Lies We Believe
Pastor Darren Tharp
Darren Tharp is the pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Independence, Missouri.
“And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.” (Luke 24:15-16) I don’t know why God did that but that’s God’s business.
“And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? and they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel:” (Luke 24:17-21)
Can you hear the sorrow and the grief in their voices? By the way, these folks had been with Christ when He was alive. They’d heard Him say He was going to get up out of the grave. They’d heard Him say that. That’s why they said, “...and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.”
You know, you can say something long enough, loud enough, and with great gusto and with great platitudes and words, and you can say something long enough and with the proper attitude that, even if it’s a lie, people will believe it. Look at politics. We tell stories, we make things up. People do it all the time and we get to the point where we even believe our own lies. What a terrible thing! By the way, the person that is afflicted by lies, a liar hates them. That’s a principle of the Bible. Did you know that? The person that is afflicted by the lying tongue, that lying tongue hates the person they’ve lied to. Hates them! That’s what the Bible says. Everybody following me?
So, it’s amazing to me that we tell ourselves something long enough and even if it’s not true, we will believe our own lie, even to the point where it affects us physically, psychologically, and even spiritually to the point where it really bends us and hurts us and our lives. I think there are people who say things long enough, even if it’s not true, that it becomes truth to them because they believe it in their mind.
In our text in the word of God, in Luke 24, these two disciples that are on the Emmaus road coming back from Jerusalem threescore furlongs, they’re walking together and they’re talking about the things that had happened in Jerusalem in the days hitherto. They were so involved in what they were talking about and bantering back and forth, that they didn’t even realize that the Master, the Lord Jesus Himself, had appeared before them and was walking with them as they made their way to their house.
That’s amazing to me, and they are going along talking. I love the scripture, how it says in verse 28, “And he made as though he would have gone further.” Maybe they came to a fork in the road, I don’t know. Maybe they were walking along and perhaps He was in the middle, between the two of them. The scripture doesn’t say. He was beside them the Bible does declare, but He made as though He would go further, and they implored Him according to their Jewish laws and customs to ask this stranger to come to their home. It is called the law of hospitality. So they constrained the Lord Jesus to come home with them to their house.
Jesus sat down with them at their table and they began to break bread and He began to teach them things in the scriptures. Hours went by as they sat at meat and the Bible says that He took bread in His hand, and brake it in His hand, and gave it to them with His hand, and what do you think they saw? I’m convinced they saw those scars, those nail holes. They saw those marks and as soon as they recognized that, Jesus vanished from their sight. And what did they do? They ran all the way back to Jerusalem as anybody would, to tell everybody about what had happened.
But I want you to understand what happened on their journey between the city of Jerusalem and back to their town. They had convinced themselves of some things that were categorically, absolutely, untrue about the Lord Jesus and His ministry.
Now there’s a lot of things that we could say about this and we could go many weeks talking about it, but I want to give you just a couple of things, a couple of pressing things that people are saying in the world today. They’re saying it on the internet. They’re saying it in books. They’re saying it in podcasts, about the Lord and His work, and these are false things that people are believing many times. Even God’s good people are sometimes believing what are absolute falsehoods and we need to reckon in ourselves what the falsehood is and what the truth is, and believe the truth rather than the lie. Can I get an amen!
I’m going to kind of pull the scab off some things and I hope and pray to God that it will help you to consider these things. Now, if you take notes you might recall that I’ve preached some of these points before, so don’t come up to me after a while and say, “I remember!” That’s great if you do. But sometimes a Bible message deserves to be re-preached because there is such a need, and that’s my duty tonight. That’s my job description from the Lord.
But It’s Harder Than It’s Ever Been
One of the lies that we’re believing in our churches, both in America and around the world, is that the work of the Lord is harder than it’s ever been. We’re believing that. Some of you are believing that right now, that’s why you don’t do anything for God. You feel like it’s too hard to get it done, and you just can’t do it, and it’s too hard for you, and it’s too hard for us and on and on it goes.
I hear preachers say it constantly and I read books. “Man, we’re in the last days, we’re in the last moments! We’re in the last hours before the Lord Jesus Christ comes. Oh, how tough and hard it is to do the work of God. blah, blah, blah.” Everybody with me? It’s nauseous and wretched to think of.
Brother, I know it’s the last days and I know it’s the last hours and the last moments. This could be my last heart beat before Jesus comes. I get all that. Yes it’s tough to do the work of God. But here’s what they do. They take that thought process and associate it with what the scripture declares in Genesis six and verse three, that has no place or portion in what our thinking ought to be about what’s going on in the world today. That’s where God says, “My spirit shall not always strive with man.” They use that one text and take it out of the context and they make it a pretext and by doing so, they do a disservice to the word of God and to the work of God and they give themselves permission to not serve God because it’s the last days and it’s so hard.
Certainly beloved, there’s truth in the statement that these are the last days and it’s sometimes hard serving the Lord. I used to think that that statement in Genesis chapter six was for all time, but beloved, it’s a statement that was for people before the flood. The last days certainly started with the inception of the local church and with Jesus and the disciples. Peter talked to them in his sermon there in Acts two. We’ve been living in the last days since Jesus was on the earth. Are you hearing me? We’ve been in the last days since Jesus was here. And they’re going to continue to be the last of the last days until Jesus Christ comes the second time and rules and reigns with a rod of iron and we get to rule and reign with Him.
