Thank you very much.
Thank you.
All right, everybody welcome to steadfast baptist church
Glad you could all make it here this sunday morning
Let's go ahead and take our seats. We'll pull out our hymnals
We're gonna start off this morning
In hymn 127
It is so sweet to trust in jesus
Again that song 127
127
127 sing all together
Tis so sweet to trust in jesus
Just to take him at his word just to rest
upon his promise
Just to know thus saith the lord
Jesus jesus how I trust him how I've proved him
more and more
jesus jesus precious jesus
Oh for grace to trust him more
Oh, how sweet to trust in jesus just to trust his cleansing blood
Just in simple faith to plunge beneath the healing cleansing blood
Jesus jesus how I trust him how I proved him more and more
Jesus jesus precious jesus
Oh for grace to trust him more
Yes, it's sweet to trust in jesus
Just from sin and self to cease just from jesus
Simply taking life and rest and joy and peace
jesus jesus how I trust him how I proved him more and more
jesus jesus precious jesus
Oh for grace to trust him more
I'm, so glad I learned to trust the precious
jesus save your friend and I know
That thou art with me will be with me to the end
jesus jesus how I trust him how I've proved him more and more
jesus jesus precious jesus
Oh for grace to trust him more
Amen great singing inspired word of prayer
Heavenly father we just thank you again that we could come here this morning to worship you
To serve you to have a good fellowship and just to hear your word being preached
I just pray you bless brother ben you fill him with your holy spirit
Help them to edify the people here and help us all to learn and to grow
And to apply the message to our lives and we love you in jesus name. Amen
Next is going to be 133
Safe wherever I go
And this is a short one, so we're gonna sing it twice
Again that's 133
Safe wherever I go
Peace the world cannot know
Sins all forgiven in heaven my hope i'm safe wherever I go
Safe wherever I go
Peace the world cannot know
Sins all forgiven in heaven my hope i'm safe wherever I go
Amen good singing
How's it going everyone welcome to steadfast baptist church on this sunday morning
It's january 16th 2022
I should have this date memorized because it's my wife's birthday
And so it's good to see everybody here. If you're wondering what happened to pastor. Shelley. He's up in oklahoma city
Today is the ordination of brother tanner fir who's been the boots on the ground in our oklahoma city church plant
For a while now and today he's being ordained as an evangelist. And so that's what pastor. Shelley is doing up in the
Oklahoma city area today. So just be in prayer for him and the church services there and
It's great to see brother tanner elevated into that position
I like him. I think he knows his bible very well, and he's a good creature
So it's good to see him get that opportunity to lead in that capacity
If you don't have a bulletin just raise your hand and one of the ushers will get one to you
On the front page of the bulletin. You'll see we're currently memorizing
John chapter one this week's verse is verse nine
Which says that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world
John chapter one is what we're currently memorizing and this is a really long chapter. Obviously. It's been said every week
So just keep in mind long chapter
Big prize, so if you ever feel like you're slipping in your memorization
Remember this saying long chapter big prize
You say man, I might not do my memorization for today. Oh, wait a minute
long chapter
Big prize. All right. Let's move into the
Inner portion of your bulletin and we'll see what else we have going on the service times
You're here today sunday morning 10 30. We have
Service in spanish at 4 30 with some brethren who get up here and rip face in espanol
Sunday evening 5 30 pm. And then we're going through the book of genesis on wednesday nights at 7
There's the church wide soul winning times there today's soul winning time is at two o'clock
I'll be filling in for pastor on that one
We also have regional soul winning
If you want to take part in any of those times that you see on the bulletin our baptisms and salvations are there
And also just keep in mind, please pray for our expecting ladies
You see sarah cardona cassandra southerd tina galasso natalie urbanic michelle brooks. Lauren milstead stephanie spurgeon and amber tinsley
All of them expecting and so just keep them in prayer
um, you know as they go through their the journey of
Pregnancy the prayer list is there we go over that on wednesday nights and I wanted to congratulate the wood family
On the birth of lydia may wood was born on january the 12th 2022 at 5 17 am weighing four pounds
11.3 ounces and was 20 point
Think of the precision here point zero eight
Inches long you see the photo of the baby there
Is adam adam? How's your wife doing?
You
Okay
Right and she was obviously born early is that
Month early, so she just couldn't wait to get out right? That's how we got to look at it
well
Just keep that situation in prayer. It's great news though that your wife will be getting out of the hospital and
So there is that also the if you look on the back
I'll get to the upcoming events in a minute. But since we're talking about babies the weathers family
They welcomed william holland weathers was born january 10th 2022 at 9 37 p.m. Weighing six pounds seven ounces
and 20.08 inches long apparently, uh same as
Lydia, let me fact check that. Yeah. All right
There you see the baby there nice
cute
Photo and so continue to keep them in prayer. This was another early arrival
And mrs
Weathers obviously had to go through a lot in this situation the weathers family did so just continue to pray for them
And hope to see them back in church, but I want to do a round of applause for these new babies
How does that sound?
All right
So you see the upcoming events?
We have the ordination that's happening today of tanner fur in oklahoma city
And so that's why pastor is not here on the 29th
The galasso baby shower will be taking place at 12 30
From 12 30 to 2 30 february 26. This is exciting a waco texas soul winning marathon
There's a sign-up sheet over on that
side of the building if you want to
Sign up just to let the church know that you'll be attending and then that'll help
the leadership with
You know the accommodations and things like that so make sure you sign up over there
and on march 24th to march 26th
A soul winning seminar will be taking place march 24th to march 26th
If you don't know how to give somebody the gospel or you need help or you want to learn more about how to give somebody
the gospel
this will be
The event for you and even if you do know but you just want to improve
Some things tweak some things we can always learn more in this area. Nobody's arrived when it comes to giving the gospel and winning souls
This is a tremendous opportunity
To do that. I remember going to a soul winning conference a number of years ago, which was a lot of fun
This I think is going to be even better
And so make sure you come out for that in march lots of really exciting events happening at our church april 30th
a homeschool field trip
where
I don't know, but i'm sure it'll be great
May 21st
another soul-winning marathon
austin texas
All right, we're gonna go. Let's invade info warrior country and see if we can get some folks saved there
Austin man
That that'll be fun. All right, i'll just leave it at that. It could be very interesting
So may 21st, let's go to austin. Let's win some souls a sowing marathon happening there and then way down
It looks like we have it already in the bulletin october of this year
We're having another fire breathing baptist fellowship
October 5th through the 9th fire breathing preaching if you're easily offended
This is not the event for you
But if you like some hard preaching come out we got it already nice brighten it right here already in the bulletin in october
So that's exciting and of course you see at the bottom don't donate online to steadfast baptist church at this time
Because of a situation if you'd like to donate you can do so at purewordsbaptist.com
Slash give any other men have an announcement that maybe I forgot about
All right
Well with that that's all I have so
We'll go ahead and move on to the final song or not
I shouldn't say the final song because it's going to be one after the sermon but the third song which is song number
121
like a river glorious 121 like a river
Wrong one. I apologize. Duncan will give you the actual song. Go ahead
It's a hard list to read I know 118 it's actually very close. He said 121
It's going to be 118
I think we've only sung this a couple times at church. So
May or may not be new to you near to the heart of god
On 118
There is a place
Quiet rest near to the heart of god
a place where sin cannot molest
Near to the heart of god
oh
jesus blessed
Redeemer sent from the heart of god
all those who wait before
thee
Here to the heart of god, there is a place of god
Oh
Wait before
Oh jesus
Oh
Amen good singing what offering place for being class passed around. Please turn your bibles to john chapter number eight
John chapter number eight
As we always do we'll read the entire chapter
for the message
John chapter number eight
Start reading in verse number one
Jesus went unto the mount of olives and early in the morning. He came again into the temple
All the people came unto him and he sat down and taught
The scribes and pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery
And when they had set her in the midst they say unto him master
This woman was taken in adultery in the very act
Now moses and the law commanded us that such should be stoned
But what sayest thou this they said tempting him that they might have to accuse him
Jesus stooped down and with his finger
wrote on the ground as though he heard them not
So when they continued asking him he lifted up himself and said unto them
He that is without sin among you let him first cast a stone at her and again he stooped down and wrote on the ground
And they which heard it being convicted by their own conscience went out one by one beginning at the eldest even unto the last
And jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst
When jesus had lifted up himself and saw none, but the woman he said unto her woman
Where are those nine accusers had no man condemned me
She said no man lord and jesus said unto her neither do I condemn thee go and sin no more
Then spake jesus again unto them saying I am the light of the world
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life
The pharisees therefore said unto him thou bears record of thyself. Thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them
Though I bear record of myself yet my record is true
For I know whence I came and whether I go but ye cannot tell whence I come and whether I go
Ye judge after the flesh I judge no man and yet if I judge my judgment is true for I am not alone
But I am the father that sent me it is also written in your law
That the testimony of two men is true
I am one that bear witness of myself and the father that sent me beareth witness of me
Then said they unto him where is thy father jesus answered you neither know me nor my father
If you had known me, you should have known my father also
These words spake jesus in the treasury as he taught in the temple
And no man laid hands on him for his hours not yet come then said jesus again and to them
I go my way and ye shall seek me and shall die in your sins whether I go ye cannot come
Then said the jews will he kill himself because he saith whether I go you cannot come and he said unto them
Ye are from beneath. I am from above
Ye are of this world. I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins
For if you believe not that I am he you shall die in your sins then said they unto him who art thou and jesus saith unto them
Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning
I have many things to say and to judge of you
But he that sent me is true and I speak to the world those things which i've heard of him
They understood not that he spake to them of the father
Then said jesus unto them
When you have lifted up the son of man
Then shall you know that I am he and that I do nothing of myself as my father had taught me I speak these things
And he that sent me is with me the father hath not left me alone for I do always those things that please him
And as he spake these words many believed on him then said jesus to those jews which believed on him
If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed?
