Thank you. I laugh because when Cassie and I got engaged, in fact, it was Mick's side, Tim's dad, Mary's father-in-law, told me, he said, a man's not complete until he's married. And after that, he's finished. So maybe I wasn't too far off. A little Freudian slip there for Hayden's sake. But no, I'll just pray for him. Looking forward to this and start life as a married couple. That'll be good. That'll be good. All right, turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, page 557 in those light blue Bibles, 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Gonna continue our study on some Christian traits or traits of a Christian we'll look at today. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And let's look down there at verse 17. Matt mentioned this in Sunday school, and so this kind of segues, a good segue into this message. But 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17, he says, therefore if any man be, what's those next two words? In Christ. Now that is really the key to what we're looking at here today, and we'll cover it a little bit more in depth on some of these traits, but if any man be in Christ. Because the things we're gonna look at today, people out in the world have these traits, but not in the way a Christian does. So, we're going to look at dedication or devotion, we're going to look at dependability, and we're going to look at being full of faith. Now, listen, there are people out there in the world, they're dedicated, they're devoted to something. They can be dependable and they can be full of faith, but it's where those are focused or what your faith is in. So, we're going to look at those, but if any man be in Christ, the Bible says, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold, all things become new. When somebody trusts Christ as their Savior, their life changes or should change. You know, maybe everybody's from different backgrounds. Let's start with that. Everybody's from different backgrounds. You have a different backstory of what's your life. Some come from rough backgrounds, some maybe not so much, just average typical backgrounds and a life even before Christ. I would say mine was somewhere in between the two. I had a good family, not a rough family. You know, every family, I'm going to tell you right now, every family is dysfunctional. So if you're thinking, man, I'm looking, I'm trying to have the perfect family. You won't. Every family is dysfunctional. I had a good family growing up, but even our family, and usually you don't find out until years later how dysfunctional your family was. So if you think your family is dysfunctional now, just wait. It gets worse. But you find out later in life. So that's not the case. But we all come from different backgrounds. And some people's life, when they accepted Christ, it changed radically. I mean, we're talking about, you know, Matt is probably one case that he was talking about this morning and the things that He was involved in drunkenness and alcoholism, and he knew he needed a change of life. And one step toward that, he was joined the Marine Corps. But it was when he accepted Christ that his life really changed. And the Bible says that any man be in Christ, old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. And there are some traits, some things that should distinguish a Christian, a believer, someone who is in Christ from other people. And the first one we're going to look at is dedication. And dedication, it can also be used as the word devotion. That's the same as dedication. And that has to do with giving your life or yourself fully to something. Now, to the Lord, in the case of a Christian. Listen, there are people that give their lives fully to sports. They give their lives fully to their job or to, you know, to some or skill that they're trying to develop. And so there is that type of dedication in the world, but when a Christian is someone who should be dedicated, devoted, giving themselves fully to the Lord. Now that doesn't mean that you become a pastor, or a missionary, or an evangelist, or somebody in full-time ministry. If the Lord will, then you should be willing to do that. But it's saying, God, I'm gonna give my life to you to be used in whatever way that you want. And so we have to be willing to let God to use us that way, giving your life fully to the Lord. And so we're gonna look, we're gonna learn from the Bible definition of dedication and being devoted, of what that means for a Christian. But first turn to Hebrews chapter nine. Hebrews chapter nine. Page 581, I think for those cadets. Right before the book of James, the book of Hebrews in chapter nine. We'll get some foundational things established here. Hebrews chapter 9, and let's start in verse 12. says, "'Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood.'" Now, this is talking about Christ. "'By His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained,' past tense, "'eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifyeth to the purifying of the flesh.'" Now, let me pause here for a moment. What he's doing here in the book of Hebrews is he's comparing the Old Testament where they had animal sacrifice and comparing it to after Christ died on the cross, the New Testament. And how Christ's blood obtained eternal redemption for us. He says in verse 14, how much more? He said, how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God purge your conscience from what kind of works? dead works to serve the living