Bye. Sit at this time. Alrighty, alrighty, alrighty.
We're going to do the inspirational reading at
this time, or inspirational moment. as we call
it. This is that moment in time where we ask
ourselves, how has the Lord been moving? What
have we seen? What have we heard? What did you
read in the Bible this week? What's exciting
to you? Or maybe what speaks to you about the
last seven days? And then I will share, to close
this time, I'll share about our new six -month
emphasis. As you may or may not know, we do emphasize
one spiritual discipline for six months at a
time. We closed out the spiritual discipline
of stewardship with the end of the month of December.
We're beginning a new one, which will take us
through the end of the month of May. And so that's
where we're at. So how has God spoken to you
this week? What did you see? What did you hear?
So many of you know my dad, you know, was this
week. Pastor Dan gave the... And for the life
of me, I can't remember at this moment what verses
he used. But what touched me was the fact that
Pastor Dan said he learned from the verses from
my dad's life. And that was inspiring because
that was the guy. He was a fantastic Christian,
so I know where he is. All of you in here, you
don't know Jesus is your Lord and Savior. Please,
let him as your water. Thank you. Alright, who
else? The crazy part is, I kind of shared this
with Chris. I have been doing a Bible study.
You know, there's a lot of good devotionals.
If you don't know, check out 2Version. They have
a devotional for everything. I read this devotional.
It was like three days. But, you know, when people
lose someone, we're so quick to say my condolences.
I'm sorry for your loss. They call them the bereaved.
And the one deep thing that I read, and I want
to share with everybody, because you never know
when it might, you know, we don't know when we're
going to lose someone. Tomorrow's my promise.
They kind of explain when you lose someone, especially
a Christian. You know, you can't call someone
bereaved because when you get a job and you're
invested in your 401k, they don't call you bereaved
when you put your money, when you invest your
money in your 401k because you're going to get
that back. And so you have to remember our loved
ones, our Christian loved ones, our saved family
members, we're not losing them. We're investing
them into Jesus and we will see them again. We
will get them back as long as we continue to
live our life the way we're supposed to. One
of the best scriptures that I got from that...
Let's see if I can pull it back up. One of the
best scriptures that I found this week with that
Bible study was... is 1 Thessalonians 4, verse
14. And it says, For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so God will bring with
him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. So
as long as you continue to believe those loved
ones that we invested in Jesus, we will see them
again. I know that means a lot to you with what
you want to hear. Okay, who else? Who else? I'm
behind you now. I'll get to you quickly. So,
I know I've shared this verse recently, but I'll
share it again for a different purpose this time.
In Romans 8 .28 says, And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love
Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
So, As an example, you feel called to do something,
but you feel that you don't have the ability
or the skill to do said thing. God loves you,
and if you are called according to His purpose,
He's going to equip you to do whatever it is
that He's calling you to do, regardless of your
feelings of your ability or not. One of the things
I like to say is God equips the called. He doesn't
call the equipped. Meaning, he's calling you
to a specific task, he's going to make sure that
you have everything at your disposal to complete
that task. Not the other way around. He's not
going to call people who already have those skills
or abilities because what kind of miraculous
thing would that be if he just called people
that already knew how to preach or people who
already knew how to play instruments or whatever.
Continue to seek God in all things. And when
something comes up, an opportunity comes up that
you think is outside your box, I would strongly
recommend that you consider it through prayer
and see if this is something that God is calling
you to do because He's going to make sure that
you have everything at your disposal to do it.
That's a good word. That's a good word. When
I got saved, I got to tell you that it was everything
in me that crossed the line of the box. All the
years since then, trying to stay kind of outside
the box and do the things that God has called
me to do that I don't necessarily feel comfortable
to do. Yeah, sometimes it rears its ugly head
and I'll fall back in. I'll go, I don't want
to do that. Maybe I'll be lazy or I'll be weak.
But by, you know, repent, confess unto the Lord
and he strengthens me. And he is faithful and
just and cleanses me from all unrighteousness.
I'm grateful. The pet's true because I eat that
every day. But that box, it's like it's stalking
me. Because in my box, I don't talk to you now.
I don't preach. I don't teach. I don't talk to
strangers. That's my box. And so most of everything
that I've been called to do is way so far outside
the box that I can hardly remember where it's
at. But then it's real easy for me to, it creeps
up on me and I don't want to stop doing what
I'm supposed to be doing. So that's a really
good word. Okay, anybody else? All right. So
let me share with you. So our spiritual emphasis.
For the next six months, roughly, and we'll actually
be a little bit less than six months, we'll be
through the last week of May. And so with the
Christmas season, our emphasis on the birth of
Christ and celebrating that and so on, we've
held off until the beginning of this week. Today
is the beginning of the week, right? We don't
celebrate on the seventh day of the week. We
celebrate on the first day of the week, the day
that Jesus rose from the dead. And so today is
the beginning of the week, and we go through
our anniversary, which is May 22nd. And so that
was the anniversary for the birth of the church,
the constitution of the church, and also for
the birth of Brother Tony. And so we'll celebrate
through that day. And that's the second one,
just a coincidence. But anyway, so our discipline
will be silence and solitude. Silence and solitude.
So very briefly, I'm going to describe to you
what it is. And we're not going to get into how
to do it. We'll talk about that during our lessons.
It'll be in a certain time. We'll do a little
bit more during our special reading later. But
not to belabor the point, but silence is solitude.
So silence is being quiet when there is no noise
or no disruption, no distraction. You're not
talking. And that might be a chief thing. You're
not talking when silence. But ideally, no one
else is talking. So you're not in the middle
of a conversation. You just stop and be quiet
and try. to focus or whatever while somebody's
still yammering at you, maybe about something
important, maybe not about something not important.
So silence is when there's very little sound.
Total silence would be no sound. So that would
be not the hum of the lights, not the hum of
the heater, not the breathing, not the rustling,
not the moving of cloth in the room, not the
scratching on the chairs, not the children playing.
Total silence is when there is no sound whatsoever.
But the silence that Scripture is talking about
is something, nothing that will interfere with
your ability to focus on God. And then solitude
is aloneness. Solitude has that same beginning
of the root word, solo. Sol means alone, oneness,
independent, apart. And so you have to get away.
To have solitude, you have to get away from people.
