Men of the New Testament: "John the Apostle" by Cody Basham - Part 7

All right. Good evening, everyone. Hope y'all are doing well this week

and hope we'll finish the week strong after this as well and you'll find

this an uplifting lesson. Tonight I'm going to ask for a

little bit of grace, a little bit of forgiveness here. I've been preparing the last

few nights, hadn't had a chance to run through it fully yet. But hopefully

this will be a good lesson. This will be the first time I ever taught

a class like this. Like I said, if you don't mind, give me a little

grace. And if you feel like you want to comment, holler at me,

throw a shoe at me, whatever you got to do to get my attention.

But anyway, let's get started. Tonight I'm going to

cover John the Apostle. I'm going to start out with just the basic question,

who's John? If we look in Matthew chapter

Matthew 4:21

4, verses 21 And one thing you're going to notice, I'm going to be flipping

to 90% of these verses here.

If we look there, you will see that it calls

him out as the son of Zebedee. So we're looking at Matthew 4:21-22.

Matthew 4:21–22

You'll see, going on from there, he saw 2 other brothers,

James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat

with Zebedee their father. Mending their nets. He called them, and immediately

they left the boat and their father and followed him. Him, of course, being Jesus

in this context. I just want you to take notice of

just how quick that John and them took off to follow Jesus,

and it was immediately without hesitation.

You know, every time we get a chance to go out into the world,

we have that opportunity to speak up and talk about God and

the teachings of his word. And sometimes,

personally, I've even caught myself hesitating before. But as I get

older, it gets easier to talk about it, you know, and try to shed that

light. That's the goal of what we're supposed to do.

But of course, you also see mentioned where John the Apostle himself mentioned

in chapter 10 of the book of Matthew, verses 2, and then we'll look

at 5 and 6 as well.

So starting in 10, verse 2, now the names of the 12

apostles are these: first, Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James

the son of Zebedee, and John his brother. And then jumping down to verse

5 here, these 12

Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying, do not go into the way of the

Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to

the lost sheep of the house of Israel. One of the things you'll

notice tonight is I'm going to be looking at several of what the teachings

of Jesus, what John records, and kind of the importance

of it. You know, talking about going

to the lost sheep, we all know that Jesus wants to save

every soul we can, and the lost sheep being those that are apart from Christ.

So now we'll go ahead and go on to the next.

He's also mentioned as the disciple whom Jesus loved.

If we'll look in the book of John 13:23,

John 13:23

we'll see mention of it there.

13:23. Now there was

leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples

whom Jesus loved. And then if you flip on forward to toward

the end of John to chapter 21, verse 24,

you will see again,

this is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things. And we

know that this— that his testimony is true.

And I'm going to go ahead and continue on. And there are also many other

things that Jesus did which, If they were written one by one, I suppose that

even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

So John made note of just the many miraculous, wonderful things

that Jesus done, but he highlighted a few, a select few in

his books that he wrote.

Excuse me one second. Okay.

Now looking at the

second bullet point there, standing at the cross. John 19:26-27,

John 19:26–27

we see that John was entrusted with the care of Jesus' mother at

the cross.

When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by,

being John, He said to his mother,

Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from

that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

This kind of falls into what you'll see in the last major bullet point on

this slide where you can kind of tell how John is kind of the inner

circle with Jesus among a couple other

apostles. And the amount of

trust that Jesus had in John. To take care of his mother.

And then we see again just the amount of care that John has for

Jesus whenever he talks about running with Peter to the empty tomb after

his death. We'll go to John 20:1-9.

John 20:1–9

Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the

tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone

had been taken away from the tomb.

Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom

Jesus loved and said to them, they have taken away the Lord out

of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him. Peter therefore

went out and the other disciples and were going to the tomb.

So they both ran together and the other disciple outran Peter

and came to the tomb first. And he stooping down looking

and saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go

in. Then Simon Peter came following him and went

into the tomb, and he saw the linen clothes lying there, and the handkerchief that

had been around his head and not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together

in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who came to the tomb first

went in also, and he saw and believed.

For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that he must rise again from

So, again, just to reemphasize that John cared so deeply

about Jesus, he ran to the tomb and he ended up past Peter on the

way to get there because he cared for his friend.

And then we also see where he had met Jesus by the Sea of Tiberias

in John 21:1-2.

John 21:1–2

After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.

And in the way he showed himself. Simon Peter, Thomas called

the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in

Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and 2 others of his disciples were together.

So there it made mention of the sons of Zebedee, of course, John being one

of them and James' brother. And then looking at the

part of the inner circle of the apostles around Jesus,

John was able to witness the raising of Jairus' daughter

in Mark 5:37-43.

