Hello and welcome to
Foundation of Our Faith,
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a production of Dare to
Dream, here at the 3ABN network,
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we know that as you've tuned in,
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the Lord has a
message for you today.
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Our speaker will
be Elder Dwayne Lemon
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and the title of his message is,
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''Our Need for
Victory over Sin'',
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before that was his
personal experience.
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The Lord delivered him
out of the darkness of the R&B
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and hip-hop world,
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he was a
choreographer and a dancer,
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but now he is a
servant of the Lord,
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sharing the light of the glory
and the gospel of Jesus Christ
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all over the world.
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His passion is to
lead people to know
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that they can live a life of
complete surrender to the Lord
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and included in
his ministry repertoire
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is the medical
missionary ministry
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along with the
three angels' message,
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which in fact is very important,
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preparing people for the
coming of our Lord and savior.
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But our minister of music
today is Esther Alonso-Neal,
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the recording artist
known internationally.
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She has sung in Kenya,
Brazil, France, the Philippines,
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and one of her
desires is to be a person
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who sings in multiple languages
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as she uses those gifts
to lead people to Christ.
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The song that she is going
to bless us with is entitled,
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''My Place is With You''.
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So after this song
preparing our hearts
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to receive the message,
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the next person
that you will hear
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is that of Elder Dwayne Lemon.
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I've walked along
a hundred highways
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Some I wish I could forget
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And I've burned a lot of bridges
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But there's not
one that I regret
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'Cause every path I've taken
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They all have led me to
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Knowing my place
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My place is with you
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I've had my promises forsaken
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Into many
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Empty words
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And I'm amazed
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And so astounded
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That I won't get
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What I deserve
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Whatever lies
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I've lived for
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I have finally found the truth
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I know my place,
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My place is with you
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You are my treasure forever
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The one dream
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I've searched for
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I've not been given
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My tomorrow
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I'm only certain of today
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And If I don't see
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Another sunrise
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I will not have
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To be afraid
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'Cause I know
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We will be together
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When all my days are through
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I know my place,
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My place is with you
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My place is with you,
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My place is with you
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My place is with you,
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Amen, amen, amen.
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Wonderful.
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Welcome, welcome, welcome
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to another wonderful privilege
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and study time together
at Foundation of Our Faith.
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You know, if the
foundation is destroyed
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what can the righteous do.
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Is that right?
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And so it is that
it's imperative for us
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to understand
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not simply elements of our faith
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but especially foundations
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and this is why it
is so important for us
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to study the Bible like
we've never studied it before,
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that God can help us to
establish right foundations
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so that way we
can properly build
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all the elements above and so,
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I'm grateful for
this opportunity for us
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to look at a subject
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that I know is
dear to the heart of God
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and that is our need
for victory over sin.
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It is a subject that
I am very, very thankful
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and quite
honestly I'm a bit excited
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about sharing this with you
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because there was a time
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I never thought
that this was possible.
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And so now that I know
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that it is
possible through the merits
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and the
righteousness of Jesus Christ,
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it is my
privilege and my pleasure
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to share this with
all of God's people.
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And as we prepare our
hearts to receive the word,
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I believe the best way to do
that is beginning with prayer.
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So I'm going to go
ahead and once again
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I'm going to kneel
for a word of prayer
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and if you would,
you can either kneel,
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you can bow your heads,
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but let's all pray together
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and lets let the
Lord speak to our hearts
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as we prepare to
receive the word.
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Our loving Father,
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we are grateful always
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for the privilege
to hear heaven speak.
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And it's so important
that when heaven speaks
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that all the earth
remain silent before thee.
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Lord, I am praying
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that You would
please do something special
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that You'll pour out Your spirit
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and truly minister to our hearts
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and open our eyes
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and help us behold
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wondrous things
out of your word.
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And Lord, this is our prayer
that we do ask in Jesus' name.
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Amen,
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amen.
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All right, well, you know,
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I thought about this title
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''Our Need for
Victory over Sin''
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and the reason I
thought about it,
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is because in previous studies,
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you know, I dwell upon
the subject of righteousness
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which we receive by faith
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that is the
absolute theme of the Bible.
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It's the theme,
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God doing something
in us and through us
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for His glory where
we are light bearers.
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We get to bear the
light of God's righteousness
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before a dying world.
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And this is important because
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I was reading a little quotation
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and it's from the book Education
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and it's in the
book Education, page 125
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and here's what it says,
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it says, "The
central theme of the Bible,
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the theme about
which every other
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in the whole book clusters,
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is the redemption plan,
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the restoration
in the human soul
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of the image of God,
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" and then it says,
"the burden of every book
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and every passage of the Bible
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is the unfolding of
this wondrous theme."
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And so when we study the
Bible, we must understand
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that the theme of
Christ our righteousness.
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God not only redeeming us
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but also
restoring His image in us
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is the great theme
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from Genesis all the way down
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to that last
apocalyptic book Revelation.
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And so it is that this should
be the theme of all preaching
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and teaching of the
gospel, all proclamation,
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and churches that come
together to give to the world
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what they need.
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I believe with all of my heart
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that we are living in a time
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where the issue of sin
needs to be dealt with.
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And the reason why is because
we're living in a society
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where there's a
lot of distractions.
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You know, right now
we have distractions
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that are taking
place by sea and by land.
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We have things
that are happening
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amongst the black
race and the white race.
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We have things happening
amongst male and female.
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We have things
happening amongst those
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who are part of one religious
group called Christians
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and another
religious group called Muslims.
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And the list goes on.
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And when we bottom line
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all of the various challenges
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that are happening
in our world today,
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whenever we see crisis
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and crime and
terrorism and racism
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and all the other isms,
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we can connect that thing
back to that thing called sin.
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And I believe this is why
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we have to talk about our
need for victory over sin.
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And so it is that
the first question
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we're going to talk about
is, "Is it even possible?"
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You know, can people get to
a place that they can actually,
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you know, love God so much
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that they would not do
anything to break His heart?
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Well, let's
consider it this way.
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How does the Bible
define sin? Think about it.
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It's one thing
for us to call sin
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by various titles and terms,
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but it's important
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that we let the word
of God give us the answer.
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Is that right?
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And so let's consider 1 John 3.
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It's perhaps a very popular text
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of scripture to some groups
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but to others it's
absolutely brand new.
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So for edification,
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we're going to go
to the Book of 1 John 3
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and I want you to
see what the Bible says
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as we think about the
biblical definition of sin.
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The Bible says in
the Book of John 1
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and we're considering chapter 3
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and I want you to notice
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what it says as
we look at verse 4.
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The Bible says in 1 John 3:4,
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it says,
"Whosoever committed sin
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transgressive also the law.
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For sin is the
transgression of the law."
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So notice that the
Bible makes it clear
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that sin is the transgression
or breaking of God's law.
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And when
somebody says, "What law?"
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Then we can go
ahead and just go over
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to the Book of Romans.
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We go to the Book of Romans 7
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and we will look at
another fundamental scripture
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Romans the 7th chapter
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and we'll
consider the 7th verse.
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In Romans 7:7
the Bible also says,
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"What shall we say,
then? Is the law sin?"
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The answer, "God forbid.
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Nay, I had not known sin,
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but by the law:
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for I had not known lust,
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except the law had
said, Thou shalt not covet."
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So whatever law that
says, thou shalt not covet,
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is the law that if we break
it, the Bible calls it sin.
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And so now when we think
about what law is it that says,
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thou shalt not covet,
00:11:55.28\00:11:56.61
again another
very fundamental text
00:11:56.64\00:11:58.11
to Christianity, Exodus 20.
00:11:58.15\00:12:01.45
It is in Exodus
20 that this is where
00:12:01.48\00:12:04.19
we see the very Ten Commandments
00:12:04.22\00:12:05.95
that God reminded Israel of,
00:12:05.99\00:12:08.06
as a result of forgetting it
00:12:08.09\00:12:09.59
having been in
bondage for so long.
00:12:09.62\00:12:11.59
And it was right
there in Exodus 20,
00:12:11.63\00:12:13.76
when God gets to
the tenth commandment
00:12:13.80\00:12:16.10
in verse 17
00:12:16.13\00:12:17.50
that He says,
"Thou shalt not covet
00:12:17.53\00:12:20.17
thy neighbor's house,
00:12:20.20\00:12:21.54
thou shalt not
covet thy neighbor's wife,
00:12:21.57\00:12:23.10
nor his manservant,
nor his maidservant,
00:12:23.14\00:12:24.81
nor his ox, nor his ass,
00:12:24.84\00:12:26.17
nor any thing that
is thy neighbor's."
00:12:26.21\00:12:27.54
So there's no question about it
00:12:27.58\00:12:29.24
that the Bible makes it clear
00:12:29.28\00:12:30.91
that sin is the breaking
of God's Ten Commandments.
00:12:30.95\00:12:36.32
So now back to the question,
00:12:36.35\00:12:38.09
"Victory over
sin, is it possible?"
00:12:38.12\00:12:40.56
Oh, I believe it is.
00:12:40.59\00:12:41.92
You see the same way
that the Bible makes it clear
00:12:41.96\00:12:43.96
that it is the
breaking of God's commandments
00:12:43.99\00:12:47.16
that constitutes sin
00:12:47.20\00:12:48.70
then the question is
what is victory over sin
00:12:48.73\00:12:51.30
and I'm going to put it
in the very words of Jesus.
00:12:51.33\00:12:53.37
Go to the Book of John 14.
00:12:53.40\00:12:55.44
It is in the John 14
00:12:55.47\00:12:57.27
that when we've considered
00:12:57.31\00:12:58.64
what then is victory
over sin and is it possible?
00:12:58.67\00:13:02.51
The Bible says in John 14,
00:13:02.54\00:13:05.11
notice what Jesus
said Himself in verse 15,
00:13:05.15\00:13:08.45
Jesus says, "If
you love me," do what?
00:13:08.48\00:13:11.95
He says, "keep my," what?
00:13:11.99\00:13:14.02
"commandments."
00:13:14.06\00:13:15.39
So notice that,
00:13:15.42\00:13:16.76
"If you love me,
keep my commandments."
00:13:16.79\00:13:19.69
And therefore that means that
victory over sin is possible
00:13:19.73\00:13:22.90
and the power source
that makes it possible
00:13:22.93\00:13:25.33
is the love of God.
00:13:25.37\00:13:27.07
The more that I have the
love of God within my heart,
00:13:27.10\00:13:29.97
the more that I have the
love for Jesus in my heart,
00:13:30.01\00:13:33.14
it will cause something
to take place in my heart
00:13:33.17\00:13:36.11
and through my actions
00:13:36.14\00:13:37.65
that I will not do anything
to break His commandments.
00:13:37.68\00:13:40.65
And you know why I
know it's possible,
00:13:40.68\00:13:42.92
because notice what John
the Revelator said himself
00:13:42.95\00:13:46.39
in Revelation 14.
00:13:46.42\00:13:48.09
It was in Revelation 14
under the blessed herald
00:13:48.12\00:13:50.83
of the third angel's message
00:13:50.86\00:13:52.99
that John the Revelator
made a powerful statement
00:13:53.03\00:13:55.40
about the patience of saints,
00:13:55.43\00:13:56.77
and here's what He
said in Revelation 14
00:13:56.80\00:13:58.97
and we're considering verse 12.
00:13:59.00\00:14:01.17
The Bible says
in Revelation 14:12,
00:14:01.20\00:14:03.30
it's the summary if you will
of the third angel's message
00:14:03.34\00:14:06.68
and those who are walking
in the light of its experience.
