WEBVTT 00:00:10.950 --> 00:00:18.649 Doing okay? Good. Okay. It happens that people 00:00:18.649 --> 00:00:21.750 come back around. I've had a number of people 00:00:21.750 --> 00:00:24.589 in my life that have left me. In fact, I recently 00:00:24.589 --> 00:00:27.829 had a man who reinstituted our friendship and 00:00:27.829 --> 00:00:30.280 we've been meeting. pretty much monthly now, 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:34.700 to talk and pray together, after he decided he 00:00:34.700 --> 00:00:36.920 literally wanted nothing to do with me ever again. 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:39.719 And he told me as much, and I tried to explain 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:41.960 to him that I didn't know what I had done wrong, 00:00:42.140 --> 00:00:47.619 and it's definitely on. Beep, beep, beep, beep, 00:00:47.740 --> 00:00:51.259 beep. Okay. All right. Anyway, and he hung up 00:00:51.259 --> 00:00:52.700 on me, and then I tried to call him back, and 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:54.979 he would never let me call him, and so I just 00:00:54.979 --> 00:00:58.159 kind of gave up on our friendship. But of recent... 00:00:58.409 --> 00:01:00.549 We have been meeting and praying together and 00:01:00.549 --> 00:01:03.049 rebuilding that friendship. And I'm kind of excited 00:01:03.049 --> 00:01:06.269 about that. And if you're on right now on Facebook, 00:01:06.469 --> 00:01:09.049 you get to hear that. I'm not going to name your 00:01:09.049 --> 00:01:12.349 name, but I'm grateful for that friendship. It's 00:01:12.349 --> 00:01:14.310 happened a number of other times. We've had people 00:01:14.310 --> 00:01:16.769 in the church who left the church, disgruntled, 00:01:16.870 --> 00:01:20.590 and then got out there and life went really awry. 00:01:20.709 --> 00:01:23.170 It didn't go well at all. And then they came 00:01:23.170 --> 00:01:25.689 back. I know one woman that did it three times. 00:01:26.170 --> 00:01:28.680 She was in the church. She left the church because 00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:32.719 she got a job and got a van or her health got 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:34.439 right. I thought everything was good, so she 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:36.680 left. She didn't really need God at that point. 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:39.319 And then she lost her van, lost her health, lost 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:41.340 her job. It was all falling apart. She was in 00:01:41.340 --> 00:01:43.260 the hospital for like three weeks. Come out of 00:01:43.260 --> 00:01:44.200 the hospital, first thing she did, come back 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:45.640 to church. And over a space of about a year, 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:47.799 her life got all back in line. She got a van, 00:01:47.900 --> 00:01:50.540 got a job, got her health back in line. She had 00:01:50.540 --> 00:01:52.239 a mysterious health condition that went away. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:55.439 And then she was in the church for a while. And 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:57.480 then a family member of hers had a time commitment. 00:01:57.640 --> 00:01:59.200 It was kind of lined up. And she's like, well, 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.579 I want to be there. And I'm going to start doing 00:02:01.579 --> 00:02:03.439 that instead of coming to church. And overnight, 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:07.400 it all fell apart again. And it's still falling 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:09.919 apart as we speak right now. But she came back 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:14.259 twice and had it fall apart three times. It happens 00:02:14.259 --> 00:02:16.639 that people come back around. I've had folks 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:19.479 who come to me and say, you know, leave me alone. 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:20.560 I don't want anything to do with it. I want to 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:23.039 hear about the gospel. I had one friend of mine 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:25.939 who was a professing atheist, and he didn't want 00:02:25.939 --> 00:02:28.460 to hear nothing about God. And I waited two and 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:30.419 a half years, and I wrote him a letter. He said, 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:31.979 don't talk to me about it. So I wrote him a letter. 00:02:32.300 --> 00:02:34.340 He wound up accepting Christ. He's still got 00:02:34.340 --> 00:02:37.479 a long way to go, maybe compared to biblical 00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:39.199 standard or whatever, but he has accepted Christ 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:41.620 and professes to be a Christian. It happens that 00:02:41.620 --> 00:02:44.139 people come back around. It also happens that 00:02:44.139 --> 00:02:46.159 there are things called archetypes. Do you know 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:47.900 what that means, an archetype, if I say an archetype? 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:51.669 An archetype is a story or a situation. or it 00:02:51.669 --> 00:02:54.590 can even be a person, right? That then other 00:02:54.590 --> 00:02:56.710 stories, situations where people tend to follow 00:02:56.710 --> 00:02:59.090 that model. I submit to you that the story that 00:02:59.090 --> 00:03:01.849 we're going to hear today has that trait to it, 00:03:01.889 --> 00:03:05.830 that it is an archetype. But the question is, 00:03:05.930 --> 00:03:09.969 which comes first? This story as an archetype 00:03:09.969 --> 00:03:12.770 or did the archetype already exist and this story 00:03:12.770 --> 00:03:14.849 follows the archetype. So pay attention as you 00:03:14.849 --> 00:03:16.270 go and you can make that decision for yourself 00:03:16.270 --> 00:03:18.129 and then maybe I'll try to sway you a little 00:03:18.129 --> 00:03:20.490 bit in the conclusion. Okay? So we've been reading 00:03:20.490 --> 00:03:22.870 from the book of Judges and somebody might take 00:03:22.870 --> 00:03:24.610 a breath right now and hold it while I'm talking 00:03:24.610 --> 00:03:27.770 and you might say a little amen or who are you? 00:03:27.810 --> 00:03:30.509 Yep, I'm here. Say something. Cough. Right? But 00:03:30.509 --> 00:03:33.110 make some kind of noise as we go now to Judges 00:03:33.110 --> 00:03:36.800 chapter 10. Amen. I'm not going to Judges chapter 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:38.599 10 on that. I need something. Come on, give me 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:40.280 something. All right, here we go. Judges chapter 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:43.460 10. That's better. I'll take it. Thank you, Haley. 