Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000021
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00:19 Hello Friends,
00:21 welcome to another Wednesday night Bible Study here 00:23 at "A Sharper Focus" 00:24 thank you so much for tuning in to our study continued on 00:28 how to live a spiritual life in a natural body, 00:31 we are continuing on the topic of what it means to be in Christ 00:35 so get your Bibles... get your pens, 00:37 get your family members stationed for the next hour 00:40 as we walk through the Word of God together 00:43 and if you'd like to get the copy of the lesson 00:45 to follow along, go to this website... 00:49 don't put www but put: ASF.3abn. org 00:53 and download Lesson Number 7, 007 00:58 which will be entitled, "In Christ" 01:00 and you can follow along with us 01:02 but we thank you because 01:04 one of the things that we've all discovered is, 01:06 we need to know what it means to be in Christ, 01:07 can we all say "Amen" to that? 01:09 Audience: Amen... amen. 01:10 And so, tonight we're going to once again continue our study 01:13 opening the Word of God... asking for the power of the Lord 01:16 and asking for the Spirit of God to open our hearts and minds 01:20 as we lean upon His mercy and His grace 01:23 so, before we do anything else, bow your heads with me 01:27 as we invite the presence of God to continue with us. 01:29 "Our Father in heaven, 01:31 we thank you Lord... for your goodness, 01:32 for your mercy and for your grace, 01:34 we do pray tonight, Lord, as we open the Word of God 01:37 that we would also open our hearts... 01:39 not just our ears... 01:41 we pray that there will be a connection made by your Spirit 01:44 and that the power that each one of us is in need of 01:47 will be imparted to us, 01:49 so, Lord, attend the meeting, 01:50 speak to those who are joining us 01:52 and may your purpose for each precious life 01:55 covered by your blood be accomplished tonight 01:58 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. " 02:01 Are you all ready to go? 02:03 Audience: Amen, yes... 02:04 Are you ready to go? 02:06 Audience: Yes... yes... 02:07 You know, just recently, I... we were on the road... 02:10 and I decided to carry my little small camera 02:13 because I have all this camera equipment 02:16 and I decided, "Well, sometimes it gets cumbersome 02:21 if all your camera equipment is bigger than your backpack 02:25 and... got a Cannon Camera and interchangeable lenses... 02:28 and for whatever reason, I decided, 02:30 you know, the last couple of trips we went on... 02:32 "I'm going to leave that home, 02:33 let my wife to take her camera 02:35 and I'll take my small, little, flat digital Nikon with me 02:38 and just take pictures 02:40 and I think that will be sufficient... " 02:42 but all of a sudden, one evening, 02:44 the camera was out of focus and it just wouldn't focus 02:47 and I was wondering, 02:48 "What on earth is wrong with this camera?" 02:50 I came to discover, 02:52 the reason why it was out of focus 02:53 is because dust had gotten into the camera 02:57 and all of a sudden, 03:00 this great gigantic spiritual lesson was born 03:03 which says to me, 03:04 "If ever our lives are out of focus, 03:06 something has gotten on the inside... " 03:08 Audience: Agreeing... 03:09 And I thought about that 03:11 and I think that gives even more support 03:13 to the title of our study tonight... 03:15 "In Christ" 03:16 Now, are we going to have some music tonight? 03:19 if you do... if we are... then let me know 03:21 so we could stop anywhere along the way 03:22 but we'll go ahead to our lesson tonight 03:24 but I want to begin with a quotation... 03:26 it's not going to be on the screen, 03:28 so I want you to prep your ears, 03:30 listen very, very carefully, 03:31 because one of the things we have to keep in mind is that 03:34 we are no different than the apostles were 03:37 in the day of Christ... 03:38 we are no different than the prophets were 03:41 in the day of the Old Testament, 03:42 each one of us fall into the very same category 03:46 because we are all people, we're all... what? 03:48 we're all people... 03:49 filled by the power of the Spirit of God. 03:52 One of the things I discovered is... 03:54 as they also had to learn... 03:57 is that unless they had victory in Christ, 04:00 there was no victory apart from Christ, 04:02 in the very same way 04:04 we have to consider that the victories that they had 04:08 were because they were in Christ 04:10 and the victories that we are going to experience 04:12 is because, we are... where? 04:13 In Christ... 04:15 So, let's begin tonight with a song, 04:16 right... "Victory in Jesus" let's sing that song together 04:20 and if you know the song and you'd like to join with us 04:23 as we sing that here... here in Thompsonville, 04:25 just go ahead and join with us, 04:27 our words will appear on the screen 04:28 and for you, there won't be any words 04:30 but I think we'll sing loud enough... so you can hear us, 04:33 let's sing this song together. 04:34 Music... 04:43 I've heard an old, old story, how the Savior came from glory 04:51 How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me 04:58 I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood's atoning 05:05 Then I repented of my sins and won the victory. 05:13 Oh victory in Jesus, my Savior forever 05:21 He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood, 05:28 He loved me 'ere I knew Him 05:32 and all my love is due Him 05:35 He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood. 05:43 I heard about a mansion 05:47 He has built for me in glory 05:51 And I heard about the streets of gold 05:55 Beyond the crystal sea 05:58 About the angels singing And the old redemption story. 06:06 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 06:10 the song of victory. 06:13 Oh victory in Jesus, my Savior forever 06:21 He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood 06:29 He loved me 'ere I knew Him 06:32 And all my love is due Him 06:36 He plunged me to victory 06:40 beneath the cleansing flood. 06:44 He plunged me to victory 06:49 beneath the cleansing flood. 06:55 Amen. 06:56 Now let's go back to our title tonight 06:58 and I want you to listen to this quotation very carefully. 07:00 You would think that right after the day of Pentecost 07:04 those who are gathered there would be filled 07:07 with continual power to be victorious from day to day, 07:11 wouldn't you think that? 07:12 When you think of the story in the Bible 07:13 in the book of Acts chapter 2 it says, 07:15 "The Spirit of God was poured out in power 07:18 and 1,000s were being saved 07:21 day by day, moment by moment, 07:23 and you would think with such a powerful experience 07:26 such an evangelistic attendance by the Spirit of God 07:30 that those who were there 07:31 would go from one victory to the other to the other, 07:34 but I read this story and I discovered that 07:36 the very same battles we face 07:39 were the very same battles that they faced. 07:42 Pause... 07:43 But also, the very same victory that they had 07:46 is the very same victory available to us 07:49 can you say, "Amen" to that? 07:51 So, listen to this quotation, 07:52 it's taken from the book Acts of the Apostles 07:54 and I don't have it on the screen intentionally 07:57 so that you can listen carefully 07:58 it says, "Those who at Pentecost 08:02 were endued with the Spirit from on high, 08:05 were not thereby free 08:07 from further temptations and trial. " 08:10 In other words, when the Spirit of God came down 08:12 and filled their lives 08:13 from that point on, 08:15 they were not free from further temptations and trials, 08:17 listen very carefully, 08:19 "As they witnessed for truth and righteousness 08:23 they were repeatedly assailed by the enemy 08:27 who sought to rob them of their Christian experience. " 08:30 Now, let me ask you the question, 08:32 "Is that your experience?" 