Greg Laurie - The Foundation of Life (02/16/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie warns that not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" or performs miracles is a true Christian, using Jesus' words in Matthew 7 about building on the rock versus sand. He stresses that genuine faith means knowing Christ personally and obeying His teachings, not just religious acts, urging listeners to examine if their foundation is truly on Jesus before storms come.
Posers and Pretenders in Everyday Life
Well the title of our message today is The Foundation for Life. And it is based on Matthew chapter 7. Heard the story of a young businessman who was just starting his own firm and he wanted to start off right and make a good impression on anybody that walked into his office. So he rented a very expensive office with an incredible panoramic view. He bought antiques to put in it. And he wanted people to think he was a high roller.
In fact a guy came into his outer office and so this young man picked up the phone and started to talk. There was no one on the other end of the line. But he acted as though he were doing an imaginary business deal. And he was talking about big figures and commitments he was making and all the rest hoping it would really impress this guy. And then he hung the phone up and the guy walked in and he said, "Can I help you?" And he said, "Yes sir. I am here to actually activate your phone line." See that guy is what you call a poser. He is trying to be something he isn't.
You know what a poser is? It is a pretender. Sometimes posers want to come off like they are bikers. Yeah I am a biker. You know they have got the Harley shirt and the Harley tattoo and the black clothes and the chain from their belt loop to their wallet. And you know when you are not looking they are riding into the parking lot on a Vespa. But they come off all biker Harley. Right. To be a true biker you need to have a bike. Preferably a Harley. Not a Yamaha. Sorry I just offended some people.
Oh and then there are people that pretend to be surfers. Oh yeah they are into all the surf lingo and the surf fashion. And they are so stoked. And this killer swells coming in. And they got tubed the other day. Yada yada yada. But they don't know how to surf. They talk about it but they don't surf. Or how about those guys. Those mall cops. They are not even really cops. They are guards. You know first of all the mode of transportation. Those are the dorkiest looking things. Those little things. You know. They are worse than a Vespa. And you know they have got a badge. It is a fake badge really. I mean what department do they work for? The fake department. You know. They don't carry a gun. They have everything but a gun. And excuse me sir. Can I see your ID? Are you a real cop? Do I have to actually do what you say? No. Listen. I am not putting down people that do security. If you are one of those people. We have the greatest respect for you. But just this one little thought. You are not a cop. Okay.
But sometimes people are posers. They pretend to be something they really are not. Guess what? There are posers in the church as well. They sit in the pews next to us. They sing our songs. They pray our prayers. They bow their heads. They have well marked Bibles. They have all the Christian lingo down. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. God bless you. It is all going to burn. You know. But they are not real Christians.
Religious Acts Don't Guarantee True Faith
Let me say something that might seem controversial to some. Did you know it is possible to pray, believe in miracles, even perform miracles, live a good life, be baptized, keep the Ten Commandments and go to church and not necessarily be a Christian? Did you know it is possible to read the Bible, quote the Bible, and premise believe the Bible even to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Lord and not necessarily be a Christian? Now if you are a Christian you should do all of those things I just mentioned. But those things in and of themselves don't make you a believer.
Let's read now the words of Jesus on this topic. Matthew 7:21. Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
Let's pray together. Lord, help us have ears to hear what you have to say because these teachings of the Sermon on the Mount that you've given to us are important. And you've told us that if we hear these sayings and do them, we're wise men. But if we hear these sayings and do not do them, we're foolish men. We're all hearing this audibly, but the question is, will we hear it in the depths of our soul? And more significantly, will we act on it? So speak to us from your word we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
The End of the Sermon on the Mount: Warnings About Imitations
This is our final message in this series that we have called Worldview. How to think and live biblically. We've talked about the foundation that we build our lives on. The beliefs that inform and guide us and influence us and all that we say and do. It's called a biblical worldview. Now, everybody has a worldview. You have a way you view life. You have your opinions. You have your perspective. But the question is, is it a Christian perspective? Is it a biblical worldview? That's important.
