1 00:00:08,781 --> 00:00:10,548 Well, hey, how's everyone doing? 2 00:00:10,548 --> 00:00:13,465 This is James and I'm in the I'll Be Honest office 3 00:00:13,465 --> 00:00:14,727 I guess you could call it, 4 00:00:14,727 --> 00:00:16,540 and I just wanted to record something 5 00:00:16,540 --> 00:00:18,147 to encourage everyone out there. 6 00:00:18,147 --> 00:00:19,740 Do not give up. 7 00:00:19,740 --> 00:00:21,407 The devil - he is real. 8 00:00:21,407 --> 00:00:23,681 He really is waiting for an opportune moment 9 00:00:23,681 --> 00:00:25,303 to get all of us to fall away, 10 00:00:25,303 --> 00:00:26,693 to harden our hearts, 11 00:00:26,693 --> 00:00:28,215 to have unbelief in our life, 12 00:00:28,215 --> 00:00:29,629 to get us to be lukewarm. 13 00:00:29,629 --> 00:00:30,945 He wants us to slow down. 14 00:00:30,945 --> 00:00:32,197 And we've got to press on. 15 00:00:32,197 --> 00:00:33,704 We've got to be hot for Christ. 16 00:00:33,704 --> 00:00:35,496 He's worthy of our lives. 17 00:00:35,496 --> 00:00:38,293 I'll tell you, going and doing things for the Lord 18 00:00:38,293 --> 00:00:39,881 is a terrifying thing to do. 19 00:00:39,881 --> 00:00:41,493 Even recording this is terrifying 20 00:00:41,493 --> 00:00:44,594 because self always tries to intrude. 21 00:00:44,594 --> 00:00:47,127 Approval of man always tries to get in the way. 22 00:00:47,127 --> 00:00:48,488 Even a brother a minute ago 23 00:00:48,488 --> 00:00:50,654 was talking about praying at prayer meeting, 24 00:00:50,654 --> 00:00:52,383 how he struggles to pray at prayer meeting 25 00:00:52,383 --> 00:00:54,268 because approval of man gets in the way. 26 00:00:54,268 --> 00:00:55,947 And to start to construct your prayers 27 00:00:55,947 --> 00:00:57,149 on how they're going to sound 28 00:00:57,149 --> 00:00:58,487 so others think highly about you 29 00:00:58,487 --> 00:00:59,639 like you're spiritual. 30 00:00:59,639 --> 00:01:00,943 It's just amazing. 31 00:01:00,943 --> 00:01:02,673 This is a war and we must 32 00:01:02,673 --> 00:01:05,128 put to death the deeds of the flesh every day. 33 00:01:05,128 --> 00:01:06,440 We've got to die to self. 34 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:08,119 We've got to have Christ living in us 35 00:01:08,119 --> 00:01:09,236 and not us living - 36 00:01:09,236 --> 00:01:11,638 I don't want James Jennings to be alive. 37 00:01:11,638 --> 00:01:14,440 I want Jesus Christ to be living through me. 38 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,783 And it says in 2 Corinthians 5:14 39 00:01:16,783 --> 00:01:18,887 that the love of Christ controls us. 40 00:01:18,887 --> 00:01:20,959 Why? We've concluded that Christ has died, 41 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:22,459 therefore all have died. 42 00:01:22,459 --> 00:01:24,572 And I want to be a dead man walking. 43 00:01:24,572 --> 00:01:25,941 I want to be as Paul said - 44 00:01:25,941 --> 00:01:27,191 I die daily. 45 00:01:27,191 --> 00:01:29,913 I pray that constantly to the Lord. 46 00:01:29,913 --> 00:01:32,329 I pray, "Lord, search me, oh God. 47 00:01:32,329 --> 00:01:33,962 Know my heart, Lord. Try my ways. 48 00:01:33,962 --> 00:01:36,275 Lord, if there's any way grievous in my life, 49 00:01:36,275 --> 00:01:39,572 Lord, break me of it and lead me in the way everlasting." 50 00:01:39,572 --> 00:01:42,363 And the way everlasting is to conform 51 00:01:42,363 --> 00:01:44,128 to the image of Jesus Christ; 52 00:01:44,128 --> 00:01:47,260 to conform away from our own self. 53 00:01:47,260 --> 00:01:49,666 It really isn't about us at all. 54 00:01:49,666 --> 00:01:52,400 It really is all about Him. 55 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:54,704 And with all of that said, I just ask, 56 00:01:54,704 --> 00:01:57,119 keep praying for the I'll Be Honest ministries. 