Participants: John and Angela Lomacang (Host), Dee Casper, Mollie Steenson, Ron and Magna Porterfield
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW017010A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:07 Hello and welcome to family worship. 01:10 As you can see I have my co-pilot with me 01:13 right on my left. 01:14 Good to have you here, honey. 01:15 Oh, I'm so happy to be here, and happy Sabbath to all of you 01:18 that are joining us. 01:19 That's right. That's right. 01:21 I tell you, when we get a chance to do family worship, 01:22 as we've traveled, we've heard the good news 01:24 that praise God 01:26 that this program has been able to fill the hearts 01:28 and lives of those that tune in 01:30 and it fills our hearts and lives too. 01:32 And we have a wonderful panel... 01:36 Oh, I'm excited about our panel. 01:37 ..a family here today. 01:38 Yes. So? 01:40 I'm excited about today's family worship. 01:42 And we have some special guest too. 01:43 Yes, we do. 01:44 That people have been tuning in probably haven't known recently 01:49 as a part of our family worship team. 01:52 So let's go ahead and we're gonna introduce them, 01:55 then we're gonna have prayer, we're gonna sing some songs, 01:57 and we're gonna dive into a topic, 01:59 "The Assurance of Salvation". 02:01 What a gift? Yes. 02:03 And why are so many unsure about it? 02:05 So to make the best use of our time, 02:06 let's go ahead and introduce our guests. 02:08 I'll start to my far right. 02:10 A young man that I believe is a man on fire for the Lord. 02:14 Good to have you here, Dee. 02:15 Good to be here. I appreciate that. 02:17 Yes. 02:18 You're part of...? UnScene Media Group. 02:19 And you're becoming more and more seen 02:21 as the day go on. 02:22 Yeah, despite my best efforts, 02:23 it seems to be happening more and more. 02:25 Yeah. Good to have you here. 02:27 To my right, the one and only. 02:29 Good to have you here, Mollie. Thank you. 02:31 It's always good to be here and, Dee, 02:33 I know you're part of UnScene Media Group, 02:35 but we are claiming you also. 02:38 We want him to be part of 3ABN more and more. 02:40 That's right, that's right. What a young man for the Lord. 02:43 Mollie, I tell you, I'm so glad, I tell you, 02:45 we have to hold on to our seats today 02:48 because this is not going to be a program 02:50 that's going to be a tiptoe through the tulip. 02:53 This is gonna be a walk with the joy of the Lord 02:55 and His blessed message of salvation. 02:57 And my wife, Angela, 02:59 I know somebody out there might not know us. 03:01 Oh. 03:02 Somebody might have just tuned in for the first time 03:04 so we can't take for granted. 03:05 I'm John Lomacang, the pastor at 3ABN 03:08 and the host of the number of programs and... 03:10 And you're pastor of the Thompsonville Church. 03:12 That's right. 03:13 And I'm Angela Lomacang, and I work for 3ABN Radio, 03:17 and I'm very happy to be here with you tonight and pray that, 03:22 I know that this is gonna be a blessing to all of you 03:25 and I just praise God for being here, 03:27 for the gift of salvation. 03:29 That's right and, honey... 03:30 And to my left, Dr. Magna Porterfield, 03:35 and she's a doctor of Psychology. 03:38 Let her introduce herself? 03:40 Go ahead, Magna. Yes. 03:41 I'm so glad to be here with Lomacangs, and Mollie, 03:44 and just meeting Dee 03:45 and my dear husband Ron Porterfield. 03:50 And it's a blessing to be here with this the group, the family 03:53 and it's a privilege to be here with my dear beautiful wife... 03:56 Yes. 03:57 ..to discuss this wonderful topic. 03:59 You know, I think, as we mentioned, 04:01 we want to take every, 04:03 we want to squeeze this grapefruit 04:04 with everything it has. 04:05 So, honey, why don't you begin with prayer 04:07 before we go into our music? 04:08 Sure. Let's bow our heads. 04:10 Our kind Father in heaven, 04:11 what a privilege and honor it is to bow before You, 04:13 this blessed Sabbath evening. 04:16 Thank You, Lord, for the gift of salvation, 04:19 thank you for Jesus. 04:20 Where would we be, if it were not for Jesus? 04:23 Lord, I pray that Your Spirit will come now 04:26 and anoint our voices, our hearts, everything. 04:30 We give our praise to You right now. 04:33 I pray, Lord, that those that are watching this 04:36 they will be blessed. 04:37 Those that are seeking salvation 04:39 that don't know you, 04:41 will reach out to You 04:42 and, Lord, You are not willing that any should perish. 04:45 And we just thank You. 04:46 So we ask that You'll bless, lead and guide in Jesus' name. 04:50 Amen. Amen. 04:53 And the other thing that I like about this program is music. 04:56 We have the one and only good friend, 05:02 also part of 3ABN family, 05:04 Tim Parton is going to play for us today. 05:06 Good to have you here, Tim. Amen. 05:08 And we're gonna sing two songs 05:09 that really encapsulate the whole theme 05:11 of this program. 05:12 First, "Blessed Assurance", 05:14 which is the title of our sermon, 05:15 "The assurance of salvation," and then, "Jesus Saves". 05:18 So join us, we're gonna sing the first 05:20 and third stanzas of each of these songs, 05:22 but we begin with, "Blessed Assurance". 05:31 Blessed assurance 05:35 Jesus is mine! 05:39 O, what a foretaste 05:43 Of glory divine! 05:47 Heir of salvation 05:51 Purchase of God 05:54 Born of His Spirit 05:58 Washed in His blood 06:02 This is my story 06:06 This is my song 06:10 Praising my Savior 06:14 All the day long 06:18 This is my story 06:22 This is my song 06:26 Praising my Savior 06:30 All the day long 06:34 Perfect submission 06:39 All is at rest 06:43 I in my Savior 06:46 Am happy and blest 06:50 Watching and waiting 06:54 Looking above 06:58 Filled with His goodness 07:02 Lost in His love 07:06 This is my story 07:09 This is my song 07:13 Praising my Savior 07:17 All the day long 07:21 This is my story 07:25 This is my song 07:29 Praising my Savior 07:33 All the day long 07:38 Amen. Amen. 07:41 This is family worship. We're gonna have church. 07:44 Praise God for that. 07:45 And what better song to continue 07:48 as we go into our topic, 07:49 we have heard the joyful sound, what is that sound? 07:52 "Jesus Saves". "Jesus Saves". 07:55 First and third stanzas. 08:02 We have heard a joyful sound 08:06 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 08:09 Spread the gladness all around 08:12 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 08:16 Bear the news to every land 08:19 Climb the steeps and cross the waves 08:23 Onward, 'tis our Lord's command 08:27 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 08:32 Sing above the battle's strife. 08:34 Sing above the battle's strife 08:37 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 08:41 By His death and endless life 08:44 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 08:47 Sing it softly through the gloom 08:51 When the heart for mercy craves 08:54 Sing in triumph o'er the tomb 08:58 What's the message? 08:59 Jesus saves, Jesus saves. 09:08 You want to give the wend? 09:10 Amen. 09:12 Wow, thank you, Tim. Yes. 09:14 Can I have an amen? 09:15 Amen. Amen. 09:16 We have to really, 09:18 this topic has been 09:20 and I know on the hearts of all of us has been a weight, 09:25 and what I mean by that 09:27 it's not a weight of fear of my life. 09:29 But I heard so many brothers and sisters in our church 09:32 and I'm sure, this may permeate other denominations 09:36 have wondered whether or not I'm savable, 09:40 whether or not I'm saved, 09:42 whether or not I'm fully saved, 09:45 how have I been saved, if I have been saved. 09:49 And so today, we want to talk about 09:50 the greatest gift, Mollie, 09:52 that has ever been given is the gift of salvation. 09:54 Yes. 09:55 But why are so many uncertain, 09:58 Dee, about this gift of salvation 10:00 Why are so many Christians unsure, 10:03 Dr. Magna and Ron, 10:07 about whether or not they even have salvation? 