Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn. 00:00:01.36\00:00:02.76 Are you aware that God promises to make you complete 00:00:02.76\00:00:05.53 in every way to do His will through Christ Jesus? 00:00:05.53\00:00:09.40 Join us now on "The Grace Pipeline" 00:00:09.40\00:00:11.61 as we study Christ, our sanctification. 00:00:11.61\00:00:16.01 Welcome to "The Grace Pipeline." 00:00:35.03\00:00:36.90 This is a series based on a Bible study 00:00:37.20\00:00:39.50 book by the same title. 00:00:39.50\00:00:41.90 You know, it's a great privilege 00:00:41.90\00:00:44.57 to write something for the glory of the Lord. 00:00:44.57\00:00:47.68 At the same time, it's a great responsibility 00:00:47.68\00:00:50.85 and it's important that it is a well-balanced teaching. 00:00:50.85\00:00:55.12 Because something that God wants 00:00:55.12\00:00:57.99 is for us to know the balance of truth. 00:00:57.99\00:01:00.52 It results in great personal growth, 00:01:00.52\00:01:03.69 because as you write, 00:01:03.69\00:01:05.26 you must necessarily restudy and dig deeper into scripture. 00:01:05.26\00:01:10.10 And as you begin to mind the depth of God's word, 00:01:10.10\00:01:15.14 He teaches you more and more. 00:01:15.14\00:01:17.27 His word is inexhaustible. 00:01:17.27\00:01:19.87 I don't pretend to know all there is to know about grace, 00:01:19.87\00:01:23.18 but what God has taught me has been life-changing. 00:01:23.18\00:01:27.05 And day by day, He is teaching me 00:01:27.05\00:01:29.95 how to make this more of a personal experience 00:01:29.95\00:01:33.79 rather than merely an intellectual understanding. 00:01:33.79\00:01:37.63 My hope is that you too will be transformed 00:01:37.63\00:01:41.13 as we study God's word together. 00:01:41.13\00:01:44.13 Today, if you're following along 00:01:44.13\00:01:46.00 in the series companion book "The Grace Pipeline," 00:01:46.00\00:01:49.07 we will begin our study in chapter 7 and that's page 106, 00:01:49.07\00:01:54.08 as we consider how Christ is our sanctification. 00:01:54.08\00:01:59.85 Because we are dividing this study on grace 00:01:59.85\00:02:02.95 into bite size pieces, it seems it would be 00:02:02.95\00:02:06.25 a good thing for us to take just a few minutes 00:02:06.25\00:02:08.89 to quickly review some of the Bible principles 00:02:08.89\00:02:11.96 we have already established. 00:02:11.96\00:02:14.63 We have identified it is God's love 00:02:14.63\00:02:17.27 that is the compelling force behind His grace. 00:02:17.27\00:02:21.10 This unending well of love, 00:02:21.10\00:02:23.91 overflows with every good and perfect gift 00:02:23.91\00:02:26.84 from our Heavenly Father and grace is the pipeline 00:02:26.84\00:02:30.58 through which all blessings flow from heaven to earth. 00:02:30.58\00:02:33.78 Faith we've identified as the faucet. 00:02:33.78\00:02:36.52 It's how we tap into God's grace pipeline. 00:02:36.52\00:02:39.09 And our faith regulates the release of blessings 00:02:39.09\00:02:42.92 from His great reservoir. 00:02:42.92\00:02:45.09 Now prayer is the handle that opens the faith faucet. 00:02:45.09\00:02:50.30 Trust is the foundation for the prayer of faith, 00:02:50.30\00:02:53.44 and relationship is the foundation for trust. 00:02:53.44\00:02:57.61 What's the foundation for relationship? Love. 00:02:57.61\00:03:01.01 And the more we love and understand His love for us, 00:03:01.01\00:03:06.48 the more we love Him in return. 00:03:06.48\00:03:08.72 We develop a more intimate relationship with Him 00:03:08.72\00:03:12.29 and the more intimate the relationship, 00:03:12.29\00:03:14.16 the greater our trust grows in God. 00:03:14.16\00:03:16.59 The more we trust Him, 00:03:16.59\00:03:18.56 the more we bring all things to Him in prayer. 