The Danger of Decisional Salvation: Why ‘Raising Your Hand’ Cannot Save

• Doubt 00:04:19 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines doubt as intellectual, emotional, or personal, and argues it can be an element of faith rather than the opposite of it.
• John the Baptist's Doubt 00:01:48 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses John the Baptist's confusion in prison as a primary example of a godly man experiencing doubt due to unmet expectations of the Messiah's mission.
• Biblical Examples of Doubt 00:05:48 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites Moses, Elijah, Peter, Paul, and David as biblical figures who experienced doubt, depression, or confusion, validating the believer's experience.
• Interpreting Tragedy 00:11:21 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor instructs the congregation to interpret their tragedy in the light of God's character and promises, rather than interpreting God through the lens of their suffering.
• [Romans 8:28](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A28&version=KJV) 00:11:52 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor clarifies that Romans 8:28 means all things work together for good, not that all things are good, using the story of Joseph to illustrate how bad events can be used by God for good.
• [Romans 8:28](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A28&version=KJV) and the nature of 'good' 00:12:33 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor clarifies that 'all things work together for good' applies specifically to those who love God, using the story of Joseph to illustrate how bad events can yield good outcomes through God's providence.
• Christian conduct and social media 00:15:41 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts Jesus' public commendation of John the Baptist with the modern tendency of Christian leaders to tear each other down on social media, advocating for the THINK acronym (True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, Kind).
• Self-talk and biblical correction 00:18:32 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor discusses the practice of 'preaching to oneself' by correcting negative thoughts with Scripture, citing Psalm 10 and the need to align one's thinking with biblical truth.
• Human value and identity in Christ 00:20:14 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that believers have immense value as God's 'masterpiece' (Ephesians 2:10) and 'chosen people' (1 Peter 2:9), countering feelings of worthlessness with divine affirmation.
• Doubt vs. Unbelief 00:22:02 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor distinguishes doubt (a matter of the mind/understanding) from unbelief (a matter of the will/refusal to obey), encouraging believers to doubt their doubts and believe their beliefs.
• Refocusing priorities 00:22:51 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that Jesus helped John the Baptist by shifting his focus from earthly political expectations to the spiritual mission of salvation, urging believers to 'look up' rather than 'look down' at worldly troubles.
• Scripture as the answer to doubt 00:25:17 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor highlights how Jesus answered John's doubts by pointing to fulfilled messianic prophecies (Isaiah 35, 61), advising believers to use the Bible to resolve crises and depression.
• Holding the Course 00:28:38 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor interprets Jesus' command to 'blessed is he that is not offended' as a call to remain steadfast and not waver or veer off the path, even when circumstances are confusing.
• The Superiority of the New Covenant 00:31:33 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts John the Baptist's position in the Old Covenant with the believer's position in the New Covenant, arguing that believers are 'greater' because they have Christ living in them and are the bride of Christ.
• Salvation and Eternal Life 00:37:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor emphasizes that faith in Jesus Christ forgives all sins and guarantees heaven, citing personal confidence in this promise based on Christ's work rather than personal merit.
• Assurance of Salvation 00:37:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that faith in Christ guarantees instantaneous forgiveness and certain knowledge of eternal life, countering accusations of arrogance by grounding confidence in Christ's work rather than personal merit.
• The Gospel Invitation 00:38:48 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor outlines the specific steps for salvation: believing in Jesus, acknowledging sin, and turning from sin, resulting in a changed eternal destiny.
• Eternal Consequences 00:39:08 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts the destination of heaven with hell, describing hell as a place of separation from God prepared for the devil, and emphasizes that rejection of Christ leads to self-blame for one's eternal fate.

• Sermon Illustration 00:00:31 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the false ballistic missile alert in Hawaii on January 13, 2018, where people panicked believing a nuclear attack was imminent, using it as an analogy for John the Baptist's fear and confusion in prison.
• Sermon Illustration 00:05:03 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal story about the death of his son in a car accident 16 years prior, explaining that while he did not doubt God's sovereignty, he struggled with the emotional doubt of 'why did you take him and not me?'
• Sermon Illustration 00:12:56 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the biblical story of Joseph, who was sold into slavery and falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, yet God used these evil events to save many lives, illustrating that bad things can still be used for good.
• Sermon Illustration 00:12:48 ▶️ 📄
  > The story of Joseph, who was sold into slavery, falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, and imprisoned, yet ultimately used by God to save many people, illustrating that bad things can bring about good outcomes.
• Sermon Illustration 00:13:10 ▶️ 📄
  > A humorous reference to 'Mrs. Robinson' from the movie The Graduate to describe Potiphar's wife, noting that laughing indicates the listener is old.
• Sermon Illustration 00:15:21 ▶️ 📄
  > A joke about John the Baptist's diet of locusts and wild honey, contrasting it with more appealing foods like olives, dates, bread, and fish, to highlight his ascetic lifestyle.
• Sermon Illustration 00:20:23 ▶️ 📄
  > An analogy comparing God to an artist and believers to His masterpiece, supported by the story of a man who found an old vase in his attic, initially thinking it was worth $100, but discovering it was a 15th-century Ming dynasty vase worth over $300,000.
• Sermon Illustration 00:29:27 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts a lunch with Pastor Chuck Smith, where he asked for advice for his younger self. Chuck Smith replied simply, 'Hold the course,' which the pastor interprets as a call to not waver or go backwards in the race of life.
