 Man, there's so many miracles. It's like we could keep this series going for about a year, I think, but we're probably gonna have to end it after a couple more weeks, but just just for the sake of not having a series that goes on forever. But there's a lot of miracles even in Matthew chapter 9, but the one that we want to focus on this evening is when Jesus heals the man sick of the palsy. So look at Matthew chapter 9 and verse number 1, and that's what we'll focus on this evening. We'll kind of go through this story and see what there is. That we can learn from it. Look at Matthew chapter 9 and verse number 1. The Bible says, So first of all, sick of the palsy, palsy, this is like some physical ailment where he can't, you know, it's like a usually typically a paralysis of some kind, okay? That's what that means when you see that word in the Bible. And Jesus says, Now this is a story that is in three of the Gospels. It's also in Mark chapter 2 and also in Luke chapter 5, but there's a little more to the story here. Go to Mark chapter 2, Mark chapter 2, and let's look at another angle of this story. So here he sees this man and he says, But there's a little more to the story, and that's the nice thing about the stories that are kind of repeated in the other Gospels is you can kind of see a different angle, and many times different details are filled in in other Gospels, in other accounts of the same situation. Look at Mark chapter 2 and the story is found in verse number 1. Look at verse number 1. The Bible says, And they came unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy which was born of four. And when they could not come in, that means there's just people everywhere. They couldn't get in. They couldn't reach him. They uncovered the roof where he was, and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw, and then we see this again, when Jesus saw their faith, So these guys, we see this angle in Mark chapter 2 where these guys, they couldn't reach Jesus. The press meaning the crowd. The people were so great that they couldn't get into the house. They couldn't get into the door. These guys take their friend who's laying in this bed. He's paralyzed. He's disabled. And they take him up to the roof of the house. They take apart the roof of the house, and they lower him down inside the house where Jesus is at. Now, of course, that brings Jesus' attention directly to this guy, and Jesus addresses this man right there, right then and there. So there's three main points I want to make about this story this evening. But the first one, as I just kind of led into it, is these guys would basically do anything to get themselves and their friend, especially to Jesus. That's the first thing. So what would you do to get to Jesus? Turn to Matthew chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18. Go to Matthew chapter 18 and look at verse number 20. The Bible says where two or three are gathered in my name, therefore I am in the midst of them. This verse is talking about, I mean this is the famous Matthew 18, how to handle conflicts. But Matthew 18 chapter 20 is actually talking about the context of the church itself, and about bringing somebody in front of the church, and then Jesus talks about that gathering. He's like, I'm in the midst of you. Did you know that when you're in church that Jesus is in the midst of us here? So this church, of course, the head of this, it would make sense that Jesus was here, that he was present with us since he's in charge of this place. It would make sense since it's him that decides whether or not we keep our candlestick or not. I mean it makes sense that he's here. So you say, well Jesus isn't in the house. Well Jesus is in this house. Jesus is in this house. What would you do to get to him? So you should be in this house every chance you get. These guys literally went to the lengths of dismantling the house to make sure they could get to Jesus. Second of all, second point. Why was his sin forgiven? Jesus said that this man's sin was forgiven. In Matthew chapter 9, we see a reason. In Mark chapter 2 and in Luke chapter 5, Jesus actually gives the reason that this man had his sins forgiven. Jesus didn't say because you lowered him through the roof, because you guys showed up. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 9, it says, seeing their faith, it says. In Mark chapter 2, it says when Jesus saw their faith. And in Luke chapter 5 verse 17, you don't have to turn there, it says, he saw their faith. Look, it's interesting that many of the stories that are repeated in the gospels, I mean this is super interesting because many of the stories that are repeated in the gospels will have additional information that the other story doesn't have. And then when you take them all together, you can kind of get many people that have brought up actual Bible contradictions, by the way, this is the problem. They don't read all the accounts of the story in the gospels. There's many Bible contradictions like, you know, the demon-possessed man in the wilderness that, you know, people say, oh, there's a Bible contradiction here. But if you read all the accounts of the situation, there's