WEBVTT - I've Always Been a Christian 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:04.360 Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:10.240 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. Carl and crew. 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:14.160 And we are debunking myths all week long. So many. Funny, 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:16.360 I was actually dreaming about some of those myths we 0:00:16.360 --> 0:00:20.600 were talking about. Were you? Which one? Uh, the crazy 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.760 watermelon seed one. And a couple of the other silly ones. 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:27.320 And there's a couple I was thinking about. It's like. Yeah, 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:30.600 that's right. Like you don't. It's not about having your 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:34.240 head covered and heat escaping that caused you to catch 0:00:34.240 --> 0:00:36.639 a cold. It's a virus. As Ali said yesterday, it's 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:40.640 cold virus that you catch. Yeah, I guess you can 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:42.920 get your immunity system down enough where you can be 0:00:42.920 --> 0:00:45.440 more susceptible. For sure. For sure. 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:49.839 That's the. That's the catch. And infants, apparently they do 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:53.200 lose more heat through their head. I wonder if that's 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.319 because they're bald, but that's another story. But for the 0:00:56.320 --> 0:01:00.030 rest of us, um. No more heat does not escape 0:01:00.030 --> 0:01:03.590 through your head. Also, the Great Wall of China cannot 0:01:03.590 --> 0:01:06.350 be seen from space. Have you heard that one? That 0:01:06.350 --> 0:01:09.310 the Great Wall of China is visible from space? Yeah, 0:01:09.709 --> 0:01:13.030 that is not true. It's also not true that that 0:01:13.069 --> 0:01:15.869 a mama bird will abandon the baby birds if the 0:01:15.870 --> 0:01:18.750 human touches the nest. Also not true. 0:01:18.990 --> 0:01:19.789 That's good. 0:01:19.830 --> 0:01:21.350 I thought that one for sure. 0:01:21.630 --> 0:01:23.110 I mean, still don't touch the nest. 0:01:23.190 --> 0:01:26.230 Still don't mess with the nest. But, um. Yeah, it 0:01:26.230 --> 0:01:28.550 does not call a cause. Have you heard that one, Carl? 0:01:28.590 --> 0:01:31.270 Oh, yeah. Yeah, I've heard that one. I didn't I 0:01:31.430 --> 0:01:34.310 didn't know that was not true. See, miss getting debunked 0:01:34.310 --> 0:01:36.510 left and right here. Yeah, and I want I want 0:01:36.510 --> 0:01:38.710 to give you. The world is not round. It is flat. 0:01:39.670 --> 0:01:40.590 The earth is flat. 0:01:42.510 --> 0:01:43.190 Well, now we know. 0:01:43.270 --> 0:01:44.429 Flat. Yeah. Okay. 0:01:44.430 --> 0:01:44.550 Well. 0:01:44.550 --> 0:01:46.950 Thank you. Even even from space. You see it? It's 0:01:46.950 --> 0:01:51.310 just a flat surface. You can see it right there. 0:01:51.630 --> 0:01:52.350 It's a flat earth. 0:01:52.390 --> 0:01:55.430 I feel like we should make a distinction. No. We shouldn't. 0:01:56.110 --> 0:01:57.230 I'm joking. 0:01:57.350 --> 0:01:57.790 Yes. 0:01:58.070 --> 0:02:01.310 There are actually people that do believe in flat earth. 0:02:02.270 --> 0:02:04.630 They need to get out a little more, maybe get 0:02:04.630 --> 0:02:08.030 on a plane and look at horizons and see things like, 0:02:08.070 --> 0:02:10.390 what are you laughing about, Young Thunder? You can't just 0:02:10.389 --> 0:02:11.630 chuckle under your breath there. 0:02:11.669 --> 0:02:14.230 You're just. You're being honest about it. Well, come on, 0:02:14.230 --> 0:02:16.510 I think it's I mean, yes, it's good, it's fair. 0:02:16.550 --> 0:02:17.310 You have to. 0:02:17.510 --> 0:02:18.990 The last thing I'm going to do is open up 0:02:18.990 --> 0:02:21.110 phone lines for flat earthers to call in here and 0:02:21.110 --> 0:02:22.030 debate this thing. 0:02:22.070 --> 0:02:22.630 Thanks. 0:02:25.669 --> 0:02:29.070 What a classic response. Thanks. 0:02:30.270 --> 0:02:30.989 Oh that's good. 0:02:32.070 --> 0:02:36.510 Just saying. Yeah, I needed this. Oh. Oh, goodness. 0:02:36.550 --> 0:02:38.550 You know which one? That always. That always cracks me 0:02:38.550 --> 0:02:39.030 up because. 0:02:39.070 --> 0:02:41.310 Change the topic quickly. Yes. What do you got? 0:02:41.630 --> 0:02:44.190 You know, because people love to use this one sort 0:02:44.190 --> 0:02:47.030 of as inspiration. You know, Michael Jordan, we're here in Chicago, 0:02:47.030 --> 0:02:49.510 so Michael Jordan's still a big name. You know, people 0:02:49.510 --> 0:02:51.510 will say, well, you know, Michael Jordan was cut from 0:02:51.510 --> 0:02:54.190 his high school team. You know, people always say that. Oh, yeah. 0:02:54.870 --> 0:02:55.940 So is that not true? 0:02:55.980 --> 0:02:59.580 Well, it's kind of. He was he was not able 0:02:59.580 --> 0:03:02.260 to play varsity. He was put on JV. So which 0:03:02.260 --> 0:03:04.100 to me is quite a bit different. 0:03:04.139 --> 0:03:07.900 I mean but I will but I will say he 0:03:07.900 --> 0:03:12.100 was a JV in in sophomore or. Yes. 0:03:12.139 --> 0:03:13.700 You know his sophomore year I believe. 0:03:13.740 --> 0:03:16.620 Okay. Yeah. So you're right Ellie. So because there's a 0:03:16.660 --> 0:03:18.340 lot of guys on JV and sophomore. 0:03:18.380 --> 0:03:18.660 Yeah. 0:03:18.820 --> 0:03:22.899 So it's I guess it's kind of inspirational, but it's 0:03:22.900 --> 0:03:25.980 also like it doesn't have the same impact as, like. 0:03:26.020 --> 0:03:27.500 It's just normal. It's. 0:03:27.500 --> 0:03:30.460 But I will say this. Nobody picked him to be 0:03:30.460 --> 0:03:34.540 the goat of all of basketball forevermore when he was 0:03:34.540 --> 0:03:37.020 even in college, right? Or. Yeah. 0:03:37.100 --> 0:03:39.140 I mean, by the time he got. So when he 0:03:39.140 --> 0:03:43.020 was a sophomore, he was only 511, which tall for 0:03:43.020 --> 0:03:46.740 like regular life, but not tall for basketball. So he 0:03:46.740 --> 0:03:49.740 hadn't quite hit that growth spurt. So he was not 0:03:49.780 --> 0:03:53.580 yet the, you know, the six six imposing presence that 0:03:53.730 --> 0:03:56.530 he would become when he got a little bit older. 0:03:56.810 --> 0:03:59.490 So it's just but it's one of those things that 0:03:59.890 --> 0:04:03.570 it the lure of it, the appeal of it to 0:04:03.610 --> 0:04:04.810 motivate that kid. 0:04:04.850 --> 0:04:06.250 It just sounds so much better. 0:04:06.490 --> 0:04:09.010 You still got a shot, kid, because Michael Jordan got 0:04:09.010 --> 0:04:10.970 cut from varsity. 0:04:12.170 --> 0:04:14.210 Which is normal. 0:04:16.050 --> 0:04:19.210 Unless you're a child prodigy. Most kids, I mean, my 0:04:19.210 --> 0:04:21.570 son played a lot of ball. I don't I don't 0:04:21.570 --> 0:04:24.570 know ball like Ali does. Ali's going to die with 0:04:24.570 --> 0:04:27.210 a scent of gym on her body. I mean, there's 0:04:27.210 --> 0:04:29.890 no way she can scrub it out because she'd been 0:04:29.890 --> 0:04:34.450 in so many gyms. But it's it's funny because the 0:04:34.850 --> 0:04:39.089 unless you're a child prodigy and really had a growth 0:04:39.089 --> 0:04:43.850 spurt beyond everyone else and actually could handle your body growth, 0:04:44.810 --> 0:04:46.930 even the best players were playing JV. 0:04:46.930 --> 0:04:49.250 You're going to spend some time on the younger teams 0:04:49.290 --> 0:04:52.410 before they just make that jump to varsity. I think 0:04:52.410 --> 0:04:54.929 that's I think that's a pretty normal progression. 0:04:55.370 --> 0:04:57.690 Oh, boy. We got somebody weighing in here. LeBron was 0:04:57.690 --> 0:05:00.930 on varsity all four years. Just proves that. Just proves 0:05:00.930 --> 0:05:01.529 the point. 0:05:01.730 --> 0:05:03.730 LeBron was a physical specimen. 0:05:03.770 --> 0:05:05.490 Yeah I mean I. 0:05:05.490 --> 0:05:07.530 Mean he was he he was a 25 year old 0:05:07.529 --> 0:05:10.370 playing high school basketball. Yeah there's that. 0:05:10.890 --> 0:05:13.130 Yeah I mean I ran track against a guy when 0:05:13.130 --> 0:05:15.450 I was in like eighth grade who had a full beard. 0:05:15.450 --> 0:05:16.730 And I'm like, who? 0:05:17.690 --> 0:05:20.450 That was so scary when you're like in middle school 0:05:20.890 --> 0:05:23.170 and there's a guy walking around with a beard, like, 0:05:23.170 --> 0:05:24.210 you're not meant to be here. 0:05:24.250 --> 0:05:26.849 I didn't even have peach fuzz, and this guy's got 0:05:26.850 --> 0:05:31.090 a full beard. My pits were doing nothing crazy. And 0:05:31.089 --> 0:05:34.130 he's got a full beard. Yeah. I mean, it was 0:05:34.130 --> 0:05:37.130 it was crazy. Uh, coming up here in a moment, 0:05:37.130 --> 0:05:41.210 I want to talk about something very important here today. 0:05:41.490 --> 0:05:45.610 This is really important. Talk about a myth to debunk. 0:05:46.250 --> 0:05:50.640 So much so I think I've been prepping my whole 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:52.520 life for this one, wouldn't you say, Ali? 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:53.920 I think so, yeah. 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:57.000 Yeah, this is a big one. In fact, I'm going 0:05:57.040 --> 0:05:59.080 to give you the myth. I've been a Christian my 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:04.360 whole life. It's a myth. And we got to get 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:06.640 into the weeds of that and break it down. Pull 0:06:06.640 --> 0:06:09.960 it apart. But I want to tell you, this myth 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:12.800 is so profound that I'm going to call it a 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:16.440 bait of Satan. It's a bait of Satan. And I 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:21.120 really mean this. This is something Satan is working overtime on. 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:26.039 Because if he can keep this issue clouded, he can 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:29.360 keep many on a highway to destruction when God wants 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:33.520 to truly set them free. So we had a little 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:36.640 bit of a rat problem in our garage. 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:37.599 Rat. 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:40.800 Yeah we did. Oh boy. Problem. And I know, yeah, 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:45.159 I know your reactions. Like my wife. Oh, boy. And 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:48.040 so they were. They were not. The reason I found 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:50.550 out is they as they were nibbling on some birdseed 0:06:50.589 --> 0:06:53.150 and they'd found a hole in these sneaky little buggers. 0:06:53.150 --> 0:06:55.470 I didn't know it until I pick up this bag 0:06:55.510 --> 0:06:57.590 and the seeds start to go out the back end 0:06:57.589 --> 0:07:00.630 of it, I'm like, Uh-Oh. And these guys have been 0:07:00.630 --> 0:07:04.950 having a feast on sunflower seeds. Just a feast. So, 0:07:05.910 --> 0:07:08.430 you know, you can wish those things away all day long. 0:07:08.430 --> 0:07:11.510 But there's one sure way to get rats. So I 0:07:11.510 --> 0:07:16.429 got these cool little devices called rat traps and open 0:07:16.430 --> 0:07:19.670 those claws up. And I've got myself some good old 0:07:19.670 --> 0:07:23.470 fashioned cheese. Set it down in that trap. I went 0:07:23.470 --> 0:07:26.470 out the next morning. Snap, snap, snap. Three of them 0:07:26.470 --> 0:07:30.030 were gone. Went out the next day. Reset some traps. 0:07:30.070 --> 0:07:33.590 Got two more. So had five of those boogers and 0:07:33.630 --> 0:07:37.750 sure enough, it cleaned up things. Here's the crazy maker. 