Come To The Kingdom - Cullen Smith 6/17/10

It's great to see everyone here tonight.

I'm certainly glad to be here. Had a great day with Alan and

Darrell enjoyed Everton, Miss, Judy, and Dylan.

I'm certainly glad to be here. Glad Miss Gail to don't wanna

leave her out, but we've had a great day.

I hope you've had a great day and we're able to close it and

worship to you. Now, the majority of the rest of

the California's, watch the Lakers game, but I presume most

of you have TiVo. So all is well.

But I'm glad you're here tonight.

Somebody, I joked and said, well, we might need to put them

on the prayer list. The way things were looking.

Somebody said I want a jet but I'm just kidding.

I like to, I like for people to smile, but I'll tell you this,

The Smiling that I want you to do, is because you're in the

kingdom of God, and you're safe, and your child's.

You're God's child in Matthew 7, the scariest words in all the

Bible. Jesus, if you can imagine it for

just, a moment is reclining. The Bible said, we often think

of him sitting down. He's reclining.

He's on a little Knoll a little Mount there, weren't big

mountains like you have in this area or this country around here

but he's sitting on a Knoll and people began to kind of fill in

around him and you can just imagine I think about a

principle that would address the whole elementary school and all

these kids, all these people are just kind of filtering around

and they're following him because remember, he is healing

people now. I'm not talking about the fake

miracle. Is like you see on TV, you know

how no those are fake Miracles as any preacher that love people

and wanted to help people and had this power would go shut

down children's hospitals and would get people up out of

hospital beds and out of cancer institutes, and you name it.

That's what would happen. Well, that's not what happens.

Is it modern day? What Jesus did do that.

Jesus could restore people, Jesus would go and every city

and Village. And when he would show, Glad

Tidings of the kingdom of God, it was Amazing people would

listen to him and they would hear the voice of one that spoke

to them with authority and power.

Not as the self proclaiming self praising scribes, that love

nothing more than to hear themselves talk.

If you've ever sat in very many college classes, new forever

will hear people. Sometimes that just like to hear

themselves talk, when Jesus talked at MIT something when

Jesus came into your city and Village, it was not to have some

sort of a show But sadly, it turned into that.

From a lot of people, it was the message of the hour.

It was the message of Salvation. It was the message of

repentance. It was the message of the

kingdom is coming. It was a powerful.

It was an important, it was urgent.

And so he sits down, he's tired, he's just like you and me.

You work all day. You talk to people all day.

You try to work with people all day.

It's one of the most stressful things you'll ever do, and he

sits down and he begins to teach.

And in one 30-minute sitting you can read The Sermon on the Mount

as we call it, it just happened to be when Jesus was sitting

down and talked them. Some of the greatest Christian

teachings, that will ever be written ever known some of the

greatest teachings of all time because Cuz they were written by

the creator of the universe there, a catalyst in creation,

according to Colossians chapter one.

So, he sits down to speak and he opens up with some very

important. Things blessed are the pure in

heart. For example, they shall see God

and on and on he went, he taught them things about how to live in

the Kingdom. He taught them about how the

life of the Pharisees and the Jewish religion had really

fostered a whore. Both sentiment of what religion

was really about. It was not as they had it, it

was changed. And I want to tell you, I don't

know anybody today that can look at the teachings of Jesus and

not say that wherever Jesus taught, whatever, he talked.

He it was like he Jesus literally as it were sailed

around an island and the island was man, all of us and wherever

he landed, that's what was needed.

And that's the purpose of teaching, the word of God.

You Preach what's needed. Well, Jesus taught, the needs of

the the hour both then, and for now, and he said this passage in

Matthew 7, listen to what he said.

The scariest words to me from the mouth of the Savior, not

everyone that says to me, Lord Lord shall enter the kingdom of

heaven, but he who does the will of My Father, which is in

heaven. Many will say, to me in that

day. Lord, Lord, have we not

prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name and

done. Many wonders in your name, verse

23 of Matthew 7. Then will I declare to them?

I never knew you. Depart from me you who practice?

