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Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh There have the power we thank you all guard for this morning We thank you so much Lord for the presence of each and every one of us here I pray Lord that your best service from the congregation on singing from the rear of the world and for preaching Lord I pray that you would feel but to study with your Holy Spirit that he could preach to us with all qualities and clarity And I pray Lord that you would dance our hearts and remove hindrances so that we may understand and apply the Lessons that we will be learning from the preaching of your word in our lives I pray Lord did give us wisdom and knowledge and I pray that you would also bless the weather this afternoon So that we could be able to go so winning and lead us to the people who is interested Into hearing your gospel. I pray Lord that you would bless also our fellowship This afternoon and we're asking all of these things and we're bringing back all the glory and honor to you in Christ name we pray Amen For our next song. Let's turn to him number 22 him number 22 Let's sing the song. Are you washed in the blood? Are you washing the blood of the lamb? Are you Oh Oh Oh Oh All right, good morning everybody welcome to Verity Baptist Church and take out your bullets in here today and Our verse of the week is Hebrews 11 verse 1 the Bible reads now faith is a substance of things Hope for the evidence of things not seen and that's a great verse there We are a family integrated church meaning children and infants are welcome during the services We do have a mother baby room back there for your convenience as well as the ladies restroom Men's restroom is up here in front remember No eating during the services maintain a professional atmosphere and keep the children from running and making noise during the church service and On the next page our weekly service times listed first services at 10 a.m And the second service starts around 1130 and then our Wednesday evening Bible study is at 7 p.m so we have soul winning at 5 p.m. On Wednesdays two hours before the church service and We do have all day soul winning on Saturday from 10 to 12 a short break and then from 2 to 4 as well Lunch provided by church and then of course we do have soul winning this afternoon starting around 2 15 p.m Here today and our salvation's are listed there and so far none in November, but that's because we just made the bulletin We didn't count on the last week, but actually We we have a chance to break our record for most salvation's in a week this week combined with our ministries because our record all-time is 318 and we set that during Easter, you know when we had marathon after marathon after marathon So I'm not sure of the report yet in Beecle But if there was none from Beecle would be 56 which would probably be a lot for us here today But of course some people might have gotten some salvation's will count up later And then also we'll probably get a report back from them either way though. It's gonna be a great week We're well over 200. Obviously. We had a big soul winning marathon on Monday We had about 50 soul winners between our ministries about 150 salvation. So great work everybody birthdays and anniversaries for November We have like 55 birthdays within a couple days here. It's the same in Pampanga. We have seven birthdays or anniversaries in November It would make you think we're like a really big church But it's like just half the churches, you know in November but Anyways on the next page Announcements and upcoming events. So our Bible memorization challenge is Psalm 23 through Psalm 41 So to get a prize you have to memorize each individual chapter perfectly and then quote it to someone We do have prizes back there If you're not sure where they are Just let me know and so, you know We'll be in this for a while in the book of Psalms and we'll move on to another book and so upcoming activities So we this is our anniversary month both in Pampanga and here so we're gonna be starting choir practice here today So we're gonna have choir basically three weeks and then on the 28th is going to be our choir performance for a three-year anniversary This Saturday will be our two-year anniversary in Pampanga So as I said We're not making a big push for people to come down because we really don't have room inside of our building and then Various restrictions and stuff but if you are planning to come Let me know because obviously we're gonna be ordering food and if there's like 10 people that show up that we're not expecting we go from Like 20 to 30 that makes a huge difference. Okay. So the worst thing at an event is to run out of food It's better to have extra and then people make fun of you and mock you saying oh Look at you wasting money and all this extra food or whatever That's better than running out of food because you run out of food people complain Then we just order chickens down the street or whatever to fill in or whatever So if you're planning to come for the two-year anniversary, you know Let me know then our three-year anniversary will be on the 28th here at Verity Baptist Manila And of course, we're having our big ping-pong tournament. Who's excited about that? Just me, right? We might make an exception for the championship. We'll think about that, but it's gonna be basically on time We're basically you do your move you click the button or whatever. It's you know, brother Alex's domain. I'm not used to that I'm used to like long chests. But anyways, we're gonna have that in December so that's gonna be fun So we got a lot of stuff coming up current an upcoming series We are in the book of Psalms here on Sundays then on Tuesdays if you want to listen via live stream We're in the book of Genesis and at then on the back there is a place for sermon notes So I believe that's it for announcements while brother Marlon lead us in another song You You You You Oh Near the end of your Bible Hebrews 11 And as our custom wheel during the entire chapter Hebrews 11 Please say amen if you're there Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen Provide the elders obtain the good reports through faith Understand the words were framed by the Word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice in Cain by which he obtained witness that he was righteous God testifying of his gifts and by it he being dead yet speaketh By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him For before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God But without faith it is impossible to please him where he that coming to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him By faith Noah being one of God of things not seen as yet Move with fear prepared an art to the saving of his house But a witch he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness, which is by faith By faith Abraham when was called to go out into a place which he should Which he should have to receive for an inheritance obeyed and he went out not knowing whether he went By faith, he should join in the line of promise as in a strange country Dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob bears with him of the same promise For he looked for a city which had foundations whose builder and maker is God Through faith also saw herself receive strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age Because she judged him faithful who had promised Therefore sprang there even of one and him as good as dead so many as it starts with the sky and multitude And at the sand which is by the seashore innumerable These all died in faith not having received the promises But have you seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth for they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country and Truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out they might have had opportunity to have returned But now they desire a better country that is in heavenly Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God we have prepared for them a city By faith Abraham when he was tried offered of Isaac and he that has received his promises offered up his only begotten son Of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called By counting that God was able to raise him up even up even from the dead from whence also he received him in a figure By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come By faith as seeing him who is invisible Through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood Laceda destroy the firstborn should touch them By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land which the Egyptians are saying to do were drowned By faith the water Jericho fell down after they were combats about seven days by faith the harlot rehab perished not with them that believed not when she had received the spies with peace and What shall I more say for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barak and of Samson and of Jeff? They of David also and Samuel and of the prophets Who through the fates of Jude kingdoms wrought righteousness obtained promises stop them out of lions Once the violence of fire Escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong wax valiant and fight turns to flight the armies of the aliens Woman received their dead raised to life again and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings the aim were over of bonds and imprisonment They were stoned they were sawn asunder were tempted were slain with the sword They wondered about his sheepskins and goatskins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the world was not worthy They wondered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth and these all having obtained a good report through faith Received not the promise God having provided a without us should not be made perfect. Amen. Bless the name of God's Word. Let us pray For God and having thank you They've given to us a curling to