 study now that I think is a very important study. It's found here in Matthew chapter 7 and it is it is a study that relates to danger because there is a danger. There is a danger in having what is called said faith. You see there are those who have said faith that's also been referred to as head faith which simply means that they have an ability to communicate or to say certain things that may have certain biblical realities or truthfulness to them. They have a said faith. They're able to answer questions. So if you ask them for example, do you believe the Bible is the word of God? They're able to say well yes of course. If you say to them do you think that God has a son named Jesus Christ? They'll say to you well yes he had a son named Jesus. Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on a cross for the sins of the world? Well yes of course he did. Do you believe that he was buried? Yes. Do you believe that he rose from the dead on the third day? Yes indeed. Do you believe that he ascended into heaven? Yes I do. Did he send the Holy Spirit to to reside within those who by faith confessed and received him as Lord and Savior? They would say well yes I believe all of that. I believe in the Trinity. I believe in heaven. I believe in hell. I believe the Bible is the word of God and then if you say to them do you live for Jesus Christ? So that's a different question entirely. No isn't it? Well no I believe all these things. Well if you believe all these things well blessed are you if you do them and that's what the Lord is speaking about here. You see he's been given to us what is called the Sermon on the Mount and as we've been going through the Sermon on the Mount starting in chapter 5 now into chapter 7 we've been seeing how the Lord has come to a point where he has given an invitation. He's been speaking to the people concerning the things that relate to faith in him and he has said you need to realize that no man can serve two masters and so he gave the invitation and I'm kind of like just going over reviewing this with you how he had said that these are the things that you need to do and so he had given an invitation we saw it in verses 13 and 14 where Jesus had said enter in to the straight or the narrow gate and so he was beginning at that point to share concerning the cost of discipleship and giving an invitation for people to enter into this narrow gate so he had actually contrasted what is called the narrow gate with a broad way. The narrow gate is difficult it's tortuous it's hard to get into but the broad way anybody can go through and so he's talking concerning a decision that needs to be made related to our life's decisions. There are two paths that have been set before us you need to choose the spiritual path that you're going to travel. Again one path is narrow that means demanding it speaks of tortuous or strenuous and that's the path of salvation so Jesus was saying listen the way of the cross is difficult the way of the cross is afflicted or cramped it's demanding it's costly sacrifices necessary if you're going to enter in. The Christian life is not an easy life it is a demanding way of life he says that in Mark 8 35 through 37 when he says whoever wants to save his life will lose it whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul what can a man give an exchange for his soul so you may watch the news or you might be reading a newspaper or you might be on your on the internet and you're reading the news in that way whatever fashion you receive your news and all in and you read about a well-known Hollywood personality whether it's a young lady or a man they have everything going for him it appears and yet they're getting divorces they have multiple relationships they're unhappy people but they have everything in the back of your mind if you grew up like most Americans you're thinking if I have health and I have some finances I'll be fine I'll do okay in life if I have strong health and if I have some money in my hand I'll be okay because that's basically what every American is raised to believe health and wealth if I have my health I can have wealth but if I don't have my health it doesn't matter if I have any wealth but then again if I have wealth and I have poor health at least I can go get some hospital care so we think that way that's how we think Jesus says what good is it due to a man what is it profit a man if he gained the whole world and yes he yet he loses his soul what will a man give he said in exchange for his song you see the Lord Jesus Christ says that a soul is costly and there's nothing you can do to redeem yourself nothing and you can have tremendous experiences and I'm not knocking tremendous experiences there are certain joys that we have just by being alive it's great sometimes to be able to sit down and in your own backyard say you have a backyard and to have a cup of coffee and to hear the birds and you know and hear the children play yeah that's great I love it I am so blessed and happy that that's part of my life but is it my whole life you know and do I think the one who made that all possible and what if I gained everything what if I had whatever car it may be that I'd like to have and there are cars out there by the way I I like to look at cars like they like to look at art you know I'll look at cars and say well that's a nice car but I'm what if I had the ability what if I was like a Bill Gates or somebody like that where that I could walk in and say oh this car you know okay say I do see I can buy that say I can drive that does that really is that going to be everything is that no of course not because the moment there's a chip on the paint I've lost my joy I don't care I'll be sitting in the car and somebody will let go of the their shopping cart and it seems to weave its way through all cars until it gets the mind hits the door and then bang it's all over you