A Line in the Sand

But before then, of course, we have things coming up soon. And I'd like to start off today by asking you to go back with me in history. Mr. Howell, I told him you might have heard this message before. He said, Is it something about history? Well, yeah. But that could account for a number of sermons I've given. But I want you to envision a particular day nearly this time of year. It was March 5th, but back in 1836. And a man named Colonel William Travis called his men together for a serious meeting. He needed to share some vital information with them.

And give them an opportunity to make a big decision. A life-or-death decision, as it turned out. Now, there were about 200 of them, 200 men, and I would say, if I were to call them soldiers, that would be an exaggeration. But of those 200, 32 had only just arrived. And they had to fight their way into this fortress I hesitate, but that's also quite a bit of an exaggeration. It was a former Catholic mission that was on the outskirts of San Antonio, now known as the Alamo.

Most of the men manning the Alamo came from various states in the United States, coming to fight in support of Texas' move for independence from Mexico. It had begun a year earlier. During that time, the fighting had gone back and forth. But earlier that year, Mexican President Santa Ana led an army north, an army of about 2,000 men.

He intended to take control back of San Antonio. He wanted to seize and control that makeshift fort where those defenders were gathered, and make that the first step in reconquering all of Texas. Now, as Santa Ana's army approached for several days, there were skirmishes with the advance guard. And while that happened, Colonel Travis, along with others, and especially his co-commander, Sam Bowie, sent several messages to leaders in the Texas Revolutionary Movement, begging, please send us reinforcements.

We need arms. We need supplies. Mostly, they needed men. The response was very meager. So it was, on March 5th, Santa Ana was preparing plans for an all-out assault to end this. And he'd previously made it very clear what he thought of the men inside there. He considered the Texans, as they called themselves, or sometimes they said Texicans, they were traitors, worthy of the death penalty. And any American citizens who were there were mere pirates, also worthy of that punishment. Legend says that sometime during that day, they believe it was probably early afternoon, Colonel Travis gathered all the men with Sam Bowie there, and he told them, attack is imminent.

Imminent, I should say, not imminent. And it's obvious that the Mexicans are going to overrun us. And then legend says, what he did is he drew out a sword in front of them all, he drew a line, a line in the sand, and he asked all who were willing to fight and to die for Texas, step across this line and make a stand with me.

And again, this is legend, but it says that all except for one of those men did step forward. They came and formed a more solid unit devoted to that cause. Most of you, I'm sure, know what happened. The Mexicans did prevail in the next day's attack. All of the men who crossed that line died in battle. They also became heroes of the people of Texas.

And by extension to most Americans. Remember, the Alamo is something that resounds even where I came from in central Ohio and throughout the country. The reason I'm telling this story today is because there are times when any and all of us will have to consider.

Think about who we are, what we believe in, what are we willing to make a stand for. You could say, you know, we have to say, when are we willing to step across that line in the sand, even if it might cost our own lives? Passover is approaching just over a week away now. It's the most solemn ceremony of the year for us.

It commemorates the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the one in which He paid the penalty of sins. There are more sins in all the worlds, but I can look in the mirror and say, my sin. And during that ceremony, we reaffirm our commitment to Jesus Christ and His way of life. So it's not a small commitment. It's a matter of life and death. And so I do want to turn back to 1 Corinthians 11. Mr. Burton was there, although it's funny. I want to give a little honor to getting them used to saying, we say Mr. and Ms. first names a lot of times. 1 Corinthians 11. I want to review what Paul wrote in verses 27 and 28.

After he described the Passover ceremony and the most succinct and thorough description of how we do the ceremony rather than slaughtering a lamb as they did in ancient Israel, he says, There are a lot of things we can consider by way of examining ourselves. And I've heard some talk, even Mr. Cubic recently discussed, how in past years sometimes he'd write up charts and diagrams to evaluate where he was in his spiritual life.

Today I want to talk about perhaps one of the most basic, one of the simple things that I can ask myself is, do I really want what this represents? Is this where I want to be? I think that's a valid thing in examining yourself. Do I want this?

To draw an analogy, at some point in our lives we were like those men in the Alamo. And we can imagine Jesus Christ where Colonel Travis was. And he draws a line in his hands. And it's a line that I can see, or you could see in that position, and he says, Do you want to make a stand with me? If you do, step across the line.