bless for this day and best for the wisdom the Holy Ghost Lord for our future and for The listeners for today. We love you in Jesus. Let me pray All right, we're here in Hebrews chapter 11 and the name of this sermon is evidences in the Bible Evidences in the Bible. So when you're talking about evidence, you normally think of like a courtroom, right? So if somebody's on trial for murder if they're gonna be convicted as guilty There's got to be evidence to convict them. You can't just accuse so, you know, I just think that right Well, obviously they're gonna be innocent there has to actually be evidence to convict them Okay, so we're gonna be looking at three areas with evidences in the Bible Now the first area we're gonna look at is evidence of salvation evidence of salvation What is the evidence of our salvation according to the Bible? Well notice what it says in Hebrews 11 verse 1 Now faith is a substance of things hope it ends of things not seen See the Bible says faith is the evidence of things not seen because man looketh on the outward appearance But the Lord looketh on the heart. I can't see your heart I don't know what you believe, but when somebody says they believe on Jesus Christ. Well faith is the evidence That's how we know if somebody saved by what they believe faith is the evidence. Okay now turn to Galatians 3 Galatians 3 Galatians chapter 3 This word evidence appears seven times in our King James Bible But only one time is it linked with salvation and we just looked at it. So we're looking at evidence for salvation there's only one verse regarding salvation in the word evidence and what we see is Faith is the substance of things hoped for faith is the evidence of things not seen So what's the evidence of our salvation our faith What we believe that's our evidence because you know, you'll go to churches and then you'll say well You know so-and-so got saved and they're like, well, where's the evidence right? Where's the fruit? Where's the evidence? How do we really know they're safe? Well according to the Bible, we know somebody saved based on what they believe Not based on their works So according to the Bible the evidence of your salvation is what you believe faith is the evidence of things not seen So, how do we know if somebody's safe? Well, what do they believe if? Somebody says they believe on Jesus Christ and it's a free gift and it's eternal life, but they never go to church They never read the Bible, you know, they listen to the wrong music Why would I question their salvation? Where's the verse in the Bible that says somebody's work should make me question whether or not they're saved You're not gonna find it all the verses linked with salvation. He that believeth on this I mean we sung verily verily didn't we? I love that song The words are just so clear he that believeth on the Sun hath everlasting life, right? Isn't that what the Bible says whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life faith is the evidence not our works Okay, one time out of the seven verses evidence is linked with salvation in the Bible and it says faith There's another word though mentioned in Galatians 3 and it's this word evident Well, something is evident if there's evidence, okay So it's a similar sort of word something is evident or apparent if there's some sort of facts or evidence to back it up Well, this word evident is also linked with salvation. So let's see what the Bible says in Galatians 3 verse 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse For it is written cursed is everyone that continueeth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them So according to Galatians 3 verse 10 if you are of the works of the law You're under the curse. What does that mean? well, it means somebody who's trying to work their way to heaven and the Bible says if you're trying to work your way to heaven and Trusting in your lifestyle or your good works. You're under the curse you say why well, doesn't the Bible say all liars shall have their purpose All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone all liars What is there anyone who's never lied before the Bible says let God be true But every man a liar and let me tell you something if you have young kids, you know that at a young age At a young age they lie to you sometimes Right the other the other day. I asked my kids, you know, do you have a dirty diaper? Do you need a diaper change and then they both lied to me? Right Zeph said he had a dirty diaper and he didn't and Krista Bell said she had a clean diaper and it was dirty It's like now maybe Krista Bell doesn't understand, you know, maybe she but Zeph definitely understands Okay, but it's just like, you know, sometimes your kids lie to you at a young age and the Bible says, you know They come from the womb speaking lies Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child and the Bible says all liars shall have their part and then people will tell you Well, I just tell white lies. So you're a liar Right Because that same chapter says whosoever make it a lie one lie Because you'd say somebody's a murderer if they've killed one person Somebody doesn't have to kill 25 people to be a murderer if that's the case There's really never been any murders that even existed, right? You'd say somebody's a murderer if they've killed one person So by definition a murderer is someone who's murdered at least One person So by definition a liar is someone who's lied at least one time That's why the Bible says let God be true But every man a liar and the Bible says the destination of those that have lied is in hell So if you're trying to work your way to heaven and not trusting on Jesus, you're gonna be guilty So you're under the curse because it's impossible right, even if theoretically if Theoretically you could be perfect from today, which is not possible, but let's say you never sinned again the rest of your life Well, didn't you already sin many times before? So you're still guilty. It doesn't change anything, right? So the Bible says you're under the curse if you're trying to work your way to heaven Well then verse verse 11, but that no man is justified by the law and the sight of God It is evident for the just shall live by faith So once again, how is it that we live spiritually how do we get eternal life by faith? That's the answer who so ever believe it. So what is the evidence of our salvation? What what we believe? It's that simple right now go back to Hebrews 11 for one second Hebrews 11 I mean people try to make this so complicated You'll listen to various Christians and like YouTube interviews or whatever and it's like well How do you know if somebody's saved then it's like a 25-minute answer It's like why does there have to be a 25-minute answer? The Bible says he that believeth on the Sun hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Sun shall not see life But the wrath of God abideth on him you believe or you don't believe there's two types of people I asked a lady yesterday out soul-winning. I said let's say as an example you have a person and he's a good person He's a nice person But he does not believe where will he go and she said well I don't know because if he's a good person and I said well, here's the thing though. He might be good in my eyes He's not good in God's eyes though Because when we say whether or not somebody's good we compare them to other people and look if you don't drink and you don't curse And you're a nice person. I'm gonna say, you know, you're a good person compared to other people But is that the way that God looks at it because the way God looks at it one lie Condemns you to hell. So the Bible says there is none righteous. So none of us are really good in God's eyes All of us are guilty Okay, so there really is nobody who's actually good except the Lord Jesus Christ who was obviously God in the flesh But the Bible says in Hebrews 11 verse 1 now faith is the substance of things hope for The things hope for and so you see this word in the Bible hope and you might think, you know Pagasa you think of hope that's not really the connotation of the Bible because when something is a hope in the Bible it is a 100% guaranteed thing. It's not something that I hope it takes place. It might take place It's a guarantee But it's a guarantee of something that's going to happen in the future that there's no evidence right now So basically there's no physical or empirical evidence But it's something that is a hope, you know, it's going to take place, but you don't have any proof For example, I know that I'm saved today. You say brother Stuckey. Give me your proof. I Don't know I mean I don't have any I Believe I mean that you can either trust my words or not, but I don't have any physical evidence Right when I got saved it doesn't just magically make you better looking or taller or more attractive Man, I lost 20 pounds the moment. I got saved. That's how I know I'm saved. It doesn't work that way When you get saved Nothing happens now a feeling of relief is probably what swept over you. That's what happened to me I was relieved and happy and like wow, you know, it's a powerful moment But there was no physical change that took place to me, right? Everything was just the exact same I looked it's not like I looked inside the mirror I looked at the mirror and before I was saved I was like man, you know Then I looked at the mirror and just everything was changed like some Disney movie or something where you know He turns into a prince or something like that. It's like no nothing changes physically when you get saved What happens is you're in dwelled with the Spirit of God, but there's no physical change But the Bible says that at the rapture whether you're already passed away or whether you're alive What's going to take place is the glorified body and the Bible says that is a hope we look forward to But see here's the thing the glorified body is not something where the Bible's