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May 28, 2024 - Dan Bidondi Show
01:12:21
FOJC Radio's Friday Night Live Self Denial - Monday Replay
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Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good evening, everybody, and welcome to FOJC Radio Friday Night Live.
I am David Karriko.
I'm here this evening with Brett Graham and Brian Reese, and we're so thankful to be able to bring you our Friday night broadcast, and our study for this evening is going to be self-denial.
Our prayer-a-thon last night fell prey to a weak internet signal, so we will be rescheduling that It's like the Titanic hit the iceberg last night.
We just couldn't make it happen.
But we will be rescheduling.
We'll be announcing that.
And the update on Sister Donna, she is still recovering on schedule.
So we're thankful for that.
And I'm going to do mail call, and after that, Brett's going to lead us in prayer, and we're going to have our lesson for this evening.
This week in mail call, and I just want to say for any of you that would like to write to me or Sister Donna, you can write to us here or to Brett or Brian, or as that goes.
And it'd be better to address Brian's letters to his address, just in case he's a ways away.
You can write to us at Followers of Jesus Christ, Post Office Box 671, Tell City, Indiana.
47586.
And this week in Mail Call, we heard from the Rodriguez family in Texas.
We heard from Goober from Texas.
We heard from Carla Kaye And the House family in New York, and we heard from France!
Yes, we did, and I want to read a nice note we got from some listeners in France.
It says, Dear David, Dear Donna, We're praying for your health.
We enjoy your teachings.
Discovered you in 2020.
Thank you for what you're doing for our Lord, sending you courage from France.
And thank you from that courage from France.
Thank you very much.
Very good to hear from you.
And we're just so thankful that you're being blessed by FOJC.
We heard from Marcy.
In Louisiana, and we heard from Benny and Darlene in Texas, and we heard from Steve in Texas, and I'll just read a little bit of Steve's note.
He said, just a short note to thank you for all your diligent work serving the Most High God.
I am so blessed by all your teachings.
Brett Graham, Gillian, Brian Reese, John Pounders, I feel like you are my family.
Well, thank you so much, Steve.
I just hope you don't think of us as your drunken uncle.
But thank you very much for that.
We do appreciate that.
We heard from Wendy in Kansas, and Wendy writes, thank you for all You both have done to bring me and so many others to Jesus Christ.
Your FOJC Underground Church and Now You See TV have answered so many questions I've had over the years and made learning about the Bible so fascinating and enjoyable.
You are my church!
And I am forever grateful.
Well, Wendy, we are so grateful for you also, and for all of our listeners, and like we say here, it's the message that matters.
It's the message that matters, lifting up Jesus Christ, the doctrine of Christ, and the commandments of God.
Also, we heard from Shane in Arizona.
And I had another trip I needed to make and didn't get to the ministry box this week, so if we didn't acknowledge you, that'll be forthcoming the next broadcast.
But I just want to say it is a blessing to be able to hear from y'all, and it is just a blessing.
Thank you so much for writing, and as I'll just say, As I always used to do at break, I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you that studies with us and that prays for us and that supports us with your gifts and with your kindness.
We do thank you from the very bottom of our heart.
And now I'm going to have Brett Graham.
He's going to come and lead us in prayer.
And come on, Brett.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Most High, we pray for healing for Sister Donna, and we thank you and praise your holy name for the healing that has so far happened.
She's got a little bit left to go, Father, a little bit left.
I also would like to pray for Brother Brian and Sister Ashley, who are both suffering their separate maladies.
And may your healing touch be upon our remnant brother and sister.
And I want to throw me in there too, Lord.
Suffered quite a few tick bites and it's had me.
In a state of flesh.
I've been in a fleshly state of mind for a couple of days, Lord, so I'm asking for healing and for this turmoil-ish spirit to be lifted up off me.
Amen.
And my cousin Bobby is still in the ICU from a pretty severe ATV accident.
May you continue to give him strength.
And his mom is still in the hospital.
And my stepdad is still suffering from his trip to the hospital.
So we ask for healing for all these people.
Your will be done, Father.
David, can I have your New Testament right there?
Yes, you can.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.
Forever.
Amen and hallelujah.
Amen.
Praise God.
Thank you, sir.
Amen.
Thank you, Brent.
All right.
We're going to be talking about a subject that is little talked about.
that of self-denial.
I'm going to be basing a lot, you'll be hearing several comments tonight from my favorite Puritan, Richard Baxter, who wrote a writing called A Treatise on Self-Denial, and this was one of the cardinal tenets that the Puritans adhered to.
And what you're going to be hearing tonight would not even be open for consideration in the modern American Evangelical Church or anywhere else, probably wherever you're at in the world.
But yet it's very, very Biblical.
So we're going to be looking at what Mr. Baxter and others had to say on this topic, and we're going to, most importantly, be looking at what Jesus and the Word of God had to say about it.
Let's begin.
In the Gospel of Luke, the 9th chapter, and we're going to read verses 23 and 24.
