I love you, and I thank you for everything.
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
All right, we're there in Luke chapter 8.
And I want you to look at verse number 13
where the Bible reads, they on the rock
are they which when they hear receive the word with joy.
And these have no root which for a while believe
and in time of temptation fall away.
Tonight we're going to be covering
those that are on the rock, or on the stony places,
or on the stony ground, depending
on which gospel you read it.
And I'm really excited about this sermon series
because we're really hitting the basics really hard.
And I love hearing about the basics
and really digging in and finding out what the Bible says.
And I know we always want to learn new things,
but we need to just get grounded on the basics.
And in tonight's sermon we're going
to go really, really in depth on the basics.
I have a lot of notes tonight, so I
might be going through them really quickly.
But we need to know the basics really well.
And this is the second out of the group
of four different examples that the Bible gives us.
Now, among these four different ones,
this is the one that there's the most
debate about these people.
The first group that we covered last week,
everybody knows that they didn't get saved.
The last group, everybody knows that they did get saved.
And they were a fruit-bearing tree.
They won souls to the Lord.
But the second and third one, there's some debate about them.
And most specifically with this one tonight,
there are a lot of different popular viewpoints.
Now, a big reason why there's popular viewpoints
is there's a lot of unsaved people that
are giving their opinion online.
So some of these viewpoints, we're
going to immediately tell this is not right.
This is not what it's saying.
But we're going to look at the four main viewpoints tonight.
We're going to go one to the next.
By process of elimination, we're going
to find out exactly what the Bible says in this group, those
on the rock.
And remember, the Bible only gives us
a few different examples from soul winning.
So it's very important with each one of these
exactly what is God trying to tell us.
And so the most popular viewpoint
is this, that these people in Luke 8.13,
the most popular viewpoint, they get saved,
they stop believing, and they lose their salvation.
That is by far the most popular viewpoint.
Now, it's not going to be the most popular viewpoint
in this church, obviously.
We hear priests all the time that once saved, always saved.
I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
It's clear as day in the Bible.
It's everlasting life.
So we're not going to spend a ton of time on this point.
But I do want to bring up something real quickly,
because I see a lot of people float out
this verse in the Bible.
And they say, he that answereth a matter before he heareth it,
it's folly and shame to him.
And they throw it out there, and they basically say,
no matter what it is, you have to listen to it.
And if you don't listen to it, you're a fool.
That's the way they basically throw it out there.
So apparently, I'm supposed to sit here and listen
to the pope speak for an hour and try
to figure out whether or not what he's saying is true.
Apparently, I should listen to some Muslim trying
to convert me.
That's foolishness.
You know, the Bible says that if you perceive not the,
it says, depart from a fool if you perceive not
the lips of knowledge in him.
And so the Bible says, if somebody is a fool,
don't even listen to what they have to say.
Don't listen at all.
And that's good advice for all of us,
because there's a lot of fools on YouTube
that we might want to waste our time listening to.
And the Bible says, depart from that man.
Don't even let it enter into your ears.
Don't listen to those foolish people
that we already know are false prophets.
If there's a false prophet, what are we
going to learn from them that's good?
You're going to get a lot of bad information,
and you shouldn't even listen to them according to the Bible.
And so yes, if there's somebody who
is a godly person who knows the Bible,
we ought to listen to what they say.
We ought to be open-minded, but there's certain things
that we should not be open-minded to.
There are certain things we ought
to have settled down in our heart
that this is what the Bible says.
And even if you throw out a verse that I don't understand,
I'm not going to change my mind about what I believe.
You know, I could spend all night
trying to come up with verses that teach reincarnation.
Now obviously, the Bible doesn't teach that.
But you know, there's some verses and ecclesiastes
that are kind of tricky that if you take out of context,
you could fool someone into thinking reincarnation's true.
But see, we already have that already settled in our hearts
that obviously, that's not true.
And something like eternal security,
that's not up for debate.
I mean, that settles.
Something like eternal security, the deity of Jesus,
the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ, the virgin birth,
these things are not up for debate in my mind.
I already know what the Bible teaches.
I'm not going to listen to some fool who's
going to try to confuse me about what the Bible says.
We ought to form certain things in our mind
and say, this is what I believe, and if there's
a verse I don't understand, I'm going to realize that it's not
that interpretation.
And so we already know that it's not talking
about losing your salvation.
If somebody thinks they can lose their salvation,
they're not saved, according to the Bible,
because they are trusting in their works.
They're not trusting in the finished blood of Jesus Christ.
They still think they have a part of salvation,
and according to the Bible, they're not saved.
So the most popular viewpoint is that these people get saved,
they stop believing, and then they lose their salvation.
And the reason why it's so popular
is because there's a lot of unsaved people
giving their comments that we see on Google and YouTube.
Everybody likes to be a preacher online.
So the second most popular viewpoint in Luke 8.13
is this.
These people get saved, they stop believing in Jesus Christ,
but they still stay saved.
So basically, the next most popular viewpoint
is these people get saved and become complete apostates,
and they're still saved.
There's a guy named Michael Shermer, a reprobating,
evil, wicked man.
He's one of the big guys who had that blasphemy challenge
online, where he was trying to get people to say that they
blasphemed the Holy Ghost.
This is a guy who said when he was a kid,
he prayed and asked Jesus Christ to save him,
and now he's a hardcore, hardened atheist.
Look, he never got saved.
You don't get saved and become a hardcore atheist.
That is not possible.
Turn to John chapter 3.
Let me say this, that on that first viewpoint,
if you think you can lose your salvation,
you're just not saved.
Now, in this second viewpoint, you
might be saved if you believe this,
but honestly, you need sermons like this
where you get grounded on the basics,
because the Bible is very clear.
You don't become saved and become some hardcore Muslim.
You don't get saved and become some hardcore Hindu
and completely depart from what the Bible says about salvation.
I'll show that to you.
John 3, let's look at verse 18.
This is what it says.
He that believeth on him is not condemned,
but he that believeth not is condemned already because he
hath not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God.
See, the people that don't believe
are condemned already because they've never
believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God.
It's not that they believe, but now they don't believe.
According to John 3.18, a pretty popular soul-winning verse,
it says those that don't believe are condemned already
because they never believed.
He hath not believed in the name of the Only Begotten
Son of God.
So someone who does not believe, someone who says,
I'm a Muslim, I reject Jesus Christ,
it doesn't matter if they said a prayer
a thousand times when they were a kid.
It doesn't matter how many times
they got saved at Vacation Bible School.
You know, at these churches where they get saved
every year and they always count them,
look, they didn't get saved when they were a kid.
Look at John 3.36, another very popular verse.
Soul winning.
I use John 3.36 pretty much every single time
I go soul winning, every time I give the gospel.