And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free
They answered him we be abraham seed and were never in bondage to any man how sayest thou ye shall be made free
Jesus answered them barely verily. I say unto you whosoever committed sin is the servant of sin
And the servant abideth not in the house forever
But the son abideth forever if the son therefore shall make you free you shall be free indeed
I know that you are abraham's seed, but you seek to kill me because my word had no place in you
I speak that which i've seen with my father and he do that
Which you have seen with your father they answered and said unto him abraham is our father
Jesus saith unto them if you were abraham's children you would do the works of abraham
But now you seek to kill me a man that told you the truth which I have heard of god this did not abraham
Ye do the deeds of your father then said they to him we be not born of fornication. We have one father even god
Jesus said unto them if god were your father you would love me for I proceeded forth and came from god
Neither came I of myself, but he sent me
Why do you not understand my speech even because you cannot hear my word?
Ye of your father the devil and the lust of your father you will do
He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him
When he speaketh the lie, he speaketh of his own for he is a liar and the father of it
And because I tell you the truth you believe me not
Which of you convinced me of sin and if I say the truth, why do you not believe me?
He that is of god here with god's words you therefore hear them not because you're not of god
Then answer the jews and said unto him
Say we not well that thou art a samaritan and has a devil
Jesus answered I have not a devil but I honor my father and you do dishonor me and I seek not mine own glory
But there is one that seeketh and judges
Verily verily I say unto you if a man keep my sayings
He shall never see death then said the jews unto him now. We know that thou has a devil
Abraham is dead and the prophets and thou sayest if a man keep my saying he shall never taste of death
What thou greater than our father abraham, which is dead and the prophets are dead whom make us out of thyself
Jesus answered if I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my father that on earth me of whom you say that he is your god
Yet you have not known him that I know him
Now if I should say I know him not I shall be a liar like unto you that I know him and keep his saying
Your father abraham rejoices see my day and he saw it and was glad then said the jews unto him
Thou are not yet 50 years old and hast thou seen abraham
Jesus said unto them
Verily verily I say unto you before abraham was I am
Then took they up stones to cast at him
But jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by
Power to word of prayer
Dear lord, we thank you again that we could come here this morning
And I just pray you'd help us all to listen to pay close attention apply this preaching to our lives
Please bless brother ben that you fill him with your holy spirit. You could help him to effectively teach us here in jesus name. Amen
Amen, look at verse 54 in john chapter 8 verse 54 the bible read
Jesus answered if I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my father that on earth me of whom you say that he is your god
Yet you have not known him, but I know him and if I should say I know him not I shall be a liar like unto
You but I know him and keep his saying your father abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad
Then said the jews unto him thou art not yet 50 years old and hast thou seen abraham
Pay attention to this. Jesus said unto them verily verily I say unto you
before
abraham was
I am
We have a back and forth between the jews and jesus in john chapter number eight and I think it culminates
The climax of this chapter is in verse 58 where jesus said before abraham was
I am one of the most powerful statements you'll find in the entire bible
and as a result
We see that the jews were acrimonious. They hated jesus
They wanted to take up stones and kill him right then and there in fact
They accused him of having a devil they say in this chapter. We know that thou hast a devil
he's jews also
the jews in general
elsewhere in scripture ascertained asserted that
jesus
Orchestrated miracles not by the power of the holy spirit
But rather through the power of the devil blaspheming the holy spirit in the process. My point is they
Despised him they hated him and here in john chapter eight. They know exactly what he is
Attempting to convey which is that he is god
Look at verse 59
Then took they up stones to cast at him
but jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so
Passed by they understood what he was suggesting here in verse 58 when he said before abraham was I am
He's not just talking about his pre-existence, but also his deity. This is jesus appealing to his deity
Proclaiming that he in fact is the I am which is
Described in exodus chapter three. I'm not going to turn there for sake of time
But i'll just read it for you where it says and god sent it to moses. I am that I am
And he said thus shalt thou say unto the children of israel. I am hath sent me unto you before abraham was
I am is what jesus proclaimed in john chapter eight and what is that?
It's a statement of reality conveying that jesus is the great I am that jesus is god that jesus
Simply is he always existed
He's the alpha and omega the pre-existence of christ one of the attributes of deity is is
An entity that has existed forever and that describes jesus
It's not that when he was incarnated that he began to exist in that moment
No, he always existed as the second person of the holy trinity. He's always existed as the son of god
You know, there are people who would deny that and say jesus became the son
My question is then how is it that the father who's always been the father was a father without having a son?
If he was god the father from eternity past
Then the son was the son from eternity past he's always existed
Going he's from everlasting going all the way back to eternity which obviously is a concept that's difficult for us to understand
But it's what the bible says and we take it by faith
Now the book of john contains several
I am statements
That would help us understand the character of christ the nature of christ and I think also the power of christ as well
And so I want to derive from this this passage here when he says I am
There are many other I am statements if you will that he makes like I said that give us some clues as to who jesus
Really is so the title of my sermon this morning is the I am statements
Of jesus christ the I am statements of jesus christ people talk about the beatitudes in matthew chapter five
They talk about the olivet discourse something on my teeth. There we go
They talk about the olivet discourse in matthew 24 and mark 13
And luke 21. These are sort of theological terms that are described that are used to describe certain passages of scripture
Well, the I am statements of christ convey to us they they they illuminate for us who jesus really is again his character his nature
It also I believe conveys the power of god it shows to us it demonstrates to us
The power of the lord jesus christ and what I wanted to do over the next hour
Is go over some of these I am statements that we find in the book of john offer
an old testament background might not flip to every single passage for some of them I might just sort of
Quickly explain to you the old testament background of the statement
But the idea is to go through some of these statements offer some old testament background make application then and tie it all together
At the end if you would go to john chapter six and let's look at the first one john chapter number six
What you need to realize about our messiah is that he is not
Was not never was
Some pot smoking social justice warrior hippie who just loves everyone no matter what and is a soft limp-wristed sissy
He's god the son. He's god manifest in the flesh. He's the king of kings
And the bible describes his might isaiah 9 verse 6
Describes him as the mighty god
But that's not the god of america
God of america is different than the god that's portrayed in your bible this morning
And one of the things you're going to notice as we go through this sermon
Is the distinction between the portrayal of jesus and the word of god and the portrayal out there?
