1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,520 Father, we thank You for today and we are grateful that You 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:06,840 have brought us together tonight to spend time in Your Word. 3 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:09,800 We realized that in the middle of the week things get kind of 4 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:14,520 hectic and time consuming. And yet, Lord, those who are 5 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,360 here have made the effort to be here, to hear the Word of the 6 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,600 Lord and to understand what it is You have for us. 7 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:27,280 So our prayer is that You would use Your word in our lives to 8 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:32,560 strengthen us, convict us, comfort us, and motivate us to 9 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:34,040 live for the glory of your Kingdom. 10 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,960 We love you Lord, and we are so grateful for those who are here, 11 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:42,320 maybe for the first time, others for the second time, others for 12 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,400 a long time. We just thank you. 13 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:46,040 Thank you for those who are here. 14 00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:51,640 So bless our time together this evening in Jesus name, Amen. 15 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,800 We are discussing what I believe is probably the most crucial 16 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:03,040 topic for us to discuss at this time. 17 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:06,000 The question is what is a Christian? 18 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:08,760 And we're going to answer that question for you. 19 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,560 Last week was by way of introduction, and this week 20 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,200 we're going to begin to move through the text of Scripture 21 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:21,880 and answer what is a Christian. And I wonder if somebody asked 22 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,360 you that question, how you would answer that question? 23 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:27,920 Would you answer it based on what the Bible says? 24 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,600 Would you answer it based on your own opinion? 25 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:34,800 Would you answer it based on what your pastor has said? 26 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:41,120 How would you answer the question, What is a Christian? 27 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,280 Would you be able to take someone to the text of Scripture 28 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:47,640 and explain to them Christianity? 29 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:53,480 Articulate to them what Christ has clearly stated in the word 30 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,280 of the Lord. I would trust that that would be 31 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,560 the case for you. I promise that when we're all 32 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:05,040 done, 11 weeks from now, you will say, yes, I know what a 33 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:08,479 Christian is. I know that I am a Christian, 34 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:13,760 and I know that heaven is my eternal destiny. 35 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:19,760 That's very, very important. It's unfortunate that in today's 36 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:26,320 day and age, we live in a state where Christianity is very 37 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,160 confusing. It shouldn't be. 38 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,440 It's not confusing because Christ made it confusing. 39 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:38,240 It's not controversial because Christ made it controversial. 40 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,160 It's it's very clearly stated in the Bible about what is a 41 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:48,200 Christian that the problem is not what Jesus said. 42 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,040 The problem is with with teachers and and preachers and 43 00:02:53,320 --> 00:03:00,000 pastors who who misread or misinterpret or mis apply what 44 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:05,960 Jesus said, thus leading to all kinds of confusion in in 45 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:13,200 churches all around the world. That shouldn't be, but it 46 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,960 happens that way. And that's quite unfortunate. 47 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:21,720 You know, there are there are churches that have started out 48 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:26,480 extremely strong, great churches. 49 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:31,320 In fact, if you were to think about all the churches in the 50 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:36,560 Book of Revelation, the seven churches in Asia Minor, all true 51 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:43,520 churches, all started out great, all were on fire for the Lord. 52 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:51,160 But when John writes to those seven churches under the 53 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,840 inspiration of the Spirit of God, the Lord speaks to those 54 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,400 churches because of what has taken place in them. 55 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,720 Even though they started out really, really good, over time 56 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:11,080 they became pretty bad. It was the downgrade of the 57 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,200 gospel. It was a downgrade of 58 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:19,560 Christianity in those churches. It begins, of course, with the 59 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:23,120 Church of Ephesus. That was the cold church. 60 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:28,760 They had lost their first love. And these, these seven churches, 61 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:33,840 five of whom were told to repent, show us the downgrade. 62 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:37,560 When it comes to how churches begin to move away from sound 63 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:43,440 doctrine and move away from the truth, it's Satan's ploy to 64 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:48,560 detract the church from its mission, to move the church away 65 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:54,080 from the truth of the gospel. And it begins by churches losing 66 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,680 their first love, that they become cold churches. 67 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:04,200 Satan's ploy is to steal their passion. 68 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:10,280 Once he steals their passion, he then begins to supplant their 69 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:13,800 devotion. That's the Church of of 70 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:18,760 Pergamum. So once a church grows cold, the 71 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,160 church then begins to compromise. 72 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:28,200 Once Satan is able to steal their passion, he then supplants 73 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:33,760 their devotion. And then you come to the Church 74 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:39,520 of Thyatira. Once a church grows cold, it 75 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,400 begins to compromise. Once it compromises, it becomes 76 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:49,800 corrupt, and Satan's ploy was to subvert their affection. 77 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:59,600 If he can effectively steal your passion, supplant your devotion, 78 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:05,720 he will subvert your affection and your church will become 79 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,520 corrupt. And then the the next church, 80 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:13,640 the church at Sardis, which was told to repent, that was just 81 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:20,680 the dead church there Satan secures their destruction. 82 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:29,320 And once he secures your destruction, then he seals their 83 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:32,120 deception. And that was the Church of 84 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,520 Laodicea. They were the counterfeit 85 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:40,080 church. And that's exactly how how Satan 86 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:45,040 begins to operate in churches that begin really, really good, 87 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:50,840 but he wants to take them away from the truth of the gospel in 88 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:53,160 the mission that they've been called to accomplish. 89 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:58,760 It's a warning to churches all around the world. 90 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:06,120 But let me give you a, a, a modern day illustration. 91 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:12,000 I think it would be good to do that for you because we can read 92 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,480 about the churches in Asia Minor and they're in the Scriptures. 93 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,040 It's all true. But when you think about 94 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,400 churches today, you can think about a lot of good churches all 95 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:26,000 around our community, all around our, our, our state, our 96 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:30,320 country. That started out really, really 97 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:34,760 good. But over time, things began to 98 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,000 change. So let me give you an 99 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:48,160 illustration. 