(soft music) - Good morning, church family. Happy Lord's Day. We will now begin our service. (upbeat music) ♪ Your love, oh Lord ♪ ♪ Your love, oh Lord ♪ ♪ Preaches to the heavens ♪ ♪ Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Stretches to the sky ♪ ♪ Your righteousness ♪ ♪ Is like the mighty mountains ♪ ♪ Your justice flows ♪ ♪ Like the ocean's tide ♪ Now we'll lift.

♪ I will lift my voice ♪ ♪ To worship you my King ♪ ♪ I will find my strength ♪ ♪ In the shadow of your wings ♪ Your love, oh Lord. ♪ Your love, oh Lord ♪ ♪ Preaches to the heavens ♪ ♪ Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Stretches to the sky ♪ ♪ Your righteousness ♪ ♪ Is like the mighty mountains ♪ ♪ Your justice flows ♪ ♪ Like the ocean's tide ♪ ♪ I will lift my voice ♪ ♪ To worship you my King ♪ ♪ I will find my strength ♪ ♪ In the shadow of your wings ♪ I will lift.

♪ I will lift my voice ♪ ♪ To worship you my King ♪ ♪ I will find my strength ♪ ♪ In the shadow of your wings ♪ ♪ Your love, oh Lord ♪ ♪ Preaches to the heavens ♪ ♪ Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Stretches to the sky ♪ - All right, good morning.

Welcome to Burning Community Church. First of all, as you guys notice, as you're coming into the church, you saw the setup outside. Our Korea Mission team is doing a fundraiser. The team is going out in mid or early July to run a couple English camps to reach out to the students out there.

And so the cost of the chili cheese dog, the chili is homemade, so this is not out of the can. This is like, you know, genuine stuff. So if you go out there, for adults it's $10 and for children it's five. So it'll be served between this service and then also for the third service.

Obviously, our members meeting is happening today after the third service, so make sure you grab your lunch and then afterwards come into this room no later than 2 p.m. and then we're gonna get started right at 2 p.m. There's actually quite a lot of stuff that we're covering during that time, so please come right at two o'clock.

We're gonna start right at two o'clock. All church praise and prayer is happening this Friday. Our regular Bible study for now is completed. And then obviously we have summer equipping classes that will be offered and we're gonna make a push again. You probably heard it in the Bible study.

We mentioned it last week. But that's gonna be starting at the end of May. But this coming Friday we have praise and prayer and then BAM Koinonia group. So this is a fellowship group for the BAM ministry, if you're part of the singles ministry. That's gonna be taking place and so the sign up is by May 18th.

So please sign up to do that. And it says you must be a member to be participating in this. And then finally, today is the last day to sign up for men's softball tournament. That's taking place in May 24th. And so if you signed up already, you probably got an email from Tim that there is going to be a practice after the members meeting.

So at 3.30 where they had it last week. So please show up to that. And if you are interested and even if you can't come, please let him know. And today is the last day to sign up if you haven't signed up for it. And then for the women's fellowship, just like they did last year, the women are gonna be getting together and having fellowship around softball and that's gonna be taking place on June 8th.

And so please sign up for that and you'll get an announcement or like where to meet for that. And again, it's whatever your skill may be, it's for the purpose of fellowship. So please sign up and you'll be able to meet other sisters during that period. I think that's all for the announcements.

Let me pray for us and then I'll give you some time for the offering. And again, if you are visiting us and you brought a physical offering, we do have a box in the back on the way out. Okay, let's pray. Father, we pray for your continued grace and guidance.

We pray, Father God, that the power of the Holy Spirit would continue to grip us and guide us. That your word would teach us, mold us, transform us. Help us, Lord God, to be people who are constantly aware of your presence in our lives. And that what we offer up to you would not simply be our time, but our very lives and our very heart.

Help us to worship you in spirit and in truth. And that even this giving may be a reflection of that worship. May it be multiplied 30, 60, 100 fold. May it be handled with honor and care. And that we may use it, Lord God, to advance your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

(soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) - Let us all rise and spend a few moments to greet the neighbors around us before we continue.

(audience cheering) (audience chattering) (audience chattering) (upbeat music) - Sing "Praise is Rising." ♪ Praise is rising ♪ ♪ Eyes are turning to you ♪ ♪ We turn to you ♪ ♪ Hope is stirring ♪ ♪ Hearts are yearning for you ♪ ♪ We long for you ♪ ♪ 'Cause when we see you ♪ ♪ We find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ ♪ Washed away ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ You are the God who saves us ♪ ♪ Worthy of all our praises ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Come have your way among us ♪ ♪ We welcome you, Lord Jesus ♪ - Hear the sound.

♪ Hear the sound of hearts returning to you ♪ ♪ We turn to you ♪ ♪ In your kingdom broken lives are made new ♪ ♪ You make us new ♪ ♪ 'Cause when we see you ♪ ♪ We find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ ♪ Washed away ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ You are the God who saves us ♪ ♪ Worthy of all our praises ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Come have your way among us ♪ ♪ We welcome you here, Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ 'Cause when we see you ♪ ♪ When we see you ♪ ♪ We find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ ♪ 'Cause when we see you ♪ ♪ We find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ ♪ Washed away ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ You are the God who saves us ♪ ♪ Worthy of all our praises ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Come have your way among us ♪ ♪ We welcome you here, Lord Jesus ♪ Today we will be introducing a new song called "He Will Be," which is a song about how God has been, how he is, and how he will continue to be faithful and gracious in our lives and over all time.

