know said something bad about them. On a computer.
[5:41] Or excuse me. A phone. Amen. Everybody does everything with a phone. Which is a computer to me. Amen. But oh man. They said all these bad things about me. I just can't take it anymore.
[5:52] Have you ever met this person? No. But you should have seen what they said about you. Do they know you at all? No. But they said it and it was mean. Oh that's terrible. I really truly don't feel for you.
[6:02] Amen. But the thing is this. Amen. There are purposes that we have in life. And sometimes I think it's good to sit down and look at what those purposes are. Amen. Amen.
[6:13] Amen. Amen. Because before you can really formulate a plan it's really good to know where you're going. Amen. Yesterday I'm terrified of being late. Amen. My worst nightmare is like I break down on the way here.
[6:25] And what do I do? Amen. I'm 40 something miles away. Amen. Jogging ain't going to make it in time. Amen. These shoes are not made for running.
[6:37] Amen. But I'm telling you it's like this terrible thought. What happens if the alarm doesn't go off? And one of the things I start with is I make sure I have the right address. Amen. I MapQuest it.
[6:49] I figure out where am I going. Amen. I write down like okay. I take the 110 to the 405. Even if MapQuest goes out. Amen. Amen. Even if MapQuest goes out.
[6:59] Amen. I have these written down so in general I can get here. Amen. But I had to start with a destination. Amen. This guy starts with digging a pit for his enemy. Maybe that's your plan in here today.
[7:13] Maybe there's somebody that you haven't forgiven. Maybe there's some bitterness in your heart that you look across at somebody and you say that guy did me wrong. Here's what I'll do. You see this gentleman had a purpose.
[7:26] Amen. He said here's what I want to accomplish and it'd be good for you to at least start with what you want to accomplish. Amen. If you aim at nothing you'll hit it every time.
[7:38] Right. Amen. What is the purpose that you have in your life? Amen. The different purpose that they had in mind. Sometimes we do it this way. Amen.
[7:50] I'm going to get to this place right here but I'm going to try it all the world's way. I'm going to try it the world's way. Amen. I want to...
[8:02] Oh, there's so many things to talk about. Danger. Do you... Danger. Danger. Danger. Amen. Amen. If you wanted a good paying job and you were to go to the people of your community, what would they say for you to do?
[8:23] Good education. Right? You got to go to the right school. You got to know the right people. Amen. So here's what you're going to do. Amen. You're going to study real hard. You're going to get good scores on those tests and then you're going to go to this school right here.
[8:34] Amen. And they'd have this whole plan for you. Amen. And I want to ask you, what's your plan today to be a good Christian? What's your plan to be a good Christian?
[8:52] What a scary thought that you would be in church this morning. Amen. I always like this joke. They said this kid had a drug problem. Amen.
[9:02] His dad drug him to church. His dad drug him to the Bible study. His dad drug him out onto the teen campus. Drug him everywhere. Amen. Maybe you're one of those people here today. You got drug here today. Amen.
[9:13] You weren't thinking about coming, but, you know, people kind of expected of you. And, of course, you know, there's that person in church that if you're missing, they might call and ask you why. And then you'd have to come up with a reason and all those things.
[9:25] But your purpose isn't so much to be a good Christian. Amen. Then maybe you need to think about that. But if you've taken it one step further and you said, I really want to be a good Christian, what is your plan? What is your plan?
[9:38] What would you say to somebody who said, I want a really high-paying job? Amen. You say, really? That's your goal? That's my total goal in life. I want a huge paying job.
[9:49] I want a job paying me so much money, I don't even know how to spend it all. Amen. And you say, wow, that's, okay, that's your goal. Okay, so what's your plan to get there? I don't know. I just want a good paying job.
[10:02] Well, how are you going to get that job? Well, I guess it's just going to come to me. What's your plan to be a good Christian?
[10:18] See, this gentleman starts out with a plan. At least he did that, right? At least he started out with a plan. This guy said, I'm going to dig a pit. But can I tell you that doing it the world's way often comes with different results?
[10:34] Those people that have tried to get the popularity have often found themselves very unhappy once they got it. Those people that have sought for fame, amen, and got it have often found themselves very unhappy with what they've done.
