1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,400 Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight. 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:05,440 We thank you for the opportunity to gather in the middle of the 3 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:10,080 week to study Your word and to be able to be challenged as we 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:12,080 look into the perfect law of liberty. 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:15,040 And our prayer, Father, is that you would open our hearts and 6 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:19,880 minds to be able to understand the truth about Christianity, 7 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:22,160 what Your word actually does say. 8 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:25,320 And pray, Father, that you'd work in all of our hearts. 9 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,480 And pray, Lord, that if there's someone among us who doesn't 10 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,520 know you, that they would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and 11 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,320 Savior. And for those of us who do know 12 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:38,200 you, Lord, may we be encouraged in our walk with the Lord as we 13 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,080 understand the assurance of salvation. 14 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:43,760 Lord, you're a great God. You've allowed us this 15 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,960 opportunity. And pray, Father, that as we 16 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,920 embark on the next several weeks together, that Lord, you teach 17 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:55,080 us much. We love you, Lord, and thank you 18 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,320 for this opportunity in Jesus name, Amen. 19 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:04,519 Tonight and over the next 11 weeks, because it'll be 12 weeks 20 00:01:04,519 --> 00:01:09,040 until Thanksgiving Eve and we have a special Service plan for 21 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:14,200 that night, we will spend this time asking and answering one 22 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:19,360 question and one question only. And that is what is a Christian. 23 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,960 And I'm sure that if you were to go and ask the people in our 24 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:28,320 church or any church that question and have them write 25 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:32,400 down the answer on a 3 by 5 card, I'm sure you'd come up 26 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:36,120 with all kinds of answers to that question. 27 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:40,160 What is a Christian? If you to go outside of the 28 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:44,760 streets and ask people in your neighborhood or downtown LA or 29 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,200 wherever you're, you may work and ask them what is a Christian 30 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,480 and have them write down what they believe a Christian is. 31 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:58,480 I'm sure you'd come up with some pretty incredible answers, but 32 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,360 the real answer lies within the text of scripture. 33 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:04,760 It doesn't really make a difference what your pastor says 34 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,360 or what's your your friends say or what your coach says or 35 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:13,000 teachers say about Christianity. It's what does the Bible say 36 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:17,840 about Christianity? What, what has the Lord said 37 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:21,800 about what it means to to be a Christian? 38 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:27,680 That's what really matters. Nothing else does matter because 39 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:33,120 the Bible is very clear and very explicit when it talks about a 40 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:38,760 Christian. I told you on Sunday, I, I don't 41 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:40,640 think I said in the second service, I did in the first 42 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:43,560 service and that, that there are three, that there are many 43 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:45,680 themes that run throughout the Bible. 44 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:50,320 But there are three great themes that sound or seem to be 45 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:54,280 paramount in the Bible. And the first one deals with the 46 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,280 exaltation of Christ, because the whole Bible is all about the 47 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,160 Christ. The whole Bible is about who is 48 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,920 Jesus Christ. He's the Redeemer, the Savior, 49 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:06,800 the deliverer. He is the Messiah. 50 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,080 And so the Bible is all about exalting Christ. 51 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,000 And it's almost like it moves from Genesis to Revelation in 52 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,400 this great crescendo to the very end where every knee bows and 53 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:22,000 every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is lured to the 54 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,000 glory of God the Father. So the first great theme of the 55 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,560 Bible is is the exaltation of Christ. 56 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,360 It's all about putting Christ on display. 57 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,000 Yet the prophecies of the Old Testament, the promises of the 58 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,240 Old Testament, the presentation of Christ in the New Testament, 59 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:40,800 it's all about the exaltation of Christ. 60 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,640 But the second great theme that follows on the heels of that is 61 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,720 the proclamation of the gospel of Christ. 62 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,360 If there is a Christ, if there is a Messiah, if there is a 63 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:56,240 deliverer, A Redeemer, then how do we know him? 64 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,520 And so you have this good news that brings great joy. 65 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:05,000 It's all about the presentation and the proclamation of the 66 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,240 gospel of Jesus Christ. So people will come to know who 67 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,760 this Messiah is, who this deliverer is. 68 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,360 That's the second great theme of the Bible. 69 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:19,399 But the third great theme is something that very few people 70 00:04:19,399 --> 00:04:23,800 understand or mention. And that is the theme about 71 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:30,640 examination of those who say they know the Christ. 72 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:37,160 That's the third great theme of the Bible through the Old 73 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,840 Testament and through the New Testament, there are a lot of 74 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:46,920 people who make a profession of faith, but very few people who 75 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,600 possess the Christ who grants faith. 76 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:56,560 And so there's this examination all throughout the Bible about 77 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:03,400 do you really know God? In fact, the book of Hosea says 78 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:07,160 that my people are destroyed because they really don't know 79 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,160 me, although they they think they do. 80 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:15,000 And when you come to the New Testament, it begins to explode 81 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:19,840 off the pages of Scripture. Just follow along with me as we 82 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:23,800 take a little journey through the New Testament. 83 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:26,600 Now on Sunday morning, we're covering one verse. 84 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:31,200 Tonight we're going to cover a whole lot of verses, but in 85 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:36,360 Matthew chapter 3, you have the forerunner to the Messiah. 86 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:41,880 His name is John the Baptist. He, he's the greatest man 87 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:46,080 whoever lived that's been born of a woman by the words of of 88 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:49,280 Christ himself. He was the last Old Testament 89 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:51,960 prophet. He was the first New Testament 90 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,480 preacher. And John the Baptist comes 91 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,440 exploding out of the the wilderness, out of the Judean 92 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:03,120 wilderness, like a locomotive preaching the gospel. 93 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:07,600 Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. 94 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:13,160 And he is doing all this baptism down in the Jordan River. 95 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:21,640 And lo and behold, the religious elite come down to the Jordan to 96 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:26,880 see what John's doing and to even be baptized by John. 97 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:32,960 So listen to what it says in Matthew 3 verse #7 But when he, 98 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,640 John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for 99 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:41,920 baptism, he said to them, You brood of Vipers, who warned you 100 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:46,800 to flee from the wrath to come? This is how John greets the 101 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:52,400 religious elite, the people who who are the keepers of the law, 102 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:58,120 the people that everybody would say were the ones who knew God. 103 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:02,040 And John confronts them right out the bat. 104 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:09,000 This past June, they, they had, they had 28,000 people baptized 105 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:15,200 across America, a revival that was, that was started by, by the 106 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:20,080 Pentecostal denomination in their desire to baptize America. 107 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:25,920 And they, they, they claim that, that 28,000 people were baptized 108 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:30,560 in the month of June. I wonder if anybody greeted them 109 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:32,400 when they came down to be baptized. 