Calvary Chapel Fort Mill Sunday Service

Good morning everyone. Glad you're in the house of the Lord this morning. Would you take a moment with me and let's prepare our hearts to worship the Lord.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I come in with a lot of things on my mind, but uh I'm sure you do as well. There's a lot going on in life and uh maybe some things went on this morning. In fact, the Dibs van broke down in the parking lot as they rolled in.

So, I mean that stuff stuff happens that gets our minds moving in other directions, doesn't it? And so, we want to make sure that we can refocus and make sure that God gets glorified uh as he deserves. And so, let's let's get our hearts right before the Lord before we worship this morning.

Would you join me in prayer? Heavenly Father, we know that you see everything that we go through. You are the God that sees.

You're the God that recognizes and knows everything that goes on in our lives. Lord, you have never turned your face away. You've never uh stopped watching us.

Lord, you know everything about our lives. And Lord, you know the things that are weighing uh heavily on our hearts this morning. And you know the things that uh we just hope to do.

You know the hopes and the dreams and the the thoughts that are rolling through our heads. Even the the crazy thoughts, Lord. Even the sinful thoughts.

Lord, we just want to take a moment and ask, Lord God, that you would steal our hearts, that you would steal our minds. Lord, we want to take all of our burdens and roll them off our shoulders and lay them at your feet. Lord, would you help us to do that this morning?

every burden, every thing that we're thinking about and and consuming our hearts and minds. Lord, would you just help us to lay them down to trust you that you are good, that you are God that can handle those things. Lord, we take the worries of tomorrow and we lay them at your feet.

Lord, help us to be only concerned with today. Lord, I pray that your peace that surpasses all of our understanding would guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would come this morning.

That you would fill this place and not just this place, but fill us a fresh and a new. Help us to be full of the Holy Spirit. Lord, would you wash us and cleanse us a fresh and a new in the blood of your son, Jesus?

Holy Spirit, if there's anything that we've done that we need to confess, we want to do that now. We want to take care of business between us and heaven, Lord. So, if there's something we've done that we need to confess, help us to do that right now and forgive us and wash us and cleanse us.

give us clean hands and a pure heart that we can worship you in spirit and in truth. But we pray for your presence to come this morning in Jesus name. And all God's people said, "Amen." Well, in way of announcements this morning.

We've got uh some stuff going on this week. Home fellowship is going on uh at Andrew Lackey's house. Uh his wife and one of his sons is on mission.

So I think uh your wife's in Guatemala and your son is in >> Italy. Italy. That's right.

So, so uh be praying for them. Uh if you didn't get uh any of the uh little prayer cards, you know, there's like a little uh what do you call a bookmark in the back uh you can stick in your Bible. And so, just a reminder during your devotion time to be praying for them.

Uh be praying for Heather. I guess there was an answer prayer. She got air conditioning instead of a tent, right?

So, she was a little nervous she was going to be stuck in a tent in the middle of summer, but she got some air conditioning and uh so be praying for God to use them mightily and uh and all of that. So, there's a a lot going on there, but be praying for them. Uh but the home fellowship that's going on at the Lakis house is Wednesday, uh 6:30, uh late dinner and uh time of uh getting together and celebrating the Lord.

And then men's breakfast is this Saturday. We're going to be in the fellowship hall. Uh that starts at 8:00 a.m.

over in the fellowship hall. So men, I'd love for you to be there. We're going to have a time of Bible study and fellowship.

Uh if you are looking to connect with some other men, great opportunity for you to come there. Uh develop some relationships with some other men. Uh the sisterhood ministry, which is our women's ministry, they uh are going to be meeting for prayer on uh Thursday, June 25th, and that's at 7 7 PM.

And that's going to be at Martha Whitten's house. So Martha, would you raise your hand? That's that's at her house.

So uh come out, have a great time in prayer. Uh it's a it's been a neat thing. We've been moving from house to house and and having these prayer times together and it's been really powerful and uh so it's been been very effective.

If you got any questions, uh contact Cheryl Mary over here. If you got any questions about prayer or if you've got any prayer requests, if you can't make it and you want to give a prayer request, call Cheryl and let her know what's going on. Uh and they can be praying for you.

