WEBVTT

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Alright, we're going to have a little activity.

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This is based on our spiritual discipline focus.

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I'm going to begin to read from the Word of God.

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Now, everyone's participating. Are you all awake?

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Is everyone awake? This is participatory. So

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here's what's going to happen. As I begin to

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read, if you know the book of the Bible that

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I'm reading from, you will raise your hand and

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keep it up. I will continue to read until every

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hand is raised. Again, that's all the rules.

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There are no other rules. Okay? Here we go. Everyone

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ready? People are like, I'm not going to recognize

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this. That might be a problem, but there's nothing

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in the rules that says that you can't get help,

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that you can't get your phone, that you can't

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ask somebody, whatever. Here we go. In the beginning

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was the Word, and the Word was with God, and

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the Word was God. He was in the beginning with

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God. He was in the beginning with God. All things

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came into being by him. And apart from him, nothing

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came into being that has come into being. In

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him was light. And the light was the light of

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men. I've got about half the hands up right now.

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And as the light shines in the darkness and the

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darkness did not comprehend it. Keep your hands

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up. There came a man sent from God whose name

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was John. He came for a witness that he might

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bear witness to the light. That all might believe

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through him. He was not the light, but candidly

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might bear witness of the light. Everybody keep

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their hands up. Do his hands get tired yet? Keep

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your hands up. You know the answer. I still see

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many hands that are not up. Don't be cheating

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like putting your hand on your lap, your hands

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up in the air. Be strong. There was the true

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light which coming in the end enlightens every

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man. He was in the world and the world was made

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through him and the world did not know him. He

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came on his own. We're getting close. See some

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teenagers that don't have their hands up yet.

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Hopefully we have a youth leader. But as many

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as received him, because you haven't told him

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yet, but as many as received him, to them he

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gave the right to become children of God, even

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to those who believe in his name, who were born

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not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor

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of the will of the man, but of God. We're really

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close. I'll be looking, checking, checking, checking.

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I know Tony's hand was up. Okay, it's got to

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be up now. That doesn't count. Is her hand up?

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Put your hands up. Your hand up. Your hand up.

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Okay, all right. Put your hands down. All right.

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Now, this was an object lesson as much as it

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was a reading from God's Word. All right? So,

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RJ, tell them about the book of the Bible. It

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was the book of John. Okay? And we knew it was

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the book of John. Ultimately, eventually, we

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all knew it was the book of John. Those who knew

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it was the book of John first put their hands

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up. Did anyone's arms start to get tired? Yeah.

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Yeah. Everyone went out early, right? Their arms

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started to get tired. And then we saw that there

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were people who did not know it was the book

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of John. My arms are starting to get tired. What

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am I going to do about that? There's these people.

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They're not getting it. We're in the second paragraph

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already. They're still not getting it. What am

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I going to do about that? What am I going to

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do about the fact that I know what the word of

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God says in the book of John, the first chapter,

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and that person does not? What could I ever do

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about that? No, tell them. Tell them. That's

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the key. The truth is, I'm just going to be very

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blunt for a second, if I may. If you know the

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word God and someone else does not, and you don't

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tell them, then the reality is probably you don't

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actually know it. What you know is writing on

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a page. You know words. You like the poetic language.

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You're memorizing it for the health to your mind,

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memorizing the Bible does help clear up our minds,

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things like that. But if you really know the

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word of God, then you really know that God wants

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everybody to know the word of God, not just the

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word of God as written, but also the word of

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God who is Jesus Christ, which is largely what

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that passage of scripture is about. And God wants

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us to know the word of the living word, which

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is Jesus. And he wants us to know the written

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word as well, which has great benefits and also

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teaches us how better to know him and to know

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God. So when somebody else doesn't know and they

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could not raise their hands, there's a sort of

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a really easy one or two or three -step process

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that you can go through. You start with mentioning

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something of the Word of God. So you talk with

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somebody at the store, talk with somebody at

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the restaurant, or you mention something that

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comes from the Word of God. There are key phrases,

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right? Like, Arden, if you were going to use

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a key phrase from the Bible that anybody might

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notice, what might you say? Anybody might notice

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or might recognize? Might recognize. In the beginning.

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Okay. So you say, well, in the beginning, right?

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And if that doesn't trigger something for that

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other person, then there's a chance that they

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don't realize that in the beginning is huge,

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right? John wrote that when he, when John says

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in the beginning was the word, he was able to

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write that to everybody that knew that in the

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beginning. God created, right? And so this is

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a recognition that there were people who existed

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who knew that phrase, and in hearing that phrase,

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they would relate it to this. And so if you would

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say something about in the beginning, and there's

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no recollection, there's no understanding, there's

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no connection in the person you're talking to,

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then you can kind of just kind of chuckle a little

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bit or whatever, or you can make a little comment,

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you know, that makes me think of, or something,

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and engage them in a conversation. And say, you

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know, every time I hear the phrase in the beginning,

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I think of Genesis, where God created everything.

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And then in John, where John used that phrase

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that harkened back to Genesis, where God created

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everything, talking about Jesus. Make you think

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of that? They're like, no, I don't. Well, can

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I ask you a question? Would you call yourself

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a Christian? Or do you have any spiritual beliefs?

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And they say, no, I don't have any spiritual

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beliefs. Or yes, I do. It's this. Everybody is

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God. Or a stick is God. Whatever. Traditions

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and rules will get you to heaven. Or I'll be

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there because I'm better than I am with bad.

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You know, whatever they believe, right? Their

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beliefs are. And then, do you know what the Bible

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says about that? And you're back to talking about

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the word of God again. It's not about you. Whether

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or not they get saved doesn't matter how you

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look. It doesn't matter how you talk. It doesn't

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matter whether you get it all right or not. It's

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about whether it's time. Whether God has said

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this is the time in which a person can get saved.

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So there is evangelism. So the first thing he

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did was he just mentioned a key phrase, right?

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If you said, when something's rough and they're

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in a tough spot, and you said, for God to love

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the world. Anybody recognize that? For God to

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love the world? That's like the most known Bible

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verse possibly in the beginning, right? So those

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two things. So if people totally don't recognize

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for God to love the world from John 3, 16, right?

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Then that's a bridge to the topic of conversation.

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So one, you can just mention it to them. And

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then for two, you can kind of probe it. a little

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bit and see if they make that same connection,

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right? And you will find brothers and sisters

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in Christ. And I forget, one of the coolest experiences

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I had, I was going into Walmart and this person

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greeted me in Walmart and I said just something

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like I was blessed, praising God for the day

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or something like that. And then she's like,

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oh, that's awesome. And she started talking about

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it. And I stopped and I shared the gospel with

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her. She professed to already be saved. And we're

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standing there praising Jesus in the foyer at

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Walmart. And I'll probably never see her again

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this side of heaven, but I told her I would meet

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her at the tree, which is where we will all worship

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if we're saved. And so we'll be there together

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again. And I was in the foyer at Walmart, and

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all I did was just, because I said I'm blessed,

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rather than just saying, oh, okay, or yeah, I'm

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good, how are you? You know, whatever, como estas?

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Whatever, like, everybody says, I said something

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a little different. I went to a cashier this

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week, and I did the same thing, and the lady

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was like, You know, I'm so blessed. I'm so grateful

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when somebody says something like that rather

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than just have a nice day or work like that.

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And I said, would you call yourself a Christian?

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She said, I would. She said, you've accepted

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Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

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And she said, I have. Right? And I didn't have,

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there was people waiting behind me in line, so

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I didn't have the time to get into any more details

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to go, because I would almost always go to born

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again when somebody says that they have done

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that. I'll go, there was a moment in time in

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which you had a fresh start in Jesus. And if

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they have never had that, then they're not truly

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saved. Right? And so I almost always did that,

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but I didn't get to do that at that time. And

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so my point is, if they don't know the word,

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that is a better opening for you to bring the

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word. If they know the word, then you can unite

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with them, and that's cool. Right? So the second

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thing would be then, the second action step would

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be, once you know whether they know it or not,

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either bring it or talk about it and fellowship

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over it and be excited, right? And then the third

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step would be, if they don't know it and you're

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bringing it, would be to just simply invite them

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to know him personally. And here's a passage

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of scripture where you can say, well, you may

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know what's written, but you know the living

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word of God. And they're like, what do you mean

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the living word of God? Well, Jesus was that.

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So here it is. In the beginning was the word.

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The word was with God. And he. And all. And you.

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And they say, yeah. Or they say, no. Either way.

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And it's not about you. It's not whether you

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look good, whether you talk good, whether your

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timing is perfect. None of that even matters.

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No one comes unto the Father lest he be called.

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But we are commanded to share. So we share. If

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they're called, they'll get saved. The weirdest

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way sometimes people will do it. Right? But sometimes

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they're ready and sometimes they're not. You

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do your part. So thank you to those of you who

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knew. Thank you to those of you who caught on

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and shared with your neighbors. Thank you to

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those of you who held your hand up tired. But

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if you held your hand up tired with somebody

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sitting next to you who didn't know the answer,

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remember, you were never told not to share. And

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God has never told us to be quiet and not to

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share. We find plenty of time to share everything

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else. You can find time to share the word of

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God. All right, so we're going to pray in this

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time with tithes and offerings as part of our

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worship. And I'm going to ask... Deacon Tommy,

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I see you. Alright, pray with us or lead us as

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we close time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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So it won't be very many other places that you

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would go that the pastor would start a sermon

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series without telling you that a sermon series

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had started and then would give you clues, very

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simple, not very detailed clues each week to

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the nature of that sermon series. And that's

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what's happening. So we're on five out of seven,

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part five out of seven for the sermon series

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that we have been working our way through. And

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you are supposed to be figuring out the text.

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That's the goal. That's the game. If you can

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figure out the text before we get there, you

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text it to me, and that will be quite the achievement.

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So this is part five of seven. So we're wrapping

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up. So you only got two weeks left. And if you

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don't get it by then, I'll have to give it to

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you because we'll bring it all together after

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that. The title for today is A Lineage with a

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Lack of Lies Lovingly and Legally. And it's and,

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A -N -D, capital A -N -D, and. So last week we

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talked about how we are meant to be a people

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with truth in our mouths. In fact, we even talked

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about how God despises or finds as an abomination

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lying lips. And so in theory, we are a people

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that should only speak the truth. I find that

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a person can only speak the truth and act the

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truth when they have integrity through and through.

