Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000006
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00:18 Hello and welcome to another "Sharper Focus"
00:22 I should say program. 00:24 I like to think about it as episodes 00:26 but this is not a television show with episodes, 00:29 but this is a program hopefully coming to you 00:32 where we can meet your need. 00:34 We are here in Southern Illinois, 00:36 and if you've been tuning into the news today, 00:39 you know that there is been 00:40 quite a bit of activity in Southern Illinois. 00:43 Lot of tornadic activity and just 20 miles 00:46 to the southeast of here and one of the towns 00:48 mentioned quite frequently on television today, 00:51 Harrisburg has been quite a bit of 00:53 damage and loss of life. 00:54 And so we've recognize tonight, 00:57 while we are sad about 00:58 what has happened in Harrisburg, 01:01 and somewhat of bitter sweet way 01:03 we think the Lord tonight that He spared 01:05 us here in Thompsonville, so that this broadcast 01:08 can come to you live. 01:09 But tonight before we go any further, 01:11 we do want to bow our heads 01:12 and ask the Lord to be with all of those families 01:15 that have lost loved ones, 01:16 lost their possessions, lost their homes. 01:18 Lives were torn apart in a matter of minutes 01:21 and in some cases seconds. 01:23 And so with a great sadness that has griped 01:26 Southern Illinois and other places, 01:28 Kentucky and Tennessee, and our neighboring states 01:31 we do want to pause tonight and ask for the Lord 01:33 to visit those hearts and give them courage to look 01:37 to the future and look to the Lord, let's pray. 01:41 Our gracious Father in heaven, 01:42 we thank you, Lord. 01:43 Your grace truly is sufficient for us. 01:48 The father tonight as we rejoice 01:51 and just a few steps away, 01:52 Lord, we are filled with sadness. 01:55 As we think of our brothers and our sisters, 01:58 those who went to bed last night 02:00 secure and looking to the future and many of them 02:04 did not live to see the sunrise this morning. 02:07 And so Lord, we pray that You'll be 02:08 with the rescue efforts in Harrisburg, 02:10 and other cities and counties in the Southern Illinois area 02:14 and here in the south. 02:16 We pray to You give direction to the mayors 02:18 and the rescue teams, but also for those families 02:22 whose lives had been tragically torn apart. 02:25 Give them courage to rebuild and we pray that 02:28 whatever we may do, 02:29 whatever we must to do help us to be 02:31 one who lifts burdens at this very critical hour in history. 02:37 We also pray, Lord, that tonight as we open 02:39 Your word that You will direct our minds 02:41 and our hearts, that we will look to Jesus 02:43 who has given us strength and given us hope. 02:46 And when we see these tragedies, 02:48 we realize that this is not our final home. 02:51 So may we long for Jesus to come, 02:54 and may we also long to be like Jesus. 02:57 In Your name we pray, amen. Amen. 03:02 If you're tuning in via satellite or Internet 03:04 we welcome you again to our "Sharper Focus" 03:07 another edition of "Sharper Focus." 03:09 And tonight we are continuing 03:10 on the topic of "Justification." 03:13 The power of Justification. 03:16 If you like to follow us with a lesson 03:17 you can go to our website, that's asf.3abn.org. 03:23 Don't put www, because you won't find it. 03:26 Got to that website you can download 03:28 the lesson for tonight. 03:29 Once again entitled lesson number 002, 03:33 "The Power of Justification." 03:35 At the same time also download lesson number three, 03:39 which is "How to be Justified. 03:42 We have about maybe about 11 questions 03:44 to cover tonight and if for whatever reason 03:46 we finish this lesson because we're not on time schedule, 03:50 we can put as much as we can into this hour have lesson 003 03:54 "How to be Justified" right with you, 03:56 so we can go to that lesson. 03:58 But before we do anything, we've had our prayer, 04:00 but we want to also sing a song. 04:02 And because we are here to seek for us 04:04 the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. 04:06 We're gonna sing that song tonight. 04:07 You can join us and the words will appear on the screen 04:10 "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God." 04:16 Let's all sing together tonight, 04:17 are you ready, here we go. 04:20 Seek ye first the kingdom of God 04:28 And his righteousness 04:35 And all these things shall be added unto you 04:42 Hallelu, Hallelujah 04:49 Ask, and it shall be given unto you 04:55 What else? Seek, and ye shall find 05:03 Knock and the door shall be opened unto you 05:09 We say Hallelu, Hallelujah 05:17 Seek ye first the kingdom of God 05:24 And his righteousness 05:31 And all these things shall be added unto you 05:37 And we sing Hallelu, Hallelujah 05:45 Hallelu, Hallelujah. 05:58 Can we say, amen? Amen. 06:00 You know, that song somewhat is like a theme song, 06:04 because it does and it direct us to do exactly 06:07 what we want to do. 06:08 Seek first the kingdom of God, and his? 06:11 Righteousness. Righteousness. 06:12 We all need to know what the righteousness of Jesus is. 06:16 You know, often times we join the church 06:19 based on the doctrinal correctness, 06:21 and you know, whether we accept it or not 06:24 truth is truth, am I right? Right. 06:26 You can't change the fact about the Sabbath 06:28 and what the Bible teaches about 06:29 all the other doctrines that are 06:31 solidly based on the Bible. 06:33 But lot of times, we get baptized 06:35 and we join the church and then we wonder 06:37 what do we do next. 06:39 I mean, how do we live a victorious life? 06:41 And so the reason why we've chosen this topic 06:43 or the reason why this is so widely important to me 06:46 "How to Live a Spiritual Life in a Natural Body" 06:49 is that's exactly what we have to do. 06:51 Every one of us has a natural body, 06:53 but everyone of us 06:54 are called to live a spiritual life. 06:57 Jesus said "Be ye therefore holy 07:01 as my Father in heaven is holy." 07:03 So how do you live a holy life? 07:05 That's the challenge, that's the quandary. 07:07 Especially in light of the idea, 07:10 that we have this defective body. 07:12 Now, although the Lord has called me out of darkness 07:17 many, many years ago. 07:19 If I could apply this to every one of us, 07:21 we all remember where we used to be, am I right? 07:24 We all remember the life we used to live before Christ. 07:27 And if you were partier you did not forget 07:29 how to party. 07:30 If you are a person that club or spend at the club 07:34 or drink or smoke you didn't remember-- 07:36 you didn't forget any of those things. 07:38 But the thing that's keeping you from that 07:40 is the grace of God that He applies 07:42 to your life everyday, amen. 07:45 He has changed your desire from those things 07:47 to righteous things. 07:50 But that has to happen every single day. 07:52 We've learned that in order for us 07:53 live righteously we have to die how often? 07:55 Every single day. Every single day. 07:57 Because every single day the thing that's against you 07:59 is this mortal flesh. 