False Prophets, False Fruit, False Peace Pt.2

Last session we looked at Matthew 7:15-20 as we looked at False Prophets and False Fruits. We had mentioned that the main theme in chapter 7 is the theme of judgment, and Jesus tells us in these verses that we are to exercise righteous judgment, righteous discrimination. We are to “beware” of false prophets. To know whether or not they are false prophets, we must analyze not only what they say, but also what they do not say. Omitting key doctrines is just as bad as preaching outright lies.

We saw that the false prophets will tend to ignore topics like sin, holiness, righteousness, God’s wrath, and His judgment. The false prophet wants to be pleasing to everyone, so these topics are skirted around. The false prophet will likely focus solely on one aspect of God’s character, and that tis the aspect of His love. Though the Bible tells us that God is, in fact, love, we are to understand that perfect love in the context of His holiness and by the definition that the Bible has of love.

Because the false prophet does not believe in the holiness of God (as described by the Bible), nor does he believe that God will judge sin harshly, eventually the actions, the fruit, of this prophet will come to light. He will live and encourage others to live in a verry loosely defined , quote-unquote ‘Christian’ lifestyle. It emphasizes adding Jesus to your life instead of having your whole life revolve around Jesus. The teachings and lifestyles of false prophets will often revolve around being healthy and blessed financially, because they see God as a magic genie that grants wishes to those that have faith.

This type of lifestyle is self-centered and will not bring any satisfaction. Once you have had the real fruit from Jesus, you come to see that this fruit is counterfeit, it is evil, and it does not fulfill all it promises.

Now we come to verses 21-23. So read those along with me as we touch on the subject of False Peace

False Peace

Having shown us how false prophets are subtle, dressed as sheep when in reality they are wolves, looking like good trees when in reality they are corrupt and give evil fruit, now Jesus gives an even more severe warning.

Matthew 7:21–23 KJV 1900

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Of everything that Jesus has said, these may be the ones that should give us the most pause. As we progress through this passage, it will require serious introspection. As D. Martin Lloyd-Jones put it in his commentary over the Sermon on the Mount, these words “demand our most earnest attention.” There is no analogy here, no parable. This is as blunt as Jesus has been in the whole sermon, and the reason He adopts this disposition is undoubtedly because of the seriousness of the matter.

The only way to consider these words is within the context of Matthew 7 that tells us that we will one day be judged by the Lord. There is a day when we will meet Jesus face-to-face, and we will give an account of who we are and what we have done. The first judgment will be on who we are, and the only question considered in this judgment is this: “Are we, or are we not, children of God?”

The Danger of Self-Deception

This morning I get to teach you a little bit of slang, some Gen. Alpha slang. There is a word that is being used to call people crazy. The word is ‘Delulu.” Delulu means to be delusional. As many of you know, I teach at Isaac Newton Christian Academy part time. I have the privilege of teaching high school Spanish. As a teacher, I have heard this word, delulu, used by students in different settings, but I think my favorite use of the word was when a particular student that does not usually bring their book, does not participate in class, does not usually do their homework, and regularly causes distractions in class one time asserted very confidently, and very sarcastically, that they were probably my favorite student. I, looking to brush the comment off and to continue with the lesson simply said, “Of course you are,” and opened my mouth to continue teaching, when another student, often takes things a little too seriously, nearly shouted out, “Are you delulu!? You think you, of all people, are his favorite student? You do realize he has two of his own kids as his students, right?”

Of all the times I have heard that word used, that was probably my favorite! It certainly was the funniest.

To be delusional: is to hold to false beliefs or judgments about external reality that are held despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary; to have faulty judgment or perception; to be severely mistaken

There are certain things on which people rely to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. To count on anything other than a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ is to be delusional. There are certain things on which people are counting to receive salvation. Here in this passage, Jesus addresses several of those things.

In the first verse we read today, Jesus asserts that there are those who are severely mistaken about their relationship with Him, and therefore are sadly mistaken about their eternity. The first way that Jesus points out that people deceive themselves is by relying on their words as evidence of salvation.

