The scripture reading this morning is the parable of the sower. It's Matthew chapter 13, beginning in verse one. Matthew 13, starting at verse one. That same day, Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him so that he got into a boat and sat down. The whole crowd stood on the beach and he told them many things in parables saying, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil and immediately they sprang up since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some 60, some 30. He who has ears, let him hear. Then the disciples came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables? And he answered them, to you, It's been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. But to them, it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables. Because seeing, they do not see. And hearing, they do not hear. nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says, you will indeed hear, but never understand, and you will indeed see, but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly I say to you, many prophets and righteous people long to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. Hear then the parable of the sower, When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. And as for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, And when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit. and yields, in one case, a hundredfold, in another 60, and in another 30. Those are the words of the Lord himself, and we are to receive them as such. Let's go before the Lord and ask his blessing then on the ministry of his word. Father, we come now to your word. As we, your church, are gathered together on this Lord's Day, we pray that you would teach us, that you would enable us to understand your word, to perceive it, give us eyes to see and ears to hear, minds that understand and hearts that love you and desire to obey you. We pray that you would effect conviction of sin where we need that conviction and grant us quick confession and repentance of it. And we pray this all in Christ's name. Amen. You remember that last Lord's Day, we were reminded over and over from portions of God's word that there's only two kinds of people in the world. That's all. For all the apparent diversity of kinds of people, there's only two in God's measure. Those to whom the word of the cross is foolishness, and those to whom the word of the cross is the power of God to salvation. And we saw that in 1 Corinthians 1, verses 23 and 24. Paul said, we preach Christ crucified. To Jews, a stumbling block, and to Gentiles, foolishness. but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. And so it's one or the other. Every human being in the world today, every person here, every person if you're listening, online, whoever you be, young or old, rich or poor, male or female, it's one category or the other. And it's the tendency of many people, most people perhaps, to imagine themselves in a kind of a third category. They've got one foot on the narrow way and one foot on Broadway. They've got one foot in the world and one foot supposedly following Christ. They imagine that they have Christ's forgiveness and acceptance. But at the same time, they love this world. But there's no middle ground. And the Bible's very plain, then, about that. We are either, human beings are either a cane or an able. It's one, then, or the other. And Christ himself says these pretty powerful words, right? And few are they who find it. Many are called, but few are chosen, you see. So with those themes in mind, we certainly have to do some very serious and sober reflection and self-examination in regard to our own status at this moment. These aren't things to be toyed with. These truths are not something to just play around with or take them lightly. We have to have absolute certainty as to our status before God. Which category are we? Are we one of the foolish virgins shut out because we messed around, played around, and didn't obey Christ? Or are we the five wise ones who enter in before then The door is shut, you see. Serious things. We're being told over and over again, and it seems like maybe even increasingly, through, oh, you find it on YouTube and social media and books that are being published and movies that are being made, that with the basic messages, there's nothing to worry about. I've seen recently YouTube clips of people that work in hospice centers, where people are in their very last days, last hours even, of life. And this one nurse, hospice nurse, puts on a regular, she has a regular YouTube channel, and she's, you know, I see things when people are dying. This is just such a a natural event when they die, and it leads me to believe there's something more. But that's as far as she takes it, you see. And then there's movies. I took a picture of the movie title, but it's on my iPhone and that's being used out there right now, so I can't remember the title. But I think there's another movie that's been made is really popular and being pushed and it's advertised as, you got to see this movie because this thing is going to encourage you. You won't have any fear of death after you watch this movie. Well, you know what the message is going to be. They're going to have people testifying who they claim to have a near-death experience and it was wonderful. There was no pain and everything was bright and shining in these wonderful heavenly beings came to lead me. And of course, these claims are being made by people that don't know Christ, then, you see, at all. Well, you know, if