Participants: John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000054
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00:17 Hello Friends. Welcome to another Wednesday night Bible 00:21 study on A Sharper Focus here at the 3ABN worship center in 00:26 Thompsonville/West Frankfort, Illinois. Some of you may be 00:30 wondering hey where's his jacket Well I decided tonight, it's a 00:34 little warm in here, to take my jacket off. Tonight we're closer 00:38 to the Caribbean than we have ever been. But anyway we're glad 00:41 that you've joined us. We hope that you have your Bibles, your 00:45 pens. We pray that you'll gather your family members together 00:48 right now as we open the word of God together. Tonight's topic is 00:52 a continuation of the servant worship as well as we're going 00:57 to go into a new lesson titled How to Become a Christian. Now 01:01 you may say really? Let me make it very clear. We've talked 01:05 about how to live the Christian life, what to do, what not to do 01:09 how to have a walk with Christ. We've talked about 01:12 sanctification, justification, glorification. We've talked 01:16 about the pitfalls of Christianity. But, you know, 01:19 it's amazing to me as I was doing some research over the 01:22 last week with all the other things I've been doing, I asked 01:25 the question how many people know how to become a Christian? 01:29 And I was surprised as I looked at surveys and I scanned the 01:33 internet, I found out that many people become Christians in ways 01:37 that really do not measure up with the Bible's steps of what 01:41 it really means to become a Christian. Some people say just 01:44 call on the name of the Lord and that's all you have to do. So 01:48 tonight we're going to talk about how to become a Christian 01:51 since we've been talking about what it means to be a Christian. 01:54 But before we 01:55 sing our opening song tonight and before we do anything else 01:58 let's bow and invite the Lord's presence to be with us. Our 02:01 heavenly Father, we thank you that tonight we know you're 02:04 going to speak to us. You're going to open our hearts and 02:07 minds as well as open our ears to your word. We thank you that 02:11 Jesus is in our midst. We pray for the Holy Spirit to be our 02:16 teacher and our guide and as we study impress upon our minds 02:21 the importance of what we read. And we thank you Father that we 02:26 have a willing heart to follow you. In Jesus' name we pray Amen 02:31 Also, if you want a copy of our lesson, forgot to tell you this, 02:34 you can go to this following website. Don't put www. 02:38 Go to ASF.3ABN.ORG and download lesson number 17 entitled How to 02:44 Become a Christian. You already have 16. We're going to finish 02:50 up 16, but make sure you get a copy of that - ASF.3ABN.ORG. But 02:56 tonight let's sing our song Victory in Jesus. And if you 02:59 know the song you can join us here as we sing together. 03:02 ¤ ¤ 03:11 ¤I heard an old, old story how the Savior came from glory¤ 03:19 ¤How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me¤ 03:27 ¤I heard about his groaning how his precious blood's atoning¤ 03:33 ¤Then I repented of my sin and won the victory¤ 03:40 ¤Oh victory in Jesus my Savior forever¤ 03:48 ¤He sought and bought me with his redeeming blood¤ 03:56 ¤He loved me e'er I knew Him and all my love is due Him¤ 04:04 ¤He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood¤ 04:11 ¤I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory¤ 04:18 ¤And I heard about the streets of gold¤ 04:23 ¤Beyond the crystal sea¤ 04:26 ¤About the angels singing and the old redemption story¤ 04:33 ¤And some sweet day I'll sing up there a song of victory¤ 04:41 Key change 04:42 ¤Oh victory in Jesus My Savior forever¤ 04:49 ¤He sought me and bought me With His redeeming blood¤ 04:56 ¤He loved me e'er I knew Him and all my love is due Him¤ 05:05 ¤He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood¤ 05:16 Amen? On the topic of the Servant's Worship, we're going 05:28 to be continuing on that tonight How to worship is a real big 05:32 question. Now if you read your Bible at all you'll discover 05:37 Revelation talks a lot about worship. As a matter of fact, 05:42 in Revelation chapter 14 we have the phrase worship Him who made 05:46 heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains, or the springs, 05:50 of water, depending on which translation you read. But I'd 05:54 like you to go with me to the book of John very quickly 05:57 because you'll discover Jesus made a statement as he conversed 06:01 with the woman at the well, that's the way we refer to her 06:05 all the time, the woman at the well who didn't think that she 06:09 should be having a conversation with Jesus. Evidently she didn't 06:13 know who he was and what benefit comes from having a 06:17 conversation with Jesus. We used to say Just a Little Talk 06:21 with Jesus makes things all right. Remember that? But she 06:25 didn't know who he was. She thought he was just a Jewish 06:29 teacher. And the question came up about worship because she 06:34 focused Him away from the condition of her life and she 06:39 opened up the topic of worship. Look with me to John chapter 4 06:46 and verse 21. Matter of fact, verse 20. She led into verse 20 06:53 by saying to Jesus, I perceive you are a prophet. Is that an 06:56 understatement? I perceive you are a prophet. You know a whole 07:00 lot. Evidently she didn't know who she was speaking with. But 07:05 she said in verse 20, our father worshipped on this mountain and 07:10 you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to 07:14 worship. Notice she's saying, well there are different places 07:17 to worship. In other words, there are different ways to 07:20 worship. We can worship on the mountain but you Jews, not 07:23 being Samaritan, you worship in Jerusalem and maybe you worship 07:26 differently than us Samaritans who worship on the mountain. 07:31 And notice what Jesus said in verses 21 and 22. Jesus said to 07:36 her, Woman believe me the hour is coming when you will neither 07:41 on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. 07:45 And then he said in verse 22, You worship what you do not know 07:51 We know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. 