So with people, you can have silence. You can
be with other people and have silence. And yet
sometimes, especially now, believers will have
a moment of silence. During that moment of silence,
we should be talking to and listening to God.
So they may not be because they don't believe
in God or they're not there in their relationship.
But if somebody has a moment of silence, we should
be talking to and listening to God. Not necessarily
talking out loud, because then that would be
creating the silence. But in our minds, directing
our attention to the Lord and listening to the
Lord. And in solitude, you cannot do that with
other people. You cannot even go... Now, a man
and a woman who are married and have a good,
healthy relationship in their marriage... could
theoretically do it together because they are
generally considered one person. So you could
go away with your spouse and have solitude. That
is possible. Although, because both people are
still humans, it is also challenging to have
solitude with your loved one who is your spouse.
But solitude is aloneness. So just to give you
one piece to take with you, Psalm 46 .10, which
says, Be still. and know that I am the Lord,
that I am God. And it is peace in the Lord. What
you'll find a lot of times when you try to have
silence is that there are other voices that don't
come from models. It could be your self -talk.
You're talking about yourself. Do I look good?
Did I do right? Did I do that wrong? How am I
going to get my bill paid? Is the heat in the
room too warm? Whatever. Did I wear enough deodorant?
Whatever your self -talk is, those kinds of things.
you need to shut that down. It's not silent until
you shut that down. And then there's evil spirits
as well. The enemy will speak. And usually the
enemy will speak things that either intentionally
make you feel bad, so it's clear and obvious
that they intend to make you feel bad, or by
a roundabout way to make you feel bad. And be
aware that the enemy, just like I could say to
you, to start a sentence with I, the enemy can
do the same thing. So he can speak into your
heart or mind saying, I am a bad person. And
then you can be confused because you're hearing
a voice in your head saying, I am a bad person.
So you think you're saying, you think it's you
thinking you're a bad person. And so the enemy
can do that kind of thing. So silence is when
we rebuke our own self -talk and we rebuke the
talk of the enemy and we listen only to the voice
of God. Okay? You can't rebuke God and tell him
not to talk. If we ever did that, it would be
very disrespectful. So, silence and solitude.
So, one last thing. In the interest of understanding
the beginning of the pursuit of silence and solitude,
we are going to strive as a larger group, not
for solitude, because we can't do that together,
but for silence, for exactly 30 seconds. Okay?
So, If you have a young child with you, you can
caution them. We're going to play the silent
game for 30 seconds. We're going to strive for
silence for 30 seconds. During this time, if
you hear voices that are not your own in your
head, then in your head, or even if you have
to whisper out loud, you better say it out loud.
You say, leave me alone in the name of Jesus.
Say it out loud because they can't necessarily
read your thoughts. And if it's your own talk,
then you just shut up inside you. Just keep saying,
no, I'm not going to think about that right now.
Just let 30 seconds of silence. Here we go. Give
it a try. You still know that he is God. Beginning
now. quiet time, a little singing, a little prayer,
and a little whatever helps. would say. Word
of God has been I find myself in the midst of
you. Is to be with you. And in the quiet. Hear
your voice. Word of God speak. Please stay with
us. Don't organize us. We're God's people. Thank
you. I want to share with you that the references
that you see on the screen, if you're a person
who follows along, and I encourage you to do
so, the John reference is from John chapter 8,
not John chapter 3. However, we will be briefly
in John chapter 3 while we're through. And I
have two more things to share with you, and then
we'll jump into this. The first thing is, I want
you to understand that when I began this sermon,
preparing for this sermon, which I really did
on Tuesday, I thought, man, this is going to
be simple and easy, and I love this topic, and
it's something I've talked about before. But
by the time I was through, I discovered that
there was much more here than meets the eye.
And so you'll need your thinking caps, and you'll
need to be prepared to listen to what God has
to say, and I hope I will do a good job of conveying
what I've discovered. I hope. The second thing
is we're going to do a little object lesson.
So I need two people, two young people preferably,
who would volunteer to come up here and play
a little game. Back up. In here. Okay. So we're
going to play the world's smallest game of tag.
Okay? The boundaries are right here at the chairs.
You can't go past that. Right here at the edge
of the door here and right there at the edge
of the door there. Okay? That's the entire field
for tag. Alright? So we're going to start. Becca's
it and tap backs are allowed. Go! Who's it? Okay.
Aaron thinks it's him. What do you think? Could
you tell? Okay. Thank you very much. It's kind
of hard to tell, isn't it? If you play tap backs
or a lot and you play with somebody who's pretty
quick to tap you back, sometimes it's hard to
tell whether you're it or they are. You feel
that tap and you're like, you're pretty sure.
But somebody else is watching and they're not
sure. So you get in there and tap back real fast
like that. And then both people run and everybody's
going, who's it? Who's it? because they're all
trying to run from the person that's it. So I
want you to bear that in mind as we look at the
text today. I want to share a little story with
you. Years ago, I was in fourth grade, and I
fell madly in love with a young girl who was
in my class. She was not my first love. I fell
madly in love the first time in kindergarten.
I was an early bloomer. Anyway, she was cute.
She was short. Most of me are cute. She was shorter
than everybody in our class by at least a foot.
She had long hair. And I used to try to catch
her eye, try to get her attention, try to get
her favor. I'd bring her little gifts and say
positive things. And once I gave her a little
necklace, my mom gave it to me so I could give
it to her. She was starting to get a little creeped
out at the time, so she didn't receive it too
positively. But then we went out to recess, and
one of the boys in our class, who was easily
a foot taller than me, and he was athletic, very
athletic and strong, and everybody thought he
was that, took the necklace and he ran. He was
playing keep away from her. And while I thought
at first that she didn't really care about the
necklace, all of a sudden she was pretty worked
up about that necklace and not having it. And
so she called on a couple of the other boys in
the class to get the necklace back. She called
on some girls who were her friends and had this
whole passel of people chasing him around trying
to get this necklace back while she was sort
of walking along behind crying. And I thought,
oh man, here's my chance. And I leapt on my high
horse. And I charged that big boy down who was
faster than me and stronger than me. And I tackled
him to the ground. And I broke him. And he lay
there and he bawled like a baby. And I thought,
I am the hero. I am mighty. I have conquered
him. And then I got in trouble with the teachers.
