Saving Faith

So many believe in Jesus, I mean there's millions, if not billions of people that believe in Jesus. But few believe Him. There are millions, if not billions of people that believe in the one who died for their sins. But few actually believe the one who died. The one who died is Jesus. And He said, for example, that if a man doesn't forsake all that he has, he cannot be my disciple. He said, you've heard it said by them of old time, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, resist not an evil person. But whosoever would smite you on your right cheek, offer him the other also. Jesus said, the one who died said, if we look upon a woman with lust, we're guilty of adultery. He said, don't lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven. He said, don't seek anything else first, other than my kingdom and my righteousness. Many believe in Jesus, but few actually believe Him. Few actually live their lives in a way that makes sense of what they profess with their lips. And then there are some other people, you know, like they're more impacted by what He said than what He did. They focus more on His teaching, on His doctrine, on His words, on His example, rather than what He provided through the cross, through His death, burial and resurrection. But I would say that if you're not overwhelmed and impacted and your heart isn't filled with adoration for what He did for you and provided through the cross, you're more than likely trying to obey His words and forsake everything to follow Him in your own strength. And the more that you perfect that and grow in that, the more you will become like a Pharisee, trusting in yourself that you're righteous. The more that you'll have this despising of others in your heart. But the title of this message is Saving Faith. I have a lot of scripture. This is just going to be a teaching. I want to go through all these scriptures to help establish you and what a saving faith is. And I have several different types of faith that I want to cover. Probably about 20, I haven't counted, but lots of different types of faith. But there's only one faith that saves. 1 John 5, this is the disciple whom Jesus loved, the apostle John. He says in chapter 5, verse 1, he said, Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And then verse 4 says, For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world. Even our faith. So according to John, if you combine these two scriptures together, whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world. You see that. Now, there's like I said, there's millions, if not billions of people all over the world who claim to believe that Jesus is the Christ, but they have not overcome the world. They're overcome by it. The same apostle says in chapter two, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away in the lust thereof. He that does the will of God abides forever. So there's. A victory that overcomes the world, and it's called our faith. Our faith in Jesus as the Christ. If we truly believe, like for John to truly believe that Jesus is the Christ, it's something that is birthed inside of you by the Holy Spirit. It's not just something you decide to do one day. Apart from any pervenient grace or work into the spirit of God in your heart, convincing you that Jesus really is the Christ. And without that, you will not overcome the world. You will not walk in victory. So the title of this message, again, is saving faith. I would say that perhaps millions, if not billions of people all over the world that claim to believe Jesus is the Christ don't really have a saving faith yet. They have a faith, but it's not a saving faith. It hasn't saved them from their sin. It hasn't saved them from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of this life. It hasn't saved them from themselves, like just exalting self, promoting self, living for self. It hasn't affected a death to self. But the faith that overcomes the world is born of God and that is what we need to overcome the world. It's something born of God. So there's this first faith that I have listed here. It's a patch or troubled conscience faith. Patch or troubled conscience faith. There's a lot of people that have a troubled conscience. I remember in school or just different times, people just felt like they had to be in church. They felt like they had to go to church. They felt like they had to pray. And so they would go to church and they would pray because their conscience is troubled. And in order to kind of patch it and feel a little comfortable about their life and a little more secure and whatever it is that they think might happen in the method they die, they go to church and they pray or they participate in religious activities. That's called a patch or troubled conscience faith. But it's not a saving faith. It's not a faith that overcomes the world. It's a faith that still leaves you dead in your sins. It's a faith that still leaves you defeated and overcome by this world. It's a faith that will just kind of like wither away when the scorching heat from the sun or from persecution comes or when trials come. They'll just kind of fall away like the parable of the sword. It's a faith that sprouts up and has abundant joy for a time, but then it withers away. It's not a saving faith. A traditional faith. A traditional faith is like I'm born in the United States of America. And maybe 30 years ago, about 90% of Americans professed to be Christian. And most of them owned a Bible. And the reason why is because they're born in the United States of America. But if these same people would have been born in India or Thailand where there's Hinduism and Buddhism or Iran where there's Islam, they probably wouldn't own a Bible and they probably wouldn't be going to church. They probably wouldn't be calling themselves a Christian. So what they have is a cultural or a traditional faith. God has no grandchildren, either born again by his spirit. Like your parents can't pray your way. They can't be born again for you. They can't save you. Your family can't save you. Your country can't save you. It doesn't matter what faith you're born into. If it's not a saving faith in Jesus as the Christ, it will not be the victory that overcomes this world. It'll leave you dead in your trespasses and sins. You won't be quickened together with Christ and made alive. You won't become a new creature. You won't want to devote your entire life regardless of what it costs you to Jesus Christ. You won't want to rot away in a prison cell somewhere just with the bread of affliction and water of affliction. You know, just rotting away with the rat and the mice, gnawing at your putrefying body with all the sores that you acquire in these rotting cells. For your faith in Jesus Christ, you won't be willing to suffer, to live and to die for Jesus Christ. If all you have is a traditional faith or pastured, troubled conscience faith, only a saving faith overcomes. The third type of faith is a fearful faith. A fearful faith, you say, how can that be? That's an oxymoron. No, it's the truth. A lot of people, their faith is based upon fear. It's, I don't want to go to hell. I don't want to go to hell, so I'm just going to believe in Jesus as the Christ. Other people believe in Jesus as the Christ and they don't fear going to hell. They have the hope of heaven. So, I'm so afraid of dying and going to hell. I'm just going to live for Jesus. Other people do it and, you know, I think it would be safer if I did the same thing. That's called a fearful faith. It's not a saving faith. When times of trial or persecution come, you fall away. It's not a faith that literally mortifies and puts to death the works of the flesh. Adulteries, fornication, thefts, murders, hatred, variance, envy, drunkenness, revelries, witchcraft, any bondage that we're in inside of our heart, it doesn't purify the heart. It doesn't set us free. All it does is make these external changes with no inward reality. It's a fearful faith. There's