Relying on Words

The first thing Jesus makes is a statement of fact, an assertion. This assertion will be taken in the context of the next two verses, and it is very important that we do so. We cannot isolate this verse, because in doing so, we would come up with doctrines that completely contradict the Gospel as spelled out in the rest of the Bible.

So let us look at this passage and break it down phrase by phrase.

Matthew 7:21 KJV 1900

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven...

That first phrase, not every man that says unto me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus makes an assertion that not all who name the name of Jesus are in fact saved. There are those that say they are saved, they have know the right words, they seem to have a love for God, and they affirm Jesus as Lord, but they are lost. And because they are lost, they will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

We know for a fact that anyone that does not call Jesus ‘Lord’ will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 KJV 1900

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Being a Christian starts with, primarily acknowledging and believing certain things about the Lord Jesus Christ. To be a Christian is to rest our whole salvation upon Him, and this is why the Christian says, “Lord, Lord.” But as we see in Matthew 7:21, it is not just about saying the right words. The acknowledgment with our words that Jesus is Lord needs to be reflection of what our hearts believe.

James makes the point as well in his epistle - James 2:19

James 2:19 KJV 1900

19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

You believe that there is one God? Good for you. The devils also believe, and tremble. But for them there is no salvation. There is an account that Matthew, Mark, and Luke share of demons calling Jesus “Lord.” These were possessing a man, and when Jesus confronted them, they asked to be sent into a herd of pigs. Though they assented that Jesus is Lord, they remained devils still. It is a delusion to believe that if we simply say the right words, we can enter into the Kingdom of God.

This is a dangerous delusion. Throughout the ages, there have been many that believe what the Bible has to say, they have verbally acknowledged it, and in fact, they have been expositors and preachers of God’s word, but they never moved from an intellectual believe to a heart changed by repentance. Their whole life and character are a denial of what they say they believe. These are, as we mentioned in the last session, part of the group of people classified as false prophets. You can know them by their fruits.

These people may subscribe to the truth that Jesus is the Son of God, but still have an unregenerate heart - they have not been born again, nor have they received the forgiveness of sins. They may say, “Lord, Lord,” yet will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. They have trusted that they have said the right words.

The early Puritans recognized this as the extreme danger that it is and wrote volumes dedicated to having false peace based on trusting words or trusting knowledge rather than trusting Jesus.

Some of you are wondering what it means or what it would look like to trust words or trust knowledge for salvation. I can give you a personal example.

At the age of eight, during the invitation and altar call of a service my dad was preaching, I walked up to the front and told my dad I wanted to be saved. My mother took me to a little classroom and we sat there as she explained the Gospel to me.

“Michael,” she said, “do you understand what sin is and that you are a sinner?”

“I do.” And I did.

“Do you know what the penalty for sin is?”

“It is death, separation from God forever in a lake of fire.”

She continued, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?”

“I do,” and I really did.

She continued to ask me, “And do you believe that He came to die for your sins on the cross, that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day?”

I let her know that I believed that as well. “And Michael, do you believe that if you ask God with all your heart to forgive your sins and to save you that He will?”

And I did. I really did believe all of that. So I prayed. I told God, “God, I know I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself from my sins. I believe that Jesus, your Son, came to die on a cross for me and rose again on the third day. Jesus, I ask you to come into my heart and save me and forgive my sins.”

I did it! I said the right words and had honestly believed the things that I said to Jesus and about Him. So why is it that soon afterward and for the next 6 years, I struggled with doubts about my salvation on a regular basis? Because of something very simple and very crucial: I believed in my head that Jesus is God. I believed that it was fact that He came, died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead. I believed that not only did he want to save me, but that He was capable of saving me. I believed all these things to be true. And I believed that I had to form my prayer just right, I had to say the right words, and that was the way Jesus would save me. So I formed that prayer as best as I could. I included all the elements in that prayer that I thought I had to have, and I said the prayer.