And Jesus said this, And he said to them all, and notice here, all means all, And he said to them all, If any man will come after me,
And here Christ is not laying down something to be achieved by an elite circle of believers, but he's laying down a foundational principle for everyone.
And he said unto them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, But whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall find it.
Matthew Henry the Puritan, he had this to say on this text, and Brother Henry said this, He said, we must prefer salvation and happiness of our souls before any secular concerns whatsoever.
Reckon upon it that he who is to preserve his liberty or estate, his power or preferment, nay, or to save his life, denies Jesus Christ and his truth.
Now that's a strong statement, isn't it?
Whenever you seek to exalt your liberty or your estate over Christ, you deny Christ.
And this is exactly what Jesus said.
He said, if any man will come up after me, he has to deny himself and take up his cross.
This is much as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, that straight is the gate and narrow is the way.
And the people down at Joseph Prince's church in the Greatest Revolution, they don't want to hear that.
They don't want to hear that there's a high commitment of self-denial that not only is something that would be nice to do, but this is the basic ground-level entry requirement of following Jesus Christ.
That is why that the gate is straight, And the way is narrow.
And Jesus said, few though be that find it.
And in all honesty, there are very few people alive today that really profess Christ.
They would say, well, yes, that scripture is true.
That's in the Bible.
But to really bring themselves into submission to such a truth, this is something that most people don't even take seriously.
But those that want to go through the straight gate, They need to take it seriously.
Richard Baxter, who is probably, he's my favorite Puritan.
Richard Baxter's my favorite Puritan.
Nobody will prick your conscience like Brother Baxter.
And Richard Baxter said this, and like I say, I'm going to be reading several things from Brother Baxter's treatise on self-denial he wrote in the 1600s.
And Brother Baxter said this, he said, you may easily perceive that the doctrine which Christ here proclaimeth to all that have thoughts of being his followers is this, that all that will be Christians must deny themselves and take up the cross and follow Christ and not reserve so much as their very lives But to resign up all for him.
And another way that we could frame it is that anyone that isn't willing to die for Christ, if put in that situation, isn't worthy to be his followers.
Now this was put to the test in the early church.
In the early Antonicene church, before the days of Constantine, There was the emperor worship that was set up, and they would bring them in, and they would say, now here's the altar, and you burn incense on the altar and say, Caesar is Lord, and there's the altar, and if you look out the window there, there's the lion pit.
Now, you burn incense at the altar, or you get to visit the lion pit.
And literally, if we could go to the Colosseum in Rome today, the stones there are still stained red to this very day with the blood of the martyrs that were shed that would deny our Lord Jesus Christ.
And what would they think today?
What would they think today?
And if they would see the modern clown show that has become American evangelical religion with the water slide baptismals and the tractor pearls and, you know, It doesn't bode very well.
It's time for a reality check.
It's time to come back to that what Jesus said, because it won't make you popular, but what I want to do, I don't want blood on my hands when I stand before the Lord, and I want to see people really saved and really set on the right course.
The Lord never demands anything of us that he does not enable us to do.
And it comes down to some very fundamental things.
We are to be totally submitted to Jesus Christ and not the world.
We are a peculiar people.
that are called out of the world, set apart and separate.
In 1 John chapter 2 and verse 15, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world, and the world passeth away in the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
There has to be a clear line drawn there, and in James the fourth chapter and the fourth verse The Scripture puts it this way, Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
People that try to make friends of the world at the expense of obedience to Christ, they are cutting themselves off from the very fountain of life.
Now, Brother Baxter said this, he said, by denying self is meant disclaiming, renouncing, disowning and forsaking it.
And therefore this self-denial doth not consist in a hatred or disregard for our own lives, or in a destruction of our appetites or senses, or an absolute refusal to please them in the use of the creatures which God has given us.
Our spiritual self Ourself as sanctified must not be so denied as to deny ourselves to be what we are, or to have what we have, or to do what we do.
We may not deny God's graces, nor deny that they are in us as the subject, nor may we restrain the holy desires which God exciteth in us to deny, to fulfill them, or bring them towards the fruition When opportunity is offered unto us, can't enjoy a good meal or that there's nothing in life that you can find enjoyable?
But to deny yourself means that you will not order your life outside of the doctrine of Christ and commandments of God, but you will submit yourself to the Scripture in each and every area of your life.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, it says it very well, and it cuts to the chase, and it gives us the sum of the whole matter,
In the book of Ecclesiastes, in the 2nd chapter, and in the 24th verse, it says there is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor This, also I saw that it was from the hand of the Lord.
It's good for a man and a woman and a family to work and build a home and to, or to build a business and to build it and to rejoice in the labor that they take.
There's nothing good and or nothing better than to be able to eat and drink and enjoy friends, but when these boundaries are run over, and it runs over into an engaging in these things, at the disregard of the commandments of God, this is absolutely when we get into trouble.
And Jesus did this.
When we look, and I say over and over, it's the cross, it's the doctrine, and it's the example of Jesus Christ.
And we see Jesus Christ enjoying life.
