Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Let Us Draw Near Pt.1

Hallelujah! Amen! Always good to be in the Lord's presence, amen?

Let's turn to the book of Hebrews. We want to spend some time--we're getting ready to start a new series tonight. We're going to be talking topically about "apostasy" in the day that we're living in. The Scripture makes it very clear "...that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (1Timothy 4:1). We're living in a day where we need to make sure our hearts are ready for the coming of the Lord Jesus. It's an interesting world that we're living in. We have these young men and some that are not so young that have traveled from half way around the world from Australia. They're visiting from Australia. It's a big world that we live in, but it's the same Lord and God over all. Amen? I've been to a lot of different cultures as I've been fortunate to preach all over the world whether in India or Africa. The different places that Father has had us; man's the same. Flesh is flesh. It doesn't want to bow its knee to the lordship of Jesus. Man's still trying, even in our churches today, to erect the Tower of Babel to where they could ascend to God on their own terms. It's not allowed!

We're going to talk about drawing nigh unto God boldly through the only access available and that's the blood of Jesus and through lives of obedience. You have different groups of believers. You have those that are over here, the charismaniacs. They're out screaming, running around and have no biblical foundation at all. Then you have these fundamentalists over here that have absolutely killed the Spirit with their worship of doctrine. Somewhere in the midst of all of that is the church of Jesus Christ, people that are doers of the Word and not hearers only. I love one of the statements I read in one of A. W. Tozer's books. He said, "There's an interesting thing about a commandment. You cannot believe a commandment." Think about that. Much of Christianity today wants to believe a commandment. You have to obey a commandment. You have to follow and do a commandment. Amen? Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will"--say it with me--"keep My commandments."

When we talk about apostasy in the day that we're living in--the word "apostasy," of course, just means "a defection or a separating." In this instance, it's a separating from the genuine church, the true church. That's not a church with a label on it. There's no denomination that has the corner on the market. There's no little group of people that has the corner on the market. The Bible says the true church will endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We're called, then, to understand what the church is, who we are and what our responsibility is. It's revealed to us in the Scriptures. "Study to show yourselves approved unto God, workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). The Scripture says we're a people called to study. We're a people that are called to obey. We're a people with a commission to go out into all the world, and what we freely receive we are to freely give.

In the midst of all this we're in a church or looking at a visible church today. Not the real church. The visible church; what people think Christianity is, the world. It takes on all different forms but the one thing that's obvious is this: the visible church is continually being more and more embraced by the world's system. You don't have to be a Bible scholar to read the Scriptures and see that in the last days the apostate religious system begins to emerge. John the revelator, in the book of Revelation, calls it the great whore. As this great whore begins to come into power and begins to accept or begins to have a little creditability in the world, they become politically powerful, economically powerful. They go and visit the White House and all other heads of state and the name of Jesus is no longer a byword or reproach. The Bible that I read says that "They hated Me; they're going to hate you" is what Jesus said. Jesus was called in the Scriptures "the rock of offence." The Christianity that's visible today is being embraced by the world and doesn't want to offend anybody! The gospel that Paul preached, he said, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel, it's the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16). This message that you and I have been given to herald is one that people don't want to hear that "There's only one name under heaven whereby men can be saved" (Acts 4:12). They want to get saved in their own works. They want to get saved in their own way and in their own time, but the Bible says you can't come when you want. You come when I draw you. You see, man doesn't like to hear that, especially us Americans, rugged individualists. "We've got our rights, bless God! I've got a right to get saved when I feel like it." You and I are called to bring a gospel that's without compromise to a world that's trying to find new methods of compromise.

We're not going to be very popular in these last days and because of that the Bible says a lot of people are going to depart from the faith. Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, but John the revelator said in Revelation, the third Chapter, verse 11, "Be careful beloved, don't let any man steal your crown." Amen? They're after your crown! We're being seduced on this side by doctrines of devils and by political systems. We're being assaulted on this side by our own flesh, our own desire to experience ease, our own desire to compromise for our friends, to make it a little easier on them than everybody else, to be respecters of persons. Of course, the biggest problem we have is the tendency to compromise this truth for our own blood, our own kin. When Jesus said after being admonished, "Jesus stop the ministry here and come outside because your mother's out here and your brothers," Jesus said, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers but these that are doing the Word of God." The real Jesus isn't really known by a lot of folks today. It's the historical Jesus that they know. Not the biblical Jesus. Much of what's known today is the Jesus, especially in this country, the Jesus that's been popularized.