• Sermon Illustration 00:32:59 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a story about a neighbor on Oahu who, facing a tsunami warning, prayed with a friend to meet Jesus. The friend asked Jesus into her life, illustrating that God hears prayers even at the end of life.
• Sermon Illustration 00:34:32 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes visiting his stepfather Bill on his deathbed. Despite initial reluctance due to a past plane trip, he felt led by God to visit, shared the gospel with Bill, and led him in a prayer of salvation just before Bill died.
• Sermon Illustration 00:36:26 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references an interview with actor Nicolas Cage, who suggested that after death, humans live on as a form of electricity. The pastor uses this to contrast the biblical view that the soul lives on as a living soul.
• Sermon Illustration 00:36:57 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor quotes a tombstone inscription: 'Pause now, stranger, as you pass by. As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so you shall be. So prepare for death and follow me.' He uses this to challenge the listener to consider their eternal destination.
• Sermon Illustration 00:37:41 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses a self-deprecating joke about being a 'bald guy' who is 'awfully prideful' to address the accusation of arrogance regarding his confidence in salvation.
• Sermon Illustration 00:39:40 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor quotes C.S. Lewis's metaphor that 'the gates of hell are locked from the inside' to illustrate that individuals choose their own eternal destination by rejecting God's offer.

• Pastoral Charge 00:11:52 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor invites the congregation to recite Romans 8:28 together as a collective affirmation of faith.
• Pastoral Charge 00:16:50 ▶️ 📄
  > Evaluate speech and social media posts using the THINK acronym (True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, Kind) before sharing.
• Pastoral Charge 00:26:25 ▶️ 📄
  > Read the Bible at the start, end, and middle of the day to combat crisis, depression, or doubt.
• Pastoral Charge 00:38:48 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor invites the congregation to confess their sin and place faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
• Pastoral Charge 00:38:48 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor instructs the listener to verbally confess sin, belief in Christ's atonement, and repentance to receive salvation.
• Pastoral Charge 00:39:52 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor invites the congregation to come to Jesus to change their eternal destination.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] So let's grab our Bibles and turn to Luke chapter 7 and we're continuing on in this series that we're calling the gospel for everyone and the title of my message is dealing with doubt. How many of you have been to Hawaii? Raise your hand. You've been to Hawaii. Most of you. Imagine flying to Hawaii. You get in the night that night and the next morning you wake up and you're on your balcony of your hotel.
[00:00:31] you're having your first morning cup of coffee thinking about what am I going to do today in beautiful Hawaii and suddenly you get an alert on your phone and this message appears on the screen
[00:00:43] of your phone ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii seek immediate shelter this is not a drill Well, this actually happened on January 13th, 2018, at 8.07, and for 37 minutes, everybody who had a cell phone on the islands of Hawaii were waiting.
[00:01:08] People began to panic.
[00:01:10] People were trying to climb into storm drains.
[00:01:12] There's nowhere to go.
[00:01:14] There's no shelters in Hawaii, and the reason this was a cause for alarm is North Korea is not that far from the islands. And they had recently done some tests of intercontinental nuclear missiles and had on more than one occasion threatened to use them. And so people
[00:01:31] were literally on the islands in fear of losing their lives. Thankfully it was a false alarm.
[00:01:38] Like how did that even happen? Did that person even get fired or what? That's insane. But that's not the kind of news you want to wake up to. Well here in Luke chapter 7 we have
[00:01:48] the legendary John the Baptist sitting in a prison cell and he gets an alert, not on his phone of course, but someone comes to him with a message. And the message is this.
[00:02:01] The Messiah is not overthrowing Rome. And it doesn't look like you're getting out of prison anytime soon. And John began to think, have I somehow gotten confused about the role in ministry of Messiah because John had put it all on the line for Jesus who happened to
[00:02:20] be his cousin and when Christ came to the Jordan River because John was preaching telling people to repent and he was baptizing them when Jesus shows up and says it's time to baptize me John
[00:02:32] says there's no way I'm I'm not worthy to baptize you you should be baptizing me and Jesus says no this needs to be done. And as he's baptizing Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes upon the Lord in
[00:02:44] the form of a dove. And God the Father says, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.
[00:02:50] John's ministry was done. He was the forerunner. He was the road crew guy. He was setting the stage for Jesus. He was the warm-up act, if you will. Now that Jesus has arrived on the scene, John says
[00:03:04] to his disciples, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In other words, guys, my job is done. Follow him. But now he's been arrested by Herod because he called Herod
[00:03:17] out for his immorality. And he's sitting in this dark, dingy prison cell and he's hearing these stories about Jesus that aren't making sense to him. Stories like, oh, Jesus is hanging out with sinners. They even call him the friend of sinners. One of his followers is actually a tax collector
[00:03:37] that worked for Rome. And John's saying, wait, wait. That's not what Messiah is supposed to do.
[00:03:42] Messiah is going to overthrow the power of Rome. He's going to establish his kingdom here and now.
