It's great to see everyone here tonight.
I'm certainly glad to be here. Had a great day with Alan and
Darrell enjoyed Everton, Miss, Judy, and Dylan.
I'm certainly glad to be here. Glad Miss Gail to don't wanna
leave her out, but we've had a great day.
I hope you've had a great day and we're able to close it and
worship to you. Now, the majority of the rest of
the California's, watch the Lakers game, but I presume most
of you have TiVo. So all is well.
But I'm glad you're here tonight.
Somebody, I joked and said, well, we might need to put them
on the prayer list. The way things were looking.
Somebody said I want a jet but I'm just kidding.
I like to, I like for people to smile, but I'll tell you this,
The Smiling that I want you to do, is because you're in the
kingdom of God, and you're safe, and your child's.
You're God's child in Matthew 7, the scariest words in all the
Bible. Jesus, if you can imagine it for
just, a moment is reclining. The Bible said, we often think
of him sitting down. He's reclining.
He's on a little Knoll a little Mount there, weren't big
mountains like you have in this area or this country around here
but he's sitting on a Knoll and people began to kind of fill in
around him and you can just imagine I think about a
principle that would address the whole elementary school and all
these kids, all these people are just kind of filtering around
and they're following him because remember, he is healing
people now. I'm not talking about the fake
miracle. Is like you see on TV, you know
how no those are fake Miracles as any preacher that love people
and wanted to help people and had this power would go shut
down children's hospitals and would get people up out of
hospital beds and out of cancer institutes, and you name it.
That's what would happen. Well, that's not what happens.
Is it modern day? What Jesus did do that.
Jesus could restore people, Jesus would go and every city
and Village. And when he would show, Glad
Tidings of the kingdom of God, it was Amazing people would
listen to him and they would hear the voice of one that spoke
to them with authority and power.
Not as the self proclaiming self praising scribes, that love
nothing more than to hear themselves talk.
If you've ever sat in very many college classes, new forever
will hear people. Sometimes that just like to hear
themselves talk, when Jesus talked at MIT something when
Jesus came into your city and Village, it was not to have some
sort of a show But sadly, it turned into that.
From a lot of people, it was the message of the hour.
It was the message of Salvation. It was the message of
repentance. It was the message of the
kingdom is coming. It was a powerful.
It was an important, it was urgent.
And so he sits down, he's tired, he's just like you and me.
You work all day. You talk to people all day.
You try to work with people all day.
It's one of the most stressful things you'll ever do, and he
sits down and he begins to teach.
And in one 30-minute sitting you can read The Sermon on the Mount
as we call it, it just happened to be when Jesus was sitting
down and talked them. Some of the greatest Christian
teachings, that will ever be written ever known some of the
greatest teachings of all time because Cuz they were written by
the creator of the universe there, a catalyst in creation,
according to Colossians chapter one.
So, he sits down to speak and he opens up with some very
important. Things blessed are the pure in
heart. For example, they shall see God
and on and on he went, he taught them things about how to live in
the Kingdom. He taught them about how the
life of the Pharisees and the Jewish religion had really
fostered a whore. Both sentiment of what religion
was really about. It was not as they had it, it
was changed. And I want to tell you, I don't
know anybody today that can look at the teachings of Jesus and
not say that wherever Jesus taught, whatever, he talked.
He it was like he Jesus literally as it were sailed
around an island and the island was man, all of us and wherever
he landed, that's what was needed.
And that's the purpose of teaching, the word of God.
You Preach what's needed. Well, Jesus taught, the needs of
the the hour both then, and for now, and he said this passage in
Matthew 7, listen to what he said.
The scariest words to me from the mouth of the Savior, not
everyone that says to me, Lord Lord shall enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father, which is in
heaven. Many will say, to me in that
day. Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name and
done. Many wonders in your name, verse
23 of Matthew 7. Then will I declare to them?
I never knew you. Depart from me you who practice?
Lawlessness. Of all the passages in the
Bible. That one gives me, great heart
palpitations and I'll tell you why.
