Participants: Pr. E.C. Polite
Series Code: HG
Program Code: HG000018
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00:35 Let's say it again.
00:36 Say, I just wanna praise You 00:38 I just wanna praise You 00:39 Forever Forever 00:42 And ever And ever 00:44 And ever And ever 00:47 For all For all 00:50 For all that You've done 00:53 For me For me 00:55 Say blessings and glory Blessings and glory 00:59 And honor And honor 01:01 They all belong to You They all belong to You 01:06 Thank You, Jesus Thank You, Jesus 01:10 For blessing me 01:13 Now you go with alternative. 01:14 We're gonna take it up a little higher, 01:16 say Just wanna praise You 01:18 Forever Forever 01:21 And ever And ever 01:23 And ever And ever 01:26 For all For all That You've done 01:31 For me For me 01:34 Say blessings and glory Blessings and glory 01:38 And honor And honor 01:40 They all They all belong to You 01:45 Thank You, Jesus Thank You, Jesus 01:49 For blessing me 01:53 Take it up a little higher, say. 01:56 Just wanna praise You 01:57 Forever Forever 02:00 And ever And ever 02:02 And ever And ever 02:05 For all For all 02:08 For all For all that You've done Done for me 02:14 And it's that blessing and glory 02:15 Blessing and glory 02:17 And honor And honor 02:19 They all They all belong to You 02:24 Thank You, Jesus Thank You, Jesus 02:28 For blessing me 02:30 Here we go one more time. 02:32 Let's do it one more time. 02:33 Take it up a little higher, say. 02:35 Just wanna praise You 02:38 Forever And ever And ever 02:44 For all For all 02:46 For all that You've done For me 02:52 Let's do some harmony. Say blessings. 02:54 Blessings and glory and honor 03:00 They all belong to You 03:03 Blessings and glory Blessing and glory 03:06 And honor And honor 03:08 They all They all belong to You 03:12 Say blessings and glory Blessings and glory 03:15 And honor And honor 03:18 They all They all belong to You 03:22 Say blessings and glory Blessings and glory 03:25 And honor And honor 03:27 They all They all belong to You 03:30 One more time, say blessings and glory 03:33 Blessings and glory 03:34 And honor And honor 03:37 They all They all belong to You 03:41 Thank You, Jesus Thank You, Jesus 03:45 For blessing me 04:04 Blessed assurance 04:13 Jesus is mine! 04:21 Oh, what a foretaste 04:29 of glory divine! 04:38 Heir of salvation 04:47 Purchase of God 04:55 Born of His Spirit 05:04 Born of His Spirit 05:12 Born of His Spirit 05:20 Washed in His blood 05:28 Blessed assurance 05:36 Jesus is mine! 05:45 Oh, what a foretaste 05:55 of glory divine! 06:03 Heir of salvation 06:11 Purchase of God 06:21 Born of His Spirit 06:29 Born of His Spirit 06:37 Born of His Spirit 06:45 Washed in His blood 06:53 Blessed assurance 07:00 Jesus is mine! 07:08 Oh, what a foretaste 07:18 of glory divine! 07:25 Heir of salvation 07:33 Purchase of God 07:44 Born of His Spirit 07:52 Born of His Spirit 07:59 Born of His Spirit 08:07 Washed in His blood 08:15 This is my story 08:22 This is my song 08:30 Praising my Savior 08:37 All the day long 08:41 All the day long 08:44 This is my story 08:51 This is my song 09:01 Praising my Savior 09:09 Praising my Savior 09:16 Praising my Savior 09:24 All the day long 09:31 This is my story 09:38 This is my song 09:45 Praising my Savior 09:52 All the day long 09:57 All the day long 10:00 This is my story 10:07 This is my song 10:17 Praising my Savior 10:25 Praising my Savior 10:32 Praising my Savior 10:39 Praising my Savior 10:46 Praising my Savior 10:52 Praising my Savior 10:59 Praising my Savior 11:06 Praising my Savior 11:13 Praising my Savior 11:20 Praising my Savior 11:27 Praising my Savior 11:33 Praising my Savior 11:41 Praising my Savior 11:47 Praising my Savior 11:54 Praising my Savior 12:01 Praising my Savior 12:08 Praising my Savior 12:14 Praising my Savior 12:25 Praising my Savior 12:35 All the day long 12:51 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. 13:02 Trusting that you have it, 13:03 there you'll find these words recorded. 13:08 "And I, brethren, when I came to you, 13:13 came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, 13:18 declaring unto you the testimony of God. 13:22 For I determined not to know anything among you 13:25 save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 13:30 And I was with you in weakness 13:31 and in fear and in much trembling. 