Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located
in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship
Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism,
discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church
and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bickford and I will be your
host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing
to you and bring you closer to God.
Welcome back to the podcast. My name again is David Bickford. I'm the pastor at the
Salmon Arm Potter's House. Today's message is entitled, Haters Going to Hate, or subheading
is Do You Have What It Takes? The text that we will be using today is Matthew 5 verses
43 through 48. You can go ahead and turn there if you are following along in your Bible.
This message, even off the title, you get an idea of where we are in society today.
You probably even heard that term. It's a little bit of a dated term at this point,
Haters Going to Hate. The idea behind it is, as we look at leaders, as we look at people
who do amazing things, often times they are looked at negatively in the time that they
actually live. It takes a lot of courage to live up to God's Word. It takes a lot of courage
to live up to a statute that is bigger than oneself. Often times in society today we see
people who are going to just go with the crowd because they would rather be not seen or they
would rather just be kind of in the masses rather than stand out, even if that means
standing on a moral high ground or standing upon the Word of God.
An illustration I came across that I think is perfect for this is Abraham Lincoln, the
President Lincoln. He's routinely voted as one of the top tier presidents of the United
States. He's sometimes number one, sometimes George Washington is number one. I personally
would vote for Washington as number one for the primary reason that he was offered to
be king of the United States. He turned it down and it was a big move. He was the first
president as well. He set the statute that held for a long time that presidents should
only run for two terms and then they should go back to their own lives. He did that. He
set that precedent. It was all the way up until when President Roosevelt, during World
War II, decided to continue to run for office even though he was fairly feeble a body towards
the end of his term and he actually died in office. You look at what happened with that
situation and even his own party aligned with the opposition party to make a constitutional
amendment so that no other president can stay past two terms.
That goes back to George Washington. That's a little bit of American history for you there
and George Washington, again, he's my pick for number one but Abraham Lincoln is definitely
solidly in there for second place. A lot of Americans felt very differently about President
Lincoln when he was in office. Unlike George Washington who had the support of pretty much
everybody in government at the time, again, they wanted to make him king. When President
Washington was there, he was already coming off of the victory of the Revolutionary War,
being thrust into service one more time as president, having the support of everybody,
all parties in the most part. That's a much different situation than what you see with
Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln oversaw the United States during this huge schism that
was happening within the country, this fracturing between the North and South. It wasn't just
Southerners who didn't like Abraham Lincoln to some extent but that is usually what you
end up hearing about mostly. While Lincoln won the presidential election,
the electoral college votes rather, he won 180 out of the 303 electoral college votes.
He only received 40% of the popular vote. Now, this might seem a little funny to those
in Canada listening to this because it's pretty routine in Canada for a prime minister to
get elected with only at these days 34% of the people voting, not even for him but for
his party because it's a parliamentary system and it's different than a presidential election.
But this is pretty unusual in the United States, the fact that only receiving 40% of the popular
vote because you even hear that today where they'll say, well, so and so won the popular
vote but they didn't win because of the electoral college. The whole purpose of the electoral
college is to give each state voice in who's going to govern the whole. Whereas in a parliamentary
system, it's just the majority or the plurality rather, not even the majority but the plurality
get to control who runs the country. You're getting actually a little bit of a better
result because the provinces can get left out in Canada and you can end up with government
that doesn't have to do anything for certain provinces. They're not in favor with the parliamentary
leadership. Whereas in the United States with the electoral college, even like all the states
are getting a voice in who's going to govern them in the presidential office.
