[0:00] Take your Bibles, if you would, and turn with me to Mark chapter 3 and verse 13. Mark chapter 3 and verse 13. In this passage of Scripture, Jesus is going to call his disciples, his first workers, and he's going to prepare them to send them to the world, and it's going to show the drastic change that takes place when God is calling someone to go out into the ministry and when he's calling them to go out into the ministry.
[0:22] And by the way, he's still calling, and he wants us to surrender, and I hope you'll see that as we go through this today. Read with me, if you would, Mark chapter 3 and verse 13. The Bible said, And he goes up into a mountain and calls unto him whom he would, and they came unto him.
[0:38] Father, I pray now that you would call some of us that aren't giving, aren't going, aren't praying, aren't really trying to serve you. I pray you'd deal with our hearts today. I pray you'd help us to be more committed to your cause and your kingdom and your purposes.
[0:51] And I pray, God, you'd call some out that would go and preach the gospel somewhere else in the world. And I pray, dear God, that you'd save those that are here today that have never trusted you as their personal Savior, that today would be that day, and I'll give you praise for all you do.
[1:04] In Jesus' name, amen. In Mark chapter 3 and verse 13, I want you to mark some things, and we're just going to work our way through this passage of Scripture. It's a very exciting passage because Jesus is launching his public ministry now, and he's going big time.
[1:19] And if you'll notice in the verse, he went up into a mountain. He went up into a mountain. That was the opposite of the way people in Jewish times that were rabbis. Rabbis were not the ones who asked you to come study.
[1:32] You used to ask the rabbi. But Jesus is going to do things totally different, and he says, Hey, I'm going up this mountain, and I'm calling you to come. And he picked the ones he wanted to call, and they came to him.
[1:44] And so in that first verse, I just want you to consider some things. You know, if you really want to serve God, you can't hang out with everyone and be like everyone and be used of God. If you really want to serve God, you're going to have to separate and go away, like going up into that mountain to do that.
[1:57] You're going to have to leave your home, your comfort zone. You're going to have to leave whatever you're used to and leave your friends and say, I'm going to obey God. And here's what they did in the passage.
[2:08] They responded. When he called them and said for them to come, they came. And I really believe there are people even in our church now who God wants to use you greater. God wants to do more stuff in your life.
[2:18] He's dealing with you, but your fight in your heart is. I want to stay in my comfort zone. I want to stay where I'm used to. I want to stay doing what I'm doing. And you're going to have to decide what's more important to you, obeying God or doing what's important to you.
[2:30] And so if you go through this passage, look at that. Going into Mark 3, 14, very next verse, look at it. He's going to appoint them, and he's going to name them. In verse 14, he said, and he ordained 12, and that they should be with him, that he might send them forth to preach and to have power over to heal sickness and to cast out demons.
[2:48] Notice this. He ordained 12. Now, to ordain this year, this isn't ordaining where we see them in church. We put our hands on them, and we pray for them. It was like choosing them and giving them a job, choosing them and saying, you're the men.
[3:04] Here's the job. Here are the men. I'm putting you two together. And then he called them the 12. He ordained the 12. And that's what they're going to be called. They'll be sent out to preach.
[3:14] If you've got your Bible open, underline this. He ordained 12. He picked them. He called them. They came to him. And this is what he wanted. He wanted them to be with him. He wanted them to spend time with him.
[3:25] One of the most exciting things in the whole Bible is these guys, they live with Jesus. They walk with Jesus. They do all the ministry with Jesus. And so they're going to learn to be like him. But he's doing it because, look at the verse, he's going to send them out.
[3:39] His ministry is to tell the world that he died on a cross. He hadn't done that yet. But he knows, hey, I'm about to die. I'm about to pay everybody's sin debt. I'm about to make it where anybody can go to heaven that wants to go to heaven.
[3:51] And I need that message carried to the entire world. So y'all come spend time with me. You get to know me, and then I'm going to send you out. And when I send you out, I'm going to give you the power to do what I send you with because he gave them power.
[4:03] Look at verse 15. He said, I give you power. You're going to have ability and power to do the ministry that I've called you to do. God has a plan and a purpose for you.