Uh our first Tuesday uh prayer night is going to be July 7th, uh 6:30 to 8:30. uh right here in the in the sanctuary. Great time for you to come together, pray for the nation, pray for your families, all that's going on in the world.

Uh really encourage you to be a person of prayer that you take things to the Lord. He can do things that we cannot do, can't can he? He can change the heart of kings.

He can turn the heart of of parents. He can turn the heart of kids. He can do amazing things.

So please don't underestimate the value of you going before your heavenly father and him listening to his kids because he loves you. And so take every opportunity you can to be a part of these prayer meetings because they are powerful. Okay?

They they will have impact and and will impact the lives. With that, would you stand and say hello to somebody this morning? If you haven't met them yet, go introduce yourself.

Take some time to do this. This is important. And we will worship immediately following.

>> I like your shoes. up here on the video. The comedian guy Hope waited for this day.

We're gathered in your name, calling out to you. Your glory like a fire, awakening desire will burn our hearts with truth. You're the reason we're here.

You're the reason we're singing. Open up the heavens. We want to see you.

Open up the floodgates. A mighty river flowing from your heart and filling every part of our pray. Your presence in this place.

Your glory on our face. We're looking to the sky, descending like a cloud. We're standing with us now.

Lord, unveil our eyes. You're the reason we're here. You're the reason we're singing.

Open up the heavens. We want to see you open up the floodgates. A mighty river flowing from your heart and filling every part of our praise.

Open up the heavens. We want to see you. Open up the floodgates.

A mighty river flowing from your heart and filling every part of our brain. Show us, show us your glory. Show us, show us your power.

Show us, show us your glory, Lord. Yeah. Show us, show us your glory.

Show us, show us your power. Show us, show us your glory, Lord. Open up the heavens.

We want to see you. Open up the floodgates. A mighty river flowing from your heart and filling every part of our brain.

Open up the heavens. We want to see you. Open up the floodgates.

A mighty river flowing from your heart and filling every part of our bra. In Psalms 34:es 1-3, it says, "I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will continually be in my mouth.

My soul shall make its boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me.

And let us exalt his name together." That's why we're here this morning to magnify the Lord to exalt him because he is worthy because he has done so much for us. We're here this morning. That is a praise and let us magnify the Lord this morning.

We worship the God who was. We worship the God who we ever heard. He parted the raging seas.

Oh God, he there's joy in the house of the Lord. There's joy in the house of the Lord today and we are shout your praise. There's joy in the house of the Lord.

Our God is surely in this and we won't be quiet. We shout out your praise. Oh, we shout out your praise.

We sing to the God who heals. We sing to the God who saves. We sing to the God who always cuz he hung upon that cross.

Then he rose up from that grave. My God still rolling stones away. There's joy in the house of the Lord.

There's joy in the house of the Lord today. And we will be quiet. Shout out your praise.

There's joy in the house of the Lord. Our God is surely in this place and we won't be quiet. Shout out your praise.

We were the now we're royalty. We were the prisoners. Now we're running free.

We are accepted by his grace at the house of the lost. We were the beggars. Now we're royalty.

We were the prisoners. Now we're running free. We are accepted.

Redeemed by his praise. Let the house of the Lord sing praise. There's joy in the house of the Lord.

There's joy in the house of the Lord today. And we won't be quiet. We shout out your praise.

There's joy in the house of the Lord. Our God is surely in this place. And we won't be quiet.

We shout out your praise. There's joy in the house of the Lord. There's joy in the house of the Lord today.

We will shout your praise. There's joy in the house of the Lord. Our God is sure is quiet.

We shout at your praise. Oh, we shout at your praise. We shout all your praise.

We shout out your praise. We shout out your praise. We serve a good good father.

Um in Romans 8 starting in verse 31, what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but deliver him up for us all.

How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justified.

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died. And furthermore, hallelujah, is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God this very moment, who also makes intercession for us.

And finally, he is asking this question of our own hearts. Who shall separate us? Who shall separate me, Cheryl, everybody?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? No one. We serve a wonderful, wonderful father.

So as you go through your week and these things happen you don't understand, be reminded that he died for us all. He sees it all. He knows our inner thoughts.

He knows it all. And yet he still loved us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ?