Lawlessness. Of all the passages in the

Bible. That one gives me, great heart

palpitations and I'll tell you why.

You know, in our culture today in the American culture, if

you're sincere, then you're in good shape with American

culture. That's how it goes.

That's how we are. Well, he tried she tried Well,

let me tell you something. Don't just try do it, don't just

make your own attempt and create your own experience as modern

self-help and psychologists and pop psychologist, say create

your own experience and I understand you got to go out and

work hard and sometimes take care of yourself and do some

things that that's not what I'm talking about.

Jesus created The Experience. We're supposed to have.

God has a will for the kind of experience we're supposed to

have. And if we have any other

experience, it's an experience that leads us away from Jesus.

And that's what he's talking about here.

A lot of people have a religious experience, but that experience

leads them away from doing the will of God, Do you know what

Decon rat? Poison is sure you do.

If you got those little critters that make your wife, jump up on

the chair and then straddle you like a baby.

As you carry her out to the car. Not putting her feet on the

ground. You'll know what Decon rat

poison is. It's a self-help agent to keep

your wife and your house. You know what Decon rat poison

really is. It's 99 point.

Oh, five or ninety nine point. Let's see that a 9.95.

I believe it is. Non-harmful to anybody.

It's good stuff like corn and it's a mixture of all kinds of

components and some sticky glue type stuff rats, just love it.

Do you know what it is? That gets the rat.

It's that .05 of that 16-cylinder word that none of us

can pronounce that some geek, put a lab coat on.

Look through a microscope and said, that's what it is.

That's what kills the rack, not the good stuff and tonight if I

come into your life and I tell you, follow Jesus, love Jesus,

look what he's done for you and you grab a hold of that and you

start living the life and then you get to a road blocking you.

So you know what the Bible says this, But I don't really want to

do that and I say to you that's alright.

Don't worry about it. Just do the best you can just do

what you just try hard. And it'll all work out.

Jesus completely says, his not going to work out.

It's not going to just work out. When you pick up this book,

Jesus stained every page with blood.

Every page matters. The holy spirit filled men and

spent their lives preaching and writing down this word.

So you can have it in 2010 as you sit in an air-conditioned

building in 100 degrees outside and listen to this gospel

preached in a land, that does not have any laws that prohibit

us from worshipping publicly and preaching on TV and radio.

People gave their lives for the words of this book.

And so Jesus made a premium on it when he said not every one

that saith unto me Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of

heaven, but he that, doeth, the will of My Father, which is in

heaven. I want to ask you tonight.

Are you doing the will of the Father in heaven?

Because tonight I'm going to invite you to the kingdom of

God. I'm going to invite you to come

to the kingdom for just a little while.

And know what it is to say. I'm doing the will of the

father. Before we go further, we have a

great privilege to pray at this time.

Throughout the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5, 6.

And 7, I want you to understand. Jesus was teaching the people,

the difference, and what life would be like, in the Kingdom.

He taught about seeking God. He taught about seeking the

right things. He taught about changing

people's lives. He taught about changing their

motives. He put motive, he put hard on

trial, he put our thoughts on trial but at the end of it all

the reality of our life is that if we're going to be pleasing

and come to the King of Kings, Us and Lord of lords.

We are going to have to be a people that are willing to obey

him. Three things that I intend to

prove throughout this and I will list them real quickly.

God's will God's will. Is number one, we all

understand. What number one is just a little

while. The Lakers are the Celtics are

all going to lift their finger and they're going to say number

one, whoever wins it is going to say number one.

Well, God says, in our lives, he wants to be number one and I

want to go further and explain that in just a second.

If I enter Heaven, I must obey. And that's what I'm going to put

here. I must obey.

And the third thing I'll put on here is don't Disobey.

My mother had a famous saying went don't disobey me something

along those lines. And the reason why is had to be

a very emphatic point. It was it was a family.

Rule, for example, in our family, you don't bring your

dirty nasty, gritty. Filthy clothes feech, use

nothing in this house after I've mopped it, that was it, that was

a ruled so to speak, well, God is simply saying, listen Cullen,

you have sins, you have mistakes, you have short,

shortcomings, that literally are not coming in my house.