13:34 And my speech and my preaching 13:38 was not with enticing words of man's wisdom 13:41 but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 13:46 that your faith should not stand 13:49 in the wisdom of men 13:51 but in the power of God." 13:56 I've entitled our message this morning, 13:59 Just Jesus. 14:03 Just Jesus, 14:06 I trust you have brought your Bible today 14:09 because this will be a tremendous study in a subject 14:15 that I think often times 14:18 get up skewered or overlooked. 14:22 But in those two words, 14:24 "Just Jesus" is a powerful message 14:28 that I must unpackage today. 14:33 I looked at her face as tears meandered down 14:36 by the hollows of her cheeks, 14:38 one after the other a tear fell to the ground. 14:44 I wondered 14:46 if there was anything I can do 14:48 to turn off the spigot of her emotions, 14:52 but they just kept flowing and flowing. 14:57 Finally, she was composed enough 15:00 to share with me why she was crying 15:04 and why she was so inconsolable. 15:07 You see she loved the Lord. 15:11 Let me repeat that again. 15:14 She loved the Lord. 15:16 And sometimes when you love the Lord, 15:20 and you're not living up to all you know to do, 15:23 it can break you, break you down. 15:27 Your spirit can be broken. 15:29 Not because you want the applause 15:32 and the acclaim of men 15:34 but because you just want to please your Father 15:38 which is in heaven 15:40 and because she recognized 15:43 that I'm disappointing Jesus, 15:46 she sat across the table from me 15:49 just broken and crying. 15:54 Finally, I said, "Naomi, 16:01 no matter how bad you are, 16:06 God loves you in proportion 16:10 to your sinfulness." 16:15 If you're a bad sinner, He's a great lover. 16:19 You can't do anything bad enough 16:22 that God's love cannot cover. 16:28 She said, "Are you serious? 16:30 Will He still love me?" 16:32 You know, that's hard for somebody 16:34 who's been used to being loved conditionally. 16:37 If I do the right thing, then I'll get loved. 16:42 If I say the right thing, then I'll get loved. 16:45 She had come from a family system 16:48 that was steep in conditional love. 16:51 She could not wrap her mind around the concept 16:54 that I was sharing with her, 16:55 that God loves you no matter how bad you are. 17:01 How many folk today like Naomi, 17:05 laboring and languishing under the belief 17:09 that God can't love me because I'm too unlovable. 17:19 It wasn't more than two weeks later, 17:22 that Naomi's family came 17:26 and as they turned the corner 17:28 and hit the garage door opener 17:31 and the garage door went up, 17:35 there swinging in the doorway was Naomi. 17:41 She never could get her mind around the fact 17:45 that Jesus still loved her. 17:51 Why is it that we believe that we are so unlovable? 17:56 Why is it that we believe 17:58 that when we don't live up to all that we know to do, 18:02 that somehow God just abandons us? 18:09 Reminds me of that man in Romans 7, 18:13 I'm going to share him with you through the message Bible. 18:17 "I can't anticipate the response 18:20 that is coming. 18:21 I know that all God's commands are spiritual 18:24 but I'm not. 18:26 Isn't this also your experience? 18:28 Yes, I'm full of myself, 18:31 after all I've spent a long time in sin's prisons. 18:36 What I don't understand about myself is that 18:38 I decide one way but then I act another, 18:43 doing things I absolutely despise. 18:47 So if I can't be trusted to figure out 18:50 what is best for myself and then do it, 18:52 it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. 18:57 But I need something more, 18:59 for if I know the law but still can't keep it 19:03 and if the power of sin within me 19:05 keeps sabotaging my best intentions, 19:08 I obviously need help. 19:12 I realized that I don't have what it takes, 19:16 I can will it but I can't do it. 19:20 I decide to do good, but I don't really do it. 19:23 I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. 19:27 My decisions such as they are, 19:29 don't result in actions, 19:31 something has gone wrong deep within me 19:34 and gets the better of me, 19:35 every time it happens so regularly 19:39 that it's predictable. 