08:02 This mortal flesh, this mind 08:03 that somewhat of a hard drive 08:05 with a lot of corrupt files on it. 08:09 And unless we--unless we have virus protection 08:14 it will spread and overtake all the good information 08:18 on that hard drive and corrupt it too. 08:20 So tonight, our virus protection 08:23 is the Holy Spirit's power everyday. 08:24 Can you say amen to that? Amen. 08:26 Because there is-- a sin is a virus, 08:28 it takes us over. 08:29 So, what we wanna do tonight, 08:31 as we wanna continue in our lesson 08:32 on the power of the justification. 08:36 And last week we kind of setup 08:38 one of our members here called Yannick. 08:42 We've talked about Yannick being 08:43 in a very uncomfortable position and hopelessly bound 08:48 by sin trying to find a way out 08:50 and tonight we gonna find way to exonerate Yannick. 08:52 Can we all say, amen? Amen. 08:53 We want him to be free. Yes. 08:55 He has a wonderful smile, but until we set him free, 08:58 he is so to speak symbolically bound. 09:01 And we're gonna talk about that freedom tonight. 09:03 But we'll begin with question number nine, 09:06 which is, how can Jesus be "Just" 09:10 and the "Justifier" at the same time? 09:13 How can He be "Just" and the "Justifier" 09:16 at the same time? 09:17 That's a challenge, because the Bible speaks 09:20 of the fact that all have sinned, and fallen, what? 09:26 Short of the glory of God. 09:27 They are none of us that is good. 09:29 Not one of us. Even our righteousness. 09:32 Even the things we do is as what? 09:34 Filthy rags. Filthy rags. 09:35 And you will never take a dirty rag 09:38 to wipe a clean face. 09:40 You'll never take an oily rag 09:41 to remove oil from your face. 09:43 So with the Lord as an essence saying, 09:45 what the Bible is saying is our righteousness, 09:47 the best that we try we could never get 09:49 beyond filthy rags. 09:52 But Jesus who loves us, wants to justify us, 09:55 but there are certain things that must remain in place. 09:58 Because, He has to remain just, 10:01 but He also is the justifier. 10:02 He wants to set us free, but he can't change 10:06 a single thing about Him or His government. 10:09 It's kind of like being illegal in a country. 10:12 And you want to be a legal citizen. 10:15 Well, the country can wipe out its laws 10:17 to make you a legal citizen. 10:19 And so when people talk about, what's the phrase here, 10:24 when you talk about legalism. 10:26 Often times legalism is referred to people 10:28 wanting to keep the Commandments of God. 10:30 But a better definition of legalism is 10:32 in fact declaring yourself to be righteous, 10:36 while ignoring the laws of the land, legalism. 10:40 But let's looks at a question number nine 10:41 and go with me to Romans Chapter 3 10:43 verse 21 to verse 22. 10:45 Romans Chapter 3 verse 21 to 22. 10:49 I believe we covered this last week 10:51 but I chose this one to lay the foundation 10:54 for the next four answers, all right. 10:58 Romans 3, verse 21 and 22 it reads as follows. 11:02 It says "But now the righteousness of God 11:05 apart from the law" is what? 11:08 "Is revealed, being witnessed by the law 11:11 and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God 11:15 through" what? Faith. 11:17 "Through faith in Jesus Christ." 11:19 To how many? All. 11:20 "To all and on all who believe, 11:24 for there is no difference." 11:25 Let me break that down very briefly. 11:28 The Bible in essence saying is the righteousness of God 11:30 has been revealed in the law, 11:32 but the righteousness of God is also revealed 11:36 apart from the law. 11:38 When it talks about being witness by the prophets, 11:43 when it talks about those who witnessed 11:45 before the prophets, 11:46 witnessed by the law and the prophets? 11:48 In the Old Testament, they looked forward 11:50 to the coming of Jesus. 11:51 They didn't see Jesus. 11:52 But they looked forward by faith 11:54 in the works of the law, they looked forward 11:57 to the coming Christ. 11:58 They looked forward to the Lamb 11:59 that would one day be slain and His blood would 12:02 wipe way our sins or would cover our sins. 12:04 His blood would be the payment for our sins. 12:07 So through the law 12:09 and the prophets the Old Testament, 12:12 through the ceremonial law, 12:13 they look forward to the coming of Christ. 12:15 But now, after Christ has come it continues. 12:21 But now the righteousness of God apart 12:24 from the law is revealed. 12:26 So when you think about the ceremonial law 12:28 do you think that God-- 12:30 but let me ask you other question? 12:32 "Does God desire the blood of bulls and goats 12:37 to take away our sins?" No, no, no. 12:39 Can the blood of bulls and goats take away our sins? 12:42 No. Why not? 12:44 You know why, because we were not made 12:47 in the image of bulls and goats. 12:49 I'll resist the temptation, 12:53 because sometimes people act like bulls and goats. 12:56 You know, goat is person that says I know 12:58 what God says but, as a goat. 13:01 But and those people that are hard headed 13:04 could be bull headed. 13:05 But the only thing that can be only method 13:11 by which we are made righteous is by the Creator. 13:14 The one who created us is the only one 13:17 that can redeem us. 13:18 So when Jesus shed His blood, 13:21 it was completely apart from the ceremonial law. 13:23 If the ceremonial law let us to remember 13:26 or to look forward to that blood that was being shed. 13:29 That's why when you read Hebrews 8, 9 and 10 13:31 it talks about how-- when Jesus came, 13:33 there was no more need for blood of bulls and goats. 13:37 But His own precious blood that of a spotless lamb. 13:41 Jesus was willing to pay the price 13:44 to redeem every one of us. 13:45 What do you say? Amen. 13:47 But now let's go to question 10, 13:48 because there is a process here 13:49 that I want to reveal to you. 13:50 Actually question 9A, we're gonna talk 13:52 about the process of Justification. 13:54 This is very important. 13:56 Because in order to be justified, 13:57 you have to understand what exactly is wrong? 14:00 In order to be, in order to want to be set free 14:03 you have to understand that you are not free. 14:05 So what we're gonna do is, 14:07 we're gonna write this in First John 3, verse 4 14:09 and what I have on the screen. 14:12 And by the way if you want to keep up with me quickly, 14:15 on the screen, I'll give you the answers. 14:17 The first thing about the process 14:19 of Justification is this. 14:21 Look at the screen. 14:22 You wanna write this in 14:23 "The Commandments are Validated." 14:25 You wanna write that in 14:26 "The Commandments of Validated." 14:29 You cannot get rid of the commandments. 14:31 And by the way if you are a part of the church 14:33 that says God nailed the commandments to the cross. 14:36 You need to leave that church, 14:37 because they don't have a message. 14:41 The reason why they don't have a message is 14:43 because how can you preach salvation. 14:46 How can you preach the need for salvation 14:48 unless there's something to be saved from? 14:51 Without the commandments, there is no sin. 14:53 Without no sin, there is no need for righteousness. 14:55 There's no need for salvation. 14:57 So one of the first things 14:58 about the process of Justification is 15:01 "The Commandments are Validated." 15:02 Let's read this together. 15:03 Are you ready, First John 3 verse 4. 