Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/riversidehop/sermons/70452/thieves-and-robbers-part-one/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] I think he had some kind of tape player down there that's telling him what to say or something. No. But he did a fantastic job. I've told everybody. What a fine job Brother Bobby did last week. Amen? [0:14] He shocked me. And I think he shocked a lot of people. Amen? Now you know... I could preach some good little stuff, make your ears tingle. [0:29] I could tell you about Acts 2.38, you know, repent and be baptized. I could tell you about John 3.16 or, you know, I could go over to, you know, Romans 13. [0:40] We could get into love chapter. But tonight, I want to get your feet just a little bit deeper in the Word of God than what we normally get in around here. Amen? [0:53] We get in pretty good on Sunday mornings. Hallelujah. Anybody know anything about the smoke cloud of his name? Huh? Huh? [1:04] Have I been preaching around here and nobody knows about the smoke cloud of his name? I'll preach it again tomorrow. And I ain't talking about cigarette smoke either. I'm talking about Isaiah 5 where the Bible says... [1:19] Brother Van didn't say it. Brother Van didn't say it, but the Bible said it. Amen. That in that day... What day? In that millennial rain day... He said, brethren, I would that you not be ignorant about this one thing. [1:33] That a day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day. Amen? Amen? In that day... The smoke... [1:45] You say, brother Van, you making that up? Oh, no, I'm not. The smoke cloud... Every cloud is going to be on every house. And in that cloud, there's going to be a name that's above every name that's in that house. [1:59] Amen? But that was last Sunday and the Sunday before that message, so we're going on. Can somebody shout amen? Amen. Turn with me, if you will, to the book of John. John 10th chapter. [2:12] Everybody love John? John's a good old boy, isn't he? He may even be called beloved. Amen. I want to read a few verses here. [2:28] And maybe show you something that you've never seen before. Because we tend to read things and it just goes right on over the top of our heads. In John 10 and 1, it says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door... [2:52] Everybody say the door. That's one time. Into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. Everybody say thief and a robber. [3:04] What if I told you not I was going to preach on thieves and robbers? You think, oh no, he's going to preach on tithing again. Well, I'm going to preach on thieves and robbers and I ain't going to preach on tithing. [3:15] How about that? Then they said, oh okay, if you ain't going to preach on tithing, you can preach on thieves and robbers. But he that entereth in by... [3:29] Everybody say the door. Is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth. And the sheep hear his voice. [3:39] And he calleth his own sheep by name. And leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them. [3:51] And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him. For they know not the voice of strangers. [4:03] This parable spake Jesus unto them. But they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Do we understand? [4:19] Or do we just think we understand? Do you really understand? I doubt it seriously. So let's read verse 7. [4:30] Then Jesus said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the... [4:41] How many times is that? Three. Everybody say three. That's three times. Amen. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. [4:54] All that ever came before me were thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not hear them. I am... How many times is that? [5:06] Isn't it funny how the word of God is said that in the form of a cross? And we see it time after time after time after time. I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pastor. [5:20] The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd and the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. [5:34] Let's bow our heads and go to the Lord in prayer. Lord Jesus, we love you, Lord God. We thank you, Lord God, for the heights and the depths of your precious word, Lord God. We ask you, Lord God, to take us tonight. Lord God, that some of the tay home below and the tay home above, Lord God, that we might, Lord, be able to wet our feet in the waters of your precious word. [5:51] Lord God, open our minds and our hearts to receive, Lord God, what thus saith the word of God, Lord, not what I say, but, Lord, what your spirit speaks through me tonight. Lord God, that we might be able to take this word and apply it to our hearts and lives. [6:04] Lord God, that we might be found fruit-bearing Christians when you come. In Jesus' name. Everybody said amen. Now, I warned them last Sunday morning to fasten their seatbelts because I might make them mad and blow them out. But I had the wrong message in. [6:16] And this Sunday, this Saturday evening, I'd like to warn you again, don't be mad at the mailman who brings the mail if you're the one that makes the bill. Can you say amen? [6:27] Hallelujah. The old saying is if you're going to dance, you've got to play the piper. Can somebody say amen? Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. [6:38] There are two different words that are translated. Now, see, what makes the word of God so hard to study is that in the Greek, which is what our translation of the King James Version is translated from the Greek, but it was translated from something else into the Greek, which was Aramaic. [6:56] And Aramaic is just a fancy word for Hebrew or the Jewish language. So somebody said, well, what language did Jesus talk? Well, he spoke Aramaic. But Aramaic, if you look up the word Aramaic, in your Strong's Concordance, you're going to find out it says Hebrew. [7:10] He was a Hebrew, and he spoke Hebrew. Amen. So if you want to find out what this is talking about, you can't find it out in the New Testament because there's so many types and shadows that we have to know what is really going on. [7:27] Now, in the Old Testament tabernacle, they had a way that they called the Gideon. Did anybody remember what they called that? You know, there's three gates. [7:40] We always refer to it as three gates. John 14, Jesus said, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. Amen. So the first gate. [7:51] You got to understand that this is translated from Hebrew, not from Greek. Well, when you translate it from Greek, you don't get the right meaning at all. You get the word door. [8:03] You just get the word door. But if you go back to find out what he was talking about, he was talking about the Old Testament tabernacle, and also at this time, he was talking about Solomon's temple that was still there, which was also a door. [8:16] And this word door should have been rightly translated from the Hebrew as gate. Shawar, S-H-A-W-A-R, which is the root word of Shawar, S-H-A-H-A-R. [8:33] Shawar. What does that mean, Brother Van? Well, Jesus actually is saying that I am the way, I am the gate, and the way to what? When you came inside the Old Testament tabernacle, what was the first thing you saw? [8:50] The brazen altar, amen? What was the brazen altar type of? Judgment. Amen? Brazen altar was a type of judgment. What happened? [9:01] Once a year, the high priest, amen, would take the blood of a lamb, goat's blood, and they would take it and they would tie it to that altar and offer a sacrifice unto God, amen? If the Lord was pleaded with a sacrifice, what happened? [9:14] The fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, amen? That's where they get the cloud and the fire and the blood. Now, what's the blood a type of? The blood is a type of the blood of the lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, amen? [9:28] What's the fire a type of? The cloud and the fire, amen? The Holy Ghost. So, when you come through the first gate, oh, this is so good. If the Lord ever lets me tell you all of it. [9:39] Amen. You find out that Jesus is the gate now. The other two gates are not gates at all. They're curtains into the holy place and into the holy of holies. [9:50] And this word for those two in the Hebrew is delete, D-E-L-E-T-H, which is not the same as shawar at all because shawar means gate and the other means curtain. [10:01] But we look at it as the way, the truth, and the life gate, amen? Now, the only way into the way is on your knees because somebody shout amen. I remember the time of the story that two men came to church, one a Pharisee and one a publican. [10:16] And the publican came down and he knelt down at the altar and he began to smote up on his breast and saying, God, forgive me for I'm a sinner. [10:28] The Pharisee came and he stood up in the back of the church and he said, I thank my God that I'm not as other men are, even as this publican. I fast twice in the week. [10:38] I pay tithes of all that I possess and all these things. And then Jesus asked, which one of these two do you think went away to his home with victory in his heart and his life? [10:53] And the answer was it was the old publican, the old down and out, or the old one that the Pharisees wouldn't even fellowship with, the people from on the wrong side of the track. [11:07] Amen. He went home justified because he said, Father, forgive me because I ain't nothing but a no good old sinner. Have mercy upon me and save me. Amen. Hallelujah. How do you come to Jesus? [11:19] Honey, unless you come on your knees, you're wasting your time coming. I don't care if you're a million. I don't care if your name is Bill Gates. If you get saved, there's only one gate that you want to go through and it's not Bill Gates. It's going to be Jesus Christ, the show our gate. [11:30] Amen. The only way to the judgment. And what is being judged there? Your sins. Your sins. The Bible said if we will judge ourselves, we won't have to be judged. [11:42] If we'll judge ourselves. See, right now, you know, people try to justify themselves. But it's all right to do this a little bit, and that a little bit, and that a little bit. No, it's not all right. [11:53] Well, I'm saved. I got the Holy Ghost. I can take it. Well, if you're really saved, got the Holy Ghost, you don't have to take it. Can you say amen? Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Now, the Bible said, I am the door. [12:06] He that entereth not by the door to the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way the same as a thief and a robber. Can you say amen? People try to get saved different ways. Some people, and you know, we get people so much pride. [12:20] Man, if they ever smiled, their face would break. If the Holy Ghost ever hit them, they wouldn't shake because they're afraid they'd mess up their hair. They might shake the diamonds out of their ears or the rings out of their nose, you know. [12:33] So they want to come in and they want to get saved, I'll sign the church. That's that would it. Or they want to get saved by shaking the pastor's hand. Or they want to get saved, I'll give up $10,000 and put my name on the door of the book of the church and I'll just, you know, but don't expect me to get down on my knees and bow down. [12:50] Don't expect me to humble myself. Don't expect me to take the worm's road and humble myself before God and crawl around and say, God, I'm not worthy of salvation. No, don't expect me to go that route. You know what the Bible said? [13:01] They're trying to get in some other way and the Bible said they're thieves and they're robbers. There's only one way and Jesus said, I am the way. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. So we know how to be thieves and robbers on one side of the scale. [13:19] But how about the other side of the scale? There's another way. There'll be thieves and robbers. That's what I want you to buckle your seatbelt up for. Amen? Why do druggies do drugs? [13:37] To get high. Why do alcoholics drink alcohol? But what is getting drunk? You get a buzz. You get a high. But you know, I've had Chucky and different ones that's been high. [13:52] Tell me that getting in the spirit is the greatest high that you can experience. You're the one who told me that, wasn't you? It's the greatest high you can ever get. [14:06] Higher than drugs. Higher than anything. What in the world are they searching for when they're getting on drugs? They're searching for a spiritual high. What are they searching for when they get on alcohol? [14:17] They don't know what they're looking for. But you know, I've heard them talk about they get drunk and they have visions. Some of them see pink elephants and all this. You know, you talk about LSD. Some of them get on LSD and angel dust and they see things coming out of the walls and they're getting vision. [14:33] They're getting high. They're getting high on this stuff. But honey, there's only one way that you're supposed to get high. Amen? And that's coming in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen? Now listen, we come to church. [14:44] Why do we come to church? I don't know why you come to church. I don't come to church to get down. I come to church to get high. Why do I sing? I sing to get high. Why do I shout? [14:54] I shout to get high. Why do I get in the spirit? Honey, I want to get high on the word and the spirit and the love of God. But God has a plan. [15:05] He has a way for us to get high. And it's got to do with getting in here at 7 o'clock and get down on your knees. Hold on now. Listen, Jesus, I've had a rough week, Lord. [15:18] God, you've been good to me all week and I've had a good week. But Lord, I still need your grace and your love and your mercy. Please forgive me, Lord. And then you stay there long enough and finally you quit praying in your own language and the Holy Ghost intercession takes over and then you begin to intercede. [15:32] And all of a sudden you came in dead and dry. And not feeling anything and all of a sudden the spirit of God comes in you and you feel like you want to get up and shout. You want to get up and dance. You want to praise the name of the Lord. Amen. [15:42] You want to, hey. And then you look around and there ain't before five here. And then everybody else comes waltzing in at about 7.30, quarter to eight. Thieves and robbers. [15:56] They're trying to get high. They want to get high. They want to shout. They want to sing. They want to get in the spirit. They don't want to pray. They don't want to intercede. Book your seatbelts because I'm preaching to you if you hear. [16:09] Amen. God has got a plan and his plan is for us to come to church. Is this anything new we just started? Did we just start doing this? Come to church at 7. Get down on your knees. You don't sit around and talk about how the beans are growing or what's going on on sale at Walmart because it don't matter. [16:23] Talk about all that other junk some other time. We come to the house of God to get down on our knees and to pray and to stay there until we enter into intercessory prayer. Amen. [16:39] We think we're so