Transcription
Good morning. Good to see you all. You can always tell it's summertime. Uh, all the camps, um, vacations, family reunions, but uh, we've got some things planned this summer I think you'll enjoy. So maybe that will entice you to uh, come to church rather than go camping or whatever you're doing. But uh, I'm glad you're here. Thank you so much for coming.
Um, Lisa is officially retired. Her last day was Friday. It's kind of funny. I guess people have the wrong idea. Uh, Lisa's retiring. What that simply means is she's no longer going to be working Monday through Friday. She's not on staff and receiving a salary. But this is her church. She co-pastors with me. So people, I I think get the idea that because she's retired, she's not going to be here. No, she is going to be a professional grandmother in the sense that that's what she's going to be—bathed in kisses and hugs and those type of things—but um, she's still here. This is our church. In fact, when and if I ever do retire, I want you to know this. Um, the church is the bride of Christ, the the body. This will always be my church and hopefully I'll remain pastor emeritus.
So, um, anyways, also let me say that, uh, we'll be starting, when I finish this series on grace, a series on Islam in the end times. I taught on this about 10 years ago, but I'm going to go a little bit more in depth. There's so much more information that I can share. Uh, I'm going to start it this summer. It's probably not a good idea because of numbers, but the reason I'm going to do that is because the first part of it is all about Islam. And we're not going to be derogatory towards them. We need to understand that God loves everyone. And I don't know where people get the idea that God loves some and hates others. That's not true. For God so loved the world.
Um, in fact, it's interesting that when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, they were told where not to go, which was to the land of the because God had given them land and said, "And I will not give you a foot of their land." Believe it or not, God loved Esau just as much as he loved Jacob. There's a reason why Jacob was chosen and Esau was not chosen. And if you understand the culture at the time, you realize why that took place. There's a reason why Joseph was chosen and he received the birthright. But it doesn't mean that God doesn't love those who were not chosen. And so when we teach on Islam, um, I'm going to be doing that because they have a great role to play in the end. In fact, the antichrist will come from the Middle East and he will be a Muslim. And I'll show you from the scriptures. And most so-called prophecy experts don't have a clue because they don't go deep enough. And we'll be doing that. We'll probably start the first part sometime in Jan or in June. And then hopefully by August, by the time school starts and everyone's back in the routine, we'll hit the second part of it. But I can't start until we fix the back wall. And when I say fix it, there's nothing broken, but we're actually making it larger for those online to be able to see it. So, it's going all the way to the floor and it's going to go anywhere between 12 to 18 ft wider. So, we'll be able to put more on the back and things I need to be able to show you while I continue to teach.
But anyways, that's what's coming up this morning. We're going to continue our study on the subject of grace and more specifically the grace of God. But first, let me briefly review what we've covered so far. In the New Testament, the word grace is translated from the Greek word karice. And karice is derived from the root word car. Now, according to Colin Brown, words that are formed from the Greek word car will always have something to do with promoting or protecting a person's well-being. In fact, our English word care comes from the Greek word car, and it means basically the same thing. Think about it. If I say that I will take care of you, what I mean is I'll look out for your well-being. I'll provide for you. I'll protect you and I'll do whatever is necessary to make sure that you're okay. So, as you can see, the word care, whether it's Greek or English, has to do with promoting or protecting a person's well-being. So I want you to think of grace like this. In fact, if I were you, I would write this definition in your Bible. So every time you come to the term grace and you know it's the word kares, you know what grace is. So I want you to think of grace like this: Grace is the way that God cares for you and the things that God does for you simply because he loves you. Not because we deserve it, not because we've earned it, but simply because God loves us.