07:55 He made a very important statement. He says, you don't 07:58 know what you worship. And one of the reasons this topic is 08:01 included is because today we live in a world where people 08:03 talk about all kinds of worship. You go to the Christian music 08:05 store or the Christian book store, you see books on worship, 08:09 different styles of worship. Then you see CDs and DVDs on 08:13 worshipful concerts and worship music. And then people say well 08:18 your style of worship is different from my style of 08:21 worship so you have worship styles. And then you have these 08:25 banners that say come to the Arco Arena for a worship 08:30 experience. So then you go from worshipping God in Spirit and in 08:34 truth to a worship experience. And so people say well your 08:37 worship may be different from my worship as the woman said to 08:41 Jesus but who's to say that because it's different from mine 08:45 that it's not right. And Jesus said, Let me first make it very 08:47 clear how we should worship, then he mentioned verse 23 and 08:53 verse 24. Notice what He says: God, well let me read verse 23 08:59 first. But the hour is coming and now is, and when is? Now is 09:05 when the, what kind of worshipper? True worshipper will 09:09 worship the Father in Spirit and truth for the father is seeking 09:16 such to worship Him. God is Spirit and those who worship Him 09:21 should worship in Spirit and truth. What word did I leave out 09:25 Say that word again. He didn't say should worship, He said must 09:30 worship in Spirit and in truth. So the Holy Spirit the one that 09:34 is leading us and when the Holy Spirit is leading, let me make 09:38 it very clear. The Holy Spirit will never lead you to believe 09:41 something that is opposite to the Bible or worship opposite to 09:44 what the Bible teaches. The Holy Spirit doesn't have a 09:49 different way than the Bible when it comes to worship. All 09:53 right? But also the Holy Spirit will never lead you to question 09:57 truth, because the Spirit and the truth are together. You find 10:02 that in John 16:13- The Spirit of truth. So one of the things 10:07 we have to point out tonight as you go to question #13 is 10:11 something very important because we know that in the last days 10:13 worship being a significant 10:16 issue, is going to come up in these last days. And so what I 10:21 want you to see very carefully is question number 13. Let's go 10:25 to the screen. The Servant's Worship, question number 13. 10:30 All right. And here's the question. Why would false 10:37 worshippers in the end be connected to the beast? Why 10:44 would they be connected to the beast. Go to John chapter 14 and 10:48 we are going to look at verse 6. John chapter 14 and what 10:54 verse? Verse 6. Let's look at that verse together. John 14:6: 11:00 Notice what the Bible says. Jesus said to him, let me put it 11:08 on the screen, Jesus said to him I am the way, the truth and the 11:15 No one comes to the Father except how? Except by me or 11:20 as in fact the case is, through me. So false worshippers are 11:26 false worshippers because they are not getting to the Father 11:30 through Christ. You know today, we just not too long ago came 11:33 back from India and there are some people that believe the way 11:39 to God is through the Hindu gods which are millions and some 11:44 people believe it's through Buddha. Some people believe it's 11:49 Mohammad. Other people believe it's through Mary. So there are 11:54 various ways that people... And any time your established 11:58 foundation of worship does not include Jesus, because there's 12:02 no other way, there's no other name given whereby we must be 12:05 saved. So, if you choose any other conduit to God other than 12:10 Christ, you end up being what kind of a worshipper? A false 12:14 worshipper. You can't get to the Father except through Jesus. He 12:17 said, No one comes to the Father except how? Except through me. 12:21 So, here's the answer. Why would false worshippers in the end be 12:24 connected to the beast? They are not worshipping through Jesus. 12:28 They are not approaching the Father through Jesus. You cannot 12:32 leave Jesus out. You know, one of the issues with the Jews was 12:36 they believed in God but look at John chapter 14 verse 1. Let's 12:40 look at this, because this is a continuation of the issue of 12:44 worship. Jesus made it clear, I am the Way and as he spoke to 12:48 His disciples, He made if very clear. But look at verse 1. 12:52 This is something that is significantly interesting. 12:54 And when he mentions this, I'll tell you the context of it. He 12:58 says in verse 1 of John chapter 14, what does He say? Let not 13:03 heart be troubled. Notice what else he says: You believe in 13:07 God, believe also in Me. In other words there are some 13:11 people that say I believe in God but Jesus understanding that was 13:16 the concept that the Jews accepted. They believed in God 13:19 and they would have accepted Him as the Messiah, approached 13:23 the Father through Him but by rejecting Him they could not 13:27 approach the Father because they cut off the only mediator 13:30 between God and man and that's the man Christ Jesus. So He said 13:35 believing God is great but you have to believe also in Me 13:39 because I'm the connection between you and the Father. 13:45 No one comes to the Father except, together, through 13:50 Jesus. All right. Let's go to the next question. Here's the 13:53 next one. Number 14. 13:57 What does God have that he desires to give to His followers 14:03 What does He have that he desires to give his followers? 14:09 And we're going to look at Psalm 86 and verse 15. And those of 14:14 you who are watching or listening, if you're watching 14:18 you know the answer's going to be on the screen, but if you 14:21 have your Bibles go to Psalm 86 and verse 15. There's something 14:24 that the Lord has... and by the way this comes as we worship 14:27 Him. God does not extend this to those who don't really want to 14:31 worship Him, to those who find that there are other means. 14:34 I was also troubled when I heard a very popular talk show host 14:38 say that there are many ways to the Father. There are many 14:41 different paths that you can get to God and nobody should say 14:45 that somebody else's path is not the right way. But I like the 14:48 the fact that a Christian lady stood up and said, just because 14:51 you say that doesn't mean it's true. How many ways are there? 14:55 There's only one and Christ is that Way. He's the only One. 14:58 And by the way, if you think about it there are no other gods 15:02 One of the reasons why it couldn't be anybody else is that 15:06 there is no other God that is a Creator other than Jesus. So, 15:10 therefore there is no other god that can die for creation 15:14 because they don't have any creation you see. So, I don't 15:17 want to go any further to belittle the beliefs of other 15:22 people but if the one who's redeemed you is not the one that 15:26 created you then he cannot be your redeemer. It's that simple. 