Regaining Lost Ground

Shane Idleman: Once that judgment falls, there is no returning. That's why the message of the gospel is now. Today, when you hear His voice, harden not your heart. Today is a day of salvation.

That's why they would go and Paul would go, "King Agrippa, I would be to God that you would turn to Him." Jesus would say go out and preach repentance. Today is the day of salvation. There's an urgency about it because once that last breath is taken, nearly all near-death experiences talk about Jesus.

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 second and final part of this impacting message titled "This Is Only a Test: The Pressure Test."

Theologian preacher Henry Ironside once said, "God is looking for broken men who have judged themselves in the light of the cross of Christ. When He wants anything done, He takes up men who have come to the end of themselves, whose confidence is not in themselves but in God."

Right now, do you feel overwhelmed, as if life has a stranglehold on you? Is the pressure overwhelming and just too much? Join us as Pastor Shane brings the relief you need through this powerful sermon to refuel and equip you today here on Regaining Lost Ground.

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 Idleman Unplugged weekly podcast. And now, from Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, here is Pastor Shane Idleman.

Shane Idleman: Polycarp, before he was murdered and martyred, I think he was stabbed and put on the fire at the stake. He said, "86 years have I served Him and He has never done me wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?" That is genuine faith.

Finally, the Holy Spirit strengthens us as we submit. You have to submit to be strengthened. You have to say, "Lord, come in and do this deep work in my heart. I'm fearful, I'm anxious, I don't know how to handle this at work, but I'm submitting to what You want me to say and what You want me to do. I am Your vessel. Lord, use me how You want." That's where that empowering from the Spirit comes from.

You have to fight those thoughts all day long against fear and anxiety. I had so many case studies. Fanny Crosby, have you heard that name before? She was blind at a young age and wrote all these incredible hymns. Horatio Spafford, I've talked about him before, lost his four daughters at sea and wrote the amazing hymn "It Is Well With My Soul." How do you write that?

E.M. Bounds wrote great books on prayer. He lost a few children too, I believe. George Whitefield faced a lot of adversity in his life. Wesley, Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Amy Carmichael, Elisabeth Elliot, who lost her husband to that tribe that killed him and then she went back and ministered to them with one of her children.

These people that we look to and read about have been to hell and back. They passed the pressure test. That's really the key. I shared this on a Wednesday night, but I want to share it here. Psalm 105:19 says, "Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him."

This is, of course, of Joseph. God said, "You will be a ruler." Can you imagine Joseph, this young man, probably a teenager? He thought, "I've got this great word from the Lord. I had these dreams and this is going to be great. A couple months from now, maybe this time next year." Boy, did he go through it.

That's what God will take you through. That's why it says until the time that God's word came to pass, it actually tested him. When you have that promise from God or you're just having faith in God, it doesn't happen right away. That's part of the testing. You get to the point where, and that's why I love quoting Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."

You get to the point like those three Hebrew boys. Our God will deliver us, but even if He doesn't, we will not bow. To me, that's how I keep my sanity because you don't know what God's going to do. Some people say that's unbelief, but no, I believe in God and trust Him, but He's God and I'm not.

I want the easy way out. I like the verses on healing. I don't like the verses on Paul praying three times and God saying, "No, it's going to stay. My grace is sufficient." Wait a minute, I like these ones over here. Because that's our desire, our hope, and our goal. But when it doesn't happen, does it test your faith?

Yes, it will test your faith because that scripture is just as valid as those. "Lord, take this away." God says, "I won't, because it's going to keep you humble and My grace is going to be sufficient." You have to believe both. That's why these "name it and claim it" guys on TV drive me nuts. If you just have enough faith and send me $1,000.

I saw one clip this week of this lady, some false prophetess down in LA, and this kid is having a demonic issue. She's saying, "This is why you've got to sow a big seed for this type of deliverance." I wanted to kick her. That is just beyond wrong. Healing is never related to giving to a false prophet. Be careful. It's on seeking God.