Now, I'll submit, if we step across that line, it's leading to eternal life. Not exactly a bad thing. But in some ways, that's sort of what those men in the Alamo gained. They gained immortal fame as heroes. Not that they've been enjoying it very much since that day. You know, they sacrificed their lives, but there's something immortal attached to them. If we cross the line, and I'll add, if we cross the line and we stay there, we have to sacrifice our life. Sacrifice the life that we had. And we have the chance of suffering a martyr's death. Just like those Texans at the hand of Mexican soldiers, and the Mexicans were not gentle or kind.

But we know that beyond that is immortal life. Life in God's family, and a spirit-born child of His. That's something worth any price. But it's worth, as we consider, you know, examining ourselves, do I really believe that? Is what I'm talking about what I really want? Is it what you want?

I'm proposing that within this metaphor that I'm making today, as we prepare for the Passover, we need to look down and say, am I on the side of the line that I want to be on? And give conscious thoughts to which side is it that I want to be on? So, my message today is to consider this pretty simple theme.

And I want to look at some examples that I think will help us. To help us encourage us to know where the line is. And to know if that's where we want to make our stand.

So, I've been talking about history, which I like to do. But there are some biblical examples that I think are even similar.

The first one I want to go to, and you can start turning, if you will, to Judges, Chapter 7, has a summary's resemblance to the story of the Alamo.

And it's in the story of Gideon. You might remember this is a time when the Midianites were overrunning the land and dominating Israel. And they were hiding in fear and having difficulties.

And God called Gideon. And let him know that he had chosen Gideon to deliver his people. But Gideon was pretty doubtful at first. God had to build up his faith and let him know he really was working with him. And when he finally done that, when Gideon felt ready and he was encouraged that God was with him, it says that he blew the trumpet to gather the soldiers.

32,000 men came, which seems pretty good. Unfortunately, though, the enemy army had 120,000. So the Israelites were outnumbered nearly four to one. That's a little better than the ten to one odds that the men in the Alamo had against the Mexicans. But that ratio would change. The Israelite volunteer soldiers were going to be given an opportunity that the men in the Alamo never had. That is, either to stand, continue to stand, or to leave. Which I'm going to pick it up in Judges, chapter 7, verse 2.

Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead. So it's like, hey, all of you guys, well, if any of you are kind of afraid about this, since we're outnumbered, you know, four to one, you can go ahead and leave. And it says 22,000 of the people returned and went back. So a little over two-thirds said, I'm out of here. Ten thousand of them remained. Now we know God really wanted to make a point, so he was going to pare down the size of the army quite a bit later, and we know that he would bring deliverance using only 300 men. But I don't want to consider that just yet. For now, let's think about those ten thousand men and give them some credit. You know, you could say Gideon was figuratively drawing a line in the sand. There's no record or reason to think that he literally drew one. But if he had, these ten thousand men came across, knowing how badly they were outnumbered, knowing the danger they were in, knowing that there was the possibility of death. They wanted to make a stand with Gideon, with the servant of God, and fight for him, risk their lives. Now, you know there's more to the story, but I want to put that aside. As I said, I want to look at a series of examples, and let's go to a different one. A story in the New Testament that deals with a lot fewer men. It's in John 6, if you want to begin turning. But the stakes are even higher. I'd say among the highest they could be. Because we know not long after Jesus began his earthly ministry, people flocked to him. Word spread. Wherever he went, people came crowding, largely because he worked miracles. He healed people. So people wanted to come to be healed. They wanted to hear parables, and hear this legendary teacher, who was unlike the other rabbis of his time.

And, you know, there's one particular occasion where we're going where it turns out that he fed thousands of people. And that was through a great miracle as it was. So some people wanted to hear his stories, some wanted to be healed, some just wanted to get a free lunch. And that's what he describes in John 6 and verse 26. Sorry, I probably should have given that scripture a little sooner.

In John 6, 26, Jesus turned after all these people came. It's funny, at the end of verse 25, he said, Rabbi, when did you come here? He perceived their motive. He said, Jesus said to them, most assuredly I say, You seek me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Okay, look, you're just here for a meal ticket. And you could say, in a sense, he's going to start drawing a line now. He's going to let them know, and I'm not going to read all of it here and now, but there's going to be a high price if you want to stand with me.

