WEBVTT - God Has Freed Me and Here’s My Story 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:04.360 Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:08.200 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:12.200 It's Carl and crew helping you take your next step 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:15.360 with Jesus. It's that first one that matters most. It's 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:18.360 moving out of darkness and into light. And I want 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:21.400 to take you just quickly back to the Raspberry Hills. 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:24.840 The Raspberry Hills are outside of Unalakleet, headed for the 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:27.400 village of Shaktoolik. If you ever find yourself in the 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:30.600 Iditarod Trail Race, you'll love the Raspberry Hills. It's beautiful. 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:31.760 I like the name. 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:33.000 Isn't it great? 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:35.639 The Raspberry Hills? It sounds like something out of like 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:37.280 a Jane Austen novel or something. 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:39.199 Yeah, yeah, they're a bunch of raspberries on it. 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:41.520 Yeah, well, there are in the summer, apparently, but I've 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:43.239 never been there in the summer as they're in the 0:00:43.240 --> 0:00:45.440 dead of winter and there were no raspberries. If they were, 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:48.560 they were freeze dried, let's put it that way, because 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:50.920 it was cold that night as I was passing through 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:53.760 the raspberry hills and I didn't see any raspberry bushes, 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:56.720 my headlamp was focused on my team in front of me. 0:00:56.880 --> 0:00:59.640 Team was making some good speed. And then we crested 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:04.640 the hill just outside of Unalakleet, headed for Shaktoolik on 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:07.160 the west coast of Alaska. Middle of the Iditarod Trail 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:09.399 Sled Dog Race when I was 18 years old, and 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.119 I'm coming down these hills and I've got I've got 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:15.200 a broken sled runner and I've got a break that 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:18.440 isn't functioning really well. So I'm like on my break 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:23.800 yelling whoa, whoa! And what whoa means is slow down guys. 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:27.120 We've got way too much speed coming down this long, 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:31.560 steep hill. And dogs don't listen to you. They're like 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:32.679 middle school kids. 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:36.520 When they have the opportunity to run, they're gonna do it, man. 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:39.200 They're taking off. And I don't know, sometimes they would 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:42.040 feel their oats whenever they would see or hear some 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:44.280 game in front of them, whether it's a moose or 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:47.720 something in the trail, and they would pick it up. 0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:50.360 So I and I mean, it's like, oh, I thought 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:52.240 you guys were out of gas. And now you seem 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:53.480 to have all the gas you need. 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:53.880 Oh, that's. 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:57.720 Funny, but we're steaming down this hill. And, um, man, 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:00.470 I wanted to get to Shaktoolik so badly. I mean, 0:02:00.470 --> 0:02:03.510 I'm cold. I never shared this part of the story, 0:02:03.510 --> 0:02:07.390 but my feet had gotten wet. So inside my mukluks 0:02:07.390 --> 0:02:10.750 from from working to get up the hill, raspberry hills 0:02:10.950 --> 0:02:14.350 I had. I was sweating just profusely. And the worst 0:02:14.350 --> 0:02:17.190 thing you can do when you're in subzero temperatures is 0:02:17.190 --> 0:02:20.310 sweat and not get dried out, because that can really 0:02:20.310 --> 0:02:25.390 be a problem called hypothermia and leading to death. So 0:02:25.389 --> 0:02:26.750 you want to be careful with that. 0:02:26.790 --> 0:02:27.270 Oh, wow. 0:02:27.430 --> 0:02:32.910 So I've got wet socks. So I'm having to keep moving. Right. 0:02:32.910 --> 0:02:35.790 And I'm looking for shaktoolik. And I'm like, come on 0:02:35.790 --> 0:02:38.270 shack tulik. You got to be out there. Which in 0:02:38.270 --> 0:02:41.110 Yupik means endless wind. I was soon going to find 0:02:41.110 --> 0:02:43.990 that out, but we came down off that hill and 0:02:43.990 --> 0:02:46.669 I'm wanting it so badly. I'm sleep deprived. I'm hungry. 0:02:46.710 --> 0:02:48.829 My team's hungry. I want to get them on some straw, 0:02:48.870 --> 0:02:52.510 get them fed. And man, there it was. Boom! Right 0:02:52.510 --> 0:02:54.669 there in front of me. There's shack tulik and I'm 0:02:54.669 --> 0:02:58.990 seeing a little village appear and it was great. I'm delighted. 0:02:58.990 --> 0:03:01.709 I'm thrilled. It was a little bit weird. I didn't 0:03:01.710 --> 0:03:05.230 quite it just didn't register with me. What's going on? 0:03:05.270 --> 0:03:08.030 This seemed a little sooner than I would have imagined 0:03:08.030 --> 0:03:10.550 it to be, but I'm ready. And I'm seeing the 0:03:10.550 --> 0:03:12.790 light on in a cabin and a guy out in 0:03:12.790 --> 0:03:17.550 front splitting wood. No joking my mind. Sot I stopped, 0:03:17.550 --> 0:03:19.870 my team put in the emergency brake. It's called a 0:03:19.870 --> 0:03:23.230 snow hook. Boom. Stomp it into the ground, take a 0:03:23.230 --> 0:03:28.310 few steps toward that cabin and poof, the village is gone. 0:03:28.790 --> 0:03:29.550 It's so scary. 0:03:29.590 --> 0:03:29.950 Wow. 0:03:30.630 --> 0:03:33.950 It was scary. It was eerie. Because now I'm standing 0:03:33.950 --> 0:03:35.590 there a little bit away from my team, and my 0:03:35.590 --> 0:03:36.830 team's going, what are you doing? 0:03:37.550 --> 0:03:39.390 Yeah, they're like, what is he walking towards? 0:03:39.430 --> 0:03:43.390 What are you doing? Carl and I get back on 0:03:43.390 --> 0:03:46.470 the sled. It's really funny because as I look back, 0:03:46.470 --> 0:03:49.390 I almost had it. It was almost like a shame moment. Like, 0:03:49.390 --> 0:03:52.830 how did I see that village? Well, it was called hallucination. 0:03:54.390 --> 0:03:59.750 And sometimes the hallucination of salvation and we've been unpacking 0:03:59.750 --> 0:04:03.190 it all week is so insidious, and there's a lot 0:04:03.230 --> 0:04:06.950 of reasons for why this happens. We had someone call 0:04:06.950 --> 0:04:10.470 in here already this morning that just laid it down. Ali, 0:04:10.470 --> 0:04:12.390 just retell her story quickly. 0:04:12.470 --> 0:04:15.350 Yeah, she called in and she said that her grandfather 0:04:15.350 --> 0:04:17.790 had he was a pastor, and he decided to just 0:04:17.790 --> 0:04:21.270 go ahead and baptize his grandkids. So she got baptized 0:04:21.270 --> 0:04:24.230 as part of the group of grandkids at a young age. 0:04:24.390 --> 0:04:27.310 And so she proceeded through life kind of thinking that 0:04:27.310 --> 0:04:30.390 that was I got I got baptized, I'm in Christ. 0:04:30.390 --> 0:04:33.190 And it wasn't until many years later, as an adult, 0:04:33.190 --> 0:04:36.070 when her husband came to faith in Christ and she 0:04:36.070 --> 0:04:38.830 started to see in his life things that were so 0:04:38.870 --> 0:04:41.630 foreign to her. I mean, his his commitment to the 0:04:41.630 --> 0:04:44.030 word and and trying to understand it, even though he 0:04:44.029 --> 0:04:47.349 couldn't really read well in his prayer life. And she 0:04:47.350 --> 0:04:50.030 was like, he's got something that I don't have. And 0:04:50.029 --> 0:04:53.310 that was the wake up call for her that wait 0:04:53.310 --> 0:04:55.950 a second, though, that I had some sort of religious 0:04:56.220 --> 0:04:59.700 experience or some sort of religious ceremony I was a 0:04:59.700 --> 0:05:03.620 part of way back when. I'm not actually in Christ. 