Transcription
[Applause] praise god praise god hallelujah that's what church is all about. [Music] any church that doesn't preach the blood of Jesus, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the soon coming of Christ is not a Christian church. It's got to be the whole Bible that makes it a Christian church. So we have Christians on lots of churches that aren't Christian anymore. But the Christian, you know how you know you're a Christian? You'd rather hear about Jesus than anything else. [Music] Uh-oh. [Applause] Happy Father's Day. And I'd like to say publicly, I've done a lot of speaking in the last two weeks and it's tailored on me this morning, but I'd like to say happy anniversary to Sandra. Wednesday, we were, would you like to know how long we were married? Wednesday, we, well, we didn't celebrate yet, but we remembered that we had been married 48 years. And I want to thank, boy, have we had a good time. [Music] And now, Lord Jesus, with great dependence on your strength and your word, I ask today that you will help us to understand. And it is an understanding we do not possess within ourselves. It has to be a gift of understanding so that our eyes may be opened a little wider and our hearts may be a little more fertile. We ask today, Lord, that you tell us something that will stir us. We've been amazed many times, but I'm asking you to stir us for a desire to live a holy life, a life well pleasing to you. We crave your presence. We long for your touch. But we are a thankful people because if it hadn't been for you, Lord, disaster would be our destiny. So I praise you, I thank you, and I glorify you for what you will do in someone's heart today. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. And everybody said, amen. Now you can be seated. Thank you. And I've got so many scriptures today, I didn't know which one to pick for us to read together. Um, I, all of the revelations that God has given us in his word about who he is and what he has done for us because he loves us. The great price that God paid that he might have us. We'll never understand, of course. As I said last Sunday, Paul used phrases and words that had never been used to describe God's goodness. This great salvation, on and on and on. Sometimes we forget that right alongside all of that are the warnings he gives. As many warnings as he does revelations. And those warnings are to believers. He warns us constantly to be on guard, to be careful, to run from evil, to live a life worthy of our calling, to live in scripture, live on our knees, to glorify God in all that we do. There's the warning that if we don't do these things, there are consequences. Now, since they aren't fun things to preach or hear preached, I'm afraid oftentimes they are neglected. But the warnings fill up scripture. The entire book of Hebrews is a warning. And as you listen to Christ, just in the New Testament, all of the prophets, there's not a book that doesn't have a warning in it. And that is because it is so easy to be deceived. If you think you stand, take heed lest you fall. Beware of mountaintops. Beware of high experiences because that's when you are most vulnerable. So if you think you have arrived at some, some climactic phase of your life spiritually, that's when you need to look around and be vigilant because your adversary, the devil, is going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Now, warnings started in the first book of the Bible. In fact, I want you to hear something that is not often taught, I suppose, from a pulpit. A classroom, yes, but probably not from the pulpit. In the fourth chapter of Genesis, it says, Adam knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, I have acquired a man from the Lord. Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now, Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Now, when you just casually read that, you don't think, why is there a difference? Why is God showing us a difference here? Abel, keeper of the sheep. Cain, tiller of the ground. And in the process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Not good. He brought God an offering, but he didn't bring the right one. Keep that in mind. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat, and the Lord respected Abel and his offering. Okay, one man, both men bring offerings. One man brings one that God rejects. The other brings one God accepts. What's the difference? Verse 5, but he did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? And why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door, and its desire is for you, but you should rule over it. That might be complicated to a lot of people. So let me just explain it the best I know how. From the beginning, even before instructions are written, God demanded a sacrifice of blood. It was the theme. It is the theme throughout scripture that without shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. You cannot come to God except through the blood of Jesus. In the fourth chapter, we already have that being preached and men being reminded of that. So when Abel brought an offering of blood, or a sacrifice of an animal, it pleased God. But when Cain brought fruit and vegetables that he had grown with his own hand, that he could say, look what I have done, and I brought it to you, God totally rejected that because that is a salvation