1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,040 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:25,880 How about we get to the Word of God this morning? 8 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:27,720 All right, Acts chapter 8, Are you there this morning? 9 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:29,200 Say Amen if you're there this morning, All right, good, 10 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:30,840 because I'm not there. I'm in Mark chapter 3. 11 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:32,920 All right, so I'll get there here in just a moment. 12 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:35,960 But I'm glad you're there in Acts chapter #8 we've been 13 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,560 talking here at Liberty over the last several weeks about the 14 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:41,920 issue of growth, how important it is for us to spiritually 15 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:44,040 grow. Listen, you can't be stagnant in 16 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,120 your spiritual life. If you're not growing, you're 17 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:48,240 regressing. If you're a neutral, it's like 18 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:50,200 being a neutral on a hill, isn't it? 19 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,680 You're not going forward, you're not standing still, you're going 20 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:54,800 backwards. And so it's important that once 21 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,360 you come to trust Jesus Christ, your Savior, and by the way, we 22 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:00,640 all must trust Jesus Christ as our Savior. 23 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,960 But it's so important that once you trust Christ as your Savior, 24 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:06,480 that you grow. And that we saw that the Holy 25 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,680 Spirit is the one who helps us grow because in and of 26 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,920 ourselves, we can't do it on our own right because of our flesh 27 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:13,760 and the battles that we have with our flesh. 28 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,280 But there's the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us, who helps us 29 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,440 to be the people that we ought to be. 30 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:21,680 And that we're not going to be perfect that, well, we're not 31 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:23,400 going to be perfect until we see that scene. 32 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,480 The brother Vince, just read it in Acts Revelation chapter #4 33 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,120 we're not going to be perfect until that time when we're in 34 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:32,840 glory. But in the meantime, we can keep 35 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:34,920 growing and trying to be more Christ like. 36 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,520 And that's what I want to continue to talk about this 37 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:38,840 morning. But we're going to kind of take 38 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,280 a little bit of A twist of what we've been taking as we've gone 39 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,840 through the book of Acts and we've looked at Peter's growth 40 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:46,440 this morning. I want us to look at the 41 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,200 opposition to growth because there is some opposition to 42 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:51,440 growth. Some of you might have found out 43 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,320 over the last few weeks as you really tried within your heart 44 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,600 to purpose to grow in your Christian life. 45 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,120 You found that, well, Satan doesn't like you growing so 46 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,240 much. Satan doesn't like it when 47 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,080 you're walking with the Lord. He doesn't like it when you are 48 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,240 doing right and you're reading your Bible and you're praying 49 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,320 and you're going to church and you're saying no to sin and 50 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:11,800 you're putting off the old manner of living and you're 51 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:13,640 putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. 52 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:17,520 The Bible says Satan doesn't like that, but when you don't 53 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,800 grow, that's a real issue. Many of you know our son AJ, and 54 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:23,720 I say many of you because I know there's several of you who are 55 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:27,320 new here to liberty, but our son AJ has special needs. 56 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:29,360 That's why we started the special needs conference and had 57 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,920 such an emphasis on that, because it was really something 58 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:35,480 that was never on our radar before a JS diagnosis back in 59 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,360 2014. But I remember specifically 60 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:42,560 several years ago going to the doctor, and AJ has several 61 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:44,880 doctors and specialists. Just that alone keeps us very 62 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,320 busy trying to go to all of his doctors and specialists and 63 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,320 therapists and all the different things that go along with that. 64 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,960 But I remember when they took out his growth chart one day and 65 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,360 they showed us where he plotted on the growth chart. 66 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,520 Now, you know, there's percentiles, and if you're at 67 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:03,360 the 99th percentile, well, that's a healthy person. 68 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:04,480 Amen. We'll just leave it at that, 69 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:06,400 right? But at the other end, if you're 70 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,920 at the first percentile, that's someone that is at the lowest 71 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:12,920 rank. So out of 100 people that that 72 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:16,120 would be the smallest as far as weight or as far as height. 73 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:21,520 Now, we knew AJ was a little boy and we knew that, but it was 74 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:24,960 shocking to me to find out that he was at the first percentile 75 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:26,720 for height. And the first. 76 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,320 Percentile for weight. And I remember looking at the 77 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,040 doctor and saying something like this, hey, no big deal. 78 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,840 I mean, who cares, right? I mean, he'll grow when he 79 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:36,320 grows, right? Maybe he should grow. 80 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,960 Maybe he shouldn't grow. Pastor, Say pastor, how sick are 81 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,320 you this morning? No, that's not what I said. 82 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,160 That's not what I said at all. That's not what Diane said. 83 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,000 You know what we? Realized this is a problem. 84 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:50,480 Because if he's not growing properly. 85 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,480 Then his life is not going to be all that it ought to be. 86 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,800 It was an alarm that went off in our life that that growth had 87 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,520 stopped in its tracks when growth should have been 88 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,520 commencing in a way that was at least average to what other 89 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:05,920 children's growth was. You know, it was assigned to us. 90 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:09,040 There were some oppositions to his growth and we had to figure 91 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:12,600 out what those were and identify those and try to help him the 92 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:15,640 very best that we could. Well, here this morning, if 93 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,800 you're not growing, if we've been talking about this for the 94 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,800 last five weeks, these issues of growth and we've been talking 95 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,480 about it over and over and over again. 96 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,800 And you can't really identify one area in your spiritual life 97 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,360 where you've seen some growth or one area of your life or you 98 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:33,840 have attempted to grow. And maybe there's been some ups 99 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:36,560 and downs like a stock market, if you will, that it kind of 100 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,520 goes up and kind of goes down. But the general trend line is 101 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,600 that you're going up. If you haven't seen that there's 102 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:46,480 some issues of you being in a very low percentile. 103 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:49,440 No, no, not that we're comparing ourselves among ourselves or 104 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:52,080 your spiritual life to my spiritual life, because that's 105 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:53,880 folly. That's a fool's errand. 106 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,320 But we are saying this morning, if you're not growing, there's 107 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,600 reasons why. And you better identify those so 108 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:04,280 that you can, by God's grace, confess those to the Lord and so 109 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:08,120 that you can grow in the way that God wants you to grow. 110 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:09,680 Well, we're going to read Acts chapter 8. 111 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:11,600 So why don't you stand, please, for the reading of the God's 112 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:13,360 Word? If you're able, Acts chapter 8 113 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:21,240 will begin in verse #1. And the word of God says, and 114 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:23,840 Saul was consenting unto his death. 115 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:27,480 Now that his there is Stephen. Stephen became the first martyr 116 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,480 in chapter #7 And at that time there was a great persecution 117 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:33,920 against the church who was at Jerusalem. 