In this sermon, the preacher discusses the parable of the sower from the Bible. He explains that the seed that falls among thorns represents those who initially accept the word of God but later become distracted by worldly cares, riches, and pleasures. He emphasizes that salvation is just the beginning and that believers must continue to walk in faith and bear fruit. The preacher urges the congregation to come to the foot of the cross, receive forgiveness, and allow the river of living water to flow within them.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the free will offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Father in Heaven, it is good to come to the house of God. It is good to come to worship together with saints of like precious state. Father, it is good that you have sent forth your Son. Through your great love, it is good for us, Father. We can experience the love of God and that through Jesus Christ we may know the Father. Father, would you now look upon this lowly man, Lord, and speak to our hearts today. Lord, that your word may come forth in the power and the unction of the Holy Ghost. Father, you know the frailty of man. You know how frail we are. We are but dust and ashes, Lord. But you, by your mighty power, have desired, have designed and desire to dwell in these vessels of clay. That you might be glorified through them. So, Father, here today would you glorify your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, by your mighty power. And would you glorify His name, His word in all of our hearts. I pray, Father, for those who are under the sound of my voice even now. Those who are listening, I pray your grace be upon them. I pray you would open up their hearts. I pray you would give them a hunger and a thirst after righteousness. I pray you would put a desire in their heart to truly know you, Father. And to walk in holiness and in purity. I pray, Father, you would take this little bit of bread and feed the hungry. This little bit of fishes, Lord, and feed those that are hungry. Take a little bit of this water, Lord, and give to those who are thirsty. I pray for your grace in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. May God's grace abide in all of our hearts this morning. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 10 for a few verses. Verse 38 and 39. I would like to share just a simple gospel message this morning on the saving faith. The faith that saves. The faith that is needed in order for any man to be saved. And we'll start reading in Hebrews chapter 10 in verse 38. Now the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. And I realize that could mean two things. It could mean under the saving of our soul in the beginning when we first get saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It could also mean to the saving of the soul even maybe the end when we're taken up with Christ. But I believe it specifically has to do with the saving of our soul at the time of salvation. And then you could go and read chapter 11 of Hebrews and it speaks and testifies of many of the old saints and patriarchs who likewise had of this saving faith and they did not draw back into perdition. But they with patience like it says in verse 36. For ye have need of patience that after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. And there we have a picture, it speaks of that second coming of Christ and it speaks of having patience. We have need of patience that after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise. And then the picture of these saints, Abel, Abraham, Noah, Enoch and so forth. They believed in God. They had a faith which saved them. They were saved by faith the same way that you and I are today. But they did not receive the promise but they believed in it. And that's how they were saved. Abraham believed God and was counted to him for righteousness. Abel offered a righteous gift and it was counted to him for righteousness and so forth. I'd like to just share a simple message about the saving faith. You could also call it the new birth or one of the thoughts I had was what is the new birth? And I'd just like to make that very clear here today. There may be people here who have never been born again. That is possible. It's not only possible, it is likely. I believe it's true. There are souls here who have never been born again. If they were to die today, where would they go? It would be hard for me to accept the fact that there would be people here that if they were to die today, they'd go to hell. That would be a little bit hard to accept, wouldn't it? And most people just kind of put it out of their mind and they think, well, I'll be okay. I'll make it somehow. But if you were to die today, where would you go? Is saving faith a reality in your heart and life? The Bible says in John chapter 3, Except a man be born of the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. That verse stood out to me for a long time. Many, many years, even as a young man growing up, I knew that verse. I remember the preachers preaching about that. And they said, you must be born again. In my mind, I thought it wasn't quite fair that God would give us such a clear have to, but not tell us how or when, how it's to be done or when or, or, and why couldn't we know about it? If this is something that we have to do in order to get to heaven, then why hasn't God made it that I could know if I'm born again or not? Because you see, the teaching of the devil is you can't know you're born again. The devil does not want people to know that they're born again. If he could somehow keep you in darkness, at the point where you would believe the fact that you can't know, he would have you blinded and you would be in darkness and in error, and that is exactly where he has millions of people today. And millions of people are just resigning themselves to the fact, no one can really know if they're pleasing God or not. Many millions have resigned themselves to that fact. But yet deep in their heart, there is a longing to know whether or not they're accepted by God. There's questions going deep in the heart that are asking, have I done enough of good things? Does my church membership really assure me of eternal life? Does my baptism really have that much power? And so the devil also teaches false prophets or whatever you want to call them, that yes, when you get baptized, you get a clean slate. And all your sins are taken care of at baptism. That's a lie. It's a lie from hell. It's not true. Baptism, water baptism has no power to wash away your sins. And if you're putting confidence into baptism, that that's when you got saved, I would encourage you to think about it. Because baptism has no power to save you from your sins. Maybe it's church membership. But church membership has no power to save you from your sins. Neither does communion cleanse your slate every time you take part in it. As is taught by the heretics, unbelievers, doesn't. The Catholics are taught many things that they need to do. The Muslims also do many things. And many other religions likewise. There is deep in the heart a longing to please God. And people do. And they do. And they do. Thinking that by doing, they will eventually be good enough and please God to be accepted. But what does the Bible say? We are of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Many times things are preached that we must do in order to be accepted. And even many times things are preached that we must not do in order to be accepted. Growing up, I would say my focus was more on the things that I was not allowed to do than on the things that I need to do in order to be accepted. But nevertheless, every time that I would truly get serious with God, and I would allow myself to meditate on the eternal things, then the things of the surface would kind of fade away and the deep questions would begin to come to the surface. Am I really born of God? Am I a Christian? Can I really know if I am saved or not? Why is it taught so strongly that we can't know that we are born again or not? Major questions. And then to finally come one day to the verse in the Bible that said, These things are written that ye may know that ye have eternal life. God began to stir in my heart a desire. Why would God put that verse in the Bible if I surely can't know? First John 5.13, where it says, These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. I thought of this, as I was pondering this message, I thought of the many positive, present tense words that are used to describe salvation