32 years ago, I was called to be the pastor of 100 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:53,040 what was at that time, or what was that once called, the most 101 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,920 prestigious church in all of Southern California. 102 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:00,640 That church was called Church of the Open Door. 103 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:09,800 I was called to be their pastor. And so this church, which began 104 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:16,560 with the likes of RA Torre, a great evangelist, strong Bible 105 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,200 teacher, that's how the church began. 106 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:26,440 Other men along those lines were Louis Talbot, the founder of 107 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:30,800 Talbot Seminary. He was another great man in a 108 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:34,679 long list of men who were great. You would know the church 109 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:38,720 baseball basically, by the testimony of J Vernon McGee. 110 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:41,640 I mean, he still speaks on, on the radio today. 111 00:08:42,039 --> 00:08:45,120 His tapes, dude, not him. He's long home with the Lord. 112 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:50,320 But he was probably the most famous pastor of Church of the 113 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:56,720 Open Door for 21 years. But after J Vernon McGee stepped 114 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:00,560 aside, things began to change at the church. 115 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:09,200 How they changed, how far they had changed, I did not know 116 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:16,840 until I went there. The first sermon I preached was 117 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:21,920 on 1st Corinthians 16 verse #9 where Paul says these words for 118 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:25,760 a wide door for effective service as open to me. 119 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:36,240 And there are many adversaries. That was my installation message 120 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:41,040 that I preached at that church in 1993. 121 00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:45,680 Little did I know I wasn't a prophet, nor was I still the 122 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:49,440 prophet what that verse would actually mean. 123 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:56,480 As I began to preach each and every Sunday, it wasn't long 124 00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:00,560 before I opened the to the Gospel of Mark and began to 125 00:10:00,560 --> 00:10:03,440 preach steadily through Mark's gospel. 126 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:07,960 If you have read anything at all about Mark's gospel, that begins 127 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:10,880 with the ministry of John the Baptist and he is about 128 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:16,280 preaching A baptism based on repentance because the Kingdom 129 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:20,040 of heaven was at hand. And of course Jesus followed 130 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,160 John and he preached the same message. 131 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:26,960 And so as a young 35 year old pastor, I'm, I'm preaching the 132 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,880 same message about repentance and how you need to turn from 133 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,200 your sin and, and follow the Savior. 134 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,720 And I'm preaching it with, with vim, vigor and vitality. 135 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,520 I'm, I'm, I have a lot of passion when I preach. 136 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:41,560 And so I'm preaching about repentance. 137 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:49,200 Little did I know that the church, the leadership of the 138 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:53,840 church, did not believe that repentance was essential for 139 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,040 salvation. I didn't know that. 140 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:03,080 How could that possibly be? So we had this discussion among, 141 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:04,920 among the leadership about repentance. 142 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,800 And I would describe to them what repentance is, what the the 143 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,680 Greek word means, and and how do you define repentance? 144 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:18,200 And they didn't agree. And they soon began to say that 145 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:22,880 I was preaching A workspace salvation because repentance was 146 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:27,200 a work. I said no, repentance is a gift. 147 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:34,120 Second Timothy 225, Acts 11, verse #18 tells us that 148 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:36,360 repentance is granted to us by God. 149 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,960 It's not a human work. It's a God work that causes man 150 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:45,920 to turn from their sin. But they didn't believe that. 151 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:52,720 And I began to realize how far things had changed in the Church 152 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:58,360 of the Open Door. Let me tell you some of the 153 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:05,200 things that they believed. They believed that repentance 154 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:12,240 was a change of mind only about the Christ, that there was no 155 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:16,680 turning from sin required for salvation. 156 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:21,480 And I said to them, how? How do you gel that with First 157 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:24,640 Thessalonians chapter one verse #10 where it says that the the 158 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:29,040 Church of Thessalonica turned to God from idols in order to serve 159 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,160 the true and living God. That's what repentance truly is 160 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:37,600 all about. And I even quoted J Vernon 161 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:43,240 McGee. But they also believed that the 162 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:46,160 whole of salvation, including faith, is the gift of God, which 163 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:51,320 I agreed with. But they also said that that 164 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:57,920 faith might not last. A true Christian can completely 165 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:03,040 cease believing. How can that be? 166 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:09,640 Show me in Scripture where a true Christian ceases to 167 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:15,040 believe. They also believe that saving 168 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:21,000 faith is simply being convinced or giving credence to the truth 169 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,320 of the gospel. It is confidence that Christ can 170 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:26,000 remove guilt and give eternal life. 171 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:34,840 But saving faith is not a personal commitment to Christ. 172 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:40,240 I said, well wait a minute, how can true saving faith When I put 173 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:45,240 my trust in someone I'm not trusting in a set of statements 174 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:49,840 about the Christ, I am trusting in the person and work of the 175 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,360 Christ. That's what saving faith 176 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:58,120 encounters. They believe that some spiritual 177 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:02,640 fruit is inevitable in every Christians experience, but that 178 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:05,200 fruit, however, might not be visible to others. 179 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:11,320 Christians can lapse into a state of permanent spiritual 180 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:16,160 barrenness. Again, how do you gel that with 181 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,960 Matthew chapter 13 and the soft soil that produces fruit, some 182 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,480 30 fold, some 60 fold, some 100 fold. 183 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:29,800 That's obviously seen by everybody, but spiritual 184 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:34,200 barrenness completely over long periods. 185 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:39,880 Show me in Scripture where that is evidence they could not. 186 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,680 They said that only the judicial aspects of salvation, 187 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:49,160 justification, adoption, imputed righteousness and positional 188 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,640 sanctification are guaranteed for the believers in this life. 189 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:59,320 But practical sanctification and growth in grace requires a post 190 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:04,640 conversion act of dedication. In other words, sanctification 191 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,440 is not a guarantee. Practically, if you're a 192 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:15,200 Christian, wait a minute, we're set a pardon to God for his his 193 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:19,960 glory for his purposes. They were saying that if you 194 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,280 want to be sanctified sometime after you are saved, you can 195 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:26,680 then make Jesus Lord of your life and completely dedicate 196 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:31,800 your life to Him now. But believing in Christ is Lord 197 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,440 and accepting His Lord that salvation is not necessary. 