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Voddie Baucham - Errors in the Modern Day Gospel · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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Speaker 1: Amen. I'm glad I got to stand up after that
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Speaker 1: because they rise up, oh, men of God. Yeah, amen.
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Speaker 1: Come on. Let's bow together in a word of prayer. Father,
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Speaker 1: thank you so much for just the privilege that we
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Speaker 1: have of gathering in your presence and among your people
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Speaker 1: and having this opportunity to worship you, to enter into
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Speaker 1: this two-way conversation that we call worship. to say some
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Speaker 1: things to you and about you that we know and
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Speaker 1: believe to be true and anxiously anticipate those moments when
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Speaker 1: you speak to us clearly and powerfully through your word
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Speaker 1: to the end that our lives would be touched and
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Speaker 1: changed and transformed, that we might be conformed to the
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Speaker 1: very image of Christ. That is our prayer. And so
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Speaker 1: we do say, speak, Lord, for your servants indeed are listening.
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Speaker 1: And we desire to hear and to heed what it
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Speaker 1: is that you would say. We pray these things because
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Speaker 1: we believe that they are in accordance with the will
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Speaker 1: and the nature and the authority of Jesus. And all
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Speaker 1: God's people said, Amen. Well, it is good to be here.
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Speaker 1: It is good to be back. It is also especially
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Speaker 1: good to be back on this campus and not owe
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Speaker 1: anybody a paper. Amen. I was at an event not
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Speaker 1: long ago where I saw something that unfortunately is not
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Speaker 1: at all uncommon, but disturbing nonetheless. I saw this unfold
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Speaker 1: as I've seen it unfold numerous times before. I was
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Speaker 1: at an event that was a very large event in
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Speaker 1: a big stadium with thousands of people. And there were
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Speaker 1: several people who were going to preach that day. I
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Speaker 1: was one of those people. There was one gentleman who
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Speaker 1: got up and it was his assignment to preach the
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Speaker 1: gospel and give what we commonly refer to in Baptist
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Speaker 1: life as an invitation, an altar call. That practice that
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Speaker 1: we trace back to Charles Finney and his movement in
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Speaker 1: the great second great awakening. And that's what this individual did.
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Speaker 1: He stood up and he shared his And he gave
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Speaker 1: this tremendous altar call and the response was amazing. And
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Speaker 1: while people were flooding down the aisles to get to
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Speaker 1: the altar, somebody sort of nudged me and said, isn't
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Speaker 1: this awesome? And I could not respond because my spirit
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Speaker 1: was far too grieved to respond at that moment. Because
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Speaker 1: what I saw and what I've seen far too many
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Speaker 1: times was not the proclamation of the gospel but what
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Speaker 1: I saw was what has begun to pass for evangelism
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Speaker 1: and gospel proclamation in the contemporary age in which we
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Speaker 1: live what I saw was a man who pushed all
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Speaker 1: of the buttons that we have been so masterfully taught
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Speaker 1: to push I saw an individual get up, no Bible
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Speaker 1: in hand, stand there and begin by connecting with the crowd.
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Speaker 1: And because it was a crowd of young adults and 20-somethings,
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Speaker 1: he decided that, you know, he would dress down and
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Speaker 1: that he would say a few phrases that would let
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Speaker 1: them know that he was one of them. And so
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Speaker 1: this man, who in no way was a part of
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Speaker 1: their generation, was using phrases in order to connect with
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Speaker 1: Because that's just what you do. And after you use
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Speaker 1: a few phrases to connect, you move into another phase.
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Speaker 1: And that phase is when you draw people into the
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Speaker 1: message by being humorous. You draw people in by telling
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Speaker 1: jokes and telling story after story after story that sort
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Speaker 1: of brings them in and sucks them in to what
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Speaker 1: it is that you are saying and causes them to
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Speaker 1: identify you. Then once you have them there, quickly you
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Speaker 1: must turn the situation. And then you begin to proclaim
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Speaker 1: not the gospel of Jesus Christ, but the gospel of
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Speaker 1: guilt and legalism. You present Christianity in terms like this.
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Speaker 1: I used to be lost, but now I read my
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Speaker 1: Bible every day. Do you? I used to be lost,
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Speaker 1: but now I witness to people every day. Do you?
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Speaker 1: I used to be lost, but now I pray every day.
