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I'd like you to open 
your Bibles to Acts 5.

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We're going to be looking

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at several different verses here

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thoughout our New Testaments.

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Acts 5:14.

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"And more than ever,

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believers were added to the Lord;

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multitudes of both men and women."

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Let's pray.

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Father, I pray for our brother Brandon

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as he's preaching at the prison today;

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Brother Craig as he's preaching

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up in Austin and Temple;

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our brothers and sisters 
in many different places.

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I think of Kevin there in Manchester.

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I think of Adam having served the brethren

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there in Poland and Switzerland.

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I think of Javier speaking this morning

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and if he was able to get 
to where the brethren are;

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our brother Matt Wilkinson

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and Alberto as he takes the pulpit;

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our brethren in many different places.

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I think of Justin over 
there in New Mexico.

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Lord, these men laboring -

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our brother Mark down in Corpus.

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Father, we ask for grace.

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May great grace fall upon

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all of Your people in the 
places they are today.

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We need Your help.
We need Your grace.

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Lord, we don't ask You to deal with us

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according to our righteousness,

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but deal with us according 
to Christ's righteousness.

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Deal with us according to His merits.

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Deal with us in a gracious fashion.

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Give us what we need.

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Empower us, Father.

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I pray in Christ's name, Amen.

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Acts 5:14.

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"More than ever, believers

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were added to the Lord."

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You know what the reality is?

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You know what the reality is,

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but a lot of times we just need to rethink

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what the reality is.

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Before these people were 
added to the Lord,

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they were not the Lord's.

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They were lost and they were hellbound.

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And that's the reality.

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What do you call somebody

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who's been added to the Lord?

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Well, what does the text call them?

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Believers.

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Let's not lose the significance of this.

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Christians are called "believers."

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This is at the very heart 
and soul of Christianity.

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This is what I want to talk about today.

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I want to talk about genuine saving faith.

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Christians are believers.

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The Christian is a Christian

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because he or she possesses 
faith in something.

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Think of some of the very common verses.

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"The righteous shall live by faith."

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"We walk by faith, not by sight."

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"We're saved by grace through faith."

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Exactly. Faith. Faith.

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It's at the heart of what 
it is to be a Christian.

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This is essential to everything 
that a Christian is.

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The most popular verse in the Bible -

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we dealt with it a couple weeks back.

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But, "God so loved the world

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that He gave His only begotten Son,

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so that whosoever believes in Him

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should not perish..."

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Perish - that means go to hell.

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That means you die eternally.

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Unless you believe in Christ.

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So what is faith? Faith -

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if we were to define it.

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Faith very simply is this -

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I know, I know... you can look

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at the theologians and they break it up

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into these different components,

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but I'll tell you this,

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at the end of the day,

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true faith is this:

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It is a conviction of 
the truth of something.

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That's what it is.

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Conviction.

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You don't just know the facts,

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you're convicted about those facts.

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You're convicted.

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You can tell when somebody has 
conviction about something,

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or, versus just a casual,

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oh yeah, they recognize 
something may be true.

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That being said, I want 
to point something out.

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Everyone in the world who can think,

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they believe.

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They believe something.

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I mean, think with me.

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Unbeliever.

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That's what we call people 
who are not Christians.

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Unbelievers.

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What does that mean?

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That they don't believe anything?

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Unbelievers believe a lot of things.

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And the reality is,

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unbelievers believe a lot of things

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that are true.

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You know what?

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Most of the people up and down this street

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who are not Christians,

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if you ask them what two plus two is,

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they're going to tell you it's four.

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They believe that.

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An unbeliever believes lots of truth.

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You know what?

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Unbelievers believe a 
lot of truth about God.

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They may believe truths 
about Jesus Christ.

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By and large, the majority of unbelievers

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in this world believe that Jesus Christ

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was a historical reality.

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There are some that reject that.

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I want you to turn in your Bibles

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to this text: 2 Corinthians 4:4.

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Unbelievers. The Bible 
talks about unbelievers.

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Do not be unequally 
yoked with unbelievers.

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An unbeliever.

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That's what we call a person

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that is not a Christian.

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You know what? There's a lot of believers

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that believe that Jesus Christ
is a real, historical figure.

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They believe He went to the cross.

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They believe that there's a heaven.

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They believe that there's a hell.

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And yet, they're an unbeliever. Why?

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What is it? What's significant about that?

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Well, right here.

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2 Corinthians 4:4.

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"The god of this world..."

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That's Satan.

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That's the devil.

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We're not playing any games here.

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The devil is not something to laugh at.

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He blinds eyes to keep you from seeing

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the only thing that can save you.

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He is in the business of keeping

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people's eyes blind so they're damned.

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You should know that.

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"The god of this world has blinded

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the minds of unbelievers."

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Blinded their minds to what?

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Two plus two is four?

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No.

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No, not that at all.

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To what?

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Not even to the fact that Jesus

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was an actual historical character.

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A person - a real person.

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That's not what he blinds the eyes to.

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Notice: "...to keep them from seeing

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the light of the gospel

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of the glory of Christ

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who is the image of God."

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You know what? You may have a man -

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high IQ - have you see 
some of these guys?

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Stephen Hawking who just died

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not too long ago?

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Some of these guys -

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their IQ can go through the roof.

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They can understand quantum physics.

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But I'll tell you this,

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that's not what the devil 
blinds their minds to.

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They can know all about those things.

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What is it?

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There's only one thing.

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What is a believer?

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A believer is someone whose mind

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sees a glory.

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They're convicted about that glory.

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They embrace that glory.

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That's what it says.

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And it's a glory that other men don't see.

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And so what inevitably happens

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is men find glory in other things.

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And they are blind to this glory.

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And so you know what they do?

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They pursue the other glory.

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That's exactly what happens.

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Look, what this is telling us is this:

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The devil keeps men's minds,

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women's minds blinded,

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so that they can't see this.

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Because the reality is, 
if people can see it -

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listen, who would not want this?

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After the things I've done,

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all my sins can be forgiven

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and God will take me to paradise?

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And to see what salvation really is -

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God delivers me from 
everything that's bad,

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everything that's wicked,
everything that's sinful,

201
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everything that's destructive,
everything that hurts me and harms me,

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and will take me where 
I'll have life abundantly.

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And the reality is,

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Jesus Christ has a beauty and a glory -

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who would not want that?

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The only reason men don't want that

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is because their eyes are blind.

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And they're made to 
see that a football team,

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or a basketball team,

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or sex, or alcohol, or money, or cars

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have a greater glory.

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That's what the reality is.

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What is it that makes a 
person a true believer?

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That's what we're talking about right now

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and I want you to see something.

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Because there's something in Scripture

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that ought to disturb us.

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I want you to turn now 
in your Bibles to Acts 8.

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This is the essential question:

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What is it that makes 
a person a true believer?

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Because this is life and death.

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Life and death.

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Coming to church is not 
what determines this reality.

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It's being a believer.

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But it's being a believer 
of a certain sort.

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Notice this.

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Many of you are familiar with this,

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but let's remind ourselves.

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Acts 8 - Simon.

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What is true saving faith?

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I want to start looking at a believer

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who looks good at first sight,

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but upon closer examination,

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there's a defect.

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So Acts 8:9, "There was a man named Simon.

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He had previously 
practiced magic in the city

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and amazed the people of Samaria,

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saying that he himself 
was somebody great."

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So, notice this. This guy was

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very stuck on himself; very proud.

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Probably, he had real magic abilities.

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Probably, he was dabbling in the occult.

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Probably there was real 
supernatural power -

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powers of darkness, not light.

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He probably was dabbling 
in real witchcraft.

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"They all paid attention to him

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from the least to the greatest,

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saying this man has the power 
of God that is called great."

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So, not only did he call himself great,

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other people were looking at him

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and saying this guy really is great.

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This guy is amazing us.

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"They paid attention to him
because for a long time,

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he had amazed them with his magic."

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But here comes Philip.

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Philip - one of the deacons

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from the church at Antioch.

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A man has come here with the gospel

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and he begins to preach it.

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And I'll tell you this, 
God began to move.

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And God began to move in ways

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that got people's attention,

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even more than they were paying attention

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to this Simon.

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"They believed Philip as 
he preached good news."

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There's the gospel.

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The good news.

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He was lifting up Christ 
crucified for sinners.

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Christ dying in the place

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of wicked men and women.

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Sins forgiven.

272
00:13:27,976 --> 00:13:29,867
He's preaching this message

273
00:13:29,867 --> 00:13:31,049
about the kingdom of God

274
00:13:31,049 --> 00:13:32,859
and the name of Jesus Christ.

275
00:13:32,859 --> 00:13:34,881
"They were baptized, both men and women."

276
00:13:34,881 --> 00:13:36,305
People were believing.

277
00:13:36,305 --> 00:13:37,863
And here's the thing - verse 13.

278
00:13:37,863 --> 00:13:41,689
"Even Simon himself believed,

279
00:13:41,689 --> 00:13:43,410
and after being baptized,

280
00:13:43,410 --> 00:13:45,150
he continued with Philip."

281
00:13:45,150 --> 00:13:47,568
And I'll tell you this, if 
we stopped right here,

282
00:13:47,568 --> 00:13:49,558
we'd think: Wow!

283
00:13:49,558 --> 00:13:53,455
God saved a big sinner.

284
00:13:53,455 --> 00:13:54,784
That's what we would think.

285
00:13:54,784 --> 00:13:57,465
And we'd have no reason not to think that.

286
00:13:57,465 --> 00:14:00,815
Except for what comes after it.

287
00:14:00,815 --> 00:14:03,978
"And seeing signs

288
00:14:03,978 --> 00:14:06,485
and great miracles performed,

289
00:14:06,485 --> 00:14:09,766
he was amazed."

290
00:14:09,766 --> 00:14:11,353
This ought to be a giveaway.

291
00:14:11,353 --> 00:14:15,525
Remember what the devil hides us

292
00:14:15,525 --> 00:14:20,844
from seeing the light of the glory

293
00:14:20,844 --> 00:14:24,222
of the gospel.

294
00:14:24,222 --> 00:14:25,201
That's the thing.

295
00:14:25,201 --> 00:14:26,724
The light of the gospel

296
00:14:26,724 --> 00:14:30,484
of the glory of Christ.

297
00:14:30,484 --> 00:14:33,420
But see, this guy, it doesn't say

298
00:14:33,420 --> 00:14:38,184
that he's really seeing and 
being amazed by Christ,

299
00:14:38,184 --> 00:14:43,383
or by the wonder of 
having our sins forgiven.

300
00:14:43,383 --> 00:14:48,193
He's amazed by the miracles.

301
00:14:48,193 --> 00:14:49,846
"So when the apostles at Jerusalem

302
00:14:49,846 --> 00:14:52,149
heard that Samaria had 
received the Word of God,

303
00:14:52,149 --> 00:14:54,488
they sent to them Peter and John."

304
00:14:54,488 --> 00:14:58,245
I mean, here's two pillars.

305
00:14:58,245 --> 00:15:01,225
Men who walked with Christ.

306
00:15:01,225 --> 00:15:03,029
"...Who came down and prayed for them

307
00:15:03,029 --> 00:15:05,124
that they might receive the Holy Spirit,

308
00:15:05,124 --> 00:15:08,458
for He had not yet fallen on any of them,

309
00:15:08,458 --> 00:15:10,029
but they had only been baptized

310
00:15:10,029 --> 00:15:11,362
in the name of the Lord."