198 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:39,760 They would go on to say that submission to Christ, supreme 199 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:43,040 authority as Lord, is not germane to the saving 200 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,680 transaction. Neither dedication nor 201 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:50,760 willingness to be dedicated to Christ are issues in salvation. 202 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,520 Really, they want to say that Christians may fall into a state 203 00:15:55,520 --> 00:16:02,680 of life long carnality, a whole category of carnal Christians 204 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,400 born again people who continuously live like the 205 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:09,840 unsaved exists in the church. Listen. 206 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:15,440 But does it exist in Scripture? If it exists in the church, 207 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:17,520 those people probably were never saved to begin with. 208 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,200 But show me where it exists in the scriptures. 209 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:24,920 You see, it's important to always keep your finger in the 210 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:30,280 text to prove whatever it is you say you believe, because it must 211 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:33,680 be supported 100% by the words of Christ. 212 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,280 They would say that disobedience and prolonged sin are no reason 213 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:43,360 to doubt the reality of 1's faith. 214 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:49,440 Had they not read first John? Had they not read what John says 215 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:53,240 very clearly? That he who practices sin does 216 00:16:53,480 --> 00:17:02,080 not love God nor know God. They believe that a believer may 217 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:10,040 utterly forsake Christ and come to the point of not believing. 218 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:14,520 God has guaranteed that he will not disown those who thus 219 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,960 abandoned the faith. Those who have once believed are 220 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,720 secure forever, even if they turn away, even if they 221 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:25,720 apostasize the faith. Well, the right of Hebrews 222 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:30,120 speaks all against that. The question is, how do you get 223 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:33,320 there? How do you come to those 224 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:37,080 conclusions? You come to those conclusions 225 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:43,040 because you are led by a pastor who has compromised the truth. 226 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,880 For the previous pastor had lived in immorality for at least 227 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:52,800 seven years before he was dismissed. 228 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,640 Other people that he had an affair with was still 229 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:04,560 speculation, but he had lived with one young lady half his age 230 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:11,640 for seven years and as he preached living in sin, the 231 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:15,480 gospel was completely and totally diluted. 232 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:20,320 That you could believe in God and still carry on any way you 233 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:24,000 wish because everything is forgiven by God and the grace of 234 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:30,400 God accomplishes everything. In fact, he was asked before he 235 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:34,800 left, why is it you didn't feel the conviction of the Spirit of 236 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,760 God when you were involved in this immoral relationship? 237 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:41,240 He would just say, well, we believe that everything was 238 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:43,840 covered by the grace of God and that when we asked for 239 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:49,800 forgiveness he would forgive us. That was his response to those 240 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:55,520 who asked him the question. Unbelievable. 241 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:03,440 See, the grace of God does not mean we have permission to do as 242 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:09,600 we please. The grace of God means that we 243 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,240 have the power to do what God pleases. 244 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:18,960 That's the difference. But they were led by a man who 245 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:27,720 was the fulfilment of what Jude says in Jude 4 when he says 246 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,920 ungodly persons have turned the grace of our God into 247 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:42,160 licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. 248 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:49,560 He had turned the grace of God into lawlessness, that you could 249 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:54,440 live without any kind of law and live as you chose and it would 250 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:59,440 be OK. And that came out very subtly, 251 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:08,720 but very, very determinedly in his sermons as he preached. 252 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,800 And so you have people that would come to the church, hear 253 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,280 those things, believe that they could. 254 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:21,960 Add Jesus to their lifestyle and continue to live any way they 255 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:26,640 wanted afterwards without any consequences because of the 256 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:31,320 grace and forgiveness of God. He had turned the grace of God 257 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:38,800 into disgrace. And so when you think about that 258 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:44,480 and you realize how quickly things begin to turn. 259 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:51,400 So here I am, 35 years of age, all passionate about preaching 260 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:55,720 the gospel of repentance and turning to God from idols to 261 00:20:55,720 --> 00:21:00,000 serve the true and living God. And so I am preaching what I 262 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:05,960 believe is the truth. But because the church had heard 263 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:11,480 error for so long that when someone comes and preaches the 264 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:19,680 truth, they think the truth is error and their error is the 265 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:31,360 truth, that's what happened. I carry in my desk at work a 266 00:21:31,360 --> 00:21:37,200 pamphlet of when Church at the Open Door celebrated 90 years of 267 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,480 existence. And in this pamphlet they list 268 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:44,520 all the previous pastors of the church. 269 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:51,200 I happen to be the eighth in line, also the shortest tenured 270 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:57,040 pastor, 14 months. And in it, it says this. 271 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:05,960 This was the greatest crisis in the history of the Church of the 272 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:11,200 Open Door. The greatest crisis was not that 273 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,280 there was a pastor who had turned the grace of God into 274 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:18,640 licentiousness and denied the only master Lord, the Lord Jesus 275 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:20,400 Christ. That wasn't the greatest crisis 276 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,920 in the church. The greatest crisis in the 277 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:27,120 church is that that people heard a false gospel being preached. 278 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,200 No, the greatest crisis in the church was when the man who came 279 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:37,360 to preach the truth was said to be a heretic. 280 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:43,040 And therefore because they swallowed error hook, line and 281 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:50,120 sinker, they believe that the error or the truth was error. 282 00:22:52,560 --> 00:23:00,000 And so that was what they have said is the greatest crisis in 283 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,000 the history of the Church of the Open Door. 284 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:07,680 I give you the illustration because it's a modern day 285 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:09,440 illustration of how a church begins. 286 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:13,800 Great is a great testimony, the great light in the community. 287 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:18,360 But all of a sudden, over time, very gradually, what did Paul 288 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:21,080 say in Acts chapter 20? He said it very clearly. 