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Speaker 1: Do you? These legalistic terms where Christianity is now a
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Speaker 1: checklist so that the people in the audience, if their
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Speaker 1: list doesn't match the preacher's list, they feel guilty about
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Speaker 1: where they stand with God. After you have turned the
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Speaker 1: message thus, then you bring fear alongside the guilt and
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Speaker 1: the shame. And you talk about the certainty and suddenness
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Speaker 1: of death. When you have your audience sufficiently afraid, you
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Speaker 1: turn once again. And you offer as wide an invitation
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Speaker 1: as you possibly can. This individual got so broad as
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Speaker 1: to say, if there is anything in your life that
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Speaker 1: is not right before God, you need to be down here.
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Speaker 1: Hundreds came. The event organizers were so excited. But out
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Speaker 1: of the hundreds that came, the last count I had,
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Speaker 1: was that the counselors had led about 25 of them
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Speaker 1: to Christ. But you better believe that on this individual's
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Speaker 1: website the next week, there was this conference, and after
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Speaker 1: this conference, there was this statement. There were hundreds of
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Speaker 1: decisions for Christ. He has to beat away bookings with
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Speaker 1: a stick. And I'm not going to say his name
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Speaker 1: because there are dozens of people who fit the bill.
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Speaker 1: You know who they are. You may be one of them.
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Speaker 1: You can make a good living if you will learn
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Speaker 1: how to manipulate crowds. And that's all that happened that day.
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Speaker 1: But here's what's worse. Is that because of ministries like this,
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Speaker 1: hundreds if not thousands of people are being sealed in unbelief.
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Speaker 1: They have neither heard nor responded to the gospel, but
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Speaker 1: because they came to the right part of the room
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Speaker 1: and repeated the right prayer that I have still yet
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Speaker 1: to find in Scripture, they have been told that they
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Speaker 1: are now eternally secure. No wonder I have conversations with
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Speaker 1: people regularly who tell me, I went to the right
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Speaker 1: part of the room and I said the right words,
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Speaker 1: yet there is still Something missing. I want to talk
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Speaker 1: to you this morning about the gospel that we preach.
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Speaker 1: If you will, open your Bibles with me to the
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Speaker 1: book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And let's
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Speaker 1: look at the first few verses here in 1 Corinthians
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Speaker 1: chapter 15. At this gospel that we preach. Now I
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Speaker 1: make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preach
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Speaker 1: to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
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Speaker 1: by which also you are saved, if you hold fast
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Speaker 1: the word which I preach to you, unless you believed
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Speaker 1: in vain. For I delivered to you as of first
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Speaker 1: importance what I also received, that Christ died for our
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Speaker 1: sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried and
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Speaker 1: that he was raised on the third day according to
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Speaker 1: the Scriptures. And he appeared to Cephas and then the twelve.
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Speaker 1: After that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren
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Speaker 1: at one time, most of whom remain until now, but
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Speaker 1: some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then
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Speaker 1: to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one
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Speaker 1: untimely born, he appeared to me also, for I am
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Speaker 1: the least of the apostles. and not fit to be
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Speaker 1: called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
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Speaker 1: But by the grace of God I am what I am,
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Speaker 1: and his grace toward me did not prove vain, but
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Speaker 1: I labored even more than all of them, yet not I,
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Speaker 1: but the grace of God within me. Whether then it
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Speaker 1: was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.
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Speaker 1: This gospel that we preach. First of all, this gospel
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Speaker 1: that we preach requires effective communication. And I pray that
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Speaker 1: that's why you're here. I pray that that's why you're
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Speaker 1: in seminary. I pray that that's why you're considering this
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Speaker 1: school if you are here today. in that regard. I
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Speaker 1: pray that you are not here in order to get
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Speaker 1: your ticket punched. I pray that you are not here
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Speaker 1: in order to get a better salary or a better
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Speaker 1: job at a better church, but I pray that the
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Speaker 1: reason that you are here is to follow the word
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Speaker 1: that we have in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15,
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Speaker 1: that we would rightly divide or handle accurately the word
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Speaker 1: of truth. My prayer for you is that that is
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Speaker 1: the goal of this instruction that we understand the weight
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Speaker 1: of this matter the fact that the gospel must be
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Speaker 1: communicated effectively Now, if you know anything about communication, you
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Speaker 1: know that there are three things that are required for
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Speaker 1: effective communication. A sender, a receiver, and a message. Look
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Speaker 1: with me in that first verse. Now, I make known
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Speaker 1: to you, brethren, the gospel, that's the message, which I
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Speaker 1: preach to you, that's the sender, which also you receive,
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Speaker 1: that's the receiver. The gospel that we preach requires effective communication.
