1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,680 And he was going to bed and he told his as he was getting in 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:06,160 bed, his wife told him that she thought the light was on in the 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:07,960 garage. Of course, he always shut the 4 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:09,240 light off, but he couldn't figure out. 5 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:10,640 He said, well, maybe I just left it on. 6 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,760 So he walked down the stairs and he opened up the back door and 7 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:15,320 he could see that the garage light was on. 8 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:17,960 But as he got ready to walk out the back door, he saw that there 9 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:20,880 was people in his garage stealing things. 10 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:24,520 And so he called the police and he said, hey, somebody is, is 11 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,560 somebody is in my garage right now stealing things out of my 12 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:29,520 garage. And they said, well, is the, is 13 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:31,400 the garage detached from your house? 14 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:33,080 They said, yes, it's detached from my house. 15 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:36,320 And they said, all right, go back inside, lock the door. 16 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:38,240 We don't have any units available right now. 17 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,200 You just have to wait a few minutes and we'll send somebody 18 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:41,280 out. When, when, when we have 19 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,320 somebody that's available. And he hung up the phone. 20 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,760 He waited about 30 seconds and he called back and he said just 21 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:49,200 wanted to let you know, don't worry about it. 22 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:51,880 I shot all those guys, they're all dead in my garage. 23 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:57,160 And he hung the phone up. And about 5 minutes later, 6 24 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:01,200 police cars, the SWAT team, a helicopter and an ambulance all 25 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:02,400 pulled up out in front of his house. 26 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,440 And of course, they caught the robbers red handed and they 27 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:07,800 walked in to talk to this guy and they said, I thought you 28 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:09,760 said that you shot all these guys dead. 29 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:12,520 He said, I thought you said you had no units available. 30 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,560 Let's face it, it's a it's not an easy time to be a police 31 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,040 officer and it's not an easy time to be alive, if we're 32 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:24,440 honest. But especially if you're a 33 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:26,200 police officer, you have to go through so many of these 34 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:27,760 different things on a daily basis. 35 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:29,360 They put on that uniform in the badge. 36 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,000 They walk out the door not knowing if they're going to come 37 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,280 back, not knowing if some crazy person with a gun they're going 38 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:37,480 to have to shoot or that person is going to shoot them first. 39 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:41,240 They just don't know. And you know, honestly, a large 40 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,000 part of the forgotten side of that thing is the families that 41 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:45,760 are dealing with that too, right? 42 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,240 I mean, there's a lot I, I, I think I'd be willing to put my 43 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:50,280 life on the line if it came down to it. 44 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,960 It's just me, but I've got a family and the family side of 45 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:55,800 things. They, they, they send their, 46 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,120 their, their officer out every single day, not knowing for sure 47 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:02,240 if they're going to come back, hoping and expecting that they 48 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:05,320 will, but not knowing. And it seems like at least once 49 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:08,520 a week, if not more often than that, we hear of, of an officer 50 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:10,120 that got killed in the line of duty. 51 00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:13,400 Just last week, two officers were killed in the line of duty. 52 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,760 And in the same incident the week before that, there was a 53 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,120 couple officers that were just sitting in a car and, and, and 54 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,120 got shot. One of them passed away after a 55 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,360 couple weeks of, of battling for his life. 56 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:27,520 That's a, it's a difficult, difficult thing to do. 57 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:30,560 And I, and I say often too, that that many times our 58 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:33,160 communications officers are the ones that get forgotten in that 59 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:34,920 whole mix because they're the ones that are taking those 60 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:36,880 calls. They're the ones that are taking 61 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,600 the calls, hearing somebody say I just shot 3 people and hanging 62 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,960 up or listening to the screaming on the other end as somebody's 63 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,240 dying and they're trying to keep them alive and then the call is 64 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,000 dead. The call goes dead once the 65 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,320 officers arrive on the scene. Many times they don't know what 66 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:52,840 happened until until hours later. 67 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,120 It's a difficult job. It's a difficult profession to 68 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,280 be in. And on top of that, then they 69 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,640 get lambasted by the media who only seems to care about getting 70 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:03,120 viewers. They're not looking for the 71 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:04,960 truth. They just they're just looking 72 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:06,560 for people that that that want to watch. 73 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:08,680 And of course, thankfully, I think a lot of that kind of 74 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,000 stuff is going away. People are interested more in 75 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,000 the truth than they are just in in hearing a sensational story 76 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:15,720 anymore. But Paul Harvey said it best. 77 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:18,800 He served to his face and pig or worse behind his back. 78 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:22,160 And I think now it's even changed the fact where people 79 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:26,040 don't have any problem calling him pig to his face and other 80 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,760 names to his face. That was, that was years ago. 81 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,720 And still it, it, it's, you know, he said that. 82 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:33,760 Imagine how much worse it is today. 83 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,240 We can go on and on. But if I suffice it to say that 84 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:38,680 for police officers, things are tough. 85 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:40,800 It's a tough profession to get involved in. 86 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:46,120 Obviously, I, I enjoyed my part that I have in the Police 87 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,120 Department. If I didn't know that this is 88 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,400 what God wanted me to do, I might have gone that direction. 89 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:56,080 I, I really think that I probably would have, but that's 90 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,000 a hard job for most people to do. 91 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,120 It's a hard profession for most people to want to get into. 92 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:03,840 This other issue that many of them are having is just short 93 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:05,640 staffed. They're working non-stop because 94 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:07,720 there's not enough people to fill those positions. 