Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: 11HC
Program Code: 11HC000007
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00:48 I want to welcome all of you to this afternoon's seminar.
00:52 Have you enjoyed the seminars so far today? 00:54 Amen! I enjoyed Brenda 00:57 talking about Getting Out Of Your Comfort Zone. 01:00 Wasn't that encouraging and interesting what she shared 01:03 with us? And Pastor Finley on the Holy Spirit. 01:06 And Charles Bradford - Pastor Bradford - 01:10 is one of the most incred... Doesn't he just encourage you? 01:13 I told someone at lunch today 01:15 "He has the ability to say things to us 01:18 that maybe others couldn't 01:19 because he's lived through so much. " 01:22 And he is such an encouragement to us. 01:23 Well this afternoon we have Shelley Quinn with us. 01:26 And she's going to be speaking about Guarding Grace. 01:30 And you know, I was telling Shelly a little earlier... 01:34 All of you know that she travels internationally? 01:37 That she's a much sought after Camp Meeting speaker 01:40 and speaker all over the world. 01:43 She's an incredible author. 01:46 She works here at 3ABN. 01:49 She's all of these things. 01:51 But what I can honestly say about her from someone 01:54 that works with her and knows her: she's a godly woman. 01:57 You know, she's the real deal. 01:58 And not only that but she's somebody that I consider 02:02 my friend. So I know this afternoon you're going to enjoy 02:06 what she has to share. But before Shelley comes 02:09 we have the Rhodes with us: Jim and Pam. 02:12 And Pam, if you will come on out. 02:14 This is a couple that has been with 3ABN for many years. 02:17 And Pam: we love you, we appreciate you so much. 02:20 And Jimmy: we love and appreciate you, too. 02:23 What are you going to share with us? Jesus Loves Me. 02:26 OK. A little different version than you probably know. 02:28 In fact, do you all like happy music? 02:31 Amen. Do you like happy music? OK. 02:32 This is a happy song and it's a fast-moving song. 02:36 So hopefully my lips can keep up with the pace, OK? 02:40 So... here we go. 02:50 Jesus loves me, 02:53 Jesus loves me, 02:57 loves me this I know. 03:03 Gave Himself to die 03:08 for me 03:09 because He loves me so. 03:16 How often have I failed 03:21 Him... 03:23 struggling here below. 03:29 How often have I 03:33 stumbled... 03:36 in my distress and woe. 03:42 I know that He will 03:46 take me 03:49 in His arms again 03:55 and never shall forsake 04:01 me 04:02 in my alarm or pain. 04:08 How often have I failed my Lord 04:11 along my journey? 04:14 How often have I stumbled 04:17 in my struggles in this life here below? 04:21 And yet I know He'll take me 04:23 in His arms again and not forsake me 04:27 in my alarm or pain 04:28 because He loves me, oh yes, He loves me so. 04:34 How often have I failed my Lord 04:37 along my journey? 04:41 How often have I stumbled in my struggles 04:44 in this life here below? 04:47 And yet I know He'll take me in His arms again 04:51 and not forsake me in my alarm or pain 04:55 because He loves me, oh yes, He loves me so. 05:02 Amen. 05:06 Amen. Thank you, Pam, and thank you, Jimmy. 05:09 Well, it's so good always to see your smiling faces. 05:15 And I see people that I know 05:16 and people... Who's here for the first time? 05:18 Oh, we've got a lot of first-timers. 05:21 Praise the Lord! Well, we're glad that you're here with us. 05:24 And it's just such an honor and a privilege 05:27 to have this opportunity to share a message from the Bible. 05:31 I see that I've got my... I thought, Oh, I forgot my glasses 05:35 and they're attached to me. 05:36 What we're going to talk about this morning 05:39 or this afternoon is Guarding Grace. 05:43 What do you guard? 05:46 Think of some things that you guard. 05:48 Your house? You guard your home. How do you guard your home? 05:52 Lock it when you leave. Your car... you lock your car. 05:55 What are some of the other things we might guard? 05:59 Laptop. Put security passwords on it. 06:03 How about our reputation? 06:06 We guard, don't we? 06:07 And if I were to give you a $5,000,000 home, 06:13 would you still guard it? 06:16 You would? And if I were to give you a Mercedes Benz 06:19 would you guard it? Even though it's a gift? 06:23 You know, the greatest thing that we can guard is grace. 06:29 There's a lady who is a precious soul 06:33 and she calls me frequently. 06:37 Not calls... excuse me. She e-mails me frequently. 06:40 She watches 3ABN regularly 06:43 and she loves me. 06:46 She's told me she loves me. 06:48 And I know she's praying for me. 06:50 But let me explain why she prays for me. 06:52 She is not an Adventist, 06:55 and she thinks that because I keep the Sabbath 07:00 I'm not saved by grace. 07:03 She thinks that because I speak of obedience 07:08 that I'm trying to earn my way to heaven. 07:12 I have written a book called The Grace Pipeline. 07:16 She was the reason... she was the motivation 07:21 behind me writing this book 07:24 because as I e-mail back and forth and try to explain to her 07:29 what grace is, it's like she won't listen. 07:33 And I thought, OK, I'll put it in a book. But guess what? 07:36 She won't let me send her the book. 07:39 And I told her: "I wrote this book specifically 07:42 with you in mind. " 07:44 And I found that some people are a little leery 07:47 of books on grace. Why do you think that is? 07:51 Is it because perhaps sometimes we have an 07:54 unbalanced teaching on grace? 