So may we reflect on this truth as we sing the song and declare that he has been and will be worthy of all glory, honor, and praise. ("He Will Be") the Lord is faithful to his word ♪ ♪ He will be ♪ ♪ He will be ♪ ♪ He will be ♪ ♪ He will be ♪ ♪ God is faithful to his word ♪ ♪ Even when there seems no way ♪ ♪ Though time may pass ♪ ♪ His memory will not fail ♪ ♪ His promises will never fail ♪ ♪ Faithful he has been ♪ ♪ Faithful he will be ♪ ♪ Time and time again ♪ ♪ His word returns complete ♪ ♪ To his truth I cling ♪ ♪ When the night is deep ♪ ♪ Faithful he has been ♪ ♪ Faithful he will be ♪ ♪ God is gracious when I doubt ♪ ♪ He draws near though I retreat ♪ ♪ Though I may wander through the wilderness ♪ ♪ He goes with me and gives me peace ♪ ♪ Fervent he has been ♪ ♪ Gracious he will be ♪ ♪ What I don't deserve ♪ ♪ The Father gives to me ♪ ♪ Where he leads my feet ♪ ♪ I shall not wander near ♪ ♪ Gracious he has been ♪ ♪ Gracious he will be ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ God is worthy of my song ♪ ♪ Countless are his awesome deeds ♪ ♪ His mighty hand has parted raging seas ♪ ♪ For those he loves he has redeemed ♪ ♪ Worthy he has been ♪ ♪ Worthy he will be ♪ ♪ Crowned in endless praise ♪ ♪ All earth and heaven sing ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lord who reigns in majesty ♪ ♪ Worthy he has been ♪ ♪ Worthy he will be ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ He is my provider ♪ ♪ Covenant protector ♪ ♪ All my hope is in the Lord my God ♪ ♪ He is my sustainer ♪ ♪ Merciful redeemer ♪ ♪ All my hope is in the Lord my God ♪ ♪ He is my provider ♪ ♪ Covenant protector ♪ ♪ All my hope is in the Lord my God ♪ ♪ He is my sustainer ♪ ♪ Merciful redeemer ♪ ♪ All my hope is in the Lord my God ♪ ♪ Worthy he has been ♪ ♪ Worthy he will be ♪ ♪ Crowned in endless praise ♪ ♪ All earth and heaven sing ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lord who reigns in majesty ♪ ♪ Worthy he has been ♪ ♪ Worthy he will be ♪ ♪ Worthy he has been ♪ ♪ Worthy he will be ♪ ♪ Worthy he has been ♪ ♪ Worthy he will be ♪ - Amen, you may be seated.

(bell chimes) - Hi, my name is Gianna, and this is my testimony on how I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. So I grew up in a Christian household, and I was taught what it meant to be Christian. Yet all throughout my life, or all throughout my childhood, I was afraid.

Though I told myself I believed, I lacked assurance in my faith and feared death and hell from a very young age. As I grew older, I began to doubt whether or not these things I was taught as a child were even true. I learned the ways of the world and sought out the Bible as a means of confirming the morals that the world had taught me.

But I quickly found it impossible to resolve the differences between the two. I found myself rejecting God's very existence in favor of my own wisdom to discern right and wrong. Looking back, I can see how hardened my heart was, how foolish and prideful I was to reject the very existence of the creator of the universe simply because I believed myself to be more wise than he.

Yet there was another part of me that fearfully persisted. What if Christianity really was true, and I end up in hell? I thought, maybe I can just believe, just in case it all is true. Then I'll be spared, right? But I despaired as I recognized that I could never truly believe in this way, and I found myself disappointed and ashamed at my fear-driven pursuit of religion.

I graduated high school and found myself in college seeking out a Christian community. At this point, I knew I didn't believe, but I wanted so desperately to believe out of fear. I ended up joining different campus fellowships and visiting churches, and it was the first time that I'd met people my age whose lives so clearly reflected a transformed heart in Christ.

And I began to learn it once again with renewed interest. It wasn't until the latter half of last year that I began to reflect upon how the message of the gospel impacted my life, as I observed that even though I could acknowledge the existence of God and his son, Jesus, my life remained the same.

I couldn't comprehend why the life I lived was so grossly sinful before a holy God, and I couldn't understand why Jesus had to die on the cross for me and why I needed him too. As I pondered about these things, I found myself in Philippians 2, and it was through this that the Lord began to so graciously open my eyes to truly understand the message of the gospel.

In it, Paul instructs the Philippians to follow in the example of Christ's humility, and through this I realized two things. One, that Jesus' perfect life was intended to be an example for us of how we ought to live, and two, that I fell so incredibly short of this perfect standard.

I realized how selfish and prideful I was beside our perfect Savior. As Paul states in his letters to the Philippians, Jesus, though existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself and humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross.

I was in utter awe and despair as I suddenly became aware of my wretched self. I found myself grieving over this sin which so clearly reigned over my life. How quickly my thoughts and my words could devolve into bitterness and anger at a slight disagreement. How often I would put myself before others and how selfish my intentions were in the way I lived, and how purposeless was the life I sought after.

