Participants:
Series Code: BTLP
Program Code: BTLP000116A
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00:38 Hello, and welcome to Behold the Lamb Presents.
00:41 I'm Chris Shelton, your host. 00:42 I wanna thank you, thank you, thank you for joining us. 00:45 Today's message is entitled, "Following Christ all the Way." 00:50 And it is the 24th lesson in our 25 part series 00:54 that we have been doing in conjunction 00:56 with this Bible Study Guide that is entitled, 00:59 "Sharing God's Love Makes You Happier, 01:01 What the Bible Says." 01:03 This study brochure was compiled 01:05 by Brother Richard Bland, of United Prison Ministries. 01:08 And we are soon to complete this series. 01:11 It has truly been a blessing, 01:14 as we have experienced the power of the Holy Spirit 01:18 and the presentation of these timely studies. 01:21 Again, Following Christ all the Way 01:24 is our message for today. 01:26 And during today's study 01:28 we will find answers to questions such as, 01:31 "How far Jesus was willing to go to save us?" 01:35 "How far we must be willing to go for Him?" 01:38 And once we've begun serving Him, 01:40 what should we purpose in our hearts to do. 01:43 There are encouraging and challenging 01:46 biblical answers to these questions 01:48 as well as several other questions 01:51 that we hope to cover today. 01:52 But before we are blessed to join Pastor Kenny Shelton, 01:56 let's visit 3ABN and listen to John Stoddart 01:59 as he plays and sings, "Give Me Your Heart." 02:29 Holding on to faded dreams 02:33 Of yesterday 02:37 Wondering how this heart of mine 02:40 is broken into 02:44 Still I can't remember 02:47 last I wore a smile 02:52 And lately children's laughter 02:55 Just brings tears to my eyes 03:00 But with every passing day 03:03 You give strength along the way 03:07 When I hear you gently say to me 03:14 Give me your heart 03:16 Again your tears 03:21 Your disappointment 03:24 And your fears 03:28 The burdens you've carried 03:32 Through the years 03:36 Just give me 03:37 Your heart 03:43 And when you've done 03:46 All you can do 03:50 And your broken promises 03:54 Have fallen through 03:58 All that I'm asking of you 04:05 Is that you give me your heart 04:15 Now those faded dreams 04:18 Have come to life again 04:24 I've never known a love like 04:27 This before 04:32 You kissed away my tears 04:34 Now I can smile 04:37 Oh, Lord 04:39 And in my heart there's joy 04:42 I've been longing for 04:45 But with every passing day 04:49 No matter come what may 04:53 You'll be here for me 04:56 Always, and forever 05:00 You offer something better 05:05 And I believe you when you say 05:11 Give me your heart again 05:14 Your tears 05:19 Your disappointment 05:21 And your fears 05:26 The burdens you carried 05:29 Through the years 05:34 Just give me 05:35 Your heart 05:42 And when you've done all you can do 05:49 And your broken promises 05:52 Have fallen through 05:57 All that I'm asking of you 06:04 Is that you give me 06:06 your heart 06:13 All that I'm 06:15 Asking of you 06:21 Is that you give me 06:23 Your heart 06:39 Give me your 06:41 Your heart 06:48 Thanks for joining us once again 06:49 here at Behold the Lamb. 06:51 We appreciate you so very much, 06:53 and appreciate your prayers 06:54 and appreciate your phone calls, your letters, 06:57 and your support of Behold the Lamb Ministry 06:59 to get this gospel word to go around the world. 07:02 Praise God for that. 07:03 Today, as you've already heard, we're going to be... 07:05 It's most interesting subject, one, you will say, 07:07 "Oh, this is awful simple." 07:09 But, you know, sometimes we miss the simple things. 07:12 "Following Christ all the Way." 07:15 How can that be accomplished? 07:16 Following Christ all the Way. 07:18 Now we're gonna look into that subject 07:19 here in just a moment. 07:21 But first we're going to have prayer. 07:22 And I want to invite you to pray with me. 07:23 I'm gonna kneel, 07:25 you just pray with me where you can, please. 07:28 Loving Father in heaven, 07:29 truly we thank You for the privilege of prayer, 07:31 we thank You we can call Your Father. 07:33 Today, we just want to submit ourself, 07:35 our mind, our body, our soul, 07:36 that I care and I keep and we pray 07:38 that You will use us 07:39 for your honor and for Your glory. 07:41 We ask for forgiveness of sin, 07:42 anything in our hearts and life that need not be there. 07:45 We need open communication with you. 07:47 We pray the heaven will speak to us. 07:49 And we are just asking, would have ears to hear, 07:51 what you have in store for us today. 07:53 And we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 07:58 As always, 07:59 it's very good to be able to have your pencil and paper, 08:01 and your Bible ready because, you know, Bible says, 08:03 "Study to show thyself approved unto God." 08:06 And the only way we can be approved unto God... 08:08 that means, approved or disapproved. 08:10 So approved means, 08:11 we're gonna be in the Word of God 08:13 and we're gonna be going line upon line, 08:14 precept upon precept, 08:15 here a little and there a little, 08:17 so we cover things rather quickly 08:18 in the time that we have to do, 08:20 but today following Christ all the way. 08:23 Now, how does... 08:24 How is that accomplished? 08:25 Well, you know, there's a story told of Leonardo da Vinci. 08:29 Anybody know Leonardo da Vinci? 08:30 He was what? 08:32 He was... He is a painter, wasn't he? 08:33 Yeah. Yeah. 08:35 Well, you know, what a man, he certainly had such a, 08:36 really had a talent. 08:38 But he was the one that painted the scene, 08:40 if you remember, a lot of things, 08:42 but he painted the scene of the Last Supper 08:44 and the disciples. 08:46 And many of you may not have... 08:48 Maybe you read, maybe you haven't. 08:49 But you think, "Well, 08:51 that's just a little picture as it were, 08:52 Jesus and the disciples around the table." 08:54 It took him three years 08:56 to accomplish that little picture. 08:59 And, of course, that's not for, 09:00 you know, since I don't paint, 09:02 I'm just saying, "Oh, that's a long time." 09:03 But took him three years to do it 09:05 and when it was all finished, he was excited about it. 09:08 And so, what does he do? 09:09 Like sometime, like we do, 09:11 we call maybe our best friend or a good friend 09:14 and somebody we know that will be honest with us. 09:16 And so, he called a friend and said, 09:18 "Come in, I want you to look at this picture 09:20 and tell me exactly what you think about it." 09:24 And the friend looked at the picture, 09:25 and then he looked at this angle, 09:27 he looked at that angle, and he said, 09:28 "I tell you, this is beautiful. 09:30 This is a wonderful, wonderful picture." 09:34 And he said, "Well, what's you think so wonderful about it, 09:37 what captivates your eye when you look at it?" 09:40 And the guy said, "Well, when I look at the picture, 09:43 I see the cup that you painted. 