311
00:15:11,362 --> 00:15:12,869
And you know this.

312
00:15:12,869 --> 00:15:14,809
"They received the Holy Spirit..."

313
00:15:14,809 --> 00:15:17,027
Verse 18, "Now when Simon saw

314
00:15:17,027 --> 00:15:18,614
that the Spirit was given through

315
00:15:18,614 --> 00:15:20,434
the laying on of the apostles' hands,

316
00:15:20,434 --> 00:15:21,938
he offered them money,

317
00:15:21,938 --> 00:15:23,893
saying, 'Give me this power also,

318
00:15:23,893 --> 00:15:26,766
so that anyone on whom I lay my hands

319
00:15:26,766 --> 00:15:28,913
may receive the Holy Spirit.'

320
00:15:28,913 --> 00:15:32,077
Peter said to him..."

321
00:15:32,077 --> 00:15:34,617
Now notice this.

322
00:15:34,617 --> 00:15:36,673
I want this gift.

323
00:15:36,673 --> 00:15:39,290
I want this power.

324
00:15:39,290 --> 00:15:42,471
And Peter doesn't skip a beat.

325
00:15:42,471 --> 00:15:44,007
He looks at him and he says

326
00:15:44,007 --> 00:15:46,127
you, sir, are going to hell.

327
00:15:46,127 --> 00:15:47,954
You are fake. You are false.

328
00:15:47,954 --> 00:15:50,870
You are not the real thing.

329
00:15:50,870 --> 00:15:54,151
Why? Because he wanted 
to buy the Holy Spirit

330
00:15:54,151 --> 00:15:56,715
or the ability to impart the Holy Spirit.

331
00:15:56,715 --> 00:16:02,817
He wanted to buy that with money.

332
00:16:02,817 --> 00:16:05,704
"May your silver perish with you."

333
00:16:05,704 --> 00:16:08,066
Peter's saying, "You're perishing."

334
00:16:08,066 --> 00:16:10,088
"...Because you thought you could obtain

335
00:16:10,088 --> 00:16:11,569
the gift of God with money."

336
00:16:11,569 --> 00:16:13,650
You see, he doesn't understand grace.

337
00:16:13,650 --> 00:16:17,321
There's no sense of God giving me a gift

338
00:16:17,321 --> 00:16:19,886
when I don't deserve it.

339
00:16:19,886 --> 00:16:23,637
I've done nothing to deserve this.

340
00:16:23,637 --> 00:16:25,950
"You have neither part 
nor lot in this matter.

341
00:16:25,950 --> 00:16:27,852
Your heart is not right before God.

342
00:16:27,852 --> 00:16:30,349
Repent therefore this wickedness of yours

343
00:16:30,349 --> 00:16:32,187
and pray to the Lord that if possible

344
00:16:32,187 --> 00:16:35,177
the intent of your heart 
may be forgiven you.

345
00:16:35,177 --> 00:16:38,071
For I see that you are 
in the gall of bitterness

346
00:16:38,071 --> 00:16:39,949
and in the bond of iniquity."

347
00:16:39,949 --> 00:16:41,782
He's in the bond of iniquity.

348
00:16:41,782 --> 00:16:45,249
There's bitterness and iniquity.

349
00:16:45,249 --> 00:16:46,467
What do you have here?

350
00:16:46,467 --> 00:16:49,549
True preaching? Yep.

351
00:16:49,549 --> 00:16:53,825
True miracles? No doubt about it.

352
00:16:53,825 --> 00:16:55,144
And then what happens?

353
00:16:55,144 --> 00:16:56,598
He believed.

354
00:16:56,598 --> 00:17:00,403
He was baptized.

355
00:17:00,403 --> 00:17:03,261
But he wasn't real.

356
00:17:03,261 --> 00:17:07,367
Why?

357
00:17:07,367 --> 00:17:10,022
Because you know what miracles are?

358
00:17:10,022 --> 00:17:12,455
Miracles are a sign.

359
00:17:12,455 --> 00:17:14,695
We're going to talk 
about it in a little bit,

360
00:17:14,695 --> 00:17:16,073
but you know what John said:

361
00:17:16,073 --> 00:17:17,484
I've recorded these miracles

362
00:17:17,484 --> 00:17:20,133
that you might believe 
that Jesus is the Christ.

363
00:17:20,133 --> 00:17:22,207
These miracles are like a big arrow

364
00:17:22,207 --> 00:17:25,285
pointing to Christ.

365
00:17:25,285 --> 00:17:29,181
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

366
00:17:29,181 --> 00:17:32,138
And that by believing in Him, 
you might have eternal life.

367
00:17:32,138 --> 00:17:34,824
They're a sign.

368
00:17:34,824 --> 00:17:37,136
Who goes down the road

369
00:17:37,136 --> 00:17:39,241
and you see the sign that says,

370
00:17:39,241 --> 00:17:42,489
"Exit here," and it's like, yes.

371
00:17:42,489 --> 00:17:45,745
Yes. That's my exit.

372
00:17:45,745 --> 00:17:49,099
That thing is pointing to 
where I want to go.

373
00:17:49,099 --> 00:17:50,537
And so what do you do?

374
00:17:50,537 --> 00:17:52,102
You get off the exit

375
00:17:52,102 --> 00:17:54,085
and go to where you want to go.

376
00:17:54,085 --> 00:17:56,014
What if I slammed on the brakes

377
00:17:56,014 --> 00:17:58,334
and you're in there, and it's like,

378
00:17:58,334 --> 00:18:01,163
we just sit there in front of the sign?

379
00:18:01,163 --> 00:18:03,346
You say, yeah, that's funny.

380
00:18:03,346 --> 00:18:06,234
That's the kind of funniness 
that will take men to hell.

381
00:18:06,234 --> 00:18:08,312
And that's exactly what's happening here.

382
00:18:08,312 --> 00:18:11,208
Signs are meant to show 
us something about Christ.

383
00:18:11,208 --> 00:18:13,508
And you see, he got stuck on the sign.

384
00:18:13,508 --> 00:18:14,968
He got stuck on the miracle.

385
00:18:14,968 --> 00:18:16,570
He got stuck on the amazement.

386
00:18:16,570 --> 00:18:18,672
No heartfelt sense of sin.

387
00:18:18,672 --> 00:18:24,297
Not a need: Oh, Christ!

388
00:18:24,297 --> 00:18:26,432
None of that.

389
00:18:26,432 --> 00:18:28,998
I want you to turn to 
another well known passage.

390
00:18:28,998 --> 00:18:33,088
John 2.

391
00:18:33,088 --> 00:18:34,813
You know this. I know you know this.

392
00:18:34,813 --> 00:18:36,490
But let's think about this again,

393
00:18:36,490 --> 00:18:38,812
because listen,

394
00:18:38,812 --> 00:18:47,534
I know this... I know this.

395
00:18:47,534 --> 00:18:49,136
There are people around us

396
00:18:49,136 --> 00:18:52,440
whose faith is not real.

397
00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:54,222
And that's what I want to talk about:

398
00:18:54,222 --> 00:18:55,566
true saving faith.

399
00:18:55,566 --> 00:18:57,786
How can we tell?

400
00:18:57,786 --> 00:19:00,975
Listen, if we don't know this,

401
00:19:00,975 --> 00:19:03,392
if we're not clear

402
00:19:03,392 --> 00:19:05,685
on true saving faith,

403
00:19:05,685 --> 00:19:08,056
then we're going to accept that

404
00:19:08,056 --> 00:19:10,361
as being genuine which is not genuine.

405
00:19:10,361 --> 00:19:12,774
And we're going to teach 
other people like that,

406
00:19:12,774 --> 00:19:15,239
and we're going to lead people wrong.

407
00:19:15,239 --> 00:19:17,040
And the danger is, if we don't know

408
00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:18,412
what true saving faith is

409
00:19:18,412 --> 00:19:21,585
over against unsaving faith -

410
00:19:21,585 --> 00:19:23,178
the faith of an unbeliever -

411
00:19:23,178 --> 00:19:25,215
isn't that a strange concept?

412
00:19:25,215 --> 00:19:26,887
The faith of an unbeliever.

413
00:19:26,887 --> 00:19:30,508
And yet, Scripture at times 
calls them believers.

414
00:19:30,508 --> 00:19:32,713
They're unbelieving believers.

415
00:19:32,713 --> 00:19:35,134
It's a crazy thing, but it's a reality.

416
00:19:35,134 --> 00:19:36,860
It's a biblical reality.

417
00:19:36,860 --> 00:19:39,970
And men will be damned for it.

418
00:19:39,970 --> 00:19:42,525
How do we know?
We need to know.

419
00:19:42,525 --> 00:19:44,964
Why? Because your soul 
and my soul is at stake.

420
00:19:44,964 --> 00:19:46,883
We don't want to be wrong about this.

421
00:19:46,883 --> 00:19:51,899
So, John 2:23.

422
00:19:51,899 --> 00:19:54,187
John 2:23,

423
00:19:54,187 --> 00:19:59,154
"Now, when He (this is 
Jesus Christ our Lord)

424
00:19:59,154 --> 00:20:00,405
when He was in Jerusalem

425
00:20:00,405 --> 00:20:03,396
at the Passover feast,

426
00:20:03,396 --> 00:20:06,697
many believed in His name."

427
00:20:06,697 --> 00:20:08,146
Mark that.

428
00:20:08,146 --> 00:20:11,813
It doesn't say that they didn't believe.

429
00:20:11,813 --> 00:20:16,102
It says they do believe. They did believe

430
00:20:16,102 --> 00:20:19,014
"in His name

431
00:20:19,014 --> 00:20:20,841
when they saw the signs

432
00:20:20,841 --> 00:20:23,086
that He was doing."

433
00:20:23,086 --> 00:20:25,195
But watch this:

434
00:20:25,195 --> 00:20:28,279
"But Jesus on His part,

435
00:20:28,279 --> 00:20:33,025
did not entrust Himself to them

436
00:20:33,025 --> 00:20:34,866
because He knew all people,

437
00:20:34,866 --> 00:20:38,779
and needed no one to 
bear witness about man,

438
00:20:38,779 --> 00:20:41,821
for He Himself knew what was in man."

439
00:20:41,821 --> 00:20:43,130
Now, you know what?

440
00:20:43,130 --> 00:20:45,598
V. 23 - think about if we 
were just reading that.

441
00:20:45,598 --> 00:20:47,688
"He was in Jerusalem 
at the Passover feast.

442
00:20:47,688 --> 00:20:49,150
Many believed in His name

443
00:20:49,150 --> 00:20:51,279
when they saw the 
signs that He was doing."

444
00:20:51,279 --> 00:20:53,491
If we stopped right there,

445
00:20:53,491 --> 00:20:56,162
it sounds like revival.

446
00:20:56,162 --> 00:20:58,582
If Diego and I come back from Ecuador

447
00:20:58,582 --> 00:21:00,564
and we basically give this report:

448
00:21:00,564 --> 00:21:04,859
"Many believed in His name."

449
00:21:04,859 --> 00:21:08,304
Whoa! That's a mighty move of God!

450
00:21:08,304 --> 00:21:11,142
We would think...

451
00:21:11,142 --> 00:21:14,438
But, then there's v. 24.

452
00:21:14,438 --> 00:21:19,153
You know, this literally could be read:

453
00:21:19,153 --> 00:21:23,983
"Many believed in His name,

454
00:21:23,983 --> 00:21:31,346
but... Jesus did not believe in them."

