Another Jesus by Carter Conlon

Introduction It's entitled "Another Jesus”. “Another Jesus”. And we're going to spend time in the Gospel of Matthew, and we're going to take a look at THE Jesus that Jesus brought to the people. We're going to take a look at the words that He said and so it's really going to have to be His word that speaks to your heart tonight. I'm going to ask for that kind of an unction, that kind of an anointing. I know that tonight there are the type of people that have braved the storm to come out in the service. By and large there are many many people here tonight that are willing to count the cost of what it is to walk with Him. And you're going to have to ask tonight for the Holy Spirit to make the truths that you're about to hear real to your heart, real to break down all defences to break down preconceived notions. And to say “oh God if there's any chance that I have created my own Jesus, if there's any chance that I have charted my own course, if there's any chance that I am gathered around the group of people or some doctrine that I've heard somewhere that is a golden calf by the by the name of Jesus. God, deliver me tonight in Your power and in Your strength, deliver me, so that the Jesus I follow is the Jesus of the Bible. Lord Jesus the voice like Yours is Your voice.” Didn't He say that? My sheep hear My voice and another one they will not follow. And so tonight it's going to be a red-letter night we're going to be looking in the Gospel of Matthew and looking at the claims that Christ made upon the lives of all who would be called by His name. That's my life and it's your life, there are no exceptions, all would follow Him there were legitimate claims that He laid upon their lives. So I'm going to have preached it and the other half would be almost like a Bible study. I have a lot of Scripture, you'll have to be very quick to turn to the Scriptures, because I'll be turning fast and reading them to you. Opening Prayer Let's pray together. Lord Jesus You are the way, You're the truth and You're the light, there's no one else besides You. There's only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. There's no One else, there's no Other name that is named under heaven whereby men might be saved. And Jesus, we want to know You, we want to walk with You as Your people. Lord it's you that we want to live for, it's You that we want to follow and it's You that we want to hear. My covenant God, I asked Father in Jesus name that you would touch every heart, that you touch every life, touch my life tonight. God empowered me with the Holy Spirit. Lord deliver, just take me out of this message all together and let it only be you Jesus speaks through me tonight, speak through your word tonight to every heart and every life. Lord I ask that all falseness would be exposed, any crooked path would be made straight, and any high place would be brought down. And Lord we would be found worshiping You, we'd be found at the right place with the right Jesus. Oh God, there are so many in this generation who are worshiping a person they think is Jesus, but it's another Jesus. Oh Lord, I'm asking tonight that You deliver anyone who happens to be in this sanctuary tonight or anyone who hears this message in the coming days from following a false Christ, from following a false Messiah even though his name might be called Jesus. Lord help us now to find the right Messiah, help us Lord to walk the way You would have us to walk. Oh Jesus we want to live for You and You alone, You are the son of God reveal Yourself through Your Word tonight to every life into every heart. Father, I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 2 Corinthians 11:1- 4: “Another Jesus” Now 2 Corinthians chapter 11, the Apostle Paul in verse 1 says these words 1 to 4: 2 Corinthians 11:1-4 “What did God you could bear with me a little in my folly and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy or I've espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ, but I fear Paul says blessed by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Now we're going to be hearing some words tonight from Jesus that are actually quite simple. There are people who try to make them complicated, they try to spiritualize everything, but if you will take it just the way it's written, it's actually quite simple and easy to understand and even easier to follow in the strength of the Holy Ghost. Paul says “through subtlety I fear that your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ, for he that comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached or if you receive another spirit which you have not received or another gospel which you have not accepted you might well bear with him” (2 Corinthains 11:3,4). Paul is warning the Church in Corinth that there are going to come deceivers. There are going to come people, it's easy to spot those who are up preaching about some other God somewhere, some Athen God there or a God of steel with some iron potbelly and things like this. It's easy to pick it out, that's not the Messiah, but what becomes difficult and even more so in this generation is those that have come and they are preaching in the name of Jesus, but the Jesus they preach is a God that they have formed out of their own imaginations. He’s a God that they prophesy about out of the dreams of their own hearts, and the visions of their own eyes. Jesus said Himself, through one of the prophets, “I've not sent these prophets and yet they ran”, “I've not spoken to them and yet they've spoken in My name(Jeremiah 23:21).” And how much more in this generation we see the golden calf having been raised up and there are some that preaches a Jesus that just simply wants to bless you and make you happy and prospering all the time. Repentance is Ongoing I remember one time I was talking with a man who was a musician who had traveled with a known evangelistic ministry for many years. He had been in services and Crusades had seen hundreds come to the altar through the preaching of Jesus. And I remember this particular man, every time he'd go into the room he'd have the whole place in a virtual uproar and no time at all, he caused contention and strife everywhere he went. So, I went to his house, because he was starting to attend the church that I was pastoring and he was assisting there and I went to his house. And I said “brother what you're doing is wrong, it's sin”, I said “everywhere you go, you cause contention”. I said “the scripture says only that only by pride comes contention and destroyed with him (Proverbs 13:10)”. I said “you need to repent of this thing.” And he sat back in his chair and stiffened up and looked at me and he said “repent”, he said “I've been serving God for years and never had to repent before now, you've got to tell me I got to start repenting and walking in repentance.” I wonder what kind of a Jesus he came to that didn't call for him to be