You and I have been called to be epistles that are read of men and to go into a world that's going to hate us. The apostle said we are to be willing to daily take up a cross, be willing to be crucified with Him and to die with Him. To say "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). To say "The life that I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Which path are we going to be on as a people when Jesus returns? As 1 John 3 says, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God...and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (Verses 1-3).

What are you doing to clean up your act? Because Ephesians says He's coming for a church, a bride that's without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. A chaste virgin. How clean are you? How white are your robes tonight? How free are we from the world's system? How free are we from the dominion of our own flesh; the sin that's in every one of our own members? We all fight it. There's none of us that are perfect. None of us are free from the temptation of sin that's in our members. But, of course, Paul said, "Sin no longer has dominion over us" (Romans 6). We're a people that have been liberated!

The Spirit says, "I want you to come boldly." Have you found Hebrews yet? In the book of Hebrews, of course, the apostle Paul says this to us. Hebrews, the 10^th Chapter is just such a phenomenal passage of Scripture! In your notes I want you to put down a very basic outline that we're going to use over the next weeks as we study this passage of Scripture. Just a couple of phrases that the apostle uses here that are important for us. Verse 22, first phrase I want you to write down is "Let us draw near..." Verse 23; "Let us hold fast..." Verse 24 "...let us consider one another..." We're going to build off of those phrases that the apostle used here. In the context of the book of Hebrews, of course, understand what the Holy Spirit is saying. Now, the whole book of Hebrews can be condensed into this: There were sufficient sacrifices under the old covenant, the blood of bulls of goats; but now there's a new, a better, covenant.

Can you say, "Praise God" for that? What the blood of bulls and goats couldn't do, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; Romans tells us. We're a people that are no longer just living under forgiveness. We're a people being empowered to be victorious! We no longer just have to always come to God and say, "Lord, I'm just so weak and I'm always defeated. Forgive me." We're a people that can come and say "Praise God! Greater is He that's in me than he that's in the world!" Amen? A people that are victorious. A people that have overcome! As the Lord said, "To those that overcome shall I grant to be seated with Me on My throne, even as I have overcome." We're a generation of overcomers! A generation of kings and priests that have been called to share this testimony: without Him we can do nothing; but I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me, the Scripture says.

Let's read the context of this. Hebrews is saying, "There was the old covenant and now there's the new and better. It was done by the law and now it's done by faith." Praise God! The problem that a lot of Christians have is this: they think that faith and grace means that you don't have to do anything. The Bible says that we're working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Not works unto salvation, works the consequence of salvation. So let us draw near, the Scripture says. Look at the next phrase. Get this in your notes in the basic outline. "Let us draw near..." Anyway you feel like it! "Let us draw near..." In our spare time. "Let us draw near..." With God as our hobby. So many Christians today don't even have a clue what it means "For me to live is Christ." For me to live is Christ! We talked in our last study about the passion that David had in the 51^st Psalm. The one thing that he couldn't live without; he said, "You can have everything else, but take not your Holy Spirit from me. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence. Whatever You do, don't take Your Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51: 10 - 11). We talked about how Job had lost everything and then God said, "The thing that I'm saying about My servant Job is this: he didn't try and justify himself and condemn Me. He didn't question Me. He said, 'The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!'" Abraham's judgment was after Sodom was put under the hand of God's wrath and all of that city was going to be judged and Abraham's judgment of God was, "Here's all I have to say about it: the Judge of all the Earth does right." Praise God!