455
00:21:31,346 --> 00:21:34,749
It's the same pisteuo word group

456
00:21:34,749 --> 00:21:38,968
that we get "faith" from.

457
00:21:38,968 --> 00:21:43,513
They believed in Him.
He didn't believe in them.

458
00:21:43,513 --> 00:21:45,049
Did they have faith?

459
00:21:45,049 --> 00:21:46,846
I mean, read what it says.

460
00:21:46,846 --> 00:21:50,099
"Many believed in His name."

461
00:21:50,099 --> 00:21:51,826
It doesn't say they didn't believe.

462
00:21:51,826 --> 00:21:53,123
It says just the opposite.

463
00:21:53,123 --> 00:21:54,241
They did believe.

464
00:21:54,241 --> 00:21:56,582
But Jesus knew something wasn't right.

465
00:21:56,582 --> 00:22:00,056
And notice His words:

466
00:22:00,056 --> 00:22:05,980
It says that "He Himself knew

467
00:22:05,980 --> 00:22:10,879
what was in man."

468
00:22:10,879 --> 00:22:12,703
In man.

469
00:22:12,703 --> 00:22:16,398
Where others can't see.

470
00:22:16,398 --> 00:22:19,567
There's something wrong.

471
00:22:19,567 --> 00:22:24,244
This is life and death.

472
00:22:24,244 --> 00:22:27,901
Do we have the faith

473
00:22:27,901 --> 00:22:31,183
that Jesus would entrust Himself to?

474
00:22:31,183 --> 00:22:34,242
Or does our faith fall short of that?

475
00:22:34,242 --> 00:22:36,638
And you see the defect

476
00:22:36,638 --> 00:22:40,193
is somewhere where you and I can't see

477
00:22:40,193 --> 00:22:41,728
in others.

478
00:22:41,728 --> 00:22:45,112
We've probably got some 
idea about it in ourselves,

479
00:22:45,112 --> 00:22:47,581
but it's somewhat hidden from others.

480
00:22:47,581 --> 00:22:51,842
But Jesus knew what was in man.

481
00:22:51,842 --> 00:22:53,857
So, we need some help here.

482
00:22:53,857 --> 00:22:55,778
What's going on? What is this?

483
00:22:55,778 --> 00:23:01,943
Okay, over to Matthew 13.

484
00:23:01,943 --> 00:23:08,438
Matthew 13:20.

485
00:23:08,438 --> 00:23:11,628
We're going to dive into the middle

486
00:23:11,628 --> 00:23:16,850
of Jesus' well known parable of the soils.

487
00:23:16,850 --> 00:23:19,186
Now, you know the second soil type

488
00:23:19,186 --> 00:23:21,949
is the stony ground.

489
00:23:21,949 --> 00:23:24,396
Jesus gives us a picture of a man

490
00:23:24,396 --> 00:23:26,541
throwing seed.

491
00:23:26,541 --> 00:23:28,953
Sowing seed.

492
00:23:28,953 --> 00:23:31,516
And some of that seed

493
00:23:31,516 --> 00:23:35,614
falls on ground that's called stony ground

494
00:23:35,614 --> 00:23:36,855
or rocky ground.

495
00:23:36,855 --> 00:23:41,265
The idea is not so much that it's rocks

496
00:23:41,265 --> 00:23:43,023
interspersed with soil,

497
00:23:43,023 --> 00:23:46,863
as much as there's rock underneath

498
00:23:46,863 --> 00:23:48,786
shallow soil.

499
00:23:48,786 --> 00:23:51,736
And so when a plant begins to grow in it,

500
00:23:51,736 --> 00:23:53,579
there's no place for the roots to go.

501
00:23:53,579 --> 00:23:57,157
It can't go down into the moist soil.

502
00:23:57,157 --> 00:23:59,040
And so what happens?

503
00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:02,683
The sun comes out and it withers.

504
00:24:02,683 --> 00:24:04,054
What's that a picture of?

505
00:24:04,054 --> 00:24:06,001
Well, Jesus tells us right here.

506
00:24:06,001 --> 00:24:08,802
Matthew 13:20,

507
00:24:08,802 --> 00:24:14,318
"As for what was sown on rocky ground..."

508
00:24:14,318 --> 00:24:18,396
Now, what you want to notice,

509
00:24:18,396 --> 00:24:21,696
this is not theoretical.

510
00:24:21,696 --> 00:24:25,738
Jesus is saying when 
the gospel is preached,

511
00:24:25,738 --> 00:24:32,070
this is one of four common results.

512
00:24:32,070 --> 00:24:33,460
Here it is.

513
00:24:33,460 --> 00:24:36,245
Here's the Word -

514
00:24:36,245 --> 00:24:39,304
somebody's preaching the gospel.

515
00:24:39,304 --> 00:24:41,948
Somebody's hearing the gospel.

516
00:24:41,948 --> 00:24:45,126
The person who hears the gospel

517
00:24:45,126 --> 00:24:50,721
immediately receives it with joy.

518
00:24:50,721 --> 00:24:54,678
That sounds good.

519
00:24:54,678 --> 00:24:57,268
But, notice verse 21.

520
00:24:57,268 --> 00:24:59,342
"Yet he has no root in himself."

521
00:24:59,342 --> 00:25:01,539
Now, that's very similar to John 2

522
00:25:01,539 --> 00:25:03,102
because we're talking about

523
00:25:03,102 --> 00:25:05,517
where people cannot see.

524
00:25:05,517 --> 00:25:07,758
You know, when I lived out in the country,

525
00:25:07,758 --> 00:25:09,610
I planted a pine tree.

526
00:25:09,610 --> 00:25:14,389
It was a four or five foot pine tree.

527
00:25:14,389 --> 00:25:19,620
And a gopher chewed 
the roots off that thing.

528
00:25:19,620 --> 00:25:21,537
I couldn't see it.

529
00:25:21,537 --> 00:25:23,533
But how did I know

530
00:25:23,533 --> 00:25:29,092
that its roots got chewed off?

531
00:25:29,092 --> 00:25:32,626
At first, it began to look pale.

532
00:25:32,626 --> 00:25:33,992
Now, it was a pine tree,

533
00:25:33,992 --> 00:25:35,463
so it wasn't the kind of tree

534
00:25:35,463 --> 00:25:38,033
that the leaves are 
immediately going to wilt.

535
00:25:38,033 --> 00:25:40,296
It just started looking bad.

536
00:25:40,296 --> 00:25:42,763
The color was not deep green,

537
00:25:42,763 --> 00:25:44,572
and it was looking sickly.

538
00:25:44,572 --> 00:25:49,077
And then, the thing was not good.

539
00:25:49,077 --> 00:25:50,969
That's what we have going here.

540
00:25:50,969 --> 00:25:53,159
No root in himself.

541
00:25:53,159 --> 00:25:55,044
"...Endures for awhile,

542
00:25:55,044 --> 00:25:58,207
and when tribulation or persecution

543
00:25:58,207 --> 00:26:00,305
arises on account of the Word,

544
00:26:00,305 --> 00:26:03,919
immediately he falls away."

545
00:26:03,919 --> 00:26:06,387
Now, I know the word "faith,"

546
00:26:06,387 --> 00:26:09,323
the word "believe," are not here,

547
00:26:09,323 --> 00:26:11,651
but they are in Luke's.

548
00:26:11,651 --> 00:26:13,558
Don't turn to Luke's, but listen.

549
00:26:13,558 --> 00:26:14,809
Here's the Luke account.

550
00:26:14,809 --> 00:26:16,388
"The ones on the rock are those

551
00:26:16,388 --> 00:26:18,726
when they hear the Word,
they receive it with joy,

552
00:26:18,726 --> 00:26:20,016
but these have no root.

553
00:26:20,016 --> 00:26:21,916
They believe for awhile..."

554
00:26:21,916 --> 00:26:26,981
Receiving and believing -

555
00:26:26,981 --> 00:26:28,934
they're synonymous words.

556
00:26:28,934 --> 00:26:31,001
You know that from John 1.

557
00:26:31,001 --> 00:26:32,599
"To all who did receive Him,

558
00:26:32,599 --> 00:26:34,244
who believed in His name,

559
00:26:34,244 --> 00:26:36,752
He gave the right to become sons of God."

560
00:26:36,752 --> 00:26:39,072
Receive; believe.

561
00:26:39,072 --> 00:26:40,461
It's the same idea here.

562
00:26:40,461 --> 00:26:41,719
So here in this parable,

563
00:26:41,719 --> 00:26:44,057
Jesus tells us

564
00:26:44,057 --> 00:26:45,645
wherever and whenever

565
00:26:45,645 --> 00:26:47,843
the gospel is preached,

566
00:26:47,843 --> 00:26:49,366
there are going to be people

567
00:26:49,366 --> 00:26:51,369
who hear the gospel;

568
00:26:51,369 --> 00:26:53,795
they receive the gospel,

569
00:26:53,795 --> 00:26:56,629
they get excited.

570
00:26:56,629 --> 00:26:58,713
Through the years I've seen that.

571
00:26:58,713 --> 00:27:01,210
Gospel preaching.

572
00:27:01,210 --> 00:27:02,733
I've seen it.

573
00:27:02,733 --> 00:27:04,463
People are all excited!

574
00:27:04,463 --> 00:27:06,125
Boy, they've got a testimony!

575
00:27:06,125 --> 00:27:08,132
Oh, the Lord has saved me!

576
00:27:08,132 --> 00:27:11,925
It's glorious!

577
00:27:11,925 --> 00:27:13,504
Joy.

578
00:27:13,504 --> 00:27:14,795
That's what he says.

579
00:27:14,795 --> 00:27:17,494
They want to join!
They want to get baptized!

580
00:27:17,494 --> 00:27:19,786
They have a testimony!

581
00:27:19,786 --> 00:27:24,475
But look, before long,

582
00:27:24,475 --> 00:27:27,837
back to the world they go.

583
00:27:27,837 --> 00:27:29,053
We see this all the time.

584
00:27:29,053 --> 00:27:30,537
But something is wrong.

585
00:27:30,537 --> 00:27:31,870
Where is it wrong?

586
00:27:31,870 --> 00:27:33,361
Below the surface

587
00:27:33,361 --> 00:27:35,577
where you and I can't see.

588
00:27:35,577 --> 00:27:37,573
But here's the thing,

589
00:27:37,573 --> 00:27:40,240
this is critical.

590
00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:44,633
Persecution and tribulation -

591
00:27:44,633 --> 00:27:46,319
difficulty -

592
00:27:46,319 --> 00:27:51,892
it exposes this faith

593
00:27:51,892 --> 00:27:54,547
for what it really is.

594
00:27:54,547 --> 00:27:56,569
This is very helpful.

595
00:27:56,569 --> 00:27:58,978
This is very helpful.

596
00:27:58,978 --> 00:28:00,988
If we think carefully,

597
00:28:00,988 --> 00:28:02,898
I think we can all discover the defect

598
00:28:02,898 --> 00:28:04,190
in this faith.

599
00:28:04,190 --> 00:28:06,903
Let me ask you a question.

600
00:28:06,903 --> 00:28:16,652
Why would someone embrace 
Christ with joy today

601
00:28:16,652 --> 00:28:19,000
and walk away tomorrow?

602
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:20,613
Why would they do that?

603
00:28:20,613 --> 00:28:23,255
When persecution comes? 
Or tribulation comes?

604
00:28:23,255 --> 00:28:25,011
I mean, this is getting right down

605
00:28:25,011 --> 00:28:28,616
to the heart of what true 
saving faith is all about.