09:46 That cup is just so beautiful. 09:48 I can't take my eyes off of it. 09:50 I can't divert my attention from off of that cup." 09:54 Immediately, 09:56 Leonardo da Vinci had his paintbrush 09:58 with some paint on it 10:00 and right quick he smeared that cup. 10:03 And he looked at that and he said, 10:04 "You know, 10:06 nothing shall detract from the figure of Christ." 10:12 You know, maybe that's the way 10:13 it should be in our life, anything that may be, 10:15 you know, detract us or gets us off course 10:18 from Jesus Christ, 10:19 from following Him all the way is going to have to go 10:22 even if it calls years as it did him, 10:24 and his labor, and his work. 10:27 But he said, "I want Jesus to stand out." 10:29 So I know that you do too following Christ all the way. 10:34 People talk a lot about this subject. 10:36 We hear them talk all the time, 10:37 that could be in the supermarkets, 10:39 it could be at your workplace, whatever it is, 10:41 people are talking about Jesus and following Him. 10:44 But what does that really, exactly does that mean, 10:47 following Jesus all the way? 10:49 Different people have different explanations 10:52 about what it takes to follow Jesus all the way. 10:55 Well, you know, one day we think about it, 10:58 it won't be long that I believe, 10:59 that the nearness of Jesus, His coming is very soon, 11:02 it's even, you know, it's near even at the door. 11:04 And we need to really be ready, our eyes need to be open, 11:07 our ears open, 11:08 to see what's going on in the world today. 11:11 But I know this in Christ time, in Christ time, 11:16 and maybe even today, if a rabbi, 11:19 a lot of rabbis and rabbi would go along, 11:21 and sometime they would choose young men 11:23 to follow them and to learn, 11:26 you know, what becomes to be a rabbi to follow him. 11:30 It was a real honor 11:32 if that young person was chosen to be a rabbi, 11:36 to become a complete teacher 11:37 they needed someone to look up to. 11:41 And certainly he accepted that invitation. 11:43 And if he did, this meant 11:45 that he had to submit everything to the rabbi. 11:49 He no longer would really be thinking 11:51 on his own anymore, 11:52 but he submitted everything to the rabbi, 11:55 rabbi's authority. 11:57 Wherever they go, 11:58 what they would do is what the rabbi said, 12:00 they're just going to do. 12:02 What the rabbi ate, the student ate. 12:04 And so it's very interesting here. 12:06 Basically, you become a rabbi, 12:10 you become that rabbi. 12:13 And notice how closely that should be maybe to us 12:15 as we are imitating Jesus Christ 12:17 that we should become like Him. 12:20 If we are imitating Him, we will be like Jesus. 12:25 Jesus invited His disciples to experience 12:29 what it means to follow Him. 12:31 How wonderful, Jesus always set such a wonderful example, 12:33 didn't He? 12:35 He might tell you something, then He'd give you an example. 12:37 So, you know, we couldn't really mess up 12:39 so we know exactly how to do it. 12:42 Jesus wanted and I think His disciples and us today 12:47 to share His enthusiasm. 12:49 You know, shouldn't we be enthusiastic 12:51 as Christians today? 12:52 Yeah, of the promise of His soon coming, 12:55 the promise of a new home, a new life living for eternity? 12:58 Absolutely. 13:00 And Jesus wanted them to be enthusiastic 13:03 about what He was saying. 13:04 And he wanted them to catch the vision, 13:06 the good news of salvation, 13:10 and the message to give to the whole world. 13:13 I wonder if we've caught that enthusiasm today, 13:16 or maybe something else has got our attention, 13:19 and we're really enthused about this. 13:21 If there's anything that you're enthused 13:22 more than Jesus Christ, 13:24 maybe we should let that thing go. 13:28 This will be the object of following Jesus all the way, 13:30 can there be something that, 13:32 you know, gives us more excitement 13:33 and more thrill and we want to be there, 13:36 we want to be maybe at church or studying the Word of God. 13:40 See, to follow Jesus, 13:41 I really believe it means just to recognize Him for who He is. 13:46 Recognize Him for who He is. 13:49 He is the Messiah, is He not? 13:51 He's the Lord, He should be Lord of our life. 13:54 He's the Son of God. 13:56 Paul declared it this way in Romans 10:9. 14:00 He said these simple words, but notice, he says, 14:02 "If you declare with your mouth 14:06 Jesus is Lord and you believe with," what, 14:10 "with your heart that God raised Him from the dead, 14:13 you shall be saved." 14:15 I mean, that's quite a promise there. 14:18 But sometime people take it a little bit too far 14:20 and they take it out of context. 14:21 But notice how Jesus said it. 14:24 If you're going to declare... 14:25 Should we as Christian declare that Jesus, right, is Lord? 14:29 Should we declare that we believe in Jesus? 14:31 Absolutely, we should. 14:33 And that we believe in our heart. 14:35 I believe that He rose from the dead. 14:37 I wasn't there and I didn't see it, 14:39 but I believe it. 14:40 That's the Christian hope, is it not? 14:43 Don't lose that. 14:45 The Bible makes it clear that we will follow Him 14:48 or we need to be following Him. 14:50 John 8:31-32. 14:53 Write those passages down if you can. 14:55 John 8:31-32. 14:58 Notice what Jesus says. 15:01 It says, "And then Jesus said to those Jews 15:04 which believed on Him," now notice this, 15:07 "if you continue in my word, then you are," what? 15:12 "Then you are my disciples indeed." 15:15 Verse 32, 15:16 "And you shall know the truth, 15:18 and the truth shall make you free." 15:21 We often talk about that. 15:23 Those passages, I'm telling you, 15:25 are wonderful and they are powerful 15:27 in learning how to follow Jesus all the way. 15:31 See, we maybe can't today follow Jesus physically 15:36 as when He walked on this earth. 15:38 But, you know, the Bible makes it clear 15:40 that we can follow Him because it said, 15:42 "Jesus said to them, 'If you continue in," what? 15:46 "In My word.'" 15:47 So as long as we're continuing 15:48 in the Word of God, 15:50 there's hope for us. 15:51 If we discontinue in the Word, 15:53 we might have some problems there, 15:55 would we not? 15:56 We have to continue, 15:58 then you're going to be His disciples. 15:59 And then He said, "If you continue in My Word, 16:01 then you shall know," what? 16:03 "Of the truth and the truth shall," what? 16:05 "Really set you free from sin," 16:07 that we've talked about so often. 16:10 I mean, these are really powerful if we look at them 16:13 because we want to be set free from sin. 16:16 We want to be able to follow Him 16:18 all the way in our life. 16:20 We don't want to be a make-believe religion, do we? 16:23 We don't want to just pretend when we come to church. 