[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] If you want to go with me to John chapter 7, John chapter 7, and I'll tell you what, we're fixing to do just something a tad unusual. How about Mary Angela, would you and Ed come here and let's see, I need y'all to have a kid.
[0:27] Y'all gonna be married, I need you to have a kid. And since they're cousins, they can get married. Kissing cousins, they're from Kentucky. And so that's all right.
[0:38] Let me think, Ian, you look like a kid. Come on up here. Come on up here. I want you to go to John chapter 7. I want you to watch something with me tonight. There's a great story. Stand right over here.
[0:50] Mom and dad, stand right here. And son can be behind him. There's a great story that was written. One of the most, what are they doing now? One of the most soul books that you can buy.
[1:02] It's called Pilgrim's Progress. In the story, dad, could you step out here? Dad's name at the beginning is like graceless. Means he has no grace. He doesn't know God. He doesn't know that he would go to heaven when he dies.
[1:14] And he starts reading this book. He lives in a city called the city of destruction. With his wife, who is also a lady without grace, a lady without salvation. And their children.
[1:25] And as he begins to read this book, this book's going to cause major hurt in their family. It's going to cause major hurt in his life before it brings blessing.
[1:36] As he reads the book, he becomes more and more stooped with the weight of sin on his back. And that's what the story tells. And then he turns to his wife and he says, honey, I read this book.
[1:48] And it says, we must flee from the wrath that's coming. This city is going to be destroyed. And his beautiful wife looks at him and says, you're crazy. That's impossible.
[1:58] You're everybody in town. Hey, don't quit lifting up. You're I'll get you some weight. And so the weight of sin is on your back. And so and so anyway, he's under all this pressure.
[2:10] He's reading the Bible and he pleads with his wife and nobody will listen. And he begins to leave and it causes division because he decides to follow Jesus. His wife begs him not to go.
[2:20] She stays behind in the city of wrath. And he's on his way to the celestial city. And as he goes towards the celestial city and later on, you can get saved now. Stand up. You'll be saved. That feels better, doesn't it?
[2:31] And the burdens off of his back. But you know what, then before he got saved, actually, he runs into people that are going to give him other doctrines about salvation. He's going to run into a guy named worldly wise man who's going to say to him, you don't really have to be born again.
[2:46] You don't really have to have that conversion experience. What you need to do is learn how to be a good guy. There's a moral guy and a worldly wise guy. He's going to meet all these different people.
[2:56] And every one of those places is going to cause division. He's hurting in his heart because he knows I'm not saved. The wrath is coming. I'm in the city of destruction and death is on the way.
[3:07] His wife is crying because he won't come back to her. His children want him to come. He's traveling out of the city and he finally gets saved. By the way, when he gets saved before, well, on the road, he has all kinds of wild things happen to him.
[3:19] A friend comes to him named Plyable and Plyable says, I believe exactly what you read in that book. And I believe the book. And then they get to this, this pit of despondency, the slough despondent.
[3:29] And they, and he falls in that pit and Plyable's all discouraged. And he won't to, he says, I'm not going to go on with you. Look how bad it is. When you try to serve God, it's horrible. I'm going back. And then you got a guy named obstinate, but all along the way, it's a, it's a heartbreaking separation and division.
[3:46] He read this book. This book made him feel like he didn't fit in anymore. This book made him feel like he was going to die. If he didn't trust Jesus, this book caused his wife and children to turn against him.
[4:00] This book separated him from his friends. This book brought great division. Now, you probably can't see that you live in America and we don't really see much of that anymore.
[4:11] We don't see in our area anyway, where somebody gets saved and their family is just adamantly against them. But you might've heard the story of the guy who wrote, no one ever cared for me like Jesus.
[4:24] When he, when he decided he would serve Jesus, he wrote that song because his wife left him. She said, if you're going to be an evangelist and you're going to preach and go follow Jesus, I'm leaving you.
[4:35] I just want you to know tonight we'll talk about division and this book causes division and thank y'all very much. And you can't see it, but if you could just imagine with me a man and his wife, if you can imagine a young guy like Ian and his wife and their baby and a new baby on the way.