You know, in our culture today in the American culture, if
you're sincere, then you're in good shape with American
culture. That's how it goes.
That's how we are. Well, he tried she tried Well,
let me tell you something. Don't just try do it, don't just
make your own attempt and create your own experience as modern
self-help and psychologists and pop psychologist, say create
your own experience and I understand you got to go out and
work hard and sometimes take care of yourself and do some
things that that's not what I'm talking about.
Jesus created The Experience. We're supposed to have.
God has a will for the kind of experience we're supposed to
have. And if we have any other
experience, it's an experience that leads us away from Jesus.
And that's what he's talking about here.
A lot of people have a religious experience, but that experience
leads them away from doing the will of God, Do you know what
Decon rat? Poison is sure you do.
If you got those little critters that make your wife, jump up on
the chair and then straddle you like a baby.
As you carry her out to the car. Not putting her feet on the
ground. You'll know what Decon rat
poison is. It's a self-help agent to keep
your wife and your house. You know what Decon rat poison
really is. It's 99 point.
Oh, five or ninety nine point. Let's see that a 9.95.
I believe it is. Non-harmful to anybody.
It's good stuff like corn and it's a mixture of all kinds of
components and some sticky glue type stuff rats, just love it.
Do you know what it is? That gets the rat.
It's that .05 of that 16-cylinder word that none of us
can pronounce that some geek, put a lab coat on.
Look through a microscope and said, that's what it is.
That's what kills the rack, not the good stuff and tonight if I
come into your life and I tell you, follow Jesus, love Jesus,
look what he's done for you and you grab a hold of that and you
start living the life and then you get to a road blocking you.
So you know what the Bible says this, But I don't really want to
do that and I say to you that's alright.
Don't worry about it. Just do the best you can just do
what you just try hard. And it'll all work out.
Jesus completely says, his not going to work out.
It's not going to just work out. When you pick up this book,
Jesus stained every page with blood.
Every page matters. The holy spirit filled men and
spent their lives preaching and writing down this word.
So you can have it in 2010 as you sit in an air-conditioned
building in 100 degrees outside and listen to this gospel
preached in a land, that does not have any laws that prohibit
us from worshipping publicly and preaching on TV and radio.
People gave their lives for the words of this book.
And so Jesus made a premium on it when he said not every one
that saith unto me Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he that, doeth, the will of My Father, which is in
heaven. I want to ask you tonight.
Are you doing the will of the Father in heaven?
Because tonight I'm going to invite you to the kingdom of
God. I'm going to invite you to come
to the kingdom for just a little while.
And know what it is to say. I'm doing the will of the
father. Before we go further, we have a
great privilege to pray at this time.
Throughout the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5, 6.
And 7, I want you to understand. Jesus was teaching the people,
the difference, and what life would be like, in the Kingdom.
He taught about seeking God. He taught about seeking the
right things. He taught about changing
people's lives. He taught about changing their
motives. He put motive, he put hard on
trial, he put our thoughts on trial but at the end of it all
the reality of our life is that if we're going to be pleasing
and come to the King of Kings, Us and Lord of lords.
We are going to have to be a people that are willing to obey
him. Three things that I intend to
prove throughout this and I will list them real quickly.
God's will God's will. Is number one, we all
understand. What number one is just a little
while. The Lakers are the Celtics are
all going to lift their finger and they're going to say number
one, whoever wins it is going to say number one.
Well, God says, in our lives, he wants to be number one and I
want to go further and explain that in just a second.
If I enter Heaven, I must obey. And that's what I'm going to put
here. I must obey.
And the third thing I'll put on here is don't Disobey.
My mother had a famous saying went don't disobey me something
along those lines. And the reason why is had to be
a very emphatic point. It was it was a family.
Rule, for example, in our family, you don't bring your
dirty nasty, gritty. Filthy clothes feech, use
nothing in this house after I've mopped it, that was it, that was
a ruled so to speak, well, God is simply saying, listen Cullen,
you have sins, you have mistakes, you have short,
shortcomings, that literally are not coming in my house.
