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you you you you you Well good evening everyone welcome to Mountain Baptist Church take your songbooks and turn to song number 63 Song number 63 in your songbooks We're missing all of our musicians tonight praise the Lord We'll sing what a day that will be if you would stand We'll sing song number 63 there is coming a day when no heartache shall come No more clouds in the sky No more tears to damn the eye All is peace forever more on that happy Happy golden shore what a day glorious day that will be What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see and I look upon his face The one who saved me by his grace when he takes Me by the hand and leads me through the promised land what a day glorious day that will be There'll be no sorrow there no more burdens to bear No more sickness No pain No more Starting over there and forever I will be with the one Who died for me? What a day glorious day that will be What a day that will be Jesus I shall see and I look upon his face The one who saved me by his grace when he takes Me by the hand and leads me through the promised land What a day glorious day that will be Let's pray Heavenly Father Lord again We just want to thank you God for a beautiful Wednesday night that we get to meet in your house and to hear your preached I pray Lord now that you would just be with our pastor fulfill him with your power and spirit for it's in Jesus name We ask all of it. Amen. Are you may be seated and take your song books and turn to song? 310 Song 310 we'll sing footprints of Jesus Song 310 Sweetly Lord have we heard thee calling come follow me And we see where thy footprints falling lead us to thee For Prince of Jesus That make the pathway glow We will follow the steps of Jesus where ere they go Though they lead o'er the cold dark mountains seeking his sheep O'er along by Solomon's fountains helping the weak Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow We will follow the steps of Jesus where ere they go If they lead through the temple holy Preaching the word or in homes of the poor and lowly Serving the Lord For Prince of Jesus That make the pathway glow We will follow the steps of Jesus where ere they go Then and last when on high he sees us our journey done We will rest where the steps of Jesus end at his throne For Prince of Jesus That make the pathway glow We will follow the steps of Jesus where ere they go Amen Welcome out Baptist Church on this Wednesday evening, and I know we have some a lot that are out this evening. So Yeah be in prayer for those. I know my kids are dealing with some sore throats kind of Snotty type of stuff. So we're being cautious on that and I know others are dealing with that as well So hopefully it's not that big vicious circle, but I think it kind of is to a certain extent with kids. So Just being prayer there that everybody is feeling better. And so we have brother Matt's brother in town. So Now where were you living at before California, I'm sorry Time to get out of Dodge, right So well welcome and so And then obviously this Sunday we have a big service. I'm gonna be Preaching at Faithful Word with Pastor Anderson's gonna be preaching here on Sunday. So So be in your places for that On the upcoming events there as far as the church service times though. I mean everything's gonna be normal So everything should be the same. So just kind of look at it as a normal Sunday and just be a different preacher And so obviously I have the utmost confidence of Pastor Anderson I believe he's doing a series as he's going through this road trip on the minor prophets So, I'm not sure if he's gonna do Hosea first Considering we both preached the same exact sermon last year when we did this. He may pick a different minor prophet, but But we both agreed that we're not gonna preach about a cake unturned this year so but Be a prayer for that and be a prayer for him. He's gonna be traveling but we're the first stop So he's gonna be flying in at Pittsburgh And then driving down and then he's going to be going down through South Carolina to visit some family and then going down to Stronghold and then so on so forth going through the country with different churches So just being prayer for him there be a prayer for me as I'm traveling and I'll be preaching both services out at Faithful Word and Then as far as the soul winning goes, we'll have the normal soul winning time at 1 p.m And the regional sewing times on here as well. So and then We will have the men's prayer meeting this Friday And I know that there's some men that are wanting to preach do a men's preaching night Which we kind of open that up any time. We have a men's prayer meeting As long as I remember and don't forget when we're doing it, but I know that there's multiple men. So If you want to do like a 10-minute sermon men, you guys are always welcome to during that time. So So this Friday at 7 p.m Be there if you can and then the women's prayer meeting will be that Saturday. So Turns out that they're just back-to-back this month Or this time anyway And then on the list there obviously pastor ancients coming in this this Sunday, but then July 7th, so that's a Friday We're gonna be doing fireworks. So we've done this past few years Out at Robinson Ridge. So our I'm my brother live And so we're gonna be doing that Like I said when it comes to the fireworks You just wanna make sure they're made all the parents are taking care of their kids making sure you're watching your kids Both of the fireworks and just around the areas. We don't want kids getting lost in the woods and all that stuff So but as far as food and everything all that stuff is going to be Supplied meaning that just come there We're gonna have food. We're gonna have drinks. We're off. We'll have all that stuff. If you want to bring something We're not gonna deny it So if you want to bring some kind of dessert or something like that, or if you want to bring You know other food besides like hamburgers and hot dogs and stuff like that. Then that's welcome as well as long as it's not alcoholic And you know like that that you know, obviously as long as it's a it's not bad Stuff to be eating and drinking but If you want to bring kombucha, that's different But I'm talking about alcoholic stuff that you're gonna actually get drunk on so And then on on the list well, we kind of have it penciled in but there's a baby shower that's planned for the 29th of July so Yeah with the ladies on that I think my wife and Miss Paula and others that are planning that And so that'll be the 29th And so they just want the ladies to RF VP it so they know How many I guess how much refreshments you guys need so? So winning marathon we have so many marathon the Philadelphia one has moved to this coming month on July 15th So get with brother Charles. He'll be leading that up and Then this one's gonna be Around our church anniversary time. We usually go to Wheeling but we're kind of going outside around a little bit on different areas that we're hitting but We had a request from the Clemens brothers That have come down and visited and they were out there in Indiana And to do a soul winning marathon up in the Akron Cleveland area So this year we're gonna we're gonna try to plan that so that may be we were talking with their pastor the church that they're going to And I think as of right now the 30th of September the pastor is good with us coming out there We can meet up at the church building and all that stuff. Either way, we'll go whether whether we have to meet up in there or not, but By being prayer for that we're gonna try to get that set up, but that would be kind of like another Kind of it's a little closer to Indiana though. So It's it's about half probably half the distance at least time anyway, so So that's that's kind of on the the radar coming up So be in prayer for that chapter memory for the month is Malachi chapter 1 Proverbs 1 7 is our memory verse for the week and Then be in prayer for all the ladies on the pregnancy list Tiara Amanda Jennifer Alyssa Anastasia and Tabby so Be in prayer for all these ladies and Offering boxes in the back They're going to give Tyler offering the mother babies rooms for the mothers and babies only and I missed who was reading tonight So brother Joseph's gonna be reading Luke chapter 18 for us after we do one more song All right, so your song books and turn to song 315 315 we'll sing take my life and let it be Song 315 take my life and let it be Consecrated Lord to thee Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love at the impulse of thy love Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for the Take my voice and let me see Always only for my king always only for my king Take my silver and my gold not a might would I withhold Take my moments and my days Let them flow in ceaseless