Mark 5:37–43

So I'm going to turn there real quick.

This is just one of the many wonders that he had done and he had

witnessed and recorded in this book.

Or excuse me, he didn't record it, but rather witnessed

it. So in verse— in chapter 5,

verse 37, and he permitted no one to follow him except Peter,

James, and John, the brother of James. Then he came to the house of the

ruler of the synagogue and saw a tumult and those who wept and

wailed loudly. When he came in, he said to them, why make this commotion

and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping. And they ridiculed

him. But when he had put them all outside, he took the father and

the mother, the child and those who were with him, and entered where the child

was lying. Then he took the child by the hand and said to her,

Talitha koumai, which is translated, little girl, I say

to you, arise. Immediately the girl arose

and walked, for she was 12 years of age. And they were overcome with great

amazement. But he, being Jesus, commanded them strictly

that no one should know it and said that something should be given her to

eat. So again, we see

that Peter and James and John, the 3 of them, were with Jesus whenever this

miracle occurred where he woke up the little girl.

And then he was also fortunate enough to witness or be a

part of Jesus' transfiguration. If you look in Matthew 17:1-9,

Matthew 17:1–9

Now after 6 days, Jesus took

Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves.

And he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun,

and his clothes became as white as the light. And behold,

Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him.

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us

to be here. If you wish,

let us make here 3 tabernacles, one for you, one for

Moses, and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking,

behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud,

saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Hear him. And when the disciples heard it,

they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.

But Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise, and do

not be afraid. When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but

Jesus only. Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying,

Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the

dead. So just,

it's just astounding to think if

I was John in that situation, I wouldn't know what to do. I mean,

it was, I'm sure it had to be a sight to see,

but just being able to be around

him and see that happen with Peter and James, his brother,

you see John is able just to see anything

that is wonderful.

If we'll look at Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane as well,

we'll notice Him there in Matthew 26:36-39.

Matthew 26:36–39

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane and said

to the disciples, sit here while I go and pray over there. And He took

with Him Peter and the 2 sons of Zebedee, And he began to be sorrowful

and deeply distressed. Then he said to them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful,

even to death. Stay here and watch with me.

He went a little farther and fell on his face and prayed, saying,

O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

So even at the time that was critical just before the cross, we see again

John was there right close to Jesus for and supporting him.

Yes, sir.

Right. Yeah, I wouldn't have thought of that either, honestly. Thank you for

your comment. I appreciate it.

Any others while we're here on this slide?

Okay. Okay. So now we'll talk about

what books did John write. Of course, if you're familiar with the Bible,

you know that he wrote, obviously, the Gospel of John, which details the life,

ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He emphasized the divinity, or excuse me, his divine identity as the Son

Son of God. And then you'll see in the letters 1, 2, and 3 John.

1 John, a general epistle focusing on love, fellowship with

God, and walking in the light. 2 John,

a short letter warning against false teachers and emphasizing truth

in love. And then 3 John is a short letter commending Gaius for

his hospitality toward traveling Christian

teachers. And then of course he wrote the book of Revelation.

It's an apocalyptic text. Containing visions of the end

of times, the final victory of Christ, and the renewal of creation.

So I'm going to pull a couple passages out of the Gospel of John to

kind of hit on where he was detailing the life and ministry and death and

the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We're going to hit on the divinity of

Jesus first. So if you don't care, just follow along with me here in

John chapter 1. We're looking at verses 29

John 1 · chapter mention

through 34. The next day John saw Jesus

coming toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away

the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said,

After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.

I did not know him, but that he should be revealed to Israel. Therefore I

came baptizing with water. And John bore witness,

Saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he remained upon

him, him being Jesus, of course. I did not know him, but he who

sent me to baptize with water said to me, upon whom you see

the Spirit descending and remaining on him, this is he who baptizes with

the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of

God. So there

again, John was able to witness something extraordinary.

Now, if we'll go on, we also see

something else. Of course, we know probably one of the most famous, I'll argue

that one of the most famous verses of the Bible would be John 3:16,

John 3:16

17, and 18. Of course, for God so loved the world that he gave his

only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but that the world through him might be saved.

Notice that it is the world through Him. We'll hit on more of that here

in just a couple of slides or a couple bullet points here.

He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe

is condemned already because that he has not believed in the name of the only

begotten Son of God.

So then I'm going to also look at chapter 5, verses 6 and 8.

When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been in that

condition a long time, they're speaking about a man that had an infirmity.