today, here and now. Such as, Ye are the children of God. That doesn't mean someday. Even in the verse that Aaron preached on, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth may have, present tense, eternal life. I will always understand that verse to mean that you may have eventually. That verse means present tense. The Bible is very clear. There are many, many verses that we could look at it that way. That there is a very clear understanding that it's present tense salvation. This is a salvation that all who believe can be partakers of here and now, today. And yes, eventually you will be saved. In the end, likewise. But we must be saved now also. Except the man be born again. He cannot see the kingdom of God. Am I willing to face the judgment day with only a hope? Is it true that we can't know? And that we can only hope? No, that is not true. That is a lie from hell. Even Jesus said in John, one place, He said, In that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and I in you. Ye shall know that I am dwelling inside of you. Ye shall know that the Father is inside of you. You shall know that it will be deep within your heart. Would I trust facing death without the assurance of salvation? Would I be willing to face the judgment day with only a hope soul? I want to say today that if anyone is here, that is only hoping, put it away. Anyone who is listening to this message, if you only have hope, the Bible says in Proverbs, you are of men most miserable. But if I die without true faith, then it will be too late. There will never be another chance given to me. To die without Christ means eternity in hell. Now you may be a young person here today, waking up to the fact for the first time that you are not saved. You might even be a youth who has never tried, and you are saying it did not really work. You might be a young married couple, a young married man or woman, you might have children, you might even be a grandfather or grandmother. It is most likely that many grandfathers and grandmothers are not saved. You might even be a preacher or a deacon or a bishop. John says, Jesus said, that except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Except for preachers and deacons. There is only one exception, and the exception is, you cannot go to heaven unless you are born again. There are no other exceptions about it. Being ordained a preacher does not automatically give you eternal life. Being ordained a deacon or a bishop, having spent maybe 20, 30, 50 years in the ministry, does not assure you that you have eternal life. Not at all. There is no eternal life in it. Life is in Christ Jesus alone, and in His saving blood. There is no other way to be saved. Let me read just a little bit about saving faith here, out of the martyr's mirror. This is beautiful wording, it is a little bit wordy, but if you follow closely, you will be able to understand. Of saving faith, we confess, that saving faith is not vain or hidden. It is not a vain or hidden thing unborn in man, nor does it consist in us having a historical knowledge, or just something in our mind, which we may even have gotten from the Holy Scriptures, and that we have much to say about it, without having the real substance thereof. The questions about the new birth. I just could not understand it. Oh, I just couldn't figure it out. I couldn't understand it. And that's how it is. You cannot understand it, unless you first become a partaker of it. But the real and true faith which avails before God, is a sure knowledge of the heart in a sure confidence. True faith is a sure knowledge, it's a knowledge, it's an assurance in your mind, which gives you a sure confidence, that God has answered my prayer, that I'm a saved child of God. If this sure confidence, this sure knowledge is not there, then something's wrong. But the real true faith, which avails, it avails for God, it does work, it does do something, it's a sure knowledge of the heart. It's not just the knowledge in the mind, the knowledge deep in the heart of mankind, which we receive from God. This sure knowledge, this assurance of salvation, is not something that you can go buy at the store. It would be a very valuable thing, if you could somehow persuade people that you could sell them eternal life, they would surely come and buy it, wouldn't they? That is exactly what the Catholic popes and priests have been doing for hundreds and hundreds of years. They have taken advantage of the poor people who are ignorant of these things, and they have said, we're going to sell you these things which are going to make you holy. And the poor people, they've been into that, and they've bought into that, and they buy whatever they would say to make them holy. But let me assure you today, no one can buy eternal salvation. You can't pay for it. There is not enough money in the treasury of the US to buy eternal salvation. All the gold in the world will not buy eternal salvation. It costs a lot more than that. This eternal salvation is received from God. It's a gift. It's a gift of God. It's a gift of God. Not through our own power. Not by my own will. Not by my own ability. As it says in John chapter 1, it says something like that. If I could just read that to you. I think most of us are very familiar with it. But as many as received Him, Christ Jesus, to them gave He power to become the sons of God. No, you cannot become a son of God by your own power or by your own might. But He gave it. He gave power to become the son of God even to them that believe on His name. Even to those that have a saving faith. Even to those whose faith is outworking and working and continuing towards God. Availing towards God unto the place of salvation. Then that's what true faith is. Which we're born of God. Verse 13 says, Not of blood, not born of blood, not of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And so we see that salvation is a gift from God. It comes down from God. It is not by the will of man. It is not by a fleshly birth. It is not of blood, not of your own blood, not of your own flesh. It is not in your own will. You cannot will it. You cannot make it happen. God gives everlasting life. This is the saving faith. God gives it. This comes through the hearing of the word of God, which through the illumination of the Holy Spirit is imprinted on and written in the heart. This work of God, which is eternal life, Jesus is that life, and through saving faith, which is a faith which is active, and it's a faith that believes unto the salvation of the soul, and this is then imprinted and written on the heart of mankind. And when God, who created the heaven and the earth, when that God comes down and dwells in the heart of an immortal man, He writes right upon that heart the eternal salvation of Jesus Christ. This is written. It is imprinted upon the heart. I think back to Ezekiel, the prophet in the Old Testament. He prophesied of these things to come. Where he prophesied it said, I will write upon your hearts. I will take out your old heart. I will give you a new heart. I will put my spirit within you. Beautiful prophecy of the coming of the Holy Ghost. Now we today live in a time when that prophecy has been fulfilled, the Holy Ghost has been given, it has been shed abroad into our hearts, and all those who by faith believe shall have everlasting life. This is what's written on the heart of a believer. Everlasting life is written upon his heart. It's stamped upon him. And it comes up out of the innermost part of his being into his knowledge and gives him a sure knowledge and assurance, God has saved my soul. That's how the saving faith works itself out. Written in the heart. Well, if it's written on the heart, something happens. It works effectively in the heart. Changing the person. Transforming the person. Making him a new creature. Taking him out of darkness, putting him into light. Breaking the bondage of sin and setting his feet on the rock. Giving him a new song. Taking him out of darkness and giving him eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. This thing written in the heart works so effectually in us that we are drawn away by its power from all visible and perishable things to the invisible and imperishable things. When this thing is worked out in the heart of man, it will do a marvelous change in that person. It will take that person and draw him away from the affections and lusts of the world. It will draw him to the invisible things of Jesus Christ, God the Father and the Holy Ghost and the things of God. That is what this effectual salvation