And I thought, well, at least I succeeded. I
got the necklace back and I gave it back to her.
And I got in trouble with the teachers and had
to sit the rest of recess. And then we went in.
She walked over to me. And she scolded me badly
for hurting him. And said, that was not right.
And I said, I don't understand. And she just
walked away. And that was the end of our long
love affair. And it was pretty obvious to me
that she didn't like me. Even though I had gotten
back for her that which no one could get back
for her. What if you didn't want to be free?
In the Bible, in Exodus chapter 21, there's a
passage of Scripture. I threw that one at you
fast so that no one would hoot and holler because
it's not our target. But I want you to hear what
it says. Exodus chapter 21, verses 5 and 6. It
says, But if the slave plainly says, I love my
master, my wife and my children, I will not go
out as a free man. Then his master shall bring
him to God. or the phrase that's there actually
doesn't necessarily mean God, but God or God's
representative. It's talking about bringing him
to the court or to the high priest or whatever.
It says, shall bring him to God. Then he shall
bring him to the door or the doorpost of his
house. And his master shall pierce his ear with
an awl, which is a little spike. You use kind
of a painful process, but more painful than today
getting your ears pierced, but not, you know,
horrible. And he shall serve him permanently.
And I ask you to think for a moment, what are
some reasons that a slave would not want to be
set free? Well, some are contained in the text.
He might have a wife and children. And if he
has a wife and a child, if the master, the text
says, if the master provided the wife and the
child for him, and he goes free, the wife and
the child stays with the master because they
belong, they're his property. So he'd have to
leave his wife and children. And so if he loved
his wife and children, either emotionally, psychologically,
If he felt responsible for them, for their safety
or for their care, he would want to stay. He
wouldn't want to be set free. If his master was
a just and kind master, and he thought, well,
I have to go out in the world and fend for myself,
and it would be uncomfortable to go out and fend
for himself, well, then he might not want to
be set free. Maybe he's living in a good house
with plenty of supplies, doesn't have to get
a job, doesn't have to pay his own bills, and
so it seems like it's easier, it's less work.
to stay there than to be set free. There might
be other reasons as well. But if the master is
a bad master and he has beat him and he has hurt
him, whatever, he'd be better to go free even
if his wife and children were not able to go
free so that he could go earn the money so that
he could buy his wife and children and set them
free. This is the only chance they have. They're
never going to be free from this evil master
unless he goes and does the work himself. no
one is going to set them free. And if he has
a bad master, then even if he lives in a good
house with plenty of supplies, he's probably
ill -treated and doesn't have access to the good
things, and so there would be plenty of reason
to want to go free. So it has to be an all -around
good situation to not want to be set free, doesn't
it? I wish that were so. I want you to imagine
in your mind for a moment two gray blobs. They
don't have legs. They don't have tails. They
don't have heads. They don't have faces. They're
not cute little animals. They don't have smiling
faces like a little gray ball emoji. But I want
you to imagine for a moment two gray blobs, and
one of the gray blobs is chasing the other gray
blob around and occasionally punishes it or stomps
it into the ground. And then suddenly the situation
is reversed, and the other gray blob chases the
first one around for a while and occasionally
stomps it into the ground. They're playing a
game of cat and mouse. Because one occasionally
gets the upper hand, or seems to, the game never
quits. The title of this sermon is, Why Would
Someone Not Want to Be Free? Or, What If Someone
Didn't Want to Be Free? But it could very easily
be entitled, Be the Cat Blob. Be the Cat Blob.
There's a thing called Stockholm Syndrome in
one of my favorite spy movies of all time. The
spy breaks in, defeats all the villains, frees
the victim, and then turns to fight the way out
to get the victim out, and the victim shoots
him in the back. Stockholm Syndrome is when those
who are captive begin to sympathize with those
who have them captive. think there's a kind of
a love or a desire to be with that person, even
to the point that they will resist being freed.
It's a real thing. And now, this is the key text
I think today, and if you would go there with
me, maybe say amen, hoot, holler, shout, yell
yahtzee, I don't know. Don't say uno because
it's not the only text, but you can say uno if
you want. It's okay. John chapter 8, verse 32.
Amen! Dos. There you go. It's a new version of
uno. There you go. It says this, and I'm actually
reading from 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews
which believed on him, If ye continue in my word,
then are ye my disciples indeed. So, to be clear
of the players here, Jesus, who was the Son of
God in the flesh, knew the heart of God and the
desire to bring people to himself. said to the
Jews who were there, they were Jews, which means
they were the chosen people of God, expecting
the Messiah, expecting God to work on their behalf,
expecting God to free them, right? But not just
Jews, they believed in Jesus. So, to the Jews
who believed in Jesus, now this is getting to
be a fairly smaller group out of the larger group,
right? To the Jews who believed in Jesus, he
says these following statements, if you continue
in my word, Then are ye my disciples indeed.
In other words, if you continue in the teachings
that I have taught, and he was teaching the word
of God, the Old Testament, what it meant, and
then he was teaching how to live it out, the
application, the wisdom that extends from the
Old Testament. Then are ye my disciples indeed.
In other words, then are you my followers. A
disciple is somebody who believes the teachings
of a teacher and then can teach the teachings
of a teacher, live out, apply the teachings of
that teacher. And he goes on to say, And ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make ye free.
Now before we go any further, I want you to see
this. This is huge. They're about to have a problem
with what he said. But their problem with what
he said is not in the being a disciple. You get
it? It's not like they were willing to be his
disciple. They were Jews who had believed in
him. They were willing to be his disciple. But
then he qualifies being his disciple as continuing
in his word. And I submit to you that they were
willing to continue in his word. Except he says,
and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free. And now they have a problem. They
answered him, we be Abraham's seed, and we're
never in bondage to any man. In other words,
we've been free our whole lives. We've never
been owned as slaves. And we submit only to God.