When I said the prayer, I felt relief, and for a long time, I trusted in the feeling of relief, in the fact that I believed what the Bible said about Jesus was true, and more than anything, I had a trust that my prayer, those words that I had said to God, were said well. I was counting on my prayer and on my faith to save me, but I was not counting on Jesus.

Instead of thinking of the prayer as the method to express my faith in Jesus, I simply had more faith in the prayer.

This illustration may be the best way I have to express this.

Before I begin to explain this illustration, we need to be clear about something that the Bible says many times in different ways. Jesus is the only way to salvation. Acts 4:12 records Peter and John telling the religious leaders had arrested them for preaching in Jesus’ name, that salvation from sin comes only from Jesus, and this is how they worded it:

Acts 4:12 KJV 1900

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

So, salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said this in John 14:6 “6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” And the Apostle Paul writes to the Romans in Romans 6:23b that “23 ...the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Salvation is found only in Jesus. And now, back to the illustration:

I had acknowledged verbally and believed it in my head everything that the Bible had to say about Jesus. I had acknowledged verbally and believed in my head everything that the Bible had to say about my sinful state. So I said a prayer acknowledging all these things. What SHOULD have been true is that my prayer SHOULD have been a method of communicating these believes as I rested on Jesus to save me.

But at the age of eight, I was resting on the prayer. My faith never made it past the prayer. I assented, I acknowledged, I believed with my head, and I said some words in a prayer, believing that the PRAYER would save me. I rested all my hope on the prayer. The prayer should have simply been an expression of how I was trusting Jesus and resting on Him to save me, but instead I was trusting a prayer. The prayer had become the object of my faith. And according to Acts 4:12, had I been saved? No, because there is salvation in none other than Jesus, and I was resting on a prayer. Salvation is not found at the end of a prayer, salvation is found in Jesus.

Prayer, what many might call “the sinner’s prayer” (which will vary in words from person to person) should simply be an expression of our faith in Jesus to save us.

I know Tahsha loves me. I know it. There is no doubt in my mind about it. She doesn’t need to tell me for me to know, but when she says those words, man, it is something special. Do I trust her words? No. I trust her that she loves me. Those words are just how she verbally expresses to me that she loves me. I know it probably is not the greatest analogy, but shortly after I turned 14, I struggled again with doubts of my salvation.

I turned to Jesus, and on that occasion, I rested in Him and in Him alone to save me. Did I say a prayer? Yes, but at that instance, the prayer was merely the way for me to express to Jesus what I was believing in my heart. I knew the Bible truths, but I wasn’t trusting the list of truths to save me, I was trusting the Jesus of whom those things are true. I said a prayer, but I was not trusting the words that I said to save me. The prayer was no longer the object of my faith. Jesus was the object of my faith, and that prayer was simply a way to express that saving faith.

At the age of eight, I was delusional. I believed that I was saved because of the words that I said. I prayed. I talked to God, and from then on I prayed regularly. But prayer and words cannot save man.

Relying on Emotion

We read in Matthew 7:21 that Jesus says that not only are these people that are deluded by thinking that a simple verbal assent of who Jesus is will gain them entry into the kingdom of heaven, but they are very sincere and even zealous of it. Notice that these people are not just calling Jesus “Lord,” but “Lord, Lord.” They are fervent and zealous in their belief of the truth, and there is even an element of emotion and passion involved.

One of the most difficult things for a Christian to do is to differentiate between a true spiritual fervor and carnal, fleshly passion or enthusiasm. Some people are naturally enthusiastic and emotional, and there is nothing wrong with that, per se, but we must not confuse feelings and emotions with security of salvation.

From the time I was eight to the time that I was 14, I was truly passionate about serving God in any way that I could. I was truly happy when people got saved, and I was passionate about playing instruments and singing in church. That passion, however, was more natural passion than it ever was spiritual. But I relied upon that many times as “evidence” of my salvation.