As C.S. Lewis said, and I quote, "I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun is risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else," end quote. It means that we look through a scriptural lens. We view life and this culture and our decisions and the things that matter to us through that set of eyes, if you will. And that's an important thing to keep in mind.
And now we are coming to the end of the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus warns about imitations. You know, whenever there is the genuine, there will always be the imitation. You ever notice that? There is the real one and then there is all the knockoffs that inevitably come. Back in the mid-60s, this dates me now, music was transformed. Pop music. Up to that point it had been people like Elvis Presley and others. And now all of a sudden these four people from what sounded like another planet emerged on the scene. They were from a little town called Liverpool in England. And they called themselves the Beatles.
It didn't sound like Elvis. Thank you very much. It is good to be here. Hello ma'am. You know. They were like, hello are the Beatles and we have come from Liverpool. I am a Liverpool land you will see. And we don't call gals gals. We call them birds and it is pop and it is gear. And we are like, who are these people? And their music didn't sound like anything we had ever heard before. And once the Beatles emerged on the scene, all these other bands came along. We called them the British Invasion. But in reality it was the Beatles and all the imitators. Like the Animals and Herman's Hermits and the Kinks. And on the list goes. And by the way some of those bands are still playing today. It is a long time later of course. Herman's Hermits are still out touring. They updated one of their songs that used to be Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter. Remember that? That is how you say daughter in a British way. A dota. Yeah. But now they have updated it to Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Walker. Because you know Mrs. Brown is older. She is older. Ringo is still touring. You remember Ringo from the Beatles. He still likes to sing that song, I get by with a little help from my friends. But he's updated it. So I get by with a little help from... Depends. Depends. Depends. Those are adult diapers. It's okay to laugh. These are the jokes folks.
So there is always the imitation. Now that is an old illustration. But let's take something more current like an iPhone. You know when phones first came out, portable phones, mobile phones, they were in your car. You know you could use your phone in your car, which at the time was pretty revolutionary, quite frankly. But you can't take your car with you unless it's one of those smart cars. Have you ever seen those smart cars? I have one word response to those. Why? I mean, really? And then we have the American answer, or the Neon. Have you seen the Neon? You know why it's called that? Because your knee is on the dashboard. You're crammed like that, you know.
So. But then they moved to the first mobile phone that you could take outside of your car. It was made by Motorola. It was about this big. It was appropriately called the Brick. And it was like a brick. And it had a battery life of four minutes and talk time of maybe nine minutes. And then they got smaller. Then Motorola came out with this thing called a StarTac that sort of flipped open and then along comes Steve Jobs from Apple and says, I'm going to come up with a whole new concept with a phone. I call it the iPhone. And it's going to do web browsing and texting and you can listen to music on it. People said, oh, that will never work. And it revolutionized the industry.
Now when you go to a phone store today, be it Verizon or Sprint or AT&T, you're going to find either the iPhone itself or an imitation of the iPhone. Because there will always be the inevitable imitators. Whenever there is a genuine, there is a knockoff or the imitation. And Jesus said, that's how it will be in the last time. It will be the genuine next to the imitation.
Fake Christians and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism
He told a story that we call the parable of the wheat and tares. It's a story of a farmer that went and planted his wheat. And at night his enemy came and planted tares among the wheat. A tare is like a weed, effectively. And so his enemy planted weeds among the wheat. And ultimately the wheat is uprooted by the weeds. But you don't know that until later. And Jesus is telling us here at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, that's how it's going to be at the end of time. There's going to be the imitations around us.
It was an interesting article on the CNN website that had the title More Teens Becoming Fake Christians. I thought, well that's an intriguing article title. So I read a little bit of it. And Kendra Dean of Princeton University warns of a mutant form of Christianity. Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls moralistic, therapeutic deism. Translation, it's a watered down faith that portrays God as a divine therapist whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem. Many teenagers thought God simply wanted them to feel good and do good. They're called fake Christians. And the Bible tells us that there will be fake Christians.