[10:49] Amen. I can think of many people in this world that money was their big object in life. Amen. If I just had enough money, I could solve all these problems. Amen. And then they got the money and now they got more problems.
[11:01] Amen. Well, I live in a little town called San Pedro and just up from us, we call it the hill. Amen. This is where all the... It's going to sound bad, but I'll say it anyways, right?
[11:12] This is where all the rich people live. I mean, these houses start at millions of dollars, right? And so you look up the hill and you go, man, those people got it made right there. And then you go up and you witness to them.
[11:23] You knock on the door. What do you want? Whoa, hey. Good morning. Nice to see you too. Amen. What just happened there? Oh, they got all that joy with that money. See, the results don't seem to come with this purpose.
[11:38] Amen. And I'll say it this way. If you've ever done something the world's way, you'll see that the results vary. Amen.
[11:49] The results don't seem to match what the purpose was. And that's exactly what happens in this passage right here. He says, he digged a pit. Amen. He made a pit and digged it and has fallen into the ditch he made.
[12:05] You know what happens to a lot of Christians nowadays? They're falling into the pit that they dig. Sometimes our biggest problem looks us in the face each morning, doesn't it?
[12:18] What kind of problems have you made for yourself? I hopefully can tell you about an experience that you'll never have.
[12:30] Amen. I was an alcoholic son of an alcoholic. Amen. And since alcohol wasn't really, didn't taste good. Amen. I tried smoking instead.
[12:41] Amen. I smoked weed. Amen. Amen. And so I was an alky and a druggie. Amen. Amen. What did that accomplish?
[12:56] What did that accomplish? I wanted to be popular. I wanted to be part of the in crowd. Amen. I wanted to do all these things. But the problem is this.
[13:07] I was digging my own pit. I was digging my own pit. And you say, why do you bring that up? Because this. Wouldn't it have been nice if I stopped right when I started?
[13:17] When I had that first beer and thought, this tastes terrible. Wouldn't that have been a good time to stop? Amen. When I first smoked weed.
[13:28] Amen. And my body told me, that's the wrong thing to do. Here, let me show you why that's the wrong thing to do. Your body tells you, don't take the smoke in.
[13:39] But you say, hey, everybody else is doing it. Wouldn't it have been nice if I just listened back then? Part of my message is this. Wouldn't it be nice if all those ditches were just one foot deep?
[13:52] Oh, no. I fell. I'm out. I'm in. I'm out. I'm in.
[14:02] Amen. Wouldn't it be nice if the problems in our lives were exactly like that? Amen. And the problem is they're not. And the why. Why is a good question to ask yourself. Why am I in this situation?
[14:14] Because I just kept digging. You see, when he purposed in his mind, he said, I'm going to dig this ditch. It took a lot of work to get it deep enough. And at any time, he could have just said, you know what?
[14:26] This just ain't worth it. But no. How many of you have ever dug a ditch?
[14:37] That is hard work. Amen. I mean, that doesn't matter how soft the ground is. I mean, you're digging a ditch that somebody will get trapped in. Amen.
[14:48] Amen. We're talking, what, 10 feet down? I mean, after four feet, don't you go, that's enough, man. I don't. I don't. I dislike this guy, but not that much. Amen. No, he just keeps digging and digging and digging.
[15:00] Amen. Why don't you do this in your life right now? Why don't you get with the Lord personally? Why don't you say, Lord, what am I doing wrong? What are the problems that I'm creating for myself? Forget everybody else.
[15:12] Amen. What are the problems that I'm creating for myself? And Lord, help me to stop right now. Please, Lord, help me to stop right now.
[15:26] Before I expend all this energy just digging myself deeper and deeper and deeper. If you're like me, like I said, you make all these plans, but it doesn't seem to go according to that plan, does it?
[15:47] I had a lot of plans that did not include COVID-19. I'm working at this business. Amen. We're making flags.
[15:58] Right. And then COVID-19 hits. What plans do you have for that? I have this great purpose. I made all these plans.
[16:09] But what happened? The results may vary. Amen. The problem is this. The purpose in mind is very different than what I incurred. Amen. Amen. What plans are you making?
[16:25] Or are you just digging yourself deeper and deeper into a pit? I'll say this about the person in the pit. Amen.