Not coming there. And what God asks of us when we

come to, the kingdom is very simple.

Jesus was asked the question. What is the greatest commandment

of all? They try to trap him?

Jesus said, love God, heart soul and mind.

That's the first. The second is love your neighbor

as yourself. I want to, I want to illustrate

this as carefully as I possibly can, if I come and I live and I

put God's will first and I choose to obey it and I choose

You not to disobey it, in other words, I live by it.

And I do everything that he says.

What is my life going to be like?

Let's get this straight, here's how it goes.

So, in other words, if I have my vertical relationship with God,

right? What is everything else about my

life going to be, what's it going to be like yes, what if I

have a vertical relationship, right with God, my horizontal

relationship to everyone that I touch and everyone that I come

in contact with gets better means I'm a better person.

It means I'm going to be a better family member.

It means I'm going to be a better husband.

It means someone's going to be a better wife.

It means we're going to be better kids.

We're going to be better siblings.

We're going to have better families.

You want a family to break down. Forget about what Jesus taught

in Matthew 5, 6 and 7 and do it your own way.

And see how well it works. Jesus gave us illustrations of

when I her vertical relationship.

When we are totally committed to put.

God's will number one, everyone else around us receives benefits

from that people around. You ought to be blessed by your

existence, and if people around you or sucked dry, and they're

miserable. And you're mean and nasty, let

me tell you something. There is no vertical

relationship with God. It ain't there.

How many sit in a church pew? And I may call on God and I may

say Jesus Is My Savior but everybody around me ought to

benefit from my life and if they don't, there's a problem with

me. because the people who know Jesus, Blessed everyone around

them. They change lives.

They change towns. They literally turn cities

upside down. So let's rip into this.

In Luke 6 and verse 46. The Bible says, but why call you

me? Lord.

Lord, and do not the things that I say, Jesus obviously, wanted

us and his father's will to be number one.

He wanted us to obey and he Illustrated disobedience in the

life of religious people, they called in Lord, lorik.

Thanks, they thought what they were doing was in good shape,

you want. Isn't what call you me?

Lord, Lord. And do not the things that I

say. Some of the saddest

conversations. And all that I can ever imagine

our from kids, that have to go through some really rough times

with their family. And I know some kids right now,

they're going through divorce situations and their parents are

using them as Pawns. And one will try to bike it off

by saying, you can do whatever you want.

While the other parent says, I'll buy you whatever you want.

and the end of it, all you see, young people that are literally

ripped apart and you find kids that years later look into the

eyes of their parents. When their parents try to utter

the words, I love you and they say, no, you don't.

If you love me you never would have put me through that.

We put God on a different level. So many times we don't like to

think about God, having that same response.

Jesus had the same response why call you me.

Lord Lord and do not the things that I say, why don't we call

him? Lord, because he's in charge.

He's the one that can make the wind's and the Sea obey.

He's the one that can heal. He's the one that can restore.

He's the one that can put things back together.

We want to Connect with him. But he says, listen that

connection. The connection is dependent upon

the reality of whether or not you internalize my.

Will you have to internalize? My will the first thing I want

to say tonight about coming to the kingdom.

Is we have to accept? We have to accept the Kings

offer and it is an offer. It's an offer and an acceptance

situation. The grace-filled offer was given

by the king of kings and Lord of lords.

How do I receive this? How do I accept?

This? Jesus said, we obey, we do the

will of the father. So I understand this, I get it.

Now, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, the Kingdom of Heaven is

nigh the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of Heaven.

How do we get into the kingdom? And that's where salvation is

except a man. Be born of water and the spirit,

he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is an offer. It's an entrance.

How do I do that? We have to accept the Kings

offer. Do the father's will Do the will

of my father. It's vital to understand the

offer is from God. The offer is powerful, it is

full of love. We put this up here last night,

the offer is full of grace and fission's. 289 says, we are

saved by grace through faith, not of Works, lest any man

should boast, it's by love God. So loved the world that he gave

his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him,

should not perish but have everlasting life.