19:42 The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. 19:49 I totally delight in God's commands 19:51 but it's pretty obvious 19:52 that not all of me joins in that delight, 19:55 parts of me covertly rebel 19:58 and just when I least expect it, 20:00 they take charge. 20:03 I've tried everything and nothing helps. 20:08 I'm at the end of my rope, 20:12 is there no one who can do anything for me?" 20:18 Isn't that the real question? 20:22 Is there no one 20:25 that can do anything for me? 20:31 Could you hear the frustration? 20:35 Could you hear the futility? 20:38 Nobody ever said, "You weren't trying, 20:43 " the issue isn't whether you're trying or not, 20:47 the issue is that you keep trying and failing. 20:52 That's the problem. 20:56 Why is it that I keep trying over 20:59 and over and over again 21:02 but I still can't seem to get it right? 21:08 Something's the matter with me, 21:11 I know it is and it's out of the futility 21:14 and frustration of trying, 21:17 that many a believer finds himself 21:19 locked in a prison of despair. 21:25 So depressed 21:28 that it can even lead you to take your own life. 21:32 I was reading an article in world psychology 21:36 and the author raised this question, 21:38 "Is it that depressed people tend to be more spiritual 21:42 or is it that the more religion you have, 21:44 the more depressed you become?" 21:51 Think about it. 21:54 The more I know about God, 21:57 the more depressed I get 21:59 because I'm not praising God. 22:02 And the deeper I get into an emotional hole, 22:06 "Oh, wretched man that I am, 22:08 who can deliver me from this body of death? 22:12 What's going on with me? 22:14 Why can't I live right?" 22:19 And do you know what adds to my problem, 22:23 the Word itself. 22:26 Look at Matthew 5:48, go there with me. 22:29 Matthew 5:48, notice, 22:35 notice what the Word of God says here. 22:38 Matthew 5:48, 22:42 I want you to find it so you can read it with me. 22:48 Matthew 5:48, do you have it? 22:50 Let's read it. 22:52 What does it say? 22:53 "Be..." 22:55 Be what? 22:57 "Even... 23:02 be ye also perfect, 23:05 even as your Father in Heaven is perfect." 23:10 Already I'm depressed. 23:18 I know me, I know where I've been. 23:24 I know the things that reside in my being. 23:27 What do you mean being perfect even as God is perfect? 23:31 How can I ever be perfect as God is perfect? 23:36 So I'm depressed, I'm giving up right now, 23:42 I'm not even going to try. 23:45 The problem is that we read 23:49 and we read sometimes without proper understanding. 23:55 That passage has two words in it 23:57 that ought to leap up with us, 23:59 what are the two words? 24:01 Perfect and what else? 24:05 Perfect and what else? Talk to me. 24:10 I love it when you all get Pentecostal. 24:13 I just love it. 24:15 The two words are perfect and perfect. 24:20 Be ye also perfect even as your 24:23 Father in Heaven is perfect. 24:26 One of the constraints of the English language is that 24:29 we don't always have a word 24:32 that we can translate or transliterate 24:35 so that it can plainly convey to us 24:38 what was written in the original Greek text. 24:41 In the original Greek text, 24:43 although it says perfect and perfect, 24:44 they're actually 24:45 two different words in the Greek. 24:48 The first perfect 24:51 connotes continuous, 24:56 continuous perfection. 24:59 The second perfect connotes consummate perfection. 25:13 I'll just enjoy this all by myself. 25:19 The Bible says, 25:20 "He knows our frame that we're dust. 25:24 He knows we are frail as a blade of grass and so..." 25:28 Oh, oh, Jesus, He doesn't expect us to do things 25:32 that are beyond our capability, 25:35 our capacity to do and so He says, 25:38 "We'll be perfect, keep moving toward that 25:41 while I am perfect, I've already done that." 25:50 That's important to keep in your mind. 25:54 I've already been there, turn that, 25:57 wrote the book, starred in the movie, 26:00 won the Emmy and the Oscar, 26:03 even made the T-shirt. 26:06 I'm perfect, 26:10 you can't be like me in your humanity. 26:18 So what is it that God is trying to tell us today? 