Paul Washer Sermons 2024 - Listen To God Speaking Within You

to use this passage and a few others in order to direct it to you to your heart I want you to discern whether or not you truly know the Lord I want you to discern whether or not he truly knows you you see Paul says here well let's just look in this passage look in verse 16 he says therefore from now on WE recognize no one according to the flesh even though we have known Christ according to the flesh yet now we know him in this way no longer therefore if anyone is in Christ he

is a new creature and the old things passed away behold new things have come then he says in verse 18 now all these things are from God if I were to come here today and just look at you according to the flesh look at you according to reason and logic I may assume some things about you that are not true why because of what I said when I first walked into this Pulpit I have a deep admiration for this school I do not think you could be in another University where you would be more exposed

to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ than here now having that in the back of my mind you would think that I would come here and give a message all to Christians a message to each one of you because obviously you must all be Christian because you've all come to this school this school which I so much admire where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached on a daily basis so if I was judging things according to the flesh I would come here today and teach on the Christian Life or teach on the Christian Ministry

but I'm not going to make that assumption In the Flesh I want you to know that I know that even though you may be in one of the best gospel schools in America and in the world there are still some of you here at the sound of my voice that have heard the gospel over and over and over and over and over and yet your heart till this day is not truly drawn to it you do not know God and God does not know you you see there is a great blessing to be exposed continually

to gospel preaching but there is also a tremendous danger I disciple my children usually about four or five times a week going through the scriptures with my children they have heard more gospel in the few years of their life than I've than I heard until I was probably 30 and I always remind them using the scriptures of what a great privilege it is for them to hear such things from their father and yet what a great responsibility that we can somehow identify ourselves with Christ and identify ourselves with the body of Christ in a church

or identify ourselves with a Biblical University and yet still be outside of Christ so what does validate our confession of Faith what does prove that we are genuinely Christian and I want to look at some of those things this morning but I pray I beg that you would listen listen to me listen like you've never listened before in your life not because I'm the best preacher that's ever stood in this Pulpit because I am not but listen to me because you've been able to listen to such good preachers in the past and you are still

unconverted you are still without Christ in the secret chambers of your heart dwells only sin and self and pride and the world and not the Lord Jesus Christ or a love for his gospel now I just want to look at a few things here in this text before we go on to our main teaching and look at this first of all in verse 13 for if we are beside ourselves it is for God and if we are of sound mind it is for you that's the people of God for the love of Christ controls us

having concluded this that one died for all therefore all died what is Paul saying what are some of the things that governs his life as a Christian first of all in verse 13 it's God a love for God a godward mindset that what he does he truly longs to do it for God and when he doesn't do it for God it hurts him it breaks his heart he repents why does Paul Live the Life he lives he does it for God now let me ask you a question the life that you live the life you

live in this University the degree you have chosen the lifestyle in which you walk is it for God and don't play with me is it really for God don't just say the words is it really for God if we were to open up the heart chamber that holds the motivation would we see that you really are doing what you do for God or is it all about you in God's name that is the question Paul said he was driven by a love for God and then he says also in verse 13 and if we are

of sound mind it is for you another great motivation in his life was he did what he did not only out of love for God but out of love for God's people he truly loved God's people he wanted to be with God's people wanted to help God's people and now we see this all throughout the New Testament we see this this idea that the vertical validate or the the horizontal validates the vertical we see this in first John if you say that you love God but you do not love your brother we see this in

Matthew 25 the division of the Nations the sheep and the goats that their unbelief in the Christ is proven by the fact that they cared very little for the people of God now let me ask you a question student are you doing what you do for him or is he just some little piece of clothing you put on some outward thing a mere confession or do you ask yourself this question in your own heart just ask yourself be your own preacher this morning preach to your heart ask ask your heart do I actually do what

I do for him and some of you who are given over some of you who are trapped in sin some of you who live in worldliness and carnality you're going to have to say no I live a carnal lifestyle in the midst of Zion in the midst of a place where the gospel is preached I live a carnal lifestyle my heart is full of Carn ity I drink it down I was thinking carnal thoughts when I came in this building and I'll think those thoughts when I leave if this day is like any other day

