Participants: Dennis Uffindell
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000048
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00:29 I welcome you to our program today.
00:32 My name is Dennis Uffindell, 00:34 and I'm looking forward to the opportunity 00:35 of sharing God's word with you. 00:38 You know, we human beings have a problem, we like to sin. 00:44 We don't like to admit that but that is the truth. 00:48 But the truth goes even further than that, 00:50 we can't help sinning 00:53 and so that puts quite a heavy pressure 00:55 on people who want to do what is right. 00:58 Now unfortunately Christians even-- 01:02 sincere Christians have often not diagnosed 01:06 what the real problem is that we face. 01:10 And so they don't really understand 01:12 what the gospel is all about. 01:14 You see our problem is not that we like to sin. 01:19 I want to focus on what our real problem is. 01:24 I don't know whether you've noticed it, 01:25 but in the Bible there are many, many symbols of Jesus. 01:29 To me it's fascinating that everyone of them 01:33 is something that is important to us 01:35 in this life in the ordinary sense of the word. 01:38 For instance, we like security. 01:43 And the Bible says that Christ is our rock. 01:46 Now rock represents security 01:50 and we're all floundering if we don't have security. 01:54 Christ says, "I'm that." 01:58 Water is absolutely vital to us. 02:01 I'm glad that they provided me some water here. 02:04 We need water constantly. 02:05 We can't live without it for very long. 02:08 The simple fact is that without Jesus Christ 02:15 we can't live spiritually. 02:18 And so He illustrates Himself as the water of life. 02:23 And then He also speaks of Himself 02:25 as the bread of life. 02:28 And we know that while we much prefer to eat more, 02:31 much more than simply bread, 02:32 at the same time if I've got bread and water, 02:36 I can survive for a long time. 02:39 Jesus meets our fundamental needs. 02:43 We also need light, and Jesus said, 02:46 "I'm the light of the world." so He is my light and yours. 02:52 He also says, "That all power is given on to Him." 02:58 And I'm weak but He is strong, 03:01 so I can draw my power from Him. 03:05 I don't know about you, 03:06 but I often find myself very foolish. 03:11 But Jesus is not, He says, "He has all wisdom." 03:15 And so I can draw my wisdom from Him. 03:18 And one thing if we're honest with ourselves that we all know 03:22 and that is that we are unrighteous. 03:26 And the Bible says, "The Lord is our righteousness." 03:32 I also have inclined not to know the way, 03:35 we only have to look it all the different religions 03:37 and ideas that human beings have believed 03:40 and followed to know that 03:43 all those divergent ways cannot possibly be right. 03:47 It can't be, but Jesus said, "I'm the way." 03:52 So He is our answer to that. 03:55 Also the Bible says, 03:56 "That the wage of sin is death." 03:59 I don't about you, but I don't want to die. 04:02 What happened? 04:04 Jesus sacrificed His life so that I don't have to die, 04:07 so He is my answer to that problem too. 04:11 And one of the most beautiful of all, 04:14 Jesus is said to be the life. 04:19 He is my life, so Jesus is everything to me 04:24 and that's why He calls Himself, 04:26 "The I'm impart." 04:29 Because He is everything to us. 04:33 Which brings us to a very important fact 04:37 that I hope we will never ever forget 04:39 and that is this, God has no answer 04:43 to the sin problem, but Himself. 04:47 We can imagine all kinds of other answers, 04:50 but He said, "I'm the only answer." 04:53 Not doctrines, not even churches, 04:56 not good deeds, just Him. 05:00 Now of course there are many things 05:02 that help us along the Christian way, 05:05 and I'm not knocking those and churches, 05:07 and doctrines, and those things all help. 05:11 But unless they point us to Jesus Christ, 05:15 then in fact we will not have the answer to our problems. 05:20 You see our real problem is separation from Him. 05:24 And if you look back to when sin started 05:25 in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, 05:28 what happened? 05:30 Eve chose to believe Satan instead of God. 05:36 And having made that choice, 05:38 she was separated from God 05:40 and Adam choosing to go with her was separated too. 05:42 So when God came to talk with them 05:44 in the garden at the cool of the day, 05:48 as He'd customarily done. 05:50 What did they do? They ran away. 05:52 They were acknowledging 05:54 the very fact of this separation. 