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Ridgecrest Baptist Church is located in Dothan, AL and exists to Reach the lost, Build the believer, and Connect people of God to the mission and purpose of God.
Well, I hope you've taken your Bible by now and opened up to 1 Corinthians, chapter 16. Just a couple of verses we'll read in just a moment. You know our series is on purpose and the whole point of that is that we are. God has put us here to make a difference. God has put us here to impact our world. That's why you're here. You're not here just to take up space, to breathe air and use up resources. That's's why you're here. You're not here just to take up space, to breathe air and use up resources. That's not why you're here. You are here on purpose, with purpose. We've talked about that frequently. I remind you of that because if you get that, it changes the way you approach life.
Now we're living in a time where there are a lot of culture wars. You'd agree with that. There are a lot of culture wars going on. There are battles. There are battles to control the hearts and the minds of our kids. There are battles to control the heart and mind of our nation. There are even battles to control the direction, the hearts and the beliefs of our churches. They're ideological, they're philosophical and they're even theological, and I'm not going to take time to go through all of these kind of wars that we're seeing and witnessing. I've done that several times in previous messages and you can go back and listen to that. But I will say this to you we should not be surprised that these kinds of battles and wars are going on, because they're really birthed from the unseen, cosmic, eternal war that's being fought in the heavenlies. What you're seeing playing out on the surface is actually the manifestation of a more sinister war that's being waged in the unseen realm by the prince and power of the air and it appears, if you look at things around us and around the globe, it appears that the portals of hell have been opened unlike any time we've ever seen in our life.
John said in 1 John, chapter 4 and verse 3, this is the spirit of the Antichristrist, which you heard was coming and listen. He adds, and now is already in the world. I believe that the devil and his demons are making a final attempt to destroy humanity and, in particular, to disrupt any move and any work of God. Bible prophecy indicates that satanic and demonic activities will increase as we move toward the end of the age. In fact, prophecy writer Mark Hitchcock put it this way. He said, and I quote we can expect demonic activity to ramp up as the end times draw near, and it appears that's just what is happening Now.
There are a lot of fearful things going on today in our world, but we don't have to live in fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear. The scripture says Our arch enemy has already been defeated we have to remember that and he's on a short leash. But it does not mean that we're not going to need a different kind of courage I believe we are, and a different kind of courage I believe we are and a different kind of commitment to God. In the days to come, I think we're going to have to have a kind of courage and commitment that is focused on pleasing God, and it's greater than our desire to be approved and to be accepted by the culture. Several years ago there, there was a New York Times bestselling book titled Culture Warrior. I've not read it, but I can tell you that there's another book that is the all-time bestseller in history, by the way. It's the Bible, and you know the Bible is a book of instructions on how to be a culture warrior for God, how to be a spiritual culture warrior for God, how to make a difference for God and for the kingdom of God, and that's what I want us to look at today.
If you're physically able, why don't you stand with me as we read just a couple of verses out of 1 Corinthians 16, beginning in verse 13. Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. Now, father, would you take your word, enrich our lives with it this morning. Convict us, father, would you educate, instruct us? And, father, would you challenge us to be who you have put us here to be. Help us to live our lives on purpose and in accord with your will. Help us to follow your plans for our life, for your glory and for our good. Now, teach us, speak to us. We're listening. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you, you can be seated. Thank you, you can be seated Now.
Just these two verses are part of what we would call Paul's concluding remarks in this first letter of Corinthians. He is wrapping the letter up and here's what he does. Essentially, he says oh yeah, let me remind you. Oh yeah, let me remind you. And all through this, you're going to find him doing just that. Let me remind you. Let me remind you. Let me remind you, in these last verses, that's what he's doing. He says it's kind of like a PS at the end of one of your letters, you know, you remembered something you thought I need to. Oh yeah, I meant to tell you. Well, that's what he's doing here. He's saying this is a hodgepodge. Let me just get in all the things that I meant to tell you that I haven't told you yet, and that's what he's doing here. And he gives them these kind of final reminders. Why are these reminders, though, so important and, by the way, they're in the imperative, which means they're really commands and why are they so important? Advance, and why are they so important? Well, I believe it's because the culture today that you and I are living in is identical to the culture that Paul was writing to. Technology has advanced, but the tactics of the enemy haven't changed at all. He's just adapted them in. If anything now uses technology against us to carry out his nefarious kinds of ideas.