[00:03:50] And of course John misunderstood the mission of Messiah as everyone did at that particular particular point. But I wonder if you've ever felt as though God has let you down. If you've ever been in a situation where you said, where was God? You needed an answer and no answer came
[00:04:08] and you prayed and you prayed and things didn't get better. They actually got worse. That's how John was feeling and maybe you can relate. But listen to this. Doubt is not always a sign that
[00:04:19] a man is wrong, it may be a sign that he is thinking. Sometimes we need to go through the foyer of doubt to enter into the sanctuary of certainty. What is doubt? Doubt can be intellectual
[00:04:34] where we struggle with our faith. We struggle with what the Bible says and we say, is this all really true? Doubt can be emotional where we say, why is this happening to me? It makes no sense.
[00:04:47] doubt can also be personal where we say did did I make the wrong choice here am I responsible for this doubt can show itself in many ways but it's been said doubt is not the opposite of faith sometimes it can be an element of faith
[00:05:03] and even godly people can have moments of doubt I've had moments of doubt after our son died in an automobile accident 16 years ago I had doubt you say you doubted God? No, I never doubted God, actually. I was sure God was working in my life and in the
[00:05:22] life of my son. I had no doubt that he was in heaven. My doubt was, God, why did you take him and not me? He was 33 years old. I'm much older. I've lived a lot of my life already. Why don't
[00:05:35] you, why didn't you take me? My son had a daughter and he had another one on the way. It made no sense to me. So yes, I struggled with a form of doubt. But godly men struggled with doubt
[00:05:48] in the Bible. Look at Moses. On one occasion he was ready to quit. Listening to the complaints of the people of Israel he said, Lord I'm not able to bear these people alone. The burden
[00:05:59] is too heavy for me. If they're going to treat me like this just kill me now. I'm done here.
[00:06:06] Elijah had deep depression.
[00:06:10] He boldly stood up against the prophets of Balaam, Mount Carmel, fire came down from heaven in answer to his prayer, but then a threat came from Queen Jezebel who said she was gonna kill Elijah.
[00:06:24] A contract was put out on his life effectively and he went into a time of depression and said, Lord, just take my life now.
[00:06:33] On more than one occasion, Jesus rebuked his own disciples for their lack of faith.
[00:06:37] Remember Peter walking on the water and then he began to sink.
[00:06:41] And Jesus says, oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?
[00:06:47] Even the great apostle Paul was deeply discouraged when he wrote about being burdened beyond measure, above strength, so we despaired even of life.
[00:06:57] And then you look at the Psalms of David.
[00:07:00] Half the Psalms that David wrote, he wrote when he was angry, confused, or feeling abandoned by God. God effectively said, yeah, put that in the Bible. I want people to know this is allowed. In other words, it's okay to cry out
[00:07:14] to God. It's okay to say to God, I don't understand this. I don't like this. I don't want this. But here's the key. You cry out to God, not against God. You bring your doubts to him. You bring your
[00:07:28] struggles with him. Even Jesus hanging on the cross said, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, which means my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? But what was it? My God, my God. He brought it to
[00:07:43] the Lord. And that's what we see John the Baptist doing as our story begins. He's completed his powerful ministry. He's pointed everyone to Jesus. He's baptized him. But now he's in a prison and he's hearing news that doesn't make sense to him. And he's thinking somehow maybe he failed or maybe
[00:08:02] Jesus wasn't who he thought he would be. Because everyone thought that Jesus was going to bring political deliverance. They didn't understand that first he would suffer and die. And the Bible's very clear about this by the way. Because yes one day Jesus will come and establish his kingdom
[00:08:18] as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But that's in the second coming. And that's still in our future.
[00:08:24] It hasn't happened yet. But in his first coming, he was born to die that we might live.
[00:08:31] He was coming on a mission to go and die on the cross for the sin of the world and to rise again from the dead. But John missed that memo. And in fairness, so did all the disciples. They didn't
[00:08:43] get it till he was risen again from the dead. So they misunderstood. So here's how the story begins to unfold as we see that Jesus is doing everything according to schedule. Let's look at Luke chapter 7 starting in verse 18. The disciples of John the Baptist told John everything Jesus was
[00:09:06] doing. So John called for two of his disciples and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, are you the Messiah we've been expecting or should we keep looking for someone else? John's two disciples
[00:09:18] found Jesus and said to him, John the Baptist sent us to ask, are you the Messiah we've been expecting or should we keep looking for someone else? At that very time, Jesus cured many people
[00:09:29] of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits and he restored sight to many who are blind.
[00:09:36] Then he told John's disciples, you go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard.
[00:09:42] the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, dead are raised to life, and the good news is being preached to the poor. And then he added this, God blesses those who do
[00:09:55] not fall away because of me. After John's disciples left, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds.
[00:10:03] What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed swayed by every breath of wind? Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who
[00:10:15] wear beautiful clothes live in luxury, and they're in palaces. Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, he is more than a prophet. John is the man to whom the scriptures refer to when they say,
[00:10:27] behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.
[00:10:33] I tell you, all who have ever lived, none is greater than John, yet even the least person in the kingdom of God is greater than he is. Wow. We'll stop there. So John had this powerful
[00:10:47] ministry, and here he is now beginning to entertain doubt, trying to understand what's happening to him. Sometimes we too misunderstand God. Things happen that make no sense. Tragedy hits in the life of a godly man or woman. And we say, wait, why would God allow that? Or a child
[00:11:08] dies. Or someone you love gets cancer. And you say, why? Or maybe you say, why did God do this to me? Here's our problem. We interpret God in the light of our tragedy instead of interpreting
[00:11:21] our tragedy in the light of God. You might say, I don't even know what that means. Well, think about it this way. You look at your circumstances in the light of what God says. You don't look at
[00:11:33] God in light of what you're going through. You try to pull the camera back so to speak and get the bigger picture and remember that Romans 8 28 is still in the Bible.
