[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. This is the next message in our series on the book of John, entitled, Jesus is God.
[0:13] Take your Bibles, if you would, and open them to John chapter 8. Before we begin preaching, I'm pretty sure that Lang is leaving to go out of town and work.
[0:26] And this may be his last service. Lang, would you hold your hand up? I want to have a special word of prayer for Lang and ask God to help him stay strong and stay close to him and right and be used of him to witness to people where he's going to be working.
[0:41] And so if you'd bow your heads with me, we'll pray for Lang. We love him and thank God for him and want God to use him while he's gone. Father, I pray that you'd be with Lang as he steps out on this new venture. I pray that you would strengthen him.
[0:53] I pray that you would empower him. I pray you'd help him to keep a holy and powerful testimony to lead people to you, to be used of you as a missionary in his job.
[1:03] I pray, God, that he would fulfill his purpose as a sender and a goer. And I pray, God, that you would strengthen his family as they're here. And pray, God, that you'd bring Lang back to us with a powerful testimony of your great grace.
[1:17] And I'll give you glory for all that you do. In Jesus' precious name, amen. Well, thank you very much. Let's take your Bibles if you would and let's go to the book of John. The book of John chapter 8.
[1:29] And we're going to talk about these disciples. And I want you to read with me about the marks of a true disciple in this passage. I simply take the passage, take out the marks of a disciple, what he said about them.
[1:42] Let's see how they apply to us. Let's see where you fit in. I want to know that I'm saved. I want to know that God is at work in my life. I want to know that the grace of God is showing his power in my life.
[1:54] Do you? Amen. I want God to work in my life. I would, if I had been standing there that day and I'd have heard Jesus talking, I'd like to say, I am one of those guys.
[2:04] I am one of those that will continue in your word. I am one of those that know you. And so I would like you to go with me, read these verses, mark them in your Bible and consider what God is doing in your life.
[2:15] Look, if you would, chapter 8 and verse 31, John chapter 8 and verse 31, the Bible says in John 8 31, then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him.
[2:29] Number one, mark this down. What is the mark of a true disciple of Jesus Christ? Number one, he is a believer. You should write that down. He is a believer.
[2:40] I mean, a real believer. He has realized that there is a God in heaven. He has realized that Jesus is God. He has realized that Jesus did die on a cross.
[2:51] He knows that Jesus died on a cross for his sins and paid his sin debt. And he is believing Jesus as the only means of salvation.
[3:03] He is a believer. How many of you are believers? Say amen. You know, not a believer that Jesus was a historical figure. Not a believer that Jesus was a good man or a good prophet.
[3:13] Not a believer that Jesus was horribly crucified. And the stories we see at Easter. But realize that something divine, something spiritual, something miraculous was taking place that day.
[3:27] God put his son on the cross and his son took the penalty of our sin and gave us salvation purely by his grace. If you believe that, say amen.
[3:38] That's a first mark of a disciple. We are believers. Jesus said in chapter 8, verse 31, Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him. Some of them apparently did believe on him and they are believers.
[3:53] The second thing he says, number one, that you're a believer. But number two, look at what he said in the same verse. He said, then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him. If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed.
[4:07] If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. Now watch this. Look this way just a second. You remember what we've been watching ever since John 1? We've been watching people come forward and say they believe in Jesus, get mad, get angry when the Bible says something they don't like and walk away because they don't like it.
[4:26] When Jesus says, I'm the bread of life, some of them said, I don't like that and they walked away. When he said, you have to eat my flesh and drink my blood, they said, I don't like that. I'm going to walk away. Everything he says seems to anger some of them.
[4:39] You know, everybody can easily and flippantly say they're a believer. Everybody can easily and flippantly say, I'm a Christian and I know God and I'll go to heaven.
[4:50] But he said, if you're a real believer, you continue in the word. If you're a real disciple, a true disciple, you continue in the word. And so let me just say something to you.
[5:01] You live in the southeast where everybody is born again. Everybody is saved. You know, in the political process, they keep talking about how one of the candidates, he really appeals to the born again evangelical.
[5:14] And buddy, when they come south, the born again evangelicals, they're going to vote on their morality issues. And the truth is, we may be known as born again, but we may not be continuing in his word.
[5:25] What did he mean? That wasn't something about obeying a certain set of rules. It meant I love Jesus. I like where he's preaching. I like what the word of God says. I want to serve God.