know so I've learned that you've learned that if you haven't learned it you will it's just part of life you discover those things but what is a profit a man if that man is is a very handsome man what is a profit a woman if that woman is so very beautiful that all women what she walks in the room the women look at her and say oh she looks so nice it's kind of like that that commercial you know where that woman's walking on the beach and this guy's got this these women have these she this woman has a hearing aid on that she could hear all the talk that's going on around her and then she walks by these two women on the beach maybe you've seen it I've seen I laugh every time I've seen it and she goes oh doesn't this one girl turns to the other one and says oh doesn't she look so wonderful I wish I had a shape like that and she's got this sonic ear or whatever and she can hear them that's exactly what those women are saying I'm sure they're just saying I wish I had a body like that she looks wonderful no I don't think I'd want to hear the things people whisper around me but is that what it's all about I mean is that what we want well obviously not so Jesus is making it very clear to us he's saying to us we need to know what matters and what doesn't and walking with the Lord is costly and walking with the Lord can be very difficult but he never taught us that being a follower was an easy life it is a life that can be difficult and he can end in a difficult way when we're in Mexico recently I didn't know that where we were going it was well known for kidnapping I didn't know that not that I wouldn't have gone I did just make sure that I put Marie next to the door no I didn't know that and so they send me the people who are hosting us sent me a picture on my on my phone of two guys and said these are the ones who are going to pick you up I didn't put two and two together and until later and I turned to Marie and I said I think they're protecting us from being kidnapped at the airport so we these two guys come they put us in the car they drive and now they're talking to us and they say well we're going to a place where it's run by cartels but the cartel here is into kidnapping so that made some sense oh okay kidnapping he said yeah and I said oh great he said well that's how they make their money and now they're beginning to speak to us and tell us of what has happened in the church and they and then we hear this we hear that one of the members of the church a businessman who had some money was kidnapped a member of the church was kidnapped and held for ransom and what happened is the ransom was paid but they killed him anyway and they've never recovered his body only his head and I said can you take us back to the airport no but he goes they only they only recovered his head after the ransom was paid but you know what happened they're telling us we had out an outreach there was an outreach that was put on by the church and a young man 20 years of age came to that outreach and that young man answered the invitation and gave his heart to the Lord 20 years old at the end when they were interviewing and speaking to him to follow up with him he said the reason he came to that outreach is he was the one who was part of the kidnapping of the man who had been abducted from that church and he was the one who killed the man and he said you know what has driven me to have come here and they said what he said when I was threatening him about to kill him he said the man looked at me and said to me when I he said I said to him you're not afraid why aren't you afraid and the and the man said I am not afraid because I have peace with God through Jesus Christ I have peace but son you don't and he said and I shot him and I killed him I killed the man but it's haunted me because he was right I have no peace and he did and I saw him to the end when he died and when I killed him that he died with a piece that I didn't possess and that is what drove me to come to this church because I knew that he goes to this church or went to this church and I needed to have what he had now that story continues because they said you need to turn yourself in for what you've done and he did and this young man who gave his heart to Christ as a result of killing another man he himself was killed by the cartel in prison he gave his heart to Christ and he died and he wanted to die in peace the way the other one died in peace listen Christianity is not something that's lightweight it's not lightweight and Jesus is making it very clear and and I'm sad to say that here in the United States sometimes we just don't count the cost we don't understand that Jesus was insane to us listen enter in and and you'll have a great life always he said it is a difficult path it is a strenuous one it is very narrow and cramped and few there be that find it whereas on the other hand the other one is a Broadway and there'll be many who go there in and and that's because they're not willing to do what is called what you're called to do in order to enter into the kingdom of God the narrow gate is entered in through a conscious and considered decision and it's a decision of the will because you don't simply stumble in to the kingdom of God you are not automatically you are not accidentally you not ritually and you are not simply born a Christian I'm an American I must be a Christian I've been raised religious I must be a Christian I was teaching a Bible study a young woman comes in the Bible study we're talking after the study and all and and as I'm speaking to her I say to her when were you when did you become a Christian when were you born again she says I've always been a Christian and I smile at her and the spirit of the Lord speaks my heart so remember hearing the voices he said she's lying and I remember looking at and I remember I actually said this this is true story I'm not making this up for