like you might get a glorified body What's a guarantee? We know it's gonna happen But where's our evidence of that? Well, there's no physical empirical evidence, but faith is The substance of things hoped for go to Romans chapter 8. Let me show this to you Romans 8 Romans chapter 8 Romans chapter 8 And In Romans chapter 8 it talks about this quite a bit here in verse 20 the Bible says It actually verse 19 Romans 8 verse 19 Romans 8 verse 19 for the earnest Expectation of the creature waited for the manifestation of the sons of God. So let's let's look at some of these words here It says earnest earnest is something that you know, you're really excited about, you know, you're earnestly or zealously, you know looking forward to something Expectation well if you expect something that means you're you know, it's going to take place Right, you know for example this morning you expected that you'd come to church and we'd have a church service because we always always have Church service at 10 a.m. You know, it's gonna take place right? Hopefully you were earnestly expecting the church service. You're like, yes We got church, right? Hopefully you're excited to be here, but the earnest expectation of what of the creature Okay, see the Bible speaks about the old man and the new man and it's gonna refer to the creature and what the Bible says Is waited for the manifestation of the sons of God. Well, what is the manifestation? What does that mean? Well, like God was manifest in the flesh Right. I show that verse to people and I ask them is that referring to Muhammad? Is that Buddha? I mean, who's that referring to it's referring to Jesus Christ, right? God was manifest in the flesh So manifest or appearing I mean it's something that is actually seen okay, and the Bible says we earnestly expect We know this is going to take place the manifestation of the sons of God Well what the Bible is saying is this is something in the future, but it hasn't happened now We look forward to the manifestation of the glorified body, but is it happened now? not at all and You know what takes place is you got other Baptists and other Christians out there and though and I use this term Christian lightly Okay But they'll say things like well when you got saved you became a new creature and all things are new and everything like that And what they'll say is you kind of make a bit of a change at salvation you make some of a manifestation But you're going to be more manifested with each and every passing day. Isn't that what they say? That's not what the Bible says though the Bible says we're waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God Verse 20 for the creature was made subject to vanity not willingly But by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption Into the glorious liberty of the children of God see the Bible says the creature this old man is under the bondage of corruption You say why because you're gonna sin until the day you die You will sin until the day you die The thought of foolishness is sin the Bible says and not only that but our bodies get old Don't they our bodies start to get old you start to get I mean, I'm in my mid 30s But you know what? It's like I can't work out like I used to Right, you start to slowly fade away There's this expression and boxing and I'm not saying it's a it's necessarily a good expression But they say the only thing that's undefeated is father time And what they mean by that is every great fighter gets old and eventually he can't take that punch to the face anymore You're not gonna be the best forever. I mean Manny Pacquiao was the best ten years ago, but he's he's not today Right and no offense for people that disagree, but I mean he's lost a lot of fights Right It's just like you know, because you know when I mean he's in his 40s I mean when you get older You're just you're just gonna lose some of your ability and it's not just physically it's also mentally your sharpest mentally When you're younger you have the capacity to learn a lot as you get older. It gets more difficult. I Mean when I was a kid, you know, I used to multiply numbers in my head, you know when I was a teenager It's like why couldn't do that now I'd get smoked in a competition if I if I face my old self, right because as you get older You just don't have that ability anymore. It just kind of slowly fades, right? So the Bible says the bondage of corruption, but one day we're gonna be in the glorious liberty of the children of God You're never gonna get old. You got a glorified body. You're gonna be sinless It's not like you're gonna have all these aches and these pains and these difficulties and the sickness and all that stuff Then it says in verse 22 for we know that the whole Creation groaneth and travaileth and pain together until now and not only they but ourselves Also, see the Bible says this not only they and the they is referring to unsaved people ourselves also is referring to save people and what Paul the Apostle is saying is this whole creation is under this bondage of corruption this whole creation is going through the aging process and It's like not just the unsaved world but ourselves also Now the difference would be that as a saved person, you know, what honestly our biggest concern is can I serve God? You know, the great thing is I mean Somebody who's a pro basketball player. They retire at 35. They're done. They're not coming back at 45, right? They're not coming back at 55. I don't care what modern science is, you know at 55 You're not winning a slam-dunk contest, but you know, you can still go soul winning until the day you die 45 55 60. I mean you can still go soul winning until the very end so God can still use you. Okay? But it's not only they and the world gets depressed as they get old but ourselves also You know what? We are also under this bondage of corruption which have the first fruits of the Spirit even we ourselves groan within ourselves Waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body Now according to the Bible the promise of the redemption of our body is what the Holy Spirit indwelling us Right, that is God's seal God's promise. Okay, but the Bible says the redemption of the body Well, this is something we wait for if you're waiting for it. It hasn't taken place yet Right. I mean, it's not that complicated. You're waiting for it to take place meaning it hasn't happened now verse 24 For we are saved by hope But hope that is seen is not hope for what a man seeth Why doth he yet hope for we can tell with the context that hope is something that we know is going to take place What it's saying is it's not something that's seen we are waiting for the glorified body, but it is a hope because there's no manifestation of the glorified body yet Okay as a safe person now you do not have that manifestation Hope that is seen is not hope verse 25 But if we hope for that we see not then do we with patience wait for it You say what are you trying to say brother Stuckey? Well, I'm saying you've got all these people that say the evidence of our salvation is a changed lifestyle But where does it say that in Romans 8 what the Bible says is we wait for the redemption of our body we wait For the glorified body But we don't have it now the Bible is not saying that you're gonna get a partial Redemption of your body before you die. It doesn't say you're gonna partially get a glorified body Well, and you know what you got these preachers Well when I got saved I got all the way saved brother I never wanted to sin or drink or smoke ever again Right, well first off Why are you glorifying your own self rather than Jesus Christ because all these repents of sins preachers will say well You know what? I gave it all to God. Well, I thought the salvation was God gave his only begotten Son I thought God gave his life for me. I Didn't know that I had to give my life to God So why are you you bragging? I gave my life to God Well, first off you have not given your entire life to God because you still sin, so that's a lie right But secondly, you know when it comes to what saves us. It's the testimony of the Lord the Bible says in John 3 It's not my personal testimony And what's funny is you got these people that will stand up here and they brag about they quit smoking They quit drinking and you know what? There's probably many people in this room. You've never smoked I've never smoked a cigarette So, I guess I don't have anything to brag about well when I got saved I didn't start smoking But they get up here and they brag about these things they've done and sometimes they're very extreme with it You'll hear some of them say well, you know what? I used to just sleep around with every person You're like, whoa, what in the world and it's like they name all these sins that they're doing It's like why would you brag about that? Right. Why would you want to brag about the sins you committed because look I've done things I'm not proud of that. I'm ashamed of I don't want to mention them Right and look all of us have you know the past is the past why would you bring that up? Why would you try to glorify that but here's the thing a changed life is not the evidence of salvation And there's nothing that says that when you get saved things magically change look when a drunk gets saved He is still a drunk right after he gets saved. You say why his flesh didn't change Now he's in dwelled with the Spirit of God and if he starts reading the Bible and if he starts going to church Then you're probably going to start to see some changes But let's say we get somebody saved. That's a drunk and they never start reading the Bible They never start going to church. I can pretty much guarantee you that in five months. He's still probably gonna be a drunk There's probably not gonna be a change And the other thing about this change lifestyle thing is this you know what there's people that are just not in church that do make changes in their lives I