110 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:36,200 You brood of Vipers who, who taught you to flee from the 111 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:40,840 wrath to come? I'm sure nobody did, but that's 112 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:44,160 what John the Baptist would have done because he was dealing with 113 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,480 the religious elite. He says in verse #8 therefore 114 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:49,880 bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 115 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,640 In other words, if you're coming down here to repent, you must 116 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,520 demonstrate the fact that you are truly turning from your sin 117 00:07:57,760 --> 00:07:59,440 to follow the true and living God. 118 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,840 Why? And do not suppose that you can 119 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:06,360 say to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father. 120 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:08,200 Don't come down here and say, you know what? 121 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:12,720 We are here and we are the religious elite because Abraham 122 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:16,000 is our father. You can't claim Abraham as your 123 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:19,000 father and say that that's why you're going to heaven. 124 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:20,920 You can't do that. John says. 125 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:26,080 And so he says, for I say to you that from these stones God is 126 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,120 able to raise up children to Abraham. 127 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:32,960 And and the Jews would refer to the the the Gentiles as stones 128 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,640 because stones were lifeless, helpless and hopeless. 129 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:40,919 And that's how the Jews saw the Gentiles, lifeless, helpless, 130 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,320 and hopeless. And so he says, you know what? 131 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:48,240 God can do something greater than you can ever imagine by 132 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,800 raising up these stones and making them children of Abraham. 133 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,080 Then he says in verse #10 The axe is already laid at the root 134 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:57,680 of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does 135 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:02,640 not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 136 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:04,880 He's already talking about judgment. 137 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,520 He's already talking about how God's going to bring judgment. 138 00:09:07,680 --> 00:09:10,280 He goes on to say, I'm going to baptize you with water, but the 139 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:12,200 one coming after me is greater than I, and he's going to 140 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:16,240 baptize you with fire. You see, that's how John greeted 141 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:17,640 the religious elite. Why? 142 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,240 Because John didn't want them to think that they were going to go 143 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,960 to heaven when they had never truly repented of their sins and 144 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,240 embraced the Messiah as the King of Israel. 145 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:33,360 So you turn over a couple of pages to Matthew Chapter 7. 146 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:38,920 And in Matthew Chapter 7, you have Jesus preaching there on 147 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:43,120 the on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. 148 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,560 He is preaching what is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. 149 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:53,440 He's talking about how how to become a child of the king and 150 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:55,160 how to live as a child of the king. 151 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,800 And so this is his sermon, Matthews 5-6 and seven, and this 152 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,920 is how he closes out the sermon. Verse #13 enter through the 153 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,160 narrow gate. For the gate is wide, and the 154 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:08,080 way is broad. That leads to destruction. 155 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,080 And there are many who enter through it. 156 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,320 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to 157 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:18,480 life, and there are few who find it. 158 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,800 So as he gives us invitation at the end of his message, he says 159 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:25,840 there's a broad road and there's a narrow road and the broad Rd. 160 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,280 says heaven. Like the narrow Rd. says heaven, 161 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:32,320 but there are many on the broad Rd. that says heaven, but in 162 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,480 reality it's going to hell. The narrow Rd. is the only way 163 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:37,760 to life. And then he says this. 164 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:42,320 Verse 15. Beware of the false prophets who 165 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,720 come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous 166 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,000 wolves. You will know them by their 167 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:49,960 fruits. Grapes are not gathered from 168 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:52,880 thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles. 169 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,680 Are they? So every good tree bears good 170 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:57,880 fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 171 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:01,320 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree 172 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:04,360 produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear 173 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:07,120 good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 174 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,440 So then you will know them by their fruits. 175 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,680 Then he says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will 176 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:17,640 enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my 177 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:19,760 Father who is in heaven will enter. 178 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:22,960 Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy 179 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,680 in your name and in your name cast out demons and in your name 180 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:28,960 perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, 181 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,680 I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice 182 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,880 lawlessness. And then it goes on and talks 183 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:40,600 about how those who are the wise people are here the Word of God, 184 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:44,160 and they apply it to the lives versus those who hear the word 185 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:46,480 of God and don't apply it to their lives. 186 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,960 And so he, he wants to make sure that the people listening 187 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:53,800 understand that there's a broad road and a narrow road and the 188 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:55,840 only way to heaven is through the narrow way. 189 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,480 But there are going to become many false teachers, many false 190 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:03,680 prophets who are going to lead you astray to follow the Broad 191 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:05,640 Rd. Very, very important. 192 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,160 Why? Because Satan's ploy has been 193 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:11,920 always to disguise the truth with the false. 194 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:16,960 He always wants to make sure that people don't understand the 195 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:19,120 reality of Christ. That's why Second Corinthians 196 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,400 4/4 says that he's blinded the minds of the unbeliever. 197 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:28,520 He's a master of disguise. He does all they can to thwart 198 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,880 people from understanding and hearing and believing the truth. 199 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:37,040 And so he raises up false teachers within the church that 200 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:41,120 will come against the church and lead people away from the Lord, 201 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,880 not toward the Lord. So you move on to another couple 202 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:50,200 of chapters to Matthew chapter 13, Matthew chapter 13. 203 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:54,680 And in Matthew chapter 13, Christ begins begins to give the 204 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:58,160 Kingdom parables. And he begins with a very 205 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:02,560 familiar parable, one called the parable of the solar and the 206 00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:06,400 soil, because he wants the disciples to understand that in 207 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,640 the Kingdom age, the word of God is going to be spread. 208 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:13,760 And as the word of God is spread, you got to realize that 209 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:17,320 the, the the seed, which is the word of God which is spread, is 210 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,560 going to fall on certain kinds of soil. 211 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:29,520 Some of them will be hard soil or, or a rocky soil or thorny 212 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:33,080 soil or or soft soil. But you need to know this. 213 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:37,040 And so he, he gives us parable and all a parable is, is a, a, a 214 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,520 heavenly story or an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. 215 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:45,520 So he uses common day situations to tell a story that has a 216 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:48,840 heavenly meaning. So he he recites the parable, 217 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:50,600 and then he interprets the parable for them. 218 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,200 He says in verse #18 here then the parable of the sower. 219 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,000 When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom and does not 220 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:01,840 understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has 221 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:06,160 been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was 222 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:11,240 sown beside the road. In other words, the hard heart, 223 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:14,840 the Stony heart is the one that the seed falls upon. 224 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:19,040 But Satan comes and snatches it away because it's a hard, cold 225 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:22,920 and and calloused heart. And then he says this in verse 226 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:26,280 #20 that the one on whom the seed was sown on the rocky 227 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,520 places. This is the man who hears the 228 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,640 word and immediately besie's it with joy. 229 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:34,160 Yet he has no firm root in himself. 