I love what Jill. Hisle says about that.

It's not, it's not what Billy Graham said.

One time and a huge Revival. He quoted.

John 3:16 and said shall not perish.

John 3:16

And that's not what it says. It says should not perish and I

want to tell you something, if you go to hell and you believe

that Jesus is who he said he was, you shouldn't have gone to

hell. Should not perish in Hebrews

Hebrews 8:12

8:12. The Bible speaks about this

offer being full of mercy, so it's an offer of love and grace

and mercy who's that offer to. That offer is to people like me,

people. Like you the offers to everyone.

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to Every Creature.

He would say, but there has to be a response somewhere

somewhere. There has to be response from

every single heart. God does not come into your life

and grab you by the head and saying I'm choosing you.

Whether you want me to choose you or not.

He never has done that, and he won't do it.

God says, here's my invitation. Here's who I am.

How do we know who God is? Look at Jesus.

Jesus said, if you've seen me, you've seen the father?

I don't know about you. But when I read about who Jesus

was, it is humbling. It is so stirring.

It is amazing. And when we choose God, we're

going to choose him from the heart with the heart that

confession is made or with the mouth confession is made, but it

comes from the heart. But this offer this offer of

love and grace and mercy must be accepted.

It has to be the Jews. Didn't accept it.

They looked at around them, when he beheld, the city of

Jerusalem. And Jesus said, as I can,

imagine tears rolling down his face.

The old prophet. Isaiah said that Jesus was a Man

of Sorrows and acquainted with grief.

One of the great griefs of his life is that people rejected

him, they misunderstood him, they wanted to make him an

Earthly King, such as John 6 and 15, when he would make out of

Five Loaves and two. Fish enough to feed.

Lots of folks, they came after him for Loaves and Fishes and he

was very upset about that. But I want to tell you, when

people walked away from him, it upset him.

He would look at Jerusalem and say o Jerusalem Jerusalem that,

which killest the prophets and stonest them, which were sent

unto thee. How often would I have gathered?

The is a hen gathers, her chicks under her wings, but ye would

not What their hearts say, we don't accept you.

What did their heart say? Their heart said no thanks.

I preach now, for 10 years, Full-time or part-time for 10

years. Now, gave my first time and I

was 19, certainly wasn't preaching for a few years till

after that I can assure you. But I have sat and looked in the

eyes of people that attended worship Services, I've studied

with people. I've sat on bed with people that

were dying and some of the saddest things and all the world

are, when people tell me, if you're going to talk to me about

that, I'm not interested. That's what the Jews did.

We have to accept the offer from the King.

A young family had three children, the youngest of those

children developed a serious blood disorder that require

transfusions. Their oldest boy was five and he

was a perfect blood match. He was asking, soberly agreed to

the task of giving some blood to his younger sibling.

A few minutes into the transfusion, the little boy

looked into his daddy's eyes and asked.

Daddy. Do you think it will hurt to

die? He thought he was giving

everything he thought he was dying for his sibling.

When you read stories like that, it makes us sit and pause and

imagine a child willing to lay down their life.

That's an amazing occurrence. I want to ask you very quickly.

There may be some people you would you would lay down your

life for but how about your child?

How would you do with that? How about guys, like Timothy

McVeigh that was involved in the 1993, Oklahoma City Bombing that

killed. So many people, one of our first

terrorist attacks on American soil that literally Rock This

Nation. If you've ever been to Oklahoma

City and gone through that spot where that happened and gone

through the museum, literally I have chills rolling down my

spine right now is I can remember the chilling moment.

The markers that sit outside The Monuments and the articles of

clothing. And you look at the man who did

such atrocities against people that were not responsible for

the object of his anger. But yet they died.

Anyway, would you give your child for Timothy McVeigh?

What about Jeffrey Dahmer? Who killed several young boys?

He had problems with homosexuality.

Literally ate body parts. It was in a horrific moment in

American history. What about the Green River?