praise Let them flow in ceaseless praise Take my will and make it thine It shall be no longer mine Take my heart It is thine own It shall be thy royal Throne it shall be thy royal throne All right, take your Bibles and turn to Luke chapter number 18 Luke 18 in your Bibles. I hope we'll have brother Joseph read that for us Luke chapter 18 And if you found your place there say amen And He spake a parable unto them to this end that man ought always to pray and not to faint Saying there was in a city a judge which feared not God neither regarded man There was a widow in that city and she came unto him saying avenge me of mine adversary And he would not for a while but afterward he said within himself Though I fear not God nor regard man yet because this widow trouble with me I will avenge her lest by her continual coming. She weary me and the Lord said here here what the unjust judge saith and Shall not God avenge his own elect which cried day and night unto him Though he bear long with them. I tell you that he will avenge them speedily Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh shall he find faith on the earth And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others Two men went up into the temple to pray the one a Pharisee and the other Republican The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself God. I think thee I am NOT as the other men are extortioners unjust Adulters or even as this publican I fast twice in the week I give tithes of all that I possess and the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven but smote upon his breasts saying God be merciful unto Merciful to me a sinner. I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone that exalted himself shall be abased and He that humbled himself shall be exalted and they brought unto him also infants That he would touch them. But when his Disciples saw it they rebuked them but Jesus called unto unto him and said suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not for But of such is the kingdom of God Barely, I say unto you whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall know wise enter therein and a certain ruler Ruler asked him saying good master. What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said unto him why callest thou me good. None is good save one that is God Thou knowest the commandments do not commit adultery Do not kill do not steal do not bear false witness honor thy father and thy mother He said all these have I kept from my youth up Now when Jesus heard these things he said unto him yet like us thou one thing So all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor now shall have treasure in heaven and come follow me When he heard this he was very sorrowful Three was very rich and when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful. He said How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God? Or it is easier for a camel to go through the Needles eye then for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God And they that heard it said who then can be saved and he said the things which are impostor Impossible with men are possible with God then Peter said lo. We have left all and Followed thee he said unto them Barely, I say unto you There is no man that hath left house or parents or brethren or wife or children for the kingdom of Godson Say who shall not receive manifold more in this present time and in the world to come life ever everlasting Then he took unto him the twelve and said unto them Behold we go up to Jerusalem and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles and shall be mocked and spitefully and treated and spit it on And they shall scourge him and put him to death and the third day he shall rise again They understood none of these things and this saying was hid from them. Neither knew they the things which were spoken And it came to pass that as he was come nigh unto Jericho a certain blind man sat in by the way Wayside begging and hearing the multitude multitude passed by he asked what it meant And They told him that Jesus of Nazareth passed by And he cried saying Jesus thou son of David have mercy on me and they which went before rebuked him That he should hold his peace But he cried so much the more thou son of David have mercy on me and Jesus stood and commanded him to be brought unto him And when he was come near he asked him saying what wilt thou I should do unto thee And he said Lord that I may receive my sight Jesus said unto him receive thy sight thy faith has saved thee and immediately he received his sight and followed him Glorifying God and all the people when they saw it gave praise unto God pray Lord Father. Thank you for this time We're able to gather here midweek or to thank you for your pure Holy Word you've given to us I ask you be a pastor Robinson edifies this afternoon this evening Jesus name Amen So you're there in Luke chapter 18 and we are continuing our study through the book of Luke here and First one here. We're actually dealing with a parable What's very interesting about this parable or at least how it starts is how the narrator is? Stating what the whole purpose of the parable is before you can get into it. I think that's interesting Usually you'll see a parable and then later on it'll explain the details of it and all that But notice what it says in verse 1 it says and he spake a parable unto them to this end That men ought always to pray and not to faint. So before he even gets into the parable, we know what it's about That's the end. That's the reason why he's saying it is so that you would that you would men would pray always and not faint Basically that you would pray without ceasing and this is a commandment that's given throughout the Bible But let's get into the parable to see what What about the parable or what how's that applied to praying but it says in verse 2 saying There wasn't a city a judge which feared not God neither Regarded man and there was a widow in that city and she came unto him saying avenge me of mine Adversary and he would not for a while but afterward he said within himself though I fear not God nor regard man yet because this widow Troubleth me I will avenge her lest by her continuing continual coming she weary me and The Lord said hear what the unjust judge said, right? so the whole point here is that he's like I'm not gonna do this because I For her sake or because I fear God, but basically I just want this woman to stop bugging me I mean that's kind of like the modern way of looking modern vernacular of looking at this is that basically she's trouble with me She's continually coming unto me and basically just because of that he's going to end up Avenging her of her adversary and it says in verse 7 and shall not God Avenge his own elect and I want you to think about this. God is a just judge Right. So you think about this unjust judge and he's basically saying he'll do it just because you're just bothering him over and over and Over again about it, but how much more would God who's a just judge who is about justice? Do it and it says right here and shall not God avenge his own elect And by the way, the elect are the saved those are believers This is not reserved to to just some people of some descent obviously, it's it's of Jew or Gentile whether you believe and The election is not of works but of grace and it's it's whether you're Jew or Gentile and you believe on Christ and so when it says elect here, it's talking about believers it says Shall not God avenge his own elect which cry day and night unto him though he bear long with them So it's kind of a rhetorical question. He's going to avenge them You know if this unjust judge will do it Then how much more is he going to do that for his elect that are crying night and day and it says in verse 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. So there's your answer, right? It's kind of rhetorical but at the same time like we got it We got a good answer here that he'll do it speedily nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh Shall he find faith on the earth now that phrase right there. Some people may say that seems out of place, right? What are we talking about faith here? but what you have to understand is that praying to God takes faith and The fact that you believe that God will answer that and how praying and coupling that with faith are like hand and glove If you don't ask in faith, you're not going to receive it And if you don't have faith to ask then you're not going to ask. I mean the idea there is that Are you going to have people that are at that time believing that God is able to answer those prayers when they cry? And this is very well linked or I guess, you know very much parallel to a story We already read in Luke go back go to Luke chapter 11 Luke chapter 11 Luke chapter 11 starts off about prayer