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Now I want you to pay attention. It wasn't anything in Israel wasn't their military.
The last Sunday of 2023 it's been a Man a heck of a year it has been an insane year. But to be honest with you hadn't many be more crazy than the last three or four. It just seems like the social fabric of our nation and even of the world has Changed dramatically it maybe it's my age maybe I woke up and The world's changed.
I'm just that old guy that sits there and starts talking about how the kids dress and the music's too loud, but in all fairness We reached a point in our culture Where gender is fluid? I'm sorry. I'm not young.
I don't get that. Okay, I just don't get that now. I'm gonna tell you why I don't get that not because of a lack of an opinion or Lack of foresight within the development or the evolution of our society.
I don't get it because it's not true. See, I don't Comprehend how we've reached a time in our culture where lies and feelings now become the objective truth rather than a subjective Opinion. I do not get that there's a confidence that comes with knowing truth.
I'll be honest with you for a second. I'm a bad pastor. I am I'm a bad pastor.
We got.
Deacons. That was Mike.
I'm not a super Christian.
I'm not I want to be I Want to be them guys on TV That walk up to people and and they like fall out on the ground. I've tried it. I mean no one ever falls out on the ground unless it's to a left hook.
You know what I mean? I want to be one of those guys that stands up here and that $3 ,000 suit and says If you want to invest your seed in the kingdom of God calm down. I saw Juanita Bynum probably one of the most heretical godless heathens I've ever seen on.
The.
The video what's it called the Facebook or whatever? It's internet. That's what I'm trying to say. And she sat there in the middle of service. She said God just told me that there are seven people in this room.
We're gonna come down here and give me $25 ,000.
Before right, I mean seriously. Wait a minute. I.
Just got it. You know, I'm just not but that's another reason that I'm not. I have doubts sometimes.
I.
Struggle with doubts the all. Hi, my name is Jeff. I struggle with doubts sometimes in my faith. Guys do y 'all doubt sometimes. I do now. I'm gonna be honest with you 30 years ago. I doubted a lot more than I do today.
In.
Fact my doubts today Have nothing to do with where I'll end up or the sovereignty of God or the power of God and I'm going to tell you why it's not based upon simply an understanding of the longevity or of the years or the maturity That comes through you.
It's not that because I know people who have sat there and in a church for 35 years that are still as ignorant as a new believer in the Scriptures. And I'm gonna tell you something my faith comes from God's Word.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing The Word of God Romans 10 17 if you want to increase your faith. You don't have to give money to a preacher if you want to increase your faith. You don't have to sit there and have certain music played in a certain style.
To tickle your emotions to feel strong in God. What you got to do is submit yourself in the Word of the Living God and in obedience to that Word. Try your life out. You see the Word of God is not just simply Instruction.
The Word of God is the litmus test of where you are in your sanctification process with him now. Here's the problem with that. How many times I look. I never heard those songs before this morning those first day.
Never heard him for my life and I was sitting here going. Oh Lord. What are we doing? You know. And I started listening to the words that being crushed that knew what dude, that's me. That's me, man. I have been crushed by God so many times because of my.
Dis.
My rebellion and because of my Disobedience, but out of that has come a maturing faith. I'm not there yet, but I'm a lot longer or down the road than I was. But here's the problem during those times I have in my Christian life felt like me and God were this far apart.
Can you can I get an amen? All right. I just didn't want to be the only loser in the room. Okay, I have felt. Especially early in my faith that I had sinned so much That I had lost my salvation. And anybody else.
Can I get a hand or two. Good good. I won't be alone in hell. Oh Philippians chapter 1 I want us to read together. I want us to put away looking at our failures and our feelings and start looking to the faithfulness of God's Word.
Read with me Ephesians Philippians chapter 1 up. There we go. I'm sorry. I have a new lightsaber today. There we go. And I want to read this to you. I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ now what we're talking about today theologically, especially in reformed circles is titled the perseverance of the Saints or the preservation of the Saints as it's matriculated through the years.
But I have a problem with that. Not only do I have a major problem with limited atonement I have a problem with the title perseverance of the Saints because I know it's semantics. But this is what it sounds like to me.