Coming with me doesn't involve just getting free food. As a matter of fact, let's start reading in verse 51. And rather than physical bread, he tells them, I am the living bread, which came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. And then he says, the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I'll give for the life of the world. The Jews, therefore, quarreled among themselves. How could this man give us his flesh to eat? Cannibalism? Jesus said to them, most assuredly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I'll raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. And as the living Father sent me, and as I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on me will live because of me.

Now, we're not talking about a military situation here. And these people weren't faced with the risk of death in battle. Jesus was talking about spiritual life. And I'm pretty sure he was using an analogy that at least most of them didn't understand. He didn't draw out a sword and draw that line on the sand, but he issued a criterion that in many ways was stronger, even if they could understand it. You realize, no, he's not talking about cannibalism. They might have gone on to realize that he was calling on people to rely exclusively on him for life.

Put your complete trust in me. Let me be where your life comes from. And so, as with Gideon, majority of them said, we're out of here. They didn't cross the line. If we read in verse 66, No. Oh, I think I lost my place here.

Oh, yeah, it is verse 66. I just misread it. My bad eyes. So, from that time, many of his disciples went back. They walked with him no more. They said, no way! But a few were willing to make that stand.

They saw the line on the ground, and they were willing to stand with Jesus Christ as it would turn out no matter what. If we keep reading in verse 67, Jesus said to the twelve, Well, do you want to go away also? Simon Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have also come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. In the form of our metaphor, which I know I'm running a risk of tiring it out, but the twelve apostles stepped across the line.

And it was a pretty hard line. All those people saw it, and they said, no way. They stepped aside. They stepped up. You have the words of eternal life. At this point, they were saying, we want to stand with you. And they thought that they knew where that line was and what it meant. And they put their lives on the line for a cause that they believed was more important than anything else.

Now, as before, there's a lot more that could be said about these particular men and the commitment they made. But before we consider that, I want to turn once again to one more person. It's a very brief case. I wouldn't say it was easier, but it's about one man willing to cross the line. This one's back in Genesis 12. That one man is Abraham. Genesis 12, beginning at the start of the chapter in verse 1.

The chapter begins, Now, those are some pretty big promises. And we often call them the promises of race and grace. Great nations will come of you. Your descendants will be greater than the stars of heaven, God would go on to say. And the anointed one, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, will be descended from you. But before our possibility, you've got to walk across a line. And God sort of drew a geographic line. Leave your homeland. Go to some place where you don't know where it is. And take off, and you're not coming back. No visitation rites, no vacations, none of that.

There's no record of Abraham hesitating. In verse 4 it says, So Abram departed, and the Lord had spoken to him, and some went with him, Lot went with him. Abraham was 75 years old when he left Haran. Abram stepped across the line. He went. Sacrificed the life that he had known.

And it's worth remembering, he was living, he had been further south than Ur of the Chaldees, which was probably at that point the most advanced civilization in the world, the most comfortable, the most wealthy. He'd moved up to Haran and then left that behind, going towards what seemed to be savagery. But he was following his leader. Now, as I've done with my other examples, I want to leave him behind and turn to one more case.

It's not a historical character, and it's not someone from the Bible. In this case, it does. We describe our coming to understanding God's way of life as a calling. As a matter of fact, one of the first scriptures I ever remember committing to memory was John 644, when Christ said, no one can come to me except the Father drawing. It's funny, because with the ambassador's students, we have a memory scripture quiz every week. And there are some of them I tell them are called grandma scriptures. And the reason I call them that is when I was 10 years old and my grandma came in the church, she started teaching my sister and I.

So, any of the scriptures I memorized from her are grandma scriptures, and that's one of them. No one can come to me. We had that calling. And like the many Israelites who first came to Gideon, like the many people who followed Jesus because he worked miracles, we were part of a big crowd. I'm looking many of you are older than me. You might have heard a voice on the radio or got a Plain Truth magazine and had the right to get more literature.

And a lot of people listened. Remember when we were sending first six, then seven, then eight million magazines every month? Big crowds. And we weren't specially qualified. I'm going to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, beginning in verses 26 and 27. Just to remind us, these are scriptures you know well, that as part of a big crowd, there wasn't much special about us.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 26, You see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put the shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to put the shame of the things which are the mighty, the base of the world, and the things which are despised God has chosen, the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in His presence.

