S1: Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: It's Carl and crew helping you take your next step
S2: with Jesus. It's that first one that matters most. It's
S2: moving out of darkness and into light. And I want
S2: to take you just quickly back to the Raspberry Hills.
S2: The Raspberry Hills are outside of Unalakleet, headed for the
S2: village of Shaktoolik. If you ever find yourself in the
S2: Iditarod Trail Race, you'll love the Raspberry Hills. It's beautiful.
S3: I like the name.
S2: Isn't it great?
S3: The Raspberry Hills? It sounds like something out of like
S3: a Jane Austen novel or something.
S4: Yeah, yeah, they're a bunch of raspberries on it.
S2: Yeah, well, there are in the summer, apparently, but I've
S2: never been there in the summer as they're in the
S2: dead of winter and there were no raspberries. If they were,
S2: they were freeze dried, let's put it that way, because
S2: it was cold that night as I was passing through
S2: the raspberry hills and I didn't see any raspberry bushes,
S2: my headlamp was focused on my team in front of me.
S2: Team was making some good speed. And then we crested
S2: the hill just outside of Unalakleet, headed for Shaktoolik on
S2: the west coast of Alaska. Middle of the Iditarod Trail
S2: Sled Dog Race when I was 18 years old, and
S2: I'm coming down these hills and I've got I've got
S2: a broken sled runner and I've got a break that
S2: isn't functioning really well. So I'm like on my break
S2: yelling whoa, whoa! And what whoa means is slow down guys.
S2: We've got way too much speed coming down this long,
S2: steep hill. And dogs don't listen to you. They're like
S2: middle school kids.
S4: When they have the opportunity to run, they're gonna do it, man.
S2: They're taking off. And I don't know, sometimes they would
S2: feel their oats whenever they would see or hear some
S2: game in front of them, whether it's a moose or
S2: something in the trail, and they would pick it up.
S2: So I and I mean, it's like, oh, I thought
S2: you guys were out of gas. And now you seem
S2: to have all the gas you need.
S4: Oh, that's.
S2: Funny, but we're steaming down this hill. And, um, man,
S2: I wanted to get to Shaktoolik so badly. I mean,
S2: I'm cold. I never shared this part of the story,
S2: but my feet had gotten wet. So inside my mukluks
S2: from from working to get up the hill, raspberry hills
S2: I had. I was sweating just profusely. And the worst
S2: thing you can do when you're in subzero temperatures is
S2: sweat and not get dried out, because that can really
S2: be a problem called hypothermia and leading to death. So
S2: you want to be careful with that.
S3: Oh, wow.
S2: So I've got wet socks. So I'm having to keep moving. Right.
S2: And I'm looking for shaktoolik. And I'm like, come on
S2: shack tulik. You got to be out there. Which in
S2: Yupik means endless wind. I was soon going to find
S2: that out, but we came down off that hill and
S2: I'm wanting it so badly. I'm sleep deprived. I'm hungry.
S2: My team's hungry. I want to get them on some straw,
S2: get them fed. And man, there it was. Boom! Right
S2: there in front of me. There's shack tulik and I'm
S2: seeing a little village appear and it was great. I'm delighted.
S2: I'm thrilled. It was a little bit weird. I didn't
S2: quite it just didn't register with me. What's going on?
S2: This seemed a little sooner than I would have imagined
S2: it to be, but I'm ready. And I'm seeing the
S2: light on in a cabin and a guy out in
S2: front splitting wood. No joking my mind. Sot I stopped,
S2: my team put in the emergency brake. It's called a
S2: snow hook. Boom. Stomp it into the ground, take a
S2: few steps toward that cabin and poof, the village is gone.
S4: It's so scary.
S3: Wow.
S2: It was scary. It was eerie. Because now I'm standing
S2: there a little bit away from my team, and my
S2: team's going, what are you doing?
S4: Yeah, they're like, what is he walking towards?
S2: What are you doing? Carl and I get back on
S2: the sled. It's really funny because as I look back,
S2: I almost had it. It was almost like a shame moment. Like,
S2: how did I see that village? Well, it was called hallucination.
S2: And sometimes the hallucination of salvation and we've been unpacking
S2: it all week is so insidious, and there's a lot
S2: of reasons for why this happens. We had someone call
S2: in here already this morning that just laid it down. Ali,
S2: just retell her story quickly.
S3: Yeah, she called in and she said that her grandfather
S3: had he was a pastor, and he decided to just
S3: go ahead and baptize his grandkids. So she got baptized
S3: as part of the group of grandkids at a young age.
S3: And so she proceeded through life kind of thinking that
S3: that was I got I got baptized, I'm in Christ.
S3: And it wasn't until many years later, as an adult,
S3: when her husband came to faith in Christ and she
S3: started to see in his life things that were so
S3: foreign to her. I mean, his his commitment to the
S3: word and and trying to understand it, even though he
S3: couldn't really read well in his prayer life. And she
S3: was like, he's got something that I don't have. And
S3: that was the wake up call for her that wait
S3: a second, though, that I had some sort of religious
S3: experience or some sort of religious ceremony I was a
S3: part of way back when. I'm not actually in Christ.
S2: What are some of the other things that are false
S2: markers of being in Christ that we have in our
S2: culture today?
S4: Well, I remember when I was in middle school, I
S4: was coming back from a missions trip with the youth
S4: group and sitting in the van. I remember thinking, I
S4: wonder if I'll make it into heaven. And I was
S4: kind of recounting the moments of my life. And I said, well,
S4: you know what? I just got off missions trip. So, like,
S4: I'm doing I'm doing God's work. So I think I'll
S4: probably make it in there. And I think I literally
S4: thought that I was like, maybe I'll like just make
S4: it in because I've done enough and.