00:03:18.56\00:03:22.00 And the more we pray in faith, 00:03:22.00\00:03:24.07 the more blessings God releases on us. 00:03:24.07\00:03:27.87 We have also identified 00:03:27.87\00:03:29.64 the three greatest gifts of God's grace 00:03:29.64\00:03:33.38 as being His son Jesus Christ, 00:03:33.38\00:03:36.48 the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Scriptures. 00:03:36.48\00:03:39.58 When we understand these gifts and we are beginning 00:03:39.58\00:03:43.89 to understand His gifts of grace, 00:03:43.89\00:03:46.05 then we understand the effects of grace. 00:03:46.05\00:03:49.59 And because of this, we've arrived at this definition 00:03:49.59\00:03:54.13 that divine grace is the unearned, 00:03:54.13\00:03:57.47 undeserved gifts bestowed by a God of infinite love 00:03:57.47\00:04:01.77 which provide His divine assistance 00:04:01.77\00:04:05.57 and supernatural power unto salvation. 00:04:05.57\00:04:09.84 Now sometime ago in this series, 00:04:09.84\00:04:11.88 we studied how we receive justification by faith, 00:04:11.88\00:04:16.32 through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ 00:04:16.32\00:04:19.55 which means nothing less than the righteousness of Christ 00:04:19.55\00:04:22.86 that is credited to our account. 00:04:22.86\00:04:25.96 We know the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. 00:04:25.96\00:04:29.40 We're all sinners and we all deserved to die. 00:04:29.40\00:04:32.60 But when we confess our sins and repent 00:04:32.60\00:04:35.64 accepting Christ as our Savior, 00:04:35.64\00:04:37.61 the record of His perfect life is credited to us. 00:04:37.61\00:04:42.11 Moreover, He stood in as our substitute 00:04:42.11\00:04:46.55 and died the death we deserved. 00:04:46.55\00:04:49.28 And His blood covers our sins. 00:04:49.28\00:04:52.05 The demands for divine justice are satisfied 00:04:52.05\00:04:55.32 and there are no longer legal grounds 00:04:55.32\00:04:57.46 to justly inflict the penalty of sin. 00:04:57.46\00:05:01.43 God justifies us, which means He pronounces 00:05:01.43\00:05:06.23 an acquittal of the charges against us 00:05:06.23\00:05:08.80 making an official declaration 00:05:08.80\00:05:11.34 that we the accused are innocent. 00:05:11.34\00:05:14.81 Justification is an act of God 00:05:14.81\00:05:18.15 and that is the first stage of salvation. 00:05:18.15\00:05:21.22 Justification changes our record. 00:05:21.22\00:05:24.79 In our last several programs of this series, 00:05:24.79\00:05:28.56 we have been studying sanctification, 00:05:28.56\00:05:31.56 which is the second stage of salvation 00:05:31.56\00:05:33.76 and it changes not just the record, 00:05:33.76\00:05:36.83 but it changes our character. 00:05:36.83\00:05:39.17 Sanctification is ours 00:05:39.17\00:05:42.24 through the imparted righteousness of Jesus Christ, 00:05:42.24\00:05:45.74 that righteousness He pours into our heart. 00:05:45.74\00:05:48.41 And this is how the process of consecrating us 00:05:48.41\00:05:52.45 or setting us apart from the world to live for God. 00:05:52.45\00:05:57.02 This is how it happens. 00:05:57.02\00:05:58.62 Sanctification is a synonym for holiness. 00:05:58.62\00:06:03.26 They both simply mean to be set apart from sin 00:06:03.26\00:06:07.50 that we might live the abundant life 00:06:07.50\00:06:10.57 Christ Jesus came to give us. 00:06:10.57\00:06:13.57 Sanctification is a progressive work of God in our lives 00:06:13.57\00:06:18.24 that requires our complete cooperation. 