And this is what it says in John 3.36.
He that believeth on the sun hath everlasting life,
and he that believeth not the sun shall not see life.
So that means he never saw life.
He never had it.
See, those that don't believe on the sun,
he believeth not the sun, shall not see life.
He never had life.
So every single person in the world
who does not believe right now, they never saw life.
They never had eternal life.
So in two very common salvation verses
that we use in John 3, it makes it clear
that you don't believe and then become
some hardcore atheist.
It says he that believeth not the sun shall not see life.
He never had life.
But I wanna go really deep on this.
Those are two clear verses that say this,
but I wanna go really, really deep.
Let's look at John 3 verses 32 and 33
and go more in depth about why does a person
never stop believing if they get saved.
And let me just make it very clear.
I'm not saying you can never have any doubts.
You know, it is possible as a believer to have doubts,
but there's definitely a limit to how big that doubt is.
You don't just all of a sudden decide one day,
you know, I'm not even sure God's real.
You know, Jack Scott, before he became this open pervert
that everybody knows about,
he used to teach in Bible college that he would,
he said when I was a teacher of Bible college,
I used to go at home every night saying,
I don't even know if there's a God
and hold a revolver to my head
and debate about blowing out my brains.
The big famous IFB, you know, pope that's out there
that ended up being a complete pervert.
Look, you don't get saved and then to say,
oh, I don't even know if God's real
and just debate about that for years and years and years.
That's not what the Bible teaches.
John 3, verses 32 and 33, this is what it says.
And what he hath seen and heard,
that he testifieth and no man receiveth his testimony.
We're gonna look a little bit deeper at this later on,
but when it says receiveth his testimony,
that's saying getting saved.
Because when it's talking about receiving Jesus
or receiving the gospel or receiving the word of God,
that's a reference to somebody getting saved.
You know John 1, 12, as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God.
We're gonna look at a lot of verses later on
that prove that.
But when it's saying in verse 32,
he that receiveth his,
and no man receiveth his testimony,
it's talking about getting saved.
Then it says in verse 33,
he that hath received his testimony
hath said to his seal that God is true.
Hath said to his seal that God is true.
There's two things I want you to notice in verse 33.
It says, said to his seal, notice that word seal,
but also that God is true.
Now that sounds kind of awkward the way it's worded,
but we're gonna go in depth on this.
Turn to Ephesians 1, 13.
And we're gonna look at that first part where it says,
hath said to his seal.
That brings to mind a common verse
that we use sometimes soul winning as well
in Ephesians 1, 13, a very clear verse that says,
once you're saved, you're always saved.
In Ephesians 1, verse 13, notice what it says.
In whom he also trusted,
after that he heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation,
in whom also after that ye believed,
ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
When you get saved, you're in dwell with the Holy Ghost.
You are sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
In John 14, 15, and 16, it calls the Holy Spirit
the spirit of truth, okay?
When you get saved, you're sealed with the spirit of truth.
Remember what it said, hath said to his seal
that God is true.
Turn to Romans 3, 4, Romans 3, 4.
And let me give you an example that,
you know, if I'm going out soul winning
and I knock on someone's door and they tell me,
you know, they say they're saved,
they can't lose their, or they say they're saved,
they know it's by grace through faith,
and I ask them, well, do you think a person
can lose their salvation?
And then they kind of pause and they're really not sure.
And then you give them maybe one verse
and all of a sudden they immediately, they flip,
and all of a sudden they believe it.
They're like, oh yeah, of course you can't
lose your salvation.
You're a child of God, you could never lose it,
it's a gift, of course.
I believe that person is usually just a little bit confused.
And once you show them a verse, they got it nailed down.
There are people that can get confused
because they don't sit under Bible preaching
like this every week.
I'm not saying you can never have any doubts whatsoever.
There are people that get saved
and they can get a little bit confused.
But here's the thing,
I've been soul winning with someone before
and my soul winning partner,
he was a silent partner at the door, I was a speaker,
and I was talking to someone for 15 minutes
and the guy just was arguing with me
about eternal security.
And then my soul winning partner was like,
I think that guy's saved.
He's like, I led him to the Lord last year.
And I'm like, no you didn't.
Now it wasn't at this church,
but it's just like that guy's arguing with me
about how you have to live a good life for so much time.
I don't care if he prayed after you, he didn't get saved.
You know, that's an indication
he doesn't have the spirit of truth inside of him, okay?
Romans 3, 4, look at what it says.
God forbid, yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.
So being true and being a liar,
those are opposite of one another, right?
So the Bible said that you've set to your seal
that God is true, which means
you're never gonna make God a liar.
You've set to a seal that God is true
because the opposite is calling him a liar.
Turn to 1 John 5.
And I know we're going really deep on this,
but honestly this is a question
that I've had a lot of people ask me before,
not just at the door, but just other people that are saved.
It's a question I wondered about,
especially when I first got saved,
of is it possible for someone to get saved
and become maybe an atheist, for example?
And we're seeing that the Bible says
that's not actually possible.
And here's what it says in 1 John 5, look at verse 10.
He that believeth on the Son of God
hath the witness in himself.
You know, that's referring to the Holy Spirit there,
hath the witness in himself.
He that believeth not God hath made him a liar,
because he believeth not the record
that God gave his Son.
So the Bible says this.
If you do not believe the record
that God gave you the Son of Jesus Christ,
you're making him a liar.
It's like, for example, if I ask somebody,
hey, you know, do you believe that I have a blue car?
And they say, you know, I don't believe you have a blue car.
They're calling me a liar.
We either believe God's telling the truth about this record
or we're calling him a liar.
There's no in-between.
And with salvation, there's no in-between.
There's no, well, part of your sins are forgiven,
but you know, you might lose your salvation if you do this.
No, you're either saved or you're lost.
It's one or the other.
And you're either calling God true
or you're making him a liar.
Now, there's a lot of people
that don't realize they're making God a liar,
but if they're not saved, they're making God a liar
because they do not believe this record.
And notice what it says in verse 11.
And remember, you've set your seal God is true.
So here's the thing, when you get saved,
you're never gonna make God a liar.
So this record, you're always gonna believe
is what the Bible's teaching here.
1 John 5, verse 11, and this is the record
that God hath given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
The second half of 1 John 5, 11
is parallel to the second half of Romans 6, 23.
Because remember, in Romans 6, 23, it says,
the gift of God is eternal life.
That's parallel with God hath given to us eternal life.
If God's given it to us, it's a gift.
And in Romans 6, 23, it says,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Here it says that life is in his Son.
So the second half of Romans 6, 23
is parallel to the second half of 1 John 5, 11.
Now, when we go soul winning, we use Romans 6, 23.
The reason why is it's a lot easier to understand.