you are mature in the word of God, and you know the word of God, this is a no-brainer, what's going on. I don't doubt those experiences that people are having. But I can tell you that it is a serious mistake to base your eternity on the experiences of mortal people rather than on the word of God. The word of God says that our enemy is cunning, he's crafty, and he can appear as what? An angel of light. So I have no doubt that people are seeing these shining beings and so forth. But if they proceed down the tunnel, as they all will someday, they're going to find out that in the end, they were deceived, you see. So these are not things to be toyed with. We don't just want to blow them off, which is what most people do. Oh, it'll be OK. It'll be fine. I'll be my own authority on these matters, you see. But these issues are issues of eternity. And eternity is a very long time. In fact, you can't even use the word time when you're talking about eternity. There was the rich man in the account of the rich man and Lazarus. Here I am, Father Abraham, in this torment, in this flame. And he's there right now. When he's been there 10,000 years, he's only just begun. There is no beginning because there's no end. There's no time. It's forever and ever. And similarly, that's what Christ rewards his people with. By grace alone, through faith alone, we have an eternal kingdom and eternal light. and life and the resurrection. So these are things that are very sobering. They're very serious. And I suppose one of the most frustrating things for me as a pastor anyway, although I mean, I certainly can tend to be guilty of the same things as well, but it frustrates me to see I hope nobody in here this morning is in this category, but I leave it to you to determine. But it frustrates me to see people who profess to be Christians, who day after day, month after month, year after year, just play around. They're not serious about their walk with Christ. They don't really break off from the world. They want to, like I said, maybe have one foot here and there. And they're careless. Maybe some of them are Christians, but they're being careless. And it's very dangerous to be careless in this regard. This demands. This demands a serious and honest self-examination of ourselves. Test yourselves to see if you be in the faith. That's what the scripture then tells us. Well, there's another category then of man's own making, because there's really only two categories of human beings. But there's another category of man's own making, which is a counterfeit and a deception. It's the kind of person who begins but doesn't finish, who begins but doesn't finish. The Bible speaks about this kind of a thing many times. Matthew 10, you will be hated by all for my name's sake, but the one who, what, endures to the end will be saved. You can't just start the race with Christ, you gotta finish, right? Matthew 24, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. And Hebrews 3, for we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. To the end, we've got to get to the finish line, you see. It's not enough to claim, well, you know, When I was a kid, I went to vacation Bible school and I accepted Jesus as my savior. There, I'm forgiven and I'm on my way to heaven. Well, what have you done since then? You see, are you still running the race? Because if we don't persevere in running the race and following Christ, you won't make it to the end. You can't just say, expect to win the prize if the starting gun goes off and you rocket out of the blocks and you get the fastest start and you immediately get ahead of the rest of the pack and then you stop. You just stop. Okay, what a great start that was, you see. And we read about that already, didn't we, in the Parable of the Sower. There's many, the seed lands on rocky ground, and immediately it springs up with joy. Oh, wow. But as soon as the sun comes up, has no depth of root, and they wither and no longer follow Christ. So the person who is truly born again, we Calvinists, we Reformed Christians believe, and we are convinced, rightly so, that the Bible says, A person who's truly born again, who's been made a new creation in Christ, will, without fail, persevere to the end. Why? Because our faith is a gift from God. It's not something, even that, that we drum up ourselves. It's a gift from God, and it can't be extinguished. Where genuine faith is, even if it's as small as a mustard seed, it can't be It cannot be extinguished. But at the same time, the Bible consistently tells us, be sure you go to the finish line. Press ahead. Don't be looking back all the time. I press on toward the upward call of Christ, Paul says. And because I want to make sure I have a part in the resurrection then. from the dead. So we know that as a genuine Christian, we cannot be lost. We can never be lost. But we run the race with our eyes set on the finish line, because that's where Christ is headed. He's leading us to it, and we have to follow him. Well, this isn't so with hypocrites. They appear to begin Very, very well. Sometimes they look like they begun the race to follow Christ better than everybody else, you see. But in fact, as we'll see, they never did belong to Christ. Listen to it again from Matthew 13. As for what was sown on the rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Maybe you've known people like this. Wow, what a powerful salvation experience they say they have had, all right? And they persevere for a while, for a time. It might even be a number of years. But as Christ says, he