We see him, he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
He always had that burden and that understanding that he was born to die, and he was to come into this world to die.
For the sins of all, but also we see him eating and drinking, sometimes even with publicans.
We see him enjoying other people's company, and we see people enjoying his company.
And in the 26th chapter of Matthew, and in the 39th verse, It said, and this when he was praying in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said, then it says, Then cometh Jesus with them into a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto them, Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder.
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be very sorrowful.
And in verse 39 it says, And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
You know, it wasn't fun.
To have nails driven through your hands and feet.
There was no fun in being scourged.
As a man, he didn't want to do that.
But as the Son of God, he submitted himself to the Father.
He says, Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
Nevertheless, not as I will.
But as thou wilt.
And Jesus submitted himself to the will of the Father and to the Word of God and its will, and he died for our sins.
So we have to separate that understanding.
Jesus enjoyed life.
He enjoyed life as the man.
He was fully God and fully man.
And it's nothing wrong with enjoying things in a right way.
We are to have the joy of God.
The joy of the Lord is our strength.
We are to enjoy one another, and we are to enjoy those things that we rightly work for and that the Lord has given us.
But at the same time, even at the cost of our own life, just like Jesus, our example, when we put our self-interest above those of God at any point in time, We veer off that straight and that narrow path.
In Genesis chapter 3 and verse 5, Genesis chapter 3 and verse 5, it says, and this is speaking of the fall of man, and we're going to think a little bit about the fall of man,
What it means, what man fell from, and what he fell to, in Genesis chapter 3 and 5, for God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And this is the result of the fall, that man then thought that they had the capacity to know right and wrong on their own.
And Brother Baxter said, it is not to be the self-denial required by Christ that we deny to be Christians or to be sanctified by the Spirit.
Or to be delivered from our sins and enemies, or that we deny the use and means of the helps that are offered to us.
Self-denial doesn't mean that you're a granola mama and a soy boy.
Self-denial means that you submit yourself to God and His will in each and every thing.
And at the point When they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they thought, well, I know right from wrong myself.
You know, I'm like one of the gods, these Elohims.
They're rebelling against God.
They're doing whatever they want to do.
They know right from wrong.
Well, no, they don't.
But when mankind fell, they fell to the thinking that they then knew right from wrong and that they could determine right and wrong by their own prerogative.
Or by their own mentality.
In the book of Judges, there's a verse that expresses it so well, and this sums up so well the modern, the modern situation we're in right now.
In Judges chapter 21 and verse 25, it says, In those days there was no king in Israel, for every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
And that's where we're at.
If you want to know what sin is, you just ask a dozen different churches, you'll get a dozen different answers.
The Bible says sin is the transgression of the law, but for the most part, the modern evangelical church has stolen out the law of God, therefore they throw out the understanding of what is sin, and what is right and wrong.
And there's only one person that can determine what is right and wrong, And that is God.
He has given us His law, and He has given us His word to tell us what is right and what is wrong, and the moment that you take that sin of the knowledge of good and evil and you think you can determine what is right and what is wrong, that is when you are falling into the very sin that was that very first instigation of Satan.
In 1 Timothy chapter 6, and I want to read verses 3 and 4.
And the Scripture says here, and this is the epitome of pride, The epitome of pride was for fallen man to believe that he knew more than God, but this is exactly where we're at today.
1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 3, If any man teach otherwise, any man, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud knowing nothing.
Now, the very minute That anyone thinks they're so arrogant that they know more than Christ and they can take His precious words and correct them and interpret them away, at that point, you don't know anything.
Because you're so prideful and you're so full of yourself that you have taken it upon yourself to correct the Creator of the universe.
You have been sucking on the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and surely it will take you from the straight and narrow way on down to that path of destruction.
Once again, in the book of Ecclesiastes, in the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verses 13 and 14, if we want to get to the sum of the matter, Right here it is.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.
All right, let's have it.
Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
There it is!
Fear God and keep his commandments, that's the whole duty of man.
It's not for you to suck on the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and you tell God what's right and wrong, or what's right for you, and my truth ain't your truth.
No, there is a truth, and it's the revealed will of God, the law of God, and the doctrine of Christ, and the commandments of God, and the minute you don't consent to the wholesome words of Christ, you don't know anything.
According to the Apostle Paul, you're not just off a little bit, but you're headed down through the broad gate, and just good luck for your little self to ever find your way back.
And we hope that you do repent and come back, but boy, you have fallen.
Brother Baxter said this, but the first temptation did entice him to adhere to an inferior good, for pleasing of his flesh and the advancement of himself to a carnal and felicity in himself.
So that he did depart from God, his true felicity, and retired into himself in his estimation, affection, and intention.
It never occurred to Adam and Eve before they fell that, boy, I need to figure out what I need to do.
I need to figure out right from wrong.
But the minute that they fell, they then knew Or they thought they knew that they knew what to do.
And what did man fall from?
And what did man fall to?
Brother Baxter put it like this.
He said, but when man was fallen to himself from God, Man fell from God, and he fell to himself.
