Hello, friends, and welcome
to another A Sharper Focus.
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The one stop shopping for
Wednesday night prayer meeting.
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Can you all say
amen to that? Amen.
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You know, we've continued
our study in the word of God
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on how to live
a victorious life.
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How to live a spiritual
life in a natural body,
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which is the only one
we have is a natural body.
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We also discovered a
number of things about
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what the Lord
can do when we simply
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put our lives in his hands.
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So welcome again tonight.
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If you're friends are
walking around the living room
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or the church, invite them
to sit down and get their Bibles
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get their pens
and a few things that
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before we have
our word of prayer,
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we'd like to remind you of,
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you can go to
the website tonight
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and download the lesson
study for this night's meeting
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and if we go as
far as we hope to,
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you can also
download the upcoming lesson
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on the topic of justification.
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And the website is asf.3abn.org.
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Don't put www,
you won't find it.
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ASF, A Sharper
Focus, that's asf.3abn.org.
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And download the
lesson for tonight at 001.
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If you already have 001,
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get 002 on the
topic of justification.
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At that website,
you could also find
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our Facebook and Twitter link,
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where you can
upload your prayer request
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and your questions that
we hope to be able to address
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on this program
from week to week.
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But before we go
any further tonight
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we always like to invite the
Lord's presence to be with us
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because without Him,
we can't do anything.
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So let's pray together.
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Our gracious Father in
heaven, we thank You, Lord,
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that truly tonight as
is the case every time
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we open the word of God,
we will be fed from bread
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that is not
baked in human ovens,
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the word of life
will permeate our hearts.
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The bread of life
will strengthen our limbs
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to live to the glory
and honor of Your holy name.
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Father, each one of us
wants to be victorious.
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But exactly how that
happens, we are still learning.
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But one thing is for sure,
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we can do all
things through Christ
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who strengthens us.
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So Lord, be in
our hearts tonight
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as we listen to Your word.
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In our minds as
Your Spirit speak to us.
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And in our bodies as You
empower us to live those things
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that we have
learned and have accepted.
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And we pray all the
blessings that we shall receive,
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in Jesus name we
pray. Amen. Amen.
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Now we've been
learning a lot, haven't we? Yes.
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How to live a spiritual
life in a natural body?
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You know, one of the
reasons why this topic
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is so widely important to
me is I like to once again
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or every now and then
remind myself of my obligations.
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And some people may
say, well, you're a pastor,
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living the spiritual life
maybe the easiest thing for you,
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much more difficult for us.
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But if I was a devil I'd
come after the pastors first,
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because the congregations
become weakened by the leaders
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that are not strong in the Lord.
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So every now and then when I get
so busy doing the Lord's work
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I have to remind myself
that the most important work
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is not what I am
doing for the Lord
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but what the lord is doing in me
through me, in us, through us.
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And we learned a number
of things about our condition
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before the Lord and we're gonna
learn about that again tonight
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at the very
beginning, because some of you
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may not have been
here to see this picture.
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It's amazing what we look
like when we come to the Lord.
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But it's even more amazing
what the Lord makes out of us
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after He
continues His work in us.
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Now, if you've ever been
involved in construction.
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You know very well that
when you come to a job site,
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if you find a broken
down, dilapidated house,
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it's not gonna be
changed overnight.
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Am I telling the truth? Yes.
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It's going to be
a lot of hard work,
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lot of diligent
work on the outside
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as well as on the inside.
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In the very same way
when we come to the Lord,
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He works not
only on our outside,
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but He also works on our inside.
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And just to remind you
of how glorious that is.
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Look at this picture briefly
tonight I showed this last week,
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but if you missed it,
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that's the kind of
house that represents us
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like when we come to the Lord.
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I mean, we need a paint job.
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We need to mold removed,
our wood is all but rotten.
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You know, as a matter
of fact the Bible says,
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our righteousness is
as, what? Filthy rags.
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That kind of
resembles this picture
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and if you try to
sell somebody that house,
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they'll probably say
to you, what's the price
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and you mention
anything above $10,
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they'll say,
you're out of your mind.
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We don't look
like we're valuable
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when we first come to the Lord.
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But the beauty of
salvation is this,
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the Lord sees us as we are
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and He sees how
we can be in Him.
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What do you say? Amen.
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He sees the work that
is going to take place,
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if we simply submit ourselves
to the working hand of the Lord.
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Now, that's the house before.
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But this is the house
after the work is done,
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ain't that
wonderful. Quite a difference.
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Now which house
would you prefer?
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That one or that one,
which one would you prefer?
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That one. Oh,
you guys missed it.
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It's the same house
in simply two conditions.
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Same address, same location,
same house in two conditions.
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The point of the
matter is if you show somebody
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that's broken down or
somebody that's polished up,
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you ask the Lord which one
would you prefer and you say,
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both of them because
He knows what we can be.
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As we come in
contact with the power
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and presence of the Holy Spirit.
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I will say that, that
house has been delivered
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from being
demolished. What would you say?
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Because if you
left it in the condition
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it was then before,
it will maintain no value
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and as time goes on, it
will break down to the point
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where it decays and you
really can't live in it.
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When you consider that concept,
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the Holy Spirit
wants to live inside of us.
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Where does He
wanna live? Inside of us.
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But did you think he's gonna
move into a messed up house?
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He begins His work in there.
Yeah, He starts His work there.
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But He can do more
when we invite Him in.
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He works in various
ways, one to convict us
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of our need of being
refurbished and born again.
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And when He
convicts us of our sin
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and we accept the
fact that we're sinners
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and in need of a Savior,
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then we invite
the Lord to come in,
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and the Holy
Spirit begins to work,
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cleaning us up
one room at a time.
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Which is
sanctification and then finally
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when we're in this
finished perfect condition,
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then we are all expressing
the glory of the Lord.
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How we will be after
the Lord finishes His work.
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Now, reality of it is
we're between the first picture
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and the second picture.
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That's the reality of it.
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We're between where God found us
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and where we're going to be.
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So the question we begin
tonight with question number 18.
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If you have your syllabus,
go to question number 18,
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on lesson number 1.
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We gonna try our best to get
to syllabus number 2 tonight,
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that is about justification.
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But if we don't be with
us, we'll get there next week.
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Now, this is a
very important topic
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or more specifically, a
very important question.
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It begins with the
very specific question.
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Since we have been
delivered from death,
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what else is there?
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Since we have been delivered
from death what else is there?
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And by the way delivered
from death means justification.
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What I'm going to do tonight
is break down justification,
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sanctification, and
what's the last one?
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Give me some more volume.
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What's the last one?
Glorification, there you go.
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Justification,
together what's the next one?
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Sanctification. The
final one is glorification.
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In other words
between the first house
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and the second house
God is still working in us.
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Here's the breakdown of that.
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If you look at the
lives that we have--
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we're going to have in Jesus.
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Or the lives we have
in Christ is broken down,
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salvation is
broken down into 3 stages.
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I call this the
process of sanctification.
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So if you're following along,
if you're following along,
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the first thing
you'll put is justification.
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Is what? Justification.
We're gonna see this.
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Justification, and here's
the definition of justification.
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Justification is,
salvation from the, what?
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The penalty of sin.
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Salvation from
the penalty of sin.
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Let's not run
pass that too quickly.
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Because what happens is, if
you think of the penalty of sin.
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What is the penalty
of sin? Somebody tell me.
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The penalty of sin is death.
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Or specifically the
wages of sin is death.
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So when you come to
Christ, the first thing He does
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when we accept Him is He saves
us from the penalty of sin.
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In other words, how many
of us are worthy of death.
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Someone tell me. All of us.
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All of us, every one of us,
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we're born into
this world with a nature
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that we inherited from Adam.
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And the only thing
that nature can do for us
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is get us ready for death.
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As in Adam, all die.
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First Corinthians 15,
verse 22. "As in Adam, all die."
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But when we come to Christ,
He takes us off death row,
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thereby saving us
from the penalty of sin.
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In the upcoming lesson that
we're gonna cover very soon.
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Hopefully parts of it tonight,
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but definitely on
our next broadcast.
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We're gonna see justification
in a very intricate breakdown,
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a very intricate process,
and the reason I say that is
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because a lot of
times we get baptized
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and don't know what to do next.
00:10:01.10\00:10:03.63
We get baptized intellectually,
00:10:03.63\00:10:05.23
what I mean by that is, we
go through our fundamentals.
00:10:05.23\00:10:08.10
And we see what the
Bible says about the Sabbath,
00:10:08.10\00:10:09.97
about the state of the
dead, about the 2300 days,
00:10:09.97\00:10:13.31
about diet, about
the Ten Commandments,
00:10:13.31\00:10:16.11
about how to live
the Christian life.
00:10:16.11\00:10:17.55
And we see all those
things and we see--well,
00:10:17.55\00:10:18.91
that's true that's
what the Bible says.
00:10:18.91\00:10:20.95
Those are facts.
Those will not change.
00:10:20.95\00:10:24.79
So the Lord is not going
to change what's in His word,
00:10:24.79\00:10:26.79
what He wants to change is what.
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He wants to change who? Us.
00:10:29.56\00:10:32.09
He wants to change our nature.
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So, salvation
from the penalty of sin
00:10:33.80\00:10:37.73
takes immediately from
us the nature that we had,
00:10:37.73\00:10:42.70
the nature of Adam and clothes
us with the nature of Christ.
00:10:42.70\00:10:50.21
What that does, it
takes us off of death row.
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In other words, death no
longer reigns over our head.
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The second one
you wanna put down.
00:10:57.05\00:10:58.72
Well, the next
stage of this is this.
00:10:58.72\00:11:00.99
Justification the penalty
of sin has been removed when?
00:11:00.99\00:11:06.76
Immediately, so when you
accept Jesus in your life,
00:11:06.76\00:11:11.63
death no longer
hangs over your head.
00:11:11.63\00:11:15.87
That's a big chance
for an amen right there.
00:11:15.87\00:11:17.87
Put your writing.
When you accept Jesus,
00:11:17.87\00:11:20.71
death no longer
hangs over your head.
00:11:20.71\00:11:23.61
That's a second chance
for a good amen right there.
00:11:23.61\00:11:25.78
But all of you
are great students,
00:11:25.78\00:11:26.85
so I'll let you
write. I'll say, amen. Amen.
00:11:26.85\00:11:30.85
We are removed
from sin immediately.
00:11:30.85\00:11:33.05
The penalty is
immediately removed from sin.
00:11:33.05\00:11:35.29
In other words, if
you're-- if you're on death row
00:11:35.29\00:11:37.89
in an actual prison,
00:11:37.89\00:11:39.53
in an actual cell,
00:11:41.50\00:11:43.16
that cell will no
longer be inhabited by you.