Killer? What about that guy with a

swastika on his forehead? That crazy loon that y'all have

locked up somewhere out. Here named Charles Manson that

killed, the Tate family and wrote, blood on walls, and

horrific moments. Get those pictures in your mind

because we often think about those guys and they ought to be

locked up or dead, they ought to have the express lane to the gas

chamber, or the electric chair, and certainly not alive eating

and breathing in good health. Those are many times the

reactions we have I don't know anybody that would give their

children for the latest inmates at San Quentin.

I don't know. Anybody that would do that.

Do you? Yet the Bible says in Romans 5

and 6 for when we were still without Strength In Due Time

Christ died for the ungodly. Do you know the word that needs

to buy be beside me? It needs to be the word ungodly.

Part of the reason why Jesus just boy stirred, the religious

Elite of the day is because they exalted themselves as religious

elitist and as if they were holy listen, I'm not wholly.

And They're not wholly of my own accord.

The only Holiness I will ever be able to identify with is the

Holiness that is in Christ Jesus, and through his

forgiveness, and don't you ever forget it?

As the old saying goes, we get too big for our britches

sometimes and we think a little more ourselves than we ought to

think. And that's why pride is one of

the greatest Soul killers of all time, but that's not all he

said. For scarcely for a righteous

man. Will one die.

Yet, Perhaps for a good man, some would even Dare To Die.

But God demonstrates, his own, his own love toward us in that

while we were still sinners. Christ died for us.

I have watched on History Channel and on C-Span on

Memorial Day, As men who fought specifically in World War Two.

And now more specifically in Vietnam men that have some aged

men that have gray hair and have children, and grandchildren, and

in some cases great-grandchildren As they go

to the spot of some Graves. I know the graves of men that

died in battle in whatever War it was.

The ones that are the most touching to me are the ones

where men will go to the wall that Great Wall in Washington.

Where some 53,000 names are etched in Marble in a great

edifice that captures the imagination.

And the Wonder 53,000 lives died in some far-flung place in

Vietnam. A war that many didn't believe

in a war that there was much political conflict, but for the

soldiers that were on the ground, they literally had each

other. As you hear the interviews, and

as you read the books, they had family there, they had each

other. And it's an electric thing

whenever you see a guy come toward a wall and his eyes began

to get Misty as he gets a little bit closer and he gets a little

bit closer and it's almost like electricity runs through his

body as he reaches up and he puts his hand in his finger on a

specific name and literally falls to his knees in tears.

Unashamedly weeping. Not able to rise as his memories

flooded by the things that happen.

And when interviewed when asked about why he was so upset would

say that's the guy that threw himself on a grenade.

And save my life. That's the guy.

We identify with that, we hear those stories, it moves us and

then somehow in 2010 the world can go on bike and walk right

past the cross. And literally, it's as if Jesus

threw himself, he did throw himself on the sins of the whole

world on my sins and on yours. And every Lord's day, when his

memorial is set every Lord's day.

So many people have to be begged.

Invited, we ought to have to assess have a line at the door

for people that can't wait to get in to this Memorial.

Because it's the greatest Memorial whole time, it's the

memorial of Jesus Christ and what he did for us.

In history, men die for President's Men, dr.

King's Men. Dafa rulers.

I'll King died for us. And that changes the game.

That changes everything. It changes everything.

The one who knew your name before you were ever created,

saw a need that you could not feel in yourself and he took

care of it on the cross. That's power and that's planning

and that's execution. None of us can even put our

finger on to grasp. And when God saw that need, he

was willing to do it. That's you, are that important

to God. You are that valuable to God,

that's a huge concept. That people have to understand

when we start talking about accepting the Kings offer John

said herein is love. Not that we loved God.

How beautiful is our love to God?

So many times but that he loved us and sent his son to be the

propitiation for our sins. One verse.

We said it last night and Hebrews 5 & 9.

Will says he became the author of Eternal salvation unto all

those that obey him. The Kings offer is sent is

simple. It is a foundation built upon

Faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, without

Hebrews 11:6

faith, it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh

to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of

those who diligently. And I might put this right over

here. Those who diligently gently seek

Him. Are you a Seeker?

Are you seeking God for the needs?