07:58 I'm going to speak to you today. 08:00 We're going to look at a passage in II Timothy. 08:06 But before I do, I want to kind of give you a little 08:12 refresher course. Some of you... Many of you, probably, 08:15 didn't hear it... this is your first time. 08:17 But if you were here for our Spring Camp Meeting, 08:19 I spoke on grace. And I'd like to give you 08:22 a little refresher course for those who were here 08:26 or talk to you about what grace is 08:28 before we get into this message. 08:31 So let me share with you how the Lord explained it to me. 08:37 And I think it is so amazing because I really struggled 08:42 with understanding grace. 08:45 And finally as I came to understand it I said: 08:49 "Lord, You show me... tell me... how to explain it. 08:54 Give me, if You will, an illustration 08:57 of what grace is all about. " 08:59 And here's what it is: 09:02 God's love is so great 09:06 for you and for me, 09:08 His love is so great for all of the world, 09:13 that His heart just overflows from grace. 09:18 It wells up and overflows. 09:21 And from this well of divine love - and divine love 09:26 has no equal... From this well of divine love 09:31 His gifts flow to us 09:35 by grace through the grace pipeline 09:39 that comes down from heaven to earth. 09:42 Everything... Every good and perfect gift, Lisa, 09:47 comes by God's grace. 09:50 The Bible says we are called by grace. 09:53 We repent by grace. 09:57 It's a gift that God gives to us: the gift of repentance. 10:00 We are saved by grace. 10:04 We are justified by grace. 10:07 All those sins washed away... the past tense. 10:11 We are sanctified by grace 10:14 which means that we are growing in grace day by day. 10:19 We are made righteous by grace. 10:23 Everything comes to us by God's grace. 10:28 Now, as it flows down this pipeline, 10:33 faith is the faucet. 10:36 It's how we tap into God's grace pipeline. 10:39 Romans 5:2 says that it is through Christ 10:44 we have access by faith 10:47 into this grace in which we now stand. 10:51 Now as we tap in to the grace pipeline by faith, 10:57 prayer is the handle that opens this faith faucet. 11:03 And trust is the foundation for the prayer of faith. 11:09 Relationship is the foundation for trust. 11:15 And love is the foundation for our relationship with God. 11:21 So we love God... why? 11:24 Because He first loved us. 11:28 And as we learn to receive that love from Him 11:32 the Bible says that He pours His love into our hearts 11:36 by the power of the Holy Spirit: Romans 5:5. 11:38 So as we learn to open our hearts and receive His love 11:43 and recognize that God has a plan for our life 11:49 and it's better than the one we're living 11:51 we open our hearts and then this love becomes 11:57 the foundation for a relationship with our Lord... 12:01 an intimate relationship that He is calling us to. 12:05 And as we develop this relationship 12:09 through prayer, through the Word, 12:11 then we begin to trust in God with all of our hearts 12:17 and we don't lean on our own understanding. 12:20 And the more we trust Him, the greater the prayer of faith 12:24 becomes... so we are turning that handle on that faith faucet 12:29 with our prayers. And then we begin to truly walk in faith 12:35 and tap into God's grace pipeline. 12:38 Now, let me ask you: 12:41 what are the 3 greatest gifts of God's grace? 12:47 Let me start with this one. 12:50 "For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son 12:55 that whoever would believe Him would not perish 12:59 but have everlasting life. " 13:02 I love the story of the woman at the well 13:06 in John 4:10. It's a story kind of coming to a... 13:10 a climax if you will in John 4:10. 13:14 Jesus tells this woman who had had five husbands 13:20 living with a sixth man 13:22 now she meets the man of perfection... the 7th man: 13:26 the perfect Man... Jesus Christ. 13:28 And as she meets Him and they're having this exchange 13:33 then Jesus finally says to her: 13:36 "Oh, if only you knew 13:39 the gift of God and who it is that is speaking to you 13:44 then you would ask Him and He would give you 13:50 a drink of living water. " 13:53 Jesus was saying to her: "If only you knew 13:56 I am the gift of God. " 14:00 "I am the greatest gift that God has ever given 14:05 this earth. " And it is because of this gift of grace 14:09 that we can have salvation. Is that right? 14:12 Now, the second greatest gift of grace is whom? 14:19 The Holy Spirit. 14:21 Because Jesus told them: "Go and wait till you receive 14:25 the promise that is from on high. " 14:27 And in Acts 2:38-39 14:30 after that promise from on high was poured out 14:34 on the disciples in the upper room 14:36 then when Peter was preaching in Acts 2:38-39 14:42 he said: "Repent and be baptized 14:45 for the remission of your sins. " 14:47 The dismissal... the release from sin. 14:50 And he goes on to say that as many as do this 14:55 will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 14:58 And he says this promise is not only for you and your children, 15:02 for those who are near, but for those who are afar off... 15:06 for God's end-time people. 15:08 The Holy Spirit is the second greatest gift 15:12 of God's grace, and it is by the Spirit 15:16 that Christ lives in our hearts through faith. 