Now when you hear a message like this, or at least the ramp up to it, here's what some of you are thinking. Oh, I wish so and so were here today. They really need to hear this. Or maybe you are sitting there going, oh, I wonder if my husband is listening to this. Not going to look at him, but boy, he needs to hear this. Or, oh, the kids, the kids really need to hear this. It's really, okay. Hey, you know what? Forget about your kids. Forget about your husband. And forget about the people that didn't come. This message is for you today. This is for you. Think about yourself. Don't think about who should have been here to hear it. Think about you. And ask yourself the question, are you a fake Christian?
Now, let me define that. A fake Christian is not a struggling Christian. A fake Christian is not someone that wants to do what God wants them to do and stumbles and sins and gets up and tries again. That's just a normal Christian or a growing Christian. A fake Christian is one that is putting on a performance. It's an act. They're like two people. In church, they come off really pious, ultra-spiritual. But in reality, they're a completely different person. That's what I'm talking about here. And more to the point, that's what Jesus is talking about.
Just Saying "Lord, Lord" Isn't Enough
So that brings us to point number one. Just because you say, Lord, Lord, that doesn't necessarily mean you are a real Christian. Look at verse 21 again. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"
Listen, this is not your garden variety non-believer here. By that I mean this is not your typical pagan or man or woman that says, I don't believe in God. This is a person that is quite religious. They would appear to be very spiritual. Oh, look at the verbiage they use. Lord, Lord. By the way, they use the Greek word kurios, which is a Greek word that speaks of the divinity or deity of Jesus. So it is very respectful. They are using the right word. Lord, they say. And notice they say it twice. Lord, Lord. That implies passion and enthusiasm. These are not people that are just going through the motions. There is emotion in what they say. And their confession is public. Did we not do thus and so in your name? They have openly done these things. These guys, frankly, sound like creatures to me.
But just because you say, Lord, Lord, doesn't mean you are a Christian. Now, if you are a Christian, you should say, Lord, Lord. But saying it in and of itself doesn't mean you are a Christian. Number two, just because you see miracles in your life does not necessarily mean you are a believer. They say, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name and done wonders in your name? Listen, the devil can do miracles too. Did you know that? Now he can't do anything God can do. But the devil is an imitator. And we have an illustration of this in the story of Pharaoh when he had his magicians. And when Moses and Aaron came in saying they were sent from God and one of the Israelites freed, they showed this by a series of signs done by the hand of God. Including turning the Nile River to blood. And turning a staff into a snake. And vice versa. Well the Pharaoh's magicians were able to duplicate some of those miracles though not all of them. And my point is the devil can do miraculous stuff too. He can do signs and wonders if you will.
In fact the Bible even tells us in the end times that the Antichrist and his sidekick, the false prophet, the religious leader will deceive people with lying wonders. So just because wonders are done so called doesn't mean they are from God. But these guys were able to do these miracles so called. But you see they were not genuine believers.
What Truly Makes Someone a Real Christian?
So this raises the question what does a person need to do to become a real Christian? If you were to go out on the street right now and just poll people and say what does a person have to do to know that they will go to heaven you would probably hear answers like, well, go to church, read the Bible, live a good life, try to keep the Ten Commandments, be baptized, say Jesus is Lord. Did you know you can do all those things I just mentioned and not necessarily be a Christian? You see the outward change is often without the inward. But the inward change is never without the outward.
Let's consider some of these things. Did you know you can pray and not necessarily be a Christian? Most people pray when the chips are down. It has been said there are no atheists in foxholes. I don't know that that is technically true because I think there probably are some. But the gist of that expression is when people are in trouble they tend to call upon God and that is generally true. Most people will offer their prayers to God. In fact you might even go through a series of ritualized prayers before a meal. Or at the end of a day. Or you teach your children little prayers. And there is nothing wrong with teaching them prayers. But that doesn't mean you necessarily pray.