16:26 I'm sure that's not what we want to do. 16:27 We want our experience with Christ to be what? 16:30 Real. 16:32 That we really want to come. 16:34 We're not coming to church because for the pastor, 16:37 we shouldn't be coming to the church 16:38 because of somebody in the church, 16:40 even though it's nice to have that contact. 16:43 We come for what? 16:44 Children say, "Well, we like to come 16:46 because there's a lot of kids here and we come to play." 16:48 You play with him five days a week 16:50 while you were at school. 16:51 When we come here, we need to be taught, 16:53 even as youth, we come to fellowship with God. 16:56 Isn't that right? 16:58 With angels of heaven. 17:00 It's not to do the things that we ordinarily do 17:02 during the work week, as it were. 17:05 He said, "If you continue in My Word, 17:07 then you're going to be free," free from sin, praise God. 17:11 But you know what? 17:12 On the other hand then Jesus makes it just as clear 17:15 for those who are trying to follow. 17:17 How do I follow Jesus? 17:18 Can I follow Him all the way? 17:20 He makes it very clear in the Bible in John 8:47. 17:25 In John 8:47, 17:28 Jesus makes it real clear 17:30 about those who do not continue in the Word. 17:35 You know, I like both, 17:36 I'd like to know both, don't you? 17:38 He tells me, "If you continue, this is what's going to happen. 17:40 If you don't continue, here's what's going to happen." 17:43 Notice the Word of God, "He that is of God," notice, 17:48 "heareth," what? 17:49 "Heareth God's words." 17:51 So a person, you say, "Well, 17:52 I don't know if I'm in God or not, 17:54 I don't know if I'm the person who is in God." 17:56 Those who are wanting 17:57 to follow God heareth God's word, 18:01 very good. 18:02 And then Jesus turned around, He says, 18:04 "Ye therefore hear them not because you're not of God." 18:09 So it makes a lot of sense. 18:11 If you hear the Word of God, 18:12 you're listening to the Word of God, 18:14 you're enjoying the Word of God, 18:16 you're excited about the Word of God. 18:18 You can't wait to get to open the pages 18:21 in the morning when you're studying 18:22 or at church. 18:25 Then you say, "Well, that..." 18:27 I'm hearing, they're hearing the Word of God. 18:29 "Faith cometh by hearing 18:30 and hearing by the Word of God." 18:32 But there are those who hear but yet they really don't hear. 18:36 Are there people like that in the world today? 18:39 Oh, they hear it and they say I know, 18:41 but they don't want to do 18:43 or to become a part of God's family. 18:46 You know this... 18:48 Most of you know Charles Spurgeon. 18:50 He was one of the great preachers. 18:52 I guess he's on the early days, we call it here. 18:55 When he got ready to die, it was very, very interesting. 18:59 He lay on his deathbed and he had a few words 19:01 he wanted to say, 19:02 and he has begun to testify to a friend. 19:04 Now here's a man on his deathbed, 19:06 knowing soon to die, and he makes it. 19:09 You know, to me, it's a profound statement. 19:12 He said, "My theology," notice that, 19:14 "My theology now is found in four words. 19:18 My theology is found in four words, 19:21 Jesus died for me." 19:24 Well, that's kind of exciting, isn't it? 19:27 That should be real exciting. 19:28 You should look today, Jesus died for me. 19:30 Interesting. 19:32 He had a lot of words to say and many thousands of sermons 19:34 that were preached, 19:36 many thousands gave their life to Jesus Christ. 19:39 But notice, now on his deathbed, 19:40 he just simply says, "I'm changing... 19:42 not really changing my theology, 19:43 but it's a little bit different. 19:44 Jesus died for me," huh. 19:48 Now he said, "Now remember," 19:49 he told the man he was talking to, 19:51 "remember now, I didn't say if God would heal me, 19:54 and that if He should raise me up off 19:55 of this bed of affliction, 19:58 that I wouldn't preach some other things." 20:00 But he said, "Taking consideration but it's more, 20:04 Jesus died for me 20:06 is more than enough for me to die upon." 20:11 Isn't that interesting? 20:13 It's an interesting thought for sure 20:15 that we need to keep in our hearts 20:16 and certainly in our minds. 20:19 This needs to be made, I think, 20:21 plain as we study the Word of God here 20:24 and ask a question. 20:26 I want to ask a question to you 20:27 and see what you think about this question. 20:29 You know, really, are we really following Christ all the way? 20:33 If it is, we'll come back to the question, 20:35 how far was Jesus willing to go for us? 20:39 How far was He willing to go for us? 20:42 Would He just go a certain distance and then say, 20:45 "Well, that's far enough 20:46 because they're not worth any more than this." 20:49 How far was Jesus willing to go for us? 20:52 Philippians 2, Philippians 2:5, 20:56 notice this through 8. 20:59 You know this passage, 21:01 at least some of them very well. 21:02 But notice, how far was Jesus willing to go? 21:05 See, this is part of... 21:07 He's willing to go this far for me. 21:09 How far am I willing to go for Him? 21:12 How far am I willing to follow Him? 21:13 How far did Jesus go for me? 21:15 Bible said in Philippians 2:5-8. 21:18 First of all, "Let this, what? 21:20 "Let this mind be in you, 21:22 which was also in Christ Jesus." 21:26 Very good. Notice that. 21:27 Verse 6, "Who, being in the form of God, 21:32 thought it not robbery to be equal with God." 21:35 Verse 7, 21:37 "But made of Himself no reputation." 21:40 I like that, notice. 21:42 "He took upon Himself the form of," what, 21:45 "a servant and was made in the likeness of men. 21:48 Verse 8. 21:50 We'll go back and talk about it in a moment, 21:51 verse 8. 21:52 "And being found in the fashion as a man, 21:55 He humbled Himself, became obedient unto death, 22:01 even the death of the cross." 22:03 How far was Jesus willing to go for you and for me? 22:08 If you're questioning today, 22:09 how far do I go to get a hold of Christ, 22:12 to find Him? 22:14 We must go all the way with Him 22:15 because Christ went all the way, didn't He? 22:17 He gave His life, He went all the way to Calvary. 22:19 But notice, the Bible said right here 22:21 that He was equal with God. 22:25 Man, 22:26 think about the one who came down here 22:28 and lived and died, was equal as it were with God, 22:32 but He didn't make of Himself any reputation. 22:34 He took the form of a servant, 22:36 and what you and I need to be thankful 22:37 thinking about this. 22:40 Not always put in a high position, 22:41 but He took the form of a servant. 22:43 "He was made in the likeness," 22:45 notice this, "the likeness of men." 22:47 This means, in the likeness of sinful flesh. 22:50 Is somebody still with me? 22:52 That's hard for some people to get through their head. 22:53 "In the likeness of sinful flesh." 22:55 Of course, He did no sin, but in the likeness of what? 22:59 In sinful man, to be My example. 23:02 It's all right, it's all good. 23:04 Notice that, how do I know in the sinful flesh? 23:06 Because Romans 8:30 said, He came in sinful flesh. 