00:14:06.71\00:14:09.94
Always remember,
00:14:09.98\00:14:11.31
the third angel's message
00:14:11.35\00:14:12.95
constitutes both a
warning and an experience.
00:14:12.98\00:14:16.72
It is not enough
for us to pay attention
00:14:16.75\00:14:18.72
or take heed to a
warning but it is imperative
00:14:18.75\00:14:21.32
that we enter into
the right experience.
00:14:21.36\00:14:23.56
Somebody can warn you and say,
"Watch out," and you could say,
00:14:23.59\00:14:26.90
"Whoa," and you
can hear the warning
00:14:26.93\00:14:28.80
but if you don't know what to do
00:14:28.83\00:14:30.23
or don't know
the right experience
00:14:30.27\00:14:31.63
to enter into even though
you know something's coming,
00:14:31.67\00:14:34.77
you're going to get hit.
00:14:34.80\00:14:36.77
And God so wants us not
to just heed the warning,
00:14:36.81\00:14:39.61
He wants us to
enter the experience.
00:14:39.64\00:14:41.81
What is the experience?
00:14:41.84\00:14:43.18
It's in verse 12 of
the third angel's message.
00:14:43.21\00:14:45.35
It say's, "Here is the
patience of the saints:
00:14:45.38\00:14:47.75
here are they that are trying
00:14:47.78\00:14:49.32
to keep the
commandments of God."
00:14:49.35\00:14:50.69
Is that what the verse says?
00:14:50.72\00:14:52.22
That's not what the
verse says, does it?
00:14:52.25\00:14:53.82
The Bible makes it clear,
00:14:53.86\00:14:55.19
"Here is the
patience of the saints:
00:14:55.22\00:14:56.73
here are they that keep
the commandments of God,
00:14:56.76\00:15:00.13
and the faith of Jesus Christ."
00:15:00.16\00:15:01.63
John the
Revelator has made it clear
00:15:01.66\00:15:03.90
there will be a people
00:15:03.93\00:15:06.00
in the very last
moment of earth's history
00:15:06.03\00:15:08.50
that loves Jesus so much
00:15:08.54\00:15:10.91
that they would prefer to die
00:15:10.94\00:15:14.11
than commit one sin against Him.
00:15:14.14\00:15:16.88
And somebody
might say, impossible
00:15:16.91\00:15:18.38
but that's why the Bible says,
00:15:18.41\00:15:19.75
"That which is impossible
with man is possible with God."
00:15:19.78\00:15:24.42
How much the more
Christ our righteousness.
00:15:24.45\00:15:28.89
You see when Jesus
is within our hearts,
00:15:28.92\00:15:30.73
my brothers and sisters.
00:15:30.76\00:15:32.63
We now come in
contact with a power source
00:15:32.66\00:15:35.23
that is above humanity
and the cause of human nature.
00:15:35.26\00:15:39.47
And this is what God
wants to give right now
00:15:39.50\00:15:42.27
to each and everyone of us
00:15:42.30\00:15:43.87
because we live
in a very real world
00:15:43.91\00:15:45.77
and I'm telling you right now,
00:15:45.81\00:15:47.18
human ability
has its limitations.
00:15:47.21\00:15:50.35
Sooner or later we
all are going to realize
00:15:50.38\00:15:52.35
that in order for me
to be a great husband
00:15:52.38\00:15:55.25
oh, no, better
yet a godly husband
00:15:55.28\00:15:58.05
it's going to require God.
00:15:58.09\00:15:59.82
In order to be a godly
wife, it's going to require God.
00:15:59.85\00:16:03.86
In order to be a godly
man, it's going to require God.
00:16:03.89\00:16:06.56
In order to be a godly woman,
it's going to require God.
00:16:06.59\00:16:09.66
We're going to
need Him in our hearts.
00:16:09.70\00:16:11.83
There are people who
are trying to be good
00:16:11.87\00:16:13.80
but the problem
is the Bible says,
00:16:13.84\00:16:15.27
"There is none good but one."
00:16:15.30\00:16:17.41
And that is God.
00:16:17.44\00:16:18.77
My brothers and
sisters, we are limited
00:16:18.81\00:16:20.74
when we look to self,
00:16:20.78\00:16:22.11
this was the great
mistake of Adam and Eve,
00:16:22.14\00:16:23.48
they thought, "Oh, we're
naked, let's cover ourselves."
00:16:23.51\00:16:26.51
And they ended up
putting an apron on
00:16:26.55\00:16:27.95
and they didn't realize
00:16:27.98\00:16:29.32
that all their
back parts were showing.
00:16:29.35\00:16:31.09
That's what
happens with a lot of us.
00:16:31.12\00:16:32.45
We can think we're covered
when we're absolutely exposed.
00:16:32.49\00:16:36.16
But that's the blinding
nature of sin, isn't it?
00:16:36.19\00:16:38.76
And so this is what
God wants to free us from.
00:16:38.79\00:16:41.23
He says, "I want to
make you free not from most,
00:16:41.26\00:16:43.47
but I want to make
you free from all."
00:16:43.50\00:16:45.10
Why, because,
00:16:45.13\00:16:46.47
"To break one is to
break all," James says.
00:16:46.50\00:16:49.57
James makes it very
clear that if we break one,
00:16:49.60\00:16:53.41
we are guilty of breaking all.
00:16:53.44\00:16:54.81
James 2:10-12,
00:16:54.84\00:16:56.81
and so the Bible lets us know
00:16:56.85\00:16:59.28
that there is a
need for victory over sin
00:16:59.31\00:17:01.48
and thank God it's possible.
00:17:01.52\00:17:04.09
But the question
is, why is it necessary?
00:17:04.12\00:17:07.39
In other words,
00:17:07.42\00:17:08.76
victory over sin
sounds fantastic.
00:17:08.79\00:17:11.33
You know, sounds
very good, sounds,
00:17:11.36\00:17:12.69
you know, smart,
wise, cool, you know,
00:17:12.73\00:17:14.83
you can use
whatever term you want.
00:17:14.86\00:17:16.50
But why is it necessary,
00:17:16.53\00:17:17.87
that's a
different type of thing,
00:17:17.90\00:17:19.23
our need for victory over sin.
00:17:19.27\00:17:20.74
Why is that?
Well, it's very simple.
00:17:20.77\00:17:22.80
Go to the Book of Isaiah 59
00:17:22.84\00:17:24.97
and I want you to
watch what the Bible says.
00:17:25.01\00:17:26.78
In Isaiah 59,
00:17:26.81\00:17:29.01
God makes
something very clear to us.
00:17:29.04\00:17:30.51
Isaiah, we're
looking at chapter 59
00:17:30.55\00:17:33.58
and I just want you to
watch what the Bible says,
00:17:33.62\00:17:35.55
Isaiah 59 and we're going
to look at verses 1 and 2.
00:17:35.58\00:17:39.99
But let's consider the verse,
00:17:40.02\00:17:41.36
don't just read
it, let's consider it.
00:17:41.39\00:17:43.02
In Isaiah 59 the Bible says,
00:17:43.06\00:17:46.76
" Behold, the Lord's
hand is not shortened,
00:17:46.80\00:17:50.37
that it cannot save,
00:17:50.40\00:17:51.73
neither his ear
heavy, that it cannot hear.
00:17:51.77\00:17:54.60
But your
iniquities have separated
00:17:54.64\00:17:58.34
between you and your God,
00:17:58.37\00:17:59.77
and your sins have
hid his face from you,
00:17:59.81\00:18:03.75
that He will not hear."
00:18:03.78\00:18:05.35
You see, my
brothers and sisters,
00:18:05.38\00:18:06.72
we need to understand
that when we commit sin,
00:18:06.75\00:18:11.25
it separates us from God.
00:18:11.29\00:18:13.96
So when we sing a song,
00:18:13.99\00:18:15.42
when we all get to heaven,
00:18:15.46\00:18:16.83
what a day of
rejoicing that would be.
00:18:16.86\00:18:18.99
Or when we sing a song like,
00:18:19.03\00:18:20.36
face to face shall I behold him.
00:18:20.40\00:18:22.90
When we sing this type of songs,
00:18:22.93\00:18:24.87
we must understand
the thing that caused God
00:18:24.90\00:18:27.14
to turn His face from us
that we couldn't behold Him.
00:18:27.17\00:18:29.90
What does the Bible say it was?
00:18:29.94\00:18:31.27
It was sin.
00:18:31.31\00:18:32.67
And therefore if we're
going to get victory over sin,
00:18:32.71\00:18:35.84
that's the only way
00:18:35.88\00:18:37.45
that we can have the
face to face reunion,
00:18:37.48\00:18:40.68
that's the only way that
we'll be able to behold Him.
00:18:40.72\00:18:44.09
And so God makes it clear
00:18:44.12\00:18:45.95
that if we want any opportunity
to see Him face to face,
00:18:45.99\00:18:50.76
then it becomes a need for
us to have victory over sin.
00:18:50.79\00:18:54.96
But it doesn't stop there.
00:18:55.00\00:18:56.56
You see a lot of
times when we think of sin,
00:18:56.60\00:18:58.13
we just think
about what it does to us.
00:18:58.17\00:19:00.17
We think about the
pain that it brings to us,
00:19:00.20\00:19:02.64
and so we say, "Oh, I
want to be reunited with God."
00:19:02.67\00:19:05.11
And if we want to
be reunited with God,
00:19:05.14\00:19:07.04
then the Bible makes it clear
00:19:07.08\00:19:08.41
that we need to
have victory over sin,
00:19:08.44\00:19:10.21
because it was sin that
broke up the relationship
00:19:10.25\00:19:13.11
between man and God
00:19:13.15\00:19:14.48
and its only victory over sin
00:19:14.52\00:19:16.38
that will bring
about the reunion.
00:19:16.42\00:19:18.25
But, now the question is this,
00:19:18.29\00:19:20.92
is mankind the
only one that suffers?
00:19:20.96\00:19:23.99
In other words,
when we think about sin,
00:19:24.03\00:19:25.76
we think about
everything that happened to us,
00:19:25.79\00:19:27.30
we think about
death, we think about pain,
00:19:27.33\00:19:29.60
we think about sickness
and disease and suffering.
00:19:29.63\00:19:31.73
We think about those things
00:19:31.77\00:19:33.27
when we talk about
the subject of sin.
00:19:33.30\00:19:35.17
And we think about our pain.
00:19:35.20\00:19:37.44
But the question is,
did it put God through pain?
00:19:37.47\00:19:40.64
Does God even feel pain?
00:19:40.68\00:19:42.01
You know, people
wonder this type of questions
00:19:42.04\00:19:43.38
but, my brothers and sisters,
00:19:43.41\00:19:44.75
we don't have to wonder
00:19:44.78\00:19:46.11
when the word of
God gives us the answer.
00:19:46.15\00:19:47.72
If you're still in Isaiah
59 just skip over a few verses,
00:19:47.75\00:19:50.39
go to Isaiah 63.
00:19:50.42\00:19:51.85
In few chapters,
00:19:51.89\00:19:53.22
in Isaiah 63 look
at verses 8 and 9.
00:19:53.25\00:19:56.69
And in Isaiah 63:8 and 9
00:19:56.73\00:20:00.10
you're going to see
that victory over sin
00:20:00.13\00:20:03.03
is necessary not
just to stop our pain
00:20:03.06\00:20:07.07
but also to stop God's pain.
00:20:07.10\00:20:09.17
The Bible says in Isaiah 63
starting at verse 8, it says,
00:20:09.20\00:20:12.37
"For He said,
surely they are my people,
00:20:12.41\00:20:15.44
children that will not
lie: so He was their Savior."