examined by the word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit in his heart and to lay down issues of life and attitudes of heart that are unlike Christ. I wonder what kind of a Jesus this man came to. So, the Apostle Paul says “there are many that are going to come preaching Jesus and yet it's another Jesus.” Many will say Lord, Lord Pastor David preached on Sunday evening about the scripture in Matthew where Jesus said: Matthew 7:21 - 23 “Many will come in that day and say Lord Lord did we not prophesy in Your name, but do many wonderful works, cast out devils and He will say to them depart from Me you can work iniquity I never knew you. I never knew you. You see they were preaching in the name of Jesus, they were doing works in the name of Jesus, they were casting out devils in the name of Jesus, they were prophesying in the name of Jesus, in the church in Jesus name. But Jesus looked at these people and says “I never knew you.” You see they had been recipients of another Jesus, they had embraced another gospel. There are dangerous modern-day trends that I want to talk about for a moment tonight. And number one that I've seen in evangelism over the years we have substituted the word “hurting” for the word “sin”. In the church an evangelist will call people if you are hurting tonight you can come to the altar, which is true if you are hurting you can come. But I have seen that word “hurting” substituted for the word “sin” on an incredible scale, if some of these modern-day prophets were able to rewrite the Bible they would write it this way and God's people were hurting they murmured against Him in the wilderness and Moses was a long time away and the people were hurting so they built a golden calf. Today there are many who preach a Jesus that appeals only to the realm of needs and emotions. There are some who preach a Jesus who is just simply a spiritual Santa Claus. He just meets every need and he's out there and it's whole reason for being is just to make everybody happy. You know how erroneous that is, you know that it's not the primary concern of God to make you and I happy. His primary concern is to make you and I Holy. His primary concern is that we would turn to Him for strength to walk through the trials and fires of this life, to live in self-denial, if that is what He causes us to live in and to preach and proclaim His name to the ends of the world. That people who live in darkness might come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior, we're not called just to be happy. There is joy, but that joy comes from abandonment to Almighty God. It comes from a life that's separated from the things of this world. It comes when we can as the Apostle Paul say “this world has nothing in me and I have nothing in this world (Galatians 6:14).” It comes when we can say with an honest heart “if I live, I live for Christ if I die it's gain I desire to go but for a season is more profitable that I stay here administering the capacity that God has given me to minister in (Philippians 1:21).” God’s work is to make us Holy not Happy: Holiness leads to inner joy It's not God's primary desire to make us happy and don't fall into that trap. Some people come to church and the gospel is preached, when they go home and say “well oh what a rotten service I mean I thought I'd be happy at the end of the service.” Not always so, sometimes God's word comes it will touch an area, it touch an idol in your heart, it will touch something in your heart that is not right in your life. If you lay it down you'll be happy. You will be happy, you'll go out of here shouting and rejoicing. I used to serve a god of self, but that thing has been cut off in my life. You'll go out and and then your life will be changed, but if God’s word comes and there's something you're resisting and you're resisting that call to full and wholehearted abandonment in Christ that you're not going to be happy. There are people who run around and they're doing it now all over the western world in this generation. They're running around looking to be happy, they'll spend thousands of dollars to get on a plane and go to some new place so they can do some foolish thing so they can be happy, because they come to this Jesus and the Jesus that they come to his primary concern is to make everybody happy. The God that I came to, the God that I know, the God that I served, His primary concern is to get a hold of my heart, every area of my heart and that His nature might be made manifest in my life. And that He might be able to use my life on this side of eternity for His honor and glory, even if it means hard times, even if it means I have to suffer, even if it means I've feel like screaming for day in and day out for months on end, because of what God is doing in my life. So that the fruit of Christ might become perfected in me and that others who live in darkness might come to the saving knowledge of Christ. There are evangelistic movements that only appeal to the realm of need and emotions, moving the crowd continuously and in emotions. Brothers and sisters I've been there, I've seen it, and I've seen the long-term fruit of it. I've been in services where people are running up and down the aisles and there's nothing wrong with that if it's in the Holy Ghost. I'm not against that. They are popping up and down like pogo sticks and they're twirling around like plots and they're doing all kinds of things and shouting and yelling and everything, but it's all just rank in motion that's all it is. When the service is over they go home, they go back to their life, nothing is changed inside. The word that they've heard doesn't penetrate, it doesn't produce the nature of Christ in them and give it about 10 years and eventually they fall off from the church. Their children follow away from God, because there's no substance, there's no reality in what they've been involved in. They've come to the spiritual Santa Claus that they've created out of their own minds and they've called him Jesus. Self-will must be broken I want to bring to your mind the attention in the book of Acts chapter 2, when Peter got up and preached in the Holy Ghost he just said “this same Jesus whom you have crucified God has raised him up.” He made the people aware that it is their sin that crucified the Lord of glory and when they heard that message and they were pricked in their heart, “they said men and brethren what shall we do?” What can we do? You cannot truthfully present Christ without also appealing to the areas of reason and will. We must appeal to reason to present Christ to the people. The Apostle Paul said “I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1).” We must appeal to reason when we present the gospel that the ultimate end of following Christ is an absolute abandonment to the will of God. We must appeal to the area of will, because I fully believe that until self-will is broken there can never be a full surrender