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Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000040S
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00:06 Sermon #S022 - I've Got Receipts - (Part 1)
00:20 Pastor Snell: John chapter 8 and verse number one. All right. See, so somebody's still turning. 00:38 If you are ready, just now just say I'm ready. 00:41 [Congregation: I'm ready] 00:43 Amen. John chapter 8, verse number 1. The Bible says that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, 00:49 and now, early in the morning. What time of day was it? What time of day was it? 00:53 [Congregation: Early] 00:56 The Bible says it was early in the morning. He came again into the temple and the people came to him and he sat down 01:05 and talked to them, Jesus meets with the people early in the morning. Then the Bible says, 01:09 then the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery. 01:14 And when they had set her in the midst, they said to him teacher, this woman was caught in adultery in the very act. 01:25 Now, Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do you say? This they said testing him. 01:34 That they might have something of which to accuse him. 01:38 And it's crazy that they're willing to kill this woman just to get it Jesus. And you see the great controversy at work 01:46 because you all realize the great controversy is not about us. It is a battle between Christ and Satan, 01:52 we are just caught in the middle. You all hear me today, friends. The Bible says, what do you say? 01:57 Then verse 6 is this they said, testing him. 02:01 Now, they may have something of which to accuse him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger, 02:09 as though, he did not hear. And when they continued asking him, he raised himself up and said unto them, 02:18 "He who is without sin amongst you let him throw a stone at her first". 02:25 And again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground, then those who heard it being convicted by their own conscience, 02:34 went out one by one, beginning with the oldest, even unto the last. And Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst. 02:43 And when Jesus had raised himself up and saw no one but the woman he said unto her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? 02:53 Has no one condemned you and she said, No one, Lord." And Jesus said, neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. 03:07 But again, I want to just re-emphasize here. What we read here in verse number 6, is then they said this testing him. 03:18 Now, they might have something of which to accuse him. Then in verse 7, the Bible says when they continued asking him, 03:25 he raised himself and said, he who is without sin amongst you let him throw a stone at her first. 03:33 Today, saints for just a little while, I want to talk about the subject, "I've Got Receipts". I've got receipts, 03:42 let's pray together. Father, in this little while, would you say much? 03:51 Father, I'm praying that you would allow us to experience a rare visitation of your spirit. 04:00 Maybe not just leave having gone through an order of service, 04:04 but Lord, we want to leave knowing that we've had an encounter with you. 04:08 And so Lord, in this hour, would you make me your avatar? May I simply be the tool through which you speak 04:16 and communicate with these, your people? 04:18 And so Lord, my prayer is that in the hearing of the word that faith would be multiplied. 04:22 Hide me in the shadows of the cross that Jesus alone might be seen, that Christ alone would be heard. 04:29 And at the end of our time together made Jesus alone be praised. We ask this in the name of him who is altogether lovely, 04:35 it is in the name of Jesus, that we pray. Let God's people say together. Amen, and amen. 04:40 [Congregation: Amen] 04:41 You may be seated in the house of God. 04:54 You know, friends, there are a number of lessons that can be gleaned from our story today. 05:00 But the first thing it teaches us is that it is still a good thing to meet with Jesus early in the morning. 05:10 The Bible says that Jesus comes into the temple early in the morning and there the people come to meet with him. 05:19 And every detail of scripture is written for our edification. 05:26 In other words, this gathering with Jesus takes place before the sun even emerges. 05:32 They meet with Jesus while the songs of the cricket can still be heard. 05:38 They meet with Jesus while the dew drops are still resting on rose petals. 05:44 And they value time with Christ in such a way that they make it a point to meet with Jesus before they go to work. 05:53 They make it a point to meet with Jesus before they go to class. 