289 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,440 These words, Paul warned them. I know, he says. 290 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,640 Paul says to the Church of Ephesus, that after my 291 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:31,120 departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing 292 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:35,720 the flock, and from among your own selves men will arise, 293 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:41,160 speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. 294 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:45,960 Paul warned the Church of Ephesus, and that is so true. 295 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:51,720 And so if the leadership of the church is not careful, not 296 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:55,760 protecting the flock, not warning the flock, not watching 297 00:23:55,760 --> 00:24:02,320 the flock, the set of heresies rise from within and lead people 298 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:05,440 astray. That's why it's so important 299 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:09,280 that you understand these sermons on what is a Christian. 300 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:15,400 So you understand the importance of of what it means to be a 301 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:17,520 follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. 302 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,400 Having said that, let me give you a test. 303 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:28,920 Let me give you a simple test and I want you to answer this In 304 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:37,880 your mind, is this describing a Christian? 305 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:44,920 If someone is devoted to seeking God, are they a Christian? 306 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:51,200 If someone is devoted to seeking God daily, are they a Christian? 307 00:24:53,120 --> 00:25:00,040 If someone is to take pleasure in understanding God's ways, are 308 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:08,120 they a Christian? If someone wants to do what is 309 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:15,160 righteous, are they a Christian? If someone remains true to their 310 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:21,800 beliefs and stay loyal to their faith, are they a Christian? 311 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:31,920 If someone says to God that they will seek Him and seek Him for 312 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:35,160 guidance on what is just and what is right, are they a 313 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:40,240 Christian? If someone was to take joy in 314 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:45,960 drawing near to God, are they a Christian? 315 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:55,720 Well, you would think that someone with those 316 00:25:55,720 --> 00:26:00,280 characteristics would demonstrate true Christianity. 317 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:05,960 And you would think that the verse in Scripture that states 318 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:13,040 all that would be describing people who knew the Lord except 319 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:21,440 for one thing. God says they didn't know him. 320 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:32,040 God says they were in sin. God said they were far from him. 321 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:38,560 That verse is found in the book of Isaiah, the 58th chapter. 322 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:45,320 In verse one, it says cried loudly, do not hold back, raise 323 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:48,360 your voice like a trumpet and declare to my people their 324 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:51,840 transgression and to the House of Jacob their sins. 325 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:58,560 Isaiah, you need to declare loudly, not subtly, not 326 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:02,400 secretly, not behind closed doors, but make sure that 327 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,440 everybody hears this. Everybody knows this. 328 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:14,520 That's the way he says and say. Yet they seek me day by day and 329 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:18,080 delight to know my ways as a nation that has done 330 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:21,280 righteousness and has not forsaken the ordinances of their 331 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,680 God. They asked me for just 332 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:27,320 decisions. They delight in the nearness of 333 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:30,520 God. This is what they say. 334 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,160 We delight to know your ways. We delight to know you. 335 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:40,200 We delight to be near you. We want you to act righteously 336 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,800 among us, Lord. We want to seek you not just 337 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:46,080 today, but we want to seek you daily. 338 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:50,680 And God says to Isaiah, you tell them about their transgressions. 339 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:54,120 You tell them about their sins, because this is what they're 340 00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:56,240 going to tell you, Isaiah. And then they're going to say 341 00:27:56,240 --> 00:28:03,960 this, Why have we fasted, Lord? And you do not see, why have we 342 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:08,080 humbled ourselves? And yet you do not notice, 343 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:10,960 Isaiah. They're going to ask you that 344 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:14,800 question. And this is what you tell them, 345 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:20,640 Isaiah, Tell them this. Behold, on the day of your fast, 346 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:28,960 you find your desire. Here's the problem. 347 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:37,120 You do what you please. You do not do what I please. 348 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:43,120 This is your transgression. This is your sin, This is why 349 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:49,000 you are so far from me, he says. Behold, you fast for contention 350 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:54,560 and strife, and strike with a wicked fist, yet do not fast 351 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:58,960 like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 352 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:04,320 You don't come to fast in order to draw near to me and cry out 353 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:06,160 to me. You do it for your own 354 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:08,160 attention, for your own admiration. 355 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:10,640 You do it for your own pleasure. Everything you're doing is 356 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:13,400 self-serving. It's all about seeking me, 357 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,560 drawing near to me because you want to be noticed by everybody 358 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:19,000 else. It's all the outward externals. 359 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:21,040 But everything about Christianity is all about the 360 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:27,080 internal, not the external. But Israel was known for 361 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:30,960 honoring God with their lips, but their heart being far from 362 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:34,000 Him. So he would go on to say, as you 363 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:38,200 read through Isaiah 58 verse 13, if because of the Sabbath you 364 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:43,360 turn your foot, in other words, you keep from breaking my law 365 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:48,200 for doing your own pleasure on my holy day, and call the 366 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:51,760 Sabbath of delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor 367 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:57,200 it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own 368 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:00,360 pleasure and speaking your own words. 369 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:01,760 You see, everything was about them. 370 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:06,160 Everything was about them. Then you will take delight in 371 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,880 the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the 372 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,480 earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your 373 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:13,120 father. For the mouth of the Lord has 374 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:18,000 spoken verse to the 59 verse #1 Behold, the Lord's hand is not 375 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:22,360 short that it cannot save, nor is this here dull that it cannot 376 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:25,440 hear. But your iniquities have made a 377 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:29,520 separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden 378 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,560 His face from you, so that He does not hear. 379 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:36,760 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with 380 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,600 iniquity. Your lips have spoken falsehood, 381 00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:46,560 your tongue mutters. Wickedness describes them, their 382 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:53,200 transgressions, their sins so easily. 383 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:59,160 People become self deceived. And the sad thing about it is, 384 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:02,760 is that there are pastors who confirm them in their self 385 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:08,440 deception without warning them, without challenging them, 386 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:12,200 without causing them to examine their lives to see whether or 387 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:15,080 not they're in the faith, to know for certain whether or not 388 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:17,360 they are truly born again believers. 