57 00:01:57,119 --> 00:01:59,983 I try to put videos out and things to encourage others 58 00:01:59,983 --> 00:02:01,506 and to see people saved. 59 00:02:01,506 --> 00:02:03,005 And we get a lot of feedback, 60 00:02:03,005 --> 00:02:05,673 a lot of people who are struggling with pornography; 61 00:02:05,673 --> 00:02:07,155 a lot of people who are struggling 62 00:02:07,155 --> 00:02:08,602 with assurance of their salvation. 63 00:02:08,602 --> 00:02:11,120 I'll tell you, there's one answer to every problem. 64 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:12,598 No matter what you're going through, 65 00:02:12,598 --> 00:02:14,814 the answer is always going to be Christ. 66 00:02:14,814 --> 00:02:16,103 And that's always the issue. 67 00:02:16,103 --> 00:02:18,744 Are we being satisfied in Jesus Christ? 68 00:02:18,744 --> 00:02:20,361 Or are we going to an idol? 69 00:02:20,361 --> 00:02:22,840 And one of the biggest trials in my own life 70 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:24,830 has been the idol of performance. 71 00:02:24,830 --> 00:02:26,414 I can sit here and make a video, 72 00:02:26,414 --> 00:02:27,519 and people can see it, 73 00:02:27,519 --> 00:02:29,067 and I can get praised for it, 74 00:02:29,067 --> 00:02:31,067 and then I start to idolize that. 75 00:02:31,067 --> 00:02:32,552 I start to get my joy 76 00:02:32,552 --> 00:02:33,880 from what I'm doing 77 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:35,639 and not what Christ has done. 78 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:37,363 And it's so important that we examine 79 00:02:37,363 --> 00:02:38,692 our own hearts, that we see, 80 00:02:38,692 --> 00:02:41,119 are we really being satisfied in Jesus Christ. 81 00:02:41,119 --> 00:02:42,858 Is He really the treasure 82 00:02:42,858 --> 00:02:45,439 that in our joy, we're dying daily 83 00:02:45,439 --> 00:02:46,976 to have more of Him; 84 00:02:46,976 --> 00:02:49,926 to be satisfied in more of Christ, 85 00:02:49,926 --> 00:02:51,377 and to be with Him more. 86 00:02:51,377 --> 00:02:53,135 I'll tell you, the minute you stop praying, 87 00:02:53,135 --> 00:02:56,013 the minute you stop being in the Word of God daily 88 00:02:56,013 --> 00:02:57,789 and feasting on those things, 89 00:02:57,789 --> 00:02:59,189 your heart gets hardened, 90 00:02:59,189 --> 00:03:02,221 you start to go to other idols and other things. 91 00:03:02,221 --> 00:03:04,016 And no matter what gets in the way, 92 00:03:04,016 --> 00:03:05,820 just flee away from it. 93 00:03:05,820 --> 00:03:08,665 Even today, I had to come to grips with the reality 94 00:03:08,665 --> 00:03:10,879 that I needed to get rid of my Facebook. 95 00:03:10,879 --> 00:03:12,755 I mean, it's incredible the time 96 00:03:12,755 --> 00:03:14,149 that was getting taken; 97 00:03:14,149 --> 00:03:16,217 the compulsion to log on and check 98 00:03:16,217 --> 00:03:18,065 if there's messages or notifications, 99 00:03:18,065 --> 00:03:19,761 and then you get lost just being 100 00:03:19,761 --> 00:03:21,536 a busybody on the Internet. 101 00:03:21,536 --> 00:03:23,309 It's so easy to browse. 102 00:03:23,309 --> 00:03:25,353 And a status we put up recently, 103 00:03:25,353 --> 00:03:28,131 are you spending more time browsing your Facebook 104 00:03:28,131 --> 00:03:29,443 or your Bible? 105 00:03:29,443 --> 00:03:31,263 And we need to ask that question. 106 00:03:31,263 --> 00:03:33,665 Are we spending more time communing with others 107 00:03:33,665 --> 00:03:36,004 or with the Lord Jesus Christ? 