606
00:28:28,616 --> 00:28:33,021
Do you know why a true believer

607
00:28:33,021 --> 00:28:38,057
does not walk away from Christ

608
00:28:38,057 --> 00:28:42,229
no matter how hard things get?

609
00:28:42,229 --> 00:28:44,923
There's a reason.

610
00:28:44,923 --> 00:28:49,622
It's because he or she believes

611
00:28:49,622 --> 00:28:55,906
at the deepest level something.

612
00:28:55,906 --> 00:28:58,242
Think about this.

613
00:28:58,242 --> 00:29:01,952
Jesus says, "Follow Me,

614
00:29:01,952 --> 00:29:04,769
and I will lead you to glory."

615
00:29:04,769 --> 00:29:06,776
You know, He said that.

616
00:29:06,776 --> 00:29:09,846
He said that to the rich, young ruler.

617
00:29:09,846 --> 00:29:12,607
"You follow Me,

618
00:29:12,607 --> 00:29:16,604
you will have treasure in heaven."

619
00:29:16,604 --> 00:29:19,341
"I'll take you there.
I'll take you all the way there.

620
00:29:19,341 --> 00:29:21,678
You follow Me."

621
00:29:21,678 --> 00:29:23,286
"Follow Me."

622
00:29:23,286 --> 00:29:24,948
And as you follow Him,

623
00:29:24,948 --> 00:29:27,140
what happens?

624
00:29:27,140 --> 00:29:30,285
I'll tell you what happens.

625
00:29:30,285 --> 00:29:33,485
He says, "Follow Me."

626
00:29:33,485 --> 00:29:37,839
Your mother, your father - 
they don't like it.

627
00:29:37,839 --> 00:29:40,796
"You joined a cult!"

628
00:29:40,796 --> 00:29:44,412
Your friends - they laugh; they mock.

629
00:29:44,412 --> 00:29:46,945
You maybe in some countries,

630
00:29:46,945 --> 00:29:48,407
you'll lose your job.

631
00:29:48,407 --> 00:29:49,931
Your families will disown you.

632
00:29:49,931 --> 00:29:51,672
They threaten your life.

633
00:29:51,672 --> 00:29:53,035
You may be in some countries

634
00:29:53,035 --> 00:29:57,518
where they'll throw you in prison.

635
00:29:57,518 --> 00:29:59,543
Jesus does that.

636
00:29:59,543 --> 00:30:01,356
He says, "Follow Me,

637
00:30:01,356 --> 00:30:03,046
but I want you to know this.

638
00:30:03,046 --> 00:30:04,165
I'm going to take you

639
00:30:04,165 --> 00:30:05,676
to the valley of 
the shadow of death.

640
00:30:05,676 --> 00:30:07,530
I'm going to take you 
to the dark chasm.

641
00:30:07,530 --> 00:30:09,835
I'm going to take you to the furnace.

642
00:30:09,835 --> 00:30:12,514
I'm going to take you to the fire.

643
00:30:12,514 --> 00:30:14,852
And I'm going to take 
you to the brink of it

644
00:30:14,852 --> 00:30:16,629
and I'm going to pass 
through ahead of you

645
00:30:16,629 --> 00:30:18,747
because I'm asking you to follow Me.

646
00:30:18,747 --> 00:30:20,389
And I'm going to bid you to come.

647
00:30:20,389 --> 00:30:23,873
I'm going to bid you to follow."

648
00:30:23,873 --> 00:30:25,791
And you see, right at that time;

649
00:30:25,791 --> 00:30:27,535
right at that point,

650
00:30:27,535 --> 00:30:33,946
it tests what you truly believe.

651
00:30:33,946 --> 00:30:35,593
You see, you're not tested

652
00:30:35,593 --> 00:30:37,125
when the sun's out.

653
00:30:37,125 --> 00:30:39,499
Now, the sun as far as persecution

654
00:30:39,499 --> 00:30:41,158
in the parable is a bad thing,

655
00:30:41,158 --> 00:30:44,715
but I'm talking about when life is easy.

656
00:30:44,715 --> 00:30:46,449
That's not when you're tested.

657
00:30:46,449 --> 00:30:50,437
That's not when what you really believe

658
00:30:50,437 --> 00:30:52,382
is put out on the table.

659
00:30:52,382 --> 00:30:53,555
It's right here.

660
00:30:53,555 --> 00:30:55,511
It's persecution. It's tribulation.

661
00:30:55,511 --> 00:30:57,298
Because it tests at the deepest,

662
00:30:57,298 --> 00:31:00,515
deepest level.

663
00:31:00,515 --> 00:31:02,745
And you see, when you're faced by that,

664
00:31:02,745 --> 00:31:04,538
you're standing at the edge of the fire

665
00:31:04,538 --> 00:31:06,009
and He's telling you to come,

666
00:31:06,009 --> 00:31:08,244
and everything inside of you is resisting.

667
00:31:08,244 --> 00:31:09,266
It's recoiling.

668
00:31:09,266 --> 00:31:11,020
I want to go back!

669
00:31:11,020 --> 00:31:12,139
But what?

670
00:31:12,139 --> 00:31:15,253
There's a conviction.

671
00:31:15,253 --> 00:31:17,633
I desperately need Christ.

672
00:31:17,633 --> 00:31:19,545
I don't want to go through that fire,

673
00:31:19,545 --> 00:31:22,231
but I know at the deepest level,

674
00:31:22,231 --> 00:31:26,544
I need Christ! I cannot turn back!

675
00:31:26,544 --> 00:31:29,492
Because if I turn back,
where am I going to go?

676
00:31:29,492 --> 00:31:32,951
I have no place to go.

677
00:31:32,951 --> 00:31:34,462
And you follow.

678
00:31:34,462 --> 00:31:38,181
And you put one foot ahead of the other.

679
00:31:38,181 --> 00:31:41,143
I mean, you just consider these two cases.

680
00:31:41,143 --> 00:31:43,521
You consider the case of persecution.

681
00:31:43,521 --> 00:31:46,044
My friends laugh at me.
My friends mock me.

682
00:31:46,044 --> 00:31:47,815
They avoid me.

683
00:31:47,815 --> 00:31:49,973
They don't invite me to the thing anymore

684
00:31:49,973 --> 00:31:52,958
whatever it is.

685
00:31:52,958 --> 00:31:54,700
That's a reality.

686
00:31:54,700 --> 00:31:59,676
Or maybe they threaten me.

687
00:31:59,676 --> 00:32:02,892
Maybe it's the government 
that threatens me.

688
00:32:02,892 --> 00:32:05,826
Do you see what my 
faith is confronted with?

689
00:32:05,826 --> 00:32:08,381
My faith is confronted

690
00:32:08,381 --> 00:32:11,751
with what they were 
confronted with in Jesus' days.

691
00:32:11,751 --> 00:32:13,655
And He said to those Jews,

692
00:32:13,655 --> 00:32:19,402
"How can you believe

693
00:32:19,402 --> 00:32:22,797
when you desire the glory of men?"

694
00:32:22,797 --> 00:32:25,453
And you know, it said that 
of the Jewish leaders too.

695
00:32:25,453 --> 00:32:28,106
It specifically says in John 12,

696
00:32:28,106 --> 00:32:30,091
"The authorities believed in Him,

697
00:32:30,091 --> 00:32:32,857
but for the fear of the Pharisees,
they did not confess it

698
00:32:32,857 --> 00:32:35,324
so that they would not be 
put out of the synagogue..."

699
00:32:35,324 --> 00:32:36,847
Here's the reason:

700
00:32:36,847 --> 00:32:40,567
"...They loved the glory 
that comes from men

701
00:32:40,567 --> 00:32:45,678
more than the glory that comes from God."

702
00:32:45,678 --> 00:32:48,636
See, it tests,

703
00:32:48,636 --> 00:32:54,823
do I want the approval, the applause?

704
00:32:54,823 --> 00:32:59,436
Do I want the acceptance?

705
00:32:59,436 --> 00:33:01,465
Or am I willing to follow Christ

706
00:33:01,465 --> 00:33:04,299
though the whole world turns against me?

707
00:33:04,299 --> 00:33:06,448
And see, that tests you.

708
00:33:06,448 --> 00:33:08,157
God made us social creatures.

709
00:33:08,157 --> 00:33:09,651
We don't like to be rejected.

710
00:33:09,651 --> 00:33:11,803
We don't like to be outcasts.

711
00:33:11,803 --> 00:33:15,217
We don't like to be in isolation.

712
00:33:15,217 --> 00:33:17,685
They put men in isolation in prison.

713
00:33:17,685 --> 00:33:19,676
Why? Because that's considered

714
00:33:19,676 --> 00:33:21,833
the most extreme way you can punish a guy

715
00:33:21,833 --> 00:33:25,032
without actually putting him to death

716
00:33:25,032 --> 00:33:29,233
in our system.

717
00:33:29,233 --> 00:33:33,821
Why? Because we don't like that.

718
00:33:33,821 --> 00:33:36,864
You're tested right then.

719
00:33:36,864 --> 00:33:40,440
Christ - the other.

720
00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:43,200
Family. Ah, family!

721
00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:47,756
The approval of our parents.

722
00:33:47,756 --> 00:33:50,085
But see, then you have tribulation.

723
00:33:50,085 --> 00:33:52,278
What's that one all about?

724
00:33:52,278 --> 00:34:05,366
Remember, the person 
joyfully received this gospel.

725
00:34:05,366 --> 00:34:08,702
But what happens when God lays your joys

726
00:34:08,702 --> 00:34:14,027
in a pile of ruin?

727
00:34:14,027 --> 00:34:16,132
I'll tell you this,

728
00:34:16,132 --> 00:34:21,733
He never will or can -

729
00:34:21,733 --> 00:34:26,423
if you'll let me use that word -

730
00:34:26,423 --> 00:34:30,193
if your joy is in this:

731
00:34:30,193 --> 00:34:34,305
I was a wicked wretch.

732
00:34:34,305 --> 00:34:37,568
And the main thing I 
want out of this deal:

733
00:34:37,568 --> 00:34:40,914
I want Christ, and I want His salvation.

734
00:34:40,914 --> 00:34:43,185
And I know that no matter what comes,

735
00:34:43,185 --> 00:34:46,122
I can't lose that.

736
00:34:46,122 --> 00:34:48,303
You see, the problem is

737
00:34:48,303 --> 00:34:52,780
that the joy that people are coming with,

738
00:34:52,780 --> 00:34:59,096
it's often: it's my ticket out of hell.

739
00:34:59,096 --> 00:35:02,690
You know, Jesus said to count the cost.

740
00:35:02,690 --> 00:35:04,567
Because you know when people hear:

741
00:35:04,567 --> 00:35:07,161
"Oh, this is great!

742
00:35:07,161 --> 00:35:10,064
There's going to be no hell in the end."

743
00:35:10,064 --> 00:35:12,069
They get all excited.

744
00:35:12,069 --> 00:35:14,114
But you know what?

745
00:35:14,114 --> 00:35:16,132
Some people believe:

746
00:35:16,132 --> 00:35:17,338
I can become a believer.

747
00:35:17,338 --> 00:35:18,658
There's no hell in the end,

748
00:35:18,658 --> 00:35:19,905
but I can live my life -

749
00:35:19,905 --> 00:35:21,685
I'll just live my life just the same.