And I read through all that, just remember again, we had the calling, but not because God needed us. And I say, well, it's probably I say we, sometimes I say, by you, I mean me. You know, nothing special, it's not that God said, oh, I've got to have that one because he's so good. All the ones that are so good, He said, no, I'm not going to call that one yet, because he might think he did it on his own.

But we did respond. We became aware. And then we had to choose. So I went across the line, speaking in that metaphor. Let's turn, if you will, to Luke chapter 14. Luke 14, and begin in verse 25. Because here we can see us before the line. He says, great multitudes went with Him. The Him is Jesus Christ.

So we're part of that crowd following Him. He turned to them and said, well, let me say, He turned to them because they followed Him having some initial understanding. They had some appreciation of the truth, which, that's us. As I said, whether it's because you heard a voice on the radio, or because a friend shared with you some booklets or magazines. For me, it was because my grandmother was doing that and started teaching me. We started coming to church. At some point we say, I think I need to be baptized.

One of the great privileges of my current position is that I get to work with young people. Quite a few of them come in not yet baptized. During the course of studying the Bible, they decide they want to be. Most of you, I'm guessing, already have been through that. At some point, a minister of the church will read what Jesus says next. Starting in verse 26, Jesus says, "...if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters..." And as we know, and hopefully you've heard it explained, that hate doesn't mean you've had to despise any of these people.

But it's a matter of priorities. Compared to your love for Jesus Christ, it's like hate for them. It's love less by comparison. And that includes his own life also. You don't do that? It can't be my disciple, Christ says. "...and whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Mr.

Burton mentioned that in his message. That cross, and there's discussion if it's the long pole or just a cross piece, but the Greek is a staros. And it was a custom of the Roman soldiers. When they were going to execute someone, they put that on them. And they had to carry it to the place where they would be nailed to it. So Christ is using an analogy. They all know once you pick it up, you're going to carry it till the day you die.

And with the Romans, that would be that day. It would be not very long hints. But he's saying, you don't get to put this down and rest, or put it and go do something and come back. And I lost my place talking about that. Verse 27, "...whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it, lest after he's laid the foundation and is not able to finish it all who see begin to mock?" Say, ah!

This man began to build and he couldn't finish. What king going to make war against another king does not sit down first and consider whether he's able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand, or else while the other is still a great way off, sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.

So, likewise, in that manner of considering and evaluating, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. Jesus had turned around and talked to a whole crowd at that point. He was laying it on the line. Or, to fit my metaphor, he was drawing a line in the sand. And I'm not focusing so much on those people two thousand years ago, but to each of us. We all had to consider that, or will have to consider that. Now, there's not a literal line for us to step over, but what we do, once we understand, is we decide, yes, I'm going to be baptized. I want a minister of Jesus Christ to lay hands on me, pray, and ask for God to give the Holy Spirit.

And like I said, most of us, I think, have already reached that point. We saw the line. We had a minister counsel with us to try to make sure that we understood what it meant. And we stepped over the line.

So then, is that it? We're good? So then I wrote this, I thought, well, if you look at the clock, you'll see, well, if that's all there is to it, then we're going to have a really short service. But, so you might guess, there is something more to consider, and I think it's an important something. You know, I read the scripture in 1 Corinthians 11 when Paul said that a man should examine himself before it takes the Passover.

I want to add another one. It's in 2 Corinthians 13. 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 5. Because this also, I think, fits well with the metaphor or analogy I've been using. Paul 2 Corinthians 13 and 5 says, Now here's where I'll divert somewhat from my comparison with the Battle of the Alamo. Because there, Colonel Travis told them the situation, drew a line, said, if you want to stand with me, step across. And they only had to make one choice for one brief time. They were outnumbered four to one. And once most of them stepped over that line, their fate was sealed.

The Mexican army and General Santa Ana was not going to give them a chance to change their mind. But that's not the case for any of the other examples that I turned to. And those, we can go back and look and see that they did have opportunities. In some cases, they did retreat.

They stepped away from the commitment they'd made. Let's look at Gideon's army again in Judges 6. Judges 6, we'll look at verse 35. This is coming a little earlier in the story than I did before. I just mentioned what happened. Actually, we can back up into verse 34.

I mentioned, the fear of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew the trumpet. And the abbeasurites gathered to him. He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh who gathered behind him. Also to Asher, Zebulun, and Nastalai, and they came up to meet him. So, he put out the call. And as we read in the next chapter, in chapter 7, verse 3, 22,000 men, actually, we had 32,000 came.