[4:50] And one day Ian decides I'm going to serve Jesus. And Ian says, I'm going to serve Jesus. And his wife says, no, please don't serve Jesus. And he says, I have to serve Jesus. And if it means I lose you as a friend, if it means I lose you as my family, if it means my whole life falls apart, I must serve Jesus.
[5:07] And that's basically what you got going on in the passage tonight. And I hope you'll take that. I'm going to give you like four things that caused major division. By the way, we are politically correct people. Even those that go to our church.
[5:19] Now there are a few like Robert Canfield who enjoys fighting. They just, I mean, it's like, if you say it's black, Robert's going to say it's white. Why? Just because he likes to do that.
[5:31] And he's a clone of Mark coffee. Say, man. And so there's this, there are some people that seem to like to fight, but the majority of us don't like to fight. The majority of us like to kind of fit in.
[5:43] The majority of us like, we like peace. We like to get along. And we live in a society where we no longer say anything that offends anybody. We no longer say anything that offends anybody.
[5:54] Because if we do, people get hurt and we don't get hurt. Boy, in the passage you're about to read, Jesus says, that's just not how it is.
[6:05] Look at this politically incorrect passage of scripture. John chapter seven, verse 37 and following, if you will, John chapter 37, verse 37. In the last day, that great day of the feast, that's the last day of the feast.
[6:18] It's a three-day feast. It's about to be over. Now, I'm not really going to talk about verse 39.
[6:44] So just a little bit about it right here, verse 39. Would you kind of mark that verse? Do you understand that we have Jesus, the son of God, he lives with them. And in a little bit, he's going to tell them, it's better for you that I leave.
[6:55] Because as I leave, I'm sending this comforter who will come alongside of you and bless you and strengthen you and help you and carry you through. He's going to live in you. He's going to bring this. The Holy Spirit is going to come along and take care of them.
[7:06] And that's going to be a great thing. But it hadn't happened yet. It's going to happen sometime between now. And obviously, at the day of Pentecost, when he comes on them in great power, and the Holy Ghost was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.
[7:18] We still aren't seeing clearly who he is. Verse 40. Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said, of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ.
[7:30] But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said that Christ cometh out of the seat of David and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was? So there was a division among them, among the people because of him.
[7:45] Would you circle in your Bible? There was a division among the people because of him. Jesus split up people.
[7:56] Jesus caused division. Let me just say, you know, we're in the middle of the beginnings of a political race, and there's partisanship, and there's fighting.
[8:06] And most of us are like Republicans are fighting Democrats, and there's always arguments. Hey, if you're a Fox News guy, you hate CNN. If you're a CNN guy, you hate Fox.
[8:17] I mean, we just, you know, just be honest. There's all this division. Guess what? You think, well, at church, certainly there'll be no division. And Jesus said, no, there's division. And it's because of me.
[8:28] Verse 44. And some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, why have you not brought him?
[8:38] The officers answered and said, never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on him? But the people, but this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.
[8:53] Nicodemus said unto them, he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, doth our law judge any man before it hear him? And know what he doeth? Just to stop, because I won't have time to go into this yet, but do you notice this?
[9:05] The leaders of the Pharisees, they said, why don't you bring him? Why don't you bring him so we can take care of him? And they said, nobody's ever spoken like him. And then the guy says, well, has any leader of our religion, has any one of us ever thought he was for real?
[9:21] And Nicodemus says, whoa, now guys, I don't want anybody to know I'm a Christian, but our law, we don't usually judge people like this. He's taking a stand without taking a stand, and he won't come fully out of the closet as being a Christian until later.
[9:36] But look what he says. He says, does our law judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth? They answered and said to him, art thou also of Galilee? Are you one of his boys? Search and look out, for out of Galilee arises no prophet.
[9:49] And every man went into his own house. Father, I pray that tonight you would help us learn to be politically incorrect for the right reasons. I pray, God, that you'd help us as believers to obey you and stand for you.
[10:05] And I'll give you great honor and glory and praise for what you do in Jesus' precious name. Amen. The word division that you find in verse 43, did you see that? Division among them because of him.
[10:17] That word division means factions, partisan, schism, pulling away, torn. It's like taking a family and ripping it in two. It's like taking a piece of paper and ripping it in two.
[10:30] This division isn't, hey, two for you and two for me. It's tearing. So Jesus is ripping the fabric of Judaism. Jesus is ripping the nation.
