Can a Baptized Believer be “Not Right” with God? 03/04/2018: full transcript and answers

▶ 0:00 We’re going to answer this question can a baptized believer be not right with God this morning. Can a baptized believer be not right with God in our session on the gospel [unclear] in Acts 8:12.. We’re gonna go to answer this question. Philip preached Jesus Christ preached there is the same word for gospel so he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God he didn’t preach prosperity. Okay or psychology or anything else just the gospel. To the city of Samaria both men and women believed and were baptized now you got to remember the Bible says that these things were written were written so you could believe and have eternal life that if everything was written about what God did back then the [unclear] could not contain the books so.

▶ 1:14 everything is significant [unclear] for instance he preached in Samaria the Jews hated Samaritans would have nothing to do with them because hundreds of years ago the king of Assyria came and he defeated Israel and he took the town of Samaria all those Jews and he took them to Babylon and he brought Babylon’s citizens over to inhabit the city of Samaria now [unclear] came with their own religion so what happened God judged those people [unclear] and he brought plagues and stuff for worshiping idols and their religion so then the king of Assyria sent a priest to tell them about the Jewish religion so then the Bible says in kings that they feared God but worship their own gods okay they mingled the Jewish religion with their own pagan religion just like a lot of people do today they mingle the Christian gospel with their own opinions and their own old

▶ 2:32 Ideas about religion and about God and so forth especially when I go to third world countries a lot of people just put God right in with the rest of their religious stuff all right and so it is significant that God sent Philip down to Samaria and is significant because Philip not only preached in Samaria he preached all over but the Bible recorded one city where he preached in and so he’s trying to tell us something could you say amen to that because everything is significant and today. And the mixed races the Babylonian people that came they started mingling with the Jewish people and they had a mixed race and so the Jews when Christ came they would have nothing to do with samaritan people because they were a mixed race and they were a mixed religion okay.

▶ 3:29 So if God can reach those Samaritans that were hated by the Jews can he reach people out there that Christians may look down on absolutely that’s the truth of that isn’t that good all right and he states both men and women believed and were baptized why did he say both men and women why doesn’t it say all people because the Jews then and the Jews now.

▶ 4:04 This is their prayer their opening prayer God I thank you that I’m not a Gentile a non Jew I thank you that I’m not a bondservant or bond slave see a bondservant was one that went into debt and they had to work off their debt and so forth and if their kids were born those kids had to also work their parents’ debt and the Bible does not approve of slavery the Bible does approve of bond servanthood if you go into debt or you steal somebody’s stuff and you get caught you got to pay that debt off plus interest then you got to work it off okay there’s a big difference when saying God approves of slavery and God approves of a bondservant got it and these people that promote that are just trying to undermine the Bible anyway their third one was [unclear] I thank I’m not a woman.

▶ 5:03 Okay I’m not a Gentile I’m not a bondservant I’m not a woman and the Jewish culture along with many cultures in the world just treat women as property they just treated women as property you know and God is emphasizing that the gospel reached people equally and women were equal in the new covenant amen alleluia. So they believed and they were baptized all right now this is my salvation equation. There’s eight areas. Believe you got to believe that Jesus is the Christ Jesus is the savior Jesus is the prophet Jesus is the king did we get that and he is the priest that intermediates for us in heaven today you got to believe the gospel step two you got to confess or repent and repenting you got to renounce sin you got to turn from sin you got to feel bad about your sin and so part of repentance is confessing but confessing.

▶ 6:20 Is very important is admitting you were wrong and God is right once you do that then you can be water baptized step 4 and when you do that at. Equals the result is you’re saved you’re saved from your sins delivered set free from your sin you’re saved from the day of wrath you’re saved from the lake of fire and you’re saved from yourself. the Bible says save yourself and [unclear] how many know we are our biggest problem it’s not Satan and we are big yeah and so he promises deliverance freedom okay then he says if you repent and confess your sins he will fill you with the Holy Ghost the Holy Ghost baptism is a natural part of God’s salvation plan the Holy Spirit baptism is not limited to Pentecostals and charismatics folks it’s for everyone.