In this case Luke 11 his Jesus disciples are actually asking him to teach them to pray or teach them You know basically like John taught his disciples, right? It says in verse 1 it says and it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place When he ceased one of his disciples said unto him Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples and then he gives the model prayer of You know what we would call the Lord's Prayer and you'll find that in Matthew chapter 6 and also in this passage as well Which is not to be chanted or vain repetitions, but it's just giving you okay Here's things to pray about you know, give us to stay our daily bread or give us a trespasses You know going down the line that these are things that we should be praying for but in this story Jesus gives an example Of a man that's asleep and his friend comes to his house Asking for bread and I don't want to re-preach this whole passage, but I want you to look down verse 8 there It says I say unto you though. He will not rise and give him because he is his friend Yet because of his importunity He will rise and give him as many as he needs. You know, my my my children are in bed with me They must be you he must have young children Because that is the case, you know, there's always one Yeah, there may be more There may be all of them but You know when you have the little kids I mean that that passage I mean when I was single and didn't have kids that passage didn't mean I was just like that's it Interesting, you know back then they must have been poured and have a lot of how a lot of beds You know big family community bed and then you realize It doesn't matter if your kids had a king-size bed They're still coming into your bed So, but it's just the state of affairs and you know But all I have to say is that the importunity is dealing with that continual persistent coming to him And so we're not to be using vain repetitions like our father which art in heaven. How would be thy name? And then you just say that over and over and over and over and over again. That's the Catholic Church You go into confession and then you tell them like all your sins That you would dare to tell them I guess but and then he says all right go out there and do five our fathers and five Hail Mary's My problem was I never knew the whole Hail Mary So anytime he told me that I'm like I knew the our father But the Hail Mary one I could only get that halfway through and then I forget it So and I never learned I still to this day don't know it and I'm not sad about it But that's vain repetitions, right? To do that the idea though is a continual prayer meaning this is that every day you're praying for that thing It could be more than once a day But at the same time let's say you did Monday or you did it I'm sorry You did the the morning and then you did evening and there's like morning and evening morning and evening morning and evening Day and night day and night day and night you're praying for this certain thing now that could be daily bread that could be Safety For your family that could you could you could put in a lot of different things in there That you could be asking the Lord for but that continual prayer Listen, if an unjust judge will be like, hey, all right I'm gonna do it just so you stop bothering me and if a friend that's in bed It doesn't feel like getting out of bed just so you stop knocking on my door and stop keeping me awake I'm gonna go give you some bread. I'll give you some extra bread. Just take it So I go to sleep, right? How much more will God our Heavenly Father You know if we are which are evil Give know how to give good gifts to our children how much more Shall our Heavenly Father give unto them that ask him right and that's what you're really dealing with here in prayer And I think it's very interesting to that in Luke chapter 18 It talks about God avenging his elect right this whole passage in Luke 18 is talking about being avenged of an adversary So we're not we're not necessarily talking about like any bread like the friend that's coming over we're talking about vengeance Vengeance is mine. Set the Lord I will repay So when you think about this, this is actually a passage talking about believers praying for God to Avenge them this is what you would call an imprecatory prayer In the New Testament and this is an imprecatory prayer basically saying avenge me of my adversary and And you know what the Bible it's not like Jesus is saying here like how dare you Ask for me to avenge your blood, right? Well, let me show you a passage where it where there are people in heaven That are crying and saying this prayer so I believe there's still prayers being made in heaven to God About being avenged and go to Revelation chapter 6 and verse 9 Revelation chapter 6 and verse 9 The Bible says this in James chapter 5 the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much There's a lot in there right the effectual fervent prayer, right So meaning that it's fervent you can think about the idea being like the importunity of it the the persistence of it the continual coming with it the idea of praying always and not fainting but also of a righteous man because We have the confidence that if we ask anything according to his will he heareth us But then we also have the confidence that if we are keeping his commandments and doing those things that are pleasing in his sight We you know He's he'll answer our prayers and this isn't a whole sermon on prayer But those elements are in there as far as being a righteous being righteous Obviously being saved is being you know, you're righteous inwardly, but we're talking about You know living a wholly separated life physically as well and having those prayers answered But in Revelation chapter 6 and verse 9 here It says in verse 9 and when he had opened this fifth seal I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held So we're dealing with those that have already died and their souls are in heaven and They're under the altar and they're crying notice what it says in verse 10 and they cried with a loud voice saying how long Oh Lord holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth That's like almost like verbatim. What's being said in Luke chapter 18? But I believe that you have people down here like at this time because at this time Jesus hasn't come back yet. He's about to But At this time you have the great tribulation such as the world has never seen And you're gonna have people down here praying that you're gonna have people that are being killed that are still praying that when they're up in heaven and It says in verse 11 and white robes were given unto every one of them and it was said unto them that they should rest Yet for a little season until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were should should be fulfilled So you imagine they're like in the midst of this, right? There's people that have already been killed and they're crying to the Lord saying how long until you judge right until you avenge our blood but he's basically saying we got to wait until the others are killed as well like you were and And the interesting thing about that too, is that the first thing that's that's cast out to the earth and God's judgment is Fire and brimstone, but it's mingled with the incense that comes from the incense altar Which is the sensor that has the prayers of the Saints And how those prayers those cries that have gone up. I believe from the foundation of the world up into that point are being thrown down to the earth with all with God's wrath and that's how you know when it says that in his the day of the Lord and how it's gonna be with fire and brimstone and all that that that is how everything starts and so The the thing is is that yes, he's gonna avenge them Speedily, right the Bible said, you know that many times it talks about it says behold I come quickly And we're not talking about soon We're talking about the speed in which he comes the Bible talks about him Jesus coming as lightning that goes from one end of heaven to the other and so But moving on in chapter 18 in verse 9 there verse 9 So I believe Luke 11 and Luke 18 are great passages To show us well, not only how to pray, you know as far as are what we should pray for but how to pray meaning This is that being persistent Not vain repetitions, but being persistent on a daily basis or on a nightly basis that you're praying for things that you want and and the Bible talks about the fact of You know, obviously you have not because you ask not and in that idea of if you're not asking for it You can't complain if you don't get it Now notice what it says in verse 9 here. So Luke 18 in verse 9 It says and he spake this parable unto unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others So this this parable that he's gonna that he's