Are You Converted? (Part 2)

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Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio with pastor and author Dr. Mike Abendroth.

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Today on No Compromise Radio, we'll be hearing Pastor Mike open the Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

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Now let's join Pastor Mike in progress as he preaches through the scriptures, verse by verse, with No Compromise.

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Commentator Hubbard said, Ruth's leap of faith even outdid Abraham's. She acted with no promise in hand, with no divine blessing pronounced, without spouse, possessions, or supporting retinue.

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She gave up marriage to a man to devote herself to an old woman, throwing herself on the mercy of God.

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Now, Kim and I had a conversation just a few years ago, or a few months ago rather, where should we get buried?

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Do we get buried in California? Do we get buried in New England? I don't know about you, do you have a plot of land?

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Do you have a little cemetery spot, or where do you get buried? Sri Lanka?

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I mean, I heard the burial plots there go cheap, I mean. There's something probably in you that says though,

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I'd like to be buried at home. I kind of want, I want to have, I mean,

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I'm dead and gone and all that, but that's where I want my bones. That's where I want my body. One of the reasons why

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I know Ruth is converted, and the writer, most likely Samuel, is trying to push this even farther, is because when you talk about,

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I want to be buried at a certain spot back in these days, you want to be buried where your heart is, that's my country.

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What did they do with Joseph's bones when they were in Egypt? We've got to get those things back, and as for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem.

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The place where you were buried was very important, very significant. That's my real home.

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Bury me in my real home, Israel. The writer wants you to know, she thinks that's her home.

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She's converted. But the coup de grace really found at the end of verse 17, she uses

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God in curse language. But she doesn't just use

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God like most people do. She uses the personal, covenanting name of God, Yahweh.

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Look at verse 17. I know she's converted. I know she's regenerate. This is post -cross, so we can't call her a

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Christian, but she's a believer. She's justified by faith alone. Thus may the

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Lord do to me and to worse, if anything but death parts you and me.

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You appeal to your own deity when you make a curse. Stick 10 needles in my eye, cross my heart, and hope to die.

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I don't even remember these. I'm glad I don't. I swear to God. You don't swear to someone.

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I swear on my mother's grave. You swear on something important. I swear on Yahweh.

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I swear on Yahweh's name. She's a believer. Oath formulas, by the way, in the

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Old Testament are usually not with Yahweh. They're with Elohim. Saul said, may

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God do this to me and more also, for you shall surely die, Jonathan. For Samuel 3, what is the word that he spoke to you?

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Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you. And she doesn't say, you know what, I swear on Chemish's grave.

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I swear to Chemish that I'm going to do this. Not at all. Personally calling

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God his personal name. Ruth is converted. I will forsake family, pleasure, marriage, culture, ethnicity, my home country, gone.

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Verse 18. I mean, something, if you're reading this, there's something good in Naomi's life,

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I mean in Ruth's life. I think this is such a classy lady, a godly lady, someone who's received the grace of God so much.

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I think something good's going to turn out at the end. Someone this wonderful, of course by the grace of God, but the human side still of conversion is, she repented, she believed, she did these things.

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Something has to be happening and there's a trajectory. See Ruth and you go, something good's going to happen out of Ruth, through Ruth, because of Ruth.

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When Naomi saw that she was determined, verse 18, to go with her, she said, thanks,

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I could sure use a partner, thanks, I'd love to have you help me carry some stuff, thanks,

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I know I kind of run my mouth, but you know, I know you're with me through thick and thin. Thank you, you've just given one of the most emotionally moving love poem speeches in all of history, secular, pagan, or sacred, and her response is, to use another pop song with Simon and Garfunkel, it's the sound of silence.

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Couldn't you say just like, thanks, thank you? You know how when you say to someone, if it's proper, you say,

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I love you. We've got this truncated thing in America, especially in the west, especially men if they're not careful, and it's like, you know what,

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I don't really want to say I love you because that means a lot, so you're just like, love you, love you, love you.

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She can't even say, thanks. My family gets on me all the time because I don't say, you are welcome.

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That's way too much work. You're welcome, still too much work. Welcome. Naomi can't even say welcome.

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Welcome. The writer wants you to know,

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God is doing something in a Moabite. This is something fascinating going on. Ruth is converted.