▶ 7:24 Amen and it’s part of salvation and you don’t get it because you got saved you get it because [unclear] and joy all right when those Jews in the concentration camps in Germany when our soldiers freed them those Jews kissed the feet and hugged our soldiers that set them free the joy that came and that’s where it is when you are really set free there’s joy man I am free from that lifestyle I am free and so this is the equation all right now. Going back to the verse then Simon the sorcerer a witchcraft witch doctor himself also believed and was baptized all right that was a sorcerer there a guy that the Bible says in that verse that.

▶ 8:33 he proclaimed that he was the great man of God and he dazzled the people with his sorceries he is pretending I don’t know if you ever had to deal with sorcery with witchcraft and so forth but I’ve had to especially going into third world countries there’s three types of witchcraft in the Bible one is from drugs they take drugs and they get high like the Indians do in their sweat wigwams and so forth and they have a hallucinations and all that the second one is witchcraft of the flesh they cut up chicken gizzards and they use feathers and they use enchantments and all this outward stuff to try to convince the people they got some magical power all right and then the third one is demonic they actually have a demonic spirit that has limited power very limited power all right that one I found was the easiest one to solve because I could through Christ I could cast the demon out I could approach the demon directly the other two [unclear] you have to teach them out and if they shut off the teaching

▶ 9:47 And the one you cast the demon out they can pick up another demon on the way out the door I don’t know if you know that. If they want to stay in the demonic world they can just go and get another demon it’s it’s really that simple because they lack the authority they lack the power and I’ve experienced that here in America they just they just go right out the door and they get another demon and then they act like you you didn’t really cast one out or they were set free to begin with but they were they just like that demonic power are you with me alleluia. So anyway he was dazzling them and the people were astonished at his sorcery they were amazed and they elevated him and this guy this witch doctor continued with Philip and was amazed seeing the miracles and the signs God accompanied as we saw in mark he confirmed the word with signs following demons were being cast out people were being healed the blind were seeing the lepers were being cleansed the crippled were walking and so this phony.

▶ 10:57 Was amazed the guy that the people were amazed that now he is amazed because Philip is the real deal he’s doing real supernatural things are you with me and the witch doctor was phony. remember in Egypt those witch doctors and those wizards were not turning water to blood before Moses came down they were not bringing frogs out of the water until Moses came down why because they didn’t have any power to do it God gave them the power to

▶ 11:38 In the end result showing his mighty power are you there yes don’t ever forget that they couldn’t make lice they couldn’t do these things until God see the witch doctors were there just imitating power and then Moses came down and he had the real power God granted these witch doctors and sorcerers to do certain things that Moses did but the simplicity of this is this if the sorcerer’s have power why did they change more water to blood they needed to change the blood back to water they didn’t need more frogs if the sorcerer’s really had any power they would have done a spell and caused the frogs to leave the thing of it is God was showing the kingdom of Egypt and people today that even demonic powers are limited to what he allows them to do amen.

▶ 12:44 so don’t get you know all jazzed about somebody doing something bad the message is the key the message tells you if it’s God or not alright so. There was great joy in the city from people being saved people being healed great joy just like God promised now we’re going to go to Peter and John heard that the Samaritans had received the gospel and they went down to Samaria and they laid hands on these believers and prayed and the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit just like in the equation you believe you [unclear] baptized you are a candidate to have the Holy Spirit okay now as yet the Holy Ghost had fallen on none of them they had only what believed and been baptized you see the baptism of Holy Ghost is a separate experience than

▶ 13:55 Believing in God getting saved from your sins and getting water baptized the Holy Ghost is a distinct separate experience all right so these fundamentalists say you get filled with the Holy Ghost because Christ got filled with the Holy Ghost when he got baptized they say everybody gets filled with the Holy Ghost when they get baptized that is not true the Holy Ghost baptism is a separate experience you got it and all of you need it I’m telling you this Holy Ghost is a very powerful weapon in the kingdom now. They only had believed and gotten baptized they hadn’t got the Holy Ghost yet and they had the joy but they hadn’t got the Holy Ghost so Simon offered money this sorcerer offered Peter and John money to give him the power to impart this Holy Ghost when he saw what they were doing and see Philip didn’t have that power he didn’t have that gift he was used of God to do miracles cast out demons and heal the sick [unclear] Philip was not given the gift to lay hands on someone and they get the Holy Ghost and you know you got to accept where God has you.