230 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:37,400 But it's only temporary. And when affliction or 231 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:41,640 persecution arises because of this, the word, immediately he 232 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:45,680 falls away. This is the the shallow heart or 233 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,400 the superficial heart. Here's the one who hears the 234 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,600 word of God and he wants to jump on the Jesus bandwagon. 235 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,800 He receives the word with joy. There's a great emotional push 236 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:59,800 in his life. But when affliction comes and 237 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:02,880 persecution comes, he falls away. 238 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:05,760 Why? Because there's no firm root. 239 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:08,320 There was no solid commitment to Christ. 240 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:14,080 And then he says in verse number 22, and the one on whom the seed 241 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,560 was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word 242 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:21,600 and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of of wealth 243 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:25,760 choke the word and it becomes unfruitful. 244 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:30,040 In other words, here's a guy who he receives the word with joy. 245 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:33,760 And yet because of the deceitfulness of riches, because 246 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:37,840 of the, the cares of this world, the, the worries of this world, 247 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:43,160 he cannot maintain his walk with the Lord does not persevere and 248 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,640 he too falls away. So you have three different 249 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:49,280 kinds of hearts. You have a, a Stony heart, you 250 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,720 have a superficial heart, and you have a secular heart. 251 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:55,440 This is the kind of heart that wants to add Jesus to their 252 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:58,640 existing lifestyle. And then they when push comes to 253 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,720 shove, they always choose the way of the world because it 254 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:05,440 rings more true to them than the way of the Lord. 255 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:11,640 And then he says this, he says, and the one on whose seed was 256 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:15,760 sown on the good soil, This is the man who hears the word and 257 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:20,120 understands it, who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth some a 258 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:24,040 hundredfold, some 60 and some 30. 259 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:29,720 In other words, here's one who is a a soft soil, a very soft 260 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:31,640 heart. They received the word, they 261 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:34,880 understand the word so much so that they bring forth fruit, 262 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:39,040 some 30 fold, some 60 fold, some 100 fold. 263 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:42,280 Now why is that important? That's important because a 264 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:46,280 bumper crop in Israel would be a crop that was 10 fold. 265 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:49,280 But Christ says this person bears fruit. 266 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:54,000 That is some 30, some 60, or some a hundredfold. 267 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,480 In other words, this is a huge crop. 268 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:59,440 In other words, when someone is truly born again and they 269 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:04,040 receive the word of God, there is complete, clear, obvious 270 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,200 evidence that they know Christ as Lord and Savior. 271 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:10,680 There's no wondering whether or not the end of the Lord. 272 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:12,720 Why? Because the fruit is so 273 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:17,359 abundant, it is so over the top. No one even considers them that 274 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:20,359 they might not even be saved because the fruit is so 275 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,240 overwhelming. So the numbers that Christ use 276 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,280 are very important numbers because they describe for you 277 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:29,760 the reality of a transformed life. 278 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:32,960 It doesn't mean that every time you share the gospel that one 279 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,880 out of every four people or only 25% of them are going to get 280 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:37,520 saved. Doesn't mean that. 281 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,320 What Christ is saying is that the majority of people who hear 282 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:43,760 the gospel are not going to receive the gospel. 283 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:45,320 They might look like they receive it. 284 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,880 They might jump on the Jesus bandwagon because they received 285 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:50,200 the Word with joy. There was some emotional 286 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:54,000 compulsion in their lives and they they did it with sincerity, 287 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,360 they did it with joy, they did it with tears. 288 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,480 But that doesn't mean that way truly gave their life to Christ. 289 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:03,520 Why? Because perseverance is always 290 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:06,240 the key component to true saving faith. 291 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:10,120 Perseverance is a gift given by God. 292 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:14,920 Romans 15 verse #5 that God grants men perseverance that 293 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:18,160 they will continue on in the faith no matter what the 294 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:20,960 persecution or the affliction. No matter what about the the 295 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,840 cares of the world or the deceitfulness of riches, they 296 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,840 continue on in their faith. In the very next parable Jesus 297 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:33,240 gives is the parable about the weed and the tares, because he 298 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:35,960 wants to understand that in the Kingdom age there's going to be 299 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,840 many tears that are sown among the wheat because the enemy's 300 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,360 going to do that. He wants them to understand 301 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:46,600 that, that that when the tears and wheat grow together at the 302 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:48,520 very outset, you cannot tell them apart. 303 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:51,840 They look exactly the same until the end of the age, until the 304 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:55,360 harvest time. And so he says, we're not going 305 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:59,800 to pull out the the tares until the end of the harvest because 306 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:01,680 you might pull up some weeds with them. 307 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,960 And it's at the end of the harvest that Christ takes the 308 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:08,800 the tares and throws them into the fire and takes the weed into 309 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:11,440 his Kingdom. But he wants them to be, to 310 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:14,840 understand that throughout the Kingdom age, the tares will be 311 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:18,520 sown among the wheat because that's what the enemy does. 312 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,640 There are a lot of pretenders in, in the pews of churches all 313 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:26,240 around the world, a lot of people who who say that they, 314 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,080 they love the Lord Jesus, but they, they really aren't born 315 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:31,640 again. They're pretenders in the Pew. 316 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:35,600 We have pretenders in the pulpit as well, preachers who, who 317 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:39,160 pretend to know Jesus Christ, but in reality don't know him at 318 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:42,080 all. And that would even accentuate 319 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:44,640 the fact that there are more pretenders in the Pew than you 320 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,600 can ever begin to imagine. But he wants to understand that 321 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:51,360 as you go through the Kingdom age, there'll be many people 322 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:55,280 that look like Christians, but they're really tares among the 323 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:58,160 wheat. But because they look so much 324 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,160 like the Christian, you won't be able to tell them apart until 325 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:05,920 the end of the age. That's very, very important. 326 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,600 You see, people are are very self deceived. 327 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,120 Satan is a master deceiver. But people can deceive 328 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:18,920 themselves into believing some way, somehow, that they really 329 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,080 are Christian because of something that happened in their 330 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,720 life. Or because of what they say they 331 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:27,800 believe, but that's not necessarily true. 332 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:32,200 And so the Bible is very clear as it continues to talk about 333 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:34,720 all these kinds of things. In fact, over in Luke chapter 334 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:38,360 13, Christ says this. He says when someone said to 335 00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:41,320 him, Lord, are there just a few being saved, He said to them, 336 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:43,920 strive to enter through the narrow door. 337 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:48,360 For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 338 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:50,560 Now that's very, very important. Why? 339 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,360 He says you need to agonize to get through the narrow door. 340 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,400 Remember in Matthew 7, he says there's a narrow gate and 341 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:00,800 there's a there's, there's a, there's a broad, broad Rd. a 342 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:03,920 narrow road and a broad Rd. But the, the narrow way is, is 343 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:06,480 the way to glory. But he says that when you, when 344 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,200 you, when you finally get to the narrow Rd., when you finally 345 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:13,920 find the narrow gate and you get there of the few that find the 346 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:17,760 narrow way in Matthew Chapter 7, when you come to Luke 16, the 347 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,720 many of the few will never enter into the Kingdom. 