a process of elimination of faith. Process of elimination of faith. One of the things I like to share with people out in the streets is, I'll just walk up to people out in the streets. Either we go out witnessing on the weekend or if I'm at the hardware store, grocery store, wherever I'm at, it's a really interesting way to share Jesus with people. To open up the door to sharing Christ with them. I'll say, hey, was there ever a point in time when absolutely nothing at all existed? No gluons, no quirks, no subatomic particles, no space, no time, no matter, nothing whatsoever. And they're immediately like, whoa. And some of them instantly see where I'm going with this and say, are you a Christian? Or they say, oh yeah, yeah, there was a time when nothing existed. And then I'll say, well, what's zero plus zero? And they'll be zero. The lights kind of come on sometimes. Some people just are utterly nonsensical. But this is what you call a process of elimination of faith. It's like, well, zero plus zero is zero, so there must have been something. So was it, did mind create matter or did matter create mind? And you can get into physics and science and biology and all these different things and reason with people about how mind, there must be this eternal mind or this eternal life that existed before all things was, in fact, created all things from whom are all things. And Jesus is actually called the eternal life in the Bible. That's how John described Jesus. He said, that which we have seen with our eyes, which our hands have handled of the word of life, that life was manifested and we have seen it bear witness to be clear unto you, that eternal life, which was with the Father, was manifested to us. First John chapter one. First John chapter five said, this is the true God and eternal life. The true God and eternal life. So Jesus is the eternal life. All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that was made. And in him was life. And that word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth. So there's this process of elimination of faith. And, you know, the lights come on and I'm able to share Jesus and I'm able to talk about his teachings. And I can see some type of faith being created, like oftentimes countenances, like the countenance of the people I'm talking to brightens up. You see a little elimination happening. But mere words cannot save anyone. Only a saving faith can save anyone. And God can use the process of elimination to help create that, to help inspire that. But nobody can be saved by this process of elimination. Part of process of elimination faith is a conspiracy faith. I've met a lot of people over the years. Just the other day I met somebody. They started seeing all the evil in the world. And I just heard this the other day by someone else. It was just like they started seeing all the evil in the world. And so they were convinced that there must be a good and that ultimate good must be God and Satan must be the ultimate evil. And so this process of elimination, you know, like the whole all the world powers and the governments and the principalities, you know, they're evil and the God of this world, you know, controls everything. You know, God, the creator of all is trying to shine light to the hearts of men. And so, therefore, they decided to become a Christian. It's a process of elimination faith. God can use that. But that faith alone will still lead you dead in your trespasses and sins. That faith alone will not be the victory that will overcome this world. It will not endure trials and temptation. Acts 17, verse 27, Paul's reasoning at Athens. He's conversing with men at Athens that were very superstitious and religious. And in verse 27 or verse 23, he says, for as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown God. Whom, therefore, you ignorantly worship him, declare I unto you, God, that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands, neither is worshipped with men's hands as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all life and breath and all things. And he has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth and has determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation that they should seek the Lord, if happily they might feel after him and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. So Paul uses this word to feel after him. How do you feel after God? Process of elimination. You kind of just, well, yeah, there's light, there's darkness, there's good, there's evil. You know, every house has its builder. Like, men build homes, they build cars, they build bridges. But, you know, who built the mountains, the stars, the trees, the seasons, the change? Like, who did this? Well, every house has its builder, but he that built all things is God. And so there's this process of elimination stage. There's this conclusion that they come to that's very convincing and compelling to them to believe that there's a God, but not really to lose their life for that God. Another type of faith is what if you're wrong faith? What if you're wrong? I have encountered many atheists on the streets witnessing, and I have used this myself. It may not be the best thing to do, but, you know, it does kind of get some atheists to think about the choices they're making. What the atheist kind of reasons with me is like, how do you know that there's a God? How can you prove? For me, there's, I'm proof. I was a slave to sin, I was addicted to drugs, horrible drugs, and all that stuff. And faith in Jesus set me free, put a new heart within me and a new mind and new affections and desires and totally transformed me. I have enough proof in my own testimony. I have enough proof that, like, I can just watch the snow fall from heaven and the waves only come upon the earth so far and the mountains, you know, with all the trees and all the butterflies and the baby being formed in the womb, all these things are miraculous. It's not just the laws of physics that eternally existed, but it's an eternal God that created the laws of physics and holds all these things together by the very power of his word, according to Hebrews chapter 1. But what if you're wrong, faith? So, like, the atheist, so I just, just to kind of, like, humble myself in his sight or just to, like, condescend or just to, just kind of admit, okay, okay, so I don't have any proof, like, to the natural senses, I feel like I do, but he doesn't, so I'll just be like, okay, so if I'm right, there is a heaven and there is a hell. There is a God and there is a devil. There is eternal life and there is eternal torment based upon our works and how we live. If I die, I'm blessed. If you die, you're cursed. So, like, what if you're wrong? But the question, what if you're wrong, and even, like, if that, like, does put some fear in his heart or cause him to really reconsider his position as an atheist or make a few changes in his life, it's not a faith that can save him, it's just a what if you're wrong faith. Another type of faith, a double-minded faith. Well, I really think I should be going to church. I think I should be more devoted. I think I should be doing this. I think I should be more involved in this work or maybe this charity or this business, but it's not really written on the heart. That's not a faith that overcomes this world. It's not a faith that will endure. It's a double-minded faith because you go back and forth, back and forth. You know, you're tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, by family opinions, employee opinions, by just this world's opinions, by the news, by information, by science. You're tossed to and fro. You don't have an anchor for your soul. It's a double-minded faith. And here's a really interesting faith right here. Y'all will probably recognize this. I've heard it several times. Well, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here, Faith. Y'all ever hear anybody say that? You're trying to talk to them about Jesus, and like they most instantly say, well, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. I had a heart attack. I was dead for like two minutes, and like they revived me, and he's had mercy. He's been good to me. I was in this car wreck, you know, and my body was thrown to the windshield, and I went through that glass, and I barely came out of there with a scratch. Y'all ever hear anything like that? And they're still living in sin. They still watch porn. They still go to the nightclubs. They're still very selfish. They get all they can, and they get all they can't. They can, they greedily covet all the day long and are never satisfied. They don't even share their faith about Jesus. They're cowards. They live for the weekend, you know, to go play hockey and volleyball or golfing or bowling or just all these worldly activities, but they don't live their life for Jesus, and they say, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. That type of faith will not save you. I think there's many people that are going to wake up in hell who had a patch of trouble conscience faith, a double-minded faith. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here faith. There's another type of faith. It's a worth-a-try faith. It's worth a try. I guess it's one of the many options available, and it's worked for other people. It might work for me too. So you try Jesus. Not a bad idea to try him. There's nothing wrong with it, but if it's not the Holy Spirit of the living God compelling you, persuading you, convincing you, it's not a faith that will endure. There's another faith. It's a save-for-my-family faith. It's a faith that has good morals, good people, and it's safe for my family. And so church is more of a social club rather than something that Jesus is building, rather than a military that Jesus is assembling to, like, he has this plan and this agenda to seek and to save that which is lost, to go into the highways, the byways, to go into broken homes and families and build them up and preach the gospel and deliver the captives and set them free. It's just a safe place for their family. That type of faith won't save you. It will leave you dead in your sins. It will make you maybe perhaps a more moral person, a less selfish person, but it won't form the image of Christ inside of you. There's an unprofitable faith. You go to Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4 says, Let us therefore, in verse 1, fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them. But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. So there's an unprofitable faith. There's people that hear the gospel, that hear the word, but they don't truly believe it with their heart. They believe it with their intellect. There's a culture or a tradition or a familial opinion or some other type of power at work inside of them compelling them to believe the gospel. It's not because the Spirit of the living God is birthing it on the inside of them. It's an unprofitable faith. And the implications of hearing the word but not believing it is you hear the word, but you're not a doer of it. You're not obedient to it. There's an imperfect faith. James 2, an imperfect faith. An imperfect faith will leave you dead in your sins. An imperfect faith is a dead faith. James 2. It says, verse 19. Let's just go to verse 17. Even so, faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God, you do well. The devils also believe and tremble. But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, referring to Abraham, and by works was faith made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled, which said, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. Verse 24. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Verse 26. And he says, for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. And he's not referring to dead works. He's referring to obedience. Faith without obedience is dead. It's an imperfect faith. Little faith. Many times throughout the Scriptures, Jesus says, O ye of little faith, why did you doubt? Like, here's Peter walking on the water, right? He's the only one that gets out of the boat. He's like, Lord, at your word, I will come. Jesus said, come. He gets out of the boat. There's a storm. There's large waves on the Sea of Galilee. And he literally walks out of this boat and steps onto the water without sinking. And he's walking. But then he becomes fearful. And he begins to sink. And he says, Lord, save me. And Jesus immediately reached down and pulled him out of the water. So Jesus says to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? It's little faith to walk on water. Can you imagine that? If Jesus said to Peter, O you of little faith, and he's the only one out of the boat that actually walked on the water. He's the only one that we know of other than Jesus that walked on water. Jesus said he had little faith. How in the world can we boast and be puffed up and so proud of our efforts and our obedience and our living by faith and forsaking all and all these things in our minds that are just really big. They're so small. We haven't walked on water yet, friends. Jesus has a way of speaking to his disciples, to his sheep in a way that just kind of keeps them low. And I think that's really safe. That's really good. And it's really kind of them. O, so there's a little faith. A little faith. And I would say this. Like Jesus said, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, right? Like something really small. Basically, if you just have little faith, if you just have a little faith, you can say to this mountain, Be thou removed and cast into the sea, and it will be done. He didn't say, hey, if you have a mountain of faith, you can move a mountain of sin. It just takes a little faith to overcome the world. It just takes little faith, but the size of a mustard seed, to move a mountain. Can you imagine trying to move a mountain? It's just there's a sin in your life that has kept you in such bondage, in such despair, in such humiliation. And it's just like a mountain. Can you imagine walking up to a mountain? I don't know if you've been to a mountain. I know everybody else in here has. I don't know about Tommy, but it's like we've been to these mountains. Can you imagine trying to move a mountain, Joseph? That would be crazy. And that's what sin is like in our life. It's like this impossible thing. There's no way we can do it. But Jesus says, if you just have faith this big, you can overcome it. Our ability to overcome the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of this life, to overcome this world, to overcome sin and self, it's a matter of faith. It's a matter of faith. It's a matter of what we believe and where that, like the origin of that faith. Is it a traditional faith, a culture of faith, process of elimination of faith, or is it something that's birthed by the Spirit of God compelling us, persuading us, convincing us, this is the truth, the way, and the life. Jesus really is the Christ. I'm going to live for him. I'm going to die for him. I'm going to devote everything to him. And it produces like the effects of it is a life-giving power on the inside of you that kills vain, carnal, worldly, sensual, deathless desires. It kills that envy, that pride, that bitterness, that hatred. It transforms all these works of the flesh into the fruits of the Spirit because you really believe Jesus is the Christ, and there's a mystery there. It's something like literally our faith connects with heaven. Our faith connects with Christ. It's our access into everything that Jesus provided us through the cross. So Jesus clearly says that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can command this mountain to be moved and cast into the sea, and it will obey you. If there's a sin in your life, it's a matter of faith. The reason why people today don't overcome sin and this world is because they don't believe that they can. It's impossible. They're looking to themselves. They're not looking to