a fact it's true I remember hearing this she's lying and I remember saying yes I know it's like a conversation so I said are you telling me you were born born again you can't be born born again you're born of water and or you're born of spirit and I spoke to this young woman and explained to her how you're born again and and this young woman believe oh no I was raised a Christian I've always been a Christian I was born a Christian and I'll give you her name her name was Marie my wife when I met her that was our first conversation we sat down after the Bible study and I asked her Marie when were you born again when did you become a Christian her first response was I've always been a Christian her second question was what's your sign because she was going to college at that time and she wanted to know my sign so I said the fish oh you're a Pisces I said ichthuse I don't believe in that garbage and that was our first conversation and so you're not born born again you enter in by faith it's not automatic it's not ritual listen when I was four months old my mama took me to a small church the plaza church right out there by Alvera Street all of you know it some of you went there too I was baptized there in December of 1950 my mama took me there four months old and I received water baptism seven or eight years of age I received First Communion 12 or 13 I received confirmation if you would have asked me are you a Christian I would have said absolutely well how do you know you're a Christian do you believe in the Bible yes I do do you believe that God has a son named Jesus yes I do do you believe in in heaven yes I do I would have answered is there a Trinity yes there is I would have answered because in catechism class I was taught all the answers for that but if they said do you live for God are you born again I would have answered what I was taught when I was an infant I received water baptism the spirit came upon me at confirmation I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit yes I'm a Christian that's what I was taught but what you're talking to me I might have been loaded or drunk that was my life I mean my cousin Carly and I had arguments I still remember arguing he was Jehovah's Witness I was rowing Catholic and we argued while smoking pot as to which faith was true so some of you understand exactly what I'm saying some of you have done exactly what I've done this is an unusual this is typical of many people not all people but many people where you know what Christmas is supposed to celebrate you know what Easter is supposed to celebrate if you get married you get married in the church then you raise your kids make sure the wife if you're a man the wife takes the kids to church because every every every family out to go to church once in a while you go for weddings you go for funerals you go for baptisms you go for the whole thing and yet you say that he is Lord but you don't do what he says and that's the difference and that's what Jesus is speaking about here concerning Christianity he says not everyone who says to me Lord Lord challenge of the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father in heaven you see the narrow gate is the opposite of the broadway because it is demanding and costly in Matthew 16 24 and 25 Jesus said to his disciples if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself take up his cross follow me for whoever desires to save his life will lose it whoever loses his life for my sake will find it man by the name of Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a book called the cost of discipleship and Dietrich Bonhoeffer said when Christ calls a man he bids him come and die because that is the cost you see the narrow gate isn't crowded because there are a few Jesus said who find it and you think that the road would be crowded for entrance into heaven instead there's a disinterest to entering in even a resistance in John 5 39 and 40 he said this he said you search the scripture for in them you think that you have eternal life and these are they which testify of me but you're not willing to come to me that you may have life you're not willing to come to me you search the scriptures you can get into Bible study you can understand that the word search every police officer in this room understands the word search the real word is ransack somebody comes in just recently in our neighborhood one of the homes in our neighborhood was ransacked they turned everything over they go into the bookshelves and pull things out they they find everything they go underneath the sofas they take the sofa cushions out they open up the bed take the mattress off of it they looked everywhere they ransacked that's what the word ransack means so you're reading the news and they says this house was ransacked it means everything was turned over when Jesus is speaking here he says you search the scriptures the word search as you ransacked the scriptures you're looking from A to Z you're ransacking and these are they would speak concerning me but you won't come to me you may know the Bible you may be able to quote the Bible you may be in Bible study from the time you were small to this point now but you haven't committed yourself to me in a world so populated the amount of people entering into the kingdom is very small that's why Jesus in Luke 12 32 speaks of it as being a little flock the obvious question is for us as we go through this is because this Jesus is an intent the obvious question is am I part of that little flock or am I one of those who says to him Lord Lord the other path as mentioned a moment ago as a Broadway it leads he said to destruction this path is the one that is more readily traveled because the narrow gate isn't that attractive dying to self picking up across loving your enemies serving God that's not desired by most people instead when possible they will try to choose their