0:05:04.740 --> 0:05:07.299 What are some of the other things that are false 0:05:07.300 --> 0:05:09.780 markers of being in Christ that we have in our 0:05:09.779 --> 0:05:10.540 culture today? 0:05:10.580 --> 0:05:13.260 Well, I remember when I was in middle school, I 0:05:13.260 --> 0:05:17.099 was coming back from a missions trip with the youth 0:05:17.100 --> 0:05:20.420 group and sitting in the van. I remember thinking, I 0:05:20.420 --> 0:05:24.180 wonder if I'll make it into heaven. And I was 0:05:24.180 --> 0:05:27.260 kind of recounting the moments of my life. And I said, well, 0:05:27.260 --> 0:05:31.739 you know what? I just got off missions trip. So, like, 0:05:31.740 --> 0:05:35.420 I'm doing I'm doing God's work. So I think I'll 0:05:35.420 --> 0:05:37.700 probably make it in there. And I think I literally 0:05:37.700 --> 0:05:39.260 thought that I was like, maybe I'll like just make 0:05:39.260 --> 0:05:42.140 it in because I've done enough and. 0:05:42.180 --> 0:05:44.180 That's so precious. How old were you? 0:05:44.339 --> 0:05:46.620 I probably 13 or 14. 0:05:46.660 --> 0:05:47.700 Oh that's great. 0:05:47.740 --> 0:05:50.460 Yeah. And so I think we often do that, say, well, 0:05:50.460 --> 0:05:53.179 if I've done enough for God, then I'll be good. 0:05:53.220 --> 0:05:54.740 Yeah, that's a real thing. 0:05:54.779 --> 0:05:56.940 I remember standing in the back of a of a 0:05:56.940 --> 0:06:01.900 big outreach event that was targeting young, younger people. So 0:06:01.900 --> 0:06:04.980 I would say the it was like kindergarten maybe to 0:06:05.180 --> 0:06:09.020 fifth or sixth grade. And it was an incredible event 0:06:09.020 --> 0:06:13.220 and great speaking and great energetic songs. You know, all 0:06:13.220 --> 0:06:15.100 the dancing you do, you do a lot of dancing 0:06:15.100 --> 0:06:16.779 when you're working with kids and. 0:06:16.779 --> 0:06:17.900 Kids, you got to move. 0:06:17.900 --> 0:06:20.979 It. And so I remember a very well intentioned speaker 0:06:20.980 --> 0:06:23.140 shared kind of a, a little bit of the gospel 0:06:23.140 --> 0:06:26.020 and then asked kind of the effect of, so who 0:06:26.020 --> 0:06:28.419 wants to get saved? And like all these sort of 0:06:28.460 --> 0:06:30.380 hands went up and you see kind kids sort of 0:06:30.420 --> 0:06:32.580 looking around like, okay, I'm going to raise my hand to, yeah, 0:06:32.620 --> 0:06:34.620 I'm going to, I'm going to raise my hand. And 0:06:35.020 --> 0:06:38.740 is it possible that many of those kids became genuinely 0:06:38.740 --> 0:06:43.859 saved that that evening? Absolutely. But you could definitely see 0:06:43.900 --> 0:06:46.460 sort of the peer pressure kind of effect of man. 0:06:46.460 --> 0:06:49.500 Everybody else has their hands up. So yeah, I'll do 0:06:49.500 --> 0:06:53.179 it too. And I think having slipped up a hand 0:06:53.180 --> 0:06:56.580 at some point or repeated after a pastor to pray 0:06:56.580 --> 0:06:58.780 a prayer, which is kind of the format that a 0:06:58.820 --> 0:07:02.020 lot of churches use. It can be awesome, but I 0:07:02.020 --> 0:07:04.260 know it's going to rattle some people because maybe this 0:07:04.260 --> 0:07:07.020 isn't a popular opinion, but that is not my favorite 0:07:07.020 --> 0:07:10.340 way of approaching it, because I think it can contribute 0:07:10.340 --> 0:07:13.500 to this, that that sort of peer pressure effect of, uh, 0:07:13.500 --> 0:07:16.900 I'll just repeat it too, because, yeah, I'd like to 0:07:16.900 --> 0:07:20.140 get saved today. Yeah. And they're really not be any 0:07:20.140 --> 0:07:22.780 sort of heart connection to what's actually happening. 0:07:23.260 --> 0:07:27.020 And that is you guys nailed it. You guys nailed it. 0:07:27.020 --> 0:07:31.900 Those are some of the big false markers. Potentially false markers. 0:07:31.940 --> 0:07:33.940 Yeah. And I like that you used the word potentially 0:07:33.940 --> 0:07:37.420 because I am not saying that if you raised a 0:07:37.460 --> 0:07:39.700 hand and prayed a prayer, I'm not saying that that's 0:07:39.700 --> 0:07:44.660 not genuine saving faith. I think potentially the the effect 0:07:44.660 --> 0:07:47.900 of that happening in a room full of people can 0:07:47.900 --> 0:07:50.060 cause a lot of people to be deluded. 0:07:50.260 --> 0:07:53.690 Yeah. And this is why we have, as John Piper says, 0:07:54.010 --> 0:07:57.370 millions of people every weekend that go to Bible preaching 0:07:57.370 --> 0:08:00.970 churches that do not know Jesus personally. They're in church, 0:08:00.970 --> 0:08:05.130 but they're not in Christ. So we're taking your testimonies today. 0:08:05.130 --> 0:08:07.530 We've been pouring out our heart this week. Oh yeah, 0:08:07.530 --> 0:08:10.690 we're going to have lots of opportunity to dive into 0:08:10.810 --> 0:08:14.730 on this journey until the Lord comes, or until we 0:08:14.730 --> 0:08:18.090 live out our natural lives. Here we are. We are 0:08:18.490 --> 0:08:20.770 going to have a lot of opportunity to laugh and 0:08:20.770 --> 0:08:24.810 cry and overcome stuff, and learn how to raise kids 0:08:24.810 --> 0:08:29.050 in Christ and get victory over stuff that has been 0:08:29.050 --> 0:08:32.370 in the shadows of our life for years, that you've thought, oh, 0:08:32.370 --> 0:08:34.490 I'll never get a win over this. Believe him, he 0:08:34.490 --> 0:08:36.930 can help you with what seems impossible. We're going to 0:08:36.929 --> 0:08:40.050 do all that and more. But this week we wanted 0:08:40.050 --> 0:08:43.530 to just embed our stories and raise the specter of 0:08:43.890 --> 0:08:48.050 is there a deception of salvation? And the answer is huge, 0:08:48.090 --> 0:08:52.569 especially in the Western church. But when this gets resolved 0:08:52.690 --> 0:08:55.290 by the power of the Holy Spirit, it changes everything. 0:08:55.330 --> 0:08:57.569 And so Ali brought in a question today, and boy, 0:08:57.570 --> 0:08:59.010 did she bring a power packed one. 0:08:59.010 --> 0:09:00.650 We want to hear from you on this Freedom Friday. 0:09:00.690 --> 0:09:02.810 Phone lines open. I want to get as many of 0:09:02.809 --> 0:09:06.569 your stories as possible. Is this you? You were in church, 0:09:06.890 --> 0:09:10.650 maybe went through some sort of religious ceremony, but later 0:09:10.650 --> 0:09:17.250 realized you weren't actually in Christ? 805 55 7898 in church, 0:09:17.490 --> 0:09:21.370 not in Christ. 800 555 7898. 0:09:21.690 --> 0:09:25.490 He was running from God, but God's love brought him home. 0:09:25.690 --> 0:09:29.610 Carl is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on 0:09:29.610 --> 0:09:30.650 Moody Radio. 0:09:31.130 --> 0:09:33.850 Taking your calls. Light them up, guys. You were in church, 0:09:33.850 --> 0:09:37.370 but not in Christ. John in Cleveland, Ohio, my man. 0:09:37.410 --> 0:09:38.449 Give us your story. 0:09:39.450 --> 0:09:42.490 Hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my call. So really quickly. Um, 0:09:42.490 --> 0:09:46.130 I was raised in a predominantly African-American church, and when 0:09:46.130 --> 0:09:48.449 I was young, I would notice that people around me 0:09:48.450 --> 0:09:51.010 in the service would have their eyes closed and their 0:09:51.010 --> 0:09:53.050 hands raised and crying. And I never knew what I 0:09:53.050 --> 0:09:55.410 was about. And then I became an adult and I 0:09:55.410 --> 0:09:58.570 came to Christ. I recognized that some people in the 0:09:58.570 --> 0:10:00.970 pews who were doing that, they'd have their hands raised 0:10:00.970 --> 0:10:03.890 and their eyes closed as if they were worshiping. But 0:10:03.890 --> 0:10:06.650 their behavior after that did not match their worship. And 0:10:06.650 --> 0:10:09.170 I found the same thing in myself. And I recognized that. 0:10:09.210 --> 0:10:11.610 How do I know that today I could hear a song, 0:10:11.610 --> 0:10:13.570 I could be having an experience, and I get visited 0:10:13.570 --> 0:10:16.290 by the Holy Spirit? I know that because I'm crying, I'm. 0:10:16.290 --> 0:10:18.370 I'm worshiping. And then there are times where I try 0:10:18.410 --> 0:10:21.090 to continue that, and then all of a sudden the 0:10:21.090 --> 0:10:24.450 tears aren't coming. And I imagine the Holy Spirit telling me, well, son, 0:10:24.450 --> 0:10:26.210 I left you five minutes ago, that's all. You. That's 0:10:26.210 --> 0:10:29.850 not me anymore, buddy. You're pretending. And it's. It's easy 0:10:29.850 --> 0:10:32.730 to tell in myself. So I believe the same thing 0:10:32.770 --> 0:10:35.410 happens with other people. And I'm not sure if everyone's 0:10:35.410 --> 0:10:40.050 doing that self-assessment to realize when it's them versus the 0:10:40.050 --> 0:10:40.929 Holy Spirit. 