Mean they got programs like alcoholics anonymous where people have ten steps or eight steps or whatever to quit drinking Well, that's not proof that they got saved though. Just because they quit drinking and look it's great if somebody quits drinking But that's not a proof of salvation go to John 3 John chapter 3 You say well brother Stuckey, well, how do I know if somebody's saved because I'm looking for their works I'm looking for them to start coming to church and get well, what do they believe? You say is it really that simple? It's that simple. Isn't that what the Bible always mentions? What do they believe? Now the problem with a lot of the Christian world is they will say that everybody believes in Jesus They'll say well everybody in this country believes in Jesus. Well, yeah, I mean everybody in this country believes in Jesus Everybody believes that Jesus exists It doesn't mean that their belief or their trust is on Jesus to get to heaven though Okay, but whether or not somebody's saved it comes down to what are they trusting? So for example, if I said that I think I'm going to heaven because I'm a good person and I go to church and I read the Bible where's my trust in Myself because I'm saying because I'm a good person Because I read the Bible not because Jesus died for me, but because I read the Bible I'm going to heaven Well, then I'm trusting myself And so my belief would be wrong and many people most people most people in the Christian world If you ask them, how do you know for sure you're going to heaven? They'll say well, you know what I go to church I'm a nice person. I Repented of my sins Right. That's what they'll say. They're they're mentioning the things that they've done Well, that's not an evidence of salvation because what salvation is according the Bible is faith So do you believe that Jesus died for your sins? It's that simple John 3 verse 1 now, here's the thing when I'm talking about evidence of salvation here You yourself know whether or not you're saved if you understand the gospel Do you believe or not? But what we're talking about is well, how do you know if somebody else is saved? You meet somebody out soul-winning you knock on their door How do we know if they're saved or not? Because I've done soul-winning with a lot of different types of churches and the way they do soul-winning and evangelism is very different I've been at churches where you know, you knock on the door and the person's like, oh, you know What have you accepted Jesus Christ your personal Savior? Yes. Well, amen brother and it's like 20 straight doors everyone says yes, it's like and They ask a generic question right where the answer is going to be obvious what they want and then everyone's like Oh, yeah, you know I've accepted Jesus We everybody says they've accepted Jesus including the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses Including that Street that church right down the street over there. They'll say they've accepted Jesus Does that mean that they're saved? Well, you have to actually believe on Jesus Christ. You're putting your full trust in him. Not just you believe Jesus existed Okay, let's give you a couple examples of soul-winning conversations in the Bible John 3 verse 1 There is a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him rabbi We know that thou art a teacher come from God for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him So what Nicodemus says to Jesus is you know, you are a great guy because of these miracles He doesn't say he believes he's the Savior doesn't say he believes he's the Christ He's saying you're a really good person and he's also saying it's possible to be a good person, right? He's he's he's he's declaring with his words that he doesn't understand the gospel Jesus answered and said unto him verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born again He cannot see the kingdom of God So Jesus just kind of goes right to the meat of it and says well, you know, you got to be born again, right? It's like, you know, you got to be born again if you want to be safe so you can tell from this conversation this person doesn't get it we go soul-winning and Sometimes we meet people and it's like, you know, do you go to church? They're like, yeah, you know, I'm born again Right. They mean the church Not actually being born again, right? It's like yeah, you know, I go to born-again church or whatever I'm born again and then all of a sudden, you know you ask him What do you think it takes to get to heaven? Well, you got to live a good life You got to get back also, you're not born again Because and look I would not say that to them like I wouldn't mock them all so you're not bored I'm just saying that's evidence to us that they don't understand the gospel Or sometimes we knock on someone's door and they say they're a Baptist. Well that used to mean something But somebody says they're a Baptist and you're like, oh, that's great. And you know, they're excited that you're not a Catholic It's yeah, we're both in the same team. We're not Catholics. They're excited and then all of a sudden you ask them, you know Well, you know, do you know for sure you're going to heaven? Well, most of the time from my experience Baptist will say yes But that's not good enough You got to ask another question Then okay. So what do you think you have to do to get to heaven? Anyway, sometimes they'll say I mean just a couple months ago Somebody who was a Baptist said they knew they're going to heaven They're like, oh you got to repent get baptized and follow God and read the Bible. I'm like yeah It's like the Catholics don't even throw out that many stipulations to salvation right just because they say they're Baptist doesn't mean they're saved Now, let me explain something else to you about evidence there's something called circumstantial evidence and what circumstantial evidence would be is Something that might be an indication But it's not like 2 plus 3 equals 5 So let me give you an example. Let's say a murder takes place here in passing Okay, and let's say you drive a red car well the person who committed the murder drives a red car, too Well, yeah, but a lot of people drive red cars So that's circumstantial is something small, but it's not really something where you'd be like well thus saith the Lord He committed the murder. We got him on video. It just he drives a car that's similar to somebody else's car. They're both red Right. It's circumstantial. It's not a real proof Okay, because in a courtroom if you're gonna declare somebody guilty you have to have real proof and sometimes you know what? There's a lot of circumstantial evidence. For example, maybe at the place of the crime. There's a fingerprint from you But there's also fingerprints from like ten other people that doesn't mean that you're the one who did it though. It's circumstantial It's not something where you could say in a courtroom. He is guilty because we got his fingerprint Well, there's also ten other people with a fingerprint Right, so what I'm trying to say is this let's say we knock on a door and somebody says they're a Jehovah's Witness Well, we're going to be 99 plus percent sure they're not saved unless they just got saved and they're pulling a name in where they're Basically going to a false church and just pretending to believe because of their family. We're going to assume that they're not saved, right? Now if they say they're a Baptist, it's more likely they're saved than if they say they're a Jehovah's Witness, right? I mean if you knock on the door and they say they're a Baptist, you know inside of me I'm kind of excited like there's a hope there's a chance And when I say hope I'm not saying a sure thing I'm saying, you know, like maybe right? But here's the thing though That's just circumstantial That's no guarantee that they're actually safe or how about this you meet people that listen to sermons online and then they visit church And you assume they're saved because wow, they're listening to the online preaching But you know what many people that I've met through the years you ask them about salvation and they're wrong on it They've been listening to sermons for a while, but it doesn't actually mean that they're saved Right. So just because there's circumstance and so what I'm saying is this, you know what let's say for example Somebody, you know comes to our church Well, that's certainly some evidence that they might be saved But what if they say you've got to live a good life to go to heaven? Well, they're obviously not safe Just because they happen to go to our church. Well, that's just circumstantial that doesn't guarantee that they're actually saved though right so what I'm saying is this when we're looking at the actual proof that we can look at according to the Bible of Saved versus unsaved. The only thing the Bible directly mentions as the word evidence in the Bible is faith What do they believe other things might be a small piece of evidence? But that evidence means nothing if they then say you got to live a good life to go to heaven Right, you'd say well, it doesn't matter that they read the Bible every day. It doesn't matter. They go soul winning all the time It's like they said you got to live a good life to go to heaven all that small little circumstantial evidence means nothing Right. The only real evidence we have is what does somebody believe now? Of course, I would think that at our church in general We're living a more godly life than the average person that's out there because obviously we're hearing this preaching We're reading the Bible and stuff like that But that does not mean that if you meet somebody who's living a godly life by the world standards, they're saved by any means It's just a small circumstantial thing. The question is what do they believe that is a real indication? Go to actually go to Luke 18 for sake of time Luke 18 Luke 18 Throughout the soul winning conversations in