00:06:18.24\00:06:22.14 It is a continuous process of consecration 00:06:22.14\00:06:27.68 or dedicating our lives to do God's will. 00:06:27.68\00:06:31.75 Sanctification is a work of God to recreate His image in us. 00:06:31.75\00:06:39.59 And to prove it is God's work, 00:06:39.59\00:06:42.40 The Bible tells us that we are sanctified 00:06:42.40\00:06:45.40 by the Heavenly Father, by the gift of our 00:06:45.40\00:06:48.24 Lord Jesus Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit, 00:06:48.24\00:06:52.14 the gift of God's love operating within our hearts, 00:06:52.14\00:06:56.21 the gift of the Holy Scriptures, 00:06:56.21\00:06:58.95 the gift of faith and the privilege 00:06:58.95\00:07:01.98 of obedience empowered by God. 00:07:01.98\00:07:05.35 His work is a continual, 00:07:05.35\00:07:08.56 day-by-day development that transforms 00:07:08.56\00:07:12.03 our physical, mental, and spiritual powers 00:07:12.03\00:07:16.20 if we will only cooperate with Him. 00:07:16.20\00:07:19.70 Now we have previously studied what it means 00:07:19.70\00:07:23.37 to be a sanctification seeker which means we pursue holiness 00:07:23.37\00:07:28.48 or in other words it means that we cooperate with God 00:07:28.48\00:07:32.45 to be set apart from sin. 00:07:32.45\00:07:35.28 The Apostle Paul tells us that we should devote our lives 00:07:35.28\00:07:40.42 to this process and experience of transformation. 00:07:40.42\00:07:44.06 Many Christians do not fully recognize 00:07:44.06\00:07:47.96 the work of God, the Father 00:07:47.96\00:07:49.40 and God, the Son in the process of sanctification. 00:07:49.40\00:07:52.80 In our last program, we reviewed 00:07:52.80\00:07:55.60 the Father's action in this critical work. 00:07:55.60\00:07:58.34 Now, today, let us more closely 00:07:58.34\00:08:01.41 consider Christ's intimate involvement. 00:08:01.41\00:08:05.95 Sanctification seekers pursue holiness 00:08:05.95\00:08:09.98 by believing in and receiving Christ as Savior, 00:08:09.98\00:08:14.09 developing a personal and abiding relationship 00:08:14.09\00:08:17.93 with Him and by following the leading of the Holy Spirit. 00:08:17.93\00:08:23.00 This identifies us as the children of God. 00:08:23.00\00:08:27.77 As John 1:12 proclaims that, 00:08:27.77\00:08:30.51 "As many as have received Him, 00:08:30.51\00:08:33.64 to them He gave the right to become the children of God," 00:08:33.64\00:08:38.31 to those who believe in Christ, in His name, in His work. 00:08:38.31\00:08:44.35 The sacred bonds of this privileged relationship 00:08:44.35\00:08:48.46 being a child of God is our means 00:08:48.46\00:08:52.83 of sanctification by grace. 00:08:52.83\00:08:55.56 Let's look at 1 Corinthians 1:30 were the Bible says, 00:08:55.56\00:09:01.07 "But of Him, speaking of God, you are in Christ Jesus, 00:09:01.07\00:09:07.58 who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness 00:09:07.58\00:09:13.62 and sanctification and redemption." 00:09:13.62\00:09:18.62 Now let's unpack this scripture. 00:09:18.62\00:09:21.49 First, it tells us it is of Him 00:09:21.49\00:09:25.03 the Father that we are in Christ. 00:09:25.03\00:09:28.03 God's all embracing and matchless love 00:09:28.03\00:09:31.77 was manifested in the sacrifice of His sinless Son, 00:09:31.77\00:09:36.27 for those who were yet impure sinners. 00:09:36.27\00:09:40.01 It is by our Heavenly Father's will 00:09:40.01\00:09:42.88 that we have identified with Christ crucified. 00:09:42.88\00:09:47.98 Secondly, because of this, Christ has become our wisdom. 00:09:47.98\00:09:54.42 He possesses the fullness of God's treasury 00:09:54.42\00:09:58.23 of wisdom and knowledge 00:09:58.23\00:09:59.69 and He reveals God's purposes to us. 00:09:59.69\00:10:03.40 Making Christ our wisdom and possessing Him, 00:10:03.40\00:10:07.27 we possess His wisdom that causes us 00:10:07.27\00:10:10.71 to understand God's will for our lives. 00:10:10.71\00:10:13.84 Now the third point of this scripture 00:10:13.84\00:10:16.48 is that Christ becomes our righteousness. 00:10:16.48\00:10:20.05 In that by faith, His imputed righteousness 00:10:20.05\00:10:24.79 provides justification putting us 00:10:24.79\00:10:27.52 in right standing with the Heavenly Father. 