[5:36] I believe Jesus really is God. I really believe this is involved in my life. It's easy to say you believe. You know, if you've been in the ministry very long, you've been saved very long, you've been coming to church very long, you know, you have watched no telling.
[5:50] How many people get saved, in quotation marks, born again, baptized and excited. And a few weeks, a few months or a few years later, they're gone.
[6:01] They're back in the world. They deny Jesus. They say they never really believed. They say they don't like what was going on. They say they don't like Jesus. Jesus said this, guys, if you're really a believer, you will continue in my word.
[6:14] A true born again person loves Jesus and loves his book. Amen? Do you love his book? Now, by the way, you say, I don't know if I want to go that far. I didn't say it. Look, Rick, at the verse.
[6:24] If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. If you continue in my word, then are you disciples indeed. If you truly love Jesus, you're going to continue to love his book.
[6:37] You're going to continue to serve him. He's going to be real to you. You're going to serve him. Number one, you're a believer. Number two, you continue in his word. Another mark of a true disciple. Verse 32, you know the truth.
[6:49] Look at verse 32. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Now, you see, if you would, this guy knows the truth.
[7:03] The truth, number one, is Jesus. He is the truth. He is God come down to earth. Now, truth isn't what American society believes it is. Truth isn't what the political party says it is.
[7:16] Truth isn't what we get from some news outlet. Truth is what the word of God says. Truth is not subjective. Truth is not what my opinion is, or I feel like this.
[7:27] Truth is plain and clear. It is the word of God. What truth do you have to know to truly be a disciple? The first truth you're going to have to know is you've got to know the truth about yourself. You've got to know the truth about yourself.
[7:39] Did you know that's where we really get upset? I can know the truth about you, and I can know the truth about others, but am I willing to admit, was I willing to admit, do I truly admit that I needed to be saved?
[7:52] Will I admit that I'm sick? Will I admit that I am sinful? Will I admit that I need Jesus Christ? The truth will set you free, but the truth is you're going to have to go to him and say, Man, I give.
[8:03] I can't. I'm not. It's not in me. I can't be good enough. I can't get right with you. I can't fix things. I am a failure.
[8:14] I am a sinner. I am rebellious. I am willful. I am selfish. I need help. Jesus came. The Pharisees, they'd listen to him, and they'd say, they'd listen to him, and they'd be like, Hey, we don't agree with you.
[8:29] We don't like what you've got to say. Who do you think you are? Come tonight, you'll find out. They just look at him and say, Who do you really think you are? Who do you claim to be? That's what they said to him. Well, the truth about it is that you will realize, you will realize that you are a sinner.
[8:44] If you realize that you are a sinner, has there come a point in your life when you can look back and say, Yep, that's the day I realized I was in trouble and I needed God. Because you see, it's not that you need to join a church.
[8:55] It's not that you need to get baptized. It's not that it would be a good thing to do. It's that you were totally, wickedly undone and deserve to go to hell. I was told by a friend one time years ago, You will never be popular as long as you keep telling people they're sinful.
[9:12] You will never be telling people you'll never be popular, and people aren't going to like you as long as you keep telling them that they have failed. They don't want to hear that. But the truth is, you have failed.
[9:23] The truth is, we all failed and that's why we needed Jesus. Can you say amen right there? That's pretty weak. How many of you believe you were sinners? How many of you believe you came to a point in your life when it was desperate?
[9:35] How many of you believe you came to a point in your life when you said, I need Jesus and I can't on my own? It's the truth about yourself. It's the truth about what you deserve. What do you deserve? Boy, it is popular in America to think that we deserve food and clothing and houses and riches and a good future and a positive life afterwards and everything ought to be good.
[9:58] We're Americans and we have it coming. We deserve all these things. Do you know what the Bible says we deserve? The Bible says that there is none righteous, no, not one. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
[10:11] The Bible says the wages of sin is death. The Bible says he shall die in his sins. That's what I deserve. That's what I deserve.
[10:21] And if left to myself, that's all I would have gotten. If left to myself, that's all I would have gotten. We need to deserve about ourselves, about what we deserve. We need to know about what Jesus did, the truth about what Jesus did.
[10:36] Christmas and Easter kind of twist Jesus. He's a pretty little baby and peace on earth and goodwill toward men. Everything's happy and everything's nice and we all give gifts and everything is sweet because it's Christmas.
[10:50] No, Jesus was God come to earth to die on a cross. Jesus was God come to save rebellious man. Jesus is God in the flesh.