00:11:43.16\00:11:46.17
Jesus takes you
off of death row.
00:11:46.17\00:11:47.54
Your name is
removed, blotted out.
00:11:47.54\00:11:51.04
From the record of
those who are inline to die.
00:11:51.04\00:11:56.08
Notice how the
Bible says this in Romans
00:11:56.08\00:11:58.28
and here's the Bible verse.
00:11:58.28\00:11:59.35
If you're following
along, here's the Bible verse.
00:11:59.35\00:12:02.22
Romans 3, verse 24.
Let's read that together.
00:12:02.22\00:12:05.42
Are we ready, here we go.
00:12:05.42\00:12:06.89
Being justified
freely by His, what?
00:12:06.89\00:12:11.79
Grace through the
redemption that is in, who?
00:12:11.79\00:12:16.36
In Christ Jesus.
00:12:16.36\00:12:19.03
The redemption
is in Christ Jesus,
00:12:19.03\00:12:23.17
we're justified freely.
00:12:23.17\00:12:25.37
But now let's not go
past that word very quickly
00:12:25.37\00:12:27.38
because a lot of times we see
salvation is free, that's true.
00:12:27.38\00:12:31.15
Let me ask you a question,
put this in the right context.
00:12:31.15\00:12:33.72
The house you saw, the first
one and the house afterward,
00:12:33.72\00:12:37.35
would it take any
money to change that house.
00:12:37.35\00:12:40.69
Would it take a lot of money,
would it take a lot of work?
00:12:40.69\00:12:44.29
Okay. But if somebody
decides to pay for your house
00:12:44.29\00:12:48.43
to be refurbished,
would it cost you anything?
00:12:48.43\00:12:51.53
Would it cost a
lot of money? Yes.
00:12:51.53\00:12:53.30
Okay. The point of
the matter is salvation
00:12:53.30\00:12:55.97
is offered to
you free of charge.
00:12:55.97\00:13:00.04
But salvation
cost Jesus everything.
00:13:00.04\00:13:02.81
It's a free gift
to you because gifts
00:13:05.81\00:13:08.55
you don't charge
a person for a gift.
00:13:08.55\00:13:10.35
But the gift has a cost.
00:13:10.35\00:13:12.69
If somebody gave
you a Mercedes Benz,
00:13:12.69\00:13:14.32
it's an expensive gift.
00:13:14.32\00:13:16.29
My wife and I
know what that's like,
00:13:16.29\00:13:17.69
somebody gave us
a brand new vehicle.
00:13:17.69\00:13:19.69
They gave us the
keys and they said to us,
00:13:19.69\00:13:22.10
you don't owe me anything.
00:13:22.10\00:13:24.77
When Jesus gives us salvation,
00:13:24.77\00:13:26.97
Praise the Lord,
it's paid for by Him.
00:13:26.97\00:13:30.34
And He says to us, we
don't owe Him for that gift,
00:13:30.34\00:13:33.24
we don't owe Him anything.
00:13:33.24\00:13:34.61
But it does come
with an obligation.
00:13:34.61\00:13:36.51
Because I remember the person
when they gave this vehicle,
00:13:36.51\00:13:38.21
they said to us, all I
want you to do is use it
00:13:38.21\00:13:41.78
for the work of the gospel.
00:13:41.78\00:13:43.99
Use it for the
work of the gospel.
00:13:43.99\00:13:45.99
But that's
justification in a nutshell.
00:13:45.99\00:13:48.32
Justified freely there's a verse
that we always like to repeat.
00:13:48.32\00:13:52.76
Ephesians 2,
verse 8 and 9, it says,
00:13:52.76\00:13:55.10
For by grace are
you saved through, what?
00:13:55.10\00:13:57.67
Faith. And that not of
yourselves it is the, what?
00:13:57.67\00:14:01.67
Gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast.
00:14:01.67\00:14:05.87
Often times, we put
salvation on the word faith.
00:14:05.87\00:14:08.78
For by grace are
you saved through, what?
00:14:08.78\00:14:10.78
Faith. So when we ask somebody
00:14:10.78\00:14:12.28
how we're saved
how we saved? By--
00:14:12.28\00:14:15.92
Ah! I led you down the path
00:14:15.92\00:14:18.85
and you answer the
question incorrectly.
00:14:18.85\00:14:20.69
How are we saved? By Grace.
00:14:20.69\00:14:24.23
We say by grace through
faith. So how are we saved, by--
00:14:24.23\00:14:29.36
By grace through faith.
00:14:29.36\00:14:30.97
Who's extending
that grace to us?
00:14:30.97\00:14:34.37
Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus.
00:14:34.37\00:14:37.51
We're saved by His
work, not by our work.
00:14:37.51\00:14:45.05
The first stage of
work if you wanna add this
00:14:45.05\00:14:46.55
as an extra note. He
works for us. Justification.
00:14:46.55\00:14:51.05
He works for us. Justification.
00:14:51.05\00:14:54.69
But now let's go
to sanctification,
00:14:56.76\00:14:58.86
and this is where the
process is so widely important
00:14:58.86\00:15:01.26
to understand,
because you know sometimes
00:15:01.26\00:15:02.93
we come to Christ and
we say okay I'm a member
00:15:02.93\00:15:08.00
"In good and regular standing."
00:15:08.00\00:15:09.97
Whatever that means,
because the standing is really
00:15:09.97\00:15:12.51
classified by God because we
could live a good life in public
00:15:12.51\00:15:16.04
but how we live in private is
something altogether different.
00:15:16.04\00:15:18.78
The Lord knows that life.
00:15:18.78\00:15:20.65
He sees us in private
and he sees in public.
00:15:20.65\00:15:23.59
But justification is
important when we understand
00:15:23.59\00:15:25.89
the obligation
connected to justification.
00:15:25.89\00:15:28.29
But here's the next one.
00:15:28.29\00:15:30.03
The process of salvation as
it relates to sanctification.
00:15:30.03\00:15:34.13
Sanctification,
salvation from the power of sin.
00:15:34.13\00:15:39.50
So if you're
following on line 2,
00:15:39.50\00:15:41.27
put salvation from
sanctification equals
00:15:41.27\00:15:46.17
salvation from the power of sin.
00:15:46.17\00:15:49.61
How many of us need
deliverance everyday?
00:15:49.61\00:15:53.62
Every one of us,
every single day.
00:15:53.62\00:15:56.35
So unlike the terminology,
once saved always saved.
00:15:56.35\00:16:00.06
You gotta understand so
somebody asked me the question.
00:16:00.06\00:16:02.19
Am I saved, I'll say I
am, I'm being, and I will be.
00:16:02.19\00:16:06.23
You find it exactly
what I mean by that.
00:16:06.23\00:16:08.56
Is my house being worked on?
00:16:08.56\00:16:11.07
It is, it will be,
00:16:11.07\00:16:13.30
and finally the process
is gonna be finished one day.
00:16:13.30\00:16:15.94
So the Lord saves
us, He is saving us,
00:16:15.94\00:16:18.87
and He will save us.
00:16:18.87\00:16:19.94
You'll understand
exactly what that mean.
00:16:19.94\00:16:21.14
Justification, He saves us,
immediately taken from death row
00:16:21.14\00:16:25.61
immediately there is
no more penalty of sin
00:16:25.61\00:16:28.22
hanging over our heads.
00:16:28.22\00:16:29.98
But sanctification,
this is widely important.
00:16:29.98\00:16:31.82
We'll talk about that
on our upcoming topics.
00:16:31.82\00:16:34.62
Salvation from the power of sin,
00:16:34.62\00:16:37.89
because the power of
sin is still existing.
00:16:37.89\00:16:40.43
Is there sin in the world still?
00:16:40.43\00:16:42.70
Is there temptation?
00:16:42.70\00:16:44.50
Is temptation tempting?
00:16:44.50\00:16:48.57
And why is it tempting?
00:16:48.57\00:16:50.77
Because the devil knows exactly
00:16:50.77\00:16:52.17
which one to send our way.
00:16:52.17\00:16:54.48
What may tempt you, may
not tempt you and vice versa.
00:16:54.48\00:16:58.01
He understands, he
keeps records on us
00:16:58.01\00:17:00.15
and as long as
we are in the world,
00:17:00.15\00:17:01.78
like Paul the Apostle
said, "I fought a good fight,
00:17:01.78\00:17:04.29
I finished my
course, I kept the faith."
00:17:04.29\00:17:07.02
The fight he fought
was not against the devil.
00:17:07.02\00:17:09.66
He knew that he had to
daily fight. I died daily.
00:17:09.66\00:17:13.93
Salvation or sanctification
is also the power of sin
00:17:13.93\00:17:17.70
is broken how frequently?
00:17:17.70\00:17:19.77
Daily. That's
what sanctification is,
00:17:19.77\00:17:22.14
when you wake up in the morning,
00:17:22.14\00:17:24.04
the power of
sin is broken daily.
00:17:24.04\00:17:26.54
And it all depends on
what you do in the morning.
00:17:26.54\00:17:29.61
The Lord that we serve is
greater than the power of sin.
00:17:29.61\00:17:35.42
We can do all
things through Christ
00:17:35.42\00:17:37.02
who gives us strength.
00:17:37.02\00:17:38.89
But the question is whether
or not we want that strength.
00:17:38.89\00:17:42.09
That's a really important
part, because, you know,
00:17:42.09\00:17:43.79
a lot of times, a lot of times
00:17:43.79\00:17:45.83
we--we wake up in
the morning and we can't,
00:17:45.83\00:17:50.10
I don't wanna
put this too harshly,
00:17:50.10\00:17:51.63
but sometimes people
can't wait to keep on sinning.
00:17:51.63\00:17:54.07
Because they
want to bed sinning.
00:17:55.97\00:17:58.07
And they wake up in
the morning because sin
00:17:58.07\00:18:00.61
they've allowed sin to
reign in their mortal bodies.
00:18:00.61\00:18:03.65
They've allowed sin to be
on the throne of their hearts.
00:18:03.65\00:18:06.21
It's in their minds, based
on what they're looking at,
00:18:06.21\00:18:08.98
what they're reading,
what they're listening to,
00:18:08.98\00:18:10.89
the places they're going,
the things that they're doing,
00:18:10.89\00:18:13.15
it's reigning in their lives.
00:18:13.15\00:18:14.69
So they wake up in the morning
00:18:14.69\00:18:15.89
and instead of
putting Christ on that throne.
00:18:15.89\00:18:18.13
They leave self on that throne
00:18:18.13\00:18:19.33
because they enjoy
the sin, the pleasures,
00:18:19.33\00:18:21.63
as Moses said, the
pleasures of sin for a season.