I'm rambling here with a little bit of background because I think it's relevant for people to
understand what's going on in today's day and compare and contrast that to how things
were run in the past because we do live in a precarious time on the precipice of a lot
of division and tearing apart of the social fabric that has made countries like Canada
and the United States so strong in the past. I don't want people to just think, oh, it's
so bad right now that they overlook the fact that we have come through some pretty harsh
times in society. Again, when Lincoln won, he had 180 out of 303 electoral votes, but
he only had 40% of the popular vote. The Salem Advocate, an Illinois newspaper, wasn't very
impressed with the new president saying, he is no more capable of becoming a statesman,
nay even a moderate one, than the braying ass can become a noble lion. Pardon the language,
they're obviously calling him a donkey rather than a lion in this situation. This is, again,
this is a northern newspaper at the time, so the Illinois newspaper. That's even from
his own state. They had very little faith that this upstart, Abraham Lincoln, was going
to amount to much of anything at all. Then as civil war kicked off and the war progressed,
he still got terrible news reviews of his 1863 Gettysburg Address. It got panned by
the Pennsylvania Patriot News, again, a northern newspaper, which you'd think would have been
more sympathetic to Abraham Lincoln. But no, they said, we pass over the silly remarks
of the president, the article said, for the credit of the nation, we are willing that
the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they shall no more be repeated
or thought of. On the 150th anniversary of this, the paper decided to issue a retraction
because clearly as time progressed, Abraham Lincoln's reputation had achieved such a high
level that it was almost a mark against the newspaper to be thinking so little of Abraham
Lincoln. It's not like the public liked him much more than even these newspapers at this
time. You've got to remember, you're being ripped apart. The country's being ripped apart
by civil war and there was hundreds of thousands of casualties, roughly 600,000 casualties
that happened in the civil war when you count for both sides. This is a traumatic time.
This is a horribly bloody time for the United States of America. In the draft rights of
1863, it looks pretty likely that President Lincoln might have lost his reelection campaign
against George MacLennan, his old general. If it weren't for General William Sherman's
march to the south, that would have given him a little bit more support and given people
more of a reason to stand behind him as the war was turning in the favor of the Union.
Then later on, on April 14th, 1865, when the civil war ended, John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln.
This assassination started the reassessment of Lincoln. People started looking at Lincoln
in a different way. As times went on, people saw him as the great emancipator who saved
the Union. Several states even celebrated Lincoln's birthday. That being said, none
of those states were in the south. It's a very interesting thing to think of when you
look at the history of Abraham Lincoln. You think of this great man who's standing in
the gap for a nation, who's now considered to be the great emancipator who freed the
African American slaves. At the time that he was living, he was derided. He was off
and people would attempt to shame him or even belittle his intelligence or his capabilities.
He had to be able to focus through on blocking those ideas out, blocking out that rest of
the world and living according to the standards that he had set for himself. It's an amazing
thing that he was able to do what he did, but he didn't get any of the rewards for it
largely during his time on earth. As we look at our text in Matthew 5 verses 43 to 48,
let's go ahead and read that now. It says, love your enemies. You have heard that it
is was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father
who is in heaven, for he makes his son rise on the on the evil and the good and sends
rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do
you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same. And if you greet only your brothers,
what more are you doing than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same. You therefore must
be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. So I like to believe that Abraham Lincoln
understood the spirit of this verse of scripture, this portion of scripture, because even after
the Civil War ended, you know, there there there was an immediate stance from him to
say we need to heal the nation. And some of the people who derided him even at that time
after the Civil War was coming to a close, that was their big complaint with him was
the fact that he was trying to heal the nation from the horrendous war that had just happened.
But we we have other examples of people who in their own time are being derided by the
people there, they're the very people they are there to serve. Jesus was hated because
he knew who he was. During the life of Jesus, he had a way of causing others to dislike
him. Actually, from his birth, there were people who hated the very idea of him. They
hated him enough to call for his death as a young child. In Matthew 2 16 through 18,
we see the story of Herod wanting like plotting to kill the children just for the opportunity
to potentially kill Jesus. It says then Herod when he saw that he had been tricked by the
wise men became furious. And he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and all
of the region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had spoke ascertained
from the wise men, then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, a voice
was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children. She refused
to be comforted because there are no more. The reality of Jesus is that he he that his
coming was meant both a celebration for those who are waiting, searching or living an expectation
of a Messiah and to be a challenge for those who oppose the world or the word and the rule
of the living God. It is important to remember that the people of Israel had been looking
for a warrior king that would bring back the golden age of King David and King Solomon.