26:23 He's trying to tell us, 26:26 you've got to acknowledge one basic principle of life. 26:31 You can't live right. 26:36 Whoa, pastor, wait a minute. 26:39 You messed up now. 26:42 That's why I come to church, to be told I can't live right. 26:49 But opinion it, 26:52 I'm gonna bring you back to it. 26:54 I want you to look at Psalm 51, 26:56 I must show you why you can't live right. 26:58 I'm gonna give you three passages 27:00 why you can't live right. 27:01 Psalm 51:5, 27:05 there for me a passage of Scripture. 27:08 Psalm 51:5, find it so you can read it, 27:11 I need you to read it 27:13 so that you'll know for yourself 27:14 that you cannot live right. 27:16 Psalm 51:5, what does the Word of God say, 27:18 "Behold..." I was what? 27:20 Shapen in what? 27:22 What else? 27:26 "Behold, I was shapen in..." 27:32 You want to see that passage in the Hebrew. 27:35 In the Hebrew, 27:36 it conveys a stitching 27:41 needle and thread. 27:45 I was put together by a sinful thread, 27:51 that's how I'm held together by sewing, 27:56 it keeps my parts together, it holds me together, 28:00 I was born in sin and shaped in the iniquity. 28:04 How in the world can somebody 28:07 whose very makeup 28:09 at the molecular level is sinful, 28:12 they would some kind of way 28:13 stand up and do what's right? 28:18 When you get a chance, 28:20 go home and read that entire Psalm. 28:22 It's the Psalm where David has an epiphany, 28:27 a breakthrough 28:28 because Nathan has just left his house. 28:33 And Nathan has just revealed to him, 28:36 "You can't hide your sins from God. 28:39 You can't hide nothing from God." 28:42 If and David got it too, he said, 28:44 "If I make my bed in hell, you're already there. 28:47 If I get some wings of the morning and fly away, 28:51 you're up there too. 28:52 Where can I make my bed and you're not there. 28:56 No matter where I try to go, 28:58 God, you're already there." 28:59 You can't hide from God. 29:05 He sees us 29:07 no matter what we wear on the outside. 29:12 He sees us while we're giving the Bible study. 29:16 He sees us while we're passing out the food basket. 29:20 He sees us while we're singing in the choir. 29:24 He sees us while we're preaching the Word. 29:27 There is nothing that is hidden from his divine gaze. 29:31 You talk about x-ray vision. 29:36 There is no x-ray 29:39 that can look to the very cell in a person 29:43 but God has a kind of vision 29:46 that can look at us at our molecular level 29:50 and He can see the sin 29:52 that courses through our veins. 29:57 My entire make up, my birth origin is messed up 30:02 but I'm from the house of Polite. 30:05 You just messed up Polite. 30:10 Your pedigree has nothing to do with this. 30:13 The amount of money your family has amassed 30:16 has nothing to do with this. 30:17 What city you live in doesn't have anything to do with this. 30:21 You're just that sinful rich somebody who lives on a, 30:25 a good side of town, that's all you are, 30:28 but at the very level that God sees you at, 30:31 you're nothing more than a roach saved by grace. 30:35 Yes. Amen. 30:38 Amen. 30:41 We got to be honest with ourselves. 30:43 We got to call, call sin by its right name, 30:49 I messed up. 30:51 I messed up. 30:53 You know the reason why we can't say we're messed up 30:56 because we compare ourselves to somebody else. 31:06 Ouch. 31:08 And so if I compare myself to Janet Lambert, 31:11 I might look all right, if I set, 31:14 if I compare myself to Benny McGrady, 31:17 I might look all right 31:20 but if I compare myself to Jesus, 31:26 how am I gonna look in the mirror? 31:28 Don't forget my message is Just Jesus. 31:31 I forgot where I'm going. 31:33 Look at Romans, the 8th Chapter. 31:35 Romans, the 8th Chapter. 31:38 Romans, I hope the Lord blesses you the way 31:40 He blessed me this week, 31:41 with this study, Romans, the 8th Chapter 31:44 and I wanna look at verses 7 and 8. 31:47 Romans 8:7, 8, 31:51 notice what the Word of God says here, 31:53 "Because the carnal mind is..." 31:55 what everybody? 31:57 It's "enmity against God. 32:01 For it is not subject to the law 32:03 neither indeed can it be. 32:07 So then, they that are in the flesh..." 32:11 Finish it. 32:12 "Cannot please God." 32:14 Hello. 