You can teach your little child, okay, pray this little prayer. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take. Is that a good prayer to teach a child? I mean think about it. You just told your child they might die in their sleep. Honey if you should die tonight in bed. I pray God takes your soul. Let me share a couple of nursery rhymes now before you go to sleep. Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down, broke his crown, and then Jill came tumbling after. Jack's head split open and then Jill rolled down the hill. Rock-a-bye baby. Baby in the treetop. When the bough breaks the cradle will fall. And down will come baby. Now I am just kidding with some of that. But we need to learn how to pray and you can offer your prayers and never pray.
God says these people draw near to me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. And listen. If there is unconfessed sin in your life your prayer life will come to a screeching halt. The psalmist says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." And that word regard means to cling to or hold on to. Let me just break that down. If you are doing something right now that you know is a sin before God, don't bother praying because your prayers are not going to go anywhere. Because God says, my ear is not heavy that it can't hear you. My hand is not short that it can't save you. Your prayers have separated you from me. Now God will hear your prayer if you say, God I am sorry. God I repent. But if you are saying, oh Lord bless me and guide me and show your will to me and provide for me. Lord is saying, you know what? You are living in sin. You need to repent of your sin first. Just because you pray doesn't mean you are necessarily a Christian.
Visible Changes Without True Conversion
You can make visible changes in your life and not necessarily be a Christian. Did you know that? The Bible tells the story of a guy called Simon the Sorcerer. The story is found in the book of Acts. And he was a piece of work. He had a lot of people following him. He even had the title, The Great One. And he deceived them through his witchcraft and trickery and so forth. Well along comes Philip who is preaching the gospel. And people turn away from the deception of Simon and start following Christ. And Simon is bummed out. And so he fakes a conversion. Even getting baptized. And he is hanging around with Philip trying to sort of learn the tricks of the trade.
And along come Peter and John who are praying for people to be filled with the Spirit. And when Simon sees what happens he goes to Peter and says, how much would that cost so I could do that little trick? And Peter says, you know, what is wrong with you? You have no part in this. Your heart is not right before God. In other words this isn't a trick you buy. But you see he made outward changes. Herod did the same. King Herod. A wicked man. But the Bible tells us that he was impressed by the preaching of John the Baptist. And you see Herod would listen to John preach and he would think, you know I like this guy. And the Bible even says Herod made a few changes in his life. What those changes were we don't know. Maybe he didn't torture as many people that week. But there were no significant changes because it was Herod that ultimately was responsible for the beheading of John the Baptist.
But there are people that say, you know a little religion to do you some good. I go to church and hear the preacher and yeah I feel a little better you know. I had a guy come up to me after a service once and say, hell of a message Pastor. Really? You just said that to me? Yeah hell of a message. Kind of missed the point maybe. What do you think? Listen a little religion will not do you any good. But a lot of Jesus will. You need a relationship with Christ. Not mere ritualistic things. See there are people that will fake a conversion to get something from you. We call them politicians. They get faith every election cycle. All of a sudden well I have to say how important my faith is to me and the good Lord this and the Bible that. And it is like really? You never really mentioned that before did you? And then when they get elected and you look at their voting record it doesn't seem consistent at all with their so called faith.
Or sometimes a person will get it if they want something from you. I will tell you what. There is nothing more attractive than a godly woman. Ok. Because first of all you girls that are Christians you are not out there doing the stuff other girls are doing. And as a result you are physically more attractive than they are. You know why? You ever see a person that parties all the time? It is like they got chewed up and spit out. They are old before their time. You know what I am talking about? They are all thrash looking. Guys too. But you have a girl. She lives a clean life. She doesn't do that stuff. And then more importantly she has that inner beauty. The Bible describes it as the gentle calm of a beautiful woman. It is a spiritual quality. And guys who are non-believers see that and they go, whoa I have never seen a girl like this before. You know you are just a picture of virtue in contrast to all the other girls out there that say and do the things that they do.