[16:38] Sometimes they just tend to stay there. One of the sadder things that occurs when you stay a Christian for a long time, amen, is you see people that get out of church.
[16:53] You see them drift away from God. You know, at some point they probably stopped reading their Bible, stopped listening to their pastor, stopped praying.
[17:05] Amen. Eventually just stopped coming to church. Amen. And you see them drift out further and further and further. And you wish you could do something to help them. Please come on back. Please come on back.
[17:16] But they just keep going. That's a strange thing to me. That's a strange thing to me. After you've been saved for a little while, you figure out, if you're interested, amen, after you've been saved for a little while, you figure out how good it is.
[17:34] Can I at least get an amen there? Amen. If you've been saved for four or five years and you haven't figured out that it's good, it might be time to crack that Bible.
[17:49] Amen. I don't know how you would, how would you not know that being saved is good? How would you not know that being a Christian is good? Just if you haven't experienced it, that's the only way you wouldn't know.
[18:02] Amen. Trust me. I've tried both sides. Amen. I've been on both sides of this aisle. Amen. I've been out there in the world. I was a lost kid, a latchkey kid from a good family, well, a well-off family.
[18:16] Amen. In Los Angeles. Amen. I mean, there was everything I could do. I grew up on a boat. Amen. I went sailing during the day.
[18:27] Amen. My first car had sails. Amen. It was a cool life. Amen. And you say, would you trade it for now? No way. No way. There is nothing of that past, maybe some of the money I was making, but nothing that I would trade for that past life.
[18:43] Amen. But it's crazy to me that when you get in that pit, sometimes you'll just stay there. Is there something that the Lord's dealing with you about that you're just sticking with?
[18:58] Is there something that the Lord has put his finger on and said, you need to get this out of your life? And you said, yeah, but... Don't stay in the pit.
[19:19] Don't make it roomier. Don't start hanging pictures. Amen. Get out of the problems that you're creating for yourself. Trust me, the world will create enough for you.
[19:32] Amen. You don't need to make up your own. It's really a good system. Amen. You don't have to worry about it. Amen. The prayer list should tell you. Amen. You don't have to create your own problems. There's plenty out there for you.
[19:42] Amen. But just the ones that you're creating, do your best to stop now. Don't stay in the pit. It's interesting.
[19:59] I was going to talk to you about Joseph. Amen. Actually, let's... I'm going to do something terrible. Go to Genesis. Genesis. I'm going to try and find a passage without any...
[20:19] prayer knowledge. This is a terrible idea, but let's try it. Amen. Genesis chapter 37 and verse 9. Genesis chapter 37 and verse 9.
[20:35] And he dreamed yet another dream, of course, talking about Joseph, and told it his brethren and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more. And behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
[20:47] And he told it to his father and to his brethren. And his father rebuked him and said unto him, What is this that... What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee, to the earth?
[21:05] What happens to this Joseph? Amen. Verse 18. And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
[21:18] And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Amen. Verse 24. And they took him and cast him into a pit, and the pit was empty.
[21:32] There was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
[21:51] You know the story. Isn't it interesting that in this passage, Joseph is the one in the pit, and his brethren are the ones that are in trouble?
[22:05] You see, it's not a physical pit that I'm talking about. I'm talking about a distance between you and God.
[22:24] Because after he adopts you into his family, after he gives you eternal life, after you've accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, there's a relationship that is had. And the problem is this pit right here creates a further distance between you and him.
[22:39] It's not that you're no longer a child. The problem is this. We're no longer close. Maybe you can remember back to the day that you got saved and how you got all your sins forgiven, and maybe there was this feeling of this great weight being lifted off of you.
[22:54] Maybe there was this joy in your heart. Maybe there was this realization. However it worked for you, amen, there was a closeness between you and God on that moment, but since then you've been drifting. And the problem is the deeper you get in this pit, the farther you get away from God.
[23:10] And that might be what's happening in your life right now. You see, it doesn't, I want to say this right, amen, even if that's you, keep coming to church, amen, but when you come to church, is there that closeness between you and God?
[23:29] Do you come to church because there's a closeness between you and God? Or do you have a drug problem? Amen. I was going to compare this passage to Joseph, amen, but I was minded not to.
