Participants: John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000034
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00:19 Hello, friends, and welcome
00:21 to another Wednesday night Bible study here 00:23 at A Sharper Focus. 00:24 We're coming to you live from the 3ABN Worship Center 00:27 right here in Southern Illinois. 00:29 And if you're in the Caribbean, pray for us, 00:32 it's a lot colder here than it is there. 00:35 So we're here tonight 00:36 and we're going to rely on the Holy Spirit 00:38 to warm up our hearts 00:39 and strengthen our minds as we study His word together. 00:42 Get your Bibles, get your pens, 00:44 and you can go to a website 00:46 that I'll give you the address right now. 00:48 If you want to copy of the lesson for tonight, 00:50 that website is ASF.3abn.org, 00:55 omit the www. 00:58 We're getting more techie nowadays. 00:59 You don't have to put that. 01:00 But if you do, 01:02 it'll inhibit you from finding this particular website. 01:04 And the lesson is lesson number 11, 01:07 Facing or Face the Challenges. 01:09 We've started already. 01:10 So tonight, we're going to continue 01:12 in our study of what those challenges are 01:14 and how we can face those successfully. 01:17 But thank you for all that you do 01:18 for 3ABN, your prayers, your financial support, 01:20 and even those of you 01:22 that have come here periodically to volunteer, 01:24 we do appreciate that very, very much. 01:26 And on a different note, 01:28 many of you watch from around the world. 01:29 But tonight, I want to send particular condolences 01:32 to the Johnson family in Texas. 01:35 We found out about 01:36 one of our faithful Wednesday night viewer's, 01:39 he always looked forward to the song, 01:40 "Victory in Jesus," and unfortunately, 01:43 he was laid to rest last week. 01:45 So our condolences go out to you. 01:48 And we know that you love 3ABN, but our prayers are with you, 01:50 Lavern, and your family 01:53 during this time of bereavement. 01:55 And because this is a live program, 01:56 we can stay up-to-date on what's happening 01:58 in our 3ABN family around the world. 02:01 So thank you for all of you who tuned in. 02:03 But now invite your family and friends to join us 02:05 as we invite the Lord's presence 02:06 through prayer 02:08 and then we're going to sing our song, 02:09 "Victory in Jesus." 02:11 Let's pray together. 02:12 Heavenly Father, we thank you tonight 02:13 that we do have the victory in Jesus 02:16 even though the battle for humanity's salvation 02:20 is still waging fiercely around us. 02:23 Help us to look to the cross in the empty tomb 02:25 and to know 02:27 that we do have victory already is ours to claim. 02:31 We talked about the human factor, 02:32 and tonight, we talk about the divine challenge 02:35 of how to live the victorious life, 02:37 how to live a spiritual life in a natural body, 02:40 so guide us and impress upon our minds 02:42 how important it is 02:44 to trust in Christ and Him alone. 02:46 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 02:50 Well, join us if you like on our song, 02:52 "Victory in Jesus." 02:53 It's on our screen here for those of you who are local, 02:56 and if you know the song, sing along with us. 03:08 I heard an old, old story 03:11 How a Savior came from glory 03:15 How He gave His life on Calvary 03:19 To save a wretch like me 03:23 I heard about His groaning 03:26 Of His precious blood's atoning 03:30 Then I repented of my sins 03:34 And won the victory 03:38 Oh victory in Jesus 03:41 My Savior forever 03:45 He sought me and bought me 03:49 With His redeeming blood 03:53 He loved me 'ere I knew Him 03:57 And all my love is due Him 04:00 He plunged me to victory 04:04 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:08 I heard about a mansion 04:12 He has built for me in glory 04:15 And I heard about the streets of gold 04:19 Beyond the crystal sea 04:23 About the angels singing 04:27 And the old redemption story 04:31 And some sweet day 04:33 I'll sing up there the song of victory 04:38 Oh victory in Jesus 04:42 My Savior forever 04:46 He sought me and bought me 04:50 With His redeeming blood 04:53 He loved me 'ere I knew Him 04:57 And all my love is due Him 05:01 He plunged me to victory 05:05 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:08 He plunged me to victory 05:12 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:19 Amen? Amen. 05:21 We continue on our topic, How to Face the Challenges. 05:27 There are challenges in our lives every day, 05:29 isn't that right? 05:30 I mean, each of us has a challenge, 05:32 whether it is financial, whether it is social, 05:35 it could be family, friends, it could be your job, 05:39 it could be your automobile, it could be incidents of life 05:42 that are not planned for or not anticipated. 05:46 But all those challenges 05:47 seem to fade into a minimal importance 05:50 when we think about the challenge of salvation, 05:52 the challenge of living the spiritual life. 05:54 So tonight, we have our Bibles, we've got our pens, 05:58 we've got our papers, and once again, 05:59 if you're just tuned in, 06:00 go to our website ASF.3abn.org, and download lesson number 11, 06:06 titled Face the Challenges. 06:09 Now just to lay the foundation, 06:12 tonight, I thank the Lord 06:14 that we are not who we were created to be. 06:21 Amen. 06:22 Now to understand that, I'm not speaking about gender, 06:25 I'm thanking God that I'm created, 06:29 and I am still the gender 06:30 I'm supposed to be, amen, everybody. 06:32 Amen. That's not my point. 06:34 I am thanking God that through the new birth, 06:37 I am not who I was born to be. 06:39 Amen. 06:41 Did you get that? 06:42 Everybody is... 06:44 Now they are all wiping their brows, 06:45 they understand now. 06:47 If you still are who you were born as, 06:51 you've got to be born again. 06:53 Amen. 06:54 But if you are not who you were born as, 06:57 that is, in the same nature, 06:59 then you can thank God tonight 07:00 because if you try to face the challenges 07:03 that are spiritual in a completely natural nature, 07:06 you're not going to be victorious. 07:08 You're going to fail over and over. 07:10 It's difficult enough for those of us 07:12 who are spiritual, 07:13 for those of us who are born again in Christ, 07:16 it's difficult enough. 07:17 So tonight, we're going to talk about the challenges 07:19 because when we began this lesson, 07:20 we talked about how unreliable our hearts are, 07:23 how unreliable our minds are, 07:25 how our thoughts 07:26 and God's thoughts are far apart, 07:29 His ways and our ways don't even mesh, 07:32 and that is, 07:33 in fact, the continuing truth about who we are. 07:36 As John wrote in the book of I John, 07:39 he says, "If we say we have no sin, 07:40 we deceive ourselves." 07:42 And so in this nature that is very much spiritual, 07:46 we're partakers of a divine nature, 07:49 but these bodies are the problem. 07:51 We still have natural bodies and thus the topic, 07:54 how to live a spiritual life, follow me carefully, 07:56 in what kind of body? 07:58 In a natural body. 08:00 How to live a spiritual life in a natural body? 08:02 We also found out about the most vicious animal 08:05 on the planet. 08:07 Remember what that vicious animal is? 08:09 Somebody tell me. 08:10 What's the most vicious animal on the planet? 08:13 Wolverine. 