I'm trying to hurt you make no mistake about it but in order to help you I'm trying to hurt you think discern examine what you do is it for God what you do is it out of love for him and out of love for his people and then he goes on and he says says here verse 17 therefore if anyone is in Christ now notice the the inclusive nature of this statement he's not saying if some people are in Christ he's not saying that within the sphere of Christ there are different degrees he's not saying

that that all these carnal people are in Christ and they are truly Christian but just a few of of them have really sort of matured or kind of caught the idea of what Christianity is all about and they're going on with the Lord and the rest of them not at all but they are in Christ that's not what he's saying he's saying if anyone if anyone is in Christ in Christ is another way of saying if anyone is Christian if anyone is saved they are a new creature are you a new creature now here we're

going Beyond style of life here we're going Beyond profession of faith and what are we doing ontology we're going deep now we're talking about you in your innermost being are you a new creature with new desires are you there is a sense in in the Epistles of Paul we find it in Romans we find it in Ephesians we find it in Colossians this idea of put on Jesus take off the world and put on Christ dress yourself in Christ that that that's true that's biblical but he's talking in the context of someone who has been

radically changed on the inside so Christianity is not primarily about ethics Christianity is not picking up a book book and finding all these new principles to live by and then grinding it out in order to conform your life to those principles that is not Christianity Christianity is so powerful conversion is so powerful that if a man were to be converted and did not have access to any principles in the scriptures he would still live a different way you say can you prove that it's proven every day around the world where people are dying for Christ

and they don't even have a complete New Testament now we need Bibles and we need to renew our mind and we need to put on Christ and we need to do all that but unless inside you are a new creature all of it's just religion it's just rule keeping it's just phariseeism the problem today in American Christianity is you don't even have to be a Pharisee and you can still be a part of a church you can profess Christ and you don't even have to fake righteousness you can profess Christ live like a demon and

you're still in the body you're okay because our gospel our preaching our theology is so bad but you did not learn Christ This Way in this place you know you have been taught if anyone is in Christ he's a new creature are you a new creature do you remember what you were like before do you remember the moment that you changed let me give you an idea just a short illustration of what that change is like because I want to be very very clear there is a sense that the moment we are in Christ we

change we change on the inside we become a new creature with a new heart our Heart of Stone has been removed a heart of Flesh that resp responds to God has been put in its place but what does that mean the moment we believe the moment we are converted we are changed and yet that change keeps going on it keeps progressing let me give you an example a man who is lost completely unconverted he gets up in the morning he's late for work he's running out the door it's snowing outside he's got a big important

meeting he doesn't have all his work done he's full of nerves as he's getting ready to open the back door of the house to get into the garage to drive out in the car his wife comes walking down and says could you take out the trash he turns around in a fit of rage and he goes what's wrong with you don't you know I have a meeting don't you know I'm late don't you know this that you take out the trash I'm sick and tired of you and he walks out the door he feels totally

and completely justified in everything he's done he can justify everything he's got pressure he's got problems his wife is inconsiderate everything he goes to work he's fine three months later he's converted truly converted he truly becomes a Christian truly 6 months later the same scenario again it's snowing outside he's late for work he's got a terrible meeting that the boss is breathing down his throat about he's just really in trouble he doesn't have all his work done he's so full of nerves and he's going towards the door and his wife come down and says can

you take out the trash he turns around and he goes what's wrong with you don't you know I'm late he does the exact ex same thing you say well what's the difference and the moment he does it it's like a knife went straight through his heart and turned he knows he's guilty he knows he's wrong he knows he must repent but he bucks up against it and he goes out the door anyway he gets in the car he's absolutely miserable he can't stand it any longer he makes his way to work he's going into the

meeting and finally he just tells his boss look I'll be there in 5 minutes he gets on on the phone he begs his wife to forgive him what's happened what's happened it's not that he's taken on a new form of life he has become a new creature with a new relationship not only with God but with sin he can't tolerate it anymore like that it gets him why does it get him several reasons one it gets him because he really is a new creature the illustration of Charles Spurgeon with the two hogs or the one

