Latest / Meadows Baptist Church Podcast / Hebrews 6 - 12/21/25 - Pastor Charlie Branch

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Hebrews 6 - 12/21/25 - Pastor Charlie Branch · Meadows Baptist Church Podcast

• 0:09
  Welcome to Meadows Baptist [music]
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  Church of Walnut Cove, North Carolina.
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  We're so glad you joined us today. If
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  you enjoy [music] today's message, be
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  sure to subscribe, follow, and share
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  with your friends. Now, let's join
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  [music] Pastor Charlie Branch with a
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  word from God.
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  >> [music]
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  >> All right. Hebrews chapter number six.
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  Hebrews chapter number six.
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  Lord plugged this little thought in my
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  mind here few weeks ago. And last week
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  we dealt with the uh precursor to this
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  text verses 11-4. Just dabbled a little
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  bit in verse one of chapter 6. I want to
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  try to look at chapter 6 verses 1 down
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  through verse number eight uh today. And
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  u I was praying what the Lord would have
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  us to say. This really has been on my
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  heart the whole time. I knew this is
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  exactly where I'd be going uh in Sunday
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  school this morning. But this text, um,
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  I want you to give me your best
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  attention this morning. I want try to
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  expound this the best that I can. And a
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  lot of different beliefs about this
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  text. A lot of different things that
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  been said uh by men a lot smarter than
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  me, but I just want to follow the
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  leadership of the Holy Ghost u looking
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  at this this morning. Hebrews 6 verse
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  number one. Hebrews 6 verse number one.
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  The Bible says, "Therefore, leaving the
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  principles of the doctrine of Christ,
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  let us go on unto perfection, not laying
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  again the foundation of repentance from
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  dead works, and of faith toward God, of
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  the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying
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  on of hands, and of resurrection of the
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  dead, and of eternal judgment. And this
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  will we do if God permit. For it is
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  impossible for those who are once
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  enlightened, and have tasted the
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  heavenly gift, were made partakers of
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  the Holy Ghost, have tasted the good
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  word of God, and the powers of the world
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  to come, and they shall fall away to
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  renew them again unto repentance, seeing
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  they crucify to themselves the Son of
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  God aresh, and put him to an open shame.
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  For the earth which drinkketh in the
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  rain, that cometh off upon it, and
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  bringeth forth herbs meat for them, by
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  whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing
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  from God, but that which beareth thorns
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  and briars is rejected, and is nigh
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  under cursing, whose end is to be
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  burned. Now, Father, I ask humbly that
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  you would help us as we consider these
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  verses this morning. I pray you give us
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  wisdom, discernment, Lord, guard our
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  lips, Father, that we would say nothing,
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  Lord, that would uh damage the
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  credibility of the text, but God, I pray
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  that we would say everything, Lord, that
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  would bring to light the truths that are
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  invested in these verses that we've read
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  this morning. I pray you'll help us,
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  fill us with the spirit and accomplish
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  all your will. We pray it in Jesus name.
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  Amen. Chapter 6 verse number one is a
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  continuation of chapter 5 11 down
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  through verse number 14. And I dealt
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  with this subject on last week and I've
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  gotten a lot of response out of this. I
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  think everybody pretty much forgot what
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  I preached last Sunday other than what I
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  said in Sunday school. And so um I want
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  to deal with this again this morning.
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  And uh uh this is not my title, but I'll
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  give you this title this morning if you
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  want a title. We're not going to put
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  this title on the podcast or anything
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  like that, but the title Dwight
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  Pentecost gives for this text is
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  spiritual retardation.
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  And basically, when you study it, that's
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  what this is. Okay? You notice in verse
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  number one down through verse number
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  three, he describes here the state of
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  the church that he is writing to. Now,
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  collectively, I don't I would not say
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  that he is writing to a single church,
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  but I think he is writing to the church,
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  uh, the church as a whole, and he's
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  writing to the Hebrews. We know that
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  this is the book of Hebrews. He's
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  writing to the Jews. And when you study
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  the book of Hebrews, you've got to
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  remember that you're on Jewish ground.
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  Now, there's application for you and I
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  as the believer because it is the New
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  Testament, but not everything directly
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  applies. Now I want to point out some of
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  that here in just a moment. But when you
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  consider this chapter, chapter 6:es 1
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  through verse number eight, I want to
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  give you three subjects here. And what
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  this is dealing with is the subject of
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  growth. And verses 1 through3 deals with
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  faithful growth. Verses 4-6 deals with a
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  failure to grow. And verses 7 and 8 deal
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  with the figure of growth. And all of
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  this is talking about the growth of the
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  believer. Now, were you stray in this
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  chapter is when you try to take this
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  chapter and apply it to somebody who is
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  not saved. Now, there's a lot of men
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  that have done that, and there's men
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  smarter than I am that have done that,
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  and they make a good case for this text.
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  But when you consider the text, the
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  context, it is not speaking to those who
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  are lost, but it's speaking to those who
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  are saved. I I want to consider this
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  first thought here of faithful growth or
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  future growth. Verses 1 through three.
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  Look what the Bible says. He says,
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  "Therefore, leaving the principles of
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  the doctrine of Christ, notice this, let
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  us go on unto perfection." Now, I
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  consider in this text, we've mentioned
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  already that this is Jewish ground, but
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  it is applicable to the church. And so,
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  what he is saying here when he mentions
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  the principles, he brings up this
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  thought, the doctrine of Christ. Now,
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  you know, the doctrine of Christ came in
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  before Matthew chapter 1, right? The
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  doctrine of Christ is all throughout the
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  Old Testament. It's all throughout
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  Genesis, you know, all the way through
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  the law. It's all the way through the
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  historical books, the prophetical books.