[23:47] I'm not sure why. But the thing is this, once you find yourself in the pit, it's good to get yourself out. As the joke goes, if you find yourself in the pit, the first thing to do is stop digging.
[24:02] Stop digging. Maybe your purpose isn't what it should be. Maybe your results don't tend to line up with what you're trying to do.
[24:18] Maybe you just found yourself in a pit that you dug a long time ago. And I know it's a quick message, but I'd like to go over one more point.
[24:36] Sometimes, you'll find yourself in a pit. Sometimes, things will happen in your life that are out of your control. Amen. Sometimes, things happen that you had no say-so in.
[24:50] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. My parents got divorced when I was younger. Oh, what was me? No, no. Amen. But I didn't have any control over that, did I?
[25:01] Amen. I was just a little kid when it happened. I have no say in this matter, right? Amen. Maybe your pit is self-made.
[25:15] Maybe you're the one that dig it. Maybe you're not. But when you find yourself in the ditch, amen, when you find yourself in the pit. Amen. Amen. When you find yourself in the pit, one thing to remember, there's always a way out.
[25:34] There's always a way out. May not be what you wanted. May not be the way that you think it should happen. Amen. Amen. anybody competing with me with the worst voice in here amen i i have got a terrible singing voice amen and at one point god made me a song leader that's the sense of humor that he has amen so it might not happen the way that you think amen i want to serve you lord come on what can i do lord song no come on amen no really no no really what do you want me to do amen it might be a totally different than what you have envisioned amen it might be a totally different way the way he gets you out of that pit might be something that you never thought of amen but can i just tell you this no matter what happens to you in life no matter what ditch whether you've digged it or somebody else no matter if it came to you or not this is the story amen there's always a way out but are you seeking the help i would like you to picture something just for a moment i want you to imagine a person down in this ditch this pit 15 feet down slippery sides and they're just sitting there and they're sad and this rope comes down hits them in the head keeps hitting them in the head stupid thing so they bend down a little further and it drops further this thing is so annoying amen i wish somebody would just get that rope out of here amen am i not having a bad enough time here is it not bad enough that i'm in this pit the walls are slippery i can't seem to get a way out and there's jesus right up at the top with the rope going come on just reach up just reach up and all you do is look at this situation this is so annoying these people at this church just keep praying for me and they keep inviting me back to church over and over and over again they knock on my door they call me by phone amen they put tracks on my car they just will not leave me alone oh so annoying amen and then there's the holy spirit don't get me started about the holy spirit amen i wake up in the middle of the night bibles all around me amen about time to read no i'm sleepy amen i want to go back to sleep what happens would you just get that out of my ah amen and the lord is just sitting there come on come on nice thick rope isn't this what you want go with me to matthew chapter 15 matthew chapter 15 and verse 8 matthew chapter 15 and verse 8 this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips but their heart is far from me but in vain they do worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men
[29:35] how often do you go to man before god for your problems lord i'm having trouble seeing my help amen do you think every once in a while that you're still in that pit because that buddy of yours isn't the right help do you ever think that you're in that pit because working a few extra hours at work isn't what's going to help there's a way out i said that amen but it's not man's way god quite clearly can use people to help you amen i remember when i was i was praying about going to bible school amen um uh the lord seemed to be opening a door but i was i was confused i wasn't sure should i be going should i not be going lord i don't know amen i desperately need your help because at this time i'm married amen not only am i going to make this mistake for myself i'm going to take somebody with me lord this is even that much more important i really need to know whether i should go at a bible school and so eventually you know i pray i i cry my eyes out and i finally there's this knock at the door and this lost guy from across the street has the acceptance letter to bible school and he hands it to me so god can use whoever he wants amen but are you seeking god first for your problems when you want to get out of that pit are you are you seeking the boss a friend a relative and i'm not saying any of those things are bad but wouldn't it be nice if you just check with god first i mean just for fun amen because in vain they do worship me teaching for for doctrines the commandments of men go with me to luke chapter 21 if you're in a pit here today amen there is a way out i know things can look bleak in life amen i'm well aware of bad situations i've been very blessed amen but i've still come across my share and i know that things can look bleak and you can say to yourself there's no way out of this i i've tried my i've exhausted my resources amen i've tried as hard as i could i've done this i've done that i've talked to friends i've talked