108 00:03:36,004 --> 00:03:37,081 And the reality is, 109 00:03:37,081 --> 00:03:39,041 the one we commune with the most 110 00:03:39,041 --> 00:03:40,399 is the one we love. 111 00:03:40,399 --> 00:03:41,580 And I'll tell you, 112 00:03:41,580 --> 00:03:44,037 there's much reason to love Christ. 113 00:03:44,037 --> 00:03:46,373 The fact that He would save us is incredible. 114 00:03:46,373 --> 00:03:48,627 Even today, downstairs in the Grace House 115 00:03:48,627 --> 00:03:50,830 talking to a guy who just moved here, 116 00:03:50,830 --> 00:03:52,678 the Lord it seems is moving in his life. 117 00:03:52,678 --> 00:03:55,324 I mean, to see him be saved, 118 00:03:55,324 --> 00:03:56,905 if God is really saving him, 119 00:03:56,905 --> 00:03:58,367 the joys that will bring. 120 00:03:58,367 --> 00:04:00,250 It's just unspeakable to see someone 121 00:04:00,250 --> 00:04:02,626 come from darkness to light, 122 00:04:02,626 --> 00:04:04,846 from a child of the devil to a child of God. 123 00:04:04,846 --> 00:04:07,021 I mean what more could you ask for? 124 00:04:07,021 --> 00:04:08,422 What more could you pray for 125 00:04:08,422 --> 00:04:10,674 than to plead with the Lord to save people, 126 00:04:10,674 --> 00:04:13,646 to open their eyes, to rip the blinders off? 127 00:04:13,646 --> 00:04:16,768 I mean, what would we not give up to see that? 128 00:04:16,768 --> 00:04:18,724 What will you not give up? 129 00:04:18,724 --> 00:04:20,911 What in your life, what in my life 130 00:04:20,911 --> 00:04:24,179 still hinders me from serving the Lord 131 00:04:24,179 --> 00:04:27,506 full of zeal, full of a love for Christ? 132 00:04:27,506 --> 00:04:28,900 I mean, what gets in the way? 133 00:04:28,900 --> 00:04:31,420 Hebrews 12:1 says to let go of every weight. 134 00:04:31,420 --> 00:04:33,183 Let go of every sin. 135 00:04:33,183 --> 00:04:35,662 I mean, ask yourself, what is that? 136 00:04:35,662 --> 00:04:37,820 It could be anything. It could be music. 137 00:04:37,820 --> 00:04:39,925 It could be anything that would get in the way 138 00:04:39,925 --> 00:04:41,697 of us knowing Christ more. 139 00:04:41,697 --> 00:04:43,509 Anything can be an idol. 140 00:04:43,509 --> 00:04:45,945 You know, when the Lord first saved me, 141 00:04:45,945 --> 00:04:47,910 I thought wow, I'm free of pornography. 142 00:04:47,910 --> 00:04:49,423 I'm free of the lust of the flesh. 143 00:04:49,423 --> 00:04:52,082 I thought that's incredible, and it is, 144 00:04:52,082 --> 00:04:54,709 but you know what's another big sin? 145 00:04:54,709 --> 00:04:57,649 Idolatry. Idolatry of the heart. 146 00:04:57,649 --> 00:05:00,318 It's not about are you only sexually pure. 147 00:05:00,318 --> 00:05:02,678 It's about are you emotionally pure. 148 00:05:02,678 --> 00:05:05,773 Are your emotions being satisfied on Jesus Christ, 149 00:05:05,773 --> 00:05:07,568 or are you going to another cistern 150 00:05:07,568 --> 00:05:09,803 for those to be satisfied? 151 00:05:09,803 --> 00:05:12,095 And so, I just wanted to make a short clip 152 00:05:12,095 --> 00:05:14,104 and to put it out just to be honest, 153 00:05:14,104 --> 00:05:15,551 to encourage you guys. 154 00:05:15,551 --> 00:05:17,340 Everyone's going through a war. 155 00:05:17,340 --> 00:05:20,194 I, myself, am going through a war daily over here 156 00:05:20,194 --> 00:05:23,082 to keep pressing on, to not give up, 157 00:05:23,082 --> 00:05:24,754 to not throw in the towel. 158 00:05:24,754 --> 00:05:25,946 I mean it's amazing, 159 00:05:25,946 --> 00:05:27,654 the devil will slander, 160 00:05:27,654 --> 00:05:30,049 it will feel like hell is crushing in, 161 00:05:30,049 --> 00:05:32,490 and sometimes I just want to delete I'll Be Honest. 162 00:05:32,490 --> 00:05:33,957 I just want to get away 163 00:05:33,957 --> 00:05:36,452 from the weights that are on me 164 00:05:36,452 --> 00:05:38,337 and the reality is, the next morning, 165 00:05:38,337 --> 00:05:41,563 there are new mercies every morning. 