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  They ultimately spoke that Christ would
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  come. And when he's speaking of the
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  doctrine of Christ, you got to remember
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  these boys didn't have the gospels.
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  Matter of fact, these some of these men
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  possibly could have been the ones who
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  are writing the gospels. And so these
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  men when he's talking about the
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  principles of the doctrine of Christ,
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  he's referring to Old Testament truth
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  about Jesus, that he would be the
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  Messiah, that he is the son of David,
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  that he is the one that faith would
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  proceed from, that he is the one that
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  would be the king that would reign upon
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  the father, the throne of his father
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  David. And so when he says, therefore,
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  leaving the principles of the doctrine
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  of Christ, he's telling them, look, you
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  need to get off of the baser things that
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  just tell us about who he is. All right?
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  Or why he came. Now, you need to learn
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  about who he is. And notice what he
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  says. He mentions not only the doctrine
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  of Christ. He he points out what this
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  doctrine is. Let me say this. First of
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  all, he mentions the foundation of
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  repentance from dead works. That's an
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  Old Testament truth. John the Baptist
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  came preaching. Repent. What he say?
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  Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at
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  hand. That's an Old Testament truth.
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  That's the That's the doctrine that the
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  prophets preached when they Daniel
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  preached and Isaiah and Jeremiah. What
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  was their message? Repent. Amen. Get
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  right with God. And so there's the
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  doctrine of repentance. There's also the
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  doctrine of condemnation in verse number
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  two, resurrection of the dead and of
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  eternal judgment. And so this has to do
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  with the judgment of the wicked. That
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  too is an Old Testament doctrine that
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  those who would not follow the ways, the
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  truths of the word of God, they would be
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  judged eternally. And then there is the
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  doctrine of repentance and faith. Verse
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  number verse number one again repentance
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  from dead works and of faith toward God.
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  Of course, we know that's Old Testament
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  as well. Abraham was the father of the
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  faith. This there's the doctrine of
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  baptisms. That's simply the ceremonies,
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  the doctrines of ceremonies of laying on
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  of hands. That is the ministry of the
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  saints. You consider the doctrine of
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  laying on of hands. What that was? That
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  was a Jewish thing. The only the Jews
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  received the Holy Ghost by laying on of
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  hands. Okay? And you say, "What's the
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  point of all that, preacher?" Well,
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  Paul, the writer of Hebrews, is trying
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  to tell them, "Hey, you need to get past
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  this stuff." And the application to you
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  and I today is it's good to be saved,
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  but you need to learn more about the
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  Christian life than just being saved.
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  You need to know more than just
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  repentance and faith. You need to know
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  more than just that there is a hell and
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  there's a heaven. You need to know more
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  after you get saved. It's never meant
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  that you just know the baser things.
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  John 3:16 should not be the only verse
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  that you're acquainted with. Amen.
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  >> And so he's telling them it's time to go
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  forward. What are they going forward
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  from? The doctrine of Christ. Those
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  elementary truths as we mentioned on
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  last week. But then he mentions not only
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  the doctrine of Christ, but there is a
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  departure in verse number one. And
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  listen the way I word this, okay? I put
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  this this way for a reason. There's a
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  departure not from Christ, but unto
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  Christ. You see, those baser things will
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  hold you back. Okay? If you are
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  constantly dwelling in the state of
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  salvation and lost heaven and hell, if
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  you are living in that that with that
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  doubt, with that fear in your mind or
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  constantly rehearsing the events, the
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  baser things of Christianity, you will
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  never know the blessing of knowing
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  Jesus. Listen to how he describes it in
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  verse one. He says, "Therefore, leaving
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  the principles of the doctrine of
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  Christ, let us go on unto what?
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  Perfection." Now, just to put this on
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  the outset, I want to give you some
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  stuff about that phrase, but to put this
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  on the outset, who's the only perfect
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  man that ever lived? Christ. Amen. He
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  was a full maturity. The Bible says in
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  Hebrews, I believe it's chapter 3 or 4
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  says that he was made perfect. He was
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  made complete through sufferings. And
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  so, the only man that's ever lived,
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  complete God, complete man, and complete
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  in life is Jesus Christ. And so, he is
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  the example. That's why the end of the
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  book tells us in chapter 12 that we're
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  to look unto him. Amen. Look unto Jesus,
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  the author and finisher of our faith. So
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  what does he mean when he says, "Let us
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  go on unto perfection." Well, I remind
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  you this. First of all, I told you this
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  is not to unbelievers. You say, "How is
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  that?" Well, notice the collectiveness
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  that's mentioned in in that phrase. What
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  does he say? Those first two words, let
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  us let us. The writer is describing
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  himself inspired by the Holy Ghost. He
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  says there's a collective group. There
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  is a design that also tells us that the
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  church, amen, was is is pointed out
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  here. And that's where we find the text
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  in the book of Hebrews says to forsake
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  not the assembling of yourselves
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  together. There's a collective growth
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  that's supposed to take place.
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  >> Amen. So it's collective. Not only that,
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  it's not only collective, but it's
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  progressive. Look what he says in verse
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  one. Let us what? Go on.
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  You know what the biggest problem we
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  have in the church world in this day and
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  time is people don't want to go forward.
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  >> Right?
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  >> Well, we've always done it this way.
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  We've always done that. We've always had
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  that event. We've always had done this.
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  We've always said that. This has been
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  the way. It's always been. And if you
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  want to hinder a church from growing,
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  that's how you do it.