15:06 "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, 15:11 for sin is the" what? 15:12 "Transgression of the law." 15:13 I use the King James Version here 15:14 because it said it so wonderfully. 15:16 "Sin is the transgression of the law" 15:18 the New King James Version says 15:19 "The sin is lawlessness." 15:21 But sin is the transgression. 15:22 Now do we have sin in the world, yes or no? Yes. 15:25 So can we have sin if we have no law? 15:29 Can you get a speeding tick, if there is no speeding? 15:31 If there is no speed limit? 15:33 No. No. 15:35 Unless there is law, there is no sin. 15:39 So one of the first things 15:41 in the process of justification 15:43 is we must validated the commandments. 15:45 We must acknowledge the commandments of God exist. 15:48 That's the first thing. 15:49 Second thing in the process of justifications, 15:52 Roman 6, verse 23 on the screen. 15:55 The second thing is "The Sinner is Exonerated." 15:59 "The Sinner is Exonerated" big word there. 16:02 "Sinner is Exonerated." 16:04 Another word, if you wanna give a small word 16:05 the sinner is rescued. 16:07 Roman 6, verse 23 reads as follows 16:10 "For the wages of sin is" what? 16:12 "Death, but the gift of God is eternal life 16:15 through Jesus Christ our Lord." 16:18 Now think about eternal life. 16:20 Jesus Christ is right here. 16:21 Matter of fact John Chapter 10 says Jesus is the door. 16:26 So in order to enter into eternal life 16:28 you've got to go through Jesus. 16:31 You can't have eternal life outside of Jesus. 16:34 So when the Bible says the gift of God 16:36 is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, 16:39 think of John Chapter 10. 16:41 We have to go through the door of Christ 16:43 to get to eternal life 16:45 to even have access to eternal life. 16:47 That's why he says, 16:48 if anyone tries to enter any other way, 16:51 he is a robber and a thief, amen. 16:53 You can't have salvation any other way 16:55 except through Jesus Christ. 16:56 So point of the matter is, we are not saved by works. 17:03 We are not even saved by keeping the commandments. 17:07 The commandments are kept because we love Jesus. 17:11 And by the way we can't even keep the commandments 17:13 on our own strength, isn't that? 17:16 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 17:19 Third portion or the third process of Justification. 17:23 The sinner--second part is the "Sinner is Exonerated." 17:25 Third part "The Plan of Salvation is Adjudicated." 17:30 Big word I'll tell you what that means. 17:31 The scripture first, as reads as follows 17:35 "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, 17:42 that we might become 17:43 the righteousness of God in Him." 17:46 For what the law could not do, 17:50 in that it was weak through the flesh God did by, what? 17:56 "Sending His own son." 17:58 Let me go back to adjudicated. 17:59 I want to just stop there because I went little further. 18:02 "For He made Him who knew no sin be sin for us, 18:04 that we might become the" what? "Righteousness." 18:08 Now what is adjudicated mean? 18:11 It's a gigantic word for a legal process. 18:14 If you buy a house, you sit down, you know, 18:18 everybody wants their piece. 18:19 You know, you've the whole room 18:20 and you have a stack of paper 18:22 and everybody wants you to sign on the dotted line. 18:25 What that simply means, 18:26 the word adjudicated simply means through a legal process 18:30 Jesus had to follow a legal process 18:33 the law required death. 18:36 Jesus had to follow the requirements of the law 18:40 in order for us to be-- what's the word 18:44 I used there a moment ago. 18:47 In order for us to be exonerated, 18:48 Jesus had to follow the requirements of the law. 18:51 He could not free us by getting rid of His law. 18:55 Because by getting rid of His law 18:57 He completely destroys His government. 19:02 So in order to keep us in right standing 19:04 with His government and to get us 19:06 in right standing with the head of that government, 19:09 He had to be the one through the legal process. 19:11 So He became the lawyer. 19:13 When the Bible talks about it, 19:14 if anyone sins he has an advocate with the Father, 19:17 Jesus is the lawyer. 19:18 He entered the legal process. 19:19 He stood in our behalf, He knew we were guilty. 19:22 But He says, David instead of you going to death, 19:26 I will go death for you. 19:28 Can we all say amen to that? Amen. 19:29 He--He stepped in our place 19:32 and through the legal process did not by any means 19:35 remove one single requirement of the law. 19:40 He became sin for us. 19:41 But the flip side of that, what is important to us, 19:45 let's read the last part together. 19:46 "That we might become the" what? 19:49 "Righteousness of God" how "In Him." 19:54 Now, let me ask you the question. 19:56 Our righteousness is as what. Filthy rags. 19:59 But when you accept Jesus and you are in Him, 20:03 the Father looks at you like He like He looks at His son. 20:06 He looks at you with that imparted 20:08 and imputed righteousness. 20:10 He no longer sees filthy rags. 20:12 He sees the righteousness of His son. 20:14 Can you say amen to that? 20:15 Amen, so He looks at me after I accept Him. 20:18 He looks at me after 20:19 I come into a relationship with Him, 20:20 after I accept His shed blood, 20:22 after I accept Him as my Lord and Savior 20:25 and I walk into the newness of life with Him. 20:27 The Father sees me has He sees the son. 20:33 And the righteousness 20:34 that is only belonging to the son 20:38 is now imparted and imputed to me 20:41 and when God sees us, 20:42 He sees us as the righteousness of Christ, 20:45 as the righteousness of God in Him, 20:47 in that is in Christ. 20:49 The fourth part, we had three so far. 20:52 The fourth one is. This is powerful. 20:56 "The Penalty of Sin" is what? "Eradicated." 21:01 This is the fourth one 21:02 you write down, right. The fourth one 21:04 "The Penalty of Sin is Eradicated." 21:07 "The Penalty of Sin is Eradicated." 21:09 And I'll read Romans 8, verse 3 and to verse 4. 21:15 It says, "For what the law could not do in 21:19 that it was weak through the flesh, 21:22 God did by sending His own Son 21:24 in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of" 21:29 what "sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 21:33 that the righteous requirement of the law 21:36 might be fulfilled in us" and here is our part, 21:39 this is a big part that we are adding now. 21:42 Let's read this together 21:43 "Who do not walk according to the flesh 21:46 but according to the Spirit," this is powerful. 21:49 We're entering into something new now 21:51 because up until this point it almost appeared 21:53 as thought He had to do absolutely nothing. 21:55 Now, you're saved by grace through, what? 21:57 Faith, and that none of yourselves, 21:59 it is a gift of God not of works, 22:00 lest any man should boast. 22:01 But when the Lord impart His righteousness to you, 22:04 He says, "Now wait a minute there is something, 22:07 I'm gonna do this, 22:08 but I want something from you. 22:11 I'll only do this if you agree 22:14 on the conditions of this covenant. 22:17 A covenant is two ways, a contract is two ways. 22:22 Everything you signed, 22:23 there are always at least two parties, 22:25 you and the person that owns the property, 22:28 or the credit card, or the house, 22:30 or the car whatever that maybe. 