348 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:26,120 The many of the few of Matthew 7 and Luke 16 will never enter the 349 00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:30,360 Kingdom. He says, he says, I tell you, 350 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:34,560 they will seek to enter and they will not be able to enter. 351 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:37,560 Why? Because they will not want to 352 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:40,000 pay the cost. They will not want to pay the 353 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,280 price. They will not want to sacrifice 354 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:44,360 their life. They will not want to give up 355 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,800 their lives for, for Christ like see. 356 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,080 And so he says these words. Once the head of the house gets 357 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:55,280 up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock 358 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,000 on the door, saying, Lord open to us. 359 00:21:57,520 --> 00:21:59,960 Then he will answer and say to you, I do not know where you are 360 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:02,680 from. Then you will begin to say, But 361 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:05,440 we ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our 362 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,160 streets. And he will say, I tell you, I 363 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:12,280 do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evil 364 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:14,840 doers. Again, the emphasis is on fact 365 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:18,840 that there would be many people who think that they deserve 366 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:21,600 heaven. They think they're on their way 367 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:25,240 to heaven, but then the door is shut, they can't get in. 368 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:29,720 They beg to get in and Christ says I never knew you, but they 369 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:31,600 thought they were on their way to heaven. 370 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,240 They were self deceived or they've been taught by a false 371 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,120 teacher and they believe the wrong things. 372 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,520 That's why it's so crucial to understand the importance of 373 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,720 Christianity. The Bible is replete with this. 374 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,440 It goes over and over and over again. 375 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:51,760 I wish I had the time. Remember Acts chapter 20? 376 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:55,000 Paul says this in verse 27. For I did not shrink from 377 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,000 declaring to you the whole purpose of God. 378 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:00,920 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which 379 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,200 the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the Church 380 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:06,440 of God, which he purchased with his own blood. 381 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:11,320 I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among 382 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:16,320 you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves men 383 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,560 will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the 384 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:25,280 disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, 385 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:29,120 remembering that night and day for a period of three years. 386 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:33,800 I did not cease to admonish each one of you with tears, because I 387 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,880 know that when I leave, there will be people that will come 388 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,800 in, will rise up from within the church. 389 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,880 OK, they're already here, and they're going to rise up from 390 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:47,520 within the church and they're going to lead the disciples 391 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,560 astray. They're savage wolves. 392 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:53,960 And therefore I commend you to God in the word of His grace, 393 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:57,280 which is able to build you up. He says in verse #32 But you 394 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:00,400 need to be aware of this. I did not cease to warn you day 395 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,680 and night for three years of this scenario. 396 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:11,000 You see, every pastor needs to be warning his people of the the 397 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:16,080 possibility of self deception, the possibility of being taught 398 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,800 and learning the wrong things about Christianity. 399 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:22,080 Every pastor needs to be concerned that that the people 400 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,320 in the church understand the truth of the gospel, that they 401 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:27,800 know what it means to truly be born again. 402 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:30,880 That's the pastor's responsibility. 403 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:36,280 And it's emphasized by by Paul in in Acts chapter 20 over in 404 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,880 Second Corinthians or First Corinthians chapter Chapter 11 405 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,120 verse #28 this Sunday we're going to partake at the Lord's 406 00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:44,560 table. Paul says that before you do, 407 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,880 make sure that you don't eat and drink in an unworthy manner. 408 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:52,000 So make sure that you examine your own personal life. 409 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,400 In 2nd Corinthians 13, five, he says this, test yourselves to 410 00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:00,040 see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves or do you not 411 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,920 recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, 412 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:08,600 unless indeed you fail the test, but I trust that you will 413 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:14,200 realize that we ourselves do not fail the test. 414 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:19,960 Examine yourself, test yourself, prove yourself to make sure that 415 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:23,680 Jesus Christ is really He's writing to the church. 416 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:25,920 He's not asking people on the street. 417 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:30,280 He's writing to the church at Corinth challenging them to make 418 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:35,480 sure they know that Jesus Christ is in them. 419 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:38,600 You go over to the the book of Titus. 420 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,280 Titus says that there will be people in the church. 421 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:44,880 They profess to know God, but by their deeds, verse 16, they deny 422 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,960 him being detestable and disobedient and worthless for 423 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:51,520 any good deed. There will be many who profess 424 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:56,360 Christianity, but their deeds are offensive to God because 425 00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:59,840 they live sinful lives. And then you go over to the book 426 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:02,520 of James. James is the same thing, verse 427 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,440 26 of chapter 1. If anyone thinks himself to be 428 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:08,920 religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, but to seize 429 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,800 his own heart, this man's religion is worthless, pure and 430 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:15,000 undefiled. Religion in the sight of our God 431 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,800 and Father is this. To visit orphans and widows in 432 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:21,360 their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. 433 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:25,560 He says this is true religion. If you think that you are 434 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,760 religious and you cannot control your tongue, your religion, 435 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,120 whatever you say it is, is a worthless religion. 436 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:34,720 It means nothing. That means you don't have the 437 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:36,520 Spirit of God. That will help you learn 438 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:38,760 self-control, to control your words. 439 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:40,800 Why? Because out of the buttons of 440 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:45,360 the heart, the mouse speaks. So if there's been a transformed 441 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:48,760 heart, there's transformed speaking. 442 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:51,360 If there hasn't been a transformed heart, the words 443 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:56,040 remain the same, you see, And James knows that, and James 444 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:58,680 attacks that. That's why he says, be not just 445 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:02,880 hearers of the word, but doers as well. 446 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,840 Over in Second Peter chapter 1, Peter says this way. 447 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:09,160 Verse #10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make 448 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,600 certain about His calling and choosing you. 449 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,920 He's talking to the brethren. Do you know that you've been 450 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:17,640 called? Do you know that you've been 451 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:21,680 chosen by God? Be diligent to make sure you 452 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:25,080 know without a shadow of doubt that God has called you and 453 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:30,040 chosen you for His purposes. And then of course you have 454 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:33,680 Jude. And Jude says this in verse #3 455 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,600 Beloved, I was making every effort to write to you about our 456 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,920 common salvation. I felt the necessity to write to 457 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:42,120 you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which 458 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:44,760 was once for all handed down to the Saints. 