10:11 So what we want to do is 10:12 we are gonna address some of the questions, 10:14 what is salvation? 10:15 How is salvation obtained? 10:17 Why is salvation necessary? 10:19 How is it maintained 10:21 and can we have the assurance of salvation? 10:26 And I'd like to begin by saying, 10:28 the only way that you could not have 10:29 the assurance of salvation is 10:31 if your devil is bigger than your God. 10:34 Wow. 10:35 And I'll begin by saying, "He ain't". Come on. 10:37 Amen. Amen. 10:39 He's not bigger than our God. No. 10:41 You know, I was thinking recently, 10:44 our hearts want to make the statement 10:46 that Satan can't stop God from answering your prayers. 10:51 What he can do is discourage you from praying 10:54 hence you have, you know, God has no prayers to answer. 10:57 I want to kind of modify that a bit. 10:59 Satan can't stop you from being saved, 11:03 what he can do is discourage you 11:07 from accepting that salvation 11:09 or accepting the assurance of your salvation. 11:12 Recognize the root of where this discouragement comes from 11:18 or dislike of assurance comes from, 11:21 certainly not from God. 11:23 No. That's right. 11:24 Mollie, I think it would be fitting, 11:25 you just made that point, 11:27 why don't we begin this first question, 11:28 what is salvation? 11:30 And I think it'd be good, we want to just, 11:31 we want to really squeeze this orange today 11:33 because one of the things 11:34 that we know on this program is time 11:35 doesn't wait for anybody. 11:37 So let's begin with the basic question, 11:39 what is salvation. 11:40 Go with us to Matthew 1:21. 11:43 What is salvation? 11:44 This announcement was the most pleasing announcement 11:48 to fall on humanity, 11:49 the most fearful announcement to the enemy. 11:51 When this announcement was made, Satan said, 11:54 "What am I going to get myself into?" 11:57 When this announcement was made. 12:00 Matthew 1:21. Okay. 12:04 Mollie's on her way there. Aye, I'm on my way there. 12:06 It's in our syllabus but it's also in the Bible. 12:09 Praise God for that. 12:10 Matthew 1:21, 12:12 "And she will bring forth a Son, 12:14 and you shall call His name Jesus, 12:17 for He will save His people from their sins." 12:20 He might? 12:21 He will. He might? 12:23 Will. He will. 12:25 Let's begin with these, let's add some essence 12:29 and some electricity to these words. 12:31 He will. 12:33 You know, you heard in one of the former elections, 12:36 "Yes, we can." 12:37 Well, let me just add "Yes, he can." 12:39 Amen. 12:40 He will, not he might, not he might attempt to. 12:43 But what's the phrase? He...? 12:45 He will. He will. 12:46 But I want to get this, 12:48 He will save His people from their sins, 12:51 but salvation is deeper than that. 12:52 Dee, I want to throw this to you 12:54 because salvation is deeper than just the things we do. 12:56 Read the next text and let's just explore that. 12:58 John 1:29. 13:01 Salvation is bigger than just the things we do, 13:03 oftentimes people are meant over the things they do, 13:05 Jesus didn't come just to forgive you 13:08 of the things you do. 13:10 But look what He came to do. 13:12 John 1:29 says this. 13:16 "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 13:19 'Behold, the Lamb of God 13:21 who takes away the sin of the world."' 13:23 What is the sin of the world? Let's talk about that. 13:26 I'll open this to anybody. What is the sin of the world? 13:28 The sin of the world? 13:30 Placing anything above God, 13:32 I think it would be one of the things. 13:34 Okay. That. What else? Anyone over here? 13:36 The sin of the world? 13:38 Well, it's been separated from God for disobedience. 13:40 Well, actually, was it 1 John 3:14 13:46 sin is the transgression of the law. 13:48 Okay. 13:49 So it's transgressing God's law. 13:51 Okay. 13:52 It's rejection of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, 13:54 rejecting God was the sin of the world. 13:57 You wonderfully said, 13:58 rejecting God brought in a condition. 14:02 Just quickly, 1 Corinthians 15:22, 14:04 "As in Adam all die." 14:07 See when that death came in, Romans 5:12, through Adam, 14:11 death spread to all 14:14 by one man sin entered the world, 14:16 and death through sin 14:18 and thus death spread to all men. 14:21 So this sin, this sin wall was built 14:25 and Jesus came to take it away. 14:27 Amen. 14:29 Yeah, I know this text is actually related in the handout 14:30 but it's relevant now in Isaiah 59:1-2 14:33 that says that your sins are separated you 14:35 from your God. 14:36 And John 1 says that God is our source of life. 14:39 It's the inevitable result of our sin is being separated 14:41 from our source of life 14:43 and this is why death is the inevitable result for us 14:45 as a race, 14:46 and then why we're in such trouble. 14:48 So this broken relationship we had, 14:50 this wall that separated us from God 14:55 and Paul after realizing that salvation has been introduced, 14:58 he says, "What can separate us from the love of God. 15:02 You see when the wall is brought down, 15:03 when the separation between man and God is no longer there 15:07 breaking down the middle wall of partition 15:09 as Jesus did at this crucifixion, 15:10 breaking it down. 15:12 When it's no longer there, 15:13 nothing can separate us from it. 15:15 Mollie, I know you're a firebrand, 15:17 what do you say about that? 15:18 Nothing can separate us from the love of God. 15:20 Nothing can. 15:22 Okay. 15:23 But we can allow it. 15:24 We can allow it. Okay. 15:26 Great. Yes. 15:27 And that I think is where we have to understand 15:31 what the word says 15:32 and allow God by the power of His spirit to fill us 15:36 with His Holy Spirit, with His presence, 15:38 so that we can stand up 15:40 against those fiery darts of the enemy, 15:42 they come to discourage and dissuade us 15:44 from that relationship with God. 15:46 That's right. 15:48 Honey, why don't you take us through the second question 15:49 we have here? 15:50 Because this topic on salvation we had a... 15:53 I had a Bible study on just the topic of sin. 15:55 It was amazing. 15:56 And what we discovered is sin is first an enslaving power. 16:00 Yeah. 16:01 And then sin is a controlling power. 16:03 When Paul said, it's no longer I who doeth 16:05 but sin that delves in me, it's an enslaving power. 16:09 First it takes you into its grip 16:11 and then it does through you things 16:13 that you would never imagine. 16:14 That's what sin does. 16:16 But let's look at this, how is salvation obtained. 16:20 It says in John 3:17, 16:22 "For God did not send His Son into the world 16:25 to condemn the world, 16:28 but that the world through Him might be saved." 16:31 Okay. So let's talk about that. 16:33 Can you put on that the world through Jesus might be saved, 16:37 how is salvation obtained? 16:38 Through... 16:40 Through Jesus. Through Jesus. 16:41 Through Jesus only. Through Jesus. 16:43 There's so many who don't believe in Jesus. 16:45 There's so many who look for other means of being saved, 16:48 maybe not for heaven, 16:50 just being saved from this world of trial 16:52 and difficulty 16:53 but the only sure route is through Jesus. 16:55 That's right. 16:57 And understanding that helps us to understand 16:59 that there are many other paths that Satan presents, 17:02 but there's only one true path. 17:04 That's right. Well, well. 17:05 Anything, Dr. Ron? 17:07 And Hebrews lets us know that 17:09 without the shedding of blood is no remission of sins. 17:11 Okay. 17:12 So without that blood of Jesus then our sin remains. 17:15 So we need Jesus to remove the sins 17:19 or we have to look at Jesus 17:22 in order to have that blood applied. 