32:17 "They that are in the flesh might please God." 32:22 Cannot, cannot. 32:24 Can not, 32:27 it's a Greek emphatic, imperative, 32:30 can not, 32:32 you can not please God. 32:41 It's enmity of our minds, our human nature. 32:47 Listen, listen, listen, I want you to get, 32:49 Paul was a very astute theologian, 32:51 he caught, he captured it correctly. 32:53 Paul understood man's basic nature 32:57 and he called it the way it was, he said, 32:59 "There's something about us that rebels against God." 33:04 It's antagonistic against God. 33:07 In fact, when God comes by us, 33:10 there's something that goes off in our mind that said, 33:13 "Oh, oh, there's the enemy." 33:15 Anybody remember that old shuttle lost in space. 33:19 Danger, danger, 33:20 alien life form approaching, danger, danger. 33:24 That's what happens to us 33:27 when God comes by, our minds click, 33:31 something goes off and sense, this is an enemy. 33:36 Get it now, get this, get this. 33:40 Your mind says, 33:42 "This is an enemy but the person 33:44 that it calls the enemy is your creator. 33:54 That's like a child walking in the room 33:55 and calling their mother or their father, 33:58 they're enemy. 34:03 Let me leave it alone. 34:06 Let me leave that alone. 34:08 It's enmity, 34:10 in the Hebrew the word enmity 34:13 translate uncomfortableness. 34:16 That when it comes to spiritual things, 34:20 I get uncomfortable by nature 34:24 and so there's something that has to happen to me, 34:27 a transformation that must take place 34:29 that will make me comfortable 34:31 whenever God comes into the room. 34:35 That's the great challenge for the unbeliever. 34:38 Let me look at one more scripture, Isaiah 64. 34:41 Isaiah 64:6. 34:47 Isaiah 64:6, 34:51 notice, notice what God says here, 34:54 "But we are all..." 34:56 as what? 34:59 "An unclean thing, 35:02 and all our righteousness are..." 35:06 what? "As filthy rags..." 35:08 "And we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, 35:13 like the wind, have..." 35:14 done what? 35:16 "Taken us away." 35:17 "Taken us away." 35:20 Notice the writing here. 35:21 Notice the progression of the text. 35:23 It first starts of addressing our righteousness 35:28 but the scripture ends up talking about our iniquity. 35:36 Why does Isaiah shift on us 35:41 if he addresses our righteousness 35:43 at the beginning of the text? 35:45 Why doesn't he end up with our righteousness 35:47 at the end of the text? 35:49 Because it gives us the cue, he gives us the clue. 35:53 It doesn't matter how much good you do, 35:55 you're still dirty. 35:58 You're still nasty, you're still filthy, 36:01 you're still wretched, 36:03 it is still unacceptable before God. 36:06 That's why there are two different words 36:09 in that Greek text 36:10 for perfect and perfect, 36:12 you keep trying to work your way towards perfection 36:15 while He's always fair, you cannot make it by yourself. 36:25 By the way, 36:27 the word righteousness in the Hebrew is plural. 36:33 It really translates all your righteous acts, 36:38 that means everything you do good, 36:39 everything you do good, 36:41 everything you do good is filthy before God. 36:46 You mean when I praise Him, it's filthy. 36:50 When I read the scripture, it's filthy. 36:53 When I preach as what, is filthy? 36:56 When I try to give somebody a helping hand, it's filthy. 37:01 When I return a faithful tithe and a generous offering, 37:05 it's filthy. 37:07 We've got to get our perspective straightened out 37:10 and filter this thing, correct me, 37:12 no matter how much good I do, it is still filthy. 37:19 Pastor, I'm depressed again. 37:23 I've been working myself to death. 37:27 Try to stay on the right road, 37:29 I heard 99.5 won't do, 37:32 I've been working, working and working 37:34 and you're telling me that 37:36 whole of my work is going to come up for nought. 37:39 Uh-huh. 37:45 That's the best answer I could give you. 37:46 Uh-huh. 37:51 Your best will never be good enough 37:57 for God. 38:04 Well, I understand a little better now... 38:09 Naomi's despair. 38:12 I may not have gone 38:13 and put a noose around my neck in the garage 38:17 but after this sermon, Pastor, 38:22 I'm concerned, 38:24 I don't know if I'm coming back next week. 38:27 What good will it do, it's still filthy. 