[4:14] And he wants you to make a difference. Have you ever considered that God never intended for us to just be evolved animals, higher up on the food chain than others, and we're just supposed to make our nest, have our children, and get old and die?
[4:26] But God had a purpose for you, and your life is not an accident, and he wants you to live in that for him? You know, you ought to try to say, God, what do you want me to do? Am I just here by accident, or is there something my life ought to accomplish on this world?
[4:40] You should find out what God wants you. And you should get around the people where you can get the training and the teaching, and you should say, I'm going to be used to God to do whatever it is he has for me. Since I was a little kid, you know what I wanted?
[4:50] I just want to know, how does God plan and want to use my life? I want to be whatever he wants me to be, and that ought to be where you are right now. Now, you're thinking to yourself, I don't think he could use me.
[5:01] You don't understand. I don't think he could use me. Preachers and apostles and missionaries are like big superstars, and they're like way above everybody else, and they're not like normal people.
[5:12] But then you get a list of people that he chose right here. So look, if you would, with me at Mark 3, verse 16. And I'm just real quick going to tell you, these guys don't look that good. These guys look like they could have been common, everyday members of Vision Baptist Church.
[5:24] And if you guys had known him, you'd have been like, I don't know why he picked that one. So look at this verse. If you would, in verse 16, he picked Simon, and he surnamed him Peter. Do you all know who Peter is?
[5:34] Do you remember the Bible story about Peter? I mean, God doesn't hide from us who these guys are. Peter's the guy that gets discouraged. Peter's the guy that likes to argue with God. When Jesus is on his way into Jerusalem, and he says, boys, I'm going here to Jerusalem, and I'm going to be crucified, and I'm going to die, and I'm going to be raised again.
[5:51] Peter turned around and said, oh, you're not going to do that. You're not doing, we're not going to let you do that. We're not going to go to Jerusalem and let you do that. That just ain't happening. And Jesus looked at him and said, get behind me, Satan. It is this arrogant guy who, when everybody, when it's right before he's going to be crucified, and Jesus said, they're coming to get me.
[6:05] And it's over, boys. It's fixing to happen. It's going down. Now, Peter said, well, I tell you what, I wouldn't trust the rest of these 11 guys in this room. I wouldn't trust one of them. You know, they'll turn on you, but you've got one guy to stick by you.
[6:17] You can mark her down. I'll be there. I won't mess up. I'll be the guy you can trust. And you know who it was? It was the guy he couldn't trust. John was standing at the cross, and Peter was saying, I don't know who he is. I'd never heard of the guy. And then he started cussing and said, by the way, I really blankety-blank, I don't know who he is.
[6:31] That's Peter. Now, if I was picking a guy, I'm not sure he'd be on the short list for being my apostle. Then go with me to Mark chapter 3 and verse 17. Then he names two guys named James and John.
[6:42] These guys are proud, arrogant manipulators with a temper problem. You know, right before Jesus is not long to go, he just got through telling them, I'm about to die. He just got through telling them what was going to happen to him.
[6:53] And these boys, they got their mama to come talk to Jesus. They said, mama, we want you to get us a good job in the kingdom. And so, mama, would you go talk to him? So there's Jesus. And mama walks, mama's boys.
[7:04] And mama walks in and says, Jesus, would you let one of my boys sit on your right hand and one of my boys sit on your left hand? That's what I'd like to know. And he's like, you guys don't know what you're asking. And by the way, they got an anger problem.
[7:14] They're the sons of thunder. I don't know if I'd put them on the short list to make it in. Then there's Philip. See, you don't know that much about old Philip. But Philip couldn't catch on to what was going on. Mark chapter 3 and verse 18. I'm just picking a few of these guys.
[7:25] Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew and Matthew and Thomas and James. I want you to notice what happens with Philip. In John chapter 6, the Bible says that Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company coming to him. And he said to Philip, he says, Philip, where are we going to get the money?
[7:39] Where are we going to get some? Where are we going to buy? How are we going to buy these guys something to eat? And Jesus was only seeing if he'd learned any lessons. He's been walking with Jesus. This is the guy that can make wine at a wedding. This is the God who can raise people from the dead.
