In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of surrendering one's life to Jesus in order to receive eternal life. He uses the example of a religious man who approached Jesus and asked what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Despite having the right intentions and knowledge, the man was unwilling to give up his earthly treasures and lifestyle. The preacher warns against having a double life and emphasizes the need for genuine repentance and obedience to God's will. He encourages the audience to seek the truth from the Word of God rather than relying on others' interpretations.

Well, I'm convinced of one thing for sure, and that's that the foes of the Church are not as bad on the outside as they are on the inside today. The greatest enemies of the Church throughout history many times have come from right within the ranks of the Church. You know, we face perilous times. There are guns and guillotines and all these things threatening us. But sometimes we need to realize that we live in a day of deception concerning the truth of God's Word. There's a great deception going on. And the Bible warned us that in the last days that there would be those who would have a form of godliness and deny the truth of that and not experience the power. They'd be seducing spirits, doctrines of demons, rationally thought out, cleverly put together spiritual things that would lead many astray. It said there'd be many who would corrupt the Word of God, that evil people would wax worse and worse, and that people would be hearers and not doers, and people would have itching ears and there'd be plenty around to scratch them right where they itch. But God's faithful. You see, he's shaking the world. And a lot of what we're feeling on every side is God shaking that which can be shaken so that what can't be shaken will be shown to be real and genuine. That's what's happening in our lives. There's a lot of mixture in people's lives, and God is showing us what's for real, what will last and what won't last. And so I want to look in God's word tonight for two reasons, because in a group like this, many of us may have a mixture of theology in our own mind that the Lord wants to address and by the Holy Spirit have us look into the word and see if it's right. And secondly, because we need to be saying the proper things to our friends and loved ones as we share the gospel, because we are accountable for what we share. We've got to soak ourselves in God's word. So I'm going to give a lot of scripture tonight, and I want us to prove ourselves whether we really be in the faith or not. You know, we all come from a lot of different backgrounds. Some here are Baptist or Methodist or Pentecostal or non-Pentecostal, whatever you are, you may feel a lot differently about certain things than somebody else here. But, you know, if you've never seen truly for yourself from the word of God, what God is really saying, you may have just had what someone else has told you over and over and over again. You know, the human mind always supplies its own ideas about things or people that it's never seen or known. For example, perhaps you've heard a person's voice on the radio a lot of times and you've never seen their face. And if you hear him over and over and over again, hello there. You know, this big voice, you know, very polished and you and you think it's some, you know, big athletic guy, you know, with tan and, you know, just the envy of all the guys. And you finally see the guy and he looks like a toad. You know, I mean, it's amazing. I mean, it's just amazing. But you see, without trying, here's what happens. We began to put on to something. We hear an image and we began to think that that's what it's like. And I remember going to conferences and having people come up to me and say, are you out? I said, yeah, he said, man, I don't think you look anything what I thought you'd look like. I've heard your I've heard your tapes and I thought you'd be tall and handsome and look at you, you know. But there's a there's a hum in this thing, I can't it's going to drive me nuts if you don't get it out, sorry. But you see, many times when we see the real person that we've got an image in our mind, then it's not what's really there. We'll see a real person. And you know what will happen? We won't even believe the reality. We'll sit there and we'll rebel against what we thought they were like. I mean, we'll have it pictured. I may write somebody a lot and I finally meet him and I say, I don't like the way you really look. I don't like the way you really are. I want you to be like I believed you were. Well, you see, the contrast is so sharp we can't give up the imagery in our mind. And you see, we do the same thing with God. You hear a favorite preacher over and over and over again, and I'm not saying anything about your favorite preacher, but I'm saying to the degree that he agrees with the scripture is a degree to which you should listen to him, to the degree that I say that are built tonight or anybody else's degree that you've got to listen to them. And you see, what happens is that what we we believe about God from the perceptions, if we don't have a deep experience of him personally and intimately, then we get secondhand information like Job. The best man on Earth didn't know that deep experience with God intimately. And he cried out at the end of his book. He said, God, I have heard of you by the hearing of my ear. But now my eye sees you and I repent, in other words, of all the wrong ideas and what can happen to you and me, brother. We can have an idea of God that we like because it fits into what we are used to or what we've been told. And it's comfortable. And what happens is we don't want anybody to change it, but it's perilous to have that kind of thing. Failure to know the Bible, God, as he is, leaves us man centered. And we will be undisturbed. They will go on having a form of godliness that may work quite well until we speak, until we stand face to face with God. And then it's a rude awakening. So the great work of the Holy Spirit tonight and every day is to show us God as he is through the scripture. And so tonight he wants to lift our perspective to his. And I trust if if God shows you something new about the Lord Jesus, our theme is knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. I trust that you will be humble enough by the word to say, Lord, thank you, and that you'll adjust. That's what I pray every day. Lord, take away my spiritual lollipops if I have them and change me to what you want. Let me see what you see. Now, I want to begin in Romans chapter 14. If you'll turn to Romans chapter 14 and I want to read verse seven through nine and then I'm going to give you a lot of scripture tonight. And probably you will not be able to keep up with me turning, but you could write them down to read them later. Romans 14, verse seven, for none of us lives to himself and no man dies to himself. Whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end, Christ both died and rose and revived that he might be Lord, both of the dead and the living. That, according to what Paul would write about dead and living, means that Jesus is Lord, not only of the saved. He is Lord of those who aren't living in Christ. He is Lord of the dead. He is Lord of the living and the dead. And this is the end that Christ died and rose and revived. The reason he sends his spirit, the reason he came incarnate was to this goal, that Jesus Christ Lordship might be established over all the earth. And that includes saved people and lost people. You know, the scripture in Philippians two that shows that he is Lord, even of people, that every knee will confess, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the father. The word confessed there means to say under constraint, it doesn't mean willingly like those who love him, those who don't even want to acknowledge him as Lord one day will. Now, let's just pray again. Father, use these words to grip our hearts, to show us that Jesus Christ is Lord and he remains