[11:02] Jesus came to pay our sin debt. Jesus came to give us salvation. Last truth I'd like to mention to you. We need to know the truth about. We need to know the truth about grace. We need to know the truth about grace.
[11:14] You need to understand something. We're not saved by anything we did. The Bible says in Ephesians 2, 8, 9, for by grace are you saved through faith. That not of you says it's a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
[11:26] Did you know that we come here and we sing praises? And the reason we sing praises is that we realize we didn't deserve salvation.
[11:38] We realize that we couldn't on our own. We realize that he did it all. We were drowning in our sin. We were sinking in our sin. We were going to be dead soon.
[11:49] We were going to wake up in hell. And Jesus came and rescued me. And I say praise you Jesus. I love you Jesus. Thank you for grace. And I realized it wasn't what I did.
[12:00] We don't have a self-congratulatory committee here. We're not in here saying boy you're a good guy and you're a good guy and I'm a good guy. We're all good guys. We're not in here saying boy aren't we something.
[12:12] We're all in here saying thank God we serve a good Savior. Thank God we serve a good God. Thank God he died for us. Thank God he rescued us when we didn't deserve it. It is Jesus.
[12:23] A true disciple is a believer. A true disciple continues in his word. A true disciple knows the truth. A true disciple gets victory over sin. Gets victory over sin.
[12:34] Look at verse 32. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Would you want to lie in free? When you get saved you get free.
[12:45] You're free from death. You're free from hell. You're free from sin. That doesn't mean you get perfect. But you have the ability to live a holy life now through the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God.
[12:56] You can be. You can live out that new life that you have. Look if you look at verse 34. Jesus answered them. Verily, verily, I say unto you. Whosoever committed sin is a servant of sin.
[13:08] He said if you're a sinner, you're a slave to sin. But I came to free men from slavery. I came to free men from sin. I came to give men new life. Look at verse 36. If the son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.
[13:23] You shall be free indeed. My dad was a 25-year-old man. He was drunk, a drunkard. He had been raised with a bitter lifestyle. His mother died when he was six of an illegal abortion.
[13:36] He was in children's homes and orphanages and foster homes and on the street from the time he was about 9 or 10 years of age. He was involved in drugs and sex and alcohol. His life was all a mess.
[13:47] Sin was ruling his life. And he walked into some little country church one day. And the Holy Spirit of God put his finger on his heart and said, you're a sinner and you deserve hell. And that day, my daddy's life was radically changed.
[14:00] And he went from one moment being a sinner to the next moment being a child of God. One moment a slave to sin. The next moment, free from sin. God changes lives. Free.
[14:11] Free indeed because of what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary. Verse 42, if you would. Next mark. First mark, you're a believer. You continue in the word. You know the truth.
[14:21] You have victory over sin. Verse 42. Jesus said unto them, if God were your father, you would love me. If God were your father, you'd love me.
[14:32] Hey, true believers love Jesus. True believers love Jesus. Do you love Jesus? Not just God.
[14:43] Not just God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Do you love Jesus? Jesus looked at those Jews and he said, if you were really born again, you'd love me. If you really knew God, you'd love me.
[14:54] If you really loved God, you'd love Jesus. And if you're a truly born again person, you love Jesus. You don't just like him. You don't just know about him. He's not just somebody you talk about on Sunday.
[15:06] You love Jesus. You love to hear about him. You love to talk about him. You love to sing to him. You love to think about him. You love to meditate on him. We love Jesus. Amen? We love him.
[15:16] We love him because he is God. We love him because he died on the cross. We love him because he paid our sin debt. Look if you would at verse 39. If you're a true born again believer, you'll do what God likes.
[15:28] You want to do what God likes. Look at verse 39. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said unto them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
[15:40] And here's what they were saying. Jesus, hold it just a minute. We know God. Abraham's the first guy to get lined up with Jehovah God. And we got lined up with him in the Jewish line.
[15:50] He was the first guy. And we're the children of Abraham. All of us, since back to granddaddy Abraham, we've been loving God. We've been serving God. And everything you say is true about us. We are the children of Abraham.
[16:02] Well, what had happened was being the children of Abraham had become almost as bad as being an American in the southeast where you think everybody's saved. You see, when you were born Jewish, you just knew, I love Jesus.
[16:16] But like a Muslim says, I love Allah. But like a Muslim says, I love Muhammad. You just knew you love Jesus. You didn't necessarily know him. You didn't necessarily really love him. They said, we're from our father Abraham.
