WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.899 I would like you to turn this morning in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 4. 00:00:04.600 --> 00:00:07.799 ! We are going to be looking at verses 17 through 19. 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:15.919 And as we begin this morning, let me start by saying that when you look at the world and you look at all the individuals that you bump into, 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:20.620 I want you to realize that there are really only two kinds of people in the world. 00:00:22.379 --> 00:00:23.559 Only two kinds. 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:38.960 Those who will be your neighbors and companions in heaven and those who will spend eternity away from Christ in hell. 00:00:40.659 --> 00:00:43.219 I think we ought to think about that more often. 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:56.100 And that thought should really make a difference in the way that we go through our life and the way we conduct our lives. 00:00:56.140 --> 00:00:56.659 Isn't that true? 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:00.640 That's really what we're looking at this morning in this passage. 00:01:00.899 --> 00:01:04.920 And as we take up the text, you look there at verse 17. 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:05.759 It says this, 00:01:05.759 --> 00:01:12.319 Now this I say and testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do. 00:01:13.219 --> 00:01:23.840 In the futility of their minds, they are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:34.700 They have become calloused and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:48.439 I want you to realize this morning as we take up this passage that the Scripture makes it clear that we are saved for a greater purpose than merely to protect us from going and spending eternity in hell. 00:01:48.520 --> 00:01:49.579 Hell is an awful thing. 00:01:50.100 --> 00:01:50.760 It's a truth. 00:01:50.960 --> 00:01:51.700 It's a reality. 00:01:52.700 --> 00:02:00.140 But in saving us, Christ's purpose far transcends that business of where we would spend eternity. 00:02:00.140 --> 00:02:11.020 And while we appreciate the blessing of knowing that we are delivered from the condemnation of sin and there is blessing in our eternity, 00:02:11.020 --> 00:02:18.580 I want you to realize that we who know Christ have an underlying responsibility that we need to be thinking about all the time. 00:02:18.659 --> 00:02:21.979 It should be something that is pervasive and central to our lives. 00:02:21.979 --> 00:02:30.120 If you go back just for a moment to Ephesians chapter 3 verse 10, there's a little statement in that passage that helps us understand, 00:02:30.259 --> 00:02:32.659 so why is it that I have been saved? 00:02:34.399 --> 00:02:42.239 So that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:53.480 The truth of the matter is that in saving us, God ordained that you and I should be illustrations of His glory and the outcome of the way in which we live and act 00:02:53.480 --> 00:02:57.580 should cause heaven and earth to be really astonished at God's wisdom. 00:02:58.780 --> 00:03:01.939 Wow, I can't believe He did that. 00:03:02.660 --> 00:03:07.400 As I was praying and thinking about this passage this morning, going over it in my mind again, 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:14.920 I was reminded of the fact that during creation when God spoke a creation into being, 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:20.259 it says that the angels shouted for joy as He was creating the stars in the universe. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:24.780 And it's a little bit like I remember years ago at a basketball game, 00:03:25.240 --> 00:03:30.640 and one guy who was probably about 5'10", he ran down the floor, got a break open, 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:33.080 and down he went and he dunked the ball. 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:36.560 And everybody, I think it's the only time he'd ever dunked it in his life, 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:40.020 and everybody was just absolutely stunned that he did it. 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:43.120 And the whole place, at least the people who were on our side, 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:49.460 just rose up and cheered, and they were wildly ecstatic that David Ratliff had dunked the ball. 00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:56.020 And I want you to understand that in creation, as God was throwing these stars into being and creating, 00:03:56.340 --> 00:03:59.340 the angels were going, wow, wow, wow. 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:01.219 But that's not the end of it. 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:05.800 In creation, he did something that's pretty spectacular, 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:11.819 but it tells us in Scripture that when an unbeliever is drawn to the cross and comes to salvation, 00:04:12.079 --> 00:04:13.560 what does it make the angels do? 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:20.779 It causes them to shout for joy and just to sing out in praise of the amazing power of God to save. 00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:24.919 And so when you think about what the church is here for, 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:29.199 you realize that we who are individuals and part of the body of Christ, 00:04:29.500 --> 00:04:34.179 and that the church is his principal advertisement of glory in this age. 00:04:34.259 --> 00:04:35.239 That's what we are. 00:04:35.599 --> 00:04:38.719 We are here to make God look good. 00:04:38.719 --> 00:04:39.239 Isn't that right? 00:04:39.739 --> 00:04:40.659 That's what it's all about. 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:43.379 That's why I draw breath, and that's why you draw breath, 00:04:43.379 --> 00:04:48.060 and that's part of the reason that we come together this morning is to have our hearts encouraged 00:04:48.060 --> 00:04:50.939 and reminded of why we exist. 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:55.500 If you were to look at the broad outline of the book of Ephesians, 00:04:56.939 --> 00:05:03.240 you would recognize that the first three chapters explain the nature of his salvation, 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:05.000 what he has done in saving us, 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:12.360 and then we begin in chapter 4 with an explanation of how we who have been saved are to live. 