17:23 Okay. 17:24 Because the work is there, the sacrifices were made, 17:28 that provision has been made for it, but if I don't, 17:31 if I don't partake of it, then my sins remain. 17:34 Yeah. Go ahead, Mollie. 17:36 How is salvation obtained? 17:38 And we've said truly 17:39 it's through the Lord Jesus Christ, 17:41 through that blood that He shed. 17:43 But first of all, we need Pastor Lomacang, 17:46 the preachers, the evangelists, 17:48 the teachers of this world to stand up and proclaim 17:52 because it's the presentation 17:54 of the message of the Lord Jesus Christ 17:57 that will go into the heart and convict the heart 18:00 because without a preacher, who's gonna hear the message. 18:03 So you have to come first, Pastor Lomacang and Dee, 18:07 and everyone that proclaims the word of the living God 18:10 because we are saying it's through Jesus. 18:13 But until that message is preached, 18:16 and it goes into the heart, 18:18 then the heart can't be convicted in. 18:20 I recall, when I was working in an office, 18:25 when the boss would be gone, 18:26 this one of the co-workers would stand up 18:30 and he wanted to be a preacher 18:32 and he would preach to his secretaries, 18:34 but, you know, he proclaimed the word of the living God 18:37 and what we were thinking was why don't he go away, 18:40 we've got work, we've got work to do. 18:42 But the power of that word 18:44 that he would preach went into our hearts, 18:48 and I know that was 18:49 the beginning of that fire in me. 18:52 Because then, like that he got me from 18:55 maybe home plate to first base, 18:58 then I went to church and the preacher got me 19:00 from first... 19:01 you know, it was a process, 19:03 but you have to hear the word of God first 19:06 before you can accept the Lord Jesus Christ 19:08 and have confidence in that blood that He shed. 19:10 We had to have an encounter with the living God, 19:12 the gospel to see our need to then make the decision 19:15 to accept that need 19:17 to appropriate the merits of Christ's blood 19:18 to our own particular account. 19:21 I think, something that's important, 19:23 we asked, you know, the people wrestling 19:24 with the assurance of salvation, 19:26 at the same time, 19:27 that Christ just pursuing His people to woo them 19:29 and draw them to Himself, 19:30 He says in Revelation 12 that the enemy, 19:33 that the devil is the accuser of the brethren. 19:35 That's right. 19:36 And this is why Jesus in contrast says, 19:38 I didn't come to condemn. That's right. 19:40 But that all might be saved. 19:42 And so I think that it's a helpful balance here 19:44 that those voices 19:46 that people are hearing of condemnation 19:47 in their experience are not coming from Jesus. 19:49 That's right. 19:50 It's from the accuser of the brethren. 19:52 It happens in Zechariah 3, 19:53 he's accusing Joshua the high priest, 19:54 it happens in Jude 9, 19:56 he's standing before the Lord 19:57 and before Michael the archangel saying, 19:58 "You can't take Moses, he's mine." 20:00 That's right. 20:02 And his job is to harangue, 20:03 and to harass, and to discourage, 20:06 and I'll phrase it this way, 20:08 if the devil can't deceive you, he'll discourage you. 20:10 And this is why many believers still feel 20:12 that they can't be saved 20:13 and maybe won't be in that sense 20:14 if they don't accept 20:16 the fullness of the Gospel of Christ 20:17 that they choose to believe the lies of the enemy 20:20 instead of the promises of God. 20:22 This is why we're getting in this situation. 20:24 And what you're saying is it depends on where we look. 20:26 You know, if we're looking at ourselves 20:28 as you've heard the statement before, 20:29 people said, if I look at myself, 20:30 there's no way I could be saved. 20:32 But if I look at Jesus, there's no way I could be lost. 20:34 And that's why Jesus says, looking unto me... 20:36 Yes. 20:38 ..the author and finisher, I think Isaiah 45:22, 20:41 "Look to Me, and be saved, 20:42 For I am God, and there is no other." 20:45 And so there's a text that I didn't include this 20:48 but in Romans 9:14 20:50 because we talked about salvation is in Christ alone, 20:52 but look at this text. 20:55 Paul has this cadence in his writings 20:59 "What shall we say then?" 21:00 You know, "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound." 21:03 And so he brings up 21:04 one of those here in Romans 9:14. 21:08 Read that for me, honey? 21:10 "What shall we say then? 21:12 Is there unrighteousness with God?" 21:14 And the answer? "Certainly not!" 21:16 Okay. No, there isn't. 21:17 So when you have God, is there any unrighteousness with Him? 21:19 No, no, no. 21:21 So one of the reasons why Jesus didn't come to condemn is 21:24 because we are already condemned. 21:27 Exactly. Yes, we are. 21:29 Ain't that right? Yes. 21:30 Let's talk to that. We're already condemned. 21:33 So He's not coming 21:35 and so many of us have been raised, 21:37 unfortunately there was an age of our church, 21:40 there was an age of very legalistic age 21:42 that our church went through, 21:43 and I think in some cases maybe other Christians 21:45 have experienced the same thing. 21:47 You heard the phrase "Fire and brimstone", sermons? 21:49 Those "Fire and brimstone", sermons, 21:51 will not necessarily tell us about the love of God 21:53 but the fires that held us way and to destroy us. 21:55 If we don't act right and live right, 21:57 and straighten up and fly right, 21:59 and we're going to church and we get beat up 22:01 and we come home, we'll feel cut up, 22:03 we don't feel lifted up, we don't feel delivered. 22:06 You know, that was Romans 2:4. Okay. 22:08 This scripture is one that spoke to my heart 22:10 because I was raised, you know, 22:11 that's my frame of reference, that background. 22:14 Fire and brimstone? Fire and brimstone. 22:15 Hold that over, held like a hotdog 22:17 and say burn, baby, no, 22:18 I'm not supposed to say things like that. 22:20 Okay, but Romans 2:4, 22:23 "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, 22:26 and longsuffering not knowing 22:27 that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" 22:32 Not hellfire and brimstone. 22:34 I was just at the gym couple of months ago 22:37 and the girl at the front desk, 22:39 I just asked her, what are you reading? 22:41 And or, you know, what's that? 22:42 She said it's my homework assignment. 22:44 And I said what is it? 22:45 And she said, "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God." 22:47 The sermon by Jonathan Edwards, 22:48 this is in her literature class at a public school. 22:52 And I'm just thinking like, this is the picture 22:54 that's being given to kids in a secular school, 22:57 that this is what God is like, he takes delight, right, 23:00 in the consummation, the destruction of the wicked, 23:02 but God says, "I don't have 23:03 any pleasure in the death of the wicked. 23:05 But the wicked turn from the ways and they repent. 23:07 And it's just frustrating to see that picture 23:09 painted to people but this is why Jesus says, 23:13 if anyone who've seen Me has seen the Father. 23:15 That's right. And how did Jesus treat people? 23:17 How did Jesus deal with people 23:19 in their situation of brokenness, of being lost, 23:21 and having needs? 23:23 That's the way the Father deals with us, 23:24 that's why He sent His Son because He wants to save us, 23:26 not rejoicing over our lost condition. 23:28 I think that some people's picture in wrestling 23:31 with the assurance of salvation has to do 23:33 with the corrupt picture of God, the Father. 23:35 That's right. 23:36 A very darkened picture of God, 23:37 the Father that is kind of disappointed parent 23:39 with the finger over the red button. 23:42 And so we assume that 23:43 we'll never be good enough for Him, 23:44 because He's always disappointed in us. 23:46 But why would He send Jesus if that's the type of person 23:49 that He was. 23:50 He sent Jesus to pull us out of the condition 23:52 that we were in and to enable us 23:54 to live a holy life through the power of the Spirit. 