Deadly Temptations (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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Verse 14, I tell you this man went down to his house justified, declared righteous, rather than the other.

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For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

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That's why it's so good, beloved, to study the Word of God because then you realize who God is, who we are, and then you never do what we have in our culture today.

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I talk about this a lot, but I think it's true. Why is Jerry Springer and his ilk, why are they so popular?

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Answer, because praise the Lord, at least somebody's a deviant and I'm normal. But before the

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Lord, we all fall short. Number four, this is big in our culture today and this is a huge one and so I'll talk about this maybe a little longer.

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You'll be tempted to think sexual sin is normal and natural. You'll be tempted to think that sexual sin is normal and natural.

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We live in a world that the world says, especially with the gay marriage issue happening before our very eyes, coming like a roller coaster, downhill as fast as possible with few breaks.

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Well, you know what, I guess you're born that way and if you're born that way, then it's okay. This isn't an issue of behavior before God.

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If you're white or black, that's not a, you're just born that way and so that has no moral implications. After all, if you're hungry, you eat.

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If you're hungry for sex, you indulge. Sex, a sin? No, I thought it was fun. Turn to Hebrews chapter 13 and let's find out what

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God says. It doesn't matter what the world goes on to sell, they want to make sure everybody is quiet about it so they don't feel guilty with their

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God -given conscience. Sexual sin, that is sex outside of marriage, is sin against God and always sin.

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Yes, of course, God forgives sexual sin, aren't you glad? But if you take a look at Hebrews chapter 13 verse 4, we go to other passages when we talk about sexual sin, but I like this passage because it talks about the honor of marriage.

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Marriage is to be highly prized and honored, precious, using the same terminology about Jesus' redemption in His blood as precious in 1

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Peter. Verse 4 of Hebrews 13 says, let marriage be held in honor among all

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Christians. No, marriage reflects Christ's love for the church and the church's submission to the

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Son and it reflects things about the eternal love of God that the Son would be sent to rescue the bride and redeem her and wash her and cleanse her and sanctify her and glorify her.

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God had the idea of marriage before humans were created and therefore marriage represents an eternal truth and it shouldn't just be honored in the church, it shouldn't just be honored in your home, it's to be honored what?

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Among all. Marriage must be honored among all. It's precious.

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Honor means to be in first place, highly prized, special, lifted up.

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It reflects God's grace in Christ Jesus and His substitutionary death. It reflects a wonderful thing in life where there's marriage, it's to be held in honor among all.

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And because of that, let the marriage bed, you can study the Greek, the marriage act, be undefiled.

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God has made it holy, that's why outside of marriage it's profane. God has made it good in marriage, that's why outside of marriage it's bad.

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For God will judge the sexually immoral, those who aren't married, and the adulterous, those who are married but are not with their spouse.

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Oh God, you're so good, you give us salvation and then every other good gift and you give us this good gift in marriage too.

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And then people come along and say, instead of saying God, sex and marriage is good and right and holy,

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I want what I want now, I'm not married or I am married but I want somebody else and I want what

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I want and so self -gratification and self -pleasure pushes away the goodness of God.

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That is why it's such a grave sin. I don't care about my responsibility to God, our

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Christian community, I want to have sex. You see the word there, undefiled, the marriage bed is undefiled, let me read you some words about Jesus and the same word is used to speak about the purity of our

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Lord. Hebrews 7, for it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, now here's our word, unstained, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.

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He has no need like those high priests to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

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Those that practice sexual behavior outside of marriage, before marriage, what's the text say?

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God will judge. No wonder Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

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Do not be deceived. When the world says, you know what, everything is good and right, everybody else is doing it, it's all fine, it's dandy, go for it, you only live once,

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God will judge and there's a whole, as A .T. Robertson calls it, solemn roll call of the damned for people who think they were on the church roll and they're really on the damned roll because their lifestyle is one of unrighteousness, adulterers, homosexuals, effeminate.

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I'm so glad that 1 Corinthians goes on to say, and such what? Were some of you.

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God's grace is greater. You are washed, sanctified, justified.

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Those passages that talk about God working, we're passive and God washed us, he sanctified us, he justified us in the name of the

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Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit. Therefore we want to flee sexual immorality. The world is going to be continuing to just jam this down our veritable throats.

