How confident are you that you will go to Heaven after you die? How confident are you that you will be with God after you die?

• 0%...20%...50%...80%...100%
• This is a common question and struggle that Christians deal with at some point in their Christian life
• This is an important question.
  • We don't know when our time on earth is over
  • It will affect your spiritual growth
    • Dating illustration, "what are your intentions?"

Common reasoning for doubting whether or not you are saved (understandable)

• Weak commitment to Christ
• Lack of character growth
• Lack of growth in relationship with God
• Lack of intimate experience of God

Tonight, we will speak to these reasons, but think about this:

• Could it be that the reason we have these issues is because of your doubt?
• Dating illustration, "If two people, aren't clear on what kind of relationship they have, how can that relationship flourish and how can the benefits of that relationship be manifested?"

Doubt often comes from looking at yourself

• There is an extent where you should analyze yourself, but you shouldn't stay there
• If you're always looking at yourself, there is a possibility to doubt
• Facts - Faith - Feeling
• Lack of an intimate experience of God
• Don't rely on your feelings too much, look at the facts
• Danger of relying too much on feelings

4 Basic Principles

• PRINCIPLE 1: God loves you and created you to know Him personally.
• PRINCIPLE 2: Man is sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love.
• PRINCIPLE 3: Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through Him alone we can know God personally and experience God’s love.
• PRINCIPLE 4: We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love.

Two Illustrations:

• Peter walking on water
• Person who does everything right vs person who does everything wrong

​Dating illustration, if you accept Jesus into your life, He has already defined your relationship.

Bibliography:

• https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/beginning-with-god/personal-follow-up-your-new-life-reformatted.1.html

Our condition

• We were dead in the trespasses and sin
• We were by nature children of wrath

God's condition

• But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us

Our new condition

• We are saved by grace. Grace is unmerited favor, undeserved favor.
• We are His workmanship for good works which God prepared beforehand

Application

• We are not saved by going to church, praying, reading our Bibles everyday.
• Misunderstandings:
  • a system where we can mitigate our deserved punishment by our efforts
  • God in His grace may forgive us if we do the right things
• God's grace that they care about their relationship with God
• God's grace that they are raised in Christian home/church
• God's grace that they want to grow
• Pray for more grace. God will continue to show grace.
• We are inadequate.
• Why can't I stop sinning? Why doesn't God just take away this struggle?
  • when people ask that, it's a matter of not seeking God
  • it sounds like they're blaming God

Bibliography:

• https://www.gotquestions.org/saved-by-grace.html

I want us to be men of God. As men of God, we need to be in community. I love that we're all good friends. But more than being good friends, we need to be a community wherein which we are united in one thing. What is that thing?

Jesus Christ. We need to be united in Christ.

Hebrews 10:24-25

• Let us consider one another: Discouragement made them avoid community at the very time they needed it most. Jesus meets us in one another to stir up love and good works.
• Forsaking the assembling of ourselves together: Forsaking fellowship is a sure way to give place to discouragement. This festers where God’s people are not exhorting one another.
• Many go to church if they feel they “need it” at the time. But our motivation for fellowship must be to obey God and to give to others. We can go to church looking to encourage someone who needs to hang in there against a tide of discouragement.
• “Christian exhortation means the expression of our hearts to others to urge them to continue on the Christian path. It may include testimony, and often will necessitate warning.” (Newell)
• So much the more as you see the Day approaching: As the Day of Jesus’ return draws nearer, we should be more committed to the fellowship of God’s people, the assembling of ourselves together.

​Hebrews 10:1-23

• Let's look at the context. Why is Paul encouraging them to stick together?
• "We can draw near because several issues are settled. The problem of access to God has been settled. The problem of a perfect High Priest has been settled. The problem of moral and spiritual pollution has been settled."
• "Perhaps they thought they had many problems: persecution, difficult relationships, hard times with culture or economy. But the real problem was that their relationship with God wasn’t on track. They didn’t draw near to God on the basis of what Jesus did on the cross, through the empty tomb, and in heaven.. "

Hebrews 10:26-39

• Here is our worldview, our mindset. We need to continue encouraging each other in this. This is why Paul was encouraging them to stick together.

Do you know the best way to love someone? What is love?

• "Love is doing whatever you have do at whatever cost to yourself to make people as happy as they can be forever" - John Piper
• "Love is doing whatever you have to do at whatever cost to yourself to help people have an all satisfying passion for Jesus forever" - John Piper

Bibliography

• Enduring Word Media

Repentance:

• Turning away from sin and turning to God for heartfelt change

False repentance:

• Making repentance about us rather than God​

​
True repentance or false repentance?

• "I'm sorry I hurt you. I shouldn't have said that. Will you forgive me?"
• The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. -Luke 6:45

How do we know if we are false repenting?

• Look for examples of remorse and resolution
• Remorse:
  • "I can't believe I did that." <--- Thinking too highly of ourselves. Too selfish. That's why we act surprised on why we just did that
• Resolution:
  • "I promise to do better next time." <--- We think we have the power to do better, but we don't look to Jesus. We think we can fix the problem on our own.
• Fruit of false repentance:
  • We are lenient on our own sin, but we look on others with judgement and criticism.

How do we know if we are true repenting?

• Realize:
  • "I did do that. I would do that."
• Repent:
  • "Lord, forgive me! You are my only hope."

​
True repentance is:

• oriented towards God and not yourself
  • Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
    so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment. -Psalm 51:4
• motivated by true godly sorrow and not selfish regret.
  • For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. -2 Cor 7:10
• concerned with the heart and not just with external actions.
  • Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. -Psalm 51:10
• looks to Jesus for deliverance from the penalty and power of sin
  • Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, -Acts 3:19-20

Only Jesus can fix us as we look towards God. Sin is not a behavior we do. It's more of a condition. It's a sickness. Lifestyle repentance: A way of living. Something continuous.

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. -Revelations 3:19

This is just a test