[00:11:44] Quick someone check. Is it still there? It is? Good. Do you know what Romans 8 28 says?
[00:11:52] let's say it together and we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are the called according to his purpose I love that verse we know it says it doesn't say we
[00:12:06] think or we hope if God's in a good mood maybe no we know we know that all things it doesn't say some things the Bible says all things are your servants we know with confidence all things work
[00:12:20] together for good. Now that doesn't say we know all things will become good. Sometimes we may think well this bad thing happened but it will turn into a good thing because Romans 8 28 says
[00:12:33] all things work together for good. Yeah but that's not what it says. They'll work together for good.
[00:12:37] There are certain things in life that will happen to us that are bad things. They'll always be bad things. They'll never cease to be a bad thing but despite that bad thing God brought something
[00:12:48] good out of it. Case in point, the story of Joseph. His brother sold him into slavery.
[00:12:56] Well, that wasn't good. Then he was taken to the house of a man named Potiphar who had a wife. Her name was Mrs. Robinson. That's a dated reference if you laugh, you're old. This older woman,
[00:13:10] the original cougar, began to hit on the very handsome young Joseph saying, basically, have sex with me. He refused her advances. She falsely accuses him of rape and he ends up in prison. That wasn't a good thing. And he sat there for quite a long time until through God's providence
[00:13:28] he was taken out of the prison. He was able to interpret the dreams of the king and ultimately was in charge of the food supply. And then his brothers were brought before him who had betrayed
[00:13:39] him. And you remember the rest of the story. Joseph said, I have a particular set of skills.
[00:13:45] No, that's from taken. He could have had them all killed, all executed, payback, big time, but he forgave them. And he said this, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good to save many people alive. So what you're going through right now may not make sense.
[00:14:05] It doesn't equate. It doesn't seem logical. Why is this happening? For we know, back to Romans 8, 28, that all things work together for good. And that's for everybody, right? No. We know that all things work together for good to those who love God. And now they're called
[00:14:24] according to His purpose. That promise is for Christians only. It's only for the man or the woman that has put their faith in Christ.
[00:14:33] So here's John trying to figure this all out. Trying to understand it. And Jesus could have throwing them under the bus. I mean, think about this. The disciples of John come to Jesus and actually say, hey, Jesus, how's it going? Hey, quick question. Are you the
[00:14:48] Messiah or should we look for someone else? Hello? It's like saying, yeah, you're not doing a very good job. And John's having a lot of questions. Is there another Messiah that's out there somewhere? Jesus, you know, he could have been irritated by that. He could
[00:15:06] have publicly called John out. He could have said, hey everybody, let's get real. My cousin, John, he's a little on the weird side. You know, he wears a camel hair thing and eats locusts and wild honey. Who eats locusts and wild honey? You know, there was good food
[00:15:21] back in those days. They had olives and dates and bread and fish. This dude eats bugs and honey. He could have said something's not right in his head and that's why he says things like that? No. He did the very opposite of that. While John criticized him privately, Jesus
[00:15:41] complimented him publicly and said, of men born among women, there has never been a greater than John the Baptist. So isn't that great? You know, people love it when Christian leaders take each other down, but God doesn't. You see a lot of it on social media. People just love to fight with
[00:16:01] each other. God says in Galatians 5.15, you're always biting and devouring one another. Watch out because you're actually destroying one another. Why do we like to tear each other down?
[00:16:15] Does it make us feel superior? You know, it's easier to critique than it is to create.
[00:16:21] It's easier to tear down than it is to build up. No question, you'll get more clicks, more shares, more engagement. But is this what we should be doing right now? You know, the Bible tells us
[00:16:33] that we are to build up one another. Now there's a place for questions. There's a place for discernment. There's a place for holding each other accountable. But I think a lot of times we just want to attack without knowing the facts. And that's why I've often said you should apply
[00:16:50] the acronym THINK before you speak or before you post. THINK. T-H-I-N-K. Before you say it, before you post it, run through that acronym. T. Is it true? Are you sure it's true? H. Is it
[00:17:08] helpful? I. Is it inspiring? N. Is it necessary? K. Is it kind? Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind? Oh Greg, if I applied that principle, I'd never say anything
[00:17:26] to anyone. Amen. Why don't you do us all a favor and shut up. But seriously though, Jesus did the opposite of what people would think he might have done. He complimented John and honored him
[00:17:45] and said wonderful things about him because he loved him and he understood his questions. And By the way, Jesus loves you and understands your questions as well.
[00:17:57] I mentioned the Psalms where David did a lot of complaining, to be honest.
[00:18:03] Like take Psalm 10.1.
[00:18:05] Why, O Lord, do you stand afar off?
[00:18:07] Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
[00:18:10] That's in the Bible.
[00:18:11] I'm so glad it's in the Bible.
[00:18:14] Because that sounds like something I might say to God.
[00:18:16] Lord, what's going on here?
[00:18:17] Why aren't you intervening here?
