Participants:
Series Code: AFDB
Program Code: AFDB000065S
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00:03 by the friends of the Amazing Facts ministry.
00:09 Doug Batchelor: At four feet tall, the emperor penguin is 00:11 the largest penguin species in the world. 00:14 Every spring, these majestic birds travel up to 75 miles 00:18 inland on the Arctic ice pack, walking and sliding on their 00:22 bellies to arrive at one of the most desolate 00:25 and remote places on earth. 00:27 Once the female lays an egg, her male companion quickly rolls it 00:31 onto his feet and covers it with a fold of his fat, 00:34 feathery fur to keep it warm. 00:36 While the females leave to feed in the ocean for about two 00:38 months, the males huddle together in clusters for 00:41 protection from the frigid wind, incubating the eggs on their 00:45 feet, while enduring the brutally cold, dark winter. 00:49 Emperor penguins demonstrate some of the most patient 00:51 devotion and warm love for their young of any creatures. 00:55 And they do this in the coldest conditions on earth, 00:59 where temperatures can drop to 85 below zero. 01:02 The Bible says in the last days, because lawlessness will abound, 01:06 the love of many will grow cold. 01:09 But your love can stay warm even in a cold world. 01:13 As a Christian, are you warming those around 01:15 you with God's love? 01:17 At the heart of all of this is the question, 01:20 is your Christianity real? 01:22 Join me now, friends, as we look at what the Bible has to say on 01:25 this very important topic. 01:32 Doug: I heard one time about this mission organization that 01:35 was placing missionaries in different parts of the world. 01:38 They had a unique way of testing the missionaries. 01:40 The candidate was told to arrive at three in the morning for the 01:44 exam, three in the morning. 01:47 And so, this one candidate, he came at three in the morning, 01:51 he went to the room where he was supposed to meet the examiner, 01:54 and he waited there until five in the morning, nobody there. 02:00 So, he waited a little longer until eight in the morning, 02:02 finally the examiner came in at eight in the morning. 02:05 He said, "Can you please spell the word 'baker' for me?" 02:13 He said, "Baker, B-A-K-E-R." 02:16 He said, "Very good." 02:17 Said, "Now, can you please tell me how much is two times two?" 02:24 He said, "Four." 02:26 He said, "Very good." 02:28 He said, "I think that the mission board is going to 02:30 accept you as a missionary." 02:33 And he got up and he left. 02:35 That afternoon, the examiner went and he met with the mission 02:38 board, he said, "You know, that candidate that I had 02:40 an appointment with," he said, "I think he's going 02:41 to make a good missionary." 02:42 Said, "I tested him on self-denial. 02:46 He got out of a warm bed on a cold night while I know he was 02:50 still tired, and he came. 02:53 So, I tested him on patience. 02:55 I made him then wait from three in the morning until eight in 02:58 the morning before I showed up. 03:01 I then tested him on humility. 03:04 I asked him questions that any child would understand, 03:08 and he was not offended. 03:10 Then I asked him a simple equation of addition, 03:13 and he answered it correctly and politely." 03:18 And he said, "He's got what it takes to be a missionary." 03:20 It's going to require self-denial, 03:23 perseverance, patience, humility. 03:27 And so, they were tests. 03:29 Well, there are tests in the Bible. 03:32 There--if you're saying, "Doug, how do I know 03:34 if my Christianity is real? 03:35 I want to know, can I know?" 03:36 Good news, there's a test. 03:40 The Bible actually gives you several tests. 03:42 And so, we're going to ask that very important question today, 03:45 is my Christianity real? 03:47 And is there a way to know? 03:50 Well you know, the Bible tells us that if we are going to do 03:53 something about counterfeit Christianity, 03:56 or if our Christianity isn't real, 03:58 first you've got to identify that, is that right? 04:01 And so, there's some preventative 04:04 screening that happens. 