He sucked on the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and then he thought that God's laws... You know, back then, they just had one law.
See that tree?
Don't eat it.
Well, they couldn't even keep that one.
And that's what it is.
It's absolutely—you deny that you have any ability to determine right and wrong in the ultimate sense.
Of course, when we have God's Word, then we have to determine it.
But it said, When man was fallen to himself from God, he desired presently to have his portion or stock in his own hands, and grew distrustful for God.
Yea, did God say?
That you should not eat of that tree?
Satan was throwing doubt on the Word of God immediately.
He said, Therefore he fell to carking and caring for himself, and studious contrivances for his own preservation and supplies.
Man became self-reliant, self-sufficient, and self-knowing.
The knowledge of good and evil put them in a place where they thought they knew more than God to determine their own sufficiency.
And as Brother Baxter said, this is nothing self-denial.
It doesn't mean that we are not bold.
We have to be bold.
We cannot deny yourself in humility.
This is not something that does not realize who we are in Christ or the authority that we have in the gospel to proclaim God's truth and to deal with the powers of the fallen world.
In Romans chapter 1 and verse 16, Indeed, through self-denial, the more we deny ourselves, like Paul said, when I am weak, then he is strong.
In Romans chapter 1 and verse 16, Paul said, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth To the Jew first and also to the Greek.
We are not ashamed of Jesus Christ.
We are proud to proclaim his name.
We are proud to be peculiar people that will obey God's laws and God's statutes.
In Proverbs chapter 28 and 1, the wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are.
Bold as a lion.
Being someone that practices self-denial does not mean that you do not have courage.
It does not make you a coward.
We have to have courage, and the very difference between a true shepherd and a false one is that a false shepherd will not fight the wolf.
In John chapter 10, I want to read verses 10, 11, and 12.
It says, I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, but he that is a hireling, and a hireling is just someone that's doing it for a paycheck, he that is a hireling and not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
The true shepherd will fight the wolf, the false one will not.
The false shepherd will let the wolf wear the Masonic ring right into the service, and if the wolf pays tithes, they'll let the wolf do whatever little wolfy things that the wolf wants to do.
Let's look at the epistle of 2 Timothy.
In 2 Timothy, let's begin in the 3rd chapter, and we're going to read 2 Timothy.
We're going to start in chapter 3, and let's just read a little bit.
This is the spirit of the age, the basic principle of Christ.
is self-denial.
You denial yourself.
And the basic principle of narcissism is that you worship yourself.
You exalt yourself.
And whenever you're guilty of self-denial is whenever you exalt your self-interest at any point over the interest of Christ and the Kingdom.
Let's read.
2 Timothy chapter 3 Verse 1, This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves.
And right there it is.
Lovers of their own selves.
This is the number one characteristic.
This is the spirit of the age.
This is Judges 21, 25 come to light.
Everyone doing what's right in their own eyes.
Because every little church on every church corner, they've sucked on the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and they'll tell you what's right and wrong.
And they'll sanctify paganism whenever they think they should, and they'll throw out God's law.
You know, what the Bible says to do.
It says to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
Well, we're not going to do that!
But we're gonna put up the Christmas tree in color of the Easter eggs!
It's ridiculous!
It's nonsensical!
And it is just absolutely so contrary, not only to the truth of Scripture, but to common sense!
Anybody that would take a modicum of time to think this through knows we're in trouble here!
We're in trouble here.
It's time to come back to Jesus, and it's time to listen real good to what He says, because our eternal souls hang in the balance here.
We don't like to hear about everyone having to take up their cross and deny themselves, but that's what our Lord said, so we will be better off if we believe it.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves.
This is the absolute spirit of the age, the spirit of narcissism.
It says covetous boasters, proud blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good.
Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power there.
You can have a form of godliness, you can have a church, but if we don't preach self-denial and do our best to practice it, we're gonna go through door number two instead of door number one.
That's just the way it is.
Now there's a word here, and you see, truce breakers.
A narcissist will always betray you at some point in time.
And if you just think about it, whenever there's a person that is putting their self-interest over those of Christ, Whenever those self-interests are threatened, they will betray Christ, they will betray you, they will burn incense at the altar of Caesar to keep from getting thrown in the lion pen.
And that's just the way it is.
A person that is not committed to self-denial and total commitment to Christ over every area of their life They'll betray you at a certain point in time.
That's just the way it is.
They'll be a truce breaker.
Yes, they will.
I want to look at a word here in the Greek.
I want to look here in the Complete Biblical Library, and we'll go to the lexicon here.
And I thought this was kind of neat.
And I'll look here at a couple things.
This is the word perilous.
The word perilous.
Where it said, Paul said in the last days perilous times will come.
It says hard, difficult, fierce, violent.
It's going to be hard.
It says it's frequently used of people and emotions.
Hence, hard to bear or deal with.
Painful, harsh, grievous, or troublesome?
How many times I've heard constantly, boy, this person, they're hard to deal with.
Yeah, well, amen.