will do. That is what this saving faith will do if it is effectualized in the heart. Written there. Stamped on there. It will draw you away from the world and lust. It will draw you away from your own way. It will draw you to that which is invisible, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's what saving faith does. Totally transforming the old man. Totally transforming you, the person. Praise God. And by that, the person will acquire a new spiritual taste for that which is heavenly and you'll lose his taste for that which is earthly. Praise God. Are you born again? Is that a reality in your life? Has this saving faith been so effectually working in your heart that you know yes, I have been saved from my sins and yes, it has been written and stamped upon my very heart and it has given me a full assurance in my mind that if I would die today, I know that I would go to be with the Lord. Just like Paul said, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. That's what saving faith is all about. Has this happened in your heart? Are you certain that you are born again? Have you a new spiritual taste for that which is heavenly and not for that which is earthly? Hence, all true believers gladly and obediently submit themselves to all the commandments of God contained in the Holy Scriptures. All true believers gladly gladly young men, young ladies gladly submitting. Is that the way it is? Is that how it is? If the Spirit of God has written upon your heart and that Spirit of God does draw you away from earthly, fleshly, worldly desires true, sane faith will do that and draw you to the Savior. To the spiritual. To God's Word. It will affect you. It will affect you in your life. It will cause you to gladly submit. Are you born again? Is that reality in your life? Let's not fool ourselves Let's not deceive ourselves. Not only do we do that not only do we gladly submit obey all the commandments of God but when necessary we're willing to testify and confess these things with our mouth before men. Though it may mean imprisonment ridicule mockery we'll be glad to confess these things. We will not try to save our lives but be willing to sacrifice our lives on the altar whatever it may be whether it's fire or water. For the power of God which preserves in the faith strengthens those who do so so that they esteem all the sufferings of this time brief and light not avenging themselves but praying for their persecutors gladly suffering for the name of the Lord that which is imposed upon them because of the faith saving faith because this has been stamped on their hearts because this has been effectual in drawing them away from the world because this has worked in their heart it has delivered them from the power of sin and the guilt of sin that's what saving faith does where this true faith is received in the heart there the fruits of the Holy Spirit manifest and come forth and they witness and testify that the person truly is changed meanwhile the works of darkness the unfruitful works of darkness unbelief and so forth they flee away by this faith which is the beginning of the Christian doctrine we become children of God we become we are present tense children of God having been born of God there we overcome the world there we are armed against the wiles of the devil and there we become sanctified have been and are justified saved, washed, cleansed, made free partakers of the benefits of God having become a partaker of the divine nature of God oh my here we have a beautiful picture the divine nature of God is imprinted and stamped upon the heart of a human being and that human being now begins to act like a child of God that's what this saving faith is all about it is when I recognize that I am a sinner by birth and I can't please God and I have missed the mark and I'm on the way to hell and I'm guilty before God and no matter what I do whether it's baptism or church membership or even if I'm a preacher nothing avails except faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ nothing and without this faith it is impossible to please God having been made a partaker of the divine nature of God are you a partaker of this divine nature of God oh what we live at such an opportunity such an opportunity the saints in the Old Testament they didn't have what we have today they didn't have it they lived by faith they continued to live by faith not receiving the promise we have at least received a down payment of the promise Amen we received a down payment of the promise when we believed something happened God came His word is written on my heart His divine nature explodes within me and I can't help myself anymore Hallelujah I'm pressed to do what is right I have power to live for God that's what the new birth is all about that's what saving faith is all about this true faith in this true faith we cannot stand still but with humble fasting praying and supplication in the spirit no it's not all it's not over when you get born again that is just the beginning that's just the beginning so we through humble prayer humility prayer and fasting prayer supplicating in the spirit we must plead for help ask God for assistance and new strength in all divine virtues unto the end in order that God may strengthen and preserve us in the same some may fall away many start out let's look at the parable of the sower I think I want to look at the one in Luke I don't know if I can find it right away well we can look at Matthew 13 I know that's where it is someone know where it is in the book of Luke? 8? let's look at Luke 8 verse 5 a sower went out to sow his seed and he sowed some fell by the wayside it was trodden down the fowls of the air devoured it some fell upon a rock as soon as it was sprung up it withered away because it lacked moisture some fell along thorns and a thorn sprang up with it and choked it other fell on good ground sprang up and bear fruit and hundredfold when he had said these things he cried he that had ears to hear let him hear his disciples asked him saying what might this parable be? and he said unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God but to others in parables that seeing they might not see and hearing they might not understand now the parable is this the seed is the word of God those by the wayside are they that hear then cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of their hearts lest they should believe and be saved now it is possible that the devil is here this morning taking away the seed taking away the word as it is preached because hearing comes by faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God and the picture here is that when the word of God is preached it's likened unto a man who goes out sowing seed and some of the seed falls by the wayside and he says that is what happens when the word of God is preached he says the devil comes and takes away the word as it is preached he takes away the word out of their hearts lest they should believe and be saved now I wonder is there any devil here this morning that is reaching down into your heart as the word of God is coming and taking that word out and simply saying you don't need this that's pretty explicit isn't it that's pretty clear lest they should be saved lest they should believe well I would I hope that everyone here is listening carefully and if you are not born again I pray that you keep your heart open that you allow the word of God to come into the heart and that you would not be of such as is in verse 12 there they on the rock the second one is some of the seeds fall on the rock are they which when they hear receive the word with joy and these have no root which for a while believe and in time of temptation fall away here we have a picture of some seeds that fall upon the rock the word of God falls upon some certain hearts you might say and those they with joy receive it does that mean that they've gotten saved I think it's that picture with joy oh great joy but when temptation comes they fall away because their heart is not prepared the soil was not deep enough it's too shallow shallow Christianity just a little thin layer of soil on top of a rock shallow Christianity maybe it's because they're looking trying to find see what they can get out of Christianity instead of seeing what they can do to serve God I would say that would be very likely I believe there are many people who are at the burden down with sin they're burdened with the guilt of their life and they want a relief they want enough relief so they can continue on their sin and they try many things