S2: That's so precious. How old were you?
S4: I probably 13 or 14.
S2: Oh that's great.
S4: Yeah. And so I think we often do that, say, well,
S4: if I've done enough for God, then I'll be good.
S2: Yeah, that's a real thing.
S3: I remember standing in the back of a of a
S3: big outreach event that was targeting young, younger people. So
S3: I would say the it was like kindergarten maybe to
S3: fifth or sixth grade. And it was an incredible event
S3: and great speaking and great energetic songs. You know, all
S3: the dancing you do, you do a lot of dancing
S3: when you're working with kids and.
S2: Kids, you got to move.
S3: It. And so I remember a very well intentioned speaker
S3: shared kind of a, a little bit of the gospel
S3: and then asked kind of the effect of, so who
S3: wants to get saved? And like all these sort of
S3: hands went up and you see kind kids sort of
S3: looking around like, okay, I'm going to raise my hand to, yeah,
S3: I'm going to, I'm going to raise my hand. And
S3: is it possible that many of those kids became genuinely
S3: saved that that evening? Absolutely. But you could definitely see
S3: sort of the peer pressure kind of effect of man.
S3: Everybody else has their hands up. So yeah, I'll do
S3: it too. And I think having slipped up a hand
S3: at some point or repeated after a pastor to pray
S3: a prayer, which is kind of the format that a
S3: lot of churches use. It can be awesome, but I
S3: know it's going to rattle some people because maybe this
S3: isn't a popular opinion, but that is not my favorite
S3: way of approaching it, because I think it can contribute
S3: to this, that that sort of peer pressure effect of, uh,
S3: I'll just repeat it too, because, yeah, I'd like to
S3: get saved today. Yeah. And they're really not be any
S3: sort of heart connection to what's actually happening.
S2: And that is you guys nailed it. You guys nailed it.
S2: Those are some of the big false markers. Potentially false markers.
S3: Yeah. And I like that you used the word potentially
S3: because I am not saying that if you raised a
S3: hand and prayed a prayer, I'm not saying that that's
S3: not genuine saving faith. I think potentially the the effect
S3: of that happening in a room full of people can
S3: cause a lot of people to be deluded.
S2: Yeah. And this is why we have, as John Piper says,
S2: millions of people every weekend that go to Bible preaching
S2: churches that do not know Jesus personally. They're in church,
S2: but they're not in Christ. So we're taking your testimonies today.
S2: We've been pouring out our heart this week. Oh yeah,
S2: we're going to have lots of opportunity to dive into
S2: on this journey until the Lord comes, or until we
S2: live out our natural lives. Here we are. We are
S2: going to have a lot of opportunity to laugh and
S2: cry and overcome stuff, and learn how to raise kids
S2: in Christ and get victory over stuff that has been
S2: in the shadows of our life for years, that you've thought, oh,
S2: I'll never get a win over this. Believe him, he
S2: can help you with what seems impossible. We're going to
S2: do all that and more. But this week we wanted
S2: to just embed our stories and raise the specter of
S2: is there a deception of salvation? And the answer is huge,
S2: especially in the Western church. But when this gets resolved
S2: by the power of the Holy Spirit, it changes everything.
S2: And so Ali brought in a question today, and boy,
S2: did she bring a power packed one.
S3: We want to hear from you on this Freedom Friday.
S3: Phone lines open. I want to get as many of
S3: your stories as possible. Is this you? You were in church,
S3: maybe went through some sort of religious ceremony, but later
S3: realized you weren't actually in Christ? 805 55 7898 in church,
S3: not in Christ. 800 555 7898.
S1: He was running from God, but God's love brought him home.
S1: Carl is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on
S1: Moody Radio.
S2: Taking your calls. Light them up, guys. You were in church,
S2: but not in Christ. John in Cleveland, Ohio, my man.
S2: Give us your story.
S5: Hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my call. So really quickly. Um,
S5: I was raised in a predominantly African-American church, and when
S5: I was young, I would notice that people around me
S5: in the service would have their eyes closed and their
S5: hands raised and crying. And I never knew what I
S5: was about. And then I became an adult and I
S5: came to Christ. I recognized that some people in the
S5: pews who were doing that, they'd have their hands raised
S5: and their eyes closed as if they were worshiping. But
S5: their behavior after that did not match their worship. And
S5: I found the same thing in myself. And I recognized that.
S5: How do I know that today I could hear a song,
S5: I could be having an experience, and I get visited
S5: by the Holy Spirit? I know that because I'm crying, I'm.
S5: I'm worshiping. And then there are times where I try
S5: to continue that, and then all of a sudden the
S5: tears aren't coming. And I imagine the Holy Spirit telling me, well, son,
S5: I left you five minutes ago, that's all. You. That's
S5: not me anymore, buddy. You're pretending. And it's. It's easy
S5: to tell in myself. So I believe the same thing
S5: happens with other people. And I'm not sure if everyone's
S5: doing that self-assessment to realize when it's them versus the
S5: Holy Spirit.
S2: Yeah, that's an interesting thing. John. I want to thank
S2: you for calling in from Cleveland. Good man. Yeah. So
S2: there's really two things that John's speaking of here. There
S2: are some because I did it too. Man, I raised
S2: my hands at times when I was in youth group
S2: and I remember sitting on a beach. We we went
S2: in a boat. Youth group is a little bit different
S2: in Alaska. Okay. Just a little bit different. So we
S2: got we got into a boat and we took, we
S2: had a 50 horse Evinrude on it and big aluminum
S2: skiff and we took about, I don't know, 1012 of
S2: us to a beach across the bay and parked it there.