It's perilous times.
It's difficult.
And there's people that are hard to deal with.
Why?
Because they are not committed to self-denial to bring their life under the Lordship of Christ.
So guess who's driving the boat?
They are!
Whatever they think, whatever they think, they've exalted their knowledge above the knowledge of God, so therefore they can make up any crazy doctrine they want to make up.
They can do whatever they want to do.
If you're going to make it up, you can make up whatever you're going to do.
So you either submit to God in every aspect, Or you let the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil take you wherever it will take you, and I guarantee you, the end of door number two there is not someplace you want to go.
It says, times will become so difficult and dangerous that people will simply hide, hoping things will get better on their own, since they are powerless to change the situations themselves.
Fortunately, the believer has the sustaining presence of God with him constantly.
Amen.
I want to take another little peek here at a word in the Greek, and this is the word translated boaster, and that is the word allozone.
And what this word means, I love it, it says, allozone was originally a quack doctor.
Yeah, that's right, quack doctor, quack quack.
Who wandered about with medicines and spells, boasting that he could cure people.
What better word could apply to preachers that throw out God's law and the doctrine of Christ?
They're just like a quack doctor.
They can say they're going to do you some good, but they're not.
They're going to do nothing but take your money, take your time, and you're going to be the worst for it for crossing their path.
It isn't popular for people to hear.
that you have to deny yourself and take up your cross.
But that is the truth of Christ, and if I would tell you anything less, I would be driving you through door number two and door number one.
I would be joining the ranks of these other modern apostates that tell people that they can live pretty much the way they think, you know?
And this is just exactly what these people are saying.
So, we know better than that, don't we?
Now, I'm going to read Matthew chapter 8.
In Matthew chapter 8, and I'm going to get ready to, I'm going to take a break here in just a moment.
So, I'm going to have Brett and Brian here during the break to kind of give everybody a little update on what's going to be coming up on FOJC here.
And we do got a lot of things coming on, and I'm gonna read in Matthew the 8th chapter and the 28th verse, and it says here, And when he was come to the other side, Into the country of the Gergesenes there met him two possessed with devils coming out of the tomb, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
And the reason why I read that verse is this is the very same word that Paul used in Timothy, that there's going to be perilous, fierce, dangerous times.
This is the word that was used of these two demoniacs that were there in the area of the Gurgisanes.
So I think with that, and well, I'll read a couple more verses, and I want to read a couple more, and I want to emphasize again, in Matthew chapter 10 and 21, that people that are not committed to Christ in self-denial, they will betray you.
And let's look at just what Christ said.
Matthew chapter 10 and verse 21, And the brother shall deliver the brother up to death, and the father, the child, and the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death.
Yes, Jesus said that this very thing is going to be one of the marks of the last days, and Jesus said the reason why this is going to happen in Matthew chapter 24 and verse 12, and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
All right, well I'm going to take a break here, And Brian and Brad are going to give you a little update to what we got coming up on FOJC.
And I'm going to be back with you in just a little bit.
My name is Brett.
I do the Holy Commission Boot Camp.
Interestingly enough, me and David have kind of similar topic six week.
This week on the Boot Camp, I haven't really titled it.
Pride, Narcissism, The Anti-Thesis to the Humility of Jesus Christ.
Is what is what I'm talking about this week.
So.
That'll be this week.
Brian, are you doing something Sunday?
Oh yeah.
Sunday Night Live, like always, me and Brother David are going to be presenting to everybody.
We're going to do a program on Antarctica, so get really super stoked about that because it's one of those top five topics that I like to talk about and hope everybody will enjoy it.
But it's the same time, like always, 7 p.m.
Central Time and 8 p.m.
Eastern Time.
So join us for Sunday Night Live coming up.
Absolutely.
As many of you may know, we had technical difficulties last night.
I think it was a computer issue or a stream issue.
I mean, I don't know.
I don't even know why I bother to talk about that.
I don't know nothing about that.
I recently, two days ago, went and visited Sister Donna And praise God, she looked healthier than I've seen her in a long time.
Looking forward to getting her home.
Looking forward to getting her home.
Well, keep your prayers coming for Sister Donna.
Because they're working.
They are working.
Come on, Brian, say something. .
Well, Brad, bless you, man.
Um, yeah, Miss Donna, um, every time I talk to her, uh, she seems like she's so coherent and getting stronger and stronger by the day.
And she's a go getter type of lady.
She, uh.
To be in her 70s, I tell David and Donna all the time that they both have the mind of a 30-year-old.
And they're very sharp and very coherent.
And it's a blessing because God has blessed them in abundance.
And I know that Miss Donna has the drive to get back home, get back to doing her duties that she's always done.
And keep this all in check, even myself.
So I can't wait for her to come back and get back home.
But I say it'll take a lot of stress off both of them when they get back home.
So yeah, my big shout out to Miss Donna.
I pray you get feeling better.
But it's always a pleasure getting on here and doing programs.
And even if I'm interested in the background facilitating it, it's nothing but a blessing.