Oh, I heard thousands stories of what they think you're the tender whisper of love in the dead of night. And you tell me that you're pleased and that I'm never alone. Good, good father.

It's who you are. It's who you are. It's who you are.

And I'm loved by you. It's who I am. It's who I am.

It's who I am. >> Oh, and I've seen many searching for answers far and wide. But I know we're all searching for answers.

Only you proide. because you know just what we need before we say a word. You're a good good father.

It's who you are. It's who you are. It's who you are.

And I'm loved by you. It's who I am. It's who I am.

It's who I am. You are perfect in Lord of your ways. You are perfect in Lord of your ways.

You are perfect in Lord of your ways. You are You are perfect in all of your ways. You are perfect in all of your ways.

You are perfect in all of your ways to love so uniable I can hardly speak. Peace. So unexplainable.

I can hardly think as you call me. Deeper still as you call me. Deeper still as you call me.

Deeper still into love. Love. Love.

You're a good good father. It's who you are. It's who you are.

It's who you are. And I'm loved by you. It's who I am.

It's who I am. It's who I am. You're a good good father.

It's who you are. It's who you are. It's who you are.

And I'm loved by you. It's who I am. It's who I am.

It's who I am. You're a good father. It's who you are.

It's who you are. It's who you are. I'm who I am.

who I am. It's perfect in all of your ways. >> You are perfect in all of your ways.

I am I am good father who you Talk to your father. >> I love you, daddy. >> You're a good good father.

>> It's who you are. It's who you are. It's who you are.

And I'm who I am. That is who our father is. In the darkness we were waiting without hope, without light.

To from heaven you came running. There was mercy in your eyes. To fulfill the law and prophets to a virgin king the word.

From a throne of endless glory to a cradle in the lift your praises high, church. Praise the father. Praise the son.

Praise the spirit. Three in one. God of glory, majesty, praise forever to the king of peace, >> to reveal the kingdom coming and to reconcile the lost.

to redeem the whole creation. You did not despise the cross. For even in your suffering, you saw to the other side, knowing this was our salvation.

Jesus, for our sake, you died. Praise the Father. Praise the Son.

Praise the Spirit. Three in one. God of glory, Majesty.

Praise forever to the King of Kings. And the morning that you rose, all of heaven breath till that stone was moved for good. For the lamb had conquered death and the dead rose from their tombs and the angels stood in awe.

For the souls of all who come to the father are restored and the church of Christ was born and the spirit lit the flame. Now this goel truth of hope shall not feel shall not faint by his blood and in his faith in his freedom I am free for the love of Jesus Christ who has resurrected me. Hallelujah.

Praise the Father. Praise the Son. Praise the Spirit.

Three and one. God of glory. Majesty.

Praise forever to the King of Kings. Praise the father. Praise the son.

Praise the spirit free and wise. God of glory. Majesty.

Praise forever to the king of kings. Praise forever to the king. It's so different being here on earth worshiping you.

Yet we can't see you. Yesterday I was reminded as I was resting from labor at our house trying to sift stone and move stone and just exhausted looking up into the clouds and remembering as a six-year-old boy as I lay in the grass in New York, looking up into heaven, looking up into the sky and the clouds and looking for the flags of the kingdom. I didn't even know you.

I didn't know what to expect, but I knew there had to be a heaven, and I was looking. Lord, thank you for the reminder yesterday to keep looking to the sky, to keep looking forward to your kingdom coming. Lord, we know that we can worship you here from afar.

And we thank you for your presence, Holy Spirit, that you come and that you touch our hearts and you touch our emotions during worship. You touch our minds and and you help us to worship you. But Lord, we so long for heaven.

Our heart's cry is to be there with you. Lord, we long to be in your presence, to see face to face, and to worship you with all of our hearts, all of our might, all of our soul, and our strength. God, I pray that you would sustain your church through the hard times, the difficult times, Lord.

That you would sustain us, that you would replenish us as we worship you, that you would fill our hearts with the hope of heaven. Thank you so much for that promise. Thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus, who allowed it for us.

Lord, we're so grateful, so thankful. We will continue to sing your praises, Lord, and look forward to singing him face to face or when we enter into heaven. Lord, would you be with us this morning?