95 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,440 So I have a message for you this morning, something that I want 96 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:15,000 to tell you that I hope will be an encouragement to you. 97 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,640 And the message then, and really it's the title of my message as 98 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,240 well, is just two simple words. And I hope it's an 99 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:26,560 encouragement, but it's simply this give up, give up. 100 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:30,200 And that's not just a message for police officers this 101 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,640 morning, by the way. This is a message for all of us. 102 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:35,960 Let's pray and I'll expand a little bit on what I mean. 103 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:37,360 Let's pray. Father, again, we thank you so 104 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,040 much for your goodness to us. Thank you for the opportunity we 105 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,080 have to be here this morning. I do thank you so much for all 106 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,760 of our law enforcement, for all of the police officers, the 107 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,560 communications officers. And I know that we, this is 108 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:50,600 specific for police this morning, but we have a lot of 109 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,640 firefighters as well that do the exact same thing. 110 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,000 Their first responders and their job may not be as dangerous, but 111 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,880 they still have a lot of things that they face a lot of danger 112 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:02,960 that they face as well. I pray that you protect all of 113 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:04,320 them. I thank you for their 114 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:06,440 willingness to, to do that. God, I thank you for their 115 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,800 willingness to, to put their lives in the line to protect us. 116 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:14,120 And God, I, I pray that you would help them to have wisdom, 117 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,120 give them discernment as they, they go about doing their job 118 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:19,520 and making the decisions that they make on a daily basis. 119 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:24,040 God, I pray that you would help thee, the political tide to turn 120 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,560 in favor of our police officers. And I believe it's turning a 121 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,840 little bit, but God, I pray that you would give them favor in the 122 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:32,720 eyes of the community. I pray that there would be more 123 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:34,480 people who would be appreciative of what they do. 124 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,480 God, I pray that this message this morning would be a help. 125 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:39,960 It may be a help to all of us this morning. 126 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,080 And God, if there is somebody in here that does not know for sure 127 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,520 that they're on their way to heaven, that Jesus Christ is 128 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:47,640 their savior, that they'd get that taken care of today. 129 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:50,600 But thank you again for all that you do for us in Jesus name, 130 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,000 Amen. You'll understand maybe the 131 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,240 direction I'm going with this as soon as I give you the first 132 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,240 point, Give up. That's what we all need to do 133 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:00,160 honestly. And I don't mean give up in the 134 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,880 way of quit. I mean first of all, give up 135 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,080 sin. So many people are searching for 136 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:08,120 the answers to life. What is the meaning of life? 137 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:10,560 What's the purpose of life? What's the secret of living? 138 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,320 That's the age-old question. And so many people have been 139 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:15,560 asking that question for years and years and years. 140 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:17,960 And there's a lot of people who spend their entire life in 141 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:20,360 pursuit of that question. What's the meaning of life? 142 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:22,360 You're sitting around and somebody says, well, what do you 143 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,040 want to talk about it? And somebody always says, what's 144 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:26,960 the meaning of life? It seems like, right? 145 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,040 Let me tell you this morning that I've found the purpose of 146 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:31,920 life. The purpose of life is to know 147 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,840 Jesus Christ as your Savior. The purpose of life is to pursue 148 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:39,320 a real relationship with Jesus Christ after you've come to know 149 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:41,400 him as your Savior. And I know that to be true 150 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,680 because the Bible makes that very clear and makes it very 151 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:46,120 clear that only one life will soon be passed. 152 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:47,960 Only what's done for Christ will last. 153 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,480 It's not a Bible verse, but it's a Bible principle. 154 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:53,720 Everything that we do, the only thing that matters is what we do 155 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,160 for Christ. And so the way to enter into 156 00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:00,640 relationship with Christ starts by giving up our sin. 157 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,560 Turn over to Romans chapter 5 if you're already there. 158 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,920 I want to look at verse #12 the Bible is very clear that sin 159 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,920 cannot enter into heaven. Verse #12 of Romans chapter 5, 160 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,240 the Bible says, Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the 161 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,640 world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for 162 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:22,920 that all have sin. Romans chapter 3 If you want to 163 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,600 turn to a few of these verses with me, where most of them are 164 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:27,040 going to be close, they're in Romans. 165 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:30,480 But Romans chapter 3 and verse #23 the Bible makes it very 166 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:32,120 clear that every one of us is the Sinner. 167 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:37,040 For all have sinned, it says, and come short of the glory of 168 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:39,400 God. For all have sinned and come 169 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,920 short of the glory of God. Sin cannot enter into heaven. 170 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:47,400 God is absolutely just. God is absolutely holy and it 171 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:52,480 would be in just and unjust for God to not punish sin, for God 172 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,000 to say, well, you're only a partial Sinner. 173 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,200 You've only send a few times so you, you can bring your sin in, 174 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:00,880 but you've sinned a lot. So you can't bring your sin into 175 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:03,360 heaven. God has to be God. 176 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,200 God is completely just. God is the definition of 177 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,880 justice. And I know many times, you know, 178 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,560 police officers work and they, they, they run down leads and 179 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,720 they finally catch the criminal and they bring them to court. 180 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,560 And, and many times it's, it's months and months and months or 181 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,160 even years later that the case finally makes it in front of a 182 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,120 judge. And then the judge says, well, 183 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,120 this was his first time. I know he only killed somebody, 184 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:27,800 but this was the first time he's done that. 185 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,120 So he doesn't get any jail time this time. 186 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,159 Let him pay a fine, let him go on time served and let him go 187 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:36,280 out and kill somebody else. Again, I know it's an extreme 188 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,039 example, but that happens so often. 