22:32 So, the Lord says, here's what I require of you. 22:35 "That you do not walk according to the flesh, 22:38 but according to the Spirit." 22:40 So, when you come into a relationship with Christ 22:43 are you in the flesh, 22:44 or are you in the Spirit, which one. 22:49 Before or after? 22:51 After you enter a relationship with Christ, 22:54 are you in the flesh or in the Spirit? 22:56 Spirit. You are in the Spirit. 22:58 If you walk in the Spirit 22:59 you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 23:02 If you are in Christ and by the way 23:04 I want you to get this 23:05 because a lot of times we think, 23:07 you know, I just joined the church. 23:10 Is way more beautiful than that. 23:12 You didn't just join an earthly organization, 23:14 you just got added to a royal family. 23:16 Amen. You are holy nation, a royal priesthood. 23:20 You're not just a member of church. 23:22 Which church you attend? 23:23 I go to one in Thompsonville, well I go to one in Maine, 23:25 and I go to one in West. 23:26 You know, that's the way 23:28 we look at it psychologically or sometimes 23:31 when it comes to address. 23:32 But my real address is in heaven. 23:35 That's why Paul says, 23:36 let's look to heaven from where our Lord is coming. 23:39 You know, our conversation is in heaven. 23:40 You know, that means by your conversation? 23:42 It means that's your place of residence. 23:44 You are not, you are not there yet, 23:46 but that's were you belong. 23:47 And what the Lord is doing now in our lives, 23:49 let me slowdown, I'm getting excited. 23:51 What the Lord is doing now in our lives, 23:53 is He is getting us ready to go home, amen. 23:56 He says wait a minute, I want you to go home 23:58 but you can't go home the way that Adam. 24:00 Adam's messed you up. 24:01 You can't go like Adam. That's right. 24:04 And I'm sorry that Adam did that, 24:06 but I'm the last Adam. 24:08 Go with me to First Corinthians Chapter 15. 24:11 This is not on the syllabus, this is extra credit. 24:14 First Corinthians Chapter 15. 24:16 You know what I said. 24:19 Show you the transition. 24:20 First Corinthians 15 is a powerful book 24:23 in that it speaks of the war between the spirit 24:27 and the flesh and-- 24:29 you know, its just really amazing. 24:30 Okay, First Corinthians Chapter 15 let's-- 24:38 let's say, okay well. 24:40 Okay, let's start down in verse 44. 24:44 Well, let's start verse 43, okay. 24:51 Okay, verse 43, speaking about 24:53 the natural versus the spiritual. 24:56 It says in verse 43 "It is sown in" what? 24:58 "Dishonour." "Dishonour. 24:59 It is raised in" what? 25:01 "Glory." "It is sown in" what? "Weakness." "Weakness. 25:03 It is raised in" what? "Power." 25:05 We were dishonored, we were weak. 25:08 If a person dies the flesh that they took to the grave, 25:12 the Christian took a flesh that was dishonorable. 25:17 A flesh that was weak. 25:20 But the beauty of this passage 25:21 is it talks about the resurrection 25:24 when we come forth in the first resurrection 25:26 we come forth and the mortal puts on what? 25:30 Immortal. The corrupt put on what? 25:32 Incorruption, so he is talking about the process by 25:35 which we're changed. 25:36 So right now as we're walking this flesh 25:38 which is our daily battle is a dishonorable flesh, 25:41 it's a weak flesh, the Bible says 25:43 "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is" what? 25:45 "Weak." That's the reality of our walk with-- 25:48 that's our Christian walk down here. 25:49 The flesh is weak, 25:51 that's why everyday we have to say Lord, 25:53 I know what I want to do, but not my will 25:56 but Your thine be done. 25:59 You got to-- let's keep going. 26:00 It's beautiful, it's gonna go into a glorious setting. 26:03 Now, lets go to verse 44, 26:05 "It is sown a" what? "Natural body, 26:08 it is raised a" what? "Spiritual body." 26:11 Now let's stop there for a brief moment. 26:13 We are in the spirit, a spiritually speaking 26:16 we are in spiritual life, 26:18 we don't have spiritual body yet. 26:19 This body is corrupt and notice, 26:22 it didn't say a spirit body. 26:24 It says a spiritual body, 26:26 the same body that Jesus received 26:28 when He was raised from the dead. 26:30 All power is given unto me, 26:32 that, that body he took our flesh to the cross 26:36 and crucified it there 26:37 and came forth from the grave powerful, immortal. 26:41 And when we come forth from grave 26:44 we will come forth as Jesus came forth. 26:46 Let's continue. Let's keep going. 26:49 It says verse 44 26:52 "There is a natural body, and there is a" what? 26:55 "Spiritual body" right now we have the natural body. 26:58 We don't have the spiritual body yet, 27:00 that's what we get when we're all changed. 27:06 You cannot go to heaven with the natural body. 27:09 But you have to live 27:10 a spiritual life in a natural body, 27:13 isn't that dichotomy. 27:14 Can't go to heaven the way you are, 27:15 you got to get different body, 27:16 because mortal man cannot exists 27:19 in the presence of an immortal God, 27:21 because our God is a consuming, what? 27:23 Fire. Fire, okay let's keep going now. 27:27 Verse 45 "And so it is written, 27:30 "The first man Adam became a living being, 27:33 the last Adam became a life giving" what? 27:36 "Spirit." However the spiritual is not first, 27:39 but the natural and afterwards the spiritual." 27:41 Okay, so now let me ask the question? 27:42 Which one are we, 27:43 the spiritual or the natural, right now. 27:45 We're the natural, the natural body. 27:48 Get this spiritual life, natural body. 27:50 How to live a spiritual life in a natural body? 27:53 That's what we're doing right now, 27:54 because the Bible is showing the spiritual and the natural. 27:57 Right now we are in the natural body, 27:58 but we are living in the spirit. 28:03 Here's the beauty of it. When Jesus changes us, 28:06 we will be living in the spirit with a spiritual body. 28:10 Amen, not a spirit body, spiritual body, 28:14 completely righteous completely remade 28:16 in the image of the Jesus, let's go on. 28:19 And is verse 48 verse 47 28:22 "The first man was of the earth made of dust, 28:25 the second man is the Lord from" where? 28:28 "Heaven." And here's the conformation, 28:31 here's is the contract, "As was the man of dust, 28:35 so also are those who are made of dust." 28:38 If you're made of dust, say amen, amen. 28:41 "And as is the heavenly man, 28:45 so also are those who are heavenly." 28:49 Now here is the eventual. 28:52 As we have borne the image of the man of dust" 28:55 together "we shall also bear 28:58 the image of the heavenly man." 29:02 And now verse 50 29:03 "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood, 29:07 that corrupt nature cannot inherit the kingdom of God, 29:10 nor does corruption inherit incorruption." 29:13 So we have to be changed. 29:15 But until the change comes, 29:16 because as you go on further, 29:18 he says behold I show you a mystery, 29:19 we will not all sleep, we shall all be what? 29:21 "Change." Until the change comes, 29:24 we've got know how to live this spiritual life 29:26 in this natural body, am I right, right. 