Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000015
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00:20 Hello, friends.
00:21 Welcome to another Wednesday night meeting 00:23 here at "A Sharper Focus" 00:25 located at the 3ABN Worship Center 00:27 here in Southern Illinois. 00:29 I always say sometimes Thompsonville, 00:31 sometimes I say West Frankfort, 00:33 we're altogether just separated by a little thin line, 00:36 one block away. 00:37 But thank you for being faithful 00:39 to continue to tune in. 00:40 And if this is your first time, remember this channel 00:42 every Wednesday night at 7 P.M. Central 00:46 where we get into the Bible together 00:47 and study the topic, "How to Live a Spiritual Life," 00:51 help me with this, in a what? 00:52 Natural Body. Natural Body. 00:55 That's what God has called us to do, 00:56 while we are in the world, 00:58 how to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 01:02 Tonight, we ask you to get your Bibles, 01:04 get your friends, invite your family members 01:06 to sit down for the next hour 01:08 and if you like to follow us with the lesson, 01:11 go to this following website. 01:12 Remember, do not put www. 01:15 Just go to ASF.3abn.org 01:20 and download lesson 006, which is in fact, three pages. 01:24 And tonight we're gonna begin on question number 7, 01:28 continuing on the topic 01:29 of how to be willing and obedient. 01:32 That's the title of tonight's lesson 01:34 but the overall topic is, 01:35 How to live a Spiritual Life in a Natural Body. 01:38 Now we're gonna have some music tonight. 01:39 We're gonna sing locally here the song, "Victory in Jesus." 01:42 But before we do anything, 01:43 let's invite the presence of God through prayer. 01:46 Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, 01:48 tonight for the opportunity of opening Your word. 01:51 We thank you for those who are tuning in 01:53 and we welcome those from around the world. 01:56 But, Lord, we pray that Your presence 01:58 will be with each of us, 02:00 those who are watching, but those who are here locally. 02:04 And may your presence fill this room tonight, 02:06 Lord as the Holy Spirit is needed 02:09 to guide and to make sense of this lesson. 02:12 So thank You, Father for what we shall learn 02:15 and how Jesus will be glorified. 02:17 In Your name we pray. 02:19 Amen. Amen. 02:20 Now tonight, we're gonna sing our favorite song, 02:22 which has become my favorite, "Victory in Jesus." 02:25 "I heard an old, old story." 02:27 So for those of you who know the song 02:29 and you hear us singing along, 02:30 you'd like to join us, you can do so. 02:33 And the words will appear on our screen. 02:35 Let's sing the song together. 02:42 I heard an old, old story 02:45 How a Savior came from glory 02:49 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:53 To save a wretch like me 02:57 I heard about His groaning 03:00 Of His precious blood's atoning 03:04 Then I repented of my sins 03:08 And won the victory 03:12 O victory in Jesus 03:16 My Savior, forever 03:19 He sought me and bought me 03:23 With His redeeming blood 03:27 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:31 And all my love is due Him 03:34 He plunged me to victory 03:38 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:42 I heard about a mansion 03:46 He has built for me in glory 03:49 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:53 Beyond the crystal sea 03:57 About the angels singing 04:01 And the old redemption story 04:05 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 04:08 The song of victory Key change 04:12 O victory in Jesus 04:16 My Savior, forever 04:20 He sought me and bought me 04:24 With His redeeming blood 04:27 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:31 And all my love is due Him 04:35 He plunged me to victory 04:39 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:43 He plunged me to victory 04:46 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:53 Amen. Amen. 04:55 Now you know that song is talking about baptism, 04:57 "Plunging us to victory beneath His cleansing flood." 05:04 I want to begin tonight by showing you one of my, 05:07 I think this picture always brings a smile. 05:09 It's not my favorite picture 05:11 but I think it illustrates really well 05:13 how important it is for us to yield ourselves to Christ. 05:16 Now we showed those of you saw the program last week, 05:19 we showed you this picture 05:20 but if you're tuning in for the first time tonight, 05:22 this is really what a Christian is all about. 05:24 Look at this picture together with me. 05:27 That's a Christian. 05:30 "The spirit indeed is willing." 05:32 Finish it with me, friends. "But the flesh is weak." 05:38 We can try our best on any given day, 05:41 I mean, that's, that's any member in our church 05:44 just add a name to that little kid 05:46 and that's who we are in a daily basis. 05:48 We want to do, 05:50 there's so many weights in our world 05:52 that we try to lift. 05:53 But without the strength of Christ we cannot do it. 05:55 Now our title for the lesson tonight is, 05:58 How to be Willing and Obedient. 06:00 But before we go to question number 7, 06:02 let me set it up a little bit. 06:04 You know, when you become a Christian, 06:07 you become painfully aware that God has a law. 06:13 It's called the Ten? 06:15 Commandments. Commandments. 06:17 You become painfully aware of it. 06:20 Now the reason I say painfully aware of it 06:22 is because all of a sudden, 06:23 you are now facing the standard of God, 06:27 you're facing the standard of God, 06:30 and you know that you can't live up to the standard of God. 06:33 I mean, you are facing it 06:35 but you know that 06:36 the law of God is now say to you, 06:38 this represents all the principles 06:41 that from now on, you've got to live by. 06:44 And you look at that and you realize, 06:47 how am I gonna do that? 06:48 I couldn't do that the last time. 06:49 God has now told me how to live. 06:51 The law of God is presented before me, 06:53 the standard of righteousness, 06:55 the very law that's going to judge me. 06:58 As James 2:12 says, 07:00 "So speak and so do as those who will be judged 07:03 by the law of liberty." 07:05 So the Commandments of God is the law of liberty. 07:07 If you can live in a harmony with it, you remain free. 07:10 Jesus set you free 07:12 but if you could live in a harmony 07:14 with the law of God, you remain free, 07:15 just like if you live in harmony with the speed limit, 07:18 you remain without any kind of speeding infractions, 07:21 no speeding tickets, 07:24 drive by policeman without even feeling 07:25 like you have to pull over. 07:27 What have, what do modern cars have 07:32 that helps us who have heavy feet 07:36 live in harmony with the speed limit? 07:38 Come on, say it together. What is it called? 07:40 Cruise control. 07:42 You know, when you are approaching the speed limit, 07:44 can I confess? 07:46 Okay. 07:48 Whenever I know 07:50 that there are police in the area, 07:51 kind of like it is here in West Frankfort, 07:53 from West Frankfort, all the way up to Mount Vernon, 07:57 that's here in Southern Illinois 07:58 in Highway 57, there are police, motorcycles, 08:00 cars on overheads, 08:02 off the side of the road with radar detectors. 08:05 I set my cruise at 65 08:07 and I stay there as close between 65 and 70. 08:10 Don't go faster than that. 08:11 They'll give you a little bit of latitude. 08:13 And I stay on that until I get to Mount Vernon. 