S2: And my buddy, who was the real deal, Mark Doerner,
S2: never forget it, loved this kid, man. And he built
S2: a bonfire and he started just opening the word and
S2: people started worshiping and hands went in the air. And
S2: so mine did too. And it was years later that
S2: I realized that I didn't have a reason, really, for
S2: lifting my hands, except that it was the peer pressure
S2: of this is what disciples do, and I didn't want
S2: to be left out. That's very real, John. The other
S2: aspect of this that's very real is that we're called
S2: to be filled with the spirit daily. This is not
S2: a one and done, and this is an ongoing filling. D.L.
S2: Moody said the reason we need that is because we leak.
S2: We leak. And there's there's a that's a profound observation
S2: by John. Uh, two things can be going on. One,
S2: you could have an a deception of salvation. Uh, there's
S2: a lot of lives that people look back after they're
S2: born again and go shoot. Man. I was in church
S2: raising hands. Eyes closed. But, boy, when I left that door,
S2: my life was very different from what Christ called me to.
S2: That's a great observation, John. Thanks for calling in from Cleveland, man.
S2: Appreciate your heart. Let's go back to the phone lines here.
S3: Let's go to Katie calling in this morning from Ohio. Katie,
S3: you can relate to this. You were in church, but
S3: not in Christ.
S6: Yes I was. Um, predominantly raised Catholic my whole life.
S6: Received all the sacraments. Went to church on Sunday, but
S6: never truly understood Christ until recently when I joined another
S6: church in Cleveland, and it's a Lutheran church where they
S6: have a preacher, and everything was different about it. You
S6: know what he what he spoke about, I understood Jesus.
S6: I'm understanding the Bible. The people are so welcoming. It's
S6: a total new experience for me. And it's it's brought
S6: out so many wonderful things in my life, especially now,
S6: because I need it. Really now?
S2: Yeah. Katie. Way to go, sister. And we're so grateful
S2: that you heard the gospel. Because one thing, one thing's
S2: for sure. We had a guy call in here. I
S2: guess he texted in. This is a couple of years ago,
S2: but it was so. It was so pick and funny. Well,
S2: I forget why it struck a Sally to remember the
S2: guy that called in or texted in.
S3: The one that said growing up he'd gotten some bad
S3: information about the gospel. Yeah. Yeah. I'll never forget that one.
S3: It was a it was a message sent during actually
S3: during share. And that was part of the reason why
S3: he was giving to Cher is because he was hearing
S3: the gospel clearly, and he was able to see that
S3: growing up, I got bad information that was so well
S3: put because I thought in my mind, you know what
S3: I think I did too? I think I got some
S3: bad information.
S2: Yeah. I mean, bad information is all over out there.
S2: This is why teachers are called to a higher account. Why?
S2: Because when you open up your mouth and you're speaking
S2: in the name of Jesus, that message needs to jive
S2: with the words of Scripture and the heart of God
S2: behind it. And that's a that's a nerve wracking deal.
S2: Taking your calls this morning. And what a sweet question
S2: Ali brought in here. You were in church, but not
S2: in Christ. You know, I feel prompted by the spirit
S2: here to explain for some of you that are brand
S2: new here today, listening. And you hadn't listened to us
S2: all week. We've been pouring out our heart with our stories.
S2: And I want to be super clear. And it's really
S2: interesting to me how I believe the Spirit of God
S2: actually had me hold back on one text so you
S2: can go to first Corinthians chapter 11 and find that
S2: there's people in the church who Paul says to them,
S2: examine yourself to see if you're in the faith, and
S2: you're like, whoa, is that true? Is that possible? Well,
S2: Jesus said to his disciples. His disciples said, hey man,
S2: we've this story of wheat and weeds growing together, wheat
S2: and tares, actually. And because weeds are very different from wheat,
S2: but tares are a weed, but they simulate wheat. And
S2: they said, should we uproot the the tares that look
S2: like wheat? And Jesus said, no, you might get the
S2: real deal ripped out of there. So I'll take care
S2: of this at the end. But the specter is raised
S2: that there can be wheat and weeds growing together, looking
S2: similar but not being of the same nature, not having
S2: been born again and having the Spirit of God in them.
S2: And then you go to Matthew seven. We've been hitting
S2: this one all week. Many will say to me on
S2: that day, Lord, Lord, and he's going to say, I
S2: never knew you. But then you go to Matthew 16.
S2: I hadn't shared this. This is powerful. A lot of
S2: us think of self-denial as pinnacle Christianity. Man. That's when
S2: you sell your business and you start a youth camp.
S2: This is when you, um, move from stateside to a
S2: mission field or something like that, right? I mean, that's self-denial. Oh, man,
S2: that person's grown up in Jesus. What if I told
S2: you Jesus said self-denial is the entry point to eternal life?
S2: That's what he said. If anyone would come after me,
S2: let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.
S2: For whoever would save his life will lose it. What?
S2: And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
S2: This is. This is powerhouse. And then he asks this question.
S2: Jesus does. For what? Will it profit a man if
S2: he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul. And
S2: the answer is nothing. Nothing. So I want to pour
S2: my heart out to you right now. Do you have
S2: a deception of salvation? God can clear that up for
S2: you today. Today, my friend, God wants to give you
S2: a life that bears fruit 30, 60, a hundred fold.
S2: You can say no to cultural Christianity. You can say
S2: no to your own deception and say yes to Jesus.
S2: And it's because of the power of the Holy Spirit.