gonna state here is to a certain group of people I mean you're dealing with people that are basically thinking they're righteous and Basically justifying themselves now notice what says in verse 10 here 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 himself God, I thank thee that I am NOT as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this publican So I want you to think about that. I mean, he doesn't know this guy from Adam, right? He's just like I'm glad I'm not like this guy. I Mean, it's one thing to be like hey Lord. I'm so glad that I'm not Some you know horrible person, you know, I'm not like these people over here. I mean It's just the the the audacity of this person that kind of had this mentality even if this person was a lot more righteous as far as like his lifestyle and how he's doing things they had that attitude and that mindset is is Messed up. It says in verse 12. I fast twice in the week. I get tired of all that I possess so What do you do, you know like okay But if you think about this, this is what most people are trying to do to get to heaven when you go When you ask people, you know, what must I do to be saved or how do you go to heaven? It's like well, you know, I'm not like this publican over here I'm not like I'm not a murderer. I'm not this or that you know, I do this I give to the church I do all these things. I mean how many different things that people said like I'm doing this this and this and that's why You know, I'm going to heaven but yet You know what this parable is against them because it's this parable is stating that he's speaking this the people that are trusting in themselves They trusted in themselves that they were righteous, but the Bible says there's none righteous. No, not one There's none that do it good. No, not one And it's interesting because this is gonna go right into this rich young ruler Later on in the fact of someone who thinks that they're good and justifying themselves thinking that they've kept the law and so this is very much going in line with what's being said and so but then the public in those who says in verse 13 and the publican standing far off would not lift up so much as His eyes unto heaven but smote upon his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner. I Tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone that exalted themselves shall be abased and he that humbles Himself shall be exalted Now this is a lesson dealing with salvation, right? But it can also be just be dealing with a Christian in general I mean you think about to save people being there and one trying to justify himself and say hey look at me I'm doing everything I should be doing and having this high You know exalted type of attitude Compared to a Christian that is really thinking hey, you know I'm just I'm just glad to be here and not having that we should have a humble attitude. But obviously when it comes to Salvation it is true that God resisted the proud and give the grace unto the humble Meaning that if you want salvation, you have to humble yourself. You have to humble yourself to say. Hey, I'm not righteous That's the first step. That's why we go for all of sinning. I'm sure the glory of God And that's the first step is realize. Hey, we've all sinned We all come short None of us can make it and therefore we need we need help and it takes humility to get to that point But the Bible teaches humble yourselves inside of the Lord and he shall lift you up That can also apply To a Christian in our lives, you know as far as being humble and not being high-minded not being haughty not having pride I was just thinking about this verse and dealing with salvation, but that verse where it says Where it says the just shall live by faith comes from Habakkuk and Habakkuk chapter 2 and bear with me. I Was just thinking about we usually think about that the just a little bit by His faith actually says in this passage, but I just want to read to you another portion of that In verse Yeah, the verse that it's in I want you to think about this in the light of what we're talking about event being humble Not being proud So it's Habakkuk 2.4. It says behold his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him But the just shall live by his faith Isn't that like literally like what we're dealing with in this passage? You're dealing with one person that their souls lifted up in themselves. They're exalting themselves. They're proud But the just shall live by his faith But yet you have this publican who's saying be merciful unto me a sinner like realizing he can't do anything to save himself Because not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us And until someone realizes that it's only by his mercy and grace that that you're saved and it's not by your own merit It's not by your own works. Then you're not going to go home justified So this great passage and I know I I think a lot of cases some of these passages can be used for both cases of salvation right you can think about this this obviously this this Pharisee Unsaved proud thinks he's righteous not going he's not saved right and then this publican Saved or get saved and you know goes goes home justified because he's humble but you also think about this as far as believers being upright in themselves and the idea of You know being proud and haughty and all that because we as believers can still be that even as believers because you can still walk in the flesh obviously your new man your inner man is saved and All that but so it is a lesson to us as well that we need to not be high-minded If any man think himself to be something when he is nothing he'd see with his own self the Bible says You know don't think too highly of yourself now. Don't be like these these repentance guys that are just like I'm vile I'm this wretched animal I Am like the scum that's on the backside of that window It's like come on man that the idea here is that? Obviously, I realize that our flesh is sinful and all that but I'm a child of God I've been saved by the blood of the Lamb and the Bible says that he has created me unto good works And that we are to be you know good vessels sanctified for the Masters use Obviously, I should have a mindset of being knowing that hey me and myself I'm nothing, but I can do all things through Christ, but strengthens me so and that self that that complete self deprecation is Honestly a way of glorifying themselves Did you know what they're doing? Look at how spiritual I am because of how much I degrade myself I Mean just look at how much I'm willing to put myself down And it turns into this over spirituality like how about you just just go out and serve the Lord and stop being about you and So sometimes it can go too far even if it even if it's like being down on yourself, okay? So sometimes you got to just stop and just say hey I'm gonna go serve the Lord and I am what I am you know I'm gonna try to fix things that I can but there in Luke chapter 18 We we see a passage here Which I love this passage because this passage is in other chapters as well specifically Matt Matthew 18 But the thing that that's interesting about it is in this passage when it's talking about little children It actually uses it talks about infants, okay, so notice what it says here in verse 15 It says and they brought unto him also infants That he would touch them, but when his disciples saw it they rebuked them but Jesus called them unto him saying suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such as the kingdom of God Verily I say unto you whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein I don't think it's any marvel that we just got done talking about being humble and going away righteous and the idea of children Being Humble and the idea of becoming as a child it doesn't say you have to become a child It's like you know going do I have to become a child all right Nicodemus? You you don't have to become a child you don't have to go into your mother's womb a second time The idea is obviously we're talking about the spiritual matter here about becoming a child spiritually as far as the idea of the humility and the faith of a child and I love that it uses Infants in Luke 18 because it really shows you that when we're talking about children. It's not yes We have a family integrated church, which means we allow all the children in here and that includes infants That includes I mean straight up you have a newborn Bring them in the service now obviously if you have to feed or if you need to take them out for whatever That's why we have them out of the baby room, but if everything you know all things being equal. I mean everybody's in here and And even in there you can hear it the service is going on there not just passing them off to some nursery worker, okay? and So when people are trying to say well, you know you