459 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:49,360 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were 460 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:53,280 long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly 461 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:58,240 persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and 462 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:02,720 deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. 463 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:05,520 He says, I wanted to write to you, I want to talk to you about 464 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,280 our common salvation. But I but, but, but I have to 465 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:12,200 warn you that there have been among us people that are in the 466 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:16,920 Church that turn the grace of God into licentiousness. 467 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:20,600 They live as if there is no law and they turn people away from 468 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,720 the truth. I have to warn you, I mean, 469 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:27,240 that's just a a sketch of what's in the New Testament. 470 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:30,000 As you go through the Scriptures, you'll see it over 471 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:34,120 and over and over again. Be warned, beware. 472 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:38,560 Paul says in Philippians chapter 3 verse #1 I want to safeguard 473 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:42,120 you that you understand what true salvation really is. 474 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:44,360 Why? I mean, he's talking to the 475 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,120 church. He's not talking to the people, 476 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:48,440 a bunch of people in the streets. 477 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:53,440 He wants the church to know for certain that the gospel they say 478 00:28:53,440 --> 00:29:00,080 they believe is truly the gospel that transformed their lives. 479 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:07,080 So important. I came across a book this past 480 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:12,920 week, and that book is an entitled The Almost Christian 481 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:18,600 Discovered. It was written 300 years ago by 482 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:22,200 a Puritan by the name of Matthew Mead. 483 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:26,040 And he was concerned that the people who professed 484 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:33,200 Christianity in his day we're not truly born again followers 485 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:38,720 of Christ, that they had somehow deceived themselves in the 486 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:40,280 thinking that they were Christians. 487 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:48,280 And so he he begins to write this book that talks about the 488 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:56,600 almost Christian. And in a span of 120 pages, he 489 00:29:56,600 --> 00:30:02,920 gives several characteristics of those who claim to be Christian. 490 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:10,800 But they're close, yet they are still so far way. 491 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:14,640 And so he begins to list all these characteristics and 492 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,600 underneath them he gives a plethora of Bible verses to 493 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,720 explain each and every point. I'm not going to do that for 494 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:23,400 you. But these are some of the things 495 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:26,880 that he does say. He says this. 496 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:32,520 He says a person may have a great deal of knowledge, 497 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:37,200 insight, and they may understand a lot about God and his will and 498 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:44,000 a lot about Christ and his ways, and yet still only be almost a 499 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:48,240 Christian. A person may possess great and 500 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:55,400 remarkable gifts and yet only be almost a Christian. 501 00:30:56,640 --> 00:31:01,280 A person may have a high view of religion, be very active in 502 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:06,920 religious activities, and yet still only be almost a 503 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:10,600 Christian. It says A person may make great 504 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:15,720 strides in resisting sin and yet still only be almost a 505 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:20,680 Christian. A person may even hate sin, but 506 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:28,320 still only almost a Christian. A person may make grand promises 507 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:32,880 and pledges to God, yet still only be almost a Christian. 508 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:37,920 A man may may struggle and fight against sin within himself and 509 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:44,200 yet still only be almost a Christian. 510 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:48,520 A person can be a member of a Christian Church, join the 511 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:52,520 people of God, share in church privileges. 512 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:58,120 He may have great hope of heaven, even hope of being 513 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:06,040 saved, and yet still only be almost a Christian. 514 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:11,280 A person may experience significant transformation due 515 00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:16,240 to the power of the word of God and yet still only be almost a 516 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:21,280 Christian. A person may be very passionate 517 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:25,000 about the religion. They may spend a lot of time in 518 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:32,520 prayer and yet still only be almost a Christian. 519 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:37,680 A person may endure hardship for Christ in their profession, 520 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:42,400 their reputation and physical being, and still only be almost 521 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,200 a Christian. A person may be called by God, 522 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:50,760 accept His calling, and yet still be far from the Kingdom. 523 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:56,720 A person may have faith, have genuine affection for the people 524 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:01,320 of God, obey the commands of God, do all the outwardly 525 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:08,000 religious activities, and still only be almost a Christian. 526 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:13,960 That's a remarkable list. But if you were to reverse the 527 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:18,680 list and say, well, I know somebody who, who has been 528 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:21,040 called by God, and I know somebody who has special gifts 529 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:24,440 and I, I know somebody who, who really wants to worship God and 530 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:26,960 is involved in their church and really wants to obey the 531 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:29,360 commands of God. And I know somebody who, who 532 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:33,000 truly loves the Lord. You will say that that person's 533 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:37,240 a Christian. Are they? 534 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:43,720 You see, we we tend to look at the externals, but Christianity 535 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:47,600 is about the internal. Christianity is about what 536 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:50,680 happens on the inside of a person. 537 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:55,440 Now what's on the inside will manifest itself on the outside. 538 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:58,400 But just because you manifest certain characteristics of 539 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:02,920 Christianity on the outside doesn't mean you're saved on the 540 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:06,200 inside. That's where the examination 541 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:09,040 comes in. That's why you need to be aware 542 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:12,360 of false teachers. That's not why you need to be 543 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:17,639 aware of of being self deceived. Well, what does the Bible 544 00:34:17,639 --> 00:34:21,560 actually say? You see, there's so much 545 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,800 confusion about what it means to be a Christian. 546 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:27,639 Let me give you a couple of them. 547 00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:33,960 What 1 is what are called the the familial confusion that that 548 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,560 I was born in a in a Christian family. 549 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:42,080 My parents are saved, my brothers are saved, my parents 550 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:46,159 are saved, my my grandparents are saved. 551 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:49,199 I was. I was born in a Christian 552 00:34:49,199 --> 00:34:51,560 family. Of course I'm a Christian. 553 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:57,240 But just because you're born into a family that has Christian 554 00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:00,720 parents doesn't mean you're born again. 555 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:05,800 The Bible says in John 112 that to as many as received him to 556 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:08,440 them gave you power to become the sons of God. 557 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:10,720 There. There there's an individual 558 00:35:10,720 --> 00:35:18,400 reception of who Christ is. You see, the Jews believe that 559 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:22,480 because Abraham was their father that they were going to go to 560 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:26,360 heaven, that that's why they, they had such a hard time with 561 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:31,040 Christ, because he would, he, he, he indicted their, their, 562 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:35,880 their, their system of religion. And they would say to him, we, 563 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:40,760 we have Abraham as our father. And Jesus would say to them, if 564 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:43,760 you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham. 565 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:47,960 But as it is, you are seeking to kill me, a man who has told you 566 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:49,920 the truth, which I heard from God. 567 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:55,960 This Abraham did not do you. You say you're you're a child of 568 00:35:55,960 --> 00:36:04,240 Abraham, but you can't claim ancestry as a way to get into 569 00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:08,720 heaven. You must believe in who I am. 570 00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:11,720 Abraham did that. He believed in me. 571 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:14,120 It was counted unto him as righteousness. 