0:07:38.950 --> 0:07:47.190 Satan is constantly setting traps. He's got different baits. It's 0:07:47.190 --> 0:07:50.670 a different bait for someone who's truly born again to 0:07:50.710 --> 0:07:53.510 keep us from growing up in our relationship with God. 0:07:53.950 --> 0:07:57.830 It's the bait of satisfaction and security and significance. Those 0:07:57.830 --> 0:08:00.750 three big S's that we find in the sermon on 0:08:00.750 --> 0:08:02.990 the Mount, in The Temptation of Jesus, by the way, 0:08:02.990 --> 0:08:05.989 we find them as well, where Satan's trying to tempt 0:08:05.990 --> 0:08:10.470 with all those things of this world, and Satan tries 0:08:10.470 --> 0:08:13.270 to bait us away so that we won't be fully 0:08:13.310 --> 0:08:16.350 fruit bearing men and women of God. Fair enough guys? 0:08:16.390 --> 0:08:17.790 Yes, absolutely. 0:08:19.190 --> 0:08:22.150 The bait of Satan, though that is most dangerous, in 0:08:22.150 --> 0:08:27.990 my opinion, is the bait of cultural Christianity. And it 0:08:27.990 --> 0:08:34.670 is devastating. The impact on our church across North America 0:08:34.670 --> 0:08:39.189 and the world today is significant. The myth that we're 0:08:39.190 --> 0:08:42.910 debunking today is, I've been a Christian my whole life. 0:08:44.230 --> 0:08:47.220 I want to give you some verses that illustrate the 0:08:47.220 --> 0:08:52.420 fact that that's theologically impossible. Can't be done in Romans 0:08:52.420 --> 0:08:56.140 five verse 12 it says, Paul writing says, sin entered 0:08:56.140 --> 0:08:59.219 the world through one man and death through sin. And 0:08:59.220 --> 0:09:03.580 in this way death came to all people because all sinned. 0:09:04.059 --> 0:09:07.260 We can't be a Christian our whole life. Ephesians two 0:09:07.300 --> 0:09:11.420 undergirds this you were dead in your transgressions and sins. 0:09:11.780 --> 0:09:18.660 By nature, deserving of wrath. Piper says about this humanity's 0:09:18.700 --> 0:09:23.460 natural state is spiritual death, hostile to God and under 0:09:23.460 --> 0:09:31.140 wrath until regenerated by faith. Whew! Super clear. I could 0:09:31.140 --> 0:09:34.700 go on and on, because Scripture is loaded with evidence 0:09:34.700 --> 0:09:38.179 that we were born with our back to God. The 0:09:38.179 --> 0:09:42.140 great myth is that I've been a Christian my whole life. 0:09:42.140 --> 0:09:45.570 Now I know what's in that. What's layered in that 0:09:45.570 --> 0:09:49.770 is that from my earliest remembrance, I've been a Christian. And, 0:09:49.809 --> 0:09:54.850 you know, here's the truth. There are people who surrender 0:09:54.850 --> 0:09:57.770 to Christ at a young age and have that cultivated. 0:09:57.770 --> 0:10:00.450 And when I say cultivated, I mean this belief was 0:10:00.450 --> 0:10:02.610 a great man of God. And he did a great 0:10:02.610 --> 0:10:07.890 little booklet on how to steward his parents. That little faith, 0:10:08.090 --> 0:10:10.730 the reason that this is so important is there can 0:10:10.730 --> 0:10:14.650 be an exuberance of I follow Jesus, and that's great. 0:10:15.850 --> 0:10:19.050 But especially at the age of accountability, when kids begin 0:10:19.050 --> 0:10:22.929 to understand abstract thought, to draw them back into that 0:10:22.929 --> 0:10:27.569 awareness that I'm a sinner who needs a Savior. Yes, 0:10:27.570 --> 0:10:31.090 I affirm that. Very important to shepherd kids into that. 0:10:32.850 --> 0:10:36.010 But what can often happen is we get a cultural 0:10:36.010 --> 0:10:41.250 Christianity that actually gives people what I call a hallucination 0:10:41.250 --> 0:10:47.050 of salvation. And it all comes some variation of this myth. 0:10:47.050 --> 0:10:49.890 I've been a Christian my whole life. This is why 0:10:49.890 --> 0:10:53.410 you often hear things right here. If you hear testimonies, 0:10:53.410 --> 0:10:55.449 you hear them over and over again where kids are 0:10:55.450 --> 0:10:58.610 saying and they even have a hard time wrestling with 0:10:58.610 --> 0:11:00.650 the words that come out of their mouth. Right, Allie? 0:11:00.890 --> 0:11:04.210 Because they talk about I've, you know, they they speak 0:11:04.210 --> 0:11:07.930 in terms of I was a Christian, but now I'm 0:11:07.929 --> 0:11:10.530 really committed to Christ. Right. And. 0:11:10.809 --> 0:11:12.650 Right, right. And we noticed this a lot of times 0:11:12.650 --> 0:11:15.650 when people will call in and share their testimony and, 0:11:15.650 --> 0:11:18.610 and they'll try to have language for those early years 0:11:18.610 --> 0:11:20.210 and people will say, well, I've been a Christian my 0:11:20.210 --> 0:11:23.170 whole life. Um, I went to church every week. I 0:11:23.170 --> 0:11:25.770 was raised in a Christian home. My parents were Christian. 0:11:26.290 --> 0:11:28.610 And then oftentimes people will say, but then I got 0:11:28.610 --> 0:11:31.010 to a point in my, my late teens or my 0:11:31.010 --> 0:11:33.089 20s and my young adult years, and it's like my 0:11:33.090 --> 0:11:35.890 faith became real to me. And that's usually one of 0:11:35.890 --> 0:11:39.610 those ones that we lovingly try to try to help 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:43.719 them process through that. It's it's entirely possible that what 0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:46.760 you thought you had in your younger years was not actual, 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:50.960 genuine saving faith. You had a cultural awareness. You had 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:55.280 a religious understanding. You had some things that you did 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:59.959 by that point in time where you kind of describe 0:11:59.960 --> 0:12:03.000 as my faith became real to me. May very well 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:04.960 be the moment of salvation. 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:10.200 Boom, boom coming up here. What is the bait of Satan? 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:13.439 What does he try to get people in a Christian 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:19.560 culture to believe that keeps them from being born again? 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:25.360 Hang on. Jesus went to great lengths to expose the 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:30.000 bait of Satan. The bait of Satan is a cultural Christianity. 0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:35.040 It's lethal. It's deadly. It's a deep delusion. I call 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:38.870 it a hallucination. You see something in yourself that is 0:12:38.870 --> 0:12:42.510 not there. You see something in your kids that is 0:12:42.510 --> 0:12:48.630 not there. Very possible. In fact probable, especially in our 0:12:48.630 --> 0:12:52.510 Christian culture in North America. But not just here. I 0:12:52.550 --> 0:12:54.630 just did a 30 minute teaching last night that I 0:12:54.670 --> 0:12:57.510 sent to a dear friend in Burundi. Here's the poorest 0:12:57.510 --> 0:12:59.230 country in the world. And when I was sharing this 0:12:59.230 --> 0:13:05.189 with some spiritual leaders, pastors in Burundi, Bujumbura, Isaiah, this 0:13:05.190 --> 0:13:07.390 great man of God said to me, pastor, would you 0:13:07.390 --> 0:13:09.630 please do a 30 minute teaching and send it back 0:13:09.630 --> 0:13:13.990 to us when you get back home? This is my heart, guys. 0:13:14.870 --> 0:13:17.990 And he sees the same issue in the poorest country 0:13:17.990 --> 0:13:20.150 in the world. Isn't that doesn't that drop you a 0:13:20.150 --> 0:13:20.910 little bit, guys? 0:13:20.950 --> 0:13:23.670 It does. But then. But then you remember that the 0:13:23.670 --> 0:13:28.870 the Bible wasn't written specifically to Americans. Sometimes we can 0:13:28.870 --> 0:13:33.270 read an Americanized version of it. And so clearly this 0:13:33.270 --> 0:13:38.780 is something that's present in People, not just in our country. 0:13:39.179 --> 0:13:41.460 Yeah. And that's that was something that was good for 0:13:41.460 --> 0:13:45.180 me going to Burundi because I was like, rattled with 0:13:45.220 --> 0:13:49.140 this global impact of this issue that Jesus spoke of 0:13:49.179 --> 0:13:52.940 2000 years ago. Here's the bait of Satan. The bait 0:13:52.940 --> 0:13:57.020 of Satan is to get us in a Christian culture 0:13:57.860 --> 0:14:03.180 and not be born again, thereby believing I've been a 0:14:03.179 --> 0:14:08.940 Christian my whole life. The second to last teaching in 0:14:08.940 --> 0:14:13.260 the sermon on the Mount is jaw dropping. Jesus says, 0:14:13.460 --> 0:14:16.420 not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter 0:14:16.420 --> 0:14:19.660 the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the 0:14:19.660 --> 0:14:23.300 will of my father who is in heaven. On that day, 0:14:23.300 --> 0:14:28.420 the day of judgment, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, 0:14:29.100 --> 0:14:32.580 did we not prophesy in your name and cast out 0:14:32.620 --> 0:14:35.980 demons in your name, and do many mighty works in 0:14:35.980 --> 0:14:39.060 your name. And then I will declare to them, I 0:14:39.100 --> 0:14:44.420 never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness! Whoa! 0:14:45.220 --> 0:14:50.300 We gotta let that sink in. Many will take the 0:14:50.300 --> 0:14:56.180 bait of Satan and presuppose that all of their spiritual 0:14:56.180 --> 0:15:04.140 activity is evidence of spiritual life, and it's not so. 0:15:05.460 --> 0:15:08.060 And we could go on and on with our stories 0:15:08.060 --> 0:15:12.140 here to prove this to you. That's my story. For 0:15:12.140 --> 0:15:15.420 Pete's sake, it's young, young thunder story. You made it 0:15:15.420 --> 0:15:18.700 into my teaching buddy down in Burundi that I filmed 0:15:18.700 --> 0:15:21.700 last night. You made it in there? Yeah. And I'm 0:15:21.700 --> 0:15:24.100 going to give your story quickly. It's kids raised in 0:15:24.100 --> 0:15:28.340 a Christian home, raised by a good man. A pastor 0:15:29.380 --> 0:15:33.410 came to Moody Bible Institute, graduated from Moody Bible Institute, 0:15:33.450 --> 0:15:36.290 married a committed Jesus follower. I was in a meeting 0:15:36.290 --> 0:15:39.410 with her yesterday. This girl's rock solid for Jesus. 0:15:39.450 --> 0:15:39.850 Yeah. 0:15:40.730 --> 0:15:43.490 And then young thunder was broken under the weight of 0:15:43.490 --> 0:15:47.770 Matthew seven and born again. That's powerhouse. 0:15:47.810 --> 0:15:48.210 Yeah. 0:15:49.250 --> 0:15:53.690 That's powerhouse. I was so thrilled to hear your bride 0:15:53.730 --> 0:15:56.210 tell me yesterday. She goes, I didn't I wasn't going 0:15:56.250 --> 0:15:59.050 to talk him out of that story. She said, I 0:15:59.050 --> 0:16:02.890 told my husband, I'm so happy that you're in Christ. 0:16:02.930 --> 0:16:05.210 Yeah. She's good to me. 0:16:06.570 --> 0:16:08.850 She felt empathy for what it must have felt like 0:16:08.850 --> 0:16:13.650 for you, trying to toil, living this Christian life. Yeah. 0:16:13.690 --> 0:16:15.410 Without having the power of God. 0:16:15.450 --> 0:16:18.130 Mhm. It's impossible. And it's tiring. 0:16:19.090 --> 0:16:20.290 It's tiring, isn't it? 0:16:20.330 --> 0:16:20.810 Mhm. 0:16:25.210 --> 0:16:28.770 So it leaves a question and that is what in 0:16:28.770 --> 0:16:32.560 the world does it mean to be born again. There's 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:35.120 a lot of evidences of this. There's a hunger for 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:37.400 the Word of God, and the Word of God begins 0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:42.880 to make incredible sense. There's also a fruit bearing ness 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:46.520 about you 30, 60 and 100 fold. That's authentic faith 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:50.440 no longer choked out by the worries of this world, 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:55.400 the deceitfulness of wealth, the desire for other things. But 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:58.680 there must come a time, according to Matthew 16, and 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:01.000 I'm just going to turn there because this is beautiful. 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:05.080 We often look at denial of self as kind of 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:09.160 high road Christianity. Whoa. Those are the ones that man. 