God gives you the gift of salvation and says good luck, buddy. I hope you make it that is not scripture. I don't have to persevere in my salvation or justification. I have to persevere in my Sanctification now for those of you in here that you are not a Christian you have no idea what I'm talking about.
You're going to hell and I'll get you in a second but for the rest of us who are believers the perseverance has nothing to do with my salvation because that work is Completed in the day of Jesus Christ.
I want to just break down a few things this morning before I do I want to address the first verse of Philippians chapter 1 because we need to know who this is addressed to Paul and Timothy servants of Christ Jesus to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi with the overseers and Deacons pastor Josiah, what is Posse or Posse?
What is it was all mean I don't understand.
Except for.
All.
Hmm M. St. Jeff. You all know that I want to be started be called st. Jeff. I mean St. Jeff man, that just has a nice little ring to it, doesn't it? Do you realize that there are people all the world that actually think there are Christians that have reached a certain tier?
To be given the title of Saint. Well, if that's what you grew up thinking like I did that's fine. But according to God's Holy Sovereign Word the idea check this out guys. Am I so cool or what? Wait, I ain't nothing check this out.
Wait a minute. Yeah, I like the little laser thing better.
Programmed this anyways. Saints right here is the word haggy eyes. It is also the word holy. So every time you see the word Saint or holy what's holiness mean doctrinally? Separated set apart. I love my church set apart.
It means that you have been set apart. Positionally from a wall that's going to hell and you are now positionally in Christ. All of us who have been born again by God are Saints. There are no degrees of Saints.
We are all on the same level. We have different roles. I'm a pastor or as it says here. I'm an overseer Episcopus or a Presbyter or appointment. There are a lot of different words, but that doesn't mean I'm great.
In fact God addresses the Saints in totality and then he says with the pastors and deacons as well notice that deacons are lost.
Guys.
Understand this that if this if you are a believer here today This word that is being spoken to us this morning in the Bible is Addressed to you all saints. Now, let's carry on with this one verse. I'm going to show you four things out of this one verse.
First of all, let's look at this and I am sure of this. That's what we were talking about earlier being confident. Paul writes the Philippian Church and he says this and I am sure this turn in your Bibles to Romans 8 or Pull it up on your phone and read with me Romans 8 Chapter chapter 8 verse 38 and 39 for I am sure that neither death nor life Nor angels or rulers nor things present nor things to come Nor powers nor height nor death nor anything else in all Creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord Except our own weakness.
This is one of the most powerful scriptures.
Huh?
That ain't right. Y 'all pretend like y 'all are from Bellevue. Y 'all just sit there play on your phones and let me do the preaching. Okay. Is that what it says? For I'm sure that neither death nor life no angels or rulers. No anything present nor things to come nor powers No heights nor depths nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of Christ Jesus our Lord.
Period.
Paul.
Said I am confident now some people don't understand them between cockiness and confidence. Cockiness is based on the insecurity of your feelings. Confidence is based on something greater than yourself.
I know Paul said in 2nd Timothy the last book he ever written.
I know.
That all that I have committed to Christ God will keep it safe until that day. Understand this today. Paul was confident. How confident was he? We'll just read down a few verses in verses 13 and 14. He says this so that has become known throughout the whole Imperial Guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ and them and most of the brothers having become confident in the Lord by my Imprisonment are much more bold to speak the word without fear men.
You want to know what leadership is? It's being afraid and doing it. Anyways, that's leadership. It's not having the absence of fear. Well pastor. I'm afraid I'm gonna mislead my family pastor. I'm afraid that it's gonna be awkward to pray with my wife.
It feels awkward. Okay, well hike up your skirt change your underwear out little girls and grow a spine because your job as a man. It's not to be a slave to your feelings. But to grow in the maturity of Jesus Christ where you actually leave something besides the remote control.
Do you get to decide what the thermostat is on? Do you I do in my house. You know, but that ain't the leadership guys. That's Totalitarianism. You got my backside man guys come to a place in your life where you start having confidence.