has no root in himself. He endures for a while. And when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. You see, as soon as following Christ begins to cost that kind of a person something, then they're done. They drop out of the race. And similarly, for those where the seed was sown among the thorns. These are people who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfaithful. So what we want to do this morning is, through the scriptures, through God's word, issue to ourselves a very serious warning so that we take care not to be one of those people. We don't want to be any one of these people who eventually doesn't persevere to the end, to the finish line. I think most of you are aware of it by now. Most of you have lived in this area for some time. But I can tell you, you live in Satan's territory. Now, we know that the whole world is Satan's territory, right? I mean, he's the god of this world. But you live in a place where the devil is very, very active, very active. And most people, this is very sobering, most people who start out as Christians succumb to the deceitful, cunning deceptions of Satan, and they don't finish, they drop out. It can be even more, what can make it more deceptive is that they deceive themselves into thinking that they're still Christians, you know, and they, but they found a church where, you know, well, I had one of these kinds of people, just to illustrate, I had one of these kinds of people tell me some years ago, they were in this church at the time, some years ago that, I just think that this church is like up here in its expectations. This is the place for really spiritual, almost elite Christians up here. And then there's other Christians that are down here and might be in other, but they're Christians, but they're just down here and their churches don't have such high expectations, but everybody's a Christian. Well, guess where that person is now? The Bible doesn't teach any such thing. And that person ultimately chose the world, chose sin, and is walking in unrepentant sin then today. What does the Bible present? You know, in many ways, the Bible is black and white. Look it. You either are or you aren't. You're in this category or you're in this category. If you're a Christian, there are going to be things that are true of you. They will be true of you. Love the brethren, for example. You will love God's word. You will be grieved and convicted when you sin, and you will repent of it. And all of those kinds of things are true about a person then that's born again. That's not some kind of elitism. That's Christianity. And anything less than that, anything less than that is not of Christ. But we live, then, in a dark place. And unless we, well, if we grow careless, and we don't examine ourselves, and we aren't careful to use the means of grace that God's given us to pray, to be in his word, to fellowship together, I don't think that we are exaggerating when we warn ourselves, and let the word warn ourselves, we are going to fall. And people that go that direction and get careless, well, we've seen it over and over again in the last 30 years here in our experience here. Seen it over and over. Don't fancy that we can all be an exception. You know, yeah, you know, I, I, yeah, I know I should read my Bible more and I'm not real faithful in gathering together with the saints and, and so on. But, you know, I've got my business and I've got all of these other things to do and, and so on. And, but, you know, the important thing is that I'm forgiven and on my way to, don't fancy that you'll be the exception. Most of The young people, for example, and older people too. Most of the young people that in the last 30 years that have been in this church, right? Most of them have dropped out of the race. I'm not exaggerating. Most of them have dropped out of the race. They got involved in the world, the world deceptively seduced them, drew them away from Christ, in the middle of public school and around all kinds of ungodliness and so on, and it will take you out. The world will take you out. We aren't smarter than the devil is. It's only because of Christ that we have victory then over him. So take care and listen carefully. This is what the Apostle Paul says, and keep in mind that great powerful statement that Jesus gave us. Remember Lot's wife. Remember Lot's wife and all the privileges she had. Here's the Apostle Paul. Philippians 3, starting at verse 17. Brothers, join in imitating me. And keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their belly. And they glory in their shame with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Now, let's draw just a few points out of the first portion of that passage. Consider them. Paul begins here in verse 18, for many. The people he's talking about here are not rare. There's many of them. Paul sheds tears over them. The fatal error that leads to hell is not rare. Secondly, they walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. This passage makes no sense if you think that Paul is just talking generally about sinners in general who are enemies of the cross of Christ. He makes note of the fact that he sheds many tears over the fact that they walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Why? Because he's speaking of people who started off well. He's talking about people who made a profession of Christ. He preached the gospel. They responded. It looked like the seed had taken root, but they dropped out. And they not only dropped out eventually, but they have become enemies of Christ. At