750
00:35:21,685 --> 00:35:23,224
But see, you have to remember,

751
00:35:23,224 --> 00:35:25,234
Jesus is calling us all the time

752
00:35:25,234 --> 00:35:28,809
to follow Him; to follow Him.

753
00:35:28,809 --> 00:35:30,606
They call His name Jesus

754
00:35:30,606 --> 00:35:33,315
because He's going to save 
His people from their sin.

755
00:35:33,315 --> 00:35:34,984
He's not going to leave you in it.

756
00:35:34,984 --> 00:35:37,608
And you see, some people 
didn't bargain for that.

757
00:35:37,608 --> 00:35:41,143
It's like, well, no, I 
wanted to keep this sin.

758
00:35:41,143 --> 00:35:42,814
I wanted to miss hell,

759
00:35:42,814 --> 00:35:45,939
but I wanted to hold on to my sin.

760
00:35:45,939 --> 00:35:49,501
Or we have this idea -

761
00:35:49,501 --> 00:35:52,060
you know, there is this idea,

762
00:35:52,060 --> 00:35:54,240
we kind of associate Christianity

763
00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:55,616
with forgiveness and heaven

764
00:35:55,616 --> 00:35:57,253
and happiness and joy,

765
00:35:57,253 --> 00:35:59,925
and rightly so.

766
00:35:59,925 --> 00:36:01,571
But then when people get in there,

767
00:36:01,571 --> 00:36:04,484
they're thinking,

768
00:36:04,484 --> 00:36:07,841
"I thought I was getting 
earthly blessings here.

769
00:36:07,841 --> 00:36:09,819
I thought life was going to be better

770
00:36:09,819 --> 00:36:11,943
and easier.

771
00:36:11,943 --> 00:36:14,739
I mean, I imagined the blessed life -

772
00:36:14,739 --> 00:36:16,734
like God's going to bless my work,

773
00:36:16,734 --> 00:36:18,727
and He's going to help me to make money,

774
00:36:18,727 --> 00:36:20,368
and He's going to bless my family,

775
00:36:20,368 --> 00:36:23,609
and things are going to get good.

776
00:36:23,609 --> 00:36:26,199
It's like I didn't see in this fine print

777
00:36:26,199 --> 00:36:29,025
He brings swords into the family.

778
00:36:29,025 --> 00:36:32,228
What's all this?"

779
00:36:32,228 --> 00:36:34,702
You see, there are people

780
00:36:34,702 --> 00:36:37,525
who haven't really counted the cost.

781
00:36:37,525 --> 00:36:38,803
And you know what happens

782
00:36:38,803 --> 00:36:40,638
when things get difficult?

783
00:36:40,638 --> 00:36:44,224
When your joy was set on something else?

784
00:36:44,224 --> 00:36:46,444
You get angry.

785
00:36:46,444 --> 00:36:48,217
What's this?

786
00:36:48,217 --> 00:36:52,177
I'm getting a raw deal here, God.

787
00:36:52,177 --> 00:36:54,077
And you know that happened in John 6.

788
00:36:54,077 --> 00:36:55,014
You remember?

789
00:36:55,014 --> 00:36:59,343
He's saying, "eat My flesh."

790
00:36:59,343 --> 00:37:01,070
And they're looking at this thing

791
00:37:01,070 --> 00:37:02,798
and they're saying,

792
00:37:02,798 --> 00:37:05,269
"Man, this is too hard.

793
00:37:05,269 --> 00:37:07,152
This is too hard.

794
00:37:07,152 --> 00:37:10,063
Your teaching's too hard, Jesus."

795
00:37:10,063 --> 00:37:12,615
And you remember what happened 
to many of those disciples?

796
00:37:12,615 --> 00:37:14,232
They turned tail and 
they were out of there.

797
00:37:14,232 --> 00:37:15,847
That's what happens 
to people all the time.

798
00:37:15,847 --> 00:37:17,381
It just gets too hard.

799
00:37:17,381 --> 00:37:19,426
This is not what we bargained for.

800
00:37:19,426 --> 00:37:25,585
This wasn't what we 
were thinking up front.

801
00:37:25,585 --> 00:37:29,379
And Jesus - you know what?

802
00:37:29,379 --> 00:37:32,312
He wanted to test men 
at the deepest level.

803
00:37:32,312 --> 00:37:34,489
Jesus was not for cheap decisions.

804
00:37:34,489 --> 00:37:36,854
Listen, He is in the business

805
00:37:36,854 --> 00:37:39,530
of not entrusting Himself to people

806
00:37:39,530 --> 00:37:42,583
whose faith doesn't go deep.

807
00:37:42,583 --> 00:37:44,026
And He'll test it.

808
00:37:44,026 --> 00:37:45,681
And He even turns to the twelve,

809
00:37:45,681 --> 00:37:47,135
and He says to those guys,

810
00:37:47,135 --> 00:37:49,161
"Are you guys going to go too?

811
00:37:49,161 --> 00:37:52,058
There's the door."

812
00:37:52,058 --> 00:37:55,635
And you know what answer 
is the only right one?

813
00:37:55,635 --> 00:37:59,354
The one Peter gave.

814
00:37:59,354 --> 00:38:00,842
You see, when you're faced

815
00:38:00,842 --> 00:38:02,708
by the hard times and the difficulties

816
00:38:02,708 --> 00:38:04,871
and the fires and the persecutions,

817
00:38:04,871 --> 00:38:08,568
that's the right answer.

818
00:38:08,568 --> 00:38:13,219
"Lord, where are we going to go?

819
00:38:13,219 --> 00:38:14,933
We don't have anywhere else to go.

820
00:38:14,933 --> 00:38:16,185
You're our only hope.

821
00:38:16,185 --> 00:38:19,507
Lord, we've put everything in this bag!

822
00:38:19,507 --> 00:38:23,953
I mean, Lord, it's You, or we perish.

823
00:38:23,953 --> 00:38:26,545
You have the words of eternal life.

824
00:38:26,545 --> 00:38:29,552
There's nobody else that has them.

825
00:38:29,552 --> 00:38:33,196
There's no other place of our hope.

826
00:38:33,196 --> 00:38:35,421
We're not going."

827
00:38:35,421 --> 00:38:38,060
Mark well those words.

828
00:38:38,060 --> 00:38:39,978
"Lord, yes.

829
00:38:39,978 --> 00:38:44,464
What You are saying is hard,

830
00:38:44,464 --> 00:38:47,599
but where will we go?"

831
00:38:47,599 --> 00:38:53,447
You know when Geoff Thomas was just here?

832
00:38:53,447 --> 00:38:55,712
He's sitting on our sofa.

833
00:38:55,712 --> 00:38:58,107
And he told a story that 
I'm not going to forget

834
00:38:58,107 --> 00:39:01,187
the rest of my life.

835
00:39:01,187 --> 00:39:06,689
He told about a man from the U.K.

836
00:39:06,689 --> 00:39:11,558
A pastor/preacher who Geoff said

837
00:39:11,558 --> 00:39:17,086
was powerful, effectual preacher.

838
00:39:17,086 --> 00:39:26,002
This man - his 18 year old daughter

839
00:39:26,002 --> 00:39:32,338
went with friends to India -

840
00:39:32,338 --> 00:39:36,215
some kind of vacation.

841
00:39:36,215 --> 00:39:39,133
She went out one day 
with one of her friends,

842
00:39:39,133 --> 00:39:43,358
and the friend wanted to go do something.

843
00:39:43,358 --> 00:39:46,263
And the girl didn't want to do it.

844
00:39:46,263 --> 00:39:50,621
And so she stayed put.

845
00:39:50,621 --> 00:39:54,726
They never saw her again.

846
00:39:54,726 --> 00:39:59,510
Geoff said that her dad went to India

847
00:39:59,510 --> 00:40:04,826
every single year for years

848
00:40:04,826 --> 00:40:09,345
trying to follow up 
reports on a white girl

849
00:40:09,345 --> 00:40:12,802
that might be seen somewhere.

850
00:40:12,802 --> 00:40:14,331
Geoff talked about the people

851
00:40:14,331 --> 00:40:18,835
that heard him weeping.

852
00:40:18,835 --> 00:40:22,012
I think he mentioned in the hotel,

853
00:40:22,012 --> 00:40:24,555
the people in India would hear him

854
00:40:24,555 --> 00:40:29,475
just weeping.

855
00:40:29,475 --> 00:40:32,176
Can you imagine that?

856
00:40:32,176 --> 00:40:35,351
I thought about that with this.

857
00:40:35,351 --> 00:40:38,872
Is this what this man bargained for

858
00:40:38,872 --> 00:40:42,577
when he threw in with Christ?

859
00:40:42,577 --> 00:40:45,848
But when Christ called him 
to stand in those flames,

860
00:40:45,848 --> 00:40:46,882
can you imagine?

861
00:40:46,882 --> 00:40:48,680
Angry - "I'm Your servant!

862
00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:51,756
Where is my daughter?"

863
00:40:51,756 --> 00:40:54,314
He never found her.

864
00:40:54,314 --> 00:40:58,225
He never found her. 
He died two months ago

865
00:40:58,225 --> 00:41:03,553
and never found her.

866
00:41:03,553 --> 00:41:07,633
He never turned his back on Christ.

867
00:41:07,633 --> 00:41:09,110
Why?

868
00:41:09,110 --> 00:41:12,667
Because there's where 
your faith is tested.

869
00:41:12,667 --> 00:41:17,303
What do you believe most?

870
00:41:17,303 --> 00:41:19,076
As much as his heart hurt,

871
00:41:19,076 --> 00:41:24,711
he believed, "I need Christ more."

872
00:41:24,711 --> 00:41:27,970
"I need Him more."

873
00:41:27,970 --> 00:41:30,984
You see, the issue here is

874
00:41:30,984 --> 00:41:34,743
saving faith is more than just

875
00:41:34,743 --> 00:41:37,385
grasping truth intellectually.

876
00:41:37,385 --> 00:41:39,088
It is that.

877
00:41:39,088 --> 00:41:42,356
Your mind needs to be engaged.

878
00:41:42,356 --> 00:41:44,358
We need to know the Christ of Scripture.

879
00:41:44,358 --> 00:41:46,597
This is not a mindless religion.

880
00:41:46,597 --> 00:41:48,832
A lot of people would 
have us believe that.

881
00:41:48,832 --> 00:41:49,872
It is not.

882
00:41:49,872 --> 00:41:51,838
We believe in a Christ

883
00:41:51,838 --> 00:41:57,564
who is revealed for us in Scripture.

884
00:41:57,564 --> 00:42:00,279
But there's more.

885
00:42:00,279 --> 00:42:02,376
There's conviction.

886
00:42:02,376 --> 00:42:05,962
There's commitment of your will.

887
00:42:05,962 --> 00:42:07,257
See, that's what happens.

888
00:42:07,257 --> 00:42:11,396
When you so are convinced in your brain,

889
00:42:11,396 --> 00:42:16,903
your will, by conviction, lays hold

890
00:42:16,903 --> 00:42:18,583
and will not let go.

891
00:42:18,583 --> 00:42:20,209
And we've got some people,

892
00:42:20,209 --> 00:42:22,658
somebody out of this church
going around right now

893
00:42:22,658 --> 00:42:24,521
and blasting this whole Lordship thing

894
00:42:24,521 --> 00:42:27,086
and saying it's works.