and finally someone comes along and shares the word of God with them and encourages them to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and they believe and they expect good things and maybe the preacher told them that if they get saved they can go to heaven that's a nice thing to want but that's not the purpose of salvation Jesus came to save sinners he said they should call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins verse 14 that which fell among thorns are they which when they heard go forth they begin and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection this is the picture of someone who gets saved and begins to walk begins to live it out and down the road maybe 5, 10, 15, 20 years things begin to happen and what are they? cares riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection that's a very real thing in America, isn't it? saving faith saved it's a picture that we must go on salvation is just the beginning to get saved is just the beginning but oh my it's a wonderful, wonderful beginning and it's the power of God that keeps us and that presses us on that takes us on down the road and it says he keeps us also but let's look at the fifth in verse 15 and then it says but that on the good ground are they which in an honest good heart having heard the word keep it and bring forth fruit with patience now very clearly it makes a distinction here honest and good heart I want to say if you have an honest and good heart and your heart is open to hear and to receive the word of God you're in a good place because the word of God is like a seed and when it's planted it begins to grow that's the picture what are some of the marks of saving faith what are some of the things that we look for in people's lives how do we know if someone is born again do we just guess at that no we have ways it's very evident when you have someone whose life is totally changed it's very evident and it's a beautiful thing and I praise God for that let's look at a few things that let's look at some marks of the new birth here this morning we want to look at what it is what the marks are what to look for but also before that I want to look at some of what it's not first I want to say it is not again baptism it is not church membership it is not communion it is not even prayer it is not by doing good things it is not by doing bad things it is not by being born in any specific religion whether that be Catholic or Amish or Mennonite it is not by clothes it is not of works in other words what I'm saying by that you can view someone getting baptized that in itself does not show and in itself does not prove that the person is saved I've watched many people get baptized who weren't saved you could at the community table and look at all the people who are partaking that doesn't prove that they are Christians either you could go to a church and look at the membership rolls and count all the names but that doesn't prove anything does it? it means they are members of the church but it doesn't say that they are saved you could go to the house of prayer you could watch people pray and see does prayer prove that you are saved? no it doesn't you could watch people when they do lots of good things you could see people doing good and does that prove that they are saved? no that doesn't prove that you are saved either maybe we could look at people who are wearing the right kind of clothes modest clothes head covering does that show that they are saved? does it? no it doesn't no matter what kind of clothes you wear that doesn't prove that you are saved because salvation is not of works less than a man should boast now when people are truly saved they will do good works they will want to cover their body they will want to be baptized and they should be baptized they are commanded to be baptized they should be good, solid up building members in the body of Christ in the local church they should partake in communion and they should daily spend time in prayer they should be doing lots of good things they should be totally turned away from doing evil things that's all true but what really is it? what are the marks that we should look for? I think I've shared many of them already but we should look for a changed life a changed life I still remember the great joy of being changed, hallelujah after having wrestled and struggled and tried for so long, so hard to change and to be good to stop being angry and all those things to have that change in my life overnight was exuberating to say the least exhilarating to say the least it was tremendous when God came into my heart and life and changed me overnight the anger was totally gone the lust problem was gone the bitterness, hatred all those things cleansed and washed in the blood of Jesus my neighbor who I couldn't love that man that I couldn't get along with no problem anymore my critical attitude of some people who didn't quite make the grade didn't matter I loved all men I loved all men yes, praise God a changed life, that is surely a mark of salvation saving faith I'm so glad that I didn't have to learn how to be a Christian like it would be to become a Muslim or a Buddhist or a Hindu it would take a long time to learn how to be a proper Muslim but it only takes it doesn't take time, it just takes God and when God comes into your heart and life you are a Christian you act like a Christian because you are one praise God another mark very clearly is the victory over sin sin no longer has its hold on my life sin no longer is dominating in my life that's a wonderful, wonderful thing to realize suddenly, to wake up to suddenly come to the realizing fact that after repentance and confession and the power of God, the Holy Ghost coming into my own heart and life there was power over sin now when temptation came and stood up in front of me I could simply turn away just walk the other way there was power over temptation there was victory over sin does that mean I didn't sin again? no, not necessarily does that mean that everybody is totally delivered from the power of sin when they get saved? no, does that mean that if you're here today and you're listening to this message that you have some area that you might be struggling with that you're not a Christian or not been totally saved? no, that's not exactly what that means but I want to tell you it is possible to have victory over sin in every area because of the divine nature that is dwelling inside printed on your heart changing you, taking you drawing you away from earthly lust and taking you to heavenly things that's the reality of saving faith and the divine nature and the power of God working in the heart and life day in and day out when you get born again well, did I get born again? well, I got born again in the last three years no, I don't think so it doesn't take a baby three years to be born it takes a moment and the new birth is illustrated that way it is a birth it is either you are born or you're not born at least not for very long I remember delivering one of our babies and it was half born for about a minute or so but it didn't stay that way it was soon born and when the baby was born there was a noise there was a cry made and that's what happens when someone is born in the Spirit of God they are changed they come into a whole new realm can you imagine remembering what it would be like in the womb of your mother darkness and so forth you can't see and all of a sudden you're born you come out to where it's light I think a little story of the groundhogs and how the groundhogs were living these baby groundhogs were living down inside their home in the ground and one day the mother groundhog took this one baby groundhog outside to see the world for the first time and there was a whole new totally that baby groundhog had no idea how big the world was it was a whole new realm that that baby had never seen and that's the way it is if you get born again your eyes are open to the realm of the kingdom of God a kingdom which you never knew was there before you might have heard about it but you never could see it but it says except the man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God when I got born again my spiritual eyes were open and there was a whole new dimension was opened up that I had never seen before enough to take my breath away hallelujah another mark of the new birth is joy hallelujah there is joy not happiness not gladness not laughter but joy joy is in the heart joy is deep down at the very seat the very root the very foundation and that joy is there because