That's what they say. How sayest thou, ye shall
be made free? See, they don't have a problem
with being a disciple. They don't have a problem
with continuing in His Word. I want to submit
to you, they don't even think they have a problem
with knowing the truth. But they nitpick the
one thing that they have a problem with when
He says they are not free. Jesus answered them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you. In other words,
this is absolutely true. Absolutely true. I say
unto you. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant
of sin. So herein lies the problem. People lie
and they are now the servant of that lie or of
the sin that they do. They are stuck. They have
a master, someone in control of them. So they
did have a master, you see. But they deny that
they have a master. But they did have a master
because they had sin. All have sin and fall short
of the glory of God. And Jesus said, And the
servant abideth not in the house forever. In
other words, this is a temporary state. But the
son abideth ever. In other words, forever. Continuing.
Ongoing. If the son therefore make you free,
ye shall be free indeed. Notice, if I make you
free, you will be free indeed. So we could say
of them that maybe they don't get it. They don't
understand. They're ignorant. They don't understand
that in sinning against God, they have become
captive to the sin that they sinned. That would
be probably the nicest way of observing them
if you were going to. But they have believed
Jesus. They have believed... in Jesus and of
Jesus at this point in time. And so what I submit
to you is that it's not so much that they are
ignorant that they don't see that they have sin
and that sin captivates a man, but that they
are unwilling to be free, unwilling to transition
from where they are in their sin to where Jesus
wants them to be. We'll see a few points first.
And then I'll give you the evidence on how we
know that to be true. The first thing I want
you to see in here is that there are two types
of people. Jesus is making a shift. He's drawing
a line in the sand. There are two types of people.
There are non -followers. And the fact is that
non -followers of Jesus are in bondage. They
are slaves. They are servants. You do what you
do because you have done it. You are who you
are trapped in what you have done. even as a
believer, I can sit and think about times that
I have done things that I know now were wrong,
and I can feel those things encroach upon me.
Surely you've been sitting, sipping a cup of
coffee or watching a TV show or whatever, and
you wind up daydreaming, thinking about what
you said or did, the evil that you've done, and
that impresses upon you the kind of person that
you are. Or, You tell a lie and you seem to get
away with it and it gets you what you want. And
now you know you can do that. That is a capability
that you have. Like a child learns to walk or
learns to talk, you are capable of telling a
little lie and getting what you want. So now
you are equipped and you know you are equipped
to do that thing again. And so the world will
open up again. And you will have to make a choice
again. And when it seems prudent to do so, you
will lie again. Notice what I said. When it seems
prudent to do so, when it seems like wisdom to
do so. It's not wisdom to do so, because as long
as you allow yourself that, let's call it a luxury,
or that avenue, you will always have that avenue
as an option. And as long as you have it as an
option, then that's the kind of person that you
are. A liar. You say, no, no, I only lied once.
If you lie, and keep the avenue open that you
can do it again, then you are a liar. Even if
you say, well, I haven't lied in 10 years. If
you're keeping the avenue open again to do it
again, then you are a liar. There are two types
of people. Non -followers. The non -followers,
they are, according to Jesus, they are in bondage.
They do what they do because they have done it
before. The question is, do they do what they
do because they want to? Do they do it because
they're afraid of being something different?
Do they continue because they are comfortable
in their certain situation? We were doing street
ministry over on Platt Street and I knocked on
a woman's door and we were doing fumble forward.
So the idea was to say, you know, we have a new
church. We think somebody might be interested
in getting involved in the new church. Might
you be one? She said, maybe. I said, can we tell
you what we believe? And I explained the gospel
to her. And in my explanation of the gospel,
I used the word trust. And she said, well now
see, here's the rub. I can't come to Jesus. I
can't follow Jesus because I've had so many experiences
in my life with people betraying me. My husband
cheated on me with another woman and eventually
left me. He left me in a rut. I lost my house.
Then they sued, took my kids away, whatever.
So many people have betrayed me that I... cannot
trust. I have a hard time trusting anyone. And
I explained to her, and I said, I understand
that, and I don't trust humans in general. I
might trust them with minor things, or I might
trust what they say until I know that they can't,
things like that. But I don't generally trust
people, but you can trust Jesus. Because Jesus
is there for you even beyond death. Even unto
a new life. Even unto you, with every moment
of every day, He'll be there, and He keeps all
of His promises. You can trust Jesus. And she
said, you say that, but I am standing here as
a person today and I am telling you, I cannot
trust. Not any person or Jesus. And I said, by
that do you mean you cannot believe in Jesus?
You cannot accept that Jesus paid the price for
your sins and that he wants something better
for you? And she said, yes. That's what I'm saying.
And I would probably normally not have done this,
but... I felt the Spirit prompt me at that time,
and I said, well, I'm sorry to say, if that truly
is, I don't believe that's true. I believe that
a fresh start in Jesus would allow you to trust,
but if that's true, if you are absolutely correct,
then you cannot be saved. If what you are saying
is true. I don't believe it is, but if it's true,
you cannot be saved. So what I'm asking you to
do is to continue to be open to the possibility
that you do still have the ability to trust,
and you could trust Jesus for salvation. She
didn't get saved that day. I don't know if she
ever did. I'm telling you as an illustration.
Understand that some people, because of what
they have experienced, because of what they think
is true, they're comfortable in their present
spot or maybe they're not comfortable. They fear
moving off of that spot because they cannot trust
or they think they cannot trust. And then, of
course, there's ignorance. Some people are part
of the non -follower group because they do not
know. This is our bread and butter, by the way.
This is where we go and we explain to them the
truth and they go, you know, that's interesting.
I guess I've sort of always known that to be
true in my heart, but I've never experienced
it personally. And they accept Jesus right away.
As soon as they know the truth, they know what
God has done and that forgiveness of sins is
available now. The remittance of sins is available
because of the sacrifice of Christ. They accept.
That's our bread and butter. Those are the easy
people to reach. And because of that, some people...
Just don't try to reach people at all because
they can't find those people and they're afraid
of what the other people are going to do. The
second group is followers. Some folks believe
in Jesus and they pursue righteousness. They
live out their lives trying to be a follower
of the Lord. Even though we get our righteousness
from Jesus to pursue righteousness is to try
to do what's right. And they do that. And according
to what Jesus is saying here, those people experience
freedom. They're finally set free. But notice
that it's in the sanctification, not in the salvation.
Now we've got to stop because those are big kind
of yucky Christian words. Sanctification is that
word that means from the moment you believe,
you continue to reach new heights in Jesus, hence
the slogan of our church, if you will. You continue
to reach new heights in Jesus, and in the new
steps and the new heights and the growth that
you experience, God reveals new things in you.