Beloved, hear me. We’ve talked ourselves into believing that the work for Jesus is harder now than it has ever been. “It’s harder now, Pastor, than it has ever been, and we’re just not able to get that much done for Him today because we’re in the last days and it’s so difficult and nobody receives the Gospel, and nobody will listen and blah, blah, blah.” And you know what? You’re giving yourself permission by making those broad, ill-advised statements. You’re giving yourself permission to quit.
Swallow hard now. I’m talking to you, church. You’re doing a good job. I’m very honored to get to be your pastor and get to serve God with you, and I’m so grateful for what God’s doing. But I’m going to tell you something, friend. We must not receive the lies of the devil and think that because it’s so difficult today we can just back up, sit down, slack off and not worry about things. No it ought to rip us up and get us going further and harder for Christ. We better rethink the fact because, beloved, it’s always been hard to serve Christ. Can you get a hold of that thinking? It has always been hard to do the work of God.
Mark chapter two says, “And again he entered into Capernaum after some days: and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.” Jesus did. “And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.” You understand, here was a poor man, a bedridden man. These four men, I don’t know if they were friends, the Bible doesn’t say, but we like to think they were friends. I do know they were four concerned men who must have cared about him and they picked up his cot and brought him to the Lord Jesus to be healed, but there were so many people crowded in there that they couldn’t get to the Lord. They couldn’t get him to Jesus. Now, the average Christian would have said, “Well, we tried.” Everybody with me? The average Christian, the weak, mamby pamby recreation hall Christian rather than a battlefield Christian, the recreation hall Christian would’ve said, “Well, I tried. That’s good enough. I tried.”
But, I’m telling you, friend, we haven’t really tried until we’ve succeeded, and we ought to be faithful in our work to the Lord. We can’t say that it’s too hard, and we cannot say that we just can’t get this done. These men were so determined and they had so much compassion on this man that they couldn’t help themselves, and he couldn’t help himself. So they got up onto the roof and they tore the roof up and they put ropes on that bed and they lowered that man down to Jesus Christ. Hey! It was hard back then too and it cost them something and it certainly cost them the price of a new roof, but they got that man to Jesus. They didn’t quit or make excuses or talk about it being too hard. They got him to Jesus. He got his healing and he got saved.
Friend, listen to me, it’s always been hard to get men to come to Christ. If you spend any time at all in the highways and byways, you’re going to run into all kinds of people who don’t want to hear what you have to say. Are you with me?
You folks who went door knocking yesterday or today, did anybody get a door slammed in your face? Did anybody get someone mad at them? Who got a dog sicced on them recently? How many of you have been bitten by a dog out soul winning? I’ve been bit at least three times. It’s always been hard, beloved. I said, it’s always been hard to get people to Jesus, but, listen… it is not harder today. “Well, it is, Pastor, it’s just terrible.” Listen folks, Christians are just not as dedicated today as they used to be.
I’ll tell you right now, the Wednesday night crowd and the soul winning crowd were about the same size, generally speaking, back in the day. The prayer time crowd was a big deal. I’m talking about the 70’s and days further back I don’t even remember.
I can remember soul winning at Emmanuel Baptist Church and Dr. Tom Malone was one of the greatest personal soul winners I’ve ever known outside of my own father. We had a Thursday night soul winning time and we had a big gigantic meal before we went out. A lot of people came, I think, because of the food because we’re Baptists! But on the other side of the coin, a bunch of people went soul winning and people got saved right and left. That church was averaging at that time nearly four thousand people on a Sunday morning. Bus routes and drive in crowd.
You say, “Oh, that can’t be done today. It’s 2025.” Hogwash to that garbage! The days of the big Sunday, and the big bus route days are not over. Maybe they are in some of these Baptist churches who don’t have a bus ministry anymore! I don’t care about that. That church is not my responsibility, but this one is my responsibility and we’re gonna keep surging forward and we’re gonna keep going forward for the cause of Christ and for souls.
I don’t care what it costs for the cause of Christ, for the cause of the lost, for the people who are dying in their sins without Jesus Christ that need him so desperately. We’ve got to reach them! We’ve got to, whether we feel good or not. “I don’t feel like it.” I didn’t feel like going yesterday, I don’t feel like going a lot of the time, but you know what, beloved, we need to get over our feelings and start realizing there’s a need. A great need in this world. Quit making excuses for why you don’t go soul winning. Quit making excuses for why you don’t pass out Gospel tracts. Own what you do or what you don’t do, and then confess it as sin and get right with God and do what Jesus Christ left you here to do for the cause of Christ until it’s over. It’s always been hard!
If you just take a cursory walk through the book of Acts with me real quick, we can see how hard it was for the early brethren. Here’s a few verses. Acts 2:4 says, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost…” Oh, what a glorious day when the Holy Ghost of God came down and baptized those 120 men and women in the upper room. That infant church was structured and given power for the very first time and, oh, what a wonderful beginning when Brother Peter preached in the outer court of the Temple, possibly to 100,000 Jews. When he preached that sermon, he gave an invitation and 3000 people were born again and the church grew that day from 120 to 3120. Can I get an amen? Under the sword of the Roman Empire.
Acts chapter three and verse six. “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” Peter and John went unto the Temple through the gate called Beautiful, and they see a guy sitting there, a lame man, and they healed him and God used him.