08:16 The Wolverine? No. The human tongue. 08:19 Remember I said, if you go to a pet's shop and say, 08:22 "I want an," then they say, 08:23 "What kind of pet would you like?" 08:24 Then I say, "Well, I want the mean... 08:27 I want a pet that is unruly and evil, and when it bites, 08:32 I want a one that has a bite that's full of deadly poison." 08:35 We even came to find out that our tongues 08:38 are an unruly evil full of deadly poison. 08:40 So we can't even rely on our speech 08:42 unless we put our mouths under the control of the Lord. 08:46 Hearts are messed up, minds are messed up. 08:49 Our speech is an indication of the condition of our hearts. 08:52 That's the divine, that's the human challenge. 08:54 But we also found out 08:56 that in these challenges that we have, 09:00 there is a divine process that brings to us 09:03 the kind of victory 09:05 that we can find only in Christ. 09:06 And so tonight, I'd like to begin 09:08 with question number 15 which talks about that process. 09:12 It reveals to us what that process is. 09:16 And when you read the text 09:17 as we first give you the question, 09:18 you will discover, it is not anything that we do 09:21 but it's everything that God does in us. 09:24 Now look at question number 15. 09:26 Here it is. 09:27 "Through what process are the changes made in our," 09:31 what natures? "In our old natures." 09:35 We've got an old one, 09:36 and hopefully we have a new one. 09:38 The old has passed away hopefully. 09:40 We're going to go to Ezekiel 36, 09:43 and we're going to look together 09:45 at verse 26 and verse 27. 09:49 Ezekiel is a book that... 09:51 It's a pretty heavy book. 09:52 Not a lot of sermons come out of the book of Ezekiel 09:54 because there's a lot of prophecy there. 09:56 But in this particular vision, 10:00 Ezekiel is faced with a value of what kind of bones? 10:04 Very dry bones. 10:07 And the process of bringing 10:08 those bones back to life had to do 10:10 with more than just putting skin 10:12 and giving it sinew, muscles, but it was something 10:16 that was on the inside of those bodies 10:19 that led them to be very dry dead bones. 10:23 And the Lord not wanting that to happen again, 10:25 He said, "I'm going to do something different this time. 10:26 There is something I'm going to put on the inside 10:28 that wasn't there before." 10:30 Look at the verses. 10:31 Ezekiel 36:26-27, 10:34 and wherever you see a different color, 10:36 I'd like you to emphasize that with me 10:37 as we all look at the screen together. 10:39 Are you ready? Let's start on the first one. 10:42 Let's say it together. What is that phrase? 10:44 "I will give you a," what kind of heart, 10:48 "new heart and put a," what, "new spirit within you." 10:52 Together. 10:54 "I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh 10:58 and give you a heart of" what, "flesh." 11:01 Together. 11:02 "I will put My Spirit within you 11:06 and cause you to do," what, "walk in My statutes, 11:10 and you will keep My judgments and," what else, "do them." 11:13 What I want you to notice is unless the Spirit of God 11:17 is inside of you, 11:18 it's not possible to keep God's statutes. 11:21 It's not possible to live in harmony with God's laws. 11:25 It's not possible 11:26 because the spirit that's in us, 11:27 that spirit that is against God, 11:30 that is contrary to the law of God, 11:32 Paul talked about that Spirit, 11:33 he says, "I serve the law of God 11:35 with my mind 11:37 but I find there's another law in me 11:39 bringing me into captivity to the law of sin and death." 11:43 So you find that if you rely on your intellect, 11:45 if you simply say, 11:47 even if you went as far as saying, 11:48 "I believe in the Commandments of God. 11:50 I think the Commandments of God are true. 11:52 I think the Commandments of God are right. 11:54 And so today, Janik, 11:56 I'm going to live completely in harmony 11:58 with the Commandments of God." 12:01 You fall into the same trap the Israelites did. 12:04 Because when Moses brought to them 12:05 the Commandments of God, 12:06 they said, "All that the Lord has said, we will do." 12:10 We will do. 12:12 But this verse is not a we will, 12:13 this verse is an I will. 12:15 The Lord is the one that's making the changes. 12:17 I will. 12:18 You need a new heart, I'll put it there. 12:20 You need a new spirit, I'll put it there. 12:22 You need a heart that is not hard, 12:25 I'll give you a heart that is made of flesh. 12:27 And then I'll put my Spirit within you. 12:30 So unless the Spirit of God is in us 12:32 and that's the part of the Christian life 12:33 that we often leave out, 12:35 especially as Adventist Christians 12:37 who know the truth, 12:38 have a wonderful wealth of truth, 12:41 sometimes, we say, "Well, we have a lot of truth, 12:44 so we must be on the right track." 12:47 Well, it's not having the truth, 12:49 but get the twist, it's the truth having you. 12:53 It's not us having it intellectually 12:54 because it's right, we can't argue with it. 12:57 But if the wrong spirit is within us, 13:00 if that heart of stone is still there, 13:03 we can look at the Commandments of God 13:04 and say they're right, 13:06 but then we don't want to walk in harmony with them 13:08 because the right spirit is not within us. 13:11 David prayed the prayer, "Create in me a," 13:14 what kind of heart, 13:15 "clean heart, O God and renew a," 13:17 what, "right, right spirit." 13:21 New King James says, "A steadfast." 13:23 A right, steadfast. 13:24 The reason for those two words being very appropriate is 13:27 because when you have the right spirit, 13:29 then you are steadfast. 13:31 The word steadfast mean you're not going to move, 13:33 you are founded on a principle that's going to stay there. 13:36 And so in order for us, look at the answer, 13:39 through what process are the changes made 13:41 in our own nature. 13:43 Who makes the changes? God does. 13:46 His will makes the changes. 13:49 That's what you want to put down. 13:50 His will makes the changes, not our will 13:56 because the natural will needs no help to do wrong. 14:01 Matter of fact, if you get up in the morning, 14:02 and I suggest this to you, if you want to see failure, 14:05 get up in the morning 14:06 and fail to spend time with God. 14:08 Really. 14:10 If you get up in the morning and fail to at least get 14:12 some spiritual food in there, you're going to find 14:14 you've gone on natural stuff all day long, 14:16 and you'll find out very quickly 14:17 that the natural can't work 14:19 in a spiritual walk, am I right, Karen? 14:21 Right. You find it can't work. 14:22 I got up this morning, it was so good. 14:24 I said to my wife, 14:25 "Honey, I read three devotions this morning, 14:27 had a good old slow conversation with God." 14:29 You know, sometimes, 14:31 you got to slow down instead of saying, 14:32 "Okay, let me pray. 14:33 Father in heaven, as I rush to work, be with me, 14:37 I can only play a really short prayer 14:38 this morning." 14:40 Sometimes, you got to stop and just talk to God and say, 14:41 "You know, Lord..." 14:43 I had a good old talk with God. 14:45 And as Ellen White says, 14:47 "We should talk to God as to a friend." 14:49 Feel that we can talk, 14:51 "You know, Lord, been really busy, 14:54 but I need to really get my mind in gear 14:57 'cause I have a lot of things to do today. 