He gifts you in new ways. He makes you stronger.
He grows you. And in that growth, according to
Jesus, not my words, but His words, because what
He said was, if you continue in My Word, then
are ye My disciples indeed, and you shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
They were already believing in Jesus. So, in
this group, there are those who believe in Jesus,
continue in His Word, and find freedom. But notice
that there are also those, because they were
those, who believe in Jesus, do not continue
in His Word, or stumble in His Word, if you want
to say that, and they do not find freedom. That's
tough. When I was living up in Michigan, in the
early days, and we were driving back and forth
to Toledo all the time, we were serving at East
Luton Baptist Church, I started gaining a little
bit of weight. Pretty soon, For the first time
in my life, I weighed over 210 pounds. That never
happened to me before. And then as I realized
that was happening, I started to try to take
some steps and whatever, and I felt like I, I
mean, it just really felt like I didn't have
any energy and stuff, and so that kind of was
a clue. Now I look back, and I remember there
was a day. There was a day when I went into my
closet. Our bedroom up there had a little closet
off there. There was a window you could see in
the backyard, so the kids playing in the closet.
And the boys that lived in the house before us
used to go up in the window up there. And the
neighbor used to pay him $5 a head for them to
shoot the rodents in his garden with their pellet
guns. So you'd go see his garden, see the backyard
and like that. And it was well lit. I walked
to the closet. All my clothes were hanging there.
And I pulled off a pair of jeans because we were
hanging up pretty much all our clothes because
it was a big closet. And I pulled off a pair
of jeans. I went to put them on. It didn't fit
so good. It was one of my favorite pairs of jeans.
It didn't fit so good. And I just said, I'm not
going to wear these jeans today. I never thought
a thing of it. Put them back on the hanger. I
took my relaxed fit pair of jeans and put them
on. Oh, that's good. Now that was the day. That
was the day in which I transitioned from I'm
gaining a little bit of weight and I got to do
some work to I'm okay with this little bit of
weight that I'm gaining and I'm not ready to
start doing any work yet. I'm here to tell you
today that there are relaxed fit And I'm not
talking about obesity. I'm not talking about
weight. I'm talking about sanctification, growing
in the Lord. There are Christians who say, no,
I don't have to do that extra work. I don't have
to jog my schedule around or get a new job or
situate my appointments to make sure I'm making
the Bible study or small group or I'm in church
on Sunday. And you say, some of them will say,
no, I'm hard working. That's why I'm not available
to do X. Listen, the hard work that we are called
to is the hard work of following Jesus Christ.
And I'm not harping on the work thing because
it could be relationships. It could be hobbies.
There's lots of folks who have lots of hobbies.
Right? Or I have one hobby that they're really
excited about pouring their lives into. There
are things in our lives that begin to interfere
with our discipline. with our intentionality
to follow Jesus. And on that day when we sense
or feel that interference, we say, well, it's
okay. I'll read my Bible on my own. I don't have
to gather together with other believers. Yeah,
I'm going to miss just one sermon today, but
it's just one sermon, right? Or I'm going to
miss this one opportunity to serve because I've
got this other thing over here. Now, if your
salvation and your freedom were contingent on
that one, one choice, you would never make that
one choice, right? Or would you? Are you more
comfortable with living your life your way and
what fits your personality and maybe even your
flesh and you're okay with missing a few sermons,
a few lessons, a few opportunities to serve,
a few opportunities to give? Well, that's real
dangerous stuff because what's online is certainly
nothing other than your freedom. See, it's freedom
when you can say, Here's a person over here who
would give me $100 ,000 to miss Tuesday night
Bible study and it's only an hour and it's just
one lesson and the pastor told me he'll give
me the notes afterwards. And you can say, no,
this is how much I love God. I'm going to that
Bible study. I'm taking my own notes. I'm going
to listen to the Holy Spirit while I'm there.
I will not back down. I will stand up for Jesus
or as Bob Dylan once said, you stand me up against
the gates of hell and I will not back down. Not
for $100 ,000. Not ever, not once. Now that's
freedom. Because we are driven by everything
else. We are motivated by everything else. But
when you can make a choice to honor God above
all, you're free. You say, now if I have to honor
God above all, then I'm not free. Well, that's
true. But this is the beauty of salvation. God
gave us salvation and gave us the option. You
can be saved or not. That's up to you. You can
be free or not. That's up to you. You can pursue
righteousness or not. That's up to you. God is
not forcing you. However, there will come in
a moment in time at which, and this transitions
into my next point, there will come at a moment
in time at which God will have those with Him
who have chosen to be with Him and God will have
those away from Him who have chosen to be away
from Him. And even if you think you are free
now and choose not to follow God, in that moment
you will not be free. Why? Because you will have
another master which persists only for as long
as it's in the house. Alright. So, just to be
clear, there are followers and non -followers.
Amongst the non -followers, there are those maybe
who are ignorant, those who want to stay because
they're comfortable, those because of fear, they
find it hard to trust, etc. Amongst the followers,
there are those who pursue righteousness and
pour themselves into following the Lord. And
there are those relaxed fit followers who are
like, well, as long as it's fairly convenient.
Or, I'll push really hard, but if I have to bleed
or really sweat or really suffer, no. That's
the line. Notice that Jesus is talking about
a moment of restarting that decides your group.
It's not if you have encountered the truth, right?
It's whether or not you believe. And then he
says to Nicodemus, you know who Nicodemus was,
I hope. If not, I'm about to tell you. Nicodemus
was a Pharisee, a holy man. Fasted twice a week.
That means he went completely without food on
those days. Memorized whole books of the Bible
and was in high demand in speaking. And Jesus,
he comes to Jesus and Jesus tells him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Do not
marvel, he says four verses later, that I say
unto you that you must be born again. As holy
as he was, he had to be born again. That is to
say that everybody starts out in the non -follower
group and it takes a fresh start to get in the
follower group. And I'm going to say to you that
if you've received that fresh start, then you're
in the follower group and you know enough not
to be a relaxed fit follower. You understand
the payment that was paid. Thank God Jesus was
not a relaxed, fit follower of his father or
we'd all be unsaved. Sin would not be paid for.
But for the joy that was set before him, he endured
the cross. And that's paraphrased and shortened.