Now, turn with me if you would to the book of Titus chapter 2, and we're going to read verses 11-12. That's been the scripture we've been staying with, and we're going to continue with it this morning. Notice what it says: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age." Now, I want you to notice that grace—that the grace of God brings salvation. But what does that mean? Well, the word salvation is translated from the Greek word sootarios. And so terios comes from the root word soo, which means to deliver out of a dangerous or harmful situation. So when the bible talks about salvation, it's talking about delivering us from a dangerous or harmful situation. Now, naturally the first thing that we think of is hell because hell is the ultimate harmful and dangerous situation. But there's more to salvation than just keeping us from going to hell. Salvation also causes us or should cause us to live a life that keeps us from putting ourselves in dangerous or harmful situations. Now, whenever we see salvation from that perspective, then Titus chapter 2, 11 and 12 makes perfect sense. Just think about it. Because grace is looking out for my well-being, it'll do everything it can to get me out of trouble, but also to keep me out of trouble. And the best way to keep me out of trouble is to teach me how to stay out of trouble. And that's what verse number 12 is saying. Grace brings us salvation, which gets us out of trouble. But grace—grace also teaches us how to stay out of trouble. Look at Titus chapter 2, 11 and 12 again. And I want you to read it from that perspective: "For the grace of God that brings salvation." And what does salvation do? It gets us out of trouble. It keeps us out of trouble. Everyone with me? And the first thing we think of is hell because that's the most harmful situation we can think of. So the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Sorry, Calvinists, not just a few that God has predestined—to all men. We all have a free will and we all have a choice in this. And then it goes further, teaching us—grace is actually teaching us. What's it teaching us? It's teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age. So, grace not only gets me out of trouble, which is what salvation is, but it also teaches me how to stay out of trouble.
Now, notice what grace teaches. It teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lust because those things will get you in trouble. Are you with me? And to live soberly, righteously, and godly because those things will keep you out of trouble. You see, a person who lives soberly, righteously, and godly won't get himself in trouble. Let me be honest with you: The majority of your problems are self-inflicted. It's not the devil picking on you. It's not that people hate you. It's because you do stupid things. Are you with me? Yeah. As an example, from time to time, I'll hear people complain about how corrupt policemen are and our judicial system. And you know what I always think, but I don't say it? Well, sometimes I say it. I think if you didn't do things that get you in trouble, you wouldn't have to worry about the police and the judicial system. I don't have to worry if the police are corrupt or the judicial system is broken because I don't do things that get me in trouble. I'm saved and God's grace teaches me how to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world so that I won't get in trouble.
Now, last week we talked about what Paul meant by living soberly. And if you don't mind—mind—I want to continue talking about that because the Bible has a lot to say about living soberly. So let me start with a question: What does it mean to live soberly? Well, the word sober is translated from the Greek word soprron, and it means to exercise common sense, discretion, and to think and act rationally. Now, in today's society, we define sober as not being drunk, right? Yeah. You see, when a person's drunk, they don't normally exercise common sense, discretion, or think and act rationally. So, we say that they're not sober. In other words, they're drunk. That's why they're acting the way they are. But it is possible not to be drunk and yet not be sober at the same time. Let me say that again: It's possible not to have a bit of alcohol and yet not be sober at the same time. Because sober means exercising common sense, discretion, and acting and thinking rashly. And I've seen people who are not intoxicated, who haven't had a drop of liquor, but they're still not acting or thinking rashly. They're not using common sense. And they surely don't have any discretion when it comes to Facebook. Yeah. No, they're not drunk, but neither are they sober. The problem is if you don't live soberly, you're going to wind up in trouble. You're going to wind up in financial trouble or in marriage trouble or maybe trouble at your job. So, you're going to need the grace of God to bring salvation—not from hell, but salvation for your marriage to fix it or salvation for your finances because you're in trouble. Yeah.
As an example, you know the precept that leads to prosperity. If you come to this church, you should know it by heart: Spend less than you make, save what you don't spend, and invest what you save. Right? Everyone knows that. But most people spend more than they make. They have nothing to save, therefore nothing to invest, and therefore they live paycheck to paycheck. Now, living paycheck to paycheck is going to get you into trouble because life has these unintended situations that occur and they usually bring along expenses with it. You need new tires. It's going to cost you $800. The refrigerator stopped working. Well, we'll eat out. Not today. That cost too much. Well, it's going to cost you $800 to $1,000 for a new refrigerator, even a cheap one. So, these unintended expenses come along and guess what? You're living paycheck to paycheck. So, guess what you do if you're a Christian? God, I need help. Now, I told you most problems for the majority of people are self-inflicted. You didn't follow God's principles, his precept on finances. You've lived beyond your means as a result of that. You've not saved anything. So when these expenses come, you need help to get out of trouble. Right? God, please help me. And you know what I love about God? He comes to the rescue. I don't know how he does it, but somehow miraculously you just seem to have enough money to stay afloat, to get the new tires, to get the refrigerator, to pay the deductible on your insurance when the tree limb fell on your house. Yeah, that's God's goodness.