08:33 Come on, talk to me, is that your experience? 08:35 You know, I don't like quiet... is that your experience? 08:37 Audience: Yes. 08:38 Exactly... that is the battle every one of us faces 08:41 on a day-by-day basis 08:43 you may have a spiritual high on the weekend and say, 08:45 "Wow! what a powerful sermon, what a powerful camp meeting, 08:48 what a dynamic message, 08:49 man! the place was filled by the Spirit of God... " 08:52 and all of a sudden you go down into the valley 08:54 where the battle all of a sudden becomes real. 08:56 Do you have real battles every day? 08:59 Audience: Yes. 09:00 It says, "They were not by any means freed... 09:03 and the enemy repeatedly assailed them 09:06 and he sought to rob them of their Christian experience. " 09:09 But listen to this, now... the question is, 09:13 "What do they do to... to... to face these challenges... 09:16 what do we do to face the challenges?" 09:17 Listen to what they did, 09:19 "They were compelled... " 09:20 What word did I use? 09:22 Audience: "Compelled. " 09:23 Do you know what that word "compelled" means? 09:24 That word "compelled" means, 09:26 they were driven... they were pushed... 09:28 they were urged... 09:29 in other words, they realized there is no other answer 09:32 outside of me... and making up my mind 09:34 to go beyond just... standing here 09:37 failing and faltering in the failures. 09:39 They were compelled 09:41 to strive with all their God-given powers, 09:46 with how much of their powers? 09:47 Audience: All. 09:48 You know what the word strive means? 09:50 Does anybody know what football is all about? 09:52 do you think that the guy that has the football 09:54 is going to get to the... 09:55 is going to get to the goal by saying, 09:57 "I'm on my way, move out of my way... " 09:59 Laughter... 10:00 Do you think he's going to get there that way? 10:03 He's going to see every power in that stadium 10:06 assailed against him... 10:07 and he knows that just at any moment 10:09 "I have to prepare for the impact. " 10:11 That's what it's like in the Christian life, 10:14 the reason I want to talk to you this way tonight 10:16 before I dive into... 10:17 you know, as Christians... 10:18 sometimes, we can get caught in a rut, 10:20 you know what they say a rut is? 10:22 A rut is a grave in the making, okay... 10:25 you just continue to dig... all going back and forth, 10:26 back and forth till you're too deep to get out 10:28 but what you have to realize is that 10:31 the same things that you face on a day-by-day basis 10:33 is exactly what the disciples faced. 10:35 Think of who the disciples were, Peter, James, John, Thomas... 10:40 Paul the apostle came along later... 10:42 Barnabas, Timothy... they all were assailed with temptations 10:46 and about Elijah it says, "He was subject to like passions 10:50 just as we are. " 10:52 But it goes on, it says, "They were compelled 10:55 to strive with all their God-given power 10:58 to reach the measure of the stature of men and women 11:03 in Christ Jesus. " 11:05 In other words, they knew there was a measure here 11:07 that was in Christ, 11:08 they had to look at that and say, 11:09 "Lord, if I'm going to reach that, 11:11 I cannot face these day-by-day battles and say, 11:14 'Satan, leave me alone... '" 11:15 I got to say, "I've got to press... " 11:18 when Paul the apostle talks about the Christian battle, 11:20 he talks about it in the sense of a sports figure, 11:24 a runner... a football player... 11:26 a baseball player running for home 11:29 as though that next run is going to mean the World Series, 11:33 "I press toward... " 11:35 and so, when you wake up in the morning, 11:38 you know what, what many Christians need 11:40 is what the world has... 11:42 and that word... I'm going to spell it 11:45 and you tell me what it is, "PASSION." 11:48 Audience: Passion. 11:49 Passion... say the word with me, what? 11:52 Passion... the world lives with passion. 11:54 Now I may be fired up and the reason is, 11:57 I just got back from New York, a city of passion... 12:00 it's... it... it... it radiates from the streets. 12:03 It's in the traffic... it's in the stores... 12:06 it's in the Malls... it's all over the city... 12:08 you go to Times Square at night 12:10 passion... the lights are twinkling, 12:12 the sounds of salesmen, 12:14 the sounds of people buying, people singing, people dancing, 12:18 people selling, there's this passion... 12:22 but it's not a passion for good, it's a passion for evil. 12:25 One thing that's lacking in the Christian life is passion. 12:28 We... we... we live sometimes for heaven as though it's like, 12:31 "I hope He'd hurry up, I'm tired of waiting. " 12:35 Pause... 12:37 These men were compelled, 12:38 they... they used their God-given powers... 12:43 and they pushed, 12:44 so, when you think of the text, here it is, 12:47 "the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church... " 12:50 I'm saying it a little differently, 12:52 "the gates of hell will not prevail against the church... " 12:54 when you listen to that, what that means is, 12:56 the church is a church driven by passion 12:58 which means, the gates of hell are not strong enough 13:01 to resist the progress of the church going forward, 13:05 but... if the church is going forward on its tippy toes 13:08 rather than with its feet fully planted, 13:10 then the gates of hell could easily stop it 13:12 but it goes on, 13:14 It says, "Daily they prayed... " 13:15 They did... what... friends? 13:17 They prayed for fresh supplies of grace, 13:22 let me make a point, 13:23 "The grace you have tomorrow is not going to help you today" 13:26 and the grace you have today is not going to help you tomorrow 13:29 any more than the breakfast you had today 13:31 is not going to suffice for... 13:32 when you're hungry tomorrow morning, right? 13:34 They prayed for... 13:36 "Daily they prayed for fresh supplies of grace... " 13:40 why? "that they might reach 13:42 higher and still higher toward perfection. " 13:45 I need this power that God made available to me yesterday, 13:50 I need it again today, amen... 13:51 Audience: Amen. 13:52 So, the passion that they prayed for, 13:55 the power that God delivered to them 13:57 gave them impetus to say, 14:01 "Man! it was such a sweet day of victory yesterday, 14:04 I need to have the same kind of victory today. " 14:06 So they prayed for fresh supplies of grace 14:09 that they might reach higher and still higher 14:12 but where do they get it from? 14:14 Here's the next statement, 14:15 "Under the Holy Spirit's working, 14:19 even the weakest by exercising faith in God, 14:24 they learned to improve their entrusted powers 14:29 and to become sanctified, refined and ennobled... " 14:35 "Even the... " what? "Weakest... " 14:37 Say the word "weakest... " 14:39 So, are you ever weak? 14:40 Audience: Yes sir. 14:42 Are we ever weak? Audience: Yes. 14:43 Yes, the Lord says, "But in our weakness, 14:45 His strength is made perfect. " 14:46 So when you are assailed 14:48 and you feel temptations are coming, you feel weak... 14:50 God is saying, "Hey, now, you need to tap in 14:54 to what I'm making available to you... 14:56 if you're weak, I understand that... " 14:58 let's go on... 15:00 "The Lord made that power available... " 15:03 and then it says, "as in humility, 15:06 they submitted to the molding influence of the Spirit... " 15:10 when they did that humbly, 15:12 "they received of the fullness of the Godhead 15:16 and they were fashioned in the likeness of the divine. " 15:20 Let me break that down, 15:21 when the Spirit of God imparted power to them, 15:23 the Lord began to mold them 15:25 and all of a sudden, they began to see themselves 15:28 the way that God intended for them to be seen... 15:30 they began to see themselves 15:31 as divine sons and daughters of God... 15:33 children of God... 15:35 they didn't see themselves as failures anymore, 15:36 they saw themselves... "Now, wait a minute... 