00:20:15.48\00:20:18.35
Then in verse 9, it says,
"In all their affliction."
00:20:18.38\00:20:22.52
Whose the their?
00:20:22.55\00:20:24.32
Well, that's God's people.
00:20:24.35\00:20:25.69
That's the people that
He came to be a savior to,
00:20:25.72\00:20:27.66
in all their
affliction, but wait a minute,
00:20:27.69\00:20:30.79
well, how does the verse go on?
00:20:30.83\00:20:32.16
"In all their affliction,"
it says, "He was afflicted,
00:20:32.19\00:20:37.73
and the angel of
His presence saved them:
00:20:37.77\00:20:40.37
in His love and in
His pity He redeemed them,
00:20:40.40\00:20:42.30
and He bare them,
00:20:42.34\00:20:43.67
and carried them
all the days of old.
00:20:43.71\00:20:45.47
Did you know
00:20:45.51\00:20:46.84
that when we
choose to sin against God,
00:20:46.88\00:20:49.68
when we choose
to violate His law,
00:20:49.71\00:20:51.88
when we choose to let
the power of the devil
00:20:51.91\00:20:54.62
dominate the power
of God in the gospel,
00:20:54.65\00:20:56.92
when we choose to let
that happen in our lives,
00:20:56.95\00:20:59.72
it does not just
hurt us, it hurts Him.
00:20:59.75\00:21:03.32
It causes Him pain,
it breaks His heart.
00:21:03.36\00:21:06.56
You know, so
often people wondered
00:21:06.59\00:21:08.73
what was it that killed Jesus.
00:21:08.76\00:21:10.83
People wondered what was it
that killed Jesus, you know,
00:21:10.87\00:21:13.60
was it the spear in the side,
oh, it had to be the spear.
00:21:13.64\00:21:16.34
When that blade
just pierced His heart,
00:21:16.37\00:21:18.11
it caused His heart to
go into cardiac arrest.
00:21:18.14\00:21:19.74
You know, we have all
these scientific rationales
00:21:19.77\00:21:21.94
depending on what
program you watch on cable TV
00:21:21.98\00:21:24.48
where people try
to make it, you know,
00:21:24.51\00:21:26.45
rational what killed Jesus.
00:21:26.48\00:21:28.45
But do you know the
Bible tells us what killed Him?
00:21:28.48\00:21:30.52
Did you know what the
Bible actually shows us?
00:21:30.55\00:21:32.45
Go to Psalms 69, let
me show you, Psalms 69,
00:21:32.49\00:21:35.72
"It is not just us
that goes through pain,
00:21:35.76\00:21:38.43
it is God as well."
00:21:38.46\00:21:39.89
Notice what the Bible says,
00:21:39.93\00:21:41.26
we're looking at
Psalms the 69th division.
00:21:41.30\00:21:43.90
This is what we call
a messianic psalm, okay?
00:21:43.93\00:21:47.37
A Psalm that is
pointing to the Messiah
00:21:47.40\00:21:49.30
and the
experiences of the Messiah.
00:21:49.34\00:21:51.24
The Bible says in
Psalms the 69th division,
00:21:51.27\00:21:53.48
we're now going to go
ahead and consider verse 20
00:21:53.51\00:21:55.71
and notice what the
Bible says in Psalms 69:20.
00:21:55.74\00:21:59.08
This is a messianic
psalm, and this is what it says,
00:21:59.11\00:22:01.55
it says, " Reproach
hath broken my heart,
00:22:01.58\00:22:06.92
and I am full of heaviness
00:22:06.96\00:22:09.72
and I looked for
some to take pity,
00:22:09.76\00:22:12.43
but there was
none, and for comforters,
00:22:12.46\00:22:14.83
but I found none.
00:22:14.86\00:22:16.23
And was this not
the experience of Jesus?
00:22:16.26\00:22:18.70
You remember His disciple
friends scattered abroad,
00:22:18.73\00:22:20.80
left Him all by Himself.
00:22:20.84\00:22:22.30
He wasn't really by Himself,
the angelic host was with Him.
00:22:22.34\00:22:25.07
But nevertheless His
friends abandoned Him.
00:22:25.11\00:22:27.58
He looked for pity but
He could not find none.
00:22:27.61\00:22:30.01
But what was it that
broke the heart of Christ?
00:22:30.05\00:22:32.21
The Bible says it right there,
00:22:32.25\00:22:33.58
it says, "It was
something called reproach."
00:22:33.62\00:22:36.18
Now what does the
Bible in symbolism,
00:22:36.22\00:22:38.19
what does the
Bible call reproach?
00:22:38.22\00:22:40.22
Well, let's go to
Proverbs 14 and let's notice.
00:22:40.26\00:22:42.49
In Proverbs 14,
00:22:42.52\00:22:44.99
what does the Bible
refer to as reproach?
00:22:45.03\00:22:47.56
Look at what it
says in Proverbs 14,
00:22:47.60\00:22:50.50
consider verse 34
00:22:50.53\00:22:52.07
and look at what the text says,
00:22:52.10\00:22:53.44
it says in
Proverbs 14:34 it says,
00:22:53.47\00:22:56.20
"Righteousness
exalteth a nation,"
00:22:56.24\00:22:59.57
watch this,
00:22:59.61\00:23:00.94
"but sin is a
reproach to any people."
00:23:00.98\00:23:06.08
Did you know that it was sin
that broke the heart of Jesus?
00:23:06.11\00:23:09.85
Do you know there was
sin that caused Him pain
00:23:09.88\00:23:13.79
and it's deep because
00:23:13.82\00:23:15.16
if we really want
to look at the verses,
00:23:15.19\00:23:16.62
we would
understand it wasn't His?
00:23:16.66\00:23:19.76
The Bible makes it
very clear in Hebrews 4,
00:23:19.79\00:23:21.43
He was tempted in all
points but He did no sin.
00:23:21.46\00:23:25.87
Christ's heart was broken
00:23:25.90\00:23:28.04
because of your
choices and my choices.
00:23:28.07\00:23:32.14
This is what caused Him pain.
00:23:32.17\00:23:33.91
So when we talk about our
need for victory over sin,
00:23:33.94\00:23:37.95
it is a serious subject
not just to relieve our pain
00:23:37.98\00:23:42.15
but God's pain.
00:23:42.18\00:23:44.45
And I'm so glad
00:23:44.49\00:23:45.89
that I have an opportunity
to cooperate with Christ.
00:23:45.92\00:23:49.19
I mean it's
incredible to think about this,
00:23:49.22\00:23:51.89
that I have an opportunity
to cooperate with Jesus
00:23:51.93\00:23:54.96
that by His grace
00:23:55.00\00:23:56.77
I cannot only stop my pain
00:23:56.80\00:23:59.20
but I can stop His every time.
00:23:59.23\00:24:02.10
There's a little book
called Desire of Ages,
00:24:02.14\00:24:04.14
and it's right
there in Desire of Ages
00:24:04.17\00:24:05.74
that blessed documentary
of the life of Jesus,
00:24:05.77\00:24:07.91
and it was right
there in Desire of Ages,
00:24:07.94\00:24:09.51
page 300 that it
says, "Every time we sin,
00:24:09.54\00:24:14.08
we renew the pain in
the heart of Christ."
00:24:14.12\00:24:16.62
It's in combination with
Hebrews 6:6 that talks about,
00:24:16.65\00:24:20.02
you know, we renew
repentance unto ourselves
00:24:20.06\00:24:22.39
every time we sin against Him
00:24:22.42\00:24:23.76
and we bring Him
to an open shame.
00:24:23.79\00:24:26.39
Every time we sin,
00:24:26.43\00:24:28.16
we break His
heart and we cause pain.
00:24:28.20\00:24:30.57
And so it is that God is saying
our need for victory over sin
00:24:30.60\00:24:33.44
is a very serious one
00:24:33.47\00:24:34.84
because it
doesn't just stop my pain
00:24:34.87\00:24:37.31
and your pain and our
parents and our children's pain,
00:24:37.34\00:24:40.28
it stops pain even
in the heart of God.
00:24:40.31\00:24:43.55
That should make all of us
look a little bit different
00:24:43.58\00:24:46.08
the next time we want to take
that puff of that cigarette,
00:24:46.11\00:24:48.48
the next time
we want to go ahead
00:24:48.52\00:24:49.85
and indulge in that alcohol,
00:24:49.88\00:24:51.22
the next time
we want to go ahead
00:24:51.25\00:24:52.59
and demonstrate
violence towards those
00:24:52.62\00:24:53.96
that we profess
to love and cherish,
00:24:53.99\00:24:55.39
and to have and to
hold, till death do we apart.
00:24:55.42\00:24:57.73
That should make us
think a little bit more
00:24:57.76\00:25:00.20
when we think about
the bed of fornication,
00:25:00.23\00:25:01.86
and think about lying
and cheating and stealing,
00:25:01.90\00:25:03.80
the next time that we're tempted
00:25:03.83\00:25:05.17
to do those wrongs,
00:25:05.20\00:25:06.53
just remember, it's not
just going to cause you pain,
00:25:06.57\00:25:09.67
it's going to renew the pain
in the very heart of the one
00:25:09.70\00:25:11.67
that we said we love,
00:25:11.71\00:25:13.27
the one that we
said we care for,
00:25:13.31\00:25:14.94
the one that we said we
want to honor and respect Him.
00:25:14.98\00:25:17.91
And so God
wants us to understand
00:25:17.95\00:25:19.55
that there's a tremendous
need for victory over sin.
00:25:19.58\00:25:23.65
And we don't have a
whole lot of time left.
00:25:23.69\00:25:26.69
This is something that we
have to cooperate with God
00:25:26.72\00:25:28.92
with right now.
00:25:28.96\00:25:30.63
We don't have a
whole lot of time
00:25:30.66\00:25:32.33
because the Bible
makes it very clear.
00:25:32.36\00:25:35.00
And when Jesus
ascended into heaven,
00:25:35.03\00:25:37.50
He did not just
simply ascend into any place
00:25:37.53\00:25:41.14
but He ascended
into the sanctuary above
00:25:41.17\00:25:43.10
and when He went there,
there was two apartments.
00:25:43.14\00:25:44.94
One was the holy place
00:25:44.97\00:25:46.31
and another is
a most holy place.
00:25:46.34\00:25:48.91
Jesus is there at the
most holy place right now
00:25:48.94\00:25:51.08
and one of the things He's doing
00:25:51.11\00:25:52.45
in the work of judgment
00:25:52.48\00:25:53.82
is He is getting
ready to do something
00:25:53.85\00:25:55.18
called the blotting out work.
00:25:55.22\00:25:57.62
And did you know in the Bible
there's only one or two things
00:25:57.65\00:25:59.32
that get blotted out?
00:25:59.35\00:26:01.06
In scripted there is
only one or two things
00:26:01.09\00:26:02.62
that's going to ultimately
get blotted out of existence.
00:26:02.66\00:26:06.23
You want to know what it is?
00:26:06.26\00:26:07.60
The Bible tells us what it
is. Go to the Book of Acts 3.
00:26:07.63\00:26:09.76
What is it that's
going to be blotted out?
00:26:09.80\00:26:11.13
We're talking about
00:26:11.17\00:26:12.50
why is it we need to
have victory over sin now?
00:26:12.53\00:26:14.37
By the grace of
God we need it now.
00:26:14.40\00:26:16.30
We can't say we're going
to get it when Jesus comes.
00:26:16.34\00:26:18.27
If we wait till Jesus
come, it will be too late.
