Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000003
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00:20 Hello, friends, and welcome to another A Sharper Focus.
00:23 The one stop shopping for Wednesday night prayer meeting. 00:26 Can you all say amen to that? Amen. 00:28 You know, we've continued our study in the word of God 00:31 on how to live a victorious life. 00:34 How to live a spiritual life in a natural body, 00:37 which is the only one we have is a natural body. 00:40 We also discovered a number of things about 00:41 what the Lord can do when we simply 00:43 put our lives in his hands. 00:45 So welcome again tonight. 00:47 If you're friends are walking around the living room 00:49 or the church, invite them to sit down and get their Bibles 00:52 get their pens and a few things that 00:54 before we have our word of prayer, 00:56 we'd like to remind you of, 00:57 you can go to the website tonight 00:59 and download the lesson study for this night's meeting 01:03 and if we go as far as we hope to, 01:05 you can also download the upcoming lesson 01:08 on the topic of justification. 01:10 And the website is asf.3abn.org. 01:16 Don't put www, you won't find it. 01:19 ASF, A Sharper Focus, that's asf.3abn.org. 01:23 And download the lesson for tonight at 001. 01:27 If you already have 001, 01:29 get 002 on the topic of justification. 01:32 At that website, you could also find 01:34 our Facebook and Twitter link, 01:37 where you can upload your prayer request 01:38 and your questions that we hope to be able to address 01:41 on this program from week to week. 01:43 But before we go any further tonight 01:45 we always like to invite the Lord's presence to be with us 01:47 because without Him, we can't do anything. 01:50 So let's pray together. 01:52 Our gracious Father in heaven, we thank You, Lord, 01:54 that truly tonight as is the case every time 01:58 we open the word of God, we will be fed from bread 02:02 that is not baked in human ovens, 02:05 the word of life will permeate our hearts. 02:08 The bread of life will strengthen our limbs 02:11 to live to the glory and honor of Your holy name. 02:14 Father, each one of us wants to be victorious. 02:17 But exactly how that happens, we are still learning. 02:21 But one thing is for sure, 02:22 we can do all things through Christ 02:25 who strengthens us. 02:26 So Lord, be in our hearts tonight 02:28 as we listen to Your word. 02:30 In our minds as Your Spirit speak to us. 02:32 And in our bodies as You empower us to live those things 02:36 that we have learned and have accepted. 02:39 And we pray all the blessings that we shall receive, 02:41 in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. 02:45 Now we've been learning a lot, haven't we? Yes. 02:49 How to live a spiritual life in a natural body? 02:53 You know, one of the reasons why this topic 02:54 is so widely important to me is I like to once again 02:58 or every now and then remind myself of my obligations. 03:02 And some people may say, well, you're a pastor, 03:05 living the spiritual life maybe the easiest thing for you, 03:07 much more difficult for us. 03:10 But if I was a devil I'd come after the pastors first, 03:14 because the congregations become weakened by the leaders 03:17 that are not strong in the Lord. 03:19 So every now and then when I get so busy doing the Lord's work 03:22 I have to remind myself that the most important work 03:25 is not what I am doing for the Lord 03:28 but what the lord is doing in me through me, in us, through us. 03:33 And we learned a number of things about our condition 03:35 before the Lord and we're gonna learn about that again tonight 03:38 at the very beginning, because some of you 03:39 may not have been here to see this picture. 03:41 It's amazing what we look like when we come to the Lord. 03:44 But it's even more amazing what the Lord makes out of us 03:47 after He continues His work in us. 03:50 Now, if you've ever been involved in construction. 03:53 You know very well that when you come to a job site, 03:58 if you find a broken down, dilapidated house, 04:00 it's not gonna be changed overnight. 04:02 Am I telling the truth? Yes. 04:03 It's going to be a lot of hard work, 04:05 lot of diligent work on the outside 04:07 as well as on the inside. 04:09 In the very same way when we come to the Lord, 04:12 He works not only on our outside, 04:14 but He also works on our inside. 04:17 And just to remind you of how glorious that is. 04:19 Look at this picture briefly tonight I showed this last week, 04:22 but if you missed it, 04:23 that's the kind of house that represents us 04:27 like when we come to the Lord. 04:30 I mean, we need a paint job. 04:32 We need to mold removed, our wood is all but rotten. 04:37 You know, as a matter of fact the Bible says, 04:39 our righteousness is as, what? Filthy rags. 04:42 That kind of resembles this picture 04:44 and if you try to sell somebody that house, 04:46 they'll probably say to you, what's the price 04:48 and you mention anything above $10, 04:49 they'll say, you're out of your mind. 04:51 We don't look like we're valuable 04:53 when we first come to the Lord. 04:55 But the beauty of salvation is this, 04:56 the Lord sees us as we are 04:59 and He sees how we can be in Him. 05:01 What do you say? Amen. 05:03 He sees the work that is going to take place, 05:05 if we simply submit ourselves to the working hand of the Lord. 05:09 Now, that's the house before. 05:11 But this is the house after the work is done, 05:14 ain't that wonderful. Quite a difference. 05:16 Now which house would you prefer? 05:18 That one or that one, which one would you prefer? 05:21 That one. Oh, you guys missed it. 05:23 It's the same house in simply two conditions. 05:28 Same address, same location, same house in two conditions. 05:33 The point of the matter is if you show somebody 05:35 that's broken down or somebody that's polished up, 05:37 you ask the Lord which one would you prefer and you say, 05:39 both of them because He knows what we can be. 05:43 As we come in contact with the power 05:46 and presence of the Holy Spirit. 05:47 I will say that, that house has been delivered 05:49 from being demolished. What would you say? 05:52 Because if you left it in the condition 05:54 it was then before, it will maintain no value 05:56 and as time goes on, it will break down to the point 05:58 where it decays and you really can't live in it. 06:01 When you consider that concept, 06:03 the Holy Spirit wants to live inside of us. 06:07 Where does He wanna live? Inside of us. 06:10 But did you think he's gonna move into a messed up house? 06:15 He begins His work in there. Yeah, He starts His work there. 06:18 But He can do more when we invite Him in. 06:24 He works in various ways, one to convict us 06:26 of our need of being refurbished and born again. 06:30 And when He convicts us of our sin 06:31 and we accept the fact that we're sinners 06:33 and in need of a Savior, 06:34 then we invite the Lord to come in, 06:37 and the Holy Spirit begins to work, 06:38 cleaning us up one room at a time. 06:41 Which is sanctification and then finally 06:43 when we're in this finished perfect condition, 06:46 then we are all expressing the glory of the Lord. 06:50 How we will be after the Lord finishes His work. 06:53 Now, reality of it is we're between the first picture 06:57 and the second picture. 