166 00:05:41,563 --> 00:05:42,888 It's so encouraging. 167 00:05:42,888 --> 00:05:44,500 And if you're watching this right now 168 00:05:44,500 --> 00:05:45,706 and you're in the pit of hell, 169 00:05:45,706 --> 00:05:47,246 know the reality is the Lord 170 00:05:47,246 --> 00:05:48,886 will redeem you out of that. 171 00:05:48,886 --> 00:05:50,573 It says in Psalm 25, 172 00:05:50,573 --> 00:05:52,585 my eyes are ever towards the Lord, 173 00:05:52,585 --> 00:05:55,836 for He will pluck my feet out of the net. 174 00:05:55,836 --> 00:05:57,292 There is confidence there. 175 00:05:57,292 --> 00:05:58,844 And we need to have that confidence 176 00:05:58,844 --> 00:06:01,348 to know that He will pluck us out of the net. 177 00:06:01,348 --> 00:06:03,335 There's always a way of escape. 178 00:06:03,335 --> 00:06:06,520 I'll tell you, be ready to give anything up for the Lord. 179 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:08,711 If the Lord deleted I'll Be Honest 180 00:06:08,711 --> 00:06:11,209 and the Grace House that I run burnt down today, 181 00:06:11,209 --> 00:06:14,086 I would still be satisfied because I have Jesus Christ. 182 00:06:14,086 --> 00:06:16,671 And I used to get too much joy out of the ministry, 183 00:06:16,671 --> 00:06:18,373 too much joy out of doing things, 184 00:06:18,373 --> 00:06:20,658 but the joy only comes from Christ. 185 00:06:20,658 --> 00:06:22,160 And for all I know, one day, 186 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:23,573 the house is going to burn down, 187 00:06:23,573 --> 00:06:25,096 I'll lose all my video equipment, 188 00:06:25,096 --> 00:06:26,661 I'll Be Honest will be completely gone 189 00:06:26,661 --> 00:06:29,083 and I'll be satisfied in the Lord 190 00:06:29,083 --> 00:06:30,298 because I have Christ 191 00:06:30,298 --> 00:06:32,236 and that's what matters is Him. 192 00:06:32,236 --> 00:06:34,285 We cannot be living for big ministries. 193 00:06:34,285 --> 00:06:36,618 We cannot be living for our names to be known. 194 00:06:36,618 --> 00:06:39,085 We must be living for Christ's name to be known 195 00:06:39,085 --> 00:06:41,977 and to be proclaimed to every end of the earth, 196 00:06:41,977 --> 00:06:43,859 no matter what it takes 197 00:06:43,859 --> 00:06:45,979 and what it's really going to take is dying. 198 00:06:45,979 --> 00:06:47,448 Are you dying daily? 199 00:06:47,448 --> 00:06:49,576 Or are you compromising? 200 00:06:49,576 --> 00:06:52,507 We must be beyond all reproach. 201 00:06:52,507 --> 00:06:54,354 Do you have a clear conscience? 202 00:06:54,354 --> 00:06:56,411 Do I have a clear conscience? 203 00:06:56,411 --> 00:06:58,166 Do I have a clean slate? 204 00:06:58,166 --> 00:06:59,812 If this video camera was watching 205 00:06:59,812 --> 00:07:02,301 my mind, my heart, everywhere I'm at, 206 00:07:02,301 --> 00:07:03,371 24 hours a day, 207 00:07:03,371 --> 00:07:05,317 would you see someone striving to enter 208 00:07:05,317 --> 00:07:06,497 through the narrow door? 209 00:07:06,497 --> 00:07:08,875 Or someone compromising with the world? 210 00:07:08,875 --> 00:07:11,002 And may that not be said of us at all. 211 00:07:11,002 --> 00:07:13,406 I'll tell you, don't live for the approval of man. 212 00:07:13,406 --> 00:07:15,136 Live for God's glory. 213 00:07:15,136 --> 00:07:16,627 It says in Galatian 1:10, 214 00:07:16,627 --> 00:07:20,620 am I now seeking the praise, the approval of man or of God? 215 00:07:20,620 --> 00:07:22,289 If I was seeking the approval of man, 216 00:07:22,289 --> 00:07:24,155 I wouldn't be a slave of Christ. 217 00:07:24,155 --> 00:07:25,695 And I'll tell you, I am so happy 218 00:07:25,695 --> 00:07:27,045 to be a slave of Christ. 