WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD, IT'S VERY HUMBLING. BECAUSE I REALLY DON'T FEEL LIKE TODAY THAT I AM WORTHY TO RECEIVE THE BEST OF WHAT HEAVEN HAS POURED OUT UPON ME. AND I FEEL LIKE TODAY, THAT THERE MAY BE SOME FOLK THAT ARE LISTENING TO THIS MINISTRY THAT FEEL THE SAME WAY AS I DO. GOD HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO US. AND YET TODAY, IN THE MIDST OF ALL THIS GOODNESS THAT GOD HAS POURED OUT UPON US, THERE ARE STILL MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT RECEIVED ALL THE GOODNESS THAT GOD WANTS TO SHARE. THERE ARE SOME TODAY WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD. AND THAT'S SO UNFORTUNATE. AND WE'RE TRYING VERY HARD TO CHANGE THAT. BY PRESENTING THE GOSPEL EVERYWHERE WE CAN, TO ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN. AND THEN IT WILL BE UP TO THEM. AT THE VERY LEAST THEY'LL HAVE TO SAY THAT THEY WERE TOLD AND GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY. TODAY, THERE ARE SOME WHO HAVE HEARD, YET WANDERED AWAY. AND WE'RE REACHING OUT TO THEM TODAY. YOU SEE, THE BIBLE TELLS US IN THE BOOK OF ROMANS THAT NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD. SO EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE SEEN SOME FOLK WANDER AWAY AND GO BACK TO THE LIFE THAT THEY USED TO LIVE, GOD HASN'T STOPPED LOVING THEM. HE STILL CONTINUES TO LOVE THEM JUST AS MUCH. AND WILL DO FOR THEM THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED HIM TO DO, IFTHEY WILL JUST RETURN TO GOD. TODAY, IN THE MESSAGE THAT I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU, I WANT TO REACH OUT TO SOME FOLK THAT NEED GOD, MAYBE THEY DON'T REALIZE HOW MUCH THEY NEED HIM, BUT THEY NEED GOD. AND IF YOU'VE NEVER YIELDED YOUR LIFE TO HIM, I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU, TO REACH OUT TO HIM TODAY AND LET HIS GRACE, HIS MERCY AND HIS LOVE COME AND BEGIN TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE. AND IF YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE THAT WE CALL A BACKSLIDER, I KNOW THAT'S UNCOMFORTABLE TO HEAR. SOME FOLK MAY BE OFFENDED TO BE CALLED ONE. BUT IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN CLOSE TO GOD AND TODAY ARE NOT AS CLOSE AS YOU ONCE WERE, THEN YOU'VE EXPERIENCED A BACKSLIDING IN YOUR LIFE. NOW JUST TO HELP YOU WITH THAT, AS YOU GET YOUR BIBLES AND TURN WITH ME TO THE 2ND EPISTLE OF PETER, LET ME JUST HELP SOME FOLK WITH THAT, MAYBE THIS WILL EASE YOU TO A LITTLE DEGREE, EVERYBODY HAS EXPERIENCED A BACKSLIDING IN THEIR LIFE. I CAN'T THINK OF ONE INDIVIDUAL THAT I'VE EVER COME ACROSS, WHO CAN SAY THAT THEY'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED A PLACE WHERE THEY WEREN'T AS CLOSE TO GOD AS THEY ONCE WERE. IT HAPPENS TO EVERYBODY. UNFORTUNATELY, NOT EVERYBODY RETURNS. THERE ARE SOME FOLK THAT JUST SLOWLY BUT SURELY, BEGIN TO DRIFT AWAY, UNTIL THEY HAVE DRIFTED TO A GREAT DISTANCE. SO WHETHER YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN TO THE CROSS OF CALVARY AND ASKED THE LORD INTO YOUR LIFE, OR WHETHER YOU HAVE BEEN THERE AND NOW RETURNED TO THAT LIFE OF SIN THAT YOU ONCE LIVED. WHETHER IT HAPPENED QUICKLY OR HAPPENED SLOWLY, I'M REACHING OUT TO YOU WITH THE MESSAGE OF GOD'S WORD TODAY. IN 2ND PETER, CHAPTER 2, VERSE 20, IT SIMPLY SAYS THIS, "FOR IF AFTER THEY HAVE ESCAPED THE POLLUTION'S OF THE WORLD, THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, THEY