[10:42] Jesus is ripping the heart of these people. They are having to choose whose side their own. That's the opposite of unity. That's the opposite of peace.
[10:52] By the way, let me just say, some of you are going to say, but I thought Christianity was all about peace. And I thought Jesus was all about peace. He is about peace among those who believe him.
[11:04] But believe me, when you decide to follow Jesus, you set yourself at variance with everyone who chooses not to. That is not comfortable for most of us.
[11:16] Most of us are like, hey, let's just get along. Let's all go along and get along. But Jesus separates people. Father, I pray tonight, please, I beg you again and again, I beg you, please help these people to listen and their hearts to be touched by this.
[11:33] Look at this. Division is caused because you decide to follow Christ. Would you write that down somewhere? Division, because you decide to follow Jesus. In verse 37, he said, on the last day, he said, hey, by the way, if any of you guys are thirsty, if any of you guys are thirsty, if you'll believe on me, living waters will flow out of your belly.
[11:54] There's division immediately. Some are thirsty. Some are not thirsty. Some believe and some do not believe. And by the way, when people, did you know, when you believe, when you believe, you make everybody who doesn't believe very uncomfortable.
[12:10] When you believe, you make everybody else very uncomfortable. Because when you believe, you sound like you don't think they believe unless they agree with you.
[12:21] So you're sitting with your friends. If you can imagine being in a place where you would openly talk about Jesus and you say to somebody, I came to a place in my life and I realized I was a sinner and I realized I deserved to go to hell.
[12:33] And I realized I was going to go to hell. I placed my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. They're immediately like, wow, man, don't take it too far. Don't push it too far. Don't talk about that.
[12:44] I appreciate what you think, but don't be so outward about it. But when you decide to follow Jesus immediately, you divide from people.
[12:55] By the way, Jesus knew that was what was going to happen. Look, if you wouldn't, Matthew chapter 10, verses 34 through 36. Look at Matthew chapter 10, verses 34 through 36. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth.
[13:07] I came not to send peace, but a sword. This is ugly talk. This is Jesus, a Jew among Jews.
[13:18] There's already Romans that hate them. The Jews are like this one little group of people and they need to stay together. And Jesus says, guys, I'm a, I'm a leader in your group. I'm a rabbi. I'm a prophet.
[13:28] I'm a guy here in front of you. And I'm telling you, I didn't come to make peace. I came to bring a sword. Verse 35, he makes it very ugly. The verse is horrifically ugly.
[13:39] Verse 35. I am come to set a man against his father at variance on the opposite side against his father and the daughter against her mother and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and the foes shall be they of his own household.
[13:57] If you have your Bible open, I wish you would just mark for the fun of it for Bible understanding the word against three times in one verse against, against, against, against.
[14:09] If you follow Jesus against, if you follow Jesus against, if you follow Jesus against, look at the word variance. There's a difference. There's a separation. There's a division. Look at verse 36, foes, enemies, your own household becomes your enemy.
[14:27] At this very time, some of the young men in Morocco can't find wives because they don't have a family anymore.
[14:37] And the girls that they might like to know, they don't want to lose their family by following Jesus so openly. We might not understand that so much here, but there are people that are experiencing that right now.
[14:55] And they ought to experience it. We ought to even experience it. Some look at second Corinthians six, 14 through 16. We use this verse to talk about separation from the world.
[15:06] Like it's something that we ought to do, but it's something that's going to happen naturally. When you decide to follow Jesus, you just naturally end up being separated.
[15:16] Second Corinthians chapter six, verse 14. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. And if you got your ink pen, would you underline this? What fellowship? What fellowship?
[15:27] And that means how in the world does righteousness get along with unrighteousness? How does doing right get along with doing not right? How does holy living get along with unholy living? They can't get along.
[15:38] How does a not dope user get along with a dope user? How does a thief get along with a guy that's not a thief? They don't get along. He says, hey, what fellowship? Hang on, watch the verses.
[15:48] Then he goes on. And what communion hath light with darkness? What sweet fellowship and intimacy do light and darkness have? They can't stay in the same room.
[16:00] You light a light and darkness runs. What fellowship? What communion? Verse 15. What concord or what peace has Christ with Bilal? Has the devil with Jesus?