[16:28] Jesus is going to tell him in this passage, well, you don't act like him. That's not how Abraham acted. Abraham wouldn't be trying to kill me. Abraham believed God. And it was counted to him for righteousness. Abraham obeyed God.
[16:40] Abraham loved God. Abraham was a true disciple. But you see, here's the problem. A true disciple hears the word of God. And they're not going to, I'll get to that in a second.
[16:52] A true disciple hears the word of God. Would you look at verse 47? Look at verse 47. 847. He that is of God heareth God's words.
[17:03] You therefore hear them not because you are not of God. But that was hard. I mean, Jesus was not your popular preacher.
[17:15] He's looking at this big crowd and he said, you guys, a true disciple would hear the words of my father. You don't. You are not of my father. Now let me just show you something real quick.
[17:32] Now I want you to meditate on it. Do you realize that if you love Jesus, the word of God has a place in your heart for God. There's a place in your heart for the Bible. You enjoy hearing the truths of God.
[17:44] You want God to speak to you. When we open the Bible and God begins to speak, sometimes I'll be preaching and the verse will come off that page. And it's not what I say and it's not me or whoever else is preaching. But the Holy Spirit just takes a truth and sticks it in.
[17:56] And you say, man, I hear you. Man, God, you're speaking to me. Man, God, that's getting to me. I understand that, God. That's your word. Wow, God, you're speaking. We hear him.
[18:06] How many of you hear him say amen? I heard him on May the 6th, 1962. I heard him and realized I was a sinner and I needed to be saved. I heard him when I met with him this morning and I read the Bible.
[18:17] I hear him when I prepare for a message. I hear him when I hear people preach. He speaks to us and his word enters into us. But you do know the devil is blinding eyes and deafening ears all over the world.
[18:30] By the way, in John chapter 10, in John chapter 10, this is what Jesus said. In John chapter 10, verse 27, he said, My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.
[18:41] There are two things he said about his sheep there. They know my voice. They recognize my voice and they follow me. So those are the true marks of a disciple that I see right here in this passage.
[18:53] Would you check yourself out? Look at him real quickly with me. He's a believer. He is a believer. He continues in the word of God. He knows the truth. He has victory over sin.
[19:03] He loves Jesus. He wants to do what God wants him to do. And he hears the word of God. But this passage of scripture is really kind of brutal. Because Jesus, as much as he was talking about who were true disciples, he's really kind of on a rant about, no, you're not.
[19:19] Watch what he does. Second thing, if you're writing this down, second thing you want to notice there is this. There were false disciples. False disciples. People who looked like disciples.
[19:30] People that were in attendance. People that were fake. Not true believers. People that Jesus will call disciples of the devil. Disciples of Satan. Children of the devil.
[19:42] That's rough. I mean, he didn't get up there and say, thank God all of us are saved. He got up there and said, no, you're not. So let me show you the marks of a fake. The marks of a false disciple that I see here in this passage of scripture.
[19:58] And I think you'll see very clearly. Number one, they had superficial faith in Christ. Superficial faith in Christ. Look at verse 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed in him, if you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed.
[20:14] You remember what's been happening, don't you? All through the book of John, he's been saying stuff. And they've been all saying, we believe. They've been chasing him down. They've been following him. They've been waiting on his miracles.
[20:25] They've been waiting on the food. They've been waiting on the healing. They've been waiting on seeing him do stuff. They've all been saying they believe. In fact, John's a little bit confusing because we keep hearing about all these people that believe and then we find out they all leave. He said, well, let me tell you what a true disciple is.
[20:38] If you continue. If you continue. So many people have a superficial faith. Please listen to this. You prayed because your mama told you to.
[20:50] You got baptized because your mama told you to. You did what everybody else was doing. You went forward in the invitation and accepted Christ because your friends did. But you've never truly believed.
[21:03] You're in the multitude listening to the message. But the message doesn't get to you because there's a superficial faith. It's on the outside. It's not on the inside. You have outward conformity but not inward conformity.
[21:15] You have a superficial faith. Honestly, you're here because you're supposed to be. But nothing rings true down inside. They were not true believers. The second thing about them.
[21:26] They were in bondage to sin and they didn't even know it. They were in bondage to sin and they didn't even know it. Sin had them. Sin had them in chains.
[21:37] Sin was holding them back and they didn't even know it. Look if you would at chapter 8 and verse 33. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed and were never in bondage to any man.
[21:49] How sayest thou? You shall be made free. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, truly, truly, I say unto you, Whosoever committed sin is a servant of sin. He talks to them about their sin.