00:18:21.63\00:18:24.50
So that has to
be broken everyday,
00:18:24.50\00:18:26.37
but it's not gonna be broken
00:18:26.37\00:18:27.44
unless you invite
the Lord to come in.
00:18:27.44\00:18:30.01
He'll break the power of
sin through sanctification,
00:18:30.01\00:18:33.74
He'll break it daily.
00:18:33.74\00:18:35.38
Here's the text that
goes along with that.
00:18:35.38\00:18:37.81
And these are
just simply outlines.
00:18:37.81\00:18:39.78
Getting us to the point
that we're gonna cover in
00:18:39.78\00:18:41.35
greater detail later on.
00:18:41.35\00:18:42.78
First
Corinthians 1 and verse 18,
00:18:42.78\00:18:45.22
First
Corinthians 1 and verse 18,
00:18:45.22\00:18:48.22
it says, For the
message of the cross is, what?
00:18:48.22\00:18:53.70
Foolishness. Foolishness
to those who are perishing,
00:18:53.70\00:18:57.63
but to us who are, what?
00:18:57.63\00:19:00.67
Being saved. Being saved.
00:19:00.67\00:19:02.20
This is the word
process, being saved,
00:19:02.20\00:19:05.11
it is the power of God.
00:19:05.11\00:19:07.38
That's why the power of sin,
00:19:07.38\00:19:09.71
the power of God
breaks the power of sin,
00:19:09.71\00:19:12.85
so which one is greater.
00:19:12.85\00:19:15.15
Which one is
greater, the power of God
00:19:15.15\00:19:16.72
or the power of
sin? The power of God.
00:19:16.72\00:19:18.82
Exactly. Amen.
00:19:18.82\00:19:20.52
But you know, you
have something that
00:19:20.52\00:19:21.89
hangs around everyday
00:19:21.89\00:19:23.83
that could
determine whether or not
00:19:23.83\00:19:25.06
you're victorious
over the power of sin
00:19:25.06\00:19:27.40
or victorious
through the power of God.
00:19:27.40\00:19:29.66
There is something
hanging around everyday.
00:19:29.66\00:19:31.43
That's gonna be with
you until the change comes.
00:19:31.43\00:19:34.20
Somebody tell me what it is?
00:19:34.20\00:19:36.97
It's the flesh.
It's the mortal flesh.
00:19:36.97\00:19:39.64
So when Paul says,
don't let sin reign
00:19:39.64\00:19:41.48
in your mortal body,
00:19:41.48\00:19:42.78
the reason why
he's asking-- the reason
00:19:42.78\00:19:44.51
why he's
encouraging us that ways
00:19:44.51\00:19:45.75
because sin can
reign in our mortal bodies.
00:19:45.75\00:19:48.28
There's sin all around us.
00:19:48.28\00:19:49.65
Through the things that are
being piped into the atmosphere,
00:19:49.65\00:19:52.09
on television, on the radio,
00:19:52.09\00:19:54.39
the things we may
have in our homes.
00:19:54.39\00:19:56.29
Sin is
everywhere and so in order
00:19:56.29\00:19:58.26
to have a
victorious life, you sometimes
00:19:58.26\00:20:00.60
have to prepare your
environment for daily battle.
00:20:00.60\00:20:05.97
So what should be the
closest instrument to your bed?
00:20:05.97\00:20:08.67
Somebody tell me. The Bible.
00:20:08.67\00:20:10.64
Why--why is the Bible
needed? What's the Bible called?
00:20:10.64\00:20:14.48
Sword. The sword, the sword.
00:20:15.01\00:20:18.48
The sword of the
spirit which is in fact,
00:20:18.48\00:20:20.85
the word of God. We
need the sword how often?
00:20:20.85\00:20:24.12
Everyday. You can
have on the whole armor,
00:20:24.12\00:20:26.59
but without a sword.
00:20:26.59\00:20:28.49
Can you imagine, a
soldier running into battle
00:20:28.49\00:20:30.19
with just his
uniform? He's not ready.
00:20:30.19\00:20:33.83
You've to have the
sword, and you have to learn
00:20:33.83\00:20:35.26
how to use the sword.
00:20:35.26\00:20:37.73
It's a two-edged sword.
00:20:37.73\00:20:40.20
Cutting both
directions, powerful instrument.
00:20:40.20\00:20:44.97
That's how the power is--
that's how the power of God
00:20:44.97\00:20:47.54
is put into your life everyday.
00:20:47.54\00:20:49.94
How many of you
like warm baked bread.
00:20:49.94\00:20:52.65
Let me see your hands.
00:20:52.65\00:20:54.25
You know, when
bread is being baked
00:20:54.25\00:20:55.35
and you smell it
through the house,
00:20:55.35\00:20:56.85
which is permeating the
room, you smell that bread.
00:20:56.85\00:20:59.79
What--what happens in your mind,
00:20:59.79\00:21:02.52
what can't you wait for.
00:21:02.52\00:21:03.99
You can't wait until it
comes out of the oven right.
00:21:06.16\00:21:08.43
You can't wait to taste it.
00:21:08.43\00:21:09.70
You can't wait
to get that slice.
00:21:09.70\00:21:12.17
Now I've heard
somebody wants that
00:21:12.17\00:21:15.24
I ran into a very
healthy person once.
00:21:15.24\00:21:18.17
And they said well it's
not good to eat the bread,
00:21:18.17\00:21:20.64
when it's very warm
just out of the oven.
00:21:20.64\00:21:23.58
You tell that to a kid.
00:21:23.58\00:21:25.78
That's one he wants it.
00:21:25.78\00:21:27.18
When it comes out, you could
just kind of poke your finger
00:21:27.18\00:21:29.35
and it kind goes
down and comes back up.
00:21:29.35\00:21:31.59
It just--mm--
it's just calling you,
00:21:31.59\00:21:34.72
it's just saying eat me.
00:21:34.72\00:21:38.39
It's right in front of you.
00:21:38.39\00:21:39.69
Think of the word of
God as the bread of life.
00:21:43.06\00:21:47.24
If the word of God is
by your bed and you wake up
00:21:47.24\00:21:49.64
in the morning with a hunger
00:21:49.64\00:21:51.64
and a thirst for
spiritual things,
00:21:51.64\00:21:54.38
you will be filled.
But if you don't hunger
00:21:54.38\00:21:56.71
and thirst after righteousness,
00:21:56.71\00:21:58.45
you'll be filled
with something else.
00:21:58.45\00:22:00.62
That's the fact of the matter
00:22:00.62\00:22:02.05
and brethren, the reason
why this is so widely important,
00:22:02.05\00:22:04.19
is this is what's getting
us ready for eternal life.
00:22:04.19\00:22:06.99
How many of us
want to live eternally.
00:22:06.99\00:22:08.99
Every one of us, we
all want to live eternally.
00:22:08.99\00:22:10.79
This is what God has given to us
00:22:10.79\00:22:12.66
to get us ready
for eternal life.
00:22:12.66\00:22:14.50
We're not gonna
slide out of a bar
00:22:14.50\00:22:16.40
and slide into
heaven the very next day.
00:22:16.40\00:22:19.03
We're not going
slide off a lose life
00:22:19.03\00:22:21.67
into a completely
victorious life the next day.
00:22:21.67\00:22:24.11
And by the way
something we're gonna also
00:22:24.11\00:22:25.31
talk about the Lord determines
00:22:25.31\00:22:27.14
how much work needs
to be done in the house.
00:22:27.14\00:22:30.21
The reason I
mentioned that is because
00:22:30.21\00:22:31.68
we've a couple of
examples in the Bible
00:22:31.68\00:22:33.55
where they were those who
accepted the Lord that day,
00:22:33.55\00:22:36.69
died that day, and
were assured of being
00:22:36.69\00:22:39.29
in the kingdom when Jesus comes.
00:22:39.29\00:22:41.19
Am I right. Mm-hmm.
00:22:41.19\00:22:42.49
The thief on the cross.
00:22:42.49\00:22:44.09
How long did it take
him to be sanctified?
00:22:44.09\00:22:48.10
How long did it
take him to be justified?
00:22:48.10\00:22:50.20
Sanctification is not
always a lifetime thing.
00:22:52.47\00:22:57.27
But sanctification
is a work of a lifetime.
00:22:57.27\00:22:59.77
It's not always
a lifetime thing.
00:22:59.77\00:23:02.34
But it lasts for a lifetime.
00:23:02.34\00:23:03.85
In the case of marriage,
sanctification is instant.
00:23:03.85\00:23:08.12
Because your
relationship is sanctified.
00:23:08.12\00:23:09.78
Sanctify doesn't
only mean being made holy,
00:23:09.78\00:23:13.32
but sanctified means
being set aside as holy.
00:23:13.32\00:23:17.59
We'll discover
that when we talk about
00:23:17.59\00:23:18.76
sanctification
in greater detail.
00:23:18.76\00:23:20.66
But we're being
saved and the power of God
00:23:20.66\00:23:24.23
is what's saving us everyday
00:23:24.23\00:23:25.73
and finally we get to
the picture of the house
00:23:25.73\00:23:27.27
that we like the best.
00:23:27.27\00:23:29.77
The third one, glorification.
00:23:29.77\00:23:32.61
Glorification,
salvation from the what of sin?
00:23:32.61\00:23:39.35
From the presence of sin,
00:23:39.35\00:23:41.82
salvation from
the presence of sin.
00:23:41.82\00:23:44.09
One day there won't
be anymore temptation.
00:23:44.09\00:23:48.09
But until then
there will be temptation.
00:23:48.09\00:23:50.99
So in order for you to
live in a hostile environment
00:23:50.99\00:23:54.63
and by the way,
00:23:54.63\00:23:55.86
the world is the hostile
environment to the Christian.
00:23:55.86\00:23:58.13
If the world is a place that
you totally comfortable with it,
00:23:58.13\00:24:00.87
something's
wrong. Did you know that?
00:24:00.87\00:24:04.81
Because the Bible says,
00:24:04.81\00:24:05.91
"friendship of the
world is enmity with God."
00:24:05.91\00:24:09.28
If you're very
comfortable in the world,
00:24:09.28\00:24:11.25
something is wrong but
if you're finding yourself
00:24:11.25\00:24:13.72
to be a stranger in the world,
00:24:13.72\00:24:15.28
it's a good thing
because Abraham said,
00:24:15.28\00:24:17.59
"he was a stranger and
a pilgrim in the earth."
00:24:17.59\00:24:21.09
But the devil
wants to design the world
00:24:21.09\00:24:22.49
to be something
that appeals to us.