15:30 I can't redeem what I haven't created. And Jesus is the 15:35 creator. Here is the answer. What does God have that He 15:40 desires to give to His followers Here's the answer. But you, O 15:45 Lord are full of, let's read this together, compassion, and 15:50 gracious. Longsuffering and abundant in what? Mercy and 15:54 truth. You could just ditto that entire text because there's so 15:59 much in there. What does he want to give us? Compassion and grace 16:03 longsuffering, mercy, truth. All those qualities that are 16:07 resident. I'll make it very clear. They're not just resident 16:11 in Jesus like they're resident in us. They begin with him. 16:15 You see you may meet a neighbor that's gracious; oh he's such a 16:19 gracious host. You may have said that before. She's such a 16:24 gracious hostess. But she's not where grace comes from. She just 16:28 has gracious qualities. But the longsuffering, the compassion 16:32 the grace, the mercy and the truth are all characters of 16:36 Jesus. These are resident in Him. In other words, He's the 16:40 fountain out of which all of these things flow. He's the 16:44 beginning, He is the end. Grace begins with Him, grace ends with 16:50 Him. So how many of us need compassion? Tah. Do you need 16:57 compassion? Why do we need compassion? What is compassion? 17:04 Huh? Compassion is in some sense similar to mercy. Let me use 17:10 this illustration. A number of years ago, and I give credit to 17:16 the person who said this, but it's true, compassion and mercy 17:24 get down, pity looks down. You see. Compassion and mercy get 17:32 down, pity just looks. If a person gets run over in an 17:36 accident or falls off of his or her bicycle there are bystanders 17:41 and they say ah, I hope he's okay, I hope he's okay. But 17:47 they're just looking down. Where the person that comes and gets 17:52 involved and puts his or her hand into the action. Oh yeah. 17:57 Wonderful example. And you know, by the way, you discover that 18:01 when you are compassionate, like Christ, when Christ is 18:05 flowing through you, you'll be compassionate and you'll be 18:07 merciful. My wife just reminded me of something. When we first 18:11 began ministry there in Vallejo, California, oh back in 1987, we 18:14 were in a traffic jam from Vallejo on our way, actually 18:20 from Concord on our way to Vallejo going north on highway 18:25 680. You remember that very well And it's always bumper-to-bumper 18:27 during rush hour. We saw two ladies on the side of the road 18:31 the left side of the road next to the median and their car had 18:36 broken down and they were standing there. Cars were going 18:39 by going south on 680, going north on 680 and people were 18:41 just passing by. We saw them at a great distance and I said 18:45 to my wife, we can do two things we can either pass them by or 18:48 we can help them and I'm not going to pass them by. Now what 18:52 I didn't know, and this is something where the blessing 18:55 comes in, when you are a person that's compassionate and 18:57 merciful, it's usually the place where blessings of God are about 19:01 to be released in your life. Because by stopping to help them 19:04 what happened, that day my wife came from Concord, California. 19:07 She was looking for a job. She was putting in an application 19:10 for a job. When she stopped on the side of the highway and 19:14 helped these women they asked her the question. Where do you 19:17 work? Because that direction is usually people coming from 19:20 work. She said, no, I'm looking for a job. And they both said, 19:22 Hey you'd be great at our company. What do you know? 19:25 That next week she got a job at that company. Now notice what 19:30 happened. We could have passed by. But sometimes the blessings 19:34 of God are waiting to see if you're merciful, if you're 19:38 compassionate. There's always a blessing in extending the graces 19:41 of God. You never know. And the Bible did say it is more blessed 19:45 to give than it is to what? Receive. But it also says this, 19:49 there's a reciprocating value here, there's a reciprocating 19:54 blessing. The Bible says the measure that you meet it shall 19:59 be what? Measured to you again. So if you're compassionate, 20:03 compassion will be given. There'll be mercy to those who 20:07 show mercy. So that's a very important thing. The Lord wants 20:10 to give that to us and as we worship Him, that great gift is 20:13 going to be included in worshipping the Lord. 20:16 Mercy, compassion, longsuffering Another contemporary word for 20:21 longsuffering, a lot of times people say we don't use the word 20:26 longsuffering 20:27 nowadays. What word do we use? Patience. We don't say man my 20:32 kid is wearing on my longsuffering. We say man my kid 20:35 is really wearing on my patience. But longsuffering and 20:39 patience aren't synonymous. Suffering long is sometimes even 20:47 has a broader meaning than just patience. Suffering long has a 20:54 broader meaning than just patience. Some people say ah 20:59 I'll be patient with him. The longsuffering says I have been 21:02 patient with him and I'm going to continue to be patient with 21:06 him and my patience has no end any time soon. Because patience 21:11 people often say my patience is running out. But thank God he 21:15 doesn't say that about us. Am I true? You never hear a text in 21:19 the Bible, God's patience ran out on Job, or God's patience 21:23 ran out on Jonah. Or God's patience wore thin on Joshua. 21:28 You never find God's patience wearing out. God's longsuffering 21:34 And one person once was very angry. He was actually an 21:39 atheist and he said, so it is warm isn't it. Side bar. One 21:45 atheist wanted to prove to a Christian that there was no God 21:50 and he said if there's a God, He'd show Himself. So this 21:54 atheist wanted to do all he could to get God angry to get 21:57 a response out of God. So he went outside and turned his head 22:01 toward the skies and began to yell everything that came out of 22:04 his atheistic gut to try to get a reaction from God, to try to 22:08 get angry enough to try to get God to okay enough, zap or do 22:12 something or thunder or lightening of some divine act. 22:18 And then he said see I told you God is not there. He said oh 22:20 there's one other characteristic about God. God is longsuffering. 22:24 And you better be glad. You see God is longsuffering. So, if God 22:28 is longsuffering and he desires to give that to us should we 22:34 also not be longsuffering? Yes or no? Okay, remember that this 22:38 week. Okay, right Pastor Jim. Remember that this week when 22:41 you see that person who has left your patience bucket and 22:45 now stepped into your longsuffering bucket. Remember 22:48 that this week. If God is giving it to us we should also be like 22:54 our heavenly Father. Okay next question, question number 15. 