118 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,640 And they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of 119 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,480 Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 120 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:41,640 But you can see a real change here, can't you? 121 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:44,080 Where the church was growing in Jerusalem, everything was 122 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,160 growing great. But now because of persecution, 123 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:48,240 they're scattering. And Satan probably no doubt 124 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,920 thinks this is a wonderful thing he doesn't realize. 125 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:53,440 Is the seeds. Of the growth of the Kingdom of 126 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:57,040 God have now just spread. Every time persecution comes to 127 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:01,560 God's church, it doesn't burn out, it only grows more. 128 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:05,960 And we see that here his soul he made for havoc upon the church, 129 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:09,040 entering into every house and hailing men and women, 130 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:12,040 committing them to prison. Therefore they that were 131 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,280 scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word you say that 132 00:06:15,280 --> 00:06:18,800 soul guy, he sounds pretty bad. Well, spoiler alert, his life's 133 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:19,960 going to change here in a little bit. 134 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,680 All right. Verse #5 Then Philip went down 135 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,920 to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. 136 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,000 And the people with 1 accord gave heed unto those things 137 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,320 which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did 138 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:34,920 for unclean. Here it's crying with loud voice 139 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,040 came out of many that were possessed with them, and many 140 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,480 had taken with palsies, and that were lame or healed. 141 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:43,600 And there was great joy in that city. 142 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,200 Boy, when people come to know Jesus Christ, there is great 143 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:47,600 joy. And that's what happened here. 144 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:50,600 And there was a certain man named Simon. 145 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,360 Now this is not Simon Peter. We're going to come to find out 146 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:55,720 in a moment that he is Simon the sorcerer. 147 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:59,320 That's a much different man than Simon Peter, which before time 148 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:02,200 in the same city used sorcery and bewitched the people of 149 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:07,760 Samaria, giving that himself was some great one, to whom they all 150 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:11,440 gave heed from the least of the greatest saying, This man is the 151 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:16,920 great power of God, and to him they had regard, because that of 152 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,440 long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. 153 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:22,840 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning 154 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,600 the Kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, they were 155 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,880 baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed 156 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:32,760 also, and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and 157 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:36,840 wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. 158 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:40,200 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria 159 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:43,640 had received the word of God, they sent unto Peter and John, 160 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,560 who when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might 161 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,880 receive the Holy Ghost, for as yet he was fallen upon none of 162 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:51,840 them. Only they were baptized in the 163 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,080 name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on 164 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:56,920 them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 165 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:00,680 And when Simon, this is Simon the sorcerer, saw that through 166 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:03,760 laying on of the apostles hands, the Holy Ghost was given. 167 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:09,840 He offered the money saying, give me this power also, that on 168 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:14,480 whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. 169 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:16,920 Now we're going to find out what Peter said about that in just a 170 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,440 moment, but I will just give you a little bit of insight. 171 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,640 It wasn't pleasant because here's a man who has claimed 172 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,280 that he's come to know Jesus Christ as Savior, but what he 173 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:32,799 really craves is more power. More power, Not more growth, but 174 00:08:32,799 --> 00:08:35,480 more power. And so we're going to look at 175 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,360 this in just a moment. And while I do have some very 176 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:42,080 definite beliefs about who this Simon the Sorcerer was, I do 177 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,440 believe that we can look at some of the characteristics of his 178 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,160 life and find, if we're not careful, that those same 179 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:49,560 characteristics can even be found in us as believers. 180 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,200 And can impede our growth in Jesus. 181 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:53,800 Will you be seated? And let's go ahead and pray 182 00:08:53,800 --> 00:09:01,280 together. Heavenly Father, do thank you 183 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:03,680 for this morning. I do just ask for you to be able 184 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:06,760 to give me the help that I need. And Lord, certainly that's true 185 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,440 every week, but it is true today most especially. 186 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:11,800 But I know what needs to be preached today. 187 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,800 I feel very strongly about it. And I do pray that you would 188 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,440 help me to preach it in a way that's honoring to you, that's 189 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,120 clear to these people and that gives. 190 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:25,320 But no doubt that salvation is needed for everyone, salvation 191 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:28,600 through Christ, and that once we are saved, we need to find these 192 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,640 oppositions to our growth so that we can eliminate them and 193 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,440 be who you've called us to be. Thank you again for this time. 194 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,040 These people, these visitors, these returning visitors, we 195 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:40,960 thank you for them all and we ask it all in Jesus name, Amen. 196 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,600 Simon the sorcerer was a strange man who had a very strange 197 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:47,280 problem. In fact, he had three 198 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:50,160 characteristics of which made him such a problem. 199 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,600 And as we look at these this morning, first of all, I want to 200 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,400 see this. He was a man who was deceptive. 201 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:00,160 He was a man who was deceptive. This man was a deceiver who had 202 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:04,560 the people of Samaria believing that in essence he was of God. 203 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:07,240 Do you remember, we just saw that here just a few moments 204 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,360 ago, that the people there of Samaria and remember Samaria was 205 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:14,240 not part of Israel that had that weird relationship with Israel 206 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:17,800 that several 100 years ago they had remained in the land when 207 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:19,760 most of the Israelites had been carried away. 208 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:22,760 They'd intermarried in the land. And now there's that, that great 209 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:27,120 racial tension that takes place there in the in Galilee. 210 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,400 And most people wouldn't even walk through Samaria, let alone 211 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:32,400 share the Gospel with someone from Samaria. 212 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,800 That's why it was so impactful in John chapter 4 when Jesus 213 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:39,440 said I must need to go to Samaria because he knew that he 214 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:41,400 must share himself with everyone. 215 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,520 By the way, it's still true today, red and yellow, black and 216 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:46,200 white, they're all precious in his sight. 217 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:49,880 And that Jesus Christ is the answer for everyone, no matter 218 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:52,800 where they've come from, no matter what language they speak, 219 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:57,800 that Jesus Christ isn't just the savior of America or isn't just 220 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:01,800 a savior of a certain color of people, but Jesus Christ is the 221 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:05,520 savior of all for all time. And so the gospel is there being 222 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:08,200 spread in Samaria, and people are getting saved. 223 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,840 By the way, when you preach the gospel, you see twice it said 224 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:13,080 they preach the gospel and they preach Christ. 