the Bible We're basically you know You see the conversation come up and they'll ask a question and they'll figure out what the person believes What's evidence to us that they're not saved? Sometimes we go soul winning and we talk to somebody and they give an answer. That is not wrong But it's not really clear. It's not necessarily right either. For example, somebody says What do you have to do to go to heaven? Well, you got to believe in God Well, that's not necessarily Wrong, if what they mean by that is Jesus is God and you got to believe on him and sometimes they do mean that Sometimes they actually mean that but usually when they say believe in God They're saying Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists and everybody goes to heaven Right, or sometimes somebody will say well, you got to receive Jesus. That's actually a good answer The problem is in our modern vernacular. It really doesn't actually mean that much Because directly what the Bible mentions as as many as received him To them gave you power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name So when somebody says receive Jesus that's by no means a wrong answer that's actually biblically perfectly correct But it does not always mean that they understand that it doesn't mean that they mean what the Bible actually says by that or somebody Says, you know accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior It's not really a wrong answer either But most people that say that probably will have the wrong answer if you actually ask him a few more questions You got to directly ask them stuff like do you think a person can lose their salvation and Usually they gets revealed what they actually believe at that time right Luke 18 verse number 10 Luke 18 verse 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray the one a Pharisee and the other a publican the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with Themself God, I think that I'm not as other men are Extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this publican I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess here's person number one the Pharisee and what he's doing is praying to God and If you pay attention, he's a very arrogant person. Thank you God for making me better than other people Right. This this is the Calvinist. Thank you God for making me better than other people, right? But then it says in verse 13 and the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes on to heaven But smote upon his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you this man Referring to the publican went down to his house Justified rather than the other for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased and he that humblest himself shall be exalted So you're looking at two people here and one person has some works on the outside He's going through all the motions and doing some good things the other one doesn't Well, you'd look at that person with the works if you're trying to base salvation on their works and say well the Pharisee must be saved Because look at his works and yet the Bible says the Pharisee is not saved and the publican doesn't have any works There's no good works that he has but he's the one who's actually saved you say why is that because the evidence of our? Salvation is not our works the evidence of our salvation is our faith. What do you believe? What do you believe? Look, you could finish the entire Bible memorization challenge Psalms 23 through Psalm 41. That doesn't mean you're saved an Unsaved person can memorize the Bible Right the determination of whether or not you're saved is what you believe and you know, once you believe on Jesus You never have to worry about it Because you got these churches and they make you wonder about it your whole life You got these preachers come in and say all right, we're gonna have our altar call everyone heads down, you know eyes closed Nobody's looking around right? This is just between you and God, right? And then they'll say, you know if you heard this sermon and You know what? You're still not reading the Bible every day. You might want to come down to double-check your salvation Right, I mean you'll hear sermons they'll get up here they'll preach and we'll say well, you know what? I'm preaching this sermon now and you what if you don't come to church every week, you know what? I'm not saying you're not saved I'm just not sure if you're saved Right It's just like I mean you don't come so winning all the time It's like, you know, I thought you were saved But I mean stop so winning because if you're really saved you're gonna have the works now It's always funny with these pastors that never go so winning themselves, but they question the salvation of members that don't go so on They question the met they question the members that don't give their firstfruits offering while they're living it up in like a 20-bedroom mansion You know with 25 swimming pools or whatever, right? But it's just like this is the sort of stuff. They'll say where it's like well if you're not walking the walk You might want to question your salvation look, you don't have to question your salvation if you're living in sin or making mistakes in your life and If that were the case, you would never have a feeling of relief because you'd always I mean I remember before I was saved. I was scared. I was going to hell. I got saved and all of a sudden I was relieved I was like wow It's done. But then you got these Baptist churches and they make you scared your entire life Where it's like you better not quit church because if you quit church That might be evidence that you were never really saved to begin with and it's like they want to scare you your entire life It's like right Chris fear-mongering. You can use that on your sermon on Wednesday You already told me what it's about and it's like they fear-mongering you your whole life to try to force you to serve God It's like look, you know what? I want you to serve God. I want you to be here I want you to go so winning but you know, I don't question your salvation if you're missing church You say well, what does it mean if somebody's not walking the walk? Well turn on your Bible to John 14 John 14 John 14 See the evidence of whether somebody's saved or unsaved comes down to what they believe. It's really that simple However, if somebody is not obeying God's Commandments and not doing right you say what is that? Well, that's evidence of not being right with God Evidence of salvation is what you believe and if you believe here today you believe it's eternal life. It's only in Jesus It's a free gift. You never have to worry about it. You never have to worry about it. You never have to worry about it You never have to worry about whether or not you're saved. It's a done deal And I'll tell you this when you got preachers that stand up and they basically say wow If you're not coming to church, you might want to question your salvation. You know what that person's revealing with their words. They're not saved It doesn't mean you're not saved. It means they're not saved because their evidence is works They're trusting their works. They are revealing to all of us that they're not saved It doesn't mean you're not saved But when they stand up here and say well, you know if you're not reading the Bible You might not be saved that's revealing. They believe works are part of salvation and that's revealing that they are not saved themselves That's what it reveals. It doesn't mean that you're not saved because here's the difference all of us I hope would admit that we're sinners and we're guilty and we don't deserve to go to heaven They get up here and act like they're righteous. I repented of all my sins. Do you still sin? Yeah, sometimes well then how did you repent of all your sins What do you mean by that? It doesn't make any sense. And what they'll do is they'll highlight things. They don't do it's like wow, you know, I don't drink Well, you know what? Most of us don't drink either. I Don't drink. What's your point? It's like but you lie They'll highlight things. They don't do they that they do successfully, right? I mean you look at these things in the Bible the Pharisee and all these examples they highlight the stuff They're not doing but let's get down to the nitty-gritty. How much are you reading the Bible every day? Well, you know, I Read it from time to time. It's like you got these pastors. They've never read the Bible cover to cover Never read it cover to cover and they're gonna say they've repented of all their sins. You've never read it cover to cover Why would you even think you're worthy to get up and say anything? To teach people about a book that you haven't read. I Mean are you gonna stand up here and teach a calculus class if you don't understand calculus? I'm not up here teaching a Mandarin Chinese lesson here today Because I don't speak Mandarin Chinese But then it's funny people think they're experts on this book without this is the only book in the world where people think they're experts Without having ever read it. You never say you're an expert You never say you're an expert at math if you know, you never had math classes or you're not very good at math But then with the Bible people like no, you know, I'm an expert at this. I know this book It's like oh great, you know, can you quote to me John 3 16? Right, and it's just like but that that's the way people are but you know what they'll stand up here and act like they're there They're so great and it's they'll say that's approved salvation That has nothing to do with salvation whether or not you're obeying God's commandments What that is is point number two evidence of whether or not you're right with God because here's the thing You can know here today whether or not you're saved based on what you believe You can also know whether you're right with God today Based on what you do What you believe determines it's the evidence if