22:58 Besides following Jesus, what else will prepare us for heaven? 23:03 Besides following him what else would prepare us for heaven? 23:07 Continuing on the train of worship, because worship has 23:12 been so predefined and so redefined and it's kind of 23:16 narrowed down somewhat to whatever brand fits. But this is 23:20 something that Isaiah the prophet says is very important. 23:24 What else besides following Jesus will prepare us for heaven 23:30 Isaiah 26 and verse 2 is where the answer is found. Isaiah 26:2 23:35 I love this text. I remember hearing Pastor C.D. Brooks. 23:39 Actually the first time I heard it many, many years ago was when 23:42 Pastor Brooks had mentioned it in his sermon how there are 23:45 gates in heaven and God's not opening the gate to just anybody 23:49 See. He's not just opening the gates because you call on His 23:53 name. He's not just opening the gates because you sing Christian 23:57 songs or because you do Christian actions. Here's the 23:59 reason why he's opening the gates. Let's read this together. 24:03 Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the 24:08 truth many enter in. So is truth important, yes or no? Vitally 24:12 important. Matter of fact, even ask yourself the question, if 24:16 you know somebody's a liar and they've never been in your house 24:21 before, you think, be careful he's a liar. He'll steal and say 24:24 he didn't. My mother used to say a liar is a thief and a 24:28 thief is a liar because if you ask a thief did you steal it 24:33 then they go to lying. If you know somebody is a liar, would 24:38 you allow him to come in? Matter of fact, go with me to 24:41 Revelation chapter 22. Here it is. Revelation chapter 22. Very 24:45 important. In this day and age where Christianity has been 24:51 reduced to a smorgasbord or a menu or simply whatever fits, 24:57 the Lord has not changed his qualifications for worship. 25:04 Revelation chapter 22 and I want you to see together with me 25:10 verse 14 and then I'll go to the next verse, but I don't want you 25:14 to run ahead of me, because some of you will. Revelation 22:14 25:19 reads as follows: Blessed are those that do his commandments, 25:23 by the way the law of God is truth, that they may have the 25:28 right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into 25:33 the city. But notice what he says in verse 15, that's the 25:37 the verse I'm going to. But outside, that is outside the 25:42 gates, are dogs, and by the way that's synonymous, because 25:46 remember the Jews called the Samaritans dogs. So it's not 25:50 just the animal. But he says outside are dogs, or those that 25:55 the Jews believed were rejected by God. For outside are dogs, 25:59 and sorcerers and sexually immoral, and murderers and 26:03 idolators and whoever loves and practices what? A lie. So if you 26:11 want to worship in lie, you're not going to enter into the 26:16 kingdom of God. There are some people that say, my worship is 26:21 good enough; as long as I worship God, that's all that 26:22 really matters. Well that's not what God says. And as we're 26:26 becoming more and more modern, and as Christianity is becoming 26:31 more and more synonymous to what the world does, people are 26:34 content with the experience, or the feeling or the atmosphere, 26:39 or the music or the style or the brand or the feeling of worship. 26:43 But the Lord says wait a minute, wait a minute, you cannot 26:47 exclude the truth and still expect to enter the kingdom of 26:50 heaven. Number 16; moving right along. We have one more in this 26:54 lesson before we transition to lesson number 17. And here's the 26:58 question: How can we distinguish the true from the false 27:10 worshipper? Very important to be able to distinguish the true 27:15 from the false worshipper. All right? 1 John 4:6 is where the 27:19 answer is buried, is where the answer is buried. I use that 27:24 word because you got to dig for truth. Truth is not like a 27:28 microwave oven. Matter of fact, because of all the instant 27:32 things in society, it's killing Bible study, you know that? 27:36 Society with all these instant things, you know the faster a 27:39 computer, the more delightful it is. Well there's only one 27:43 thing that doesn't happen fast and that's the truth of God's 27:47 word. You've got to search the scriptures. You've got to dig. 27:50 You've got to seek diligently, you've got to look beyond the 27:55 surface. Well here's the answer. How can we distinguish the true 27:57 from the false worshipper. I John 4:6 is where the answer 28:03 is buried. The Bible says: We are of God. He who knows God 28:08 does what? Hears us. He who is not of God does not what? Hear 28:15 us, that's the disciple speaking. By this we now the spirit of 28:21 what? Truth and the spirit of what? Error. Now. If you are 28:25 sharing the truth with someone and they say I don't want to 28:30 hear it. Have you ever had that experience? I don't want to hear 28:34 it. And you say wait a minute brother, wait a minute sister. 28:37 You're a Christian right? I'm a Christian, but I don't want to 28:39 here what you have to say? Well it's from the Bible. 28:41 I don't want to hear it. Who's in charge, the spirit of truth 28:45 or the spirit of error? Tell me. The spirit of error. Nobody 28:49 could ever say well God's spirit is right now convicting me not 28:53 to listen to what you have to say. God's spirit doesn't do 28:57 that. If it's the truth, the Spirit of Truth is going to lead 29:02 you into it. But the spirit of error will make you resist the 29:07 truth as it is being spoken. The spirit of error creates walls 29:11 and barriers when truth comes in and I tell you a big part of 29:16 that is pride, pride. Out of the seven deadly sins pride is the 29:21 worst. Read that: Six things doth God hate and pride is the 29:26 worst one. See I tell you it's a terrible thing. So whenever 29:29 you're sharing truth with someone, I always say to people, 29:32 let's pray before we open the word of God, and usually it's 29:35 really good. That's kind of where we're all on the same 29:38 platform. We open with prayer. Then I always try to preempt 29:42 what's going to happen. I say now sister, brother, when we 29:47 study could we not argue? Could we allow the Bible to be the 29:52 source of our answer and sometimes you get a short yes, 29:54 yeah. You don't always get an of course. I want to hear what 29:59 