I'll Be Honest

The lost sinner clearly sees the power of God in the creation and yet rather than give thanks to Him, they suppress the truth and deny Him. Oh, what shame of foolish humanity to see the power of God and deny such power!

Part 2 is under the title: Thankfulness – Let The Redeemed of The Lord Say So (Psalm 107)

Jesus declares that there are two types of people, and both are builders, one who is wise and one who is foolish. So are you building your life on the words of Jesus Christ and obeying what He says? The whole sermon on the mount has been a test from Jesus for you and me to recognize what type of builder we are.

0:00 - Introduction
3:24 - Who are you like? The wise or the foolish man?
05:44 - What does it mean to be wise?
10:07 - What does the wise man do?
12:09 - There are two types of people, both builders.
16:44 - When Jesus speaks, what happens to you?
24:33 - Is Christ precious to you?
28:57 - What about the person who has no foundation?
36:08 - This sermon is a test from Jesus.
41:58 - Noticed how often hell is threatened.
45:17 - The warnings should not make you despair but drive you to Christ.
46:35 - Do you think you are a Christian?
49:11 - Does this series annoy you?

Is it easy to be a Christian? Yes, easy if you will stop trying to save yourself and trust in Christ alone. Here is an excerpt from this audiobook chapter: She said that she had such an awful fear of God's wrath and such a desire to be a Christian that she could think of nothing which she would not do in order to be saved. "Yes," said I, "You would do everything but one, that is consent to do nothing and let Christ save you. You are just going about to establish a righteousness of your own and that is the great reason why you have not submitted yourself to the righteousness of God for Christ is the end of the law to everyone who believes."

What a powerfully used passage Matthew 7:21-23 has been in the last decade. It contains words of our Lord Jesus that have been used by God to shake many out of a state of false religion. Yet for the believer, they must not fall into fear and doubt when they hear these words but rejoice that Christ is their own. It is only by God’s grace alone that we are not workers of sin but are workers of righteousness.

00:00 – Reading the text Matthew 7.21-23
00:50 – 1 – What would you say before God?
07:51 – 2 – Lawlessness
14:32 – 3 – Day of judgment is a day of many surprises.
15:59 – 4 – Does Matthew 7.23 contradict the fact that we are saved by grace through faith?
25:35 – 5 – If your ‘grace’ does not change you it is cheap grace which is fake grace.
28:23 – 6 – Verses that speak about what grace through faith looks like.
36:50 – 7 – What are the causes of deception?
44:45 – 8 – What if I don’t want to embrace God’s standard of purity?
52:12 – 9 – Does God know you or has he never known you?
1:04:32 – Closing prayer.

If a professing believer came to you and confessed to a struggle with drug addiction, how would you counsel them? What would you say from the Scriptures in order to point them in the right direction?

The Fellowship Conference is an annual conference held in Denton, Texas (April 14-17, 2022). We gather to hear the Word of God preached and to fellowship with other believers. For more information visit: https://illbehonest.com/fellowship/ Registration starts January 15, 2022, at 1 pm. Who are the speakers? As happens with each conference, the preachers are not announced ahead of time.

Jesus warns us that there will be many false teachers who come and are disguised. How can we know them? Why give this warning? Is not grace so gracious that we don't need this warning? How do you know I am not a false prophet?

0:00 - Have you heard what Jesus said?
1:20 - Matthew 7, considering the context.
4:16 - Verses 15-20.
6:59 - Are there prophets today?
14:51 - Is your authority some confession or the Bible?
17:39 - False prophets don't like to tell you the hard things.
19:35 - False prophets are disguised.
23:04 - How can we know them? Fruit.
33:29 - Why is this warning given? Not as a threat to the false prophet but to you as a warning.
39:07 - Is not grace so gracious that we don't need this warning?
44:48 - People quote Ephesians 2.8-9 but forget to quote verse 10.
45:34 - False prophets want to reinterpret Jesus for us.
56:59 - How do you know I am not a false prophet?
57:37 - We need genuine faith because we face real trials.
1:00:22 - Are you a decided follower of Jesus Christ?
1:09:15 - Worn out? Look to Christ.
1:10:52 - John Wesley quote on being all out for Christ.
1:12:02 - Closing prayer.

Susannah Spurgeon - Ten Years After (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1895), pp. 6-7.

I can see two pilgrims treading the highway of life together, hand in hand, heart linked to heart. True, they've had rivers to ford, mountains to cross, fierce enemies to fight and many dangers to go through. But their guide was watchful, their deliverer unfailing and of them, it might truly be said in all their affliction, he was afflicted. And the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity He redeemed them. And he bare them and carried them all the days of old. Mostly, they went on their way, singing. And for one of them, at least, there was no greater joy than to tell others of the grace and glory of the blessed king to whose land he was hastening. And while he thus spoke, the power of the Lord was seen and the angels rejoiced over repenting sinners. But at last, they came to a place on the road where two ways met. And here, amidst the terrors of a storm, such as they had never before encountered, they parted company. The one being caught up to the invisible glory and the other battered and bruised by the awful tempest, henceforth toiling along the road alone. But the goodness and mercy, which for so many years had followed, the two travelers did not leave the solitary one, rather did the tenderness of the Lord lead on softly and choose green pastures for the tired feet and still waters for the solace and refreshment of his trembling child. He gave, moreover, into her hands a solemn charge to help fellow pilgrims along the road there with filling her life with blessed interest and healing her own deep sorrow by giving her power to relieve and comfort others.

If the Christian speaks to an unconverted sinner, in love, and alone, and without disputation, and in humility, and in the spirit of prayer, his words will do no harm. He may not be able to do good, but at least he can try. The unconverted in the midst of God’s people, meeting them every day, their friends, their associates, and neighbors, certainly ought not to be able to declare, “nobody said anything to me,”—“no man cared for my soul.”

Psalm 107 contains four illustrations of people in desperate situations of despair who the Lord saved. What is the response of the redeemed? To thank the Lord for His goodness that was shown towards them! This Psalm contains much fuel to fire praise to God in our lives.

0:00 - Opening prayer
0:12 - Psalm 107, considering technical aspects of the text.
7:29 - A summary of what is happening in the Psalm.
11:39 - Illustration 1 - The sinner wandering and looking for a city to dwell in.
25:49 - Illustration 2 - The Lord is the bar breaker.
33:30 - Illustration 3 - Fools who bring upon themselves affliction.
39:24 - Illustration 4 - Those in troubled waters.
41:02 - SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinking.
47:05 - The Lord delivered these four people.
50:05 - Closing prayer.