22,000 men who had gathered, who had answered the call, when they were given an opportunity, changed their minds. And then, but let's keep this in mind, as I said, it's like with 32,000 there, Gideon, he draws a line and says, you know, God says, hey, that's too many. Tell anyone who's fearful to go home and the rest to stay. And 10,000 walked across the line, stood with Gideon. But if you look at chapter 7, verse 7, the Lord said to Gideon, by the 300 men who'd lacked I'll save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand.

And then verse 3, it said, well, I already read that. These men, among the 10,000, now I've got to do quick math in my head, it'd be 9,700 had stepped across the line, and they were put back across, not by their own choice. So I don't want to be critical of them. But they found themselves on the other side. But then, I want to move ahead in the story to see that it's not over for them. It's not like the men in the Alamo where the decision's made and nothing could be changed. And I'll summarize, of course, God had to buck up Gideon's faith once more, go down there and listen in secret to what they're saying, and the fella had to dream about the loaf of bread ruining his tent, which always struck me as kind of amusing.

But he gives the men the picture to cover up their torch and their trumpets. They spread out, and it's a given signal. They smash it. The torch is shining. They blow their trumpet and say, the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. And God turns the Midianites against each other. They begin fighting, killing each other in the dark.

It's mayhem. And then the Israelites will go on pursuit. Here I want to pick up in chapter 7, verse 22. And what I just described, when the 300 blew the trumpets, the Lord said every man soared against his companion throughout the whole camp, and the army fled to Bet-Bekeshe towards Zira, as far as the border of Ebo, Mohola, and Tabas, wherever those are. Verse 23, though, says, the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Ashran, Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites. This is telling us that a lot of those men who earlier had left the army, who had said, I'm out of here, they got back into the fight.

The story wasn't done. They had a chance to say, no, I do want to be with Gideon. I do want to fight on the side of God. And they had to be ready and willing once they did. And I'm thinking of that 9,700, but sometimes I wonder if even all the rest of the 32,000 were able to join in.

When they saw what was what and what God was really doing, they knew that they wanted to be with Gideon. As I said, we could applaud more those who stepped across the line themselves, who didn't go away when he told anyone who was fearful to leave.

But it's worth saying that the others at least had a chance to get back on the right side. Let's be a similar example among Jesus' disciples. I'll start with Matthew 4. Matthew 4, beginning in verse 17. This starts hitting a lot closer to home with this example. I'm backing way up to the initial calling, as I did with Gideon's men. Matthew 4, beginning in verse 17. From that time, Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. So we're looking at the beginning of his ministry. And Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, and he saw two brothers.

Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting the net into the sea, but they were fishermen. He said to them, Follow me, and I'll make you fishers of men. And they immediately left their nets and followed him. This seems to be them making that initial choice. Okay, yes, we'll follow you. Now, we read already in John 6 that Peter spoke for himself and for 11 others, and saying that they wanted to make a stand for Jesus.

Even though he had said some really difficult, hard-to-understand things, that they weren't sure probably what happened. Remember, big crowds had left and didn't follow him anymore. So I'd say much more than that initial calling to be fishers of men, when they said, Who else are we going to go to? You have the words of eternal life. That was stepping over a line that others refused to cross over. But the story wasn't finished. Here in Matthew, if we turn to chapter 26, you've got a reminder that they had opportunity to move backwards across the line if they wanted.

Matthew 26, beginning in verse 47, this is after that Passover dinner when Jesus Christ instituted the new symbols for the Passover. The wine and the unleavened bread, symbolizing his body and blood, and then took the disciples out to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he wanted them to pray with him.

In verse 47, just after Jesus had rised, he said, Rise, be going, my betrayer is at hand. While he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the elders. We'll drop down because there's a little confrontation and discussion. But in verse 56, this was all done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.

Then all the disciples forsook him and fled. All the disciples forsook Jesus and ran away, including Peter, who was the one so bold on so many occasions. But later that night, he would make it very clear where he stood, at least at that particular time. Later in the chapter in verse 69, it says, Peter sat outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him saying, You also were with Jesus, Galilee. But he denied it before them all, saying, I don't know what you're saying.

