Am I Saved? 10 Tests of Assurance - Tim Conway

I mean, what I would say to anybody.

Look, if you look at these things,

this list of ten things,

and you're just like:

I don't think I'm in there.

I don't think I'm in that group.

What do I do in secret?
Is there real repentance?

Do I have a love for Christ?
Am I surrendered to God's will?

Where is my mind?

Are my idols being eradicated?

Am I experiencing the
testimony of the Spirit?

Am I a new creation?
Do others see it?

Do I trust in Christ?

I mean, am I making radical
decisions in my life?

Do I know Christ in a new way?

And you go through all
those things and you say,

I don't think I'm in there.

But, listen to Christ's words
to these churches.

It doesn't matter how much truth

you've been exposed to,

if you will hear what the Spirit says

to the churches.

Jesus is saying, "Come to Me."

That's what repentance is.

"Turn from your sin

and come to Me."

From Demi.

"Dear Pastor Tim,

I have recently checked myself

and don't know if I am saved

or if I'm a Christian that has fallen."

Now, I dealt with this,

because this seems like

it's the question of the hour.

It just seems that so many people

are asking the same question

over and over -

in our church, in other churches we know,

people that come to us,

people that visit with us,

people that are connected with us

on the Internet,

emails that we get.

I don't doubt, James,
in your Christian life

you've probably had a thousand questions.

Maybe not that many,

but I mean, literally,
in one form or another,

where Demi is is where a
multitude of people are.

And I felt like, ok, let's answer this.

Because when we have our Bibles,

we have answers to things, right?

I mean, here's a girl.

She says, "I've checked myself

and I don't know if I'm saved

or if I'm a Christian that has fallen."

We get a lot of people that come along:

"I don't know if I'm a Christian."

"I don't know if I'm saved."

It's an assurance issue.

And she goes on to say -

and you'll see a bit of contradiction here

but I think it just has to
do with her confusion

about where she actually is.

She starts out by saying,

"I've checked myself."

In other words,
I've examined myself,

and I don't know.

I don't know.

When I look at myself, I don't know.

"I believe that Christ died for my sins."

She's got a head knowledge

about the cross.

"I believe that Christ died for my sins

so that I may be blameless before God."

Now, she'll say this:

"I know that I'm no longer a slave to sin.

I know that it is only God
that can give salvation.

I confessed my sins and
asked God for salvation,

but I fell into sexual sin.

She says, "I know I'm no
longer a slave to sin."

But she says she fell into sexual sin.

So I think even in her own mind,

she can say I know I'm not a slave,

but at the same time,

she doesn't really know,

because she's falling into sin,

which is really coming back to why

she doesn't know where she's at.

"I have continually asked for salvation."

Obviously, there's all sorts of doubts.

If she's continually asking for salvation,

it's because, again, she doesn't know.

There's a lack of assurance.

There's a lack of confidence here.

"But the battle with sin is so real."

And sometimes people talk that way

about the battle with sin.

They talk about it being a battle,

but they're not getting any victory.

They're totally a slave.

And I dealt with that before.

One of the APT's I've done in the past

had to do with the difference between

a slave to sin and struggling with sin.

(Tim is referring to "Are You Struggling
Against Sin or a Slave of Sin?")

"This has led me to
question my salvation."

And then she has in parentheses:

"which I know is a sin."

In other words, her
questioning her salvation

she believes to be a sin.

The truth is if she's not really saved

it isn't really a sin.

She wouldn't be doubting
what is already true

if she's actually not saved.

She says, "I do believe I'm saved."

You see the contradiction here.

After she already said, "I don't know."

She says, "I do believe I'm saved.

I think I just need assurance."

Which is another way of saying
I don't have assurance,

which means she's hoping she's saved.

And she really wishes God
would give her assurance.

This is really commonplace today.

Massively commonplace.

Especially with the Internet.

People are coming across the messages

that are out there -
good, Gospel messages -

and I think people are
coming under conviction.

I think people are being awakened

to the reality of hell.

I think people are
terrified to some degree.

I think the thought of punishment for sin

is really startling to people.

It scares people.

(Incomplete thought)

I think what we have today

is I think we have a lot of people

who are coming face-to-face with the truth

and it's shocking to them.