1 John 5 is a little bit deeper.
But like I said, we're gonna go
a little bit deep tonight.
But it says that you need to believe this record.
And it says, life is in his Son.
We have to believe to be saved
that salvation is only in Jesus Christ.
You see, if somebody thinks that you can get to heaven
through Jesus or Muhammad, they're not saved.
If somebody thinks you can get to heaven
through Buddha or Jesus, they're not saved.
Jesus is not just the God for us in America,
he's the God of the whole world.
Jesus Christ is the way to heaven,
he's the savior, there is no other way to heaven.
And if somebody thinks there's multiple ways to heaven,
it's because they're not saved.
They do not understand the record.
They don't believe life is only in his Son.
They believe there's multiple ways to heaven.
Before I was saved, somebody asked me when I was in college
what I thought it took to get to heaven.
And I said, as long as you're trying to do
what you think is right, you're gonna get to heaven.
Now, now that looks like a really foolish answer.
It made a lot of sense to me at the time.
But I literally thought that someone could be like
Saddam Hussein, and as long as he thought
he was doing what was right, that he would get to heaven.
That's just utter foolishness,
because everybody thinks that what they're doing is right.
The Bible says you must believe life is in his Son.
That's what it says in 1 John 5, verse 11.
But you also have to believe that God
is giving you eternal life, that it's a gift.
You see, if you think that you have to be baptized
to be saved, you're not saved.
If you think that you have to turn from your sins
and change your lifestyle, you're not saved.
If you think you have to live a good life, you're not saved.
You must believe that this salvation was paid for by Jesus,
and not by yourself.
You must believe God's giving you eternal life.
And here's the thing, you must believe it's eternal life.
Not conditional life, not temporary life, but eternal life.
And when we go out soul winning,
that's where the rubber meets the road, right?
That's the part people have problems with.
They say, okay, it's just by faith, I can believe that.
But you can't just go out and do whatever you want
and expect to still be saved.
Well, the Bible does teach that once you're saved,
you are always saved.
It's eternal life.
And if you could lose your salvation for any reason,
then that's not eternal.
And like I said, I believe it's possible
to get a little bit confused.
People can have doubts.
We see John the Baptist doubt a little bit in the Bible.
But if somebody at the door tells me
that they're an atheist, I don't care
if they prayed a prayer when they were a kid,
I don't believe they're saved.
If somebody tells me they're a Muslim,
I don't believe they're saved.
I have a good friend of mine in West Virginia,
and his older brother, he grew up
as an independent fundamental Baptist,
and his older brother is a Muslim.
Now, his older brother, when he was a kid, rode the bus route.
He prayed and asked Jesus to save him
and everything like that.
And his parents are positive that their son is saved.
And then my friend is always telling his parents,
no, he's not.
He believes Muhammad.
He believes Allah.
He obviously never got saved.
Because here's the thing.
When you get saved, you're indwelled
with the spirit of truth.
And to just completely deny the basics of the Bible,
that means that you never got saved.
Turn to 1 John 2.
1 John 2.
And in 1 John 2, notice what it says in verse 19.
They went out from us, but they were not of us.
For if they had been of us, they would no doubt
have continued with us.
But they went out that they might be manifest,
that they were not all of us.
Now, a lot of people have wondered,
what is this verse talking about that they went out from us?
Is it just talking about leaving church?
No, people leave church all the time that are saved.
This passage is talking about antichrists.
So when it's saying they went out from us,
they went out from the doctrine.
They went out from believing Jesus
was the only way to heaven.
And now, all of a sudden, they think
there's several ways to heaven.
Now, all of a sudden, they're a Hindu.
Now, all of a sudden, they've got a red dot on their head.
Look, they were never saved.
They completely went out and are denying
the basics of salvation that are in the Bible.
And if you get saved, you will never just become
this full-blown atheist.
Now, like I said, it's possible to have doubts.
But if somebody just completely denies the Bible
and doesn't believe it at all, look,
I don't believe that they ever got saved.
Because it's evident that the spirit of truth
is not inside of them.
And if you show them a few verses on salvation,
and they still argue with you that you
need to get baptized to be saved,
they're not hearing the voice of the shepherd, my friend.
They're not saved, according to the Bible.
Turn back to Luke chapter 8.
And so here's the thing.
If people say that this is talking about people
that they have no root, and they believe the gospel,
and then all of a sudden, they just completely stop believing
they become some sort of atheist,
that is not what this is talking about.
Because it is not possible to be saved and become
some sort of hardcore atheist.
The Bible does not teach that that's possible.
But I want you to notice in Luke chapter 8, verse 13,
we're going to see very clearly that these people did
get saved.
Because the third main viewpoint is this.
Well, since you can't lose your salvation,
and you can't stop believing, it must
be that they never got saved.
But the Bible actually teaches here very clearly
that they did get saved.
Look at Luke 8, verse 13.
It says, they on the rock are they which, when they hear,
receive the word.
Right there is their salvation.
They received the word.
Turn to John chapter 1.
John chapter 1.
Whenever the Bible's talking about receiving the word,
receiving Jesus, receiving the gospel,
it's a reference to them getting saved.
When it says they received the word,
these are people that got saved.
That's what the Bible has shown us here.
In John 1, 12, it says, but as many as received him,
to them gave thee power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name.
So believing on his name and receiving him
are synonymous according to this verse.
You say, is it biblical to say that you received
Jesus Christ as Savior?
It is biblical.
Because the Bible says when you receive Jesus,
that's referring to getting saved.
Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2.
And as you're turning to 1 Corinthians chapter 2,
let me read you the verse I gave you earlier.
In John 3, verses 32 and 33, it says,
and what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth,
and no man receiveth his testimony.
Basically, most people were rejecting Jesus.
They weren't getting saved.
They weren't receiving his testimony.
He that hath received his testimony
hath said to his seal that God is true.
So those that do receive the testimony of Jesus,
those that do get saved, they're indwelled
with the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit of God,
the Bible says.
1 Corinthians chapter 2, notice what it says in verse 12.
Now we have received not the spirit of the world,
but the spirit which is of God, that we
might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
So in verse 12, it's saying, receiving the spirit of God.
Turn to 1 Corinthians 15.
And I'm going to go through a lot of verses on this.
I want to go really in-depth tonight.
But honestly, there's a lot of verses
I'm not going to go to, because we'd literally be here.
Somebody would fall out of a window, like Eutychus,
if I covered every single verse that
talks about receiving being in reference to salvation.
But it says in 1 Corinthians 15, starting in verse 1,
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you
the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have
received, and wherein ye stand.
So it's talking about receiving the gospel.
Notice verse 2, by which also ye are saved,
if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain.
So that goes back to the earlier point.
See, if somebody just doesn't believe at all,
they believed in vain.