[16:12] How long? How well do they get along? What part hath he that believeth with an infidel? By the way, you need to underline that word infidel. You know what that means, don't you? It's just unbeliever. He that believes, how does he get along with the guy that doesn't believe?
[16:26] He that believes, how does he get along with the guy that doesn't believe? You know, when you go to family Christmas and family Thanksgiving, you learn there are certain things you don't discuss if you want to keep the peace.
[16:39] Don't bring up. Don't bring up. Maybe you're in one of those families that some of them are Republican, some of them are Democrat. And if you are, just hush. Be libertarian.
[16:49] Be from another country. Be from another planet. Don't say you like the president. Don't say you don't like him. Don't talk about him. You like said the president's name. You go, who? I never heard of him. Not in on that.
[17:00] You stay away from it. You know what's going to cause. Don't bring up Jesus. He says, hey, how do you get along if you're an unbeliever and a believer? Look at it. It said, what fellowship? What communion? What concord?
[17:11] What part? Verse 16. What agreement? What agreement does the temple of God have with idols? When you know God didn't want any idols around him. There could be no idols around him.
[17:21] He said, how do they get along? So just real quickly, the number one thing, when you decide to follow Jesus, you automatically separate yourself from people. No matter how much you want to fit in with the lost people, if you're a real believer, it's just going to be kind of sticking out all over you.
[17:39] There's something weird about this guy. He loves Jesus. He loves Jesus. Jesus said, hey, and by the way, I knew that was going to happen when I came. There's a division caused by Jesus.
[17:51] The second division that was caused is found in verse 40, and they divided over doctrine. They divided over doctrine. There was a decision that separated them. That's exactly what happened with Pilgrim.
[18:03] Graceless becomes Pilgrim, who later becomes Christian. And later his wife will be called Christiana in the second story that they write. But the first thing that happens is there's division because he decided to follow Jesus.
[18:15] The second thing they divided over was doctrine. Look at verse 40 down to verse 42. Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying said, of a truth, this is the prophet. And some other guys said, no, no, no, he's the Christ.
[18:28] And some said, Christ? Can Christ come out of Galilee? Don't you even know the Bible says he's got to come from Bethlehem where David was? You see, what you believe about Jesus separates you.
[18:40] Is he a prophet? Is he the Christ? Is he not the Christ? If you say he is the Christ separation. If you say, I believe with all my heart, he is God's sent one separation.
[18:52] If you believe and others question, that's a division. If you believe and teach what the Bible says, there will be a division. Now, I won't take a long time on this tonight, but do you understand that the New Testament is full of talk to us about division and how the devil wants to spread division?
[19:10] There's even a story about how he puts the tares in with the wheat and mixes them. There's stories in the Bible about how Satan sends men to join the church and get us off message.
[19:22] Did you know that? There does Satan sends men that look real godly and talk real good and they're great preachers and well-pleasing and everybody likes them and they get us off target, but they're supposed to be some division.
[19:36] Look, if you would with me at Acts chapter 20 and verse 28 through 30, and I'll just summarize it for you right quickly. Paul tells the guys, he said, hey, you're in charge. Be careful about yourself.
[19:47] Take care of my flock. And in verse 29, he said, guys, I'm leaving and there's some grievous wolves, grievous wolves that are coming in and they won't spare the flock. And they're going to say perverse things.
[19:59] They're going to say wicked things and draw disciples away after them. They were going to come in and say stuff like this. Jesus is a great guy and he's almost God. Jesus is almost God, but he's not completely God.
[20:12] Like Jehovah's witnesses would do today. You say you shouldn't talk about them. I want you to understand there's division. I believe Jesus is God and that automatically divides me and I can't help it.
[20:22] I'm sorry. If I believe he is God and they don't believe he is God, then we got a problem. Somebody's going to get along with somebody. He said, well, there's going some grievous wolves. There were guys that came into Galatia.
[20:33] They walked into Galatia and they said, you got to get circumcised. And if you don't get circumcised, you can't go to heaven. The apostle Paul's like, I tell you what, those guys can just go to you know where because they're not saved.
[20:44] Don't you listen to him? You say, well, that's not the way a nice preacher talks. No, it's the way a man of God talks though, because doctrine causes division. Second Corinthians chapter 11 through 13 through 15.
