Title: I Threw Myself on Jesus' Mercy, But Nothing Happened Meta: Many people say they are seeking Christ, but they're not fully intent on seeking Him until they find Him. They're not really seeking Him; it's just a trivial matter to them. Tags: seeking,Christ,repentance,salvation 1 00:00:05,185 --> 00:00:06,932 "Hello. 2 00:00:06,932 --> 00:00:10,843 I'm Ollie and I'm 13. 3 00:00:10,843 --> 00:00:12,511 I saw Pastor Tim Conway's 4 00:00:12,511 --> 00:00:15,273 ten tests of assurance that you're saved 5 00:00:15,273 --> 00:00:17,529 and I examined myself. 6 00:00:17,529 --> 00:00:20,219 I don't think I qualified. 7 00:00:20,219 --> 00:00:23,390 I threw myself on Jesus' mercy, 8 00:00:23,390 --> 00:00:25,339 but nothing happened. 9 00:00:25,339 --> 00:00:28,045 How do I know I'm saved? 10 00:00:28,045 --> 00:00:30,993 How do I know if I have the Holy Spirit? 11 00:00:30,993 --> 00:00:32,898 Am I Jesus' sheep? 12 00:00:32,898 --> 00:00:42,325 Am I God's child?" 13 00:00:42,325 --> 00:00:46,262 How do we know? 14 00:00:46,262 --> 00:00:49,418 I mean, what popped into my mind - 15 00:00:49,418 --> 00:00:51,319 we're just going to finish up with this, 16 00:00:51,319 --> 00:01:00,697 but 1 Thessalonians 1, 17 00:01:00,697 --> 00:01:07,189 I think is a classic text of how we know. 18 00:01:07,189 --> 00:01:08,443 There's lots of places. 19 00:01:08,443 --> 00:01:11,083 You could go to 1 John. 20 00:01:11,083 --> 00:01:16,597 But, 1 Thessalonians... 21 00:01:16,597 --> 00:01:19,202 notice verse 4. 22 00:01:19,202 --> 00:01:23,192 "For we know, brothers loved by God, 23 00:01:23,192 --> 00:01:26,242 that He has chosen you." 24 00:01:26,242 --> 00:01:30,431 Paul as a man is saying this 25 00:01:30,431 --> 00:01:34,722 to other men and women 26 00:01:34,722 --> 00:01:37,228 that are at Thessalonica. 27 00:01:37,228 --> 00:01:40,949 And he's saying we know you're the elect of God. 28 00:01:40,949 --> 00:01:44,731 Really? How? 29 00:01:44,731 --> 00:01:46,459 Notice this: 30 00:01:46,459 --> 00:01:49,382 "Because our Gospel came to you 31 00:01:49,382 --> 00:01:53,653 not only in word, but also in power." 32 00:01:53,653 --> 00:01:57,455 In other words, something happened. 33 00:01:57,455 --> 00:02:01,741 For the Gospel to come in word only, 34 00:02:01,741 --> 00:02:03,357 but without power 35 00:02:03,357 --> 00:02:08,128 is what she's experiencing. 36 00:02:08,128 --> 00:02:12,727 She said, "I threw myself on Jesus' mercy, 37 00:02:12,727 --> 00:02:15,609 but nothing happened. 38 00:02:15,609 --> 00:02:17,779 How do I know I'm saved?" 39 00:02:17,779 --> 00:02:19,410 Nothing happened. 40 00:02:19,410 --> 00:02:21,626 You see what Paul is saying here is 41 00:02:21,626 --> 00:02:23,164 we know you're one of the chosen 42 00:02:23,164 --> 00:02:27,505 because something did happen. 43 00:02:27,505 --> 00:02:30,138 Let's keep going. 44 00:02:30,138 --> 00:02:33,963 "Our Gospel came to you 45 00:02:33,963 --> 00:02:36,721 not only in word, but also in power 46 00:02:36,721 --> 00:02:38,134 and in the Holy Spirit 47 00:02:38,134 --> 00:02:39,596 and with full conviction." 48 00:02:39,596 --> 00:02:42,906 So there's conviction. 49 00:02:42,906 --> 00:02:46,080 Conviction. 50 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,201 God dealing with people over their sins - 51 00:02:49,201 --> 00:02:52,130 is it conviction over sin? 52 00:02:52,130 --> 00:02:55,108 He doesn't say specifically. 53 00:02:55,108 --> 00:02:56,460 But conviction over the fact 54 00:02:56,460 --> 00:02:57,706 that Christ is the Savior; 55 00:02:57,706 --> 00:02:59,622 conviction over the fact you have 56 00:02:59,622 --> 00:03:02,982 no hope anywhere but in Him. 57 00:03:02,982 --> 00:03:04,659 But there's conviction. 58 00:03:04,659 --> 00:03:06,470 In other words, 59 00:03:06,470 --> 00:03:10,180 you become fixed on certain truths 60 00:03:10,180 --> 00:03:12,993 that you were not fixed on before. 61 00:03:12,993 --> 00:03:15,315 And it happens powerfully. 62 00:03:15,315 --> 00:03:18,793 You believe truths with conviction 63 00:03:18,793 --> 00:03:21,102 that you did not believe before. 64 00:03:21,102 --> 00:03:23,113 And they concern Christ, and sin, 65 00:03:23,113 --> 00:03:27,715 and salvation, and the cross. 66 00:03:27,715 --> 00:03:29,359 "You know what kind of men 67 00:03:29,359 --> 00:03:31,935 we proved to be among you for your sake, 68 00:03:31,935 --> 00:03:34,875 and (again, more here, 69 00:03:34,875 --> 00:03:37,457 as to how he knows they're the chosen - 70 00:03:37,457 --> 00:03:39,586 that they've truly been saved...) 71 00:03:39,586 --> 00:03:42,011 You became imitators of us 72 00:03:42,011 --> 00:03:43,722 and of the Lord." 73 00:03:43,722 --> 00:03:45,842 So people's lives begin to conform 74 00:03:45,842 --> 00:03:48,999 to the Lord. 75 00:03:48,999 --> 00:03:50,566 "For you received the Word 76 00:03:50,566 --> 00:03:51,723 in much affliction, 77 00:03:51,723 --> 00:03:53,634 (You were willing to endure persecution 78 00:03:53,634 --> 00:03:55,434 for the sake of the truth,) 79 00:03:55,434 --> 00:03:57,184 with the joy of the Holy Spirit." 80 00:03:57,184 --> 00:03:59,790 So now there's a joy. 81 00:03:59,790 --> 00:04:01,477 There's a joy that accompanies - 82 00:04:01,477 --> 00:04:03,878 a joy of salvation. 83 00:04:03,878 --> 00:04:05,920 "So that you became an example 84 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:07,653 to all the believers in Macedonia 85 00:04:07,653 --> 00:04:08,628 and in Achaia. 86 00:04:08,628 --> 00:04:10,617 For not only has the Word of the Lord 87 00:04:10,617 --> 00:04:14,148 sounded forth from you in Macedonia..." 88 00:04:14,148 --> 00:04:15,089 In other words, 89 00:04:15,089 --> 00:04:20,737 they're acknowledging the Lord. 90 00:04:20,737 --> 00:04:23,227 "But your faith in God has gone forth everywhere 91 00:04:23,227 --> 00:04:25,528 so that we need not say anything. 92 00:04:25,528 --> 00:04:27,763 For they themselves report concerning us 93 00:04:27,763 --> 00:04:29,297 the kind of reception we had." 94 00:04:29,297 --> 00:04:30,932 Now here he's saying it again. 95 00:04:30,932 --> 00:04:33,817 In other words... 96 00:04:33,817 --> 00:04:36,296 Here's the report: 97 00:04:36,296 --> 00:04:38,313 "...concerning us the kind of reception 98 00:04:38,313 --> 00:04:39,963 we had among you." 99 00:04:39,963 --> 00:04:41,461 Well, what kind of reception? 100 00:04:41,461 --> 00:04:43,799 Well, he's obviously saying it was a good one. 101 00:04:43,799 --> 00:04:45,829 So good that we know that you're chosen. 