00:24:22.49\00:24:25.33
But here's the
point, if Christ is in you,
00:24:25.33\00:24:27.66
then the world
cannot be appealing to you.
00:24:27.66\00:24:30.00
But if Christ is not in
you that old man is alive
00:24:30.00\00:24:33.13
and the world is
appealing to him,
00:24:33.13\00:24:34.67
and he keeps you pulled
in that direction everyday.
00:24:34.67\00:24:37.37
Glorification is the salvation
00:24:37.37\00:24:39.27
that we will experience
from the presence of sin.
00:24:39.27\00:24:41.64
One day there
will be no more sin.
00:24:41.64\00:24:43.75
So in other words,
the next definition,
00:24:43.75\00:24:46.08
glorification. Glorification.
00:24:46.08\00:24:51.32
The presence of sin has
been eradicated how long?
00:24:51.32\00:24:56.79
The presence of sin has
been eradicated how long?
00:24:56.79\00:24:59.69
Eternally. There's no more sin.
00:24:59.69\00:25:03.03
That's the world that
all of us are looking for.
00:25:03.03\00:25:06.07
Can I get an amen tonight. Amen.
00:25:06.07\00:25:08.47
We all looking
forward as Peter says,
00:25:08.47\00:25:12.31
"A new heavens and a new earth
00:25:12.31\00:25:15.08
wherein dwelleth righteousness."
00:25:15.08\00:25:18.08
So one day there will
be no more liquor stores,
00:25:18.08\00:25:22.18
there will be no
more drug dealers,
00:25:22.18\00:25:24.12
no more loud
music, no more crime,
00:25:24.12\00:25:26.79
no more violence,
no more hospitals.
00:25:26.79\00:25:29.32
How many more do
I need to mention.
00:25:29.32\00:25:31.76
There will be no
more traces of sin.
00:25:31.76\00:25:33.50
Can you think of an environment
00:25:33.50\00:25:35.23
that way there's no more sin,
00:25:35.23\00:25:36.93
no more death,
no more suffering,
00:25:36.93\00:25:39.23
no more heartaches,
no more kidnappings,
00:25:39.23\00:25:41.17
no more drive by shootings,
00:25:41.17\00:25:42.90
no more killing of
animals inadvertently.
00:25:42.90\00:25:46.71
I had a terrible
experience today.
00:25:46.71\00:25:49.58
I was on my way to radio.
00:25:49.58\00:25:51.78
That is the 3ABN radio
and I was getting there
00:25:51.78\00:25:54.58
and my wife needed
fuel in her vehicle
00:25:54.58\00:25:57.82
and she was down to just
3 miles remaining on the--
00:25:57.82\00:26:01.22
and I knew that
if she tried to drive
00:26:01.22\00:26:02.99
from 3ABN radio
to the gas station.
00:26:02.99\00:26:05.49
She may end up breaking it down
00:26:05.49\00:26:06.96
somewhere along
those roads, so she said,
00:26:06.96\00:26:08.26
I only have 3 miles left.
00:26:08.26\00:26:09.60
It says, I only of 3 miles
left on my mileage indicator.
00:26:09.60\00:26:16.04
When she left home,
she had ten miles left.
00:26:16.04\00:26:19.01
When she got down to
the turn of the church
00:26:19.01\00:26:21.31
she had 7 miles left.
And that's not 3 miles.
00:26:21.31\00:26:25.11
When she got from
the church to 3ABN radio,
00:26:25.11\00:26:26.82
she had 3 miles
left and I knew I said,
00:26:26.82\00:26:28.72
she's not gonna make it.
00:26:28.72\00:26:30.19
So I filled up a gas
tank and went there on my way
00:26:30.19\00:26:32.59
going as fast as
I could, you know,
00:26:32.59\00:26:36.29
that gas can I don't
want to spill on the car,
00:26:36.29\00:26:38.79
turned the corner
on the Marvel Lane,
00:26:38.79\00:26:41.50
heading toward
radio and I heard this.
00:26:41.50\00:26:43.80
And I looked back and I
saw a little animal roll
00:26:46.17\00:26:48.67
and I felt horrible.
00:26:48.67\00:26:51.31
I felt awful.
00:26:51.31\00:26:53.14
I said, oh, I just--I
just went over an animal.
00:26:53.14\00:26:57.65
And my wife and I, we have
acclimated to the country life.
00:26:57.65\00:27:02.18
We are now
bonafide country bumpkins.
00:27:02.18\00:27:05.02
We feed the
squirrels, the raccoons,
00:27:05.02\00:27:07.26
the possums, the groundhogs
when they come around.
00:27:07.26\00:27:09.99
We feed the birds of all kinds.
00:27:09.99\00:27:11.86
We enjoy doing that
and when I went back,
00:27:11.86\00:27:14.00
I said to myself,
I'm not gonna look,
00:27:14.00\00:27:17.03
I thought it was a
rabbit. I went back and I--
00:27:17.03\00:27:19.57
as I'm driving by--I just
00:27:19.57\00:27:21.37
glanced down very
quickly to see what it was.
00:27:21.37\00:27:24.51
It's a groundhog, a little one.
00:27:24.51\00:27:27.64
And I felt, you
know, I just think about it
00:27:27.64\00:27:29.88
and it just bothers me.
00:27:29.88\00:27:31.61
Because I love
animals and I remember
00:27:31.61\00:27:33.68
while there was one
day when I hit 2 squirrels
00:27:33.68\00:27:35.62
in one day, and I was
broken up for about 3 days.
00:27:35.62\00:27:39.49
Now I'm struggling through
00:27:39.49\00:27:40.49
this killing of
this little groundhog.
00:27:40.49\00:27:42.22
He was just on his way home.
00:27:42.22\00:27:43.22
He was probably
trying to get there for lunch
00:27:43.22\00:27:45.39
and I think to
myself I would love it
00:27:45.39\00:27:47.13
when the day comes
where there will be
00:27:47.13\00:27:48.26
no more death of
even animals. Amen.
00:27:48.26\00:27:52.67
That's what,
that's what gonna happen
00:27:52.67\00:27:53.97
when Jesus comes and
eradicates sin eternally.
00:27:53.97\00:27:57.01
We'll be able to
play with the groundhog
00:27:57.01\00:27:58.81
in one hand and pet
the lion in the other.
00:27:58.81\00:28:01.51
Ain't that wonderful?
00:28:01.51\00:28:02.51
When Jesus
eradicates sin eternally.
00:28:02.51\00:28:05.31
That's what glorification is.
00:28:05.31\00:28:07.08
Sanctification, He
eradicates the power daily.
00:28:07.08\00:28:09.78
Justification, He
removes the penalty immediately.
00:28:09.78\00:28:13.49
Look at the text,
the glorification text.
00:28:13.49\00:28:16.02
One of the
favorite ones in the Bible.
00:28:16.02\00:28:17.56
Isaiah 25 verse 9.
00:28:17.56\00:28:19.53
Put that down
for the Bible verse.
00:28:19.53\00:28:21.76
For the Bible verse,
00:28:21.76\00:28:23.33
And it will be said in that day:
00:28:24.93\00:28:27.37
"Behold, this is our
God We have waited for Him,
00:28:27.37\00:28:31.97
and He will save us.
00:28:31.97\00:28:35.41
He will save us from what?
00:28:35.41\00:28:37.18
From what? From
what? The presence of sin.
00:28:37.18\00:28:41.62
No more devil.
Amen. No more evil angels.
00:28:41.62\00:28:45.42
No more thoughts
entering our minds
00:28:45.42\00:28:47.29
while we're
praying, no more struggling
00:28:47.29\00:28:49.59
with feelings when we see people
00:28:49.59\00:28:50.93
that we can't get along with.
00:28:50.93\00:28:53.43
No more arguments,
no more controversy.
00:28:53.43\00:28:58.70
You guys should be
shouting right now.
00:28:58.70\00:29:01.87
Hallelujahs should
be going up in air.
00:29:01.87\00:29:07.28
But it is hard to
think of that kind of world.
00:29:07.28\00:29:10.08
It's hard to think
of that kind of world.
00:29:10.08\00:29:12.95
Paul the Apostle though
gives a wonderful description
00:29:12.95\00:29:16.22
as he writes to Titus.
00:29:16.22\00:29:18.09
In the book of Titus, he
gives a wonderful description
00:29:18.09\00:29:21.76
of where we were before Jesus.
00:29:21.76\00:29:24.56
What happened in the
process of getting us to Jesus.
00:29:24.56\00:29:27.93
And what happens
after we come to Christ.
00:29:27.93\00:29:30.70
Which leads us to
question number 19,
00:29:30.70\00:29:33.44
question number 19.
00:29:33.44\00:29:35.50
How does Paul the
Apostle explain justification?
00:29:35.50\00:29:40.31
Go with me to Titus Chapter 3.
00:29:40.31\00:29:43.24
Titus Chapter 3,
and we're going to look
00:29:43.24\00:29:46.78
together beginning with verse 3
00:29:46.78\00:29:50.89
all the way down to verse 7.
00:29:50.89\00:29:55.82
That's a long one.
00:29:55.82\00:29:57.36
But I tried to find a
way to cut out pieces of it,
00:29:57.36\00:30:01.03
but it's too much
good stuff to cut it out.
00:30:01.03\00:30:04.03
Titus Chapter 3, verse 3 to 7,
00:30:04.03\00:30:07.07
question number
19, the question is,
00:30:07.07\00:30:09.10
how does Paul the
Apostle explain justification?
00:30:09.10\00:30:13.98
Here it is.
00:30:13.98\00:30:15.28
Now you got to
follow this carefully
00:30:16.75\00:30:17.95
because he's talking about us.
00:30:17.95\00:30:19.61
For we ourselves
were also once, what?
00:30:19.61\00:30:23.35
Foolish, disobedient, deceived,
00:30:23.35\00:30:27.99
serving various
lusts and pleasures,
00:30:27.99\00:30:31.23
living in malice
and envy, hateful,
00:30:31.23\00:30:34.46
and hating one
another. Ain't that powerful?
00:30:34.46\00:30:39.27
That's amazing, I
mean, that's a description
00:30:39.27\00:30:41.17
that just shows us who we are,
00:30:41.17\00:30:43.51
that's the truth
about everyone of us.
00:30:43.51\00:30:46.04
That's how we used to be,
00:30:46.04\00:30:47.61
before Jesus
that's how we used to be.
00:30:47.61\00:30:49.34
What's amazing
and--as I'm hoping
00:30:49.34\00:30:50.75
that we're not
that way after Jesus.
00:30:50.75\00:30:53.18
But some of us maybe,
may still need deliverance
00:30:53.18\00:30:55.78
from some of those things.
Let's go on. It continues.