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:16.220 So what are we to do with the salvation that we enjoy? 00:05:16.740 --> 00:05:21.400 And in the first 16 verses, Paul talks about a very interesting 00:05:21.400 --> 00:05:26.000 and perhaps a little surprising responsibility that we have in the body of Christ 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.500 of really caring for one another and getting along. 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:31.240 He talks about the unity of the Spirit. 00:05:32.259 --> 00:05:38.379 Then in verse 17, he begins what will be his theme for the remainder of the book, 00:05:38.379 --> 00:05:44.000 and it is the matter of how we as believers are to behave. 00:05:44.719 --> 00:05:46.980 And so as we pick up this lesson this morning, 00:05:47.159 --> 00:05:49.759 I want you to mark what we find there in verse 17. 00:05:49.860 --> 00:05:53.120 Now this I say, and testify in the Lord. 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:58.259 We're looking here at a very solemn charge that is given to us who are believers. 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:01.360 And if you're here today and you know Christ as your Savior, 00:06:01.740 --> 00:06:06.000 it is the Spirit of God that is speaking to you explicitly and directly, 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:09.160 and he has something that he wants you to hear. 00:06:10.180 --> 00:06:13.399 This little statement that Paul makes here when he says, 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:18.300 now this I say, and testify in the Lord, has a very formal ring to it. 00:06:19.500 --> 00:06:25.480 It carries with it the idea of receiving a charge in a formal setting. 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:33.600 I am reminded of the events in which my boys, Joseph and Sam, went into the military. 00:06:34.140 --> 00:06:38.660 And after you've signed the papers and all of that, you end up taking an oath of office. 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:42.360 And how many of you here, there are a number of you that at one point or another went into the military, 00:06:42.460 --> 00:06:46.340 and you can remember standing there at a pretty somber moment and saying, 00:06:46.540 --> 00:06:50.319 I swear to uphold the Constitution and defend it. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:56.759 It is a life changer because you've made a promise that you're going to do certain things. 00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:03.100 And here is Paul communicating with that same kind of earnestness to believers, 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:05.120 and he says, let me tell you something. 00:07:05.719 --> 00:07:10.659 You have a particular responsibility that you are expected to carry out. 00:07:10.680 --> 00:07:11.399 And what is that? 00:07:11.819 --> 00:07:13.480 At the heart of it, it's that we're to be different. 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:14.779 We're to be different. 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:16.399 That's what's being said here. 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:21.959 It says, I testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:27.719 And so I want you to imagine that you are standing at attention before God himself. 00:07:28.479 --> 00:07:31.699 And I've got to tell you that that would be a pretty sober moment for us, wouldn't it? 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:36.000 You remember when Isaiah received his commission to serve God, 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:41.060 and he was absolutely overwhelmed by the reality of the glory and the holiness of Christ. 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:48.259 And in that setting, he says, listen, I'm giving you a responsibility that you are to preach and announce the truth, 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:50.519 even when everybody's not listening. 00:07:50.600 --> 00:07:53.879 He says, listen, you have a responsibility you take seriously. 00:07:55.819 --> 00:07:59.000 And so as each of us are standing this morning at attention before God, 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:01.480 and we're listening to what he has to say to us, he says this, 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:03.500 you are to be different. 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:10.220 And as we think about what is being said here, we recognize that there are several truths that stand underneath that. 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:14.639 For one, genuine salvation makes us different from what we used to be. 00:08:15.079 --> 00:08:21.120 Let me say that again because there's a lot of kind of misunderstanding floating around today 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:24.579 that salvation is merely just saying a prayer at some point 00:08:24.579 --> 00:08:28.819 or having some kind of a little emotional hiccup in a particular situation, 00:08:29.259 --> 00:08:30.660 and, well, that's the end of it. 00:08:30.660 --> 00:08:36.920 Salvation is something that is authentically the work of Christ 00:08:36.920 --> 00:08:39.759 and brings about genuine transformation. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:44.700 Now, is all of that transformation immediately evident in the life of every believer? 00:08:44.779 --> 00:08:45.820 And the answer is no. 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:51.300 But I want you to listen to what it says over in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:54.000 If any man is in Christ Jesus, he's what? 00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:57.080 He's something different. 00:08:57.080 --> 00:09:02.340 Conversion doesn't just introduce us to a new set of rules. 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:09.620 Conversion brings a change in our life and makes us something different on the inside. 00:09:09.940 --> 00:09:14.460 In fact, if there's no real evidence of that change on the inside, 00:09:14.660 --> 00:09:20.020 there's a good reason to double-check whether or not what you think took place actually did. 00:09:20.019 --> 00:09:26.899 For another, salvation calls us to act differently than we did in our past. 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:29.980 I've bumped into people on occasion who will say, 00:09:30.079 --> 00:09:31.779 you don't know the background that I grew up with. 