04:06 Now, I don't know if you've been to the doctor for a regular 04:09 checkup, but if you go for a checkup, you don't always want 04:11 to wait until you're sick and then go to the doctor. 04:13 As you get a little older, they say you ought to go do 04:15 some preventative health screening. 04:18 Something simple like a blood pressure check, 04:22 you could prevent death by a simple test like that. 04:26 A blood test that could tell you about your blood sugar. 04:31 Diabetes can kill a person, you can slip into a coma. 04:36 It could tell you about your cholesterol levels, 04:37 that could help you prevent a heart attack. 04:40 A whole scope of different things can be 04:43 determined by that, cancer. 04:46 And so, doing some preventative screening can save your life. 04:51 How many of you have known somebody and they came down with 04:54 some terrible terminal disease, and then somebody will say, 04:58 "If they had only had that checked a little sooner, 05:02 they could have done something, but they waited too long." 05:06 You ever heard that? 05:07 They waited until it was too late. 05:10 Right now, praise the Lord, if you're alive and hearing my 05:13 voice, you probably have not grieved away the Holy Spirit and 05:16 it's not too late for you to ask those important and penetrating 05:20 questions: is my Christianity real? 05:24 Because there will come a time when it'll be too late. 05:29 So, now's the time to find out. 05:31 How sad it will be on that day to find out that you are 05:34 self-deceived, that you figured, well, this was the world's 05:37 standard of Christianity and I measured up to the world's 05:40 standard, and so I thought I was going to make it. 05:42 But to hear the words from Jesus say, "I'm sorry, I don't know 05:45 you," I can't think of anything more frightening than that. 05:49 And so, if you're going to know, don't you want to know? 05:52 And wouldn't you want to know soon enough 05:55 to make a difference? 05:56 Now, some people get angry when I talk like this. 05:59 And they reproach me and they say, 06:01 "Pastor Doug, you are so works behavior-oriented. 06:05 We are not supposed to be looking at ourselves. 06:07 We're just supposed to be looking at Jesus." 06:11 And it is true, a Christian principally wants to 06:13 fix their eyes on Jesus. 06:15 But what I'm saying to you is biblical, 06:18 and we're a Bible church. 06:19 Listen to what Paul says. 06:20 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves as 06:26 to whether you are in the faith. 06:29 Test yourselves." 06:32 There is a time for us to scrutinize, to test, to examine. 06:37 I'm going to come back to this verse, 06:39 but I want to show you it's not the only one 'cause you need at 06:41 least two or three witnesses here. 06:42 Lamentations 3:40, "Let us search our and examine our ways, 06:47 and turn back to the Lord." 06:49 It's talking about a search. 06:50 In the book of Haggai chapter 1, verse 5, 06:53 "Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, 06:56 'Consider your ways.'" 06:58 So, do I have your support that there is a time, the Bible 07:02 says that every now and then, we ought to do a little bit of 07:05 introspection and then figure out if there needs 07:09 to be some changes? 07:10 Now, you don't want to be driving a car looking in the 07:15 rearview mirror all the time. 07:17 The rearview mirror is there and it's very important, 07:20 but if you spend all your time looking in the rearview 07:22 mirror, you're going to have an accident. 07:23 You got to be looking where you're going. 07:25 So, principally a Christian wants to be 07:27 forward thinking, amen? 07:29 You want to look ahead, you want to keep your eyes on Jesus. 07:32 You want to keep your eyes on the goal. 07:34 But every now and then, you better check your mirrors. 07:36 You better take--situational awareness is what they call it. 07:41 And make sure that you're where you're supposed to be, 07:43 you're not drifting into the wrong lane or someone's not 07:46 coming up behind you, going to plow into you. 07:48 And so, there needs to be a self test. 07:51 The heart needs to be changed. 07:54 We need to know that we're converted. 