389 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,160 They're truly followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. 390 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:27,680 See, Christ was never confusing in what he said. 391 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:32,320 He wanted to make sure that nobody was confused about 392 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:36,600 Christianity. So when Christ would speak, he 393 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:40,560 would make it very clear to people to understand who he was 394 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:46,760 and why he came to earth. He preached the gospel message 395 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:52,160 over and over and over again to make sure that people understood 396 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:56,800 exactly what he was saying. In fact, he preached the gospel 397 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:02,040 so significantly that he concluded his ministry with an 398 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:06,200 illustration. Let's just call it a closing 399 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,920 illustration. All good preachers in with a 400 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,040 great illustration. I don't because I'm not a great 401 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:15,000 preacher, but most great preachers end with great closing 402 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:19,440 illustrations and our Lord would would end his ministry with with 403 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:23,440 the greatest of all illustrations about the gospel. 404 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:27,960 He wanted to make sure that everybody understood what it 405 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:33,760 meant to be a Christian. He wanted to leave no doubt in 406 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,720 anybody's mind about all the things he had said throughout 407 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:42,240 his three-year ministry. And so he closes his ministry 408 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,760 with an illustration. That illustration is summed up 409 00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:50,920 in one verse in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all three gospels 410 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:55,040 recorded. But the illustration in one 411 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:59,240 verse. And I'm surprised that so many 412 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:04,960 preachers miss this because it is the epitome of all 413 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:11,440 illustrations of the Gospel and Christ one to leave etched in 414 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:16,680 the minds of every man, every woman, what it means to be a 415 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:19,960 follower of Jesus Christ our Lord. 416 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:27,200 So what happens on the the Via Dolorosa, the way of the cross? 417 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:32,960 Christ has been beaten beyond recognition, and so He is 418 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:41,000 carrying this cross beam from where he was before Pilate to 419 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:45,480 Calvary. The place of the skull in this 420 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:52,720 crossbeam would wear anywhere between 82 to 100 lbs and so you 421 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:56,400 have to imagine that having been beaten as severely as Christ was 422 00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:00,520 beaten, that he was still able to carry the crossbeam. 423 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,040 Isaiah 52 tells us that He was. He was beaten beyond all human 424 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:12,920 recognition, but as he began to carry the cross on the Via 425 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:17,480 Dolorosa, on the way to the place of the skull, he would 426 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:26,159 fall, thus giving the way for the greatest illustration of the 427 00:34:26,159 --> 00:34:33,800 gospel in the Bible. Luke tells us this in Luke 23 428 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:40,320 verse #26 when they led him away, they seized the man Simon 429 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:45,480 of Cyrene coming in from the country and placed on him the 430 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:53,120 cross to carry behind Jesus. There it is. 431 00:34:54,800 --> 00:35:00,080 That's the illustration. Talk about being in the right 432 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:04,520 place at the right time. You might want to consider it 433 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:08,760 maybe consequential. I see it as providential. 434 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:12,440 You might see it as an exact accident. 435 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,480 I see it as a divine appointment. 436 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:19,400 Why? Because Simon's name was 437 00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:24,280 mentioned, Simon the Cyrene. Now, we don't know anything 438 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:28,880 about what he knew about Christ before he got there, but the 439 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:34,600 crowds had gathered and Simon had gathered in the crowds and 440 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:39,640 Simon was watching like everyone else was watching about this 441 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:43,840 individual who was carrying his cross beam to the place of the 442 00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:50,800 skull. Cyrene is a city in North Africa 443 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:53,360 today. It's modern day Libya. 444 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:59,080 And we know from the book of Acts that there were many 445 00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:03,440 Cyreneans on the day of Pentecost, and that there was a 446 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:08,560 synagogue, A Cyrenian synagogue in Jerusalem. 447 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:15,800 But Simon was compelled out of the crowd to carry the cross of 448 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:22,440 Christ, and he would carry that cross beam from where they were 449 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:27,240 to the place of the skull. Whether he remained there or not 450 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:33,120 we do not know, but there would be this living illustration of 451 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:37,200 what it means when Jesus said if any man came after me, let him 452 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:43,240 deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. 453 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:49,520 Simon became the quintessential illustration of what it means to 454 00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:52,600 be a follower of Christ. It's at the end of his ministry. 455 00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:58,080 He's about to die for the sins of man and he wants to leave. 456 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:01,560 Indelibly etched to the minds of everyone in the crowd. 457 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:04,800 This is what I've said to you all along. 458 00:37:05,200 --> 00:37:07,920 If any man came after me, he must deny himself. 459 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,280 He must take his cross and follow me. 460 00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:15,600 A life of self denial, a life of self sacrifice, a life of 461 00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:20,440 submission. And Simon was compelled out of 462 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:25,040 the out of the crowd. Was Simon born again? 463 00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:28,760 He was or he was. He became born again. 464 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:30,720 He'd be a follower of Christ. How do we know that? 465 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:37,080 Romans 16 tells us that his wife ministered to the Apostle Paul 466 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:41,200 in Rome. His son Rufus is also named in 467 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:46,760 Romans 16 verse #13. Simon was instrumental in the, 468 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:54,520 the, the church in Cyrene. And so something happened in the 469 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:58,600 life of of Simon Cyrene. That's why his name is mentioned 470 00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:00,280 here. That's why the illustration is 471 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:03,200 in the Scriptures, because you need to understand the essence 472 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:06,640 of the gospel. This is what it's all about. 473 00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:11,040 And Christ wants to make sure that everybody sees it and 474 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:13,120 understands it. It it says in the very next 475 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:15,480 verse. And following him was a large 476 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:20,520 crowd of the people that they weren't followers of Christ, but 477 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:24,560 they were following along like a lot of people were quote 478 00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:32,120 followers of Christ for a while. But Simon and Cyrene, different 479 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:37,440 kind of man. He was totally committed to 480 00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:40,760 follow his Christ. He would lead his wife to the 481 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,840 Lord. He lead his son Rufus to the 482 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:47,240 Lord, maybe left his other son Alexander as his other son to 483 00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:52,240 the Lord. But he realized that this one, 484 00:38:52,240 --> 00:39:01,480 the Christ, was worth dying for because Christ died for him. 485 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:14,760 Simon's decision to follow the Christ was irresistible. 