[00:18:19] Why didn't you answer my prayer?
[00:18:21] the way I prayed it. But then he goes to the end of the psalm and he says, ah, the Lord is king forever and ever. So he says something that really is incorrect. And then he corrects himself with
[00:18:32] biblical thinking. Do you ever preach to yourself? I do. I preach to myself. I'll think something or I'll say something. Oh man, that's not true. And I'll say, Greg, you listen to me. And I'll quote
[00:18:44] scriptures to myself. And then I come under a conviction hearing myself correct. But no, not really. But you know, maybe I do. I don't know. But you're correcting your thinking. Jesus loved John and gave him props. He says, hey, what did you go out in the wilderness to see?
[00:19:01] A weak reed swayed by every breath of wind. I'm telling you, this is John the Baptist.
[00:19:06] As far as I'm concerned, all that matters to me is not what people think of me. What matters to me is what does Jesus think of me? Right? What does Jesus think of me? What does Jesus think of
[00:19:21] you? Well, I can tell you this much. He thinks about you a lot and he loves you. Jeremiah 29, 11, one of my favorite verses. God says, I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the
[00:19:34] Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope. It could say, God speaking, I know the single thought I had for a moment about you, says the Lord. I'd be good with that.
[00:19:46] God thought about me. That's great. But that's not what it says. God says, I know the thoughts that I think so. They're not a single thought. There are many thoughts and he's continuing to think them. I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord. Wait a second. What
[00:20:00] kind of thoughts are these? Are these good thoughts or bad thoughts? Thoughts of peace, the Lord says, and not of evil to give you a future and a hope. You have immeasurable value you because you're God's creation.
[00:20:14] First Peter 2.9 says you're a chosen people, you're a royal priest, you're a holy nation, you're God's very own creation.
[00:20:23] Think of God as an artist, and think of yourself as his masterpiece.
[00:20:28] Ephesians 2 says we are God's masterpiece.
[00:20:32] He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he has planned for us long ago.
[00:20:38] You're a work of art created by the master artist himself.
[00:20:43] You may think you have no value at all, but you have incredible value.
[00:20:47] Heard about a man that was rummaging around in his attic and he came across this old vase.
[00:20:52] He thought, oh, I could probably sell this maybe for, I don't know, 100 bucks or something.
[00:20:56] So he went down to the local auction and after they assessed it, he was told that actually is from the 15th century Ming dynasty and it's worth over $300,000.
[00:21:10] See, that's like us.
[00:21:11] Oh, I have no value, we say.
[00:21:13] My life doesn't matter.
[00:21:15] Nobody cares about me.
[00:21:16] No one would miss me if I was gone.
[00:21:18] Nothing could be more false.
[00:21:20] And by the way, thoughts like that are from the devil.
[00:21:24] They're from, when those thoughts come to your mind, know where they're coming from.
[00:21:27] They're coming from Satan.
[00:21:30] And you are able to say if you want to, hey, go to hell.
[00:21:35] That's the only time you can say it, not cuss.
[00:21:39] Say it to the devil, he's go to hell.
[00:21:41] I'm not listening to you.
[00:21:42] The Bible says resist the devil and he will flee from you.
[00:21:46] No, the truth is God loves you and he thinks about you and he cares about you.
[00:21:51] Again, it doesn't matter what people say about you as much as what Jesus says about you.
[00:21:58] John had his doubts, but there is a difference between doubt and unbelief.
[00:22:02] Doubt is a matter of the mind.
[00:22:05] Maybe we can't understand why God is doing a certain thing.
[00:22:10] In contrast, unbelief is a matter of the will.
[00:22:13] When we refuse to believe God's word and obey what he tells us to do.
[00:22:18] So yeah, you can entertain doubt momentarily, but ultimately you want to doubt your doubts and you want to believe your beliefs.
[00:22:27] And we see what Jesus did to help John through all of this.
[00:22:31] And these things that Jesus said to John are for you and I as well.
[00:22:37] How did Jesus help John overcome his doubt?
[00:22:40] If you're taking notes, here's point number one.
[00:22:43] And by the way, I have 100 points.
[00:22:45] No, I only have 70.
[00:22:48] No, not really.
[00:22:49] I only have three.
[00:22:50] Three points.
[00:22:51] Number one, he refocused his priorities.
[00:22:55] How did Jesus help John overcome his doubt?
[00:22:58] He refocused his priorities.
[00:23:00] John had unbiblical and unrealistic expectations of the ministry of Jesus and the disciples had it as well. Jesus didn't rebuke him nor did he release him. The fact of the matter is John was not asking too little. Excuse me. John, let me restate it again. John wasn't
[00:23:20] asking too much. He was asking too little. Let me explain. John was saying, why haven't you overthrown Rome? Why haven't you established your kingdom? John, I have a bigger picture here. A bigger plan. I am coming to purchase the salvation of humanity. The humanity of
[00:23:37] today and the humanity of the future. That is my mission. You need to get a bigger picture.