14:59 So talk to me through your Word." 15:00 And the devotion was great. 15:02 It was in Maranatha, November, and I read three of them, 15:06 I was only supposed to read one but it got so good, 15:08 I read the days ahead. 15:10 It is about the judgment. 15:11 If you want something 15:12 that will really get you into focus, 15:14 read about the judgment. 15:15 That will get you focused because oftentimes, 15:18 Christians don't live with the judgment in mind. 15:21 We don't live with the idea 15:23 that every ideal word you speak, 15:24 everything you do, you will be in judgment, 15:27 even the young folk. 15:29 The Bible says in Ecclesiastics. 15:30 Let me give the young folk a text tonight. 15:32 Go with me to Ecclesiastics. 15:35 That wonderful book, 15:36 to show you how important it is even for the young folks 15:38 'cause a lot of young people nowadays feel 15:40 they have time before they become a Christian. 15:43 Well, I don't know about that but there were people, 15:45 there were young folks that were lost in the flood, 15:49 and they're going to be some young folk 15:50 when Jesus comes back, isn't that right? 15:53 So we have to remember, when you read this text, 15:55 I want you to notice something. 15:57 There's going to be an abundance of word 15:59 that's going to be repetitive, "Your, your, your, your." 16:02 Ecclesiastics 11. 16:05 Okay? 16:06 No, 11. 16:08 Yeah, 11. 16:10 I'll get to 12 in a moment. 16:11 Twelve is actually the continuation of the verse 16:15 that's in Ecclesiastics 11. 16:18 All right? 16:19 And Ecclesiastics 11, 16:21 and we're going to start with verse 9. 16:23 All right. 16:25 I want you to notice 16:26 the difference between I and your. 16:28 "Rejoice, O young man, in," in what, "your youth, 16:32 and let your heart," 16:34 notice the difference between Ezekiel and this. 16:37 I'll put my heart, notice, "Rejoice, O young man, 16:41 in your youth, 16:42 and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. 16:47 Walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes. 16:53 But know that for all these, 16:56 God will bring you into judgment. 16:59 Therefore, remove sorrow from," 17:01 what, "your heart, put away evil from your flesh, 17:06 for childhood and youth are vanity." 17:08 That was the continuation. 17:10 When this was written, 17:11 there were no separations in chapters. 17:13 So the natural next verse was what? 17:15 "Remember now the creator in the days of your youth." 17:17 So even young people, nowadays, 17:19 need to live with the reality of the judgment of God in view. 17:24 Without remembering that, we think, 17:25 "Well, we can be in the river, on the bank, in the river, 17:28 on the bank, in the river, on the bank." 17:29 I'll tell you what. 17:32 Or let me use a different analogy. 17:33 We could be in the boat, 17:35 on the bank, in the boat, on the bank. 17:36 Sooner or later, the boat is going to move away, 17:39 and there is no boat left to get on to. 17:41 And so when you think about this, 17:43 the greatest desire that we must all move toward 17:47 and pray toward, and when I use the word work, 17:50 I don't mean work in our own effort 17:53 but cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit 17:55 as we must all pray for that divine change 17:57 to take place within us 17:59 for God's will to be accomplished. 18:01 Amen? Number 16. Let's go to number 16. 18:06 Number 16, here it is. 18:08 "How completely will our past sins 18:13 be expunged?" 18:15 I was going to use a simple word like wiped out, 18:17 but I thought, "Let me give them 18:18 a new word, expunged." 18:20 Have you heard that word before? 18:23 That's like a sponge then ex, expunge. 18:28 Okay, let's look at this. 18:30 And we're going to the book of Micah. 18:34 You all know where Micah is. Micah is a powerful book. 18:40 How completely will our past sins be expunged? 18:45 One of my favorite verses. 18:48 How many times have I said that? 18:50 It's true. Micah 7:19. 18:54 Look at what the Bible says. Very encouraging text. 18:59 "He will again... 19:02 He will again have," what, 19:05 "compassion on us," 19:06 I want you to pay attention to the word, "He will again." 19:09 God doesn't have compassion one time and stop, 19:12 He will again have compassion on us 19:15 and will do what? 19:16 "Subdue our iniquities." 19:19 And then it says, 19:21 "You will cast," how many of our sins, 19:24 "all our sins into the depths of the sea." 19:29 And as one preacher once said 19:30 and he'll put out a no fishing sign. 19:34 Because what's happening there in that text 19:36 when the Lord expunges our sins 19:38 and casts them into the depths of the sea, 19:41 don't know if you know how deep the ocean is, 19:43 that the Mariana's Trench, 19:44 I heard it's about 19:46 a lot deeper than Mt. Everest is tall. 19:49 Yeah, about, it is very thirty something thousand feet deep 19:52 and Mt. Everest 19:53 is twenty-nine thousand something. 19:55 I remember talking about that. 19:56 All of Mt. Everest will be plunged 19:58 under the sea and still about 5, 000 feet 20:01 above that before you get to the depth of that ocean. 20:04 Lord is, in essence, saying He is not casting our sins 20:07 into a pond, into a glass of water. 20:12 But He is casting them into the what? 20:15 What tells you is a long way down? 20:17 Depths. Depths. 20:19 He is saying, "I'm burying them and I will not remember them." 20:24 I think we should say amen on that one. 20:25 He is getting rid of them and burying them 20:27 in the depths of the sea, and the compassion 20:29 that we have here is what lets us know 20:31 that He completely expunges our past sins. 20:35 The confidence we have is not so much how we were, 20:38 but when we come to Christ, what He does in transforming us 20:42 from who we were to who we can be in Him. 20:44 So you want to write this down. 20:46 How completely will our past sins be expunged? 20:49 How completely? Give me the answer. 20:52 Exactly. 20:54 I think the answer is in the question. 20:55 How completely, the answer is in the question. 20:57 Completely. Okay? 21:00 Almost a repetitious redundant question, 21:04 answer I was going to say. 21:06 How completely will our past sins be expunged? 21:09 Completely. All right. 21:13 Now when we know our sins are expunged, 21:19 it should give us a level of confidence. 21:22 We read last week or last time we had the study, 21:25 yeah, last week, 21:26 "Come boldly before the throne of grace." 21:30 Now if you know... 21:32 Let me give the illustration of a child and a parent, 21:34 if the child had done something wrong, 21:37 and they thought the parent were still upset with them, 21:41 would they run to their parents? 21:43 Huh? 21:45 What would they do? 21:48 "Mom, uh, mom." 21:51 They'll walk very cautiously toward the parent. 21:54 Huh? Cower down. 21:56 Cower down. 21:57 They would come very cautiously almost in a sense of, 22:00 "Mom, could I talk to you without getting hit? 22:03 Could I talk you, Dad, without getting in trouble?" 22:06 But that's not what the Lord wants us to have. 22:09 That's not the Spirit He wants us to have. 22:10 If we know that our sins are expunged 22:12 and our sins are forgiven, 22:13 He wants us to have a level of confidence. 22:15 Look at question number 17. 22:17 "What depth of confidence can we have 22:19 in the cleansing blood of Christ?" 