Within this, I quickly realized that Jesus' example of humility was impossible to perfectly replicate in my sinful state and fell into deeper despair. It was then that I was reminded of the other part of the gospel, that Jesus died on the cross not only to exemplify humility for us, but to take on the sins of the world, my sin, and to bear God's wrath, our punishment, which we deserved, on our behalf.

Romans 5 says, "But God demonstrates "his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, "Christ died for us, much more than that, "having now been justified by his blood. "We shall be saved from the wrath of God through him. "For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God "through the death of his Son much more, "having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." Over the course of a couple months, my knowledge of God's grace and mercy grew, yet it was only when the Lord drew my heart into surrender to his all-sufficient grace and forgiveness that I found peace, knowing that Christ had already taken the wrath upon himself so that we would no longer face the consequence we deserved.

Through this, the Lord showed me the utter perfection of his plan, that knowing how helpless we were, he made a way for us to be saved from ourselves. I look back and realize how gracious the Lord has been to me, that it would take 18 years of hearing the gospel before my eyes would be opened and my ears would hear that my heart would be softened.

This can be nothing more than God's loving kindness, his grace and mercy upon this great sinner's heart. I've since continued to grow in my understanding of God's character and in my love for the Lord. God has continued to reveal his sin present in my life and has been teaching me to depend on him, all the more in my weakness.

I can continue to persevere and to pursue a life lived for his glory and confidence, knowing that Christ has already paid the price for my sins and that the Lord has already drawn me into his saving grace. I'm confident in the hope of salvation, which is found only in Jesus Christ, who is my Lord and Savior.

Thank you. All right, thank you, John. If you can turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 14, I'll be reading from verse 24 down to verse 28. Luke chapter 11, verse 24 through 28. Reading out of the NASB. "When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest and not finding any.

It says, 'I will return to my house from which I came,' and when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits, more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.

While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breast at which you nursed.' But he said, 'On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.'" Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your living word. We thank you for the investment of your very breath. Help us, Lord God, to be equipped, to be trained, to be ready for all good works. I pray that your word would judge the thoughts and intentions of our heart, that you would seek us, search us, and know us, and see if there's any hurtful ways in us, that our life, Lord God, would be transformed according to your word and your spirit.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If you look at some of the greatest antagonists to the Christian faith, many of them grew up in nominal Christian homes. Some of the names that I will mention this morning you probably are very aware of. In the 19th century, one of the most famous philosophers, Frederick Nietzsche, he is quoted in saying, "God is dead." And he was so popular, he began to spread saying, "Christianity promoted weakness and suppressed human spirit." And he quoted that in his lifetime, that Christianity will die.

Obviously that did not happen. But his early childhood, he grew up in a Lutheran home, and his dad was a Lutheran pastor. Christopher Hitchens also went to an Anglican boarding school. He is known for his book, New Atheist, and he is famous for quoting, saying that religion is poisonous to everything.

That he believed that religion had to be eradicated in order for humanity to reach the next stage of its evolution. Richard Dawkins, many of you may have heard his name. He is well known for his book, God Delusion. And he says that religion is irrational and harmful, and we know him in our generation because there are many videos of him arguing prominent Christians.

And he also grew up in a very nominal Christian home. Charles Darwin, one of the names that we all learned in school, who grew up in a nominal Christian home, studied even theology. His parents sent him to a Christian college, and then that eventually led him to go to an Anglican theological school, and maybe even possibly thinking of becoming a clergyman.

And at some point in his study, he decided to drop out, and the rest is history. So many people. We're not just talking about just recent history or past history. The people who have been the greatest antagonists of Christian faith have at one point been at church, in Sunday school, doing VBS, memorized scripture, grew up in nominal Christian homes.

So when they fight against Christianity, they're not necessarily fighting against the Christian faith that we see in scripture, but they're fighting against the nominal Christianity that they saw at home, where there is no power. It was just a superficial confession. Parents were very active at church, but they didn't see the connection between their profession and their life.

The reason why I mention this this morning is because nominal Christianity is so dangerous that it may seem harmless in the beginning because, well, at least they're coming to church. At least they're participating. At least they're serving. But the fruit of that actually leads to greater harm, not only to themselves, but even to the next generation.

The text that we're looking at today, where Jesus is telling us about a man who seems to be demon-possessed, and the demon leaves, but then eventually, because there's nothing possessing the man, he comes back sevenfold, and then he says the second state is worse than the first. So what started out seeming like it was something to celebrate, it ends up in greater destruction than the beginning.

First and foremost, before we even jump into the text, we have to recognize that there is a spiritual battle, that our natural inclination, especially in the West, is to think that if we study more, had the theology correct, that there is power in correct theology. There is no power in correct theology.

The demons know that. They knew and recognized Jesus before anybody else did, and they were no more benefited from it. Our natural inclination is if we throw our theology, our know-how, our education, and if we just implement the right things, that somehow we're going to make a difference. The scripture makes it very clear that this is not a physical battle.

Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world's forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places." Some of the people who did the greatest damage to the church are people who had great theology, who had great theology, great teachers, had so much influence, and yet they did not have the Spirit of God.

And that's why he ends the book of Ephesians by saying, "Don't forget that this is a spiritual battle. You have to gear up with spiritual armor." And then he ends this section by saying, "Therefore, you need to pray, pray, pray, pray, pray." When we don't recognize that this is a spiritual battle, our natural inclination is, "How do we structure our Bible study?