05:58 The only solution to our problem 06:02 is reunion with Him, not all the other things 06:06 that we so often focus upon. 06:08 And that's what's wrong with legalism. 06:11 You've doubtless heard the term legalism. 06:13 And it means trying to earn your way 06:15 by doing what is right. 06:17 And also many religious people, sincere people try to do that. 06:23 The problem with that is, that He is concerned 06:25 with the symptoms rather than the disease. 06:30 Sin is the symptom of our separation from God. 06:35 The answer to the problem is reunion with Him, 06:39 not trying to do things that are right. 06:41 Because inevitably when we try to do that 06:44 without Him, we will fail. 06:48 And the Apostle Paul said, in these wonderful words, 06:51 "Christ liveth in me, 06:53 and the life that I now live in the flesh 06:56 I live by the faith of the Son of God, 06:59 who loved me, and gave himself for me." 07:03 So this man who hated Christians 07:06 and who is opposed to the cause of God 07:09 was transformed by the fact that he opened his heart 07:13 for Jesus Christ to come and live in him 07:16 and express Himself in him. 07:20 Then the question can be asked. Then why am I so weak. 07:24 Because I want to live the Christian life. 07:28 God knew that this would be a problem 07:31 and He of course has an answer to it, 07:33 that we might be victorious, 07:36 and the answer is what we call the incarnation. 07:40 What has happened? 07:41 The Son of God takes on a human nature 07:45 and so as one combined person God and man, 07:50 He comes down to earth to illustrate 07:54 and to be the answer to our sin problem? 07:57 That's why when He came to earth, 07:58 He was called Immanuel that is God with us. 08:03 Not God looking down on us and frowning at us, 08:07 and saying, "Why do you do this 08:10 and I'm disgusted with you for that." 08:12 But God saying, "I'm coming to you as a sinner, 08:16 to unite you with Myself 08:20 that you may cease being a lost sinner. 08:24 Isn't that wonderful? 08:26 That's the kind of God that we are dealing with. 08:29 And it was also to demonstrate the invincibility of truth. 08:34 You say, how does that happen? Well, how did Jesus come? 08:39 You see, He could have come as a mighty angel, 08:41 with all the intelligence and power that an angel has 08:45 and scattered the powers of darkness. 08:48 He didn't do that 08:49 because I don't have that option. 08:51 How did He come? 08:54 As a man, well, not even as a man, 08:57 He came as a tiny babe. 09:00 Can you imagine anything weaker 09:03 and more helpless than a new born baby? 09:07 By coming in that form, you know what Jesus was saying, 09:12 "I want to show you just how weak evil is. 09:17 That I could come into the fortress of Satan 09:20 which is this wicked little world 09:22 in the weakest possible form and I could triumph, 09:25 demonstrate the weakness of sin, 09:28 and the power of truth. 09:30 Now that gives me courage, it doesn't give you? 09:32 Tremendous courage because I know 09:35 that if I hang on to truth, 09:37 and Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. 09:42 And He has promised to keep holding me, 09:45 then I cannot fail. 09:48 Hell at its strongest is not enough 09:52 for truth at his weakest. 09:56 That to me is one of the most beautiful things in the Bible. 10:02 In Romans 8:37 the Apostle Paul says, this, 10:06 he says, 10:11 "In all these things we are more than conquerors 10:14 through Him that loved us." 10:16 Not by the strength we develop, 10:19 but by the strength that He represents 10:21 when He come into our lives. 10:24 And Jesus demonstrated as a real man 10:28 with a real human nature, 10:30 and He said, "I and my father are one." 10:34 That was the key to His victory over Satan, 10:36 every time from a little child, until He died upon the cross, 10:42 He and His father are one. 10:46 And the answer for His life 10:49 is the answer for your life and for mine. 10:54 In the wonderful book The Desire of Ages, 10:56 one of my favorites it says this, very simply, 11:01 "We may overcome as He overcame." 11:04 And that sums up 11:05 what the Bible has to say on it. 11:08 We have to follow His steps, and then we can overcome. 11:12 The one great difference between Jesus Christ 11:16 and us or the two is 11:18 one that He was in His own person the God man, 11:23 the other thing is that He never sinned. 11:27 And that was because He was always 11:28 united with His father. 