Lord this day. And we have the privilege of coming into that understanding and and letting you change us into that light. Now, make it true in our experience, as well as our theology in Jesus name. Amen. When Peter was preaching on the day of Pentecost, he stood up and he said, this same Jesus, the one that you took with wicked hands and crucified. You need to know this for sure, that God has made this same Lord Jesus, the same Jesus Lord. You see, in that one phrase, he established that father, God has made forever Jesus Lord. We hear people say, well, I've made Jesus Lord. Let me tell you, nobody makes Jesus Lord. Father, God made him Lord when he raised him from the dead. And he is tonight Lord over all the heavens and all the earth. In Second Corinthians, chapter five, listen to what it talks about, about the Lord Jesus and why he died. Second Corinthians, chapter five, verse 15. You probably won't get there before I'm gone. Just listen right down the note. Second Corinthians 515. He died for all that they which live should not henceforth from now on live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. That's the reason that Jesus died so that I wouldn't live for myself anymore, but for him, the Lord Jesus, who died for me and rose again. Now, I want you to imagine for a moment the following incident, the Lord Jesus being Lord of all the earth. And he wants to establish his lordship. This incident I'm going to describe is going to illustrate that. Let's suppose that we lived years ago and there was a certain very powerful king and this great king had the authority and power to do anything he wanted to do. And in his great kingdom, there was a small little section that said, we don't want this king over us anymore. We're tired of him. And so they proclaimed a rebellion. We're not going to have this king to be boss over us anymore. We're out of the kingdom. And at that point, the king could have easily sent his armies and destroyed this little fiefdom and blown it off the map. But in order to show how merciful he was and how good he was as king, that he had mercy as well, that he decided not to destroy this kingdom, but rather he sent messengers to this little town and said, I will not destroy you. I will give you mercy, but you must change your mind. You must come back to the authority of my throne based upon the word of my proclamation of grace. I will give you grace, but you must come back to me. But if you don't come back to me, I want to tell you that I'll come back here in a day very soon and I will destroy all of you who continue to despise the authority of the throne if you defy it by continued rebellion. Now, one of the rebels heard these messengers saying mercy, mercy, and he replied, I'm in no danger. I'm trusting the decree of the king. I mean, after all, he said that he would never break his promise of mercy or withdraw his grace. But, sir, says the messenger, you're in rebellion. You're continuing in the course of action that the king condemns. Mercy is for those who submit to him and trust his grace and mercy. And the rebel says these words to the messenger. Well, that's true. But mercy must be free and grace must be without condition. And if you put conditions on grace, it'll be no more grace. What would you say if you were a messenger in that day to that rebel who continued like that? What would you say to him? I mean, you would say, sir, you're crazy. I mean, you're absolutely crazy to that reasoning. Well, this is, in a bottom line effect, what many people in our day are saying, in effect, when they profess to trust Jesus Christ as their savior from the penalty of sin while never dealing with the reason for the fact they need a savior. The sin itself, you see, that's what people are doing when they say Jesus Christ is savior while they consciously refuse him as Lord. Now, this is precisely the picture that the Lord Jesus uses in Luke 19. He describes I'm not going to go there. I'm just going to describe it for you about a certain man who went away from his kingdom and he left his servants in charge in Luke 19. And he sent back messengers to find out how things were that were under his authority. And they treated these messengers terribly and beat them up and kicked them out. And the king who had left said, well, I can't figure this out. Maybe if I send my son back, then they will recognize I'm serious about this. And so he sent his son back to this little area and they took his son and treated him despitefully and slew him. Jesus then says, what do you think that King will do when he comes back to that town and deals with them? He says, I will tell you what he will do. He will come and he will say, bring those rebels out before me that didn't want me to rule over them and slay them in my presence. That's the figure that Jesus uses. Well, I want you to go back in your mind for a moment again now to the Garden of Eden. And I want you to imagine there in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve there. And the Bible says in Romans five, that by one man, Adam sin entered and death came in through that one door of Adam's sin. And it passed upon all men. So Romans 5, 12 says. And so with that happening, I want to ask you, what was Adam's sin? Did he rob a bank? Did he commit adultery? Was he a homosexual? Did he murder someone? What was his sin that he tell lies or something like that or embezzle a lot of money, the things that we call sin in our life? Did Adam do any of those? Absolutely not. You know what Adam did? Adam said this. I'll do it my way. I'll do it my way. He believed the lie of the devil. You don't need God to be a man. You make your own decisions. Prove yourselves. After all, I mean, God created you with the mind, use your mind, use your thoughts and and do it, exercise your own independence. And you see, independence entered in a departure from the throne of God. And that is precisely what God calls sin. And because of a departure from the throne of God, every other evil gripped man's heart. And there began to be adultery and all those other things. You see, adultery doesn't mean you've departed from the throne. It doesn't. When you commit adultery, you don't depart from the throne of God. You you have already departed from the throne of God before you commit adultery or you never would. And that's what Adam did. He became a sinner. He became independent in his heart from the throne of God, just like Lucifer rebelled against God's authority and said, I'll be like God. I'll run my own show. So he serpent bit Adam and Adam was poisoned with selfishness. And it began to reign in our hearts as men doing our own thing, running our own business, doing our own ideas. And and it's a dominion outside of the throne of God. And so what happened? Mankind became a race of rebels, one tiny little dot in the universe of all the great kingdom under perfect astronomical order, one little dot. And God could have just gone and spent that little dot into a little burning little bump in the nothingness. And nobody would have ever known on any other planet. I mean, absolutely not if there's such a thing on other planets. But you see, the wrath of God, it says, abides upon sin and the sinner, not just the sin. If it didn't abide upon the sinner, too, then God would just send the sin to hell and take the sinner clean later, unless the sinner deals with what God hates. Then it says that God is angry with the wicked every day. Psalm seven, verse 11. He's angry. And so it's to this end, however, that God, to show forth his grace and his truth, sent his word, his proclamation of mercy. And the word became flesh and the Lord Jesus was God's word of mercy and truth to man because of him. Our rebellion has an answer. God didn't have to blow us off the map. He wanted to show he was a good God and that he loved us. And you see, his blood is enough to cover the sins of those who trust him. Now, God can show mercy and be righteous while doing that to all who trust the word and who come under the authority of the throne. By grace, you see, it's not just