[00:23:44] See we become very myopic in the way that we see things. Everyone is looking down these days. Have you noticed? You know if you pull up to a light and you are waiting for it to
[00:23:54] go green. You look over at the person in the car next to you. They are looking down. Why they're looking down. You know why. They're looking at their phone. You're not supposed to do that, by the way. They're scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. And then the light goes
[00:24:06] green. They're scrolling. Guy behind them. You know. Okay. We all know that. You're standing in line to get a cup of coffee. People aren't looking around, talking. Everybody is looking down. And we're looking down and we're scrolling through social media. And a lot of times we're
[00:24:21] doom scrolling and hearing news that brings us down. And we do live in a scary world right now? Is there going to be a war in Iran? Why do we have this violent crime in the streets?
[00:24:32] Another person was just shot. Another tragedy just happened. So much bad news. It is because we are looking down. And Jesus speaking of end times events says when you see these things begin to happen look up for your redemption is drawing near. It is time to look up not
[00:24:49] look down. Look up and get a heavenly perspective reminding yourself that God is in control of all things. So he helped John to refocus his priorities. Number two, John's doubts were answered by Scripture. John's doubts were answered by Scripture. Luke 7.22, you
[00:25:17] go and tell John, Jesus says, what you've seen and heard, the blind see, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the The good news is being preached to the poor.
[00:25:30] So Jesus is actually pointing John to specific messianic scriptures.
[00:25:37] What's a messianic scripture?
[00:25:38] It's an Old Testament passage that points to the Messiah.
[00:25:42] Like Isaiah 53.
[00:25:45] That describes his death in detail.
[00:25:47] Or Psalm 22 verse 1.
[00:25:49] It says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[00:25:52] Old Testament verses pointing to Christ fulfilling them in the New Testament.
[00:25:58] So Jesus quotes from Isaiah 35, Isaiah 61, all messianic passages, and so he's saying to John, buddy, go back to the Word of God.
[00:26:09] You know the Bible.
[00:26:11] You preach it all the time.
[00:26:12] Go back to it again.
[00:26:15] Compare what I am doing to what Scripture says Messiah will do, and you will see that everything is going as it's supposed to be going.
[00:26:25] Whenever you're in a time of crisis, or a time of depression, or in a time of doubt, go back to the Word of God.
[00:26:33] Start your day with the Bible.
[00:26:36] End your day with the Bible.
[00:26:38] In the middle of the day, read the Bible.
[00:26:40] Fill your mind with the Word of God.
[00:26:43] That's what you need right now and every day, right?
[00:26:51] There were those two discouraged disciples on the Emmaus Road after Christ had been crucified.
[00:26:58] And Jesus joined them.
[00:26:59] had risen. But they didn't know it was Jesus. Just some dude walking with them. Hey, how's it going?
[00:27:06] Yeah, it's okay. Why are you guys looking so down? Haven't you heard about Jesus, a prophet mighty indeed? No. Tell me about him, says Jesus. And now they're telling Jesus about Jesus and they're doing a really bad job. Well, Jesus, a mighty prophet, you know, and we were hoping he would
[00:27:26] deliver Israel, delivered Israel, and certain women say they've seen him alive again. You know, what are you, you're going to believe that? And he goes, you fools. It's so hard to believe all that the prophets have spoken. And then he took them on a guided tour of all those Old
[00:27:43] Testament messianic scriptures. And as they're listening to him, they're thinking, this guy really knows the Bible. You'd almost think he wrote it or something. And as they come to the end of their journey, something strange has happened. Their hearts are beginning to burn
[00:27:59] again. Have you ever gotten heartburn? Sometimes when I eat spicy food late at night, I get heartburn. Have you heard of Tums? Yes. Ticket Tums usually does the trick. But there can be good heartburn. Well, we have a heart that's burning for the Lord. And they say this, did
[00:28:17] not our hearts burn within us while He opened the Scriptures to us on the way? So if you want to reignite your heart again open the word of God. Jesus redirected John to the scripture. Last point. He told John to stay the course even if he didn't see
[00:28:38] the plan. Stay the course when you don't see the plan. Verse 23. Blessed is he that is not offended because of me. Another way to translate that is blessed or happy is the man or woman who is not hurt or resentful or annoyed or repelled or made to
[00:28:57] stumble whatever may occur. So Jesus is saying to John and all who deal with doubt, hold the course.
[00:29:07] Years ago I was having lunch with Pastor Chuck Smith. My son Jonathan was with me. We were at the claim jumper. And I would always ask Chuck questions. I think frankly I probably irritated him a little bit. And so he's enjoying this meal. I said, Pastor Chuck, I have a question for you.
[00:29:27] Yes. What advice would an older Chuck give to a younger Chuck? And he looked up and he said, hold the course. Okay. I said, that's it? Anything else? No. Hold the course, Chuck says.
[00:29:43] You mean like we're like in the race of life and we need to keep running to the very end? Right.
[00:29:49] hold the course i think chuck really was saying i want the next course i want food here just stop bothering me greg with your ridiculous questions but what he was saying this hold the course
[00:30:01] meaning don't waver don't don't go backwards don't veer off the path and he did hold the course to the very end as did billy graham and as did countless many other men and women of god that
[00:30:15] that we have all known that are now with the Lord in heaven.
[00:30:18] But hold the course.
[00:30:19] That's what Jesus is saying to John.
[00:30:20] Buddy, hold the course.
[00:30:22] I know it's not making sense to you, but it will one day.
[00:30:25] Just hold the course and don't be offended because of me.
[00:30:29] And there are times when we have things that happen that don't make sense, but one day all of our questions will be answered.
[00:30:37] Five seconds after you get to heaven, maybe sooner.