They were looking for a political and military leader that would free them from the tyrannical
rule of the Romans. They were not looking for a Messiah to come and be the Redeemer
of the world. They allowed their earthly desires to jade their perspectives and many of them
missed Jesus' purpose entirely. Even after Jesus Christ was crucified and rose from the
grave, the Jewish people in large could not see and still cannot see Jesus Christ as the
Messiah. In Psalm 118-22 it says the stone that the builders rejected has become the
cornerstone. Jesus knew this and he used the scripture himself and you can see that in
Mark 12-10 and later on in Luke 20-17 and Matthew 21-42 as well. This is at the core
of the Christian faith. Jesus is the Messiah regardless what anyone else thinks and believes
and we can see this as Peter hones in on it in Acts 4 11-12. He says this is or this Jesus
is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders which has become the cornerstone
and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved. Paul continues on in 1 Corinthians 3 11 for no
one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ. It is in truth
and on this foundation that brings many to hate Jesus, to despise the light he shines
in the world and on our own souls. It is only through the revelation of his divinity that
we can turn to him in repentance and receive the gift of grace and salvation through him.
This message is jarring and so it is so definitive that it shakes us to our core and that is
the point. Let's look at three reasons that caused people to hate Jesus during his time
and even now. The first one is confronting the status quo. We already discussed this
point at a high level but let's dig into it a little bit more. We will also reframe this
within our current cultural context. Jesus was and still is the OG counter culture poster
boy if you will. Now he is not counter God's culture but he is the original person being
counter culture to the religious paradigm and to the governing body that was ruling
in Israel at the time. A lot of people like to say that Jesus is a rebel and I don't like
that because it paints Jesus in the light of having no authority. Jesus has all authority.
He is God. He is the son of God and therefore his emissary and he is the benchmark that
all of us will be judged by. So that is being said. Let's look at how he dealt with the
empty religion that he found when he was born in Jerusalem. In Matthew 23 1-3 and then in
27-28 we read, Then Jesus said to the crowds and to the disciples, The scribes and the
Pharisees sit on Moses' seat. So do and observe whatever they tell you but not the works that
they do for they preach but do not practice. How often do we see people today preach the
word of God but not live it in practice? We see that in all parts of society people who
if you want to even touch on non-religious things like political things we have leaders
like the world wide that tell us that we need to reduce carbon emissions while they fly
around in private jets expending countless amounts of carbon that they tell us is killing
the planet but yet they do not live a life of example ship. They live a life of telling
us one thing and then living to a different standard themselves. So when Jesus came on
the scene he saw the same thing. He sees the scribes and the Pharisees preaching the law
but not living according to the spirit of the law. In verse 27 it says, Woe to you scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly appear beautiful
but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly
appear righteous to others but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. So
again it's a bit of a silly analogy but if you look again at people like the rich and
the famous and the political elites they fly around the world expending tons of amounts
of carbon that they tell us is killing the planet and then what do they do? They say
oh we're going to pay penance, we're going to pay carbon offsets for the travel that
we do. They do that because they have an abundance of wealth and they can play this game and
try to say well you shouldn't do it but I can because I'm better than you. And they
don't come out like some of them do come out and strictly say that but most of them try
to hide behind the idea that well I'm doing this for your benefit and that's what you
see the Pharisees and the Sadducees doing in the time of Jesus is they would say these
beautiful things and appear outwardly to be very pious but they would be making new rules
for themselves so that they can rather than honoring their father and their mother they
can be paying to the church an additional duty if you will so they don't have to honor