▶ 15:15 and you got to accept he’s God he does things and he chooses the Bible says he sets in the body as he sees fit and you just got to accept your place that a good amen and be comfortable with it and so then these guys they had the god-given ability supernatural ability to lay hands on people and they get the Holy Ghost and he wanted the power to do that okay now I don’t know if [unclear] ever heard of David [unclear] back in the 60s and 70s he was called Mr. Pentecost he had a unique ability in God he would preach the gospel and at the end of that gospel he would say people that want to come up one a bit want to be filled with the Holy Ghost come up front and he would set them in chairs because he didn’t want them falling over okay he didn’t want any theatrics he just wanted to show the world that the Holy Ghost was imparted all right and these people who wanted it would come up and [unclear] sit in chairs he would not lay hands on or anything he would pray and one by one the Holy Ghost came upon them they spoke in tongues they spoke of the mighty works of God are you there it was a phenomenal thing to see I knew no one else in the kingdom that could do that I

▶ 16:42 certainly couldn’t. but that was [unclear] God did that to show the world that you don’t have to go through all the malarkey that the Holy Ghost was just a simple. Experience in God are you with me hallelujah now. Remember when they got the Holy Ghost in the Bible there was a sound there was a visible seeing of tongues languages. in Acts 4 there was a shaking of the place I mean you know when you shake a salt shaker that the salt doesn’t remain still. The salt shakes he shook this place all them believers were what shaken [unclear] there’s a lot of people [unclear] all this shaking and all that listen if God comes and shakes you it’s okay but when you’re shaking saying is God it’s not okay are you there.

▶ 17:43 When God does things it’s okay and so. We have to understand that if that happened in other places it probably happened in these places where they were filled and they’re not mentioned how many would like to hear a sound from heaven I think that would be great and I don’t need the sound from heaven but I know a lot of people that it would help all right I don’t really need to see visions and stuff I’ve had them but I know a lot of people it could get them over across the line over the wall into the kingdom amen and so let’s don’t reduce this Holy Ghost let’s don’t limit him he’s a powerful part of the salvation. Plan of God now Peter said the gift of God can’t be purchased with money and folks the Holy Ghost can’t be purchased with money and your.

▶ 18:42 Tithes and offerings is just what it is it’s to get the gospel out it rebukes the devourer it isn’t going to make you rich and it isn’t going to get you any special things in the kingdom. God designates where he wants you in the kingdom and you just have to accept it is that an amen now. Then the Peter told him your heart is not right in the sight of God so can a person be baptized and believe in Christ the messiah. The savior the king the prophet and the priest and still not be right with God absolutely this guy was and you notice he didn’t get the Holy Ghost you notice he didn’t pay money to get the gift of the Holy Ghost he paid money to get the gift to impart the Holy Ghost because he wanted to be what the man that everybody looked up to he never repented of that sin he wanted people looking up to him have you met those kind yeah.

▶ 20:00 so what did Peter say repent of this wickedness this bitter poison and bond of iniquity or immoral character. So he told this sorcerer what he needed to do he said you’ve been water baptized and you believed but you haven’t repented you need to turn from that sin renounce it give it up it is wickedness it is poison in your life and it is immoral character. so can a baptized believer have immoral character yes can they have a poison in their life. that’s keeping them yeah and wickedness and they are not right with God they might be right with the church they might be right with their family they might be right with their friends but they’re not right with God and that’s the one you got to be right with.

▶ 21:07 Okay. He said pray that God forgives the thought of your heart now the heart is the mind the will or desire and the emotions of our being okay and we have a spirit also and he says your thoughts your desires and your emotions are not right with God and you need to pray God forgives you and if he forgives you he saves you it isn’t one or the other. So. Let’s go and talk about the second death the lake of fire where people many people are going and it’s the church’s job to get this message up the end result of you rejecting Christ and rejecting the gospel is you’re going to burn in a lake of fire for eternity that is a serious.