[7:51] And Philip's been spending time with him. You would hope by now that Philip's like, hey, I know you, man. If anybody come up with a way for us to feed them, you'll have a plan. And here's Philip's answer. Ain't no way. Look at what he said in verse 7.
[8:03] Philip answered him. He said, $200 worth of bread wouldn't be enough. We couldn't. Ain't no way we're pulling this one off. And Jesus was just checking him. So this guy, he's got a hard time catching on. He's got a hard time figuring it out.
[8:15] There's another guy mentioned here. His name's Thomas. And in John chapter 14, Jesus said, hey, guys, I'm leaving. I'm going to heaven and I'm going to prepare you a place. And I'm going to come back and get you. And I'm going to take you to myself. And we're all going to go to heaven.
[8:26] And Thomas goes, oh, my goodness. This ain't the plan we had at the beginning. I wasn't expecting that one. He said, well, I'll tell you what. If you just show us the Father, could you just at least show us the Father? And if you'll just show us the Father, we'll be happy.
[8:37] And Jesus looked at him and said, I've been with you so long and you ain't figured out I am the Father. And when you see me, you have seen the Father. In other words, these guys aren't really measuring up much to be the guy you might think. And I'll just end it with this one.
[8:48] You know who he picked next? Judas Iscariot. And I don't need to tell you his story. That guy is the scumbag of all. And he's in this group. So you're sitting there saying to yourself, I don't know if God could use me.
[8:59] I don't know if I measure up. You're a young person. You say, I don't read that well. I don't talk that well. I don't have those abilities. You're an older person. And you're saying, I just feel like it's not where I can do something for God.
[9:09] I don't feel like I could be used to God. And I'm just saying to you, in this story here, he was looking for some people he could appoint to do a job. And he called them out and said, come do the job. And then he called out regular people.
[9:20] I think somehow you got the hall of fame in your mind. And you're like walking in and it's like, this is the great Peter. He was the man who could do everything. He went, wow, he's the guy that walked on.
[9:32] It's the stories you're telling. But in the story of the Bible, Jesus lets us know old Peter was just a regular guy. And then he goes out there and Thomas and every one of his guys are just normal people. Would you consider this with me?
[9:42] You can't dodge the fact that God has a plan for you. You can't dodge the fact that God has a plan for you and you can't do, you can't use as an excuse. I don't measure up. These guys didn't measure up. It wasn't about them. You can come and be used of God regardless of your background.
[9:55] He will purify you and prepare you. Before I leave this, I just am always shocked. In our Sunday school class today, we talked about how God used Solomon to write the book of Proverbs. And Solomon's the wisest guy. And Solomon gave all the wisdom.
[10:07] And we talked about that. And then one of the young men brought up the fact that he had a thousand women in his life and he messed his life up. And I said, isn't it amazing? God used a guy that was a real mess up. You know how he does it with you? He used a guy with a real mess up.
[10:18] You're like, I can't be anything. I'm not somebody. I don't measure up. And God's like, I'm in the business of using mess ups. That's how I go about doing things. You can come and he will use you. Now here's what happens in the story.
[10:28] Hang on. This is the part you know. You're like, I've heard all that stuff before. I just want you to see that, man, when they decided, they went all in. All of my life, it's been a bad thing to be a fanatic of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[10:39] You're never supposed to go overboard with that. Now you can go overboard for Alabama. You can go overboard for Tennessee. And you can go overboard for Georgia Tech or Georgia. You can go overboard for all of that you want to go over.
[10:50] But don't you dare get totally into. You can go overboard and buy guns. Say, man, I got several of them myself. You know, like somebody says, have you seen this gun? I said, no, but I'll get one. I mean, we're into whatever we want to be into.
[11:02] Hey, we had an air balloon land in a parking lot this morning. I don't know. I mean, I'm talking about a massive one. I'm sitting in my office. It sounded like to me that there was a windstorm going on outside. But I sat there thinking, I'm just hearing that. I'm an old man making that up.