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Integrity is when your whole self is based on

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something that will hold. And you find people

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whose whole self is based on family. Or their

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whole self is based on income. Or maybe their

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whole self is based on being honest. And that's

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what, they pick one thing and they say, I'm even

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defiantly honest. So I'll go around telling people

00:14:12.450 --> 00:14:13.909
things that they don't want to hear when they

00:14:13.909 --> 00:14:15.889
don't need to hear it. Right? That kind of thing.

00:14:16.669 --> 00:14:19.009
So people base their integrity on a lot of things.

00:14:19.129 --> 00:14:22.720
Christians base their integrity on Christ. You

00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:25.039
are whole if you have been born again in Christ

00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:27.299
and Jesus is at your center and he's in charge

00:14:27.299 --> 00:14:29.580
of all things. That's what makes you a Christian.

00:14:29.740 --> 00:14:32.179
And we talked about last week about how then

00:14:32.179 --> 00:14:36.679
out of that should flow only the truth. But even

00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:39.039
with that, scripture tells us that you shall

00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.340
not bear false witness against your neighbor.

00:14:42.409 --> 00:14:44.710
And so the question is, if we are a people who

00:14:44.710 --> 00:14:47.389
only speak the truth, why would we need to go

00:14:47.389 --> 00:14:50.389
so far out of our way to be very clear about

00:14:50.389 --> 00:14:53.830
not bearing false witness? If you have a Bible

00:14:53.830 --> 00:14:57.169
that translates Exodus 2016 to say, thou shalt

00:14:57.169 --> 00:14:58.990
not lie, you understand that is not actually

00:14:58.990 --> 00:15:00.909
accurate. The words in the Hebrew there literally

00:15:00.909 --> 00:15:05.049
say false witness. This command has a very specific

00:15:05.049 --> 00:15:08.789
nature to it outside of not lying. You shouldn't

00:15:08.789 --> 00:15:10.450
be lying, but actually what's interesting is

00:15:10.450 --> 00:15:12.330
in the Ten Commandments, you will not find thou

00:15:12.330 --> 00:15:14.429
shalt not lie in there. You will find thou shalt

00:15:14.429 --> 00:15:16.710
not bear false witness. That's what's there.

00:15:16.750 --> 00:15:18.529
It's the only thing that's there. But we did

00:15:18.529 --> 00:15:20.470
look very heartily last week in the New Testament

00:15:20.470 --> 00:15:22.409
about how Jesus was very clear that we are a

00:15:22.409 --> 00:15:24.269
people of the truth and lying has no place in

00:15:24.269 --> 00:15:26.669
us. So the question is, if lying has no place

00:15:26.669 --> 00:15:29.950
in us, then why does thou shalt not bear false

00:15:29.950 --> 00:15:33.309
witness speak so many volumes to Christian people?

00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:38.759
We are not to let our lips to be used for lying.

00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:41.200
This is an abomination to God. Because we are

00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:43.799
made new and by truth, we should speak truth.

00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:46.799
But here, separately in this command and in other

00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:50.940
places, it's very clear. It's part of a set of

00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:52.899
things, this Ten Commandments, which would make

00:15:52.899 --> 00:15:56.120
God's people different in that day and age in

00:15:56.120 --> 00:15:58.039
which they were living. So in other words, it

00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:02.090
was common practice to bear false witness. And

00:16:02.090 --> 00:16:03.809
you could get ahead pretty easily that way or

00:16:03.809 --> 00:16:07.629
avoid getting behind anyway. And so they were

00:16:07.629 --> 00:16:09.429
supposed to look different because they would

00:16:09.429 --> 00:16:14.830
not. Why would we lie then if we are a people

00:16:14.830 --> 00:16:18.970
of truth? Why might a people who have become

00:16:18.970 --> 00:16:21.590
a people of truth still find place to bear false

00:16:21.590 --> 00:16:23.909
witness specifically? In other words, why would

00:16:23.909 --> 00:16:26.370
we lie in a court of law or to a government official?

00:16:26.690 --> 00:16:29.330
Why would we lie to a police officer, to an authority

00:16:29.330 --> 00:16:32.080
figure, or a parent, or a teacher? Why would

00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:34.840
we find a place to do that when we say we are

00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:36.620
a people of truth and truth is all that is in

00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:43.740
us? The answer to these questions are many. I've

00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:47.080
chosen five. The first one is, it may be that

00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:49.519
the cost of telling the truth in legal situations

00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:53.000
or situations like that is very high. So in other

00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:55.259
words, your parent asks you, did you do this?

00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:58.220
And the temptation to lie is great because the

00:16:58.220 --> 00:17:00.460
consequences for telling the truth is large.

00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:04.859
You go to court and they say, did you harbor

00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:07.619
this known fugitive? And the temptation is to

00:17:07.619 --> 00:17:10.440
say no. You go to court and they say, plead guilty,

00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:13.559
not guilty. And you would want to plead not guilty

00:17:13.559 --> 00:17:18.059
because the penalty is high. And it's very easy

00:17:18.059 --> 00:17:20.319
for us to see that penalty looming and say, I

00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:22.220
don't want to tell the truth in this particular

00:17:22.220 --> 00:17:26.380
situation. Also, it can be to protect others

00:17:26.380 --> 00:17:29.450
or ourselves from injustice. One lie. can help

00:17:29.450 --> 00:17:31.170
to avoid punishment when avoiding punishment

00:17:31.170 --> 00:17:36.230
looks like injustice. So in other words, if somebody

00:17:36.230 --> 00:17:38.450
says to you, did you go to church on that day?

00:17:38.890 --> 00:17:42.690
And you know that persecution would ensue. You

00:17:42.690 --> 00:17:44.410
could be arrested. You could be in trouble, right?

00:17:44.609 --> 00:17:50.410
39 states put power abusive regulations on going

00:17:50.410 --> 00:17:54.190
to church during COVID pandemic. Not Ohio, thankfully,

00:17:54.250 --> 00:17:56.410
but 39 states. There were only 11 that did not.

00:17:56.730 --> 00:17:59.890
So only in only 11 states could you gather freely

00:17:59.890 --> 00:18:03.089
to worship without additional restrictions legally

00:18:03.089 --> 00:18:07.089
placed on you during the COVID pandemic. So it's

00:18:07.089 --> 00:18:09.190
true in our day. And so then if they caught you

00:18:09.190 --> 00:18:10.910
right after church, like you're at lunch and

00:18:10.910 --> 00:18:12.210
you're all dressed up and they're like, did you

00:18:12.210 --> 00:18:14.609
go to church today? It would be very easy to

00:18:14.609 --> 00:18:16.430
lie and say, oh no, we're just, we're going somewhere

00:18:16.430 --> 00:18:18.549
after, or we just came from somewhere else. If

00:18:18.549 --> 00:18:20.109
you know that there are legal ramifications,

00:18:20.210 --> 00:18:21.730
you could be arrested, you could be fined or

00:18:21.730 --> 00:18:25.200
whatever. It becomes easy because it's an injustice

00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:28.299
to be punished under that circumstance. You shouldn't

00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:29.900
be punished for going to church. You shouldn't

00:18:29.900 --> 00:18:31.480
be punished for being a Christian. And so it

00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:34.140
becomes easy to lie and try to get out of that

00:18:34.140 --> 00:18:37.480
spot. Or one lie could help you achieve justice

00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:39.839
where justice would otherwise be lacking. In

00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:41.779
other words, you can lie and say that you saw

00:18:41.779 --> 00:18:44.339
somebody commit a crime. And people do that,

00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:46.200
bear false witness towards somebody else, because

00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:48.039
you know that person is a criminal, a murderer,

00:18:48.140 --> 00:18:50.160
a rapist, whatever. And you want to see them

00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:52.039
get justice, even though you did not see them

00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:55.019
commit the crime. So you could lie to further

00:18:55.019 --> 00:18:58.980
justice. And government, the prosecutor, whatever,

00:18:59.099 --> 00:19:02.500
might even kind of subtly hit. If you didn't

00:19:02.500 --> 00:19:05.059
really see clearly, but you could go ahead and

00:19:05.059 --> 00:19:07.059
say you did, and they'll get what they deserve.

00:19:10.380 --> 00:19:14.039
Also, We could lie because the reward for an

00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:16.119
untruth in these situations can be especially

00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:19.680
enticing, right? To see that you could get ahead,

00:19:19.859 --> 00:19:23.140
to see that you could be promoted, to see that

00:19:23.140 --> 00:19:25.500
you could not get a ticket, right? If you get

00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:27.220
stopped by a police officer and he says, do you

00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:29.160
know what speed you were going? And you say,

00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:31.000
no, I really don't know. Even though you know

00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:33.220
you were in 68 and a 55, but you say, I really

00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:35.769
don't know. That's a lie. And how easy is it

00:19:35.769 --> 00:19:37.670
in that moment to lie because there's a chance

00:19:37.670 --> 00:19:39.109
you might just get a warning because you didn't

00:19:39.109 --> 00:19:40.589
actually know or you might get a lesser offense.

00:19:41.349 --> 00:19:45.309
Or you might go the other way and help you achieve

00:19:45.309 --> 00:19:47.950
justice towards somebody else where justice is

00:19:47.950 --> 00:19:50.859
lacking. Because we think, you know, it doesn't

00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:52.240
really matter in the grand scheme of things.

00:19:52.299 --> 00:19:54.539
I'm saved anyway. I'm going to heaven anyway.

00:19:54.779 --> 00:19:56.559
So here's a situation where it's just going to

00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:58.599
get real complicated if I tell the truth. And

00:19:58.599 --> 00:20:00.599
I don't want it to get real complicated. I don't

00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:02.839
want to deal with a month or a year of trouble

00:20:02.839 --> 00:20:04.559
or struggle. I don't want to go. So I'll just

00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:06.140
tell them I didn't see anything, even though

00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:07.940
there was a crime committed that I did see. I'll

00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:10.799
say I didn't see anything. No one should be a

00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:12.759
rat. No one should be a tattletale. So I'll just

00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:14.539
say I didn't see anything, and then I don't have

00:20:14.539 --> 00:20:16.539
to go to court. I don't have to testify or whatever.

00:20:16.990 --> 00:20:19.690
There are lots of cases in which we think that

00:20:19.690 --> 00:20:22.549
it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme

00:20:22.549 --> 00:20:23.710
of things because we're going to heaven anyway.

00:20:24.170 --> 00:20:26.869
There could be other reasons, but we can see

00:20:26.869 --> 00:20:28.869
there's a prevailing theme in all of these reasons.

00:20:29.990 --> 00:20:32.210
It is the difference between God's government

00:20:32.210 --> 00:20:36.849
and a government that God allows. That's where

00:20:36.849 --> 00:20:39.710
the rubber meets the road. That's where we start

00:20:39.710 --> 00:20:42.509
thinking, okay, maybe we could lie because this

00:20:42.509 --> 00:20:46.839
is a government that God allows. But it's not

00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:50.039
a government that God governs. Ultimately, government

00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:53.539
cannot be saved. Government cannot be saved.