you're saved you can know you're saved Do you believe it's that simple and look if you're confused about it? You know what many people this church would love to talk to you after the service To make it very clear to you if you have any questions, but if you believe you're saved But how do you know whether you're right with God what we actually have a test as well. Are you obeying God's commandments? John 14 verse 15 John 14 verse 15 If you love me keep my commandments if you love me keep my commandments now sometimes you go soul winning and people will quote this verse and they'll say well the Bible says If you love me keep my commandments. Yeah, it doesn't say if you want to go to heaven keep my commandments It doesn't say if you want to be saved keep my commandments. It says if you love me keep my commandments You're saying that you can go to heaven without loving God. That's exactly what I'm saying I'm saying most say people do not love God It's really that simple you say well How could you say that brother stuck because love is not a feeling in a Bible There's action associated and how do you know you love something well? I mean do you spend your time doing it you say brother Stuckey? I love to exercise It's my favorite thing in the world. Oh great. How often do you work out? Oh, it's been a long time Wow you really love working out Right What's the evidence of whether or not you love something? Well? There's there's gonna be actions It's it's not just you can't just trust somebody's words Right you have to look at the actions to see whether or not it's true or not well The Bible says if you love me keep my commandments, so here's the thing if you love God You're gonna keep his commandments now. Are you gonna be perfect well of course not because there's no one who's perfect But you should be striving to do what's right and when you mess up you ask for forgiveness to God And you get right back up and start again go to Ecclesiastes chapter 12 Ecclesiastes 12 I Mean doesn't this just make perfect sense though if you have kids Look aren't there a lot of kids that don't really love their parents I? Mean isn't this true There's a lot of kids that don't really have a whole lot of love for their parents But that doesn't those aren't their parents though You say what's the proof whether or not a kid loves their parents well? I mean are they being respectful to their parents are they obeying their parents? Are they trying to please their parents, or are they just forgetting about anything their parents say and just do whatever they want Because whether or not they love them well, there's gonna be actions associated with that Right it says in Ecclesiastes 12 verse 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter a government because governments have 55 million Commandments, okay? So it's not like God is asking for too much He has a lot of rules, but I mean don't all parents have rules for their kids I Mean one of my rules for my kids is they're not allowed to eat ice cream for breakfast well That's not even a rule that God has so I mean you as a parent probably have more rules than God has right But the Bible says keep his commandments, and you know what that is the proof of whether or not you love God But look if you're not keeping his commandments. You don't have to question your salvation But you should certainly question whether or not you're right with God go to first on for first on for first on for First John chapter 4 See your actions your works are going to be evidence of your love but it's not going to be evidence of whether or not you're saved because the Bible never says you have to love God to go to heaven and See if somebody really I mean everybody in the here's the thing we talk to people door-to-door Most people say they do not know for sure if they're going to heaven Right most people say they're not sure most people would say they are sure actually you're not safe, but most say they're not sure But if you were to change that question and ask hey, do you love God? Everybody would say yes Everybody would say yes Nobody's gonna say no to that question Everybody's gonna say they love God. It's like well. How do you know you love God? Well, I mean I listen to Christian rock music This is literally what people would think right because they don't actually know what the Bible says There's no works that would make a real evidence that they actually love God They just say they love God But your works are going to be your evidence whether or not you love God or not look in this room I don't individually know because I don't know all of your lives If you haven't read the Bible this past week. I can tell you you don't love God and that might offend you, but that's the truth You say how do you how could you say that? How could you tell someone they don't love God because your works are your evidence of whether or not you love God If you never read the Bible Of course you don't love God I Mean if you love God you would actually dig into his word and find out what he says Find out what his rules actually are because I mean the whole duty of man is to keep his commandments so obviously you're gonna want to keep his commandments and It's like you know we talked to people and they say well you got to keep the Ten Commandments to be saved Okay, what what are the Ten Commandments man? That's a tough one? You got to keep the seven sacraments. It's like. Oh, you know. What are the seven sacraments? Anyway, it's actually Impossible to keep all seven sacraments because one of them is entering the priesthood and another one is getting married well priests aren't allowed To get married so maybe you can keep six out of seven you can't keep all seven But I've never met a Catholic that knew all seven sacraments and look it's not something in the Bible So I don't mind if you don't know all seven. That's okay. It's not a trivia question I hope you know the Ten Commandments But if you don't know the seven sacraments, that's fine, but I'm just saying I've I'm sure they're out there I'd never run into a Catholic because I've asked them before you know what the seven sacraments are and it's just like you know You know gluttony no no no that's the seven deadly sins. That's the wrong one, okay? But what does the Bible say here in first on four so one thing is keeping God's commandments and the other thing the Bible Mentions as evidence is if you love the brethren if you love other safe people First on four verse 19 we love him because he first loved us First on four verse 20 first on four verse 20 if a man say I love God and hateth his brother. He is a liar For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen and this commandment have We from him that he who loveth God love his brother also So the Bible says this that if you do not love your brothers and sisters in Christ Your fellow saved brothers and sisters in Christ you cannot say that you actually love God You're lying if you say that Anyway, here's what's interesting churches like ours Have a lot of enemies from other saved churches sometimes They don't like the things we teach they get very mad that we don't believe in a preacher rapture It's a big deal to them, and then they they make us their enemy and look let me let me just be honest I don't if there's other saved Baptist churches out there preaching the right gospel And I'm sure there are in the Philippines. They're not my enemy. I don't want them to be my enemy But somehow we become their enemy even though we're not doing anything to them But see what the Bible says is this I mean if they hate us They can't say they love God because we're their brothers and sisters in Christ Our pastor in Sacramento pastor Jimenez has a lot of enemies It's interesting you get protested by the sodomites, and then you got Baptist siding with the sodomites against the Baptist Church. It's like This is a twilight zone. It's like are you kidding me? Right I mean there's if there's other Baptist churches that got Protested for taking a strong stand even if I disagreed with a lot of what they had at the church I would offer them my support to say hey, you know we're praying for you We wish you the best even if I disagree with a lot of their doctrines even if they're not our biggest friends I'm certainly not going to side against them But you know what that is revealing is that they do not actually love God because they have a hatred for their brother And sisters in Christ first John 5 verse 2 By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments now remember The Bible says that we can't say we love God if we don't love our brothers and sisters in Christ the children of God But it also mentions keeping his commandments because keeping the commandments is Linked with loving your brothers and sisters in Christ you say why because when you're breaking the commandments You're harming your brothers and sisters in Christ You're harming other people look if I steal money from you, I obviously don't love you very much Right I stole from you if I lie to someone I'm obviously not caring about other people because I'm lying to them and whenever you whenever you sin you harm other people That is the way it works Okay, now. I mean the Bible says no man liveth to himself or dieth to himself now turn your Bible to Romans 1 Let's quickly look at this last one Romans 1 We looked at evidence of somebody being saved, how do you know if somebody's saved or lost? What do they believe? It's that simple Well if somebody is saved. How do you know whether or not they're right with God? Well are they obeying God's commandments? That's the evidence now. Let me say this it doesn't really matter if somebody else is not right with God It's really none of our business If somebody else at our church listens to rock music every night, that's up to them I'm not gonna go up to them and tell them you're not right with God I preach sermons, but I do not go outside the pulpit and