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:11.479 I mean, they sell stuff and go all in and 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:14.159 hit the mission field. No, listen, what Jesus said. He 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:19.800 told his disciples if anyone would come after me. Following 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:23.320 Jesus is the evidence of being born again. If anyone 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:27.680 would come after me, let him deny himself, take up 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:30.760 his cross and follow me. Let me just stop there. 0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:35.240 Self-denial is saying no to all pursuits that I have 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:41.680 on this broad path that leads to destruction. All the satisfaction, status, security, 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:44.720 significance I can find on this path, saying no to 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:50.000 all of that, considering that as dung, to take hold 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:52.879 of the grace and power that is found in Jesus Christ. 0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:56.720 Jesus goes on to say, for whoever would save his 0:17:56.720 --> 0:18:00.560 life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:03.760 my sake will find it. For what does it profit 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:06.320 a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:12.800 his soul? I need you to hear my heart. There's 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:15.080 some of you right now that are under the weight 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:18.240 of conviction that you've been a cultural Christian, and I 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:22.840 praise God for that. We're exposing the bait of Satan 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:27.080 for you today. And Satan is at work. The God 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:29.869 of the sage. Paul said in Second Corinthians four. Has 0:18:29.869 --> 0:18:33.350 blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see 0:18:33.350 --> 0:18:35.710 the light of the gospel. You know what Paul is 0:18:35.710 --> 0:18:38.070 saying there? He's saying, these are the ones who are 0:18:38.070 --> 0:18:40.310 going to say, all my spiritual activity, all the mighty 0:18:40.350 --> 0:18:43.030 works I did in your name, all these things he's 0:18:43.030 --> 0:18:48.550 saying Satan blinded you. The bait of cultural Christianity has 0:18:48.590 --> 0:18:57.109 blinded you to knowing Christ personally. That's hard, but it's 0:18:57.109 --> 0:19:01.830 beautiful because when the blinders come down just through the 0:19:01.830 --> 0:19:04.669 Word of God as we read it to you, you 0:19:04.670 --> 0:19:07.830 know what God's doing to you. He's saying, come to me. 0:19:09.950 --> 0:19:12.510 I'm the way, the truth, and the life. Turn around 0:19:12.510 --> 0:19:17.110 from that broad path. Follow me today. And so I 0:19:17.150 --> 0:19:22.750 simply want to ask you today. Have you been caught 0:19:23.550 --> 0:19:26.100 in a myth that is debunked by God's Word. Have 0:19:26.140 --> 0:19:29.460 you taken the bait of Satan? You've had a lot 0:19:29.500 --> 0:19:32.740 of Christian activity, but the Holy Spirit. This is what's beautiful. 0:19:32.740 --> 0:19:35.540 We aren't revealing this to you. The Holy Spirit is 0:19:35.540 --> 0:19:40.060 revealing to you right now. I've been Christian in name only. 0:19:40.660 --> 0:19:45.100 I've never denied myself, taken up the cross and followed 0:19:45.100 --> 0:19:49.660 Jesus Christ. But today, Carl, I want to go all 0:19:49.660 --> 0:19:54.020 in with Jesus. Praise be to God. Oh, my heart 0:19:54.020 --> 0:19:56.100 just beats fast for you right now. And you say, well, 0:19:56.100 --> 0:19:59.420 what do I do? You know, it's super clear in 0:19:59.420 --> 0:20:03.460 Scripture if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, 0:20:03.980 --> 0:20:07.460 that means he is the brand new leader of my life. 0:20:07.460 --> 0:20:12.260 Nothing of significance, satisfaction, and security on this broad path 0:20:12.260 --> 0:20:16.659 that I've been chasing that is dung compared to knowing 0:20:16.700 --> 0:20:21.700 Christ Jesus my Lord. That revelation in your soul that 0:20:21.700 --> 0:20:25.180 I need to turn around and follow Jesus. Repent and 0:20:25.180 --> 0:20:30.699 follow him. That's the pathway to liberty. That's the gateway 0:20:30.700 --> 0:20:38.500 to a 30 6000 fold life, my friend. I am 0:20:38.500 --> 0:20:43.899 the truth, Jesus said, embracing the truth. And I mean 0:20:43.900 --> 0:20:48.419 swallowing hard and saying, I'm a sinner who needs a Savior. 0:20:48.940 --> 0:20:52.860 All of my Christian culture can't save me, but what 0:20:52.859 --> 0:20:59.260 my Christian culture can't do, Jesus Christ did. Oh, he 0:20:59.260 --> 0:21:05.300 did it. He died for my sins. Is that the 0:21:05.300 --> 0:21:13.379 cry of your heart right now, friend? Please. Pride caused 0:21:13.420 --> 0:21:16.380 Satan to fall from the presence of God. Don't let 0:21:16.420 --> 0:21:21.780 pride keep you nibbling on the bait of Satan. Don't 0:21:21.780 --> 0:21:28.810 let stubbornness, partial blindness, keep you from the living reality 0:21:29.090 --> 0:21:33.530 of what Jesus told Nicodemus. You must be born again. 0:21:35.369 --> 0:21:37.890 And if today is the first day ever that you 0:21:37.930 --> 0:21:43.889 are turning from your broad path the significance, the security 0:21:44.090 --> 0:21:47.689 and the satisfaction of all these things in this world, 0:21:47.690 --> 0:21:50.930 and you're turning your life to Jesus today. Praise God. 0:21:51.530 --> 0:21:55.210 If you're embracing the truth that you're a sinner, praise God. 0:21:55.930 --> 0:21:58.410 We want to help you today. Allie's going to give 0:21:58.410 --> 0:22:00.250 you a link. I know we've kept you here a while, 0:22:00.250 --> 0:22:03.370 but this is important stuff. Allie's going to give you 0:22:03.369 --> 0:22:05.290 a link right now, so I want you to get 0:22:05.290 --> 0:22:08.930 your phones out because we're going to help you. It's 0:22:08.930 --> 0:22:13.090 a mystery, but God in his goodness pulls back the 0:22:13.890 --> 0:22:16.810 veil of darkness and allows you to see your need 0:22:16.810 --> 0:22:19.610 for Jesus. Today he's calling you into a brand new 0:22:19.609 --> 0:22:23.480 life no matter how long you've been in cultural Christianity 0:22:23.480 --> 0:22:27.400 today you are born again and we want to send 0:22:27.400 --> 0:22:29.760 you something. It's going to encourage you just some words 0:22:29.800 --> 0:22:32.840 and next steps to take. And and then I'm going 0:22:32.880 --> 0:22:34.440 to pray for you. But I want you to get 0:22:34.440 --> 0:22:37.520 your phones ready right now. Ali, we've got brand new 0:22:37.520 --> 0:22:39.520 followers all over North America this morning. 0:22:39.520 --> 0:22:42.520 I'm convinced if that's you, just text the word new 0:22:42.880 --> 0:22:49.920 to 800 555 7890 8NEW just one word. New to 0:22:49.960 --> 0:22:54.880 800 555 7898. What you're going to get back from 0:22:54.920 --> 0:22:56.800 us is an auto reply. That's going to give you 0:22:56.800 --> 0:23:01.120 some practical next steps, some tips on what to do next. 0:23:01.160 --> 0:23:05.520 Just text new to 800 555 7898. 0:23:05.920 --> 0:23:08.400 Yeah, yeah. 0:23:10.160 --> 0:23:14.320 You're breaking free and you're running home. Today's a brand 0:23:14.320 --> 0:23:20.280 new day. I'm going to pray for you. but don't 0:23:20.280 --> 0:23:23.119 delay if the Spirit of God's calling you. Don't harden 0:23:23.160 --> 0:23:26.160 your heart today. Don't do it. Don't let pride of 0:23:26.160 --> 0:23:31.639 all that you've done in the name of Jesus keep 0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:36.919 you from Jesus. Don't do it, friend. Today's a new day. 0:23:37.880 --> 0:23:41.680 Surrender your heart to Jesus today. Come to him today. 0:23:43.680 --> 0:23:48.680 Many responding. Just text the word new to 800 555 0:23:48.720 --> 0:23:53.240 7898 right now. Today is your day of salvation. Today 0:23:53.240 --> 0:24:01.719 is the day. Text new to 800 555 7898. Father, 0:24:01.720 --> 0:24:04.800 I thank you in the name of Jesus that you 0:24:04.800 --> 0:24:11.240 are working miracles this morning. You're pulling down the blinders. 0:24:11.960 --> 0:24:18.350 You're exposing the bait of Satan. It's a miracle. You're 0:24:18.350 --> 0:24:25.429 turning hearts toward home. You're causing men and women to 0:24:25.430 --> 0:24:28.869 be born again today. And I give you praise. There's 0:24:28.869 --> 0:24:34.270 no one like you. God. I thank you for humble 0:24:34.310 --> 0:24:37.149 hearts that are receiving you today. Seeing their sins, seeing 0:24:37.150 --> 0:24:41.270 themselves for what they are, and seeing you for who 0:24:41.310 --> 0:24:44.629 you are. In Jesus name, Amen. 0:24:44.670 --> 0:24:45.190 Amen. 0:24:45.869 --> 0:24:47.550 I'm going to spin a song here in a moment, 0:24:47.550 --> 0:24:50.109 but we want to shout out last four numbers of 0:24:50.109 --> 0:24:53.350 those of you that are responding new this morning. Ali, 0:24:53.350 --> 0:24:55.110 if you could reach down there and just cite them, 0:24:55.109 --> 0:24:55.910 that'd be great. 0:24:55.950 --> 0:25:00.350 Yeah, I want to. Welcome to the family. 6203 2744. 0:25:00.390 --> 0:25:07.270 These are the last four digits of your phone number 92, 89, 23, 41, 81, 26. 0:25:07.310 --> 0:25:15.699 Welcome to the family. 7991 5011 76, 2242, 46, 74. 0:25:15.740 --> 0:25:22.580 70 or 74. 71. 76. 22. 42. 46. 74. 81. 0:25:22.619 --> 0:25:29.980 Zero three. Zero three. 23. 28. 39. 93. Oh one. 20. 25. 0:25:32.020 --> 0:25:37.220 Welcome to the family. Welcome to the family. It's not 0:25:37.220 --> 0:25:40.820 too late to respond to Jesus today. If today is 0:25:40.820 --> 0:25:43.979 the day that you are saying no any longer to 0:25:44.020 --> 0:25:46.659 the bait of Satan, and today you're surrendering your life 0:25:46.660 --> 0:25:49.820 in total to Jesus Christ. Man. Welcome to the family. 0:25:50.660 --> 0:25:53.739 Welcome to the family. Just text the word new to 0:25:53.780 --> 0:25:57.939 800 555 7898. Some of you are getting to the 0:25:57.940 --> 0:26:01.620 side of a road, getting to a safe place. Welcome 0:26:01.619 --> 0:26:09.180 to the family. 8930 7636 welcome to the family. Why 0:26:09.180 --> 0:26:11.660 is this so important? Ali, before we spin a record here, 0:26:11.660 --> 0:26:12.540 what's on your heart? 0:26:12.540 --> 0:26:16.580 Oh, this is so important because it's the Word of God. 0:26:16.580 --> 0:26:19.100 And this is I know that this is an uncomfortable 0:26:19.100 --> 0:26:22.740 one to talk about. It's it was uncomfortable for me 0:26:22.740 --> 0:26:25.740 to talk about because you think, what do I do 0:26:25.740 --> 0:26:28.060 with this? You know, what do I what do I 0:26:28.060 --> 0:26:30.460 do with this information? But it's in the word of God. 0:26:30.500 --> 0:26:33.740 And so even though I don't think it's talked about 0:26:33.780 --> 0:26:38.060 enough in church, it's all over Scripture. So we have 0:26:38.060 --> 0:26:41.859 to wrestle with this reality that it's possible to be 0:26:42.260 --> 0:26:45.940 in church, to be spiritually active, but to not know Jesus. 0:26:45.940 --> 0:26:47.980 And so we have to look at the Word of 0:26:47.980 --> 0:26:51.060 God and wrestle with it. That's why it's important. 0:26:51.500 --> 0:26:59.900 That's why it's important. 9463 whosoever will may come, whosoever 0:26:59.900 --> 0:27:02.939 will may come. What a good God we have. He 0:27:02.940 --> 0:27:08.060 makes all things new. Guys, welcome to the family 6562. 0:27:08.100 --> 0:27:13.050 Welcome to the family. I never get tired talking about this. 0:27:13.050 --> 0:27:16.570 This thing of illusion, of salvation. It is so profound. 0:27:17.170 --> 0:27:19.889 And it's in Matthew seven and Ali, you know it 0:27:19.890 --> 0:27:22.810 by heart. What are the three big kickers for people 0:27:22.810 --> 0:27:26.129 that they're often stuck with thinking, well, this must prove 0:27:26.130 --> 0:27:27.250 I know Jesus, right? 