07:56 If our hearts are changed, if we are born again, 07:58 there'll be a difference. 08:00 So, how do you know if you're a real Christian? 08:03 Number one, going to start right with the most important, love. 08:08 Do you love the Lord supremely? 08:10 What's the great commandment? 08:12 Love the Lord with a little bit of your heart. 08:15 What percentage, eighty-five percent? 08:19 Isn't that greedy that God would want 100%? 08:22 Thou shalt love the Lord with all of your heart, 08:25 all of your soul, all of your mind. 08:26 And this is a test. 08:28 Gospel of John chapter 14, verse 23, Jesus said, "If anyone 08:33 loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and 08:37 we will come and make our abode with him. 08:39 He that does not love me does not keep my word." 08:42 So, what's one of the criteria for loving the Lord? 08:46 Keeping his word. 08:48 1 John 2:15 and 16, "If anyone loves the world," meaning more 08:53 than Jesus, "the love of the Father's not in him. 08:57 For all that's in the world, the desires of the flesh and the 09:00 desires of the eyes and the pride of life, 09:02 it's not from the Father, but it's from the world." 09:05 James 4:4, "Do you not know that friendship with the 09:09 world is enmity with God? 09:10 Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes 09:13 himself an enemy of God." 09:16 So, we're going to have a struggle going on, and one of 09:19 the principle tests is, do we love the Lord? 09:21 Now, what if we find, Lord, I don't 09:23 love you as much as I should? 09:25 Or maybe some of you are thinking, 09:27 "You know, I love the Lord, but I used to love him more. 09:30 When I first became a Christian, I was ready to do anything, 09:33 go anywhere Jesus wanted me to go. 09:35 I was so grateful when I realized he died 09:37 for me on the cross." 09:39 Well, there's hope. 09:40 Jesus speaking to the church in Ephesus, 09:42 he said in Revelation 2:4, "Nevertheless I have something 09:46 against you in that you've left your first love." 09:49 He didn't say you don't love me anymore. 09:51 You just don't love me the way you first did. 09:54 A lot of couples might say that too. 09:56 Remember therefore, so what's the solution? 09:59 "Remember from where you have fallen. 10:01 Repent and do the first works, or else I'll come to you 10:05 quickly and remove your candlestick from its place." 10:09 Now, I want you to notice something, 10:10 that in the verse that's really the foundation for this whole 10:13 sermon, 2 Corinthians 13:5, he said, 10:16 "Examine yourself to see if you're in the 10:19 faith, whether you're in the faith." 10:20 What does that mean? 10:21 There's a possibility that you might think you are and you're 10:24 not, so how do you know? 10:26 Tests. 10:28 Now, there's two words he uses, examine and then he says test. 10:34 Doug: Don't go anywhere, friends. 10:35 In just a moment, we'll return for the 10:37 rest of today's presentation. 10:40 Did you know that aviation engineers have studied the 10:43 bumblebee and determined with their small wings and their fat, 10:47 hairy bodies, it is aerodynamically 10:50 impossible for them to fly. 10:53 But fortunately, the bumblebees have not read those reports yet, 10:56 so they keep on flying. 10:58 Sounds ridiculous, I know, yet amazingly many Christians say 11:03 the same thing when it comes to obeying God. 11:06 They say it's impossible for Christians to really live a holy 11:10 life, but are they right? 11:12 To help get your answers, Amazing Facts would like to send 11:15 you a special book that's called "Is It Possible 11:18 to Live Without Sinning?" 11:20 Don't be scared by the title. 11:22 This short, thought-provoking guide will highlight the 11:24 biblical tools that God has provided you to help become a 11:28 new creature and live a joyful new life. 11:31 The practical steps to become an obedient Christian will open the 11:34 door for you to receive the amazing rewards God has 11:37 promised his victorious children. 11:40 To get your free copy, call the number on your screen 11:43 and ask for offer number 187. 11:46 Or visit the web address. 