smart. We know how to pray and I'm here to tell you tonight you're not that smart and you don't know how to pray because when he said for you know not what to pray for as you ought but the spirit make the intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered. [16:53] He was talking to all of us. All of us. Amen. For he that search of the heart knows the mind of the spirit. Amen. For you know not what to pray for as you ought. [17:05] We get down and we say our little you know us four no more prayer. God bless me and my wife and my son John and his wife us four no more. Amen. Or maybe we have a need in our immediate family we'll ask for that. [17:21] But the Bible said he that prays in an unknown tongue don't know what he has need of don't know what he's praying about but the spirit of God makes intercession for groaning to you. Read it. Read it. Somebody tell me Romans 8 26 turn there real quick. [17:33] Real quick. First one finds it read it for me. Bible drill. Romans 8 26. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities. [17:46] Amen. For we know that not what we should pray for as we ought but the spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. [18:00] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. [18:14] Who is the condemneth it is Christ that died ye rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us. [18:29] Ha! Ha! Somebody say ha! For we know not what to pray for as we ought but the spirit of God maketh groanings maketh intercession through us with groanings which cannot be spoken in a natural known language. [18:46] For he that searcheth the hearts knows the mind of the spirit and he makes intercession according to the will of the father. Who is making intercession through us? Somebody's going to say that's the Holy Ghost but if you read John 30 you read down through the 34th verse Romans 8 34 you find out it is that Jesus who was dead and is alive and is sitting at the right hand of the father making intercession for us but how can he make intercession for us if we won't present our bodies as living sacrifices and get to church in time to pray? [19:15] Come on! So what do we do? I want to get high when somebody else is praying I want to get high on somebody else's intercession I want to get high on somebody else's travailing and we make ourselves thieves and robbers I'm just telling you that why am I telling you? [19:35] I'm telling you because I love you Amen and if you don't want to be a thief and a robber then get in here and get to praying with us Amen and if you don't get in here we're going to do it anyway I'd just like for you to get in on some of it let me tell you what Jesus said I am the way I am the truth and I am the life Only way you'll ever get saved is you're going to get saved in Jesus' name or you ain't going to get saved Amen Only way you're ever going to get healed is you're going to heal in Jesus' name You ain't going to get healed Only way you're going to get the Holy Ghost is you're going to get it in Jesus' name but you ain't going to get it Now, the devil has a fake for everything that there's real. [20:10] There's a fake salvation, and people are going to hell thinking they're saved when they're lost. Because the real true gospel is going to cut you like a sharp two-edged sword. Amen? [20:21] It won't let you sit there and be comfortable, but it'll make you feel uncomfortable, make you want to do something about yourself. Amen? I can read you a message and get it out of the newspaper and make everybody pat me on the back and all that kind of stuff, but, honey, I'm going to be responsible before God for your blood, and I don't want your blood on my hands, so I'm going to preach you everything that God shows me brings my way. [20:41] In Acts, the fourth chapter in the tenth verse, I'm going to read these verses right here to you. It says, Be it known unto you all. Y'all listening? Be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand before you, whole. [21:00] This is the stone that was set at naught of you builders, which has become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved. [21:19] But in the name of Jesus, amen? Hallelujah. How did Philippians 2 and 9 say, Work for God that highly exalted him and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, listen, a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth shall bow. [21:45] And every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords to the glory of God the Father. Can you say amen? How in the world can he have a name that's above every name? The Bible said he gave, where's God at? [21:56] God in heaven? All right. How did he give him a name above God's name? Because he gave him his own name. Can somebody say amen? The tabernacle only got one door. [22:17] Anybody know anything about the Old Testament tabernacle? How many ways was it in and out of it? Huh? One door. How'd you get in that door? Huh? [22:30] Huh? Huh? Huh? You know another name for that door? It's called the knee gate. Because you've got to get down on your knees and crawl under those curtains to get inside. [22:46] Amen? Hallelujah. That's the way you ought to come into the church house. Amen? None of us deserve to walk in this place upright. We need to get down on our knees and crawl all the way to the altar. Amen? And repent for what we've done all week and for what we hadn't done all week. [22:59] Can somebody say amen? Straight is the gate. Narrow is the way. And there's going to be just a few that find it. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. He tells you. This is the only place in there where the gate is given this side and it's 20 cubits wide. [23:15] Cubits about 18 inches is supposed to be the span from an elbow to the end of the tip of your finger which is approximately 18 inches. So that means a 20 cubit gate is about 30 foot wide. Somebody said, I'm too big a sinner. [23:25] I can't be saved. Honey, I think a 30 foot gate can probably handle any sin you've done. Because the Bible said where sin doth abound, grace did much more abound. Amen? Chris, you might have been a pretty big sinner. [23:36] But God's grace is bigger than your sin. And if we ask God to forgive us, he said, he that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. Can somebody shout amen? Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. [23:46] John 10.10, there's two classes of life. Two classes of life. Which one are you living in? Let me just read John 10.10 to you there. [24:08] Hallelujah. Listen to what he says. The thief cometh not, but for to kill and to steal and to destroy. [24:19] But I am come that you might have life. There's a way gate. There's a truth gate. And there's a life gate. The way is going to lead you to the truth. [24:33] The truth will lead you to the life and the life and the love of Jesus Christ. Amen? Hallelujah. Hallelujah. He said, I am come that they might have life and that they might have that life more abundantly. [24:50] I don't know what kind of life you had before you got saved, but if you don't have more abundant life now than you did before you got saved, then you ain't got the right life. Amen? [25:02] How many can say, I got more life now than I ever had before? Man, honey, what I thought you should be living was dying. Amen? And when I thought I was dying, then I found out, hey, that when I died, he resurrected me and put his life inside of me. [25:13] Now I got new life inside of me. And it's not my life anymore. Paul said the life, he said, I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ live within me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the face, by the grace of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. [25:30] Amen? Now that's abundant life. That's more than abundant life. Amen? We all have to come through the knee gate. Down on your knees. [25:42] Unless you're in a wheelchair and can't get down there. You got some infirmity. Every time you come to church, you already hit your knees. I mean, I'm only 57 years old. My birthday, I'm going to be 58. When Allie gets, and then right after I'm 58, Allie Mae's going to be eight. [25:56] That's how she keeps up how old Papo is. She just takes her age and has 50 years. And she gets it. Amen? Hallelujah. We need to come through the doors of this church, crawling on our knees. [26:09] Just like coming into the Old Testament tabernacle. Coming to the way gate. Amen? Jesus said, I am the way. That leadeth to everlasting life. Hallelujah. Let me go a little bit further here. Thank you, Jesus. [26:21] Hallelujah. Every service, if we don't come and enter in with prayer and seek God's favor, but we still want to get in on somebody else's prayer and somebody else's spirit, and we know the plan. [26:33] Now, if you didn't know, then it's all right for your visitor. Been here first time, second time, third time. Still ain't figured out what's going on. Not getting on the plan. But if you've been here for six months, a year, five years, or ten years, and you don't get in here in time to pray, like, like, like, like, that is the order of the service that Brother Van has, uh, set under the authority of, of the Godhead. [26:52] Amen? If we don't do that, then you're a thief and a robber. And ain't got nothing to do with money. You're trying to get high on somebody else's blessings. Amen? Somebody else's prayer, somebody else's intercession and travail. [27:03] And everybody's saying, oh, me, my Lord. I thought, yeah, that's why I'm preaching it. Because you all need it. If you didn't need it, I wouldn't be preaching it. Amen? God wouldn't say, if everybody's getting in here at seven o'clock, and everybody's falling on the face and interceding, and you're walking in, and you feel like, you know, you're walking in there on the floor, and all of a sudden, you just elevate up in the air, I wouldn't have to preach this. [27:22] Because we've got to come in and pump and prime, and preach, and pray, and sing, and try to get you in the spirit. That's why I'm preaching this. Amen? [27:32] Amen. Now, so the first word in John 10, when he