Knowing For Sure Part 2

Looking to Jesus in faith in Christ is the nonnegotiable factor transforms people darkness to light and changes their destinies from hell to heaven. Nothing is more important to understand today will hear a crystal clear explanation from the Moody Church in Chicago this is running to win sir sauce make it across one server is concluding a series on how you can be sure that you will spend eternity with God postulates her.

Is it true that through the ages people have feared for their destiny. That is true. And it's not only true among atheists, many of whom, in their final moments are fearful. It's also true about religious people. I could tell the story of someone who is very well-known, very religious, but he believed that salvation was a mixture of faith and works, and he died without assurance of salvation. He died in fear because if you believe that you will not have assurance.

That's why I believe so deeply in the book I Britain entitled how you can be sure that you will spend eternity with God. As I have frequently said this issue of your eternal destiny should be a priority. How you can be sure that you will spend eternity with God and by the way, today's the last day that we are making that resource available. Here's what you can do would go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com or call us right now at 1-888-218-9337 knowing for sure is indeed our highest priority.

Not only must you be persuaded that Jesus is all that you need to stand in the presence of a holy God because of what he has done but Jesus is all that you will to stand in the presence of a holy God.

How do you understand when Michelangelo painted those faces.

With so much fear because medieval theology taught that salvation was a cooperative effort between man and God were you do your part and God does his and the both of you work it out.

He gives us his mercy and we give him the hour works in our obedience. If that were the gospel. Michelangelo should've painted those spaces with even more terror because who can know that he has done enough to merit the righteousness of God. No one, not even the Virgin Mary, I different do you now understand why people who pray prayers sometimes are not saved, you know, we say to people you know you need God and they say yes I know I need God. You should accept Jesus as your Savior I that people say sure it can't hurt. Although or they think to themselves, you know, I need God's help and if accepting Jesus as my Savior gives me God's help will try my dear friend if you are here today and you do not know Christ as your Savior. You need something more radical than just God's help, you need God's forgiveness. That's what you need and you need your self-confidence shattered so that you come to God with nothing in your hand but become persuaded that Jesus Christ and his death on the cross is all that you will ever need to stand in the present.no wonder all these decisions end up without roots and the leaves with her and we say where are the people who believe and where are the children who accept Christ in Christian homes and then we can find them anywhere serving God I was brought up in a Christian home, my parents, who are still living. By the way, talk to them on the phone the other day minded just as clear as I was going to say is clear his mind and then I backed off because that might not be a compliment brought up little child. We had to accept Jesus as their Savior and in those days the terminology was you asked Jesus into your heart isn't exactly scriptural, but it works. I mean, people have asked Jesus into their hearts and been converted.

I remember age.

Maybe what I do. I'm guessing 89 10. I used to pray every night Jesus come into my heart. Please come into my heart and I had no sense of God's presence.

I I had no sense of assurance may just be a little personal for a moment until you know the kids do think of crazy things. You know that maybe you didn't. Maybe I shouldn't pass my own experience off on you, but I actually began to read the book of Revelation thinking that maybe I could never possibly be saved and maybe I was going to play some part in antichrist great scheme on the earth. Here's a kid 10 years old out in the middle of Canada were so flat that you can stand on a can of shoe polish look halfway the next week here. This kid is beginning to think things like this one day, my parents knowing the agony of my heart said you know you need to accept Christ as Savior and you need to do it by faith I said I have tried and then explain the gospel again and they said you have to understand that Jesus did it all and you have to receive him in faith. And so I got down on my knees and I received him really in safe eyes at this time I'm going to receive him in faith. And I did that at home on the farm 10 miles or 6 miles from a little town of 50 people you don't.

I want to say that I'm so glad that you don't have to go forward in meeting to be saved because I was so shy people today. Sometimes they don't. Pastor Luther sometimes somewhat unfriendly. You know it is shyness. I used to be so shy that when we had company.

My sisters would would grab me and have to drag me out from under the bed where I was hiding. I'm so glad that God saves people everywhere but you know after that time. After that time when I said I finally will receive it in faith, knowing no matter who I am.

I'm going to believe it in faith. Suddenly the doubts vanished, and I knew I was persuaded that Jesus Christ was all I would need to stand before a holy God. The issue was simple. Pastor Luther don't you think that you were saved. During those days when used to pray that Jesus would come in your heart. I thought about that a lot and I have to tell you, in all honesty, I really don't know. There's a part of me that's is why yes of course Christ would receive me as a child and maybe that's true. I just lacked assurance but that's the point I want to underline today whether I was saving it earlier or not.

I do not know.