11:47 And after you read this incredible resource, 11:50 make sure and share it with a friend. 11:52 Well now, let's get back to the rest of today's presentation and 11:55 learn some more amazing facts from the Word of God. 12:00 Doug: You ever shop for a car? 12:02 I don't know about you, but when that happens, 12:04 half the fun of a new car for me is shopping. 12:06 Before I even buy it, I have fun doing the research. 12:09 Now you can get online, there's all these tools that you can 12:11 line up all the different models, there are comparisons. 12:14 You can find horsepower, horsepower, gas economy, or 12:16 comforts, all the different--I just love doing that stuff. 12:20 And then you go and you walk around it. 12:22 And as soon as you walk on a car lot, 12:24 you know, they're circling. 12:28 And you think, "Oh, there's nobody here." 12:30 You get out of your car, five people show up. 12:35 And they're very nice. 12:37 And you start asking them a few questions, 12:39 then you walk around, you kick the tires, you 12:41 look at the sticker, you have a heart attack, right? 12:45 And then if you're really interested, you don't walk in 12:49 and say, "Okay, let's sign at the bottom line." 12:52 Even the salesman would be shocked if you didn't say, 12:56 "Let's take it for a drive." 12:58 So, when you're testing yourself, 13:00 the Word is talking about really taking a serious, 13:05 honest look in and around your heart and your life and find 13:10 out, am I measuring up? 13:12 So, one thing is, do I really love the Lord? 13:15 Another test is not only loving God, it's hating evil. 13:19 How did you know Job was a man of God? 13:22 Says there was a perfect and upright man, 13:23 so Job's a good example, right? 13:25 Job's going to be in heaven. 13:27 Says he loved the Lord, he hated evil. 13:29 It's not just loving the right things, 13:31 it's hating the wrong things. 13:33 And the longer you walk with the Lord, 13:35 the more you will hate sin. 13:38 You've heard it said before the longer I live, 13:40 the more I know I don't know, right? 13:43 It's also true the longer you walk with the Lord, 13:46 the more sinful sin will appear. 13:48 If you're drifting from God, the more you begin to 13:52 accommodate and ignore sin. 13:55 So, does sin grieve you is one of the tests. 14:00 The great commandment, love the Lord, 14:01 love your neighbor, love yourself. 14:03 Sin is the opposite of that. 14:04 Sin hurts God, it hurts others, and it hurts you. 14:09 And so, you've got to recognize sin as 14:11 an awful thing that it is. 14:13 Ezra, you ever read about this? 14:15 In Ezra chapter 9, verse 3, when Ezra heard about the terrible 14:19 things that some of the people were doing, 14:21 he said, "I tore my garment and my robe. 14:24 I plucked out some of my hair and sat down astonished." 14:29 He was so grieved, and it wasn't even his sin, 14:31 it was the sin of the people. 14:34 David, when he realized 14:35 about his sin, he said, "I have sinned." 14:37 It says therefore he pleaded with God. 14:39 He fasted, he laid on his face all night for 14:42 seven days because of the sin. 14:46 Now, we live in a sin-saturated world. 14:50 And you can get used to it, and that's dangerous. 14:55 Romans 7:13, Paul said, "Sin, that it might appear sin, 15:01 was producing death in me through what is good, 15:04 so that sin through the commandment 15:06 might become exceedingly sinful." 15:08 We want to understand the--Paul said, 15:10 "You know, before I was converted, 15:12 I thought I was a great Pharisee. 15:13 And then sin revived and I died. 15:15 I saw myself for what I really am." 15:18 Sometimes, it's only in the light of the cross 15:20 we see how bad sin is. 15:21 And so, that, I think, is an accurate test. 15:24 Another verse, Isaiah 33:15, "He who walks righteously and speaks 15:29 uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, 15:32 who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, 15:35 who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, 15:38 he shuts his eyes from seeing evil." 15:41 Sounds like a fanatic, but listen to what Isaiah says, 15:43 "He will dwell on high with the Lord." 15:47 The person who is offended, plug their 15:49 ears, hearing of violence. 