15:38 wait a minute... I... I... 15:40 I... not just feel like a child of God 15:41 but I am a child of God because He's imparted to me 15:45 the power that I didn't have yesterday. " 15:46 And lastly, I could read all this... 15:49 but it says simply, 15:51 "The lapse of time 15:52 hath made no change in Christ's promise 15:56 to send the Holy Spirit as His representative. " 16:00 In other words, "times have changed 16:03 but the promise of Christ hasn't changed 16:05 if He sent the power to them and the promise to them then, 16:08 the promise is made available to us today... " amen. 16:10 And then it says, and here's the key... 16:13 "If all were willing, 16:16 all would be filled with the Spirit, 16:20 wherever the need of the Holy Spirit 16:24 is a matter of little thought, 16:27 there is seen a spiritual drought, 16:30 spiritual darkness, 16:32 spiritual declension and then death. " 16:34 Whenever we don't pray for the Holy Spirit 16:36 to come into our lives day by day, 16:38 we have drought... darkness... 16:40 we start going down 16:41 and then death results 16:43 as a matter of that continual downslide. 16:46 So, either way, going on from victory to victory 16:48 or we're going down from death to death. 16:51 So which way... which one do we want? 16:53 Up to victory, right? 16:55 So, let's begin with our first question tonight. 16:57 I had to lay the foundation because a lot of times we think 17:00 and the reason I wanted to begin with that statement 17:03 for those of you who are watching and listening 17:04 to the Program... 17:06 the reason I began with that is... we have to understand 17:07 what this next Scripture really is all about, 17:09 this next Scripture is not some shoebox kind of Scripture, 17:12 it's not, "If any shoe is in the box, it's brand new. " 17:15 It's not that kind of Scripture, 17:17 here's the text, here's the question, 17:19 first question, 17:21 "What does it mean to be 'in Christ?'" 17:24 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 17, 17:26 "What does it mean to be 'in Christ?'" 17:29 And notice, I led into this by saying, 17:32 "This is not a shoebox text" 17:34 because all shoes come in a box, right? 17:37 So we're not shoes in a box, we're Christians in Christ, 17:41 "What does it mean to be 'in Christ?'" 17:42 A shoe in a box is dormant, it has no life, 17:45 that's why I said, 17:47 "This is not a shoe-in-a-box type of Scripture" 17:49 because when we are in Christ, we have everything but that... 17:52 here's what the Bible says, 17:54 and I want us all to read this together with some passion, 17:57 are you ready? 17:58 Here we go, it's on the screen, 18:00 "Therefore... " you're not reading... 18:01 "Therefore... " what? 18:03 "if anyone is in Christ, he is a... " what? 18:06 "new creation... " pause... 18:08 "old things have... " what? 18:10 passed away, behold... " what? 18:13 "all things have... " what? 18:15 "become new. " 18:17 Let's get this together, 18:18 "if anyone is in Christ, he is a... " what kind of creation? 18:20 New creation... 18:21 in other words, you should begin to see yourself 18:23 as someone new in Christ, 18:25 don't see yourself as an old warrior, 18:28 still on the battlefield 18:30 dying from one failure to the other, 18:32 see yourself on the battlefield new... 18:34 you know when the football seasons begins, 18:36 or even when the football game begins, 18:38 there are no marks on the uniforms, 18:40 those helmets are shiny, 18:42 have you ever looked at a football game? 18:43 when the light glistens off of the football helmet, 18:46 it's shiny... it radiates in all different directions 18:48 and if you're joining from Australia, 18:49 I know you don't play football with uniforms, 18:51 it's more like Rugby... they don't have any uniforms, 18:54 as a matter-of-fact, in Australia, 18:55 they say, "That's what you call real football... " 18:57 they say, "Americans are weak, we need all this protection... " 18:59 but... let's not settle that issue right now, 19:03 but the bottom line is simple, 19:05 when the game begins, there are no marks... 19:08 there are no scars... but once the competition begins, 19:11 whether it is rugby or whether it's American football, 19:15 the scratches show up, 19:16 the torn uniforms begin to show up, 19:18 the stains in the uniform begin to show up, 19:20 that's the same thing in the Christian life. 19:22 So, if you're not on the battlefield for the Lord, 19:25 you won't have any marks on your uniform 19:27 but if you realize 19:29 that we are on the battlefield for the Lord, 19:30 there are going to some marks on our uniform, 19:32 there are going to be some tears in our uniform, 19:35 there are going to be some scars on our skin, 19:37 there are going to be some bumps on our helmet 19:39 but, nonetheless, we've got to keep clearly in vision, 19:44 that we are still new in Christ. 19:47 So, what's your answer? 19:49 What does it mean to be "in Christ" 19:51 a new creation... 19:54 what has happened to the old things? 19:56 What's another word... 19:59 what's another phrase for "passed away" 20:00 what's another word for "passed away?" 20:02 Audience: Dead. 20:03 Dead... exactly... when you say, 20:05 you know, "passed away" 20:07 that means "dead. " 20:09 So, that means, the things in your past should be dead, 20:12 we should put them to death willingly. 20:14 How frequently should we put 20:15 those things of the past to death? 20:17 Everyday... 20:18 because they'll be there, like that old man of sin, 20:20 he still lives on earth, 20:21 he's going to be there... come and try to sell you 20:24 "old things in a new wrapper. " 20:25 So, day by day we have to understand 20:29 that is the reality of the battle in which we're living in 20:31 and we have to realize that, "Okay, if I'm going to make it 20:33 successfully be in Christ, I've got to... " 20:37 let me just... let me re-phrase something, 20:38 Do you know how you know what you need to put to death? 20:42 Here's how you'll know what you need to put to death. 20:46 The very thing that tempts you 20:48 during your day 20:50 is the very thing you need to put to death. 20:52 Not because in tempting you, 20:54 putting it to death really doesn't impact your life at all, 20:57 in other words, 20:58 if a German Shepherd's going to bite you, 21:00 no sense putting a chain around a Chihuahua. 21:02 You get the point? 21:03 So, there are some people that chain the things that 21:06 are not even a threat to them 21:08 and they boast about how they're victorious about that, 21:10 but what I'm telling you is, 21:12 "Look for the German Shepherds in your life... " 21:13 look for the things that really scar you, 21:16 things that really are a battle, 21:18 the things that you really cannot master 21:20 you say, "Lord, I need you 21:21 to put that German Shepherd on the leash 21:23 because I can't even handle it. " 21:25 Pause... 21:26 Until we get to the place where we realize 21:28 we can't handle sin, 21:29 we'll boast about all the Chihuahuas in our lives, 21:31 that are not a threat anymore. 21:33 Not only have those old things passed away 21:36 but how many things should become new? 21:40 Audience: All things. 21:42 You've got to have new... and I wanted to do this tonight 21:44 because I'll do this on the next study 21:46 when you use that word "new" in the Bible, 21:49 you'll find that "new" is a whole lot of 21:50 our Christian experience, 21:52 you know, we are new creations... 21:54 "old things have passed away 21:55 and behold all things have become new. " 21:57 We look forward to a new heaven and a... what? New earth. 