11:31 But He was victorious in the same nature 11:34 that you and I have. 11:35 So remember this and never forget it, 11:38 God has no answer to your sin problem 11:41 or mine or anyone else's, but Himself. 11:46 He wants to come and live in you and me. 11:51 And that is why He came to demonstrate 11:53 what that union can accomplish not only in His son, 11:58 but also in you and in me. 12:03 Now I've discovered that Satan has a tactic. 12:08 Have you noticed that 12:09 those who are weak are inclined to shout, 12:12 to try and make it look as though they're strong? 12:15 I never forget a little case where this happened. 12:18 My brother and I, my younger brother 12:20 and I were on vacation together 12:21 and we decided to go horse riding. 12:23 Now it just so happens that I had done 12:26 quite a bit of riding at one stage in my life 12:28 but he had virtually never got on a horse's back before, 12:31 and so he was nervous 12:33 and when they brought the horses out, 12:36 he wanted me to have the lively horse 12:38 and he had placid horse. 12:39 Well, anyway we had a good ride out in the countryside, 12:42 but to get back to the stables we had to go through the town. 12:46 It's only a small town 12:47 but there was a lot of hustle and bustle, 12:49 at summer time and with the traffic 12:52 my horse started to prance a bit 12:54 and he became afraid. 12:55 Why? 12:56 Because he was afraid that my horse would bolt 12:58 and if it did then his would bolt 13:00 and he wouldn't know what to do. 13:02 Even though I was holding mine in tight. 13:04 So what did he do, he started to bark orders to me. 13:06 Now he didn't know what to do 13:08 but he sounded good with all this loud voice 13:11 and apparent confidence. 13:13 And the devil does exactly the same thing 13:15 and tries to get away with it. 13:17 But don't believe Satan, believe God. 13:22 The truth is that Satan knows that God is all powerful 13:26 and that he is comparatively weak. 13:29 But he wants to deceive us and he often gets away with it. 13:35 Now I come to the assured faith 13:37 because relationships are based on faith, aren't they? 13:40 If my relationship with my wife is to be worth anything, 13:45 I must trust her and trust her fully. 13:49 And that's why in the Bible talking about 13:52 Abraham's faith, it says simply this, 13:55 "Abraham being fully persuaded that, 13:58 what God had promised, he was able also to perform." 14:03 Notice that half enough, half and half wondering 14:06 whether God would be able to or not. 14:09 But fully persuaded 14:11 that God was able to keep His promise, I like that. 14:16 Now remember too that the very message of the gospels 14:19 underlines this important truth. 14:22 You know, two blind men came to Jesus. 14:26 What do you suppose they wanted? 14:27 They wanted their sight restored, 14:29 but that kind of thing does not happen, does it? 14:31 Somebody just seeing touching people's eyes 14:34 and they healed and so because he knew that 14:38 their faith was a little weak He said to them, 14:41 "Be it on to you according to your faith." 14:47 They put themselves by faith in the hands of the Lord, 14:51 and their sight was restored. 14:55 And so He says to you, 14:57 "Be it on to you according to your faith. 15:01 If you'll trust me fully, 15:03 there is no limit to what I can do for you." 15:07 Do you know, we have a beautiful little story 15:09 in the New Testament that illustrates this. 15:14 When Mary was told that 15:18 she was to be the mother of our Lord, 15:22 even though she was a virgin and she just simply said, 15:29 "Be it on to me according to your word." 15:31 Isn't that lovely? 15:32 This'd never happened before, 15:34 it was going to put her in a very vulnerable position 15:36 because people would be talking about her. 15:42 But she simply trusted God. 15:44 And God was able to do wonderful things 15:47 because of that trust. 15:50 And he could do that too. 15:53 Remember a wonderful truth that the sisters of Lazarus said, 15:59 you know he had died. 16:00 Jesus was away, they wanted Him to come 16:03 before he died but Jesus delayed 16:06 because He wanted to illustrate a very important thing. 16:09 And when finally He came 16:11 and Lazarus was dead and buried, 16:14 Martha said to Him and Mary a little later, 16:17 Lord if you'd been here, by brother would not have died. 16:21 Tremendous and wonderful truth there. 