tell people how to run their lives I don't do that you say why it's up to you Whether you obey or follow these things or not and look it's not like I'm standing up here as I'm perfect I never do anything wrong Right I mean I preach about things it doesn't mean I'm a hundred percent innocent on everything I've obviously I need to try to do that and I do strive to do that But you know what I got to live my life and do the best I can also Right I preach about how we need to zealously read the Bible, but you know what sometimes in my flesh I don't feel like reading the Bible either That's why this preaching is good for all of us It's a reminder to make sure you're still serving God, and you don't fade out of the things of God But lastly what about evidence of being a reprobate evidence about being a child of the devil because when we're talking about evidence of salvation We're looking at saved versus unsaved and that simply comes down to faith But what about evidence of somebody being a bad person like a reprobate well There's there's kind of a couple ways to look at this When it comes to evidence of being a reprobate because some reprobates are very open and honest about it And we'll look at that first others do a kind of Hiding right they just kind of pretend to be a good person, but they're not actually a good person So when it comes to evidence of being a reprobate well you got the vice pong eats in the Mimi yucks out there Right the Mimi yuck I that's who I voted for in that poll right to me. It's more disgusting, but anyways, but anyways people like that are not really hiding the fact that they're reprobates and See one thing about being a reprobate is this Romans 1 verse 25? Unnatural works Unnatural works Romans 1 verse 25 who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator Who's blessed forever amen for this cause God gave them up unto vile affections for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature what the Bible is referring to here in verse 26 is is women that instead of being interested in men Physically attracted to men they're physically attracted to women verse 27 and likewise also the men Leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust one toward another Men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving themselves that recompense of their error Which was me and here in verse 27 it talks about men who would leave the natural use of the woman instead of being interested in women and they're interested in men and Look here in the Philippines. It is all over the place I Mean people just cross-dressing everywhere, and they're just loud and proud about being LGBT and everything like that They're not hiding who they are They are revealing who they are I Mean look you can't sit here and tell me that someone who's a pedophile It's just a normal unsafe person, and we all struggle with sin. Well. We don't struggle with that sin Right someone who's committing wicked perverse things and see the thing about that specific sin Is this that's not a natural desire that God gave them it is an unnatural desire that came When their conscience was seared with the hot iron and see there are certain things That a normal person would have no interest in You got this religion of Calvinism, and they'll say well. You know before you're saved. Everybody's a reprobate Everybody hates God before they're saved Everybody has the ability to commit any sin before they're saved well You know what I'm sorry But I never had those desires And if you're gonna stand up behind a pulp and say you used to have desires to be a serial killer and a pedophile Stay away from me right social distancing my friend Right it's just like no people do not have those desires and see when someone has those Unnatural desires that's an indication That you know what they've been given over to a reprobate mind That's evidence of them being a bad person with a vice pong eats. They don't hide it He's loud and proud everywhere. I mean you can't drive anywhere without seeing a billboard a vice pong He's everywhere. Just openly dressing like a woman right just revealing who he is Look at Romans 1 verse 30 one thing is unnatural works unnatural sins because here's the thing Most sins are just common to man Right even a sin like murder right anger without a cause would be murder in the heart the Bible says Well murder is obviously a big sin But you know what that's actually common to man because people deal with you know hatred and anger And it's something that actually can come from the heart of a person But being a pedophile no that doesn't come from the heart of a normal person Okay Another thing is hatred toward the God of the Bible hatred toward God notice Romans 1 verse 30 Back biters haters of God haters of God now there are a lot of things mentioned in Romans 1 But I'm highlighting haters of God. I'm highlighting unnatural works because that's like a 2 plus 3 equals 5 clear sign. I'm highlighting Hatred toward God because many things fall under the umbrella of a hatred for God And what I mean by by that is this you read people the Bible, and then they hate it Not just they disagree with it But they get angry right you were to quote quote a verse from the Bible, and they get how dare How dare you say that it's like whoa and it's like many times people they hate God. What is it? Well they hate the words of God as well They hate the things that are found in God's Word because this is who God is in the beginning was the word and the word Was with God the word was God well Jesus is the word my friend and when you're trying to find out who God is This reveals it well. There's people that would say they're Christians But then they hate the things actually found in the Bible It's like well you may say you're a Christian or you may say you believe in God But you certainly don't believe in the God of the Bible And they have a hatred for the God of the Bible now turn to 1st John 3 1st John 3 1st John 3 1st John 3 So one thing of evidence of being a reprobate is unnatural sins Another thing is just a hatred of the God in the Bible so they hate the things that the Bible stands for they hate God's Word and it reveals that they hate God On a side point One other thing that's linked with salvation as in evidence somebody might not be saved Because sometimes you might preach the gospel to family members And you don't know whether they got it or not because quite honestly oftentimes family members will fake it They'll pretend to believe or you're not sure how it goes I always tell people if you preach the gospel to a family member Double-check that a couple months later make sure they got it because I will tell you from personal experience I have I have preached the gospel to basically family members of Church members where you know I remember a specific time in West Virginia They asked me to preach the gospel to someone and it was the boyfriend of this this girl He was like a teen he was like 16 years old I go through the gospel and he says he believes everything and he understood everything and he prayed and he said yeah It's eternal I can never lose it. I know I'm going to heaven right when I walked out of the door apparently Told his girlfriend well, he's lucky that my dad wasn't here My dad would have made Matthew look like an idiot or something like it's like so he was just pretending it the whole time Because he wanted to make his girlfriend happy and unfortunately, you know what stuff like that could take place But especially if it's someone you have a chance to meet again or be in contact with again Double-check it make sure they get it when we go soul winning door to door We might only get one shot at it but if you run into the them again double-check it and you know one thing is this let's say somebody's reading the Bible and You think they might be saved you're not sure but then all of a sudden they read the Bible and then they say they don't understand the Bible That's actually an evidence that they're probably not saved because of the fact if you're saved the Bible says that you have the Spirit of God inside of you and As a spiritual book, you're gonna understand the words of God If you don't understand it that can actually be an evidence Someone might not be saved because it just goes straight over their head. Anyway, it's easy for us because as a saved person It makes sense If someone's not saved it goes straight over their head. It's actually an evidence that they might not be saved Okay, but lastly when it comes to people with evidence of being a reprobate we said unnatural works in a hatred for God But what about underneath the umbrella of this? What if there's somebody who says they believe? Who says they believe the Bible actually tells us there can be evidence that they're actually a reprobate and we can actually look at certain Things it's not I mean if you read the Bible and you look closely at Judas Iscariot There were the signs that he was a bad person all along the way Now Judas Iscariot would have claimed to believe by faith alone, right? But he obviously didn't He was a reprobate. He was never saved his whole purpose for being with Jesus was what? money money money money You know what the same thing happens in 2021 In the book of Jews and you don't have to turn there But there are three different people mentioned as basically examples if you remember a long time ago, not six months ago But like a year and a half ago I preached a series on psychopaths for our anniversary right the psychopath sermon our attendance went up. Everyone loved it, right? But it mentions Cain and it mentions Balaam and it mentions Korah. Well Cain is an example of someone who's a violent psychopath Rape and murder would be some of the things that would be violent now Is it possible to commit murder and not being a rapper not be a reprobate? Absolutely, is it possible to commit rape and not be a reprobate? Absolutely because Amnon is an example in