And so the guy might say to you, hey why don't you go out with me? And you will say, well I have to ask you a question. Yeah? Are you a Christian? Why would you ask that? Because I would never go out with anyone that is not a Christian. Oh really? Well hallelujah. Baby. Doesn't the Bible say something about a holy kiss? Let's start with that right now. He will lie through his teeth to you girl. And she will do the same to the guy. The godly man. Sometimes you are out buying something and the person is cussing up a blue streak and somehow it comes up you are a Christian. And all of a sudden, whoa praise the Lord bro. Man glory to God. Shut up. Don't be a fake Christian. And that is what that is.
You see you can pray and not necessarily be a Christian. You can make some visible changes in your life and not necessarily be a Christian. The problem with all these people I have mentioned is true conversion did not precede their activity. While it is true that faith without works is dead, it can also be said that works without faith are also dead. Despite what these people did outwardly they did not know God. And that is the issue at hand. If you are a real Christian you will know God.
The Key: A Personal Relationship with Christ
Look at what Jesus says in verse 23. "I will declare to them 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" This word by the way speaks of a continuous regular action. You continually and habitually practice lawlessness in sin. See beneath that veneer of faith and spirituality is a heart filled with darkness. And listen to what Jesus says in verse 23. "I never knew you." And by the way this word know is a word that speaks of intimacy. It is a word that is often used to describe the intimacy between a husband and a wife. "I never knew you." You say you know me. I never knew you. We never had that relationship. "Depart from Me," he says. "I never knew you."
Bringing us to point number three. The real Christian builds their life on the right foundation. The real Christian builds their life on the right foundation. And now Jesus compares the person who listens and acts on what he says with the person who does not. And it is the illustration of two men building houses. Or as the song said two sets of Joneses. They both wanted a house. It would appear from the context the way Jesus tells the story that their houses were similar. You know you have been to housing tracks where all the homes basically look the same. That is pretty much the picture. These guys have houses right next to each other. They both look the same. They have the same floor plan. The same landscaping. The same color perhaps even.
But one of those homes is built on a proper foundation. And the other one is not. And listen. When you are building there is no more important time than laying the foundation. I know people get all excited about what color to paint the house. And the wall covering. And the flooring. And where you are going to put this picture. You know that stuff is all fine. But it doesn't really matter all that much. Because if your foundation isn't right. If you didn't lay your electrical properly. And your plumbing properly. And the foundation is stable. And so forth. You are going to have problems later on. And that is exactly what happens in this story.
In 1172 the Italian architect Bonanno began work on his most famous project. It was a tower that stood next to a cathedral. And apparently they rushed into this project. Because after completion they discovered the soil they had built on was softer than thought. So the entire tower began to tilt. And now today it is 18 feet off of center. People travel from around the world to the city of Pisa to visit this tower known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Not the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And scientists travel yearly to measure the tower's slow descent. They figure with current movement it will one day collapse onto the nearby restaurant. And by the way that is what the scientists gather each year to discuss their findings. So I figure one year they are going to be saying, According to my calculations I believe the Leaning Tower of Pisa should collapse at one point... Ah! You know. So... But notice how subtle that is. It is not like they built the tower and it is just a... It is like they built it and now hundreds of years later it still stands. But every year it just tilts a little bit more and one day it will just drop over.
Now sometimes people just collapse overnight seemingly. And others it is more of a slow process. But the question is what is your life built on? Because you are built on a foundation right now. And I ask you what is that foundation? You have built your life on someone or something. And I want to tell you something. There is only one who will sustain you through the storms of life. And that is Jesus Christ. No one else. 1 Corinthians 3:11 says, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
Storms Will Come – What Will Your Foundation Hold?