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  >> Amen. I'm not talking about
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  progressivism talking about moving in uh
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  to the modernistic approach. I'm talking
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  about going forward for God. He says,
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  "Let us go on." What are we going on
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  unto? Well, there is a collective. It's
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  progressive, but it's also conclusive.
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  Look what he says. Let us go on unto
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  perfection. You see, there's a goal in
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  mind. If you do not have a goal in mind
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  in your Christian life, you will not
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  accomplish anything.
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  >> If I, as the pastor, do not have a goal
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  in mind for this church, this church
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  will not go forward. Daddy, if you do
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  not have a goal in mind for your
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  marriage or for your family, if you've
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  not got a mark that you're pressing
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  towards, amen, you will not accomplish
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  anything.
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  >> Amen. It works that way in all of life.
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  There has to be a a purpose. Amen. But
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  there also in that purpose, there's a
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  plan that's laid forth. He says, first
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  of all, this plan is that we've got to
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  let go of some things, right?
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  >> He says verse one, leaving the
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  principles. There's some things that
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  we've got to move on from. You need to
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  learn more about Christ than just the
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  fact that he he died and was buried and
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  rose again. And that is the most
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  precious truth. It's the truth that
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  won't makes us want to learn everything
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  else about him. Amen.
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  >> But we ought to know more than that.
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  Amen. Notice this. We we consider this
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  this reference this let us go on unto
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  perfection. Arthur Pink said this. He
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  said it is a reference to the
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  apprehension of the divine revelation of
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  the full glory of Christ in his person,
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  his perfections and his position.
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  [clears throat] It is an apprehension.
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  That apprehension means to take hold of.
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  Let us go on unto. We have a we have a
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  plan. We have a purpose. We're headed
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  somewhere. Amen.
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  >> So notice this. You consider this
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  departure unto Christ. Consider this.
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  Thirdly, I'm still talking about this
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  faithful growth here. We consider the
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  doctrine, the departure. Now consider
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  the decision in verse number three. And
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  I find this interesting. Okay, this is
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  going to lead up to what we deal with
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  next. Notice verse three. And this will
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  we do if God permit. Now I want you to
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  think about this right here. All right,
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  with me for just a minute. There are
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  presented to us plenteous opportunities
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  for Christian growth.
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  I want to say it again. There are
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  presented to us, each and every one of
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  us, plenteous opportunities for
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  Christian growth. But if we continually
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  dismiss them, Christ is not obligated to
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  allow us to continue.
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  >> Right?
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  >> In other words, he will let us stay a
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  baby if that's what we want.
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  >> Right?
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  >> And I've said this a thousand times from
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  this pull pit, but you you are what you
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  want to be at this present moment.
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  >> Right?
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  If you want to go forward for Christ,
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  you say, "Preacher, well, I'm not what I
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  want to be." Well, that means you're
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  pressing forward. Amen. You've got a
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  plan. You got a purpose in mind. There's
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  an end goal. There's a vision that you
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  have for your life. But if you are
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  satisfied with what you are right now,
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  you will never be more than who you are
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  in this moment.
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  >> Right?
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  >> And I want to remind you this, okay?
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  Everything that we have in our life
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  imparted to us by Christ.
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  >> Right? The opportunity to grow is given
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  to us by Christ. I mean, what I'm trying
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  to say is is that you cannot grow apart
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  from the impartation of wisdom
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  >> by Jesus. You do not learn truth on your
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  own.
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  >> The most welleducated man earthly in the
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  scriptures has not even an iota of the
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  truth that a saved man would learn in
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  five minutes of studying his Bible.
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  >> Good.
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  >> Because this book is not carnally read.
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  It's not carnally studied. It's
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  spiritually discerned. And so the
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  decision here is pointed out. Verse
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  three, and this will we do if God
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  permit. Now, what does that mean? Well,
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  if you have decided so long,
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  in other words, put it this way. If you
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  have refused the truth of God's word so
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  long as a child of God, God is not
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  obligated to allow you to grow anymore.
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  >> Right?
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  >> Now, I'll be honest with you, that's
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  hard to hear. But you consider that when
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  you look at the rest of this text, it's
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  very true. When you consider this
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  thought now, it is left up to him. I'll
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  say right now, if you have a desire to
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  know truth, he wants you to know him.
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  Amen. Paul said that I may know him.
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  That is the desire that's on the heart
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  of every believer. But it is possible
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  for a saved child of God to get to a
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  place where they are stagnant. They are
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  complacent. That they have no desire to
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  know anything about Christ. What you're
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  going to see here in this text is what
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  that describes. Now, we consider here
• 15:44
  the faithful growth. What's going to
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  happen? And it's all hinging on this uh
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  the truth of Christ's decision if he
• 15:50
  allows us to grow. Now, I want to remind
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  you he he's not he's not going to
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  withhold you from growth if you desire
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  that. Okay? But the truth of this text
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  reveals, all right, when a person
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  conscientiously chooses to walk away
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  from Christ, Christ is not obligated to
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  draw them back.
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  Notice the text. We consider this
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  faithful growth. But now consider the
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  failure to grow. In verses four- six,
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  notice this verse four. For it is
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  impossible for those who are once
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  enlightened. That four connects verse
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  number three and the phrases before to
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  this verse. Verse four. For it is
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  impossible for those who are once
• 16:28
  enlightened, and have tasted of the
• 16:30
  heavenly gift, and were made partakers
• 16:32
  of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the
• 16:34
  good word of God, and the powers of the
• 16:35
  world to come, if they shall fall away,
• 16:38
  to renew them again unto repentance,
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  seeing they crucify to themselves the
• 16:42
  son of God aresh, and put him to an open
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  shade. Now, what does all this mean?