22:01 Everything about the Christian life should be new 22:04 but until we realize that we're putting things to death, 22:10 we would not have the time and the appreciation 22:13 of those things that Christ has given us anew 22:15 and how... 22:17 we're going to talk about how to keep those things new 22:19 in just a moment. 22:20 So, what does it mean to be in Christ? 22:22 Old things have passed away, all things have become new, 22:25 all right, and we are new creations. 22:27 Question number two, 22:34 "How dependent on Christ are we for our spiritual survival?" 22:40 Acts chapter 17 verse 28 is where you're turning, 22:43 Acts chapter 17 and verse 28 and by-the-way 22:46 if you downloaded the lesson, you should be on Lesson Number 7 22:50 Question Number 2 22:52 and that lesson you can find at ASF.3abn. org 22:56 don't put: www 22:58 and download that syllabus to follow along 23:00 that is... if you're just joining us. 23:02 Okay, how dependent on Christ are we 23:04 for our spiritual survival? 23:06 Let's look at this, it says, "For... " 23:09 what are the next two words? 23:10 "For in Him... " get this... 23:12 "if anyone is in Christ... " 23:14 so when you're in Christ, 23:15 what happens when you're in Christ? 23:17 get this out... "for where?" In Him... 23:20 "we... " what? "live" 23:21 and what else? "move" 23:23 and what else? "have our being. " 23:25 If you're living and moving outside of Christ, 23:27 you're not living and moving, 23:29 you've ever heard the phrase, "movers and shakers?" 23:30 There are a lot of "movers and shakers" 23:32 in the world, 23:34 money movers... money shakers... 23:35 financial movers... financial shakers... 23:36 economic movers... economic shakers... 23:38 music movers... you name it... 23:39 the categories go on 23:40 we need to be "movers and shakers" in Christ. 23:43 It goes on by saying this, 23:46 "For in Him we live and move and have our being, 23:50 as also some of your own poets have said... " 23:54 and here's the reason why 23:55 we live and move and have our being in Him... 23:57 "For we are also His... " what? 23:59 "we are His offspring. " 24:01 Use the word that you understand, 24:02 we are children... 24:04 so if you're a child of God, where should you be living? 24:07 "In Him... " 24:08 you know, those of you who have parents, 24:11 when you're broke, who do you call? 24:13 okay, "Mom, I need money... " 24:19 "Dad, I need money... " 24:21 "Mom, my stomach hurts... " 24:23 "Dad, I have a headache... " 24:24 "Mom, I need this... " "Dad, I need that... " right? 24:28 If we would simply call on the Lord in the very same way, 24:31 "For our spiritual needs... 24:35 then our spiritual needs will be supplied. " 24:38 How much does God promise to supply us? 24:42 "And my God shall supply... " what? 24:45 "All our need according to His... " what? 24:48 "Riches and glory... " 24:49 Unfortunately, we read that text 24:51 and apply "financial supplies" to that, 24:53 we don't often provide... 24:56 we don't often look at that text as "spiritual supplies" 24:58 so, what do you need more? 24:59 Financial supplies or spiritual supplies? 25:02 Come on, somebody be honest and say, "both. " 25:04 Audience: Both. 25:06 Okay, right... 25:07 but the one that's going to make a difference is, 25:10 "spiritual supply" 25:11 because there are some people that are wealthy 25:14 but they have a... they are bankrupt spiritually. 25:16 We were in New York City and we were just bedazzled by... 25:20 you know, 25:21 we had been out of the city so long, 25:22 our eyes got re-acquainted 25:25 with the bedazzling sentiment of the city of New York, 25:29 lots of things that would keep your eyes busy, 25:32 lots of cars and buildings and stores and... 25:35 gadgets of every description, 25:37 you cannot walk down the streets of New York 25:41 and not be distracted... 25:42 your eyes will be somewhere, 25:44 you'll be seeing something 25:46 and the only way you'll remember what you see 25:49 is when you get home and your mind begins to play it back, 25:51 because you cannot take it all in at one time 25:53 you know, if you look at something long enough, 25:55 then you begin to record it, 25:56 but... but like a video camera, 25:58 you ever take videos when you go someplace, 26:00 and you're panning the entire horizon 26:02 and you see something that your eyes don't remember 26:05 but the video remembered that. 26:06 In the very same way, 26:08 the spiritual life is somewhat that way. 26:09 We are panning the horizon 26:12 but we're not being able to pull in all the things 26:14 that the Spirit of God has available for us 26:17 because the abundant provisions of Christ are far greater 26:21 than the bedazzling of provisions that you'll find 26:24 in any large city 26:26 but if we simply look at the horizon 26:28 that... when we say, "Okay, Lord, 26:30 how much can you provide for me?" 26:31 I tell you what... 26:33 we're going to be shocked when we get to heaven 26:35 and find out how much was really available to us... 26:36 pause... 26:38 not just spiritually... but physically 26:41 financially... and every other way 26:43 but here, we have to keep in mind 26:46 that "In Him, we live and move and have our being... " 26:49 in other words, Brothers and Sisters, 26:51 let's spend more time in our Father's will... 26:54 in our Father's presence... 26:55 that's why it's so important to study your Bible. 26:58 You know, people say, 27:00 "Well, how do you stay in the presence of Christ?" 27:02 Well, first of all, it starts in your mind, 27:05 because the Bible says, 27:07 "As a man thinketh in his heart... " 27:08 what? "so is he... " 27:10 if your mind is not where it's supposed to be 27:12 then your body can't be where it's supposed to be. 27:15 You can put your body where it's supposed to be 27:18 but if your mind is not there, 27:20 then your mind is somewhere else. 27:21 God's people are in church and their minds are somewhere else, 27:23 but if your mind... 27:24 if the mind of Christ is in your mind, 27:27 by you studying the Word of God, 27:29 having a relationship with Him... 27:31 then, all of a sudden, 27:32 your body and your mind are in the same place. 27:35 So, day by day, this has to be the foundation 27:38 upon which we find our strength 27:40 because as Paul describes it very carefully, 27:43 God wants to impart to us 27:44 something that we don't yet have. 27:46 Notice how He does this. 27:48 Question number 3: 27:50 So if you put the answer to number 2, 27:52 I hope you wrote it in, 27:53 because I think, the question was very clear 27:55 but Question number 3: 28:01 "How does Paul the apostle 28:03 describe Christian righteousness?" 28:08 2nd Corinthians 5 and verse 21... 28:12 turn in your Bibles there... 28:15 it's Question number 3, 28:17 here's the answer on the screen. 28:19 Speaking of Christ, it says, 28:22 "For He made Him... " 28:23 that is... "God made Christ... 28:26 who knew no sin... to be... " what Friends? 28:29 "sin for us... " but look at the exchange... 28:32 "that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. " 28:37 This text has a transaction, 28:39 the Father and the Son decided together 28:42 "Okay, You've got to be where they are... 28:44 so they could be where You are. " 28:47 That's an amazing transaction. 28:49 "Until You are where they are, they won't be where You are. " 28:53 You get he connection? 28:55 "So, until I am where Trinity is Trinity won't be where I am. " 28:59 "Until I am where David is, David won't be where I am. " 29:04 Thus, you get that promise that Jesus says. 29:07 "I go to prepare a place for you, 29:09 and if I go and prepare a place for you, 29:12 I will come again and receive you unto myself... " 29:15 do you know the rest of the text? 29:16 "that where I am, there you may be also. " 29:20 Now, let's get the connection here, 29:21 "that we might become the righteousness of God in Him... " 29:26 until we become that... 29:27 He's not coming back to take us anywhere. 