their father and their mother. They were outwardly trying to appear righteous but inwardly they
were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. In today's world we see many that claim Christ
or claim understanding but in the same breath they deny Christ's teachings. They make a
mockery of his message by their unwillingness or by their willingness rather to water it
down. In doing this they render it devoid of hope and salvation. You cannot take the
hard truths of Christ away from the gospel without reducing the gospel to nothing. If
you take away the sinfulness of man then you take away the need of a savior the sacrifice
of the lamb. The Pharisees and Sadducees strictly enforced the traditional laws of the Old Testament
but then they also made laws to enforce those laws on top of the laws that they were attesting
to. These enforcers of the laws had a problem though they were hypocritical in spirit they
elevated the law while ignoring its purpose. They stripped Judaism of the compassion that
was intrinsic to God's purpose. They also elevated themselves above that law. When Jesus
came on the scene he was not shy at pointing out the emptiness of the religion and how
the law had become hollow in the hearts of leaders. The law's purpose is to point man
towards a relationship with God. It shows us our sinful nature and our need for salvation
from God. The religious leaders were not using it to redeem people but rather to elevate
themselves and condemn people. They made the temple a marketplace to enrich themselves
and to cast dispersions on those who could not pay for the redemption that they were
offering. We see that in certain areas of society today and again like if you look at
the carbon credits that's an idea that well you can assuage your guilt for using carbon
if you pay this tax. Where does that tax go? It's similar to this kind of temple marketplace.
You're paying for redemption that keeps up or uplifts this life of the people of the
temple market and the Sadducees and Pharisees in a way that was never intended to. They're
enriching themselves off your guilt. That's not what the law was there for. The law was
there to show you the need for sacrifice and the temple, the priests, the Sadducees, the
Pharisees were there to bring you back into relationship with the Lord through keeping
yourself clean in the law and using sacrifice to cover your sin. They weren't providing
a service to you. They were rather guilting you into something that was not necessary
in the first place and taking advantage of your guilt. In Matthew 21 12-16 Jesus cleanses
the temple and it says, And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and
bought in the temple and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats
of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, It is written, My house shall be called the
house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers. And the blind and the lame came to
him in the temple and he healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw that
the wonderful things that he did and the children crying out in the temple, Hosanna to the
son of David, they were indignant and they said to him, Do you hear what they are saying?
And Jesus said to them, Yes, have you never read out of the mouth of infants and nursing
babes, babies, have you have prepared praise? So they tried to get him and stick it to him
and say, Hey, you shouldn't be letting them say this to you. And he again called to his
his own understanding of who he was, which infuriated them even more. So the next thing,
right, the next way that that Jesus would cause people to hate him or cause people to
dislike him. This second point is tax collectors, drunkards, brawlers and prostitutes ministering
to those in need was a huge trademark for Jesus. When we look back on the earthly minister
Jesus, it can be uncomfortable for many of us. Jesus went out of his way to bring his
message to some of the most unseemly groups of people. These people would have been ostracized
by the Jewish leaders. In fact, the idea or the term poor in in the the time of Jesus
or even in the earlier times in Israeli society, poor didn't necessarily only mean poor because
you didn't have a lot of money. It could mean poor in stature because you were of a lower
caste in the society or a foreigner. It can mean poor in spirit because you were you were
unclean. Right, but he you know, because the tax collector would be considered to be poor,
but they were not, you know, poor because they didn't have money. They actually were
very well off fiscally, but they were considered poor because of their standing in society.