06:59 That's the reality of it. 07:01 We're between where God found us 07:03 and where we're going to be. 07:04 So the question we begin tonight with question number 18. 07:07 If you have your syllabus, go to question number 18, 07:10 on lesson number 1. 07:11 We gonna try our best to get to syllabus number 2 tonight, 07:15 that is about justification. 07:16 But if we don't be with us, we'll get there next week. 07:19 Now, this is a very important topic 07:22 or more specifically, a very important question. 07:24 It begins with the very specific question. 07:28 Since we have been delivered from death, 07:31 what else is there? 07:34 Since we have been delivered from death what else is there? 07:37 And by the way delivered from death means justification. 07:41 What I'm going to do tonight is break down justification, 07:45 sanctification, and what's the last one? 07:49 Give me some more volume. 07:50 What's the last one? Glorification, there you go. 07:53 Justification, together what's the next one? 07:55 Sanctification. The final one is glorification. 07:58 In other words between the first house 08:00 and the second house God is still working in us. 08:02 Here's the breakdown of that. 08:06 If you look at the lives that we have-- 08:10 we're going to have in Jesus. 08:12 Or the lives we have in Christ is broken down, 08:15 salvation is broken down into 3 stages. 08:19 I call this the process of sanctification. 08:22 So if you're following along, if you're following along, 08:25 the first thing you'll put is justification. 08:30 Is what? Justification. We're gonna see this. 08:35 Justification, and here's the definition of justification. 08:40 Justification is, salvation from the, what? 08:46 The penalty of sin. 08:48 Salvation from the penalty of sin. 08:51 Let's not run pass that too quickly. 08:53 Because what happens is, if you think of the penalty of sin. 08:57 What is the penalty of sin? Somebody tell me. 09:00 The penalty of sin is death. 09:02 Or specifically the wages of sin is death. 09:05 So when you come to Christ, the first thing He does 09:08 when we accept Him is He saves us from the penalty of sin. 09:12 In other words, how many of us are worthy of death. 09:15 Someone tell me. All of us. 09:16 All of us, every one of us, 09:18 we're born into this world with a nature 09:20 that we inherited from Adam. 09:23 And the only thing that nature can do for us 09:27 is get us ready for death. 09:28 As in Adam, all die. 09:31 First Corinthians 15, verse 22. "As in Adam, all die." 09:37 But when we come to Christ, He takes us off death row, 09:41 thereby saving us from the penalty of sin. 09:45 In the upcoming lesson that we're gonna cover very soon. 09:47 Hopefully parts of it tonight, 09:48 but definitely on our next broadcast. 09:52 We're gonna see justification in a very intricate breakdown, 09:56 a very intricate process, and the reason I say that is 09:58 because a lot of times we get baptized 10:01 and don't know what to do next. 10:03 We get baptized intellectually, 10:05 what I mean by that is, we go through our fundamentals. 10:08 And we see what the Bible says about the Sabbath, 10:10 about the state of the dead, about the 2300 days, 10:13 about diet, about the Ten Commandments, 10:16 about how to live the Christian life. 10:17 And we see all those things and we see--well, 10:18 that's true that's what the Bible says. 10:20 Those are facts. Those will not change. 10:24 So the Lord is not going to change what's in His word, 10:26 what He wants to change is what. 10:29 He wants to change who? Us. 10:32 He wants to change our nature. 10:33 So, salvation from the penalty of sin 10:37 takes immediately from us the nature that we had, 10:42 the nature of Adam and clothes us with the nature of Christ. 10:50 What that does, it takes us off of death row. 10:54 In other words, death no longer reigns over our head. 10:57 The second one you wanna put down. 10:58 Well, the next stage of this is this. 11:01 Justification the penalty of sin has been removed when? 11:06 Immediately, so when you accept Jesus in your life, 11:11 death no longer hangs over your head. 11:15 That's a big chance for an amen right there. 11:17 Put your writing. When you accept Jesus, 11:20 death no longer hangs over your head. 11:23 That's a second chance for a good amen right there. 11:25 But all of you are great students, 11:26 so I'll let you write. I'll say, amen. Amen. 11:30 We are removed from sin immediately. 11:33 The penalty is immediately removed from sin. 11:35 In other words, if you're-- if you're on death row 11:37 in an actual prison, 11:41 in an actual cell, 11:43 that cell will no longer be inhabited by you. 11:46 Jesus takes you off of death row. 11:47 Your name is removed, blotted out. 11:51 From the record of those who are inline to die. 11:56 Notice how the Bible says this in Romans 11:58 and here's the Bible verse. 11:59 If you're following along, here's the Bible verse. 12:02 Romans 3, verse 24. Let's read that together. 12:05 Are we ready, here we go. 12:06 Being justified freely by His, what? 12:11 Grace through the redemption that is in, who? 12:16 In Christ Jesus. 12:19 The redemption is in Christ Jesus, 12:23 we're justified freely. 12:25 But now let's not go past that word very quickly 12:27 because a lot of times we see salvation is free, that's true. 12:31 Let me ask you a question, put this in the right context. 12:33 The house you saw, the first one and the house afterward, 12:37 would it take any money to change that house. 12:40 Would it take a lot of money, would it take a lot of work? 12:44 Okay. But if somebody decides to pay for your house 12:48 to be refurbished, would it cost you anything? 12:51 Would it cost a lot of money? Yes. 12:53 Okay. The point of the matter is salvation 12:56 is offered to you free of charge. 13:00 But salvation cost Jesus everything. 13:05 It's a free gift to you because gifts 13:08 you don't charge a person for a gift. 13:10 But the gift has a cost. 13:12 If somebody gave you a Mercedes Benz, 13:14 it's an expensive gift. 13:16 My wife and I know what that's like, 13:17 somebody gave us a brand new vehicle. 13:19 They gave us the keys and they said to us, 13:22 you don't owe me anything. 13:24 When Jesus gives us salvation, 13:27 Praise the Lord, it's paid for by Him. 13:30 And He says to us, we don't owe Him for that gift, 13:33 we don't owe Him anything. 13:34 But it does come with an obligation. 13:36 Because I remember the person when they gave this vehicle, 13:38 they said to us, all I want you to do is use it 13:41 for the work of the gospel. 13:44 Use it for the work of the gospel. 13:46 But that's justification in a nutshell. 13:48 Justified freely there's a verse that we always like to repeat. 13:52 Ephesians 2, verse 8 and 9, it says, 13:55 For by grace are you saved through, what? 13:57 Faith. And that not of yourselves it is the, what? 14:01 Gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. 14:05 Often times, we put salvation on the word faith. 