00:10:27.52\00:10:31.23 Now the first point-- or the fourth point 00:10:31.23\00:10:33.80 I should say of 1 Corinthians 1:30 is that 00:10:33.80\00:10:37.47 Christ's imparted righteousness becomes our sanctification. 00:10:37.47\00:10:43.30 This fits us to press into the presence of a Holy God. 00:10:43.30\00:10:50.08 In Christ, we are recreated 00:10:50.08\00:10:53.58 to enjoy a new life of righteousness 00:10:53.58\00:10:57.25 and we should devote our lives fully 00:10:57.25\00:10:59.42 to practicing righteousness by the power of God 00:10:59.42\00:11:03.49 rather than practicing sin 00:11:03.49\00:11:05.59 through the influence of our old carnal nature. 00:11:05.59\00:11:09.50 And the final point is that His death paid our ransom 00:11:09.50\00:11:15.07 to escape the penalty of sin, making Christ our redemption. 00:11:15.07\00:11:20.74 Through our redeemer Christ, we are saved. 00:11:20.74\00:11:25.15 Now our study today is on sanctification, 00:11:25.15\00:11:28.08 so let's hone in on that particular aspect. 00:11:28.08\00:11:32.89 Christ's continual imparted righteousness, 00:11:32.89\00:11:37.06 His purity, and His holiness living in our hearts 00:11:37.06\00:11:39.93 through faith makes us pure and holy. 00:11:39.93\00:11:44.30 By His life within, He separates those who abide in Him. 00:11:44.30\00:11:49.04 He separates them from sin 00:11:49.04\00:11:51.97 for God's special purity and holy purposes. 00:11:51.97\00:11:55.78 This makes Christ our sanctification. 00:11:55.78\00:11:59.85 John 1:16-17 says that "Of His fullness 00:11:59.85\00:12:05.25 we have all received and grace for grace. 00:12:05.25\00:12:09.59 For the law was given through Moses, 00:12:09.59\00:12:12.76 but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." 00:12:12.76\00:12:16.30 Through the revelation of the mystery 00:12:16.30\00:12:19.00 of the Lord's plan of salvation, 00:12:19.00\00:12:21.57 God's greater grace replaced the grace contained 00:12:21.57\00:12:27.61 in the ceremonial law, grace for grace. 00:12:27.61\00:12:32.95 The temporary sacrificial system 00:12:32.95\00:12:36.62 pointed to the perfect sacrifice of Christ 00:12:36.62\00:12:40.29 who would offer His body once for all. 00:12:40.29\00:12:44.19 The continual animal offerings of the old covenant 00:12:44.19\00:12:47.83 were a constant reminder that Christ had not yet come. 00:12:47.83\00:12:52.80 1 John 3:8 reveals that Christ came 00:12:52.80\00:12:56.57 to destroy the works of the devil. 00:12:56.57\00:12:59.44 Let's read from Hebrews 10:5-10. 00:12:59.44\00:13:05.41 That says, "Therefore, when He came into the world, 00:13:05.41\00:13:09.65 He said, sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, 00:13:09.65\00:13:13.69 and offering for sin you did not desire, 00:13:13.69\00:13:17.23 nor had pleasure in them 00:13:17.23\00:13:19.06 which are offered according to the law. 00:13:19.06\00:13:21.56 Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God. 00:13:21.56\00:13:27.00 He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 00:13:27.00\00:13:31.07 By that will we have been sanctified 00:13:31.07\00:13:34.84 through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." 00:13:34.84\00:13:41.58 God had no pleasure in animal sacrifices 00:13:41.58\00:13:45.12 because for most people they became nothing more than 00:13:45.12\00:13:48.79 a ritual requirement of insincere worshipers. 00:13:48.79\00:13:52.89 In verse 10, we have just read that-- 00:13:52.89\00:13:57.57 and the Greek emphasizes sanctification 00:13:57.57\00:14:00.87 in terms of our original change from sin to holiness 00:14:00.87\00:14:06.37 and as a continuation in that state. 