So yeah, I could rant on here and talk a lot, but yeah, Brett.
Holy Commission Boot Camp every Wednesday.
Brother Brett, we have it at 6 p.m.
Central Time and 7 p.m.
Eastern Time.
Holy Commission Boot Camp coming up all the time.
Look out for some things coming up in the future for me.
I'm going to be presenting more programs here, and especially on visual disturbance.
I'm going to be popping some of those things off here in the coming weeks and months.
I've been having some teeth issues here lately.
A few little teeth issues.
We had to do some traveling, so it's been kind of... I literally just got back, Brett.
An hour and a half before the program.
I know, bro.
Here we are.
I didn't figure you'd be home that quick.
But we did it.
We did it.
By God's grace.
Hey, listen, real quick.
Brett, it is a madhouse on the highways, man.
It seems like the... I think the love and empathy... I've seen more people... Hardness of heart.
I had a semi pull out in front of me.
I was 60 yards from him doing 55 mile an hour.
He just pulled right out.
He pulled right out on the way here.
I hate going anywhere on Fridays.
I understand it's the end of the week and everybody's possibly got their paycheck and all that.
It's a hardness of heart.
Yeah, there's no common courtesy on the road, hardly at all.
Yeah, well, you know there's always somebody driving me around, but I'm always in the passenger seat hanging on for dear life when there's somebody trying to, either a motorcycle or some nonsense or semi taking us out.
It's a pretty bizarre world.
But anyways, getting off of all that.
Hit that like button, hit that share button, folks.
If you're new to EFOJC Underground Church, hit all up all the links in the description.
We really appreciate it.
It's a blessing for everybody being here.
I know we have a bunch of new subscribers.
Well, actually quite a few.
It's more than just a few, quite a bunch.
I've seen a lot of different emails, etc., and different comments.
There's a lot of people out there.
Share this thing out.
Help us get the message out that on FOJC, Followers of Jesus Christ Radio, and pray that everybody will be edified by the content that we're presenting.
And Ms.
Donna and David have been doing 40 plus years of ministry work, and What a blessing to have them still in 2024, and I hope we keep having them until they're like 105, 120.
How about that, Brother Brett?
But I hope God blesses them abundantly and continues to heal Ms.
Donna and keep both of them up and upbeat and going to continue to do God's work.
But yeah, everybody out there that you're new subscribers, We cover a wide variety of topics, a lot of controversial topics, and we go down the rabbit hole on Sunday Night Live.
We do a lot of, like this week, we're going to be doing Antarctica, but we really enjoy doing these type of things.
Brother David does all kinds of stuff.
He does programs.
We do another program on the Doctrine of Christ.
Go check out the Doctrine of Christ YouTube channel if you want to check that out.
Subscribe.
I think the link is in the description of this video, if I'm not mistaken.
We really appreciate it, and like I said, go check out Brother Brett on Holy Commission Boot Camp.
We've got a lot of things coming up in the future.
A bunch of different things popping off.
I've got a new... I'm going to do like an archaeology slash news thing in the future.
I haven't really come up with a name yet how I'm going to articulate that and make an official name for it.
But that's something going to be coming up.
And then Brett, Brett promised me, everybody, if you haven't ever checked out a Redneck History channel, I always put Brett on the spot on this one.
But speaking of, he did promise me one more.
We're going to do one more in like 2024 sometime.
I mean, the year is coming and going.
It's flying pretty fast.
Garden season kind of got in the way of my research on that for a minute.
We should do, we should do a Redneck History Channel and, uh, till the ground and plant a little seed.
You remember how, you know, plant a little corn, you plant a little seed, remember that?
Yeah.
But, um, yeah.
Yeah.
Praise God.
My garden is flourishing.
Looking healthy.
Yeah.
Um, so here in Kentucky, me and Brett can get away with it, but in some states you can't, you have to do a little cultivating.
You have to do a little nourishing to the soil.
Indiana folks out there, Tennessee folks, clay, all that good stuff.
But in Kentucky, you can just spit the seeds out, throw them out the window and they start flourishing.
Something about the state, man, is just pretty wild.
I guess that's why the Indians knew that, you know, the tobacco, right?
The big tobacco.
Come on, Brett.
You know what I'm talking about.
Tobacco is like, um, It's like a lost art, man.
Brett, have you... I mean, seriously, like a lost art.
Kentucky used to thrive in tobacco.
Everybody grew tobacco.
Yeah.
Well, here's Brother David.
Thank you, Brett.
Thank you, everybody.
But yeah, bless you all.
Here's Brother David back on the FOJC Friday Night Live.
Brother David, welcome back to the program.
He'll be here in a few seconds.
But like I said, everybody, thanks for being here and thanks for being here for FOJC Underground Church.
We really appreciate everybody out there.
All across the walks of the earth, there's all kinds of people.
Well, I think we've got New Zealand, we've got Africa, we got Tasmania, we got Spain, we got all these different countries that check out FOJC.
And nothing but a blessing to have all these wide variety of, you know, walks of life of humanity listening to us here on FOJC.