[00:30:40] The Bible says right now we see through a glass darkly, But one day we will know as we are known.
[00:30:50] Another translation puts it this way.
[00:30:53] Now I only know in a fragmentary fashion, but then I shall fully know even as I am also known.
[00:31:00] All those questions will be answered.
[00:31:03] And we'll realize in that final day, when we stand before God, that he never sat on his hands.
[00:31:10] They were nailed to a cross.
[00:31:12] Let me say that again.
[00:31:14] realize on that final day that God never sat on his hands, but they were nailed to a cross.
[00:31:21] Until then we need to trust and follow. Now this amazing statement Jesus says to all of us right here right now. Verse 28, I tell you all who have ever lived none is greater than John
[00:31:33] yet even the least person in the kingdom of God is greater than he is. Okay so John he was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. And he was the last one. But he was the top prophet
[00:31:46] of all of them. But yet Jesus adds this. He who is least in the Kingdom of God. That would be you and I. We are greater than John. How could we be greater than John? Because John
[00:31:58] was living in the Old Covenant and you are living in the New Covenant. You see. John didn't have Jesus living in his heart, nor did Moses, nor did Elijah, nor did Daniel or Isaiah or Ezekiel. We're in the new covenant. John was a herald of the king. You are a friend of the king.
[00:32:19] John was a friend of the bridegroom. We are the bride of the bridegroom. We are the bride of Christ, the Bible says. Some guys would say, I don't want to be a bride. You're a bride, dude.
[00:32:32] Get over it. Embrace it. See that's a special covenant and relationship we have with the Lord.
[00:32:41] Let me loop back to that illustration I used at the beginning of the message. So there's this ominous warning that was on their phones for 37 minutes and then an all clear was given. We have a friend over on Oahu that told us about a neighbor that came banging on the door of
[00:32:59] of her house who was in a panic.
[00:33:01] She said she knew Shelly was a Christian and she said, what do we do?
[00:33:06] Well, there's not much you can do practically, no place to run to.
[00:33:10] Shelly said, we need to pray and be ready to meet Jesus.
[00:33:14] And the friend said, okay.
[00:33:15] And the friend prayed right there and asked Jesus to come into their life.
[00:33:21] Thank God that he'll hear our prayers even at the very end.
[00:33:25] I can't tell you how many people I have gone to visit on their deathbeds who came to Christ.
[00:33:31] People I had shared the gospel with many times who were not interested in it, but when they're facing eternity, they come to their senses.
[00:33:41] I've told you before, my mother was married and divorced seven times.
[00:33:45] And her last husband was named Bill.
[00:33:49] We didn't have a real close relationship, he and I.
[00:33:52] And after my mom passed, and my mom did come to Christ at the end of her life, But I had not talked to him for quite a while and someone called me up and said, your dad is dying.
[00:34:02] I go, what do you mean my dad?
[00:34:03] He goes, Bill's dying.
[00:34:04] I go, he's not my dad.
[00:34:06] Okay, but he's dying.
[00:34:07] He's in hospice care.
[00:34:09] He's not gonna live much longer.
[00:34:10] You should go visit him.
[00:34:12] And I'll be honest, I didn't wanna go visit him.
[00:34:16] Because I was on my way to get on a plane and go preach the gospel somewhere.
[00:34:21] And I said, well, I can't do it now.
[00:34:23] I'm on my way to go catch a plane and preach.
[00:34:25] And okay, they said whatever, but, you know, just wanted to tell you.
[00:34:29] And I'm driving to the airport and God spoke to me as clear as day.
[00:34:32] And he said, you go see Bill right now.
[00:34:34] Okay, I drove over, walked in, saw Bill in that hospital bed set up in the den of his house.
[00:34:43] And I could see he was not long for this world.
[00:34:46] And I immediately felt ashamed for not jumping at this opportunity.
[00:34:51] And I sat down, I said, Bill, I know that we didn't always get along that well.
[00:34:56] but and I know I told you about Jesus many times but I want to tell you one more time what the gospel is he couldn't speak but he nodded his head and I told him who Jesus was he loves you and he
[00:35:08] died on the cross for your sin and he rose again from the dead and if you'll turn from your sin and ask Christ to come into your life right now you can go to heaven do you want to do that Bill
[00:35:18] Bill nodded his head yes so I led him in a prayer and he prayed that prayer with me and then I grabbed him by the hand and then I left I'm so glad I did that
[00:35:31] and then I caught my plane still able to catch a flight and as soon as I landed I got a text on my phone Bill just died glad I went he got in under the wire
[00:35:41] but thank God that the Lord would hear the prayer of a person on their deathbed or hanging on a cross next to Jesus and he would say truly I say to you today you'll be with me in paradise
[00:35:55] and so here's my point to you one day your life will end nobody gets out if you're alive unless the rapture comes and I pray it does and maybe it will but apart from that we're all gonna die we're all gonna be laid in the ground I
[00:36:11] saw an interview that Stephen Colbert just did with Nicolas Cage the actor and he asked him what do you think happens after you die Nicolas Cage says I think we live on as some form of electricity and we just I
[00:36:26] I don't know where it goes, and then, it wasn't a very good answer.
[00:36:32] Now, Nicolas Cage had one thing right.
[00:36:34] We do live on, but not as a form of electricity.