[20:58] Satan and his apostles are deceitful workers, false apostles. They transform themselves into the apostles of Christ. And Satan can make himself like a minister of light. He can make his men like a minister of light.
[21:09] Satan knows how to deceive us. Have you ever noticed that when Satan was tempting Jesus, Satan quoted scripture? Did you know that Satan can get into a Bible quoting game with you and beat you?
[21:25] He's had thousands of years to hear it preached. He was standing over the shoulder of Ezekiel while he wrote it down. He was there listening. You got to know he's been around a long time.
[21:36] He knows the whole story. He's been watching it all unfold since the Garden of Eden. He knows how to play the game. Division caused by doctrine taking a stand for what's right.
[21:47] And that divides us. That divides us. In 1 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 through 3, Paul writes, Timothy says, son, he said, I'm going to tell you what's fixing to happen. In the last days, people are going to get away from the faith.
[22:00] They're going to depart from the faith. They're going to listen to seducing spirits or deceiving devils. They're going to listen to guys who can deceive them and trick them and cause them to believe a lie and to believe a doctrine of a devil.
[22:13] They will speak lies. And they're even going to tell you, don't get married. We got a whole religion built on the priests don't get married. And then don't eat certain foods. And buddy, people jump into being vegans and jump into, and you know, let me just say this.
[22:28] I don't care what you eat. But the truth is, if you've got any kind of religious thing behind that, you're probably wrong somewhere. Because Jesus gave us all that food to eat. Sorry. You say, that's just because you're fat.
[22:38] I'm just telling you, if you're doing that because you have some religious belief. Jesus made it all worth eating. In 1 Timothy chapter 4, just a little bit further down, he created it to be received with thanksgiving in verse 3.
[22:53] Next thing, watch this. Let me give you two more before I leave this. He wants to take us into legalism. Satan sends people to take us into legalism. Boy, and our churches fall into that so quickly.
[23:05] We want to live right, and the preachers are probably trying to do right. And they got a good heart, but they forget that it's the Holy Spirit that changes people. They forget that it happens on the B level, and then our do is a reflection of what we really are in our heart.
[23:19] And so they make a bunch of rules. And in Galatians chapter 2 and verse 4, the apostle Paul said that false brethren came in to spy. And they came in sneaky-like to spy out their liberty. And look at the last phrase in verse 4, to bring us into bondage.
[23:33] Now listen to this. There are people out. Hang on, because some of you are about to get mad at me. There are people out there that just want to bring a lot of rules and tell you that Christians must go to mass. And Christians must do this and must do this and must do this and must not eat this and must do this.
[23:48] And they want to put you under a whole lot of rules. And they want to take away all of your freedom and put you in bondage. Paul said, boy, they came in here. They want to make us all get circumcised and make us all have Jewish dietary laws.
[24:01] So some of you are like, yes, thank you for saying that. Because we don't like that legalism. But then the devil sends another group in to make you take grace too far.
[24:12] Second Corinthians. Or excuse me, Jude, verse 4. Others want to take you to ungodly living. A license of sin or sensuality. Jude 4. There are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation.
[24:26] Ungodly men turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness. The license of sin. Sensuality. Denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
[24:36] Do you understand what's going on? The day you decided to follow Jesus, you became a different person. You are no longer a Gentile. You're no longer a Jew. You are a believer.
[24:48] A disciple of Jesus Christ. You're a Christian and you're a part of the church. And you are different than everybody around you. We are different. There's only two families on the planet.
[24:59] Sons of God and sons of the devil. You're in one of those two families. And the day you got into God's family, you are not in the devil's family. You say, well, I don't like that. Well, I just hate to tell you this, but that's what the Bible teaches.
[25:11] As many of them have received him, them gave you the power to become the sons of God. We need balance. As in our own church right here, some of us are licentious. I mean, it's like we are looking for every way to play with sin and still call ourselves a Christian.
[25:27] Look at Jude 4. That was written for you. Because somebody crept in the church and said, we're saved by grace. So go ahead and do whatever. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
[25:37] Holy people serving a holy God want to live holy lives. We're different. Say amen. Then there's another group that comes in and says, well, holy means, let me give you 25 points of holiness.
[25:48] And he said, don't listen to them either. We need balance. Last thing I'll say about this doctrine before I leave it. It's liable to be a division between me and you before the night's over, right?