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:45.379 You contributed at least 50 % of the effort. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:47.539 Where was Kashawn? Kashawn, were you slacking 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:50.259 off? You're usually my loudest person. What? 00:03:50.419 --> 00:03:55.300 You know, I did that like four times during preparation, 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:58.639 and it's Judges chapter 10. I told Sherry, it's 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:00.400 funny, because I'll go to make the slide, and 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:02.560 I'll put numbers. I don't know why I was doing 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:05.300 that. It is Judges chapter 10, very clearly, 00:04:05.460 --> 00:04:08.439 okay? Ignore the slide for that purpose. I will 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:10.740 fix it before it goes to the podcast. All right, 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:14.099 so it's Judges chapter 10. Last week, we read 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:18.680 in verse 16 this beautiful kind of phrase where 00:04:18.680 --> 00:04:21.139 they're suffering again, right? They cry out 00:04:21.139 --> 00:04:22.879 to God, and God says, nope, I'm not going to 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:29.360 help you, all right? And then right at the end 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:32.819 of that, it says that God... could not, it wearied 00:04:32.819 --> 00:04:35.879 God. God could not stand for them to suffer any 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:42.079 longer. And so they, and so they would get their 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:44.560 intervention, right? So in Judges chapter 10, 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:48.040 beginning of verse 17, so the implication is 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:49.259 that they would get their intervention. Now we're 00:04:49.259 --> 00:04:50.600 going to read about the intervention. Judges 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:54.420 10, 17 says as follows. Then the sons of Ammon, 00:04:54.459 --> 00:04:56.660 ah, we know something about them, don't we? Were 00:04:56.660 --> 00:04:59.829 summoned and they camped in Gilead. And the sons 00:04:59.829 --> 00:05:02.550 of Israel gathered together and camped in Mizpah. 00:05:03.189 --> 00:05:05.589 Now Mizpah is an interesting city. It was on 00:05:05.589 --> 00:05:08.470 the east side of the Jordan, in the terrain called 00:05:08.470 --> 00:05:12.189 Gilead. There is another Mizpah. So later, if 00:05:12.189 --> 00:05:13.250 you're reading your Bible and you see another 00:05:13.250 --> 00:05:15.110 Mizpah, there are two of them in the same kind 00:05:15.110 --> 00:05:17.449 of region of the world. This one is located on 00:05:17.449 --> 00:05:19.029 the east side of the Jordan, kind of a mountain 00:05:19.029 --> 00:05:21.730 place where people would go to be safe from invaders. 00:05:22.089 --> 00:05:25.350 And it's where he originally lived. The people, 00:05:25.430 --> 00:05:27.550 the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, Who 00:05:27.550 --> 00:05:29.790 is the man who will begin to fight against the 00:05:29.790 --> 00:05:32.990 sons of Ammon? He shall become head over all 00:05:32.990 --> 00:05:34.910 the inhabitants of Gilead. So they started talking 00:05:34.910 --> 00:05:36.689 about who could be the guy. Who's going to be 00:05:36.689 --> 00:05:40.430 the general, the king, whatever. Then we get 00:05:40.430 --> 00:05:43.009 into Judges chapter 11. Now this is the story 00:05:43.009 --> 00:05:46.449 of Jephthah. And we mentioned last week how Jephthah 00:05:46.449 --> 00:05:48.449 is one of the most interesting characters to 00:05:48.449 --> 00:05:50.529 be a judge. And you're about to find out why. 00:05:51.709 --> 00:05:54.810 11 .1 says this. Jephthah the Gileadite was a 00:05:54.810 --> 00:05:57.360 valiant warrior. This guy could duke it out with 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:00.360 the best of them. But he was the son of a harlot, 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:03.500 so his mother was a prostitute. And Gilead was 00:06:03.500 --> 00:06:07.060 the father of Jephthah. Now this is not that 00:06:07.060 --> 00:06:09.040 original Gilead that the region is named after, 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:12.000 but a guy named Gilead that lived, that was his 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.759 dad, and he had a bunch of sons, right? Gilead's 00:06:14.759 --> 00:06:18.399 wife bore him sons, and when his wife's son grew 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:22.040 up, They drove Jephthah out and said to him, 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:24.839 You shall not have an inheritance in our father's 00:06:24.839 --> 00:06:27.360 house, for you are the son of another woman. 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:31.759 So the biological full brother said, No, we're 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:33.480 not going to let you have anything. You've got 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:38.860 to go. And they kicked him out. Verse 3. So Jephthah 00:06:38.860 --> 00:06:41.279 fled from his brothers and lived in the land 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:45.100 of Tob. And worthless fellows gathered themselves 00:06:45.100 --> 00:06:48.269 about Jephthah, and they went out with him. It 00:06:48.269 --> 00:06:50.490 came about after a while that the sons of Ammon 00:06:50.490 --> 00:06:52.230 fought against Israel. Okay, so now we're caught 00:06:52.230 --> 00:06:54.209 back up. So that was like a little bit of a flashback, 00:06:54.290 --> 00:06:56.389 right? Going back to how Jephthah got where he 00:06:56.389 --> 00:06:59.089 was. Now we're back to where it says, who is 00:06:59.089 --> 00:07:01.610 the man? All right, so verse four. It came about 00:07:01.610 --> 00:07:03.449 after a while that the sons of Ammon fought against 00:07:03.449 --> 00:07:06.110 Israel. When the sons of Ammon fought against 00:07:06.110 --> 00:07:08.769 Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah 00:07:08.769 --> 00:07:10.569 from the land of Tob. So they're going to go 00:07:10.569 --> 00:07:12.990 out and find him. They kick him out, right? But 00:07:12.990 --> 00:07:14.350 now they're going to be like, well, we need somebody. 