00:26:18.31\00:26:20.98
The Bible says in Revelation
22 before Christ comes,
00:26:21.01\00:26:23.68
He's already going to establish
00:26:23.71\00:26:25.05
who is holy still
and who is filthy still.
00:26:25.08\00:26:27.15
So you don't want to
wait until when Christ comes
00:26:27.18\00:26:29.28
and then say, I'll let go,
00:26:29.32\00:26:30.65
you are going to be a
part of the filthy still group,
00:26:30.69\00:26:32.32
and we don't want that.
00:26:32.35\00:26:33.69
So we need to experience
that as fast as it's available.
00:26:33.72\00:26:36.99
And I believe
Jesus wants to give it
00:26:37.03\00:26:38.36
to each and
everyone of us right now.
00:26:38.39\00:26:40.73
And so it is that when
we start to think about
00:26:40.76\00:26:42.30
what the Bible tells us
here, we need to consider,
00:26:42.33\00:26:45.17
"Lord what is it that You
want to have us experienced."
00:26:45.20\00:26:48.24
And He wants us to
have victory over sin,
00:26:48.27\00:26:50.11
victory over lawlessness,
00:26:50.14\00:26:51.71
a life that is in harmony
with His holy commandments
00:26:51.74\00:26:54.31
through the
merits and righteousness
00:26:54.34\00:26:56.44
of Jesus Christ.
00:26:56.48\00:26:57.81
Now in Acts 3
00:26:57.85\00:26:59.81
we see one of the things
00:26:59.85\00:27:01.28
that God is
ultimately going to blot out
00:27:01.32\00:27:02.95
when He finishes His
work in the sanctuary above.
00:27:02.98\00:27:05.52
The Bible says in Acts 3,
00:27:05.55\00:27:07.02
we're going to go
ahead and consider verse 19.
00:27:07.06\00:27:09.12
In Acts 3:19, the Bible says,
00:27:09.16\00:27:13.29
" Repent ye
therefore and be converted,
00:27:13.33\00:27:15.90
that your," what?
00:27:15.93\00:27:17.77
"your sins may be blotted out
00:27:17.80\00:27:21.07
when the times of
refreshing shall come
00:27:21.10\00:27:23.00
from the presence of the Lord
00:27:23.04\00:27:24.37
and he shall send Jesus Christ."
00:27:24.41\00:27:25.87
So notice that one thing
the Bible makes very clear
00:27:25.91\00:27:28.21
that would be
blotted out is our sins.
00:27:28.24\00:27:31.18
But the Bible also lets us know
00:27:31.21\00:27:32.55
something else
will be blotted out,
00:27:32.58\00:27:34.12
and I want you to see
that in the Book of Exodus 32.
00:27:34.15\00:27:37.49
It was in Exodus 32
that the children of Israel
00:27:37.52\00:27:40.59
did not know what God
was doing nor his servant.
00:27:40.62\00:27:43.99
And as a result of
that they got caught up
00:27:44.03\00:27:46.16
into the sing
swing celebrate religion.
00:27:46.19\00:27:48.16
I don't know if you've
ever been exposed to that.
00:27:48.20\00:27:50.27
I know I have
in my previous life
00:27:50.30\00:27:52.13
and, you know, a
lot of churches today
00:27:52.17\00:27:54.24
love to sing, swing, celebrate,
00:27:54.27\00:27:55.80
and get all
hooting and hollering
00:27:55.84\00:27:57.51
and making a lot of noise
and all these other things
00:27:57.54\00:27:59.44
to the point that they
forget God and godliness,
00:27:59.47\00:28:02.24
and this is exactly
what happened with Israel.
00:28:02.28\00:28:04.21
God was in the mount
00:28:04.25\00:28:05.58
and He was communing
with Moses, and Joshua,
00:28:05.61\00:28:07.95
and lo and behold, here it is
00:28:07.98\00:28:09.75
that they got to a
point where they said,
00:28:09.78\00:28:11.85
"Look, we don't know
what happened to those guys.
00:28:11.89\00:28:13.25
So let's just go back to
good old Egyptian worship.
00:28:13.29\00:28:16.29
And they started to do
their Egyptian worship thing
00:28:16.32\00:28:18.53
but eventually
Joshua and Moses come down,
00:28:18.56\00:28:21.26
they see the sinful
behavior and idolatry
00:28:21.30\00:28:24.93
that the people of
God have fallen into,
00:28:24.97\00:28:26.84
and notice what the Bible says
00:28:26.87\00:28:28.20
as Moses is now
playing the role of Jesus
00:28:28.24\00:28:31.14
as an intercessor.
00:28:31.17\00:28:32.77
And I notice what
he says in Exodus 32
00:28:32.81\00:28:35.11
and we're going
to consider verse 30.
00:28:35.14\00:28:38.05
The Bible says, "And it
came to pass on the morrow
00:28:38.08\00:28:40.28
that Moses said unto the people,
00:28:40.32\00:28:42.42
"Ye have sinned a great sin.
00:28:42.45\00:28:44.69
And now I will
go up unto the Lord,
00:28:44.72\00:28:46.45
per adventure I shall
make an atonement for your sin.
00:28:46.49\00:28:49.96
And Moses returned
unto the Lord and said,
00:28:49.99\00:28:52.79
"Oh, this people
have sinned a great sin,
00:28:52.83\00:28:55.46
and have made them gods of gold.
00:28:55.50\00:28:56.97
Yet now, if Thou wilt
forgive their sin and if not,
00:28:57.00\00:29:01.04
blot me, I pray
Thee, out of Thy book
00:29:01.07\00:29:04.37
which Thou hast written!"
00:29:04.41\00:29:05.84
And lo and behold, God
answers in verse 33 and says,
00:29:05.87\00:29:08.31
"And the Lord said unto
Moses, "Whosoever hath," what?
00:29:08.34\00:29:11.68
"sinned against Me,
00:29:11.71\00:29:13.62
him will I blot out of My book."
00:29:13.65\00:29:17.69
You see, my
brothers and sisters,
00:29:17.72\00:29:19.05
it's very simple.
00:29:19.09\00:29:20.42
There's one or
two things right now
00:29:20.46\00:29:21.79
that's been
weighed in the judgment.
00:29:21.82\00:29:23.59
Either our sins are
going to be blotted out
00:29:23.63\00:29:26.23
or our names are
going to be blotted out.
00:29:26.26\00:29:29.63
Now if I would ask you
an intelligent question,
00:29:29.66\00:29:31.27
if I were to say to you,
00:29:31.30\00:29:32.63
how many of you want
your names blotted out?
00:29:32.67\00:29:35.14
Let me see, raise your hand.
00:29:35.17\00:29:37.01
Well, that tells me that
you're a group of smart people
00:29:37.04\00:29:38.84
'cause nobody is
raising their hand.
00:29:38.87\00:29:40.54
But what about this?
00:29:40.58\00:29:41.91
If I were to say,
00:29:41.94\00:29:43.28
"How many of you want
your sins blotted out?"
00:29:43.31\00:29:44.65
Now raise your hands.
00:29:44.68\00:29:46.01
Uh-huh, okay. So you understand.
00:29:46.05\00:29:47.62
We want our sins blotted out,
00:29:47.65\00:29:50.15
but we don't want our
names to be blotted out.
00:29:50.19\00:29:52.49
But here's the problem.
00:29:52.52\00:29:54.26
Want is a good start.
00:29:54.29\00:29:56.09
It's just a bad finish.
00:29:56.12\00:29:59.63
Listen carefully to
what I'm telling you.
00:29:59.66\00:30:01.53
You just told me,
00:30:01.56\00:30:02.90
"I want my sins blotted out
and I want my name to remain."
00:30:02.93\00:30:06.63
Well, that's fine and dandy.
00:30:06.67\00:30:08.00
But, my brothers and sisters,
00:30:08.04\00:30:09.37
if you want
your sins blotted out
00:30:09.40\00:30:11.54
and you want
your names to remain,
00:30:11.57\00:30:13.84
then you must understand
00:30:13.88\00:30:15.34
that there is
something more than desire.
00:30:15.38\00:30:18.21
It's in a wonderful little
book called Steps to Christ.
00:30:18.25\00:30:20.75
A book that has been
passed out in several languages
00:30:20.78\00:30:22.88
all over the world.
00:30:22.92\00:30:24.25
Millions upon
millions showing people
00:30:24.29\00:30:25.62
how to come to Jesus,
00:30:25.65\00:30:27.22
the author and
finisher of their faith.
00:30:27.26\00:30:29.12
And it's in that
book Steps to Christ
00:30:29.16\00:30:30.63
under the chapter Consecration,
00:30:30.66\00:30:31.99
page 48 that it tells
us that many will be lost.
00:30:32.03\00:30:36.70
Now that should
already wake us up.
00:30:36.73\00:30:38.67
Anytime I hear
somebody is gonna get lost,
00:30:38.70\00:30:40.44
I need to pay attention
to that and you do too.
00:30:40.47\00:30:42.64
It says, "Many will be lost
00:30:42.67\00:30:45.81
while hoping and
desiring to be Christians."
00:30:45.84\00:30:51.31
You know what the
next sentence says?
00:30:51.35\00:30:53.28
"They do not
choose to be Christians."
00:30:53.31\00:30:57.79
You see
Christianity is a choice,
00:30:57.82\00:30:59.29
that's why Joshua says,
00:30:59.32\00:31:00.66
"Choose this day
whom you will serve."
00:31:00.69\00:31:02.26
In Joshua 24:14 and 15.
00:31:02.29\00:31:04.56
That's why Elijah says,
00:31:04.59\00:31:06.39
"How long halt ye
between two opinions?
00:31:06.43\00:31:08.43
If the Lord be God,
follow Him, in 1 Kings 18:21.
00:31:08.46\00:31:13.10
And so it is that Moses himself
said in Deuteronomy 30:19,
00:31:13.13\00:31:17.41
he says, "I present
before you life and death,
00:31:17.44\00:31:20.11
blessings and
cursings, choose life."
00:31:20.14\00:31:23.28
My brothers and sisters,
Christianity is choosing life.
00:31:23.31\00:31:27.55
You can't want
to be a Christian,
00:31:27.58\00:31:29.02
you got to choose
to be a Christian.
00:31:29.05\00:31:30.39
When Jesus offers
Himself to you and I,
00:31:30.42\00:31:32.42
we must understand
that we have an opportunity
00:31:32.45\00:31:34.86
to accept the offering.
00:31:34.89\00:31:36.42
Always remember,
the Cross of Calvary
00:31:36.46\00:31:39.09
is like a check written.
00:31:39.13\00:31:41.73
Question, if somebody wrote you
a check for a million dollars,
00:31:41.76\00:31:45.43
how many of you would be happy?
00:31:45.47\00:31:46.80
Somebody writes you a
check for million dollars,
00:31:46.84\00:31:48.17
how many of you would be happy?
00:31:48.20\00:31:49.54
Gave you a check
00:31:49.57\00:31:50.91
and it gave you a
million dollars right there.
00:31:50.94\00:31:52.27
How many of you
would be happy with that?
00:31:52.31\00:31:53.64
You see, look at that.
00:31:53.68\00:31:55.01
Now some of you would
be happy but you know what,
00:31:55.04\00:31:56.38
I wouldn't be happy.
00:31:56.41\00:31:57.75
I would be curious,
but I wouldn't be happy.
00:31:57.78\00:31:59.61
You know why? It's very simple.
00:31:59.65\00:32:01.38
I would not be happy
00:32:01.42\00:32:03.45
because a check means nothing
00:32:03.49\00:32:06.79
until it is deposited
and cashed in the bank.