hog and the two plates of food I don't know if you've ever heard that you take a beautiful plate of the best food in California and put it over here you put a pile of garbage here you let a hog loose in the back where's the hog going to go I was raised on a farm I know exactly where he's going to go he's going to go to the bucket of trash why he's a hog that's what pigs do pigs eat trash they like it they wiggle their tail and they're not ashamed they eat it

but while that pig is got his head stuck in that bucket eating trash if I have the power in a second to change him into a man what happens the very food he was gulping down the very food he was gulping down that he delighted in it now sickens him and nauseates him and he throws it up and when he pulls his head out of that bucket and turns around and sees you he's ashamed why because he's not a pig anymore he's a new creature and then new creature that he's become can no longer stomach

what he did before now let me ask you a question if that illustration offends you realize this I just described conversion the conversion of every person who's ever been converted can you say that that's happened in your life the things of the world the things of sin the temporal things the carnal things the sensual things I'm not saying saying that a Christian can avoid them altogether I'm I'm not saying that a Christian never Falls all that is truly possible but being a new creature in Christ the Christian cannot tolerate it and being a child of

God God in his good Providence will constantly be working to discipline and deliver his child are you Christian are you don't throw up that blockade in your heart oh that the spirit God would tear it down don't reason yourself away from salvation that God would illumin your mind some of you do not know God and God does not know you now surrender repent believe the gospel turn away from your wickedness and your worldliness and your playing church and Trust in Christ who is my to save If any man be in Christ he's a new creature

and all things pass away and new things come I am I have never been a religious man my wife questions even my own civility I was born in the woods and some people say that's exactly where I should have stayed I'm not very proper I don't know which Forks to use in the hotel they put me in last night I was just amazed at all those new things in the bathroom I'm not a very cultured person not a religious person I don't care about looking nice or in style or anything else so why am I

Christ question why it's not because I like the rules even though I do like the rules now it's because of him it's because of who he is it's because of what he's done if I were to describe my Christianity I would describe my Christianity as this I'm a wild animal that's been roped down by the love of God in Jesus Christ it's a thing of the heart it's a thing it's a Deep River it's not superficial it's not something you put on it's what you are because of who he is and what he has done

now look for me look with me just for a moment to the book of the book of Philippians one of the greatest definitions of a Christian in the entire Bible Philippians chapter 3 verse three Paul is constantly having to deal with religious people with judaizers and what were judaizers basically they were people who were always putting on and looking forward for external marks circumcision allegiance to the temple washing certain pots cleaning their hands all external marks and Paul says this we are the true circumcision we're the ones that are truly God's people we are the

ones who truly belong to the Messiah well how do you know he goes on and he says who Worship in the spirit of God let me ask you a question now just answer this question is your life answer this question don't you avoid it is your life marked by worship now I know that all of us even the most mature Believers can Wayne in our passion and we struggle against apathy all sorts of things that's why we must constantly be abiding in Christ but let me ask you a question is your life marked by worship

and is that worship that you do helped by the spirit not just carnal I've got to worship not just I've got to do this a forced thing a disciplined thing a thing I must make myself do that's not what I'm talking about even though at times we must crucify the flesh we must discipline ourselves and we must worship but the True Believer their life will be marked by worship they will worship is your life that way young man listen to me is your life marked by worship do you worship Christ do you worship God in