15:51 They shake their hands when someone tries to bribe them. 15:54 They cover their eyes from seeing evil. 15:57 You know what that's called? 15:58 That's trying to be holy in a wicked world. 16:01 You'll have an attitude where you'll understand something 16:04 about the sinfulness of sin. 16:06 So, as you continue to walk closer with the Lord, 16:08 you may spot more and more wrong with your life. 16:11 That doesn't mean you're not saved. 16:13 Really, it's a test, are you still sensitive about sin? 16:18 Or have you gotten where you're just not bothered by it anymore 16:22 because too over-exposed, you become numb? 16:24 It's like a person who lives by the railroad track and they just 16:27 don't hear the train anymore, right? 16:30 Or you're in the flight path of an 16:32 airport, you don't even notice. 16:33 Friends are visiting, the whole house is shaking as a jet comes 16:35 in for landing, and you go, "What noise?" 16:38 You just don't hear it. 16:40 Or a teenager who learns to sleep through the alarm clock. 16:42 It wakes up everybody in the house, 16:45 but it doesn't wake them up. 16:47 It's kind of frightening, that's where you get to the point where 16:49 you're grieving away the Holy Spirit when 16:52 you're not convicted by sin. 16:55 It's a dangerous thing. So, that's one of the tests. 16:59 And so, that's test number two. 17:00 Number three, do I obey Jesus as Lord? 17:04 We often call him our Savior, and some say Lord and Savior. 17:08 Well, what is a lord? 17:10 A lord is someone who gives commands and you obey no matter 17:13 how difficult those commands might be. 17:16 Now, this is a Bible test. 17:19 1 John 1:6, "If we say we have fellowship with him and we walk 17:23 in darkness, we lie and we do not practice the truth." 17:27 John 14:15, he said, "If you love me," you know that, 17:31 "keep my commandments," amen? 17:33 1 John 2, verse 3 through 6, "Now by this we know him, 17:39 if we keep his commandments, he who says, 17:41 'I know him,' and does not keep his commandments is a liar, 17:43 and the truth is not in him. 17:45 But whoever keeps his word, truly the 17:47 love of God is perfected in him." 17:49 Now, what's the reason for keeping it? 17:50 A love of God. 17:52 By this we know that we are in him. 17:55 Notice the wording here. 17:57 Paul said, "Let us examine ourselves whether we are in the 18:00 faith, whether we are in Christ. 18:03 John tells us here's a test. 18:05 By this we know if we are in him. 18:08 He that says he abides in him ought himself 18:11 to walk as he walked. 18:13 But what do you get when you do that? 18:15 You get everything else. 18:17 Being a real Christian means that you obey the Lord. 18:21 You're not just a hearer of the Word. 18:23 James 1, chapter 1, verse 22, "But be doers of the word, 18:28 and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." 18:30 That's what I don't want, friends. 18:32 I don't want to come and stand before the Lord in that day, 18:35 what you think of me doesn't 18:36 matter at all, do you know that? 18:37 I mean, there's days I care, but in the big 18:41 picture, it doesn't matter. 18:42 What's really going to matter is what does he think. 18:46 Isn't that right? 18:48 What you promise me doesn't matter. 18:50 What he promises me is what matters. 18:53 And if I stand before him and he says, 18:57 "I don't know you," because I've deceived myself--James says, 19:00 "Here's one of the ways you could deceive yourself is 19:02 thinking if I've got the words, I don't need the deeds." 19:07 He said, "If you're not a doer of the word and only a hearer, 19:10 you're deceiving yourself. 19:11 For anyone who is a hearer of the word and not a doer, 19:14 he's like a man who observes his face in a mirror; 19:17 he observes himself, and he goes away and immediately forgets 19:20 what kind of man he is. 19:21 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty," meaning 19:25 the commandments, "and continues in it, 19:27 not being a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, 19:31 this one will be," cursed? 19:33 No, he'll be blessed. 