John 17 once again. I was reminded last week that I've been going a little too fast. And so I told the person that if I start going too fast again, just throw something. So we'll see what happens. I guess you'll know if I go too fast or not. One way or the other. I'll try to slow down a little bit. I tend to get excited about this study. I've learned a whole lot from it and I enjoyed studying it and it kind of takes over me sometimes. So, I'll try to slow down a little bit. We are in verse 14 of John 17. Jesus speaking here. We're halfway through it. And the very first phrase of verse 14, Jesus says here, I have given them by word. I have given them thy word. God's gifts are not cheap. God's gifts are not cheap. Those of you who have had experience in this world longer than others of us can perhaps go back and remember the time when things were made with quality and when you were given something, it was a real gift because it would last, it was going to serve you well, it was just a good value. Not quite that way anymore. Most of what you buy, you end up buying again very soon after to replace what you used to buy that many years ago you could buy once in your lifetime and it would last you and your children and your children's children. Gifts are pretty cheap anymore, but this book is not cheap. God's gifts are not cheap. He does not give junk. God's Word is a precious and priceless gift. As Jesus is about to face His great trial, He makes sure that He gives the disciples the Word of God. It is the one thing that will never pass away. Matthew 24 and verse 35. The one thing that will never pass away. Matthew chapter 24 and verse 35. Jesus tells us that here. We need to keep this verse in mind. The things we see happening all around us. We can take comfort in the fact of Matthew 24, 35. Jesus says, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. What God has spoken will happen. It's that simple. What God has said will come to pass. It doesn't matter what the rest of the countries of the world want to do. It doesn't matter what certain people in this world think they're going to do in opposition to God's word. It will not stand. The counsel of the Lord, the Bible says, that will stand. what this book has said will be accomplished. Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away, but this word, my words, he said, they're not going anywhere. The word of God is a precious gift because it lasts for eternity. It's not going to change. What a blessed thing, it's not going to change. If you study other religions, other cults, you see how many times have they changed. just in the last hundred years. How many times have they changed doctrines, changed beliefs? This book hasn't changed once. It never will. It never will. God's Word will never pass away. And God's Word was given to us for our benefit. You know, if you stop and think about it, what benefit does God get out of giving us His Word? I mean, technically not much. It's not for Him, it's for us. That's what the Bible says all the way through. These things I command you for your good. For your good. These are for you. They're for your good. It's for our benefit so that we could know about God. We don't have to guess. We looked at that a week or two ago. In the book of Isaiah, God said, I have not spoken in secret. I have not talked in secret code. I have not made this hard to understand. I have made it possible for you to know me. We can know about God. We can know what is right and wrong. Well, I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore. Yes, you can. The book hasn't changed. It's still here. You can if you want to know. A lot of people take comfort in their ignorance. Ignorance is bliss, you know. Ignorance is bliss. Well, I just can't figure it out, so in my mind that means since I say I can't figure it out, I really don't want to, but since I can't, then I can do what I'm doing and not feel guilty about it. Look, the book is still here. Right and wrong, it's in there. You can know. You can know. Not only that, we can know what is right and wrong and know how we should live our lives. Nehemiah chapter 9, let's look at these verses. God has given us this book so that we can know how to live our lives. Remember what God said in the book of Micah, He hath showed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee? He listed it out right there. He listed it out. I'm going to go to it because I can't quote it. I did it in junior church the other day and I guess that was my only shot at it. So, I'm going to quote it so I don't mess it up. You can go to Nehemiah, Micah. I'll find it here, Micah chapter 6. Verse 8, He hath showed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. They told the kids in junior church, God's given you the answers to the test. That's what He's done with His book. He's given you the answers for the test that's coming up here pretty soon. And you can be prepared for it if you know the answers. What does God require? He told you. This book tells you. It's right here, Nehemiah chapter 9, beginning in verse number 13. Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes, and commandments, and madest known unto them thy holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws by the hand of Moses thy servant, and gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go into possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. But they and our fathers dealt proudly and hardened their necks, and hearken not to thy commandments." And he goes on through the rest of the chapter to talk about the children of Israel, how they refused, they rebelled, even though God had done so much to reveal himself to them and to provide for them, they still chose to rebel. But the point here being that God has shown us what we should do. And these verses 13 and 14 tell us that. God gave them right judgments, true laws, good statutes and commandments. Not a lot of them are bad. Some of the stuff coming out of Washington D.C. today when it comes to