00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:56.940
In that sense, if government were an entity of

00:20:56.940 --> 00:20:58.740
being, let's say, government's on the way to

00:20:58.740 --> 00:21:01.339
hell and it's like a demon. No amount of witnessing

00:21:01.339 --> 00:21:03.960
is going to get you there. No amount of hearing

00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:05.619
the word is going to save government. Government

00:21:05.619 --> 00:21:10.150
cannot be saved. Courts cannot be saved. So in

00:21:10.150 --> 00:21:12.609
that sense, if courts were a person, they would

00:21:12.609 --> 00:21:14.490
be on the way to hell and they can never be saved.

00:21:14.529 --> 00:21:16.990
There's nothing to be saved about them. Both

00:21:16.990 --> 00:21:19.829
of those things might be redeemed in our lifetime

00:21:19.829 --> 00:21:22.769
and their redemption might come and go, but ultimately

00:21:22.769 --> 00:21:25.410
they cannot be saved. Laws of men cannot be saved.

00:21:26.470 --> 00:21:29.849
Traditions, laws, rules, all of it cannot be

00:21:29.849 --> 00:21:32.950
saved. None of it can be saved. Realize without

00:21:32.950 --> 00:21:35.269
the fall of men, these systems would be completely

00:21:35.269 --> 00:21:38.309
unnecessary. You wouldn't need rules about...

00:21:39.589 --> 00:21:41.849
what men and women can do when they're not married

00:21:41.849 --> 00:21:44.650
or about bearing false witness or about stealing

00:21:44.650 --> 00:21:46.470
things that don't belong to you if there had

00:21:46.470 --> 00:21:49.690
not been an original sin. So all of these rules

00:21:49.690 --> 00:21:52.049
arise out of essentially the curse that God gave

00:21:52.049 --> 00:21:54.130
us, which was that there would be a struggle

00:21:54.130 --> 00:21:56.029
between men and men, a struggle between men and

00:21:56.029 --> 00:21:58.529
women, a struggle between men and God, and government

00:21:58.529 --> 00:22:03.130
sits in that seat. Without the fall of man, all

00:22:03.130 --> 00:22:05.490
of these systems would be completely unnecessary.

00:22:06.069 --> 00:22:08.769
Without sinful enticements and selfish nature,

00:22:09.009 --> 00:22:11.390
there would be no need for a temporal system

00:22:11.390 --> 00:22:14.069
to protect men from each other. We just wouldn't

00:22:14.069 --> 00:22:17.569
need government at all. Moreover, in heaven,

00:22:17.630 --> 00:22:20.250
there will be no need for such systems. I submit

00:22:20.250 --> 00:22:22.349
that when the Bible says we are not of this world,

00:22:22.410 --> 00:22:25.009
it is reminding us, among other things, that

00:22:25.009 --> 00:22:27.970
the government is not eternal. The government

00:22:27.970 --> 00:22:32.230
is part of the world system. But the fall has

00:22:32.230 --> 00:22:35.230
happened. And for these days, God gives us government

00:22:35.230 --> 00:22:37.930
to deal justice. But government is operated by

00:22:37.930 --> 00:22:40.130
humans and therefore influenced by the sinful

00:22:40.130 --> 00:22:43.190
nature of all of those who hold sway over government.

00:22:43.690 --> 00:22:46.970
If you elect an official, now they hold sway.

00:22:47.329 --> 00:22:49.390
Their sinful nature is still with them, even

00:22:49.390 --> 00:22:52.269
if they were a saved Christian. It's still with

00:22:52.269 --> 00:22:54.049
them, nagging at them, distracting them, tempting

00:22:54.049 --> 00:22:55.750
them. The enemy is still after them and so on.

00:22:55.789 --> 00:22:57.930
And one might even argue that the enemy is after

00:22:57.930 --> 00:23:00.450
elected officials more than he is after the common

00:23:00.450 --> 00:23:03.430
man. Because they can do more hurt to the kingdom

00:23:03.430 --> 00:23:07.630
of God or give more blessing, potentially. And

00:23:07.630 --> 00:23:12.109
so their evil nature, their sinful nature is

00:23:12.109 --> 00:23:14.349
going to influence government because they are

00:23:14.349 --> 00:23:16.529
part of government. Basically, I'm saying that

00:23:16.529 --> 00:23:18.789
government is for a season. It's a long season

00:23:18.789 --> 00:23:22.109
spanning many lifetimes of men until such time

00:23:22.109 --> 00:23:23.950
as Jesus comes again and then government will

00:23:23.950 --> 00:23:26.750
be upon his shoulders, says scripture. But also,

00:23:26.890 --> 00:23:31.369
he will put all things under his feet. In the

00:23:31.369 --> 00:23:33.950
meantime, government is a thing somehow larger

00:23:33.950 --> 00:23:36.069
than the sum of all of its parts. The church

00:23:36.069 --> 00:23:38.750
is like that. We are larger than the sum of all

00:23:38.750 --> 00:23:41.829
of our parts. And so in a sense, government mocks

00:23:41.829 --> 00:23:44.170
the church. In a sense, government represents

00:23:44.170 --> 00:23:46.490
the church. Those who started the United States

00:23:46.490 --> 00:23:48.650
of America made government the way they thought

00:23:48.650 --> 00:23:51.450
God would want it to be done. A democracy, right?

00:23:51.549 --> 00:23:54.569
In fact, when a person votes, and it's really

00:23:54.569 --> 00:23:57.329
a democratic republic or whatever, it's not technically

00:23:57.329 --> 00:23:59.490
democracy, but they did a lot of voting by democracy.

00:24:00.029 --> 00:24:02.890
And they set it up the best they could. Following

00:24:02.890 --> 00:24:05.589
God's idea, they thought. The people who signed

00:24:05.589 --> 00:24:07.109
the Declaration of Independence were Christian

00:24:07.109 --> 00:24:10.150
men, deacons and pastors, except for one. And

00:24:10.150 --> 00:24:14.630
so they set it up that way in honor of a doctrine

00:24:14.630 --> 00:24:17.390
called the priesthood of the believer. Because

00:24:17.390 --> 00:24:20.369
you are listening to Jesus. Because you are daily

00:24:20.369 --> 00:24:24.410
hearing from the Holy Spirit. You can vote. Now

00:24:24.410 --> 00:24:26.509
that creates a problem in today's society, doesn't

00:24:26.509 --> 00:24:30.019
it? Because we've got a lot of people. Who don't

00:24:30.019 --> 00:24:31.299
have the priesthood of the believer because they're

00:24:31.299 --> 00:24:34.019
not listening to God. Right? They have nothing

00:24:34.019 --> 00:24:37.079
to do with God except that they know that they

00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:39.720
hate God or they disbelieve God or whatever.

00:24:39.819 --> 00:24:41.660
That's about as far as it goes. And then there

00:24:41.660 --> 00:24:43.359
are those who don't believe that God exists and

00:24:43.359 --> 00:24:44.900
they still hate him. So that's interesting, isn't

00:24:44.900 --> 00:24:49.799
it? The point is, it was designed to work well

00:24:49.799 --> 00:24:53.400
because Jesus essentially would be at the center

00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:58.099
of each person who was the voting body. Accordingly,

00:24:58.099 --> 00:25:01.779
men may be pressed to participate in an ungodly

00:25:01.779 --> 00:25:04.720
way. They may be licensed to participate in an

00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:08.440
ungodly way, even coerced to participate in an

00:25:08.440 --> 00:25:11.420
ungodly way. At times, the one evil will seem

00:25:11.420 --> 00:25:14.220
to be guiding government, and the mighty wheels

00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:16.160
of government will become as grinders chewing

00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:18.960
up and spitting out faithful Christians who do

00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:23.880
not fit the vision of the machine. That's probably

00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:26.180
worth saying again. At times, this is what will

00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:29.619
happen. The one evil will seem to be guiding

00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:32.039
government and its mighty wheels will become

00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:34.259
as grinders chewing up and spitting out faithful

00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:36.079
Christians who do not fit the vision of the machine.

00:25:36.779 --> 00:25:40.859
Check the book of Revelation. A group of governments

00:25:40.859 --> 00:25:43.180
arise and then they submit all of their power

00:25:43.180 --> 00:25:49.799
to a single government who really is Satan. At

00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:53.400
times that evil will seem to be guiding our government

00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:56.539
and at times we will be getting chewed up and

00:25:56.539 --> 00:25:59.559
spit out When this happens, and it has happened

00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:03.880
in our lifetime, and it may again, we must go

00:26:03.880 --> 00:26:09.579
to the grave and suffer our persecutions with

00:26:09.579 --> 00:26:13.119
truth alone in our mouths. Now, we already said

00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:16.160
we're a truth -only people. So it really doesn't

00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:21.160
change much, except the circumstance, the special

00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:23.660
time, if you will, under which you have to speak

00:26:23.660 --> 00:26:28.619
the truth. And when government becomes a tool

00:26:28.619 --> 00:26:31.299
to destroy Christianity, and it has the world

00:26:31.299 --> 00:26:38.160
over, is even right now in other places. And

00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:42.920
arguably could be in America in some ways. When

00:26:42.920 --> 00:26:46.279
that's happening, we must endure our persecutions

00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:49.900
with truth alone in our mouths. Because while

00:26:49.900 --> 00:26:53.839
government cannot be saved, And courts cannot

00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:57.700
be saved. And laws of men cannot be saved. Governors,

00:26:57.700 --> 00:27:01.880
soldiers, judges, government employees, police

00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:04.839
officers, parents, and especially those witnessing

00:27:04.839 --> 00:27:08.700
our choices are all people with souls, and they

00:27:08.700 --> 00:27:12.500
may be saved. So while the governor's office

00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:17.019
can't be saved, and the efforts of the governor's

00:27:17.019 --> 00:27:19.720
office can't be saved, and the executive orders

00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:22.869
can't be saved, and the rules of protocol can't

00:27:22.869 --> 00:27:25.849
be saved, and the signed bills can't be saved,

00:27:26.009 --> 00:27:28.410
and the judges in the courthouse can't be saved.