38:33 I dare not present a word like this 38:36 without giving you some good news. 38:42 You think that all God did is just point out to us 38:46 how bad we were 38:49 and didn't give us a solution for the problem. 38:52 He gave us a solution, Romans, the 8th chapter. 38:56 Romans, the 8th chapter, 38:59 Romans 8, I want to go to Romans 8. 39:04 And I want to pause on verse 18, 39:08 Romans 8, 39:10 pardon me, Romans 5, 39:12 starting with verse 18. 39:13 Romans 5, starting with verse 18. 39:16 "Therefore as by the offence of one, 39:18 judgment came upon all men to..." 39:21 to what everyone? 39:22 "Condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one, 39:25 the free gift came upon all men, 39:28 unto justification of life." 39:30 Read verse 19, 39:40 "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. 39:43 But where..." 39:45 Finish it. 39:47 You gotta read this thing like you understand this thing. 39:51 Now start again, read verse 20, 39:53 what does it say? 40:04 "That as sin hath entered, hath reigned unto death..." 40:08 Finish it. 40:21 I heard somebody say, 40:22 "Amazing Grace, 40:25 how sweet the sound, 40:29 saved a wretch like you." 40:35 Like who? 40:37 Like me. 40:39 "I once was lost, 40:42 now I'm found, blind but now I see." 40:49 Where there's great sin, there's a need for great grace. 40:58 Where sin abound, graced up much more abound. 41:08 I love playing basketball, let me get my tense, 41:11 my verb tenses right, teachers. 41:13 I loved, 41:20 when I have a flashback here. 41:22 Yeah, yeah, I loved playing basketball 41:27 and it was always interesting to me 41:30 that whenever we played, 41:33 somebody and they would scout out our team, 41:37 they would make sure that somebody on the other team 41:40 would be on the floor, every time I was on the floor. 41:44 When I went and took a break, 41:47 they went and took a break 41:50 but when I checked in, they checked in. 41:53 And Paul says that when sin checked into the game, 42:00 grace came off the pitch and said I'm in too, 42:04 I'm playing too 42:06 because sin can't play 42:08 without grace being on the floor. 42:11 It's gonna be out there at the same time 42:14 when sin abound, 42:16 grace talk much more abound. 42:19 Don't you ever believe that 42:21 because you believe yourself to be such a great sinner, 42:26 that you have absolutely no chance whatsoever, 42:30 you got to get the other side of the story 42:33 and now the rest of the story. 42:35 Praise, praise, praise, 42:39 praise. praise. 42:41 talk much more above, 42:44 trust like the devil is working hard 42:46 to get to and bring you down, 42:48 grace is to enable favor through this power, 42:51 to lift you up, take you around, 42:54 patch your feet on solid ground. 42:58 That's how grace works. 43:01 That's how grace works. 43:03 God didn't leave you without a solution. 43:05 Look at something else, in Ephesians 2, 43:07 Ephesians 2:8, 9, 43:10 the Book of Ephesians 2:8, 9, 43:16 I love these two passages. 43:19 "For by..." 43:23 You don't have it yet, 43:25 that's why you didn't say it right. 43:31 Like a pages have stopped. 43:32 "For by grace, 43:34 I saved through faith, 43:37 that not of yourselves, 43:39 it is the gift of God, not of works, 43:43 lest anyone should boast." 43:48 For by grace, 43:52 are ye saved. 43:57 Through faith 44:01 and that not of yourselves. 44:04 The Bible says it is what? 44:06 It's a what? 44:09 I supposed you get it. 44:14 It belongs to me, 44:18 it's a gift, 44:21 it's a gift. 44:24 Each one of my children, 44:28 when they turned 16 years old came to me and said," 44:33 Daddy, it's time for me to get my license." 44:43 I had one question, 44:45 "When did you buy 'em? 44:48 Who said, they were yours?" 44:53 "Well, I'm 16, 44:56 that means it's time for me to get my license." 45:01 I said, "I know a folk in his 50 45:02 who don't have license." 45:09 You gotta understand 45:12 driving is a privilege not a right. 45:15 Grace is a privilege, not a right. 45:19 It's unreserved favor. 45:22 It's not something we get because we deserve it, 45:25 normally when you get a gift, 45:26 it's because you're done something right 45:28 or there's something special that's happened. 