This sermon emphasizes the importance of genuine heart change and discipleship, cautioning against mere superficial professions of faith without evidence of transformation. It highlights the need for a fundamental shift in desires and actions, leading to a life change that reflects true discipleship. The speaker challenges the congregation to examine their lives and ensure that their faith is not just lip service but is accompanied by obedience and a commitment to follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

I think we dilute what it means to be a disciple from the beginning, and we want to give people an assurance. All right, you're saved. You said it. You raised your hand. All right, you're saved. Without really letting some time be there, not where they have to prove their salvation or earn their salvation, but letting some time be there to see, yeah, has there been a heart change? Like, is the spirit of God in this person? I don't want to tell somebody as a pastor or just as a brother or sister, I mean, I love a person enough to say, hey, we'll wait and see. George Whitefield, preacher, Great Awakenings, thousands and thousands of people at a time, he'd be asked after he preached to thousands of people, how many people were saved? And he said, we'll see six months or a year from now. And that's so different from today. We're like, oh, we had this many, or this, and he's not saying, well, they got to earn their salvation in the next six months, and let's wait and see. And as people have a heart change, then I think they'll genuinely, when they read the commands in Scripture, they'll say, I want to obey these, how do I obey these? And there'll be a desire there, as opposed to what we often find ourselves doing, and that's saying, oh, do this, do this, do this, and people walk away like the rich young ruler that you talked about earlier. Okay, I feel bad, I'm not going to do that, and there's just not been a fundamental heart change that then leads to life change and new purpose, new mind, new dreams, new passions, that really feeds into a desire to make the gospel known. Like, I think about Heather and I, my wife, and you know our family story, and for years, we wanted to have kids, and we had this desire for kids, but the Lord wasn't providing that in the way we had hoped. He's ended up providing in ways that we never could have imagined, but fundamentally, there was a part of us that had a desire to create life, that had a desire to see life come from us, and that's just natural, and the fact that that wasn't happening was saying there's something wrong. Sorry to go a little crass here, but if reproduction isn't happening, then what? There's something physically, biologically, that needs to be addressed. Well, if reproduction is not happening in a Christian's life, like, there's something wrong at the core here. Like, there's something that needs to be addressed, and because being a disciple involves making disciples, I mean, that's always been there. From the beginning of Matthew to the end of Matthew, it's just clear, so if we're not making disciples, are we really disciples? That's a huge question, and we've got to ask, and we've got to look at and either drive us to say, okay, maybe we're not disciples, which may be a large percentage of folks, or, okay, maybe I'm a disciple, and this is an area where I must obey, and not because I have to, but because the Spirit of Christ in me compels me to, and because this is life, and this is joy, and this is what Christian life is all about, and I don't want to miss that, and I don't want the people that I've pastored to miss that, and, yeah, this is where it's found. I love it, because we're quick to make statements, grand statements, like, I give you my life, and I think that's what Whitefield was saying, right? Yeah, right. Let's see it, just like Jesus would say, he didn't entrust himself to these men, because he knew what was in their hearts, people, Hosanna, blessed be, that means nothing, you know, I mean, how many times do you see that in scriptures, like, you say this, but, you call me Lord, but why do you call me Lord when you don't do what I ask you, like, big deal, you call me Lord, confess me as Lord, but you're not doing what I, what kind of master am I, and so it's this, it's like, I've done it where it's like, man, I'm going to start, I am going to get in shape, I'm going to run every day this year, you know, I'll say something like that, then six months later, or six days later, I'll say, did he really mean what he said, and I think I see that in scriptures, like, you know, the fruit will show, you know, if the tree's for real, it's going to bear fruit, you'll see the action, but we want to make those statements, and we're not following up, and we're deceiving ourselves, I was thinking about this the other day, you know, how James talks about how we can be hearers of the word, but not doers, and so we're deceiving ourselves, because we're listening and listening, and amen, amen, amen, but we're not doing it, and, you know, Satan is the father of lies, he loves deception, he loves to deceive people, but I think in a lot of ways, he's very happy with what he sees in a lot of gatherings, because they're like, I don't even need to work there, they're deceiving themselves, they're going there, you know, hearing a message, amening, and not doing it, they're deceiving themselves, I think Satan's actually very pleased, I want to be careful with it, based on what I see in scripture, I think there are times when he's pleased that the word of God is preached, and not obeyed, and that deception is going on, because that's his MO, that's what he loves to do, he loves to deceive, and so if there's a bunch of people thinking they're following God, because they're going, oh yeah, I heard a really tough message by David Platt the other day, you know, I heard this, I got so convicted, I walked away, I even walked away sad, me and my friends, we even cried, you know, it's just like this, yes, we did it, and I really think the enemy's going, oh, this is great, this is great, they're not, when Jesus was about repent, like, let me see you turn, John the Baptist, repent, let me see you turn, Peter, repent, you know, it's turn, turn, turn, and we're all about feel bad, make a grand statement, and I think Satan's actually pleased with that. That's huge, because the more we do that, the more our hearts are hardened, the more our hearts are content with that, the more we just drift into, okay, this is the way it is, and the deception, that's dangerous, it's damning, like that is. It is, and we walk away going, man, we did it, you see, there were 5,000 people there, and they were all convicted, and thinking we did something, or that there was a victory, when I think we'll be surprised that it's really the enemy going, oh, that's great, look at, they're even cheering for themselves, but no one's repenting. Right, you know, that's one of the things, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, especially after writing what you did in Crazy Love, because when I think about what I was writing about in Radical, it's kind of, all right, let's see the idols in our culture, and the American dream that we hold on to, but what I found in kind of hearing response from people was people feeling bad for that, and then saying, okay, and maybe even doing something kind of sporadic, okay, oh, okay, well, I'm going to sell this, I'm going to do this, I'm going to change this, but then not really, okay, not just what I'm going to let go of, but who am I going to hold on to, am I going to hold on to Jesus, am I going to follow Jesus, and otherwise, I don't know, I just feel like there can be an emptiness in, yeah, it's exactly what you're talking about, in feeling a conviction about this or that, and so I don't want to just say, well, we need to let go of these things, and leave it at that, no, we need to let go, and we need to hold on to Christ, and we need to cling to Christ, and we need to follow Christ, and we need to obey Christ, and let's look at what he says, and let's do it.