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  When you consider this thought, the
• 16:51
  failure to grow, you got to look at this
• 16:53
  phrase, how it's worded in verse number
• 16:55
  four. Look what he says. For it is
• 16:58
  impossible for those who are once
• 17:00
  enlightened. All right, so there's
• 17:02
  obviously an impossibility that's stated
• 17:04
  here in verse number four. What is the
• 17:06
  impossibility if you connect the phrase
• 17:09
  verse four and verse six, for it is
• 17:10
  impossible for those who are once
• 17:12
  enlightened? Verse six, if they shall
• 17:14
  fall away to remove them again unto
• 17:17
  repentance. Now verses four and five the
• 17:20
  rest of that he describes this right
• 17:22
  here and I'll give you these three
• 17:24
  thoughts about this failure to grow.
• 17:25
  Number one there are the wonders that
• 17:27
  are experienced in this these verses.
• 17:29
  Notice verse four who are once
• 17:31
  enlightened have tasted of the heavenly
• 17:33
  gift were made partakers of the Holy
• 17:35
  Ghost and have tasted the good word of
• 17:37
  God and the powers of the world to come.
• 17:39
  Now if you consider all of that there
• 17:41
  are some writers that say that this man
• 17:44
  described in verses four and five is not
• 17:46
  saved. But I do not believe that's
• 17:48
  possible. Number one, for this reason.
• 17:51
  You see in verse four, if it was just if
• 17:53
  it only said enlightened, verse number
• 17:55
  four, if it only said that this soul has
• 17:58
  been illuminated, that in other words,
• 18:00
  that conviction has set in and showed
• 18:02
  them that they were lost. But you
• 18:04
  understand it doesn't stop there. Look
• 18:05
  what he says. And have tasted of the
• 18:08
  heavenly gift.
• 18:11
  Tasted of the heavenly gift. Now, let me
• 18:13
  just let me just say this. All right.
• 18:15
  What a salvation.
• 18:17
  For by grace are you saved through faith
• 18:19
  that not all yourselves. It's the gift
• 18:21
  of God, not of works, lest any man
• 18:23
  should boast. That's under inspiration
• 18:25
  of the spirit of God. There it says the
• 18:27
  heavenly gift.
• 18:28
  >> Tasted of it. You're not going to taste
• 18:30
  of salvation and not possess it. Amen.
• 18:32
  >> So if tasted of the heavenly gift and
• 18:35
  were made partakers of what? Of the Holy
• 18:38
  Ghost. What does the book of Romans say?
• 18:40
  If any man have not the spirit of
• 18:41
  Christ, he's none of his. So if he's
• 18:44
  been made partaker of the Holy Ghost,
• 18:46
  he's saved. Verse five, it goes on from
• 18:49
  there. And have tasted the good word of
• 18:52
  God. What have we just said tonight this
• 18:54
  morning? That if a man knows the knows
• 18:56
  the scriptures, he has to have the
• 18:58
  spirit of God.
• 18:59
  >> He has to be saved. You will not receive
• 19:01
  the word of God lost. And the powers of
• 19:04
  the world to come, this is literally the
• 19:06
  progression of salvation. And that
• 19:08
  powers of the world to come means the
• 19:10
  presence of God manifested
• 19:14
  on this earth. The powers of the world
• 19:16
  to come. You can't experience the
• 19:18
  presence of God as a lost man,
• 19:19
  >> right?
• 19:20
  >> You can in conviction,
• 19:22
  >> but it doesn't go beyond that. And so, I
• 19:25
  think we can all agree he's talking to
• 19:27
  the saved person, isn't he? Because of
• 19:30
  the wonders that are experienced.
• 19:31
  There's salvation. There's the spirit's
• 19:33
  presence. There's the Savior's power.
• 19:35
  There's the sanctification of the
• 19:37
  spirit. All of these things are
• 19:39
  experiences of a child of God. But
• 19:42
  notice verse six. Look what your Bible
• 19:45
  says. If they shall fall away to renew
• 19:48
  them again unto repentance. Now this
• 19:51
  man's obviously been saved according to
• 19:53
  everything that's in these verses. So if
• 19:56
  the Bible says in verse six, if they
• 19:58
  shall fall away. So number one, this
• 20:00
  points out that it is possible. Okay?
• 20:03
  don't believe this crowd that says once
• 20:04
  you get saved you'll never sin again.
• 20:06
  Okay?
• 20:07
  >> And and there's some that even say in
• 20:09
  this day, well, you'll sin, but it won't
• 20:10
  be willful sin. But I got a problem with
• 20:12
  that. Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7
• 20:16
  says, hey, he said the good that I
• 20:17
  would. He said I do not. He said the bad
• 20:19
  that I would not, it's that I do. Amen.
• 20:21
  >> And if the Apostle Paul had that problem
• 20:24
  with willful sin, you and I are going to
• 20:26
  have that problem.
• 20:27
  >> And so here he says, if they shall fall
• 20:30
  away, there's the possibility here. But
• 20:32
  what this is, this shows the pattern in
• 20:34
  verse six. If they shall fall away. Now,
• 20:36
  this does not mean, this is not just a
• 20:38
  casual sin. This is not something
• 20:41
  that's, you know, well, I I I got
• 20:43
  tempted, I slipped up and failed. No,
• 20:45
  that's not what this is. Where it says
• 20:48
  if they shall fall away, that means a
• 20:50
  conscientious choice to walk away.