0:27:27.290 --> 0:27:31.290 Yeah, that we've done things in his name that we've prophesied. 0:27:31.330 --> 0:27:33.330 Or yes, you could think about the things that you 0:27:33.330 --> 0:27:37.409 do spiritually that make you active, but you could actually 0:27:37.450 --> 0:27:40.570 be spiritually active and not know Jesus big time. 0:27:40.570 --> 0:27:43.010 Jesus will say, depart from me. I never knew you. 0:27:43.010 --> 0:27:45.930 And the fact that those are spiritually, like you say, 0:27:45.970 --> 0:27:51.250 active people. Mind blowing. J louder with us right now. 0:27:51.330 --> 0:27:56.929 He's been featured on CNN, ABC, NBC, Daystar, Discovery Channel. 0:27:56.970 --> 0:27:59.730 How did God get you onto those networks, my man? 0:28:00.090 --> 0:28:02.970 Really? I came to Christ at 21 years of age, 0:28:03.250 --> 0:28:06.570 and people started wanting me to share my story, and 0:28:06.570 --> 0:28:08.570 one thing led to the other, and I got invited 0:28:08.570 --> 0:28:11.480 here and got invited to there and really just stemmed 0:28:11.480 --> 0:28:15.119 from my call, my passion to try to help reach 0:28:15.160 --> 0:28:17.680 other people, just like someone reached me. 0:28:17.720 --> 0:28:21.400 Yeah, but what causes a network like. I'm so curious. 0:28:21.440 --> 0:28:24.000 Does ABC call you up and go? I heard you 0:28:24.000 --> 0:28:26.440 were raised in church and lost as a goose. Come 0:28:26.480 --> 0:28:28.359 tell us about it. There's got to be an angle. 0:28:28.400 --> 0:28:29.840 God's using here, right? 0:28:29.880 --> 0:28:32.280 Oh, well, I mean, we've spoken into a lot of 0:28:32.280 --> 0:28:35.800 different things, but one of them is we had a 0:28:35.840 --> 0:28:39.280 television show that was really geared at reaching out to 0:28:39.320 --> 0:28:42.840 people that are on the fray. And so, um, it 0:28:42.840 --> 0:28:46.280 was broadcast on, on all the major networks. It was 0:28:46.280 --> 0:28:49.000 a late night show that came on Friday and Saturday nights. 0:28:49.040 --> 0:28:52.400 It's a 30 minute program, but it wasn't your typical 0:28:52.400 --> 0:28:55.400 Christian programming. I mean, it was people, former strippers and 0:28:55.400 --> 0:28:59.080 former addicts. Wow. Yeah, it was targeted a specific group 0:28:59.080 --> 0:29:01.040 of people that were coming in late after a night 0:29:01.080 --> 0:29:01.640 of partying. 0:29:01.680 --> 0:29:03.600 That'll get the world's attention, for sure. 0:29:03.600 --> 0:29:06.760 Your heart is for people on the fray, as you say. 0:29:06.800 --> 0:29:10.120 Because although you were raised in the church, as soon 0:29:10.120 --> 0:29:12.800 as you could make your own decision, you stopped going 0:29:12.840 --> 0:29:16.440 and your life took a pretty dangerous path from there. 0:29:16.560 --> 0:29:18.960 Tell us a little bit about your testimony of what 0:29:18.960 --> 0:29:21.440 it took for God to really get Ahold of your heart. 0:29:21.560 --> 0:29:24.040 I did grow up in church, and my mom taught 0:29:24.040 --> 0:29:28.200 Sunday school, and when I graduated high school, I did 0:29:28.200 --> 0:29:29.880 what a lot of young people did, and I just 0:29:29.880 --> 0:29:33.000 abandoned the church. The reason I abandoned the church was 0:29:33.040 --> 0:29:36.520 I didn't have a relationship with Christ. And quite frankly, 0:29:36.520 --> 0:29:38.479 most of the people that I grew up with and 0:29:38.480 --> 0:29:40.280 knew were a lot like me. You know, they went 0:29:40.280 --> 0:29:42.720 out on weekends and partied, and then their parents drug 0:29:42.720 --> 0:29:44.640 them to church on Sunday. And then at church, they 0:29:44.680 --> 0:29:46.520 sit on the back row and talked about it. And 0:29:46.520 --> 0:29:49.680 so I walked away from the church for several years, 0:29:49.680 --> 0:29:52.880 went off to college. And, um, anyway, the reason I 0:29:52.880 --> 0:29:56.120 ended up going back to a church, which was really 0:29:56.120 --> 0:29:58.720 going to be a one off, was because I had 0:29:58.720 --> 0:30:02.000 attempted suicide and there was a guy that had been 0:30:02.000 --> 0:30:05.320 brought into our area. I went to hear him really 0:30:05.320 --> 0:30:08.310 hoping to get some tools that I could, I could 0:30:08.350 --> 0:30:11.590 employ to help me escape some of my suicidal thoughts. 0:30:11.790 --> 0:30:13.670 I didn't go to hear the gospel, I can tell 0:30:13.670 --> 0:30:15.310 you that. And I sure didn't go to hear anything 0:30:15.310 --> 0:30:18.750 about Jesus. So that was the intent. The challenge with 0:30:18.750 --> 0:30:21.510 that was he didn't tell anything about his story, which 0:30:21.510 --> 0:30:24.510 I thought he was going to do. Instead, he shared 0:30:24.510 --> 0:30:27.350 the gospel. And that night, I came to the realization 0:30:27.350 --> 0:30:30.230 that I had a religion, but I didn't have a relationship, 0:30:30.230 --> 0:30:32.510 that I knew all about Jesus, but I didn't know 0:30:32.510 --> 0:30:35.950 him personally. And as the speaker said, I was one 0:30:35.950 --> 0:30:37.670 of those people that one day were going to wake 0:30:37.670 --> 0:30:41.350 up in a godless eternity singing amazing Grace. 0:30:41.550 --> 0:30:43.950 Wow, what an amazing story. Jay, what brought you to 0:30:43.990 --> 0:30:46.790 that point, do you think? What was it? Just the 0:30:46.790 --> 0:30:50.430 emptiness of trying to find something to fill what Pascal 0:30:50.430 --> 0:30:52.870 calls that God shaped void? I mean, what was going 0:30:52.870 --> 0:30:53.390 on there? 0:30:53.430 --> 0:30:55.630 Well, that was certainly part of it, but it wasn't 0:30:55.630 --> 0:30:58.350 all of it. I mean, there was a lot of depression. 0:30:58.350 --> 0:31:01.830 There was some mental health issues. Some of it was situational, too. 0:31:01.830 --> 0:31:04.740 I was 21 years old, and at that time, I 0:31:04.740 --> 0:31:07.660 had lost my job, my car, my girlfriend. I dropped 0:31:07.660 --> 0:31:10.220 out of college. And so there was kind of a 0:31:10.260 --> 0:31:12.900 gumbo of things that had happened where my life was 0:31:12.900 --> 0:31:17.980 falling apart. I was on government unemployment, faking government documents 0:31:17.980 --> 0:31:21.220 because I couldn't work, because I had an addiction. So 0:31:21.380 --> 0:31:24.740 my life was was really I mean, it was unraveling fast. 0:31:25.020 --> 0:31:27.740 Jay, what do you think needs to happen in in 0:31:27.740 --> 0:31:31.460 church today to kind of stem the tide of, of this? 0:31:31.500 --> 0:31:34.260 I mean, if we acknowledge that there are many people 0:31:34.260 --> 0:31:36.900 who may be self-deceived and think they have something that 0:31:36.900 --> 0:31:40.020 they don't, what can we do about it? 0:31:40.220 --> 0:31:44.180 Well, I think the problem really starts with leadership. I mean, 0:31:44.220 --> 0:31:47.260 it's ironic. I've been in full time evangelism for 20 years, 0:31:47.300 --> 0:31:51.100 and I've spoken in every mainline denomination church, and you'd 0:31:51.140 --> 0:31:54.180 be surprised how many times that I have seen people 0:31:54.180 --> 0:31:56.580 come to Christ that have been in church like me 0:31:56.580 --> 0:31:58.900 their whole life. Yeah. You know, it reminds me of 0:31:58.900 --> 0:32:01.220 that passage in Second Timothy when it says, in the 0:32:01.220 --> 0:32:04.140 last days it says chapter three, verse five. One of 0:32:04.140 --> 0:32:06.020 them says, in the last days it will be people 0:32:06.020 --> 0:32:09.100 that have a form of godliness but deny its power. 0:32:09.140 --> 0:32:11.540 And then it goes on. Two verses later it says, 0:32:11.900 --> 0:32:14.780 there will be people who are ever learning and never 0:32:14.780 --> 0:32:16.700 able to come to a knowledge of the truth. And 0:32:16.700 --> 0:32:20.060 here we live in this society where biblical truth and 0:32:20.060 --> 0:32:25.380 theology is accessible anytime, any, place, anywhere. And yet many 0:32:25.380 --> 0:32:28.660 people are ignorant of spiritual truth. And again, in a 0:32:28.660 --> 0:32:32.100 lot of churches, the gospel's never really preached. I mean, 0:32:32.100 --> 0:32:34.820 there are denominations that I've been to that people have 0:32:34.820 --> 0:32:37.620 never heard a clear presentation of the gospel in their life. 0:32:37.620 --> 0:32:39.700 So I think that plays a huge role in it. 0:32:39.740 --> 0:32:42.820 And then I also would say that another aspect of 0:32:42.860 --> 0:32:46.380 that is we can't deny the fact that spiritual darkness, 0:32:46.620 --> 0:32:49.340 that one of the chief goals of the enemy is 0:32:49.340 --> 0:32:51.979 to keep people in darkness. You know, Christ is light, 0:32:51.980 --> 0:32:54.700 the enemy is dark. And you can do a lot 0:32:54.740 --> 0:32:56.660 of things that won't bother him. But if you don't 0:32:56.660 --> 0:32:59.300 know Christ, his main objective is to keep you in 0:32:59.300 --> 0:33:01.250 the dark and not knowing Christ. 0:33:01.290 --> 0:33:05.850 Yeah. This is great. Jay, louder. Our guest right now. Jay, 0:33:06.210 --> 0:33:09.650 we know because we do this, especially on Fridays here 0:33:09.690 --> 0:33:14.650 called it Freedom Friday. But I want you to spike 0:33:14.650 --> 0:33:18.690 for us here if you could, in the most clear terms. 0:33:19.730 --> 0:33:22.730 Spirit of God's got someone here that's been in church 0:33:22.730 --> 0:33:24.810 their whole life. They could have been an elder. They 0:33:24.810 --> 0:33:26.770 could be a pastor. Right, brother? I mean, come on, 0:33:26.770 --> 0:33:31.330 let's get honest here. And yet they don't know Jesus personally. 0:33:31.730 --> 0:33:33.690 Pour it out. What's on your heart? What's the Spirit 0:33:33.690 --> 0:33:35.170 of God bringing to mind right now? 0:33:35.890 --> 0:33:39.250 Well, the first thing I would say is everybody should 0:33:39.250 --> 0:33:42.650 go get a checkup. And people do that physically. And 0:33:42.930 --> 0:33:46.890 the Bible actually tells us to examine ourselves, whether we 0:33:46.930 --> 0:33:50.010 be in the faith that's found in Second Corinthians 13 five, 0:33:50.050 --> 0:33:53.490 and we're to prove our own salvation. And there needs 0:33:53.490 --> 0:33:55.850 to be a red flag that goes up. There needs 0:33:55.850 --> 0:33:59.130 to be a warning signal when we claim to live 0:33:59.360 --> 0:34:02.400 something that we don't practice. And I'm not talking about 0:34:02.400 --> 0:34:06.200 a level of perfection, but something's wrong when you only 0:34:06.200 --> 0:34:09.040 know Christ and name when it doesn't change the way 0:34:09.040 --> 0:34:12.040 you live, when you don't have a concern for other 0:34:12.040 --> 0:34:16.160 people that don't know Christ, and so do a spiritual checkup, 0:34:16.200 --> 0:34:18.880 you know, is the evidence there? Can you extract from 0:34:18.880 --> 0:34:22.840 your life the evidence that Christ lives within you, not just, 0:34:22.880 --> 0:34:25.160 you know, like I said, that you were sprinkled or 0:34:25.160 --> 0:34:28.560 you were baptized or you joined a church or, you know, 0:34:28.560 --> 0:34:31.440 you pray every time you get in trouble. But is 0:34:31.440 --> 0:34:34.640 God real to you? Is there a supernatural hunger to 0:34:34.680 --> 0:34:38.240 follow him? Is there a supernatural hunger to obey him? 0:34:38.400 --> 0:34:40.880 Does he answer your prayers? Is he a priority in 0:34:40.880 --> 0:34:43.560 your life? I mean, again, that's not a conclusive list, 0:34:43.560 --> 0:34:46.320 but those are some things that should be very real 0:34:46.320 --> 0:34:49.280 indicators of whether or not a person has a genuine 0:34:49.280 --> 0:34:52.160 relationship with Christ. You know, you mentioned that there are 0:34:52.160 --> 0:34:56.320 people literally and I've seen this, I mean, pastors or 0:34:56.360 --> 0:34:59.910 Sunday school teachers. I mean, I was preaching not long ago. 0:35:00.070 --> 0:35:03.350 This is a true story. No exaggeration. The guy working 0:35:03.350 --> 0:35:06.310 the soundboard came forward to give his life for Christ. 0:35:06.590 --> 0:35:10.109 He had been working the soundboard for 12 years. The 0:35:10.110 --> 0:35:13.110 lead worship leader in the same service came forward to 0:35:13.150 --> 0:35:15.950 give her life to Christ and eventually the pastor's wife. 0:35:16.150 --> 0:35:19.029 So this isn't a one off. This isn't an anomaly. 