23:12 It didn't mean He was sinful at all, 23:13 but He came with the possibility. 23:15 And every time I say that on the air, 23:16 somebody writes letters and they get little upset. 23:19 They get little upset. 23:21 Now He had to have an edge. 23:22 He had to have something that's better because, 23:24 you know, it just is impossible 23:25 to go through life and not sin... 23:27 They don't know Jesus, do they? 23:29 They don't know the commitment that He had for you and me. 23:32 If He had messed it up, 23:34 the whole world would have been lost. 23:36 Every human being would have been lost. 23:38 So He went all the way for us. 23:40 Think about it, it says sinful flesh. 23:43 Angels desire to know how Jesus could live 23:49 and how Jesus could work in a sinful, fallen world. 23:52 They were amazed 23:54 that He was willing to come down here, 23:55 where they not? 23:57 You think about it. Wouldn't they be? 23:58 If your leader would say, "I'm going to go down there. 24:00 And I'm going to be like one of them." 24:02 They'd say, "Why? 24:04 Why? 24:06 How can you go down there and live with this mess? 24:08 How can you go down and live with these sinners, 24:11 this fallen world? 24:14 How could you be around such people like that? 24:17 How could you mingle?" 24:19 Well, sometimes, 24:20 we as Christians might think that we have someone else, 24:22 we need to be very careful. 24:24 Well, we can't mingle with him while we can't do. 24:26 Well, we need to be around, 24:28 we need to try to give them something, 24:29 give them Jesus. 24:31 Notice, Christ hated sin. 24:34 Is that a good word to use? 24:35 He actually hated sin. 24:38 But He was tender and He was compassionate, 24:42 notice, with people, what? 24:44 Toward people who committed sin. 24:46 Isn't that wonderful to know? 24:48 He hated sin with the righteous hatred, 24:50 and He hated it. 24:52 But He went ahead 24:53 and had compassion on people like me. 24:55 The Bible says, 24:56 "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." 24:59 So I think, 25:01 in this following Christ all the way, 25:02 we need to realize that Jesus was a real man. 25:06 Did we get that? 25:08 Jesus was a what? 25:09 He was a real man. 25:11 He was not a make-believe man. 25:13 He didn't have something 25:15 that we can't have by faith today. 25:19 But still, He was a real man, 25:20 but He was still God in the flesh. 25:23 Man, that's heavy duty when you think about it, 25:25 a little bit beyond our minds. 25:28 But God makes it clear enough in His Word 25:29 that we can understand what He's talking about, 25:32 God in the flesh. 25:33 We just read that He was equal with God, 25:36 "He thought it not robbery to be equal with God." 25:39 And because He was equal with God 25:41 and because He was without sin, 25:43 He could therefore become My sin offering. 25:46 How wonderful that is. What? 25:48 Sin offering for my transgressions. 25:52 Praise the Lord for that. 25:54 Now this needs to be 25:55 a little bit plain before we go on, 25:57 so no one says, 25:58 "Well, I didn't quite understand that." 26:01 Two points, quickly. 26:03 The nature Jesus took when He came down here. 26:08 Number two, the liabilities He took while on earth. 26:12 This is where it upsets some people 26:15 and they can't quite get it clear from scripture. 26:17 You have your Bibles, 26:18 I want you to turn with me 26:20 to the Book of Hebrews if you will. 26:21 Hebrews Chapter 2, I believe it is, 26:23 Hebrews Chapter 2. 26:27 We'll let the Bible tell us exactly 26:30 because this is where we need to go with, is that right? 26:32 The Word of God. 26:34 Going find it here, Hebrews Chapter 2. 26:36 I'm going to be reading verses 16 and 17. 26:40 Hebrews 2:16-17. 26:43 Here's what the Bible says. 26:45 It says, "For verily, 26:46 He took not on Him the nature of," what? 26:50 "Of angels, 26:53 but He took on Him the seed of Abraham." 26:57 Fully human, he's talking about seed of Abraham here. 26:59 Notice the 17, 27:01 "Wherefore in all things that behoved Him to be made," 27:04 what?" 27:05 Like unto his brethren, 27:07 and that He might be a merciful, 27:09 faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, 27:14 and to make a reconciliation for the sins of the people." 27:17 Those verses right there are very powerful verses. 27:21 It really explains about our Lord and our Savior. 27:24 He could have taken the nature of angels, 27:27 He didn't do it. 27:29 He could have come down here. 27:30 He could have lived in a mansion. 27:32 He could have been someone of high authority. 27:34 He didn't, He took the form of a servant, 27:36 and He did it for you and me 27:37 so that we couldn't complain and say, 27:39 "Well, He doesn't know what it means to be poor. 27:41 He doesn't know what it means to go 27:43 through what I've had to go through." 27:45 He went through it all. 27:47 He never had a place to lay His head. 27:50 He took the... 27:51 Bible says, "He took on Him the seed of Abraham." 27:56 Bottom line, 27:57 when Christ came to this world, 27:59 when Christ came to this earth, 28:01 the Bible is very clear, 28:03 He took man's fallen sinful nature. 28:09 Did you get it? 28:10 He took man's fallen sinful nature. 28:14 But wasn't the Bible said, He was tempted in, what? 28:17 In all points Hebrews 4:15. 28:20 He was tempted in all points like as we yet without, what? 28:23 Without sin. 28:27 He put himself in man's place, He put himself in your place. 28:32 Wow! 28:35 That's pretty heavy to think on. 28:38 Now remember, Christ did not become a sinner. 28:42 That's not what I'm saying at all. 28:43 He did not become a sinner. 28:46 But he assumed human nature 28:50 bearing the infirmities of the generosity of the race. 28:56 He took the nature of man. 28:58 What a mystery? 29:00 Capable of yielding to temptation, 29:03 that may be a little heavy duty when you think about it 29:06 and maybe some have never thought along this line. 29:08 But remember, He was capable of doing what? 29:11 Of yielding to temptation. 29:13 People say, that's an impossibility, 29:15 He never because He knew everything 29:16 that was going to go on. 29:19 Let me make this little comment, 29:20 may sound a little silly, maybe to some, 29:23 and even the wording but notice when it says, 29:25 He was tempted in all points like with us. 29:28 And it also says us, 29:30 capable of yielding to sin when He came there 29:33 because He took the nature of man. 29:36 Think about temptation with me for just a moment. 29:39 Temptation without the possibility of yielding 29:44 to that temptation cannot be a temptation. 29:50 That's pretty clear and it really, 29:51 did you get it? 29:53 Temptation without the possibility of yielding 29:57 to that temptation cannot be a temptation. 30:02 That's pretty simple. 30:03 But it's like, oh! 30:05 It cannot be one if you can't, 30:06 not the possibility of your link to that. 30:09 Unless He was fully human, 30:12 He could not have been my substitute. 