00:14:06.37\00:14:10.88 We are sanctified through the body of Jesus Christ 00:14:10.88\00:14:14.58 and through His blood as further explained in Hebrews 13:12, 00:14:14.58\00:14:21.19 which says, "Therefore Jesus also, 00:14:21.19\00:14:25.19 that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, 00:14:25.19\00:14:29.53 suffered outside the gate." 00:14:29.53\00:14:32.47 It was the will of God to sanctify humanity 00:14:32.47\00:14:37.57 by the crucified body of His son. 00:14:37.57\00:14:39.87 It was God's will that Christ's precious blood 00:14:39.87\00:14:44.21 be shed to cover our sins 00:14:44.21\00:14:47.18 and to separate us from sin's influence, 00:14:47.18\00:14:52.89 leading to holiness, to sanctification. 00:14:52.89\00:14:57.89 Well, I certainly consider 00:14:57.89\00:15:00.06 the experience of sanctification joyful. 00:15:00.06\00:15:03.97 There is a very serious and related aspect 00:15:03.97\00:15:07.50 that must be presented to those who would 00:15:07.50\00:15:10.67 receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 00:15:10.67\00:15:15.14 Let us consider Hebrews 9:13, 14 00:15:15.14\00:15:22.95 and here the writer says, 00:15:22.95\00:15:25.15 "For if the blood of bulls and goats 00:15:25.15\00:15:28.12 and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, 00:15:28.12\00:15:31.79 sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 00:15:31.79\00:15:35.40 how much more shall the blood of Christ, 00:15:35.40\00:15:39.73 who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself 00:15:39.73\00:15:44.17 without spot to God, cleanse your conscience 00:15:44.17\00:15:48.38 from dead works to serve the living God?" 00:15:48.38\00:15:52.08 Now going right into Hebrews 10:28, 29, 00:15:52.08\00:15:56.99 we receive the warning, 00:15:56.99\00:15:59.59 "Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy 00:15:59.59\00:16:04.99 on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 00:16:04.99\00:16:08.86 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, 00:16:08.86\00:16:12.17 will he be thought worthy 00:16:12.17\00:16:13.67 who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, 00:16:13.67\00:16:17.44 counted the blood of the covenant 00:16:17.44\00:16:19.84 by which he was sanctified a common thing, 00:16:19.84\00:16:23.38 and insulted the Spirit of grace?" 00:16:23.38\00:16:27.98 Sanctified people should serve the living God in holiness 00:16:27.98\00:16:33.42 using extreme caution not to count 00:16:33.42\00:16:37.06 the blood of Christ as a common thing. 00:16:37.06\00:16:40.20 His precious blood of sanctification 00:16:40.20\00:16:43.43 should not be profaned by our sinful conduct. 00:16:43.43\00:16:47.50 You know, Paul tells us in Roman 5:20, 21. 00:16:47.50\00:16:52.04 He said, "The law entered, that the offense might abound. 00:16:52.04\00:16:56.38 But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more 00:16:56.38\00:17:01.25 and even that as sin reigned in death, 00:17:01.25\00:17:04.59 even so grace might reign through righteousness 00:17:04.59\00:17:08.76 in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 00:17:08.76\00:17:12.89 The moral law of God revealed His perfect standards 00:17:12.89\00:17:17.87 of righteousness as well as the true condition of sin 00:17:17.87\00:17:21.94 which reigns in human hearts hostile to all things holy. 00:17:21.94\00:17:26.37 The mere formal recording of God's moral requirements 00:17:26.37\00:17:32.08 stirred an even greater resistance 00:17:32.08\00:17:34.58 in those rebellious ones who refuse to enter 00:17:34.58\00:17:37.79 into relationship with Him. 00:17:37.79\00:17:40.22 Transgressions were multiplied 00:17:40.22\00:17:43.89 and God permitted this demonstration of sin's influence 00:17:43.89\00:17:47.56 preparing the way to prove His perfect love 00:17:47.56\00:17:51.47 toward humanity by sending His Son 00:17:51.47\00:17:54.07 to rescue us from unrighteousness. 