00:27:29.109 --> 00:27:33.009
Wait, what just happened there? We crossed a

00:27:33.009 --> 00:27:35.150
line to start to think that the people can't

00:27:35.150 --> 00:27:36.549
be saved because they're in that position, and

00:27:36.549 --> 00:27:39.490
that's not true. There are judges and soldiers

00:27:39.490 --> 00:27:41.630
and men in all of those positions who have been

00:27:41.630 --> 00:27:44.329
saved time and again by somebody who refused

00:27:44.329 --> 00:27:48.069
to back down and would only speak the truth under

00:27:48.069 --> 00:27:51.640
such circumstances as we are describing. Jesus

00:27:51.640 --> 00:27:53.599
said it this way at least once. This comes from

00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:55.279
Matthew chapter 10. If you're following along

00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:57.980
in your Bible, you can flip there. Matthew chapter

00:27:57.980 --> 00:28:06.559
10. Matthew chapter 10 beginning in verse 17.

00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:14.599
I'll read 16 just so you understand exactly how

00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:16.819
important he said this was. He said, Behold,

00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:18.880
I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.

00:28:19.950 --> 00:28:22.369
Therefore be shrewd as serpents and innocent

00:28:22.369 --> 00:28:47.750
as doves. Verse 17. For it is not you who speak,

00:28:47.849 --> 00:28:51.829
but it is the spirit of your father who speaks

00:28:51.829 --> 00:28:55.970
in you. And brother will deliver up brother to

00:28:55.970 --> 00:28:58.769
death. And a father, his child and children will

00:28:58.769 --> 00:29:01.529
rise up against parents and cause them to be

00:29:01.529 --> 00:29:05.910
put to death. And you'll be hated by all on account

00:29:05.910 --> 00:29:09.130
of my name. But it is the one who has endured

00:29:09.130 --> 00:29:12.369
to the end who will be saved. But whenever they

00:29:12.369 --> 00:29:16.339
persecute you in this city, Fleet to the next.

00:29:16.599 --> 00:29:18.640
But truly I say to you, you shall not finish

00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:20.519
going through the cities of Israel until the

00:29:20.519 --> 00:29:26.200
Son of Man comes. Look at verse 26 for a second.

00:29:26.279 --> 00:29:30.440
Therefore, do not fear them. A little bit further

00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:34.400
down the page. Therefore, do not fear them. For

00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:36.559
there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed

00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:39.579
or hidden that will not be known. What I tell

00:29:39.579 --> 00:29:42.480
you in the darkness, speak in the light. And

00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:44.519
what you hear whispered in your ear, Proclaim

00:29:44.519 --> 00:29:48.160
upon the housetops. Do not fear those who kill

00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:50.680
the body but are unable to kill the soul, but

00:29:50.680 --> 00:29:53.220
rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul

00:29:53.220 --> 00:29:58.240
and body in hell. We cannot allow the circumstances

00:29:58.240 --> 00:30:03.160
of our life to dictate our voice or our words.

00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:07.720
If somebody tells you to shut up when God has

00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:10.500
something for you to say, you ignore them. I'm

00:30:10.500 --> 00:30:12.200
not saying strike out at them. I'm not saying

00:30:12.200 --> 00:30:14.220
hurt them. I'm saying if they tell you to shut

00:30:14.220 --> 00:30:16.200
up, when God is telling you to speak, you do

00:30:16.200 --> 00:30:19.460
what God says. If the government tells you don't

00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:22.180
go to church when God says and he does regularly.

00:30:22.400 --> 00:30:24.319
Now, this is ironic, right? Right now, it's free

00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:28.359
for everybody to go to church. And some will

00:30:28.359 --> 00:30:29.740
go and some will not. And there are Christians

00:30:29.740 --> 00:30:31.539
who will allege that they don't have to go to

00:30:31.539 --> 00:30:34.319
church to be a Christian. I beg to differ. The

00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:36.240
entire New Testament was written by the church,

00:30:36.319 --> 00:30:38.279
to the church, in the church. You say you're

00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:40.039
following the book that the New Testament church

00:30:40.039 --> 00:30:41.920
wrote, but you don't go to church. I disagree.

00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:47.039
The bottom line is this. They can go freely.

00:30:47.420 --> 00:30:53.000
Also, Bibles are $1 .25 at the Dollar Tree, but

00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:56.799
who's reading them? Now, let's be careful, because

00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:58.920
when you've got something else going on, you

00:30:58.920 --> 00:31:00.819
may find that you don't feel you have to go to

00:31:00.819 --> 00:31:03.609
church either. When you find you have something

00:31:03.609 --> 00:31:05.170
else going on, you may find that you don't have

00:31:05.170 --> 00:31:07.750
to read your Bible either. But neither one of

00:31:07.750 --> 00:31:10.630
those things are true. The word indwelt in us

00:31:10.630 --> 00:31:13.369
is a thing. The Holy Spirit is looking for you

00:31:13.369 --> 00:31:15.930
to fill yourself up with the word of God. The

00:31:15.930 --> 00:31:17.930
Holy Spirit is looking for you to be in the church,

00:31:17.990 --> 00:31:19.970
to be the church, to participate in the church,

00:31:20.009 --> 00:31:22.069
in community. Yes, it's a little more difficult

00:31:22.069 --> 00:31:24.049
than just living by your own, worshiping at your

00:31:24.049 --> 00:31:25.730
own little candle thing in the house or whatever.

00:31:26.069 --> 00:31:28.089
It's a little more difficult than that because

00:31:28.089 --> 00:31:31.259
God has to show up and make it work. And if you

00:31:31.259 --> 00:31:34.480
can do anything without God, it's nothing of

00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:38.039
God. And the truth is, you can really do nothing

00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:41.599
that God doesn't empower, including breathing

00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:45.039
for the breath of life that you're borrowing

00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:49.079
from the Lord will be returned ultimately. We

00:31:49.079 --> 00:31:52.480
cannot allow circumstances to dictate our voice

00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:57.319
or our words. But rather Jesus who is in us.

00:31:57.539 --> 00:31:59.460
What did he say? He said, you don't have to worry

00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:00.960
about what you're going to say. You're going

00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:03.279
to be given exactly what to say in that moment.

00:32:03.400 --> 00:32:07.579
By who? By who? By me? Will I be there? Will

00:32:07.579 --> 00:32:09.819
I have you on a walkie -talkie? By your Sunday

00:32:09.819 --> 00:32:13.819
school teacher? By your parents? By your brother

00:32:13.819 --> 00:32:15.900
or your friend? No, by the Holy Spirit who is

00:32:15.900 --> 00:32:18.220
indwelling you. He will give you what you must

00:32:18.220 --> 00:32:21.140
say in response to these. Challenges that we're

00:32:21.140 --> 00:32:22.799
talking about. We're talking about a special

00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:25.019
moment in time at which you have to be prepared

00:32:25.019 --> 00:32:28.799
to speak the truth. And it would be easy for

00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:32.079
circumstances to dictate our words or our truth

00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:36.839
in that moment. Or at least for us to think that's

00:32:36.839 --> 00:32:41.059
the way it works. But it isn't. Because if your

00:32:41.059 --> 00:32:44.359
truth in that moment does not align perfectly

00:32:44.359 --> 00:32:47.220
with what God is doing in you, then maybe God

00:32:47.220 --> 00:32:50.869
isn't doing anything in you at all. That's very

00:32:50.869 --> 00:32:54.589
scary. Why do you think that all of those Christians

00:32:54.589 --> 00:32:56.670
faced with government to persecute them unto

00:32:56.670 --> 00:32:59.630
death refuse to renounce the name of Christ?

00:32:59.750 --> 00:33:02.690
It's just words. I'm saved anyway. I can lie.

00:33:02.869 --> 00:33:05.309
Why can't I just lie under these circumstances

00:33:05.309 --> 00:33:08.410
so that I won't be burnt at the stake or drawn

00:33:08.410 --> 00:33:11.650
and quartered or filleted? Right? Why can't I

00:33:11.650 --> 00:33:13.390
just lie and say I'm not a Christian for today?

00:33:14.049 --> 00:33:16.559
Right? We're sneaking around. We're still worshiping

00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:18.039
God. We're still doing things. We're still telling

00:33:18.039 --> 00:33:20.640
people about Jesus. If I die today, oh my gosh,

00:33:20.660 --> 00:33:22.539
if I die today, I'll never be able to tell anybody

00:33:22.539 --> 00:33:25.380
about Jesus again. And I'm commanded to tell

00:33:25.380 --> 00:33:27.339
people about Jesus. I can't risk dying today.

00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:31.900
But the Bible says, thou shalt not bear false

00:33:31.900 --> 00:33:35.240
witness. And so under that very circumstance,

00:33:35.420 --> 00:33:37.619
under that very special condition, that time

00:33:37.619 --> 00:33:41.019
at which you might logic or reason, that you

00:33:41.019 --> 00:33:43.250
can just say, It's okay, I don't have to speak

00:33:43.250 --> 00:33:44.930
up. It's okay, I don't have to say the truth.

00:33:45.009 --> 00:33:49.529
I can even tell a lie. We are reminded by his

00:33:49.529 --> 00:33:52.809
word that we cannot allow our circumstances to

00:33:52.809 --> 00:33:56.970
dictate our voice or our words. Jesus who is

00:33:56.970 --> 00:34:04.609
in us, and let me say it simply, Jesus does not

00:34:04.609 --> 00:34:11.530
lie. And if you are standing there in that moment

00:34:11.530 --> 00:34:13.550
facing the worst moment in your lifetime or possibly

00:34:13.550 --> 00:34:16.489
the greatest reward and you lie to get where

00:34:16.489 --> 00:34:18.110
you're trying to get to, you lie to get out of

00:34:18.110 --> 00:34:20.050
trouble with a parent, a police officer, a judge,

00:34:20.190 --> 00:34:22.409
you lie to get somebody else into trouble because

00:34:22.409 --> 00:34:26.750
they deserve it, whatever. You lie to avoid a

00:34:26.750 --> 00:34:28.730
consequence or you lie to get a benefit. Either

00:34:28.730 --> 00:34:32.289
way, you can be sure that that's not what Jesus

00:34:32.289 --> 00:34:35.750
was telling you to do. And if it's not what Jesus

00:34:35.750 --> 00:34:38.610
was telling you to do, what is a Lord after all?

00:34:39.329 --> 00:34:41.550
A Lord is someone who tells you what to do, and

00:34:41.550 --> 00:34:44.670
you do it. So you call him Lord, or if you're

00:34:44.670 --> 00:34:47.190
saved, you do. That's how you get saved. You

00:34:47.190 --> 00:34:49.489
call him Lord, and you continue to call him Lord.