0:35:19.350 --> 0:35:22.710 There are multitudes of people that have been deceived by 0:35:22.710 --> 0:35:25.830 the forces of darkness to keep them from knowing Christ. 0:35:25.870 --> 0:35:30.670 God bless you. J. Louder! My goodness, my man. Boom! Crew! 0:35:30.710 --> 0:35:33.150 You're listening to this right now, going, man, I bet 0:35:33.150 --> 0:35:35.870 this guy's got some resources. Boy, does he. We want 0:35:35.910 --> 0:35:37.190 to point you to him right now. 0:35:37.390 --> 0:35:43.110 Text j j a y to 805 55 7898. Just 0:35:43.110 --> 0:35:46.790 type out that one word j a y to 855 0:35:46.830 --> 0:35:48.670 five 7898. 0:35:50.070 --> 0:35:52.430 A holy fear of God is a great thing and 0:35:52.469 --> 0:35:55.510 allows us to approach His word and go, how am 0:35:55.590 --> 0:36:00.710 I doing? Well, if there's traps that are set by Satan, boy, 0:36:00.710 --> 0:36:03.989 does he bait them. And there are traps of inauthentic 0:36:03.989 --> 0:36:06.469 faith that can keep us far from God. I've been 0:36:06.469 --> 0:36:11.310 looking forward to this, doctor. You're with us right now, Jed. 0:36:11.469 --> 0:36:14.030 These traps, they're deadly, aren't they? My man. 0:36:14.390 --> 0:36:16.630 They are deadly. And one of the things that makes 0:36:16.630 --> 0:36:20.230 them so deadly is how deceptive they are. The manner 0:36:20.230 --> 0:36:22.510 in which they come to us is that they seem 0:36:22.510 --> 0:36:25.549 like the way of life, but oftentimes they're the way 0:36:25.550 --> 0:36:28.750 of death. And so that's why I think Jesus sounds 0:36:28.750 --> 0:36:31.469 the alarm so intensely like he does. 0:36:31.630 --> 0:36:34.790 Doctor Jed Coppinger, our guest right now. Okay. So start 0:36:34.790 --> 0:36:37.149 to break these down for us. You come at this 0:36:37.150 --> 0:36:40.950 from a pastor's perspective. You've been in ministry for quite 0:36:40.989 --> 0:36:43.430 a while. How have you seen this play out both 0:36:43.430 --> 0:36:45.069 in your own life, but then in the life of 0:36:45.070 --> 0:36:46.190 those you've pastored? 0:36:46.710 --> 0:36:50.669 Yeah, I've seen this play out. It's been so surprising 0:36:50.710 --> 0:36:52.870 to me because the things you think you need to 0:36:52.870 --> 0:36:55.299 watch out for are for those those big sins in 0:36:55.300 --> 0:36:58.219 the culture, which of course, we need to stand against. 0:36:58.380 --> 0:37:01.779 But Jesus sounds the alarm for something much more subtle, 0:37:02.140 --> 0:37:05.820 something much more hidden. That's that's in our own hearts 0:37:05.820 --> 0:37:08.339 that we need to be aware of, that we can 0:37:08.380 --> 0:37:11.459 actually be the the kind of people he's talking about 0:37:11.460 --> 0:37:14.779 who honor him with their lips, but really have a 0:37:14.780 --> 0:37:17.020 heart that's far from him. 0:37:17.060 --> 0:37:22.180 What's interesting is that it's this grand, oh, the God 0:37:22.180 --> 0:37:24.540 of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving. 0:37:24.580 --> 0:37:27.180 Let's just start there. If the if the God of 0:37:27.180 --> 0:37:29.540 the age, the prince and power of the air. Satan 0:37:29.540 --> 0:37:35.380 himself has blinded minds. How how does the veil come down? 0:37:35.540 --> 0:37:38.940 Well, it's a miracle when it comes down, right? God says, 0:37:38.940 --> 0:37:41.660 let there be light. Second Corinthians four says this every 0:37:41.700 --> 0:37:46.060 time there's a regeneration, every time there's there's that new life. 0:37:46.060 --> 0:37:48.540 But we have a role to play in that. And 0:37:48.540 --> 0:37:50.259 I think one of the things that I found in 0:37:50.260 --> 0:37:53.130 my own life as someone who was a fake Christian. 0:37:53.370 --> 0:37:55.529 Up until I was 20 years old. I knew the 0:37:55.530 --> 0:37:58.410 right answers. I had all the truths in my head, 0:37:58.410 --> 0:38:00.850 but I had a heart that was far from him. 0:38:00.850 --> 0:38:04.610 I was like those whitewashed tombs that Jesus talked about 0:38:04.850 --> 0:38:07.730 in his final public message there on the Tuesday of 0:38:07.730 --> 0:38:11.530 Easter week, where he said everything looked good on the outside, 0:38:11.530 --> 0:38:14.930 but it was filled with dead men's bones. I had 0:38:14.930 --> 0:38:17.529 a zeal for God, kind of like Paul talked about, 0:38:17.530 --> 0:38:20.930 but not according to knowledge. And and so one of 0:38:20.930 --> 0:38:22.290 the things you got to do is you got to 0:38:22.290 --> 0:38:24.650 keep coming back to the Word of God and saying, 0:38:24.810 --> 0:38:29.930 am I a Christian or am I an American cultural Christian, 0:38:29.930 --> 0:38:32.370 which is someone who says, I've been a Christian my 0:38:32.370 --> 0:38:35.170 whole life, but it doesn't really make any big difference 0:38:35.170 --> 0:38:38.210 in my life, except for maybe in a really scary moment. 0:38:38.210 --> 0:38:41.770 That's why I think that quote by John Piper is 0:38:41.770 --> 0:38:44.970 so important. He says, you know, New Testament Christianity isn't 0:38:44.969 --> 0:38:48.969 just about new decisions, it's about new affections. Are you 0:38:48.969 --> 0:38:52.890 alive to God. Do you enjoy God? Do you enjoy 0:38:52.890 --> 0:38:56.530 walking in the word? Like James says, not being just 0:38:56.530 --> 0:39:00.330 a hearer of the word, but a doer of the word? 0:39:00.330 --> 0:39:04.850 Because if you're just a hearer, you're deceiving yourself. The 0:39:04.850 --> 0:39:08.370 the New Testament teaches us that no one lies to 0:39:08.370 --> 0:39:11.730 us more than ourselves, and the only way to get 0:39:11.730 --> 0:39:15.410 out of that trap is by walking in the truth. 0:39:15.450 --> 0:39:17.530 The truth is found in the Word of God. 0:39:17.890 --> 0:39:20.730 Jed, what caused you to confront this in your own life? 0:39:20.730 --> 0:39:24.330 You mentioned coming to genuine saving faith at age 20 0:39:24.690 --> 0:39:28.930 after years of of fake Christianity. What caused you to 0:39:28.969 --> 0:39:30.290 see the difference? 0:39:30.730 --> 0:39:34.890 You know, from a human perspective, I got to experience 0:39:34.890 --> 0:39:37.969 the emptiness of success. I got all the things that 0:39:37.969 --> 0:39:40.450 I wanted. Sometimes we come to Christ in a really 0:39:40.450 --> 0:39:42.970 tough time, and we realize we need someone to pull 0:39:42.969 --> 0:39:45.930 us out of the ditch another time. Other times, and 0:39:45.930 --> 0:39:48.090 this is the case for me, is that we finally 0:39:48.090 --> 0:39:51.160 get to the bottom of the broken cistern and we realize, man, 0:39:51.160 --> 0:39:54.400 there's got to be something more to life than this success, 0:39:54.400 --> 0:39:58.279 whatever the success might be for a person. For me, 0:39:58.320 --> 0:40:00.759 it was basketball. It was the party life. It was 0:40:00.760 --> 0:40:04.160 all those kinds of things. And I had all of 0:40:04.160 --> 0:40:07.360 it that I kind of had oriented my whole life around. 0:40:07.400 --> 0:40:11.239 And I was just empty, and I wasn't experiencing the 0:40:11.239 --> 0:40:14.480 fullness of what Jesus talks about is alone in his presence, 0:40:14.480 --> 0:40:17.840 fullness of joy, eternal pleasures. He's calling us to more, 0:40:18.040 --> 0:40:21.080 not to settle for what the world offers. And so 0:40:21.080 --> 0:40:23.480 I gave my life to him on August of my 0:40:23.480 --> 0:40:24.680 junior year in college. 0:40:25.080 --> 0:40:27.520 You know, Pastor Jed, I got to tell you, if 0:40:27.560 --> 0:40:30.399 you look at John 16, we've looked at this one 0:40:30.400 --> 0:40:32.919 little passage here. I'm just going to do it from 0:40:32.920 --> 0:40:35.680 my heart here. Jesus says, if anyone would come after me, 0:40:35.680 --> 0:40:39.680 let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. 0:40:40.440 --> 0:40:43.120 You got to lose your life to gain it. And 0:40:43.120 --> 0:40:44.960 then he says, what does it profit a man to 0:40:45.000 --> 0:40:48.350 gain the whole world and lose his soul. The interesting 0:40:48.390 --> 0:40:51.910 thing here is that we've looked at self-denial as like 0:40:51.910 --> 0:40:57.030 pinnacle Christianity. Wow, you're really rocking with Jesus when you're self-denial. 0:40:57.270 --> 0:41:02.110 Jesus says self-denial is the. It's the threshold of salvation. 0:41:02.110 --> 0:41:04.589 It's the gate by which we pass. Pour out your 0:41:04.590 --> 0:41:05.550 heart on that, Jed. 0:41:05.750 --> 0:41:08.830 Yeah, it's it's it is absolutely a critical part of it. 0:41:09.110 --> 0:41:11.350 What Jesus is trying to do there is to try 0:41:11.350 --> 0:41:13.509 to get us to die to these things that will 0:41:13.510 --> 0:41:16.350 never give us life anyways, right? He says, for what 0:41:16.350 --> 0:41:18.830 does it profit a man to gain the whole world 0:41:18.830 --> 0:41:22.470 and forfeit his soul? I, I like the way that, uh, 0:41:22.590 --> 0:41:24.710 the comedian Jim Carrey put it one time. He says, 0:41:24.710 --> 0:41:27.350 I wish everyone could get rich and famous and everything 0:41:27.350 --> 0:41:30.350 they ever dreamed of so they could see. It's not 0:41:30.350 --> 0:41:33.750 the answer. And I think that that's a something that 0:41:33.750 --> 0:41:36.190 Jesus is trying to highlight for us. But the enemy 0:41:36.230 --> 0:41:39.790 wants us to understand, wants to keep us trapped and 0:41:39.830 --> 0:41:42.190 and keep us far from God. And the way that 0:41:42.190 --> 0:41:45.230 he does that is by is by that It's crazy 0:41:45.230 --> 0:41:47.630 lie that we're all tempted to believe, which is, you know, 0:41:47.630 --> 0:41:50.590 what's going to bring you satisfaction just a little bit more, 0:41:50.950 --> 0:41:52.870 just a little bit more at work. Just a little 0:41:52.910 --> 0:41:57.190 bit more money. Just a little bit. Another trip, more applause, 0:41:57.190 --> 0:41:59.710 more affirmation. Whatever the thing might be, it's never going 0:41:59.750 --> 0:42:02.669 to be enough. Be enough. That's what Jesus says. The 0:42:02.670 --> 0:42:05.310 way to salvation isn't by keeping going down the path 0:42:05.310 --> 0:42:09.790 you're going down. It's by turning. It's repenting and dying 0:42:09.830 --> 0:42:14.509 to that old way and receiving by faith the life 0:42:14.510 --> 0:42:17.509 that he has purchased for you by your blood, by 0:42:17.510 --> 0:42:20.670 his blood. Not something that you could earn, only something 0:42:20.670 --> 0:42:23.870 you can receive by faith. And when you receive that 0:42:23.870 --> 0:42:26.430 gift by faith, it changes you. 0:42:27.030 --> 0:42:30.790 You know, I gotta tell you. Um, going back to Piper, 0:42:30.950 --> 0:42:33.310 he spoke in Atlanta with Louie Giglio a number of 0:42:33.310 --> 0:42:36.589 years ago now to about 30, 40,000 students. And he 0:42:36.790 --> 0:42:40.469 made the statement, there are millions and millions and millions 0:42:41.390 --> 0:42:45.460 of people who go to great Bible preaching churches every 0:42:45.460 --> 0:42:49.580 weekend and are lost as can be. What do you 0:42:49.580 --> 0:42:50.300 say to that? 0:42:51.060 --> 0:42:55.339 I would say that's a very biblical perspective. Jesus in 0:42:55.340 --> 0:42:59.540 Matthew chapter 23, which is what my book is primarily 0:42:59.540 --> 0:43:02.900 based on. He's talking to people who have Old Testament 0:43:02.900 --> 0:43:07.500 books memorized, like the ones that we're tempted to skip over, 0:43:07.700 --> 0:43:10.299 right in the, in the Old Testament in our Bible reading. 0:43:10.380 --> 0:43:13.620 Some of those guys had those things memorized, and still 0:43:13.820 --> 0:43:16.620 they missed it. They missed the truth of what it 0:43:16.620 --> 0:43:19.300 was all about, which is looking to Jesus and placing 0:43:19.300 --> 0:43:24.460 our faith in Him and His work, not in us thinking, 0:43:24.460 --> 0:43:26.020 you know what? I'm going to do this. I'm going 0:43:26.060 --> 0:43:28.180 to do this. I'm going to avoid that. And you 0:43:28.180 --> 0:43:29.940 know what? I've got a good chance in heaven. I 0:43:29.940 --> 0:43:32.620 think I'm going to be good enough. It's someone that 0:43:32.620 --> 0:43:36.299 looks at Jesus and says, Jesus, you alone are my 0:43:36.300 --> 0:43:40.780 only hope for salvation, and you alone are my only 0:43:40.820 --> 0:43:44.529 guide for life. You're my saviour, you're my lord. And 0:43:44.530 --> 0:43:48.770 you're my greatest treasure. And I'll leave everything. Whatever it 0:43:48.770 --> 0:43:50.609 is that you call me to do. Because as long 0:43:50.610 --> 0:43:52.850 as I have you, I have everything. That's what I 0:43:52.850 --> 0:43:55.930 said on that. That night in August of my junior 0:43:55.930 --> 0:43:59.010 year in college, I just remember thinking, man, I've wasted 0:43:59.010 --> 0:44:02.490 everything that you've given me, Lord. But whatever I have now, 0:44:02.489 --> 0:44:05.569 it's all yours. All my sin. All my. You say, 0:44:05.570 --> 0:44:07.730 come to me. All you who are weary and heavy laden. 