legislation, I don't think you can use any one of those adjectives to describe it. True? Good? Honest? God does. Every single law is good. Every single one is true. That's why you can't go through it like a smorgasbord and just pick and choose what you want. It's all good. It's all for you. It's not for you to go through and pick out what you want. You're supposed to take it all. Take it all. All of God's laws, all of God's statutes, all of God's precepts, they are good, they are true, they are right. Proverbs chapter 22, verse 19. Proverbs 22, verse 19. Let's start in verse 17. The Bible says, Bow down, thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee. They shall withal be fitted in thy lips. That thy trust may be in the Lord I have made known to thee this day. even to thee. This is why I'm giving you this. This is why I'm writing this book, this book of Proverbs, so that you can put your trust in the Lord. Verse 20, Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, that I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth, that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee? You know what a blessing it is to have the certainty of the words of truth? To have the certainty of God's Word? And it was given for you and for me. to know, that's what John said, these things are written unto you that ye may know that ye have eternal life. The Bible was written for us. He gave it to us to help us. Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 24. Deuteronomy 6 and verse 24. Moses reminds the children of Israel Here in verse 24 he says, and the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes to fear the Lord our God, why? For our good always. For our good always. That He might preserve us alive as it is at this day. Meaning, you have seen what God has done through all these years. He has not failed in His word once. And here you are ready to go in the promised land. God has kept His word just like He promised. It has been for your good always. Not most of the time. Not a good percentage of the time. Always. God's Word is good always. And it was given for our good. For our benefit. Psalm 19, verse 7. Psalm 19, beginning of verse 7. Very familiar passage of Scripture. Psalm 19 and verse 7, the Bible says, the law of the Lord is perfect. It doesn't need updated. It doesn't need re-translated. It's perfect. Converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure. Making wise the simple. When you say the Bible is wrong, you are saying God is lying. It's His testimony that you are messing with. You are messing with God's testimony. That is not a bright thing to do. This is God's testimony. It is what He has spoken. It is His testimony of Himself, of what He has done, and what He offers to do for mankind. Don't mess with it. Don't mess with it. The testimony of the Lord. is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned." That goes back to the blissful ignorance. Well, if I don't hear the warning, then I'm okay. That's about like walking on the railroad tracks with earplugs in your ears saying, I don't hear the dinging, so I'm okay. The train's still going to come. You can stay in there in blissful ignorance if you want to, but it doesn't change the consequences. It's the same thing with God's law. You can pretend to be ignorant and go along in your blissful ignorance, but it's coming. By them is thy servant warned. God's given you what's coming. He's shown you. He's told you. And in keeping of them, there is great reward." 1 Peter 1. Back to the other side of the Bible, 1 Peter 1, verse 19. I'm about ready to throw something at this fly. That's not very Christian-like. He started it. 1 Peter 1, beginning in verse 19. Verse 18, Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead and gave Him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God." That's why God gave us His Word. We must realize then how truly precious this book is. And a lot of times we don't. We take it for granted. We ignore it. We neglect it when it should be our priority in this life. Hosea chapter 8. Hosea 8 verse 12. This is what happened with Israel. God is speaking to Israel, warning them, trying to get them to turn and repent. This, by the way, was their last chance. It wasn't very long after this, Hosea spoke this, that they were carried into captivity in Assyria. And God says here in verse 12, I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing. the blessedness of God's Word, the certainty of the truth, the true, the righteous, the judgments, the things that could help them that God promised would bring them blessing. They counted it as something strange, something weird, something that's fanatical. That cramps my style. I don't want that. I don't want that. That's a strange thing. It shouldn't be for the believer in Christ. This book should be the most dearest thing to you there is. This book should be where you go, good times and bad times, morning and evening. As the Bible says, this is where you go. You ought to be very familiar with this book. It shouldn't be a strange thing to you. It shouldn't be something that you almost try to avoid. No, this is something that should be drawing you to it. How do you see God's Word? Is it something strange to you? There's a problem. There's a problem. Job chapter 21. We've talked about this before. Pastors mentioned it several times as well, but Job 21 verse 14. Speaking about those who, the wicked, he says in verse 14, Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us. Why? Because they're going fine. They got things going well. They got all the prosperity, all these things. The first 13 verses there, he explains that. And he says, verse 14, Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. And that, sad to say, is what has happened in a lot of Christianity over the last 20, 30 years. A whole lot of people who call themselves Christians are tired of the Bible cramping their style, so they've decided to do something about it. And instead of repent and come