[22:02] He talks to them about failing God. And here's their answer. No way. You don't know who we are. I'm an American. I'm from the southeast.
[22:13] My great granddaddy was a preacher. I've had a King James Bible ever since I was born. And we got all these attitudes, but it's not real in us.
[22:24] And they said, we be Abraham's seed. We're from the tribe of Abraham. We're born again people. How can you say that? We've never been in bondage to sin.
[22:34] Well, that's not even true about their history. They were in bondage. They were in bondage. They were captives. That's not true. They were in bondage to sin. They were in bondage to men. But no way. There's something proud and arrogant in us that lifts up and says, Don't call me a sinner.
[22:50] Don't say I've done wrong. I don't appreciate that. That rises up in the heart of a false disciple. A true disciple goes, Oh, yeah.
[23:00] Oh, yeah. I was a sinner. I was a sinner and I knew I was a sinner. But Jesus saved me and forgave me. And I am a born again Christian now. Saved us.
[23:12] Second, the third thing I want you to notice about these fake disciples. Verse 37. God's word has no place in them. Look at verse 37. I know that you are Abraham's seed. I know it. Believe me.
[23:23] I know you're Jews. But you seek to kill me. Because my word has no place in you. He said, you might have been born a Jew.
[23:34] But you're out to kill me because I tell the truth. You're out to kill me because I opened this book to you. You're out to kill me because I explained Jesus to you. My word has no place in you.
[23:45] You see, they don't like the Bible. They want to hear the Bible. They rebel against the Bible. They can't understand the Bible. They're against the Bible. They're not against the platitudes.
[23:56] I guess you heard about Thomas Jefferson. Somebody sent it out the day on email. It hit all kinds of email rings. Thomas Jefferson had taken the Bible and cut out all the things he didn't like. And kept the ones he thought were good platitudes that Jesus had to say.
[24:08] And he had his own version of the Bible that was just the good stuff Jesus said. And that's kind of how we are. I think there's a lot of good stuff Jesus said. I don't agree with everything.
[24:19] I don't like some of the things he said. Sometimes I think Jesus wasn't very Jesus-like. And so when he's not Jesus-like, I don't like it. So I'm going to put that out of my Bible. And that becomes their attitude.
[24:29] Dude, ha, ha, ha. Jesus said, my word has no place in you. You see, what should have happened was when he preached, it should have said, ding, ding, ding, ding inside.
[24:42] When he preached, it should have said, hmm, I get it. When he preached, it should have been said, oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. He's talking to me. Oh, yeah. I like that. Oh, yeah. But these guys are going, nope, don't like it.
[24:54] Nope, not for it. Nope, not with you. Jesus said, you guys, you say you're from Abraham, but you want to kill me. And because I have, my word has no place.
[25:05] Then he's getting meaner and meaner by the second. Watch him. Look at verse 30, look at verse 44, if you would. It said, you're just like your daddy. Hang on.
[25:17] I mean, you want to talk about mean. He's fixing a good night. We'd run him out on a rail if he was preaching here. Look at verse 44. He said, you are of your father, the devil, and the lust of your father you will do.
[25:33] He was a murderer from the beginning. He abode not in the truth because there's no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own. He's a liar and he's a father of it. But would you look at what he said?
[25:44] And I want you to mark in verse 44, the lust of your father. Why don't you put a circle around the word lust and just draw it to the margin and put desires. He said, you're like your daddy. Your daddy's a liar and you're a liar.
[25:57] Your daddy's a murderer and you're a murderer. And what your daddy likes to do, that's what you like to do. We be Abraham's seed. Oh, no, you're not. You're not from Father Abraham. You're not from Father Abraham.
[26:09] You're from Father devil. You're not from Father Abraham. You're a liar and a thief and a murderer. You're just like him and you want to do what he wants to do. I was in a seminar and it was about helping homosexuals get freedom from homosexuality.
[26:30] And they had this person who had been a homosexual and had gotten freedom and been saved. And he stood up and he said, let me explain to you what happens with the homosexual. He said, when you feel like that and that sin is in you, you go to the homosexual bar, the gay bar.
[26:44] And when you walk in, you feel at home. It's like, this is where I belong. And then he talked about how when the Lord worked in his life, he knew he no longer belonged there.
[26:55] But you know, when he said that, you know what resonated in my heart? That's how I feel when I go to church. I walk in the door and I look around and I'm like, whoo, I am home. And this is where I belong. And when you start singing songs and you start telling me about what Jesus did on the cross.