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:16.959 Maybe he's the somebody. And they go looking 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:22.740 for Jephthah. Okay. Verse 6. And they said to 00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:26.519 Jephthah, Come and be our chief, that we may 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:29.600 fight against the sons of Ammon. Then Jephthah 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:32.100 said to the elders of Gilead, Did you not hate 00:07:32.100 --> 00:07:35.439 me and drive me from my father's house? So why 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:37.899 have you come to me now when you are in trouble? 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:41.060 Some really packed stuff in there if you listen, 00:07:41.180 --> 00:07:43.339 right? So Jephthah. He doesn't just say, oh sure, 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:45.740 this is what I wanted all along. He says, look, 00:07:45.819 --> 00:07:48.879 you kicked me out. You literally made me flee 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:50.819 from my life. You wanted nothing to do with me. 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:57.339 And now you want me to lead you in this very 00:07:57.339 --> 00:08:00.540 important fight? So why have you come to me now 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:02.620 when you are in trouble, he says. The elders 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:04.819 of Gilead said to Jephthah, for this reason we 00:08:04.819 --> 00:08:07.920 have now returned to you. Notice it's returned, 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:10.879 not turned. For this reason we have now returned 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:14.430 to you. that you may go with us and fight with 00:08:14.430 --> 00:08:18.370 the sons of Ammon and become head over all the 00:08:18.370 --> 00:08:21.290 inhabitants of Gilead. So Jephthah said to the 00:08:21.290 --> 00:08:23.610 elders of Gilead, If you take me back to fight 00:08:23.610 --> 00:08:25.750 against the sons of Ammon and the Lord gives 00:08:25.750 --> 00:08:28.790 them up to me, will I become your head? So he's 00:08:28.790 --> 00:08:32.129 putting conditions on it. So it's not just, I'll 00:08:32.129 --> 00:08:35.049 lead you now, but I become the boss. So I'm going 00:08:35.049 --> 00:08:38.509 to be king or ruler over all the land. They say, 00:08:38.610 --> 00:08:41.850 the Lord is witness between us. Surely we will 00:08:41.850 --> 00:08:44.789 do as you have said. Then Jephthah went with 00:08:44.789 --> 00:08:47.389 the elders of Gilead, and the people made him 00:08:47.389 --> 00:08:50.169 head and chief over them. And Jephthah spoke 00:08:50.169 --> 00:08:52.830 all his words before the Lord at Mizpah. And 00:08:52.830 --> 00:08:56.370 we'll see what that's about next week. So notice 00:08:56.370 --> 00:08:59.049 that they kick him out protecting their inheritance. 00:08:59.769 --> 00:09:02.649 They were going to lose something if they shared 00:09:02.649 --> 00:09:05.730 it with Jephthah. And I submit to you that that 00:09:05.730 --> 00:09:08.000 is a motivation for people in the world. People 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:11.340 do that. Then they come to a place where they're 00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:14.539 in need of a solution. And they come begging, 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:18.159 even trading, not just what he would have gotten 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:19.779 in the first place that was part of the inheritance, 00:09:20.019 --> 00:09:22.279 but now essentially everything. They're trading 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:24.279 him everything. Remember, a king will take your 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:27.000 sons, essentially as slaves, into his army. A 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:29.159 king will tax you to pay for weapons of war. 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:31.860 A king will rule over everything. So they're 00:09:31.860 --> 00:09:33.940 not just giving him what he was going to inherit. 00:09:34.509 --> 00:09:37.649 as being a son of Gilead, they're giving him 00:09:37.649 --> 00:09:39.830 literally everything in order for him to come 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:42.149 and lead them. Because why? Because in their 00:09:42.149 --> 00:09:45.049 minds, they were going to lose everything, right? 00:09:46.350 --> 00:09:49.230 So there is an inheritance of the world. Well, 00:09:49.269 --> 00:09:51.710 what does that look like? The world thinks that 00:09:51.710 --> 00:09:53.350 they have the freedom to do whatever they want 00:09:53.350 --> 00:09:56.210 to do, right? That they can sneak and do things 00:09:56.210 --> 00:09:58.730 behind somebody's back and that that person will 00:09:58.730 --> 00:10:01.110 never know or that they won't have to answer 00:10:01.110 --> 00:10:03.370 to anybody. They can lie or cheat and steal. 00:10:03.490 --> 00:10:05.529 And as long as nobody ever saw it, it didn't 00:10:05.529 --> 00:10:07.870 do any damage. And that's just not true. That's 00:10:07.870 --> 00:10:09.629 not the reality of it. But that's what the world 00:10:09.629 --> 00:10:12.389 generally believes. And to them, that is an inheritance. 00:10:12.610 --> 00:10:14.529 And if you come up into their life and start 00:10:14.529 --> 00:10:16.529 living life with them and trying to help, and 00:10:16.529 --> 00:10:17.769 you're trying to like, well, I want to be a better 00:10:17.769 --> 00:10:21.149 person. Let's not me and you go shoplift, let's 00:10:21.149 --> 00:10:23.250 say. But I want to be a better person. I want 00:10:23.250 --> 00:10:25.009 to be a godly person. I want to be somebody that's 00:10:25.009 --> 00:10:27.210 good. I want to call you to be the best that 00:10:27.210 --> 00:10:29.570 you can be. And you try to be that person in 00:10:29.570 --> 00:10:31.950 their life, they want to get rid of you because 00:10:31.950 --> 00:10:34.690 you're stealing what they perceive as their inheritance. 