the Bible has to say. Whenever you get that it's like oh the 30:03 sun has risen, the door is wide open. But a lot of times when 30:07 people have been steeped in error one of the hardest things 30:12 to do is to present light to them and they immediately accept 30:15 it. So what has to happen. If you're ever in that situation 30:19 here's I want you not to do. Don't ever take a rejection 30:23 personally. Never take the rejection personally and just 30:27 pray for that Spirit that's residing in the person to be 30:31 dealt with by the Spirit of truth. Because the first attempt 30:34 doesn't mean they're always going to reject it. Sometimes 30:38 you have to allow the eyes to adjust to the light. I'm always 30:42 impressed by the story of the shepherds as they were watching 30:46 over their flock by night. A single angel came to them and 30:51 said to them, gave them the news about the birth of Jesus and 30:57 they were sore afraid. And the Bible said suddenly there was in 31:02 the heavens a host of heavenly angels singing glory to God in 31:06 the highest and on earth peace and good will towards men. And 31:09 when I read that story in a book called Desire of Ages the author 31:13 Ellen White, said that the reason why the angel, the 31:15 singular angel, spoke to the shepherds is because that angel 31:19 wanted to give the shepherds time for their eyes to adjust to 31:25 light. So truth is bright. Is it not bright? Let your light so 31:29 shine. Don't let your light burn because if a person is resistant 31:34 to the truth, give them time but pray that the Spirit of Truth 31:40 will replace the spirit of error Okay the last one is lesson 31:45 number 16 before we transition to the very next one. Okay. This 31:50 is a beautiful text. How does the acceptance of the truth 31:54 affect Jesus towards us? Some people say aah you can't affect 31:59 Jesus. He's the same all the time. Oh, but there's a way that 32:05 Jesus feels towards us that can be affected by the thing we do. 32:12 All right. 3 John 1:4 is where the answer is found. 3 John 1:4: 32:17 Let's read this one together. It's the last one in our lesson 32:21 number 16. Are you ready? These are the words of Christ. 32:24 Together. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children 32:30 walk in truth. When a person is having a hard time with the 32:35 truth they say ah what does it matter, truth, error, truth, 32:39 error, your truth, my truth, what does it matter. Read this 32:43 text again. You want to bring joy to Christ. Well of course I 32:47 do. Read this text again. Because a lot of times 32:49 people don't think of it as you think I'm not pleasing to Christ 32:53 you think He's not happy with my worship? Well I can't say that, 32:58 but let me show you how you can get joy out of Jesus and that's 33:02 the answer right there. He says I have no GREATER joy. Is there 33:06 there a joy greater that Jesus experiences other than His 33:10 children walking in the truth. And the answer is what? No. 33:13 He says I have no greater joy. That's powerful. When he looks 33:17 at truth in such a high estimation that that brings Him 33:22 maximum joy. Praise the Lord for that. Okay. Now we have enough 33:26 time to spend just into lesson number 17. Let me preface this, 33:30 because I mentioned this earlier and some of you may have joined 33:34 us after I made my opening remarks. The reason why I've 33:38 included... Let me put the title on the screen. The title is How 33:43 to Become a Christian. How to what? Become a Christian. This 33:46 is going to be a benefit to everyone listening or watching 33:49 the program because sometimes we meet people and we want to 33:53 walk them into a relationship with Christ. But we often say 33:56 well what's the first thing we do? So this is actually put 34:00 together in a methodical way, not necessarily chronological 34:04 as in okay this must happen before that. But the first 34:08 two steps are vitally important and the rest of it flows. And by 34:11 the way we are going to continue this lesson because I 34:13 want to expand. A lot of people say they're Christians. I met a 34:18 guy a number of years ago. He attended a church in the morning 34:22 and he went back in the afternoon and he asked to join 34:26 the church and they baptized him and he became a member and he 34:31 left in two weeks. And he said I'm a Christian. And I said what 34:35 does that mean. He said well they told me if I just call on 34:40 the name of the Lord, I'll be saved. And I called on the name 34:44 of the Lord. I said Lord Jesus. I called on His name and I'm 34:47 saved. Well you know when you read that text it's so vitally 34:51 important to put it into the context in which it is written. 34:55 Because what happens is we communicate this, and I want to 34:59 put it correctly here, not a false sense of acceptance 35:02 because if you open your heart out of sincerity and all you 35:05 know to say is that, Jesus will not turn you away. I want to 35:08 make that very, very clear. But if you're being taught that all 35:11 you need to do to be a Christian is just to call on Jesus, well 35:14 that's not what the Bible teaches, any more than all you 35:16 need to have a house is to say give me a house. You see there's 35:20 a whole lot more to that. There is a contractual agreement that 35:24 is included in something as serious as turning your life 35:27 over into the hands of someone else. So this is why the topic 35:31 is so vitally important. How to Become a Christian. So let's 35:35 begin and some of these texts you may have read before but 35:38 tonight you're going to see them in a little different light, 35:42 because this is in the setting of you meet a person, they're 35:47 not a Christian and their lives are miserable and you want to 35:51 talk to them and be able to lead them into a relationship with 35:55 Christ. So let's go ahead and start tonight. And by the way, 35:59 what's going to be different, there's going to be a point that 36:03 follows the scriptural verse. So when we get the question, then 36:07 we're going to get the scripture and then on the screen you're 36:09 going to see the first point that goes along with that. So 36:12 it will be very, very clear what that scripture means. Okay? 36:15 Here's the first question and the question is: What is the 36:18 first step to becoming a Christian? What is the first 36:23 step? Go with me to Romans 3 and verse 23. Romans 3 and what 36:29 verse? 23. Okay. Some of you know this. Some of you are such 36:34 theologians that you may say I know that text. Well hopefully 36:38 tonight you'll understand it in a different light? All right. 