23:55 So it doesn't make sense that, that would be the case. 23:58 We get the picture of this through the gospels. 24:00 We can think of the woman that was caught in adultery. 24:02 Yes. 24:04 Now back in Moses' day she would have been stoned. 24:06 And rightfully so. Yes. 24:08 But Jesus said, I'm not gonna condemn you. 24:10 Where are your accusers? 24:13 They couldn't stand around because they had all sinned. 24:17 But Jesus stood as someone who offered her salvation. 24:20 That's right. 24:22 As a matter of fact we see right in John 3:17 24:26 like follows the worlds, what most famous texts, 24:29 John 3:16 for gospel of the world. 24:31 But it says here "For God sent not His Son into the world 24:35 to condemn the world, 24:36 but that the world through Him might be saved." 24:40 Amen. Praise God. 24:41 And so this extension of God's grace, 24:45 thank you for reminding us of that 24:47 because sinners are not in the hands of an angry God. 24:52 Amen. 24:53 But sinners are in the hand of a God who has... 24:56 I have loved you with an everlasting love, 24:59 therefore with loving kindness I have drawn thee. 25:02 His mercies are new every morning, 25:04 great is His faithfulness. 25:07 That's the kind of God 25:08 and for the secular world to do that, 25:10 that seems to be the only religious literature 25:12 that they will put in the hand of a secular mind to kill God 25:16 and put Darwin in his place 25:18 or some anti-Christian philosophy. 25:21 But Acts 4:12 says, "Nor is there," 25:26 I want my wife to read this for us 25:27 because this is a powerful passage here. 25:30 "Nor is there salvation in any other, 25:33 for there is no other name under heaven given among men 25:37 by which we must be saved." 25:39 So if I don't mention the name Jesus, I'm okay. 25:42 Is that true? No. 25:44 No. 25:45 There's no other name, 25:46 you could knock on the door of heaven 25:48 but unless you mention the name Jesus, 25:49 that's why Jesus even in His own existence here on earth, 25:54 had a difficult time saying to the church of His day, 25:57 they said, they believe in God, 25:58 but He said, you believe in God, believe also... 26:00 In me. In me. 26:01 'Cause there's no other name. 26:03 They were searching all through the Old Testament finding out 26:05 all the sets that we need to do. 26:06 And he says, 26:08 these are they which testify of me. 26:10 The whole point of all the doing was to remind you 26:13 that someone is coming to do for you. 26:15 Yes. And that's the whole point. 26:17 Yeah. 26:18 You know, on a little different note, 26:20 you just mentioned to do, 26:21 one thing I thought about 26:22 that sometimes prevents us from heaven, 26:24 the assurance of salvation, is our need for control. 26:26 That salvation is a gift. Right. 26:28 And the idea of just this gift being given to us and you know 26:32 we just accept it and we're saved, 26:34 that sounds too easy. 26:35 In our world, you know, you work to achieve things. 26:38 And this idea that believe in Jesus, 26:41 even though we know there are things more 26:42 that come along with it 26:43 but just the basis of believing sometimes is hard, 26:46 'cause, you know, I earned my degree, 26:48 you earned your trade, you earned whatever you have 26:51 and so this idea of not having to earn it by our works 26:54 sometimes takes away too from that salvation. 26:56 We have this performance based mentality, 27:00 the harder I work the better I am, 27:02 the better I do, 27:04 then and only then am I worthy of something 27:07 that's just a free gift. 27:08 You just accept it. 27:09 Paul uses this amazing language in Romans 6:23 that he says, 27:13 "For the wages of sin is death". 27:15 And we gloss over his use of language. 27:17 Because you know what a wage is? 27:19 It's what you deserve as a result of the work 27:21 that you performed. 27:22 That's right. 27:24 What your works have earned you is death, Paul says. 27:26 But the gift of God, 27:27 something you don't deserve is eternal life in Christ Jesus. 27:30 That's right. You can't buy it. 27:32 You can't buy that. 27:33 That's not a meritorious thing, 27:34 it's solely because of the merit of Jesus, 27:36 you can receive it, that's it. 27:38 And so when we look at this, this whole gift, 27:40 I'm so thankful that you brought that out, 27:42 I got to get used to the new name, 27:44 I'll just call, can I call you, Magna. 27:46 Please, yes. 27:48 Social level here. 27:49 In the professional setting 27:51 I would definitely refer to your credentials. 27:53 But in this beautiful thing of gift-giving, 27:57 we all love Christmas. 27:59 We don't ever say to somebody, "How much do I owe you?" 28:03 No. 28:05 When you get, how much do I owe you? 28:07 Jesus is saying the same thing. 28:09 But I want to add a caveat. 28:11 He says, "All I want is you." 28:13 Amen. 28:14 All of you. 28:16 All I want is all of you, 28:17 just give me you and I will give you me. 28:20 Yes. 28:21 And this trading place is a phrase 28:23 that I could think of that, 28:24 so what I want to do now is 28:26 I want to go to the experience of salvation. 28:29 And I think this is, 28:31 let me dive into this with the statement. 28:34 When we've grown up here in this too. 28:36 Salvation is a work of a... 28:38 Lifetime. 28:40 That's not the exact quote 28:42 but sanctification is the work of a lifetime. 28:45 Yes. 28:46 And so we run up against this and we say how long do I have? 28:52 And we then take it to the next level. 28:55 Well, I'm thinking about myself, 28:57 I'm gonna need 42 years to complete my salvation. 29:01 And we add into this a work 29:03 that the Lord never accomplished, 29:04 the Lord never asked us to accomplish. 29:06 So let's begin with 29:08 the first stage of sanctification 29:10 or the first experience of salvation. 29:15 Dr. Porterfield, Magna, 29:18 could you read Ephesians 2:8, 9? 29:20 I'll be glad to. Okay. 29:22 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. 29:25 And that not of yourselves it is the gift of God 29:29 not of works lest anyone should boast." 29:32 Okay, now this experience of salvation is salvation 29:35 from what, Mollie? 29:36 Salvation from the world order of Satan. 29:39 That's right. 29:40 And in even greater 29:42 or even an addition to salvation 29:43 from the penalty of sin. 29:46 We have prison ministry here at 3ABN. 29:49 On our church is just an act of daily, weekly, 29:52 it actually almost a daily activity. 29:54 When you are on death row, 29:57 when you go to death row maximum security institutions, 29:59 you meet people that are on death row. 30:01 And you say to them, "You may be on death row 30:04 but I've come to let you know that God has another death row 30:06 He wants to deliver you from." 30:08 There are people that have gone to their physical death 30:12 with such peace because they know 30:13 they will come forth in the first resurrection. 30:15 Amen. Exactly. 30:16 So this whole idea, if I was serving time, honey, 30:20 and I got let out of prison, 30:24 and I'm no longer on death row, 30:25 am I gonna walk around with a long face? 30:27 Help me out. No. 30:28 You'll be excited, happy, joyful. 30:31 Somebody see me at the mall say, 30:32 hey, I'm here, I'm free right, Mollie? 30:35 Yes. 30:36 So what is first this experience 30:37 of being set free from death, 30:39 let's talk about that for a moment. 30:41 What does that say to us? 30:43 Well, I think about 30:44 the prayer of David in Psalm 51. 30:46 Okay. 30:48 He had done that incredible act of sin 30:51 and so he was pleading with the Lord 30:53 to remove this thing from his... 30:56 He wanted to be cleansed from this, 30:58 and in verse 8, Psalm 51, 31:00 I think it's, no, verse 12, he said, 31:02 "Restore unto me the joy of your salvation." 