no contradiction. But what's interesting is, well, the different accounts typically have different details that give us a complete story. This particular detail is in every single account of the story. What detail? That Jesus saw their faith and then said what he said about his, you know, his sins being forgiven. He said his sins were forgiven because he saw their faith. Putting it all together, you get the complete story in the gospel. But it's interesting that the faith point is in every single... It's almost like it's key to the story. And it is. We obviously know that. The second thing I want to bring up, or the third thing I want to bring up, is which of this guy's sin were forgiven? I mean, Jesus said your sins are forgiven you. Which sins is he talking about? Which sins is he talking about? He has past sins, the sins that he committed that day, the sins that he was going to commit tomorrow. Which sins was he talking about? There's this strange Catholic doctrine out there that, you know, and look, it's not just even Catholic. So, I'm going to be kind of hard on the Catholic religion tonight. But let me just say this. It's not just Catholic because many Protestants are very much Catholic when it comes down to what they actually believe. And the strange doctrine is this. Is this doctrine of continual confession for salvation? Meaning I need to continually confess my sins, or I'm not going to go to heaven. This is what they believe. This is why, by the way, Catholics believe and Lutherans believe and many other Protestants believe that this is exactly why. And I'll give you the logic behind it. I believe this much of my life. This is why they believe that someone who commits suicide cannot go to heaven. This doctrine right here. Why? You say why suicide? It's not because the sin is extra bad or anything like that. It's because, you know, once you've committed suicide, how are you going to confess that? That's literally why it is. If you've ever wondered, why suicide? Look, Catholics, Lutherans, all these people believe that even murder can be forgiven. And even murder will not stop you from going to heaven. But if you kill yourself, you can never confess that sin, because you're dead. So that's why they believe that if you kill yourself, you're immediately going to hell. Right there. It's a deal breaker. You can't confess that one. Look, everyone, every Protestant, every Catholic should reject this doctrine. It is not logical even on the very surface. It's not logical. Look, even if it were true, let's pretend for a moment that this idea that I have to continually confess my sins, like I wipe the slate clean, so I go to church every Sunday, and let's say that I can confess all my sins. I'm going to give them that benefit of the doubt, too. Let's say it's possible to go to church every Sunday once a week and confess all my sins. And let's say that it's possible that I don't forget one, but most of them put in like a statement like even the ones that I don't remember right now, or something like that. Let's say I can confess all my sins, and let's say I'm also sincere about that. So let's say that there's no sins where I'm chanting my confession that is the same confession that I've chanted. It's the same vain repetition that I've chanted every single Sunday for my entire life, and I'm sincere about it every single time. I'm sincere about it. I literally think about the sins that I committed in the last week, and I'm sincere, and I say, I'm never going to do those sins again, God. And there's none of those sins where I'm like, yeah, I probably think I'm probably going to do this one again. I mean, because really, when your child comes to you and if your child came to you and he said, yeah, you know, Dad, I'm sorry for taking the cookie out of the cookie jar, and then he does it five minutes later, and then he asks, you know, he says he's sorry for the hundredth time. Are you really going to start thinking that he's still sorry for taking the cookie, or is he just doing it out of just obligation to not get in trouble? But let's just say that you could be sincere and you meant it every single time, even though you chanted that vain repetition your entire life every single Sunday. You're still not going to heaven. I mean, how long? How long? Unless you confess that sin, then you chant that vain repetition that you're completely sincere about, and then you get hit by lightning like five seconds later. You're toast, otherwise, because what happens when you commit another sin? What happens when you have a foolish thought 12 minutes later before church is even over? You've just sinned again. Now you have to wait until next Sunday to like get your salvation back. Look, it is... I never understood it. I was always confused about it, which, you know, thank God that I was always confused about it, and I was looking for something else. It's like, there's got to be a better way. It's like buying a... Think of it this way. It's like buying a super expensive plane ticket. You buy a super expensive plane ticket, and then, you know, you're like, where are we going? Where's this plane ticket? It's like, oh, it's a ticket to