So subscribe and thank you.
Here's Brother David.
David, welcome back to the FOJC, probably not live.
Thank you so much, Brian.
Appreciate it very much.
And we've got a few more thoughts we're going to wrap up tonight on the lesson tonight.
Some few more things that we want to say and a few more thoughts that we want to bring out.
And I want to go to the Scripture, of course, and I want to read, begin in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 31.
1 Corinthians 10 and 31, Whether therefore ye eat or drink, "...or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." And this, of course, puts it into perspective that each and every area of our life is to be determined and ruled by God.
And this is certainly the motto of the Puritans was, all things to the glory of God.
And this is exactly where we should be, in all things.
And in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12, well let's see, I want to go to Luke chapter 9.
Let's just go a couple more verses.
We began with Luke chapter 9 verses 23 and verse 24, and I'm going to read now Luke chapter 9, we're going to look at verses 25 and 26.
And the Scripture says here, For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory, and in his father's, and of the holy angels.
If we're ashamed of Jesus' words, Jesus is going to be ashamed of us.
Now that's pretty strong, isn't it?
And this is right after Jesus said what he did about everyone that's going to be his disciple has to deny himself and take up his cross and follow Christ.
And this is why the Apostle Paul said, if you don't agree And consent to the words of Jesus, you're proud of knowing nothing.
We have to consent and submit ourselves to Christ, and we have to commit ourselves and submit ourselves to all of God's law in the light of Christ.
All of God's law in the light of Christ.
We absolutely do.
And this means, and you know I say over and over, That the doctrine of Christ is the most important thing in your life, because what could be more important than this?
And, you know, Jesus said right there, if you're ashamed of me and my words, I'm going to be ashamed of you.
In 2 John 9, whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God.
So how important is it?
It's extremely important.
That's why we make a big deal out of it, because I don't hear many other people doing that.
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
In John, the fifth chapter in the Gospel, what it means To be a believer in Christ, and I always say that following Jesus means following Jesus.
In John chapter 5 and verse 24, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.
And Jesus said that unto those that heard him when he walked the earth, That if you hear my word, If you hear the words coming out of my mouth and you believe them, and you believe that I'm sent by the Father, you have everlasting life.
That's what it takes.
Receiving the message of Jesus, believing in Him, believing that He was sent by the Father, that every word that Jesus speaks unto us, that these are the very words of the Father, and then it comes to us in Matthew, the 11th chapter.
What do we do then?
Matthew chapter 11 beginning in verse 28.
Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy.
And my burden is light.
We are to learn of Christ.
We are to follow Him, and we are to learn of Christ.
And this is exactly what we are to do.
And we are to submit to Him, just to the very best of our ability, in each and every thing.
Now, just a couple of more thoughts here.
And I'm going to read a couple more scriptures.
Let's look at Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 3.
And let's just get down to it, if we can.
In Proverbs the 16th chapter, and the third verse, the scripture says this, Commit thy works unto the Lord, And thy thoughts shall be established.
Now, if there is someone that can't control their thoughts, this is the reason why you've got something else on your mind.
And there are times when the demonic is involved, and certainly that's because of this, but until an individual commits their work unto the Lord, you've got something else on your mind.
And then your thoughts will be established.
People can't control their minds because they're not focused on doing that which God has them to do.
When you first will set yourself to commit your works unto the Lord, that is when your mind and everything else in your life is going to come into place.
The reason why so many people can't understand the Bible?
Well, number one, 1 Corinthians 2 and 9 says the natural man understandeth not the things of the Spirit of God.
Many times people just aren't born again.
But a big reason also is in Proverbs chapter 2 and verse 2.
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding.
Yea, if thou cryest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
Are you really hungry for God's truth?
If you're not, you're not going to find it.
In 2 Thessalonians, Paul used the phrase, They received not the love of the truth.
Have you received the truth, and have you received the love of it?
When we come to the point where we approach the Word of God, it says, If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures, you are all about it.
You are seeking God's Word.
You are diligently studying.
You know, many people that say they can't understand the Bible, they're too lazy to look a word up in the dictionary.
You know, we've got to get hungry, we've got to get diligent, and you can no one understand God's Word.
Yes, you can, but you—and the criteria?
You have to be as serious about the truth of God as you are your earthly pursuits.
This is self-denial.
And if you're going to exalt your self-interest above those of God in the realms of your seeking out of truth, That's when you're going to stray from the path of self-denial.
I want to read something here from the prophet Jeremiah.
And you could say, wow, with all of this, we're all in a lot of trouble.
Well, yeah, we are.
We're in a lot of trouble, but the good thing about it, Jesus has died upon the cross for our trouble.
He has given us the Holy Spirit, and all He is requiring of us is that we love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that heart of love will respond into loving Him in an acceptable service.
In Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Wherever you're at this evening, God is looking at you in a hopeful way.
He wants to bring you to the place that He designed for you in His plan for your life.
God has a plan for each and every one of our lives.