22:22 "What depth of confidence can we have 22:25 in the cleansing blood of Christ?" 22:29 He talked about the ocean 22:30 but He gives another wonderful 22:32 illustration in Psalm 103:12. 22:37 Psalm 103:12. 22:41 I actually put 13 on the page but it's... 22:45 I mean, make sure I'm in the right one now 22:46 'cause I have one on one, Psalms 103, here I am. 22:53 Right. Psalms 103:12. All right? 22:58 It's correct on the slide. Praise the Lord for that. 23:01 "What depth of confidence can we have 23:03 in the cleansing blood of Christ?" 23:05 Here is the answer. Psalms 103:12. 23:09 "As far as the east is from the west, 23:16 so far has He removed our transgressions from us." 23:22 So how far is the east before it becomes the west? 23:28 If you are traveling west, 23:31 how far west do you have to travel 23:33 to you start traveling east? 23:34 East is always east. 23:36 East is always east and west is always west. 23:37 When I went like this, 23:39 I actually pointed in the wrong direction 23:40 because here, that's east and that's west 23:44 as I'm standing in the building, 23:45 am I right, Karen? 23:48 That's east, going toward downtown Thompsonville, 23:51 that's west going towards West Frankfort. 23:54 So how far has He removed our sins from us? 23:56 "As far as the east is from the west." 24:00 So that means, if you wake up in the morning 24:02 and you're looking for your sins, 24:04 you've got to travel real far west 24:07 to find out. 24:08 And you still won't find out. And thank you. Say it again. 24:10 And you still won't find out. Because how far they? 24:13 As far as the east is what? From the west. 24:16 You won't find them. 24:18 What the Lord is, in essence, 24:19 saying by that is He desires for us 24:21 not to be bound in our transgressions, 24:25 not for us to remain in our transgressions, 24:27 but not just to cleanse us because sometimes, 24:29 you can clean clothes... 24:31 Well, let me use an illustration, 24:32 this fits really well. 24:36 Try to be really vague here. 24:37 But we had somebody come over and did some yard work for us, 24:42 and it really went very, very well. 24:43 But after they did the yard work, they actually... 24:45 I gave them jeans and shoes to do the yard work in. 24:49 And when the yard work was all done, 24:51 I found my jeans and my shoes completely covered with dirt. 24:54 I mean I expected 24:55 that because you're doing yard work. 24:58 But the reason I found them is because they were not as far 25:02 as east is from the west, 25:03 they were right there on the floor. 25:05 I kept on tumbling over them at the washing machine, 25:07 and I'm looking at them and I'm wondering, 25:08 "I don't remember doing that." 25:10 Then all of a sudden dawned on me that I didn't do that. 25:13 The person who muddied it up and dirtied it up, 25:17 dropped it right in front of the washing machine. 25:19 Now get this. 25:20 How close is the washing machine 25:22 to dirty clothes? 25:25 They could've just thrown it in the washing machine, 25:29 hit the wash cycle, cleaned it up, 25:31 and there would be no evidence of the dirt still being there. 25:34 But they left it there. 25:36 And so it wasn't as far as the east is from the west. 25:40 But when those clothes were put 25:41 in the washing machine and cleansed, 25:43 I still don't know where the water went, 25:45 I still don't know where the dirt went, 25:47 but it's not in the machine. 25:48 And if you look in there for any traces of it, 25:50 it's not there any longer. 25:51 Where it went? 25:52 I don't know, and really, I don't care 25:54 as long as it's no longer where it used to be. 25:55 Am I telling the truth? Amen. 25:57 So when we look at our lives... 25:58 If we look in it, our lives, 26:00 and looking for the evidences of our past sins, 26:03 what the Lord, in essence, saying is when He cleanses us 26:06 and this is the sanctification aspect of your life. 26:10 When you're walking in a sanctified walk, 26:13 you should get to the place 26:14 where you cannot find those former sins 26:17 in your life any longer. 26:18 That's what this, in essence, is saying. 26:20 It's saying you should get to the place 26:21 where the things that you struggled 26:23 with should no longer be a struggle, 26:24 the things that you were challenged 26:26 by should no longer be a challenge 26:27 because God is removing our transgressions from us. 26:32 He is cleansing us of our iniquity, 26:34 our pet sins, removing our transgressions 26:37 from us as far as the east is from the west. 26:40 So let me ask the question. 26:42 If you've been Christian for longer than five years, 26:44 how many of you, don't tell me what, 26:48 believe that you have victory 26:49 over certain things in your life? 26:54 We need more hands. 26:57 There are certain things 26:59 that we used to be tempted by that no longer tempt us. 27:01 Amen? Amen. 27:02 But there are others 27:03 that we're still working on, right? 27:05 Because whatever reason... 27:07 Huh? He is working on us. 27:08 You beat me to it. I was going to say it. 27:10 I was setting them up, Karen. Okay. 27:13 What I was going to say is that's why it's still there 27:15 because you're working on it. 27:17 If you let the Lord work on it, what's He going do? 27:18 He's going to move it as far as the east 27:21 is from the west. 27:23 Let Him remove it. You won't find it. 27:24 But if you try to remove it, 27:25 some people like my good friend Doug Batchelor said, 27:28 "Some people run away from sin 27:29 and they look behind them to see if it's catching up." 27:32 Run to the arms of God 27:35 and He'll separate your sins a long way from you. 27:37 Amen for that? 27:38 Now let's go to number... 27:40 So if you answer the question, "What depth of confidence 27:43 can we have in the cleansing blood of Christ?" 27:47 Our sins are removed, removed and separated, 27:51 this is not just removal but separated from us. 27:55 Wonderful. Wonderful. 27:57 Number 18. 27:58 We're moving right along. 28:01 "How can I know that Jesus will completely remake me 28:06 into His image?" 28:08 "How can I know 28:10 that Jesus will completely remake me 28:12 into His image?" 28:15 We have this... 28:18 I think we still have it, honey, around the house. 28:20 It's incased in plastic. 28:22 A number of years ago, my wife's aunt, Aunt Sissy, 28:28 some of you who know our family, 28:30 you'll know exactly who that person is. 28:33 She had this really wonderful old 28:35 kind of a China vase. 28:37 It was something beautiful made of pottery. 28:40 And after she passed away, my wife really liked that 28:42 and was trying to bring it home, 28:46 wrapped it in plastic, 28:48 or can you all tell where I'm headed with this? 28:50 This wonderful, nice, old family piece of, 28:55 what do you think happened to it? 28:57 It broke. 28:59 And it didn't just break, it broke, 29:02 but it stayed wrapped in the plastic. 29:03 And I said to my wife, "Honey, can we throw that out?" 29:07 She said, "No, it's important. It's special." 29:12 I said, "Honey, but it's broken." 29:13 She said, "But no. It's Aunt Sissy's." 29:17 "But what are we going to do with it?" 29:19 She said, "Glue it back together." 29:22 Now how do you glue something 29:25 that's in like more than 100 pieces 29:27 not including the splinters? 29:29 And I said, "Honey..." 29:31 It's in the house somewhere. 29:32 I'm just doing that for posterity purposes. 