29:29 Pause... 29:31 Because in order for us to be where He is, 29:33 He has to be in us, 29:36 He has to be with us. 29:38 In other words, 29:40 we have to become the righteousness of God in Him... 29:42 and I'm going to get these, 29:44 I don't know if you're underlining these texts at all, 29:45 but so far, the first three texts 29:47 we've had... in... in... in... 29:50 "if anyone is in Christ... in Him... 29:51 we live and move and have our being... " 29:53 "Righteousness of God... in Him... " 29:55 it's all about being "in Christ... " 29:57 the title of our Study, 29:58 "What does it mean to be a Christian?" 30:00 "How does it mean to be victorious 30:02 over the trials of our daily life... 30:03 over the battles of our daily life?" 30:05 Let's say this together, "In Him" 30:07 together... "in Him" 30:11 "in Him... " 30:12 the submarine... 30:14 pause... 30:15 Christ can take you to depths of righteousness 30:18 that nothing else can take you. 30:19 No one else can take you 30:21 but if we're not in Him, 30:22 we're not going to have that experience. 30:23 So, what's the answer? 30:25 How does Paul the Apostle describe 30:27 Christian righteousness? 30:29 The righteousness of God. 30:32 The righteousness of God... 30:34 We don't have any righteousness, 30:36 pause... 30:37 I know right away your minds are going... 30:39 you're thinking about your righteousness... 30:41 and what are you thinking? 30:42 What are you thinking? 30:43 It is as... what? "Filthy rags" 30:45 we don't have any righteousness... 30:47 it's amazing, 30:49 so, the Christian righteousness comes from Christ. 30:53 Okay, Question number 4: 30:57 Oh... I kind of... went ahead of myself... 31:00 Question number 4: 31:09 Ephesians 1 and verse 7. 31:11 "What is the source of our redemption and how?" 31:16 Before we answer that, 31:17 I want to just talk about redemption really briefly 31:19 because sometimes, we think of that word... 31:21 and say... "redeemed... redeemed... 31:22 redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. " 31:24 Well, on many Army Bases, they have something called 31:29 "a pawn shop... " P A W N... 31:32 pawn... what do they do? 31:34 They pawn things... 31:36 you know, because they say, 31:37 "There's nobody more broke than a soldier... " 31:39 that's why they're always close to Army Bases... 31:41 Airforce Bases... 31:43 you know, "I'm going away for a six-week leave 31:46 or six-month leave, 31:47 I'm going to... kind of sell my television, 31:49 I need some extra cash... 31:50 you know, I'm in Iraq... really... 31:52 or wherever I'm going, I need extra cash... " 31:55 so they pawn their television, pawn their stereo, 31:57 pawn their bed... pawn their couch... 31:59 and what happens is, they get this little ticket... 32:03 they get this little ticket, well, that's not a ticket... 32:06 well, they get this little ticket, 32:07 sometimes it's a little orange ticket, 32:09 a little yellow ticket, a little green ticket 32:11 and that ticket has a value, it has a... what? 32:13 It has a value... 32:14 but you know what that value is called? 32:16 It's called a redemption value. 32:18 You've ever won something and they say, 32:21 "Your price is redeemable at the nearest... " 32:25 and they mention the store... 32:26 so, what happens is, when Jesus Christ came, 32:29 you got to get this, this is powerful... 32:32 He came with "redemption value" 32:35 that's why Peter said, 32:37 "We're not bought by corruptible things, 32:41 like gold and silver... 32:43 but with the precious blood of Christ... 32:47 as of a spotless Lamb... 32:50 so the redemption value is His blood. 32:52 We're not bought by gold and silver, 32:55 we're not bought by economies... 32:57 but... but in the world that we live today, 32:59 there's so much talk about economy... 33:00 economic instability, real estate instability, 33:03 rising and falling gas prices, 33:04 our minds are focused so much on that 33:06 that sometimes we are eclipsed and forget, 33:09 "Hey, wait a minute, 33:10 the most valuable resource in the entire existence of humanity 33:14 was expended to buy us back. " 33:17 So, let me go ahead and finish the picture, 33:19 the devil sold you 33:21 and put you in a pawn shop somewhere 33:23 and Christ says, "Wait, I've come to claim you" 33:26 so there you're on a shelf 33:27 and it appears... like somebody says, 33:30 "One man's junk is another man's... " what? 33:32 treasure... 33:33 We may be junk to the devil but we are treasures 33:35 in the sight of God... "Amen" for that... 33:36 Audience: Amen. 33:38 So the Lord comes... 33:39 Jesus Christ comes in with redemption value... 33:41 He buys us back... 33:43 He buys us back... and are added to the family of God 33:49 as sons and daughters of God 33:51 redeemed by a price that we will never be able to estimate 33:55 I would say, 33:57 maybe through the ceaseless ages of eternity 33:59 but what did Paul say? 34:01 What is our answer... 34:02 Ephesians 1 verse 7, here's what the Bible says, 34:05 now there it goes again, 34:07 what are the first two words we read? 34:09 "In Him... " we have what? 34:11 "redemption through His blood... " 34:14 get this now, what else do we get? 34:18 "the forgiveness of sins, according to... " what? 34:21 "the riches of His grace. " 34:25 Not His bank... 34:27 we think "bank... " He thinks "grace" 34:30 how much grace does God have? 34:31 Come on, does anybody know? 34:32 Pause... 34:34 Paul was sitting down counting it one day 34:38 and he got so tired, he said, 34:40 "Okay, your grace is sufficient for me. " 34:42 He couldn't count it. 34:44 Let me just even... 34:46 I got really blown away by this idea 34:49 somebody said, I hope I get it right... 34:51 "A billion dollars is so much... a billion dollars is so much" 34:58 that if I said, which one I'll pick on, 35:07 I get you all mixed up, 35:09 what's your name? 35:10 Corbana, you want a billion dollars? 35:14 Isn't it your birthday today 35:17 and you don't want a billion dollars? 35:18 Would five dollars be sufficient? 35:20 okay... okay... you'll take it... right? 35:23 It's your birthday and you don't want a billion dollars 35:25 but here, I'll give you a billion dollars 35:27 but there's one condition, 35:28 you have to count it. 35:30 Laughter... 35:34 You wouldn't live long enough to count it. 35:36 If you... if you counted a billion dollars... 35:38 I forgot what they told me how long 35:40 it would take you to count a billion dollars, 35:41 something like 3,000 years 35:42 if you did nothing but just sat down and counted it 35:45 and did nothing else... 24 hours a day 7 days a week 35:47 you couldn't live long enough to count a billion dollars. 35:49 So, if somebody says, "I'll give you a billion dollars 35:51 on the condition... you count it... " 35:53 say, "No... give it to me with no conditions" 35:55 come one say, "amen" somebody... 35:56 Audience: Amen. 35:57 But a billion dollars is nothing in God's economy 36:01 because when you think about His grace, 36:03 He has enough grace to cover every sinner from Adam 36:07 to the present... and the future. 36:09 So, when he says, "the riches of His grace" 36:13 from age to age, men have tried to count it 36:17 and they couldn't. 36:18 Noah started... "Noah found... " what? 36:20 "Grace in the eyes of the Lord... " 36:23 and it extended through Noah and Paul the apostle says, 36:25 "Man! He's got a whole lot, 36:27 I guess, His grace is sufficient for me. " 36:29 And from Paul... as Paul was laid to rest... 36:31 today... still... we read this text 36:34 and this text is in the Present Tense, 36:36 it's not Past Tense, I want you to get that, 36:38 this text is in the Present Tense 36:39 which means, right today... we have redemption, 36:43 we have forgiveness 36:44 because of the riches of His grace. 