When he'd gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were with him there, This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth. But again he denied, with an oath, I do not know the man. And a little later, those who stood by came up and said to Peter, Surely you also are one of them. Your speech betrays you. He had that Galilean accent. And in that accent, he began to curse and swear, saying, I do not know the man.

Immediately, a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, who'd said to him, Before the rooster crows, you'll deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly. I wonder, in my metaphor, it makes me think he heard the rooster, And he stopped, and he looked down, and he was on the other side of the line.

He could see that he'd stepped back. When it came to it, he'd chosen to not make a stand with Jesus Christ. And please realize, I'm not trying to be particularly critical of Peter. Jesus knew in advance this would happen. He had told him that. Without the power of God's Holy Spirit dwelling in him, any other outcome was almost impossible to expect.

Later on, the Holy Spirit would be in Peter. I want to turn to Acts 4 to show what happened. Acts 4 and verse 18. Park and back, remember those soldiers that had turned away from following Gideon? Later on, they realized, no, I should be in this fight.

And they came and joined in. The disciples who fled at the Garden of Gethsemane also had that chance. Including Peter. Acts 4, verse 18. So they called him and commanded him them. And this is Peter and John were on trial by the Sanhedrin. They commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. Peter and John answered and said to them, Well, whether it's right in the sight of God to listen to you more than God, you judge.

We cannot but speak the things which we've seen and heard. We can't help but do it. We have to. What a turnaround for Peter. The one who denied and cursed and swore that he didn't even know who Jesus was. Now he's risking his life telling the government authorities, I'm not going to listen to you more than God. I can't help but do this. And this was possible by God's Spirit in him. Peter and the other apostles had a chance to renew their determination to make a stand with Jesus Christ. As Peter had once wept when he looked down and realized that somehow he'd gotten on the wrong side of that line in the sand, he did something about it. He didn't just feel sorry for himself and stop. At some point, Peter knew what side he wanted to be on. He wanted to be on the side with God. And from what we read in Scripture and from what we understand of tradition and history, neither Peter nor any of the other apostles ever faltered again. They were all martyrs. They did die for the cause that they believed in. When I'm sure they could have turned away. Like the soldiers of the Alamo, they paid the ultimate price. But they also have a much greater reward. They not only gained immortal fame as heroes, but they'll be raised to immortal life as spirit-born children of God in his kingdom. It's appropriate I put this on the next page. I always forget that I want to say this.

But I should stop and note, it's not a given that everybody who makes that commitment is at some point going to waver and turn away from it. Some do, but it's not required by any means. We looked at Abraham's example before only briefly.

And in this, I don't want to go back to Genesis, but rather to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 will start in verse 8. This is very appropriately called the faith chapter. Sometimes the heroes of the Bible chapter. Because remember, when God called Abraham, he crossed the line apparently without hesitation. And he went, risking giving up everything that he knew before. And it seems that he never went back. And what's amazing to me, it seems that he never wanted to.

Maybe he never even contemplated it. Hebrews 11.8, By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. If you drop down to verse 13, it adds in the other patriarchs, but it includes Abraham, when it says, So they realized they were strangers in pilgrims in the land of Canaan, but they were looking to something beyond just that promised land.

They were looking to life in God's family, as are we. For those who say such things, and we could be among those who say such things, declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly, if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better. That is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

As I said, this tells us clearly, Abraham stepped across the line to follow the God who spoke to him, and who made promises to him. And he could have gone back, but there is no indication that he ever wanted to. He always knew that he wanted to be with God and make a stand. And this is without me even turning to the example of him making the ultimate choice.

When after waiting 25 years to have the son, God promised him. Some, at some point later, God said, well take that son, oh, your only son, the son that you love, take him off to a mountain and kill him as a sacrifice to me. I'm sure a lot of things went through Abraham's mind, but what it tells us in Hebrews is that he believed, well God will make him alive again. He didn't hesitate. And that's why we call him the Father of the Faithful. He's called that. And his example was so steady that the writer of Hebrews, who was probably the Apostle Paul, had to go out of his way to say, well yeah, he could have gone back if he'd wanted to.

It's not like the men in the Alamo who was too late. There was no getting out alive. Abraham could have been like the men who left Gideon. He could have been like the Apostles running away from the Garden of Gethsemane. But he never did. What an example. I'd rather follow his example. Although, in my life, I'd have to say I've probably been closer to the Apostles. Of course, being like them is hardly the worst thing. But we can see ourselves in this example. It talks about seeking a heavenly country.