189 00:08:38,039 --> 00:08:41,280 It happens so often that that, that you bring them before a 190 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:45,280 judge and justice is not done. And it's frustrating. 191 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,800 Imagine if somebody killed your relative and, and the day 192 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,960 finally came and, and, and, and, and this person went before the 193 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:53,480 judge and the judge said, you know what? 194 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,200 It's late in the day. I've been it's been a long week. 195 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:59,000 I'm feeling very friendly today. I'm feeling very nice. 196 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:01,960 Let's just let him go. Let's just let him go. 197 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:04,920 Everybody agree? All right, let's let him go. 198 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:06,880 You'd say what in the world that wasn't justice? 199 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,560 My loved one is dead. He doesn't deserve to go free. 200 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:14,040 And you'd be exactly right. And that's exactly why God has 201 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:16,360 to punish sin. Sin cannot enter into heaven, 202 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,480 and God makes that very clear. But for him to say, well, this 203 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,440 person is all right, you can come in because your sin is 204 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,720 different than this person's sin, then it would be unjust. 205 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,440 And I don't think you would want God to enact justice that way 206 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,800 because it's not justice. And so when the Bible says for 207 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,720 all have sin and come short of the glory of God, that means 208 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:42,640 that every one of us is a Sinner and cannot get to heaven because 209 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:47,000 of that sin. I've used this illustration 210 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,120 before. Maybe you've heard it, but 211 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,320 imagine if this building were on fire and all the ground around 212 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,320 it was on fire and the only place that was safe was across 213 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:59,360 the road in the building, across the street, broad streets along 214 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:01,320 a wide Rd. When you're trying to jump 215 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,240 across it, and especially if you add the grassy area that comes 216 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:07,320 up to this building in the grassy area that goes to the 217 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,840 building on the other side, that's a pretty long jump. 218 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:13,320 But this building is on fire and we've made it to the roof and 219 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:14,760 we've got to get off of this roof. 220 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,560 And so we're going to make our attempts and we find the the 221 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:22,800 oldest person in here, Mr. Forbes, he's gets to go and take 222 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:24,920 his jump 1st. And Mr. Forbes is still pretty 223 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:30,520 athletic for 9394. I always forget 9494 years old, 224 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,080 pretty athletic for 94. But we're going to let him go 225 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:36,000 jump and he runs and he jumps and he goes 7 feet. 226 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:41,720 And guess where Mr. Forbes ends up in the fire, because he can't 227 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:45,360 jump across Broad Street. Now, maybe I'm being a little 228 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:47,680 presumptuous, but I think I'm a little bit more athletic than 229 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:51,080 Mr. Forbes is. And so now it's my turn, and I'm 230 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,240 going to make my attempt to jump from this building to the 231 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:56,200 building across the street where it's safe. 232 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,520 And I run and I jump and I'm scared for my life. 233 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:01,120 And I go the farthest I've ever gone. 234 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:05,840 I jumped 20 feet. But where do I end up in the 235 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:08,920 fire? And now we have a competition 236 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:10,640 and see who the most athletic person is. 237 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:12,280 Johnny, he should be the most athletic. 238 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:13,760 He's going through Marine Corps training. 239 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,440 You better be in shape. He's going to run and take a 240 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:18,440 jump. He goes farther than he's ever 241 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:20,800 gone in his life. He breaks a world record and 242 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:24,960 goes 50 feet. But guess where Johnny ends up 243 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:27,720 In the fire? Because you can't jump across 244 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:29,400 Broad Street. It's too far. 245 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,560 Nobody can make that jump. And the same thing is true when 246 00:11:32,560 --> 00:11:35,000 it comes to our attempt to try to get to heaven. 247 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:37,840 Oh, there's some people who are the worst of the worst when it 248 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,360 comes to criminals and they're sitting on death row in prison 249 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:44,120 somewhere for killing 10 people. And we think, oh, that person, 250 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:46,320 there's no way in the world that guy's ever going to get to 251 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:47,800 heaven. Look what he's done. 252 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:50,280 That's his attempt. And maybe he only made it a 253 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,360 short way, but he all he falls short of the glory of God 254 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,920 because of his sin. We might say that, well, I'm not 255 00:11:56,920 --> 00:11:58,360 perfect. I'm not a St. 256 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:00,880 I've I've done a few things wrong, but I'm not that guy. 257 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:02,400 That's my attempt to get to heaven. 258 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,040 And I might make it a little farther than he does, but I'm a 259 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,360 Sinner and I fall short of the glory of God. 260 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:11,240 Now you put somebody that the Catholic Church looks at is a 261 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,640 St. somebody who has done a lot of good things in their life, 262 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:17,800 But I know that they're a person too. 263 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:20,800 They're a human too. And the Bible says for all have 264 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,200 sinned, and they might make it farther than that guy that's on 265 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,160 death row, and they may make it farther toward heaven than me, 266 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,040 and they might make it a little farther than anybody else. 267 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,240 But the Bible says for all have sinned and come short of the 268 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:35,960 glory of God. So I know that no matter how 269 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:39,560 good they are, and I know that no matter how bad they are, they 270 00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:43,040 cannot get to heaven because the Bible says we all fall short of 271 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:45,960 the glory of God. It's impossible. 272 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:49,440 It's impossible. Now suppose that somebody built 273 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:53,480 the bridge from this building to that building, and instead of 274 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:56,400 trying to run and jump across Broad Street, somebody said, 275 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:58,880 hey, there's a bridge over there that you can take. 276 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,120 And you say, well, I don't know about that. 277 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:03,560 I don't know who built that bridge. 