Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000008
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00:18 Hello, friends, and welcome to
00:20 another edition of A Sharper Focus. 00:22 This is Wednesday night here in 00:24 Thompsonville, Central Standard Time. 00:26 And we thank you for tuning in to join our audience 00:29 that's waiting right here at the Thompsonville 00:31 Seventh-day Adventist Church, 00:32 also the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:34 Let's welcome our audience with a hearty amen. 00:36 Amen. 00:37 And we thank you for choosing to tune in tonight. 00:40 We know that, you have a lot of other choices. 00:41 But this is not just a program. 00:44 This is about studying your walk as a Christian, 00:48 the walk that you've committed yourself to. 00:50 How does it happen? 00:51 How is it going to happen in your life? 00:53 In your daily life when the challenges come your way. 00:57 How are you going to be victorious 00:58 over the temptations? 00:59 That's what this program is about. 01:01 How to live a spiritual life? In what kind of a body? 01:05 Natural. 01:06 What kind of a body? Natural. 01:08 In a natural body. And so invite your friends. 01:11 If you want to hit the record button to record 01:12 the program and share with others, you can. 01:14 But if you've missed any of our previous broadcasts, 01:17 you can catch those broadcasts at 01:19 this website asf.3abn.org. 01:24 That's where all the broadcasts 01:26 have been uploaded, you can also go to that 01:28 very same website and download 01:30 the lesson for tonight, 003. 01:34 It's also entitled, How to be justified? 01:38 Now we talked about justification 01:39 what it actually means? 01:40 But how do you become justified? 01:43 What exactly do you have to do even though 01:45 salvation is not by any of your works? 01:48 What must you do in order to accept 01:50 the justification and the mercy of God? 01:53 So tonight, invite your friends 01:54 and families to join you, and we're -- 01:57 we're gonna also sing some songs tonight. 01:59 But before we do anything more, 02:00 we're gonna go ahead and begin with a word of prayer. 02:02 Let's bow our heads together. 02:05 Our Father in heaven, we thank You so much 02:07 that tonight, Lord, we're opening Your word. 02:10 We're opening it to study this 02:12 great transcript of righteousness. 02:15 We pray, Father, and invite your Holy Spirit 02:17 not only to be with those who are tuning in, 02:20 but also those who are here in the local audience, 02:23 whether joining us from church, 02:25 or if there is someone sitting by him or herself 02:28 in the privacy, in the quite of their own home. 02:31 We pray that You'll send 02:32 Your Holy Spirit there, Father. 02:34 To sharpen their ears and eyes to hear 02:36 what the Spirit is saying to each of us tonight. 02:39 So guide us, Father, and develop the study 02:43 that will help us to understand 02:44 what it really means to receive the mercy of God. 02:48 This we pray in Jesus precious name, amen. 02:52 Amen. 02:53 Uh, now tonight we're gonna sing a song 02:54 that every one of us knows. 02:56 I want you to join us this song called, 02:57 "Blessed Assurance." The words won't appear 03:00 on your screen, it'll be in our audience, 03:02 but I think you know the song 03:03 so let's sing that song tonight. 03:04 That's the theme of our study, "Blessed Assurance." 03:10 And when you sing it raise your voices 03:12 tonight so they can hear you. 03:13 All right, here we go together. 03:16 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine 03:22 O what a foretaste of glory divine 03:28 Heir of salvation, purchase of God 03:34 Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood 03:39 This is my story, this is my song 03:45 (What are we doing?) 03:46 Praising my Savior all the day long 03:52 This is my story, this is my song 03:58 Praising my Savior all the day long 04:03 Perfect submission, all is at rest 04:10 I in my Savior am happy and blessed 04:15 Watching and waiting, looking above 04:21 Filled with His goodness, lost in His love 04:26 (Together) 04:28 This is my story, this is my song 04:33 Praising my Savior all the day long 04:39 This is my story, this is my song 04:45 Praising my Savior all the day long (Key change) 04:51 This is my story, this is my song 04:57 Praising my Savior all the day long 05:02 This is my story, this is my song 05:08 Praising my Savior all the day long 05:14 Praising my Savior 05:19 all the day long. 05:27 Amen. 05:29 Now because this is a live program, 05:31 I want to say hello to someone that 05:33 if you are here locally, you know there's 05:35 somebody missing tonight, my wife is. 05:37 And she's in Orlando, Florida with her mother there. 05:40 Her mother is celebrating 85 years of life. 05:42 And Happy Birthday, Aunt B. And honey, I miss you. 05:45 Hope to see you next week when you comeback. 05:47 So I hope you're watching the program 05:49 so I didn't waste my gratitudes and my platitudes 05:53 on just people that are not connected 05:55 to this very special occasion. 05:57 Tonight I want to begin by just reviewing 05:59 what we went over in the last time we got together. 06:02 Now the reason why this lesson is 06:04 vitally important is this, every one of us commits 06:08 ourselves to be Christians but the great question is, 06:13 "How do we live that Christian life?" 06:16 I mean what actually do we do after that? 06:19 I'll give an example, a number of years ago, 06:21 about 5 years ago, my wife surprised me on my birthday. 06:26 She knows I like flying. 06:28 I mean not -- not flying on my own. 06:30 But she knows I like things that have to do 06:32 with airplanes and, you know, 06:34 I had simulators on my computers. 06:35 So one day, she -- she purchased 06:38 for me an RC airplane, and there in our 06:42 living room on one of the couches, 06:43 was this big long box with a P51 aircraft inside of it. 06:49 Now if you know anything about aircraft, 06:50 a P51 is, I think, World War II, 06:53 a beautiful plane, matter of fact, 06:55 it's called a Red Tail and I saw that plane. 06:59 I was so excited about it because I love flying. 07:02 And so my wife decided to go ahead 07:04 and contribute to that. 07:05 I'm sure that now she probably wishes she didn't. 07:07 Because I've three planes and two helicopters now. 07:11 But I've learned a whole lot. 07:13 And she would tell you that when I finally put 07:16 that plane together, took it out to the 07:19 church parking lot -- the parking lot 07:20 right outside of this building, 07:22 we have a nice big parking lot and a number of people 07:26 were out there, some of our church family, 07:28 including one young man by name of Jason, 07:30 and when I put that plane on the ground and began 07:33 to rev up the engine remote control, he said, 07:36 Pastor, that thing is going to crash. 07:37 And I said no, it's not. 07:39 I have flown many times on the computer. 07:42 But it's altogether different when it's in real life. 07:47 Here's my application. 07:48 What we read in the Bible is one thing. 07:51 But it's altogether, what's the word I use? 07:54 Different, when it comes to carrying out 07:57 and living out on your life. 07:59 Just to finish this story, I did crash that night. 