Corinth was a thoroughly pagan environment. It had numerous temples. It had temples to all the pagan deities. I've told you before that it was what we call a part of the Greco-Roman system, and they would have been fine with Christians, if Christians just would have gone along with their multifaceted kind of religious worship. But Christians wouldn't do that, and so they became an enemy, in a sense, they became an enemy of the state of this pagan culture. Corinth had all these temples, temples to Aphrodite, apollo, you name it, just about every mythological kind of God that you can think of. They had a temple too. They had.
It was a culture of lax morality. It was a culture of vast sexual perversion. They had in some of the temples what were known as temple prostitutes, and that they engaged in the worship with these. Why Paul writes in in this same book, in chapter six do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with the prostitute? Why? Why would he have said that? He's referring to the fact that they had these worship practices that included perverse sexuality? Do you not know he says that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body?
Paul feared here's what Paul feared in the culture that they were living in, with the lax morality, with the progressive perversions of the age. He feared that this pagan culture would influence the believers. And in fact, because of what he addresses in this book, it had begun to take or affect the believers in that culture. He didn't want them to grow soft and he didn't want them to compromise their faith. And so this he gives them a lot of instruction in this book, and in particular the two verses we look at, reminders, imperatives of how to stay the right course for God. The culture they were living in was very intimidating, hello. It was very intimidating, it was very demanding. It was, by the way, that claimed to tolerate everything. And because they claimed to tolerate everything, they expected the same from everyone else, even from Christians.
So he closes this letter with some commands, incidentally, that are in the present tense. So it means that they didn't stop with the Corinthians. That's why these things are so significant to us today. They didn't stop there, so what Paul told them was a present tense and it continues and it continues, and it continues, and it needs to be restated in our modern Corinthian culture. So let me share them with you.
I want to give you five things from those two verses this morning. First of all, paul commands them to be careful in their observations. We must be careful in our observations. He says in verse 13, be watchful. Now in the Greek that can be translated be alert, stay vigilant, but be watchful. It's in the present tense. As I said, it means be watchful and alert and continue to be watchful and alert. It is to live in a continual state of alertness, eternal vigilance, you might say.
One of the books I'm reading right now is a book titled Nuclear War by Annie Jacobson. I got the book because I've read others by her and she's so well researched and most of her books relate to behind the scenes things that are going on, military, clandestine activities through the years, those sorts of things. But in this book she researches a likely nuclear attack on America and the various responses and protocols that are in place in the event we are attacked. Let me just say something to you Don't read this book if you don't want to get frightened. But at any rate she talks about the various current means of 24-7, 365-day-a-year monitoring activities that are used by our military, the Pentagon and the Department of Defense to hopefully prevent us from some surprise attack. She talks about ground-based monitoring, satellite monitoring, all these systems that are in place, but with all the sophisticated technology she then moves to talk about how many gaping holes there are in the system, how outdated much of the system is and how the enemy, our enemies on the globe, are aware of the holes. They know where the holes.
Well, paul's command to stay alert here is a similar kind of command. Why? Because our adversary, like our adversaries in this world, is always looking for the gaps, always looking for. That's why Peter said he roams about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Our enemy, the, the devil, is always looking for gaps and listen. He knows where the gaps are and he knows how to find the gaps, the holes where he can attack and assault us. And as a spiritual, cultural warrior, we must never drop our guard with the enemy, which is why, again, peter wrote what he said.
So let me give you a couple of keys to staying alert. How can you stay alert? As a believer, I think? First of all, don't be naive. I don't mean to insult your intelligence, but you know there are a lot of believers who don't take seriously this spiritual war that's going on. They don't understand what they see around them. Oftentimes they may just say well, that's just the way the world is and that's right. The world is the way it is because it's under the right now the domain of the prince and power of the air. That's a part of this cosmic battle that's being fought Now. The good news we know the rest of the story, but don't be naive. The devil's not a fairy tale, he is real. He's a bully. He's relentless. And listen, don't be naive and assume that you're not a target. You're a target. Don't think that you're not, for instance. So stay alert by not being naive.