14:08 For by grace are you saved through, what? 14:10 Faith. So when we ask somebody 14:12 how we're saved how we saved? By-- 14:15 Ah! I led you down the path 14:18 and you answer the question incorrectly. 14:20 How are we saved? By Grace. 14:24 We say by grace through faith. So how are we saved, by-- 14:29 By grace through faith. 14:31 Who's extending that grace to us? 14:34 Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus. 14:37 We're saved by His work, not by our work. 14:45 The first stage of work if you wanna add this 14:46 as an extra note. He works for us. Justification. 14:51 He works for us. Justification. 14:56 But now let's go to sanctification, 14:58 and this is where the process is so widely important 15:01 to understand, because you know sometimes 15:02 we come to Christ and we say okay I'm a member 15:08 "In good and regular standing." 15:10 Whatever that means, because the standing is really 15:12 classified by God because we could live a good life in public 15:16 but how we live in private is something altogether different. 15:18 The Lord knows that life. 15:20 He sees us in private and he sees in public. 15:23 But justification is important when we understand 15:25 the obligation connected to justification. 15:28 But here's the next one. 15:30 The process of salvation as it relates to sanctification. 15:34 Sanctification, salvation from the power of sin. 15:39 So if you're following on line 2, 15:41 put salvation from sanctification equals 15:46 salvation from the power of sin. 15:49 How many of us need deliverance everyday? 15:53 Every one of us, every single day. 15:56 So unlike the terminology, once saved always saved. 16:00 You gotta understand so somebody asked me the question. 16:02 Am I saved, I'll say I am, I'm being, and I will be. 16:06 You find it exactly what I mean by that. 16:08 Is my house being worked on? 16:11 It is, it will be, 16:13 and finally the process is gonna be finished one day. 16:15 So the Lord saves us, He is saving us, 16:18 and He will save us. 16:19 You'll understand exactly what that mean. 16:21 Justification, He saves us, immediately taken from death row 16:25 immediately there is no more penalty of sin 16:28 hanging over our heads. 16:30 But sanctification, this is widely important. 16:31 We'll talk about that on our upcoming topics. 16:34 Salvation from the power of sin, 16:37 because the power of sin is still existing. 16:40 Is there sin in the world still? 16:42 Is there temptation? 16:44 Is temptation tempting? 16:48 And why is it tempting? 16:50 Because the devil knows exactly 16:52 which one to send our way. 16:54 What may tempt you, may not tempt you and vice versa. 16:58 He understands, he keeps records on us 17:00 and as long as we are in the world, 17:01 like Paul the Apostle said, "I fought a good fight, 17:04 I finished my course, I kept the faith." 17:07 The fight he fought was not against the devil. 17:09 He knew that he had to daily fight. I died daily. 17:13 Salvation or sanctification is also the power of sin 17:17 is broken how frequently? 17:19 Daily. That's what sanctification is, 17:22 when you wake up in the morning, 17:24 the power of sin is broken daily. 17:26 And it all depends on what you do in the morning. 17:29 The Lord that we serve is greater than the power of sin. 17:35 We can do all things through Christ 17:37 who gives us strength. 17:38 But the question is whether or not we want that strength. 17:42 That's a really important part, because, you know, 17:43 a lot of times, a lot of times 17:45 we--we wake up in the morning and we can't, 17:50 I don't wanna put this too harshly, 17:51 but sometimes people can't wait to keep on sinning. 17:56 Because they want to bed sinning. 17:58 And they wake up in the morning because sin 18:00 they've allowed sin to reign in their mortal bodies. 18:03 They've allowed sin to be on the throne of their hearts. 18:06 It's in their minds, based on what they're looking at, 18:09 what they're reading, what they're listening to, 18:10 the places they're going, the things that they're doing, 18:13 it's reigning in their lives. 18:14 So they wake up in the morning 18:15 and instead of putting Christ on that throne. 18:18 They leave self on that throne 18:19 because they enjoy the sin, the pleasures, 18:21 as Moses said, the pleasures of sin for a season. 18:24 So that has to be broken everyday, 18:26 but it's not gonna be broken 18:27 unless you invite the Lord to come in. 18:30 He'll break the power of sin through sanctification, 18:33 He'll break it daily. 18:35 Here's the text that goes along with that. 18:37 And these are just simply outlines. 18:39 Getting us to the point that we're gonna cover in 18:41 greater detail later on. 18:42 First Corinthians 1 and verse 18, 18:45 First Corinthians 1 and verse 18, 18:48 it says, For the message of the cross is, what? 18:53 Foolishness. Foolishness to those who are perishing, 18:57 but to us who are, what? 19:00 Being saved. Being saved. 19:02 This is the word process, being saved, 19:05 it is the power of God. 19:07 That's why the power of sin, 19:09 the power of God breaks the power of sin, 19:12 so which one is greater. 19:15 Which one is greater, the power of God 19:16 or the power of sin? The power of God. 19:18 Exactly. Amen. 19:20 But you know, you have something that 19:21 hangs around everyday 19:23 that could determine whether or not 19:25 you're victorious over the power of sin 19:27 or victorious through the power of God. 19:29 There is something hanging around everyday. 19:31 That's gonna be with you until the change comes. 19:34 Somebody tell me what it is? 19:37 It's the flesh. It's the mortal flesh. 19:39 So when Paul says, don't let sin reign 19:41 in your mortal body, 19:42 the reason why he's asking-- the reason 19:44 why he's encouraging us that ways 19:45 because sin can reign in our mortal bodies. 19:48 There's sin all around us. 19:49 Through the things that are being piped into the atmosphere, 19:52 on television, on the radio, 19:54 the things we may have in our homes. 19:56 Sin is everywhere and so in order 19:58 to have a victorious life, you sometimes 20:00 have to prepare your environment for daily battle. 20:06 So what should be the closest instrument to your bed? 20:08 Somebody tell me. The Bible. 20:10 Why--why is the Bible needed? What's the Bible called? 20:15 Sword. The sword, the sword. 20:18 The sword of the spirit which is in fact, 20:20 the word of God. We need the sword how often? 20:24 Everyday. You can have on the whole armor, 20:26 but without a sword. 20:28 Can you imagine, a soldier running into battle 20:30 with just his uniform? He's not ready. 20:33 You've to have the sword, and you have to learn 20:35 how to use the sword. 20:37 It's a two-edged sword. 20:40 Cutting both directions, powerful instrument. 20:45 That's how the power is-- that's how the power of God 20:47 is put into your life everyday. 20:49 How many of you like warm baked bread. 20:52 Let me see your hands. 20:54 You know, when bread is being baked 20:55 and you smell it through the house, 20:56 which is permeating the room, you smell that bread. 20:59 What--what happens in your mind, 21:02 what can't you wait for. 21:06 You can't wait until it comes out of the oven right. 21:08 You can't wait to taste it. 21:09 You can't wait to get that slice. 