08:16 And then in my mind I sing the song, 08:17 "Free at last." 08:21 Now that's not a great example because what I'm in essence, 08:24 is saying, what I'm in essence, saying is, 08:26 I feel like to speed a little bit more 08:28 when I pass Mount Vernon, 08:29 you know, make up a little bit more time. 08:31 But the cruise control represents something 08:34 that God gives to us, 08:36 He gives us access to 08:39 that allows us to live in harmony 08:41 with the law of God. 08:42 Now go with me, first of all, to the Book of Acts. 08:48 Book of Acts. 08:49 Before we go to question number one, 08:51 I want you to go to Book of Acts. 08:53 Acts Chapter 1 08:56 and we're gonna look at this in context with the fact 08:58 that when we are aware, when we are aware 09:03 of what our responsibilities are, 09:05 what we need now is, we need some enabling force 09:09 outside of ourselves to be able to do something 09:12 what we couldn't do the first time. 09:14 Because how much have we changed 09:18 between the time that we didn't know Christ 09:22 to the time we gave our lives to Him 09:24 and we're baptized and then now living in Christ. 09:26 Now if you just became a Christian, 09:28 you haven't changed a whole lot. 09:30 But hopefully, if you've been a Christian 09:31 for a while, you've changed, right? 09:34 That's a really weak one. 09:36 Because the Lord is the one that's changing us 09:38 from one victory to the other, victory in Jesus. 09:41 We're going from one-- the thing that used to be 09:42 a difficulty for most 09:44 when we first give our lives to Christ, 09:45 shouldn't really be a challenge with us 09:46 as many years go by 09:48 unless we feel to continue to yield. 09:50 Because that old mortal nature 09:52 is there to spring back into life 09:54 the moment we give it the permission to do so. 09:56 But here is what the Lord gives us 09:59 that enables us to do something that we couldn't do before. 10:03 I want you to notice the words here. 10:04 Acts 1:8. 10:08 "But you shall receive power." 10:11 What's the next word? When. 10:13 When and in some translation it is after. 10:16 "You shall receive power 10:18 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." 10:23 Now what do we need? What do we need? 10:25 What does this verse make available to us? 10:27 What do we all need? We need what? 10:29 We need power. 10:30 Because in and of ourselves, we can't do it. 10:33 We don't have the power to live in harmony 10:35 with the law of God with this mortal flesh 10:37 fighting against us every single day. 10:39 So we need a power outside of ourselves 10:41 and the power that's made available to us 10:43 after we become Christians 10:44 is the power of the Holy Spirit. 10:47 Now let me break that down some. 10:50 I got to really lay the foundation 10:51 here tonight and teach this. 10:53 The Holy Spirit's power is, we can't even estimate it. 10:58 We really can't. 10:59 We can't put a power in me that you wouldn't say, 11:02 well, now how powerful really is the Holy Spirit. 11:05 If you look at the work that the Holy Spirit does, 11:07 the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin 11:10 and of righteousness and of judgment, 11:13 so much so till we get to the place 11:15 where the conviction leads us now, 11:17 by the goodness of God to repentance. 11:19 Then after the Holy Spirit has done that work, 11:22 then He has another work to do. 11:24 The other work before He gives us the gifts, 11:27 the other work He does 11:28 is to bring alive the fruit of the spirit, which is what? 11:32 "Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, 11:34 gentleness, meekness, patience." 11:36 That what He has to, He has to bring that out. 11:39 But in order for that to come out, 11:41 He has to come in. 11:44 For Paul says, "I know that 11:46 in me that is, in my flesh dwells" what? 11:48 "No good thing." 11:50 So in order for there to be anything good to come out, 11:53 someone good has to what? 11:55 Come in. It is no longer I who live. 12:00 But Christ who lives where? 12:01 In me and the life which I now live in the flesh, 12:05 this mortal sinful flesh, 12:07 I live by faith in the Son of God 12:08 who loved me and gave Himself for me. 12:10 So we can't do it. 12:12 So here's my point before we go to first question. 12:14 This is the set up for the question. 12:16 If we allow our natural selves 12:18 to take control from Monday to Friday 12:20 or from whatever day to whatever day, 12:22 some people even on Sabbath when they are in church, 12:24 the good old mortal man is in control. 12:26 You can see it sometimes in attitudes, really. 12:29 But if we allow the mortal man to control, 12:33 then the Spirit of God is not in control. 12:36 If the Spirit of God is not in control, 12:38 the flesh is in control. 12:41 Because the flesh was against the Spirit. 12:44 But if the Spirit is in control, 12:46 I want you to get this, 12:47 then the flesh is not in control. 12:50 Did you get that? 12:52 So in order for the flesh to not be in control, 12:54 who has to be in control? 12:56 Come on, tell, I just told you. The Holy Spirit. 12:59 So who do you want to be in control during the week, 13:01 the flesh or the Spirit? 13:03 The Spirit. You got to have the Spirit. 13:04 Because this flesh, I mean, honestly, 13:06 I've been pastoring 25 years. 13:07 I've been a Christian for many, many years. 13:10 But I tell you what, all it takes 13:11 is just one single moment to think 13:13 that you are able for the flesh to be back in control. 13:16 Ain't that right? 13:18 It doesn't take much. 13:19 Sometimes the environment that you're in enhances that. 13:21 Sometimes people that know your buttons to press, 13:24 that really in fact, you press your own buttons. 13:26 Sometimes people knowing where you're weak, 13:29 will try you in those weak areas 13:31 to get you to see, 13:32 see you're really not born-again. 13:33 And you know the sad reality about that, 13:36 is that people that are in the world, 13:37 they look at you fail and the first thing they say, 13:40 the devil does this through them. 13:42 The first thing sometimes they say is, 13:44 "And you call yourself a Christian." 13:46 They'll throw that in your face. 13:48 "I thought you were Christian." 13:50 "You a Christian?" 13:51 They label you that way to make you appear 13:54 to be a Christian 13:55 who's really not a good witness. 13:56 But now the reason why this topic is so important 13:58 as we go to question 7, 14:00 and I'll call for that in a moment, is this. 14:03 In order for the world, in order for those 14:05 who don't know God to want to know God, 14:07 they've got to see the difference 14:09 He's made in your life. 14:11 They've got to see you, those who knew you before 14:15 have to see you after. 14:17 Do you not catch the stories of the miracles of Jesus? 14:20 The blind man, he got his sight. 14:22 It was hard for people to understand 14:23 that he got a sight 14:25 but he said to those who didn't understand it, 14:27 the Pharisees who said, 14:28 look, they tried to fight this man 14:30 on the fact that he got his sight restored 14:32 and you know what he said? 14:33 "One thing I know, I was" what? 14:35 "Blind. But now I see." 14:38 So our witness has to be that simple one line, 14:40 "One thing I know, I used to be a drug addict, 14:43 but now I'm free." 14:44 I used to be this but now I'm that. 14:46 And it's all in Christ. 14:48 If any man be in Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:17. 14:51 So outside of Christ, this theory is not gonna work. 14:55 We can get all the Bible verses together 14:56 but if we don't say, "Lord, come in." 14:59 This is great theory. But that's all it's gonna be. 15:01 This is great paperwork, great printing, 15:03 great Bible notes but if that's all it is, 15:05 if we got all this intellectual information 15:07 without asking the Spirit of God to come in, 15:09 it's not gonna work. 15:11 Let's go to the questions tonight. 