Number two you can stay alert by saturating your mind with Scripture. Both Paul and the writer of Hebrews remind us that the Scriptures are a sword to be used and wielded against the devil. It's a weapon. You know, if you go and you look through Ephesians 6, that is a spiritual armor that we're to put on. Paul told us to put on. The only weapon that's offensive, to be used offensively, is the sword of the word of God. It is your sword, it really is. That's why you should saturate your mind with it. Know what God says so you can align your life and so you can, you can fight off the lies of the devil. So being a spiritual, cultural warrior requires you, number one, to be watchful. Number two it requires you to be convictional in your affirmations, the things you affirm.
He says in verse 13, stand firm in the faith. Now, paul frequently used this terminology, used it in Philippians, a couple of places there. He used it in second Thessalonians. He uses it, of course, in our text here and he uses it as an exhortation and as a command that we remain steadfast in the faith, that is, in the truth, in right beliefs. I shared with you I think it was last week Jude's line in that single chapter where he said contend for the faith that has once and for all been delivered to the saints. Well, this is what Paul's really saying. He's saying stand firm in the faith, don't equivocate. Stand firm in the faith, don't equivocate, don't wobble, in the midst of adversity and the midst of stress and in the difficulties of this life. You see, the Corinthians, the faith, the Christian faith was under assault and there was great pressure upon these Corinthian believers to cave in and to compromise the truth. And many had. If you go back and read through this book, you see that many had done just that they had compromised the truth. So Paul commands and he encourages them, he exhorts them to hold fast, not to bend.
Today we are beginning to see increasing pressure upon bible believing Christians to bend as never before in America. Now it's happened all over the world. It's happened since the first century all over the world. But Americans have been unusually protected as Christians from persecution or suffering or difficulty or harassment. But we're beginning to see increasing pressure upon Bible-believing Christians. Now, if you don't really believe the Bible, there are a lot of people running around the culture, there are a lot of churches, there are a lot of denominational groups that don't believe the Bible any longer. They're no threat to anybody and we're already seeing. There's an example this past week, one that just decided we're going to take the world system and we're going to employ the world system. But if you choose to believe the Bible in this culture, you're going to eventually suffer, you're going to face harassment. You're going to face that, and Christians need to understand that. We're beginning to see this increased pressure upon believers to bend, to bow down to the zeitgeist that is the spirit of the age. What does the spirit of the age say? And disregard what the scripture says to become more compatible.
A recent warning was issued by international Christian concerned president, jeff King, in an interview I read with him in the Christian Post, he lamented that too many in western nations that's us now fail to see the trend of increased persecution of Christians domestically. And he goes on to say, basically, we are frogs in the kettle. You've heard that analogy before. Slow boiling the frog in the kettle, he said, basically that's what we've become here and the bubbles keep coming up under us. He goes on to say too many people are not aware politically and they're so used to thinking of how things were how they used to be that they can't figure out where these bubbles are coming up from and not realizing that we are being slowly cooked. Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, in a report released just a couple of months ago entitled Free to Believe, he said this. He said it is shocking to see Western countries, the same ones that we think of as free and open societies.
The authoritarian measures against Christians simply trying to live out their faith are now under assault. Hostility toward Bible-believing Christians is clearly and steadily rising in the West. So how do I stand firm? Well, let me give you two or three things that will help you stand firm. First of all, you stand firm by knowing what you believe in the first place. The Bible says the prophet said my people perish for lack of knowledge. They didn't know what was going on. We must know. We must know what we believe in the first place, and listen if you're not a student of what you believe, you ought to become one. Right now. It's more important than ever before to understand what you believe and why you believe it.
Paul, writing in Ephesians, chapter 4, he says Until we all attain to the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes. Pretty interesting statement, isn't it? What he's saying is you and I need to do our diligence to know what we believe, so we won't be tossed around by every wind of doctrine going on, even religious ideology that's being bantered about, every human philosophy, every cunning human scheme, all of these sorts of things. We need to mature. We need to know what we believe. You see, you'll never be able to stand for a faith if you don't know what you believe, and it's so important that we get that. So, first of all, if you want to stand. Know what you believe. I mean really know what you believe, because the devil knows what you believe. So he'll find a gaping hole if you don't.