[11:13] And then Trent comes and said, you see what's out there? And I looked out there and there was this massive air balloon. I'm like, what in the world are you guys pulling off on the church today? Somebody was into that too. I'm supposing it costs a little more than a balloon you buy down at Walmart.
[11:24] But anyway, so look at what's going to happen. Go with me, if you would, to Mark chapter 3 and verse 20. Jesus and his men, they get immediately very busy. I mean, they're not partially into this.
[11:35] They're really in. Look, if you would, in Mark chapter 3 and verse 20. The multitude came together again so that they could not so much as eat bread. They didn't have time to do what you need to do just to stay alive.
[11:46] I mean, Jesus, he's got these guys with him now. We just heard them getting called. And the next thing they know, they're in the middle of it. And all of a sudden, there are people all around them. And they don't have time to get something to eat.
[11:57] It's not like, hey, can we take a coffee break? Can we go get a donut? Can we run by the bathroom right quick? They were all around them with all of their needs. And they were just pushing and pressing.
[12:07] And they're after Jesus to know more. That's how it was. It was like, I'm working hard at this. And they worked so hard that regular people said, we don't understand this guy. He's a nutcase.
[12:18] Look, if you would, at Mark chapter 3 and verse 21. I love this. You probably don't pay attention when you're reading through your Bible because you don't dig into the story. But look at Mark 3, 21. And his friends heard of it. And they went to lay hold on him and said, he's going crazy.
[12:29] He's beside himself. So Jesus had friends. He's been living on the earth 30 years. And he just raised up these 12 guys. And he's just launching out on his ministry. And Jesus is out there. And they heard, man.
[12:40] He started at sunup. And people are all around him. They come lunchtime. They didn't take time for lunch. They didn't get their morning tea. And they didn't get their afternoon break. And they didn't get their snacks. And they didn't make a bathroom run.
[12:51] And everybody heard about that. And so his friends came out. He's still going to it. His friends come out and said, man, what's wrong, Jesus? Tell me goodnight. You've gone crazy. You don't have time to even eat. His friends said he was beside himself.
[13:02] That's what happens in that verse. And look what happens in the next verse. If you look at Mark 3, verse 22. In Mark 3, verse 22, the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said he has to be Elzebub. And by the prince of devils cast he out demons.
[13:13] Or out devils. The religious people, they needed a way to excuse their power and work. I mean, the work ethic of Jesus was like this. I'm at it. And I don't have time to take a break. People need the gospel.
[13:24] People need what I can do. And I'm here. Get with it, boys. Let's go to work and do stuff. And his friends don't understand it. And the religious people are like, well, we don't work that hard. He make it look bad. We've been getting paid a salary by the church.
[13:35] We've been living off the tithes and offerings. And we're kind of looking bad right here. So let's back this up and say we've got to attack Jesus. Well, he is. He's not doing the work of God. He's not doing the work of God. He's just trying to get popularity.
[13:46] And he's doing it with the power of the devil himself. He's doing it with the power of the devil himself. He needed any excuse. They needed any excuse they could come up with to say it's Jesus is not doing the right thing. Jesus looked at them when they said that.
[13:57] And he goes, oh, come on, boys. You think I can throw the devil out by the power of the devil? He said, you obviously don't think real good. Because if the devil threw out his own people, that'd be like a house divided. If he's fighting against himself, he's already gone crazy.
[14:09] I'm not the one that's crazy here. He said, what y'all are saying don't make a lick of sense to everybody around here. But you knows that. The devil's not doing it. So Jesus is so hard at work. His friends don't understand it. He's so hard at work that he doesn't have time to eat.
[14:20] He's so hard at work that the religious people are like, we don't understand why he's doing it. By the time Jesus gets their religion had become a thing of rich people. If you could afford to give money to the priest, you could afford to give money to those guys.
[14:31] If you were a big donor, you were somebody. And so they didn't understand that. You're not going to believe this. Go ahead and put on your seatbelt. This is going to get rough. The next thing that happens is his mom and brothers and sisters. Here come mama. And mama wants to know what's going on.