• 20:54
  You say, "Preacher, but I thought that
• 20:56
  someone who's saved can't consciously
• 20:57
  choose to walk away." Well, let me just
• 21:00
  remind you again. You remember about
• 21:01
  Peter?
• 21:04
  What about David? You say, "Preacher,
• 21:07
  but that's Old Testament. They didn't
• 21:08
  have the spirit of God." I know that.
• 21:10
  But they were saved,
• 21:11
  >> right?
• 21:11
  >> Amen. Well, it's not the same economy,
• 21:13
  preacher. But did they go to heaven when
• 21:15
  they died?
• 21:16
  >> Right.
• 21:17
  >> Let me ask you something. All right.
• 21:19
  When you consider this truth, if you if
• 21:21
  man is a free moral agent when he gets
• 21:23
  saved, all right, if you have to choose
• 21:26
  Christ in order to be saved and then
• 21:28
  after you get saved, you have to choose
• 21:30
  to live for Christ, would it not be
• 21:32
  possible that you could do anything
• 21:34
  afterward
• 21:35
  >> that you could do before?
• 21:38
  And he says this, if they shall fall
• 21:41
  away. So we consider the wonders
• 21:43
  expressed, but then there is the we the
• 21:45
  wonders experienced in verses four and
• 21:47
  five. Then there is this will that's
• 21:49
  expressed. That phrase fall away means a
• 21:51
  conscious premeditated choice or
• 21:53
  decision to turn back. Now the writer of
• 21:57
  Hebrews says this so many times. Notice
• 22:00
  chapter number 10.
• 22:03
  Chapter number 10
• 22:06
  and the last verse verse 38.
• 22:09
  Chapter 10 verse 38 and 39.
• 22:12
  The Bible says, "Now the just shall live
• 22:14
  by faith, but if any man draw back, my
• 22:17
  soul shall have no pleasure in him."
• 22:18
  Verse 39, "But we are not of them who
• 22:21
  draw back unto predition, but of them
• 22:22
  that believe to the saving of the soul."
• 22:26
  Now, the terminology that's going to be
• 22:28
  used in this text is the same
• 22:30
  terminology that's going to be used
• 22:32
  there in chapter number 10. You you
• 22:33
  consider here it's mentioned that it's
• 22:36
  impossible to renew them again to
• 22:38
  repentance. Verse 8 says that they are
• 22:40
  nigh unto cursing whose end is to be
• 22:42
  burned. And I submit to you this is not
• 22:44
  talking about hell. Okay? Because this
• 22:47
  would contradict the doctrine of
• 22:49
  salvation.
• 22:51
  >> If you could lose your salvation, amen,
• 22:53
  that just damages everything about who
• 22:54
  Christ is and what Christ did for us.
• 22:57
  And so what is he talking about? Well,
• 22:59
  he says if they shall fall away, if they
• 23:02
  willfully turn away, what happens? Verse
• 23:04
  six, it's impossible to renew them again
• 23:07
  unto repentance, seeing them c seeing
• 23:10
  they crucify to themselves the son of
• 23:12
  God aresh and put him to an open shame.
• 23:15
  So there's the wonders that's
• 23:16
  experienced here by this saved man.
• 23:18
  There's the will that's expressed here
• 23:20
  by this saved man. But there's a work
• 23:22
  that's inhibited in his life because he
• 23:25
  is saved. What is that work? Look what
• 23:27
  it says. To renew them again unto
• 23:29
  repentance. Now notice what's not said
• 23:31
  in this verse. It does not say that it's
• 23:34
  impossible for this man to repent.
• 23:37
  Notice the verse is if they shall fall
• 23:40
  away to renew them again unto
• 23:43
  repentance. So repentance here is not an
• 23:45
  action but it's a state. You say what's
• 23:48
  the state? Well repentance when it takes
• 23:50
  place when you get saved. What is that?
• 23:52
  It's repentance and faith. At salvation
• 23:54
  the moment of salvation it is a state of
• 23:57
  repentance. And what do you spend the
• 23:58
  rest of your life doing as a child of
• 24:00
  God? the act of repenting. And so when
• 24:04
  he says it's impossible to renew them
• 24:07
  again unto repentance, he is saying that
• 24:09
  it's impossible for them to experience
• 24:12
  after they have willfully walked away
• 24:14
  from Christ after they have chosen by
• 24:18
  their own decision to walk away from
• 24:20
  Jesus. It's impossible for them to come
• 24:22
  back and be saved be experience that
• 24:25
  same repentance again.
• 24:29
  >> What does that bar them from? It bars
• 24:30
  them from blessing.
• 24:33
  Notice it in the text. Verse six. Seeing
• 24:35
  they crucify to themselves the son of
• 24:37
  God aresh and put him to an open shame.
• 24:42
  You say, "What does that mean,
• 24:43
  preacher?" Well, if somebody walks away
• 24:46
  and denounces the faith, a child of God
• 24:48
  walks away and denounces the faith, you
• 24:50
  know what's going to happen if they try
• 24:51
  to come back? You know what they're
• 24:53
  doing? If they have openly denounced
• 24:56
  what they believed in, and it can be
• 24:57
  done. Say, "How is that?" Well, Peter
• 25:00
  denied the Lord.
• 25:01
  >> Said, "I know not the man." And you know
• 25:03
  what? Peter had to deal with the
• 25:05
  repercussions of that decision when he
• 25:06
  decided to come back. He struggled for
• 25:09
  many years because of that. Of course,
• 25:11
  we know when the spirit showed up, amen,
• 25:13
  the work, all of that was worked out.