It scares them.

But they're just not wanting
to let go of their sin.

I think we're getting a lot of that.

And I think we're getting a lot of people

that they want assurance,

when the truth is,

they have not repented.

There's not really been a
deep repentance there.

Now, I'm not saying I know
what this girl's situation is.

I mean, you start falling
into sexual sin -

David did that.

And you can just read

what that did in his own life.

It created a season that
darkness came on him;

coldness, callousness.

Something went on in
the depths of his soul

during that time.

I don't know where she's at.

But what do we say to somebody like that?

I mean, we have biblical answers.

And I just thought,

what do we say to this girl?

The thing about Christ,

I think a lot of times,

what would Christ say?

Where would He go with this?

But the truth is, Christ knew

where people's hearts were.

And I don't.

And neither do you always.

We can ask God for discernment,

but a lot of times (incomplete thought).

Jesus had an idea about
the rich, young ruler.

He had an idea about
the woman at the well.

He knew men's hearts.

You and I have difficulty
seeing what Jesus saw.

But, I was thinking about this.

I have ten things I want to
shoot off here really quick.

Think with me about the
Sermon on the Mount.

Sermon on the Mount -

Jesus comes into this world.

Jesus is maturing.

He comes to the age
of His public ministry.

And the Sermon on the Mount,

Jesus tells us what His
Kingdom is all about.

He tells us the kind of people

that inherit the Kingdom of God.

Not the kind of people the world think.

What kind?

Poor in spirit.

You've got mourners who
are going to be comforted.

You've got the meek who are
going to inherit the earth.

What does the world think?

The world thinks that the people

who you want to be like

are the heroes of this world.

If you're going to inherit the world,

you've got to be mighty.

You've got to be like Alexander the Great.

You've got to be like the great Caesar's.

You've got to have muscle.

That's how you take the world.

Jesus is saying,

My Kingdom is not like that at all.

What's very interesting is

that as this Sermon on the Mount

is such an opening up of
what His Kingdom is like,

and when you get into the sixth chapter,

it's like chapter 5 deals a whole lot

with the Christian's
relationship to the law.

When you get to chapter 6,

Jesus specifically looks at our life

when nobody else sees.

Have you ever noticed that?

He moves off of:

You have heard, but I say...

concerning the law.

And when He breaks into chapter 6,

it's now what you do in secret.

How you give in secret.

How you pray in secret.

How you fast in secret.

He's very concerned that
the life of His people -

the true people of His Kingdom,

they are people that live a certain way

when nobody's watching.

And that's what I would say to everybody.

You know, it's just true.

We tend to want to appear
a certain way to others.

Not just in our conduct,

we do it physically.

A lot of times, you walk around your house

and you'll wear your pajamas

and you won't brush your hair.

All of a sudden, somebody
will be at the door,

and you know my wife's
frantically in the bathroom,

and doing what?

You know, she's making
herself look presentable.

You all know that.

But that happens in our actions too.

And I guess there's a fear
of man element in it.

I guess we want other
people to think well of us.

But, I know that the best men

who have ever lived,

have undoubtedly been conscious

of when they're in the public.

But you know what?

Cut through all that.

True salvation changes the way you act

when nobody's watching.

Because you know God is watching.

Your faith is that real

and it's that powerful

and it's that controlling.

That when nobody is watching,

you know God is

and it prevents you from doing things

on the computer you otherwise would do.

It prevents you from
doing things in private

you would do when
you were lost in private.

It prevents those kind of things.

Because you know God sees and you fear.

When you give, you give privately

as though you're in the sight

of the all-seeing God Who sees in secret.

When you pray, you don't
just pray to be seen by men,

you pray in a way that you know

your heavenly Father is watching.

Look, you look at your life
when nobody's watching.

This is what Jesus is saying

in the Sermon on the Mount.

Just look at your life

when no one is watching.

If it hasn't radically changed,

you're not a changed person.

That's what He's saying.

So look, if I fall into
a sin like fornication,

this is still real.

If I'm David and I fall into that sin,

he's still across the
majority of his lifetime,

what characterizes him is a
man after God's own heart,

and man who walked in the fear of God

and was conscious of an ever-watching God.