30:16 These are things that sometime we need to think about. 30:20 Who kept all the commandments? 30:21 Let me ask you a question, 30:23 who kept all of the commandments? 30:25 There's only one, Jesus Christ, isn't He? 30:27 Jesus Christ kept the commandments. 30:31 Who can keep the commandments at work today? 30:34 Can He do it today? 30:35 Absolutely, did He do it? 30:37 Absolutely, He did it. 30:38 Could He do it again even in His sinful? 30:41 We call it sinful flesh. 30:44 He did no sin but sinful flesh, in other words, 30:46 a capability of, He could have. 30:48 Jesus isn't it. It's all would you... 30:50 So that what does that make it possible for us today? 30:53 To gain victory over sin 30:55 is being able to keep God's Ten Commandments. 30:58 Jesus set the example. 30:59 Let's move on. 31:01 Following Christ all the way. 31:02 Give you something to think about maybe study on 31:04 if you haven't looked at it lately. 31:06 What's the first step that we take to be saved? 31:11 What would be the first step that we would take to be saved? 31:15 Acts Chapter 16. 31:16 Go to Acts chapter 16:30-31. 31:20 Now I like this, you call that as a story 31:23 but still yet it's a powerful story, 31:24 because it's talking about Paul and Silas. 31:26 Where were they at? 31:28 Somebody say prison, I'll get happy. 31:30 Okay, he was, they weren't. 31:32 Paul and Silas have been put into prison. 31:34 Okay, but then a big earthquake came, 31:36 you remember that? 31:37 Then it shook the pillars 31:39 in the right that the doors were open 31:40 and all those who were in captivity 31:42 could have been released, couldn't they? 31:44 They could have been gone. 31:46 So this is quite a testing time here. 31:49 The Bible say in Acts 16:30-31. 31:52 It says, notice this, what happened to the jailer? 31:54 The jailer comes running and its dark, 31:56 he doesn't know a thing, 31:57 all the prisoners are gone and then what would you do? 32:00 The jailer then had to take his own life. 32:03 If a prisoner escaped, is that right? 32:06 Prisoner escape then you put the guard, 32:08 the jailer had to kill himself. 32:10 He's getting ready to kill himself. 32:12 And then a voice comes out and Paul and Silas 32:15 and they're saying don't do this thing, 32:16 we are all here. 32:19 They must have quite an influence 32:21 upon the other prisoners 32:23 because why didn't the other prisoners run 32:25 when they had the opportunity? 32:28 We are all here. 32:30 This calls something to take place 32:32 in the jailer's mind, 32:34 which maybe we can relate to here. 32:36 In Acts 16:30-31, He says, "Sirs, 32:39 what must I do to be saved?" 32:44 This is a question if we're following Jesus 32:46 all the way, 32:47 some time in your life, 32:48 we're going to have to come to the point is, 32:50 "What must I do to be saved?" 32:53 Can you really ask a question that's more profound 32:57 or a question that's more pertinent than today, 32:59 is what must I do to be saved? 33:02 Notice and they simply said this, 33:04 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 33:08 and thou shall be saved." 33:09 And then they added "and your house." 33:13 Oh, did you get it? 33:14 "And your house." 33:16 They said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 33:18 and you shall be saved and thy house." 33:23 So here was the time something was going on. 33:25 I believe the Holy Spirit was working, 33:27 working mightily when this all took place. 33:32 The Holy Spirit influenced this man, 33:34 the jailer because the jailer was fearful. 33:39 He knew his life was getting ready to end 33:41 at least he thought so. 33:43 He's getting ready to take his own life. 33:45 I'm going to die He thought 33:48 because the prisoners are all gone. 33:51 Something took place 33:53 as the Holy Spirit began to talk to him. 33:56 Something opened up, some kind of a spiritual need. 33:59 There was a desire to be saved. 34:03 I wonder if that's ever happened to you, 34:06 I wonder if it's ever happened to me. 34:09 Questions we need to ask, 34:10 maybe something drastic happened in your life. 34:13 Maybe there was a sickness 34:17 that developed 34:18 that made you rethink your life. 34:21 Maybe there was a disease, 34:22 a deadly disease that attacked you, 34:24 maybe it's money problems, maybe it's how home problems, 34:28 maybe it's marriage problems, 34:30 maybe it's job problems but there were so intense 34:34 that made you stop and made you think 34:38 and you desired for a change. 34:41 This hit the jailer and he said I need to change, 34:46 I need to change. What must I do to be saved? 34:50 And notice, 34:52 this was one of the question that was asked that, 34:54 that Paul and Silas, 34:55 they didn't have to think about it. 34:57 They didn't have to go into a whole lot of detail 35:00 is when he said what must I do? 35:01 You know, there's times when people ask questions, 35:03 they need an answer, did you get it? 35:06 They need an answer, maybe put, maybe not put off. 35:09 There's a certain time in everyone's life 35:11 where there's... 35:12 At a certain point 35:14 to where the Holy Spirit is working on you 35:15 and you're ready to yield to the Spirit, 35:17 follow Christ all the way. 35:21 And here the jailer was ready for a change 35:23 because he just met as it were death. 35:27 He says, got to be, 35:28 there must be more to this in life. 35:31 Soon as he said, "What must I do to be saved?" 35:34 The answer came quickly from Paul and Silas. 35:36 They just simply said, notice this, do what? 35:38 Believe. 35:40 Now there was no time. 35:42 Let's discuss this for a moment because some people have, 35:45 you know, misconception of this when you say just believe 35:48 and that's it. 35:50 But they simply said, 35:51 they need a simple answer they need to come, 35:53 one that the man could understand. 35:56 And they simply said, believe. 35:58 See there was no time to give Bible studies. 36:01 There was no time 36:03 for the church to take a vote on it. 36:06 Somebody's not there. 36:08 Come on now. 36:09 Sure, sure, naptime, take no vote. 36:11 It was no time to call deacons and elders meeting. 36:14 There was no time to call a church board meeting. 36:18 There was quick an answer had to be given. 36:21 There was no time for a theological discussion 36:25 about what it takes to be saved in God's kingdom. 36:28 They came up with a word which was beautiful, 36:30 believe. 36:31 And it was inspired by what? 36:33 By the Holy Spirit of the Living God, 36:35 you need to what? 36:37 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 36:38 and you will be saved and your household. 36:41 This should encourage us at home. 36:42 This should encourage 36:44 those who've been in the faith for a lot of years 36:47 that God simply tells us today along with a new believers, 36:50 believe. 36:52 And then I've got some good news 36:53 for you believe and you set the right example. 