WEBVTT 00:00:10.410 --> 00:00:11.601 He says this, 00:00:11.601 --> 00:00:13.300 "How would you recommend witnessing 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:17.144 to somebody who believes they are saved, 00:00:17.144 --> 00:00:20.032 but they show no understanding of the Gospel 00:00:20.032 --> 00:00:24.572 and have no evidence of being born again? 00:00:24.572 --> 00:00:26.654 I do not want this person 00:00:26.654 --> 00:00:28.186 to remain deceived, 00:00:28.186 --> 00:00:33.088 but I also don't want to be self-righteous 00:00:33.088 --> 00:00:38.605 about how I do this." NOTE Paragraph 00:00:38.605 --> 00:00:39.987 Well, I would say - 00:00:39.987 --> 00:00:41.829 you know what I would say about this? 00:00:41.829 --> 00:00:44.936 Look, you guys, 00:00:44.936 --> 00:00:46.958 we may have some in this room 00:00:46.958 --> 00:00:48.487 who think they're Christians 00:00:48.487 --> 00:00:49.622 and they're really not. 00:00:49.622 --> 00:00:52.031 And this applies to some of us 00:00:52.031 --> 00:00:54.482 with regards to you. 00:00:54.482 --> 00:00:55.902 And then there are some of you 00:00:55.902 --> 00:00:57.280 who are truly converted in this room 00:00:57.280 --> 00:00:58.396 and you've come across this. 00:00:58.396 --> 00:00:59.415 You come across people. 00:00:59.415 --> 00:01:01.127 Some of them might be your parents. 00:01:01.127 --> 00:01:03.275 Some of them might be those that are close to you, 00:01:03.275 --> 00:01:05.316 they might be a brother or sister, might be co-workers, 00:01:05.316 --> 00:01:09.010 might be some you know right in the church, 00:01:09.010 --> 00:01:10.953 in the Bible study, wherever. 00:01:10.953 --> 00:01:15.780 Maybe other churches you came from. 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:18.232 There are people in your life 00:01:18.232 --> 00:01:20.111 that you care about. 00:01:20.111 --> 00:01:21.687 You want to see them converted. 00:01:21.687 --> 00:01:23.595 You want to see them in glory. 00:01:23.595 --> 00:01:29.841 But you have real concerns 00:01:29.841 --> 00:01:33.004 that something isn't right. 00:01:33.004 --> 00:01:35.005 You have real concerns 00:01:35.005 --> 00:01:36.831 that they claim to be a Christian 00:01:36.831 --> 00:01:38.151 and they're not really. 00:01:38.151 --> 00:01:39.380 Okay, what do you do? 00:01:39.380 --> 00:01:41.313 Well, I mean, the self-righteous thing, 00:01:41.313 --> 00:01:43.880 certainly, I'm not going to stay away 00:01:43.880 --> 00:01:45.564 from confronting other people 00:01:45.564 --> 00:01:47.466 because of a concern of self-righteousness. 00:01:47.466 --> 00:01:48.838 Look, if you're a Christian, 00:01:48.838 --> 00:01:50.408 you need to love them. 00:01:50.408 --> 00:01:51.937 Be done with the self-righteousness. 00:01:51.937 --> 00:01:53.548 Just put it away. Don't be it. 00:01:53.548 --> 00:01:55.616 I would say put that away. 00:01:55.616 --> 00:01:57.778 Don't be judgmental. Don't be hard. 00:01:57.778 --> 00:02:00.587 And for one thing, we have to understand this, 00:02:00.587 --> 00:02:02.899 you don't know another man's heart. 00:02:02.899 --> 00:02:04.337 And so the best you can do 00:02:04.337 --> 00:02:08.258 is be pretty convinced 00:02:08.258 --> 00:02:09.775 that things aren't right. 00:02:09.775 --> 00:02:10.935 Because I'll tell you what, 00:02:10.935 --> 00:02:12.307 there was a time in David's life, 00:02:12.307 --> 00:02:13.596 if you looked at him, you'd have said, 00:02:13.596 --> 00:02:16.036 yeah, it looks pretty doubtful, right? 00:02:16.040 --> 00:02:17.650 I mean, there are people in the Scriptures 00:02:17.650 --> 00:02:18.781 there are certain times if you looked, 00:02:18.781 --> 00:02:20.855 you would have gazed in, you know, 00:02:20.855 --> 00:02:23.004 right there when Jesus was on trial, 00:02:23.004 --> 00:02:24.313 you would have looked over there at Peter, 00:02:24.313 --> 00:02:26.781 you'd have thought that guy's cursing, 00:02:26.781 --> 00:02:28.252 and that guy's swearing 00:02:28.252 --> 00:02:29.712 and that guy's denying Christ. 00:02:29.712 --> 00:02:31.860 Nope, he's off the list. 00:02:31.860 --> 00:02:34.337 He can't be a true one. 00:02:34.337 --> 00:02:37.040 You know, we have to be careful, right? 00:02:37.040 --> 00:02:38.652 Sometimes we get looking at other people, 00:02:38.652 --> 00:02:40.021 some of the self-righteousness 00:02:40.021 --> 00:02:44.207 we need to be concerned with 00:02:44.207 --> 00:02:48.624 may fall in just having an overly harsh judgment. 