16:24 It is impossible to die spiritually or physically 16:28 when we are fully united with the Lord 16:30 unless the Lords sees as he did in Lazarus's case. 16:34 That is better for him to die. 16:38 And so the heart of the problem is this, 16:41 Jesus presence in your life and mine 16:45 is the only answer to our needs. 16:49 We worry about our sinful acts, He worries about our state. 16:54 Our sinful act are the things we do 16:58 that of course are displeasing to Him 17:00 and that hurt other people. 17:02 But what He is most concern about 17:05 is our separation from Him, which causes the problem. 17:09 You know, if you went to a doctor 17:11 and he had diagnosed you wrongly, 17:15 would you be very happy? 17:17 No, you'd be very vulnerable. 17:19 And so unless our problem is diagnosed properly, 17:23 we're not going to have the cure. 17:26 And our problem is not that we do wrong things. 17:30 Our problem is that we're separated 17:32 from the one who alone can keep us 17:35 from doing wrong things. 17:38 Which brings me to something else. 17:40 If you ask what is the greatest sin? 17:45 I wonder what you'd say. 17:48 I would say that it's the opposite 17:50 of what Jesus said was the, "One essential." 17:54 And what He said simply was this, 17:55 "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 17:58 with all thy heart, with all thy soul, 18:00 and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself." 18:04 Love for God is the great thing, 18:07 that is the unifying factor, 18:10 that makes all the difference between my being a sinner 18:14 and my being a Christian. 18:16 Now let me put it another way. 18:20 Jesus in the Book of Revelation wrote some letters 18:23 to the churches through different periods of time 18:25 in the history of the world. 18:27 The interesting thing is that to the last one, 18:31 the Church of Laodicea which is the church today, 18:36 after pointing out what a terrible state 18:39 that they were in. 18:40 He then makes clear what the problem was 18:43 because He says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock." 18:48 Where was Jesus then? 18:51 He wouldn't be knocking 18:52 if He wasn't on the outside, right? 18:56 So we are poor, and miserable, and blind, 18:58 and naked as it says in that letter, 19:01 which means we don't have the righteousness of Christ, 19:03 we can't even see spiritually clearly. 19:07 We're devoid of all that is good. 19:10 And yet He still, He says His church 19:13 and He said the answer is, "Let me in." 19:17 That's the thing. 19:19 Now that can pose its own problems. 19:22 But let me assure you, 19:23 it's the only answer to your heart longing 19:27 and the only answer to your need. 19:30 The Apostle Paul put it this way 19:31 in the Ephesians Chapter 3 he said, the goal is 19:36 "That Christ may dwell in your heart by faith, 19:40 that you might be filled with all the fullness of God." 19:44 Isn't that wonderful that He is willing to do that 19:46 in people like you and me? 19:48 I think it's thrilling. 19:50 And in another place, 19:53 Apostle Paul gave this wonderful assurance 19:56 in Romans 8 he says, "For I am persuaded, 20:00 that nothing that is shall be able to separate us 20:05 from the Jesus Christ, our Lord, from the love of God, 20:09 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 20:12 Nothing can, no one can impose that upon us. 20:16 Not the devil or anybody else. 20:19 His presence the Bible tells us is fullness of joy, 20:24 its security, and He will keep us, 20:27 no one He said will be able to snatch you out of My hand. 20:30 If that's way you choose to be. 20:34 That's the wonderful thing. 20:36 So then the whole purpose of Christian living 20:38 is to establish the closest possible union 20:42 between ourselves and Jesus. 20:45 Isn't that beautiful? 20:47 The great high creative God, 20:49 who made everything who has everything, 20:52 longs most of all for the one thing 20:55 He doesn't have often times in this world 20:58 and that is a love relationship with human beings. 21:03 He wants it with you. 21:06 This is victory and this is joy. 21:11 In Colossians 2:9, 10 it says, 21:13 "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness 21:17 of the Godhead bodily. 21:19 And ye are complete in him." 21:23 So not because you are an important person 21:26 in the church, not because you can say, 21:29 I've stop doing all those things 21:30 an I do all these good things. 21:34 No, but because we have found 21:37 that the only answer to our need 21:41 is this union with Jesus Christ. 21:43 That we'll have to talk to Him, We'll have to listen 21:45 to what He has to say in the Bible 21:49 because we love Him 21:52 and have allowed Him to unite us with Himself. 