00:30:55.78\00:31:00.69
But when the, but
when the, what? Kindness.
00:31:00.69\00:31:03.89
Kindness and the love of God
our Savior toward man appeared,
00:31:03.89\00:31:09.56
not by works of righteousness
which we have done,
00:31:09.56\00:31:12.60
but according to
his mercy He saved us,
00:31:12.60\00:31:17.61
through the washing of what?
00:31:17.61\00:31:19.64
Regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Spirit,
00:31:19.64\00:31:24.38
whom He poured on us, how?
00:31:24.38\00:31:27.18
Abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Savior,
00:31:27.18\00:31:30.42
that having been. What?
00:31:30.42\00:31:32.65
Justified by His
grace we should become heirs
00:31:32.65\00:31:37.29
according to the
hope of eternal life.
00:31:37.29\00:31:40.63
That's a whole lot to digest.
00:31:40.63\00:31:41.70
But I want to go back and
just point out a few things.
00:31:41.70\00:31:44.83
When Paul communicates that,
00:31:44.83\00:31:48.90
he talks about the mercy of God.
00:31:48.90\00:31:54.78
The washing and
regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
00:31:54.78\00:31:58.48
He talks about salvation
being poured out on us.
00:31:58.48\00:32:02.25
What word did He use to show
that God is not a stingy God
00:32:02.25\00:32:07.29
when it comes to His salvation?
00:32:07.29\00:32:08.86
What's the word He used there?
00:32:08.86\00:32:11.23
Abundantly. In
other--in other words what?
00:32:11.23\00:32:14.63
Poured. Have you ever
washed your car before.
00:32:14.63\00:32:18.13
As some of you drive to
the car wash, I know that.
00:32:18.13\00:32:20.37
But if your car has ever
been really muddy before.
00:32:20.37\00:32:22.64
Anybody ever had
a really muddy car?
00:32:22.64\00:32:24.67
I mean a really,
really muddy car.
00:32:24.67\00:32:26.37
Where you
couldn't just wash it off.
00:32:26.37\00:32:28.08
But you've to go
take that really strong
00:32:28.08\00:32:30.18
what you call
those steam washers.
00:32:30.18\00:32:34.68
And after you've
gone through the mud,
00:32:34.68\00:32:36.08
which you know I
have an experience,
00:32:36.08\00:32:38.29
I remember one when
we where building a house
00:32:38.29\00:32:39.72
not too far from here
and it was a cold wintry day
00:32:39.72\00:32:43.02
and we had to get the trusses
put up and it was raining
00:32:43.02\00:32:46.33
and the ground was
not even ready yet.
00:32:46.33\00:32:48.66
And that is all the
mud and the clay was there.
00:32:48.66\00:32:52.07
And my job was to
stand on the ground
00:32:52.07\00:32:54.50
and hold on to
this very thick rope
00:32:54.50\00:32:56.94
and guide the trusses as
the crane put them in place
00:32:56.94\00:32:59.81
and guys were standing
on the roof in the rain
00:32:59.81\00:33:02.84
hoping that they would not slip.
00:33:02.84\00:33:04.85
Hoping that they wouldn't fall
00:33:04.85\00:33:07.32
and I was
standing in mud, in mud.
00:33:07.32\00:33:10.75
And when our day was
done 7 or 8 hours later,
00:33:10.75\00:33:13.36
I had on 3 coats, the
last one was waterproof.
00:33:13.36\00:33:17.49
Had on waterproof
boots, had on pants
00:33:17.49\00:33:19.79
that I didn't mind getting
wet with another pair of pants
00:33:19.79\00:33:21.66
over that to keep the
rain off as much as I could?
00:33:21.66\00:33:24.50
When I finally got out of
that and I tried to drive that,
00:33:24.50\00:33:28.20
there was mud caked
up behind the wheels.
00:33:28.20\00:33:30.27
There was mud
all over the vehicle,
00:33:30.27\00:33:31.77
my boots were so muddy
00:33:31.77\00:33:32.87
that I had to
leave them in the garage.
00:33:32.87\00:33:34.88
I couldn't even get to
my car with those boots.
00:33:34.88\00:33:36.71
I had to put red blue
tarp in the car to get in
00:33:36.71\00:33:39.05
because I was
fearful that the cakes of mud
00:33:39.05\00:33:41.35
would get all over my vehicles.
00:33:41.35\00:33:43.28
That's how sin is.
00:33:43.28\00:33:45.05
We're in the
muck and mire of sin.
00:33:45.05\00:33:47.42
But God and His mercy
pours on us abundantly His grace
00:33:47.42\00:33:51.13
and cleanses us from our sins.
00:33:51.13\00:33:53.33
Let think about
that a little bit.
00:33:58.97\00:34:01.50
He pours his
grace on us abundantly
00:34:01.50\00:34:05.14
and cleanses us from our sins.
00:34:05.14\00:34:08.14
You know the devil's
plan for our lives is.
00:34:08.14\00:34:10.45
You know what his plans are?
00:34:10.45\00:34:12.61
His plans are to join
him in the lake of fire.
00:34:12.61\00:34:17.09
That's his plan.
00:34:17.09\00:34:19.25
And he wants us to get
there by making us think
00:34:19.25\00:34:21.89
that we don't really
need the power of Christ
00:34:21.89\00:34:23.99
in our lives day by day.
00:34:23.99\00:34:25.63
That we don't really
need God to deliver us now,
00:34:25.63\00:34:28.40
I mean, we want to be
delivered but eventually.
00:34:28.40\00:34:31.43
And the deception of
sin is that it can be
00:34:31.43\00:34:34.74
something we play with so long.
00:34:34.74\00:34:37.54
That we can't get away from it.
00:34:37.54\00:34:39.77
It could be
something we tease so long,
00:34:39.77\00:34:43.21
kind of like children,
like they like to tease dogs.
00:34:43.21\00:34:45.45
Have you ever seen kids do that.
00:34:45.45\00:34:47.02
You know, dog is ferocious,
he's going to go like this
00:34:47.02\00:34:49.78
and he's just
snarling and growling and
00:34:49.78\00:34:53.82
heard the story of
a man who made chains.
00:34:53.82\00:34:57.36
And he made chains
particularly for a local prison,
00:34:57.36\00:35:01.73
because they had
discovered that the chains
00:35:01.73\00:35:03.87
that they were buying,
there was a flaw in the chains
00:35:03.87\00:35:06.37
that is where they
were being soldered
00:35:06.37\00:35:07.64
or where they were
being not the word soldered,
00:35:07.64\00:35:09.77
what's the word, welded.
00:35:09.77\00:35:11.87
And prisoners were
breaking away because they found
00:35:11.87\00:35:14.04
that there was flaws in
the chains and they would
00:35:14.04\00:35:16.21
work that eventually
till the welding broke off
00:35:16.21\00:35:19.18
and prisoners
found their way out.
00:35:19.18\00:35:21.52
This man prided himself
of making the best shackles,
00:35:21.52\00:35:24.89
the best chains.
00:35:24.89\00:35:27.66
Because he knew nobody
would getaway from this chains.
00:35:27.66\00:35:31.06
Problem was he wasn't
not only making chains,
00:35:31.06\00:35:33.80
but he was living a life of sin.
00:35:33.80\00:35:35.53
And that sin
eventually caught up with him.
00:35:35.53\00:35:37.57
He got put in
jail, got locked up.
00:35:37.57\00:35:40.60
But he knew, Ah!
00:35:40.60\00:35:43.24
Those chains
were faulty in jail.
00:35:43.24\00:35:46.91
Until he ran into one
of the chains he made.
00:35:46.91\00:35:49.14
Now think about
that really carefully,
00:35:51.51\00:35:53.88
we can sometimes be
designing our own chains.
00:35:53.88\00:35:57.65
Because we play with
sin like it's something
00:35:57.65\00:36:00.22
that really is not
going to hold us and bind us.
00:36:00.22\00:36:05.13
But when you read these texts,
00:36:05.13\00:36:06.39
these texts should
permeate our soul that--
00:36:06.39\00:36:09.63
I mean when I was studying
this overtimes it brought
00:36:09.63\00:36:11.73
tears to my eyes to think
that the Lord loves me so much.
00:36:11.73\00:36:14.97
Building a mansion for me
to get me out of this world.
00:36:14.97\00:36:17.81
But there are so many
people whose lives are so filled
00:36:17.81\00:36:19.74
with the pleasure of sin,
00:36:19.74\00:36:21.71
that they hear these
things in a roll off like--
00:36:21.71\00:36:24.51
like a swan in a lake.
00:36:24.51\00:36:26.08
It just kind of rolls
off and we're hoping that
00:36:26.08\00:36:28.95
when you hear these,
00:36:28.95\00:36:29.95
these messages of
God's abundant grace
00:36:29.95\00:36:31.92
that it doesn't roll off your
back with a simple thank you.
00:36:31.92\00:36:36.42
Somebody gave you a car,
you wouldn't just say thank you.
00:36:36.42\00:36:38.66
Would you? Somebody
came and bought your house
00:36:38.66\00:36:41.10
and gave you a mansion.
00:36:41.10\00:36:42.10
Would you just
say, I appreciate it,
00:36:42.10\00:36:43.30
I need a place to
live. No, we wouldn't.
00:36:43.30\00:36:46.03
The Lord is saying to us
00:36:46.03\00:36:47.30
the devil's plans for
our lives is to destroy us.
00:36:47.30\00:36:49.74
I've come that
you might have life
00:36:49.74\00:36:51.01
and have it more abundantly,
also have eternally, amen.
00:36:51.01\00:36:55.34
Let's go to the next
question. Question number 20.
00:36:55.34\00:36:58.55
How does Dr. Luke record
the message of justification?
00:36:58.55\00:37:03.15
How does he record the message,
00:37:03.15\00:37:06.02
the message of justification?
00:37:06.02\00:37:07.62
Acts, Chapter 13,
verse 38 and verse 39.
00:37:07.62\00:37:13.50
Acts, Chapter 13,
verse 38 and verse 39.
00:37:13.50\00:37:20.64
Turn the Bible, we
could see on top of this.
00:37:20.64\00:37:23.41
Acts Chapter 13,
00:37:23.41\00:37:25.11
verse 38 and verse 39.
00:37:29.14\00:37:36.02
Here's what the Bible says,
00:37:36.02\00:37:38.59
"Therefore let it be
known to your brethren,
00:37:38.59\00:37:42.69
that through this Man, that
is, Jesus has preached to you,
00:37:42.69\00:37:47.30
that through this Man
Jesus is preached to you
00:37:47.30\00:37:50.57
the forgiveness of sins and
by Him everyone who believes
00:37:50.57\00:37:57.21
is justified from all
things from which you could
00:37:57.21\00:38:02.48
not be justified
by the law of Moses."