102 00:04:45,829 --> 00:04:48,989 He says, "you turned to God from idols 103 00:04:48,989 --> 00:04:52,155 to serve the living and true God, 104 00:04:52,155 --> 00:04:53,782 and wait for His Son from Heaven 105 00:04:53,782 --> 00:04:55,196 Whom He raised from the dead, 106 00:04:55,196 --> 00:04:58,633 Jesus Who delivers us from the wrath to come." 107 00:04:58,633 --> 00:05:03,193 So you can see how he knows in this. 108 00:05:03,193 --> 00:05:05,709 Basically, they turned from their idols. 109 00:05:05,709 --> 00:05:07,406 There's conviction. 110 00:05:07,406 --> 00:05:08,977 It doesn't just say, like I said, 111 00:05:08,977 --> 00:05:10,309 not just conviction of sin. 112 00:05:10,309 --> 00:05:12,923 (Incomplete thought) 113 00:05:12,923 --> 00:05:14,683 Listen, that's one of the things 114 00:05:14,683 --> 00:05:16,917 that definitely marks people who get saved. 115 00:05:16,917 --> 00:05:20,216 They suddenly become very strongly convinced 116 00:05:20,216 --> 00:05:22,096 about certain truths. 117 00:05:22,096 --> 00:05:23,853 Truths that have to do with Christ. 118 00:05:23,853 --> 00:05:25,770 Truths that have to do with the cross. 119 00:05:25,770 --> 00:05:26,904 Truths that have to do 120 00:05:26,904 --> 00:05:29,170 with the things Christ said, 121 00:05:29,170 --> 00:05:31,439 with truths, with promises 122 00:05:31,439 --> 00:05:33,108 that come out of Scripture. 123 00:05:33,108 --> 00:05:34,361 I mean with conviction. 124 00:05:34,361 --> 00:05:35,382 With strength, 125 00:05:35,382 --> 00:05:37,264 with will. 126 00:05:37,264 --> 00:05:39,540 There's a holding forth of truth. 127 00:05:39,540 --> 00:05:43,445 There's conviction. 128 00:05:43,445 --> 00:05:46,541 There's a letting go of idols 129 00:05:46,541 --> 00:05:48,828 to serve the living God. 130 00:05:48,828 --> 00:05:50,686 There's this exchange: 131 00:05:50,686 --> 00:05:52,504 God for the idol. 132 00:05:52,504 --> 00:05:56,022 Or the idol for God, rather. 133 00:05:56,022 --> 00:05:58,023 But there's this exchange. 134 00:05:58,023 --> 00:06:00,630 The Word sounds forth. 135 00:06:00,630 --> 00:06:02,960 This is what he's saying. 136 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,258 I know that there's reality 137 00:06:05,258 --> 00:06:08,508 because these things were evident. 138 00:06:08,508 --> 00:06:09,827 I know you're chosen of God 139 00:06:09,827 --> 00:06:12,174 because this is true. 140 00:06:12,174 --> 00:06:17,595 Your faith's sounding forth. 141 00:06:17,595 --> 00:06:22,338 I mean, he's confident for a reason. 142 00:06:22,338 --> 00:06:25,219 And I would say to somebody like Ollie 143 00:06:25,219 --> 00:06:32,869 that you know, she's saying, 144 00:06:32,869 --> 00:06:35,413 nothing happened. 145 00:06:35,413 --> 00:06:37,567 And so she can go and she can look 146 00:06:37,567 --> 00:06:39,507 and read what I just read there 147 00:06:39,507 --> 00:06:40,771 from 1 Thessalonians 148 00:06:40,771 --> 00:06:41,559 and she can say, 149 00:06:41,559 --> 00:06:43,196 well, that's nice and everything, 150 00:06:43,196 --> 00:06:44,801 but all that does is convince me 151 00:06:44,801 --> 00:06:47,531 all the more that when I threw myself 152 00:06:47,531 --> 00:06:51,979 on Jesus' mercy, nothing happened. 153 00:06:51,979 --> 00:06:54,315 And so if I threw myself on Jesus' mercy 154 00:06:54,315 --> 00:06:57,081 and nothing happened, 155 00:06:57,081 --> 00:07:00,531 what am I supposed to do now? 156 00:07:00,531 --> 00:07:02,833 It's like a guy said to me, 157 00:07:02,833 --> 00:07:05,953 if you tell me throw yourself on His mercy 158 00:07:05,953 --> 00:07:07,832 and I already did that - 159 00:07:07,832 --> 00:07:14,256 I mean, I've tried that and it doesn't work. 160 00:07:14,256 --> 00:07:17,163 But we know this... 161 00:07:17,163 --> 00:07:18,890 we always know this: 162 00:07:18,890 --> 00:07:20,641 Scripture says that if you seek Him 163 00:07:20,641 --> 00:07:22,674 you'll find Him. 164 00:07:22,674 --> 00:07:27,909 And so, if I've asked and I don't receive, 165 00:07:27,909 --> 00:07:31,071 then the problem is 166 00:07:31,071 --> 00:07:35,853 something's wrong on my part. 167 00:07:35,853 --> 00:07:37,394 Any of you remember hearing 168 00:07:37,394 --> 00:07:38,770 the Paul Washer message? 169 00:07:38,770 --> 00:07:40,562 I don't know which one it is. 170 00:07:40,562 --> 00:07:42,830 But, I remember where I was driving 171 00:07:42,830 --> 00:07:44,366 when I heard it. 172 00:07:44,366 --> 00:07:47,355 I was right over here by Coca-Cola. 173 00:07:47,355 --> 00:07:50,472 But he's telling about this woman 174 00:07:50,472 --> 00:07:52,221 that he was dealing with 175 00:07:52,221 --> 00:07:54,871 who said that she had been calling 176 00:07:54,871 --> 00:07:57,010 upon the Lord and nothing was happening. 177 00:07:57,010 --> 00:07:58,747 And she came to Paul. 178 00:07:58,747 --> 00:08:01,840 Anybody remember the answer he gave her? 179 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:02,927 (from the room) 180 00:08:02,927 --> 00:08:04,768 Doesn't he say something like, 181 00:08:04,768 --> 00:08:07,725 well, I guess you're going to go to hell then? 182 00:08:07,725 --> 00:08:11,756 Tim: Yeah, he said, you can quit calling on Him... 183 00:08:11,756 --> 00:08:13,968 and go to hell. 184 00:08:13,968 --> 00:08:17,697 Or you can keep calling until you find Him. 185 00:08:17,697 --> 00:08:18,999 And she did the second. 186 00:08:18,999 --> 00:08:22,239 And she found Him. 187 00:08:22,239 --> 00:08:27,941 I guess, what I think of, 188 00:08:27,941 --> 00:08:32,710 I think of two of the most staunch 189 00:08:32,710 --> 00:08:35,750 pursuers of the Lord. 190 00:08:35,750 --> 00:08:40,236 Just recently, I brought up blind Bartimaeus. 191 00:08:40,236 --> 00:08:42,119 But the Syrophoenician woman 192 00:08:42,119 --> 00:08:43,302 and blind Bartimaeus. 193 00:08:43,302 --> 00:08:44,647 I think of both of them 194 00:08:44,647 --> 00:08:46,336 because blind Bartimaeus, 195 00:08:46,336 --> 00:08:47,922 they told him to be quiet. 196 00:08:47,922 --> 00:08:49,393 He cried out: 197 00:08:49,393 --> 00:08:50,621 "Son of David!" 198 00:08:50,621 --> 00:08:52,458 And they said, "Be quiet!" 199 00:08:52,458 --> 00:08:54,453 And he cried all the louder. 200 00:08:54,453 --> 00:08:55,991 Or the Syrophoenician woman - 201 00:08:55,991 --> 00:08:57,495 you remember that account. 202 00:08:57,495 --> 00:08:58,515 The disciples said, 203 00:08:58,515 --> 00:09:00,228 "Lord, tell her to be quiet." 