21:12 Now I've heard somebody wants that 21:15 I ran into a very healthy person once. 21:18 And they said well it's not good to eat the bread, 21:20 when it's very warm just out of the oven. 21:23 You tell that to a kid. 21:25 That's one he wants it. 21:27 When it comes out, you could just kind of poke your finger 21:29 and it kind goes down and comes back up. 21:31 It just--mm-- it's just calling you, 21:34 it's just saying eat me. 21:38 It's right in front of you. 21:43 Think of the word of God as the bread of life. 21:47 If the word of God is by your bed and you wake up 21:49 in the morning with a hunger 21:51 and a thirst for spiritual things, 21:54 you will be filled. But if you don't hunger 21:56 and thirst after righteousness, 21:58 you'll be filled with something else. 22:00 That's the fact of the matter 22:02 and brethren, the reason why this is so widely important, 22:04 is this is what's getting us ready for eternal life. 22:07 How many of us want to live eternally. 22:09 Every one of us, we all want to live eternally. 22:10 This is what God has given to us 22:12 to get us ready for eternal life. 22:14 We're not gonna slide out of a bar 22:16 and slide into heaven the very next day. 22:19 We're not going slide off a lose life 22:21 into a completely victorious life the next day. 22:24 And by the way something we're gonna also 22:25 talk about the Lord determines 22:27 how much work needs to be done in the house. 22:30 The reason I mentioned that is because 22:31 we've a couple of examples in the Bible 22:33 where they were those who accepted the Lord that day, 22:36 died that day, and were assured of being 22:39 in the kingdom when Jesus comes. 22:41 Am I right. Mm-hmm. 22:42 The thief on the cross. 22:44 How long did it take him to be sanctified? 22:48 How long did it take him to be justified? 22:52 Sanctification is not always a lifetime thing. 22:57 But sanctification is a work of a lifetime. 22:59 It's not always a lifetime thing. 23:02 But it lasts for a lifetime. 23:03 In the case of marriage, sanctification is instant. 23:08 Because your relationship is sanctified. 23:09 Sanctify doesn't only mean being made holy, 23:13 but sanctified means being set aside as holy. 23:17 We'll discover that when we talk about 23:18 sanctification in greater detail. 23:20 But we're being saved and the power of God 23:24 is what's saving us everyday 23:25 and finally we get to the picture of the house 23:27 that we like the best. 23:29 The third one, glorification. 23:32 Glorification, salvation from the what of sin? 23:39 From the presence of sin, 23:41 salvation from the presence of sin. 23:44 One day there won't be anymore temptation. 23:48 But until then there will be temptation. 23:51 So in order for you to live in a hostile environment 23:54 and by the way, 23:55 the world is the hostile environment to the Christian. 23:58 If the world is a place that you totally comfortable with it, 24:00 something's wrong. Did you know that? 24:04 Because the Bible says, 24:05 "friendship of the world is enmity with God." 24:09 If you're very comfortable in the world, 24:11 something is wrong but if you're finding yourself 24:13 to be a stranger in the world, 24:15 it's a good thing because Abraham said, 24:17 "he was a stranger and a pilgrim in the earth." 24:21 But the devil wants to design the world 24:22 to be something that appeals to us. 24:25 But here's the point, if Christ is in you, 24:27 then the world cannot be appealing to you. 24:30 But if Christ is not in you that old man is alive 24:33 and the world is appealing to him, 24:34 and he keeps you pulled in that direction everyday. 24:37 Glorification is the salvation 24:39 that we will experience from the presence of sin. 24:41 One day there will be no more sin. 24:43 So in other words, the next definition, 24:46 glorification. Glorification. 24:51 The presence of sin has been eradicated how long? 24:56 The presence of sin has been eradicated how long? 24:59 Eternally. There's no more sin. 25:03 That's the world that all of us are looking for. 25:06 Can I get an amen tonight. Amen. 25:08 We all looking forward as Peter says, 25:12 "A new heavens and a new earth 25:15 wherein dwelleth righteousness." 25:18 So one day there will be no more liquor stores, 25:22 there will be no more drug dealers, 25:24 no more loud music, no more crime, 25:26 no more violence, no more hospitals. 25:29 How many more do I need to mention. 25:31 There will be no more traces of sin. 25:33 Can you think of an environment 25:35 that way there's no more sin, 25:37 no more death, no more suffering, 25:39 no more heartaches, no more kidnappings, 25:41 no more drive by shootings, 25:42 no more killing of animals inadvertently. 25:46 I had a terrible experience today. 25:49 I was on my way to radio. 25:51 That is the 3ABN radio and I was getting there 25:54 and my wife needed fuel in her vehicle 25:57 and she was down to just 3 miles remaining on the-- 26:01 and I knew that if she tried to drive 26:03 from 3ABN radio to the gas station. 26:05 She may end up breaking it down 26:07 somewhere along those roads, so she said, 26:08 I only have 3 miles left. 26:09 It says, I only of 3 miles left on my mileage indicator. 26:16 When she left home, she had ten miles left. 26:19 When she got down to the turn of the church 26:21 she had 7 miles left. And that's not 3 miles. 26:25 When she got from the church to 3ABN radio, 26:26 she had 3 miles left and I knew I said, 26:28 she's not gonna make it. 26:30 So I filled up a gas tank and went there on my way 26:32 going as fast as I could, you know, 26:36 that gas can I don't want to spill on the car, 26:38 turned the corner on the Marvel Lane, 26:41 heading toward radio and I heard this. 26:46 And I looked back and I saw a little animal roll 26:48 and I felt horrible. 26:51 I felt awful. 26:53 I said, oh, I just--I just went over an animal. 26:57 And my wife and I, we have acclimated to the country life. 27:02 We are now bonafide country bumpkins. 27:05 We feed the squirrels, the raccoons, 27:07 the possums, the groundhogs when they come around. 27:10 We feed the birds of all kinds. 27:11 We enjoy doing that and when I went back, 27:14 I said to myself, I'm not gonna look, 27:17 I thought it was a rabbit. I went back and I-- 27:19 as I'm driving by--I just 27:21 glanced down very quickly to see what it was. 27:24 It's a groundhog, a little one. 27:27 And I felt, you know, I just think about it 27:29 and it just bothers me. 27:31 Because I love animals and I remember 27:33 while there was one day when I hit 2 squirrels 27:35 in one day, and I was broken up for about 3 days. 27:39 Now I'm struggling through 27:40 this killing of this little groundhog. 27:42 He was just on his way home. 27:43 He was probably trying to get there for lunch 27:45 and I think to myself I would love it 27:47 when the day comes where there will be 27:48 no more death of even animals. Amen. 27:52 That's what, that's what gonna happen 27:54 when Jesus comes and eradicates sin eternally. 27:57 We'll be able to play with the groundhog 27:58 in one hand and pet the lion in the other. 28:01 Ain't that wonderful? 28:02 When Jesus eradicates sin eternally. 