00:02:48.624 --> 00:02:50.709 You know, God did not make us 00:02:50.709 --> 00:02:53.614 the spiritual policemen, 00:02:53.614 --> 00:02:55.782 the spiritual judges to go around 00:02:55.782 --> 00:02:57.819 and condemn everybody else and tell them. 00:02:57.819 --> 00:02:59.488 Now look, but at the same time, 00:02:59.488 --> 00:03:02.729 love says if I know my Bible well enough 00:03:02.729 --> 00:03:06.164 to look at what the characteristic of a true Christian is 00:03:06.164 --> 00:03:07.453 and I look at yours 00:03:07.453 --> 00:03:09.440 and I'm not seeing them line up, guess what? 00:03:09.440 --> 00:03:10.791 I have a responsibility 00:03:10.791 --> 00:03:12.273 to call you to repentance, 00:03:12.273 --> 00:03:15.430 whether you turn out to be true or not. 00:03:15.430 --> 00:03:16.614 And you know, there's definitely 00:03:16.614 --> 00:03:18.268 certain people's lives you can look at, 00:03:18.268 --> 00:03:20.230 especially over a longer period of time, 00:03:20.230 --> 00:03:22.009 and you can become very concerned. 00:03:22.009 --> 00:03:25.130 I'm a pastor and some of you know. 00:03:25.130 --> 00:03:27.603 I don't want to be mean to people. 00:03:27.603 --> 00:03:29.550 There are people I've called into question. 00:03:29.550 --> 00:03:31.168 There are people I've asked about. 00:03:31.168 --> 00:03:32.584 There are people I've pressed, 00:03:32.584 --> 00:03:35.022 people I've taken them to the Scriptures, 00:03:35.022 --> 00:03:36.133 there's people that I've said, 00:03:36.133 --> 00:03:37.925 you know, I have concerns here; 00:03:37.925 --> 00:03:39.087 I have concerns there, 00:03:39.087 --> 00:03:40.966 and I've seen some of them fall away 00:03:40.966 --> 00:03:43.497 and I've seen some of them run extremely well. 00:03:43.497 --> 00:03:45.468 And I don't always have this figured out. 00:03:45.468 --> 00:03:47.191 I've told you guys there's some people 00:03:47.191 --> 00:03:48.780 coming into the church and I'm like 00:03:48.780 --> 00:03:51.141 that's a tremendous testimony. 00:03:51.141 --> 00:03:53.389 A month later, they're gone. 00:03:53.389 --> 00:03:54.719 There's other people that come in 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:56.071 and I'm thinking, no way, 00:03:56.071 --> 00:03:58.575 that doesn't fly. 00:03:58.575 --> 00:03:59.582 And you know what? 00:03:59.582 --> 00:04:00.914 Eight years later, they're running 00:04:00.914 --> 00:04:03.217 just as well as ever. 00:04:03.217 --> 00:04:07.211 And so I realize I can be wrong. 00:04:07.211 --> 00:04:08.691 You can be wrong. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:08.691 --> 00:04:10.516 But okay, what do we do? 00:04:10.516 --> 00:04:12.684 Well, if indeed we've got somebody 00:04:12.684 --> 00:04:15.129 that it appears they're probably lost 00:04:15.129 --> 00:04:16.781 and they have a false profession, 00:04:16.781 --> 00:04:18.635 we know this. 00:04:18.635 --> 00:04:21.818 What did Jesus Christ say sets us free? 00:04:21.818 --> 00:04:23.957 Truth. 00:04:23.957 --> 00:04:25.608 You're not going to help anybody, 00:04:25.608 --> 00:04:27.499 and you're not going to love anybody, 00:04:27.499 --> 00:04:29.075 you're not going to really care for anybody 00:04:29.075 --> 00:04:31.507 unless you hit them with truth, right? 00:04:31.507 --> 00:04:32.714 The truth sets free. 00:04:32.714 --> 00:04:34.760 If somebody says they're a Christian and they're not, 00:04:34.760 --> 00:04:36.553 well, they're not free. They're in bondage. 00:04:36.553 --> 00:04:38.547 And they're in double bondage, right? 00:04:38.547 --> 00:04:40.693 Because not only are they lost, 00:04:40.693 --> 00:04:42.431 they're all the more deceived into thinking 00:04:42.431 --> 00:04:43.853 that they're saved. 00:04:43.853 --> 00:04:45.433 So they're not really going to be 00:04:45.433 --> 00:04:47.047 aggressively pursuing that. 00:04:47.047 --> 00:04:48.285 It's not like you can come to them 00:04:48.285 --> 00:04:52.386 like you can if you slide up next to a Muslim 00:04:52.386 --> 00:04:54.880 and he obviously rejects Christ. 00:04:54.880 --> 00:04:56.484 You're on a whole other thing there. 00:04:56.484 --> 00:04:58.533 The problem is we have so much of that 00:04:58.533 --> 00:04:59.913 in this country, don't we? 00:04:59.913 --> 00:05:01.198 People with false professions. 00:05:01.198 --> 00:05:03.942 You've got all sorts of folks that think they're saved. 00:05:03.942 --> 00:05:08.971 Well, the truth sets free. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:08.971 --> 00:05:10.951 Okay, now hear this. 00:05:10.951 --> 00:05:15.916 Because I think this is an important text. 00:05:15.916 --> 00:05:17.958 Matthew 13:15, and I know we have 00:05:17.958 --> 00:05:20.049 parallel verses on this probably 00:05:20.049 --> 00:05:23.842 over in what Luke 8? Mark 4? 00:05:23.842 --> 00:05:25.403 We were talking about this text 00:05:25.403 --> 00:05:26.872 just the other night. 00:05:26.872 --> 00:05:29.012 Matthew 13:15. Listen to this. 00:05:29.012 --> 00:05:33.212 Jesus Christ gave the parable of the soils. 00:05:33.212 --> 00:05:35.573 Now just think about that. 00:05:35.573 --> 00:05:36.901 Parable of the soils. 00:05:36.901 --> 00:05:38.849 What's true about the parable of the soils? 00:05:38.849 --> 00:05:41.486 Well, the Gospel's preached. Some people hear it. 00:05:41.486 --> 00:05:43.636 Bang! They're gone. 00:05:43.636 --> 00:05:45.335 Birds come down. Demons come in. 00:05:45.335 --> 00:05:46.674 They pluck the seed up. 00:05:46.674 --> 00:05:48.485 There's not even a profession made. 00:05:48.485 --> 00:05:49.565 But you've got other people, 00:05:49.565 --> 00:05:51.589 the Gospel's preached, they make professions. 