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The Bible says, of course God is great, of course God is good to invent this, but he knows where it should take place and that is within the marriage bed.

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Number five, number five, the fifth temptation, by the way before I talk about the fifth temptation, if you are in sexual sin, run.

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If you've committed sexual sin, run to the cross, you can be forgiven. Number five, you will be tempted to believe

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Jesus is only a Savior, not the Lord. You'll be tempted to believe Jesus is

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Savior only and not Lord. Every one of these has something to do with man and then connected to the last man,

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Adam and then the last Adam, sin and then the Savior, guilt and then gratitude out of the grace about the cross, it's all linked together.

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The temptations might not be that bad if they only terminated in self, but it makes us forget about our

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Lord. Why don't you turn your Bibles to Acts chapter 2 please, Acts chapter 2,

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I just want you to be reminded that in God's eyes, God the Father, Jesus is

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Lord and he is Christ or the Messiah or the Savior, Acts chapter 2 verse 36.

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This is a big one for me because I fell into this for so long. I believe that I was a

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Christian, if you would have asked me, are you a Buddhist, no. You would have asked me, would you die for your faith? I think I would have even said yes,

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I mean there were no guns around at the time, but I would have known enough about Christian martyrs that I wouldn't want to, you know, not die for the

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Lord. I mean it would be one thing if you thought, you know what, I'm going to go to hell, but it's another thing to say,

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I think I'm going to go to heaven and as John Bunyan says, there's a porthole to hell at the gates of heaven for people who think, you know what, the

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God of the universe, I say to myself, changed me, he justified me, he regenerated me, he made me a new creation in Christ, the

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God who makes things out of nothing changed my life, but there's no change in my life. If there's no change in your life, then you ought to ask the question, how can there be a change in my standing before God?

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Kim and I were introduced to each other by a lady named Sharon, Scottish lady named Sharon, she lived in my apartment complex and I've told you the story.

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We were talking about religious things, spiritual things, she asked me what are my beliefs and I said

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I'm a Christian. I probably didn't say I'm a Christian, I probably said I'm a Lutheran and she said, well, I'm a

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Christian, really, that's interesting, that's nice and she said, well,

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I have a picture of me and Jesus in my house, okay, I'd like to see that picture.

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I thought it was going to be like, you know, Jesus putting his hand on the young man who is holding the steering, what do you call the steering wheel in a boat?

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A wheel? Steering wheel? That's called a wheel? Say it out loud. The wheel?

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It looks like a wheel but I don't think it's called a wheel. Will somebody help me? Huh? They're at the helm holding the thing that looks like a wheel.

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I thought Jesus had his hand there and I thought, you know what, it's going to be a picture like that. You know,

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Jesus, fair skin, German, blue eyes, feathered hair, Jesus, it was some guy.

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He's probably 60 years old, his name was, I said, that's not Jesus, that's not Jesus. She said, well, it's

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Jesus. Well, Sharon, you got a new name that he gave you,

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Aria, and his name used to be John Rogers and now it's self -given Jesus, that's not

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Jesus. And if you would have said, Mike, was that a good job sticking up for Jesus?

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Probably. But I didn't care about Jesus' Lord, Lordship, I cared about,

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I didn't want to go to hell. I've got that all taken care of. I believed in Jesus, now just let me go live my life for my own glory.

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I have my own Herod agenda, thank you. That's why when that guy on Sunset Boulevard looked at me, we're coming back from the church, there's about five of us in the car, and that guy looked at me and he said, you're a

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Christian? I'm not really a hitter, but I wanted to hit him. I think in my mind

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I did hit him. I just wish I would know what his name is today and I would tell him, you know, that rocked my world. I say

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I'm a Christian, I profess I'm a Christian, I've got the lingo of a Christian, the verbiage of a Christian. I know what to do,

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I've been baptized, catechized, irrigated, everything, consecrated.

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I went on mission trips to Galeana, Mexico to tell people about Jesus as the only Lord, the object of the

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Christian faith. Verse 36 of Acts chapter 2, Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both

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Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. No wonder

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John chapter 2, many believed on his name, but they didn't follow him because they only wanted the bread, they only wanted the wine at Canaan.