to Christ. Self-will has to be broken no matter where we start from brothers and sisters we've got to come to our own Gethsemane. We've got to come to that place where we say “Father if it be possible take this cup away from me nevertheless not my will but thy will be done (Luke 22:42).” That's the call of God upon of Christians life, it was the call of God upon the life of Jesus and Jesus said “if any man will be My disciple let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me (Matthew 16:24).” Hallelujah. Hallelujah. If we don't present the whole Jesus we end up with a half Christian if there is such a thing, but I feel that half Christian, many of them are going to stand before the Lord and hear those sad words “depart from Me I never knew you (Matthew 7:23).” You went to church and you did all kinds of works, but your heart wasn’t my heart, my nature wasn't formed in you, you didn't turn to Me with all of your heart. You never followed Me wholeheartedly. You see if Jesus put the conditions of following Him up first why is it that today we put them on the back burner and I'm not saying we, I'm not talking about Times square Church, but all over the Western world. People, preachers, and evangelists are putting the conditions of Christ on the back burner. Testimony at a Conference: “He’s wrecking our good feeling” My brothers and sisters, I know what I'm talking about. A few years back I was invited to speak at a very very large conference that was being held in a certain city and evangelical churches from all over that city were being gathered by this particular ministry to spend three days together in a time in the word and a time of worship, a time to be challenged. I was invited to be one of the keynote speakers, although I knew nothing about the ministry that was there or what I was involved in and I went down there to be a keynote speaker. The thing that God put on my heart to speak about is the message to some degree that you're hearing tonight is that the Jesus we come to better be the Jesus of the Bible. I talked about the cross. I talked about the call of Christ on the life of every believer. I talked about the heart of God for this generation and those who come to Christ that are called by His name sooner or later have got to stop rejoicing in just superficial things that have got to embrace the very heart of God and say Lord “what is it that you would have me to do what is your will for my life.” And I began to share these things and I gave an altar call for people who wanted to surrender to Jesus Christ. It was a very religious atmosphere. There were supposedly born again people from virtually every denomination in that city and they gave an altar call, the altar call is very definite. I said “there are people here, your elders and deacons. You've been in the church for years, some of you even sing in choirs, but you're not saved, you don't have the heart of God, you never have the heart of God, you never came to fully surrender your life to God. You came to Him for what you can get, but the true Christian comes to Christ for what he can give to the kingdom of God and how he can serve his Lord in his master.” And I gave an altar call for salvation and by the hundreds it was in a stadium type place and by the hundreds people came out weeping and crying and broken before the Lord. Men with cards on identifying themselves as leaders in the church came out and bite they're coming out they were saying “I'm a leader in the church, but God I'm not saved, I'm not saved, I've come to another Jesus, Lord I come to you tonight, I come to give my whole life, I come to give my heart.” The people rejoiced. I was able to lead those people in a prayer for salvation and they began to rejoice and the joy of Christ was released in their lives, but right after the service some of the leaders of that organization and some of the pastor's got together and had a meeting as to how they might get rid of me out of the conference. And one of the men said these words to another person that was there “he's (Carter Conlon) wrecking our good feeling, he's wrecking our good feelings.” Ask for the Old Paths I want you to think this over. This is not an isolated incident. The gospel is being preached in most of the Western world now is this the gospel it's tailored to make the sinner feel good and it's sin. To make the lukewarm man feel good and his lukewarmness. It's to make the man who's not committed to the purpose of the Christ feel good and save what he's not committed, but thanks be to God that there are still voices, thanks be to God that their voice is like voices Wilkerson they're not compromising in this generation and still laying out the claim and call of God upon those who would follow Jesus Christ. Better than I offend you tonight, better that you leave here mad as a hornet then you go out happy and dancing and lost in your sin and stand before God and hear HIM say “I never knew you.” Jeremiah 6:16, the prophet Jeremiah says “ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein and you shall find rest for your souls.” Ask for the old paths, that's got to be the cry of your heart if you're a Christian tonight. Oh God show me out of Your word, show me what Your call is if there are conditions to following You. Jesus you said it yourself “no man starts to build a house without first counting the cost.” If I have not counted the cost, if I've not even understood the cost, “then Lord God show it to me tonight.” Better that I should see it and make a clear-cut decision than to live in illusion all my life and end up before the throne of God having missed the heart of God all together. In Jeremiah, the Lord said to Jeremiah, in Jeremiah chapter 15 he says “let them return unto You, but return not Thou unto them.” There is a call of God in this generation calling a holy remnant bride out of all of this mixture that's found in Western society. I'm talking now about the church, the supposed church before we even start talking to the unsaved. Brothers and sisters there’s a lot of talk about revival, but there is no revival right now in this generation other than very little sporadic things around different places in North America. We are in desperate need of revival. We are in desperate need of a people who will seek God with all their heart once again and call the people back to God. Instead of trying to bring and tailor a Christ that fits the appetites of a carnal and lukewarm society that we live in. Now go to the Gospel of Matthew please chapter 10. Hallelujah. If you love the Word of God you will love this, if you love Jesus you won't find this hard. These are His words. I want to talk about some of the conditions now, about eight or nine of them, there are more, but I want to talk about those that God put upon my heart for tonight. The conditions of following Him and I know this would be true. Condition #1: We must be willing to die to our reputation to