But one thing is sure I had no assurance assurance came when I said I believe that Christ is all that I need. What is saving faith saving faith. Number one is the persuasion of the heart. God has convinced you by his spirit. You are persuaded.

Paul says I know whom I have believe it and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

That is the root of assurance. I was talk about the fruit of assurance. Secondly, it is the persuasion of the heart.

Secondly, it is also confirmed if confirmed by the Holy Spirit. Look at what the Bible says in Romans chapter 8 Romans chapter 8 if you're familiar with the text.

You may just listen.

It says in verse 14 for all who are being elected by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God, for you have not received the spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out Abba father means daddy. We can call God daddy many of you never had a daddy that you could call day God can be your daddy.

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, there is now the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

We belong to God's family and and soon we had that sense of long nests. I remember the day after I accepted Christ in faith.

Walking into the garage of the old farm on their and saying to myself, you know, I know God.

I know God, the Bible says the spirit of God gives us that sense of belongingness, the spirit of God begins to lead us. We are led by the spirit and we desire fellowship with God, our affections are chain.

I've known people of sin grievously after they were Christians. I've known those who had backslid and they have fallen into the depths of sin.

But it's interesting that in counseling than what I always here is I'm just so sorry that I did this because I really do love God. I really do love God. And when I hear that that is music to my ears because despite their sin.

The fact that they love God shows that the work of God within their hearts may indeed be genuine because the spirit bears witness with our spirit that we belong to God, mind you, we don't understand it any better than we perhaps understood him before. He is just as great a mystery. But suddenly the God who is so mysterious and far away becomes present through his spirit we say to ourselves. I know God and love him. Here's what happens.

The word of God produces within us the persuasion of the heart Bible says that if we confess Christ as Lord and believe in our hearts that God has raised him from the dead, we shall be safer with a heart with the heart man believe about the righteousness because he's persuaded by the word of God takes the spirit of God and creates within us the life of God and that is the third aspect of assurance because the text that we read in first John says there is a life in his son and suddenly we discover within us growing within us is the life of God and then we begin a life of serving God and that results in being able to love people who we weren't able to love before being able to forgive people and and there's a whole life of growth now and we explain this actually in a previous message.

The root is faith that is been persuaded that Christ is sufficient. The fruit is the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God, who connects with me that I belong to God and the second aspect of the fruit is now the life of God begins to work itself out. The leaves begin to turn green. Though they may be brown often as well.

Let me say a couple of words about assurance and then a few words about doubt.

First of all about assurance assurance is a process of growth. There are some people who come to know Christ as Savior and and they may walk along the issue of assurance and and they are genuinely saved, but as time goes by.

As they begin to read the word and as they began to commune with God. There assurance grows.

That's why it says in the book of Hebrews that we should come before God get this now with full assurance of faith that implies that there times and we come to God without full assurance, we come we come without full assurance.

There is a story in Canada that in one of those lakes that freeze over in the winter. There was a man who wanted to walk across the lake as an emergency needed to get some help, but he was so fearful he began to walk across the lake, trembling. There were times when he wanted to get down on all fours so that he would spread his weight thinking that perhaps the ice was too thin, and while he was filled with terror and fear. Suddenly he noticed that coming toward him in a distance was a team of horses running along when he saw the team of horses. He knew that he could walk across the lake with confidence. He had misjudged the thickness of the ice. Everything was okay times and we come to Jesus Christ to believe on him and as the words of the hymn say just as I am so tossed about with many a conflict in many a doubt sightings within without all, I, and we walk on the ice and were not sure whether or not it is able to hold us and then once we begin to walk.

He developed the confidence and we see what Christ can do and we get up and we walked assurance I'm more confident of my salvation today than I was when I accepted Christ at the age of 14, there was growth in assurance, let me say a word now about doubt how you handle your doubts. Remember a few messages ago I talked about the children of Israel, who had to put blood on their door so that the angel of death would bypass them, and God's is when I see the blood, I will pass over you. I mentioned at that time how important it was that when we face the issue of doubt that we not look at the leavened bread and we look at the bitter herbs that we look at the blood on our door. Let me tell you a story today but in order to tell you the story I need to set the context there is a pastor who is widely respected in a very fine man and what I have to say about him is not to be construed as a criticism, but in recent years he has been convinced that one of the things we have to combat in the church is easy believe is the way in which he thinks that we should do it is by stressing that unless a person's life is radically changed by God that they should therefore recognize that they are not Christians. Unless you are pursuing holiness as you're walking in faith that separates that if you backslide too long. It shows that you are never saved, etc. all that is very well and good to because there is the emphasis on the life as I've already mentioned, the problem is that people who listen to him, think, and I don't know whether he's saying this, but it appears as if what he saying is when you doubt your salvation. Look at works. I don't look to Christ. That's what people think at least a sign right. That's the context and now the story few years ago I was sitting in my study here at the church in the morning and my secretary called me on the intercom and said pastor there's a woman who wants to talk with you and she is crying.