225 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:14,800 What do we do here at Liberty Baptist Church? 226 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:17,280 We want to preach the gospel, which means this, we preach 227 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:18,720 Christ. That's why we don't get up here 228 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:21,480 and have a fireside chat. That's why we don't get up here 229 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:23,680 and have an interpretive dance. Listen, you don't want to see me 230 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:24,560 dance anyway. Amen. 231 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:26,480 All right. That's why we don't have those 232 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:27,920 kind of things. What do we do? 233 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:29,840 We. Preach the word, because it's 234 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:31,760 the word preach that changes lives. 235 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:35,040 Romans chapter 10, How shall they hear without a preacher? 236 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:36,760 And that's what happens in Samaria. 237 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:39,440 And people are getting saved. Scores of people are getting 238 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:41,520 saved. And it says that this man, Simon 239 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:45,640 the sorcerer there is watching, and he's paying attention very 240 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,080 carefully. And it says in verse #12 But 241 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,680 when they, the people of Samaria, believe Philip 242 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:53,800 preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name 243 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:57,600 of Jesus Christ, they were back baptized men and women. 244 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:01,640 Verse 13 says then Simon himself believed also and when he was 245 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:04,600 baptized, he continued with Phillip and wondered beholding 246 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,000 the miracles and signs which were done. 247 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:11,720 Now sure, have we seen Peter doing some great miracles in the 248 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:13,640 past? There's no doubt that we have. 249 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,240 What we just saw last week that people were trotting the halt in 250 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:19,800 the lame out into the streets just hoping and praying that 251 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:22,600 Peter shadow would pass over them because they believed they 252 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,800 would be healed. And many of them were healed of 253 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:26,920 the maladies they had during that time. 254 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,080 But I will say this, while certainly God has signs and 255 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:33,280 wonders and they're very real things, Satan also is a great 256 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,840 imitator of God and he tries to imitate the things of God, 257 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:38,520 although certainly he is not God. 258 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,880 God, you can go back to Pharaoh's, I almost said 259 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:43,360 Pharaoh's physicians. I don't know that he had 260 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:45,120 physicians. Maybe maybe I need a physician 261 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:45,920 this morning. Amen. 262 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:48,400 Pharaoh's magicians. And what did Moses do? 263 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,040 He threw down the rod of God and it became a serpent. 264 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:53,400 And the magician said we can do that too. 265 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:57,000 And through their own demonic sorcery, we're able to do that. 266 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,160 But at the same time, they found out that the rod of God ate 267 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,000 their rods, didn't they, showing who was really in charge. 268 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,560 And by the way, the more those plagues continued, the more 269 00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:07,880 those magicians showed. Well, they really didn't have 270 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:10,920 the power that did. That was no, no doubt 271 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:14,600 whatsoever, the witch of Endor. We looked at before with Saul, 272 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,080 King Saul, not the Saul that was mentioned here earlier in the 273 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,680 chapter, but King Saul. She was able through some sort 274 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:23,760 of conjuring to be able to either bring up Samuel himself 275 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,200 or perhaps just someone who resembled Samuel. 276 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:28,760 But we do know this, that there was some sort of demonic 277 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,880 activity that was connected to this witch of Endor. 278 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:34,880 Someday there will be an Antichrist during the seven-year 279 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,360 Tribulation, and he will try to even mimic the very resurrection 280 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,120 of Jesus Christ. We see over and over Satan has 281 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:45,880 this idea to copy the very things of God, and here is the 282 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:50,640 sorcerer and what is he doing? He is having a front row seat 283 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:52,760 and he's a part of it, you say. But pastor, hold on a second, 284 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:55,400 hold on a second. It says here that he believed, 285 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,480 so didn't he become a believer? Well, I want to remind you that 286 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:01,680 when we read the Word of God, we always read the Word of God in 287 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:04,360 context, that when we see a verse that we want to make sure 288 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,160 we match up the verses with other verses. 289 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:08,880 I'm going to explain to you more in detail in a few moments why I 290 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:12,440 believe that he was not a true believer in Jesus Christ. 291 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:16,320 He sure believed, but he necessarily was not a believer 292 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,000 in Jesus Christ. Do you know it's possible to 293 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:21,360 believe that Jesus Christ existed? 294 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:24,680 Do you know it's possible to believe that even Jesus Christ 295 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:29,880 was God and is God, but never to call upon him yourself to be 296 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,280 your savior. Listen, salvation isn't just 297 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:34,680 about well, I agree with the historical account. 298 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,120 It's not just why I believe what the word of God says. 299 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:41,240 I just I just I've always believed these things. 300 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:44,480 Our family has been Christians. This is what people says say all 301 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:46,160 the time. But may I also remind you that 302 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:50,000 James chapter 2 verse 19 says they'll believe us that there is 303 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:51,800 one God. Thou doest well. 304 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,720 But listen, the devils also believe and tremble. 305 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:58,440 Do you think Satan understands that the Jesus Christ was real? 306 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:00,280 You want to talk about a front row seat? 307 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,800 Satan had one. But over and over again, it was 308 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:08,000 shown that Jesus Christ was God and the devil is not, no matter 309 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,000 how hard he tries, no matter how hard he tries to ascend to 310 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,880 become the most high. And so us this morning, listen, 311 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:16,400 when it comes this issue of deception, you know it's 312 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,160 possible and we'll even look at delusion here in just a moment. 313 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:22,240 But it's possible to deceive yourself into delusion, thinking 314 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:23,880 you are a believer when you're not. 315 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:26,640 Say, Pastor, are you trying to convince us that we're not saved 316 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:28,840 this morning? I have no intention whatsoever 317 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:31,360 to convince anyone that they are not saved this morning. 318 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,920 If you are saved, listen, I can't talk you out of it because 319 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,880 you're saved. I can't take it away from you. 320 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:39,800 I can't talk you out of it. I can't snatch it away from you. 321 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:42,040 I don't have that kind of power. No way. 322 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,960 No, Sir, I don't have that. What I am saying this morning is 323 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:46,760 that I'll just give my own testimony. 324 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:50,000 That was 16 years old and I knew Jesus Christ, and I thought, I 325 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,840 love Jesus Christ and I believe that he existed. 326 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,680 But I just knew from my own perspective as a Lutheran that 327 00:15:56,680 --> 00:16:00,320 the only way to achieve heaven was to work was to make sure 328 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:02,960 that I had been baptized and make sure that I was confirmed, 329 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:05,400 to make sure that I was taking the Lord's Supper every other 330 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:07,200 week. And I believe that it was Jesus 331 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:09,240 and those things that would get me to heaven. 332 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:11,280 Guess what? I have been deceived. 333 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,360 And deception is a very real impediment to growth. 