0:44:07.730 --> 0:44:11.490 I'm collapsing in your arms of grace. And I'm trusting you. 0:44:11.890 --> 0:44:14.089 Jed, you break it down pretty practically in this book 0:44:14.090 --> 0:44:17.930 I'm looking at some of these chapter titles. Fake Christianity 0:44:18.130 --> 0:44:23.970 fails to practice what it preaches, mandates higher standards for others, 0:44:24.010 --> 0:44:27.969 is motivated by human attention and affirmation. Those are the 0:44:27.969 --> 0:44:30.649 first three chapters. Pick one and and break it down 0:44:30.650 --> 0:44:31.330 a little bit. 0:44:31.570 --> 0:44:35.250 I found that the motivation for human attention Jesus says 0:44:35.250 --> 0:44:38.970 that they expanded their phylacteries and prayer shawls and different 0:44:38.969 --> 0:44:41.490 things like this. He says they did this to be 0:44:41.489 --> 0:44:44.210 seen by others. He's letting us know that it's easy 0:44:44.210 --> 0:44:46.890 for us to do the right thing in the wrong way, 0:44:46.890 --> 0:44:50.489 that we can slip into a performer's mentality and to 0:44:50.489 --> 0:44:54.890 be motivated to buy human attention and affirmation. And Jesus 0:44:54.890 --> 0:44:58.129 says he wants us to be motivated with a servant's heart, 0:44:58.130 --> 0:45:01.089 to be helpful and to bring glory to him and man. 0:45:01.090 --> 0:45:03.529 It is easy to slip into that. I remember early 0:45:03.530 --> 0:45:05.969 on in my ministry, I was getting ready to preach 0:45:06.010 --> 0:45:08.610 a message on a passage that was really an easy 0:45:08.610 --> 0:45:11.969 passage to preach on, but I was so anxious and 0:45:11.969 --> 0:45:14.010 as I examined why it was, I was so anxious, 0:45:14.010 --> 0:45:16.130 I realized it wasn't because I was worried I would 0:45:16.130 --> 0:45:18.690 get the truth of scripture wrong. It was because I 0:45:18.690 --> 0:45:20.770 was worried that I wouldn't be thought of as a 0:45:20.770 --> 0:45:24.610 good preacher, and without even realizing it, my heart had 0:45:24.610 --> 0:45:29.730 slipped into a performer's mentality. I wanted to be seen 0:45:29.770 --> 0:45:33.290 affirmed by others for doing these things. Jesus calls us 0:45:33.290 --> 0:45:37.049 to something more, to be a servant, to bring him glory, 0:45:37.050 --> 0:45:40.240 to be consumed with that kind of approach. And that's 0:45:40.239 --> 0:45:43.239 the place of freedom. That's the place of peace. 0:45:43.640 --> 0:45:46.919 Beautiful man. I gotta tell you, pastor, this is some 0:45:46.920 --> 0:45:49.319 good stuff here. And I when I saw that this 0:45:49.320 --> 0:45:52.399 book came out, I'm like, Katie, bar the door. We 0:45:52.440 --> 0:45:55.879 got to get Pastor Jed in here. And you. You 0:45:55.920 --> 0:45:58.160 crushed it, my man. Name of the book is Fake 0:45:58.160 --> 0:46:04.040 Christianity ten traps of an inauthentic Faith. This is good 0:46:04.200 --> 0:46:06.680 for you. I want you to check it out. Text 0:46:06.719 --> 0:46:11.319 the word fake. Text the word fake. You might not 0:46:11.320 --> 0:46:13.239 want to have anyone looking over your shoulder when you 0:46:13.239 --> 0:46:18.880 text it. Just text the word fake to 800 555 7898. 0:46:18.880 --> 0:46:24.120 Just that one word fake to 800 555 7898. Before 0:46:24.120 --> 0:46:26.200 I let you go, I got one question here revolves 0:46:26.200 --> 0:46:30.719 around parents. There's an epidemic and I've been a pastor. Now. 0:46:30.719 --> 0:46:33.080 I'm not a radio guy. I just stumbled into this 0:46:33.120 --> 0:46:36.120 in the last ten years. Know God called me into it. 0:46:36.390 --> 0:46:39.430 Let's get that right. But I've been a pastor for 0:46:39.430 --> 0:46:43.469 a lot of years, and I've seen this in our 0:46:43.469 --> 0:46:46.710 church campuses here in Chicago alone. We have my wife 0:46:46.710 --> 0:46:51.270 says now, 41 kids that were raised in church in good, imperfect, 0:46:51.270 --> 0:46:54.710 but good Christian homes who are far from God. There's 0:46:54.710 --> 0:46:57.150 a tendency, though, for a lot of moms and dads 0:46:57.150 --> 0:47:00.430 to find validation in where their kids are, and so 0:47:00.430 --> 0:47:02.870 they don't even pray for their kids rightly. They're praying 0:47:02.870 --> 0:47:04.629 for them to get back to church when the prayer 0:47:04.670 --> 0:47:07.190 needs to be God, get them in you. Would you 0:47:07.190 --> 0:47:08.470 pour out your heart on that one? 0:47:08.830 --> 0:47:12.830 Yeah. I mean, nothing shows us more than anything about 0:47:12.830 --> 0:47:15.670 the need for a prayer life than parenting, because it 0:47:15.710 --> 0:47:17.830 reveals to us I'm at a family camp right now 0:47:17.870 --> 0:47:22.029 talking to folks about this issue right here, because it's 0:47:22.030 --> 0:47:25.710 so critical, because you cannot control outcomes. You can only 0:47:25.710 --> 0:47:28.590 cultivate them just like a farmer. You can do the 0:47:28.630 --> 0:47:30.710 work in the soil, but you need God to send 0:47:30.710 --> 0:47:32.630 the rain. And that's why we want to be a 0:47:32.630 --> 0:47:34.710 people that pray. And our prayer lives show that we 0:47:34.710 --> 0:47:38.549 believe God is is loving enough and powerful enough to 0:47:38.590 --> 0:47:42.110 work in our kids lives. And also it shows that 0:47:42.110 --> 0:47:47.029 we are humble enough in a stage where we need it. 0:47:47.030 --> 0:47:50.629 Pride doesn't pray. That's why Jesus points us to a 0:47:50.630 --> 0:47:53.790 father child relationship. At this stage where our child needs 0:47:53.790 --> 0:47:57.069 help with daily bread to show us, this is what 0:47:57.070 --> 0:47:59.790 I want you to think about when you think about prayer, 0:48:00.070 --> 0:48:03.189 that pride doesn't pray. So let's fight that pride with 0:48:03.190 --> 0:48:06.230 our prayer lives. Let's pray our problems. Let's pray our fears. 0:48:06.230 --> 0:48:09.230 Let's pray our tears. All the things that you're dealing 0:48:09.230 --> 0:48:12.430 with with your kids. Let's pray that God sends the rain. 0:48:12.430 --> 0:48:15.990 That he sends the fire, that he awakens hearts and 0:48:15.989 --> 0:48:20.029 stirs them. We don't just want kids who are moral, 0:48:20.030 --> 0:48:22.029 which is great. That keeps you out of jail. We 0:48:22.030 --> 0:48:24.310 want kids going to heaven and that's why we need 0:48:24.310 --> 0:48:26.029 to pray for regeneration. 0:48:26.110 --> 0:48:30.870 Amen. Good stuff guys. Grab it takes the word fake 0:48:31.110 --> 0:48:34.460 to 800 Five, 55, 78, 98. It'll give you a 0:48:34.460 --> 0:48:38.540 link to fake Christianity. Ten traps of inauthentic Faith. Pastor, 0:48:38.540 --> 0:48:40.859 thanks for being with us today. Appreciate you so much, 0:48:40.900 --> 0:48:45.180 my man. When you encounter the love of God, it 0:48:45.180 --> 0:48:48.180 just overflows. And we've had some guests on here before 0:48:48.180 --> 0:48:51.819 that have some powerful ministries and you're like, whoa, look 0:48:51.860 --> 0:48:56.100 at what God's doing through these crazy yahoos. Yahoo! 0:48:56.780 --> 0:48:57.859 Where did that come from? 0:48:57.900 --> 0:48:59.980 It came from my pastor way back in the day. 0:49:00.180 --> 0:49:03.419 Called us all yahoos. So some of these yahoos come 0:49:03.420 --> 0:49:05.940 in here and you're like, man, look at what God did. 0:49:05.980 --> 0:49:07.819 But then you peel it back and peel it back 0:49:07.820 --> 0:49:11.220 and peel it back and you go, oh, they're blown 0:49:11.219 --> 0:49:13.980 away by the grace of God. Because much like what 0:49:13.980 --> 0:49:19.340 we're talking about today, they had this grand hallucination of salvation. 0:49:19.340 --> 0:49:23.540 And then God, by his grace, pulled down the blinders. Who, 0:49:23.580 --> 0:49:25.340 the God of this age has blinded the minds of 0:49:25.340 --> 0:49:28.700 the unbelieving. And then they see. Phil, we'll talk about 0:49:28.700 --> 0:49:30.219 your ministry at the end of this, but we got 0:49:30.260 --> 0:49:32.609 to talk to you first about your story. You were 0:49:32.610 --> 0:49:34.050 in that, weren't you, my man? 0:49:34.530 --> 0:49:36.810 I was, and I appreciate you having me on this morning. 0:49:36.850 --> 0:49:39.490 Yeah. All right, let's break it down a little bit. Phil. 0:49:39.810 --> 0:49:44.450 Give us your pedigree from a from a religious standpoint, 0:49:44.930 --> 0:49:47.210 what did Satan use to kind of pull the wool 0:49:47.210 --> 0:49:49.569 over your eyes? That you had a relationship with God, 0:49:49.570 --> 0:49:51.930 but you didn't. What was going on in your childhood 0:49:51.969 --> 0:49:52.810 and upbringing? 0:49:53.010 --> 0:49:54.810 First of all, I was raised in a Christian home 0:49:54.810 --> 0:49:57.810 and my parents were believers. And, um, I went to 0:49:57.850 --> 0:50:02.130 Christian school basically all my life, and I just figured 0:50:02.170 --> 0:50:04.450 I was a guy who basically, I realized at the 0:50:04.450 --> 0:50:05.969 end of the day, went through the motions. You know, 0:50:05.969 --> 0:50:07.690 I went to church on Sundays, but the rest of 0:50:07.690 --> 0:50:09.770 my life I was not living for the Lord. So 0:50:09.770 --> 0:50:11.689 there was really not a heart change or a mind 0:50:11.730 --> 0:50:14.290 change that was there. Um, but I thought I was good, 0:50:14.290 --> 0:50:17.810 I thought I was in and, um, it wasn't until 0:50:18.130 --> 0:50:20.210 I graduated high school, and, you know, I was a 0:50:20.210 --> 0:50:21.969 person who had a very strong will. Whatever I put 0:50:21.969 --> 0:50:24.730 my mind to, I wanted to accomplish that task. And 0:50:24.770 --> 0:50:26.890 so for me, I wanted to get a scholarship to 0:50:26.930 --> 0:50:28.569 pay for school in college. And so I ended up 0:50:28.570 --> 0:50:31.330 getting an athletic scholarship and ended up out of my 0:50:31.330 --> 0:50:33.489 parent's home. Went through a lot of depression, a lot 0:50:33.530 --> 0:50:38.730 of struggle, a lot of, uh, you know, abusing things. And, um, 0:50:38.730 --> 0:50:40.770 you know, I really just did not my heart was 0:50:40.770 --> 0:50:42.890 not set on the Lord, but I didn't realize it. 0:50:42.890 --> 0:50:45.009 And my mom would always send me these notes and 0:50:45.010 --> 0:50:47.410 these letters and just say, hey, Phil, we're praying for you. 0:50:47.410 --> 0:50:49.890 And then eventually, I ended up flunking out of school 0:50:49.930 --> 0:50:52.330 my junior year because I had I was living the 0:50:52.330 --> 0:50:55.489 wrong kind of life, and I ended up transferring schools. 0:50:55.489 --> 0:50:59.129 And then I met this girl. Uh, her name is Carrie. And, uh, 0:50:59.130 --> 0:51:00.650 there was the first time I met her. I knew 0:51:00.690 --> 0:51:03.569 there was something different about her. She was a Christian. 0:51:03.610 --> 0:51:05.330 She said she was a Christian. But her life and 0:51:05.330 --> 0:51:07.850 my life, we did not line up at all. We 0:51:07.850 --> 0:51:10.370 couldn't have been farthest from the truth. But she was beautiful. 0:51:10.690 --> 0:51:12.569 And the day I saw her, I thought, that's the 0:51:12.570 --> 0:51:15.490 girl that I want to marry. And, um, you know, 0:51:15.530 --> 0:51:17.450 I am married to her now, 19 years. 0:51:17.570 --> 0:51:21.129 Wow. So, Phil Zylka, our guest right now, founder and 0:51:21.130 --> 0:51:23.930 executive director of Phil's friends. We'll get there in a minute. 0:51:23.930 --> 0:51:26.890 But first, we got to know. What did you do? Like, 0:51:27.170 --> 0:51:30.200 so see you meet Kerry and you go, huh? She 0:51:30.200 --> 0:51:32.680 says she's a Christian, too. We should have that in common. 