Not coming there. And what God asks of us when we
come to, the kingdom is very simple.
Jesus was asked the question. What is the greatest commandment
of all? They try to trap him?
Jesus said, love God, heart soul and mind.
That's the first. The second is love your neighbor
as yourself. I want to, I want to illustrate
this as carefully as I possibly can, if I come and I live and I
put God's will first and I choose to obey it and I choose
You not to disobey it, in other words, I live by it.
And I do everything that he says.
What is my life going to be like?
Let's get this straight, here's how it goes.
So, in other words, if I have my vertical relationship with God,
right? What is everything else about my
life going to be, what's it going to be like yes, what if I
have a vertical relationship, right with God, my horizontal
relationship to everyone that I touch and everyone that I come
in contact with gets better means I'm a better person.
It means I'm going to be a better family member.
It means I'm going to be a better husband.
It means someone's going to be a better wife.
It means we're going to be better kids.
We're going to be better siblings.
We're going to have better families.
You want a family to break down. Forget about what Jesus taught
in Matthew 5, 6 and 7 and do it your own way.
And see how well it works. Jesus gave us illustrations of
when I her vertical relationship.
When we are totally committed to put.
God's will number one, everyone else around us receives benefits
from that people around. You ought to be blessed by your
existence, and if people around you or sucked dry, and they're
miserable. And you're mean and nasty, let
me tell you something. There is no vertical
relationship with God. It ain't there.
How many sit in a church pew? And I may call on God and I may
say Jesus Is My Savior but everybody around me ought to
benefit from my life and if they don't, there's a problem with
me. because the people who know Jesus, Blessed everyone around
them. They change lives.
They change towns. They literally turn cities
upside down. So let's rip into this.
In Luke 6 and verse 46. The Bible says, but why call you
me? Lord.
Lord, and do not the things that I say, Jesus obviously, wanted
us and his father's will to be number one.
He wanted us to obey and he Illustrated disobedience in the
life of religious people, they called in Lord, lorik.
Thanks, they thought what they were doing was in good shape,
you want. Isn't what call you me?
Lord, Lord. And do not the things that I
say. Some of the saddest
conversations. And all that I can ever imagine
our from kids, that have to go through some really rough times
with their family. And I know some kids right now,
they're going through divorce situations and their parents are
using them as Pawns. And one will try to bike it off
by saying, you can do whatever you want.
While the other parent says, I'll buy you whatever you want.
and the end of it, all you see, young people that are literally
ripped apart and you find kids that years later look into the
eyes of their parents. When their parents try to utter
the words, I love you and they say, no, you don't.
If you love me you never would have put me through that.
We put God on a different level. So many times we don't like to
think about God, having that same response.
Jesus had the same response why call you me.
Lord Lord and do not the things that I say, why don't we call
him? Lord, because he's in charge.
He's the one that can make the wind's and the Sea obey.
He's the one that can heal. He's the one that can restore.
He's the one that can put things back together.
We want to Connect with him. But he says, listen that
connection. The connection is dependent upon
the reality of whether or not you internalize my.
Will you have to internalize? My will the first thing I want
to say tonight about coming to the kingdom.
Is we have to accept? We have to accept the Kings
offer and it is an offer. It's an offer and an acceptance
situation. The grace-filled offer was given
by the king of kings and Lord of lords.
How do I receive this? How do I accept?
This? Jesus said, we obey, we do the
will of the father. So I understand this, I get it.
Now, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, the Kingdom of Heaven is
nigh the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of Heaven.
How do we get into the kingdom? And that's where salvation is
except a man. Be born of water and the spirit,
he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is an offer. It's an entrance.
How do I do that? We have to accept the Kings
offer. Do the father's will Do the will
of my father. It's vital to understand the
offer is from God. The offer is powerful, it is
full of love. We put this up here last night,
the offer is full of grace and fission's. 289 says, we are
saved by grace through faith, not of Works, lest any man
should boast, it's by love God. So loved the world that he gave
his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him,
should not perish but have everlasting life.