05:57 Their first activity of the day is to have a meeting with Jesus. 06:03 And I want to just instruct the body on this point that in your spiritual development and formation, 06:13 it is important that you get in the habit of meeting with Jesus at the start of the day. 06:19 Is there a witness that knows how you begin the day spiritually? It's going to determine how you end the day spiritually. 06:28 And one of the action steps that I want to put before all of us today, 06:33 is to make sure that this week our first pursuit each day is to begin the day with Jesus. Are you with me? 06:42 [Congregation: Amen] 06:45 In fact, friends, I need you to know that one of the things that will change all of the outcomes of your life is to get into the 06:52 rhythm of having a Jesus-first mentality. In fact, friends, Jesus sets the example. 07:00 In Mark 1:35, the Bible says that Jesus would rise a great while before day and find a solitary place where he would pray. 07:12 In fact, in Psalm 63, David says early in the morning, will I seek Him? And the reason friends, 07:20 Jesus needs to be pursued at the start of the day is that we're less likely to meet with him after the busyness of the day has 07:31 commenced. 07:33 And friends of mine, I don't know about you but it is my life experience. 07:37 Do I have a witness that there is something special that happens when you start your day with Jesus Christ? 07:45 In fact, when I meet with Jesus early that meeting tends to be more fruitful. When I start my day with Jesus, 07:54 Revelation is more abundant. My focus on prayer is greater, my spiritual bandwidth is more immense. 08:03 My heart is not cluttered with the cares of the world. 08:07 When I get settled with Jesus, I get an inner strength that gives me power for whatever the day may be. 08:16 And see one of the things you've got to learn is that you got to get to a place where you beat the noise of the day. 08:24 In other words, there are some parents with small kids that have got to meet with Jesus before those babies wake up, 08:32 and my preaching to anybody today. Sometimes you got to meet with Jesus before the stress begins to put consume your soul. 08:40 You've got to start your day with Jesus before the heaviness begins to press upon your life. 08:46 In fact, let me say to the brothers today that before you watched Steven A. Smith, make Jesus your first take. 08:54 You all mighty quiet. Before you start listening to Undisputed, you need to get with the undefeated. 09:02 You need to start scrolling left in the scriptures before you start swiping right on your phone. 09:09 Is there anybody that knows that before you watch The Today Show, you need to connect with the God that holds tomorrow? 09:17 [Congregation: Clapping/Amen] 09:19 And see friends, I want you to get that there are some things that happen some benefits of meeting with Christ first. 09:26 You see the first thing that happens when you meet with Jesus first, is you get strengthened for whatever the day may bring. 09:34 In other words, when I have a powerful meeting with God and I experienced his in-feeling, I get settled for the day. 09:44 In other words, I don't start the day frantic, I don't start the day frazzled, and I get richness from meeting with God, 09:53 which makes me so strong that it announces to every circumstance that ain't going to let nothing take away my joy. 10:02 In other words, when you meet with Jesus, you get more patience for your kids. You got more patience with your spouse. 10:10 You are less irritable on the job. You've got more bandwidth for your co-workers. When your meet with Jesus, 10:17 you're less likely to go off on those that get on your nerves. Are you all here in the preacher today? 10:23 [Congregation: Amen] 10:25 Snell: In other words, what happens is the day doesn't feel too big for you. 10:28 You see the problem with some of us is we go to work tired. We start the day defeated 10:34 because we've not connected with the source. But when you start the day with Jesus, 10:39 you're not overwhelmed by the day in the beginning, because you focus on the God that is bigger than any problem you may face. 10:48 In other words, friends, you've got to start the day with a deposit, not a withdrawal. 10:54 [Congregation: Clapping/Amen] 10:56 Snell: In other words, the reason we struggle is that our withdrawals are more than our deposits. 11:04 And is there anybody that knows that when you withdraw more than you put in you have insufficient oh where yall at today?, 11:13 are yall hearing me today? In other words, we got insufficient spirituality because we have lost more than we put in. 11:20 And see the reason you want to meet God first, it makes your spiritual life impactful because when you meet God first, 11:29 Jesus becomes vitamin and not medicine. 