They never believed on Jesus Christ.
They didn't keep it in memory.
If somebody all of a sudden says,
you know, well, when I was a kid, I asked Jesus to save me,
but now I'm a Buddhist.
They didn't keep in memory the belief about salvation.
Their belief was in vain, because they never actually
believed on Jesus Christ.
They never actually were indwelled
with the spirit of truth.
Verse 3, the Bible reads, For I delivered unto you,
first of all, that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures, and that he was buried,
and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures.
So Paul is talking about receiving the gospel.
Turn to Galatians chapter 1, verse 9.
And in Galatians chapter 1, verse 9,
this is what the Bible reads.
As we said before, so say I now again.
If any man preach any other gospel unto you,
then that ye have received.
Let him be accursed.
Talking about receiving the gospel.
Now, the word receive in the Bible,
it does appear in other places as well.
I'm not saying it always is in reference to salvation.
But when we're talking about receiving the gospel,
it's talking about somebody gets saved.
Receiving Jesus, receiving the word,
it's talking about getting saved.
Turn to Galatians 3.
And here's going to be another verse talking
about receiving the spirit.
It says in Galatians 3, verse 14,
that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
through Jesus Christ, that we might
receive the promise of the spirit through faith.
So once again, it says receiving the promise of the spirit.
Let's look at one more.
James 1.
James 1, 21.
Now, the only places that people are going to doubt on this when
it talks about receiving, some people will say,
well, doesn't the Bible say that you can receive
the grace of God in vain?
Here's the thing.
When the Bible says receive not the grace of God in vain,
what it's talking about is somebody who gets saved,
and it's in vain because they do nothing with it.
It's not talking about someone who hears the gospel
and doesn't get saved.
When it says receive not the grace of God in vain,
it's saying you get saved and do nothing with it.
And the reason why we know that is because 1 Corinthians 15,
Paul said that the grace bestowed upon him
was not in vain because he labored more abundantly
than they all.
So it wasn't in vain with Paul, not because he actually
got saved, but because he labored more abundantly.
So when it's talking about receiving the grace of God
in vain, it's talking about 99% of Christians
that get saved and do nothing with it.
That's what the Bible's talking about.
And Paul talks about that because he
doesn't want anybody to receive the grace of God in vain.
Look, most of the Bible is not really about salvation.
Most of it is after you get saved, it's Christian living.
And there's more about soul winning
than there is just about getting saved,
where God's trying to motivate actual saved people
to do something for God.
And so he says receive not the grace of God in vain.
He's saying don't be a lazy Christian.
Do something with your Christianity.
But in James 1 21, what it says is this.
Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity
of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word,
which is able to save your souls.
So receiving the word of God, that
is what's going to save you.
We need the word of God in order to be saved.
Turn back to Luke chapter 8.
And then there's only one other place where I could
see people get confused.
We're talking about receiving seed
by the wayside, which is actually the sermon Oliver
preached last week.
It says that receive seed by the wayside.
But the context right around it is very, very clear
that they never got saved, because it
says they didn't believe.
But every other reference you see to receiving the gospel,
receiving the word of God, is talking
about somebody who gets saved.
But we don't just see the fact that they got saved in Luke 8
13.
We don't just see their conversion.
We also see their category or classification
of their conversion.
Look at what it says in Luke 8 13.
They on the rock are they which, when they hear,
receive the word with joy.
Just because you receive Jesus, just because you get saved,
that does not mean that you receive it with joy,
according to the Bible.
Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1.
Most people that get saved, they're
not that thankful to be saved.
They're not that glad.
They're not that joyful.
And it's evident by the fact that they never do anything
with their Christianity.
But the Bible says receive the word with joy.
These people in Luke 8 13 are people
that actually do something with their Christianity.
It's not just people that get saved at the door.
They actually come to church.
They actually get baptized.
They actually start growing.
In 1 Thessalonians 1, this is what it says in verse 6.
Actually, let me read you in Matthew 13 20,
the parallel verse with Luke 8 13.
It says, but he that received the seed into stony places,
the same as he that heareth the word, and anon with joy
receiveth it.
So we're talking about with joy.
In 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 6, it says,
and he became followers of us and of the Lord,
having received the word in much affliction
with joy of the Holy Ghost.
So these people, they receive the word in much affliction.
The Bible says with joy of the Holy Ghost.
They actually were very joyful.
So there's a distinction.
Just because you receive the word
doesn't mean you receive it with joy.
Now, in Thessalonica, I don't believe
that's just in reference to people getting saved.
I think it's also talking about people that get saved
and they keep receiving the word.
They hear more of the word of God.
So it can mean more than just the moment you get saved.
But then it says in verse 7, so that ye
were in samples to all that believe
in Macedonia and Achaia.
The evidence that they had joy was that they
were an example to everybody.
They actually did something with their Christianity.
Turn to Mark chapter 4.
And we're going to look at the parallel passage, which
is going to make it even more clear about these people
that they actually did have some Christian growth in their lives.
But it says in Mark 4, verse 16,
and these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground,
who when they have heard the word,
immediately receive it with gladness.
In Luke and Matthew, it said they received it with joy.
Here it says they receive it with gladness.
Turn to Acts 2, verse 41.
Let's cross-reference.
When it says receiving the word with gladness,
you see the vast majority of people at the door,
they're not that glad they're saved.
They're not that joyful.
It always blows my mind when you get somebody saved at the door
and you maybe see their brother walking behind them
and you say, hey, do you want to check
if your brother would be interested in hearing this?
And they're like, no, I don't think he'd be interested.
It's like you care more about their family's salvation
than they do.
That blows my mind.
I remember when I got saved, I actually
did care about my family's salvation.
Now, I'm sure my gospel presentation was probably
pretty bad right after I got saved,
but I at least cared to give it a shot.
And I'm amazed when you see people that get saved,
but they don't even care about their family.
That doesn't show that they're not saved.
It shows they don't have a whole lot of love in their heart.
It shows they don't really care about their family that much.
It shows they don't have much joy.
They don't have much gladness about being saved.
In Acts 2, 41, then they that gladly received his word
were baptized.
And the same day they were added unto them about 3,000 souls.
You see, if somebody's actually really glad or joyful,
you know what they're going to do after they get saved?
They're going to get baptized and come to church.
If they're really thankful, if they're really joyful,
if they're really glad, they're actually
going to come to church and do something
with their Christianity.
See, in Acts 2, 41, it says they didn't just receive the word,
they gladly received his word.
Gladly received his word were baptized.
So there's plenty of people that receive the word
and don't get baptized.
The reason why they got baptized is because they were
very glad that they got saved.
And so we need to understand that we in this room
are exceptions, OK?
Most Christians aren't like us.