And if, like this young lady,

if she falls into that sin,

she can still step back
and look at her life,

from the time she claims
God has saved her,

has it radically changed how she behaves

when nobody's watching?

The greatest place, brethren,

where nobody's watching is up here.

Has anything changed?

Or do you harbor such things?

Listen.

Temptation is going to come.

We know temptation is going to come.

Why? There's a tempter in this world.

Look, the man who -

a young man; a single man,

who comes into a service -

I know pastors who talk about

struggles in these areas,

but if you're a single, young man

and you're sitting in a church service

and you see young ladies ahead of you,

and suddenly your
mind goes somewhere

that it shouldn't go.

But is there: "Lord, I'm sorry."

"Lord, help me."

Job's eyes.

I do not want to have
those eyes of adultery

that I read about in the prophets.

I want Job's eyes.

"Lord, help me."

Or, there's this groan. There's this sigh.

There's this recognition: God saw that.

Oh, I want a pure heart!

Versus: You can sit through
that whole service

and you just feast.

You have a pornographic mind

and there's no check on it.

You're in trouble.

You're just plan downright in trouble.

Whether or not you fall into

one time of fornication or not

like David - you're in trouble,

if when no one can see,

that's what's going on in your life.

I mean, I'll guarantee you,

the faith God gives us

is a faith that knows.

I mean, we know, God is real.

If those who would come to Him,

you've got to believe He is,

and that He's a rewarder
of them that seek Him.

True faith believes He is.

And it fears God in private.

And that's why Jesus is saying,

your fasting,

your giving,

your praying,

it's going to look different
than the hypocrite.

Because you're not going to do it

to be seen by men,

you're going to do it

because you're concerned
about the God Who sees.

So that's one thing.

The second thing is repentance.

Repentance.

And I'm not just talking
about in the beginning.

When Peter denied the Lord,

he went out and wept bitterly.

When the Corinthians were strongly rebuked

by the Apostle Paul in
the first Corinthian letter,

have you ever read 2 Corinthians 7

and how they responded?

How did they respond?

Let me read to you 2 Corinthians 7.

Listen to how they responded.

He says this in v. 8,

"Even if I made you
grieve with my letter..."

That was the first letter.

"I do not regret it,
though I did regret it,

for I see that the letter grieved you."

He regretted it because it grieved them.

But look at this,

"only for awhile.

As it is, I rejoice, not
because you were grieved,

but because you were
grieved into repenting."

When we sin, is there grief?

And what's repenting?

It's turning from that sin

and turning to God.

When you fall into sin,

do you run into the arms of God?

And then that's one thing,

it's not just turning from sin,

repentance is running to God.

When you fall into sin,

are you running to God for forgiveness?

That's what they did.

And watch this: they felt a godly grief.

"So that you suffered no loss through us.

For godly grief produces repentance

that leads to salvation without regret

whereas worldly grief produces death.

See what earnestness this godly grief

has produced in you,

but also what eagerness
to clear yourselves."

You see that?

They were eager to clear themselves.

They approached the sin in their midst

with indignation, with fear,

longing, zeal, what punishment.

This guy in their
midst that was guilty

of this sin for which
they were all labeled

as being proud and arrogant

for allowing it in their midst.

They dealt with it strongly.

"At every point, you proved yourselves

innocent in the matter.

So though I wrote to you,

it was not for the sake of the
one who did the wrong..."

Now he's talking about him.

But they were earnest.

They were zealous.

Brethren, do you know
something about this?

When we fall into sin,

is there a repentance

where there is a grief?

Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Have you ever shed tears over your sin?

Is there that sigh, that groan?

Where you're going, yes,
with your head hung low?

Like the tax collector.

But you go back to the Lord,

because you don't have
any other place to go.

You're ashamed.

But it's to Him you go.

Why? Because it's in Him
alone that there's healing.

It's in Him alone that
there's forgiveness.

It's Him alone that came
to you in the first place

when you were yet dead

in your trespasses and sins,

and scooped you out of the miry clay.

It's your only hope of healing.

It's the only place where that blood flows

that alone heals.

Is there repentance?

Ask yourselves that.

When you fall into sin,

are you confessing to the Lord?

Are you going to Him

and are you turning?

I mean, with a vengeance?