29:29 Because truly on the turn of the dime, 29:33 we could be, we could be horrible folk. 29:37 I know I'm capable of that, 29:38 there are times when people really tick me off. 29:41 Come on, can we be human here. 29:43 If it's your family members 29:45 or somebody you run to a work, 29:46 or somebody that gives you the eye, 29:47 or somebody sends you a terrible email, 29:49 or somebody steps on your toe 29:50 more than three times in a row, 29:51 whatever the case may be, you can really get angry. 29:54 And then some times the sin 29:57 that you thought was gonna resurrects itself, 30:00 because you revisited and all of a sudden 30:02 you're just like Paul. "Oh, wretched man that I am! 30:04 Who will deliver me." Am I right? 30:07 So--but then you comeback to the reality, 30:08 wait a minute, am I not the son and daughter of God? 30:12 Yes, why am I hanging around in the wrong neighborhood? 30:14 And then you realize the reason 30:15 I'm in the wrong neighbors 30:17 because I have the wrong flesh. 30:19 This flesh keeps taking me back 30:20 to where I wanna be. And the Lord says, 30:23 you gonna have that flesh until the day I change you. 30:26 So my brother, my sister, 30:28 what I want to bring to you is the power to live 30:31 a spiritual life in that natural body. 30:35 Isn't that wonderful? So let's go on. 30:38 We will one day bear the image of the heavenly, 30:40 but until then, until the change comes, 30:42 we have to deal with that flesh. 30:44 So where am I now question ten? 30:46 Wow, all that time one question mean a lot. 30:49 Praise the Lord, that we're learning, 30:50 we're not in a hurry, the clock is our friend, 30:52 because if we don't cover this program, 30:54 we can cover the next. 30:56 Here's the question number ten. 30:57 How does "Justification recognize 31:02 the validity of the Commandments." 31:04 How does it recognize that? 31:05 Romans 7, verse 12, Roman 7, verse 12. 31:11 You can follow along with me 31:12 if you feel that I save you time. 31:16 Here it is, "Therefore the law is" what? 31:20 Holy. "Holy, and the commandment" is what? 31:22 "Holy and just and good." 31:25 The reason I underline just 31:26 is because God is a just God. Is He not? 31:31 He is a God of justice. You know what that means. 31:39 Exactly, He doesn't ask us to do anything 31:41 that He wouldn't do Himself, thank you, Helen. 31:43 He does not ask us to do anything 31:44 that He wouldn't do Himself. 31:46 But even more than that, He does not, 31:53 He does not tolerate anything 31:58 that does not line up with His just character. 32:04 Some people--you've heard that phrase little white lie. 32:07 Well, God does not accept little white lies, 32:11 medium brown lies or big black lies. 32:14 No matter what color or category it's in, 32:16 there are no categories 32:17 that are acceptable to God, am I right? 32:21 Well, I don't agree with that, He is merciful-- 32:23 I am not, I am not there yet. 32:25 You're way ahead of me. 32:27 I am not there yet and the bottom line 32:29 is He does not accept any sin as tolerable. 32:34 That's my point. 32:35 But we're gonna get to the mercy part. 32:37 Have mercy, we're gonna get there. 32:39 You're gonna get excited when we get to the mercy part, 32:41 because that's where I'm headed with this. 32:43 But God is such a just God, 32:45 He understands our weaknesses, 32:48 He knows, He is touched 32:50 by the feelings of our infirmities, 32:53 because He was tempted in all points 32:55 like as we are yet with our, what? 32:57 Sins. That's why He doesn't tolerate sin. 33:00 But He loves the sinner, that's the difference. 33:02 He doesn't tolerate sin, but He loves the sinner. 33:04 So now let's look at this, so justice is important, 33:07 it's a part of God's government. 33:09 It is the foundation of His government. 33:11 Thus we go to the next question, 33:13 question number 11. 33:14 Because we have to find a way to get Yannick, 33:16 out of prison, question number 11. 33:18 I want to do that tonight, 33:19 don't want him to be bound two weeks in a row. 33:22 Question number 11. 33:23 How does "Justification change or standing 33:26 with God or before God." 33:28 That's a Southern Illinois word or, right. 33:31 That might you out there, 33:32 but you understand how does justification 33:33 change our standing before God. 33:36 How does it change our standing before God. 33:38 Romans 5, verse 1 to verse 2. 33:43 Romans 5, verse 1 to verse 2, all right. 33:47 Look at it, it says "Therefore, having been" 33:52 what's the next word? 33:54 "Justified by faith, we have" what? 33:57 Peace. "Peace with God." 33:59 Have you every desired to be at peace with anybody? 34:03 Matter of fact, you know, 34:04 when you're not at peace with somebody, 34:06 that robs you of all the energy 34:08 that you could possibly have. 34:10 But it says even more than energy, 34:11 it puts us in the place to access 34:16 the grace of God, the righteousness of God. 34:20 "Therefore, having been justified" 34:22 through the adjudication of Christ 34:24 "By faith, we have peace with God through our" who? 34:28 "Lord Jesus Christ, 34:31 through whom also we have" what? 34:34 "Access by faith into this grace in which we" what? 34:39 "Stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." 34:45 We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 34:50 Now the word there, the active word 34:51 that's rejoice in the hope. 34:53 One day we'll receive the glory of God. 34:55 We will see Him face to face, but right now through Christ, 34:58 we have such a transaction there 35:00 that the Lord gives us access. 35:01 The Lord gives us access to the peace 35:05 that we do not have. And somebody ask me 35:07 what kind of peace do you get from Christ? 35:10 I don't remember the translation of the Bible, 35:12 but one of the translations, 35:13 well, the one that we all know 35:15 is the peace that passes all understanding. 35:18 But the translation that I really like was, 35:21 I can't remember exactly which one it is, 35:22 but I believe it's the New English translation 35:26 it says "A peace that does not need to be explained." 35:32 Now if somebody say, 35:33 well, how's that the you have peace 35:36 and I can't explain it. 35:38 I just know that I'm in the right relationship with Christ 35:41 and because I'm in the right relationship with Christ, 35:42 I have peace. You know that means. 35:44 You know its like to go to bed with your mind clear 35:48 without guilt on your conscience. 35:50 That's the peace I'm talking about. 35:52 You know it's like to go to bed 35:53 and know that if you do not make it to the morning, 35:57 that salvation is assured to you. 36:02 Amen. Thank you, Karen. 36:05 If whatever reason your record closes 36:07 before your plans are fulfilled. 36:11 You have the peace to know that is going to be all right. 36:16 I mean there is nothing more valuable than that. 36:17 You think what can you trade for that. 36:19 Tell me, what would you trade for that? 36:21 Nothing. $150,000, Ferrari? No. 36:24 What about a 15 bedroom house 36:26 and the rent free for the rest of your life? 36:29 What about you can travel to anywhere in the world 36:31 you want on any airlines 36:32 you want and you could be 36:33 in a first class every time you go? 36:35 What about an unlimited credit card, 36:38 come on what-- would that be better? 