▶ 22:13 A capital punishment for people that want to reject so it’s our job as it says in Ezekiel to warn them to advise them and if we don’t do that those sinners will pay the price for their sin but we will be held responsible and so it’s important that the church what preaches the gospel and part of that gospel is the lake of fire can I hear an amen now. We’re gonna go to Revelation 21:8 first Corinthians 6:9 and Galatians 5:19 these are verses that give you the hell the lake of fire sins.. You know not paying tithe is not a lake of fire sin not praying is not a lake of fire there’s a spiritual sin that will keep you from rewards and growth all right.

▶ 23:12 but these sins are sins against people and they are sins that will. Be punished in the lake of fire. approve of or perform [unclear] sex is a big one in the Bible we’re made sexual beings. It’s just natural to want to have sex we were made that way it’s natural be attracted to the opposite sex and so forth but the Bible says if you approve of and perform same-sex adultery outside of your marriage polygamy more than one spouse or [unclear] more than one partner incest having sex with family members.

▶ 24:05 Pedophilia sex with children that is so gross to me I have to deal with that stuff and that that almost causes me to lose my lose my temper I just want to beat [unclear] I have self-control. This is tough it’s tough when you go into a home and there’s been a child sexually abused and they claim to be Christians they call me there it’s tough prostitution there’s no such thing as porn stars they are high paid prostitutes you understand that and there’s male prostitutes in the Bible this this title that there’s some you know great actress or something or actor no they’re just prostitutes on camera.

▶ 25:04 Transgender transsexual transvestite orgies they call it swinging today sodomy bisexual or sex with animals are all in these verses sins that will. cause you to wind up in the lake that burns with fire forever. Remember last week we told you that God looks to him that is of a poor and a smitten spirit and one that trembles at his word this is the word that should cause people to tremble this is a serious serious. Statement God is making and people that want to water it down are robbing people of a power the gospel now the next thing is the mind altering and intoxicating alcohol drugs that will put you in hell and partying.

▶ 26:04 As it says in Galatians. Which includes the music the alcohol the drugs the sex [unclear] parties are designed to get [unclear] you know things that you wouldn’t do normally and that is the secular people they want to do that is why they don’t want to serve God alright. then you got Galatians chapter 5 on the works of the flesh hate looking down on other people [unclear] have ill feelings toward them sorcery that’s what this Simon in the Acts was a sorcerer theft greed slander wow slander wow.

▶ 26:57 Idols. Extortion. anger and murder are all hell sins. Anger leads to violence and you hurt other people or leads to verbal abuse you hurt other people with your words slander you’re hurting other people idolatry you’re hurting other people by recruiting them and see homosexuals uh I’ve led I told you over fifty homosexuals to Christ I’ve had them in the church but when they want to recruit then I have to tell them they can’t come to the church anymore okay when I have drug addicts and and they they’ll believe and they’ll even get baptized but they won’t stop taking drugs and when they recruit then they can’t come to the church anymore are you with me and when I have to deal with people in their sin a lot of church people start feeling sympathy for them.

▶ 28:05 You’re trying to protect the church you’re trying to separate the wheat from the chaff if they’re not here for Christ and there’s fruit of [unclear] recruiting. Homosexuals I had a homosexual I didn’t lead them to Christ they just came to the church and because I believed homosexuals could be saved they felt comfortable there alright but then I had a new sixteen year old boy that came to the church got saved on a Saturday night. Gave his heart to Christ and this homosexual. invited him to his house got him drunk and had sex [unclear]. a 16 year old boy homosexuals say they don’t recruit they do recruit they’ve tried to recruit me many a time even after I’m a pastor they try to hit on you and that.

▶ 29:05 Has to be dealt with and that poor 16 year old should never have had to gone through that and so when that guy showed up Sunday I told him you can’t be here anymore he says well you can’t do that [unclear] I can he says it’s a public place I can be here I said no you can’t this is not a public place this is by invitation through Jesus Christ. and I said uh [unclear] carry this guy out of this [unclear]. And I said if you hang around out front of the church I’ll call the police and have you removed [unclear] from the church are you there now you can feel sorry for them if you want to but I feel sorry for the 16 year old innocent kid that should never have experienced that and because we’re trying to help homosexuals help drug addicts and all the rest it can happen and so.