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:37.299 And maybe they grew up in a home where there was a lot of foul vocabulary and abuse 00:09:37.299 --> 00:09:38.460 and all different kinds of things, 00:09:38.659 --> 00:09:42.059 and they'll kind of justify that ongoing behavior by saying, 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:43.179 well, you don't know my past. 00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:45.879 Hey, listen, none of us had good pasts. 00:09:46.319 --> 00:09:47.139 Do you understand that? 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:52.059 Apart from the cross, we were all equally miserable in our sins. 00:09:53.319 --> 00:09:55.240 And here's what it says in the Scriptures. 00:09:55.439 --> 00:09:57.600 It says, listen, we are to be different. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:01.980 We are changed by our conversion. 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:08.980 And that change is something that does more than just kind of put a little gloss on veneer on our lives. 00:10:09.179 --> 00:10:12.379 It's something that begins from the inside out. 00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:19.299 Now I want you to imagine just for a moment that instead of conversion changing a person's heart 00:10:19.299 --> 00:10:21.039 and bringing them salvation, 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:28.700 that what conversion actually does is changes the physical intention and ambitions of an individual 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:34.080 so that a person who was 450 pounds at one point prior to conversion 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:37.440 now begins to change and become an athlete. 00:10:38.679 --> 00:10:39.379 Do you follow that? 00:10:40.259 --> 00:10:41.200 Now, it's a little confusing. 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:42.220 I can see it on your faces. 00:10:42.680 --> 00:10:44.720 But instead of a person having a heart change, 00:10:44.900 --> 00:10:49.259 I want you to imagine that they begin to change physically. 00:10:50.400 --> 00:10:56.220 A person who was genuinely converted would begin making a migratory path 00:10:56.220 --> 00:10:59.640 from where they were at 400 down the food chain. 00:10:59.700 --> 00:11:00.540 Would you agree with that? 00:11:01.540 --> 00:11:05.940 They'd probably begin huffing and puffing and taking about 30 extra steps a day. 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:08.440 And pretty soon it'd be 50 and pretty soon it'd be 100. 00:11:08.780 --> 00:11:10.320 And a person would say, what are you doing that? 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:12.640 I mean, here you are, you're this gargantuan individual. 00:11:13.040 --> 00:11:15.500 And what's, why are you doing, well, hey, I'm a runner. 00:11:16.440 --> 00:11:17.160 I'm a runner. 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:21.180 And I'm not what I will be, but I'm not what I was. 00:11:22.780 --> 00:11:28.060 Conversion changes the heart and the affections and the interests of an individual. 00:11:28.280 --> 00:11:30.200 And that should be evident. 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:35.360 And Paul here in this passage, he makes this statement. 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:39.560 He says, now listen, I'm telling you, you're not to walk the way you used to. 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:43.220 There's something else that we find here in this passage. 00:11:43.420 --> 00:11:46.340 Salvation calls us to act differently than our past. 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:48.340 To be different. 00:11:49.180 --> 00:11:52.780 I am not what I will be, but I am not what I was. 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:55.480 And I want you to understand something. 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:58.139 Being different is not an option for the genuine believer. 00:11:58.240 --> 00:11:59.299 Let me say that again slowly. 00:11:59.860 --> 00:12:02.740 Being different is not an option for the genuine believer. 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:05.799 It is the heart of our existence and our calling. 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:06.579 Do you understand that? 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:09.939 It is the heart of our existence and our calling. 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:17.159 If you are a child of God, there is no reason for you to stay the way you used to be. 00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:19.219 And can I tell you something? 00:12:20.100 --> 00:12:25.959 Staying the way you used to be, if you're a genuine believer, is a miserable place to be. 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:38.879 Because there is something in our heart put there by the Spirit who indwells that leads us to desire to grow and change and move away from our past. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:51.000 Having said that we're not to behave like we used to, Paul then takes care to explain what our past was like. 00:12:52.220 --> 00:12:58.740 And so I want you to follow along here and get an understanding of the nature of the unconverted. 00:12:58.860 --> 00:13:01.679 And that's really what we're looking at in the remainder of our time this morning. 00:13:02.059 --> 00:13:05.120 What is the nature of the unconverted? 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:15.179 And there at the beginning of the portion it says that you're not to walk like the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. 00:13:15.259 --> 00:13:22.100 And I just want you to understand in simple terms that when Paul uses that word Gentile, he's not talking about an ethnic group. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:28.659 But he's really making a comparison between those people who know Christ and those people who don't. 00:13:28.659 --> 00:13:36.419 And as we get started into this passage, it says, as Gentiles, in the futility of their mind. 00:13:37.139 --> 00:13:39.500 What is the nature of the unbeliever? 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:43.299 The sinner's life is empty of lasting value. 00:13:43.939 --> 00:13:46.939 The sinner's life is empty of lasting value. 00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:49.959 That doesn't mean that it isn't occupied with things. 00:13:49.960 --> 00:14:00.080 But it does mean that the things that the mind of the unbeliever is occupied with are ultimately of no value whatsoever. 