Christ do you worship being helped and aided by the power of the Holy Spirit is there a sense of being drawn to him of not having to worship but Desiring to worship is there ever a sense of getting caught up in worship as though you were in the middle of a strong tide in the Pacific and it was pulling you almost beyond your control do you have any sense of this Supernatural working of God in your life where you desire to worship him where you read things in scripture and you want to worship him where

you hear things and you fall on your knees and you worship him where something good happens in your life and you worship him if that is absent from your life then just what are you just what do you have I'm amazed that so many people in the church today even want to go to heaven because heaven is only about God it's only about the will of God and it is only about the worship of God and yet in the church those three things are so often not even practiced people will do everything in their power

to avoid it son daughter please is your life marked by worship now some some of you would have to say no and it is because you are not converted there are others of you who would have to say I have really grown apathetic you know I the worship here today the the songs that were chosen the spirit of the song leader everything was just I was very happy I was very happy was delighting it felt like it just felt like rain a living stream but some of you who are Christians I want you to listen

to me and and listen I'm telling you this because I have the same problem I'm not judging you I have the same problem when when you get even the best of things over and over and over they become so common place I remember the first time I went through the Andes Mountains in a train and this old missionary Homer crane he was like 350 years old he'd been there all his life and we're on this train and we're going through the Andes mountains and I'm I'm you know I'm 24 years old and I'm like wow

look at that the majesty and all this and they're so gigantic and he's snoring and I thought to myself myself how can he do this about 10 years later I was leading a group of students through the Andes mountains and they were all going whoa look at this and I'm snoring because it's it's the same thing one of the greatest sins that we commit as men against our wives that any for any moment that our wife becomes commonplace we've sinned you see to to to have something so special that the first time your wife laid

eyes on you and you laid eyes on her in that one special holy moment and you felt like your heart was going to bust out of your chest and even dance and then two years later you go out to the car and she's standing by the door and you get in the car and wondering why she doesn't open the door and get in the car and that's sin that's sin but we do the same thing with God Christian I mean there are people that I people in Iran in this moment that are in prison in

Iran suffering in horrible prison that if they could break out for a few seconds and been here this morning what would it have been like for them I'm not trying to hurt you I'm saying I have the same problem but listen one of the marks of true Christianity is that we worship one advantage of being a most Wretched Man before conversion and I was is that it somehow fuels a worship later on when you realize what you were who he is and what he did for you it's one of the reasons why John Newton could

write the songs he wrote he says look he says we are true circum decision we are true Christians who Worship in the spirit of God this is this is not just discipline it's not just force it is a supernatural work of the spirit in every child of God that he promotes Worship in that child he promotes worship is the spirit of God working in your heart promoting worship leading you to Greater worship and then he goes on and he says this we're the true circumcision who Worship in the spirit of God and glory in Christ

Jesus do you do you do you glory in him I mean do you glory in him do you rejoice in him do you boast in him do you think about him is he the motivation of your life his glory his Splendor what he's done who he is what he's worthy of is that the thing that's pushing you do you glory in him is he your only boast is he your only boast do you Delight in him do you think about him I can honestly say this morning alarm goes off didn't go off I woke up

just right before it 4:30 I'm 52 it's getting harder every day to get out of bed and I said to myself I said in prayer to him I will get out of bed I will do it for you I will not do it for those students I will will not do it for I will do it for you I will get out of bed for you is that your life I will do it for you I will do it for you why do we not sin if you say we should not sin because it'll wreck

your life that's true but if that's your ultimate motivation that's idolatry Sinners think that way self-preservation I will not sin because it will harm me why do you not sin because you want him because you want him I was sharing with my brother Holden I work with him at heart cry and this morning when we were sitting around eating breakfast and I said you know I read an amazing thing in Deuteronomy go I'd never seen it before God says to the nation of Israel I brought you out in order to bring you in that's what

he says I brought you out to bring you in why do we come out from the world why do we not touch that which is unclean it's not because we just want to be clean it's not because we want to be proper folk if that's the case go be part of a Pride and Prejudice cast that's not why we do it why do we do it we come out because we want to come in we come away because we want to be with him I hear these songs so often you know these these songs about

heaven and streets of gold and Gates of Pearl and all these different I could care less I just want him yesterday sharing Christ on the plane with a lady I purposely went through everything that our ministry does everything from teaching Gypsy CH Gypsy children to read to feeding this to doing that to buying boats in the jungles to all sorts of things I went through all of it just so then I could say this and if I died right now I would go to heaven and not for any of those things I just mentioned but