follow Christ Matthew chapter 10 verse 22. We must be willing to die to our reputation to follow Christ Matthew 10:22,25 “You shall be hated of all men for My Name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved...it is enough for the disciple that he be as his master and the server does his lord if they have called the master of the house Beelzebub (that's the devil), how much more shall they call them of his household” And Jesus said it clearly said "woe unto men when they speak well of you for so did their fathers with the false prophets (Luke 6:26).” There are a secular prophets in this generation or those that call themselves by the name of Christ that all of the world speaks well of them, but I tell you brothers and sisters if you're going to come to Christ and live for Christ and have the fire of God in your life you've got to be willing to die to your reputation. You've got to be willing to have men cast out your name as evil, because it's not you that they hate, it's Christ that they hate in you. There's got to be a willingness and understanding that if you live for God, people who are in sin are not going to be happy when you come into their midst. You go into the workplace and they're going to make fun of you. They're going to lie about you. They're going to joke about you. Some of you are smiling you're experiencing it right now in your workplace. Well rejoice! The scripture says “be exceedingly glad!” Jump over a chair and glory to God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Rejoice that you're counted worthy to suffer shame for His namesake (Acts 5:41). If you are suffering just simply because you're living for God. I'm not talking about people who make a nuisance out of themselves, but if you're suffering because simply you love them, you want to do what's right, you're reaching out with love when others are hating, you're speaking good about people that others are speaking evil of, you're doing acts of kindness when others are trying to rip everybody off, you're walking in honesty what everybody else is dealing under-the-table. Sure they're going to speak evil of you, they're going to cast you down and try to bring you down to the level where they live. Face it once and for all. Those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). The Apostle Paul said it, Jesus said it, that settles it in my heart. Hallelujah. I remember when I got saved and filled with the Holy Ghost. I was a police officer and I lived on the wild side for a lot of years. And when I got saved, God did a uh, when specially when I got baptized in the Holy Ghost, before I got baptized all in the Holy Ghost I was a little bit shaky as a Christian, but after I got filled with the Holy Ghost, God did such a radical transformation in my life. Did you think everybody around you is going to be happy about it? One of the very first things that I found was that I couldn't find a partner to work with on the police force, because they knew that I would lie under oath. That's an awful thing to have to say isn't it. I found some partners who would work with me, but I would level with them. I said “no hotels, no girls, no manhandling people, no nothing, we do everything by the book and we do it right. And some guys really appreciated that and others wouldn't work with me anymore. And needless to say they said some things that were not very nice, but in the midst of it all. I can't be specific about this, but one type of scandal hit the police force. There was a bill that a lot of people had been associating with and this person threatened to blow the whistle on virtually half of the police force. And I walked into my office one day and it was in the papers and everybody was running around. A lot of guys were really sweating right from the top down. And I walked in the office and one of the guys in the office said “well we know at least one person that has nothing to worry about this morning.” Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I told them I said guys you're willing to live righteously you two can have a clean conscience in the sight of God man. Hallelujah. You've got to die to your reputation, settle it. Settle it in the workplace. Others are going to get promoted and you're not, because there's an old boy system. God can circumvent all of that, but you've got to entrust yourself to God and die to the desire to be loved by carnal and wicked men, because you're not going to be if you live for Christ. Condition #2 We must have an open-face testimony Secondly Jesus said you have to have an open-face testimony. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 33 now listen to this carefully, Matthew 10:33 “Whosoever will deny Me before men him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven, whoever denies Me before men him will I deny before My Father which is in heaven.” I see people from time to time and I bet in restaurants with people who can't even bow their heads and pray in the restaurant let alone testify for Christ. They make it look like they're wiping the sweat off their brow and when they pray, “Oh Lord bless the food.” Jesus said “if you're going to be ashamed of Me I'm going to be ashamed of you before my Father.” We've got to settle the issue in our hearts and say God you put this down as a condition of being your disciples. I didn't make these words up. I didn't say them. Jesus said “whoever denies Me before men him will I deny before My Father which is in heaven” and elsewhere He says “those that are ashamed of Me I'll be ashamed them before My Father who is in heaven.” We really must consider this, we're not called this whole closet Christian thing. I don't even know where it came from, but I don't find it in the Book of Acts. I don't find in the Book of Acts, now you're saved and filled with the Holy Ghost now just exists and trusted somewhere down the line somebody in secret is going to ask you for a reason for the hope that's in your life. That’s not what the Scripture says, “you're going to be filled with the Holy Ghost and you're going to be witnesses all over the world in Judea, Jerusalem, in Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8).” We have to have an open-face testimony. I am a Christian. I've shared with my sons, I've shared with others over the years they said “guys when you walk into the school locker room put your Bible on the locker don't hide it in the top shelf.” The longer you hide it the harder it becomes to bring it out and to profess before all that you are a Christian. I'm not talking about being obnoxious in Christ, I'm not talking about pushing people that don't want to hear, I'm not talking about casting pearls before swine. I'm talking about just declaring openly I am saved. Before you got saved, you used to walk into work that we're here and you used to boast about “I was drunk all night Saturday night, I was in such-and-such a bar, boy you should have seen the party we had.” And