God has put it there it's a gladness it is a you might even be laughing it is a gladness but it's deeper than all those joy is at the foundation at the root and when you get this saving faith into your heart in life there will be joy now you may be sitting here this morning you might not feel like you have any joy anyone need joy this morning? I know I need joy this morning I know I do so am I saying that if you don't have any joy you're not saved? no, that's not what I'm saying but I do know that when you do get saved there is great joy there is peace and there is love love of God there is a testimony of having been in sin there is a testimony that I was a sinner now I'm saved that's the testimony of one who has been saved you can testify that the burden of sin rolled away you can speak about the guilt that is all gone and you can speak about the love of God that has been shed abroad in your heart which makes you want to just love everybody and it gives you a deep concern for the souls of men around one of the marks of saving faith is that you love souls you long for souls to get right with God you long to see others come to know the Savior that's one of the marks of being born again you are willing to be transparent you are not hiding anymore the word of God comes alive turn to 1 Peter chapter 1 1 Peter 1 the word of God if the baby is born and it's not hungry for milk something is probably wrong, right? if that baby is born it might not want to drink milk for the first hour or two, but if that baby doesn't want milk for the next day or two, something is wrong it's sick maybe it's been born premature I don't know 1 Peter chapter 1 let's begin in verse 18 for as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain or empty walk of life which you received by tradition from your fathers well, that speaks to the religious crowd, doesn't it? you are not redeemed by those things you are not redeemed by those your vain, empty traditions and religions you are not redeemed by those things you are not redeemed by silver and gold not redeemed with corruptible things but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without splenish, without spot who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world this was ordained of God before the world was made but was manifest in these last times for you and for us, for me who by him do believe, we do believe not sometime will who by him do believe in God that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory that your faith and hope might be in God seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently this the picture of someone who through the Spirit has love one for another verse 23 being present tense being born again being born again not of corruptible seed but of an incorruptible by the word of God which lives and abides forever, this is the incorruptible seed, this is the word of God which lives and abides forever if you have not been born again of the word of God then you are yet in your flesh you are yet in your sin, you yet have no eternal life within you and if you die, then you will die and go back to the earth but there is no eternal life there you must be born of the Spirit of God if you want to have eternal life, there is no other way ye must be born again accept amen, be born again verse 23 being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of God which lives and abides forever when the word of God is preached receive it in your heart, open your heart to receive the word of God and take it into your heart like the seeds in the sower, allow that word of God to begin to grow in your heart allow the Holy Ghost to speak to you, let the Spirit of God bring conviction there into your heart for all flesh is as grass this is why you need it, because all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man is in the flower of grass man in his very best state that the flower of the grass just falls away it fades away and it's done but the word of the Lord endures forever, this is why we must be born of the word of God, this is why we must be born of the Spirit, this is why we need something else, we need more than just our fleshly birth, if we don't receive the Spirit of God or the word of God within, you see the Spirit of God is eternal, and the word of God is eternal, this is why we must be born again, this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you wherefore laying aside all malice and guile and hypocrisy and enemies and all evil speakings, verse 2, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby, this is a very clear mark of the new birth a deep and strong desire for the word of God that's a clear mark have you ever had that happen to you, or have you never had that happen to you where you had a deep desire for the word of God and the word of God became very very meaningful to you, it opened up though the Bible was kind of dry before I was saved, but when true saving faith came, this word became alive neon lights flashing not quite that way, but really the word of God just kind of jumps off the page at you sometimes, that's what it's supposed to do do you have that kind of hunger and thirst for the word of God, does it minister to you, does it meet you where you are, does it speak into your daily life, and no matter what happened, those first days of being born again, I opened this book, and God was speaking sometimes more or less people who are saved, but in general I would say, one mark of the new birth, is you have a deep desire for the word of God you have a love another mark is that you have a love for the saints you have a love for other brothers and sisters, like was read earlier this morning oh, in 1st John whosoever, with chapter 5 whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God and everyone that loveth Him that begat loveth Him that is begotten of Him verisimply speaking everyone who is born of God loves Him that births Him, which is Christ Jesus and loves everyone else that has been born of Him likewise everyone that is born again, born of God loves other believers now it's sad to my heart when I go to visit someone who is professing they have been born again, they are professing something but there is no love there and there is no communication it's just that my spirit tests his spirit and just hits a wall it's just not a flowing of the spirit, but even when I meet you face to face my physical eyes look at you and I evaluate you and I look at you and I watch your moves and I'm discerning you and I'm trying to read you and I'm trying to figure out who you are what you are doing and what you are saying the same way that my spirit does the same way with your spirit and if your spirit is yet dead in trespass and sin, my spirit is going to fill the block. Do you think you can hide? You can't hide. Hallelujah we love the saints not only do we love the saints but we also love the Savior our love for the Savior is so fresh, so new, so great because of what He has just done I smiled at someone the other day I met a brother who had been saved many, many years ago and he just made a little remark he said, brother I got saved well yes, he did get saved 20 something years ago but you know what, hey, I got saved I can still tell people I got saved I remember how fresh it was when I had just saved yesterday or the day before, just two days ago I was saved while I was still all new and I was just floating along you might say, but I can still say I'm saved. Hallelujah many different ways that this is depicted in the Bible there are so many examples and so many words that are used, such as conversion and saved and changed and quickened, which is being made alive or resurrected from the dead or raised in newness of life and it's called assurance of salvation and I'm called a child of God or a fellow citizen with the saints and I'm of the household of God and my name is written in heaven, the Bible says justified righteous, eternal life everlasting life, converted renewed, translated transformed, circumcised in heart divine nature and a new creature in Christ Jesus it's so full, it's not just tucked away in one little place in the Bible where it talks about the new birth or the change, no, there's many many different words that are used and there's many many different examples that are given so that God wants it to be very very clearly written in His word, so that whosoever will may read it and come to the knowledge that he's a sinner and be saved by the saving faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not hidden it's not in a corner, it's not like