because Jesus Christ shed his own blood for my soul I hope to swing out into eternity on that Scarlet thread and that Scarlet thread alone for him for him young men let me ask a question where does your loyalty lie young lady where does your loyalty lie when it says blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God a lot of times we think of some sort of Catholic Monkish type of withdrawal h that's not what it's talking about what it's basically saying there blessed is the unalloyed heart the heart that has no

competing loyalties you know young man you're raised in a place where if someone says to you you're a sinner you can laugh because sin is a rather popular thing today promoted on all levels so if someone calls you a sinner you probably could laugh about it but if I called you a disloyal traitor and I said it that way to your face you'd be ready to fight me do you not know that in the Bible sin is disloyalty it's betrayal you can profess Christ with your mouth and yet your whole life is a betrayal to

everything he did on the cross to everything that he is is your life a betrayal or do you truly know him can you betray him openly and freely without any pain of the heart without any prick of the conscience or when you betray him and we all do because there is no man who does not sin does it Crush you as Peter was crushed the night of his betrayal are you Christ question do you glory in Christ Jesus and then it says and put no confidence whatsoever In the Flesh I'm amazed at so many people

I am not kidding you religious people church people all sorts of people that I will ask them are you trusting in Christ and they will tell me yes yes but then I'll keep pressing them with questions and bring them to a point where they'll finally say yes I think I hope I'm good enough I mean I hope I'm trying I'm have you come to the point where you realize there is absolutely no hope for you and that the consequences for that hopelessness is devastating it's Eternal a lot of times when when forums open up and

people want to ask me questions there's always a few young men whether it's on the Internet or whatever who try to to really get me I guess and they'll say things like this why don't the guy just loosen up why don't the guy just I mean why is he always on the I mean just always so intense why what's what's his deal why don't he just you know take some tea and take a hot bath or something do you know why because I am looking right now at a group of people some of which will

one day be transformed in heaven to be So Glorious that if I saw them right now in their glorified State like the Prophet Daniel like the prophet John I might even have a tendency to try to fall down before their feet and worship that's how glorious they'll be and there are some of you that are sitting here today that throughout all eternity will be twisted the most horrifying immoral monsters that could ever be conceived by the mind of a man do you want to know why I'm intense because some of you will spend an eternity

in heaven and some of You In This Very Room will spend an eternity in hell now tell me how I ought to think and act you see it really is costly and it really affects you when you believe this stuff I can't come in here and give you a little sermonette and have everyone walk out and say Paul's a real nice guy do you realize that the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 he says knowing the fear of the Lord what does he do he persuades men now a lot of people misinterpret that passage

they think that what Paul is saying is knowing that these people are going to stand before God and be judged I'm going to persuade them knowing the fear that is coming and the Judgment that's coming upon those people I'm going to do everything in my power to persuade them even though as it says in 2 Corinthians five even though they think I'm out of my mind that's not what he's saying he's saying this Paul's saying knowing that I will stand before God and everything I am as a preacher and every motivation of my heart will

be revealed the veil will be skinned down like cutting through the body of a deer everything about me will be skinned down and will be manifest before God and therefore fearing God I preach this way whether you think I'm logical or insane you see there's much at stake here there's much at stake here my great fear for you is not that you have not been exposed to the gospel like so many places where I preach my great fear for you is that you've been exposed to the gospel over and over over and over but you

have not ears to hear and if you have not ears to hear do not blame it on the sovereignty of God it is your own fault listen examine yourself examine your ways do you know Christ and does Christ know you does he some of you are going out to minister all of you are going out to minister some of you will go out and you will Minister life because you have life some of you you'll just find a way to get through these next few days you've dreaded this like you can't believe it and you're

just going to try to find a way to make it back in here again start life all over again without this kind of ministry some of you will Minister life because you have life some of you will Minister death because that's all you have some of you are genuine Christians and you're rather timid in your heart and so you're afraid about going out and witnessing I understand that you're afraid about going out and Minister every time I get ready to stand up in the street and preach I want you to know something I'm afraid I