Jesus. They're trusting in themselves, their own ability. They think, well, I've been struggling with this thing for years, and my victories only last for a week or two, and it's just been going on and on and on. It's an issue of faith, friends. Do we really believe? And if we believe, what is the origin of that belief? How is it produced? Where did it come from? Is it a conspiracy faith, process of elimination faith? Is it an unprofitable faith? Is it a safe for my family faith, worth a try faith? What if you're wrong faith, fearful faith? What kind of faith is it? Is it the faith that John said is the victory that overcomes this world? Is it born of God? Another type of faith is great faith. Jesus said of the centurion, the centurion, you know, his servant or his son, I don't remember, he was sick, he was going to die or something, and he comes running after Jesus, or he sent a servant. Yeah, the centurion sent a servant after Jesus or something like that. You all know the story. But he didn't feel worthy to have Jesus to come under his roof. Jesus immediately said, hey, I will come to him and heal him. And the man plainly said, I'm not worthy for you to come into my home. And Jesus marveled. He said, I'm a man under authority, having people under me. I say to them, do this and they do it. Don't do that and they don't do it or whatever. And they obey me. This centurion, there was something inside of him that recognized Jesus is unlike anybody else on the face of this earth. His word has power. His word transforms. His word causes bodily limbs to grow back. And eyes that can never see to see. He causes demon-possessed people that are just cutting themselves and tormented and afflicted to have a sound mind and be fully clothed and have peace and joy unspeakable and full of glory. His word is with power. And that Roman centurion saw that and he believed it. So much so that he knew there was something very holy, something pure, something divine, something different than man in Jesus. And he did not feel worthy for him to come under his roof. And then there's millions of people today that claim to believe Jesus is the son of God, that he's the creator of all things, and they think that he lives on the inside of them, and they just feel totally entitled to all of his gifts and all this stuff, but they rebel all the day long. They greedily covet all of the day long. They serve themselves. They live for themselves. They don't take up their cross. They're not denying themselves. They're not looking for the print of a step throughout the pages of Scripture to follow hard after them. As the psalmist said in Psalm 63, he said, My soul follows hard after you. But this centurion, his faith in Jesus was so great, he didn't even feel worthy for Jesus to enter his home. What kind of faith do we have if we feel like we're friends with Jesus, that we have a relationship with Jesus, that Jesus actually lives on the inside of us, and we just live in sin, and we sing songs about his sacrifice, we honor him with our lips, but our hearts six days a week are far from him. What kind of faith is that? Like this centurion, his faith was so great in Jesus, he didn't feel worthy for Jesus to even enter his home. But there's so many... Y'all understand what I'm saying here? Like, if we have faith in Jesus, we ought to feel unworthy for him to come and make his home inside of us. He said, He that has my words and keeps them, he it is that loves me. And my Father will love him, and I will love him, and will make my abode or my home inside of him. There's the weak in the faith faith. This is Romans chapter 14. A weak in the faith faith. Some people believe that eating herbs is wrong, or having our Christian get-together is wrong, to have it on Sundays. It needs to be on Saturday, that we've got to keep the Sabbath, and there's all these divisions in the churches about it, and so many opinions. Paul says that we're weak in the faith when we divide over these subjects. We're weak in the faith. And so there's a weak in the faith faith. Then there's a partiality faith. James chapter 2. James chapter 2. It says, My brethren, verse 1, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons? For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, and goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man and vile raiment, and you have respect to him that wears the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place. And say to the poor, Stand thou there, sit under my footstool. Are you not then partial in yourselves and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, has not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which He has promised to them that love Him? But you have despised the poor. I've been around different churches and stuff, you know, where like, if there's somebody visiting their fellowship, and it says like, here it says, if there comes into your assembly a man with a gold ring and goodly apparel, so this is a self-sufficient family, somebody that would really be a great addition to our church, and they really have a lot to offer. The children are such a blessing, they don't have really a lot of problems, they don't have a lot of baggage. They'd be a contribution rather than a subtraction of the church. And then there's somebody that just is really poor and needy, has a lot of problems, they need a lot of help. How do we treat people like that? Do we have as much joy in their fellowship and the poor man's fellowship as the rich man's? If not, then we have what's called a partial faith. And we may not have a saving faith at that point. Because the saving faith will purify us of that partiality. There's a futile faith. There are some in the church of Corinth, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, that did not believe in the resurrection. And Paul says, if you don't believe in the resurrection, your faith is vain, it's futile, it's worthless. And why do we stand in jeopardy of our lives every day if there's no resurrection? Let us eat, drink, and die for tomorrow. Let us eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. If there's no resurrection from the dead, if we really don't believe in a resurrection from the dead, if this faith in the resurrection from the dead has not caused you to walk in newness of life, it hasn't given you the victory over this world because there's tremendous power when we believe in the resurrection of the dead, that there will be a resurrection of the just and the unjust. And they all will be judged according to their deeds, whether they're good or evil. That will purify you. You can believe what you want to believe faith. That's an agnostic faith. I don't know how many times we encounter this. It's like, don't all religions kind of teach the same thing or just do unto others as you would have them do to do unto you, love your neighbor as yourself. And you can believe what you want to believe. You know, there's really no moral absolutes. There's really not right or wrong. It's just a matter of opinion. And you ask these people, would it be wrong if I took that child over there and just chopped off its head? Of course that's wrong. Okay, well, who says so? There's something written upon our hearts where we know that it's wrong. You can believe what you want to believe faith. That faith embraces everyone and anyone. It has no absolute moral standard. That faith is dead. And that faith is really flooding the churches these days. Nobody wants to judge. Nobody wants to uphold the righteous standard of Jesus Christ. There's a blind faith, a faith where people really don't have any foundation for it. Their heart just tells them this is the truth or that they're saved or that they know God, but they really don't. Like John said this, he that says I know him and doesn't keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. There's so many people that say I know him, but they despise those that teach his commandments, much less perform them. There's a Bible faith. People just believe that if they believe this Bible is true, then they're saved. They read what they believe, but they don't believe everything they read. When they pick up the Bible that they claim to be the inerrant word of God that's infallible and that's inspired, God-breathed, they spend their time reading what they believe, but not believing what they read. If you look upon a woman with lust, you're guilty of adultery. Oh, we've got a doctrine to fix that. We've got a doctrine to kind of patch our conscience, to ease our minds. We're all human. There's a full of faith faith. I'm almost done with these types of faith and I've got a lot more to go, unfortunately. Acts chapter 6. If you find yourself in any of these descriptions of these types of faith, don't get confused as to whether or not you have a saving faith, but you need to make sure you do have a saving faith. If you feel like you don't, or you fear that you don't, call upon the only one that can make it real. A full of faith faith. Acts chapter 6, verse 8. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. So this was a man full of faith and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. He was performing great wonders and miracles. And when he was being stoned for his testimony, he was preaching to these Pharisees and Sadducees and these religious leaders, they gnashed upon him with their teeth and began to stone him. And he said, Lord, don't remember this sin. No, don't lay this sin at their charge. And he died. Full of faith faith. Acts chapter 6, verse 8. It says that he was full of faith. And Stephen, full of faith. When you're full of faith, you'll be doing like Stephen. You'll just devote your life to preaching the word whether you're at work, school, at home, on social media. You won't be publishing all this other nonsense, anything unprofitable. You'll be posting jokes and like worldly stuff. When you're full of faith, a saving faith, you will devote your life to Jesus Christ, following in his steps, bearing witness to the truth, being a light wherever you are. Acts chapter 11, verse 24. It says, for he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. And much people was added unto the Lord. This is referring to Barnabas, the apostle Barnabas. It says he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. What does it mean to be full of faith? It means you devote your life to Jesus Christ. This is a man that was set apart from the gospel because he was full of faith. He was full of a saving faith. He actually sold his lands and his possessions, pretty much everything that he had. And he laid all that money down at the feet of the apostles. And he let the apostles decide what they wanted to do with it. He gave up full rights, full control to all the money that he had from selling his property. And he laid it at the feet of the apostles. He gave it for them to distribute. He was full of faith. He didn't care about it. He was born again. Something was birthed on the inside of him so powerful that he saw all of his possessions, his treasures, his wealth, his power, his position as dumb as nothing. And he sold it all and laid it at the feet of the apostles. He was called a son of encouragement. There is an I am nothing faith. 1 Corinthians 13. This is the last type of faith I have in here. Y'all can make your lists. This list could be really exhaustive. This is I am nothing faith. 1 Corinthians 13, beginning in verse 1. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity, I have become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I can remove mountains and have no charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. You can have so much faith that you can move mountains of sin out of your life and still be nothing in the sight of God. That faith hasn't taught you how to love like Jesus. You can be totally free from sin, totally free from the bondage you were in, drugs, sex, whatever it was, all of your addictions that were ungodly. You can be totally free from the works of the flesh. And you can be a great teacher and understand the mysteries of the gospel, the Godhead, the end times, whatever it is that everybody is trying to figure out. You can understand it all and still be nothing in the sight of God if you haven't learned how to love like Jesus. That's an I am nothing faith. Some details about faith here. Romans chapter 12, verse 3. Hallelujah. For I say through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Everyone in the church has been dealt the measure of faith. So we all start on an even plane, on a level ground. There's the faith that's been given to us by God. God has dealt it to us. It's a gift. I don't know how many times, but this is what I tell people. The times where I've experienced God's love manifested to me on the inside of my heart the most is whenever I've succeeded in the Christian life and whenever I've failed in the Christian life. And the reason why is because God dealt to me a measure of faith in Him. And that faith endures. And that faith is an anchor for my soul that goes beyond the veil, that fills my heart with hope, causing me to persevere, that causes me to rejoice when I succeed in gratitude and thankfulness for God giving me the victory, for God enabling me to walk in the power of His Spirit over the works of the flesh, to devote my life to Him. There's something, thank you, Lord, for doing such a mighty work in my heart and producing this faith inside of me that loves you, that wants to devote all my time to you, that is nourished by you and that can feed upon you the bread of life. And then also whenever I have failed and I'm broken and I'm sorry and I'm chastened and I'm just humiliated or whatever it is, but I'm comforted at the same time because I know that there's forgiveness. And I'm thankful for that forgiveness. And that forgiveness I don't receive in vain, as it says in Psalm 130, verse 4, it says, but there is forgiveness with the Lord that He might be feared. Not feared like, ah, He's a God of forgiveness, ah. But it's like, oh, He's a God of forgiveness. There's this revelation of who He is on the inside of us. The Lord is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. It's a reality in our hearts that He's a God of forgiveness and it can cause us to tremble, not in terror, but in this reverential awe and fear because of what He's manifesting on the inside of us when we're forgiven. It's this assurance. It's called assurance. We have assurance that we're forgiven. And it's part of faith. It's part of a saving faith. Deuteronomy 32, verse 20, and 2 Thessalonians 3, it says, Not all have faith. Not all have faith. Not all have a saving faith. All have some type of faith, but not all have faith. John chapter 20, verse 27, Jesus tells Thomas, after His resurrection, He says, Reach forth your finger and put it into the holes in my hands and my side. And He tells Thomas to do not be faithless, but believing. So even though we've been dealt the measure of faith, it's a saving faith, it's birthed by the very Spirit of God in our inner man, in our spirit, there's still a choice we have to make to believe. There's still a choice. Jesus says, Do not be faithless, but believing. We have to believe. We have to make a choice to believe. There's times when we just have to make a choice. Like Job. He said, Job had no reason to believe in the goodness of God. His family was destroyed. All of his livelihood was destroyed. His body was afflicted. He had these putrefying sores all over his body. He had these friends that were just trying to tell him what a wicked man he's been and how full of pride he is. And all Job could say is that though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Job had no reason to believe, but he chose to believe. He was not faithless, but believing. Even when he didn't see anything but a testimony against him that his faith was vain. Faith can be increased. Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17. It says, Jesus is talking about forgiveness here. Verse 1. It says, Then said He unto the disciples, It is impossible, but that offences will come. But woe unto him through whom they come. It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he cast into the sea than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother trespasses against you, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. And if he trespasses against you seven times in a day and seven times in a day turns unto you, saying, I repent, you shall forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. He didn't say, Increase our love, Lord. We just can't love like that. We're not familiar with that kind of love. We're like eye for eye, tooth for tooth. What are you talking about? How can we love this way? How can we just forgive and turn the other cheek and do good to those that hate us? How can we love like that, Lord? Increase our faith is what they said. They didn't say increase our love because loving that way is a direct result of a faith that produces it. Y'all get that? Romans 10, 17, it says, Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. If we want our faith to be nourished, increased, grown, we must hear the word of God. If you're struggling with sin, with temptation, if you spend a lot of lonely nights or lonely hours driving across the country or whatever you're doing, surround yourself with words of faith, the words of God. Let it enter into your ears and get into your heart. Sing about it. Talk about it. Just feel yourself. Surround yourself with it. And also Peter said in 2 Peter, I believe it says, Add to your faith virtue. We can add to our faith. We add to our faith by living it out. So I've talked about all these different types of faith. I mentioned a few details of faith. But now I want to talk about a saving faith. How do we get a saving faith? Can we just decide one day I'm going to believe and be saved? No. Not without any prevenient work of God's grace, God's Spirit inside of our heart. But the good news, it's not just for a few people. Like God is not willing that any should perish. In John chapter 16, it's actually part of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. This saving faith by God is trying to birth saving faith in the hearts of people all over the world. I was part of the world. You were part of the world. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. So this is the work of the Holy Spirit in those that are still dead. That are still the old Adam, the old man, the old creature. Without life, without hope, and without God in the world. John chapter 16, Jesus describes the work of the Holy Spirit like in verses 7 through 9. He says that the Holy Spirit's work in the world is to convince. One word that King James says reprove. But that Greek word means to convince. This is the work of the Holy Spirit to convince us of our sin, our guiltiness, our worthiness of punishment, and of God's righteousness, how we ought to be living. And the judgment that awaits us if we don't change. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. To convince us of our sins, God's righteousness, and of the judgment that awaits us if we don't change. Because when we're really convinced in the deepest part of who we are, in the depths of our being, in our hearts, that will save us. That will produce a godly sorrow against the one that we sinned. Even King David had a saving faith. He said against, you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight. There was a saving faith in the heart of King David. And it's the work of the Holy Spirit to produce this in us. And so, but it doesn't stop there. Because just being convinced that we're sinners, not walking or fulfilling God's righteousness, and even though we're convinced that there's a judgment that awaits us if we don't change, that's just where we start. That brings us to a place of repentance on a heart level. It brings us, it fills our hearts with a godly sorrow leading to repentance unto salvation. But the Holy Spirit's work doesn't stop there. Because a saving faith is more than saving one from sin. A saving one forms the image of Christ within. Paul said, I labor in birth pains. He's talking about the church. He says, I travail until Christ is formed in you. In the Galatians. He says in Romans chapter 8 that our whole reason for being in existence and created was that Christ may be formed in us. For those he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8, verse 29. It's for Christ to be formed within us. Jesus said that part of the work of the Holy Spirit in John 15, 26 and John 14, 26 is to bring to the remembrance, to his disciples' remembrance, all things whatsoever he taught. All things whatsoever he did. He said the Holy Spirit will take what is mine and manifest it or reveal it to you. It's the work of the Holy Spirit to testify of Jesus, to reveal Jesus to our inner man. Because there's tremendous power whenever Jesus Christ, who he is, is revealed to our inner man. It's a power that saves us from sin, but also a power that transforms us into his glorious image. It's a power that fills our hearts with love. It fills our hearts with humility. We're willing to endure all things, hope all things, believe all things, forsake all things, for Christ's sake. And it's not just something we read in a book and we decide to do one day, but really our hearts are still in Sodom or Egypt. Our hearts have been transformed. The heart of stone was taken out. The heart of flesh was put in. He's operated on the inside of us and he's burst something so powerful on the inside of us that it endures, it overcomes the world. That's a saving faith and it's created by the Holy Spirit convincing us of our sin, God's righteousness, the judgment that awaits us if we don't change, and revealing Jesus to us, transforming us into his likeness. Saving faith. John 1. John 1, it says in verse 10, He was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not. He came unto his own and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Listen to this. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God. Culture, tradition, process of elimination, fearful faith, all these different types of faith I mentioned, it's all a work of man. It's all an influence of man. It's all flesh and blood. It's not something born of God. It will not overcome this world. So if we have saving faith, praise God. You can't think of a reason to rejoice, to sing his praises, to be in awe of his majesty and his wonder and his mercy and his patience and his kindness and his goodness and his faithfulness. Think about the faith that you have. You're one of few people on the face of this earth that actually have a saving faith if you have indeed overcome this world. God wants to birth this in the hearts of all men. But people, according to Romans chapter 1, suppress the truth in unrighteousness. They don't like to retain God in their knowledge. They don't want to be made aware of the sinners they are, of the righteousness they're not fulfilling and of the judgment that awaits them if they don't change. God gives them over to a reprobate mind that they should do those things which are shameful. God, his Spirit, will not always strive with man, but his Spirit is striving with men all around us every day. Whenever I was a teenager, sticking needles in my arm, having orgies and doing all these horrible things, God was striving with my spirit. He may have given me over to a reprobate mind, had my praying mother cease praying for me. My mom had no reason to believe that I would ever, ever, ever be a Christian. She had no reason to believe that I would be dead at 19 years old. But she kept praying for me. God heard her prayers. She prayed Jeremiah 24, verses 6 and 7. Lord, give David a heart to know You, that You are the Lord, that He may turn to You with His whole heart. God gave me a heart to know Him, friends. And so it's part of our... Like John says in Revelation 1, he