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Now we turn the hinge to you. Let's turn our

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Bibles to Mark chapter 8. I want to ask you the question, are you converted?

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Have you forsook all ties, familial, ethnic, national?

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As you're turning to Mark chapter 8, Spurgeon said this was a very brave, outspoken confession of Ruth, pleased to notice that it was made by a woman, a young woman, a poor woman, a widow woman, and a foreigner.

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Remembering all that, Spurgeon said, I should think there is no condition of gentleness, obscurity, poverty, or sorrow which should prevent anybody from making an open confession of allegiance to God in Christ Jesus.

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Have you done that? Are you a Christian? Have you been converted? Now Mark chapter 8,

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I really want to get to verses 30 some and following, but we're going to pick it up in verse 22 because I love context.

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I want you to see the context, and this is just so mind -boggling and so fascinatingly wonderful I've got to pick it up early because I'm just dying to talk about the

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Lord. Mark chapter 8, verse 22, and we're going to end this section with, are you a

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Christian? James would say, you call yourself a Christian? Prove it.

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But before we get there, Mark 8, 22. They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.

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Of course, they knew Jesus could heal. They knew he was the compassionate Savior. They knew about Isaiah 35, Isaiah 61, who the

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Messiah would be and what he could do. Blindness back in those days, blindness, how about no eyeglasses, let alone all the hooks and the lances and the salves and the balms people would put on their eyes and have put on their eyes so they could see?

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This man's blind. From the birth canal, from leprosy, it doesn't matter, cataracts, he's blind.

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And he took the blind man, Jesus did, by the hand, led him out of the village, led him out, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked, do you see anything?

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He looked up and said, I see people, but they look like trees walking. Maybe they're the disciples.

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I think

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I see something like trees walking. Now, wait a second. I thought when

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God heals, he heals organically. I thought when God heals, he heals to such a degree that even pagans go, yeah, he heals completely, fully, instantaneously.

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I thought when God heals, he doesn't need a two -step deal. Oh, yeah,

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I know, Jesus didn't have quite enough power to heal the first time, so he healed a little bit, kind of letting his energy bar increase a little bit, health meter, it's going back up again, now he's going to heal again.

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That's it. I see people, but they look like they're trees walking.

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Why is Jesus doing a two -step healing? Verse 25 gives us a second step, then

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Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again. Why a miracle performed in stages. Too hard for the first time for Jesus?

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His eyes again, and he opened his eyes, and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

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Why would Jesus do two -step healing? Jesus does everything for a reason. What's the reason?

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Physical healing, two steps. You see a little, then you see clearly.

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And now we're going to look at the disciples and what happened to this man physically, the disciples need spiritually. They're going to see

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Jesus as Messiah. That is a God -ordained miracle that God opens their eyes. You are the

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Christ, the Son of the living God, and then God is going to need miracle number two. You even have to follow

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Jesus, the Messiah, who suffers. Blind step one, partial.

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Blind step two, complete. Now we're going to see the disciples. They see Jesus gradually.

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He's first the Messiah, then the suffering servant. Let's take a look. It's two stages for a reason.

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The disciples need their spiritual vision to be healed and sharpened.

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Their understanding of Jesus as Messiah came at the first touch of spit, spiritually.

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But they're going to need another touch to see clearly, because you've got to have your eyes wide open. Nobody says, when you think about the

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Messiah of Daniel chapter 7, that Jesus is going to be dead on a cross, crucified, beat, mocked, spit upon.

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Who can just come up with that? God's got to open your mind to Jesus as the Messiah, and he's the suffering

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Messiah. Two stages. Verse 26, and he sent him to his home, saying, do not even enter the village.

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Jesus went on with his disciples to the village of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, who do you say that I am?

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They told him, John the Baptist, and others say Elijah, and the others say, one of you is a prophet. And he asked them, but who do you say that I am?

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And Peter said, you are the Christ, and he strictly charged them to tell no one about them.

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God the Son lets them know, through the spirits working, Jesus is the Messiah. That's the first set of spit on the eyes.

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But here's what happens, verse 31. And he began to teach them that the

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Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed.