Most people don't really care that much.
Most saved people could care less
if the whole world's going to hell.
Most people don't really care about obeying
the rules in this book.
Most people don't spend time actually reading the Bible
every day and praying every day.
Very few saved people go soul winning.
You have to understand that you're the exceptions.
And I think one mistake we do sometimes, we kind of think
everyone's going to be like us.
You say, well, when I got saved, I started going to church.
So if they're really saved, they're
going to start going to church.
Well, that's not true at all.
That's what you did when you got saved.
That doesn't mean somebody has to do that.
You say, well, when I got saved, I got baptized.
So if somebody's really saved, they're going to get baptized.
Well, now you're saying baptism is part of salvation.
I thought it was believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what I believe.
I believe that when I go door to door
and I show them what the Bible says
and they say they believe it, they
say what they believed before was wrong,
that they think it's Jesus alone,
it's once saved, always saved, and they
believe that they're on their way to hell
and they asked Jesus to save them, I believe they meant it.
I don't believe they're faking it.
Now, I understand there are false conversions.
I understand some people can say it and maybe they're lying
or they don't really mean it, but I actually
believe what we do out there actually means something.
I believe this bulletin we have, these salvations,
I think they're real.
I don't think it's just fake where it's just
we have one salvation and we're making a game out of this.
I think it's real.
And just because other IFP churches make it a game where
they spend like two minutes door to door,
it doesn't mean that the people we're preaching to
are not getting saved.
I don't question the salvation of the people
that I've talked to.
I understand everybody's going to have some false conversions.
John the Baptist had false conversions,
according to the Bible.
Obviously, we're going to have some.
But if you do a thorough job and you actually
explain what the Bible says, you don't
have to question whether or not they got
saved if you did a thorough job.
I'm not going to spend my whole life just saying, well,
I wonder if that person got it.
If I did a thorough job and they said they believed it,
I'm going to assume they're telling me the truth
and I'm going to assume that they got saved.
Now, here's the thing.
I've said in other sermons, and I'm
not going to go outside the scope of the sermon, reasons
why you might want to question the people you're
giving the gospel to.
If you're doing a bad job giving the gospel,
if you're spending five minutes at the door,
you better believe you should probably
question that salvation.
Because five minutes is pretty short to give the gospel.
Or if you're not explaining key parts of the gospel,
if you just skip over eternal security
and jump to the prayer to get more people to pray with you,
you better believe you should question that salvation.
Because if you don't explain eternal security,
most people aren't going to get it.
But you know what?
When there was 10 lepers, only one came back to thank Jesus.
Most people that get cleansed, most people that get saved,
they're not that thankful.
They're not that joyful.
We in this room were exceptions.
The fact that you're here and you want to hear the preaching,
that is not most people.
Now, we go soul winning.
We trust God is going to build this church when we do things
the way God says.
Now, the point of soul winning, the main point
is to get people saved.
We want them to come in church.
We'll do what we can to bring them into church.
They come here.
They're hearing great preaching and sound preaching
three times a week.
They're around people that love the Lord.
But it's still up to them what they want to do.
And most people that get saved, they
don't want to start going to church.
They want to just sit around on Sunday and watch TV.
It doesn't mean they didn't get saved.
It means they're just not that glad.
They're not that joyful.
And maybe later on in life, circumstances will happen,
so they will become more glad and joyful.
The person who led me to the Lord was a good friend of mine.
Someone I met in college that I was already friends with.
So for me, it wasn't that hard to start going to church,
because I already had a friend that
was an independent fundamental Baptist,
that every week he was giving me sermons to listen to,
showing me things from the Bible.
But if I had gotten saved door to door,
I don't think I would have started going to church.
Because I'm naturally, I feel like, a bit of a shy person.
And I wouldn't want to just walk into somewhere
where I don't know anybody.
And most people that we get saved, most of them
don't want to walk into a random place where
they don't know anybody.
Most people are afraid I might be sitting in somebody's seat.
Am I dressed right?
You know, what's going to happen?
This is new to me.
Most people are probably not going
to want to start going to church.
OK?
But that doesn't mean that we're wasting our time out there,
because heaven and hell are real places.
And if people are actually getting saved, which I believe,
we're not wasting our time.
Because they are receiving the word,
they're just not receiving it with joy.
They're just not receiving with gladness.
And so the Bible is telling us in Luke 8
a lot of information, where it says
they received the word with joy.
It is not just telling us that they got saved.
It's telling us they were actually very thankful
about their salvation.
Turn back to Luke 8.
And so the first main viewpoint we looked at
is the idea that these people lost their salvation,
that they got saved.
They stopped believing and lost their salvation.
We know that's not true.
The second viewpoint was they got saved.
They became these complete apostates.
They became maybe a Catholic priest or a Hindu priest
or whatever.
And they stayed saved.
That's not what the Bible's teaching either.
The third viewpoint that's popular
is that these people never got saved.
But we saw in the Bible that they received the word,
and they received it with joy, the Bible says.
That leaves us at our last one.
And this is what the Bible's teaching.
These people, they got saved.
They did not stop believing the gospel.
And obviously, they stayed saved.
But here's the thing.
These people, even though they stayed saved,
they never became soul winners.
They faded out of the things of God.
Now let me just say this.
I'm going to spend a lot of time on this viewpoint.
Because the main thing God is trying
to get across to us in Luke 8.13 is
that these are people that got saved,
got excited about the things of God,
and they ended up fading out.
We're going to look in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
It's very clear they faded out because
of persecution and trials.
That is the reason why.
There's plenty of people that leave church
for various reasons.
But in Luke 8.13, he's talking about people that
fade out due to persecution.
Like for example, maybe the Orlando protest.
We had some people that left our church over that.
Due to persecution, or maybe due to somebody's parents,
or their friends, or their family mocking them,
persecution caused them to just fade out of church.
It happens all the time.
And that's why God gave us an example,
because it's very common.
So the most important thing is that you
have the main viewpoint down.
But there are also different ways
to explain each of these phrases here.
And the reason why I'm illustrating
that this is the most important one,
the most important to have the right viewpoint
is because I'm going to express something where it says,
for a while, believe.
That is kind of a bit different than what I've
heard preached for most people.
The main viewpoint is the big key, though.
That is what God's trying to bring home.
And as long as you understand that,
what God's clearly saying that these people get saved,
they get excited, they fade out due to persecution,
that is the big key.
Now turn to Matthew 13.
Matthew 13.
This phrase, for a while, believe,
it had always kind of confounded me.
It kind of confused me.
Because if I just look at Luke 8.13 by itself,
it sounds like they stopped believing.
Because it says, for a while, believe.
It sounds like they stopped believing the gospel.
Now I know that they can't stop believing the gospel.