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:04.660 Reality shows are kind of all the rage at this time. 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:12.360 And I am on occasion kind of intrigued by a couple different shows that I can stomach for about four or five minutes. 00:14:12.580 --> 00:14:13.639 And that's all I've had. 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:19.860 But I want you to know that I am really curious about doomsday preppers and hoarders. 00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:25.460 I think they kind of, they ought to make one called doomsday prepper hoarding. 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:27.639 Because it would kind of be a blend. 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:28.919 It would be the perfect mix. 00:14:29.199 --> 00:14:31.460 I could watch two and a half minutes instead of five. 00:14:31.580 --> 00:14:32.819 And that would be all I could take. 00:14:33.699 --> 00:14:39.319 And I watch these doomsday preppers as they're kind of prepping for the ultimate meltdown of society. 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:44.600 And they must just love being on TV being profoundly dumb, you know. 00:14:45.760 --> 00:14:48.100 But, you know, and hoarders. 00:14:48.860 --> 00:14:52.379 Anybody out here besides me watch four or five minutes of hoarders? 00:14:53.060 --> 00:14:53.720 Raise your hands. 00:14:53.780 --> 00:14:56.040 I just want to see that I am not alone, okay. 00:14:56.100 --> 00:14:57.740 That makes me feel so much better. 00:14:57.740 --> 00:15:07.220 You know, doomsday preppers and hoarders, and I hope there are none of you in here. 00:15:11.779 --> 00:15:12.240 Listen. 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:18.399 If your children are thinking to themselves, when mom and dad die, we're getting dumpsters. 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:27.240 Enough said. 00:15:27.740 --> 00:15:28.139 Okay. 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:32.519 Well, we're not here to kind of get off on a sideline. 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:37.680 But I do want you to understand that the sinner occupies his life with things that are of no eternal value. 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:40.440 Holds on to things. 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:41.259 Clings to them. 00:15:41.860 --> 00:15:42.580 Gravitates to them. 00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:44.639 Counts them as valuable and priceless. 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:48.720 And I'm reminded what Jesus said over in Matthew chapter 16, verse 26. 00:15:49.100 --> 00:15:56.560 He said, what is it to profit to a man if he gains the whole world and he forfeits his own soul? 00:15:57.740 --> 00:16:03.139 I've seen those bumper stickers that say, he who dies with the most toys wins. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:04.500 You ever seen those? 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:11.360 And I think to myself, you know, that's just a profoundly foolish bumper sticker. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:15.299 Because he who dies with the most stuff doesn't win. 00:16:16.179 --> 00:16:22.759 Scriptures tell us that you may have it all, but if you don't have Christ, your life is a miserable existence. 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:31.379 I want you to recognize also that the Scripture goes on there and says not only do they live in the emptiness of their mind, 00:16:31.740 --> 00:16:37.319 in that they're being consumed with things that have no eternal purpose. 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:43.200 The sinner lives with profound frustrations. 00:16:44.620 --> 00:16:50.500 And in the verse that follows and a little bit of the next one, we find that Paul kind of spells that out in particular. 00:16:51.040 --> 00:16:56.620 For one thing, it says there in the passage that they are darkened in their understanding. 00:16:57.820 --> 00:17:00.360 They endure darkened thinking. 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:09.039 That doesn't mean that the sinner cannot think, but it means that his sinner doesn't move toward what is really clear and what is truly good. 00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:12.620 And I think you can see that everywhere you look. 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:18.360 You see illustrations of people who think that what they're doing is really ultimately pretty good, 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:21.259 and it kind of ends up being nothing like that at all. 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:32.079 Our government is a classic illustration of what it is to be involved in thinking some things that are very profoundly unproductive and darkened. 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:37.359 There's another thing that the passage of Scripture says, and I want you to mark what it is there. 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:43.180 It says that not only is their thinking darkened, but they're alienated from the life of God. 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:46.220 Alienated from the life of God. 00:17:46.220 --> 00:17:58.839 What that word communicates is the idea that an individual has been either separated from his community 00:17:58.839 --> 00:18:02.720 or he has been dismissed from his family. 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:08.980 A citizen in the ancient world was one who enjoyed some very particular benefits, 00:18:08.980 --> 00:18:18.860 and to be banished from your citizenry or have your citizenry taken away from you was a very profound difficulty 00:18:18.860 --> 00:18:25.279 because you were put upon and struggled with all kinds of things that you didn't struggle with otherwise. 00:18:26.180 --> 00:18:29.180 And it says here they are alienated from the life of God. 00:18:29.460 --> 00:18:30.440 You've been cast out. 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:35.420 You have nothing to do with the blessings of the smile of God in your life. 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:44.539 All the rich blessings that we who are the children of God enjoy are wiped away from the view of the sinner. 00:18:45.259 --> 00:18:53.300 Now, does it say here that the sinner suffers every kind of conceivable heartache as a result of being a sinner? 00:18:53.420 --> 00:18:57.900 No, the truth of the matter is it tells us in Scripture that the rain falls on what? 00:18:58.519 --> 00:18:59.800 It falls on the just and the unjust. 