[25:59] I can already sense it coming on. But watch this. We need some false doctrine. I won't take the time to show you the verses, but we need some false doctrine because it kind of shows us who doesn't really believe the real stuff.
[26:11] And heresies show who follows them. And you and I need to take a stand. We have decided to follow Jesus.
[26:23] The day you decided to follow Jesus, you separated. The day you decide to have Bible doctrine, you will separate from people. You'll even separate from other so-called Christians.
[26:35] Many of them will even be Christians, but it'll cause separation. The day you take a stand on this is what the Bible says will cause problems. Number three, religion causes division.
[26:47] Look at verse 44, if you would. Verse 44 down to verse 49. Some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers of the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, why didn't y'all bring him?
[27:02] They said, well, nobody's ever talked like him. Are you guys deceived? Or one of our guys falling for this junk? I don't think so. But there had been. Name Nicodemus.
[27:13] Religion has a status quo to protect. You know, by the way, listen to this. This is really bothering even some people in our own church. You know we're not really in favor of morality.
[27:25] See, everybody, the wise man and the worldly wise man and the law men, they wanted to take old pilgrim and take him up on the hill and show him how to be a good neighbor, treat his wife right and be an extremely moral man.
[27:40] And did you know that people need to repent of sin and people need to repent of their goodness? Do you know people are going to go to hell because they've been so good? Do you know there are people that are going to hell because they are so good they can't see that they are sinful?
[27:53] And our righteousness is as filthy rags. And so religion, they want to keep rules on us.
[28:04] They want to keep us under control. They want to guilt us and manipulate us. They want us. And so these Jewish leaders, they're hearing Jesus and they would have known if they had just listened, but they had too much to protect.
[28:17] They have to watch over what's theirs. They have to keep these people under control. Keep these people giving. Keep these people supporting them. And religion is a beautiful thing to a worldly mind.
[28:28] It's causing a major division there. Let me give you the fourth thing. The exclusivity of Christ causes division. This one, I think you'll agree with me, but I'm afraid even in our church, you might not understand what that means.
[28:44] I wish you'd write down exclusivity. I wish you'd write down exclusive. I wish you'd write down only name, only way, only person, only salvation.
[28:55] What do you need to write down? What do you need to write down? See, people aren't that upset about you exercising your religion as long as it doesn't interfere with their religion. Do you ever think about that?
[29:07] People like it that you're religious. People even say he's a Christian guy. People even say, oh, he's a spiritual man. Did you know the Amish are cute? We drive up there to look at them.
[29:19] They're very religious and we like to go look at them and take their pictures. We love religion. Boy, the Mormons, they got it together. And the Seventh-day Adventists have great material and health and foods. And everybody's all happy with you if you'll just, shh, don't talk about Jesus.
[29:36] Don't let him make a difference in your life. Go along and get along. If no one can get to God except through Jesus, we have just stated that what we believe is right, eternally right, and what they believe is wrong, eternally wrong.
[29:53] Do you have any idea, before I give you some verses, do you have any idea how extreme this comes across anybody everywhere you go? If you were to go to India, you would find religious people.
[30:06] If you would go, if you would go to South America, you would find religious people. If you would go anywhere, you would find good moral people and a lot of good religions.
[30:20] Good religions. Keep the people under control. Keep things going. We might not like it. It might not go against our culture. But here's where they get mad. If you are a Jew and you have not placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you cannot go to heaven.
[30:39] If you're a Muslim and you always obey every good part of the Koran and you're the best Muslim who ever lived, and the best man who ever lived, you'll still go to hell.
[30:52] If you are a mother in Calcutta who takes care of poor people and is the best person who ever lived, you will still go to hell.
[31:06] This doctrine thing divides. Jesus divides. Jesus didn't come along and say, man, hey, hey, Ishmael is a good guy. Mohammed's a good guy. Buddha's a good guy.
[31:17] And we're all on the same road. I grew up with all roads lead to Rome. But here's what happens. All roads lead to Rome, but only one goes to heaven.
[31:29] And, you know, we, hey, different strokes for different folks. But you'll go to hell if you don't get the right stroke. We don't like that. You say, well, the Bible doesn't say that.