31:06 So David realized that there was a joy 31:08 with this experience of salvation. 31:13 So we should be joyous. 31:14 You know, shame is kind of the opposite of joy 31:16 in that sense of identifying with what you've done. 31:19 It's not just that I did something wrong 31:21 but I'm something wrong. 31:23 And I think that shame is that aspect 31:25 that deprives us this joy 31:26 because we feel that we have to identify 31:28 with what we've done. 31:29 But the power of 2 Corinthians 5, 31:31 is that Jesus became what we did. 31:33 He became sin 31:35 so that we might become 31:36 the righteousness of God in Christ 31:38 that we don't have to be filled with shamed anymore 31:40 because Christ carried that to the cross on our behalf. 31:43 That's a powerful thought, "He became sin." 31:44 Let's just touch that a moment. 31:46 And there is a text, 31:47 I want you to read in a moment here in Habakkuk, 31:49 "He became sin." 31:50 In other words, we identify, we say we are sinners. 31:55 But I want to say something, we are not sin. 31:57 Right. Come on help me out. 31:59 That's right. 32:00 We are sinners but we are not sin. 32:02 That's right. 32:03 Jesus went deeper than just becoming our brother. 32:06 He went to the core issue, He became sin, 32:11 He never became a sinner. 32:12 Amen. That's right. 32:14 Wow. Yeah. 32:15 Did you get that? Yes. 32:16 Yes. He became sin. 32:18 He said, I'm bypassing you, Mollie, 32:19 I'm going to the root of your issue. 32:22 So when He went to the root of the issue, 32:23 took the root to the cross, 32:25 that's what I meant in the beginning, 32:27 that's what John 1:29 "That taketh away the sin." 32:30 The sin is the root issue. Yes. 32:32 The root, when the root is good, 32:33 the fruit are good. 32:35 Yes. 32:36 That's why He's gonna destroy root and branch, 32:38 Malachi 4:1-4, 32:41 "He's gonna destroy root and branch." 32:42 So there will be no sin in the eternity. 32:45 But when we are connected to the vine now, 32:48 He's the vine, we are what? 32:49 The branch. Branch. 32:51 How can He take away the bad root, 32:53 how can we be connected to the good root, 32:56 and still be abiding in death? 32:58 We can't. We can't. 33:00 We're abiding in the vine. 33:02 And it's his sap that flows through us. 33:07 And that confessing of our sin. 33:11 Do we sin? Yeah, of course. 33:12 Yeah, we're abiding in the vine 33:14 and we are filled with His presence in that life, 33:19 the very life in nature of God is flowing through us 33:22 like sap flows through a tree 33:24 that's the presence of God that's within us. 33:28 But we do sin but then 1 John 1:9, 33:33 thank the Lord for 1 John 1:9. 33:35 If we confess that sin, what does He do? 33:38 He's faithful and just to forgive us 33:41 and cleanse us from all unrighteousness 33:43 which puts us back in that right relationship 33:46 with almighty God. 33:47 Amen. 33:48 It comes back to what we're saying 33:50 in the very beginning. 33:51 We need to behold the Lamb of God 33:52 which taketh away the sin of the world, 33:54 and by beholding we become change. 33:56 Okay. 33:58 And I'll need to go a little step 33:59 to add to what Mollie just mentioned here. 34:02 This because when we add, okay, we are in Christ, 34:05 but we do sin, but what did He say? 34:08 My little children, 34:10 I write to you that you sin not. 34:11 Amen. 34:13 But if any man sin, he has... 34:15 Advocate. 34:16 Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. 34:20 Advocate is a representative. 34:21 One who goes to the Father in our behalf. 34:24 He knows that the one thing 34:25 that is still maintained is this sinful flesh. 34:27 Yes. He's gonna replace that. 34:29 But there's a text, I want you to read in Habakkuk, 34:31 honey, that you wrote down, 34:33 that is just a powerful realization. 34:34 Habakkuk 3:18 and actually 19 says, 34:40 "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, 34:43 I will joy in the God of my salvation." 34:47 And verse 19 says, "The Lord God is my strength, 34:51 He will make my feet like deer's feet, 34:55 and He will make me walk on my high hills." 34:59 It's powerful. 35:00 And in Exodus 14:13 he talks about standstill 35:04 and see the salvation of the Lord. 35:07 And I was thinking of this, 35:09 if we just get out of the Lord's way, 35:12 you know, and stop interrupting, 35:14 then we could see the salvation of the Lord, 35:16 and stop looking at me, me, me and look at him. 35:19 That's how I look at it. 35:21 And he says also the Egyptians 35:24 whom you see today, 35:25 you're not gonna see them anyone. 35:27 So the sin in your life, 35:28 you're not gonna see that anymore 35:30 if you accept the Lord as your Savior 35:32 and turn from your wicked ways, and it's just wonderful. 35:37 And it says in 2 Corinthians 6:2, 35:40 "Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation." 35:45 Not tomorrow, it's right now. 35:48 You do not have to try to get it all together. 35:50 Yeah. Because that's a big hurdle. 35:52 It is. Let's talk to that. 35:54 Some people try to save themselves. 35:55 Yeah. 35:57 Let's talk about that for a moment. 35:58 This sense of needing to kind of clean ourselves up 36:00 before we come to Jesus... 36:01 Yes. 36:03 ..that we have to kind of... 36:04 'Cause He's not going to take as we are, 36:05 it's kind of the thought. 36:07 But that isn't why He came. 36:08 He didn't come to give us prerequisites before we come. 36:11 He says, if any man comes unto me, 36:13 I will no way cast him out. 36:15 And Ellen White actually comment on that, and says, 36:17 if we claim this one promise, and it may me feel that 36:19 you're only holding on to a single promise. 36:21 She says, we are as safe 36:22 as if we were inside the City of God. 36:25 If that's all you have, is that claim with Jesus, 36:28 if I come to you, you won't cast me out. 36:30 She says that's enough. Wow, wow. 36:32 It's believing the promises of God 36:34 and applying them to our lives. 36:35 Yes. That's our only hope. 36:37 Mollie? 36:39 Also coming to him, 36:42 and holding on the promises any scriptures 36:44 that you hold on to. 36:46 God's word is the most powerful, 36:48 one of the most powerful forces in the universe 36:50 is the power of God's word, and you find a promise, 36:54 a promise that speaks to your heart 36:56 and you hold on to that promise, 36:58 and have confidence, 36:59 and God will place His confidence in you 37:02 and should you feel 37:05 that you couldn't possibly be saved in 37:08 because you've just been too bad, 37:10 just know that there is nothing, 37:13 God doesn't care and it doesn't matter. 37:16 That's right. 37:18 What you've done, He loves you, 37:20 He doesn't care one bit about your past, 37:23 all He's concerned about is your future. 37:25 You hold on to that promise knowing 37:28 He loves you, 37:29 and He would then none of us be lost 37:31 but we would all come to the knowledge of the Son 37:34 of the living God. 37:36 So being taken off the death row 37:37 now is the first experience of salvation. 37:40 Now let's go ahead and look at this. 37:43 He who the son sets free is? 37:45 Free indeed. 37:46 You shall know the truth and the truth shall? 37:48 Make you free. Make you free. 37:51 Now I wanted to just talk about this. 37:52 We use the word, said a lot. Yeah. 37:54 Said and make are quite different. 37:56 Yes, it really is. Make is the mentality. 37:58 There's a term used in the penal institution, 38:01 it's called the recidivism rate, 38:03 the recidivism rate. 38:05 Meaning, here I'm again, I'm back in here 38:08 'cause I couldn't, in my mind, I wasn't free. 38:11 People often end up where they are again 38:13 because in their mind they're not free. 38:14 Right. 38:16 Or they entertain a thought 38:17 that they bear on or that they lean on 38:19 and all of a sudden it takes them all over again 38:20 because sin is a controlling power. 