36:55 I'm gonna save your household. Praise God. 36:58 I'm sure people are praying for that. 37:03 The jailer needed an answer and he needed it quickly 37:06 and the Holy Spirit provided that. 37:09 I wonder if that could... A question. 37:11 I wonder if that could be somehow 37:13 compared to the thief on the cross. 37:16 Are you still with me? 37:18 Luke Chapter 23, 37:19 read that when you have the opportunity 37:20 to the situation. 37:22 There wasn't time to go through all of the things 37:25 that needed to be 37:26 and Jesus gave them real simple, 37:27 just quick. 37:29 Paul and Silas gives quick answer here. 37:33 The jailer needed, 37:34 I'm convinced of this after reading it, 37:36 that the jailer needed something easy. 37:38 See, there's some people who can do a little more, 37:41 you know, theological discussions 37:43 in more deep when you have the opportunity, 37:44 and there are some 37:46 who really needed pretty simple. 37:47 They needed down, I'm always one of them. 37:49 Give me a bottom line. 37:51 Give me a bottom line, 37:52 that's what it was it boiled down to here. 37:55 And they gave him easy to understand. 37:58 And I like to call Paul and Silas missionaries. 38:02 They were doing missionary work while they were in jail. 38:05 They were still winning souls while they were in jail. 38:10 But notice, they didn't give him 38:12 the full teaching on this subject 38:15 of what it means to be saved. 38:17 They didn't give it to him. 38:19 And so some people say now, "Oh, yeah, well, you know, 38:22 this is pretty, you know, 38:24 we just believe." 38:28 Simply, this is what they were trying to get to Him. 38:31 Notice this, they're trying to, 38:32 salvation depends upon a personal belief 38:36 in Jesus Christ of His life, His sacrifice, 38:41 His death, His burial, His resurrection. 38:45 That put it pretty simple. 38:47 Do we believe that Jesus came and lived and died? 38:50 Well, it's very important 38:52 if we were gonna follow Him all the way, 38:53 wouldn't we? 38:55 The word belief is very interesting. 38:56 We know it's an action word. 38:58 In Matthew 9:28, the Bible said. 39:01 Matthew 9:28. 39:04 Now this was speaking of the blind man 39:06 and give it a couple of illustrations here. 39:08 Just speaking of the blind man, Jesus talked to him and said, 39:11 "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" 39:15 Man, what a test. 39:17 It's the test of faith, wasn't it not? 39:20 But remember what it came up to? 39:21 Do you believe? 39:22 Do you believe that I can do this thing 39:24 with your eyes? 39:26 And, of course, the Bible says they said oh, 39:27 yeah, yeah, we believe it. 39:30 And then certainly it was so, 39:32 so belief is so very, very absolutely important. 39:35 And then John brings it out in John 1:7. 39:39 John 1:7. 39:42 It said, "The same came for a witness, 39:44 to bear witness of the Light, 39:47 that all men through him might believe." 39:50 All people through Jesus Christ might believe. 39:56 The faith in Christ which saves the soul 40:01 is not what is represented by many Christians today. 40:04 You know, why? 40:05 Because I hear this, only believe. 40:09 Have you heard that? 40:10 We don't need to be obedient. 40:12 We don't need to follow anything. 40:13 Here just nothing, yeah. 40:14 We just believe, only believe. 40:20 There are songs that are written only believe, 40:22 only believe, all things are possible, 40:23 if we just only believe. 40:25 But yes, absolutely we need to believe 40:27 but just believe and that's it. 40:31 That you need not be obedient, 40:33 you need not worry about keeping God's law obeying. 40:39 As you study the Word of God we might find in here 40:42 and I'm thank that you will, 40:43 that a belief that does not lead 40:45 to obedience is presumption. 40:49 A belief that does not lead to what? 40:53 Obedience is presumption. 40:56 Presumption is sin. 40:58 Just believe, that's all we have to do. 41:00 That's not what the Bible teaches at all. 41:04 Would this passage, I'm getting ready to read, 41:06 would it apply 41:08 of what we've been talking about here? 41:11 I think it makes it clear. 41:13 Before I read that, 41:14 I want to bring another thought about the jailer, 41:16 right quick. 41:17 The jailer and all of his household. 41:21 Acts 16:32, makes it clear notice this, 41:25 "That the jailer and all of his house, 41:30 heard the word of God." 41:32 Did you get it? 41:33 We said, well just believe, 41:35 all you got to do is believe in all your household. 41:36 But you notice before the baptism took place, 41:39 the disciples they went 41:41 and they talk to the whole household. 41:43 And they told them about Jesus Christ 41:46 and what it would take to be saved in the kingdom 41:47 and to follow Him all the way. 41:50 And many times that's left out. 41:53 We need not leave that out. 41:55 1 John 2:4 very familiar, I'm sure. 41:58 See if this Bible passage applies. 42:02 Only believe they say. 42:03 The Bible says here, 42:05 "He that saith, I knoweth him, 42:06 and keepeth not his commandments," 42:09 is what? 42:10 "Is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 42:14 Man, that's pretty heavy duty. 42:16 Only believe, we just believe. 42:17 Well, believe without any kind of obedience you see, 42:20 you're saying I know him, but what? 42:22 You keep not His commandment, you're a lair, 42:24 and the truth is not in you. 42:28 You wanna follow Jesus all the way. 42:32 And so we had to follow the way Jesus 42:34 has written it in His Word. 42:38 We must realize when people use these expressions 42:42 as it were or people use, you know, 42:44 they're talking about, 42:45 "Well, I was impressed of something..." 42:49 "I felt this way about something, 42:52 circumstances." 42:53 Any time they put these kind of impressions 42:55 or feelings or circumstances above the divine standard, 43:00 the Ten Commandment law of God... 43:02 It's because, listen, 43:04 because they have no lied in them. 43:06 Did you get it? 43:07 They may not realize that themselves 43:09 or not trying to judge each individual, 43:11 but anyone who denies 43:13 that we need to be obedient to God's law. 43:15 Remember, you wanting to follow Jesus all the way, 43:16 we need to look at this. 43:19 How can we follow Jesus all the way 43:21 when we're not willing to do what Jesus did? 43:26 That makes perfect sense to me that there is no light in them 43:30 is what the Bible said because Isaiah 8:20 says, 43:32 "To the law and," what? 43:34 The testimony if they speak 43:35 not according to this is because there is," what? 43:38 "No light in them." 43:40 There is no light. 43:41 He didn't say partial light. 43:42 Didn't say 50% light. 43:44 You notice, we take that sometime it's good enough, 43:46 75% truth is all good enough. 43:48 No, it's 100% or it's not. 43:51 There is no light in them. 43:54 Notice that, Ezekiel 33:32. 43:57 If you're jotting it down, Ezekiel 33:32. 