said, I am the door, truly, verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door to the sheep. That first door means gate. [27:44] It's gate. It should be translated. Because when you look at the translation in the Hebrew for the gate of the Old Testament tabernacle, it's shawar. Root word from shawar. Shawar. And it means a gate. [27:56] But those other doors that's on in there, and the other words that are, that the other doors in this thing right here does not mean gate. It means the leaf. [28:06] It don't mean the shawar. Say, brother, man, how you find that? By spending hours? Studying? You think we ought to do that? [28:17] No. I don't think you ought to do that. I think you ought to learn from my study. If you learn from my study, you won't have to spend all the time I did trying to learn it. And then after I, you know, I had to filter it down. [28:29] Sibs it out. Try to get it plain enough for me, even me to understand. Then if I figure if I can understand it, then maybe I can get it across to someone else to understand what I'm trying to preach. Amen? And then they shall go in and out. [28:42] In and out. Think about it. Verse 9. Look at it. And they shall go in and out and find pasture. Amen? I am the door. By me. [28:54] If any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out. I am the door. Everybody say, I am the door. [29:06] By me. If any man enter in, he shall go in and out. Why in the world would you want to go out after you got in the door? Why in the world would you want to go back out after you got in? [29:20] Mama, get your baby. Why in the world, if you got in, would you want to get out? I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and go in and out and find pasture. [29:39] You see, through studying, I found out that in the book of Nehemiah, the city of Jerusalem has 12 gates. And each gate comes from the same shawar word. [29:55] And then through studying, I found out that there's 12 gates to our heart. Not 13 steps down inside I ain't talking about that, I'm talking about 12 gates to our heart. [30:06] 12 gates to your heart. And we got to go in and we got to go out. Now what do we find when we go in? Pasture. [30:18] Read it. They shall go in and out and find pasture. What do sheep look for? Pasture. Amen. They go in and they go out. Now this shawar gate means to break and to divide. [30:31] When you look up the word, it means to break and to divide. Why in the world do we have to break and divide? Listen, every time we come to church, most of us come in with so much worldliness on us because we ain't been listening to 94.7. [30:50] We've been listening to, what's that rock station? How'd you know? How do y'all know all them rock station names? Aha. [31:02] Aha. Aha. One night, about 25, 30 years ago, I got up to testify and I was on fire and I got up there and I was telling about that song I heard on and I was talking about the gospel radio station and I said, BKR. [31:20] But that was a country station. And everybody died laughing at me. I didn't know what they was laughing about because my mind was on WSOL. [31:33] Wonderful sounds of faith but I came out of my mouth WBKR. Amen. All right. What did this, what did this show our gate do? It breaks and it divides. [31:46] It breaks the world off of you. Amen. How many of those you need a little bit more of the world broken off of you? Amen. Amen. There's not a soul under the sand of my voice that I don't know that couldn't use to have a little bit more of it broken off. [31:58] Oh, listen. Listen. This word. What did Jesus do with the bread? John 13. [32:10] He took the bread and he broke it and he divided it to his disciples and he said, Take you, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. [32:21] Amen. What happens when we come through the Shawar gate? Honey, we get a little more of Jesus. Amen. We get a little more of his body, of his bread, of his life. Amen. And it breaks off a little bit of the world because the more Jesus you get, the less world you have. [32:37] We can liken it to a heart. When we get saved, our heart is black with sin and there's a little seed of the word of God that gets planted in our heart and this little seed of the word of God is like a light and it begins to shine in the darkness that's in our heart. [32:50] Amen. It reveals the 13 steps that are down in our heart which is murder and envy and covetous and pride and all these different things that are down in our hearts. But we don't even know they're there until the word of God begins to shine in his light. [33:02] That's why John said, I must decrease and he must increase. Amen. Hallelujah. I can say that to every one of us here tonight. We got to decrease and let Jesus Christ increase inside of us till finally, honey, we can stand there with the Apostle Paul and say, he can say, for me to live is Christ. [33:21] In other words, for me to live is for Christ to live and for me to die is just gain. Amen. Hallelujah. Then we can stand there with Paul and say, oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory? [33:32] The