11:33 [Congregation: Amen] 11:34 Oh, God. See the problem is some of us only call on Jesus when we get sick 11:41 but how many of us know that if you've got Jesus nurturing your soul he blocked some stuff and keeps it from coming to pass? 11:50 See for some of us Jesus is the only pain medicine. 11:55 He's the bailout God and God is saying to somebody today that I want to get to know you outside of your hardships. 12:03 [Congregation: Amen] 12:04 Somebody God is saying, I want to know you outside of your difficulty. I want to know you, 12:10 students after you get financially clear. I want to know you after you get out of the bad situation. 12:16 Is there anybody that's in a relationship with God that says I want to know him outside of our hardship? 12:24 I want to know Jesus for myself. And see friends, the reason this is epic today is 12:31 because some of us are treating Jesus like Theraflu when he needs to be your immune system. 12:39 [Congregation: Amen] 12:40 In other words, when you are connected with the strong immune system, 12:45 what happens is he keeps certain infections from coming and jumping all over you. 12:51 And I need you to know an ounce of prevention is better than two cups of cure. Are you all hear me today? 12:59 [Congregation: Amen] 13:02 And say, I want to take a moment and I just want to preach against some of the popular theology of our time. 13:06 You see one of the reasons you need to meet with Christ early is so you don't have to meet with Christ in a hurry. 13:15 One of the movements that we have accepted in the church, 13:22 have you noticed that everything that revolves around devotional stuff has always been watered down to a 13:30 bite-sized miniature capacity? 13:34 In other words, everything now is about the 5-minute devotional. It's about the 12-second prayer, 13:41 and that Jesus is always supposed to be done on the go. 13:46 But do I have a witness that whatever you prioritize you're going to commit significant time to 13:55 I believe if you're transitioning from milk unto meat you ought to be getting to a place where you withdraw time 14:03 from ugly earthly things so you can devote some time to spiritual things. 14:09 The problem with the way we do devotion now is that devotion is designed to assuage consciousness and not build character. 14:18 [Congregation: Amen] 14:20 In other words, we just want to go through some steps so that we can say that we met with God 14:24 but we never get lost in his presence. But I need you to know friends that if you taste and see that the Lord is good, 14:32 you won't always be in a rush. You will always be in a hurry if you actually get in the word. 14:39 Sometimes you will lose track of the sight of time. Has anybody got so lost in their prayer closet, 14:46 that you were supposed to go, but God got so good to them, that you just lingered a little bit in the overflow? 14:54 Are you all hear me today, friends? 14:57 [Congregation: Amen/Clapping] 14:59 And see the lie we've got to stop telling ourselves, is that we don't have time. 15:05 No, no. We've got to stop telling ourselves a lie that we don't have time. 15:12 I need you to know there's some stuff that we can be deleting so that we can devote some time to God. 15:18 In other words, if you were able to like 800 pictures on Instagram. 15:23 [Congregation: Amen] 15:26 Snell: It means you got some time. If you're in 18 fantasy football leagues, you've got the tower, you're all mighty quiet. 15:32 If you work 80 hours a week in two jobs you've got some time. If you spend 12 hours a day on the phone with your boo thing, 15:39 you've got the time. Do you see the great prophet of our time, Jonathan McReynolds saying, I make time for what I treasure. 15:49 I make time for what I want. I choose my priorities and Jesus you're my number one. 16:00 And I need to know, are there any blood-washed saints who are saying, Jesus, I'm going to make some room for you in my life. 16:07 So if you need to Jesus my Instagram time, you can move that over. My boo thing time, you can move that over. 16:16 My TV time, you can move that over. My work time, you can move that over. I'm living a Christ-first life. 16:27 [Congregation: Amen] 16:28 Can the redeem say, Amen out there today? 16:30 [Congregation: Amen] 16:32 Snell: And so friends of mine, this teaches us some lessons and I'm moving as quickly as I can today. 16:36 But the second thing this teaches is that sometimes there's a blessing in getting caught. 16:46 [Congregation: Amen] 16:48 Snell: Now, hear me out, before you tune me out. Are you all hear me today? Now, this early morning prayer meeting, 16:58 it's turned strangely awkward as Jesus is teaching the scriptures 17:05 and a half-dressed woman is thrown into the midst of the season of prayer. 