19:35 You want to be blessed? 19:37 There's also blessings that come with the commandments. 19:39 Now, is God asking us to keep 80%? 19:45 Do we get a 10% discount and he just wants 90%? 19:48 Some churches think 90% is all you need. 19:51 Or does the Lord say, Deuteronomy chapter 5, 19:55 I think it's verse 29, "Oh, that my people would fear me and 19:59 keep all of my commandments always that 20:02 it might be well with them," that's a blessing, 20:04 "and their children forever." 20:07 He's calling us to obey all that we know. 20:11 And he promises you'll be blessed. 20:13 This is how you separate the genuine from the counterfeit. 20:16 Now, I'm not saying that you're not a real Christian if you sin. 20:21 Is that clear? 20:23 The Bible makes that clear. 20:24 You look at 1 John 1:8, the same guy who said you need to be a 20:27 doer of the word and obey, he said, 20:30 "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves." 20:33 Now, he's talking to the church there. 20:35 But what's the difference for the true Christian? 20:38 What has dominion? 20:41 Paul says, "Do not let sin reign." 20:43 Reign is on the throne. 20:45 Do not let sin have dominion over you. 20:47 Sin should not control your life. 20:49 There should be no area of your life where the 20:51 devil has a regular foothold. 20:53 It doesn't mean that we don't fall, 20:55 it doesn't mean we don't make mistakes. 20:58 You have to apply these tests and you'll understand. 21:01 There are fruits of sin. 21:04 It's adultery, fornication, uncleanness, 21:06 lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, 21:09 contentions, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, 21:12 you have an anger problem, selfish ambitions, 21:15 dissensions, heresies, evil, murders, 21:18 drunkenness, revelry, and the like. 21:21 Those are called the fruits of the flesh. 21:24 He says, "Let all fornication and uncleanness or covetousness, 21:27 let it not even be named once among you, 21:30 as fitting for saints." 21:32 So, there ought to be a difference in 21:33 the life of the saints. 21:35 "Whoever says, 'I know him,' and does not keep his 21:38 commandments," he says is a liar. 21:40 All right, test number four. 21:42 Talked about a loving God. 21:43 Who else are you supposed to love? 21:46 Your neighbor. Do you love your neighbor? 21:49 Jesus said that his followers will be known by love. 21:52 "By this all people will know that we are his disciples, 21:54 by our love for one another." 21:57 1 John 4:20, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and he hates his 22:02 brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother 22:06 who he has seen, how can he love God who he has not seen? 22:10 And this is the commandment that we have of him. 22:12 Whoever loves God must also love his brother." 22:16 So, is that clear or is that ambiguous? 22:19 Or I should unambiguous? 22:21 Again, Jesus said, "Everyone who is angry with his brother 22:25 without cause is liable of judgment." 22:28 We're supposed to love our brothers. 22:29 Matthew chapter 6, verse 14, "If you forgive men their 22:33 trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 22:36 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, 22:39 neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." 22:43 So, one of the tests is not only do you just love people, 22:47 do you care about the needs of others? 22:48 Do you have sympathy and compassion 22:50 in your heart for others? 22:52 Do the crying need of poverty and the problems in the world 22:57 when people don't know the gospel, 22:59 do you feel concern for your fellow man? 23:01 But have you forgiven people? 23:04 You know, Jesus said that this is the benchmark. 23:06 He said if you're going to come to my altar and ask for mercy, 23:09 but you've got anger in your heart for someone 23:11 else, Jesus says what? 23:13 "Leave your gift at the altar. 23:15 Go be reconciled with your brother, then bring your gift." 23:19 The Bible says you should love your neighbor, 23:21 and the Bible says you should love your enemy. 23:23 I think that it's interesting that he says love your neighbor, 23:26 which is your nigh brother, and then he says love your enemy. 