know should we really have all the kids in the service? What about the infants? Well how about Luke 18 Jesus had suffered a little children to come on to me and that includes infants So this is why we have a family integrated church because you know what Jesus didn't forbid them And it's interesting the people that are forbidding them. I don't think are bad people. They're the disciples, right? But the idea here is that we have churches that are forbidding children from coming into the service And It's just like black and white to me. You know it's like black and white you're looking at like no I'm not gonna forbid them to come in. They're like well. We're not forbidding them. Okay, then let them in But yet, I've been in you know I've been to churches where it it's Extreme they will either not let you do it or that they frown upon it, and they make you feel bad about it They like shame you for having your children in the service they make a sound they're just like I'm gonna use brother Anthony as an example be like I'll just stop talking Get right son yeah, but But you know Why though I understand that that obviously Children can get too loud to where it's a distraction That's why obviously the parents realize okay. My kids acting up. I need to take them out or whatever right and I Don't know about you, but it doesn't bother me. I to a fault right where sometimes. I should be like hey You know do you mind you mind taking them out real quick? Sometimes we when we have visitors or something like that and to the point where it is kind of distracting But I'm like in the zone up here. I don't care. I just go through it whether you can hear me or not I'm saying something you know or I'm preaching but You know the Bible I believe is very clear on this But the thing that's interesting about this passage is the fact that it just got done talking about this Pharisee in the public in one being proud One being humble in the idea of unless you you're converted as a little child Or you receive the kingdom of God as a little child you're not going to enter in Go to Matthew chapter 18 because I want you to see here that This idea of being like a little child is not just For salvation, it's not just an idea that to grasp on for salvation it definitely applies to that and Specifically in this passage in Luke 18 is Specifically talking about that so that's why you know personally I believe that parable is More so centered on someone getting saved and it also shows you too that God's not wrapped up in what you say when you ask For salvation as far as like you know there's some special words to say You know I mean be merciful to me a sinner I believe you can say Lord save me You know like it doesn't have to be anything like specific or anything like that the idea is that you're coming to him in faith and I'll get to the calling on the name Lord at the end of the chapter here, but In Matthew chapter 18 of verse 3 here it says and said barely I say unto you except you be converted and become His little children you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven, so that's very similar to what said in Luke chapter 18, right? it's very similar and But then it goes on in Verse 4 says whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven So notice that there's two different things that are stated there now the reason that I believe this is brought up is because they literally Asked the Lord who's gonna be greatest in the kingdom of heaven right so It's kind of like this the prerequisite to being the greatest in heaven is first being saved That make sense Like first you got to get saved you got to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ but now if you want to be the greatest in heaven then you need to also humble yourself as a child and the idea of not being ministered unto but the minister right the idea of humbling yourself and then being exalted You want you want to be exalted in the life to come then humble yourself now? That's The idea and So you can see that that type of idea of this applies to get saved, but this can also apply to a believer But it's not the same. It's not like well. You need to continually do this so that you'll go to heaven It's just the idea that no you want to be the greatest though in The kingdom of heaven you want to go you want to enter the kingdom of heaven you need to humble yourself as a child you need to have the faith of a child You want to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven then you need to be humble like one of these children and you can understand why you know obviously God puts a harsh punishment on anybody that would offend one of these little ones that believe because when you think about it Children are the most humble when it comes to Believers I mean obviously you have children that are innocent and aren't believers yet and stuff like that But then you have children that get saved at the young age and just that idea of that humble little believer there But also that unstable Soul right that that kind of volatile. They're humble, and they're there the reliever, but they're very volatile. They're very you know very much need protected if that makes sense and so But as a believer as an adult we need to try to emulate that humility Emulate that dependency right as a child is dependent on the parent. We need to be dependent on God And we need to try to tap into that type of dependency that our children have for us That we have for our Heavenly Father and so that if you want to be the greatest in kingdom of heaven That's the route to go now go to Luke chapter 18 verse 18 Luke chapter 18 verse 18, and we're going to get the rich young ruler Now a lot of times you hear these things or people called this right and you're like is it true. He's a rich young ruler because in some places It will actually this is the only place that I that I know of in this story that that he's called a ruler Now it kind of goes without saying that That he's rich right because the whole story here is about this guy being rich and the fact that he had great possessions but Notice what it says here in verse 18 and a certain ruler asked him saying good master What shall I do to inherit eternal life now, I love this passage and the thing is is that This is a great Example of a soul winning experience here of like how to deal with someone that's unsaved or something when someone asks a question and Jesus is the greatest person obviously to look at when it comes to how to win somebody or how to deal with a certain question and I want you to think about this. There's one question that's asked here It is Good master. What shall I do to inherit eternal life and notice what Jesus does with this one thing that's asked It says in verse 19 and Jesus said unto him why callest thou me good None is good save one that is God And notice what he says there, right? He's like, why are you calling me good? There's only one that's good. That's God. That means there's none. That's good. There's none to do with good. No, not one There's not none righteous. No, not one. He's already unpacking that like there's none that are good. So why you call me good Unless he's God, right? So in one sentence, he's stating I'm God and you're not good Right in one sentence. He's stating that based off of what he said, right? He led with something that the guy already said which is a great way a great tactic if you will Because when you grab something they say and say oh, okay. Yeah what you said right there. Let me expound on that You know for example when I was out so we were out soul winning in Indiana and You got the win this this husband and wife the Lord is great, but the wife came out after I won the husband and she was talking about how Basically she had kind of grown up with all these different religions from Islam to Catholicism to all these different things And she's basically saying, you know, they all kind of say the same thing You know basically and I said, well, what do you think it takes to get to heaven? It's basically like believe in God and keep his commandments, you know, or do be good and I'm like, you're right That is what everybody believes, isn't it? That's like what every religion teaches And then I showed her I said but the Bible says something different and the truth is gonna stand out from every other thing that's out there and Just kind of using that but guess who I learned that from Jesus right. I learned that from this passage here where you take what they say and You use it for how you explain, you know how someone's saved right and It does two things one You know, obviously that's a great thing to bring up right it's kind of like I'm glad you mentioned that you know what I mean Because but it also does this is that it shows that you actually care about what they asked you or what they said to you Right, you're