[31:41] Okay. Let me give you just two or three verses and I'll move on. John 14, six. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father, but by me.
[31:55] If you would like to argue with me about the articles in front of way, truth and life and say it could be a instead of the, I'll say, all right, I'll argue. Go ahead. The next part of it is going to blow that whole theory, isn't it?
[32:07] Because if you say, well, it's a way, a truth, a life. He said, it might be, but you don't ever get to heaven. You don't go through Jesus. So you say, well, I'm going to go the Buddha way. Well, if you don't go through Jesus, you're not going to get there.
[32:19] I'm going through Mary. No, if you don't go through Jesus, you're not getting there. I'm going to be the best moral person you've ever met. Well, you're not getting there. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life.
[32:32] There is no other. Boy. But I was a boy, young man, preacher, I guess maybe in my early or later 20s. Maybe I'm not sure how old I was.
[32:44] But a president of the Southern Baptist Convention said on national TV that if you didn't trust Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you could not go to heaven. It didn't matter if you were a Jew or who you were.
[32:55] And the media went wild. And he later apologized. Said I shouldn't have said it. But here's the truth. He had to apologize to be politically correct.
[33:07] But to be spiritually correct, he told the truth the first time. Well, we have a Bible and you have a Bible. No, we have a Bible and you have a book.
[33:18] You say, well, that's arrogant. I know. But Jesus separates people. Tears the fabric. How about another verse?
[33:29] Acts chapter 4 and verse 12. Jesus is one of the last words in verse 11. It says, neither is there salvation in any other. For there's none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
[33:45] There's no other name. They will come through Jesus or they won't. In John chapter 10, Jesus is a door. And if you come up any other way, you're a thief and a robber.
[33:59] You will come through Jesus or you won't go to heaven. How many of y'all are mad yet? If you're mad, say amen. If you're aggravated, say amen. If you're happy, say amen.
[34:10] If you're alive, say amen. See, I know this isn't what you like, but it's what the book says right here. You see, Jesus divides. The minute you decide to follow Jesus, boy, they're not going to like you.
[34:23] And the minute you decide to tell the truth, even kindly, they're not going to like you. And by the way, religion would try to keep you. They want you. Religion loves to keep you doing religious stuff.
[34:35] Did you know that General Motors doesn't care which line of cars you buy? You can buy from the Corvair or Vega, which I've owned both of, to the top of the line car.
[34:50] And General Motors just says, ka-ching, ka-ching, when you buy. Did you know the devil is happy to see you be moral or a drunkard? A liar, an adulterer, or the most moral man on the planet?
[35:03] He's very happy to see you be a Mormon, a Muslim, a Buddhist, or a quote-unquote Christian. Just don't get saved.
[35:17] What do we say? Well, he's got a good heart. No, he doesn't. No, he doesn't. If he's not saved, he's got a filthy, dirty, wicked heart.
[35:29] You say, well, don't you think the best of people? No. No. I think the worst of them. Because they're all going to hell. Because their father's the devil, who's the father of lies.
[35:41] That's why they lie, because they're like their daddy. That's what he said. John chapter 8, what, verse 13? I think he's going to say this.
[35:51] I'm the light of the world. You walk in me, you walk in light. I mean, he's just like, they're dark, I'm light, that's it. Doesn't matter what he believes, as long as he believes it with all of his heart.
[36:04] Isn't that what we think? That's not true. So he's a good man. He really has faith. Well, faith doesn't take anybody to heaven. Did you hear that?
[36:15] Only Jesus takes people to heaven. Number five, I'll give you the last one. Now that you're mad, I'll go ahead and really put the last nail in the coffin.
[36:28] Get you good mad at me. You ready? Dedication causes division. The uncommitted are never very comfortable with the committed. You'll find a church full of people who are on the rolls and still fornicating.
[36:49] On the rolls and still lying. On the rolls and still cheating. On the rolls and still in pornography. On the rolls, they quote unquote, they're saved. Maybe, I don't know.
[37:00] Let me tell you, it does make them a tad uncomfortable to be around you. In 1988, our neighbor invited us to his house in Peru.
[37:14] And we walked in the door. And he knew I was an American. He had no idea what I did, really. And I walked in and he met me at the door.