572 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:16,680 But you see, you don't believe in me. 573 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:22,320 Paul would say in Philippians 3 as he began to list the litany 574 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:26,720 of things that he had done, that he was circumcised on the 8th 575 00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:30,200 day. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews 576 00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:34,240 when it came to the law of Christ or the law of God. 577 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:37,920 And he would begin to list all the things that he himself did. 578 00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:40,560 But he says, but all that was rubbish, rubbish. 579 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:43,600 All that was was was human excrement. 580 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:47,920 It was dung. It meant nothing compared to the 581 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:51,760 surpassing knowledge of coming to know Christ as my Lord and 582 00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:54,600 Savior. But see, it wasn't about the 583 00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:58,960 fact that he was born a Jew, that he would get into heaven. 584 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,240 Just like when you're born to a Christian family, it doesn't get 585 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:04,600 you into heaven. But there's this familial 586 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:07,920 confusion that people have that because my parents are saved, 587 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:11,480 I'm going to ride the coat tails of my parents and just slide 588 00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:13,800 right into glory. Doesn't work that way. 589 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:18,920 So you have a familial confusion, but there's also an 590 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:23,600 ecclesiastical confusion. That is, I'm a part of a church, 591 00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:27,600 I'm a part of a certain church. I go to this denomination, and 592 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:30,560 therefore that's going to get me into heaven. 593 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,560 But listen, going to church doesn't make you a Christian any 594 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:37,280 more than going to the garage is going to make you a mechanic. 595 00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:40,320 Doesn't work that way. You just don't become a 596 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:42,480 Christian because you go to a certain church. 597 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:46,440 The Mormons believe that they're going to be saved because they 598 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:48,880 go to the Mormon church and Jehovah's Witness because they 599 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:52,320 go to the Kingdom Hall, that that doesn't get you into 600 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,240 heaven. So we had this ecclesiastical 601 00:37:55,240 --> 00:37:58,760 confusion that somehow if I go to the right church, that will, 602 00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:02,320 that will get me into heaven, but it doesn't. 603 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:07,080 In fact, in Revelation chapter 3, Christ says, behold, I stand 604 00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:10,640 at the door and knock. And, and contrary to popular 605 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:13,520 opinion, it's not the door of your heart that Christ is 606 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:17,600 standing on the outside of, it's the door of the church, The 607 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:21,840 Church of Laodicea, Revelation 320 that Christ is standing on 608 00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:25,120 the outside of. He stands outside the church, 609 00:38:25,240 --> 00:38:30,720 the door of the church and knocks and says, if anyone will 610 00:38:30,720 --> 00:38:34,840 hear my voice and open the door, I will come into them and Sup 611 00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:37,520 with them. He's talking to the church 612 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:41,520 because the Church of Laodicea was, was a counterfeit church. 613 00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:45,760 It wasn't a true church before that was a Church of Sardis. 614 00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:48,480 Remember that the Church of Sardis was the dead church. 615 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:51,400 They were a corpse. He says you have a name that you 616 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:54,560 were alive, but you're dead. You have a name that's very 617 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:56,840 popular in the community. You have a name that's very 618 00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,880 popular around the world. You have a name, but you're 619 00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:03,920 really dead on the inside. And then he comes to the Church 620 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:06,480 of Laodicea and says, I'm standing outside your door. 621 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:09,040 I am knocking. If there's anybody in there who 622 00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:15,080 hears me and opens the door unto me, I will come in with him. 623 00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:17,400 I would dine with him, I will Sup with him. 624 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:21,280 I will be his God and he'll be my son. 625 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:26,400 And the invitation is given. There's a theological confusion 626 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:30,240 as well that I that I'm theologically sound, I'm 627 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:33,120 theologically astute. This happens a lot in 628 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:37,920 seminaries, guys who who really are sound in doctrine, they 629 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:40,840 think that because they're theologically astute that they 630 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:42,640 know that they're going to go to heaven. 631 00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:46,240 But that doesn't make you a Christian just because you have 632 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:50,320 a good doctrinal statement. You can dot all your IS and 633 00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:54,240 cross all your T's. You know the demons. 634 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:56,840 They believe everything there is to know about God. 635 00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:58,840 They know more about God than any of us do. 636 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:03,320 The demons are theologically sound. 637 00:40:04,240 --> 00:40:06,440 They know about heaven, they know about hell, they know about 638 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:10,080 the deity of Christ. In fact, over in Mark 311 it 639 00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:13,200 says, and whenever the unclean spirits beheld Christ, they 640 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:16,720 would fall down before him and cry out saying you are the Son 641 00:40:16,720 --> 00:40:20,280 of God. See, the demons know that Jesus 642 00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:23,240 is the Son of God. They're very clear on that. 643 00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:31,200 They are so theologically astute, but yet they are not in 644 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:33,880 heaven. And there are people all around 645 00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:37,240 the world because of their theological stance, because they 646 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:41,520 know a lot about God, they think that that will get them to 647 00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:49,920 heaven, but it does not. The Jews, they believe in one 648 00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:53,520 God. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God 649 00:40:54,320 --> 00:41:00,480 is 1, Deuteronomy 6/4, and yet they don't understand that Jesus 650 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:05,160 is that God. There's also the moral 651 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:07,880 confusion. This is a big one. 652 00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:12,720 The moral confusion, the somehow, if I do the right 653 00:41:12,720 --> 00:41:16,520 thing, if I say the right things, if I don't murder 654 00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:21,080 anybody, if I don't have sex outside of marriage, if I don't 655 00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:26,200 lie, if I don't cheat, if I don't swear, I'm a morally good 656 00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:28,760 person. Certainly God will accept me. 657 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:33,720 Certainly I'll get into heaven because of the of the goodness 658 00:41:33,720 --> 00:41:36,320 and kindness of my heart. It's like the rich young ruler 659 00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:42,680 in Matthew 19. Remember, he was, he was 660 00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:44,840 totally. I've kept all these commandments 661 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:49,200 from my youth up. My whole life I've spent keeping 662 00:41:49,200 --> 00:41:51,640 the commands of God. I've done that. 663 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:53,400 I've honored my mother and father. 664 00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:57,080 I have not killed anybody. I have not committed adultery. 665 00:41:57,280 --> 00:41:58,280 I have. I have. 666 00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:02,080 I have done everything the commands of God say, and yet he 667 00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:07,840 was so far from the Kingdom. And yet the moral confusion is 668 00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:12,800 huge because people believe that somehow I can do enough good 669 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:16,200 things to get me into heaven. Listen what Paul says in Titus 670 00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:18,280 three. He says he saved us not on the 671 00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:21,640 basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but 672 00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:24,720 according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and 673 00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:27,960 renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us 674 00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:31,440 richly through Jesus Christ. Our Savior said being justified 675 00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:35,040 by His grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of 676 00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:38,360 eternal life. It's not by deeds of 677 00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:39,560 righteousness which we have done. 678 00:42:41,040 --> 00:42:43,680 Paul in Romans 3 would say there is none righteous. 679 00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:47,720 No, not one. No matter how good you think you 680 00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:50,880 are, your goodness will never get you into glory. 