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Oh yeah, that Messiah. And after three days, rise again. What a slap in the face to this

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Messiah that's going to come back. Lion of the tribe of Judah, doesn't quite sound like it.

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Suffer, death, blood, kill, condemn, reject.

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This is all wrong. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

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That's the language of you rebuke demons. Now Peter is rebuking Jesus. As one man said, he went from a student, you're the

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Christ, the Son of the living God, to dunce cap, get thee behind me. Jesus. Peter is doing exactly what

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Satan does. Jesus, you don't need the cross, go straight to glory. Crown before suffering.

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Glory before the cross. That's not God's MO. And in light of all this,

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Jesus gives his call to discipleship. And now I give you these.

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Three spiritual gut checks for you. Do you call yourself a Christian? Let's find out from Jesus' perspective.

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Not your church, not your denomination, not your friend, not even yourself. Jesus determines the divine side of salvation, the sovereignty of God.

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He also determines the response to the sovereign initiating grace. He also determines the conversion, our man's response.

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We like to say repent and believe. Here's what Jesus says. You want to have a Messiah? You want to go to heaven?

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You want to believe? Three spiritual gut checks in light of who

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Jesus is. Mark 8, verse 34. And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said.

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I mean, this is a perfect time for a good convert. It's a perfect time to get a lot of numbers and assets and attendance, buildings and cash.

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This is the time. And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said.

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If anyone would come after me. And then he gives three demands.

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Here comes the first gut check. The person who wants to follow Christ must deny himself. That's number one.

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Oh, you know what? Lent's coming up, and I'm just going to say no to chocolate, tobacco, and alcohol. Maybe diet coke.

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I don't mean me. This isn't deny things.

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I'm going to cut down on my fat intake this week. This is renounce.

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You see the passage? Deny what? Deny who? Deny himself. Now, you think about what the world says.

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Affirm self. Recognize self. Esteem self. It's exactly opposite of everything that the world's saying.

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You want to be my disciple? The problem is you. This is not self -denial of things.

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You are the problem, Jesus is saying. Yeah, but you don't understand, Jesus. If I come and follow you,

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I've got dreams, aspirations, thoughts, hopes, plans. Five -year plans.

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Ten -year plans. Career. Money. I've got all this stuff planned. That's the problem.

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Now, Jesus might give you a wife, kids, a career, money, fame, fortune. Or he might give you the second gut check.

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You want to follow Jesus? You want to be converted? Christ's non -negotiables.

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Deny himself, number one. Number two, take up your cross. Deny yourself, take up the cross.

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Oh, this is good because my wife sure is a nag, some people would say. And I can't believe that I've got this cross to bear.

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I've got this bad back and I have to bear this cross in my life. Is that what this means?

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Just as we imported ourselves into Ruth's culture, you import yourself into New Testament culture.

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Pick up your cross. You say, I want to be forgiven.

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I want to believe in Jesus. I want to have him as my savior, advocate, redeemer, reconcile, friend.

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I want to go to heaven. I need my sins forgiven because I know I'm a great sinner. Here's what

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Jesus said. Then you better be willing to pick up a cross and go out in the middle of the town square and be crucified for my name.

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Public execution. You want to follow me? Get ready to be led out, carrying a cross, and be crucified naked.

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I could ask you the question using Jesus' words. You shouldn't call yourself a Christian unless you're willing to be crucified naked at the

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Worcester Common for Jesus' sake. That's what he's saying. And everything in you should be saying, standards are too high.

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How could I do that? Remember, this is the response to this initiating grace, but still this is conversion.

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And we, I, it's like, yeah, but if I believe, you know, then my Catholic grandma's going to be mad at me like my

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Catholic grandma was going to be mad at me. Yeah, but then, then my society, then my husband, then my kids, then the culture, then those people at work.

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Those are all real questions. But Jesus said, deny yourself and take up your cross.

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Capital punishment was done publicly back in those days. Here's the idea.

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Lord, in light of what you've done and who you are, I'm ready to submit to you. And whatever you call me to do and whatever you want me to do, and from martyrdom to non -martyrdom, to public execution to not,

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I've been bought with a price and I'll do what you say. I'm willing to go. And some of these men listening, according to tradition, had to pick up a cross.