With zeal, with passion.

Lord, help me! I don't
want to do that again.

That's what they did.

Peter weeping bitterly,

because Peter didn't just weep bitterly,

he then expressed his love to Christ,

and he eventually gave
his life for Christ.

You know, you can talk
about hatred for sin,

and you can talk about grief,

and you can talk about all
sorts of struggles with sin,

and all that.

You can feel real sorry.

And sometimes it's no more

than just worldly grief.

Worldly grief can be
because you got caught.

But you know what?

Worldly grief could just be

because I can't have my sin

and go to heaven too.

It's a grief just because I recognize

I'm going to hell.

I'm going to hell holding on to my sin

and I don't like it

and I'm just grieved.

That's a big difference between

just feeling a pity party -

Oh, woe is me.

Why isn't God giving me assurance

when I'm just living in sin?

Oh, I feel so wronged.

How come other people get it?

I feel like I'm getting the shaft.

Why is God not doing this?

Woe is me.

And just throwing a pity party.

There's all sorts of ways of grief.

But the godly grief -

remember, repentance is not just

turning from sin.

It's turning towards God.

It's running from our sin

into the arms of God.

Ashamed as we might be,

just recognizing:

where else am I going to go?

I have an Advocate with the Father

when I sin.

There's no condemnation.

That would be the
second thing: repentance.

How about a third thing?

How about just love for Christ?

I mean, think about that.

Is there a love for Christ?

Do you remember what Paul says?

What does he say about those

who don't have a love for Christ?

Accursed.

Right, he pronounces a curse

on anybody that doesn't
have a love for Christ.

Now think with me,

I've said this before.

No man has to wonder

if he's in love with a woman.

No woman is going to scratch her head,

squint her eyeballs,

to figure out if she's in love with a man.

We know love.

We know when we love.

We know the love of a child.

We know the love of certain things.

We know if we say, oh, we love that song,

we know what it is.

It's that which thrills the soul.

It's that which we think on.

It's that that our
mind is consumed with.

It's that which we think about

when we wake up and
go to bed at night.

It's that which drives us.

It's that which our focus is on.

It's that which we live for.

Don't say you love Christ

if He's not filling your mind

and if He's not the target of your life.

Let's not play games.

Let's not try to redefine love

when it comes to Christ

when we full well know what it is

with regards to everything else.

And I mean, you all know number 4.

It's surrendering to the will.

Jesus said that you are
My disciples indeed,

if what?

If My Word dwells in you.

Remember, don't be hearers of the Word

and not doers, deceiving your own self.

Has God done something in your life?

Jesus said it's not everybody
that says to me, "Lord, Lord,"

that's going to inherit the
Kingdom of Heaven,

it's those that do the will
of the Father in Heaven.

Look, does God's Word

have bearing on your life?

If you can just go live in sin

and do whatever you want to do,

but you're being religious
and you go to church

and you even give a
little bit of your money,

and you go to the Bible study,

and you own a Bible...

I'm not talking about that.

I'm talking about when Christ

says something in His Word,

does it have bearing on your life?

If God's Word can say something

and you can just brush it off,

you can just keep brushing it off,

and it's nothing to you,

you're in big trouble.

Don't play games.

You're in big trouble.

I'm not saying the Christian

keeps that Word perfectly,

but I'm saying it has
a bearing on our life,

like it never did before.

It's speaking to us.

Decisions I make are being
pressed upon by the Word.

You get married.

James, have you ever thought about

love your wives like
Christ loved the church

since you've been married?

The Word of God presses on us

if we're husbands.

The Word of God presses on us

if we're church members.

The Word of God presses on us as citizens.

Right?

I mean, in the beginning,

I was really convicted
about the speed limit.

I've been telling somebody,

you know, I drove through
a construction zone,

through like ten miles of I-94 freeway

up by Chicago when I was first saved.

And I had a car full of passengers

and I'm driving like 30 miles an hour

in this one lane construction on I-94.

I have traffic backed up
for probably 10 miles.

But I was so convicted.

And just recently, with a tight schedule

in going to Austin and everything,

I get hung up in rush hour traffic

and now I'm not going to make it there,

and so I've been trying to wrestle -

is it right to go a little bit over

to try to make up the time

and get there on time?

