Regaining Lost Ground

Pastor Shane Idleman: This is a big question. And Jesus said to them, "Strive to enter the narrow gate." Now that word 'strive' is interesting. It's where we get our word 'agonize' from. I believe it's agōnizomai.

There's a flesh that doesn't want me to submit. The flesh is fighting me. My pride gets in the way. Did you know your pride will destroy you? Pride is damning. It is deadly.

And so there's a fighting, I can't. I've got to come into submission to the Lord. And there's an agonizing and there's a striving. It's not works-based. It's fighting the opposition of the flesh.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us here at Westside Christian Fellowship, located in Leona Valley, California, one hour north of Los Angeles. Today on Regaining Lost Ground, we hear the third and final part of a sobering message from Pastor Shane, titled, "What Does Empty Mean To Me?"

Charles Spurgeon once said, "If we empty our hearts of self, God will fill them with His love." In this message, Pastor Shane confronts the woke church with the truth of God's living word, giving an undeniable account of the times we are living in and how each and every one of us must live a life worthy of the call, uncompromisingly, unreservedly for Jesus.

You can hear the whole message at Pastor Shane's YouTube and Rumble channels. Make sure to subscribe today. For more information, visit us online at westsidechristianfellowship.org. We also encourage you to hear more truth from Pastor Shane with The Idlemen Unplugged weekly podcast.

And now from Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, here's Pastor Shane Idleman.

Pastor Shane Idleman: Now God might be using something to wake you up. You can't say, "Well, you know, yeah, my sin caused this, but God's sovereignty." No, God's sovereignty is you repent of that sin and let Him begin to rebuild and fix that area of your life.

So we can't just throw that in there wherever it's cute and fits. But as a personal confession, that's been my challenge with God's sovereignty, is it seems like all hell is breaking loose. Luke 24:38.

And He said to them, Jesus said, "Why are you troubled? Why are you troubled and why do you, why do doubts arise in your hearts?" Don't you feel that way as well? Shane, why are you troubled? Why, why are there doubts in your heart? And you need to be encouraged this morning because that is part of the old man.

That old, the Bible calls it the, the, yeah, the old man, the Adamic nature, the sinful flesh, the, the carnal mind is at enmity with God and there's a war inside of us. And so, as I begin to seek God, sometimes will struggle with doubts and fears. Sometimes that's someone's stronghold.

And that's why I think we really need to be gentle with others because just because you don't struggle with what they're struggling with, let's go down your laundry list, sir. You're controlling, you're dominating, you're, you're full of fear. And you're going to put down the person who, this? See, we all have that challenge inside of us of the old man pulling us down, pulling us away from God.

But Shane, I thought I had victory. I thought I had victory in this. I thought I was crucified with Christ. It's no longer Christ. But but sin isn't supposed to live in me and yes, there's victory over death and the penalty of sin, but that little stinker still trying to pull me down. Is he not?

Who can say like Paul, "O wretched man that I am!" O, wretched, he wrote the Bible, most of the Bible. Paul, come on, come on now. I want to hear about this perfect Paul. "O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of sin and death? For with the mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin."

There's a war within me. It's constantly, it's constantly pulling me away from God. I've got to fight, I've got to war, a spiritual battling. And if we give people the truth, I think you set them up for failure and for success, not failure. Tell them, "Yeah, it's a battle."

And sometimes people don't like my advice in certain areas because I say, "You might have to struggle with that a while." But can't God just take it away like he did my friend Jack? He can, and if you would, if I would understand that part of God's sovereignty, I would be very, a better preacher.

But for now, all I know is sometimes he'll take it away. Praise God. And sometimes there's a struggle. And I haven't figured out why yet. Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your heart?

Behold, what he's saying here is, "Look at my hands, look at my feet." So there must have been some type of marking, maybe the healing that took place or maybe it was completely healed, but there, there's probably marks there that showed him. It wasn't, it was more of in his wrist and and feet and. He, he said, "Look, look at me. Look at me. If you have fear, if you have doubt," and it's a good message for us.

If you're troubled, if you're troubled, Jesus says, "Come and look at me. Handle me and see for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." In other words, he's saying, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Jesus is saying, "Yes, if you're troubled, yes, if you're weary, come to me all you're weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest."

You won't find the rest in all these other things you're searching for and buying this new thing and going shopping and and doing this. I'm getting personal now, I know, but isn't it true? You're not going to find wholeness in all of these other things, but taste and see that the Lord is good. "Test me, try me in this."