0:10:40.970 --> 0:10:43.130 Yeah, that's an interesting thing. John. I want to thank 0:10:43.130 --> 0:10:46.170 you for calling in from Cleveland. Good man. Yeah. So 0:10:46.170 --> 0:10:49.370 there's really two things that John's speaking of here. There 0:10:49.370 --> 0:10:52.400 are some because I did it too. Man, I raised 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:55.520 my hands at times when I was in youth group 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:58.280 and I remember sitting on a beach. We we went 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:00.680 in a boat. Youth group is a little bit different 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:03.800 in Alaska. Okay. Just a little bit different. So we 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:07.160 got we got into a boat and we took, we 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:09.960 had a 50 horse Evinrude on it and big aluminum 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:12.560 skiff and we took about, I don't know, 1012 of 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:16.040 us to a beach across the bay and parked it there. 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:19.040 And my buddy, who was the real deal, Mark Doerner, 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:22.600 never forget it, loved this kid, man. And he built 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:25.440 a bonfire and he started just opening the word and 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.400 people started worshiping and hands went in the air. And 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:31.839 so mine did too. And it was years later that 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:35.960 I realized that I didn't have a reason, really, for 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:38.560 lifting my hands, except that it was the peer pressure 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:40.800 of this is what disciples do, and I didn't want 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.160 to be left out. That's very real, John. The other 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:46.440 aspect of this that's very real is that we're called 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:49.600 to be filled with the spirit daily. This is not 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:53.320 a one and done, and this is an ongoing filling. D.L. 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:56.200 Moody said the reason we need that is because we leak. 0:11:56.640 --> 0:12:01.480 We leak. And there's there's a that's a profound observation 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:04.679 by John. Uh, two things can be going on. One, 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:08.880 you could have an a deception of salvation. Uh, there's 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:11.840 a lot of lives that people look back after they're 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:14.280 born again and go shoot. Man. I was in church 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:18.840 raising hands. Eyes closed. But, boy, when I left that door, 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.280 my life was very different from what Christ called me to. 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:25.959 That's a great observation, John. Thanks for calling in from Cleveland, man. 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:28.320 Appreciate your heart. Let's go back to the phone lines here. 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:31.440 Let's go to Katie calling in this morning from Ohio. Katie, 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:33.520 you can relate to this. You were in church, but 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:34.559 not in Christ. 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:39.560 Yes I was. Um, predominantly raised Catholic my whole life. 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:44.160 Received all the sacraments. Went to church on Sunday, but 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:48.560 never truly understood Christ until recently when I joined another 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:53.000 church in Cleveland, and it's a Lutheran church where they 0:12:53.000 --> 0:12:57.400 have a preacher, and everything was different about it. You 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:00.520 know what he what he spoke about, I understood Jesus. 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:06.840 I'm understanding the Bible. The people are so welcoming. It's 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:10.319 a total new experience for me. And it's it's brought 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:14.120 out so many wonderful things in my life, especially now, 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:15.640 because I need it. Really now? 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:19.480 Yeah. Katie. Way to go, sister. And we're so grateful 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:23.040 that you heard the gospel. Because one thing, one thing's 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:24.600 for sure. We had a guy call in here. I 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:27.040 guess he texted in. This is a couple of years ago, 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:31.480 but it was so. It was so pick and funny. Well, 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:33.920 I forget why it struck a Sally to remember the 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:35.840 guy that called in or texted in. 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:38.040 The one that said growing up he'd gotten some bad 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:42.000 information about the gospel. Yeah. Yeah. I'll never forget that one. 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.760 It was a it was a message sent during actually 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:47.600 during share. And that was part of the reason why 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:50.230 he was giving to Cher is because he was hearing 0:13:50.230 --> 0:13:52.630 the gospel clearly, and he was able to see that 0:13:52.630 --> 0:13:54.990 growing up, I got bad information that was so well 0:13:55.030 --> 0:13:57.150 put because I thought in my mind, you know what 0:13:57.150 --> 0:13:59.350 I think I did too? I think I got some 0:13:59.350 --> 0:14:00.790 bad information. 0:14:02.350 --> 0:14:05.270 Yeah. I mean, bad information is all over out there. 0:14:05.309 --> 0:14:09.550 This is why teachers are called to a higher account. Why? 0:14:09.710 --> 0:14:12.429 Because when you open up your mouth and you're speaking 0:14:12.429 --> 0:14:18.590 in the name of Jesus, that message needs to jive 0:14:18.590 --> 0:14:21.590 with the words of Scripture and the heart of God 0:14:21.630 --> 0:14:26.030 behind it. And that's a that's a nerve wracking deal. 0:14:26.350 --> 0:14:29.350 Taking your calls this morning. And what a sweet question 0:14:29.390 --> 0:14:31.990 Ali brought in here. You were in church, but not 0:14:31.990 --> 0:14:34.350 in Christ. You know, I feel prompted by the spirit 0:14:34.350 --> 0:14:36.310 here to explain for some of you that are brand 0:14:36.310 --> 0:14:39.830 new here today, listening. And you hadn't listened to us 0:14:39.830 --> 0:14:42.190 all week. We've been pouring out our heart with our stories. 0:14:42.830 --> 0:14:45.910 And I want to be super clear. And it's really 0:14:45.910 --> 0:14:48.390 interesting to me how I believe the Spirit of God 0:14:48.710 --> 0:14:52.510 actually had me hold back on one text so you 0:14:52.510 --> 0:14:55.110 can go to first Corinthians chapter 11 and find that 0:14:55.110 --> 0:14:57.990 there's people in the church who Paul says to them, 0:14:57.990 --> 0:15:00.710 examine yourself to see if you're in the faith, and 0:15:00.710 --> 0:15:04.270 you're like, whoa, is that true? Is that possible? Well, 0:15:04.270 --> 0:15:07.270 Jesus said to his disciples. His disciples said, hey man, 0:15:07.590 --> 0:15:10.830 we've this story of wheat and weeds growing together, wheat 0:15:10.830 --> 0:15:14.310 and tares, actually. And because weeds are very different from wheat, 0:15:14.310 --> 0:15:19.350 but tares are a weed, but they simulate wheat. And 0:15:19.350 --> 0:15:22.630 they said, should we uproot the the tares that look 0:15:22.630 --> 0:15:25.110 like wheat? And Jesus said, no, you might get the 0:15:25.110 --> 0:15:27.710 real deal ripped out of there. So I'll take care 0:15:27.710 --> 0:15:30.230 of this at the end. But the specter is raised 0:15:30.230 --> 0:15:33.790 that there can be wheat and weeds growing together, looking 0:15:33.790 --> 0:15:40.110 similar but not being of the same nature, not having 0:15:40.110 --> 0:15:43.550 been born again and having the Spirit of God in them. 0:15:43.550 --> 0:15:45.390 And then you go to Matthew seven. We've been hitting 0:15:45.390 --> 0:15:47.830 this one all week. Many will say to me on 0:15:47.870 --> 0:15:49.470 that day, Lord, Lord, and he's going to say, I 0:15:49.470 --> 0:15:53.630 never knew you. But then you go to Matthew 16. 