own path and their own path normally conforms to their own personal philosophy yet we're told in Proverbs 16 25 there's a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death in John 8 24 Jesus said it like this he said if you don't believe that I am he you will die in your sins so Jesus was speaking concerning the way into heaven when we got to verses 15 through 20 he then began to issue a warning concerning false prophets and false teachers and as mentioned earlier as you walk this narrow way some will attempt to mislead you and draw you off the path he had said they will come to you in sheep's clothing when he says they come to you they're on the prowl they prowl the road they deceive those who would enter into the narrow gate and some of you know this very well through experience very often false teachers are more evangelistic than the genuine believer they train their disciples they pour millions into literature they purchase buildings they have door to door evangelism the disciples are very often totally devoted and extremely sacrificial and the minute God begins to move the enemy does what he can to undermine the move of God as I mentioned you recently you get saved and within a week or two three weeks there's someone knocking on your door there's someone inviting you someplace else they want to take you down a path that actually takes you away from the Lord not towards him when God began to move in the United States in a modern revival in 1970 60 you know 67 68 1970 and all of that when when it began to be called the Jesus movement not only was God moving in a refreshing way amongst many many people my age and all you know 18 19 20 years of age and all at that time but not only was the Holy Spirit moving but the enemy did everything he could to to upset it there was a group at that time called the children of God some of you have heard of the children of God I had somebody I know somebody who was part of that it was a mind-controlling cult and it was led by a guy named Moses he called himself Moses David and one of my friends who liked to play rock and roll guitar and all was at Griffith Park and this was before I got saved he was at Griffith Park and the children of God swarmed the park and he was spoken to by some of these members of the we call them COG the children of God the family of God later on they called themselves by various names but children of God is what I knew him by and what happened is they took him and he began to live on a commune he sold all his possessions he didn't really have much but he got rid of his guitar donated it to that organization and they did everything they could to to control this young man that was very typical and that happened then and it happens to this day Jesus is leaving it up to his listeners to exercise discernment by saying to them beware of false prophets you see we're responsible to know God's word and God's word needs to be known well enough for us to be able to discern or to spot error you know in these last days and indeed we're in these last days prior to Christ's return and it's soon when Jesus was spoken of and we'll see this when we get to Matthew 24 that's only 16 chapters or so from now that's only two years when we get there to Matthew 24 Jesus is drawn Jesus's attention is drawn to the temple his disciples say isn't this beautiful look at these marvelous stones and this and that and Jesus begins to speak to them in return and says listen one of these not one of these stones are going to be left in place they're all going to be uprooted and it causes the disciples great concern because Herod had been working on that temple for over 40 years it had been beautified to such an extreme degree that the idea that this beautiful temple would be destroyed was much beyond them and so they began to speak to Jesus and they said tell us when will these things be what are the signs of your coming we all know that when you read Matthew 24 we all know about the plagues the wars the rumors of war and and a variety of things that are listed there but it's interesting because when the disciples are speaking to Jesus they did not say and and you'll see this clearly just read it yourself you'll see it but when we get to it I'll try and develop this for you but they did not say what are the signs of your coming it's not plural it's singular they said what is the sign of your coming and what was it that Jesus said three times at least three some say four at least three times he says take heed that you are not deceived the sign of the return of Christ isn't simply the plagues the wars the international wars those are all part of they're like birth pangs but the real sign is deception and that's why Jesus said take heed be careful that you are not deceived and that's why Jesus is speaking about beware false prophets listen as a pastor teacher I can do the best that I can to try and equip you I can do the best and that's my responsibility and I do the best I can to do that but the way you're equipped is by reading the word yourself studying the word yourself having your own personal time with God yourself in your prayer having fellowship with those who love Jesus Christ and live for him learning to share your faith with other people those are all things that you do that helps you but it's especially through the reading and the practicing of the word of God that you're safeguarded God's word needs to be read it needs to be properly divided it needs to be understood spiritually and that's a foundation of all true ministry in Christ the learning of and practicing the word of God is a foundation of a blessed life as well as a productive life you might find this interesting when we um when we built this building out and began to occupy it 12 or 13 years ago now we uh told the church some of you were with us then we said on Saturday this upcoming Saturday before we lay the carpet we're