Just do a search in the Bible where God says, "Test me. Test me, try me in this." And once, when I spoke at the college a few years back with I think it was the atheist, I don't know if it's the atheist debate, or some other, but it was it the title was was test God. Let's put God to the test.

Now that's not good in one sense, if you're testing him the wrong way. Oh yeah, let me see. I'm going to test you, test your word, test your will, be disobedient. But God says, "Test me, try me in this." One of the famous passages is in, is doing, dealing with finances. Get your heart right, and will I not pour out a blessing that you don't have room enough to receive?

Now, we don't want to use that to, to manipulate people, but there's a truth to that. Because many times we don't give because I don't trust. I know, God, you say this, but I don't think you got me. I don't think you got my back in this area. "Test me in this, try me in this."

And since it's, it's Resurrection Sunday, I do want to say this. You'll notice we don't do an offering plate. We don't, we don't make money a big deal at all. And I'm convicted a lot of times that I don't talk about enough to really help people because of this view of the church. Oh, they just want my money. Actually, we don't. We're, God's got our back.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Shane Idleman: God's got our back. The office just showed me a huge check that came in today.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Shane Idleman: It'll cover all of the month. See, we don't, we don't, we don't worry about your check or your giving. It's a, it's a, it's a test of the heart. Is it not? Because when things get tough, did I think about backing off tithes a little? Oh yeah, absolutely. But who am I trusting? Who am I, who? "Test me in this. Test me in this."

And so my point in saying all that was, we don't push giving on you. We don't want people to feel, uh, feel that the church needs any of their money. We're not here because of the money. But there's a wonderful biblical principle that talk, it's about sowing and reaping. It talks about the real God of this world and the, the true God, and how you have to sometimes bring that God of this world into submission under the true God. And give, what hurts the most.

I will not give God that which costs me nothing. When we, we moved up to this facility, I told the office, "Hey, listen, this is not the drop-off place anymore." We had like old couches, a big screen TV. It's people what they don't want.

Pastor, I got this 50-inch TV. I love for the church to have it and for, oh wow, cool. Okay, when you drop it off, uh, pretty soon and it's well, and. That's like 18 years old. What are we supposed to? Oh, you just have to fix this and get it gone. Okay. And then you want, I've got this wonderful love set or love seat and and couch and table and it'll be bless a family. Okay, great. And then they're like, holy smokes. It's just, I'm not giving that to anybody.

But but isn't that not true? I will not give God that which costs me nothing. So it's got to, it's got to cost a little bit. It's got to, it's got to hurt a little bit. That's the whole point. That's the whole point.

And we do this, you know, me and my wife do it every couple times a year and and we just think we're so special. We are so, we are so biblical and we're just. I went through my closet and cleaned out 45 shirts recently. I gave them to the homeless ministry. Man, I'm so. Should I post that on Facebook? Was any one of those new? A couple were, a couple were because I put, put, put. God, come on.

But see, that's, this is where the rubber meets the road. This is, this is, it's a challenging of the heart. And so, this is not in any of my notes whatsoever. My mind was not even on this. But maybe some of you need to hear that, could it be that you're in a financial crisis because you're not trusting God? Absolutely. Biblically speaking, absolutely. And when we trust God, he begins to pour out things that we didn't even know possible.

Luke 24:46 and 47. Then he said, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary, it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day." And it's interesting, he didn't say go and preach love. And I want to be careful because God is love, and we need to love people. It's the love of God in my heart that really is the, you know. I, I know I get bold in my messages, but praise God, a lot of people see the love. They know I'm not just some angry preacher, "You sinner, how dare you step into this place?" Because if that were the case, I would not be here.

So with the boldness comes a lot of love. I want, I, I try hard to make sure. Not, not perfect, but I want people to know, I love them enough to tell them the truth. But he didn't go and say preach God is love. Jesus sent them out saying, "Preach repentance." Repentance is to turn from your sin and turn to God. Repentance is the wrath of God abides on the unbeliever.

You need to let them, can you imagine if we started telling people that on all these popular podcasts and and and all these pastors that have 100,000 viewers and can you imagine if they start saying, "Hey, by the way, you know, the wrath of God abides on you if you're an unbeliever?" Whoa!

Their Facebook likes will go, I just lost 30,000 people. Yeah, but you gained the heart of God. How many did you help? How many did you help? See, sometimes we can be so worried by who we offend that we really don't help those who need the help. It happens all the time.

I don't want to say that. I don't want to go there. I don't want to be that bold. I don't want to offend people. Okay, well then you're not going to help an array of other people. Let God's word be true. That's what I love about God's word. If I need to be gentle on Sunday and loving, I will. If I need to pull out the hammer and and preach God's word with, with power, I will. Let the Holy Spirit, he knows what he's doing better than I do. He knows who needs to be comforted and who needs to be convicted.