00:10:34.830 --> 00:10:36.590 Are you following this logic? They think they 00:10:36.590 --> 00:10:39.909 have something. Or that they're going to have 00:10:39.909 --> 00:10:41.929 something. And they don't want you to interfere 00:10:41.929 --> 00:10:44.029 with what it is that they think they have. For 00:10:44.029 --> 00:10:45.850 example, if you're a person that doesn't drink, 00:10:46.029 --> 00:10:48.450 and they go out and drink all the time. I can't 00:10:48.450 --> 00:10:50.629 tell you the number of times after I had given 00:10:50.629 --> 00:10:53.330 up drinking before I got saved that I was expressly 00:10:53.330 --> 00:10:55.429 not invited to parties because there was going 00:10:55.429 --> 00:10:57.340 to be considerable drinking there. And they knew 00:10:57.340 --> 00:10:59.240 that I had given it up, even though I wasn't 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:01.919 saved yet. Now, as a Christian, guess how many 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:03.220 parties were there going to be drinking that 00:11:03.220 --> 00:11:07.220 I've ever been invited to? One. And I was invited 00:11:07.220 --> 00:11:09.360 because I conducted the wedding, and then they 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:13.440 had alcohol at the reception. So pastors, as 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:15.100 you can imagine, don't get invited to a lot of 00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:17.120 places. And I submit to you that if you are overtly 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:19.200 living as a Christian, if you are being a good 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:22.139 person, that anywhere where people are planning 00:11:22.139 --> 00:11:24.610 to do bad things, They're only going to invite 00:11:24.610 --> 00:11:26.649 you along if they think that they can corrupt 00:11:26.649 --> 00:11:28.350 you, if they can get you to do the things, or 00:11:28.350 --> 00:11:30.029 at least accept that the things that they're 00:11:30.029 --> 00:11:34.389 doing are acceptable. So the world pushes away 00:11:34.389 --> 00:11:37.269 the church, pushes away God's people, and even 00:11:37.269 --> 00:11:41.409 God. That's just the reality of it. But frequently 00:11:41.409 --> 00:11:44.809 there is a capitulation. A capitulation is when 00:11:44.809 --> 00:11:47.809 you come back and you come under the terms of 00:11:47.809 --> 00:11:51.149 the person in question. So for example, if an 00:11:51.149 --> 00:11:54.220 army is defeated, they have to capitulate when 00:11:54.220 --> 00:11:56.440 they surrender. We'll surrender all our weapons, 00:11:56.580 --> 00:11:59.639 we'll become your slaves, or we'll give you all 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:04.519 our lands, or we'll pay payments going forward, 00:12:04.659 --> 00:12:06.980 reparations, whatever. When they are defeated, 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:09.059 they have to capitulate to the demands of the 00:12:09.059 --> 00:12:11.700 person that defeated them. So frequently there 00:12:11.700 --> 00:12:14.519 is a capitulation. People in the world want what 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:16.159 the church has. People look at the church and 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:18.919 go, I need what they have. I need some kind of 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:21.000 peace in my life, or I need some kind of, maybe 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:23.799 I need some money. I need a safe place or whatever. 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:26.299 And they come to the church saying, help me. 00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:31.460 And they want the church to pay for their situational 00:12:31.460 --> 00:12:33.759 improvement. So sometimes they come to the church 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:35.820 because the church is doing okay and they want. 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:37.840 And generation after generation after generation. 00:12:38.179 --> 00:12:39.840 At one point in time, we were on Main Street 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:41.340 and I did a calculation. I think it would probably 00:12:41.340 --> 00:12:43.600 still hold true today. At that time, unemployment 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:47.080 in the nation was like 12 or 14%. It was over 00:12:47.080 --> 00:12:51.740 double digits. And we surveyed our body. And 00:12:51.740 --> 00:12:54.299 in the previous three years, we had not had a 00:12:54.299 --> 00:12:58.360 time where people did not have employment. Every 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:00.639 able -bodied individual that wanted to work in 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:04.940 our church had employment except ever like maybe 00:13:04.940 --> 00:13:06.960 one and for a very short period of time. Like 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:08.720 it would be a couple weeks or something. And 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:10.440 then they'd be working again. Even though the 00:13:10.440 --> 00:13:12.879 nation had 14 % unemployment, New Heights had 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:16.399 like 0 % to 1 % unemployment. You follow? And 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:19.529 so people are like... When we were down in Georgia 00:13:19.529 --> 00:13:21.190 the one time we went, and at the beginning of 00:13:21.190 --> 00:13:22.769 the service, they announced all the politicians 00:13:22.769 --> 00:13:24.789 that were there. They had 1 ,000 people in service, 00:13:24.870 --> 00:13:26.210 and they announced all the politicians that were 00:13:26.210 --> 00:13:27.470 attending their church that Sunday. You know 00:13:27.470 --> 00:13:29.690 why they were there? Because that might get them 00:13:29.690 --> 00:13:33.250 votes. And the church has people. And the world 00:13:33.250 --> 00:13:35.169 over, the church has people. And if you want 00:13:35.169 --> 00:13:37.210 to go where people are on a Sunday morning, one 00:13:37.210 --> 00:13:39.529 way to do that is to go to church. If you want 00:13:39.529 --> 00:13:41.690 to have relationships, go be with people. If 00:13:41.690 --> 00:13:43.769 you don't want to have relationships, then push 00:13:43.769 --> 00:13:46.169 the people off. But sometimes people realize 00:13:46.169 --> 00:13:47.590 they want something the church has, and they 00:13:47.590 --> 00:13:50.110 say, pay my situational improvement, and they 00:13:50.110 --> 00:13:53.610 capitulate, at least for a time. Sometimes there's 00:13:53.610 --> 00:13:55.350 a capitulation specifically to God's people. 