The True Gospel saves us From the Power of Sin

Oh love that will not let me go. You just sing that song and it says oh joy that seekest me through pain. It pains our hearts when we sin against someone we love. Like when you truly love somebody and you do something that hurts their feelings or agrees them and that offends them. There's pain inside your heart because you love them and you failed them. But it says oh joy that seekest me through pain. The author of this song is saying that there's a joy that there's someone, namely Jesus Christ, that is seeking the one that's in this type of pain being described as the pain from failure, the pain from sinning. And that's the nature of Jesus is to seek those suffering from sin, those suffering from failure. It's the nature of Jesus to seek those who are defeated by sin. And Jesus was moved with compassion towards sinners. He was moved with compassion towards those that are weak. A lot of people can't endure, they can't stand being around those that are weak. Weak people are a trial, an annoyance, a frustration, a vexation. They can't have any joy around weak people but Jesus Christ is attracted to weak people because he has compassion. Compassionless people are repulsed by those that are weak. But if you were to define compassion, compassion could be defined as attraction to weakness. It's when you see somebody in failure and defeat and sin, weary and heavy-laden and you're drawn towards them to relieve them of their burden. It moves you to do something for them. Jesus has an attraction to weakness. If you're suffering from sin, from failure, from repeated sin, you feel like sin has its grip upon your thoughts, your feelings, and your desires. And as much as it pains and grieves your heart and the hearts of those around you, whom you love, whom you know love you, and you just can't get the victory over, I want to tell you, Jesus Christ is attracted to you. And this may blow your mind. You think, I'm ugly. I'm a wretch. I'm miserable. I'm naked. I'm poor. I'm blind. I'm in misery. I'm defeated. There's nothing beautiful about me. Jesus is attracted to you. Not because of who you are but because of who he is. Not because of what you can do but what he can do inside of you if you just believe with all your heart. All things are possible to him that believes. Everybody say that with me. All things are possible to the one who believes. Do you believe that? I do. So the author of the song says, O the joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee. Like no matter how much I fell, how much I sinned, how defeated I am, how what a wretch I am in my own sight and even in the sight of others around me, I cannot close my heart to thee. There's something inside of me that convinced that you're real, that you died on the cross for my sins, that you were raised from the dead, and that you're returning again. And there's a hope on the inside of me that somehow I might get saved and delivered from this bondage that I'm in. And I just can't close my heart to thee. I can't shut you out of my life. I can't shut your people out of my life. I just got to have my heart open no matter how tempted I am in this pain. I just can't close my heart. I can't shut you out. O joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee. I trace the rainbow through the rain, this beautiful, wondrous, colorful sight through the rain. And feel your promise is not vain. The promise is this, friends, all things are possible to the one who believes. This is the promise that the author of this song says. He says, and feel the promise is not vain, that morn shall tearless be, that one day I'm gonna find myself walking in victory over sin. With the bondage that I was in, I'm not gonna return like a dog to my vomit anymore. If I'm near it, it's gonna like repulse me. It's gonna make me want to vomit. Like I'm not attracted to it. There's nothing inside me that Satan can like, you know, fling in my eyes or my ears or try to tempt me with because I've been delivered from the desire to sin. And that's where all sin begins. It begins in the heart. Like each one is drawn away when he's tempted by, like, an enticed by his own desire. He's drawn away by his own desire and enticed. You won't find sin enticing anymore. When Jesus Christ becomes the love of your life, you'll find yourself dead to sin. You'll find yourself hating sin because that sin. There's another song that Fernando Ortega sings. If I can remember the words there, he says, basically he says that, like, how horrible is sin? How, like, vital is sin? You know, when you look at the body of Jesus Christ, when he was at that whipping post, when he was crowned with thorns, when he was crucified naked, you could see his lacerated body, his flesh and possibly his bowels and other things hanging out, but none of his bones broken. His appearance was so disfigured more than any man the Scripture says. That's how horrible sin is. Jesus Christ suffered all that because that's how horrible sin is. And he knew the only way to rip out that desire for sin in our heart is to demonstrate his awesome love through the cross and through his sufferings, to replace love for sin with a love for him, as it says, we love him because he first loved us. Paul's unceasing prayer for the church of Ephesus is that they may know the height, the depth, the length, the width, that they may know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that we might be filled with all the fullness of God. There's a feeling from God Almighty when we're illuminated by the Spirit, when our capacity to be able to comprehend and we're made able to understand the height, the depth, the length, the width, to know intimately through experience, deep in our innermost being, in the depths of who we are in our heart, the intimate, the powerful, the awesome love of Jesus Christ. Nothing else will satisfy us but just abiding in that love. Porn won't satisfy us anymore. Rolling eyes, having eyes full of adultery won't satisfy us anymore. Gambling won't satisfy us anymore. Gaming, entertainment, fashion, pursuing our own