15:19 Ephesians 3:17 says: 15:22 "He dwells in our hearts... " - Christ - 15:26 "by faith through the Holy Spirit. " 15:29 So what do you think is the 3rd greatest gift of grace? 15:32 His Word. II Timothy 3:16 says that His Word... 15:38 "All scripture was given by inspiration. " 15:42 Given for reproof, for doctrine, 15:46 to teach us so that every man, every woman, 15:50 could be thoroughly equipped to do the will of God. 15:56 So do you see? If Christ is the first gift of grace 16:02 and the greatest, and if the Holy Spirit 16:05 is God's second greatest gift of grace, 16:08 and if the Word of God - which is living and powerful, 16:13 this Word that He spoke and created the earth. 16:16 This Word that He spoke... 16:18 In II Peter 1:3-4 it says that this Word 16:24 through this Word God has given us everything that we need 16:28 for a godly life. 16:30 He said that He's given us His exceedingly great 16:34 and precious promises so that through them 16:38 we may become partakers of the divine nature. 16:42 Through the promises of God. 16:44 And escape the corruption that's in the world by lust. 16:48 So do you see the power - the divine power - of grace? 16:53 Grace is the unearned, unmerited gifts 16:59 that are bestowed by a God of infinite love 17:03 that bring with them His divine assistance 17:08 and His supernatural power for salvation. 17:12 So now having that definition and understanding of grace 17:18 I want you to open your Bibles if you will, please, 17:21 to II Timothy 2:13. 17:24 II Timothy 2:13. 17:30 I'll tell you 17:32 there is such unbalanced teaching on grace 17:38 in our world, and I want to truly appeal 17:42 to our Baptist friends out there. 17:46 I want to appeal to all of you who think that 17:51 if we talk about obedience we are unlearned in grace. 17:55 And I want to be very respectful because I know some people 17:58 believe once saved always saved. 18:01 But I believe that today if you will follow us through 18:04 the scriptures - and I'll give you all the scripture for this - 18:07 then you will see that grace is something we should guard. 18:12 We should guard it like we would the most valuable treasure 18:17 that is in our possession. 18:19 II Timothy 2:13. 18:22 And the Bible says: "If we are faithless 18:26 He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself. " 18:32 You know, in Genesis 3:1 18:35 the serpent came to Eve. 18:38 And he was more cunning than she was 18:42 and he said to her: "Huh, did God really say? 18:47 Did God really say if we are faithless 18:52 He will remain faithful because He cannot deny Himself? " 18:56 That's not what he was saying to her, was it? 18:59 He was saying: "Did God really say that if you ate 19:02 from this tree you'd die? No, no, no, no. 19:05 You're not going to die. 19:07 No, you'll become like a god. 19:10 You'll know the difference between good and evil. 19:13 You can choose for yourself what you think is good. 19:16 You can choose for yourself what you think is evil. " 19:19 He twisted God's words, 19:22 and as he twisted God's words he caused Eve to fall 19:28 and she disobeyed God. And you know what? 19:32 God is using that same tactic today. 19:36 Jesus said: "Enter by the narrow gate. " 19:42 He said: "Broad is the path of destruction. 19:46 Many there are who will follow it. 19:49 But narrow is the gate... narrow is the path 19:53 that leads to salvation and few there are who find it. " 19:58 Well, here's what the story on this path is. 20:04 Then we'll come back to that scripture that I did not 20:07 explain to you. But this narrow path of salvation 20:13 is found in God's Word. 20:15 We've got to receive and accept not just part of what 20:19 God's Word says but ALL of what God's Word says. 20:22 And you know what? The devil doesn't care which side of 20:27 the path you fall off. He doesn't care if you step 20:30 over here... Let me do it... your right but 20:34 if you step over here to the right and you start becoming 20:37 legalistic and you try to save yourself - 20:41 through obedience if you're trying to save yourself 20:45 by keeping the law - he doesn't care because he knows 20:49 that the Bible says if you do this - and I'll prove it 20:52 in a moment - you've fallen from grace. 20:54 Now, he doesn't care if you step over to the left 20:59 and become too liberal thinking "ha, ha, I'm saved by grace. 21:04 I don't have a thing to worry about. 21:05 I don't need to worry about obeying. I don't need to 21:08 follow the will of the Lord. I've received this gift... 21:11 I don't need to lock it up; I don't need to guard it. " 21:14 He doesn't care which side you fall off on. 21:17 When I was brought up, I never... 21:21 I was brought up in church, different denomination. 21:23 I never heard about grace... ever. 21:27 I was told I had to be perfect to be loved, 21:29 and I trembled in my boots at the thought of God the Father. 21:33 And you know what? What happened was I stepped off 21:37 on this side of the path and that steel-toothed trap 21:41 of the devil grabbed me around the ankle 21:45 and I drug that thing along for so long. 21:48 And I was spiritually hobbled in my progress 21:52 as far as my walk with the Lord. 21:54 And because I could not be perfect 21:58 and because I did not understand God's plan of grace 22:01 I finally became so disheartened I gave up! 22:05 And I walked in the ways of the world for a while. 22:08 I thought: "That's it. I'm beyond saving. 