He is giving us gifts and callings and a role to play in His kingdom, and He is looking down upon us, wanting to bring us under that expected end.
And how do we find that?
In verse 12, Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you, and ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
When we're ready to put the Lord above Our self-interest, when we're ready to put the truth of God's Word above our other carnal pursuits, then we're going to find God, we're going to find His truth, we're going to find our place in His kingdom, and it only comes through self-denial.
It only comes through denying Your knowledge and your ability to save yourself or to sanctify yourself or to in any way know, apart from God's Word, that which we should do.
This is what self-denial is.
It is committing yourself to Christ in each and every area of your life.
And there's a lot of people that look very committed to Christ.
But when it come down to it, they would burn incense unto Caesar.
And in Revelation chapter 12 and verse 11, it speaks of this end time remnant.
It says in Revelation 12, 11, And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of the testimony And they loved not their lives unto the death.
That's self-denial.
When it comes to the proper self-denial of taking up your cross, it means, if need be, we're saying that we would die.
rather than disobey Christ, you know?
And that says a lot, but this is what the Word of God says, that this is not just something for some believers, but this is something for all believers.
And when we properly understand self-denial and we strive for that individually and as a body, this is going to bring us into the place where we need to be.
Now, there's a lot of people, there's different degrees of self-denial.
And whatever level, you know, there's areas of our life that are real easy, easier than others to submit to God's rulership.
But there's other areas that people are just going to refuse to submit to God's leadership.
And when people, you can be 90% in, but if you're of the mind that, well, you know, if it gets real, real tough, I'll sell out.
You have not met even that entry-level commitment of faith.
that it takes to be a follower of Christ, and they love not their lives, even unto the death.
And in the 17th verse there of Romans chapter 17, it says, And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
That is the description of the end-time remnant.
There is no other end-time remnant.
The remnant of God that loved not their lives unto the death, They're the ones that keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Brother Baxter said this.
He said, moreover, It is the high prerogative of God to be the sovereign ruler of the world, to make laws for them which must be obeyed, and to reward the obedient and punish the disobedient.
God is king of all the earth, even king of kings and lord of lords, and all shall obey him or be judged by him for their disobedience.
And this is right where the modern mind cries, No!
That man will not rule over me, won't make laws for me.
Those laws no longer apply.
Well, let me tell you, God is the sovereign ruler, and He does have the right to make laws, and He has done so, and He has required for us to obey them.
Brother Baxter goes on, he says, if corrupt, unsanctified, selfish man would make a law for himself instead of the Word of God, what a law would it be?
And how much of the law of God should be repealed?
If sinners might make a scripture, you should find in it no such passage as these, except a man be converted or born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Without holiness, none shall see God.
If self might make laws, you should not read in them.
If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die.
But if ye live by the Spirit, ye mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Nor shall there any find that the gate is straight, and the way is narrow, that leads to life, and few there be that find it, or that the righteous are scarcely saved.
As all the Scripture is now for holiness and against profaneness, ungodliness, and sensuality, if self had the framing of it, it should all be changed, and it should at least speak peace to the fleshly-minded men.
And I think that's for the most part is what modern religion is doing, it's speaking peace to fleshly-minded men.
We speak not so here.
Because it is so contrary to the obvious truth of Christ that we must say, it's time to repent and come back to Jesus Christ, which is what we say each and every opportunity we have.
In Romans, the 8th chapter and the 17th verse, the Apostle Paul put it like this, excuse me, Romans chapter 8, I'm going to begin in verse 7.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is neither subject to law of God, neither indeed can be, so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God, but ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit.
If so, be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
And the Scripture tells us that to live after the flesh is death.
But I'm going to conclude our teaching with that this evening, and we're just going to admonish and encourage everybody.
And with great thankfulness, thank you all so much for being a part of the broadcast this evening.
This is the type of broadcast that we all need to hear.
We, a lot of times, would rather hear something else, because the flesh dies hard.
But we, we have to, we have to submit ourselves in each and every area.
We have to constantly check ourselves, because without this, we cannot call ourselves true followers of the Master.
So I want to thank Brian and Brett for being with me here this evening, and I want to thank each and every one of you that is in the chat and all of you that were a part of this, this evening.
And we're just very, very thankful to be able to do our very best every opportunity we have to lift up Jesus and tell everyone how great He is.
And Jesus isn't a hard taskmaster.
He said, my yoke is easy, my burden is light.
He is going to give you the Holy Spirit to empower you to walk out your life and to work out your salvation in fear and trembling.
Whenever we get off the path with wrong attitudes and get out of line, the Holy Spirit will correct us to where we can come back into submission to that which He wants us to be.
So with that, I'm going to say tomorrow night I'll be with John on the Midnight Ride.
Sunday night we'll be talking about Antarctica on Sunday Night Live, Brian and I. So we're looking forward to that.
So I'm just going to say with a big thank you to everybody, we're just going to say a big high five and good night everybody from FOJC Radio, Friday Night Live.
We'll see y'all soon.
God bless y'all.
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