Paul was Disconfident while he was in prison. Guarded and by the way the word Imperial Guard here. Oh Wrong one the word Imperial Guard here. That's called praetorians. You know who they were in the Roman Army.
They were the Navy SEALs buddy of the Roman Army. They were the special forces the best soldiers and all of the Roman legions were taken and brought to Rome. And these were the guys that guarded Caesar and his prisoners.
Paul was in a dungeon. About to get his head cut off. And he said I am confident and I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you Will complete it didn't matter what your Condition is my position is in Christ and that I'm a hundred percent sure of guys when you have struggles.
Do you just immediately start doubting do you sit there and go? Well, this is never gonna work. I'm gonna tell you a shameful story. I have of me. Oh It's so shameful. I had been a Christian a Year when I don't know and this guy in Barnum Wyoming says hey Come on up here and be our youth pastor, and I went Barnum where?
Wyoming. I don't think so I'm not. I don't want my wife start chewing tobacco or sleep with my cousins. I Can't go to Wyoming you people know I Said there ain't no way I'm going three months later. I was loading you haul moving to Wyoming and The pastor there had said this pastor when you get up here.
You can move in to one of our deacons houses. He has a five-bedroom house. It's just him and his wife you your three kids and your wife can move in there. So I got in this u-haul truck literally everything I had we had a total of a hundred dollars to our name.
That's it. I ain't talking about we had some in the bank or on a debit. We had a hundred dollars. That's it. The u-haul had to be in Cheyenne three hours south of Casper or bar none the next day. We drove 24 hours straight and as I was getting closer to Wyoming this white death started falling from the sky.
Called snow, and I hate driving in snow. I don't mind driving in snow. It's all the other idiots that are driving alongside me in snow right we get there. The pastor's like hey, how you doing? It's good to see you.
Yeah, man glad I'm here. I guess and I can remember sliding under my truck. Putting the ball joint back on my driveshaft because I had towed it and I'm in three feet of snow. And it's negative windchill 30 degrees.
Hello, Wyoming. Actually preached a sermon on July 4th, and it was flurrying snow. And the pastor says hey, I got somebody to talk to you about yeah. Well, you know that house. Yeah.
Well.
His daughter got a divorce and she and the kids moved back in. We have no place to put you now I said To this but a thing for the Lord on high and his blessed Magnitude shall bestow upon us with all of his grace.
I Got up under there, and I had that ratchet in my hand. I said you have got to be Expletive kidding me. You're kidding me. Do you know what. I just went through my wife, and I now have a total of like seven dollars.
Because you halls take gas. What am I supposed to do he goes? Oh, it's no problem. Your kids can all sleep in the house with us and you and your wife can sleep in my camper pop-up camper next door.
And I went.
They've been doing a word coming out. I walked in the house, and I was furious. I mean like Old Jeff furious. I'm ready to stomp someone's head in and I go. Have you heard when she goes. Yes I know. It's so disappointing isn't it?
Disappointing.
Disappointing if someone ate the last chip out of the bag and left the bag. She goes we're gonna pray about it. God would and this is what I did when I ain't going. You pray about it, baby. And this is what I want you to pray for.
I need a four-bedroom house. Tomorrow so I can unpack the stupid truck and drive it back to Cheyenne. And I need to bet four-bedroom house. I need to let me move into it with $7 down. No job making a job.
I was working at the church. They were paying me a whopping $25 a week, and I want to move in tomorrow morning. She goes okay. Let's pray and I wanted to punch her in the face. I Did I wanted to punch her in her little face?
Next morning I Can remember this. I can feel my hand. I can. I had a two-wheeler and I can still feel the tires being pulled over the threshold of a four-bedroom house. That a guy let us move in that no one knew.
Gwen just called a phone number. And I had the dryer and went boom boom and I was Heard my words again. And I put that dryer down and I started shaking because it freaked me out. I'm confident. Confident not because of what I've experienced.
I'm confident and what God has said he would provide. You see when we come to a place We've stopped listening to our fears and our feelings and we start listening by faith and obedience to God's Word.