Great enthusiasm does not mean great spirituality. The flesh can counterfeit that, and do it pretty easily.

Relying on Works

There is a danger in relying on words and relying on emotions, but there is also a danger in relying on works. The Bible clearly tells us in Titus 3:5 “5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

We see this repeated in Ephesians 2:8-9

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV 1900

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

So look at what Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23

Matthew 7:21–23 KJV 1900

Prophecy

Many will say, “Lord, Lord, look at all the things we did in your name. Notice that these people delivered spiritual messages - they prophesied. Not only that, but they fought the devil and cast out demons. They performed miracles! And yet, Jesus says these people will be told, “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.”

There are plenty of people purposefully using the guise of Christianity for their own profit. But not that these are not doing it in their name, they are serving and preaching in Jesus’ name!

Casting out Demons

It is possible for a person to preach and teach correct doctrine and not be saved. Think of Judas Iscariot. He even had power. Jesus sent out the twelve disciples to preach, teach, cast out demons, and heal and they came back amazed at what they were able to do. Judas was among them as they exclaimed, “Even the devils are subject to us.” I do not know how, and I do not know why, but our Lord is able to give power to a person that is still lost.

Jesus was accused of casting out devils in the name of Beelzebub, but Jesus’ response to those that accused Him was, “If I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whose power do your sons cast out devils?” These were Jewish exorcists that had power to cast out demons.

In Acts chapter 19 you find a group of men called the sons of Sceva. These men were Jewish exorcists, although in that particular passage they were unable to do what they normally could do.

Miracles

But more than just casting out demons, there are those that perform miracles of other kinds in Jesus’ name that will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

There are those that heal and boast great results. There are those that are charlatans, and many have been exposed; there are also others that can do amazing things through demonic power (think of the girl referenced in the book of Acts that because she was possessed by a demon, she had the ability to foretell some future events, or think about the magicians in Egypt who replicated some of the signs that Moses did). This is why it is so important to have spiritual discrimination, the ability to rightly judge between what is right and what is not. These people would be false prophets that perform these things to try to deceive people. There are plenty of those. But Jesus isn’t talking about these right now.

Notice what Jesus is saying. He is not talking about people that are counterfeiting or falsely claiming to have done these things, nor is He explicitly talking about people that are doing things through Satan’s power. He is talking about people who do, indeed, perform healings and other miraculous things in His name, but are not His and do not belong to the Kingdom of Heaven, but think that they do.

A Warning and a Test

This is a warning. Just because you have the words, the passion, and the works does not mean that you belong to the Kingdom of God.

The Warning

We’ve already looked a lot at this warning, but let’s condense it. Look at the verses with me one more time. Matthew 7:21-23

Matthew 7:21–23 KJV 1900

The warning that we read is this: Not everyone that calls Jesus Lord, even if they are very passionate about it, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Not everyone that preaches or teaches or does amazing things in Jesus’ name is going to enter into the Kingdom of God. There will be those that Jesus will reject.

The Test

So what is the test? The test is found, not in verse 21, like many that read these passages think. Look at verse 21 again. Matthew 7:21

Matthew 7:21 KJV 1900

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

That underlined part is dangerous if we do not take this in the context of the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. By itself, this verse seems to indicate that there is work to be done to be able to enter into the Kingdom of God, to be saved. It seems like this verse is telling me that I must do things to earn my place in Heaven.

Well, if there is one thing that has been repeated over and over and over again in chapters 5, 6, and 7 it is that the things we do are not nearly as important as the heart with which we do them. Actions, they are important, but not so much when you compare them to motives. What should our motive be? Love for God. As soon as I do something motivated by the desiring to earn salvation, then I am doing it for a reward, not out of love God.