Acts 4:18, it says, “And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them.” Peter and John were arrested and put in prison, they were threatened with their lives and as soon as they got out, they went to Waffle House and then soulwinning. Nothing wrong with that. Now there’s some of you that call it Awful House and I think you need to get right with God. But the point is, man, they went and did what they needed to do. Maybe they went to Culvers and got a butter burger with fries and a milkshake and then they went back out soul winning, amen! They went right back to it because they had a mandate from God to do the work of the Lord.
Acts chapter five, “And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them…” I wonder what that means in the Greek? They beat them. They bloodied them up. They bruised them and beat them. “They commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.” Listen to this. “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” You know what we do in America today? We get on Twitter and Facebook and dramatize, “Oh! Somebody pray for me!” These guys didn’t do that! They went right back out there and were rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”
Acts chapter seven. You know what happened? Brother Stephen got up and preached in Acts 7. They preached the word of God, and boy, the power of God came down and people picked up stones in Acts chapter seven, they picked up stones and they “rocked” that precious deacon to sleep. They killed him and they laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man by the name of Saul of Tarshish.
Acts chapter eight verse one, the scripture goes on to say, “And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.” Beloved, due to a severe persecution led by Saul of Tarshish, thousands of men, women, and children were murdered, martyred and scattered abroad. They ran for their lives. Who can blame them? I’m a dad and I don’t know what I’d do. I suppose I’d run for my life too. Some of them died.
Beloved, I want you to understand, these were people like me and you. People just like us. They lived their lives just like we’re living our lives, but in a different time. Because of what was happening to them, they had to take their children out of schools, they had to run, they had to look for other jobs. Some didn’t have anything left. I’m here to tell you, friend, it was hard back then in those days, but these individuals turned the world upside down for the cause of Christ! Not taking notice of their lives. The work of God and soulwinning was hard back then.
You know what, friend, none of that has happened to any of us. I’ve had a gun pointed at me. I’ve been threatened with my life on a doorstep. Pastor Ryan had a gun pulled on him. I had a dog sicced on me the first time I ever went door knocking. Me and my dad were walking, and my Pop and little Darren were coming our way, and there was a dog in a backyard, and the fence was closed. That dog did a superman leap over that fence, comes running towards my dad, sidesteps my dad because he saw a bigger piece of meat and latched onto my leg and bit me up and down my leg. Nothing ever happened. My dad didn’t shoot the dog, didn’t beat the guy up. I thought he probably would.
But I’m saying to you, listen, it’s hard serving the Lord, I get that. But it’s not harder than it’s ever been. We ought to open our eyes and quit looking at all the little roadblocks and self perceived problems we have in this world, and start looking at the opportunities we have. Look at the opportunities you have! Some of us in this room, we traverse with people who nobody in this church could ever know, and you have an opportunity in front of you as well as a responsibility. Can I get an amen? We’ve got responsibility, we’ve got opportunity, we’ve got Gospel tracts! There’s no reason on earth why anybody in this room or anybody listening on the internet doesn’t have enough stamina in them to say, “Hey! Can I share some Good News with you today? God loves you! He loves you so much! Would you please read this?” I’m going to tell you something, friend, some of them might read that tract, and some of those that read it might trust Jesus to save them, but not if you never hand it to them! Can I get an amen?
Brother Chris was out door knocking yesterday with a handful of Chick tracts and today he went out again. He passed out Chick tracts to kids yesterday, those little comic book tracts are great Gospel tracts. He goes out in the same spot today and he has this crowd of kids coming after him and they want more of those funny papers. I’m telling you something friend, these are opportunities! They didn’t have this opportunity back then. There was no printed page back in those days! All they could do was say what they could say. Friend, we’ve got a duty in front of us.
It’s always been hard. It’s always been difficult. Friends, I’m saying to you, we need to quit swallowing that lie that it’s harder today than it’s ever been. If you’re buying that, you need to confess it as sin. You’ve been lied to and you believed a lie. You’ve believed that lie. Your life shows whether you’ve received that lie or not. I’m not trying to be unkind. Again, I’m so proud of this church and so grateful for what God’s doing, but I’m going to tell you something, I’m not satisfied and neither is the Lord of the church satisfied, because I believe it ought to be 100%. I believe every child of God ought to be involved in outreach in their local church because Jesus said to! Don’t talk yourself into believing that it’s harder than it’s ever been. Don’t you do it!
But That Way Doesn’t Work Any More
Here’s a lie we believe -- that the way of the Lord doesn’t work anymore. That’s a lie folks. The New Testament very clearly outlines the way a Christian ought to live and how a local church ought to be operated.
By the way, Nancy’s grandson, Taylor, got saved today! Pastor Tim got to talk to him after church and he’s been coming to this church for 14 years. I asked him, “What happened to you, Taylor?”
He said, “I got saved.”
I said, “You’ve been coming to this church ever since I’ve been here. Your grandma has been coming to the church since before I came here. Taylor, what made you want to get saved today?”
He said, “I just knew I needed to.” God worked through that fog and that mess in his mind and the junk that he had believed and he got born again. I’m telling you, the way of the Lord still works! The Gospel still saves! Jesus still saves! Keep praying! Never give up on your loved ones! Nancy prayed for that boy for all those years, didn’t you Nancy? I’m so happy for you. God’s rewarded your faithfulness for being in the house of God and praying for your family. Can I get an amen, church? Jesus! We love you!
So the Bible says in Titus chapter number two and verse eleven, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” Beloved, that’s the way of the Lord. If you want to boil it all down to, “What is the way of the Lord,” that’s the way of the Lord. Titus 2:11-12. That’s how we should live. That’s how the church should operate.