So these people would have been ostracized by the Jewish leaders. There was this common
understanding that once you fell into a life of sin, you were counted as lost. Now that
is not scriptural, of course, but rather it became the practice to write people off, write
off certain people in certain groups in the in Israeli society. Jesus challenged this
mindset head on in the Gospel of Mark, we can see that Jesus was judged for eating with
sinners. Mark 2 16 through 17 says, And the scribes and the Pharisees when they saw that
he was eating with sinners and tax collectors said to the disciples, Why does he eat with
tax collectors and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, Those who are well
have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, I came not to call the righteous,
but the sinners. Later in the chapter, Jesus was judged for not strictly adhering to the
Pharisees view of the Sabbath. Mark 2 23 through 27 says, One Sabbath he was going through
the grain fields and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck the heads of
grain and the Pharisees were saying to them, Look, why are you doing what is unlawful on
the Sabbath? And he said to them, Have you never read what David did when he was in need
and he was hungry? He and those who were with him, how they entered the house of God in
the time of Abiathar, the high priest and ate the bread of the presence, which it is
not lawful for any but the priest to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him.
And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son
of man is Lord even on the Sabbath. So I want to point out here that what the disciples
were doing was not unlawful in any legal sense. In fact, the law does allow for the gleaning
of the fields. The point here is that there was a clear breach with the purpose of the
law and its implementation by the ruling elites. It also challenges us today to be more compassionate
for those around us. Jesus spent a good amount of time with the sick and needy. And this
was not typical for religious leaders of the time. They like the likes the limelight and
the prestige of their office. It was an offense to have such a popular teacher to the people
like Jesus taking away their attention. And I want to consider with you here again, it's
just a personal idea, your thought, the idea of plucking the grain, because they were hungry
as they walked down the road. How's that any different than you actually eating a meal
on the Sabbath in your house, you're still eating. So the idea of, you know, you're walking
through a field, and you take something, you rub it in your hands, so you can have the
grain to eat and you'd eat it as you walk. They were looking at that as labor. But they
wouldn't be looking at eating their meal at home as labor, but they saw it as a way of
attacking the disciples of Jesus Christ. It's just an interesting thought to think how far
down the road people can go to try to make an argument when God's on the move, but they
want to stop it because it doesn't jive with their theology. And we have to be careful
with that as Christians in a larger sense. We have to be very careful with judging other
people for stuff that's not a major threat of theology. Obviously, they're key tenants.
But for example, there's moves within different groups of Christianity that say, well, you
should only have this kind of music or you should have only this kind of, you know, that
kind of music. But if the music is there to glorify God, then maybe we should just be
a little bit more careful on how we judge things as long as it's not, you know, directly
going against the scripture. But that's an aside. That's something you could discuss
with me offline if you ever wanted to. But getting back into the message that we have
in front of ourselves, I want to just focus in on how these these sadducees and Pharisees,
they were really just upset that Jesus was getting the attention that they wanted for
themselves. So this isn't the main reason that Jesus was disliked by the sadducees and
Pharisees. If all he did was challenge the status quo and minister to sinners, there's
little doubt that he that we would not even know the name of Jesus. The real reason that
Jesus was hated and crucified was because of his deity. In the end, Jesus is the son
of God and he knew it. So Jesus, this brings me my final point was that Jesus is the only
way. And this is the whole crux of it. This is really what we get down to even in our
own life is this coming to the personal understanding, the personal relationship with Jesus as our
Lord and Savior. In Matthew 27, we pick up with Jesus being handed over to Pilate, the
religious leaders, Judah did not have the power to perform capital punishment. And that
is what they intended for with Jesus. In this chapter, we see the pilot knew that this was
a power play by the Jewish elites to remove a rival that they were envious of. Matthew
27, 73, 18 says, So when they handed or so when they gathered, Pilate said to them, whom
do you want me to release for you? Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ? For he knew
that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Then after they called for the release
of Barabbas, they called for the crucifixion of Jesus. And then we pick up again in 20
verses 22 and 23. Pilate said to them, then what shall I do with this Jesus who is called
the called Christ? They said, let him be crucified. And he said, why? What evil has he done? And
they shouted all the more, let him be crucified. How did the leaders of the Jewish people get
here? How did the ministry of Jesus stoke such so much anger, hostility and hate? I
will not deny that this was demonic at its root, but there there is something else, something
here that is very important for us to understand. Christ is the only way. I'm gonna say it
again. Christ is the only way. There is no other way, no other road or path to salvation.