22:12 I can't be perfect. " 22:13 Have any of you ever felt like that? 22:16 Like: "Oh, Lord, what's wrong with me? " 22:19 But then what happened 22:22 was I began studying in my Bible. 22:26 Not studying on grace but I was studying in my Bible. 22:29 I came out of the church of my youth 22:31 and I went to a different church. 22:33 And at this church then what I found was 22:36 "Whoo... this was a neat experience. " 22:40 It was joyful; it was a constant celebration. 22:46 It was... well... different. 22:50 But you know what happened? My friend at this church 22:54 who knew I was trying to understand about grace 22:56 read to me this promise in II Timothy 2:13. 23:01 And you know what she said? 23:03 She said: "Shelley, look at this. The Bible says 23:06 'if we are faithless He remains faithful 23:11 for He cannot deny Himself. ' 23:13 No matter... We're God's children no matter what we do. 23:17 God's not going to disown us... He can't deny Himself 23:21 'cause He's in us. " 23:23 And I looked at that scripture and I said: 23:25 "Yeah, the Bible does say that! Whoo-hoo! " 23:29 You know, it felt good to think I could do no wrong 23:32 in the eyes of my Lord. 23:34 Guess what happened? Was I on the narrow path any longer? 23:38 No, I had stepped over here and all of a sudden "SNAP... " 23:42 here's that steel-toothed snare and I'm dragging it along. 23:47 And my spiritual progression is once again coming to 23:50 just a crawl. So what happened was... 23:55 Open your Bibles to II Corinthians, please, 24:00 because what was going on is I thought 24:04 that I was walking in grace. 24:06 But I allowed this single scripture - taken out of 24:09 context - to influence my immature concept of grace. 24:13 Turn to I Corinthians chapter 10. 24:18 I Corinthians chapter 10. I actually became 24:22 so bold as to think that anyone who taught on obedience 24:27 was unlearned in grace. 24:31 That they were legalistic. 24:33 And then one day I was reading my Bible and I came 24:37 to a text that was just flashing. It lit up like a 24:42 neon light nearly. And let me explain what happened here. 24:46 Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians in this chapter 10 24:49 he's just provided a brief history of the wanderings 24:54 of the nation of Israel - the called-out people of God... 24:57 the remnant of the Lord if you will. 25:00 And he is explaining how they tried the Lord's patience 25:06 over and over and over again. 25:10 And finally they exhausted the Lord's patience. 25:15 So he says... and we're going to look at verse 12... 25:19 he explains God's judgment against them 25:23 was a warning to Christians. And he concludes 25:26 in I Corinthians 10 and verse 12 25:29 saying this: "Therefore, let him who thinks he stands 25:34 take heed lest he fall. " 25:39 Do you think you stand? 25:44 Take heed; check yourself. 25:47 Make sure you're standing lest you fall. 25:51 He goes on and says: "No temptation 25:53 has overtaken you except such as is common to man 25:58 but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted 26:02 beyond what you are able but with the temptation 26:06 will also make the way of escape 26:10 that you may be able to bear it. " 26:13 Although I was very active in church at the time 26:16 I took a look at this scripture 26:21 and started taking a look at my life. 26:23 And I thought: "Oh, Lord, I think I'm standing. 26:28 Am I ignoring Your way out of temptation? 26:33 Am I in danger of maybe taking a nose dive here? " 26:40 You know, my interpretation 26:46 of that single scripture was very presumptuous 26:51 of thinking II Timothy 2:13 "If we are faithful... 26:55 or if we are faithless He is faithful 26:58 because He cannot deny Himself... " 27:00 I had taken that out of context 27:03 and I had become like the Nicolaitins. 27:06 You know what the Nicolaitins believed? 27:08 That they weren't bound by moral law. 27:11 And what did Jesus say in Revelation 2:6 27:14 about the Nicolaitins? 27:16 He said: "I hate their deeds. " 27:18 And that is who I had become. 27:21 Now turn to II Timothy. We're going to stay there for a while. 27:24 II Timothy 2... and let's look at my friend's 27:28 favorite scripture within context because 27:31 this is what the Lord did for me. 27:33 One I began studying and realized I needed to take heed 27:38 lest I fall, He took me back to II Timothy 2 27:42 and I began to study within context 27:47 what the Bible is saying. 27:49 And we will begin with verse 11. 27:51 And here is what he says: 27:54 "For this is a faithful saying: 27:58 for if we... " - notice the if, 28:02 that's a conditional... a condition - 28:05 "For if we died with Him we shall also live with Him. 28:11 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. 28:17 If we deny Him, He will also deny us. 28:23 If we are faithless, He remains faithful 28:28 for He cannot deny Himself. " 28:32 As I probed these verses, truth began to appeal 28:37 to solid reasoning, and the Lord helped me escape 28:42 the snare of the devil. 28:43 Now let's unpack these and see what Jesus is saying. 28:47 What Paul was saying through Christ. 28:49 Let's look at II Timothy 2:11 again. 28:53 "For if we died with Him we shall also live with Him. " 29:00 If we're going to guard the gift of grace that God has given us, 29:05 we must be dead to self and sin 29:11 but alive to God in His gift of re-created life. 29:18 If you're taking notes, just jot this down. 29:21 We're not going to turn there right now, but Romans chapter 6, 29:24 powerful chapter - Romans chapter 6 is one of my 29:28 favorites. In verses 3-10 let me just summarize this. 29:31 In verses 3 through 10 it's talking about 29:35 being baptized into His death. 