God. You see, people, I was dedicated in some things before I got saved, and some of you probably were too, before you became a Christian. If you're a believer in here today, you were probably dedicated in some things, maybe dedicated in your job, dedicated in education, whatever it might be, you could be dedicated in those things. But do you understand that in God's eyes, I'm not saying in man's eyes, I'm not saying in your own eyes, but in God's eyes, those things are apart from Christ they are dead works. That's why Isaiah says, for all our righteousnesses. Now are righteousnesses good or bad? They're good. But it says in Isaiah, all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. He said we are all as an unclean thing. In God's eyes all our righteousnesses without Christ and apart from Christ, all our works, they're dead works, they're filthy rags. Our righteousnesses are no good. So we can be dedicated but those things and I'm not trying to be insulting to anybody I'm just telling you what the Bible says those things are of no value to God That's why Paul said all those things that Paul lists I think in first Peter chapter 1 through 3 and he talks about he said I was a Hebrew of Hebrews, you know, he was a Pharisee and all these things that Paul had he said I do count them but dung that I may win Christ." He said, all the good things in my religion, everything I had going for me that Paul was dedicated and devoted to, he said it was just garbage without Jesus Christ. It meant nothing in the way of salvation. So when we're talking about dedication, the key is if any man be in Christ, whether you've trusted the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and that alone for the payment of your sins. And we'll talk about that a little bit more later here. So, let me just keep reading here in Hebrews. He says, how much more, verse 14, show the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God to be devoted to the Lord. Verse 15, it says, and for this cause He is the mediator of the New Testament that by means of death, His death on the cross for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the First Testament day which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." So talking about being in Christ, and what we had before, the things we were dedicated to before were dead works, they were filthy rags. It was all those things that we tried to be dedicated to, but apart from Christ they mean nothing. Now what you're going to see when we start to look at some of the definitions in the Bible of dedication and devotion, in the Old Testament, The Old Testament, the way they got salvation, the way they got to heaven was by doing good works. They had to be dedicated in doing good works and in believing in God, following all the Ten Commandments plus all the hundreds of other commandments that God gave them, following all the religious feast days. That's what they had to do in the Old Testament. So in the Old Testament, what you find is that there were things dedicated in the Old Testament. Let me read you some verses here. You don't need to turn to these for sake of time. But in Leviticus chapter 27 and verse 28, it says, notwithstanding no devoted thing that a man shall devote unto the Lord of all that he hath, both of man and beast and the field of his possession, should be sold or redeemed, every devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord. And so they devoted things unto the Lord. And they devoted vessels unto the Lord. 2 Samuel chapter eight. It says in verse 10, he says, Then Toi sent Joram his son unto King David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him. For Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And then it says, And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass, which also King David did dedicate unto the Lord. with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he had subdued. So you can see that in the Old Testament, there were things dedicated unto the Lord. In other words, they were set apart for a holy purpose. They were set apart. Now, one thing that they did in order to dedicate those things unto the Lord is they sprinkled them with blood, which is a picture of the New Testament for us today. You're in Hebrews, in chapter nine, and I want you to look down at verse 18. He says, Whereupon the First Testament, that's the Old Testament, was dedicated without blood for when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law he took the blood of calves and of goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book and all the people. this is the blood of the Testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover, He sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry." So, for them to be dedicated unto the Lord in the Old Testament they had to be sprinkled with that blood. He did it to the people. He did it to the vessels. He did it to the tabernacle. They were all sprinkled with blood. Verse 22, And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without the shedding of blood is no remission. Now I made the statement that apart from Christ, all your works and your dedication apart from Christ mean nothing. That's because unless you've been sprinkled, not physically by the blood of Christ, but spiritually, been sprinkled by the blood of Christ, those works mean nothing. He said without the shedding of blood is no remission. There's no remission of your sins without the shedding of blood. Verse 23. It was therefore