28:05 That's what glorification is. 28:07 Sanctification, He eradicates the power daily. 28:09 Justification, He removes the penalty immediately. 28:13 Look at the text, the glorification text. 28:16 One of the favorite ones in the Bible. 28:17 Isaiah 25 verse 9. 28:19 Put that down for the Bible verse. 28:21 For the Bible verse, 28:24 And it will be said in that day: 28:27 "Behold, this is our God We have waited for Him, 28:32 and He will save us. 28:35 He will save us from what? 28:37 From what? From what? The presence of sin. 28:41 No more devil. Amen. No more evil angels. 28:45 No more thoughts entering our minds 28:47 while we're praying, no more struggling 28:49 with feelings when we see people 28:50 that we can't get along with. 28:53 No more arguments, no more controversy. 28:58 You guys should be shouting right now. 29:01 Hallelujahs should be going up in air. 29:07 But it is hard to think of that kind of world. 29:10 It's hard to think of that kind of world. 29:13 Paul the Apostle though gives a wonderful description 29:16 as he writes to Titus. 29:18 In the book of Titus, he gives a wonderful description 29:21 of where we were before Jesus. 29:24 What happened in the process of getting us to Jesus. 29:27 And what happens after we come to Christ. 29:30 Which leads us to question number 19, 29:33 question number 19. 29:35 How does Paul the Apostle explain justification? 29:40 Go with me to Titus Chapter 3. 29:43 Titus Chapter 3, and we're going to look 29:46 together beginning with verse 3 29:50 all the way down to verse 7. 29:55 That's a long one. 29:57 But I tried to find a way to cut out pieces of it, 30:01 but it's too much good stuff to cut it out. 30:04 Titus Chapter 3, verse 3 to 7, 30:07 question number 19, the question is, 30:09 how does Paul the Apostle explain justification? 30:14 Here it is. 30:16 Now you got to follow this carefully 30:17 because he's talking about us. 30:19 For we ourselves were also once, what? 30:23 Foolish, disobedient, deceived, 30:28 serving various lusts and pleasures, 30:31 living in malice and envy, hateful, 30:34 and hating one another. Ain't that powerful? 30:39 That's amazing, I mean, that's a description 30:41 that just shows us who we are, 30:43 that's the truth about everyone of us. 30:46 That's how we used to be, 30:47 before Jesus that's how we used to be. 30:49 What's amazing and--as I'm hoping 30:50 that we're not that way after Jesus. 30:53 But some of us maybe, may still need deliverance 30:55 from some of those things. Let's go on. It continues. 31:00 But when the, but when the, what? Kindness. 31:03 Kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 31:09 not by works of righteousness which we have done, 31:12 but according to his mercy He saved us, 31:17 through the washing of what? 31:19 Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 31:24 whom He poured on us, how? 31:27 Abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 31:30 that having been. What? 31:32 Justified by His grace we should become heirs 31:37 according to the hope of eternal life. 31:40 That's a whole lot to digest. 31:41 But I want to go back and just point out a few things. 31:44 When Paul communicates that, 31:48 he talks about the mercy of God. 31:54 The washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit. 31:58 He talks about salvation being poured out on us. 32:02 What word did He use to show that God is not a stingy God 32:07 when it comes to His salvation? 32:08 What's the word He used there? 32:11 Abundantly. In other--in other words what? 32:14 Poured. Have you ever washed your car before. 32:18 As some of you drive to the car wash, I know that. 32:20 But if your car has ever been really muddy before. 32:22 Anybody ever had a really muddy car? 32:24 I mean a really, really muddy car. 32:26 Where you couldn't just wash it off. 32:28 But you've to go take that really strong 32:30 what you call those steam washers. 32:34 And after you've gone through the mud, 32:36 which you know I have an experience, 32:38 I remember one when we where building a house 32:39 not too far from here and it was a cold wintry day 32:43 and we had to get the trusses put up and it was raining 32:46 and the ground was not even ready yet. 32:48 And that is all the mud and the clay was there. 32:52 And my job was to stand on the ground 32:54 and hold on to this very thick rope 32:57 and guide the trusses as the crane put them in place 32:59 and guys were standing on the roof in the rain 33:02 hoping that they would not slip. 33:04 Hoping that they wouldn't fall 33:07 and I was standing in mud, in mud. 33:10 And when our day was done 7 or 8 hours later, 33:13 I had on 3 coats, the last one was waterproof. 33:17 Had on waterproof boots, had on pants 33:19 that I didn't mind getting wet with another pair of pants 33:21 over that to keep the rain off as much as I could? 33:24 When I finally got out of that and I tried to drive that, 33:28 there was mud caked up behind the wheels. 33:30 There was mud all over the vehicle, 33:31 my boots were so muddy 33:32 that I had to leave them in the garage. 33:34 I couldn't even get to my car with those boots. 33:36 I had to put red blue tarp in the car to get in 33:39 because I was fearful that the cakes of mud 33:41 would get all over my vehicles. 33:43 That's how sin is. 33:45 We're in the muck and mire of sin. 33:47 But God and His mercy pours on us abundantly His grace 33:51 and cleanses us from our sins. 33:59 Let think about that a little bit. 34:01 He pours his grace on us abundantly 34:05 and cleanses us from our sins. 34:08 You know the devil's plan for our lives is. 34:10 You know what his plans are? 34:12 His plans are to join him in the lake of fire. 34:17 That's his plan. 34:19 And he wants us to get there by making us think 34:21 that we don't really need the power of Christ 34:24 in our lives day by day. 34:25 That we don't really need God to deliver us now, 34:28 I mean, we want to be delivered but eventually. 34:31 And the deception of sin is that it can be 34:34 something we play with so long. 34:37 That we can't get away from it. 34:39 It could be something we tease so long, 34:43 kind of like children, like they like to tease dogs. 34:45 Have you ever seen kids do that. 34:47 You know, dog is ferocious, he's going to go like this 34:49 and he's just snarling and growling and 34:53 heard the story of a man who made chains. 34:57 And he made chains particularly for a local prison, 35:01 because they had discovered that the chains 35:03 that they were buying, there was a flaw in the chains 35:06 that is where they were being soldered 35:07 or where they were being not the word soldered, 35:09 what's the word, welded. 35:11 And prisoners were breaking away because they found 35:14 that there was flaws in the chains and they would 35:16 work that eventually till the welding broke off 35:19 and prisoners found their way out. 35:21 This man prided himself of making the best shackles, 35:24 the best chains. 35:27 Because he knew nobody would getaway from this chains. 