[14:42] Mama wants to talk to me. Look with me if you would at Mark chapter 3 verse 31. Then there came then his brother and his brothers and his mother and standing without went unto him calling him. So now Jesus is, I don't know, he's in here preaching in this room right here and it's jam-packed and people are sitting on top of people and the room is full of people.
[15:00] And finally somebody comes in the back door and they say, Jesus, your mama and brothers are out there and they want to talk to you. Now if you expect Jesus right now to say, okay, the work needs to wait. I need to put the family first.
[15:11] The work needs to wait. I need to put the family first. That's kind of what you're expecting him to say. But instead of saying that, Jesus said, my mother and my brothers are out there, huh? He said, you know who my mother and my brothers are? They're the ones in this room with me right now.
[15:22] They're the ones wanting to do the will of God. They're the ones wanting to serve God. Let's read the Bible. Make sure you know I'm not saying it. The Bible is, look if you would. You see, you would have expected Jesus to say, hey mom, especially if you're Catholic. You're just really sure he's going to go run into the Virgin Mary and say whatever you say, mom.
[15:35] But look at it. He said, there came then his brothers and his mother and standing without sinning to him and calling him. And the multitude said about him and they said unto him, behold. Hey Jesus, behold.
[15:46] Look, your mama and your brothers are outside. They want to talk to you. Verse 33. And he answered them saying, who is my mother or my brothers? And he looked around on them and sat about him and said, behold, my mother and my brethren.
[15:59] For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother and my sister and my mother. Now this is kind of harsh. I mean, your mama has come out there and she wants to talk to you, but he's so busy preaching and sharing the gospel.
[16:11] This guy's going over to the top. He's fanatical. He's like, no time to eat. His friends think he's crazy. Religious people think he's working too hard and making them look bad. And mama shows up and he doesn't have time for them.
[16:22] So he really thought this meant something. I think you'd probably agree with them. If you were in Mexico and this earthquake had happened and little kids were buried alive under rubble in a collapsed building, you probably wouldn't take time to eat either.
[16:33] You'd probably dig through. You'd be listening for those kids. I was listening to a report this week and the reporter saying, and it was so funny. It was like the reporter was there and didn't want to disturb what they could hear because it was important. Because there was a 12-year-old girl down under there and they could hear her and they were trying to dig down and get her.
[16:47] They probably didn't take time. If mama had shown up, they said, just tell mama I'll be there in a minute. Tell mama I'm busy. Tell mama I'm trying to save a 12-year-old kid here. It was okay if you said a 12-year-old kid buried in a rubble. It was okay if people said, hey, you're being fanatical there.
[17:00] You're going over the top just a little bit. You need to stop and take a break. I mean, can you imagine these firefighters in Mexico City saying, hey, we need a smoke break. We need a smoke break. Kids will be all right.
[17:11] Let's take 30 minutes. Let's take 30. Let's take 30. That's probably not what's happening. It even says that some of the times they'll say stuff like they've been up three days now. It's okay to be fanatical about anything but Jesus, isn't it? It's okay to be fanatical about anything but Jesus, but when Jesus and the boys got started, they went out and started working and people just thronged them.
[17:27] And when people thronged them, Jesus didn't have time to eat. And when he didn't have time to eat and he didn't take time to eat, his friends came down and said, man, what are you doing? You need to take a break. We think you're beside yourself. We think you've gone a little crazy here.
[17:37] And then the religious people said, we know why you're so fanatical. We know why you're doing this because it's the devil doing it. Because God never wants you to work that hard. Come on. God never wants you to work that hard. And then his mama shows up.
[17:48] It's time for you to live the normal Christian life, not the subnormal Christian life. The Christian life of service, surrender, and sacrifice for Jesus and his kingdom. Leonard Ravenhill said, Christianity today is so subnormal that if any Christian began to act like a normal New Testament Christian, he'd be considered abnormal.
[18:07] We have dumbed down Christianity to where giving is questionable, going is questionable, praying is questionable, and only fanatics go to church three or four times a week. And every week and every month, every church is trying to figure out a way to cut more church out, do less for Jesus.
[18:20] Let's just cut the thing. Because, hey, if it was a Jeep club, we'd want to be there all the time. We could be there. If it was a gun club, we'd want to be there. We'd pay big money. I don't know. But this is Jesus stuff.