says, unto Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and has made us kings and priests unto His God and Father. Peter said that we are a royal priesthood, a chosen generation. Part of our priestly duties is to pray for souls, pray for the lost, pray for our family, pray for our neighbors, to pray for those that don't have what we have. That God will not give them over to a reprobate mind. That God will show mercy and send laborers into His harvest to shine the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ into their hearts. Some people think, well, how does faith work? How does faith work? Let me ask you this. Do you have to know how a cell phone works in order to use it? No. Do you have to know how it sounds like, I can take a phone, you know, and I can type in a number and somehow in like two seconds I can be hearing somebody's voice in China. I don't know how that works. I know it works. I don't know how. I mean, I know how to type a number in. I know how to press the call button. I know that much. But I don't know how in the world it can take the sound of my voice vibrations that somehow my vocal cords can create and like put into the air and somehow this phone captures it and transfers it 15,000 miles away to somebody in another country in like seconds. That blows my mind. I don't know how that works, but it works. I don't have to know how faith works. I don't have to analyze it. I don't have to break it down. I just gotta believe in Jesus Christ and just surrender to the power of it, this conviction that the Spirit of God is like convicting me, convincing me. Jesus is the Christ. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. I don't have to know how an automobile, like all these different things about automobiles in order to use it. I know how to use the accelerator, the brake, the turn signals, and all these things, but I don't know how the engine, the alternator, and all these little wires and all these different things work in order to use it. Be not faithless, but believe, and believe with all your heart. Peter said to the Ethiopian eunuch, if you believe with all your heart, you may be baptized. Praise God. Um... What does the Bible promise saving faith does? I want to look at some of these things, then I want to give some warnings, okay? Still got a little bit here. What does the Bible promise saving faith does? Instead of turning to all these, I'm just going to read through it for time's sake. You can read through it later if you want to. Oh... I just think, stop recording. It's an hour. Okay, yeah, stop recording. Okay. Um... What does the Bible promise saving faith does? Acts 15, verse 9, referring to Cornelius and his household. The apostles were saying that their hearts were purified by faith. Peter was preaching the gospel to Cornelius and his household, and as he believed, his heart was purified by faith. Want me to restart it? No, no, just leave it like that. Um... Acts 26, verse 18, it says that faith sanctifies us. Faith sanctifies us. It sets us apart. It does this inner work inside of our heart that cleanses us. Romans 5, verse 1 says faith justifies us. It says, therefore having peace with God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It says in Romans 5... Let me just read that one. I really like this one. It's really simple. It says, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore being justified by faith. Faith justifies us. It doesn't just render us right in the sight of God. It just doesn't, like, change the eternal record or the record in God's kingdom. Like, this one's righteous, this one's not. But it literally justifies us. It makes us righteous on the inside. There's an impartation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ in our inner man. There's righteousness that's imputed to us. There's righteousness that purifies us. It's a righteousness that empowers us to live like Jesus. And it's through faith that we appropriate that. Romans 5, verse 2. It says that faith appropriates the grace of God. It says that by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. So it's by faith that we have access to grace. That grace has any influence upon our heart. Grace is totally unprofitable to a man that has no saving faith birthed by the Spirit of God inside of him. Faith attains to the righteousness of God. It says in Philippians 3, verse 9, Paul says, and I'll just start right here in verse 7, But what things were gained to me, those I counted lost for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And do count them but done that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. The only way we can truly be made righteous, truly be reckoned righteous, and truly live righteously is by faith. It says in Habakkuk chapter 2 or 3, Romans chapter 1, verse 17, and Hebrews chapter 10, it says the just shall live by his faith. For struggling, living a righteous life, living righteously, is an issue of faith. It's an issue if that righteousness has even been imparted to us. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8, faith saves us from sin. It says very clearly here, for by grace are you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. We are saved by grace through faith. The only faith that can save is the faith that's born of God. Many people are trying to obey God. They're trying to walk even as He walked. As it says in 1 John 2, verse 6, it says he that says that he abides in Him ought himself even to walk as He walked. They're trying to follow in the steps of Jesus. They're trying to obey the Sermon on the Mount without a saving faith that taps into the life of Jesus that produces His very life inside of them that empowers them to live it out and walk it out. They're just trying to do all that according to their own strength, their own flesh. The forgiveness of their sins, Christ's sacrifice of Himself on the cross, redemption that He secured, it really doesn't affect them. They really don't have a whole lot of appreciation for it. They don't really understand it. They can't relate to it. And if it hasn't been written on our hearts by the Spirit of God, you're forgiven. Your sins and your lawless deeds, I remember no more. If we don't have the joy of our salvation, the joy of the Lord is our strength. If we don't have that, we're trying to follow Jesus in our own strength because the joy of the Lord is our strength. The joy of our salvation is our strength. Hebrews 6, verse 12 says that faith inherits the promises. Hebrews 10, verse 22, it says, in verse 19, it says, having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. See, in the Old Testament, there was a veil in the temple, in the tabernacle that only the high priest could enter into once a year to make atonement. And whenever Christ died upon the cross, it says that the veil in the temple was written to from top to bottom. It was supernatural. And basically, that's a message for us saying that we have access, we can enter into the presence of God, the holiest of all. But see, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, it says that his veses was marred more than any man. You can barely recognize him. His blood and there was spit and blood and like loogies and just filth all over his lacerated body. And he's on the cross naked for all to see, humiliated. And it says right here, it says, having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest, the holy of holies, the very presence of God by the blood of Jesus through a new and living way which he has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, the veil of his flesh. You see, when the veil of his flesh was rent, that granted him access to us. Like when the veil of the temple was written 20 from top to bottom, that granted all to the access of what was there. But when the veil of his flesh was rent, it granted him access to us. He wanted to come to live on the inside of us and live his life through us. It says the first Adam became a living soul, but the last Adam became a quickening