486 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:21,400 He was compelled when you when you give your life to Christ, 487 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,240 you are compelled to give your life to Christ. 488 00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:28,040 It's what the Bible calls irresistible grace. 489 00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:31,720 There's common grace for all men, but the irresistible grace, 490 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:37,360 it cannot be refused because when God calls you to himself, 491 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:42,440 they get grants you the gift of grace and the gift of faith and 492 00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:45,440 the gift of repentance and the gift of of belief, because 493 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:47,760 they're all gifts granted to us by God. 494 00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:54,280 And when God compels you to come, you can't say no, you 495 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:59,160 come. Why, all the Father gives me 496 00:39:59,240 --> 00:40:04,200 will come to me. You will. 497 00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:09,960 As Simon was compelled, so we, when we give our life to Christ, 498 00:40:10,240 --> 00:40:13,120 give our life to Christ because we're compelled to do so. 499 00:40:13,880 --> 00:40:17,320 We've been drawn by the Spirit of God to come to Christ. 500 00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:26,960 And we give our lives to him. And so we begin to understand as 501 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:35,240 you read through the Gospels that a Christian is known by his 502 00:40:35,240 --> 00:40:42,120 decision, his decision to follow Christ. 503 00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:47,840 And that decision is based on the fact that God in his 504 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:53,000 sovereignty has chosen you and called you into his Kingdom. 505 00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:57,120 And that's why it's an irresistible compulsion. 506 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:07,120 So Jesus would say these this long before, long before the the 507 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:15,120 illustration, there was the instruction Luke 9 verse 23. 508 00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:19,240 And Christ was saying to them all, if if anyone wishes to come 509 00:41:19,240 --> 00:41:21,840 after me, he he must deny himself and take up his cross 510 00:41:21,840 --> 00:41:24,040 and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his 511 00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:27,720 life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for 512 00:41:27,720 --> 00:41:31,440 my sake, he is the one who will save it. 513 00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:37,480 For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses 514 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:42,400 or forfeits himself or his own soul? 515 00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:48,760 Such a tremendous statement. This is the gospel message. 516 00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:54,520 You see, we live in a world designed for self fulfillment, 517 00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:57,840 but we preach a gospel about self denial. 518 00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:04,760 That's why it's rejected. We, we live in a world filled 519 00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:11,200 with self respect, self dignity, self importance, self 520 00:42:11,200 --> 00:42:15,280 fulfillment, self satisfaction. And we come along, we preach a 521 00:42:15,280 --> 00:42:19,600 gospel that says you need to sacrifice yourself, you need to 522 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:23,520 deny yourself, you need to be willing to surrender yourself. 523 00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:29,240 And that goes against everything that society teaches and wants 524 00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:33,400 us to believe. But the gospel is directly 525 00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:38,880 opposed to what society teaches. And that's why Christ will say 526 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:40,960 it over and over again. If you want to keep your life 527 00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:43,200 today, you're going to lose it for eternity. 528 00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:45,040 But if you're willing to lose your life, if you're willing to 529 00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:49,120 give your life away. You see, Christianity is not 530 00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:55,760 about exalting myself. Christianity is about executing 531 00:42:56,000 --> 00:43:01,200 yourself, willing to die for Christ, take up your cross and 532 00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:05,880 and follow him. But we've got that all wrong 533 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:08,920 today because you want to appeal to the masses. 534 00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:12,080 We want to appeal to the crowds and say, listen, if you just 535 00:43:12,080 --> 00:43:14,600 come to Jesus, everything will be better for you. 536 00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:20,000 That's not what Jesus says. In fact, he says direct opposite 537 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:24,560 you read on the Luke Chapter 9. It says in verse 57, as they 538 00:43:24,560 --> 00:43:27,360 were going along the road, someone said to him, I will 539 00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:30,920 follow you wherever you go. Matthew's account tells us it's 540 00:43:30,920 --> 00:43:34,800 a scribe. So here's this scribe who says, 541 00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:37,440 I, I want to learn from you. I want to follow you wherever 542 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:39,400 you go. And you think that Jesus would 543 00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:43,400 say, come on, then you want to follow me, get in line with 544 00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:45,080 everybody else. This is great. 545 00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:50,920 It's not what Jesus says. He says the foxes have holes, 546 00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:55,720 the birds of the air have nests, but instead of man has nowhere 547 00:43:55,720 --> 00:44:00,560 to lay his head. Christ wanted to make sure the 548 00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:04,000 man was serious. You got to realize, if you 549 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:05,440 follow me, there's no comfort here. 550 00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:11,160 There are no accolades here. There are no palaces here. 551 00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:14,120 It's not a life filled with happiness. 552 00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:17,560 You're going to go through life and and not, not not find a 553 00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:21,200 place to lay your head. The birds there, they got a 554 00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:22,800 nest. Foxes have holes. 555 00:44:22,800 --> 00:44:24,600 But you follow me. You got nothing. 556 00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:30,240 You got nothing. See, Christ didn't make it easy 557 00:44:30,640 --> 00:44:32,840 for if you're going to follow him, he made it so incredibly 558 00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:34,680 hard. Why? 559 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:37,280 Because you see, if you're called by God and chosen by God, 560 00:44:37,640 --> 00:44:39,320 you're going to accept whatever he says. 561 00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:42,960 If you're not, those sayings are too rough for you. 562 00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:53,600 You don't follow. So verse 59 and Jesus said to 563 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:57,880 another, follow me. You can imagine the scene. 564 00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:01,040 Here's Jesus walking along and some scribe because I'm going to 565 00:45:01,040 --> 00:45:04,840 say, Hey Jesus, I'll follow you wherever you go. 566 00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:13,080 And then Christ gives him the statement and doesn't follow. 567 00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:18,440 So Jesus says you, hey, you follow me. 568 00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:20,560 See, that's the call of salvation. 569 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:24,880 The call of salvation is to follow Christ. 570 00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:30,280 The call of salvation is not a not an event, it's not a prayer, 571 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:34,520 it's not a card you sign, it's not a moment in time. 572 00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:38,680 The call of salvation is the continuous act of following 573 00:45:38,920 --> 00:45:42,760 Jesus without reservation for the rest of your life. 574 00:45:44,080 --> 00:45:49,000 We forget that. And so he says you follow me. 575 00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:53,480 Have you heard what Jesus just said? 576 00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:59,520 He said to Jesus, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my 577 00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:03,600 father. I need to go bury my father now. 578 00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:05,760 His father wasn't dead yet. How do we know that? 579 00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:11,520 Because in Judaism, the burial took place the same day as the 580 00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:14,400 death. So if his father had died, he'd 581 00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:17,400 be sitting at home decaying while he is out trying to follow 582 00:46:17,400 --> 00:46:18,720 Jesus. That's not the case. 583 00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:23,240 His father's still alive. He hears what Jesus said about 584 00:46:23,240 --> 00:46:26,680 no place to lay your head, no place to sleep, no comforts. 