895
00:42:27,086 --> 00:42:28,951
Let me tell you this,

896
00:42:28,951 --> 00:42:32,373
if your faith will not 
continue to follow Christ

897
00:42:32,373 --> 00:42:34,232
and to obey Christ,

898
00:42:34,232 --> 00:42:36,120
it is cheap; it is false;

899
00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:38,641
and it has no root.

900
00:42:38,641 --> 00:42:41,653
It is keeping on.

901
00:42:41,653 --> 00:42:44,110
That's what faith does.

902
00:42:44,110 --> 00:42:46,173
It's throwing in with Christ.

903
00:42:46,173 --> 00:42:47,287
All or nothing.

904
00:42:47,287 --> 00:42:49,157
There's no backup plan.

905
00:42:49,157 --> 00:42:50,867
You see, too many people have that.

906
00:42:50,867 --> 00:42:52,476
They come: Well, I'll try this.

907
00:42:52,476 --> 00:42:57,373
If this doesn't work...

908
00:42:57,373 --> 00:43:00,664
No contingency plan here.

909
00:43:00,664 --> 00:43:01,916
It's all or nothing.

910
00:43:01,916 --> 00:43:03,230
You throw in with Christ.

911
00:43:03,230 --> 00:43:05,745
If He doesn't save you, you perish.

912
00:43:05,745 --> 00:43:07,364
There's no backup.

913
00:43:07,364 --> 00:43:12,034
When things get hard, 
we must consider this.

914
00:43:12,034 --> 00:43:13,205
And the thing is this,

915
00:43:13,205 --> 00:43:15,983
if you're not going to follow Christ,

916
00:43:15,983 --> 00:43:19,296
it's like Peter said,

917
00:43:19,296 --> 00:43:20,907
who are you going to follow?

918
00:43:20,907 --> 00:43:25,128
Where are you going to go?

919
00:43:25,128 --> 00:43:26,332
John 8.

920
00:43:26,332 --> 00:43:36,131
Turn in your Bibles to John 8.

921
00:43:36,131 --> 00:43:38,600
Because Jesus in His parable

922
00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:40,429
talks about people who believe

923
00:43:40,429 --> 00:43:43,828
but then fall away.

924
00:43:43,828 --> 00:43:44,994
I want us to look at

925
00:43:44,994 --> 00:43:47,577
what does that mean to fall away.

926
00:43:47,577 --> 00:43:49,461
It doesn't mean you're standing there

927
00:43:49,461 --> 00:43:53,355
and you fall over backwards.

928
00:43:53,355 --> 00:43:55,259
It doesn't even necessarily mean

929
00:43:55,259 --> 00:43:58,499
that you leave the church.

930
00:43:58,499 --> 00:43:59,876
It might.

931
00:43:59,876 --> 00:44:03,303
"They went out from us 
because they were not of us."

932
00:44:03,303 --> 00:44:07,290
But you know, at the deepest level,

933
00:44:07,290 --> 00:44:12,066
what does it mean to 
fall away from Christ?

934
00:44:12,066 --> 00:44:14,307
Let's look at John 8 here.

935
00:44:14,307 --> 00:44:19,072
Verse 30.

936
00:44:19,072 --> 00:44:21,290
"As (Jesus) was saying these things..."

937
00:44:21,290 --> 00:44:23,913
He's preaching. He's 
proclaiming the truth.

938
00:44:23,913 --> 00:44:27,295
"...Many believed in Him."

939
00:44:27,295 --> 00:44:29,981
But you see, Jesus, again, is not so quick

940
00:44:29,981 --> 00:44:32,680
to just jump on the bandwagon.

941
00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:34,001
He has a warning for them.

942
00:44:34,001 --> 00:44:36,324
Verse 31, "Jesus said to the Jews

943
00:44:36,324 --> 00:44:39,115
who had believed in Him..."

944
00:44:39,115 --> 00:44:41,625
Not, "oh, great, you've 
all believed in Me,

945
00:44:41,625 --> 00:44:43,453
so you all must be genuine."

946
00:44:43,453 --> 00:44:45,892
Nope. None of that.

947
00:44:45,892 --> 00:44:48,666
"If you abide..."

948
00:44:48,666 --> 00:44:51,774
Now you need to get this.

949
00:44:51,774 --> 00:44:54,255
We need to get this.

950
00:44:54,255 --> 00:44:57,630
"If you abide in My Word,

951
00:44:57,630 --> 00:45:00,239
you're truly My disciples."

952
00:45:00,239 --> 00:45:03,506
Did you get that? "Truly My disciples."

953
00:45:03,506 --> 00:45:06,061
In Acts 11:26, it says in Antioch,

954
00:45:06,061 --> 00:45:08,927
the disciples were 
first called Christians.

955
00:45:08,927 --> 00:45:10,349
You know what a disciple is?

956
00:45:10,349 --> 00:45:12,479
A disciple is a Christian.

957
00:45:12,479 --> 00:45:14,253
The disciples were called Christians.

958
00:45:14,253 --> 00:45:16,351
There's too many people that want to say,

959
00:45:16,351 --> 00:45:18,193
"Oh, well, disciple is another class."

960
00:45:18,193 --> 00:45:20,548
No, it's not.

961
00:45:20,548 --> 00:45:22,381
It's a Christian.

962
00:45:22,381 --> 00:45:26,253
And what Jesus is saying is this.

963
00:45:26,253 --> 00:45:30,037
Hey, I know, you can 
go places in Scripture

964
00:45:30,037 --> 00:45:32,438
and show where some 
of the disciples walked away.

965
00:45:32,438 --> 00:45:33,919
That's true.

966
00:45:33,919 --> 00:45:35,514
There are false disciples

967
00:45:35,514 --> 00:45:39,281
and false Christians in Scripture.

968
00:45:39,281 --> 00:45:41,092
But Jesus isn't talking about them,

969
00:45:41,092 --> 00:45:43,003
because look what He says.

970
00:45:43,003 --> 00:45:45,682
He says, "If you abide in My Word,

971
00:45:45,682 --> 00:45:49,883
you are truly My disciples."

972
00:45:49,883 --> 00:45:52,207
That's what Jesus is concerned with here.

973
00:45:52,207 --> 00:45:55,393
He's concerned with true disciples.

974
00:45:55,393 --> 00:45:56,584
Here are these believers.

975
00:45:56,584 --> 00:45:58,277
It says, "many believed."

976
00:45:58,277 --> 00:45:59,326
But you know what?

977
00:45:59,326 --> 00:46:02,095
Jesus sees two categories of believers.

978
00:46:02,095 --> 00:46:03,143
We see that.

979
00:46:03,143 --> 00:46:05,832
There are those who abide in His Word

980
00:46:05,832 --> 00:46:09,781
and those who do not abide in His Word.

981
00:46:09,781 --> 00:46:11,521
And this is the very heart

982
00:46:11,521 --> 00:46:14,163
of what it means to fall away.

983
00:46:14,163 --> 00:46:17,091
Now, you want to pay 
close attention to this.

984
00:46:17,091 --> 00:46:21,709
Many who fall away don't 
even realize that they have.

985
00:46:21,709 --> 00:46:23,481
Because they didn't burn their Bible.

986
00:46:23,481 --> 00:46:27,464
They didn't raise up and 
shake their fist at God.

987
00:46:27,464 --> 00:46:29,600
They may even still be 
coming to the church

988
00:46:29,600 --> 00:46:31,119
and to the meetings.

989
00:46:31,119 --> 00:46:37,211
That isn't the issue.

990
00:46:37,211 --> 00:46:38,972
To fall away from Christ -

991
00:46:38,972 --> 00:46:45,302
notice, you're not abiding in His Word.

992
00:46:45,302 --> 00:46:46,959
You're not following Him.

993
00:46:46,959 --> 00:46:49,616
See, when He says, "Follow Me,"

994
00:46:49,616 --> 00:46:52,025
that means, "Follow My teaching."

995
00:46:52,025 --> 00:46:53,994
"Follow My instruction."

996
00:46:53,994 --> 00:46:56,617
That's what the Great Commission is.

997
00:46:56,617 --> 00:46:59,336
"Teach them to observe all things

998
00:46:59,336 --> 00:47:01,561
whatsoever I have commanded."

999
00:47:01,561 --> 00:47:03,579
That's following Christ.

1000
00:47:03,579 --> 00:47:05,960
You remember, Jesus said to His disciples,

1001
00:47:05,960 --> 00:47:07,017
"Follow Me."

1002
00:47:07,017 --> 00:47:08,501
And what does He say at the end

1003
00:47:08,501 --> 00:47:10,926
when He's praying to 
His Father in John 17?

1004
00:47:10,926 --> 00:47:13,599
"They have kept Your Word."

1005
00:47:13,599 --> 00:47:15,084
That's what it means.

1006
00:47:15,084 --> 00:47:17,329
It's not everybody that 
says, "Lord, Lord."

1007
00:47:17,329 --> 00:47:20,194
"It's those who do the will 
of My Father in Heaven."

1008
00:47:20,194 --> 00:47:22,376
It's always been that.

1009
00:47:22,376 --> 00:47:24,097
That's the issue.

1010
00:47:24,097 --> 00:47:26,776
What does it mean to fall away?

1011
00:47:26,776 --> 00:47:30,128
To fall away simply means

1012
00:47:30,128 --> 00:47:31,852
when difficulty comes

1013
00:47:31,852 --> 00:47:33,591
or when trial comes,

1014
00:47:33,591 --> 00:47:35,460
when mocking comes,

1015
00:47:35,460 --> 00:47:39,617
when persecution comes,

1016
00:47:39,617 --> 00:47:42,723
you say,

1017
00:47:42,723 --> 00:47:45,199
I think I'm going to go pursue money.

1018
00:47:45,199 --> 00:47:47,748
I think I'm going to go pursue sex.

1019
00:47:47,748 --> 00:47:50,130
I'm going to go pursue alcohol.

1020
00:47:50,130 --> 00:47:51,857
I'm going to go get high.

1021
00:47:51,857 --> 00:47:53,718
"You know what, Jesus??"

1022
00:47:53,718 --> 00:47:55,929
We don't say it like that.

1023
00:47:55,929 --> 00:47:58,171
But it's like: This is hard.

1024
00:47:58,171 --> 00:48:00,747
This is hard.

1025
00:48:00,747 --> 00:48:02,847
I think I'll go pop some pills

1026
00:48:02,847 --> 00:48:06,096
and get drunk.

1027
00:48:06,096 --> 00:48:09,000
You see, that's what falling away is.

1028
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:10,971
That's where you're tested.

1029
00:48:10,971 --> 00:48:13,008
Didn't Jesus say it in Luke 6?

1030
00:48:13,008 --> 00:48:18,332
He says, "Why do you 
call me, 'Lord, Lord,'

1031
00:48:18,332 --> 00:48:23,154
and do not do the things I say?"

1032
00:48:23,154 --> 00:48:24,514
If you're living your life

1033
00:48:24,514 --> 00:48:29,774
and you claim to be a Christian,

1034
00:48:29,774 --> 00:48:33,681
whatever it is - boredom?

1035
00:48:33,681 --> 00:48:38,654
Loneliness?

1036
00:48:38,654 --> 00:48:41,286
People giving you a hard time?

1037
00:48:41,286 --> 00:48:43,057
The pressures?

1038
00:48:43,057 --> 00:48:44,886
The world drawing you?

1039
00:48:44,886 --> 00:48:49,377
Listen, if those trials come upon you,

1040
00:48:49,377 --> 00:48:52,794
and you can depart from His commandments

1041
00:48:52,794 --> 00:48:54,190
and walk away -

1042
00:48:54,190 --> 00:48:56,640
you still may come to 
church the next Sunday.