15:12 Our topic by the way is 15:13 "How to be willing and obedient?" 15:15 But here is question number 7. Question number 7. 15:18 If you've followed us, we've covered one through six. 15:21 But question number seven is vitally important right now. 15:24 And here it is. 15:25 "Why is it important for us 15:28 to acknowledge that we are weak?" 15:31 That's the hardest thing. 15:34 I know from the streets that I come from New York, 15:36 if somebody call you weak, 15:38 you want to prove you are not weak. 15:39 Right, David? Yeah. 15:41 When you're on the streets, "Oh, man, you're weak." 15:44 "Bring it." You know, this is the basketball language. 15:45 If you bring it, you know, 15:47 so you see that in sports and football. 15:49 It's all about who's strong. 15:50 And wrestling is about who's strong 15:51 and boxing is about who's strong. 15:53 And singing competition is about who's strong. 15:56 And the Christian world is about who's weak. 16:02 Can you imagine walking in to the boxing ring 16:05 and say, you know, I am weak? 16:08 People say, "I paid to come and see somebody 16:10 who is weak go up against him?" 16:12 But then, look what God can do. 16:13 Look at David and look at Goliath. 16:17 Who would you say is weak? David. 16:20 And not only was he unskilled in war, but he was a youth. 16:24 So brethren, all those stories in the Bible, 16:26 in the Old Testament, 16:27 in the New Testament, life through of Jesus 16:29 shows you what we can do if we are strong in Christ. 16:32 Now here's the answer. 16:33 Go with me to 2 Corinthians 12:9. 16:35 And that's where we find the answer. 16:38 Why is it important for us 16:39 to acknowledge that we are weak? 16:41 Here is the reason. 16:42 "And He said to me." 16:44 Let's read the rest together. 16:45 "My grace is sufficient for you." 16:49 This is powerful. 16:51 "For My strength is made perfect in weakness. 16:55 Therefore most gladly I will rather" what? 16:59 "Boast in my infirmities, 17:01 that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 17:04 Let's not run past that. That's powerful. 17:06 You know what they say, oh, so why is it important for us 17:09 to acknowledge that we are weak. 17:11 First answer, 17:12 so that the power of Christ may rest on you. 17:15 So that the power of Christ may rest on you. 17:18 How many of us need the power of Christ? 17:20 Everyone of us do. 17:22 That's what Acts 1:8 is all about. 17:25 Acts 1:8 say, "You shall receive power 17:28 when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." 17:30 Not when you join the church. 17:32 That's the biggest mistake people make. 17:34 "I'm now a member." "So what?" The devil says. 17:38 People are member of all-- 17:40 you know, people are members of all kinds of things. 17:42 But are you in Christ? Are you in now imbued? 17:45 Are you covered by the power? 17:46 Are you operating in the Spirit? 17:48 Are you walking in the Spirit? 17:50 Are you realizing that you are weak? 17:53 'Cause the moment we say we're strong, 17:55 the Lord can't do much for us at all. 17:58 So here is the key. 18:00 First reason under question 7, 18:02 so that the power of Christ may rest upon us. 18:05 But now let's go to verse 10. 18:08 I want to break those down together 18:09 so that the power of Christ may rest upon us 18:11 and He wants to do that everyday. 18:13 But now look at verse 10. 2 Corinthians 12:10. 18:16 "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities," 18:20 look at all the things he struggled with, 18:22 "in reproaches, in needs, 18:24 in persecution, in distress." 18:27 For whose sake? "For Christ's sake. 18:29 For when I am weak," come on, say it with me, 18:32 "then I am strong." 18:34 Isn't that what you face during the week? 18:36 Come on. 18:38 Isn't that what we face during the week? 18:39 We face infirmities, 18:40 that's everything weak about us. 18:42 We face reproaches, people, I don't need to go there. 18:48 Sometimes the reproaches we face 18:50 and what a reproach primarily is? 18:52 If somebody falsely accusing you 18:54 or even accusing you. 18:56 Or saying, "Uh, Cynthia, you ain't all that. 18:58 I mean, prove good." 18:59 And so they are trying to draw out of you, 19:01 the humanities. 19:03 When, in fact, if we are partakers of divine nature, 19:06 what should be seen in our lives 19:08 is the presence of Christ, His divinity there. 19:11 Do you know that's what the temptation 19:12 of Christ is all about? 19:13 Satan was tempting Jesus to show His divinity, 19:17 to deliver His humanity. 19:20 Satan tempts us to show our humanity 19:25 while we are claiming to be in divinity. 19:27 Did you get that? Jesus was in humanity. 19:31 Satan appealed to His divinity. 19:33 Now if any man be in Christ, we claim to be in divinity. 19:37 But he's appealing to our humanity. 19:43 So when people are reproaching you, 19:45 when you have needs that you can't meet, 19:48 when you are living in persecution, 19:49 when you are distressed, 19:51 remember, Christ is the one 19:54 that you set at the forefront of your life. 19:58 In other words, he's saying, 20:00 take pleasure in all this for my sake. 20:02 You know what that means? 20:04 When the blind man received his sight 20:06 for Christ sake, Jesus was glorified, right. 20:11 The Pharisees couldn't argue with the evidence. 20:15 So all the infliction, all the reproach 20:17 and they reproached that blind man quite a bit. 20:19 All the reproach and distress 20:21 that they tried to place on that blind man, 20:23 he boiled it down and said, okay, I'll tell you what. 20:26 Let's make it really simple. 20:28 You want to find out how it happened? 20:31 Do you want to be one of His disciples too? 20:33 They don't want that. 20:34 They just wanted the answer to how he was made whole. 20:37 And so the fact of the matter is, 20:38 if we put Christ in charge, 20:40 that's where the beginning of the verse 20:41 comes into reality. 20:43 "Therefore I take pleasure." 20:44 Meaning, you know what that means? 20:46 You're not pleasuring yourself in being week and reproached 20:49 and persecuted and distressed. 20:51 Does anybody have pleasure in that? 20:54 You know, you are on pleasure. 20:55 You know, you're taking pleasure 20:57 that all of this is happening to you 21:00 so that the power of Christ may be revealed. 21:03 Let me give you an example, Take the story of a bully. 21:06 Take the story of a bully. 21:08 Now you know, that issue has been coming to the forefront 21:09 here in America, bullies. 21:14 Well, let me tell you my story, all right. 21:17 I was bullied when I was in a high school. 21:19 That's why I didn't go to school 21:21 most of my sixth grade, 21:23 and a lower grade. 21:27 And I was absent from school because I was bullied, 21:31 persecuted, distressed. 21:35 But when my sister stood up for me 21:37 and my cousin stood up for me, 21:40 from that day on people knew, 21:42 "You don't want to mess with him." 21:45 Doesn't anybody know about that? 21:46 You know when your parent comes to your rescue, 21:49 when somebody stands up for you, 21:51 people know from that day on, 21:52 you don't want to mess with him. 21:55 And so my cousin who at the time, 21:56 I'm converted now, praise God. 21:58 And I want to say this. 22:00 He worked for the mafia but before he died, 22:02 he gave his life to Jesus 22:03 and he died as a deacon in the church. 