681 00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:56,240 The only work that gets you into heaven is the work of Christ, 682 00:42:56,880 --> 00:43:00,240 not the work of man. But there are many people in 683 00:43:00,240 --> 00:43:01,840 churches today that truly believe. 684 00:43:01,840 --> 00:43:03,840 You know, I've done good things, man. 685 00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:05,800 I'm in church on Sunday and you know what? 686 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:08,240 I don't beat my wife. I don't kick my dog, I don't 687 00:43:08,240 --> 00:43:11,440 swear, I don't drink, I don't have sex outside of marriage. 688 00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:13,880 I'm a good guy. God's gut accept me. 689 00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:19,520 That's not the condition for salvation, see, because the 690 00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:23,000 heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, and there 691 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:27,240 needs to be a transformation of a heart that's filled with sin, 692 00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:33,440 a life that's been born in sin. There's another confusion. 693 00:43:33,440 --> 00:43:36,280 We're going to call it the ministerial confusion. 694 00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:40,320 That is, people are involved in all kinds of ministry in the 695 00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:43,520 church. It's a huge confusion. 696 00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:50,720 This is the classic example, Judas, classic example. 697 00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:54,680 Judas preached like the other 11 preached. 698 00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:57,840 He preached the Gospel, Matthew chapter 10. 699 00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:04,840 He healed the sick like the other 11 did, but he was the son 700 00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:09,200 of perdition. And when it came time to to talk 701 00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:13,840 about the denial of the Lord Jesus, no one said it's Judas. 702 00:44:14,960 --> 00:44:18,440 Of course we know it's Judas. No, the offset is that eyes, 703 00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:20,400 that eyes. No one pointed to Judas. 704 00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:23,520 He was the keeper of the money, the keeper of the purse. 705 00:44:23,600 --> 00:44:25,680 He was the most trusted of the 12. 706 00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:30,360 So the most trusted of the 12 was Judas, who went out and 707 00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:33,040 preached the gospel like the other 11 did, who performed 708 00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:36,040 miracles like the other 11 did. And yet he never had a 709 00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:41,400 transformed life. We call it the ministerial 710 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:44,360 confusion. People involved in the ministry, 711 00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:46,880 it's where pastors come into play. 712 00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:53,080 Men who have been the pulpit for years have fooled people, have 713 00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:58,480 fooled themselves. Judas had become self deceived. 714 00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:00,480 But it was all about the money for Judas. 715 00:45:00,720 --> 00:45:03,520 He followed Christ because there was something about Christ that 716 00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:06,960 did so much for him, that gave him notoriety, that gave him a 717 00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:10,600 chance to be popular, that gave him a chance to maybe get some 718 00:45:10,600 --> 00:45:12,120 money. And that, that, that's what, 719 00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:14,960 that's what the cares of this world and the sea fullness of 720 00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:18,480 riches do to someone who follows Jesus with joy. 721 00:45:20,120 --> 00:45:21,600 There's that ministerial confusion. 722 00:45:21,720 --> 00:45:25,240 There's that emotional confusion where you, where you walk an 723 00:45:25,240 --> 00:45:28,120 aisle and you sign a card and you, your, your eyes are filled 724 00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:31,200 with tears because the music is played and the preacher is 725 00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:34,160 preaching and everybody else is going down and, and you're just 726 00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:37,640 overcome with emotion and you come down the aisle and you, you 727 00:45:37,640 --> 00:45:41,480 just want to well, pray a prayer or, or, or, or say something. 728 00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:44,840 And, and somehow we think that that's going to save us. 729 00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:55,720 Emotional confusion is huge, but the greatest confusion is 730 00:45:55,720 --> 00:46:00,600 experiential confusion. I've had an experience. 731 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:08,600 I've had an event in my life. There was a time where I prayed 732 00:46:08,600 --> 00:46:12,880 a prayer. There was a time where I gave my 733 00:46:12,880 --> 00:46:17,840 life to Christ. There was a time when I sat with 734 00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:22,880 the the counselor and committed my life to Christ. 735 00:46:24,200 --> 00:46:29,960 That's the biggest confusion. The Bible never points back to a 736 00:46:29,960 --> 00:46:37,440 time in which someone was saved. The Bible only speaks of an 737 00:46:37,440 --> 00:46:42,720 ongoing life that manifests transformation. 738 00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:48,200 But there are people who say I need an event. 739 00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:56,240 I remember when. Now most of us probably remember 740 00:46:56,240 --> 00:46:59,840 when we were saved. But there are also a number of 741 00:46:59,840 --> 00:47:01,320 us who have no idea when we were saved. 742 00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:08,640 That could very possibly be. I had a elder at the previous 743 00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:13,560 church I pastored who came to me and said, see, I I want my son 744 00:47:13,560 --> 00:47:17,560 to know that as he grows older, that when he was five years old, 745 00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:20,600 he prayed the sinner's prayer, and that's good enough to get 746 00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:25,040 him into heaven. And I said, it's not, It's not. 747 00:47:27,040 --> 00:47:30,080 You want your son to go back and look at a time in which he 748 00:47:30,080 --> 00:47:32,640 prayed the sinner's prayer, no matter what his lifestyle's 749 00:47:32,640 --> 00:47:35,400 like. What if your son becomes an 750 00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:37,840 alcoholic and an adulterer and a murderer? 751 00:47:38,480 --> 00:47:40,640 Are you going to say, go back to that time that you say you 752 00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:43,280 prayed the sinner's prayer, and I know you're going to heaven. 753 00:47:44,520 --> 00:47:48,280 You're going to guarantee his eternal destiny based on an 754 00:47:48,280 --> 00:47:52,440 event, an experience that he had when he was 5. 755 00:47:53,760 --> 00:47:56,480 Show me in Scripture where that's true. 756 00:47:56,480 --> 00:48:02,360 Of course, he couldn't because there is no place in Scripture. 757 00:48:03,640 --> 00:48:05,440 As parents, we got to be very careful. 758 00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:07,360 Well, I was there when you prayed the prayer. 759 00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:10,680 I was there when you were three. I was there when you were six. 760 00:48:10,800 --> 00:48:12,400 I was there when you were baptized. 761 00:48:12,680 --> 00:48:14,400 I was there when those things happened. 762 00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:19,760 I know you're saved, but their lifestyle is totally contrary to 763 00:48:19,760 --> 00:48:23,280 the truth of the Scripture. Is there an example of this? 764 00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:26,200 Absolutely. Turn your Bible to Acts chapter 765 00:48:26,200 --> 00:48:30,840 8. Acts chapter 8. 766 00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:35,840 Let me give you an example of this, of somebody who had an 767 00:48:35,840 --> 00:48:42,920 experience. And once you read it, most would 768 00:48:42,920 --> 00:48:46,240 think the experience was true, but it wasn't. 769 00:48:48,520 --> 00:48:53,760 Acts 8 verse #9 Now there was a man named Simon who formerly was 770 00:48:53,960 --> 00:48:57,400 practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of 771 00:48:57,400 --> 00:49:00,600 Samaria claiming to be someone great. 772 00:49:01,760 --> 00:49:04,840 And they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention 773 00:49:04,840 --> 00:49:09,360 to him, saying, this man is what is called the great power of 774 00:49:09,360 --> 00:49:11,480 God. And they were giving him 775 00:49:11,480 --> 00:49:14,600 attention because he had for a long time astonished them with 776 00:49:14,600 --> 00:49:20,080 his magic hearts. But when they believed Philip 777 00:49:20,280 --> 00:49:24,640 preaching the good news about the Kingdom of God in the name 778 00:49:24,640 --> 00:49:30,640 of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. 779 00:49:31,960 --> 00:49:40,920 Even Simon himself believed. And after being baptized, he 780 00:49:40,920 --> 00:49:44,960 continued on with Philip. And as he observed signs of 781 00:49:44,960 --> 00:49:49,200 great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. 782 00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:53,360 So you stop right there and you say Simon had an experience. 783 00:49:54,920 --> 00:49:56,960 He, he he heard the preaching of Philip. 784 00:49:56,960 --> 00:50:03,240 And when he heard the preaching of Philip, he believed and he 785 00:50:03,240 --> 00:50:07,640 must be saved. He believed Bible says in Acts 786 00:50:07,640 --> 00:50:11,040 1631, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. 787 00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:15,960 So Simon, Simon believed, but knowing that he believed he was 788 00:50:15,960 --> 00:50:20,840 baptized and you're to believe and be baptized for the 789 00:50:20,840 --> 00:50:22,640 remission of sins. Acts chapter 3. 790 00:50:22,760 --> 00:50:27,760 So we say, well, he believed he was baptized, Simon saved, He 791 00:50:27,760 --> 00:50:33,960 had an experience, there was an event, and then he continued to 792 00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:38,800 follow Philip the preacher. Well, he must certainly be 793 00:50:38,800 --> 00:50:43,840 saved. He believes he's baptized, and 794 00:50:43,840 --> 00:50:47,520 now he's a follower of Philip, who's a preacher of the gospel. 795 00:50:47,680 --> 00:50:56,640 The guy must be saved. Read on now when the apostles in 796 00:50:56,640 --> 00:50:59,760 Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they 797 00:50:59,760 --> 00:51:04,440 sent them Peter and John, two guys you don't want to meet if 798 00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:08,160 you're not saved, who came down and prayed for them, and that 799 00:51:08,160 --> 00:51:11,560 they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet 800 00:51:11,560 --> 00:51:15,360 fallen upon any of them. They had simply been baptized in 801 00:51:15,360 --> 00:51:18,440 the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they began laying their 802 00:51:18,440 --> 00:51:21,960 hands on them and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. 803 00:51:23,480 --> 00:51:27,120 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the 804 00:51:27,120 --> 00:51:31,800 laying on of the apostles hands, he offered them money saying 805 00:51:32,040 --> 00:51:36,080 give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I 806 00:51:36,080 --> 00:51:38,760 lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. 807 00:51:38,760 --> 00:51:41,200 Wow, this is great. I mean I was in the magical 808 00:51:41,200 --> 00:51:44,720 arts, but this is beyond magical arts man, you guys are doing 809 00:51:44,720 --> 00:51:47,480 something phenomenal. This is supernatural. 