And when I got to Austin one time,

I think it was Paige that said,

"Pastor Tim! You speed?"

And it was like Romans 13 really.

And I just felt like, that's right.

I've just got to leave earlier.

No matter what it means

as far as my schedule.

I've just got to leave earlier

so that doesn't happen.

I want to please the Lord.

Isn't that what you want, Christian?

I want to please the Lord.

It's not just I want to rigidly

have to keep His law and be under the law.

I want to please the Lord.

And righteousness is a desire of my heart.

I want to be like Christ.

I do hunger and thirst
after righteousness.

I want that.

Surrender to God's will is a huge thing.

Number 5 and I've already mentioned it

on a couple of these.

But more broadly, I'll just say it.

Where is your mind?

I mean, Scripture says that

the mind that is set on
the things of the Spirit -

that's life.

The mind that's set on
the things of the flesh -

that's death.

What are the things of the Spirit?

Well, we've already talked about

if you love Christ, you're going to be

thinking a lot about Him.

But it's thinking about the Word of God.

It's thinking about how to show love

to the people of God.

It's thinking about Christ.

It's thinking about the Father,

and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

It's thinking about glory.

Isn't that the kind of thing

that Paul wanted the hearts

and the minds of the Christians

at Ephesus set on?

The hope that was before them?

Just the riches of this
glorious inheritance.

He wants them thinking.

Are you thinking?

Are you thinking of heaven?
Are you thinking on Christ?

Are you thinking of the Godhead?
Are you thinking of the Father?

Are you thinking of Scripture?

Are you thinking of obedience?

Are you thinking of the things

that pertain to the Spirit?

Because the things that pertain

to the flesh; the thing that
are according to the flesh,

what are the things
according to the flesh?

Doing things in my own power.

Doing things selfishly.

Doing the things that the world does.

Setting my mind on
the things of the world.

Just being consumed with the things

that the world is consumed with

and having my mind set there.

How about this?

Idols being eradicated?

You know, when I read in Ezekiel 36,

and what Ezekiel's version
of the new covenant there,

what is one of the things that we find

that he's going to do in our life

with regards to idols?

He's going to wash us.
He's going to cleanse us

from all our idols.

You just ask yourself this.

We could deal with God's discipline,

but I think this is a
good place to put it.

If you've been a Christian
any amount of time,

you're going to know
the reality of Ezekiel 36.

God is in the business of eradicating

the idols from the life of His people.

And if you don't know that,

you're not His child.

Because He promises.

That's one of the tenets
of the new covenant.

Brethren, I know that.

And you know, idols are things we love.

And when He uproots that weed,

those roots go deep.

And some of the things He tears out -

that's what makes an idol.

It's something that we love.

It's something that's
competing for His love.

He's jealous for our love.

And when He pulls those things out,

it hurts.

And you know when He does it.

And He's done it in my life repeatedly.

I mean, it's just been like 25 years

of idol eradication.

And a lot of it's been painful.

I want it. I pray for it.

But when it comes, it really hurts.

"Lord, get all the idols out of my life."

Yeah, but you don't think

you're talking about that.

And then ugh!

A lot of times He will have you

pull it up by the roots yourself.

Because He'll make you
so miserable with it

that you finally do it.

But that's another thing.

Idol eradication.

How about number 7?

The testimony of the Spirit.

The Spirit of God pours the love of God

into the hearts of the people of God.

You have that from Romans 5:5.

And if you look at the context there,

it's associated with the cross of Christ.

Now, look, the Spirit of God

bears witness with our spirits

that we're children of God.

And it comes hand in hand with the cross.

Assurance, when you look at the cross,

that's what I find the Spirit gives.

When your eyes are locked into

those songs we sing;

when you're looking at the cross,

is that where your hope is?

Is that where your joy is?

Do you find the assurance of the Spirit

being testified to you?

Because Romans 5 and Romans 8 says

that will happen if you're a child of God.

How about this?

You're a new creation in Christ.

We have this from 2 Corinthians 5:17.

We're new creations in Christ.

Old things are passed away.
All things are become new.

Look, if you suddenly stop

being who you were,

which that means old things pass away -

who you were passes away.

You are now a new person.

If you are a new person, guess what?