00:05:51.589 --> 00:05:52.802 They're like fireworks. 00:05:52.802 --> 00:05:54.324 They're all out there. 00:05:54.324 --> 00:05:55.324 They spring up. 00:05:55.324 --> 00:05:57.896 There's all sorts of likeness to a plant. 00:05:57.896 --> 00:05:59.738 You've got lots of leaves and everything. 00:05:59.738 --> 00:06:01.600 But what happens? Sun comes out. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:03.797 That's a likeness of persecution. 00:06:03.797 --> 00:06:04.870 They wither away. 00:06:04.870 --> 00:06:07.026 There was one, professed to be true, 00:06:07.026 --> 00:06:08.535 wasn't true. Withered away. 00:06:08.535 --> 00:06:09.741 You've got the other ones. 00:06:09.741 --> 00:06:11.530 You've got the weeds and stuff. 00:06:11.530 --> 00:06:13.034 They grow up. They choke it out. 00:06:13.034 --> 00:06:15.516 And it's no good either because it's not fruitful. 00:06:15.516 --> 00:06:17.516 And Scripture says you know them by their fruits. 00:06:17.516 --> 00:06:19.107 Bottom line: fruit's the issue. 00:06:19.107 --> 00:06:20.286 The ones that are good - 00:06:20.286 --> 00:06:22.080 you've got 30 fold, 60 fold, 100 fold. 00:06:22.080 --> 00:06:24.346 And they're good. And why? 00:06:24.346 --> 00:06:26.616 How can we tell? Fruit. 00:06:26.616 --> 00:06:28.057 By their fruits you know them. 00:06:28.057 --> 00:06:29.824 That's always the case in the Scripture. 00:06:29.824 --> 00:06:31.895 Well, here's the thing. 00:06:31.895 --> 00:06:33.492 Right in the middle of this whole deal, 00:06:33.492 --> 00:06:34.749 after He gives the parable, 00:06:34.749 --> 00:06:36.394 His disciples come to Him 00:06:36.394 --> 00:06:38.142 and they want to know the interpretation. 00:06:38.142 --> 00:06:40.345 Between the parable and the interpretation 00:06:40.345 --> 00:06:46.303 Jesus says this in Matthew 13:15. 00:06:46.303 --> 00:06:47.854 Listen to this, 00:06:47.854 --> 00:06:53.469 "This peoples' heart has grown dull, 00:06:53.469 --> 00:06:56.769 and with their ears they can barely hear 00:06:56.769 --> 00:06:59.081 and their eyes they have closed 00:06:59.081 --> 00:07:02.384 lest they should see with their eyes 00:07:02.384 --> 00:07:04.091 and hear with their ears 00:07:04.091 --> 00:07:06.656 and understand with their heart and turn 00:07:06.656 --> 00:07:08.501 and I would heal them." 00:07:08.501 --> 00:07:09.982 Now here's the thing, 00:07:09.982 --> 00:07:11.711 truth sets men free. 00:07:11.711 --> 00:07:13.587 You got somebody that's got a false profession? 00:07:13.587 --> 00:07:14.511 Let me tell you this. 00:07:14.511 --> 00:07:16.494 What must happen to somebody 00:07:16.494 --> 00:07:19.048 based on Matthew 13:15? 00:07:19.048 --> 00:07:20.704 What has to happen to somebody before 00:07:20.704 --> 00:07:25.264 they can be spiritually healed? 00:07:25.264 --> 00:07:27.785 It says they must turn - somebody said repent. 00:07:27.785 --> 00:07:29.080 Turn. Repent. 00:07:29.080 --> 00:07:30.205 That's the same thing. 00:07:30.205 --> 00:07:31.882 They must turn, but what must happen 00:07:31.882 --> 00:07:35.139 before they can turn? 00:07:35.139 --> 00:07:37.261 They must be understanding. 00:07:37.261 --> 00:07:39.237 You see it there? 00:07:39.237 --> 00:07:40.892 There must be understanding. 00:07:40.892 --> 00:07:43.493 To have understanding, they must hear. 00:07:43.493 --> 00:07:46.472 To hear, someone must be doing what? 00:07:46.472 --> 00:07:47.996 They must be talking or preaching. 00:07:47.996 --> 00:07:52.075 Somebody must be telling them something. 00:07:52.075 --> 00:07:53.946 This one came in by Brad Jones. 00:07:53.946 --> 00:07:57.915 Brad, the fact is, 00:07:57.915 --> 00:08:00.725 we need to show people about the new birth. 00:08:00.725 --> 00:08:01.918 If you're going to have people 00:08:01.918 --> 00:08:03.806 genuinely healed, 00:08:03.806 --> 00:08:05.278 the people have got to turn. 00:08:05.278 --> 00:08:07.102 If they're going to turn, there's got to be understanding. 00:08:07.102 --> 00:08:08.901 If they're going to be understanding, there's got to be hearing. 00:08:08.901 --> 00:08:11.253 If they've got to be hearing, there's got to be somebody talking. 00:08:11.253 --> 00:08:13.510 We've got to take truth to people. 00:08:13.510 --> 00:08:15.442 Listen, you've got somebody out there. 00:08:15.442 --> 00:08:17.351 You're concerned about them. 00:08:17.351 --> 00:08:19.419 You've got to take truth to them. 00:08:19.419 --> 00:08:20.448 That's the way to do it. 00:08:20.448 --> 00:08:22.580 Now look, you don't have to charge in 00:08:22.580 --> 00:08:24.272 like the bull in the china closet, 00:08:24.272 --> 00:08:27.993 and say "you're going to hell! 00:08:27.993 --> 00:08:29.418 You know, I've got it figured out. 00:08:29.418 --> 00:08:31.330 You're lost and you're going to hell 00:08:31.330 --> 00:08:32.660 and it's all false." 