00:32:06.82\00:32:10.69
You understand that?
00:32:10.73\00:32:12.06
You get that point
now. It's very simple.
00:32:12.09\00:32:13.80
We cannot be thrilled
over a check that's written.
00:32:13.83\00:32:16.83
We get thrilled over
a check that's cashed.
00:32:16.87\00:32:19.40
When Jesus died on
the Cross of Calvary
00:32:19.43\00:32:22.40
and provide and secure salvation
00:32:22.44\00:32:24.74
for humanity.
00:32:24.77\00:32:26.11
My brothers and sisters,
00:32:26.14\00:32:27.48
that was a check
that was written.
00:32:27.51\00:32:29.81
But the problem is that
there are not enough people
00:32:29.84\00:32:31.58
want to cash the check,
00:32:31.61\00:32:33.28
they're just
happy walking around,
00:32:33.31\00:32:34.65
"I got a check, I got a check,
00:32:34.68\00:32:36.02
look at that,
look at that check."
00:32:36.05\00:32:37.39
But the problem is
we don't understand,
00:32:37.42\00:32:38.75
you got to cash the
check to get the benefit.
00:32:38.79\00:32:40.89
And you got to choose to do that
00:32:40.92\00:32:43.43
and so it is
that we must choose,
00:32:43.46\00:32:44.99
my brothers and sisters,
00:32:45.03\00:32:46.36
so it's very easy to say,
00:32:46.39\00:32:47.73
"Oh, I want my name to remain
00:32:47.76\00:32:50.77
and I want my sins
to be blotted out."
00:32:50.80\00:32:52.50
But that's not enough.
00:32:52.53\00:32:54.24
You got to choose this
day, whom you're going to serve.
00:32:54.27\00:32:57.77
You got to chose
to cooperate with God
00:32:57.81\00:33:00.81
with whatever He has prescribed
00:33:00.84\00:33:03.11
on how we can
have victory over sin.
00:33:03.14\00:33:05.78
And so what does
John the Revelator tell us
00:33:05.81\00:33:08.72
is the absolute prerequisite
00:33:08.75\00:33:11.15
to having sins
blotted out and names remain.
00:33:11.19\00:33:14.56
Revelation 3 notice
what the Bible says.
00:33:14.59\00:33:17.13
In Revelation 3,
00:33:17.16\00:33:18.99
John the Revelator is giving
council to all the churches.
00:33:19.03\00:33:21.90
And by the time you
get to Revelation 3,
00:33:21.93\00:33:24.60
he's almost done
00:33:24.63\00:33:26.77
and now as John is talking
with the church's artist,
00:33:26.80\00:33:29.37
notice what He
says in Revelation 3
00:33:29.40\00:33:31.87
and now let's notice
what He says in verse 5.
00:33:31.91\00:33:35.44
Again how can we make sure
00:33:35.48\00:33:38.08
that names remain
and sins are blotted out?
00:33:38.11\00:33:40.22
Well, notice
what the Bible says,
00:33:40.25\00:33:41.58
it says, " He that, " what?
00:33:41.62\00:33:44.65
"He that
overcometh," that's key,
00:33:44.69\00:33:47.29
"He that overcometh
the same shall be clothed
00:33:47.32\00:33:50.96
in white raiment,
00:33:50.99\00:33:52.33
and I will not blot out his name
00:33:52.36\00:33:56.03
out of the Book of Life,
00:33:56.06\00:33:57.40
but I will confess his name
00:33:57.43\00:33:58.77
before My Father
and before His angels."
00:33:58.80\00:34:00.14
You see the Bible's clear.
00:34:00.17\00:34:01.57
God makes it clear to
each and every one of us.
00:34:01.60\00:34:03.51
There is no way
that our names remain
00:34:03.54\00:34:05.97
in the Book of Life
00:34:06.01\00:34:07.34
if we don't overcome
that wicked thing called sin.
00:34:07.38\00:34:10.48
And that's why I've
entitled the message,
00:34:10.51\00:34:13.05
"our need for victory over sin".
00:34:13.08\00:34:16.79
Because there is no heaven,
there is no heavenly place,
00:34:16.82\00:34:19.25
there's no paradise,
there's none of that for us
00:34:19.29\00:34:21.59
if we are going to
live in deliberate rebellion
00:34:21.62\00:34:25.06
against God and His law,
00:34:25.09\00:34:26.56
and so the Bible makes it
clear that this is our need.
00:34:26.59\00:34:31.03
Now, my brothers and sisters,
00:34:31.07\00:34:32.40
I now see the need to do
something very important.
00:34:32.43\00:34:36.30
Sometimes when we talk
about these types of subjects,
00:34:36.34\00:34:39.44
our need for victory over sin,
00:34:39.47\00:34:40.81
and I think
we've established that.
00:34:40.84\00:34:42.18
I'm sure there's
always more verses
00:34:42.21\00:34:43.55
but you know sermon can
take in but so much at one time.
00:34:43.58\00:34:46.05
Jesus, the Bible says
came to make us free from sin.
00:34:46.08\00:34:50.25
Matthew 1:21.
00:34:50.29\00:34:51.62
Free from, from sin,
not in sin but from sin.
00:34:51.65\00:34:54.46
He can save us, He
has enough power to do it.
00:34:54.49\00:34:56.22
There's plenty of power
in the blood of Jesus Christ.
00:34:56.26\00:34:59.83
And He can get us free.
00:34:59.86\00:35:01.43
And the reality is just that,
00:35:01.46\00:35:03.03
if God can
deliver you from smoking,
00:35:03.06\00:35:05.63
there's no reason
He can't deliver you
00:35:05.67\00:35:07.30
from premarital sex.
00:35:07.34\00:35:08.80
If God can deliver
somebody from premarital sex,
00:35:08.84\00:35:11.17
He can deliver them
from cursing and swearing.
00:35:11.21\00:35:13.54
If God can deliver a person
from cursing and swearing,
00:35:13.58\00:35:16.11
God can deliver them from lying.
00:35:16.14\00:35:18.11
Why is it that we would think
00:35:18.15\00:35:19.81
that God has
enough power to deliver us
00:35:19.85\00:35:21.92
from one sin but not all sin?
00:35:21.95\00:35:25.32
It makes no sense.
00:35:25.35\00:35:27.46
God makes it very clear,
00:35:27.49\00:35:28.82
"I have enough power
00:35:28.86\00:35:30.53
to deliver my people from it
00:35:30.56\00:35:31.99
but it's going
to require something
00:35:32.03\00:35:34.30
that is ever so important."
00:35:34.33\00:35:35.83
What is it going to require?
00:35:35.86\00:35:37.20
It says we must overcome.
00:35:37.23\00:35:39.17
It must, we must overcome.
00:35:39.20\00:35:41.20
Now we have to understand
some dynamics with that.
00:35:41.24\00:35:43.87
So let's talk
about that a little bit.
00:35:43.91\00:35:46.14
This idea of overcoming,
00:35:46.17\00:35:47.91
what are some
things that are required
00:35:47.94\00:35:50.15
that I can
actually be recognized
00:35:50.18\00:35:52.21
by heaven as an overcomer.
00:35:52.25\00:35:55.12
Well, in the
beginning of our message
00:35:55.15\00:35:56.79
we talked about righteousness.
00:35:56.82\00:35:58.92
Righteousness is
what the Bible calls
00:35:58.95\00:36:03.06
the keeping of
God's commandments.
00:36:03.09\00:36:04.76
That was in Psalms 119:172.
00:36:04.79\00:36:09.06
So when we think about
righteousness by faith,
00:36:09.10\00:36:13.10
we're
exercising faith in someone
00:36:13.13\00:36:16.97
who has kept God's commandments,
00:36:17.01\00:36:19.04
His name is Jesus.
00:36:19.07\00:36:20.41
John 15:10, He says,
00:36:20.44\00:36:21.94
"I have kept my
Father's commandments."
00:36:21.98\00:36:23.75
You see, you and I can't do it.
00:36:23.78\00:36:26.75
It's a call from God
00:36:26.78\00:36:28.28
but we have to
understand how to get there.
00:36:28.32\00:36:30.05
God tells us to overcome
but we can't just say, okay,
00:36:30.09\00:36:34.22
and demonstrate our
own natural willpower
00:36:34.26\00:36:35.89
and just get it done.
00:36:35.92\00:36:37.26
Doesn't work like that.
00:36:37.29\00:36:38.63
I wish it did
sometimes but it doesn't.
00:36:38.66\00:36:40.06
God needs to teach us more.
00:36:40.10\00:36:42.13
And so when we think about it,
00:36:42.16\00:36:43.60
"Lord, you want
me to overcome sin,
00:36:43.63\00:36:46.17
you want me to
overcome a lawless lifestyle."
00:36:46.20\00:36:49.50
But the question is how?
00:36:49.54\00:36:52.04
Because Jeremiah
13, notice what it says.
00:36:52.07\00:36:54.28
In Jeremiah 13,
00:36:54.31\00:36:56.04
this is the
reality of our experience.
00:36:56.08\00:36:58.15
It's like God is
calling us to do something
00:36:58.18\00:37:00.28
but he's not really
showing us how to get it done.
00:37:00.32\00:37:03.79
I don't know about you
00:37:03.82\00:37:05.15
but I'm a father
of four children,
00:37:05.19\00:37:06.65
two boys and two girls,
00:37:06.69\00:37:08.06
and if there's one thing
00:37:08.09\00:37:09.86
that can definitely
annoy or challenge a child
00:37:09.89\00:37:13.40
is when you and I tell them
00:37:13.43\00:37:15.10
to be something
without showing them how.
00:37:15.13\00:37:17.63
You and I can't tell my boys,
00:37:17.67\00:37:19.93
"You got to
learn how to be a man."
00:37:19.97\00:37:21.37
And I don't show them
what it is to be a man.
00:37:21.40\00:37:22.97
That is unfair to them.
00:37:23.00\00:37:25.14
My bride cannot
go to my daughters
00:37:25.17\00:37:27.28
and say to them,
00:37:27.31\00:37:28.64
"You must learn how
to be a godly woman."
00:37:28.68\00:37:30.01
And here it is, she refuses
my wife to be a godly woman.
00:37:30.05\00:37:32.71
She must lead by precept
and example as I must as well.
00:37:32.75\00:37:36.99
So there needs
to always be a model
00:37:37.02\00:37:39.72
that is set before us
00:37:39.75\00:37:41.09
of how to accomplish the goal
00:37:41.12\00:37:43.09
so that way by the grace of God
00:37:43.12\00:37:45.66
we can see that,
00:37:45.69\00:37:48.03
"oh, well, as the model
did it, so I can do it."
00:37:48.06\00:37:51.50
Amen.
00:37:51.53\00:37:52.87
All right, so when
we think about this,
00:37:52.90\00:37:54.24
God makes it clear
because look at Jeremiah 13.
00:37:54.27\00:37:56.10
In Jeremiah 13:23,
00:37:56.14\00:37:58.04
here's the reality of
humanity and human nature.
00:37:58.07\00:38:01.44
the question is asked,
00:38:01.48\00:38:05.25
"Can the
Ethiopian change his skin?"
00:38:05.28\00:38:07.12
What do you think the answer is?
00:38:07.15\00:38:08.48
No.
00:38:08.52\00:38:09.85
"Can the leopard his spots?"
00:38:09.88\00:38:11.22
What do you think the answer is?
00:38:11.25\00:38:12.59
No, then it says,
"Then may ye also do good,
00:38:12.62\00:38:15.89
that are accustomed
or taught to do evil."
00:38:15.92\00:38:19.33
What do you think the answer is?