17:12 In fact, the woman is still barely clothed, and her hair is still wet with the perspiration she earned in the vile deed. 17:22 And it's crazy because she has been manhandled by the Scribes and the Pharisees. 17:27 And she has been pushed down into the presence of Jesus, and they make the announcement, Jesus, 17:34 this woman has been caught in adultery. She has been caught in the very act. 17:40 And it's crazy because the Bible says this happens early in the morning, 17:45 which means they've been watching her since last night. 17:49 [Congregation: Amen] 17:51 And his funny friends because there are some of us that don't see the goodness of God in the story until the men dropped the 17:59 stones. Some don't see the goodness of God until the accusers are vanquished away. 18:07 Some don't see the goodness of God until the woman receives her pardon. 18:12 But how many of us know that providence never operates in a vacuum? 18:17 It is at work in every aspect of life. And God is so good that he can take what your enemies mean for bad 18:27 and turn it around and use it for your good. 18:31 [Congregation: Amen] 18:33 You see, friends, I believe Grace was at work even when she fell asleep the night before. 18:40 That grace was at work when they burst into the doors early in the morning. 18:45 Grace is at work when they dragged her out of some man's bed. 18:49 Grace is at work when they dragged her half-clothed through the streets, 18:53 and Grace didn't just start working when Jesus started talking, it was grace that led her here in the first place. 19:01 Okay. You all miss your shout. Do you realize where they brought her? 19:08 [Congregation: Amen] 19:10 Do you realize that the best place to take a sinner is to put them at the feet of Jesus? 19:19 [Congregation: Amen] 19:23 Oh God. If they wanted to hurt her, they should have taken her to the Sanhedrin. 19:27 [Congregation: Amen] 19:29 If they wanted to hurt her, they should have taken her to the court of law, but they took her to the wrong place 19:34 because they've met her no good but they usher her to the foot of Jesus. 19:39 [Congregation: Amen] 19:41 Do you realize that taking a sinner to the foot of Jesus is like taking a starving man to a buffet? 19:49 [Congregation: Amen] 19:51 It's like taking a thirsty man to a well. It's like taking a broke person to the bank, where yall at today. 19:56 [Congregation: Amen] 19:57 Like the best place she could be is in the church. 20:03 [Congregation: Amen] 20:05 And at the feet of Jesus. Now, friends, I have not seen this in the scripture, 20:14 but after this woman gets her restoration, I can see somewhere down the line where when she would see these men in the streets, 20:23 she didn't have an attitude but she would go up and said, I thank you... 20:28 [Congregation: Amen] 20:30 ...for catching me. I thank you for exposing me. I thanked you for taking me to the feet of Jesus. 20:39 And this may seem like strange praise today. 20:42 But I'm at a place where I thank God for every trouble that leads me to the feet of Jesus. 20:50 [Congregation: Amen] 20:52 I know you don't want to praise him this way, but it may have been their lies that led you to the truth. 20:59 It may be your lack that led you to your source. It may be the heartbreak that leads you to the heart fixer. 21:08 It may be a lack of peace that led you to the prince of peace. I don't care what took you there. 21:15 I don't care how long it took to get you there. But as long as you're at his feet, give him praise today for the ushers. 21:24 No, no. Sometimes trouble is not a barrier, it's an usher. 21:29 [Congregation: Amen] 21:30 It seats you at the feet of Jesus. 21:33 [Congregation: Amen] 21:34 Snell: Are you all here in the work today? 21:37 [Congregation: Amen/Hallelujah] 21:44 Snell: You see it's being where she did not belong. 21:49 [Congregation: Amen] 21:50 Snell: That was the catalyst that pushed her where she did belong. 21:54 Now, it's no awkward thing to digest because getting the blessing doesn't begin with pardon, it doesn't begin with forgiveness, 22:04 it actually begins when the lie finally collapses. It is when her stuff is put on the front street, that is not a punishing act. 22:16 It's oh, you all got quiet here. 22:19 [Congregation: Amen] 22:20 It's a saving act: 22:22 [Congregation: Amen] 22:23 I need you to get that this sister her heart, 22:26 her heart is so darkened by these habits that she cannot be made repentant through sermon or counsel. 22:33 You see, I need you to get this about this lady 22:36 because the Bible lets us know that one of the things about sin is that it thrives in darkness. 