I love what Jill. Hisle says about that.
It's not, it's not what Billy Graham said.
One time and a huge Revival. He quoted.
John 3:16 and said shall not perish.
And that's not what it says. It says should not perish and I
want to tell you something, if you go to hell and you believe
that Jesus is who he said he was, you shouldn't have gone to
hell. Should not perish in Hebrews
8:12. The Bible speaks about this
offer being full of mercy, so it's an offer of love and grace
and mercy who's that offer to. That offer is to people like me,
people. Like you the offers to everyone.
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to Every Creature.
He would say, but there has to be a response somewhere
somewhere. There has to be response from
every single heart. God does not come into your life
and grab you by the head and saying I'm choosing you.
Whether you want me to choose you or not.
He never has done that, and he won't do it.
God says, here's my invitation. Here's who I am.
How do we know who God is? Look at Jesus.
Jesus said, if you've seen me, you've seen the father?
I don't know about you. But when I read about who Jesus
was, it is humbling. It is so stirring.
It is amazing. And when we choose God, we're
going to choose him from the heart with the heart that
confession is made or with the mouth confession is made, but it
comes from the heart. But this offer this offer of
love and grace and mercy must be accepted.
It has to be the Jews. Didn't accept it.
They looked at around them, when he beheld, the city of
Jerusalem. And Jesus said, as I can,
imagine tears rolling down his face.
The old prophet. Isaiah said that Jesus was a Man
of Sorrows and acquainted with grief.
One of the great griefs of his life is that people rejected
him, they misunderstood him, they wanted to make him an
Earthly King, such as John 6 and 15, when he would make out of
Five Loaves and two. Fish enough to feed.
Lots of folks, they came after him for Loaves and Fishes and he
was very upset about that. But I want to tell you, when
people walked away from him, it upset him.
He would look at Jerusalem and say o Jerusalem Jerusalem that,
which killest the prophets and stonest them, which were sent
unto thee. How often would I have gathered?
The is a hen gathers, her chicks under her wings, but ye would
not What their hearts say, we don't accept you.
What did their heart say? Their heart said no thanks.
I preach now, for 10 years, Full-time or part-time for 10
years. Now, gave my first time and I
was 19, certainly wasn't preaching for a few years till
after that I can assure you. But I have sat and looked in the
eyes of people that attended worship Services, I've studied
with people. I've sat on bed with people that
were dying and some of the saddest things and all the world
are, when people tell me, if you're going to talk to me about
that, I'm not interested. That's what the Jews did.
We have to accept the offer from the King.
A young family had three children, the youngest of those
children developed a serious blood disorder that require
transfusions. Their oldest boy was five and he
was a perfect blood match. He was asking, soberly agreed to
the task of giving some blood to his younger sibling.
A few minutes into the transfusion, the little boy
looked into his daddy's eyes and asked.
Daddy. Do you think it will hurt to
die? He thought he was giving
everything he thought he was dying for his sibling.
When you read stories like that, it makes us sit and pause and
imagine a child willing to lay down their life.
That's an amazing occurrence. I want to ask you very quickly.
There may be some people you would you would lay down your
life for but how about your child?
How would you do with that? How about guys, like Timothy
McVeigh that was involved in the 1993, Oklahoma City Bombing that
killed. So many people, one of our first
terrorist attacks on American soil that literally Rock This
Nation. If you've ever been to Oklahoma
City and gone through that spot where that happened and gone
through the museum, literally I have chills rolling down my
spine right now is I can remember the chilling moment.
The markers that sit outside The Monuments and the articles of
clothing. And you look at the man who did
such atrocities against people that were not responsible for
the object of his anger. But yet they died.
Anyway, would you give your child for Timothy McVeigh?
What about Jeffrey Dahmer? Who killed several young boys?
He had problems with homosexuality.
Literally ate body parts. It was in a horrific moment in
American history. What about the Green River?