a legal authority, it's a moral authority. That's where some people miss it. They think it's just doing deeds and trying to act a certain way. We're talking about a moral authority. We're talking about an inside job where God shall have his will in my life. It's that kind of moral accountability. You see, man has to return to the throne of God. And if he wants to be free from the judgment of his independence, he's got to respond to God's word to his independence. He can't be free from judgment if he's never dealt with the problem by the grace of God. That's just as logical as the Bible is true. You see, we've got to come back to the kingdom of God and let the Lordship and the love and the person of Christ become in me what self was. God wants to put Jesus where self once reigned. How do you know if you're in the kingdom of God? Well, how do you know if you're in the city limits of Atlanta? If you live 10 feet outside the city limits of Atlanta, you don't pay taxes. You're not you're not subject to the courthouse's law 10 feet outside. But if you're 10 feet inside, all the benefits and liabilities of being part of that system are yours. You see, there's an imaginary line that is perhaps drawn for the kingdom of Atlanta. Same thing in the kingdom of God. How do you know if you're in the kingdom of God? The Bible is going to make it clear tonight. Those who are under the authority of the throne are in the kingdom of God. And those who are not under the authority may take a while to visibly show they are under that authority. But those who are not under that authority may be very close, but they're outside, as we'll see in a moment. So we live in a day when the acknowledgement of the Lordship of Jesus Christ is considered by many men and many movements a secondary experience of grace, something for the extra spiritual, maybe, or the missionary kid to equip you to be a missionary. And they would say, Jesus is my savior. I had one say it to me Tuesday night. Well, I know he's my savior, but I haven't dealt with his lordship yet. And you know what? He's read some books to confirm him in his unbelief. And, you know, his life contradicts everything that Jesus died to do in his life. And down deep, he's hiding sin and he knows it, but he's hardened in that we tell people, people in our day make a decision for Christ and accept Jesus as savior. And I know that you can do that if your heart, if God sees your heart and your heart is right. I'm not attacking words, OK, but I'm I am going after this thing that you can just come to someone and say, I want you to make a little decision to accept Christ as personal savior and have them mutter a little one minute apology to God and then kind of say they're sorry and then have a ten decker crown and a gold street forever and then go on dishonoring God saying it's by grace. I'm telling you, nothing could be further from the truth of God's word. Nothing, nothing. Some of you aren't sure, but I'll tell you about my time with you tonight is going to be a line. It's going to be a line and you're going to have to come down on one side of it. You really are. The New Testament never once says to us, make a decision to accept Christ as personal savior. It never says that. And I know you can do that and be saved if your heart says what God wants it to say. I'm not saying that you are saved if you really have done this and your heart's with the Lord. But but I could tell you that that the Lordship of Jesus Christ, when it's not insisted upon, is going to have to be dealt with totally at some point in your life. It's going to have to be. And you're going to find out if you never have that you never knew really what God was after in your whole experience. You're going to be a man without a country before you face it and really deal with it. People are beginning to realize in the churches that they've been tricked and they are willing to. They're willing. Excuse me. They're beginning to realize that they've been slipped a bill of goods because their life doesn't add up and they see all this stuff going on around them and they say, what is wrong? Why am I doing this tonight? Why am I covering this ground? Because I think that God holds us accountable for what we tell our loved ones. My dad's not a Christian. And if if you if you won't be honest with your loved ones and tell them what the scriptures really say about knowing Jesus, then there's no hope for them. We've not only got to be knowing we're right with the Lord and prove ourselves, whether we're in the faith, we've got to know that they are and you may be the last chance they have to hear. I could tell you about pastors in the churches who one day after 30 years of preaching, realized that they'd never dealt with the authority of the throne of God and got saved. I can tell you about pastors, wives who heard solid husbands preaching for a long time, who never dealt with their moral accountability to the throne of God. And one day got saved. I could tell you of youth directors. I could tell you of deacons and people in the churches who looked so good. I know a woman who was sharing the gospel from door to door for 40 years in a meeting, stood up with tears and said, you know, I just realized today I've led others to Christ, but I've never gone myself. And you say, well, I don't know if I believe that. Will you have a hard time convincing her as to how her whole being changed after she met Jesus for real? It was an amazing thing. You see, there are sincere people all around us who are holding on to a savior and they are hoping and they're praying. But they they have never seen because they've never looked at the scripture seriously, perhaps that the call of the New Testament is to return to the Lord, to come back to the throne of God and and to see. And when people really begin to look in the New Testament, they're astonished. They're astonished that all their sincerity and all the other things were not what God was after. He was after truth. I believe tonight that biblically you cannot accept Jesus Christ as your savior while treating his lordship as optional. You cannot do it. And you at least you can't you can be a church in, but you can't be a Christian. You cannot postpone the question of lordship, receive Jesus Christ as personal savior. We hear it all the time. But, you know, it's not once like that in the New Testament. In fact, it does say how to receive Christ. Colossians, two, six. It says, as you have, therefore, Colossians, two, six, as you have, therefore, received Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk in him. I'm not just pulling this out. I'm not just choosing sides. I want to just give you some biblical evidence here. The Bible says confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, in the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll be saved. Acts 16, 31 says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved and your house. The emphasis on the New Testament is that. Did you know the word savior in the New Testament is only used 24 times? Eight times the word savior is used, it actually is describing the term to father God being savior. Did you know that? And every single time the word savior is used, it's a descriptive term of the relationship of a group of people who already belong to the Lord. And he is our savior. It's plural. It's in the plural, all except for one time. And it's when Mary is saying my spirit has rejoiced in God, my savior. It's singular. And I think the Holy Spirit did that to show that Mary had to be saved just to single her out, that she was a wonderful woman. But she was a forgiven sinner, just like the rest of us. She was in the upper room waiting for the promise of the spirit of God because she was like us. She said, but she said, be it unto me, according to your word, that all this in the scripture happened to me. You see, 24 times the word savior is used in the New Testament. And it's always descriptive of people who already know him. Five hundred and twenty two times the word Lord is used in the New Testament. And