ARE AGAIN ENTANGLED THEREIN AND OVERCOME, THE LATTER END IS WORSE WITH THEM THEN THE BEGINNING. NOW THAT VERSE, SPECIFICALLY, REACHES OUT TO THE BACKSLIDER. LET ME FIRST OF ALL DEAL WITH THE PERSON WHO HAS NEVER YIELDED THEIR LIFE TO THE LORD. WHETHER YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THIS OR NOT, I HAVE TO TELL YOU, THAT IF YOU'VE NEVER ASKED GOD INTO YOUR LIFE, YOU ARE LOST. MAYBE YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE LOST. MAYBE YOU DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT IT IS TO NOT EXPERIENCE THE BLESSINGS OF GOD. MAYBE YOU WERE WANDERING THE ROAD OF LIFE AND THOUGHT EVERYTHING WAS OKAY. BUT IF YOU'VE NEVER ASKED GOD TO COME IN, YOU CAN'T ENJOY THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, YOU CAN'T ENJOY THE BENEFITS OF GOD. YOU CAN'T EXPERIENCE THE CLEANSING POWER OF GOD. AND FRIEND, YOU ARE DENYING YOURSELF SO MANY THINGS, BY NOT ACCEPTING HIM AS SAVIOR. TODAY, I DO ENCOURAGE YOU TO LISTEN FOR THAT VOICE THAT'S REACHING OUT TO YOU. YOU SEE, THE BIBLE ALSO TELLS US THAT NO MAN CAN COME TO THE FATHER, EXCEPT THROUGH CHRIST. AND WE KNOW THAT CHRIST IS REACHING OUT TODAY. IF HE'S NEVER SPOKEN TO YOUR LIFE THEN YOU CAN'T COME TO HIM. BUT IF YOU'LL LISTEN AND THIS IS THE PART THAT GETS A LITTLE HARD, MANY TIMES WE'RE NOT LISTENING, HE'S SPEAKING, BUT WE'RE NOT HEARING, BECAUSE WE'RE SO TAKEN UP WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON AROUND US, AND IF WE'RE NOT HEARING, IT'S GOING TO BE VERY HARD TO YIELD TO HIM. SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO STOP, TAKE MEASURE OF WHERE WE ARE AND LISTEN, TO SEE WHAT GOD IS SPEAKING TO US. I BELIEVE IF YOU'LL DO THAT TODAY, THERE WILL BE MULTIPLIED THOUSANDS OF US, THAT WILL SOON DISCOVER THAT GOD IS TRYING TO GET A MESSAGE THROUGH TO US. BUT WITH EVERYTHING THAT WAS HAPPENING AROUND US, WE DIDN'T HEAR HIM. NOW BACKSLIDER, AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE TODAY, I WANT YOU TO HEAR ME, PLEASE. I BEG OF YOU LISTEN, DON'T TURN THIS OFF, BUT LISTEN TO WHAT THE SPIRIT IS SPEAKING TO YOU. GOD WANTS YOU TO FIND YOUR WAY HOME TODAY. WHERE YOU'RE HEADED IS NOT THE HOME HE HAS PREPARED FOR YOU. WHERE YOU'RE HEADED IS NOT THE PLACE HE DESIRES YOU TO BE. HE WON'T COME TO YOU WITH CONDEMNATION. GOD NEVER WORKS WITH CONDEMNATION. THERE WILL BE SOME SELF-CONDEMNATION, YOU MAY BEAT YOURSELF UP FOR THE THINGS THAT HAVE COME TO YOUR LIFE THINGS YOU ALLOWED TO COME IN, YOU INVITED IN, THINGS THAT YOU DID. BUT THAT CONDEMNATION WON'T COME FROM HEAVEN. THAT ENCOURAGES ME WHEN I REALIZE THAT, BECAUSE IN REALIZING IT, I CAN BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN I RETURN TO GOD, GOD IS GOING TO LOVE ME. HIS GRACE AND HIS MERCY ARE ONCE AGAIN GOING TO COME AND TOUCH THE BACKSLIDDEN HEART. NOW I UNDERSTAND, THE BIBLE ALSO HELPS US TO REALIZE, THAT WHEN THE BACKSLIDER COMES BACK TO GOD, IT'S MORE DIFFICULT THE SECOND TIME AROUND THEN IT WAS THE FIRST TIME AROUND. AND THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME, BECAUSE AFTER WE STARTED OUR JOURNEY WITH GOD AND WE LEFT HIM FOR A TIME, WHEN WE COME BACK TO HIM, WE ARE BRINGING THE EXTRA BAGGAGE OF THAT BACKSLIDDEN PERIOD. BUT I DON'T WANT YOU TO LOSE HEART IN THAT. PLEASE, OH, PLEASE, HEAR ME TODAY. DON'T SIT THERE AND SAY, "WELL THERE'S NO SENSE TO COME BACK TO GOD TODAY BECAUSE I JUST WON'T BE