35:31 Problem was he wasn't not only making chains, 35:33 but he was living a life of sin. 35:35 And that sin eventually caught up with him. 35:37 He got put in jail, got locked up. 35:40 But he knew, Ah! 35:43 Those chains were faulty in jail. 35:46 Until he ran into one of the chains he made. 35:51 Now think about that really carefully, 35:53 we can sometimes be designing our own chains. 35:57 Because we play with sin like it's something 36:00 that really is not going to hold us and bind us. 36:05 But when you read these texts, 36:06 these texts should permeate our soul that-- 36:09 I mean when I was studying this overtimes it brought 36:11 tears to my eyes to think that the Lord loves me so much. 36:15 Building a mansion for me to get me out of this world. 36:17 But there are so many people whose lives are so filled 36:19 with the pleasure of sin, 36:21 that they hear these things in a roll off like-- 36:24 like a swan in a lake. 36:26 It just kind of rolls off and we're hoping that 36:29 when you hear these, 36:30 these messages of God's abundant grace 36:31 that it doesn't roll off your back with a simple thank you. 36:36 Somebody gave you a car, you wouldn't just say thank you. 36:38 Would you? Somebody came and bought your house 36:41 and gave you a mansion. 36:42 Would you just say, I appreciate it, 36:43 I need a place to live. No, we wouldn't. 36:46 The Lord is saying to us 36:47 the devil's plans for our lives is to destroy us. 36:49 I've come that you might have life 36:51 and have it more abundantly, also have eternally, amen. 36:55 Let's go to the next question. Question number 20. 36:58 How does Dr. Luke record the message of justification? 37:03 How does he record the message, 37:06 the message of justification? 37:07 Acts, Chapter 13, verse 38 and verse 39. 37:13 Acts, Chapter 13, verse 38 and verse 39. 37:20 Turn the Bible, we could see on top of this. 37:23 Acts Chapter 13, 37:29 verse 38 and verse 39. 37:36 Here's what the Bible says, 37:38 "Therefore let it be known to your brethren, 37:42 that through this Man, that is, Jesus has preached to you, 37:47 that through this Man Jesus is preached to you 37:50 the forgiveness of sins and by Him everyone who believes 37:57 is justified from all things from which you could 38:02 not be justified by the law of Moses." 38:06 Now let me stop and talk to those of who boast 38:10 in keeping the commandments. 38:12 This is really important. 38:14 The commandments cannot save us. 38:19 Did you read the text? 38:24 Through Moses, the Jews were given ceremonial laws 38:28 which God communicated to Moses to write down. 38:31 But those couldn't save humanity. 38:33 It was simply an object lesson to remind them 38:36 that the Savior Christ Jesus was going to come one day. 38:40 But even after the ceremonial laws 38:41 were done away with, 38:43 the Ten Commandments still continues. 38:45 And the Ten Commandments cannot save us. 38:48 By the law is the knowledge of sin. 38:51 Anybody has a mirror in their house. 38:53 You look in the mirror everyday? 38:56 Hope you do. 38:58 Unless you won't know what your condition is. 39:01 If you look into the perfect Law of Liberty. 39:03 Go with me to James, extra credit, here we go. 39:06 James, what book did I say? James. 39:15 The Lord tells us everyone of us needs a mirror. 39:20 Amen for mirrors. 39:22 Always try to keep one nearby not that I'm looking in myself 39:24 but I want to know, I want to know, my condition. 39:28 All right? 39:32 okay. 39:37 James Chapter 1 39:44 and we're gonna look down to verse 22, 39:51 let's start with 22. All right. 39:55 This is important, that's why I'm hoping that 39:57 it's getting beyond your ears. 39:59 I'm hoping it's getting to your heart. 40:00 Verse 22, it says, But be. 40:03 What of the word? Doers. 40:05 Doers of the word and not what? 40:07 Hearers only deceiving, who? 40:09 What's the hearer? 40:11 A hearer is somebody who listens to someone being preached. 40:14 A hearer is somebody who listens to sermon after, 40:16 sermon after, sermon after, sermon after sermon 40:19 and doesn't do anything, the sermon suggests. 40:22 Doesn't even say, Lord, I need the strength to live in harmony 40:24 with what I just heard. 40:26 That's why it's cheap when a person says-- 40:28 now let me put this in right context. 40:30 It's encouraging for a preacher to hear, 40:32 hey, good sermon pastor. 40:33 But you know, what's even more important than that, 40:35 that you live, they say, Lord, 40:37 I need strength to live in harmony 40:40 with what I just heard because I can't do it naturally. 40:43 How to live a spiritual life in a natural body? 40:47 You can, you can have a whole bank of sermons 40:49 from every great preacher in the world and still be lost. 40:53 You can have all the C.D. Brookes sermons, 40:54 all the Henry Wright sermons, all the Mark Finley sermons, 40:56 all of--the list goes on and on. 40:58 You can have Doug Batchelor's entire series, great sermons. 41:02 But if you don't have the power of Christ in your life 41:04 you'll just be a sinner, 41:06 being lost with all this knowledge. 41:08 And there's nothing worse than having all the ammunition 41:13 to show you the way of salvation 41:15 and chose to be lost anyhow. 41:18 But it continues. 41:19 I wanna emphasize the hearers of the word. 41:21 But now, go down to verse 23, 41:25 For anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, 41:30 he is like a man observing his natural face in, What? 41:34 In a glass or in a mirror, for he observes himself, 41:39 he sees who he is, he looks at his life. 41:41 Goes away and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 41:48 But he who looks into the perfect Law of Liberty. 41:52 God's commandment, nothing wrong with it. 41:54 And continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer 41:58 but a doer of the word, this one will be, what? 42:03 Blessed in what he does. What does that mean? 42:07 First of all, if you have Bible studies that's good. 42:11 But you've to pray for God to give you the strength 42:12 to live in harmony with what you just study. 42:15 If you hear sermons, that's good, 42:17 but you've to pray for the Lord to say okay. 42:19 The pastor reminded me, the preacher reminded me, 42:22 the teacher reminded me of something I must do. 42:24 Give me the power and the strength 42:26 to live in harmony with it. 42:27 Because we just hear it, 42:31 it's like hearing a siren that the building is on fire 42:34 and you stay in the building. 42:36 It's like hearing train whistle and you cross the tracks. 42:44 But sin is so deceptive that when the natural man 42:48 is in control, people can hear sermons 42:51 and not even move. 42:54 And not even be changed by it. 42:57 Like my favorite preacher, Elder Brooke said, 43:00 "sun could melt butter, but hardens clay." 43:05 The same sun, the Sun of Righteousness-- 43:07 the glory of Jesus can be preached 43:09 and it doesn't do a thing but harden the clay. 43:11 It's condition of the heart. 43:13 The word can be sown but is falling into shallow ground, 43:16 stony ground, thorny ground. 43:19 It's amazing that 3 out of the 4 conditions 43:21 that Jesus talks about He said the word profited 43:24 nothing in these 3 lives because the problem is not the word. 43:27 The problem is not the sower, 43:29 the problem is the condition of the human heart. 43:32 So what do we have to pray for? 43:33 We have to pray for the Lord to change our hearts. 