00:13:55.509 --> 00:13:58.269 They want what God's people have, and they say, 00:13:58.350 --> 00:14:01.250 give it to me. Please help me. Help me with food. 00:14:01.289 --> 00:14:03.649 Help me with my electric bill. Help me with clothing. 00:14:03.809 --> 00:14:05.710 Help me with whatever. And they ask the church 00:14:05.710 --> 00:14:09.710 people to provide what they need. Sometimes that's 00:14:09.710 --> 00:14:11.669 in the form of prayer. Like, I don't think if 00:14:11.669 --> 00:14:13.470 I pray, God's even going to answer. But would 00:14:13.470 --> 00:14:16.179 you please pray for me? Because, you know, if 00:14:16.179 --> 00:14:19.019 there is a God and if the church is who the Bible 00:14:19.019 --> 00:14:20.879 says the church is, then if you pray, maybe something 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:22.740 cool will happen and I need something cool to 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:25.179 happen. And they start thinking that ultimately 00:14:25.179 --> 00:14:27.460 they need something more than what is available. 00:14:27.620 --> 00:14:30.279 So it's not just about clothing, food, etc. That 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:33.000 there is a transcendent need that they have and 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:34.860 the church seems to have it and the people of 00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:36.720 the church seem to have it. They have peace when 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:39.100 they're in struggles or they have joy that outlasts 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:42.240 difficulty and so on. Sometimes there's a capitulation 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:46.019 to God. They realize that whatever it costs to 00:14:46.019 --> 00:14:48.399 surrender to God, what God is offering is more. 00:14:48.539 --> 00:14:51.379 And that's the truth. That's the kind of capitulation 00:14:51.379 --> 00:14:53.840 that the Bible calls for, that we come to God 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:57.299 on his terms. They call out in earnest to God 00:14:57.299 --> 00:15:00.460 for actual salvation. They do this in foxholes. 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:03.480 They do it in dark alleys. They do it in hospital 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:08.820 beds. The vast majority of people that get saved 00:15:08.820 --> 00:15:11.139 do not do it walking forward in a church service. 00:15:11.870 --> 00:15:13.850 They may eventually walk forward into her service 00:15:13.850 --> 00:15:15.549 and kind of cement it down and publicly tell 00:15:15.549 --> 00:15:17.509 people, look, I'm living for Jesus now. But they 00:15:17.509 --> 00:15:20.110 may get saved reading a Gideon Bible in a hotel 00:15:20.110 --> 00:15:22.110 wondering, whatever am I doing with my life? 00:15:22.610 --> 00:15:26.129 And they come to God on his terms and there's 00:15:26.129 --> 00:15:28.149 a capitulation to God. They realize that what 00:15:28.149 --> 00:15:30.470 they need is not a resource per se, which means 00:15:30.470 --> 00:15:32.750 they can't buy it, can't trade it, can't steal 00:15:32.750 --> 00:15:34.929 it. They need something that God is offering 00:15:34.929 --> 00:15:37.330 that they can't get. And so they capitulate to 00:15:37.330 --> 00:15:40.669 God. The gospel is about the need for capitulation. 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:45.159 It's not unfair terms of surrender. God is asking 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:49.159 you to come to him on his terms. Now, the rub 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:51.360 might be this. At the moment of capitulation, 00:15:51.460 --> 00:15:53.600 sometimes at the moment that that person is about 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:55.340 ready to surrender, sometimes we feel kind of 00:15:55.340 --> 00:15:58.899 ashamed or even cautious because we want so bad 00:15:58.899 --> 00:16:01.059 for their decision to be genuine. Somebody's 00:16:01.059 --> 00:16:03.519 hurting really bad and we want them to come to 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:05.379 God and we want that salvation to be real. You 00:16:05.379 --> 00:16:07.399 don't really need to just say some words today 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:10.740 or whisper a prayer or even shed tears. You really 00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:13.279 need real salvation, connection with the real 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:15.240 God of the universe. And so this is what happens. 00:16:15.419 --> 00:16:18.440 Somebody comes to us absolutely broken. And instead 00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:21.179 of sharing the gospel, we share the resources 00:16:21.179 --> 00:16:23.720 that we think will help, right? Hoping that at 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:25.679 some point in time, we'll get around to sharing 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:27.919 the gospel. I was sitting at the life station 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:30.240 back when my office upstairs, Janet was next 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:31.879 to mine. I had a woman who was staying in a hotel 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:34.059 down in Perrysburg and she called me and her 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:37.320 life had literally blown up. She was struggling 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:39.360 with addiction. She was in a hotel. She was about 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:41.120 to not have enough money to pay for another night. 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:43.860 They didn't have food. Her kids were going to 00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:45.620 go to Children's Protective Services because 00:16:45.620 --> 00:16:47.519 she was about to go homeless. She had health 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:50.139 concerns and debatably couldn't even work, and 00:16:50.139 --> 00:16:51.460 she couldn't get food stamps for the Senate. 00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:54.279 And basically the list was everything was wrong. 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:57.000 And I proceeded to share with her what resources 00:16:57.000 --> 00:16:59.460 we could offer, and then I shared the gospel. 