Would you anoint your word? Allow it to go forth with power. Allow it to do the work in our lives that it need needs to be done.

Lord, I pray that something in the word today would touch each and every person here today. That we'd leave here changed. We'd leave here encouraged.

And we'd be more like your son, Jesus. We pray these things in Jesus name. And all God's people said, >> "Amen." You may be seated.

And children, you may dismiss your classes. I've uh titled this morning's message Black or White. I think the the devil would have us believe that there's 50 Shades of Gray.

By a show of hands, how many of you have read that book or seen I'm just kidding. Don't raise your hand. That's a That was a setup.

Don't Don't do that. The devil would have you believe that that there's all these shades of gray that uh anything goes. Whatever you want to do is good and it's okay.

Jesus says it's black or white. It's darkness or light. and we're in Matthew chapter 7 this morning.

If you'd like to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7, we're going to be in verses 13- 29. I know we did 13 14 last week, but we're going to reiterate those things. But last week, we heard from Jesus that God was a good father just like we sang about and that we should expect good things from him when we ask.

Have you ever met a good giftgiver? Someone that's really good at giving gifts? My daughter got this envelope in the mail this past week from a good giftgiver.

It could have been just sent as it was, but she chose to decorate it. a good giftgiver took time, thoughtfulness, creativity, and wanted to make it very special. She could have just given the things that were inside of it, and those were good gifts.

I mean, they were amazing things. They were really neat things and special to Brooke and all that stuff, and she was just surprised when she opened it up. But it it just made it receiving it so much more special because the giftgiver was obviously good.

This was not a reluctant giftgiver, was it? This wasn't just checking a box. This was a good giftgiver.

And your heavenly father is a good giftgiver, isn't he? He He loves to give good gifts to his children. We talked about you being evil.

Fathers know how to give good gifts to your children. If they ask for bread, you won't give them a stone, a rock. You'll give them what they're asking for.

And so God encourages us to be good giftgivers like he is, but wants you to know that you can ask him. Many times we try to solve our own problems, don't we? We try to figure it out because it's too simple or it's something we can handle.

And oftentimes it's not. Go to God with the little things and the big things. You're not bothering him.

He loves you. Amazingly, he loves you. This week, we're going to be finishing Jesus's sermon on the mount.

If you remember, Jesus had this big crowd that was following him because of all the miracles and because the way he was teaching. He was teaching differently than the Pharisees. He taught as one having authority, not like the Pharisees who argued and squabbled and and thought this and thought that and reasoned and and and all those things.

Jesus taught having authority, and they flocked to him. Multitudes were coming to him from different different nations, different regions. They were all following him and they were up on this mountain and he was teaching them.

He would teach his disciples, he would teach them. But he's up there and he's teaching them and he's he's going through this whole sermon. But in Matthew 7:13, he says, "Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Then he says, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit, you will recognize them.

Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears or every a good tree I'm sorry. Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them.

You ever go into a nursery and you see a tree, but you don't know what it is, and you have to look at the tag. Now, if that tree were bearing apples, would you have to look at the tag? You wouldn't need to.

If it was bananas were hanging from it, you wouldn't have any misconception as to what kind of tree it is. But Jesus saying, you can look at this tree and tell immediately what type of tree it is. Verse 21 says, "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven.

Many will say to me on that day,"Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock.

The rain came down and streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house. Yet it did not fall because it's had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who bear who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

The rain came down and the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash. When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teachings because he taught as one who had authority and not as the teachers of the law. In 1916, author Robert Frost penned a poem called The Road Not Taken.

We often refer to this as the road less traveled by. You probably remember it says two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler long I stood and looked down as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth then took the other just as fair and having perhaps the better claim because it was grassy and wanted wear. though as per the passing there had warned them really about the same and both that morning equally lay and leaves no step had trotten black.

Oh, I stepped that first the first for another day. Or I'm sorry, I kept that first for another day. Yet knowing how we lead leads on to way, I doubt if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere, ages and ages hence, two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and it has made all the difference. Frost here is pointing out in life that there are forks in the road of life.

There's decisions that we have to make. We try to peer down each choice as far as we can see, don't we? But we can only see so far.