0:15:53.670 --> 0:15:56.110 I hadn't shared this. This is powerful. A lot of 0:15:56.110 --> 0:15:59.830 us think of self-denial as pinnacle Christianity. Man. That's when 0:15:59.830 --> 0:16:02.630 you sell your business and you start a youth camp. 0:16:02.630 --> 0:16:07.030 This is when you, um, move from stateside to a 0:16:07.030 --> 0:16:12.110 mission field or something like that, right? I mean, that's self-denial. Oh, man, 0:16:12.110 --> 0:16:14.510 that person's grown up in Jesus. What if I told 0:16:14.510 --> 0:16:19.470 you Jesus said self-denial is the entry point to eternal life? 0:16:19.830 --> 0:16:22.070 That's what he said. If anyone would come after me, 0:16:22.510 --> 0:16:26.270 let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. 0:16:27.270 --> 0:16:30.790 For whoever would save his life will lose it. What? 0:16:31.230 --> 0:16:34.310 And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 0:16:35.070 --> 0:16:40.030 This is. This is powerhouse. And then he asks this question. 0:16:40.030 --> 0:16:43.150 Jesus does. For what? Will it profit a man if 0:16:43.150 --> 0:16:45.900 he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul. And 0:16:45.900 --> 0:16:52.180 the answer is nothing. Nothing. So I want to pour 0:16:52.180 --> 0:16:57.020 my heart out to you right now. Do you have 0:16:57.020 --> 0:16:59.580 a deception of salvation? God can clear that up for 0:16:59.580 --> 0:17:02.300 you today. Today, my friend, God wants to give you 0:17:02.300 --> 0:17:06.340 a life that bears fruit 30, 60, a hundred fold. 0:17:06.340 --> 0:17:09.580 You can say no to cultural Christianity. You can say 0:17:09.580 --> 0:17:12.620 no to your own deception and say yes to Jesus. 0:17:12.619 --> 0:17:14.780 And it's because of the power of the Holy Spirit. 0:17:17.140 --> 0:17:20.780 And right now, the Holy Spirit works like this. This 0:17:20.780 --> 0:17:25.500 is what he does. He convicts the world regarding sin, righteousness, 0:17:25.500 --> 0:17:31.859 and judgment. Meaning in that whole triad of conviction, God 0:17:31.859 --> 0:17:34.500 calls people out of darkness and into the light. It's 0:17:34.500 --> 0:17:37.780 the Holy Spirit that regenerates a soul. And all you're 0:17:37.780 --> 0:17:40.460 doing is responding to God's call in your life to 0:17:40.500 --> 0:17:48.100 deny yourself. It's not pinnacle Christianity. Self-denial is the threshold 0:17:48.100 --> 0:17:52.460 we walk across by God's grace to have authentic faith. 0:17:54.020 --> 0:17:55.540 So I'm going to ask you a question. What does 0:17:55.540 --> 0:17:57.380 it profit you to gain the whole world and lose 0:17:57.380 --> 0:17:59.300 your soul? And you know the answer in the Spirit 0:17:59.300 --> 0:18:03.100 of God screaming in your heart right now. And the 0:18:03.100 --> 0:18:10.100 answer is nothing. And so I'm asking you right now, 0:18:10.140 --> 0:18:13.940 will you deny yourself, take up the cross and follow Jesus? 0:18:14.100 --> 0:18:17.820 What a metaphor that Jesus uses over and over again. 0:18:17.859 --> 0:18:22.379 There's this broad path that leads to judgment, and many 0:18:22.380 --> 0:18:25.340 are on it. There's a narrow path that leads to life, 0:18:25.340 --> 0:18:28.060 and few will find it. But you're among the few today, 0:18:28.060 --> 0:18:31.379 and you're about right now. You are in the process 0:18:31.380 --> 0:18:33.540 of being born again by the power of the spirit 0:18:34.820 --> 0:18:37.380 and Alys, right? It's not about lifting a hand and 0:18:37.380 --> 0:18:40.659 saying a certain patent prayer like you've often heard. No, 0:18:40.660 --> 0:18:44.460 it's about this right now. It's your declaration of your soul. 0:18:44.500 --> 0:18:47.540 Today I'm following Jesus. Just tell him that right now. 0:18:48.660 --> 0:18:51.179 And I know you're choked up. And tears might be flowing, 0:18:51.180 --> 0:18:54.300 but today you're following Jesus. You've never followed him before. 0:18:54.300 --> 0:18:57.340 But today is your day of salvation. How sweet is this? 0:18:59.220 --> 0:19:02.659 And you're saying I confess with my mouth, Jesus is Lord. 0:19:02.660 --> 0:19:05.340 You know what that means? It's confessing with your mouth. Jesus, 0:19:05.340 --> 0:19:10.859 you are my leader. You're my leader. I'm no longer 0:19:10.859 --> 0:19:17.060 following my will. Your will be done. So are you 0:19:17.060 --> 0:19:19.500 turning around today to follow Jesus for the first time 0:19:19.500 --> 0:19:22.659 in your life? Never before. Not like, not like this. 0:19:22.660 --> 0:19:25.500 You've raised a hand, but you've. You've never. Your soul 0:19:25.500 --> 0:19:29.660 has never turned to God. But you are denying yourself 0:19:30.060 --> 0:19:37.859 and following Jesus. And you're confessing with your mouth, I'm 0:19:37.859 --> 0:19:41.580 a sinner. I need a Savior. His name is Jesus. 0:19:41.580 --> 0:19:44.810 And today just say this. I give you my life. 0:19:44.810 --> 0:19:48.170 Every bit of it. And if that's you, I want 0:19:48.210 --> 0:19:50.410 to help you today. We've been helping people all week. 0:19:50.450 --> 0:19:54.649 500 people have surrendered to Christ this week alone. 500. 0:19:56.050 --> 0:19:59.450 It's overwhelming. But just text the word new. Right now. 0:19:59.450 --> 0:20:01.450 We've got a little link we're going to send you. 0:20:01.450 --> 0:20:03.689 Grab your phone as quick as you can, pull to 0:20:03.690 --> 0:20:06.609 the side of the road. This is this is the 0:20:06.810 --> 0:20:09.450 the best resource we can give you at this juncture. 0:20:09.490 --> 0:20:11.690 This is the best we have right now. And in 0:20:11.690 --> 0:20:13.490 it are embedded three links. And I want you to 0:20:13.530 --> 0:20:17.930 come and get it. Text the word new to 800 0:20:17.970 --> 0:20:27.810 555 7898. Just that one word. New to 800 555 7898. 0:20:27.850 --> 0:20:32.850 We love you enough to tell you the truth. 800 0:20:32.850 --> 0:20:39.050 555 7898 just text that one word new to 800 0:20:39.090 --> 0:20:45.290 555 7898. 98, and whom the son sets free is 0:20:45.290 --> 0:20:48.490 free indeed. God is doing this work in you today 0:20:48.490 --> 0:20:51.690 and we praise God for it. And here they come 0:20:51.690 --> 0:20:56.570 in from all across the nation right now again praising God. 0:20:57.369 --> 0:20:59.690 He knew you'd be here today. He had an appointment 0:20:59.690 --> 0:21:06.010 with you. He had an appointment with you. Today is 0:21:06.010 --> 0:21:10.650 the day when you are now being born again. Wow. 0:21:12.050 --> 0:21:14.169 Just text the word new when you can. Some of 0:21:14.170 --> 0:21:16.490 you are like, I know how this goes. You're like, Carl, 0:21:16.650 --> 0:21:19.609 God's doing a work in me. Now slow down. Text 0:21:19.609 --> 0:21:21.810 the word new as soon as you can. If today 0:21:21.810 --> 0:21:26.090 is your day of salvation, you are being saved from 0:21:26.090 --> 0:21:30.170 your self denying self. Just text the word new to 0:21:30.210 --> 0:21:37.609 800 555, 7898. Overwhelming. What God's doing this week? 0:21:37.650 --> 0:21:41.290 Ali it's so it's such a privilege to be a 0:21:41.290 --> 0:21:44.649 part of it. That's it's a privilege to be a 0:21:44.650 --> 0:21:45.369 part of it. 0:21:45.410 --> 0:21:51.650 It is. Kristen. Testify here. Sister. What's going on in Michigan? 0:21:52.570 --> 0:21:55.810 Amen. Um, from the age of 8 to 16, I 0:21:55.890 --> 0:21:59.530 grew up in juvenile homes and orphanages and such. And 0:21:59.530 --> 0:22:03.489 at 14.5 about, I was placed temporarily because I was 0:22:03.490 --> 0:22:07.970 a runaway in Detroit with a mormon family. And I 0:22:08.010 --> 0:22:11.090 loved what I saw, family and love. And they went 0:22:11.090 --> 0:22:14.649 to church, if you will. And so they were teaching 0:22:14.650 --> 0:22:17.890 me all this stuff, and I wanted to feel what 0:22:17.890 --> 0:22:20.210 I never felt. I never I hadn't had family. I 0:22:20.210 --> 0:22:23.490 didn't have the love. And and so I got baptized 0:22:23.490 --> 0:22:26.170 because I wanted to feel what, what I saw. I 0:22:26.170 --> 0:22:29.489 wanted to have this experience, but it wasn't until I 0:22:29.490 --> 0:22:32.290 was almost 30 years old. So for all those years 0:22:32.290 --> 0:22:36.050 in between, I was living in the world. I was 0:22:36.050 --> 0:22:40.520 so broken. I just went through a whole life of misery. 0:22:40.840 --> 0:22:44.600 And I got invited to church and I went and 0:22:44.600 --> 0:22:48.280 I heard the gospel message and that it wasn't about 0:22:48.280 --> 0:22:54.280 an experience. It wasn't about me feeling happy or, um, 0:22:54.520 --> 0:22:57.560 it didn't have anything really to do with me, but 0:22:57.560 --> 0:23:03.560 what Christ did for me, and about surrendering, repenting, and 0:23:03.560 --> 0:23:08.840 crowning him Lord over my life. And and then that's 0:23:08.840 --> 0:23:09.960 30 years ago. 0:23:10.800 --> 0:23:11.399 Chris. 0:23:12.440 --> 0:23:14.879 Oh, thank you Lord. 0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:15.919 Yes. 0:23:15.960 --> 0:23:16.360 Wow. 0:23:16.800 --> 0:23:22.240 Kristen, you are dynamite sister. Thank you so much. From Greenville, Michigan. 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:26.280 Thank you. What a what a joy. I mean, this 0:23:26.280 --> 0:23:30.480 is the heart's cry of people that have been transformed 0:23:30.480 --> 0:23:32.120 by the power of God. Yeah. 0:23:32.400 --> 0:23:34.600 If you have a story, you were in church, but 0:23:34.600 --> 0:23:39.639 not in Christ. 