The Bible is very clear on that.
But just taking that phrase by itself, which for a while
believe, it sounds like they stopped believing the gospel
to me.
And all of the four main viewpoints
kind of agree that it sounds like that.
The first three viewpoints that are false,
they said they did stop believing the gospel.
One of them says that they never really did believe the gospel.
They just seemed to.
But even in the fourth viewpoint,
most people say, well, it kind of sounds like it.
But here's the thing.
We should never take a phrase and let
it overhaul everything we believe
because there's one phrase we don't understand.
And I say amen to that.
I agree with that.
We should not just take one small phrase
and just change everything we believe.
If somebody gives you a verse that
sounds like you can lose your salvation,
you don't just change what you believe and say,
well, maybe you can lose it when you've
got 100 verses that teach once you're saved,
you're always saved, right?
So I agree with that, that there's a phrase that maybe
is a little bit confusing.
We don't change everything we believe.
But I have a little bit of a different viewpoint
of what it's saying when it says, for a while, believe.
But in Matthew 13, let's look at what it says in verses 20 and 21
or let's look at verse 21.
Yet hath he not root in himself, but deareth for a while.
For when tribulation or persecution
ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
So in verse 21, it says, deareth for a while.
That also sounds like they stopped believing
after a certain amount of time.
Turn to Mark 4.
And in Mark chapter 4, this is what it says in verse 17.
And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time.
Afterward, when affliction or persecution
ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
I want you to really pay attention to verse 17
because it uses the word afterward.
That's going to be kind of important later on.
But it says they endure but for a time.
And so that also kind of sounds like that they
stopped believing after a certain amount of time.
Now let me just say this, that the Bible says in Acts 17,
verse 11, that those were more noble than those in Thessalonica
and that they received the word with all readiness of mind
and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things are so.
I encourage you to search what I'm going to explain to you here,
what I believe it's saying for a while, I believe.
The beauty of the Bible is this.
We all have the same Holy Ghost, us that are saved.
We all have the same King James Bible.
It's the same words.
We all have the spirit of truth that we can read the Bible.
And the Holy Spirit's the best teacher, OK?
Turn back to Luke 8.
So I believe the reason why it sounds
like they stopped believing is this,
because they do stop believing, OK?
They say, wait a minute, Brother Stocky.
You just said that you can't stop believing.
I believe what it says is they stopped believing.
But I want you to notice what it does not say in Luke 8, 13.
Notice what it says in Luke 8, 13.
They on the rock are they which when they hear
receive the word with joy.
And these have no root which for a while believe.
Did it say which for a while believe the gospel?
Didn't say that, did it?
Did it say which for a while believe salvation
is by grace through faith?
It didn't say that.
Did it say which for a while believe that salvation
is only in Jesus Christ?
It did not say that.
It said which for a while believe.
Now, here's the thing.
When it doesn't explicitly tell us what it's talking about,
how do you find out?
You find out from the context, right?
You look at the phrase before.
You look at the phrase afterwards.
And that's going to guide you to what it's actually
talking about.
I want you to remember something.
This is not a salvation parable.
This is a soul winning parable.
Salvation is the basics.
You get saved, but the key to this parable
is becoming a soul winner.
So I want you to notice here in Luke 8, verse 13,
it says, they on the rock are they which when they hear
receive the word with joy.
Before this semicolon, we find out that they get saved
and they actually do something with their Christianity.
But now we're moving past the salvation.
We're not still talking about the salvation
after the semicolon.
And if you remember in Matthew 13 and Mark 4,
it did not say dearth for a while.
It doesn't use the word believe in Matthew 13 or Mark 4.
When it's talking about enduring for a while,
I don't think it's saying that they believe the gospel
for a while.
It's definitely not saying that.
Because once you're saved, you're always saved.
But I do think it's talking about stopping
believing something.
So let's look at Luke 8, verse 13.
And I want you to notice where it has this word which.
It says, and these have no root, which for a while
believe and in time of temptation fall away.
This word which, it connects the phrase before and after.
And these have no root, which for a while believe
and in time of temptation fall away.
So that's all linked together.
So let's look at what it says when it says these have no root.
What is that talking about?
We'll turn to Psalms 1.
And I know we're going really in depth tonight.
I warned you ahead of time, we're
going to go pretty in depth.
But when you look in the Bible when
it talks about being rooted or planted,
it doesn't really reference that in terms of, hey, you're saved.
That means you're rooted.
You know the people that say that these people never
got saved?
They would say, well, it says these have no root.
So they have no Holy Spirit.
It doesn't say they have no Holy Spirit.
It says they have no root.
They say, well, they don't have salvation.
It doesn't say they don't have salvation.
It says these have no root.
Root is not really used in reference
to talking about being saved.
It's talking about being rooted or planted, really grounded
in what you believe.
Not just simply being saved, but actually being really
grounded in what you believe.
So in Psalms 1, let's look at verse number 1.
It said, blessed is the man that, and by the way,
rooted and planted, we're going to see a verse that makes these
very similar in the Bible.
In Psalms 1, let's look at verse 1.
Blessed is the man that walketh not
in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth
in the way of sinners, nor sitteth
in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord.
And in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth
his fruit in his season.
His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth
shall prosper.
You see, being planted is linked with being a soul winner.
When it says these have no root, having a root
is being linked with being a soul winner.
Turn to Psalms 92.
Psalms 92.
Now here's the thing.
There's plenty of people that don't win souls to the Lord.
So there's plenty of people that aren't really planted.
It doesn't mean that they're not saved.
It just means that they're not a fruit-bearing tree.
They're not winning souls to the Lord.
In Proverbs 12, 12, the Bible reads, as you're in Psalms 92,
the wicked desireth the net of evil men,
but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.
See, rooted or planted is linked with being a fruit-bearing
tree, the Bible says.
And in Psalms 92, verse 13, those
that be planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
So we see being planted in the house of the Lord.
Look, if you leave this church, you will not be a soul winner.
If you just quit going to church,
you will not win souls to the Lord.
If you don't stay planted in church,
you will quit being a fruit-bearing tree.
It is vital that you stay planted and rooted
in a good Bible-believing church, because if you're not,
you will not be a soul winner.
Turn to Jeremiah 17.
And as you're turning to Jeremiah 17,
let me just read in 2 Kings 19, verse 30.
And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah
shall yet again take root downward and bear fruit upward.
Take root downward and bear fruit upward.
So when we're talking about being rooted,
we're linking this to being a fruit-bearing tree,
actually winning souls to the Lord.
In Jeremiah 17, verse 7, it said,
blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord
and whose hope the Lord is.
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters,
and that spreadeth out her roots by the river.
So there it mentions both being planted and spreading out
her roots.
So you see those words are very similar.