[00:36:37] We live on as a living soul.
[00:36:39] The body goes into the ground, the soul lives on.
[00:36:42] And then the soul goes into the afterlife.
[00:36:45] And we determine in this life where we will spend the afterlife.
[00:36:49] So you decide where you wanna go.
[00:36:51] I heard about a tombstone in the cemetery, and someone was reading the inscription on it.
[00:36:57] It said, pause now, stranger, as you pass by.
[00:37:01] As you are now, so once was I.
[00:37:03] As I am now, so you shall be.
[00:37:06] So prepare for death and follow me.
[00:37:09] The guy reading the tombstone inscription then was overheard to say, to follow you is not my intent until I know which way you went.
[00:37:21] Which way are you going?
[00:37:22] You determine this, this is up to you.
[00:37:25] If you put your faith in Jesus Christ, He will forgive you instantaneously of every sin you have ever committed and you can know with certainty you'll go to heaven when you die.
[00:37:35] I know I will go to heaven when I die.
[00:37:39] You say, well, Greg, that's very arrogant of you.
[00:37:41] For a bald guy, you're awfully prideful.
[00:37:44] Okay, whatever.
[00:37:45] Mom, I don't see it as arrogance because my confidence does not come from what I've done.
[00:37:54] It's based on what Christ did.
[00:37:57] I'm going to heaven because Jesus purchased my salvation.
[00:38:01] I believe the promise that said, Christ speaking, for God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
[00:38:11] I said, I'm in, I believe that.
[00:38:14] And I received everlasting life.
[00:38:16] The Bible says, these things we write to you that believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
[00:38:23] I know it.
[00:38:25] And you know it, many of you know it as well.
[00:38:26] I know you do.
[00:38:28] But I'm talking to somebody, yeah, amen.
[00:38:32] And it's good to know, isn't it?
[00:38:34] It's good to know.
[00:38:35] But I'm talking to somebody right now that doesn't know that at all.
[00:38:38] When you think of death, it just freaks you out.
[00:38:41] And maybe it should, because you're not prepared for the afterlife.
[00:38:45] But you can be.
[00:38:46] You say, well, how?
[00:38:48] You believe in Jesus.
[00:38:49] You say, Lord, I know I'm a sinner.
[00:38:52] I realize you came to die on the cross for my sin.
[00:38:54] I believe in you.
[00:38:55] I turn from my sin.
[00:38:57] and he will come into your life and you can walk out of this place with a different eternal address than the one you had when you walked in because i didn't mention the other option
[00:39:08] it's not heaven but it starts with h it's called hell and the last thing god wants is for any man or woman uniquely made in his image to spend eternity separated from him in this horrible
[00:39:23] place called hell. It wasn't made for people. It was made for the devil and his angels according to Jesus. But if you reject the promise of Christ, you reject his offer of forgiveness, you reject his death for you on the cross, and you end up in hell in that final day,
[00:39:40] you'll have no one to blame but yourself. As C.S. Lewis said, the gates of hell are locked from the inside. In other words, you charted your course, you picked your destination. That's not what God
[00:39:52] wants and I don't think it's what you want so you can come to Jesus and get that all changed we're going to close now in prayer excuse me and then I'm going to extend an invitation for anyone
[00:40:05] here to put their faith in Jesus just like Bill did before he went to be with the Lord just like Chad did when he was coming to church kind of resistant but God got hold of his heart
[00:40:21] that can happen for you right here right now let's pray father speak to the hearts of those that do not yet know you and let this be the moment they believe let this be the moment they
[00:40:33] change their eternal address from hell to heaven we commit them to you now now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life
[00:40:47] if you want him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to know that when you die, you will go to heaven, if you want Jesus to come into your life to be your savior and Lord,
[00:40:59] I want you to raise your hand up wherever you are and I'm gonna pray for you.
[00:41:03] Raise your hand up high where I can see it.
[00:41:05] Let me pray for you.
[00:41:06] God bless you.
[00:41:07] Raise your hand up.
[00:41:08] God bless you and you and anybody else.
[00:41:11] This can be the moment where it all changes for you, but you must believe in him.
[00:41:15] have you done that yet just raise your hand up I'll pray for you today wherever you are god bless you god bless you god bless you yes god bless you there's others are watching screens in Riverside or in Maui or you're watching online or
[00:41:31] wherever you're seeing this you can make this same commitment to Christ anybody else in this final moment raise your hand up let me pray for you god bless you you that have raised your hand if you would please I'd like you to stand
[00:41:44] to your feet and I'm going to lead you in a prayer of commitment, a prayer of asking Jesus to come into your life. Just stand up. You heard me right. By the way, others are standing. Just stand up and
[00:41:55] I'm going to lead you in this prayer. God bless you. Maybe you didn't raise your hand, but you want to go to heaven. You want Jesus to come into your life. Stand up and let me lead you in this prayer.
[00:42:08] I'll wait one more moment. Anybody else stand up now. If you're in an overflow area, you can stand up there. Harvest Riverside, stand up there. Harvest Maui, you stand up there too. Wherever you are. And I'll lead you in this prayer. Anybody else? Stand now. All right. You that
[00:42:24] are standing, I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Pray these words. Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the
[00:42:44] dead. I turn from my sin now, and I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my Savior and my Lord, as my God and my friend. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. God bless each one of you.