45:30 It's been your birthday or your anniversary 45:33 but this gift you get when you do something wrong. 45:41 Not when you do something right. 45:44 It's when you do something wrong 45:46 and you claim that gift by faith, by faith. 45:53 You know, sometimes, 45:56 sometimes, folk would come up to us 45:58 and they'll ask this question, look at me, look at me. 46:02 "Are you saved?" 46:07 And we look back at him scoured. 46:13 Am I saved 46:18 and then we try to think back over 46:19 our 28 fundamental beliefs. 46:27 The pastor teaches that, was that him, 46:30 one of the Sabbath School caught me, 46:32 help me, Lord. You said you put it in, 46:33 in that moment when I need to act, 46:34 you would put it in my spirit. 46:37 Are you saved? 46:41 Let me help you, 46:43 for grace, for by grace are ye saved. 46:53 Let me fix it for your. 46:55 Let me fix it for you. 46:59 There is a tense in Greek called the perfect tense. 47:03 It means a past action 47:06 with a present or future response 47:12 or impact. 47:14 You were saved yesterday. 47:23 You were saved by... 47:26 Grace. 47:28 Through. Grace. 47:33 The problem is that the reason we don't know 47:37 that we're saved is because 47:39 we don't have the faith to believe we're saved. 47:49 Was that hard, that wouldn't be, it wasn't. 47:52 I ain't a deep preacher. 48:00 The problem is not whether or not you're saved, 48:03 salvation has been provided. 48:06 The issue is have you accepted the fact that you're saved. 48:10 There was a man who was put in jail 48:12 and he sat there day after day. 48:14 They told him what his bail would cost, 48:16 he didn't had the money 48:18 and so he sat there depressed and brooding. 48:21 One day the jailer came along and said, "Hey, you're free." 48:26 And he sat there. 48:27 He said, "Somebody has paid your bail, 48:29 they processed your bail, you're free." 48:31 And the man sat there. 48:33 He said, "Can you hear me, I set you free." 48:36 And the man sat there, the jailer closed the door 48:40 and before he walked off, he said, 48:42 "When you accept the fact that you're free, 48:45 then you can leave." 48:49 When you accept the fact 48:52 that you're saved by grace through faith, 48:58 maybe we'll start acting like saved people, 49:01 maybe we'll start talking like saved people, 49:04 maybe we'll start thinking like saved people, 49:06 maybe we'll start dressing like saved people, 49:09 maybe we'll start eating like saved people, 49:12 maybe we'll start behaving like saved people 49:15 but until we accept the fact that we're saved, 49:18 we're going to stay in our prisons, 49:24 our lostness. 49:29 I'm trying to free somebody today, look at this, 49:31 look at this text, Philippians, 49:34 Philippians 1:6, 49:39 that one is stowaway, verse 5 and verse 6. 49:44 Philippians 1:5, 6, 49:46 "For your fellowship in the gospel 49:48 from the first day until now, 49:50 being confident of this very thing, 49:53 that He which hath begun a good work..." 49:56 Where? In you. 49:58 Will do what? 49:59 Will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 50:03 He that hath begun a good work in you. 50:11 Stop there for a minute. 50:13 Okay, in Romans 5: 8, Paul says, 50:18 "But God hath commended His love toward us, 50:21 in that while we were yet sinners..." 50:27 Christ did what? 50:30 He commended His love toward us 50:32 in that while we were yet sinners. 50:37 That's what Naomi couldn't get, while we were still sinning, 50:41 Christ died for us. 50:43 He said, "Christ died for us." 50:49 But in Philippians he says 50:51 that Christ performs a good work, where? 50:56 In us. 50:59 Let's not get it twisted. 51:02 There's a difference 51:04 when Christ does something for us 51:06 versus doing something in us. 51:10 He died for us 51:13 but if we're gonna ever make it through this mess called sin, 51:18 he's got to perform it. 51:26 You got it, you got it, 51:29 you got it 51:31 and you got to hang on to that. 51:33 It's not about us, it's not about our good, 51:38 it's not about our righteousness, 51:41 it's all about Him and what He does in us. 51:45 We already established the fact, 51:47 there's nothing good within us, 51:49 our very makeup is sinful 51:51 and unless He comes into our lives 51:55 and lives out His life, 51:57 then we are born in sin 52:00 and we're gonna die in sin. 52:04 Let me help somebody, 52:06 you know, that good life 52:07 you've been trying to live all this time 52:09 and fall off to wagon, 52:11 guess what? He already lived it for you. 52:15 He lived it for you and all He said is, 52:19 if you accept me, it comes with me. 52:23 You get it by default. 