strength of death, the strength of sin. 1 Corinthians 13, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54. [33:44] Strength of sin is the law. Amen. Thank God which gives us a victory. Amen. Somebody shout amen. I'm about to get through here. It's going to take just a few more minutes. The Shawar gate means to break or divide. [33:56] When we come in here at this door, when they walk through the church, we're getting a little bit more of the world broken off of us and we get the word of God broken to us and handed out to us and you know, we take a great big word of God and we chop it up and we dice it up and we mince it up. [34:09] Sometimes we even put a little milk on it and then we pass it out. Now here eat. Matter of fact, when we have communion, we say eat all of it. This is my body which is broken for you. [34:20] Amen. Hallelujah. Why do we need gates because there are 12 gates? There are 12 gates to your heart. What do we need gates to our hearts for? [34:32] Gates are to open and gates are to close. We got to know what to open our heart to and then we need enough spiritual sense to know what to shut our heart to and if we don't know that even we got gates in our hearts, how are we going to know when to open them and when to close them? [34:48] Amen. We won't know we'll just open it up and let every worldly thing come in and then we'll all shut it up and keep those godly things from coming in. So gates are for inclusion and exclusion. The gates of our heart and if we let the spirit of God lead us and guide us and direct us we'll know what not to listen to on the radio, what not to watch on the television. [35:08] We'll know what not to wear when we go out in the public. Amen. We'll know because the word of God is being broken and divided to us. Can somebody shout amen? [35:24] Oh. I'm not going there but Matthew 10, 20, 15, 10 through 20 and Mark 7, 14 through 23 tells you the things that defile the man. [35:38] That is why we get defiled easily. That's why the 2 Timothy the 2 chapter 26 verse kind of blows my mind because 2 Timothy 2, 26 talks about people who are taken captive at the devil's will. [35:52] He'll say, oh yeah, you know Jesse? Yeah, I know Jesse. I know how to get to him. I can get him anytime I want him. I can take him captive at my will and then I let him go back and he'll shout it but he thinks he's got the victory then I'll say, bow down to me. [36:05] He'll bow down right down to my feet because I can take him captive anytime I want to. What kind of Christian argue that the devil can take you captive anytime he wants to? You think I made that up? [36:17] 2 Timothy 2, 26. Read it. Taken captive. Amen. The devil don't fear and tremble when you come into his presence because we ain't got the word of God. [36:31] Word gives us power. Power with God over the world, the flesh, and the devil and over our own bodies. Amen. To bring it into control. Hey, did your body ever get out of control? [36:43] I know a lot of times your mouth gets out of control and my mouth gets out of control. We just spread it all around here. Amen. But we have to. [36:54] We must get saved two times. You say, Brother Van, you're crazy now. You got some kind of new doctrine here. No, it's going to make sense to you when I explain it to you. [37:05] The first time we get saved when we come to the altar and we get saved from the power and the penalty of sin and the penalty of sin is death and hell. Can you say amen? [37:17] The devil is kicked off. He has no more power over us because we are saved. We're crucified with Christ. His blood washes away our sins. [37:29] But what about that second time? Well, I don't know about you but after I saved for a while I was on a spiritual high. I didn't know what a valley was. Everybody said, you're going to come down one of these days and I thought, you're crazy. I ain't never coming down. I'm up here and I'm flying high. [37:41] I'm sold with the eagle and I sold on for months and months and months and months and months thinking they're all crazy. They're all crazy. They're all crazy. But after the new war all, suddenly it wasn't the things that were out that I needed to get saved from. [37:57] Then it was the things within that I had to get saved from. Not only things without but I had to get saved from the thoughts in my mind. [38:09] Amen. We just had an exes. Did I preach too long? Her mama's here. Tell mama, come on in. I preached to her a little bit. Praise God. [38:20] Now just think about it. When you first got saved you came to the altar you gave your heart and life to Jesus and you jumped up and everybody looked good and you loved everybody. But it wasn't very long until all of a sudden somebody said something that you didn't like. [38:34] And all of a sudden you decided you didn't like him. And then somebody else said something and you found out. What happened? Well I got saved from the devil. The devil now has no power over me. [38:47] But there's a devil inside that makes me get mad. Anybody been