38:22 It's an enslaving power then it controls. 38:24 But salvation from the penalty, 38:27 now let's look at the other text. 38:28 Someone read 1 Corinthians 1:18, 38:31 it's in our syllabus 38:33 but if you do want to read that, 38:34 1 Corinthians 1:18 it's a powerful passage. 38:36 You have it, Mollie? Okay. Yes. 38:38 "For the message of the cross is foolishness 38:40 to those who are perishing, 38:42 but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 38:46 Okay. 38:47 So it's a hallelujah text. Yes. 38:49 For those of us we are being saved, it is what? 38:52 Power of God. 38:53 Let's talk about the power of God. 38:54 What kind of power does God have? 38:56 Unlimited. 38:57 Paul says, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel 38:59 because it is the power of God 39:00 to salvation for those who believe." 39:02 When you realize the true depth of the ability 39:05 of the blood of Jesus to set you free, 39:07 you're not afraid to talk about it anymore. 39:09 You're not afraid or ashamed, it changes everything. 39:11 And that's what happened with Paul's experience, 39:13 but he says at Romans 1 I think at verse 60. 39:17 He talks in 1:60. Yeah. 39:18 It's the power of God and so this power, 39:22 talk about power for a moment. 39:23 Who has more power than God? Give me a name. 39:25 No-one. Not one person. 39:27 Is there anything that God can't do, Ron? 39:29 No, nothing. 39:31 Except He cannot force us to, He won't force our choices. 39:35 Right. We have to choose. 39:37 And that's the side obviously with, you know, 39:39 we say he could everything, supply, die, feel, and change. 39:41 We understand that, but without the trick question, 39:43 is there anything hard for God? 39:44 Nothing. Nothing is impossible for God. 39:47 So now the reason I brought this one is, 39:49 first of all we're saved from the penalty, 39:51 for by grace you have been saved, 39:53 you're taking off the death row. 39:54 But now let's go to the daily. 39:56 That's the salvation from the penalty is the first one. 39:58 You have been saved. 40:00 You just have to accept the fact 40:01 that you have been saved except that gift. 40:03 But now what about the walk with Christ everyday, 40:05 to those who are being saved, 40:07 that's the term we often use sanctification. 40:11 Right? Salvation from the sin's power. 40:13 And so how often 40:15 do we have to dedicate ourselves to Lord, honey? 40:16 Every day, every moment. 40:18 Every day we have to do it, it's a daily thing. 40:21 You have to dedicate your life to God. 40:22 And what are some of the things 40:24 you do to dedicate your life every day? 40:25 Oh, I pray, I talk to the Lord, not just morning and night, 40:29 I talk to the Lord throughout the day, 40:32 and I do read His word, I have to read it. 40:35 Where would I be without the word of God? 40:37 That's right. 40:38 And I have my worship, 40:40 I even take my Bible to work sometimes 40:41 while I'm doing a program 40:43 and it's going through its process 40:45 and I'll pick up the word of God 40:46 and I'll read it. 40:48 And it nourishes my soul like no other book in the world can. 40:51 That's true, yes. It does. 40:53 And what you put inside, go ahead, Dee. 40:55 Well, in John 17 Jesus prayed specifically. 40:58 First question, when Jesus prays, 41:00 does He get answers? 41:02 Did He get answers? I'm just saying. 41:04 So Jesus prays in John 17 sanctify them by your truth, 41:08 your word's truth. 41:10 So the means that which Christ and the God, the Father, 41:12 intended for us to be sanctified, 41:14 one of those means was communion in the word. 41:16 Now if he prayed for that to happen, it can happen. 41:18 Yes. Done deal. 41:20 But the variable is will we use it, 41:23 will we seek it, will we eat it, 41:25 will we taste and see that the Lord is good. 41:27 And I think that's the main difference. 41:29 But it's there for us. 41:30 That means of sanctification I can look back at 41:32 when I begin a devotional life like eight or nine years ago 41:35 and where I am now. 41:37 I'm not the same person I was then. 41:38 And I didn't do anything to change me, 41:40 the word of God itself changed me. 41:42 It effectively works in those who believe. 41:44 Exactly. 41:45 You know, you go to the best dinner at Thanksgiving 41:47 and look at it and starve to death. 41:49 What do we have to do? Eat it. 41:51 Taste and see. Yes. 41:54 That the Lord is good. Oh, that's good. 41:55 And once you start tasting, Mollie, 41:58 once you start tasting, honey, 42:00 once you start tasting of God's goodness, 42:02 nothing can turn you off. 42:03 Nothing at all. You just want more. 42:05 Yeah. 42:06 And because you can taste Him, what you taste my taste buds 42:12 have no idea of what, I have to do it for myself. 42:16 It's not something 42:17 that can be transmitted to you by osmosis, 42:19 you have to taste of the Lord 42:21 and see that He's good to yourself. 42:22 That's a powerful thought. 42:24 Honey, share that thought about being a waiter. 42:26 Oh, man. I love this example. 42:27 And this really, actually, 42:29 let me just be very real with you. 42:31 This actually challenged us 42:33 to accelerate our dedication to God, 42:35 'cause you can work for God and die of starvation. 42:37 Yeah. That's true. 42:39 Yeah. Yes, it is. 42:40 So last year I felt like I was a waiter, 42:45 giving everybody food and starving myself to death. 42:49 You could get so locked into the cycle of performance, 42:54 and you could be a great, 42:56 you could be efficient at what you do, 42:58 and it could be blessing other people's lives, 42:59 but you could slowly, slowly, slowly, 43:01 slowly fall into the category 43:02 where you're about to be a castaway. 43:05 So I don't want to be a waiter anymore. 43:07 I don't want to say, "Did you like what I made, Ron? 43:09 Did you enjoy that sermon, Magna? 43:11 Was that a good Bible study? 43:12 Mollie, did you enjoy that song? 43:14 Wasn't that a great program?" 43:16 I don't want that. I want to be able to eat. 43:19 Yes. Amen. 43:20 But I'm giving everybody else 43:21 because it's in the eating that the nourishment comes, 43:25 it's in the eating that I experience. 43:27 I was so glad you said that. 43:29 I could sit next to Angie 43:30 and she's eating off the righteousness of God 43:32 and I'm starving to death and with this close, 43:33 but I can't even, she can't even transmit 43:35 through her pores the spiritual nourishment 43:38 that she has. 43:39 So we've got to eat ourselves that daily walking, 43:41 what we do as a couple daily prayer, 43:44 Bible says reading in the morning, 43:46 we wake up devotional. 43:47 Father, speak to us today, pray through the day. 43:51 Pause and pray, lunch time read, pray. 43:54 Evening, let's read our Bible before we go to bed, pray. 43:56 Father, if there is anything we did today, 43:59 thank you for being our advocate. 44:01 So what I want to point out 44:03 in this very passage of sanctification, 44:04 somebody read Philippians 2:12. 44:06 You had a passage there, 44:07 Mollie, anything you want to say there 44:09 that you had turned to? 44:10 No, he was just talking about the prayer 44:12 that Jesus prayed in the John 17, 44:14 I love that prayer because everything he's praying, 44:19 it's put it toward me 44:21 because he's praying not only for these 44:23 but those that are to come. 44:24 That prayer is for us. 44:25 And that should give anybody confidence 44:28 to know that Jesus Himself is praying for you. 44:30 Praise the Lord. 44:31 So this process of sanctification, 44:32 Philippians 2:12 who has it? 44:34 Mollie. Okay, well. 44:35 I thought... go ahead. 44:38 "Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, 44:41 not as in my presence only, but now." 44:43 Philippians 2:13. 44:45 Sorry, Philippians 2:13, it's the next verse. 