If you are built on people you are going to have trouble. You know maybe your spiritual life is connected to the spiritual life of another. You are here today because your wife is fired up to follow Christ so you go along husband to keep her happy. You are here today because your parents are committed Christians. And so you know they told you you are coming to church today so here you are and you are looking forward to me wrapping this up as soon as possible. Or you might be here because your friends are Christians and you like to hang around with this group of friends. But here is the problem. What if one day that spouse dies or they leave you? What if one day your friends are no longer there? What if one day something changes? Then is your spiritual life going to unravel?
Some people build their spiritual foundation on a church. It is all about their church. My church. We have the best church. Listen. Every church is going to disappoint you. This church included. Let's harvest. Harvest. Harvest. No. Don't build your foundation on a harvest. You are going to be disappointed. I am going to do something that you don't like. Why did you wear that blue shirt? I am against blue shirts. Or you build your foundation on a person. Oh this man of God. This person. I look up to them. I build. No. Don't build your foundation on a person. Because everyone will let you down in some way shape or form eventually. I am not getting ready to make some big confession to you today. But I am flawed like you are. Don't build your foundation on me or anybody else. Or on this church. Or on an emotional experience. Or on anything. Build your foundation on Christ. He will sustain you.
But apparently the builder of this home was in a rush. They didn't want to wait. I don't want to do soil samples. I don't want to lay a proper foundation. Let's just get this baby up and get on with it. That is how a lot of people are in life. You know. Sort of like we are always looking for that shortcut. Like losing weight. Instead of proper diet and exercise. Is there a single pill I can take that will melt away all the pounds overnight? And we will do that in the spiritual life. You know. We don't want to discipline ourselves to read the Word of God. And to pray. And walk with the Lord. We want that quick fix. No. You need to lay a proper foundation. Because listen. The storms will come. And those storms will determine what your life is built on.
Look at verse 25. The rain descended. Listen. Whether you like it or not storms will come. Flood tides will hit. Sometimes it will be tidal waves of temptation. And other times the slow eroding effect of more subtle methods. It might be a sudden and unexpected tragedy that will change your life overnight. And my question to you is how will you fare in that day? Because listen. Maybe you are young and you haven't had any big tragedies in life yet. Hang on buckaroo. Life is going to disappoint you. No one is exempted. No one is exempted. I don't care how godly you are. No one is exempted from pain. Someone close to you is going to die. Something unexpected is going to happen to you. Something hard. Many things that are hard. And here's the question. It is not if that is going to happen. It is only, how are you going to do when it does happen? If you are built on the Lord Jesus Christ you will get through these storms. In fact you will even get stronger through these storms. But if you aren't built on the Lord Jesus Christ you will collapse. You won't make it.
Listen. You decide the evening of your life by the morning of it. The end by the beginning. Let me repeat that. You decide the evening of your life by the morning of it. The end by the beginning. I am so thankful to God I gave my life to Christ at the age of 17. It has been 40 years. I have never regretted that decision. I know I talk about the Beatles. But you know hey. I am getting older. But I am glad I made that commitment when I was younger. Make it now. Especially you that are young. Make the commitment to Christ now because the storms will come.
The Right Foundation: Jesus Christ Alone
Another translation of what we have just read puts it this way. Jesus speaking. "These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life. Homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words. Words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down. The river flooded. Tornado hit. But nothing moved that house. Because it was fixed to the rock. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up it collapsed like a house of cards." Well said.
What is your life built on right now? Michael Douglas the actor found out that he has stage 4 throat cancer. Ironically before this diagnosis he had completed a film called A Solitary Man. It is a story of a man who is coming to grips with his own mortality and his inability to give up his selfish immoral ways that have destroyed his marriage and life. And now he finds out that he himself has this cancer. And apparently Michael Douglas had a sore throat. And he went to see his doctor. His doctor told him it was alright. He went to other specialists. No one thought it was anything to be alarmed by. And the sore throat persisted. And finally a doctor took a little biopsy and had it tested. And indeed he has not only throat cancer but stage 4.