00:08:32.660 --> 00:08:33.868 You know what kind of hearing 00:08:33.868 --> 00:08:36.581 you're going to get from people when you do that? 00:08:36.581 --> 00:08:38.756 About none. 00:08:38.756 --> 00:08:40.210 You go charging in like that - 00:08:40.210 --> 00:08:42.289 the best way to do is not to go charging in 00:08:42.289 --> 00:08:44.422 and just jump all over them 00:08:44.422 --> 00:08:46.058 and create a big scenario. 00:08:46.058 --> 00:08:49.290 You can express that you have concerns in some place, 00:08:49.290 --> 00:08:53.642 or you might even just begin 00:08:53.642 --> 00:08:55.656 to bring some Scripture up. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:55.656 --> 00:08:57.372 Well, what kind of Scriptures? 00:08:57.372 --> 00:08:58.746 I mean, basically, if you've got somebody 00:08:58.746 --> 00:09:00.205 with a false profession, 00:09:00.205 --> 00:09:02.059 and you're wanting to bring truth 00:09:02.059 --> 00:09:03.696 in order to bring understanding 00:09:03.696 --> 00:09:05.053 that might lead to the turning 00:09:05.053 --> 00:09:06.208 that leads to the healing, 00:09:06.208 --> 00:09:07.565 well, what are we going to do? 00:09:07.565 --> 00:09:10.028 What kind of truth are we going to bring out? 00:09:10.028 --> 00:09:12.404 Well, obviously, there are verses 00:09:12.404 --> 00:09:15.577 that deal with false professors, are there not? 00:09:15.577 --> 00:09:17.702 Do we not have tests for true Christianity 00:09:17.702 --> 00:09:20.362 in the Scriptures? 00:09:20.362 --> 00:09:23.325 Anybody think of where some might be? 00:09:23.325 --> 00:09:25.424 1 John, Matthew 7. 00:09:25.424 --> 00:09:26.952 Yeah, there's a lot. 00:09:26.952 --> 00:09:29.336 Well, let's kind of go through these in order. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:29.336 --> 00:09:30.763 The first one I would say - 00:09:30.763 --> 00:09:32.109 and what I want to do is, 00:09:32.109 --> 00:09:39.149 this is not an extensive, full list. 00:09:39.149 --> 00:09:41.363 This is just some places you can go to 00:09:41.363 --> 00:09:44.425 in the Scriptures. Just some. 00:09:44.425 --> 00:09:45.745 I'd start out with this. 00:09:45.745 --> 00:09:48.358 You know where a good place is I've found? 00:09:48.358 --> 00:09:51.497 It's in the Old Testament 00:09:51.497 --> 00:09:54.253 where the New Covenant is talked about. 00:09:54.253 --> 00:09:55.602 That's a tremendous place. 00:09:55.602 --> 00:09:57.755 You know why? 00:09:57.755 --> 00:10:00.257 There in Jeremiah 31 00:10:00.257 --> 00:10:02.648 and in chapter 32 of Jeremiah, 00:10:02.648 --> 00:10:04.591 and in Ezekiel 36 - 00:10:04.591 --> 00:10:09.109 those are three of the most prominent texts 00:10:09.109 --> 00:10:11.983 from the Old Testament that give us 00:10:11.983 --> 00:10:15.460 the character of the New Covenant. 00:10:15.460 --> 00:10:17.089 And by the way, what's the New Covenant? 00:10:17.089 --> 00:10:20.084 The New Covenant is the way you are saved 00:10:20.084 --> 00:10:21.841 if you are saved. 00:10:21.841 --> 00:10:24.590 It is salvation through Christ. 00:10:24.590 --> 00:10:28.926 It is the way God saves now. 00:10:28.926 --> 00:10:31.045 Well, it's the way God has saved always, 00:10:31.045 --> 00:10:33.557 but it's set over against the Old Covenant 00:10:33.557 --> 00:10:36.470 which was works, right? 00:10:36.470 --> 00:10:38.481 Old Covenant - "do this and live." 00:10:38.481 --> 00:10:39.684 How many people did it? 00:10:39.684 --> 00:10:40.593 None. 00:10:40.593 --> 00:10:43.112 All of sinned and come short of the glory of God. 00:10:43.112 --> 00:10:46.255 That was the defect of the Old Covenant. 00:10:46.255 --> 00:10:48.895 Nobody could keep it because it didn't give any power. 00:10:48.895 --> 00:10:52.296 But then the New Covenant, 00:10:52.296 --> 00:10:54.738 basically God says, I will, I will, I will. 00:10:54.738 --> 00:10:56.383 What did He say He would do? 00:10:56.383 --> 00:10:57.449 Let's go through them real fast. 00:10:57.449 --> 00:10:59.143 Jeremiah 31 - you guys don't have to turn there 00:10:59.143 --> 00:11:00.023 but just listen to it. 00:11:00.023 --> 00:11:02.593 Jeremiah 31:33, 00:11:02.593 --> 00:11:03.779 "This is the covenant I will make 00:11:03.779 --> 00:11:05.282 with them after those days 00:11:05.282 --> 00:11:06.178 declares the Lord..." 00:11:06.178 --> 00:11:07.566 And He's speaking of the house of Israel. 00:11:07.566 --> 00:11:08.811 And of course, we know a true Jew 00:11:08.811 --> 00:11:12.883 is one who is a child of Abraham by faith. 00:11:12.883 --> 00:11:14.657 True Jew. True circumcision. 00:11:14.657 --> 00:11:16.905 Those are the ones that worship God in the Spirit. 00:11:16.905 --> 00:11:17.910 He told the Philippians. 00:11:17.910 --> 00:11:21.409 We see the Galatians are called the true Israel. 00:11:21.409 --> 00:11:24.674 Basically, you've got to become a Jew 00:11:24.674 --> 00:11:25.960 to be saved. 