going to write our favorite scriptures on this platform if if we were to uproot this carpeting here all the way to the back doors on both sides all the way to the back here everywhere if you uproot this carpet you will find hundreds and hundreds of verses hundreds and all all the way up the steps every one of these steps is covered with scripture every one every step that you take to get up here there are bible verses on every that people with the magic markers you know anyway i was gonna little savage no but there there are sad girls right there no when you when you i'm sorry but when when you look at the concrete every inch of this as bible verses every inch every time i teach right here i have the scripture that i wrote no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ right here first Corinthians 3 11 i stand on that every time i teach to remind myself it's Jesus it's a foundation of christ it's the word of god my mom and my dad scriptures right here right next to me i wrote their scripture both of them are in heaven but it reminds me this church is built on the foundation of the word of god that's what it's supposed to be built on it reminds me every time i teach you see our responsibility is to know god's word false teaching ultimately produces multitudes of lost people who mistakenly believe they're going to heaven and that's your introduction to our study verse 21 i give long introductions not everyone who says to me lord lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father in heaven i underscored says and i underscored does says verses does someone says well wait a minute i know i've been reading the bible and i know that the bible says that we confess Jesus Christ's lord in order to be saved so isn't this a contradiction because it seems to be different than what Jesus taught because in Matthew 10 32 Jesus says whoever confesses me before men him i will also confess before my father who's in heaven so isn't this a contradiction on the one hand he says not everyone who says to me lord lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven and yet later on he says you have to confess them before men to be part of the kingdom how does that work well there are those who would say that all you need to do is say Jesus is lord and if you do then you are going to be recognized as a believer in him not that long ago there was a bus that was going around in our area here where it said on the bus i'll never forget it had uh an advertisement you know how you can buy space on buses and it drives to the city and it said say Jesus is lord and you will be saved and i'll never forget seeing that bus it was driving through say Jesus is lord and you shall be saved there are whole denominations that say that uh if you're saved you're going to stand up and they'll do this they'll stand up in the platform just like this on a sunday morning and the young people will walk up and they'll say Jesus Christ is lord because they believe that no one can call Jesus lord if they're not saved they take that out of 1st Corinthians 12 3 where paul says i make known to you that no one speaking by the spirit of god calls Jesus a curse and no one can say that Jesus is lord except by the holy spirit so over the years many have been confused over this one issue of confessing christ and they wonder about that i i've talked to as some of you uh who will speak to you and say they've spoken to me and they say well i have a friend or i have a relative and this person is opposed to god and i'm concerned for them but the thing that is confusing me is they went forward at an altar call or or or they were at a crusade or or they prayed a sinner's prayer but now they have no interest in god they're living sinfully and sometimes they even mock the faith of christ and so they'll ask me i've had this many times this is one of the questions i've been asked a lot of times aren't they saved because they went forward they prayed aren't they saved now again remember earlier jesus warned them concerning false prophets who would come and deceive them he issues a warning concerning deception a deception that is worse than a deception of a false prophet and what is it that is worse than the deception of a false prophet the thing that is worse than the deception of a false prophet is self-deception you're deceiving yourself you see churches this morning and this is not something i rejoice in saying it is a true statement it is a fact but churches this morning are filled filled with self-deceived people there are many cultural christians they fill pews but they're completely unsafe they attend church they live unrepentant lives there's no spiritual hunger they have no spiritual discipline and then they get confused when things aren't going well for them they're surprised i'm a christian why is god not blessing my life some think they are christian but they've never really thought deeply about what that means they haven't done any soul searching because in reality it's not that important to them that will result in them falling short of knowing the lord we need to soberly consider if we truly have a genuine relationship with jesus christ in psalm 119 verse 59 the psalmist said i thought about my ways and turned my feet to your testimonies i thought about my ways it's something i considered and i turned my feet to your testimonies in the old testament book of lamentations chapter 3 verse 40 let us search out and examine our ways and turn back to the lord so jesus is warning against the danger of said faith the danger of casual faith and he's challenging them to consider themselves make sure where you stand with the lord second carinthians 13 5 examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith test yourselves do you not know yourselves that jesus christ is in you unless indeed you are disqualified examine test see whether you're in the faith look at your