00:38:02.48\00:38:06.68
Now let me stop and
talk to those of who boast
00:38:06.68\00:38:10.02
in keeping the commandments.
00:38:10.02\00:38:12.45
This is really important.
00:38:12.45\00:38:14.66
The commandments cannot save us.
00:38:14.66\00:38:17.43
Did you read the text?
00:38:19.69\00:38:20.86
Through Moses, the Jews
were given ceremonial laws
00:38:24.50\00:38:28.17
which God communicated
to Moses to write down.
00:38:28.17\00:38:31.24
But those
couldn't save humanity.
00:38:31.24\00:38:33.54
It was simply an
object lesson to remind them
00:38:33.54\00:38:36.51
that the Savior Christ
Jesus was going to come one day.
00:38:36.51\00:38:39.98
But even after
the ceremonial laws
00:38:39.98\00:38:41.95
were done away with,
00:38:41.95\00:38:43.42
the Ten
Commandments still continues.
00:38:43.42\00:38:45.42
And the Ten
Commandments cannot save us.
00:38:45.42\00:38:48.29
By the law is
the knowledge of sin.
00:38:48.29\00:38:51.23
Anybody has a
mirror in their house.
00:38:51.23\00:38:53.29
You look in the mirror everyday?
00:38:53.29\00:38:56.26
Hope you do.
00:38:56.26\00:38:58.57
Unless you won't know
what your condition is.
00:38:58.57\00:39:01.00
If you look into the
perfect Law of Liberty.
00:39:01.00\00:39:03.37
Go with me to James,
extra credit, here we go.
00:39:03.37\00:39:06.91
James, what book
did I say? James.
00:39:06.91\00:39:11.08
The Lord tells us
everyone of us needs a mirror.
00:39:15.92\00:39:19.15
Amen for mirrors.
00:39:20.19\00:39:22.42
Always try to keep one nearby
not that I'm looking in myself
00:39:22.42\00:39:24.93
but I want to know, I
want to know, my condition.
00:39:24.93\00:39:28.83
All right?
00:39:28.83\00:39:30.30
okay.
00:39:32.27\00:39:33.74
James Chapter 1
00:39:37.07\00:39:38.94
and we're gonna
look down to verse 22,
00:39:44.28\00:39:51.05
let's start with 22. All right.
00:39:51.05\00:39:55.06
This is important,
that's why I'm hoping that
00:39:55.06\00:39:57.03
it's getting beyond your ears.
00:39:57.03\00:39:59.03
I'm hoping it's
getting to your heart.
00:39:59.03\00:40:00.66
Verse 22, it says, But be.
00:40:00.66\00:40:03.53
What of the word? Doers.
00:40:03.53\00:40:05.27
Doers of the word and not what?
00:40:05.27\00:40:07.17
Hearers only deceiving, who?
00:40:07.17\00:40:09.87
What's the hearer?
00:40:09.87\00:40:11.31
A hearer is somebody who listens
to someone being preached.
00:40:11.31\00:40:14.78
A hearer is somebody
who listens to sermon after,
00:40:14.78\00:40:16.95
sermon after, sermon
after, sermon after sermon
00:40:16.95\00:40:19.31
and doesn't do
anything, the sermon suggests.
00:40:19.31\00:40:22.35
Doesn't even say, Lord, I need
the strength to live in harmony
00:40:22.35\00:40:24.69
with what I just heard.
00:40:24.69\00:40:26.19
That's why it's
cheap when a person says--
00:40:26.19\00:40:28.59
now let me put
this in right context.
00:40:28.59\00:40:30.19
It's encouraging
for a preacher to hear,
00:40:30.19\00:40:32.06
hey, good sermon pastor.
00:40:32.06\00:40:33.80
But you know, what's
even more important than that,
00:40:33.80\00:40:35.56
that you live, they say, Lord,
00:40:35.56\00:40:37.70
I need strength
to live in harmony
00:40:37.70\00:40:40.04
with what I just heard
because I can't do it naturally.
00:40:40.04\00:40:43.67
How to live a spiritual
life in a natural body?
00:40:43.67\00:40:47.11
You can, you can have
a whole bank of sermons
00:40:47.11\00:40:49.68
from every great preacher
in the world and still be lost.
00:40:49.68\00:40:53.15
You can have all the
C.D. Brookes sermons,
00:40:53.15\00:40:54.35
all the Henry Wright sermons,
all the Mark Finley sermons,
00:40:54.35\00:40:56.35
all of--the list goes on and on.
00:40:56.35\00:40:58.72
You can have Doug Batchelor's
entire series, great sermons.
00:40:58.72\00:41:02.16
But if you don't have the
power of Christ in your life
00:41:02.16\00:41:04.26
you'll just be a sinner,
00:41:04.26\00:41:05.99
being lost with
all this knowledge.
00:41:05.99\00:41:08.23
And there's nothing worse
than having all the ammunition
00:41:08.23\00:41:13.40
to show you the way of salvation
00:41:13.40\00:41:15.37
and chose to be lost anyhow.
00:41:15.37\00:41:18.01
But it continues.
00:41:18.01\00:41:19.51
I wanna emphasize
the hearers of the word.
00:41:19.51\00:41:21.84
But now, go down to verse 23,
00:41:21.84\00:41:25.51
For anyone is a hearer
of the word and not a doer,
00:41:25.51\00:41:30.39
he is like a man observing
his natural face in, What?
00:41:30.39\00:41:34.69
In a glass or in a
mirror, for he observes himself,
00:41:34.69\00:41:38.99
he sees who he is,
he looks at his life.
00:41:38.99\00:41:41.76
Goes away and immediately
forgets what kind of man he was.
00:41:41.76\00:41:48.67
But he who looks into
the perfect Law of Liberty.
00:41:48.67\00:41:51.97
God's commandment,
nothing wrong with it.
00:41:51.97\00:41:54.34
And continues in it and
is not a forgetful hearer
00:41:54.34\00:41:58.78
but a doer of the
word, this one will be, what?
00:41:58.78\00:42:02.95
Blessed in what he
does. What does that mean?
00:42:02.95\00:42:07.72
First of all, if you have
Bible studies that's good.
00:42:07.72\00:42:11.06
But you've to pray for
God to give you the strength
00:42:11.06\00:42:12.76
to live in harmony
with what you just study.
00:42:12.76\00:42:15.63
If you hear
sermons, that's good,
00:42:15.63\00:42:17.83
but you've to pray
for the Lord to say okay.
00:42:17.83\00:42:19.87
The pastor reminded me,
the preacher reminded me,
00:42:19.87\00:42:22.20
the teacher reminded
me of something I must do.
00:42:22.20\00:42:24.57
Give me the
power and the strength
00:42:24.57\00:42:26.07
to live in harmony with it.
00:42:26.07\00:42:27.71
Because we just hear it,
00:42:27.71\00:42:30.98
it's like hearing a siren
that the building is on fire
00:42:30.98\00:42:34.12
and you stay in the building.
00:42:34.12\00:42:36.65
It's like hearing train whistle
and you cross the tracks.
00:42:36.65\00:42:40.06
But sin is so deceptive
that when the natural man
00:42:44.56\00:42:48.23
is in control,
people can hear sermons
00:42:48.23\00:42:51.57
and not even move.
00:42:51.57\00:42:54.20
And not even be changed by it.
00:42:54.20\00:42:57.34
Like my favorite
preacher, Elder Brooke said,
00:42:57.34\00:43:00.51
"sun could melt
butter, but hardens clay."
00:43:00.51\00:43:05.08
The same sun, the
Sun of Righteousness--
00:43:05.08\00:43:07.02
the glory of
Jesus can be preached
00:43:07.02\00:43:09.32
and it doesn't do a
thing but harden the clay.
00:43:09.32\00:43:11.79
It's condition of the heart.
00:43:11.79\00:43:13.09
The word can be sown but is
falling into shallow ground,
00:43:13.09\00:43:16.62
stony ground, thorny ground.
00:43:16.62\00:43:19.63
It's amazing that 3
out of the 4 conditions
00:43:19.63\00:43:21.86
that Jesus talks about
He said the word profited
00:43:21.86\00:43:24.33
nothing in these 3 lives because
the problem is not the word.
00:43:24.33\00:43:27.77
The problem is not the sower,
00:43:27.77\00:43:29.44
the problem is the
condition of the human heart.
00:43:29.44\00:43:32.01
So what do we have to pray for?
00:43:32.01\00:43:33.07
We have to pray for the
Lord to change our hearts.
00:43:33.07\00:43:34.88
Wasn't that David's prayer?
00:43:34.88\00:43:36.78
He said what, create
in me, create in me what?
00:43:36.78\00:43:39.78
Clean heart, oh
God and renew a what?
00:43:39.78\00:43:42.22
Right spirit
within me. A right spirit,
00:43:42.22\00:43:47.39
not just a spirit, but
a right spirit within me.
00:43:47.39\00:43:51.26
So we have to look at God's law
00:43:51.26\00:43:52.49
and say there's
nothing wrong with God's law.
00:43:52.49\00:43:54.20
But there's got to be
something wrong with me.
00:43:54.20\00:43:57.27
And when these
things are heard by us
00:43:57.27\00:43:58.83
and I look at and I said, Lord,
00:43:58.83\00:44:00.57
I know there's a lot of
work that needs to be done
00:44:00.57\00:44:02.17
in my life. Thank you, Lord,
00:44:02.17\00:44:03.74
for that work
that you are doing.
00:44:03.74\00:44:05.34
Question number 21,
question number 21, here it is.
00:44:05.34\00:44:09.04
What is the means by
which we are justified?
00:44:11.65\00:44:14.55
We talked about this earlier,
00:44:14.55\00:44:15.58
I'll just put on
the screen right away.
00:44:15.58\00:44:16.92
Well, I think we
know this one by heart.
00:44:16.92\00:44:18.82
What is the means by
which we are justified?
00:44:18.82\00:44:21.72
For by grace you have
been saved through faith
00:44:21.72\00:44:24.53
and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God,
00:44:24.53\00:44:31.33
not of works, lest
anyone should boast.
00:44:31.33\00:44:34.57
So I can even say, I
saved myself because I haven't.
00:44:34.57\00:44:38.34
I can't save myself.
00:44:38.34\00:44:40.41
I could only make the
decision to go to the doctor.
00:44:40.41\00:44:42.94
I can't remedy my condition.
00:44:42.94\00:44:45.21
I can only make the
decision to put myself
00:44:45.21\00:44:47.12
in the hand of a
qualified physician.