204 00:09:00,228 --> 00:09:01,480 And she just kept going. 205 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:02,500 And He said, 206 00:09:02,500 --> 00:09:05,144 "It's not appropriate to give 207 00:09:05,144 --> 00:09:07,243 the children's food to the dogs." 208 00:09:07,243 --> 00:09:11,262 And she kept going. 209 00:09:11,262 --> 00:09:16,214 You think about prayer. 210 00:09:16,214 --> 00:09:17,964 It doesn't just say ask. 211 00:09:17,964 --> 00:09:19,167 It says seek. 212 00:09:19,167 --> 00:09:20,881 It doesn't just say seek, 213 00:09:20,881 --> 00:09:22,101 it says knock. 214 00:09:22,101 --> 00:09:24,368 And you know what that's in the context of? 215 00:09:24,368 --> 00:09:26,666 It's in the context of the man 216 00:09:26,666 --> 00:09:31,667 who went to his friend's house at midnight 217 00:09:31,667 --> 00:09:33,537 looking for bread. 218 00:09:33,537 --> 00:09:36,303 Importunity. 219 00:09:36,303 --> 00:09:38,915 And I think that's what you have to say to somebody. 220 00:09:38,915 --> 00:09:42,877 If somebody says I tried that and it didn't work, 221 00:09:42,877 --> 00:09:45,652 I mean, look... 222 00:09:45,652 --> 00:09:51,034 I think sometimes God tests people. 223 00:09:51,034 --> 00:09:53,368 There's lots of people who 224 00:09:53,368 --> 00:09:55,593 they called out and cried out 225 00:09:55,593 --> 00:09:58,034 and God didn't answer immediately. 226 00:09:58,034 --> 00:10:01,531 He didn't answer the very first time. 227 00:10:01,531 --> 00:10:06,753 Obviously, if the Syrophoenician woman 228 00:10:06,753 --> 00:10:08,980 would have said something the first time 229 00:10:08,980 --> 00:10:10,777 and the disciples would have said, 230 00:10:10,777 --> 00:10:12,895 tell her to be quiet, 231 00:10:12,895 --> 00:10:14,543 and she'd have just hit the road, 232 00:10:14,543 --> 00:10:16,897 she would not have gotten what she came for. 233 00:10:16,897 --> 00:10:19,865 And if she would have kept going, 234 00:10:19,865 --> 00:10:22,191 and the Lord said, look, it's not appropriate 235 00:10:22,191 --> 00:10:24,348 to give you what you're asking for. 236 00:10:24,348 --> 00:10:25,832 She would have hit the road. 237 00:10:25,832 --> 00:10:26,776 She didn't. 238 00:10:26,776 --> 00:10:29,272 You know what her faith told her? 239 00:10:29,272 --> 00:10:31,114 This is the only One that can help me 240 00:10:31,114 --> 00:10:34,137 and I'm not leaving till I get helped. 241 00:10:34,137 --> 00:10:37,674 But that right there is faith. 242 00:10:37,674 --> 00:10:42,244 It's believing Christ is the only hope that I have. 243 00:10:42,244 --> 00:10:43,564 Christ is the only Savior. 244 00:10:43,564 --> 00:10:44,836 Christ is my only help. 245 00:10:44,836 --> 00:10:47,345 I'm going to be like blind Bartimaeus. 246 00:10:47,345 --> 00:10:48,785 You can tell me to shut up. 247 00:10:48,785 --> 00:10:50,410 The devil can come and tell me 248 00:10:50,410 --> 00:10:51,208 to shut up. 249 00:10:51,208 --> 00:10:52,639 He doesn't want anything to do with me. 250 00:10:52,639 --> 00:10:53,992 He's trying to quiet me down. 251 00:10:53,992 --> 00:10:56,030 He doesn't want me to cry out to the Lord. 252 00:10:56,030 --> 00:10:57,186 He can tell me all this. 253 00:10:57,186 --> 00:10:59,067 He can tell me He's a cruel taskmaster. 254 00:10:59,067 --> 00:11:00,938 He can tell me I've sinned too greatly, 255 00:11:00,938 --> 00:11:02,473 and He's not going to hear me. 256 00:11:02,473 --> 00:11:03,800 He can tell me I'm one of the dogs. 257 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:05,099 He can tell me I'm not fit, 258 00:11:05,099 --> 00:11:06,444 I'm not this, I'm not that, 259 00:11:06,444 --> 00:11:07,682 I'm not this other thing, 260 00:11:07,682 --> 00:11:09,238 He doesn't want anything to do with me, 261 00:11:09,238 --> 00:11:10,541 but I'll tell you in Scripture, 262 00:11:10,541 --> 00:11:11,440 what Scripture says, 263 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:12,654 He says, "Come unto Me." 264 00:11:12,654 --> 00:11:13,958 He says, "I will give you rest." 265 00:11:13,958 --> 00:11:15,967 He says, "If you seek Me, you will find Me." 266 00:11:15,967 --> 00:11:17,330 He says, "If you're thirsty, 267 00:11:17,330 --> 00:11:18,660 I will give you to drink." 268 00:11:18,660 --> 00:11:19,466 And you go. 269 00:11:19,466 --> 00:11:21,745 And you go, and you go like blind Bartimaeus. 270 00:11:21,745 --> 00:11:22,955 You go and you keep going 271 00:11:22,955 --> 00:11:24,135 and you keep crying. 272 00:11:24,135 --> 00:11:26,092 And you're like the Syrophoenician woman. 273 00:11:26,092 --> 00:11:27,436 You don't give up. 274 00:11:27,436 --> 00:11:28,461 You keep pressing. 275 00:11:28,461 --> 00:11:29,553 You keep pressing. 276 00:11:29,553 --> 00:11:31,472 You keep pressing and you don't go away. 277 00:11:31,472 --> 00:11:32,851 You're like the man who went 278 00:11:32,851 --> 00:11:34,136 and he sought that bread 279 00:11:34,136 --> 00:11:35,648 late at night 280 00:11:35,648 --> 00:11:36,693 and importunity. 281 00:11:36,693 --> 00:11:38,190 He kept asking. He kept asking. 282 00:11:38,190 --> 00:11:39,174 He kept asking. 283 00:11:39,174 --> 00:11:41,166 That's put in the Scripture for a reason. 284 00:11:41,166 --> 00:11:43,439 And that has to do with how we deal with God. 285 00:11:43,439 --> 00:11:45,243 What we want to do is 286 00:11:45,243 --> 00:11:47,853 we want to press people. 287 00:11:47,853 --> 00:11:50,966 Are you so easily going to be put off? 288 00:11:50,966 --> 00:11:53,175 You're talking about your soul here, 289 00:11:53,175 --> 00:11:54,719 and you what? 290 00:11:54,719 --> 00:11:57,012 Cast yourself on the mercy of Christ one time 291 00:11:57,012 --> 00:11:58,078 and nothing happened? 292 00:11:58,078 --> 00:11:59,359 And what, you're going to 293 00:11:59,359 --> 00:12:00,469 throw in the towel now? 294 00:12:00,469 --> 00:12:01,751 I mean, one of the things, 295 00:12:01,751 --> 00:12:03,322 if people are dead serious, 296 00:12:03,322 --> 00:12:05,187 they're going to give their attention 297 00:12:05,187 --> 00:12:07,085 to finding Christ no matter what. 298 00:12:07,085 --> 00:12:09,956 And they are going to plead, 299 00:12:09,956 --> 00:12:11,470 and they are going to cry out, 300 00:12:11,470 --> 00:12:12,941 and they are going to seek Him 301 00:12:12,941 --> 00:12:14,377 until they find Him. 302 00:12:14,377 --> 00:12:15,096 You know what? 303 00:12:15,096 --> 00:12:16,443 Somebody that cries out and says, 304 00:12:16,443 --> 00:12:18,604 "Lord, save me. I don't want to go to hell." 305 00:12:18,604 --> 00:12:19,858 And then the next thing you know, 306 00:12:19,858 --> 00:12:21,173 15 minutes later, they're sitting down 307 00:12:21,173 --> 00:12:22,064 watching a movie, 308 00:12:22,064 --> 00:12:23,716 and they've got a drink in hand 309 00:12:23,716 --> 00:12:25,692 and they're eating a bag of chips, 310 00:12:25,692 --> 00:12:28,813 and they're texting their friends... 