When you come to God, listen to what the apostle says. He says, "I want you to draw near to God with a [Say it with me.] true heart." Now I don't have time to get into all of these things; but read the parable of the sower sowing the Word. When Jesus was teaching this, you remember he said, "The seed in that parable was the Word of God"? He said, "What you need to understand in this parable is this: The seed only works in one environment: a true and honest heart." You can read it in Mark 4. Put it in your notes, go back and reread that parable, and study it out. The sower sowed the Word of God and it went on the wayside. Satan came and immediately took it out of hearts. Others fell on stony ground and people got all excited, shouting and praising God; but when temptations and trials came, the Bible says, they immediately fainted because they had no root or any substance in them. Then there was the seed that was sown among thorny ground. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things entering in choked the Word of God out of the heart of that individual. Then there was that that was sown on good ground, a true and an honest heart. Not perfect; true. It loved the truth. It wanted to know the truth about itself. Most of us don't want to know the truth about ourselves. It was honest. It was able to come to God and say, "Here's what I, man, am, but thank God Your strength can be made perfect in my weakness." God's looking for people with honest hearts, true hearts. Hearts that'll say, "I've tried it every other way; it doesn't work, man. I'm tired of being my own god. Every time I compromise, all I get is mingled seed, destruction and chaos. I try to appease everybody around me and all I get are people that hate me anyway." Why not honor the Lord? People are going to hate you anyway. Why not honor the Lord and let God be for you? Because if He's for you, nobody can be against you, praise God! The apostle says, "I want you to draw near with a true heart."

What we're going to be looking at, as I said, is we're going to do a study on apostasy. Not only what causes people to defect from the true faith but also, then, how we respond to those that have defected. "Well, we love them and we try to fellowship with them and bring them back in." No, that's not what the Scripture says. We won't get there, I'm sure tonight, but read 2 John and you'll see how the Holy Spirit, through the apostle of love, John, defines love. How he says love responds to those that have defected and counted the blood of Jesus worthless and have willfully tread it beneath their feet. He said, "You need to become a people that'll draw near with a true heart." You can come with this kind of a boldness because he says, look, "You have full assurance of faith." Full assurance of faith. What does the word "faith" mean? What is this Greek word "faith"? Pistos, pistis; depends on whether you're talking about a verb or a noun. What is this word? It just means, "to trust or have reliance in". "Full assurance" is what "faith" is. As you're studying, get this in your notes: faith is not something that's abstract. We cannot have different types of faith. We have different measures of faith. To every man is given the measure of faith but not different types. Because the Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the, say it, the Word of God. You can't have faith that's acceptable to God that doesn't originate in His Word. God's Word is the source of faith. Everything else is from the soulical realm. It's from the system of this world.

Man can make a lot of stuff happen; we can go out and make stuff happen. Look at what's going on in our day. We're now into the different engineering processes. All the genetics and engineering and they think they found the aging gene, praise God. Some us can use that! Some are bold enough to say, "You know what, in ten years we're going to be able to present eternal life to man." Think about that! You tell me if this doesn't sound like the Tower of Babel when God came down and confounded the language of men. You tell me if God is going to wink at man's ascension into the heavens to where he says, "I don't need God any more." Not only are we growing members for our bodies, if it's not in there it's in the bionics. You tell me what hour we're living in. The Scripture tells you and I when we see these signs, we're to just pray "even so come quickly, Lord Jesus". But we don't hide out and cower down until He comes. We enter boldly and the Scripture says we occupy until He comes. Though the world will hate that true church in the last days, if you read the book of Revelation it's very clear as this apostate religious system gets drunk on the blood of the martyrs of the true church. Two guys remaining to preach the Word of God, they kill them and throw a worldwide party, man, when the two witnesses go down. Then God, like He always does, as man is celebrating worldwide--can you see it going on across the Internet? The pictures that are flashing off and everybody's downloading these pictures of these two prophets who had been harassing the world, lying in their own blood and everybody laughing, mocking God and all of a sudden the power of God enters those men, they rise up and God sucks them up, just like He did, praise God, with Elijah. Just like He's going to do with you and I as He comes in the clouds. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye we'll be changed, praise God! That's the day we're living in! We're the people that get to see the coming of Jesus Christ! What an exciting time!