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Speaker 1: What that means is we have to be senders of
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Speaker 1: the gospels. We must proclaim the gospel. Whatever it is
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Speaker 1: that we do, whatever ministry it is to which we
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Speaker 1: are called, we are called to proclaim the gospel. Secondly,
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Speaker 1: it requires receivers. And I'm going to say this, and
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Speaker 1: some may be upset by this. Newsflash, you can't make
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Speaker 1: anyone receive the gospel. You see, the reason that we
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Speaker 1: buy into manipulation is because we have bought into this
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Speaker 1: idea that somehow all we need to do is be
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Speaker 1: crafty enough. All we have to do is be manipulative enough.
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Speaker 1: All we have to do is find the right word
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Speaker 1: or the right felt need, and then we can win
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Speaker 1: anybody to Christ. Newsflash, God saves sinners. Not you, not me.
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Speaker 1: Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel because the
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Speaker 1: gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Not how
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Speaker 1: articulate I may or may not be. The reason we
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Speaker 1: have become manipulative is because we believe that if we
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Speaker 1: can twist someone's arm and make them repeat after us
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Speaker 1: a certain set of magic words in a certain order
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Speaker 1: that magically, regardless of what the Spirit of God has
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Speaker 1: wrought within them, they will be saved. Newsflash. The right
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Speaker 1: words and the right order does not save sinners. Your
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Speaker 1: manipulation does not save sinners. You know, when I came
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Speaker 1: to Christ, I'll never forget. I, as you heard, I
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Speaker 1: didn't grow up in church. I didn't grow up going,
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Speaker 1: you know, hearing the gospel. I didn't grow up. And
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Speaker 1: my mother was a practicing Buddhist. And the first time
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Speaker 1: I ever heard about Jesus was my freshman year in
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Speaker 1: college when a guy by the name of Steve Morgan
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Speaker 1: came into a sweaty, nasty locker room and tried to
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Speaker 1: share with me. Basically, he thought that I was a
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Speaker 1: Christian already. Because I was part of a Christian organization
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Speaker 1: in my high school called the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
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Speaker 1: What he didn't understand was that this was just something
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Speaker 1: that our coach did to get more time with us.
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Speaker 1: He threw us T-shirts and said, we're going to have FCA,
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Speaker 1: and that's all I heard of it. I learned how to,
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Speaker 1: you know, pray the Lord's Prayer after practice. And so
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Speaker 1: we would practice, and he would cuss us up one
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Speaker 1: side and down the other. But after practice, we'd always
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Speaker 1: say the sinner's prayer. Take that for whatever it's worth.
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Speaker 1: Or we'd say the Lord's Prayer. I'm sorry. And so
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Speaker 1: he came in thinking, well, this guy knows Jesus. Maybe
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Speaker 1: he can start a Bible study with the people on
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Speaker 1: the football team. He talks to me for four and
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Speaker 1: a half minutes and realizes, I don't know Jesus from
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Speaker 1: the man in the moon. He backs up because he
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Speaker 1: had a presentation that he was trying to share with me,
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Speaker 1: which would have helped me connect the dots had I
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Speaker 1: had enough dots. Amen. But I didn't have enough dots.
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Speaker 1: So he backed up and he said, okay, this is
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Speaker 1: the Bible. That's where he started. Came back every day
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Speaker 1: for three and a half weeks until all my questions
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Speaker 1: were answered. One day, I'm there in that locker room
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Speaker 1: and I'm waiting for Steve to come. See, after the
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Speaker 1: first two weeks, he had taught me how to go
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Speaker 1: find the answers myself. And I wanted to know about
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Speaker 1: the validity of the scriptures. I wanted to know if
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Speaker 1: they were divine rather than human in origin. I wanted
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Speaker 1: to know about the person of Christ. I wanted to
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Speaker 1: know about why Christianity and not other faiths. I wanted
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Speaker 1: to know these things. All of a sudden, one day
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Speaker 1: I'm waiting for him. It's Friday, November 13th, 1987. He's late,
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Speaker 1: and I realize I don't have any more questions. I'm
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Speaker 1: sitting there in this locker room. Steve's late. I got
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Speaker 1: no more questions. I'm trying to figure out what I'm
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Speaker 1: going to ask him when he comes, and all of
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Speaker 1: a sudden I realize something. I believe. So I get
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Speaker 1: down on my face in this sweaty, nasty locker room
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Speaker 1: and I say, God, that thing you did for Steve
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Speaker 1: that he's been telling me you want to do for me,
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Speaker 1: now it's good. I want to tell you something. The
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Speaker 1: best thing Steve ever did for me was that he
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Speaker 1: did not change my prayer. He didn't come in and
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Speaker 1: mess up my entire theology by saying to me, no,
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Speaker 1: you didn't say the right words in the right order.