08:02 I didn't destroy the plane. I took off and began 08:06 to circle the parking lot, but the plane decided 08:09 to go in a different direction, 08:10 behind the school building-- tried to run as fast as 08:13 I could to make line of sight, 08:15 but I heard the buzzing sound of the engine stop 08:18 and I went around the back of the building. 08:19 There it was on about a 45-degree angle, 08:21 right there in the dirt behind the school. 08:24 And the good news is, I only broke the landing gear. 08:26 It wasn't very bad, but I learned then 08:30 what I'm going to teach you tonight. 08:32 In order to know what it means to live out 08:35 an experiential life, you've got to live 08:39 an experiential life, now get what I'm saying. 08:44 Until you experience the Christian life, 08:46 you don't really understand what 08:49 the Christian life is all about. 08:52 Until you have crashed and burned a number of times, 08:56 anybody in here want to confess tonight, 08:57 have you crashed and burned before? 08:59 Have you gone 45-degree angle into the dirt? 09:02 It's very frequent that people that don't know 09:04 what it means to be a Christian, will -- 09:06 will drive their Christian experience right 09:08 into the ground because they don't know. 09:10 They haven't practiced righteousness. 09:13 And so therefore it is not natural 09:15 to the natural, the mortal person. 09:17 Each of us has a spiritual commitment. 09:19 But each one of those commitments 09:21 are lived out in a natural body. 09:23 What kind of body did I say? 09:24 Natural. 09:25 Another word for natural mean mortal. 09:27 Every one of us is mortal. 09:29 But we have all made a spiritual commitment 09:31 to live a spiritual life 09:34 in the worst location, a natural body. 09:37 Because, you know what, 09:38 I've been a Christian for a number of years now 09:40 but in the back of my mind and I know many of you know 09:42 where I'm headed with this, in the back of my mind 09:45 I remember many of the things 09:46 I did when I was in the world. 09:49 Sometimes you hear those songs that you put down 09:51 many years ago and all of a sudden you start 09:52 tapping your foot and remembering where you are, 09:55 when you heard that song. 09:56 You know what I'm talking about. 09:57 Those things remain with us 10:02 for as long as we are alive, the memory of them. 10:06 But the reason why we don't do those things is 10:08 because after being justified by Christ, 10:11 we are also sanctified, let me just, 10:14 I'm trying to build back up the framework. 10:17 To be justified means the Lord delivers us 10:20 from the penalty of sin. 10:23 The wages of sin is what? Death. 10:26 So when we give our lives to the Lord, 10:27 He instantly delivers us from that death row experience. 10:31 What that means is, death no longer 10:33 hangs over our heads. We've been set free. 10:36 The penalty has been paid by the shed blood of Christ. 10:39 And that's a huge price. 10:41 One man paying for the salvation of 10:44 everyone who accepts Him. 10:46 So although salvation is free, 10:49 it comes at a huge cost to Christ. 10:52 That's justification, but secondly, 10:56 the sanctifying process is a day-by-day, 10:59 moment-by-moment experience that every one of us 11:03 will know if we practice righteousness. 11:07 What I'm talking about tonight is, 11:09 how do you get to that sanctifying walk? 11:12 What actually happens for you to be able to live 11:15 in that sanctifying walk and know that you are 11:17 where God wants you to be? 11:18 That's why tonight's title is, How to be Justified? 11:21 Now what I'm going to do tonight briefly is review 11:23 some of the things that we went over, 11:25 just to bring us up-to-date to where we are. 11:28 We covered six questions in our last broadcast. 11:32 Tonight, we're gonna hope to cover 10 more. 11:35 But I want to do a quick review. 11:36 What we learned in question number one, and don't -- 11:39 don't bring question one on the screen. 11:40 But we learned in our last time together is to receive 11:45 God's mercy, we have to confess and forsake sin. 11:50 We have to do two things. What are they, again? 11:52 Say with me, confess and what else? Forsake. 11:55 You cannot receive the mercy of a judge, 11:59 if you say to the judge in court after you've gotten 12:01 pulled over for your fifth speeding ticket. 12:03 Your honor, as soon as I leave here, 12:06 I'm peeling out the parking lot at 12:07 a 125 miles an hour on my motorcycle. 12:10 There's no way he's going to give you mercy. 12:12 Am I right? What's he gonna do if you say that? 12:15 He's gonna throw the, what at you? 12:16 The book. Okay. 12:17 He's gonna throw the, what at you? The book. 12:19 The book. The book. 12:22 We live by every word that proceeds 12:24 from the mouth of God, we live by the book. 12:26 So, in order for us to receive God's mercy, 12:29 we have to confess, and do what else? 12:31 Forsake. Forsake. 12:33 That's one of the first things we learned. 12:34 The second thing we learned is all sin is against God 12:38 because all sin is a violation of the law of God, 12:43 which represents the government of God. 12:45 Even though we sin against other people, 12:47 all sin is a violation against God. 12:50 Matter of fact, when David confessed, 12:52 he said "Lord, I've sinned against you," 12:54 even though He really sinned in 12:57 the Bathsheba and Uriah situation. 12:59 He sinned against Bathsheba. 13:00 He sinned against his own body. 13:02 He sinned against Uriah, killed the man, 13:04 but he looked at Lord and said, 13:06 "Lord, I have sinned against you." 13:08 All sin is against God because all sin violates 13:13 God's law, which represents His government. 13:15 Which simply says to me, when we get to heaven, 13:17 is God's law still going to be enforced, yes or no? 13:20 Yes. Why? Somebody tell me why? 13:23 I just gave you the answer a moment. 13:24 Somebody tell me why? 13:26 Because God's government is still 13:29 going to be enforced. Amen. 13:32 We learned that. Third thing we learned, 13:35 when we repent, God relents. 13:38 I want you to say that with me. 13:40 When we repent, God relents. 13:44 In the case of Nineveh, the Lord planned 13:48 to destroy Nineveh, bring it down to the ground. 13:51 But because they repented, God relented. 13:54 That mean God changed His mind. 13:56 God does not change His mind because 13:58 He comes up with a better idea. 14:01 He changes His mind when we realize that 14:03 if we continue in that course, 14:05 God is going to stay on course also. 14:07 So when we change, God says okay. 14:10 The punishment that you would've gotten, 14:12 I now relent. So when the Bible says, 14:14 God repented, it really means God relented. 14:17 God does not have to repent because 14:18 God does not sin. Amen. Amen. 14:21 When we repent, God relents. 14:23 The next thing we learned is we must acknowledge 14:27 our sin in order to receive God's mercy. 14:30 David said, I acknowledge my sin and my iniquity. 14:33 It's ever before me. He acknowledged 14:36 He did wrong so therefore he was able to 14:38 receive God's mercy. So when a person said, 14:40 I haven't done anything wrong they can't receive. 14:45 They cannot receive any mercy. 14:48 Let me ask you the question 14:50 and I'm going to get a yes or no. 14:56 Is mercy applied to those who are innocent? Yes or no. 15:00 No. 15:03 Uh, mercy is applied to those who are what? Guilty. 15:07 Those who are guilty need mercy. 15:09 Matter of fact those who are innocent, get justice. 