Life is full of choices and each choice leads to another and another and another. We oftentimes look back and think, "What would life have been like if I chose the other road?" Have you been there? It's either an exercise that leads us to gratefulness or a fuel exercise that leaves us with nothing but regret.

Have you ever noticed that the rear view mirror, they're designed to be smaller than the windshield so you didn't end up in an accident? Because most of the time we're meant to be moving forward and going forward and looking forward. Though there are times that we need to back up and we need to learn from the past, we need to look a lot less in the in the past than we do for the future.

But we need to make good decisions. Jesus in verse 13 and 14 tells us there are two gates in life. A narrow gate and a wide gate.

The wide gate leads to destruction. And many are on that path. But the smaller gate, the narrow path leads to life.

I chose the path le travel by and it has made all the difference. Life comes down most of the time to two things. Two things.

You guys play the video that we have queued up. My grandma says there only two things in life that you worry about. Whether you're healthy or whether you're sick.

If you're healthy, you ain't got nothing to worry about. But if you're sick, you got two things to worry about. Whether you going to get better, whether you going to get worse.

You get better, you ain't got nothing to worry about. But if you get worse, you got two things to worry about. Whether you going to live >> or you going to die.

If you live, you ain't got nothing to worry about. But if you die, you got two things. Whether you go to heaven, whether you going to hell.

If you go to heaven, you ain't got nothing to worry about. What if you go to hell? You got two things.

Original or extra crispy. That's >> my grandma says there only two things in life that you >> That's good. You can stop it there.

We got decisions to make, don't we? Decisions all the time. Do I go left?

Do I go right? Do I take this decision? Do I do that decision?

Some are less important than others. Salvation is absolutely critical. The foundation to which you build your life on is absolutely critical.

Original or extra crispy. We don't want either one of those choices. So if you make the choice before that, you won't need to come to that choice.

In Matthew 7 15-20, Jesus says, ' Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit, you will recognize them.

Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

Every tree does not bear or every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Guess what choice they made? Extra crispy.

Thus by their fruit you will recognize them. You can tell who is right and who is false by their fruit or by what their life produces. I think it's interesting the two fruit choices he picks.

He mentions grapes and figs. Both fruit mentioned represent a purposeful choice. Grapes represent the fruit of the church, don't they?

We are Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. This vine produces grapes. And so we are the the one mentioned for the grapes.

The other one is the fig. Figs are representation of the fruit of the nation of Israel. Israel was represented by a fig tree.

Thorns and thistles, they bear more thorns and they bear more thistles, don't they? Fruit is meant to be born for others, isn't it? Your life is not meant to be consumed by yourself.

The fruit that you bear is for others to enjoy. Within the fruit is what? Seeds.

to start more fruit trees to to bear more fruit to to reproduce and to make this thing grow. Look at the fruit of churches. Look at the fruit of their leadership.

Are churches meant to start more churches just for themselves or are they to start more churches for God's kingdom? They're to drop seed. They're to drop these things and they're to start more churches and more churches.

But what do we see today in America? Let's do satellite churches. Let's do more campuses around one single pastor.

Is it right before God? I don't know. It doesn't seem to be giving away the fruit.

It seems to be collecting the fruit for itself instead of giving it away. Jesus said, "Unless I go, God can't send the comforter." Jesus himself left. Jesus himself left ministry.

John the Baptist said, "I must decrease that he might increase." Giving away ministry is something we've seen over and over again in the Bible. Giving it away, sending people out, you know, creating more and dividing. The body itself does that very same thing, doesn't it?

Cells divide and separate and grow and it creates more. Being fruitful is important. We need to look and consider the fruit of those that we are listening to.

I know many of you probably like me watch things on YouTube, watch different different people speak or different teachings, hear podcasts and that sort of thing. Look for the fruit. Are they constantly asking for money?

Did Jesus constantly ask for money? Didn't constantly ask for it? What is their motive?

What is their intent? What is the fruit that they are bearing out of their lives? But also, and probably more importantly, look at the fruit of your own life.

Is the majority of your life consumed with just providing for you and doing for you? Or is there fruit that's coming out? Are you involved in something beyond your own life?

Are you doing something to promote the gospel, to drop fruit, to drop seed, to advance the kingdom of God? If you're not, ask the Holy Spirit how to do that. How to change your focus in your mindset that you could become and you could do for the kingdom of God.