mad lately? Was that the spirit of God? No, that wasn't the spirit of God was it? That's some other spirit wasn't it? [39:00] Anybody? What's the Bible say? The Bible said that hell has enlarged herself. Had opened her mouth and enlarged herself. [39:11] And I wrote this note down to myself and said are you hell? Then keep your mouth shut. Think about it. We got to get saved two times first from the power and the force of the devil which is the penalty of sin which is death and hell. [39:30] Then we have to get saved from the demon within that makes us after we're in the boat want to get back out. Noah was a preacher of righteousness and he preached for 120 years. [39:44] And no telling how many people came in. Some probably even helped him drive the nails that built the ark. Some of them might even have to put the pitch in. They probably even you know walked in and out and said oh nice looking building. [39:57] I think you're crazy but you know I'll help you a little bit because I like you pretty good guy and I like to hear you preach and but you know what when it came time to get in the boat it came time to enter the ark. Noah and his three sons and their wives are the only ones that came in and only eight souls were saved. [40:14] Eight souls out of the multiplied millions of people that were on the face of the earth at that time. Eight souls. We're preaching about a rapture. We sang that song when we all get to heaven. [40:29] I'm here to tell you honey we all ain't gonna get to heaven. If we're still lying and cheating and stealing and drinking and smoking and cussing and running around on our husbands and wives and everything like this and thinking everything's alright it ain't alright. [40:47] It's all wrong. Brother man you just named all the pleasures we like to do. Yeah I guess we probably did. All the pleasures that all of us like to do. See I can't include you without including myself. [41:01] Amen? So we gotta get saved both ways. We gotta enter into the way the truth and the life. Amen? [41:12] Just getting in the way is not gonna do you any good if you don't get to the truth. Amen? Now I'm gonna show you the way to heaven. [41:25] There it is. Follow that straight and narrow path. Where's that straight and narrow path? You know like the yellow brick road where's it gonna lead you to? If you'll follow it it'll lead you to the truth. [41:38] And it'll lead you to the life. Through the Shawar gate. Amen? Don't think you've heard the last of that. But I'm just getting started on John 10. [41:49] Amen? Let's all stand up and let's lift up our hands and thank the Lord for his precious word tonight. Lord God your word is precious it's powerful Lord God it's got the power Lord God to break every bondage every yoke of bondage that the devil tries to put up on us. [42:04] Jesus we ask you to move tonight Lord God to help us Lord not to be thieves and robbers but Lord God to enter in your presence Lord with thanksgiving in our hearts Lord God to lift up our voices in our hearts and our minds and praise you and magnify you and glorify you Lord God for all the things that you've done. [42:18] Lord we ask you Lord Jesus should you come at any time Lord God that you might find us watching and waiting and praying. hallelujah Lord if there's one here tonight under the sound of my voice that says Lord I I went in the gate but I turned around and went back out and I didn't come back in. [42:37] Lord tonight can I get back in that gate? Hallelujah hallelujah Jesus said the gate's standing wide open for you. Come home come home it's supper time the shadows are lengthening fast hallelujah hallelujah maybe you've been one that's been slothful getting to church on time and praying and depending on somebody else to get here and pray the prayer of faith and push the spirit up. [43:06] Hallelujah we need to make some new commitments in our lives tonight. Every head bowed every eye closed nobody looking around I want you to pray with me tonight. Amen say Jesus help me Lord not to be slothful help me Jesus Lord to get to church on time Lord God humble me that I might come in Lord through that knee gate Lord God and crawl up to that altar and repent and intercede Lord God for things and people I don't even know about Lord Jesus don't let me miss it don't let me come to a church that's full of the power and the glory of God don't let me come to a church that believes in shouting and praising praying and interceding and prevailing and me sit there and just let it all pass by thinking I'm in when I'm out thinking I'm saved when I'm lost thinking I'm conceived when I'm just deceived [44:16] Jesus have mercy upon us tonight Lord God help us Jesus Lord God to enter into the strait and there a gate that leadeth to life in Jesus precious name Jesus precious name for our transgression he was bruised for our iniquity oh and surely he bore all my sorrow and by his stripes we are oh everybody sing with me tonight oh he was wounded for I for my transgression and he was bruised for my healing what to do what to do