Killer? What about that guy with a
swastika on his forehead? That crazy loon that y'all have
locked up somewhere out. Here named Charles Manson that
killed, the Tate family and wrote, blood on walls, and
horrific moments. Get those pictures in your mind
because we often think about those guys and they ought to be
locked up or dead, they ought to have the express lane to the gas
chamber, or the electric chair, and certainly not alive eating
and breathing in good health. Those are many times the
reactions we have I don't know anybody that would give their
children for the latest inmates at San Quentin.
I don't know. Anybody that would do that.
Do you? Yet the Bible says in Romans 5
and 6 for when we were still without Strength In Due Time
Christ died for the ungodly. Do you know the word that needs
to buy be beside me? It needs to be the word ungodly.
Part of the reason why Jesus just boy stirred, the religious
Elite of the day is because they exalted themselves as religious
elitist and as if they were holy listen, I'm not wholly.
And They're not wholly of my own accord.
The only Holiness I will ever be able to identify with is the
Holiness that is in Christ Jesus, and through his
forgiveness, and don't you ever forget it?
As the old saying goes, we get too big for our britches
sometimes and we think a little more ourselves than we ought to
think. And that's why pride is one of
the greatest Soul killers of all time, but that's not all he
said. For scarcely for a righteous
man. Will one die.
Yet, Perhaps for a good man, some would even Dare To Die.
But God demonstrates, his own, his own love toward us in that
while we were still sinners. Christ died for us.
I have watched on History Channel and on C-Span on
Memorial Day, As men who fought specifically in World War Two.
And now more specifically in Vietnam men that have some aged
men that have gray hair and have children, and grandchildren, and
in some cases great-grandchildren As they go
to the spot of some Graves. I know the graves of men that
died in battle in whatever War it was.
The ones that are the most touching to me are the ones
where men will go to the wall that Great Wall in Washington.
Where some 53,000 names are etched in Marble in a great
edifice that captures the imagination.
And the Wonder 53,000 lives died in some far-flung place in
Vietnam. A war that many didn't believe
in a war that there was much political conflict, but for the
soldiers that were on the ground, they literally had each
other. As you hear the interviews, and
as you read the books, they had family there, they had each
other. And it's an electric thing
whenever you see a guy come toward a wall and his eyes began
to get Misty as he gets a little bit closer and he gets a little
bit closer and it's almost like electricity runs through his
body as he reaches up and he puts his hand in his finger on a
specific name and literally falls to his knees in tears.
Unashamedly weeping. Not able to rise as his memories
flooded by the things that happen.
And when interviewed when asked about why he was so upset would
say that's the guy that threw himself on a grenade.
And save my life. That's the guy.
We identify with that, we hear those stories, it moves us and
then somehow in 2010 the world can go on bike and walk right
past the cross. And literally, it's as if Jesus
threw himself, he did throw himself on the sins of the whole
world on my sins and on yours. And every Lord's day, when his
memorial is set every Lord's day.
So many people have to be begged.
Invited, we ought to have to assess have a line at the door
for people that can't wait to get in to this Memorial.
Because it's the greatest Memorial whole time, it's the
memorial of Jesus Christ and what he did for us.
In history, men die for President's Men, dr.
King's Men. Dafa rulers.
I'll King died for us. And that changes the game.
That changes everything. It changes everything.
The one who knew your name before you were ever created,
saw a need that you could not feel in yourself and he took
care of it on the cross. That's power and that's planning
and that's execution. None of us can even put our
finger on to grasp. And when God saw that need, he
was willing to do it. That's you, are that important
to God. You are that valuable to God,
that's a huge concept. That people have to understand
when we start talking about accepting the Kings offer John
said herein is love. Not that we loved God.
How beautiful is our love to God?
So many times but that he loved us and sent his son to be the
propitiation for our sins. One verse.
We said it last night and Hebrews 5 & 9.
Will says he became the author of Eternal salvation unto all
those that obey him. The Kings offer is sent is
simple. It is a foundation built upon
Faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, without
faith, it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh
to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of
those who diligently. And I might put this right over
here. Those who diligently gently seek
Him. Are you a Seeker?