Your mom and dad know it.

If you're a new person,

your brothers and sisters know it.

If you're a new person,

your husband or your wife knows it.

Your kids know it.

Your friends know it.

If they don't know it, it's not true.

You do not become a radical

new creation in Christ -

I understand if you're
saved at 5 years old

it may be difficult to tell.

But I'm talking most of us are not

saved at 5 years old.

If other people do not know

that you're a new creation,

it's because you're not very likely.

How about this?

You trust Christ.

Look, I'm not saying

you can say, "Oh, I believe

Christ died for sinners."

I'm saying you're like Peter,

and you'll get out of the boat

and walk on water.

I'm saying decisions you make in your life

show who you trust.

Whether you trust money;

whether you trust in the arm of the flesh;

or whether you trust Christ.

I mean, you're making
decisions in your life

that show your trust goes beyond

the nominal.

All sorts of people say
they believe in Christ.

I'm talking about you live resting

the weight of your soul,

the decisions of your life

on Who Christ is.

You'll make decisions that will seem

absolutely foolish to this world;

will confound and baffle them,

and they'll call you foolish;

they'll say you're going overboard;

they'll get angry, upset,

or they'll laugh and mock.

They will not be able to enter in

or understand,

because you have
something they don't have.

You will make decisions financially

that the world doesn't make

because you trust Christ.

You will make decisions with your life,

with your family,

with your health,

with everything,

because you trust Christ

in a way this world will never do

who know not Christ.

And the last one I would say is this.

This comes from 2 Corinthians 5:16.

Listen to the verse:

"From now on therefore,

we regard no one according to the flesh,

even though we once regarded Christ

according to the flesh,

we regard Him thus no longer."

My number 10 here is

you know Christ in a new way.

Did you hear what he said?

We now know nobody after the flesh.

How did we know people after the flesh?

Just listen to two lost people

when they get on an airplane.

What do you do for a living?

I do this. What do you do for a living?

I do this.

Now we view everything
through a different lens.

What's the lens we
view everything through?

Are they saved or are they lost?

We used to view Christ a certain way.

Do you remember that?

When you were lost?

How you viewed Christ?

And he's saying for the Christian,

we no longer view Christ

according to the flesh.

You view Christ according to the flesh,

who is He?

I think I've told you before,

I viewed Him as the Son of God -

not really being God.

I viewed Him as One that
I could profane His name

as long as I didn't profane
the name of God,

I could profane His, and it was ok.

I so trampled Christ in the mud.

I counted Him little,

insignificant,

not God,

less than God.

I counted Him as this little thing

to be tromped on.

That's how I looked at Him.

I looked at Mary as the one

that was really desirable.

Not Christ.

I looked Him as a word that could

just roll off my tongue
in blasphemous fashion.

But you know what?

When God saved me,

it was Christ.

It was all Christ.

I mean the deity of Christ amazed me.

Christ amazed me.

And I was so used to
using His name profanely,

that in the beginning, I had to say

Christ Jesus, not Jesus Christ,

because I so wanted to honor His name.

Oh, I viewed Him as so high

and so exalted and so lifted up

after that;

so to be desired.

Oh, I'd come across texts like,

"altogether lovely" and it's just like

everything in me wants to scream, "yes!"

I'd come across verses like that.

It's like any place you find Him

in the Old Testament,

your heart leaps.

Do you know that?

I mean, do you know
something about that?

Where you knew Him
according to the flesh

at one time?

You knew Him as a little thing,

a lightweight thing?

You despised Him?

But now, you don't know Him

according to the flesh any longer.

You know Him according to the Spirit.

You know Him according
to one who has life.

You know Him according to
one who has seen Him.

At least, seen much of His glory

for what He truly is.

See, these are ten things

that you can find from Scripture.

These are experiential things.

These are real things.

These are identifiable things.

And you know what?

You know one of the things

I've just absolutely been amazed with?

Really over the last several years,

I've spent so much time

contemplating those seven churches

that are found in Revelation 2-3.

And I'm amazed.

I'm amazed.

Jesus comes to the church

that lost its first love.

And He doesn't say I'm
going to cast you away;

I'm going to destroy you.

Look at all the
opportunities you had.

Look at all the light
you've been exposed to.