And shall not see when heat cometh,
but her leaf shall be green, and shall not
be careful in the year of drought,
neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
So being planted or being rooted once again
is linked to bearing fruit.
Turn to Ephesians 3, verse 17, and I'll read you
in Isaiah chapter 27, verse 6.
Isaiah 27, verse 6, it says, he shall cause them
that come of Jacob to take root.
Israel shall blossom and bud and fill the face of the world
with fruit.
So taking root, filling the face of the world with fruit.
So being rooted or planted, we're
linking this to being a soul winner.
And it also says in Ephesians 3, 17
that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith,
that ye being rooted and grounded in love.
So it's one thing to get saved, but now it's
time to get really rooted.
Now it's time to really get planted.
Now it's time to really set your feet in deep in a church
like this.
Really set your feet in deep in the things
that you learn at a church like this.
So once again, being rooted is not
in reference to salvation there.
Turn to one more place, Colossians 2.
Colossians 2.
And while you're turning to Colossians 2,
I'll read you Matthew 3, verse 10, where it says,
and now also the ax is laid under the root of the trees.
Therefore, every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit
is hewn down and cast into the fire.
So once again, the root of the trees and bearing fruit.
Now that's in reference to talking about false prophets,
but it's showing that being rooted and bearing fruit,
these things are linked together.
So in Colossians 2, verses 6 and 7,
it says, as he had therefore received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him,
and established in the faith, as he had been taught abounding
therein with thanksgiving.
So verse 6, you received Christ Jesus the Lord,
now it's time to walk in him.
Now it's time to be rooted and built up.
See, being rooted is being past the point of salvation,
just like we saw in Luke chapter 8, verse 13.
Turn back to Luke 8.
I know we covered a lot of scripture tonight.
I try to do it fast because honestly, this
could have been a really long sermon if we didn't just
fly through all these ones.
But let me explain something to you
that when somebody gets saved door to door
and they come to a church like this,
they've changed their mind about salvation.
But when they come to a church like this
and start hearing the preaching, they change their mind
about a lot of stuff.
It's not just salvation.
All of a sudden, they have a different viewpoint
on worldliness, on music, on movies, and TV.
See, the movies they used to watch,
they would have never felt bad about.
But now they're actually hearing the word of God preached.
All of a sudden, they start taking more of a stand
against worldliness.
When you come to a church like this,
I'm not saying people can't struggle
with things like alcohol, smoking, and drugs.
But you start hearing the preaching,
you start feeling really guilty about doing some of the things
that you used to do.
You come to a church like this, your view on gender roles
will completely change.
If you're newly saved and you come here
and you start hearing the preaching
and hear the preaching about how many go out and work hard,
50, 60, 70 hours a week, and wives
stay home and raise the kids, you're
like, man, that sounded crazy to me a year ago.
But when you hear the preaching, you're
going to change your mind about that.
So your viewpoint on gender roles
changes when you come to a church like this.
Your viewpoint on the LGBT agenda,
the liberal sodomite agenda, that's
going to change if you come to a church like this.
I mean, here's the thing.
Most of us were probably against the sodomites
before coming to a church like this.
But once you hear the preaching, once you
read Genesis 19 and Judges 19, it
takes it to a whole other level when
you realize how wicked it is.
So when you get saved and you receive the word with joy,
you get baptized, you come to a church like this,
you're hearing the preaching, you're
changing your mind on a lot of stuff.
Now, I want you to turn back actually to Mark 4.
And let's look at this verse again,
and I'll quickly explain because I
don't want to confuse you.
And in Mark 4, and we'll go back to Luke 8 here in a second,
but in Mark chapter 4, verses 16 and 17, it says,
and these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground,
who when they have heard the word immediately
receive it with gladness.
So it says in verse 16, they receive the word with gladness.
So they get saved, but they actually have gladness.
It's not just that they got saved,
but they actually have joy, they actually have gladness.
After the semicolon, we're moving on past that point,
and it says they have no root in themselves.
See, these are people that they come to a church like this,
they get excited, but they never get
fully rooted in these things.
And it says, and so endure but for time.
Remember Luke 8, it said, which for a while believe.
So they hear all these new things being preached,
they hear all this new stuff, and they believe it for a while.
It's exciting, it's new, it's fresh,
but they start to kind of fade out.
And then afterward, when affliction or persecution
arises for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
And there's people here during the Orlando protest
that once the persecution came, immediately they were gone.
But you know, if you think back to the people that left
our church due to persecution, I'm
not talking about for other reasons,
but just due to persecution, they
didn't fully believe all the stuff that we do here anyway.
They might have believed it for a time,
but they were still kind of iffy on a lot of those doctors.
They're like, I'm not really sure if I believe this.
I think verity is a little bit too extreme.
So once the persecution comes, immediately they're gone.
And here's the thing, the devil can
sense who's not fully on board.
You know, if somebody comes here, they get saved,
they kind of get excited, but they're kind of like
on the fence, the devil knows he can knock them out pretty
easily and get rid of them.
And here's the thing, if you're not really rooted in a church
like this, if you're not really rooted in what you believe,
you will fade out when persecution comes.
Because everything the world says,
everything your family says, everything your friends say
is against what the Bible says.
Is that not true?
You have your friends, they persecute you,
you have your family.
You're just trying to raise your kids.
You're just trying to raise your son or your daughter,
and they tell you everything you're doing wrong,
because you're not having the birth the right way.
You're not getting the right shots, you're not doing this,
you're not doing that.
And it's just like, just let me raise my kid, right?
Now I'll be honest, like our parents were really
not that bad in us.
So if my parents hear this sermon one time,
I'm really not talking about them.
But honestly, with most people, it's like your parents,
people that don't love the Lord, people
that don't read the Bible all the time,
people that don't go to so many, they might not even be saved.
They persecute you for the things that you believe.
And if you're not really rooted in what you believe,
you will stop believing it, and you will fade out,
and you'll be gone from a church like this.
Go back to Luke 8.
And so I believe in Luke 8.
I think it is talking about stopping belief something.
But I don't believe it has anything to do with salvation,
because obviously you can't stop believing the gospel.
We saw that earlier, but that was before the semicolon.
This is a soul-winning parable.
It's not a salvation parable.
A lot of people think of this as a salvation parable,
and the reason why is because a lot of people
debate about which ones are saved.
But what Jesus is trying to do is get believers
to become soul winners.
He's showing us that are soul winners what happens door
to door, and how to become a soul winner,
and things like that.
And so he's giving them more information.
They receive the word with joy.
And then later on in life, these have no root.
So they get excited.
They never get rooted, which for a while, believe,
and in time of temptation, fall away.
So I believe once the persecution comes,
they end up believing.