Are you seeking God for the needs?
You can't fill in your own life. Are you seeking God for the
answer to your problem called sin?
If you are, I've got some good news.
The Kings offer still available today.
It's still available for all of us, but based upon our faith
were willing to change our life and repent as Jesus taught in
Luke 13 and three confessed. The sweet name of Jesus that he
is the Son of God is the Ethiopian eunuch did and acts 8
verse 37, and we allow ourselves to be immersed in water for the
remission of our sins. That's the Kings offer that he
authored. Every single one of these things
was an offer written or revealed by Jesus himself.
No, man, came up with this and I don't believe any man has the
right to say, you don't have to change your life, you don't have
to confess. Jesus is the son of God or you
don't have to be baptized for the remission of your sins, yet
many men do I find pamphlets and restrooms and foam booze and on
my door half, the time to tell me a variety of ways that I can
be saved. And if I'm ignorant it, if I'm
not informed at all and I think it was that sounds good to me.
Then I'm the very picture of what Jesus said, many will say
to me that Lord, Lord and I don't know them.
Because if you want to accept the Kings offer you better dead.
Sure. Make us the offer from the King
himself and not some counterfeit offer.
It's the offer from Jesus. Jesus said, go into all the
world and preach the gospel to Every Creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.
Once you're saved. The Bible says he has delivered
us from the power. Of Darkness.
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has
conveyed us or translated us into the kingdom of the son of
his love in whom we have Redemption through his blood,
the Forgiveness of sins. Obedience, obedience says yes
disobedient says. No, how do I prove that?
In Romans, 6:17 after Paul had given his great Treatise on the
death burial and Resurrection. He said, but God be thanked that
ye were the Servants of sin you used to be in darkness but you
have obeyed from the heart that form of Doctrine which was
delivered. You being then made free from
sin. Ye became the Servants of
righteousness. Now.
And you obeyed the gospel. Have you confessed your faith.
That Jesus is the son of God. Have you committed a change your
life and your heart? Have you been immersed in water
for the remission of your sins? In the name of Jesus, in the
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
If you have not done that, you have not responded to the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. And if you think you have, I
want you to talk to me about that after church, because what
I'm going to need from you is very, very simple.
I'm going to need you to open that book that contains all of
the will of God Almighty. And I'm going to need you to
show me where that will is that allows you to accept the
invitation of Jesus Christ. Some other way, than through
faith and repentance and confession and baptism.
Chisholm, because I find no other way in the word of God.
I want to obey the will and I want to accept the offer of
Jesus. Christ's obedience to the will
of God is simply a sinner saying yes to something he does not
deserve. I'll give an example now, I'm
not real sure. But 99 goes down a ways and what
is that road Darrell that goes over to hatch?
P down to Barstow. What is that?
Road 58. So you catch 99 258 and you get
on 40 right there at Barstow don't you if you take 40 now
think about this. I've got ten trillion dollars.
Let's just make it 100 trillion. I've got a hundred trillion
dollars at 28:58 New London Road.
Let's see how this works. Okay, I've got a hundred
trillion dollars. Our national debt is something
like 12. Now, I think that's a lot of
money. I've got a hundred trillion, 100
million trillion, or but Jillian, whatever you want to
do. I've got it at 28:58 New London
Road in Strong Arkansas, ZIP code, seven 1605, and I don't
get up out of your seats and go there yet, let me finish the
illustration. You It on 99, go to 58.
Catch sporty, go to 40 all the way to Amarillo, Texas.
Take 287 South down through Wichita Falls.
You take it through Fort Worth, you go over the river and
through the woods, almost a grandmother's house, then you
catch I-20. And you take that East, you take
out 20 East until you get to 167 North.
All right. Check 167 North to get to 82
East. Take 82 East.
You come to the Big Town of strong population, 767 go to the
big new Dollar, General. Oh, that's up there which is the
very best thing in town right across from teddy bears.
Which happens to be our gas station turn left.