of works. And you can't get to heaven bringing God what you've done. You can only get there if you rely on what he's done. You can't glory in the works of your hands. You can't glory in the efforts of your labors. You can't say, I've done this for you, I come to bring it to you. God will totally reject it because the premise of eternal salvation is that there's nothing you can do that he wants. Nothing you can accomplish that will impress him or even appease him. Only one thing thrills the heart of God: the blood of Jesus, his Son. So anybody that comes to him through works, and many religions are religions of works. I don't want to be offensive, but if you're a Catholic, you've been taught that you've got to do good things to be salvation, to be saved, I should say. If you're a Muslim, you got to do good things. All religions rely on works, and they are totally unacceptable to God. The Christian faith says that there is no entrance into God's throne room except through the splattered, shed, applied blood of Jesus. And it made Cain mad that God did not accept his offering, but did accept his brother's. But here's, I laid that foundation. Listen. God said, why are you upset? You knew what to do. Why are you insulted? I told you what the plan was. Then he said, if you do well, will you not be accepted? If you do it the way I tell you to do it, I'll accept you. And if you do not do well, look, look, church, sin lies at the door. One translation says, sin crouches at the door. Get a picture of this. Imagine it that sin is a roaring lion ready to devour and destroy. And at the door of your heart, he is crouching constantly. And God says, if you do the right thing, he will never be able to touch you. But if you refuse to do it my way, look out. Sin is ready to pounce. And sin and the devil are ready to destroy. But it was never God's plan that way. He said, and its desire is for you. Sin wants to destroy you. Sin is after you. But you should rule over it. You have authority over it. How so, pastor? By the blood of Jesus. By walking in obedience. By doing it God's way. When you obey the holy scriptures, Satan has no authority over you. He has no power. He cannot pounce. He cannot rip and shred and destroy. He can lie there your whole life. He can crouch by the door of your heart. But if your heart is sealed with the blood of Jesus and your mind is made up to please God, brother, Satan has no power over you. And so throughout scripture, you will find God's holy prophets writing, speaking these words, don't be deceived. Don't be deceived about the ploys of the evil one, the trickery of Satan. He's never gone. He never gives up. He is ruthless and determined to destroy you and me and everything that God has given us. You can never relax. Rest, yes, I rest in the completed work of Jesus, but I can never relax in my walk and service to the Lord. I can't give up. I can't get loose. I can't get lazy. Why? Because sin is always crouching at the door. And here's how brother James said it, beginning with verse number 13, chapter 1. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone to do evil. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Listen to me, church. Within you right now is the power to sin the grossest sin imaginable. Within you right now is the proclivity to violate and break the heart and commandments of God. It's there. And if we don't stay in God's word and walk in God's spirit, there is something there. Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires. It's in you. When you take your eyes off Christ Jesus, when you lay out of church, when you give up the fight, when you allow yourself to be loose, when you have self-pity and just feel that you've been done wrong, and then you get into that mode of nobody understands and nobody loves and I'll never be able to overcome this, that's your lust coming to the surface. Those are your desires, camouflage. That's self-pity. But those are your desires to sin against God. And they will entice you. Then when desire has conceived, you see, once your desires hook up with the offers of Satan, anybody read between the lines there? Once your desires merge with the offers of the world and the flesh, there is a conception. It gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. There's the process. Sin is crouching at the door. The offers to live in sin are always there. It's always sin, but it's painted a different way from generation to generation. It's always Satan alluring, the sirens of sin crying out, beckoning what's in you to fulfill your own desires, to pull away from who God is and what God has done. And when you start committing adultery with the world, there is a conception. And when that conception becomes a birth, it is sin. And the end of it is death. And that's never good. If something dies that isn't supposed to be dead, that is never good. Your family can die. All of the good things that God has given you can be flung to the wind because of these inner desires that have hidden, gone into a dark corner of the heart so that we think that they are no longer there. But my beloved brothers, he ends that by saying, do not be deceived. If you turn over to First Corinthians chapter 6, verses 9 and 10, it says, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? That's a fact. Unrighteous people won't go to heaven. Do not be deceived. Next, neither fornicators, you know what that is, don't you? Don't make me stand up here and tell you. Nor idolaters, that's putting anything in front of you where Christ ought to be. Nor adulterers, you know what that is, don't you? Nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived, my brethren. I'm taking my time this morning. Galatians chapter 6, verses 7 and 8. Do not be deceived. To whom is he speaking? You and me, believers, Christians, followers. He's not talking to sinners. They're already deceived. He's talking to us who have had the light, it's shined in our hearts. We've seen the way. We've believed on the Lord. He saved us from our sins. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. Is anybody in here so deceived that you think that what you do doesn't matter? That it doesn't come back later? Next verse, for he who sows to his flesh will of his flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life. Do not be deceived, my brethren. So here I am on a rainy Sunday talking to faithful people. You came to church. Sorry, the rest of you at home. These people got up and got dressed and drove and they're here. But the message is still for everybody. Sandra and I sat with a couple this past week, and in this conversation about the condition of the church and what's happening in their congregation, what's happening in our congregation, the lady spoke up and said, we have a friend, excuse me, we have a female friend who is a divorce attorney, a divorced lawyer. He said, do you know what she told us the other day? That 90% of her divorce cases come from people who have hooked up with old flames from high school and college. They've gotten on the internet. They've been curious. What do they look like? We used to date. How's it been for them? I know how it's been for me. And she said, 90% of her cases stem from people who have some fantasy about the way it was. Some immature, teenager-ish, early 20s feeling about that person. They were all giddy, and they remembered all the first stuff, all the innocence before you had to pay bills and, you know, mortgages and kids came along and the pressure. And they always saw each other when they were dressed and ready to go out, and they were clean and neat. But now when they see each other, they're crawling out of bed after the babies didn't sleep last night, or they're trying to figure out how to make the car payment or the house payment, or what to do with the mother-in-law that's moved in. And it's not, it's not romantic anymore. So they start longing for those days when they were thinner. It's not funny. It's not funny. And when they didn't have the gray appearing, when when things were exciting, there's something to do every Friday night. In fact, in college, there's something to do every night with this person. And so they get on this demonic thing called, what do you call Facebook? And all the other stuff. I still don't have the terms right. Uh, thinking, I'll just check in on so-and-so. But I'm going to tell you something, and I'm going to offend somebody today. You're not just checking. You're trolling. Something is so unsettled in you, and there's such an emptiness in your heart that you really are fantasizing about yesterday. Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Oh, I believe in yesterday. And you, you start connecting. And some have even said, I'll meet you somewhere and we'll just talk. Bad idea. Although it's bad because it's your sin, your desire, your lust. It's not screaming yet, but it's moving around. It's like, it's like one of those Alaska toad frogs that crawls up under the dirt before winter and everything freezes over, and its heart beats twice a year. But when spring comes and the thaw melts everything, his heart starts beating, and he comes out. You see, your sin is like an Alaskan toad frog. Quote me. It's not giving you very much of a sense that it's there, but it starts beating faster and faster. And when you see that person, and you remember those things, and that voice, and you say, you remember that time we went to that ball game? Remember that time? Was this? And things start heating up. And all of a sudden, uh, the sin that's crouching at the door begins to move around and stretch itself and get ready for the, the pounce. And you're just fooling yourself about yesterday, thinking that it could be that way again. Maybe only God knows how many families have been destroyed, are in the process of being destroyed right now, because people forgot that sin is crouching at the door. And that you're not supposed to be deceived by yourself, by your feelings, or by your memories of yesteryear. Folks, it's gone. It's over. It'll never come back. And for you to want to, to revisit that is a sign that there is something not right in your heart. I beg you by the mercies of God, don't respond. Don't keep it up. It's only a matter of time before your resistance wears down and you talk yourself into thinking, this is not that bad. I just want to see how it is. And before you know it, sin has leaped, grabbed you, dragged you out of your house, and is now devouring you, your family, trying to destroy everything that God has given you. I've come here today with a solemn warning, as I've ever offered in my life, because you can't tell me that in this building, right in this building, I'm not talking about the