800 555, 78, 7898. Would love to 0:23:39.640 --> 0:23:44.439 get your testimony this morning. 800 555 7898. 0:23:44.640 --> 0:23:46.880 Yeah. Welcome to the family. All of you that are 0:23:46.880 --> 0:23:49.760 texting in new. Just a quick note as you get 0:23:49.760 --> 0:23:54.160 that link opened up, just, um, go through it, work 0:23:54.160 --> 0:23:56.720 through those three links. And on the third link, it 0:23:56.720 --> 0:23:58.840 actually has a place for you to put your address 0:23:58.840 --> 0:24:01.640 and we're going to send you something. Zero obligation, no 0:24:01.640 --> 0:24:04.600 charge free of charge. We're going to send you a 0:24:04.600 --> 0:24:07.800 resource that's going to help you live in God's power 0:24:07.920 --> 0:24:11.040 and no longer by self-help. And we love you. We're 0:24:11.040 --> 0:24:13.720 grateful for you. You know, you look at what's going 0:24:13.720 --> 0:24:15.760 on in the world and you look at, uh, power 0:24:15.800 --> 0:24:18.680 brokers that are at each other's throats. And I mean, 0:24:18.680 --> 0:24:21.080 lots of breaking news. And you know what it reminded 0:24:21.080 --> 0:24:25.480 me of? I, I texted my adult son, who's in Miami, 0:24:25.480 --> 0:24:29.000 and I said, man, who you can trust in chariots 0:24:29.000 --> 0:24:31.200 and horses all day long, but, man, that's not going 0:24:31.240 --> 0:24:33.640 to get you there. You can. And chariots and horses 0:24:33.640 --> 0:24:39.030 represent the power brokers and the power centers of our day. 0:24:39.910 --> 0:24:42.350 But we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 0:24:43.470 --> 0:24:49.710 Because there is nothing. If you're relying on global peace 0:24:49.710 --> 0:24:54.590 or a political angle or or some kind of prestige 0:24:54.630 --> 0:25:00.670 personally to get you through this life. Take that horse 0:25:00.670 --> 0:25:03.150 back to the barn. He's wet and tired. 0:25:04.190 --> 0:25:04.949 You're not wrong. 0:25:05.190 --> 0:25:09.750 Get the chariot back into the. Take it home because 0:25:09.790 --> 0:25:12.310 it's come. The wheels are coming off the axles of 0:25:12.310 --> 0:25:15.389 the chariot. It ain't worth trusting in, man. 0:25:15.430 --> 0:25:15.790 No. 0:25:15.830 --> 0:25:19.270 Yeah. We trust in the name of the Lord our God. 0:25:19.310 --> 0:25:21.590 It's Carl and crew helping you take your next step 0:25:21.590 --> 0:25:25.470 with Jesus. Scores more. Surrendering to Jesus this morning, over 0:25:25.470 --> 0:25:29.070 500 people this week have surrendered their lives to Jesus 0:25:29.070 --> 0:25:32.350 for the very first time. Ali came in with a question. 0:25:32.350 --> 0:25:35.590 She's armed, loaded for bear here today. Let's go. Ali. 0:25:35.630 --> 0:25:38.310 What we really want this morning is your story. Can 0:25:38.310 --> 0:25:42.470 you relate? You were in church, but not in Christ. 0:25:42.510 --> 0:25:47.790 800 555 7898 it's Freedom Friday. Phone lines are open 0:25:47.790 --> 0:25:51.070 800 555 7898. 0:25:51.710 --> 0:25:55.909 Your testimonies are touching so many lives already today. God 0:25:55.910 --> 0:26:01.510 is using you. 800 555 7898 you were in church, 0:26:01.510 --> 0:26:02.790 but not in Christ. 0:26:03.390 --> 0:26:06.430 He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then 0:26:06.470 --> 0:26:10.790 he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl 0:26:10.790 --> 0:26:12.550 and crew on Moody Radio. 0:26:12.869 --> 0:26:16.190 We are messengers a thousand times. When you see God 0:26:16.190 --> 0:26:18.510 work in the past, man, you can. You can know 0:26:18.510 --> 0:26:21.669 for certain God is working. To day. It's Carl and 0:26:21.670 --> 0:26:24.470 crew helping you take your next step with Jesus. And 0:26:24.470 --> 0:26:26.790 for many of you, it's your first step. What a 0:26:26.790 --> 0:26:29.670 joy and what a joy to celebrate. I'd ask you 0:26:29.710 --> 0:26:33.230 that that you have absolute certainty where you stand with 0:26:33.230 --> 0:26:36.790 God and that he stands with you. Be praying 500 0:26:36.830 --> 0:26:40.310 plus new souls following Jesus as a result of just 0:26:40.310 --> 0:26:43.550 casting the net of salvation. And you know what's amazing 0:26:43.550 --> 0:26:47.469 about this? God uses very imperfect people to share the 0:26:47.470 --> 0:26:51.710 good news. It's amazing, but true. He left behind one. 0:26:52.390 --> 0:26:55.230 You know, I got a friend in Nashville, Tennessee, who says, 0:26:55.270 --> 0:26:57.950 and he's just a rock star for Jesus. He says, 0:26:57.950 --> 0:27:00.830 you know what, Carl? We are a beautiful mess. The 0:27:00.830 --> 0:27:05.109 church is meaning we are not all together, but God 0:27:05.109 --> 0:27:07.870 uses us in spite of ourselves. It's a beautiful thing. 0:27:07.950 --> 0:27:10.270 Taking your calls here we are ready to light them up. 0:27:10.270 --> 0:27:12.350 We got a few lines available. Let's go. 0:27:12.390 --> 0:27:15.430 Ali, you were in church, but not in Christ. Is 0:27:15.430 --> 0:27:22.590 that part of your story? 855 five 7898 (800) 555-7898. 0:27:22.830 --> 0:27:25.550 She was trying to earn her way to God, but 0:27:25.550 --> 0:27:29.030 God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in 0:27:29.030 --> 0:27:32.430 the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:27:32.830 --> 0:27:35.540 Got a question for you that I think this conversation 0:27:35.540 --> 0:27:36.980 brings up for people. 0:27:37.380 --> 0:27:37.820 Okay. 0:27:37.859 --> 0:27:40.580 What do you how do you approach if you feel 0:27:40.580 --> 0:27:43.740 like someone in your life, someone close to you? This 0:27:43.740 --> 0:27:46.980 applies to. We do not want to walk around being, 0:27:47.300 --> 0:27:50.580 as I like to say, spec specialists, looking at the 0:27:50.580 --> 0:27:53.740 spec in other people's eyes by missing the log in 0:27:53.740 --> 0:27:56.419 our own. We don't want to be trying to determine 0:27:56.619 --> 0:27:58.740 are you really saved or not? Because that can come 0:27:58.740 --> 0:28:02.420 off really badly. But if we genuinely have a suspicion 0:28:02.420 --> 0:28:07.260 that we know people who claim to be Christians, but 0:28:07.900 --> 0:28:10.860 we we aren't sure that that's the case, is that 0:28:10.859 --> 0:28:13.260 something that we should approach with people that we love? 0:28:13.540 --> 0:28:16.020 Yeah. It's interesting. So years ago, when I was a 0:28:16.020 --> 0:28:19.220 new follower of Jesus, I commonly heard the term we're 0:28:19.220 --> 0:28:22.140 not supposed to be fruit inspectors. Well, the problem with 0:28:22.140 --> 0:28:26.060 that is, is that Jesus says we absolutely are. 0:28:26.740 --> 0:28:28.220 Well, okay. What do you mean by that? 0:28:28.300 --> 0:28:30.859 Well, a tree is going to bear fruit in keeping 0:28:30.859 --> 0:28:33.100 with its root. And even in the sermon on the Mount, 0:28:33.140 --> 0:28:36.540 he said, there's going to be all these false teachers, right? 0:28:36.580 --> 0:28:38.980 And that you can see that they're false by the 0:28:38.980 --> 0:28:43.300 lives that they live. Bottom line. So now to back up, though, 0:28:43.540 --> 0:28:46.820 we got to be careful if you're trying to be 0:28:46.820 --> 0:28:49.900 the the kind of the prophet on the wall going, yeah, 0:28:49.940 --> 0:28:52.660 I'm up here from my perch and I see who's 0:28:52.660 --> 0:28:54.820 got it and who doesn't. I doubt they had a 0:28:54.820 --> 0:29:00.300 southern accent, but, um, that's that's not at all in 0:29:00.300 --> 0:29:03.660 play here. It's really something you said a few days ago. 0:29:03.700 --> 0:29:06.460 It's the kindness of God that leads to repentance. So 0:29:06.500 --> 0:29:09.820 fruit inspection and that. And I don't mean this from 0:29:09.820 --> 0:29:13.660 a standpoint of scrutiny. I mean, for the purpose of evidence, 0:29:14.140 --> 0:29:18.140 any any attitude toward that, that is, I want to 0:29:18.140 --> 0:29:22.219 see what other people have rather than I have a 0:29:22.220 --> 0:29:25.380 heart that people would know Jesus personally. And what comes 0:29:25.380 --> 0:29:28.220 out of their life is a fruit bearing life, fruit bearing. 0:29:28.260 --> 0:29:34.500 According to Galatians five, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. Goodness. Gentleness. Faithfulness. Self-control. 0:29:34.540 --> 0:29:37.860 I mean, how beautiful is that? So, Allie, you're right on. 0:29:37.860 --> 0:29:41.700 I think it's a heart attitude that says out of kindness, God, 0:29:41.700 --> 0:29:44.700 I'm concerned for someone that I love who maybe does 0:29:44.700 --> 0:29:49.180 claim to know Jesus but don't exhibit the lifestyle, um, 0:29:49.180 --> 0:29:54.020 or the fruit that is consistent with it. And here's 0:29:54.020 --> 0:29:57.420 what you need to know. Pressure's off. You don't save anyone. 0:29:57.420 --> 0:30:01.380 That's the Holy Spirit's job. Come on, give me a hallelujah, everybody. Yes! 0:30:01.860 --> 0:30:06.780 My goodness. So we don't save a soul. That's God's work. 0:30:07.060 --> 0:30:12.940 But we do shine brightly. And we do. We do 0:30:12.980 --> 0:30:19.660 invite people into an opportunity to look at their own life. 0:30:20.100 --> 0:30:23.660 I mean, I've done this many times with men and women. 