to experts i've done all these things and it just doesn't seem like there's a way out amen luke chapter 21 in verse 27 well let's start in verse 26 i just like reading scripture amen men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth for the powers of heaven heaven shall be shaken verse 27 and then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory and when these things begin to come to pass then look up and lift your heads for your redemption draweth nigh if you find yourself in a pit good thing to do look up it'd just be good to look up amen there's not many solutions down at the bottom of the pit amen if you keep looking at your shoes amen you'll know a lot about your shoes but not much about what's ahead amen the problem is this amen where are you looking for your help where does your help come from i mean seriously right now if you're driving home and you get a phone call lord please don't let this happen amen but you're driving home right now
[33:35] and you get that phone call and something terrible just happened amen do you say okay here are the 16 things i need to do or do you say god please help because sometimes when you look up you'll see your redemption draweth nigh if you're looking down you might not see it does that rope keep bothering you best thing to do is not start digging in the first place go with me to psalm chapter 57 please psalm chapter 57 and verse 6 maybe you've taken up residence in your pit maybe you've just accepted the fact that it's just always going to be like this amen i'm addicted to whatever it is amen i i you know i i'm on my phone six hours a day whatever it is that's got a hold of your life maybe you just say you know i i've tried to stop amen i i went a whole a half day without my phone it was amazing amen but then i just had to go right back to it that might sound funny but i i can't imagine how many people in here that's true for amen what if you lost your phone today how would people get a hold of you who cares about that amen internet amen i gotta have the internet amen i can never get away from that internet amen oh god's somber in here okay my bad sorry didn't mean to get there hang on here we are in psalm chapter 57 verse 6 it says this they have prepared a net for my steps my soul is bowed down they have digged a pit before me into the midst where they are fallen themselves keep reading with me my heart is fixed oh god my heart is fixed i will sing and give praise i already told you you know where your hope comes from but i want you to notice verse 7 it says this i will sing and give praise go back with me to psalm chapter 7 our text for this morning psalm chapter 7 psalm chapter 7 and verse 17 just six more hours i promise you'll be done six more hours amen psalm chapter 7 and verse 17 i will praise the lord according to his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the lord most high let's start again in verse 15 amen he made a pit and digged it and has fallen into the ditch which he made has mischief his mischief shall return upon his own head and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate i will praise the lord according to his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the lord most high these two passages are extremely similar and there's something that i noticed about both of them in both cases the people that dig the pit fell in themselves they caused their own problems but there's something else that i noticed the righteous the right people in both these categories are singing praises to god it may seem like a stretch but go with me for a second if i were to listen to your music playlist what would it sound like and i'll say
[37:38] this i've been i've been saved christian for i think over 20 years amen and i've noticed maybe it's just the people that i know i've noticed that the people that listen to christian music and prefer it tend to be the most spiritual if i was to get into your phone right now and we found your music playlist what would i find you know what i think i would find for a lot of people and i'm saying this for your own benefit not for mine amen i bet you i'd find a shovel that's digging and digging and digging what's your music playlist don't tell me later today you'll be singing it and that's one of the subtleties that the devil has for you just a little music right but it's in your head over and over and over and over again amen i heard of this one guy he would listen to bible while he was at work they let him you know put on the earphones or whatever and so as he's as he's at work he was constantly listening to bible that's a guy that grew up a gang member a violent gang member amen and now he's serving the lord he's doing bible studies amen he's got he's got all this stuff going on and i think that i think that at some point he just decided you know what i'm just gonna stop digging and this thing that just keeps annoying me amen i think i'll just look up and it's just a suggestion you start wherever the lord tells you but maybe you start with your music playlist maybe you start with the things that you're watching people that you're hanging around with wouldn't it be a strange thing to say i'm a christian i go to church who are the five people that you hang out with well this lost guy this other lost guy this lost girl these two other lost people okay that's fun whoever you want amen what do you listen to well i i sing the hymns in church and everything but at at home and on the way to work and then out with my friends you get the idea you get the idea go with me to psalm chapter 40 psalm chapter 40 and verse two maybe it's good for you to read these two verses to yourself psalm chapter 40 verses two and three go ahead and read them to yourself it's very hard for me to