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Speaker 1: He came in that locker room and saw me on
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Speaker 1: the floor bawling like a little kid. And he asked
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Speaker 1: me what happened and I told him and he looked
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Speaker 1: at me and he said, you've been born again. It's
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Speaker 1: not certain words in certain order. It saves people. It's
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Speaker 1: not a certain part of the room that saves people.
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Speaker 1: I have been in places where I have proclaimed the
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Speaker 1: gospel and called upon people to be saved right in
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Speaker 1: their seats. And I have had people come unglued. Why? Because, man,
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Speaker 1: you've got to get them to the front of the room. Why? Why?
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Speaker 1: Who says? Show me that. Matter of fact, show me
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Speaker 1: a New Testament church with a room to have the
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Speaker 1: front of. Why did I do that? Here's why I
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Speaker 1: did that. I got so tired of meeting lost people
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Speaker 1: who were on their way to hell, but were confused
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Speaker 1: because they came to the right part of the room
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Speaker 1: and said the right words, but they had not been
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Speaker 1: born again. The gospel must be communicated effectively. A sender,
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Speaker 1: a receiver, and a message. What's that message? Look at
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Speaker 1: what he says. Beginning verse 3. For I deliver to
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Speaker 1: you as of first importance what I also received, that
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Speaker 1: Christ died for sin according to the scriptures, that he
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Speaker 1: was buried, that he was resurrected. Now you look there
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Speaker 1: and some people say, well, see, there it is. That's
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Speaker 1: the gospel. The death, burial, and resurrection. Newsflash. A whole
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Speaker 1: lot more said right there than that. He says that
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Speaker 1: Christ died. Not just anybody died. Not just somebody died.
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Speaker 1: But that Christ died. The Messiah. The Anointed One. If
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Speaker 1: we don't understand who Jesus is, we don't understand the gospel.
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Speaker 1: I had a conversation with a young woman on an
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Speaker 1: airplane once who was reading a book about Jesus. It
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Speaker 1: was a New Age book about Jesus, that he was
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Speaker 1: some avatar and that basically he was connected to God
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Speaker 1: to a greater degree than any other human being ever
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Speaker 1: before in history. And so what we can learn from
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Speaker 1: him is how to tap into that divine aspect of us.
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Speaker 1: So if I had just asked her, do you believe
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Speaker 1: in Jesus? Her answer would have been, why, yes, I do. However,
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Speaker 1: when I twisted it just a little bit, Do you
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Speaker 1: believe in Jesus as he has proclaimed in the Bible?
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Speaker 1: Her answer was no. Well, does she believe in Jesus
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Speaker 1: or does she not? Answer is no. I mean, it's
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Speaker 1: just like, you know, you leave from here. I had
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Speaker 1: to use this with people all the time. You know,
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Speaker 1: you leave from here and you go, man, we were
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Speaker 1: in chapel today. We had a great chapel today. It
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Speaker 1: was this guy who preached in chapel today. He's Bodie Buck. something.
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Speaker 1: And they go, wait, Bodie Barkham? And he goes, yeah, yeah,
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Speaker 1: Bodie Barkham. So wait, the Bodie Barkham. It could happen.
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Speaker 1: And he goes, yeah, yeah, he was in chapel all day. Yeah,
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Speaker 1: it was a great thing, man. Talking about the gospel
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Speaker 1: and stuff. And they're like, wow, Bodie Barkham was in
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Speaker 1: your church? Yeah. And then they say, a little white
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Speaker 1: guy from Mississippi. Right now you've got two choices. Choice
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Speaker 1: number one is you could say, no, that would be
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Speaker 1: somebody else. Or choice number two, you could say, well,
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Speaker 1: that's your interpretation. You see, when we're talking about me,
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Speaker 1: that's funny. But that's exactly what we allow people to
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Speaker 1: do with Jesus all the time. We allow them to
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Speaker 1: believe in this warm, fuzzy Jesus who is not the
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Speaker 1: Christ of the Scriptures. I sit with this woman on
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Speaker 1: the plane and I said, what do you believe about
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Speaker 1: my Jesus? And she said, I believe he's a good
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Speaker 1: man and that he's a good teacher and that he's
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Speaker 1: a good prophet. She was through, y'all. I said, come on.