334 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,320 Why? Because you're deceived about, 335 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:21,480 even in this case, what the gospel is all about, that thou 336 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:25,320 shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, not with someone 337 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:27,760 else's mouth. Thou shalt confess with thy 338 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:30,560 mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God 339 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:32,720 hath raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. 340 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,400 Listen, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, 341 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,120 and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 342 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:42,240 If I could just walk around with gospel tracts and tell people, 343 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,840 listen, read the prayer on the back and as long as you read it, 344 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,160 you go to heaven. It would be so easy to make sure 345 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:49,480 everyone was going to heaven because they're confessing with 346 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,480 the mouth. But it's not just the mouth, 347 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,280 it's believing that in the heart as well. 348 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,200 If it was just about baptizing people, we would go across the 349 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,480 street to Easton Pool and Spa where they got that nice show 350 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:02,400 pool over there and we make everybody go through the water 351 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:06,440 and everybody be saved. But that's not what it is. 352 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,200 It's I am going to call upon Jesus Christ to save me because 353 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,960 I believe only He can save me from my sins, that there's no 354 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:16,960 good within me because of the sinful nature within me. 355 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,040 In fact, quite the opposite. The sinful nature within me is 356 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:21,319 sending me on a road straight ahead. 357 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:26,960 It's only through the blood of Jesus Christ. 358 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:29,600 Don't be deceived by what people are saying. 359 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:33,360 And here is a man who was a deceiver and he deceived himself 360 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:37,520 so much that he also, number 2, was a man who was delusional. 361 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:43,560 A man who was delusional. Now if I deceive you, that means 362 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:46,960 I've tricked you. But if I am deluded, that means 363 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:48,600 this. I've tricked myself. 364 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:53,560 It's one thing to trick other people, It's another thing to 365 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:55,640 pull the wool over your own eyes. 366 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:58,360 What's the definition of delusion? 367 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:02,120 Having false or unrealistic beliefs or opinions. 368 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:06,800 And further listen to this. Maintaining fixed false beliefs 369 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:13,480 even when confronted with facts. Maintaining fixed false beliefs 370 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:18,120 even when confronted with facts. Being delusional is deceiving 371 00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:21,320 yourself even in the face of the truth. 372 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:27,320 Peter comes and he sees Simon the Sorcerer does that. 373 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:31,400 Peter has even greater power than Simon the Sorcerer has. 374 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,520 You say what? Why do you say power? 375 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:37,680 Because Simon the Sorcerer did not understand that the power 376 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:41,360 Peter wielded was not like the power that Simon the Sorcerer 377 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:44,080 had before. You're talking about apples and 378 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,080 oranges here. It wasn't just that Peter was 379 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:48,680 stronger than Simon the Sorcerer was. 380 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:51,120 We're talking about power that came from two different sources. 381 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,760 We're talking about AC and DC. We're talking about things that 382 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:56,120 don't mix. I don't know what that means, 383 00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:58,200 but I think Jay does. All right, So I don't know. 384 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:00,960 So he's an electrician. All right. 385 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:02,760 I know these are things that don't mix. 386 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,400 Say man, is what I'm saying. But what I'm saying is not one 387 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:07,880 is a preference or 1 is better in other situations. 388 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,520 We could say that with power. That's not true with the Lord. 389 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:13,160 It's not one is just preferable to the other. 390 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,400 No, the Lord is the Lord and there are no other Lords. 391 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,520 The Lord your God is 1 God, the Bible says. 392 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:23,160 And so here is Philip and it says in verse #15 who when they 393 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,360 were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy 394 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:27,760 Ghost. Now you say, what's going on 395 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,120 here, pastor? And I believe without going too 396 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:33,880 deep into it, this morning the Bible tells us that Jesus gave 397 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:36,680 what were called the keys of the Kingdom to Peter. 398 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:40,520 And it says in Matthew 1619. And we even read the verse 399 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:42,880 before this last week in Sunday school. 400 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,680 And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of heaven. 401 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,680 And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in 402 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:50,520 heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt loose 403 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:51,840 on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 404 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:55,720 There are three basic groups of people that we find in the Word 405 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,520 of God. We find the Jews, and then the 406 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:01,800 Samaritans, who were partial Jews, and then the Gentiles. 407 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:04,840 And really the the Samaritans were Gentiles. 408 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,360 But we do find that there are these three specific groups that 409 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:10,360 Jesus constantly works with and in fact mentions in the Great 410 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:14,120 Commission in Acts chapter one verse 8, every time the Holy 411 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:15,960 Spirit came down on one of these. 412 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:20,680 Groups. Peter was there, whether it was 413 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,360 in Acts chapter 2 with the Jews on the day of Pentecost, here in 414 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:27,440 Acts chapter 8 with the Samaritans, or in Acts chapter 415 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:31,920 10 when a man named Cornelius. Who was a Gentile wants to just 416 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:33,920 know what does it mean to be saved? 417 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:38,480 And the Lord sends Peter his way and again the Holy Ghost falls. 418 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,680 What do we see? Well, listen, we see now that 419 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:45,240 when you are a believer that the Holy Ghost immediately becomes 420 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,560 part of your life, that he tabernacles within you. 421 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:50,600 Now the moment you get saved, the Holy Spirit lives inside of 422 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:51,600 you. He's the earnest of your 423 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:53,480 inheritance. He's the down payment of heaven. 424 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:55,920 There's no doubt about that. But at this time, as God is 425 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,560 still working in this transitional time, what do we 426 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:00,480 see? The Gentiles, or rather the 427 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,640 Jews, Peter is there. The Holy Spirit, Acts chapter 8, 428 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,360 the Samaritans, Peter is there. Acts chapter 10, the Gentiles, 429 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:09,440 Peter is there. And so here is Peter with this 430 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:11,200 power. But where did that power come 431 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,800 from? It came from Jesus in Acts, or 432 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:18,520 rather in Matthew chapter 16 verse #19 So Simon sees this, 433 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,360 Simon the sorcerer and says this, if I give you a little bit 434 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:26,320 of money, could I have this too? Now what a difference from 435 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:29,160 Peter. Peter had that power not because 436 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:31,600 of money. He had that power because he 437 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:35,320 walked with God. Peter had power not because of 438 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:36,840 something that was within his pocket. 439 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:41,000 He's the one who said. Silver and gold have I none, but 440 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:46,280 such as I have I give thee. And here is Simon, the sorcerer 441 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:47,080 says. I like that. 442 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,640 I want that for myself. I'll pay a little bit of money. 443 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:52,720 What happened? He was so used to deceiving 444 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:54,920 other people, he's now deceived himself. 