36:47 "For by grace are you saved through faith. " 36:53 What that means is, 36:55 you have to come to the realization... 36:57 by the... "Hey, if I'm going to be saved by grace through faith, 36:59 I got to realize there's enough grace to save me. " 37:02 And I want to give you the good news, 37:04 there's enough grace to save all of us... what do you say? 37:06 Audience: Amen. 37:08 So, the source... 37:10 you got to get this... the source... 37:12 they tried to... as a matter of fact... 37:14 I heard about this massive magma lake... below Yellowstone 37:20 it's called the Super Volcano, 37:23 and Geologists and Seismologists 37:26 have tried to estimate 37:28 how much magma is really down in those magma chambers 37:31 below Yellowstone National Park, 37:33 well, what really blew me away is... usually they say... 37:37 this is the largest volcano in the world, 37:38 it's called the "super volcano" 37:40 and we pray that it does not erupt in our day 37:42 Pause... 37:44 because it's the largest volcano... 37:45 they say... it will erupt for many, many, many years 37:49 because it's connected by chambers to other volcanos, 37:51 but here's my point, 37:53 just to have some fun, when you go home, 37:56 ah... 37:57 the mouth of a volcano 37:59 is usually something that you could see, right, 38:01 when you look at the volcano, it's like this, 38:02 you see the mouth of the volcano because there's... 38:04 Audience: A large hole... 38:06 Right... you can see the mouth of most volcanos, 38:08 Yellowstone... if you stand by the lake 38:13 or some of those mineral pools, 38:15 you're in a valley, 38:17 well, if you stand there and you begin to look... 38:18 if you turn around 360 degrees and look... 38:21 and you see the rim of the mountains 38:23 as far as your eyes can see, 38:24 that... you're standing in the mouth of the volcano. 38:29 Pause... 38:30 It's inestimable... 38:32 they can estimate it from side to side 38:35 but you're looking in the great distance... 38:36 "Oh, I see the tip of the rim of those... that mountain... 38:39 and I see the rim of that... I see the rim of that... " 38:41 Seismologists would say, 38:43 "If you see the rim and it's all around you... 38:45 that means you're in the mouth of the volcano. " 38:48 Pause... 38:49 They say, "We have no idea how much magma is there, 38:52 it's inestimable... " 38:54 When I think about that, I think, 38:55 "But that's just Yellowstone... " 38:57 if you think about the grace of God... 38:59 there's enough grace of God for planets far beyond our size... 39:04 far beyond our limited space on this little ball called "earth" 39:07 His grace is sufficient... and it has no depth... 39:10 "Amen" to that... 39:11 Audience: Amen. 39:13 No depth... no depth whatsoever... 39:14 that is... no bottom to it. 39:16 The grace of God has a depth so great 39:19 that we will never exhaust its supply. 39:22 Question number... so what do you put for Number 4? 39:25 What is the source of our redemption... 39:27 What's the source of our redemption? 39:30 Audience: God... 39:32 The riches of His grace. 39:34 The riches of His grace... 39:36 we know it's Christ... 39:37 but... the riches of His grace is the source. 39:40 That's why I'm talking about the source. 39:42 How rich is the source? 39:44 You cannot estimate it. 39:47 The supply is just far beyond 39:49 the value that we can ever estimate. 39:52 Number 5... is that where we are? 39:54 Number 5... let's go on... 39:56 "When we have Christ, how much more do we need?" 40:02 Don't rush ahead of yourself, okay, 40:04 we're going to turn to Colossians 2 40:07 and we're going to look at verse 9 and 10. 40:11 Colossians 2 verse 9 and 10, 40:14 I laid the foundation with Yellowstone 40:16 and tried to talk about 40:18 all the supplies that I could even muster up in my mind... 40:21 but this text is really going to open it up really wide... 40:24 it's going to blow it open so to speak, 40:26 all right... 40:27 Colossians 2 verse 9 and 10, in answer to the question, 40:31 "When we have Christ, how much more do we need?" 40:33 Here is the verse. 40:34 Colossians 2 verse 9 and 10, it says, 40:37 there it is again, "For... " 40:39 what's the next two words Brethren? 40:41 "in Him dwells... " 40:42 what's the next word? 40:44 "all the fullness of the Godhead... " how? 40:49 "bodily; and you are complete in Him, 40:53 who is the head of all principality and power. " 40:59 I could spend another 15 minutes on this one... but I won't... 41:03 I'll suffice it to simply say, 41:04 "In Christ dwells all the fullness" 41:08 dwells all the... what? "fullness... " 41:11 It's amazing how all of that... and you got to... 41:15 you got to hear me out briefly here, 41:19 all of that... 41:21 we're talking about... it cannot be... 41:23 if we decided to store God's fullness in the earth, 41:27 pause... 41:29 there wouldn't be room... 41:30 yet, the beauty of this text is, 41:35 this God... who in Him all the fullness of the Godhead 41:40 dwells in Christ, 41:42 He's saying, "I could still dwell inside of your life... 41:46 I could still dwell in this human frame, 41:50 I can still come and live in your life 41:53 and in your heart... I can still abide in you... " 41:56 in the very same way, to put this together... 41:59 let's all take a breath together, 42:01 inhale... are you ready? On the count of three... 42:02 one... two... three... inhale... 42:04 now, where did that come from? 42:06 Where did that come from? 42:08 Pause... 42:09 Where did that come from? 42:10 Is there... is there... H... 42:13 not... I say, it's just water... 42:15 co2... that's carbon and two parts oxygen... 42:18 okay, that's what we're breathing... 42:19 where is it? 42:21 Somebody tell me, give me an answer, 42:22 where is it? Let's try that again, 42:24 one, two, three... let's inhale... 42:26 where is it coming from? 42:29 Where is it? Somebody tell me, huh... 42:32 now, where is it? 42:33 Where is the source? 42:35 Huh, come on... help me out... 42:39 we know... you got... 42:40 don't get theological... get obvious... where is it? 42:42 It's all around us... 42:44 it's a... now can you run fast enough 42:46 so that there's a place that you can get to 42:48 where you can't breath? 42:49 No, because everywhere you run to 42:51 there's going to be breath, right? 42:53 So what if you were the fastest man on earth, 42:55 can you run beyond the speed of breath? 42:57 Or the speed of the... 42:59 everywhere around us, there's that supply existing... 43:04 I'm trying to find something to compare 43:06 all the fullness of the Godhead with. 43:09 This entire planet... every place you go on this planet, 43:12 you're going to be able to breathe... 43:14 pause... 43:15 because it's everywhere. 43:17 The fullness of God 43:19 dwells completely in the body of the person Christ Jesus. 43:23 Now, when Jesus walked this earth, 43:25 in the form of a man 43:27 we looked at him like we'd look at Brother John Dinzey, 43:30 Brother Dick Hutchinsen, Brother Glen... 43:33 and we look at this... we look at this human frame 43:37 and we look at Him and think... 43:40 "Is it possible that all the fullness of the Godhead 43:43 could dwell in that short space?" 43:45 Pause... 43:47 Is that trying to estimate the power of a nuclear weapon? 43:51 It's small but it's powerful... 43:53 yet in Christ... 43:55 there's a greater power that resides in Him, 43:58 the fullness of righteousness, the fullness of godliness, 44:02 the fullness of victory, 44:03 the fullness of deliverance, 44:05 it all dwells in Christ... the fullness is there... 44:08 so, now, let's ask the question, 44:10 well, let me just tell you the story, 44:11 in the West Indies, 44:15 in the country of Trinidad there's a pitch lake, 44:17 pause... 44:18 you know what pitch is? 44:20 Does anybody know what pitch is? 44:22 Let me use the American word, "Tar... " 44:23 okay... because I saw the look... it went... 44:26 "pitch?" 