selfish desires won't satisfy us anymore. The only thing that will satisfy is just abiding in this constant place of communion with the one who loved us so intensely, so intimately, so completely, so fully, so affectionately as Jesus Christ and just abiding in that. Today I want to talk about the true gospel. If you're in this weak, defeated, powerless place and you're in bondage to sin and you're tormented and you're afflicted and your loved ones are weeping because they're hurt because of your sin and you've fallen and you don't know how to recover, I want to tell you how. Romans chapter 1 verse 16. Paul says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it, that is the gospel of Christ, is the power of God unto salvation unto all who believe. Everybody say, The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. What is salvation? Matthew 121 says that it's said of Jesus that he will save his people from their sins. He doesn't say just from the penalty of sin or just from the consequences of sin, but save them from their sins. That's what, that's part of the gospel. It's in the gospel of Matthew chapter 1 verse 21 that Jesus will save his people from their sins. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. Let me ask you this question. I want you to really be honest about what you believe in your heart. Don't say it out loud, just really think about it in your heart. Is the power of sin greater, stronger than the power of God? Is the power of sin greater or stronger than the power of sin? The power of God. You don't have to answer, but just like, I think we would all be like instantly just like, that's obvious, it's the power of God. Like with the word spoken, God said, let there be light, and there is light. He said, let the seed bring forth fishes, and the fields, and the grass, and all these things, and the earth bring forth trees, and herbs, and all these different things, right? That's how powerful God is, that with the word spoken, he can create just about anything. And I say just about anything, because there's one thing, here's something that God cannot create, and that's a man or a woman that loved him. A man or a woman that loved righteousness and hates sin. God couldn't create that with just a word spoken. It took more. It took God literally becoming a man like God was manifested in the flesh. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God, all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. And that Word, which is God, became flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. Amen? Amen. That's what it took to create a man or a woman that truly loved him. Love cannot exist where there's no free will or no ability to choose to do something different. Love cannot be forced. It's something that's born in the heart, according to the Apostle John. So the gospel is the power of God and to salvation to all who believe. The gospel is the power of God and the power of God, I mean Paul put it this way in 1st Corinthians chapter 1, he said that the weakness of God is stronger than men. That the foolishness of God is wiser than men. I would also say that the weakness of God is stronger than sin. The weakness of God is stronger than sin. So how much more is the power of God enough to save us from our sins? To take out the heart of stone, of stubbornness and idolatry and pride and that temptation to hide and cover our sins when the Scripture says whosoever seeks to do that shall not prosper. But whoever confesses and forsakes their sins shall find mercy. How many want mercy? Me. I want mercy. It's not enough to say I've sinned. Right? Right. We must forsake it. That's the promise. And the gospel is the power of God to destroy in us that hideous and insidious vile thing that would resist putting that sin to death. That would resist correction, that would resist discipline, that would resist instruction, that would resist wanting to confess it and say hey brother, hey sister, I've sinned. The gospel is also the power of God that would stir up something within us so effectual that we will really forsake it. But it's unto all who believe. Paul said for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe. Romans chapter 10 verse 9. Some people experience this salvation that I'm talking about when they hear these words at a church service. That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you shall be saved. That's pretty simple, isn't it? For with the heart man believes in the righteousness and with the mouth confession is made into salvation for the scripture says whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed. And then it says for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I called upon the name of the Lord over 20 years ago and I was saved from a life of drugs addiction to all kinds of sexual perversions. From lying, from sorcery. I was manufacturing methamphetamine doing every drug I could through a needle mainlining it all. Tormented with demons didn't even realize it. Talking in these strange voices freaking out my friends and doing all these crazy things because I was without God and without hope in the world. But is there hope in Jesus Christ? Yes there is. You can be free from addiction. You can be free like Jesus said if you continue in my word then are you my disciples indeed and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. And the Jews responded saying we've never been in a bondage to any man. How do you say that we shall be made free? And Jesus says most assuredly I say unto you whosoever sins is a slave to sin but if the Son shall make you free you shall be free indeed. Think Jesus was just kind of elated with these miracles that he was performing and all these crowds that were surrounding him do you think that somehow he was elated and puffed up in some way where he exaggerated that profound statement that if the Son shall make you free you shall be free indeed or do you think he was serious? He definitely wasn't lying. He is the wisdom and the power of God and to all who believe on him. We cannot compromise this truth regardless of how much failure and defeat we may experience or others around us may experience. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation and to all who believe regardless of the results the others experience. I can't compromise or change what I've experienced through believing in Jesus Christ and the freedom that that produced in my life. Not just a freedom from sinning but a freedom to like I just wanted to live for Christ I wanted to die for Christ as the Apostle said to live is Christ to die is gain. I was ready to have my back ripped off to have my head chopped off to be crucified thrown in prison to be beaten killed stoned whatever it was it didn't matter I longed to live with Christ to die with Christ to suffer with Christ because of something that he did inside my heart over 20 years ago. It's called the power of God unto salvation to all who believe that's what it's called it's called salvation. There's people in churches today that call upon the name of the Lord because they come to Jesus Christ as a broken sinful person wretched poor naked blind they don't come justifying their sins belittling their sins concerned about their reputation they know that they've hurt the Creator of all things that they've hurt their wives they've hurt their children they've hurt their their husbands they've hurt their friends and their family and their church members they've hurt people and they're not trying to belittle it or minimize it they feel the weight of eternal fire upon them and condemnation and hell and judgment and they come to God broken like the man in the temple that the Pharisee railed upon who wouldn't even look up to heaven I said God have mercy on me a sinner and he smote his breast he saw himself as he truly was and he made no excuses for it no no apologies or anything he just Lord I am a sinner save me he threw himself upon the mercy of Jesus Christ there's people that come to Jesus Christ like that and they experience salvation they say a sinner's prayer and they experience salvation there's some people that say a sinner's prayer they never change there's some people that repent they change the way they think about life and their worldview and all these things but they never change Micah chapter 7 this is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ whenever the Apostles go to 1st Corinthians 15 first this is part of the gospel this is the heart of the gospel and this is what the Apostles would preach verse 1 moreover brethren I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you which also you have received and wherein you stand by which also you are saved if you keep in memory what I preached unto you unless you have believed in vain it's 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verse 3 here he talks about unless you have believed in vain for I have delivered unto you first of all that which I also received how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures and that he was seen of Peter then of the twelve and after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once of whom the greater part remain into this presence but some are falling asleep so Paul was preaching from the Scriptures and the Scriptures that he was preaching from was everything that was written in the law the prophets and the Psalms concerning Jesus Christ the Bible says in Romans chapter 10 verse 17 that faith that is a saving faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God God like moved by his spirit holy men of old so they they uttered and they wrote down the things that they spoke and wrote told prophecy like whenever these two men were on the road to Emmaus these disciples of Jesus Jesus had this little walk with him in this conversation and their hearts began to burn on the inside of them as Jesus opened up their understanding and they were able to understand all that was written in the law of the prophets and the Psalms concerning Jesus Jesus was sharing the gospel from the Scriptures to Cleopas and this other disciple on the road to Emmaus so when Paul says according to the Scriptures according to the Scriptures and he's preaching the gospel he's talking about the law and the prophets of the Psalms concerning him and this is one of the things that I believe he was preaching right here Micah chapter 7 this is what Micah said he prophesied a lot of Jesus he's the one that said in Micah chapter 5 verse 2 he says but thou Bethlehem Ephratah though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from old even from everlasting as the prophet said Isaiah the prophet said who shall declare his generation like he's from everlasting Jesus Christ it's from everlasting says right here but right here in Micah chapter 7 verse 18 this is a prophecy about what God is going to do through Jesus Christ and through the cross it says who is a God like unto thee that pardons iniquity and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage he retains not his anger forever because he delights in mercy everybody say that God delights in mercy let me tell you something about something that I did years ago okay I had in trouble with the law I wrote a bunch of hot checks whenever I was 16 or 17 years old because I wanted to buy methamphetamine I opened up a bank account I put $500 in there and I wrote some hot checks that I bought some laptop computers and some other things things that I thought I could sell for more than $500 and I used it to buy drugs they closed my account there was a warrant out for my arrest I didn't know that guess what happened whenever I was driving without a license as a teenager and I got caught with that warrant out for my arrest they took me to jail I don't I guess there was some bail or something that happened where they let me go the next day but I had a court date and I knew I was caught I knew I was guilty they have me on camera they have my signature it was my checking account I knew I was guilty what do you think I was pleading then on that court day two things guilty and mercy I needed mercy I was caught I was arrested I was thrown in jail I was going to prison and hell is an eternal sentence