own heart does jesus christ really reside there like the psalmist said in psalm 139 23 and 24 search me oh god know my heart try me know my anxieties see if there's any wicked way in me lead me in the way everlasting am i walking with the lord or am i self deceived self deception is demonstrated by saying but not doing saying that we're christians saying that he's the lord well that's not the same as living as if he really is jesus asked the question it's one of the more powerful questions you find it in in luke's 646 why do you call me a lord lord and do not the things which i say why do you speak me in that way why do you say to me what you're saying when in reality that's not true at all and roman 617 thanks be to god that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed why do you call me a lord lord and do not the things which i say americans have basically taken a model of education that that is like this it's like if i if i am able to take a test and repeat the things that the the professor has given to me answer enough questions right then i can get a diploma and that will prove that i'm educated that's the american system basically isn't it as long as i pass enough of the test as long as i repeat the things the professor thought was important for me to know and i can answer those questions um i get a diploma and ultimately i have my bachelors or masters or whatever and and i'm an educated person i have knowledge the jews didn't think like that that's why jesus would say it's more than saying it's the doing that's what he's saying here not everyone who says to me lord lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father because in the way of thinking of the time of christ that even to this day true true knowledge is the the accumulation of information and then the assimilation of that information so that it produces a transformation of behavior i've heard it i've taken it in and it's changed the way i live so somebody could run around saying oh i know and they can quote now i've had conversations so have you over the years of people who will quote a scripture to you and they they know what the scripture says but jesus said it like this he said blessed it are you if you not only know this blessed are you if you do these things it's not that you're able to answer it's not an exam we're not going to stand before god he's not going to hand us a multiple choice kind of quiz to enter into the kingdom of heaven it's not going to be that way at all it's going to be is he really my lord and jesus said there are multitudes of people who say he is when in reality he's not you see today what happens is we've encouraged people to to what we would call a show of faith but sometimes we have encouraged them to a false show so we say raise your hand at an invitation we say pray walk an aisle and and people do but they don't truly repent there may be something motivating them they may be regretting something they've done a lot of people come to church on a sunday because they were they did some bad things on saturday and they feel terrible you know what i'm talking about they did some bad things they regret it they were caught or they're going to deal with something i have been in the ministry a long time and i've been there myself so yeah you go to church because man i feel terrible about what i've been and what i've done i regret it but i'm not repenting it's not like i turned from it it's that i feel bad i heard somebody's feelings or i stole something or i was so drunk or i'm i got a rest or whatever i i i i got i got to get some god i need help and so please i have prayed for people and and and the thing they were concerned about is lifted then i never see him again off they go back to what they were doing because they really didn't repent they simply felt bad i remember giving an invitation in this church many years ago not in this building in another one that we occupied and three people came forward it was an older woman a younger woman and a younger man and as i was looking at him the younger man had his hands in his pocket and he was he was obviously angry and the younger woman was kind of like what am i doing here and the older woman was standing a little bit behind him just staring at both of them really angry well i thought this is interesting you know what's going on here well i found out afterwards that was the mother she was mad at her son she said you need god get yourself up there right now and she marched them up the aisle i don't think he got saved but sometimes that happens you need god you need to get up there you go up there you give him a try no you don't give god a try you surrender to god you surrender to him you're not giving him a shot i'll let you prove yourself to me show me your god make my life better that's not how it works sometimes people understand grace in a wrong way they look at god's grace as being more freedom to continue in unrepentant sin grace is understood in contrast to god's justice it isn't permission to sin it's the strength to resist being in bondage to it it's not permission to continue paul said in romans chapter six one and two what shall we say then shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase by no means we died to sin how can we live in it any longer you see true conversion produces true christianity the evidence that you actually have been converted the evidence that you know the lord it's love it's love for jesus love for god's word love for other people jesus in john 14 15 said it like this he said if you love me keep my commandments in jeremiah 15 16 it says your words were found i ate them your word was to me the join rejoicing of my heart i am called by your name oh lord god of hosts john 15 12 this is my commandment that you love one another as i have loved you so when you get saved your life changes okay is it one day you're just a rowdy monster