36:42 Are you ready to read it. Together: For all have sinned 36:49 and what? Fall short of the glory of God. Okay. So, the 36:56 thing that is vitally important, if all have sinned and you meet 36:59 somebody that wants to give his or her life to the Lord one of 37:02 the first things you have to get that person to do... Well let me 37:04 ask a question. In court one of the hardest things for the 37:10 person that's been accused to do is to admit that they did it. 37:17 Right? Is to admit that they're guilty. This is what drives me 37:22 nuts when a person is caught on tape, they've got the video tape 37:28 of him shooting the store up or swinging an ax at the cop or 37:32 beating somebody. They say he allegedly held up a store. I'm 37:36 saying go to the video tape and then he goes into court and he 37:40 how do you plead, not guilty. Who was that in the video? It 37:45 was me. So who did that? Me. But I was not guilty. It's really 37:50 amazing. Before God that doesn't fit. So here's the first thing a 37:55 person must do in order to be able to find a connection. What 37:59 must they do? And I would like us to read it together. We must 38:05 do what? Recognize you are a sinner. You've got to recognize 38:10 that you are a sinner. A lot of people say I want to join the 38:14 church, so give me a Bible study and they join our church based 38:19 on the 28 fundamentals and those fundamentals are facts. You know 38:22 it's like saying I want to buy a car. Tell me all the things 38:25 that are true about it. And the guy says I can tell you all the 38:28 things that are true about it but it's going to cost you 38:31 $35,000. What are you willing to pay now that I've told you 38:33 everything. Lot of times people come into a Christian 38:35 relationship based on the facts. Okay, I believe the Sabbath, 38:40 state of the dead, grace, 2300 days, so on and so forth. And 38:44 they just simply agree to the teachings of the church without 38:49 ever saying, I'm a sinner. Hard. You know what happens when 38:53 you realize, when you actually acknowledge, that? The next step 38:57 comes into play. So the first thing you have to say to a 39:01 person, why do you feel you need Jesus in your life? And some 39:05 people may say well I need a better way of life. You know, 39:10 things are not going right with me right now and I need another 39:14 chance. So why do you need Jesus in your life? You got to get to 39:18 the place where they realize my brother let me tell you why I 39:22 accepted Christ in my life. Never say to them, you know why 39:25 you need Jesus? You're a sinner. Do it this way. You know why I 39:28 accepted Jesus in my life? Because I realized I was a 39:32 sinner and I needed a Savior. Matthew 1:21 He shall save His 39:39 people from their sins. All right. Recognize you are a 39:43 sinner. Let's go to step number 2. All right here it is. What is 39:49 the second step to becoming a Christian? What is the second 39:56 step to becoming a Christian? I'm going to go to another text 40:02 that you might know. You might know it. I don't think you'd not 40:08 know it. However I said that I think you know what I meant. Are 40:14 you ready to read it together? Romans 6:23 and let's read this 40:20 together. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is 40:27 eternal life in or through Christ Jesus our Lord. Don't go 40:30 to the second one yet. Let me go ahead and make it very clear 40:35 before we go to the point. First thing is you acknowledge you are 40:40 a sinner. Now what happens as a result of sin? What happens? 40:44 What comes as a result of sin? Death. So if a person 40:48 acknowledges that he or she is a sinner then they realize, wait a 40:54 minute, so what does that mean? Say it Pastor. I'm doomed. What 40:58 happens when a person is proven guilty? What happens? They 41:02 throw themselves on the mercy of the court. You remember that 41:06 lesson? An innocent person never asks for mercy, they ask for 41:10 justice. A guilty person always says always ask for mercy. If 41:14 you're proven guilty don't ask with a whole lot of pride before 41:18 the judge, because they will throw the book at you. Judge I 41:21 may be guilty, but you probably did things that are bad too. You 41:26 know what? We can't say that to God, we can't say that to Jesus, 41:30 amen? Without sin. So it's not going to work in His court. And 41:34 I know some people probably saying, this is just your job, 41:37 you condemning me. I bet there are some secret things in your 41:40 life. I'm telling you. That's the human side of it. That's 41:43 human pride. How could you judge me? What if you were down 41:46 here and I was up there? Would I be the same way towards you as 41:48 you are towards me? Oh, it's a different story. We have to 41:52 understand that the condition of sin brings with it a penalty. 41:55 Look at the second thing that we have to acknowledge. Here it is 41:58 on the screen. It says, we acknowledge that without 42:02 salvation you will be what? Lost. You see when a person says 42:10 they're in trouble, they acknowledge why they say they 42:14 are in trouble because they realize there's a penalty for 42:17 being in trouble. I'm in trouble I need help. I'm a sinner. 42:21 If I'm a sinner and nothing changes I will be what? Lost. 42:25 So I say to the person, the reason why I accepted Christ 42:29 first of all I realized I was a sinner, but along with that 42:34 because I am a sinner, because I was a sinner, I'd be lost. 42:37 I remember the story that somebody was telling me. I refer 42:41 somebody in our midst but I won't bring out the person's 42:44 name. They used to say that on New Year's Eve it was the most 42:48 fearful time for them because they used to think that the Lord 42:51 will come and if He did come on New Year's Eve, this person said 42:55 I felt I was going to be lost. That was a yearly fear that came 42:58 But now you don't have to worry about that. See. Right, 43:02 Brother David? 43:04 New Year's Eve will come and he'll say praise God I don't 43:07 have any fear this New Year's Eve. That's the beauty of 43:11 accepting Christ in your life. So one, you acknowledge you're 43:14 a sinner. Lead the person to acknowledge that he's a sinner. 43:17 But do it through your own experience. Secondly you 43:20 acknowledge that 43:21 without salvation you will be as well as he or she will be 43:26 lost. You cannot be a sinner without a Savior and be saved. 43:32 All right. Let's go to number 3. Number 3. We're doing pretty 43:39 good. Number 3. How can you or how can we find a blessing in 43:44 knowing that you are lost? How can you find a blessing in 43:50 knowing that you are lost? Ah ha. That's amazing. I've got to 43:53 tell you a story about that one before I give you the answer. 