hell is forever everlasting punishment driven away from the presence of the Lord without hope for any pardon you realize that's where sin leads to huh anybody yes do we really believe that I want to tell you something like if I had to cross this narrow narrow narrow bridge that was very dangerous and difficult to cross to get to this other side where I knew there was a trillion dollars waiting for me an endless supply of everything I could ever want to do whatever I wanted to do on this earth and I knew the only way to get there was to cross this narrow and difficult bridge no matter how much I wanted that trillion dollars they could like allow me to have whatever I wanted in this life even if I was a worldly person a person still dead still very much lost especially if they were testimonies like countless testimonies of just like millions of people trying to cross that bridge and like the first few steps they plunge into the rocks and are dashed upon the rocks to pieces nobody's ever made it across I have every reason to believe that if I put my feet on that bridge and I try to cross it I'm gonna die do you think I'm gonna do it probably not unless you were deluded there's no way I would do that I don't care how much money is there whatever in the world I would want as much as I would want it if it was there I would have put my feet upon that bridge unless I had a horribly unsound mind that's what people are doing when they say I believe in hellfire I believe that the wages of sin is death I believe that those who practice adultery fornication instead of smerge drunkenness reveries and such like will not inherit the kingdom of God but I'm just gonna cross this bridge because I want what I want but I believe if I if I if I die trying to get it I'm gonna go to hell but I'm still gonna do it anyways does that sound does that make any sense do we really believe not to the point of true conviction barely says right here in Micah chapter 7 it says who was a god like unto thee that pardons iniquity our God pardons iniquity he delights in mercy and showing mercy that judge delighted and showing me mercy 30 years ago whenever it was he delighted and showing me mercy I was a teenager I had a hard upbringing it was difficult in like this worldly earthly judge you know knew it would ruin my record the rest of my life if this felony was on my record and he didn't put it there and now I can travel the world entering other countries flying on airlines doing everything we're doing today for the gospel and for the poor because that judge had mercy on me that's all I could do is to just have mercy on me like the sinner in the temple have mercy on me God delights in mercy because he's attracted to weakness and as much as he's attracted to weakness and regardless of how vile and sinful and wretched we are he thinks we're beautiful because he knows what we can do he knows what he's able to do on the inside of us if we believe that's why he's attracted to us when we're defeated and and just failing and we're just throwing ourselves on the ground sprawling because he knows what he's able to do inside of our hearts if we just believe all things are possible to him Philip said to the Ethiopian unit he said now may us be baptized if you believe all your heart all your heart all your heart all your thoughts feelings desires with everything that you are you just shut out all the other possibilities for salvation all the carnal reasoning all the humanism all the opinions and you get to believe the gospel I believe the gospel is for me he whom the Son sets free is free indeed that's the gospel of Jesus Christ my God delights in mercy I need mercy I don't know how you can be attracted to such a wretch as me other than the fact that you are all-powerful and you are able to produce in me your very image and deliver me from myself believe make up your mind a double-minded man's unstable in all his ways he can't expect to receive anything from God make up your mind what are you gonna believe if you believe in Jesus Christ it requires all the heart everything says who is a godlike entity that part is iniquity and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage he retains not his anger forever because he delights in mercy he will turn again he will have compassion on us so compassion is not just an attraction to weakness but it's it's something that we're able to do for somebody also or to show to somebody express or do for some we're able to have compassion on people and this is how he does it he says he will turn again he will have compassion on us he will subdue our iniquities everybody say subdue our iniquities that means destroy that means bring and that the reign and the rule of iniquity over my life and over your life can be brought to an end he will subdue our iniquities he will defeat destroy annihilate our iniquities that's the gospel yes and he says and thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea all the sin that I grew up enjoying and pursuing and all the evil wicked reprobate things I did with my life and with my body it's forgiven and forgotten hallelujah hallelujah that's the new covenant their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more I will write my law in their hearts and in their minds and none shall go to his neighbor saying no the Lord for all shall know me from the least to the greatest there's something that God does through the new birth there's something that he puts on the inside of us when we have this unction this anointing this knowledge of the Holy One on the inside of us and it's so powerful that as that song that we sang earlier I cannot close my heart to thee regardless of what trials storms disappointments failures stumblings whatever it is I can't close my heart to thee you've done something inside of my heart that's so powerful I just even if I want to close it and shut it because it's so painful to think about where I'm at right now and how offensive I am in your sight and how I've heard everyone I just can't close my heart to thee there's a quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer that I really like it really stuck with me I think I heard it two years ago on a road trip he said only he who believes is obedient and only he who is obedient believes I'm gonna say that again everybody listen up real good okay all righty this is what the book of 1st John is about only he who believes is obedient in other words all these people that say I believe I believe but they're not obedient they're offering God lip service not life service Christianity something that's been added to their life rather than Christ becoming their life you following me like if if they're if I had this you know if if there is this guy this this what's really those guys the daring stuntman what are they called these people that do all these amazing thing daredevils if there is a daredevil that you know we were out of this place called some Canyon I forgot what it was in Idaho but anyways evil can evil supposedly you know he would try jumping this Canyon right it's probably about a mile wide and he had this ramp and he was on this motorcycle and let's just say that he was able to do this several times right let's say he did it 1,000 times say he did it like a hundred times a year for the past 10 years the same place the same stunt and the crowds of people grew and grew and grew and grew that people were amazed and they're like this is amazing what this guy can do and on the like the 1,000 and once time he says how many people really believe that I can do this again they all be saying I believe you can do it evil you can be able to do it you can do it and then he says the one that really believes the most right on the back of this motorcycle with me how many do you think would jump on that motorcycle for free hardly I don't think anybody would see Jesus says follow me he says be holy as I am holy he says I am the light of the world he that follows me shall not be in darkness but shall have the light of life Jesus said if you love me if you really love me you will obey me if you really love me he said he that has my words and obeys them he it is that loves me and my father will love him I will love him and I will manifest myself in him and he that hears my words and does not obey them he it is that does not love me that hurts doesn't it that can hurt you know like everything you're being you know like you're thankful for what Jesus did on the cross you thank you for where he brought you from and where he's led you to but like you're failing and and and you're not obeying him and and you're sitting against his word you're sitting against him you're sitting against your family and he says he that has my words and does not obey them does not love me not hurt we ought to feel some pain some sorrows called godly sorrow worldly sorrow produces death worldly sorrow produces repetition godly sorrow leads to salvation leads to repentance metanoia the Greek word is an inward illumination resulting of from from yielding to the Spirit of God these these these proddings of the Spirit of God within us in faith we yield to it we come to this point of brokenness and surrender where we're thoroughly convinced in our minds and we change repentance it's not the depth of your sin that God cares about God is bigger than any sin but it's the shallowness of your repentance God wants more than a confession from your lips he wants your life your obedience he knows what he is able to produce in the heart that truly believes we have no excuse friends we have no excuse the weakness of God is stronger than the power of sin all things are possible to him that only he who believes is obedient and only he who is obedient believes 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 Paul says seen in verse 16 is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you and to you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that do not know God and that do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and to be admired in all them that believe you admire Jesus Christ is there admiration in your heart for all that Jesus Christ has done for you does it stir your heart to sing you are great and greatly to be praised worthy as the land seated in the throne high and lifted up is it stir your heart is there admiration on the inside of you have you really believed the gospel of Jesus Christ because if your sins have been forgiven if you ever known to the cross and you believe he died for you and he took that punishment for you then he atoned for your sins and your future is no longer hellfire that's gonna kindle something in your heart that's gonna transform you that's gonna make you a new creature newness of life is what you will walk in your desires will be changed I don't want to watch porn anymore I don't want to do these wicked things anymore I don't want to gamble anymore and I want to get drunk anymore I want to live my life for you Lord all the way all the time I want to wake up with you thinking of you speaking of you meditate on you when they go to bed when I work you'll be the thoughts and the feelings and everything stirring in my heart throughout the day admiration is your heart filled with admiration for Jesus Christ that's what the gospel produces admiration I'm gonna move on to some other thoughts so this doesn't take too long two reasons why we don't receive from God I was thinking about this you know because me as wretched and undeserving as I was somehow I received the power of God and the salvation and I was free from my life of sin instantly changed and I've known people that seem to really want that change to really want to be renewed that really want this Liberty in Christ and they've like done an XY and Z they've met this person and this person read this book or saw this thing on the internet and all this information and they all kind of say something similar maybe something different and they act upon it they try it out but it doesn't work right now I was really trying to meditate on this for some time and it's like these two thoughts come to my mind really pay attention to what I have to say here I believe the Lord taught me this right here two reasons