• 25:15
  But what I'm saying is is this. There
• 25:17
  were those that looked at him and said,
• 25:18
  "Well, you denied him one time."
• 25:23
  >> If you walk away and denounce everything
• 25:26
  you say, you don't believe any of that.
• 25:28
  You know what you're doing? You're
• 25:30
  hanging Christ on that cross again,
• 25:32
  >> right?
• 25:33
  >> When you try to come back. Now, I want
• 25:36
  to make this point and we'll move on
• 25:37
  here. This failure to what h what what
• 25:40
  brings this about is a failure to grow.
• 25:42
  And it's like brother Jimmy said it and
• 25:43
  it's the best selectment you'll ever
• 25:45
  hear on Christian growth. Christian
• 25:46
  growth is like paddling up a stream.
• 25:48
  You're either paddling against the
• 25:49
  current or you're floating with it.
• 25:52
  >> And so when you refuse to grow, what are
• 25:54
  you doing? You are allowing the world,
• 25:56
  the currents of this world, the flesh,
• 25:58
  the devil, and sin to take you away. And
• 26:01
  because of that, what happens is when
• 26:03
  you try to get back right again, the
• 26:05
  first thing that you're going to do is
• 26:07
  try to get saved again
• 26:09
  when you've been out of the will of God
• 26:10
  for so many years. Because this is what
• 26:13
  what's going to happen to you. You're
• 26:14
  going to think, "Well, if I did all
• 26:15
  that, there wouldn't know way I was
• 26:16
  really saved anyway."
• 26:18
  >> You say, "Where's a where's an
• 26:20
  illustration of this?" Well, the the
• 26:21
  most prominent illustration I think of
• 26:23
  is in the book of Numbers.
• 26:27
  Numbers chapter number
• 26:30
  20.
• 26:33
  The Bible says in numbers 20 verse
• 26:36
  number 7.
• 26:38
  And the Lord spake unto Moses saying,
• 26:40
  "Take the rod and gather thou the
• 26:42
  assembly together, thou and Aaron thy
• 26:44
  brethren, and speak ye unto the rock
• 26:45
  before their eyes, and it shall give
• 26:47
  forth his water, and thou shalt bring
• 26:50
  forth to them water out of the rock. So
• 26:52
  shalt thou give the congregation, and
• 26:55
  their beast drink." And Moses took the
• 26:57
  rod from before the Lord, as he
• 26:59
  commanded him. And Moses and Aaron
• 27:01
  gathered the congregation together
• 27:03
  before the rock. And he said unto them,
• 27:04
  "Hear now, you rebels, must we fetch you
• 27:07
  water out of this rock." And Moses
• 27:09
  lifted up his hand, and with his rod he
• 27:11
  smoked the rock twice, and the water
• 27:13
  came out abundantly, and the
• 27:15
  congregation drank, and their beast
• 27:17
  also. And the Lord spake unto Moses and
• 27:20
  Aaron. Notice this, because ye believe
• 27:21
  me not to sanctify me in the eyes of the
• 27:23
  children of Israel. Therefore, ye shall
• 27:25
  not bring this congregation into the
• 27:27
  land which I have given them. This is
• 27:29
  the water of Marabah because the
• 27:31
  children of Israel strove with the Lord
• 27:33
  and he was sanctified in them. Now, what
• 27:35
  does this mean? Well, simply put, that
• 27:38
  rod is a type of judgment.
• 27:41
  And when God told Moses, he said, "Look,
• 27:43
  you take your rod." He didn't tell him
• 27:45
  to smite the rock, but he said, "You
• 27:47
  speak to the rock." That rod represented
• 27:49
  judgment. And so, that rock represents
• 27:51
  Jesus Christ. And so, when Moses came
• 27:54
  here and God told him to speak to the
• 27:56
  rock, it's a symbol of fellowship. Well,
• 27:58
  Moses comes up in here and he's angry,
• 28:01
  ain't he? He's mad. The children of
• 28:03
  Israel, look at that in the text. Verse
• 28:05
  number verse number uh verse number 10.
• 28:08
  Moses Aaron gathered the congregation
• 28:09
  together for before the rock. And he
• 28:10
  said to them, "Here now, you rebels,
• 28:12
  must we fetch you water out of this
• 28:14
  rot," he's angry. Okay? And out of this,
• 28:17
  instead of doing what God told him to do
• 28:19
  and speaking to the rock, which is a
• 28:20
  type of fellowship, he takes the rod and
• 28:23
  smites it not once but twice.
• 28:26
  You say, "What is the representation?"
• 28:28
  Well, he took the judgment
• 28:31
  and smites the rock which represents
• 28:33
  Christ. Now, what did Jesus do once?
• 28:37
  The cross.
• 28:38
  >> He suffered the judgment of God once.
• 28:41
  And so in this text, when the Bible says
• 28:44
  it's impossible to renew them unto
• 28:46
  repentance, what you're doing is when
• 28:48
  you when you are trying to make another
• 28:50
  profession of faith because of the sin,
• 28:52
  because you willfully walked away from
• 28:54
  Jesus, when you try to come back, here's
• 28:56
  what happens. You smite the rock again
• 28:59
  when you needed to just speak to it.
• 29:00
  You're
• 29:00
  >> right.
• 29:01
  >> Because fellowship was broken, but there
• 29:03
  wasn't a relationship that was gone.
• 29:05
  >> Right?
• 29:06
  >> Okay. This is what happens when you walk
• 29:08
  away from the word of God. And and the
• 29:10
  writer said, "Right, it's spiritual
• 29:12
  retardation. So, refuse to grow is what
• 29:15
  it is. If you refuse to grow, this is
• 29:17
  inevitably where you'll find yourself."