[18:31] It's amazing. In the New Testament, they're like fanatical about sharing the gospel. They're fanatical about leaving their homes and doing whatever it takes to get the gospel out. And nowadays, it's different than that. Why do we expect cross-bearing to fit with a normal schedule?
[18:43] Where in the world do you get the idea when somebody came and said, Jesus, I'd like to follow you, and he turned around and said, you want to follow me? Number one, deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me. Here's what we say. Okay, can I work that in on Sunday mornings for one hour?
[18:55] And by the way, I need to be out at 1130 because I need to be at the restaurant first. Because that's our philosophy. Our philosophy is I want to carry our cross and I want to honor Jesus and I want to love Jesus as long as it fits in my parameters that I've developed here.
[19:06] Why do we think, why do we not think people, why do we care if people think we're crazy because we're completely sold out fanatics of the Lord Jesus? We ought not even care. They'll be like, yeah, I'm a fanatic. I'm over the top. Why do we not think our families, why do we always go around thinking our families are going to be uncomfortable with us choosing Jesus over them?
[19:22] And it's amazing. All the years I've been preaching and raising up young men to serve God. You know who the two biggest enemies I've always had when a young man wants to surrender to go to do something for God? Mom and dad. Mom and dad are like, no, not everybody ought to serve Jesus.
[19:33] I mean, just calm down. If everybody goes to Misfit, there won't be nobody to preach to. We ain't never got to worry about that. Come on. You just made that one up. That's kind of like saying something like, he's doing it by the power of the devil. It's like a dumb statement. Well, if everybody surrendered, there wouldn't be nobody to preach to.
[19:45] And if everybody surrendered, we'd be getting somebody saved, we'd just be turning it over all the time. Sending more and more people to Jesus. Isn't it about time you stopped fighting God? Isn't it about time you stopped telling your kids not to serve God?
[19:56] Isn't it about time you adults started thinking, God, it's my life, but it's really your life. And whatever you want me to do, I'll find time to honor you and put you first. Why don't you expect a religious world to find fault with you when you have so much dedication and they don't?
[20:09] I'll just end this by saying, if we'd have been alive in Jesus' days, we'd have all thought, this is crazy. This is crazy. Those 12 guys, they've given up everything. Matthew's left his tables and Peter and James and John.
[20:19] They've all left their boats and their nets and their employees and their dads. They're crazy. There's no support in this. They didn't go to college to get a backup in case Jesus don't work out.
[20:30] This is crazy. They just thought Jesus was worth it. They just thought serving Jesus was valuable enough that they'd go do it. But he didn't just send them out that way. He gave them power to accomplish his purpose. You see, he called them to be with him so that they might spend time with him.
[20:42] Then he might send them forth to preach and he would give them power. It's amazing. Jesus tells them, look if you would, Mark chapter 3, verse 27. Mark chapter 3, verse 27. And Jesus looks at him and says, guys, you think I'm doing what I'm doing by the power of the devil.
[20:53] He said, but that don't make a lick of sense. If I'm fighting myself, I got to lose one way or the other. If my house is divided, it's going to fall apart. But I will tell you this. The way you get it done is a strong man comes in the house and beats up the owner.
[21:04] If you want to rob a man's house, you're going to have to tie the owner up. And that's what Jesus did. Came to earth, slapped the devil around, tied him up and said, I'm here to rescue people. That's the whole story that's going on in the book of Mark. Look, if you went to Mark 3, 27.
[21:15] No man can enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man. And then he can spoil his house. And Jesus came with that kind of power. So you need to know that when you serve God, there is plenty of power to do the things that God would have you to do.
[21:28] God wants to use you. You know, we all talk so much about how God doesn't want anybody to go to hell. And how the gospel message ought to go somewhere. But we don't ever talk to anybody about Jesus. We don't share a gospel tract. We don't pray for lost people.
[21:40] We know that those kids are buried under the rubble in Mexico. And we know somebody ought to rescue them. And we think that somebody ought to rescue them. But I got my life to live. And we drive right by the ruins.