00:34:49.610 --> 00:34:51.929
And that's why Jesus can say, not everyone who

00:34:51.929 --> 00:34:53.789
says unto me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom

00:34:53.789 --> 00:34:56.090
of heaven. Because some will say, Lord, Lord,

00:34:56.130 --> 00:34:58.030
but not do what it is that they're called to

00:34:58.030 --> 00:35:00.670
do. And so here is a special circumstance under

00:35:00.670 --> 00:35:03.449
which it would be easy for us to allow our circumstances

00:35:03.449 --> 00:35:08.679
to dictate our words, our voice, and know. Jesus

00:35:08.679 --> 00:35:11.800
does that. And you better believe that under

00:35:11.800 --> 00:35:13.699
those circumstances, under those special circumstances

00:35:13.699 --> 00:35:15.360
in which we might do that, that he is going to

00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:19.699
be telling us not to lie. Over in John, the book

00:35:19.699 --> 00:35:23.119
of John, chapter 18. If you're following along,

00:35:23.239 --> 00:35:25.639
you can go there with me. Chapter 18, book of

00:35:25.639 --> 00:35:37.349
John. John 18, 36. John 18, 36. and following

00:35:37.349 --> 00:35:44.710
a little bit. John 18, 36 says, Jesus answered,

00:35:44.969 --> 00:35:48.610
My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom

00:35:48.610 --> 00:35:51.150
were of this world, then my servants would be

00:35:51.150 --> 00:35:53.630
fighting that I might not be delivered up to

00:35:53.630 --> 00:35:56.190
the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not of

00:35:56.190 --> 00:35:59.150
this realm. Pilate, therefore, said to him, this

00:35:59.150 --> 00:36:00.570
is when Jesus is being questioned by Pilate,

00:36:00.610 --> 00:36:04.869
So you are a king? Jesus answered, You say correctly

00:36:04.869 --> 00:36:07.380
that I am a king. For this I have been born,

00:36:07.500 --> 00:36:10.000
and for this I have come into the world, to bear

00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:12.400
witness to the truth. Let me get this straight.

00:36:13.099 --> 00:36:16.900
Jesus gave the purpose for which he came into

00:36:16.900 --> 00:36:21.739
the world as to bear witness to the truth. Now

00:36:21.739 --> 00:36:24.440
your opportunity to denounce Christ, to get ahead,

00:36:24.659 --> 00:36:27.500
to avoid difficulty, and in your one moment of

00:36:27.500 --> 00:36:29.980
possible triumph, and the greatest triumph you

00:36:29.980 --> 00:36:32.159
might ever possibly have to suffer for the name

00:36:32.159 --> 00:36:35.239
of Jesus, to be honest and pay the price, You're

00:36:35.239 --> 00:36:37.380
going to bear false witness when his purpose

00:36:37.380 --> 00:36:40.260
that he gave for coming into the world was to

00:36:40.260 --> 00:36:44.159
bear witness to the truth? He goes on. Everyone,

00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:48.340
everyone who is of the truth, here's my voice.

00:36:49.659 --> 00:36:52.139
Everyone who is of the truth, here's my voice.

00:36:52.940 --> 00:36:56.639
Pilate said to him, what is truth? And when he

00:36:56.639 --> 00:36:58.739
had said this, he went out again. That's his

00:36:58.739 --> 00:37:00.800
kind of like parting greeting from Jesus as well.

00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:03.179
What is truth anyway? And when he had said this,

00:37:03.280 --> 00:37:05.760
he went out again to the Jews and said to them,

00:37:05.880 --> 00:37:09.420
I find no guilt in him. And he went on to try

00:37:09.420 --> 00:37:12.400
to release Jesus as the one person he could release

00:37:12.400 --> 00:37:14.039
during the festival, and they chose Barabbas

00:37:14.039 --> 00:37:18.920
instead, and they crucified Jesus. Jesus said,

00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:23.059
I have come to bear witness to the truth. Pilate

00:37:23.059 --> 00:37:26.019
said, I find no guilt in him. This brings us

00:37:26.019 --> 00:37:29.789
to our conclusion already. We started by asking,

00:37:29.889 --> 00:37:32.650
why might a people who have become a people of

00:37:32.650 --> 00:37:34.949
the truth still find place for bearing false

00:37:34.949 --> 00:37:37.250
witness? That was our question. If we have become

00:37:37.250 --> 00:37:39.230
a people of the truth and the truth is in us,

00:37:39.329 --> 00:37:42.090
why would we ever find a circumstance under which

00:37:42.090 --> 00:37:44.070
we would bear false witness? Why do we need to

00:37:44.070 --> 00:37:46.210
be reminded as God's people? By the way, the

00:37:46.210 --> 00:37:48.110
command really doesn't help anybody else, right?

00:37:48.590 --> 00:37:50.969
So if not God's people, why do you care? If it

00:37:50.969 --> 00:37:52.550
says thou shalt not bear false witness and you're

00:37:52.550 --> 00:37:54.070
not a follower of the Lord or seeking to be a

00:37:54.070 --> 00:37:55.050
follower of the Lord, why do you really care

00:37:55.050 --> 00:37:57.369
what it says? So the command is speaking most.

00:37:57.880 --> 00:38:00.079
urgently to people who care what God says. That

00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:03.800
would be us. And so why would we possibly find

00:38:03.800 --> 00:38:06.920
a place for bearing false witness? The passages

00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:09.099
that we have looked at lead us to some possible

00:38:09.099 --> 00:38:11.340
conclusions, and they should be enough to solve

00:38:11.340 --> 00:38:14.440
our dilemma. The first one is this. It could

00:38:14.440 --> 00:38:19.000
be that a man is lying to himself, and only once

00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:21.199
put under these circumstances does it become

00:38:21.199 --> 00:38:24.860
clear that he is not what he thinks he is. So

00:38:24.860 --> 00:38:26.780
you say you're a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,

00:38:26.940 --> 00:38:28.739
that you're walking with Christ, that you love

00:38:28.739 --> 00:38:31.039
the Lord. But only under these circumstances,

00:38:31.099 --> 00:38:34.920
that special moment in time where you're given

00:38:34.920 --> 00:38:37.340
the opportunity to bear witness to the truth

00:38:37.340 --> 00:38:39.760
and write off all the possible great outcomes

00:38:39.760 --> 00:38:45.199
and avoid all the good justice that you could

00:38:45.199 --> 00:38:48.099
deal or avoid all the punishment that might be

00:38:48.099 --> 00:38:50.960
dealt to you. That one special moment at which

00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:53.730
you could do that. And when that moment comes,

00:38:54.030 --> 00:38:57.570
it may be determined in the man's heart that

00:38:57.570 --> 00:39:00.969
he is not what he thinks he is. Here's our opportunity

00:39:00.969 --> 00:39:03.510
to repent then and turn to the Lord, to be saved

00:39:03.510 --> 00:39:06.349
in earnest through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our

00:39:06.349 --> 00:39:09.110
time of opportunity to bear false witness will

00:39:09.110 --> 00:39:11.239
come. If you live long enough, you will get an

00:39:11.239 --> 00:39:12.980
opportunity to lie to parents, lie to police,

00:39:13.019 --> 00:39:15.159
lie to a judge, lie to a police officer on the

00:39:15.159 --> 00:39:17.760
side of the road, lie to your spouse, that's

00:39:17.760 --> 00:39:20.219
an authority figure in your life, lie to any

00:39:20.219 --> 00:39:23.500
aspect of government. The rules will come against

00:39:23.500 --> 00:39:25.980
you and you'll have the opportunity to lie. And

00:39:25.980 --> 00:39:28.380
if you can lie in that moment, if you can bear

00:39:28.380 --> 00:39:30.559
false witness in that moment, you need to repent

00:39:30.559 --> 00:39:34.099
now. I understand that's backwards. You say,

00:39:34.119 --> 00:39:37.099
because it might be a year, 10 years, or 50 that

00:39:37.099 --> 00:39:39.289
I would get there. But if right now you're sitting

00:39:39.289 --> 00:39:40.610
here and you go, well, I would lie to a police

00:39:40.610 --> 00:39:42.630
officer if he got a speeding ticket. I would

00:39:42.630 --> 00:39:44.869
lie to a judge and not have to pay hundreds of

00:39:44.869 --> 00:39:47.010
thousands of millions of dollars. If that's you,

00:39:47.170 --> 00:39:50.789
then you are smack in contrast to what Christ

00:39:50.789 --> 00:39:54.750
came to the earth for. And you need to repent

00:39:54.750 --> 00:39:58.530
and say, even in that special circumstance, no,

00:39:58.630 --> 00:40:01.329
especially in that special circumstance where

00:40:01.329 --> 00:40:04.269
I could reap some benefit by dealing with that,

00:40:04.369 --> 00:40:08.530
I will speak only the truth. arm yourself now

00:40:08.530 --> 00:40:11.150
with the resolve to speak the truth. In fact,

00:40:11.250 --> 00:40:13.869
allow the truth to inhabit your life who is the

00:40:13.869 --> 00:40:18.730
person, Jesus Christ. Secondly, we may come to

00:40:18.730 --> 00:40:20.690
our opportunity to bear false witness, not having

00:40:20.690 --> 00:40:23.530
lived a life attuned to the Holy Spirit's presence

00:40:23.530 --> 00:40:26.230
in us. In other words, it's possible for you

00:40:26.230 --> 00:40:28.929
to go on day in, day out, doing what you think

00:40:28.929 --> 00:40:30.889
God would want you to do, following the word,

00:40:31.030 --> 00:40:33.329
but not really paying any attention to the teachings

00:40:33.329 --> 00:40:37.510
and convictions of the Holy Spirit. If you can

00:40:37.510 --> 00:40:40.170
go to your closet and pray, Lord, which shirt

00:40:40.170 --> 00:40:42.429
should I wear today? And God does not answer,

00:40:42.550 --> 00:40:45.050
then it's probable that either he doesn't have

00:40:45.050 --> 00:40:47.170
an opinion or you just aren't able to hear it.

00:40:47.670 --> 00:40:50.409
One of those two things is true. Now you say,

00:40:50.449 --> 00:40:52.750
well, if God would say, lie to me, I would know

00:40:52.750 --> 00:40:55.630
that's not God because God says don't lie. So

00:40:55.630 --> 00:40:58.070
I got that. If God would say, go ahead and steal

00:40:58.070 --> 00:41:00.010
that. It's for you. It's free. It's right there.