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:03.659 And you know what she did? Over the phone, she 00:17:03.659 --> 00:17:05.460 prayed to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 00:17:06.089 --> 00:17:08.069 And I said, listen, I don't know that God's going 00:17:08.069 --> 00:17:09.809 to provide you with everything that you're asking 00:17:09.809 --> 00:17:12.230 for. I don't know that that's going to happen. 00:17:12.630 --> 00:17:15.670 But what I do know is if your decision is genuine, 00:17:15.750 --> 00:17:17.289 if you're coming to the Lord, you become his 00:17:17.289 --> 00:17:20.029 child, then the outcome will be what it is that 00:17:20.029 --> 00:17:21.950 God wants it to be. And it will be what's best 00:17:21.950 --> 00:17:25.670 for you somehow. Can you imagine that people 00:17:25.670 --> 00:17:28.529 come to those situations because that's what's 00:17:28.529 --> 00:17:31.369 actually best for them? The details, the kind 00:17:31.369 --> 00:17:33.630 of dark details, if you will, of Josh's story 00:17:33.630 --> 00:17:35.569 that he didn't share this morning are like that. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:39.019 We've seen some things. Most of you have probably 00:17:39.019 --> 00:17:40.500 seen something like that where you get to that 00:17:40.500 --> 00:17:42.180 place where you're hurting and that is what brings 00:17:42.180 --> 00:17:43.680 you to church. That's what brings you to God. 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:45.359 It's what brings you to the Bible. To realize 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:47.740 there is something more. When I was 25 years 00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:49.920 old, I was asking myself, what on earth? This 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:53.119 can't be it. I had a wife. I had a kid. A kid 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:55.460 on the way. A house with a great big mortgage. 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:58.799 Two cars with loans. Working 60 hours a week. 00:17:58.839 --> 00:18:02.099 Not enjoying my job. I didn't hate my job, but 00:18:02.099 --> 00:18:05.300 I didn't enjoy it. And I'm like, that's it? So 00:18:05.300 --> 00:18:07.519 I've beaten life, and this is the great victory 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:08.799 lap. From here on out, I'm going to spend the 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:11.460 next 50 years and then die in a hospital bed 00:18:11.460 --> 00:18:13.759 with two in my nose like everybody else, right? 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:16.640 And I'm going to do this. This is what I'm going 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:18.319 to do for 50 years. And I thought, it can't be. 00:18:18.539 --> 00:18:20.019 And so I started looking for something that was 00:18:20.019 --> 00:18:22.819 not a resource, and I wound up finding out that 00:18:22.819 --> 00:18:24.720 God was real, that Jesus was real, that Jesus 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:28.559 had truly paid the price. But I went looking 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:30.559 for it. I had to go looking for it because there 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:32.740 was nobody in my life, not one. I found out later 00:18:32.740 --> 00:18:33.880 there were other Christians, but there was only 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:35.799 one person in my life who was a Christian. And 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:37.339 rather than sharing the gospel with me, she was 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:39.039 just inviting me to go to church, which was good. 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:40.980 And that's where I wound up getting saved. But 00:18:40.980 --> 00:18:44.099 it's not what we're called to. On that phone 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:48.660 call, she prayed. We cried together. Now, I don't 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:50.240 know the full end of her story. I do know that 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:52.200 her situation got a lot better and that she got 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:54.160 in church and began to serve God to the best 00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:55.980 of her ability and so on. But here's what was 00:18:55.980 --> 00:18:58.200 amazing. When I got off the phone, Janet. who 00:18:58.200 --> 00:19:02.779 had been working her desk, she had stopped. Stopped 00:19:02.779 --> 00:19:05.960 moving paper. Stopped typing on her computer. 00:19:06.380 --> 00:19:10.359 And she said, that was amazing. And I said, what 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:12.980 was amazing about it? She said, so many people, 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:15.579 when somebody comes in there hurting, so many 00:19:15.579 --> 00:19:18.180 people just like talk about, well, we can't pay 00:19:18.180 --> 00:19:20.220 your rent. I'm sorry, we don't have those resources. 00:19:20.339 --> 00:19:23.140 We just tell them what you can't do and don't 00:19:23.140 --> 00:19:25.440 share the gospel. And I thought, why would that 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.180 be amazing? Even then, I thought, why would that 00:19:28.180 --> 00:19:30.700 be amazing? And then I'll tell you that I have 00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:33.059 myself perpetrated the very crime that I'm talking 00:19:33.059 --> 00:19:35.460 about at least a dozen times as I was preparing 00:19:35.460 --> 00:19:38.359 this message. I realized people really need the 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:41.119 Lord. I'm going to be honest with you. People 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:43.779 don't really need you to pay their rent. People 00:19:43.779 --> 00:19:46.900 really don't need you to provide food. They really 00:19:46.900 --> 00:19:49.440 don't need you to hold their hand. They really 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:52.109 need the Lord. Because eventually, if you provided 00:19:52.109 --> 00:19:53.710 food for them for every single day for the rest 00:19:53.710 --> 00:19:54.910 of their life and they never need food, they're 00:19:54.910 --> 00:19:57.710 going to face the judgment and face God, after 00:19:57.710 --> 00:19:59.269 which they will not need food. And if they go 00:19:59.269 --> 00:20:00.569 to hell, they'll never get food. And if they 00:20:00.569 --> 00:20:02.170 go to heaven, they won't need it because God 00:20:02.170 --> 00:20:05.349 will provide literally everything for them. So 00:20:05.349 --> 00:20:07.509 the ultimate need is what we need eternally. 