What are you doing to prepare? Are you drawing near with a true heart in full assurance of faith? Do you know you're born again? Do you know that you're living according to the statutes of God's Word and keeping His commandments? Or are you meeting the criteria of this other organization called "the whore"? It's being dictated to by the spirit of antichrist. This organization that wants to reach out as Christians and embrace Islam. You don't embrace Islam! You convert them! They must be born again! There is no other name under heaven whereby men can be saved but the name of Jesus. Amen? What kind of world are we living in? It's a great time to share the gospel; but you'd better be prepared! Are you ..."[drawing] near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:22)? This is making reference to the priest. You couldn't enter in to do your service and your ministry to the Lord without stopping at the laver that was outside the temple, as you study the temple. You had to stop and wash yourself. The Bible says this: we're being washed with the water of the Word. You're not going to be ready, man, if you're not reading This (Bible). If you don't hide the Word in your heart, you're going to sin against God. "I found Your Word and I ate it and it became the joy and the rejoicing of my heart," the prophet said. How much are you studying the Word of God? How much of this are you hiding in your heart? The washing with the water of the Word. There is no boldness in God's presence if you don't know who you are through the Word of God. If all you can go by is your feelings, "How do I feel today?" and you don't have the assurance that we're the sons of God, heirs and joint heirs with Christ Jesus. Then you've lost your boldness in accessing the throne of God and being able to be infused with His presence, with His power and to be able to go out, then, and represent Him in a world that's dying.

We're going to look over at Philippians in just a moment and see what it takes to be a champion. Some of these kids playing athletics here and they know to a small degree what it means to be prepared for the game that's at hand. I'm always amazed at the world-class athletes and the price that has to be paid to become one of the best in the world. Yet, we think we can become mature in the faith by just somehow receiving a gift and an infusion of God's grace that will make us strong. The Bible says we're only strengthened by reason of use of our senses or under trials and pressures that we're able to endure. Listen to what the Scripture says! We're all aware of it. Do you "...count it all joy when ye fall into divers [different] temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1: 2-4)?

What have you done to prepare yourself to stand? The apostle says to come in boldly; wash yourself with the water of the Word. Check out one word there in verse 22; it's interesting. Look at it "...with pure water." No mingled seed! No polluted water! Oh, beloved, how much water is being presented today that's infiltrated with politics, humanism, religious traditions? To where the Master stood and He said, "You know, what the problem is, guys? Your traditions have made the Word of God of no effect." We've got churches today that will not move off of their traditions. "I don't care what the Bible says. We've been doing it this way for a hundred years." As a Christian, you try to sit down with people and say, "Look, here's what the Bible says." "That's not what our church believes." Well, then, get a new church! That's what I tell people. We understand, then, that as we're preparing ourselves for this last day, the preparation is one of purifying, purging on a continual basis, our minds. The cleansing of our conscience with pure water. God wants you and I to live in the simplicity of faith. You do not need somebody with multiple doctorates in theology to explain this Book to you. It's not necessary. As they go to seminary, of course, and they begin to study all of the different classes and they become "experts" in soteriology and they're not even saved. Eschatology and they don't even believe Jesus is coming back! Hermeneutics and Homiletics and they can't preach the Word of God for fear that its not politically correct! The Bible says that a little child will lead them. Just someone that will come and say, "Doesn't the Bible say..." Don't you love it when your kids do that? You're getting ready to mess up and your littlest one in the house says, "But daddy, doesn't the Bible say..." And you're bound now to do it! Amen? The greatest among us! To just keep that childlike faith. That's what I've tried to do all these years. That's what we've tried to encourage you all to do all these years.

As I was meeting with a bunch of preachers one day, I was given the greatest compliment that you could ever give. This was back, of course, in the days, you remember, when God was redirecting our path and we were hanging out with all the big shots in those days. God was blessing us. We were the hottest things around since Coke-Cola. In the midst of all of that this one guy just looked at me and said, "You know, the problem with you, Star?" He said, "You're just a biblical literalist!" I said, "Thank you, you're right!" I do it exactly the way it's written. I don't need interpretations. I only need revelation. I only need to know God said it. If God said it, I'm doing it, praise God! If it hair-lips the devil, we're going after this thing! What kind of commitment have you made to do the Word of God? Where are we? Well, I'll tell you where you better be. Look at Hebrews 10, verse 23. You'd better hold fast your profession of faith because people are after your crown!