How do we structure our small group? How do we structure our leadership? How do we structure our discipleship?" And we focus all our attention on what we can do, not realizing first and foremost, first and foremost, he calls us to pray, to humble ourselves to pray. Now, we can labor, we can disciple, we can evangelize, we can study theology, all on the foundation of men and women who pray.

I don't want to talk about theology with somebody who doesn't pray. I don't want to talk about mission work with somebody who doesn't pray. I don't want to have long debates about how the church should be organized with somebody who doesn't recognize that the power is not in us.

Because at the end of the day, we're going to end up talking about and implementing all the things that you and I are capable of doing, and never inviting the power of God. We're absolutely helpless if we don't first pray. In fact, in 1 Timothy 4.1, it says, "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times, some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons." If we see heresy, the first thing that we think is, "Hey, we need to get this right.

We need to teach properly. We need to make sure that people sign off on the right doctrine." But Paul says, "Demonic work behind these heresies." In James 3.14-15, it says, "But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.

This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, and demonic." He says, "Selfishness, jealousy, a proud and arrogant heart." He says, "There's demonic work behind it." So if all we recognize is, if we can just implement, if we make a tweak, if we get the right people in there, if we read the right books, if we discipline ourselves the right way, that somehow we're going to make an impact in the spiritual world, he said, "First and foremost, we need to recognize that there is a demonic work." We have an adversary who's like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, and he does not rest.

He's more powerful than us. He's smarter than us. He's more experienced than us. He's better organized than us. He's actively against us. How will we have any footing against this? Unless it's the power of God that protects us, so we need to pray. Paul himself says, "The thorn on his side." He said, "It came through a messenger of Satan." When Jesus would go into the cross, Satan appears, possesses Judas, and he begins to influence Peter.

Satanic work is everywhere in Jesus' ministry. It was everywhere in the apostles' ministry. I think it is a mistake in the Western world that we minimize the spiritual battle that is happening all around us constantly, and not even realizing that that's what's going on. When we don't realize the spiritual forces that are against us, we can feel very comfortable not praying.

We can feel at ease. We can feel powerful. We can feel authoritative. If we just yell hard enough, if we are organized, if we read more, if we get smarter, and we fall right into the trap of the devil, as long as you are relying on your own resources, you are no stronger than you were without any of it.

Having the best theology, having known everything that you can possibly read, without prayer, you're no more powerful than somebody who's never read anything. Because at the end, this is a spiritual battle. And until God is engaged, until the Holy Spirit is engaged, we are absolutely powerless. Having recognized that, again, as I mentioned last week, the most prominent miracle that is mentioned over and over again in the Bible is his encounter with the demonic world.

There's nine specific instances where he casts out the demon. There's 12 if you include how he empowers his disciples to go cast out demons. There's no other miracle that is repeated over and over again in the Scriptures in the New Testament than the encounter with the demonic world. So for us to look at that and just kind of sidestep it and say, "Oh, he raised the dead.

He opened the eyes of the blind. He walked on waters." And those are fantastic miracles in and of itself, but there's a reason. There's a reason why the casting out of demons is highlighted for us over and over and over and over again. We can become very proud in our work.

We can become very proud in our theology. We can become very proud in our experience. It doesn't take much to ruin good Christians with pride. We're going to look at this morning what Jesus says here, and where does this apply? Not just look at it and say, "Well, I guess that's how the demonic world works." But what does it mean?

How does this apply to us? First thing that it tells us is that somebody who seems to be delivered from the demons can be temporary. That demonic deliverance can be temporary. He says in verse 24, "The unclean spirit goes out of the man. It passes through the waterless places seeking rest and not finding any of it.

I will return to my house and from which I came." And then he takes seven other spirits, and the second part is worse than the first. It returns, and it returns sevenfold. You know, part of the reason why we don't do altar calls in our church is because according to study, that 94% of the people who make a decision through the altar call never even make it to church.

It's that only 6% raise their hand. And then it doesn't mean that the 6% who went to church are thriving Christians who are producing, who are evangelizing. Of the 6%, only a fraction of them are in the church after two years. So we don't know the exact number. But if you take a fraction of the 6%, and only 6% of the 100%, I'm not a mathematician, but that means probably 99% of the people who make a decision.

So what happened to those people? How many times have you walked around and tried to share the gospel with your co-worker, maybe even your family member, and they're absolutely convinced they're a Christian? And then you ask them, "Well, do you go to church?" "No, I don't go to church.

I haven't read the Bible. In fact, I think I don't want to be around Christians. They're a bunch of hypocrites." Then you talk to them a little bit further, they're deep into sin. They had children out of wedlock all over the place. They're unrepentant. They say, "Well, how do you have assurance of salvation?" "Well, you know, I accepted Jesus.

Like, once saved, always saved, right?" "Salvation is by grace, not by word. I'm not like those legalists who are always, you know, pointing fingers and making me feel bad. I'm not one of those Christians. I'm about love of Jesus." And they've taken cliches that they've heard, and the rest of their lives are absolutely convinced, even though it is contrary to everything that we read in Scripture.

Because at one point, they felt like they were delivered. In John 3:3, when Nicodemus comes and asks Jesus, as he had an encounter with Him, Jesus says to him, "Truth shall I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." He said, "How do you get saved?