445 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,880 God's power and protection, by the way, don't come from money, 446 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:06,520 from trinkets, or from icons. Think of first Samuel chapter #4 447 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:08,440 and the Israelites were in a bad way. 448 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:11,640 The Philistines were about to take over, and they said this, 449 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:13,080 let's get out the Ark of the Covenant. 450 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:15,960 Let's put it out front. And if we put out from the 451 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,320 battlefield, we can't lose. The problem with the people of 452 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:21,720 Israel at that time is they were more concerned about the Ark of 453 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:23,720 the Covenant than they were of the God of the Ark of the 454 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,880 Covenant. They were using the ark of the 455 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:28,760 Covenant like a lucky horseshoe or rabbit's foot. 456 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:33,040 And God says, if you have that low regard for me, then what I 457 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:36,560 will do is make sure you lose in battle and you lose the ark of 458 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:40,320 the Covenant. Never in God's Word could 459 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:44,280 someone conjure up God's power through money or through items. 460 00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:48,160 Listen, a. A Christian cross is a wonderful 461 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:49,560 token of your faith. If you wear a. 462 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,320 Cross or you have a cross. I'm certainly not preaching 463 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:55,440 against that this morning, but I will say this, that is not your 464 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:59,080 protection. Your protection is the God. 465 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,520 Of the cross. Not having that there. 466 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:04,800 Well, pastor, I give to the church. 467 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:08,720 I give 10% and listen, certainly it's biblical for us to give, 468 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,920 but may I remind you that it's not your protection money. 469 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:15,040 I'm talking about protection. You know what I mean? 470 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:17,480 Someone going from house to house and you know, say, hey, 471 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:19,280 it's a beautiful house here. Would be a shame if something 472 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,280 happened to it. And I said, well, what? 473 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:24,240 What does that mean? And before you know it, you're 474 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:26,920 giving some protection money. Listen, your tithes and 475 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:29,680 offerings are not protection money to make sure that you've 476 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:33,240 got God on your side. We give to the Lord because he's 477 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,760 given so much to us. We give to the Lord out of 478 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:38,960 abundance of love for what he's done in our lives, not out of 479 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:41,920 duty, but out of joy, because the Bible says that the Lord 480 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:46,000 loves a cheerful giver. But here's a man who said this. 481 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,320 A little bit of money and maybe I can have what he has. 482 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:53,280 See, all Simon wanted was power for control. 483 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:56,560 He had control. He had power. 484 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:01,600 Someone came along with God's power and now God was in control 485 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:04,360 because those people now listen, God's never out of control. 486 00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:07,080 But do you understand what I'm saying in that situation? 487 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:09,760 I want to be make sure you understand in that situation, as 488 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,240 people are giving their lives to the Lord, the whole dynamic is 489 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,120 changing. He's losing his control over 490 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:18,240 those people. And I believe, and we'll see in 491 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:21,800 a moment from his response to Peter's rebuke, we'll see in 492 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:26,040 just a moment that that that he had no desire to truly serve the 493 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:28,760 Lord. He just saw his own prestige 494 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,800 slipping. He said, I'll do whatever I can. 495 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:37,120 Listen, beware those who name the name of the cross but don't 496 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:41,320 follow the way of the cross. Beware those who name the name 497 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:45,520 of Jesus Christ but don't preach the word for He is the living 498 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:47,920 word. Beware, Beware who you find 499 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,480 sermons from online. Beware who you listen to 500 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,720 Christian podcast. Beware what books you read. 501 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:56,840 You say, pastor, are you trying to control? 502 00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:00,000 Us is this mind control? Is this some kind of cult or 503 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,920 something like that? Quite the opposite. 504 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,880 But what I'm saying is this is make sure that you are being 505 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:08,640 influenced by those who believe that Jesus Christ is God and who 506 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:10,160 believe that this this is God's word. 507 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,360 Make sure you're being influenced by the right types of 508 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:14,680 people. Because there are some Simon the 509 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:18,000 Sorcerer's out there who maybe are believers, but what they're 510 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:19,960 trying to do is line their pockets. 511 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:22,640 You say, well, who are those? We'll turn on the TV. 512 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:26,560 You'll find most of them. They'll tell you to sow a little 513 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:29,360 seed or to give a little bit of money and that you'll get rich. 514 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:33,880 And the only thing that happens is that he gets rich or she gets 515 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:37,040 rich, and all those people that have been following along lose 516 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:39,800 out. On hard earned money. 517 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:45,480 What happened delusion. I believe that some of those 518 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:47,960 false teachers and false prophets truly have deluded 519 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:49,640 themselves. Why? 520 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:51,920 Well, because Jesus said in those days there will be some 521 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:55,160 that would say, Lord, Lord, have we not cast out demons in our in 522 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:57,880 your name and in your name have we not done many wonderful works 523 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:01,840 and he'll say depart from me. I never knew you and they seem 524 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:04,720 to be surprised by this what's happened. 525 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:08,080 They deluded themselves thinking they were doing God's work. 526 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:11,840 Do we know someone like that? Well, Saul, the beginning of the 527 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:15,800 chapter, he thought he was doing God's work until he met Jesus 528 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,520 and realized I'm not doing God's work by persecuting the 529 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:21,440 Christians. I need to get on board and be a 530 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:24,240 believer myself. I need to preach the cross of 531 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:26,360 Christ. And his life changed forever. 532 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:30,280 Simon the sorcerer was a deceiver. 533 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:32,680 He was delusional, but he was also this and listen very 534 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:36,720 carefully about this. He was defiant in the face of 535 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,240 correction. He was defiant. 536 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:44,400 So he says Peter, Hey, little bit of money, right, man, let's 537 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,800 make this happen. And he's probably imagining that 538 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:49,680 that's the way most of his transactions normally work, to 539 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:51,960 be able to just grease someone's palm and he could get what he 540 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:53,800 wanted. But he never met someone like 541 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,160 Peter before. Peter didn't entertain the 542 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:58,400 thought. Peter didn't even think about 543 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,200 it. He didn't have to say like like 544 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:03,080 Balaam. Let me go and pray about this 545 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:06,200 for a little bit. No, he knew what the answer was. 546 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:09,920 It says in verse #19 let's pick up where we left off. 547 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:15,040 And actually verse #20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish 548 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:17,680 with thee. He says, listen, you could take 549 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:19,280 your money to the grave and I won't take it. 550 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:23,640 I don't want any part of it. Because thou has thought that 551 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:27,280 with the gift of God that that the gift of God may be purchased 552 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:29,680 with money. Now listen, why do I think he's 553 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:31,400 not saved? Well, here's an example. 