He said to him, do you want to be made well? The sick man answered

him, sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water

is stirred up, but while I'm coming, another steps down before me. Jesus said to

him, rise, take up your bed and walk. And yet again, we see in verse

9 that second word there, and immediately. The man was made well,

took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.

Yet again, it shows the power and divinity of Jesus to command

the man's body to get up and walk. And he had been— had

the infirmity. If you'll look at chapter 5, verse 5, he'd had

the infirmity for 38 years. So it was well known that this gentleman couldn't

walk, but yet afterward, He was able to through the divinity of Jesus.

So we recognize Jesus as the Lamb of God, and God gave His only Son,

and then He healed a lifetime infirmity of the man.

And then you also see how He's the Good Shepherd. So looking at chapter 10

and verses 1 through 18, we're going to just primarily look at 10:10,

11, and 27 for the sake of time here.

So chapter 10, verse 10, the thief

does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come

that they may have life and that they have it more abundantly.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

And if you'll look at 27, my sheep hear my voice and I

know them and they follow me. So in this

passage of Jesus being the good shepherd, It talks about

how, you know, a shepherd, the owner essentially

cares more for the sheep than say what the Bible's word

was using as a hireling, right? If they hire somebody underneath them to watch his

herd. Jesus wants to keep every one of us

in his fold if at all possible. And we know that we have to be

a part of Jesus and be baptized and believer to be in

heaven with him one day.

So Jesus is shown as the loving protector, just as the shepherd is to his

sheep, and will give his own life. We'll also

see how he is the way, the truth, and the life in John 14:1-6.

John 14:1–6

Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have

told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and

prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself,

that where I am, there you may also be also.

And where I go, you know, and the way you know.

Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going,

and how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way,

the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

And just as it plainly states in verse 6, we know that no

one goes through the Father except through Jesus. We got to understand

that relationship between them. Now we also

know that Jesus is the true vine. John 15:1-8,

John 15:1–8

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me

that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit

he prunes that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because

of the word of which I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I

abide in you— excuse me, I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit

of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in

me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and

I in him bears much fruit, for without

me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is

cast out as a branch and is withered.

And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

If you abide in me, continuing on verse 7, if you abide in me and

my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall

be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit.

Fruit, so you will be my disciples.

So there, what I wanted to point out is more or less, you know,

there's going to be a separation at some point between those

that follow Christ and do his will, follow his commandments,

try to spread the word and gain more

followers for him than the ones that are just of the world.

We know we got to be within the world, but we're not of the world.

We got to be set out differently. We've got to do works

to help further expand the kingdom of God.

So Jesus is speaking, bearing the good fruit and separating the bad. Many signs and

wonders by Jesus were done. In John 20:30-31,

John 20:30–31

we see, and truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples,

which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And that believing you may have

life in his name. And we've already hit on chapter

21, verse 25.

So, again, just summarizing the Gospel of John that John

wrote, it detailed the life and ministry and death and resurrection of Jesus

Christ and emphasized his divine identity as the Son of God. And we see

that through numerous examples throughout the book and just a few

pointed out here.

Now looking at the shorter epistles quickly, 1,

2, and 3 John. 1 John is a general epistle focusing

on love, fellowship with God, and walking in the light.

We are going to look at this first bullet point, knowing Him by keeping His

commandments. So we will turn to 1 John 2:15-17.

1 John 2:15–17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the

world, the love of the Father is not in him. 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 and the lust of it, but he who does the will of

God abides forever. So again,

verse 17 kind of drives that point home to where We're

wanting to— we need to do the will of God.

And we'll see again kind of another reiteration, we do not

want to love the world, or excuse me, we're children of God.

In 1 John 2:24-28,

1 John 2:24–28

therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.

If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide

in the Son and in the Father. And then we'll skip

on down to verse 28, and now, little children, abide in Him, that when He

appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

So again, verse 28 talks

about having confidence and not being ashamed of Him. Like I mentioned earlier,

I know personally, just speaking truthfully, you know, I've hesitated

in certain situations that I could have brought God up and didn't. You know,

that's on me. But again, as we get older and

you study more in the Bible, you stay in it, and you gain a little

confidence through time to kind of spread the Word of God and speak up in

Yes, sir. Before you leave, first, are you reading 1

John yet? Yes, sir. Well, yeah. I was just going to say, he also

is the only writer that talks about the Antichrist

5 times in his— 4 times in his first letter.

He talks about the Antichrist, the Gnostics, who Jesus

was. And I thought that was interesting. That's right, he does. I actually didn't

cover that. You're right. I kind of wish I had now, but I did notice

it. Yes, sir. Thank you for the comment.