you bragged about sin, you boasted about sinful living, you joked about it and you unashamedly opened your mouth and told the filthest joke that's ever been produced in all of human time, you wouldn't even blush. But now the King of kings lives inside of your life the Lord of lords is within you and and how is it people are so unashamed of sin now come back into the workplace and that people start telling a dirty joke and they get all sweaty and nervous and won't even at least just get out of the room if nothing else, but be a testimony for Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Condition #3: We must enter into a consuming personal relationship with Him Now thirdly, in Matthew chapter 22 verse 37, He says that we must enter into a consuming personal relationship with Him, a consuming. Do you remember the scriptures when I talked about Jesus going down into Jerusalem, into the temple, here He has a chance for all the praise of men. The very first thing He does, they want to take Him and make Him a king. The very first thing He does is goes into the temple, makes the scourge of cords, drives out the buyers and sellers and totally offends the religious order of His day. Finally once and for all seals His own fate. We must enter into a consuming personal relationship. The disciples remembered after that day that it was written of Him “the zeal of Thine house has eaten Me up (Psalm 69:9).” A consuming personal relationship with Christ. Matthew 22:37 “unto him thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. Do you want to know why so many people struggle in their walk with God? Do you want to know why it's so hard sometimes for so many? Because it's a lack of love in that relationship. When there's love in that relation there are people tonight that legitimately can't come out to the house of God. I understand that and I'm not condemning anybody, but there are people tonight who simply, because it's raining, didn't come out to the house of God. Now you think back to the day when you first met that first girl or first guy and you fell in love. And you try phoning somebody up, you try phoning them up and say “while it's raining out I'm not coming over to your house tonight.” The odds are that if that's the person you did marry that you wouldn't be married to them, you wouldn't have married them. I'd like to challenge anybody to call their boss tomorrow morning, and say “it's raining.” “You expect me to come to work?” Now just a question, are we called to give less to Christ then we give to boyfriend/girlfriend or other human relationships, where we give our secular employer? Are we called to give less to Him if we love Him with all of our heart and our soul and our mind. Now that doesn't mean you don't love Him if you miss a church service, but there's a pattern if you don't love Him. There's a pattern of non-attendance in God's house. There's a pattern of not gathering yourself with other believers. If there's a lack of love in your heart for God and that's why I feel good preaching this tonight, because I feel and sense and know because I've seen the worship tonight there's a depth of love in the hearts of many that are in this house tonight. You come here because you love Him. You come here because you want to raise your hands with other believers. You come here because that's not just something that's written in a book, but it's a truth and a reality that's coming into your life. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. It's a quest for a true believer in Jesus Christ. It's “Lord take out of my heart those things that are keeping me from you, take them out of my heart even if it's the most precious thing that I hold on to, let it be gone, if it's stopping that relationship take it out of my heart, search my heart O God.” “Lord, with all my soul”, that's with all of my emotions, with everything that I have I want to love you and I want to worship you and serve you all my mind. “O God take my thoughts away and give me the thoughts of this book, make me a new man, make me a new woman, make me a new person. I want to come into that consuming personal relationship.” You see Jesus made it a condition of those who follow Him, it's the first and foremost of all Commandments, “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind.” If people did that in North America today there would be missionaries all over the world in this hour. There would be no room in the churches for the number of converts that would come in. I tell you it's love, when people see the love of the fact that you love God, when you go into your workplace there's something that begins to happen, because men and women are made by God, for God, and in the image of God. When they see you love God they will begin to come. I remember in the police force, I wasn't a nuisance to other policemen, because I know that most of the men are very very hard to reach. But in a one year period at one time there was about at least seven or more that came to Christ, because they came to me and they just said “I see something in your life, there's something about the way you work, there's just something in your attitude, would you tell me what it is, that you believe in I've heard you're a Christian.” Men came in and shared these things and I was able to lead them to the Lord. Not because I had everything right, it's simply I loved Him. I loved Him and every day when I walked I said “God, Jesus I don't want to do this if it hurts Your heart, I don't want to go there if you don't want me to go.” I just loved Him. Did you understand? Is it getting into your spirit? It's not how much you know, it's not how many Bible studies you go to, although that's important. Do you love Him? Do you love Him? Do you love Him? If you love Him, like the Apostle John you want to put your head on His breast every time every night when you lay your head on your pillow. It's like John at the Last Supper, “Jesus, speak to me”, “Jesus, share Your heart with me.” “What would you have me do?” You begin to think about people that He puts on your heart that you work with them and He speaks a word into your life about that person's life and just something you can go the next day. Because Jesus has birthed it in your heart, because you love Him and you can go and say to that person “you know God is able to help you get through or if you need any help just call me I'll be there for you.” Just little things to show them that Christ is a reality in your life. Hallelujah. Because He is. Condition #4: We must have a childlike trust in His leading and sustaining power Fourthly, this relationship must produce in us a childlike trust in His leading and sustaining power in our lives. Go to the Gospel of Matthew again chapter 18, this relationship must produce in us a childlike trust in His leading and sustaining power in our lives. Listen to what Jesus says, now this is Jesus. Matthew 18:3 “Verily I say unto you except