22:42 And one of the things, do I have a witness that when you first start in any sin, 22:46 you're very careful about covering up your tracks and making sure that nobody sees what you're doing. 22:52 But the problem with sin is that the more you get away with it, the more Invincible you 22:58 become and the less cautious you are in your covering. 23:02 So at first, when the lady would go over to John's house, what would happen is she would make sure to see who was watching. 23:09 She would have a watch out on one side but 23:11 because she's gotten away with it so long that she's woken up in that joint in broad daylight, 23:17 in fact, she is so consistent that her enemies don't have to look for her. 23:23 [Congregation: Amen] 23:26 All they got to do is wait for her because they know every Tuesday, every Thursday, and every Saturday night, 23:31 she going to be creeping over at John's house. Are you all with me today? 23:37 [Congregation: Amen] 23:38 And I need somebody to know that somebody's always watching. 23:46 [Congregation: Amen/Clapping] 23:48 She had this to get that one thing about human nature and it's not just you, it's human nature. 23:54 Human nature has a bend toward evil. Are you all still with me, church? 23:57 [Congregation: Amen] 23:59 We have a natural inclination toward sin and not just saying but the covering of our sin. 24:04 The problem with sometimes is that God is so merciful that God won't let you blow up the first time. 24:12 What he will do is he will allow some grace. But what happens is we confuse grace as a license for sin. 24:17 [Congregation: Amen] 24:20 And what should be helping us turn around actually makes us bolder in our dirt. You are all at the brand-new today? 24:25 [Congregation: Amen/Clapping] 24:27 Because it's quite as it's kept, though nobody gets caught the first time. 24:33 [Congregation: Laughing] 24:35 Come on, tell the truth. That's what you told your parents, but nobody gets pregnant the first time. 24:43 There are some scares along the way, but we didn't turn around am I telling the truth? like, 24:48 nobody goes to jail for the first crime they commit. In other words, there are usually. 24:52 They can anybody look back at their life 24:54 and realize that there were some times there was some margin where God gave us to turn around. 25:01 But the problem is that some of us will not turn around until certain things are drawn from the darkness. 25:09 [Congregation: Amen] 25:10 And put into the light. And so I need us to understand something about the truth. 25:15 Like for those that are living with a lie right now, I need you to know man, the truth is the one element that cannot die. 25:23 [Congregation: Amen] 25:25 I mean, the truth is like that blade of grass that burst through the concrete crack. 25:30 And I want to encourage somebody that is living with a painful lie, I need you to know, 25:36 the one thing about secret sin is that it's strongest in secret. 25:40 And that's what God has done certain things hit the light 25:44 because it is not until it hits the light that we can find our salvation. 25:48 I need us to kind of think through this with the scriptures 25:51 because I needed to know that some of the greatest blessings in the scripture are when some people got caught. 25:57 And you see, the blessing of the woman is not just when she was forgiven, it was when she got caught. 26:02 I can see you all still are not convinced. Let's look at my man Samson. He had gotten away with it, 26:09 and he always had his strength but he didn't turn around and depend on God until he got caught 26:17 and that's when he realized that his help came from God. You all still aren't convinced. 26:23 Remember your boy, Jonah was doing good, running from the presence of God 26:27 but he didn't realize his full potential until he got caught in the belly of a whale 26:33 and then he made supplication unto God. Okay, you'll be convinced here. 26:39 Remember there was a thief on the cross who is out there living his best life 26:44 and had gotten away with it. But one day he was caught and put on the cross next to Jesus, 26:51 and it was there on the cross that he met his savior, we're saying today I say unto you that you will be with me in paradise. 27:01 In other words, God blesses some by covering, and sometimes he saves you by letting it come to the light. 27:09 [Congregation: Amen] 27:12 What a powerful message by Pastor Debleaire Snell! Thank you so much for joining us for the Breath of Life Television Ministries broadcast. 27:20 We hope and pray that you have been blessed through today's message. Remember, that Jesus cares and loves us so much. 27:29 Join us next week for Part Two of “I've Got Reciepts.” You don't want to miss it! 27:36 (Breath of Life Theme Music) 28:17 [END] |
Revised 2022-10-26