00:17:54.07\00:17:57.84 Thus He prevailed as both the just and the justifier. 00:17:57.84\00:18:02.84 Only Christ's imputed righteousness 00:18:02.84\00:18:05.38 can cover our sin debt. 00:18:05.38\00:18:07.55 Only Christ's imparted righteousness 00:18:07.55\00:18:10.19 can continually subdue sin's influence 00:18:10.19\00:18:14.06 and restore us to the purity of His image. 00:18:14.06\00:18:19.16 God's generous plan makes it possible 00:18:19.16\00:18:22.96 for grace to reign in our hearts. 00:18:22.96\00:18:28.30 His grace teaches us His plan as revealed in Titus 2:11-14. 00:18:28.30\00:18:35.68 Let's read that together. 00:18:35.68\00:18:37.51 It says, "The grace of God that brings salvation 00:18:37.51\00:18:41.88 has appeared to all men, teaching us that, 00:18:41.88\00:18:46.45 denying ungodliness and worldly lust, 00:18:46.45\00:18:49.69 we should live soberly, righteously, 00:18:49.69\00:18:52.93 and godly in the present age, 00:18:52.93\00:18:55.26 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing 00:18:55.26\00:18:59.37 of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 00:18:59.37\00:19:02.64 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us 00:19:02.64\00:19:06.91 from every lawless deed and purify for Himself 00:19:06.91\00:19:12.38 His own special people, zealous for good works." 00:19:12.38\00:19:17.59 Let us learn the lesson that grace teaches us. 00:19:17.59\00:19:21.22 Colossians 3:3 explains by saying, 00:19:21.22\00:19:24.36 "For you have died, and your life 00:19:24.36\00:19:26.93 is hidden with Christ in God." 00:19:26.93\00:19:30.30 By faith Christians are dead to the things of this world 00:19:30.30\00:19:34.60 and to the lure of the lust of the flesh, 00:19:34.60\00:19:36.97 and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 00:19:36.97\00:19:40.58 The advantage of our relationship with Jesus 00:19:40.58\00:19:44.48 is that we live with Him in righteousness, 00:19:44.48\00:19:47.48 preparing for a better world. 00:19:47.48\00:19:49.78 At the same time, Christ's protection encompasses us 00:19:49.78\00:19:54.39 like the heat resistant crucible during fiery trials. 00:19:54.39\00:19:59.79 Our new life is concealed in Christ 00:19:59.79\00:20:04.10 with the abiding companionship of God as our refuge. 00:20:04.10\00:20:07.94 And Christ is more than our example to be imitated. 00:20:07.94\00:20:11.87 He is the supernatural power of God into salvation. 00:20:11.87\00:20:16.78 You know, Jesus said in John 10:30 that, 00:20:16.78\00:20:19.71 "He and the Father are one and He is in the Father 00:20:19.71\00:20:24.22 and the Father is in Him." 00:20:24.22\00:20:26.65 So through His purifying grace of sanctification, 00:20:26.65\00:20:31.19 He makes us one Spirit with Him, 00:20:31.19\00:20:34.46 one in thought, one in purpose and action. 00:20:34.46\00:20:37.67 We live in Him and He lives in us. 00:20:37.67\00:20:40.97 He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 00:20:40.97\00:20:44.11 So too it is critical that we stay closely connected to Him. 00:20:44.11\00:20:49.94 Christ explained why in John 15:4, 6. 00:20:49.94\00:20:56.22 He says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. 00:20:56.22\00:21:00.89 As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 00:21:00.89\00:21:03.73 unless it abides in the vine, 00:21:03.73\00:21:05.89 neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 00:21:05.89\00:21:09.83 I am the vine, you are the branches. 00:21:09.83\00:21:13.03 He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit, 00:21:13.03\00:21:17.51 for without Me you can do nothing. 00:21:17.51\00:21:20.88 If anyone does not abide in Me, 00:21:20.88\00:21:23.58 he is cast out as a branch and is withered 00:21:23.58\00:21:27.18 and they gather them and throw them 00:21:27.18\00:21:29.85 into the fire and they are burned." 