And then number two decide, listen to exercise your faith. Decide to exercise your faith. Do you know? Faith is like a muscle. It's like a muscle and you know what happens if you don't use a muscle, if you don't exercise a muscle. You know what happens it atrophies and it loses its purpose.
A lot of Christians know the right stuff. They're just not exercising their faith. Know the right stuff, they're just not exercising their faith. They're not doing what they know to do. Do you know what James said about that? To him that knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. He said be doers of the word, not hearers only. So you have to know what you believe. But it's not enough to just know it. Then you have to put it in action. You have to apply what you have to decide.
I'm going to exercise my faith and I want to tell you something when you start exercising your faith, you're going to upset somebody. You, sooner or later, are going to come across a path of somebody that you're going to upset because you exercise your faith. In fact, they'll tell you you can't do that. Isn't that kind of ironic? And they'll tell you that. But you, if you are going, if you're going to be a culture warrior for God, you're going to have to exercise your faith. You're going to have to live Like the Corinthians. You can't be intimidated by the culture. So to be a kingdom culture warrior, you have to stand firm on the truth, all right.
Number three to be a kingdom culture warrior, you must be courageous in your demonstrations. Now, verse 13, he says act like men. Now, ladies, don't be offended. The idea is literally be courageous, be courageous. The idea here is have courage in how you behave, don't be afraid to do the right thing, don't be afraid to stand.
God calls Christians to a way of life, as I said, that often will incite the opposition of the world. He causes people to enter into spiritual warfare in which opponents seek to destroy the believers and to fight against the direction and the goal that God has for the kingdom. And in this hostile world, it is absolutely essential that the followers of Christ be courageous and strong. We're going to have to have, as I said earlier, a new kind of courage. We're going to have to have a new kind of commitment going forward, one that's not afraid and not ashamed of who we are and not afraid to say this is what God says, like Martin Luther when he penned the 95 theses and the door of Wittenberg in Germany and he said my conscience is held captive to the word of God. Here I stand, I can do no other. And we're going to have to readopt that kind of mindset that says here I stand, my mind is taken captive by the truth of God, I will stand on it, I can do nothing else. By the way, he had to then flee for his life and he had to run for move from place to place to place. He didn't quit speaking, living and teaching the truth, but they kept chasing him. We're going to have to have a new kind of courage, a new kind of commitment.
I heard about a man who bragged that he cut off the tail of a man-eating lion with his pocket knife. He was asked why he hadn't cut off the lion's head with his pocket knife, to which he replied well, someone had already done that. Listen, that's not so courageous, is it? But I want to tell you why you can be courageous in the face of strong and intimidating culture. You can because Jesus already cut off the head of the lion. Jesus already done that. And listen, the lion is running around and doesn't realize that yet, doesn't know. He thinks he's still got a shot. He doesn't have a shot. Look, you've heard the old line doesn't have a chance. It's like a snowball in hell. That's what the devil is. Literally he doesn't have a chance. Jesus decapitated him on the cross and because of that you don't have to live in fear of the enemy. You ought to be aware, you ought to be watchful. But you can be courageous because Jesus has already cut off the head of the devil. Your victory is sure. Listen, our victory is sure. That's why we can stand, that's why we should stand.
So how can you be courageous in this culture? Well, first of all, obey what God says. You're a warrior in God's army and because of that, because we are warriors in God's army, you don't give orders, you obey orders. When I was growing up in church, we learned a song. Actually, we learned it in vacation Bible school. I'm in the Lord's army. Any of y'all ever learn that song? Come up here and sing it. I'm not going to sing it, but you remember, I may never march in the infantry, ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery. You remember it. But I'm in the Lord's army. A soldier doesn't give orders. A soldier obeys orders, he takes orders. Listen, obey what God says. You don't even have to always understand them, but your commander and chief knows the path to victory, and so you obey what God says. If you want to be courageous, if you want to be courageous, remember how the story ends. This is the good news. Don't ever forget this. We know how the story ends. So, as dark as it may get at times, as discouraging as it may be out there, listen, we know how this story turns out. Amen. And it turns out good. For those in the right army, it turns out well.