[21:51] We drive right by 9-11. And we say, hey, too bad they died. But I got my life to live. Spiritually speaking, that's what we're doing. But he gave them power that they could do things. And in this passage of scripture, before we finish this morning, you're going to come up on the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
[22:04] And you might be wondering what that is. And you might have grown up hearing that if, you know, there's the unpardonable sin. And what's the unpardonable sin? So if you've got your Bibles, let's look at that real quick. Because in this story, here's what Jesus said.
[22:15] If you would, look with me at Mark 3, 28. He said, verily I say unto you, all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men. There's not a person in this room who's done any kind of sin that the God of heaven won't save you and won't forgive you.
[22:28] I don't know what you think you've done. And I don't care what church people think. I don't care what religious people think. And I don't care what you think. God is bigger than your sin. And he can give you deliverance. And that's what he's saying to these people right here.
[22:38] He's going to save you from all sin. And then he said, and by the way, I'll even take care of blasphemies. Look at the verse. You got it on the screen right here. Underline it. He'll take care of blasphemies. You've made fun of the Holy of Holies. You've made fun of Jesus. They even looked at Jesus and said, you're doing what you're doing by the power of the devil.
[22:53] And Jesus said, well, God can forgive you for that. You're accusing me and saying ugly stuff about me. God can forgive you. God can forgive you. Look at Mark chapter 3, verse 29. But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.
[23:04] Because they had said that Jesus had an unclean spirit. See, they had accused Jesus. But guys, now listen to me. He said, guys, there is a sin that you can't be forgiven from. Now that's a scary thought. He'll forgive all sins.
[23:15] He'll forgive all blasphemies. And even if you insult Jesus, he would forgive you. But there's a sin he won't forgive you from. I'd like to know what that is. I certainly don't want to violate that one. All sins shall be forgiven, even blasphemy.
[23:25] But there is an unpardonable sin. And you know what it is? You see, the Father loved you enough that he sent Jesus to die on the cross. And Jesus loved you enough that he came from heaven and died on the cross for you. And the Holy Spirit of God loves you enough that he's chasing you down blind, dark alleys.
[23:40] And he's going into the pits of sin with you. And he's saying to you, don't turn to Jesus. Be saved. You can have your sins forgiven. And he's convicting us of our sin. But if you resist him, if you push him away, if you refuse to accept him, you can't be forgiven.
[23:53] It's the Holy Spirit's ministry to come out here and show us and convict us of our sin. And look with me, if you would, in Acts chapter 7 and verse 51. Acts chapter 7 and verse 51. He said, you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did.
[24:08] So do you. He said, you stiff-necked. You know what stiff-necked meant? Now look this way. You need to see stiff-necked. Stiff-necked is I can't bow my head. Stiff-necked is I can't humble myself. Stiff-necked is you ain't talking to me like that, boy. That's stiff-necked.
[24:19] I will not bow to God. Uncircumcised in heart was like, I don't care what God wants. I'll do what I want, and they're resisting the Holy Ghost of God. The unpardonable sin is when you continually reject Jesus Christ as your Savior until it's too late.
[24:33] Go with me to John chapter 3 and verse 16, if you would. John chapter 3 and verse 16. You know this verse. Let's just read through it real quickly. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever would believe wouldn't perish but have everlasting life.
[24:47] Look at that verse. You see, God said, I want you all saved. For God so loved the world. He loved the world so much that God put on human flesh, that God limited himself to be a human, that God allowed men to put him on a cross, that God allowed men to publicly humiliate him, leaving him stripped naked, hanging on a cross to save us.
[25:05] He loved us, and whoever would believe wouldn't perish, wouldn't go to hell, but they could have everlasting life. Verse 17. For God didn't send his Son into the world to condemn the world. God didn't send Jesus down here to say you couldn't go to heaven.
[25:17] God sent Jesus down here so you could be saved. Look at the verse. It says, God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. You know why Jesus came?
[25:28] So everybody could be saved. You hear this morning, I don't know what you've done, but he forgives all sins. He forgives all blasphemy. He'll cleanse you, purge you, and make you a new person. Verse 18. He that believes not is condemned already. He that believes on him is not condemned.