But here’s the thing, friend. Has the church as a whole, and the body of Christ as a whole, has it changed how it’s supposed to operate? Are there any new orders from the heavens? Are there any new books being written that tell us how we ought to operate? There’s a lot of new books being written, a lot of knot heads that are putting a bunch of garbage on a printed page that doesn’t do any better for you than if you pick it up and blow your nose on it. If it doesn’t match the message in God’s Word, then it’s worthless and wrong. Can I get an amen?
I’m just telling you right now, there’s a bunch of stuff that’s being printed today in the name of the Lord, and they’re saying, “This is the way the church ought to be today. Times have changed.” Well, I’m going to tell you something, I’m going to always go back to the Word of God, how about you? I’m going to always go back to what the scripture says! I’m always going to go back to what Jesus said over there in Matthew 16:18, “And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” It’s HIS church! It belongs to Jesus! It’s His responsibility to make it grow, and it’s our duty to remain faithful to the word of truth, the precious word of God.
You see, in Acts 2:47, it says, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” The preachers and the men of God of those days were doing and living and working in the way that Jesus had taught them and they were blessed and the Lord built their church. I’m going to tell you something, the same is true today no matter what anyone has written and no matter what anybody says. People will say today, “We’ll have us a rock concert.”
I hear constantly from people that come to this church, I contact everyone that comes, I make a phone call or make a visit or write a letter, and I contact everybody that darkens the door of this church somehow or another. I reach out to them and I hear it all the time about our church, “That’s the friendliest bunch of people I’ve ever been with in my life.” I think that’s wonderful.
What do you think would happen here if we dipped our standards? What do you think would happen here, numerically, let’s say, if we decided, “What’d be wrong with putting a drum set up here? You know, a little guitar action?” Now, I’m not against guitars and there’s nothing wrong with an old flat top guitar. But I’m telling you what, I don’t believe the church ought to be a honky tonk. I don’t think the church ought to be a rock concert. I don’t think fog and mirrors and disco lights and dull lighting belong here. That belongs in a night club or a dance hall. That doesn’t belong in the house of God. It doesn’t belong! And it ain’t going to happen here! As long as I’m your pastor, and I’ve got a brain in my head, it’s not happening here!
I’m going to tell you though, if we dipped our colors and allowed that to happen, I think we’d have to build new buildings, because of you people and the way that you are. You’re kind, you’re generous, you’re friendly and outgoing.
If we dipped our colors and started doing things that would affect and garner the emotions of people, I think we’d be busting the walls out. You know why we’re not busting the walls out here? It’s not because we’re not doing our job, I believe we are. Doctrine matters. Bible doctrine matters. People don’t like Bible doctrine. They want doctrine, but they don’t want Bible doctrine. They want their own doctrine. They want the doctrine of devils. They want their own ideas about things. They don’t like a preacher that gets up and yells and hollers and jumps and spits and says, “This is the way it ought to be and this is what God says.” They don’t like preachers like that!
Let me say something else, I don’t either! But I know what I need. I want the truth! Preaching the truth of the Bible to people where they are, because that’s what people need! But they’re saying, “Well, we ought to do something else. Lower our standards, bring in the praise band, the praise songs, the dancing girls, throw out the hymnal, get rid of the Bible, get rid of these old pulpits. Get rid of that stuff!” You know what friend, I think we’re just going to keep doing what they did back then! I think we’re just going to stay on beat with the word of God, and keep doing things the good old Bible way.
The Bible says in Acts 1:14, “They continued in one accord in prayer and supplication.” Acts 1:14 they prayed. Acts 2:42, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 4:31, they told others of what Jesus had done for them. Acts 8:4, “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.” And that meant the people, not just the missionary or the preachers. Everybody was involved! Everybody was involved and the persecution scattered them. You know what they used that persecution to do? Scatter the word of God! The word of God grew because of the persecution.
Acts 5:14, says multitudes were added to the Lord. “And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.” Men and women. So the question is, “Did it work?” I said, “Did it work?” It did, and here we are, 2025, 6:23 in the evening on a Sunday night in the heartland of our great country with the same precious old Book, amen! Singing the same precious old songs of Zion. I’m telling you, friend, it still works today! We’ve been duped today in America, made to believe that it’s too hard. We are being told that the Lord’s way doesn’t work anymore. You know what happened to the average pastor today? He’s become the CEO to the church with respect to the business of the church and the people are stockholders in the church.
I got a thing in email the other day, and I don’t know how on earth I got this. It gave a little video. I listened to the thing, and, man, I wanted to shoot my phone with a .45 pistol, but it said, “We’ve done away with our outreach programs and now we’re using the internet.” Now, I don’t care about using the internet if you keep the message in line with God’s Word, but we’re not stopping our buses and we’re not stopping the outreach programs of our church. God told us to go with the Gospel. You say, “Well, you ought to get in vogue with the world, pastor.” Uh-uh. No thank you. Absolutely not.
I’m not a very smart person. My mother had some dumb children. I wasn’t one of them, by the way. But I’m going to stay with this old Book, the King James Bible. I’m going to stay with the dear old Book and the dear old faith. I’m going to keep on doing the things in the only way that still works, God’s way. I’m going to tell you right now, here’s what it is: it’s prayer and perspiration. Can I get an amen? It’s prayer and perspiration. Prayer waiting on God. Perspiration doing something for God and for souls while we wait.