not just blowing them off completely. It'd be like I don't care what you have to say. Listen to me ultimately We want to get the gospel out and it doesn't really matter What they believe because it's all the same but ultimately they need to know that you care Hey, I'm listening to what you're telling me I'm not just just like it went in one ear out the other when you when you take what they say and then you use that They feel like I'm actually in a conversation I'm not just being preached to as far as I'm not just being like, you know commanded here's what it is And don't get me wrong some people that's just the way it is. There's not a whole bunch of back and forth I'm just saying that that's a hell that's a Those type of conversations when you're done with it. They're like You feel confident that person has it they feel confident they agree with you Because if you just give them the gospel and they're just like, yep. Yep. Yep. Yep, and then they pray with you I'm not saying that he ain't saved but you know as well as I do that that doesn't feel as confident Then if the person is just like back and forth saying I've never seen it that way before that makes perfect sense Yeah, I was wrong about that. Do you see how the difference is in that conversation on how you're just like? Yeah, that person got it And again that's in one sentence that Jesus says to him and Basically establishing that Jesus is God and that this guy isn't good But then he answers the question. What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Right? All right So if you're gonna inherit it, here's what you got to do now Notice the commandments do not commit adultery. Do not kill do not steal Do not bear false witness honor thy father and thy mother and he said all these have I kept from my youth up Now do you believe that for one second? I mean the Bible says that if you if you keep the whole law and offend at one point you're guilty of all Meaning this is that your transgressor the law I mean the idea that this this guy would think that he hasn't broken any Commandment that you never not honored your father and your mother the Bible I mean And the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says if you have if you lust after a woman in your heart You've committed adultery already in your heart, right? The thought of foolishness to sin there's secret faults that we have that we don't even realize that we're doing I mean how foolish is it to say that you've never sinned that you've kept it all I've kept all these from my youth up. Give me a break We come forth from the womb speaking lies the Bible says and to come out and say like I've never done anything. I've never sinned So he says that and then keep reading there Now when Jesus heard these things he said said unto him yet lackest thou one thing So he's kind of going along with them, right? But he says okay, you know yet lackest thou one thing sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor and thou shalt Notice this he doesn't say thou shalt enter in the kingdom of heaven have eternal life Thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come follow me So notice that Jesus isn't saying that you have to basically give all your stuff to the poor to get eternal life does he Basically here's the thing if you never sinned and kept all the commandments then of course you'd live forever because the wages of sin is death You would inherit eternal life if you kept all the law and never sinned Now we know that's not true. We know that that's not possible. Okay, I should say not it is true. It's just not possible and so Then he states, okay Well, if you if you're perfect and another another passage where it's the same passage, it says well if thou will be perfect Then you need to do all this on top of that, right? It's like, okay Well now if you want treasure in heaven, then you do this this and this So notice that you're talking about. Okay inheriting eternal life. Okay. Well if you're good You never sin then keep all the commandments And If you're perfect and you've kept all the commandments then hey You know sell everything you have and then get to the poor and you'll have treasures in heaven and when he heard this he was very sorrowful for he was very rich and the Bible talks about The fact in other passages that he went away now in March or Matthew chapter 19. It calls him a young man This is where you get that rich young ruler. So he's a young man. He's a ruler Obviously he's rich because the whole passage about the fact that he has great riches and possessions And so he goes away sorrowful and notice that Jesus just leaves it at that Sometimes when it comes to people if listen if someone will not admit that they're a sinner You leave them with condemnation That's the lesson that I get from this is that you don't say hey Just so you know if you ever realize that you're a sinner Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and that's by faith alone No, it's it's more like okay. You can't go anywhere from that I mean it listen if you're if you're giving someone the gospel and they're just like I'm not a sinner Where can you go with that? Okay. I mean, why would you even go to talking about hell because they're not a sinner so they wouldn't go there And then if they don't good to get to that point then why are we talking about Jesus because they don't need saved So If someone doesn't come to that point, you know what Jesus just leaves it at that Now hopefully that guy that went away sorrowful Hopefully he got saved later on and maybe that stuff sunk in they're like, hey, I can't keep all the law. I'm not perfect and Maybe he we don't know. Okay But notice what is stated here and when Jesus saw in verse 24 that he was very Saw that he was very sorrowful I'm sorry, and when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful he said how hardly shall they that have riches enters in the kingdom of God for it is easier for a camel to go through and Needles I then for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God and they that heard it said who then can be saved And he said the thing which which the things which are impossible with with men are possible with God So I've heard people say well see the disciples didn't even understand them You know how someone's safe now, I want you to think about this in a saved mind Okay, you know, it's by faith not by works and he's telling this guy has to keep all the commandments Wouldn't you be like well who's gonna be saved then and here's the answer it would be impossible that way Is it true that if someone kept all the commandments never sinned they would have eternal life. Yes, not possible though Not possible because everybody's already sinned So therefore it's not possible. But with God all things are possible because it says in Mark chapter 9 It says if thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believe it It's interesting that Mark 9 it says that and then in Mark 10 is where you have the passage about the the rich young ruler Saying it's not possible with men but with with God all things are possible because all things are possible to him that believe it and So when it comes to this you can understand from a safe point of view why they're saying who then could be saved But then you realize okay, it's impossible to go the route of the law Keeping the law. It's impossible But the only way that's possible is by faith Now by the way when it says that it's easier for a man to go through or for a camel to go through the eye of a needle Let me let me let me just dispose some some stupid doctrine that's out there This is not talking about some small little gate that they would shove camels through For every passage there's some stupid doctrine out there and There's like some doctrine out there just like listen There was there was a gate called the camel's eye or no the needle's eye There's the eye of the needle, okay There's this gate called the eye of a needle and they would literally have to put their camels on their knees and like crawl through this gate I'm like that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life. There's no proof of that at all He's literally talking about a camel and the knee the eye of an actual needle that you would thread You know that you would sew on a button with The Bible's a big book why do we need to start making up stuff like that To the point where you're just like yeah, they had to like take everything off the camel and shove it through the hole Why would you ever make a gate that way Who made that gate? And why would you choose to go through that gate is my question right like we were like hey I can go through this gate or I can go through this massive gate over here I'm gonna choose the one that I'm gonna have to shove my camel through So The illustration here, and I don't know if