That's what I believe that the Bible is teaching.
And I want you to understand something in this phrase,
in time of temptation, fall away.
I would say that with most people I know,
most people did not really get as much persecuted for what
they believed about salvation as for what they believe
about everything else.
I have not really been persecuted much for what
I believe about salvation.
And here's the thing.
Going soul winning, or believing salvation
is by grace through faith, that's
not really evident by looking at me,
what I believe about salvation.
You walk down the street, you don't
know what people believe about salvation.
But when you see women dressed in a certain way,
you might kind of have an idea about some of the things
that they believe, especially if you're saved
and you come to a church like this, you start changing,
and your parents see you, your friends, all of a sudden
you're dressed completely differently.
All of a sudden the words coming out of your mouth
are completely different.
All of a sudden you don't want to go to the bar on Friday
nights and Saturday nights.
They persecute you because you don't
want to go to the bar with them.
They persecute you because you don't
want to go to the movies with them.
They persecute you because your lifestyle has changed.
And so I believe what is saying, which for a while I believe,
I believe that's in reference to the doctrines you
learn at a church like this.
Not just one doctrine, but just the doctrines
you learn in being rooted and grounded in church.
And you believe these things for a while,
the new things you learn, but you
do fade out in persecution.
Now like I said earlier that you might have a different opinion
on that phrase.
I've heard a lot of opinions on that phrase for a while,
believe.
It was a phrase I've had different opinions on before.
I do believe this is what the Bible is saying.
But I will say this, that people that
have left this church due to persecution,
I promise you they don't believe what we do now.
And so here's the thing, people that left this church that
backslid or left due to persecution
or left for other reasons that weren't good reasons,
you say, well, I have a bleeding heart for them.
They were such a nice person.
Look, they're a different person now.
You shouldn't miss them now because the things they
talk about are completely different than when they were
here and being a soul winner.
They're not the same person anymore.
And so when people leave and backslide or leave
for stupid reasons but aren't still dedicated to God,
I'm not talking about someone who gets a job offer to go
to Phoenix, Arizona for like $20,000 more
and they decide to move there.
Obviously, you have a great church in Phoenix, Arizona.
But I'm just saying that somebody
who leaves, who backslides or leaves due to persecution
or leaves for a dumb reason, they
don't believe the same things anymore.
They don't want to talk about the same things anymore.
They all of a sudden want to go back to what they used to do.
They want to go back to watching the movies.
They want to go back to the things that they used to do.
And I'll be honest with you.
I know that the things I believe right now are correct.
Now, I'm not saying everything I believe is perfect
or everything's right, but I know
standards against worldliness.
I know the Bible teaches that.
I know that's right.
I know God's stand against the LGBT.
I know that's right.
And I'll be honest with you, I don't
want to change what I believe.
I never want to change what I believe.
Most people end up changing what they believe.
And if you're not in a church like this
and around friends like this, you
will get brainwashed by the world.
Every single person, if you leave a church like this,
you will get brainwashed by the church.
Man, it is so important to get rooted and planted
in a great church.
No one's claiming this church is perfect.
No church is perfect.
But this is a church that will actually preach to you
the truth.
And that sounds very basic, but how many churches
will actually do that?
This is a church that's going to motivate you to go soul winning.
And I'm telling you, if you leave a church like this
and don't go to a great church, you
will change what you believe.
You will become a different person.
You will not be the same person.
We need hard preaching.
We need the word of God.
And if we don't get it, we're going
to believe these things for a while,
but we're not going to believe them forever.
We will stop believing these things.
Turn to Colossians 2.
We're going to close there.
Honestly, it's interesting sometimes in life
when you see certain events happen.
For example, the Orlando protest is a great example.
Some people left that I thought were a little bit more planted
than they obviously were.
When they left, it's like, well, they obviously
weren't that planted and rooted in a church like this.
And honestly, there's people that stuck around where it's
like, man, they were more rooted than maybe I expected,
people that I thought maybe they wouldn't end up lasting
through something like that.
The tough times are going to reveal to you who's going
to last and who's not.
Now, everybody thinks that they're going to last
through persecution, right?
None of us think that if there's a protest,
we're going to be the first ones to walk out.
We all have this Peter complex, right,
where we think that, oh, I'll never deny you, Jesus.
I'll be there till the very end.
But if you've got Peter in the Bible, who
was a much better Christian than I'll ever be,
who won so many people to the Lord,
was so greatly used by God, and he
wasn't able to take the persecution from just
like a young girl, it's just like, well, you know what?
I don't think I'm all that tough and mighty either.
Any one of us can backslide.
See, he got out of the teaching of God,
he got out of the teaching of Jesus,
and it didn't take him much to fade and go back to his old way,
right?
Once he got back into it, he was as bold as a lion.
But see, if you fade out of a church like this,
you'll be a different person.
You'll lose your boldness, you'll lose your courage,
and you're going to fade out of these things
and quit believing them pretty easily.
You're going to stop believing those things.
We need to make sure that we get as rooted as we can now.
It says in Colossians 2, verse 6 and 7, we already read it,
but it says in verse 6, as he had therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.
I would say the vast majority of people in this room are saved.
Almost everyone in this room believes on Jesus Christ.
You're saved.
But that doesn't mean that you're walking in him.
Just because you're saved, we're not Calvinists.
Just because you're saved doesn't
mean you're going to walk the walk.
You have that choice to walk the walk.
Just because the Holy Spirit's given you the truth,
he doesn't force you to do anything.
You have that choice.
And as he received Jesus, so walk ye in him,
rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.
As you have been taught, abounding there
and with thanksgiving, we need to make sure
that we get rooted in what we believe.
And like I said, everybody thinks they're rooted.
But if you're reading the Bible every other day,
you know what, you're going to be someone
who's going to leave once the persecution comes.
You need to make sure every single day you
have that personal walk with him.
You read the Bible every day.
Not, well, 80% of the time I read the Bible,
once the next persecution comes, you'll be gone.
If you don't pray every day, you don't read the Bible every day,
if you don't make it a point to hear
the teaching of the word of God and stay in these things
and stay rooted, you will fade out.
Because here's the thing, you might be rooted now.
But we see people that are really rooted,
and eventually they end up fading out as well.
It's a constant state where we must always be walking in him.
You say, wait a minute, I've got all these people saved.
I've reached this level.
I've read the Bible this many times.
But if you stop reading the Bible,
if you stop staying rooted, you're going to fade out.
And once the persecution comes, immediately you're
going to be offended, and you're going
to leave a church like that.
And that's the truth.
We need to make sure we've received Jesus,
so walking in him.
Let's close in a word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us
to be here in your house and just seeing the preaching
that you have here in the Bible.
Help us to apply these things to our lives, God.
Help us to not fade out.