He says to them,

Repent.

In other words, "come back to Me."

He comes to a church that claims

to be alive, and yet it's dead.

And He says the same thing.

"Come back to Me."

These are religious people that are dead.

And He's saying,

you are not so far gone

that I won't have mercy on you.

"Come back to Me."

The Laodiceans.

Yeah, lukewarm, but He defines lukewarm

as being wretched, miserable, poor,

blind, naked...

And He says I'm there
at the door to knock.

Open to Me.

I'll come into you.

It's just amazing to me.

These are people that have been exposed

to vast amounts of truth.

And they've despised it.

He says of Jezebel to the one church,

I gave her an opportunity to repent.

Even a woman that has led this church

into all sorts of sin, heresy,

lewd living,

and He's saying, even her,

I gave a season to her to repent.

I mean, what I would say to anybody.

Look, if you look at these things -

this list of ten things.

And you're just like,

I don't think I'm in there.

I don't think I'm in that group.

What do I do in secret?

Is there real repentance?

Do I have a love for Christ?
Am I surrendered to God's will?

Where is my mind?

Are my idols being eradicated?

Am I experiencing the
testimony of the Spirit?

Am I a new creation?
Do others see it?

Do I trust in Christ?

Am I making radical decisions in my life?

Do I know Christ in a new way?

And you go through all those things

and you say,

I don't think I'm in there.

But listen to Christ's words
to these churches.

It doesn't matter how much truth

you've been exposed to.

If you will hear what the Spirit says

to the churches,

Jesus is saying, "Come to Me."

That's what repentance is.

"Turn from your sin

and come to Me.

I stand at the door.

Come to Me.

Open."

You say you're alive,

but after hearing these,

you recognize you're dead?

He's saying, "come to Me."

Do you look at your
life in light of these

and say I'm wretched, I'm poor,
I'm blind, I'm miserable,

I'm just like those Laodiceans.

He's saying, "Come to Me."

I'm amazed.

You'd think Christ would
just get to the place

where He'd just write people off, right?

I mean we hear of
the unpardonable sin.

We hear of people going so far.

We've been looking at
the book of Hebrews

and you know what?

All that is true.

But no matter how much it's true,

it's still true that people can go so far

in their sin.

They can have so much light.

They can have so much privilege.

Be in churches that are true churches,

true candlesticks.

And Christ is still saying -

even if after all that, you're still dead,

you're still wretched,

you're still poor,

He says, "Come to Me."

Isn't that amazing

that we have such a Savior?

So if you don't measure up,

it's not like you throw up your hands.

After all the light,
after all the privilege,

after all I've been exposed to...

but if you have ears to hear,

if you hear what the Spirit says

to those churches,

as Christ is speaking to them,

He's saying, "Come."

"Come.

I'll yet accept you."

All five of those bad churches,

He didn't write one of them off.

He didn't.

Not one of them.

Now, He says you keep going

in the way you're going,

you're going to be written off.

But He's saying if you'll come -

now Jezebel, her time was over.

She'd been written off.

But the rest of them there,

those that were following her,

He's saying turn.

I gave her an opportunity.

She didn't.

I'm giving you an opportunity.

He's given us an opportunity.

If you don't measure up,

throw yourself;

fall down before Him.

He's very merciful.

He wouldn't be inviting us this way

if He wasn't.

Well, those are ten things to look at.

Those are very searching things.

I'm not expecting that there will be

perfection in that in our life,

but you know what?

I can look at these ten things

and I can say my life isn't perfect,

but I see realities - all
ten of these in my life.

And I'm thankful; I'm grateful.

I hope you all do too.

And if you don't,

you'll flee to Christ at once.

Father, we thank You

that we have the Word

that is a lamp to our feet.

We can test ourselves.

We can examine ourselves

in light of Scripture.

We're thankful that we have

such a receiving Savior,

such a tender Savior.

In light of the wickedness

and sin of so many,

that our Lord would still be

calling them to Himself;

still be saying to us,

"Son, daughter, lay down your weapons

of warfare against Me,

and surrender,

and I'll have mercy upon you."

Oh, what a Savior!

We praise You, Lord Jesus Christ.

You are altogether worthy,

altogether lovely.

Amen.