00:41:00.030 --> 00:41:01.869
No one will know that you took it. You say, well,

00:41:01.909 --> 00:41:03.809
I know that's not God because that's not the

00:41:03.809 --> 00:41:05.289
character of God. You may know the character

00:41:05.289 --> 00:41:07.809
of God. That's not what I'm talking about. What

00:41:07.809 --> 00:41:09.769
I'm talking about is having an interpersonal

00:41:09.769 --> 00:41:12.650
relationship, having God on speed dial through

00:41:12.650 --> 00:41:14.809
his Holy Spirit where he's with you all the while,

00:41:14.829 --> 00:41:17.190
all the while speaking in your heart. And you're

00:41:17.190 --> 00:41:19.550
going left when you should go right. And he says,

00:41:19.570 --> 00:41:21.130
go right. And you're like, okay, go right. And

00:41:21.130 --> 00:41:23.210
for all you know, he just saved your life or

00:41:23.210 --> 00:41:25.690
opened up a door to ministry or whatever. So

00:41:25.690 --> 00:41:29.420
daily seek him. daily practice spiritual disciplines

00:41:29.420 --> 00:41:32.260
and get used to always asking God, what would

00:41:32.260 --> 00:41:35.059
you have me to do? Because there may come a time

00:41:35.059 --> 00:41:38.380
where, a special time like this, where all reason,

00:41:38.539 --> 00:41:42.619
all logic, all your perceptions of justice say

00:41:42.619 --> 00:41:45.380
you should lie or you should just be quiet, which

00:41:45.380 --> 00:41:49.659
is a liable mission, right? And when you know

00:41:49.659 --> 00:41:51.780
what he would have you to do, you will be able

00:41:51.780 --> 00:41:54.599
to respond differently in that moment. Ask the

00:41:54.599 --> 00:41:57.320
Holy Spirit, what would you have me to be? How

00:41:57.320 --> 00:42:00.760
are you changing me? Shouldn't it be easier when

00:42:00.760 --> 00:42:02.780
we're grocery shopping or working on a project

00:42:02.780 --> 00:42:05.099
to allow him to work through us and speak through

00:42:05.099 --> 00:42:07.760
us than it is to say when we are under the threat

00:42:07.760 --> 00:42:14.280
of our lives or our welfare? So when being truthful

00:42:14.280 --> 00:42:16.860
about Christ, Could cost you everything. It's

00:42:16.860 --> 00:42:18.820
going to be easier in that moment to be truthful

00:42:18.820 --> 00:42:20.679
than it is when you're in the grocery store or

00:42:20.679 --> 00:42:22.880
shopping or working or whatever. No, it's easier

00:42:22.880 --> 00:42:25.480
to do it on a regular basis. And then it becomes

00:42:25.480 --> 00:42:28.019
a habit. And then faced with that special moment

00:42:28.019 --> 00:42:29.820
in time where everything seems to be at stake,

00:42:29.960 --> 00:42:32.199
you can still be truthful because the Spirit

00:42:32.199 --> 00:42:34.920
is giving you the words to speak. If your life

00:42:34.920 --> 00:42:42.429
is running smoothly at this time, use it to get

00:42:42.429 --> 00:42:44.550
used to hearing what the Holy Spirit says and

00:42:44.550 --> 00:42:46.789
doing and speaking according to how he leads.

00:42:47.889 --> 00:42:50.369
If you're not daily desiring the presence of

00:42:50.369 --> 00:42:51.690
the Holy Spirit, you're maybe still reaching

00:42:51.690 --> 00:42:53.690
for other sources. You're looking for other ways.

00:42:53.750 --> 00:42:55.710
You're trying to grow intellectually, trying

00:42:55.710 --> 00:42:57.610
to become strong physically. You're trying to

00:42:57.610 --> 00:42:59.750
eat right and sleep right. Now I'll take care

00:42:59.750 --> 00:43:02.070
of everything. All of those things are good things.

00:43:02.309 --> 00:43:04.590
But if you're not seeking out his leadership,

00:43:04.829 --> 00:43:07.989
then at best, you may find yourself groping around

00:43:07.989 --> 00:43:10.480
for it. when you are called into these situations.

00:43:11.940 --> 00:43:14.159
How much you worked out, how well you ate, whether

00:43:14.159 --> 00:43:16.440
you slept or not, how much money's in your bank

00:43:16.440 --> 00:43:18.360
account or your retirement, how much education

00:43:18.360 --> 00:43:20.880
you have, none of that is going to help you.

00:43:20.960 --> 00:43:23.039
In fact, it's all going to work against you because

00:43:23.039 --> 00:43:25.360
it's all cares of the world, right? It's all

00:43:25.360 --> 00:43:26.699
going to work against you because right now,

00:43:26.840 --> 00:43:29.179
if I am truthful, I could lose my life. If I

00:43:29.179 --> 00:43:30.780
am truthful, I could go to jail for a while.

00:43:31.219 --> 00:43:33.320
If I am truthful, this murderer that I know is

00:43:33.320 --> 00:43:34.960
a murderer but I can't prove it will get off,

00:43:35.139 --> 00:43:37.780
right? If I am truthful, I will get a ticket.

00:43:38.219 --> 00:43:40.400
And if I get a ticket, I'll have to pay $180.

00:43:40.639 --> 00:43:43.239
I don't have $180. I could lose my car. I could

00:43:43.239 --> 00:43:44.440
have to stop driving. I might not be able to

00:43:44.440 --> 00:43:46.460
get where I want. All of the ramifications start

00:43:46.460 --> 00:43:49.059
to heap up on you. And if you're not used to

00:43:49.059 --> 00:43:51.380
hearing the Holy Spirit daily, then when you're

00:43:51.380 --> 00:43:53.659
called into one of those situations, what are

00:43:53.659 --> 00:43:56.000
you going to do? Suddenly go, oh, it's okay.

00:43:56.079 --> 00:44:00.260
I know Jesus 911, right? I have a couple of verses.

00:44:00.440 --> 00:44:02.860
I'll just quote those verses real quick. Pray

00:44:02.860 --> 00:44:06.010
and repent. And then at that moment, God and

00:44:06.010 --> 00:44:08.010
his Holy Spirit will show up and I will say and

00:44:08.010 --> 00:44:09.469
do the right thing and I'll never lie. I'll never

00:44:09.469 --> 00:44:12.690
bear false witness. Really? I submit to you under

00:44:12.690 --> 00:44:14.570
those circumstances, you will have already borne

00:44:14.570 --> 00:44:16.829
false witness before you ever think about repenting.

00:44:16.829 --> 00:44:19.170
Before you ever remember me saying those times

00:44:19.170 --> 00:44:21.309
are coming. When they put the sword to your neck,

00:44:21.469 --> 00:44:23.789
which could very realistically happen, instead

00:44:23.789 --> 00:44:26.760
of that. Instead of you going, okay, I'm going

00:44:26.760 --> 00:44:28.079
to tell the truth. I'm going to be honest here

00:44:28.079 --> 00:44:29.500
about Jesus. I'm going to speak up for Jesus.

00:44:29.659 --> 00:44:32.219
You'll say anything that they will have you say

00:44:32.219 --> 00:44:33.920
just so you can live long enough to see your

00:44:33.920 --> 00:44:36.820
kids graduate from school or get married or your

00:44:36.820 --> 00:44:40.219
grandkids be born, right? If we're motivated

00:44:40.219 --> 00:44:42.579
by the things of this life, then bearing false

00:44:42.579 --> 00:44:45.960
witness is easy. And it's so easy, it'll happen

00:44:45.960 --> 00:44:49.690
before you ever know it. Or you could work to

00:44:49.690 --> 00:44:51.630
get used to listening to God's Holy Spirit today.

00:44:51.730 --> 00:44:53.469
Spending time in his word, in prayer, meditation,

00:44:53.829 --> 00:44:55.489
in the church, under preaching, under teaching,

00:44:55.590 --> 00:44:57.730
in Bible study. Does the list go on? By serving,

00:44:57.829 --> 00:45:00.030
by giving, by exercising your Holy Spirit. The

00:45:00.030 --> 00:45:01.869
list goes on. All these things that God has given

00:45:01.869 --> 00:45:04.989
us to do. By church membership, being part. You

00:45:04.989 --> 00:45:06.449
have to submit to other people and they have

00:45:06.449 --> 00:45:07.989
to submit to you. You're breaking each other's

00:45:07.989 --> 00:45:10.630
limbs off, but you're living closer and closer

00:45:10.630 --> 00:45:14.429
daily to Christ. And that's... That's how you

00:45:14.429 --> 00:45:16.829
make sure that when you come time to bear false

00:45:16.829 --> 00:45:21.510
witness, you would not. Next, we may simply be

00:45:21.510 --> 00:45:23.969
forgetting that God's plan is bigger than the

00:45:23.969 --> 00:45:27.989
impending outcome of our lives. In the grand

00:45:27.989 --> 00:45:31.170
scheme of things, as God is building a place

00:45:31.170 --> 00:45:33.989
for all Christians, in the grand scheme of things,

00:45:34.269 --> 00:45:37.230
as God is taking everyone who faithfully follows

00:45:37.230 --> 00:45:39.780
him to heaven when they die, In the grand scheme

00:45:39.780 --> 00:45:42.119
of things where God is forgiving all sins through

00:45:42.119 --> 00:45:47.699
his son Jesus, whether you get it, own it, polish

00:45:47.699 --> 00:45:52.539
it, eat it, whatever you do, it doesn't mean

00:45:52.539 --> 00:45:56.219
squat. Does anybody know what Martin Luther had

00:45:56.219 --> 00:46:01.079
for dinner on Wednesday, the 13th week of the

00:46:01.079 --> 00:46:05.239
30th year he was alive? No one cares! No one

00:46:05.239 --> 00:46:07.840
cares what Martin Luther ate. Did he eat right?

00:46:07.920 --> 00:46:10.420
Did he drink right? Did he live right? Only maybe

00:46:10.420 --> 00:46:13.599
historians who are studying minutiae, and none

00:46:13.599 --> 00:46:15.559
of us are that important probably, right? So

00:46:15.559 --> 00:46:17.139
no one's going to care what I ate when I was

00:46:17.139 --> 00:46:20.360
32 versus what I ate when I was 37. No one cares.

00:46:20.559 --> 00:46:22.559
No one cares what you wore on Wednesday. You

00:46:22.559 --> 00:46:24.420
don't even remember what you wore on Wednesday,

00:46:24.480 --> 00:46:26.579
but now it's suddenly a big deal. I've got to

00:46:26.579 --> 00:46:28.139
be able to dress tomorrow. I've got to be able

00:46:28.139 --> 00:46:29.559
to go to work. I've got to be able to pay my

00:46:29.559 --> 00:46:30.880
bills. I'm going to be able to do all these things,

00:46:30.940 --> 00:46:32.519
and now they're all on the line in this moment.