type the next day you're billy graham no you go to bed after going forward or praying or whatever it is you wake up the next morning and god begins that process of cleaning your life as you yield to him daily every day once again lord i'm just asking you to work in my life today you know sometimes sometimes we want people's lives to be cleaned up before they're even saved they're even saving and and for me something i was taught a long time ago was this you never clean a fish until you catch it and god has a way of catching us and then cleaning us and he cleanses us by the word of god he cleanses us through prayer he cleanses us by his spirit he cleanses us through the blood of jesus christ he cleanses us through godly fellowship he cleanses our lives in that fashion and so when you're saved you begin to love christ you love his commandments you love his word and and you love one another and and here's something for you a true christian cannot practice sin with satisfaction or joy can a true christian backslide yes can a true christian do some of the things they used to do in the past as a non christian yes um now then what are you saying i'm saying that you can't do that and enjoy it anymore you just can't why well because you're a christian because god's spirit resides within you because you sense a conviction a grief a sorrow because you say this is wrong i can't do this i was in i was a young man just got out of the service i went to um i was 22 years old i went to uh in sonata on cinco de mayo 1972 for three days i was so drunk i didn't even know where i was we drank two cases of beer before we got to the border there were three of us so we killed two cases of beer before we got to the border and then for the next two days it was a lost weekend i don't even remember what we did i was that bad i decided i'm just gonna you know i'm bored i'm tired and i got home my sister madeline sat in my parents house when i arrived i walked in and i was still i had i was still a little drunk we'd been drinking for three solid days she says how'd you enjoy yourself in uh mexico i had a great time man we and i started telling her the crazy things we did and then at the kitchen table i looked her in the eye and she's just kind of looking at me because i had led her to faith in christ and i started to weep i just broke down right there i still remember just crying at the table and putting my hands on my head and i am the most miserable man i am so lost i can't do this anymore i've got to get right with god i can't take this anymore i've walked away from the lord i went to church that night the evangelist gave a message gave an invitation i stood up and i said i'm gonna follow christ i don't want to go back to that way of life can a believer go back to the to the the slop that used to live in the vomit the dog returned to the vomit can yes you can but will you stay there no why well because pigs will go back to the mire and a dog will go back to the vomit because the dog is a dog and the pig is a pig but you're not a pig and you're not a dog you're a son or a daughter of god himself and the conviction of the spirit is so huge until you come back to faith in him how do i know that well it's not just my experience it's a word of god makes it very clear in first john three nine no one who is born of god will continue in sin because god's seed remains in him he cannot go on sinning because he's been born of god this is a holy spirit that convicts you and some of you perhaps i don't know i don't want to point a finger at anybody here but perhaps there are some here today that this is resonating with that you've been trying to live on both sides at the same time and god is saying choose this day who you're going to serve you cannot do both and you're miserable you need to get right with the lord in first john two three and four we know that we've come to know him if we obey his commandments the man who says i know him and doesn't do what he commands is a liar the truth's not in him and that's why Jesus said not everyone who says to me lord lord jail enter the kingdom see these people confess Jesus with their mouths they did not honor him with their lives now in verse 22 many will say to me in that day lord lord have we not prophesied in your name cast out demons in your name done many wonders in your name and then i will declare to them i never knew you depart from me you who practice lawlessness see the fact is that just because someone says something does it mean it's true the word lord was a common word during the time of jesus it was used as a title of respect but to address jesus's lord is different you are professing faith in christ in john 2028 thomas answered and said to him my lord and my god in romans 10 9 and 10 if you confess with your mouth jesus is lord and believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead you'll be saved for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved you see there are religious people and that's who he's referring to they will say on that day we prophesied in your name these are people that might even have what is called a spirit field or a charismatic appearance of ministry how is it possible that they will say to him we prophesied in your name cast out demons in your name we did many wonders in your name the question has to be asked did these things actually happen how is it that they will say that to him they'll say we did these things in your name we prophesied cast out demons did miracles these are religious people they're claiming to be spirit filled well there's a couple answers one if genuine works actually happen in genuine works actually were performed it may be that these were just counterfeits empowered by satan himself can satan counterfeit well according to 2nd thessalonians 2 9 and 10 the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance to the work of satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracle signs and wonders every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing they perish because they refuse the love of the truth and so be saved and so yes is it possible that the enemy could counterfeit indeed and the second thing is more obvious they're just claims false claims they thought these things were actually taking place when in fact they really weren't they thought they were doing good works for christ in reality they weren't doing any any at all but they're using them as a way to say but we did this in your name and then what is he saying verse 23 as we conclude then i will declare to them i never knew you depart from me you who practice lawlessness depart from me listen carefully and we'll close with this i'm not going to ask you to raise your hand of course i wouldn't do that there's no need to we all would raise our hand if i asked this question if i said how many of you have been rejected in any time of your life all of us would raise our hand all of us have every one of us in one form or another has been rejected from relationship by a mom by a dad by a brother a sister an aunt an uncle a grandmother a grandfather a neighbor friend girlfriend boyfriend husband wife child all of us have right i mean not a single one of us has gone through life if you have gone through life without rejection i want to be your friend so i can reject you i mean every one of us every every one of us has been rejected we weren't chosen for the team we didn't make it in the office we were running for i mean you can name it all of us has all of us not a single person in this room has ever gone through life without being rejected that's just the way it is you applied for a college they didn't take you applied for a job they didn't take you you were rejected some more severely than others some were abandoned some were hurt some have gone through emotional pain that nobody can understand other than god himself that's a fact we know that emotional pain that nobody can understand except god himself he was Jesus himself does understand by the way he was rejected by man he was rejected he understands that's one of the reasons why you can love him so much because he didn't reject you he loves you never forget that please never forget that he didn't reject you i will never never never never leave you nor forsake you that's a promise from god he loves you never forget that that's what keeps you going in the dark hour that's what keeps you going in the pain moment it's knowing though my father and my mother reject me you will lift me up you never reject me and that has kept me going for years and years and years let me tell you about rejection real rejection isn't when someone didn't want you on the team somebody didn't hire you for the job you didn't make it into the college or husband and wife didn't want you anymore real rejection is when you hear the lord jesus christ say depart from me you don't want to hear that that's rejection that's rejection that is the most serious form of rejection i never knew you wait a minute i prophesied in your name i cast out demons in your name i did wonders in your name no i never never never knew you you and i had no relationship you only said that you knew me but you didn't do what i commanded that's rejection you don't want to go through that you don't want to go through that here's something for all of us do you really know the lord really do you hunger for him do you pray do you read his word do you really love him i'm not i'm not trying to condemn you please forgive me it sounds that way even as i say it it's it's a soul searching examine your heart search your soul is he really that important if not then right now we can say oh lord forgive me i've gotten i've gotten confused in life and i've i've walked away from what i know is true forgive me and you know what forgiveness is an instant away it's a confessional way but i wonder how many in this room think that you're christian because you're like me because you were went through religious upring like i did you don't have to been raised catholic that's just my testimony you could have been raised in a baptist church a methodist church presbyterian church pencostal church it doesn't matter do you have a relationship with christ because i'm telling you as i read this book here jesus said one of these days he's going to say depart from me i never knew you there was never even a time when you claimed to really had a relationship with me and then then you walked away from no we never knew one another you never confessed to me you never received me you never were born again and now you are forever lost the bible tells us in revelation 20 verse five anyone not found written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire that is gospel that's a fact you don't have a chance at that point to excuse yourself you don't have a chance at that point to give the reasons why you had such a bad time no it's just you and god see so for me i take this very seriously and i want to close on a serious note with that you need to know whether or not you're right with god that's my my prayer for all of us beginning with me to walk with god to walk with god until god takes us and we see him face to face and we hear him say oh well done my good my faithful servant till we hear him say enter into the joy of your lord it's been prepared for you from the foundation of the world enter in you don't know what i went through jesus oh yes i do because i walked with you every step and i kept you every step because i loved you every step thank you jesus thank you or you can say i went to church i was in calvary chapel you said that's why you're going to hell i went to church but you weren't the church you just went and there's a difference we need to know if we are the church not just that we go to a church are you the church