Now, as a grandparent, I really have come to appreciate God because I care for my grandkids. And just about every Saturday, we go over to Macy's to help her with the twins and Bale. They're actually at school and daycare first part of the week, Monday through Friday. But on Saturday, she's got them. So, we'll go up there and spend Friday night uh, with Aaron and Micah, and spend time with Isla. Then Saturday morning, we go over there and we spend the day—helping to take care of the twins. And it's amazing the trouble those twins get into. They're just curious. They'll get behind the couch and get stuck and you hear one of them crying cuz they're stuck. So Papa comes over and says, "Are you supposed to be behind the couch?" I get them out of trouble. And I look at them and say, "Don't go behind the couch." I guarantee you within an hour they're going to be behind the couch again. And I'm going to hear, "Here comes Papa." And I'm thinking, "This is how God is with us. We get ourselves in trouble and God gets us out of trouble." And he says, "Don't spend more than you make." Yeah. In fact, he says it this way: Spend less than you make, save what you don't spend, and invest what you save. But we don't do it. We just go the same way. And we need God's grace to get us out of trouble. But God's grace also teaches us how to stay out of trouble. Does everyone understand what I'm saying? Everyone? Oh, good.
Now, let me explain why living soberly is so important. If that wasn't enough, as I said, sober means exercising common sense, discretion, and acting and thinking rationally. So, when we say that a person lives soberly, what we're saying is they don't act impetuously. Everyone knows what impetuous means, right? Impetuous means to act impulsively or to act on emotion without thinking. So if you have the tendency to be impetuous, it means that you're not living soberly. Now I don't want anyone to raise their hand. This is not a time for self-confession. But how many of you are impetuous and you know it? You're impulsive whether it comes to buying or doing things, uh, giving things away, whatever, being generous, but you're impulsive and you don't really think about it. Well, good. I'm talking to you. Listen to me. Good intentions are not the same as good judgment. I've seen more people with good intentions use poor judgment, act impetuously, and get themselves into trouble. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. In fact, notice what Isaiah 28, verse number 16 says: "Therefore, thus says the Lord God Yahweh, behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation, and no other foundation can any man lay," which is Jesus Christ. This is talking about Jesus. But notice what he says: "Whoever believes." So, how many of you believe in Jesus? All right. "Whoever believes will not act hastily." Now, I want you to underline that word hastily. Hastily is translated from the Hebrew word cush. Kind of fun to say. Say couch. Yeah, it's kind of fun. It means to act quickly or make a quick decision because of excitement or eagerness. How many of you see something you really got to have—you just bought it. Well, you know what's kind of funny is I—I have to be honest—when it comes to food, I'm impetuous. It just looks good and then about five minutes later and say, "Why did I—why did I eat that?" You know what I'm saying? But anyways, but it says in—and what couch means, it means to act quickly or make a quick decision because of excitement or eagerness. In other words, to be impetuous. As believers, we should not be impetuous. And that's what Isaiah 28:16 is telling us. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you've received the grace that brings that salvation to get you out of trouble—mainly to get you out of hell, but also to keep you out of trouble in this present world. And if you believe, you should not act impetuously. Instead, we should be cautious, careful, and think things through before we act or make a decision.
Now, I want you to notice—because this is good—how Peter interprets Isaiah 28:16 because he actually quotes this in second Peter. Look with me if I'm—sorry, 1 Peter. Look at 1 Peter chapter 2, verse number 6. He's actually quoting Isaiah chapter 28:16, but he's going to give his own little twist to it. Notice what he says: "For in scripture, it says, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.'" We're called Cornerstone Fellowship because this church is built on the word. And John tells us, "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God." And verse 14 says, "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. Glor—is the only begotten." Who's the—who's the word? Jesus. And he's the foundation. So here he is. Said a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. "Whoever believes on him," personal pronoun, he's making this interpretation that this cornerstone is Jesus. Notice what he says, "shall not be confounded." He didn't say shall not act hastily. He said shall not be confounded. Notice that Peter used the word confounded instead of the phrase act hastily. And the reason he did that is because he wants to emphasize what happens when we act hastily. When we act impetuously and that is we become confounded. But what does he mean by that? Well, the word confounded is translated from the Greek word katuno. Katisuno and it means to be embarrassed, ashamed or disgraced. You see, when you get too eager to do something and you act hastily, you don't use good judgment and you normally end up doing something very foolish. And that's what Peter meant by being confounded. He meant you do something stupid, something embarrassing, something you regret, something foolish. So the bottom line is this: Those who live soberly don't act impetuously. They don't get too eager and act hastily.