278 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:05,720 I don't know if that bridge is going to hold me up. 279 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:07,920 I don't know if I'm going to get halfway across Broad Street and 280 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:10,000 the whole thing's going to collapse on me and I'm going to 281 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:11,040 end up in the middle of the road. 282 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:12,440 I just don't know if I can trust it. 283 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:15,400 And I said, no, no, hang on. I know the builder. 284 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:20,000 I was, I, I saw him build it and we have, we have a book that 285 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:23,080 shows all of the plans in the whole way that he built this 286 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:24,840 bridge. It's perfectly safe. 287 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:27,800 And you just have to trust that he knew what he was doing to 288 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:30,240 help you get across. And every single person that 289 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,400 takes that bridge across instead of trying to get there on their 290 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:36,720 own makes it across Broad Street to the other side to safety. 291 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,920 It's only ones who say, well, I don't know if I can trust that 292 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:45,440 or not that don't make it. And do you know that when Jesus 293 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:51,240 Christ died on the cross, he made a bridge from here to 294 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:54,560 eternity? And he gave us a book that tells 295 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:58,040 us exactly how he did it. He gave us a book that shows us 296 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,720 the plans that he laid out from the foundations of the world. 297 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,320 And we're saying, hey, all you have to do is take the bridge 298 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:08,120 that he built from here to heaven and you can get there. 299 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,440 Well, I just don't know. I wasn't there when he died on 300 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:13,000 the cross. How do I know that that's not 301 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,480 just some fiction story that somebody made-up? 302 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:17,560 How do I know that there's even heaven? 303 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:19,200 How do I even know that there's a God? 304 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:21,080 How do I know any of those things? 305 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:23,920 And we're saying, listen, the Bible tells us these things. 306 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:25,680 You just have to trust it by faith. 307 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:28,920 You have to trust it by faith because we don't know any of 308 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,120 these things but if they're true or not. 309 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:34,080 But you have to take it by faith that what he's saying is the 310 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,040 truth and that we cannot get to heaven on our own. 311 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,880 But he's made the way to heaven possible by his death on the 312 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:43,280 cross. Because, you know, the Bible 313 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:45,680 says, and if you want to turn a couple pages over into Romans 314 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,560 chapter 6 and verse 23, that there is a payment for our sin. 315 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:51,000 The Bible says for the wages of sin is death. 316 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,440 For all the attempts that we try to get to heaven on our own, for 317 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,840 all the things that we do to try to get us there, we cannot do it 318 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:00,160 on our own. There is no possible way because 319 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:04,240 the wages of sin is death. I know the police officers are 320 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:07,000 doing this because they, the, the, the job that they've, that 321 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:08,600 they're doing, they do it because they want to help 322 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:10,920 people. But I don't know if there's any 323 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,000 officer out there who would do the job for free. 324 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:19,040 You got to make a living. You expect to get a wage for 325 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:20,160 doing the work that you're doing. 326 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,400 It's not great money, but you still have to make some money to 327 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,240 live. You wouldn't do it for nothing. 328 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:28,600 And the Bible says the same is true with our sin. 329 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,440 You can't just sin and sin and sin and sin and sin and expect 330 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:32,800 there not to be any consequences. 331 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:36,440 The wages of sin is death. God has a record in heaven of 332 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,880 all of those sins, and those sins are held against our 333 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:42,560 account, and they condemn us to a hell to spend an eternity 334 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,200 there. But when we confess our sins to 335 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,480 Jesus Christ, he blots them out and He writes His name over the 336 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:52,880 top of our name. And when I stand before God and 337 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,160 I and I show him that list, he's not going to see the list of all 338 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:58,720 of my sins. I've accepted Jesus Christ as my 339 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:00,960 Savior. I've asked Him into my heart to 340 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,480 forgive me for those sins, and when he looks at my account, he 341 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:07,200 doesn't see the list of all of the wicked things that I've 342 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:09,280 done. He doesn't see all the things 343 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:11,840 that have been added to my account for years and years and 344 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,160 years. He only sees the name of Jesus 345 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,160 Christ covering all of those sins. 346 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,160 That's what Jesus Christ does for you. 347 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:23,680 The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life 348 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:28,240 through Jesus Christ our Lord. What a wonderful gift that is. 349 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,080 I heard about a shopkeeper who had taken a photo of a man that 350 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,560 was stealing from his store. He took this picture because he 351 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:38,960 wanted to turn it into the police and say, I have all the 352 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,480 evidence that I need. I've got everything that I need 353 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,640 to convict this man of stealing. And when he printed the picture 354 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,480 out, he gave it to the police officers. 355 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:49,480 But what he didn't realize is that he had overexposed the 356 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,160 photo. And so the picture was 357 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,960 completely blotted out. And that's exactly what Jesus 358 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,000 Christ does with our sins. Oh, Satan says, look at all the 359 00:16:58,000 --> 00:16:59,600 things that I've got against him. 360 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:02,520 This is all the evidence we need to send them to hell for 361 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:04,920 eternity. And he puts that picture out 362 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:07,200 there and he turns it in and God says, I don't see anything. 363 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:10,000 His sins have been blotted out by the blood of Jesus Christ. 364 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:14,920 There's no complicated process that you have to go through. 365 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:18,520 There's no confessing to a man that you about the things that 366 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,200 you've done, no long list of things that you have to do to 367 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:24,880 maybe hopefully one day possibly have the chance of making it to 368 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,480 heaven. I like Donald Trump, I think 369 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:29,960 he's doing a good job as our president. 370 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:32,160 But he was meeting in the White House last week and maybe you 371 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,760 heard about this, trying to help end the war in the Ukraine. 