you have to go find it somewhere in a lost dark place, no, it's in God's word written all through His book, may I say except ye be born again ye cannot see the King of God if you're not born again if you're not saved you're still in your sins you're still lost and death to you means everlasting destruction and fire and hell are you born again by the Spirit of God how do I get born again you might say, well no, you convinced me I'm lost, what now I would praise God if I could have convinced you that you're lost if you truly are but I want you to really face the fact if you're not sure you should be sure you should be certain, having a sure knowledge knowledge in the mind of a full assurance from the heart and when the full assurance is in the heart that God has wrought this in your life in your heart, there'll be a sure knowledge in your mind an understanding of what God has done because the mind and the heart are very closely tied together how do I get born again repentance except ye repent some men came to Jesus in Luke 13 and they said to him were these men sinners above any others there were some present in Luke 13 verse 1 there were some present that season that told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices I'm not sure what that all speaks of, but Pilate had taken some Galileans, killed them, taken their blood and mingled it with their sacrifices that was a historical fact Jesus answered said to them, suppose ye that those Galileans were sinners above all the other Galileans because they suffered such things I tell you nay, but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish or what about those eighteen, now Jesus tells another story that we all know and what about those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and slew them think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem, I tell you nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish and so repentance except ye repent ye shall perish repentance is the missing word in America's gospel repentance is the missing word in America's gospel, what does repentance mean I remember the minister where I was growing up speaking in German Tooth Boosie Tooth Boosie, do repentance or repent is what it means I heard that, and there was a song a song in one of those brown German song books that we used to use and that in there was a song that was a song of repentance and every verse began with Tooth Boosie I'm sure that is a powerful song but you know what it didn't mean much to me it wasn't effective in my life how does a man get born again there must be repentance from sin there must be confession I say sometimes we have a marvelous wonderful opportunity a man can be living a life of sin for many many years and in a few short moments he can open the hole in his face his mouth, use his tongue and confess his sins that have accumulated for many many years and in a few short moments he can confess his sins and his sinfulness and be born again and while the devil may have taken years to just wind him tighter and tighter with sin that man can through his own choice and will open his mouth, confess his sin and the devil has to flee we have a wonderful advantage, hallelujah it is because of the power of Jesus Christ who finished the work on the cross he died on the cross, shed his blood and we through faith in him can be changed and can be born again believing is an active thing, active faith towards God how does this come about? how does it actually happen? what must I do? maybe I realize that I'm not saved maybe you hear this message and you realize that you're not saved you can't identify with a changed life, you can't identify with the power of sin gone you can't identify with a new life in Christ you can't identify with the divine nature of God coming down into your heart and life and changing you so much in one moment and you recognize that maybe I'm not born again is it true that you really can know that you can be saved? yes it is true, you really can know and God wants you to know that you're saved, he does want you to know that I want to say that God, it is God that is working in your life God is drawing you except the Father draw no man can be saved and the Father is drawing and the Savior is there waiting with his open arms and the Holy Ghost is there speaking to you convincing you of your sin speaking to you about your sin, speaking to you about righteousness, showing you how righteous what God demands is righteousness and holiness and then he's showing you your sinfulness and your ugliness and showing you how far away you are from that that's what the Holy Ghost is doing conviction, bringing conviction down to the heart and then if you recognize that you are a sinner you recognize that you've missed the mark you recognize that you are lost you recognize that your sins have bound you up and taken you down a wrong road and you recognize that you can't change yourself and you recognize that no matter how often you go to church you can't change yourself how can I be changed? this is the saving faith we're talking about there is a change that needs to take place get on your knees and begin to confess your sins and confess your sinfulness God says all have sin and come short of the glory of God all, that includes me, that includes you and God says that the wages of sin is death but he also says the gift of God is everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord God has already given the gift and when you acknowledge that you are a sinner and you've sinned and you're lost and you're on your way to hell then you can by faith look at Jesus on the cross who suffered who took away, who died for your sins, you can look at Jesus Christ on the cross and give your sins to him confess your sins out loud doesn't matter who is around you confess your sins and acknowledge that you are a sinner just like that man who went down to the temple to pray, the Pharisee and the public and went to pray and the Pharisee was very proud and he didn't see his need of a savior, but the sinner the publican said God be merciful to me, a sinner that man saw that he was lost that man saw he needed a savior and he asked God to save him and Jesus said that man went down justified wow justified meaning all his sins have been washed away in the blood of Christ Jesus that's what the word justified means it means there is no more guilt that can be held against me I'm free this is something that happens momentarily this is something that can happen in a few moments just during bible school this last week and a half ago, I was counseling one evening with a young man, he was on his knees, he was crying he was weeping, he was he saw his sinfulness he was on his knees, he was just blubbering like a baby, you know the snot was rolling out of his nose and the tears running out of his face and he couldn't find enough tissues but he just wept his way to the foot of the cross and there he found the savior that's what happens, you can do that you can be saved today you can lay down tonight on your pillow and have a full certain knowledge of assurance of salvation because Jesus Christ has paid the price shed his blood died for me died for you, and if you by faith believe in him, not in some works, not in some decree not in some church rules and regulations but in what Jesus Christ did on the cross, he took upon himself my sin, he became the substitute for me he took my place, I'm the one that belongs on the cross, I'm the one that's worthy of death, I'm the one that should die I'm the one that needs to shed my blood for my sins, but Jesus took my place and I'm placing my faith and trust in him, that is what saving faith is all about and that's how a man gets saved, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ not of works that any man should boast humble yourself in the sight of God, lay aside every sin hiding nothing as you have received Christ Jesus, so walk ye saving faith, yes saving faith is there in the beginning, but a saving faith is a continuing faith that continues, and goes on and on and on, daily down until the end, until you die, and you meet Jesus Christ, then you no longer need faith because then it will be by sight and yes we can fail of the grace of God we can lose that salvation which we once had we can lose that faith and determine to go the other way and live in sin that's possible but it's also possible to be kept by the power of God unto salvation, unto the day of redemption, it is possible that God, it will be hard for you to turn away from a true salvation experience, it will