43:57 One of the biggest complaints wives have is about husbands 44:01 that drive around a neighborhood and never 44:04 admit they're lost. Honey, do you know where you're going? 44:07 I know where I'm going. We should have been there 20 44:09 minutes ago. I've got it. I know where I'm going. I think it's 44:14 down this street. Not down that street. I meant the next street. 44:19 And there they are. Honey, do you need directions? I don't 44:21 need directions honey. Listen to the CPS. The GPS is pointing us 44:26 in the wrong direction. The biggest complaint that women 44:29 have is that they have prideful husbands that when they are 44:31 driving and they don't know where they're going, they don't 44:37 admit that they are lost. But there's a blessing in knowing 44:41 that you are lost. Then you could ask for somebody to lead 44:45 you to where you will be found or where you'll find the 44:49 destination. We're going to go to the book of Luke 19. How can 44:54 you find a blessing knowing that you are lost? Look at Luke 19:10 44:59 This is a text that just resonates. It bounces around in 45:03 my mind because we taught this to our niece at least more than 45:08 almost 25 years ago, we taught the steps to her. Whenever my 45:12 wife speaks to her, she's now in her 30s she says okay 45:14 Luke 19:10. What 45:16 is it? And she says it. We'll let me read it with you. Here it is 45:21 on the screen. Together. For the Son of Man has come to seek and 45:27 save that which was lost. That's the blessing of knowing that you 45:34 are lost. I'll tell you the third. Let's just put that up 45:37 on the screen. The third thing that we see the blessing comes 45:41 is that we know that Jesus came to do what? Save us. You realize 45:46 in the book of Genesis the beauty of the story is not that 45:49 Adam decided to look to Jesus, but the first appeal was Adam 45:54 where are you, not Jesus where are you? It wasn't Adam walking 45:59 around in the garden saying I wonder where Jesus is. It was 46:02 Jesus walking around in the garden, knowing where Adam was 46:06 but wanting Adam to come out and to do what we're going to find 46:09 out in just a few moments here. See the beauty of knowing that 46:12 we are saved is the news of knowing that Jesus came to save 46:17 us. Amen? It doesn't make sense in my estimation for people to 46:22 be lost. Pastor Morris Venden years ago wrote a book, he was 46:26 the pastor there, I think it was in Azure Hills. If I'm incorrect 46:30 then forgive me for that. There in Southern California. And he 46:35 wrote a book entitled Hard to Be Lost. It is hard to be lost. 46:38 Once you know that Jesus has put a plan together for you to 46:42 be saved and it's the best plan, it's the best choice to make, 46:46 why would you want to be lost? If you look at all the things 46:50 that are going to happen to lost people it doesn't make sense to 46:53 be lost. Can I get an amen to that? It doesn't make sense. 46:58 When you know that the Master, the Creator, the Redeemer, the 47:03 Savior left the beauties and the glories of the portals of heaven 47:07 the presence of adoring angels, the presence of a sinless 47:11 environment. He left a place of worship and solitude and peace 47:15 and came down here to risk his life just so that he could save 47:19 us. The blessing of knowing that we are lost is the blessing of 47:24 knowing that Jesus came to save us. Let's go to number 4. Let's 47:32 go to number 4. Okay. Ah. How does the first Advent of Jesus 47:39 mean good news to us? How does it mean good news to us? Now the 47:46 Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. But 47:51 there's another aspect of truth that I want to also include here 47:56 because earlier in John 14:1 we read you believe in God believe 48:00 also in me. There is an investment in our salvation that 48:04 is not just Jesus. And this is a family plan. Let me say that 48:11 again, salvation is a family plan, not your family but our 48:16 heavenly family, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 48:22 Salvation is a family plan. They have invested everything in the 48:26 saving of humanity. It doesn't really make sense. So now that 48:30 the news is that Jesus came to seek and save that which was 48:34 lost the question is how. How does the first advent of Jesus 48:39 mean good news to us. John 3:16: Do we need to go there? Okay. 48:44 Let's read it together. Here we go together. For God so loved 48:49 the world that he gave His what? Only begotten Son, that 48:54 whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have what? 49:00 Everlasting life. I tell you the first advent was a huge trip. 49:05 My wife and I have taken trips around the world and we like 49:09 to think that us arriving in India, us arriving in Australia 49:13 or us arriving wherever we've gone, we like to think that our 49:17 presence there is going to impact somebody in a positive 49:21 way. When Jesus came to the earth he didn't come and say I 49:25 wonder what difference my life is going to make down here? 49:29 We read John chapter 1 it was sad to see that when He came to 49:33 His own, His own did not receive Him. The very ones he 49:36 entrusted the message of salvation and the message of 49:39 truth were not ready to receive Him. Yet... Go with me to the 49:44 book of Acts. I want you to see something in the book of Acts. 49:50 Chapter 13. The journey of Jesus and I'm going to show you just 49:54 in a moment here what the fourth point is but we're not going to 49:58 bring it up on the screen yet. You see, the mission of Jesus is 50:01 not lost. Even if people are lost, the mission of Jesus is 50:06 not lost. Amen to that. He didn't come down here, ah I 50:11 failed. Oh no not at all. I was so encouraged when I read in 50:14 Desire of Ages that if only one needed salvation He'd have come 50:18 down here. So His mission is not a loss. I'm sure He'd love to 50:22 save as many as would accept Him but His mission will never be a 50:27 loss. However, it's sad when we look at this concept, not even a 50:31 concept but look at Acts chapter 14 and I'm going to 50:35 show you... I just mentioned a moment ago that those to whom 50:38 He'd committed the message rejected Him and notice what He 50:42 said. And I'll also show how even in this context the mission 50:46 and the message and the preaching of the gospel was not 50:52 lost. Look at Acts 1:47, Acts 14:47, thank you so much for 50:57 reminding me. Acts 13:47, you'll get it sooner or later. Acts 13 51:07 verse 47. Here it is. For so the Lord has commanded