Now, I've got a choleric personality and I'm a delegator and I'm a decision maker. And I had to teach myself early on, especially as the pastor of the church, that even if you think you know what the right answer is, go pray about it, think on it, ask the Holy Spirit to guide and lead you, so that I wouldn't act impetuously and do something foolish, something I would regret, something I would be embarrassed by. So this is what he's telling us. He says, he says, don't act hastily or don't act impetuously. Now, those who live soberly don't act impetuously. They don't get too eager and act hastily. Instead, they use and exercise common sense and discretion. Listen to me because this is important: The devil will always try to get you to make a hasty decision. In fact, it should always be a warning when the salesman tells you, "Well, we're not going to be able to hold this forever. You need to make a decision because I got two other people that want this." Well, maybe God wants those two other people to have it. And if God wants you to have it, I guarantee you he'll hold it for you. But that is a common ploy by salesmen that you need to make a quick decision. But I want you to understand God is not that way. The devil acts that way. He'll always try to push you to make a hasty decision because he knows that hasty decisions are usually based on emotion and not common sense and reasoning. So, whenever someone's trying to get you to make a hasty decision, nine times out of 10, they're trying to get you to make the wrong decision. In fact, when someone tries to get me to hurry and make a quick decision, that teaches me or tells me I need to dig my heels in and say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's slow things down. I'm scared that it won't be there." Trust me, if it's not there, God probably didn't want you to have it. Are you with me? Good.
Now, we're going to go a little bit deeper. Living soberly means that there is balance in your life. Turn to Proverbs 11, verse number one, and let me show you something interesting. At least it's interesting to me. Notice what it says: It says, "A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight." Now, the gist of this verse is that it's an abomination to God to cheat people. You see, in ancient times, dishonest merchants usually had two sets of scales, different sets. One set was for buying a product from someone, and the other set was for selling a product to someone. The set that was used to purchase a product used heavier weights so that he could get more product than what he actually paid for. The set he used to sell a product used lighter weights so that he could give the customer less than what they actually paid for. And according to Proverbs 11:1, that is an abomination to God because you're cheating people. In fact, it's kind of interesting if you've ever tr—if you've ever traveled to the Middle East, they don't think it's wrong to take you. In fact, that's just part of the art of the
Deal. Yeah. They expect you to dicker. They expect you to negotiate. And let me tell you, if you don't, they're taking you. That's just the way it is. But I want you to understand there is a deeper meaning here. That's the surface level meaning. So let's go a little bit deeper.
And it has to do with the person's life. You see, sometimes we place more weight on something than we should. And who do we end up cheating? Ourselves. Yeah. As an example, some of you men place more importance on making money than you do on having a good relationship with your wife and your children. And one day you're going to find out that you cheated yourself and you cheated your family. And that's an abomination to God.
So, let me give you a principle. If you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. This is a great principle. And parents, you should be teaching your children. Grandparents, you should be teaching your grandchildren. Here it is: The key to a great life is balance. Balance. Yeah. I have a great life. I love the church. I love what I do. I love God. There's nothing better than serving God. I love my wife. I love my children. I love my grandchildren. I'm telling you, I have a great life. But the reason I do is because I'm balanced. So the key to a great life is balance.
It's knowing how much importance or weight to place on each aspect of your life. It's knowing how much importance or weight to place on your relationship with God, on your relationship with your family, on your job, on your hobbies, on your health, etc. Because if you place too much importance or weight on one area of your life, you're going to cheat the other parts of your life. People, that's just the way life is. So, the key to a great life is balance. It's knowing how much importance or weight to place on each part of your life and how much weight to give to each area.