paradise. It's the best place in the world. It's the best place ever. You pay all this money for this ticket, and then you go, and you just sit in the airplane on the runway, and you notice like that the airplane has no engines. And you're like, there's no way that this airplane could get me anywhere much less the best place on earth. But then people come around, and they're just like selling your peanuts, and you know, you're paying all this money while you're on the plane, and it just makes no sense because there's no way that plane can get you there. There's no way, folks, Catholics, Lutherans, Protestants, Methodists, whatever. There's no way this doctor could ever get you to heaven. Even if it was true. But it's not true. It's not true. The only way, 1 John 1-9, confession of your sins even fits in the logical world that we live in is if it's just about a relationship with the Lord, not salvation. That's the only way it fits. Because look, when you got saved and when this guy, when Jesus said it to this guy, all his sins were forgiven. Past, present, and future. Now look, it doesn't mean, look, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't confess our sins to God throughout our life. You should confess your sins. You should confess your sins every time you have the thought that you know what, I've done wrong. You should confess your sins daily in your prayer life. You're like, I don't have a prayer life daily. Well, there you go. But look, once your sins are forgiven as far as your salvation, it's a done deal, folks. It's done. Let's go back to the story. Look at Matthew 9 and look at verse 3. There's some more interesting things that happen in this story. Let's continue reading. Matthew 9, look at verse 3. The Bible says, and behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemed it because basically he said, your sins are forgiven. And they're like, how can he say that? Which is interesting, by the way, that even, I'll get to this later, but even the false prophets of the day knew that somebody saying, like some man saying that he forgives your sins, they even knew that was blasphemy. Isn't that interesting? These people weren't saved. These Jewish leaders and all this, they weren't saved. They didn't believe in Jesus. Look at verse 4. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts said, wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether it is easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say arise and walk. But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, then he sayeth to the sick of the palsy, arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose and departed to his house. But when the multitude saw it, they marveled and glorified God which had given such power unto men. Turn to Mark chapter 2. Let's look at it in Mark chapter 2. Mark chapter 2. I want to read this account in Mark chapter 2 to get the full details of everything. And then I want to explain to you two super important things that have happened in this story as we continued reading. Mark chapter 2, look at verse number 6. Again, but there were certain of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts. They weren't speaking this out loud. They were just sitting there. They were thinking it. They were thinking it. Why did this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say arise and take up thy bed and walk. But they may know that the son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins. That's really interesting right there. Because now he's telling them why he's about to do the physical miracle. The point of him doing the physical miracle is so they believe the spiritual one. Or to prove at least the spiritual one. Is to prove what they were questioning in their hearts. You know what they were questioning in their hearts? They were questioning whether or not he had the right to say that. What they were really questioning was the fact that he was God. That's what they were questioning. Because they said, look, only God can forgive sins. And Jesus says, just to prove to you that I can forgive sins, watch this. Look at verse number 11. And of course then he heals them and I say unto thee, arise and take up thy bed and go thy way into thine house and immediately he rose, took up the bed, went forth for them all. And so much more that they were all amazed and glorified God saying, we never saw it on this fashion. So two super important things have happened here. Basically Jesus proves that he is God twice. Right here. He proves, first of all, he proves that he's God by telling them their thoughts. They were sitting there thinking something, turned back to John chapter 4. Do you remember this story? They were sitting there thinking something and he basically walks up to them and says, why are you thinking this? How many times have you had that happen in your life? Like never. Right? This was enough. What this one fact enough was enough to get the woman at the well to say this. Look at John chapter 4 and look at verse number 29. She said to the crowd, she said to the city, she said, come see a man which told me all the things that I ever did. Is this not the Christ? That's the one