Any other comments? Nope. Okay.

Real quick, just finish up here on 5, chapter 5, verses 1 through

4. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,

and everyone who loves him who begot also loves him who is begotten of him.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God

and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his

commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. For whatever

is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome

the world, our faith. Looking at 2

John now, that's a short letter warning against the false teachers

where we're going to emphasize more about truth and love.

And we're going to reiterate the fact, you know, to continue walking in the faith.

We all know it's a journey. It's more of a marathon than a sprint.

There's highs and lows. You know, some days are better, some days are worse.

But the point is just keep pushing forward. So we'll

look at 2 John verses 4 through 6 quickly.

I rejoice greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth,

as we received commandment from the Father. And now I plead with you,

lady, not as though I write a new commandment to you, but that which we

have had from the beginning, that we love one another.

This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.

This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning,

you should walk in it. And again,

he's just kind of reemphasizing just keep walking according

to the commandments that we've heard from the very beginning. We should always

keep in mind what we know about the Lord.

And then we'll also want to avoid the deceivers. We're in 2 John 9-11.

Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not

have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has born the Father

and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine,

do not receive him into your house, nor greet him.

For he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

So it's kind of just keep in mind that we got to separate ourselves

as children of God away from those that do not follow. Follow the teachings of

this book and Jesus' teachings.

When we look at 3 John, we see a short letter commending Gaius

for his hospitality toward traveling Christian teachers.

One of the things you can kind of notice is, you know, Gaius' character.

You know, if you look at 3 John

1 through 5, we will go ahead and turn to that real quick.

The elder, to the beloved Gaius whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that

you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers.

For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified to the truth that is in

you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to

hear that my children walk in the truth.

Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for

strangers. One of the things I want to point out particularly in these 5

verses is how being in the perspective

of John, you know, where he's older in age and he's been teaching for years

and years, it's an encouragement to him to see how Gaius' reputation preceded

him in a positive manner. You know, your reputation

is one thing, it can be easily tainted,

and to be able to maintain it is even harder.

That speaks volumes to me. I mean, it's encouraging to be able

to see where, you know, run the

marathon. You know, you will have your up and down days, but just keep pressing

forward and try to spread the word to the younger generation,

and hopefully you can see that through your own eyes one day.

Again, just finishing out the slide here, others have spoken the actions of Gaius,

you can see in 3 and 4, and then John is encouraged again how

he's continuing on. But he also, at the end in

verse 11, there's a warning to the children of God to do

not imitate what is evil. Beloved, do not imitate

what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God,

but he who does evil has not seen God.

Again, just keeping in mind that we need to separate ourselves from the

evil things that, you know, contradict the Word.

The final book John had written was the book

of Revelation. It's an apocalyptic text containing visions of the end of time,

the final victory of Christ, and the renewal of creation.

The book was written while John was exiled on the island of Patmos.

You know, we see an introduction in chapter 1, verses 1 through 3,

John as being the witness of the Word of God.

So I'm going to turn there real quick. The Revelation of Jesus Christ,

which God gave Him to show His servants things which

must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel

to His servant John, who bore witness to the Word of God and

to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.

Blessed is he who reads and those who hears the words of this prophecy

and keep those things which are written in it, for the time

is near. One of the main points I'm just

going to hit on briefly tonight were the 7 churches

of Asia. And you can— we'll start, of course, with the loveless church.

It was commended for its hard work and patience but criticized for losing their faith,

their first love for God, and they were urged to remember and return.

We'll focus in here on chapter 2, verses 4 and 5.

Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore

from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works, or else I

will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless

you repent. So in those 2 verses you see,

yes, we kind of called out that, you know,

we have an issue where they've left their first love,

you know, obeying the commandments and will of God.

But we also see that it was a call

of repentance to turn from that. Where we had

walked away from it. Jesus wants to have a chance to bring

us back into the fold again because he's the Good Shepherd, as it was mentioned

earlier. That's one point you can take from that section.

And then from the persecuted church, we're looking at

Revelation 2:8-11.

Revelation 2:8–11

You know, they were praised for spiritual richness despite facing severe poverty,

slander, and coming persecution.

He's encouraged to remain faithful unto death.

So, in chapter 2, verse 10, do not

fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed,

the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you

may be tested, and you will have tribulation 10 days.

Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the

crown of life.

Again, that final step, you know, be faithful unto death.

You know, we're in it for the long haul. You always,

no matter what point in life you start at, you got to run that marathon

all the way to the end. You can't get to, you know, the more experienced

years and have to say, no, I'm not going to do anything.