one time, they appeared to be fellow Christians, but now they're enemies of Christ. Paul mentions their destination. It is destruction. And it's hell. And he mentions, he gives the reason why they left off following Christ. Why? Because their God is their belly, that is, their appetite, their flesh, their lusts. And so it's the world, then, that they want. And they glory in their shame. They should be ashamed. They're apostates. But they have no, not only do they not have shame, they boast about the freedom that we have, right? And then they have no regard for heaven. They're earth dwellers. They think about and they love earthly things. So let's look at these points in a little more detail. For many, many of the people who responded in apparent faith to the gospel preached by Paul had become enemies of the cross. And we're naive if we think that isn't going to continue to happen then in our day. Listen to Matthew Henry comment on this. There are many called by Christ's name who are enemies to Christ's cross and the design and intention of it. Their walk is a surer evidence that they are than their profession. By their fruits, you shall know them. The apostle warns people against such. Very frequently, he says, I've told you often. We so little heed the warnings given to us that we have need to have them repeated. So here are these people, and there's many of them. This phenomenon is not uncommon. If we measure, and I'm not sure Jesus intended for it in this way, if we measure by the parable of the soils, only one seed in four bears fruit, only one seed in four. It's probably not intended for that, because that's 25%, and I don't think the real ratio is 25%. I think it's then much less than that. I think we can accurately say that most people who make a profession of faith in Christ will not persevere to the end, because their faith was not real. I remember when I was a kid, I was eight years old, we attended a conservative Baptist church. West Salem. And it was the practice in that church. At the close of every service, the pastor would give an invitation for people to come forward to either accept Christ or to say that they wanted to become a member of the church. And I'd been under conviction to receive Christ for some time. And so one Sunday, all of a sudden, my feet were moving down the aisle. For an eight-year-old kid in a sanctuary full of people to walk forward and tell the pastor that he wanted to accept Christ. Well, the Lord was moving my feet. But I got up front there, and the pastor asked why I came forward. And I told him I wanted to accept Christ as my Savior. And then I looked over. My sister, who is a year older than me, well, she was coming too. So she came forward. to accept Christ and make a profession the same Sunday that I did. But nothing came of it in her case at all. In fact, she just went the exact then opposite direction. But I don't think that it's exaggerating to say most people who, when all heads are bowed and eyes are closed and you raise your hand if you want to receive Christ, most people that raise their hand, I would say this. Most people who went forward, and there was a lot of them at the invitations given at big crusades like Billy Graham crusades and so forth. Most of those people are not born again. It's not a genuine, well, in fact, it's a tactic that we don't use then. than in this church, you see. But Jesus said that this would be the case. Later on, the deceitfulness of riches, or it becomes apparent to people, such people that, man, I don't know. You mean it's going to cost me something? Yeah. Haven't you ever read? Weren't you told? Jesus said it himself. If you're not willing to take up your cross and follow Christ, I won't have you. And people don't think through, well, wait a minute, what does it mean to take up my cross? Jesus took up his cross. So there must be some similarity to Jesus taking up his cross and me taking up my cross. Why did Jesus take up his cross? To die on it. to die on it. In other words, if I'm not ready to die to myself, to die to the world, to die to my idols and everything else, then my faith is not true faith and I cannot follow Christ, you see. You think of the rich young ruler, classic example. He comes up to Jesus, and he tells him, he asks him, OK, well, hey, what other good thing do I have to do in order to be saved? And he didn't get the answer that he expected. Jesus told him, well, keep the commandments. I've done all that. Oh, yeah, you bet. I've kept them. Which ones? Well, this one, this one, this one. OK. And then Jesus tells him, as he's feeling very self-satisfied, Just one thing, one thing that you lack. One more thing, oh yeah, yeah, just tell me, I'll do it. Take all of your money, all of it, give it to the poor, and come and follow me. And immediately, you know, pin in his balloon, his balloon was popped, and he was exposed and exposed to himself. And he went away grieved. because he was a man that had much wealth, you see. Oh, it looked like he was starting off great. Oh, man, he comes up to Jesus. What must I do to be saved? But in the end, he wasn't willing to do so. He didn't even get off the starting blocks, you see. Well, it's no different with us. If we're not willing to take up our cross and die to self and follow Christ, no matter what the cost. Because if I'm going to go with Jesus, I necessarily have to leave something else. Specifically, I have to leave my life, my old life that I was. And he follows me. All things have become new. I'm a new creation, and I'm following him. Well, let me go back. I'll follow you, Jesus. But let me go back. And I got to at least stay till my father dies. And then I'll come and follow you. No, disqualified. You can't do it, you see. All of these demands are non-negotiables. These are things that we have to do then to run the race. But we have to take these things soberly. Many people were raised up in the church, maybe even raised in a godly home, and they made a profession of faith, and they're baptized, but they grow, and as time passes, their love is redirecting to the world. The world is always calling us, and the God of this world's always, what do they call that, a siren song, you know? It's always calling us, come on, come on over here, the deceitfulness of riches, and so on. And most people yield to it, including most people who might start off making a profession of faith then in Christ. Their destination, Paul says, is destruction. They've chosen Broadway, and they're journeying toward hell. It's God's kindness that he tells us these things, gives us these warnings, so that we'll fear and not be like John Bunyan's Mr. Turnback. Jesus said, Luke chapter 9, no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. So if you've ever worked on a farm and you, you know, I didn't put my hand to the plow, I put my hand to the steering wheel of an Allis Chalmers tractor with the plow behind it. But anybody that's ever plowed a field knows you better be looking straight ahead and pick out a fence post down there and be going right for it if you're going to plow a straight furrow. If you start looking back, well, you're not a fit plowman. And Jesus uses that illustration. If you make a profession of faith in me and you're going to start following me, But then you're always looking back because your heart really belongs to the world. I won't have you then. You're not fit then for the kingdom then of heaven. Listen to this excerpt from Pilgrim's Progress, you might remember it, where Christian and hopeful are having a conversation about one Mr. Temporary to illustrate what the Apostle Paul is talking about. Well then, Christian said, about 10 years ago, he's talking to a hopeful, did you know a man by the name of Temporary in your parts? He was a man enthusiastic about religion then. Know him? I certainly did, said hopeful. He lived, these names are great, he lived in Graceless, a town about two miles from Honesty. And he lived next door to a man by the name of Turnback. That's right. Turnback actually lived under the same roof with him. Well, at one time, that man was very much awakened spiritually. I believe at that time he had some awareness of his sins and of the wages that were due in this regard. I hold the same opinion," Hopeful said. Since my house was not more than three miles from him, he would often come to me with many tears. Truly, I pitied the man and was not altogether without hope for him. But one may see it's not everyone who cries, Lord, Lord, who proves to be a genuine Christian. Christian nodded in understanding. He once told me that he was determined to go on pilgrimage just as we are now. But all of a sudden, he grew acquainted with one save self. And then he became a stranger to me. Since we're talking about him, Hopeful said, let's spend a little time to ask the reason for his sudden backsliding and for others like him. This may be very profitable, Hopeful, but I ask that you begin this time. Very well, Hopeful said. In my judgment, I see several reasons for it. I've only listed two of them here. He actually gives four. But though the consciences of such men are awakened, yet their minds are not changed. Therefore, when the power of guilt diminishes, The very thing that provoked them to be religious ceases to have any effect. For this reason, they naturally turn to their former course again. That's a autobiographical note from Bunyan's own experience of his own life. He went through that himself. We see the same reaction with a dog that's sick and vomits up what he's eaten. So long as his sickness prevails, he vomits and throws up everything in his stomach. Not that he does this of a free mind, if we may say a dog has a mind, but rather because of his troubling stomach. However, when his sickness passes and his stomach feels better, he turns around and licks up all his vomit, and so what is written is true. A dog returns to its own vomit. Now, I say a person may be enthusiastic about heaven, but only because they sense and fear the torments of hell. but as their sense and fear of damnation chills and cools, in the same way their desires for heaven and salvation cool also. So then, it comes to pass that when their guilt and fear are gone, their desires for heaven and happiness die, and they return to their former course in life again. Another reason is this. They have mindless fears that overwhelm them. I'm talking about fears they have of men now. For the fear of man brings a snare. The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted. Proverbs 29. So then, though they seem to be enthusiastic for heaven, so long as the threat of hell's flames are real to them, When that terror has lessened in their way of thinking, they have second thoughts. They begin to think it unwise to run after something they know little about and risk losing all. A second idea they begin to entertain is that it's not prudent to bring themselves into unavoidable and unnecessary troubles. And as a result, they fall in with the world again. The shame that attends religion also lies as a roadblock in their way. They are proud and haughty, and