Will you talk with her.

I said sure so I picked up the telephone and here's what I heard. Here's this woman sobbing between the sobs. She settled pastor Luther. She said I'm 71 years old and I live in a senior citizens home here in the city of Chicago and she said every morning. She said some of us get together and we listen to the radio and she said I've been listening to the radio and a message by then she gave the name of the pastor and she said I walk with God for about 40 years and she said now he tells me that I'm not saved, and she just began to cry. I said to her, what is he saying that makes you think that you're not say just as well he seems to say that if unless you're almost perfect. It shows you are never saved and she said oh God knows how often I have failed my Lord. She said I let my daughter to saving faith in Christ when she was 19, but older been so many times of backsliding and coldness. She said I guess I'm just not saved. So I said to her to let me ask you something if you were to die today, and God were to say to you, why should I let you into heaven, I said, what would you say what you trusting your salvation, she settled pastor. She said I'm trusting the blood of Christ, she said, is there anything else and that this was so cute. I actually wrote it down. She said I cannot take steel wool to my heart and scrub it. She said I trust the blood of Christ as a dear lady, I want you to understand something.

If you are trusting the blood of Christ that is enough that is enough. She said can you assure me of that and I said yes, that is enough by now she had stopped crying and we talked a while, and I prayed with her on the telephone and before she hung up she said you know what I'm going to do. She said when I hung up. She said I'm going to tell all the others that are here in the room with me that trusting the blood of Christ is enough enough tomorrow. God willing, I fly to Europe fly to Berlin Swiss air flight 125 Chicago to Zürich to Berlin if it should go into the ocean and this is the last message I will ever preach from this pulpit and by the way, I have no premonition that that's going to happen.

I like Swiss air when you always remember that pastor Luther's last words were that the blood of Christ is enough. I have no other argument I have no other plea.

It is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me and if I should see God before you do, and he should say why should I let you into heaven, I will not say Lord, Lord, I preach. I counseled I prayed no no I stand.

I say father. I believe your word I believe that the blood of Christ is enough. Are you persuaded today, but the blood of Christ is all that you will ever need to stand in the presence of a holy God. You persuaded that the blood of Christ is enough you say pastor Luther, I believe.

Believe where you are seated and say yes I believe I accept them as I believe what he did is enough if you will let us pray. Oh father, we think of those were saying just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict ending it out. Findings within and fears without O Lamb of God, I come, I come, they are blessed Holy Spirit speak to many people who are here today who do not know where in the world they stand in the relationship with you. We pray that they may saving only believe.

Even at this moment they they say. I believe that I believe it for me. Grant them that gift, we pray, and if you need to talk to God.

Now, would you talk to him right rear seated as he sees your heart to simply say Lord Jesus and believe you are enough tell Lord do the work that only you can do plant the tree deeply sinks the roots into deep soil that we might not be uprooted. Pray in Jesus name, amen.)

Pastor Luther I don't know what else to say. I hope that you have been listening very carefully and for those of you who have doubts as I like to emphasize again and again come with your doubt.

But come and recognize that indeed the blood of Jesus Christ is enough, although I hope and pray that you will come to full assurance of faith, that you might live in the victory of that assurance and discover that God is as good as his promises.

Today's the last day that we are making a very special resource available to you is my book entitled how you can be sure that you will spend eternity with God want you to have this book want you to read it again and again shared with your friends underline it. Think about it. The aim of the book is to bring you into full assurance of faith, it's for doubters is for those who have walked with God for many years now for a gift of any amount. It can be yours. And thanks in advance for helping us as we get the gospel of Jesus Christ to thousands upon thousands of people. I hope that you have a pencil so that you can write this down. Go to RTW offeror.com that's RTW offeror.com or call us right now.

In 1-888-218-9337. Remember, this is the last day, we are making this resource available how you can be sure that you will spend eternity with God. Let me give you that contact info again RTW offeror.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 you can actually call right now.

Ask for the book how you can be sure that you will spend eternity with God and thanks in advance for helping us as we continue to share the gospel around the world.

You can write to us wanting to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago Roy 606141 life's race facing an adversary is called the Prince of darkness, and the surface. We don't have to let him block the track's weapons lying and deceit. What's our defense next time I'm running to win. We begin a probing look at Satan, God's devil. Don't miss this series. Thanks for listening Pastor Erwin lutes are this is Dave McAllister running to win his sponsor teacher