21:57 So never forget, no matter what the devil 22:00 or anybody else says, never forget, 22:03 God has given us no answer to the sin problem but Himself. 22:10 Isn't that beautiful? 22:12 That's the greatest gift He could possibly give 22:15 not just the Christ on the cross 2,000 years ago, 22:19 though that was an important step 22:21 to make Him that possible. 22:23 But He has given Himself in person to you and to me. 22:31 And he wants day by day, to walk with us. 22:36 That's why in Jesus' last great prayer 22:41 before He went to the cross. 22:44 He was praying for His disciples 22:46 and not just for His disciples but for the believers 22:49 all the way down through to the end of time 22:51 and that includes me and it includes you. 22:55 And He said, "His great prayer was 22:58 that they should be one as He is one with the Father." 23:04 Isn't that amazing? That He should be one. 23:10 That we should be one with Him, just as He was with the Father. 23:13 I can't imagine how that could even be possible, can you? 23:17 After all their union was perfect, 23:21 but He is capable of creating a perfect union with you 23:26 and with me if that is our choice. 23:30 Now the Apostle Paul knew 23:31 what it was to have struggles in the Christian life. 23:35 And doubtless he tried the wrong answer sometimes 23:37 but I find some beautiful words 23:40 in Romans Chapter 7 on the last two verses. 23:43 He says, "O wretched man that I'm." 23:46 Why does he say that? 23:47 Because he had found 23:49 that while he was wanting to do what's right, 23:50 he found himself doing sometimes what was wrong, 23:54 and he became discourage sometimes 23:56 and he said, "Who shall deliver me 23:59 from the body of this death?" 24:02 Now notice his answer, 24:03 "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." 24:08 So the answer for that greatest of the apostles 24:13 was the presence of Jesus Christ in his life. 24:18 It's the answer for your struggles in your life, 24:23 because Jesus never fails. 24:26 Where He is there is victory. 24:30 Bible says this is the victory that 24:32 overcometh the world even our faith, 24:34 what is our faith? 24:36 Our faith is our faith union with Jesus 24:40 that makes it possible for Him to do 24:42 all that He wants to do in your life and in mine. 24:48 So then he says "So then with the mind 24:50 I myself serve the law of God, 24:52 but with the flesh the law of sin." 24:56 Now, when I'm united with Him, I no longer do that, 25:03 because He expresses Himself in my life and in yours, 25:10 if we will let Him. 25:13 It's been my joy as a minister 25:15 to be able to share this wonderful Savior, 25:18 Jesus Christ with people on an individual 25:21 and personal basis many times. 25:24 And I've seen people whose lives were sad 25:28 and miserable and worthless according to them. 25:35 And see their lives be turned to joy instead, 25:39 because they found what it was to have Jesus. 25:45 There is a beautiful little song 25:46 which is also a poem that I would like 25:49 to share with you in this regard. 25:52 It's entitled Then Jesus Came. 25:55 One sat alone beside the highway begging 26:00 His eyes were blind, the light he could not see 26:05 He clutched his rags, and shivered in the shadows 26:09 Then Jesus came and bade the darkness flee 26:15 From home and friends the evil spirits drove him 26:19 Among the tombs he dwelt in misery 26:22 He cut himself and evil powers possessed him 26:26 Then Jesus came and set the captive free 26:32 "Unclean! unclean!" the leper cried in anguish 26:36 The deaf, the dumb, in helplessness stood near 26:41 The fever raged, disease had gripped its victim 26:46 Then Jesus came and dwelt, Himself, within 26:52 When Jesus comes, the tempters power is broken 26:58 When Jesus comes, the tears are wiped away 27:03 He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory 27:09 For all is changed 27:12 When Jesus comes to stay 27:17 If my friend, you have invited Jesus Christ into your heart. 27:23 Now, remember He intends-- 27:26 He wants to be a permanent resident there. 27:31 There may be times when you do foolish things 27:34 and you pull away for little bit. 27:35 Turn your eyes back to Jesus. 27:38 He is more than willing to accept you 27:40 and He alone can see you through. 27:45 Because Christian living centrally 27:51 is one thing living with Jesus Christ 27:55 in control of our hearts and minds. 27:58 Amen. |
Revised 2015-05-11