44:28 Not pitching... but pitch... 44:30 and for years, people had been scooping out this pitch... 44:35 and exporting it all over the world 44:37 what happens when they go back the next day? 44:40 Filled up again... 44:42 the hole that was dug yesterday filled up again... 44:46 they don't know where the supply... 44:48 they don't know the extent of the supply... 44:49 but that's in this little small earth. 44:52 We have oil supplies 44:53 that we don't know the extent of that supply, 44:55 we have pitch... we have bauxite... 44:58 the earth is so rich with minerals, 45:01 yet, this earth is too small 45:03 when it comes to be dimensionally the place that 45:07 the fullness of God can dwell 45:09 because David the Psalmist said, 45:10 "Wait a minute... wait a minute, 45:11 if I go to the uttermost parts of the heaven... " 45:14 what did he say? 45:16 "You are there... " 45:17 "If I make my bed in the grave... " 45:19 what... "You're... " 45:21 "If I go to the depths of the sea... " 45:22 what? "You're there... " 45:23 now if you go to the depths of the sea, 45:25 you're not going to find pitch there, 45:26 you're not going to find gold there... 45:28 if you go to the uttermost parts of the earth... 45:29 you're not going to find pitch there, 45:30 here's my... here's the story now, I want you to get this, 45:32 wherever you go... 45:33 the grace of God is available to you... 45:35 wherever you go, 45:37 the power of God is available to you, why? 45:39 Because all the fullness of God 45:41 dwells in the person of Christ 45:42 and He's trying to make that available to us. 45:44 So, let's narrow that down to your day-by-day life, 45:47 let's make it practical... 45:48 let's go to the: "A's" and "B's" and "C's" of where we live. 45:51 when you wake up tomorrow morning, 45:53 how much of the power of God is available to you? 45:56 Somebody tell me... how much? 45:59 Why is it that we don't have it? 46:01 Why is it that we don't have it... 46:03 Come on, tell me again, we don't ask... 46:07 Didn't Matthew say, "We have... " 46:09 well, James... 46:11 "We have not because we... " what? "ask not... " 46:13 And when we ask, 46:15 he said, "we ask for the wrong reason" 46:16 that we may spend it in ways that are some... 46:20 we say, "Lord, I need money... " 46:21 I wish we would plead for God's righteousness 46:23 like we would plead for money... 46:25 "Lord, I need a place to live, Lord, I need a job... " 46:28 If we would plead for God for spiritual things 46:30 as we do for temporal things, we would have that experience, 46:34 we would have that deliverance... 46:35 do you wake up in the morning... 46:36 now, what if God said, 46:38 "I'm just going to supply you enough air for you to pray. " 46:41 Audience: Laughter... 46:42 "And when you pray, you've got to ask me for more air 46:44 and I'll send it to you... " 46:46 how many of you will pray, come on, raise your hand... 46:47 we'd all pray... 46:49 okay, now, the reason I said that 46:51 "Prayer... " Ellen White says, 46:53 "is the breath of the soul" 46:55 it's more valuable than your bread you eat, 47:00 so, if God says, 47:01 "Every morning I'm going to give you enough breath to pray... 47:03 you've got 15 seconds... " 47:05 "I ain't praying... " Feep... 47:08 "Oh, Dave died because he wouldn't pray... " 47:11 Now we're smiling but that's why many of us die 47:15 because we don't pray. 47:17 We don't ask God for the supplies 47:20 so we struggle in our own humanity 47:22 because it's just a breath away. 47:27 The supply of God is a breath away. 47:31 "Ask and it shall be given, seek and you will find, 47:35 knock and the door will be... " what? 47:37 "opened... " 47:38 as a matter of fact, God takes it to the next level, 47:40 He says, "You may be knocking 47:42 but I've been knocking long before you started knocking, 47:44 'Behold I stand at the door and... '" what? "knock... " 47:46 He said, "I have more of a desire to have... 47:49 I have more of a burning desire 47:50 to have a relationship with you 47:52 than you have a burning desire to have one with me 47:54 so since you're not going to knock... I'll knock. " 47:56 Amen... 47:58 That tells me that we have a Savior that is not sufficiently 48:01 waiting to have a relationship with Him, 48:03 He wants to have one with us 48:04 and while we have to really put this effort into practice, 48:08 because we're living under the last church... 48:10 the church of Laodicea 48:11 and one of the conditions of the church of Laodicea... 48:14 it's a compiled condition... 48:16 we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked 48:20 and you know what's sad about that is, 48:22 we don't even know it 48:23 and when you think of Revelation chapter 3, 48:25 the last church... when you get down to, 48:26 "Behold I stand at the door and knock... " 48:28 what the Lord is necessarily saying... 48:29 it's not just the personal invitation 48:31 to open the door and come in... 48:32 but what He's saying to His last-day church, 48:34 he's saying, "You guys think you got it all together, 48:37 but if you let me in, 48:39 you'll really find out how to get it all together. " 48:42 It's really an indictment, Revelation 3 verse 20 and 21 48:44 is really an indictment to the last-day church 48:47 a church that's so prosperous... has so much materialistically 48:51 so much provisionally, 48:52 so much fame and fortune and earthly coverage 48:55 that we fail to realize 48:58 that our need is right here on Ground Zero. 49:00 Ain't that true? 49:01 Our need is right here on Ground Zero, 49:04 so, if we only had enough breath to pray 49:07 for more breath... would we pray? Yes. 49:10 Let me encourage you, that's how we find our source 49:13 by asking for it and God will impart to us 49:16 exactly what we need 49:18 because in Him dwells all the fullness, 49:20 we don't have it because we don't ask. 49:23 Question Number 6: let's go on to this one. 49:32 "What test has the Lord established 49:35 to prove that we are in Him?" 49:36 And by-the-way, 49:37 proving it is... proving it to us, 49:39 not to Himself because He already knows. 49:41 All right... what test? 49:43 We're turning to the book of 1st John 2 and verse 5, 49:48 okay, 1st John, chapter 2 and verse 5. 49:52 Here it is on the screen if you are following along 49:56 with your syllabus or your lesson, 49:59 1st John 2 verse 5, reads as follows, 50:02 "But whoever... " does what? 50:05 "keeps His word, 50:06 truly the love of God is... " what? 50:10 "perfected in him. 50:11 By this we know that we are... " 50:13 what? "in Him... " 50:15 Now, let's not run past that, I can't run past any of them 50:17 what does the Bible say, how do we know... 50:21 how do we know that we are abiding in Christ? 50:25 If we do what... if we do what? 50:28 If we keep His Word. 50:29 Keeping His Commandments is added on to that 50:34 but it says, "whoever keeps His Word... 50:36 truly the love of God is perfected in Him. " 50:38 What that is necessarily saying, 50:40 it's not that you should love God, 50:42 but the love of God is just... so... it's... 50:45 when something is perfected, it's complete. 50:48 If the love of God is... is abiding in us... 50:51 you know what that in essence is saying? 50:53 Let me give you an illustration... 50:55 whatever you love, you're going to make time for 50:57 that's what that's saying. 50:59 Fault will say, "I've got to go 51:02 my show is coming on, I've got to go... 51:03 I'll talk to you later, I've got to go... " 51:04 We have a guy that plays basketball till 8:30... 51:06 he never goes beyond 8:30... 51:07 "I got to go, my show is coming on... " 51:09 "Come on, one more game... " 51:10 "I've got to go... " 51:11 He is loyal to that show... he's in and out... 51:14 "Whatever we're going to do, hurry up, I've got to go... 51:16 8:25... I'm done... " 51:18 "One more game... " got to go... 51:19 Laughter... 