Because one day you will stand before God as an accountable tree and he'll say, "Where's the fruit?" Remember when Jesus visited the fig tree? He went up to the fig tree and he looked through the leaves and it was nothing but leaves. What did he do to the fig tree?

He cursed it because it did not have any fruit. Beautiful tree. Probably lots of leaves.

Maybe your life is a beautiful life. Lots of leaves. You're you're doing amazing things and you're you've got amazing life going on and you're doing a lot of things for yourself.

Are you doing anything for the kingdom of God? If Jesus came today and looked at your tree, would he say, "A beautiful tree, but I can't tell what kind of fruit it is, what kind of tree it is, or would he be able to notice it from a distance and go, there's a fig tree. There's a grape vine.

I can see the fruit. I've shared this with you before, but we lived in Florida for many years and we had a we planted a orange tree out in front of our yard. This thing was just tiny.

That you know, just a little orange tree and it finally blossomed and and and it got one orange. One orange. And that tree was just it bent over like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.

That thing was just, you know, the the orange was just barely off the ground. But who could condemn such a tree? Who could say only one orange?

Come on. No. That little tree was doing everything it could to support that one piece of fruit.

In fact, it was bent over and it was bowed trying to carry the weight of that one piece of fruit and it struggled to produce that orange, but it produced a great orange. Maybe your life you feel like I can't do much and you're just that little orange tree. But you've got one piece of fruit.

There's no way God would condemn you. He would say, "Well done, a good and faithful servant. Enter into your rest." But at least if you feel like you are the least of the least, if you don't have any gifts or you don't have anything to offer, grow the one fruit he gave you to grow and grow it to the best of your ability.

He might strengthen you. He might prune you in the next year. Produce more in the next year even more than that.

Who knows what he will do? But he's a good gardener and he will look to help you. In Matthew 7 21, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven." Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

Did we not drive out demons in your name and perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers." Have you seen TV shows where people are are doing wild things and crazy things and they're doing it all for glory and they're asking for money and they're asking you to send in money and they're doing all these supposed miracles and all these wonderful things? What's the fruit?

What's the heart condition of that person? That person may be coming to the Lord and saying Lord, Lord on that day because they'll recognize him. They'll recognize Jesus and they'll acknowledge Jesus.

But is Jesus their Lord? Or is money and fame and showboating their God? Do they have ulterior motives?

He said many will come on that day saying Lord Lord we need to make sure that we're connected. We don't want to confuse association with being a part of God's family. You can hang out in church all you want and do all kinds of Christian things.

But remember, Jesus was always seeking to do the will of the father. We see this the clearest in John's gospel. Christianity is not a card carrying club.

In our laws, you can be guilty by association, can't you? If you're in the car when someone's speeding, you also can be ticketed because you were accepting of it. If you were driving someone and they murdered someone or if you were with someone when they did something wrong, you can be guilty by association.

But in the kingdom of God, you cannot be innocent by association. In other words, just hanging out with Christians don't doesn't make you a Christian. Just coming to church doesn't make you a Christian.

In John chapter 3, we're going to read verses 1- 21. You can go there if you'd like to. This is important.

This man was not saved that was talking to Jesus. Wanted to know how to be saved. But he was one of the most associated Jews of his time.

He was a teacher of the Jews in the ruling council. Says in verse one, "Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the ruling Jewish council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a good teacher who has come from God.

For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him." So he knew and understood that he was a teacher sent from God because of the miracles and the signs. He understood that this was legit. G Jesus was a legitimate teacher.

He was from God and he had questions. He came to him at night so no one else would see him because he was probably embarrassed because he was the man that was supposed to have all the answers and he realized he didn't have them. Jesus replied in verse three, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of heaven unless they are born again." Well, maybe one or two, right?

If they're good enough or No, no one can see the kingdom of God. Absolutely no one unless they're born again. Verse four, how can someone be born when they are old?

Nicodemus asked. Surely, they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born. Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and and the spirit.

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but spirit gives birth to spirit." Then he says with this accusation, "You should not be surprised at me saying you must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear this its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going." So it is with everyone born of the spirit.