00:38:19.36\00:38:20.80
No.
00:38:20.83\00:38:22.16
You and I have
no power naturally
00:38:22.20\00:38:25.73
to just live a
commandment keeping life.
00:38:25.77\00:38:28.87
We have no power
in and of ourselves
00:38:28.90\00:38:30.94
to truly love our neighbors
and love God supremely.
00:38:30.97\00:38:34.34
We don't have that possibility.
00:38:34.38\00:38:35.88
We can fake it.
00:38:35.91\00:38:37.25
We, I would imagine we can,
you know, we can trick people.
00:38:37.28\00:38:39.88
We can look like a
bunch of loving people
00:38:39.91\00:38:41.78
but deep down in our hearts,
00:38:41.82\00:38:43.15
remember how God looks
at people, 1 Samuel 16.
00:38:43.18\00:38:45.82
In 1 Samuel 16 always remember
how God looks at people.
00:38:45.85\00:38:48.59
In 1 Samuel 16, look at
what the Bible says in verse 7.
00:38:48.62\00:38:52.96
In 1 Samuel 16:7, you know,
00:38:52.99\00:38:56.40
Samuel's coming to
look for the next man
00:38:56.43\00:38:58.07
that's going to be anointed,
00:38:58.10\00:38:59.43
which was none other than David.
00:38:59.47\00:39:00.80
But Jesse began to bring other
of his children before Samuel,
00:39:00.84\00:39:04.51
and Samuel would see
them and at a certain point,
00:39:04.54\00:39:06.91
you know, Samuel is like
us, he's caught in externals.
00:39:06.94\00:39:10.08
So he's looking at, you
know, broad shoulders, strong,
00:39:10.11\00:39:13.88
you know, a countenance,
00:39:13.92\00:39:15.45
and perhaps there's some
accomplishments that they made
00:39:15.48\00:39:18.12
and Samuel's caught
up in all that stuff.
00:39:18.15\00:39:20.06
And here goes God
correcting Samuel in 1 Samuel 16
00:39:20.09\00:39:23.12
because this is how God judges.
00:39:23.16\00:39:24.89
The Bible says in 1 Samuel 16:7,
00:39:24.93\00:39:27.26
"But the Lord said unto Samuel,
00:39:27.30\00:39:29.66
"Look not on his countenance
00:39:29.70\00:39:32.87
or on the height of his stature,
00:39:32.90\00:39:36.04
because I have refused him,
00:39:36.07\00:39:38.37
for the Lord
seeth not as man seeth.
00:39:38.41\00:39:42.28
For man looketh on
the outward appearance,
00:39:42.31\00:39:45.61
but the Lord
looketh on the heart."
00:39:45.65\00:39:49.48
You see, I cannot touch
a woman as a married man,
00:39:49.52\00:39:53.66
and therefore
nobody will be able to say,
00:39:53.69\00:39:55.72
"Dwayne Lemon is an adulterer."
00:39:55.76\00:39:57.46
But if I'm
constantly looking at women,
00:39:57.49\00:39:59.63
lusting after women,
and thinking in my mind,
00:39:59.66\00:40:02.20
"Oh, I could if I just
could find a way to do it
00:40:02.23\00:40:06.84
and not get caught."
00:40:06.87\00:40:08.20
In the mind of
God, we just did it.
00:40:08.24\00:40:11.07
And therefore God
says, "Adulterer."
00:40:11.11\00:40:13.91
And this is why Jesus would say,
00:40:13.94\00:40:15.51
"It's not so much
that you touch a woman,
00:40:15.54\00:40:17.45
but when you look upon
her, to lust after her,
00:40:17.48\00:40:19.78
you've already
committed adultery.
00:40:19.81\00:40:23.28
This is why Jesus
would make these statements
00:40:23.32\00:40:25.19
because there's an external way
00:40:25.22\00:40:26.92
that we can approach
the commandments of God,
00:40:26.96\00:40:28.99
that we can
think we're doing good
00:40:29.02\00:40:30.89
but God says,
00:40:30.93\00:40:32.26
"My son and my daughter,
remember, I know your heart."
00:40:32.29\00:40:35.76
God says, "I'm paying attention
00:40:35.80\00:40:37.17
to where no one else
is paying attention to."
00:40:37.20\00:40:39.53
God is not going to
allow anybody in the kingdom
00:40:39.57\00:40:43.20
that are automations and robots
00:40:43.24\00:40:45.31
and know how to do
00:40:45.34\00:40:46.68
a bunch of
mechanical external obedience
00:40:46.71\00:40:48.68
while they're
corrupt in their hearts.
00:40:48.71\00:40:50.48
Always go back to Ezekiel 28.
00:40:50.51\00:40:52.51
Remember corruption
came in Lucifer's heart
00:40:52.55\00:40:55.38
before it showed in his actions.
00:40:55.42\00:40:58.49
God wants to deal with
the condition of the heart.
00:40:58.52\00:41:01.82
And we need heart reform
00:41:01.86\00:41:04.79
before we need any of
the other external reforms.
00:41:04.83\00:41:07.46
God has to
change the way we think.
00:41:07.50\00:41:09.96
This is why David would pray
00:41:10.00\00:41:11.60
and if you
carefully look at David,
00:41:11.63\00:41:13.37
when he prayed
00:41:13.40\00:41:14.74
he didn't just pray for God
to cure his external behavior.
00:41:14.77\00:41:18.14
You don't read
that in Psalms 51.
00:41:18.17\00:41:20.41
In Psalms 51 after David
fell into sin with Bathsheba,
00:41:20.44\00:41:24.25
what did David say?
00:41:24.28\00:41:25.61
David came to God and he said,
00:41:25.65\00:41:26.98
"Lord, create in
me a clean heart,"
00:41:27.02\00:41:31.05
Psalms 51:10,
00:41:31.09\00:41:32.75
"and renew a
right spirit within me."
00:41:32.79\00:41:36.42
We're told in the book volume 1
00:41:36.46\00:41:38.03
of the Testimonies
to the Church, page 469,
00:41:38.06\00:41:41.16
we are told that
the work of reformation
00:41:41.20\00:41:45.23
must begin with the imagination.
00:41:45.27\00:41:49.04
There's no sense in saying
00:41:49.07\00:41:50.51
revival and
reform and reformation
00:41:50.54\00:41:52.21
and we're changing a
lot of external behaviors
00:41:52.24\00:41:54.61
but in our hearts we're still
desiring Babylonian garments,
00:41:54.64\00:41:57.91
in our hearts we're still
desiring the Babylonian diet,
00:41:57.95\00:42:00.88
in our hearts we're still
desiring the Babylonian music.
00:42:00.92\00:42:03.82
God says, "I need
to cure the heart."
00:42:03.85\00:42:07.39
Because you know what happens
when you don't cure the heart?
00:42:07.42\00:42:09.72
The Bible has a promise.
00:42:09.76\00:42:11.26
Know what the promise says?
00:42:11.29\00:42:12.76
Out of the
abundance of the heart,
00:42:12.79\00:42:15.73
the mouth will speak.
00:42:15.76\00:42:17.97
Whatever is
going on in our hearts,
00:42:18.00\00:42:19.33
my brothers and sisters,
00:42:19.37\00:42:20.70
sooner or later
00:42:20.74\00:42:23.74
it's going to
come out in our words,
00:42:23.77\00:42:25.57
it's going to
come out in our actions
00:42:25.61\00:42:27.71
and that's why God says,
00:42:27.74\00:42:29.08
"I need to change
them from within."
00:42:29.11\00:42:30.85
This is where moral
goodness is not enough.
00:42:30.88\00:42:34.92
God has not just called us
00:42:34.95\00:42:36.52
to be a bunch of
morally good people.
00:42:36.55\00:42:38.92
You know what
God called us to be?
00:42:38.95\00:42:40.99
Holy.
00:42:41.02\00:42:43.02
1 Peter 1:15 and
16, the Bible says,
00:42:43.06\00:42:46.39
"Be ye there for
holy, as I am holy."
00:42:46.43\00:42:50.23
It is possible to be an atheist
00:42:50.27\00:42:52.17
and still do a
lot of good things
00:42:52.20\00:42:54.17
but we can have a corrupt heart.
00:42:54.20\00:42:56.30
It is possible to be a part
00:42:56.34\00:42:57.67
of all sorts of
groups and religions
00:42:57.71\00:42:59.44
that are
antichrist to the fullest,
00:42:59.47\00:43:01.91
but yet they do a
lot of good things.
00:43:01.94\00:43:05.38
But the corruption
point is in the heart.
00:43:05.41\00:43:07.02
That's what the plague stop is.
00:43:07.05\00:43:08.92
And so when we think about
our need for victory over sin,
00:43:08.95\00:43:11.32
we have to understand,
yes, God wants us to have it,
00:43:11.35\00:43:14.02
but we can't manufacture it
00:43:14.06\00:43:16.46
because, you know,
what the Bible says?
00:43:16.49\00:43:18.66
I studied this, go
to Isaiah 64, I mean,
00:43:18.69\00:43:21.86
it's kind of deep when
God uses these words here
00:43:21.90\00:43:24.63
but we need to accept it.
00:43:24.67\00:43:26.20
It is what it
is, it's the truth.
00:43:26.23\00:43:28.04
In Isaiah 64,
notice what the Bible says,
00:43:28.07\00:43:30.47
we're in Isaiah 64
00:43:30.51\00:43:33.07
and I want you to
see what the Bible says,
00:43:33.11\00:43:34.51
Isaiah, we're
looking at chapter 64
00:43:34.54\00:43:37.51
and notice what the Bible
says as we consider verse 6.
00:43:37.55\00:43:40.22
In Isaiah 64:6, it says,
00:43:40.25\00:43:42.82
"But we are all
as an unclean thing,
00:43:42.85\00:43:48.42
and all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags."
00:43:48.46\00:43:54.66
The Bible makes it clear that
this filthy rag in the Hebrew,
00:43:54.70\00:43:58.80
in the original is actually
00:43:58.83\00:44:01.10
a used sanitary
napkin of a woman
00:44:01.14\00:44:04.21
during her monthly cycle.
00:44:04.24\00:44:05.94
God literally says,
00:44:05.97\00:44:07.31
that's what our own
manufactured righteousness
00:44:07.34\00:44:09.14
looks like before Him,
00:44:09.18\00:44:10.51
when we try to keep
His commandments externally
00:44:10.55\00:44:12.85
but in our hearts we
still battle with corruption,
00:44:12.88\00:44:14.85
God says that,
00:44:14.88\00:44:16.22
"That thing is offensive to
me like you would not imagine."
00:44:16.25\00:44:19.12
Because, my brothers,
I'll be honest with you,
00:44:19.15\00:44:20.59
I've never seen that
before, I have never seen,
00:44:20.62\00:44:23.02
I've deliberately
refrained all my life
00:44:23.06\00:44:25.29
to make sure that I never see
a woman's used sanitary napkin
00:44:25.33\00:44:28.46
because I'm
already filled with disgust
00:44:28.50\00:44:30.00
just by the thought.
00:44:30.03\00:44:31.53
But God Himself
says, "No, I saw it."
00:44:31.57\00:44:33.47
God says, "I know
what it looks like
00:44:33.50\00:44:34.84
'cause I see everything."
00:44:34.87\00:44:36.20
And God says, "When
a man and when a woman
00:44:36.24\00:44:37.77
try to manufacture
their own righteousness
00:44:37.81\00:44:41.04
based on their own merits,
00:44:41.08\00:44:42.74
this is why the tower of Babel
was so disgusting with God."