22:05 Amen. Amen. 22:07 He worked for the mafia, if you owed money, 22:08 he went and collected it. 22:10 And don't want to spend 22:12 too much time on how he did that. 22:14 But he gave his life to the Lord 22:16 but when he died, he was a deacon in church. 22:19 So God brought him in. 22:21 That's what God can do 22:22 to form a mafia man that collect. 22:24 God can change him. 22:26 People say, "Is this the same?" 22:28 When he was laid to rest, deacon in church. 22:30 So God can do everything. 22:31 But when he walked into the classroom, 22:33 I never forget that. 22:34 The public school I went to in New York City, 22:36 I won't mention the name of the school, 22:37 but he walked in the classroom 22:38 and without the teacher's permission he said, 22:40 "Listen up, anybody mess with him, 22:44 has to answer to me." 22:46 Do you know that the Lord says the same thing to the devil? 22:50 For our sake, for Christ's sake, 22:52 we can take pleasure in all the things 22:54 that we cannot do because when we are weak, 22:57 then we are strong. 22:58 We are strong in who? 22:59 We're strong in the Lord and in the power of what? 23:02 His might. 23:04 But only as we come to the place. 23:05 Now let's get the answer for verse 10. 23:09 Why is it important for us 23:11 to acknowledge that we are weak? 23:14 Come on, tell me. 23:17 Then I am strong. That's the answer. 23:20 First of all, so that the power of Christ 23:22 may rest upon us. 23:23 Secondly, when we are weak in our admission, 23:26 then we are strong. 23:30 That's right. 23:31 His power is made perfect in our weakness. 23:34 Oftentimes, we forget that very thing. 23:36 But when you read Acts 1:8, the whole beauty of Acts 1:8, 23:40 God was unleashing on the New Testament church, 23:42 which is still available to us today. 23:44 He said after the Holy Spirit comes upon you, 23:45 you'll receive power. 23:47 And I tell you, we all need power 23:49 to live a Christ like life everyday. 23:51 Don't we? 23:53 Let's go to question number 8. 23:56 We have to move fast. 23:58 We have 25 questions to get to, you know. 24:00 I doubt if we can do that tonight. 24:02 Don't worry about the clock. Okay. 24:05 Here's the next question. 24:06 The next question, question number 8. 24:08 "What daily action must we take 24:11 to strengthen our Christian growth?" 24:16 What daily action must we take 24:19 to strengthen our Christian growth? 24:23 We're gonna go to Hebrews Chapter 12 24:25 and we're gonna first look at verse 1, all right. 24:36 Okay. It's on the screen. Here we are. 24:39 What action must we take? Here is the answer. 24:42 "Therefore we also, 24:45 since we are surrounded by 24:47 so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside" what? 24:53 Every weight, and the sin 24:56 which so easily ensnares us," or besets us, 25:00 "and let us run with endurance," or patience, 25:04 "the race that is set before us." 25:07 How? Let's go to verse 12 next. 25:09 But let's first put the answer in. 25:11 What daily action must we take 25:13 to strengthen our Christian growth? 25:16 What must we do every day? 25:22 Okay. Say it again, Glen. 25:23 Lay aside all the sin, run with endurance. 25:26 "Let us lay aside every weight." 25:29 Did you see the picture of that kid? 25:31 Now can that weight be lifted up? 25:32 Do you think somebody could 25:34 life that weight up that we saw? 25:35 Of course. 25:36 Somebody that's a lot stronger than that child, 25:38 somebody that's been conditioned 25:39 to lift that kind of weight. 25:41 Jesus is conditioned. 25:42 He does not allow, remember 1 Corinthians 10:31, 25:44 "He does not allow us to be tempted 25:46 beyond what we are able," right. 25:48 So He doesn't, He never puts a weight on you 25:49 that you can't handle. 25:51 But he says but what are you gonna do with that weight? 25:53 If you say I can handle it, 25:54 then you feel that your righteousness 25:56 is in your own hands. 25:57 But if you say Lord, I'm giving this, 25:59 I'm laying aside this weight, you deal with it, 26:02 and what does He say about His yoke? 26:04 His yoke is what? 26:05 Easy and His burden is what? Light. 26:08 "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. 26:12 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 26:15 How many of you would not mind facing somebody 26:19 that's very good in a competition 26:21 if you know that you're gonna win 26:22 before you even got on the field? 26:24 How many would like that? 26:26 Really, everyone of us. 26:29 Why go out on the field? So here's the point. 26:32 In Christ, go with me to Romans 8. 26:36 Well, let me finish Hebrews 12. 26:37 Since you're already there, let me go to the second verse. 26:39 It makes it easier for our people on graphics also. 26:41 We saw the first part. 26:43 The first thing we must do daily 26:45 is lay aside every weight. 26:47 Put that sin down. 26:48 Say Lord, let's keep that sin down. 26:51 Because if the sin, if we don't keep the sin down, 26:53 the sin is gonna keep us down. 26:54 Look at verse 2. Here it is. 26:57 Next thing, "Looking unto Jesus, 27:00 the author and finisher of our faith, 27:03 who for the joy that was set before Him 27:05 endured the cross, despising the shame, 27:09 and has sat down at the right hand 27:11 of the throne of God." 27:13 What's the second thing that we have to do every day. 27:15 First, lay aside the weight. 27:16 Second thing, what? Look to Jesus. 27:21 As a baby, I think many of us could learn a lot of lessons 27:24 from new born babies. 27:26 "As new born babes," Peter talks about desire, 27:29 "desire the sincere milk of the Word 27:31 that you may grow thereby." 27:32 Even as adults, 27:33 we grow by the milk of the Word, don't we? 27:35 If you drink the milk, 27:37 you're gonna get some nourishment. 27:39 But as is the case with babies. 27:42 Adults shouldn't be drinking milk. 27:45 We should be handling the meat of the word, right? 27:48 Or even say calves, don't drink milk 27:50 beyond a certain point. 27:54 So we, as we're growing in Christ, 27:56 if we are consistent in studying the word, 28:00 we will get to the place one day 28:01 where we can handle the meat of the Word. 28:04 Go from liquid to solid food 28:07 and Paul says the unfortunate thing is, 28:09 some people who should be strong in that area, 28:11 they need to go back to drinking milk. 28:13 Because they have not substitute, 28:14 they have not allowed Christ 28:16 to come in and be their sufficiency 28:18 and be the one that carries them through. 28:20 So the two things, first of all, 28:21 lay aside every weight, second thing, look unto Jesus. 28:24 Now let's go to Romans 8. I want you to see this. 28:33 Okay. 28:40 It is amazing, okay... 28:51 Are you ready? 28:53 Okay, here we are, Romans 8. 28:55 I'm on my way there. 29:02 One of your favorite verses because, you know, 29:03 we talk about the tribulation in the Book of Romans. 29:09 I'm gonna go to the latter part. 29:11 Romans 8:31. 29:14 In order to understand verse 31, 29:16 we'll go back to the verses after we read verse 31. 29:18 It says, "Yet, in all these things 29:20 we are more than," Romans 8:37. 29:25 My pen covered that. Romans 8:37. 29:29 It says, "Yet in all these things 29:31 we are more than conquerors through Him who" does what? 29:35 "Loved us." 29:37 But now, when he talks about this, 29:39 there are lots of things that we're gonna face as Christians. 29:42 Distress, persecution, nakedness, or sword, 29:45 famine, all these difficulties. 