36:41 So, so let's think of that, the peace of God knowing 36:44 that if your life record close 36:46 before your plans are fulfilled, 36:49 you got peace with God, you'll meet Him in peace. 36:51 You know, the most tragic thing 36:53 and the reason why this is a very important topic, 36:55 the most tragic thing is to know 36:58 that, that you were familiar with Jesus, 37:02 but you never really knew Him. 37:05 For this is life eternal that you know Him. 37:09 I'm familiar with lot of people. 37:10 I've heard of Donald Trump, never met him. 37:13 I've heard of Bill Gates, 37:14 we use his products, never met him. 37:15 I have something that Steve Jobs came up with, 37:18 never met him. We've got clothing, 37:21 do you ever see that, my wife-- 37:23 I've told my wife about this once. 37:25 Inside of the jacket, you know, 37:27 when you buy a new outfit check inside the pocket, 37:29 you have inspected by number 12. 37:32 You've ever seen that before? 37:34 And I told my wife I wanna meet number 12 37:35 when I go to heaven, I don't know who that is. 37:39 You know that's my point. 37:41 You couldn't meet everybody on earth 37:42 that you had every transaction with, 37:44 but not a one of them can guarantee you the peace 37:47 that God can guarantee you. 37:48 That's why when the good news 37:50 came to the shepherds at the first Advent of Christ, 37:54 they said to those frighten shepherds, 37:56 peace on earth, goodwill towered men. 38:00 I preached a sermon called "Peace on Earth" 38:02 and people had a difficult time with that, 38:03 because they thought I meant 38:05 there's gonna be peace on Earth. 38:06 No, Jesus didn't come to bring peace, 38:09 He came to bring us sword. 38:10 However the peace that He came to give, 38:12 He said to His disciples "My peace I give to you, 38:15 My peace I leave with you not as the world gives, 38:18 give I unto you and that peace is this. 38:21 "If for whatever reason things don't workout the way 38:24 I write them down. 38:26 And my life end short I know that I have got peace, 38:30 I'm gonna wake up in the first resurrection, 38:32 see the face of my Savior 38:34 and know that everything is gonna be just fine. 38:36 Amen. That's what I want to have. 38:40 And there is nothing that anybody can give me 38:42 that I will trade for that. 38:43 Let's go to question number 12. 38:45 This is a powerful one, 38:46 because this is not a scripture we turn to, 38:48 but this is a quotation 38:49 that I'm gonna read with you or read to you. 38:52 "What obligation does justification bring with it?" 38:56 Well, when the parent gets a new car or car at all, 39:00 and they decide to turn the kid lose or the kid turns 18 39:03 or as it is 16 in Southern Illinois. 39:06 And they say, mom, can I borrow you car? 39:08 She said I just brought the car. 39:09 But that's okay I have a permit. 39:12 Do you turned it over immediately into that. 39:14 Now wait a minute, wait a minute 39:16 and even if they hit 18 you still give them only-- 39:18 now remember now, don't go pass the speed limit, 39:20 look over both shoulders, 39:22 you know, with all that stuff. 39:24 Slow down before the red light, watch out, 39:26 don't speed up, don't play with, 39:27 don't drive with the music on, don't answer your phone, 39:29 don't text, I mean if you give them 39:30 all these requirements but many of us don't know 39:34 that when we come into Christ and this is not works, 39:39 but whenever you receive something 39:41 so valuable as Jesus has given to us, 39:45 He requires of us adjacent to handle 39:48 that with care and handle that with responsibility. 39:52 I mean there is a responsibility 39:53 being a Christian, is there not? 39:55 Everything you do there is responsibility. 39:57 But listen to this quotation, very powerful, 39:59 it's from the book, "Acts of the Apostles," 40:01 page 476, beginning with paragraph two. 40:06 When the Spirit of God controls, what else? 40:10 Mind and heart, the converted soul 40:13 breaks forth into a, what kind of song? 40:16 New song, for he realizes that in his experience 40:22 the promise of God has been fulfilled, 40:25 that his transgression has been, what? 40:28 Forgiven. His sin, what else? Covered. 40:32 He has exercised repentance toward God 40:35 for the violation of the divine law and faith 40:40 toward Christ, who died for man's justification. 40:45 Being justified by faith, he has peace with God 40:51 through our Lord Jesus Christ. 40:53 But, this is important. 40:55 But because this experience is his, 40:58 the Christian is not therefore to fold his hands, 41:05 content with that which has been accomplished for him. 41:10 He who has determined to enter 41:13 the spiritual kingdom will find that all the powers 41:18 and passions of unregenerate nature, 41:23 backed by the forces of the kingdom of darkness, 41:26 are arrayed against him. 41:28 When you come to the Christ, 41:29 let me just break that before I-- 41:31 let me just read it and I'll break it down. 41:32 Each day, say that again with me, what? 41:35 Each day he must renew his consecration, 41:40 each day, what else? 41:42 Do battle with evil. 41:44 Old habits, hereditary tendencies to wrong. 41:48 Follow me now, will strive for the mastery. 41:51 Am I telling you the truth? Yes. 41:54 And against these he is to be ever on guard, 42:00 striving in Christ's strength for victory. 42:05 You come into this thing called Christianity 42:07 to got to say wait a minute, wait a minute, 42:08 what's gonna be different after by baptism tomorrow 42:10 in the world, nothing. 42:14 'Cause the Satan is gonna still be there 42:15 with his boxing gloves, you happy now? 42:17 I'm coming for you. 42:19 Don't you know that right after-- 42:20 and I say this to everybody and I think everybody 42:21 that's been baptized at least by me recognizes this. 42:25 I've had many incidences where I've said the people 42:27 right after the baptism of Jesus, 42:29 Mathew 4 begins with these words, 42:32 and the spirit of the Lord led Jesus in the wilderness 42:35 to be tempted of the devil. 42:36 Your greatest challenge comes after you 42:38 commit your life to Christ. 42:40 Your greatest challenges start coming on 42:42 after you go into this watery grave. 42:44 You leave the old man in that grave 42:46 and you come out to walk in the newness of life, 42:48 then the battle begins. 42:50 And the battle was outlined in that. 42:52 Old tendencies, unregenerate character. 42:55 Because if you were person that was a curser 42:57 and a smoker and a profaner. 42:59 Sometimes even before the tobacco makes its way 43:02 out to your system, sometimes you're walking 43:04 on the street and somebody 43:05 blows a cigarette toward you and you go. 43:08 People have told me that. 43:10 Sometimes people say, you know, 43:11 I just passed a club and he's like, 43:12 oh, man, I could smell that Miller, 43:16 I mean I could smell that beer as I walked presenting, 43:18 oh, just one beer Lord and there's like a no, 43:23 do it, don't, do it, do it, don't do it. 43:27 It is a battle going on right there 43:29 and if we don't realize that Christ is available for us 43:31 to get the victory, we will try in our own strength. 43:34 And because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood 43:36 we'll be swinging and not hitting anybody. 