every time we're told to come to Christ, it is as Lord in the book of Acts, where the church models for us what we should be. The word savior is used twice in the book of Acts. The word Lord is used one hundred and twelve times, and it's filling their message with the Lordship of Christ. It's the message of the early church. It's the emphasis of the New Testament's preaching in Second Corinthians, chapter five. When Paul, excuse me, chapter four, Second Corinthians four, verse five, Paul says, we preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ, the Lord and ourselves, your servants for his sake. So I'm not saying that you have to say the words with your mouth. I accept you as Lord. I am saying that your heart needs to understand what God is calling you to and that you are a rebel from God and you are a sinner. And God, when you come to him, is going to change your life to his will. And if you don't have that, yes, to him, you can't be saved. You can't be saved. And God knows if you have that. Yes, because he knows your heart better than you do. You can't say I'm going to say this prayer and go on with my evil deeds that God hates. You can't do that. You're going to have to deal with what God has shown you. You see, it's by virtue of the fact, get this, that we receive him as Lord, that he has the power in our life to save us. We receive him as Lord, we give him control and then comes his power and he saves us. Salvation is not just from the penalty of sin. That's what makes our thinking wrong. Salvation is from the penalty of sin. That's true. But it's from the pleasure of sin and it's from the power of sin. And you see, we make the mistake when we think that we can be saved from the penalty of sin while still enjoying sin and not trying to mess with its hold in our life. Do you see that? We think that sin's pleasure forever. Let me tell you, when Jesus changes a man's heart at regeneration, he takes the pleasure out of sin. You may go back to the mud puddle, but you'll find out lambs don't fit well in mud. Pigs do. And a pig can go back. You can put a tuxedo on a pig, turn your back on him and he'll go back to the hog trough, the prodigal pig. But let me tell you what, you can you can put a lamb in a mud puddle and he'll actually get tears in his eyes because they hate mud. They hate mud. See, this is how he saves us practically. He becomes our savior. Praise God for the fact he's our savior. But it's when we say to him, exercise all that you are and who you are in my life. We choose to let him take over. And of course, lordship develops. Of course, our obedience is not perfect. Of course, we're deceived if we say we have no sin. The first John says we're deceived if we say that. But lordship develops. I'm going to tell you, God told me something yesterday that I saw for the first time about myself and I have to deal with it. And it grows his lordship. It's a growing lordship. It'll be a growing lordship for all eternity. But you can't stop at the beginning and say, I don't want anything to do with that. You see, he's a love king. He's a love king. And there's an error today, preaching error that announces a savior from hell only and not a deliverer from sin. You know, most of the preaching in the New Testament didn't say come to Jesus and don't go to hell. It said come to Jesus and be delivered from sin. In fact, his very name in Matthew chapter one, verse twenty one, it says, you shall call his name Jesus. Jehovah is savior. It actually means because he will save his people. Ek is the Greek word out of their sin. The people that are his will be being saved out of their sin. And if you're not being saved out of your sin, out of the penalty, out of the pleasure, out of the power, it's because you're not his. And we'll show that tonight before we're through. You may still be dealing with mud in your life, but I'll tell you what, your heart's been changed. There's no such thing as fire insurance. Jesus is spoken about as our heavenly chum and the man upstairs. And it's OK for the nightclub singer to go into his bars. After all, Christians are just like everybody else. We just believe about Jesus. And they go into their bars with their diamond studded cross and sing, lay your warm and tender body next to mine. And it's OK. You know, as long as they at the end just throw in, I'd rather have Jesus. It's OK. Rude awakening is coming. You're going to find out that that is not at all the case, if that's your theology. The Bible says, don't be deceived. I want to just read you three passages from the Amplified Bible about what it says. Don't be deceived. You ought to write this one down. Just listen. Just write down the reference. First Corinthians, chapter six, verse nine through 11. Listen, do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share at all in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the pure excuse me, neither the impure and the immoral or idolaters or adulterers are those who participate in homosexuality or cheats or swindlers or thieves or covetousness. Or drunkards or foul mouth revilers and slanderers or extortioners and robbers will have any share or inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived. He says none of these people who practice that as a way of life are going to have any share in the kingdom of God. And then he says, and such were some of you at one time. I mean, thank God he said that I would not have any hope tonight. I mean, he hit me with all those except for one. Such were some of you, but you were washed, you were washed clean, you were consecrated, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and in the Holy Spirit of our God. You see, such were some of you listen to this one over in Galatians. This is a killer. This is a real killer. And and, you know, I think it's time for us to take it quite seriously. Listen to Galatians chapter five, verse 19. Now, the practices of the flesh are clear and obvious immorality, impurity, indecency, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, division, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing. I'm warning you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Does he stutter? Listen to what the Ephesians says in Ephesians chapter five. I mean, how can you be any more clear? He's saying, don't be deceived. Listen for the word. Don't be deceived. Ephesians five, verse five. Be sure of this. No person practicing sexual vice or impurity in thought or in life or one whose covetous, that is, who has lustful desire for the property of others and is greedy for gain or an idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Do not let one delude you or deceive you with empty excuses and groundless arguments for these sins. For through these things, God's wrath will come upon the sons of rebellion and disobedience. You can't get any more clear than that. First, John, chapter three, verse six. No one who abides in him who lives and remains in communion with him and obedience to him habitually commits sin. No one who habitually sins has either seen him or come to know him or recognize him or understood him or had any experimental acquaintance with him. Let no one deceive you or lead you astray. The one who practices righteousness, this is the one who's upright and conforming to God's will and purpose, thought and action. He is righteous in the same way Jesus is righteous. Don't let anybody deceive you. It says, don't be tricked. God will not save those that he cannot command. The blood of Jesus Christ was shed for sin, not excuses. It was said shed for those who who really understand what God wants to do in their life. I'm not saying you have to understand the whole oak tree of salvation. I'm saying you have to hold on to the acorn, the mystery in your hand. A little child can hold an acorn in his hand and know quite well that will become a tree. You see, I used to think that salvation was like this. It was like my life is going to end. And when it ends, I'll be dead. Now, if I come to Jesus, then he'll extend my life forever. And I thought