00:46:32.969 --> 00:46:34.969
And suddenly I'm going to become an honest person

00:46:34.969 --> 00:46:39.289
because I recognize how important it is. Many

00:46:39.289 --> 00:46:41.409
Christians have gone before and been persecuted

00:46:41.409 --> 00:46:44.289
even unto death. It is enough that we become

00:46:44.289 --> 00:46:46.730
like our masters speaking truth in the presence

00:46:46.730 --> 00:46:49.590
of all witnesses. Even if it costs us or even

00:46:49.590 --> 00:46:52.170
if it seems like the most logical outcome of

00:46:52.170 --> 00:46:54.690
the truth is a lack of justice in this particular

00:46:54.690 --> 00:46:58.159
situation. Satan is the great deceiver. And if

00:46:58.159 --> 00:47:01.059
we allow him, he will affect our minds such that

00:47:01.059 --> 00:47:03.340
bearing false witness seems perfectly reasonable.

00:47:03.619 --> 00:47:07.119
For this reason alone, we cannot decide to bear

00:47:07.119 --> 00:47:10.760
false witness no matter what we reason. Jesus'

00:47:10.840 --> 00:47:14.000
ministry was to speak the truth. And we have

00:47:14.000 --> 00:47:19.380
no ministry outside of Jesus. Last, though probably

00:47:19.380 --> 00:47:21.139
not actually last, because you could probably

00:47:21.139 --> 00:47:24.280
do this for a while if you wanted to. If we endure

00:47:24.280 --> 00:47:26.780
to the end, then we'll be saved. That's what

00:47:26.780 --> 00:47:29.500
he said. You understand that means if you endure

00:47:29.500 --> 00:47:32.440
the persecutions, if you endure the government

00:47:32.440 --> 00:47:35.820
punishment, which could come, if you lose a job,

00:47:35.840 --> 00:47:40.320
we're speaking truth, the truth of Christ. If

00:47:40.320 --> 00:47:42.500
we endure to the end, then we'll be saved. That's

00:47:42.500 --> 00:47:44.880
what he said. That is to say, if we are living

00:47:44.880 --> 00:47:47.019
a lie, then when faced with persecutions and

00:47:47.019 --> 00:47:49.739
the seeming unyielding law of governmental authority,

00:47:50.099 --> 00:47:53.219
we will bear false witness and thereby actually

00:47:53.219 --> 00:47:55.239
be telling the truth about who we are. Did you

00:47:55.239 --> 00:47:58.199
catch that? So you'll go into that special moment

00:47:58.199 --> 00:48:00.639
at which you could speak the truth about Jesus

00:48:00.639 --> 00:48:03.820
and you'll not speak the truth about Jesus because

00:48:03.820 --> 00:48:05.519
the ramifications seem too large. There's too

00:48:05.519 --> 00:48:09.300
much there. And you will actually be speaking

00:48:09.300 --> 00:48:11.460
the truth about Jesus, which is that he is not

00:48:11.460 --> 00:48:13.960
your Lord. You do not love him with all your

00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:15.579
life and all yourself. You do not submit all

00:48:15.579 --> 00:48:18.179
things that you are unto him. But rather in that

00:48:18.179 --> 00:48:21.760
special moment, in that opportunity, he's just

00:48:21.760 --> 00:48:24.539
another name, just another idol, just another

00:48:24.539 --> 00:48:28.559
God. Like anybody else. And there are no other

00:48:28.559 --> 00:48:31.019
gods. And to say that Jesus is just another god

00:48:31.019 --> 00:48:32.739
like everybody else is to say that Jesus essentially

00:48:32.739 --> 00:48:35.659
does not exist. And you will have unraveled every

00:48:35.659 --> 00:48:39.340
last aspect of what it meant to you to be a Christian.

00:48:40.099 --> 00:48:43.119
By simply bearing false witness in that circumstance.

00:48:44.179 --> 00:48:47.000
That's why they won't do it. That's why Christians

00:48:47.000 --> 00:48:49.860
who know the Lord will not denounce Christ even

00:48:49.860 --> 00:48:52.960
under threat of murder. With a gun to their head

00:48:52.960 --> 00:48:55.440
or an axe at their throat. It's been going on

00:48:55.440 --> 00:48:58.840
this way since Jesus was crucified. When they

00:48:58.840 --> 00:49:00.579
came home after they were persecuted, after the

00:49:00.579 --> 00:49:03.139
beautiful gate incident, they praised God that

00:49:03.139 --> 00:49:07.780
they were allowed to suffer like Jesus. It's

00:49:07.780 --> 00:49:10.940
been going on. You need this special moment in

00:49:10.940 --> 00:49:15.199
time. Listen, I'm 100 % sure I'm saved. God has

00:49:15.199 --> 00:49:17.139
worked in me, Holy Spirit, whatever. But you

00:49:17.139 --> 00:49:20.320
don't know that about me. And no one else does.

00:49:20.780 --> 00:49:22.579
I'm the only one, not even my wife, who knows

00:49:22.579 --> 00:49:24.909
me better than anybody. sees my personal struggles,

00:49:24.969 --> 00:49:26.929
etc. She doesn't know that about me for sure.

00:49:28.349 --> 00:49:31.110
And only you can truly know it about you other

00:49:31.110 --> 00:49:34.949
than God. But I'll tell you what, in this moment,

00:49:35.030 --> 00:49:36.570
in this special circumstance where you could

00:49:36.570 --> 00:49:39.190
bear false witness for any logical reason whatsoever,

00:49:39.550 --> 00:49:44.230
even if it's just fear or could be jealousy or

00:49:44.230 --> 00:49:46.730
envy or whatever, if you can find a way to bear

00:49:46.730 --> 00:49:49.679
false witness in that circumstance, Faced with

00:49:49.679 --> 00:49:51.820
the great grinding wheels of governmental authority

00:49:51.820 --> 00:49:54.420
that had previously persecuted Christians unto

00:49:54.420 --> 00:49:57.000
death and will do so again. And if you can bear

00:49:57.000 --> 00:49:58.880
false witness in that circumstance, then you

00:49:58.880 --> 00:50:00.440
are not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

00:50:01.340 --> 00:50:03.099
And I can't say who will or who won't because

00:50:03.099 --> 00:50:04.559
I don't know who's saved and who won't. But I

00:50:04.559 --> 00:50:06.780
will tell you that the unsaved will not. They

00:50:06.780 --> 00:50:08.219
will bear a false witness. They will not speak

00:50:08.219 --> 00:50:11.280
the truth. And the saved will speak the truth.

00:50:11.380 --> 00:50:15.920
They will not bear false witness. We will actually

00:50:15.920 --> 00:50:18.400
be telling the truth about who we are if we are

00:50:18.400 --> 00:50:20.500
willing to bear false witness in that moment.

00:50:20.639 --> 00:50:23.280
We might even conclude that each man's trials

00:50:23.280 --> 00:50:26.980
and tribulation have this grand purpose to prove

00:50:26.980 --> 00:50:30.579
to whom we belong. The worst thing that you're

00:50:30.579 --> 00:50:33.880
going through is in your life right now to prove

00:50:33.880 --> 00:50:37.099
to whom you belong. You face the difficulties,

00:50:37.360 --> 00:50:40.199
you overcome, you endure, even if it means you

00:50:40.199 --> 00:50:42.300
die and go to heaven. And you spend eternity

00:50:42.300 --> 00:50:46.500
with God to whom you claim you belong. Or you

00:50:46.500 --> 00:50:48.860
refuse to face the difficulties. Or you refuse

00:50:48.860 --> 00:50:51.900
to speak up. You hold your tongue. You do not

00:50:51.900 --> 00:50:55.019
bear witness to the truth. And then you get to

00:50:55.019 --> 00:50:57.579
the other side and he reminds you that he warned

00:50:57.579 --> 00:50:59.760
you that not everybody who said Lord, Lord would

00:50:59.760 --> 00:51:02.980
enter the kingdom of heaven. Whose side are you

00:51:02.980 --> 00:51:06.719
on? And who's speaking through you? I have a

00:51:06.719 --> 00:51:08.039
few illustrations and then we'll be through.

00:51:09.289 --> 00:51:11.929
These are illustrations of people who found themselves

00:51:11.929 --> 00:51:14.250
in the circumstances of which I am describing.

00:51:14.809 --> 00:51:17.650
In February of 2015, there were 21 Christian

00:51:17.650 --> 00:51:20.809
men. 21. Most of them were Coptic Christians

00:51:20.809 --> 00:51:25.150
from that sect of the faith out of Egypt. They

00:51:25.150 --> 00:51:28.449
were kidnapped by ISIS in Libya. Soon made the

00:51:28.449 --> 00:51:31.070
world news. The terrorists gave them a choice.

00:51:31.170 --> 00:51:33.630
Renounce Christ. Just say you're not a Christian.

00:51:33.710 --> 00:51:39.610
Renounce Christ and live. Or, I'm sorry, and

00:51:39.610 --> 00:51:41.949
in renouncing Christ, they would have to convert

00:51:41.949 --> 00:51:45.829
to Islam or die. Right? So that was their option.

00:51:45.949 --> 00:51:48.570
They could renounce Christ, convert to Islam,

00:51:48.769 --> 00:51:57.150
and live or die. Each man refused to deny Jesus.

00:51:57.829 --> 00:52:00.630
And they were beheaded on a beach in a video

00:52:00.630 --> 00:52:03.610
titled, A Message Signed with Blood to the Nation

00:52:03.610 --> 00:52:07.460
of the Cross. which for quite a while, I don't

00:52:07.460 --> 00:52:08.840
know if it's still there anymore, you could watch

00:52:08.840 --> 00:52:16.739
on YouTube. Is that not nasty? One of them, a

00:52:16.739 --> 00:52:20.719
man named Matthew Iurega, was reportedly not

00:52:20.719 --> 00:52:25.300
previously a Christian. But when he saw all of

00:52:25.300 --> 00:52:27.420
those men refusing to denounce your faith, guess

00:52:27.420 --> 00:52:31.260
what he did? They put the sword to his throat,

00:52:31.400 --> 00:52:36.599
and he responded, Their God is my God. And he

00:52:36.599 --> 00:52:40.579
died as well. Now, I don't know if any of those

00:52:40.579 --> 00:52:43.900
ISIS members ever got saved or whatever, but

00:52:43.900 --> 00:52:48.760
I know that as those Christians rose up into

00:52:48.760 --> 00:52:54.860
heaven, there was great cheering. Their faith

00:52:54.860 --> 00:52:57.079
and courage became a global testimony and the

00:52:57.079 --> 00:53:00.030
Coptic church canonized them as martyrs. Their

00:53:00.030 --> 00:53:02.989
last words were reported to be, Ya Rabbi Yasu,

00:53:03.110 --> 00:53:08.730
which is, Oh my Lord Jesus. Go back a long time

00:53:08.730 --> 00:53:11.010
back. Before the Bible was fully written as we

00:53:11.010 --> 00:53:13.030
have it, it was in the churches, but it hadn't

00:53:13.030 --> 00:53:15.489
been canonized into the New Testament yet. The

00:53:15.489 --> 00:53:16.610
Old Testament, of course, was already there.