43:40 And we'll be fighting in our own strength and losing. 43:44 That's why I'm always turned off by people 43:46 when we say let's kick the devil out, 43:47 kick him out, you gotta first see him. 43:50 Let's rebuke him and kick him out of here, 43:51 no you can't-- Ellen White says 43:54 you can't not even rebuke the devil in your own power, 43:56 it must be done in the name of Jesus. 43:58 Amen. Amen. 44:00 So I'll stop preaching and start teaching. 44:03 Question number 13. 44:05 So how do we have strength? 44:09 What obligations does justification bring with it? 44:12 Let me give you two words 44:14 or let me give you two phrases, 44:15 be sober, die daily, 44:22 and battle in the strength of Christ. 44:24 Be sober, die daily, and battle only 44:28 in the strength of Christ. 44:29 You cannot do anything else. 44:31 Be sober, die daily, 44:33 and battle in the strength of Christ. 44:36 Number 13, number 13. 44:40 "What acknowledgment must be made 44:43 to receive justification?" 44:45 There's a wonderful story in the Book of Luke 18 44:48 and I'm not gonna go through the whole thing, 44:49 I'm just gonna talk about the two characters in there, 44:51 there is a Pharisee and a tax collector, 44:53 a Pharisee and a, what? 44:55 Tax collector. Tax collector. 44:56 And you know by the way in many of the communities 44:58 in New Testament neither one of them were liked 45:01 because the Pharisees were self-righteous 45:03 and the tax collectors were thieves, 45:05 neither them really liked. 45:08 But this story shows the difference between 45:12 the one who acknowledges what he has done 45:15 and the one who thinks that he has no acknowledgment 45:17 that is required of him. 45:19 The question is what acknowledgment 45:21 must be made to receive justification. 45:23 Now this is a prerequisite. 45:24 In other words in order to be justified, 45:26 you got to admit something. 45:28 Look at it, Luke 18, verse 13 and 14. 45:32 And the tax collector, standing afar off, 45:35 would not so much as, do what? 45:37 Raise his eyes-- Raise his eyes to heaven. 45:40 But beat his breast, saying, here we are, Dan, 45:44 are you ready now, Dan? 45:46 God, be what? Merciful to me a, what? Sinner. 45:51 I tell you, this man went down to his house, what? 45:56 Justified rather than the other, why? 45:59 For everyone who exalts himself will be, what? 46:02 Humbled, and he who humbles himself 46:05 will be, what? Exalted. 46:06 In other words, if you think you're good enough 46:08 to fight his battle you're gonna fall. 46:11 If you say I'm good enough and I said 46:13 to someone today, my niece, 46:14 my grandniece called me today and she was just admitted, 46:17 she's a great student, very smart, 46:19 intelligent young lady and she is doing 46:20 as best she can in the city of New York. 46:22 She has sharp wonderful smile, 46:25 thus far the world has not polluted her terribly, 46:29 but she still needs Jesus. 46:30 And I told her that. 46:31 But her grades are so good, she got accepted 46:34 into the high school of law 46:36 because she wants to be a lawyer. 46:37 You can't even apply for that, 46:39 you just have to be selected from a group of people 46:42 because they just select 46:43 and look for certain character. 46:44 She got-- and she said, 46:45 "Uncle John, I got accepted into the school of law." 46:50 Teenager and I said, okay, you want to be a lawyer? 46:53 She said, yes. 46:54 I said, well, tell your mom and your grandmother 46:57 to take you to church because until you go to church 46:59 you don't have a lawyer. 47:03 You want to be a lawyer to help others, right? 47:05 I said but you need Jesus to be your lawyer 47:07 and she giggled, she said I do. 47:09 I said yes because you want to be a lawyer, for what? 47:11 She said, want to help people. 47:13 I said well, you need a lawyer until you get Jesus 47:15 you gonna be an educated lawyer with no hope. 47:18 She said okay, Uncle John, 47:19 I want to go to church, ain't that true? Yes. 47:22 So the point of the matter is 47:23 unless you understand, unless you say, 47:26 I am a sinner, I am guilty as charged, 47:34 until you get to that point you can't be justified 47:38 and there's no need to even give you mercy. 47:40 I don't want to get ahead of myself 47:41 because I'm gonna break this egg 47:42 and fry really slowly. 47:43 Matter of fact the next lesson, 47:44 you cannot miss the next lesson, 47:47 it's called "how to be justified?" 47:49 But you got to begin by saying, okay, 47:51 Jesus, and let me just break this down a little bit. 47:54 I want to rush, but here's the point. 47:56 There's some people that believe that 47:58 Jesus died for them. 48:00 So they don't have any dying to do. 48:03 In other words, they could accept His righteousness 48:06 and they could say I'm a Christian now 48:07 and they can go back and live the way 48:09 they lived before they accept Jesus Christ. 48:11 However, that's called cheap grace. 48:15 That's why Paul says, shall we continue in sin 48:17 that grace me, abound me, answers by saying, what? 48:20 Certainly not, absolutely not. 48:23 But when we say, Lord, I am a sinner, 48:25 everything that you've said about me is true, 48:27 that's why I like it. 48:28 When we are baptized, you know what happens 48:30 to our record that existed prior to us being baptized. 48:34 Our record, I'm gonna use a legal term, 48:36 our record get expunged. 48:39 Amen. Here it is gigantic, delete key. 48:46 Amen. Amen. 48:47 So somebody said, hey, Cynthia, 48:49 I heard you just became a Christian. 48:51 But I remember what you did. 48:53 He said that's okay, you could remember, but God didn't. 48:55 God just deleted my record. Amen. 48:57 He just wiped my hard drive clean, 48:59 and He gave me a new slate to write in His righteousness. 49:04 But that's beautiful He acknowledges his sin. 49:06 Let's go on because we got to get Yannick out of jail. 49:09 Question number 14. 49:11 "How does the Bible describe the character of God?" 49:16 "How does the Bible describe the character of God?" 49:20 Psalms 89, verse 14. Psalms 89, verse 14. 49:25 Are you ready for it? Here we go. 49:28 Let's read this together, I think we're too. 49:31 "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne, 49:38 mercy and truth go before Your face." 49:42 Notice all the characteristic of justice 49:44 as well as the defense attorney. 49:48 That's an amazing thing. 49:49 When you read the New Testament, 49:50 the Bible says, God has given Jesus 49:53 all the right of justice-- God has appointed His son 49:58 to be the judge. 49:59 But then Jesus is also the advocate. 50:02 That's a hung court. You think about it. 50:05 If Jesus is the judge and the lawyer, 50:10 He's your defense attorney and your judge. 50:13 Now if your defense attorney and your judge 50:16 are the same person, wouldn't you be-- 50:18 wouldn't you be glad to go to court? 50:20 My defense attorney and my judge 50:22 is the same person, so my defense attorney 50:24 doesn't have to convince the judge to get me off 50:27 or to set me free because they are the same person. 50:30 Because the prosecutor is a terrible guy, 50:34 he's that guy that has everything 50:35 that Jesus threw out, he says but I got the records, 50:39 I know how long Yannick has been a Christian, 50:41 but look at what he did 15 years ago, 50:42 look at what he did three weeks ago, 50:43 look at what he did before he accepted you, 50:45 look at how he stumble 50:46 even after he became a Christian. 