51:21 Would to God that we had the same dedication... 51:24 "Got to go... got to go... it's time for me to pray... 51:26 I've got to go... I've got to go, 51:28 I need to pray... " 51:30 "I've got to go... I've set a schedule with God 51:35 and it's time for my Bible Studies 51:36 because I'm getting weak, I've got to go. " 51:38 That's what that is saying, 51:41 "If God's love is abiding in our soul, 51:44 then, we could keep His Word. " 51:48 But we read this text by saying, "If we keep His Word, 51:50 then the love of God is perfected in us... " 51:52 no, that's not what it's saying, 51:53 it says, "If we are so filled by God, 51:55 we can't wait to hear what He has to say to us next. " 51:59 Like people can't wait... "Oh, my show... 52:02 oh, this is the finale... " phew... 52:04 And so the devil puts the finale on... on Wednesday nights, 52:08 "Season closer... two hours tonight... " 52:13 "When does it come on?" 52:14 "From 6:00 to 8:00... " 52:16 And for those of you who don't record it, 52:18 you say, "Oh, I ain't going to Prayer Meeting tonight, 52:20 because this is the finale... " 52:21 "Desperate Housewives" 52:23 Laughter... 52:25 And then we become desperate Christians 52:28 watching that foolishness. 52:30 We got to realize that we are in desperate straits 52:33 without spending time with the Lord 52:35 and I'm talking to myself too 52:36 because sometimes we all get so busy, 52:38 you know, we're doing God's work 52:39 but we fail to realize that God wants to do something in us. 52:42 He doesn't just want us to have good records... 52:44 "Lord, I've passed out 64 tracts... 52:46 50 visits this week... 52:48 you know... I... 52:49 Wednesday night Prayer Meeting, I prayed... my sermon... did... 52:51 you know, I had Sabbath School... 52:53 I taught Sabbath School... did Communion Service. " 52:54 "Ah... pretty good resume of all the things you did for me... 52:56 now... 52:58 you didn't give me a chance for me to do anything for you 53:00 because while you're so busy working in my vineyard, 53:03 I didn't have time to work in your life. " 53:04 Pause... 53:06 This whole lesson is about us being in Christ... 53:09 not Christ... just being in us... 53:10 "Christ in us" is the hope of glory... yes... 53:13 but "us in Christ" is the hope of "fitting in glory" 53:16 so Christ doesn't just want us to be involved in His activity, 53:19 He wants to be involved in our lives. 53:21 He wants to be there, molding us and shaping us 53:24 and fitting us for that eternal abode 53:27 which in the simple language, 53:29 "He wants us to get ready for the kingdom 53:31 but it starts on a day-by-day, daily basis. " 53:34 That's the ABCs of what it means to be in Christ 53:37 and I tell you... 53:38 if the love to Christ is so brimming over in us, 53:40 we'll make time to provide ourselves 53:43 that diet that we need... that spiritual diet 53:45 because I tell you what... 53:46 the natural man will look for the natural diet, 53:48 but the man that wants to be spiritual... 53:50 the young woman who wants to be spiritual... 53:52 will look for that spiritual diet. 53:54 Let's go to the next question, 53:55 so, "What has the Lord established 53:57 to prove that we are in Him?" 53:58 That's Question number 6: 54:00 and I'll tell you this as the answer... 54:01 you may think, "because we keep His Word... " 54:03 No... if He... if He is abiding in us... 54:06 if He is perfected in us... 54:08 if He is residing in us... 54:10 then we can keep His Word... 54:11 so why don't you put there, 54:13 "What test has the Lord established 54:14 to prove that we are in Him?" 54:16 "If He is in us... 54:17 if He is in us, 54:19 if He is in us... " because you know, 54:22 Christian activity is one thing pray... 54:25 the Pharisees thought they had it all down... 54:27 "I pay tithe of everything... I... mint and anise... I... 54:30 I just... I... I do all the stuff... " 54:32 Even the rich young ruler said, 54:34 "I've done all this since I was a young person... " 54:35 the Lord said, "You still haven't got it together yet. " 54:37 "What do I yet lack?" 54:39 He said, "One thing... " 54:42 what's separating us from Christ, come on everybody... 54:45 let's confess... 54:47 one thing... 54:48 and I can guarantee you, 54:50 that one thing has everything you need 54:52 usually... it's prayer and Bible Study... 54:54 and they're not separate fruits... 54:56 they go together... hand in hand. 54:58 Number 7... okay, question number 7... 55:07 "What does living in Christ demand of us?" 55:13 Oooh... this one is going to kind of wake us up, 55:17 "What does living in Christ demand of us?" 55:19 1st John 3:3... 55:21 let's try to fit this in, we have 2 minutes and 40 seconds 55:23 before we are off the screen... 55:26 and... for those of you watching... 55:28 next week we begin Vacation Bible School... 55:30 for Kids' Time it's going to be right here 55:32 at the same location... same time... 55:34 so we'll be back on the week following that. 55:36 Okay, 1st John 3:3 reads as follows, 55:39 let's read this together, are we ready... passion... 55:42 "And everyone who has this hope in Him... " does what? 55:46 "purifies himself, just as He is... " what? "pure" 55:51 that almost seems ironic, 55:53 how can you purify yourself if you are pure? 55:55 It's like, let me give you an illustration, 55:57 mother cleans the house and she says, 55:59 "Keep it clean... " 56:00 Christ cleans us up and He says... what? 56:03 "Keep it clean... " 56:05 How do we keep it clean? 56:06 By our choices... 56:08 by the things we know we must do... 56:12 He cleans us up... justification... 56:15 but sanctification is... keeping it clean... 56:18 staying clean... 56:20 we're at the sanctification part in our studies, 56:22 we want to know how... not just to be cleaned up... 56:24 I preached a sermon... 56:25 you may want to ask for a copy if you contact our church at 56:28 tvsdac. org 56:30 very quick... quick advertisement... 56:32 that's our church website... 56:33 it's called... "filled up... fixed up... and filled up. " 56:37 Christ doesn't just want to fix us up... 56:39 He wants to do what, Friends? Fill us up... 56:42 so, the purifying aspect... 56:44 why is it so vitally important? 56:46 Simple illustration... 56:48 would you put Kool-Aid in a dirty glass? 56:51 Audience: People are shaking their heads... 56:54 And give it to somebody to drink? 56:56 Laughter... 56:58 No... 56:59 have you ever been to people's house or a restaurant 57:01 and you see... you know, you got a knife and a fork 57:02 on the table there and it has spots on it 57:04 and you say, "Could you give me a new glass?" 57:06 And it's not terribly dirty but you know 57:08 you don't want to put anything in that 57:09 because you see spots. 57:11 Well, Brethren... the Lord is looking at our lives 57:13 and He says, "There are some spots there... " 57:15 I want to put my Holy Spirit in you, 57:17 I want to fill your life up on a day-by-day basis, 57:19 if we do the essentials... 57:20 as you're listening here tonight if we do the essentials 57:22 by beginning our day with one powerful thing, 57:25 prayer and Bible Studies... 57:27 end our day... prayer and Bible Studies... 57:30 I was told by my dear brother... 57:32 Elder T. Marshall Kelly said... 57:34 when he traveled with Elder Cleveland... 57:36 Elder E. E. Cleveland... 57:37 every hour on the hour... 57:39 Elder Cleveland... no matter if he was driving 57:41 or wherever he was, he'd stop... 57:42 every hour on the hour it's time to pray... 57:45 he said, "You're a brilliant person... " 57:48 he said, "No, I'm not brilliant... 57:49 it's Christ in me that causes all these things to show... " 57:52 so, friends, if Christ is in your life, 57:54 everything that's out of focus 57:56 will be brought into a sharper focus 57:58 if Christ is there... 57:59 God bless you... let us pray. |
Revised 2018-01-30