Being reborn may appear harder than we would
like. Maybe more painful than we would like.
But it is a step toward freedom. Now, I know
you want it to be freedom, and in a sense it
is, but you have to learn how to live out that
freedom. You have to follow the Word, and you
have to be disciplined. That's what Jesus said.
This rebirthing may hurt a little, but you have
to let go and accept this free gift. It's about
trust. Getting born hurts. If you could somehow
communicate to any unborn baby the experience
about what they're about to go through before
they come out of the birth canal, they would
say, no. I don't want to go through that. Their
bones are virtually liquefied and they're squeezed
through a space that's about 40 % too small for
their existence. Anybody here want to go through
that? No. That doesn't sound pleasant. But God
isn't inviting us to pleasant. He's inviting
us to a salvation that saves our souls and a
freedom that sets us free and then in eternity,
pleasant. Getting born hurts. It hurts most because
we are not calibrated to the new environment
yet. Babies come out. They're cold. They've got
to learn to breathe. They're going to have to
learn to walk. They've got to be cared for. They
can't do things. They had a cord attached to
them a moment before and now that's gone. They
can't crutch on it anymore. The following of
Jesus leads to the truth. Wisdom applied. And
the truth sets free. Wisdom applied. Disciples
are free, but freedom is for disciples who are
disciples. And continuance, which is wisdom applied
continuing, is the main trait of a disciple.
I wonder if the Jews who were there knew what
we're talking about today. That wisdom is just
that valuable. That wisdom provides that kind
of freedom. If you're following along in your
Bibles, go with me to Proverbs chapter 2. This
is a book of the Bible that they would have memorized
most of it, if not many of the entire Proverbs
for sure, if not the entire book. I am not going
to break these verses down as I read them because
there's quite a few of them. I would encourage
you to read them and study over them later. They
are pretty straightforward. The writer of Proverbs
writing says, My son, if you will receive my
sayings, in other words, the wisdom that I'm
teaching you, and treasure my commandments within
you, Make your ear attentive to my wisdom, incline
your heart to understanding. For if you cry for
discernment, in other words, if you really want
to know the difference, lift your voice for understanding.
When you cry out, that's what you want, wisdom
and understanding. If you seek her as silver,
in other words, if wisdom is a treasure to you,
and search for her as for hidden treasures, then
you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover
the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom,
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. That
means he doesn't give it to everybody. He gives
it to those who are pursuing righteousness. You
hear? He stores up sound wisdom for the upright.
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.
Integrity is when your whole being is wrapped
up around one thing and it's a good thing. Guarding
the paths of justice and he preserves the way
of his godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness
and justice. You will understand the difference
between in righteousness and in justice. And
equity. and every good course. For wisdom will
enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant
to your soul. Discretion will guard you. Understanding
will watch over you. Now we're getting safety.
Remember, we're feared to come into the kingdom
because we're afraid we're going to be unsafe,
because it's dangerous. That's what fear is all
about. And he says, discretion will guard you.
Understanding will watch over you. To deliver
you from the way of evil. It's going to bring
us out and make us free. From the man, who speaks
perverse things, from those who leave the paths
of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,
who delight in doing evil and rejoice in the
perversity of evil, whose paths are crooked and
who are devious in their ways. He's going to
free us from being that, free us from being trapped
in that, to deliver you from the strange woman,
from the adulteress who flatters with her words,
that leaves the companion of her youth and forgets
the covenant of her God, for her house sinks
down to death and her tracks lead to the dead.
None who go to her return again. In other words,
once you go over to unrighteousness, over to
something that is not godly wisdom, you can't
come back. Not that God makes it so you can't
come back, but you choose not to come back. Nor
do they reach the paths of life. So you will
walk in the way of good men and keep to the paths
of righteousness, of the righteous. For the upright
will live in the land, and the blameless will
remain in it. What did Jesus say? That the servant
is in the house only for a while, but the son
is in the house forever. And he said, whom the
son sets free will be free indeed. I'm 21. For
the upright will live in the land, and the blameless
will remain in it. But the wicked will be cut
off from the land. and the treacherous will be
uprooted from it. A little bit further. My son,
do not forget my teaching, but let your heart
keep my commandments. For the length of days
and years of life and peace they will add to
you. Do not let kindness and truth leave you.
Bind them around your neck. Write them on the
tablet of your heart, so you will find favor
and good repute in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not
lean on your own understanding. We quote that
verse all the time, but we forget it's in this
context. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and
he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise
in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away
from evil. It will be the healing to your body
and refreshment to your bones. Honor the Lord
from your wealth and from the first of all your
produce. So your barns will be filled with plenty
and your vats will overflow with new wine. My
son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord
or loathe his reproof. For whom the Lord loves,
he reproves. That means he corrects those who
he loves. And when things go bad for us, sometimes
that's a correction of God. Even as a father,
the son in whom he delights. How blessed is the
man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.
For its profit is better than the profit of silver
and its gain than fine gold. And it goes on.
They knew. It's no joke. They totally understood
that wisdom would lead to all of these benefits.
Wisdom applied, not just wisdom. That's a problem.
Because if you look at the Pharisees and the
Sadducees of their day, they were teaching the
word of God. But what did Jesus say about them?
He called them hypocrites. There are people who
say it's the right thing to do. But then they
don't do the right thing to do. They were hypocrites.
But these are hypocrites who then believed in
Jesus. And so their holdout was they needed to
live the wisdom applied in Jesus. They could
not come to Jesus and just be relaxed, fit Christians.
That might get them into heaven one day if their
salvation was real, if they truly had believed.
But it wouldn't get them free. And Jesus came.
to set them free. We're in the conclusion, but
it's a doozy. This was a chosen people, God's
people, the nation of Jews, and now they were
hearing the truth and having a hard time embracing
it because they were in bondage to their own
sin. And if you can understand it, that had to
be because they wanted it that way. Because they
had already believed in Jesus. They didn't really
want to be free because they were comfortable
where they were. And they would accept Jesus
as long as Jesus would fit in where they were.