15:12 Your honor, I didn't do it. 15:13 Okay, well the law says, you got to go. 15:14 You're free to leave my court. 15:16 But when you are guilty, and you confess, 15:19 and forsake, then you qualify for God's mercy. 15:24 So mercy is not extended to those who are innocent. 15:28 Mercy is for those who say, Lord, I did it. 15:30 So let me ask you the question. 15:31 Are we guilty or innocent? Which one? 15:33 Guilty. All men are guilty before God. 15:37 Every one of us needs the mercy of God. Amen. Yes. 15:41 We learned that, the other thing we learned 15:43 is that mercy does not set aside 15:46 the requirements of God's law. 15:49 The sacrifices of Jesus satisfy 15:52 the requirements of God's law. 15:54 Let me give you an example. 15:57 This is the funniest story. I was -- 16:00 we were down in Belize, my wife and I. 16:02 I think about a year and a half ago 16:03 or maybe a little more than that. 16:05 And we went to one of the natural parks 16:10 where they had the Mayan ruins. 16:12 And with all this 2012, you know, predictions, 16:16 I want to see a Mayan ruin. 16:17 I wanted to climb the steps of a Mayan, look like 16:19 a Mayan pyramid because it was just way up there. 16:23 Anyway to get into the park, I'm talking about, 16:28 it's free to you but somebody had to pay the big price. 16:32 We were standing at the entrance of a park 16:33 and the guy that worked at the -- 16:35 at the desk where you pay, he obviously looked native. 16:41 Very strong native Mayan features, 16:46 strong chiseled face, just very olive skin, 16:49 shiny long black hair. 16:51 And he said, as the people set to a standby, 16:55 we got this taken care of, so we stood back 16:57 and we heard them in a conversation and he said, 17:00 you live here? And they said, yes. 17:04 Which meant if you live there, you get in for free. 17:07 So they were trying to get us into the park for free. 17:12 But the guy said, he doesn't live here. 17:15 I see him on 3ABN. 17:20 Well guess, what happened? 17:22 By them not telling the truth, 17:24 we all had to pay the penalty to get in. 17:28 They made them pay $10 for each of us 17:29 to get in for not being honest. 17:31 My point is this, if they were being -- 17:33 if they were honest, the price would've been on them. 17:37 But by not being honest, the price was on us. 17:41 The key is somebody has to pay the price. 17:44 So salvation while it's free to us, 17:47 the price is huge when it comes to what 17:50 Jesus paid for us. Ain't that right? 17:52 Yes. So salvation is not free, but -- 17:54 but here is where I wanna head with this topic tonight. 17:57 Because when we see ourselves, as God sees us, 18:01 we realize that we need to be delivered. 18:04 You know, we get rid of all your spiritual mirage, 18:06 you say, well, I'm pretty good. 18:08 I met a person once who said, I haven't sinned all week. 18:11 And I said you just did. 18:15 We live and breathe the atmosphere of sin. 18:19 It is only by God's grace that we go from 18:21 victory to victory. Amen. 18:23 We go from one victory to the other. 18:25 But to say, as the Bible says in First John, 18:27 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. 18:30 But what I'm talking about tonight is 18:33 how do you live a sinless life? 18:36 You can't do it on your own and you cannot 18:38 do it under your own merits. 18:40 But here's what I want to point out tonight. 18:41 And these are some texts that I want to share with you. 18:44 What I'd like you to do is turn with me to 18:45 Galatians 2:20. Galatians Chapter 2, verse 20, 18:49 because we are called to accomplish something. 18:53 The question is what are we called to accomplish 18:55 and how are we called to accomplish it? 18:58 This is not in the slides. 18:59 We're not at question number seven yet. 19:02 But as you turn there, I want to just share 19:04 seven very quick scriptures with you. 19:06 When I say quick, I mean, short portions 19:08 of scriptures, seven very quick ones. 19:12 Okay, now you all turn to Galatians. 19:13 You can write that down as an extra passage. 19:16 It's not in our study for tonight. 19:19 But here are seven quick points 19:22 that are so important to remember. 19:26 As Christians, God does not intend. 19:29 I want you to listen up now. 19:31 You read in the Bible as Christians, 19:33 is it God's intention for us to stumble 19:36 our way to heaven? Yes or no? 19:37 No. So what is God's intention for us? 19:41 Is it God's intention for us to be victorious 19:43 on our way to heaven? Yes or no? 19:45 Yes. But the way that I've seen it so often, 19:48 let me just put this together tonight. 19:50 The way I have seen it lot of times is people, 19:52 I even heard churches, I heard one pastor once say, 19:54 "You're gonna be sinning up until the day 19:56 that Jesus comes." And I'm thinking boy, there is -- 19:58 there is no reason for a sinner to want to become a Christian. 20:01 If the Christian is sinning until Jesus comes, 20:03 and the sinner is sinning, there is no difference. 20:08 But here are some of the scriptures 20:09 that tells me that God has a high ideal for us. 20:13 I can do all things through how? Christ. 20:15 Do you think that also includes overcoming sin in your life? 20:20 Yes. I can do all things. Here's another one. 20:22 We're more than conquerors, conquerors of what? 20:26 Our habits, our traits, 20:28 the things that bound us, I hope so. 20:30 Here's another one. 20:32 With every temptation, he'll make a way of escape. 20:36 So is there any temptation 20:38 that we're going to definitely fall into? 20:40 Yes or no? 20:42 No. With every temptation, 20:43 First Corinthians 10:13 with every temptation- 20:46 with every temptation, there is a way to escape. 20:48 Can you say, amen? Amen. 20:50 With--no matter how strong it is, here's the good-- 20:53 God never lets a temptation come your way 20:54 that you cannot handle by His strength. 20:57 God doesn't throw a 15-pound weight 20:59 in the hand of a 2-month-old baby 21:03 In the same way, God measures the temptations. 21:06 He makes sure that He does not allow 21:07 the devil to cross the boundary. 21:10 The God's mercy is unmeasured 21:11 because He loves us unconditionally. 21:14 Here's another scripture. 21:15 He's able to keep us from falling. 21:17 Do you believe that? Yes. Amen. 21:19 It's what I'm talking about. 21:20 How does God keep you from falling? 21:23 How many of you don't want to fall anymore? 21:27 Now let me make it clear. 21:28 There are certain things that you don't fall 21:30 into anymore. Am I right? Yes. 21:32 Certain things you don't even fall for anymore 21:34 because God has given you the victory. 21:36 But what we're talking about is complete victory. 21:38 Here's another scripture very quickly. 21:40 If we put on the whole armor of God, 21:42 we're able to quench 21:43 how many of the darts of the wicked one? 21:45 How many of? All. 21:46 All the fiery darts of the wicked one. 21:49 So no matter what Satan throws at you, Jason, 21:51 if you got on the armor, 21:52 you're able to quench every dart he throws. 21:54 Ain't that good news? Amen. 21:56 So how does that fit into the question? 21:58 Are -- are we - are the fiery darts 22:01 getting through or are they being quenched? 22:04 That's what I'm talking about. Here's another one. 22:08 If you do these things, you'll never stumble. 22:13 That's First Peter. 