I’ve got two or three other points, but I’m going to stop. The Holy Spirit is telling me to and I always want to obey my boss. Don’t believe the devil’s lies. Beloved, this Book still works.
“And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? and they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel:” (Luke 24:17-21)
Can you hear the sorrow and the grief in their voices? By the way, these folks had been with Christ when He was alive. They’d heard Him say He was going to get up out of the grave. They’d heard Him say that. That’s why they said, “...and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.”
You know, you can say something long enough, loud enough, and with great gusto and with great platitudes and words, and you can say something long enough and with the proper attitude that, even if it’s a lie, people will believe it. Look at politics. We tell stories, we make things up. People do it all the time and we get to the point where we even believe our own lies. What a terrible thing! By the way, the person that is afflicted by lies, a liar hates them. That’s a principle of the Bible. Did you know that? The person that is afflicted by the lying tongue, that lying tongue hates the person they’ve lied to. Hates them! That’s what the Bible says. Everybody following me?
So, it’s amazing to me that we tell ourselves something long enough and even if it’s not true, we will believe our own lie, even to the point where it affects us physically, psychologically, and even spiritually to the point where it really bends us and hurts us and our lives. I think there are people who say things long enough, even if it’s not true, that it becomes truth to them because they believe it in their mind.
In our text in the word of God, in Luke 24, these two disciples that are on the Emmaus road coming back from Jerusalem threescore furlongs, they’re walking together and they’re talking about the things that had happened in Jerusalem in the days hitherto. They were so involved in what they were talking about and bantering back and forth, that they didn’t even realize that the Master, the Lord Jesus Himself, had appeared before them and was walking with them as they made their way to their house.
That’s amazing to me, and they are going along talking. I love the scripture, how it says in verse 28, “And he made as though he would have gone further.” Maybe they came to a fork in the road, I don’t know. Maybe they were walking along and perhaps He was in the middle, between the two of them. The scripture doesn’t say. He was beside them the Bible does declare, but He made as though He would go further, and they implored Him according to their Jewish laws and customs to ask this stranger to come to their home. It is called the law of hospitality. So they constrained the Lord Jesus to come home with them to their house.
Jesus sat down with them at their table and they began to break bread and He began to teach them things in the scriptures. Hours went by as they sat at meat and the Bible says that He took bread in His hand, and brake it in His hand, and gave it to them with His hand, and what do you think they saw? I’m convinced they saw those scars, those nail holes. They saw those marks and as soon as they recognized that, Jesus vanished from their sight. And what did they do? They ran all the way back to Jerusalem as anybody would, to tell everybody about what had happened.
But I want you to understand what happened on their journey between the city of Jerusalem and back to their town. They had convinced themselves of some things that were categorically, absolutely, untrue about the Lord Jesus and His ministry.
Now there’s a lot of things that we could say about this and we could go many weeks talking about it, but I want to give you just a couple of things, a couple of pressing things that people are saying in the world today. They’re saying it on the internet. They’re saying it in books. They’re saying it in podcasts, about the Lord and His work, and these are false things that people are believing many times. Even God’s good people are sometimes believing what are absolute falsehoods and we need to reckon in ourselves what the falsehood is and what the truth is, and believe the truth rather than the lie. Can I get an amen!
I’m going to kind of pull the scab off some things and I hope and pray to God that it will help you to consider these things. Now, if you take notes you might recall that I’ve preached some of these points before, so don’t come up to me after a while and say, “I remember!” That’s great if you do. But sometimes a Bible message deserves to be re-preached because there is such a need, and that’s my duty tonight. That’s my job description from the Lord.
But It’s Harder Than It’s Ever Been
One of the lies that we’re believing in our churches, both in America and around the world, is that the work of the Lord is harder than it’s ever been. We’re believing that. Some of you are believing that right now, that’s why you don’t do anything for God. You feel like it’s too hard to get it done, and you just can’t do it, and it’s too hard for you, and it’s too hard for us and on and on it goes.
I hear preachers say it constantly and I read books. “Man, we’re in the last days, we’re in the last moments! We’re in the last hours before the Lord Jesus Christ comes. Oh, how tough and hard it is to do the work of God. blah, blah, blah.” Everybody with me? It’s nauseous and wretched to think of.
Brother, I know it’s the last days and I know it’s the last hours and the last moments. This could be my last heart beat before Jesus comes. I get all that. Yes it’s tough to do the work of God. But here’s what they do. They take that thought process and associate it with what the scripture declares in Genesis six and verse three, that has no place or portion in what our thinking ought to be about what’s going on in the world today. That’s where God says, “My spirit shall not always strive with man.” They use that one text and take it out of the context and they make it a pretext and by doing so, they do a disservice to the word of God and to the work of God and they give themselves permission to not serve God because it’s the last days and it’s so hard.
Certainly beloved, there’s truth in the statement that these are the last days and it’s sometimes hard serving the Lord. I used to think that that statement in Genesis chapter six was for all time, but beloved, it’s a statement that was for people before the flood. The last days certainly started with the inception of the local church and with Jesus and the disciples. Peter talked to them in his sermon there in Acts two. We’ve been living in the last days since Jesus was on the earth. Are you hearing me? We’ve been in the last days since Jesus was here. And they’re going to continue to be the last of the last days until Jesus Christ comes the second time and rules and reigns with a rod of iron and we get to rule and reign with Him.