it's just they want to believe like That it's a easy it's possible for a rich man to listen It's possible to get a camel through the eye of a needle that camels not gonna be alive when you do it But it's possible to shove the matter of a camel through the eye of a needle But you know what? That shows you how hard it is for a rich man to get saved because the Bible says How hard is it for them that trust in riches? It's not that you're rich The reason that you're not going to heaven is because you're trusting in your riches and you're too proud and You're not humble enough to come to the knowledge of the truth and to realize you need a savior and that you need someone to help you Talk about Straining out of that and swallowing a camel when it comes to these weird doctrines that people have Why don't we just read it for what it is? It literally says the eye of a needle talking about a camel going through it a little kid can understand That would be hard That would be hard to shove a camel through the eye of a needle. Okay now Go to Luke chapter 18 verse 20 28 here And we see here that Peter's talking about You know basically following him. So it says then then Peter said lo we have left all and follow these so It's kind of like that second portion was like well if you want treasure in heaven Then you need to follow me you need to give to the poor and all this right and Peter's basically asking this question, okay well You know we've left all and follow thee and basically another passage He'll say what shall we have and it says and he said unto them barely I say unto you There is no man that hath left house or parents or brethren or wife or children for the kingdom of God's sake Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time and that's something that always stands out to me is that It's not like we just have to wait until the world to come To get all these things added to us think about this when you got saved You may have lost family members as far as like fellowship or people that you're around But how much more have you gained in the family of God? When you got saved Right and just the idea of not this isn't a prosperity type of preaching But this idea of listen I have I have way closer friends in In the the realm of believers than I ever had when I was unsaved and had friends outside the world And I had some close friends that were unsaved and in that that world and it's not like You know I didn't like them or anything like that or we weren't kind of close, but listen the friends I have now I mean it's a lot better now and There the Bible talks about there's a friend that stick it closer than a brother And you can think about that friendship and just how much how much greater of a friendship can you have with a believer? That's that you're in the family of God with and so how much more in this present time And this is in the world to come life everlasting, and it's not I don't this isn't saying like okay Well if you follow me, then you're gonna have everlasting life, okay? But what I believe this is more so dealing with is that it's talking about how you're gonna have in verse 30 He's talking about having it manifold Lee or kind of more abundantly In this time and in the life to come Meaning this is that Jesus says this in John to kind of make sense of what's being said here Is that he says I am come that they might have life and That they might have it more abundantly And if you know our series that we're doing on second Peter is the fact that you can enter into the Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ or you can have an abundant entrance and the whole premise here is that you're following him and you're you're his disciple and all that and the idea of Having manifold in this time and in the life to come in that everlasting life having that life more abundantly Having a resurrection Okay, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ having a better resurrection right and that idea of Okay, I can have something more or I can have something higher up than just being a believer Just being saved, you know And so hopefully that makes sense when it comes to this is that there is a reward There's a reward to follow him if you give up things in this life. Listen, he will reward you And he'll never I don't believe it will ever put that on your account for salvation because then it wouldn't be a gift The if you do anything for him, he'll reward you for it go to Luke 18 verse 31 Now this is very interesting is What stated here? Luke 18 verse 31 it says then he he took unto him the twelve and said unto them behold We go up to Jerusalem and all things that are written by the prophets considering the Son of Man shall be accomplished For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles and shall be mocked and spitefully entreated and spit it on and they shall Scourge him and put him to death and the third day he shall rise again So notice how he leads off with stating that all the prophets are basically the whole Old Testament is writing about this event And I'm not going to go through I mean obviously the whole sermons on all the places in the Old Testament Pointing to this event of Jesus coming and dying on the cross but The thing that's interesting about this is the what it says in verse 34 it says and they understood none of these things and These and this saying was hid from them Neither knew they the things which were spoken Now You could say well why It's a good question, isn't it? And I'm not here to preach you why I'm just to tell you that it's facts God hid that from his disciples for what reason You know that maybe that's another sermon for another day you know and I and I I Don't want to say I'm humble because that kind of takes away from the hum being humble, right? But I would say that I'm not proud I'm not too proud to admit that I don't know all the answers as far as why things are done I just I'll say to you that they are the way they are But I'll say this is that the Bible says that it was hid from them. It's not that they Refuse to believe it Right, it's like oh, well, they just hard-hearted that they wouldn't believe it back. No, it was literally hid from their Understanding and I believe God hid that from that for a certain reason I'm not sure, you know, maybe you could look at it as far as like well for these events to take place For you know for his disciples, you know, whatever the case may be This information that he kept saying to them over and over again that he's gonna die He's gonna rise again the third day and it says they did not know what that meant And I don't think that they're idiots, okay, I don't think they're just like What does it mean to rise again? You know, like I think they just did not understand They thought he was speaking some kind of parable There's some spiritual meaning to this and they just weren't Grasping and it was being hid from their eyes and from their minds as far as what this actually meant But the thing that I want to point out is that they were believers before he rose from the dead Okay, go to John chapter 2 John chapter 2 So I want to point out something here Actually put your finger in John 2, but I wanted to Luke chapter 24 Luke chapter 24 This is after the resurrection. Okay, Luke chapter 24 in verse 44. It says and he said unto them These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you that all things must be fulfilled Which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and the Psalms concerning me It was kind of like the same thing that he's stating in Luke chapter 18 before he goes to the cross Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures so notice that was hid before and now he's opened it up for them and It says and he said unto them thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ suffer and to rise from the dead the third Day and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem so notice how it was hid, but then it was revealed it was open to them after the resurrection and notice what says in John chapter 2 and verse 11 And by the way in John chapter 1 the Daniel is stated to be a believer Because he's I mean Jesus says I saw the end of the victory and he says Rabbi thou art the Son of God thou art The king of Israel said because I said I saw the end of the victory believeth thou Because Nathaniel was a believer before he even came to Jesus because he's walking to Jesus and he says behold an Israelite indeed in whom Is no guile. That's what Jesus said about Nathaniel because in his spirit is no guile like in Psalm 32 But in John 2 and verse 11, and by the way, this is the narrator Okay, so we know that the narrator is right Narrators always right. It says this beginning of miracles that Jesus and Cain of Galilee and manifested forth his glory and his disciples believed on him Now that's the