Turn over to Revelation 3 for just a second. We all enjoy reading this aspect of the book of Revelation. The Holy Spirit, of course, ministering to the churches. In the book of Revelation, Chapter 3, you begin to see the Lord speaking to the church of Philadelphia. This was before the Eagles lost. The Scripture speaking here and He says "I know your works: [verse 8] behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, [You've got enough that I can work off of.] and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee" (verses 8-9).

You see, the conflict here with the principalities and powers of darkness, the spirit of antichrist. He says, "Even if you have little strength I'm going to make you an overcomer if you'll seek to honor My name," praise God! "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, [verse 10] I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, ["Trials" is what the word "temptation" means.] which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. [Check it out!] Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (Verse 11). How tightly are you holding this great gift of the presence of God in your life? How tightly are you holding onto the one thing that's going to be the foundation stone of your life, the immutable Word of God? Heaven and Earth will pass away, My Word will not pass away. Praise God! Traditions will come and fall. Fads will come and go. I've seen all kinds of them in the years that I've been preaching. They're going to come and go but His Word endures forever. Hold fast to what you have. Don't let any man take your crown!

Verse 23, Hebrews 10, "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering..." People are going to try and get you to compromise. What does the apostle say? He says, "The problem is there are people that are tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine." Dear God, whatever it is that comes down the pike! You all remember the thing here in America that was so popular not long ago? That Howard Brown laughing thing. I went to see one of those things and sat in the back of the church. The pastor of the church knew who I was because I used to hang out with these guys. It was one of the churches here locally; I won't mention which one. As we were sitting in the back and, of course, thousands of people were there. They're doing the most bazaar things; people are laughing, falling on the ground and rolling around. Of course, as you know what took place in Toronto, people are barking like dogs and they think this is the Holy Ghost? It was Barnum and Bailey Circus! The preacher's up there and he looks all the way back across the auditorium and sees me and he said, "Yeah, I know what some of you here--you Pharisees" as he's looking at me--"believe. That everything's got to be done according to the Word of God. But this is a special visitation!"

Hold fast to your profession of faith! Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the? Word of God. I believe in the supernatural. You all have seen it. You know that I believe. The miracles that we've seen in our lives. But, you see, this whole circus was about men feeling good, having a party in the name of Jesus. Trying to sooth the emptiness in their lives that only the lordship of Jesus can fulfill. Where's your faith tonight? "For He is faithful that promised" (Hebrews 10:23). Now, we're living in a world where it'd be great to be able to laugh. I enjoy laughing. You people know I have a good time. But we're also living in a day when there's not a whole lot to laugh at right now with the condition of the professed church, with the condition of our nation, the condition of this world. The promise we have is "Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning," praise God! There's a day coming when we're going to laugh and every tear is going to be wiped away. The Bible says that Jesus lifted up His eyes and looked upon the multitudes that didn't have a shepherd and His heart was broken. He said, "Who can I send?" And the prophet said, "Here am I, send me." Praise God! It's no laughing matter when the divorce rate is the same in the church as it is in the world. It's no laughing matter when the teenage pregnancy in the church is the same as it is in the world. Thank God that doesn't happen here! I was sharing with somebody the other day. I said, "We've not had one, in all of the years, we've not had one of our young people in fellowship with us that's gotten pregnant. Our young people marry as virgins." These guys couldn't believe it, man! We are a peculiar people folks. Peculiar just means set apart. We're different. Christians are supposed to be!

As we look at what the Word of God says, and it is admonishing us here to hold our faith without wavering. What kind of faith are we holding on to when the world's telling us to compromise and kiss up to all of the political correctness? Did you hear what they're trying to get into congress today? This will be my political blurb. Of aliens that are coming in--and I don't mean the little green people, it's the other guys. I guess they're talking about the legal ones. That we should consider the homosexual couples that are coming into our country as married individuals and they should have all of the rights of married couples. "It just seems fair." This is where the insanity of humanism has gone. Somebody comes to us Christians and says, "What do you think about that?" When we say, "I think homosexuals should be killed!" Now you're on a different page. Now, I don't mean go out and hunt these guys out and shoot them. What I'm talking about is the Bible says that in the midst of the covenant people of God--and see this is where the distinction is. This is where you can get into trouble. See, I'm not talking about open season on homos. The Bible doesn't allow that. I'm not talking about us trying to go out and stop abortion. The Bible doesn't tell us to do that. The church is involved in all of these political issues. That's not what we're called to do! The Bible says, "Don't you say you're a Christian and be a homo! Don't you say you're a Christian and kill your babies!" That's what the distinction is in the Scriptures and we want to go out there and tell sinners don't act like sinners! They're supposed to! That's their job! I congratulate them.