00:18:59.800 --> 00:19:04.539 There are benefits that come because of his common grace to all of us, 00:19:04.539 --> 00:19:11.379 but the truth of the matter is that those who do not know Christ do not have the benefit of the fatherhood of God 00:19:11.379 --> 00:19:14.119 and his care, his particular care for us. 00:19:16.819 --> 00:19:23.899 We also read there in the passage, it says that not only do they have this struggle with being alienated from the life of God, 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:27.299 but it says there because of the ignorance that is in them. 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:30.259 The ignorance that is in them. 00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:37.599 As the result of their ignorance, they make one decision after another that ends up being profoundly destructive. 00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:46.440 You think of many of the illustrations that you can see in your own life being around individuals who at one point thought, 00:19:46.579 --> 00:19:48.339 you know, if I do this, it's going to work out. 00:19:48.539 --> 00:19:49.500 It's going to be my blessing. 00:19:49.500 --> 00:19:56.140 And yet, because of their disobedience and unwillingness to follow the pattern that God has in the Scriptures, 00:19:56.660 --> 00:20:01.180 they just magnify one difficulty after another on top of their life. 00:20:01.339 --> 00:20:03.039 And it's characteristic of a sinner. 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:07.519 He makes decisions that ultimately are ignorant and harmful. 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:12.240 Now I come to one other thing that it says in the passage I want you to recognize. 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:18.660 It says that this all happens because of the hardness of their heart. 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:23.180 I want you to turn back in your Bible, if you will, to Romans. 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:24.200 Let's go there for a moment. 00:20:24.299 --> 00:20:25.299 Romans chapter 1. 00:20:27.299 --> 00:20:41.599 And Romans chapter 1 in particular is a very careful exposition or teaching about the nature of the unregenerate man's heart. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:44.519 Romans chapter 1, we're picking up there in verse 18. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:45.579 It says, 00:20:45.679 --> 00:20:49.859 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, 00:20:50.019 --> 00:20:53.259 who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:56.819 That's an interesting statement. 00:20:57.819 --> 00:21:03.799 It's telling us that those who are unbelievers, as a general rule, apart from the grace of God, 00:21:03.879 --> 00:21:08.039 are really not all that interested in hearing what the truth is. 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:14.480 It says there in verse 19, 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:18.099 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 00:21:19.199 --> 00:21:23.419 For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, 00:21:23.719 --> 00:21:29.539 have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made, 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:31.279 so they're without excuse. 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:37.500 For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, nor give thanks to Him, 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:43.460 but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:47.980 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:56.339 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 00:21:56.339 --> 00:22:00.500 And it says there in verse 24, and we find it repeatedly in this passage, 00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:02.480 it says, God gave them up. 00:22:06.439 --> 00:22:20.579 His punitive hand against the unbeliever is that God allows the heart to become more and more hardened towards sin. 00:22:20.579 --> 00:22:26.819 And as you read that passage, 00:22:28.220 --> 00:22:32.720 I trust that one of the things that goes through your heart is that you think very soberly, 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:35.699 Lord, if it had not been for your grace, 00:22:36.139 --> 00:22:42.099 these verses here would be a perfect description of my thinking at the moment. 00:22:42.099 --> 00:22:48.599 And we cannot read this passage without having our hearts say, 00:22:49.079 --> 00:22:56.099 wow, I am so thankful for my salvation and the blessing that this is no longer describing me. 00:22:56.980 --> 00:22:58.879 I used to be that way. 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:02.500 And Christ in His mercy rescued me, 00:23:02.639 --> 00:23:05.179 and I am so incredibly thankful. 00:23:05.180 --> 00:23:08.940 And so when I hear the Spirit say to me, 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:12.100 hey, listen, don't walk like a Gentile, 00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:14.180 I think about where I used to be, 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:16.019 and I think, man, you're right. 00:23:16.340 --> 00:23:17.860 I don't want to do that. 00:23:20.320 --> 00:23:22.720 We come to something else that I want you to see 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:25.320 in the passage going back to Ephesians. 00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:30.340 It tells us that the sinner lives a desensitized, 00:23:31.240 --> 00:23:32.779 sensual life. 00:23:32.779 --> 00:23:37.940 A desensitized, sensual life. 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:39.119 Let me stop just for a moment 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:42.920 and ask you to recognize the kind of dissonance of that statement, 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:44.559 the disconnect, right? 00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:48.259 Desensitized, sensual. 00:23:49.539 --> 00:23:51.960 When we think about sensuality, what do we think about? 00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:54.019 Sensual. 00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:56.819 Sensitive to the senses, right? 00:23:58.819 --> 00:24:01.059 Paul, under the enabling of the Spirit of God, 00:24:01.059 --> 00:24:05.619 is describing the way the unbeliever really thinks. 