to God's Word and get things right so they can experience the blessing of God, they have decided to get away from God's Word. They have decided to say, no, we don't desire to know what it really says. We'll make up our own version and go with it. That's what's happened. How about you? What is your desire? Do you have a thirst for God's Word like the Bible says in the book of Psalms? Do you thirst after the Word of God? Do you want to know what God says? And no matter what God's Word says, if it lifts you up or it crushes you in the dirt because of your sin or because you've been wrong, are you willing to repent and humble yourself and get right? That's the attitude we need to have. Whether I come to church and I'm blessed or I come to church and, you know, I get the snot beat out of me. Whatever it is, I'm thankful because it's God's Word. And whatever it is, I'm going to allow it to work in my life. That's the attitude we should have. Because this book is not an ordinary book. This book is eternal. This book is truth. And God has given it to us. He's given it to us. So the question then is, is the Bible precious and priceless to me? What is my attitude toward God's Word? How do I approach it? How do I view it? Is this something you only touch on Sunday? Well, then you're counting it as a strange thing. It's pretty weird to you. Well, I'll tell you something, the Word of God is not weird to me. The Word of God is precious. I said last week, the harder the trials, the sweeter the Word gets. And it's very true. You won't find consolation anywhere else in the world like you can find in the pages of God's Word. Nothing can speak to your heart the way this book can. And if you count God's word as a strange thing, then I feel sorry for you. I feel sorry for you. Because this was given for our good. God knows exactly what your heart needs. That's why he gave you this book. This book is the perfect medicine for your heart. But if you're not going to take it, well, That's your choice. Is the Bible precious and priceless to me? What is my attitude toward God's Word? How do I see it? Do I view it as that which I need every day? He goes on in John 17. He says, I have given them thy word and the world hath hated them. I told you when we started this study here that there's going to be several main points that we keep coming back to through this chapter, through this prayer, and this is one of them. The hatred of the world. for Christ and those who follow Him. Those who receive God's Word and make it their life will be hated by the world. They will be hated by the world. Go back to Genesis 3. God told us this at the very beginning, literally. Genesis 3 in verse 15. After Adam and Eve had sinned, they're trying to pass the blame, and it gets to the serpent. And God says here in verse 15 to the serpent, which is Satan, He says, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Jesus told us in the book of John, if they're going to treat me the way they have, they're going to treat you that way too. You better be ready. Thy seed, her seed. They're going to hate Christ and they're going to hate those who follow him. Proverbs 29 and verse 27. Proverbs 29 and verse 27. This is very true. An unjust man is an abomination to the just. And he that is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked. Boy, that's true. Especially now, you want to see somebody who's trying to do right in the public eye? He's nothing but a target. Nothing but a target. They will not stop shooting until he goes down. Whether it's true or not. They will not stop until He is brought down. Because He is an abomination to them. Look, if you're going to follow Christ, you're making yourself a target. You must accept that. You must realize that. You will take the shots. You will take hits. And it's not going to stop. It's not going to stop. Because the world hates those who receive God's Word and make it their life. John 15. Look what Jesus said, John 15, beginning of verse 18. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own. But because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. 1 Peter 4, verse 4. 1 Peter 4, verse 4. Speaking in the first three verses, Peter talks about how the power of Christ changes our life and we're no longer what we used to be. We no longer should live the rest of our time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. Verse 3, he contrasts that, for the time pass of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banqueting, and abominable idolatries. And then verse 4, he says, wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you. Why do they speak evil? Because you're not doing the wrong things they are. Because you're doing right. You're trying to do what God wants you to do. You're trying to please Him. You're trying to follow God's Word. That's why they speak evil. Verse 5, "...who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead." That's something to remember. When you go through the mocking, when you go through the persecution, when you start taking the hits, you remember there is a judgment coming. You're not going to be standing before these people. You're going to be standing before God. That's the one you give an account to. That's the one you will stand before, the judgment. It will not be a leader of a country down here. It will not be your peers. It will not be those people in your school or in your classroom. It will not be the people you work with. It will be Jesus Christ, the one who died for you. That's the one who will be judged. That's the one you answer to. And when you get that mindset, it doesn't matter what anybody else will do. Yeah, it'll hurt maybe. Yeah, it won't be pleasant. But you know in the end, I'm here to please the judge. I'm not here to please the peanut gallery. I'm here to please the judge, Jesus Christ, the one who loved me and gave himself for me. That's why I strive to do what he said in his word. That's why we should be doing what we should be doing. 