Francis Chan's Powerful Sermon on Jesus' Teachings

Francis Chan discusses the importance of studying the Bible and understanding Jesus' teachings.

He expresses concern that people may be deceived about their salvation and not be prepared to meet God.

Francis emphasizes the need to read the Bible and understand its teachings about God's love, justice, and wrath.

He encourages listeners to repent, turn to Jesus, and recognize their need for salvation.

The Sermon This has got to be the best Francis Chan sermon I've seen so far. It certainly is the easiest one for me to do the script for, because it's only 12 minutes long and I haven't done any editing to make it any shorter. I found it on another YouTube channel, which had already cut it down to 12 minutes. In most of Francis' sermons, he mentions his age, so that you can work out from that how recent the video is. Considering how hard it is to trace any of them back to their original source, that's a big help, because it gives us clues to determine when it actually was preached. But if he mentioned his age in this one, it was chopped out by the channel that released it. The timing is important to me, because I'm more interested in the direction in which Francis Chan is moving than I am in any one sermon on its own. Is he, for example, just coming into this teaching that he shares in this video? Or is it something that he taught years ago, which he's fallen away from in more recent years? Anyway, let's say that he has just discovered it and that he is yet to actually get specific about the teachings of Jesus. And let's all pray that he soon does get specific. Amen? I've been studying this book for over 30 years. Deeply. In the Greek, in the Hebrew, in English. Just over and over. Try to read through this book at least once a year. Because I want to know the truth. I don't want to be deceived. I don't want to count on someone else telling me what it says. Best I, and I could be wrong, I'm a human being. I'm just saying, man, best I can understand this book and what Jesus says about following him. Here's what I am most concerned about. To put it as plainly as I can. I am deeply concerned that even though you are sitting in a church building. that some of you one day will go to hell to be tormented day and night forever and ever. And by the time you figure it out, it'll be too late. That's my biggest concern. look I don't look I have a couple of fears one fear is I don't want anyone thinking they're going to heaven if they're not that's horrible and the most loving thing is not to just let people go and not offend them and wait till they figure it out at the end but I also have another fear man I don't want people who know Jesus to feel like they don't and be worried about it. And how to walk that tension and go, God, I don't want to just get everyone worried about their salvation. At the same time, I don't want everyone just to assume that they're saved. And so you just go I don know how to differentiate the two I just try to get away from myself as much as I can and just read the words of Scripture and let it happen But I tell you I been that what if I completely honest right now that what I care about I know some of you guys are struggling in your marriages, and I care, but not as much as I care about this. Some of you are struggling with sickness, and I care, but not as much as this. Some of you are dealing with racial tension. Some of you are dealing with the loss of a job. And I care, but not nearly as much as I care about this, because this is forever. Okay? This is forever. We're all going to stand before this God. And He's going to say one of two things for you, and it lasts forever. Forever. Either well done, good and faithful servant. Man, come over here. Man, you're my son. You're my daughter. Get over here forever and ever. or depart from me, I never knew you. I mean, one of the passages that caused me to get into Christian ministry was when I read Matthew 7, verse 21, where Jesus says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. And right before he was talking about, Man, you can tell the good tree by the good fruit. Because not everyone who just says to me, Lord, Lord. And as I read that passage, it is showing me, it says in the last day, many people, many are going to come to him and say, Lord, Lord, didn't I prophesy in your name? Didn't I do this? Didn't I do that? And it says, and he will say, depart from me. I never knew you. And so clearly in that passage, there are people who are deceived. it seems from the language that they're going to get to the end and go wait a second I thought for sure I was getting what are you talking about I did this I taught Sunday school I hardly ever missed a day of church I was raised in the church they told me just come forward pray a prayer man I did that prayer well what's going on here there are many people who will think but they're going to be deceived that That terrifies me. That scares me. And so if you want to know what I care about and what I see in Scripture, it's these passages where I go, man, I'm concerned. Man, what's a loving thing to do? Just kind of go, oh, let me give you a happy sermon today, and let's all go feel better because life is tough. No, I think about the end. Look, life is a vapor. You're here one second, and then you're gone. And so I just prayed. I go, God, if I were honest, loving, unafraid of what anyone thought, what would I say? I would go to some of these passages. I would go to the scripture because I'm afraid that someone lied to you. And you didn't take the time to study this book for yourself so you don't even know. I'm afraid someone told you that there's no hell anymore. That's really popular. Man, when's the last time you even heard the word hell from a pulpit? Even in church. Why? Because someone's been lying to you. They're saying, how can a loving God punish? How could a loving God torture? That