be hard for you if you turn away from that, I tell you your life will be hard for you, very hard now the Spirit's people expressed that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, there are some who are going to depart from the faith like that parable in Luke some believed for a while and in time of temptation they fell away Peter speaks of false prophets who bring in damnable heresies, denying the Lord that bought them the Lord said to Moses whosoever has sinned against me him will I blot out of the book of life and so if your name has been written in the Lamb's book of life it is possible it can be blotted out may that never happen to any of you but rather may the grace of God abide in your heart and abound towards you that you may walk in His fullness, having understanding and knowledge growing into the fullness of Christ and experiencing the blessings of the Christian, true Christian faith, day in and day out, every day of your life being an example and a testimony everywhere you go saving faith not vain or hidden it is manifested by the life of Christ within it is real and true, it avails before God, it's the sure knowledge of the heart, sure confidence which we receive from God, none of ourselves receiving the gift from God, and by that this works so effectually in us that we are drawn away by this power of God to the invisible, to the living God, drawing us away from that which is visible, earthly, sensual, pleasures and giving us a new spiritual taste for that which is heavenly and taking away that which is earthly, saving faith accompanied with hope and love is of such a nature that it conforms to things not seen we believe in things we don't see, and where this true faith is alive the fruits of the Holy Spirit will be there true faith cannot stand still but it moves on serves, works, changes, continually changing us into the image of Christ may God add his blessing to his word, that word I pray it would be deep in the heart, not have fallen on any road or any rocks or among thorns, but rather on hearts that are open hearts that are prepared may God add his blessing think of what brother Joe shared in the children's lesson are you pumping this morning are you pumping, or is it like Christ said, he that believeth on me out of his belly shall flow forth rivers of living water where's your heart at this morning maybe you're one of those who is trying to live the Christian life you're trying in your own strength and you're pumping there's no living water coming forth there's no flow maybe you feel like you're getting a few trickles at times I know what that's like even in my Christian life sometimes reverting to not resting in faith and just kind of beginning to pump the rest leaves, the peace leaves at times you know I felt like I do have peace and joy but it ebbs away because there's just a trickle coming forth and it doesn't satisfy so where are you at this morning, is there that river of living water flowing out of your life because of Christ and his life within you where are you at with Christ I'd like to have a song of invitation maybe there's someone here this morning who is not saved, maybe there's someone here who who you recognize you've been pumping or maybe you've maybe you're living a careless life of sin also, maybe you're in the other ditch of just not caring, living in sin living it up, living for the flesh, the world and the devil so I plead with you, this was a clear gospel message, very clear showing us that Christ is the answer, showing us that behold like John said, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world behold the Lamb this morning that is able to take away the sin of your heart and produce in you a river of living water a river, just as I am without one plea but that thy blood was shed for me and that thou bid'st me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come I come come to Christ this morning, let's sing that song in page 820 come to the foot of the cross and receive forgiveness and your sins taken away and a river of living water flowing out of you, springing up within you unto everlasting life brother Tim, could you lead us in that song I am without thy blood was shed for me and that thou bid'st me come to thee O Lamb of God I come ...not to rid my soul of one dark blot, this morning you know where you're at, you know if your soul has a dark blot, you know if you have sin in your heart and you need to be cleansed through the blood of Christ, the only thing the only element that can cleanse your heart and soul from sin, through faith go ahead Tim I am to rid my soul to thee whose blood I'd just like to read a verse in Isaiah chapter 53 verse 4 verse 5 says but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities but verse 4 says surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted you know verse 4 here that we're about to sing in the song here it says just as I am poor, wretched, blind, sight rich is healing of the mind yea all I need in thee to find O Lamb of God I come, I come maybe this morning you're one of those also who is carrying grief and sorrow and need healing in your life Jesus not only came to bear our to bear our sins and transgressions but he also bore our griefs and carried our sorrows maybe this morning you need healing in your emotional life or and because of what sin has done you're also welcome to respond he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows as I am poor sight rich is healing of the mind yea all I need in thee to find O Lamb of God I come for your transgressions there on the cross of the Holy Ghost yea O Lamb of God I come I come just as I am thy love unknown have broken every barrier down down to be thine yea thine alone O Lamb of God I come I come alright does sister want to take this sister aside for the love of Christ you know I just I'm so thankful for God's love for me and my you know that song just touches my heart that verse that I read on in verse 4 of the song just says I am poor wretched blind sight rich is healing of the mind yea all I need in thee I find O Lamb of God I come I come you know that I needed healing of the mind and I still do I still am resting in that in Christ for His complete healing in that area but you know I find that that rest is so beautiful that rest of faith just resting that He is my all in all He is all that I need as I rest in Him His righteousness comes through His healing power His grace His sufficiency you can name it and maybe we can have some testimonies on that line what Christ means to you and has done for you and has what His life is to you as you rest in Him from day to day and His life comes through in its sufficiency and power and anointing so can we get the mics and just lift your just lift your hand we'll get a mic to you and you can share God lays on your heart up in the front here Robert or Arlen Brother Jeff Keene any others get your hands up or go ahead Merle I saw there's a song that says I never grow weary of hearing it told that precious story of love and I just have been so blessed this last week at Bible school in the evenings simple gospel preaching and then this morning and I don't know maybe I'm just so simple but that is more encouraging to me than any sermon on encouragement that's more motivating to me than any mission message on reaching out I just need to hear that gospel story how God saved me and keeps saving me you know I was thinking this morning that there's a lot of things you can counterfeit Brother Joe was saying in the children's lesson about how sometimes it's difficult to tell you know if somebody is working something up or you know if it's at living water but I just as I look around and as I read the word it seems very difficult to copy the fruit of the spirit in reality and I connected with one thing Brother Emmanuel said this morning he said it's just like explodes inside of you, you can't help yourself and I believe that if that water isn't flowing in a believer's life we need to find out what's hindering it, why? That should be normal normal Christianity and if when it's time for testimonies we don't just have to choose to be quiet that Sunday choose not to talk, something's wrong, something's wrong that that river isn't flowing something's wrong that our heart isn't connecting with our mouth, something's wrong that when people are getting right with the Lord we aren't weeping too, something's wrong something's wrong when that love of God is preached preached about and we can just sit there in coldness and indifference just say yeah that's true but it doesn't affect us and I know there's different temperaments and different emotional make-ups but something's wrong if we aren't excited about so great a salvation and I just thank God for simple preaching, God bless you Brother Emmanuel maybe it's tempting sometimes in this church with so much teaching to not preach that but I think we need to hear it often we need to hear it many times that simple story of love so I just bless God and praise Him for this morning and thank Him that He still keeps saving us and He has given us His divine nature and we have all things that we need, all things that pertain to life and Godliness thank you Jesus I was just blessed this morning how the song service and the opening message and the main message just flowed together centered around really one central theme that is the love of God and experiencing the love of God even Brother Emmanuel your comments I say amen too in light of the invitation, the song healing of mind is something that's ongoing we need that constant communion with God, that sense of the one who made me lives is inside me and loves me that brings healing, that brings settling, that brings fellowship with the invisible God I was impressed at Bible school I wasn't there for the presentation of the message but it was Patrick Waldner speaking about the dangers of visual entertainment you know if what we've heard this morning, the theme that came out through the singing and the opening and the main message if what we've heard is the basis of Christianity that it only makes sense that Satan's goal is going to be to snatch that from us by a counterfeit and his counterfeit I believe can be summarized in one well two words false comforters if the Holy Spirit is the comforter, if his presence is what sustains us and keeps our mind stayed on God, then Satan is going to do his level best to introduce to the Christian false comforters and it might be anything from esteem you feel as a man on the job site to earthly treasures I remember even brother Paul Lloyd and I were talking once he shared an illustration of an evangelist who was unusually handsome but he lacked anointing in his ministry, had a love for God an intellectual understanding, traveled around the country and someone took him aside and said why don't you fast from looking in the mirror he took a great comfort and confidence from his appearance boy when that fast began he began to be comforted by the Lord I thought that was an interesting illustration, there could be a number of false comforters, Satan knows each of us, he knows what we need and what we may have learned to turn to before we got saved or even after we're saved I doubt seriously that there is anybody who would die for an intellectual faith, but every one of us would die for the love of Jesus Christ that presence, that unconditional acceptance, God is with me we would die for that, that is the essence of Christianity well that's made known to us through the comforter so Satan comes and introduces false comforters, it might be food reaching for they talk about comfort foods there's just any number of false comforters I like how Peter summarizes it I am especially blessed by the few letters the few words that we have from Peter he was a family man the scriptures say he knew the challenges of being a father and a husband and he had a job it says here in 1 Peter chapter 2 dearly beloved, these are people who are dearly beloved, who experience God's dear love, I beseech you as strangers in pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts, we could call those false comforts the Greek word there means strong desires I beseech you abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul and we may have been Christians for a number of years but we've got to learn to fight that battle against those lusts that want to come in and push the spirit out and we lose that sense of God's presence and God's blessing and we start to wither and fade and even question our very salvation so may we learn to fight the good fight and allow as brother Joe said the spirit to flow, that will flow there's no work in that that's not the good fight the good fight is resisting these false comforters I just want to take this opportunity to bless the congregation here my home congregation many of you prayed for me over the four years while I was on the mission field I want to thank you for that and some of you have continued to pray for me these last six months that I've been home some of you sisters have opened up your hearts and shared with me and that's a real blessing I'm thankful for each one of you sometimes you might feel that you're not important or you're not needed here but each one of you is important to another sister I just want to encourage you to be a blessing to another sister where you're needed I just ask you to continue to pray for me the adjustments aren't always easy and sometimes I feel like I'm not learning the lessons God wants me to learn as fast as I should be learning them but I'm thankful for his patience with me and for his grace his grace has been sufficient it is sufficient and it will be sufficient God bless you all I've really been blessed this morning Brother Tim's selection of the songs and then Aaron teaching on the love of God and then also the teaching on salvation of God one verse that stood out for me here is Luke 8 verse 12 God brought to my remembrance testimony that on a trip we had we went as a family and shared with a cousin and he had professed to be born again and he received us with open arms when we walked into his house and as we were sharing there he just sat at the edge of his seat you know as we were sharing but it soon became evident that he had gotten some light but he had not made the commitment to serve God and to go all the way but we were there a couple of hours sharing with him and he was getting very close he was getting convicted and all that as we were sharing I asked him do you want to ask the Lord into your heart we could go to a room away from your children here and pray you can do that tonight or right now you can get right with God you can have all that and as he was just sitting there and thinking about what I said and what it would mean to go out with us to that room and pray I could see the devil snatching away what we had just shared with him he just started thinking well I still like sports I still love my sports what would that mean then I still like to have a sociable drink and he went on with a whole list of things I still want to do I still like to do and as we were watching it almost seems like the devil was putting those things right into his heart and at the end he was just saying some other time I don't think I want to do this and we left there so sad and before that time he had always been open to us he had always wanted us to see us but we've run into him a couple of times ever since and that relationship is gone he made a choice God is putting that choice before us and every time I see him now he's just always avoiding me he'll be somewhat friendly but never like he was before so it's a choice like brother Denny was sharing last couple of Sundays ago I want to go on a message that add to your faith and all the list of things we need to add and it's a choice in our lives Thank you Jerry What a difference between a life of full surrender and a life that that refuses to surrender last night I was at The Voice of the Martyrs I don't know if any of you get that newsletter but I've seen a presentation that they gave and it was so good I was just convicted in my heart of the need to share the gospel the love that those people have going into their Islamic into Islamic areas where they know they may die for their faith one of them there was one young man in Korea who escaped and went over into China I think it was North Korea where the speaker said they face horrible persecution he even refused to share what it was last evening because he said it's just with the children here it's too horrific to share this young man went into China and married a young woman there and he had so much love for his family and his people he was planning to go back into North Korea to share the gospel knowing that he might face horrible torture and persecution it just convicted me a life of full surrender how needed that is in our day and what a difference when the heart is fully surrendered and what a difference when it refuses to surrender going after the things and the pleasures of this world and a heart that is fully surrendered to the cause of Christ and His Kingdom