44:47 "For it is God which worketh in you both to will 44:50 and to do of His good pleasure." 44:52 Okay, in this sanctification, who's working? 44:53 God. Who's working? 44:55 Jesus, yeah. God. 44:56 Who's not working? Us. 44:59 Not of works. It's emphasized all over. 45:02 Paul the Apostle has taken the work out of our hand. 45:05 Jesus has taken the work out of our hand. 45:06 Paul has said, first of all, you're saved by grace, 45:08 not of works lest you should boast. 45:10 Now, you are saved the sanctifying process, 45:12 it is God who works. 45:15 I'm jumping out of my skin at two brief points. 45:17 Go for it. Go for it. 45:19 Obedience to the Ten Commandments is a fruit 45:21 of the Holy Spirit in your life. 45:23 Thanks you. 45:24 Not your own achievement. 45:25 And that's how you're abide in the vine, 45:27 you bear much fruit. 45:28 Because when Jesus says, 45:29 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 45:31 It's not in the imperative in the original language, 45:32 we treated that way in the way we preach it a lot of times, 45:34 but that's not the way 45:35 that it reads in the original language. 45:37 And the way that that happensis 45:38 because we have a love for Jesus, 45:40 because we have a love for Jesus, 45:41 the Holy Spirit is part of our life, 45:43 and the Holy Spirit bears fruit in that. 45:45 But the idea of justification and sanctification, 45:47 I think a text that puts those two together well 45:50 and shows this efficiency of Jesus 45:52 in both of these is in Romans 5, 45:53 we had this laid it in the handout. 45:55 Sure. 45:56 But in Romans 5. Oh, yes. Ain't that beautiful? 45:58 I never heard this until arise... 45:59 Verse 6-11? Yes. 46:00 I never heard this until arise. 46:02 I'd always hear that 46:03 the death of Jesus was really important to me, 46:05 but the life of Jesus is equally important 46:08 for sanctification. 46:09 And this hadn't been made clear to me 46:10 until I got this in Romans 5 46:12 that the point that Paul makes is that the death of Jesus, 46:16 well, I guess we'll just start, 46:17 we'll just read the whole text, verse 6. 46:19 Verse 6-11. I mean it's powerful. 46:21 We'll walk through it here then. 46:22 So in verse 6 it says, 46:23 "For when we were still without strength..." 46:26 That means before we cleaned ourselves up. 46:28 Before we even had the ability to do it. 46:30 "In due time Christ died for the ungodly." 46:32 The unworthy if you will. 46:34 "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, 46:36 yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 46:39 But God demonstrates His own love toward us." 46:42 I love this because that bankrupt picture 46:45 that some of us have of God the Father 46:46 falls apart with this text. 46:48 That's right. 46:49 God's love for us sent Jesus, 46:50 it wasn't just that Jesus is trying to bail us 46:52 out in front of the Father. 46:53 The Father sent Jesus to reconcile us. 46:55 I want you to say that again 46:56 because somebody just missed that, 46:57 it wasn't that Jesus is trying to... 46:59 Jesus didn't go to try to keep the Father 47:01 from doing bad things to us. 47:02 The Father sent Jesus 47:03 because the Father Himself loves us. 47:05 Yeah. Thank you. 47:06 So that's Romans 5:8. 47:08 But God demonstrates His own love for us and that, 47:10 "While we were still sinners, still a mess, still unworthy, 47:12 Christ died for us." 47:14 So, "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, 47:18 we shall be saved from wrath through Him." 47:21 "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God 47:24 through the death of His Son." 47:25 So the death of Jesus accomplishes reconciliation. 47:28 So my... the wages of my sin is death. 47:31 What I deserve is the result of the work 47:32 that I performed is death. 47:34 Jesus' death cancels out the death that I deserve. 47:38 And a lot of us stop there 47:39 when we explain the process of salvation 47:40 and that's super good news 47:42 that cancels out my death, but the problem is... 47:43 Where do I go? 47:45 From that point forward, 47:46 I know how to live without sin in word, 47:48 thought, or deed for the rest of my life, 47:49 or I go back into debt. 47:51 My only hope then after that is 47:52 if someone lives like a righteous life 47:55 that I haven't lived, 47:56 because that's my access to heaven. 47:58 Jesus' death clears out my death 47:59 but my access to heaven is Jesus' life. 48:02 So Paul says, we're reconciled... 48:03 So verse 10. 48:04 Yeah, in verse 10 Paul says, 48:06 "We're reconciled by the death of Jesus 48:07 and much more, having been reconciled, 48:09 we shall be saved by His life." 48:11 By His life. His life. 48:13 So we, through the power of the spirit 48:15 can be given Christ's righteousness, 48:17 can live a righteous life. 48:19 So His death cancels out our death and his life, 48:22 it's a life that we haven't lived 48:24 and gives us access to heaven. 48:25 That's imputative and important righteousness. 48:27 Yes. 48:28 See, what happens is this enables us to stand 48:33 before the Father and look like His Son. 48:37 Behold what manner of love, the Father has bestowed on us 48:43 that we should be called the children of God. 48:45 What's your favorite text? That's my favorite passage. 48:49 You know, as we're all talking here, 48:50 I'm thinking to myself, 48:52 this is all about what we think. 48:54 Yes. Yes. 48:55 It starts with our thought process. 48:57 That's right. What do I believe about God? 48:59 What do I believe about what He has done for me? 49:01 That's right. 49:02 What do I believe about His character? 49:04 What do I believe about what I need to do to be saved? 49:06 It's all about what we believe and what we think, 49:09 and if we, we have to start with changing our mindsets. 49:12 I'm reading this book called Mindset now. 49:14 And changing our mindsets about 49:15 how we look at the whole salvation experience. 49:18 I was raised and born 49:20 in the Seventh-day Adventist church, 49:21 and it was only until I reached, 49:22 I'm not gonna say what age but years later 49:24 that I started to understand my mindset has to be changed. 49:28 And it's when my mindset changed, 49:29 that's why I start, 49:30 when I started to get that assurance I can 49:33 and I'm saved by God through Jesus Christ. 49:35 That's right. 49:36 But if that mind is not changed, 49:37 we can quote all these things that we're saying, 49:39 it sounds wonderful, 49:40 it just goes right out over our head 49:42 or through our ears, nothing happens. 49:43 Yeah. It doesn't permeate the reality of our experience. 49:47 It's like being in an airplane but you're not the airplane, 49:50 without that airplane you can't fly. 49:51 What we're saying is, 49:53 we don't need to build anything around ourselves, 49:55 we need to accept Christ within ourselves, 49:57 Christ in you, the hope of glory. 49:59 It is God who works in you both to will, Mollie? 50:02 What is the only thing in this whole universe 50:05 that is powerful enough to change your mindset? 50:08 Holy Spirit. 50:10 The power of God's Word. Yes. 50:11 Yes. It's the power of God's Word. 50:13 It's, that's why it's so vitally important 50:16 that we sit under a good minister 50:19 that's preaching the word, 50:20 that we spent time in God's Word 50:23 and that we meditate on God's Word. 50:26 I say this and I'm not saying this dogmatically, 50:29 but the three most powerful forces 50:31 in the universe 50:32 the Word, the Name, and the Blood. 50:34 And those forces work within you. 50:40 You'll be an overcomer in every situation. 50:42 But the Word is the powerful force 50:44 that would change your mind. 50:45 You know, talking about the power, 50:47 it takes me to a text here in John 1:12, 50:50 "But as many as received him, 50:53 Jesus, to them gave he power to become sons of God." 50:58 That's right. 