what our world teaches That the popular teaching But I not here to teach what popular I here to teach what biblical I saying if you study the Bible read it yourself Don just let someone tell you it's done now. Start in Genesis. You'll read about a time when God actually drowned everyone on the planet. He was grieved that he made them. It's pretty early on. You only got to go like six chapters. Now, would a loving God drown everyone on the planet? Every man, woman and child and infant, a loving God did that? You'll read about a loving God who says to the Egyptians, hey, if you don't let my people go, I'll kill the firstborn of every household. wait wait you'll kill you'll send an angel to kill the firstborn of every house loving god i'm not saying he's not a loving god i'm just saying there's other parts of him he's also a god of justice he's a god of wrath read this book and you go oh but you're quoting from genesis that's the way he used to be Do I need to read the book of Revelation to you? You want to see how it ends? To know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever? Listen, we have a God who is a God of love. He's a God of redemption. He's a God who wants to save. I mean, that's why He sent His Son. But at the same time, nowhere in this book will you see people praying a prayer to accept Jesus as their Savior. You'll see people who over and over said repent turn You need to be born again. You got to start this thing all over You got to die to yourself That's what Jesus taught He'll say what but John 3 16 John 3 16 says God's all over the world that whoever believes in him Keep reading John 3.36 says, He who believes in the Son has life. He who does not obey the Son shall not see life, and the wrath of God abides on him. Just keep reading. Read this book. It's about those who turn to Jesus, who recognize, man, I've been living for myself. Man, I'm like Adam and Eve. It's like, oh, that looks good. Let me get some of that. Let me pursue some of that. and it's like no you got to stop that you got to turn from that and say man i used to just live thinking it was all about me and even so many in the church still allow that type of thinking that god is here for you so what do you need from him and he he'll just keep giving you and feed this self-centered mindset no it's about me turning from who francis was and what he wants and say no i'm a part of another kingdom now i've got a citizenship here now you're my lord where do you want me to go? What do you want me to say? I'm just going to say, I know some people hate this. You know, I'm going to lay it out because I'm a part of a different kingdom now. I've repented. You turn from yourself and you follow Jesus. I studied one time because I was getting ready for an Easter sermon. You know, Easter's that day where everyone shows up. And so you go, man, what do I say What do I say You get a little nervous thinking man if I say the right thing maybe they come twice a year You know like you know all this pressure of how do I keep people in the church So I began to study I go, man, what did Jesus say when crowds showed up? Man, and it was shocking. He didn't say, oh, so glad you're here. Come back next week. You know, we got this program, this program, this. You won't want to miss that. That. He didn't say that. He did it. He said, yeah, then bring a friend. No, what he did, I started studying. I'm going, wow, Jesus, you said that? See, Jesus didn't beg. That was surprising. In fact, people begged him. They said, can I follow you? And the people would come to him going, man, can I follow you? And he's like, man, foxes have holes, birds have nests, but I have nowhere to lay my head. You sure you want to follow me? Because I'm homeless tonight. I don't know where I'm sleeping. You want to follow me? That was Jesus. It wasn't just, oh, good, they showed up, you know. Let's keep them there somehow. No, Jesus was honest. Jesus was so honest, so brutally honest. In fact, this week, on Monday, I was having breakfast with a friend of mine. And this hedge fund guy was in town just visiting. And he said as we're eating, he goes, you know, I did something the other day. I just opened my Bible and I just started reading all the words in red. And I just read through the whole thing. I just kept turning pages, pages, pages, just reading. What did Jesus say? Because in my Bible he says all the words of Jesus are in red. So I just read them all. All of them. He goes, it doesn't take that long. Just read them all. And he goes, I was shocked. He goes, Jesus was direct. because Jesus sure did sound a lot different from preachers today. And I go, man, what you did, I beg people to do. I beg them, man, stop listening to everyone else and get alone with the word of God and just read it. Read it for yourself. I mean, your eternity depends on it. You're not even going to read it. Man, take some time. Understand the words of Jesus. Man, if you feel like, oh, no, I can't read that whole book. My eternity is not worth it. Just read the red part at least. Just start with that. Just read Jesus' words. It'll take you a couple hours. And just go, okay, everything I've been taught my whole life, how does it compare to what Jesus said? You'd be surprised. I'm sorry it just cuts out there, but wasn't it fantastic up to that point? The red letters, the words of Jesus, obey Jesus. Did you hear him saying that? Did I hear him correctly? Certainly, this is the message that the world and the church needs to hear today. God, please, don't let him give up on that. Don't let him be swayed by the religious system and his offers of wealth and fame. Anyway, you viewers probably don't know how refreshing it is for me to hear someone else telling people to read the teachings of Jesus and obey them after all these years, but believe me, it is refreshing. Well, what more can I say? Hang in there, Francis. God bless you.

Playlist coming soon.