people at home, there aren't people who haven't done just exactly what I've described here this morning. I want to ask you, sir, you know, I've often wondered, what does a woman have to look like for a man to sell his soul? What kind of masterpiece must she be for him to abandon a wife and children and a life, and yes, even his own soul? Sir, I'd like to see a picture of her. I really, I'd like to see a photo from the neck up. I would love to see something that beautiful that would make you risk going to hell over. She's not even young anymore. You're not even young anymore. You can't even enjoy the things that young flingers do. And yet you would risk eternity in hot hell and watch your children cry because you're leaving now, and know that they're going to grow up saying, why did my dad leave? Sir, you're a fool. You are an absolute raving maniac to think that somehow you can bring yesterday up to today and have now what you had then. Do not be deceived. If you tinker with sin, you will suffer greatly from sin. But you know the Bible said it was going to be this way, did it not? Paul wrote to a young pastor and said, remember this, the Spirit has spoken expressly that in the latter times, in the last days, some will depart from the faith, walk away from the faith because they have given heed to seducing spirits. Now, you tell me what that is. This whole Instagram, Facebook, Twitter thing, uh, internet junk, demonic, foul, hellish, devilish stuff. You tell me what that is except a seducing spirit, a doctrine of devils. You see, God has his doctrines, that's what we live by. Satan has his doctrines, and that's what his people live by. But this is one, something I've noticed, that in the last days, sinners will depart, or let me put it this way, deceived people will depart from the faith. But God's people will depart from sin. They'll run from it. See, I don't blow up and say, I ain't scared of sin. I am scared of sin. That's why I said, if I, if you'll just show me that picture of that woman from the neck up, that's all I want to see. I don't even want to be in her presence. I just want to see what you're willing to go to hell over. Because I don't trust me. I'm telling every man in this building, whether you're my best friend, my brother, whether you don't even know me, don't you ever trust yourself when you get in a spiritual state where you have self-pity and you're tired, especially when you're tired. Don't you ever trust yourself. Whether you're single or married, whether you've been married for a short time or a long time, don't you ever trust your flesh. You are capable of doing anything if you don't stay full of the Spirit of God and live in his word and go to church and pray. You are capable of doing anything. Ladies, don't you ever trust yourself. The devil will give you a hundred reasons why you ought to have joy and have somebody that loves you in your life because what you've been through in the past was just not fair. You didn't sign up for it, and it's just not fair. Satan's got somebody up there for you. Can everybody hear the preacher this morning in the balcony? Do you hear me? Satan already has somebody waiting for you. Some man, some woman, some temptress, some seductress waiting somewhere for you. And when you get in a state of of depression and you are emotionally distraught, Satan knows exactly when to have you rendezvous with that person. Sin is crouching at the door. It never goes away. Don't play with the flesh. Don't play with sin. Don't play with the devil. Live on your knees. Trust God. Walk by faith. Leave the devil alone. Some, some people don't like to read verses like this. John chapter 15, verse 6. If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If anybody does not abide in me. And let me tell you, he said before that, if you abide in me, you will bear fruit. If you're in me, you will be strong. If you're not in me, you will be gathered and thrown into the fire. Put up First John, if you would, chapter 3, verses 6 through 9. Here it is. This is the Bible. Whoever abides in him does not sin. This is as quiet as a reformed church right now. Whoever abides in him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen him nor known him. Next verse, little children, let no one deceive you. There it is again. Let no one deceive you. Next verse, he who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. Next one, he who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin. Cannot live a life of sin because he has been born of God. I could bring up on this stage, probably a hundred people who are living secret lies, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, communicating unethically and unnecessarily with old girlfriends and old boyfriends. Bring them up here on the stage, and I promise you, more than not, would say, I'm right with God. I'm fine with Jesus. The Lord understands my situation. Over the years, I can't tell you how many people I've talked with living in sin, saying, I'm good with God. We're fine. He understands. And once you get to that place, you're deceived. Once you think you're all right in your sin, then your sin will not bother you anymore. And I'm telling you that hell is full of people who said, me and Jesus are all right. But sin cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. If you are born again, you don't live a life