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:09.599 Verse 19, 00:24:09.700 --> 00:24:11.200 They have become callous 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:15.559 and have given themselves up to sensuality. 00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:19.639 That word callous is an interesting word. 00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:22.539 It's not talking just about callouses on your hand. 00:24:22.539 --> 00:24:31.960 The word is actually communicating the idea of blushing for shame. 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:40.559 The early experience with sin 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:46.380 produces shame and guilt and fear. 00:24:48.259 --> 00:24:56.519 Your child, who surprisingly is taking after your husband, 00:24:56.519 --> 00:24:59.980 is developing into being a liar. 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:02.960 You didn't realize that, but it's happening. 00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:07.299 And the first couple times that you catch your child in a lie, 00:25:07.500 --> 00:25:08.319 and you say, 00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:09.980 Honey, are you lying? 00:25:10.279 --> 00:25:11.680 What does the child do? 00:25:12.859 --> 00:25:14.480 Looks you right in the eye. 00:25:14.859 --> 00:25:15.200 No. 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:16.940 The child usually ducks her head, 00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:18.859 and there's a little bit of shame and a little bit of disappointment. 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:20.139 You know, do you follow what I'm saying? 00:25:20.140 --> 00:25:22.820 But with practice, what does the child do? 00:25:22.900 --> 00:25:23.560 Does anybody know? 00:25:24.340 --> 00:25:26.080 Looks you right in the eye and says, 00:25:26.220 --> 00:25:26.440 No. 00:25:27.100 --> 00:25:28.600 My brother did that. 00:25:28.860 --> 00:25:29.300 Really? 00:25:30.940 --> 00:25:31.240 Okay. 00:25:32.420 --> 00:25:35.060 The word that Paul uses here 00:25:35.060 --> 00:25:41.759 is a word that talks about the natural tendency we have 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:44.100 of being a little embarrassed, 00:25:44.860 --> 00:25:45.860 a little ashamed, 00:25:46.600 --> 00:25:48.259 at being discovered in sin. 00:25:48.259 --> 00:25:54.759 Here is what happens as you persist in sin. 00:25:55.160 --> 00:25:58.339 Slowly, slowly, over time, 00:25:58.660 --> 00:26:02.819 you lose your sense of shame and guilt. 00:26:05.819 --> 00:26:07.119 To the point 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:14.720 that when you go and visit people in prison, 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:17.559 every one of them 00:26:17.559 --> 00:26:20.700 would be the first to tell you 00:26:20.700 --> 00:26:22.980 that they are the only innocent individual 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:25.420 in the entire place. 00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:29.140 Whatever they have been put in prison for 00:26:29.140 --> 00:26:31.620 is wrong because they're innocent. 00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:38.180 I think about this matter of shame 00:26:38.180 --> 00:26:40.240 at sin's reality, 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:43.480 and I think about some of our police officers 00:26:43.480 --> 00:26:44.620 who have been assigned 00:26:44.620 --> 00:26:49.319 to be parade monitors 00:26:49.319 --> 00:26:52.120 during the gay pride events. 00:26:54.200 --> 00:26:55.259 Do you follow that? 00:26:56.859 --> 00:26:59.220 Something that is an abomination to God 00:26:59.220 --> 00:27:02.059 ends up being a point of pride and arrogance, 00:27:02.059 --> 00:27:03.599 and I've got to tell you 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:05.779 that what the Scriptures tell us 00:27:05.779 --> 00:27:07.839 is that the sinner begins 00:27:07.839 --> 00:27:09.659 to desensitize himself 00:27:09.659 --> 00:27:12.119 to the shame and the guilt 00:27:12.119 --> 00:27:14.559 that should be associated with that. 00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:18.139 I think about some of the other officers 00:27:18.139 --> 00:27:19.779 that I've heard describe what it is 00:27:19.779 --> 00:27:21.500 to go and be a chaperone 00:27:21.500 --> 00:27:23.500 for some of the proms. 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:25.639 How many of you know 00:27:25.639 --> 00:27:27.539 what the word grinding means? 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:29.079 Does anybody know grinding? 00:27:29.079 --> 00:27:32.039 How many of you know 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:34.379 what grinding means in a prom? 00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:39.179 It's not something to snicker at. 00:27:40.679 --> 00:27:42.399 And I really have a problem 00:27:42.399 --> 00:27:44.139 when I find Christian parents 00:27:44.139 --> 00:27:45.259 that aren't bothered 00:27:45.259 --> 00:27:47.319 extremely by that. 00:27:50.419 --> 00:27:52.579 Well, my kids don't grind. 00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:55.039 Oh, I'm glad to hear that. 00:27:55.779 --> 00:27:57.099 But they're going to go around 00:27:57.099 --> 00:27:58.000 people that do. 00:27:59.079 --> 00:27:59.480 Hmm. 00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:00.839 I'm really impressed 00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:02.379 with how that fits into 00:28:02.379 --> 00:28:03.379 what we find here 00:28:03.379 --> 00:28:05.339 in 17 through 19. 00:28:10.179 --> 00:28:12.699 The sinner, first of all, 00:28:12.859 --> 00:28:15.539 loses his sense of shame. 00:28:17.079 --> 00:28:18.399 And listen to me. 00:28:20.099 --> 00:28:21.539 When the believer 00:28:21.539 --> 00:28:24.460 continues to expose himself 00:28:24.460 --> 00:28:26.279 to the same raunchiness 00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:28.279 that the unbelieving world 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:29.399 finds acceptable, 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:31.759 the believer is also 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:34.639 desensitized in the process. 00:28:40.279 --> 00:28:42.139 It's interesting that what it says 00:28:42.139 --> 00:28:43.039 after that, 00:28:43.720 --> 00:28:45.240 he loses his sense of shame, 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:47.220 but then he abandons himself 00:28:47.220 --> 00:28:48.359 to sensuality. 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:49.500 That's what it says there, 00:28:49.559 --> 00:28:50.099 verse 19. 