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:28.202 The way you become that is by faith in Jesus Christ. 00:11:28.202 --> 00:11:31.923 That's how you become a son of Abraham. 00:11:31.923 --> 00:11:33.735 What's true of this New Covenant? 00:11:33.735 --> 00:11:35.647 He says, "I will put My law within them." 00:11:35.647 --> 00:11:36.743 You know what that means? 00:11:36.743 --> 00:11:39.917 That means He puts His law within our heart. 00:11:39.917 --> 00:11:41.505 You know what John said? 00:11:41.505 --> 00:11:43.687 His commandments are not grievous. 00:11:43.687 --> 00:11:46.544 You know what it says in Romans 8:7? 00:11:46.544 --> 00:11:48.646 It says that the lost - those that are in the flesh - 00:11:48.646 --> 00:11:50.381 they cannot keep God's law. 00:11:50.381 --> 00:11:52.452 Right there, 00:11:52.452 --> 00:11:53.708 if you say you know Him, 00:11:53.708 --> 00:11:55.015 and you don't keep His commandments, 00:11:55.015 --> 00:11:57.899 1 John 2, "you're a liar and the truth isn't in you." 00:11:57.899 --> 00:11:59.439 Isn't that the same thing Jesus Christ says? 00:11:59.439 --> 00:12:00.722 Somebody said Matthew 7. 00:12:00.722 --> 00:12:02.508 You don't do the will of the Father, 00:12:02.508 --> 00:12:04.317 you're not inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven. 00:12:04.317 --> 00:12:06.333 Why? Is that because we get there by works? 00:12:06.333 --> 00:12:10.577 No, it's because where there is true faith 00:12:10.577 --> 00:12:12.410 in Jesus Christ, 00:12:12.410 --> 00:12:14.877 where a man is justified by faith, 00:12:14.877 --> 00:12:18.672 he always has the law written on his heart. 00:12:18.672 --> 00:12:19.985 He always has a new heart. 00:12:19.985 --> 00:12:22.171 He always has the Spirit of God put within him. 00:12:22.171 --> 00:12:24.234 God says He's going to cause him 00:12:24.234 --> 00:12:25.788 to keep His statutes. 00:12:25.788 --> 00:12:27.241 That's what He says He's going to do. 00:12:27.241 --> 00:12:28.478 Regeneration, folks. 00:12:28.478 --> 00:12:29.563 Men are born again. 00:12:29.563 --> 00:12:32.007 They're transformed. New creations in Christ. 00:12:32.007 --> 00:12:34.488 That's what we need to tell people. 00:12:34.488 --> 00:12:36.024 Look, if you're genuinely saved, 00:12:36.024 --> 00:12:37.427 you're a new creation in Christ. 00:12:37.427 --> 00:12:39.409 If you're genuinely saved, guess what? 00:12:39.409 --> 00:12:40.698 You go from being a person 00:12:40.698 --> 00:12:43.272 who cannot keep God's laws 00:12:43.272 --> 00:12:46.070 to one whose practice in life 00:12:46.070 --> 00:12:47.843 is doing the will of the Father. 00:12:47.843 --> 00:12:48.838 And if that's not true, 00:12:48.838 --> 00:12:51.039 those who practice unrighteousness 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:52.429 are of the devil. 00:12:52.429 --> 00:12:55.651 We find that in 1 John 3:9-10. 00:12:55.651 --> 00:12:58.043 You have that idea come right out at us 00:12:58.043 --> 00:12:59.534 about these things. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:59.534 --> 00:13:01.952 But let me jump back just a second. 00:13:01.952 --> 00:13:03.380 Jeremiah 31. 00:13:03.380 --> 00:13:06.509 God says, "I will put My law within them. 00:13:06.509 --> 00:13:08.932 I will write it on their hearts. 00:13:08.932 --> 00:13:11.327 I will be their God. 00:13:11.327 --> 00:13:12.929 No longer shall each one teach his neighbor 00:13:12.929 --> 00:13:14.610 and each one his brother, saying, 'know the Lord,' 00:13:14.610 --> 00:13:15.912 for they shall all know Me, 00:13:15.912 --> 00:13:17.252 from the least of them to the greatest, 00:13:17.252 --> 00:13:18.094 declares the Lord. 00:13:18.094 --> 00:13:19.427 I will forgive their iniquity. 00:13:19.427 --> 00:13:22.147 I will remember their sin no more." 00:13:22.147 --> 00:13:26.408 The very next chapter, Jeremiah 32:38-40. 00:13:26.408 --> 00:13:28.248 He says, "I will be their God. 00:13:28.248 --> 00:13:30.449 I will give them one heart and one way 00:13:30.449 --> 00:13:32.881 that they may fear Me forever, 00:13:32.881 --> 00:13:34.953 for their own good 00:13:34.953 --> 00:13:36.483 and the good of the children after them, 00:13:36.483 --> 00:13:38.384 I will make them an everlasting covenant 00:13:38.384 --> 00:13:40.525 that I will not turn away from doing them good 00:13:40.525 --> 00:13:43.293 and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts 00:13:43.293 --> 00:13:45.021 that they may not turn from Me." 00:13:45.021 --> 00:13:46.497 Guess what? 00:13:46.497 --> 00:13:48.076 That's another thing that's going to be true. 00:13:48.076 --> 00:13:49.865 The fear of God is going to be put within their heart 00:13:49.865 --> 00:13:52.318 that they not turn away. 00:13:52.318 --> 00:13:53.831 Guaranteed. If you see somebody 00:13:53.831 --> 00:13:56.117 that has no fear of God in the way they live, 00:13:56.117 --> 00:13:56.930 guess what? 00:13:56.930 --> 00:13:59.046 It's an indication that they've never 00:13:59.046 --> 00:14:02.249 had this New Covenant performed on them. NOTE Paragraph 00:14:02.249 --> 00:14:04.793 Ezekiel 36:25-27. 