311 00:12:28,813 --> 00:12:30,808 what's that? 312 00:12:30,808 --> 00:12:33,087 I don't know whether that's what she's doing, 313 00:12:33,087 --> 00:12:34,527 but I'm talking this, 314 00:12:34,527 --> 00:12:37,720 if our souls are at stake, 315 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:39,640 we need to seek Christ till we find Him. 316 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:40,972 We need to give Him no rest 317 00:12:40,972 --> 00:12:42,793 until we know it's well with our soul. 318 00:12:42,793 --> 00:12:44,203 There are way too many people 319 00:12:44,203 --> 00:12:46,179 that are too easily put off 320 00:12:46,179 --> 00:12:47,691 in seeking the Lord. 321 00:12:47,691 --> 00:12:49,585 There needs to be a seeking of the Lord 322 00:12:49,585 --> 00:12:50,592 until you find Him. 323 00:12:50,592 --> 00:12:51,447 And the thing is, 324 00:12:51,447 --> 00:12:53,398 Scripture promises that if you seek Him, 325 00:12:53,398 --> 00:12:54,294 you will find Him. 326 00:12:54,294 --> 00:12:55,656 I think the people that say 327 00:12:55,656 --> 00:12:57,111 that they seek Him and they don't find Him, 328 00:12:57,111 --> 00:12:59,613 the reality is they're not really seeking Him. 329 00:12:59,613 --> 00:13:02,104 They're not intent. 330 00:13:02,104 --> 00:13:04,156 They're not like the Syrophoenician woman. 331 00:13:04,156 --> 00:13:05,000 Why? 332 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:06,794 Because it's not that urgent to them. 333 00:13:06,794 --> 00:13:08,661 Because what they believe is not really 334 00:13:08,661 --> 00:13:10,226 what they ought to be believing. 335 00:13:10,226 --> 00:13:11,595 They ought to be believing 336 00:13:11,595 --> 00:13:13,496 He's their only hope. 337 00:13:13,496 --> 00:13:14,877 Now is the time of salvation. 338 00:13:14,877 --> 00:13:16,219 I may be dead tomorrow. 339 00:13:16,219 --> 00:13:17,163 I need to find Him. 340 00:13:17,163 --> 00:13:18,100 I need to get Him. 341 00:13:18,100 --> 00:13:19,334 My only hope is there. 342 00:13:19,334 --> 00:13:21,348 I'm like blind Bartimaeus. 343 00:13:21,348 --> 00:13:23,396 This is my only hope to see! 344 00:13:23,396 --> 00:13:27,614 If He gets away, I'm undone here. 345 00:13:27,614 --> 00:13:31,294 Lord! Lord! 346 00:13:31,294 --> 00:13:32,928 Help me! 347 00:13:32,928 --> 00:13:34,563 And you're going to cry out. 348 00:13:34,563 --> 00:13:35,972 And when they said, 349 00:13:35,972 --> 00:13:37,494 He's beckoning you! 350 00:13:37,494 --> 00:13:38,889 He cast off his garment, 351 00:13:38,889 --> 00:13:40,330 and he went - can you imagine 352 00:13:40,330 --> 00:13:41,752 the man is blind. 353 00:13:41,752 --> 00:13:43,304 It's not like Jesus came to him. 354 00:13:43,304 --> 00:13:44,208 He's blind. 355 00:13:44,208 --> 00:13:45,605 He says the Master calls you. 356 00:13:45,605 --> 00:13:47,319 It's like he's got to go somewhere. 357 00:13:47,319 --> 00:13:48,441 Can you imagine this? 358 00:13:48,441 --> 00:13:50,831 I mean, he's dropping his stuff. 359 00:13:50,831 --> 00:13:52,532 (Incomplete thought) 360 00:13:52,532 --> 00:13:55,285 You know, the ears of a blind man 361 00:13:55,285 --> 00:13:56,106 are very in tune. 362 00:13:56,106 --> 00:13:57,508 He probably had some idea 363 00:13:57,508 --> 00:13:58,795 in which direction he was. 364 00:13:58,795 --> 00:14:00,381 He didn't care what he ran into. 365 00:14:00,381 --> 00:14:02,146 He's just got to get to Christ. 366 00:14:02,146 --> 00:14:04,838 If I can only get to Him. 367 00:14:04,838 --> 00:14:06,724 I think there's too many people 368 00:14:06,724 --> 00:14:08,911 who claim that they're seeking. 369 00:14:08,911 --> 00:14:10,935 They're so easily put off. 370 00:14:10,935 --> 00:14:12,489 They're not really seeking. 371 00:14:12,489 --> 00:14:14,258 It's a trivial matter. 372 00:14:14,258 --> 00:14:15,349 They're afraid of hell 373 00:14:15,349 --> 00:14:16,990 and they get afraid of something. 374 00:14:16,990 --> 00:14:20,165 They watch something. 375 00:14:20,165 --> 00:14:21,654 If we say we cast ourselves 376 00:14:21,654 --> 00:14:23,837 on the mercy of the Lord and nothing happens, 377 00:14:23,837 --> 00:14:25,061 do you know what you do? 378 00:14:25,061 --> 00:14:27,616 You keep crying out like that tax collector, 379 00:14:27,616 --> 00:14:29,280 God, be merciful to me, a sinner. 380 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:31,482 You keep crying out like blind Bartimaeus. 381 00:14:31,482 --> 00:14:33,986 You keep crying out like the Syrophoenician woman. 382 00:14:33,986 --> 00:14:35,536 Lord! Lord, I need You. 383 00:14:35,536 --> 00:14:38,084 Lord, I know I'm not worthy to be saved. 384 00:14:38,084 --> 00:14:39,408 I know I'm one of the dogs. 385 00:14:39,408 --> 00:14:41,034 I know I've done this, Lord.... 386 00:14:41,034 --> 00:14:43,503 I've done this. I've done that. I've done the other thing. 387 00:14:43,503 --> 00:14:45,488 But I'm blind, Lord, and if You don't get me sight, 388 00:14:45,488 --> 00:14:46,514 I'm not going to see. 389 00:14:46,514 --> 00:14:49,655 And if You don't save me, I'm unsaved. 390 00:14:49,655 --> 00:14:50,902 And you keep crying out. 391 00:14:50,902 --> 00:14:52,639 And you do exactly what Paul Washer 392 00:14:52,639 --> 00:14:54,397 told that woman. 