29:38 What does that mean? To be baptized into His death? 29:42 That means that we are going to nail this old, unregenerated 29:47 self to the cross. We're going to pick up our cross 29:50 and die to self. And the results of that 29:53 as Romans 6 explains is that we are no longer 29:59 slaves to sin. 30:01 If you're still a slave to sin, you're not dead to self. 30:06 It's that simple. 30:07 But we must consider ourself - sometimes, by faith - 30:13 we must first consider ourselves dead to sin 30:17 and our relationship to it broken. 30:20 Calling things that are not as though they already were 30:23 because we know that this is what God is going to work in us. 30:27 We must consider ourselves alive to God 30:32 and our fellowship unbroken with Him in Christ Jesus. 30:38 You know, Paul said in Galatians 2:2: 30:40 "I have been crucified with Christ 30:42 and the life I now live in this body, it is no longer 30:47 me but it's Christ living in me. " 30:50 And in Colossians 3:3 he says: 30:52 "For you have died... " He's talking about right now. 30:56 That you've picked up your cross and died to self. 31:00 And he says: "And your real life is hidden with Christ 31:06 in God. " Have you picked up your cross today? 31:11 Let me ask you: when you got up this morning 31:15 were you guarding grace? 31:17 Did you say: "Oh, Lord, help me 31:20 to walk in surrender to Your power today. " 31:23 "Help me to pick up my cross and die to self 31:27 by the power of Your Holy Spirit. " 31:30 "Help me to put to death the misdeeds of my flesh. " 31:34 Through the regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit 31:38 born-again believers are alive to God. 31:43 Listen to this text. 31:45 This is Titus 3:5. 31:47 The Bible says... Paul's writing to Titus and he says: 31:50 "He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness 31:56 that we had done but because of His own pity and mercy. 32:01 He saved us by the cleansing of the new birth, 32:06 the regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. " 32:11 Did you guard grace today? 32:14 Did you ask that you would be filled with the Holy Spirit 32:19 before you left? One of the things I want to encourage you 32:23 is each morning wake up and say: "Lord, fill me afresh 32:29 with Your Holy Spirit. " We can grieve the Spirit of God. 32:32 We can resist the Spirit of God. 32:35 We can quench the Spirit of God. 32:37 And day by day we've got to pick up this cross and die to self. 32:41 Day by day we've got to get up and say: "Lord, 32:44 let me walk in surrender to You today. 32:47 Fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit. " 32:51 So now let's look on. In II Timothy chapter 2 32:56 we are now ready for verse 12. 32:59 Paul writes and he says: 33:02 "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. " 33:09 What does that mean? You know, Jesus said in Matthew 24:13 33:14 "He who endures to the end will be saved. " 33:20 If we are guarding grace, we've got to endure. 33:25 Romans 5:17 is one of my favorite scriptures. 33:28 I say that about so many, don't I? 33:30 But Romans 5:17 says that those who have received 33:35 an abundance of grace... 33:39 What did we say the three most important gifts of grace? 33:42 Christ, the Spirit, and the Word. 33:47 Those who have received an abundance of grace 33:50 and the gift of righteousness 33:53 will reign in life through Christ Jesus. 33:58 Hallelujah! 33:59 So here he's saying if we endure we shall also 34:04 reign with Him. We must walk in endurance. 34:09 Turn to Hebrews chapter 10 please. 34:12 Hebrews chapter 10. 34:15 In Hebrews 10... You know, sometimes I'll have people 34:20 tell me that the idea of saying we must do God's will 34:24 to be saved... and you'd be shocked how many people 34:28 will say this... "You know, that means you're not 34:31 following grace. " 34:34 But look at what Hebrews 10:36 says. 34:38 Hebrews 10:36: 34:40 "For you have need of endurance 34:44 so that... " What? Before you do the will of God? 34:50 "so that after you do the will of God 34:55 you will receive the promise. " 34:57 You have need of endurance so that after 35:02 you have done the will of God you will receive the promise. 35:05 The wonderful thing is that for us to do the will of God 35:09 it is all by grace. Obedience is by grace. 35:15 We can only obey as God works in us to will and to do 35:20 His good pleasure. Hallelujah! 35:22 So what we see here, then, 35:25 what Paul is writing... "If... " - this is conditional - 35:29 "if we endure we shall also reign with Him. " 35:32 So Christ's faithful followers receive the promise of reigning 35:38 not only in eons of eternity 35:42 but here in life. Those that receive the gift of grace... 35:45 the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness... 35:49 will reign in life through Christ Jesus. 35:53 And so what we must do is go on 35:56 and endure to the end as Jesus said 35:59 doing God's will, and we know that we will receive 36:03 this promise of eternal life. 36:05 Now let's continue on in verse 12 because 36:08 this is a very important part of it. 36:11 "If we deny Him, 36:15 He will also deny us. " 36:20 Let me tell you something: 36:21 you may have heard me speak of a woman 36:23 who is in a Muslim country. She became a Christian 36:28 by watching 3ABN for several years, watching to improve 36:31 her English. A highly-educated woman. 