S2: And right now, the Holy Spirit works like this. This
S2: is what he does. He convicts the world regarding sin, righteousness,
S2: and judgment. Meaning in that whole triad of conviction, God
S2: calls people out of darkness and into the light. It's
S2: the Holy Spirit that regenerates a soul. And all you're
S2: doing is responding to God's call in your life to
S2: deny yourself. It's not pinnacle Christianity. Self-denial is the threshold
S2: we walk across by God's grace to have authentic faith.
S2: So I'm going to ask you a question. What does
S2: it profit you to gain the whole world and lose
S2: your soul? And you know the answer in the Spirit
S2: of God screaming in your heart right now. And the
S2: answer is nothing. And so I'm asking you right now,
S2: will you deny yourself, take up the cross and follow Jesus?
S2: What a metaphor that Jesus uses over and over again.
S2: There's this broad path that leads to judgment, and many
S2: are on it. There's a narrow path that leads to life,
S2: and few will find it. But you're among the few today,
S2: and you're about right now. You are in the process
S2: of being born again by the power of the spirit
S2: and Alys, right? It's not about lifting a hand and
S2: saying a certain patent prayer like you've often heard. No,
S2: it's about this right now. It's your declaration of your soul.
S2: Today I'm following Jesus. Just tell him that right now.
S2: And I know you're choked up. And tears might be flowing,
S2: but today you're following Jesus. You've never followed him before.
S2: But today is your day of salvation. How sweet is this?
S2: And you're saying I confess with my mouth, Jesus is Lord.
S2: You know what that means? It's confessing with your mouth. Jesus,
S2: you are my leader. You're my leader. I'm no longer
S2: following my will. Your will be done. So are you
S2: turning around today to follow Jesus for the first time
S2: in your life? Never before. Not like, not like this.
S2: You've raised a hand, but you've. You've never. Your soul
S2: has never turned to God. But you are denying yourself
S2: and following Jesus. And you're confessing with your mouth, I'm
S2: a sinner. I need a Savior. His name is Jesus.
S2: And today just say this. I give you my life.
S2: Every bit of it. And if that's you, I want
S2: to help you today. We've been helping people all week.
S2: 500 people have surrendered to Christ this week alone. 500.
S2: It's overwhelming. But just text the word new. Right now.
S2: We've got a little link we're going to send you.
S2: Grab your phone as quick as you can, pull to
S2: the side of the road. This is this is the
S2: the best resource we can give you at this juncture.
S2: This is the best we have right now. And in
S2: it are embedded three links. And I want you to
S2: come and get it. Text the word new to 800
S2: 555 7898. Just that one word. New to 800 555 7898.
S2: We love you enough to tell you the truth. 800
S2: 555 7898 just text that one word new to 800
S2: 555 7898. 98, and whom the son sets free is
S2: free indeed. God is doing this work in you today
S2: and we praise God for it. And here they come
S2: in from all across the nation right now again praising God.
S2: He knew you'd be here today. He had an appointment
S2: with you. He had an appointment with you. Today is
S2: the day when you are now being born again. Wow.
S2: Just text the word new when you can. Some of
S2: you are like, I know how this goes. You're like, Carl,
S2: God's doing a work in me. Now slow down. Text
S2: the word new as soon as you can. If today
S2: is your day of salvation, you are being saved from
S2: your self denying self. Just text the word new to
S2: 800 555, 7898. Overwhelming. What God's doing this week?
S3: Ali it's so it's such a privilege to be a
S3: part of it. That's it's a privilege to be a
S3: part of it.
S2: It is. Kristen. Testify here. Sister. What's going on in Michigan?
S6: Amen. Um, from the age of 8 to 16, I
S6: grew up in juvenile homes and orphanages and such. And
S6: at 14.5 about, I was placed temporarily because I was
S6: a runaway in Detroit with a mormon family. And I
S6: loved what I saw, family and love. And they went
S6: to church, if you will. And so they were teaching
S6: me all this stuff, and I wanted to feel what
S6: I never felt. I never I hadn't had family. I
S6: didn't have the love. And and so I got baptized
S6: because I wanted to feel what, what I saw. I
S6: wanted to have this experience, but it wasn't until I
S6: was almost 30 years old. So for all those years
S6: in between, I was living in the world. I was
S6: so broken. I just went through a whole life of misery.
S6: And I got invited to church and I went and
S6: I heard the gospel message and that it wasn't about
S6: an experience. It wasn't about me feeling happy or, um,
S6: it didn't have anything really to do with me, but
S6: what Christ did for me, and about surrendering, repenting, and
S6: crowning him Lord over my life. And and then that's
S6: 30 years ago.
S2: Chris.
S7: Oh, thank you Lord.
S2: Yes.
S3: Wow.
S2: Kristen, you are dynamite sister. Thank you so much. From Greenville, Michigan.
S2: Thank you. What a what a joy. I mean, this
S2: is the heart's cry of people that have been transformed
S2: by the power of God. Yeah.
S3: If you have a story, you were in church, but
S3: not in Christ. 800 555, 78, 7898. Would love to
S3: get your testimony this morning. 800 555 7898.
S2: Yeah. Welcome to the family. All of you that are
S2: texting in new. Just a quick note as you get
S2: that link opened up, just, um, go through it, work
S2: through those three links. And on the third link, it
S2: actually has a place for you to put your address
S2: and we're going to send you something. Zero obligation, no
S2: charge free of charge. We're going to send you a
S2: resource that's going to help you live in God's power
S2: and no longer by self-help. And we love you. We're
S2: grateful for you. You know, you look at what's going
S2: on in the world and you look at, uh, power
S2: brokers that are at each other's throats. And I mean,
S2: lots of breaking news. And you know what it reminded
S2: me of? I, I texted my adult son, who's in Miami,
S2: and I said, man, who you can trust in chariots
S2: and horses all day long, but, man, that's not going
S2: to get you there. You can. And chariots and horses
S2: represent the power brokers and the power centers of our day.