372 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,120 And as he was talking to some of the reporters, I think in a very 373 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:43,640 candid moment, he said, I want to try and get to heaven if 374 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:47,440 possible. He said, I'm, I'm hearing I'm 375 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:49,320 not doing well. I'm really at the bottom of the 376 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:52,400 totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this 377 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:57,760 will be one of the reasons Donald Trump completely missed 378 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:00,640 the point of what salvation is all about. 379 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,720 Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8 says, for by grace are you saved 380 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,520 through faith, and that not of yourselves. 381 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:10,600 It's a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should 382 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:14,080 boast. If we're trying to get to heaven 383 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,440 by all the good things that we're done, that we've done, 384 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:20,040 we're going to fall so short. There's no way that you can do 385 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:22,200 enough good to earn your spot in heaven. 386 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:25,480 Oh, this. Well, I know that I've done a 387 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:27,480 lot of bad things. I'll probably have to go to hell 388 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:30,000 for some time and get all those sins burned off, and then 389 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:31,640 eventually God is going to let me into heaven. 390 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,480 That's not found in the Bible anywhere. 391 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,520 That's the doctrine that was made-up by the Catholic Church. 392 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:39,000 There's no such thing as purgatory. 393 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,240 There's no such thing as getting your sins burned off. 394 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:43,440 And hopefully at some point you'll be able to get out of 395 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:44,760 hell. There is no exit signs. 396 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:48,480 There's no fire escapes in hell. Once you're there, you are there 397 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:52,400 for eternity. And I know this sounds harsh, 398 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:58,480 but I have to tell you that I don't want to see anybody spend 399 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,960 an eternity in hell. It's not about getting you into 400 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,560 this church, and you may never darken the door of this church 401 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,000 again. But I want you to walk out of 402 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,680 here this morning knowing for sure that Jesus Christ is your 403 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,200 Savior, that your sins are forgiven, and that you're on 404 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:13,320 your way to heaven. But that's a decision that you 405 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:16,720 have to make for yourself. If I could go get saved for 406 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,360 everybody in the world, I'd do it, but I can't. 407 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:23,440 The only person that I know 100% sure is saved is me. 408 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:26,880 Because I know my relationship with God and I know that there 409 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:28,960 was a day, there was a time, there was a moment when I put 410 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,600 all my faith and trust in Jesus Christ and I forsook the sin 411 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:37,320 that I had lived my life in. And I turned to Jesus Christ and 412 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:39,080 asked Him for forgiveness for those sins. 413 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:43,000 And I know He forgave me, and I've heard the testimony of a 414 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:45,960 lot of you in this room who have experienced the exact same 415 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:47,560 thing. But I don't know for sure that 416 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:49,640 you're saved. Only you and God know whether 417 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,600 you've truly accepted Christ as your Savior or not. 418 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:59,240 Only thing you have to do to give up sin and enter heaven. 419 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:04,640 Let's take that heavy burden of guilt, the sins that you've been 420 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:09,080 carrying for all of those years, that burden that's weighing you 421 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:12,160 down. Walk over to the foot of the 422 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:17,840 cross and lay it down there. Hey, Jesus died on the cross for 423 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,560 your sins. He died on the cross for my 424 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,000 sins. Look up and see Jesus hanging on 425 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,040 that cross because of your sin and mine. 426 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:28,080 And say, Jesus, I know that I'm a Sinner. 427 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:30,760 I know that I deserve to die and go to hell. 428 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,960 I know that my sin is what's going to keep me from heaven. 429 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:37,160 But I know that you died on the cross to pay for my sins. 430 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:42,600 Won't you forgive me once you come into my heart and save me? 431 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,320 Isaiah chapter 55 and verse #7 The Bible says, let the wicked 432 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:50,440 forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, 433 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:56,120 and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him 434 00:20:57,120 --> 00:21:00,760 and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 435 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:03,320 Well, that's the God that I serve. 436 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:08,600 Oh, God punishes sin for sure. God can't let sin go unpunished. 437 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:12,560 He can't. His justice demands that sin be 438 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:16,200 paid for, but he's also a God of mercy. 439 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:22,960 He's also a God who sent Jesus Christ to take my place so that 440 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:24,760 I didn't have to pay the penalty of my sin. 441 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,720 Many people would say, well, I believe in Jesus, so I know I'm 442 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:30,840 on my way to heaven. Hold on just a second. 443 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,920 There's a big difference between knowledge and possession. 444 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,720 Let's pick on cops this morning. Everybody knows cops love 445 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,440 doughnuts. That's all they do is sit around 446 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,280 and eat Donuts and drink coffee, right? 447 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:46,040 That's the perception anyway. I know that's different than 448 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:50,280 that, but let's just say that I know a wonderful place where you 449 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,760 can go and get the greatest Donuts in the world, and you'd 450 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:55,560 probably believe me if I told you about that place. 451 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:58,000 You might even tell somebody else how good those Donuts are 452 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,400 based on my recommendation of those Donuts. 453 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:03,800 But until you actually go and try those Donuts for yourself, 454 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,560 you will never know how good those Donuts really are. 455 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:11,760 Possessing that doughnut changes everything. 456 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:16,160 And that same thing is true. You may know everything there is 457 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,520 to know about Jesus. And you may have, from the time 458 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,080 that you were a little kid, heard the story of Jesus dying 459 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,000 on the cross and staying in the grave for three days and then 460 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,080 rising again. And you say, I, I believe that 461 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,080 story. I believe that Jesus died on the 462 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:30,720 cross. I believe that he rose again. 