Now, those who live soberly are better at doing that than others. They have the tendency to reflect and look back on the past year or the past month or the past week and realize, you know, I've got some priorities out of whack. I've got some things that I'm placing too much importance on and not other things I'm not placing enough importance on. But even for those who are living soberly, it's not easy to do this. It's not easy to be balanced. And the reason I say that is because it's human nature to go to extremes in one area or another. And whenever you go to an extreme, you're not balanced. But people, that's human nature. It's human nature to go to extreme extremes, especially in one area.
And I'm going to give you an example. And this example is going to nail me. How many of you are tired of being nailed by me? Well, good. I'll use myself as an example. Therefore, you can't get mad at me for using something that really applies to your life. A good example is our diet. Most people are either binge eating or they're dieting. They're either stuffing themselves or they're not eating at all. Now, my problem is not that I eat too much. My problem is I like everything that's high in calories. I like sauces made from heavy cream. I love ice cream at night and not just a scoop. I'm looking at this and going, "That's just a scoop. I want six scoops of my bow till it looks like this. I want to eat dessert first." You know, Lisa's a good baker, but she's much more disciplined than me. She'll eat one or two pieces and then I finish off the rest during the week. That's just me. And you know, I look at this and I go, I went out to eat with Randall Miller. Man, he eats twice what I eat, but he eats healthy things and good things and things that aren't as caloric. And I know I need to make better choices, but I put too much weight or importance on taste. I had a person come up to me one day and said, "Pastor, you need to eat more salad." I said, "I do. I just tripled the ranch dressing on it and all the other good things on it, so my salad is not less caloric than anyone else's. I mean, it's just unbelievable." But I place too much weight or importance on taste. And who am I cheating? Myself and Lisa, she's got to look at me. But anyways, so knowing this, turn to First Peter chapter 4, verse number 7, and let me give you a biblical example.
All right, now I might nail you. It says, "the end of all things." Now what's the end of all things? The NLT translates it as the end of the world. And that's what it's talking about, the end of all things. In other words, the end of life as we know it. Now, it doesn't mean that there's not going to be a millennium. It doesn't mean that after the millennium, the great white throne judgment, we then don't have uh eternal life that continues on. But the Bible tends to look at the end of all things, the end of the world as being the rapture, the tribulation, the second coming of Jesus Christ. Because then a new dispensation begins when Jesus returns. And what happens is all things are are uh all things go back to the way it was before the fall. And that's why in the millennium you're able to read that the the lion will lay down with the sheep and the child will be able to touch the cobra and you don't have to worry. You will swim with crocodiles and do those things because when Jesus Christ returns and we enter the millennium, all things are going to be restored to the way it was before the fall. That's what the Bible teaches. If you've never been taught eschatology, then you don't understand that. That's the whole meta-narrative of the Bible. How do we get back to the garden? Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, the cherubim were placed to keep them from coming back into it. And so the whole meta-narrative of the story is we've been separated from God. How do we get back to God and the way it was before the fall? And how do we do that? Jesus. Jesus. But our salvation is not consummated till he returns. And we are going to be raptured to miss the great tribulation. I'm a pre-trib, as you can tell. We're going to have an incorruptible, immortal, glorified body. Incorruptible means no more being subject to sickness or disease. Immortal means we're no longer subject to death. Glorified means we will no longer have this atomic nature. Wow. But that's when Jesus returns.