S2: But we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
S2: Because there is nothing. If you're relying on global peace
S2: or a political angle or or some kind of prestige
S2: personally to get you through this life. Take that horse
S2: back to the barn. He's wet and tired.
S4: You're not wrong.
S2: Get the chariot back into the. Take it home because
S2: it's come. The wheels are coming off the axles of
S2: the chariot. It ain't worth trusting in, man.
S3: No.
S2: Yeah. We trust in the name of the Lord our God.
S2: It's Carl and crew helping you take your next step
S2: with Jesus. Scores more. Surrendering to Jesus this morning, over
S2: 500 people this week have surrendered their lives to Jesus
S2: for the very first time. Ali came in with a question.
S2: She's armed, loaded for bear here today. Let's go. Ali.
S3: What we really want this morning is your story. Can
S3: you relate? You were in church, but not in Christ.
S3: 800 555 7898 it's Freedom Friday. Phone lines are open
S3: 800 555 7898.
S2: Your testimonies are touching so many lives already today. God
S2: is using you. 800 555 7898 you were in church,
S2: but not in Christ.
S1: He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then
S1: he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl
S1: and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: We are messengers a thousand times. When you see God
S2: work in the past, man, you can. You can know
S2: for certain God is working. To day. It's Carl and
S2: crew helping you take your next step with Jesus. And
S2: for many of you, it's your first step. What a
S2: joy and what a joy to celebrate. I'd ask you
S2: that that you have absolute certainty where you stand with
S2: God and that he stands with you. Be praying 500
S2: plus new souls following Jesus as a result of just
S2: casting the net of salvation. And you know what's amazing
S2: about this? God uses very imperfect people to share the
S2: good news. It's amazing, but true. He left behind one.
S2: You know, I got a friend in Nashville, Tennessee, who says,
S2: and he's just a rock star for Jesus. He says,
S2: you know what, Carl? We are a beautiful mess. The
S2: church is meaning we are not all together, but God
S2: uses us in spite of ourselves. It's a beautiful thing.
S2: Taking your calls here we are ready to light them up.
S2: We got a few lines available. Let's go.
S3: Ali, you were in church, but not in Christ. Is
S3: that part of your story? 855 five 7898 (800) 555-7898.
S1: She was trying to earn her way to God, but
S1: God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in
S1: the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S3: Got a question for you that I think this conversation
S3: brings up for people.
S2: Okay.
S3: What do you how do you approach if you feel
S3: like someone in your life, someone close to you? This
S3: applies to. We do not want to walk around being,
S3: as I like to say, spec specialists, looking at the
S3: spec in other people's eyes by missing the log in
S3: our own. We don't want to be trying to determine
S3: are you really saved or not? Because that can come
S3: off really badly. But if we genuinely have a suspicion
S3: that we know people who claim to be Christians, but
S3: we we aren't sure that that's the case, is that
S3: something that we should approach with people that we love?
S2: Yeah. It's interesting. So years ago, when I was a
S2: new follower of Jesus, I commonly heard the term we're
S2: not supposed to be fruit inspectors. Well, the problem with
S2: that is, is that Jesus says we absolutely are.
S3: Well, okay. What do you mean by that?
S2: Well, a tree is going to bear fruit in keeping
S2: with its root. And even in the sermon on the Mount,
S2: he said, there's going to be all these false teachers, right?
S2: And that you can see that they're false by the
S2: lives that they live. Bottom line. So now to back up, though,
S2: we got to be careful if you're trying to be
S2: the the kind of the prophet on the wall going, yeah,
S2: I'm up here from my perch and I see who's
S2: got it and who doesn't. I doubt they had a
S2: southern accent, but, um, that's that's not at all in
S2: play here. It's really something you said a few days ago.
S2: It's the kindness of God that leads to repentance. So
S2: fruit inspection and that. And I don't mean this from
S2: a standpoint of scrutiny. I mean, for the purpose of evidence,
S2: any any attitude toward that, that is, I want to
S2: see what other people have rather than I have a
S2: heart that people would know Jesus personally. And what comes
S2: out of their life is a fruit bearing life, fruit bearing.
S2: According to Galatians five, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. Goodness. Gentleness. Faithfulness. Self-control.
S2: I mean, how beautiful is that? So, Allie, you're right on.
S2: I think it's a heart attitude that says out of kindness, God,
S2: I'm concerned for someone that I love who maybe does
S2: claim to know Jesus but don't exhibit the lifestyle, um,
S2: or the fruit that is consistent with it. And here's
S2: what you need to know. Pressure's off. You don't save anyone.
S2: That's the Holy Spirit's job. Come on, give me a hallelujah, everybody. Yes!
S2: My goodness. So we don't save a soul. That's God's work.
S2: But we do shine brightly. And we do. We do
S2: invite people into an opportunity to look at their own life.
S2: I mean, I've done this many times with men and women.
S2: I've seen my bride do it too many times where
S2: you open the Word of God. And in fact, my
S2: bride was mentored by a woman that all she used
S2: was the Bible. And for 30 some years Muriel. We
S2: named our daughter after this woman, Muriel Cook, who had
S2: opened the Bible and go. What's that say? And she
S2: read it. Go! Well, how does that apply to your life?
S2: And bit by bit, that's how my wife was discipled
S2: by this woman. Opened the word. What's it say? How
S2: does this apply to your life? One step after the next.
