From His Heart

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Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, discover what a Christian's life should really look like.

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How do you get through the hard times in life without totally derailing? Because some people, man, they run into a difficulty in life, and what do they do? They just say, forget it. I'm done with worshiping God. He didn't answer my prayer. He didn't come through. I quit.

But some of you might be ready to quit because you're mad at God, because he's not doing right. You say, how do I keep going? We need to think that this is not all there is. And I can go through whatever I am going through because the Lord is with me.

And he says, Jeff, it's going to be worth it on the other side. So just don't quit. Just continue to trust me. He can heal every scar with real truth, real love, real hope. From His Heart.

Speaker 1

If you've listened to any of the From His Heart broadcasts from the last week or so, you likely have noticed that Pastor Jeff Shreve has been in a series called We Are Soldiers. And we've been learning about how to be a good soldier for Christ. When we receive Christ in our hearts, asking Jesus to come in and to save us, we automatically and willingly become a soldier in his army. We enlist willingly into his army.

So here we're serving in the army, but realizing that, well, in practice that's a little easier said than done. How are we, you and me, to live life as a good soldier? Is there some great secret, perhaps some shortcut way? The Apostle Paul said in Philippians chapter three, for the soldiers of Christ to join with others, and being imitators of me, brothers, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us.

For many, as I have often told you and now tell you, even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Well, that of course, is what we want to avoid. And today we can find out how to become spiritually mature and impactful soldiers for the Lord.

We're in part two of the lesson called Life in the Lord's Army, and it's from the series We Are Soldiers. Open your Bible now to Philippians 3 and get a good picture of what your life should be like living in the Lord's Army.

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Paul shares three essentials to hear from the Lord at the end of your life, to hear him say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant," to be a good soldier for Christ Jesus. Three essentials.

First, the essential we are to walk with the Lord. How am I to do this thing called being a good soldier? Well, you walk with the Lord. Verse 17 states, "Again, brethren, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us." Did you know that's one of the favorite themes of the writers of the Epistles? They talk about walking with the Lord. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, Colossians 2:6 says, "So walk in Him." A walk with the Lord means how you behave, how you conduct yourself, how you live. It's a great word because that is our relationship with Jesus. It's a moment-by-moment, step-by-step walk with Jesus Christ. That's the Christian life. So, to be a good soldier, you walk with the Lord.

The second essential is that we are to be wise with opposition. This is something that you need to know in order to be the good soldier God wants you to be. You're going to have opposition in the walk, and the devil is going to be working against you in the walk. The devil will use people to work against you in the walk. He says in verse 18, "For many walk, of whom I often told you and now tell you, even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things." There are those, Paul says many, who are enemies of the cross.

I'm walking with God. I received Christ as Savior and Lord. I'm a brand new person on the inside. I'm justified now, and I'm living out my justification in what theologians call sanctification. I'm setting myself apart to walk with the Lord, but I'm hitting opposition, and the opposition comes from those who are enemies of the cross. Now, when you think about the enemies of the cross, you might wonder, "Who's he talking about?" Enemies of the cross? Well, I think you could categorize the enemies of the cross into three groups.

The first group is very obvious: the people who hate the idea of God. They hate the idea of salvation. They hate the idea of Jesus and the cross and that man would need a savior. They just hate all that stuff. They're like Richard Dawkins, the famous atheist, and people like him who say, "That's all just bunk. This book is a bunch of lies, and we don't believe in any of it." There's a poem written some years ago by a man who felt like that, which says, "I fight alone and win or sink. I need no one to make me free. I want no Jesus Christ to think that he could ever die for me." Enemies of the cross. They say, "I don't need the cross. I hate the concept of the cross," because the cross screams out that you're a sinner and you need a savior, and you can't save yourself. That's why God had to become a man and die for you. That's the only way for you.