But Jesus doesn't fit in in the world system
ever. He was not of this world. Just like we're
supposed to be not of this world. So when we
believe him, we become not of this world as he
was not of this world. We suffer outside the
gate with him. Now he's not condemning them for
their choice. He is explaining the ramifications
of their choice and explaining that another choice
would be the one to free them if they stick with
it in Christ. So if you're here today and you're
a relaxed, fit Christian, I'm not condemning
your choice. However, there are ramifications
for that choice. You have to examine everything
in your life and how it lines up with Jesus.
And if you don't, if you don't give him the reins.
You won't be free. In this lifetime, you will
not be free. And that's not my words, that's
Jesus' words. And it's not, if you don't want
to be free, if you can't muster the strength
to be free, if you can't follow Jesus in earnest
with all that you are, if you can't make the
necessary sacrifices, the only real danger is,
if that's what your salvation looks like, then
are you saved? And that's a decision to be made
between you and God, not with me. It's not about
what I say. Truth is, it's not about what you
say. It's about what He says. So if you're saved
but not free, understand that there's a substantial
possibility it's because of choices that you
are making. If you won't choose, if you say,
well, I'm just not going to make a choice about
that, then realize that you've already chosen.
Those verses that we referenced In John chapter
3, we'll go there just briefly and we're almost
done. Some folks memorize John chapter 3 verse
16 as a fairly famous Bible verse. You'll see
it on placards at football games and things like
that. For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son that whosoever believes
in Him shall not perish but have everlasting
life. And that's the truth. If you believe in
Jesus, you will have everlasting life. Eternal
life. You will go to heaven and be with God forever
when the time comes. Verse 17 is the verse that
talks about that Jesus didn't come. God did not
send the Son into the world to judge the world,
but that the world would be saved. Through Him.
Through Jesus. Verse 18 then says, He who believes
in Him is not judged. He who does not believe
has been judged already. In other words, he who
believes in Jesus is not judged. But if you don't
believe in Jesus, you've already been judged.
Because he has not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God. Anybody ever watch
one of those shows on TV where they rap at each
other? Or they sing? So, you know what a mic
drop is? Right? That's it. That settles it. Drop
the mic. It's all over. It's a relatively new
thing. When you drop the mic, you're done and
you've proven your point. Well, this is Jesus'
mic drop. Because he's talking to John. And in
verse 20 it says, I'm sorry, in verse 22 it says,
After these things Jesus and his disciples came
into the land of Judea. So it's done. So we're
about to read Jesus' mic drop. And he said, And
this is the judgment, that the light has come
into the world, and men loved the darkness rather
than the light. For their deeds were evil. For
everyone who does evil hates the light, and does
not come to the light, lest his deeds should
be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes
to the light. that his deeds may be manifested,
that means made obvious, as having been wrought,
which means done or worked, in God. I'll read
that last one again. But he who practices the
truth comes to the light, that his deeds may
be manifest as having been wrought in God. Jesus
came into the world. The people who should have
known him, they did not. In John 1, 11 -14 it
says this, He came to His own, and those who
were His own did not receive Him. But as many
as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, even to those who believe
in His name, who were born not of blood, nor
of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the
only begotten from the Father, full of grace
and truth. Jesus' mic drop was, I came. I did
it. I showed it. You've seen it. It's settled.
It's done. Now when you're not choosing me, don't
kid yourself. You're not not choosing me because
you're afraid. You're not not choosing me because
you can't trust because you're wounded. You're
not not choosing me because you don't understand.
You're not choosing me either at the moment of
salvation or after that as a relaxed fit Christian
because you think you're the cat. You think that
right where you are right now, you're in charge.
That you're bigger than the enemy right now,
right where you are, non -Christian. Or that
you're bigger than me as a believer, that you
get to decide, that you get to decide whether
or not you come, go, pay, die, whatever. You
think you're the cat. And sometimes you get the
upper hand. Which reinforces you thinking you're
the cat. Because God made you incredible. God
made you able to stomp on the head of the enemy
even without me. God made you able to do amazing
things. Create and destroy. But in me, those
things are refined and the image of God is perfected.
And you can do even more amazing things. So there
are those who go, oh, my image is messed up.
So I accept the redefinition. Then I get over
here. and they mess up their image again on a
fairly regular basis because they refuse to be
free, because they refuse to continue to apply
the wisdom of God on a daily basis. Because they
think they're the cat. Remember the two blobs?
They think they're the cat blob. But I'm here
to tell you today the same thing that Jesus was
here to tell you, and that is that if you're
still wrestling with whether Jesus is real, if
you're still deciding whether to follow Jesus
or believe in salvation, you understand, you're
not the cat blob, you're the mouse blob. And
you will run and you will hide and you will fight
back the best of your ability. But the truth
is, as long as you are not a follower of the
Lord Jesus Christ, then the enemy will be after
you continually. But some mice, live happily
ever after. Some mice hide in the field and no
eagle comes to eat them, no fox pursues them,
no cat hunts them down. They don't get mowed
over and they make babies and they live an old
life. They live to be as old as mice ever live
and have multiple generations of great, great,
great, great grandchildren. And we look at those
mice and we say, well, but look at those mice.
Why shouldn't I be happy as a mouse? Why do I
need to rear up and fight back and be something
different? Well, I ask you, if the mice live
happily ever after, then what happens after that?
What happens after happily ever after? If you
don't accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,
then what's after happily ever after is not another
happily ever after. And so we live in light of
that eternity. But I also submit to you, I've
never seen a mouse that lived to old age and
wasn't terrified. The mice that live in the field
that have great, great, great, great grandchildren,
they're still watching the skies constantly.
They still live in burrows. They don't build
big houses or like hives or anything. They don't
live in huge groups and like have 50 of them
living together in a little mouse mansion in
the middle of the field because they feel safe
and free and happy and are doing a good thing.
No. They live their entire life thinking the
cat might be coming, the eagle might be coming,
the fox might be coming, I've got to stay hidden.
They run along walls and never out into the open
in the room unless you chase them out with poison
or by feeding them psychedelics. Then they'll
do that. Otherwise they stay concealed. And that
is not the life that God ordained for you. That
is not the kind of person God made for you. He
wants us to be more than a conqueror. He wants
to be incredible, amazing, world -changing beings.
Because nothing less than that will represent
Him. And we were created to represent Him. It's
wise to accept Christ. It's wise to follow Christ.