You can't fill in your own life. Are you seeking God for the

answer to your problem called sin?

If you are, I've got some good news.

The Kings offer still available today.

It's still available for all of us, but based upon our faith

were willing to change our life and repent as Jesus taught in

Luke 13 and three confessed. The sweet name of Jesus that he

is the Son of God is the Ethiopian eunuch did and acts 8

Acts 8:37

verse 37, and we allow ourselves to be immersed in water for the

remission of our sins. That's the Kings offer that he

authored. Every single one of these things

was an offer written or revealed by Jesus himself.

No, man, came up with this and I don't believe any man has the

right to say, you don't have to change your life, you don't have

to confess. Jesus is the son of God or you

don't have to be baptized for the remission of your sins, yet

many men do I find pamphlets and restrooms and foam booze and on

my door half, the time to tell me a variety of ways that I can

be saved. And if I'm ignorant it, if I'm

not informed at all and I think it was that sounds good to me.

Then I'm the very picture of what Jesus said, many will say

to me that Lord, Lord and I don't know them.

Because if you want to accept the Kings offer you better dead.

Sure. Make us the offer from the King

himself and not some counterfeit offer.

It's the offer from Jesus. Jesus said, go into all the

world and preach the gospel to Every Creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

Once you're saved. The Bible says he has delivered

us from the power. Of Darkness.

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has

conveyed us or translated us into the kingdom of the son of

his love in whom we have Redemption through his blood,

the Forgiveness of sins. Obedience, obedience says yes

disobedient says. No, how do I prove that?

In Romans, 6:17 after Paul had given his great Treatise on the

death burial and Resurrection. He said, but God be thanked that

ye were the Servants of sin you used to be in darkness but you

have obeyed from the heart that form of Doctrine which was

delivered. You being then made free from

sin. Ye became the Servants of

righteousness. Now.

And you obeyed the gospel. Have you confessed your faith.

That Jesus is the son of God. Have you committed a change your

life and your heart? Have you been immersed in water

for the remission of your sins? In the name of Jesus, in the

name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

If you have not done that, you have not responded to the Gospel

of Jesus Christ. And if you think you have, I

want you to talk to me about that after church, because what

I'm going to need from you is very, very simple.

I'm going to need you to open that book that contains all of

the will of God Almighty. And I'm going to need you to

show me where that will is that allows you to accept the

invitation of Jesus Christ. Some other way, than through

faith and repentance and confession and baptism.

Chisholm, because I find no other way in the word of God.

I want to obey the will and I want to accept the offer of

Jesus. Christ's obedience to the will

of God is simply a sinner saying yes to something he does not

deserve. I'll give an example now, I'm

not real sure. But 99 goes down a ways and what

is that road Darrell that goes over to hatch?

P down to Barstow. What is that?

Road 58. So you catch 99 258 and you get

on 40 right there at Barstow don't you if you take 40 now

think about this. I've got ten trillion dollars.

Let's just make it 100 trillion. I've got a hundred trillion

dollars at 28:58 New London Road.

Let's see how this works. Okay, I've got a hundred

trillion dollars. Our national debt is something

like 12. Now, I think that's a lot of

money. I've got a hundred trillion, 100

million trillion, or but Jillian, whatever you want to

do. I've got it at 28:58 New London

Road in Strong Arkansas, ZIP code, seven 1605, and I don't

get up out of your seats and go there yet, let me finish the

illustration. You It on 99, go to 58.

Catch sporty, go to 40 all the way to Amarillo, Texas.

Take 287 South down through Wichita Falls.

You take it through Fort Worth, you go over the river and

through the woods, almost a grandmother's house, then you

catch I-20. And you take that East, you take

out 20 East until you get to 167 North.

All right. Check 167 North to get to 82

East. Take 82 East.

You come to the Big Town of strong population, 767 go to the

big new Dollar, General. Oh, that's up there which is the

very best thing in town right across from teddy bears.

Which happens to be our gas station turn left.

Go past 58. Log trucks about four and a half

miles down the road. A chain link fences their turn

left. It's a gravel driveway, there's

a little pain there and you'll see on the back porch, there's a

key up there just behind or over the light.