29:35 But based on my work, 29:37 it'll never be like it used to be. 29:39 Because if I start that process of trying to get 29:41 that thing together, 29:42 it is not going to be what it used to be originally. 29:45 But that is different. Huh? Make a mosaic out of it. 29:49 Mosaic, that's a good thing. 29:51 Hey, you know, that's good idea. 29:52 Put it in pottery. 29:54 Maybe there's some help for that or some hope. 29:55 Maybe we could maintain its nostalgic value. 29:58 However, it's not going to be how it used to be 30:00 because I cannot put it back to where it was. 30:03 However, when the Lord begins a work to restore a man, 30:07 this question, the answer to this question should give us 30:09 all confidence. 30:11 That the Lord doesn't stop part way and say, "Oh man. 30:15 Man, Glenn is a really hard case. 30:18 There are a certain things I just can't fix. 30:20 Well, I'm just going to have to put Glenn to the side 30:22 and work on somebody else." 30:23 Look at this text. You know it. 30:26 It's one of our favorite ones. Philippians 1:6. 30:28 It answers the question, "How can I know that Jesus will 30:30 completely remake me into His image?" 30:32 Here's the answer. Here is the answer. 30:35 You want to read it together with me. 30:37 It's on the screen. What are the first two words? 30:39 Being confident. 30:41 "Being confident of this very thing, 30:44 that He who has begun 30:45 a good work in you will," do what, 30:49 "complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." 30:54 Thank God for completion 30:55 'cause there are a lot of projects 30:57 that are done but they're not completed. 30:58 Somebody once said to me, 30:59 "It's not how much you do but how much do you get done." 31:04 Right? 31:05 And I heard another definition for busy this weekend. 31:12 What is the definition? 31:14 I have it in my Bible. I wrote it down here. 31:16 Oh, here it is. Great. 31:19 Bound under Satan's yoke. 31:23 B-U-S-Y, bound under Satan's yoke. 31:25 Busy, bound under Satan's yoke. Busy. 31:29 There are a lot of people that are busy, 31:30 they're getting nothing done. 31:32 But the Lord is not that way. He is confident. 31:34 We have to be confident. 31:36 Paul is saying to us, "Be confident, 31:39 be confident that the Lord will finish the work 31:41 He started in us." 31:43 So if you see bits of yourself still showing up 31:45 on a day-by-day basis, 31:48 don't long to see that 31:50 but know that whatever you see now, 31:51 one day will not appear anymore. 31:53 The Lord will completely remake us in His image. 31:56 Amen for that? Amen. 31:59 Number 19. Number 19. 32:03 Now put this, we're going to transition 32:05 just a moment to a section that we don't often consider, 32:07 and question number 19 32:09 is that transitional aspect of it. 32:12 Because sometimes, in the process of us 32:13 being remade in the image of Christ, 32:16 sometimes we get discouraged, don't we all? 32:18 Sometimes, we say, 32:20 "Oh, man, I really blew it today," 32:24 or "I didn't see that one coming," 32:27 or "If I had only known, I could have avoided that." 32:31 Well, the Lord wants us not to be discouraged, 32:32 and so I included this question, 32:34 question number 19, and read it with me. 32:37 It says, "When discouraged... 32:39 When discouraged by our character, 32:42 what assurance do we have?" 32:45 "When discouraged by our character 32:48 what assurance do we have?" 32:52 Because sometimes, we get discouraged. 32:54 There are those that said, "For six months, 32:57 I didn't even try a cigarette, I didn't even want a cigarette. 33:01 I didn't even want a drink. 33:03 I mean I knew I was clear but I want to see 33:05 how delivered I really was." 33:09 That's a danger. 33:11 Don't go to the places that were your temptations 33:13 to find out whether or not you're no longer tempted 33:15 because as long as the devil's around, 33:16 what's going to be around? 33:18 Temptation. 33:19 Don't expose yourself to temptation to see 33:21 whether or not you could resist it. 33:23 The Bible says, "Resist the devil 33:26 and," he'll do what, "flee from you." 33:28 So don't meander in the maze 33:30 where temptation will catch you. 33:32 But if you're discouraged, 33:33 here's a text that should encourage you. 33:35 I John 3:2 is the verse we're going to read together. 33:39 1 John 3:2. 33:42 "When discouraged by our character, 33:44 what assurance do we have?" 33:46 "What assurance do we have?" Here it is. 33:49 "Beloved," the word that comes next is what word? 33:54 "Now we are children of God," and if you're discouraged, 34:00 this part should really find home, 34:02 "and it has not yet been revealed 34:04 what we shall be." 34:07 Matter is I don't know what I'm going to look like 34:08 when this is all done. 34:10 "But we know that when He is revealed, 34:13 we shall be like," who, "like Him, 34:16 for we shall see Him as He is." 34:19 Now I want to emphasize something there that 34:22 maybe we've read this text before, 34:23 and I know we have, 34:25 I have read this text a lot of times, 34:26 but the reason why we're going to see him 34:28 as He is 34:30 is because we're going to see Him in us 34:33 and us in Him 34:35 because we're going to be like Him. 34:37 Did you get that? 34:39 When you meet... 34:40 If you ever had a twin, 34:42 or you know, I don't have a twin, 34:44 but I know, I could imagine, 34:45 I'm imagining here because I don't have a twin. 34:48 But I've seen people that are identical, 34:51 so identical that some of them said, "We used to play, 34:54 you know, we used to play tricks 34:55 on our teachers in high school 34:57 where I'll take my brother's math test 34:58 and the teacher wouldn't even know, 35:00 and I go to the bathroom, when I came back, 35:02 it was him that was coming back." 35:04 They were so identical. 35:05 When they saw each other, they saw themselves. 35:09 When they saw themselves, 35:11 they saw each other because they were identical. 35:13 What this text is, in essence, 35:15 saying is the reason why we're going to see Him 35:17 as He is because for the first time, 35:19 we're going to see ourselves, 35:22 we're going to see Him completely reproduced in us, 35:26 and us reflecting exactly who He is. 35:29 Now you know what that means? 35:30 There's going to be no more of us left. 35:32 It's going to all be Him. 35:34 That's what is in essence being said here. 35:36 We're not going be seeing a copy of ourselves. 35:40 He is going to be seeing a copy of himself. 35:44 Amen for that? 35:45 Because Christ doesn't need to become like me, 35:47 I need to become like Him. 35:50 So when that finally happens, 35:52 we're going to see Him as He is and we're going to be like Him. 35:56 Now I don't know about you, I can't wait for that. 35:58 What do you say? 35:59 Amen. Wow. 36:00 To be like Jesus. 36:02 Remember, years ago, 36:03 and I don't want you to get sidetracked by this 36:05 but this just came to my mind, says some residue there 36:08 as one of our guests said this weekend. 36:10 Remember years ago, Elvis sang a song, 36:12 "These hands of mine will touch the hands of God." 36:15 Beautiful thought. 36:16 And then when you read the Bible, 36:18 it points out from Genesis all the way 36:20 to almost Revelation 36:22 that no man has seen God at any time. 36:26 But Revelation tells us in Revelation 21, 36:29 "And we will see His face." 36:34 And when we see His face, 36:35 we're going to see a reflection of Him in us, 36:39 not a reflection of us in Him. 36:41 We will be complete in Him. We will see him as he is. 36:44 So what do you put down for the answer? 