the Bible But if somebody commits a very very strong sin like that, it could certainly be an indication of them being a reprobate It's not two plus three equals five But it certainly could be an indication with Amnon if you had looked at Amnon You probably would have thought he was a reprobate, but he wasn't Right, so it's not like two plus three equals five But when you're seeing something major like that, it certainly can be an indication because that's what Cain is He's the violent psychopath. He murdered Abel. He certainly didn't seem to love his brother in Christ His brother in the Lord. I mean obviously he didn't really believe it now. I believe that Cain probably Would have said the right thing about salvation I probably think that his parents thought you know, he was saved before that because he probably said the right thing But it was all fake Balaam is there for money. That's a big one mentioned in the Bible all throughout Jeremiah. It's covetousness. It's money Well, that's a big thing and in our church I could say that you know what people that we've had problems with it's been due to money and It's probably gonna be our biggest fight here and especially here in the Philippines because it's like oh an American missionary Let's attach ourselves to this ministry and you what for the purposes of money It's a big thing that we've dealt with and I'm sure we will in the future And look this this happens in the US as well But let me just say this, you know pastor men has baptized a lot of people You know a year and a half ago or two years ago at the missions trip many of them Were faking it the entire time and we know that there is that one guy Who was going to every single church to get footage and he was a missionary and all he did was take footage of Pentecostal churches and Baptist churches and here's my mission work and literally he's just attaching himself to these ministries just pretending to believe whatever Right, he wasn't the only one there at that mission trip someone who got supposedly saved the mission trip that just faked it this actually Takes place and look we can't be naive Don't con artists exist in this world. I Mean I remember this case in the u.s. There's this woman she was in her 20s. She's about 25 years old But she basically played the part of an old woman and she had a shawl on like this and she had a cane And it was very good I mean when you looked at it It's like you wanted to just give her all of all of your money because it seemed like a helpless You know older lady and everything like that But then it turned out because a news thing actually followed her and then also they saw her and all of a sudden she takes Off everything, you know takes off, you know the shawl and everything and all of a sudden She's just like a really beautiful woman who's 25 years old dressed to go to a club and she's got like $500 in her hands look if con artists exist in this world Con artists will come to churches for the purposes of money and here's the thing It will especially happen at churches because churches tend to be trusting right People look at it as an easy target It's something that will actually take place and the other one that's mentioned is Cora and Cora idly represents basically the He's like the church splitter I mean, he literally tries to split the congregation with Moses and you know He basically wants power and I'm not saying that somebody only falls under one of those three things It's just a general template the Bible gives us violent covetous controlling or those kind of three different ones, right? So look if the Bible gives us specific examples It's giving you Indications that you can see certain things that could make you question it and I'm just gonna give you one verse on this or one passage here in first John 3 It says this first John 3 verse 10 and This the children of God are manifest in the children of the devil Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God neither. He that loveth not his brother now The Bible says in this the children of God and the children of the devil. We're not comparing saved to unsaved We're comparing saved to reprobate right children of God versus children of the devil and it says Manifest will manifest as something that's actually seen and what is it saying? It says their works Whosoever doeth not righteousness for this is the message that you heard from the beginning that we should love one another not as Cain who was of that wicked one and slew his brother and Wherefore slew him because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous the Bible saying Evidence for someone who would be at a church and pretend to believe and say the right things Would be their actions you say brother Stuckey Does that mean that if somebody doesn't read the Bible every day, they might be a reprobate? No, no, no, you're misunderstanding me Because nowhere in the Bible does it say if you don't read the Bible that might be a sign you might be a reprobate I mentioned Cain. I mentioned core. I mentioned Bailey very specific things stealing money is a pretty big thing Judas Iscariot was stealing money from the church. That's pretty pretty bad Right. Look if we passed around our offering plate and I saw somebody just kind of go back there and just Yeah, you know what? I would wonder maybe that person's a reprobate. Like why are they stealing from a church? And that's a specific one the Bible mentions because that's not normal Right that could actually be a sign. Maybe you're just here for money Right, it's just like oh what's their offering it's like five paces this week brother say I don't know what happened to all the money It's like why why are your pockets so full, right? So what I'm saying is this I'm not saying that if somebody commits any sin Oh, he might be a reprobate but look at actually the things in the Bible I mean read the Bible study it out and see the things that are linked with reprobates one of the big ones is money, but you mentioned Cain it mentions Cain and look if there was someone who murdered someone Well, it wouldn't be a guarantee that they're reprobate but you could certainly question it because it's such a big sin Especially if they murder their brother in Christ Right. I mean people get in arguments at church But if somebody if you kill somebody else at our church you get so mad. It's like yeah, you know what I might question like You know, it's like we'll leave it in the police's hands Maybe we'll never know but it certainly could be a sign and that's what you see with Cain So we're not talking about any sin or talking about specific things Some of the other things are flattery is really mentioned with bad people being very subtle like their father the devil Right, there's specific things mentioned. Obviously. I just preached that series on Psychopathic traits. There's 20 mentioned. It's a good template because those things are all mentioned in the Bible. It's not a perfect template We don't know for sure it's not as clear as Whether somebody's saved because that just comes down to do you believe? But it's not like we're just randomly here and we have no way to know whatsoever The Bible actually says, you know, you should actually try to read people and there's certain things that you can see So what do we talk about what we talked about evidence of salvation? How do I know if somebody saved brother Stuckey? I want to start going soul winning, but how am I gonna know whether or not they need to hear the gospel or not? Well, you ask them what they believe and if they don't believe salvation by grace through faith, they're not saved if They do believe it. They give the right answers and you actually ask them real questions. Well, we assume they're saved now Is it possible that someone who seems saved is not actually saved? Of course, that's possible, but we can only go off their words Right. We don't know for sure 100% with anybody I don't know for sure about anybody in this room because I can't see your heart But if you say you believe I assume you're telling me the truth right How do we know for right with God? Are you keeping God's commandments? And how do you know? What's the evidence of someone being a bad person or reprobate? Well, I mean if they have a hatred toward God They're committing unnatural sins Those are the very clear ones the one that would be very difficult to see Would be if someone is basically pretending to believe the right thing But it's all just a smokescreen because they're using the church for money or for some of the reason and look That's hard for anyone to tell because throughout the Bible David had bad people amidst amongst that group. He had no idea Moses didn't know core was a bad person He just kind of wakes up one day and it's like, oh wow, we got a massive church split So that's a bad start to the day, right? So it's not like it's easy to tell but at the same time the Bible mentions specific people and certain attributes because God wants you To be somewhat aware of it. He wants you to actually see that evidence. Let's close on a word of prayer dear Heavenly Father Thank you for allowing us to be here today and I ask you to help us to apply the sermon to our lives God Help us to understand, you know, very clearly. What is the evidence of salvation that has nothing to do with our works? But it has to do with what we believe Help us individually that are saved though to make sure that we're right with you that we're trying to obey your commandments to do What's right and help us to be aware of certain people that might be bad people God help us to understand the evidence of someone Being a reprobate if for one if it's obvious and they're not hiding it But also for people that are doing it under, you know, a subtle disguise God we pray this in Jesus name Amen Oh In number two seven zero just the single song just as I am just as I am on the first ready Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh You