Let's pray. Dear Father, I pray, God, please help us, God. Please help me in my speech, God, to be clear that we would understand, Lord, that we would understand the spiritual application of what you're saying, Lord Jesus. That our understanding would go beyond the natural. It would go into the spiritual, God. and that we would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to implement the things that we learn tonight, Lord, that we would bring glory to your name, that others would see you in us, Lord Jesus, and that you would be glorified, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. I believe in Matthew chapter 16, before we read our text tonight, in Matthew 16. We're going to turn there at the conclusion of the sermon. You don't necessarily have to turn there right now. Stay in Matthew chapter 12. We'll go to Matthew 16 at the end of the sermon, but I just want to set it as a premise. And you probably all know when Jesus tells the apostles in Matthew 16 verse 20, He tells them that He's going to the cross. He has to suffer and die and go to Jerusalem. And what does Peter do? He says, No, Lord, not you. And what does Jesus say to him? He says, Get thee behind me, Satan, for you do not desire the things of God. The will of God for Jesus was to go to the cross. And let me tell you tonight, the will of God for us is to go to the cross. And there's a popular thing today that's called a crossless Christianity. And it's not just popular today. It was very popular when the apostles were preaching too. Paul called them in Philippians 3.18, he called them enemies of the cross. My question to pose to you tonight is not how many of you do you want to live for Jesus? My question tonight is how many of you want to die for Jesus? That's the question. Many will say, I'll live for Jesus. I'll live for Jesus. But how many will say, I'll die for Jesus? How many want to die for Jesus? That's, that's the key. And you're going to see that that Jesus keeps saying that over and over in his ministry. And so do the apostles. We'll see that tonight. We'll see that tonight. There is no mark this down. There is no Christianity Unless you are dying to self. Unless you are dying to what you want, your dreams, your hopes, your desires, unless you are dying to those things, there's no such thing as Christianity. My friends, if you're not dying to yourself, you're playing games. As Tozer would call it, Christian word games is what you're doing. And you're tricking yourself in your mind. Make it very clear. Jesus makes it very clear. There's no such thing as Christianity without a cross. Unless Mark is dying to himself, he is simply playing word games. He's playing Christian club. And many people do it. There is no Christianity unless you are dying to what you want. To your desires. No man follows me, Jesus said, unless he denies himself, takes up his cross, and follows me. Following Jesus is the third step. First two are to deny yourself and take up your cross. There's no such thing as a crossless Christianity. And Jesus said, take up your cross daily. I say that. Now let's get into our text, keeping that in mind. Our text is mainly Matthew chapter 12 verses 39 through 50. But to get the premise, we really have to start at 33. So let's look at 33. Even though we did 33 through 37 last week, we're going to read it again to get the context of the whole passage. Verse 33, either make the tree good and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt. For the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, brings forth good things. An evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth evil things. But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Verse 38, Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered instead, an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. And there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment with his generation, and shall condemn it. For she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, a greater than Solomon is here. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through the dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, I will go into my house from whence I came out. And when he has come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished. And he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself. And they enter in and dwell there. And the last fate of the man is worse than the first. Even so shall it also unto this wicked generation. While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood outside, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, Behold, my mother and brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, my sister, and mother." These are very sobering words that Jesus is speaking. And he has to, because the people he's talking to, this generation of people as he keeps referring to it, are a wicked and evil generation. Why were they evil? Why were they evil? You see, in verse 33, what does it say? A good tree brings forth good fruit, an evil tree brings forth evil fruit. It's an issue of the nature. We went through that last week. From the heart speaks the mouth, it says in verse 35. And from the heart is connected to the nature. The natural man speaks of what? Natural things. The spiritual man speaks of spiritual things, because from the mouth, from the heart, the mouth speaks. And the heart is controlled by the nature. Either we are born again, born of God, into the kingdom of God, or we are not. And Jesus makes that very clear in verses 33 through 37. And then, We come down to verse 39, and we look at it and we say, however, what these things, these things, he says it, look in verse 35, what does he say? He says, things, good things, the good heart brings forth what? Good things. The evil man from an evil treasure brings forth evil things. So you have the good things that come from the good heart, you have the evil things that come from the evil heart. Jesus is talking here about the good things that came from the good heart, and the evil things that came from the evil heart. Often when we hear the word evil, we think of the obvious immoral sin, such as drunkenness, adultery, or murder. But here, Jesus is going to shed light on the condition of this wicked or evil people. this wicked or evil generation as he calls it and if you look in verses 39 through 50 I see four things four things that come from the good heart and three things that come from the evil heart and we'll mix these together as we go through them we'll mix them together the three evil things Number one, they seek after a sign. You see that in verse 39? A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. Number one. Number two, in verses 43 through 45, they seek morality without a cross. They seek morality without a cross. Very common in that generation. These were very moral people. And they thought they were godly. because of their morality. They knew nothing of the cross. They didn't want the cross. So, number one, they seek a sign. Number two, they are immoral without the cross. And number three, they seek a sentimental, and I believe this is the one we have to look at the most tonight, they seek a sentimental or a natural connection to Jesus. That's in verses 46 and 47, when he talks about, oh, my brethren, You see this in several other places also that we'll go through, where people try to make this connection to Jesus' family, and by doing that, they try to get close to Jesus, and Jesus shoots it down every time. He won't hear it. It comes from the evil heart. It's a person who seeks sentimentality or the natural connection to Jesus. Those are the three things that come from the evil heart. The four good things that come from the good heart. Number one, in verse 40, they have experienced the risen Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ. Someone who has seen the resurrection needs no signs. They only need one sign, and that's the sign of the risen Christ. The good things that come from the good heart are those who have experienced the risen Christ. Number one. Number two, they seek true repentance in every area of their life, in verse 41. Just like the Ninevites. Number three, they seek wisdom, in verse 42. And most importantly, number four, in verse 50, they do the will of the Father. They do the will of the Father. Those who have the good heart, do the will of the Father. Jesus has already said that a few times in his teaching up to this point in Matthew 12 through the Gospel of Matthew. The first three things are evil that we should guard our hearts against. These are things that are very subtle and can even appear to be Christian or godly. But beware, those things that are hardest to detect lead to the deepest deceptions. seeking a sign, or seeking morality without a cross, or thinking that sentimentality is the true love of God, are the three things. Number one, the evil heart seeks after a sign. Do you see that in verse 39? But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there shall be no sign given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonah. Why is it so wrong to seek after a sign? I would believe for three reasons. First, because seeking a sign is saying I don't believe what you're saying. If I tell you something, right, and then you say to me, well prove it, show me something that really means you mean what you're saying. It shows that you don't believe me. It shows that you want to sign. It's like saying to God, God, I know I have your word, and your word is to be trusted. In 2 Peter 1, verses 17-19, Peter said what? I saw the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter said, I saw Jesus Christ glorified on earth, on the Mount of Transfiguration. The greatest miracle that can ever be done. Who has ever seen God glorified on earth with their human eyes? Peter did. You know what Peter said about it? We have a more sure word of prophecy. He said, I put more hope in this word than I do in seeing Jesus Christ glorified on earth with my human eyes. The greatest miracle that can ever be done. And Peter said, I put more hope in this book than I do in that vision or in that literal thing that he's seen. Christ glorified. Seeking a sign to say, I want something more than God's Word. Secondly, because God is not at our disposal. We are at His. In other words, God is not obligated to prove Himself to us. But we are obligated to prove ourselves to Him. God doesn't have the problem. We do. When I either consciously or subconsciously say to God, show me a sign, then I will believe or then I will believe more. I am asking God to prove himself. We come to God on his terms. We do not dictate to God how we will come to him. It's God's way towards no way. And thirdly, those who seek a sign, worst of all, diminish the resurrection. I remember I had a friend I worked with several years ago, and he asked me for a sign from God. I said, you want a sign from God? Here's the sign God has given you. His son walked out of the tomb. That's the sign that God has given you. Do you want a sign? That's the sign. God doesn't give you any other sign. He gives you that sign. That Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. This is the sign that we have. If you want a sign, that's it. God's not giving you any other sign. That's the sign that He has. And if you want a sign, we have the greatest sign. For those who have been born again have seen the risen Savior. And are in continual amazement of Him. We do not need a sign because we have the greatest sign ever given. The resurrection of Jesus Christ. Go to Romans chapter 6. I want to read you two verses from Romans 6. And my friends, the resurrection had such an effect on the apostles. Read in Acts chapter 4 verse 2 in Acts 17-18, and you know what? Do you know what the apostles' message in the book of Acts was characterized by? Do you know what it was characterized by, primarily? The resurrection. The resurrection. The 500 eyewitnesses, guess what? I forget what it says, but it says that God chose them to reveal Himself to them. No unbeliever has seen the risen Christ. Only believers saw the risen Christ, because God ordained it that way. Look in Romans chapter 6 verses 4 and 5, it says, Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death. But likewise, as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of God the Father, even so also we walk in the newness of life. For we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also Be in the likeness of His resurrection. I have been raised from the dead. What a greater thing than that. I've been raised from the dead. I was dead. I was laying in the casket. Gone. Going to hell. Done. Jesus rose me from the dead. He rose me from the dead. This is incredible. I can't believe it. I'm risen from the dead with Christ. What greater miracle could there be? There can't be any greater miracle. I've been risen from the dead with Christ. And I will experience that resurrection life forever and ever and ever with Christ. That's what it means to be a believer. That's what it means. That I've been risen with Christ. And if you are in Christ tonight, you have been risen with Christ. What other sign do I need? I need no other sign. I've been risen with Christ. I was dead in my trespasses and sins. I was only concerned with my own life. I was only concerned with what Mark wanted. With my own life. I was dead to spiritual things. Unable to comprehend anything that was spiritual. But Jesus, through the resurrection of Christ, what does it say? What did we just read? That we have been risen with Christ. You can read that in several other places also, in the New Testament, Colossians 2, Ephesians 6, and other places. It's a central point to Christianity, and few understand it. Mainly because they've never come to a true understanding of depravity. They've never seen themselves as dead, and unable to understand spiritual things. But my friends, when you see yourself dead, and then you see the risen Christ, He rises us with Him. I need no other miracle. God heals me of sickness? Praise His name! That's nothing compared to that I've been raised from the dead! Is it? I've been raised from the dead, and not just raised from the dead physically, But Jesus said, in John chapter 11 verse 26 we say, whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. This is a resurrection unto eternal life. This is not a physical resurrection like Lazarus had, who was raised from the dead and then died in that sense. Now I'm not saying Lazarus wasn't saved, I'm just saying in the sense that he was raised physically, but he died again, right? But this resurrection that we have in Christ is an eternal resurrection. Jesus said, you will never die. What greater miracle do I need? Any other miracle is minuscule. It is nothing in comparison with those who know they have been risen in Christ. But my friends, if you've never seen yourself dead, how can you know that you're risen? If you've never seen, it says in Ephesians 2.1, we were dead in trespasses and sins. We cannot know the things of God unless He rises us from the dead with Christ. This is truly the greatest miracle that can ever happen. Is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and anybody that believes in Him is raised with Him. Just like we read in Romans chapter 6, we just read it. And my friends, when you see that miracle, you don't need any other miracle. You say, I've been risen with Christ. I need nothing else. We as Christians walk in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have a new life. We have gone from death to life. This is the greatest thing because we have been risen from the dead. Like I said, everywhere, the Apostles' message in the Book of Acts was characterized by the resurrection. Then Jesus moves on in verse 41. Read verse 41 with me. It says, The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, a greater than Jonah is here. That comes from the good heart. Repentance. Repentance comes from the good heart. You see, the Ninevites, the Ninevites, they condemned this generation. Because why? Because of their repentance. We are not to seek a sign. No. What are we to seek? We are to seek a true repentance in every aspect of our lives. Let's go to Jonah. Go to Jonah chapter 3. Let's read about the Ninevites and how they repented. This is the repentance that we ought to be seeking. Not a sign. Not how my life can be better for Mark. But Mark should be seeking true repentance. We should be seeking a true repentance in our hearts. And oh my friends, if we're honest with ourselves, there's things in our hearts and lives that we have not truly repented of. We cannot stand here and say that we're all done repenting. My friends, those who repent on the justification, repent on the sanctification. Look in Jonah chapter 3, starting in verse 5. So the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them. The word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. He caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed nor drink water. This was a thorough repentance. They fasted, they prayed, they covered themselves with sackcloth and ashes. Sackcloth is like a burlap, it's a rough material that they would put on to show how sorrowful they were for their sins. We as true followers of Christ seek this total repentance, which only comes one way. It only comes one way. This is what we ought to be seeking. We ought not to be seeking a sign. We ought to be seeking true repentance in our hearts. Going before God in sackcloth and ashes, which shows the great sorrow we have because of our sin. Oh God, please. We need to be crying out to God for true repentance. Stop seeking a sign. Seek repentance. True repentance in the heart. that God grants us salvation, but He also grants it in our sanctification. As believers, we seek true repentance. We're not done repenting when we get saved. I think we just started repenting when we get saved. And when one thing's brought out of our lives through sanctification, what happens? We see something else. And then that thing's removed, and what happens? We see something else. This repentance is a total repentance, and you see that in the Ninevites. because total repentance comes through the cross. It comes through the cross. How else can I have a total repentance unless it's through the cross? In Luke 9, 23 and 24. It says this. I'll just read it. And he said unto them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever will save his life will lose it. But whoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Whoever will lose his life. You want to lose your life for Christ? You'll gain it. But if you save your life, if you save your life, if you hold on to what you want, You will lose it. You will lose your life. Speaking spiritually, we as true followers of Christ seek total repentance through the cross, through death to self. The Christian is dying to what self wants and being made alive to the will of the Father. In verse 42, back to Matthew 12, Verse 42, the Queen of the South shall rise up in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it. For she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. My friends, seek repentance. Seek wisdom. Seek these things. Seek repentance. Seek wisdom. Seek to know the risen Christ. That's what you should be seeking. Not a sign, not some superficial deliverance. We should be seeking the risen Christ. We should be seeking a total repentance and seeking wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge applied. Wisdom goes beyond the understanding of information. Think of Solomon or for any leader in that case. And it's easy to understand. I'm in this situation. I deal with situations every week or every month in the church and outside of church and the family. And it's funny how you can read a book, right? And it tells you how to deal with each situation in the book, right? And then you probably all experience this if you're of a certain age. And then when you get into the situation, what happens? It's all different than how you write in the book. You're like, wait a second, this doesn't match up with the book, you know. And it's like that. But wisdom is knowing what to do in those situations. And that comes from God. We ought to seek that in our lives. It's easy to read the Bible and understand, have a nice, neat, you know, systematic theology. But when the rubber meets the road, and that's what wisdom is. Wisdom is the knowledge applied. And that's what we ought to seek for. We ought to seek repentance, a total repentance. We ought to seek this wisdom and seek the risen Christ. Seek the risen Christ. Are you seeking the risen Christ, a total true repentance and wisdom? Or are some still seeking a sign? Those who seek a sign, mark this down. will never be satisfied. Those who are seeking a sign will never be satisfied. If you want to turn to Luke 16, I'll read you a couple of verses that relate to this, and it's very clear. And this is the Lord Jesus teaching in Luke chapter 16. It's actually an addiction. These people that follow these faith healers, it's like a drug addiction. They need more and more and more. And it's a proven fact that those who seek a sign will never be satisfied with a sign. Look in verse 27 of Luke 16. You know the context? The man's in hell and Lazarus, the beggar, is in heaven. Verse 27, this is the man in hell, the rich man in hell, and he's begging for his brothers. In verse 27, then he said, I pray thee, therefore, Father, that thou wouldst send me to my father's house, where I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham says unto him, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. If someone got up out of the casket and preached the gospel to these five brethren, Jesus is saying, they won't believe. We do not believe by signs and miracles. We believe by the Word of God. We believe through the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe because God said it and we believe it. Whether I ever see any great sign in my life, I've already seen the greatest sign in my life anyways. I've seen the resurrection, the evil heart, also discerns spirituality by morality. So the evil heart seeks a sign. Does not seek repentance, does not seek wisdom, but it seeks a sign. Secondly, it seeks morality without a cross. I really believe that's what he's talking about in 43. Go back to Matthew 12 again, 43-45, I sincerely believe that's what he's talking about. Some believe this is like an immoral lifestyle, that people leave their immoral lifestyle, and then they come back to the immoral lifestyle, and when they come back, they're worse off, which can be true. Don't get me wrong, that's definitely a true biblical principle. But I think in direct application to the people he's talking to, I don't think most of these people had problems with immorality. They didn't. This was a very moral people. They prided themselves on morality and on being good people. Look in verse 43. When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walks through the dry places seeking rest and finds none. Then he says, I will return to my house from whence I came out. And when he has come, he finds it empty, swept and garnished. Then he goes and takes himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself. and they enter in and dwell there. And the last day of the man is worse than the first. Even shall it be also unto this wicked generation." It's garnished and swept and clean. The house is clean. And it's seven worse demons. Matthew 23, 15, Jesus told the Pharisees, when you make a proselytite, you make him a two-fold child of hell. And many of us, when we talk to these people that we run into that are into cults, and these cults that are very strong dogmatically, if you know what I'm talking about, it's very difficult to break through to them. Very difficult. Like