Go past 58. Log trucks about four and a half
miles down the road. A chain link fences their turn
left. It's a gravel driveway, there's
a little pain there and you'll see on the back porch, there's a
key up there just behind or over the light.
Get that key open the door and there's a hundred bajillion
trillion dollars just for you. Did you earn it?
Can you earn 100 bajillion trillion dollars?
No, you can earn it. It's a gift.
I'm giving it to you. It's there.
Go get it. I'm offering it to you.
That's a lot further and that's something you're going to have
to think about and write down and really spend some time on
the offer of Jesus. Is he died?
He was buried, he rose again, history, records.
It it's a fact. It's a reality that either
produces faith in you or you're an unbeliever.
Will you have to decide if you're going to change and
follow? Jesus confess him as the Son of
God and be baptized for the remission of your sins.
And it's a much greater gift than any hundred trillion per
Julian dollars. I can give you you just simply
follow the directions to the gift.
That's what obedience does you follow the directions?
To the gift. Saying yes to King.
Jesus is the greatest thing you'll ever do.
In John 10:27, Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice and I know
them and they follow me. And that's pretty clear.
I love that passage. You know what else?
I love about it. He doesn't stop and I give them
eternal life. What do you mean?
You mean if I'll obey, I'm following Jesus, I'm not earning
absolutely not, you're not earning anything.
My sheep hear my voice. They follow me and I give them
eternal life and they shall never perish.
Neither shall anyone? Snatch them out of my hand?
My father who has given them to me, is greater than all and no
one is able to snatch them. Out of my father's hand, I and
my father are one. Let me tell you, there is no
demon, there is no angel. There is no man.
There is no government that can ever separate you from the love
of Christ when you're following. Christ.
They don't exist. The atom bomb, Hiroshima,
Nagasaki you name it. You've never seen a power up
beside the Unseen powers of God, and the point he's making is he
will never allow you to be overtaken by anyone spiritually.
The second thing I'll say very quickly.
My last two points are brief. Accept the fact you are under
the Kings law, you are under law.
Geez. Did not want the disciples or
the principle of obedience to be lost.
He went on in Matthew 7 verse 24.
He said therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine and does
them. I will liken him to a wise man
who built his house on the rock and the rain descended and the
floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it
did not fall for it, was founded on the rock verse 26 but
everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them the
disobedient. Number three, Will be like a
foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain
descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on
that house. And it fell and great was its
fall. Now, I don't know about you, but
I've always thought it was a very strange thing and I'm not
picking on people from California when I say this.
There's some people that build our house on some pretty steep
hills around here, and I think to myself, I sure hope that has
some pillars down to rock and of course, during a big mud slide.
You know what happens, the houses fall off and they go down
and all the rest of us back East.
They are those crazy people from California and you laugh
whenever tornado goes through and sweeps up every trailer park
and the eastern part of the United States.
Say haha, those crazy people back east.
Understand how it goes but what Jesus said here was you'd
better. Make sure you have a foundation
that is Rock. Solid, let me tell you
something. If you're living by a life law
other than the word of God, you're not living a rock-solid
life. If you look at the Bible and you
say I want to live by what the Bible says, you're living off
what I know preacher said one time was a rock-ribbed, Bible
truth and that just meant it was Foundation.
You're not building. Adding on things that shift on
things that change, Jesus said, the word of God will make you a
disciple and free you from sin. Jesus answered and said, if
anyone loves me, he will keep my word in John 14:23.
If I claim, I love Jesus and don't keep his word.
I'm a liar. Keep his word.
Keeping the will of God is absolutely vital.
When you keep the will of God, your hearts going to change.
It's like a filter you ever drank water before.
That was nasty, you haven't gone to San Angelo Texas.
Some time I lived there for a while.
The waters Brown Wichita Falls wasn't much better.
And now I'm in Strong Arkansas and the New London Water
Association pops. It straight out, straight out of
the Ouachita River and I assure you bottled water.
Is your favorite drug of choice? I know what a good filter is,
you get the Brita water filter and you put it in there.