36:34 She was a Muslim, and she endured 3 years of beating 36:39 at the hands of her Muslim husband 36:41 after she accepted Christ 36:43 and now is in a divorce proceeding. 36:46 And you know what the courts have told her? 36:49 If you will renounce Christianity 36:54 and become Muslim again, you may have custody of your 2 children. 36:58 If you do not, you're going to lose your two little ones. 37:03 Now, mothers, I don't know what that does to your heart... 37:05 or fathers... Can you imagine? 37:11 Can you imagine for a minute 37:13 the decision that this woman was faced with? 37:18 If you denounce Jesus... You know what she said? 37:23 This woman who has been so greatly persecuted... 37:29 you know what she said to the judge? 37:32 "God help me... I cannot. " 37:35 She said: "Even if I do not see my children again 37:38 for the rest of my life, I cannot deny my Lord 37:43 and Savior Jesus Christ. " Amen. 37:45 Oh, I pray that I would have the faith to do that. 37:51 She called me weeping and she said: "Pray for me that 37:54 I'll have the faith of Abraham. 37:56 That's what I'm praying for is the faith of Abraham 38:00 that I can lay my children on the altar 38:02 not knowing if He's going to raise them back up or not. " 38:06 And I have to tell you something. 38:10 We've never been faced with something like that, 38:13 but I'll tell you that it does not take a verbal rejection 38:19 to deny Christ. 38:21 We can deny Christ through habitual disregard 38:26 of His commandments. 38:27 Through deliberate sin... that's a denial of Christ. 38:32 That's rejecting His authority if we refuse to abide 38:36 in Him and allow the power of His grace to abide in us. 38:41 We're disowning Him. 38:43 And Paul says here: "If we deny Him, He will deny us. " 38:47 Turn to Titus chapter 3. 38:49 Excuse me, Titus chapter 1. 38:52 Hard to see through these tears. 38:54 Titus chapter 1. 38:58 Paul identifies people of the mindset who call themselves 39:03 Christians yet they deny... by their actions 39:08 they deny Christ. He calls them pretenders. 39:12 That's what he's calling them is pretenders. 39:15 And here he's speaking to unconverted teachers 39:19 and followers who are insubordinate to the gospel... 39:22 particularly to those of the circumcision 39:24 who were following Jewish fables and ritual purity. 39:29 But there were others who were tingled with Gnosticism. 39:33 And here's what he says in Titus 1:16: 39:36 He said: "They profess to know God 39:40 but in works they deny Him. " 39:44 Let me ask you a question. 39:48 Would your neighbor say that about you? 39:53 Would your co-worker say that about you? 39:59 Could your spouse say that about you? 40:03 Or, God forbid, could your child say that about you? 40:08 Do you profess to know Christ going to church every Sabbath? 40:12 Every Wednesday night prayer meeting? 40:15 Maybe you're an elder or a deacon in the church. 40:19 Maybe you're a Sabbath School teacher or a Sabbath School 40:24 superintendent. Do your actions outside of the church 40:28 building show that you are truly a Christian? 40:33 Are your actions at home? Do they show that you are 40:37 surrendered to Christ, dead to self and sin, 40:41 but alive to God? Because if you are not, 40:46 you are merely a pretender professing to know Him 40:52 but denying Him in your actions. 40:54 And you know what Jesus said in Matthew 10:33. 40:57 He said: "Anyone who denies Me before men 41:01 I will deny before My Father in heaven. " 41:07 There's a passage that really got my attention 41:11 back in the day when I was in a different denomination. 41:15 Back in the day when I thought grace meant I didn't have to 41:19 worry about obeying God's commandments. 41:23 Not that... I mean, I wasn't disobeying any one of... 41:26 I kept 9 of them. What do you think I wasn't keeping? 41:30 The Sabbath. 41:32 But... there... I read in Matthew chapter 7 41:37 verses 21-23 where Jesus says 41:41 "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' 41:44 shall enter the kingdom of heaven 41:48 but he who does the will of My Father. " 41:54 He said: "You know, in that day many of them are going to 41:56 come to Me and say 'Lord, Lord, 41:59 did we not prophesy in Your name? 42:02 Cast out demons in Your name? 42:04 Done many wonders in Your name? ' " 42:07 And what is He going to say? 42:09 "Away from Me, you... " Yes... 42:15 "Away from Me - depart from Me - you who practice lawlessness. " 42:19 Only those who do the will of God are going to be in heaven. 42:24 And how do we do the will of God? 42:28 By the grace of God. 42:30 It is Christ living in our hearts through faith. 42:34 Through the Holy Spirit... the Holy Spirit empowering us. 42:38 If we are trying to walk in Christ's footsteps 42:43 without the power of the Holy Spirit, 42:46 we are to be pitied because it is impossible. 42:49 But God's plan is that we will be 100% 42:54 absolutely, totally dependent upon Him. 42:58 He wants to have this Father- child relationship 43:03 with us where we look to Him for all of the answers. 43:06 Where we look to Him for all things. 43:10 Turn to Jude chapter 1. 43:13 Jude chapter 1. 