463 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,880 But until you put all your faith and trust and hope in Him, you 464 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,240 don't have salvation. You can tell me all you want to, 465 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,400 but that you believe that the chair that you sat down and is 466 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,000 going to hold you up. And every one of you expressed 467 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,080 faith in that chair. Because I didn't see anybody 468 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:49,680 over there this morning testing it to see whether it was 469 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:51,760 actually going to hold you up before you sat down in it. 470 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:55,560 Everybody just plopped down in the seat because you expect that 471 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:56,560 the chair is going to hold you up. 472 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,120 That's faith. That's what faith is. 473 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,280 And that's exactly what it is when it comes to Jesus Christ. 474 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:05,480 I just put all my faith and trust and hope in him. 475 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:07,680 I don't have to say, well, let me test it first. 476 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,280 Let me let me try to see some crazy miracle first. 477 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,360 Let me try to see something supernatural to prove that God 478 00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:16,720 is there. And once I see that, then maybe 479 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:18,120 I'll see that bright light or something. 480 00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:20,440 Then I'll know that it's true. And then I'll put my faith and 481 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,600 trust in Him. No, faith is not faith unless 482 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:28,960 it's all you're hanging on to. God wants you to have his 483 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:30,440 salvation. And I'm not telling you this 484 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,480 this morning because I'm mad at you. 485 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:35,160 In fact, the quite opposite, quite the opposite is true. 486 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:38,280 I love you and I want you to know the truth from God's word. 487 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:40,840 I don't know why you would want somebody to tell you anything 488 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,880 other than the truth, but there's so many people out there 489 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:46,560 to just say, well, well, you just, you just try to be a good 490 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,440 person. You just try to to love Jesus 491 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:51,640 and you try to go to church every now and then and you'll be 492 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:53,000 OK. That's a lie. 493 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:55,760 That's a lie, and I'm not going to, I'm not going to tell you a 494 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:57,160 lie. I want to tell you the truth. 495 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,760 You're a Sinner and your sin is sending you to hell. 496 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:04,000 And until you accept Jesus Christ as the payment for your 497 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,880 sin, you cannot go to heaven. I want you to know the peace and 498 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,600 the joy that I've come to know through Jesus Christ there's no 499 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:13,680 sin. We're spending an eternity in 500 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:17,080 that awful place called hell. But that's where those who 501 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:20,000 reject salvation, that's where those who reject Jesus Christ 502 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,160 are going to spend forever after this life is over. 503 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:26,640 God wants you to know Him. He wants you to find that 504 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,680 meaning in life. He wants to save you. 505 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:34,400 He's not the man upstairs sitting in an easy chair and 506 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:36,040 hoping you can figure everything out. 507 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:39,160 He's pursuing you. He's begging you to give up your 508 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:43,320 sin and to come to Him in faith so that He can save your soul 509 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:44,720 and take you to heaven when you die. 510 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,960 But He'll never force it on you. He leaves that decision to you. 511 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:56,520 It's your choice. Oh, if God could do that, I'm 512 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:58,560 sure he would. He'd make everybody get saved. 513 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:02,920 He'd make everybody go to heaven when they die. 514 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,400 But he doesn't. He gives every single person 515 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:09,880 that choice. You have the choice to accept 516 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:14,240 him or to reject him. And so this morning I say give 517 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:15,960 up. Give up sin, first of all, but 518 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,160 #2 and very quickly give up self. 519 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,320 Turn over, if you will, to second Peter chapter 3 near the 520 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,160 end of the New Testament. Give up self. 521 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:29,520 By that I mean this. Give up the right to your life. 522 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:33,320 Your life doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the One who 523 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:36,960 created you. Our job and our responsibility 524 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,520 in this life is to find what God wants us to do with our life and 525 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:41,760 do it. The first step is to come to 526 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,760 Christ in repentance and faith. Second Peter chapter 3 and verse 527 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:49,240 #9 The Bible says the Lord is not slack concerning His 528 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:51,800 promise, as some men count slackness, but his 529 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:57,040 long-suffering to us were not willing that any should perish, 530 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:00,240 but that all should come to repentance. 531 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:04,640 There's this idea out there called Calvinism that God 532 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:07,560 chooses some people for heaven and some people he chooses for 533 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:09,960 hell. That would that goes directly in 534 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:12,800 opposition to this verse. God is not willing that any 535 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:16,640 should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 536 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,080 Oh, God says, I want everybody to come to repentance, but you 537 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:22,680 can't because you're destined for hell. 538 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,200 No, everybody has that choice. Not willing that any should 539 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:29,160 perish, but that all should come to repentance. 540 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,560 The second step is then to give your life to Christ for him to 541 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:34,120 use it however He wants to use it. 542 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,320 You can't give your life to Christ until you know Jesus 543 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:39,880 Christ as your Savior. There's a lot of people who are 544 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:43,560 trying to do that, and I explained it this way, that many 545 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:48,440 times people are trying to be a good person. 546 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,080 They're trying to do what a Christian does. 547 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,080 And So what essentially they're doing is they're putting the 548 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:56,080 sanctification in front of the justification. 549 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,640 You cannot be, you cannot live a sanctified life, you cannot live 550 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,960 a righteous and holy life before God until you've been justified 551 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,200 by the blood of Jesus Christ. And so many people are trying to 552 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:08,120 put sanctification in front of justification. 