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Andrew, crucified in a Grecian colony. Peter, crucified upside down.

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The other Simon died on a cross in Iran. Philip hanged against a pillar.

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Kind of fascinating that one of the councils, called the Nicene Council, meeting in the fourth century, they had 318 men there discussing doctrine.

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318. Only 12 had both of their eyes, both of their legs, both of their ears, their tongue, and no damages to their body.

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Only 12 had not received torture for their Christian faith. And Jesus says, you want to follow me?

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Pick up the cross and are you willing to die for me? You still confess me as Messiah?

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If you have to maybe die for me, that's Jesus' point. I see with Ruth, that was exactly what was happening.

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Turn her back on her old gods. Turn her back on herself, her identity, her ethnicity, her future.

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I have to just trust it all to God. I have no future because God's my future. And the third gut check is, follow

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Him. Didn't say sign a card. Didn't say get baptized. Present tense, keep on following Jesus daily.

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I said no to self once and for all and He's coming back to haunt me. But there's that definitive break and now this is the ongoing forward coming after Christ.

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You know what's so wonderful about the Lord? He gives some reasons for these demands. There's some thought to this.

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Look at verse 35. He gives one reason for this. God's ways aren't our ways.

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For whoever would save his life physically will lose it eternally.

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Why should you pick up your cross and be willing to follow Jesus even to public execution? But whoever loses his life temporarily by living for Jesus, for my sake and the gospel's, will save it eternally.

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As Hugh said, losers are keepers. He asked another question, verse 36.

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It's reasonable, it's profitable to do this. Doesn't seem like it, but it is.

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For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Answer? Forfeit his soul?

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Nothing. No profit of any kind. You have everything and you lose your soul and go straight to hell.

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Then what profit is it? No profit. Yeah, but you don't understand about my wife and my kids and my family and my

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Catholic background. You're right. I probably don't understand. But I've got a question for you that I hope it rings in your ear.

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What profit does it give a man to gain the whole world, even his family relationships, and forfeit his soul?

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I'm not talking about your family. I'm talking about you. You know what then?

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If that's the case, I want to go to heaven. I won't lose my family so maybe I can earn my salvation. Maybe I can work.

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Maybe I can do good things. Verse 37, question 3. For what can a man give in return for his soul?

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Answer? Nothing. And there are serious consequences.

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Verse 38. For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, don't tell me you were influenced by peer pressure.

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That won't work. Of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in glory of his

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Father with the holy angels. Could it possibly be that when

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God thinks of those in hell, they're the place where, of course, rebels go, blasphemers go, liars go, sexually immoral go.

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But there is the place where I put people who are ashamed of Jesus.

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I'm ashamed of these people and therefore off to hell they go. Could it be?

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This is the place God puts those he's ashamed of. See, I don't want to think about this.

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That's why I'm preaching, because there are some people here who are not born again. You must be born again.

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If Ruth doesn't get converted and she follows Orpah, she lives a life with a husband and then dies and goes straight to hell.

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Jonathan Edwards said, The punishment that is threatened to be inflicted on ungodly men is the wrath of God.

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God has often said that He will pour out His wrath upon the wicked. The wicked, they treasure up wrath. They are vessels of wrath.

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They shall drink of the cup of God's wrath that is poured out without mixture. God sometimes executes judgments upon sinners in this world, but it's mixed with mercies and restraint.

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But in hell there will be full and unmixed wrath. I don't want you to go there.

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George Whitfield said, If Christ not be your righteousness, for God's justice must be satisfied, and unless Christ's righteousness is imputed and applied to you here, you must hereafter be satisfying the divine justice in hell torments eternally.

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Christ Himself shall condemn you to that place of torment. Christless wretches standing before the bar of God crying out,

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Lord, if I must be damned, let some angel, some archangel pronounce damnation. But all in vain.

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Christ Himself shall pronounce the irrevocable sentence. Ruth is a nice little love story of a woman who is converted by God.

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No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

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Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible -teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of God's Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

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Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 8 .30 and 11 a .m. and Sunday evenings at 6 p .m.

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We're located on Route 110 in West Boylston, Massachusetts. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org

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or by phone at 508 -835 -3400. The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.