Jesus is the son of God and his God. His divinity is the reason the rulers of Israel were so
adamantly against him and his ministry. This is the thing that separates Christianity from
the other faiths that come from Abraham as well is is our recognition that Jesus is the
son of God and that he is the lamb of sacrifice for all of us. His divinity is the reason
that the rulers of Israel were so adamantly against him and his ministry. The reason that
Jesus was hated was because of who he is without any room for for movement. He is the Messiah
and and it was his claim of godness that challenged the world. It says, recognize me and I will
wash away your sins and you will be saved. Deny me and there is no other way to the father
and you are condemned. The solid the solid concrete statement leaves no room for the
priests to maneuver. They had to either accept Christ or deny Christ, but in denying Christ,
they would also have to give up their authority and submit to him. Pride played this huge
part in the role and it still does in our world today. And then I go back, you know,
when Christ was ministering to sinners, he gave them the same the same opportunity. He
said, send no more and follow me. It's the acceptance of his deity and the turning away
and repenting of sins that brings you into the Lamb's Book of Life. And it's such a challenge,
even in our own society, that people will do everything in their power to deny it because
they want to hold on to what they feel is their own control and react. And in reality,
it's their pride. In fact, pride is everywhere today. The world today is proud of all sorts
of things that Christ tells us to turn away from. He tells us to turn away from our pride
and to lay it at his feet, to go and sin no more and be saved by his grace. In the end,
the crucifixion was necessary. Jesus had to be sacrificed so that he could overcome death
and rise again and prove his divinity. And we know that this has been proven and that
his divinity is assured because there were so many eyewitnesses seeing Christ after his
crucifixion to show that he had the power that he claimed and that he can forgive the
sins of the repentant sinner. That is why he had to die and rise again, that we all
can turn to him no matter our condition and be redeemed. So as we close, if Jesus was
so vilified, how can we expect anything less for ourselves? I believe that we are not pushing
the boundaries of our society closer to God than we are allowing it to be pulled away
from God. Just like Abraham Lincoln, if he wouldn't have stood solidly on keeping the
union together, then the union would have pulled apart and you wouldn't have a United
States of America anymore. You would have had maybe a smaller United States of the United
Northern States of America and then you would have had a Confederate Southern States of
America. And who knows how much longer the American slave trade would have gone on had
Abraham Lincoln not been successful and stand upon his principles. What kind of horrors
would we have in the world because of that decision not to stand on the solid ground
that he did? Because we have a lot of world wars that came after the American Civil War.
Who would have won World War I? Who would have won World War II? What would have happened
with history if not for Abraham Lincoln keeping the United States of America together? Society
has a lot of issues currently, but we have to be strong enough to stand for something
that matters. We need to be resolute and stable and we can find the necessary firmness and
stability in Jesus Christ. But it does come with a cost. In the Marine Corps when you
get saved, it was a typical thing that you were immediately going to be tagged Bible
thumper if you truly were getting saved. That doesn't mean like the guy who goes to mass
or the guy who goes to church and then goes out and parties that evening with the boys
or that week with the boys. But when you were a Christian and you truly gave your life to
Jesus Christ, you would get immediately tagged with the term Bible thumper. This moniker
was meant to ridicule you. It was also meant to put a target on your back. People would
try and get you to swear, try and get you to drink or do something un-Christian so they
could ridicule you. They would do this because they wanted to see you fail. A lot of people
want to see you fail. A lot of people do fail because they can't handle the persecution,
they can't ridicule. That is why we need to have a real relationship with Jesus Christ.
That is why we have to pray. That is why we have to read our word. That is why we have
to find a Bible-believing church, go on outreach and gather with the brethren and preach the
gospel. We do these things because it instills in us a solid foundation built on Christ.