00:53:16.909 --> 00:53:21.489
There's a man named Polycarp of Smyrna. Polycarp

00:53:21.489 --> 00:53:25.510
was a disciple of the Apostle John. He refused

00:53:25.510 --> 00:53:27.650
to renounce Christ when pressured by Roman authorities.

00:53:29.480 --> 00:53:31.579
When ordered to swear allegiance to Caesar and

00:53:31.579 --> 00:53:34.519
deny Christ, he famously declared, 86 years have

00:53:34.519 --> 00:53:37.500
I served him, and he has done me no wrong. How

00:53:37.500 --> 00:53:40.380
can I blaspheme my king who saved me? He was

00:53:40.380 --> 00:53:42.119
burned at the stake, or at least they tried.

00:53:42.300 --> 00:53:45.960
The flames refused to consume his body. So they

00:53:45.960 --> 00:53:52.139
killed him with the sword. Be aware that when

00:53:52.139 --> 00:53:54.099
you refuse to bear false witness under those

00:53:54.099 --> 00:53:58.699
circumstances, you will probably still die. God

00:53:58.699 --> 00:54:01.179
does not strike down every evildoer or erase

00:54:01.179 --> 00:54:04.199
the muscles in a person's arm just because we

00:54:04.199 --> 00:54:05.960
are in difficulty. I know that he has done that

00:54:05.960 --> 00:54:11.000
and he may well do that again. But if it's your

00:54:11.000 --> 00:54:14.139
time to go to heaven, which by the way, not such

00:54:14.139 --> 00:54:17.059
a bad time really. We're all worried about death

00:54:17.059 --> 00:54:18.739
and whatever, but not such a bad time really

00:54:18.739 --> 00:54:24.360
to go to heaven. Thou shalt not bear false witness.

00:54:26.599 --> 00:54:31.099
William Tyndale lived from 1494 to 1536. Tyndale

00:54:31.099 --> 00:54:33.340
translated the Bible into English, defying the

00:54:33.340 --> 00:54:36.059
Catholic Church's control over Scripture. They

00:54:36.059 --> 00:54:37.480
ordered him not to do it, and he did it anyway.

00:54:37.900 --> 00:54:40.239
They declared him a heretic against the Church.

00:54:40.559 --> 00:54:44.639
He was strangled and burned at the stake. His

00:54:44.639 --> 00:54:47.860
last words were, Lord, open the King of England's

00:54:47.860 --> 00:54:52.489
eyes. His work influenced later translations,

00:54:52.690 --> 00:54:54.889
including the King James Bible, allowing the

00:54:54.889 --> 00:54:58.690
common people to read God's word. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

00:54:58.690 --> 00:55:02.449
might have heard of him, 1906 to 1945. He was

00:55:02.449 --> 00:55:04.849
a German pastor and theologian. Bonhoeffer opposed

00:55:04.849 --> 00:55:07.690
Adolf Hitler. Most of them didn't, but he did.

00:55:08.349 --> 00:55:11.829
And the Nazi regime, denouncing their persecution

00:55:11.829 --> 00:55:14.190
of the Jews and their distortion of Christianity.

00:55:15.070 --> 00:55:17.929
Did you know that Hitler ruled Germany in part

00:55:17.929 --> 00:55:21.679
by a distortion of Christianity? Be careful about

00:55:21.679 --> 00:55:25.300
distortions of Christianity. Bonhoeffer was arrested

00:55:25.300 --> 00:55:27.840
for his role in a plot to overthrow Hitler. He

00:55:27.840 --> 00:55:30.980
was executed by hanging just weeks before the

00:55:30.980 --> 00:55:35.659
end of World War II. Less than a month before

00:55:35.659 --> 00:55:37.679
they would sign the treaty and Hitler would surrender,

00:55:37.880 --> 00:55:41.519
well, Hitler's men would surrender without exception.

00:55:42.579 --> 00:55:44.760
Because Hitler was theoretically, had committed

00:55:44.760 --> 00:55:48.219
suicide in his bunker by then. And just a few

00:55:48.219 --> 00:55:51.809
weeks before the war was over, They killed him.

00:55:52.369 --> 00:55:54.829
His writings, including a writing called The

00:55:54.829 --> 00:55:57.670
Cost of Discipleship, continue to inspire Christians

00:55:57.670 --> 00:56:03.789
to stand for truth and justice. Let's put it

00:56:03.789 --> 00:56:05.469
a little more close to home in a context and

00:56:05.469 --> 00:56:07.050
an illustration that probably never actually

00:56:07.050 --> 00:56:10.590
happened. Brother Jed, in a Southern Baptist

00:56:10.590 --> 00:56:13.670
country church, in the middle of the COVID pandemic,

00:56:13.969 --> 00:56:17.409
told, you gotta stop preaching. The governor

00:56:17.409 --> 00:56:22.030
says, if you go, we're gonna arrest you. And

00:56:22.030 --> 00:56:25.389
you know what he did? He preached the word of

00:56:25.389 --> 00:56:27.510
God to them. And they said, well, it's clear

00:56:27.510 --> 00:56:30.170
that you're not going to listen. And he said,

00:56:30.309 --> 00:56:34.969
no. Until the one who wrote this book tells me

00:56:34.969 --> 00:56:36.969
to stop preaching this book, I'll be preaching

00:56:36.969 --> 00:56:40.090
this book unless somebody takes me out of this

00:56:40.090 --> 00:56:43.349
world. I'm not daring anybody to kill me. Don't

00:56:43.349 --> 00:56:45.590
do that. That's just foolishness. We've got a

00:56:45.590 --> 00:56:48.590
lot of work to do here. But what I am saying

00:56:48.590 --> 00:56:52.340
to you is there's going to come. A special moment

00:56:52.340 --> 00:56:56.219
in time at which it makes perfect sense in every

00:56:56.219 --> 00:57:00.539
conceivable way to deny the truth. You're going

00:57:00.539 --> 00:57:04.199
to need to be quiet amongst your friends, amongst

00:57:04.199 --> 00:57:07.260
police officers or judges, gang members, whatever.

00:57:07.739 --> 00:57:11.460
You're going to need to not push the truth in

00:57:11.460 --> 00:57:14.500
order to avoid trouble, in order to avoid certain

00:57:14.500 --> 00:57:16.880
results that you don't like. It could be your

00:57:16.880 --> 00:57:22.449
family, the family unit. Is a type of government.

00:57:23.949 --> 00:57:25.989
And Jesus even said there will be mothers and

00:57:25.989 --> 00:57:28.889
fathers that surrender their children. And children

00:57:28.889 --> 00:57:32.349
that surrender their parents. Brothers that surrender

00:57:32.349 --> 00:57:33.909
their sisters. And sisters that surrender their

00:57:33.909 --> 00:57:36.329
brothers. And so on. All of that will happen.

00:57:36.989 --> 00:57:40.730
Because it makes perfect sense. By every reasonable

00:57:40.730 --> 00:57:44.230
assertion. To just bear a little false witness.

00:57:44.769 --> 00:57:49.809
It will take care of everything. But if you do.

00:57:50.440 --> 00:57:55.079
you will be standing in direct opposition for

00:57:55.079 --> 00:57:59.239
why Jesus said he came to the earth to bear witness

00:57:59.239 --> 00:58:05.079
to the truth. If he had made a defense of some

00:58:05.079 --> 00:58:08.579
kind when they arrested him, if he had pushed

00:58:08.579 --> 00:58:10.880
hard not to be crucified, he might have pulled

00:58:10.880 --> 00:58:12.480
it off because the whole thing is a travesty

00:58:12.480 --> 00:58:15.539
of justice. It's all illegal. The court was never

00:58:15.539 --> 00:58:18.300
to meet after dark. Not all the members were

00:58:18.300 --> 00:58:22.420
present. He never actually did anything wrong.

00:58:23.360 --> 00:58:25.239
And what they crucified him for was claiming

00:58:25.239 --> 00:58:30.340
to be God. Which was true. He shouldn't have

00:58:30.340 --> 00:58:32.440
been crucified. But the wheels of government

00:58:32.440 --> 00:58:35.599
became gears and they chewed him up. And we should

00:58:35.599 --> 00:58:37.880
not seek to be better than our master. If we

00:58:37.880 --> 00:58:40.320
should face a circumstance like that, where we

00:58:40.320 --> 00:58:43.980
might be chewed up, we must not bear false witness.

00:58:44.800 --> 00:58:46.760
I ask the praise team to come forward at this

00:58:46.760 --> 00:58:50.719
time. To lead us in our final hymn. You're thinking

00:58:50.719 --> 00:58:52.900
in your mind and in your heart and you're analyzing

00:58:52.900 --> 00:58:56.800
things. Could I stand true? Would I speak the

00:58:56.800 --> 00:58:59.059
truth? Will I stand up for Jesus under those

00:58:59.059 --> 00:59:01.760
worst circumstances? Will I be entreated when

00:59:01.760 --> 00:59:04.380
it really might be worth my while to lie a little?

00:59:04.820 --> 00:59:08.239
Can I be faithful to the truth? Can I speak instead

00:59:08.239 --> 00:59:11.619
of the words that Jesus gives me? You can't even

00:59:11.619 --> 00:59:14.559
say, I'll just be silent. Because silence can

00:59:14.559 --> 00:59:19.659
be a lie. It's a lie of the world. But can you

00:59:19.659 --> 00:59:22.440
say in your heart that you follow Jesus and Jesus

00:59:22.440 --> 00:59:24.900
will be your words and you trust him and you'll

00:59:24.900 --> 00:59:28.000
speak up? Because if that's not true, then I'm

00:59:28.000 --> 00:59:29.760
asking you today to repent and say, I'm turning

00:59:29.760 --> 00:59:33.340
myself over to the Lord of the universe. We believe

00:59:33.340 --> 00:59:53.400
that he saves us from sin. that Jesus is real.

00:59:54.739 --> 01:00:03.039
We believe in the truth he reveals. We believe

01:00:03.039 --> 01:00:06.199
that he saves us from sin.