the Jehovah's Witnesses is a good example. The Mormons. Try to break through. It's very difficult. You'll go in circles for hours. Takes much prayer and patience. But they're made a two-fold child of hell. They've had a certain life and then they were brought over to this false religion and what happens? Now they have seven worse demons. They're seven times worse off because their heart is hardened to the gospel. This generation, they had morality without spirituality. Beware of it. Beware of morality without spirituality. They have morality but not spirituality. They want spirituality without the cross. An attempt at spirituality without the cross that leads to morality is the most dangerous thing that can happen to a person. Listen to me. The most dangerous thing that can happen to you is not to get on drugs, although I don't recommend that. I even have taken men who were not born again and brought them to places where they can recover. Because if they stay on drugs, they're probably going to die soon after that. No opportunity to be saved. But at the same time, an attempt, listen to this, an attempt at spirituality without the cross that leads to morality is the most dangerous thing that can happen to a person. I truly believe it is. Because it's like this man who cleans his house and says, wow, look at my house now. I got it all cleaned up. It's garnished. I got nice new furniture. Look at this. I'm doing pretty good. I got a new job. I'm making good money. I have a nice house. It's cleaned and garnished and everything. I used to do all those wicked things and now I'm doing okay. I got spirituality with no cross. Spirituality with no cross. My friends, it's the most dangerous place a person can be. But lastly, there is a distinct difference Let's move on from that point and go to our last point, our last two contradictory points, we can call them, in verses 46 through 50. Let's look at these two points and let's close with verses 46 through 50. And while he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto them, who is my mother and who are my brethren and he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said behold my mother and my brethren for whoever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven the same is my brother and sister and mother so lastly there is a distinct difference between those who have the evil heart and seek Jesus through sentimentality And those who have the good heart and seek Jesus, by what? As he says in verse 50, by doing the will of the Father. By doing the will of the Father. This evil thing could be the most deceptive. It seems like it could be the most common in our culture today. Jesus was not moved by sentimentality. Did Jesus honor his mother? Absolutely. We see that at the foot of the cross. When he's talking to Jesus. When he's talking to John and he's talking to his mother. Right? But Jesus was not given to sentimentality. He never was. You see him dealing with that all the time. I'll just read you two verses. I'll turn there. You don't have to turn there for time's sake. But in Luke, if you want to write it down, 11, 27, and 28, listen to this. And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. And he said, Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. Jesus never went for the sentimentality. People would try to get to him by making this connection to his mother, to his natural birth, or to his brothers and sisters. And in Matthew 10, we've already been through this. Jesus said, unless you forsake mother, brother, sister, for my sake, and your own life too, you cannot be my disciple. Jesus will have none of it. He will have none of this sentimentality. You cannot appeal to Jesus with your natural emotion. But He makes the clear distinction between a love for God and a natural love. And we ought to make that clear distinction in our minds also. I've preached this in the past, but I firmly believe it. I firmly believe this. Unless you've made that distinction in your mind, you could be deceived. You could be deceived into saying, I love Jesus just like I love my children. Oh, I love Jesus just like I love my buddy or my friend. Oh, we have good camaraderie together with my friends. That's how I love Jesus. No, my friends, the love we have for God and the love we have for Jesus is distinctly different from sentimentality and from emotionalism. And if you have not made that distinction in your mind, I'm not saying you are deceived. But I would warn you, check yourself. It's very serious. For some, it is an issue of being a baby Christian in this sense. But for others, I fear, they may have never experienced the true love of God. And therefore, they have nothing else to relate to but natural love. Don't get me wrong. They may have experienced a flood of emotion in a religious meeting. But that is not what the Bible talks about as knowing the love of God. That is not what the Bible talks about. Those who love God do what? Do the will of the Father. Those who love God do the will of the Father. If you're not doing the will of the Father, I'm not saying you don't love God, But you could be deceived. You could be. Those who love God do the will of the Father. There's a distinct difference that Jesus is making here between a natural connection, a natural love between a family and the love between God's people. My friends, we must also make that distinction in our own minds because you know what the evil heart does? The evil unregenerate heart deceives us into saying, well I love Jesus just like I love my children. Or I go to a religious meeting and I have tears and I cry and I get all worked up. I don't care how many tears a person has cried. I don't care if they've cried every day for years. If they're not doing the will of the Father, they simply have no evidence that they love God. That's the facts. That's what the Bible teaches. And Jesus is warning us. Jesus loves us. So he wants to tell us, don't be deceived. Don't be deceived. There's a love for God that leads to obedience. Those who love God obey God. Does this mean that they don't fail? Absolutely not. Christians fail daily. But it does mean that their overriding purpose in life is always to obey God. Again, I'll close with this thought. What is God's will? What is the Father's will? I believe it can be defined in several ways. We defined it in Matthew 7 when we went through Matthew 7. But I think for the context tonight, you can define it if you go to Matthew 26. In closing, we'll read Matthew 26, verse 42. He went away again the second time and prayed, speaking of the Lord Jesus, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it. Thy will be done. Thy will be done. What cup is he speaking of? Turn a few pages back to Matthew 16. Turn a few pages back to Matthew 16. I believe this is important. 