29:47 Some of them we have not faced yet like, 29:49 I can't say what your category may be, 29:52 but whatever we face, the Lord is saying, 29:54 if we are in Christ, yet in all these things 29:56 and all the things that we face, 29:58 we are more than conquerors through Him. 30:01 In other words, we can win, 30:03 we could win more than anything, 30:04 anything that comes our way, 30:06 we are more than victorious in it, 30:08 if we put Christ to the table to handle the sin 30:12 that we cannot handle. 30:14 Isn't that right? 30:15 Question number 9. Question number 9. 30:20 Now this question is really amazing. 30:22 Here it is. 30:23 "What does the Bible revealed 30:25 to encourage us in our Christian growth?" 30:29 When people first give their lives to Christ, 30:31 a lot of times they say, 30:33 "Wow. I got so much to do to catch up. 30:39 Sometimes we are in the presence of people 30:42 that have been in ministry 30 and 40 years 30:45 when I compare myself to Elder Brooks, 30:47 Elder C.D. Brooks, 30:48 I got so much catching up to do, right? 30:51 But we are not to do that because we get discouraged. 30:54 We compare ourselves, 30:56 we don't compare ourselves to anybody. 30:58 We submit ourselves to Christ. 31:01 Comparing you will always give you discouragement. 31:03 So we submit ourselves to Christ. 31:05 But what's wonderful about this particular passage, 31:08 the Lord doesn't say, 31:10 that the moment you become a Christian 31:11 that you're gonna be perfect right away. 31:13 He doesn't say that. 31:15 So the encouragement we get as Christians, 31:18 as we continue to grow, 31:19 he said, let's begin this place. 31:21 Look at the verse. Let's start some place. 31:23 And here it is, 2 Corinthians 8:12. 31:26 That's where our answer comes from. 31:29 "For if there is first a" what kind of mind? 31:34 "Willing mind, 31:37 it is accepted according to what one has, 31:40 and not according to what he does not have." 31:44 Now let's start there. 31:45 If you are willing, if you are what? 31:48 Willing. 31:50 The Lord is not looking for able people. 31:55 Because the Bible says for God is able 31:58 who will not allow you to be tempted 32:00 above what you are able. 32:02 But what the temptation make way of escape, 32:04 God is looking for willing people. 32:05 He said, "Are you willing?" I'm willing. 32:08 I remember the first time I got on a horse back, 32:11 in Idaho I think it was. 32:13 When we were out, 32:14 when I was in a Heritage Singers, 32:15 we went to a farm. 32:18 And my reluctant son, in getting on a horse 32:22 was the fact that he had his own mind. 32:26 I said, I know where I want to go 32:27 but where does he want to go? 32:29 You see. 32:30 I was with, they had to talk me into being willing. 32:33 So I got on a horse 32:34 and then what was encouraging to me 32:36 is that the owner of the horse held the reigns of the horse 32:40 and said, no matter where he wants to go, 32:43 it's where I want to go that makes the difference. 32:46 So I got on a horse with the encouragement 32:48 that the horse is not gonna take off 32:49 and tear off the pasture with me on his back, 32:53 which could happen. 32:54 But the owner was in control of that beast. 32:57 Now let's put this together. 32:59 When we wake up every morning, 33:00 our sin nature is like an uncontrolled horse. 33:03 It just wants to take off. 33:06 But we have to live with it, right? 33:08 So what you do is you submit that uncontrollable nature, 33:11 that nature that can take off 33:12 and run you into all kinds of pastures 33:14 that you cannot exist in situations 33:17 that are just this close to taking your life. 33:21 But you look down at that 33:24 3000 pounds of human nature 33:26 uncontrolled, unregenerated 33:29 and you see Jesus with the reigns in His hands. 33:32 And He says, your nature is not going anywhere 33:36 that I am not going to lead it. 33:38 Amen. Amen. 33:39 That's what the submission of Christianity is all about. 33:41 It's not saying that we are perfect. 33:43 He's saying if you're willing, you just get on, 33:45 you wake up in the morning, your nature is there 33:47 but if you allow me to guide that nature, 33:49 mold that nature and that's called submitting. 33:53 That's called what? Submitting. 33:55 That's called submitting. 33:56 The Lord, this is very powerful point here. 33:59 The Lord does not take your nature and control it. 34:06 You've got to submit your nature. 34:10 You got to submit your, 34:12 He doesn't try to break your will. 34:16 You've got to submit your will. 34:18 What does Jesus say? 34:19 Can you imagine Jesus and His Father 34:21 having an argument? 34:23 This is the sad truth. 34:24 But let's think about 34:25 when Jesus is about to go to the cross, what did he say? 34:27 "Not my?" "Will" 34:30 But before He said that, he said, 34:31 "Lord, if it is Your will, let this cup pass from me." 34:34 This is not the road I want to go down. 34:38 If that was all that Bible wrote 34:39 we would come to the conclusion 34:41 that Jesus went where He didn't want to go. 34:44 But I like the text where He said, He said, 34:45 "Not my will, but thine be done." 34:48 That's why this lesson is about being willing. 34:50 But it's not just willingness that gets us there. 34:52 Willingness is the starting point. 34:54 Willingness is the starting point. 34:57 Let's go to the next question. 34:59 So If you answer question number 9, 35:01 what does the Bible reveal to encourage us 35:03 in our Christian growth? 35:04 Be willing. Be willing. 35:07 If you're willing, if you are willing, 35:09 but there's something else. 35:11 What else? Question number 10. 35:14 "What other action 35:15 must accompany our willingness?" 35:18 What other action must accompany our willingness? 35:21 It's okay to be willing but what do we after that? 35:27 When I was in the... 35:30 when I was in the Philippines, I got introduced to a fruit 35:34 that didn't smell like a fruit. 35:38 It was called durian 35:40 and if you go into a shop that sold durian, 35:44 well, let me just tell you. 35:45 I went to a shop where they sold durian. 35:47 It didn't smell like a fruit sort. 35:51 They smell like baby diapers-- 35:54 It smell like baby, you know, just smell putrid. 35:57 And I said, "What is that smell?" 35:59 And they said, "That's fruit, the tastiest fruit." 36:03 I said, "Why does that smell that way?" 36:05 I couldn't get beyond the smell, 36:08 you know, some of you may know what I'm talking about. 36:11 Adame know what I'm talking about 36:12 'cause I know he's been to the Philippines 36:13 and Celestine 'cause she's Filipino. 36:15 But I couldn't get beyond the smell. 36:18 And they said, "Do you want to try it?" 36:20 What was my initial response? "There is no way." 36:23 I was not willing to try that. 36:26 So the guy that helped me out cut in fours 36:28 and he took a piece and said, "Look, very good." 36:30 He ate it first and I'm thinking, that's a set up. 36:34 Because what is good to-- 36:35 some people's taste bud 36:37 doesn't necessarily work for yours. 36:39 But he said if you taste it, 36:41 you'll see that you cannot go by the odor. 36:45 I tasted it and you know what, 36:47 it became one of my favorite fruits. 36:49 But you have to get past. What did I have to be? 36:52 I have to be what? Willing. 36:55 But now I want you to look at the rest 36:56 of what else must accompany being willing. 36:59 What other action must accompany our willingness? 37:02 Here is it. Isaiah 1:19. 37:07 Here it is. 37:08 And I like you to read this with me. 37:09 Are you ready? Here we go. 37:11 "If you are willing and obedient, 37:15 You shall eat the good of the land." 37:17 That's what I, I had to be obedient to eat the good. 37:21 They said it was good but man, I wasn't initially obedient. 