00:44:42.78\00:44:46.41
They have the nerve to try
to make a name for themselves
00:44:46.45\00:44:51.42
and avoid
punishment without repentance.
00:44:51.45\00:44:55.19
That's literally
what they were doing.
00:44:55.22\00:44:56.56
Satan, same thing,
he goes to Eve and says,
00:44:56.59\00:44:58.89
"Listen, you can
become like Elohim."
00:44:58.93\00:45:02.10
That's what it is.
00:45:02.13\00:45:03.47
The supreme God,
00:45:03.50\00:45:04.83
you can become like
the supreme God by sinning.
00:45:04.87\00:45:07.44
That's what he told Eve.
00:45:07.47\00:45:08.90
That's the lie
that's been perpetuated
00:45:08.94\00:45:10.27
all throughout our world today.
00:45:10.31\00:45:11.64
You can violate God and His law
00:45:11.67\00:45:13.01
and you can still
ascend to the highest heights
00:45:13.04\00:45:15.01
and you can be like God Himself.
00:45:15.04\00:45:17.15
My brothers and
sisters, that is a deception
00:45:17.18\00:45:19.01
and that is an
abomination in the eyes of God.
00:45:19.05\00:45:23.02
There is no righteousness
00:45:23.05\00:45:24.39
that you and I can
manufacture in and of ourselves.
00:45:24.42\00:45:26.92
And this is why when
we think about our need
00:45:26.96\00:45:29.69
for victory over sin
we have to understand,
00:45:29.72\00:45:31.89
well, how Lord,
are you gonna do this.
00:45:31.93\00:45:34.16
Because even when I
try to give my best works,
00:45:34.20\00:45:38.27
it's offensive to you.
00:45:38.30\00:45:40.90
What do I do in a
circumstance like that?
00:45:40.94\00:45:42.54
What do you do?
00:45:42.57\00:45:43.91
How do we fix
something like this?
00:45:43.94\00:45:45.91
The first thing you need
to understand is you can't.
00:45:45.94\00:45:48.31
And I can't either.
We cannot fix ourselves.
00:45:48.34\00:45:51.48
We cannot wake
up tomorrow morning
00:45:51.51\00:45:52.85
and just say because of human
determination and willpower,
00:45:52.88\00:45:55.92
I'm going to be the best
blank that I am, you know,
00:45:55.95\00:45:59.52
you put your name in that blank.
00:45:59.55\00:46:00.89
We can't do that,
doesn't work like that.
00:46:00.92\00:46:04.69
Jesus says
something very important to us
00:46:04.73\00:46:06.39
in 1 Corinthians 1.
00:46:06.43\00:46:08.36
The Apostle Paul failed himself
in Athens when he was trying
00:46:08.40\00:46:12.43
to preach the gospel
battling science with science,
00:46:12.47\00:46:15.27
and logic for logic, and
philosophy for philosophy,
00:46:15.30\00:46:18.14
Paul realized the
limitation of all that stuff.
00:46:18.17\00:46:20.58
And so in 1 Corinthians 1,
00:46:20.61\00:46:21.94
this is what he
had to say about it.
00:46:21.98\00:46:23.31
In 1 Corinthians,
notice what the Bible says
00:46:23.35\00:46:25.58
as we consider 1 Corinthians 1,
00:46:25.61\00:46:27.45
the Apostle Paul,
he snapped out of it,
00:46:27.48\00:46:29.58
he woke up, thank God,
the Spirit of God woke him up.
00:46:29.62\00:46:32.55
Helped him realized
00:46:32.59\00:46:33.92
the gospel is
not won by arguments,
00:46:33.96\00:46:36.16
it's won by demonstrations,
00:46:36.19\00:46:38.19
it's won by the proclamation
mingled with demonstration.
00:46:38.23\00:46:41.06
When a man lives his message,
00:46:41.10\00:46:42.43
boy, you got
yourself a powerful man.
00:46:42.46\00:46:44.43
When a woman lives her message,
00:46:44.47\00:46:45.80
you have met
yourself a powerful woman.
00:46:45.83\00:46:48.10
And so the Bible says
in 1 Corinthians 1:17,
00:46:48.14\00:46:52.04
the Apostle Paul says,
00:46:52.07\00:46:53.41
"For Christ sent
me not to baptize,
00:46:53.44\00:46:55.11
but to preach the gospel,
not with wisdom for words,
00:46:55.14\00:46:58.41
lest the cross of Christ
should be made of none effect.
00:46:58.45\00:47:01.18
For the preaching of the cross
00:47:01.22\00:47:03.15
is to them that
perish foolishness,
00:47:03.18\00:47:05.32
but unto us which are saved,
00:47:05.35\00:47:07.09
it is the power of God."
00:47:07.12\00:47:09.62
The preaching of the
cross, the power of God,
00:47:09.66\00:47:12.59
you know, that's what
the Bible calls the gospel.
00:47:12.63\00:47:14.43
When you study Romans
1:16, Romans 1:16 says,
00:47:14.46\00:47:17.97
"For I am not ashamed
of the Gospel of Christ,
00:47:18.00\00:47:20.24
for it is the power of God
00:47:20.27\00:47:23.17
unto salvation to
every one that believes,
00:47:23.20\00:47:24.97
to the Jew first
and also to the Greek."
00:47:25.01\00:47:27.21
Well, here it is,
Paul is telling us
00:47:27.24\00:47:28.98
within the gospel
which has the power of God.
00:47:29.01\00:47:31.71
The gospel must have the cross
00:47:31.75\00:47:34.38
because it's evident right here.
00:47:34.42\00:47:35.75
It says, "For the preaching
of the cross is to them
00:47:35.78\00:47:37.95
that perish foolishness,
but unto us which are saved,
00:47:37.99\00:47:39.99
it is the power of God."
00:47:40.02\00:47:41.86
Now it's not just the cross
as far as the T shape emblem
00:47:41.89\00:47:44.53
because notice what
it says in verse 24.
00:47:44.56\00:47:46.90
Verse 24 the same
book in same chapter,
00:47:46.93\00:47:49.43
1 Corinthians 1,
it says in verse 24,
00:47:49.46\00:47:52.43
"But unto them which are called,
00:47:52.47\00:47:55.14
both Jews and Greeks,
Christ, the power of God
00:47:55.17\00:47:58.97
and the wisdom of God."
00:47:59.01\00:48:00.64
I always say this to my friends
who often like to wear crosses
00:48:00.68\00:48:03.21
in their homes
and on their necks.
00:48:03.24\00:48:05.08
I would say, "If your
nephew got gun down one day
00:48:05.11\00:48:07.18
trying to save your life,
00:48:07.22\00:48:08.78
would you go ahead and
wrap a gun around your neck
00:48:08.82\00:48:11.05
in memory, in
commemoration of your nephew?
00:48:11.09\00:48:13.42
You wouldn't do that
because that's the instrument
00:48:13.46\00:48:14.89
that killed him."
00:48:14.92\00:48:16.26
You see it's not
the cross simply,
00:48:16.29\00:48:18.56
it was the one
that died on the cross,
00:48:18.59\00:48:20.20
it's the sacrifice
demonstrated on the cross.
00:48:20.23\00:48:22.76
That's what we commemorate,
00:48:22.80\00:48:24.13
not the actual
instrument itself.
00:48:24.17\00:48:26.33
And so it is that
it's not simply the cross
00:48:26.37\00:48:28.84
that's the power of
God, it's Christ on the cross
00:48:28.87\00:48:31.94
that is the power of God.
00:48:31.97\00:48:33.31
And that's why
Paul in 1 Corinthians 2,
00:48:33.34\00:48:35.71
what does he say?
00:48:35.74\00:48:37.08
He says in 1
Corinthians 2:1 and 2,
00:48:37.11\00:48:39.08
"And I, brethren,
when I came to you
00:48:39.11\00:48:41.68
came not with excellency
of speech or of wisdom,
00:48:41.72\00:48:44.15
declaring unto you
the testimony of God,
00:48:44.19\00:48:46.19
for I determined not to
know anything among you,
00:48:46.22\00:48:49.86
save Jesus Christ
and Him crucified."
00:48:49.89\00:48:55.43
That's where the
power is, Christ crucified.
00:48:55.46\00:48:59.13
And Christ crucified,
there's something about that
00:48:59.17\00:49:02.07
that gives us power and
ability that by the grace of God
00:49:02.10\00:49:07.68
the things that we
once loved, we can hate.
00:49:07.71\00:49:11.31
The things we once
hated, we can love.
00:49:11.35\00:49:13.68
Why?
00:49:13.72\00:49:15.05
Because of the power
that was demonstrated
00:49:15.08\00:49:17.09
from the cross of Calvary.
00:49:17.12\00:49:19.89
You see this is
why going back up
00:49:19.92\00:49:21.76
in 1 Corinthians 1,
00:49:21.79\00:49:23.19
look what it says right
there in verses 30 and 31.
00:49:23.22\00:49:26.33
In 1 Corinthians 1:30 and 31,
00:49:26.36\00:49:27.93
it says, "But of Him
are ye in Christ Jesus,
00:49:27.96\00:49:31.40
who of God is made unto
us wisdom and righteousness,
00:49:31.43\00:49:36.14
and
sanctification and redemption,
00:49:36.17\00:49:38.77
that according as it is written:
00:49:38.81\00:49:40.48
"He that glorieth, let
him glory in the Lord."
00:49:40.51\00:49:44.31
' This is the great
benefit that comes to you and I.
00:49:44.35\00:49:46.98
I don't have to look to myself
to establish righteousness
00:49:47.02\00:49:49.48
because I can't
and you can't either.
00:49:49.52\00:49:52.45
But what I can do
00:49:52.49\00:49:53.82
is I can look to
Jesus, I can look at the fact
00:49:53.86\00:49:55.56
that He lived a
completely holy, righteous,
00:49:55.59\00:49:59.33
commandment keeping lifestyle.
00:49:59.36\00:50:01.63
And now I can
look to His example
00:50:01.66\00:50:05.63
and I can by faith accept
the power He offers to me.
00:50:05.67\00:50:10.87
Somebody says,
"How does that work?"
00:50:10.91\00:50:12.31
Well, it's very simple.
00:50:12.34\00:50:14.88
You remember in John 5,
there's a story of a man
00:50:14.91\00:50:18.45
who was sick
for 38 years, right?
00:50:18.48\00:50:22.88
He was sick for 38
years, he's messed up, you know,
00:50:22.92\00:50:25.65
he can't move his legs.
00:50:25.69\00:50:27.02
So, you know, he has
to try to drag his body
00:50:27.06\00:50:28.92
with his upper body strength,
00:50:28.96\00:50:30.53
and I could only
imagine how tough that was.
00:50:30.56\00:50:32.99
And they
believed that, you know,
00:50:33.03\00:50:34.76
obviously when the water
would trickle by this pool
00:50:34.80\00:50:37.37
in Bethesda that, you know,
00:50:37.40\00:50:38.77
that was an angel that did it
00:50:38.80\00:50:40.14
and hence if they go
in that water, oh, man,
00:50:40.17\00:50:42.24
you know, they're going
to get all these blessings,
00:50:42.27\00:50:43.61
they're going to
experience healing
00:50:43.64\00:50:45.61
and when they
would see the trickle
00:50:45.64\00:50:46.98
that brother would
try to maneuver himself,
00:50:47.01\00:50:48.71
but he couldn't make it.
00:50:48.74\00:50:50.08
And somebody would
always get in before him.