And people will often make statements like this
Well, my god would do this and my god would do that my god loves the lgbt community
My god would never ever utter the words that you guys utter behind your pulpit
My jesus is so much more loving than the jesus you portray
Well, here's the problem with that the jesus that we believe in is the jesus that is so clearly portrayed in the bible
And if you don't like that jesus, let me give you a little hint you hate jesus christ himself. It's that easy
I don't mean to go down that
sorry, I
That i'm getting ahead of myself, but it just annoys me when people blaspheme the name of christ and profane his name
By characterizing him as something that he's not in reality
This jesus the jesus of america the unknown god of america is a fabrication of people's wicked heart
That's the reality john 6. Let's learn who jesus really is from the bible
You want to be introduced to jesus?
Here he is in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god
The same was in the beginning with god
It also says and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory of the only begotten of the
Father full of grace and truth you want to find out who jesus is you want to learn more about his nature and his character?
It's right here
Now let's learn about him. John 6 look at verse 32
It says then jesus said unto them verily verily I say unto you
Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my father giveth you the true bread from heaven
For the bread of god is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world then said they unto him lord
Evermore give us this bread
And jesus said unto them I am the bread of life
He that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me
Shall never thirst in capernaum. We have people inquiring about the works of god and jesus reveals that he was
That bread that rained down in the wilderness in the old testament when the israelites are on their journey to the promised land
And manna rained down from heaven
That symbolized jesus. John chapter 6 is telling us that that manna was a type it typified the lord
Jesus christ, he reveals that he was that bread it symbolized himself. He says I am the bread of life
He describes himself as the bread of life and that's the first statement. I wanted to cover for this sermon the I am statement
I am the bread of life now later. He refers to eating his flesh and drinking his blood
And that is analogous to believing on the lord. Jesus christ catholics take that
They they they do like a hyper literal interpretation
of that statement
And use it to assert
a doctrine called
Transubstantiation which is the idea that the cracker that they eat in their mass
Literally transforms into the flesh of christ and the alcoholic wine that they drink
Literally transforms into the blood of christ and you have to partake in that ceremony to get to heaven
But that's not what jesus christ was teaching whatsoever. That's insanity
In reality what he was saying is by eating his flesh and drinking your blood you are
symbolically believing on him but eating the bread of life
yes, it could picture salvation but
It also pictures bible reading and spiritual growth and sustainability as well
Because just as sure as we have to eat carnally in order to grow babies
Especially have to eat carnally they start out with a mother's breast milk and then they move on to having carnal foods
Just as sure as they need that in order to grow
The christian needs the spiritual diet the spiritual meat the spiritual bread
In order to grow in our christian lives in order to gain more wisdom and more maturity in our christian life
Look at exodus 16 if you would exodus chapter 16
The beginning of your bible. This is the second book of the bible
So obviously you start out in genesis and then you go to exodus as the second book of the bible
Exodus chapter 16 we need to eat that spiritual bread and I believe when jesus described himself as the bread of life
Again, obviously eating that bread gets you saved. But also it's something that we should continue to do throughout our christian life
To grow and we grow through what we grow through bible reading which constitutes a spiritual diet
Now in exodus chapter 16, I wanted to point something out look at verse four
When you get there exodus 16 verse 4 the bible read then said the lord unto moses behold
I will rain bread from heaven for you
And the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day that I might prove them whether they will walk in my law
Or no look at verse 31 and the house of israel skip down to verse 31
It says and the house of israel called the name thereof manna and it was like coriander seed white
And notice this and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey
Manna was like it tasted like wafers made with honey
The bible tells us in exodus chapter 16 and I think that adds another dimension to the symbolism
That we're talking about
With regard to the bread it tasted like honey wafers that were made like honey
Now go if you would to first samuel chapter 14 first samuel chapter 14. You're in exodus
Blow past leviticus numbers deuteronomy joshua judges ruth and then you'll get to first samuel
chapter number 14
Meanwhile, i'll read for you from deuteronomy 8 as you're turning to first samuel 14 deuteronomy 8 says and he humbled thee and suffered
Thee to hunger and fed thee with manna which thou knewest not neither did thy fathers know that he might make thee know
That man doth not live by bread only but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the lord
Does every man live the bible articulates to us clearly that we don't live by some words
We live by every word of the bible, which is further proof of the preservation of scripture because how is it that the word of god?
You know, how is it possible for it not to be preserved if we have verses like this telling us that we live by every
Word, you know what that tells me it tells me that the king james bible is the manifestation of that doctrine
It's the manifestation of the preservation
Of god's word and I believe with all my heart that every single word of god has been preserved courtesy of this
The king james bible. What is it?
Well, it's a culmination of some of the greatest
Translators of our time who came together and I think it was god's providence that brought this together the received text
Of the new testament that has been passed down the traditional text passed down through the generations
Is what gave us the new testament ultimately that we're reading in the king james the masoretic text of the old testament
Is what gave us ultimately the old testament that we have in our king james bible and guess what?
Every word is in there and it's been perfectly translated for us
Courtesy of the king james these modern versions delete entire verses change doctrine
Push a work salvation. It's the devil's work
But we have every word preserved right here and we live by every single word, you know, nobody wants to miss a meal
I dare you to miss an entire day's worth of eating you you wouldn't want to do it
Yet there are people missing their spiritual meal every single day
There are christians who are saved and doing nothing for the lord and missing their spiritual meal every
Single day of their lives their bibles are collecting dust on their nightstand
They never open it up to read it when they do they'll have to blow some dust off of it because they've ignored it
They're missing meals. Nobody would ever do that carnally speaking. So my question is why do it spiritually?
You know what? That'll do it'll stunt your growth
Just like if a child doesn't eat it'll stunt its growth the same thing applies for christians
We live by every word of god, which underscores the importance of bible reading and they've been preserved
Like I said perfectly through the king james psalm 119 tells us how sweet are thy words unto my taste?
Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth
So we see that the bread tasted the manna that was described in exodus tasted like what honey?
We also see a connection between the word of god and honey in psalm chapter 119 verse 103
But I had you turn to first samuel 14 the context of this saul made an oath
That his army would not eat
It was a hasty oath
And so they were weak but jonathan unaware of this oath decides to eat some honey. Look at verse 27
1st, samuel 14 verse 27
The bible says but jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath
Wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in honeycomb and put his hand in his
mouth
And his eyes were enlightened
Now literally he saw better, but let's make a spiritual application. Look at verse 29
Then said jonathan my father hath troubled the land see I pray you how mine eyes have been enlightened
Because I tasted a little of this honey, jonathan
Saul's son unaware of the oath that his father made and so he consumes this honey. He eats this honey
And consequently his eyes are open. The bible says that he was enlightened. Well, jesus is the bread of life
And that bread tasted like honey according to exodus chapter 16
So we see a connection between the manna and honey
We see a connection between the word of god and honey in psalm 119
Well, the manna is the word of god. Jesus said and jesus is the word revelation 19 13. He said
Hey, I am the bread. So we see this is all interconnected with honey
And what happened when jonathan ate the honey in first samuel 14? He was enlightened
So what can we learn from this the word of god enlightens?