37:24 I was somewhat willing 37:26 but they had to really convince me, 37:27 don't just be willing, try it. 37:29 And you know what, brethren, the Lord is saying, 37:31 if we are willing and if we are obedient. 37:33 Heaven is going to be a beautiful place 37:35 but let me tell you something. 37:37 Heaven is not gonna be furnished with people 37:38 that are unwilling and disobedient. 37:41 And one other verse that is 37:43 well, I can't say this naturally or generally 37:45 but so much of the topic of obedience 37:49 is not talked about. 37:50 Obedience, it almost sounds like 37:52 something that has been on the endangered species list. 37:56 And we talk about palatable topics 37:58 that seem light and airy 38:00 and easy to understand and make me feel good. 38:04 It's not a good, it's not a good feeling to be obedient. 38:08 As a matter of fact, I'm glad my wife brought that out. 38:11 Some women even say when you do the marriage vows, 38:13 leave out that obey part. 38:16 You know, love, honor, they put cherish. 38:19 They have long since deleted the word obey. 38:22 But the Bible has a whole lot of obey. 38:24 "Obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." 38:28 Now how many children disobey their parents today? 38:31 The statistics are alarming. 38:34 "Obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." 38:37 The context of that is in the Lord, 38:38 godly parents, loving parents. 38:41 They nurture that heart of obedience. 38:43 But being willing and obedient 38:46 is what must accompany us on a day 38:49 but Lord I'm willing. 38:51 He said, if you're willing, be obedient. 38:53 And then He gives us the power to be obedient. 38:55 He works out His will in our lives 38:56 when we submit our will to His molding influence. 38:59 Because outside of ourselves, 39:00 Dave, and I've known Dave for a number of years, 39:04 but everyday that I've known him, 39:06 he submits his life to Christ because outside of Christ, 39:09 none of us can accomplish anything 39:12 worthy of glory for Christ. 39:16 And the devil looks for those moments 39:17 where he can sneak something in. 39:20 Now the next question is even deeper. 39:23 The next question is even deeper. 39:25 Question number 11. 39:29 "To what extent and with what determination 39:33 must our willingness be?" 39:36 To what extent and with what determination 39:41 must our willingness be? 39:43 We're gonna look at Philippians 2:8. 39:47 Every time I look at the word Philippians, 39:48 I think it looks like Philippines, you know. 39:51 Look at Philippians 2:8. 39:53 This is a powerful passage. 39:54 By the way, as you're turning there, 39:55 think of it this way, if I'm willing, 39:58 some people will say, 39:59 "I'm willing but I'm not, 40:01 I mean, I'm not going to do all that." 40:04 I only imagine what our faith would have been 40:06 if Jesus was only going to be willing 40:08 to a certain extent. 40:10 We would be in trouble today, wouldn't we? 40:12 We would all be lost. 40:14 If Jesus said, I'm willing 40:15 but to be beaten for something I didn't do, 40:19 oh, that's just not gonna happen. 40:22 And the Father says, but that's not it. 40:24 They are gonna spit in your face, 40:27 I'll be honest with you, 40:29 with all the power that He harnessed, 40:31 what a willing heart. 40:32 Amen. To go through what He did. 40:35 And the reason why He went through that 40:37 was not just for the actions that were taken against Him 40:40 but here is the beauty of it, brethren. 40:42 He went through it because He had us in mind. 40:45 He, "For God so loved the world." 40:48 He went through all that so He can rescue us. 40:51 When a person is on a rescue mission, 40:53 what would a parent not be willing to do 40:56 to rescue his child or her child? 40:59 I've seen some amazing feats. 41:01 I heard a parent, a lady talked about, 41:02 she said, she don't know 41:04 where she found the strength from 41:06 when her child was hit by a car. 41:07 She said, I don't know where I found the strength 41:09 but I lift the front right fender of that, 41:11 front right fender of that car 41:12 so that my child could be pulled from under the tire. 41:15 Where did I get the strength from, I don't know. 41:18 But she was willing. 41:20 And I will haste to say though, 41:22 angels of God helped her with that. 41:25 But to what extent are we to be willing. 41:27 Now as we read the text, keep this in mind. 41:29 This is a powerful text. This text challenges us. 41:32 It says how far are you willing to go. 41:35 Because I tell you why this text is important. 41:37 Before Jesus comes, our willingness, 41:41 to be obedient to everything 41:42 that we know to be the truth is gonna be tested. 41:45 Are you willing to honor the Sabbath 41:47 even if it means your life? 41:49 Are you willing 41:51 to keep the Commandments of God 41:52 even if it means that you might die? 41:54 Are you willing to stand firm on truth 41:56 in spite of what others may say? 41:59 Even if the trends of the world turn completely against you, 42:02 how willing are you to stand on your own? 42:04 Well, look at one who did stand on his own. 42:07 To what extent and with what determination? 42:09 Here is the answer. Philippians 2:8. 42:12 "And being found in appearance as a" what? 42:15 "Man." He looked just like us. 42:17 "He humbled Himself and became obedient" to what? 42:21 "To the point of death, even the death of the cross." 42:26 That is powerful. 42:28 Now I know that because He and His Father 42:31 laid out the plan of salvation 42:33 and the Father revealed to Him the plan of salvation 42:35 as He was in human form, if you can endure this, 42:38 the greater blessing comes on the other side of the tomb. 42:42 And when He came forth from the tomb, 42:43 He came forth in perfect glory, 42:46 perfect power in that sinless glorious nature 42:50 that was awaiting Him on the other side of obedience 42:53 that even led to the point of death. 42:55 I tell that's something else. That's a text for martyrs. 42:59 You know, you hear the stories of martyrs 43:00 during the dark ages that gave their lives. 43:02 And you read those stories in Foxe's Book of Martyrs, 43:05 one of the great controversy on history books and you say, 43:07 "How could they do that?" 43:09 You know how, because they were willing. 43:11 They submitted their will to God 43:13 on day by day basis and here is what sets us up. 43:15 If you are submitting yourself 43:17 to the will of God in small things, 43:19 then you are preparing yourself 43:20 to submit your will to God in big things. 43:22 Am I right? 43:23 But if you wait for the biggest test to come 43:25 before you submit to will to God, 43:27 submit your will to the will of God 43:29 or to the influence of God or the molding of God, 43:30 you are not ready. 43:32 In the very same way, 43:33 before that child was ready 43:35 for the major leagues of baseball, 43:36 chances are he played little league, 43:39 he played sandlot baseball, 43:41 he played, maybe some baseball in high school, 43:44 maybe some baseball in college 43:46 and then he still had to compete it 43:47 at a high level even to be considered 43:51 before he gets that Championship baseball trophy. 43:54 He went a long way but how willing. 43:57 One coach has said to me, well, I can't say said to me 44:00 but I heard a coach say this, a matter of fact, 44:02 it was years ago, one of the coaches 44:04 on Bolton Celtics, he says, 44:06 "I don't want people on my team that are good. 44:08 I want people on my team 44:09 that I can coach that are willing to listen. 44:12 I want people not with good skills." 44:14 He said "I could win a game with guys 44:15 that are mediocre 44:16 if they are willing to listen to my coaching." 