You mature and you grow. Some of y 'all's problems is you go to churches where your ears get tickled. Where you are still bench pressing just the bar as a senior in high school. You know why because no one's ever pushed you to load it with more weight.
You have no idea the doctrines of work. God's Word, you know, John 316. If you went to FCA, you know, I can do all things the most. Horribly harmonetically incorrect usage of that verse ever created by mankind, but you don't know nothing else.
Oh. You believe in God? What would he do so to demons? You don't cuss smoke or drink and live a moral lifestyle so to a lot of atheists I know. There's no depth to you yet because you walk down an aisle and pray Jesus into your heart and You're over the age of 40.
You're a mature Christian.
No.
Because in the stillness of the night When you try to pray and the words don't come you're focused on your failures rather than the faith. When the plane goes overhead and you just got finished laying left behind you're going.
Oh my god, the Rapture's come. Because in your brain, it's all sensationalism. It's smoke machines lights and music and a legal moral mind. You know, I'm sure Paul was.
Wasn't just his words.
It was his life on the line. He gave it all so he was confident, but notice this other thing. That he who began a good work in you John 5 24 says this Truly truly I say unto you he that hears my words and believes on him that sent me Has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation.
But is passed from death unto life. I preached this years ago, and I gave you five. Five doctrines five doctrines from John 5. I Worked really hard on that sermon. Thank you all for no one remembering it, but this is the verse I used and I looked at the doctrine of justification.
Sanctification and glorification within this one verse if you look at it, it's crystal clear. It says he who believes in him who has sent me has in the present tense eternal life and shall not come into condemnation.
That's. Come on, Mississippi, what tense? Karina I need an English Nazi. Shall come into is that future past or present? Future the blonde gets it. Okay, but has already passed from death into life. That is past tense.
You see one is justification. Someone was shouting this a minute ago. One is justification. I've been rendered innocent now one is Sanctification. I mean, I mean justification is past tense. Sanctification is always present tense.
Glorification is future tense. You see he who began and work in you now. Why is this important for us to understand these doctrines? I'm gonna tell you why because when you start understanding the doctrines of God, you'll realize.
You have no part in your salvation. I Know I know some of y 'all just. Well, yeah, I walked down the aisle I prayed Jesus. I Repented. I did this. I got baptized. I joined the church. The problem with all of that is the word I is found in no soteriological treatise anywhere in Scripture.
None.
Nowhere, do you realize that we are the object of salvation? Not the person who actually does it if you read scripture over and over again. You know why I'm justified because of God, you know why I'm forgiven because of God, you know.
Why I have atonement because of God, do you know why I have anything? It's all because of God and here's why. Because you were dead in your trespasses and sin. God is the author and finisher of our faith.
Now you say pastor. Why is that important? Because if you believe that and live that your doubts are gonna shrivel up and die. Because you realize that a sovereign immutable God who called you from death to life.
It's not all of a sudden gonna sit there and go. Oops. I let him go. Oops, he slipped for us to lose that which God has already done. That would mean God would have to lose his sovereignty. The blood of Jesus Christ would have to lose its redemptive power and the Holy Spirit of God would have to become mutes.
That is not going to happen you see our salvation is not just for our benefit. The salvation of God really is about glorifying his name in the impossibility of a task. Which cannot be done by human hands for God to bring us home.
That is the one of the most beautiful list things in the world. Now. Here's the betterest part of it. The other last couple of weeks. I'm still sore today. Not as bad. But my son as I told y 'all last week asked me to help him build a playground in his backyard.
Now this playground is shipley eyes which means that the slide the 12-foot slide that we have which OSHA says should be at a 50 55 degree angle so that the child may go. And slide down it we put that sucker at about a 40 degree angle, which means they go and they're down.
Okay.
Now I decided when I got up there.
Jeff.
Be easier to slide down to climb back down. So I got on that slide and I went hey Josiah What. And I hit the ground doing about Mach 3. Now my son who is a pastor of this church employed by you people and His wife who is a great nurturing mother.
The response to my Rachel Shipley pulled out and taking pictures of me in my pain.
