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Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 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 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