00:50:50.11\00:50:52.48
Well here it is that, you know,
00:50:52.51\00:50:55.08
one day Jesus comes by this area
00:50:55.12\00:50:56.58
and He sees all
these souls just hurting,
00:50:56.62\00:51:00.26
but Jesus sees that man
00:51:00.29\00:51:01.62
who probably was in
the most deplorable state,
00:51:01.66\00:51:03.26
I mean after 38 years
of a disease, you know,
00:51:03.29\00:51:05.66
that disease is
wearing on your body,
00:51:05.69\00:51:07.76
so I would imagine
he looked really bad.
00:51:07.80\00:51:10.50
As Jesus goes to him
and He asked him a question
00:51:10.53\00:51:12.50
that I would have
imagined, you know,
00:51:12.53\00:51:14.44
seem not to make
sense at least to the man,
00:51:14.47\00:51:16.97
he says, "You want to get well?"
00:51:17.01\00:51:19.11
And the man says,
"Well, sir, you know,
00:51:19.14\00:51:20.91
I really do want to get well.
00:51:20.94\00:51:22.28
But every time I
tried to get well,
00:51:22.31\00:51:23.75
somebody else jumps in before me
00:51:23.78\00:51:25.85
and he starts going
into all these mountains,
00:51:25.88\00:51:27.62
these obstacles."
00:51:27.65\00:51:29.45
Jesus bypasses
all of his complaining
00:51:29.48\00:51:32.72
and simply makes a call
for him to exercise faith.
00:51:32.75\00:51:38.33
Jesus says to him, "Get
up, take up your mat and walk."
00:51:38.36\00:51:43.40
Now, here's the deal.
00:51:43.43\00:51:45.53
When Jesus told him
that he could have responded
00:51:45.57\00:51:50.14
one of two ways,
00:51:50.17\00:51:51.61
the first way he
could have responded,
00:51:51.64\00:51:53.04
thank God it's not
recorded in sacred history,
00:51:53.07\00:51:55.64
he could have responded saying,
00:51:55.68\00:51:57.05
"Lord, as soon as I feel energy
in my legs, I will get up."
00:51:57.08\00:52:03.32
If he would have said that,
if he would have said Lord,
00:52:03.35\00:52:05.02
as soon as I feel
some energy in my legs,
00:52:05.05\00:52:06.76
I'm gonna move and get up.
00:52:06.79\00:52:08.12
We would not have
the story of John 5.
00:52:08.16\00:52:10.99
But do you know
what that man did?
00:52:11.03\00:52:13.06
The Bible tells us
exactly what he did.
00:52:13.09\00:52:14.43
Look at John 5.
00:52:14.46\00:52:16.00
Once Jesus told him,
"Get up, take up your mat
00:52:16.03\00:52:19.37
and start walking."
00:52:19.40\00:52:20.74
We're talking
about real examples
00:52:20.77\00:52:22.74
of receiving the
righteousness of Christ
00:52:22.77\00:52:25.24
that He gives us power
to live a life above sin.
00:52:25.27\00:52:28.94
The Bible says in
John 5:9, it says,
00:52:28.98\00:52:32.71
"And immediately
the man was made whole,
00:52:32.75\00:52:36.02
and took up his bed and walked:
00:52:36.05\00:52:38.25
and on the same
day was the Sabbath."
00:52:38.29\00:52:39.65
Now, this is it.
00:52:39.69\00:52:41.52
Immediately the
man was made whole.
00:52:41.56\00:52:42.99
So as soon as Jesus
said to that brother,
00:52:43.02\00:52:45.26
get up and take
up your mat and walk,
00:52:45.29\00:52:46.93
every provision of heaven
was present, every provision.
00:52:46.96\00:52:52.43
He had to
believe, he had to accept
00:52:52.47\00:52:55.14
that every provision
has absolutely been made
00:52:55.17\00:52:58.64
right there.
00:52:58.67\00:53:00.01
So all he had to do
00:53:00.04\00:53:01.38
was what the next
part of the verse says.
00:53:01.41\00:53:02.78
It says,
immediately he was made whole
00:53:02.81\00:53:04.85
and he took up his bed.
00:53:04.88\00:53:06.75
So he had to act on the word.
00:53:06.78\00:53:11.45
Are you following?
00:53:11.49\00:53:12.82
He had to act on the word.
00:53:12.85\00:53:16.49
Whenever I think
about how the principles
00:53:16.52\00:53:18.23
of righteousness by faith
is to be realized in humanity,
00:53:18.26\00:53:22.03
it is hearing what God has said.
00:53:22.06\00:53:25.20
Demonstrating a
full complete ample,
00:53:25.23\00:53:27.34
entire trust in
what God had said.
00:53:27.37\00:53:30.64
And then acting
on what God has said
00:53:30.67\00:53:34.08
with a complete dependence
00:53:34.11\00:53:35.88
that he will get
it done through me.
00:53:35.91\00:53:40.28
This is Philippians 2:13,
00:53:40.32\00:53:43.22
"For it is God
that worketh in you,
00:53:43.25\00:53:47.36
to will and to do
of His good pleasure."
00:53:47.39\00:53:53.73
God is the one
that gets it done.
00:53:53.76\00:53:55.76
But what He says is
faith is ours to exercise.
00:53:55.80\00:54:01.34
And joyful feeling
and the blessings is
00:54:01.37\00:54:03.04
God's to give to
us, that's the key.
00:54:03.07\00:54:06.91
Living the life of
faith does not mean
00:54:06.94\00:54:09.94
that we just sit down
abstractly and just say,
00:54:09.98\00:54:12.01
well, praise God for His grace
00:54:12.05\00:54:13.68
while we just
keep practicing sin.
00:54:13.72\00:54:15.98
That is the greatest perversion
that has ever hit Christianity
00:54:16.02\00:54:19.32
that people can think
00:54:19.35\00:54:20.69
that justification and
sanctification by faith
00:54:20.72\00:54:23.12
is some type of forensic deal
00:54:23.16\00:54:25.03
that God just
somehow covers our sins.
00:54:25.06\00:54:27.83
I don't know if you
ever saw this before
00:54:27.86\00:54:29.20
but there's even booklets
00:54:29.23\00:54:31.13
where sometimes they
show a picture of a man
00:54:31.17\00:54:33.77
and his face looks
down sulken, you know,
00:54:33.80\00:54:35.40
his face looks very
sad like this, you know,
00:54:35.44\00:54:36.87
he just looks very
sad and there's a hand,
00:54:36.91\00:54:40.91
there's two
hands with a white robe
00:54:40.94\00:54:42.78
and the white robe is
covering the individual,
00:54:42.81\00:54:46.51
so he has on a
filthy dirty robe.
00:54:46.55\00:54:48.92
But then he has the white robe
00:54:48.95\00:54:50.29
that's going
over the dirty robe.
00:54:50.32\00:54:52.05
And some people, you
know, have seen those pictures.
00:54:52.09\00:54:53.86
You've seen
those pictures before?
00:54:53.89\00:54:55.46
And, you know, yeah, see,
00:54:55.49\00:54:56.83
there's lots of people
who have seen those pictures,
00:54:56.86\00:54:58.19
they've been
around in many books
00:54:58.23\00:54:59.56
and things and
different types of books.
00:54:59.59\00:55:01.46
And when we see that picture,
we think that's the gospel.
00:55:01.50\00:55:04.93
Did you know that picture,
00:55:04.97\00:55:06.30
that image is a
perversion of the gospel.
00:55:06.33\00:55:08.40
Did you know that?
Probably didn't even know that.
00:55:08.44\00:55:11.11
You see, if you
go to Zechariah 3,
00:55:11.14\00:55:13.38
let me show you
'cause what they're doing
00:55:13.41\00:55:15.44
is they're trying to show
you a picture of Zechariah 3
00:55:15.48\00:55:18.81
that it's trying
to do reenactment.
00:55:18.85\00:55:20.68
So when you see this guy
00:55:20.72\00:55:22.05
who's just
looking all down sulken
00:55:22.08\00:55:24.19
and he has on his
filthy dirty robe,
00:55:24.22\00:55:26.32
what happens is that
suppose to be Joshua.
00:55:26.35\00:55:29.06
And then there is
the angel of the Lord
00:55:29.09\00:55:30.43
that's taking the robe
00:55:30.46\00:55:31.79
and they're putting it
over Joshua and, you know,
00:55:31.83\00:55:34.33
covering him, covering his sins.
00:55:34.36\00:55:36.43
But it's not a
good representation
00:55:36.46\00:55:38.43
because notice
what the Bible says,
00:55:38.47\00:55:39.83
if you go to the
Book of Zechariah
00:55:39.87\00:55:42.20
and you go to chapter 3,
then watch what the text says.
00:55:42.24\00:55:45.17
Zechariah and we're
looking at chapter 3
00:55:45.21\00:55:48.08
starting at verse 1.
00:55:48.11\00:55:49.44
And here's what the
Bible says, Zechariah 3:1,
00:55:49.48\00:55:52.48
"And he showed me Joshua
00:55:52.51\00:55:54.32
the high priest standing
before the angel of the Lord,
00:55:54.35\00:55:58.12
and Satan
standing at his right hand
00:55:58.15\00:56:00.76
to resist him.
00:56:00.79\00:56:02.12
And the Lord said unto Satan,
"The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan,
00:56:02.16\00:56:05.13
even the Lord that hath
chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee!
00:56:05.16\00:56:09.36
Is not this a brand
plucked out of the fire?"
00:56:09.40\00:56:11.53
' Verse 3, "Now
Joshua was clothed with,
00:56:11.57\00:56:14.80
" what kind of garments?
00:56:14.84\00:56:16.24
"Filthy garments, and
stood before the angel."
00:56:16.27\00:56:19.74
Now watch this,
verse 4, "And He answered
00:56:19.77\00:56:23.41
and spake unto those
that stood before Him, saying,
00:56:23.45\00:56:27.58
"Take away the
filthy garments from him."
00:56:27.62\00:56:32.02
And unto him He said,
00:56:32.05\00:56:33.42
"Behold, I have caused thine
iniquity to pass from thee,
00:56:33.46\00:56:38.03
and I will clothe thee
with change of raiment."
00:56:38.06\00:56:42.26
' That is the biblical story.
00:56:42.30\00:56:44.70
He did not
maintain his dirty robe
00:56:44.73\00:56:47.60
while Jesus comes
00:56:47.64\00:56:49.10
and takes His
beautiful white robe
00:56:49.14\00:56:51.61
and just covers his dirty robe.
00:56:51.64\00:56:53.44
That's not what
the Bible teaches.
00:56:53.48\00:56:55.68
The Bible says take
away the filthy garments
00:56:55.71\00:56:58.98
and then put on
the change of raiment.
00:56:59.01\00:57:01.72
You see, when we come to
Jesus, we must understand
00:57:01.75\00:57:04.35
that God wants to take
away our filthy garments.
00:57:04.39\00:57:07.12
God wants to cover us
with His righteousness,
00:57:07.16\00:57:09.59
but we must be
willing to yield and say,
00:57:09.62\00:57:12.26
"Lord, from this day forward
00:57:12.29\00:57:14.06
all that I know to
be sin by your grace,
00:57:14.10\00:57:16.90
I will turn away."
00:57:16.93\00:57:18.27
And the question is,
will you let Jesus do that
00:57:18.30\00:57:19.90
in your heart today.
00:57:19.93\00:57:21.37
My hope and my prayer is
00:57:21.40\00:57:22.74
that we answer
in the affirmative.
00:57:22.77\00:57:24.84
Loving Father, please
take away our filthy garments
00:57:24.87\00:57:28.18
and give us
Christ our righteousness,
00:57:28.21\00:57:30.85
in Jesus' name, amen.
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