How can this be? Nicodemus asked. You are Israel's teacher, said Jesus.

And do you not understand these things? Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify of what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things, and you do not believe.

How then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven except the one who came from heaven, the son of man. Then he references in a a time in the Old Testament that spoke of him.

Says, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the son of man must be lifted up that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." What happened in that moment that he's speaking of? The Israelites were moving to the promised land and they were bitten by scorpions because of a judgment of God, because of their murmuring and their complaining, right? And God sent scorpions, not scorpions, but serpents among them and they bit them and they were injected with poison that was going to ultimately kill them.

And when Moses did it, he inter he saw it. He interceded him in Aaron and he said, "Go and make a bronze serpent and hang it on a pole and then lift it up for all to see. And anyone who looks upon the serpent will be healed." This was a picture of what Jesus did on the cross, wasn't it?

He became sin in our place. He took on our sinfulness and he became sin for us. And that if we look to him, we will be forgiven.

The injection of sin from the serpent at the garden at the very beginning that traveled from one man to the next to the next to the next to the next inherited from one generation to the next would affect your life and my life and separate me from my God. If I look to the bronze serpent, if I look to Jesus who died on the cross for my sins, I would be healed of my sin and I would be saved from it. So Jesus is showing what God already put in place the picture.

And he's he's telling and revealing here that Jesus himself is going to have to be that bronze serpent. Then he says in verse 16, the most famous verse in all the Bible, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

He allowed his church to condemn the world instead of himself. Wait, that wasn't verse 18, was it? No.

God didn't send his son into the world to condemn the world. And so, do we have right? We don't.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only son. This is the verdict. Light has come into the world, but people love darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. God's will for us is that we be born again.

Not physically but spiritually. You see, we were born to sinful fathers and we inherited sin as well as we've committed our own sin, haven't we? We've done wrong.

We've gone astray and we've committed our own. We were born corrupted and became even more corrupt. Jesus in scripture is referred to as the second Adam because the first Adam was sinful and sin entered through that first sinful act and infected all future generations.

But there is one man who had no earthly father to inherit that sin and to become disqualified. And that man was Jesus. His father was God.

He was perfect and he was holy. If you want to dive deeper into this, you can read uh Romans chapter 4 and chapter 5. But for now, we want to continue looking on at two other comparisons Jesus is making.

Two other comparisons he's making in Matthew 7:es 24- 27. He says, "Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house.

Yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock." But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. You ever tried to take a shortcut and it come to bite you?

Oh, I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't I should have did it the right way. I should have did it right way first time instead of having to rebuild all this again or redo all this again.

We've all gone through that experience. You don't want to do that with your life, with your eternity. I'm currently uh building a large church in Newton, North Carolina.

It's up near Hickory. And we've spent the past six months, six months preparing the ground. We're digging out bad soil.

We've had special inspectors out there testing the soil, testing for compaction to see if we can get the compaction we need to hold up the weight of the structure we know is going to rest on that soil. And so some of it was bad. It had too many uh too many organics in it, like tree roots and old trees and vegetation that died.

It it bounces and it it doesn't hold well and it doesn't compact well. And so we'd have to dig all that out. They discovered some that was like four feet underground.

You know, it was like deeper than we thought it would be. and that we had to dig all that out and replace it with good soil. Sometimes we have to replace it with stone depending on the situation.

Well, we've been replacing that soil and compacting it back. Then we've had to dig footings, these big huge 12 by 12 footings in some places, super deep, fill it with rebar and and and get it all ready and make sure it was all right and make sure the anchor bolts were in place so that it could hold the columns that it was supposed to hold up. took a long time, six months.

The plans for this building were very complex due to the terrain elevations that we were dealing with. Friday, this past Friday, we were able to pour the slab. Everything passed inspections.

They were scrutinized. They were looked at. All the anchor bolts, all the steel, everything was tied the way it should be, and we were able to pour it.

And we're going to be celebrating with a big barbecue this next week with the men and the women that work so hard to get us to that point. But it's so crucial that these things be done according to the designer's plan and will. The architect and the structural engineer and the building engineer, they all work together to figure out how this should be put together so that when the wind does come, the building will stand.

when the storms arise, when floods happen, all the drainage systems that had to be put in place, the pond that had to receive the water, all these things that are underground that are not really noticed until the building goes up and and the building standing. They're they're all underground. It's all work that's done ahead of time, but it's crucial work.

