Participants: Bill Liversidge
Series Code: VIJ
Program Code: VIJ000001
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05:26 Welcome, everybody.
05:28 Thank you. 05:29 Thanks for coming up this evening, 05:31 we have an exciting weekend a head of us. 05:34 Amen. Amen. 05:35 Imagine spending an entire weekend 05:40 in studying the word of God, especially focused 05:45 on the understanding of victory in Christ. 05:49 Amen. 05:51 Even the concept of victory is a radical concept today, 05:57 you don't hear it spoken about very much. 06:00 I hear people giving testimonies, 06:03 taking about how they struggling with sin. 06:06 I'd give my right arm one day if somebody stood up 06:09 and said I want to praise God 06:11 that I'm no longer a slave to sin. 06:15 He has broken the power of sin within me. 06:18 Amen. 06:20 Praise God, I'm glad you're here 06:22 because it's good to get some Amen's coming out. 06:24 Thank you. 06:26 Let's bow our heads together this evening, as we begin. 06:32 Our loving Father in heaven, 06:34 we've come tonight to worship 06:36 and adore You, Father, 06:39 we know that in Jesus Christ all things are possible, 06:43 that the promises in Revelation are to those who overcome, 06:49 and we are claming tonight the privilege 06:51 of overcoming through Jesus Christ. 06:54 And as we study these steps biblically, 06:56 Father, we just pray for clarity of mind, 06:59 conviction of heart and a willingness of spirit 07:03 to act upon the word of God, 07:05 so that everyone of us 07:07 will leave this place after this weekend, 07:09 transformed and rejoicing in the victory 07:13 that Jesus won and has given to us. 07:15 Thank You, in anticipation, in Jesus precious name. 07:20 Amen. Amen. 07:23 Open your Bibles with me tonight 07:25 to our introductory verse, not our primary passage, 07:28 but a verse we're going 07:30 to begin with in an Ephesians 2, 07:34 the Ephesians 2. 07:39 You all know it well 07:40 but it's good to look at up anyway, 07:42 Ephesians 2:8-9. 07:56 Immortal words here, 08:01 "For by grace" 08:05 let that sink in this evening, 08:09 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, 08:15 and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, 08:21 not of works, lest anyone should boast." 08:27 There's some key words in here, aren't there? 08:29 Yes. 08:30 Who's picking up the first loaded word 08:33 out of these two verses? 08:34 Grace. 08:35 The word is grace, yes, "For by grace." 08:39 Wow, whatever we have from God 08:44 it's always by grace. 08:48 Amen. 08:49 And we take hold of it through? 08:51 Faith. 08:52 Faith, so it's God's grace of work, 08:56 He doesn't force us to grasp it, 09:00 but He will encourage us, He will convict us, 09:03 He will call us, He will woo us, 09:05 occasionally He'll even give us 09:07 a little push in the right direction, 09:10 but ultimately, the faith to respond by, 09:14 He has placed with in us, 09:16 and He calls upon us to exercise that faith. 09:20 And even the ability 09:22 to exercise the faith is a gift from God. 09:26 Amen. 09:28 When you analyze it all, 09:29 it turns out that it's God who has it work in us, 09:33 both to will and to do of, 09:38 his good pleasure. 09:40 It's God, nothing's been left the chance. 09:46 Sinful mankind sometimes feels rather hopeless 09:49 and who can blame them? 09:52 But God has left nothing to chance, 09:56 He's provided the grace, He's instilled faith within us, 10:03 He's even activated our minds 10:05 by bringing His mind into union with ours, 10:09 so that we can actually act upon the faith. 10:13 There's no reason for any of us to be denied, 10:16 all that God has offered us through His grace. 10:19 Amen. Amen. 10:21 And the good news tonight is... 10:24 none of it is the result of works. 10:31 In all my years in ministry 10:33 that I now have that the end is upon us. 10:35 Amen. Amen. 10:36 There are signs abounding everywhere, 10:39 not the same signs as before, there are new 10:42 and deepest signs emerging today. 10:46 How is your faith tonight? 10:47 Amen. Amen. 10:49 Are you saved by grace? 10:52 Yes. Yes. 10:53 Through faith or you still paddling 10:56 along trying to do all the right things 10:59 and hoping that God is keeping a meticulous record, 11:04 so that you can actually say, 11:05 look, I did this and I did this, and I did this. 11:09 Please don't ever put yourself at risk 11:12 of hearing those words, depart from me, 11:16 ye workers of iniquity, 11:20 I never knew you. 11:26 It's not worth it. It's all the grace of God. 11:30 Amen. Amen. 11:32 That doesn't mean we have nothing to do, 11:33 don't fall into that trap please, 11:36 just exercising faith is a major accomplishment 11:39 for most of us, isn't it? 11:40 Amen. 11:41 It's not something we can take for granted. 11:45 Are you ready to move 11:46 into a very exciting chapter this evening? 11:49 Yes. 11:50 So open your Bibles with me to Romans 5, 11:56 Romans 5. 12:04 Romans 5, 12:06 and I'm looking at verses 1-10. 12:13 Now this is an assignment for you 12:15 and your partner or partners sitting next to you. 12:19 This is for two or three people at the most. 12:22 So if there are four of you at the table 12:24 please divide into two groups of two. 12:27 If there are three of you come together 12:29 so you can communicate, please. 