Born again? How can a man be born again? How can he re-enter into the mother's womb?" And that's exactly the point that Jesus is trying to make. That you're trying to bring your religious, moral life, and you're saying, "What more do I have to do?" He said, "No, you can't.

You can't be saved. You must be born again. There must be a renewal of your heart." Now, who is He referring to? This encounter? Is He just talking about how the demonic world works? If you remember the larger context of this, this encounter happens because Jesus casts out a demon.

And some were amazed, but you had the Pharisees who were pointing fingers and saying, "You're casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub. In other words, you're satanic." These Pharisees, who committed themselves to obey their law meticulously, when the Son of God was standing before them with all the proof, all the evidence, they said, "Oh, he's satanic.

How can they have been so blind?" This story is an indictment against a religious Israel, where they were confident that if they just kind of obey the law, if they just clean the outside of who they are, that somehow that's going to make them safe before God. That's the indictment that He was giving.

And that's what He was saying to Nicodemus. In John 6.26, He says to these people who ate the miraculous fish and the bread, thousands of them, they wanted to forcefully make Him king. Jesus packs up His bag with His disciples, they go to the other side of the sea, and they wake up in the morning, and all thousands of them pack up their bags, they follow Him to the other side, and when they finally find Jesus, they say, "Jesus, when did You come here?

How come You didn't tell us?" You would think that Jesus would say, "Man, you guys are really my disciples. You pack up your bags, you forget to even pack your food, and you really want me to be your king." But instead of commending them, He calls out their superficial faith, and He says, "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Truth shall I say to you, you seek Me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.'" It is not Me that you want.

It's because you saw a miracle and you want more. You want Me to heal you, you want Me to feed you, you want Me to take care of your kids. You think that if you somehow follow Me, that you're going to have a better life, but you don't know Me.

He says, "I am the bread, the bread that you eat, the thing that you're looking for. Even if your wildest dream comes true, you have to find it again and again and again. It's temporary. But the bread that I give you, Myself, if you eat of it, you'll never be hungry." At the end of this encounter, all of them turn away and they stop following Jesus, because they didn't really know who He was.

In John 8.31-32, Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." You would think that the Jews who believed Him, Jesus said that, "If you abide in My Word, you'll be My disciples and you'll be set free." You would think the response from them would be, "Thank you, Jesus, for freeing us." But they're offended by this.

"We were never slaves. How can you indict us and say we need to be set free?" They go back and forth, and the conversation becomes more heated. They said, "You don't recognize Me because you don't know who My Father is." And then at the end, in John 8.44, He says, "You don't know Me because your Father is of the devil." He just said that they believed in verse 31.

These are people who are superficially acknowledging God. They're demons who may have left, and at some point they're going to come back. Repeatedly, over and over again, Jesus told us, warned us, encouraged us, "He who endures to the end will be saved." We believe in the perseverance of the saints.

The final "P" in the tulip, if you know what that is. Now we have a cliche saying, "One saved, always saved," which is true, but the more accurate, precise way to say that is, "One saved, always perseveres," because that's the language that the Bible uses. Over and over again, it says that He who perseveres.

The genuine evidence of our faith is the perseverance of the saints. If you look at the seven churches, the seven churches in the book of Revelation, every single one of these churches, it ends, whether it was a rebuke or whether it was an encouragement, it ends by saying, "He who overcomes." "He who overcomes will have eternal life." "He who overcomes will not face a second death." "He who overcomes will be given hidden manna." "He who overcomes will be given authority over nations." "He who overcomes, who perseveres." In 1 John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they were not really of us, for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us when they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us." He said that the second state is worse than the first.

It is a grave danger. Well, we're bending over backwards to accommodate nominal Christianity in the church. When the Scripture warns us repeatedly over and over and over again, the end result of nominal Christianity, the second state is worse. You may not see it in your life, but you will see it in your children's lives.

You may not see it in your children's lives, but you will see it in your grandchildren's lives, what it's like for them to grow up in a nominal Christian home, confesses greatly at church, but there's no evidence of it back at home. Every antagonist, or many antagonists in our modern generation, all of them, many of them, will confess that.

What they are fighting against is not biblical Christianity. What they are fighting against is what they saw at home. There's no real power there. There's no real deliverance. There's no real hope. Just a constant guilt that they're not living up to the ideals of the church. So even a deliverance can be temporary.

And that's why we are in a generation filled with churches who have left their faith, but they have never left the church. Because the church has adjusted so that they don't have to leave the church. In the previous generation, in the first century church, if they left the faith, they had to leave the church.

But we live in a generation where we're working backwards so that people who have left their faith don't have to leave the church. And so all the criticism against the church today is not against biblical Christianity, but against the nominal Christianity that we have created and allowed and accommodated.

He says, even a demon that seems to have left. And we're going to continue to see that the end result of that is worse than the other. Number two, demons occupy places where they can find rest. Isn't that interesting? He said when the unclean spirits go out, it passes through waterless places seeking rest.

The demons are looking for rest. And he said the reason why he turns is because they can't find rest. And you know what's interesting? It comes back, and what do they call it? He said they are seeking rest and not finding any of it. I will return to my house from which I came.

Do you notice that? He said, I'm not going back to where I possess it. I'm going back to my home. And the reason why it describes it as a waterless place is because today when we look for homes, you don't go in there and ask the realtors, is there water in this house?