ye be converted and become as little children you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Except you be converted, now this is another condition and become as little children you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. A childlike trust. I don't always understand Him folks, I wish it would be nice as a pastor if I can get up here in Times Square Church and say “I know Him, I understand everything about Him, I know all His thoughts before even thinks them.” I don't. I don't understand what He's doing in my life. There are times that I go home, I had one of those recently, I'm just like you are, there's no difference whatsoever, I lift up my hands and went “Ah!” That's all I could get out. God, do something, do something with me I was talking about. God, do something with me. I was just getting tired of feeling the same old time just wanted to change, but I I don't always understand what He's doing, but I have learned to trust Him, I've learned that He is my heavenly father that if I ask Him for bread He will not give me a stone if I ask Him for a fish He will not give me a scorpion. If I love Him and trust Him I know that He will always give me what is needful and He will give me what is good. I ask Him for things and sometimes He answers in a way that I would never expect. For example, if you want patience He's going to send you a trial. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I remember people saying “I've been praying, I pray that God would give me patience with my children at home and all it's been a hassle ever since and all it's been as a trial, one trial after another.” Then you open the Scriptures and it says “that the trial of your faith.” Then we start to read in first Peter and the end result of that is patience. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. If you pray and seek “God teach Me to love the way you love.” He's going to put the most unloving person on the face of the earth right beside you in your place of work. Everybody loves those that love them, everybody loves them to think the way they think, but all of a sudden in walks this person. Even in the church there are people like that, I call them people with “sandpaper ministry” that's not in the Bible, but they go around rubbing everybody the wrong way all the time. Polishing the saints, rubbing off the hard spots, there are people like that. I remember when I first got here at Times Square Church it was intimidating to preach in this pulpit and it was hard and there was a short period of time that I was really struggling with getting into this pulpit, because I was thinking “oh God, what can I add to the men that have ever been here before me, they're the best some of the best preachers in the whole world.” I've stood in this pulpit and here you bring me Joe nothing out of a little town called Riceville and You want me to preach in Time Square Church. What can I add to the things that they have preached in this church and of course that was a focus on self which was wrong. I knew that God chooses the weak and I knew that He chooses the foolish, but it just didn't make any sense to me at that particular time, because I happened to be the weak and foolish vessel that He had chosen. Hallelujah. And I remember one night, I one morning, I came here and I was in the back and I was gearing myself up to preach and I was feeling pretty good about the message and this lady comes walking up to me and she says “oh hi Pastor Carter” she said “who's preaching this morning?” I looked at her, I said “I am” she goes “oh” , she said “when is Pastor David preaching?” I said “tonight”. She says “oh well” and turns around and walks out. And another time I preached I got in this pulpit and I felt the fire of God come upon my life and I preached my heart out and people were weeping and some were shouting and people came to the altar and I walked out and I felt pretty good. I felt “God, you came down, Lord you just used my life.” I'm not different than any of you are and God got to use me. And I walked out of here and this lady comes up to me and she said “brother Carter”, she said “there was such an anointing in the church tonight”, she said “Mickey Mouse could have preached in that pulpit and people would have responded.” “Thank you sister, thank you, thank you.” God is able to carry us. God is able to sustain us. He's able to give us strength, He's able to change us, He's able to mold us into the image of His son, He's able to enable us to love Him, He's able to do anything that we will just allow Him to do in our lives. We must come into that childlike trust in Him and don't try to reason it in our own strength all the time, but trust Him even in the hard times, trust Him even in the good times. Trust Him, all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Condition #5: Old family relationships must become secondary to our new relationship in Christ Now number five, in Matthew chapter 10 please if you'll turn there, we're going to have to go fast. Matthew chapter 10. Old family relationships must become secondary to our new relationship in Christ. Matthew 10:35 “for I am come to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's foes shall be they of his own household.” Some of you are experiencing this right now, at verse 37 is a solemn warning to those who would follow Christ He said “he that loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me and he that loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” It seems hard, but I remembered one time leading a policeman to the Lord and God filled him with the Holy Ghost and he loved the Lord. I took him to a meeting he got filled with the Holy Ghost and on the way home. He jumped out of a moving car. He was so full of the Holy Ghost, this is a policeman, a very hardened policeman, up to this point he jumped out of a moving car as it was approaching the intersection and ran to a poor man on the street and gave him everything he had in his wallet. God's Holy Spirit was upon him and he was released to give and release the love and he just came alive, absolutely came alive. Then he went home and his wife said to him “if you persist in this I'm going to leave .” A hard decision, you see I've never had to make that decision, and he chose to abandon Jesus Christ and to keep his wife and he turned from God. But Jesus said “he that loves his father and mother is not worth more than Me is not worthy of Me and he that loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” We're called to follow Him and were called to give our lives to Him. We're to do everything we can to walk peaceably within our homes. We're not to be obnoxious with the gospel, and if you've got a husband or wife that doesn't believe you're not called to go home and ram the gospel down their throats. The Apostle Paul says if that person is unsaved or an unbeliever will dwell peaceably with you at can that you dwell with them