To know God as Father -
that's just incredible.
In 1 John, it says that there are
only two type of sons -
the sons of the devil
and the sons of God.
And to know that I was a son of the devil,
that I was an enemy of God.
It's amazing how being lost,
being without the knowledge
of the true God of the Bible,
everybody talks about God,
and everybody says,
"yeah, we're all children of God."
But how can you be children of God
if you're doing exactly what He says you shouldn't do
and you're happy and enjoying it
and rejoicing and actually looking forward,
planning to do it.
He said that for those who do that
are His enemy.
They're not His sons and daughters.
They're His enemies.
And that's what I was.
I was His enemy.
I rejoiced in the things I hated.
I actually found pleasure and joy
and happiness on doing the things I hated.
And no desire at all in obeying Him,
in honoring Him.
See, He commands us to honor
our father and our mother,
because it's a picture of how His children
need to honor Him.
And I never honored Him before.
I always did everything
that He actually commanded me not to do.
And the good that I did was for my own self.
It was to absolve me.
So knowing that,
in the light of Scripture,
I realized I was His enemy.
I realized I was condemned
by God the Judge.
Many people say God is a loving God.
He's not a judge.
Well, I'm afraid to tell you
that you need to read your Bible,
because that is incorrect.
He will judge everyone.
Okay, as you live your life,
His judgment is accumulating on your life
over your head.
That's why He calls all of us to repentance.
Yes, Christ is love,
but the first words that came out of His mouth
in ministry when you read the Gospel
is He's calling everyone to repent
and to come to Him.
It's in the Bible. Read it.
Yes, He is love, but that's not all.
He came not to condemn.
He came to save.
He came to perform and die on the cross,
but He's coming back,
and this time He's coming back as a judge.
And He's going to condemn all those
who are His enemies - I was that.
I was His enemy.
I really enjoyed doing what He hated.
I really enjoyed doing everything
He commanded me not to do.
And now, by His grace,
He moved me from being His enemy,
from being a son of the devil
into being a child of God.
Through Christ.
By Him dying on the cross, taking my place
taking God's wrath for me.
Giving me new life like 1 Peter says.
Being born again like Christ telling Nicodemus in John 3,
be born again.
Unless you're born again,
you will not be able to see the Kingdom of God.
That's what He did in my life.
I'm not claiming to be better than anyone.
To the contrary, I'm claiming to know
who I am without Christ
and who I am in Christ.
Actually, who I am in Christ I'm learning
every day more
the wonders of being a son of God in Christ.
So, there is great joy.
There is an amazing hope
in knowing God as your Father
through Scripture,
and being convinced through His Word,
through His revelation:
This is who I am.
This is who I am - holy,
and I will judge every soul.
It is appointed to man to die
and then to face God,
to face judgment.
The difference is how are you going to face Him?
Are you going to face Him as His enemy?
Or are you going to face Him as His son?
And that's the difference.
I am growing.
I have many shortcomings. Yes.
But I'm growing and He's teaching me
because I am His son,
because I believe in Him.
When He says that Christ dying on the cross
is sufficient for me salvation;
when He says that I am wicked;
when He says that I deserve to go to hell,
I believe that.
And that's why I cry out for Him to save me
because I have no hope.
I knew I needed to live according to the standard,
and I wasn't able to. I tried.
And I wasn't able to.
And today, I try, and I'm not able to,
but guess what?
It's not about me trying.
It's about me trusting Christ
and trusting my Father in Heaven
when He says that my faith in Christ is sufficient.
And as safe as I am in this chair right now,
and I'm able to rest,
that's what He calls me to do.
To rest in His promise.
And to rest in Christ.