My goodness, just like Spurgeon said, you don't have to defend the word of God just like you don't have to defend a lion. Just open the cage and let it out. The power of God's word. This is not the Easter message I planned, but God had other plans. It's necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise again the third day and then go and preach repentance.

Also, for the remission of sin, basically, the removal of sin. So, when we're telling people the truth, we have to tell them, "Hey, listen, to remit sin, you have to know that you're under the judgment of God." The wages of sin is death. You're under that condemnation. You're under that judgment of God. I don't like to say it and I know it's going to upset you, but it's the truth.

And so, how do you have the remission? How do you, how do you come out of that? Sin is a cancer. How do you go into remission? You repent and believe in Jesus that he saved you and set you free. That's what he, that's what we're supposed to preach.

And so a lot of these guys out there, I say their name sometimes, I don't want, but they, they, they, they don't even preach the gospel. It's a feel-good, seeker-sensitive message that is designed to make you feel good. When it's supposed to be designed to make you look at your heart. Look at your heart. Remission through repentance.

Empty, empty proves that the gospel is true. Empty provides the way of salvation and empty purifies the soul. Now close here, Luke 24. Here's a good test by the way. Just thought of this. If when I said I'm going to close here, you said, "Praise God, I got to get out of here." You need to hear everything I'm saying.

Is that not the gospel truth?

[Audience applauds]

Pastor Shane Idleman: But then you, of others, say you could have kept going. Right? What's the difference? The hunger. The truth is feeding them versus the truth is convicting them. Big, big difference.

You are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the promise of my father. I'd love to do a whole sermon on this. Behold, I send the promise of my father. Now, I don't want to get too technical, but I want you to see this.

Jesus said this. He's going to. I'm going to send that's why Jesus said, "I must go." I actually, it's better for you that I leave. What in the world? What, I, I, like I would not, like. I would not even understand that, "Jesus, you're here with me. Do not leave. How can that be better?" Because if I don't leave, the Father's not going to send the Comforter.

And the Comforter is not outside you. Peter denied Jesus when Jesus was right next to him. But when the Holy Spirit resided in Peter, with no Jesus anywhere, he preached fire down from heaven. That's the difference, the upon.

So Jesus said this. The promise of my father is not going to be with you, although the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, is Paraclete is to come alongside of you, but he's saying, "The Holy Spirit is going to come upon you. The Holy Spirit is going to come upon you." And in your case, this is not necessarily true in our case, and I'll explain this in a minute because I think it's important. He said, "Go and wait in Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

Now, people have, you know, upper room revival services. And you know, let's, let's go wait upon God for, for 10 days. And there's no magic formula, like, okay, if you just wait for God for 10 days. And sometime, I mean, I, I received the endowment of the Spirit, the power of the Spirit on a, on a, on my face, on my knees, on a floor in Corsil, California. In a home I built that I was going to have to sell, that I repented and turned my life back to God. And the Holy Spirit came upon, I didn't go wait for 10 days.

However, there's nothing wrong with going and seeing. And there's so many stories I can tell you from Oswald Chambers to John Bunyan, Amy Carmichael, and Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor, John Wesley, where there would be a season of waiting on God and waiting on God and and fasting and waiting upon God and waiting upon God and then the spirit came upon them in a powerful and profound way. And I believe it's because the Spirit moves however he wants.

And God was waiting for me in that moment of history for to fully surrender. And that's why I talk about fully surrender a lot. Because without fully surrendering, if God only has this much of you, how much do you think he's going to use you? If God's got this much of you, how much of the Bible do you think you're going to want to read every day?

But if he's an overflowing spring, a well within side of you. "I've got this river of life flowing out of me." Remember that song? Now, I'm dating myself, really, back in the old-time churches and those saints, especially when I go to the black churches, they say, "Oh, my goodness, they could bring down heaven." And I just couldn't because I just don't have that rhythm. But you know, it's just like I just, I'm not.

But that's, that, that song is so profound and powerful. "I've got a river of life flowing out of me." Makes the lame walk and the blind to see, the power of the Holy Spirit upon our lives, the power of those who want to be revived and renewed. Listen, God isn't just a convenient thought on Sunday. He's an all-consuming fire Monday through Sunday. There's a, there's a difference. There's a distinction.