44:19 And God is not looking for people 44:20 with super human abilities, 44:22 God is not looking for people 44:23 with super abilities or talents. 44:25 He's looking for people that are willing 44:27 and are willing to be willing even to the point of death. 44:30 Willing to be obedient even to the point of death. 44:33 Amen. Amen. 44:34 And you know why? 44:35 Let me encourage you for those of you who think, 44:38 do I have to die? 44:40 How often do you have to die? 44:42 Every day. 44:45 Thankfully, we haven't gotten to the point 44:47 where we given up, giving up our lives literally. 44:50 But if you give your life to the Lord day by day, 44:53 dying to self, 44:55 then one more death is no big thing 44:57 knowing that on the other side of that 44:58 the great promise of God will be revealed in you 45:01 in the resurrection, eternal life, 45:03 glories forever more. 45:06 But you got to be willing to the point of 45:08 even if it means losing your life. 45:12 Now let's go to question number 12. 45:15 Wow. 45:16 That's something to think about and consider. 45:18 The willingness that Jesus demonstrated. 45:21 Here's the next question. 45:24 "What daily armor is the Christian given 45:28 to shield against failure?" 45:30 How many of you want to succeed? 45:31 Do we all want to succeed? 45:33 I mean, everybody wants to succeed 45:35 but what kind of armor are we given daily 45:36 to shield against failure? 45:38 I like this one. 45:39 Oh, this is beautiful. 45:42 I get a triple blessing when I study this one. 45:44 When I put it together when I edit it 45:46 and when I present it to you, it's like 45:48 man, I've had three slices of cake already. 45:50 And I'm trying to convince you how good it is. 45:52 Here it is, number 12. 45:54 That's where I am, right? 45:56 Okay, here is the answer. 45:57 Romans 13:14. 45:59 Let's read this together. I like this one. 46:02 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, 46:06 and make no provision for the flesh, 46:10 to fulfill its lusts." 46:12 Now you know if you do the first thing, 46:13 the second thing is gonna happen naturally. 46:16 When you put on the Lord, 46:17 He's not gonna make decisions to fulfill your flesh. 46:20 But when you put him on, you know what that means, 46:24 have you seen, wow, 46:29 they are in development some people 46:31 that put on these robotic outfits 46:35 that allows them with their human hand 46:37 to lift a weight that's much heavier 46:38 than the human hand could possibly lift, 46:40 robotic arms. 46:42 Sometimes they use that to work in areas in environments 46:45 like in deep, underwater in the sea, 46:47 they have robotic arms 46:48 that are controlled by human hands 46:50 but those robotic arms could do a lot more 46:51 than the human hands could ever accomplish. 46:53 In the very same way, Christ becomes, 46:56 He doesn't turn us into robots but we participate with Him 47:01 in the molding of our character. 47:03 If we simply put the Lord Jesus Christ on, 47:05 He's the one shielding us now. 47:07 He's the one encapsulating this human flesh. 47:09 So therefore, do you believe 47:11 that the power of Christ is strong enough 47:14 to subdue the human flesh? 47:19 Every temptation that came His way, He resisted. 47:22 That what the Bible says, "He was tempted in all points, 47:24 just as we are, yet without sin." 47:27 So I'm tempted sometimes to be angry. 47:30 Sometimes I do get angry. 47:32 But I try never to get angry 47:33 to the point where I lose my temper and... 47:40 and do a disservice to Christ. 47:43 Now at home, I'll argue with myself. 47:46 Do you ever go home and have a second argument? 47:49 "This is what I should have said." 47:50 You know, "This is what I should have did." 47:51 Then, "Wait till I see him again." 47:53 You know, you have, you got to get that out. 47:54 Vent at home but don't vent where God will be dishonored. 47:57 Amen. 47:59 And even when you vent at home, watch out what you say. 48:02 Right. 48:04 'Cause sometimes, you know, "I wasn't thinking 48:07 but wait till I see him tomorrow. 48:08 This is I want to tell him." 48:09 We think that human, we got to satisfy 48:11 that craving that's carnal and that old man was saying. 48:14 "That's right. Get him." "There he is. Get him." 48:17 We got to pray that God can some do that? 48:19 Am I telling the truth? 48:20 That's the human nature. 48:22 And it's sometimes that's not an anger. 48:23 Sometimes it's in lust. 48:25 Sometimes it's in lying. 48:26 We can't wait for the opportunity. 48:28 "Did you do that?" 48:30 "Yes." 48:35 I knew. 48:36 My wife, we knew our niece really well, 48:39 my sister's daughter. 48:41 She had a mannerism. 48:42 Every time she lied, we could tell, "You're lying." 48:45 'Cause her ears would turn red right away. 48:47 "You're lying. Just tell the truth." 48:49 "No, honestly." 48:50 And it's getting redder and redder. 48:52 "Just tell the truth." 48:54 I tell you, brethren. We are some creatures. 48:56 We would do anything to go under the radar 48:58 of God's detecting hand. 49:00 But Paul the writer of Hebrew said, "Oh, brethren. 49:02 We are all naked and open to him 49:05 with whom we have to deal. 49:06 We got to give an account. God sees us under the radar. 49:10 He sees us in the dark. 49:11 He sees us before we lie, before we mess up. 49:13 He said, now brethren, 49:15 since we have to give an account to Him, 49:16 why don't you just simply make it easy? 49:18 Why don't you submit yourself unto the Almighty hand of God 49:21 and He will exalt you in due season. 49:23 Amen. Amen. 49:24 He knows how to hold us together. 49:26 But this beautiful text says, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." 49:28 If that's the first thing you do in the morning, 49:30 you can't do that haphazardly. 49:32 Let me give you an example. I'll be honest with you. 49:34 The days that you hardly let Jesus come in, 49:36 are the days that has the greatest trouble for you. 49:39 The days that you don't spend time in the word of God, 49:41 or get that devotional open real quick 49:43 and start filling your mind with spiritual things, 49:46 you'll find that the battles that Satan brings your way 49:48 are right at your door step. 49:50 Isn't that right? 49:51 But when you get that ammunition, 49:52 when you're putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, 49:54 and you can't do it sometimes with one Bible verse. 49:57 And for those who read one Bible verse, 49:58 it's like taking one bowl of cereal, 50:00 and expecting to go all day with one, 50:01 not even one bowl, one spoon of cereal. 50:05 3 o'clock. 50:06 That's why, you see those commercials, 50:08 "How many of you need five-hour energy?" 50:10 And you see when that 2 o'clock blues come around, 50:13 they're selling these little bottles 50:14 of 300,000 milligrams of caffeine, fake energy. 50:21 What we need to do is put on the Lord Jesus Christ. 50:23 Amen. Amen. 50:24 The parallel to that is eat a good breakfast, 50:26 eat a good lunch, nourish your body. 50:28 But you cannot get this. 50:30 You can't get a bottle of Christianity 50:32 when you are about to blow your stack. 50:35 You can't get a bottle of Christianity to drink. 50:38 "Oh, now I can't tell him off." 50:40 No, you got to put on 50:41 the Lord Jesus Christ in the morning. 50:43 Amen. Amen. 50:44 You got to do the first 50:45 because the moment you get out of that house, 50:47 you're gonna meet with influences 50:48 that are far beyond your ability to handle. 50:52 And if you have children, that's an extra challenge. 50:55 If you have people that you work with or around you, 50:57 that's another challenge. 