219 00:07:27,045 --> 00:07:29,346 I am so happy to have His love 220 00:07:29,346 --> 00:07:32,095 binding me up and controlling my life. 221 00:07:32,095 --> 00:07:35,055 And only abiding in Him can I endure. 222 00:07:35,055 --> 00:07:37,316 And only with more love for Christ 223 00:07:37,316 --> 00:07:39,913 will I be able to press on in this race. 224 00:07:39,913 --> 00:07:42,702 So if you're out there and you've been watching I'll Be Honest, 225 00:07:42,702 --> 00:07:44,471 be encouraged, be challenged, 226 00:07:44,471 --> 00:07:46,474 and press on. Don't give up. 227 00:07:46,474 --> 00:07:48,064 Don't grow tired. 228 00:07:48,064 --> 00:07:50,073 No, your labor is not in vain. 229 00:07:50,073 --> 00:07:52,598 Whatever it is. No matter if it's mopping a floor, 230 00:07:52,598 --> 00:07:54,557 do it all for the glory of God. 231 00:07:54,557 --> 00:07:56,597 Don't live for big ministries. 232 00:07:56,597 --> 00:07:59,067 Live to know God much. 233 00:07:59,067 --> 00:08:02,702 To be much with Him, to be much with Christ. 234 00:08:02,702 --> 00:08:06,766 That's what matters to know Him. 235 00:08:06,766 --> 00:08:09,113 Nothing else really matters. 236 00:08:09,113 --> 00:08:10,855 So, you know what? 237 00:08:10,855 --> 00:08:12,917 I pray it now, Lord, whatever it takes 238 00:08:12,917 --> 00:08:15,147 to break me of myself that I can 239 00:08:15,147 --> 00:08:17,373 be more like Christ, to bear more fruit, 240 00:08:17,373 --> 00:08:18,834 do it, Lord. 241 00:08:18,834 --> 00:08:21,331 And I pray that we would all pray that. 242 00:08:21,331 --> 00:08:22,187 You know what? 243 00:08:22,187 --> 00:08:24,157 This world can really be turned upside down. 244 00:08:24,157 --> 00:08:25,577 If we really count the cost 245 00:08:25,577 --> 00:08:28,131 and let go of every weight - not just the sins, 246 00:08:28,131 --> 00:08:30,874 but the weights that so easily entangle us. 247 00:08:30,874 --> 00:08:34,140 And we look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. 248 00:08:34,140 --> 00:08:36,137 So don't account your life of any value, 249 00:08:36,137 --> 00:08:37,635 don't count it precious to yourself, 250 00:08:37,635 --> 00:08:39,385 if only you can complete this course 251 00:08:39,385 --> 00:08:41,636 that you've received from the Lord Jesus Christ 252 00:08:41,636 --> 00:08:43,680 to testify to the Gospel. 253 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:45,027 That's it. 254 00:08:45,027 --> 00:08:46,688 Testify to that Gospel. 255 00:08:46,688 --> 00:08:49,570 And I'll tell you, that's what it's all about. 256 00:08:49,570 --> 00:08:50,753 So be encouraged. 257 00:08:50,753 --> 00:08:52,691 If you need help, if you need counsel, 258 00:08:52,691 --> 00:08:53,977 I'm here to help. 259 00:08:53,977 --> 00:08:56,234 And I'm here to serve. 260 00:08:56,234 --> 00:08:58,661 Not to serve myself, but to serve others. 261 00:08:58,661 --> 00:09:01,298 And so pray that I am doing that 262 00:09:01,298 --> 00:09:04,292 to the extent that God gives me the grace to do so. 263 00:09:04,292 --> 00:09:05,725 So pray. Seek the Lord. 264 00:09:05,725 --> 00:09:07,383 Seek to know more of Him. 265 00:09:07,383 --> 00:09:11,721 And be less and less about yourself in everything. 266 00:09:11,721 --> 00:09:14,538 So may God help us. 267 00:09:14,538 --> 00:09:16,974 May God help us indeed. 268 00:09:16,974 --> 00:09:19,878 Well, the Lord, He died. 269 00:09:19,878 --> 00:09:22,211 God actually sent His only Son 270 00:09:22,211 --> 00:09:23,557 and slaughtered Him 271 00:09:23,557 --> 00:09:25,456 for the sins of many. 272 00:09:25,456 --> 00:09:28,565 If that doesn't motivate you, what will? 273 00:09:28,565 --> 00:09:30,252 What will? 274 00:09:30,252 --> 00:09:31,853 So Amen.