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Speaker 1: And she said, that's it. I said, okay, let me
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Speaker 1: ask you a couple other questions. There's this guy who
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Speaker 1: lives in me, and his name's Bad Vody. Usually I
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Speaker 1: try to let him out like once a week late
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Speaker 1: at night when nobody's around. But sometimes, sometimes he gets
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Speaker 1: away from me. And this particular day he did. He said,
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Speaker 1: ask her this. And so I did. I said, do
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Speaker 1: you believe that Jesus is God who wrapped himself in
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Speaker 1: the flesh? And she said, well, no, I don't believe that.
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Speaker 1: I said, okay. Okay. And then bad boy, he said, okay,
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Speaker 1: ask her this one right here. I said, do you
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Speaker 1: believe that Jesus is the only means by which man
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Speaker 1: can be saved and spend eternity in heaven with God?
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Speaker 1: And she said, well, no, I don't believe that. And
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Speaker 1: then he said, okay, okay, one more time. Ask her this.
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Speaker 1: I said, do you believe that Jesus died for salvation?
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Speaker 1: and that he was resurrected on the third day? Do
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Speaker 1: you believe that he ascended to the right hand of
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Speaker 1: the father? Do you believe that one day he's going
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Speaker 1: to come again to judge the living and the dead?
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Speaker 1: She responded, no. And in bad mode, he said, okay,
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Speaker 1: I told you I was through, but I'm not. I
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Speaker 1: don't want you to ask her anything. I just want
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Speaker 1: you to tell her this for me. And so I
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Speaker 1: told her what Bad Bodhi said. I said, ma'am, you
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Speaker 1: got issues. She said, what do you mean? I said, well,
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Speaker 1: you said that you believe Jesus is a good teacher. Well, yeah.
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Speaker 1: I said, but you also said that you don't believe
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Speaker 1: that he's the only way that we can get to heaven.
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Speaker 1: She said, yeah. I said, well, Jesus taught I am
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Speaker 1: the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to
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Speaker 1: the Father but by me. If he taught that and
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Speaker 1: it is not true, he's not good teacher, he's false teacher.
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Speaker 1: You also said that you believe Jesus was a good man. Well, yes.
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Speaker 1: And you said that you believed that Jesus was not
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Speaker 1: God who wrapped himself in flesh. Well, Jesus said, I
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Speaker 1: tell you the truth, before Abraham was, I am. He
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Speaker 1: also said, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father.
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Speaker 1: He said, I and my Father are one. He claimed
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Speaker 1: divinity for himself. If he claimed to be God, but
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Speaker 1: he is not God, he might be a lunatic, but
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Speaker 1: he is not a good man. You also said that
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Speaker 1: you believe Jesus is a good prophet, but you said
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Speaker 1: you do not believe that he died for sin, was
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Speaker 1: resurrected on the third day, is seated at the right
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Speaker 1: hand of the Father, and is coming back to judge
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Speaker 1: the living and the dead. Now, he told his disciples
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Speaker 1: that he was going to be crucified and that he
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Speaker 1: was going to be resurrected. He also said that he
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Speaker 1: was going to prepare a place for us so that
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Speaker 1: where he is, we may be also, and that he'd
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Speaker 1: come and receive us unto himself. If Jesus didn't die
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Speaker 1: for sin, if he was not resurrected on the third day,
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Speaker 1: if he's not seated at the right hand of the Father,
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Speaker 1: if he's not coming again to judge the living and
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Speaker 1: the dead, then that means he prophesied falsely. He would
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Speaker 1: be a false prophet and not a good prophet. So
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Speaker 1: your problem is this. You cannot believe that Jesus is
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Speaker 1: good man, good teacher, and good prophet unless you believe
21:49
Speaker 1: God wrapped himself in flesh, condescended, and became a man,
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Speaker 1: died on the cross for sin, was resurrected on the
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Speaker 1: third day, has ascended to the right hand of the
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Speaker 1: Father where he sits now to make intercession for us.