22:14 If you had virtue, the patience, 22:16 and patience, the perseverance, 22:18 if you do all those things, you will never stumble. 22:20 So tonight I'll lead with a question. 22:23 We're called to accomplish something, 22:26 but how are we going to accomplish that? 22:29 Galatians 2:20, here we go. 22:31 I am reading. 22:35 Matter of fact if you have your Bible, 22:36 you can actually quote this with me. 22:38 All right, are you ready? 22:39 Here we go, 22:40 I am, what? 22:43 Crucified with Christ nevertheless I live, 22:48 yet not I, but Christ lives where? 22:50 In me, in the life which I now live 22:53 in the flesh I live by, what? 22:56 Faith in the Son of God who did what? 22:59 Loved me and gave himself for me. 23:02 I want you to catch this now. 23:04 We're called to do what? 23:08 That's the question. 23:10 We're called to do what? 23:14 Okay, we're now that we're crucified with Christ. 23:18 That--that happens when we accept Christ. 23:20 But this verse tells us 23:21 there's something that we're called to do. 23:25 Okay, live by faith. 23:30 By faith in Christ. Okay. 23:31 That is the how part. 23:33 But what are we called to do? 23:36 Okay, we are called the life which I now live in the, 23:40 what's the next word, flesh. 23:42 We are called this - this is not a trick. 23:46 This is just a bad situation. 23:48 And let me tell you what I mean by that. 23:51 Mortal man will be mortal man until we put on immortality. 23:55 That's the bad news. 23:57 The good news is all those text I just gave you. 23:59 I can do all things. 24:00 We are more than conquerors 24:02 with every temptation makes a way of escape. 24:03 Able to keep us from falling. 24:04 Quench all the fiery darts. 24:06 And I can do all things, 24:07 if you do these things you're not. 24:09 That's the good news. 24:10 So the Lord is saying, Yanick, 24:12 until mortal puts on immortality, 24:15 you're gonna have to live a spiritual life 24:17 in a mortal body. 24:22 So let's put it together. 24:24 We're called to live in the flesh, 24:27 but we are called not to satisfy the flesh. 24:32 Let me ask you the question. 24:33 I wanna this to be very clear 24:34 because this is more in the study. 24:35 This is about how you're gonna be victorious tomorrow 24:38 and even after the meeting is over. 24:40 Do you ever have sinful cravings? 24:43 Does anybody wanna say yes? 24:44 Yes. Okay. 24:47 What you do next determines 24:51 whether or not you qualify for mercy 24:55 or just stand in line for God's justice. 24:59 If at that moment, you say, 25:01 you know, the Lord said I could - 25:02 I could escape this thing if I simply trust in Him, 25:05 then you'll never succumb to the temptation. 25:08 But the reason I ask you the question 25:10 is not to determine whether or not 25:11 you fall and you don't fall. 25:12 That's not my--that's not where I'm headed with this. 25:14 But because there's this constant 25:16 craving in the flesh, this mortal body, 25:19 it remembers that the old man 25:21 as Paul talks about Roman 6, He's there. 25:23 He's there until He's put to death through baptism. 25:26 We'll talk about that later on. 25:28 He's put to death. 25:29 Matter of fact our next study is delivered by death. 25:32 But then we come out of the watery grave, 25:35 this baptism, we come out to walk in the newness of, what? 25:39 The newness of life but now the newness of life 25:42 is lived in the oldness of this body. 25:45 That's the catch that God knows we're in 25:49 that's why He provides something 25:51 that we do not naturally have. 25:53 He provides us his righteousness. 25:58 Man, there should have been a hallelujah right there. 26:01 Maybe I said something. Let me try it again. 26:03 He provides us His, what? His righteousness 26:06 because He's know - He knows that, 26:09 although you've committed yourself to me, 26:10 you still have this mortal flesh 26:13 and if my Father looks at you, 26:14 he sees you jus like you are. 26:16 But if I cover you with my righteousness, 26:18 he sees me when he sees you. 26:24 But Paul had difficulties and struggles 26:27 and the reason why this topic is so vitally important is this. 26:31 We are called to live in the flesh 26:33 but we are called, as Marlena said a moment ago, 26:35 we are called to live by faith. 26:39 But in many Christian churches, 26:42 many walks of Christian life, 26:44 faith has become the enemy against the law of God. 26:51 Christians have said, 26:52 you're saved by grace through faith. 26:54 Forget the commandments. 26:56 But what we don't know is the problem is, 26:58 it is impossible to receive the mercy of God 27:01 if there is no law pointing out 27:03 that we need the mercy of God. 27:06 So tonight let's go to question 7. 27:08 We're gonna begin with question 7 27:10 and dive into why we need the mercy of God? 27:16 Why do we need the mercy of God? 27:19 That was quite an introduction, wasn't it? 27:20 Amen. Amen. Laying the foundation. 27:23 Here's question number 7. Here it is. 27:27 What did the apostle Paul express when he faced the law? 27:33 What did the Paul, he apostle, express when he faced the law? 27:37 We're looking together at Romans 7:14 27:41 and here's what he said. 27:42 It's on the screen, if you want to read it with me. 27:44 He said, For we know that the law is, what? 27:48 Spiritual, but I am what? Carnal. 27:51 And what's the next word? 27:52 Sold under sin. 27:54 You know that word old means, slavery. 27:58 Paul puts this in the context of slavery. 28:01 When you are a slave, you don't really have a choice. 28:05 He says, I'm carnal. 28:06 What He is saying there is because I am a slave to sin, 28:10 I can't really do anything other than sin. 28:14 But I am facing this law that is spiritual 28:17 and I don't know how to live in harmony 28:19 with that thing because I'm a slave. 28:21 I'm sold to sin. 28:23 And I'm carnal, carnal man in slavery to sin. 28:28 That's a terrible situation. But He didn't stop there. 28:31 That's the beautiful thing about that. 28:34 He didn't stop there. He said this is my condition. 28:37 But the next question takes us to the next level. 28:40 Look at this. 28:41 Question number 8 and by the way, 28:46 the reason why it has 4 parts to question 8 is 28:48 because it breaks down, 28:49 what Paul was actually confronted with. 28:52 He saw God's requirements in the law of God 28:55 as each of us knows. 28:56 You know one of the challenges of being 28:57 a Seventh-day Adventist Christian is this, 28:59 we accept the Ten Commandments of God. 29:01 Do we not? Yes. 29:02 We say the -- the law of God, 29:04 the law of the Lord is perfect. 29:05 Psalms 19, verse 7 29:07 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. 29:10 Have you ever sung that song before? 29:12 Converting the soul. 29:13 Why, why do we say the law of the Lord is perfect, 29:16 converting the soul? 29:18 The law doesn't really convert us. 29:19 But when you look at the law of God 29:21 and you accept it, 29:22 the power that is available through Christ 29:24 you realize wait a minute, 29:26 that law really is 29:28 the law that is for those who are converted. 29:31 That's how we live. 29:32 It reflects everything that we agree with. 29:35 The converted man in other words 29:36 has no problem with the law of God. 29:39 And so one of the major reasons why 29:40 there's a difficulty with the law of God so much is 29:42 because people that are not converted look at it and say, 29:45 if you get rid of that I'll be just fine. 29:48 But look at question 8 29:49 and we'll break this down into four parts. 