553 00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:11,680 Justification has to come first. You have to know Jesus Christ as 554 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,480 your Savior if you expect to be able to live a life that's 555 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:18,480 pleasing to the Lord. You can't do it without that. 556 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:24,320 Most of you are doing what you believe God's called you to do. 557 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:26,760 Police officer. God called you to be a police 558 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:28,400 officer. But you can. 559 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,000 Can you say I want to be whatever God wants me to be? 560 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:33,080 I want to do whatever God wants me to do. 561 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:36,480 I want to give up whatever God wants me to give up so that my 562 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,720 life can be used for His glory. Galatians chapter 2. 563 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:43,160 Paul said in verse #20 I am crucified with Christ. 564 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:48,320 Nevertheless, I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the 565 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:50,040 life which I now live in the flesh. 566 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,640 I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave 567 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:57,160 Himself for me. He said I crucify my flesh every 568 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,840 single day. I die to myself because I don't 569 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:03,760 belong to me. I belong to Jesus Christ and I 570 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:05,920 want to do what He wants me to do with my life. 571 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:08,800 When we're dead to self, we're only concerned with how God 572 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:11,720 wants us to live. Psalm 37 and verse #4 says, 573 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:15,400 Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the 574 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:19,320 desires of thine heart. Oh, do what God wants you to do, 575 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:21,520 and He'll give you everything you desire. 576 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:23,760 That's not what that verse means. 577 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,120 That verse means you do what God wants you to do, and He'll 578 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:30,440 change your desires to be what He wants your desires to be. 579 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:33,520 Oh, you come to know Jesus Christ as your Savior, and 580 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:37,720 you'll find out that money and things and power and fame and 581 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:39,520 all of those things don't really matter. 582 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:44,240 And so many people want those things so bad that they cannot 583 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:48,000 give up their lives for the cause of Christ because they 584 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:49,440 don't want to give those things up. 585 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:53,160 Oh, what, what am I going to do if I, if I don't have millions 586 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:54,680 of dollars? What am I going to do if I don't 587 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:56,480 have power that I've always used to have? 588 00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:00,360 What, what am I going to do if I can't sway people the way that I 589 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:02,040 want to do? What if I can't do the things 590 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:05,160 that I've always wanted to do? I'll be honest with you. 591 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,320 It's not that God wants your life to be miserable. 592 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:13,840 Oh, if I surrendered my life, God's going to make me go do 593 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:15,360 something that I never wanted to do. 594 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:19,160 Not necessarily. But when you surrender your 595 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:21,720 life, you don't care what it is that God wants you to do. 596 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:23,560 You just want to please him with your life. 597 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:28,240 And I'll say I knew from a pretty early age that God was 598 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:30,640 calling me into the ministry, but that's not what I wanted to 599 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:33,840 do. I surrendered to it because I 600 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:36,400 was willing, but I didn't want to do. 601 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:38,840 I wanted to go to the military. I wanted to fly. 602 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:43,480 I'd always loved jets, F sixteens, all of those. 603 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:45,120 That's what I wanted to do with my life. 604 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:49,120 And on top of that, I always wanted to be a police officer. 605 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,360 But God called me into the ministry, and I don't regret it 606 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:54,960 one bit. I'm so glad that I'm doing what 607 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:56,520 I'm doing. But you know what? 608 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:01,680 Not only do I have the joy of doing what I'm doing now, but 609 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:05,000 God gave me a big part of what I always wanted to do. 610 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,080 Working together with the Police Department, being able to go out 611 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:10,280 and do ride alongs and do all of those other things. 612 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:14,280 God doesn't take something away from you without giving you 613 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:16,400 something so much better in its place. 614 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,520 But the problem is that what most people don't realize is 615 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:23,800 that the thing in their hand that they think they can't give 616 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:27,640 up isn't worth a whole lot. And they just, they, they, they 617 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:30,320 squeeze it and they clutch it and they don't want to let it 618 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,560 go. And God saying just let go of 619 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:35,880 that, You don't realize how valueless that thing really is. 620 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:39,080 I've got something that's so much more valuable for you. 621 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:41,600 Just let go of it and I'll give it to you. 622 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:44,320 No, this is mine. I can't let go of it. 623 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:49,120 It's worth so much to me. I, I spent way too much of my 624 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:52,360 life trying to get this thing that I can't let go of it. 625 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:57,440 God says just let go of it and I'll give you something that's 626 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,560 way more valuable than what you think you have in your hand. 627 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:06,120 It's like a fake Rolex. Oh, I, I spent a lot of money on 628 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:07,200 this thing. I can't let it go. 629 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,080 And he's, I got a real one for you worth way more than that. 630 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:12,280 All right? It's like a little kid with 631 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:18,680 their fake jewelry and a mother that's got real jewelry that's 632 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:21,440 trying to give it to him and won't let it go because this is 633 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:25,160 mine. God wants us to have his best, 634 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:27,920 but you have to be willing to let it go. 635 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,080 Give up, give up sin, give up self. 636 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:34,680 And lastly, give up small living. 637 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,000 What I've been describing to you this morning all along is 638 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:39,560 essentially giving up small living. 639 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:41,760 God didn't intend for us to live defeated lives. 640 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:45,200 He intended for us to live a victorious Christian life. 641 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,880 Romans chapter 8 and verse 37, the Bible says nay, no, in all 642 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,200 of these things, we are more than conquerors through him that 643 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:55,720 loved us more than conquerors through him that loved us. 644 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:57,640 He's given us the victory through Jesus Christ. 645 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:01,280 And when you come to Him and accept Him as your Savior, God 646 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,040 becomes your Father, and He passes on all the benefits of 647 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:07,080 being His Son. John chapter 16 and verse 33, 648 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:09,800 these things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have 649 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:13,080 peace in the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good 650 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:18,160 cheer. I have overcome the world. 