reason that she told the people in the city. Look, this man, this man came up to me and he just told me everything about my life. That's exactly what Jesus did to the scribes here. Now look, I mean, I used to love, like, you know, as a kid and I mean, I have to confess, I still do like, like slight of hand stuff and all these kind of things. And you know, like one of the big, the big magician, like when I was a kid was David Copperfield. Is he alive still? I don't even know. But the thing is, like, they would do all these things to make people think that they were magical. You know, they would do all these things to make people think that they had, like, magical powers. And one of the big ones was, like, they would, you know, they would have somebody pick a card or pick an object or pick something and then they would tell them, like, what the object was or what they chose. But look, these things are all tricks. These things are all tricks. You know, they're all tricks that are easily explained by, you know, he had a plant in the audience. So if I just, like, called on Brother David and this was an audience of people that I didn't know and I called on Brother David and nobody knew that I knew him. We're working together. And I was like, think of a number between one and 15 or whatever. And I just tell him, you know, I can do that again because he's working with me. It's all these tricks and, you know, now I'm sure they have all kinds of wireless devices where they can communicate things, but they're tricks. They're tricks. I mean, there's, like, there's all sorts of trickery that these guys use to, you know, make themselves look like they're magic. That's the whole idea, right? But look, do you think that if somebody was really could tell the future that they would be, like, on some, you know, talent show or something? They would be, like, you know. But anyway, the point is it's all trickery in these cases. Jesus, I mean, just think, I mean, he's reading their minds. Literally. He's, like, the only real clairvoyant, basically. He's reading these guys' mind. And look, if somebody ever comes up to you and just tells you all the thoughts that you're thinking, you know, that's something supernatural. If that's real and it really happened. So look, he proved that he was God there. That was the first time. Look at verse number nine. And then, Jesus, he does it again. He proves that he's God twice. Look at verse number nine where he says, for is it easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee or to say arise and walk? Mark two, nine, I'll just read for you. It says, whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, thy sins be forgiven thee or to say arise and take up thy bed and walk. So look, he says to them, it's easy to just say, your sins are forgiven you. You know, I could do that. You know, I could start my own religion and I could just have a bunch of people come and join my religion and I could just have people come up here and I could put my hands on them and just be like, you know, your sins are forgiven you and all this stuff. And I could just say that. And you know what? It's sad, but a lot of people would probably believe it. Or I could have like a booth and I could have all the people in the church, you know, and I could be like, look, if you don't give like enough money, you know, you can't come in my booth. What happens in the booth? Well, you confess your sins to me and then I forgive you of your sins and then you can go to heaven. You want to go to heaven and give money. You say that's crazy. Well, hello. It's like the biggest church in the United States. Did you know? I mean, that's the Catholic priest right there. Look, I'm not being, look, I love the Catholic. Don't get me wrong. I love the Catholic, but look, this religion is wicked as hell. Did you know that there's actually sins? They've actually made a list of sins and you'll see news articles about it every now and then if you're reading, you know, conservative news sites or whatever, where like the Pope will grant like, because you know, there's only some sins that only the Pope can forgive. You know that? I mean, you can't even make this stuff up. I mean, they did, so obviously you can. The point is, like, he'll grant like, oh, I can grant like this bishop the ability to forgive these couple sins and I mean, just make up all this stuff. There was a bunch where you like made up a bunch of like ability to forgive sins related to coronavirus too and last year I even forgot the details of it. It's just crazy. It's crazy and look, it's insane and look, the Catholic priest is a perfect example of what Jesus is talking about here. It's almost like he was like predicting what men would do. He's like, oh yeah, it's easy to just say you can forgive sins. It's almost like Jesus is like tongue-in-cheek saying I know what's going to happen in hundreds of years. You know, because that's exactly what men are doing. They're using that power over people to forgive sins. But hey, Catholic priest, I want to see you heal somebody. I want to see you take somebody who's, you know, disabled or paralyzed and I want to see you raise them up to