00:14:04.793 --> 00:14:07.301 "I will sprinkle clean water on you. 00:14:07.301 --> 00:14:10.456 You shall be clean from all your uncleannesses 00:14:10.456 --> 00:14:13.050 and from all your idols I will cleanse you, 00:14:13.050 --> 00:14:14.982 and I will give you a new heart, 00:14:14.982 --> 00:14:16.888 a new spirit will I put within you. 00:14:16.888 --> 00:14:19.234 I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh 00:14:19.234 --> 00:14:20.428 and give you a heart of flesh. 00:14:20.428 --> 00:14:22.141 I will put my Spirit within you, 00:14:22.141 --> 00:14:25.201 and I will cause you to walk in My statutes 00:14:25.201 --> 00:14:28.903 and be careful to obey My rules." 00:14:28.903 --> 00:14:30.517 You see that? 00:14:30.517 --> 00:14:32.886 God will cause you to be careful 00:14:32.886 --> 00:14:35.593 to obey His commandments. 00:14:35.593 --> 00:14:37.365 He will cause that. 00:14:37.365 --> 00:14:39.402 If you can basically live your life 00:14:39.402 --> 00:14:42.391 with no regard to the fact that Jesus Christ 00:14:42.391 --> 00:14:45.727 gave you commandments to live by, 00:14:45.727 --> 00:14:49.450 you say you know Him and that's true? 00:14:49.450 --> 00:14:50.369 1 John 2:4, 00:14:50.369 --> 00:14:52.901 "you're a liar and the truth isn't in you." 00:14:52.901 --> 00:14:54.835 You see, we can come to people like this. 00:14:54.835 --> 00:14:56.098 We can be pretty dogmatic. 00:14:56.098 --> 00:14:57.680 You're living a life practicing sin, 00:14:57.680 --> 00:14:59.124 1 John 3:9 says 00:14:59.124 --> 00:15:00.557 you don't belong to the Lord, 00:15:00.557 --> 00:15:03.699 you belong to the devil. 00:15:03.699 --> 00:15:07.526 1 John 2:3-4 says you're not keeping those commandments. 00:15:07.526 --> 00:15:09.761 Matthew 7:21, you're not doing 00:15:09.761 --> 00:15:11.509 the will of the Father in Heaven. 00:15:11.509 --> 00:15:13.224 You've got some problems here. 00:15:13.224 --> 00:15:15.090 We're new creations in Christ. 00:15:15.090 --> 00:15:17.338 We can remind them of such things 00:15:17.338 --> 00:15:20.093 that Jesus said. 00:15:20.093 --> 00:15:21.743 He says, "I tell you, unless you repent, 00:15:21.743 --> 00:15:22.706 you'll likewise perish." 00:15:22.706 --> 00:15:25.428 If there's been no turning in the life, 00:15:25.428 --> 00:15:26.787 you say well, I've just walked along 00:15:26.787 --> 00:15:28.307 the same way all my life. 00:15:28.307 --> 00:15:30.313 That's bad. That's bad. 00:15:30.313 --> 00:15:32.094 Because Jesus Christ says 00:15:32.094 --> 00:15:34.418 for somebody to be genuinely converted 00:15:34.418 --> 00:15:35.830 and healed, 00:15:35.830 --> 00:15:37.351 there has to be a turning. 00:15:37.361 --> 00:15:39.078 If there's never been a turning in the life, 00:15:39.078 --> 00:15:41.186 that's bad. 00:15:41.186 --> 00:15:42.272 You come across somebody, 00:15:42.272 --> 00:15:44.436 "Well, I've been a good Catholic my whole life." 00:15:44.436 --> 00:15:46.438 That's bad. 00:15:46.438 --> 00:15:47.897 You may be a good Catholic. 00:15:47.897 --> 00:15:51.560 You may think this certain thing, but that's bad. 00:15:51.560 --> 00:15:52.763 Because what the Scripture says 00:15:52.763 --> 00:15:54.192 is when a man comes to Christ, 00:15:54.192 --> 00:15:55.390 when a woman comes to Christ, 00:15:55.390 --> 00:15:56.716 they become new creations. 00:15:56.716 --> 00:15:57.651 They're born again. 00:15:57.651 --> 00:15:59.398 They walk in newness of life. 00:15:59.398 --> 00:16:00.211 That's the whole thing. 00:16:00.211 --> 00:16:03.581 There's radical transformation. NOTE Paragraph 00:16:03.581 --> 00:16:05.442 You go over to Luke 14. 00:16:05.442 --> 00:16:07.337 Jesus Christ, right there towards the end of the chapter 00:16:07.337 --> 00:16:09.337 gives three distinct statements 00:16:09.337 --> 00:16:13.105 about who cannot be His disciple. 00:16:13.105 --> 00:16:14.237 If any of these are true, 00:16:14.237 --> 00:16:16.257 then you're not His disciple. 00:16:16.257 --> 00:16:18.106 A disciple is a learner. It's a follower. 00:16:18.106 --> 00:16:19.495 If you're not a follower of Christ, 00:16:19.495 --> 00:16:22.316 you don't belong to Him. 00:16:22.316 --> 00:16:23.551 His sheep follow Him. 00:16:23.551 --> 00:16:25.349 They hear His voice. They follow Him. 00:16:25.349 --> 00:16:26.469 If you're not following Him, 00:16:26.469 --> 00:16:28.705 you've never heard His voice. 00:16:28.705 --> 00:16:32.309 It's basic. It's simple. 00:16:32.309 --> 00:16:34.606 He says "if anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father, 00:16:34.606 --> 00:16:38.660 his mother, his wife, child, brother, sister, yes, even his own life, 00:16:38.660 --> 00:16:40.589 he cannot be My disciple." 00:16:40.589 --> 00:16:41.993 Luke 14:27, "Whoever does not 00:16:41.993 --> 00:16:43.791 bear his own cross and come after Me 00:16:43.791 --> 00:16:45.328 cannot be My disciple." 