554 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,760 Thou hast neither no part nor lots of this matter, for thy 555 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,200 heart is not right in the sight of God. 556 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,160 He's basically saying this, you're not amongst this group 557 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:44,280 here, you are not amongst those and look at it continues on, 558 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:47,640 because he says, repent therefore of this thy wickedness 559 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:51,040 and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be 560 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,400 forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in 561 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:56,520 the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. 562 00:27:56,520 --> 00:28:00,640 Now Peter is not holding back. Peter is not pulling any punches 563 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:02,440 here. He's saying, listen, man, you 564 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:04,720 let your money perish with you. You're not part of us. 565 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:07,080 You're not part of this group. But listen what he says. 566 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:10,160 You can be part of this group. You can be with us. 567 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:12,560 What do you need to do? You need to repent of what 568 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:14,480 you've done. You need to to confess what you 569 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,200 were doing here and truly come to be with the Lord. 570 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:20,560 And this is the chance where Simon the sorcerer should have 571 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,520 had the scales come off of his eyes, much like it happened to 572 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:25,960 Saul here in just a little while, that his eyes should have 573 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,880 been open and say, wow, I wanted Jesus for the power. 574 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:32,000 What I should have wanted was Jesus. 575 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:37,120 I wanted Peter. So I I wanted Jesus so I could 576 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:41,280 get more money in my pocket. I should have just wanted Jesus. 577 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:44,480 That is not Jesus and but just Jesus alone. 578 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:46,760 Again, that's what salvation is about. 579 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:52,120 And this is chance. Peter makes an altar call of 1. 580 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:56,000 He says call, call upon him. He'll forgive you. 581 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:00,600 And then they answered Simon and he said, pray ye to the Lord for 582 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:04,680 me that none of those things which you have spoken come upon 583 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:08,720 me. Now I'll make something very 584 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,760 clear here this morning as you're a pastor and you say, 585 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:12,920 well, I just started coming here. 586 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:14,920 I'm glad to be here. Pastor, you may not be a member 587 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:16,960 here at Liberty Baptist Church, but I will tell you this. 588 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:19,480 I'm glad to be able to to teach and preach to the word of God 589 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:21,440 and to pray for you when you have needs. 590 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:23,280 It's my privilege to be able to do so. 591 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:26,560 But I will say this, if you come to me and say, Pastor, I've 592 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:31,280 committed sin, Pastor, I've done some things wrong, will you, 593 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:36,600 will you forgive me for them? My answer to you would be that 594 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,760 is not within my power to do so. There is no box here in this 595 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:42,920 room where I sit on one side and you sit on the other. 596 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:46,040 In my office there are two chairs. 597 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:48,880 They're fairly comfortable, but nowhere will you see a veil 598 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,560 between them or between my desk and where you sit. 599 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:54,720 Why? Because I do not have the power 600 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:58,200 to forgive sins. I stand not in the place of 601 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,960 Christ, even as my own Lutheran pastor would say for 16 years, 602 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,200 as we would confess our sins, not privately like I just 603 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:07,680 mentioned, but publicly, where they would be in our order of 604 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,040 service, a place where you silently confessed your sins. 605 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:13,640 And the pastor after that silent confession would say, I in the 606 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:17,000 place of the Lord Jesus Christ, do forgive you of your sins. 607 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,760 And listen friend, that's blasphemy that I can't stand 608 00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:22,880 here this morning and say I will forgive you your sins. 609 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:27,200 I will pray for you that God will put His word in your heart 610 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:29,120 to the place where you realize you need to repent. 611 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,080 But the Bible says this, that we can boldly come before the 612 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:35,040 throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to 613 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:38,040 help in time of need. And here's a man, and I believe 614 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:39,760 this is the clincher, why he wasn't saved. 615 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:43,640 He couldn't even go to the Lord. Himself, he said this. 616 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:48,280 I think I need you to help me, Peter, because I can't go talk 617 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:50,600 to him. Listen, if you're saved, you 618 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:53,880 could talk to him today. In fact, if you're saved, I'd 619 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:56,120 encourage you, you need to talk to him today. 620 00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:59,960 He wants to. He wants to, as the creator of 621 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:03,880 the universe, have a relationship with you, Say, 622 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:07,560 well, if he knows so much, then why do I need to talk to him? 623 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:09,760 Because he knows everything that well. 624 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:12,400 Sure, he does. But could you ever just imagine 625 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:16,160 that maybe although he does know everything about you and is 626 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:18,680 intimately acquainted with you better than you know yourself, 627 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:23,720 that he simply wants to talk to you and you to him? 628 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:27,600 He just desires that, you know, there's not many things that my 629 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:30,880 children can come to me about asking me for that I don't 630 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:32,920 already know about. There's not a lot of things they 631 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:34,840 can talk to me about that I don't already know, especially 632 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:37,760 when they're young and their needs are so great, like a, you 633 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:42,480 know, play DoH, you know, Dad, can you, can we get some play 634 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:44,200 DoH? Dad, can we get some ice cream? 635 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:46,520 You know, you know. It's not a surprise when they 636 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,000 asked me for ice cream. They could do it every day, say 637 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:50,680 during the winter it could be a Blizzard. 638 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:53,040 And they would want ice cream. They'd want a Blizzard, probably 639 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:54,320 is what they would want from Dairy Queen. 640 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:55,920 We'd have to drive out somewhere and get it. 641 00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:57,280 No, no. But you know what? 642 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:02,560 I still love to be able to hear them come to me, say, Dad, could 643 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:06,840 I have this, Dad? Could we fellowship together? 644 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:10,480 Can we talk together? Boy, as a dad, I love that. 645 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,400 And you know what? I find out as I get older, too. 646 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:17,360 And as the children start to get a little bit further away, I 647 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:22,680 sure do love hearing from them. I love it when they call even 648 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:24,760 they may have maybe a time zone or two away. 649 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:27,960 I'd love to get a text from him and a call. 650 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:33,480 Well, guess what? Our Heavenly Father, he desires 651 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:36,720 to hear us and beckons us if we're saved to come. 652 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,400 And here's a Simon the sorcerer. Peter says get right with God 653 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:43,280 and he says this. I'd rather not, but maybe you 654 00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:45,880 can help me. What is he doing? 655 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:50,520 He has decided to push away God Almighty. 656 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:54,160 He was not just a deceiver. He was not just delusional. 657 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:58,280 But we also see that in the end he was defiant against the very 658 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:02,680 things of God. He wasn't sorry. 659 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:07,960 This wasn't repentance. Second Corinthians 710 says for 660 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:11,920 godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented 661 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:14,160 of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 662 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:17,280 When I was a kid and I'd get in trouble in school and it 663 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:22,360 happened once in a while. But anyway, OK, it happened more 664 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,360 than I'd like to admit. But I have one teacher in 665 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:28,480 particular. And of course he was from New 666 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:33,560 England and moved to Florida. But I would say, Mr. Carver, I'm 667 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:36,240 sorry. I didn't say, Adam, you're not 668 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:37,600 sorry. You're sorry you got caught. 