that's what eternal life was me living forever, going on. Good old me who didn't want to die. Well, see, that's not true. That's not what eternal life is. And if you think that's what eternal life is, you're probably deceived the same way I was. You see, eternal life is when I come to realize that I don't even have any life right now because Jesus Christ is the true God and the eternal life. And I've got to come to the point to where I realized that what I thought was life of myself is not. And I am crucified with Christ. And then now the life, a person comes to inhabit my experience, all that I am. That's what it means to live forever. In fact, first, John, chapter five. Says to us, this is the record God has given to us eternal life, this life is in his son. Whoever has the son has life and whoever does not have the son does not have life. You see, eternal life is not a thing that God gives you like you give a quarter to your child. Eternal life is a person living in you. And if you don't have him living in you, then you're dead. No matter how much of the Bible you believe. He's got to be living in you. It's not even enough to believe that he died for you. Nineteen hundred years ago, that won't save you. You say that's blasphemy. No, it's not based on the fact that he loved me enough to die for me. Nineteen hundred years ago, I've got to let him do a work in me now because of what he did. I've got to believe on who he is and let him do a work on me now. Otherwise, it's just historic dead belief. That'll put me in the pew and I'll get chills and thrills with the stained glass window. But it's time to get it off the blackboard into the bloodstream tonight. It's time to put it right where we really live. You see, it says in the Bible in First Timothy, chapter six, verse 16, God alone has immortality. God is the only one who has eternal life. Well, then how can he give it to you? Because he's the only one, only one way, you being placed in him. And let me tell you, in God, in God, there is no darkness at all. That means that you can't consciously come to him while trying to hide from the light. He's shining into your heart and hold on to what he is making an issue in your life. This is the condemnation. Light has come, says Jesus. Man hates the light, the exposure of what he's really like and his sin because his deeds are evil. But everyone that does the truth comes to the life, comes to the light. And then he talks about God loving the world so much that he gave his only son. But at the end of that chapter, he says, God's wrath abides upon those who do not obey him. That's what it says. And so if Jesus Christ is going to live in me, it will not be without my knowing it. It will not be without me just kind of sitting in church and saying, well, I hope he's there. Let me tell you, if Jesus Christ is in your life, you'll have a witness in your spirit that God is in your life. And and to have his life, you've got to give up yours. There are multitudes in our church pews who do not have the slightest inkling of what we're talking about. They've heard the voice of the Bible. They've heard it afar off, but they've never seen God. They've never had revelation of what it means to be a child of God. And because of that, when they start hearing stuff like this, their hearts rebel. And they said, that's not the way I believe. Just like we rebel when we see the person that we've we've always heard on tape and we finally say we don't like the image that's there. We say you're not going to change God. God must change me. Only people, I believe, who are spiritually blind would dare to declare that Jesus Christ will save the people who continue to despise his authority and hate his yoke to. That's not grace. That's disgrace. Remember, Jesus Christ was betrayed, not with a slap, but with a kiss. And a lot of people betray the gospel with a proverbial Sunday morning kiss every Sunday. Thank you, Jesus, that you love me and go out and forget him all week long. Just like Judas. Oh, hello, master. And why do you do this? Why do you do this? Be warned. The people, I believe, have not bowed to Christ's authority by enthroning what they know of him. Not all of him, because you don't know him all yet. But enthroning what you know of him in your heart as your king. And if you imagine that he's still your savior, while you're still keeping him away and who he is, I believe that you're what the Bible says, deceived because you are a hearer and not a doer of the word. And you've heard the word, but you're not a doer of it. And therefore, you are a deceived person, according to the scripture. Grace does not give the privilege of giving a deliverance from the penalty of sin and still give a liberty then to live a life of sin. Grace never does that. Grace teaches us something. You want to know what grace teaches? Titus chapter two tells us Titus says what grace teaches very clearly. If you know the grace of God, then you know in your spirit what what God's teaching you because of his amazing grace. Verse 11, Titus chapter two, the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly when we all get to heaven in this present world. You see, the grace of God, if rightly apprehended, teaches us that God saved us, that he might redeem unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works, as it says in another place, who are his and who love him and love his word. A lot of people don't believe that, but God's seal stands sure. Turn back to the left of Second Timothy and look in chapter two, Second Timothy, chapter two, verse 19. It says, nevertheless, the foundation of God stands sure. Having this seal, God seals it. The Lord knows the ones that are his. Let everyone that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Let everyone that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. That's God's seal. And if you know him, you will be departing from iniquity. What is iniquity? It's the word for lawlessness or independence or sin. It's the word for running your own life. Like Isaiah said, we've all gone our own way and God laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. The penalty for going our own way has been laid on Jesus. But when Jesus deals with that injustice, saying, I've paid your penalty and I come to your senses by the grace of God, turn to the throne, be what God made you to be. Return to the image of God. Let God have his way in your life. You can't do it on your own. Of course you can't. That's why you lost. But I'll breathe into you my life and I'll restore your soul and you'll be able to walk and live and move in me. Look at Matthew, chapter seven. Here's this amazing scripture to the religious crowd of that day. This is not given to lost, I mean, to people that are not religious versus a religious crowd. This this is given to give two ways in a religious crowd. And in verse 13, Jesus says, Matthew seven, enter at the straight gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction. And many there be that go in there at because straight is the gate and narrow is that way which leads to life. Few there be that find it. We've changed that in our day. Broad is the gate that leads to life. And look at our churches. There's so many that find it. Eighty seven percent of Americans belong to a Protestant or Catholic church. Some and most of them attend weekly services, W.E.A.K. L.Y. weekly, sound churches, sound asleep. You see, and then he says, beware of false prophets, because there are people that love to be told that they can sit in church and be a Christian just because they're sitting there. But as you've heard many times, just because you go to go out in the woods and find a cat out there going to sleep in an abandoned stove, don't make them biscuits. You know, there's there are kittens still. Never mind. You didn't catch this too fast for verse twenty one. Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, will inherit the kingdom of heaven, but he that does is what it literally says, but only the one who is doing the will of my father, which is in heaven. And then he talks about a large group of people. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, haven't we preached in your name, in your name? Haven't we cast out demons? Let me tell you, that's power. And in your name, haven't we done wonderful works? That means supernatural miracles. Then I will say back to them, I never knew you depart from me. You who practice iniquity, there's that word again, lawlessness. You're running your own life. Those of you who insist on doing it. Then he gives a parable about two houses that look just alike. Perhaps they look alike. Perhaps one's on sand and one's on rock. They look maybe the one on sand is a lot better painted. Maybe the one on rock has tattered gutters. But you see, when the real test comes, when the when the winds come and the rains come and the floods, the house on the sand swept away. The house on the rock stands firm. We sing that from earliest ages. It condemns us because it's saying Jesus has said, listen, the one on the rock is the man who hears the word of God and does him. He hears what God is saying about coming to the king and he does it. He hears what God's word says about a changed life and says, yes, Lord, be it unto me according to the word of God. You see, there's a large class of people. Titus chapter one, verse 16, Titus chapter one, verse 16. They're described there. Titus 116 says they profess that they know God, but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and unto every good work a stranger. A reprobate, a lot of people say, I know God, but you see, how do we know who's who? First John chapter two, there's too many scriptures. Hey, I just read scripture and quit preaching the scriptures. What's going to do it anyway? First John chapter two. Listen to this. You say, well, I want to know how to know if someone knows the Lord. Well, I'm going to translate the tenses of the verbs as they were in the Greek as I read it in the English. OK, I'm going to use the King James here, but I'm going to read it as the Greek word is in its tense, starting in first John chapter two, verse three. Hereby, we do perceive that we have come to know him. That's what it says. If we are keeping his commandments, the one who keeps on saying I know him and is not keeping his commandments is a liar. And the truth is not in him. The truth is a person, not a set of information. You can have lists of principles. You can have scripture, memory verses there like the devil knows the Bible better than all of us. And he's a devil still. But you see, the truth is a living person. The truth is not in him, but whosoever is keeping God's word in him for a truth. Amen, it says, is the love of God perfected. And this is how we can perceive if we're in him or not. If you are progressively coming into that place of surrender over in first John, chapter three, it's amazing. Look at this over. I'll read in verse eight. The one who keeps on committing sin is of the devil because the devil sins from the beginning. And this is the reason that the son of God was revealed in history once and for all, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever has been born of God does not practice iniquity. For God's sperm, it says in the Greek, God see his chromosome carrier, his word remains in him and he cannot sin because because he is born of God. You know, you couldn't make a goldfish live on land. You couldn't make a pig live in water, a sheep live in water. You see, and you'd sooner be able to do that than to make a Christian live repeatedly in known rebellious sin, according to that verse, because God's word and chromosome has come to their heart and so altered that being. Well, Hebrews five, nine says something about salvation that Jesus is the author of Hebrews five, nine says being made perfect. And it means in his office as high priest to bring us to God. He became the author of eternal salvation unto all who obey him, unto all who obey him. Perhaps that's why it says, blessed are the pure in heart, for only those will see the will will see God. Perhaps that's why it says in Hebrews twelve, fourteen, that without holiness, no man will see God. Holiness is not a performance. Holiness is a relationship of commitment to person. The biblical word for holiness basically means for the reserve, for the use of. And if something is a holy vessel, it's reserved for the use of God. If if I'm a holy temple of God, this body's reserved for the usage of God without holiness, no man will see God. Jesus said in Luke six, forty six, why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things I say? He said, these people draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Burning lips, but sinful hearts. How easy it is in this day of counterfeit. The demons believe and tumble, but they at least have the respect to fear God when they hear his name. Many people in our churches can sing all the songs and commit adultery sitting in the pew. Rude awakening, future shock is coming to you, sir. If you come into this conference and you're living a double life and thinking that God doesn't care, he understands that you're only human. I will tell you, I know that a man can make a mistake like David. But I'm going to tell you what you're either headed for the woodshed or you're lost, according to the scriptures. And even if you go to the woodshed, praise God, whom the Lord loveth. He chastened it. He loves you too much to leave you in a situation where you'd be. Horribly embarrassed forever. See, a lot of people want God's help, but they don't want his interference and you can't have one without the other. A lot of people want to be justified from their sin, but they don't want to be sanctified. You can't have one without the other. They go together. A lot of people want to be free from guilt. I feel so guilty. They want to be free from guilt, but they don't want to be cleansed from filth. You can't have one without the other. He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness. It says people want to be delivered from the wrath to come. Well, of course, who doesn't? I mean, anybody who believes in wrath wants to be free from it, don't they? I mean, I mean, who are we kidding? You know, even if God were the biggest dictator and the worst person in the universe, you'd be smart to be on his side because he's God. But he's a great God. He's a glorious God. But you see, a lot of people want to be freed from God's wrath to come, but they want to retain their self-will and independence. Now, until that day, a lot of people are attracted to the gospel while they still possess an evil craving for everything God hates. Notice that they can on one mouth say, praise Lord, I like the idea of being loved by God because you're so hurt. But they love what God hates their whole life and they've never been changed on the inside. The Bible teaches that nobody can scripturally say they're saved while continuing on in sin as before, and no one is free from condemnation who's not in Christ. He says, whoever follows me will have the light of life and whoever follows me will not walk in darkness. They will not walk in darkness. That's what Jesus said. Well, how do I explain all the people that say to know him? They're walking in darkness. Easy. They're not his. Easy, if you believe what Jesus said, you see, if any man is in Christ, the Bible says he is a new creature. If a man is in Christ, I mean, how clear is that if he is in Christ, he is a new creature? It's not that he really should be a new creature. I really ought to be better. I really would like to be better. He will be a new creature. It may take him a while to realize who he is, but he will be new, just like a new baby that comes home is new. He's not old. I mean, he'll find out who he is. A good tree can't bring forth bad fruit. Jesus said it. And so saving faith alters a person and puts them at the disposal of God, if you really know him. There's no such thing as saving faith where there's no real love for God. I mean, anybody can believe academically and historically and say it's logical