It's important because we don't want this building to crumble and to fall. The same is true for your life. You need to make sure that your life is situated on a firm foundation.

The word of God is your firm foundation. These words are eternal. They are life.

And if you are not reading this, what are you building, Christian? And if you're here today and you're not having a time of God's word in your life, what are you building? Are you building according to this architect, this engineer, this designer, or you just winging it?

How many of you want to go to that church? If I was just winging the foundations, I think that should be enough. That looks like it'll work.

It might hold. We kind of ran out of concrete. That's okay.

Cover it with dirt. It'll be all right. Oh, it's kind of expensive to dig that dirt out there.

Just leave it. A little bounce won't hurt anything. You would not want to step foot in that building because of the danger that is coming.

It's not if a storm comes, it's when a storm comes. Storms are going to come and they're going to come threaten your life. They're going to come threaten things in your life.

If you do not know that you have built a solid foundation, your life is in peril. Be careful. Know what God's word says.

Build a strong foundation. Teach your children to build a strong foundation. Make sure they know God's word and that you're providing that.

Fathers, check on your kids and see if they're having devotions. Are they spending time with Jesus? We need to know that our kids are building a firm foundation for the storms that are coming.

Matthew chapter 7 verses 28- 29 finishes up the chapter and it says, "When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he taught as someone who had authority, not as their teachers of the law." Jesus's words are life. Hang on to them. Cling to them.

Build your life according to God's word and you will see God's protection. You will see God's provision. Will you go through storms?

Absolutely. That's what Jesus was preparing you for. Both the wise man and the foolish builder both had storms come against their house, come against their life.

both of them. But the wise man's house stood. The foolish builder was destroyed by it.

If you're wise, you will seek the wisdom of the designer of life and how it should be run. Seek after his word. If you're having a struggle with reading your Bible, I encourage you, invite the Holy Spirit in a prayer before you begin.

Invite the Holy Spirit to come and give you understanding, come and light it up for you. Do you think the Holy Spirit would answer such a prayer? Absolutely he will.

He was the author of this book. He's the one that inspired every single writer in it. He's the one that led Jesus in his ministry and led him from the point of baptism and led him onward in his life.

He speaks to him. He guides you. He wants to do that for you.

He can light up God's word to you. Without him, it's hard to understand and sometimes can be boring. But with him, it's awesome what he'll illuminate and light up and he'll bring it at the right moment.

It's amazing how many times he's given me a scripture at the right time and I've gone through it and then someone else needed it that day. It wasn't just for me. It was for me to create fruit and to drop to someone else.

It was for me to to give and hand off to someone else. He'll do that very same thing with you. But I encourage you if you are not spending time with Jesus Christian, spend time with the Lord.

Get in his word. Pray. Ask that good father for the things you need.

and watch him build a solid life that'll endure all the storms of life because there's a storm coming. Maybe you're in a storm right now and you recognize that, but might be sunny where you are now, but trust me, clouds are coming and storms will come, but you'll endure. Amen.

Love you guys. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word.

Thank you that you are a good architect. You're a good engineer. You don't miss anything.

Everything we need for life is in your word. Lord, we thank you that you have given it to us. We thank you for all who have spent their lives so that we might have it.

Lord, we are grateful. Holy Spirit, I pray that you would stir us up, that you would meet us in the mornings, meet us in the evenings, whenever we have that time with you to to spend in your word, that you would illuminate it, you'd light it up, you'd you'd make it applicable. And Holy Spirit, help us to take it with us, Lord.

That you would give us recall at those times that we need to be able to share it and that you would prompt us as to when to share it. that we would live in obedience to you. That we wouldn't just be Christians by association, but we'd be Christians because we love you and we want to obey you.

Lord, we love you and thank you for all you do and provide. Lord, be with us this week. Go before us and prepare the things that you have for us to do in Jesus name.

Amen. Guys, have a great week. This week, I believe we have uh bread out in the fellowship hall.

If you want to hang out in fellowship, we've got some goodies out there and some coffee.