585 00:46:26,800 --> 00:46:29,440 Hey, you know what? If I wait till my dad dies, 586 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:31,400 guess what? I'll get the inheritance. 587 00:46:31,520 --> 00:46:32,920 Take the inheritance and guess what? 588 00:46:33,040 --> 00:46:35,240 I'll have a place to sleep. And this guy will have a place 589 00:46:35,240 --> 00:46:36,760 to sleep. I'll have clothes to wear. 590 00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:38,080 This guy will have clothes to wear. 591 00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:41,680 Everything will be OK. My dad's not dead yet. 592 00:46:42,440 --> 00:46:46,440 I need to bury my father, Jesus says to him. 593 00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:51,320 Allow the dead to bury their own dead. 594 00:46:52,760 --> 00:46:56,320 This is so crude, isn't it? But it's not. 595 00:46:56,320 --> 00:47:00,320 It's Jesus's words. Let the spiritually dead bury 596 00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:04,120 the physical dead. But As for you, go and proclaim 597 00:47:04,120 --> 00:47:07,760 everywhere the Kingdom of God. You want to follow me. 598 00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:12,280 Let the spiritually dead take care of those who will die 599 00:47:12,280 --> 00:47:16,640 physically one day. You be engaged in proclaiming 600 00:47:16,880 --> 00:47:22,160 the Kingdom of God. The first man's deterrent was 601 00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:25,760 materialism. The second man's deterrent was 602 00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:30,960 pacifism. He was going to wait that maybe 603 00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:33,520 Jesus will let him follow him sometime down the road when 604 00:47:33,520 --> 00:47:36,160 everything is financially secure for him. 605 00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:43,560 Then verse 61 another also said I will follow you. 606 00:47:44,840 --> 00:47:47,440 I will you can you can just see the person in the crowd. 607 00:47:47,440 --> 00:47:51,440 Oh, oh, oh, Jesus. Oh, I'll follow you. 608 00:47:52,320 --> 00:47:53,280 I'll. I'll do it. 609 00:47:53,760 --> 00:47:55,640 These are the two losers. They won't, but I will. 610 00:47:56,400 --> 00:48:02,840 I'll follow you. But first permit me to say 611 00:48:02,840 --> 00:48:05,960 goodbye. Permit me to say goodbye to 612 00:48:05,960 --> 00:48:10,440 those at home. Let me, let me go back home and 613 00:48:10,640 --> 00:48:14,440 and say goodbye to mom and dad, brother and sister, aunt and 614 00:48:14,440 --> 00:48:20,160 uncle, nieces and nephews. Come with me first to go back 615 00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:23,480 home and say goodbye. His deterrent was 616 00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:29,280 sentimentalism, but Jesus said to him, no one having or after 617 00:48:29,280 --> 00:48:34,480 putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the 618 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:42,760 Kingdom of God. There are to be no rivals for my 619 00:48:42,760 --> 00:48:45,600 affection. There is to be nothing that 620 00:48:45,600 --> 00:48:50,200 comes between me and you because if something does that becomes 621 00:48:50,200 --> 00:48:54,320 more important to you than me, that then becomes your God and 622 00:48:54,320 --> 00:48:57,080 not me. And no man can serve 2 masters, 623 00:48:57,680 --> 00:49:03,920 therefore you can't follow me. See, those are hard sayings. 624 00:49:05,480 --> 00:49:09,920 They're not easy. That's why when you when you 625 00:49:09,920 --> 00:49:15,920 come a little further in Luke's gospel to the the the 16th 626 00:49:16,040 --> 00:49:25,360 chapter, Luke chapter, chapter 16, it says these words, verse 627 00:49:25,360 --> 00:49:29,040 16, the law and the prophets were proclaimed until John. 628 00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:32,080 Since that time, the gospel of the Kingdom of God has been 629 00:49:32,080 --> 00:49:36,080 preached and everyone is forcing his way into it. 630 00:49:37,000 --> 00:49:41,280 What kind of statement is that? Who's forcing their way into the 631 00:49:41,280 --> 00:49:43,280 Kingdom? What's that mean? 632 00:49:44,880 --> 00:49:46,720 Am I trying to fight to get into the Kingdom? 633 00:49:46,800 --> 00:49:50,480 What is going on here? The whole forcing aspect is that 634 00:49:50,480 --> 00:49:54,160 all of Satan and all of his minions are doing all they can 635 00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:58,160 to keep you out of the Kingdom and you are exercising self 636 00:49:58,160 --> 00:50:00,920 denial, self sacrifice, self surrender. 637 00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:04,040 You are fighting your own pride, your own will, your own 638 00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:07,320 stubbornness, your own sin. All those things are, are the 639 00:50:07,320 --> 00:50:10,560 hindrance to you coming to the Kingdom and that's why man is 640 00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:13,800 forcing his way into the Kingdom, because without the 641 00:50:13,800 --> 00:50:18,840 Spirit of God moving, controlling, calling you to 642 00:50:18,840 --> 00:50:25,840 come, you can't just can't. So important. 643 00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:31,400 Earlier Christ would say these words in Matthew's gospel. 644 00:50:33,160 --> 00:50:35,800 He would say, therefore everyone who confesses me before men, I 645 00:50:35,800 --> 00:50:38,120 will also confess him before my father was in heaven. 646 00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:41,840 But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before 647 00:50:41,840 --> 00:50:45,200 my Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to 648 00:50:45,200 --> 00:50:48,920 bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, 649 00:50:48,920 --> 00:50:51,680 but a sword. For I came instead of man 650 00:50:51,680 --> 00:50:54,360 against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and 651 00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:56,000 a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 652 00:50:56,160 --> 00:50:58,760 And a man's enemies will be the members of his own household. 653 00:50:59,520 --> 00:51:02,600 He who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of 654 00:51:02,600 --> 00:51:04,560 me. And he who loves son or daughter 655 00:51:04,560 --> 00:51:05,720 more than me is not worthy of me. 656 00:51:05,720 --> 00:51:09,760 And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not 657 00:51:10,040 --> 00:51:12,440 worthy of me. He was found. 658 00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:16,400 His life will lose it and he has lost his life for my sake. 659 00:51:17,360 --> 00:51:20,760 We'll find it. See, these are the words of 660 00:51:20,760 --> 00:51:23,960 Christ. But but those aren't the 661 00:51:23,960 --> 00:51:26,640 messages that preachers preach today when it comes to 662 00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:30,480 presenting the gospel to people who need to give their life to 663 00:51:30,480 --> 00:51:34,200 Christ. Because we try to water down the 664 00:51:34,200 --> 00:51:37,880 gospel, dilute the gospel so much down to it's, it's, it's 665 00:51:37,880 --> 00:51:43,320 bare minimum just to get someone to make a decision just to get 666 00:51:43,320 --> 00:51:48,520 someone to say yes, I will follow, yes, I will come, yes, I 667 00:51:48,520 --> 00:51:54,880 will pray instead of as Christ did make it virtually impossible 668 00:51:54,880 --> 00:51:56,920 for man to do it on his own because he can't. 669 00:51:56,920 --> 00:52:02,800 But when God calls a man, he's willing to do whatever Christ 670 00:52:02,800 --> 00:52:10,120 asks because He empowers him to do that, to accomplish His 671 00:52:10,120 --> 00:52:13,800 purposes. Back in Luke's gospel, in the 672 00:52:13,800 --> 00:52:17,040 14th chapter, Christ says these words. 673 00:52:19,400 --> 00:52:21,960 Now large crowds were going along with him. 674 00:52:22,680 --> 00:52:24,440 Stop right there. Large crowds. 675 00:52:24,600 --> 00:52:28,320 That's verse #25 of Luke 14. Large crowds. 676 00:52:28,560 --> 00:52:32,240 How large are large crowds? Well, what do you do when large 677 00:52:32,240 --> 00:52:35,760 crowds follow you? You want larger crowds to follow 678 00:52:35,760 --> 00:52:38,400 you, right? So you do whatever you can to 679 00:52:38,400 --> 00:52:41,400 keep the large crowds coming. Not Jesus. 680 00:52:42,640 --> 00:52:45,000 He didn't want anybody to be deceived. 681 00:52:46,120 --> 00:52:49,360 He didn't want anybody to think that they, they, they just by 682 00:52:49,360 --> 00:52:53,640 getting on the, the, the, the Jesus train that, that everybody 683 00:52:53,640 --> 00:52:59,680 was going to be going to heaven. No, He turned and said to them, 684 00:53:01,120 --> 00:53:04,000 If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and 685 00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:07,160 mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and 686 00:53:07,160 --> 00:53:09,840 even his own life, He cannot be my disciple. 687 00:53:10,160 --> 00:53:13,400 He cannot follow me. He cannot be one of mine. 688 00:53:14,760 --> 00:53:20,080 That's just a hard saying. Christ doesn't want any 689 00:53:20,080 --> 00:53:23,400 superficial followers. This is one of these shallow 690 00:53:23,400 --> 00:53:27,400 followers. He wants totally committed 691 00:53:27,400 --> 00:53:32,080 people following Him. So he says in verse 27, Whoever 692 00:53:32,080 --> 00:53:35,760 does not carry his own cross, come up to me, cannot be my 693 00:53:35,840 --> 00:53:38,800 disciple. Same thing he said in Luke 923. 694 00:53:38,920 --> 00:53:42,000 Same thing he said in Matthew chapter 10 verses 34 to 39. 695 00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:46,320 He says the exact same thing over and over and over again. 696 00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:51,120 This is this. For which one of you, when He 697 00:53:51,120 --> 00:53:54,120 wants to build the tower, does not first sit down and calculate 698 00:53:54,120 --> 00:53:56,440 the cost to see if He has enough to complete it? 699 00:53:57,200 --> 00:53:59,960 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to 700 00:53:59,960 --> 00:54:03,440 finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying this man 701 00:54:03,440 --> 00:54:05,400 began to build and was not able to finish. 