43:34 Wasn't that David's prayer? 43:36 He said what, create in me, create in me what? 43:39 Clean heart, oh God and renew a what? 43:42 Right spirit within me. A right spirit, 43:47 not just a spirit, but a right spirit within me. 43:51 So we have to look at God's law 43:52 and say there's nothing wrong with God's law. 43:54 But there's got to be something wrong with me. 43:57 And when these things are heard by us 43:58 and I look at and I said, Lord, 44:00 I know there's a lot of work that needs to be done 44:02 in my life. Thank you, Lord, 44:03 for that work that you are doing. 44:05 Question number 21, question number 21, here it is. 44:11 What is the means by which we are justified? 44:14 We talked about this earlier, 44:15 I'll just put on the screen right away. 44:16 Well, I think we know this one by heart. 44:18 What is the means by which we are justified? 44:21 For by grace you have been saved through faith 44:24 and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, 44:31 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 44:34 So I can even say, I saved myself because I haven't. 44:38 I can't save myself. 44:40 I could only make the decision to go to the doctor. 44:43 I can't remedy my condition. 44:45 I can only make the decision to put myself 44:47 in the hand of a qualified physician. 44:49 And Jesus is the master physician. 44:51 You know what that means, this is not a condition of sin 44:53 that Jesus cannot remedy--remedy us from. 44:57 Somebody once said to me, 44:58 well the Lord doesn't know what I've done. 45:00 I mean, I have done some terrible things I wonder 45:02 if God is going to forgive me. 45:03 There's nothing that we can do that the Lord 45:05 can't forgive us from. Amen. 45:09 But the question is do we want to be forgiven. 45:12 Eventually, that's the deception. 45:14 I've gone there a few times for particular reason, 45:18 it is important that we understand that 45:19 time is never on our side. 45:23 When is the day of salvation? 45:24 Today. When is the time of salvation? 45:27 When is the acceptable time? Now. 45:29 Today is the acceptable time, now is the acceptable time. 45:32 Now is the day of salvation. 45:35 We got to ask the Lord to come and do this work today. 45:37 Can you imagine the thief on the cross saying. 45:39 I do accept you as a Lord, 45:41 but don't know about the salvation. 45:46 He knew He didn't have a lot of time. 45:48 He accepted the Lord then, he got the assurance then, 45:52 and when the Lord comes he will be 45:53 in the kingdom with the Lord. 45:55 So this grace that God gives us this gift. 45:58 And often times you know in the Christian Life 46:00 in the Christian world so much today is being 46:02 has replaced the preaching of the gospel 46:05 or the preaching of salvation with portfolios 46:08 and prosperity and all the--all the foolishness 46:12 that doesn't give the person the power 46:15 that they need to find out how to be delivered. 46:18 You know people just think, well, 46:19 I'm gonna struggle all my life until Jesus comes 46:22 and then I'm going to slide in. 46:23 I believe that you don't have to struggle, 46:25 the word of God shows that we can be delivered. 46:28 Don't have to have a cavity that's gonna be 46:29 with you all your life, the Lord can deliver your life, 46:32 fill you with His Holy Spirit. 46:34 Question number 22. 46:35 I'm gonna try to get you some of the second lesson 46:37 before we end tonight. 46:39 Question number 22. 46:42 What is another explanation given for justification? 46:48 You'll notice we're starting to teeter 46:50 into the topic of justification. 46:51 What is another explanation? 46:53 Go with me to the book of Romans Chapter 5. 46:57 Romans Chapter 5. And we're gonna spend 47:00 a lot of time in Romans in our next lessons 47:03 because Romans Chapter 1 all the way to Romans Chapter 5 47:07 talks about justification in a beautiful way. 47:10 Then Romans Chapter 6 talks about that transition 47:13 of being baptized, entering into a new relationship 47:15 with the Lord. And Romans 7 47:16 talks about the reality of being confronted 47:20 with the fact that we have a spiritual God, 47:22 but we have a natural body. 47:25 Look at Romans and what it says. 47:27 Romans Chapter 5 and verse 10, 47:30 here's what the Bible reads. Wow, wow. 47:35 It's one of my favorite texts, 47:37 I got a lot of them but this is one of my favorites. 47:40 For if when we were. What? Enemies. 47:43 Enemies. You got to get this. 47:47 "For if when we were enemies 47:49 we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, 47:53 much more, having been reconciled, 47:57 we shall be saved by His life." 48:00 And that's powerful, let me break that down. 48:03 Because you know we read that and we say okay. 48:05 Okay, when we were enemies, we were reconciled. 48:07 Let me tell you a brief story here which I have-- 48:10 have you heard of the Emancipation Proclamation? 48:13 The Emancipation Proclamation in short was 48:16 when slavery was abolished. 48:18 They were emancipate, they were set free. 48:20 The announcement went out to bill a sign, 48:23 all slaves have been set free now, 48:25 and they no longer abound to their masters. 48:30 In the very same way, the master that holds us 48:33 as slaves is this nature that we receive through Adam. 48:37 But notice what it says. 48:38 It says, for if when we were enemies we were reconciled, 48:42 that means, even before we were set free, 48:45 the bill was signed for us to be set free. 48:50 Let me go farther back in that. 48:51 Jesus died more than 2,000 years ago. 48:55 He paid the price for our sin more than 2,000 years ago. 48:58 He redeemed us more than 2,000 years ago. 49:01 He did that, even while we were enemies. 49:06 So if He made the provision then through the death of a son 49:11 and we did not accept Him, then how much better 49:15 will our lives be after we accept Him. 49:19 That's what it's saying. 49:20 If He made the provision for us before we accepted Him. 49:23 And things were gone fairly well, 49:26 how much better would our lives would-- 49:27 how much better would our lives be after we accept Him. 49:31 It'll be a lot better. 49:34 Is that an understatement? 49:36 Are you guys here tonight? Is that an understatement? 49:40 If you--I got to use a natural illustration 49:44 here to get--to get this to sink in. 49:47 I want to get this to really sink in. 49:52 How many of you would like to be a millionaire for a day? 49:57 Come on, put your hands up. 49:58 You're not telling the truth if you're hands are down. 50:01 How many of you would like to be a millionaire for a day? 50:05 Oh work with me on this one. 50:08 Okay, if somebody said to you today. 50:10 Today, I'm taking you on a shopping spree with me 50:14 and there is no limit financially to what you can buy, 50:19 but you only have 24 hours to buy 50:22 whatever you want and after the 24 hours is done 50:25 if you have purchased it, you can have it. 50:29 So what would be the first thing that happens to you? 50:33 You would go into materialistic overload. 50:37 Am I telling the truth? Yeah. 50:39 They say, it doesn't matter what you buy. 50:43 You can buy whatever you want within 24 hours. 