00:20:08.329 --> 00:20:10.690 So in doing what we are doing, we are doing the 00:20:10.690 --> 00:20:14.190 same thing. We are afraid to give up the outcome 00:20:14.190 --> 00:20:17.150 fully into his hands. So we are protecting like 00:20:17.150 --> 00:20:20.559 our inheritance instead of sharing it. Like we're 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:23.079 making it out like deathbed and foxhole conversions 00:20:23.079 --> 00:20:26.319 are somehow unfair or unrealistic or unreliable, 00:20:26.339 --> 00:20:28.259 except that I will tell you right now that some 00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:30.680 of the people in this room have foxhole conversions 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:32.500 that are faithfully living for the Lord. They 00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:35.480 realize I desperately need God. I can't do this 00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:37.519 without him. And they came to him and yet they 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:40.119 stayed. I had a brother who served alongside 00:20:40.119 --> 00:20:43.559 me for decades, had pastored in like a dozen 00:20:43.559 --> 00:20:46.920 churches, and he had a foxhole conversion. He 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:49.619 accepted Christ in a military situation that 00:20:49.619 --> 00:20:51.839 he thought he was going to die. And then he came 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:53.160 home and realized that his wife had accepted 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:55.380 Christ while he was gone. And then the two of 00:20:55.380 --> 00:20:57.900 them slowly worked it out that they were serving 00:20:57.900 --> 00:20:59.839 God together. And he went on to become an ordained 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:03.079 minister. Was his foxhole conversion not good 00:21:03.079 --> 00:21:05.700 enough? No. Whatever your situation is, sometimes 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:07.960 people just need to get to a situation where 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:10.019 they will capitulate. And as a people, we need 00:21:10.019 --> 00:21:12.740 to capitulate to God this, that he can save when 00:21:12.740 --> 00:21:16.509 he wants to save. And your words out of your 00:21:16.509 --> 00:21:18.769 mouth when people are hurting the worst should 00:21:18.769 --> 00:21:22.470 include the gospel. The world must come to the 00:21:22.470 --> 00:21:24.369 church, we think. The church is the bride of 00:21:24.369 --> 00:21:27.369 Christ and we stand with Him and we rise with 00:21:27.369 --> 00:21:30.130 Him and He lives in us. And so eventually they're 00:21:30.130 --> 00:21:31.910 going to come to us, right? So we don't have 00:21:31.910 --> 00:21:33.529 to go out and try to find them. We don't have 00:21:33.529 --> 00:21:35.990 to be ready to share all the time, right? Because 00:21:35.990 --> 00:21:39.299 it's all going to work out. No. We are commanded. 00:21:39.460 --> 00:21:41.579 In fact, we are taking some part of the gospel 00:21:41.579 --> 00:21:43.700 for our own use and keeping it for our own safety 00:21:43.700 --> 00:21:46.920 if we're not willing to tell people. The next 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:49.779 time somebody tells you they're hurting, I want 00:21:49.779 --> 00:21:52.140 you to hear at least my voice, I prefer God's 00:21:52.140 --> 00:21:53.900 voice if possible, in the back of your mind saying, 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:58.460 do they know Christ? Can you imagine? If you're 00:21:58.460 --> 00:22:01.640 a Christian in this room, I want you to think 00:22:01.640 --> 00:22:04.500 about a recent hardship that you faced. Now imagine 00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:06.579 facing that hardship without the help of God 00:22:06.579 --> 00:22:10.950 at all. That's what they're doing if they're 00:22:10.950 --> 00:22:14.589 not saved. Right? And we have to be ready then 00:22:14.589 --> 00:22:17.470 to surrender our inheritance, what we think is 00:22:17.470 --> 00:22:20.210 ours, even if it's our safety, our freedom, our 00:22:20.210 --> 00:22:22.490 cost, whatever it is, your comfort, your favorites, 00:22:22.569 --> 00:22:25.009 your benefit, your best outcome. Lay it all on 00:22:25.009 --> 00:22:29.529 the line. When you come back, after you get done 00:22:29.529 --> 00:22:31.910 with a month or a year of not being willing to 00:22:31.910 --> 00:22:33.589 talk to people first thing about Jesus, after 00:22:33.589 --> 00:22:35.150 you get done with that, you're going to come 00:22:35.150 --> 00:22:37.170 back to God and capitulate. That's what's going 00:22:37.170 --> 00:22:40.529 to happen. So what does it look like for those 00:22:40.529 --> 00:22:43.309 who won't come? People are declining. Declining 00:22:43.309 --> 00:22:45.069 God. Declining the church. Declining the gospel. 00:22:45.549 --> 00:22:48.529 Pushing away. Going on with their own methods. 00:22:48.630 --> 00:22:52.390 I'm good enough. I'll be okay. And there's a 00:22:52.390 --> 00:22:58.369 special breed of won't. There are those who fake 00:22:58.369 --> 00:23:01.309 come. There are those who will say the words. 00:23:01.849 --> 00:23:04.390 Maybe even sing the songs. Do the work of the 00:23:04.390 --> 00:23:07.690 Lord. The Bible says this is the worst case scenario. 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:12.380 Fake capitulation, faking coming to God under 00:23:12.380 --> 00:23:14.779 his terms is worse because of a few reasons. 00:23:14.819 --> 00:23:16.579 So the first one is the danger of self -deception. 00:23:16.740 --> 00:23:18.660 You can think that you're saved, and then suddenly 00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:22.940 you realize, uh -oh, all these things, and I 00:23:22.940 --> 00:23:26.200 really never had it. Not everyone who says unto 00:23:26.200 --> 00:23:29.079 me, Lord, Lord, Jesus says, but those who do 00:23:29.079 --> 00:23:33.019 the work of my Father who is in heaven. There's 00:23:33.019 --> 00:23:35.680 the lukewarm paradox. In Revelation 3, it talks 00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:38.890 about being lukewarm. Jesus said, I know your 00:23:38.890 --> 00:23:41.309 deeds that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish 00:23:41.309 --> 00:23:43.690 you were either one or the other because you 00:23:43.690 --> 00:23:48.369 are lukewarm. Gap. I am about to spit you out 00:23:48.369 --> 00:23:51.549 of my mouth. A cold person feels the chill and 00:23:51.549 --> 00:23:53.490 seeks heat. A lukewarm person is comfortable 00:23:53.490 --> 00:23:55.869 in the compromise and feels no need to change. 