29:51 Question number 8, 29:52 Why is it impossible to extend mercy 29:56 without the existence of the law? 29:59 We'll begin with Proverbs 16:6. 30:02 If you've your syllabus, 30:03 I should have told you go to that website 30:05 and download lesson number 3, 003 at asf.3abn.org. 30:12 I think I told you that but I'm not sure. 30:15 But question number 8 30:16 and we're going to first go to Proverbs 16:6. 30:19 Okay. Answer the question. Here is the first one. 30:22 Why is it impossible to extend God's mercy 30:24 without the existence of the law? 30:26 Here's what the Bible says in Proverbs 16:6. 30:27 Let's read this together. 30:29 He says, In mercy and truth atonement is, what? 30:33 Provided for iniquity, 30:35 and by the fear of the Lord one does, what? 30:39 Departs from evil. 30:41 Now get this. 30:43 Should we fear God? 30:45 Yes or no. Huh? 30:49 You guys seem split on that. 30:51 Let's try it again. Should we fear God? 30:52 Yes or no? Yes. 30:54 I would fear anybody 30:55 who could blink me out of existence. 30:58 I mean, he could say, John, history. 31:01 Lake of fire, proof. 31:02 I mean, I would fear anybody with that kind of power. 31:05 Have you seen what God can do? 31:07 There's nobody else that we should fear 31:10 that is with a godly fear not with a terror fear. 31:13 The lonely time we have terror is 31:15 when we'r not converted. 31:16 For when we come into a relationship with God, 31:18 perfect love casts out fear. 31:20 But it is good to have a healthy fear 31:24 as a child does for a godly parent. 31:27 And I used the word godly parent 31:28 because some parents are abusive. 31:30 But I had a healthy fear for my mother. 31:32 I had a healthy fear for my father. 31:34 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 31:36 You come home with good grades, 31:37 Nothing to worry about. 31:39 You go to school and do what you're supposed to do, 31:41 Nothing to worry about. 31:43 You live the way that they tell you, 31:44 that you should make up your bed 31:45 and keep the house in together, 31:46 and don't talk back, nothing to worry about. 31:49 There were rules and regulations. 31:51 And it says here, in mercy and truth 31:54 atonement is provided for iniquity. 31:57 Mercy is not left out, neither is truth left out. 32:01 When the truth of my condition is there, 32:04 then God will atone in mercy for my iniquity. 32:09 Well, let's go to the next one. 32:10 So the answer you wanna put there. 32:11 Why is it impossible to extend mercy 32:13 without the existence of the law? 32:15 Why is it impossible? 32:17 Because you cannot get rid of mercy and truth. 32:20 You cannot get rid of that. 32:21 Mercy and truth are included in God's atonement. 32:26 The second one, Psalms 119:151. 32:30 Here it is. 32:32 It's impossible to extend the mercy 32:34 without the existence of the law. 32:36 Here's what the Lord said, 32:37 You are near, O Lord, and, the next word is? 32:42 All your commandments are, what? 32:45 Are truth. 32:46 In other words, there's no problem there, 32:48 that's why Paul says, 32:49 the law is spiritual, there is no issue there. 32:52 There is no issue there. 32:54 The commandments are truth cannot get rid of that. 32:57 In other words, when you go to the doctor, 32:59 lot of us have gone to doctors before. 33:01 I would ask the question how many of you never went. 33:03 But I don't want to see your hand. 33:05 If you've never gone to a physician 33:07 and you're above 10 years old, you need help. 33:10 Every one of us needs a check up sometimes 33:12 just from the neck up, you never know. 33:14 But the reason why we go to physicians is that 33:17 he tells us our condition, am I right? 33:19 We've got all kinds of things now. 33:20 We have PET scans. 33:21 Matter of fact last night my niece 33:23 was talking to me about a new cat that they got. 33:25 Terrible story. 33:28 My sister lives on the 13th floor. 33:31 I know if you know where I'm going with this. 33:33 And the cat decided to walkout on the ledge on the balcony. 33:39 Cats could walk on anything. 33:42 But this cat didn't like birds and the birds knew it. 33:46 And I think that cat in the past had gotten 33:48 one of the bird's relatives 33:49 and the bird's relatives didn't forget. 33:52 So a bird kept this in his head 33:55 and the next time that, that cat stepped out 33:57 on that balcony, the ledge, 33:59 this big old pigeon came down and swooped at the bird 34:03 and the natural instincts of the cat was 34:07 to swipe at the bird. 34:10 And he swiped at him from 13 floors up 34:13 and his parachute didn't work. 34:16 So that hurt my heart when I got the phone call. 34:21 But they got a new cat. 34:23 And--and my niece was talking about getting a PET scan. 34:27 And I said if you put your cat on your scanner, 34:29 you can get a pet scan. 34:31 Now she was talking about for her - 34:32 for her lymphoma 34:34 and the reason we could downplay it some is 34:35 because we found out that her lymphoma is the kind 34:37 she could live with for the rest of her life. 34:39 Praise the God for that. Amen. 34:40 But I said - she said her cat is crazy. 34:43 Her cat is out of his mind. 34:44 It's a kitten by the way. 34:46 And so I said just put him on the scanner and slide it 34:48 and that's a pet scan. 34:50 But here what my point here 34:52 is whenever God scans our lives, 34:54 the truth is revealed 34:56 and when we look at the commandments of God, 34:58 the truth about every one of our conditions is revealed. 35:00 That's why it's impossible to extend God's mercy 35:03 without getting the truth about 35:04 whether or not we need God's mercy. 35:06 Look at the third one. Romans 7:7. Romans 7:7. 35:12 Paul responds in this manner. 35:15 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? 35:19 What is the answer? Certainly not! 35:21 On the contrary, 35:23 I would not have known sin except through the law. 35:28 For I would not have known covetousness 35:31 unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." 35:37 So here's the point again. 35:40 Why is it impossible to extend God's mercy without the law? 35:43 Because we never know we need mercy. 35:45 Until we know we have a condition 35:47 that needs a remedy. 35:51 I could talk about a more delightful 35:53 kind of a scan called an x-ray. 35:56 You've had an x-ray before. 35:58 The best x-rays to get are in the dentist office 36:01 because you never feel them. Amen. 36:03 They step out the room and all you hear 36:05 is beep and it's done. 36:07 You know what I'm talking about. 36:08 And they got you this plastic thing. 36:10 They said bite down. 36:11 And they step out the room 36:12 they put this bulletproof vest on you 36:15 about 50 pounds of lead and they go beep. 36:18 It's done. You say that's it. 36:20 You don't feel any. That's the best. 36:21 That's the best kind, am I right? 36:23 You don't feel anything. 36:24 But the worst kind is when you have to get an MRI. 36:28 Anybody had an MRI before? 36:29 You got to go in that tube 36:31 and they said now if you don't like closed places 36:34 you're not gonna like this. 36:35 So they put my wife in one of those tubes and said, 36:37 what kind of music would you like? 36:39 She said, I'm claustrophobic. 