00:28:50.099 --> 00:28:51.879 They have become calloused, 00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:52.559 shameless, 00:28:53.179 --> 00:28:54.699 and they have given themselves 00:28:54.699 --> 00:28:56.039 up to sensuality. 00:28:56.159 --> 00:28:57.059 Once we turn away 00:28:57.059 --> 00:28:58.799 from seeking our satisfaction 00:28:58.799 --> 00:28:59.539 in God, 00:28:59.679 --> 00:29:01.480 we descend into a spiral 00:29:01.480 --> 00:29:02.419 of sensuality 00:29:02.419 --> 00:29:04.839 that simply cannot be satisfied. 00:29:06.179 --> 00:29:07.059 Do you realize 00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:08.899 that we have been created, 00:29:09.159 --> 00:29:10.379 we were hardwired 00:29:10.379 --> 00:29:11.319 by our Creator 00:29:11.319 --> 00:29:13.099 to find our finest 00:29:13.859 --> 00:29:16.039 satisfactions in Him? 00:29:16.039 --> 00:29:20.079 And when we say no, 00:29:21.379 --> 00:29:22.899 and we begin the process 00:29:22.899 --> 00:29:25.839 of finding temporary satisfaction 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:27.339 in any other things, 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:29.039 it progressively devolves 00:29:29.740 --> 00:29:30.899 and takes us 00:29:30.899 --> 00:29:32.980 on a progressive cycle 00:29:32.980 --> 00:29:35.119 of greater and greater pursuit 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:37.240 of sensual gratification. 00:29:39.799 --> 00:29:41.619 Finally, look what it says there 00:29:41.619 --> 00:29:43.000 towards the end. 00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:43.440 It says, 00:29:43.440 --> 00:29:45.039 and he becomes greedy 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:46.279 to practice 00:29:46.279 --> 00:29:48.940 every kind of impurity. 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:52.259 Paul chose 00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:53.940 an interesting set of words 00:29:53.940 --> 00:29:55.279 here at the end 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:56.100 of this verse. 00:29:57.880 --> 00:29:59.360 The word greedy 00:29:59.360 --> 00:30:00.799 actually in the Greek 00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:02.220 communicates the idea 00:30:02.220 --> 00:30:04.220 of being an exploiter. 00:30:09.660 --> 00:30:12.720 Someone who exploits 00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:14.319 other people 00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:17.140 to gratify self. 00:30:18.819 --> 00:30:19.480 Had you ever thought 00:30:19.480 --> 00:30:20.279 about sin that way? 00:30:23.620 --> 00:30:24.900 The sinner 00:30:24.900 --> 00:30:27.720 becomes more and more 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:29.620 adept at using 00:30:29.620 --> 00:30:30.759 other people 00:30:30.759 --> 00:30:33.400 for self-gratification. 00:30:34.600 --> 00:30:36.220 The sinner turns away 00:30:36.220 --> 00:30:37.539 from worshiping God 00:30:37.539 --> 00:30:39.279 and grows ever more 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:40.100 intent 00:30:40.099 --> 00:30:42.719 on drawing 00:30:42.719 --> 00:30:43.480 other people 00:30:43.480 --> 00:30:44.699 into self-worship. 00:30:45.659 --> 00:30:46.339 Do you follow that? 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:49.199 Now, as you read 00:30:49.199 --> 00:30:50.019 this passage, 00:30:50.139 --> 00:30:51.039 I want to go back 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:52.019 and get our arms 00:30:52.019 --> 00:30:53.059 around what it's saying. 00:30:53.500 --> 00:30:54.339 Now, this I say 00:30:54.339 --> 00:30:55.719 and testify in the Lord 00:30:55.719 --> 00:30:57.219 that you must, 00:30:57.359 --> 00:30:58.299 that's a strong word, 00:30:58.359 --> 00:30:58.619 isn't it? 00:30:58.699 --> 00:30:59.000 Must? 00:30:59.240 --> 00:31:00.359 Hey, must. 00:31:00.919 --> 00:31:01.859 You must 00:31:01.859 --> 00:31:03.439 no longer walk 00:31:03.439 --> 00:31:05.139 as the Gentiles 00:31:05.139 --> 00:31:05.859 do. 00:31:06.419 --> 00:31:07.719 And did we walk 00:31:07.719 --> 00:31:08.699 the way the Gentiles 00:31:08.700 --> 00:31:09.279 used to walk? 00:31:09.340 --> 00:31:09.960 What's the answer? 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:12.640 Yes, that describes us. 00:31:14.080 --> 00:31:14.880 We're not to be 00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:15.640 that way anymore. 00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:19.920 So, 00:31:20.299 --> 00:31:22.279 how does this all 00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:23.039 fit together 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:23.620 in our life? 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:24.200 That's what I want 00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:24.880 to close with 00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:25.620 having you think. 00:31:28.420 --> 00:31:29.039 We are, 00:31:29.580 --> 00:31:30.600 we who are saved 00:31:30.600 --> 00:31:31.240 this morning 00:31:31.240 --> 00:31:34.100 and hear these words 00:31:34.099 --> 00:31:35.399 given to us 00:31:35.399 --> 00:31:36.419 by the Spirit of God 00:31:36.419 --> 00:31:39.399 are to cry out 00:31:39.399 --> 00:31:39.779 and say, 00:31:40.139 --> 00:31:41.099 yes, I am saved 00:31:41.099 --> 00:31:42.539 and I'm being different 00:31:42.539 --> 00:31:44.480 in my passion. 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:46.819 I remember my past. 00:31:47.619 --> 00:31:48.500 I remember the horrors 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:49.079 of the days 00:31:49.079 --> 00:31:50.519 that used to find me 00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:51.779 living my life 00:31:51.779 --> 00:31:52.659 according to my own 00:31:52.659 --> 00:31:53.480 self-indulgence 00:31:53.480 --> 00:31:54.319 and ultimately 00:31:54.319 --> 00:31:54.939 I really found 00:31:54.939 --> 00:31:56.119 no satisfaction in that 00:31:56.119 --> 00:31:56.839 and it was just 00:31:56.839 --> 00:31:57.500 a progressively 00:31:57.500 --> 00:31:58.799 descending spiral 00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:01.319 of foul behavior 00:32:01.319 --> 00:32:02.339 and at the heart 00:32:02.339 --> 00:32:02.919 of it was this, 00:32:03.039 --> 00:32:04.200 I turned my back 00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:04.799 on God 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:05.599 and there was nothing 00:32:05.599 --> 00:32:06.659 that I could find 00:32:06.659 --> 00:32:07.980 pleasure in ultimately. 