The foundation is Christ, rather, and then you are building your house on that foundation.
The more we share in the ministry of Jesus Christ, the closer we are able to get to understanding
the weight of His sacrifice. It brings us back to our text in Matthew 5 verses 43-48
about loving your enemies. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbors
and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise
in the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you
love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the
same and if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not
even Gentiles do the same. You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
So as I close, if I could have every head bowed, every eye closed, if you are driving,
obviously keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes open. We need to remember the stance
that Abraham Lincoln made because it harkens back to the stableness of his mindset to say,
no, what is right is this. And just because nobody else agrees doesn't mean that it isn't
right. And that's why we rely on Jesus Christ. We rely on the Word of God for our own lives
because Jesus came and confronted empty religion. So therefore we can't live a life of empty
religion. We need to pour ourselves in with reading the Word of God in prayer so that
way we can pour ourselves out and show the outcasts of society, the love of Jesus Christ,
to show them that Jesus loved you and died for your sins. We can't do that if we're
living in empty religion. We have to fill ourselves with the Word of God. We have to
pray, have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ so that way we can exemplify Jesus'
love to the outcasts. And we can bring them the message of the gospel, showing them that
he is willing to forgive sinners who are willing to turn and repent and sin no more. And then
as they accept him as the only authority, they will be saved and set free. And that's
what I preach today, is a message of salvation. A message of salvation that yes, haters are
going to hate as the title of the sermon indicates. But do you have what it takes to stand up
to this world's hate and to live a life that exemplifies Jesus' sacrifice? Jesus died
for you. He died for me. He died for you. And it's by his grace that you can be set
free from the bondage of sin. So if that's you this morning and this message is resonating
with you and you're feeling a tug on your heart because maybe you've been dancing around
the message of the gospel, you've been dancing around with Jesus, you need to give it in.
You need to give in to him. You say, you know what, you know, God, I'm going to do it your
way. And if that's you, you can signify that uplifted hand. I can't see it, but God sees
it. And if you mean it, then that's got impact, far reaching impact that you just don't have
any way of contemplating at this moment. But if that is you, then repeat after me, dear
Lord God, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you sent your son, Jesus Christ,
that he died for my sins. And I accept him as my Lord and my Savior and I repent of my
sins in Jesus name. Amen. Simple prayer. You're accepting that you're a sinner. You're repenting
or turning away from your sin and you're accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. That's salvation.
Your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. You might've heard terms like baptism,
things of that nature. That's great. You can be baptized as a public showing of your acceptance
of Jesus Christ. And that's a great and powerful thing. But grace comes the second you do that
with an open heart and you do that honestly, just like the thief on the cross. So don't
be discouraged, but move on in your new life in Christ and read your Bible. Get a Bible
and you can download any number of apps that have a good translation, King James, NIV,
ESV, you name it. Read the Word of God. Pray. Pray out to Him. Find a Bible-believing church.
If you need help finding a Bible-believing church, I'm in Sammon Arm. Come to our church.
Reach out the contact info is in the show notes. But if you're not in Sammon Arm and
you need to help finding a church, we have over 3,500 churches globally. We've got them
all over the place. Be more than happy to put you in contact with one of our churches
because gathering with the brethren is a very powerful thing. And it helps you with your
relationship with Jesus Christ. It gives you power to dive in. It gives you something solid.
And so I just want to thank you for listening to me today. And if you can do me a favor,
if this message has impacted you, like it, share it, subscribe, because we're trying
to get the message of Jesus Christ out of as many people as we can. And it's always
going to be a simple message that Jesus came to earth, died for your sins so that you can
be saved in His name. Thank you again and I can't wait for you to come back next time.
God bless.
Thank you for listening to the PHA Potter's House Sammon Arm podcast. Be sure to follow
us on Instagram at pottershouse underscore Sammon Arm to keep up to date on what we're
doing. Join the conversation and discover how Jesus Christ can revolutionize your life.