43:16 Well there's only one chapter in Jude. 43:20 But you know you always list it that way and when you're 43:23 writing: Jude 1... but Jude. 43:26 If we look at this book of Jude - 43:31 and I love the way... we're going to start with verse 3- 43:34 Jude's writing and he says: 43:38 "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you 43:43 concerning our common salvation... " In other words, 43:45 he's saying: "You know, that was my plan. 43:47 My plan was to sit down and write to you about our 43:49 common salvation 'cause I love the gospel" is what 43:53 Jude's saying. "This is a great story - the story of Jesus - 43:58 our common salvation. " 44:00 "But, " he says "I found it necessary to write to you 44:06 exhorting you to contend earnestly 44:10 for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 44:15 For certain men have crept in unnoticed who long ago 44:20 were marked out for this condemnation. " 44:22 Ungodly men creeping into the church. 44:26 "Who turn the grace of our Lord God 44:30 into lewdness, and by so doing 44:35 deny the only Lord God 44:39 and the Lord Jesus Christ. " 44:43 If you deny Him, He will deny you. 44:47 "But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, 44:51 that the Lord - having saved the people out of the land of Egypt 44:56 afterward... " After He saved them... 44:59 "He destroyed those who did not believe. " 45:05 Let me ask you a question. 45:07 Do our actions deny a true conversion? 45:13 You know, Christ - in the Great Commission - He called us 45:17 to be ambassadors for Him. 45:19 And I tell you that I really came to understand this better 45:24 in 2009 when Bien Tejano, 45:29 who is the Philippine ambassador to New Zealand, 45:32 came to visit 3ABN 45:34 and he spoke at our morning worship. 45:36 And he said: "Let me explain to you 45:38 what my job is as an ambassador. 45:40 My job is to know the exact will 45:46 of the president of the Philippines. 45:48 My job is to know all of the code of regulations, the law, 45:54 of my country because as an ambassador 45:58 when I go to New Zealand to represent the Philippines 46:02 as an ambassador I am responsible. Every word I speak 46:06 is taken as if it were a word from my president. 46:11 So I have to know the laws. 46:13 I only have to speak what the president would speak. 46:15 And I must 100% uphold the laws of my country. 46:21 Anything less would be a denial of my country, 46:27 my duties, and a reason for dismissal. " 46:29 Let me ask you: is it any less for Christians? 46:35 We're to be ambassadors. 46:37 We're to be letters written on the heart 46:40 from God to the people. 46:42 Shouldn't we know the will of God and be speaking 46:46 according to His Word and His will? 46:49 Shouldn't we know and uphold the law of God? 46:55 Let's go on... because here is the scripture 46:59 that tripped me up for several years. 47:01 Couple of years, anyway. 47:03 II Timothy 2:13 as we continue. 47:07 "If we are faithless 47:10 He remains faithful. 47:14 He cannot deny Himself. " 47:17 Now see, Satan beguiled me to twist this scripture 47:20 with unstable reasoning. 47:22 But within the context of Paul's whole passage here 47:27 and the context of the rest of the teaching of scripture 47:30 in the Bible, God lifted the veil from my eyes. 47:34 Paul's intent in verse 13 is to forewarn us. 47:38 What Paul is saying here is if we don't believe 47:43 in God's power to save, if we're unfaithful to Him, 47:49 then God cannot help but to remain faithful to His Word 47:55 and His promises. 47:57 Because His righteous character 48:01 is represented by His sure Word. 48:05 His promises are trustworthy. 48:07 And how many of them are ours in Christ Jesus? 48:10 All of His promises are ours in Christ Jesus. 48:13 God will faithfully reward those who live by divine grace. 48:19 You can count on it! 48:21 If you're counting on Christ living in your heart by faith, 48:25 you're counting on the Holy Spirit to lead you, 48:28 you're surrendering to the Lord, 48:30 counting on His Word and His promises, 48:33 God will faithfully reward you. 48:36 He will never forsake anyone who is trusting in Him. 48:41 But He is equally faithful to His promises of punishment 48:47 for the wicked. And that is what Paul is saying here. 48:52 You know, I believe that our heavenly Father 48:56 anguishes over any lost relationship. 49:01 The Bible says that He... His heart... He desires 49:04 that all men would be saved. 49:07 Yet He has made a promise, and that promise is 49:13 that He cannot deny His Word. Because to deny His Word 49:17 would be to deny Himself. 49:20 John 10:29: Christ promises "No one can snatch us 49:24 from the hand of our loving Father. " 49:27 Our... the protective hand of God. 49:30 In Romans 8:35-39 Paul further promises that 49:35 absolutely nothing can separate us from God's love. 49:41 The unfailing love, His protection and patience, 49:47 is our safeguard. 49:49 He will cause us to be all that He calls us to be. 49:53 I Peter 1:5 says that it is through our faith 49:59 in His provision of grace that we are kept by His power 50:05 for salvation. Hallelujah! 50:08 But even so, grace does not eliminate free will. 50:13 Turn to Hebrews chapter 3. 50:17 Hebrews chapter 3. 50:20 It is possible to have a form of godliness 50:25 but deny its power. 50:27 I was speaking in England and I did a whole series 50:31 on the love of God. And I had a gentleman who came to me 50:35 in his 70's who was actually an elder in the church. 50:38 And you know what he said to me after this five-night series? 