Clapping. Did I do I?
Said.
Josiah.
Hey, man, we're halfway done. Maybe we finish this up tomorrow. And pastor Josiah went well, we can do that dad. But we're running out of time. We have to have this completed before Christmas and I went.
And I worked the rest of the day came back the next morning worked all that thing. Watch this here's my point. When human strength or desire or tenacity fails God's never does. You see God said before time began.
That right. There's my boy Jeff Shipley, I know he ain't much to look at. I know he really don't have a whole lot to offer but the problem that you have powers of hell and the strength and the powers of this world is he belongs to me now and Nothing no matter what happens no matter how hard it happens no matter how bad he rebels.
He's coming home with me. John 10 tells us I gave them eternal life and they will never perish. No one will snatch them from my father's hand. Can someone give me a definition of eternal life without using the word eternal?
Everlasting forever. Never-ending. What part of that is? Oops, I send. I messed up. Now it's not eternal anymore. Like this one Romans 11 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. I Remember I lived on Paul.
Would It was Pauline or Paul would I lived in Nutbush. I can't remember Paul something. But I was living over there and I had this red Toyota truck. No, actually was a great Toyota truck had a great Toyota truck and I woke up one morning and somebody had stole that John.
Stole it.
Man, I call up MPD man and that guy old officer graying beard walks up and he looks at me looks at the house and he goes Stolen, huh? I went. Yeah. You've been paying your bill on that truck.
I'm a little behind. But somebody stole my truck and he looked at me. Through years of experience said son. This truck wasn't stolen. It was repoed.
No, wait, what?
Yeah repoed and I went. What's repoed mean? It's like if you don't pay your bill, they come and pick up the truck. God don't repo your salvation Because of your failure to pay a price that you were never asked to pay to begin with.
You know why. Because you ain't got it the means to pay for your salvation. That's what Jesus did. Right. I'm almost done. For those of you non-christians, I said I was going to talk to you for a second now.
I need everyone in this room To use Wikipedia or You know Whatever intellectual source you have on your phone. I Need someone to please for the love of God. How much money do I got? I got ten twenty. No, man, I got it.
I got one two, three. I got three hundred. I Got about three hundred and twenty bucks.
330 330.
Sorry, ain't no one gonna repo it. I got three hundred and thirty bucks here. All right, I will give it to anyone in this room that can explain this to me. Okay, you ready now for you Believers that think this is all bunch of bullcrap and the Big Bang Theory and all that.
Remember, I'm a high school dropout. Okay, I'm an ex-drug addict. I'm nothing if we evolved what evolved first. No, I'm not talking about the chicken or the egg or any of that garbage. I'm talking about within our bodies now up here.
There are six systems in our body. There are really twelve. But I just put six up here because that's what I actually found when I looked up online a picture for this. I call this order systema. That's what I call it.
But you might have a name for it skeletal system respiratory system muscular system circulatory system digestive system nervous system. Reproductive system, you know what I'm saying? We got a lot of systems.
Tell me which one evolved first. Need to hit nervous system. Great nervous system. How did that? System evolve.
Without a brain.
What's it sending messages from? Which one. Circulatory system. All right, what's it gonna system in where the arteries and veins? Are y 'all with me? Help me out. Seriously. I got money right here. Oh, let me do it like you kids do on TV.
Come on, all you little guys stick it online. There is no God churches full of crap. All they want is money. I'm giving you money you arrogant narcissistic self-centered godless pig. Explained to me evolution.
They got it in all the books. All the smartest people believe in it. All right, Skippy answered one question. Which system of all first? Unless they all 12 Happened at the same time. Now if they all happened at the same time there ain't no evolution because evolution means over time it happened Things that make you go.
Hmm.
And yes, I am looking over here because I know there are two boys over here from our SOG ministry that aren't Christian. So yes, I am addressing them. But for us you godless evens in here. I'm addressing you as well.
There is a God he has completed his will and it will be finally Completed when he comes back and he's coming back this time to chew bubblegum and kick butt and he's out of bubblegum. Okay, he ain't coming back his little precious moments.