52:25 You've got to accept me 52:28 and Lord that I fetch you... 52:31 has already beaten you 52:33 and all you need to do 52:35 is turn it over to me. 52:41 Morris Venden wrote a book, 52:44 it sits on my shelf, 52:46 right book shelf. 52:50 I take it out every now and then 52:53 but it indicts me and it challenges me 52:55 so I don't read it that often. 52:58 It's entitled, Hard to be Lost. 53:04 Hard to be Lost, 53:11 reason I have difficulty is 53:12 because my mind is very analytical 53:14 and it processes things beyond the obvious, 53:17 beyond the obvious of reference. 53:19 And so if the book is entitled Hard to be Lost 53:22 then it must be also saying it's easy to be saved. 53:34 I haven't found anything yet in this Christian journey 53:37 that's easy. 53:40 What do you mean, Pastor Venden, 53:44 it's hard to be lost, I just told you why. 53:48 He that hath begun a good work in you, 53:55 can complete it to the day of His coming. 54:01 If we get ourselves out of the way, 54:06 then He can get in 54:08 and lead us through the way. 54:13 But we are our own worst enemy, 54:15 when we're gonna get that. 54:19 Chloe Logan used to sing a song years ago, it said, 54:21 "The failure's not with God, it's in me." 54:27 They have not failed one word of all of His good promises 54:30 which He had promised by his service. 54:35 God is a God of His word 54:37 and He says if you just turn it over to me, 54:41 I'll put it away... 54:43 Wait a minute, now you gotta get this, 54:45 I'm coming down the homestretch, 54:46 you've got to get this. 54:47 I got to even sit down on this 54:50 'cause it boggles my mind. 54:54 First of all, He died for me, 55:00 second of all, He took my sins upon Himself, 55:04 third of all, He paid my sinful debt for me. 55:11 There ought to be something that I can do, 55:16 that's why I'm so inclined to work and work. 55:19 I'm trying to get into the game, 55:22 I'm trying to do my fair share 55:25 but when it comes to salvation, 55:28 you can't do a thing. 55:30 How do I know that, how do I know that? 55:34 Daniel 8:11 and 12, 55:42 it talks about a truth 55:43 that was trampled under foot, 55:47 a truth. 55:49 Martin Luther read that passage of scripture 55:52 and understood something. 55:53 The light went on for him 55:55 and he came forth with this Latin phrase, 55:57 "Sola fide." 55:59 The just live by faith alone. 56:05 Understand the truth that's trampled under foot. 56:09 The truth that's trampled under foot is the truth 56:12 about the sanctuary, 56:14 the sanctuary because when you look at the sanctuary, 56:20 you'll see how much you really have to do with Him. 56:23 Understand something, when you bring your sacrifice, 56:28 who's the sacrifice? 56:32 Who's the sacrifice? 56:33 Jesus is. 56:36 And when you get to the laver, 56:38 who's the water of life? 56:44 Who takes the blood into the Holy Place? 56:47 The priest. 56:50 How does he enter into the Holy Place? 56:54 Through the eastern gate. 56:57 He's the door and once he gets inside, 57:02 who is the seven candlestick? 57:07 Who is the bread, a showbread, 57:12 the table of showbread? 57:14 Who is the veil 57:15 that separates the Holy Place from the most Holy Place? 57:19 Who takes the incense of the saints, 57:21 the prayers of the saints to the, 57:24 to the most Holy Place? 57:27 There is absolutely nothing in the sanctuary 57:31 for us to do except what? 57:34 Bring ourselves. 57:39 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, 57:42 by the mercies of Christ, that you present yourself..." 57:43 What? 57:45 "A living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God." 57:49 Romans 12:1, 57:50 which is our reasonable service. 57:52 The only thing you have left to do 57:54 in His whole salvation process 57:56 is just bring yourself, just show up. |
Revised 2016-09-29