00:23:56.069 --> 00:23:58.890 I profess Christ. I pray to accept Jesus. I don't 00:23:58.890 --> 00:24:01.410 really need to do anything. But the truth is, 00:24:01.450 --> 00:24:04.490 if you didn't really accept him, then you don't 00:24:04.490 --> 00:24:06.640 really need to do anything. But if you really 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:08.940 did accept him, then your faith without works 00:24:08.940 --> 00:24:11.599 is dead. It doesn't really mean anything. You're 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:14.960 just making it up. It's fake. And fake is the 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:19.680 worst possible way of saying no to God. In fact, 00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:21.640 God talks about a higher level of accountability. 00:24:21.779 --> 00:24:24.140 The servant who knows the master's will, he says, 00:24:24.539 --> 00:24:26.960 and does not get ready will be beaten with many 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:29.059 blows, but the one who does not know and does 00:24:29.059 --> 00:24:31.619 things deserving punishment will be beaten with 00:24:31.619 --> 00:24:34.039 few blows. In other words, if you're faking being 00:24:34.039 --> 00:24:35.900 a Christian, the punishment that you're going 00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:37.680 to receive when the time comes is going to be 00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:39.420 worse from those who said, I want nothing to 00:24:39.420 --> 00:24:42.779 do with God. That's pretty bad stuff. And Jesus 00:24:42.779 --> 00:24:45.799 said it. 2 Peter 2 .21 says, It would have been 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:48.220 better for them not to have known the way of 00:24:48.220 --> 00:24:50.160 righteousness than to have known it and to turn 00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:54.019 their backs on the sacred command. God wants 00:24:54.019 --> 00:24:58.180 people to capitulate, to come to him. He doesn't 00:24:58.180 --> 00:25:01.279 want you to fake it. He wants you to say, okay, 00:25:01.380 --> 00:25:04.799 God, here I am. I surrender. I throw off my arms. 00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:07.279 I throw off my abilities. I realize I could do 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:09.119 a lot in my life. I could change a lot of things. 00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:11.440 And any a lot that I'm going to do, any things 00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:13.740 that I'm going to change, I now want to do for 00:25:13.740 --> 00:25:16.339 you and in you and the way that you would have 00:25:16.339 --> 00:25:21.039 me to do it. In the age of grace where we now 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:25.039 live, Fake capitulation looks like a functional 00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:29.859 life. People do pretty good. They might do well 00:25:29.859 --> 00:25:31.799 financially. They're kind of expecting it. They're 00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:33.440 believing that things are going to go okay because 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:37.539 they're faking salvation. But in Revelation 6, 00:25:37.660 --> 00:25:40.140 it talks about right at the end, right before 00:25:40.140 --> 00:25:42.599 it's all going to be over, the people who are 00:25:42.599 --> 00:25:44.859 not... have not followed God and not accepted 00:25:44.859 --> 00:25:47.079 the gospel, right? And they cry, let the mountains 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:49.720 just fall on us. God is punishing the people 00:25:49.720 --> 00:25:51.359 because they have no salvation because they're 00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:54.380 not truly his people. And it's horrible. People 00:25:54.380 --> 00:25:57.119 have died from diseases and terrible things are 00:25:57.119 --> 00:25:59.859 going on. And instead of them repenting and turning 00:25:59.859 --> 00:26:02.119 to God and say, okay, God, I surrender. I capitulate. 00:26:02.359 --> 00:26:05.180 I'm willing. Instead of doing that, they say, 00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:08.619 just let the mountains fall on us. See, so the 00:26:08.619 --> 00:26:10.880 bottom line is there comes a moment in time. 00:26:11.289 --> 00:26:14.529 where the rebel simply loses the war. The fake 00:26:14.529 --> 00:26:17.509 capitulator loses the war and also the false 00:26:17.509 --> 00:26:20.710 hope that they've spent their entire life building. 00:26:22.309 --> 00:26:24.509 Lost people who just keep pushing God off, pushing 00:26:24.509 --> 00:26:27.609 God off, they're going to be like, oh, this sucks. 00:26:27.789 --> 00:26:30.829 I should have listened. But people who faked 00:26:30.829 --> 00:26:33.450 it their whole lives are going to be like, this 00:26:33.450 --> 00:26:36.089 really sucks. Not only should I have listened, 00:26:36.289 --> 00:26:40.650 I actually said I did listen. Not only have I, 00:26:41.860 --> 00:26:45.059 not followed, I've been building a life pretending 00:26:45.059 --> 00:26:48.059 I was following. So let me ask you just real 00:26:48.059 --> 00:26:49.640 quick, and I'm going to fill in the gaps here, 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:51.079 just make sure we all have the same answers. 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:54.640 What are God's terms? So here's a breakdown. 00:26:54.900 --> 00:26:58.220 It's simple. There is an exclusivity of the path. 00:26:58.319 --> 00:27:01.160 The path to God is just one. It is through Jesus 00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:03.259 Christ. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth 00:27:03.259 --> 00:27:04.799 and the life. No one comes to the Father except 00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:17.950 through me. Acts 4 .12 says, God knew that people 00:27:17.950 --> 00:27:20.529 needed to be saved, and even Moses and Noah and 00:27:20.529 --> 00:27:23.150 David, who as far as we know were all saved, 00:27:23.170 --> 00:27:25.710 probably, anyway, they were all saved by the 00:27:25.710 --> 00:27:27.829 sacrifice that Jesus would eventually make. They 00:27:27.829 --> 00:27:31.529 basically said to God, I capitulate. Whatever 00:27:31.529 --> 00:27:35.470 way you want to do it, I surrender. And God said, 00:27:35.509 --> 00:27:39.619 okay. Checkmark Jesus. I'll give you Jesus. I'll 00:27:39.619 --> 00:27:41.819 give you the righteousness of Jesus. Right?