You might be asking, "How do I pass this test?" Good question. I thought of some things this week in my own journey. Will you hold the line when the race seems uncertain? Will you trust God even when life is falling apart? The thing about belief in God is it has to be tested. There's no other way to prove the genuineness of your faith than by going through the pressure test.

Will you hold on to Him when everything is collapsing? Isn't that so important? I've been thinking about it a lot, that the woman just had to get to Jesus and just touch the hem of His garment. If I could just encounter Him for a moment, a moment with the Savior will change your life forever.

She was going through it. Even physicians couldn't help. That's what I'm working on in a new booklet. Hopefully this week it's going to be finalized. Christine, thank you for the editing, and Leo, for your patience because she's done a lot of work on this thing. My point is you can't trust in alternatives, conventionals, and physicians. You cannot trust in that.

God may use them, but you have to trust in Him and Him alone. There is no plan B. There is no backup. He is the plan. But sometimes He'll take you to the depths of despair. Will you hold on to Him even when everything is collapsing?

True story, in February, a couple reached out from out of state. The irony is he had the same exact thing as me, to a tee. I was helping them and sending them stuff. Then I just got her message on Instagram. She said, "Thank you for all your help. He just passed away last week because it went to his lungs."

Lord, here I am coughing up something and I thought about the darkness and the depression that just comes upon you. Will you hold the line even when things seem uncertain? You take those thoughts captive and do all that, but still, faith is challenged. Will you draw near to God versus reverting back to sin?

That really tests it, doesn't it? Because I can tell you how many people have reverted back to sin, back to the relationship they shouldn't be in, back to that drinking habit, that pill habit, or that porn habit when they're upset at God. No, you've got to get anchored into Him even more. Will you draw near to Him versus reverting back to sin?

Will you remain thankful and grateful even in the midst of the adversity? I learned a lot about me. You know when you're going through a lot, it's hard to be thankful and grateful. Will you be gracious and compassionate to others? I did not pass that test well. That's what the pressure test does because when you're hit, what's inside comes out.

I didn't choose this battle, God chose it. But I've got so many people, you guys saw the CBN News interview that went out. Christian Post wants to do one now. Many of you guys follow Daniel Pompa, he wants me to fly out to his place in July. I don't like to talk about it. People ask how I'm doing and I say I forgot all about it until you said something.

But God wants us to be more gracious and compassionate. But it doesn't come out until you go through that test. Pride will be crushed as well during the pressure testing. So what do you do? You have to fix your gaze upon Him. That's the only hope. Whenever I'm afraid, I will trust in You. In God, I will praise His word. In God I have put my trust. I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?

You don't just quote it, you believe it. Big difference. You begin to tell yourself God's word is true. God, You know what can flesh do to me? Those who wait upon the Lord shall not be ashamed. Do you really believe that? I do. Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. Trust not in your own understanding, but lean upon God and He shall direct your path. Commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established.

You begin to transform your thinking again to the word of God. Acts 14 actually closes out and it says they appointed elders. I just don't think the church is prepared for the pressure that may come. Do you see what's going on in France and Europe? We're worried if the parking lot is full. People get upset when the parking lot is full.

We just have to prepare our kids. It's a wonderful life to follow the Lord. There's no other peace, but it comes with a price. You're in a war for your soul, for your very soul. You're in a war for your family as well. It concludes they appointed elders in every church as they prayed and fasted.

That's one reason I chose this, knowing myself. When we formed the church, we had $100 and I went to Grace Chapel to talk to Pastor Chris. We borrowed their bylaws and I said I think we need to be a plurality of elders. I could have designed it to where I'm the head guy. A lot of churches do that.

That's why I'm a lead pastor, a leader among equals. I did that just for the safety, the accountability. I never looked back. We have a great elder team. God has always just brought incredible men. We believe that elders govern the church because one man by himself is a loose cannon, for sure. There's no accountability.