S2: And my wife would tell you. And someday we're going
S2: to have her on here to share her testimony. She
S2: was she had created a religion for herself that was
S2: a little bit of eastern thought and all kinds. It
S2: was a conglomeration of things out of the pain in
S2: her life, even though she was a pastor's kid and
S2: God used Muriel to unwind that. So using the Word
S2: of God is powerful, but letting your light so shine
S2: before people is the bomb, because that's when others see
S2: in you what they don't have in themselves. Oh, Katie,
S2: bar the door. That's a beautiful thing. So it's hard attitude.
S2: You're big on that one, Ali. It's heart attitude. You're right.
S2: If you're going out and going man, look at the
S2: look at these flaws in people. And you've got a
S2: you've got the equivalent of a six by six ten
S2: foot long beam in your eye. I think it'd be
S2: good to get that out. And then real inspection without
S2: humility is not inspection. It's condemnation. And that's a real danger.
S2: So inspection versus condemnation air on the front side of
S2: that one. Hope that helps a little bit.
S3: Yeah I think that's great context because I you know
S3: if you're new around here, questions are I love asking questions.
S3: And so I ask my own questions. But I also
S3: try to think of what questions other people might be asking.
S3: And so that's something that I really enjoy doing. So
S3: if you have a question though, of anything that we're
S3: talking about at any time, you can always shoot us
S3: a text. I'll try to throw it out there so
S3: we can discuss it. Just text us 800 555 7898
S3: 800 555 7898. Our Freedom Friday Call segment right now
S3: if you want to weigh in. You were in church,
S3: but not in Christ. Same number call in 800 555 7898.
S2: Christina called in a little bit earlier and it was
S2: so crystal clear and powerhouse. I want you to take
S2: a listen to this.
S8: My grandfather was a pastor, and what he did was
S8: he took all of his grandchildren and baptized them without
S8: the confession of faith. And then when I became older
S8: and my late husband became a believer, he stayed before
S8: the Lord on his face. And he would read his
S8: Bible a lot. And he was illiterate. He was frustrated
S8: because he could not understand the Bible. And I watched
S8: him and I said, Lord, whatever he has, I don't
S8: have and I want it.
S2: Wow.
S8: And I just fell on my face before the Lord.
S8: I started crying out to the Lord. At first I
S8: couldn't even understand the Bible, but now I do. So
S8: I just thought that, um, that's how I became a
S8: part of the hallucinated.
S2: Yeah. What? What a testimony, Ali.
S3: You know, and I, I love how the Lord used
S3: someone else. And it wasn't wasn't her husband kind of
S3: needling her with it, like, man, you don't seem to
S3: be reading your Bible as much as I am. And
S3: understanding simply his light, that the light was shining in
S3: such a way that it made her curious.
S2: That's Matthew five six.
S3: Yes, yes, it's a godly jealousy where you go, whatever
S3: they have, God, I want that.
S2: And you might say, is godly jealousy biblical? It is.
S2: The Apostle Paul is clear. He was thrilled that the
S2: Gentiles were coming to Christ, because it would create a
S2: holy envy in the heart of Jewish men and women.
S2: Isn't that amazing?
S3: I think.
S2: It's I want what they.
S3: Got. It's a beautiful thing, whether it's salvation or anything else.
S3: When you. Because the gifts of God. He's no respecter
S3: of person. He gives us different spiritual gifts. But in
S3: terms of what he pours out to his kids, if
S3: you see a piece that somebody else has, if you
S3: see Grace at work, in someone else's life, it's okay
S3: to have that holy envy and go, God, I see
S3: you gave it to them. How about I get some
S3: of that too? Some of that peace, joy, love, self control?
S2: My goodness, I'm so fired up this week I could
S2: spontaneously combust right here.
S3: Just don't do that. But we get it.
S9: Oh my goodness.
S2: We're so grateful for you in the boom crew. We
S2: call you the Boom Crew. Oh, I missed it. I
S2: got a boom Christina boom. That's a modern day vernacular
S2: for Amen and let it be and Hallelujah all wrapped
S2: into one. Grateful for what God's doing in your life
S2: here today and the stories that are coming in. Got
S2: a question for you. You were in church, but not
S2: in Christ. What's your story? Just in a few sentences.
S2: Just call in. Just tell us, how did that work
S2: for you? And your story, like Pristina will be used
S2: in others. You were in church, but you were not
S2: in Christ. Give us a call on this Freedom Friday.
S2: This is Ryan Stevenson. It's called the gospel. What a
S2: beautiful thing. What a beautiful thing. Give us a call
S2: 800 555 7898.
S1: Romans eight brought her to Jesus while broadcasting traffic overnight.
S1: Super die is in the crew. It's curling crew on
S1: Moody Radio.
S2: We are having an incredible week. The content of this week.
S2: Boil it down, Ali. What have we been doing here?
S2: What have we seen?
S3: God do we have really tried to put the gospel
S3: at the forefront and illustrated through stories how it's not
S3: just possible, but it's pretty common in the Western mindset
S3: to have been in church, but not in Christ. And
S3: for some period of time, because of the way some
S3: of the ways that we do church, because of some
S3: of the tradition and cultural things associated with with church,
S3: it can be sometimes confusing for people, and many people
S3: can live many years with the hallucination of salvation.
S2: What is it culturally? Let's go through a list of them.
S2: Some of those false markers that we have that cause
S2: John Piper to get up in front of a stadium
S2: full of students in Atlanta a number of years ago
S2: and say millions of people in Bible preaching churches every
S2: weekend have. A deception that they know Jesus, but they don't.
S2: What are some of those markers? Let's go.
S3: A big one is family tradition being born into a
S3: family where this is what we do. And the awesome
S3: thing is your great seeds can be sown. I mean,
S3: you're passing down the faith from parents to children is
S3: is biblical. But the flip side of that is it
S3: can be dangerous to. If you believe that somehow being
S3: born into a family that goes to church means that
S3: you're born a Christian. Nobody's born a Christian.