It's wise to continue in the wisdom. That God
has given you to whatever extent that you have
it. Paul said, I hold on to that which I have
already attained. And that's what you are supposed
to do. It's wise to accept Christ. It's wise
to follow Christ. It's wise to continue in Christ
with discipline and strength. To observe the
word of God. To pursue wisdom and righteousness.
And in so doing, you become the cat blob. And
the enemy runs along walls. And the enemy creeps
in the darkness. And the enemy fears you. And
when the seven sons of Sceva, who were Jews,
who might have believed in the name of Jesus,
came upon the demon that they tried to cast out
of that man, he reared up, and they tried to
abjure him, cast him out by the name of Paul
or by the name of Jesus. And the demon said,
Paul I know, and Jesus I know, but who are you?
If they were Christians at all, they were relaxed
fit Christians. And they had no power to be free.
They were just invoking the name of Jesus and
saying, I'm a Christian, I'm a Christian. Or
invoking the name of God and claiming God's authority
to cast out that demon. And he didn't let it
happen. They thought they were the cat, but they
were the mouse. And they came out all beat up
and in their underwear. But as a follower of
Jesus who pursues God's wisdom and lives His
righteousness to the best of your ability, and
it's not about perfection, it's doing the best
you possibly can on any given day, making the
choices, showing up to study, showing up to serve,
showing up to work, showing up to... showing
up, standing up, being free, being courageous.
That kind of Christian, according to Jesus, not
according to me, knows freedom. True freedom.
They are His disciples indeed. And they know
true freedom. We are called to nothing less.
Unless you think Jesus only died so that people
can go to heaven. Then you'd be contradicting
Jesus himself because he said, I came that they
may have life and have it more abundantly. And
if you're contradicting the word of Jesus, then
are you saved? I'm asking you today to either
A, first time believe in Jesus. The penalty's
been paid. Remission of sins is available through
the penalty that Jesus paid. It's called the
propitiation. The bill is paid. Stop trying to
pay it. And if you do believe in Jesus, then
I'm asking you today to exercise spiritual discipline,
to make the choices to examine everything from
God's point of view, the best you're able, instead
of the world's point of view. If you're motivated
by a dollar, then you need to understand that
your priorities are in the wrong place. If you're
motivated by a relationship with a human being,
even your spouse, over God, your motivations
are in the wrong place. If you're motivated by
a job, if any of these things are distraction,
we know what Jesus said, don't we? I'm about
to tell you. Jesus said, friendship with the
world is enmity with God. Choose today. who will
be first in your life. And if you're going to
try to make it you, you better realize you're
actually the mouse. If you're going to try to
make it Jesus, he's going to make you the cat.
And the enemy will run. I want to close this
story. Some years ago when I was a youth pastor,
youth minister, there was a young lady who came
in and did counseling with her. She'd been out
of church for about a month. Her family was members
of the church. And things had drifted badly.
She was 14, I think, 13, 14. Both of them used
a youth group. They brought her in to talk to
me. I was a relatively young youth group. Because
she had, while wearing combat boots, kicked her
grandmother, who was her guardian, in the face
and broke her jaw. What am I going to say? What
do you say to a 13 -year -old who the night before
kicked her grandmother in the face and broke
her jaw. Intentionally, not accidentally. Intentionally.
What do you say? So, I did only what I knew to
do, which I started with the gospel. And she
was claiming yes. She said she believed. She
never said the name Jesus, but she was claiming
yes, she believed. Now, she'd not been coming
to Bible study. She wasn't studying the Bible.
She wasn't praying. She admitted she hadn't worshipped.
God was not first in her life, but she was claiming
yes, she believed. But she never said the name
of Jesus. As I'm talking to her, I start getting
this eerie feeling that something is desperately
wrong. And I was not in the room alone with her.
In all my years, I've never counseled in the
room alone with a teenage girl. Or if I've done
it with a woman, then there's somebody right
outside the door, the door open. And I'm talking
with her, and I begin to think there's something
wrong. And I said, well, how about you say it?
You say, I'm a follower of Jesus. And she said,
I'm a follower of Jesus. I'm a follower. I said,
no, no, say I'm a follower of Jesus. She said,
I'm a follower of... I'm a follower. Just like
that, just like I'm saying it to you today. And
I looked at her, and the space behind her eyes
looked so dark, so deep, like outer space without
stars. Something is wrong. And the Christian
woman who was in the room with me was praying
the whole time. And she sensed it too. Something
was desperately wrong. And I said, can't you
say the name Jesus? And she said, yeah, I can
say it. And I said, well, then say it. And she
said, and I said, we're dealing with a problem
here. And I'm thinking at first, it's outside
me, right? I need an exorcist or something. I
didn't know. But I said, in the name of Jesus,
I lay my hands on you and I rebuke the evil spirit
that's affecting you. And I'm setting you free
at least to be able to make the choice of what
you will do next. Will you in earnest become
a follower of Jesus? Will you in earnest be set
free? And she said, yes. I prayed a little bit
more and I said, okay, now say it. And she said,
I want to be. She said, I am a follower of Jesus.
And tears streamed down her face. We spent about
another half an hour or so. So about another
half an hour or so with some action plans, what
she was going to do with her house, with her
problems that she was having. And we agreed to
get together with her grandmother and talk. She
committed to writing in a journal and studying
her Bible and all of these kinds of things. She
said she was a believer. They said they were
believers. But she was a relaxed, fit believer.
Now, I don't know if she was a believer at all.
But by her profession, she was a relaxed, fit
believer. And she certainly was not free. She
couldn't even say the name of Jesus. Now that's
pretty not free. Now I'm not saying that's you.
But if you believe in Jesus, tell everyone who
will listen. Because some folks are just ignorant.
Encourage people to trust in the Lord. And you
trust in the Lord with everything. And you can
be free. And that's how I get out of bed every
day. And I just want to do that. And I'm not
saying you're going to be perfect at it. Nobody's
perfect at it. I'm certainly not. I blow it all
the time. But what I am saying is, it's your
choice to be free. If you don't want to, okay.
Just realize that none of the excuses make any
sense. And the ramifications remain the same.
Let me pray for us briefly and we'll have a song
of invitation to close our services. Father in
heaven, I do thank you so much for being our
God. If the price that was paid for our salvation
was something less, a million dollars.