36:40 They said, what kind of music would you like. 36:45 So they gave her Christian music 36:46 while they had that thing this close to her face. 36:49 And all she heard was the baah... 36:52 You know the drilling sounds. 36:53 That's the worst kind of scan. 36:55 But all of those coupled together 36:58 if you get an x-ray of your tooth, 37:00 a scan of your head, a PET scan of your body, 37:02 an MRI, and a CT scan, all those other things, 37:05 the truth about you is revealed. 37:06 The law of God is like scanning your mind, 37:09 your heart, your life, 37:10 revealing everything about you. 37:12 And Paul says, 37:13 I would not have known my condition except 37:16 there was a law telling me what my condition is. 37:18 Once again, unless you know your condition, 37:21 you cannot say, I need God's mercy. 37:24 Why would you need God's mercy, 37:26 if the law does not exist? 37:28 Matter of fact, you don't even need justice 37:29 because there's no law to say you're one or the other. 37:32 But here's is the last part. 37:34 And this is very widely revealing. 37:36 Acts 3:19, Acts 3:19, 37:40 beautiful, and this is what we all want. 37:43 Acts 3:19, which reads as follows, 37:46 what's the first word? 37:48 Repent. Repent therefore and be converted, 37:52 that your sins may be, what? 37:55 Blotted out. 37:56 Blotted out so that times of refreshing may come 37:59 from the presence of the Lord. 38:02 Now for you to understand, what refreshing means, 38:05 have you ever needed something cold to drink? 38:08 How many of you could use 38:09 a nice cold cup of water right now. 38:12 Right about now, I tell you, I wish I had a big old-- 38:16 you know some of our members come to church 38:17 every Sabbath with water. 38:19 It's like--it's like, I know Brother Dick does, 38:22 they always have water. 38:24 Some other people always have water 38:25 when they come to church. 38:27 I don't know if my sermon make them thirsty or what? 38:31 But, unless you've been 38:33 where you did not have access to water, 38:37 that's why now when my wife and I drive to Saint Louis, 38:40 at 130 mile, 120 whatever, 38:43 we always carry four bottles of water, 38:47 two bottles going two bottles coming back. 38:51 Because when you get about 50 miles into the journey, 38:53 all of a sudden you start thinking. 38:54 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 38:56 Man, I'm thirsty. And there's nothing out there. 38:58 Nothing but flat fields and signs. 39:01 Man, I'm thirsty. 39:04 But when you finally get to an area 39:06 where you can buy you something cold, 39:08 even if it's a machine, you walk up to that thing, 39:10 and you put your dollar 25 in and press it, 39:12 you can't wait for that bottle to drop down, 39:15 and you open that thing and you peel that cork off 39:18 as quickly as you can to top off, 39:19 and you lean that back, 39:20 and what do you say right after your first sip? 39:22 Aaahhh. 39:25 The times of refreshing. 39:28 You know what's so beautiful about this text. 39:30 We read this text, but we fail to understand 39:31 what it means. 39:32 It says, when you are forgiven, 39:35 when God blots out your sin, 39:38 it's refreshing to know 39:39 that you don't have to give account for that anymore. 39:45 I got all energetic for nothing. 39:48 When God forgives you, it's so good to know that 39:50 that sin will not come up against you again. Amen. 39:53 Amen. It's refreshing to know 39:56 I could stand before God and I'm not even worried. 39:59 Because my sin has been blotted out 40:01 and it's refreshing 40:03 to stand in the presence of God knowing that, 40:08 that sin will not come up against me. 40:10 Repent and be converted that your sins maybe, what? 40:15 Blotted out. 40:17 Your sins maybe, what? Blotted out. 40:19 So what's the coupling of this whole thing? 40:22 When we realize that our sins are ever before us 40:28 and that there's no problem with God's law, 40:29 we only have two choices. 40:31 That's why I chose these. 40:33 We can either choose to blot out 40:34 the commandments of God or leave them intact 40:38 and have God blot out our sins. 40:42 But here's the real one choice, 40:43 the law of God is not going to get blotted out. 40:46 So what's the only option we have? 40:48 Is have our, what? Sins blotted out. 40:54 When our sins are blotted out, 40:55 it's so refreshing to know 40:56 that they'll never come up against us again. 40:58 Look at question number 9. 41:00 And by the way I put this there. 41:01 But I've -- I've given you the answer. 41:03 I think do you have the answer on your page? 41:06 Do you have the answer on your page? 41:09 I didn't mean to do that. 41:10 That's one question 41:11 you don't have to work hard on tonight. Okay. 41:13 We'll spend a little time on that. 41:15 What are the only two claims 41:18 that the accused can choose from? 41:21 The only two claims that the accused can choose from. 41:26 When you stand before the judge, 41:27 he said, how do you plead, 41:29 guilty or what, innocent? Okay. 41:33 Guilty or what, not guilty? 41:38 So since I did the homework for you, 41:40 I'll go ahead and give you the answer. 41:42 Don't have to turn to a scripture, 41:44 here's the first option that they choose from. 41:48 Your honor, I'm innocent and I demand, what? 41:51 Justice. 41:53 I have seen so many guilty criminals 41:56 say I didn't do it. 41:59 Now, I don't know if you were like me. 42:01 But sometimes you see the videotape, 42:04 a guy running into the store, 42:05 maybe he drives his wind car through the convenience store, 42:09 jumps over the counter, 42:10 having a battle with the clerk and the clerk has a bat 42:14 and he's hitting, and they're fighting 42:16 and the clerk rips off of his mask 42:17 and he looks up at the camera real quickly 42:19 and he gets caught right on the view. 42:21 It's his face, and he stands before the judge 42:23 and says, I am innocent. 42:29 You know, what I always yell back to the TV? 42:31 You are lying. You ever think that? 42:35 That's why this word is always amazing to me. 42:41 The alleged crime! 42:44 Don't that bother you sometimes? 42:46 You know, blew away 16 children 42:47 in front of the school. 42:49 The guy is arrested and handcuffed. 42:50 The alleged crime, it's all caught on video. 42:53 And nowadays everything is caught on video. 42:57 And he stands in the court and said, 42:58 how do you plead guilty or innocent? 43:01 Innocent. 43:02 And then, the defense team comes up 43:03 with what kind of plea, come on? 43:07 Insanity, you know, 43:08 that's the only thing I've heard that's true. 43:13 You got to be insane 43:15 to do some of the things you do nowadays. 43:16 Am I -- am I telling the truth? Yes. 43:18 You've got to be insane? 43:20 To get up in the morning, 43:22 to methodically plan to take someone's life. 43:26 You've got to be insane. 43:27 That shows what sin really does. 43:29 Sin deceives you. 43:30 That's why that person even after committing that crime 43:33 stands in front of a court judge 43:36 and knowing that he's been caught red handed 43:38 continues to deceive himself. 43:40 You see that text now in First John 1:8, 43:42 if you say you have no sin you deceive yourself. 43:45 You think the judge is deceived? 43:47 He knows that okay, the trial 43:48 because when you plead one or the other. 43:50 If you plead guilty, there's gonna be no trial, 43:53 you just go to the sentencing stage. 