Obviously, because it's a given. You can't sell the house if you don't have water. But in ancient times, if you don't have water, if you don't have access to water, you can't live. So you either have to dig a well, or if you look at history, all the ancient civilizations were created right around a body of water because they need that to survive.

So Jesus is using that imagery to say that these unclean spirits left, but they couldn't make a home because they're in a waterless places. And so they decided to come back to their own house. That's interesting that it's described as their own home. What is a home? I mean, what's home to me is not home to you, right?

You're not going to feel comfortable if you come to my house and take off your socks and then you just lay back. You know what I mean? What are you doing? You're my guest. If I came and did that to your house, you know what I mean? I start going through your closet and opening up and eating whatever I want, and then I just lie on your bed.

What are you doing? What's wrong with you? That's your home, but that's not my home. What makes it your home is because you purchased it, you own it, and you made it comfortable. The bed's the way that you want. The kitchen, the refrigerator is filled with things that you desire.

So however the layout is, that's where you feel comfortable. So even if you're traveling and you're living in a nice hotel, at some point you want to go home, because that's not your home. So a home is a place where you find rest. Don't you think it's interesting that the demons describe the previous place that they left as their home, and they couldn't find a home, so they went back to their home.

So home is a place where they've made it comfortable. Where the individual who may have cleaned the house has certain habits, there's certain things that he's allowing in his life that makes it easy for the devil to come. The devil doesn't want to come there where there's a resistance toward him.

There's a fight against him. He wants to go somewhere where he can feel comfortable, where he's used to. There are certain things that you're doing, certain patterns that you've accepted, that Satan come and just relax. He doesn't need to fight against you. You know what's interesting? It says he goes and he comes back and he finds it swept, and the word for swept is "cosmeo." What is that word from?

Cosmetic. Cosmetic. There's a superficial change. Nothing has drastically changed other than the decoration. You put some lipstick on. Remember in our modern day, you put a lipstick on a pig and it's still a pig. You put some eyelashes and you put some foundation and you just painted your face.

That's all you did. But you're the same person. So there was a superficial change that took place. But it's the same person. In contrast, the Bible describes a Christian as being completely metamorphosized. In Romans chapter 12 it says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." The word "transformed" there is "metamorpho." What does that word sound like?

To metamorphosize. Completely a different creature. That's why the Bible says that if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. The old has passed away, behold a new has come. You didn't just decorate it differently. This is in reference to these Pharisees. Who committed, they said, "You know, we're going to obey the law, we're going to do the right things." And somehow they believe that if they just obey the law meticulously, that somehow they're going to be able to climb this ladder toward God.

And yet when their Messiah, the Christ, is standing right before them, not only do they miss Him, they say, "You're from the devil." Satan is not afraid of moral people. Satan is not afraid of smart people. He's smarter than us. He's more powerful than us. Every theology that you and I have gained, he knows it more than we do.

And he can twist it. What protects us from the demonic world is something more powerful than them. And that's not us. In Ephesians 1, 13-14, it says, "You are sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance with view of the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory." The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is who possesses Him.

Who possesses Him. So people can come to church and temporarily clean up their act. They can raise their hand and say, "You know, I want Jesus." But then temporarily they go through all of that. And our churches are filled with people who raised their hand, made a decision, but they no longer have any evidence of the power of God in their life.

They're singing songs, but they're not worshiping. They're participating in the church. There's no affection for God. What the demonic world is afraid of is not us. They're more powerful than us. They're smarter than us. They're better organized than us. To think that if we march and if we yell louder that somehow the demonic world is going to give in to us, that's a deception that the demons will celebrate.

If we recognize how weak we are, the first thing that we must do is to cling to Christ with all our might. In 1 John 4:4, "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." He's talking about somebody who's trying to clean up his act on the outside, but he was never possessed by Christ.

He was committed to being good, seeking purpose, to belonging somewhere. But the Holy Spirit never made an indwelling in him. In fact, there's a funny scene in Acts 19, 15-16, where the sons of Sceva, they hear about the power of Jesus and how Apostle Paul was preaching, and they decide, "We want some of that power." Sad to say, many people come into ministry with the same motivation as the sons of Sceva.

They see people who are being fruitful and powerful and say, "I want to be like that. I want to be like that mega church pastor. I want to be an author. I want to be a great theologian." And they're motivated, thinking that somehow they're going to wield the power of God through their effort.

So they come, and they try to cast out these demons, these sons of Sceva. And the demons speak to him, saying, "I recognize Jesus. I know about Paul, but who are you?" And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

Really funny scene. I've never seen anybody do this in a VBS skit. But basically, it's a warning that you cannot wield God's power simply because you say the right things. The power is not in us. The reason why the demons don't come back is because they see the Holy Spirit possessing the man.

Because the Holy Spirit made an indwelling, and the Holy Spirit claimed us as his own. So they are not welcomed in this house. In fact, not only are they not welcomed, they're afraid. But in a home that casts out demons but never welcomed Christ has no power over the satanic world.

In fact, it says he comes back with a vengeance, just like the people that I mentioned in the beginning. In Luke 11.26, then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.

What nominal Christianity leads to is worse. Not only in our life, but in the life of our children, and it destroys the church, it destroys our witness, and the people who live nominally for a long period of time almost always ends up hating the church. And you ask them, "How many times have you been on the street trying to share the gospel with somebody?" And they say, "You know, I used to go to church." Church is filled with hypocrites.