36:46 "When discouraged by our character, 36:47 what assurance do we have?" 36:49 Put it this way. 36:50 One day, we will be just like Him. 36:53 We will be just like Him. 36:55 But connected to Philippians 1:6, 36:57 because He's working on that, 36:58 that's a process that's still going on. 37:01 Now we're going to transition a little here, 37:03 and in the question number 20, 37:05 we're going to begin to consider something 37:07 that we often don't consider. 37:10 All right? 37:11 Something we often don't consider. 37:16 Here it is. 37:21 Number 20. 37:22 "From what vantage point do we find our assurance?" 37:28 From what vantage point do we find our assurance?" 37:35 In other words, where do we find it? 37:36 Where is it discovered? 37:38 Where do we get connected to it? 37:40 And we're going to the book of Colossians 1. 37:43 Colossians 1:27. 37:47 Colossians 1:27. 37:51 Okay. Here it is. 37:53 I hear pages turning. 37:55 But let's turn to that text together. 37:57 All right. 37:59 On the screen, it says, "To them," who willed, 38:02 "God willed to make known 38:05 what are the riches 38:07 of the glory of this mystery 38:10 among the Gentiles, which is," what, 38:13 "Christ," where, "in you, the hope of glory." 38:17 Now do you see the connection 38:18 with the verse we just read before that? 38:21 The reason why we're going to see Christ 38:22 as He is is 38:24 because where is He going to be? 38:25 In us. 38:27 He is going to be completely reproduced in us. 38:29 Our characters are going to be consumed 38:30 by His character. 38:32 We're going to see Him finally 38:33 because we're going to be just like Him. 38:35 But here's the key to the question. 38:36 "From what vantage point do we find our assurance?" 38:39 Now I want to ask you to give me the answer. 38:41 "From what vantage point do we find our assurance?" 38:47 It's in that verse. 38:50 What in that verse gives you the assurance? 38:57 Okay. That's true. Christ in us. 39:02 What keeps us going? What keeps us going? 39:04 Hope of glory. 39:06 Ha. Hope. I just want you to put hope. 39:09 From what vantage point... 39:11 I have hope. 39:13 I don't see myself like I am supposed to be, 39:15 but I have hope. 39:16 I don't know how it's going to happen, but I have hope. 39:20 I don't know if I'm going to ever overcome this, 39:21 but I'll submit to Christ every day, 39:23 and I have hope. 39:24 And hope does not disappoint. Amen. 39:28 Paul even says, "We are saved in this hope." 39:31 So as long as hope, 39:32 I don't want to sound like a cliche, 39:35 you can't get away from the phrase, 39:36 "Keep hope alive," but as long as hope is alive, 39:40 we know that who we are now 39:41 is not who we are going to be eternally. 39:43 If you can keep that hope alive, 39:45 Christ in you is the, together, hope of glory. 39:51 So long as we have Christ working in us, 39:53 we've got hope that one day we will be in glory, 39:55 and not only that, one day, 39:57 we will completely reflect His glory, 40:00 not just be in glory, but one day, 40:01 completely reflect His glory. 40:03 But without hope, sometimes... 40:06 Let me use an illustration. 40:07 When our car was in an accident, 40:11 and we had over $10,000 worth of damage, 40:14 I looked at it and I thought, 40:17 "I hope they totaled it out," 40:20 because there's nothing more sad 40:22 than having a brand new car, 40:23 and before you drive it for seven months, 40:26 it just gets hit by a deer. 40:29 We didn't hit a deer, deer hit us. 40:31 No, really. 40:33 On our way to somebody's house, 40:34 the deer stood on the side of the road, saw us coming, 40:38 waited until we got really close, 40:39 lowered its horns, and ran right into us. 40:42 Hit him at 62 miles an hour, the car didn't flip, 40:45 God was in control of the vehicle, 40:48 but I looked at the damage and I thought, 40:51 "Look at the car. 40:52 There's no hope of it ever being like it was before." 40:54 Well, somebody saw the car and said, 40:55 "Oh, we could restore it completely, 40:57 exactly how it was." 40:58 And when I got it back three or four weeks later, 41:01 there were no traces of what happened 41:03 that fateful night in December, a number of years ago. 41:07 What that's in essence saying is 41:09 when we look at the brokenness in our lives, 41:11 if hope is not continuing to be alive, 41:14 pulsating in us that we can be exactly 41:15 where God intends for us to be, 41:18 then we won't see the rest of it." 41:19 Christ is in us is our hope, 41:22 but keep that hope burning 41:24 that one day we will not only be in glory 41:27 but we're going to reflect God's glory. 41:29 So the answer is one word. 41:30 From what vantage point do we find our assurance? 41:33 From the vantage point of what? 41:34 Hope. Hope. 41:35 Keep that hope alive. Okay. 41:39 Moving right along to number 21. 41:41 We may not get to them all, but we're going to move along, 41:44 and you keep following along with us. 41:46 We're at question number 21 did I say? 41:49 Okay. Here it is. 41:54 Now let's get down 41:56 to the functional aspects of it. 41:57 And let me just lay the foundation. 42:00 All that we read thus far is true. 42:01 The Word of God is true, 42:03 but now I want to get down to the functional aspect. 42:05 If I said, "Okay, we have 42:07 a great big project to accomplish." 42:09 Somebody says, 42:10 "Okay, what's the first thing I do tomorrow?" 42:13 That's going to be the first thing. 42:14 We're going to begin with building this project. 42:16 What's the first thing I do when we begin this project? 42:19 Here it is. This is the first thing. 42:22 And let's lay the foundation with a question. 42:24 "How is the daily sin challenge victoriously experienced?" 42:30 "How is the daily sin challenge victoriously experienced?" 42:35 1 Corinthians 15:31 42:38 is where we find our answer. 42:40 If you have a project 42:41 that's going to be an ongoing project, 42:43 you have to know what to do every day 42:44 when you begin this project. 42:46 So there is a project going on in us. 42:48 As a matter of fact, Jim, if you think about us, 42:52 we are the site of the project, we are the project, 42:55 we are God's project. 42:57 And every day, He wants us to cooperate in that project. 42:59 How do we cooperate? Here's how we cooperate. 43:02 In the morning when we wake up, the Lord says, "Okay..." 43:06 Kabana? "Good morning, Kabana. 43:09 Today, I'm going to take one more step 43:12 in making you more like me, 43:13 but I want you to do something, 43:14 so this is going to work. 43:16 Here's the answer, okay? Are you ready, Kabana? 43:18 She is looking at me like, "What are you saying?" 43:22 Celestine? Good morning, Celestine. 43:24 I am the Lord. 43:26 I hope you had a good night's rest. 43:27 Today, I'm going to make one more step 43:29 in making you become more like me, 43:30 but I have something I want you to do." 43:33 Here's how we participate in that daily project 43:36 of becoming more like Christ. 43:38 You ready? 1 Corinthians 15:31. 43:41 Paul says, "I affirm by the boasting in you 43:45 which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord." 43:48 What does he want us to do today? 43:50 "I die daily." 