669 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:43,760 And boy, I hated that, because every time he said it, he was so 670 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:48,440 incredibly right. I wasn't sorry, I didn't want 671 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:51,200 demerit. I wasn't sorry I didn't want 672 00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:53,080 attention. I wasn't sorry, I didn't want to 673 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:54,640 talk to my. Parents in car line. 674 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:57,200 And so I thought if I just said I'm sorry. 675 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,840 Maybe to smooth everything over, But the next hour I'd still be 676 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:03,880 talking to class because I had important things to talk about. 677 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:07,600 Like, OK, I had nothing important to talk about. 678 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:11,400 I was 15 years old, but I thought I did so much more than 679 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:16,280 learning about math and science and those kinds of things. 680 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,639 I wasn't sorry. No godly sorrow means this. 681 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:23,480 I'm truly sorry against the Lord. 682 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:28,360 What did Joseph say when Potiphar's wife came upon him? 683 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:30,679 He said this. How can I do this great sin 684 00:34:30,679 --> 00:34:35,199 against the Lord now? He declined the sin, but he 685 00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:37,120 recognized who his sin was against. 686 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:41,159 He was not defiant. So here's Peter. 687 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:44,520 Peter's powerful, but Simon had deceptive power. 688 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:47,920 Peter knew the word of God, but Simon was delusional. 689 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:52,600 Peter was humble and meek, but Simon was defiant. 690 00:34:54,199 --> 00:34:56,000 So you might ask yourself this question this morning. 691 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:59,760 Well, Pastor, that's great, but what on earth does this have to 692 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:03,160 do with me today? Well, there's a couple different 693 00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:06,720 things. First of all, don't deceive 694 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:09,160 yourself that you are in the faith. 695 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:12,240 If you are not in the faith, the way the Word of God says that 696 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:16,200 you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, that the salvation is 697 00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:19,000 not through the church, by the way, it's not through any 698 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,800 church. No, you do not have to come 699 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,200 through the gates of Liberty Baptist Church to go through the 700 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:27,560 gates of heaven. Thank the Lord for that, by the 701 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:29,880 way, because our we don't have any gates around here actually. 702 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:33,880 And so thank the Lord that that's the case, but it's not 703 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:35,840 through the Catholic Church, it's not through the 704 00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:39,720 Presbyterian Church, it's not through the Unitarian Church, 705 00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:42,000 it's not through any type of faith. 706 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,280 It is only through Jesus Christ and Christ alone. 707 00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:48,560 And the only reason I have confidence in us as Bible 708 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:51,120 believing Baptist is because it's our job to preach what the 709 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:54,920 word of God says how it. Teaches salvation and the power 710 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:57,840 that we have here is not of our own, but it's on us saying this 711 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:01,080 is how you get saved. So if you don't know Jesus 712 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:04,440 Christ today, listen, don't be deceived by others. 713 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:06,680 Don't delude yourself that you're in the faith. 714 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:13,040 Listen, don't, don't put God at arm's length and say no, I won't 715 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:16,320 get saved. Just like Peter, even to this 716 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:18,560 man who was in the gall of bitterness. 717 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:21,400 Even this man who was trying to give a little bit of money to 718 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,600 get power, Peter said this even you can get right with God. 719 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:30,400 And he said I'd rather not, but if you can do it for me, if I 720 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:32,800 could get you saved today, I would. 721 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:38,680 If I could make you saved, if I could get you and put you down 722 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:41,280 on your knees and say. Get saved today. 723 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:45,320 Use is what you need. You could even repeat a prayer 724 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:49,800 and get back up just as lost. I can't do it for you. 725 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:53,200 I wish I could. You know who else wish they 726 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:57,400 could? Saul, who later became Paul, he 727 00:36:57,400 --> 00:36:59,320 says. My burden for my people is so 728 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:03,280 great. He said I would accept penalty 729 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:05,720 of death and hell if they could be saved. 730 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,160 Book of Romans, listen, unbelievable. 731 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:14,960 I can't do it and if Paul can't do it, I sure can't do it. 732 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:19,080 You have to decide for yourself. Listen, don't be defiant against 733 00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:22,640 the things of God. Call upon Jesus Christ to save 734 00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:25,480 you from your sins today. But I might. 735 00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:28,000 Remind you that we talked about stopping growth in our tracks 736 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:29,680 and that's really about believers, isn't it? 737 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:33,360 It's about believers, you know, the posture of Simon the 738 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:37,040 sorcerer is also one that we can take up as believers as well. 739 00:37:37,240 --> 00:37:40,560 And when we do, we will not grow. 740 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:44,480 When you deceive yourself that you're doing OK, when you're 741 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:47,840 not, that deception turns into delusion. 742 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:50,840 In fact, I'm doing very well. In fact, I might be one of the 743 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:53,320 best people in this church. In fact, I might be one of the 744 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:55,720 most spiritual people I know. Can I just help you? 745 00:37:55,720 --> 00:37:57,440 If you're the one of the most spiritual people you know, 746 00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:00,880 either you don't know many people or you've deluded 747 00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:04,240 yourself. Because I look around at others 748 00:38:04,240 --> 00:38:05,800 and I'm going to talk about other pastors. 749 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:08,600 I'm just talking about other people who are believers, 750 00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:13,160 steady, rock solid believers. And I look at them and say that 751 00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:16,840 faith encourages me. That faith speaks to me. 752 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:21,520 No, no, not, not that I'm going to follow them, but the way they 753 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:23,960 follow Christ instructs me how to follow Christ. 754 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:25,840 We, we just looked at that on Wednesday night, didn't we? 755 00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:32,560 Follow me as I follow Christ. Don't delude yourself, Romans 756 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:35,600 12/3 says for I say that. Through the grace given unto me 757 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:38,960 to every man that is among you, not to think himself more highly 758 00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:43,400 than he ought to think, but to deal soberly according as God 759 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:45,160 hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 760 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,000 And what talks about dealing with things soberly? 761 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:49,360 It's not talking about not being drunk, although certainly the 762 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:52,440 Bible is very clear about our consumption of alcohol and 763 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:54,520 avoiding it. But it says even beyond that, 764 00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:56,880 you need to be clear headed about where you are spiritually. 765 00:38:57,520 --> 00:39:00,760 Now you need to be clear headed about where you are and make 766 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:03,000 sure you are not thinking too highly of yourself. 767 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:05,120 Why? Because you can get to the place 768 00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:09,440 of delusion. If we say we have no sin first 769 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:13,680 John 18, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in US. 770 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:16,320 Don't be defiant. Why? 771 00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:19,480 Because the very next verse says, but if we confess our sin, 772 00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:24,160 He is faithful and just. You're not faithful and you're 773 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:28,240 not just. How dare you, Pastor, if it will 774 00:39:28,240 --> 00:39:30,880 help? I'm not faithful and I'm not 775 00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:34,720 just either. Only He is faithful and just, 776 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:40,600 faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all 777 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:43,120 righteousness. If you're a believer who has not 778 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:47,520 grown, don't deceive yourself. He wants you to confess it to 779 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:50,160 Him today. And you don't have to go through 780 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:54,280 a long process for forgiveness. He'll forgive you today. 