And I remember early on, every time I would go out and I would hear this, "The church needs to be reformed. The church, you know, the Christians aren't acting properly." And maybe that is true, but as time went by I realized what they're turned off by is not biblical Christianity.

What they're turned off by is the nominal Christianity that the church has allowed. We're so afraid of offending nominal Christians that we build a church that is offensive to our holy God. And at the end of the day, we're not doing them any favor. They say, "The worst thing that you can do is make somebody in the church feel bad.

Their life is hard enough as it is." "The worst thing that you can do is make somebody feel unloved by God." "The worst thing that you can do in the church is to deceive somebody who's going to face the truth after they die." "That what they have believed wasn't the right gospel to begin with." That's the worst thing that the church can do.

To deceive nominal Christians to feel perfectly safe and there's no sense of urgency in their heart to get right with God. Because the church has accommodated every sin, every compromise, every bitterness, every jealousy, every coveting in order to retain them in the church. 2 Peter 2, 20-22 says, "For if after they have escaped the defilement of the world, by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome." Again, I want you to look at the language here.

It says, "One, they escaped the defilement of the world superficially on the surface." "They seem like they turned, but they're entangled again and overcome." We're not talking about people who are struggling. Christians, we struggle. As long as we're in this flesh, there's a struggle going on. He's talking about somebody who's overcome and has given in, that that's who he is.

"The last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of the righteousness than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandments and hand it on to them." "It has happened to them according to the true proverb, 'A dog returns to his vomit, and a sow after washing returns to wallowing in the mire.'" I mean, the most grotesque thing that you can possibly picture in your head, God uses it to describe somebody who returns back to sin.

You know why Christians don't go back to this? Because it's vomit. When our eyes become open to the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ, even if I get jaded, even if I get hurt, even things become difficult and it's hard to persevere, what am I going to go back to?

Vomit? No. We persevere because we don't want to go back there. Sometimes we want to quit. Sometimes it gets so hard, the burden becomes too strong for us. But we can't go back. We go back to that? They go back because they've never seen the glory of Christ. They've never come all the way to Christ.

They've only superficially cleaned themselves. They want it to be loved. I mean, people do strange things to belong somewhere. Haircut, habits, just to belong. People's personality change, the way they talk change, their vocabulary change, because they want to belong to that group. Does that happen in the church? Of course.

When people come into church wanting to belong, wanting to be loved, wanting to be part of a community, and the power behind that can change somebody superficially. They'll change their doctrine, they'll change the way they live, they change what they believe, all because they want to belong to the church, but it's never from true faith.

Some people come to church because of an emotional decision. Maybe they were at a place and somebody gave a powerful, heart-wrenching sermon, and then they turned off the light and started playing their music all in minor keys, creating an environment where people are like, "Oh, me too." And as soon as the emotions die down, their motivation to follow Christ also dies with it.

Some people misunderstood the gospel, whether deliberately from the preacher, or whether because of the way we heard it. They say, "You know what? If Jesus is going to clean my life, and he's going to help me with my marriage, and my children, and my business, and my walk, great!" And so they received the wrong gospel.

And as a result of that, when their life doesn't match up to the gospel that they receive, they walk away from their faith. Some people come to church because of the weight of their mistakes. They screwed up in life and say, "You know what? The guilt of that, and how do I get rid of this guilt?" And they come and say, "If Jesus is going to forgive my sins, yeah, I want a clean slate." And so their guilt brings them to church, but they never come all the way to Christ.

So as soon as they are no longer feeling guilty, they don't need Jesus anymore. Whatever the reason is, people come, and they walk away, never fully accepting Christ. You know that verse in 27-28, it seems like it's a completely different conversation, but in actuality, it's a continuation of the conversation that he's having.

Verse 27-28 says, "While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breast at which you nursed.' But he said, 'On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.'" It looks like, well, he's talking about the demon possession, and how it goes back, and the second is worse than the first, and then all of a sudden he's like, "Blessed is the person who observes," right?

It is directly connected, because what he is saying is, is somebody who has truly met Christ, who's been delivered. The evidence of true faith is that they're going to be observing the word of God. That's what he means by that. First thing that we say is, "Blessed is your mom who raised you," and Jesus says, "No, no, on the contrary." This is a direct indictment against the Catholics.

It's like, somehow Mary is the way, how blessed she is, what a blessed saint that she is, and Jesus right here. No, no, no, you got that wrong. Mary is just another human being. Mary is not the one who's blessed. The one who's blessed who hears the word and who observes it as an evidence of genuine faith, that there was a genuine conversion that took place, and who's guarding you, protecting you, providing for you, is the Holy Spirit.

In Luke 8.21, "He answered and said to them, 'My mother, my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.'" And then again in 8.31, 32 of John, which I read earlier, it says, "Jesus said to the Jews who had believed, 'If you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.'" Is this message important in the church today?

The superficial nominal Christianity. If Jesus wasn't really resurrected from the dead, and this is a placebo, if this is really just a placebo, that life is hard and we need religion, we need to have some hope, any hopes. We need to have some hope because life is hard, and having hope helps us with life.

That one day, no matter how difficult it gets, that we're going to die and we're going to go to heaven, eternity, whether that's real or not, the benefit of believing that, the benefit of believing that is worth coming to church and doing all this stuff. If it's a placebo, then if that's the case, then the end goal is your happiness.