Now, I don't walk around on fire for God all the time. I did not want to come to church this morning. Sometimes I struggled just like you. It's hard sometimes. I know it's difficult, but when you commit and you listen to the worship and you open your heart and you repent, the fire of God can can fall upon your life. When you open the word again afresh and say, "God, speak to me. I don't want to hear about Netflix. I don't want to hear about Fox News or CNN." I want to hear from you, watch the fire fall upon your life.

[Audience cheers and applauds]

Pastor Shane Idleman: So I wanted to leave you with this thought, empty to be filled, empty to be full, empty to be fueled. Many of you need to fully surrender your life and be filled afresh with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Well, how do you know? Because you're, you're just as dead as a doornail during worship. You have no desire for God. You might come in a month from now, you have no desire for morning worship. You're not going to pray again till you have to. You might listen to some Christian music on your way home, but you're never going to set time aside for God in worship. It's, it's very simple. Where's your hunger lie?

Oh, you're convicting me. That's my job. That's, that, do you know that's what I'm supposed to do?

Guest (Male): Preach Pastor.

Pastor Shane Idleman: Woe be to the pastor who doesn't convict.

Audience: Come on.

Pastor Shane Idleman: My goodness.

[Audience applauds]

Pastor Shane Idleman: And then finally, John 11. When Lazarus died, Jesus said, "Your brother will rise again, Martha." And Martha said, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. I know, but he's dead now." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life." "I am the resurrection and life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live." "Do you believe this?" Empty tomb means nothing if you don't believe it. Empty tomb means nothing if you don't believe it.

And she said, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God, who's coming into the world." Luke 13. Someone said to him, "Lord, are there, for this is an incredible question." Can you imagine going to Jesus and saying, "Are there few who are saved?" "Are there few," this is a big question. And Jesus said to them, "Strive to enter the narrow gate."

Audience: Narrow.

Pastor Shane Idleman: The broad? "Strive to enter the narrow gate." Now that word 'strive' is interesting. It's where we get our word 'agonize' from. I believe it's agōnizomai. It's, there's a, there's a flesh that doesn't want me to submit. The flesh is fighting me. My pride gets in the way. Did you know your pride will destroy you?

Pride is damning. It is deadly. And so there's a fighting, I can't. I've got to come into submission to the Lord. And there's an agonizing and there's a striving. It's not works-based. It's fighting the opposition of the flesh. And then he said something interesting, many will seek and they will not be able to enter the kingdom of God.

Well, now that doesn't make any sense, unless, of course, you look up the word in your Greek dictionary and it makes perfect sense. It says many will ponder. They will contemplate. They will think about. But they will never make a decision. They will die in their sins. Do we not have that today? How many people ponder? Think about.

And that's why a lot of times when I preach, in the back of my mind, I, I realize that I will not see a lot of these, many of you again, maybe some of you never again, maybe some of you months from now. This is my one shot. What would I say? Are you seeking the right way? Because the Bible does say, "If you seek him, you'll find him." That's a Hebrew word, though, and that means like you lost something of value and you have to find it. Nothing else matters.

So that kind of seek is very good. But think about this. Are you seeking and not striving? Are you seeking and not striving? When you surrender to the flesh, you are truly imprisoned. But when you surrender to Jesus, there is true freedom.

Think about that. We think surrendering to Jesus, "Now I'm going to be bound." No, you're actually bound when you submit to the flesh. Amen. Anybody, I, I don't even have to take a survey. I know there's people, a wide variety of people in here, bound right now to sin. And it's got, it's shackles on you and you're doing all you can to keep your head up out of the water. Surrender, surrender this morning.

In the Old Testament, they would put the blood on the doorpost before the death angel passed over. So in the Old Testament, they would put the blood on the side of that doorpost. And then they would also put the blood on the top. They call it the lentil, the top of the door, and then they would put the blood on the other side as well. And that's where we get the word Passover from. God said, "When I see the blood, when I see the blood, I will pass over."

That's rich in application because we could see the same thing on the cross. When you put the blood on it, the death angel, the sentence of death will pass over you. When we see Jesus on there as well. You have to put the blood on it. I don't fully understand it. I probably wouldn't have chose that way. I don't fully comprehend hell. All I know is the Bible to be true, and without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. You've got to put the blood on. You've got to repent and believe in the only name that saves.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Regaining Lost Ground with Pastor Shane Idleman. You can find more information at westsidechristianfellowship.org. That's westsidechristianfellowship.org. And for all the latest on what God is doing with his ministry here, please be sure to follow us on most social media platforms. Westside Christian Fellowship is located 60 miles north of Los Angeles in Leona Valley, California. Thank you again for listening to today's message of Regaining Lost Ground, where we are reminded daily, "Times change. Truth does not."