[41:39] read these verses without smiling you say it's not a really good context i know i know so i'm gonna read them to you amen he brought me up also out of an horrible pit out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings and he hath put a new oh there it is again weird how that works huh we call that a coinkydink amen and he hath put a new song in my mouth even praise unto our god many shall see it and fear and shall trust in the lord if you stay in the pit your song will always be that your song will be oh woe is me your song will be i wish i had a i wish i coulda i wish i shoulda amen i have a new song in my heart amen and it's praise unto my god when i talk about being brought out of a horrible pit whoo whoo whoo you say i don't think you should get excited in church you're in the wrong church amen we're talking about god here amen let me tell you what my new song is thank you lord amen nothing but the blood of jesus how you singing those songs because let me tell you how i try not just for here's the sad part for you guys i try not to get too excited amen i am i am about to run around this church when we start singing those songs amen because i got a new song because i'm not in that pit anymore there still are problems in my life i still find myself in some of those little things that i do to myself but i got a new song in my heart amen i got praise unto my lord because he took me out of the horrible pit amen i know i dug it for myself i know exactly why i was in it and here's the difference amen when that rope hit me in the head about the 50th time i finally said okay i get the message amen i would be happy to get out of this pit amen i've been wanting to be out of this pit for so long thank you lord for finally getting me out of this pit i see daylight i see solid ground around me i start reading the bible i start praying going to church amen i don't even know why i even went wednesday night that's how crazy i am and all of a sudden everything becomes clear around me it's solid footing i'm no longer slipping i'm no longer looking around at the sides of the pit thank you lord i got a new song how about you what's your song is your song nothing but the lakers saves no amen oh would i love a dodgers win let's go to the pennant amen whatever your song is amen wouldn't it be a good time to get a new song wouldn't it be time to sing praises unto the lord and savior who can take you out of that horrible pit even if you've made it for yourself and put your feet on solid ground wouldn't it be nice if the people around you could look over and say why is he so happy amen what changed about him i remember that guy he was always in that pit man god is so good how can you not say that with your life let me ask you guys let me preach at you for a little while how can you not say that with your lives why do your neighbors not know why are you unable to hand out a track why have you never witnessed to somebody for this whole week why is it that the lord has to beg you to come to church why is it that when you sing those songs they don't mean anything to you why is that i'll say this it's because you're still in the pit you're still in the pit and even worse some of you dug it yourself say how much bible do i read as much as you want if i was to ask you some bible questions right now what would the answer be i don't know ask that guy over there i'd love to answer you
[45:40] but ask that guy over there maybe you're newly saved that's a fair answer amen but after you've been here a little while get your feet on some solid ground get yourself out of the pit maybe then you'll have some joy in your life maybe then you'll be excited about church amen maybe then when you're getting dressed up in this stupid suit and tie amen you'll finally say well okay that's all right it's worth it i get to go to church all of us hate this tie come on is there anybody in here that likes a tie anybody there might be amen i there's there's a couple amen some people some people like all kinds of stuff i went to school with a guy who loved learning about greek ancient greek god bless you amen that's why god puts this body together amen because i am not that you're the head amen i'll just be a finger over here amen because i am not interested in studying greek the rest of my life amen but do you have a new praise do you have a new song in your life is there something exciting that happened to you have you been taken out of the pit or are you still looking around at those same four walls because he's able and after that rope is annoying you for long enough why don't you just reach up and get it why don't you just do that let's pray heavenly father thank you lord for for taking me out of a horrible pit lord i know for sure i'd be in jail or dead right now lord without you you are merciful to me every moment of my life lord and to this day you are still so kind to me lord help me to sing your praises lord help me to talk about you help me to be joyous about what has happened in my life lord help me to to tell others how they can get out of the pit lord i know you're always available and i pray lord i beg you that somebody in here in this room lord would reach out today grab a hold of that rope and that you'd show them a better way lord help them to see the light of day lord help them to see what what could be ahead for them lord and i'll be sure to give you the thanks and the praise lord because you're the only one that deserves it i love you savior and i ask for your blessings now in the name of my lord jesus christ amen you you