The end goal is your encouragement. You need to leave church every Sunday, no matter how difficult life was, you come and you feel uplifted and you're encouraged. Because if this is a placebo, that should be the end goal. To fill the churches where you're blessed, where you're encouraged, and the church will grow, people will gather.

And guess what? The largest church in America is Joel Osteen's church, whose committed doctrinal statement is that. We want you to leave encouraged and strengthened, if it's a placebo. But if he was really resurrected from the dead, if he was really resurrected from the dead, and this world is under the judgment of God, and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, that one day when we die, we're going to stand before the judgment seat.

And if we lived all our lives superficially, being tagged as a Christian, we were an admirer of Jesus, but we never were possessed by him. Then the greatest goal in the church is not your happiness. The greatest goal in the church is not your encouragement. It's truth, that makes sure you hear his voice, that makes sure you heed his truth, and that the word of God gets into you, and that every single person in this room is possessed by Jesus.

Not just admire Jesus, not just like Jesus, but be possessed by Jesus. That I can't live my life without Christ. My life would make no sense without Christ. Every hope that I have is based on Christ. Every power that I cling to is because of Christ. Every courage I have to live is because of what Jesus has.

A nominal Christian doesn't know any of that. A nominal Christian just looks at it, and all he feels is the burden of the law, without the deliverance of the Holy Spirit. No wonder it's miserable. It's miserable for nominal Christians. Because you have the weight of your sins in the world, and you have the weight of the law and the guilt in the church, and so all you did was double up your guilt.

But when Jesus says, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Is this important in our church, in our generation? No, it's critical. It's critical. Even if you don't like what I have to say, even if people don't want to come, even if they point fingers and say, "These guys are a bunch of legalists, all they do is judge." The truth has to be preached, if this is not a placebo.

The greatest thing that you will gain from the church is the true Christ. Not my love, not the love of your friends, not a place where you belong, not purpose, not education, not training, but Christ, the resurrected Christ. I pray that the study of the Word of God, not just this text, but every text that we open up, will judge the thoughts and intentions of our heart, because everything that we warn about what's happening is not just outside.

It's also in here, if we're not careful. Let's commit to come all the way to Christ. Don't just admire Jesus. Don't just sit there, be part of the church. Come all the way to Christ. To be able to say, from personal testimony, when He said, "I have come to give life, give this life abundantly," that this is not just a doctrinal statement, that this is your testimony, that we would worship God in spirit and in truth.

Let's pray. Father, help us to lift up your name. If there's any soul, even one soul in this room, Lord God, who has superficially confessed faith in you and they do not actually know you, I pray that the power of your Word and your Holy Spirit would convict, restore, strengthen, revive, renew us, Lord God, that we would become yours, that we would be your home, that we would be followers and lovers and worshipper of Christ in spirit and in truth.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise. God, the uncreated One, the uncreated One, the author of salvation, the loves of space and time and fashion worlds to His design. One whom angels most revere, among the stars like chandeliers, numbered every grain of sand, knows the heart of every man.

He is here forever. He is here forever. He is here forevermore. God, our fortress. God, our fortress and our strength, the rock on which we can't deal with. Matchless in His majesty, His power and authority. Shaken by the schemes of man, never changing, great I am. Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall.

He is faithful through it all. Crown Him, King forever. Crown Him, King forever. Crown Him, King forevermore. Man begot in mortal flesh, forsaken by a traitor's kiss. The curse of sin and centuries did pierce the lowly prince of peace. Lifted high the sinless man, crucified the smallest lamb. Married by the sons of men, rescued by the Father's hand.

Reign as King forever. Reign as King forever. Reign as King forevermore. Eternal God of grace, we crown You with the hottest praise. Holy shouts and saints adore Your holy, holy, holy Lord. For joy and everlasting life, all is love and goodness side. Justice flows and praises rise at the name of Jesus Christ.

King of kings forever. King of kings forever. King of kings forevermore. King of kings forever. King of kings forever. King of kings forevermore. Let's pray. Now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and the love and the power of God our Father, protect us, possess us, empower us, and guide us, that all of God's children will hear the voice of Christ, and Christ alone, and to find our refuge in Him, in Him alone.

Lord, we pray for revival in our generation. Help us to be a reflection, Lord God, of Your true grace. Help us, Lord God, to establish a church that honors You, worships You in spirit and in truth. Lord, we live among people who do not know You. Lord, we live, Lord God, with so many people surrounded, Lord God, who do not know the true resurrected Christ.

Help us to be bold. Help us to sense of urgency. Help us to know so that we would number our days. That whatever it is that we are coveting, whatever it is that we are afraid of, whatever is making us anxious, help us, Lord God, see it through the lens of eternity.

The hope that we have in Christ, may it grip us, empower us, and cause us to bear fruit wherever You send us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. God sent His Son. They called Him Jesus. He came to them. He'll never forgive. He'll hold them down. To find my partner, an empty grave is there to keep my Savior next.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives. ♪♪♪ Holy, holy is the Son of God. None can stand before His majesty. Beautiful beyond our highest thought. Worthy, He is worthy.

Holy, holy is the Word made flesh. King who bore our pain and poverty. Come to claim the rebel and the wretch. Worthy, He is worthy. All glory and honor, all power and praise.