peaceably. But if there comes a choice if it comes threatening if there comes if somebody says “if you don't lay this down” and it happens all over. Nowhere more so than in Israel at that time and people knew with that meant very often when a young man or young woman would come to Christ the parents would have a mock funeral and-and-and mockingly bury them as if my son or daughter is now dead and doesn't live anymore, because they're not following our traditions. It's a solemn condition that Christ puts before us before following Him. I remember some difficulty in the early years of my walk with the Lord with my own family. Now they've come to change and God's gotten a hold of them, but in the beginning it was a very difficult time in walking with the Lord, but I had to make a choice I was going to walk with Jesus no matter what anybody said I was if none go with me we sing that song still I will follow if I have to go it alone I'll go it alone because God is with me. Condition 6: We must yield our lives At number six we must yield our lives. I'm just going to read you these scriptures, because I've got too much to get to in too short a time. We must yield our lives and following Jesus is becoming a servant to others. Matthew 10:38 “He that does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 12:30 “He that is not with Me is against Me and he that gathers not with Me scattereth abroad.” Matthew 20:27 “Whosoever will be chief among you let him be your servant.” We must yield our lives in following Christ and becoming a servant to others. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. Condition 7 : We must put an end to a life of self-seeking Number seven we must through Jesus put an end to a life of self-seeking. We must through Jesus put an end to a life of self-seeking. Matthew chapter 10 verse 39 if you want to turn there quickly. Matthew 10:39 “He that finds his life shall lose it, but he that loses his life for My sake shall find it.” You remember the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and he said I've done all these things from my youth up and he said what yet do I lack. And Jesus knew that he had many possessions and He said “go and sell what you have and to the floor and take up your cross and follow Me and you shall have treasure in heaven.” The scripture says he turned and walked away, he was very sorrowful in heart, because he had many many possessions. Jesus knew that his whole life even with his religious observances had been for himself. He's been seeking for himself. Brothers and sisters there are many many people who call themselves by the name of Jesus in this generation who wouldn't even consider giving up this world's goods to follow Him if He said so. If He appeared in person in the room they turned away and go to some place where another Jesus is preached, but Jesus told us that He who seeks to find his life, he lives for himself on this earth will lose his life, but he that loses his life. That's losing it in Christ, losing it in the will of God, losing it for the purposes of God for My sake, He said “shall find it.” Hallelujah. Honestly before God I can stand here tonight and say I've found my life in Christ, my life is hidden in Him, if He gives me good things today then I rejoice in that. If I'm here today fine, if He takes me to another place fine, if I die on the mission field fine my life is hidden in Him, it's in Christ. That's where the true prosperity really is, it's having Him, it's having His kingdom within our lives. It's having not earthly treasure, but the treasure of the risen Christ within us. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It's following the One that had no place to lay His head. It's following the One that was dependent on God the Father to just provide for His need every day. It's following Him as he calls us to follow in His footsteps. Jesus also talked about the seriousness of putting to death sin nature. Matthew 18:8,9 “If your hand or your foot offend thee cut them off and cast them from thee it's better to enter into life halt or in other words rather than having two hands or two feet and be cast into everlasting fire. If your eye offends you, pluck it out and cast it from you now it's better for you to enter into life with one eye rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.” Now Jesus is not literally telling you to go out and cut off your hand and pluck out your eye He is talking about a spiritual principle. It's saying you should hate sin that much that you determine in your heart that this old sin nature is not going to rule over me anymore. I have been saved by the blood of Christ; the power of the Holy Spirit is now within me. Jesus you said “if any man be in Christ he is a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17).” I'm not living this way anymore, I'm not putting wickedness before my eyes, I'm plucking it out, I'm taking it out of my life, I'm not putting my hand forth just sin anymore I'm cutting off the sin out of my life by the power of the Holy Ghost, Lord I'm going to live a life that brings honor to Your name. Hallelujah. Condition #9: We must forgive to be forgiven Number nine He says we must forgive to be forgiven. That's a condition of following Christ. There are people here today that you've been abused, you've been hurt, you’ve letdown, you've been betrayed, there's no end to the harm that mankind does to mankind when we're without God. But there's a parable in Matthew 18 but a man was forgiven a great debt and then went and found some buddies that owned him just 10 cents, just a little bit and held him by the throat and said give me what you owe me. And this Jesus said in this parable the Lord was roth when he found out that he wouldn't forgive those having been forgiven such a great debt and delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all that was doing to him. He said “so likewise shall my Heavenly Father do unto you if you not from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” In Matthew chapter 19 after hearing all these words that Jesus spoke about the rich young ruler for example He says when they heard that they were exceedingly amazed and saying “who then can be saved.” Jesus beheld them and said unto them “with men it's impossible but with God all things are possible.” Hallelujah. In your own strength He saying you can't do this, but with God if you have the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the surrender life if you cease to try in the flesh to meet every condition, but through relationship with risen Christ allow Him to work in us that which is needful. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It's those who by faith alone are willing to surrender their lives in covenant with Jesus He promises to us the following. Number one He says “I'll give you rest”, those that will surrender to Christ, those who will walk with Christ, those it will live for Christ there's a call upon your life, everyone that's in this house tonight we're not called to be religious we're called to be disciples of the risen Christ. We're called to follow Jesus, let all religion be put aside and that relationship come into the forefront of our lives and hearts. He said to those who will give their life to me I'll give you rest come unto me. Matthew 11:28 - 30 Come all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest, take My yoke upon you learn of Me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls for My yoke is easy and My burden is light. He says for those who come unto Me. Matthew 12 you'll have adoption into the family of God for whosoever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven the same is my brother my sister and my mother. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I am adopted into the family of God praise His Holy Name. He says thirdly you'll enter into covenant relationship with Christ in Matthew 10:32, Jesus said “whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven.” Jesus said in Matthew 18 that He'll give you tools for service He's not going to send you into the vineyard with empty hands He said verily I say unto you in Matthew 18 He said “whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Hallelujah. If you will surrender your life and abandon your life to Me the power of God will begin to manifest itself through your life, you will have spiritual authority over the powers of darkness, you will see men and women released out of the grip of hell itself and run into the light of Christ. If you will surrender your life, if you will surrender your life. I was in Jerusalem just recently and I saw the places where Jesus walked and then I had an opportunity to go to Mount Carmel and preach right on the spot where Elijah confronted the prophets of baal. And right on that spot God gave me a word for that church. And I saw Jesus standing before the council and He was before the Sanhedrin before the leaders of the day and before Pilate and you can see Him standing there. And they've got all the Sadducees have got their interpretations of the law and the lawyers have got their legal interpretations and the Pharisees have got their forms of self-righteousness. They've all got a religion I think is going to bring redemption to Israel and to mankind of that generation, but it was the power of one surrendered life that was before them that God was working through. He bypassed all of the theology, he bypassed all they learned in their own sight, He bypassed all of the wise in their own sight, it was one surrendered life that brought victory to you and me. Hallelujah. And that's what we're called to follow we're called to be a surrendered vessel in the hand of God that the kingdom of God can go through our lives releasing people from behind prison doors, healing those that have been bruised in heart, giving sight to the blind adhering to the depth that they may come to the saving knowledge of Christ. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Even more importantly He says go and teach, preach the gospel to every creature in Matthew chapter 28 just let me read it to you, it says “go therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you always even to the end of the world.” What a promise. I am with you. What more do we need with them than the risen Christ in our lives, what more do we need in the presence of Jesus and walking with Him and His promise that I am with you. And lastly and most importantly of all he says I will give eternal life to those who surrender to Me and walk with Me. in Matthew chapter 19 verse 28 and He says these words, might as well turn there with me, Matthew 19 verse 28, Jesus said to them “verily I say unto you that ye which have followed Me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory.” Now remember we started out here with some people that are saying Lord, Lord, and He's saying I never knew you, but now here's the words of those who fully embraced Him and walked with Him. He said “verily I say unto you that with you which have followed Me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit at the throne of His glory you also shall sit upon 12 Thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel and everyone now that's was for the apostles, in verse 29, for us and everyone that includes you that includes me “that has forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands or reputation if I can add it there are jobs or the praise of man or self-seeking all of these things shall receive a hundredfold and children and here it everlasting life.” Hallelujah. Hallelujah. There were two of the disciples that were arguing which was going to sit on His right and which was going to sit on His left hand and Jesus said to them “it's not mine to give, it's my Father that makes the determinations.” And He said “are you able to drink of the cup that I will drink of and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” And James and John said “we are able.” He was saying “are you counting the cost of what it's going to take to follow Me?” You want to sit on My right hand and sit on My left and that's in the Father's determination, but can you drink the cup that I'm going to drink and can you be baptized with the baptism that I'm going to be baptized with. He was baptized as a baptism of fire. If ever there was somebody of trial difficulty, but it's through that suffering that you and I were brought to victory. They said to Him “we are able.” I want to ask you tonight brothers and sisters have you truly counted the cost to follow in Christ? I haven't really touched on all of the conditions nor all the promises you'll have to get into the Gospel of Matthew and read it all for yourself the whole thing. But have you really counted the cost? There's so many people who have not fully counted the cost of following Christ. Firstly, tonight if you're here, you're not saved you can be saved: Jesus Christ died for your sins, but count the cost of walking with Him, count the cost of following Him before you attempt to build the house lest you begin to labor and at the end are not able to finish it. Altar Call Prayer With me those that have come to this altar. Lord Jesus, I am a sinner, thank you Jesus that you died for me ,you paid the price for my sins, you gave your life for me and so I invite you to come into my heart and I give my life to you. I want to shine for You, I want to love You, I want to trust You, I want to walk with You, I want to know You, I want You to live Your life within my life within my heart. Thank You for saving me. Thank You for giving me strength and thank You Lord you're going to take me home one day. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. Thank you Jesus.

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Another Jesus

Carter Conlon

Carter Conlon ( - Present)

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