651 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:22,680 That's the side I want to be on. He's already told us that he's 652 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:24,680 overcome the world. It's not a question of who's 653 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:27,320 going to win in the end. We already know that he wins. 654 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:29,560 All right, Somebody said it a long time ago. 655 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:31,240 I read the back of the book and we win. 656 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:36,560 Why would you want to be on any other side than his right enough 657 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:38,560 of small living. I want to be a warrior for the 658 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:40,640 cause of Christ. I want to be a conqueror through 659 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,080 him. When Jesus is your savior and 660 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:46,600 God is your Father, we can live that victorious Christian life. 661 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:49,600 I love life. I don't have a lot of money. 662 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:51,520 I don't have a lot of things, but I have Jesus. 663 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:54,120 I have a good family. I have a have a wonderful church 664 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:57,680 family and the list could go on. And as a Christian, I get all of 665 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:02,840 that and then heaven besides, and I don't know what else you 666 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:07,520 can ask for. A little boy and his father were 667 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:11,440 driving down a country Rd. on a on a beautiful spring afternoon. 668 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:14,680 And the windows were cracked open a little bit because it was 669 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:18,160 such a nice day outside. And a bee flew in that window 670 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:21,080 and started buzzing around the little boy and he started to 671 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:23,720 panic because he was definitely allergic to bees. 672 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,320 And he started, he started squirming around in his seat 673 00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:30,200 and, and, and going into a panic, breathing really heavy. 674 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,280 And, and his dad knew that this was a very serious situation. 675 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:36,720 He became frantic. And so the father reached out 676 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:41,080 and he grabbed that bee and he squeezed it in his hand and he 677 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:42,400 held it for just a couple seconds. 678 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,640 And then he let that bee go. And the bee started buzzing 679 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:47,040 around. And again, the kid became 680 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:48,960 frantic and he started panicking again. 681 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:53,960 And the dad actually reached out his hand over to his little son 682 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:55,800 and he said, hang on, hang on, don't panic. 683 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:59,600 Look at this. And in his hand he pointed to 684 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:05,120 his son, or that bee had stung him, and left the Stinger in the 685 00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:08,520 dead's hand. He said that bee can't sting you 686 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:09,840 anymore. It already stung me. 687 00:34:12,159 --> 00:34:14,199 That's exactly what Jesus Christ did for us. 688 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:18,000 You know, death, the Bible says, has lost its sting. 689 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:19,560 Do you know why death lost its sting? 690 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:22,159 Because Jesus Christ took the sting of death for us. 691 00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:26,120 He took my place. He died on the cross that I 692 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:30,679 should have died on. I don't have to go to hell 693 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:32,800 because of what Jesus Christ did for me. 694 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:35,639 Seems that the world's going crazy. 695 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:38,239 There seems to be a whole lot of things to worry about. 696 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:42,560 Coming to know Jesus Christ as your Savior doesn't make all of 697 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:46,760 your problems go away. As an officer especially, It's 698 00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:49,880 not necessarily going to give people a different view than 699 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:53,360 what they have, but it will. What it will do is give you a 700 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:55,120 completely new perspective on life. 701 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:00,240 And I'm not afraid to die. I don't want to die right now, 702 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:03,160 but I'm not afraid to die when the time comes. 703 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,920 I love life, I love living, but I'm not afraid to die. 704 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:11,320 And the reason I'm not afraid to die is because I know Jesus 705 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:15,600 Christ is my Savior. I gave up my life a long time 706 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:20,000 ago, and I took His in exchange. My life is going to end someday. 707 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:23,320 The life that He gives, His eternal life, and it'll never 708 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,080 end. I want the life that He has. 709 00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:34,240 So just give up this morning. Give up your sin, lay it at the 710 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:37,440 foot of the cross and let Jesus be your savior. 711 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:41,840 Give up yourself, your plans, your desires. 712 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:47,600 Let him exchange those for His and give up small living. 713 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:52,200 So many people feel that they would be missing out on all the 714 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:56,160 fun the world has to offer if they repent and come to Jesus 715 00:35:56,160 --> 00:36:00,720 Christ, but they don't know what they're missing out on. 716 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:06,240 Life doesn't even begin until you know Jesus Christ as your 717 00:36:06,240 --> 00:36:09,600 Savior. And for those who do, they can 718 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,760 testify to that fact as they've experienced it. 719 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:20,720 The new birth, born again, all terms that the Bible uses to 720 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:23,640 describe somebody who comes to know Jesus Christ as their 721 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:25,880 Savior. That's my plea to you this 722 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:28,320 morning. Just give up your sin. 723 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:33,600 It's not worth it. Your sin is not worth spending 724 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:36,880 an eternity in hell for. Jesus Christ died to pay for 725 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:39,560 that sin. Won't you come to him this 726 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:41,160 morning? If you don't know Jesus Christ 727 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:45,440 as your Savior, won't you accept that gift while you still have 728 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:49,560 the opportunity to do it? Let's pray. 729 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:51,960 Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness to us. 730 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:54,240 Thank you for the opportunity we've had to be together this 731 00:36:54,240 --> 00:36:58,520 morning. God, may you speak to hearts. 732 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:01,800 And if there is even one person in here this morning that does 733 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:05,040 not know for sure that they're on their way to heaven, God, may 734 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:08,720 they get that settled. May you give them the courage to 735 00:37:08,720 --> 00:37:15,040 step out and come forward and let somebody take a Bible and 736 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:18,680 show them how they can be saved beyond that. 737 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:20,960 For those who are saved, God, may you help us. 738 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:24,120 May you help us to live lives that are completely given over 739 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:28,040 to you, completely surrendered to you for you to use however 740 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:31,080 you want to. Well thank you for all you do 741 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:32,240 for us in Jesus name.