Here's what Peter's saying: First Peter chapter 4:7, "The end of all things, in other words, the end of the world as we know it, is at hand." Peter thought that back then. And really it is because the way God sees time is a little bit different than the way we see time. But here's the interesting thing: I truly believe we're the final final generation. And if you want to know why I believe that, listen to my series on the Mount of Olives. Uh, all of it's on discourse. Anyways, the end of all things is at hand. But notice what he says: "Be ye therefore sober and watching unto prayer." Notice that Peter says, "The end is at hand. Therefore, be sober." Now, to the human mind, that does not make sense. If the end is at hand, it's human nature to want to build a shelter, to store up food and water. It's human nature to want to quit your job, go live in a commune, and wait for Christ's return. But God says, "Don't do that. Be sober." How many of you remember the book *88 Reasons for Christ's Return in 1988*? Anyone remember that book? Wow, that's a long time ago. I was a very, very young pastor when I read the book and people were bringing me the book. "Pastor, what should we do?" And I said, "Live soberly." You see, you wouldn't believe the number of Christians who went to the extreme. They sold everything and they quit their jobs believing that the rapture was going to happen at any moment. They put debt on their credit cards because, "I'm not going to be here to pay it." And I'm going, "Please don't do that." Jesus told us to occupy until he comes. And that Greek word for occupy means to do business. You carry on your life just the way you would if he was not coming. So I tell people this: You believe that Jesus is coming in your lifetime, but you act as if he's not, because that's what Jesus told you to do. Do I believe Jesus is coming in my lifetime? You betcha. I believe that if I will eat right, I will live to see the rapture. Yeah. Or I should say experience the rapture. No one's going to see it unless you're still here. People are gone. I'm going to experience it. But anyways, you know, Christians did that when the Y2K bug came out. Remember right before we came to the year 2000, everyone was scared to death that when it rolled over because of the computers had this Y2K bug. It wasn't programmed, all these things were going to stop. So guess what they did? They stocked up on food and water. They were prepared with their shotguns for all chaos to happen. Now can you see why Peter said, "The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be sober"? Have some common sense and discretion and act and think rationally because soberness provides balance. Now, you won't find the word balance in the New Testament in the way that I'm using it. But that's because the Bible doesn't refer to it as balance. It refers to it as living soberly. So when you see living soberly, think of it as living balanced.
Now, another benefit of soberness is that it helps you to see things as they really are. Turn to Romans 12:3, and I'll show you what I'm talking about: "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." I'm always amazed at how many people think they can sing when they can't sing. I'll tell you how bad it is: We had a worship pastor that would bring people up here just to to yield favor with people that couldn't sing and they wouldn't even turn the microphones on. They ran tracks. Yeah. But the people got up there because they thought they could sing and they couldn't sing. Oh, I'm always amazed at how many people think they're a great athlete and they're not. You know, I used to tell my girls when they were younger, now I'll tell my grandkids, "If I'd been a little bigger, a little stronger, a little faster, a little quicker, a little more coordinated, a little more talented, I could have played pro ball." There's no way. I couldn't even play college ball. But you see, I stated it in such a way that I need to be all these things. But anyone that knows me as an adult listens to that and says what he's saying is he's not big enough. He's not strong enough. He's not talented enough. He's not quick enough. He's not coordinated enough. He's not athletic enough. Yeah. But you'd be surprised the number of people that think they're a great athlete and they're not, or they think they're smarter than what they really are. But you know, I think that's part of human nature. I think it's human nature to think more highly of yourself than you ought to.
So, this short little Bible, think about this: This is the New Testament. God's given us everything that we need, but he's got to boil it down because if not, the Bible would be like 16 volumes with 1,500 pages each. But no, he's boiled it down. And he takes a little part of what's so important and he says this, Romans 12:3, "Not to think of yourselves more highly than ye ought to think, but to think soberly." Because Paul understood under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that most people think more highly of themselves than they ought to. They think they're good at things they're not good at. They think they're called to do things they're not called to do. Now, I'm not trying to be a bummer, okay? I just want you to understand God has given gifts, talents, and abilities to every one of us. Find out what your gifts, talents, and abilities are. Recognize it, but also recognize what you're not gifted or talented or have the ability to do. Are you with me? Yeah. You see, people who think more highly of themselves than they ought to aren't living in reality. They're living in a fantasy world. They're deluding themselves. On the other hand, sober people live in reality, not a fantasy land. They think realistically and objectively, and they're able to see their strengths, but also see their weaknesses.