44:01 Now lot of people don't care about, 44:03 you know, going back and checking to see 44:04 where the things be so, 44:05 but we have multitudes and many, many 44:07 who always write and say, 44:09 "I write down every passage, 44:10 I go back and I check all these things out, 44:12 and I see whether you're speaking truth or not." 44:14 Praise God for that. 44:16 You know, that's good. 44:17 And then they don't forget. 44:18 And then they wanna share with someone else. 44:20 When you love Jesus and fall in love with Him 44:22 and you follow Jesus, 44:23 you wanna share the good news of the gospel, 44:25 don't you? 44:27 Ezekiel 33:32 says, notice it says... 44:30 Talking about a group of people here 44:32 and there's multitudes, 44:33 thousands, hundreds, millions like this today, 44:35 "For they hear thy words, but they do them not." 44:40 Did you get it? 44:42 We hear the words, hello, we hear the words of God, 44:47 but we don't do them. 44:50 Wow! 44:52 If we hear, 44:53 should we not be willing to obey? 44:57 After all, those who are wanting 44:59 to follow Christ all the way, 45:01 obedience is the test of discipleship. 45:06 Did you get it? 45:07 Obedience is the test of discipleship. 45:13 And let me just give you one more that you know well, 45:15 but when you say only believe, 45:17 all we got to say just believe and we're gonna be saved. 45:19 What does the Bible say about the demons of hell? 45:23 What does the Bible say are good? 45:24 James 2:19, the Bible said, 45:27 "The devils also believe, and they tremble." 45:33 I certainly need to be careful about this. 45:35 But I'm thinking some things I need to be careful. 45:38 But you think about the Bible said the devils believe, 45:42 also believe, and they tremble. 45:44 Now there's that belief that they have in Jesus Christ 45:47 going to save them? 45:48 Absolutely not. 45:49 No. 45:52 They just believe that He exists. 45:53 You know what? 45:55 If anyone knows Jesus Christ, they know Him 45:58 because they attacked Him. 46:00 They've attacked Him ever since the fall. 46:03 For thousands of years, they've attacked Him. 46:05 Every demon of hell knows who Jesus is. 46:10 But the difference in that they know who He is, 46:13 they respect Him in the sense that they tremble 46:15 even mentioning His name. 46:17 And then as today, we challenge God. 46:19 We read what God's Word had to say and say, 46:21 "Well, we don't have to do that anymore." 46:23 The demons of hell know better than that 46:25 if you don't mind me putting it bluntly. 46:29 Demons, they believe, and they tremble. 46:36 I mean, how? 46:38 Think about how earnest must we be in our desire 46:43 to become righteous? 46:46 Do we really want to become righteous? 46:48 Do we really want to become like Jesus? 46:50 Or do we want to just go through the motions 46:52 and continue to do what we're doing? 46:54 Or do we really want to be righteous? 46:57 It's very clear. 46:58 If we really want to be, we will follow 47:00 what Jesus was giving us in Matthew 5:6 47:04 and that in the Beatitudes. 47:05 What does He say? 47:06 "Blessed are they that hunger 47:08 and thirst after righteousness," 47:11 notice, "for they shall be," what? 47:13 "They shall be filled." 47:16 Evidently, we don't wanna be filled 47:17 if we're not seeking and wanting righteousness. 47:20 Notice, if we're not hungering and thirsting, 47:22 and digging and striving, and praying and working, 47:25 denying self, 47:27 we really don't want it because Jesus said, 47:30 "If you want it, you shall be filled." 47:33 Wow, that's a promise, is that not? 47:36 See, Jesus spoke of this hungering 47:38 and thirsting of the soul. 47:41 Psalms 42:1, 2 says. 47:45 The illustration here is as the heart, 47:48 I guess, that maybe the deer or what, 47:50 "As the hart panteth after the water brooks." 47:53 He said, 47:54 "So panteth my soul after thee, O God." 47:58 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God, 48:02 when shall I come and appear before God?" 48:06 What is it? 48:07 As someone who is thirsty, someone who is hungry, 48:13 someone who thinks they're gonna die 48:15 if they don't get any food or anything anymore. 48:18 Jesus said, "This is why you need to come after Me. 48:21 If you're striving, you wanting righteousness, 48:23 you shall be filled." 48:24 A point to remember here. 48:27 If a person has... 48:29 And today, I'm trying to encourage you here. 48:31 If you have a longing in your heart, 48:33 you don't think you've been getting anywhere, 48:34 you've been maybe trying, 48:36 you've been putting forth effort, 48:37 but you don't seem to be getting anywhere. 48:39 If you have that longing in your heart today, 48:42 that I want to be righteous, 48:44 I want to be doing the right things, 48:46 I wanna be like Jesus... 48:49 Remember that, 48:51 if you have that going on in your life, 48:53 that's already evidence that Christ is working in you 48:57 to will and to do of His good pleasure. 48:59 How wonderful, 49:00 what good news is that you have that desire, 49:02 it's because the Holy Spirit has been putting that desire 49:05 inside of you? 49:08 I really believe it's only those who are anxious, 49:13 anxious as a man that's starving to death. 49:17 Lack of food, lack of water, will find righteousness. 49:23 I don't know how long it's been, 49:24 maybe it's been a day or two you went without food, 49:26 but, boy, you knew you wanted food. 49:29 You couldn't think of anything but food. 49:31 When you're thirsty, 49:32 you can't think of anything 49:34 but something to drink, some water. 49:35 Jesus said, 49:37 "That's the only class 49:38 that's going to really find righteousness." 49:41 But you have to want that righteousness, 49:44 no earthly anything can fill that void. 49:49 You may have looked, 49:51 but you've been looking in the wrong places. 49:54 If you wanna follow Christ all the way, 49:57 man, take some good wisdom from Solomon. 49:59 Solomon said, "I've tried it all." 50:01 Do you remember that? 50:02 And he come back with these words, 50:03 "All is vanity." 50:05 "All is vanity and vexation of the spirit." 50:08 Ecclesiastes 1:2 and 14. 50:15 Also in Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, 50:17 it talks about vanity and vexation, 50:19 also in Ecclesiastes, 50:21 the 11 Chapter and Ecclesiastes the 12 Chapter, 50:25 you talk about... 50:26 He says, again, he's repeating over and over, 50:28 "I've tried it all, all is vanity." 50:32 So now we're called to say we need something different. 50:37 Romans 10:3 said, 50:38 "We need to submit to the righteousness of God." 50:42 We submit to whom? 50:43 To the righteousness of God. 50:47 Philippians 3:9, 50:48 "And the righteousness which is of God by faith." 50:54 It's a faith walk. 50:56 We're righteous because of what? 50:58 Of Jesus Christ by faith, 50:59 accepting His life in the place of my miserable failures? 51:04 When will we find God? 51:05 Time's running out, four minutes or so left. 51:07 But let me, when will you find God? 51:10 If you're really looking for Him, will you find Him? 51:14 Jeremiah 29, praise God, 12 and 13. 