S2: Yeah, Satan can use that to pull the blinders over
S2: our eyes. Right. And keep us believing. Yeah. What else?
S2: Young thunder.
S4: I think also it's our accolades, the things that we've done,
S4: quote unquote, for God. You know, when I was in
S4: middle school, I remember having a moment where I was
S4: thinking about, Will I make it into heaven? And I
S4: had already been baptized and all that stuff I had.
S4: I had prayed the prayer, but my thoughts didn't go
S4: back to the righteousness of Christ. They went to well,
S4: I did this ministry project this summer, and so, like
S4: I'm doing good work so I could like squeeze in there.
S4: And that was my thought process was my. What I
S4: did was enough.
S2: Yeah, it's powerful man.
S3: And I if I could add this, you know, I
S3: had a conversation with someone who was, uh, from another
S3: faith background, and she even articulated our family is. I'll
S3: just say it. She said we are culturally Hindu, but non-practicing.
S3: I thought that was an interesting way of describing it,
S3: and it was an acknowledgment that this is kind of
S3: what we are because of where we're from, but we
S3: don't really practice it. I don't think people would describe
S3: it that same way as in Christianity, but many people
S3: live that way. We are culturally Christian, but we're not
S3: really practicing.
S2: That's so profound. Yeah, and so true. George, you were
S2: in church, but you weren't in Christ. Give us your story. Hello, George.
S2: Go ahead buddy.
S10: Yeah, I grew up in church my whole life. Uh,
S10: I did, you know, Awana memorizing scriptures at a young age. Uh,
S10: my dad became a pastor, and then I was in church, um,
S10: sometimes three, four days a week. And even though I
S10: went to church as I got older, it was really
S10: just a family thing. I did it for my dad.
S10: I loved my dad, I did for him and everyone
S10: else in my family. But once I got some freedom,
S10: I went off to college. It became, you know, the
S10: last thing that I cared about. Um, and I just
S10: lived like the world. Still going to church here and there, but,
S10: you know, definitely not as much. But I always would
S10: tell someone, yes, of course, I'm a Christian, but I
S10: live like the world. Um, all types of immorality, violence,
S10: I was angry, um, I would cheat, I would steal
S10: and all sorts of evil things. But I always had
S10: a justification. Everyone else does it. Or, you know, I'm
S10: stealing from this store, but it's a mega corporation, so
S10: they don't really need the money. They're not really missing out.
S2: Boy, that's.
S10: Honest, you know? Oh. I'm sorry. What was that?
S2: I said, that's honest, bro, I appreciate this. Keep rolling.
S11: Oh, yes.
S10: And I mean, I can go on, you know, but
S10: I always thought, well, I'm a Christian. I went to church.
S10: I go to church. So it's okay that I do
S10: this because God will just forgive me. And so you
S10: can kind of see the life I was living. I
S10: was a hypocrite. I was very judgmental. And I always thought, well,
S10: my dad's a pastor and I grew up in church.
S10: I know so much more than everyone else. I've always
S10: been a smart kid, and so pride has always been
S10: a huge stumbling block. So I never, you know, thought
S10: to myself, are you are you genuinely in Christ? You know,
S10: of course, I know so much more than all these
S10: other people around me. You know, I'm so much better
S10: than them. And it wasn't until Covid shut things down
S10: at the end of, you know, my, my four years
S10: in college, Covid shut things down. And it took a
S10: lot of things away from me. You know, I was
S10: in college a frat guy. I was the party guy
S10: on campus. And now Covid shut all these social functions down. Okay,
S10: so now what do you have? Oh, I had a girlfriend.
S10: I was living in sin with my girlfriend, and she
S10: threatened to break up with me, which was deserved because
S10: I was a terrible boyfriend. I was a terrible person. Um,
S10: but I told her. Okay, well, listen, let's just give
S10: this relationship one more chance, which I had said so
S10: many times before. But I said, this time, Let's do
S10: it God's way. And I'm just saying anything at this point.
S10: I'm just grasping.
S11: For straws to keep it. Pulled the God card out.
S9: Oh.
S10: I did. I absolutely did. And for whatever reason, thank
S10: God she said okay. And she said, this is this
S10: is the last chance, George. There's no more. There's no
S10: more chances. And so what does it mean? Do God's way?
S10: I don't know, but I just figured we'll just start
S10: reading the Bible here and there and she'll forgive me.
S10: And over time, things go back to normal. That's what I.
S11: Thought.
S10: That was my plan. But God had other plans, and.
S10: And Scripture tells us that the Word of God is
S10: living and active, sharper than a double edged sword. And
S10: even though I was reading the Bible with her, we
S10: were reading one chapter a night and it was a total,
S10: you know, selfish, shallow thing I was doing. My intention
S10: was shallow, was unfaithful. But God is faithful and His
S10: word totally transformed our lives. And as we were reading
S10: chapter by chapter through the book of Romans, I became
S10: convicted that you can't die to sin and still live
S10: in it and make excuses and justify it time after
S10: time after time. The way I was doing without any
S10: love for Christ in your heart. I got to the
S10: book of James and James says, you say you believe.
S10: You believe good. You believe God has won. Even the
S10: demons believe and they shudder. And yet I said I
S10: believed in God, but I had no fear. I didn't shudder,
S10: I lived however I wanted to live and I abused
S10: the grace of Christ. And so as I was reading
S10: the Scripture chapter by chapter, God opened my eyes that, hey,
S10: something's wrong. George, you're not living right. This is not
S10: what a follower of Christ is like. And so I
S10: had church in my heart, but I had so much
S10: else in my heart. You know, unless you have Christ
S10: in your heart. I was walking with the world Monday
S10: through Saturday and sitting in a pew on Sunday, and
S10: that's not enough, you know? So yeah, God used his
S10: word to to radically change my life.
