Thank you for that prayer, Bobby. Now we will begin our second lecture. Now remember, what we believe shapes our perspective and sets our priorities. And it is possible to believe something that's not true, isn't it? All of you who are in the student ministry have known people who believe it's okay to live with someone and have sex with them without marrying them, haven't you? Just because they believe that, and just because it results in something wonderful, seemingly wonderful in their life, doesn't make it okay, does it? I was sharing with a young man who was living with his girlfriend and I was calling him to repentance. And he said to me, all I know is that I'm a better Christian when I'm living with her than when I'm not. And I said, no, you're not. You're not a better Christian because the very thing you're doing is sin. You're a worse Christian. And I said, no, I don't know what the rest of your life was like, but adding this sin to it has not made it better. I once shared John 5, 24 and Ephesians 1, 13 and 14, and that clearly shows that when you receive Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit. And then I shared the nature of God, how if you have Jesus, you have all the members of the Trinity, that the Trinity is indivisible, that in Christ all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. There was a pause and a young woman at the meeting raised her hand and she said I don't know all these verses like you do and I can't quote all these verses like you have and I haven't done all the study like you have But I know what I've experienced But she doesn't know what she's experienced if you don't know the Bible if you don't know the verses If you haven't done the study, you do not know what you're experiencing. You may have the conviction that you're experiencing something, your perspective in life may be that it's okay, and your priorities may be to move in with that boy or girl, but that is the wrong priority. The correct priority is purity and wait for God. and you may think you know what the Holy Spirit is and does, and you may have a perspective on what a crusade is, but your priorities will be wrongly set if you do not believe correctly about God. So what happens is we don't get to read Bible verses and then say, well, the Bible says this, but my experience is this, I think I'll choose my experience. Do we get to do that? Well, the Bible says wait until you're married, but I think living with this boy is fun, so I'm going to choose living with the boy. Do you get to do that? No! The Bible says, thou shalt not lie, nor steal, nor deal falsely with one another, but cheating on the exams and having other people write my paper gives me better grades, so that's a valid alternative. No, these things are not valid alternatives. They are the wrong alternative. And there's a big difference. They are not alternatives at all. They're sin. Let's take another conviction. I was speaking at a meeting where the people attending the meeting had the conviction, they had been told by some pastor or some teacher that godly people will die in their sleep. That that is evidence of faith. And I asked where the Bible verse was. And they said, well, he's a man of God. He taught us that. And I said, well, let's look at Hebrews chapter 11. So we turn to Hebrews chapter 11, and we began with verse 36. And others experienced mockings and scourging, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were tempted. They were put to death with the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, men of whom the world is not worthy, wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, holes in the ground, all these having gained approval through their faith. These were great men of God, men of faith, and they were stoned. They were sawn in two. They died in prison. They were starved to death. They were beaten down, but they were men of faith. So you have a man over here saying, Godly people of faith only die in their sleep. God, the Holy Spirit, is saying no. Godly people, men of faith, are martyred and die. So who are you going to believe? See, we have to get to the point where our convictions are based on the Word of God. That the faith that we exhibit is centered on the Word of God. Where does your faith come from? Where does it come from? Well, God the Holy Spirit says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. That is Romans 10, 17. The obedience of faith comes from hearing the word of God. That's where our faith comes from. And as that, we live out our life of hope. and obey Jesus. But it is not what this man says or that man says, it is what God's Word says. Everything is tested by the Word of God. Acts 17 11. Now these were brilliants, were more noble than those of Thessalonica because they studied the Word of God daily to see if these things were really so. Paul was commending them. They didn't just sit there as little baby birds being force-fed by teachings. After they left the meeting, they got the scrolls out, and they rolled them out on the floor, and they found Isaiah 53. They found the prophets, and they found the Law of Moses, and they looked at it, and they said, yes, this is the Word of God. And that's what we need to be doing. Well, our second conviction is the sufficiency of Christ. The sufficiency of Christ. Now, this is the question. This is the question. Here, you're born, and then you live. And then at some point, you receive Christ. Now, while you were born, while you were, as Ephesians, let's see, two, one and two says, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Then you were born again, as 2 Corinthians 5.17 says, that if anyone's in Christ, he's a new creature. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Now you are the spiritual man. Now the question is, is there a higher level? That's the question. Is there a super spiritual man? Does there exist a set of believers who only have Jesus and so they are living in the flesh? Well, that is so proud and arrogant that I can hardly bring myself to say it. I can hardly bring myself to say it. You see in Acts 4.12, God the Holy Spirit says, that there is no other name given among men under heaven by which you may be saved. Acts 4.12. It's Jesus only for salvation. Not Jesus in works. Not Jesus and this special church. Not Jesus and this holy man. No. Jesus, for there is no other name given among men under heaven by which you must be saved. So Christ is sufficient for salvation. Remember what Jesus Christ said? John 5, 24, truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life. What does eternal mean? If you lose your salvation, did you ever have eternal life? No, the sufficiency of our salvation is not in our works, but in Jesus. Romans 5.8 says God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It's too late to do something to get God to love you and save you. He loved you and saved you before you were a Christian. But it's not too late to love God, is it? And to obey him. You are a little street orphan and you are living in the dirt and the mire and the slums of Lagos. A wealthy businessman sees you and he takes you into his home, he adopts you, he bathes you, he clothes you, he hires a tutor to start teaching you. and you're sitting at the table and you're eating this wonderful meal and you look up at him and say, is this all there is? What a selfish thing to say. And then you say, what do I have to do to get you to adopt me? Well, he already adopted you, didn't he? You don't have to do anything. But what you should do is to love him. Your mother gave you birth. It is a nonsensical thing to go to your mother and say, what do I need to do for you to give me birth? That's nonsensical. It's nonsensical to say, what do I need to do to get you to keep you from unbirthing me? That's nonsensical. It is not nonsensical to go to her and say, teach me how to love you and to obey you because I love you. That's not nonsensical. In the same way, because of a wrong conviction concerning the nature of your salvation, the sufficiency of Christ in all things, many of us spend our time running in circles trying to get God to love us when He already loves us. Trying to keep something which we can never lose. Trying to gain something which we have by our very spiritual birth. And that's a great indoor sport for Satan. Instead of going forward, taking up your cross daily, Luke 9.23, if any man would come after me, let him take up his cross daily and follow me, rather than doing that, running in circles, seeking to gain that which we already have. Every day, living in fear that your mommy might not love you and give you birth. every day living in fear that your mommy might unbirth you. Well, that poor person, you would think there's something wrong with his thinking. And yet many Christians live out their life being afraid that God has not saved them, will not save them, or will unsave them. 1 John 4, 18. There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out all fear, because fear involves judgment. The one who fears is not perfected in love. Now, it is true after we are saved we are going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, but are all judgments negative? No, some are positive. Look at Romans 8.1. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, but you already know the verdict. The verdict is not guilty. So you don't have to spend your life trying to hire a lawyer to gain credits so that you can bribe the judge with good works and get into heaven. God is a just God. Jesus Christ paid the penalty and he has declared you not guilty. But if you don't believe that, you're going to spend your life after this point of salvation seeking to gain something which is already yours, rather than being a disciple and making disciples. God has called us to be fishers of men, hasn't he? Well, if you're a fisherman, and you have the conviction that any day your boat can sink. You're going to be spending all your time paddling for shore. Now you've got a loving father. He said, use my boat. I've tested it. It's safe. It will not sink. I am here on the shore. Don't worry. Well, you either place your faith and hope in your father, and you obey him and fish, or you get out there, begin to panic, forget about fishing, and just start paddling to shore. How can you be a witness? How