• 29:20
  You say, "Preacher, well, what's the
• 29:22
  truth to the Jews here?" Well, when he's
• 29:24
  talking to these Jews, okay, I've given
• 29:26
  you the application. Now, here's the
• 29:27
  Jewish truth. You remember these Jews
• 29:29
  here in this text? It says, "If they
• 29:31
  shall fall away." So, if these Jews
• 29:33
  willfully decide that they're going to
• 29:35
  go back to Judaism, you know what
• 29:37
  they're doing? And if they turn around
• 29:38
  and come back from that again, they're
• 29:39
  saying, "Well, Christ is going to have
• 29:41
  to be crucified again." If they turn
• 29:42
  around and go back to Judaism, they're
• 29:44
  agreeing with the people that crucified
• 29:46
  Christ.
• 29:47
  >> Right?
• 29:48
  >> If you turn around and walk away from
• 29:50
  the faith as a believer, you know what
• 29:52
  you're doing? You're agreeing with the
• 29:53
  world that crucified Jesus.
• 29:55
  >> Right?
• 29:56
  >> Amen. That's right. Notice this third
• 29:58
  one. I'm done. We consider the fa the
• 30:02
  faithful growth, the failure to grow.
• 30:04
  Here, the foundation cannot be laid
• 30:06
  again. The experience of newness and
• 30:08
  salvation can only be experienced once.
• 30:10
  And I say, "Thank God for that."
• 30:12
  Hallelujah. Man, I'm thankful. I ain't
• 30:14
  got to worry about whether I'm saved
• 30:15
  today and lost tomorrow. Amen.
• 30:17
  Hallelujah. I feel bad for the
• 30:18
  Pentecostals. Amen. That must be
• 30:21
  miserable. Well, I wonder if I got it
• 30:23
  today. I wonder if the sin that I
• 30:24
  committed was bad enough to make, you
• 30:26
  know, just crazy what it is. It's not
• 30:29
  scriptural. Notice this. Thirdly, the
• 30:31
  figure of growth. Verses seven and
• 30:32
  eight. quickly. For the earth which
• 30:34
  drinkketh in the rain that cometh off
• 30:36
  upon it bringeth forth herbs meek for
• 30:38
  them by whom it is dressed receiveth
• 30:39
  blessing from God. But that which
• 30:41
  beareth thorns and briars is rejected
• 30:43
  and is nine to cursing whose end is to
• 30:46
  be burned. So there is number one here
• 30:48
  the figure of this growth is mentioned.
• 30:50
  He pictures the earth. There's the earth
• 30:52
  the ground which drinkketh in the rain
• 30:54
  that cometh off upon it and bringeth
• 30:56
  forth herbs meat for them by whom it is
• 30:58
  dressed. He's speaking here first of all
• 31:00
  the feeling God sends the rain. He fills
• 31:03
  the earth uh with the rain. He sends it
• 31:05
  upon the just and the unjust. The Bible
• 31:07
  says and so this earth drinkketh of the
• 31:09
  rain that cometh. It's the a type of the
• 31:11
  blessing of God. Then there's the
• 31:13
  fruitfulness in verse seven. It bringeth
• 31:15
  forth herbs meat for them by whom it is
• 31:17
  dressed because of the rain. That
• 31:19
  fruitful ground bringeth forth a
• 31:21
  productiveness for those to supply the
• 31:24
  need of those that dress that ground.
• 31:26
  And then it shows the faithfulness of
• 31:28
  God in verse seven. It receiveth
• 31:29
  blessing from God. That rain that comes
• 31:32
  upon it makes it fruitful and because of
• 31:35
  that God is faithful under that fruitful
• 31:37
  ground. But in verse number eight, he
• 31:39
  says that which beareth thorns and
• 31:40
  briars is rejected and is not under curs
• 31:43
  and whose end is to be burned. Now, this
• 31:47
  is not speaking here once again of those
• 31:50
  who are saved and then lose it or those
• 31:52
  who are never saved and then they're
• 31:54
  judged because of their, you know, they
• 31:56
  were close to God in a in a sense. It's
• 31:59
  not that's not what this means.
• 32:00
  Basically, what this is saying is is
• 32:02
  that our works at the end of our life
• 32:04
  are going to be judged. Now, that's a
• 32:05
  scriptural thought, isn't it? If you are
• 32:08
  fruitful, you're going to have something
• 32:09
  to lay at the feet of Jesus.
• 32:11
  >> But if you are unfruitful, those things
• 32:13
  are going to be what? burned.
• 32:16
  >> They're going to be burned. You say,
• 32:17
  "Preacher, well, how is that?" Well,
• 32:19
  turn this turn to this text with me and
• 32:21
  I'll be done. 1 Corinthians 3. 1
• 32:23
  Corinthians 3:1. Find it interesting the
• 32:26
  terminology is used in this text. 1
• 32:28
  Corinthians 3 and 11. For other
• 32:31
  foundation can no man lay than that that
• 32:34
  is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now,
• 32:37
  he's mentioned that foundation again.
• 32:39
  What does he said in verse number one of
• 32:41
  chapter 6? He said, "Not laying again
• 32:43
  the foundation." This is a foundational
• 32:46
  problem.