1 John 3, verse 12. Verse 12, chapter 3 of 1 John, Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother, his brother Abel, and wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Why couldn't he have admitted, my works are wrong? You're right God, I was wrong. I should have listened to what you did. I should have been like Abel. I think that's what I'm going to do. Please forgive me. Let me make it right. Instead of him getting right, he tried his best to get able to do wrong and then killed him and tried to eliminate it. He wasn't going to change. And that's sad, but that's the way it is. Mark, verse 13, Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. Marvel not. By accepting Christ as Savior, then we are redeemed from this present evil world. And we become citizens of heaven. Citizens of heaven. Philippians chapter 3 and verse 20. Philippians 3 and verse 20. In Galatians 1, Paul said that We are redeemed, Jesus Christ hath redeemed us from this present evil world. In Philippians 3 verse 20 he says, our citizenship, our conversation is in heaven. From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working, whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." That's where our focus should be. We belong to heaven now. If you know Christ as your Savior, you are a citizen of heaven. You don't belong to this world. We no longer belong to the world. We belong to Christ. They don't own us. They do not own us. How is it over the years we read about these martyrs, those who have died for the name of Christ, willing to go through all the horrors that they have gone through and remain faithful? Why? They don't belong here. All these people who tried to do all these things to them, they don't belong to those people. And they knew that. This world is not my home. I'm not here. This is not the end. I don't belong to this world. I belong to heaven. I belong to God. I belong to Jesus Christ, the one who loved me and gave himself for me, who purchased us then with his blood. That's what 1 Corinthians 6 tells us. What know ye not, that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Revelation chapter 1, verse 5. Revelation 1-5, John begins this book and he's writing this letter, he says in verse 5, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Washed us from our sins. Chapter 5, verse 9 of Revelation. Here it says, And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof. For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and priests. And we shall reign on the earth. We have been purchased with the blood of Christ. Galatians 2 verse 20 then. Again, a pretty familiar verse. Galatians 2 and verse 20. Paul says here, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God. I don't live by what the magazines tell me. I don't live by what the headlines are saying. I don't live by what the leaders of my country are telling me. I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. You know, it's good to be concerned about what is going on in our country. And we have an advantage over many others because even though our system is really messed up, we still have a little bit of say in it. We still have some say. We still have an avenue we can go through. But you know what? They're not listening. They haven't been listening for a while. They have their agenda. They're going to do what they're going to do. But you know what? Go ahead. I don't belong here. And contrary to what you people think up there in the Capitol, I don't belong to you either. I belong to God. I belong to Him. So, you go ahead and play your games if you wish. No thanks. We no longer belong to the world. We belong to Christ who purchased us with His blood. So the question then is, does my life show that I belong to Christ or does it show that I belong to the world? When people look at me, what do they think? What do they see? Do they see someone who truly belongs to Christ? Or do they see someone who is no different than they are? A slave to the world. A slave to its fashion. A slave to its thought. A slave to its philosophy. Yet somehow still professing they know God. Which one? No man can serve two masters. You've got to pick. You've got to choose one. Look, I don't know about you, but when I accepted Christ as my Savior, I meant it. And I realize I don't belong to this world. I don't belong to myself. I belong to Him. Therefore, my life needs to show that. It doesn't mean I'm perfect. But it means that the world will see that I belong to God. The world will see that I am doing my best to live my life by what God's Word says. Because I think this book is precious. I think this book is real. I think God is real. I know God is real. So what does the world see when they look at your life? Do you belong to Christ or to the world? Your actions will reveal. Which one? They'll reveal. What Jesus said, the things that are in the heart, they're going to come out. They will come out. You can do your best to hide them, you can do your best to clamp them down. It's just like steam cannon vegetables. You let that pressure build up, it's going to go somewhere. Sooner or later, it's going to come out. Same thing with the stuff in here, people. It will come out. What does the world see when they look at your life? Do they see that you belong to Christ or the world? Pretty good question. He goes on in the verse and says, The world hath hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. The reason for the world's hatred of true believers is their Christ-likeness. It's not that they do good deeds. The world can do good deeds. They do that all the time. Anytime some disaster shows up, how much money pours in for charities and for disaster relief? It's just mind-boggling. People will give. Oh, they'll give. It's not giving. It's not good deeds. It's Christ-likeness that the world cannot stand. The world hates Christ because He made them face the truth of sin. That's why. Cain is the perfect example and has not changed since the beginning. Man cannot abide being revealed that he is wrong, that he is a sinner, and he needs to repent and be saved. Can't stand it. The world hates Christ because He made them face the truth of sin. They have no excuse. Let's go back to John 15 and pick it up in verse 22. John 15, we stop at verse 21. Begin in verse 22. Jesus says here, if I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin. The blissful ignorance. No warning, no problem, right? Yeah. But now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me, hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin. It's what Peter told Jews in the book of Acts. He said God showed, proved that He was the one through all the things that He did. You know it. We know it. Everybody knows it. And yet you still crucified Him. Verse 24. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin. But now have they both seen and hated both Me and My Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, they hated me without a cause." They hated me without a cause. Romans chapter 1 and verse 20. Let's go to Acts 17, verse Romans 1-20. Paul tells us that God has revealed himself clearly and completely so that man is without excuse. He has none. He cannot stand before God and say, it's not fair, I didn't know. because God will give them a very long list of situations, accounts, chances where people witness to them where they will have no excuse. I told you to turn to Acts and I went to Romans. Acts 17 verse 30. Paul says here, In the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. Time for ignorance is over. Jesus Christ came and revealed God to man. He provided salvation. He paid the price for sin. He rose from the dead. It's over. It's done. God's command, repent. This is what I have done for you. From Genesis to Revelation, it's all done. It's certain. It's fixed. I have done everything possible. This is what you need to do. Repent and get right. Repent and get right. The one thing, the only thing man has to do, he won't do. The umpteen million things that He cannot do to be saved, He tries to do. This is exactly what happened in Genesis, the Garden of Eden. How many fruit trees can God make in a garden? Let's put it, how many can He not make? Okay? God can make any kind of fruit tree He wants and as many of them as He wants. And I'm sure they had a plethora of fruit trees to eat fruit from. There was only one tree that they could not eat from. Which one did they eat from? The one they couldn't eat from. It's the same thing today, we've still got the same problem. There's only one thing we've got to do, repent and accept Christ as Savior. We won't do that, we'll try to do all these other things that have absolutely no hope of ever succeeding. Man is really messed up. He is really messed up. And it goes and shows that it's a problem of the heart. It's not logic. There's no logic in that whatsoever. It's not a logic problem, it's a heart problem. Which is why we need Christ. James chapter 4 and verse 17. James 4 and verse 17. We need to remember this verse. Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, I know the Bible says I need to repent but I'm not going to do it, to him it is sin. There's no excuse now. We have no excuse. The world has absolutely no excuse. Since the believer is in Christ, and the world sees Christ in the believer, they are again faced with the truth that Christ does have the power to deliver from sin. Because they can look at your life, they can look at my life, they can see what we were before, they can see us now, and they can't explain it. The testimony is right there. It is right there. And there is now no excuse for continuing in sin. John chapter 3. John 3, verse 18. Beginning there and reading through verse 21. Jesus says here, He that believeth on him, the Son, is not condemned. But he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrong in God." Man can't admit he's wrong. It's not my fault, not my problem. It's not me. It's not me. So instead of coming to the light and getting salvation and finding peace and joy and fellowship with the Lord, he's like a little cockroach that runs for the corner of the room every time the light turns on. Every time the Word of God is spoken, every time someone tries to witness, they run. They run. Sad indeed. Colossians 1 verse 27. Christian, by the way, there's no excuse for you continuing in your sin either. Colossians 1.27. We just saw back there in Philippians 3, verse 20-21, Christ has power to subdue all things. Does He not? All things includes sin. Does it not? Yes, it does. There's no excuse for continuing in sin. You know, I can't help it. Yeah, that's why you need God, remember? You couldn't help it before you got saved. You needed Christ. Christ is the one who gives you the power to save your eternal soul. He can give you power to have victory over sin. He can't. There is no excuse. Colossians 1 verse 27. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles. What is it? Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. Christ in us, the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you. That's the evidence. That's what the world looks at and sees. And the one who has chosen to follow God's Word and make it their life, they hate. because they see Christ all over again. They see that power. They see that thing they cannot refute, they cannot answer. But instead of getting right themselves, they turn to hate, they turn to violence, and they try to destroy the one thing that can help them. Romans 8 and verse 10. It's sad to say, I'm afraid many in Christianity have stooped to the same level. As I said, they're tired of hearing what the Bible says. They're tired of hearing what is right and wrong. They want the wrong. They like the wrong. They're not giving up the wrong. And they have adopted the same attitude. You try to tell me what's right, I'm going to bring you down. I'm going to destroy you. I'm tired of it. I don't want to hear it anymore. Well, once again, God does not base His actions on what you want. He bases His action on His word and what is right. Well, thank you. Does He not? It doesn't matter what you or I think or feel or want to do. We need to go with what God said. Romans chapter 8, verse 10. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. Ephesians 2.10 tells us we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. When Christ takes over, when Christ works in our life, the works follow. And they're good works. And the world sees it. And they're faced with the fact again. The only hope is repentance. I'm wrong. I've got to come to Christ. Christ is not of this world. He told the Jews that in John 8 verse 23. He said, I am not of this world. John 8 and verse 23. He told them, verse 21, I go my way and whether I go you cannot come. The Jews are wondering what he means by that. Verse 23, he said unto them, ye are from beneath, I am from above. Ye are of this world, I am not of this world. That's important. We must understand that if we determine to be like Christ, then we too will be totally unlike the world. We will be unlike the world. Let's go to 1 John. 1 John chapter 4. 1 John 4, beginning of verse 5. We'll start in verse 4, 1 John chapter 4. He says, You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Verse 17 of the same chapter, he says, Hearing as our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. So are we in this world. Chapter 1, verses 6 and 7. He says here, if we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Chapter 3 and verse 3. Verse 2 he talks about, we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And verse 3 says, and every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Verse 7 says, little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. And then chapter 5, verses 19 and 20. As he closes this letter, he says, And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true. And we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Let's go back to 1 Peter 2. Remember, we're to be unlike the world. As He is, so are we in this world. 1 Peter 2 verse 21, For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. We are to be like Christ. Hebrews 12 and verse 2. Hebrews 12 verse 2 and verse 3. were to lay aside every weight and the sin which death so easily beset us, in verse 1. In verse 2, he says, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Remember what Christ did for you. 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18. These last few verses here, 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 18. Paul says here, that we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. So, there is to be a marked difference between the world and the believer. A marked difference. between the world and the believer. We cannot identify with both Christ and the world. That's why we have Joshua 24 and verse 15. Joshua 24 and verse 15, we cannot identify with both Christ and the world. What does Joshua 24, 15 say? Joshua, before the children of Israel, he says, if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve. I don't want to hear God. I don't want to hear that talk about how I should live a Christian life. I don't want to have that about a godly life. I want to have fun when I go to church. I want to hear the music. I want to dance. I want to do all the stuff I want to do. Fine, if it seems evil to you to obey God's Word, that's your choice. Choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. That's the choice. You can't identify with both. And sadly, most of Christianity has been trying to do that very thing for quite a long time now. It doesn't work. It doesn't work. So, the question then, And it's a pretty powerful one. Am I not of the world the same way as Christ is not of the world? I'm not talking about deity. I'm not talking about anything like that. My life. Is it like Christ? Does the world see Christ-likeness in me? Am I not of the world the same way as Christ is not of the world? As He is, so are we in this world. Are we? God's gifts aren't cheap. God's given us the key to living a Christ-like life in a Christ-hating world. It's this book. It's the Word of God. It works because it's real. But we need to realize the world's not going to like it. And we need to realize that because the world's not going to like it, they're going to treat us like they treated Christ. But that's a good thing. Because our life is supposed to remind them of Christ. They're supposed to look at us and see. And you know what? Every so often there's going to be somebody who looks and sees the difference and wants it. There's going to be somebody who sees the difference, who sees the life-changing power of God and is willing to come to the light and have his deeds be made manifest and be saved. Because after all, that's why we're here. That's why we're here. Am I not of the world the same way as Christ is not of the world? That's something to think about. Something to keep in our minds here in these last days that we live. Where's our focus? What's important to us? Have we let something else take over that place that Christ should have in our life? Have we let something else come between us and God's Word, that precious, priceless gift that He has given us? Am I not of the world the same way as Christ is not of the world? Father in heaven, I pray that you would work in our hearts, help us to see the truth of your word. Help us, Lord, to just determine to be like Christ. Help us to have a broken contrite spirit before you and before your word to allow you to work, to allow you to conform us to the image of your Son. I pray that you would work in our midst, help us to be the witnesses we need to be, the ambassadors for Christ that we need to be. Help us, Lord, not to not to back off from serving the Lord, but to even serve more and get the gospel out and try harder to reach those around us. Help us, Lord. Please give us the strength. I thank you for giving us your word. I pray that you would help us, once again, to make it our life. And we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.