Justin Martyr, who was martyred for the faith, was told to stop preaching. He was told to stop preaching the gospel and stop sharing the message with the people in the Roman Empire, and he was brought before the emperor Antoninus Pius. He was brought before Pius and Pius told him no more, enough, enough, and if you do, we will kill you. And listen to what his response was. I love it. He looked at the emperor and he said you can kill us but you cannot harm us. You get it. You can kill us In this life. You can kill us, you can destroy us, but you can't harm us. You get it. You can kill us in this life. You can kill us, you can destroy us, but you can't harm us.
Matthew, chapter 10, jesus said this do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Well, remember how the story ends and that's why you can stand. That's why you can stand, that's why you can be courageous, is because you know how this thing all works out. You can live courageously as a, as a kingdom culture warrior because you know how this story ends.
And then, number four be capable by God's inspiration. Look at verse 13, 13 again, he says be strong. This is his fourth imperative in the present tense Be strong and keep on being strong. You're capable by the inspiration of God. What is that inspiration? It is his Holy Spirit. The Corinthians had a tendency see to moral weakness and to spiritual instability, and so Paul calls them to be strong, just like he did in Ephesians 6. Ephesians 6, where he says be. Finally, brothers and sisters, be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. You don't have the might, but he does.
One pastor said this there's no comparison between the power of Satan and the power of the Holy Spirit in you. The power of Satan is like a little firecracker, while the power of the Holy Spirit inside of you is like a nuclear bomb. That's the contrast. You are capable because of the Holy Spirit inside of you. Your spiritual, moral and earthly battles are more than you can handle. We'd all agree with that, but they're not more than God can handle. That's why the Holy Spirit resides in you. That's why Jesus said I'm going to the Father. I've been with you, but now I'm going to the Father, and when I go to the Father I will send the Spirit and he will not be with you, he will be in you. In other words, he'll make you capable. You'll have the inspiration and the power of the Holy Spirit inside of you to operate so that you can face what you have to face in this world.
So how can you be strong as a kingdom culture warrior? Well, first of all, be inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit in you. You see, we're weak, but he's strong. Your weakness is God's opportunity to show his power in your life. I want to tell you, weakness isn't all bad when you learn where your real source of power comes from.
Paul said I've learned he had this thorn in the flesh and he said I asked God to take it away three times. You have a thorn in the flesh and you've asked God take it away, take it away, take it away. And God hadn't taken away. And it makes you weak. And Paul said I discovered something. He said three times and God wouldn't take it away. And he said that's when I finally learned what God was trying to teach me.
What God was trying to teach me was that when I am weak, then I am strong. Why? Because I rely on him in my weakness. You see, when I don't identify weakness in my life, I don't rely too much on God. But when I know there's weakness, I turn to God. But when I know there's weakness, I turn to God.
And so listen, the fact is, you can face whatever it is in front of you in his power, and that's what he wants. He wants you to say I am weak, lord, you're strong. Be strong in me. That's why God said to Zerubbabel. He said it's not by might, it's not by power, it's by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts or the Lord, god Almighty. It's not by power, it's by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts or the Lord, god Almighty. It's not by your strength.
And we tend to look out and say, well, how am I going to make this work? How am I going to? I want to tell you something else. Listen for those who choose to stand for God, for those who will choose to align themselves with the purposes of God, no matter how dark you get, you're going to see miracles. You're going to get to see miracles. You're going to get to see God do things that defy explanation and that the culture can't explain. You'll get to see those I'm talking about in your life. You'll get to see God do things that there's no explanation other than God. God did it why? Because he is the strength in me. I'm weak, but he is strong.
Be inspired by the Holy of the Spirit of God. So what is the Spirit? How does the Spirit direct my life? The Spirit of God ruling on the throne of your life will never missteer. You never take you in the wrong direction. Missteer. You never take you in the wrong direction and so you can be strong because you follow the prompting of the holy spirit inside of you. John said in first john, chapter four, in verse four little children, you are from god. That's a compliment. You're from god and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Remember that. Don't be intimidated by the world. You have the power of the Holy Spirit. You have the presence of God operating inside of you to direct you and to lead you. And then, if you want to be a courageous kingdom culture warrior, be inspired by the victorious work of God.
As I said earlier, christ has already secured the ultimate victory. Christ has already secured the cross, the tomb. By the way, paul says in Corinthians. Here he says that the devil didn't understand what the cross and tomb were all about. In fact, he says if, if he had have seen what was going to be accomplished on the cross, he would have tried to prevent it. The devil would have actually tried to prevent it instead of advancing, but he didn't understand what was going on. What was going on was his defeat, the devil's defeat, and Christ's ultimate victory.