[27:09] And you start telling me about Jesus dying. And you start singing songs about how great he is. I always feel like, wow, I am where I belong. I like what my father likes. Jesus said, y'all do not like the truth.
[27:23] You're against the truth. Look, if you would, look, if you would at verse 41. They accuse of sin instead of accepting responsibility for sin. Verse 41, you do the deeds of your father.
[27:35] Then said they to him, we be not born of fornication. We have one father, even God, which, which, and in verse 46, which of you convinces me of sin? If I say the truth, why do you not believe me?
[27:46] Now watch this. Hey, I got to hurry, but watch this. Jesus said, y'all are sinners. And here's what their answer was. We're sinners. We weren't born of fornication. Our mama wasn't a Mary who got pregnant before she was married.
[28:00] That's, we're not the one that's our illegitimate child here. We be not born of fornication. I had a good daddy and a good mama. You didn't. And Jesus looked at him and said, which one of you guys really want to get in the game of convincing me of sin?
[28:15] But you see what a lost guy does? See, a lost guy, a fake disciple, instead of acknowledging his own sin, he finds the sin in everybody else. The saved guy's going, wow, that was for me.
[28:27] Wow, I needed that. The lost guy's going, no, that guy's worse than me. And that guy's worse than me. And I don't like the preaching and I don't like the Bible. And you get it. Instead of accepting responsibility, they accuse.
[28:40] They cannot hear the word of God. They cannot hear the word of God. Look, if you would, at verse 43. Why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word.
[28:51] The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 14. You know what happens when a lost man hears the Bible?
[29:04] He goes, that's ridiculous. Ha! I can't believe that. That's foolish. I will not fall for that. They love to make fun of you on the radio. They love to make fun of you on the television. They love to make fun of you in magazines because they're like, that's dumb.
[29:17] Anybody believe that stuff's got to be dumb? You say, why do they think like that? Because they don't hear the word of God? Because they're natural men? Because they don't receive the truth of God? Because it's foolishness to them.
[29:28] That's what's going on. Why is it happening? Because the devil's at work. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 3 and 4, the Bible says, if the gospel be hid, it's hid to them that are lost. And whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
[29:46] Satan's at work. So I need to give you just a close up, wrap this up. Would you check out your salvation this morning? Do you have a real, deep, heartfelt trust in Jesus Christ as your only means of salvation?
[30:04] Would you say, no, I'm not doing anything that would get me to heaven. It's all Jesus. If not, you need to be saved. How do you feel about the word of God?
[30:17] How do you feel about the word of God? More and more churches will fill up with big crowds of people, but they want lots of singing and lots of emotion and a little bit of Bible. The word of God doesn't seem to fit in the house of God anymore.
[30:31] And I'll tell you why it doesn't. Because it's not the house of God anymore. Because God's people say, give me the book. Give me the book. I want to hear more of the book. What is your relationship to sin?
[30:44] What's your relationship to sin? You know, see, before you got saved, you liked sin. After you got saved, you disliked sin. Before you got saved, sin owns you. After you got saved, sin no longer owns you.
[30:55] Before you got saved, you might have walked in sin. But now that you're saved, you're like, I don't like that stuff. I don't want that stuff. I'm not the same guy I used to be. Jesus has done a work in me.
[31:06] You have a new heart and new desires since you trusted him. Do you feel God working in your life? Do you continue in his word? Did you or do you see your own sinfulness and your need of the Savior?
[31:22] Did you or do you? If you didn't see it way back when you think you got saved, you're probably not saved. If you didn't come to him saying, I can't, you can.
[31:33] You're probably not saved. If you're here this morning, and very likely you have gotten religion but not Jesus. You've joined the church and been baptized.
[31:44] You're moral, but you refuse to admit your need of him. And you're not born again. I want to challenge you to be saved today. I want to challenge you to know Jesus.
[31:55] Father in heaven, would you deal with our hearts? Would you cause people to be saved today? God, help people to trust you and believe in you and believe in what you did on the cross and do a work in their lives. God, would you do a work in our people's lives and help us to live out our faith and it to be real in us and us to walk with you.
[32:12] Would you show your power and strength in our lives? God, I pray that this message really did find a resting place in the hearts of your people this morning. And I pray, God, that you'd work in their lives.
[32:23] You have been listening to Austin Gardner, pastor of Vision Baptist Church. For contact information, location, service times, or more audio and video recordings, log on to www.visionbaptist.com.