51:00 And it also makes me think of John 10:10, 51:02 it's one of my favorite, 51:03 there is wonderful promise in there, 51:04 but it's very solemn 51:06 because in that we see the great controversy. 51:07 The thief cometh not but for to seal, 51:10 and to kill, and to destroy. 51:11 So many are focusing on the enemy, 51:15 and their peace is being stolen, 51:17 their health is being stolen, 51:19 their harmony and their marriages 51:21 and their relationships are being stolen, 51:23 they're being killed. 51:25 But Jesus says, "I am come that you might have life 51:28 and have it how? 51:29 More abundantly. More abundantly. 51:30 So that comes right back 51:32 we have to keep our eyes on Jesus, 51:34 receiving that power from His Word. 51:37 And that will give us the, that the mindset 51:39 that my sweetheart was saying. 51:41 The blessed assurance. 51:43 We truly believe that we are His sons and daughters 51:45 that we can be saved. 51:46 And, you know what? 51:48 It's not that we're gonna become His sons and daughters 51:50 but it says, "Beloved, now are we the children of God." 51:52 Amen. 51:54 1 John 3:2, "Now we're the children." 51:56 We're not becoming the children. 51:58 He's my father now. Dee? Amen. 52:00 I think the point that she made is exactly the point 52:02 that when we're believing lies about who the Father is, 52:05 this is where we really get ourselves in trouble 52:07 with the assurance of salvation. 52:08 So in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3, 52:10 the enemy didn't come up to her and say, 52:11 "Hey, I want you to have bad behavior." 52:14 The immediate thing he started with was a lie about 52:17 who God was. 52:18 And that's where most of our battles lies, 52:20 that we're believing lies about Him. 52:21 He's the father of lies we're told. 52:23 He is the accuser of the brethren. 52:24 And I think this is what gets us 52:26 in a whole lot of trouble. 52:27 But I say that 52:28 to kind of also piggyback of off Mollie's point. 52:30 This is a quote from Signs of the Times, 52:32 March 25, 1889. 52:34 Ellen White says this, 52:36 "We are not to look into our hearts 52:37 for a joyful emotion 52:39 as evidence of our acceptance with Heaven, 52:41 but we are to take God's promises, 52:43 and say, "They are mine. 52:45 The Lord is letting his Holy Spirit rest upon me. 52:48 I am receiving the light for the promises 52:50 believe that ye receive the things ye ask for, 52:52 and ye shall have them. 52:54 By faith I reach within the veil, 52:56 and lay hold of Christ, my strength. 52:58 I thank God that I have a Savior." 53:01 And I think this is from the revival 53:02 that happened in South Lancaster 53:04 where like the whole academy was converted in 1889 53:07 right after 1889 General Conference. 53:09 But the point that's made here is that the promises of God, 53:13 reminding God of what He told you. 53:14 When lies come into our hearts 53:16 and our minds about our unworthiness, 53:18 our dirtiness, our shame all the things that we aren't, 53:21 we can come back to God 53:23 and refute the enemy by claiming the promises 53:25 that God has given us. 53:26 And remind God or remind ourselves, 53:28 you said this about me, you said that if I come to you, 53:30 you will know why he has cast me out. 53:32 That's right. That's right. 53:33 And there are couple of passages 53:35 we want to get to before our program winds down. 53:37 Honey, would you read this for us 1 John 5:11-13. 53:41 This is, to me, the... 53:44 I can even give the joy of the beauty 53:47 of the communication of salvation. 53:49 Listen to that. 53:50 "And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life, 53:55 and this life is in His Son. 53:58 He who has the Son has life. 54:01 He who does not have the Son of God 54:07 does not have life. 54:09 These things I have written to you 54:12 who believe in the name of the Son of God, 54:15 that you may know that you have eternal life, 54:19 and that you may continue to believe 54:21 in the name of the Son of God." 54:24 He who has the son has life. 54:26 Mollie, can anybody take us out of the Lord's hand? 54:28 Oh, I love John 10:28. Okay. Read it. 54:30 John 10:28, "And I give them eternal life, 54:35 and they shall never perish, 54:37 neither shall anyone snatch them 54:39 out of my hand." 54:41 That's a promise of God. 54:43 Nobody can snatch us. 54:44 Anyone who want to say anything on that one? 54:46 Salvation is sure. 54:47 I like the verse that come from before that, 54:48 "My sheep hear my voice." 54:50 "And I know them and they follow me." 54:52 That's right. 54:53 And when we follow this is the commitment, 54:55 how do we maintain salvation? 54:57 We follow Him. 54:58 Jesus made us... 55:00 "Follow Me, and I will make you..." 55:01 Let's not go to the fishers of men. 55:03 "Follow Me and I'll make you." 55:04 We can't make ourselves, He makes us. 55:06 He wants in us to do His good pleasure. 55:08 And the last part of salvation is glorification. 55:11 See, we had been saved from the penalty of sin. 55:15 We're no longer on death row, it doesn't hang over our head. 55:17 We are being saved everyday from the power of sin. 55:21 And then we will be saved from the presence of sin. 55:25 Isaiah 25:9, 55:26 I'm gonna hit this quickly in with the quotation, 55:28 it's gonna be a powerful thing. 55:29 "And it will be said on that day, 55:31 behold, this is our God, 55:32 we have waited for Him, and He will save us." 55:35 That's from the presence, finally, "This is the Lord. 55:39 We have waited for him. 55:41 We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." 55:45 The final experience of salvation is 55:47 when sin is no longer a factor in our hearts. 55:49 Amen? 55:51 Amen. Amen. 55:52 But there is a quotation in Steps to Christ 55:53 that I found last night. 55:55 I was trying to wake my wife up, 55:56 she said, "I'm already sleeping." 55:58 I said, "Honey, I got to tell you this." 55:59 She is like, "Tell me in the morning." 56:00 Here we're in the morning, now, I'm gonna tell you. 56:02 Praise God. Nice. 56:03 Steps to Christ, 56:05 yeah, we aren't exactly a new day in other words. 56:07 Steps to Christ, page 62, 56:09 "When we give ourselves to Christ, 56:11 He forgives all of our past wrongs." 56:14 Amen. 56:15 "Christ's character stands in place of your character 56:19 and you're accepted 56:20 before God just as if you had not sin." 56:24 Absolutely. 56:25 What better blessed assurance can you have? 56:27 That book, before we close, 56:29 that book everyone needs to read that. 56:31 Anyone who is wrestling with lies about God 56:33 and the assurance of salvation, read the book Steps to Christ. 56:36 Call 3ABN and get it. 56:38 We got them here in the call center, 56:39 we'll give it to you free. 56:41 Wow, anything real quick maybe 10 seconds, 15 seconds? 56:44 I just want to ask anybody who is listening, 56:46 ask God to transform their mind and understand, and claim, 56:49 and believe the promises in His words, they are true. 56:51 Yes. 56:53 It is by His greater exceeding precious promises 56:55 that we can be partakers of divine nature. 56:57 Amen. Let this line be in you. 57:00 I was just saying Christ Jesus. That's right. 57:02 And if you make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, 57:04 you can know that and if, but if you sin 57:06 you've got an advocate with the Father. 57:08 Yes. 57:09 Steps to Christ has all the answers 57:10 you're looking for, it's just all there. 57:12 Amen. And trust the Lord. 57:13 Our time has gone so quickly, but here is the key. 57:16 If you have the Son you have life. 57:18 Don't take the enemy's lies into your mind. 57:21 Let the Word of God dwell in you richly 57:24 and nothing shall be able to snatch you 57:27 from the hand of your Savior. 57:29 God bless you, until we see you again. 57:31 Happy Sabbath. Happy Sabbath. |
Revised 2017-03-23