43:55 But if you plead not -- not guilty? 43:57 You're gonna have a trial. 43:58 The reason why they plead not guilty, 44:00 they hope somehow to twist some jury somewhere 44:02 to convince them that this guy is innocent. 44:04 Or he was insane. 44:07 Or he had a split personality and that day he did this 44:09 and he wants to be set free to go do it again. 44:12 But you can only say I'm innocent and demand justice. 44:15 And here's a second one you can say. 44:19 I'm guilty and I plead for, what? I plead for mercy. 44:22 We would spend billions of dollars less, 44:27 but you know the reason why criminals don't say 44:30 that they're guilty and plead for mercy. 44:31 You know why they don't? 44:35 Come on, somebody tell me. 44:37 Chance that they can get off. 44:39 Okay, what else? They're so use to lying. 44:41 They're so used. Closer. That's right. 44:43 You know why they don't. 44:44 Because the heart is deceitful above all things 44:47 and how desperately wicked. 44:51 Even in the moment where they're caught red handed, 44:53 they say, I didn't do it. 44:57 I'm not guilty. 44:59 That's how deceiving sin is. 45:01 So the reason why I brought that out 45:02 is because you cannot play with sin. 45:05 Sin comes wrapped in roses and petals 45:09 but on the inside is a time bomb. 45:11 Sin is a -- is a cup of Kool-aid 45:14 mixed with arson and all that, what is that stuff? 45:18 Am I telling, arsenic. 45:21 It tastes good, but the end is the same result. 45:24 It's death. 45:25 Sin has caused the death of billions of individuals 45:28 throughout the course of human history. 45:29 Sin takes the lives of innocent children. 45:32 Drives their car into crowded--crowds of people. 45:35 Purposely blow up schools 45:36 and people that strap themselves with bomb 45:39 and run into crowds. That's the nature of sin. 45:41 And I'm just touching the tip of the iceberg. 45:43 I can't even explain how -- how terrible sin really is. 45:47 So in order for us 45:49 and you'll see this in the next study 45:50 why it's so important to understand 45:52 how we're delivered. 45:53 So in order for us 45:54 to be able to know how much we need the Lord, 45:57 we've got to really understand our condition. 46:01 So if sin is living in our homes 46:04 and our minds and our hearts, 46:06 let me boil it down to kind of where some of us live. 46:09 Some of us say, you know, 46:10 I don't want to really be a Christian everyday. 46:12 I mean, can I just be a Christian on Sabbath. 46:16 Am I telling the truth? 46:18 I've seen some people in the mall. 46:26 Hi, pastor. Hi. 46:34 I had not one of my elders, 46:36 I caught an elder with a whole shopping cart 46:39 full of beer. 46:41 I never told him what was in there. 46:44 I looked at that cart. I looked up at him. 46:47 I just said, hi, good to see you. 46:49 I hadn't seen him for five more months 46:52 because he was caught red handed. 46:54 I didn't mention a thing about his beer 46:56 because just a look on his face. 46:57 If I mentioned something, we would had a funeral 46:59 right there in isle three. 47:02 But what I'm saying is, sin is so deceptive 47:04 it says live this way, live this way up until sunset. 47:09 Get ultra, ultra righteous. 47:12 And then, and how much Sun do have we left 47:14 before the Sabbath is done because I got 47:16 some sinning that I'm planning to do. 47:21 Am I telling the truth? 47:23 So everybody that say they're Christians 47:24 are not really Christians 47:25 because this thing about justification 47:27 is something that I'm a Seventh-day Adventist. 47:30 No, you got to be a seven day. 47:32 You got to be looking 47:33 for the coming of the Lord all week long. Right? 47:37 So for those of us who dally, and dibble, 47:39 and dabble and taste sin and like sin we sample it now. 47:43 What -- what sin is that? 47:45 I don't know if I like that one. 47:46 We go through the smorgasbord of sin all week long 47:48 and come to church on Sabbath, 47:49 holy, holy, holy, ain't holy. 47:54 You just sing a holy song. 47:56 That's why this is a vitally important topic. 48:01 That's why question 10 is so important. 48:02 Look at it. Look at it, very important. 48:05 What provision has the Lord made 48:07 for the one who admits his guilt? 48:11 What has -- what provision has the Lord 48:13 made for the one who admits his guilt? 48:15 This is beautiful. 48:16 You know what, we are not fooling God. 48:18 We can't fool God. 48:20 God sees us before we do it. 48:22 He sees us while we're doing it and He sees us 48:25 with that caught look on our face after we do. 48:27 Have you ever caught your children or caught anybody? 48:31 Or caught somebody who's, you know, 48:32 you sneak upon somebody on -- 48:34 in the wrong isle at the supermarket 48:35 and you tap on the shoulder, 48:36 and they turn around as like their dictionary is closed. 48:39 They can't find a word. 48:45 God sees all that before He even sees as it unfolds, 48:48 but here's what that loving patient God 48:50 who understands that we are dust, 48:51 understands our frailty. 48:53 This is what He says when we say, Lord, I did it. 48:57 Here's what he says. Isaiah 1:18, together. 49:02 Are you ready? Here we go. 49:04 "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord." 49:09 Look at how beautiful He is. 49:10 "Though your sins are like scarlet, 49:13 they shall be as white as snow, 49:16 though they are red like crimson, 49:18 they shall be as wool." Ain't that beautiful? 49:21 He says you may have stained your carpet 49:25 with a gallon of grape juice. 49:28 But if you simply bring it to me, 49:30 when I'm done with that, 49:31 you'll never even know there was a stain there. 49:34 My wife and I had our carpets cleaned not so long ago. 49:38 For the life of me, I don't know, I tell you, 49:41 I would never put carpet in the kitchen. 49:45 I would not put carpet in the dining room. 49:46 That's high traffic areas. 49:48 Matter of fact, I don't think, 49:49 there's much functions for carpet nowadays 49:51 except for places that you don't want to hear anything. 49:53 That depends on what kind. 49:54 But we got this carpet in our houses 49:57 in the high traffic area and we -- 49:58 we did all our cleaning up 49:59 until we couldn't do it anymore. 50:00 We got professionals to come in. 50:02 It's amazing how good. 50:03 This is not a commercial. I won't mention the company. 50:05 It's amazing how good steam cleaning really works. 50:09 It works really well. Doesn't it? 50:12 It gets the stuff that you didn't even know was there. 50:14 And you see it going through the holes 50:16 follow me now, you see this -- 50:18 you see the dirt going through the holes. 50:21 And you think was it really that filthy? 50:25 Now think of how God cleans up your life. 50:28 You see your sins, after, when God's working on, 50:31 you see it going through the holes, 50:33 and you think, was I really that filthy? 50:36 And what does He say? 50:37 Yes. You didn't know it until you called me 50:40 because you couldn't get all the stains out. Amen. 50:43 And so, so often we try to cover our stains. 50:46 And Lord says, where is the carpet? 50:50 Let me see your life. 50:52 When I see the stains, 50:54 though your sins are like scarlet, 50:55 they should be as white as snow, 50:56 though they're red like crimson. 50:58 When I'm done with you, they shall be as-- 50:59 as wool. Amen. 51:01 So here you are when the Lord finds you 51:03 and here you are when the Lord covers you 51:05 with his righteousness. 