S12: George. That's epic. George.
S2: An epic story, bro. And you tell it so well.
S2: May God loosen your lips to share that all the time.
S2: You hear me, George?
S10: Yes, sir.
S2: Yeah. I, uh, I've got an idea. God loves you.
S2: And Carl has an idea for you, so I want
S2: you to stay on the horn and give our call screener. Savannah,
S2: who's an incredible girl. Give her your details, if you would.
S2: How I can reach out to you sometime. George. I
S2: love you, man. That's an epic story, George. You'll appreciate
S2: this then. I feel compelled to do this right now.
S2: You hear George's story, and you know it's the prevalence
S2: of people that are going to church but are so
S2: far from God is so profound. And you can. We've
S2: been all over the scriptures this week. You can go
S2: to first Corinthians 11. It's the Lord's Supper. You know
S2: what Paul says. Let a person examine themselves, men and
S2: women alike. Examine yourself. See if you're in the faith.
S2: What thought? It's written to the church. Yeah. This goes
S2: back to Jesus's teaching. Weeds in wheat and tares grow
S2: Together and tears looked very similar to wheat. And Jesus
S2: disciples came to him and said, man, I think we
S2: got a bunch of weeds with the wheat here. And
S2: Jesus says, don't root them out, man. You might get
S2: some of the good ones just I'll sort this out
S2: in the end. But in the meantime, Jesus was clear
S2: with the gospel, and he said, many will say to
S2: me on that day, Lord, Lord, and he's going to say,
S2: I never knew you. And we've been casting this net
S2: all week. Yeah, we're going to have plenty of time
S2: to talk about all that gross stuff that we do
S2: on this path with Jesus. But right now, today, we
S2: want to make certain that you know, that you know,
S2: that you're on this path with Jesus. And, you know,
S2: there's a passage here in Matthew 16. It says by Jesus,
S2: if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself,
S2: take up his cross and follow me. And we've looked
S2: at self-denial in so many different ways. It's the it's
S2: the family that goes, wow, we've done this and we've
S2: been working this way for so long. And let's sell
S2: everything we have. And we're going to go to another country.
S2: We go, wow, that's epic. Yeah, right. That's big time. No, no.
S2: You know what Jesus said? The entry point to authentic
S2: faith is to deny yourself, take up your cross and
S2: follow him. Follow him.
S1: Your shot of hope to help you through the day.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: I'm feeling deeply prompted of the Lord right now, and
S2: we're going to go here. You know, there's one passage
S2: of scripture that we've left out all week long, and
S2: I'm so glad that the Holy Spirit held this and
S2: really dumped it into my heart this morning early. And
S2: I'm thrilled about this. You can go to Matthew seven
S2: and find this. You can find this hallucination of salvation
S2: thinking you have something that you don't. You can find
S2: this deception in not only Matthew seven where many will
S2: say on that day, Lord, Lord, and yet he never
S2: knew you. You can go to Matthew 25 and look
S2: at the ten bridesmaids and find all ten of them
S2: have lamps. Only five of them are filled with oil
S2: and ready, with a life filled with the power of
S2: the spirit, so that when the Lord comes, he'll take
S2: you home with him. And then you go to my goodness,
S2: you can go to Matthew 13. And but Matthew 16
S2: is amazing. You think self-denial, man, that's like epic Christianity.
S2: It's like, whoa, these are people that are, as I've
S2: said a couple of times this morning, selling businesses and opening,
S2: you know, transition housing for troubled kids or something. You
S2: look at it and go, wow, that's that's self-denial. But
S2: self-denial is the prerequisite to be born again. You're going
S2: to go gulp. Are you serious? Well, listen to what
S2: Jesus said. If anyone would come after me, let him
S2: deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. Whoa!
S2: This is entry level discipleship. Entry level Christianity is self-denial.
S2: And he goes on. For whoever would save his life
S2: will lose it. This is why trying to hold on
S2: to your life. Let it go, friend. But whoever loses
S2: his life for my sake will find it. And then
S2: Jesus asks this question. So what does it profit a
S2: man or a woman if he gains, or she gains
S2: the whole world and forfeits his soul? And the answer
S2: is nothing. And there's some of you today that have
S2: a hallucination of salvation because of the church culture in
S2: the West that we live in. You think you know Jesus,
S2: but you don't. But today you can turn around and
S2: the Spirit of God does it, and the Spirit of
S2: God is telling you, deny yourself. Follow Jesus today for
S2: the first time in your life, and you will know
S2: that you know that you are born again and its powerhouse.
S2: And I can't explain the power of the spirit, but
S2: I've experienced it. And right now he's working in you,
S2: telling you surrender all. And I want you to do
S2: a simple declaration. And then Allie's going to give you
S2: a link. Declare. Today I deny myself and I follow Jesus.
S2: For the first time in my life. I want to
S2: be taken. When Jesus comes back, I want to go
S2: with him. Today I confess I'm a sinner and I
S2: need a Savior. And his name is Jesus. And I'm
S2: holding nothing back. Today I give it all to Jesus.
S2: We want to help you with this brand new revelation
S2: from the Holy Spirit.
S3: Just text the word new to 800 555 7898 N-e-w
S3: new to 800 555 7898. You're going to get back
S3: from us a link that's going to give you just
S3: some practical encouragement, some next steps, how to get a Bible,
S3: what to look for in a church. If that's you,
S3: text new to 800 555 7898. Today you're new in Christ.