• 32:47
  >> Okay, notice it again in the text. Verse
• 32:49
  12. Now if any man build upon this
• 32:52
  foundation gold, silver, precious
• 32:54
  stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's
• 32:56
  work shall be made manifest. For the day
• 32:58
  shall declare it, because it shall be
• 33:00
  revealed by what? Fire. And the fire
• 33:04
  shall tr try every man's work of what
• 33:06
  sort it is. If any man's work abide
• 33:08
  which he had built thereupon, he shall
• 33:10
  receive a word reward. If any man's work
• 33:13
  shall be burned, he shall suffer loss.
• 33:15
  But he himself, notice this, shall be
• 33:17
  saved. Yet so as by fire.
• 33:21
  Now what's what's the parallel here?
• 33:24
  Well, Paul is dealing with a
• 33:26
  foundational issue. When we are
• 33:28
  constantly
• 33:30
  trying to relay the foundational
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  doctrines of who Christ is, you know
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  what? We're never going to be able to
• 33:37
  have a building. You're
• 33:38
  >> right.
• 33:39
  >> And so, you know what you're left with
• 33:41
  in a figurative image? You're left with
• 33:43
  a pile of building supplies sitting on
• 33:45
  the side that one of these days you're
• 33:46
  going to load up and walk through the
• 33:48
  fire with it and it's all going to burn
• 33:49
  up,
• 33:49
  >> right?
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  >> Because you were continually working on
• 33:52
  a foundation that's already been laid.
• 33:55
  I think that's a very vivid image, don't
• 33:57
  you?
• 33:59
  >> We have been given supplies. Look what
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  he says. For the earth which drinkketh
• 34:03
  in the rain that cometh off upon it. We
• 34:05
  are, our heart is the ground. Okay?
• 34:08
  God's given us that. He's given us the
• 34:11
  rain to make that grow. And it's up to
• 34:13
  us to be fruitful,
• 34:14
  >> right?
• 34:16
  >> Those who are fruitful are blessed. He
• 34:17
  says in verse seven, verse number eight,
• 34:20
  those who are unfruitful, look what he
• 34:22
  says. And and I love the King James
• 34:24
  Bible, man. I'm telling you, it's it's
• 34:26
  perfect. Look what he says. He doesn't
• 34:28
  say they are cursed, but look what he
• 34:29
  says in verse eight. They're nigh unto
• 34:31
  cursing.
• 34:33
  It's near.
• 34:35
  They can't be cursed. Amen.
• 34:37
  >> But they're near to it. Why would a
• 34:39
  child of God want to live near cursing?
• 34:42
  >> Amen.
• 34:42
  >> You think about that. When you are
• 34:44
  living in sin willfully, you know what?
• 34:46
  You're living near cursing.
• 34:49
  >> It's sad that there'll be people who are
• 34:51
  saved that will walk along the canyon to
• 34:55
  fall off into hell their entire life.
• 34:57
  Walk right along the edge. And the
• 34:59
  providence, the blessing of God's the
• 35:00
  only thing going to keep them out
• 35:01
  because they're saved and sealed. But
• 35:03
  they're going to live their life walking
• 35:05
  along that edge.
• 35:08
  >> Nigh under cursing whose end is to be
• 35:10
  burned. Everything that you get in that
• 35:13
  type of lifestyle is just going to go
• 35:16
  >> right
• 35:17
  >> and you're going to have absolutely
• 35:18
  nothing to lay at the feet of Jesus. So,
• 35:21
  I don't know about you, but I want to
• 35:22
  grow.
• 35:23
  >> Amen. Peter said it best in his epistle.
• 35:25
  He said, "But grow in grace and in the
• 35:27
  knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
• 35:29
  Christ." If you're going to grow, you're
• 35:32
  going to have to know him. Amen. And so
• 35:36
  you say, "Preacher, I don't agree with
• 35:37
  that." That's all right. Amen. You're
• 35:39
  entitled to your opinion. I'll tell you
• 35:41
  this right here. [snorts] Saved or lost.
• 35:44
  All right? If you're lost, you'll live
• 35:46
  your life wasted and die and go to hell.
• 35:48
  But if you're saved and if you choose to
• 35:50
  waste your life, you'll be miserable
• 35:53
  come the judgment seat. You're
• 35:54
  >> right. Amen. That's just the truth.
• 35:57
  Amen. Whichever way you want to put the
• 35:59
  text, the truth is you're blessed to be
• 36:00
  in the house of God this morning. Amen.
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  >> Father, thank you for this time for the
• 36:05
  truth we've been able to share this
• 36:07
  morning. God, help us to grow. Help us
• 36:09
  to grow this year 2026. Lord, may this
• 36:12
  be the year when we just take off for
• 36:14
  you. Grow more than we've ever grown
• 36:17
  before. I pray you'd grant it, Jesus.
• 36:19
  Help us this morning as we sing. Bless
• 36:22
  the preaching, the offering, the special
• 36:24
  singing. Just get glory to yourself. Be
• 36:27
  sure to thank you for what you do
• 36:28
  because we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.
• 36:32
  >> Thank you for joining [music] our
• 36:33
  service today. We'd love it if you'd
• 36:35
  join us in person the next time you are
• 36:37
  [music] able at Meadows Baptist Church.
• 36:40
  Our physical address is 2988 Stewart
• 36:43
  [music] Road in Walnut Cove, North
• 36:45
  Carolina. Our service times are Sunday
• 36:48
  school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning
• 36:50
  worship [music] at 11:00 a.m., Sunday
• 36:53
  evening worship at 6:00 p.m., and
• 36:55
  Wednesday evening Bible study at 700
• 36:57
  p.m. [music]
• 36:58
  For more information, visit us at
• 37:00
  meadowsbaptisturch.com.
• 37:03
  Thanks again for tuning in.