50:42 He said: "I have served in the church for sixty-some odd years" 50:47 and he said "I have never given my heart to the Lord 50:51 until tonight. " He said "I never understood what it meant 50:55 to have an intimate relationship with God and I've never 50:59 overcome the power of sin in my life. " 51:02 He said: "What people see of me is a camouflage. 51:07 They don't know what's in my heart. " 51:10 But it is possible to have that form of godliness 51:15 and deny its power. But it's possible to choose to cast off 51:20 Christ's yoke and walk away... 51:23 breaking the heart of our loving Father. 51:25 But look at Hebrews 3:12. 51:27 He says: "Beware, brethren... " Who is he speaking to here? 51:32 If I get up here and say to you "Beware, brethren, " 51:36 who am I speaking to? 51:38 I'm speaking to the people of the church. 51:41 That's who Paul's speaking to. 51:42 "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you" - 51:47 any of you who profess to be Christians - 51:50 "an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. " 51:57 You know what? This warning to Christians clearly 51:59 demonstrates the possibility of taking a detour 52:03 from that narrow path of life 52:06 and walking away from God's source of grace. 52:11 If we draw back from following in the footsteps of Christ, 52:16 we're departing from the Father. 52:18 Now since you're in Hebrews, turn and look at Hebrews 10 52:22 and let's look at verse 39 52:26 because this is so important that we understand. 52:31 We don't have to shimmer and shake in our boots. 52:37 God is on our side. 52:41 God's... by grace... Remember we said 52:44 everything comes by grace. 52:46 And God wants more to save you than you want to be saved 52:49 yourself. Hebrews 10:39 52:54 says "We are not of those who draw back to perdition 53:00 but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. " 53:04 Hallelujah! 53:06 Say after me: "I am not - I am not - 53:09 of one who will draw back to perdition - 53:13 of one who will draw back to perdition - 53:16 but I am the one who believes - 53:19 but I am the one who believes - 53:21 to the saving of my soul - 53:23 to the saving of my soul. " Hallelujah! 53:26 So what does it mean to guard grace? 53:30 Guarding grace means that we understand God's love... 53:36 this welling heart of love. 53:40 That we begin to know God. 53:43 John 17:3: "This is eternal life: 53:45 to know Him and the One whom He has sent. " 53:48 And as we learn, then, the power of divine grace 53:53 we will walk by faith. 53:56 To guard grace means we must be dead to self and sin... 54:02 considering ourselves dead to sin. 54:05 And I'll tell you what: there is not a better way. 54:10 We receive the life of Christ in our hearts through faith. 54:14 We receive the Holy Spirit, and as we get into the Word of God 54:18 and we confess His Word over our life... 54:21 Sometimes we are calling things that are not as though 54:25 they already were, but as we return that Word 54:27 it doesn't return void. 54:29 God does something; He re-programs our mind 54:32 and He will transform us by His power. 54:37 To guard grace means we must be alive to God. 54:41 Spirit filled, enjoying a relationship through prayer 54:46 and through the Word. 54:47 To guard grace means that we must be surrendered day by day. 54:51 Completely depending upon His power; led by the Spirit. 54:55 Walking in the footsteps of Jesus. 54:59 To guard grace means that we are careful 55:02 not to deny Christ through our attitude or our actions. 55:06 To guard grace means we will not turn away from the truth 55:10 and seek teachings that tickle our itching ears. 55:14 To guard grace means we will keep the commandments 55:19 but not attempting to be justified by the law 55:23 and thereby fall from grace. 55:24 I want to show you that scripture 'cause I forgot to 55:26 earlier. Galatians. Please turn in your Bibles 55:30 to Galatians. We always think of falling off the narrow path 55:35 as maybe falling over to the side of the liberal where we're 55:38 not worried about obedience. 55:40 But look at Galatians 5:4. 55:45 The Bible says in Galatians 5- 55:49 help if I was in verse 5- 55:50 and verse 4... chapter 5, 4. 55:55 I still hear pages turning. I love that sound. 56:00 And in Galatians 5:4 it says: 56:02 "You have become estranged from Christ... " 56:07 You're cut off from Christ. 56:09 You've separated from Christ... 56:12 "you who attempt to be justified 56:16 by law. You have fallen from grace. " 56:21 Oh, how we need to understand grace. 56:24 Oh, how we must guard grace so that we don't try... 56:28 There's nothing that we can do to earn our salvation. 56:31 But at the same time, when Christ is living in our hearts 56:35 through faith, we will be guarding grace 56:39 and we will endure to the end. 56:41 No trial or tribulation can cause us to depart. 56:44 We'll walk in the light, being renewed by the quickening grace 56:48 of His righteousness and be numbered among those 56:52 who believe unto the salvation of our souls. 56:54 Let me leave you with this scripture: 56:56 I Thessalonians 5:23-24. 56:58 "Now may the grace... " Excuse me, "the God of peace Himself 57:02 sanctify you completely 57:05 and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless 57:09 at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 57:11 He who calls you is faithful who will also do it. " 57:17 He will do it if you will guard grace. |
Revised 2014-12-17