walk. Look, on the contrary, you constantly hear about stories of like some Catholic priest killing somebody. They're trying to exercise a demon from them. But I mean, can Satan cast out Satan? No. No. I mean, look, the Catholic priest is working for Satan. He can't cast out Satan. He can't be divided against himself, the Bible says. How shall then his kingdom stand? This is exactly what Jesus was talking about. It's like it's easy to say your sins are forgiven you. But it'd be hard if I made this guy whole and if I healed this guy. Back to the story. So what does Jesus do? Like anybody can say this. I agree with you. Then he performs the physical miracle that shows that the spiritual one was real. And that's why he did it. Go back to Matthew chapter 9. Look at verse number 6. Matthew chapter 9, look at verse number 6. It says, Jesus says, But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, then sayeth he to the sick of the palsy arise, take up thy bed and go unto thy house, and he arose and departed to his house. Look, Jesus just proved that he was able to forgive sins. By the way, turn to 1 Timothy chapter 2. It's so clear in the Bible that men can't forgive your sins. That it's Jesus that forgives sins. The Bible even says, in 1 Timothy chapter 2, look at verse number 5. Look folks, look Catholic, look Lutheran. You don't need some man. And the Lutheran pastor will actually get up and he will actually say, he says, just Catholic. No, it's not. It's infected. Look, the Protestants are Catholic. The Protestants, they just rejected some things of the Catholic Church. They're still very much Catholic. That's another thing that Protestants need to realize is that you haven't totally divorced yourself from that wicked mother of the Catholic Church. They're still there. That Lutheran pastor will stand up and he will stand up in that church service after you chant that vain repetition. And he will say, I forgive your sins. I always thought that was weird. I mean, it's funny how like every time that happened, I was just like, it doesn't seem right. I wasn't even saved. I was just like, it doesn't seem right. Every time, some's not right about that. Every single time says, I forgive you your sins. I, me, Jared, if I ever say that, get out of here. If I ever, you're like, what? Yeah, something's gone horribly wrong at that point. Just get out. Run out. Run out the door. Stand up at that moment and sprint out the door. Look at, where are you at? 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse number 5. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Look, you don't need anybody else. God already sent, look, it's an insult to Christ. It's an insult to Christ because God sent the mediator. God sent somebody to be the bridge for us. And we have access directly to him. His name is Jesus Christ. You don't need anything else. So look, he healed this man physically so that they would know that he is God. Or they would have a chance. Because what were they thinking in their hearts? They're thinking only God can forgive sins. And he's like, yeah, I know only men can say sins are forgiven. He's like, I am God. Get up and walk. And the guy gets up and walks. He basically just proved that he was God. Look, you better believe that there are people that knew he was God after this. Just because the scribes and Pharisees, look, they never got it. And there's points in the Gospel that it says that Jesus, he didn't even want them to get it anymore. Turn to Acts chapter 10, so that they would know that he is God. I mean, look, it's a great proof of the overall Gospel, too, this miracle. It's a great proof of the overall Gospel that only through faith can you achieve that saving forgiveness from Jesus Christ. Look at Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10, look at verse 43. Acts chapter 10 in verse number 43. To him, give all the prophets witness. It's like everybody throughout the whole entire... What was the point of the New Testament? What's the point of the New Testament? Yeah, there's lots of practical stories. There's lots of practical lessons that we talk about every single week. Week in, week out. We study through the books of the Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament, and there's tons of lessons that we can learn to apply to our physical lives. But really the main point of the Old Testament was to point to Jesus Christ. And that's why there's so many stories in there. It's all about pointing... Look, it was all the prophets gave witness to Jesus. That's what it says in Acts 10, 43. That through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. Look, it's through the name of Jesus Christ and it's by believing, it's that faith. When he saw their faith, that's when he forgave their sins. It's the same with me and you. It's the same with anybody. That through believing through Jesus. Look, and here's another thing. Here's another weird doctrine that we see out there today. Do you see that? Look, just circle that in your Bible. Acts 10, 43. It's through Jesus's name. It's through Jesus's name and whosoever believeth has the remission of sins. There's this weird doctrine out there and I think