of sin. Do you understand me? And I'm not even going to talk about prodigals who we all trip and stumble and fall. Oh, we know that. But I'm talking about a decision made that is against holy scripture, against the Spirit of God. You violate the, the conviction of God. There are people in this room who have sons-in-laws and daughters-in-laws who did this. And for some reason, they think it's okay. Can I just ask this before I forget to ask you, sir? What thinks, what makes in your mind, and you're not a fool when it comes to the Bible, you know enough to be saved. But in your mind, what makes you think you can sin and go to heaven? Can somebody help me with this? Whatever you've read, whatever you've contemplated, how did you come to the conclusion that you could live in sin and still go to heaven? But the church is full of people like that. Isn't this an exciting day? No, I'm not trying to make you excited. I'm trying to keep somebody from going to hell this morning. Because just as surely as I'm preaching, somebody will go to hell if they don't hear this message and heed this message. What gets into a person's mind? How, sir, how can you drive off and leave children on the front porch looking at you? Now, what's done is done. You can't, you can't unscramble an egg. You can't put toothpaste back in the tube. I'm just talking to those on the edge here. How do you think it's okay to write off and leave your wife and children? Ma'am, what makes you think it's okay for you to abandon your babies? Because listen here, it is ready. You have no excuse. There is no excuse. Or you can come up with reasons, but you can't come up with an excuse that's acceptable to God. And that's why I preach the way I do. Because at the end of every sermon, I point to an altar. Do I not? And say, that's the solution to all your problems. It's Jesus. Finding that old girlfriend is not the solution to your life. And finding a man telling you how pretty you are and you should have had a better life than this is not the answer. No, sir. Jesus is the answer. Jesus is your salvation. If it's not Jesus, you are lost in your sins, and you will spend eternity in torment. And I wish I could make this better. This is what the Lord laid on my heart. I even asked myself on the way to church, are you just in a bad mood this morning? Is that how you came up with this? But I didn't come up with this. The Lord laid this on my heart Thursday. This is God loving his people enough to send somebody to say, you better wake up. You better wake up. Time is running out. Don't trust your flesh. Sin is lying at the door. There's only one thing that will get you into heaven: the shed blood of Jesus. And you have to obey that. Stand with me, please. Do you know, um, well, I've gone this far, I might as well just go ahead and do it. People say, well, pastor, are we eternally secure or not? And I've often said, it depends on which scripture I'm reading. [Music] But watch this. And you who are, are you listening? And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now has he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, listen to present you holy, blameless, above reproach in his sight. Next word, if, if you indeed continue in the faith. If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard. You see, you don't just get saved and quit. You don't just get saved and float. You get saved and you work. You get saved and pray and you go to church and you do all the Christian things and you continue in the faith. The Bible says we are kept by the power of God through faith. We've got to walk in the truth. We've got to walk in obedience. I don't know how all that works, but God expects me to get up every day and start all over again with him. How about you? So this is it. I'm a holy man. I'm a blameless man. I'm on my way to heaven. [Music] If I continue in the faith, rooted and grounded. Well, it's been quite a solemn day this morning. It makes me kind of want to go back to the office and maybe play the tape. [Music] I'm going to try it though. Does anybody want to come to the altar this morning? Want to come down here and ask God to save you from yourself? Is there anybody that has forgotten that sin is crouching at the door? [Music] Or is there anybody who has been deceived? Maybe this is not one of those things you want to bring down front. Front. It doesn't really matter. All I'm asking you to do is deal with it. Deal with it before it's too late. See, that's the urgency of of this whole thing. There is going to be a rapture. Jesus is going to appear in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, in the clouds of glory. And you have to be ready at any second. So I'm asking you to get ready now. May the Lord add his blessing to his word. Sing it now. [Music] Jesus. [Music] Jesus is. [Music] All right, that's good enough. I'll tell you this, I don't know who's here this morning. I didn't pick anybody out. I'm not looking at anybody. I can't really see you. So don't go away saying, he was picking on me. No, God was picking on you. And God loves you. God wants to save you and deliver you. Let God do it. So if you've come to this altar, or kneel in the parking lot, I don't care where you do it, just get right. Time is running out. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Amen. See you tomorrow night at 7, unless Jesus comes.