393 00:14:54,397 --> 00:14:55,758 And you give Him no rest. 394 00:14:55,758 --> 00:14:56,830 You give Him no rest. 395 00:14:56,830 --> 00:14:59,277 What are you going to do? Are you going to give up? 396 00:14:59,277 --> 00:15:02,022 Are you give up when this has to do with your soul? 397 00:15:02,022 --> 00:15:03,805 Are you just going to give up and say 398 00:15:03,805 --> 00:15:05,229 oh well, He's not saving me? 399 00:15:05,229 --> 00:15:06,721 Are you going to give up when 400 00:15:06,721 --> 00:15:10,997 He's promised when you seek Him, you'll find Him? 401 00:15:10,997 --> 00:15:12,510 Look, if I told you, 402 00:15:12,510 --> 00:15:13,979 if you go back in the yard 403 00:15:13,979 --> 00:15:16,165 and you seek after that thing 404 00:15:16,165 --> 00:15:18,206 that I've put back there, 405 00:15:18,206 --> 00:15:20,990 and you go back there and you come back in after 5 minutes 406 00:15:20,990 --> 00:15:23,318 and you say, "I can't find it." 407 00:15:23,318 --> 00:15:24,786 Well, listen, I told you that 408 00:15:24,786 --> 00:15:26,716 if you go back there and you look for it 409 00:15:26,716 --> 00:15:27,820 you'll find it. 410 00:15:27,820 --> 00:15:34,532 (Incomplete thought) 411 00:15:34,532 --> 00:15:36,313 What do you mean by that? 412 00:15:36,313 --> 00:15:37,207 (from the room) 413 00:15:37,207 --> 00:15:39,483 Meaning, willing to give up your idols. 414 00:15:39,483 --> 00:15:42,135 They don't work for you anymore. 415 00:15:42,135 --> 00:15:43,778 It's not enough. 416 00:15:43,778 --> 00:15:46,188 It's not doing anything for you anymore. 417 00:15:46,188 --> 00:15:52,223 You've tried everything. 418 00:15:52,223 --> 00:15:54,795 And you need the Lord. 419 00:15:54,795 --> 00:15:56,615 You've seen it with your own eyes. 420 00:15:56,615 --> 00:15:58,656 You've heard it. 421 00:15:58,656 --> 00:16:06,490 You've witnessed it. 422 00:16:06,490 --> 00:16:07,889 (man from the room) 423 00:16:07,889 --> 00:16:11,268 I guess I've just noticed - 424 00:16:11,268 --> 00:16:13,131 well, you did mention in the beginning 425 00:16:13,131 --> 00:16:16,812 some of these had a common theme. 426 00:16:16,812 --> 00:16:19,588 But I guess as I hear them 427 00:16:19,588 --> 00:16:21,121 and then you mentioned about 428 00:16:21,121 --> 00:16:25,288 how many emails that you get from that. 429 00:16:25,288 --> 00:16:27,286 I can't really put my finger on it, 430 00:16:27,286 --> 00:16:28,858 but there's just something odd 431 00:16:28,858 --> 00:16:32,989 about that dynamic, 432 00:16:32,989 --> 00:16:35,153 because when I read a parable 433 00:16:35,153 --> 00:16:38,657 like the treasure hidden in the field, 434 00:16:38,657 --> 00:16:43,247 it's like it should just click, 435 00:16:43,247 --> 00:16:46,970 but it's almost bizarre 436 00:16:46,970 --> 00:16:50,724 just the self-introspection 437 00:16:50,724 --> 00:16:52,832 or just looking at self much, 438 00:16:52,832 --> 00:16:57,964 but that's always struck me as odd 439 00:16:57,964 --> 00:17:01,128 because I wonder if something's off 440 00:17:01,128 --> 00:17:03,996 on their view of God, 441 00:17:03,996 --> 00:17:07,087 and that He's willing that none should perish 442 00:17:07,087 --> 00:17:09,662 and He does bid people to come to Him. 443 00:17:09,662 --> 00:17:14,211 But there's almost like this overthinking of it 444 00:17:14,211 --> 00:17:16,604 or a carnal way of thinking of it, 445 00:17:16,604 --> 00:17:20,811 but it's like people come under conviction 446 00:17:20,811 --> 00:17:29,767 and it's hard for me to describe. 447 00:17:29,767 --> 00:17:32,309 Tim: In Isaiah 55, 448 00:17:32,309 --> 00:17:40,690 you have seeking the Lord. 449 00:17:40,690 --> 00:17:43,813 We're called upon to seek the Lord 450 00:17:43,813 --> 00:17:44,894 while He may be found. 451 00:17:44,894 --> 00:17:47,828 Calling upon the Lord while He's near. 452 00:17:47,828 --> 00:17:51,333 And then, do you know what it says after that? 453 00:17:51,333 --> 00:17:57,172 Let the wicked forsake his ways, 454 00:17:57,172 --> 00:18:01,404 and the unrighteous man his thoughts. 455 00:18:01,404 --> 00:18:04,185 That's it right there. 456 00:18:04,185 --> 00:18:06,529 The unrighteous man has thoughts 457 00:18:06,529 --> 00:18:08,417 that need to be abandoned. 458 00:18:08,417 --> 00:18:11,356 Because remember, 459 00:18:11,356 --> 00:18:14,961 they don't love the truth. 460 00:18:14,961 --> 00:18:18,566 They love a lie. 461 00:18:18,566 --> 00:18:23,010 Lost people are called unbelievers. 462 00:18:23,010 --> 00:18:25,596 Not because they don't believe anything. 463 00:18:25,596 --> 00:18:31,073 It's because they don't believe the right thing. 464 00:18:31,073 --> 00:18:37,066 What happens is there's a flaw. 465 00:18:37,066 --> 00:18:39,951 There's different cases. 466 00:18:39,951 --> 00:18:42,144 You can get people who are confronted 467 00:18:42,144 --> 00:18:48,093 by the facts like the rich, young ruler. 468 00:18:48,093 --> 00:18:50,170 And it's all put out on the table. 469 00:18:50,170 --> 00:18:55,508 It's like - what was your name? 470 00:18:55,508 --> 00:18:56,929 Lauren. 471 00:18:56,929 --> 00:19:00,216 Lauren's talking about the idols. 472 00:19:00,216 --> 00:19:02,702 You get the rich, young ruler. 473 00:19:02,702 --> 00:19:06,553 It's all been put out on the table. 474 00:19:06,553 --> 00:19:09,844 And there's no bargaining. 475 00:19:09,844 --> 00:19:12,781 This is unconditional surrender 476 00:19:12,781 --> 00:19:17,245 that Christ brings to the table. 477 00:19:17,245 --> 00:19:21,266 You know how many times 478 00:19:21,266 --> 00:19:23,605 Japan and Germany 479 00:19:23,605 --> 00:19:27,394 wanted to end the conflict? 480 00:19:27,394 --> 00:19:31,078 They just didn't want to do it unconditionally. 481 00:19:31,078 --> 00:19:34,268 They wanted to do it on their conditions. 482 00:19:34,268 --> 00:19:36,087 That's just like all of us. 483 00:19:36,087 --> 00:19:38,640 We're so like that. 484 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:40,276 We want to be saved 485 00:19:40,276 --> 00:19:43,069 the way we want to be saved. 486 00:19:43,069 --> 00:19:46,001 So people have an idea about hell. 487 00:19:46,001 --> 00:19:50,725 I think hell is a big factor. 488 00:19:50,725 --> 00:19:52,158 It scares people. 489 00:19:52,158 --> 00:19:54,698 And rightly so. 490 00:19:54,698 --> 00:19:58,350 And what happens is 491 00:19:58,350 --> 00:20:03,170 a lot of times people's ideas - 492 00:20:03,170 --> 00:20:07,400 they're not ready 493 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:10,478 to unconditionally surrender. 494 00:20:10,478 --> 00:20:14,590 They've got flawed thinking. 495 00:20:14,590 --> 00:20:16,650 And there's a lot of preachers out there 496 00:20:16,650 --> 00:20:17,962 and bad doctrine out there 497 00:20:17,962 --> 00:20:20,920 willing to tell people, 498 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:25,690 oh, you said the sinner's prayer. 