43:53 If we don't... 43:54 'Cause matter of fact, 43:56 I had surgery once and somebody told me 43:57 that when I woke up out of the surgery, 43:59 I woke up fighting. 44:01 Have you ever heard that before? 44:03 The Lord does not want us to wake up 44:05 in the morning fighting with Him. 44:07 If we don't put our old nature to rest, 44:10 if we don't kill that old nature, 44:11 there's going to be 44:12 a daily morning battle with God. 44:15 We're going to get up fighting with Him 44:17 because the carnal nature is enmity 44:21 with the spiritual nature. 44:23 They are constantly in battle. They are feuding. 44:26 And the old man wants to come back to life 44:28 if we give him a breath of oxygen. 44:31 If we don't determine to kill him in the morning, 44:34 then we discover how much failure 44:36 that we experience in that day. 44:38 But when we kill him, when we say, 44:40 "Oh, I know what you're thinking, 44:43 but you're going to die." 44:46 And when he's dead, 44:47 you actually walk away feeling good 44:49 because you know what you've done, 44:50 you've submitted to the process. 44:51 And I want to tell you, when I'm not too busy, 44:54 and I praise the Lord that I'm starting to get 44:57 a little less busy 44:58 by making sure that we keep the essential things, 45:02 the essential things 45:03 because if you are going to work for God, 45:06 you've got to make sure that you're working with Him, 45:09 not just for Him. 45:10 You could do a lot of things for Him 45:12 and never allow Him to do anything for you 45:13 or in you. 45:15 But when you die daily, here's the answer. 45:17 "How is the daily sin challenge victoriously experienced?" 45:21 I want you to put two words. What are those two words? 45:23 Die daily. Die daily. Die daily. 45:27 You know that if you die... 45:31 Then half of the battle is done. 45:34 How much of the battle is done? Half. 45:37 I'm going to give you the other half 45:39 in the next question. 45:41 When you die, half of the battle is done. 45:45 But now question 22. Your favorite text? 45:48 Okay, here it is. 45:49 See, somebody else said favorite text. 45:51 But it's one of my favorites also. 45:53 Okay. Question 22. 45:55 "If we choose to die to our desires, 46:00 how then do we obtain the victory?" 46:03 I've never seen a dead person win anything. 46:06 But this text tells you how you get the victory. 46:09 If you choose to die, how do we continue the battle? 46:12 Now I want you to get this. Here it is. 46:15 Where are we turning? Tell me, everybody. 46:18 Galatians 2:20, 46:21 one of the most beautiful verses 46:22 in the Bible. 46:24 Okay, let's talk about the death part of it first. 46:26 Here it is. 46:28 "I have been," next word, "crucified with Christ." 46:33 Stop. 46:35 Crucifixion takes place, what's next? 46:37 "It is no longer I who," what, "live." 46:40 Why? Because you did what? You died. 46:43 Stop. Next part. 46:46 "But Christ lives," where, "in me," get it again, 46:50 Christ in you, the hope of glory. 46:53 You got to get this in an experiential way. 46:54 Don't run through it. I'm dead, why? 46:57 'Cause I went to the cross this morning. 46:59 I went to the cross, and the Lord nailed me there, 47:02 I went with Him to the cross and He nailed me there, 47:05 and I'm still there all day long. 47:07 I want you to understand. 47:08 Paul, the Apostle says, "For your sake, 47:10 I am crucified all day long." 47:13 You ever heard that text before? 47:15 I'll show it you. 47:16 For His sake, we are crucified all day long. 47:19 But let's keep going. 47:22 "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives," where, 47:25 "in me." 47:27 Now we got to deal with this natural body 47:29 that's still hanging around, 47:30 "And the life which I now live in the flesh, 47:34 I live by," what, 47:35 "faith in the Son of God who," did what, 47:39 "loved me and gave Himself," how, "for me." 47:42 Now let's get this. 47:43 Let's not run past this very familiar text. 47:46 It's so familiar that sometimes we miss it. 47:49 When the Lord went to the cross some 2,000 years ago, 47:53 you've heard the song writer said 47:55 "When He was on the cross, I was on His mind." 47:58 That's the truth. 48:00 That is the Emancipation Proclamation. 48:02 "If I don't go on this cross and die 48:07 and take man's sin nature and nail it on that cross, 48:11 there's going to be no hope for Marlena, 48:12 there's going to be no hope for Dan, 48:14 there's going to be no hope for Greg, 48:16 there's going to be no hope for Mike, 48:17 nobody's going to have hope. 48:19 If I don't take that sin nature and nail it to the cross today, 48:22 I'll have nothing to offer. 48:23 I'll have no hope. 48:25 I'll have no prescription for you." 48:26 So that's why He could not save Himself, 48:29 when the suggestion was, 48:31 "Come down from the cross and save yourself." 48:34 If Jesus decided to save himself, 48:36 every one of us would have been lost. 48:40 "So to make a way for Lorraine, 48:44 I've got to crucify myself, 48:47 take that nature to the cross and nail it there, 48:50 so that later on I can offer the resurrected life, 48:55 not the crucified life." 48:56 I want you to get this now. 48:58 We've got a crucified life, justification, 49:01 but we have to have a sanctified life, 49:04 that's the resurrected life is the sanctified life. 49:07 We come to walk in the newness of life. 49:08 So here it is. 49:10 When we die daily, 49:12 justification is being imputed to us. 49:15 When we now begin to live in Christ's sanctification, 49:18 now righteousness is imparted to us. 49:21 Sounds confusing? Not really. 49:23 You die, you're dead. 49:25 Christ is alive, 49:26 and now His life is now lived out 49:28 in your body. 49:30 So how do we have hope that this flesh won't lead me 49:33 in the wrong direction today? 49:36 By letting Christ come on the inside. 49:39 Have you ever had a glove? 49:40 I got a pair of gloves in my bag. 49:42 They're all the way over there. 49:43 But if I can use the illustration, 49:44 my glove has no life in itself. 49:48 When I put my hand on the inside, 49:50 it could do some amazing things. 49:53 But when my hand comes out, it's just a glove. 49:56 That's why I'm always amazed 49:57 why people pay so much for gloves 49:59 'cause they're dead. 50:01 Now they're warm, I understand that. 50:03 Then in the very same way, 50:04 there is no value in our structure. 50:06 The value is when Christ is on the inside. 50:10 "I can do all things through Christ 50:13 which strengthens me." 50:14 Can you be victorious, Karen? 50:16 "I can do all things through Christ with," what, 50:18 "which gives me that strength." 50:20 Can a glove pick up 100 pounds? 50:23 If you think it could, just throw your glove at it. 50:26 Carry the 100 pounds from it. There will be no response. 50:30 But if you put your hand on the inside 50:31 and have the strength, 50:33 that glove can do amazing things. 50:35 But it's really not the glove, who is it? 50:38 It's the hand in the glove. Christ in us. 50:42 So when you are dead to self every day, 50:45 you have to keep in mind that the transaction 50:47 that was made at the cross was done 50:50 because He loved us and gave Himself for us. 50:54 He didn't do that just because it had to be done. 50:57 He did it out of what? 50:58 Out of love for every one of us. 51:00 Amen for that? Amen. 51:01 Wow. 51:03 That's a whole sermon right there. 