You want to grow in wisdom you want to grow in knowledge you want to grow in maturity pick this up and read it
It's as simple as that. This is how we gain enlightenment. This is how we gain knowledge
This is how we gain wisdom. This is how we gain maturity
You know, it's unfortunate but a large swath of christianity today
They have an unhealthy spiritual diet
You can tell when someone has an unhealthy carnal diet and i'll just leave it at that
But you could also tell when someone has an unhealthy spiritual diet and what does their spiritual diet consist of
anything other than the bible
talk radio
fox news
reality tv
Just mindless entertainment television you name it?
apologetics where everybody can pretend to be a pseudo-intellectual
Who proves to atheists that god exists? I don't need to prove to atheists that god exists
All I have to do is look outside. It's that simple
But see this is what people consume instead of the bible. And so it results in this unhealthy
Spiritual diet the reality is we have to get back to this book. This is our only hope as americans
It's not going to be found in the ballot box. It's found in the house of god
It's found in each and every single christian who has the holy spirit inside them deciding to read every single word
Of this book and make sure that this is what they live for
That's the only hope we have in america, you know, I used to be involved in the political world
You know what happened? It just let me down every single time man will let you down
Man will disappoint you man is going to lie man will lie to you
Man will cheat you but jesus won't he's the rock. He's the word of god
He's the bread and this is the only hope that america has you say man. This country is going down the wrong path
We have a psychopath
Freak joe biden as president vaccine mandates all the rest of it. What do we do? I have an idea
Let's go back to the bible
Hey, that's what made america great to begin with what a christian culture
And of course, it's that christian culture that's deteriorating
But the word of god has the power to nourish us and also the power to enlighten us with wisdom
You know what's wrong with our culture? I'm just gonna go ahead and say it. It's stupid
Stupid
Why do people wear 17 masks
Why are they going out and getting 15 booster shots?
Because the culture is stupid
Look at the tip turn on your I don't actually advocate for you to do this, but
If you ever want to turn on the tv for about five seconds, you know what you'll notice the culture is stupid
And brain dead. I don't know if it's ever been more stupid
Why
Because nobody's getting the spiritual wisdom. Nobody's being nourished with the with the word of god. There's no enlightenment
When jonathan ate the honey, what happened? He was enlightened. Do you want to be enlightened as well?
Have a good spiritual diet flip back over to john chapter 8 if you would john chapter 8
So what's the lesson? Jesus is the word and the word of god has the power to enlighten has the power to enlighten
Now the word enlighten, what does it contain?
the word light
And that leads me to this statement john chapter 8 verse 12
Where I had you turn look at verse 12 then spake jesus again unto them saying
I am the light of the world
He that follow with me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life
Look at john 9 verse 5 john 9 verse 5. It should be real close to where you're at. John 9 verse 5
The bible read as long as I am in the world. John 9 verse 5 as long as I am in the world. I
Am the light of the world jesus refers to himself as what light
He is light and there's no more appropriate description
He is the light of the world and this world needs him very badly really badly right now
Look at psalm 119 if you just let your bible drop open you'll more than likely end up in the book of psalms psalm 119
If you would the second I am statement I wanted to cover is I am the light of the world
I am the light of the world. John 12 says
Yet a little while is the light with you walk while you have the light lest darkness come upon you
For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth now remember
in the old during the
Journey of israel in the old testament. God was figured by a pillar of light
Which helped the children of israel see in the darkness as they were marching to the promised land
Well, the same thing would apply to us in the sense that the wilderness I believe
Would picture the world the world that we live in the journey that we're on right now to the promised land
Which is the inheritance waiting for us in heaven. We're going to get there no matter what the question is
What kind of rewards are waiting for you?
If you're saved you'll get there no matter what but my point is we're all in the wilderness right now
It's called the world we're all in the wilderness and we go through the struggles that are associated with the wilderness in this world
What does that look like? It looks like, you know, the things that the children of israel went through perhaps feeling
Down or discouraged or not trusting in the lord when they should have
They also had the issue of whining when they shouldn't have whined and god punished them for it a bunch of whiners and complainers
That were in the wilderness. They had lapses in faith. And we also you look don't look it down on them
We also have those struggles as well as christians lapses in faith
Lapses in faith and sort of discouragement and not trusting the lord the way that we should but my point is this without the light
Israelites would have walked in darkness
They wouldn't have known where they were going like john 12 describes for he that walketh in darkness
Knoweth not whether he goeth. I had you turn to psalm 119 look at verse 105 psalm 119 verse 105 it says
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet notice and a light unto my path
As this world gets darker and and weirder
And more corrupt, you know what we need more than ever more than ever. I should say we need a guiding light
We need a lamp
And this is exactly what that is
This is the lamp that guides us in this dark world
The word of god is the lamp that guides us in this dark world
And here's what I mean by that because obviously okay, it's a nice saying but what does that really mean?
I'll be specific for you. What I mean is that this is the guide for us that helps us transform
The bible talks about renewing our mind
Transforms our worldview in the face of a society that wants us to conform to their whims
That wants us to view the world the way they view the world
This is the guide that helps us maintain our worldview and transforms our worldview so that it is always aligned with the worldview
Of christ himself, this is the guy that helps us to do that
It's the light
That guides us in this christian journey the wilderness if you will that we all find ourselves in now think about this
If you didn't have a a light if you didn't have a guiding light if you didn't have the lamp of the word of god
You'd be walking in darkness yourself
And what would happen imagine if this entire room was completely dark, right? No light whatsoever. It's the middle of the night
And there's no way for us to see
Now i'd be up here looking really foolish
I'd run into things. I might run into this pulpit
I might walk over here and run into the baptismal area
and
Hurt my foot. I might fall off the stage because I can't see right without light. It's hard for us to know where we're going
Well again, I talked about the 17 masks 50 booster shots you look at some of these people why is it that they're like that?
No light
So they're figuratively walking into the baptismal they're figuratively falling off the stage
They look like chickens with their heads cut off. Why is that? They don't have a guiding light
They don't have it
And so they're walking around in darkness not knowing where they're going and it's up to us to show them the light of the gospel
Of christ and help them escape the the the bondage that they're in
Because that's what they're in folks. It's bondage. It's spiritual bondage and we ought to love those people
It sounds like i'm making fun of them and I kind of am but folks we ought to love them anyway
And you know what? They are in darkness and they need the light
They need the lamp of the word of god in order to help them
To guide them through this wilderness that we're in right now
It gives us direction and like I said, it alters our worldview. You meet people. Why is it that they have these crazy ideas?
Why is it that people love the sodomites? Why is it that people love joe biden?
Why is it that people have these just ridiculous ideas? Why do people have a horrifying worldview?
What is their morality based on?