Each of us are seeking that. And we can turn and go back if we want. And like the Apostles could and did, it's not uncommon for us to temporarily waver. And there, I think it's worth one more time putting ourselves into this metaphor. As we've read, again, I'll remind you, Paul said, examine yourselves so that we can take the Passover in a worthy manner. It's hard to feel that we are worthy, but we're doing so in a worthy manner and striving to be worthy.

To do those things. To follow Christ's example. To be a service. To be a light to the world. And of all, there are many things we can consider as we examine ourselves. How am I doing it living God's way? Am I obeying the commandments?

Am I obeying the spirit of the law as well as the letter of the law? Do I see the fruit of the spirit in my life? Am I studying my Bible and praying and doing it more than just as a road habit, although a habit is better than not at all? And there's lots of time to consider those, and that, again, wasn't the point of my sermon. Today, I want to focus on maybe one of the most basic things.

Do I want to be with God? Where am I in this?

When I look at my place in the universe and where God is, do I want what he's offering? And am I standing on the right side of the line? And it's worth looking down and saying, okay, if that's what I want, am I there? Or do I need to make strides to get there?

And I think it might sound silly, but I've heard especially more experienced ministers than myself. Sometimes when they talk about counseling someone who's struggling with a sin or a challenge, they say sometimes a person has trouble living God's way of life because deep down inside he doesn't really want to. Or giving up a sin because he wants that sin. And maybe all of us have had times that most people sin because they want to at that moment in time. It's just hopefully later on or in the bigger picture we know we don't want to.

When we want to is when we lose sight of that fundamental choice that God presents. That it's going to be later for most people. Most people will be in a resurrection in a world that's made new again after Satan's put away. We get to have that choice now, though. With that in mind, it's worth turning to a well-known scripture about the choice. It's in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 30, beginning in verse 15.

It's interesting, as I was going through this, I thought, I want to give this message to every young adult that I'm talking to about baptism. And of course, it makes sense as we examine ourselves, the questions we ask about ourselves for the Passover relate to the questions we ask ourselves concerning being baptized. And of course, as we look back, we examine ourselves and say, well, did I make the right choice? And why? Let's read beginning in verse 15 of Deuteronomy 30. Here Moses is speaking of the Israelites. See, I've stepped before you today, life and good, death and evil. In that I command you today to love the Lord your God and to walk in His ways. Keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear and are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you will surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land which you go to cross over the Jordan to possess. And he says, I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I've stepped before you, life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose life that both you and your descendants may live, and that you may love the Lord your God, and that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him. For He is your life in the length of days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. This is really, in many ways, the same choice that we have, only it's not just for a long life and physical blessings in a promised land. It's for eternity. But there's a line in the sand. On one side is life and blessings. On the other side, death and cursing. It gets a little tricky, though, because sometimes on the short term, the side with the life and blessings also has trial and tribulation and short-term suffering. And on the side that's death, can have really nice-looking temptations, things that seem good in the short term. The line is a little confusing. That's another reason we stop and look carefully and examine. But we need to see clearly what each side is and then say, What do I want? Rubber eyes, am I seeing it clearly? I counseled in. And as I said, we've got a really sharp group of students this year. One of the younger ones, who is perhaps one of the smartest in the class, was asking me about getting baptized, because he's concerned, What if I later leave? I don't want to be going into eternal hell fire, not eternal, I mean, the lake of fire with eternal death. That's what I meant by eternal. No new old doctrine here. And I said, that's a valid. I'm glad you're thinking so deeply about it. But I said, let's consider, when it comes down to it sooner or later, you're on the side that's eternal life, or you're facing eternal death.

And the students have asked, we talk about, what is the unpardonable sin? How do you get there? And Bible doesn't give us as much information as we'd like, but one of the things I tell them is, people commit the unpardonable sin who are making a choice that I don't want God's way. It's like they see the line and say, I don't want eternal life, if that's what it's like. I choose eternal death. So I won't be miserable with the way I don't choose.

And of course, it's mind-boggling to me that someone would make that choice. That's why I agree, Mr. Armstrong always said he thinks it would be a very small number. I hope that's right. And I know I don't want to be in that number. But it's sort of, okay, if you see clearly that's the choice, eternal life or eternal death, non-existence, then you can make your choice. What side do you really want to be on? And to see clearly, to be able to focus on that choice, you have to consider a couple questions. Do I really believe in an Almighty God who's giving me that choice? Am I confident that He exists?