You know, every once in a while, my grandkids will say something that my children will correct them. "Don't correct them. They're just being honest. They're being honest with Papa." They'll say something like, "Papa's bald and fat." And we don't say that. And I'll say, "It's okay. Papa is bald and fat." And then Micah will say, "Dad, if you teach them to say that to you, they'll get out and pub." Okay, Papa is bald and fat, but we can't say that about anyone else. That's what I tell them. But, you know, it doesn't hurt my feelings because I live soberly. I think soberly. I can look in the mirror and I can see I'm fat and bald. Everyone with me? So, most people don't know what they're good at and what they're not good at. And a person needs to know what they're good at so they can do what God has called them to do. I'm good at teaching the Bible. It took years for Lisa to convince me that not everyone can read the Bible and know what it means. When I first began in the ministry, I'd be telling her something and she'd say, "Oh, that's good. You need to teach that." I said, "Why? Everyone knows that." No, they don't. Or I would be tying something in and she would say, "Wow, how did you know that that verse tied in with this verse?" "Well, isn't it obvious?" And she would say, "No, you're gifted at that." It took years for her to convince me. And so now when I'm teaching, every once in a while I'll say something that people think is arrogant, but it's not. I'll say, "That's good teaching." But people, if I didn't think it was good teaching then I need to shut up, sit down, and not teach and let someone who can teach get up here. But there came a time in my life that I realized God had called me to pastor. He has called me to teach the word of God, and therefore he has gifted me to do that. And it's not arrogant to recognize what God has called you to do. Patrick Mahomes is gifted by God to be the best quarterback in the NFL. Prove me wrong. No, just tease him. Oh, he'll pass Tom Brady. I want you to understand, you look at these people and the things they do, but I look at people that maybe the gifts that they have are not as visible as others, but still so very, very important. And I'm going to tell you, the two most important are to be a father and a mother. And if you're a Christian, God will gift you to do that. He'll open up the word. And if you'll follow his word, you can be a great father and a great mother. And you can also be a great spouse. But it's going to take some work because your flesh is not going to want to do what the word of God says. But you know what I love about God's grace? It's come to teach me how to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age to keep me out of trouble. To keep me out of trouble in my marriage, to keep me out of trouble in my finances, to keep me out of trouble in my job. And if I'll just learn the word of God and I'll apply it to my life, if I'll be the person who learns what grace is teaching, I can stay out of trouble. When I stay out of trouble, boy, I get some great blessings. Let's stand.
Now, if you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, let me say this: you're in trouble and don't even know it. Because if you should die in this condition, you will not go to heaven. There's only one way to heaven, and that way is Jesus. If there was any other way, Jesus would not have had to come to this earth, live a sinless life, die on the cross for our sins, his soul descend into hell to pay the penalty for our sins, and then be resurrected. And we know that because in the garden Jesus prayed, "Father, if it be possible, in other words, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me." He wasn't just talking about the crucifixion, people. He was talking about taking the sins of the world upon himself and paying the penalty for those sins. Lots of people have been crucified and went to it very heroic and very bravely. But Jesus was sweating huge drops of blood, that only comes from having the weight of the world upon you. But it's because he knew he was going to carry the sins of the world and have to bear the punishment of the world upon himself. Not just physically, but also spiritually. And it was to get you out of trouble, to get you out of going to hell. But if you don't receive this free gift of Jesus, I can't help you and neither can God because he's given you what you need. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. But it's up to you to receive Jesus. So, I'm going to say a simple prayer. If you want to receive Jesus, all you've got to do is say this prayer. Prayer is not magic. Just because you say it doesn't mean you're saved and not going to hell. But if you believe what you're saying, the faith in Jesus will cause your sins to be forgiven and you will get to go to heaven. You'll be saved by grace through faith in Jesus. So I want everyone to bow their heads, close their eyes. If you want to receive Jesus, just repeat this prayer after me: "God, I know I'm a sinner and I know that my sin has separated me from you, but God, I believe you love me. And that's why you sent help. You sent grace. You sent Jesus to get me out of the trouble I'm in, going to hell. You sent Jesus to die for my sin. You sent Jesus to pay the penalty for my sin. And I believe and all my sin was paid for. God, you raised Jesus from the dead. I believe that, Jesus. And I want you to be Lord of my life. I want you to save me so that I can go to heaven. Thank you, Jesus, for what you've done. Thank you for saving me." Now with every head bowed, every eye closed. If you said that prayer for the first time and meant it, you need to confess that Jesus is Lord. I won't embarrass you and ask you to come forward. I won't send anyone to you. But you will be confessing to God that you said that prayer, even though he hears your hearts, but you'll also be confessing because I'm looking. Anyone here that says, "Pastor, I said that prayer. I believe in Jesus," raise your hand real high if that's you. Anyone at all? Best decision you'll ever make. Anyone? Anyone at all? I'm going to assume everyone here is saved. If you're online and you said that prayer, I want you to type in the word "Jesus."