necessary that the pattern of things in the heavens should be purified with these things, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. He says, For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Now look down there at verse 27, well verse 26, he said, For then he must have suffered since the foundation of the world, but now once, he suffered one time in the end of the world that he hath appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Verse 27, And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. That's of the whole world. And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. And so Christ shed his blood for us. And when we put our faith and trust in the blood of Jesus Christ, the Bible says, If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. That's how we become, that's the first step of how we become dedicated unto the Lord. And to dedicate our life unto the Lord, to give our life unto the Lord, it's not something that, not a process that we do, although many people think that, it comes through salvation, through trusting Jesus Christ as our Savior. Now turn to the book of Romans, page 546, Romans chapter 12. Back to your left, Romans chapter 12. I just want to make sure that you understand when we talk about Christian traits, I am not talking about good works for salvation. Salvation comes through Christ and through him alone. It doesn't come through the Baptist church. It doesn't come through any other church. So when I talk about Christian traits, I'm not talking about Baptists. I'm not talking about Catholics. I'm not talking about Mormons I'm not talking about Lutheran or Methodist or any other Denomination that doesn't that doesn't define a Christian what defines a Christian is someone who's put their faith and trust in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the atonement of their sins that's a Christian and Now somebody that is in Christ in that manner ought to have some different traits. We ought to be dedicated unto the Lord. We ought to be devoted unto the Lord. Let's see, you turn to Romans chapter 12 and look at verse 1. Romans 12, 1. It says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, Paul says, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies. You see, we saw all the vessels. How many of the vessels were dedicated and devoted unto the Lord? In the New Testament, it's us. We are the vessels to be dedicated unto the Lord. He said that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed world may be transformed by the renewing of your minds that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Turn over to the book just before Romans to Acts chapter 11. Acts chapter 11. While you're going there, let me read you about a man, just to give you an idea of dedication and what dedication really means. Because I think that word has been diluted in today's thinking. You take the generation of 1935, 1945, around in there, and that generation, Dedication meant something different to them than it does to most people today. So in his book, One Crowded Hour, the author Tim Bowden describes an incident in Borneo in 1964. Nepalese fighters, known as Gurkhas, were asked if they would be willing to jump from airplanes into combat against the Indonesians. The Gurkhas didn't clearly understand what was involved. They hadn't jumped from the plane. They didn't know what parachuting or paratrooping meant. They didn't know what was involved, but they bravely said that they would do it, asking only that the plane fly slowly over a swampy area and no higher than 100 feet. When they were told that the parachutes would not have time to open at that height, the Gurkhas replied, oh, you didn't mention parachutes before. Now, that's a true story, but that tells you about their dedication to their cause, to their task. Now, these men were likely not Christians, being from Nepal, but listen, they were so dedicated, they said, I don't know what it means, but I'm willing to do it, and here's how I think I can do it. Now listen, 100 feet into it. I wouldn't want to jump 100 feet into a swampy area, but these guys are like, hey, if you go fly slow and at least 100 feet, we can do it. We'll do it for you. That's dedication, man. But listen, as Christians, we ought to have that kind of dedication unto the Lord. We may not know what's involved in our life or what God is going to have us to do. We ought to say, God, I don't know what you got for me. But I'll do it. I'll be dedicated to doing it regardless of what it is. The Bible says, faithful is he that calleth you who also will what? Will do it. If God calls you, He's going to enable you and make the way for you to do that. Now, a little bit different situation, but they were willing to jump without a parachute. I hear people say, you know, I'm not going to jump out of a perfectly good plane. These guys were willing to do it without a parachute. They said, just make it a soft landing, we'll be okay. way they went. Now you're in Acts 11 and look down at verse 23. Acts 11 to verse 23 it says, Who when He came and had seen the grace of God was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. Now, Paul was encouraging these people to stick. That's what cleave means, to stick unto the Lord. You know, the Bible talks about in marriage that they should cleave one to another, a husband and wife. In other words, you should stick to your wife. You should stick with your husband. That's what cleaving one to another is. And he said