Beloved, hear me. We’ve talked ourselves into believing that the work for Jesus is harder now than it has ever been. “It’s harder now, Pastor, than it has ever been, and we’re just not able to get that much done for Him today because we’re in the last days and it’s so difficult and nobody receives the Gospel, and nobody will listen and blah, blah, blah.” And you know what? You’re giving yourself permission by making those broad, ill-advised statements. You’re giving yourself permission to quit.
Swallow hard now. I’m talking to you, church. You’re doing a good job. I’m very honored to get to be your pastor and get to serve God with you, and I’m so grateful for what God’s doing. But I’m going to tell you something, friend. We must not receive the lies of the devil and think that because it’s so difficult today we can just back up, sit down, slack off and not worry about things. No it ought to rip us up and get us going further and harder for Christ. We better rethink the fact because, beloved, it’s always been hard to serve Christ. Can you get a hold of that thinking? It has always been hard to do the work of God.
Mark chapter two says, “And again he entered into Capernaum after some days: and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.” Jesus did. “And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.” You understand, here was a poor man, a bedridden man. These four men, I don’t know if they were friends, the Bible doesn’t say, but we like to think they were friends. I do know they were four concerned men who must have cared about him and they picked up his cot and brought him to the Lord Jesus to be healed, but there were so many people crowded in there that they couldn’t get to the Lord. They couldn’t get him to Jesus. Now, the average Christian would have said, “Well, we tried.” Everybody with me? The average Christian, the weak, mamby pamby recreation hall Christian rather than a battlefield Christian, the recreation hall Christian would’ve said, “Well, I tried. That’s good enough. I tried.”
But, I’m telling you, friend, we haven’t really tried until we’ve succeeded, and we ought to be faithful in our work to the Lord. We can’t say that it’s too hard, and we cannot say that we just can’t get this done. These men were so determined and they had so much compassion on this man that they couldn’t help themselves, and he couldn’t help himself. So they got up onto the roof and they tore the roof up and they put ropes on that bed and they lowered that man down to Jesus Christ. Hey! It was hard back then too and it cost them something and it certainly cost them the price of a new roof, but they got that man to Jesus. They didn’t quit or make excuses or talk about it being too hard. They got him to Jesus. He got his healing and he got saved.
Friend, listen to me, it’s always been hard to get men to come to Christ. If you spend any time at all in the highways and byways, you’re going to run into all kinds of people who don’t want to hear what you have to say. Are you with me?
You folks who went door knocking yesterday or today, did anybody get a door slammed in your face? Did anybody get someone mad at them? Who got a dog sicced on them recently? How many of you have been bitten by a dog out soul winning? I’ve been bit at least three times. It’s always been hard, beloved. I said, it’s always been hard to get people to Jesus, but, listen… it is not harder today. “Well, it is, Pastor, it’s just terrible.” Listen folks, Christians are just not as dedicated today as they used to be.
I’ll tell you right now, the Wednesday night crowd and the soul winning crowd were about the same size, generally speaking, back in the day. The prayer time crowd was a big deal. I’m talking about the 70’s and days further back I don’t even remember.
I can remember soul winning at Emmanuel Baptist Church and Dr. Tom Malone was one of the greatest personal soul winners I’ve ever known outside of my own father. We had a Thursday night soul winning time and we had a big gigantic meal before we went out. A lot of people came, I think, because of the food because we’re Baptists! But on the other side of the coin, a bunch of people went soul winning and people got saved right and left. That church was averaging at that time nearly four thousand people on a Sunday morning. Bus routes and drive in crowd.
You say, “Oh, that can’t be done today. It’s 2025.” Hogwash to that garbage! The days of the big Sunday, and the big bus route days are not over. Maybe they are in some of these Baptist churches who don’t have a bus ministry anymore! I don’t care about that. That church is not my responsibility, but this one is my responsibility and we’re gonna keep surging forward and we’re gonna keep going forward for the cause of Christ and for souls.
I don’t care what it costs for the cause of Christ, for the cause of the lost, for the people who are dying in their sins without Jesus Christ that need him so desperately. We’ve got to reach them! We’ve got to, whether we feel good or not. “I don’t feel like it.” I didn’t feel like going yesterday, I don’t feel like going a lot of the time, but you know what, beloved, we need to get over our feelings and start realizing there’s a need. A great need in this world. Quit making excuses for why you don’t go soul winning. Quit making excuses for why you don’t pass out Gospel tracts. Own what you do or what you don’t do, and then confess it as sin and get right with God and do what Jesus Christ left you here to do for the cause of Christ until it’s over. It’s always been hard!
If you just take a cursory walk through the book of Acts with me real quick, we can see how hard it was for the early brethren. Here’s a few verses. Acts 2:4 says, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost…” Oh, what a glorious day when the Holy Ghost of God came down and baptized those 120 men and women in the upper room. That infant church was structured and given power for the very first time and, oh, what a wonderful beginning when Brother Peter preached in the outer court of the Temple, possibly to 100,000 Jews. When he preached that sermon, he gave an invitation and 3000 people were born again and the church grew that day from 120 to 3120. Can I get an amen? Under the sword of the Roman Empire.
Acts chapter three and verse six. “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” Peter and John went unto the Temple through the gate called Beautiful, and they see a guy sitting there, a lame man, and they healed him and God used him.
Acts 4:18, it says, “And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them.” Peter and John were arrested and put in prison, they were threatened with their lives and as soon as they got out, they went to Waffle House and then soulwinning. Nothing wrong with that. Now there’s some of you that call it Awful House and I think you need to get right with God. But the point is, man, they went and did what they needed to do. Maybe they went to Culvers and got a butter burger with fries and a milkshake and then they went back out soul winning, amen! They went right back to it because they had a mandate from God to do the work of the Lord.