People who are humanistic and think that they're good enough bristle at the idea of the cross. So, you have those who are outright against the cross, whether it's active, shaking their fist in the face of God, or passive, just saying, "Yeah, I don't really care about any of that." As one young guy told me, "I'm just not into the religion stuff. It's just not interesting to me." So, he's an enemy of the cross because he doesn't want to have anything to do with it. The cross is the most important thing in God's whole economy; it's how men are saved.

That's the first camp: those who are outright against it. But then you get into another camp, and these are those who are in the church. Paul is speaking primarily to those who have infiltrated the church, saying, "Watch out for these enemies of the cross." The first kind, those who are outright against the cross and against the Lord, are pretty obvious. You can spot them right away; they hate the concept of God and salvation. But the second kind goes inside the church, and that's a little harder to identify.

Those who have infiltrated the church, Paul dealt with them a lot. They were called the Judaizers. The Judaizers were Jews who said they believed in Jesus but didn't separate from Judaism. They would follow Paul around, and when he would leave a place, they would go in and say, "You have to be circumcised. You have to follow the law of Moses. If you don't follow the law of Moses, you can't be saved." They were enemies of the cross. They took the cross and said, "Yes, the cross is important, but you have to add to it."

So, it was the cross plus people, and it's the cross plus the works of the law. Paul would go over and over and say, "By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. You're not saved by the works of the law." The formula for the legalists, for these Judaizers who were legalists—and we have legalists today—is: Jesus and the cross plus your good works equals salvation. Jesus plus works equals salvation. That's an enemy of the cross because you don't add to the cross.

The Bible says in Romans 11:6, "For if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace." Grace is the unmerited favor of God. You didn't earn it; you don't deserve it, but He gives it to you anyway. If you say, "Well, you have to take grace, the unmerited favor of God, and add some merit to it," that destroys the whole concept of grace. The Bible says, "Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us."

So, you have the legalist who is an enemy inside the church. The legalist isn't outside the church saying, "I don't believe in any of this stuff." The legalist is inside the church, perverting the Gospel and saying, "You have to add works to the cross." Then, inside the church, you have another group: the libertines. They are the ones who don't add to the cross; they subtract from the cross. The guys who add works are saying, "Hey, the only way to be saved is you have to work for it." These guys are saying, "Hey, you know what? Salvation is so wonderful; it doesn't matter what you do. It doesn't matter how you live."

"Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" It's just all about grace. It's not about repentance and it's not about sin because it's just, "Well, God loves you, and God has grace, so just continue on in sin." These people are talked about in the book of Jude, Jude 1:4: "For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons, who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness, which is a license to sin, and deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ."

So, you have those who are outright against God; they're enemies of the cross. You have those who are legalists, who add to the cross; they're enemies of the cross. And you have those who subtract from the cross; they are enemies of the cross. The libertines say it doesn't matter how you live. Paul dealt with those guys; they were the Gnostics, the incipient form of Gnosticism that he talks about in the Epistles. We also refer to them as being antinomianism or antinomianistic, which is a long word that just means against the law. They said the law doesn't matter; it doesn't matter at all. You can live however you want. God doesn't care.

God cares. "You shall be holy, for I am holy." What is the walk? The walk is a life-changing walk. It's becoming more and more like Jesus. Anyone who tells you it doesn't matter how you live is lying. It does matter how you live—not to save you, but the work of the cross is not just salvation; it's also sanctification. And so that matters.

So many people are enemies of the cross, and all people outside of Christ are one heartbeat from hell. Whether you're outright against the Lord and the Word, or whether you're a legalist who's trusting in works, or whether you're a libertine who says it doesn't matter, this is just wonderful; I can sin all I want because it doesn't matter. Every person outside of Christ is one heartbeat from hell. Paul said, "I tell you, even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ." It broke his heart because he said their end is destruction.

"I see where these people are going. They're going to die and go to a Christless hell. Their God is their appetite; they glory in their shame, and they set their minds on earthly things." One of the things that the Lord has really convicted me about is that we talk about growing and changing, and you don't ever stay the same. If you're not growing, you're sliding back.