50:49 Now would you go out and buy a pencil, 50:50 come on, talk to me. 50:53 Would you walk into the store and ask, 50:55 what's the price of that? Would you ask that? 50:58 Because they just said to you no matter what you want, 51:02 you could--I'm footing the bill. 51:05 So you walk into the store and the first item you get is-- 51:08 I like to get a box of doughnuts and you turn to the guy 51:12 and say that's gonna be $15 dollars, is that okay? 51:15 And he says to you, you didn't get what I just said to you. 51:18 You missed what I just said to you. 51:20 I just said to you, there is no limit, 51:22 you just get it and I'll pay for it. 51:25 So you try the next store and you go on 51:27 and you say. I really like these shoes. 51:30 But they're pretty expensive. 51:32 And he says did you just get what I said. 51:34 I didn't ask you about the price of the shoe. 51:37 I said to you pick the store. 51:41 And you walk in timidly and say, 51:42 can I have-- want to get like. 51:45 Can I get 3 pairs of shoes? 51:46 And he says, you just still didn't get it. 51:51 And when the shoes come up and you ask-- 51:54 you make a mistake and what's the price. 51:56 He says, he taps you remember it doesn't matter. 51:59 I've made the provision. 52:01 You see, what's happening here, 52:03 then all of a sudden at the 23rd hour, 52:05 you it all of a sudden hits you. 52:07 And you say can you buy me Mercedes? 52:10 He said, sure you can but you got one hour. 52:12 Can I get me a plane? 52:13 Sure you can, you got an hour. 52:15 Can I buy me a fifty storey penthouse building? 52:19 Of course, you can, 52:20 you got an hour to get whatever you want. 52:22 And you know what happened, 52:23 when the last ten minutes are around, 52:25 all of the sudden it finally sinks in 52:27 that there is no limit and you go nuts and realize, 52:29 what if I--what if I--what if I caught this 23 hours later. 52:35 How much more would I have? My point is this. 52:39 We've got to get this now. 52:41 We gotta realize that if you reconcile 52:44 as while we were enemies and He says to us. 52:46 You've got a blank check to salvation. 52:49 You've got a blank access to everything 52:51 that is in my possession. 52:52 You're my son, I'm your Father, 52:55 there's no limit to what I can do. 52:57 How does Paul say it. 52:58 He can do exceedingly, come on now, 53:00 abundantly above all that you can ask or think 53:05 according to the power that is at work where? 53:08 In us. So what's, what's my illustration. 53:12 A true illustration and it fails into comparison 53:16 to what the Lord is making available to us. 53:19 It pales because the Lord is not just making things 53:21 on this Earth available to us. 53:23 Everything outside of this world is available 53:26 because He's the Lord of Heaven and Earth. 53:29 And even what the Bible hasn't written yet. 53:31 He's making us accessible to that. 53:34 So when we think about salvation brethren 53:35 the door to that scenario that I just painted to you 53:38 is the door called salvation. 53:40 It's called what? Salvation. 53:42 But we got to get out of this mess. 53:46 In order to have that limitless, abundant, 53:49 non-focused on material life that God intent for us to have. 53:54 Unfortunately, the world narrows it down to materialism. 53:56 The Lord is saying, oh, you don't even know what. 53:59 Eyes have not seen, Paul says, ears have not even heard. 54:02 It hasn't even entered into your heart. 54:04 The things that God has prepared for those that love Him. 54:07 But the door is the plan of salvation. 54:11 The door is the plan of salvation. 54:13 We will be reconciled, we will be saved by His life 54:16 and the phrase I like the most, 54:17 the most in this is the phrase much more. 54:20 What's the phrase? Much more. 54:22 There's much more to the story than we can even see 54:26 in the feeble words of humanity. 54:27 Question number 23, question number 23. 54:31 What does justification accomplish for us? 54:35 What does justification accomplish for us? 54:39 It accomplishes for us, what? 54:42 Let's just read it. 54:43 I don't want to jump ahead myself. 54:44 We're turning now to Colossians, 54:49 Colossians 1, verse 21 to verse 22. 54:56 Let me turn there with you. 54:59 I have it on the screen but I just wanna, 55:01 I wanna go through the exercise 55:02 of knowing exactly where you are. 55:03 Because I may want to read something more 55:06 than what I have on the screen. 55:07 Colossians 1 verse 21 and verse 22. 55:14 Another very important text, 55:15 almost similar to the one that we just read. 55:18 Almost similar to one we just read. 55:20 Here it is. 55:22 Okay, first two words are what? 55:25 And you. Say, and me. 55:28 And me. And me. Us, me. 55:33 And you, who once were alienated and enemies 55:38 in your mind by wicked works, yet now. 55:44 Speak it right now. 55:45 Yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through what? 55:51 Death. For what purpose, to present you how, friends? 55:56 Holy and blameless and above reproach in His sight. 56:02 Can you say Amen to that? Amen. 56:03 You know what God is saying there. 56:06 I'm gonna go back, I know they saw it on the screen 56:07 but I wanna break this down just for you 56:09 who are right here in the room. 56:11 You who are once alienated and enemies in your mind 56:14 by wicked works. 56:15 You know what that's saying, 56:16 our minds are so messed up that we can even, 56:18 God it was like trying to, it was like a mosquito 56:21 trying to get through a very strong plate-glass window, 56:24 just bouncing, bouncing, bouncing. 56:26 And some people take longer to convert than others. 56:28 Do you know why? Because their minds are filled, 56:31 their minds are alienated and enemies by their wicked works. 56:38 But does the Lord cast them away. 56:40 Yes or no? No. 56:42 He looks at the worse condition 56:43 and this is a pretty bad condition. 56:45 He looks at the worse condition and He says. 56:48 And He says, yet now He has reconciled 56:53 in the body of His flesh through death. 56:57 To present you how? Holy. 56:59 Can we be holy? Yes. 57:01 Who wants to be holy? Amen. 57:03 Blameless and above reproach in the sight of God. 57:06 Do you know what the judgment is all about? 57:09 We're living in the hour of judgment, 57:11 the judgment is simply this. 57:13 The devil is accusing us before God. 57:16 And if he can prove, 57:17 if he can say that they're not worthy, 57:19 they're not worthy. 57:22 And that sticks, then we'll lose eternal life. 57:25 But because of the righteousness of Jesus 57:28 everyone of us can have salvation, 57:31 and be holy and be blameless and be above reproach 57:35 because of what Jesus had done for us. Amen. 57:39 And so as we continue studying A Sharper Focus. 57:41 The focus that we all must have is not just 57:44 the focus on what the Bible says, 57:46 but a focus to see Jesus Christ even more clearly. 57:50 He wants to change our lives. Transform our lives. 57:54 Take us from where we were to where He can 57:57 have that abundant experience in our lives. 57:59 So continue trusting the Lord and one day 58:01 you'll have that Sharper Focus. God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17