702 00:54:05,400 --> 00:54:08,560 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, 703 00:54:08,640 --> 00:54:11,000 will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong 704 00:54:11,000 --> 00:54:14,080 enough with 10,000 men to encounter the one coming against 705 00:54:14,080 --> 00:54:17,920 him with 20,000, or else, while the other is still far away, he 706 00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:20,440 sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 707 00:54:20,640 --> 00:54:24,640 So then none of you can be my disciple who does not give up 708 00:54:24,640 --> 00:54:29,080 all his own possessions. Have you calculated the cost? 709 00:54:30,400 --> 00:54:33,120 Have you understood the ramifications of what it means 710 00:54:33,120 --> 00:54:37,200 to follow me? Have you sat down and began to 711 00:54:37,200 --> 00:54:39,640 add up everything that it consists of? 712 00:54:40,840 --> 00:54:44,680 Christ wanted to be sure that that's exactly what they wanted 713 00:54:44,680 --> 00:54:52,840 to do, because He knew that it would cost them everything. 714 00:54:55,000 --> 00:55:01,040 We just don't want to present Christ like that to anybody. 715 00:55:03,560 --> 00:55:10,360 And yet, when someone's called by God, they are desperate 716 00:55:10,360 --> 00:55:13,720 enough to embrace all that Christ says, no matter how 717 00:55:13,720 --> 00:55:19,200 difficult it may be, because they understand the parable of 718 00:55:19,200 --> 00:55:22,200 the treasure and the Pearl in Matthew chapter 13. 719 00:55:23,760 --> 00:55:27,080 The man who found the treasure, he stumbled upon the treasure. 720 00:55:28,440 --> 00:55:31,240 The man who've obtained the Pearl, he sought. 721 00:55:31,240 --> 00:55:34,840 The Pearl in Christ has given an illustration of those who who 722 00:55:34,840 --> 00:55:40,400 stumble upon the Kingdom, realizing its value, go back. 723 00:55:40,760 --> 00:55:46,280 Sell all that you have to purchase the field or set out on 724 00:55:46,280 --> 00:55:51,040 a journey for a specific Pearl. Willing to give up all that you 725 00:55:51,040 --> 00:55:54,640 have. Sell all that you have to pay 726 00:55:55,080 --> 00:55:59,680 the price for the Pearl. It speaks of the inestimable 727 00:55:59,680 --> 00:56:04,520 value of the Kingdom, that when someone understands the Kingdom 728 00:56:04,520 --> 00:56:10,280 of God, the forgiveness of sins, the relationship you have with 729 00:56:10,280 --> 00:56:13,080 the living God, you are willing to sell everything that you 730 00:56:13,080 --> 00:56:14,480 have. Matthew 1626. 731 00:56:14,680 --> 00:56:20,040 What will a man give in exchange for his soul? 732 00:56:21,600 --> 00:56:26,560 That's the gospel. What will a man give in exchange 733 00:56:26,560 --> 00:56:30,720 for soul? The word exchange is a is a is a 734 00:56:30,760 --> 00:56:38,640 transactional term. What will a man give up to 735 00:56:38,640 --> 00:56:42,040 obtain a soul? Answer everything in his life 736 00:56:43,840 --> 00:56:48,000 because this life means nothing compared to Christ life. 737 00:56:49,640 --> 00:56:52,720 Are you willing to give up all that you have to obtain Christ 738 00:56:52,720 --> 00:56:56,000 life? Or is your life so valuable to 739 00:56:56,000 --> 00:56:58,920 you that you are an unwilling to give up your life for Christ's 740 00:56:58,920 --> 00:57:03,240 life and thus lose your life? That's the bottom line. 741 00:57:07,280 --> 00:57:16,040 And the Christian decides to follow Christ and there's no 742 00:57:16,040 --> 00:57:18,720 turning back. You know the course. 743 00:57:19,000 --> 00:57:23,040 I decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning 744 00:57:23,040 --> 00:57:26,040 back. Though none go with me. 745 00:57:27,160 --> 00:57:32,080 Still I will follow. No turning back, No turning 746 00:57:32,080 --> 00:57:37,640 back. My cross I'll carry till I see 747 00:57:37,640 --> 00:57:42,080 Jesus. No turning back, no turning 748 00:57:42,080 --> 00:57:49,280 back. The world behind me, the Christ 749 00:57:49,280 --> 00:57:55,600 before me, no turning back, no turning back. 750 00:57:57,720 --> 00:58:00,640 And that's the decision that the Christian makes. 751 00:58:01,920 --> 00:58:07,440 But that decision is based on a divine decree by the living God 752 00:58:07,440 --> 00:58:11,880 who calls man to himself, the God. 753 00:58:12,240 --> 00:58:17,880 The man's decision is always subject to the sovereignty of 754 00:58:17,880 --> 00:58:22,360 Almighty God. To as many as received him, to 755 00:58:22,360 --> 00:58:24,520 them gave you power to become the sons of God. 756 00:58:26,040 --> 00:58:31,400 It is true that man receives the Messiah, he accepts the Messiah, 757 00:58:32,760 --> 00:58:36,440 but he's born not of the will of the flesh nor the will of man. 758 00:58:36,720 --> 00:58:42,400 He's born completely by the will of God. 759 00:58:44,800 --> 00:58:50,000 Christ says if you want to follow me, it's the end of you. 760 00:58:50,680 --> 00:58:51,920 That's what it means to deny yourself. 761 00:58:53,880 --> 00:58:59,640 It means you refuse to associate with yourself any longer. 762 00:59:01,080 --> 00:59:04,960 That's what it means to deny yourself. 763 00:59:07,120 --> 00:59:17,480 Man, unfortunately wants glory. He wants his needs met. 764 00:59:19,880 --> 00:59:24,280 God. God does not want to meet your 765 00:59:24,280 --> 00:59:29,960 earthly worldly needs. That's not why He came to die. 766 00:59:32,280 --> 00:59:38,680 He wants you to abandon all your earthly worldly needs and 767 00:59:38,680 --> 00:59:42,640 embrace Him. That's what self denial is. 768 00:59:44,000 --> 00:59:54,320 That's what self sacrifice is. That's what self surrender is in 769 00:59:54,320 --> 00:59:58,440 today's day. We we have rewritten the gospel 770 01:00:00,200 --> 01:00:04,280 or we have reinvented the gospel. 771 01:00:05,640 --> 01:00:15,640 Thus we get a multitude of false converts because we dilute the 772 01:00:15,640 --> 01:00:20,920 truth. Hoping to gain more people to 773 01:00:20,920 --> 01:00:24,480 follow Christ. Jesus never did that. 774 01:00:26,240 --> 01:00:29,160 He knew that all that the Father had given him would come to him, 775 01:00:31,000 --> 01:00:34,520 but he wanted to make sure that nobody was ever self deceived. 776 01:00:36,000 --> 01:00:41,480 No one was ever, ever thinking they were saved, when in reality 777 01:00:41,480 --> 01:00:44,560 they were not. So he kept preaching the hard 778 01:00:44,560 --> 01:00:49,840 truths of the gospel over and over and over and over again, 779 01:00:51,800 --> 01:00:57,960 because he didn't want anybody to be confused, anybody to to be 780 01:00:57,960 --> 01:01:02,760 a counterfeit Christian. He wanted everybody to 781 01:01:02,760 --> 01:01:08,720 understand the genuineness of salvation, the gracious, saving 782 01:01:09,000 --> 01:01:18,000 mercy of a living God. Our Lord is the quintessential 783 01:01:18,000 --> 01:01:22,720 evangelist. He came to seek and to save that 784 01:01:22,720 --> 01:01:28,000 which was lost. That was his mission, and he 785 01:01:28,000 --> 01:01:31,160 wanted to make sure that nobody would have a question about 786 01:01:31,320 --> 01:01:36,680 their commitment to the Christ. And so he spelled it all out 787 01:01:37,040 --> 01:01:41,000 very clearly for those who wanted to follow him. 788 01:01:43,280 --> 01:01:49,720 But for most of what he said in John 6, unless you eat my flesh, 789 01:01:50,560 --> 01:01:55,560 unless you drink my blood, you have no part with me. 790 01:01:56,520 --> 01:01:59,760 And people said, who can hear that? 791 01:02:00,080 --> 01:02:04,800 And many of his, quote, disciples, followers walked 792 01:02:04,800 --> 01:02:07,200 away. They left him. 793 01:02:08,440 --> 01:02:14,000 Why, unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, all symbolic of 794 01:02:14,000 --> 01:02:16,560 the life that he would give and the blood that he would shed 795 01:02:16,920 --> 01:02:18,760 you, you have to take in all of me. 796 01:02:19,520 --> 01:02:21,600 You can't take bits and pieces of me. 797 01:02:21,720 --> 01:02:26,200 You must embrace all of who I am and all of what I said and all 798 01:02:26,200 --> 01:02:29,920 of what I'm going to do. People don't want to do that. 799 01:02:32,120 --> 01:02:37,400 So Christ turns to his men. He says, will you go away also? 800 01:02:39,080 --> 01:02:42,080 And Peter said, where are we going to go? 801 01:02:43,840 --> 01:02:45,240 We've left everything to follow you. 802 01:02:46,480 --> 01:02:52,040 You have the words of eternal life. 803 01:02:54,120 --> 01:02:57,240 You have the words that give life. 804 01:02:59,080 --> 01:03:02,960 And before we met you, we had no life because you don't. 805 01:03:04,360 --> 01:03:06,040 If you're not a Christian, you have no life. 806 01:03:06,280 --> 01:03:10,640 You exist. You walk around, but you have no 807 01:03:10,640 --> 01:03:13,600 life. The only people who have life 808 01:03:13,600 --> 01:03:14,840 are those who have Christ's life. 809 01:03:15,760 --> 01:03:19,360 That's true life. I came that they might have life 810 01:03:19,440 --> 01:03:22,080 and that they might have that life more abundantly. 811 01:03:22,520 --> 01:03:24,640 That's that's the life that Christ wants to give. 812 01:03:24,640 --> 01:03:30,280 And I wonder if you've embraced that life. 813 01:03:32,120 --> 01:03:38,000 I wonder if you understand what it means to follow Christ. 814 01:03:39,720 --> 01:03:43,360 Christ wanted to be very, very clearly stated, authorized 815 01:03:43,360 --> 01:03:46,600 ministry. So he concluded his ministry 816 01:03:46,600 --> 01:03:51,840 with an illustration with Simon Cyrene, who would carry that 817 01:03:51,840 --> 01:04:00,040 cross to the place of the skull. And that man would realize this 818 01:04:00,040 --> 01:04:01,920 is what the Christian life is all about. 819 01:04:03,600 --> 01:04:07,760 And that man became the living. Illustration of Luke 9/23. 820 01:04:09,760 --> 01:04:14,440 My question to you today is, are you a living illustration of 821 01:04:14,440 --> 01:04:18,040 what it means to be a Christian for the world to see? 822 01:04:19,080 --> 01:04:22,400 Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today, 823 01:04:23,600 --> 01:04:26,360 the opportunity you give us to spend time in your word. 824 01:04:27,760 --> 01:04:32,440 Truly, Lord, you are a great God, and we are grateful for 825 01:04:32,440 --> 01:04:39,040 your mercy, for your grace, for your love, for your goodness, 826 01:04:39,720 --> 01:04:44,960 for your kindness. We are grateful, Lord, that you 827 01:04:44,960 --> 01:04:53,160 died for us. Lord, no greater gift in all the 828 01:04:53,160 --> 01:04:58,440 world than the indescribable gift of eternal life. 829 01:05:00,160 --> 01:05:06,520 It is so valuable. It is so incomparable, It is so 830 01:05:06,520 --> 01:05:11,120 immeasurable, that we can't even begin to compare with anything 831 01:05:11,120 --> 01:05:14,360 on earth. And those of us who have 832 01:05:14,360 --> 01:05:23,080 embraced that gift understand the beauty of it, and we have 833 01:05:23,080 --> 01:05:29,280 decided to follow Christ. So Lord, as we journey on each 834 01:05:29,280 --> 01:05:34,920 and every day, may our lives exemplify the beauty of Christ. 835 01:05:36,040 --> 01:05:43,240 But all who come behind us would see that Jesus is our King, our 836 01:05:43,240 --> 01:05:50,840 Lord, our Master, our Savior forever in Jesus name, Amen.