Based on their own thoughts and feelings but this lamp again conforms our worldview
And it does it through the lenses of scripture look at john chapter 10 if you would john chapter 10
So the word of god illuminates our path it overpowers darkness and without it. We would have no guide. We'd be walking
We're running into stuff. We'd look really foolish
And you say I want that light. I want that light for myself
Well, I mean are you saved and if you are
well great
Don't cover that light under a bushel
But if you're not saved today and you say I want that light. Well, you got to walk through the door
Look at john chapter 10 verse 1
It says verily verily I say to you he that enterth not by the door into the sheepfold
But climbeth up some other way the same as a thief and a robber
But he that enterth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep skip down to verse seven
Then said jesus unto them verily verily I say to you
I am the door of the sheep all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them
I am the door by me if any man enter in he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find
Pastor the third I am statement that I wanted to cover this morning
Is I am the door I am the door if you want that light that I just talked about
Well, you got to walk through the door first in order for it to actually work for you
In order for it to illuminate the path that we all find ourselves on
Right now now it talks about thieves and robbers. They don't enter through the door. These are your false prophets
These are your false prophets. They don't enter through the door, but the shepherd
He is he's the one entering the door. Jesus is the door the bible talks about in john chapter 10. That's the third
I am statement. I wanted to cover. What's the old testament background? I don't have time to get into it, but
Noah's ark right obviously it had one door and that is a picture of the fact that there's one
Pathway to salvation. There's only one option for you
If you're not saved and it's to walk through the door, which is jesus just as sure as in noah's day
There was one door available for people who wanted to escape the wrath of god, which was the flood
There was one door one option for them to escape the wrath of god, which was the flood back in noah's day
And the same truth applies when it comes to the gospel
There's one door available for those who want to escape the wrath of god in hell and it's the door of jesus christ
That's why he says in john chapter 10. I am the door
I am the door he says
It's the gospel or it's eternal damnation
Just as sure as in noah's time. It was the ark or death courtesy of the flood. Those were your options
There's no salvation apart from jesus, that's what I think we can learn from this
There's no salvation apart from jesus. He's your only option if you want to go to heaven
Here's your only option if you want eternal life walk through the door and that's how easy it is, by the way
To get saved believing on christ accepting the gift of eternal life. It's as easy as walking through a door
It's as easy as deciding to walk through a door the bible also likens it to drinking a glass of water
It's as easy as that and yet some people still reject it because of their own pride
They want to be the ones who get to heaven by their own works by their own deeds by their own self-righteousness
Which is impossible. All you got to do is walk through the door. Jesus is the door
He's the only option that you have for salvation the only means by which you can escape the wrath of god
And this leads me to john 14 look at john chapter 14. There's only one door to salvation
Well, guess what? There's also one way to the father. John 14 is where I had you turn. I want to read for you
An article real quickly from christian today. Let me just drink first
Christian today why jesus is no longer the one way to heaven for many american christians
This is gonna be good, isn't it?
Just over two months ago as winter landed its final blows of snow in new york city
Michael a walrond junior of harlem's 10 000 member
first corinthian
baptist church
I'm, not talking about some catholic church. Isn't some liberal non-denant baptist church. All right
Landed an ideological blow of his own in traditional christendom
Walrond who was named one of the lord's foot soldiers by newsweek magazine. Here's a hint for you
You find a pastor who's being lauded by newsweek magazine
You might want to steer clear of that church. You might want to run screaming and yelling as far away as possible
Newsweek ain't saying that about pastor. Shelly
They're saying something else completely
Which you know another sermon for another time
It says that he told his congregants that the belief that anyone who doesn't believe in jesus is going to hell is quote
insanity
What he said?
There was a time when you would see people in the pulpit say well if you don't believe in jesus you going to hell
That's insanity in many ways because that is not what jesus even believed
Let me repeat that for you. That is not what jesus even believes the guy said
You want to talk about being in the falling away described in second thessalonians chapter 2. We're here. This is a baptist church
And so the key is you believe in god
And whatever your path is to god, I celebrate that personally I celebrate that
And this guy i'm sure he portrays himself as non-threatening
He probably wears a pink shirt when he's not in church
Just like bill gates does so that he can portray himself as this kind and lovable man
Who is totally non-threatening and he's just so loving and so tolerant. He's more loving than god himself
This guy actually said that is not what jesus even believes
So let's test that statement. That is not what jesus even believes with the bible. All right, let's look at you
All know this verse but let's read it. Anyway, john 14 verse 6
Jesus saith unto him
Remember the guy said that is not what jesus even believes. Let's see what jesus believed. John 14 verse 6
I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me
That kind of sounds like it is what jesus believes
Look
I don't think you have to be a genius to figure this verse out
I am the way I am the truth. I am the life
No man cometh unto the father but by me the bible says and that's the fourth I am statement. I wanted to go over
I am the way the truth and the life. It's real closely. I believe connected to
I am the door in the sense that we're learning the same truth
But there's one means by which anyone can be saved and there's one means by which you can access the father
It's through the son last time I had a chance to fill the pulpit
I talked about the veil of the temple being rent at the death of christ and what that symbolized
And one of the things that it symbolized is access to the father that veil was torn in half miraculously by god
Giving those who believe on christ access to the father
Through prayer and things of that nature
Well here we know that if you want to access the father in the sense that if you want to be saved and one day
Dwell with him jesus is the only way he's that veil that has been rent giving those who believe on christ
Access to the father and we know that that access to the father goes through christ. It goes through jesus
Now we have people like this guy
Walrond michael walrond of harlem's 10 000 member first corinthian baptist church telling his congregation
That in fact jesus isn't the only way he calls that insanity
Because he hates god
Let me tell you what's insanity going around telling people in a false religion that they're going to make it to heaven without jesus
That's insanity and in fact, that's the most hateful thing you could ever say to them
This guy. Oh i'm so loving I
Again, probably wears a pink shirt. I don't know that for sure, but i'm guessing going around. Oh, it doesn't matter what you believe
It's okay, you know, you could be a muslim and go to heaven. No problem
Is that what the bible says?
Is that what I mean? It's like this is the most fundamental truth
You could you could possibly learn first john 2 whosoever denieth the son the same hath not the father
But he that acknowledges the son hath the father also it's impossible to have the father without the son
You want to have the father you got to believe on the son. It's impossible to be saved without christ
It doesn't get more fundamental than that. Are we not independent fundamental baptists this morning?
Well, guess what doesn't get more fundamental than that
Jesus is the only way that's why he said he that believeth on the son hath everlasting life and he that believeth
Not the son shall not see life, but the wrath of god abideth on him
That's why it says for if you believe not that I am he jesus talking ye shall die in your sins
It doesn't get more clear than this. This guy is lying to his church. He's a liar
He thinks he's more loving than god. He thinks he's more merciful than god. There's one way to heaven. He calls that insanity
Jesus said I am the way he calls that insanity. Well, you know what? I think he's insane
You say why are you so mad about this?
Let me tell you why
There's an ecumenical agenda
And it's a satanic new world order agenda folks
The anti-christ is coming whether you like it or not. And you know what he's going to do
He's going to unite the entire world under a one world a satanic one world religion
And how is he going to do that? He's going to do that by convincing the entire planet that the anti-christ who's
Literally possessed by the devil
But it's called the son of perdition
That he is a manifestation of all these other religions the messiah figure that all these other religions are waiting for
And it's going to be through that lie that people go out and worship
The image of the beast and take the mark of the beast and worship the devil ended up going to hell
That's what's going to happen. There's a one world religion coming
There's a one world government one world religion one world banking system coming and we're already seeing the foundations laid for that system
Right now through people like this standing up behind god's pulpit in a baptist church
And telling people that one way to heaven the most fundamental doctrine I can think of is insanity
I think he's insane and I think he's doing the bidding of satan by telling people that laying the groundwork for this one world religion
That I just talked about so how do we fight back against it?
Well, look, it doesn't matter how easy or how clear the doctrine is in scripture. You might think well, what's the point?
I mean everyone knows that no, we're don't take anything for granted is my point
Don't take any doctrine. I don't care what it is creation the deity of christ the word of god
None of it don't take any doctrine for granted and especially this one
So we need as holy spirit filled christians to stand up and proclaim. Hey, jesus is in a way he's the way
He's the only way to escape hell he's the only method of salvation
He's the way to access the father whether you like it or not
No matter what you want to call it whether you want to brand it as insanity or not
What kind of blasphemy is that by the way?