can you be a disciple? How can you be a disciple maker if you're spending all of your time trying to gain salvation and trying to get spiritual blessings rather than taking up your cross daily and serving him? Well, what else do we know about our salvation? In Ephesians 1.3, the Bible says that every spiritual blessing is ours in Christ. If you are convinced that the Word of God is indeed the Word of God, then you are not looking for spiritual blessings, you are seeking to serve your Savior. You are not trying to get something. You are going to spend your life giving your life to God and His service. Because every spiritual blessing God has for you came with Jesus. When my children were little, when one of the children had a birthday party, sometimes their brother or their sister would begin whining because the other sibling was getting all of the attention and they wanted a gift too. And we would discipline that child. We would spank them and make them kiss their brother or sister on the cheek and rejoice in the blessing of their brother and sister. But you know, there are some Christians in the church, instead of rejoicing in the blessings of others and being satisfied with the spiritual blessings God has given them in order to serve, they're running here and there in envy and spiritual greed, wanting more and more and more. In 2 Peter 1.3, The Bible says, God the Holy Spirit says, everything that pertains to life and godliness is ours in Christ. If you have Jesus, you have everything you need in terms of spiritual blessings. You don't have to seek more spiritual blessings. If you have Jesus Christ, you have everything for life and godliness. You are ready to give yourself in service of the King. Colossians 2.9 says, all of the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Jesus. If you have Jesus, you have all the fullness of the Father, all the fullness of the Son, and all the fullness of the Holy Spirit. You don't have to pray for more of the Holy Spirit. You just have to ask that that Holy Spirit who is in you in all its fullness would fill every aspect that you turn over to it. There exists no set of second-class Christians who only have Jesus. These people don't exist. If you have Jesus, you have it all. This does not exist. You receive Christ and then you don't go here running in circles seeking to get more. No, you receive Christ and you take up your cross daily. as a born-again Christian and serve God in humility and love. That is what you do. And so we are looking here at the sufficiency of Christ. After Christ, there exists no sacrifice which is needed to satisfy the just demands of God. Hebrews 10.18 says, where there is a sacrifice such as this, there exists no offering for sin. You have much to offer God in terms of your love and faith as you obey Him. You have nothing to offer God for your sins, because Christ has paid for those sins. Isaiah 53, 6 says, all we like sheep have gone astray, each of us have turned to his own way, but God has laid on him, on Jesus. all your sins. 1 Peter 2.24 says, He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you were healed. Your sins have been placed on Christ. Your sins have been punished. by God on Jesus. And that is why Isaiah 53 11 says that God has looked on this sacrifice and is satisfied. He demands nothing more. There is nothing more. So we are free to love Jesus and serve him. 1 John 1, 1 and 2 talks about the doctrine of propitiation, the total satisfaction of God. Some of your Bibles use the word atonement. That is the wrong word in that translation. If you will get a accurate Greek translation, it will say propitiation. The reason that says atonement is that many Bible editors don't think people will take the time to look up the word propitiation. So they substitute a word they're familiar with. Proficiation means total satisfaction. Nothing you do will make God love you more. Romans 5.8. It's too late. He already loved you more when you were the worst you'll ever be before you became a Christian. Nothing you do will make God love you less because all of the sins you ever have committed were placed on Christ and he was sacrificed and punished for them. But what you do does affect your love for God, not His love for you. And your failure to love God, in verse 24, affects you because it's sinful. It's sinful. So Christ is sufficient. He is sufficient for all of our needs and our wants. And we can give ourselves totally We can give ourselves totally in the service of Him. Now, do you believe that? Or have you developed wrong convictions about the nature of God, wrong convictions about the sufficiency of Christ, which has skewed your perspective of life and set your priorities among fearful, selfish priorities rather than the service of God by witnessing, making disciples, and being a disciple? That is the question. Because it is Christ alone. Luke 16, 14. It is all about Jesus. And that's what we've been talking about here. I know people, the Word of God says here in 2 Peter 1, 3, that Christ is sufficient for life in godliness. That your life and your walk with God, Jesus, is sufficient. Now there are some people saying that