781 00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:58,160 In fact, he'll forgive you when you come before him with godly 782 00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:00,320 sorrow. That worketh repentance. 783 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:04,880 If you have heart disease, it's hard to grow. 784 00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:08,680 I'm not talking about this kind of heart disease. 785 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:11,040 I'm talking about if you have spiritual heart disease. 786 00:40:11,720 --> 00:40:16,080 My dad was 38 years old. He was about 185 lbs. 787 00:40:16,760 --> 00:40:19,840 He worked for Frito Lay. He was a strong man. 788 00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:23,640 He was playing church softball for that very same church I was 789 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:25,920 talking about on a Sunday afternoon because, well, 790 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:28,000 Lutheran's don't have Sunday night church, so that they do 791 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:31,480 have Sunday afternoon softball and bowling, but there was no 792 00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,800 church. But my dad was playing Sunday 793 00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:37,640 afternoon softball. And like that, in a moment, he 794 00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:39,800 was brought to the ground. Why? 795 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:46,120 Heart disease, a heart attack, by God's grace, where he was, 796 00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:50,040 was just across the street from a Medical Center, from a 797 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:52,200 hospital. If it wasn't for the fact that 798 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:56,160 he was that quick, they used the paddles on him twice to be able 799 00:40:56,160 --> 00:41:00,800 to revive him. My dad, 72 today, he's alive. 800 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:04,040 I'm thankful for it. There's been a lot of advances 801 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:09,360 that have taken place since that time in 1988 when my dad had his 802 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:12,560 heart attack. But I tell you, it came upon him 803 00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:15,760 and he didn't realize it until it was too late. 804 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,240 You know what I worry about with spiritual heart disease? 805 00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:23,280 When you deceive yourself and you're deluded, and then you 806 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:27,600 come defiant that you think you're doing OK, and then in a 807 00:41:27,600 --> 00:41:31,840 moment you find out you're not Why? 808 00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:33,600 Because God's going to strike me down. 809 00:41:34,080 --> 00:41:36,240 Well, I don't know that I would put it necessarily like that, 810 00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:39,920 but I will say this, that Hebrews 12 says that he corrects 811 00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:44,240 his own, and it's not because he hates you, but it's because he 812 00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:47,320 loves you so much. Well, it sure would seem if he 813 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:49,880 loves me, that he would be a little bit more indulgent with 814 00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:51,160 me. Do you think that's a good way 815 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:56,320 to parent? If Peyton had her way, she would 816 00:41:56,320 --> 00:42:03,320 want candy and ice cream and pizza and all of those things 817 00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:07,240 that she wants every single day. And Dad? 818 00:42:07,240 --> 00:42:10,440 Don't you love me? I do love you. 819 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:13,120 That's why I'm taking the pizza box away from you. 820 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:15,960 I do love you. That's why Daddy's not going at 821 00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:18,960 10:00 at night to go get you ice cream on a Friday night. 822 00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:21,400 Now, do we have treats? Of course we do. 823 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:25,200 We have a lot of treats and a lot of fun as a family. 824 00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:28,920 But I do recognize that just indulging her every whim isn't 825 00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:31,520 love. It's actually quite the 826 00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:34,600 opposite. Well, if God loved me, He just 827 00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:36,760 leave me alone. He loves you too much to do 828 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:37,960 that. Believer. 829 00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:41,960 He will bring chastisement and judgment in your life, not 830 00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:45,040 because he's vengeful and wants to make sure you don't have a 831 00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:47,640 good life. He's doing it because he's just. 832 00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:50,160 And he loves you. And he does want you to have a 833 00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:52,920 good life. He wants you to grow. 834 00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:56,520 Don't deceive yourself. Don't delude yourself. 835 00:42:57,240 --> 00:42:59,840 Don't be defiant. Well, Pastor, how do I know 836 00:42:59,840 --> 00:43:02,520 what's right? How do I know what's right? 837 00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:07,440 Can I give you the answer? The answer is right Here. 838 00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:11,120 You have 66 books that tell you what's right. 839 00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:13,800 Right here. Tells you what's right. 840 00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:17,800 Tells you what's wrong. Gives you encouragement to do 841 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:20,120 what's right. Gives you encouragement to stay 842 00:43:20,120 --> 00:43:23,400 away from what's wrong. You want to make sure you're 843 00:43:23,400 --> 00:43:27,200 looking right. Look here, in the perfect law of 844 00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:30,960 liberty, there are times I get ready for church and I'll say 845 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:32,960 this and I'll be done. You know, we have two cats. 846 00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:34,440 I don't know if anyone's heard about it. 2 cats. 847 00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:37,320 Callie and Toby. All right, where's, where's AJ? 848 00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:42,240 All right, but I've never been I I love cats, but we've never had 849 00:43:42,240 --> 00:43:45,120 one that's shed. And that's kind of a problem at 850 00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:49,360 our house now with Toby. This this man eating cat that we 851 00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:53,000 have at our house is huge. He's lovable, but he's huge. 852 00:43:53,560 --> 00:43:56,080 And there are times on Sunday morning I'm getting ready to go. 853 00:43:56,080 --> 00:43:58,880 I've got a lot on my mind. I got a lot going on up here. 854 00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:00,640 Some of you don't wonder sometimes what's going on up 855 00:44:00,640 --> 00:44:03,040 here, but on a Sunday morning, there's a lot going on up here. 856 00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:05,920 Because I want to make sure I'm ready for what God has laid on 857 00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:09,320 my heart. And I'll get to church. 858 00:44:09,640 --> 00:44:11,240 I'll walk around. Nobody said nothing. 859 00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:12,800 Because if you don't watch, we have men's prayer. 860 00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:14,600 And men don't tell men when they don't look right. 861 00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:16,680 You know, that's just kind of the way it is for the most part. 862 00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:18,120 But some of you do because you're critical. 863 00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:22,000 But that's OK. But so, but all joking aside, 864 00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:25,920 it's usually my wife who shows up after men's prayer and says 865 00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:28,080 this. Have you looked at your jacket? 866 00:44:29,320 --> 00:44:33,680 You know, just that question. Obviously not if you're asking. 867 00:44:33,720 --> 00:44:37,480 You know, I guess I haven't looked at my jacket, cat hair 868 00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:39,320 all over it. So now I have to keep a roller 869 00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:41,680 in my office to make sure. What does that mean? 870 00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:46,520 I didn't look into the mirror. And so I missed something that 871 00:44:46,520 --> 00:44:50,640 was obvious to everyone else. You know, unless you look into 872 00:44:50,640 --> 00:44:54,280 James 125 calls this the perfect law of liberty. 873 00:44:55,560 --> 00:44:58,200 Whosoever looketh into the perfect law of liberty and 874 00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:01,840 continue it therein, he shall not be a forgetful hearer, but a 875 00:45:01,840 --> 00:45:04,360 doer of the work. This man shall be blessed in his 876 00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:06,280 deed. You can't have an open heart and 877 00:45:06,280 --> 00:45:09,400 read this word and delude yourself because it's the mirror 878 00:45:09,400 --> 00:45:13,960 that shows you who you are. You cannot have the word of God 879 00:45:13,960 --> 00:45:15,760 in your life and that's why you need to be reading it everyday. 880 00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:17,920 Believer, you can be reading it every day. 881 00:45:17,960 --> 00:45:20,200 You start with a few verses. If you haven't done it before, 882 00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:23,080 start with a chapter. Whatever it is, read the word of 883 00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:25,480 God because it'll help you not to deceive yourself. 884 00:45:25,640 --> 00:45:27,080 It'll help you not to delude yourself. 885 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:30,680 And you, if you don't have a defiant heart, guess what, You 886 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:34,800 will grow. Thank you for listening to the 887 00:45:34,800 --> 00:45:37,440 sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church. 888 00:45:37,920 --> 00:45:41,040 If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we 889 00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:44,160 can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at 890 00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:49,040 info@mylibertybaptist.org. Or you can visit us this Sunday 891 00:45:49,240 --> 00:45:52,960 at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA. 892 00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:56,040 May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.