So he's the way it's that simple. He is the way and we need to stand up and and and proclaim that
And again the most hateful thing you could say
To for example a muslim, right?
We meet muslims at times out still winning and by the way a lot of time they they they're friendly
And I enjoy having a conversation with them
But the most hateful thing you could ever say to somebody for example a muslim
Is that there's multiple pathways to heaven?
The most hateful thing you could ever say to a muslim is that they're going to be saved. They'll make it just fine
in their false religion
Because you know what's going to happen to them
They're going to die and go to hell and they're going to wish that you had the the intestinal fortitude to tell them the truth
How do you think they're going to feel when they're burning in hell?
Wishing that you opened your mouth boldly and proclaimed to them the gospel of christ. You really love that muslim
You really love them
You'll give them the truth, which is that jesus is the only way the most hateful thing
You could say to them is there's multiple pathways to heaven and here's what that is
fake humility
And please beware of fake humility, it's everywhere
Hey, you know this pastor I just read about christian today article fake humility is what he exhibited
And people they want to be more loving than god. They want to be more humble than god
They're it's fake humility
Oh, it doesn't matter what you believe you'll go to heaven no matter what you could be a muslim an atheist a jew
hindu hindi, I don't know what other religions are out there jahova's witness doesn't matter
Hey, you can be saved go to heaven in that false religion
Even if you don't believe on christ for salvation, you know, you'll be saved no matter what?
But no, that's not true
And you say that to a muslim
Like I said the most hateful thing you could ever say to them is that muhammad will take him to heaven. Here's what's loving
I'll tell you what would be a loving thing to say to a muslim
Hey, I just want to let you I have a question for you. How old was aisha?
I
Think that's a loving question to ask and i've asked it out so winning i'm just curious. How old was aisha
And they probably won't give you a straight answer i'll give you the straight answer six
When they got married nine when he consummated the marriage
So what does that mean?
That means 1.8
Billion people on this planet are trusting in a false prophet pedophile named muhammad
To get them to heaven the most loving thing you could ever do is expose him
The most loving thing you could ever do is say hey just so you know muhammad was a pedophile just so you know
He's roasting in hell right now. He's not going to get you to heaven
What you need to do is repent of islam repent of trusting muhammad and believe on the lord. Jesus christ to go to heaven
The most loving thing you could do
And look unless they believe the gospel they'll be joining him right down in hell with them
And and look it's not just here's what people say by the way, they're like, oh well, you don't understand
You know, it was normal back then for muhammad
To consummate a marriage with a nine-year-old. It was normal. I'm like what planet are you living?
It was never normal. And if you think it ever was normal just stay away from me, please
freak
Who would ever make an argument like that? Well, you don't understand ben back then
Getting married to nine-year-olds was normal. That was the age of consent maybe in your
Pervert world but not in reality
Folks this applies to mormons it applies to jews hindus atheists
Anyone whose trust is on anything or anyone other than christ?
They need to understand that jesus is the way they need to understand that the gospel is the only hope that they have to be saved
look at uh
John chapter go back to john chapter 10. I'm not sure if you're there but acts chapter 4
It says neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men
Whereby we must be saved. Jesus is the one way to heaven. He's the truth. He's the life
period that's simple
Jesus is the way and the 1.8 muslims right now who are trusting in an illiterate false prophet pedophile
To get them to heaven have to repent of islam
They have to repent of their false religion and believe on the gospel believe on jesus christ
If they want to have any hope of going to heaven, you gotta stop being muslim
And become christians. That's how it works. So what's the lesson? Jesus is the only way to the father
And he alone has the power to reconcile you
to him
Obviously jesus is the only way to the father
And we know that the only way to the father
The only way to access the father is through what the sacrifice of the good shepherd
And that leads me to this next I am statement look at verse 11. John chapter 10 verse 11
It says I am the good shepherd the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep
But he that is in hireling and not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not
Seeth the wolf coming and leave it the sheep and flee it
And the wolf catches them and scatter at the sheep
It says in verse 13 the hireling fleeth because he is in hireling and careth not for the sheep
I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine
So the next I am statement we're going to cover is I am the good shepherd now
Isaiah uses the same wording in isaiah chapter 40
It says he shall feed his flock like a shepherd and he shall gather the lambs with his arm
And carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young
Christ ultimately demonstrates for us what?
sacrificial leadership
And we see this through the operation of different
Relationships in life think about a pastor with his local church. That's a sacrificial
Relationship that he has in the sense that he's sacrificing his reputation. He's sacrificing his time
He's sticking his neck out for the gospel's sake that's what a pastor is supposed to do for the local church
In the same way you look at a marriage
What's a marriage supposed to be a marriage is supposed to be a husband?
Sacrificing himself exhibiting sacrifice sacrificial leadership for his wife
Sacrificing her going out putting his nose to the grindstone and working to put food on the table for his family
And sacrificing for his wife meaning subduing his own desires
In order to lift up his wife above himself subduing his own desires in an effort to esteem others better than himself
Not yielding to the flesh, but when I think of that word sacrifice i'm talking about
Sort of subduing your own desires for the benefit of others and we think about how jesus did this he prayed to the father
That the cup would pass from him that he wouldn't have to go to the cross
It wasn't the will of the father though. And so what ended up happening is yeah, he went to the cross
He sacrificed willingly himself on the cross
He burned in hell for three days and three nights before rising again, and that is the ultimate example for us of sacrificial leadership
People think when they get into a position of leadership that it's all sometimes people think it's all about them
But this is their opportunity to be in the spotlight to have a name to exalt themselves
And those people inevitably turn out to be wicked because here's what it means to be in leadership
It means that you have an opportunity to serve you have an opportunity to serve others. What's the role of a pastor?
The role of a pastor is to serve his church
That's the same attitude we have to have if we find ourselves in a position of leadership
Is that we're serving those following us?
It's a sacrificial type of leadership. That's why jesus said that the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep
Sacrificial leadership exhibited by the lord jesus christ
And so the lesson we can take from this is that the example of christ is the strength of self-sacrifice because think about the strength associated
With subduing your own desires for the benefit of others that takes strength
That takes a certain kind of fortitude a certain type of might and strength not to yield to the flesh
But to exalt others above yourself look at verse 14 in this chapter
He says I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine
The good shepherd is known of his sheep. The bible says they hear his voice. They follow him
Look at verse two
Go back up to the beginning of the chapter and look at verse two. John 10 verse two
But he that entered by the door is the shepherd of the sheep to him
The porter openeth and the sheep hear his voice and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out
And when he putteth forth his own sheep
He goeth before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice and a stranger will they not follow?
But will flee from him notice for they know
Not the voice of stranger
So the saved we know they hear
Which is another way to describe?
Understand they understand the word of god. You've heard people say I hear you. What are they saying? They're saying I understand you
So it's the sheep who hears the voice of the shepherd. It's the same to understand god's word for the unsaved
It's like chinese
You know, if somebody were to give me an article that's written in chinese I wouldn't be able to interpret it
The same thing with the bible you give it and put it in the hands of an unsaved person
They don't understand what it says because they're not one of god's sheep
They don't hear the voice of the shepherd. And so what does this underscore for us it underscores the importance of the soul winner
People aren't going to get themselves saved on their own it underscores the importance of the soul winner
You know, it was the ethiopian unit in eunuch in acts chapter eight who said how can I
Accept some man should guide me why because he needs someone to guide him to understand what the bible is saying
on salvation in order to get saved because people just can't
Understand the bible unless they have the holy spirit inside them so that again underscores the importance of the soul winner and make no mistake
There are people out there who want to get saved
They just don't know how
There are people out there who want to go to heaven when they die. They just don't know how
There are people who want to know is it by faith alone? Is it faith and works?