So if Matthew 7:21 does not give us the test, which verse does? Matthew 7:23

Matthew 7:23 KJV 1900

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Notice Jesus did not say, “And I will profess unto them, ‘You didn’t do enough.’” No. Though words and actions may indeed be outward evidences of salvation, they are not the true test. Why? Because good words and good actions without Jesus are unacceptable for anything. Isaiah 64:6

Isaiah 64:6 KJV 1900

6 But we are all as an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; And we all do fade as a leaf; And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

All those good things that Jesus mentioned - prophesying, casting out demons, working miracles - all those were counted as iniquity, as sin. Remember the words that Jesus says that He will use: “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

“But Mike, what is the ‘will of the Father’ that we are supposed to do?” And if you are asking that question, you are asking the right question. We find a very explicit verse in the Bible referencing God’s will and salvation. 2 Peter 3:9

2 Peter 3:9 KJV 1900

9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

What is God’s will for mankind in order not to perish? It is not that we would do good works. It is not that we would say the right things. The will of God is that people repent. What does repent mean? It means to change your mind. We often think of repentance in the sense of turning from sin, but turning from sin is a result that goes hand in hand with repentance.

In the books of Acts, 2 Corinthians, 2 Timothy, and Hebrews, and Revelation we see various texts emphasizing repentance as a change of mind or a change of heart toward God and toward His truth.

So what does repentance look like? it looks a little different for different people, but the result is the same for all people.

What I mean is this. If I am an atheist, someone who does not believe in God, repentance for me would be that I now do believe in God, but not only that, that I agree with what He says about sin, about Jesus, about me, and about salvation.

If I am counting on good works to get me to heaven, then repentance for me would be that I turn to God’s truth that says works cannot save me. Only faith in Jesus Christ can.

If I believe in any of the religions that have as their goal to reach some high level of enlightenment or Nirvana through meditation and through doing things that bring good karma, then repentance would be to turn to God’s truth and realize that there is no way that I can stop sinning, there is no way to achieve enlightenment, there is no reincarnation, and that to escape the judgment that will come, the only thing to do is to fully believe what God has to say about sin, myself, faith in Jesus, and salvation.

If my mindset is that God is just to good to send me to hell because of my sins, then repentance from me would be that I now look at God, not only as loving, but also perfectly just and holy. I look at my sin as God sees it, horribly offensive to Himself. And I see that Jesus is the only way to salvation.

We could go on and on, but do you see that repentance turns us from ungodly philosophies to the truth of God? It is a change of mind, for to accept the truth of God, we must turn our backs on every other way of thinking. When we do that, we see sin for what it is, we see the corruption within us, we see that it is impossible to please God without faith, and that faith starts with having faith in Jesus as our savior. When we change the world’s outlook and adopt God’s outlook we see that we must not only believe in our heads, but receive Jesus Christ, call on Him to save us and forgive us, and we see that the only way to God is through Jesus Christ.

The test, according to Jesus in Matthew 7:23 is not in what one does. Look back at it with me.

Matthew 7:23 KJV 1900

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

The test of my salvation is this: Does Jesus know me? Do we have a relationship, a personal relationship?

There may be those that are present this morning that are struggling with their salvation. “Am I saved? Sometimes I feel saved, sometimes I don’t. How can I know for sure?” Maybe you have tried to navigate these doubts by analyzing your words. “I have acknowledged Jesus as Lord. I believe that He is who He says He is.”

Maybe you have tried to reason with those doubts as you look at your passion for God. “I have a deep feeling of love for God. I feel good when I serve Him. Whenever I worship, I really feel it. Would someone unsaved feel that way?”

Or maybe you have tried to calm your doubts by analyzing the things that you do. “I teach a class. I sing on the worship team. I greet people at the door. I pray. I read my Bible. I come to church regularly. I tell others about Jesus. I serve in the nursery.” And on, and on the list could go.

Listen, if you are having doubts today, you need to be introspective. You need to look inside yourself, and after you do that, you need to have a conversation with God.

A Self-Examination

Think of this concept. When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about entering into the Kingdom of Heaven, He said, “You must be born again.” He was speaking of a spiritual rebirth that happens by repenting, changing your mind about sin, about Jesus, and about how to get saved to what God’s mindset is. Just like physical birth, this is a happening, an occurrence. It is not something that gradually happens. It happens. There are cultures in which keeping track of age and celebrating birthdays is not a things, but even in those cultures no one would deny that there was a specific time when they were born. They realize that they did not just always exist or come into existence gradually.