499 00:20:25,690 --> 00:20:30,023 You know there's thousands 500 00:20:30,023 --> 00:20:32,032 and thousands and thousands 501 00:20:32,032 --> 00:20:33,629 of preachers that would answer 502 00:20:33,629 --> 00:20:37,702 these people entirely different than me. 503 00:20:37,702 --> 00:20:41,307 We were just recently talking about 504 00:20:41,307 --> 00:20:44,248 the high school that we put our children in 505 00:20:44,248 --> 00:20:49,636 at one time. 506 00:20:49,636 --> 00:20:51,721 Craig's kids go there. 507 00:20:51,721 --> 00:20:53,455 All the kids in the school are saved 508 00:20:53,455 --> 00:20:59,314 except Craig's. 509 00:20:59,314 --> 00:21:01,296 And the thing is 510 00:21:01,296 --> 00:21:03,707 the same thinking, 511 00:21:03,707 --> 00:21:05,828 if applied to these people - 512 00:21:05,828 --> 00:21:09,169 (incomplete thought) 513 00:21:09,169 --> 00:21:10,852 They sing a song over there 514 00:21:10,852 --> 00:21:14,449 during their devotional times: 515 00:21:14,449 --> 00:21:16,544 "everybody that was saved on Monday... 516 00:21:16,544 --> 00:21:17,469 stand up. 517 00:21:17,469 --> 00:21:19,477 Everybody that was saved on a Tuesday, 518 00:21:19,477 --> 00:21:20,498 stand up." 519 00:21:20,498 --> 00:21:22,081 Craig's kids are the only ones 520 00:21:22,081 --> 00:21:26,305 that never stand up. 521 00:21:26,305 --> 00:21:27,657 And we laugh at it, 522 00:21:27,657 --> 00:21:29,534 but that's the kind of thinking 523 00:21:29,534 --> 00:21:32,998 that predominates... 524 00:21:32,998 --> 00:21:35,400 You have people all over the place 525 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,495 that there's so much bad doctrine; 526 00:21:37,495 --> 00:21:39,460 there's so much wrong thinking. 527 00:21:39,460 --> 00:21:44,944 And what happens is 528 00:21:44,944 --> 00:21:47,406 people get afraid of hell, 529 00:21:47,406 --> 00:21:49,841 they get a taste of the teaching 530 00:21:49,841 --> 00:21:51,036 on I'll Be Honest 531 00:21:51,036 --> 00:21:53,154 or they're listening to Washer or Piper 532 00:21:53,154 --> 00:21:54,845 or MacArthur or somebody... 533 00:21:54,845 --> 00:21:58,138 and they're beginning to get exposed to this, 534 00:21:58,138 --> 00:22:04,193 and they begin to hear about realities 535 00:22:04,193 --> 00:22:06,030 concerning salvation 536 00:22:06,030 --> 00:22:08,799 and they start to take some things 537 00:22:08,799 --> 00:22:14,545 serious in Scripture. 538 00:22:14,545 --> 00:22:17,534 And trying to figure out, 539 00:22:17,534 --> 00:22:21,900 a lot of times like I was talking about before, 540 00:22:21,900 --> 00:22:24,174 you have people who feel like 541 00:22:24,174 --> 00:22:26,849 "I'm not regenerate, 542 00:22:26,849 --> 00:22:28,391 and I've come across 543 00:22:28,391 --> 00:22:30,872 this sovereignty of God, 544 00:22:30,872 --> 00:22:33,517 and you know, I'm not regenerate, 545 00:22:33,517 --> 00:22:38,831 so it's God... He's not saving me. 546 00:22:38,831 --> 00:22:42,136 And what do I do?" 547 00:22:42,136 --> 00:22:43,603 It's a hyper-Calvinism... 548 00:22:43,603 --> 00:22:45,117 that can be one of the errors. 549 00:22:45,117 --> 00:22:47,435 Or it's what I was talking about before as well, 550 00:22:47,435 --> 00:22:52,542 people kind of view 551 00:22:52,542 --> 00:22:55,739 believing that they're believers as the kind of faith 552 00:22:55,739 --> 00:22:57,040 that they're looking for. 553 00:22:57,040 --> 00:22:59,407 And so they're constantly looking at themselves: 554 00:22:59,407 --> 00:23:00,791 Am I a believer? 555 00:23:00,791 --> 00:23:03,010 Did I have this experience? 556 00:23:03,010 --> 00:23:04,508 What happens is their eyes 557 00:23:04,508 --> 00:23:06,774 are coming off of Christ. 558 00:23:06,774 --> 00:23:08,865 So much about what they're looking for 559 00:23:08,865 --> 00:23:10,539 doesn't have to do with Christ. 560 00:23:10,539 --> 00:23:12,363 So many people, you get the feeling 561 00:23:12,363 --> 00:23:14,029 they're looking for an experience. 562 00:23:14,029 --> 00:23:15,522 They're looking for a feeling. 563 00:23:15,522 --> 00:23:17,019 They're looking for an emotion. 564 00:23:17,019 --> 00:23:21,526 They're looking for something to have happened. 565 00:23:21,526 --> 00:23:23,549 Who they're even calling upon; 566 00:23:23,549 --> 00:23:27,471 how much they know? 567 00:23:27,471 --> 00:23:28,492 What we know is this, 568 00:23:28,492 --> 00:23:29,964 if they're not being saved, 569 00:23:29,964 --> 00:23:32,282 the flaw is not in God. 570 00:23:32,282 --> 00:23:33,899 His salvation is very real 571 00:23:33,899 --> 00:23:37,157 and He's saved many, many people. 572 00:23:37,157 --> 00:23:39,979 Many people have repented and believed. 573 00:23:39,979 --> 00:23:45,853 And so there's a flaw in the thinking. 574 00:23:45,853 --> 00:23:49,195 Some of it comes down to this 575 00:23:49,195 --> 00:23:51,435 sinner's prayer mentality. 576 00:23:51,435 --> 00:23:53,550 And people say, well, I said the prayer 577 00:23:53,550 --> 00:23:57,293 and nothing happened. 578 00:23:57,293 --> 00:24:02,602 And you know, you see texts of importunity 579 00:24:02,602 --> 00:24:04,101 in Scripture. 580 00:24:04,101 --> 00:24:06,985 You see blind Bartimaeus 581 00:24:06,985 --> 00:24:08,579 and Syrophoenician women 582 00:24:08,579 --> 00:24:12,424 who are put off the first time, 583 00:24:12,424 --> 00:24:14,092 the second time, 584 00:24:14,092 --> 00:24:15,667 and they keep coming back 585 00:24:15,667 --> 00:24:19,954 and their faith is going to lay hold on Christ 586 00:24:19,954 --> 00:24:21,217 no matter what obstacles 587 00:24:21,217 --> 00:24:22,949 stand in the way. 588 00:24:22,949 --> 00:24:25,724 And I think we have people 589 00:24:25,724 --> 00:24:31,829 who, I don't know. 590 00:24:31,829 --> 00:24:34,009 I know this, 591 00:24:34,009 --> 00:24:36,033 there needs to be an abandoning 592 00:24:36,033 --> 00:24:39,774 of the wicked's ways of thinking. 593 00:24:39,774 --> 00:24:41,070 Their thoughts. 594 00:24:41,070 --> 00:24:44,375 The unrighteous man - his thoughts. 595 00:24:44,375 --> 00:24:45,659 There's thoughts there 596 00:24:45,659 --> 00:24:48,580 that need to be abandoned. 597 00:24:48,580 --> 00:24:50,491 They need to be repented of. 598 00:24:50,491 --> 00:24:54,819 There's broken thoughts. 599 00:24:54,819 --> 00:24:56,585 I think that's one of the things 600 00:24:56,585 --> 00:25:01,118 beyond just four line questions. 601 00:25:01,118 --> 00:25:04,045 When you sit with somebody 602 00:25:04,045 --> 00:25:07,833 and you're able to question them more deeply. 603 00:25:07,833 --> 00:25:09,939 What you're looking for is 604 00:25:09,939 --> 00:25:14,795 what lie are they believing? 605 00:25:14,795 --> 00:25:17,274 Where's the deception? 