that with purpose of heart, they would cleave unto the Lord. You know, when I read that, it reminds me of Daniel, the book of Daniel. Daniel was taken as a captive when he was a young boy, okay? Daniel's taken captive, and they were going to make them slaves and put them in with the eunuchs, and of course, they wanted to make them look good for the king. They didn't want to see a bunch of people skinny and ribs sticking out, so they would literally fatten up the captives so that they could choose who they wanted for slaves and for where they'd work and all of that. But Daniel did not want to eat the king's food that he provided, a heathen king. And so the Bible says Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not be defiled with a portion of the king's meat. That's what they're talking about here, purposing in your heart. That's what being dedicated and being devoted to something is, is to purpose in your heart. Now turn to Acts chapter 15. Acts chapter 15. Acts 15 and look down at verse 25. 1525 it said, It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Matt mentioned in Sunday School that yes, there are countries where people literally every day hazard their lives for the testimony of Christ. For them to say, I have put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ by just stating that publicly, they have a target on them. They have a bullseye on them. That people are looking to kill them just because they claim the name of Jesus Christ. Now in America, that's usually not the case. I don't know if there was a time that I hazarded my life or my life was at risk just because I was a Christian. But in the Old Testament that happened. And it said these men, so these men were dedicated, that they hazarded their lives. Look at it again there. Verse 26, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that's the kind of dedication a Christian ought to have. That is a trait of a believer in Jesus Christ. Let's look at one more place. Turn to 1 Corinthians. You're in Acts, then go Romans and 1 Corinthians, page 550. 1 Corinthians, chapter 6. 1 Corinthians, chapter 6. So sometimes, dedication doesn't come without sacrifice. Even in a worldly sense, if you're gonna be dedicated unto an instrument or unto certain task or athletes, whatever it might be, sometimes that comes with some sacrifice. This is a quote or a story by Fritz Kreisler. How many of you know who Fritz Kreisler is? Anybody? Okay, a few of you, the older folks. So, nothing that is valuable, I'll just read this, is achieved without an effort. Fritz Kreisler, who's a famous violinist, testified to this point when he said, and he kind of made a play on what the scripture said, but he said, narrow is the road that leads to the life of a violinist. Hour after hour, day after day, week after week, for years I lived with my violin. There were so many things that I wanted to do that I had to leave undone. There were so many places I wanted to go that I had to miss if I was to master the violin. The road that I traveled was a narrow road, and that way was hard. And so he's saying to be dedicated, in his case, to the violin, it came with sacrifices. The dedication of a Christian might come with sacrifices. It might mean there's some things, some plans that, not that God doesn't want you to do those, but you might have to choose what God wants to do versus what we want to do. And that's what dedication means. That story reminded me, Cassie and I were watching an interview, of the last student, I think, of, was it Rachmaninoff? I think that's who it was. So Rachmaninoff was a famous pianist. I think that's who it was. Who was the Russian pianist? Tchaikovsky. That's who it was. It was Tchaikovsky. This woman was the last student of Tchaikovsky. And she had been practicing this piece, and she was in her 80s or 90s at least. But she said she'd been practicing this piece over and over and over again and had been playing it for three months, like nonstop. And she told Tchaikovsky, she said, I think I'm ready to play this at a show or in a concert or whatever they call them. And she said, I've been playing it for three months. He said, three months? He said, you won't be able to play that publicly until you've been playing it for three years. But that's dedication and she's stuck after it and this woman is a well, I don't even remember her name But in the pianist circle, she's a well-known pianist and a very accomplished pianist But dedication to the Lord is something that every Christian should strive to be and to have that kind of dedication Let's go on to the next one And this is being dependable. So faithful and trustworthy. That's what dependable means. And dependability is something, again, you can have in life, but a Christian should be someone who is dependable. It shouldn't be someone that, you know, tells you one thing, it's like, well, I don't know if I can trust that. Now listen, some people are that way, but it shouldn't be that way. If you say something, your word should be dependable as a Christian. Turn to the, well, let me just read this. You can turn to Proverbs. Bible, Proverbs 20, page 320. But again, all these things that we're looking at for a Christian come with that first step of putting your faith in Christ. But let me read you, while you're turning to Proverbs 20, let me read you in Genesis 39, verse 6. And this is about Joseph. Now, Joseph, again, he was taken captive, like Daniel. He was a prisoner in Egypt and as a prisoner you think man I'm