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Speaker 1: that he's coming again to judge the living and the
22:09
Speaker 1: dead and only those who have placed their faith in
22:12
Speaker 1: him and him alone will have access into heaven you
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Speaker 1: can't have it both ways Christ that's the gospel Christ
22:31
Speaker 1: not just a warm fuzzy man who will make you
22:33
Speaker 1: a better husband Or a better wife. Not just the
22:38
Speaker 1: guy who wants to be your friend. I don't believe
22:41
Speaker 1: Jesus wanted to be my friend. I believe he wanted
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Speaker 1: to kill me and be friends with what was left. Amen.
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Speaker 1: But the Christ of the Bible. That he died for sin. Newsflash.
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Speaker 1: The gospel message includes the message that we are sinners.
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Speaker 1: How is it that we say we've preached the gospel,
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Speaker 1: but we haven't preached repentance from sin? How is it
23:09
Speaker 1: that we say that? We are sinners. We've sinned. Now,
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Speaker 1: I know maybe you've been, you know, influenced by Locke
23:17
Speaker 1: and Rousseau and others who believe that man comes into
23:19
Speaker 1: the world and we're tabula rossa and we're neither good
23:22
Speaker 1: nor bad. We're kind of neutral. Culture makes us whatever
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Speaker 1: we are. People who believe that don't have kids. Amen.
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Speaker 1: My first child taught me that all of us are sinners.
23:35
Speaker 1: My second one taught me that some of us are
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Speaker 1: bigger sinners than others. I'm scared of what this third
23:41
Speaker 1: one's going to teach us. Sin. Sin. People are asking
23:51
Speaker 1: questions about the odyssey. They're always asking about the evil
23:54
Speaker 1: in the world. I love it when people ask me
23:56
Speaker 1: that stuff. There's evil in the world. You believe in God.
24:00
Speaker 1: You believe that he's this all-powerful God and he's this
24:02
Speaker 1: loving God. Why is there evil in the world? I
24:04
Speaker 1: love it when people ask me that question. A lot
24:06
Speaker 1: of times we get scared. Oh, God, please don't let
24:08
Speaker 1: them ask me that question. Please don't let them ask me. God,
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Speaker 1: let them ask me the one about the evil in
24:12
Speaker 1: the world. Please, God. And that's not even bad voting.
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Speaker 1: When they ask me, I just tell them. I say,
24:21
Speaker 1: you know what, before I answer that question, we need
24:23
Speaker 1: to flip it a little bit. Because here's what I
24:26
Speaker 1: want to know. Why is it that you always look
24:29
Speaker 1: up to God and go, God, there's evil in the world.
24:32
Speaker 1: How could there be evil in the world? Here's what
24:34
Speaker 1: I want you to do. I want you to say, God,
24:36
Speaker 1: I am an evil person. How dare you not consume me?
24:41
Speaker 1: How come we don't ask that question? Here's what I
24:44
Speaker 1: want to know. Do you really want God to get
24:46
Speaker 1: rid of evil? Because if he does it tonight, we're
24:48
Speaker 1: all gone tomorrow. The problem with the world is you
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Speaker 1: and me. The problem with the world is sin. We
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Speaker 1: are sinners by nature and by choice. That's the gospel.
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Speaker 1: We don't just make bad choices. We weren't just raised
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Speaker 1: by the wrong parents. We weren't just raised in the
25:07
Speaker 1: wrong neighborhood. You sell that stuff somewhere else. It's sin.
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Speaker 1: It wasn't a mistake. You thought about it, planned it out,
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Speaker 1: executed your plan, and if you thought you could get
25:16
Speaker 1: away with it, you'd do it again. It was sin.
25:22
Speaker 1: That's the gospel message. That's the message. For the second time,
25:29
Speaker 1: let's look at the rest of this. It requires effective communication.
25:33
Speaker 1: And look at what it says. In which also you
25:35
Speaker 1: stand requires an appropriate response. He says it becomes the
25:43
Speaker 1: foundation upon which you base your life. That's the proper
25:50
Speaker 1: response to the gospel. Not lip service. Yes. Not I
25:56
Speaker 1: say these words and continue in whatever I was doing
26:00
Speaker 1: before I said these words. Repentance. A turning from and
26:05
Speaker 1: a turning toward. We make the message of Christ the
26:09
Speaker 1: foundation upon which we build our lives. It is where
26:13
Speaker 1: we take our stand. It is saving faith. Genuine faith.