00:44:47.12\00:44:49.88
And Jesus is the
master physician.
00:44:49.88\00:44:51.85
You know what that means,
this is not a condition of sin
00:44:51.85\00:44:53.89
that Jesus cannot
remedy--remedy us from.
00:44:53.89\00:44:56.99
Somebody once said to me,
00:44:56.99\00:44:58.73
well the Lord
doesn't know what I've done.
00:44:58.73\00:45:00.70
I mean, I have done
some terrible things I wonder
00:45:00.70\00:45:02.36
if God is going to forgive me.
00:45:02.36\00:45:03.57
There's nothing that
we can do that the Lord
00:45:03.57\00:45:05.30
can't forgive us from. Amen.
00:45:05.30\00:45:09.27
But the question is do
we want to be forgiven.
00:45:09.27\00:45:11.97
Eventually,
that's the deception.
00:45:11.97\00:45:14.78
I've gone there a few
times for particular reason,
00:45:14.78\00:45:18.31
it is important
that we understand that
00:45:18.31\00:45:19.88
time is never on our side.
00:45:19.88\00:45:23.25
When is the day of salvation?
00:45:23.25\00:45:24.95
Today. When is
the time of salvation?
00:45:24.95\00:45:27.29
When is the
acceptable time? Now.
00:45:27.29\00:45:29.29
Today is the acceptable time,
now is the acceptable time.
00:45:29.29\00:45:32.63
Now is the day of salvation.
00:45:32.63\00:45:35.06
We got to ask the Lord to
come and do this work today.
00:45:35.06\00:45:37.20
Can you imagine the
thief on the cross saying.
00:45:37.20\00:45:39.77
I do accept you as a Lord,
00:45:39.77\00:45:41.07
but don't know
about the salvation.
00:45:41.07\00:45:44.64
He knew He didn't
have a lot of time.
00:45:46.47\00:45:48.88
He accepted the Lord
then, he got the assurance then,
00:45:48.88\00:45:52.25
and when the
Lord comes he will be
00:45:52.25\00:45:53.88
in the kingdom with the Lord.
00:45:53.88\00:45:55.52
So this grace that
God gives us this gift.
00:45:55.52\00:45:58.05
And often times you
know in the Christian Life
00:45:58.05\00:46:00.06
in the Christian
world so much today is being
00:46:00.06\00:46:02.42
has replaced the
preaching of the gospel
00:46:02.42\00:46:05.19
or the preaching of
salvation with portfolios
00:46:05.19\00:46:08.60
and prosperity and all
the--all the foolishness
00:46:08.60\00:46:12.53
that doesn't give
the person the power
00:46:12.53\00:46:14.97
that they need to find
out how to be delivered.
00:46:14.97\00:46:18.01
You know people
just think, well,
00:46:18.01\00:46:19.71
I'm gonna struggle all
my life until Jesus comes
00:46:19.71\00:46:22.48
and then I'm going to slide in.
00:46:22.48\00:46:23.78
I believe that you
don't have to struggle,
00:46:23.78\00:46:25.48
the word of God shows
that we can be delivered.
00:46:25.48\00:46:28.25
Don't have to have a
cavity that's gonna be
00:46:28.25\00:46:29.75
with you all your life,
the Lord can deliver your life,
00:46:29.75\00:46:32.12
fill you with His Holy Spirit.
00:46:32.12\00:46:34.22
Question number 22.
00:46:34.22\00:46:35.79
I'm gonna try to get you
some of the second lesson
00:46:35.79\00:46:37.39
before we end tonight.
00:46:37.39\00:46:39.39
Question number 22.
00:46:39.39\00:46:42.70
What is another explanation
given for justification?
00:46:42.70\00:46:48.44
You'll notice
we're starting to teeter
00:46:48.44\00:46:50.24
into the topic of justification.
00:46:50.24\00:46:51.77
What is another explanation?
00:46:51.77\00:46:53.41
Go with me to the
book of Romans Chapter 5.
00:46:53.41\00:46:57.55
Romans Chapter 5.
And we're gonna spend
00:46:57.55\00:47:00.05
a lot of time in
Romans in our next lessons
00:47:00.05\00:47:02.95
because Romans Chapter 1
all the way to Romans Chapter 5
00:47:02.95\00:47:07.46
talks about justification
in a beautiful way.
00:47:07.46\00:47:10.46
Then Romans Chapter 6
talks about that transition
00:47:10.46\00:47:13.06
of being baptized,
entering into a new relationship
00:47:13.06\00:47:15.53
with the Lord. And Romans 7
00:47:15.53\00:47:16.93
talks about the
reality of being confronted
00:47:16.93\00:47:20.24
with the fact that
we have a spiritual God,
00:47:20.24\00:47:22.47
but we have a natural body.
00:47:22.47\00:47:24.97
Look at Romans and what it says.
00:47:24.97\00:47:27.11
Romans Chapter 5 and verse 10,
00:47:27.11\00:47:30.58
here's what the
Bible reads. Wow, wow.
00:47:30.58\00:47:35.85
It's one of my favorite texts,
00:47:35.85\00:47:37.52
I got a lot of them but
this is one of my favorites.
00:47:37.52\00:47:40.26
For if when we
were. What? Enemies.
00:47:40.26\00:47:43.09
Enemies. You got to get this.
00:47:43.09\00:47:47.36
"For if when we were enemies
00:47:47.36\00:47:49.26
we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son,
00:47:49.26\00:47:53.64
much more,
having been reconciled,
00:47:53.64\00:47:56.94
we shall be saved by His life."
00:47:56.94\00:48:00.34
And that's powerful,
let me break that down.
00:48:00.34\00:48:03.01
Because you know we
read that and we say okay.
00:48:03.01\00:48:05.05
Okay, when we were
enemies, we were reconciled.
00:48:05.05\00:48:07.68
Let me tell you a brief
story here which I have--
00:48:07.68\00:48:10.29
have you heard of the
Emancipation Proclamation?
00:48:10.29\00:48:13.69
The Emancipation
Proclamation in short was
00:48:13.69\00:48:16.26
when slavery was abolished.
00:48:16.26\00:48:18.16
They were
emancipate, they were set free.
00:48:18.16\00:48:20.76
The announcement
went out to bill a sign,
00:48:20.76\00:48:22.96
all slaves have
been set free now,
00:48:22.96\00:48:25.07
and they no longer
abound to their masters.
00:48:25.07\00:48:30.41
In the very same way,
the master that holds us
00:48:30.41\00:48:33.24
as slaves is this nature
that we receive through Adam.
00:48:33.24\00:48:37.58
But notice what it says.
00:48:37.58\00:48:38.71
It says, for if when we
were enemies we were reconciled,
00:48:38.71\00:48:42.08
that means, even
before we were set free,
00:48:42.08\00:48:45.49
the bill was signed
for us to be set free.
00:48:45.49\00:48:50.03
Let me go farther back in that.
00:48:50.03\00:48:51.76
Jesus died more
than 2,000 years ago.
00:48:51.76\00:48:55.00
He paid the price for our
sin more than 2,000 years ago.
00:48:55.00\00:48:58.60
He redeemed us more
than 2,000 years ago.
00:48:58.60\00:49:01.64
He did that, even
while we were enemies.
00:49:01.64\00:49:06.44
So if He made the provision
then through the death of a son
00:49:06.44\00:49:10.95
and we did not accept
Him, then how much better
00:49:10.95\00:49:15.55
will our lives be
after we accept Him.
00:49:15.55\00:49:19.12
That's what it's saying.
00:49:19.12\00:49:20.36
If He made the provision
for us before we accepted Him.
00:49:20.36\00:49:23.89
And things were
gone fairly well,
00:49:23.89\00:49:25.99
how much better
would our lives would--
00:49:25.99\00:49:27.76
how much better would our
lives be after we accept Him.
00:49:27.76\00:49:31.53
It'll be a lot better.
00:49:31.53\00:49:34.07
Is that an understatement?
00:49:34.07\00:49:36.27
Are you guys here tonight?
Is that an understatement?
00:49:36.27\00:49:40.61
If you--I got to use
a natural illustration
00:49:40.61\00:49:44.61
here to get--to
get this to sink in.
00:49:44.61\00:49:47.08
I want to get
this to really sink in.
00:49:47.08\00:49:49.92
How many of you would like
to be a millionaire for a day?
00:49:52.35\00:49:57.06
Come on, put your hands up.
00:49:57.06\00:49:58.56
You're not telling the
truth if you're hands are down.
00:49:58.56\00:50:01.00
How many of you would like
to be a millionaire for a day?
00:50:01.00\00:50:03.16
Oh work with me on this one.
00:50:05.80\00:50:08.24
Okay, if somebody
said to you today.
00:50:08.24\00:50:10.34
Today, I'm taking you
on a shopping spree with me
00:50:10.34\00:50:14.21
and there is no limit
financially to what you can buy,
00:50:14.21\00:50:19.18
but you only
have 24 hours to buy
00:50:19.18\00:50:22.45
whatever you want and
after the 24 hours is done
00:50:22.45\00:50:25.82
if you have
purchased it, you can have it.
00:50:25.82\00:50:29.09
So what would be the
first thing that happens to you?
00:50:29.09\00:50:33.86
You would go into
materialistic overload.
00:50:33.86\00:50:37.63
Am I telling the truth? Yeah.
00:50:37.63\00:50:39.23
They say, it
doesn't matter what you buy.
00:50:39.23\00:50:43.27
You can buy whatever
you want within 24 hours.
00:50:43.27\00:50:49.08
Now would you go
out and buy a pencil,
00:50:49.08\00:50:50.61
come on, talk to me.
00:50:50.61\00:50:53.88
Would you walk
into the store and ask,
00:50:53.88\00:50:55.45
what's the price of
that? Would you ask that?
00:50:55.45\00:50:58.35
Because they just said to
you no matter what you want,
00:50:58.35\00:51:02.16
you could--I'm footing the bill.
00:51:02.16\00:51:05.16
So you walk into the store
and the first item you get is--
00:51:05.16\00:51:08.53
I like to get a box of doughnuts
and you turn to the guy
00:51:08.53\00:51:12.83
and say that's gonna be
$15 dollars, is that okay?
00:51:12.83\00:51:15.37
And he says to you, you didn't
get what I just said to you.
00:51:15.37\00:51:18.34
You missed what
I just said to you.
00:51:18.34\00:51:20.24
I just said to
you, there is no limit,
00:51:20.24\00:51:22.68
you just get it
and I'll pay for it.
00:51:22.68\00:51:25.35
So you try the
next store and you go on
00:51:25.35\00:51:27.62
and you say. I
really like these shoes.
00:51:27.62\00:51:30.79
But they're pretty expensive.