not gonna do anything more than exactly what I have to do to get by day to day these guys you know Jason Joseph was sold as to a slave in Egypt but Joseph because of his faith in the Lord still kept his good work ethic. Let's put it that way. Genesis chapter 39 and let me find it here down in verse 6 it says, And he left, this is Potiphar, left all that he had in Joseph's hand. And he knew not that he had saved the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person and well favored. In verse 22 it says, And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison. And whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. And the keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand, because the Lord was with him, with Joseph. And that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper." Joseph was a dependable person. He was faithful. He was trustworthy in what he did. And so, he was dependable. And Christians ought to be as well. So, turn to Proverbs 20, if you're there now, and look down at verse 6. Proverbs 20 and verse 6. It says, most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness, but a faithful man who can find. Now, this was true back in 1,000 BC. So about 3,000 years ago, they're saying, a faithful man who can find. It is far, far worse today. I can tell you, probably without a shadow of a doubt, Any employer would rather have a dependable person than a knowledgeable one. Now, you need somebody that's knowledgeable, but you can teach a dependable person. Somebody that's going to be there when they're supposed to be there, that'll stay there until it's time to leave, and you are dependable and they can rely on you. I always hated going to job interviews and they say, what is your greatest ability? So I'd say, I'm dependable. I just say, I'm dependable. I'll be here when you need me to be. And listen, that is of great, great value to an employer or to somebody, if you're a contractor, to hiring somebody, just being dependable. And that, as a Christian, people ought to look at you and say, that guy's a Christian. He is dependable. And Joseph was. And look at Proverbs chapter 25. Proverbs chapter 25. Now, dependable doesn't mean extraordinary. It just means dependable. There's some of you in here. You've come up at times when you didn't have a dependable car. You had a car and every time you got in, it was a coin flip. Is it going to start or is it not going to start? I've had many cars like that. The ones I got now are okay. But I've had many cars, but people want, they want a dependable vehicle. But listen, a dependable vehicle doesn't always mean that it's the newest and best. I mean, Tom's got a perfect example of that, okay? Not always is the newest vehicle the most dependable. And listen, Take a sidebar here, if you're gonna buy a vehicle, you look at about the third, fourth, or fifth model year of that vehicle. Because auto manufacturers change models every five years. Okay, they'll upgrade that model, typically every five years. So the first and second year, they're still working out the bugs. Third, fourth, and fifth, hopefully, they got them worked out. So that's just as a rule of thumb. But when you're looking for something dependable, you want something you can count on. Proverbs chapter 25, and look at verse 19. Proverbs 25, 19. He says, confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth and a foot out of joint. How many of you have ever had a broken tooth before? Okay, not fun to have a broken tooth. Not fun to have a foot out of joint. I've sprained my ankle before. And listen, that puts your whole schedule off. But an unfaithful man, he said, is like having that broken tooth or a foot out of joint. So dependable doesn't always mean, again, the best or the brightest or the newest. But let me read you this about a pitcher. Now, I don't follow baseball, so you might know who this guy is, but I do not. It says, for an extraordinary pitcher, this man, he performed few extraordinary feats. Though a veteran of 21 seasons, in only one season did he win more than 20 games. He never pitched a non-hitter, and only once did he lead the league in any category. Now, this was back in the late 70s, early 80s. It says, yeah, on June 21st, 1986, Don Sutton, rubbed pitching elbows with the true legends of baseball by becoming the 13th pitcher to win 300 games. His analysis of his success is worth noting. He calls himself a grinder and a mechanic, is what he said. He said, I never considered myself flamboyant or exceptional, but all my life I found a way to get the job done. And get it done he did. Through two decades, six presidential terms, and four trades, He consistently did what pitchers are supposed to do, win games. With tunnel vision devotion, he spent 21 seasons redefining greatness. He has been called the family sedan of baseball's men on the mound. So this guy, he didn't pitch any no-hitters. He wasn't an extraordinary pitcher. And how many of you heard of Don Sutton before? See, only a handful of people in here. He's not like Casey at the batter, like Joe DiMaggio, or some of these more famous athletes that you recognize the name, but this guy won 300 games. You know why? Dependable and consistent. And that's all it takes. So to be dependable, you just gotta show up when you're supposed to show up and just keep plodding away, step by step, one at a time, you just keep going. And you just get the job done. And that's what being dependable means. And a Christian ought to be