26:19
Speaker 1: Authentic faith. It is not being in the right part
26:23
Speaker 1: of the room and saying the right words. And here's
26:26
Speaker 1: what's amazing about this. There are some of you who
26:28
Speaker 1: are going to leave from here, and you're going to say,
26:31
Speaker 1: you know, stuff like, oh, you know, that Bodie guy,
26:33
Speaker 1: I didn't know he was a liberal. I didn't know
26:34
Speaker 1: he was a heretic. He's making fun of the altar
26:36
Speaker 1: call and all that kind of stuff. Number one, I'm
26:39
Speaker 1: not making fun of anything. Number two, here's one of
26:42
Speaker 1: the benefits that I have because I didn't grow up
26:45
Speaker 1: in the church. I didn't grow up doing stuff my
26:49
Speaker 1: whole life. And so I always ask what the book
26:51
Speaker 1: says about it. And there's a lot of stuff that
26:54
Speaker 1: we do that we are committed to that you can't
26:56
Speaker 1: find anywhere in the Scripture. And if you want to
26:58
Speaker 1: call me whatever you want to call me, call me
27:01
Speaker 1: a Biblicist. That's what you call me. And if you
27:03
Speaker 1: want to hold on to things just because they are
27:06
Speaker 1: the way they've always been, then you hold on to them.
27:08
Speaker 1: And I'm not saying that you're godless if that's something
27:10
Speaker 1: that you do, but can I at least say this?
27:14
Speaker 1: You'd better go to the Scripture and be able to
27:16
Speaker 1: have a theological answer for whatever it is you choose
27:19
Speaker 1: to do. We make it the foundation upon which we
27:27
Speaker 1: build our lives. Here's the last one. Unless you have
27:32
Speaker 1: believed in vain, in the time that we have remaining,
27:34
Speaker 1: let me deal with this. Because there's a lot of
27:37
Speaker 1: people out there who are sort of confused about this.
27:39
Speaker 1: They say, see what that means? That means if you
27:42
Speaker 1: don't hold on to this, you're going to lose this.
27:47
Speaker 1: If you don't hold on to it, you're going to
27:49
Speaker 1: fall away from it. 1 John 2, there's one area
27:53
Speaker 1: that makes this clear. Those who went out from among us,
27:57
Speaker 1: the reason that they went out is because they were
27:58
Speaker 1: never of us. If they were of us, they would
28:00
Speaker 1: have remained. In other words, if you got it, you're staying.
28:05
Speaker 1: Let me be clear. I believe wholeheartedly in the eternal
28:10
Speaker 1: security of the believer. And let me just state that unequivocally.
28:14
Speaker 1: I believe if you are saved today, you're going to
28:16
Speaker 1: be saved tomorrow. I believe that he who began this
28:19
Speaker 1: good work in you is going to see it through
28:20
Speaker 1: to completion. Let me say it another way. I don't
28:23
Speaker 1: believe you can lose your salvation. Oh, we hear that
28:26
Speaker 1: and we just get so upset. Oh, my goodness. Did
28:29
Speaker 1: he say that? People are going to go out and
28:31
Speaker 1: commit murder now because he said that. Newsflash. If the
28:36
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit doesn't have the ability to restrain people from
28:40
Speaker 1: such actions, either number one, he's not all that I
28:43
Speaker 1: thought he was, or number two, they don't have all
28:48
Speaker 1: they said they had. It's not what he's saying here.
28:52
Speaker 1: Here's what he's saying. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is an
28:56
Speaker 1: argument for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a
29:01
Speaker 1: polemic against those who are arguing that resurrections don't happen.
29:05
Speaker 1: And basically here's his argument. Number one, resurrections do happen.
29:09
Speaker 1: Number two, the resurrection of Jesus Christ happened. And number three,
29:13
Speaker 1: it is the capstone in the arch of Christianity. You
29:17
Speaker 1: have no Christianity without the resurrection, although there are some
29:21
Speaker 1: who would like to have it both ways. What he
29:23
Speaker 1: is arguing is this, not that if you do bad
29:26
Speaker 1: things after you believe the gospel, you're not saved anymore,
29:29
Speaker 1: but if you believe a bad gospel, you weren't saved
29:31
Speaker 1: in the first place. That's his point. We don't get
29:36
Speaker 1: to go to the Bible and pick and choose what
29:38
Speaker 1: it is that we like about God. and hold on
29:40
Speaker 1: to that and discard everything else. Let me read something
29:44
Speaker 1: from you from a man who decided that he would
29:45
Speaker 1: do just that. Bishop Jack Spong writes in his book,
29:50
Speaker 1: A New Christianity for a New World, I do not
29:53
Speaker 1: believe that Jesus entered this world by the miracle of
29:55
Speaker 1: a virgin birth or that virgin births occur anywhere except
29:58
Speaker 1: in mythology. I do not believe that a literal star
30:00
Speaker 1: got a literal wise man to bring Jesus gifts or
30:03
Speaker 1: that literal angel sang to hillside shepherds to announce his birth.