50:47 Look at that Lord, I've got the records 50:49 and Jesus said, would you read. 50:51 Okay, Yannick stole that, 50:52 but would you read the next line? 50:54 Forgiven. Amen. Amen. 50:56 Pardon. Amen. 50:58 Cover by the lamb. 50:59 He asked for forgiveness, I forgave him. 51:01 He confessed his sin, I wiped it out. 51:03 Read the rest of the record devil 51:05 and that's what happens the devil looks 51:06 at all the things we've done wrong, 51:08 but the Lord says, but read the rest of the record 51:11 that's been expunged is not in my file, 51:13 what's it doing in yours? 51:15 That's how good God is, amen. Amen. 51:17 But righteousness and justice, 51:21 you cannot get rid of those things. 51:23 He is a righteous God, but He's also a just God. 51:26 You can't get rid of that. 51:27 But what else is the part of His--mercy and truth. 51:31 When we reveal the truth about ourselves, 51:33 we reveal to God who is merciful, right? 51:37 Now let's get to the part where we said, 51:39 my brother free here. 51:40 Question number 15, Question number 15. 51:43 We're going to cover this very quickly. 51:44 We've got time. 51:45 Okay, "what are the qualifying attributes of justification?" 51:51 Six very quick points. 51:52 "What are the qualifying attributes of justification?" 51:57 In other words, 51:58 the acknowledgment of justification. 52:01 The first thing is together, what? 52:05 We acknowledge, what? He is a guilty sinner. 52:10 We could even put he, change that to we. 52:13 First thing in order to be justified, 52:16 you have to admit you are a guilty sinner. 52:18 That's hard for folk that look classy. 52:22 How you getting in here, ah, you're a sinner. 52:24 What about my outfit? Not good enough. 52:29 Okay, guilty sinner. 52:31 Second thing, you must acknowledge, 52:34 the law is, what? 52:35 Just and righteous. The law is just and righteous. 52:43 I repeat again, people that are members of churches 52:46 that say the law has been done away 52:47 with are in trouble because they don't have God's grace 52:52 and they can't qualify for mercy. 52:55 I'll tell you why in a moment. 52:57 Third thing that we acknowledge to qualify 53:00 for justification is this, we acknowledge 53:03 that we deserve only punishment. 53:07 Lord, if you threw me into the fires of hell now 53:11 I deserve it. 53:14 Ever heard people say they gonna lean 53:16 on the mercy of the court. 53:18 Well, to lean on the mercy of the court, 53:19 you don't say to the judge. 53:20 You know, you need to let me off 53:23 'cause I just need to be free. 53:25 See you need to be shut up, you're in my court. 53:28 I'm being very real here, watch this, 53:30 would a judge handle that. 53:32 He said would you shut that prisoner up, 53:34 would you be quiet in my court. 53:36 You cannot come before the Lord proud. 53:41 You got to humble yourself. 53:43 Let's look at the next one, 53:45 the next acknowledgment of justification, fourth thing. 53:49 You say to the judge, 53:51 "God you would be just in punishing me. 53:54 If you decided to punish me, you would be just. 53:59 Amazing, but that is so amazingly true. 54:02 Notice right now, we're not saying anything about, 54:05 this is good enough. 54:06 We're not saying anything about--this is just right 54:08 where we're to be, all right. 54:10 If you punish me right now, Lord, 54:12 nobody could even say that you're wrong. 54:14 God will be just because He has justice 54:17 as a part of His government. 54:19 The next thing, this is powerful point, 54:21 this is the transition. 54:23 In the light of all the fact that you're guilty, 54:25 the law is righteous, you deserve punishment, 54:27 God will be just in punishing you, 54:29 this is what the person who acknowledges 54:31 his guilt does next. 54:33 He believes that God is merciful. 54:37 Your honor, I know all those things, 54:40 I did them all, but please your honor, 54:44 please your honor, I'm asking for mercy. 54:51 I've seen those court cases where people just 54:53 stand there proudful and even when they pronounce 54:56 the verdict, they still act proudful 54:59 and they have terrible faces 55:01 and they just thumb the court, 55:03 like it doesn't really matter. 55:04 The other thing is, you not only believe that 55:06 God is merciful, you ultimately believe this, 55:12 that your only hope is in God's mercy. 55:17 Oh, I can't wait until the next lesson, 55:18 I just not gonna get tonight, 55:21 but that next lesson is gonna open the can to show you 55:24 how to be justified, how to be justified. 55:29 We're gonna cover about six questions 55:31 following statements, 55:32 true and false questions about justification. 55:34 But tonight, I want to end with the very last, 55:37 very last question. 55:38 I think I have enough time for this one. 55:40 So notice that he is guilty, 55:42 the Lord is just and righteous, 55:44 we deserve only punishment, 55:45 God will be just in punishing us, 55:47 but we believe that God is merciful 55:50 and our only hope is in God's mercy, 55:53 ain't that right? Amen. Amen. 55:54 So our question that we end with tonight, 55:57 question number 16. 55:59 "To whom and under what condition 56:02 does God promise mercy?" 56:05 "To whom and under what condition 56:07 does God promise mercy?" 56:10 This is important because that's what we all need. 56:12 Have mercy, somebody say that, Lord have mercy. 56:16 Under what condition, here it is, here it is. 56:20 Exodus 20, verse 5 and 6. 56:22 I begin little ways into the verse, 56:25 this is a powerful verse and I'll explain this further. 56:29 "Visiting the iniquity of the fathers 56:32 upon the children to the third and fourth generation 56:36 of those who, do what? 56:37 Hate me. Hate me. 56:39 but showing mercy to, what? 56:42 Thousands of those who, do what? 56:45 Love me and keep My commandants. 56:51 So you see, if you love Me, do what? 56:54 Keep My Commandments. Keep My Commandments. 56:56 That's an indelible connection to the fact 57:00 that the Lord has justified us. 57:02 Why did He say if you love Me, keep My commandments. 57:05 You know why He said that? 57:06 You know, why the Lord said that? 57:08 Because the Commandments of God must remain intact 57:12 in order for the sinner to have mercy, 57:14 in order for God to be just, 57:16 in order for His government to be remain 57:18 to be a government of truth. 57:19 So friends, we're gonna cover the next topic 57:21 on our next edition of 57:24 "How to Live a Spiritual Life in a Natural Body" 57:26 on our program called "Sharper Focus." 57:29 We'd like to once again encourage you 57:31 go to our website, asf.3abn.org 57:34 and download the next lesson number three, 57:37 so you can get ready for our next broadcast 57:40 on next Wednesday. 57:41 We'll continue praying for you and we know 57:43 that the Lord is coming soon with the powerful message, 57:46 but He wants to justify you now, 57:48 He wants to sanctify you now, 57:50 He wants to give you the power 57:51 to live a victories Christian life, 57:53 so turn your life over to Jesus Christ 57:55 and He'll make a difference if you simply let Him in. 57:58 God bless you until we see you again. |
Revised 2014-12-17