606 00:25:17,274 --> 00:25:19,566 Because it's always there. 607 00:25:19,566 --> 00:25:21,423 Because here's the thing. 608 00:25:21,423 --> 00:25:26,054 If you know the truth about your condition, 609 00:25:26,054 --> 00:25:28,748 if you know you're sick, 610 00:25:28,748 --> 00:25:31,924 once the physician is presented, 611 00:25:31,924 --> 00:25:35,435 you go. 612 00:25:35,435 --> 00:25:38,901 If a man is thirsty 613 00:25:38,901 --> 00:25:41,135 and there's the cup of water, 614 00:25:41,135 --> 00:25:42,782 he'll go drink. 615 00:25:42,782 --> 00:25:44,573 So what's wrong there? 616 00:25:44,573 --> 00:25:48,934 Why are people not making it to the glass? 617 00:25:48,934 --> 00:25:50,176 They're thinking they are. 618 00:25:50,176 --> 00:25:51,715 It's almost like they're saying 619 00:25:51,715 --> 00:25:54,265 I went over and drank from the glass and nothing happened. 620 00:25:54,265 --> 00:25:55,158 Well, it isn't. 621 00:25:55,158 --> 00:25:56,911 They've drunk from something else. 622 00:25:56,911 --> 00:25:58,495 Or they've done something else. 623 00:25:58,495 --> 00:26:02,348 They've gone somewhere else. 624 00:26:02,348 --> 00:26:03,832 Whatever their calling is 625 00:26:03,832 --> 00:26:05,387 or whatever their believing is 626 00:26:05,387 --> 00:26:07,190 or whatever their repenting is, 627 00:26:07,190 --> 00:26:12,261 it's not right. 628 00:26:12,261 --> 00:26:16,793 It's somehow wrong. 629 00:26:16,793 --> 00:26:20,478 And so, I guess in a lot of the things 630 00:26:20,478 --> 00:26:21,767 I was saying tonight, 631 00:26:21,767 --> 00:26:25,582 I'm trying to answer many of the defects 632 00:26:25,582 --> 00:26:27,767 that come up in people's thinking 633 00:26:27,767 --> 00:26:29,664 without always knowing exactly 634 00:26:29,664 --> 00:26:31,839 what the specific thinking is. 635 00:26:31,839 --> 00:26:33,212 You're trying to find out 636 00:26:33,212 --> 00:26:34,708 from each of their questions 637 00:26:34,708 --> 00:26:37,874 to get a feel for where their thinking 638 00:26:37,874 --> 00:26:39,181 might be wrong, 639 00:26:39,181 --> 00:26:41,633 but you would really have to sit and talk with them 640 00:26:41,633 --> 00:26:42,908 for maybe an hour or two 641 00:26:42,908 --> 00:26:45,284 to even try to get further. 642 00:26:45,284 --> 00:26:48,943 And sometimes pastorally to speak 643 00:26:48,943 --> 00:26:51,391 to people for six or ten hours 644 00:26:51,391 --> 00:26:54,576 in entirety over several meetings, 645 00:26:54,576 --> 00:26:57,551 and still sometimes you're perplexed. 646 00:26:57,551 --> 00:27:00,721 And the problem is in that dealing with people, 647 00:27:00,721 --> 00:27:03,349 sometimes people are being honest with you 648 00:27:03,349 --> 00:27:04,677 and sometimes they're not. 649 00:27:04,677 --> 00:27:06,787 And people typically want to put themselves 650 00:27:06,787 --> 00:27:08,054 in the best light. 651 00:27:08,054 --> 00:27:10,600 And so they put spins and slants 652 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:12,390 on things that they tell you, 653 00:27:12,390 --> 00:27:14,298 and really trying to question people 654 00:27:14,298 --> 00:27:15,722 just the right way to try to 655 00:27:15,722 --> 00:27:18,703 figure out where that problem is; 656 00:27:18,703 --> 00:27:20,211 where the disconnect is, 657 00:27:20,211 --> 00:27:22,025 or where the idol is. 658 00:27:22,025 --> 00:27:24,213 Sometimes it's just nothing more than that. 659 00:27:24,213 --> 00:27:26,174 There's just sin in the person's life 660 00:27:26,174 --> 00:27:28,606 and they're just playing games with you. 661 00:27:28,606 --> 00:27:31,021 They want to be saved and hold on to that sin. 662 00:27:31,021 --> 00:27:34,321 And sometimes it's people who 663 00:27:34,321 --> 00:27:38,857 want to be an object of pity. 664 00:27:38,857 --> 00:27:41,272 The truth is Scripture condemns the lost 665 00:27:41,272 --> 00:27:43,349 as they're believing a lie 666 00:27:43,349 --> 00:27:45,637 and they don't love the truth 667 00:27:45,637 --> 00:27:47,565 that they might be saved. 668 00:27:47,565 --> 00:27:49,860 It's their fault. 669 00:27:49,860 --> 00:27:53,572 People who remain unbelieving and unrepentant, 670 00:27:53,572 --> 00:27:55,323 it's wickedness. 671 00:27:55,323 --> 00:27:57,213 But people like to be objects of pity 672 00:27:57,213 --> 00:27:59,119 rather than objects of blame. 673 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:03,496 And so they're constantly putting spin on things. 674 00:28:03,496 --> 00:28:06,783 The reason people are lost is their fault. 675 00:28:06,783 --> 00:28:08,058 It's their fault. 676 00:28:08,058 --> 00:28:09,884 It's their wickedness. 677 00:28:09,884 --> 00:28:11,657 It's their love of some sin 678 00:28:11,657 --> 00:28:14,117 or their love of some lie. 679 00:28:14,117 --> 00:28:22,756 Sometimes they really are sincere 680 00:28:22,756 --> 00:28:28,849 that they want that lie exposed. 681 00:28:28,849 --> 00:28:30,006 Sometimes they are. 682 00:28:30,006 --> 00:28:31,543 Sometimes they're frustrated 683 00:28:31,543 --> 00:28:36,953 because their thinking is messed up, 684 00:28:36,953 --> 00:28:38,889 and they're wanting you to shed light. 685 00:28:38,889 --> 00:28:43,042 And sometimes there's sincerity there. 686 00:28:43,042 --> 00:28:44,224 But a lot of times, 687 00:28:44,224 --> 00:28:45,834 even the best of the soul winners 688 00:28:45,834 --> 00:28:46,883 throughout history - 689 00:28:46,883 --> 00:28:48,325 a lot of times, we read some 690 00:28:48,325 --> 00:28:49,398 of the great accounts, 691 00:28:49,398 --> 00:28:50,945 you know where Ichabod Spencer - 692 00:28:50,945 --> 00:28:52,778 he sits down with somebody 693 00:28:52,778 --> 00:28:54,792 and he has this discourse back and forth. 694 00:28:54,792 --> 00:28:56,034 And it's all wonderful 695 00:28:56,034 --> 00:28:57,241 because they get saved. 696 00:28:57,241 --> 00:29:00,156 But you know, he probably had 300 697 00:29:00,156 --> 00:29:03,812 such conversations that didn't turn out well 698 00:29:03,812 --> 00:29:05,392 for the one that he did 699 00:29:05,392 --> 00:29:08,071 that he ended up writing in the chapter 700 00:29:08,071 --> 00:29:11,344 in his book. 701 00:29:11,344 --> 00:29:13,490 Sometimes it's just nothing else 702 00:29:13,490 --> 00:29:16,666 than these things are hidden 703 00:29:16,666 --> 00:29:20,490 from those who are perishing. 