0:30:23.700 --> 0:30:27.620 I've seen my bride do it too many times where 0:30:27.620 --> 0:30:30.260 you open the Word of God. And in fact, my 0:30:30.260 --> 0:30:32.690 bride was mentored by a woman that all she used 0:30:32.690 --> 0:30:35.729 was the Bible. And for 30 some years Muriel. We 0:30:35.770 --> 0:30:38.489 named our daughter after this woman, Muriel Cook, who had 0:30:38.490 --> 0:30:42.290 opened the Bible and go. What's that say? And she 0:30:42.290 --> 0:30:45.050 read it. Go! Well, how does that apply to your life? 0:30:45.450 --> 0:30:49.330 And bit by bit, that's how my wife was discipled 0:30:49.330 --> 0:30:51.730 by this woman. Opened the word. What's it say? How 0:30:51.730 --> 0:30:54.450 does this apply to your life? One step after the next. 0:30:54.490 --> 0:30:56.090 And my wife would tell you. And someday we're going 0:30:56.090 --> 0:30:58.490 to have her on here to share her testimony. She 0:30:58.490 --> 0:31:02.290 was she had created a religion for herself that was 0:31:02.290 --> 0:31:04.290 a little bit of eastern thought and all kinds. It 0:31:04.290 --> 0:31:06.610 was a conglomeration of things out of the pain in 0:31:06.610 --> 0:31:11.010 her life, even though she was a pastor's kid and 0:31:11.490 --> 0:31:14.650 God used Muriel to unwind that. So using the Word 0:31:14.650 --> 0:31:18.250 of God is powerful, but letting your light so shine 0:31:18.250 --> 0:31:24.570 before people is the bomb, because that's when others see 0:31:24.610 --> 0:31:28.010 in you what they don't have in themselves. Oh, Katie, 0:31:28.010 --> 0:31:31.250 bar the door. That's a beautiful thing. So it's hard attitude. 0:31:31.330 --> 0:31:34.930 You're big on that one, Ali. It's heart attitude. You're right. 0:31:34.930 --> 0:31:37.850 If you're going out and going man, look at the 0:31:38.410 --> 0:31:41.810 look at these flaws in people. And you've got a 0:31:42.810 --> 0:31:46.750 you've got the equivalent of a six by six ten 0:31:46.750 --> 0:31:50.210 foot long beam in your eye. I think it'd be 0:31:50.210 --> 0:31:54.130 good to get that out. And then real inspection without 0:31:54.130 --> 0:31:59.810 humility is not inspection. It's condemnation. And that's a real danger. 0:32:00.650 --> 0:32:05.330 So inspection versus condemnation air on the front side of 0:32:05.370 --> 0:32:08.210 that one. Hope that helps a little bit. 0:32:08.610 --> 0:32:11.050 Yeah I think that's great context because I you know 0:32:11.810 --> 0:32:15.290 if you're new around here, questions are I love asking questions. 0:32:15.330 --> 0:32:18.090 And so I ask my own questions. But I also 0:32:18.090 --> 0:32:21.250 try to think of what questions other people might be asking. 0:32:21.570 --> 0:32:24.250 And so that's something that I really enjoy doing. So 0:32:24.250 --> 0:32:26.730 if you have a question though, of anything that we're 0:32:26.730 --> 0:32:29.730 talking about at any time, you can always shoot us 0:32:29.730 --> 0:32:32.250 a text. I'll try to throw it out there so 0:32:32.250 --> 0:32:37.690 we can discuss it. Just text us 800 555 7898 0:32:37.690 --> 0:32:42.490 800 555 7898. Our Freedom Friday Call segment right now 0:32:42.490 --> 0:32:44.490 if you want to weigh in. You were in church, 0:32:44.490 --> 0:32:50.050 but not in Christ. Same number call in 800 555 7898. 0:32:51.050 --> 0:32:53.690 Christina called in a little bit earlier and it was 0:32:53.690 --> 0:32:58.010 so crystal clear and powerhouse. I want you to take 0:32:58.010 --> 0:32:59.050 a listen to this. 0:32:59.810 --> 0:33:02.530 My grandfather was a pastor, and what he did was 0:33:02.530 --> 0:33:05.530 he took all of his grandchildren and baptized them without 0:33:05.530 --> 0:33:08.810 the confession of faith. And then when I became older 0:33:08.810 --> 0:33:12.450 and my late husband became a believer, he stayed before 0:33:12.450 --> 0:33:15.170 the Lord on his face. And he would read his 0:33:15.170 --> 0:33:17.810 Bible a lot. And he was illiterate. He was frustrated 0:33:17.810 --> 0:33:20.650 because he could not understand the Bible. And I watched 0:33:20.650 --> 0:33:23.210 him and I said, Lord, whatever he has, I don't 0:33:23.210 --> 0:33:24.530 have and I want it. 0:33:24.570 --> 0:33:25.050 Wow. 0:33:25.170 --> 0:33:27.330 And I just fell on my face before the Lord. 0:33:27.330 --> 0:33:28.969 I started crying out to the Lord. At first I 0:33:28.970 --> 0:33:32.320 couldn't even understand the Bible, but now I do. So 0:33:32.920 --> 0:33:36.080 I just thought that, um, that's how I became a 0:33:36.080 --> 0:33:38.080 part of the hallucinated. 0:33:38.560 --> 0:33:41.720 Yeah. What? What a testimony, Ali. 0:33:41.760 --> 0:33:45.240 You know, and I, I love how the Lord used 0:33:45.240 --> 0:33:48.200 someone else. And it wasn't wasn't her husband kind of 0:33:48.240 --> 0:33:50.560 needling her with it, like, man, you don't seem to 0:33:50.560 --> 0:33:52.640 be reading your Bible as much as I am. And 0:33:52.640 --> 0:33:57.640 understanding simply his light, that the light was shining in 0:33:57.640 --> 0:34:00.480 such a way that it made her curious. 0:34:01.240 --> 0:34:03.240 That's Matthew five six. 0:34:03.280 --> 0:34:08.200 Yes, yes, it's a godly jealousy where you go, whatever 0:34:08.200 --> 0:34:10.960 they have, God, I want that. 0:34:11.719 --> 0:34:15.120 And you might say, is godly jealousy biblical? It is. 0:34:15.120 --> 0:34:18.359 The Apostle Paul is clear. He was thrilled that the 0:34:18.360 --> 0:34:21.960 Gentiles were coming to Christ, because it would create a 0:34:22.080 --> 0:34:25.800 holy envy in the heart of Jewish men and women. 0:34:26.080 --> 0:34:27.320 Isn't that amazing? 0:34:27.480 --> 0:34:27.799 I think. 0:34:27.800 --> 0:34:28.959 It's I want what they. 0:34:28.960 --> 0:34:32.040 Got. It's a beautiful thing, whether it's salvation or anything else. 0:34:32.040 --> 0:34:35.480 When you. Because the gifts of God. He's no respecter 0:34:35.480 --> 0:34:37.839 of person. He gives us different spiritual gifts. But in 0:34:37.840 --> 0:34:40.359 terms of what he pours out to his kids, if 0:34:40.400 --> 0:34:43.120 you see a piece that somebody else has, if you 0:34:43.120 --> 0:34:45.960 see Grace at work, in someone else's life, it's okay 0:34:45.960 --> 0:34:48.800 to have that holy envy and go, God, I see 0:34:48.800 --> 0:34:51.359 you gave it to them. How about I get some 0:34:51.360 --> 0:34:56.000 of that too? Some of that peace, joy, love, self control? 0:34:56.640 --> 0:35:00.440 My goodness, I'm so fired up this week I could 0:35:00.440 --> 0:35:03.200 spontaneously combust right here. 0:35:03.239 --> 0:35:06.720 Just don't do that. But we get it. 0:35:07.120 --> 0:35:08.279 Oh my goodness. 0:35:08.960 --> 0:35:12.680 We're so grateful for you in the boom crew. We 0:35:12.680 --> 0:35:15.279 call you the Boom Crew. Oh, I missed it. I 0:35:15.320 --> 0:35:21.640 got a boom Christina boom. That's a modern day vernacular 0:35:21.640 --> 0:35:24.880 for Amen and let it be and Hallelujah all wrapped 0:35:24.880 --> 0:35:27.359 into one. Grateful for what God's doing in your life 0:35:27.360 --> 0:35:30.239 here today and the stories that are coming in. Got 0:35:30.239 --> 0:35:33.040 a question for you. You were in church, but not 0:35:33.040 --> 0:35:36.279 in Christ. What's your story? Just in a few sentences. 0:35:36.280 --> 0:35:39.160 Just call in. Just tell us, how did that work 0:35:39.160 --> 0:35:42.160 for you? And your story, like Pristina will be used 0:35:42.160 --> 0:35:44.839 in others. You were in church, but you were not 0:35:44.840 --> 0:35:48.360 in Christ. Give us a call on this Freedom Friday. 0:35:48.480 --> 0:35:52.239 This is Ryan Stevenson. It's called the gospel. What a 0:35:52.239 --> 0:35:55.040 beautiful thing. What a beautiful thing. Give us a call 0:35:55.040 --> 0:35:59.680 800 555 7898. 0:36:01.040 --> 0:36:05.120 Romans eight brought her to Jesus while broadcasting traffic overnight. 0:36:05.440 --> 0:36:09.399 Super die is in the crew. It's curling crew on 0:36:09.400 --> 0:36:10.399 Moody Radio. 0:36:10.920 --> 0:36:15.200 We are having an incredible week. The content of this week. 0:36:15.200 --> 0:36:17.600 Boil it down, Ali. What have we been doing here? 0:36:17.600 --> 0:36:18.520 What have we seen? 0:36:18.520 --> 0:36:22.160 God do we have really tried to put the gospel 0:36:22.160 --> 0:36:27.430 at the forefront and illustrated through stories how it's not 0:36:27.430 --> 0:36:32.109 just possible, but it's pretty common in the Western mindset 0:36:32.110 --> 0:36:36.150 to have been in church, but not in Christ. And 0:36:36.190 --> 0:36:39.469 for some period of time, because of the way some 0:36:39.469 --> 0:36:41.509 of the ways that we do church, because of some 0:36:41.510 --> 0:36:45.589 of the tradition and cultural things associated with with church, 0:36:45.870 --> 0:36:49.110 it can be sometimes confusing for people, and many people 0:36:49.110 --> 0:36:52.790 can live many years with the hallucination of salvation. 