That's why you're seeing in the charismatic world all these leaders falling. Well, a lot of them are staying in ministry because they have no accountability. If you have a board that can fire you, you'd be seeing a lot less of these shenanigans. So that's one of the verses we use, is they appointed elders in every church.

They prayed and they did something else many of us don't do. Here's why it's so important as I'm praying. My flesh has a voice. "Feed me, feed me, feed me." The more you cave into that, the less it's hard to really hear the voice of God. So there's a season of just praying and fasting. They continued traveling and preaching the gospel.

I need to tell you guys just so some of you might not know, I summed it up as simple as I could. What is the gospel? The gospel is there is good news regarding the bad news. You can't explain the good news without the bad news.

For example, if I went around and said, "Hey, the Governor pardoned you," you'd say, "Okay, thanks." But if you knew you had a life sentence, oh, you'd be on your knees crying and thanking him. That's the problem with many of the sermons that go out in many churches. They don't tell you about the bad news. But without that, how do you understand the good news?

How do you understand the cross and redemption and repentance without the bad news? According to the Bible, there's only one remedy, one solution, one cure, and that is repent and believe in the gospel. Repent from what? The bad news, the bad lifestyle. I'm a sinner, I'm caught in sin. The wrath of God is upon me. I need to repent and believe in the good news.

That's why they call it the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. The reason is judgment has a price. Judgment has a price. Did you know the Bible is full from Genesis to Revelation of God's judgment? Now, it's uncomfortable for some because the hand of God is heavy upon the guilty. That's why they don't want to hear it. That's why sermons like this will probably not get 100,000 views.

But it's true. In order to tell people the truth, you have to shoot them straight. Imagine there is a Great White Throne judgment. When God steps in, is the universe just light? The courtroom is in session. The judgment hand of God is going to fall. What an awesome, life-changing, life-altering moment. But as you know, by then it's too late.

Judgment has a cost. Look at the price. Look at the price, the blood-stained cross, Jesus' body. Look at the altar. God said the people are so sinful that you're going to have to bring in the blood of bulls and goats and rams and this gruesome task of cutting the neck and the blood that paid the price for sin temporarily. The cross paid it permanently.

We have to remind people of that because God honors that. I feel His power and presence more at this portion of the sermon than I have at the beginning because this is the love of God. God so loved the world. The judgment of God actually fell upon Jesus. It had to be satisfied. Propitiation means He absorbed the wrath of God.

It's absolutely amazing and that's why it says Jesus returns in judgment. Everybody's got this nice view of Him. He's returning in judgment. The gospel frees us of judgment. God poured out His judgment upon the cross. All throughout human history, God would judge. And God wins, by the way.

You look back to Genesis and Egypt learned about the judgment of God at midnight. The Assyrian army learned about the judgment of God. Babylonians learned about the judgment of God. Jesus even said the dead will judge you. At the preaching of Jonah, they even repented and yet a greater than Jonah is here, and they will testify against you because you did not repent.

Jesus said, "Woe, Bethsaida, Chorazin. If the good works that were done in you were done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago. They're going to rise up in judgment against you." At that point, there's no bribing, there's no tears, there's no talking your way out of it. There is no talking your way out of this, folks. There's no good works that will save you.

Once that judgment falls, there is no returning. That's why the message of the gospel is now. Today, when you hear His voice, harden not your heart. Today is a day of salvation. That's why they would go and Paul would go, "King Agrippa, I would be to God that you would turn to Him." Jesus would say go out and preach repentance. Today is the day of salvation. There's an urgency about it because once that last breath is taken, nearly all near-death experiences talk about Jesus.

Jesus is real. Life is eternal. Judgment is certain. Those listening, if you need to make that decision to repent and believe, I want to encourage you to do that today. There's a lot of people that play church. They come with their parents, they think they're good, or they come with their spouse. They say all the right things and they make a big mistake. They think that knowing about God is knowing Him. It's not the same thing. So the Bible is clear: repent and believe and you will be saved. It is simply that simple.

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.