So ask yourself this question: Has there ever been a time when I realized that I was a sinner, that that sin separated me from God and deserved a punishment, and that I could not do anything to erase my sin? Did I believe that God sent Jesus to die on cross for my sin, and that He rose again to life on the third day, and that Jesus was the only person capable of saving me? And in that faith, did I ask Jesus to forgive me and save me?

You may not remember the date that happened or the time. You might not remember where you were, and that is ok. But if you can never even remember putting your faith completely in Jesus for your salvation and asking Him to save you, you need to have a conversation with God.

A Conversation with God

“What do you mean, have a conversation with God?”

The last verse I want us to look at together is found in Romans 8:15-16

Romans 8:15–16 KJV 1900

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

I am sorry these two verses are a little crowded there on the screen, but I did not want to separate them. Look at the first verse, verse 15. God’s children have not received the spirit of bondage to fear. That word fear can also be translated “dread.” If you cannot shake the feeling, the dread, of possibly not being saved, that is not the spirit that God gives. “Perfect love,” the Bible says, “casts out fear.” It doesn’t invite it, it doesn’t foster it or nurture it; it casts it out. It eliminates it.

What is the spirit we receive from God? The Spirit of adoption. There are legal papers involved with adoption. Once those adoption papers are signed and sealed, they are binding. So those that are saved receive the Spirit of adoption (the Holy Spirit) that gives us the right to call God, Abba, Father.

And verse 16 says that His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

Are you having doubts about your salvation even after a time of self-examination? Are you not sure that your heart was fully relying on Jesus when you made that profession of faith? Are you wondering if you were resting on a prayer instead of the Savior? Is there doubt about your intentions behind your profession of faith? If so, have a conversation with God.

Ask Him to show you in your spirit if you are truly His child or not. God is clear, He doesn’t give us a spirit of fear or even uncertainty. The Holy Spirit will bear witness with your spirit that you either are, or are not God’s child.

Don’t get your peace from anywhere else. If your peace is coming from prayers, from emotions, from works, know that those are sources of false peace. Get your peace from God and from His Spirit.

Invitation

I’ll ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes. I want to have an invitation, and I want to make it clear, this is an invitation for every person here to conduct a sell-examination.

Before I ask anyone to raise their hand or respond in any way, I am going to ask you to revisit the day that you got saved. I want you to ask yourself, “Is there a time when I realized that I needed a savior to forgive me of my sins, and that that savior could only be Jesus Christ, the Son of God? And did I, fully trusting in Him, ask Him to forgive me of my sins and received Him as my savior?”

What ever words you may have used, that is not super important, it will vary a little bit from person to person. There is no set of magic words that can save you. Have you asked Jesus to be your savior?

[Give a few moments]

How many would say, “Mike, after some self-examination, I am 100% sure that I am a child of God, and that I belong to the Kingdom of Heave. When Jesus and I meet face -to-face, He will welcome me into heaven because He knows me; we have a relationship,” would you put your hand up?

How many of you would say, “Mike, after a few moments of self-examination, I am not sure of my salvation. I am not certain that if I died today, I would go to heaven, but I would like to talk to someone about that.” Would you raise your hand?

If you raised your hand just now, I want you to have a conversation with God. That conversation is basically you asking God to give you peace within your spirit about whether or not you are saved. Listen, if you are not saved, God wants you to know it and wants to save you. If you are saved, God also wants you to know that, and He wants you to have peace about it. Would you take a few moments right now and ask God about that?

I am going to ask everyone else here to just be a little patient as we give these some time to have a conversation with God.

[Give some time.]

Is there anyone that would say, “Mike, after that conversation with God, I still am not sure of my salvation. I would like to talk after the service is done.” Would you raise your hand?

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