And all of a sudden, the magic charcoal thing takes that nasty
Brown water and before long. You're drinking beautiful.
Perfect water. That's what the word of God does
in your heart. Peter would say you have
purified your hearts. Through unfeigned, love of the
Brethren. When he said, you have kept the
word of God. That's a powerful thing Jesus
wanted our hearts to change. Think about the golden rule in
Matthew, 7 and 12. Therefore whatever you want men
to do to, you do also to them for this is the law and the
prophets, do unto others, as you would have them.
Do unto you. You do good to people all the
time. He'd is a positive law, but he
also added, he said enter you into the Straight Gate.
For wide is the gate and Broad is the way that leads to
destruction. And there are many who go in by
it, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which
leads to life. And there are few who find it.
most people are going to 0, but disobey My question to you is
how convicted and convinced are you that you need to live by
what Jesus said, totally and completely.
Because I want to tell you if there's a crack in that armor
and you say well yeah but I still like to kind of do my own
thing sometimes. Well that's a broad way of
thinking, it promises so much happiness, which the Bible just
calls the pleasures of sin that only lasts for a season, but so
many people get suckered into number 3 and they forget about
number two, even though Jesus required it of all of us.
The third thing, I want to say, when you come to the kingdom is
You act like the key. All my life.
I heard Linwood Smith. Tell the story.
By the little boy, one time that was an orphan and the Kings
Chariot came by and he was playing with all the other
little boys, but he didn't have anybody to take care of him.
And so, the king saw him and he was very malnourished and he did
it had no clothes. And the King stopped his Chariot
and said, would you like to come home with me and little guy
climbed right up in the Chariot with him went home?
The king had all of his servants, wash him up and clean
him up. He adopted him as his own son,
gave him a name and a title. He was now Prince.
He had a robe and ring and shoes.
He had people that saw to his, every need took care of him in
every way. One day, the king saw the little
boy, as he was sitting on the corner.
Of the gates as it were of the wall and he was looking out in
the far distance. At his old friends that it is
old mud hole that he used to play in and swim in.
And his father, the king came up and put his arm on him and said
do you miss it? Do you want to go back?
And he looked for a moment and very thoughtful, he said, I used
to But then I remember that I am the King's son.
And King son's, don't clay and mud holes.
So many times Our Lives invite us to take a Hiatus.
We just for a moment in time. We're going to go do our own
thing. We're going to do what we want
to do. We're going to say in other
words. We're going to wallow in the mud
hole. And we forget, we are children
of the king of kings and Lord of lords.
And there are certain obligations that go along with
that. We are supposed to reflect the
light of our King. And our King is Jesus, as long
as I am in the world. Jesus said, I am the light of
the world in John 9 and 5 yet in Matthew 5:14, he said, you are
the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill
which cannot be hidden and verse 16.
He would give that famous verse, let your light so shine before
men that they may see your good works and glorify your father,
which is in heaven. When you act like Jesus, you
glorify God and you bring glory to God.
Why is that? Because when your relationship
with God is great, you're a blessing to other people and the
works of your hand scream. There are a child of the king.
And when your blessing God and bringing honor to God, you're
living the greatest life you could ever imagine.
It's the very purpose for your existence.
It's what your greatest task is on a daily basis and it's not a
job, it's a privilege. It's an honor.
Sean like the key, we're a reflection of him.
Paul said for you were once Darkness but now you are light
in the Lord walk as children of light. tonight, I close with the
invitation of Jesus. Jesus gave an invitation Jesus,
offered. Many invitations, the Revelator
would close the Book of Revelation.
With the spirit and the bride say come.
In Matthew chapter 11 verse 28, Jesus said come unto me all ye
that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Make no mistake about it. Jesus is the one that will give
you rest if you have rest. and the way you're going to have
rest, Is to accept his offer. He wants you.
He invites, you We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on
by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.
Road in Bakersfield, if you would like any additional
information or you would like to receive a free Bible
correspondence, course by mail. Please email us at info at True
Church of Christ Bakersfield.com.
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