why we don't receive why we don't change even if we believe the gospel is the truth number one is pride or unbelief pride and unbelief and I believe the unbelief part is this right here I believe how I'm but this is how unbelief works 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 3 two reasons why we don't receive what we need to truly change to be transformed by the power of God is pride and unbelief this is how I believe unbelief works is right here first chapter 4 verse 3 Paul says but if our gospel be hid it is head to them that are lost in whom the God of this world has blinded their minds which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unbelief is the work of the devil it's the work of the God of this world blinding our minds which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel it's interesting that pulses the glorious gospel because a gospel that doesn't truly say from sin that has no power over sin that cannot free us from sin is nothing glorious about it nothing but Paul says the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power of God into salvation it saved a wretch like me and changed me from glory to glory so unbelief is I believe it's the work of the devil it's the work of the God of this world now how does the God of this world blind the minds of those who believe not I think it's through something called humanism humanism you know this there's a quote that I really like it says when we over open we overemphasize we exalt the power of sin when we overemphasize the mercy of God and the reason why we overemphasize the mercy of God is because of human weakness we're all human you ever heard that we're all human I mean people out in the streets witnessing and we talked to them about lying and they're like everybody lies that's not true I stopped lying years ago I fellowship with people that stop lying all liars will be cast into the burning lake we believe that that's just not some fable written the book or something to tickle our ears that's the truth all liars will be cast into the burning lake if you're lying you will not inherit the kingdom of God you have no hope of eternity with Jesus Christ if you're telling lies humanism we all gotta lie we all gotta sin you know God knows we're weak that's why Jesus came because he's attracted to us weak wretches no he's attracted to us weak wretches because he is the potter we are the clay and he knows he can make something beautiful and turn our mess into a masterpiece that's what he knows he can do but it's hard to believe that it's just like I've been in this bondage so long that man that was laid at the gate called beautiful was he was lame for 38 or 40 years begging unable to work and able to provide for himself probably clothed with rags hopeless nobody can help him but Peter said silver and gold have I not but such as I have I give unto you in the name of Jesus Christ stand up a walk and he immediately arose and leap for joy singing the praises of God oh we're all just human we're just we just have a thing called human weakness we got iniquity we're we're just frail we're we're prone to sin like in other words when people say that that's the plea of humanism it's the plea that like we're just humans Lord you think God doesn't know that huh it would be really foolish to think he didn't know that of course he knows that but he knows what he is able to produce inside of a heart that will just abandon all opinions and everything else to believe in him completely he knows what he's able to produce the humanism exalts human weakness over emphasizes the mercy of God and makes the power of God the gospel of Jesus Christ of none effect that's what humanism does it takes the power out of the gospel humanism also bashes those that preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ that can save us from our sins it turns lovers of truth into enemies for those that exalt the power of sin and human weakness Paul said have I become your enemy because I tell you the truth to the Church of Galatians to the Church of Corinth he says the more abundantly I love you the less I'm loved by you Jesus said of the world the world cannot hate you he said this to his brethren but me it hates because I testify of it thereof that its works are evil so I believe that the way that the gospel is hid is hid to them that are lost they're lost in humanism human opinions they're lost in like their own carnal reasoning because they know how frail how weak they are they haven't experienced the power of God and so their heart wants to believe but it can't find the faith to believe because the power of sin has such a strong hold on their life and they're dying in its grip and they're defeated and they're like their thoughts are flooded with all these like ideas and doctrines and fears and anxieties and it all strangles all hope and they just want to kill themselves and end it but I'm here to tell you that Jesus Christ is the power of God and to salvation and to all who believe and all things are possible if you believe believe with all your heart amen but if our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost and whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not reason why I don't believe is because humanism prevents a human weakness and all these different things that I described their own failures their own like five years or ten years or however long they've been trying to get victory over something but they're not finding victory it's just defeat and more and more defeat they accept the doctrine called humanism and they don't believe the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ that he whom the Son sets free it's free indeed you begin to doubt that it's even possible they begin to imagine that people that have really experienced it are just fake or false or liars or deceivers and they really are wretches and miserable just like all the other miserable wretches that are just living in sin again let me victory over it that they're just like everyone else and that God's really never done a work of salvation in their hearts they begin to doubt the