Acts chapter five, “And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them…” I wonder what that means in the Greek? They beat them. They bloodied them up. They bruised them and beat them. “They commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.” Listen to this. “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” You know what we do in America today? We get on Twitter and Facebook and dramatize, “Oh! Somebody pray for me!” These guys didn’t do that! They went right back out there and were rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”
Acts chapter seven. You know what happened? Brother Stephen got up and preached in Acts 7. They preached the word of God, and boy, the power of God came down and people picked up stones in Acts chapter seven, they picked up stones and they “rocked” that precious deacon to sleep. They killed him and they laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man by the name of Saul of Tarshish.
Acts chapter eight verse one, the scripture goes on to say, “And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.” Beloved, due to a severe persecution led by Saul of Tarshish, thousands of men, women, and children were murdered, martyred and scattered abroad. They ran for their lives. Who can blame them? I’m a dad and I don’t know what I’d do. I suppose I’d run for my life too. Some of them died.
Beloved, I want you to understand, these were people like me and you. People just like us. They lived their lives just like we’re living our lives, but in a different time. Because of what was happening to them, they had to take their children out of schools, they had to run, they had to look for other jobs. Some didn’t have anything left. I’m here to tell you, friend, it was hard back then in those days, but these individuals turned the world upside down for the cause of Christ! Not taking notice of their lives. The work of God and soulwinning was hard back then.
You know what, friend, none of that has happened to any of us. I’ve had a gun pointed at me. I’ve been threatened with my life on a doorstep. Pastor Ryan had a gun pulled on him. I had a dog sicced on me the first time I ever went door knocking. Me and my dad were walking, and my Pop and little Darren were coming our way, and there was a dog in a backyard, and the fence was closed. That dog did a superman leap over that fence, comes running towards my dad, sidesteps my dad because he saw a bigger piece of meat and latched onto my leg and bit me up and down my leg. Nothing ever happened. My dad didn’t shoot the dog, didn’t beat the guy up. I thought he probably would.
But I’m saying to you, listen, it’s hard serving the Lord, I get that. But it’s not harder than it’s ever been. We ought to open our eyes and quit looking at all the little roadblocks and self perceived problems we have in this world, and start looking at the opportunities we have. Look at the opportunities you have! Some of us in this room, we traverse with people who nobody in this church could ever know, and you have an opportunity in front of you as well as a responsibility. Can I get an amen? We’ve got responsibility, we’ve got opportunity, we’ve got Gospel tracts! There’s no reason on earth why anybody in this room or anybody listening on the internet doesn’t have enough stamina in them to say, “Hey! Can I share some Good News with you today? God loves you! He loves you so much! Would you please read this?” I’m going to tell you something, friend, some of them might read that tract, and some of those that read it might trust Jesus to save them, but not if you never hand it to them! Can I get an amen?
Brother Chris was out door knocking yesterday with a handful of Chick tracts and today he went out again. He passed out Chick tracts to kids yesterday, those little comic book tracts are great Gospel tracts. He goes out in the same spot today and he has this crowd of kids coming after him and they want more of those funny papers. I’m telling you something friend, these are opportunities! They didn’t have this opportunity back then. There was no printed page back in those days! All they could do was say what they could say. Friend, we’ve got a duty in front of us.
It’s always been hard. It’s always been difficult. Friends, I’m saying to you, we need to quit swallowing that lie that it’s harder today than it’s ever been. If you’re buying that, you need to confess it as sin. You’ve been lied to and you believed a lie. You’ve believed that lie. Your life shows whether you’ve received that lie or not. I’m not trying to be unkind. Again, I’m so proud of this church and so grateful for what God’s doing, but I’m going to tell you something, I’m not satisfied and neither is the Lord of the church satisfied, because I believe it ought to be 100%. I believe every child of God ought to be involved in outreach in their local church because Jesus said to! Don’t talk yourself into believing that it’s harder than it’s ever been. Don’t you do it!
But That Way Doesn’t Work Any More
Here’s a lie we believe -- that the way of the Lord doesn’t work anymore. That’s a lie folks. The New Testament very clearly outlines the way a Christian ought to live and how a local church ought to be operated.
By the way, Nancy’s grandson, Taylor, got saved today! Pastor Tim got to talk to him after church and he’s been coming to this church for 14 years. I asked him, “What happened to you, Taylor?”
He said, “I got saved.”
I said, “You’ve been coming to this church ever since I’ve been here. Your grandma has been coming to the church since before I came here. Taylor, what made you want to get saved today?”
He said, “I just knew I needed to.” God worked through that fog and that mess in his mind and the junk that he had believed and he got born again. I’m telling you, the way of the Lord still works! The Gospel still saves! Jesus still saves! Keep praying! Never give up on your loved ones! Nancy prayed for that boy for all those years, didn’t you Nancy? I’m so happy for you. God’s rewarded your faithfulness for being in the house of God and praying for your family. Can I get an amen, church? Jesus! We love you!
So the Bible says in Titus chapter number two and verse eleven, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” Beloved, that’s the way of the Lord. If you want to boil it all down to, “What is the way of the Lord,” that’s the way of the Lord. Titus 2:11-12. That’s how we should live. That’s how the church should operate.