00:21:29.85\00:21:33.49 To abide means to dwell or to live and never to depart. 00:21:33.49\00:21:38.86 To grow in grace we must maintain a vital union 00:21:38.86\00:21:43.23 with Christ our true vine. 00:21:43.23\00:21:45.57 Any branch that is pinched off from the sap 00:21:45.57\00:21:48.84 that brings the water and nutrients of the vine 00:21:48.84\00:21:51.54 will wither and eventually break away. 00:21:51.54\00:21:54.58 Without the divine sap which I consider 00:21:54.58\00:21:58.55 an acronym for the Spirit's anointing power, 00:21:58.55\00:22:01.78 without that divine sap flowing through the living vine, 00:22:01.78\00:22:05.62 Christ Jesus, we will likewise wither and die spiritually. 00:22:05.62\00:22:10.86 It is imperative that we abide in Him 00:22:10.86\00:22:14.20 until the end or our connection to the Savior will be severed. 00:22:14.20\00:22:19.80 The only way possible for us to produce 00:22:19.80\00:22:21.80 the fruits of righteousness required by our Holy God 00:22:21.80\00:22:25.17 is as a result of living in Christ and He in us. 00:22:25.17\00:22:29.58 1 John 2:6 is crucial advice to the Christian. 00:22:29.58\00:22:33.78 It says, "He who abides in Him 00:22:33.78\00:22:36.12 ought himself also to walk just as He walked." 00:22:36.12\00:22:40.49 Those who profess Christ 00:22:40.49\00:22:42.16 are obligated to copy His conduct. 00:22:42.16\00:22:45.23 Accepting the gift of sanctification 00:22:45.23\00:22:47.36 is accepting His yoke 00:22:47.36\00:22:49.60 and staying in school with our Christ. 00:22:49.60\00:22:52.67 Our very qualified teacher speaks 00:22:52.67\00:22:54.97 in the language of heaven's love. 00:22:54.97\00:22:57.41 Lowly in heart, He humbles himself 00:22:57.41\00:22:59.74 to take on human form and learn total dependence upon God. 00:22:59.74\00:23:04.48 Jesus didn't demand His own way. 00:23:04.48\00:23:07.35 And addressing His Father it was always, 00:23:07.35\00:23:09.72 "not my will but yours be done." 00:23:09.72\00:23:13.15 And we injure our relationship with our Heavenly Father 00:23:13.15\00:23:16.73 when we demand our own way. 00:23:16.73\00:23:18.99 We need to put to death our pride 00:23:18.99\00:23:20.96 and learn the humility of Christ. 00:23:20.96\00:23:23.47 Learn total dependence on God. 00:23:23.47\00:23:26.27 Let's read from Colossians 1:26-28 00:23:26.27\00:23:30.67 which says, "The mystery which has been hidden 00:23:30.67\00:23:33.48 from ages and from generations, 00:23:33.48\00:23:35.31 but now has been revealed to His saints 00:23:35.31\00:23:38.11 which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 00:23:38.11\00:23:41.62 Him we preach, warning every man 00:23:41.62\00:23:44.75 and teaching every man in all wisdom, 00:23:44.75\00:23:47.62 that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." 00:23:47.62\00:23:53.16 Recreated with the character of Christ, 00:23:53.16\00:23:55.93 we enjoy a personal dimension of His divine holiness 00:23:55.93\00:24:01.17 and the natural outgrowth of receiving Christ 00:24:01.17\00:24:04.14 into our hearts is to live like Him in the power of God's grace, 00:24:04.14\00:24:09.78 His love, His truth, His goodness and purity of heart 00:24:09.78\00:24:14.22 should be evidenced in our daily walk and conversation. 00:24:14.22\00:24:18.19 Christ in you your hope of glory. 00:24:18.19\00:24:21.49 His refining fire dwells in your heart by faith 00:24:21.49\00:24:25.13 and you can draw on all of His perfect character traits 00:24:25.13\00:24:29.86 if you abide in Him and He abides in you. 00:24:29.86\00:24:34.17 Acknowledge Christ as your sanctification 00:24:34.17\00:24:37.61 and His holy qualities will instantly be made yours 00:24:37.61\00:24:41.68 by grace through your faith put into action. 