Get that key open the door and there's a hundred bajillion

trillion dollars just for you. Did you earn it?

Can you earn 100 bajillion trillion dollars?

No, you can earn it. It's a gift.

I'm giving it to you. It's there.

Go get it. I'm offering it to you.

That's a lot further and that's something you're going to have

to think about and write down and really spend some time on

the offer of Jesus. Is he died?

He was buried, he rose again, history, records.

It it's a fact. It's a reality that either

produces faith in you or you're an unbeliever.

Will you have to decide if you're going to change and

follow? Jesus confess him as the Son of

God and be baptized for the remission of your sins.

And it's a much greater gift than any hundred trillion per

Julian dollars. I can give you you just simply

follow the directions to the gift.

That's what obedience does you follow the directions?

To the gift. Saying yes to King.

Jesus is the greatest thing you'll ever do.

In John 10:27, Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice and I know

John 10:27

them and they follow me. And that's pretty clear.

I love that passage. You know what else?

I love about it. He doesn't stop and I give them

eternal life. What do you mean?

You mean if I'll obey, I'm following Jesus, I'm not earning

absolutely not, you're not earning anything.

My sheep hear my voice. They follow me and I give them

eternal life and they shall never perish.

Neither shall anyone? Snatch them out of my hand?

My father who has given them to me, is greater than all and no

one is able to snatch them. Out of my father's hand, I and

my father are one. Let me tell you, there is no

demon, there is no angel. There is no man.

There is no government that can ever separate you from the love

of Christ when you're following. Christ.

They don't exist. The atom bomb, Hiroshima,

Nagasaki you name it. You've never seen a power up

beside the Unseen powers of God, and the point he's making is he

will never allow you to be overtaken by anyone spiritually.

The second thing I'll say very quickly.

My last two points are brief. Accept the fact you are under

the Kings law, you are under law.

Geez. Did not want the disciples or

the principle of obedience to be lost.

He went on in Matthew 7 verse 24.

Matthew 7:24

He said therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine and does

them. I will liken him to a wise man

who built his house on the rock and the rain descended and the

floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it

did not fall for it, was founded on the rock verse 26 but

everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them the

disobedient. Number three, Will be like a

foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain

descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on

that house. And it fell and great was its

fall. Now, I don't know about you, but

I've always thought it was a very strange thing and I'm not

picking on people from California when I say this.

There's some people that build our house on some pretty steep

hills around here, and I think to myself, I sure hope that has

some pillars down to rock and of course, during a big mud slide.

You know what happens, the houses fall off and they go down

and all the rest of us back East.

They are those crazy people from California and you laugh

whenever tornado goes through and sweeps up every trailer park

and the eastern part of the United States.

Say haha, those crazy people back east.

Understand how it goes but what Jesus said here was you'd

better. Make sure you have a foundation

that is Rock. Solid, let me tell you

something. If you're living by a life law

other than the word of God, you're not living a rock-solid

life. If you look at the Bible and you

say I want to live by what the Bible says, you're living off

what I know preacher said one time was a rock-ribbed, Bible

truth and that just meant it was Foundation.

You're not building. Adding on things that shift on

things that change, Jesus said, the word of God will make you a

disciple and free you from sin. Jesus answered and said, if

anyone loves me, he will keep my word in John 14:23.

John 14:23

If I claim, I love Jesus and don't keep his word.

I'm a liar. Keep his word.

Keeping the will of God is absolutely vital.

When you keep the will of God, your hearts going to change.

It's like a filter you ever drank water before.

That was nasty, you haven't gone to San Angelo Texas.

Some time I lived there for a while.

The waters Brown Wichita Falls wasn't much better.

And now I'm in Strong Arkansas and the New London Water

Association pops. It straight out, straight out of

the Ouachita River and I assure you bottled water.

Is your favorite drug of choice? I know what a good filter is,

you get the Brita water filter and you put it in there.

And all of a sudden, the magic charcoal thing takes that nasty

Brown water and before long. You're drinking beautiful.