0:51:32.680 --> 0:51:36.480 But why does it feel like we're two totally different lives? 0:51:36.719 --> 0:51:38.160 What did you do with that? 0:51:38.480 --> 0:51:41.040 Well, first of all, I didn't handle it very well. 0:51:41.080 --> 0:51:43.320 You know, I was still living my normal life where, 0:51:43.320 --> 0:51:45.200 you know, I was dating her, but I was still 0:51:45.200 --> 0:51:48.440 a guy that, um, did not deserve to be to 0:51:48.480 --> 0:51:51.040 be dating her. And so I was basically living two 0:51:51.040 --> 0:51:53.960 different lives, but there was something so attractive and different 0:51:53.960 --> 0:51:56.160 about her that I'd never noticed. It was this peace 0:51:56.440 --> 0:51:59.680 that passes all understanding that I had never, ever seen before, really, 0:51:59.680 --> 0:52:02.160 in my life. And I ended up being down on 0:52:02.160 --> 0:52:05.040 spring break in Florida with some of my college friends, 0:52:05.040 --> 0:52:07.399 and at that time she went to a retreat and 0:52:07.400 --> 0:52:09.919 she prayed and she said, Lord, uh, this is not 0:52:09.920 --> 0:52:12.279 going to work unless you change Phil. And so when 0:52:12.280 --> 0:52:14.400 I came back from my trip, I realized that I 0:52:14.400 --> 0:52:17.080 loved her, and now I was truly pursuing her. Um, 0:52:17.120 --> 0:52:19.600 in a way, you know, she let go of the situation, 0:52:19.600 --> 0:52:21.279 which is what God does in all our lives. And 0:52:21.280 --> 0:52:23.480 we let go. He steps in and we're able to 0:52:23.480 --> 0:52:25.910 move forward, um, in the way that he wants, and 0:52:25.910 --> 0:52:28.990 he's able to work in those situations again when we 0:52:29.030 --> 0:52:31.509 let go of ourselves. And so I went through that. 0:52:31.510 --> 0:52:34.069 But then by the time I turned 22 on our 0:52:34.070 --> 0:52:37.190 two year dating anniversary, I was diagnosed with stage four cancer. 0:52:37.190 --> 0:52:39.430 And that's when life really changed for me. 0:52:39.469 --> 0:52:42.270 What happened? Phil, when you get diagnosed with cancer, what? 0:52:42.390 --> 0:52:43.910 What did the doc say to you and what do 0:52:43.910 --> 0:52:45.190 you feel like in that moment? 0:52:45.550 --> 0:52:48.950 Oh, I felt absolutely horrible. My dad is the one 0:52:48.950 --> 0:52:51.790 who we had arranged for him to receive the news, 0:52:51.989 --> 0:52:53.310 because I had been in and out of the doctor 0:52:53.310 --> 0:52:54.750 for about a year, they didn't know what was wrong 0:52:54.750 --> 0:52:58.390 with me. Lost £40. Night sweats, hip pains, fevers. You know, 0:52:58.390 --> 0:53:00.590 all of it. My dad came home. I was laying 0:53:00.590 --> 0:53:03.230 upstairs in my bedroom and came home early from work. 0:53:03.230 --> 0:53:04.670 And he said, Phil, I don't know to tell you this, 0:53:04.670 --> 0:53:06.790 but I talked to the doctors. And you have cancer. 0:53:07.070 --> 0:53:09.350 And right there, my dad did something again as a believer, 0:53:09.350 --> 0:53:12.310 very important with me. He prayed with me and he said, Lord, 0:53:12.310 --> 0:53:14.629 I know that fills your child. No matter. No matter 0:53:14.630 --> 0:53:16.469 what happens in his life, no matter how long he's 0:53:16.469 --> 0:53:18.549 supposed to live. I just pray that he'll be a 0:53:18.590 --> 0:53:20.790 witness for you. And when he said Amen, I had 0:53:20.790 --> 0:53:23.469 just like this little thimbleful of peace. Like maybe we 0:53:23.469 --> 0:53:25.790 can do something about this, but it was still going 0:53:25.830 --> 0:53:27.110 to be a very long journey. 0:53:27.150 --> 0:53:30.710 Wow. So when did you when did you would you 0:53:30.710 --> 0:53:33.310 say you came to genuine faith in Christ? Was it 0:53:33.350 --> 0:53:36.190 was it as you were wrestling with this news of 0:53:36.190 --> 0:53:37.350 this diagnosis? 0:53:37.670 --> 0:53:39.629 No, I wasn't there yet. Again, I was a person 0:53:39.630 --> 0:53:42.230 with a strong will. So I thought, what I've put 0:53:42.230 --> 0:53:43.989 into sports and, you know, I learned a lot of 0:53:43.989 --> 0:53:47.310 great things through that. And given everything you have, I 0:53:47.310 --> 0:53:49.149 really thought, okay, now I'm going to put all my 0:53:49.150 --> 0:53:52.470 energy into getting better. And so I did six months 0:53:52.469 --> 0:53:54.790 of chemo, got better, started my first year as a 0:53:54.790 --> 0:53:58.190 fourth grade teacher. Fast forward a few months. I'm rediagnosed 0:53:58.190 --> 0:54:00.790 again and this time I'm yelling at God, you know, 0:54:00.790 --> 0:54:02.469 on the top of my lungs in the in the 0:54:02.469 --> 0:54:05.029 hospital room saying, I don't understand this. I thought I 0:54:05.030 --> 0:54:06.989 was doing what you wanted me to do, you know, 0:54:07.030 --> 0:54:09.030 type of thing. But again, it was still all about me. 0:54:09.030 --> 0:54:12.950 I hadn't fully surrendered. Went through. Fast forward for that 0:54:12.950 --> 0:54:16.390 next year did chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant. And it 0:54:16.390 --> 0:54:19.270 was that time when I was hooked up to tubes, uh, 0:54:19.310 --> 0:54:22.339 you know, for feeding. I was on oxygen. Too sick 0:54:22.340 --> 0:54:23.739 to have a sip of water because I had such 0:54:23.739 --> 0:54:25.899 bad sores up and down my esophagus. And that was 0:54:25.900 --> 0:54:28.100 the time when I finally hit my breaking point. And 0:54:28.100 --> 0:54:30.340 that's when I cried out to God, because I realized 0:54:30.340 --> 0:54:32.260 I was not going to get through this on my own. 0:54:32.300 --> 0:54:34.620 So I basically had to get over myself because that 0:54:34.620 --> 0:54:37.859 was the roadblock between me and God. And so I 0:54:37.900 --> 0:54:40.180 just cried out to him and promised. And I said, Lord, 0:54:40.180 --> 0:54:43.100 I believe Jesus died for me. Please take me to heaven. 0:54:43.100 --> 0:54:44.900 I don't want to be in this pain. I can't 0:54:44.900 --> 0:54:46.860 do this on my own. But if it's not my time, 0:54:46.860 --> 0:54:49.020 I promise you can have the rest of my life. 0:54:49.260 --> 0:54:51.379 And once I said Amen to that, it's like the 0:54:51.380 --> 0:54:54.660 whole situation changed. I realized I wasn't going through this 0:54:54.660 --> 0:54:56.779 so I could become a better person. Or, you know, 0:54:56.820 --> 0:54:58.940 those are kind of byproducts of it. But I was 0:54:58.940 --> 0:55:01.020 going through it because God had a real calling on 0:55:01.020 --> 0:55:03.180 my life to be able to help other people. He 0:55:03.180 --> 0:55:05.220 had shown me a real need, and now he wanted 0:55:05.219 --> 0:55:08.020 me to get out there and use all those things 0:55:08.020 --> 0:55:09.660 that I had before, the way he'd wired me of 0:55:09.660 --> 0:55:11.700 the strong will and all those things, but have that 0:55:11.700 --> 0:55:14.620 fully surrendered to him so that he could use that. 0:55:14.660 --> 0:55:16.899 And I'm telling you, once you get to that point 0:55:17.100 --> 0:55:21.690 in life, I mean, everything changes. Everything your outlook, your view. 0:55:21.850 --> 0:55:23.609 You don't want anything to go back. You can say 0:55:23.610 --> 0:55:25.690 things like, I am so glad I went through stage 0:55:25.690 --> 0:55:28.930 four cancer twice. Why? Because it got me to that 0:55:28.930 --> 0:55:32.130 point where I can surrender fully to God and he 0:55:32.130 --> 0:55:32.850 can use me. 0:55:33.170 --> 0:55:36.410 Yeah, Phil, there's a lot of people facing roadblocks right now, 0:55:36.410 --> 0:55:39.410 and they come in a lot of different forms, and 0:55:39.410 --> 0:55:43.410 they can have a ladder leaning against the wall of success. 0:55:43.410 --> 0:55:46.450 They can have they can have it. They can have 0:55:46.489 --> 0:55:49.930 a ladder leaning against the wall of addiction. There's so 0:55:49.930 --> 0:55:53.169 many things that get in the way, just mere religiosity. 0:55:53.210 --> 0:55:54.730 If I can just go to church more, if I 0:55:54.730 --> 0:55:57.370 can serve more. But they're lost as can be. I 0:55:57.370 --> 0:56:00.290 want you to give the gospel right now to everyone listening. 0:56:00.290 --> 0:56:02.930 I want you to tell them what needs to happen 0:56:02.930 --> 0:56:04.090 to be born again. 0:56:04.489 --> 0:56:06.970 To be born again. It's really putting your faith fully 0:56:06.969 --> 0:56:10.370 in Jesus Christ. It says the most quoted verse in 0:56:10.370 --> 0:56:12.529 the Bible, For God so loved the world that he 0:56:12.530 --> 0:56:15.210 gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him, 0:56:15.210 --> 0:56:19.160 whoever believes in him, will not perish but have eternal life. 0:56:19.400 --> 0:56:21.759 And it's getting to that point of surrender and saying, Lord, 0:56:21.760 --> 0:56:24.040 I can't do this anymore. I throw my hands up. 0:56:24.040 --> 0:56:26.319 I put my knees on the ground. Whether I'm in 0:56:26.320 --> 0:56:28.480 my hospital bed or wherever it is going through a 0:56:28.480 --> 0:56:33.320 family issue, depression, addiction. Get to that point and say, Lord, 0:56:33.320 --> 0:56:36.279 I cannot do this because we're all broken people and 0:56:36.280 --> 0:56:39.040 Jesus wants to heal us, not just physically. And we'll 0:56:39.040 --> 0:56:41.920 all get that physical healing one day in heaven. But 0:56:41.920 --> 0:56:44.640 most importantly, spiritually so we can be one with him. 0:56:44.680 --> 0:56:46.200 And once you have that, you're going to have all 0:56:46.239 --> 0:56:48.879 the fruits of the spirit of love, joy, peace and 0:56:48.880 --> 0:56:51.680 patience and kindness. And and that's really what was missing 0:56:51.680 --> 0:56:54.040 for me. I saw these people in my life carry 0:56:54.200 --> 0:56:56.719 others that God had strategically planted in my life. They 0:56:56.719 --> 0:56:59.480 had peace that passes all understanding. And I wanted that. 0:56:59.480 --> 0:57:01.799 I desperately wanted that, and the only way that I 0:57:01.800 --> 0:57:05.200 could get there was through the grace of Jesus Christ. 0:57:05.560 --> 0:57:07.000 Yeah, I'm going to do something really different. 0:57:07.000 --> 0:57:09.719 Phil, we're going to bring you back next week, actually, 0:57:09.760 --> 0:57:13.200 to banner AD your ministry. We're going to bring you 0:57:13.200 --> 0:57:15.280 back to banner ad the Ministry. But right now God's 0:57:15.280 --> 0:57:17.640 doing some work here in hearts. You with me, bro? 0:57:18.040 --> 0:57:19.600 I'm with you 100%. 0:57:20.000 --> 0:57:24.320 100%. Um, right now some of you are saying that's me. Um, 0:57:24.320 --> 0:57:28.680 I have I've yelled at God. I've been confused about 0:57:28.680 --> 0:57:32.080 why God's not delivering me. And it's because you've been 0:57:32.080 --> 0:57:36.200 in the way. You're the roadblock. And God is right now, today, saying, 0:57:37.040 --> 0:57:39.680 surrender all to Jesus for the first time in your life. 0:57:40.120 --> 0:57:43.960 No matter. Forget your pedigree. Forget how many verses you know. 0:57:43.960 --> 0:57:48.280 Forget how much you've served. Forget all that stuff. What 0:57:48.280 --> 0:57:51.360 does it profit a man to gain all the accolades? 0:57:51.360 --> 0:57:57.680 I'm doing a little knockoff here of Matthew 16. What 0:57:57.680 --> 0:58:01.400 does it profit you? I'm asking you, this friend, to 0:58:01.440 --> 0:58:03.880 gain all the accolades and all the security of all 0:58:03.880 --> 0:58:06.840 the religious stuff you've been doing, and to lose your soul. 0:58:07.320 --> 0:58:11.880 And the answer is nothing. Nothing. And if today is 0:58:11.880 --> 0:58:15.390 your day of salvation. Feel. I Feel. I just want 0:58:15.390 --> 0:58:17.350 you to pray for all those surrendering right now, and 0:58:17.350 --> 0:58:19.070 then we're going to give a link out to them 0:58:19.470 --> 0:58:21.510 so that they can have their first steps with Jesus. 0:58:21.510 --> 0:58:23.750 I want you to just pray a prayer of salvation 0:58:23.750 --> 0:58:26.430 for everyone listening right now. Let's go. 0:58:27.590 --> 0:58:31.590 Dear Lord. You are a gracious father. You hold the 0:58:31.590 --> 0:58:35.270 whole world in your hands. You care for us physically, spiritually, 0:58:35.270 --> 0:58:37.390 more than we can ever ask or even think or 0:58:37.430 --> 0:58:40.270 even imagine. You love us so much. Yeah, Lord, no 0:58:40.270 --> 0:58:42.510 matter where we are right now, whether you feel close 0:58:42.510 --> 0:58:44.910 to us or far away right now, as we get 0:58:44.910 --> 0:58:49.270 down and surrender ourselves and pray. Lord, I'm sorry for 0:58:49.270 --> 0:58:51.710 my sins. I'm sorry for what I've done. I know 0:58:51.710 --> 0:58:55.030 that sin is what separates me from you and Lord Jesus. 