00:24:41.68\00:24:45.88 His sanctified life within you will separate you from sin 00:24:45.88\00:24:50.45 and daily conquer any unholy passions or desires that linger. 00:24:50.45\00:24:56.09 1 John 4:4 assures you that Christ in you 00:24:56.09\00:25:00.36 is a greater power than the enemy, 00:25:00.36\00:25:03.10 the devil and his fallen angels in this fallen word. 00:25:03.10\00:25:06.67 Further you are promised in Revelation 12:11 00:25:06.67\00:25:10.41 that growing in the grace of sanctification, 00:25:10.41\00:25:13.61 you can overcome evil by the blood of the Lamb 00:25:13.61\00:25:17.31 and the word of your testimony. 00:25:17.31\00:25:18.98 The gospel of grace is a religion of total dependence 00:25:18.98\00:25:23.39 upon God through Christ 00:25:23.39\00:25:25.22 and in the light of the eternal privileges of being His child 00:25:25.22\00:25:29.79 and with the refining fire of His presence in you, 00:25:29.79\00:25:33.13 you have great hope. 00:25:33.13\00:25:34.93 Please disregard your own weaknesses 00:25:34.93\00:25:39.40 and depend upon His power. 00:25:39.40\00:25:41.04 Philippians 4:13 delivers the promise that you can do 00:25:41.04\00:25:44.34 all things through Christ who strengthens you. 00:25:44.34\00:25:47.18 Take notice of Christ's promise from 2 Corinthians 12:9 00:25:47.18\00:25:52.28 and set your heart at ease. 00:25:52.28\00:25:54.55 Jesus says, "My grace is sufficient for you, 00:25:54.55\00:25:57.09 for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 00:25:57.09\00:26:01.22 You know, most of us are naturally inclined 00:26:01.22\00:26:04.79 to try to tough things out on our own in self-reliance. 00:26:04.79\00:26:09.66 God will not force control over us. 00:26:09.66\00:26:12.40 We must admit our weaknesses. 00:26:12.40\00:26:15.34 We must admit our limited human understanding 00:26:15.34\00:26:18.27 and our limited power and surrender control to Him. 00:26:18.27\00:26:22.91 Then by grace, Christ will infuse us 00:26:22.91\00:26:26.58 with His power and strengthen us 00:26:26.58\00:26:28.45 to overcome every temptation, 00:26:28.45\00:26:31.25 every challenge that we meet daily. 00:26:31.25\00:26:34.26 It is God who works in you 00:26:34.26\00:26:37.03 to will and to do His good pleasure 00:26:37.03\00:26:39.63 and it is God who will complete His work in you 00:26:39.63\00:26:43.40 to empower you to do His will. 00:26:43.40\00:26:45.70 This is His will and His promise according to Hebrews 13:20, 21 00:26:45.70\00:26:53.48 which says, "Now may the God of peace 00:26:53.48\00:26:56.41 who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, 00:26:56.41\00:26:59.15 that great Shepherd of the sheep, 00:26:59.15\00:27:01.52 through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 00:27:01.52\00:27:04.05 make you complete in every good work to do His will, 00:27:04.05\00:27:07.59 working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, 00:27:07.59\00:27:10.49 through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever." 00:27:10.49\00:27:15.56 With a watchful eye, He sits as the refiner of His people. 00:27:15.56\00:27:20.00 He who called you is faithful. 00:27:20.00\00:27:22.60 And He will do His good pleasure in the purifying grace 00:27:22.60\00:27:26.57 of sanctification at work within you. 00:27:26.57\00:27:31.18 Amen, so be it, Lord. 00:27:31.18\00:27:34.52 We are only to cooperate, to surrender control, 00:27:34.52\00:27:41.66 and to depend totally upon our Lord. 00:27:41.66\00:27:44.89 I hope that this is getting deep within your soul. 00:27:44.89\00:27:50.43 I hope that you understand that you can grow in grace 00:27:50.43\00:27:55.27 and the knowledge of our Lord 00:27:55.27\00:27:56.67 Jesus Christ by His power, god bless. 00:27:56.67\00:28:00.68