0:36:54.150 --> 0:36:57.430 What is it culturally? Let's go through a list of them. 0:36:57.670 --> 0:37:01.230 Some of those false markers that we have that cause 0:37:01.270 --> 0:37:04.069 John Piper to get up in front of a stadium 0:37:04.070 --> 0:37:07.510 full of students in Atlanta a number of years ago 0:37:07.510 --> 0:37:12.430 and say millions of people in Bible preaching churches every 0:37:12.430 --> 0:37:20.509 weekend have. A deception that they know Jesus, but they don't. 0:37:21.350 --> 0:37:23.190 What are some of those markers? Let's go. 0:37:23.550 --> 0:37:28.069 A big one is family tradition being born into a 0:37:28.070 --> 0:37:30.830 family where this is what we do. And the awesome 0:37:30.830 --> 0:37:33.910 thing is your great seeds can be sown. I mean, 0:37:33.989 --> 0:37:36.790 you're passing down the faith from parents to children is 0:37:36.830 --> 0:37:39.910 is biblical. But the flip side of that is it 0:37:39.910 --> 0:37:42.950 can be dangerous to. If you believe that somehow being 0:37:42.950 --> 0:37:45.989 born into a family that goes to church means that 0:37:45.989 --> 0:37:48.950 you're born a Christian. Nobody's born a Christian. 0:37:49.350 --> 0:37:51.990 Yeah, Satan can use that to pull the blinders over 0:37:51.989 --> 0:37:55.189 our eyes. Right. And keep us believing. Yeah. What else? 0:37:55.230 --> 0:37:55.830 Young thunder. 0:37:55.870 --> 0:37:59.230 I think also it's our accolades, the things that we've done, 0:37:59.270 --> 0:38:01.590 quote unquote, for God. You know, when I was in 0:38:01.590 --> 0:38:03.989 middle school, I remember having a moment where I was 0:38:03.989 --> 0:38:06.630 thinking about, Will I make it into heaven? And I 0:38:06.630 --> 0:38:08.790 had already been baptized and all that stuff I had. 0:38:08.830 --> 0:38:12.549 I had prayed the prayer, but my thoughts didn't go 0:38:12.550 --> 0:38:16.549 back to the righteousness of Christ. They went to well, 0:38:16.550 --> 0:38:19.830 I did this ministry project this summer, and so, like 0:38:19.830 --> 0:38:23.070 I'm doing good work so I could like squeeze in there. 0:38:23.390 --> 0:38:26.830 And that was my thought process was my. What I 0:38:26.830 --> 0:38:27.830 did was enough. 0:38:28.510 --> 0:38:29.750 Yeah, it's powerful man. 0:38:30.030 --> 0:38:31.469 And I if I could add this, you know, I 0:38:31.469 --> 0:38:35.230 had a conversation with someone who was, uh, from another 0:38:35.230 --> 0:38:39.430 faith background, and she even articulated our family is. I'll 0:38:39.430 --> 0:38:43.069 just say it. She said we are culturally Hindu, but non-practicing. 0:38:43.430 --> 0:38:45.669 I thought that was an interesting way of describing it, 0:38:45.670 --> 0:38:48.350 and it was an acknowledgment that this is kind of 0:38:48.390 --> 0:38:50.310 what we are because of where we're from, but we 0:38:50.310 --> 0:38:52.830 don't really practice it. I don't think people would describe 0:38:52.830 --> 0:38:56.469 it that same way as in Christianity, but many people 0:38:56.469 --> 0:38:59.750 live that way. We are culturally Christian, but we're not 0:38:59.750 --> 0:39:00.990 really practicing. 0:39:01.150 --> 0:39:05.950 That's so profound. Yeah, and so true. George, you were 0:39:05.950 --> 0:39:12.029 in church, but you weren't in Christ. Give us your story. Hello, George. 0:39:12.230 --> 0:39:13.030 Go ahead buddy. 0:39:13.070 --> 0:39:15.910 Yeah, I grew up in church my whole life. Uh, 0:39:15.910 --> 0:39:20.390 I did, you know, Awana memorizing scriptures at a young age. Uh, 0:39:20.390 --> 0:39:23.029 my dad became a pastor, and then I was in church, um, 0:39:23.030 --> 0:39:26.900 sometimes three, four days a week. And even though I 0:39:26.940 --> 0:39:29.540 went to church as I got older, it was really 0:39:29.540 --> 0:39:31.460 just a family thing. I did it for my dad. 0:39:31.460 --> 0:39:34.540 I loved my dad, I did for him and everyone 0:39:34.540 --> 0:39:37.100 else in my family. But once I got some freedom, 0:39:37.100 --> 0:39:39.460 I went off to college. It became, you know, the 0:39:39.460 --> 0:39:42.660 last thing that I cared about. Um, and I just 0:39:42.660 --> 0:39:45.459 lived like the world. Still going to church here and there, but, 0:39:45.500 --> 0:39:47.819 you know, definitely not as much. But I always would 0:39:47.820 --> 0:39:50.140 tell someone, yes, of course, I'm a Christian, but I 0:39:50.180 --> 0:39:54.739 live like the world. Um, all types of immorality, violence, 0:39:54.739 --> 0:39:58.700 I was angry, um, I would cheat, I would steal 0:39:58.739 --> 0:40:00.940 and all sorts of evil things. But I always had 0:40:00.940 --> 0:40:04.420 a justification. Everyone else does it. Or, you know, I'm 0:40:04.420 --> 0:40:06.739 stealing from this store, but it's a mega corporation, so 0:40:06.739 --> 0:40:09.580 they don't really need the money. They're not really missing out. 0:40:09.620 --> 0:40:10.060 Boy, that's. 0:40:10.100 --> 0:40:14.100 Honest, you know? Oh. I'm sorry. What was that? 0:40:14.260 --> 0:40:17.779 I said, that's honest, bro, I appreciate this. Keep rolling. 0:40:17.820 --> 0:40:18.500 Oh, yes. 0:40:19.260 --> 0:40:21.460 And I mean, I can go on, you know, but 0:40:21.460 --> 0:40:23.819 I always thought, well, I'm a Christian. I went to church. 0:40:23.820 --> 0:40:25.899 I go to church. So it's okay that I do 0:40:25.900 --> 0:40:27.980 this because God will just forgive me. And so you 0:40:27.980 --> 0:40:29.859 can kind of see the life I was living. I 0:40:29.860 --> 0:40:33.700 was a hypocrite. I was very judgmental. And I always thought, well, 0:40:33.700 --> 0:40:35.580 my dad's a pastor and I grew up in church. 0:40:35.620 --> 0:40:37.819 I know so much more than everyone else. I've always 0:40:37.820 --> 0:40:40.259 been a smart kid, and so pride has always been 0:40:40.260 --> 0:40:43.180 a huge stumbling block. So I never, you know, thought 0:40:43.180 --> 0:40:45.420 to myself, are you are you genuinely in Christ? You know, 0:40:45.460 --> 0:40:47.620 of course, I know so much more than all these 0:40:47.620 --> 0:40:49.419 other people around me. You know, I'm so much better 0:40:49.420 --> 0:40:52.380 than them. And it wasn't until Covid shut things down 0:40:52.940 --> 0:40:54.940 at the end of, you know, my, my four years 0:40:54.940 --> 0:40:57.300 in college, Covid shut things down. And it took a 0:40:57.300 --> 0:40:58.980 lot of things away from me. You know, I was 0:40:58.980 --> 0:41:01.500 in college a frat guy. I was the party guy 0:41:01.500 --> 0:41:05.180 on campus. And now Covid shut all these social functions down. Okay, 0:41:05.219 --> 0:41:07.540 so now what do you have? Oh, I had a girlfriend. 0:41:07.540 --> 0:41:10.180 I was living in sin with my girlfriend, and she 0:41:10.219 --> 0:41:12.460 threatened to break up with me, which was deserved because 0:41:12.460 --> 0:41:15.500 I was a terrible boyfriend. I was a terrible person. Um, 0:41:15.540 --> 0:41:17.420 but I told her. Okay, well, listen, let's just give 0:41:17.420 --> 0:41:20.020 this relationship one more chance, which I had said so 0:41:20.020 --> 0:41:22.899 many times before. But I said, this time, Let's do 0:41:22.900 --> 0:41:25.700 it God's way. And I'm just saying anything at this point. 0:41:25.700 --> 0:41:26.500 I'm just grasping. 0:41:26.500 --> 0:41:30.300 For straws to keep it. Pulled the God card out. 0:41:30.860 --> 0:41:31.180 Oh. 0:41:31.460 --> 0:41:35.220 I did. I absolutely did. And for whatever reason, thank 0:41:35.219 --> 0:41:38.020 God she said okay. And she said, this is this 0:41:38.020 --> 0:41:40.020 is the last chance, George. There's no more. There's no 0:41:40.020 --> 0:41:43.540 more chances. And so what does it mean? Do God's way? 0:41:43.540 --> 0:41:45.180 I don't know, but I just figured we'll just start 0:41:45.180 --> 0:41:47.540 reading the Bible here and there and she'll forgive me. 0:41:47.540 --> 0:41:50.580 And over time, things go back to normal. That's what I. 0:41:50.580 --> 0:41:51.020 Thought. 0:41:51.660 --> 0:41:53.940 That was my plan. But God had other plans, and. 0:41:54.140 --> 0:41:57.180 And Scripture tells us that the Word of God is 0:41:57.180 --> 0:41:59.820 living and active, sharper than a double edged sword. And 0:41:59.860 --> 0:42:01.779 even though I was reading the Bible with her, we 0:42:01.820 --> 0:42:04.460 were reading one chapter a night and it was a total, 0:42:04.500 --> 0:42:08.260 you know, selfish, shallow thing I was doing. My intention 0:42:08.260 --> 0:42:11.299 was shallow, was unfaithful. But God is faithful and His 0:42:11.300 --> 0:42:14.380 word totally transformed our lives. And as we were reading 0:42:14.380 --> 0:42:16.460 chapter by chapter through the book of Romans, I became 0:42:16.460 --> 0:42:19.899 convicted that you can't die to sin and still live 0:42:19.900 --> 0:42:22.770 in it and make excuses and justify it time after 0:42:22.770 --> 0:42:25.210 time after time. The way I was doing without any 0:42:25.210 --> 0:42:26.890 love for Christ in your heart. I got to the 0:42:26.890 --> 0:42:30.529 book of James and James says, you say you believe. 