30:06
Speaker 1: I do not believe that Jesus was born in Bethlehem
30:08
Speaker 1: or that he fled to Egypt. I do not believe
30:11
Speaker 1: that the experience Christians celebrate at Easter was the physical
30:14
Speaker 1: resurrection of the three days dead body of Jesus. That
30:21
Speaker 1: man's lost. He calls himself a Christian, but he's not one.
30:29
Speaker 1: That's the bottom line. If you still have a problem
30:32
Speaker 1: with it, let me just close with this. Look at
30:35
Speaker 1: Ephesians chapter 1. Because this gospel that we preach has
30:50
Speaker 1: to be communicated effectively. It requires an appropriate response, and
30:56
Speaker 1: it will bear lasting fruit. It will save you completely.
31:04
Speaker 1: Chapter 1, look at beginning at verse 13. In him
31:12
Speaker 1: also you, after listening to the message of truth, the
31:14
Speaker 1: gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed
31:18
Speaker 1: in him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who was
31:21
Speaker 1: given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view
31:23
Speaker 1: to the redemption of God's own possession to the praise
31:25
Speaker 1: of his glory. Newsflash. There's been a down payment made
31:31
Speaker 1: on me. Like earnest money when you go and buy
31:34
Speaker 1: a house. See, when you go and buy a house,
31:37
Speaker 1: you write a contract and you put earnest money with
31:39
Speaker 1: your contract. And what it says is this. I'm giving
31:41
Speaker 1: you this contract and my earnest money. If I do
31:43
Speaker 1: not come on closing day to redeem the house with
31:46
Speaker 1: the rest of the money, you get to keep my
31:49
Speaker 1: earnest money and sell your house to somebody else. What
31:52
Speaker 1: God has said to me is this. I'm putting earnest
31:54
Speaker 1: money on you, boy. I am putting down a payment
31:59
Speaker 1: on you so that you know that you're mine and
32:02
Speaker 1: so that you know that I'm going to redeem you
32:03
Speaker 1: in the last day. Now, the earnest money that God
32:06
Speaker 1: put down on me was this seal of the Spirit
32:08
Speaker 1: of God, which means that if God decides not to
32:12
Speaker 1: come and redeem me on that day, the earnest money
32:15
Speaker 1: that he loses is the third person of the Trinity.
32:18
Speaker 1: The only way I can stop being saved is if
32:20
Speaker 1: God stops being God. I did not save myself. I
32:27
Speaker 1: do not keep myself. This gospel that we preach must
32:37
Speaker 1: be communicated effectively. It must be. This gospel that we
32:42
Speaker 1: preach requires an appropriate response. This gospel that we preach
32:52
Speaker 1: will have lasting impact. We preach the gospel. God saves sinners.
33:00
Speaker 1: God keeps sinners. If you believe that, then act like it.
33:09
Speaker 1: Let's pray. Father, what an incredible gift and opportunity and
33:29
Speaker 1: privilege we have to proclaim your gospel. That Jesus, the Christ,
33:39
Speaker 1: died for sin according to the Scriptures. That He was buried.
33:45
Speaker 1: That He was resurrected on the third day according to
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Speaker 1: the Scriptures. And that because of that, sinners can be saved.
34:01
Speaker 1: Not because of our manipulation. Not because of our arm-twisting.
34:07
Speaker 1: Not because we've figured out how to put the right
34:10
Speaker 1: elements in the right place in order to elicit the
34:12
Speaker 1: right response. But because you save sinners. Because you use
34:22
Speaker 1: the foolishness of preaching and the gospel to do so.
34:29
Speaker 1: May we be faithful to that. And may that faithfulness
34:36
Speaker 1: bear much fruit. This is our prayer and the earnest
34:45
Speaker 1: desire of our very souls. And we ask it in
34:49
Speaker 1: the strong name of Jesus, the lover, redeemer, savior, keeper
34:58
Speaker 1: of our souls. Amen.