it must have remnants of the Catholic church and Protestant churches and it just shows you how twisted up people get. But there's this weird doctrine. It's not even about just asking for forgiveness. How many people have you met out so many? Where are you going to go to heaven? Well, yeah, you just got to pray and ask God to forgive you. What if you forget to do that and you don't ask for forgiveness? Well, you just ask God to forgive you and look, it's not even about salvation is not even about asking for forgiveness. You're like, what? No, it's not. It's about believing in his name. It's not about asking for forgiveness. You go and not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you ask God to forgive you all day long. You tell me where that gets you. That's going to get you straight to hell. Because God's not going to forgive you of anything. It's about his name and believing on it. I mean, it's a strange doctrine out there. And then that doctrine it's gotten even more liberal that people just think, if I just ask God to forgive me, who's God? I don't know. Well, God, everybody works the same God. I don't know, man. God's going to forgive me. Then there's this weird doctrine. The only reason is that God will just forgive me anyway. I don't even have to ask. You'll ask that person that thinks, oh, I just have to ask God to forgive me. Okay, so that's the Catholic doctrine. That's the Protestant doctrine. You don't even have to go to church to do it now. You just have to ask God, which, okay, that's closer. But that person, if you say to that person, you say, what if you don't ask for forgiveness? What if you miss one? Or God forbid, you commit a sin and then get hit by a car right after that. They'll say, well, I think God's going to forgive me anyway. So it turns into this weird, I have to confess my sins for salvation, which is an airplane with no engines. It's this weird airplane with no engines doctrine. And then really, we don't even need an airplane. Because everyone just goes to heaven. I mean, are you starting to understand why not that many people are interested in the gospel? I mean, I could just ask God to forgive me, and if I forget, he's going to forgive me anyway. Who's God? I don't know. Is the Muslim God different than the Christian God, different than the Jewish God, different than the Buddhist God, different? I don't know, I think they're all the same, but he's going to forgive me. Why in the world would I want to listen to you at my door with the Bible, if I believe that? You see how terrible this is? You see how this ecumenicalism? What did we talk about a few weeks ago? The convergence? You see how this convergence of all beliefs is going to send everybody to hell? Everybody! 99% of the people in this world probably. Because it's all just melded together, and nothing matters. Doctrine doesn't matter. Whose name? Who cares? What name? What name? God! One case G or up case? I don't know, both. Nobody... It's... God will forgive me in a moment. No! He won't! That's the problem. These people are going to be surprised one day. He will only forgive you if you have faith in His Son. And that's exactly what Jesus was saying. He saw their faith. All three accounts. It's the key to the story. The story wouldn't be the story if it didn't have that. That's why it's an all three. That's why you'll see all these different details. How many demon-possessed men there was? Maybe there was one, maybe there was two. How many demons there were? You'll see different things there. But not when it comes to the key to the story. Like it took their faith. The story's not the story without that. It's the faith that saves this man. Seeing his faith. Seeing their faith. When Jesus saw their faith and when he saw their faith every single one. And how did he see it? He says he saw it. How did he see it? They took the roof apart! They took the roof apart. Can anyone see yours? It would be a great question to ask Christians today. I mean, how many saved people can just see nothing? You can see nothing. We have to pay attention when reading the Bible. There's all these different details. In this seemingly simple encounter that is just a couple verses long. In Matthew chapter 9 we see that Jesus proves that he's got two times. Really three if you want to count the physical miracle of him raising the guy and healing him. And then you know what we see? Look, if you read the Bible read the Bible and pay attention you will see the gospel so many times in the Bible. And you see the gospel in this story. So you see Jesus proving that he's God. And then you see Jesus present the gospel. It's beautiful. We see that the people that Jesus was with and Jesus was walking amongst they were waiting for a Messiah. The woman at the well she told Jesus about the Messiah before Jesus even said that I am the Messiah. They knew that the Messiah was coming. They were looking for the Messiah. They knew this and knowing this these guys literally climbed onto the roof of the house knowing that Jesus was this person. And that is what he saw. They dismantled that thing and they carried their sick friend up there and lowered him down. These guys