16 verse 20. then charged his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. From that time forth, Jesus began to show unto his disciples how he must go into Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and of chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised again the third day. And Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, that shall not be unto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an offense unto me, for thou savest not the things that be of God, but those that are of men. Then Jesus said unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever will save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Look in verse 23, what does it say? He savors not the things of God. What are the things of God? The things of God are the cross. The will of the Father is that we live at the cross. It's at the cross, my friends. It's the only place you'll find true life is dying to self. The cross has so many aspects to it. Yes, Christ is our substitutionary atonement. He died for us and took our sins for us on the cross. Which is amazing and incredible. We should never forget that. We must understand too, the cross has another meaning. And how does he explain it here? Unless you deny yourself and take up your cross. You cannot follow me. Jesus said it again here. He says it several times through the Gospels. You must deny yourself and take up your cross. This is the only way to live the Christian life. It's through the cross. It's through the cross. It's through death to self. It's through death to self. And those who are dying to self are the ones who seek repentance. They seek the wisdom. They know this risen Christ. But those who are still in the flesh and of the old evil nature in Matthew 12.33 are those who seek a sign. Are those who relate sentimentality to the love of God. It's those who cannot discern between morality and spirituality. Can you discern tonight between morality and spirituality? Or do you meet people and say, oh, they're good people. They're good people. They should be all right. They're Christians. They don't do drugs. They don't drink. They even give their money on Sundays. They're good people. Can you discern between morality and spirituality? spiritual man does. Please hear me tonight. This is very serious what Jesus is dealing with here. Because the time he was living was a very serious time. This generation was deceived. And my friends, we see the same thing today. All around us. Actually, nothing has actually changed in 2,000 years. All through the 2,000 years you see this generation after generation seeking a sign seeking sentimentality, seeking the things that are earthly. My friends, we have a Risen Christ. That is our sign. We have the Risen Christ. No other religion has a Risen Savior. But we have the Risen Christ, the Risen Savior. This is our sign. And I'll tell you, I'm excited tonight because I am risen with Christ. And I will have eternal riches forever with Christ. Because I am risen with Him. And if you are in Christ, you have that same privilege. And then everything else is just like, what does it mean? If God blesses me with finances, praise the Lord. If God blesses me with poverty, praise the Lord. If God blesses me with health, praise the Lord. If God blesses me with sickness, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. I am risen with Christ. And I will never die in Christ. I will live forever with Him. That is the only sign I need. Praise His name. Praise the name of Jesus. That's the only sign the true believer needs. And as the first century saints would greet each other, actually, John told me this, I think about a year ago, they would say, he is risen. And then the person would respond by saying, he is risen indeed. And when the person said he is risen indeed, they would know that that person is a true Christian. And the whole first century church you'll see revolves around the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And I propose today that our Christianity ought to revolve around the resurrection of Jesus Christ and praise his name. It's the greatest sign. We need no other sign. We have the greatest sign ever given, which is the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So let's pray. Dear Father, Thank you for these words tonight, God, for they are spiritual, and they are spiritually discerned, God. We would never come to these conclusions, Father, except you sent your Son and you sent your Spirit to teach us. How would we ever come to these conclusions, God, but through your Spirit and through your Word? For God, we would all be deceived in sentimentality, and signs and wonders, we would all be deceived, God. But yet you and your grace, Father, you sent your Son to teach us. We praise you. We glorify you, God. I pray that we would learn to live at the cross, God. That we would learn what it means to die to self. To die to what we want and to live to what God wants. Please work it in our hearts, Lord, that we would bring glory to your name. that you would be glorified in our life and in this church, we pray in Christ's precious name. Amen.