1043
00:48:56,640 --> 00:48:59,541
That's not the issue.

1044
00:48:59,541 --> 00:49:03,237
That's not the issue.

1045
00:49:03,237 --> 00:49:05,765
Do you believe?

1046
00:49:05,765 --> 00:49:08,709
Do you really believe

1047
00:49:08,709 --> 00:49:09,983
that Jesus is everything?

1048
00:49:09,983 --> 00:49:12,616
Do you believe He is wisdom?

1049
00:49:12,616 --> 00:49:15,506
He is Wonderful Counselor.

1050
00:49:15,506 --> 00:49:16,789
Do you believe He's Lord?

1051
00:49:16,789 --> 00:49:18,550
You see, that's what Jesus is saying.

1052
00:49:18,550 --> 00:49:20,914
You call Me Lord like you believe it,

1053
00:49:20,914 --> 00:49:22,495
but then your actions show

1054
00:49:22,495 --> 00:49:25,906
that you really don't believe it.

1055
00:49:25,906 --> 00:49:28,037
You're not doing this.

1056
00:49:28,037 --> 00:49:29,211
Somebody will say -

1057
00:49:29,211 --> 00:49:31,064
this is what's being said 
out there on the Internet.

1058
00:49:31,064 --> 00:49:32,176
Some of you have seen it.

1059
00:49:32,176 --> 00:49:33,822
"Oh, this is being saved by works!"

1060
00:49:33,822 --> 00:49:36,372
No, this is not being saved by works.

1061
00:49:36,372 --> 00:49:40,488
This tests what you believe

1062
00:49:40,488 --> 00:49:42,250
at the deepest level.

1063
00:49:42,250 --> 00:49:43,501
This is faith.

1064
00:49:43,501 --> 00:49:47,065
Faith always acts on what it believes.

1065
00:49:47,065 --> 00:49:49,992
Jesus leads you to this difficult place;

1066
00:49:49,992 --> 00:49:52,119
to this chasm, to this darkness,

1067
00:49:52,119 --> 00:49:54,710
to this difficulty, this trial, this fire,

1068
00:49:54,710 --> 00:49:59,358
this thing in your life.

1069
00:49:59,358 --> 00:50:01,959
And He still beckons to the man

1070
00:50:01,959 --> 00:50:04,394
whose daughter was lost.

1071
00:50:04,394 --> 00:50:07,822
"Yes, I took your daughter.

1072
00:50:07,822 --> 00:50:10,223
Will you still follow Me?"

1073
00:50:10,223 --> 00:50:15,048
And see even then, you want 
the answer that Peter had.

1074
00:50:15,048 --> 00:50:17,392
"Lord, You've broken my heart.

1075
00:50:17,392 --> 00:50:21,092
I will weep and I will cry before You.

1076
00:50:21,092 --> 00:50:24,805
And I'll not get over this my whole life.

1077
00:50:24,805 --> 00:50:28,934
But I'm going to follow You,

1078
00:50:28,934 --> 00:50:32,053
because You have the 
words of eternal life.

1079
00:50:32,053 --> 00:50:33,890
You're the Savior. There is no other.

1080
00:50:33,890 --> 00:50:36,591
Where else am I going to go?

1081
00:50:36,591 --> 00:50:39,178
Though You kill me; though You slay me;

1082
00:50:39,178 --> 00:50:44,294
though You throw all my joys 
in this ruinous heap..."

1083
00:50:44,294 --> 00:50:49,410
You see, you can receive Christ with joy,

1084
00:50:49,410 --> 00:50:53,637
but if God's got the ability 
to pop that joy bubble

1085
00:50:53,637 --> 00:50:55,282
to where you walk, then you see,

1086
00:50:55,282 --> 00:50:56,921
it shows what you really believed

1087
00:50:56,921 --> 00:51:00,584
and it shows where your joy really was.

1088
00:51:00,584 --> 00:51:02,614
Brethren, I can tell you this.

1089
00:51:02,614 --> 00:51:04,073
The two greatest things

1090
00:51:04,073 --> 00:51:05,558
as I've examined my life,

1091
00:51:05,558 --> 00:51:07,367
my thoughts, my everything,

1092
00:51:07,367 --> 00:51:10,815
I can honestly say to you,

1093
00:51:10,815 --> 00:51:13,349
I want two things

1094
00:51:13,349 --> 00:51:16,025
more than anything else.

1095
00:51:16,025 --> 00:51:18,109
I want to see Christ.

1096
00:51:18,109 --> 00:51:19,889
I want to have Him.

1097
00:51:19,889 --> 00:51:21,346
And I want to be perfect.

1098
00:51:21,346 --> 00:51:24,324
I want to be done with sin forever.

1099
00:51:24,324 --> 00:51:26,791
Those are my two greatest desires.

1100
00:51:26,791 --> 00:51:35,286
And so far, everything 
that has tested them,

1101
00:51:35,286 --> 00:51:38,601
there hasn't been anything more compelling

1102
00:51:38,601 --> 00:51:41,372
that I've said, no, I'm 
throwing in the towel.

1103
00:51:41,372 --> 00:51:45,094
I can't do this.

1104
00:51:45,094 --> 00:51:46,196
He's my only hope.

1105
00:51:46,196 --> 00:51:48,605
Brethren, I don't have a backup plan.

1106
00:51:48,605 --> 00:51:51,752
Peter didn't have a backup plan.

1107
00:51:51,752 --> 00:51:54,877
It's not like if this doesn't work,
we're going to go try Allah.

1108
00:51:54,877 --> 00:51:57,546
That's not even on my radar.

1109
00:51:57,546 --> 00:51:59,594
And it's not like if this doesn't work,

1110
00:51:59,594 --> 00:52:01,568
I'm going to go back to my old life,

1111
00:52:01,568 --> 00:52:04,130
or to the world, or to money,

1112
00:52:04,130 --> 00:52:10,496
to power, to the stuff.

1113
00:52:10,496 --> 00:52:14,613
I'll tell you this,

1114
00:52:14,613 --> 00:52:16,054
a lot of times people,

1115
00:52:16,054 --> 00:52:18,421
when they throw in the towel,

1116
00:52:18,421 --> 00:52:20,542
they don't blame Christ.

1117
00:52:20,542 --> 00:52:22,845
And they don't say, 
"Well, I'm falling away."

1118
00:52:22,845 --> 00:52:24,509
They blame the church.

1119
00:52:24,509 --> 00:52:26,402
That's so common.

1120
00:52:26,402 --> 00:52:29,377
"Ah, they're a bunch of legalists.

1121
00:52:29,377 --> 00:52:34,116
They're teaching salvation by works."

1122
00:52:34,116 --> 00:52:38,031
No, it's not that.

1123
00:52:38,031 --> 00:52:40,245
Our obedience is so much an expression

1124
00:52:40,245 --> 00:52:42,013
of what we believe.

1125
00:52:42,013 --> 00:52:43,586
It's an expression of faith.

1126
00:52:43,586 --> 00:52:47,431
Oh, I know, you can do works

1127
00:52:47,431 --> 00:52:50,264
where you've got no 
regard to Christ at all.

1128
00:52:50,264 --> 00:52:53,268
And it's all done in 
pride and in the flesh.

1129
00:52:53,268 --> 00:52:55,462
That's not what I'm talking about.

1130
00:52:55,462 --> 00:52:58,114
I'm talking about the stuff

1131
00:52:58,114 --> 00:53:01,124
that James is talking about.

1132
00:53:01,124 --> 00:53:03,582
He says, "You show me 
your faith without works,

1133
00:53:03,582 --> 00:53:06,875
I'll show you mine by my works."

1134
00:53:06,875 --> 00:53:17,800
Why? Because they say what you believe.

1135
00:53:17,800 --> 00:53:20,648
Look, you've got the title Christian,

1136
00:53:20,648 --> 00:53:23,126
but you'll run after your sin in a second.

1137
00:53:23,126 --> 00:53:25,500
And you know what you 
do every time you do that?

1138
00:53:25,500 --> 00:53:28,995
You call Jesus "Lord" but 
you don't do what He says.

1139
00:53:28,995 --> 00:53:31,216
"Not everybody that 
says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'

1140
00:53:31,216 --> 00:53:32,461
is going to inherit the kingdom.

1141
00:53:32,461 --> 00:53:34,025
Those that do the will of My Father..."

1142
00:53:34,025 --> 00:53:35,668
Why? That shows what you believe.

1143
00:53:35,668 --> 00:53:37,667
And if that's not reflective of your life,

1144
00:53:37,667 --> 00:53:39,970
don't be deceived.

1145
00:53:39,970 --> 00:53:42,734
You will not inherit the kingdom.

1146
00:53:42,734 --> 00:53:43,859
There is a true faith.

1147
00:53:43,859 --> 00:53:46,349
And there is a faith that 
Jesus commits Himself to.

1148
00:53:46,349 --> 00:53:48,533
There is good soil out there.

1149
00:53:48,533 --> 00:53:49,775
And I'll tell you what,

1150
00:53:49,775 --> 00:53:52,393
(incomplete thought)

1151
00:53:52,393 --> 00:53:54,529
You think about faith -

1152
00:53:54,529 --> 00:53:58,093
saving faith involves a Person

1153
00:53:58,093 --> 00:54:00,993
as its object.

1154
00:54:00,993 --> 00:54:02,681
What is it that John said?

1155
00:54:02,681 --> 00:54:05,642
John said I've given you these miracles.

1156
00:54:05,642 --> 00:54:08,420
What miracles? The healing 
of the official's son.

1157
00:54:08,420 --> 00:54:10,549
The first one - changing water into wine.

1158
00:54:10,549 --> 00:54:13,191
You think of all the things 
that you find in John's Gospel.

1159
00:54:13,191 --> 00:54:14,293
Blind man - John 9.

1160
00:54:14,293 --> 00:54:15,584
The raising of Lazarus.

1161
00:54:15,584 --> 00:54:17,615
Jesus Himself rising from the dead.

1162
00:54:17,615 --> 00:54:20,008
You think of feeding of the 5,000.

1163
00:54:20,008 --> 00:54:21,211
You think of these.

1164
00:54:21,211 --> 00:54:23,296
You know what John is saying?

1165
00:54:23,296 --> 00:54:25,089
"I have written these things

1166
00:54:25,089 --> 00:54:27,862
so that you might believe

1167
00:54:27,862 --> 00:54:30,288
that Jesus is the Christ,

1168
00:54:30,288 --> 00:54:32,229
the Son of God."

1169
00:54:32,229 --> 00:54:33,893
You see what's supposed to happen?

1170
00:54:33,893 --> 00:54:35,105
What's supposed to happen

1171
00:54:35,105 --> 00:54:38,212
is not like Simon, 
where you just get all:

1172
00:54:38,212 --> 00:54:40,235
"Oh boy, that was neat!

1173
00:54:40,235 --> 00:54:41,729
Give me the power. I'm amazed!"

1174
00:54:41,729 --> 00:54:43,696
No. It's a sign.

1175
00:54:43,696 --> 00:54:45,574
And you're supposed to follow the arrow

1176
00:54:45,574 --> 00:54:47,792
beyond the feeding of the 5,000

1177
00:54:47,792 --> 00:54:54,908
to the One that did the feeding and say,

1178
00:54:54,908 --> 00:54:58,469
"What is it about Him?"