0:58:55.030 --> 0:58:56.910 I just ask that you'll come into my heart, into 0:58:56.950 --> 0:59:00.390 my mind, into my soul, and wash myself free. Thank 0:59:00.390 --> 0:59:02.310 you for going to the cross so that we can 0:59:02.310 --> 0:59:05.790 have eternal life. And Lord, we accept that salvation today 0:59:06.230 --> 0:59:09.470 and we come to you joyfully, leaving ourselves fully at 0:59:09.470 --> 0:59:11.750 the feet of your cross. And we thank you in 0:59:11.750 --> 0:59:14.380 advance for what you're doing right now, in this moment, 0:59:14.380 --> 0:59:17.060 and what you'll do with us in the future. And Lord, 0:59:17.060 --> 0:59:19.820 I also just ask that you'll surround surround each person 0:59:19.820 --> 0:59:22.900 who prayed this prayer this morning, uh, with someone who 0:59:22.900 --> 0:59:25.620 is a believer, with someone who can encourage them and 0:59:25.620 --> 0:59:28.100 place them in a great community. All this we ask 0:59:28.100 --> 0:59:29.460 in Jesus name. Amen. 0:59:29.500 --> 0:59:30.500 Amen. Amen. 0:59:30.700 --> 0:59:33.340 If you're right now responding to the Lord first time 0:59:33.340 --> 0:59:35.860 in your life that you've truly surrendered all to Jesus, 0:59:35.860 --> 0:59:39.860 God caught you at a moment of brokenness. It may 0:59:39.860 --> 0:59:41.980 not be laying in a hospital bed, but you're laying 0:59:41.980 --> 0:59:45.580 in the pain of a self-led life. Jesus is saying, come, 0:59:45.580 --> 0:59:47.500 and if this is you, I just want you right now. 0:59:47.540 --> 0:59:52.300 First time ever truly surrendering to Jesus. All of the 0:59:52.300 --> 0:59:56.380 actions before were empty compared to this moment. Just text 0:59:56.380 --> 1:00:01.900 the word new right now to 800 555 7898. Just 1:00:01.900 --> 1:00:07.460 text the word new right now to 800 555 7898. 1:00:07.500 --> 1:00:09.060 I want you to stay on the horn here. Phil. 1:00:09.060 --> 1:00:11.060 We're going to shout out some last four numbers of 1:00:11.060 --> 1:00:14.180 all the people responding to Jesus this morning all over 1:00:14.180 --> 1:00:18.900 North America and beyond. Right now, we've got some resources 1:00:18.900 --> 1:00:21.300 we're going to send your way to say welcome to 1:00:21.340 --> 1:00:25.419 the family. If right now, today, you are surrendering your 1:00:25.420 --> 1:00:30.060 life to Jesus, you know what went on before. But 1:00:30.060 --> 1:00:33.860 today is new. Just text the word new right now 1:00:34.380 --> 1:00:40.300 to 800, 555, 78, 98. Just that one word. New 1:00:41.020 --> 1:00:48.020 to 800, 555, 78, 98. It's amazing what God does 1:00:48.020 --> 1:00:50.300 to reach into the hearts of people. Called them out 1:00:50.300 --> 1:00:53.220 of darkness, into the light. And we are grateful for 1:00:53.220 --> 1:00:57.820 you today. Just text that one word new to 800 1:00:58.340 --> 1:01:03.700 555 7898. We're going to. This resource is just loaded 1:01:03.700 --> 1:01:05.780 with good tools that are going to help you in 1:01:05.780 --> 1:01:09.060 your first steps with Jesus. So welcome to the family. 1:01:10.930 --> 1:01:11.689 I just got. 1:01:11.690 --> 1:01:11.810 In. 1:01:11.810 --> 1:01:15.090 My heart. Someone's chomping at the bit to tell someone 1:01:15.970 --> 1:01:18.450 you had bought the myth. The lie. I've been a 1:01:18.450 --> 1:01:20.410 Christian my whole life. And then you were born again. 1:01:20.450 --> 1:01:23.810 Might have been in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s. If 1:01:23.810 --> 1:01:26.050 that's you, I want to get you in here really quickly. 1:01:26.170 --> 1:01:29.090 The spirit of God's been telling you. Get ready. Somebody's 1:01:29.090 --> 1:01:31.090 about to ask this, and it's like, oh, boy. It's 1:01:31.130 --> 1:01:34.450 now 805, five, five, 78, 98. Got to get you 1:01:34.450 --> 1:01:37.490 in here quickly. Um, if that's you, we'd love to 1:01:37.490 --> 1:01:42.650 hear that story. 800 555 78. 98. Ali, you found 1:01:42.650 --> 1:01:45.290 something dynamite, sister, I love live radio. 1:01:45.330 --> 1:01:48.490 Well, this this resource on Desiring God, which is a 1:01:48.490 --> 1:01:52.090 great website. It's it is so spot on to what 1:01:52.090 --> 1:01:54.530 we're talking about. And I what I really love about 1:01:54.530 --> 1:01:57.690 this article is it it really drills down on the 1:01:57.730 --> 1:01:59.770 like what's missing. Because you could be you could be 1:01:59.770 --> 1:02:02.810 sitting there going, okay, so is it about how much 1:02:02.810 --> 1:02:05.690 I feel for God? Is it about how many you know, 1:02:05.730 --> 1:02:08.439 did I lift a hand at a certain time. And 1:02:08.440 --> 1:02:13.080 this drills down at really the difference between an authentic 1:02:13.080 --> 1:02:15.280 faith and authentic faith. And what it boils down to 1:02:15.320 --> 1:02:18.440 is obedience to the Word of God. Being a hearer 1:02:18.440 --> 1:02:20.640 of the word and a doer of the word. 1:02:21.080 --> 1:02:21.520 It's so. 1:02:21.520 --> 1:02:21.840 Good. 1:02:21.880 --> 1:02:23.240 It's it is really. 1:02:23.240 --> 1:02:23.440 It is. 1:02:23.440 --> 1:02:23.600 So. 1:02:23.600 --> 1:02:24.040 Good. 1:02:24.080 --> 1:02:24.280 That. 1:02:24.320 --> 1:02:25.960 What I love about it, it's titled. 1:02:25.960 --> 1:02:26.160 I. 1:02:26.160 --> 1:02:31.200 Never Knew You Fatal Dreams of the Religious lost. This guy, 1:02:31.240 --> 1:02:33.080 Greg Morris, we got to get him in here, but 1:02:33.080 --> 1:02:37.920 he's got three, three. Fatal dreams are correct. Doctrine is insufficient. 1:02:38.120 --> 1:02:41.960 Because here's the thing. The Pharisees have the right doctrine, 1:02:41.960 --> 1:02:45.360 but they didn't know Jesus. Okay, guys, I mean, doctrine 1:02:45.640 --> 1:02:49.919 can't save you. Emotions are inadequate. Sometimes you think, oh, man, 1:02:49.920 --> 1:02:53.440 if I lift my hands a little higher here. And 1:02:53.480 --> 1:02:57.400 activity can be deceptive. That's the big enchilada. I mean, 1:02:57.400 --> 1:03:00.080 they did so much. We prophesied in your name, cast 1:03:00.080 --> 1:03:02.000 out demons in your name, and did mighty works in 1:03:02.000 --> 1:03:04.320 your name. I love what this author has done. He's 1:03:04.320 --> 1:03:06.680 just broken it down. It's not a long read, but 1:03:06.680 --> 1:03:09.720 it's powerful. Ali, let's make sure folks get it right now. 1:03:09.760 --> 1:03:15.320 Yeah, just text the word found to 800 555 7898. 1:03:15.360 --> 1:03:18.280 If you want to read a really good I really 1:03:18.280 --> 1:03:20.920 highly recommend this article. It's a good read on this one. 1:03:20.960 --> 1:03:23.000 As Carl said, that won't take you, but more than 1:03:23.000 --> 1:03:28.600 a couple minutes just text found to 800 555 7898 1:03:28.600 --> 1:03:33.520 found to 800 555 7898. You know, the interesting thing 1:03:33.520 --> 1:03:38.560 is we've heard from an author, from a pastor, now 1:03:38.560 --> 1:03:41.800 an article. This is this is out there and it's everywhere. 1:03:42.440 --> 1:03:44.720 You know, lest you think that this is sort of 1:03:44.760 --> 1:03:48.760 an obscure thing that that isn't worth camping out on, 1:03:49.120 --> 1:03:52.280 it's everywhere in Scripture. And when we look at people's 1:03:52.280 --> 1:03:57.000 lived experience, this happens so often. This is not an 1:03:57.040 --> 1:04:00.440 obscure thing. That's the exception and not the rule. 1:04:00.720 --> 1:04:03.280 No, you're right on Ali. And what I've been stunned 1:04:03.280 --> 1:04:07.390 by lately is in for a long time. I'm going 1:04:07.430 --> 1:04:10.470 to be candid with you. I felt like, man, am 1:04:10.470 --> 1:04:12.870 I this. I didn't feel like a. 1:04:12.870 --> 1:04:13.110 Lone. 1:04:13.110 --> 1:04:16.510 Voice, like I'm some great man of God that has 1:04:16.510 --> 1:04:18.350 an angle on this thing. I just felt felt so 1:04:18.350 --> 1:04:21.030 convicted by it. And I started wondering, do other people 1:04:21.030 --> 1:04:24.030 have the same sense? You know what I'm saying? It's like, 1:04:24.070 --> 1:04:27.790 do other people feel this? Now I'm seeing this message 1:04:27.830 --> 1:04:35.510 of this great hallucination of salvation. It's everywhere. And I'm 1:04:35.510 --> 1:04:38.470 seeing I don't know if it's because that's in my algorithm, 1:04:38.470 --> 1:04:41.550 but on the access that I have to a couple 1:04:41.590 --> 1:04:45.270 of platforms, I'm getting pop ups constantly, preachers, young and old, 1:04:45.270 --> 1:04:49.030 that are just saying, boy, don't get this delusion thinking 1:04:49.030 --> 1:04:52.270 I'm in church. I've been raised in church. Therefore I'm 1:04:52.270 --> 1:04:55.790 born again. Don't let it happen. Don't let it happen. Well, 1:04:55.790 --> 1:04:57.550 I asked you to call in. We've got at least 1:04:57.550 --> 1:04:59.830 one in here. Ben from Illinois. What's your story? You 1:04:59.830 --> 1:05:02.470 were lost. And then God found you. And you were churched, right? 1:05:02.620 --> 1:05:03.100 My man? 1:05:04.300 --> 1:05:06.900 That's right. Our parents took us to church every week 1:05:06.900 --> 1:05:09.060 when I was young, and I loved the church. I 1:05:09.060 --> 1:05:11.700 had a bunch of affection for the songs and the 1:05:11.700 --> 1:05:14.660 potlucks and being with the church people, and I thought 1:05:14.660 --> 1:05:18.900 I was a Christian. But when I was 24 years old, uh, 1:05:19.180 --> 1:05:20.700 the Lord had really made it clear to me that 1:05:20.700 --> 1:05:23.300 I was not a Christian. I was trying as hard 1:05:23.300 --> 1:05:25.820 as I could to be good, and it wasn't working. 1:05:25.820 --> 1:05:29.140 And one of my uncles spent a couple months with 1:05:29.140 --> 1:05:32.380 me talking with me about the Lord. And, uh, this 1:05:32.380 --> 1:05:34.980 is not a textbook way to lead somebody to Christ. 1:05:34.980 --> 1:05:36.900 But what he did is he came to my apartment 1:05:36.900 --> 1:05:39.780 and he said, I'm not leaving tonight until you make 1:05:39.780 --> 1:05:42.340 a decision so you don't have to walk with the Lord. 1:05:42.700 --> 1:05:44.860 But I'm just praying that you'll choose to walk with 1:05:44.860 --> 1:05:47.620 the Lord. And after we prayed for a couple of hours, 1:05:47.620 --> 1:05:50.420 I got on my knees. And, uh, when I stood up, 1:05:50.420 --> 1:05:52.780 I knew I was a different man. And. 1:05:53.820 --> 1:05:56.860 Ben, that's so sweet, man. And it still gets you 1:05:56.860 --> 1:05:59.620 to this day. I think that's a noble thing because 1:05:59.620 --> 1:06:01.700 he asked you to make a decision. He was willing 1:06:01.740 --> 1:06:03.740 to hear you say, I'm going my own way. But 1:06:03.740 --> 1:06:05.140 you had to decide that night. 1:06:05.900 --> 1:06:08.340 Yeah. He knew I was a procrastinator and he'd been 1:06:08.340 --> 1:06:11.100 sharing the Lord with me. I quit smoking cigarettes and 1:06:11.100 --> 1:06:13.380 I was making changes. But he knew that I hadn't 1:06:13.380 --> 1:06:16.180 made the change. And so he really pressed. Really, really 1:06:16.180 --> 1:06:17.140 pressed me on it. 1:06:17.420 --> 1:06:22.700 Yeah. What? Another man from Illinois. Thank you for calling in, man. What? 1:06:22.700 --> 1:06:26.300 What another great deception, huh? That that we can get 1:06:26.340 --> 1:06:31.100 off something and kind of clean up a few things. Deadly. Uh, 1:06:31.100 --> 1:06:32.580 I want to make sure we get this link into 1:06:32.580 --> 1:06:34.460 your hand. A lot of them going out, but. Ali. 1:06:34.460 --> 1:06:34.940 Spike it. 1:06:34.940 --> 1:06:35.340 Sister. 1:06:35.380 --> 1:06:40.820 Yeah. Just text the key word. Found to 800 555 7898. 1:06:40.860 --> 1:06:46.820 Keyword found to 855 five 7898. This article, it's called 1:06:46.820 --> 1:06:50.420 I Never Knew You Fatal Dreams of the Religious Lost. 1:06:50.660 --> 1:06:55.140 A pretty provocative article, but definitely worth the read. Found 1:06:55.140 --> 1:06:57.820 to 855 five 7898. 1:06:58.020 --> 1:07:00.020 Yeah. What an important discussion here.