When I was in college and I was a relatively new Christian, I was just... You talk about Bible study and prayer and worship and fellowship and witness—all those things were going on in spades in my life, especially witnessing. So, when I would meet a person, my first thought would be, "Does that person know Christ?" But I have to say that I don't have that first thought anymore. When I meet people, I want to get that back. If we could really see, "Hey, that person here, they're getting ready to step off into eternity, and they're not ready. If they died right now, they'd go to hell."

And listen, you may think, "Well, I don't know what to say or whatever." Share with them about God's love. God can take it from there. Learn how to share your faith. I'm speaking to myself. I know how to share my faith, but I need to go out there and do it and risk it because the stakes are so high, and people are in desperate need without Jesus. "You shall be my witnesses."

I was witnessing to a guy in college in the weight room; Aaron was his name. I was talking to him about the Lord. He said, "Well, if heaven's so great, why doesn't the Lord just take you to heaven when you believe?" I said, "He has left me here, Aaron, to share with you. That's what I'm here for, to tell you about Jesus, who's mighty to save."

Hey, we're here to walk with the Lord, and we are to be wise with opposition. And thirdly, and finally, we are to wait for His return. He says in verse 20, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Verse 21 continues, "Who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself."

How do we do this thing called the Christian life? How do we do this walk with the Lord? How do we do it when it gets hard, when we run into opposition? What about when we get sick, or our wife gets sick, or our kids get sick, or we lose our job, or something devastating happens to us? How do we go on? Ada was saying last night, "You know, one of the things that she has learned in her sickness and fighting so much with nausea and pain is that the devil has attacked her on faith, just to believe God, because when you're hurting, it's hard."

She was just being honest. She said, "I never would have thought that I ever could have been attacked in the area of my faith, but that's where the devil is attacking me." So, she just has to continue to praise the Lord and continue to trust the Lord even when it's hard.

How do you get through the hard times in life without totally derailing? Because some people, man, they run into a difficulty in life, and what do they do? They just say, "Forget it. I'm done with worshiping God. He didn't answer my prayer. He didn't come through. I quit." You know how you know you're really a Christian? When you throw in the towel, He throws it back. He doesn't let you quit.

But some of you might be ready to quit because you're mad at God, because He's not doing right. You say, "How do I keep going?" "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."

Do you know how Jesus got through the cross? The Bible says in Hebrews 12, "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." He set the joy before Him. That's the only way He could do it. That's the only way He could experience all that physical, emotional, spiritual pain to literally become sin for you and me.

He set the joy before Him, and you and I need to do that in the Christian life. We need to think that this is not all there is. The greatest five words in the Bible are, "And it came to pass." It didn't come to stay, and I can go through whatever I am going through because the Lord is with me. He says, "Jeff, it's gonna be worth it on the other side. So just don't quit. Just continue to trust me. Set the joy before you."

Hey, our Savior is coming again, and He's coming to make things glorious for you and for me and for this world. That's why the Bible says that when He comes... See, we don't know when He's coming. He didn't tell us when He's coming. He could have given us a date and time. He didn't do that. He just said, "I'm coming soon. You be ready."

"When, Lord?" "It's not for you to know times or epochs. You just be ready. You be my witnesses. You be ready." We don't know when He's coming. I think He's coming soon. I could be wrong. Maybe His coming is not for 100 years. Maybe it's not for 1,000 years. I look out at the world situation, and I think His coming must be soon, but I don't know.

But I know this: If you ever get to the place where you say, "Well, I know He's not coming today," that's evidence that He might be coming today. Because at an hour when you think not, the Son of Man comes. So, once you start thinking He's not coming, then He says, "Be careful, because I come at a time when you don't think I will." So, be ready. Your Savior's coming. Look up. Be watchful, for your redemption is drawing near.

When He comes, when He comes in the clouds at the rapture, that's when the Bible says that the dead in Christ rise first. We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the air. We're changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. We're changed. The body of our humble state, the body that is frail, the body that can't make it, the body that is prone to sickness and disease and weakness, that is changed.