51:08 Why does snow look like wool, pure as wool. 51:14 And that's by the way, not our wool, 51:18 but the wool of a beautiful, spotless little, little lamb. 51:25 Look at number 11, number 11. 51:29 I'm liken to study. 51:30 I don't know about you guys, not by be, 51:32 ain't this wonderful? Yes. 51:34 Here's question number 11. 51:38 Here it is. 51:40 When one declares his guilt, 51:43 what promise has the Lord made? 51:45 And by the way the title of this is 51:47 How To Be Justified when one declares his guilt 51:50 what promise has the Lord made? 51:53 What promise has He made? 51:55 You got to see God standing there. 51:57 You can't see God. 51:58 You know, friends, you cannot see God 52:00 as this guy walking around with a mallet. 52:03 You can't see God as a God 52:04 with a big old rubber hammer 52:06 just waiting to hit you on the head. 52:08 You got to see God with eyes of compassion. 52:11 You got to see God with eyes of mercy. 52:13 You have to see God looking at us 52:15 knowing that we are but dust 52:18 and that even though we live 100 years, 52:20 our lives are but a vapor that appears 52:22 for a little while and then it vanishes away. 52:24 Without his, without the hope of eternal life 52:26 you could live to be 150 years old 52:28 and you still live a short life. 52:30 I want eternal life. How about you? 52:33 So what -- what's -- what's God promised to those 52:36 who have declared their guilt? 52:38 Here's what he said, Hebrews 8:12. Hebrews 8:12. 52:44 He says this, 52:46 For I will be merciful to the, who? 52:49 Unrighteous and their sins and their lawless deeds 52:55 I will remember, how much, friends? 52:58 No more. Ain't that wonderful? No more. 53:01 How many people, you know, 53:02 could give you that kind of slack? Huh? 53:06 You ever hear that phrase, you always, you never. 53:10 When people come up with you always, 53:12 you know, you want to say, 53:13 I thought you forgot that. Right? 53:16 Am I right, I thought you-- you--you forgave me 53:19 of that and now you're bringing that back up. 53:21 Let me tell you something, friends. 53:22 When God forgives you, 53:24 He says, I'm not gonna bring it backup. Amen. 53:27 But I want you to catch what He says. 53:30 He says I will be merciful to the who? 53:33 Unrighteous. 53:35 Because the righteous don't need mercy. 53:38 They're already righteous. 53:40 In other words, the person who declares 53:41 himself or herself to be righteous, 53:43 they don't need God's mercy. 53:44 But once you realize you are unrighteous, 53:46 He said, I'll be merciful to the unrighteousness, 53:49 and their sins, and their lawless deeds, 53:51 I will remember no more. 53:52 It's hard, you know, some people have things 53:54 that they hold on for years too and -- 54:00 and it's so -- it's so difficult, 54:01 when we have to try to put the past behind us. 54:04 And somebody always keeps reminding us that. 54:08 But the Lord promises not to do that. 54:10 Now this next text, 54:11 we will get a few more in before the program is done. 54:13 This next text deals with the way that God approaches 54:19 and handles the person who is repentant. 54:22 Let's look at question number 12, 54:24 I think we'll cover this one today. 54:26 Question number 12. 54:27 How does the Bible describe God 54:31 in dealing with the repentant? 54:33 We're going to Ezekiel. 54:34 This is a very powerful passage. 54:36 Ezekiel 18. 54:38 This book shows you the contrast and by the way, 54:40 there's no such thing as once saved always saved. 54:42 You need God's saving grace how often friends? 54:45 Everyday -- I die daily. 54:47 If you get that one-time dry cleaning salvation, 54:50 it's not gonna work because you live in a world 54:51 that's dirty filled with sin. 54:53 It's all around you. 54:54 You got to know that you need Christ everyday. 54:55 But notice what the Lord says. 54:57 This is beautiful, 54:58 the contrast between who you are 54:59 and who you can become in Christ. 55:01 Here it is. 55:03 But if a wicked man turns from all his sins, 55:07 which he has committed, let's look at the process, 55:11 keeps all my statutes, 55:13 and do what is lawful and right, he shall, what? 55:17 Surely live. He shall not die. 55:20 None of the transgressions which he has committed 55:23 shall be remembered against him, 55:27 because of the righteousness-- righteousness, 55:31 which he has done he shall, what? Live. 55:34 Now lot of you ask yourself why? 55:35 What about us? 55:36 How could he do righteousness to live? No. 55:39 What that simply means is as First John says, 55:41 he's practicing. 55:42 The Lord has justified him because he -- 55:43 he's declared himself that he's a sinner. 55:45 God has justified him, has set him free. 55:48 But now he lives in that. 55:50 He lives in that saving relationship. 55:53 And because he now has 55:55 have a life that's turned around 55:56 because he's no longer living the way he did before. 56:00 Three words that are so sweet. 56:03 What are the last three words? 56:04 Say it with me. "He shall live." 56:09 He shall live. 56:11 Beautiful. He shall live. 56:15 When you think about what it means to be justified. 56:18 You got to think so clearly 56:21 that when we're dealing with the sin issue, 56:23 there is only one way to deal with the sin issue, 56:25 that's dealing with it head on it, 56:26 admitting that we've got the problem, 56:28 admitting that we can't do a thing 56:30 about the problem outside of Christ, 56:32 admitting that there's no hope 56:34 if we try to remedy the situation ourselves, 56:38 admitting that the cause is not just for those 56:41 who can't do better as one person once said, 56:44 Oh, Christianity is for people that just can't do any better. 56:48 Some people get degrees. 56:49 They got a lot of money in the bank. 56:51 They get a well-established job, 56:52 a brand new car. 56:54 They're doing really well for themselves. 56:56 And they said, Christianity is for those people 56:58 who just really can't make it in life. 56:59 They need a crutch. 57:01 Well, friends, let me you tell you some, 57:02 I do need a crutch. I'm gonna lean on Jesus. 57:04 What about you? Amen. 57:05 He's not my crutch. He's my Savior. 57:09 He's my Lord. He's my Redeemer. 57:11 He's not the one that I'm just hoping 57:12 will get me through. 57:13 He's the one that's gotten me through 57:15 time and time and time again. 57:17 And so when you think about what the Lord has done for us. 57:19 That's why we entitled this How To Be Justified. 57:22 When you put these texts together 57:24 and you come before the Lord in honesty and in sincerity, 57:28 you begin to realize that 57:29 though my sins where like that, 57:31 they can be like that, 57:33 if I just simply turn my life over to Jesus. 57:35 How many of you tonight are praising God 57:38 that He still saves from the uttermost, 57:41 from guttermost to the uttermost. 57:43 Amen. Tonight right? 57:45 So friends we're saying simply here 57:47 God will change your life. 57:48 He will turn your life around completely. 57:51 Bring you into a relationship 57:52 that will even cause you to be amazed 57:55 and turn you over to Christ. 57:56 Tonight, friends, give your life to Christ 57:58 and then and only then will it come into, 58:01 A Sharper Focus. God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17