understand that but some of you just do not care because you do not know him because you do not carry that precious treasure inside your heart now I want to close by just looking at something rather quickly and just go to first Thessalonians for a moment Paul says in verse four of chapter 1 of first Thessalonians knowing Brethren beloved by God his choice of you Paul says I know that you're converted I know that you're part of God's elect I know that you are Christians how does he know for Our Gospel in verse 5 did

not come to you in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction has that happened to you has the gospel come to you in that way or did you just pray a prayer and ask Jesus to come into your heart and then have some preacher pronounce over you salvation look what he's saying Our Gospel did not come to you in word alone but what happened it came in power it came in power did the gospel come in power in your life showing you your sin showing your your need

of Christ revealing to you Christ giving you real Assurance in your heart that you were truly converted he goes on he says for Our Gospel verse 5 did not come to you in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake you also became imitators of us and of the Lord who are you imitating now I know I'm going to sound like some dinosaur from the past some moral Relic from the 50s with

a flat top hair cut but who are you imitating give me your iPhone give me your iPad give me your computer let me see what you're watching let me follow you around and I find that some of you are imitating the world and the stars of this world and the Fashions of this world and everything about this world because you love the world because you are of the world who are you imitating Paul said he knew these people had become Christians because they were imitating those who were Christians it is getting such a heartbreaking thing

for me to see even among these new reformed guys and these new young guys with all their good theology they're grabbing a hold of their good theology but it's not making its way down to anything it's not changing the way they talk it's not changing their masculinity it's not changing femininity on the other side it's not changing clothing it's not changing speech it's not changing media it's not changing anything so don't talk to me about all your good theology lonard Raven Hill used to say everybody wants a new definition of Christianity what we need is

an old demonstration of Christianity who are you imitating I don't care if you quote John Calvin if you look like the world I don't care if you carry a John MacArthur Study Bible if you look like the world who are you imitating even some of you Christians need to hear this stop trying to look like a cleaner version of the ungodliness that surrounds you we're not relevance to this world because we look like the world because we're completely different as I say a $50 haircut cool glasses skinny jeans and a tattoo does not a profit

make but a man and a woman renewed in their mind by the power of God the power of God's word he said you became imitators of us having received the word in much tribulation with joy of the Holy Spirit I work with a man in Iran whose best friends four of them have already been slaughtered in Iran the church is growing unprecedented man way an unprecedented way they're receiving the word in much tribulation are you walking with him with no tribulation or is the prophecy fulfilled in you that if you cannot run with footmen how

will you run with the horses if you cannot serve him in the midst of a place where it's all about the gospel if still you're filled with carnality and worldliness and you cannot serve him here how will you serve him during tribulation you will not you will fall away you will prove what you've always been been not these they received the word in the midst of tribulation verse 7 so that you became an example to all the Believers I'm going to ask you a question that I ask missionaries all the time and this is where

we're going to end because you're going out to minister this is what I ask missionaries what part of your Doctrine and what part of your life should be exported and what part should be quarantined the gospel You Preach should it be exported or quarantined your godliness you're going out there to make the world a better place would you want all those people out there to have your godliness your personal piety separation from the world will that help them if they if they imitate you if they follow your example will that help them will their life

be better because they follow your example of piety what about your devotional life how much of your devotional life would you want other people you're going out to disciple the world right now you want them all to have your devotional life or should your devotional life be quarantined oh I have have spoken hard words here today but it is only because I love thee I want so much for you I want you to think those of you who are Christian press on press on 30 years have now passed in my life and there's only one

word for me press on press on in the mountains of Peru during the war if you met a brother going down one of those trails with his da or and you said what he would say is this he would say advancing advancing if you're a Christian advance in piety in knowledge everyone wants to do all kinds of things but what you do don't matter if it's not what you are concentrate on being on being on being Christian on being holy on knowing god so that when you put up your mouth something other than just the

typical evangelicalism comes out God's word comes out for [Applause] Y come on wiing fore for speee foree spee go come on foreign way for that go that go come on spee go for foree