00:51:30.79\00:51:32.45
And he says did you
just get what I said.
00:51:32.45\00:51:34.96
I didn't ask you
about the price of the shoe.
00:51:34.96\00:51:37.03
I said to you pick the store.
00:51:37.03\00:51:41.36
And you walk in timidly and say,
00:51:41.36\00:51:42.70
can I have-- want to get like.
00:51:42.70\00:51:45.57
Can I get 3 pairs of shoes?
00:51:45.57\00:51:46.70
And he says, you
just still didn't get it.
00:51:46.70\00:51:51.54
And when the shoes
come up and you ask--
00:51:51.54\00:51:54.58
you make a mistake
and what's the price.
00:51:54.58\00:51:56.01
He says, he taps you
remember it doesn't matter.
00:51:56.01\00:51:59.45
I've made the provision.
00:51:59.45\00:52:01.68
You see, what's happening here,
00:52:01.68\00:52:03.28
then all of a
sudden at the 23rd hour,
00:52:03.28\00:52:05.59
you it all of a sudden hits you.
00:52:05.59\00:52:07.92
And you say can
you buy me Mercedes?
00:52:07.92\00:52:10.03
He said, sure you
can but you got one hour.
00:52:10.03\00:52:12.13
Can I get me a plane?
00:52:12.13\00:52:13.73
Sure you can, you got an hour.
00:52:13.73\00:52:15.60
Can I buy me a fifty
storey penthouse building?
00:52:15.60\00:52:19.40
Of course, you can,
00:52:19.40\00:52:20.70
you got an hour to
get whatever you want.
00:52:20.70\00:52:22.24
And you know what happened,
00:52:22.24\00:52:23.30
when the last ten
minutes are around,
00:52:23.30\00:52:25.21
all of the sudden
it finally sinks in
00:52:25.21\00:52:26.94
that there is no limit
and you go nuts and realize,
00:52:26.94\00:52:29.64
what if I--what if I--what
if I caught this 23 hours later.
00:52:29.64\00:52:34.98
How much more would I
have? My point is this.
00:52:34.98\00:52:38.95
We've got to get this now.
00:52:38.95\00:52:41.12
We gotta realize
that if you reconcile
00:52:41.12\00:52:44.13
as while we were
enemies and He says to us.
00:52:44.13\00:52:46.46
You've got a blank
check to salvation.
00:52:46.46\00:52:48.96
You've got a blank
access to everything
00:52:48.96\00:52:51.10
that is in my possession.
00:52:51.10\00:52:52.73
You're my son, I'm your Father,
00:52:52.73\00:52:54.97
there's no limit
to what I can do.
00:52:54.97\00:52:57.17
How does Paul say it.
00:52:57.17\00:52:58.44
He can do
exceedingly, come on now,
00:52:58.44\00:53:00.54
abundantly above all
that you can ask or think
00:53:00.54\00:53:05.38
according to the
power that is at work where?
00:53:05.38\00:53:08.42
In us. So what's,
what's my illustration.
00:53:08.42\00:53:12.25
A true illustration and
it fails into comparison
00:53:12.25\00:53:16.19
to what the Lord is
making available to us.
00:53:16.19\00:53:19.16
It pales because the
Lord is not just making things
00:53:19.16\00:53:21.63
on this Earth available to us.
00:53:21.63\00:53:23.40
Everything outside of
this world is available
00:53:23.40\00:53:26.87
because He's the
Lord of Heaven and Earth.
00:53:26.87\00:53:29.87
And even what the
Bible hasn't written yet.
00:53:29.87\00:53:31.94
He's making us
accessible to that.
00:53:31.94\00:53:34.04
So when we think
about salvation brethren
00:53:34.04\00:53:35.88
the door to that scenario
that I just painted to you
00:53:35.88\00:53:38.78
is the door called salvation.
00:53:38.78\00:53:40.82
It's called what? Salvation.
00:53:40.82\00:53:42.85
But we got to
get out of this mess.
00:53:42.85\00:53:46.02
In order to have
that limitless, abundant,
00:53:46.02\00:53:49.49
non-focused on material life
that God intent for us to have.
00:53:49.49\00:53:54.10
Unfortunately, the world
narrows it down to materialism.
00:53:54.10\00:53:56.87
The Lord is saying, oh,
you don't even know what.
00:53:56.87\00:53:59.17
Eyes have not seen, Paul
says, ears have not even heard.
00:53:59.17\00:54:02.10
It hasn't even
entered into your heart.
00:54:02.10\00:54:04.71
The things that God has prepared
for those that love Him.
00:54:04.71\00:54:07.84
But the door is
the plan of salvation.
00:54:07.84\00:54:11.65
The door is the
plan of salvation.
00:54:11.65\00:54:13.21
We will be reconciled,
we will be saved by His life
00:54:13.21\00:54:16.25
and the phrase I like the most,
00:54:16.25\00:54:17.65
the most in this is
the phrase much more.
00:54:17.65\00:54:20.06
What's the phrase? Much more.
00:54:20.06\00:54:22.86
There's much more to the
story than we can even see
00:54:22.86\00:54:26.19
in the feeble words of humanity.
00:54:26.19\00:54:27.83
Question number
23, question number 23.
00:54:27.83\00:54:31.27
What does
justification accomplish for us?
00:54:31.27\00:54:35.37
What does
justification accomplish for us?
00:54:35.37\00:54:39.94
It accomplishes for us, what?
00:54:39.94\00:54:42.48
Let's just read it.
00:54:42.48\00:54:43.58
I don't want to
jump ahead myself.
00:54:43.58\00:54:44.88
We're turning now to Colossians,
00:54:44.88\00:54:49.05
Colossians 1,
verse 21 to verse 22.
00:54:49.05\00:54:56.89
Let me turn there with you.
00:54:56.89\00:54:59.79
I have it on the
screen but I just wanna,
00:54:59.79\00:55:01.43
I wanna go through the exercise
00:55:01.43\00:55:02.73
of knowing
exactly where you are.
00:55:02.73\00:55:03.87
Because I may want
to read something more
00:55:03.87\00:55:06.20
than what I have on the screen.
00:55:06.20\00:55:07.40
Colossians 1
verse 21 and verse 22.
00:55:07.40\00:55:14.18
Another very important text,
00:55:14.18\00:55:15.74
almost similar to the
one that we just read.
00:55:15.74\00:55:18.18
Almost similar
to one we just read.
00:55:18.18\00:55:20.18
Here it is.
00:55:20.18\00:55:21.42
Okay, first two words are what?
00:55:22.25\00:55:25.69
And you. Say, and me.
00:55:25.69\00:55:28.02
And me. And me. Us, me.
00:55:28.02\00:55:33.13
And you, who once
were alienated and enemies
00:55:33.13\00:55:38.27
in your mind by
wicked works, yet now.
00:55:38.27\00:55:44.11
Speak it right now.
00:55:44.11\00:55:45.37
Yet now He has reconciled in the
body of His flesh through what?
00:55:45.37\00:55:51.71
Death. For what purpose,
to present you how, friends?
00:55:51.71\00:55:56.72
Holy and blameless and
above reproach in His sight.
00:55:56.72\00:56:01.99
Can you say Amen to that? Amen.
00:56:01.99\00:56:03.56
You know what
God is saying there.
00:56:03.56\00:56:06.19
I'm gonna go back, I
know they saw it on the screen
00:56:06.19\00:56:07.93
but I wanna break
this down just for you
00:56:07.93\00:56:09.16
who are right here in the room.
00:56:09.16\00:56:11.33
You who are once alienated
and enemies in your mind
00:56:11.33\00:56:14.24
by wicked works.
00:56:14.24\00:56:15.24
You know what that's saying,
00:56:15.24\00:56:16.40
our minds are so
messed up that we can even,
00:56:16.40\00:56:18.74
God it was like trying
to, it was like a mosquito
00:56:18.74\00:56:21.08
trying to get through a
very strong plate-glass window,
00:56:21.08\00:56:23.98
just bouncing,
bouncing, bouncing.
00:56:23.98\00:56:26.15
And some people take
longer to convert than others.
00:56:26.15\00:56:28.65
Do you know why?
Because their minds are filled,
00:56:28.65\00:56:31.52
their minds are alienated and
enemies by their wicked works.
00:56:31.52\00:56:38.93
But does the
Lord cast them away.
00:56:38.93\00:56:40.40
Yes or no? No.
00:56:40.40\00:56:41.93
He looks at the worse condition
00:56:41.93\00:56:43.67
and this is a
pretty bad condition.
00:56:43.67\00:56:45.20
He looks at the worse
condition and He says.
00:56:45.20\00:56:48.00
And He says, yet
now He has reconciled
00:56:48.00\00:56:53.04
in the body of His
flesh through death.
00:56:53.04\00:56:57.51
To present you how? Holy.
00:56:57.51\00:56:59.75
Can we be holy? Yes.
00:56:59.75\00:57:01.38
Who wants to be holy? Amen.
00:57:01.38\00:57:02.95
Blameless and above
reproach in the sight of God.
00:57:02.95\00:57:06.79
Do you know what the
judgment is all about?
00:57:06.79\00:57:09.36
We're living in
the hour of judgment,
00:57:09.36\00:57:11.09
the judgment is simply this.
00:57:11.09\00:57:12.99
The devil is
accusing us before God.
00:57:12.99\00:57:16.43
And if he can prove,
00:57:16.43\00:57:17.53
if he can say that
they're not worthy,
00:57:17.53\00:57:19.83
they're not worthy.
00:57:19.83\00:57:22.07
And that sticks, then
we'll lose eternal life.
00:57:22.07\00:57:25.47
But because of the
righteousness of Jesus
00:57:25.47\00:57:28.04
everyone of us
can have salvation,
00:57:28.04\00:57:31.45
and be holy and be
blameless and be above reproach
00:57:31.45\00:57:35.48
because of what Jesus
had done for us. Amen.
00:57:35.48\00:57:39.55
And so as we continue
studying A Sharper Focus.
00:57:39.55\00:57:41.92
The focus that we
all must have is not just
00:57:41.92\00:57:44.53
the focus on
what the Bible says,
00:57:44.53\00:57:46.26
but a focus to see Jesus
Christ even more clearly.
00:57:46.26\00:57:50.73
He wants to change our
lives. Transform our lives.
00:57:50.73\00:57:54.54
Take us from where
we were to where He can
00:57:54.54\00:57:57.07
have that abundant
experience in our lives.
00:57:57.07\00:57:59.11
So continue
trusting the Lord and one day
00:57:59.11\00:58:01.54
you'll have that
Sharper Focus. God bless you.
00:58:01.54\00:58:04.78