salvation of other people as salvation really isn't possible but Paul said the gospel of Jesus Christ is glorious amen another reason why we don't receive the power of God into salvation this this power of God that transforms us makes us a new creature and so forth this pride says in James chapter 4 that God opposes the proud but he gives grace to the humble pride if you're living in sin in the thought of living in sin and having to confess your sins publicly it's too hard for you to do that's too difficult you're too fearful about what other people will thank you care too much about the opinions of men do you not realize that you send all day long in the face of Jesus Christ who looks down from heaven and you're more ashamed to confess it before men but you do it openly before him is there not a contradiction there repent if we can't confess our sins before men when we do it openly in the face of Jesus Christ we need to repent that's praying don't ever expect to receive the power the saving power of Jesus Christ through the gospel if you're trying to hide your sins if you're not willing to confess your sins publicly openly and turn away from it and hate it and to be held accountable for it that's pride that pride will destroy you and it'll steal everything glorious in the gospel from you that everybody else talks about and sings about you'll never be able to relate to it or sing with them and share in their joy your pride it's like crushed by the stone called Jesus Christ you fall upon that stone openly publicly wherever you're at you'd be broken before him you stop caring about what others think about you and start caring about what he thinks about you and realize that you're in his presence all the day long the psalmist said where shall I go from your presence if I make my bed in hell you're there wherever I go there you are the Lord feels all in all pride unbelief want to read some testimonies won't take too long I want to read some testimonies of the power of God of the life-saving gospel of Jesus Christ and the scriptures it says in Ephesians chapter 5 Ephesians chapter 5 verse 10 I believe verse 8 for you are sometimes darkness everybody saying you were you were sometimes darkness sometimes dark now are you light in the Lord walk as children of light you think Paul was calling something that was not really a reality in this church called Ephesus you think he was really saying something about them that wasn't true or that had not yet been a reality in their hearts or something that he was waiting to happen waiting for to happen I think he was saying you were but you're not anymore because you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ Titus chapter 3 Titus chapter 3 verse verse 3 for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving various loss and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another Paul says we ourselves were this way but after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior when that Roman soldier took that spear and thrust it into the side of Christ blood and water sprayed all over the place and John was there weeping and his mother was there weeping and the Roman soldier was there and all he could say surely this is the Son of God has that blood of Jesus Christ and the water that flowed from his side sprinkled your conscience Paul says we ourselves were not anymore because of the gospel of Jesus Christ 1st Corinthians chapter 6 1st Corinthians chapter 6 he says right here in verse 9 do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God me saying this to the church to those that have been saved by grace through faith not of themselves that is the gift of what God not of works listening man should boast he's writing these words to them and he says do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God be not deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God that's a promise by the inspired Word of God and then he goes on to say in such were some of you he's not saying such are you now he's saying such you were you were this way but you're not this way anymore there's a real transformation that took place in their hearts and he's perfecting something inside of them in this whole chapter about going to law filing lawsuits brother against brother it's not that they were repeating these things is that there was something else in their faith that needed perfected and he says to them such were some of you but you've been washed but you've been sanctified but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God does that happen to you first John chapter 1 I memorized the whole book at first John in 2003 and 2004 and I could quote it without missing a single word because this book was so full of wisdom it was black and white it was so clear everything's became like all the confusion and all this stuff that you see and experience in mainstream Christianity today if they would all read this book all the children of God and of the devil would immediately be made manifest it would become abundantly clear those that are born of God and who are not it will become abundantly clear John says this that is the message which we have heard of him and which we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie and do not the truth but if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another first John chapter 2 verse 4 it says he that says I know him and does not obey his commandments as a liar and the truth is not in him there's a lot of lying going on in churches today a lot of people say I know Jesus Christ but the Apostle if the Apostles were to visit them today and live inside their home and examine them on a daily basis the Apostle could not say such were some of you I'm going to stop there Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for your words pray Lord that Lord that hope and faith will be born in the hearts of those that hear this message and Lord that you would just somehow create inside of all who hear this message Lord at hearts filled with faith a saving faith a true conviction something that brings true repentance and salvation in Jesus name