704 00:29:20,490 --> 00:29:22,594 And we just have to chalk it up to that. 705 00:29:22,594 --> 00:29:24,145 Sometimes, you know why 706 00:29:24,145 --> 00:29:27,132 you can't hear what I say - 707 00:29:27,132 --> 00:29:29,556 you're not one of Christ's sheep. 708 00:29:29,556 --> 00:29:31,525 That's very hard for us to say. 709 00:29:31,525 --> 00:29:36,068 Paul said that about people 710 00:29:36,068 --> 00:29:38,014 in a third person manner. 711 00:29:38,014 --> 00:29:39,393 Jesus said that to people 712 00:29:39,393 --> 00:29:42,269 who not only were not believing 713 00:29:42,269 --> 00:29:47,525 but they were beginning to attack Him. 714 00:29:47,525 --> 00:29:49,431 He knows who His sheep are. 715 00:29:49,431 --> 00:29:50,735 He knows His sheep. 716 00:29:50,735 --> 00:29:52,595 Who they are and who they aren't. 717 00:29:52,595 --> 00:29:54,456 We don't always know that. 718 00:29:54,456 --> 00:29:56,239 In fact, I've kind of wondered that. 719 00:29:56,239 --> 00:29:58,741 Is there ever a time to say that? 720 00:29:58,741 --> 00:30:02,649 The reason you're not hearing this 721 00:30:02,649 --> 00:30:05,397 is not because I'm not being plain. 722 00:30:05,397 --> 00:30:06,754 And you know, sometimes, 723 00:30:06,754 --> 00:30:09,384 it's just a matter of 724 00:30:09,384 --> 00:30:11,936 people don't have ears to hear. 725 00:30:11,936 --> 00:30:14,329 I have found that there are some people - 726 00:30:14,329 --> 00:30:16,323 you can try to explain something to 727 00:30:16,323 --> 00:30:19,235 they can't hear you. 728 00:30:19,235 --> 00:30:20,509 Just recently, 729 00:30:20,509 --> 00:30:22,752 Joshua, Zeke, and I 730 00:30:22,752 --> 00:30:23,990 were going door to door 731 00:30:23,990 --> 00:30:26,399 and we got invited into a lady's house 732 00:30:26,399 --> 00:30:28,628 and talked to her for about 45 minutes. 733 00:30:28,628 --> 00:30:31,291 She could not hear what I was saying. 734 00:30:31,291 --> 00:30:34,277 And I came back to the same thing 735 00:30:34,277 --> 00:30:37,122 five, six, seven times. 736 00:30:37,122 --> 00:30:39,010 And she could not hear me. 737 00:30:39,010 --> 00:30:40,872 She just could not hear. 738 00:30:40,872 --> 00:30:42,641 And I've come across that. 739 00:30:42,641 --> 00:30:44,204 I believe my dad may very well 740 00:30:44,204 --> 00:30:45,638 have gotten saved in the end, 741 00:30:45,638 --> 00:30:47,791 but there was a time earlier on, 742 00:30:47,791 --> 00:30:49,587 my dad just could not hear. 743 00:30:49,587 --> 00:30:52,425 He could not fathom 744 00:30:52,425 --> 00:30:54,873 one of the clearest Gospel messages 745 00:30:54,873 --> 00:30:55,882 I could have put it. 746 00:30:55,882 --> 00:30:57,659 He's like, "I can't understand a word 747 00:30:57,659 --> 00:30:59,250 that guy's saying." 748 00:30:59,250 --> 00:31:01,801 It's a satanic blindness. 749 00:31:01,801 --> 00:31:04,530 That's what 2 Corinthians 4 says. 750 00:31:04,530 --> 00:31:06,201 There is a satanic blindness. 751 00:31:06,201 --> 00:31:08,560 And unless God breaks through that, 752 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:11,935 you and I are impotent against it. 753 00:31:11,935 --> 00:31:15,817 We can tell people the exact right truth 754 00:31:15,817 --> 00:31:17,343 and then go away feeling like 755 00:31:17,343 --> 00:31:19,095 we were the failure. 756 00:31:19,095 --> 00:31:20,510 But it's a satanic blindness. 757 00:31:20,510 --> 00:31:22,260 And sometimes it's just nothing else 758 00:31:22,260 --> 00:31:25,883 than they're not one of Christ's sheep. 759 00:31:25,883 --> 00:31:28,344 And I can't get victory here 760 00:31:28,344 --> 00:31:32,592 if God's not going to give it. 761 00:31:32,592 --> 00:31:35,285 And so I think we just need to recognize 762 00:31:35,285 --> 00:31:37,444 what we're up against 763 00:31:37,444 --> 00:31:40,626 as we're evangelizing. 764 00:31:40,626 --> 00:31:42,027 And it's amazing how 765 00:31:42,027 --> 00:31:44,665 incomplete and incompetent 766 00:31:44,665 --> 00:31:47,201 our attempts can be at times 767 00:31:47,201 --> 00:31:50,440 where if God's in it, 768 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:55,159 it's almost like you can hardly fail then 769 00:31:55,159 --> 00:32:00,353 because God causes them to grasp 770 00:32:00,353 --> 00:32:02,229 even little glimmers of truth 771 00:32:02,229 --> 00:32:03,221 that break through. 772 00:32:03,221 --> 00:32:08,566 And they're able to lay hold on it. 773 00:32:08,566 --> 00:32:11,267 But we need God to wake people up; 774 00:32:11,267 --> 00:32:17,628 open their eyes. 775 00:32:17,628 --> 00:32:24,824 Anything else before we close? 776 00:32:24,824 --> 00:32:30,110 Ok. 777 00:32:30,110 --> 00:32:33,009 Father, 778 00:32:33,009 --> 00:32:39,890 we're cast on You for all these things. 779 00:32:39,890 --> 00:32:44,933 Lord, to wrestle sovereignty, 780 00:32:44,933 --> 00:32:47,613 responsibility, 781 00:32:47,613 --> 00:32:50,670 faith, repentance... 782 00:32:50,670 --> 00:32:52,602 those who seem to come up short, 783 00:32:52,602 --> 00:32:54,636 those who believe a lie. 784 00:32:54,636 --> 00:33:00,523 Lord, us seeking to evangelize; 785 00:33:00,523 --> 00:33:05,055 us seeking to help steer people right, 786 00:33:05,055 --> 00:33:10,647 to proclaim the Gospel 787 00:33:10,647 --> 00:33:13,567 with the right balance, 788 00:33:13,567 --> 00:33:17,070 with the right truths emphasized; 789 00:33:17,070 --> 00:33:19,331 to show Christ; 790 00:33:19,331 --> 00:33:23,794 His signs, His wonders, His mighty works; 791 00:33:23,794 --> 00:33:26,701 to be faithful to lift up the Christ of Scripture, Lord, 792 00:33:26,701 --> 00:33:32,665 in all these things, we're cast on You. 793 00:33:32,665 --> 00:33:34,461 We pray, Lord, that in our generation 794 00:33:34,461 --> 00:33:35,600 You would make us all 795 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:37,937 competent evangelists. 796 00:33:37,937 --> 00:33:41,214 Competent, even as the faith 797 00:33:41,214 --> 00:33:44,276 of those Thessalonians was broadcast 798 00:33:44,276 --> 00:33:45,844 all over the world, 799 00:33:45,844 --> 00:33:48,931 we pray, Lord, that our ability 800 00:33:48,931 --> 00:33:52,922 to proclaim what You've done, 801 00:33:52,922 --> 00:33:55,138 and proclaim the Gospel hope 802 00:33:55,138 --> 00:34:01,206 would be, Lord, may it be bright. 803 00:34:01,206 --> 00:34:04,354 May it be biblical. 804 00:34:04,354 --> 00:34:07,384 May it be powerful. 805 00:34:07,384 --> 00:34:08,730 We pray in Christ's name, 806 00:34:08,730 --> 00:34:09,530 Amen.