810 00:51:47,560 --> 00:51:48,880 You're laying your hands on them. 811 00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:50,720 The Spirit of God has descended upon them. 812 00:51:50,720 --> 00:51:53,400 This is fabulous. I got to be able to do that. 813 00:51:54,360 --> 00:51:58,600 I'll give you whatever you need. How much does it cost me to do 814 00:51:58,600 --> 00:52:04,400 what you do? But Peter said to him, May your 815 00:52:04,400 --> 00:52:11,240 silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the 816 00:52:11,240 --> 00:52:18,400 gift of God with money. You have no part or portion in 817 00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:24,200 this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 818 00:52:25,000 --> 00:52:29,440 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray 819 00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:35,080 the Lord, that if possible, the intention of your heart may be 820 00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:38,760 forgiven you. For I see that you are in the 821 00:52:38,760 --> 00:52:44,880 gall of bitterness, and in the bondage of iniquity. 822 00:52:46,120 --> 00:52:48,960 Peter calls him out. You're in. 823 00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:54,680 You're enslaved to iniquity. You're, you're, you're in sin, 824 00:52:56,320 --> 00:52:57,880 he says. You're in the gall of 825 00:52:57,880 --> 00:53:01,480 bitterness. Those who are in Christ are not 826 00:53:01,480 --> 00:53:04,400 in the bondage of iniquity. They've been set free from the 827 00:53:04,400 --> 00:53:08,280 bondage of iniquity by the power of the Spirit of God. 828 00:53:10,280 --> 00:53:13,360 And so Peter calls him out and Simon Says, but Simon answered 829 00:53:13,360 --> 00:53:17,280 and said, pray to the Lord for me yourselves said nothing of 830 00:53:17,280 --> 00:53:19,680 what you have said may come upon me. 831 00:53:19,800 --> 00:53:21,800 That's not repentance. That's not true repentance. 832 00:53:21,960 --> 00:53:23,960 He could have prayed and asked forgiveness himself. 833 00:53:25,000 --> 00:53:28,480 He just wanted us to escape the temporary consequences of his 834 00:53:28,480 --> 00:53:33,240 disobedience and his ignorance. You see, Simon had an event, but 835 00:53:33,240 --> 00:53:37,960 he was never truly born again. He had an emotional experience. 836 00:53:39,840 --> 00:53:41,960 He bought into what Philip was preaching. 837 00:53:43,120 --> 00:53:47,040 He received the word. Everybody else was believing so, 838 00:53:47,280 --> 00:53:51,120 so Simon believed too. Everybody else is baptized, so 839 00:53:51,120 --> 00:53:55,440 Simon was baptized too. Simon said, I'm going to follow 840 00:53:55,440 --> 00:53:58,000 Philip wherever he goes. This is great. 841 00:54:00,520 --> 00:54:04,760 But he had no true conversion. There was no regeneration of his 842 00:54:04,760 --> 00:54:07,840 heart. There was no transformation of 843 00:54:07,840 --> 00:54:14,520 his soul. The experiential confusion is 844 00:54:14,520 --> 00:54:18,680 how Satan dupes people into thinking that because you made a 845 00:54:18,680 --> 00:54:24,320 decision way back when, you're on your way to heaven without 846 00:54:24,320 --> 00:54:27,720 ever examining your life in light of the Scripture. 847 00:54:28,080 --> 00:54:32,880 In terms of what the Bible says about what Christians truly are 848 00:54:33,080 --> 00:54:39,280 and what Christians truly look like, this is extremely 849 00:54:39,280 --> 00:54:43,400 important. I can't say it to you enough. 850 00:54:44,840 --> 00:54:50,720 We've had people in our church baptized in our baptismal who 851 00:54:51,880 --> 00:54:56,440 gave a profession of faith about what God did in their lives only 852 00:54:56,960 --> 00:55:00,160 in years later to turn completely away from the faith 853 00:55:00,960 --> 00:55:04,960 to defrock the faith, to apostasize the faith, never to 854 00:55:04,960 --> 00:55:09,600 follow Christ again. They made a profession, they 855 00:55:09,600 --> 00:55:14,200 were baptized, they filled out a, a card. 856 00:55:15,920 --> 00:55:19,640 We had a man in our church who, who for years was involved in 857 00:55:19,640 --> 00:55:23,280 our tape ministry. He, he taped my very first 858 00:55:23,280 --> 00:55:28,600 sermon and he continued to tape all the sermons from the very 859 00:55:28,600 --> 00:55:30,800 beginning. And there were times early on 860 00:55:30,800 --> 00:55:33,080 when we were at another church and we had to use their 861 00:55:33,080 --> 00:55:36,040 equipment that sometimes the, the equipment messed up and, and 862 00:55:36,040 --> 00:55:39,840 so they didn't really get a, a good copy of the tape. 863 00:55:39,840 --> 00:55:43,560 So I had to come in on Monday morning and re preach the sermon 864 00:55:43,720 --> 00:55:47,440 to an empty auditorium because we were on the radio and those, 865 00:55:47,560 --> 00:55:50,440 those sermons were going on the radio that week. 866 00:55:50,440 --> 00:55:52,760 And so I had to come in on Monday morning and preach the 867 00:55:52,760 --> 00:55:55,480 exact same sermon to an empty auditorium. 868 00:55:55,480 --> 00:55:59,800 That was quite the challenge, but not only did he hear it on 869 00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:05,280 Sunday, hear the sermon on Monday, and he would talk to me 870 00:56:05,280 --> 00:56:11,240 about those sermons, but then he began to to invite the Jehovah's 871 00:56:11,240 --> 00:56:15,320 Witnesses into his home and begin to have conversations with 872 00:56:15,320 --> 00:56:17,280 them, long conversations with them. 873 00:56:19,480 --> 00:56:23,840 And he was involved and he built the stairs that are here on our 874 00:56:23,840 --> 00:56:30,160 stage in our auditorium. He was involved in building the 875 00:56:30,160 --> 00:56:32,640 baptismal, which people are baptized. 876 00:56:34,200 --> 00:56:35,840 He was actually be involved in the church. 877 00:56:36,040 --> 00:56:39,080 There was a Bible study every study night in his home. 878 00:56:42,760 --> 00:56:46,160 It wasn't too long after he invited in all these Jehovah's 879 00:56:46,160 --> 00:56:49,720 Witnesses to his home. And I'd warned him against that, 880 00:56:50,640 --> 00:56:55,080 but he did it anyway. One day he came to me and just 881 00:56:55,080 --> 00:56:57,480 completely denied the deity of Christ. 882 00:56:59,280 --> 00:57:01,720 He did not believe that Jesus was God in the flesh. 883 00:57:03,680 --> 00:57:06,520 And he had signed, he became a member of our church, and he had 884 00:57:06,680 --> 00:57:10,920 given a testimony about an event or an experience that he had 885 00:57:10,920 --> 00:57:14,200 when he was younger about giving his life to Christ. 886 00:57:17,240 --> 00:57:21,760 And yet he was led astray. He was unable to persevere. 887 00:57:22,760 --> 00:57:24,320 He was unable to defend the faith. 888 00:57:25,600 --> 00:57:30,320 He turned his back on Christ. He walked away from the church. 889 00:57:31,160 --> 00:57:34,520 He walked away from Christianity because he no longer believed in 890 00:57:34,520 --> 00:57:38,680 the DV Christ. I had it in my office, went 891 00:57:38,680 --> 00:57:41,320 through verse after verse after verse after verse with him. 892 00:57:42,400 --> 00:57:46,880 It was almost as if he was in, had never ever heard the gospel. 893 00:57:48,800 --> 00:57:55,480 He was so blinded by Satan. So I finally went to to him with 894 00:57:55,480 --> 00:57:59,560 John chapter 8 and I said to him, listen to what Jesus says. 895 00:58:00,040 --> 00:58:03,920 Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. 896 00:58:05,960 --> 00:58:09,040 And what Jesus is saying is this, unless you believe that I 897 00:58:09,040 --> 00:58:13,760 am the God who spoke to to Moses from the burning Bush in Exodus 898 00:58:13,760 --> 00:58:15,920 chapter 3, you will die in your sins. 899 00:58:15,920 --> 00:58:20,000 You must believe that I am God in the flesh. 900 00:58:22,240 --> 00:58:24,760 I said to him, his name was Jamil. 901 00:58:25,680 --> 00:58:26,560 Jamil. Do you believe that? 902 00:58:26,560 --> 00:58:31,880 He says absolutely not. I said. 903 00:58:31,880 --> 00:58:33,760 Then the only thing I have for you is that you will die in your 904 00:58:33,760 --> 00:58:37,200 sins. You will never see Christ. 905 00:58:39,520 --> 00:58:40,960 Wasn't too long after that, he did die. 906 00:58:42,520 --> 00:58:47,800 He died in unbelief, never giving his life to Christ. 907 00:58:49,880 --> 00:58:56,520 He professed Christianity, he pretended at Christianity, he 908 00:58:56,520 --> 00:59:01,440 participated in all kinds of Christian activities, but he 909 00:59:01,440 --> 00:59:07,840 never possessed Christ himself in his heart. 910 00:59:10,080 --> 00:59:12,320 I don't want that to happen to any of you. 911 00:59:14,600 --> 00:59:16,600 I don't want that to happen to anybody in our church. 912 00:59:19,440 --> 00:59:25,920 My greatest fear is that you come thinking that you're saved, 913 00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:33,480 die and wake up in hell. That's got to be the most 914 00:59:33,480 --> 00:59:37,800 devastating thing ever. But it happens to people all the 915 00:59:37,800 --> 00:59:45,000 time because they're confused. They've been deceived, self 916 00:59:45,000 --> 00:59:48,840 deceived, or satanically deceived and they think they're 917 00:59:48,840 --> 00:59:50,720 on the way to heaven, but in reality they are not. 918 00:59:52,360 --> 00:59:56,400 So I asked you this question. Do you know for certain that 919 00:59:56,400 --> 01:00:00,880 Jesus Christ is the Lord, King and Master of your life? 920 01:00:00,880 --> 01:00:08,320 And if He is, do you follow Him in obedience, out of a heart 921 01:00:08,320 --> 01:00:10,840 filled with love and gratitude and thankfulness? 922 01:00:12,600 --> 01:00:15,480 Are you the kind of person whose life has been transformed? 923 01:00:15,840 --> 01:00:20,960 Are you truly a new creation? If any man in Christ, he is a 924 01:00:21,440 --> 01:00:25,680 new creation. You're transformed. 925 01:00:26,800 --> 01:00:30,920 You're new. You're not just a same old guy 926 01:00:30,920 --> 01:00:34,240 with a new jacket. No, you're transformed from the 927 01:00:34,240 --> 01:00:37,760 inside out. Your life has changed. 928 01:00:37,760 --> 01:00:42,040 The conversation changes. Your conduct changes. 929 01:00:42,600 --> 01:00:47,680 Your desires change. Your goals change. 930 01:00:48,760 --> 01:00:51,520 Everything about your life is Christ centered. 931 01:00:53,000 --> 01:00:58,920 You want to serve Him. And so I don't want you to go 932 01:01:00,440 --> 01:01:04,240 further in life without knowing for certain that Jesus Christ is 933 01:01:04,240 --> 01:01:08,200 King of your life. Have you ever truly given your 934 01:01:08,200 --> 01:01:14,080 life to the Lord Jesus Christ? This is all just introductory. 935 01:01:15,920 --> 01:01:19,960 Next week we'll begin to go more into great details as to what is 936 01:01:19,960 --> 01:01:24,480 a Christian and spend the next 11 weeks examining that in light 937 01:01:24,480 --> 01:01:27,960 of what the Bible says. I would encourage you to bring 938 01:01:28,320 --> 01:01:31,080 someone with you. They might hear what you're 939 01:01:31,080 --> 01:01:34,960 hearing and learn what you're learning because you're so 940 01:01:34,960 --> 01:01:40,200 concerned about their spiritual life, their eternal destiny. 941 01:01:41,800 --> 01:01:48,200 Do the people you love and the people you know truly live in 942 01:01:48,200 --> 01:01:50,240 the light of the glorious gospel? 943 01:01:51,320 --> 01:01:55,640 Are their lives transformed? Are they truly born again? 944 01:01:57,480 --> 01:02:01,440 Does the is there a manifestation of new life in 945 01:02:01,440 --> 01:02:09,080 them? If not, warn them, Tell them to 946 01:02:09,080 --> 01:02:14,480 beware. Ask them for certain, you know 947 01:02:14,480 --> 01:02:19,720 Christ is Lord and Savior. Challenge them because eternity 948 01:02:19,720 --> 01:02:24,880 weighs in the balance. Let's pray, Father, we thank 949 01:02:24,880 --> 01:02:27,400 you, Lord, for tonight and the opportunity you give us to be in 950 01:02:27,400 --> 01:02:29,720 your word. And we just pray, Father, that 951 01:02:30,040 --> 01:02:32,240 you'd enlighten all of us to the truth of your word. 952 01:02:33,120 --> 01:02:35,000 A lot of things covered, a lot of verses read. 953 01:02:36,480 --> 01:02:39,480 Bottom line is, Lord, we need to make sure that we know Christ is 954 01:02:39,480 --> 01:02:44,160 Lord and Savior. Lord, we love you and those who 955 01:02:44,160 --> 01:02:46,560 are here are here to learn about you. 956 01:02:48,520 --> 01:02:52,320 They want to follow you, so we ask that Lord you'd work in all 957 01:02:52,320 --> 01:02:55,360 of our hearts. If there's someone here tonight 958 01:02:55,360 --> 01:02:59,320 who does not know you, may tonight be the night of their 959 01:02:59,320 --> 01:03:02,960 salvation. May tonight be the night they 960 01:03:02,960 --> 01:03:07,400 truly embrace Christ as the Lord of their lives and follow you 961 01:03:08,480 --> 01:03:12,760 from this day forward in Jesus name, Amen.