religion as they see it is low and contemptible. Therefore, when they've lost their sense of hell and the wrath to come, they return again to their former ways. Hopeful said, now that I've shown you the reason for their backsliding, I ask that you show me the modus of his falling away, the method, and hopeful gesture to Christian to continue. I will do so most willingly, Christian said, and started to make his points one at a time, counting them off on his fingers. They draw most of their thoughts from the remembrance of God, death, and judgment to come. Then they gradually neglect private duties. such as personal prayer, curbing their lusts, watchfulness, sorrow for sin, and the like. And then they shun the company of lively and wholehearted Christians. After that, they grow cold to public duties such as conscientious listening and reading of the word, godly corporate gathering, and the like. They then begin to find fault or pick holes, that's a good phrase, pick holes, as we say, in the lives of some of the godly, so that they may claim religion is stained based on some weaknesses they've noticed in these believers, and they then justify putting religion behind their backs. Then they begin to adhere to and associate with carnal, immoral, and unrestrained men. They give way to carnal and depraved conversations in secret. And they're glad if they can find similar practices in any who are considered reputable. For these hypocrites encourage them to be all the more bold. And after this. They begin to play with little sins openly, and then, being hardened, they show themselves as they are. Therefore, being flung again into the gulf of misery, unless a miracle of grace prevents it, they eternally perish in their own deception." And so you see how sober and serious these matters are. I can say, I don't think that my experience is different than that of other real Christians. I've been a pastor for over 40 years now. In those 40 years, I've known many of these kinds of people who started out but didn't finish. And in those over 40 years, in all those cases, there has never been one that ever came back and repented and confessed their sin and got back in the race again. I've never seen it. I've never seen it. That doesn't mean there hasn't been someone like that. But for us to be so careless as to imagine, well, I can be careless, you know, and I would never cease following Christ. But I've known these people who did stop following Christ and actually became enemies of the cross. And if you would have told them, if you would have told them, say, well, some years before, that, you know, in 10 years, this is where you're going to be spiritually. This is what you're going to be doing. You're going to be back in the world sinning all the more an enemy. They would not have believed you at all. They couldn't even imagine it. And yet that's what happened. And that's how dangerous this is. Well, these are the kinds of people that Paul's talking about, and he also tells us in this passage why they left off following Christ. Why was it? Because their God is their belly, their appetite, their lusts, their flesh. In other words, they loved the world, because the world is where you find satisfaction for your flesh, right? The lust, how's it go? I always get those three things mixed up in 1 John, but the pride of life and the lust of the eyes and so on, right? It's the world that's always out there. It's always out there offering us, offering to fulfill the lusts of our flesh. That's what happened to Eve. She's looking at that fruit, right? And it got her. And she wasn't even born in sin, you see. So these are things to take very, very, very seriously. Don't love the world, but the world wants us to love the world. What does the world offer us? Well, it is deceitful. It's a cheat, but it offers us money, it offers us status, it offers praise to us. We can make a huge list of the things that the world, it even offers us security, even though there's no security to be found in it, but it's always there. The devil is always at work offering us Look it, his method to tempt Jesus was what? He's offering him the world. That's what he was doing. I'll give you all of these things. Well, he's going to pull the same thing then with us, and we can expect it. Much of which parades as Christian religion in our day is nothing more than a system designed to feed the flesh. and to appeal to the sinner's lust for sin. That's why if you want to have a huge church and a great big following, well, first of all, you've got to be corrupt yourself. But if you want to do that, offer people the flesh. Offer them stuff that is sensuous and so forth. If you look at a lot of the so-called worship in megachurches and so forth, the whole experience, I mean, think about it. It should be a no-brainer. The whole experience is sensual. It's designed to appeal to the flesh. Why would you put on a big light show in a worship service? Why would you do that? Why would you design the music from beginning to start in such a way that it moves people's emotions in a particular way. And then you've got the light setting. Everything's all right. Why are you doing it? You're doing it because it's sensual. It appeals to the flesh. And those are the kind of people, then, that will come in and claim to be Christians. Jesus faced that, John 6. Jesus answered them. These big crowds are coming to him. Truly, truly, I say to you, you're seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. He'd fed them before. And so here they come again. And you