Hebrews 11.6, we call that the first article of faith. He who comes to God must believe that He is. And it goes on to say that He's a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He not only exists, but He's a loving, providential God who wants to reward us. If I'm sure that He exists, then I might ask, am I confident that this is His Word? Do I know and know that I know that the Word of God is right here, that its words are true? Because if I don't, then all I've been saying is meaningless.

It's based on something that you might not believe is true. And I'm mentioning this because that's part of the counsel I do for baptism. I say, write down for yourself why you believe God exists. Write down for yourself why you're convinced this is His Word. And from there, everything else can be proved from it. And I say, before baptism, you need to do that. For those of us who have been baptized, it's worth reaffirming those beliefs. And as I stop, am I seeing the line clearly?

Do I believe there's a God that gives me the choice? And I should say, I don't think that necessarily has to take a long time. For many of us, it's like, well, of course I believe. And I've known it. Hopefully we're not sitting and struggling and doubting. But there are times it's worth, wait a minute, do I believe that? What do I know that I know?

Yeah, I know that. When we're certain of our faith, our faith in God's existence, our faith in His Word, and we go on, our faith that this Church is teaching that Word. And I hope and pray that we always are. That's another thing I tell the students. It doesn't matter who's standing in front of the room. If what they're teaching doesn't match this, then they don't matter. But when we're certain of our faith, we need to look at the line in the sand and ask, am I on the side that I want to be on?

Am I following through on that commitment? Have I somehow moved back across from where I started in the first place? The wonderful thing, and I think this is one of the most assuring things about examining ourselves before the Passover, is that if I find that I have drifted, if I've got one foot across the line, there's time to move it back. I'm not in the Alamo with Mexicans surrounding ready to kill me. I can get to the side that I want to be on. Matter of fact, if we're still in Deuteronomy, I want to go to the beginning of the chapter.

Deuteronomy 30, beginning in verse 1, he's talking about people who were on the wrong side and punished on a physical basis. It'll come to pass when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I've set before you, and you call them to mind among the nations where their Lord your God drives you, and you return to the Lord your God, and obey His voice according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.

This is speaking of physically bringing back the children of Israel, but I think we could say it applies to God spiritually, bringing us back if we drift from Him. As long as we do as it says here, bring to mind and turn to God, obey Him with all our heart, we can get back to His line in the sand, and we can have great confidence that He will forgive. I'll just mention 1 John 1 and verse 9. 1 John 1, 9 says, if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Again, this season of the year, we're looking to Jesus Christ's sacrifice. That blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. And it says He's faithful to do it. It's not, well, maybe I will and maybe I won't. God never fails. If we repent and ask forgiveness, He guarantees He will forgive. We don't have to worry about being on the wrong side of the line.

Often, the hardest part is having the clear enough vision, as I say, as I take my glasses on and off, to see where it is that I am. Am I on which side of the line? And I hope, trying to present this in pretty simple terms, that I haven't tried to imply that our Christian life is all simple and easy. A lot of times it seems confusing and complex.

But, you know, for those men in the Alamo, stepping across the line was pretty easy as a physical act. It's the repercussions that were hard. They had to fight them to die.

When Christ told Peter, Come with me, I'll make you fisher of men, he dropped his nets and walked away, that was probably pretty easy. But changing his whole life and developing godly character, and then moving on to preaching the gospel and teaching others, that was a lifelong process. So, it was growing and changing. It couldn't be done in a moment. It couldn't be done in a day. And so it is for us. Getting baptized is as easy as laying down in a tub of water and having somebody lift you back out. Pretty easy. Being transformed by God's Spirit into a new creation, that's a lifelong process, growing into the fullness and stature of Jesus Christ. But of course, we're not doing it alone, which I'm very thankful for. I'd never get there, not even close.

But, you know, in all these cases, continuing a long, difficult job sometimes involves the relatively simple and easy task of looking down and saying, am I where I want to be? Am I continuing the path that began when I stepped across the line? If I do that, if for some reason I'm not, I can make a move. All of us can. I can ask God to help me to see clearly and to think clearly. Ask Him to help me to make that step. Help me to step across that line in the sand.