51:18 Jeremiah 29:12, and 13. 51:22 You notice this, when you're going to find Him, 51:23 the Bible said, 51:25 "Then shall ye call upon," what? 51:27 "Me." They're good. 51:30 He's gonna answer, 51:31 "And you shall go and pray on to me, 51:33 and I will hearken unto you." 51:36 God's waiting for you to come to Him. 51:37 He's there's working on your heart right now. 51:39 You wanna follow Him all the way. 51:40 But right now He's wanting you to come to Him, 51:42 He's wanting you to call out to Him. 51:43 He said, 51:45 "Go and we need to pray unto Me, 51:46 and I'm gonna listen to you. 51:48 Notice, verse 13. 51:50 "And ye..." 51:52 We probably know this verse more than the others. 51:53 "And you shall seek Me, 51:55 and find Me, when ye shall," what? 51:57 "Search for Me with all of your heart. 52:02 All means all, doesn't it? 52:04 When you're gonna find God? 52:05 When you're really serious about it. 52:07 When you really dedicate your life to Him and say, 52:09 "I want to be like Jesus." 52:11 That's when you're gonna find Him. 52:13 And when you wanna find Him, you're gonna call out to Him. 52:15 And He says, "When you call to me, 52:16 I'm going to answer you." 52:19 "When you seek me," He says, "You will find me." 52:21 It's not you seek Me, 52:23 and I'm not gonna be anywhere to be found. 52:24 I'm going to be found if you seek Me, 52:27 you call upon Me. 52:30 God can do nothing, absolutely nothing for people, 52:35 notice, that doesn't come to Him. 52:38 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 52:42 6 Testimonies 51 says this when we find God. 52:47 It says, "When they plead with Him 52:48 until they know that they have forgiveness and peace, 52:52 then God will manifest Himself through them." 52:57 How? 52:59 When we plead with God. 53:02 So if you're looking for Him, you want to follow Him today, 53:04 in the time that we begin to plead with God, 53:05 this is kind of life. 53:07 I want this is the kind of change that I want. 53:09 I wanna follow Jesus all the way, 53:11 that's only those who follow Jesus will make it to heaven. 53:16 We want to be worth it someday when we see Jesus. 53:20 You remember, 53:22 quickly what the man did that had the... 53:24 He went out looking for treasure, 53:27 parable in the Matthew 13. 53:30 The parable there the man found a treasure. 53:32 And what did he do? 53:34 He went and sold all that he had in order 53:36 to obtain the field and the treasure. 53:38 You remember the pearl of great price? 53:41 What did the man do? 53:42 He sold all he had, right? 53:43 He wanted that pearl of great price. 53:45 Jesus is the pearl of great price. 53:47 And it's going to take all. 53:50 It's going to take all. 53:52 That means giving up anything, 53:54 everything that might separate you from Him. 53:57 One man said, one time he said, "Christ is not valued at all, 54:02 unless He's valued above all." 54:06 Friend, what a thought, how deep that is. 54:11 We had to be willing to as it were, sell all, 54:14 to give up all in order to find Jesus. 54:17 So today, if you wanna follow Him all the way, 54:19 the first thing He said, 54:20 "Just call Me, and I'm gonna answer." 54:23 He's gonna hear you, 54:24 He's going to change, He's gonna call you, 54:26 give you power and strength 54:27 to get out of that life that you were in, 54:29 He's gonna bring you and set a new life before you. 54:33 "Call and I will answer." 54:35 Today's the day, make that decision. 54:36 I want to follow Jesus. 54:38 He said, "I'm gonna hear you, and I'm going to answer you. 54:41 I love you with the everlasting love." 54:42 Let's pray about it. 54:44 Those who made that decision right now, shall we? 54:45 As we close, let's pray together. 54:48 Merciful Father in heaven, 54:50 we thank You for Your precious Word. 54:51 Thank You for those 54:52 who made that decision right now. 54:54 They want to follow Jesus all the way. 54:56 And they're gonna be willing to give up everything 54:58 that separates them from You. 55:00 So thank You, Lord, for hearing and answering, 55:01 prayer in Jesus' name. 55:03 Amen. 55:06 It's been good to spend this time with you. 55:08 As always, it's such a blessing to study 55:10 the Word of God together. 55:11 Thank you again for your cards and your letters 55:13 and your questions that you your phone calls, 55:15 you know, praise God for that. 55:16 We look forward to spending time with you 55:18 each and every week. 55:19 God bless you. 55:21 We'll see you next time. 55:22 Hello, friends, and welcome back. 55:24 I pray that you were blessed as much or more 55:28 from this study than I was. 55:29 The scripture stirred my heart as I read and listen to them. 55:34 Following Christ all the way has been our message for today. 55:38 And it needs to be all of our heart's desire 55:42 each and every day of our lives. 55:44 You will never regret giving your heart to Jesus 55:48 as you grow to understand His will for your life. 55:52 He's ever so gently turning our lives back around away 55:57 from worldly enticements that separate us from Him 56:00 and towards a life that is patterned after His. 56:03 He's preparing us, listen to this, 56:06 He's preparing us 56:07 to be a citizen of His kingdom for eternity. 56:11 We pray that that is your desire 56:13 to follow Christ all the way where so ever He may lead you. 56:18 And don't forget, 56:20 we here at Behold the Lamb Ministries, 56:22 we're here to help you on your journey with Him. 56:25 We would be happy to send this message to you 56:27 for a love gift of just $8 56:30 or more and along with your order, 56:32 we will include one of these Bible study guides 56:35 that is entitled, 56:37 Sharing God's Love Makes You Happier, 56:39 What the Bible Says for free with your order. 56:42 This series is near completion. 56:45 There is just one more message coming your way 56:48 before we say goodbye. 56:50 I hate to say goodbye to these, 56:52 but we're gonna have to say goodbye 56:53 to these timely messages for just a little while, 56:56 but you don't have to be without them. 56:59 For a love gift of just $175 or more, 57:03 all 25 hours of life changing messages can be yours. 57:09 We look forward to your call. 57:11 We look forward to hearing from you very, very soon. 57:14 You may call Behold the Lamb Ministries 57:17 here in the US at 618-942-5044, 57:21 that Central Time 57:24 or you may write to Behold the Lamb Ministries 57:26 PO Box 2030, Herrin, Illinois 62948. 57:31 Email your order 57:32 at BeholdTheLambMinistries @yahoo.com 57:35 or you may also order these messages by visiting us 57:38 on our website at BeholdTheLambMinistries.com. 57:42 And don't forget friends to like us, 57:45 like Behold the Lamb Ministries on Facebook. 57:48 Until next time, 57:49 may our precious and loving Lord 57:51 continue to richly bless you and yours. |
Revised 2019-06-10