I talk to guys that say--they find out you're a preacher and the first thing they want to do is apologize. "Well, sorry for that cursing." I say "No you're doing good, keep it up. You're one of the best sinners I've met in a long time, man. You need to honor your god. You're doing great! Heard any dirty jokes lately? Wait and tell it when I'm gone." That's who they are. That's who they're supposed to be. It's not our job to go out and try to get the world to live like Christians. It our job to go out and preach the gospel, see people born again and come out from among them and be separate. Once you say you are a Christian, you live by another standard. Those that say they're part of the covenant and still want to involve themselves in these things, the Bible says you kill them. People kind of freak. They say, "Well what do you mean?" Nowhere in the Scriptures do you find God telling Israel to go and stop the sacrifices at the altar of Molech where they were offering and killing their children. Nowhere do you see Him tell them "You've got to go stop those men from offering their children." He just says don't you offer yours up! We're a peculiar people! Come out from among them, be separate, touch not the unclean things, sayeth the Lord, and I will receive you. You are a peculiar people, a holy nation, and a royal priesthood that's to show forth the praises of Him that's called you out of darkness into His marvelous light! Can you say, "Amen" to that? That's who we are. We're different! Don't apologize for it! Hold fast your profession of faith!

I don't cower down at this politically correct doctrine! I don't cower down to all of the compromise of the visible church that wants to get accepted by the world so we can evangelize them! What are you going to evangelize them with if you don't have the power of the gospel? You know, sometimes I think people like me that came in off the streets, that weren't raised in church, that didn't have to do all of the unlearning of all of the church traditions, you get a free run at this thing, man. Nobody can mess you up. I went right from a great pagan to a new creature, praise God! In one moment. After getting born again, God sends me back to Bible college in the very town where I was banned from the Coconut Grove. My picture was in the lobby. They said, "Arrest this guy on sight." They finally got me for attempted murder. We'd caused the biggest riot they'd ever had in the town, and here these few years later, I'm back preaching the gospel in their juvenile hall. Isn't God good!

Are you holding fast your faith? Don't let any man steal your crown! People are bailing, man! In the last days, there's going to be a departure, a defection from the faith. Men giving heed to seducing spirits, doctrines of devils. The apostle says they will not endure sound doctrine, but they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. In other words, preachers that will tell them what they want to hear. That's the day we're living in. What direction are you going? As for me and my house, we're serving God, man! You say, "That's good Pastor, praise God. That's good and you've got conviction. We understand that and other Christians will say, 'That's good; I admire that.' Keep it to yourself." No, Hebrews 10, verse 24, "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works" Amen? You can't keep this to yourself! The prophet said it this way, "It's like a fire in my bones." There's no way you can keep a Christian shut up! You can't keep me from talking about Jesus and defending the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a fire in my bones!

It can't be mentally assented to, as I was sharing with the boys that are visiting here. They were up at the garage; some of them were interested in the cars. We were looking at the cars and I shared with them, I said, "You know, one of the great things about this," and I shared with them the testimony of how Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had been at an event and I didn't know who he was and was just witnessing to him. Then he calls me on the phone. You don't always get a call from the Supreme Court--knowing my background, I thought I was in trouble again!--and to be able to talk with the man! A Supreme Court Justice! To share the simplicity of the gospel with him and after twenty minutes of preaching just to him the purist gospel that you could imagine--Janet kept asking, "Who are you talking to?" I said, "Shh." I preached to him some more and she asked, "Who is that?" I said, "Shh." Afterwards she said, "There was such an anointing, the message was powerful. I thought who in the world is he preaching to over the telephone?" As I ended that conversation with him as that man told me, "You know what?" He said, "I believe." No, he said, "I do not disagree with anything you've said." I said, "That's not enough. It's not enough to mentality assent that what I've shared with you is right. You must bow your knee and acknowledge Him as Lord of your life. I want to tell you something. One of these days, you, Supreme Court Justice, will stand before the Judge of all of the Earth and there is no court of appeal."