spirit, a life-giving spirit. When Jesus Christ comes to live on the inside of you, there's an impartation of his life. His very substance is inside of us. His seed remains in us, it says. And we cannot sin because we're born of God. There is something of God, the substance of God. What God is is now in us. That's what the Bible says. And it's by faith that we have that. And it says in verse 22, it says, let us draw near with a true heart, a true heart. They even had to add those adjectives back then. A true heart, because there were some false hearts back then, right? There were some fakers, some hypocrites, some deceivers, some false brethren. But it says, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our hope without wavering. We have assurance through faith. I've got some exhortations I want to cover here. Colossians 2. Colossians 2, verse 7. Actually, I'll just start in verse 5 here. It says, For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the Spirit, joying and beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Our hearts ought to be abounding and overflowing with thanksgiving for having this precious gift called faith that accesses the promises of God, that brings the grace of God and it connects us to the divine. It connects us to God Himself. And we experience the manifest presence of Jesus on the insiders. We're healed. We're free from sin. We're free from depression. We're free from despair. We're free from Satan's power. We're free from the lust of flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of this life where the Spirit of the Lord is there as liberty. Jesus, God, lives inside of me. We ought to be abounding with thanksgiving because of this faith that's been gifted to us because we did not harden our hearts and suppress the truth and unrighteousness, but we surrendered. And a saving faith was birthed on the inside of us. It says we're to be rooted and built up in Him. It says let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. We're building a home right now. And it's about a 4,200 square foot home if we were to finish out everything. In order to build this home, you have to let the Word of construction dwell in you richly. You have to watch YouTube videos, get the latest information on different local codes and international codes for all the trades, for the carpentry, the concrete, the insulation, the plumbing, the electrical. You have to let it dwell in you richly so you can build a house that's not going to crumble or fail ten years from now. And that's what we're to do with Christ. We're to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. We're to study the Bible. We're to pray to God. We're to walk with Him. We're to surround ourselves with godly fellowship. We're to let that Word of Christ dwell in us richly. We need to be rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith. So many are tossed to and fro because they really don't know what they believe. They're not established in the faith. They hear a bunch of good sermons and they're around a bunch of godly fellowship, but they really don't have that relationship that establishes them in the faith. They basically just have a clear understanding of what others believe. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 5. Y'all following me? Yeah. Chapter 2, verse 1. Let's start there. And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. If our faith is not born of God, if that faith, and we really believe there's a power, we really believe that Jesus is the Christ, there is a power that we've never experienced before, that we're now experiencing. There is a power at work inside of our hearts, affecting all of our thoughts, our decisions, affecting our happiness, our joy, our peace, our humility, just whatever we're doing, however we're feeling, whatever we're planning, it's just there's a power at work inside of us. Something that we've never experienced before is now there. And it's productive. And when you have that, your faith will stand in the power of God. It's the power of God's Spirit convincing you. Okay, warnings. Some last warnings about faith. It says in 1 Timothy 4, verse 1, that believers can depart from the faith. 1 Timothy 1, verse 9, somewhere in there, it says that faith can suffer shipwreck. 1 Timothy 5, verse 8, says that faith can be denied. 1 Timothy 6, verse 21, says that we can stray from the faith. 2 Timothy 2, verse 18, says that faith can be overthrown. That's a hard one for me. It's very hard for me to believe that what God has produced on the inside of me can actually be overthrown. I don't understand how that can be possible. But it does say that some believers' faith in 2 Timothy 2, verse 18, that their faith was overthrown. Some people dispute, well, but they just didn't really have a saving faith. Some people may say, well, they did have a saving faith and that their faith was overthrown, but it was just for a season. I really don't know. But I do know that a saving faith is the most powerful thing that you'll ever experience in this life. And it will produce the life of Jesus. And it is the victory that overcomes this world. 2 Timothy 4, verse 7 says that faith must be kept. Jude 1, verse 3 says faith must be contended for earnestly. There's a lot of things that are contending for our time, our attention, trying to lure us in, to take interest in something, to give our time, our devotion to something, to cause us to stray, to deny, to depart from the faith. Jude says that the faith that we have received must be contended for earnestly. It must have first place in our life. It must govern all of our affairs. And hearing me say that, it's not to be some law that I'm speaking by which you think, I must do this. It's your natural heart desire. It's your natural inclination through the new birth that you contend for the faith, that the faith has first place in your life. Paul said in Galatians 2, verse 20, he says, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I. But Christ lives in me. In the life which I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and who gave himself for me. Faith was a very personal thing and a public thing for the apostle Paul. For him, it was very personal. I am crucified with Christ. His death was my death. His life becomes my life. All that he was is all that I am now. He lives his life through me. I am crucified with Christ. He died, but I live. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I. The resurrected Christ lives in me now through that new and living way he made with his blood. He consecrated a place inside of me for his very life, his very presence to dwell. He's made my heart his home. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I. I'm not living for my own desires. And it's not because I'm told I'm not supposed to. It's because Christ lives in me. He's alive inside of me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, in this body, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me. Me. Not just the world. Not just for God so loved the world, but I was part of that world who loved me and gave himself for me. Lord Jesus, I pray that everybody at the sound of my voice, Lord, I pray that by your Spirit you would effect a saving faith in our hearts that you would convince us, Lord, of our sins and of your righteousness and of the judgment that awaits us if we don't change, that you would by your Spirit convince us that Jesus is the Christ. Lord, I'm persuaded that we all here are convinced of this. But we have an eternity, Lord, too. There's just so much depth to who you are and to what you've done. Pray that you would just make yourself more real to us each day. That we could say with the Apostle Paul, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I pray that, Lord, you would just convince us in the deepest part of who we are that you are the Christ and that we will realize and discover and experience and find it to be the victory that overcomes this world. In Jesus' name.