50:59 If you are a monk, you are your own challenge. 51:03 Some people think if I hide in the mountains, 51:06 I could make it without sinning. 51:07 No, you're not. 51:08 Because in your flesh, 51:10 your mind is adamant against God's law. 51:12 You can't hide yourself into righteousness. 51:14 You got to face that every day in the power of Christ. 51:17 Look at question number 13. 51:19 Moving at a very good pace. 51:21 Okay. Question number 13. 51:22 So if you've put the answer there, 51:24 what's the answer to number 12? 51:25 What daily armor? 51:27 What's the daily armor? One word "Christ." 51:30 "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." 51:33 Think of that. 51:35 That deep sea diving suit. 51:36 You don't get wet. 51:37 The oxygen tight suit. 51:39 The astronauts could exists in outer space. 51:42 When you put on the Lord Jesus Christ, 51:44 it's amazing where you can exist 51:46 without any hindrance to your life, 51:48 without any risk to your life. 51:50 Question 13. 51:51 How does the Bible show that the Lord 51:53 has always been our hope? 51:56 He has always been our hope. 51:57 One of the things that really sometimes stretch me 51:59 is when I hear people say, well, you know, 52:01 "In the New Testament is grace and the Old Testament is law. 52:07 You know, we see about the righteousness of Jesus 52:09 in the New Testament 52:10 but you don't hear about it in the Old." 52:12 Well, I don't know what Bible you're reading. 52:14 Well, right now we're gonna go to one of those Bible texts 52:16 that we often say are not there 52:18 and see that Christ has always been our hope. 52:22 Jeremiah 23, and let's look together at verse 6. 52:27 How does the Bible show 52:28 that the Lord has always been our hope? 52:30 Here's the answer. 52:31 It says, "In His days Judah will be saved, 52:35 And Israel will dwell safely, 52:39 Now this is His name by which He will be called," 52:44 come on together, "The Lord our righteousness." 52:49 One of the-- number of years ago the, 52:51 I think the General Conference adopted a slogan, 52:55 which was "The Lord, Our Righteousness Still." 52:59 That was the slogan many years ago, 53:00 oh, 10, 15, 20 years ago, I think. 53:02 "The Lord, Our Righteousness Still." 53:04 The righteousness of Judah and of Israel 53:07 is our righteousness today. 53:09 The Lord is still our righteousness. 53:12 Isn't that right? 53:13 So when you ask the question, how does the Bible show 53:16 that the Lord has always been our hope? 53:17 He's our righteousness. 53:19 The same God that Noah found 53:21 grace in the eyes of a-- and that's the other thing. 53:22 People say, well, you find the grace of God 53:24 in the New Testament, 53:26 but you don't find it in the Old Testament. 53:28 For by grace are you saved through faith? 53:31 Everyone has always been saved by grace. 53:36 You cannot be saved by keeping the law 53:37 because as I began the program by saying is 53:40 you look at the law of God, in the stark reality is, 53:43 that's the standard and here is the human flesh. 53:45 That's the standard by which I'll be judged 53:48 and here is my human inabilities. 53:50 In other words, there's all the weights 53:54 and I'm only 115 pounds and I want to be Mr. Universe. 54:00 Well, can't do it. 54:01 You got to call on somebody greater than yourself. 54:04 Call on Lord Jesus Christ. 54:06 "Thus, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord 54:10 shall be saved." 54:12 That's not just eternally, 54:14 but that's at the moment that you need Him. 54:18 What's the next question? 54:19 So the answer is the Lord our righteousness still. 54:21 Question number 14. 54:23 Let's see where we are here. 54:24 "In what way do we acknowledge 54:26 that God is molding our character?" 54:31 In what way do we acknowledge 54:33 that God is molding our character? 54:36 Character is some, it's a strange instrument. 54:40 As you go to Philippians 2:13, 54:42 those of you who are theological 54:44 know what that reads. 54:45 But character is a strange instrument. 54:46 You know why I say that? 54:49 Because character is like a ball of putty. 54:55 Any of you who used to play with putty? 54:57 Remember the putty that used to be able to, 54:59 if you use putty and you stick it on a newspaper 55:01 and take off the, 55:02 whatever is printed on the newspaper, remember that? 55:03 Silly putty, remember that? 55:05 Silly putty was, well, the fun about it is 55:08 everybody could make something different out of Silly putty 55:11 or putty in general. 55:12 But it always came in a ball. 55:15 And it never looked like what it eventually became. 55:18 It always became what the person who molded it, 55:22 desired to make out of it. 55:24 Here is the beauty of our character. 55:26 Jesus is molding us. 55:28 Now this is not disrespectful but when we come to Jesus, 55:32 we're like Silly putty, right? 55:35 Very silly and we're just a ball of confusion. 55:39 But Jesus takes us in His hands and then He molds us. 55:42 Look at how the text says it. 55:43 Look at how the text says it. 55:45 "For it is God." 55:47 For it is who, friends? God. 55:48 "Who works" where? 55:50 "In you, get this, "both to will and to do" 55:55 of or "for His good pleasure." 55:58 Get what this text is saying. 55:59 It says, God is the one who works in you, first of all, 56:01 to even give you the desire 56:04 and then He gives you the power. 56:05 Now isn't that, I mean, that's what more can you ask for? 56:10 If you allow the Lord to come in, 56:12 when you eat the word of God day by day 56:14 because it's the bread of life 56:15 and I want to just develop this. 56:17 The word of God is like the bread of life. 56:19 When you eat the bread of life daily, 56:21 you know what happens? 56:23 Paul speaks to the Ephesians and he says, 56:27 the word of God works effectively in those 56:31 who believe it. 56:32 It's like the yeast in bread. 56:34 It works effectively when it's inserted into the bread. 56:38 In the very same way, when the word of God 56:39 is inserted into our minds and in our lives, 56:42 there's something there that God can work with. 56:44 Follow me, really. 56:45 There's something there that God can work with 56:47 but He can't work with what's not there. 56:50 If you put it in there, 56:52 it's like if you put the batteries in a remote, 56:55 then the remote can work. 56:56 If you put the Word of God in your mind, 57:00 David the psalmist says, 57:01 "Thy word have I hid in my heart 57:03 that I might not sin against thee." 57:04 He was taken the effective living Word of God 57:07 into his life. 57:08 He wasn't taken something that was arbitrary. 57:10 The only relief he got from the temptations around him 57:14 was from the Word of God. 57:16 And Jesus in his moment of temptation, 57:18 it was the word of God. 57:19 If Jesus needed the Word of God to overcome temptation, 57:22 how much do we need it? 57:25 He said to the devil, "It is written." 57:29 Let me wind up this broadcast by saying, 57:32 you know, a lot of what we said tonight, 57:34 the majority of it can be accomplished 57:36 if we simply take the Word of God into our lives 57:38 every day. 57:40 It's written here but we wanted written where? 57:44 Here. 57:46 That's what you do with the law of God. 57:47 He put in our minds, He wrote it on our hearts 57:50 and now when we put the Word of God in there 57:52 and He activates the Word of God, 57:54 the power comes out. 57:55 So, friends, if you submit yourself 57:57 to the molding influence of Christ, 57:59 you will see His righteousness in a sharper focus. 58:03 God bless you until we see you again. 58:05 Let's pray. |
Revised 2016-03-10