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Luke 8, these have root, but they believe only for a while. If there's no change in your life, you ask yourself the question, how could the change of the status of my life be true?

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If I'm not a new creation in Christ, how could this be true that I'm forgiven, justified, cleansed, washed?

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I'm not saying there's a standard to live up to for your salvation because salvation is holy of the

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Lord. But when the God of the Bible, the triune God, wholly saves, you are going to be different.

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Romans 14 says that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Today, in the city of David, there has been born for you a

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Savior who is Christ the Lord. Jesus isn't

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Savior, and then as a second step of consecration, you make him Lord, especially after you've sown your wild oats.

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Do not be deceived. Don't fall for that temptation for your own good, but also for what it does to Jesus.

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Out of all the kings kinging, he's the king. Out of all the lords lording, he's the Lord. Defames him.

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Number six, we better speed up. Number six, I was going to say, but you're more sanctified than the first service.

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I can preach longer for you. But then I thought, simultaneously, maybe you need longer preaching because you're less sanctified so I'm not sure which one it is.

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Whatever it means to you, that's what I just meant. Now with all joking aside, number six, you will be tempted to believe that hell is too awful to be real.

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You will be tempted to believe that hell is too awful to be real. And better scholars than me, better Christians most likely than me, or you, from John Stott to Philip Hughes, have fallen into this.

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Philosopher Sartre said, hell is people. It's not true. Unless you mean the worst thing about hell is

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God is in hell. What makes hell hell is God there.

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God is there. Let's go look at Revelation chapter 14. I think the problem with many people is they have a loved one who makes a profession of faith.

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It's a watered down profession and so they have to rearrange what hell means and how long is it.

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Is there a purgatory? Are there indulgences? Is there annihilation? How much universalism is there?

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Can Jesus save somebody without them knowing about Jesus and the list goes on. We've talked in the last few weeks about the reality of hell and I just want you to know that if you put your feelings above Revelation of God, you're going to want to believe that hell couldn't be so bad and it isn't true because it is awful.

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It's awful. In heaven, Jesus is going to be the great advocate and wonderful savior and in hell,

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Jesus is going to be the omnipresent God who's the tormentor judge and eternal executioner.

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It's horrible to think about. Should make Christians very glad that they're not going but it should make

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Christians very earnest in their public proclamation of Jesus the only savior. Look at Revelation chapter 14 verses 9 through 11.

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Oh yes, other passages talk about away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his might like 2

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Thessalonians chapter 1. This isn't a contradiction. God's mercy isn't in hell.

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God's kindness isn't in hell. God's love isn't in hell but his wrath and his holy justice, the omnipresent God certainly is.

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Revelation 14, 9, and another angel, a third, followed them saying with a loud voice, if anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will also drink the wine of God's wrath poured full strength into the cup of his anger and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb.

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And it's still with a loud voice and the smoke of the torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image and whoever receives the mark of its name and frankly anyone else who's thrown into the lake of fire.

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Why is it called a lake? Because there's no outlet. Because it's horrible. I've said it a thousand times probably,

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I cannot believe in hell unless I submit myself to scripture. Paul taught it.

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Jesus taught it. John taught it. It's just so horrible. Joseph Elaine said, oh better were it for you to die in jail or a dungeon or a ditch than to die in your sins.

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If death as it will take away all your comforts would take away all your sins, there might be some mitigation.

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But your sins will follow you when your friends leave you and all your worldly enjoyments shake your hands.

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Your sins will not die with you as a prisoner's other debts will, but they will go to judgment with you there to be your accusers and they will go to hell with you there to be your tormentors.

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Jesus said ominously, Matthew 25, and these will go away into eternal punishment.

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But the righteous into eternal life. Submitting yourself to scripture.

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Number seven. Okay, maybe one or two more. Number seven, you will be tempted to wait to serve the

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Lord, specifically addressing young people right now. You will be tempted to wait to serve the Lord.

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Turn your Bibles to Romans chapter 12, please, if you would. You'll be tempted to wait. I mean, I've got it all figured out.

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I graduate from college and then I will get married. I'll have a couple of kids and then I'll serve.