▶ 30:06 You know us church people we got to realize people are going to come in in these horrible states we got to trust church government and trust the Holy Ghost to. Make us wise and keep things keep the congregation free from recruiting amen that’s why everybody needs to be on guard okay now unbelief in Jesus or Bible truths the gospel and fear you’re afraid to accept Christ and be a Christian because of what others may say okay. Afraid or what your friends are gonna say that fear will send you to the lake of fire and I can give you scriptures on that but and I already have anyway in Ezra 10..

▶ 30:57 We have an incident where Israel sinned and sinned greatly and God brought their sin to their attention and the statement I want to bring out of that is there is still hope for Israel in their sin hope expectation you see this sorcerer still had a chance to get right with God and then he still had a chance and so and Romans 8:24 we are saved by hope I am shocked that people don’t use this very [unclear] they usually just use I’m saved by faith.

▶ 31:40 But this is just as powerful we are saved by hope not just faith now about faith hope and love and the greatest is love hope is very important for hope is expecting God to finish what he promised to do in your life that’s what hope is you’re not there yet but you expect God to do because he can’t lie what he said he would do in your life and deliver you from that old lifestyle to deliver you from sin and he sums it up by saying patiently wait for that which is not seen if you haven’t seen the deliverance yet if you haven’t seen what God promised yet hope will keep you in the pathway of God until he does it. Wow church that’s powerful and so that’s the difference between the teaching of eternal salvation once you’re saved you can’t be lost and all that yes you can be lost but if you mess up you still have hope if you patiently wait and keep serving God and keep repenting God will deliver you because he can’t lie.

▶ 32:59 Amen. See when I got saved there were several things that were taken away from me just like that but there were a lot more that I had to fight the fight of faith with I had to fight I had to push through and serve God before they broke off and and my life was changed and I didn’t know it at that time that I was exercising hope. but this scripture when it was revealed to me that’s exactly what it is I trusted God to finish the good work he began everything wasn’t done yet and you got to admit when you got saved not everything was done yet isn’t that right you still went back out there I mean [unclear] I was checking out the girls you know [unclear] yeah and things like that which is normal you know we don’t get extreme were made that way but as time went by God brought that under control I didn’t have to look at women with that sexual fantasy or thing involved I could just say that’s a nice-looking woman or boy that woman’s well dressed or well you know whatever and it had nothing to do with anything other than giving.

▶ 34:14 Honor to the woman for who she is are you with me hallelujah it took time even though I was filled with the Holy Ghost it took time give God some time folks. Hallelujah and he usually does one or two things at a time I thought [unclear] God would just you know get this thing done but he has a totally different plan he wants you to learn how to fight the fight of faith he wants you to learn how to stand see and then when you can stand you can help others [unclear] now. Remember Peter said repent to the sorcerer and ask God to forgive the thought of your heart if you have violated any of these just remember repentance is a tremendous principle that works every day.

▶ 35:11 just [unclear] before God [unclear] Lord I did it again I’m sorry for it I know it’s wrong deliver me from this and God accepts that and he keeps working on you as you keep responding he keeps working and the next thing you know as most of the things in my [unclear] didn’t happen in a rush or an experience just one day I realized I’m not doing that anymore wow. It just it just phased out now. in closing such were some of you but now you are washed you’re cleansed from that sin now you’re sanctified set apart for the masters use and you are justified you are made right justified is made right by Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost so if that sorcerer would have repented and left.

▶ 36:19 That sin of wanting to be the one looked up to he could have been washed of that sin. Set apart for the masters use and justified made right before God how many want to be right before God amen repentance will keep you in that arena if you’re still working on sin in your life it works God can’t lie you can’t get up to heaven as I’ve always said and tell God his word didn’t work just can’t happen if you work his word it will work but the key here patiently wait for it say it with me patiently wait for it. [unclear] God’s calendar and his approach to this is different than ours but he always knows [unclear] every time I got through as a younger Christian through one of these phases I was amazed at how God was accurate and how he did it I was I was just always amazed and his timing is never off.