would think, oh, wow, Jesus is up front. Any preacher is going to be, wow, look at the crowds here. But Jesus consistently gets in the faces of people, and he does things like, oh man, they're going to leave if you say that. Yeah, that's exactly what happened. But he tells them, you're not coming here for the right reasons. You're coming here to get your flesh satisfied. But I'm telling you, here's what he says, do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life. which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him, God the Father has set his seal." So Jesus said, look, I am the bread of life. You should be seeking me, not this bread. I'm the water of life. Drink of the water that I will give you, and you'll never thirst then again, you see. But that appeals to the spirit, then, and not to the flesh. And then Paul says that these kind of people glory in their shame. They have no regard for heaven. Their minds are set on earthly things. Apostates, that is people who have once professed Christ and then fallen away, right? Apostates. Typically, they're shameless. And if you've known any of them, you would see this. They're shameless. They have no shame. They should have a lot of shame. You know, you professed Christ in front of witnesses. You took off. Boy, you were reading your Bible, and you were there faithfully at church, and you were going, and then you're gone, and now you're an enemy of the cross. But if you run into these kind of people, they have no shame about it. In fact, they'll boast to you about how free they are. I was talking to one such person some years ago. And this one I can identify with Paul when he says that he shed many tears over these kinds of people. Because I really liked this fellow, and I was encouraged by him. It looked like he was really growing. in Christ, but ultimately, his appearances here on Sundays got less and less, finally gone. And he just sent us a note, an email, and said, I'm not coming there anymore. Don't ever try to contact me again. Boom, just like that. And that kind of thing is hurtful, and it's very, very disappointing. But years later, I ran into him. And I said, why? I'm confused. Why did you leave? I never was clear on that. And he said, I think it was the legalism. Well, where are you going to church now? Oh, I'm not. I don't go to church anywhere now. What he meant by legalism is, I'm sure, he meant it became apparent. But see, these people aren't honest, not even with themselves. It became apparent to me. that to follow Christ, it was going to be costly. And I wasn't willing to pay the price, the cost. That's what he was talking about. And spiritually, he's in a pathetic condition again. And sadly, I don't look for him to ever, ever come back again. And then also, these kinds of people are earth dwellers, as Paul says. Their mind is set here below, not on the things above. They like vanity fair. That's the world that John Bunyan gives it in Pilgrim's Progress. Vanity fair, where everyone is striving and working for that which is not worth having. That's vanity fair. And Paul says, Again, there's many such people, many people, Paul says, that I preach the gospel to. And they look like they were off to a good start. And it grieves me, because here's then where they are now. Now, in contrast to all of that, Paul ends on a positive note here. In verses 20 and 21, he says, but our citizenship is in heaven. And from it, we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Our citizenship is in heaven. Maybe we could put that in these terms. If you're a Christian, your home is not here. This is not your home. Your home is in heaven. And increasingly, as you grow in Christ, it's a given. You know what's going to happen? You're going to get more and more homesick, longing to go home. This is what's going to happen. I know you're like me. You think about this. You think kind of like, when I die, I know that I'm going to be instantly with the Lord. But that kind of freaks me out because, This is all I've known here in this world. And what's it going to be like there? It's going to be so different. And Paul couldn't even put it into words. So it's kind of scary, right, to think about it. It's kind of scary. But rest assured, you know what it's going to be like? You know what's going to happen? The moment that we're absent from the body, present with the Lord, ultimately within our bodies as well after the resurrection, here's what's going to happen to the true Christian. You won't be there if you're not a true Christian, but when you're there, it's going to be, whew, I'm finally home. And it turns out John Bunyan was right. All this time in this life, in this world, We were on pilgrimage. And a pilgrim is a person that doesn't belong here, but is headed for home. And that's where we're going. So there's no price. There's no cost too high to pay. That rich young ruler, he's in hell regretting it and regret it. And he will remember for all eternity He had the opportunity to purchase the pearl of great price by giving everything up, but he chose the world. Don't you be one of those people. Father, we thank you for these sobering and yet encouraging words. We pray for everyone here today, everyone listening, that we would all arrive safely home. If there's anyone still dead in their sins, Father, because they haven't been willing to turn away from Sodom, turn away from this world and follow you, we pray that you would effect real repentance in them and show them mercy that they might be saved. And we pray this in Christ's name. Amen.