us, and what 51:16 did he say? I have sent you to be a what? Light to the gentiles 51:22 but you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth. That's 51:28 our beautiful privilege. When missionaries and colporteurs 51:31 and canvassers to out what are they doing? They're going out to 51:34 the ends of the earth to make sure that the mission of Jesus 51:37 is continually carried forward to their lives. But look at 51:41 verse 48. Because the Jews rejected the message of Paul and 51:45 Barnabas, but look at verse 48. Now when the gentiles heard this 51:51 they were what? Glad. And what did they do? Glorified the word 51:56 of the Lord and as many as had been appointed to eternal life 52:01 what? Believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread 52:06 throughout all the region, but the Jews stirred up the devout 52:11 and prominent women and chief men of the city, raised up 52:15 persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from 52:19 their region. Then they shook off the dust from their feet 52:23 against them and came to Iconium and the disciples were what? 52:27 Filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. You see somebody 52:30 would definitely have to say don't let the joy be punched out 52:34 of your life. We say this to our people that go out and knock on 52:38 doors. Somebody may open the door and be happy. Somebody 52:41 may open the door and say what do you want? Well I want to talk 52:44 to you about Jesus. (Slam) Do like the disciples right here. 52:48 just go to the next town and be filled with joy. Amen? Because 52:52 your product is still powerful. And somebody's going to be 52:55 saved. I said that to the young people when I spoke at the 52:58 graduation there in Sunnyvale. Somebody's going to be saved 53:02 when Jesus comes back. It might as well be me. That's the only 53:06 a personal commitment. I'm not answering for you. I'm making 53:11 a person, it might as well be me. The Jews rejected the 53:14 message and it wasn't lost. It wasn't lost because the 53:17 gentiles heard it and they glorified God. They were excited 53:21 about it. So let's look at the fourth point. How does the first 53:24 advent of Jesus mean good news to us. Look at the fourth point 53:29 on the screen. God sent his Son to offer us the gift of Eternal 53:34 Life. Jesus didn't just come to die to take our place but he 53:39 came bringing a gift that was available every day including 53:45 December 25th. You'll get that tomorrow. Because people say hey 53:51 Christmas is a gift giving season. Jesus said every day is 53:56 the gift giving season. Amen Pastor? The gift of eternal life 54:00 A gift that keeps on giving, never loses its value. If you 54:03 give that gift you don't have to wait for certain times of the 54:06 year. And by the way, you don't have to buy this gift. Jesus 54:10 already paid for it. Freely given. What a beautiful thing. 54:14 Okay number 5, number 5, here's number 5. What must we do to 54:20 have this gift of eternal life? What must we do to have this 54:25 gift of eternal life? Getting back on the topic of salvation 54:28 on becoming a Christian. A lot of times as a reiterate people 54:33 get excited about the truth and they join the church based on 54:37 the doctrinal beliefs of it, but something they fail to do and 54:40 when you look at the Bible you cannot leave this out, you 54:45 cannot leave this out. I think if more people would do this 54:50 then there would be less wondering well I'm a member now 54:53 what do I need to change? I joined the church. What do I 54:57 need to change? Well let's read the text. I John 1:9 is where 55:02 the answer is found. I John 1:9 and here's what the Bible says. 55:07 Together. If we what? Confess our sins, He is faithful and 55:13 just to forgive us our sins and to do what? Cleanse us from all 55:18 unrighteousness. People join churches, but not enough people 55:24 confess. So you want to join the church. Sure, where do I sign? 55:30 Wait, not so fast. What do you want to confess? Confess? I just 55:33 want to become a member, I don't want to tell you anything. 55:38 Confess. Yes, we've got to give up that old life to come into 55:42 the new life. Now I'm not talking about going into a booth 55:47 and confessing to a man. But I always say to people, oh when 55:50 you open your heart to the Lord and you confess your sins to Him 55:53 He will forgive you. He'll give you a new start. And so the 55:57 answer to number 5 is on the screen and here it is. Very 56:02 simple. What do we do? Together. We what? Confess our sins. 56:08 People are not doing that enough any more. I remember somebody 56:12 once said you know Christians don't ever like to look bad. We 56:16 like to look like we got it all together. I got this, I got this 56:20 I'm a member now. Just show me the manual. I'll read the manual 56:23 and I'll try to do what's in there. And we'll respond just 56:27 like the Israelites did to Moses All that the Lord hath said, 56:31 together, WE will do. We forget that it is God who works in us 56:36 both too will and to do of His good pleasure. But unless you 56:40 confess you don't know what you need to avoid. Unless you 56:43 confess you don't know what you're leaving behind. Let's try 56:46 to get to number 6 and see if we can fit it in here. I think 56:50 it'll be our last one for the night. Here it is. After we 56:55 confess our sins what must we do. Acts 2:38, Acts 2:38. I'm 56:59 going to go there very quickly Acts 2:38. For the benefit of 57:02 those who are watching on the screen I'm going to go ahead and 57:05 put the text up there so we can see this. Here's what else you 57:09 do after you confess. Let's read this together. But Peter said to 57:13 them, what else? Repent and let every one of you be baptized 57:18 in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you 57:24 shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We must repent and 57:29 be baptized. We'll begin on this question the next time, but let 57:33 me just make it very, very clear I want you to examine your 57:36 Christianity and the reason why you are a Christian. Maybe 57:39 you've joined because you believe the teachings of your 57:42 church, maybe it has a good choir, maybe it has wonderful 57:45 stained glass, good community programs. Maybe it's just a very 57:48 comfortable place to be or an affluent place. If you haven't 57:51 accepted Jesus Christ, haven't confessed your sins, have not 57:54 repented of your sins then your salvation is missing something 57:58 To enjoy the blessing simply look at Christ and one day it'll 58:02 become very clear. God bless you. |
Revised 2019-01-28