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Or I'll do this and I'll do that and I'll do the James 4 thing and figure things out versus, you know,

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I need to just serve where I am because I don't know how long I'm going to be on this earth. You need to remember the

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Creator in the days of your youth, Solomon, the wise man said. My favorite thing is, well, one of my favorite things is to watch

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WPI students come here and the ones that come here and worship on Sundays, glad to have you because you don't buy into, well,

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I just worship with other students on Friday night. That's my Sunday work. That's my worship. No, that's just vain imagination.

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So that's good thinking. But I especially love the ones I've seen. I don't even know all the ones that I've seen. The Bernard's and the

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Gladman's and Andrew's and Anitra's and other people I'm probably forgetting. They come through and they go, you know what?

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I'm 18. I'm at WPI. But it is church over parachurch.

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It is church over the university of, is it a university, is WPI a university or just a college?

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I don't know. Is it a wheel? Is it a helm? It's funny what people hear too because instead of listening to the sermon,

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I'll get the email or the comment at the door. By the way, you didn't pronounce Odysseus' name correctly.

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I especially like the students that just say, I've been saved. I've been redeemed.

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And I don't have some kind of work, school, church compartments.

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If it were only that easy, if it were only under the Old Testament, I'd just save some money and go sacrifice that animal and I'm good to go.

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But I'm the sacrifice. I'm supposed to be the sacrifice. Look at Romans chapter 12.

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I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God, chapters one, two, three, all the way through 11, the sovereign grace of God.

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We had no righteousness. God, the righteous one who righteously requires righteousness, provides righteousness in Christ Jesus and he declares it to our account and he sanctifies us.

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He doesn't condemn us. He's sovereign. By those mercies, present your bodies as a living sacrifice.

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I'm not waiting to serve and this is not a call for everyone to be a missionary in full -time ministry. Oh, it might be a call for some.

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This is with your life. What does God want? Do you think he wants your money? He wants you.

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And if he's got you, then everything else follows. A living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

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It's logical. It's right. He saved my whole person, body, soul, mind, will, spirit.

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I give him everything. I like to watch young people who are sold out for the

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Lord. Shadow of the Almighty, Elizabeth Elliot putting together Jim Elliot's diary and on the top it would have his age, 15, 14 years old, totally sold out.

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I thought that's Romans chapter 12. You just don't do that on your own. That's something that's done to you, but you've got a responsibility to follow the

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Lord. One day you're going to be too old to serve. If you live to be old enough, that's why

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I thought I met Fred Maxine here this week, talked to Guido and Sarah, to Pietro, and all four of them and many others at the church as well, but I've just talked to them recently.

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You talk to them and they'll say, I want to serve more. God has saved me from all my sins and I just want to serve the body.

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I can't serve Jesus. His body isn't here. His body isn't in my heart. His body is in heaven, but I want to serve his bride, but you know what?

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I'm old and I'm feeble and I'm frail. I said, but isn't it good of God that he motivated you so now on your deathbed you don't have to say,

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I wish I would have served. I could have served. I should have served more, but you rest there saying, my new service is encouragement.

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My new service is prayer. Don't wait.

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Spurgeon said, if I have any message to give you from my own bed of sickness, what do you tell people when you're on your deathbed?

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They hover around Luther's bed hoping maybe if you're a Roman Catholic that he'll deny the

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Protestant faith. What will he say? What would Spurgeon say? If you desire to make your sick bed as soft as it can be, do not stuff it with the mournful reflections that you wasted time when you were healthy and strong.

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You'll break your constitution, they said to me with preaching 10 times a week. Well, I've done it and I'm glad of it.

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I'll do it again. If I had 50 constitutions, I would rejoice to break them down in the service of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. You young men that are strong, overcome the wicked one and fight for the Lord while you can.

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You will never regret having done all that lies in you for our blessed

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Lord and Master. Crowd as much as you can into every day and postpone no work until you graduate from college.

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Until tomorrow. Well, I have many more.

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You'd be tempted to try to earn God's favor. Be tempted to think of the cross as foolishness.

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Be tempted to live for this world only. Be tempted to solve your own temptation problems by yourself versus thinking about who

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Jesus is. You'd be tempted to want to get rich. You'd be tempted to blame God and many others.

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But I think that's enough for today. The world is selling its wares.

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They know how to market. Product, price, place and promotion. Strap your bodies to the mast of the scriptures.

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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.