00:32:09.500 --> 00:32:10.740 And we who are saved 00:32:10.740 --> 00:32:10.980 say, 00:32:11.099 --> 00:32:11.579 you know what? 00:32:12.539 --> 00:32:13.359 You know what? 00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:15.899 I want to be different 00:32:15.899 --> 00:32:16.619 in my passion. 00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:18.720 I am saved 00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:20.399 and being different 00:32:20.399 --> 00:32:21.159 in my passion 00:32:21.159 --> 00:32:22.159 is what I'm all about. 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:23.659 Now, 00:32:23.700 --> 00:32:24.259 there are some of you 00:32:24.259 --> 00:32:24.720 here today 00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:25.980 that do not know Christ 00:32:25.980 --> 00:32:27.720 and you're sitting here 00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:28.179 this morning 00:32:28.179 --> 00:32:29.119 and here we are, 00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:29.740 this passage 00:32:29.740 --> 00:32:30.759 is talking to those 00:32:30.759 --> 00:32:31.779 who are believers 00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:32.339 and is saying, 00:32:32.460 --> 00:32:32.579 listen, 00:32:32.740 --> 00:32:33.480 don't be the way 00:32:33.480 --> 00:32:34.220 you used to be. 00:32:34.420 --> 00:32:35.200 That's what the point 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:35.759 is being made 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:36.579 and some of you 00:32:36.579 --> 00:32:37.120 are sitting there 00:32:37.120 --> 00:32:37.420 and saying, 00:32:37.539 --> 00:32:37.700 whoa, 00:32:37.940 --> 00:32:38.480 that's me, 00:32:38.740 --> 00:32:39.339 that's me, 00:32:39.559 --> 00:32:40.180 that's me, 00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:40.980 that's me. 00:32:43.819 --> 00:32:44.900 I want to have you know 00:32:44.900 --> 00:32:46.180 that God in His providence, 00:32:46.380 --> 00:32:47.640 He planned for you 00:32:47.640 --> 00:32:48.839 to be here this morning 00:32:48.839 --> 00:32:50.059 as this passage 00:32:50.059 --> 00:32:51.079 is being opened up 00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:52.940 and you are hearing yourself 00:32:52.940 --> 00:32:53.759 being described 00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:54.940 by the Spirit of God 00:32:54.940 --> 00:32:56.359 and you're recognizing 00:32:56.359 --> 00:32:57.799 the moral bankruptcy 00:32:57.799 --> 00:32:58.660 of your heart 00:32:58.660 --> 00:32:59.420 and you're saying, 00:32:59.420 --> 00:33:00.740 what do I need to do? 00:33:04.080 --> 00:33:05.400 The Scriptures tell us. 00:33:07.800 --> 00:33:08.560 What it says 00:33:08.560 --> 00:33:09.100 in the Scripture 00:33:09.100 --> 00:33:10.980 is that 00:33:10.980 --> 00:33:12.060 whosoever believes 00:33:12.060 --> 00:33:13.160 in the Lord Jesus Christ 00:33:13.160 --> 00:33:14.019 shall be saved. 00:33:15.060 --> 00:33:15.940 What do I do? 00:33:17.120 --> 00:33:18.560 I cry out to God 00:33:18.560 --> 00:33:19.060 and I say, 00:33:19.140 --> 00:33:19.380 God, 00:33:19.460 --> 00:33:20.019 you're right. 00:33:21.360 --> 00:33:23.019 I am morally bankrupt. 00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:23.779 On the outside, 00:33:23.980 --> 00:33:24.720 I may be dressed 00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:26.400 and looking pretty reasonable 00:33:26.400 --> 00:33:27.100 but inside, 00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:28.180 my heart is black. 00:33:29.420 --> 00:33:31.880 I can't change it 00:33:31.880 --> 00:33:32.680 by myself 00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:36.279 but God sent His Son 00:33:36.279 --> 00:33:38.580 into the world 00:33:38.580 --> 00:33:40.660 to make it clear 00:33:40.660 --> 00:33:41.620 that all men 00:33:41.620 --> 00:33:43.060 stand justly condemned 00:33:43.060 --> 00:33:44.360 before a holy God 00:33:44.360 --> 00:33:47.560 and to provide salvation 00:33:47.560 --> 00:33:48.800 through His finished work 00:33:48.800 --> 00:33:49.360 on the cross. 00:33:49.359 --> 00:33:50.279 Jesus died 00:33:50.279 --> 00:33:51.779 for your sins. 00:33:54.819 --> 00:33:55.859 And I want you to know 00:33:55.859 --> 00:33:56.859 that He stands ready 00:33:56.859 --> 00:33:57.519 this morning 00:33:57.519 --> 00:33:58.299 to save you 00:33:58.299 --> 00:33:58.839 and to give you 00:33:58.839 --> 00:33:59.439 a new heart 00:33:59.439 --> 00:34:00.419 and new hope 00:34:00.419 --> 00:34:01.500 and change the way 00:34:01.500 --> 00:34:02.019 you think. 00:34:03.659 --> 00:34:04.519 But let me close 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:05.059 with this. 00:34:06.519 --> 00:34:07.179 I want you to think 00:34:07.179 --> 00:34:07.799 about it carefully. 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:10.299 Gospel truth 00:34:10.299 --> 00:34:13.579 either hardens the heart 00:34:13.579 --> 00:34:15.819 or draws the sinner 00:34:15.819 --> 00:34:16.619 to the cross. 00:34:17.579 --> 00:34:18.279 Do you understand that? 00:34:19.420 --> 00:34:20.299 There are some of you 00:34:20.299 --> 00:34:20.719 here today 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:21.500 that recognize 00:34:21.500 --> 00:34:23.119 that the truth of the matter 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:24.420 is you may have 00:34:24.420 --> 00:34:26.159 the trappings 00:34:26.159 --> 00:34:27.480 of spiritual behavior 00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:28.579 but you're not saved. 00:34:32.019 --> 00:34:33.079 And the Spirit of God 00:34:33.079 --> 00:34:33.900 is convicting you 00:34:33.900 --> 00:34:34.360 this morning. 00:34:34.500 --> 00:34:35.299 You need Christ 00:34:35.299 --> 00:34:36.440 as your personal Savior 00:34:36.440 --> 00:34:37.759 and you're sitting there 00:34:37.759 --> 00:34:38.000 saying, 00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:38.159 yeah, 00:34:38.219 --> 00:34:38.699 but I don't want 00:34:38.699 --> 00:34:39.500 to embarrass myself. 00:34:39.599 --> 00:34:40.000 I don't want 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:40.920 to expose myself. 00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:41.680 I've got to tell you, 00:34:42.420 --> 00:34:43.480 gospel truth 00:34:43.480 --> 00:34:46.000 either hardens the heart 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:48.880 or draws the sinner 00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:49.659 to the cross. 00:34:51.139 --> 00:34:52.180 Let's close in prayer.