But here’s the thing, friend. Has the church as a whole, and the body of Christ as a whole, has it changed how it’s supposed to operate? Are there any new orders from the heavens? Are there any new books being written that tell us how we ought to operate? There’s a lot of new books being written, a lot of knot heads that are putting a bunch of garbage on a printed page that doesn’t do any better for you than if you pick it up and blow your nose on it. If it doesn’t match the message in God’s Word, then it’s worthless and wrong. Can I get an amen?
I’m just telling you right now, there’s a bunch of stuff that’s being printed today in the name of the Lord, and they’re saying, “This is the way the church ought to be today. Times have changed.” Well, I’m going to tell you something, I’m going to always go back to the Word of God, how about you? I’m going to always go back to what the scripture says! I’m always going to go back to what Jesus said over there in Matthew 16:18, “And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” It’s HIS church! It belongs to Jesus! It’s His responsibility to make it grow, and it’s our duty to remain faithful to the word of truth, the precious word of God.
You see, in Acts 2:47, it says, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” The preachers and the men of God of those days were doing and living and working in the way that Jesus had taught them and they were blessed and the Lord built their church. I’m going to tell you something, the same is true today no matter what anyone has written and no matter what anybody says. People will say today, “We’ll have us a rock concert.”
I hear constantly from people that come to this church, I contact everyone that comes, I make a phone call or make a visit or write a letter, and I contact everybody that darkens the door of this church somehow or another. I reach out to them and I hear it all the time about our church, “That’s the friendliest bunch of people I’ve ever been with in my life.” I think that’s wonderful.
What do you think would happen here if we dipped our standards? What do you think would happen here, numerically, let’s say, if we decided, “What’d be wrong with putting a drum set up here? You know, a little guitar action?” Now, I’m not against guitars and there’s nothing wrong with an old flat top guitar. But I’m telling you what, I don’t believe the church ought to be a honky tonk. I don’t think the church ought to be a rock concert. I don’t think fog and mirrors and disco lights and dull lighting belong here. That belongs in a night club or a dance hall. That doesn’t belong in the house of God. It doesn’t belong! And it ain’t going to happen here! As long as I’m your pastor, and I’ve got a brain in my head, it’s not happening here!
I’m going to tell you though, if we dipped our colors and allowed that to happen, I think we’d have to build new buildings, because of you people and the way that you are. You’re kind, you’re generous, you’re friendly and outgoing.
If we dipped our colors and started doing things that would affect and garner the emotions of people, I think we’d be busting the walls out. You know why we’re not busting the walls out here? It’s not because we’re not doing our job, I believe we are. Doctrine matters. Bible doctrine matters. People don’t like Bible doctrine. They want doctrine, but they don’t want Bible doctrine. They want their own doctrine. They want the doctrine of devils. They want their own ideas about things. They don’t like a preacher that gets up and yells and hollers and jumps and spits and says, “This is the way it ought to be and this is what God says.” They don’t like preachers like that!
Let me say something else, I don’t either! But I know what I need. I want the truth! Preaching the truth of the Bible to people where they are, because that’s what people need! But they’re saying, “Well, we ought to do something else. Lower our standards, bring in the praise band, the praise songs, the dancing girls, throw out the hymnal, get rid of the Bible, get rid of these old pulpits. Get rid of that stuff!” You know what friend, I think we’re just going to keep doing what they did back then! I think we’re just going to stay on beat with the word of God, and keep doing things the good old Bible way.
The Bible says in Acts 1:14, “They continued in one accord in prayer and supplication.” Acts 1:14 they prayed. Acts 2:42, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 4:31, they told others of what Jesus had done for them. Acts 8:4, “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.” And that meant the people, not just the missionary or the preachers. Everybody was involved! Everybody was involved and the persecution scattered them. You know what they used that persecution to do? Scatter the word of God! The word of God grew because of the persecution.
Acts 5:14, says multitudes were added to the Lord. “And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.” Men and women. So the question is, “Did it work?” I said, “Did it work?” It did, and here we are, 2025, 6:23 in the evening on a Sunday night in the heartland of our great country with the same precious old Book, amen! Singing the same precious old songs of Zion. I’m telling you, friend, it still works today! We’ve been duped today in America, made to believe that it’s too hard. We are being told that the Lord’s way doesn’t work anymore. You know what happened to the average pastor today? He’s become the CEO to the church with respect to the business of the church and the people are stockholders in the church.
I got a thing in email the other day, and I don’t know how on earth I got this. It gave a little video. I listened to the thing, and, man, I wanted to shoot my phone with a .45 pistol, but it said, “We’ve done away with our outreach programs and now we’re using the internet.” Now, I don’t care about using the internet if you keep the message in line with God’s Word, but we’re not stopping our buses and we’re not stopping the outreach programs of our church. God told us to go with the Gospel. You say, “Well, you ought to get in vogue with the world, pastor.” Uh-uh. No thank you. Absolutely not.
I’m not a very smart person. My mother had some dumb children. I wasn’t one of them, by the way. But I’m going to stay with this old Book, the King James Bible. I’m going to stay with the dear old Book and the dear old faith. I’m going to keep on doing the things in the only way that still works, God’s way. I’m going to tell you right now, here’s what it is: it’s prayer and perspiration. Can I get an amen? It’s prayer and perspiration. Prayer waiting on God. Perspiration doing something for God and for souls while we wait.
I’ve got two or three other points, but I’m going to stop. The Holy Spirit is telling me to and I always want to obey my boss. Don’t believe the devil’s lies. Beloved, this Book still works.