00:16:45.328 --> 00:16:47.913 Luke 14:33, "Anyone of you who does not..." 00:16:47.913 --> 00:16:49.623 This is a big one. 00:16:49.623 --> 00:16:51.181 "Anyone of you who does not renounce 00:16:51.181 --> 00:16:53.928 all that he has, he cannot be My disciple." 00:16:53.928 --> 00:16:55.190 You say wow, I never heard that before. 00:16:55.190 --> 00:16:56.503 Yes, you did. I just read it to you 00:16:56.503 --> 00:16:58.526 from the tenets of the New Covenant. 00:16:58.526 --> 00:17:00.229 One of the things that the New Covenant says 00:17:00.229 --> 00:17:02.885 is God will cleanse you from all your idols. 00:17:02.885 --> 00:17:03.787 You know what that means? 00:17:03.787 --> 00:17:04.873 You'll renounce everything. 00:17:04.873 --> 00:17:06.255 You're going to renounce every idol. 00:17:06.255 --> 00:17:07.862 Every one of them. 00:17:07.862 --> 00:17:10.874 Now, I realize there's progress here. 00:17:10.874 --> 00:17:13.466 I realize that as we live our Christian life, 00:17:13.466 --> 00:17:15.252 He comes back to us over and over. 00:17:15.252 --> 00:17:17.303 We have to repeatedly turn. 00:17:17.303 --> 00:17:20.410 We still have the flesh that we battle against. 00:17:20.410 --> 00:17:21.967 But let me give you another one. 00:17:21.967 --> 00:17:24.348 We can talk about what the apostles say. 00:17:24.348 --> 00:17:26.422 You know this one. I say it often. 00:17:26.422 --> 00:17:28.805 Romans 8:13, "Unless by the Spirit 00:17:28.805 --> 00:17:30.664 you put to death the deeds of the body, 00:17:30.664 --> 00:17:32.089 you will die." 00:17:32.089 --> 00:17:34.977 That's what the Apostle Paul says. 00:17:34.977 --> 00:17:37.881 You will die if by the Spirit 00:17:37.881 --> 00:17:39.204 you're not putting to death - 00:17:39.204 --> 00:17:40.873 if you're not at war with sin, 00:17:40.873 --> 00:17:43.941 you're not saved. 00:17:43.941 --> 00:17:46.289 1 John tells us repeatedly. 00:17:46.289 --> 00:17:47.878 If you don't love the brethren, 00:17:47.878 --> 00:17:49.572 you're not saved. 00:17:49.572 --> 00:17:51.111 It says that. 00:17:51.111 --> 00:17:52.877 You don't have the Holy Spirit? 00:17:52.877 --> 00:17:54.408 You're none of His. You're not saved. 00:17:54.408 --> 00:17:55.486 Why is that so important? 00:17:55.486 --> 00:17:57.365 Because in Romans 8:16 it says 00:17:57.365 --> 00:17:59.923 that the Spirit of God bears witness 00:17:59.923 --> 00:18:02.115 with our spirit that we're children of God. 00:18:02.115 --> 00:18:03.994 If you have no witness bearing 00:18:03.994 --> 00:18:06.124 going on in your heart, 00:18:06.124 --> 00:18:08.412 inside you, 00:18:08.412 --> 00:18:10.454 from the Spirit of God - 00:18:10.454 --> 00:18:11.821 and how does that happen? 00:18:11.821 --> 00:18:13.046 Well, you know Romans 5:5 00:18:13.046 --> 00:18:14.624 talks about the love 00:18:14.624 --> 00:18:16.738 being shed abroad in our hearts 00:18:16.738 --> 00:18:18.859 by the Spirit which has been given to us. 00:18:18.859 --> 00:18:21.741 God sheds His love abroad. 00:18:21.741 --> 00:18:25.013 If you're not knowing tangible, 00:18:25.013 --> 00:18:28.302 experiential communications of God 00:18:28.302 --> 00:18:31.071 to your soul that you're truly His, 00:18:31.071 --> 00:18:32.975 that's reason to be concerned. 00:18:32.975 --> 00:18:34.800 Because the Bible says that the Spirit of God, 00:18:34.800 --> 00:18:35.830 if you're truly His, 00:18:35.830 --> 00:18:37.822 you have the Spirit of God within you. 00:18:37.822 --> 00:18:40.098 We saw that again in the tenets of the New Covenant. 00:18:40.098 --> 00:18:42.100 If you're one of His, 00:18:42.100 --> 00:18:43.475 He's given His Spirit to you. 00:18:43.475 --> 00:18:45.025 Like it says in Romans 8, 00:18:45.025 --> 00:18:47.129 if you don't have the Spirit, you're none of His. 00:18:47.129 --> 00:18:48.891 If you've got the Spirit, the Spirit bears witness. 00:18:48.891 --> 00:18:50.920 If you've got the Spirit, the Spirit puts to death sin. 00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:53.178 If you've got the Spirit, the Spirit helps you pray. 00:18:53.178 --> 00:18:55.080 If you've got the Spirit, it's the Spirit of adoption, 00:18:55.080 --> 00:18:57.737 and you find yourself crying out, "Abba, Father." 00:18:57.737 --> 00:18:59.634 There's suddenly an intimacy. 00:18:59.634 --> 00:19:01.374 Again, tenets of the New Covenant. 00:19:01.374 --> 00:19:03.593 You're not going to have to teach everyone. 00:19:03.593 --> 00:19:05.722 There's basically, when a person comes, 00:19:05.722 --> 00:19:07.484 they suddenly are made to know God 00:19:07.484 --> 00:19:10.286 in a way that you don't have to be taught. 00:19:10.286 --> 00:19:11.284 There's an intimacy. 00:19:11.284 --> 00:19:12.616 Something is worked out there. 00:19:12.616 --> 00:19:14.659 Now yes, it's important to sit under teachers. 00:19:14.659 --> 00:19:16.638 It's important to study your Bible. 00:19:16.638 --> 00:19:19.295 But what it's saying is something happens. 00:19:19.295 --> 00:19:21.451 God intervenes. 