from showing their faith. And Jesus saw it. Where as we think about the future as we think about the future here I've been thinking a lot about that in the last few weeks especially. Think about this. Here's what I think. Here's what I think. Here's what I believe. I believe that people want this. I believe that people are searching for an answer. Maybe they don't know that it's the gospel. I believe that people are looking for a biblical church. They may not know how to word what they want. But I believe that people I believe most people don't want to go to hell. But I believe that most people don't know the truth. I don't want to go to hell. That's the first thing. That's where we start. That's why we go out every week. But you know even further than that I believe that people don't want their families falling into all this stuff where everyone else is going today. I believe people I believe people if there is a way that's possible want a way to rescue their families from this disaster that our country is becoming. And you know what I mean this should make you zealous because you know what we have that answer the Bible has that answer. I mean we're all trying to look we're all trying to raise kids. We're all trying to raise kids here. Some of our kids are older than other kids and I'm telling you even you know just being in a biblical church and just having a Bible based group of believers of brothers and sisters to live spirit filled lives and live separated lives. Look it's not a guarantee. It's not a guarantee that you're just going to win this Christian life. It's not a guarantee that all your kids are just going to not get pulled away by the world. It's not a guarantee because there's a lot of evil working against us. You know what I believe that if we follow the Bible that it will work. Just like I said this morning the reason that it's not a guarantee not because God's directions won't work it's because of us. It's because we're not going to take some of them seriously or we're not going to look you know we're going to say oh you know what yeah I understand that but you know I'm kind of going to just brush over that one. Every single time that we do that there's risk. And you know what if we follow these instructions for the Christian life it's possible to raise our kids aside from all this. It's possible to raise kids that will grow up and become adults that want to serve the Lord with their life. That is what I'm after personally. I don't care if my kids make a million dollars I don't care if my kids you know I don't even care what their profession is and look I you know I understand that they you know and you know that I preach this as well they need to be hard working supporting their families ladies need to be hard working teaching the children raising the children but look I want them to grow up to love the Lord on their own without you know I want to be able to take my hands off the wheel and see that car still driving towards that door on their own accord that's success for me. You know what I believe that there's a lot of people out there like that I believe that we have something here and we just have to get that message out you know what we have to do you know we have to do you know what the word is we have to persuade men. We have to persuade men and that's exactly what we're going to do we're going to persuade men we've already got it we've already got the product folks it's not like we have to go out and you're like oh I have this great product and you know I have this really good idea for a great product and I have to go out and get it in prototype no we have it we have it we just have to go out and persuade people and look it's it kind of sells itself we just have to reach people and be persuasive about it and carry this thing and look it's that that's why don't get used to the state that you're in in this Christian life don't get used to this don't we've been here two years and you know I'm coming to church and don't get used to this because we're going to talk about it next Sunday one last time don't be like I'm saved I'm in church and everything's great but look here's the thing folks you have to always continue to pursue this thing to pursue Christ in your life or you're not going to make it I'm not talking about making it to heaven I'm talking about making it in your own personal walk with the Lord and making it more importantly for your family you always have to be pushing forward in this life that's just the nature of it that's just the nature of it I mean we'll talk I'll get into great detail next Sunday on why this is absolutely necessary folks to just always be pushing forward on this and you know I'm going to try to scare you next Sunday morning why you always need to be pushing forward we can never forget the battle that's in front of us no matter how comfortable we are I think it's comfortable I love this church I love coming here I love getting up Sunday mornings I love coming and seeing you all but we can never get too comfortable in this Christian life so this is a great story Jesus proves that he's God Jesus preaches the gospel Jesus shows the gospel in this story a great miracle