Jesus in the Bible and I know some of you that grew up in church. That's offensive to you. I Understand that reach take your hand reach back here and feel them lumps. That's called a spine some of y 'all need to grow it and quit playing church and start preaching the name of Jesus.
Because hell is gonna be hot and it is forever and you got people in your own family going straight there and you don't care. The entire Motivation of your effort is I'm gonna pray for him man. Come on with you praying for a dead person.
They don't need your prayers. They need the word of life. So stop being afraid grow up and start living out what you say. You believe by the way, my $300 is safe. Not because there ain't a punk in here you take it out of my pocket.
But it's safe because there is no answer other than God said let there be man. Let there be light and you can bring whatever doctor of philosophy or science you want. I will punk him like a little sissy not because I'm smart but because I am confident of this very thing.
You see there's a difference you say will pass. You sound cocky that ain't cocky buddy. That's confidence and Christians. Some of y 'all need to get a little bit more confidence. Okay, cuz you're at the water table and you want to be accepted cuz you like junior high school again the guys around there going.
Hey, did you see that big blonde to come in? Yeah, I Want to be accepted. I'm so insecure. I don't want to be alone. I want to have friends. How about just doing this? Hey, man, I ain't partaking in that because I'm choosing to follow Jesus.
That's confidence.
Last thing.
He who began at work and you will see it completed. Now, this is my favorite part. Oh At the day of Christ Jesus. I couldn't write it on here so I wrote it on here. You know what's cool about.
Scripture.
See, I actually study in what's called a systematic theological way meaning if you come to me and says Jesus has blue hair. I'm gonna find everywhere in Scripture. It talks about Jesus hair from Genesis to Revelation.
I'm gonna look at extra history books. I'm gonna look at Historians that living at that time and what they wrote and if something's true, it's going to be true all the time. Okay, that's called a doctrine.
All right, you can't sit there and say well. You have to be baptized to be saved because there's one verse here in 2nd 1st Corinthians. All right, man, if that's true, then it's got to be true all the way throughout it, right?
Are you with me? It's not that hard. All right. So what's really cool is John.
Peter are all saying the same thing and you've got to remember. After Jesus went up and the disciples went out. They didn't get together every three years for a convention. They never saw each other again.
They went off they went to Spain and India and all the they never saw each other again. John went off they went off. But they all wrote and they all wrote the same thing and they wrote the same thing as the other Apostles but they also wrote the same thing that Isaiah was writing 700 years before and Abraham and Moses and all those other guys.
They were saying the same thing first. Peter says this according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and the sanctification of his spirit. For the obedience to Jesus Christ for the sprinkling of his blood.
What doctrine. What name a doctrine in that one sentence? For knowledge atonement. Sanctification. Try you. Why are you telling us all these big words. Because they're in the Bible dork, right? There's God the Father there's God the Son there's how much I was witness comes up to you and says where's the word Trinity in the Bible.
You can say.
Man.
Guys understand this now watch this blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to his great mercy He has caused us to be born again to a living. Hope not a fearful Hope a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance.
Ready, that is Imperishable man won't die. I'm defiled. It ain't spotted. Yeah, but pastor I did. No you don't matter. For you who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation. Ready to be revealed in the last time.
Guys, you know why Paul was confident. Because the same God the same God Paul. There's the same God the same Peter same God that saved me. Understand this man. Your salvation is kept by God and you know why it's kept by God.
Because Ava will never drive my truck at five years old.
What right?
You see for God to leave the perseverance of your salvation in your own hands. Would be like me handing my keys to a five-year-old and say drive across the state to Neyland Stadium. And I hope you get there.
It ain't gonna happen. Well, there's one in a million chance. So you're saying this now one in a minute. No, there is no chance. She's not pastor. It's your daughter but she's so cute and.
Exactly. You ain't making it till tomorrow if your salvation is based in your hands. You see that's why God kept it now look where it's kept. Whitten Baptist Church. Oh No in heaven because that's the only eternal place in the eternal destiny of where we're gonna be guys.