ABLE TO MAKE IT. I COULDN'T MAKE IT THE FIRST TIME SO HOW AM I GOING TO MAKE IT THIS TIME, IF THE PREACHER IS TELLING ME IT'S GOING TO BE HARDER." WAIT A MINUTE, PLEASE, I DIDN'T SAY IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE. I SAID IT'S GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT HARDER, IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE A LITTLE BIT MORE DETERMINATION. IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE A LITTLE MORE PATIENCE WITH YOURSELF. BUT IF YOU'LL TRY, GOD WILL HELP YOU AND YOU CAN MAKE IT. I CAN STAND HERE TODAY AND TELL YOU, I'VE WATCHED IT HAPPEN IN SO MANY LIVES THROUGH THE COURSE OF MY OWN LIFE. I'VE SEEN THE BACKSLIDER COME BACK AFTER LIVING A HORRIBLE LIFE OF SIN AS THEY LEFT THE PLACE THAT GOD HAD BROUGHT THEM TO. THEY WENT BACK OUT AND RETURNED TO THE WEAK AND BEGGARLY ELEMENTS AS THE BIBLE TALKS ABOUT. AND THEY ALLOWED SIN TO RULE THEIR LIFE. BUT WHEN THEY CAME BACK TO GOD, GOD HELPED THEM AND TODAY THEY'RE LIVING A LIFE THAT IS SAFE AND SECURE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. BECAUSE GOD'S GRACE, HIS MERCY, HIS UNDERSTANDING IS THERE TO HELP US WITH EVERY STEP OF THE JOURNEY. OH, DON'T THINK TODAY THAT BECAUSE YOU HAVE FOUND YOURSELF IN A BACKSLIDDEN CONDITION, THAT NOW THERE'S NO HOPE. GOD LOVES THE BACKSLIDER, DID YOU HEAR ME THIS MORNING, GOD LOVES THE BACKSLIDER. WHEN I THINK ABOUT GOD'S LOVE, I HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF A PARENT AND A CHILD. HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THAT SOMETIMES CHILDREN CAN DO SOME PRETTY HORRIFIC THINGS? AND YET, THAT MOTHER AND THAT FATHER WILL CONTINUE TO LOVE THAT CHILD DESPITE THE THINGS THEY'VE DONE. I'VE WATCHED SOME CHILDREN IN THE COURSE OF MY MINISTRY YEARS THAT HAVE BEEN VERY HURTFUL TO THEIR PARENTS. SAID SOME HORRIBLE, UNKIND THINGS. THINGS THAT WOULD PROBABLY IN A LOT OF CIRCUMSTANCES CAUSE THE PERSON THAT THOSE REMARKS WERE DIRECTED TO, TO NO LONGER LOVE. BUT YET, ISN'T IT AMAZING, HOW THAT YOU CAN SAY THOSE KINDS OF THINGS TO A REAL MOM AND DAD AND THEY WILL STILL LOVE YOU EVEN THOUGH THOSE THINGS WERE PAINFUL, THEY WERE HARD TO HEAR. A LIFE OUT OF CONTROL IS A HARD THING TO WATCH. AND YET, A MOTHER AND A FATHER'S LOVE CONTINUES TO REACH OUT EVEN THOUGH THAT CHILD HAS DONE SOME THINGS THAT JUST GO BEYOND BELIEF. JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE FILLED YOUR LIFE WITH A LOT OF BAD THINGS, IT NEVER MEANS THAT GOD HAS STOPPED LOVING YOU. YOU CAN'T GO FAR ENOUGH IN THIS WORLD, YOU CAN'T SINK DEEP ENOUGH INTO SIN TO EVER STOP GOD FROM LOVING YOU. NOW THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THAT IS THIS, THAT BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU WITH SUCH A FATHOMLESS LOVE, WHERE EVER YOU GO, HE WILL COME LOOKING FOR YOU. SO THAT HE CAN BE RIGHT THERE THE MOMENT YOU REACH OUT TO HIM. IN THE BOOK OF LUKE, CHAPTER 15, JESUS SHARES WITH US THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON. HE HELPS US TO REALIZE THAT, FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS HEARTBREAKING FOR THAT FATHER, TO SEE HIS SON WALK AWAY FROM HOME AND NOT KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON IN HIS SON'S LIFE. WE SEE WHERE THAT SON TOOK THE INHERITANCE OF THE FATHER AND SPENT IT FRIVOLOUSLY. UNTIL FINALLY ALL HAD BEEN SPENT AND HE FOUND HIMSELF SLEEPING WITH THE PIGS, THE HOGS. NOW THINK