51:05 Number 23. 51:07 So if you answer the question, 51:08 "If we choose to die to our desires, 51:10 how then do we obtain the victory?" 51:15 Christ lives in us. 51:19 Christ lives in us. 51:24 I've heard that they'd tell me houses... 51:27 A house will fall apart naturally 51:28 if you do nothing to it, just the cause of corrosion, 51:31 it will just fall apart naturally. 51:33 I've seen abandoned homes, people... 51:35 As a matter of fact, 51:37 I was driving the back roads of Thompsonville one day, 51:38 there was a shortcut to 64, 51:40 don't take it, there's a lot of gravel. 51:42 Have you taken it before? You know what I mean. 51:44 Lots of gravel, lots of dust, and Lord, have mercy, 51:47 when it's hot and no rain, 51:49 it's worse because your windows are tightly closed, 51:52 have you noticed the dust stills get? 51:54 Well, along that road, there was an abandoned house. 51:57 You could see on the outside, the paint chips, 51:58 and you could see the windows are not broken, 52:00 but the house looks dilapidated. 52:02 All that has to happen for you 52:03 to fall apart is you do nothing. 52:08 For the Christian, that does absolutely nothing, 52:12 by not allowing Christ to come in, 52:14 that life will fall apart naturally. 52:17 That's why I've often said, 52:19 "All that needs to happen for there 52:22 to be no progress in your life 52:23 is for the Christian to do nothing." 52:25 But if you decide to die daily, 52:27 then the Lord can begin to work in you 52:29 and carry forth that work in you 52:31 to completion. 52:32 Praise Him for that. That's why this is important. 52:35 Number 23. Number 23. Let's look at this. 52:41 So now you're dead, now you're what? 52:44 Say that, now you're dead. 52:46 Say I'm dead. Say I'm dead. I'm dead. 52:51 Didn't that sound terrible? 52:53 But all Christians are dead. They ought to be. 52:56 Dead to sin, dead to self, right? 53:00 You got to get that 53:01 because I'm leading you to a question 53:02 because if you don't admit you're dead, 53:04 then this next verse 53:05 is not going to help you at all. 53:07 Here's the question. Number 23. 53:09 "What does the daily dying to self 53:11 actually accomplish in my Christian walk?" 53:15 "What does the daily dying to self 53:17 actually accomplish in my Christian walk?" 53:21 Okay. Let's look at this. Romans 8:13. 53:24 You got to understand. What is this daily dying? 53:26 I decided to break this down really carefully. 53:29 It's like a pizza cut up into not just 8 slices, 53:31 this is like 16-sliced pizza in small bits 53:35 because, keep this in mind, 53:36 I die daily, didn't we say that? 53:38 If we die, who lives inside? Christ does. 53:41 And the life we live in the flesh, 53:43 we do it by faith. 53:45 Okay, now what happens 53:46 if I decide to die daily to self? 53:49 What actually happens? 53:51 What's actually accomplished in our lives? 53:53 Romans 8:13. Look at this. This is if you decide not to. 53:58 Here it is. 54:01 "For if you live according 54:04 to the flesh, you will," what, "die." 54:07 Now is that dying spiritually or what is that dying? 54:10 That's death, that's spiritual death, 54:12 that's physical death, that's eternal death. 54:14 "But if by the Spirit you put to death 54:20 the deeds of the body, you will, what, you will live." 54:22 So when you say, 54:24 "I die daily," what, in essence, 54:25 are you saying? 54:26 You're in essence saying, "You didn't commit suicide, 54:30 what you, in essence, 54:31 did is your flesh has certain deeds 54:35 that it lusts to do." 54:38 Are you following me carefully? 54:39 Everybody has a different struggle, 54:42 but that struggle is often based on the things 54:43 that you imbibe in, 54:45 the things that you continue to yield to. 54:47 Your flesh has a certain desire, 54:48 and if you don't put yourself to death, 54:51 these deeds are going to find themselves 54:53 working every day in your life. 54:56 That's why it says, "But if by the Spirit, 54:58 you put to death the deeds of the body, you will die." 55:02 The deeds of the body happen naturally 55:05 when you don't put your spiritual life 55:07 on the front line. 55:08 When you don't give Christ the place 55:10 that He desires to have, 55:11 these deeds happen without you even knowing. 55:15 That's why some people can tell you off 55:17 in a Christian environment that are Christians. 55:21 And they'll do it like a second nature, 55:25 in fact, it's first nature. 55:28 Something's Christians can do and they wonder, 55:30 "I didn't mean to do that," 55:32 when you don't put to death the deeds of the flesh. 55:35 And if you want to see the deeds of the flesh, 55:36 go quickly with me, since we don't have to rush. 55:39 I know we don't have much time left 55:41 but I want you to see the deeds very carefully. 55:43 Galatians, are you turned to Galatians? 55:45 Yes, you are. 55:48 I was going to tell you what page, 55:49 we do it in our Sabbath school class. 55:52 All right? Galatians 5. 55:55 We may wind down with this tonight 55:56 because I don't have much time. 55:58 Okay. Galatians 5:16. 56:01 "I say then, walk in the Spirit, 56:05 and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 56:08 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit," Galatians 5:17, 56:12 "And the Spirit against the flesh." 56:13 Do you see the battle there? 56:15 So you have to decide 56:16 which side you're going to join. 56:17 And it says, 56:19 "And these are contrary to one another," 56:20 they love to fight, 56:21 "so that you do not do the things that you wish. 56:24 But if you are led by the spirit, 56:30 you are not under the law." 56:32 The biggest mistake that people have made there 56:34 is thinking that you're under the Commandments. 56:36 This is the law of sin and death. 56:39 If you are led by the spirit, 56:40 that carnal law can't control you. 56:43 In other words, Christ has cut all the strings 56:45 to the puppeteer called Satan. 56:47 You're no longer under his control, 56:49 that's what that actually means. 56:51 But if the strings are not cut, look at the next verse. 56:53 "Now the works of the flesh are evident 56:56 which are adultery, 56:58 fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, 57:01 sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, 57:05 selfish ambition, dissensions, heresies, envy, murder, 57:08 drunkenness, revelries," 57:09 I've got to stop and take a breath. 57:12 "And the like of which I tell you beforehand, 57:14 just as I also told you in time past, 57:16 that those who practice such things 57:17 will not inherit the kingdom of God." 57:20 Breath. 57:22 "But the fruit of the spirit is." 57:25 See the contrast between those 57:27 who don't die and those who do die? 57:29 What a list of things that happen that you'll say, 57:31 "Lord, have mercy, save me." 57:34 But if you die daily, 57:36 if you die and allow the Lord to live in you, 57:39 the deeds of the flesh will be not only mortified, 57:43 they'll be crucified, they'll be obliterated, 57:47 and you'll be able to experience 57:48 what it really means 57:49 to have a strong spiritual walk with Christ. 57:52 It's always nice when the day ends 57:54 and there is nothing to fail. 57:55 So friends, continue studying God's Word, 57:57 and the subjects 57:58 that are not very clear will one day 58:00 come into a sharper focus. 58:02 God bless you. |
Revised 2018-10-29