We're made like Him. And you know, I told you that you never arrive in the Christian life. You're still fighting; you're still struggling with this thing called the flesh all the way to the end. When He comes, that's when it changes. That's when Christlikeness is completed. That's when Christlikeness is perfected. You become just like Him in holiness and purity, and you have a body like His—a body that never wears out, a body that is never subject to decay. You're glorified.

But not only does He glorify us, then He comes to set up His kingdom on earth, and He removes the curse from the earth. All of a sudden, the Scripture says that the desert blossoms like a rose, and the lion lays down with the lamb, and the little child plays at the cobra's den, and they will not hurt. God says, "In all my holy mountains, the knowledge of the Lord fills the earth as the waters cover the sea." Jesus is enthroned as King of kings and Lord of lords in Jerusalem, and that day is coming soon.

So, the Lord says, "Wait. You just wait for my return." Now, I want you to notice it says that we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We who are citizens of heaven don't wait for a judge. We don't really even wait for a king. He is a judge, and He is the king. But we wait for a Savior—our Savior, our Redeemer—because He's coming to save us.

He saved us in justification. He is saving us progressively through sanctification. But He's going to come one day and save us and glorify us. That's the last leg of salvation. Salvation is justification, sanctification, and glorification. He's coming, our Savior.

But you know what? He's not coming to do that for everybody. Some of you might be here listening under the sound of my voice, and you know what? His coming would be terror to you because you're not ready, because you're not a citizen of heaven. He's coming for those whose citizenship is in heaven.

How do you get to be a citizen of heaven? You put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. When I was 17 years old, I was convicted of my sin. I got down on my knees in my bedroom and prayed a simple prayer: "Jesus, would you save me?" And He did. I didn't see Him come into my life, but He did by His Holy Spirit. I didn't see this either, but when I prayed to receive Christ, an angel in heaven recorded my name in God's record book: Jeff Shreve. My name was put in the Lamb's Book of Life—it's the name of all the citizens of heaven in God's book.

You know what's so interesting? In the final judgment at the Great White Throne Judgment, Revelation 20:14 says, "And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

How do you not go to hell when you die? You get your name in heaven's book. How do you get your name in heaven's book? You turn from your sin and you turn to the Savior and you cry out with blind Bartimaeus, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me and save me." Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

If you've never done that, then let me tell you, and I tell you, even weeping, you are one heartbeat from hell, far from Christ. You cannot be saved. But Jesus will save

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Perhaps you've listened today and you've realized you don't know Jesus Christ in a personal way, as the Bible clearly tells us. Simply and sincerely, cry out to him from your heart. Genuinely repent, turn from your sin, and put your faith in Christ. God bless you as you begin your new walk in Christ.

And please go to our website and let Pastor Jeff know of your decision. Go to promisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus?" section to get you started in your Christian journey.

All this month, Pastor Jeff has been teaching us about how to live a life as a soldier for the Lord and be discerning in the days of deception, of the sin that surrounds so many of us. If all these messages this month have blessed you, perhaps you'd like to help us continue to bless others by having this program on other stations in your area. We depend on the support of our listeners to do that.

If you'd like to join our support team and be a part of the ministry accomplishing a great feat for the Lord, you can make your gift today when you call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-24253) or go to promisheart.org and make a gift to From His Heart. When you do, we'll send you this month the five-message series "Discernment in the Days of Deception," and you can get it in the format of your choice.

Again, you can make a gift when you call 866-40-BIBLE or go to promisheart.org. Thanks again for joining us today on this edition of From His Heart. I'm Larry Nobles inviting you to be back here next time when we'll begin an exciting and captivating series called "Faithful and True," introducing the one and only God. Join Pastor Jeff Shreve when we're back again to open God's word and share from His heart.

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There is treasure, there is blessing, there is hope that you always dream love he can heal every scars of truth we love real From His Heart.

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From His Heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more@fromisheart.org.