Perfect water. That's what the word of God does

in your heart. Peter would say you have

purified your hearts. Through unfeigned, love of the

Brethren. When he said, you have kept the

word of God. That's a powerful thing Jesus

wanted our hearts to change. Think about the golden rule in

Matthew, 7 and 12. Therefore whatever you want men

to do to, you do also to them for this is the law and the

prophets, do unto others, as you would have them.

Do unto you. You do good to people all the

time. He'd is a positive law, but he

also added, he said enter you into the Straight Gate.

For wide is the gate and Broad is the way that leads to

destruction. And there are many who go in by

it, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which

leads to life. And there are few who find it.

most people are going to 0, but disobey My question to you is

how convicted and convinced are you that you need to live by

what Jesus said, totally and completely.

Because I want to tell you if there's a crack in that armor

and you say well yeah but I still like to kind of do my own

thing sometimes. Well that's a broad way of

thinking, it promises so much happiness, which the Bible just

calls the pleasures of sin that only lasts for a season, but so

many people get suckered into number 3 and they forget about

number two, even though Jesus required it of all of us.

The third thing, I want to say, when you come to the kingdom is

You act like the key. All my life.

I heard Linwood Smith. Tell the story.

By the little boy, one time that was an orphan and the Kings

Chariot came by and he was playing with all the other

little boys, but he didn't have anybody to take care of him.

And so, the king saw him and he was very malnourished and he did

it had no clothes. And the King stopped his Chariot

and said, would you like to come home with me and little guy

climbed right up in the Chariot with him went home?

The king had all of his servants, wash him up and clean

him up. He adopted him as his own son,

gave him a name and a title. He was now Prince.

He had a robe and ring and shoes.

He had people that saw to his, every need took care of him in

every way. One day, the king saw the little

boy, as he was sitting on the corner.

Of the gates as it were of the wall and he was looking out in

the far distance. At his old friends that it is

old mud hole that he used to play in and swim in.

And his father, the king came up and put his arm on him and said

do you miss it? Do you want to go back?

And he looked for a moment and very thoughtful, he said, I used

to But then I remember that I am the King's son.

And King son's, don't clay and mud holes.

So many times Our Lives invite us to take a Hiatus.

We just for a moment in time. We're going to go do our own

thing. We're going to do what we want

to do. We're going to say in other

words. We're going to wallow in the mud

hole. And we forget, we are children

of the king of kings and Lord of lords.

And there are certain obligations that go along with

that. We are supposed to reflect the

light of our King. And our King is Jesus, as long

as I am in the world. Jesus said, I am the light of

the world in John 9 and 5 yet in Matthew 5:14, he said, you are

Matthew 5:14

the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill

which cannot be hidden and verse 16.

He would give that famous verse, let your light so shine before

men that they may see your good works and glorify your father,

which is in heaven. When you act like Jesus, you

glorify God and you bring glory to God.

Why is that? Because when your relationship

with God is great, you're a blessing to other people and the

works of your hand scream. There are a child of the king.

And when your blessing God and bringing honor to God, you're

living the greatest life you could ever imagine.

It's the very purpose for your existence.

It's what your greatest task is on a daily basis and it's not a

job, it's a privilege. It's an honor.

Sean like the key, we're a reflection of him.

Paul said for you were once Darkness but now you are light

in the Lord walk as children of light. tonight, I close with the

invitation of Jesus. Jesus gave an invitation Jesus,

offered. Many invitations, the Revelator

would close the Book of Revelation.

With the spirit and the bride say come.

In Matthew chapter 11 verse 28, Jesus said come unto me all ye

Matthew 11:28

that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Make no mistake about it. Jesus is the one that will give

you rest if you have rest. and the way you're going to have

rest, Is to accept his offer. He wants you.

He invites, you We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on

by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.

Road in Bakersfield, if you would like any additional

information or you would like to receive a free Bible

correspondence, course by mail. Please email us at info at True

Church of Christ Bakersfield.com.

Our service times are on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and

Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. p.m. please make plans to join us.

We would love for you to be our honored guest