And so Michael Douglas was interviewed recently in USA Today. And the article said of him, He hasn't pondered the meaning of life yet or gone on any soul searching journeys to far away lands. And then Douglas says, and I quote, "I like my odds. I am not dealing with mortality issues until they tell me, oops we have to go back and do surgery or something like that. I haven't found God yet." End quote. Wow. Pushing it. I hope he does find God. Because life will come to an end. And then the question will be, what did you build your life on?
And what an important thing to think about as we come to the communion table. Because as we receive these elements that Brad reminded us represent the broken body and shed blood of Jesus. It is important. These elements are not holy. We don't believe that bread becomes flesh or juice becomes blood. Transubstantiation as it is called. But we believe they represent one who is holy. And therefore we come with reverence for the Lord to this table.
Now let me say this. If you have joined us here today and you are not yet a believer don't think, oh I will receive communion. It will be good for me spiritually. Actually it could be really bad for you spiritually. You say how so? To receive these elements and not believe in the one they represent is like mocking God. In fact the Bible even says whoever eats or drinks this cup or eats this bread in an unworthy manner is guilty of the body and blood of our Lord. Meaning you want to believe in the one they represent. Communion. The Lord's Supper as it is called is for believers only. For Christians only.
So here is my question to you. Are you a real Christian or are you a fake Christian? Because if you are a fake Christian if you are a poser. you will want to let this pass. If you are a real Christian by all means you will want to receive it. If you are a struggling Christian by all means you will want to receive it. If you are a growing Christian, by all means join us. But only if you put your faith in Christ. See all the things I have talked about. Here is the missing element. These people did not believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord. They were just doing religious stuff. And that won't get you into heaven.
Invitation: Become a Real Christian Today
So my question to you is have you asked Christ to come into your life? And are you certain He is your Savior and Lord? And if not would you like to be? We are going to pray right now and I am going to give you an opportunity to get right with God. And if you have never asked Jesus to come into your life please do it right now. Let us all bow our heads.
Father I thank You now for Your Word to us. I thank You for the promise of forgiveness through Jesus Christ who died on the cross and shed His blood for all of our sins. And if we will turn from that sin and put our faith in Him we can be forgiven. Lord for any that do not yet know You. Help them to come to You now. We pray.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying how many of you would say today, Greg I want to become a real Christian. I want to put my faith in Jesus Christ. I want to go to heaven when I die. I am ready to say yes to Jesus today. If that is your desire, if you want Christ to come into your life and you want Him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to go to heaven when you die, I want you to stand to your feet right now wherever you are sitting and I am going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand to your feet wherever you are sitting. God bless you. God bless you. And don't be embarrassed by the way because people are already standing so you won't be alone. Just stand up. Up in the balcony. God bless you up there. Outside in the amphitheater. You can stand too. Of course I can't see you but that doesn't matter. You stand. Up in the court building watching on the big screen. You stand too. Wherever you are hearing me, watching me, stand to your feet right now if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. Anybody else? Stand up now. God bless you. Up there in the very back of the balcony. God bless you guys up there. God bless you in the front of the balcony there. Anybody else? Stand now. God bless you. Anybody else? Stand now. I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment to Christ. This final moment. If you are going to stand, stand now. God bless you.
All right. God bless you over there. Fantastic. Anybody else? Stand. God bless you. All right. You that are standing I want to lead you in a prayer. And I am going to ask that you would pray this prayer out loud after me. And this is where you are asking Jesus Christ to come into your life. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me right where you stand. Pray this with me now if you would.
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, but You died on the cross and shed Your blood for every sin I have ever committed. I turn from that sin now. I put my faith in You. Be my Savior and my Lord and my God and my friend. I choose to follow You now, Lord, from this moment forward. Thank You for forgiving me and accepting me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.