23:28 And it is possible that's because so often in the Bible, 23:31 your nigh brother becomes your enemy. 23:35 You notice the biggest problems in the Bible 23:37 was with friendly fire. 23:40 Joseph's brothers sell him. 23:42 David's son hunts him. 23:44 David's king tries to kill him. 23:46 You often find the disciples are arguing among 23:49 themselves which of them is the greatest. 23:50 Sometimes, it's those closest. 23:52 And there are people who are married for years to people that 23:56 they feel like they're enemies. 23:59 What could be closer than a spouse? 24:01 So, part of salvation is loving and forgiving 24:04 those that are close to you. 24:07 That would be brothers and sisters in the church. 24:08 What's going to do the most for evangelism? 24:10 All men will know you are my disciples 24:13 by your love for one another. 24:15 In the early church, they would marvel, 24:16 they'd say, "See how they love each other." 24:19 And so, this is one of the criteria. 24:21 Do we have that primitive Christian love? 24:24 Have we forgiven others? 24:26 You know, one of Abraham Lincoln's early political rivals 24:31 was a man named Edwin Stanton. 24:34 And he was just absolutely vicious in his attacks 24:39 of Lincoln for his politics. 24:41 He called Lincoln an ape, a gorilla. 24:44 He called him terrible things. 24:46 Well, when Lincoln became president, 24:48 he said, "I want Stanton to be the secretary of war." 24:49 And everyone said, "Are you kidding? 24:51 He's your worst enemy." 24:52 He said, "Yeah, but he's the best man for the job, 24:54 and I've forgiven him." 24:57 You know who spoke at Lincoln's funeral? 25:00 Stanton. 25:01 And he said, "Here lies the most perfect ruler of men the world 25:05 has ever seen," because Lincoln knew how to forgive. 25:10 And he knew that he put into practice the things 25:13 that he saw in the Bible. 25:15 Another test. 25:17 This one you already knew, what are the fruits? 25:20 Jesus said you'll know them by the fruit. 25:21 What kind of fruit are you bearing in your life? 25:24 Galatians 5:22, "Love, joy, peace, 25:29 longsuffering, kindness, goodness, 25:32 faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." 25:34 You're not saved by your works, but your fruit is going to tell 25:37 whether or not you are saved. 25:39 Do you have the fruits of the Spirit? 25:40 If the Holy Spirit is in your life, you're saved. 25:43 If you're being led by the Spirit, you're saved. 25:46 And what is the fruit of the Holy Spirit ruling in your life? 25:48 It's going to be all those good things. 25:50 Galatians tells us that, then Matthew chapter 7 said, 25:53 "Do men gather figs from thistles? 25:57 Even so, every good tree will bear good fruit." 26:00 You want to know if you're real or not, 26:01 what kind of fruit? 26:03 "A bad tree has bad fruit. 26:05 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, 26:08 nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 26:10 By their fruits you'll know them." 26:13 You ever heard the expression if it swims like a duck, 26:18 if it waddles like a duck, if it paddles like a duck, 26:21 if it flies like a duck, if it quacks 26:24 like a duck, what is it? 26:26 It's a duck, isn't that right? 26:29 And so, you start applying some of these tests and you say, 26:34 does he talk like a Christian? 26:36 Does he spend like a Christian? 26:37 Does he love like a Christian? 26:39 Does he or she obey like a Christian? 26:42 That's a Christian. 26:44 Do you have the fruits? 26:46 You know what else, Jesus doesn't just 26:47 say you're supposed to have the right fruits, you're 26:48 supposed to have lots of them. 26:51 Says every branch that abides in me will bear much fruit. 26:55 So, you might say, "Well, I got a little love, 26:57 and I do make a little donation, and I do--" 27:00 I mean, you know, even the people in jail obey 27:03 God some of the time, so you're going to find a little 27:05 bit of good in everything. 27:06 But Christians should have much fruit in their lives, amen? 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Revised 2022-06-21