Are you confident in this now watch this? I'm gonna close this music dudes come up. Focus right here for a second if you're in this room and the totality of your Comprehension of salvation is you're forgiven.
You're one of the immature Christians that I'm talking about. Forgiveness is this much of your salvation this this. This much. Okay. It's a whole lot bigger. Well pastor, why are you telling me this. Because if you actually see the full scope of God's grace and love Then doubts will melt away.
They will melt away When you see the totality of God's grace. It gives you something. It's not just the doubt but in the vacuum of that doubt something else comes in Confidence not in yourself, but in Christ and it's confidence to be able.
Hey, you look nice today Vicki. Sorry squirrel you gives you the power to walk up to somebody and go. Hey, can I share Jesus with you? Because you ain't studying no more you ain't worried about Rejection because I'm accepted by Christ.
What do I care about you and your little nerd herd? I don't. Guys, do you have that confidence as a Christian if you're not a Christian? Well pastor, how do I know? I'm not a Christian. Pastor Josiah read a really cool verse at the very beginning of this service.
You want to know where how you know? Do you love to obey God? Let me do this for you for those of you that this rings the bell with Dear Jesus dear Jesus. I know I'm a sinner.
I know I'm a sinner.
Come into my heart and save me. Come into my heart and save me in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Hey. If that is the total experience of your salvation.
You're not saved.
You're not forgiven. You're going to hell. Pastor how can you say that? I'm not. Scripture is if I am nothing changed in your life. You are okay. I'm sorry. I wanted to leave you with a warm fuzzy. I really did.
But I got to leave you with truth. I'm sorry that this isn't a three-point homily of epic proportions. Would you leave here walking on clouds? But I would rather leave you here Convicted by the power of God's Word than to see you drowned in the sorrows of hell for all eternity.
Okay, I'm not here for your membership or your money. I don't care about either one, but I do care on that day whether you gonna be standing with God. Oh, you're gonna be standing in hell. Where's your position in Christ if you are not a believer?
This is not a game. I'm not a government agent trying to control society. Sorry, this is not a flat earth. I know some of you keep people who keep smoking weed want to believe that. I'm sorry. It ain't true.
There are certain things that are immutable. We can discuss them we can debate them all day long. But at the end of the day, there is a God hell is hot and he's coming back. Those are immutable facts if you aren't a hundred percent sure of where you are with Christ.
I'm gonna ask you to come forward and talk to a preacher. Now the preacher ain't gonna tell you anything of him own self. But he will open up that Bible and he will show you God's Word on how to be saved.
Number two, if you are Christian, you need some maturity. It's gonna take accountability and it's gonna take study and you say well pastor I've tried that before it just doesn't work and went to the Lifeway bookstore and got this big Bible study book in a little pen and a highlighter and got my little coffee cup that says Jesus loves me and all that other crap and It lasted two days and I quit because you have nobody like holding you accountable.
What is accountability? Hey, did you do your Bible study? You need a Bible study. Did you do your Bible study? You did do your Bible. That's good. That's a little baby. Did you do your Bible study? I'm gonna knock you.
No, that's not accountability. But that's what I'm talking about that see God made this thing called the church to make you feel Uncomfortable. Okay to get all up in your business. That's why Witten will never be a mega church.
It ain't ever gonna be one. Thank God. Hallelujah. Because we need to be all up in everybody business if you are not maturing in your faith. You need someone to be in your business. Okay, number three if you're doubting or you're hurt.
And you're just beat up by your own failures and faults. Relax for a second. Just slow down. The same God that gave you that little feeling. When you were first saved. Or that same God that you actually believe that forgave you and he's been doing this to you.
Hey, come on back. Yo, man, you keep going left. I keep saying right you're going in circles. I Want to tell you there's hope. There is if you just need some prayer for abused and battered soul. Man let's pray for you for all you other Christians that are perfect in every way.
Okay, I need you to do something besides stand there and stare at a stupid screen. I need you to go find someone who is hurting and actually be the church and minister to them I'm gonna ask everyone to stand up and if God has spoken to you today.
Please be obedient and you come as God leads.