Christ isn't sufficient for life. That if you have enough faith, you will always be healed. That you will always be healed. Well, I have two problems with that. One is, when Paul asked to be healed in 2 Corinthians 12, What did God say to him? He said, no, in verse nine, my grace is sufficient for you. Power is perfected in weakness. The greatest apostle of all time was not healed by faith. Now, the second problem I have is this. How do we die? Well, we all die by organ failure, don't we? By organ, I mean your heart, your lung, your brain, your liver, your kidneys. These are our vital organs, aren't they? And when someone dies, it's because one or more of these organs, these biological organs, fail. Isn't that correct? They fail one of three ways. They either wear out and just collapse. You have a heart attack. Or they fail by disease. You get cancer. Or they fail by trauma. You're in a car accident and your lungs or your liver or your heart is damaged and it fails. But no matter, you are going to die by organ failure. Now if you believe that by faith all organ failure can be healed, You will not, your elderly grandmother, her heart is failing, but you can stop that by faith. Your sister has cancer, but you can stop that by faith. There's been a car accident, by faith, and all, if you have enough faith, all organ failure can be healed. Who is in heaven? I'm serious. If by faith, you don't die, who's in heaven? Who is in heaven? It's those who don't have faith. That's upside down Christianity. By faith, we do not stay out of heaven. By faith, we go to heaven. Did you hear what I said? By faith, we do not stay out of heaven. By faith we go to heaven. And Hebrews 9.27 says it is appointed for all men to die once. And we have an appointment with destiny. And that destiny, if we are a Christian, is to go to heaven. Do you want to go to heaven? Do you trust the sovereignty of God in that decision? He is a sovereign God. No purpose of His will be thwarted. Do you trust Him? If someone, if you are going to become bitter because someone you love dies, then Satan can walk away from you and concentrate on someone else. Because everyone you love is going to die. Everyone. We all have an appointment. with destiny Hebrews 9.27 now if you write in your Bibles you can write next you can circle it is appointed for men to die and after to die and next to that you can write a cross reference and that cross reference will be Job 14.5 since his days are determined, the number of his months are with you, the limits you have set, so that he cannot pass." We are all going to die. And we should all die trusting in the sovereign decision of God. By faith we do not stay out of heaven. By faith we go to heaven and by faith we rejoice in those who have gone on before us to their blessed reward. But if you have the wrong conviction, if you don't believe that God is sovereign, if you don't believe he's a loving father, if you don't believe that life and godliness is in his hands, then when somebody begins to die, you will panic. You will go running around in circles. You will be sprinkling the holy water. You will give the tithe, the triple tithe, the miracle tithe. You will bring in the apostles and the prophets. Everybody will be covering them with oil. You will be calling upon them. You will be casting out the demon of death. You will be shouting, raising your fists up. at God and shouting at Him, right in His face, in the name of Jesus. You will shout in your Father's face and you will demand that this person not die by your authority and by your power. And when the person does die, because we will all die, and you become bitter, it is because you gave yourself to a wrong conviction and wrong teaching. And what was one, two, three, and four, the Holy Trinity, the sovereignty of God, that He is loving, that Christ is sufficient. You are all the way down there in 99 and 100, panicking because someone's about to go to heaven. So what we need to do is be very careful that we have the right convictions so that we can take up our cross daily and follow Jesus. So what is your response to these messages going to be? Now I've given you a lot of Bible verses, haven't I? And BAMI is going to get flash drives with all of these messages and all of these Bible studies on them so that you will have them. And anyone who sends me an email, I will send ahead of time these notes, and you can study the scripture daily to see if these things are so. But, my authority all through here, see all these Bible verses? I have been appealing to you, faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. Let's bring about the obedience of faith, not the panic of spiritism, and not the selfishness of spiritism. Let's give ourselves to the Word of God and to obedience. Let's take up our cross daily. Let's repent and receive Christ and be born again. Then let's grow as a disciple and let's begin making disciples. And we gain that stability by these basic convictions. I want to thank you for our time together and I want to thank BAMI for giving me the privilege of sharing with you. May God add his blessing to his holy word. In Christ's name I pray, amen.