00:19:21.451 --> 00:19:23.906 Christianity isn't just about sitting under a teacher. 00:19:23.906 --> 00:19:25.028 You suddenly come into 00:19:25.028 --> 00:19:26.428 some kind of relationship 00:19:26.428 --> 00:19:28.199 and some kind of communication with God 00:19:28.199 --> 00:19:31.082 that goes above teachers. 00:19:31.082 --> 00:19:33.462 If these things are all foreign to you guys 00:19:33.462 --> 00:19:38.486 or to any of you, it's time to be concerned. 00:19:38.486 --> 00:19:40.424 One of the things the Apostle Paul says, 00:19:40.424 --> 00:19:43.423 "If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed." 00:19:43.423 --> 00:19:45.593 I'll tell you this, if you don't have any love? 00:19:45.593 --> 00:19:47.125 "All things work together for good 00:19:47.125 --> 00:19:48.092 to them who love God, 00:19:48.092 --> 00:19:49.768 to those who are called according to His purpose. 00:19:49.768 --> 00:19:51.030 You're not loving God? 00:19:51.030 --> 00:19:54.087 You're giving the indication you're not called. 00:19:54.087 --> 00:19:56.455 You haven't been called according to His purpose. 00:19:56.455 --> 00:19:59.140 Basically, the apostle says let these people be cursed. 00:19:59.140 --> 00:20:03.109 If you're not knowing what it is to love Christ, 00:20:03.109 --> 00:20:06.482 if there's no special affection that you have for Him, 00:20:06.482 --> 00:20:07.514 you're in trouble. 00:20:07.514 --> 00:20:09.418 That's not a good place to be. 00:20:09.418 --> 00:20:13.082 God has saved men and women 00:20:13.082 --> 00:20:16.120 to be lovers of His Son. 00:20:16.120 --> 00:20:19.993 This is basically how it is. NOTE Paragraph 00:20:19.993 --> 00:20:22.618 Well, I don't need to keep going on. 00:20:22.618 --> 00:20:24.410 These are the verses, 00:20:24.410 --> 00:20:26.487 and you guys could think of many others. 00:20:26.487 --> 00:20:27.916 I mean, you know what James says. 00:20:27.916 --> 00:20:30.893 "Don't be deceived," by being what? 00:20:30.893 --> 00:20:32.805 A hearer and not a doer. 00:20:32.805 --> 00:20:34.561 And he talks about dead faith. 00:20:34.561 --> 00:20:35.542 What's dead faith? 00:20:35.542 --> 00:20:38.511 Dead faith has no works. 00:20:38.511 --> 00:20:42.205 And he says can that faith save you? 00:20:42.205 --> 00:20:43.550 Demons believe. 00:20:43.550 --> 00:20:44.764 It can't save. 00:20:44.764 --> 00:20:47.664 You can believe all the facts about Jesus Christ. 00:20:47.664 --> 00:20:49.163 You can believe much. 00:20:49.163 --> 00:20:50.982 You can go to church a long time. 00:20:50.982 --> 00:20:52.982 But I'll tell you, the bottom line is 00:20:52.982 --> 00:20:54.804 if this isn't working out, 00:20:54.804 --> 00:20:57.189 true salvation loves, 00:20:57.189 --> 00:20:59.353 true faith loves, true faith works, 00:20:59.353 --> 00:21:01.284 true faith keeps the commandments, 00:21:01.284 --> 00:21:03.159 true faith battles sin, 00:21:03.159 --> 00:21:04.897 true faith loves the brethren, 00:21:04.897 --> 00:21:06.482 true faith loves Christ, 00:21:06.482 --> 00:21:09.341 true faith is being communicated to 00:21:09.341 --> 00:21:11.500 by the Spirit of God which is indwelling. 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:14.127 True faith - we have that Spirit 00:21:14.127 --> 00:21:16.052 that helps us to pray, 00:21:16.052 --> 00:21:18.107 gives us an intimacy with God. 00:21:18.107 --> 00:21:19.926 And these things are a reality. 00:21:19.926 --> 00:21:21.585 We can begin to press people. 00:21:21.585 --> 00:21:24.446 We can take them - 1 John is a tremendous place. 00:21:24.446 --> 00:21:25.813 Take people there. 00:21:25.813 --> 00:21:27.061 Somebody said Matthew 7. 00:21:27.061 --> 00:21:27.933 Tremendous place. 00:21:27.933 --> 00:21:29.395 Take people to these. 00:21:29.395 --> 00:21:32.135 You guys, I really want you to remember, 00:21:32.135 --> 00:21:35.028 Jeremiah 31, Jeremiah 32, Ezekiel 36. 00:21:35.028 --> 00:21:37.411 You guys need to have that pinned down. 00:21:37.411 --> 00:21:38.876 You need to know those texts 00:21:38.876 --> 00:21:40.442 because when you come across somebody 00:21:40.442 --> 00:21:42.074 and those are not realities, 00:21:42.074 --> 00:21:45.644 you know, you don't have to clobber people with it, 00:21:45.644 --> 00:21:47.637 but you can just take them there and show them. 00:21:47.637 --> 00:21:50.633 If the Spirit of God is involved in it, 00:21:50.633 --> 00:21:51.639 then you know what? 00:21:51.639 --> 00:21:54.314 That Word of God is going to be effectual. 00:21:54.314 --> 00:21:56.260 You don't have to beat people. 00:21:56.260 --> 00:21:58.282 It's the Word of God. 00:21:58.282 --> 00:22:01.426 It's the incorruptible seed of the Word 00:22:01.426 --> 00:22:05.904 by which men are regenerated. 00:22:05.904 --> 00:22:07.095 It's truth. 00:22:07.095 --> 00:22:08.310 We don't have to be mean with it. 00:22:08.310 --> 00:22:10.029 We don't have to be harsh with it. 00:22:10.029 --> 00:22:13.465 It's that truth that sets men free.