dependable. Let's go on to the next one for sake of time here. Turn over to Hebrews, page 582, Hebrews chapter 11. So dedicated, dependable, and this next one is not faithful, but it's to be full of faith or to have faith. And this is probably the most distinguishing and extraordinary remark or characteristic trait of a Christian is to be full of faith, all right? And you say, what does it mean to be full of faith? It means to simply take God at his word. Now Hebrews chapter 11, Hebrews chapter 11, let me get over there and I want you to look at verse 1 first of all. This is called, kind of coined the Hall of Faith, this chapter, because it's talking about faith through most of this chapter. And he says in verse 1, Hebrews 11 1, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So sometimes that's why they call it blind faith. I have faith in a God that I've never seen, that I've never heard His audible voice in my ear. I've never felt a physical touch from this God, but I have faith in this God and His Word and what He said and what He's done in my life. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Now look it down at verse 6. It says, but without faith it is impossible to please Him. "'For he that cometh to God must believe that he is "'and that he is a rewarder of them "'that diligently seek him.'" Now, this goes back to the first point I made, that if any man be in Christ, the first step of faith, by taking God simply at his word, is in the matter of salvation. Now, what we tend to do as people, as humans, we tend to overcomplicate things, okay? How many of you try to explain something and you just completely overcomplicate it? Okay? Now listen, there are intelligent people out there, okay? In this room and out in the world, there's intelligent people, but not all those people can teach. I found that over the years. So when I was in high school, the high school had a program that, you know, if you had a certain GPA and you had, you know, enough credits and all this stuff, that they would pay you six bucks an hour. Well, it doesn't seem like much now, but it was a lot in 1989 and 90, okay? The school would pay you six bucks an hour to tutor during school hours to tutor students that were struggling. But what I found is I would understand a concept, and I would try to put it down and teach, and you know, you get the blank stare that, I can understand things, but that doesn't mean I'm a teacher. But listen, he's talking about, in Hebrews chapter 11, verse six here, he says, but without faith, it's impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So taking God at his word, the matter of salvation by simply trusting what God says don't overcomplicate God says in His Word. That's why in Romans 10 and verse 17, it says, So then faith, that's what we're talking about, it says, So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. That's pretty simple. How do we get faith? We get it by the Word of God. In verse 13 of that same chapter, Romans 10 and verse 13, it says, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's God's Word. That's pretty simple. You say, God, if I just ask you to save me, to put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you'll do it? Yes. That's why Christ said, Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out. So God, if you come to God by faith to put your faith in Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection, what He did on the cross for you, and put your faith in that, not trusting in yourself, not trusting in good works, or some other thing. God couldn't have made it any easier. Christ did it all for us. It says, and He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world. So you come into God, you ask Him for salvation, and you get it. That's pretty simple. It's pretty simple. That's why Christ said, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man open the door, I will come into him. It's that easy. It's as easy as opening the door. In John chapter 4, he tells the woman at the well to drink of the water of life freely, to drink of Him, in a sense, spiritually. It's as easy as taking a drink of water. It's as easy as opening a door. God did it all for us. But to be full of faith and to have faith is just simply taking God at his word. That's why Ephesians 2, 8, 9, for by grace he is saved through what? Faith. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. We overcomplicate it, we put it off until we can rationalize it and have it all figured out when all we have to do is trust. Now listen, I was not raised Baptist, okay? I was raised Mormon. I'll just tell you, I was raised in the Mormon church. And in my mind, as a young person, I would think, man, if I commit myself to this, I'm going to have to do this, I'm going to have to do this, and I'll have to do this, and this will be expected of me, and this will be expected of me, and, which was true. Listen, that's not salvation. Salvation is taking God at his word, putting your faith in Christ. Plus nothing, minus nothing. You say, but if I, no, no buts about it. You put your faith in Jesus Christ. He will forgive you of your sins. You'll have eternal life with Him. Everything else is extra. Everything else is icing on the cake, okay? You want to serve the Lord? You want to be dedicated to Him? That's great, but that's not part of salvation. You want to do this or that for the Lord? That's great, but that's not part of salvation. Don't overcomplicate it. Have faith and take God simply at His word. Now, I believe many of us in here have trusted Christ as your Savior. You say, yeah, I did that many years ago. Living the Christian life is just as simple. And when we have faith, we can put our faith in Jesus Christ and live this life. He says over, I think in 2 Corinthians, he said, as ye have therefore received Christ Jesus our Lord, so walk ye in him. Actually, it's Colossians 2, I think. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus our Lord, so walk ye in him. You didn't do anything to get saved. You just believed by faith. You say, well, how do I live the Christian life? You just walk by faith, trusting God every day, for every step, for everything you do. That's the mark of a Christian. That's why we can have the peace that passeth all understanding. That's why we can have Joy unspeakable and full of glory. That's why when we're going through it Yes, we might be sad but I could still have joy because I have faith knowing that better days are coming I have faith knowing that this world is not my final home that I have a home in heaven with him Because of my faith in Christ. Listen, it's not because of my religion. It's not because of my denomination It's because I put my faith in the Word of God me I've told the tip my testimony probably to almost everybody in here has heard it But I wasn't even in a church when I became a Christian But you know what I did have? Somebody gave me the word of God that told me, put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ and that alone. And because of that faith through his word, I put my faith in him and he forgave me of my sins. Turn over to John chapter three, page 508. You got Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, fourth book of the New Testament, John chapter three. So a mark of a Christian is faith, and first of all, faith in Christ, but also faith in God that he's going to do what he has to do. Now there's kind of a worldly saying that people say, and you'll know it, but it's trust the what? I thought you'd know it. Process. Trust the process. Now listen, salvation is not a process, okay? I'm not saying that, but trust the process means that something that's designed to do what it's gonna do, just let it do it, all right? God has his designs and his ways in our life, and we gotta just trust him for that. And so we gotta just trust God and step back and say, God, this is your deal, it's not mine. I'll do what you want me to do, I'll be dedicated to you God, I'll by your grace be dependable, but I'm gonna have faith in you that you're gonna do what you said you would do. John chapter three, and look at verse 36, this doesn't get any simpler. He that believeth on the Son, that's Jesus Christ, hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. That is as simple as salvation gets. And to have faith, taking God at His word. If you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, that's the Son, you have everlasting life. If you don't put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you don't have everlasting life, and God's wrath is gonna fall upon you at the judgment. His wrath will fall upon you. Listen, there's no second chances. You gotta have faith. Now, as a Christian, we're to have faith to walk in Him, to trust in Him, To believe in him and to do what he would have us to do and it's just as simple as taking him at his word Don't overcomplicate it be dependable. Yes have dedication to it But above all have faith in Jesus Christ unless Christ Christ was the example of all these Christ was dedicated. The Bible says in Luke that He set His face. It was set as a flint to go to Jerusalem, to the cross. Christ was dedicated to what He came to this earth to do. He was dependable. Christ was dependable because in Hebrews you can read there where He went. He was obedient even unto death. He said, I'm gonna do what God wants me to do. I'm gonna be dependable. Christ wasn't late. He wasn't early. He was dependable. He was dedicated to it. And of course, faith. He had the faith trusting his father for what he had him to do. So first of all, are you saved in here? Are you in Christ? Have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ? And if you're in Christ, you need to be dependable. You need to be dedicated to the Lord and you need to just trust God by faith that he's gonna do what he said he would do. Let's pray. Lord, help someone in here today to understand what faith in Christ truly means. I believe there's probably some in here that maybe they've always thought it was faith in Christ plus good works, or faith in Christ plus baptism, or some other thing. But God, help them to realize that the Bible teaches it's faith in Christ in Him alone. Not of works, lest any man should boast. God, it's not of our righteousnesses, but through Christ and what He did on the cross for them. And God, help them then to not overcomplicate salvation. But to just simply just pray a simple prayer and say, Lord, I want what he's talking about. I want to simply put my faith and trust in what Christ did on the cross for me and taking the penalty of my sins and trust him for my salvation. Lord, help someone in here to do that today. And for those of us that are saved, God, help us by your grace, with the filling of your Holy Spirit, to be dedicated unto you, to what you'd have us to do, to be dependable in that, and to God, just simply have faith in you. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Let's sing page 252, 252, Only Trust Him.