Jesus said to his disciples in John 16 before he left, because he knew for them that there would be some things that, apart from his word in them and the spirit of God operating through them, they just wouldn't be able to figure it out. And so he said this I've said these things to you, that in me you may have peace in the world. You will have tribulation, amen. But take heart, I've overcome the world. Listen, you're on the right team. He says in this world it's broken, it's fallen, it's under the domain, the, the direction of the prince and power of the air allowed by God for a certain time. And he says while you're under that domain, there's going to be tribulation, you're going to face difficulty, there will be suffering, there will be persecution, there will be things that you can't explain. But he said take heart. Take heart, he said, because I've overcome the world. You see, eternity is about him having overcome the world. And so he reminds us that we're on the right side of this thing in the kingdom. So be strong in him.
And then, last, let me give you the final thing here if you're going to be a culture warrior for God, he tells us in verse 14 to be compassionate in how we deal with others, that is, be compassionate in our confrontations. Let all that you do be done in love. Now, all the things that we just talked about, these previous things, I believe are vital to being a culture warrior for God, and I believe that's why they're all in the present tense. I believe that's why it's important. I think that's why this message 2,000 years ago is important for us today, because they're still in the active tense. What Paul was saying to them carries on. It carries on to all believers through all the ages, and so it's important for us today. It means it that it continues in our life and we have to take these things as serious as Paul wanted the Corinthians to take them.
And this last statement he gives is a command which I think really pulls all of these other four together, as in be alert and watchful, right, but show compassion. Be alert and watchful, but show compassion. Stand firm in the faith. Don't bend. Speak the truth in love, but be compassionate. Be courageous, obey God, but be compassionate. Be filled with the Spirit and with His power and demonstrate who Christ is in your behavior, but be compassionate. Now, don't misunderstand something here Compassion we often confuse as weakness. Compassion doesn't mean compromise. Our world is confused, our kids are confused and many churches are confused. They believe that showing loving compassion means compromising the truth and biblical conviction. But if you want to get it right, we have a model, a model of compassion and conviction, and that model is Jesus Christ.
You remember the story. It's often used, but only part of it is told about the woman caught in adultery. You remember that story? In the New Testament, jesus comes upon this scene and there are some as it would be interestingly enough religious leaders gathered around her and they're about to stone her for her sin of adultery. She was caught. They were about to stone her. We don't know what Jesus wrote in the sand, but some believe it was their names, meaning that they had been a part of this. But at any rate, jesus says okay, the first one, he that doesn't have sin. You throw the first stone and you know the story. They all dropped their stones and walked away. Jesus says to the woman where are your accusers? And she says, master, no one here accuses me and you remember what Jesus said and neither do I condemn. You says Master, no one here accuses me and you remember what Jesus said and neither do I condemn you. And then he stopped and he left. No, he didn't. That's where a lot of people stop the story, especially in our modern age. Jesus didn't condemn, no, he didn't Thank God. But then he said to her what Go and sin no more.
Compassion and conviction, compassion without compromise. You know what really Jesus was saying to her. He was saying repent, turn and don't do this anymore. You see, that's compassion, loving compassion. I think we're going to see her in the kingdom of God.
Compassion and conviction, listen.
Compassion doesn't mean we compromise on the truth.
It's the reason so many people are confused in our churches, in our culture.
It's the reason our kids are so confused today is because we've substituted compassion for compromise. Love, but don't condemn, listen. We're not about condemnation. Jesus died for condemnation on the cross. We're about conviction, and conviction says God has a right to say some things are right and some things are wrong, and I can lovingly speak the truth about those things. That's what we need desperately. Jesus is the model of compassion and conviction. Jesus loved her, confronted her, but he didn't compromise on the truth.
And we're also told in Galatians that we are to operate that way with one another, particularly those of the household of faith. The Bible says as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, especially those who belong to the house of faith. The Bible says as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, especially those who belong to the house of faith. And do you know Jesus? You know the Father still operates with us the way he did with that woman caught in adultery. He loves us, but he calls us to repentance for the sake of our relationship with Him. He wants the best for you, but he won't compromise for you to have it, and he has already done everything that is necessary for you to live for Him and to know Him. Paul says in Romans 5.8,. But God shows His love for us and that while we were sinners, christ died for us. He didn't. You know?