We got to keep pressing forward, keep spreading the word, seeking every opportunity we can

to serve God. You know, sometimes Sometimes

it's uncomfortable to kind of expand your horizons, but if it's

for the betterment of the church, I encourage us all to always

take that leap of faith. You know, we all learn day by day

how to be better and able to communicate with people

better. So I hope we'll try to be uncomfortable for

the sake of the Lord and try to encourage and engage

other people in communications about God. If we look at

the compromising church in Revelation 2:12-17,

Revelation 2:12–17

we'll take a look at chapter 2, verse 16 here in a minute. Talking about

living in a city called the place where Satan's throne is, they held fast to

Christ's name but tolerated false teachers, and they were called to repent.

You know, one thing we've got to be aware of is false teachers.

So we'll look at chapter 2, verse 16, Repent,

or else I will come to you quickly, and will fight against them with

the sword of my mouth. Again, we see Jesus calling for

repentance, you know, he doesn't want to lose one soul.

Further on in chapter 2, we'll see the corrupt church, Revelation 2:18-29.

Revelation 2:18–29

In this you'll see that they were noted for growing love, service, and faith,

but blamed for tolerating the false prophet. Prophetess leading people into

immorality. We're told to hold fast until He comes.

And we'll look at chapter 2, verses 21 through 22.

And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality,

and she did not repent. Indeed, I will cast her into a sickbed,

and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation,

unless they repent of their deeds. You know, one thing that's

really a blessing is, you know, being able to be black and white in the

expectations of us, right, in terms of being a Christian. You know,

we know what we should and shouldn't do.

And, you know, Jesus calls us out in this certain situation,

you know, that he will cast her into a sickbed.

You know, you can kind of infer, you know, if you know you're doing

the wrong thing, that if you don't repent of those sins, you could

be cast into hell, you know, in everlasting fire.

But we do have that opportunity to repent as long as we are alive

and come back to Him. So with that, we will look

at the dead church, reputed to be alive but spiritually

dead. They commanded to wake up and strengthen what remains and repent.

So we will look at 3:1-3 on that.

And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, these things

says he who has the 7 spirits of God and the

7 stars. I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive,

but you are dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain

that are ready to die, for I have not found

your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and

heard, hold fast and repent. Therefore, if you will

not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know

what hour I will come upon you. So, in chapter 3,

you see that warning again. No one in this room knows their time and

when they're going to die. You know, we try to put our best foot forward

every day, and again, just to further spread the kingdom and

try to keep running that marathon.

So now we'll look at the lukewarm church quickly.

The financially wealthy church and self-sufficient yet spiritually

lukewarm, noted as wretched and blind, and then we're

invited to open the door to fellowship with Christ again. When you look at

chapter 3, verses 15 through 17, then we'll look at 19.

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you

were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor

hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Because you say, I am rich,

have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and do not

know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

Skipping to 19, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore,

be zealous and repent.

You know, kind of going back to that thing, you know, we are in the

world but we're not of the world. All these material things, they're just passing.

What really matters is the relationship with God that you have with him and

trying to get to heaven and serving those that

are in need. You'll also

take note in the book of Revelation where John mentions the great white

throne of judgment. You know, we're accountable for our own actions.

Mentioned earlier. If you look at Revelation, we'll skip on toward the back to chapter

20, verses 11 through 13.

Then I

saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it. From those who faced

the earth and the heaven fled away, and there

was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small, great,

standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is

the Book of Life. Which is the Book of Life. And the

dead were judged according to their works, by the things which are written in

the books.

The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered

up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to

his works. You know, as bad as I'd like to help

anyone and everyone get to heaven as I could, ultimately the only one I can

help is myself get to heaven in terms of,

you know, being responsible for my own actions is what I'm saying.

You know, it's a blessing to have health

and ways that you can help serve and try to connect with people and then

help them throughout their journey with Christ.

But ultimately, you know, when it comes down to it, we are all responsible

for our own actions. We've got to hold ourselves accountable to what we do.

And say.

But— and is there any other comments around the

lesson tonight? I'm sorry it's a little choppy, y'all. Like I said, this is the

first time I've done this. Voice is a little sore. I've been trying to come

down with something the last couple of days. But do y'all have any comments tonight?

No.

Right, right. Good to appreciate the comment.

Anyone else?

Appreciate it, y'all. Well, thanks, and I hope y'all have a wonderful

week. Any critiques y'all have, I'll take.

Love to be better. Thanks,