0:42:31.010 --> 0:42:33.090 You believe good. You believe God has won. Even the 0:42:33.090 --> 0:42:36.009 demons believe and they shudder. And yet I said I 0:42:36.010 --> 0:42:39.130 believed in God, but I had no fear. I didn't shudder, 0:42:39.130 --> 0:42:41.010 I lived however I wanted to live and I abused 0:42:41.010 --> 0:42:43.130 the grace of Christ. And so as I was reading 0:42:43.130 --> 0:42:46.050 the Scripture chapter by chapter, God opened my eyes that, hey, 0:42:46.410 --> 0:42:48.969 something's wrong. George, you're not living right. This is not 0:42:48.969 --> 0:42:51.410 what a follower of Christ is like. And so I 0:42:51.450 --> 0:42:54.129 had church in my heart, but I had so much 0:42:54.130 --> 0:42:55.649 else in my heart. You know, unless you have Christ 0:42:55.650 --> 0:42:59.210 in your heart. I was walking with the world Monday 0:42:59.210 --> 0:43:02.690 through Saturday and sitting in a pew on Sunday, and 0:43:02.690 --> 0:43:05.330 that's not enough, you know? So yeah, God used his 0:43:05.330 --> 0:43:07.250 word to to radically change my life. 0:43:07.410 --> 0:43:09.489 George. That's epic. George. 0:43:09.650 --> 0:43:12.730 An epic story, bro. And you tell it so well. 0:43:15.130 --> 0:43:18.570 May God loosen your lips to share that all the time. 0:43:18.570 --> 0:43:19.570 You hear me, George? 0:43:20.730 --> 0:43:21.290 Yes, sir. 0:43:21.730 --> 0:43:28.370 Yeah. I, uh, I've got an idea. God loves you. 0:43:28.370 --> 0:43:31.689 And Carl has an idea for you, so I want 0:43:31.690 --> 0:43:34.529 you to stay on the horn and give our call screener. Savannah, 0:43:34.530 --> 0:43:39.090 who's an incredible girl. Give her your details, if you would. 0:43:39.130 --> 0:43:41.850 How I can reach out to you sometime. George. I 0:43:41.850 --> 0:43:45.050 love you, man. That's an epic story, George. You'll appreciate 0:43:45.050 --> 0:43:47.609 this then. I feel compelled to do this right now. 0:43:47.650 --> 0:43:52.890 You hear George's story, and you know it's the prevalence 0:43:52.890 --> 0:43:54.890 of people that are going to church but are so 0:43:54.890 --> 0:43:58.089 far from God is so profound. And you can. We've 0:43:58.090 --> 0:44:00.090 been all over the scriptures this week. You can go 0:44:00.090 --> 0:44:02.969 to first Corinthians 11. It's the Lord's Supper. You know 0:44:02.969 --> 0:44:06.129 what Paul says. Let a person examine themselves, men and 0:44:06.130 --> 0:44:10.410 women alike. Examine yourself. See if you're in the faith. 0:44:10.810 --> 0:44:14.290 What thought? It's written to the church. Yeah. This goes 0:44:14.290 --> 0:44:18.410 back to Jesus's teaching. Weeds in wheat and tares grow 0:44:18.570 --> 0:44:26.609 Together and tears looked very similar to wheat. And Jesus 0:44:26.610 --> 0:44:28.290 disciples came to him and said, man, I think we 0:44:28.330 --> 0:44:31.089 got a bunch of weeds with the wheat here. And 0:44:31.090 --> 0:44:33.330 Jesus says, don't root them out, man. You might get 0:44:33.330 --> 0:44:35.489 some of the good ones just I'll sort this out 0:44:35.489 --> 0:44:39.010 in the end. But in the meantime, Jesus was clear 0:44:39.010 --> 0:44:41.210 with the gospel, and he said, many will say to 0:44:41.250 --> 0:44:43.130 me on that day, Lord, Lord, and he's going to say, 0:44:43.130 --> 0:44:45.250 I never knew you. And we've been casting this net 0:44:45.290 --> 0:44:46.969 all week. Yeah, we're going to have plenty of time 0:44:46.969 --> 0:44:50.010 to talk about all that gross stuff that we do 0:44:50.170 --> 0:44:53.529 on this path with Jesus. But right now, today, we 0:44:53.530 --> 0:44:55.690 want to make certain that you know, that you know, 0:44:55.730 --> 0:44:59.009 that you're on this path with Jesus. And, you know, 0:44:59.010 --> 0:45:04.570 there's a passage here in Matthew 16. It says by Jesus, 0:45:04.570 --> 0:45:07.330 if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, 0:45:07.330 --> 0:45:09.930 take up his cross and follow me. And we've looked 0:45:09.930 --> 0:45:14.049 at self-denial in so many different ways. It's the it's 0:45:14.050 --> 0:45:17.850 the family that goes, wow, we've done this and we've 0:45:17.850 --> 0:45:20.319 been working this way for so long. And let's sell 0:45:20.320 --> 0:45:22.600 everything we have. And we're going to go to another country. 0:45:22.840 --> 0:45:28.560 We go, wow, that's epic. Yeah, right. That's big time. No, no. 0:45:28.560 --> 0:45:32.239 You know what Jesus said? The entry point to authentic 0:45:32.239 --> 0:45:34.960 faith is to deny yourself, take up your cross and 0:45:34.960 --> 0:45:37.120 follow him. Follow him. 0:45:37.520 --> 0:45:40.200 Your shot of hope to help you through the day. 0:45:40.480 --> 0:45:43.600 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:45:44.239 --> 0:45:47.440 I'm feeling deeply prompted of the Lord right now, and 0:45:47.440 --> 0:45:50.120 we're going to go here. You know, there's one passage 0:45:50.120 --> 0:45:52.640 of scripture that we've left out all week long, and 0:45:52.640 --> 0:45:56.560 I'm so glad that the Holy Spirit held this and 0:45:56.560 --> 0:46:00.000 really dumped it into my heart this morning early. And 0:46:00.000 --> 0:46:02.360 I'm thrilled about this. You can go to Matthew seven 0:46:02.360 --> 0:46:06.680 and find this. You can find this hallucination of salvation 0:46:06.719 --> 0:46:09.919 thinking you have something that you don't. You can find 0:46:09.920 --> 0:46:13.959 this deception in not only Matthew seven where many will 0:46:13.960 --> 0:46:17.480 say on that day, Lord, Lord, and yet he never 0:46:17.560 --> 0:46:20.520 knew you. You can go to Matthew 25 and look 0:46:20.520 --> 0:46:23.399 at the ten bridesmaids and find all ten of them 0:46:23.440 --> 0:46:25.720 have lamps. Only five of them are filled with oil 0:46:25.719 --> 0:46:27.719 and ready, with a life filled with the power of 0:46:27.719 --> 0:46:29.879 the spirit, so that when the Lord comes, he'll take 0:46:29.880 --> 0:46:34.360 you home with him. And then you go to my goodness, 0:46:34.360 --> 0:46:38.080 you can go to Matthew 13. And but Matthew 16 0:46:38.120 --> 0:46:41.680 is amazing. You think self-denial, man, that's like epic Christianity. 0:46:41.680 --> 0:46:44.920 It's like, whoa, these are people that are, as I've 0:46:44.920 --> 0:46:48.279 said a couple of times this morning, selling businesses and opening, 0:46:48.320 --> 0:46:51.600 you know, transition housing for troubled kids or something. You 0:46:51.600 --> 0:46:55.360 look at it and go, wow, that's that's self-denial. But 0:46:55.360 --> 0:47:00.759 self-denial is the prerequisite to be born again. You're going 0:47:00.800 --> 0:47:03.319 to go gulp. Are you serious? Well, listen to what 0:47:03.360 --> 0:47:07.560 Jesus said. If anyone would come after me, let him 0:47:07.560 --> 0:47:11.920 deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. Whoa! 0:47:12.640 --> 0:47:18.040 This is entry level discipleship. Entry level Christianity is self-denial. 0:47:18.040 --> 0:47:21.480 And he goes on. For whoever would save his life 0:47:21.480 --> 0:47:23.759 will lose it. This is why trying to hold on 0:47:23.800 --> 0:47:27.080 to your life. Let it go, friend. But whoever loses 0:47:27.080 --> 0:47:29.560 his life for my sake will find it. And then 0:47:29.560 --> 0:47:33.160 Jesus asks this question. So what does it profit a 0:47:33.160 --> 0:47:35.200 man or a woman if he gains, or she gains 0:47:35.200 --> 0:47:39.879 the whole world and forfeits his soul? And the answer 0:47:39.920 --> 0:47:48.680 is nothing. And there's some of you today that have 0:47:50.360 --> 0:47:54.279 a hallucination of salvation because of the church culture in 0:47:54.280 --> 0:47:56.720 the West that we live in. You think you know Jesus, 0:47:56.719 --> 0:47:59.279 but you don't. But today you can turn around and 0:47:59.280 --> 0:48:01.560 the Spirit of God does it, and the Spirit of 0:48:01.560 --> 0:48:06.080 God is telling you, deny yourself. Follow Jesus today for 0:48:06.080 --> 0:48:08.920 the first time in your life, and you will know 0:48:08.960 --> 0:48:14.480 that you know that you are born again and its powerhouse. 0:48:14.600 --> 0:48:16.989 And I can't explain the power of the spirit, but 0:48:16.989 --> 0:48:20.030 I've experienced it. And right now he's working in you, 0:48:20.070 --> 0:48:22.469 telling you surrender all. And I want you to do 0:48:22.469 --> 0:48:24.910 a simple declaration. And then Allie's going to give you 0:48:24.910 --> 0:48:29.150 a link. Declare. Today I deny myself and I follow Jesus. 0:48:29.150 --> 0:48:31.150 For the first time in my life. I want to 0:48:31.150 --> 0:48:34.270 be taken. When Jesus comes back, I want to go 0:48:34.270 --> 0:48:37.830 with him. Today I confess I'm a sinner and I 0:48:37.830 --> 0:48:41.270 need a Savior. And his name is Jesus. And I'm 0:48:41.270 --> 0:48:44.750 holding nothing back. Today I give it all to Jesus. 0:48:44.750 --> 0:48:48.110 We want to help you with this brand new revelation 0:48:48.110 --> 0:48:49.589 from the Holy Spirit. 0:48:49.630 --> 0:48:56.469 Just text the word new to 800 555 7898 N-e-w 0:48:56.590 --> 0:49:01.710 new to 800 555 7898. You're going to get back 0:49:01.710 --> 0:49:03.430 from us a link that's going to give you just 0:49:03.430 --> 0:49:06.830 some practical encouragement, some next steps, how to get a Bible, 0:49:06.830 --> 0:49:09.310 what to look for in a church. If that's you, 0:49:09.430 --> 0:49:15.750 text new to 800 555 7898. Today you're new in Christ.