that I should say these things so that God will save me. It's a transaction like a businessman would make. But that doesn't work because faith works by love and you don't love him until you realize he died for you and you didn't deserve that. And you deserve judgment and love came to save you from it. And then you can love him back because he first loved you. You are grateful, he says. In one place, he says, listen, hereby, you can tell if you love God, John 14, whoever has the word of God and keeps it is the one who loves God. And whoever has the word of God and doesn't keep it doesn't love God. And it's as if to say, I know you don't like that, but the word you've heard is not even mine. It's the father's. It came from the throne above all through the scripture. You see, love is evidenced by obedience and obedience is is evident by passion and submission, the vine and the branches. That's intimacy, the wife and the husband. That's intimacy, the sheep and the shepherd. That's intimacy. That's dependence, the head and the body. That's intimacy. There's no salvation without relationship. None. We've got to examine ourselves. You see, I'm doing this because I believe there are men in this room who are convinced but not converted. I believe you're informed you could probably lead somebody else to Christ. But that doesn't do any good unless you've been transformed. You're convinced and not converted. You're informed, but not transformed. You're probably absolutely ready to to go on a new leaf. But that doesn't give you a new life. You need to have the life of Christ. It's not just attaining something like a nice church member and peace in my life. Eternal life is containing someone, not attaining something. It's coming to contain the Lord Jesus Christ. And if Christ, second Corinthians, thirteen, five, examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith, prove your own selves. That means put it to the scriptural test, put it to the fire. Don't you know that Christ Jesus lives in you, except you be a document is the word. It means counterfeit silver or withdraws and garbage all in it. So it really means unrefined. Christ is in you, except you be something that looks like the real thing and is not. Well, you see, if Christ is not in me, no matter how sincere I am, I am a phony. And wherever he is, he is Lord. The first thing the Holy Spirit ever does when he comes to a man or woman is not say God loves you. He may say that while he's saying this other. But when he comes, he convicts the world of sin. He says God is God and you're out of control. Adam, where are you? And it's a terrible thing. It's a terrible thing is a terrible uneasiness. It's called conviction of independence. And God says, I died for that independence. I've given you the word of grace, but you're going to have to come back to the throne and be what God made you to be. Otherwise you'll be lost. Because I came to save your soul, not just from hell, but from sin. I came to to make you a new creature and plug you in the body of Christ. And he doesn't have any members that aren't in aren't in submission to the hand that which the father gives him, he'll lose none. It takes more than rules. It takes more than principles. It takes more than than conduct to be a Christian. You can have mental ascent. You can have painful effort. You can have doctrinal knowledge. You can have sacrificial service. You can believe in God. You've memorized scripture. You can go to cemetery, seminary. You can do all kinds of stuff. It won't save you. It takes a supernatural mystic relationship with a supernatural Lord who is alive, who is available and who is adequate, who's on the throne of your heart tonight, who is in charge. Who calls the shots? Who has the last word? Who has the first word? You see, it takes the presence of the living Christ living in my heart to save me. And it's a matter of giving my soul to him. Now, look at one last scripture in Mark chapter. If you look in the gospel of Mark, I want you to turn to chapter 10. I want to show you another man, Mark chapter 10. And this man really was religious. In Mark, chapter 10, beginning in verse 17, when Jesus was gone forth into the way, there came one running and kneeled to him and asked him, good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? There is none good, but one that's God. Strange thing to say, wasn't it? I mean, he was God. Why do you say that to that young man? Because, see, he knew that young man didn't know that he was God and he was still calling him good. He says, hey, why are you calling me good? Because only God is good. And you don't even know who I am is what he's saying. You see, if you think that I am just a normal man who's got it together and I'm good, that means you think you're good, too. And his response to him proves that he thought that because verse 19 says, you know, the commandments do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, don't bear false witness, defraud, not honor your father and mother. He did not say, however, thou shall have no other gods before me. He left that one out. He graciously gave portion of the law to this young man. And this man answered and said to him, master, I've grown up in church. That's what he said. In effect, all these I've observed from my youth. Then Jesus looked at this young man, he loved him. Well, that's that's wonderful. And he he saw him as he was. And he said to him, one thing you lack, go your way and sell what you have. Give it to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven. Come take up the cross and follow me. And that young man was sad at that saying and went away, grieved because he had great possessions. Here is a young ruler. They'll tell you he's a member of the Sanhedrin. The other gospels make it clear that he's a young lawyer and he's one of the probably the most twenty five influential men in all of Palestine in that day being on the Sanhedrin. And so he's a real candidate for who's who in Israel. I mean, this is a sole winner's dream, isn't it? Here's a young judge with this white robe on coming and falling in the dirt at the foot of a peasant prophet. I mean, that's humility that beats walking down a church aisle any day. And just because you walk a church out doesn't mean you get right. I mean, he walks in public there and everybody says, oh, this guy's lost his mind. This judge who knows the law kneeling beneath this renegade prophet, he's risking everything of his reputation. A sole winner's dream. And you know what we would have done today? We'd have said something like, well, he says, what can I do to have eternal life? He came to the right person. He came the right way. He asked the right question. He got the right answer. What can I do to have eternal life? Do you believe you're a sinner? Well, of course you do. Everyone believes you're a sinner. I mean, you're a sinner, right? Right. OK, well, do you want to have eternal life? Yes. Will you receive God's free gift of eternal life right now? Yes, I will. Well, it would have only taken just about three minutes, wouldn't it? In most of our circles to get to get this guy on the platform next week at the crusade as a young judge who made a public profession of Christ. Well, Jesus loved that man too much to deceive him like that. He loved him too much to deceive him like that. He said to him instead, he went through the law with him. He was trying to show this man his guilt, his need of being forgiven. And this man was innocent. All these I've kept from my youth, I'm a pretty good person, kind of like Bill said, you've got your fortunate God, you've got me now. I'll sponsor Jesus. Jesus said, looking for sponsors. You see, Jesus looked right in this man's heart and he saw a dollar sign. It could have been a young mother with her baby right there in her heart instead, or it could have been an athlete with a football there or a golfer with the club or anything that was in that heart that dominated that man, that his life revolved around. He thought he wanted God until he saw what it really meant. He