[37:24] And he was one of the top surgeons in the city. And he said, hey, it's such an honor to have you here. Awesome. We're so glad to have you here tonight. What do you want to drink? I said, I'll take a Coke. And he said, with what?
[37:36] And I said, ice. And I never even thought about with what else. I didn't. I mean, I thought everybody liked Coke with ice. Amen. And he hollered at his wife and said, don't you ever bring enough of all these people that don't know what to drink when they come here to our house right in front of me.
[37:55] I didn't ever say I was a Christian. But you see, whenever you are different, it really does bother them. It's time to go to church.
[38:06] And you say, I'm going to church. And they say, well, we want to do this. No, I'm going to church. Y'all do what you want to do. They don't like that. I'm going to give. They don't like that. It makes them uncomfortable. I'm going to pray.
[38:17] It makes them uncomfortable. I need to read my Bible. It makes them uncomfortable. Did you know when you're sold out to God, people are not comfortable around you? The truth is, when you fall in love with Jesus and it shows on every part of you, people are uncomfortable with you.
[38:31] If you can't laugh at their jokes, if you can't participate in their sin, Bible says the name is 3-3. How can two walk together except they be agreed?
[38:44] Your obedience will make them uncomfortable. Your separation from sin will separate you from your friends. What you consider reasonable sacrifice, they will consider fanaticism. The amount of time and treasure and talent you want to invest in the things of God makes them uncomfortable.
[39:01] Loving God or anyone makes a clear choice or choosing of one love over another. The day you said, I love Jesus. I need to add the last thing to this.
[39:15] I want you to hear this. Christianity is not politically correct. Now, I think we ought to be as nice as we could possibly be.
[39:26] So don't dare walk out of your seat. Well, thank God. He finally told us we can punch people in the nose and call them what they are. No, that's not what I'm telling you. You ought to be the kindest person you can possibly be.
[39:38] You ought to be the lovingest person you can possibly be. But you need to know now that when you follow Jesus, it makes people uncomfortable.
[39:49] Had you been there in that meeting? And the leaders of the Pharisees and the Jews come back in the room. And they said, why didn't y'all bring Jesus? We told you to get him and bring him here.
[40:00] We were going to take care of him right now. And one of them said, man, nobody ever talks like him anywhere. Man, everybody likes him. And he says, hey, listen to me.
[40:11] Does anybody who leads our religion believe in him? Does one of us believe in him? And Nicodemus, who was a ruler of the Jews, said, guys, are we getting out of hand the way we're judging this guy?
[40:25] Because he was one of them. But he was still keeping it secret. Even a leader had gotten saved. So I just want you to know tonight. That if you love Jesus, you might expect some discomfort.
[40:50] Here's what they'll say. You don't have to be so vocal about it. That quarterback that everyone's making fun of now.
[41:02] They're all fine with him being a Christian. They even tell him that. Just shut up. You've told us enough. So if he would be a 007 like us, they'd like him.
[41:19] But he chooses not to. Maybe we ought to think about the fact that Jesus divides.
[41:30] Read with me if you would. John chapter 7, verse 43. So there was a division among the people because of him.
[41:42] It's going on all around the world right now. Muslims can't like what I say. Work salvation people can't like what I say.
[41:55] Other Christians can't even like what I say if I talk about Jesus. I'm separated not only from the non-Christians, but even the Christians don't like it. Following Jesus is politically incorrect.
[42:13] I didn't say you had to go out and be rude. I think you ought to be as kind as you can. I'm going to be as sweet and as nice as I can to everybody I can. I'm always going to be as sweet as I can and sell my word season with salt and grace.
[42:24] But you need to know that if you never feel any discomfort because you follow Jesus, you're probably too quiet.
[42:37] Yea, and all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Father in heaven, I love you. Thank you for the chance to serve you. Pray you bless your church tonight.
[42:49] Lord, I know that the message isn't pleasing even to our church. It's not even comfortable to me. It's not even comfortable to leaders in our church, I'm sure.
[43:00] Though I don't know of anybody in particular. I just know, God, it's not comfortable to me. God, we need it. And I just pray you'd help us to stand and say, I love Jesus.
[43:13] 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.
[43:30] See you tomorrow. See you tomorrow. See you tomorrow. I will kiss you tomorrow. My picture is all pro לש미.
[43:41] See you tomorrow. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
[43:51] Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.