ABOUT THIS FOR JUST A MOMENT. FOR THE JEW, THERE WASN'T ANY PLACE ANY LOWER THAN WHERE THIS YOUNG MAN FOUND HIMSELF. AND SUDDENLY IN THE MIDST OF THAT PLACE OF DESPAIR, HE REALIZES WHAT HE HAS DONE. WHAT HIS AMBITIONS, WHAT HIS DESIRES, WHAT HIS APPETITES OF THE FLESH HAD COST HIM. AND HE COMES TO HIS SENSES AND HE SAYS, "IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR ME TO BE A SERVANT IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE, THEN FOR ME TO LIVE LIKE THIS." ARE YOU HEARING ME TODAY FRIEND? YOU MAY BE LIKE THAT PRODIGAL SON. YOU MAYBE HAVE ENJOYED THE BLESSINGS OF THE FATHER'S HOME, BUT YOU WANDERED AWAY AND YOU HAVE SPENT YOUR LIFE TRYING TO SATISFY THE APPETITE OF A FLESH THAT WOULD NEVER BE SATISFIED. BECAUSE YOU'RE TRYING TO SATISFY IT WITH THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD. HEAR ME, IF YOU ARE WAKING UP TODAY AND REALIZING WHAT THAT APPETITE HAS COST YOU. WHAT THAT WASTED LIFE IS NOW LIKE, DON'T THINK FOR A MOMENT THAT YOU CAN'T RETURN TO THE FATHER'S HOME. AMEN, IF YOU'LL LET GOD HELP YOU RIGHT THERE WHERE YOU ARE, HE WILL HELP YOU TO FIND THE WAY BACK HOME. YOU MAY HAVE THE SMELL OF THE PIG ON YOU, BUT WHEN YOU RETURN TO THE FATHER'S HOUSE, HE WILL CLEAN YOU UP, HE WILL PUT A BRAND NEW ROBE ON YOU, HE WILL GIVE YOU THE RING THAT SAYS, "THIS IS MY SON." AND WE WILL CELEBRATE YOUR RETURN. BECAUSE GOD NEVER STOPPED LOVING YOU. HE'S THE FATHER, YOU'RE THE CHILD. AND TODAY, NO MATTER HOW LOST YOU MAY BE ON THIS ROAD OF LIFE, HE STILL LOVES YOU, HE'S REACHING OUT TO YOU. THAT'S WHY, NOW I KNOW YOU MAY HAVE A HARD TIME TO BELIEVE THIS, BUT THAT'S WHY YOU'RE HERE LISTENING TO THIS MESSAGE TODAY. WHEN WE READ JOHN 3.16, WE HEAR GOD SAY, "GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON," DON'T STOP THERE, READ THE REST OF THAT VERSE. HE SAID THAT, "HE WAS NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE." BUT DON'T STOP THERE, CONTINUE TO READ INTO VERSE 17. IT SAYS THAT, HE HAD NOT COME INTO THIS WORLD TO CONDEMN THE WORLD, BUT THAT THROUGH HIM THE WORLD MIGHT BE SAVED. TODAY, IF YOU'RE IN A BACKSLIDDEN CONDITION, I'M SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO YOU. WON'T YOU REACH OUT TO GOD ONE MORE TIME, AND ALLOW GOD ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE? NOW IF YOU'VE NEVER ACCEPTED CHRIST AS SAVIOR, I OFFER YOU THE SAME INVITATION. BECAUSE IF YOU'VE NEVER ACCEPTED HIM, ALL YOU'VE GOT TO DO, IS CALL UPON HIM TODAY. AND HE'LL RECEIVE YOU INTO HIS FAMILY. BUT AS I READ THIS VERSE IN 2ND PETER 2.20, I HAVE TO REMIND YOU OF WHAT THE LATTER PART OF THAT VERSE SAYS, IN THESE FINAL SECONDS OF THIS MESSAGE. HE SAID THAT, THE LATTER END IS WORSE WITH THEM THAN THE BEGINNING. WHAT DID HE MEAN? IT MEANS THAT IF YOU ONCE KNEW CHRIST AND WANDERED AWAY, IT'LL BE WORSE FOR YOU THEN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IF YOU'D HAVE NEVER KNOWN HIM. AND UNFORTUNATELY TODAY, HELL HAS RECEIVED MANY PEOPLE THAT FIT THAT DESCRIPTION. DON'T LET IT BE YOU TODAY. BUT REACH OUT TO HIS GRACE, HIS LOVE AND HIS MERCY ONE MORE TIME. I WANT TO QUICKLY CLOSE WITH A WORD OF PRAYER. HEAVENLY FATHER, I UNDERSTAND YOUR LOVE FOR EVERYONE THAT'S LISTENING TO THIS MINISTRY TODAY. I PRAY, HELP THOSE THAT NEED TO RECEIVE YOUR TOUCH ONCE AGAIN. HELP THEM TO MAKE THAT DECISION TO RECEIVE INTO THEIR LIVES THAT YOU MIGHT HELP THEM ONE MORE TIME. IN JESUS' NAME WE ASK IT, AMEN.