Can you lose your salvation?
I was one of those people asking those questions and no one could give me an answer
Until I stumbled on a sermon called one saved always saved that it checked all the boxes for me
And then I asked jesus to save me but people are out there looking and they're wondering what do I need to do?
How can I accept accept some man should guide me people want to know what do I have to do to get eternal life?
There are people who want eternal life that they they want to rest on the finished works of jesus christ
And they're saying how can I?
Accept some man should guide me. My question is are you going to be that man?
because this doctrine
It's not about exalting ourselves. The only reason why any one of us would know any and obviously look we don't know the entire bible
But we can hear the voice of the shepherd when we read it
And this underscores the importance of making sure
That we go out and knock doors and help people understand what it takes to go to heaven go to john chapter 11 john chapter 11
so the good shepherd
He laid down his life for the sheep why so that they would never die again
So they would never die again and that leads me to this statement
I hear we're at the death of lazarus in john chapter 11 look at verse 23. Jesus saith unto her thy brother shall rise again
Martha saith unto him. I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her
I am the resurrection in the life
He that believeth in me though he were dead
Yet shall he live so the sixth I am statement that I wanted to talk about is I am the resurrection
That's what jesus said in john chapter 11. Jesus is the resurrection. He rose again on the third day empowering us
To rise again one day as well because of his resurrection which justified us
Enables us to rise again at the rapture
joseph smith
In contrast the guy who created mormonism
The satanic religion that tells you you could be the god of your own planet one day joseph smith is dead
And he's always going to stay dead and in hell muhammad who I just talked about the pedophile
Created a religion 1.8 billion people are following his teachings. He's dead and in hell and he's never getting out
Buddha gandhi all the rest of the how about this one charles darwin
The the the false prophet of atheism, you know what happened to him?
He died and went to hell never to rise again
But it's jesus who rose on the third day and he's alive right now. He's sitting on the right hand of god the father
Now turn if you would to leviticus chapter 23 leviticus chapter 23. This is not a metaphor. This is not figurative
He literally
Rose from the dead jesus rose again from the dead luke 24 says as you turn to leviticus 23
luke 24 says behold my hands and my feet that it is I myself handle me and see
For a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have
So when jesus appeared to his disciples he appeared to them in the flesh
And he actually challenged them to make it known to them that in fact
He's there. He's really there. It's not metaphorical and it's a glorified body that he has
Well one day we're going to have a glorified body as well
It's going to be because of what jesus accomplished for us at calvary
Leviticus 23 is where I had you turn look at verse 10
It says speak unto the children of israel and say unto them
When ye become into the land which I give unto you and shall reap the harvest thereof
Then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest
And he shall wave the sheaf before the lord to be accepted for you on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it
So here we have
This chapter it's about the feasts of the lord and in verses 10 and 11
It's describing the feast of the first fruits what the children of israel were supposed to do
Is take the first fruits of the harvest and give it unto the priest
It was called a sheaf and the priest would then wave it
He would wave the sheaf of the first fruits the sheaf is a bundle of wheat rye oats or barley
And the first fruits were the first ripe products of a harvest
The first yield of a harvest were supposed to be gathered into a sheath given to the priest and then the priest would wave it
symbolizing what the
resurrection of jesus christ
That's what this typified for us the feast of the first fruits typified the resurrection of christ
It was jesus who said I am the resurrection and the resurrection is found all throughout your old testament
Including in leviticus chapter 23, so you have the passover on the 14th day of the first month
Symbolizing the death of christ you have the feast of unleavened bread which took place the next day on the 15th day
Of the first month symbolizing or typifying the burial of christ
Then you have the feast of the first fruits which symbolizes for us the resurrection of christ
Head over to first corinthians 15 if you would in your new testament first corinthians chapter 15
This is why jesus said in john chapter 5
barely barely I say unto you the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of god
And they that hear shall live
And I think that's connected to the ezekiel 37 story the valley of dry bones
First thessalonians 4 says for if we believe that jesus died and rose again even so them also which sleep in jesus
Will god bring with him jesus was raised again for our justification
And it's his resurrection that empowers our own
It's his resurrection that empowers our own that makes it possible for us to one day rise again
At the rapture when we receive that glorified body and when you die, you're going to immediately be in the presence of god in heaven
But it'll be at the rapture where you receive your glorified body that flesh and bone
glorified perfect body
First corinthians 15 where I had you turn look at verse 20
Now keep in mind. I want you to read this and put on your feast of the first fruits glasses
So we can look at this scripture through the lenses of the leviticus 23 first fruits free feast say that 10 times
But here's what's interesting. I forgot to mention this in leviticus 23 notice
That the priest was supposed to waive the sheep offering on the moral after the sabbath
Which is when jesus rose again again picturing
The resurrection of christ jesus is the first fruits the bible tells us in first corinthians 15 look at verse 20
But now is christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept
For since by man came death by man came also the resurrection of the dead for as in adam all die
Even so in christ shall all be made alive, but every man in his order notice christ the first fruits
Afterward they that are christ that is coming the feast of the first fruits points us to jesus himself
Being the first fruits of our own resurrection jesus himself being the first fruits that crop the first fruits of the harvest
That was described in leviticus chapter 20 that had to be given to the priest and waived
It pictures the resurrection of christ and the bible also tells us
That jesus is the first fruits of what them that slept and in christ
Shall all be made alive that believe on him. That's the caveat in christ shall all be made alive
Folks there's coming a day
In which this body that we inhabit right now will be changed
Praise god for that
There's coming a day in which in the twinkling of an eye this body is going to be changed no more aches
No more pains. No more sickness. No more death. We don't have to worry about that anymore
You don't have to worry about broken bones. You don't have to worry about covet 19
Which I don't think anybody should be worried about anyway, you don't have to worry about any sickness
You don't have to worry about any pandemics. Nothing
We'll have a glorified body given to us at the rapture a perfect glorified body
Which was given to us because of the resurrection of christ folks. This is the hope of future
Glorification and we ought to think about that
If you find yourself maybe struggling in this tabernacle that you're in right now
I say man, you know what at least I have the hope of future glorification
At least I have the hope of a perfect body coming at the rapture
So the lesson for us is that our future resurrection
It's predicated on the resurrection of christ. Jesus said I am the resurrection
He rose again on the third day so that we can as well be given glorified bodies in like manner
At the rapture go to john 15 and that'll be i'll be done. That'll be at john chapter 15
I don't know how long I preached. I forgot to put my phone up here if I went over time
I apologize john chapter 14
So faith in christ, what does it guarantee for you eternal life
Adoption into god's family and the hope of a future resurrection. That's what it guarantees for you
My question is have you told anyone about that yet?
That's how i'm going to transition to this last point have you told anyone about this hope of a future resurrection
Have you told anybody about the hope that's associated with salvation?
The hope that's associated with being a child of god
See if you had an ounce of compassion in you
You'd want to turn this world upside down with the gospel of jesus christ
So that as many people as possible can take part in this resurrection that i've been talking about
So that as many people as possible can receive their glorified bodies at the rapture so that as many people as possible can defeat death
So as many people as possible can be part of the first resurrection on such the second death has no power the bible says
Has no power
You have an ounce of compassion in you. You'd want to tell somebody about that
And that leads me to my next point because you might be wondering well, how you know
How can I be as successful as possible in that endeavor?
abide in the vine
That's the final I am statement that I wanted to cover. I am the true vine is what jesus claimed in john 15
This is an admonition to abide in the true vine
Look at verse number one john 15 and verse one the bible read
I am the true vine and my father is the husband man
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit
He taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it that he that it may bring forth
More fruit the final I am statement that i'm going to cover for the purpose of this sermon is this I am the true vine
Look at verse four
He says abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself
Except it abide in the vine. No more can ye accept ye abide in me
I am the vine ye are the branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth
Much fruit but without me you can do nothing if a man abide not in me
He is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gathered them and cast them into the fire and they
Are burned what's jesus warning us about here?