narrator speaking Now obviously we know that it's manifest that Judas is not one of those right because in John chapter 6 It says that he knew from the beginning who would not believe on him and who should betray him, right? So when we saying his disciples believed on him we're talking about Everybody but Judas, right? But it says in verse 19 notice this So verse 11 comes before 19 It says in verse 19. It says Jesus answered and said unto them destroy this temple and in three days, I'll raise it up Then said the Jews forty and six years was his temple and building wilt I rear it up in three days But he spake of the temple of his body When therefore he was risen from the dead his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them and They believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said so notice that I mean even in John 2 he's alluding to the fact That hey, I'm going to die and I'm gonna rising in a third day and then later on He's like he's kind of restating this over and over again, but they didn't understand it. It keeps saying they don't understand it They don't understand it don't understand it But Luke 18 gives us this I it literally states to us that it was hid from them That it's not that they lacked Intelligence to understand it. It's not that they lacked faith to believe it now after the resurrection He did berate them, you know, right? Because they were they were just like they were they saw him, you know Like people were telling him that he was from then and then they're still not believing at that point Obviously, he's he's getting on their case about it But you see that that's very interesting, isn't it that hey this was hid from from their eyes You know that they were there with them. He's stating it He's just stating it in black and white saying I'm going to die And even Peters like no, I'll die before you do that, right? And then he had to say get thee behind me Satan, right? I mean, it's not like they didn't hear him say it It's not that they didn't even necessarily understand kind of what he was saying, but it's just like it wasn't clicking with them It was hid from there like that doctrine or that idea of the operation in which he was going to save them from their sins which is kind of hid from their eyes and You know for what that's worth, you know that that's that's clearly stated and we see that manifest throughout the Gospels But I just think it's interesting that Luke just explicitly states it That I believe God hid that from their eyes just as much as when they're on the road to Emmaus He hid himself from his disciples from even recognizing them for a little bit and you say why did you do that ask Jesus? Okay, there's sometimes in the Bible where you're not gonna know the why necessarily But you're gonna know that it happened. You're gonna know that it's true and maybe later on we'll understand the why So and ending the chapter here in Luke chapter 18 We have this blind beggar It says in verse 35 it says and it came to pass that as he was come nigh unto Jericho a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging and hearing the multitude pass by he asked what it meant and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passed by and he cried saying Jesus thou son of God or thou son of David have mercy on me And they which went before rebuked him then he he that he should hold his peace But he cried so much the more thou son of David have mercy on me The and Jesus stood and commanded him to be brought unto him and when he was come here He asked him saying what wilt thou that I should do unto thee now that isn't that an interesting question, right? He's blind and he's saying what do you want me to do for you and Listen Jesus already know Jesus knows this guy's blind He knows that this guy wants to receive his sight, but the thing that you have to understand is that You have not because you ask not and even though God knows what we need before we ask it He wants us to ask So he wants this guy to ask for his sight and notice what it says here and he said Lord that I may receive my sight and Jesus said unto him receive thy sight thy faith have saved thee so notice it's the faith that saving him it's not any works and He receives his sight but the thing that's interesting about that is verse 43 where it says and immediately He received his sight the moment you believe it's immediately yourself. You're saved It's not a process Now is the accepted time now is the day of salvation The moment you believe you're passed from death unto life. You have everlasting life. You shall not go into condemnation You are a new creature old things are passed away behold all things are become new spiritually and it's immediate and by the way It's by faith It's the faith that saves him It's the faith that gives him his sight But he's asking he wants us to ask him and it says it says He received a sight and followed him glorifying God and all the people when they saw it gave praise unto God And this gets into you know, the Lord's Prayer and people are always knocking at the Lord's Prayer knocking knocking the Lord's Prayer Meaning that they're they're like, oh, you know Saying a prayer that's works Well, he says he wants this guy to ask him what he wants and Does he say your prayer your work saved you here? I Mean people are so dense that they literally think that believing is a work because it takes kinetic energy in their mind to believe And I don't even know what to say to people like that, you know what why don't you just become a Calvinist And start having these philosophical arguments about what technical work is Right, I understand kinetic and Energy and I understand passive and active pressures and all these different things and I and you know what we can get it and get Into that and use it as definitions, but we're talking about the Bible and the Bible says that it's not work That if you ask then he'll give you a gift If thou knewest the gift of God and who it was that said unto thee Give me the drink thou wouldest have asked of him and he would have given thee living water. Well, that's works It's not a gift anymore It's like all right. Well, then just put the Bible on its head and then your philosophy is what matters then Your mental acrobats and philosophy is what matters the Bible is just nothing You know what? I'm gonna take what God says is what's a gift I'm gonna take what God says is what's faith and what's not works and I'm gonna use that as my definition and Praying to God for salvation is not works And listen, I understand that people can get saved without repeating a prayer in front of you, but Don't tell me that someone gets saved and they don't communicate with God at all That's ludicrous To think that you're standing there just like I believe that but I'm not going to talk to God about it I'm not going to communicate to him at all Unbelievable, it's unbelievable to think that obviously someone can get saved by calling on name Lord in their heart They don't have to say it out loud Right, but at the same time to just take out that idea of calling on name Lord. There's so much scripture on that. I Don't have time to go through it, but No, this is that he wants you to ask and really if you don't if you're saying I'm not gonna ask I'm just gonna believe it in my heart one that's pride You don't want to talk to God about it you don't want to ask God for it you too proud to ask him for that gift And what that shows me is that well, do you really believe it? If you're not willing to just ask him for it and say Lord I want that Lord save me be merciful unto me a sinner That's too much and why don't you join that Pharisee That's just saying well, I'm too good for that But let's end with a word prayer the only father we think today thank you for your word Thank you for Luke chapter 18 and Lord. Thank you for all these passages and Lord just thank you for salvation Thank you for eternal life. Thank you that you made it so easy to be saved and We just pray that you'd help us to spread that good news to others and would help us to win many souls for you And Lord prayed you give safe travels and bring us back at the point of time in Jesus Christ's name Amen, so but they will come and sing one more song and then we'll be dismissed I Write take your song books and turn to song 316 Song 316 in your song books We'll sing I have decided to follow Jesus you would stand we'll sing song 316. I have decided To follow Jesus I have Decided to follow Jesus I have decided To follow Jesus No turning back No turning back Though none go with me still I will follow Though none go with me still I will follow Though none go with me still I will follow No turning back No turning back The world behind me the cross before me the world behind me The cross before me the world behind me the cross before me No turning back