had an image in his mind and then he was confronted with the truth. And he said, that's not what I thought it was. That's why you see, if a lot of people that are praying for revival knew what revival really was, they'd quit praying for it and pray against it because everything would change. I told one church the other night, I said, listen, you people pray for revival. Hey, what would you do if God sent five hundred new babies in here that didn't know you weren't supposed to meet Monday through Friday? They want you to come teach them the word of God. You say, go away. That's why God won't send revival because he can't trust you with it. Same thing here, this guy was shocked when he saw God look right in his heart and it's like instead of God, he saw a dollar sign or an athletic sign. He says, get that out of your heart, get it out of your heart and give it away and put the cross there. That's obedience to God's will. That's the finality for your own life. And follow me the purposes and the will of God. And you see, it was amazing because this young man knew what he needed to do. But you see, he had to do what he knew. Just like some of you, you know what you need to do, but you've never done it. And some of you, you've asked the right question. You've got the right answer. God tells you to give up earthly treasure for a heavenly one. But this man gave up heavenly treasure for an earthly one. He had it backwards. He bent his knees. That's great. But he wouldn't bend his will. He would give up his life, but he wouldn't give up his lifestyle. He wanted eternal life, but he wanted to keep his own life. And God said it didn't work. You see, in reality, he wanted to be his own Lord and have God's blessings. And so Jesus looked and this young man got everything right. He didn't lack sincerity. He didn't lack right doctrine. He didn't lack morality. He didn't like he didn't lack anything external morality. He had it all. But you see, as the Lord Jesus put him to the test right there, it says that he got up and was very sad and walked away. Let me ask you something. Was he saved when he left? Are you sure now let me ask you this, then suppose you're in that situation, you're sitting in a church service and the Lord says to you, one thing you lack. It's Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life. Your money is your God or your family is your God or your career is your God. One thing you like, you get it all right, except for one thing. One thing you like, get rid of it, put me there and take up your cross and follow me. Suddenly it's pretty, you know, you begin preacher. You really got to me today. God, pray for me. And you leave. You leave and what happens, same thing that happened to him, do you think he dropped out of church? I mean, he's a cultural, religious person. I'll bet you he increased his giving. I do. I'll bet you he gave more money to the mission of the widows and the orphans because he felt guilty and he was trying to solve that guilt. And he probably did good deeds and worked harder at his job as being a good judge and everything else, because, you see, he couldn't get over that deep conviction that he said no to God. And I'll tell you, thousands of people across America do that every single Sunday. And I'll tell you what, when they walk out, they're lost. If they're not lost, then God's going to have to apologize to this rich young ruler one day before every eye in eternity, because he's a respecter of persons. Jesus did not go as the man was leaving. Oh, I'm so sorry. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I love you. He did love him. I'll take 98 percent. He let him go and he'll let you go. That is what love must do. It must choose. He will let you go. Happy is the man who shipwrecks on the rock of Jesus. Happy is the man that comes to the end of himself because he finds the beginning of God just there. Is Jesus your Lord? Are you trusting a phony gospel? You conjured up an image in your own mind of something that's just a mascot. He's a heavenly mascot. He's a supernatural aid to a to a happy life. He's somebody that will bless the plans you make, make you happy. Not once does it say in the New Testament, come to God and be happy. It says Makarios, but it doesn't mean it means blessed, not happy. God calls us to make us holy. He says you're going to have tribulation if you come to me. They're going to hate you. They're going to persecute you just like they did me. But it's going to mean you like me. If a Christian fits in the world too much, it only shows you they can't see him. Listen to what Mr. Spurgeon says, and I'm winding down now, Mr. Spurgeon said to his students, the man he taught to preach, listen to what he said. If a professing convert, one who professes to be a Christian, if a professing convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows God's will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption. But it is your solemn duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do you imagine that the gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to whirling's and telling them that they can be saved at this very moment by simply accepting Christ as their savior while they are still wedded to their idols in their hearts and they still love their sin? If I do that, I tell them a lie. I pervert the gospel. I insult Christ and I turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, as the New Testament says. So he wants to establish his lordship friend over all the earth, and it's a matter of life or death. It's not a matter of better Christian or weaker Christian. It's a matter of life or death. To this end, Christ died and rose and revived that he might be the lord of all. You want your marriage to be healed? Then let Jesus live with your wife in your heart. You get off the throne, slither off your throne tonight and deal with the fact that he has been figurehead, but not faithful lord to you. See, I'm talking shop. I'm talking business. I'm not asking you to make a decision. I'm asking some of you to deal with some of the hardest questions you've ever dealt with. And that's who's controlling your life, who is controlling your life. You say, well, I don't know, but I'm saying, well, what do you say from what do you say from if you're not safe from sin? Because he is never safe from hell is not safe from sin. In salvation, the sinner is brought into contact with the holiness of God and he repents. He's brought into contact with the love of God and he believes in God and he's brought into contact with the power of God and he's regenerated. He's a new man. That's salvation. That's what God wants. And so I'm asking you tonight to surrender all. It is the application of truth that saves, not just the hearing of it. The word here itself means to come under with the view to obey. If you hear God's word and do it, you have life. Jesus said he has ears to hear. Let him hear. Everybody had ears, didn't they? He said that, too. He meant those who obey what they hear, who act on it. Faith is not faith if you don't act on it. And some of you tonight have been deeply bothered. I've seen it in your eyes, but I want you to know that I believe we've covered scriptural ground tonight. Some of you are in this room and you're like that rich, young ruler. You'll hear a message like this and you'll feel very bad because there's some idol that you've never dealt with. There's something that God says this is keeping you from me. One thing you lack and tonight you've got to deal with it. And when you do, you cross that bridge into bliss and eternal life. You will and you'll be saved from your enemies by him. Some of you have been telling your loved ones a phony gospel because you've been afraid to risk their relationship. And tonight, God wants you to see that you got to stay with God. You got to choose him and love that person. Let them hate your guts if they have to love them and share the truth with them. And God will save them. And if he doesn't save them, at least you will have been faithful to what he wants.