[25:40] He that believes not is condemned already. If you refuse to get saved this morning, in verse 19, it'll be because you love darkness more than you love light. Because you know you're doing wrong, and you don't want it to come out. So listen to what it will tell you.
[25:51] You go to hell because you refuse the free gift of grace, of salvation. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life.
[26:01] You earn death and hell. You get a free gift paid for by Jesus, of salvation and of heaven. And that's the story. Let's go to another passage. Go with me, if you would, to 1 Timothy 2, in verse 3.
[26:12] You've heard this one so much, you're probably tired of me reading it to you, but it's so beautiful. This is what we preach and teach. This is the reason the apostle Paul was made a preacher. In 1 Timothy 2, 3, Paul says to Timothy, it's good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.
[26:25] Timmy, God saved you, and God saved me, and he likes it when I say what I'm about to say. And he said, who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. You know what? God wants every person in Alpharetta.
[26:36] God wants every person to come in in Roswell and Johns Creek. God wants everybody in Milton. And God wants everybody in Africa and Australia and Asia and the South America. God wants everybody to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
[26:47] But there's only one God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. And he came to pay the sin debt. And he gave himself a ransom for all, chapter 2 and verse 6. And Paul said, that's why I'm a preacher.
[26:57] That's why I'm a preacher. And in 2 Peter 3 and verse 9, the Lord's not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but his longsuffering to us were not willing that any should perish. He doesn't want anybody to go to hell.
[27:08] He wants you to be saved. So you listen to what I'm going to tell you right here. If you're here in church today and you're thinking, he couldn't forgive my sin. If you're thinking, I have sinned so much he could never forgive it. Jesus said he forgives all sin and blasphemy.
[27:20] He forgives all sin and blasphemy. And there's only one sin that you can't be forgiven from, and that's called the unparlable sin. It's what we call it. It's called the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. And let me tell you what it is. Right now, in your heart, right now, in your mind, you know the Holy Spirit of God is saying you can be saved.
[27:35] Right now, you know that something inside of you is saying what he's saying is true, and you can be saved. And what he's saying is right, and today's the day you ought to be saved. And you feel it, and you know it. But you say, no, I don't want to be saved.
[27:46] No, I don't want to accept the free gift. No, I will not accept that Jesus died for me. And you keep saying that, you say it long enough, it'll be too late, and you'll die without Christ. And that's the unparlable sin. So I want to tell you, if you die and go to hell, it's because you chose, because he is making it clear to you that you can be saved.
[28:01] Jesus, they say you're doing this by the power of the devil. He said, I can forgive all sin and all blasphemy. There's only one I won't forgive. That's when you won't accept my free gift. You keep resisting, and you keep saying no. So you're here this morning.
[28:11] You can quit resisting. You can quit making excuses. And you can trust God as your Lord and Savior. You can trust God as your Lord and Savior. And the last thing I'll say, if you're a Christian, you know this to be true. We ought to tell people about Jesus. Man, we ought to tell people about Jesus.
[28:22] Man, we ought to go out and share the gospel because we got good news. The gospel's good news. He loves you, and he died for you. He loves you, and he'll give you eternal life. He loves you, and no matter what sin you've committed, no matter where you've been, no matter what you've done wrong, God loves you.
[28:37] You can be saved. What a message. So in the story, Jesus picked some men. He called them to go call the world to salvation. He called them to go call the world to salvation. He said, boys, I got a job for you to do, and here's the job. You'll spend some time with me, and then I'm going to send you out to preach, and we'll give you the power to do it.
[28:50] And we're going to work like crazy. Mama won't understand it, and wife might not understand it, but we're going to go 100% crazy telling people about Jesus and tell people how they can go to heaven when they die. We're going to go share the gospel with the whole world.
[29:01] We're going to go share the gospel with the whole world because they can all be saved. So today, if you're lost, he wants to save you. He's done everything. You're already. All you've got to do is trust. It's already paid for. It's already done. All you do is receive it again. If you're a Christian, it's about time you realize he's trying to call you to go share the gospel.