Whenever you get the opportunity, when God opens that door--we read in Revelation, He said, "I'm going to open doors for you." Philadelphia, church of love. If you have love for the lost, God will open some doors for you to share the gospel. Love doesn't mean compromise, it doesn't mean patronizing, and it doesn't mean patting people on the head. Love is telling people the truth, man, so that they can be set free. Love is considering one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Look what he goes on to say. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (verse 25). Which day? The coming of the Lord Jesus. So what are we supposed to do then? There's an apostatizing. There's a move going around that says, "You know, as the church, we need to spend more 'family time.' We need to spend more time away from each other with our own little units." The Bible says just the opposite. It says, as you see the day approaching, you need to get around more Christians so that they can lift up your hands when you're getting weak and encourage you; because the fact of the matter is you need some help and you need to be provoked when you're not doing the job right. We can look pretty good when we're just hanging out at home comparing ourselves to our own carnal kids! What are you like when you're around people that are excited about Jesus, that are being washed with the water of the Word, are taking up a cross, dying daily and shaming you with their commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ? "Well, I'm looking for somebody else to hang out with." The Bible says, "Be followers of those who through faith and patience are inheriting the promises of God." Amen? Who are you going to hang with in this day? "Well, you know, my friends get a little uncomfortable when I quote so much Scripture and I'm so fired up." Pour it on! Provoke them! You're not embarrassed about provoking people with your flesh! Driving down the road, getting mad at somebody, cut in front of them because they cut in front of you. "Get back, bless God!" You can provoke people in the natural. Why don't you provoke them in the spiritual? It's because you don't have the same conviction. The Scripture's speaking to us here and it talks about the responsibility you and I have of bringing about that provocation.

Now we're just about done for tonight. As we get ready to go into our next session, I want you to read the rest of this chapter down through Chapter 10. We're going to talk about those that are saying they're Christians, then choose to defect and deny His lordship and leave the community of believers, those of us that are gathering together even more as we see the day approaching, and how we are to respond to those folks. So let me give you a little homework between now and Sunday. Read the rest of this chapter [Hebrews 10], read 2 John and take a look at Titus 3:10. Meditate on those passages and Matthew 18:18. Read through, begin to do a little study. and be ready for the next session so that we can begin to see the call on our lives of the fact that we are to provoke those that are still among us as we try to admonish them to bring forth more fruit. When there's good in our life, when we're glorifying Jesus what does John 15 say? When we're producing something good the Lord prunes us, purifies us, so that we can bring forth more fruit. He doesn't just say, "Good job; praise God it's about time somebody around here did something right!" If He can find somebody doing something, guess what? You're going to get more pressure put on you. There's going to be more pruning. It's going to cost you more. Aren't you glad that you can offer it all? What else is back there worth returning to?

You know, if I'd pursued what I was pursuing as a young man, I'd already be a "has been". That is if I'd been a "been". Things were looking good for me to have been a "been". The guys that I was playing with back then these are old dudes now! O.J., he turned out good! See, when I was playing ball I was playing with O.J., Lawrence McCutcheon, Nate Wright and all of those guys. We were all playing ball at the same time. When I got saved and apostatized from football and went to preach the gospel, I got turned on about Jesus the way I was turned on about banging peoples heads! You say, "Well that's just your personality." No it's not. My personality is to lie down and take it easy until I see something I want. Do you know what? I want to be like Him. So therefore I press toward the mark, the prize the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, as Paul says in Philippians. Press toward the prize, fully extend myself to where there's nothing left in me.