I've got a book in my library, written back in the 60s by a psychologist named Dr Carl Menninger, titled Whatever Became of Sin. He was talking about. Even back then, people were moving away from the concept of sin. They were blaming their pathologies on everything but sin, and he used to treat it that way yeah, you've got this. And then, finally, he realized nobody was getting helped from his therapy and he realized that they had to return to something, and that is, that there are some things that are sin. Whatever became of sin? And he began to reincorporate that in his therapeutic processes and, amazingly, people began as they dealt with their sin. Guess what sin? Guess what their lives got whole.
Friend, listen, jesus dealt with your sin so you could have an abundant life. I've come that you might have life and have it abundantly. That's for you and that's for me. And if you're going to be a kingdom culture warrior, you got to start right there. You got to know him, you got to have this relationship with him and that's what he most longs for. You can't be this culture warrior for God if you have no relationship with the commander. And I want to urge you today if you're watching by media, whatever it may be, if you've never put your trust in him, start right there and let him begin the transforming process of making you into a new person.
The Bible says any person in Christ is a new creation. The old things have passed away and the new things have appeared. Have you ever wanted a fresh start? Have you ever just said, man, I wish I could just start this. That's where it starts, right there. It starts right there and you can have that you can have it today. Would you bow your head, close your eyes? No one's looking about in this place.
And for those of you joining us by live stream, listen. Don't miss the opportunity. If you've never trusted Christ, you're not sure Christ is your Savior to call on Him. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How do I do that? Just in your heart, right now, sincerely say Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me, thank you for dying for me. I want to live my life for you. I want to be on the winning team, and so, right now, I invite you to come into my life, forgive me of my sins and be my Savior, my Lord and my Master. He'll hear that prayer, he'll answer that prayer. Begin this new, wonderful journey in your life.
Father, I know that you hear those prayers and I pray for all of those who've called upon you today that you'll give them courage to live, for you, to speak, for you to stand, for you to not shrink back. Father, help them to enjoy this new relationship that has been established between them and you. Help us all to be students. Father, know what to enjoy this new relationship that has been established between them and you Help us all to be students, father, know what we believe, so we can stand for what we believe, to express that belief in the way we live and the way we behave, to not compromise but also to be compassionate to a lost world that desperately needs to know what the truth is and may be watching us to see if we really believe what we say we believe. So help us to be those kinds of kingdom culture warriors, father, that make a difference on purpose, on purpose, so that we impact this age that we're living in. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you If you will be standing.
I'm so glad that you have tuned in to the broadcast today. I hope you've been encouraged by God's Word. It sure has been a joy to share it with you, and even now people at Ridgecrest are making decisions for Christ. Perhaps, as you've watched this broadcast, you've recognized the need for your own decision for Christ. The prompting of the Spirit has caused you to recognize that you need Christ as your Savior, and the good news is you can receive Him right where you are.
The Bible says Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Right where you are, you can call on Him. Say something like this from your heart to Him Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. I know I'm a sinner and I know that you came into this world and died on the cross for my sins, and right now I invite you to come into my life, forgive me and be my Savior. I can assure you, if you'll call on him, based on what God has already told us in the Bible, that he'll hear that prayer and he'll answer that, and he wants to begin this new journey in your life with you, transforming you into his image.
We'd love to help you with that decision as well. You'll see a QR code on your screen and if you would scan that, or you'll see contact information, or if you'll contact us about your decision today, we'd love to help you take next steps. There are no strings attached, no fees involved. We'd just like to help you begin that journey with Christ. You may be watching this broadcast today and say I need a church family to belong to. I already know Christ as my Savior and I'd like to be a part of the Ridgecrest family. Also, if you will scan that QR code, that'll take you to a location and we'll be able to help you make those kinds of decisions, like becoming a member here, or if you've never been scripturally baptized, those kinds of things. So contact us through that QR code or through the contact information on the screen. Well, again, it's been a joy to have you with us today and I hope you've been encouraged by God's word. Whatever decision we can help you with, by all means contact us. May the Lord bless you.