He's saying that we ought to abide in the true vine, which is him in order to bring forth much fruit meaning
Converts fruit in this chapter would be in relation to converts if you want to bring forth many converts you have to abide in the vine
There's an obvious caveat
It's the woman at the well. She wasn't necessarily, you know, a righteous christian still able to get people saved though
Just because you're living a very sinful life doesn't mean that you won't be able to get people saved
What it does mean is that the sin in your life will hold you back from bringing forth
Much fruit if you want to bring forth much fruit and be as successful as possible
When it comes to evangelism, then you have to abide in the vine
You have to abide in jesus christ and he promises you that if you do that you will bear much fruit
It talks about fire here in this chapter that men gather the useless branches and cast them into the fire
Don't be tripped up by that people will take this chapter and use it to twist it to teach that you can lose your salvation
The word fire doesn't have to always mean hell
We see in hebrews chapter 10 that it's used to describe a zealous type of chastisement
When it talks about that those who would sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth
That they're going to receive for themselves a fiery brand of chastisement
fiery indignation
And so I think we can take that concept and apply it to john 15 in the sense that those who are not abiding in the vine
Those who are not producing fruit are basically useless to god and so will incur
A judgment for themselves on this earth that's going to be severe. That's the warning
This is very similar in my opinion to ezekiel 15 and i'll just read for you one verse from ezekiel 15
It says behold when it was whole talking about israel as a vine
It was meat for no work
How much less shall it be meat yet for any work when the fire hath devoured it and it is burned
So we see that in the old testament
the vineyard that is
Israel pictures israel
It was expected to bear fruit
The whole purpose of that old testament nation of israel was to be a light unto the gentiles
But this vineyard did not bring forth much fruit. And so what happened is that it was useless this useless vineyard
The bible talks about in ezekiel chapter 15 the fire hath devoured it and it is burned the same concept in john 15
The useless branches are just tossed aside to be burned because they're useless. God can't use it
We see that same concept in ezekiel chapter 15 the unfruitful branch is tossed aside the unfruitful branch
Can't be used by god
And so my admonition for you is abide in the vine in order to be used greatly used of god to bring forth
Much fruit and how do we do that? We do that by reading our bible. How do we do that?
We do that by church attendance. How do we do that by fellowshipping with the people of god abiding in the vine?
It'll enable you to bring forth much fruit
It's the vine that has the power to make you a successful soul winner by cleaning up your life. And here's what you'll notice
When you abide in the vine, there's a promise there in john 15. What is it?
You'll be purged
There may be something in your life holding you back
For being as successful as possible
regarding evangelism
Well, if you continue to abide in that vine
Which I believe is a temporal state of walking in the spirit following god's commandments being in the word every day
Then those sins that are holding you back
God will purge them out of your life
He'll help you to purge them out of your life so that you can bring forth
Much fruit and be as successful as possible and be useful for the lord people ask. What's the purpose of life? How about
spiritual replication
Spiritual replication and if you want to be as successful as possible in that endeavor abide in the vine
Abide in christ and you'll be a fruitful christian. We're going to conclude in psalm 147. I think I said john 15 was the last
place
Apologize for that. It's actually psalm 147 and then we'll be done psalm chapter 147
So here's how I want to tie all this together
The I am statements of christ. What do they demonstrate for us?
They demonstrate for us. I believe the power
the strength the might of jesus
the jesus of this world
He's limp-wristed. He's weak
But the jesus of the bible, he's the mighty god the bible says in isaiah chapter 9 verse 6
So we see the power exhibited in so many different ways. He says I am the bread of life
And we know that the spiritual bread has the power to enlighten
He says I am the light of the world and we know that the light empowers us as believers to see in this dark world
He says I am the door. He says I am the way we know that he alone has the power to offer salvation
It can't be found in any other leader of false religion
It can't be found in charles, darwin, muhammad, joseph smith, you name it. Jesus is the door
He says I am the good shepherd. What does that mean for us?
Well, I think it's described it's talking about it's expressing the strength and the wherewithal associated with self-sacrifice
He says I am the resurrection
That's you know, when I think of that phrase
I think of the the power to defeat death the power to rise again from the grave one day at the rapture
He says I am the true vine when I think of that statement
I think of the power to bear much fruit by abiding in the vine by walking in the spirit by abiding in the word
Jesus is the mighty god and the bible says about him that his word was with power
The word of god was with power. He made people fall over just by speaking
Look at psalm 147 verse 5 and we'll be done
psalm 147 verse 5
It says great is our lord and of great power
His understanding is infinite and I think that pretty much just sums up everything that I talked about this morning
The power of god is infinite great
His understanding rather is infinite and his power is great
We see it demonstrated through the I am statements of christ, which tell us about what tells us about the nature of christ
Tells us about the character of christ
Tells us about the power of christ to enlighten like we talked about with the honey the word of god the power of christ to overcome
darkness to save from hell the power of christ to
Sacrifice to subdue our own desires and and exhibit sacrificial leadership to defeat death to bear fruit see without him
We would all be bound for hell with no hope whatsoever
But because of him we have the hope of eternal life. We have the hope of a future resurrection
We have the hope of redemption we have the hope that one day we will rise again at the rapture
We have the hope that can only be found through jesus christ the fulfillment that can only be found through jesus christ
And folks that is powerful. I don't think there's anything more powerful on the face of the planet than what jesus offers us
For those who are saved
He is the light
He's the door the way the truth the life the good shepherd the bread the resurrection the true vine folks. He is
He was he always will be i'll go straight to where we started in john chapter 8 the
I am
And what we just covered are the I am statements
Of jesus christ, let's bow our heads for a word of prayer
Thank you lord heavenly father for the opportunity to come together and gather in your name
we
To cherish this and not take it for granted. I pray lord that you would
just help us to
look to your word in order to
Learn more about jesus. This world has a different jesus than the one that we see expressed in scripture
Help us to study the word of god so we can learn more about your son
And help us lord to take some of the lessons from this sermon and apply it to our lives
So we can serve you better bring forth more fruit and please you in jesus name. I pray amen
Amen thank you for the message brother ben
Let's go and sing one more song before you head home. You'll take out your hymnal again
the 102
He hideth my soul
Again that's song number 102
102 he hideth my soul
All together
A wonderful savior is jesus my lord a wonderful savior to me
He
Hided my soul in the cleft of the rock
Where rivers of pleasure I see
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows
a dry thirsty
Man
In the depths of his love and covers me there with his hand
And covers me there with his hand
A wonderful savior is jesus my lord
He taken my burden away
He
Holded me up and I shall not be moved
He gave me strength as my day
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows
a dry thirsty
He
In the depths of his love that covers me there with his hand
And covers me there with his hand
With numberless blessings each moment he crowns and filled with his fullness
Divine
I sing in my rapture. Oh glory to god for such a redeemer
as mine
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry thirsty
Land
He hideth my life in the depths of his love and covers me there with his hand
And covers me there with his hand
When clothed in his brightness
Transported I rise to meet him in clouds of the sky
His perfect salvation is wonderful love
I'll shout with the millions on high
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows
a dry thirsty
Land
He hideth my life in the depths of his love and covers me there with his hand
And covers me there with his hand
Amen thank you all for being here this morning. God bless you are dismissed