1179
00:54:58,469 --> 00:55:01,046
"If He can do that..."

1180
00:55:01,046 --> 00:55:03,072
There's something that needs to grab hold

1181
00:55:03,072 --> 00:55:04,658
of your will and your conviction

1182
00:55:04,658 --> 00:55:07,782
that I need Him.

1183
00:55:07,782 --> 00:55:10,287
I need Him.

1184
00:55:10,287 --> 00:55:14,130
And have you got some 
running sore of the soul?

1185
00:55:14,130 --> 00:55:16,134
You've got some leprosy?

1186
00:55:16,134 --> 00:55:18,285
Spiritual wickedness there?

1187
00:55:18,285 --> 00:55:21,947
And you're seeing: "I will. Be clean."

1188
00:55:21,947 --> 00:55:23,425
I mean, can you imagine them?

1189
00:55:23,425 --> 00:55:24,563
People are watching.

1190
00:55:24,563 --> 00:55:26,085
It's like, lepers are unclean!

1191
00:55:26,085 --> 00:55:27,478
We don't even get that today.

1192
00:55:27,478 --> 00:55:29,165
Ah, you know, we go to the hospital.

1193
00:55:29,165 --> 00:55:30,718
Somebody's got some kind of leprosy.

1194
00:55:30,718 --> 00:55:32,601
They had to walk around in that day

1195
00:55:32,601 --> 00:55:34,187
saying, "unclean, unclean."

1196
00:55:34,187 --> 00:55:36,989
They didn't cut their hair, 
so they had a mop of hair.

1197
00:55:36,989 --> 00:55:39,789
And some of you heard 
Paul Washer's message -

1198
00:55:39,789 --> 00:55:41,932
you could smell them before you see them.

1199
00:55:41,932 --> 00:55:44,132
Can you imagine this just filthy

1200
00:55:44,132 --> 00:55:46,997
mess of a man? Unclean.

1201
00:55:46,997 --> 00:55:48,203
People just avoided;

1202
00:55:48,203 --> 00:55:49,311
people ran from them.

1203
00:55:49,311 --> 00:55:52,110
People went on the other 
sides of towns or streets

1204
00:55:52,110 --> 00:55:53,786
to get away from people like this.

1205
00:55:53,786 --> 00:55:57,736
Here he comes at Jesus 
and everybody's like, "ahh!"

1206
00:55:57,736 --> 00:56:01,374
And He doesn't move. He doesn't budge.

1207
00:56:01,374 --> 00:56:07,491
"I will. Be clean."

1208
00:56:07,491 --> 00:56:14,475
See what John is saying?

1209
00:56:14,475 --> 00:56:18,199
You should find something in that

1210
00:56:18,199 --> 00:56:21,315
that would cause you to 
embrace Him and not let go,

1211
00:56:21,315 --> 00:56:24,991
even if God took your 
18 year old daughter away

1212
00:56:24,991 --> 00:56:27,172
and you could never find her.

1213
00:56:27,172 --> 00:56:29,267
See, the difficulty of that situation -

1214
00:56:29,267 --> 00:56:30,745
there was no closure.

1215
00:56:30,745 --> 00:56:32,960
You don't find a body.

1216
00:56:32,960 --> 00:56:36,411
Where is she?

1217
00:56:36,411 --> 00:56:38,390
I'm not going to let go.

1218
00:56:38,390 --> 00:56:42,080
I will weep before Him, 
but I will not let go.

1219
00:56:42,080 --> 00:56:44,085
Why? I am convinced

1220
00:56:44,085 --> 00:56:47,492
of these things in Scripture.

1221
00:56:47,492 --> 00:56:49,820
Saving faith is believing the facts

1222
00:56:49,820 --> 00:56:52,599
concerning the feeding of the 5,000,

1223
00:56:52,599 --> 00:56:54,906
but it's believing it with such conviction

1224
00:56:54,906 --> 00:56:57,975
that will keep my hope from shifting

1225
00:56:57,975 --> 00:57:00,604
when all hell breaks loose against me.

1226
00:57:00,604 --> 00:57:02,794
That's the issue.

1227
00:57:02,794 --> 00:57:08,027
God has given you these stories.

1228
00:57:08,027 --> 00:57:10,847
Remember 2 Corinthians.

1229
00:57:10,847 --> 00:57:13,353
Don't turn there, but listen to it again.

1230
00:57:13,353 --> 00:57:15,126
"The god of this world

1231
00:57:15,126 --> 00:57:18,241
has blinded the minds of unbelievers

1232
00:57:18,241 --> 00:57:21,121
to keep them from seeing

1233
00:57:21,121 --> 00:57:24,739
the light of the glory

1234
00:57:24,739 --> 00:57:26,471
of the gospel of Christ

1235
00:57:26,471 --> 00:57:33,100
who is the image of God."

1236
00:57:33,100 --> 00:57:36,870
Have you seen something today?

1237
00:57:36,870 --> 00:57:40,589
You know, it's interesting, Isaiah said,

1238
00:57:40,589 --> 00:57:45,231
"Who has believed our report?"

1239
00:57:45,231 --> 00:57:49,271
Who has believed?

1240
00:57:49,271 --> 00:57:53,685
But you know, he keeps saying it.

1241
00:57:53,685 --> 00:57:59,312
He says, "To whom has the arm 
of the Lord been revealed?"

1242
00:57:59,312 --> 00:58:01,416
It's like: have you seen it?

1243
00:58:01,416 --> 00:58:05,271
Have you seen the 
arm of the Lord revealed?

1244
00:58:05,271 --> 00:58:07,553
Who has believed?

1245
00:58:07,553 --> 00:58:09,628
"He grew up before 
him like a young plant,

1246
00:58:09,628 --> 00:58:11,892
like a root out of dry ground.

1247
00:58:11,892 --> 00:58:17,535
He had no form or majesty 
that we should look at Him."

1248
00:58:17,535 --> 00:58:19,030
You see the difference?

1249
00:58:19,030 --> 00:58:24,132
That's the devil blinding.

1250
00:58:24,132 --> 00:58:25,225
There's nothing.

1251
00:58:25,225 --> 00:58:28,762
I don't see any 
attractiveness in this Christ.

1252
00:58:28,762 --> 00:58:32,064
"No beauty that we should desire Him."

1253
00:58:32,064 --> 00:58:37,615
You see the difference?

1254
00:58:37,615 --> 00:58:42,754
When the blinders are taken off,

1255
00:58:42,754 --> 00:58:44,960
and we behold,

1256
00:58:44,960 --> 00:58:46,099
there's a beauty,

1257
00:58:46,099 --> 00:58:48,414
and there is something to be desired,

1258
00:58:48,414 --> 00:58:52,200
and there is something 
necessary for your soul.

1259
00:58:52,200 --> 00:58:54,921
It embraces - it's a Person.

1260
00:58:54,921 --> 00:58:57,126
Our faith is based on a Person.

1261
00:58:57,126 --> 00:58:58,856
The angel said, "He will be great."

1262
00:58:58,856 --> 00:59:01,570
The angel said, "No end to His Kingdom."

1263
00:59:01,570 --> 00:59:04,884
He is going to be the 
very offspring of David.

1264
00:59:04,884 --> 00:59:07,943
He is going to take his 
throne - David's throne.

1265
00:59:07,943 --> 00:59:11,497
He's going to be on that - 
an everlasting Kingdom.

1266
00:59:11,497 --> 00:59:14,183
We're told that He is going to be born

1267
00:59:14,183 --> 00:59:15,194
of this virgin.

1268
00:59:15,194 --> 00:59:17,382
This is the offspring of the woman.

1269
00:59:17,382 --> 00:59:18,481
He's come.

1270
00:59:18,481 --> 00:59:21,177
It's the hope; it's the 
desire of the nations.

1271
00:59:21,177 --> 00:59:25,124
He's come.

1272
00:59:25,124 --> 00:59:28,938
There is no other hope.

1273
00:59:28,938 --> 00:59:30,801
This is the test.

1274
00:59:30,801 --> 00:59:34,586
This is the test of our faith.

1275
00:59:34,586 --> 00:59:38,069
This tests it at the deepest level.

1276
00:59:38,069 --> 00:59:42,819
Christ - He came.

1277
00:59:42,819 --> 00:59:44,694
And He came to lay His life down

1278
00:59:44,694 --> 00:59:47,076
as a ransom for many.

1279
00:59:47,076 --> 00:59:49,849
And He went to the cross.

1280
00:59:49,849 --> 00:59:52,841
And you know, Peter tried to distract Him.

1281
00:59:52,841 --> 00:59:56,039
Peter pulled out the sword.

1282
00:59:56,039 --> 01:00:01,044
"No, Peter. Put it away."

1283
01:00:01,044 --> 01:00:03,515
"I will drink the cup

1284
01:00:03,515 --> 01:00:05,956
that My Father is giving Me to drink."

1285
01:00:05,956 --> 01:00:08,432
"I will drink it."

1286
01:00:08,432 --> 01:00:09,942
There was no wine in that cup.

1287
01:00:09,942 --> 01:00:11,783
There was no water. There was no milk.

1288
01:00:11,783 --> 01:00:15,996
There was wrath in that cup.

1289
01:00:15,996 --> 01:00:18,559
Wrath. God is angry.

1290
01:00:18,559 --> 01:00:21,160
God is angry with sinners!

1291
01:00:21,160 --> 01:00:23,866
Jesus stands in the way.

1292
01:00:23,866 --> 01:00:27,017
Fury. Words like that. Fury.

1293
01:00:27,017 --> 01:00:28,542
Anger.

1294
01:00:28,542 --> 01:00:34,867
Wrath.

1295
01:00:34,867 --> 01:00:39,738
That's where our faith needs to cling.

1296
01:00:39,738 --> 01:00:43,772
Lord, to whom will we go?

1297
01:00:43,772 --> 01:00:48,789
You have the words of eternal life.

1298
01:00:48,789 --> 01:00:52,330
May God help us clearly to grasp

1299
01:00:52,330 --> 01:00:56,958
the true from the false.

1300
01:00:56,958 --> 01:00:59,911
This is life and death.

1301
01:00:59,911 --> 01:01:04,131
Father, I pray

1302
01:01:04,131 --> 01:01:05,666
open our eyes.

1303
01:01:05,666 --> 01:01:06,738
Some here, Lord,

1304
01:01:06,738 --> 01:01:10,854
may the scales come off.

1305
01:01:10,854 --> 01:01:13,412
The god of this world -

1306
01:01:13,412 --> 01:01:16,698
yeah, we know he's at work.

1307
01:01:16,698 --> 01:01:18,331
But You're stronger, Father.

1308
01:01:18,331 --> 01:01:19,553
You're mighty.

1309
01:01:19,553 --> 01:01:20,715
You can hold his hand.

1310
01:01:20,715 --> 01:01:24,179
You can subdue Your enemies.

1311
01:01:24,179 --> 01:01:27,597
We read of One who's 
stronger than the strongman,

1312
01:01:27,597 --> 01:01:30,577
who's able to bind 
him and take his goods.

1313
01:01:30,577 --> 01:01:32,781
Lord, we pray, do that.

1314
01:01:32,781 --> 01:01:34,361
Do that in our midst.

1315
01:01:34,361 --> 01:01:37,754
May we be able to see

1316
01:01:37,754 --> 01:01:39,485
these mighty works.

1317
01:01:39,485 --> 01:01:41,686
I pray in the name of the living Christ,

1318
01:01:41,686 --> 01:01:43,061
Amen.