As I close with this--I saw it the other day. I hadn't seen the Iron Man for a long time and I was watching the Iron Man competition the other day. They have all kinds of triathlons now, but there's nothing like the Iron Man in Hawaii. It's one of the toughest. I remember the greatest effort I've ever seen an athlete put forth was a lady years ago in the Iron Man contest. She so impressed me! Pressing toward the mark, the prize. Some of you can remember having seen that. As she's trying to finish the marathon, after having biked the hundred miles and completed the swimming event, over an hour of non-stop swimming against the tide. She gets out of the ocean; jumps on a bike, and rides for a hundred miles. Jumps off the bike and now runs a twenty-six mile marathon. Here she is, coming down the last half mile and her body didn't want to work any more. She collapsed and they tried to help her up and she said, "Don't touch me." If they had touched her, she would've been disqualified. As you watch on television, this woman crawling along a black top road toward the prize, the high calling. She got back to her feet again, made it a little farther and then collapsed. On nationwide TV, you see her rise up again, then her body begins to fail. She has diarrhea, has no control over her bowels, and has a bowel movement that runs down her legs. She collapses again on the road and crawls to finish the course. Paul says, "I have finished the course; henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness and not me only but for all of those that love His appearing." You can either bail or you can determine you're going to finish the course. You will not finish it alone. You must--as you see the apostle speaking here--you must put yourself in an environment where people will lift up your hands when they're hanging down, where brothers and sisters will provoke you to love and to good works -- and you don't resent it. You thank God for the love they have for your soul. So, with this as an introduction for the study, then, begin to prepare yourself and let's hear what the Holy Spirit has to say to us over these next number of sessions. What it's going to cost us to finish this course so that men can see our good works and glorify our Father, which is in heaven?

Father, we thank You for the Word of God tonight. We thank You for the privilege of serving in Your kingdom. We thank You for the high calling of God to be able to take Your Word in our mouth. Thank You for brothers and sisters that would provoke us. We thank You for the indwelling Holy Spirit that empowers us to be witnesses to You. We ask You to deliver us from the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of things. All that enters in and chokes the Word of God out of our hearts. We thank You for the blessings that You've given us, all things to enjoy. We thank You for the blessings You've given us as a people. Don't let it be a curse to us. Keep us from idolizing the gifts that You've given us. Whether it's material blessings. Whether it's children. For Jesus, You said, "If you love mothers and fathers, wives and children, houses and lands, more than Me you're not worthy of Me." Today, by the millions, they defect from Your cross for a mother, a father, a wife, a child, their own temporal lusts, material, sexual, just one moment of pleasure. You said, "If you love those things more than Me, you're not worthy of Me." We all know He's not talking about the fact that we sin. We all sin. We're talking about loving sin. We're talking about making provision for sin. We're talking about denying the Word of God to justify our actions and say, "Well, you know, we're only human and this is how other Christians live." No, it's not! Thank You that while we were sinners You sought us. We didn't seek You. You sought us. You died and were made sin with our sin that we might be made righteous with Your righteousness. You've said as a people we could come; and if we'd confess our sin, You're faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us. So, we ask You to wash us in Your blood, cleanse us with Your Word, and fill us with Your Spirit that we might be about Your work. We ask it, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord. As Gary plays for us, we'll take just a moment and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts. God's so good. For you young people that are visiting from Australia, I had the opportunity to play professional American football. You know, the other kind. When God put His hand on me, and I've had young people ask, "Do you regret?" Not one day, or even a moment! I've watched my friends play in the Super Bowl. It doesn't matter whether it's been one derelict that I've clasped hands with and prayed with in the ghettos or the preaching to the tens of thousands that we've done. One person accepting Jesus Christ surpasses any Super Bowl ring, all the money in the world. You don't have to be a preacher, but you do have to share this message and it'll cost you. So I just challenge you. Redirect your treasures and God will give you exceeding abundant beyond anything you could ask or even think.

Let's sing this together, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus..." Sing it one more time; just worship Him.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Father, we do thank You again for Your love, for Your presence, and we ask that You'd strengthen us now. Prepare us for tomorrow; give us words to speak, Father. Open doors of utterance that we could share this message. For freely we have received, freely we are to give. In Jesus' name. Amen! Amen!

Before you go, turn to someone next to you and say, "Don't let them get your crown!"

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