12:33 This is a very important discussion now, 12:36 if you really believe what we just-- 12:40 if you really believe what we just read. 12:43 Now we're trying to get this group closer 12:44 together yet, come on pull, 12:46 why do we have a chair separating you here? 12:49 There we go. 12:51 The spirit's alive and well here, okay? 12:57 There are four characteristics 13:03 of human begins in their natural condition 13:08 before or as they receive the grace of God, 13:14 in other words I'm simply asking, 13:16 upon whom does God pour out his grace? 13:18 What type of individuals? 13:22 I'm talking about human beings 13:24 in their natural and unsaved condition. 13:28 These are human characteristic 13:32 we're talking about, there are four of them 13:35 and they're found between verses 1-10. 13:40 So go add it, dig this out 13:43 and see how quickly you can identify 13:45 the four characteristics, 13:49 four characteristics... 13:58 of human beings... 14:09 in their natural state. 14:13 Now don't call out, talk to your partners. 14:22 Make a list of it with your partners now. 14:25 By the way, if your partners are not talking to you, 14:28 please feel free to jump up and change tables immediately. 14:32 We want you to have a good discussion. 14:45 If we can divide, John, you're-- 14:47 if we can divide that table there are now into two's? 14:51 William, if you would move that way? 14:52 Thank you. 14:53 and Gale, you and John will now become partners, thank you. 15:05 By the way, if you writing something down 15:08 before you've shared it, 15:10 you haven't got to first place in learning 15:13 about the spiritual body, 15:15 you're a loner and independent. 15:19 Please need one another. 15:29 It's a very uncomplicated question. 15:38 So I hope you're not bringing up things like 15:39 love and faith, and hope, 15:42 they are not natural human characteristics. 15:48 These are characteristics that you seen in people 15:52 as they are receiving the grace of God. 15:55 What kind of people does God pour out His grace upon? 16:02 All right let's look up now and we'll get some feedback. 16:07 I'm beginning with this group over here 16:09 because they made an interesting discovery 16:12 about verse 6, 16:14 would you go ahead and read out verse 6 for us to begin with? 16:17 Thank you. 16:20 "For while we were still helpless, 16:23 at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." 16:26 So the first human characteristics 16:28 you came across here was? 16:30 Helpless. 16:31 Helpless, there we go, helpless. 16:34 Now just before you give us the second one, 16:37 let's see if anyone 16:38 has a different translation out there tonight, 16:40 anyone with different word can? 16:42 Without strength. 16:43 Without strength, okay, helpless or without strength, 16:47 that's a good one, without strength. 16:52 Not only-- 16:53 Don't call out, please, we are taking hands tonight, 16:56 so we know exactly who-- 16:58 Who's responding? 17:00 Wait for the mic, would you, Lind? 17:02 Powerless. 17:03 Thank you, you got that in your translation, huh? 17:06 How come you're reading such an advance translation? 17:08 That's very good, okay. 17:11 Powerless, powerless, thank you. 17:17 So open your mind tonight, 17:20 the grace of God 17:23 is poured out upon individuals, 17:25 who are without strength. 17:31 They have no natural ability 17:35 to overcome sin. 17:39 They don't even have 17:41 the natural ability of being able to repent, 17:45 that is not a human ability, it's a divine gift. 17:52 The grace of God is poured out upon individuals, 17:56 who are totally helpless. 18:03 The only group that Jesus could not reach 18:05 when He walked on the earth, were the Pharisees, 18:09 because they felt no need, they felt superior, 18:14 they felt righteous in the sight of God, 18:17 it must have broken Jesus heart 18:20 to see the leaders and the teachers of Israel 18:23 who felt no spiritual need of the right 18:26 and look down their noses at everybody else. 18:31 The grace of God is poured out upon the powerless. 18:37 Thank you, for that, it's a good one. 18:38 The powerless, yes, wow, 18:44 I hope this is hitting you tonight, 18:47 this is God's specialty, 18:50 He makes His grace available to those 18:54 who acknowledge the fact 18:55 that they cannot do anything to save themselves. 18:59 Amen. 19:00 Except throw themselves on the mercy of God. 19:04 Amen. 20:43 Wow, wow. 20:45 Now I'm going to let someone else 20:47 take the second part, if its okay, 20:48 you've done very well, this table, 20:51 very well indeed. 20:52 Coming back here, looks like 20:54 we have a husband and wife combination here, 20:58 and they were communicating well tonight, 20:59 I'm still in verse 6. 21:02 Still in verse 6. 21:03 Is there anything else in verse 6 21:05 you would like to pluck out for us? 21:09 Christ died for the ungodly. 21:10 Oh, thank you so much. 21:13 Christ died for the ungodly. 21:19 The grace of God is made available to the ungodly. 21:26 Amen. 21:27 Not the godly, not those who have there act together. 21:32 By the way if you really believe this, 21:35 what should we see in churches 21:38 when we come to worship? 21:43 We should see? Sinners. 21:45 So recite a little more evangelistically, 21:47 you may get a response. 21:48 Sinners. Amen. 21:50 Amen. 21:51 You got a feeble response, say it for a third time. 21:54 Sinners should be-- 21:56 See there is life out there, okay, 22:01 if a church is doing what it ought to be doing, 22:05 the pews should be filled with sinners 22:09 who are seeking 22:11 an understanding of the grace of God. 22:15 Amen. 22:16 Your church should be know as a place of refuge 22:21 with somebody who is totally overcome by sin, 22:27 could come without being judged or condemned, 22:31 could be loved, could be prayed for, 22:35 and could be led to see the steps 22:38 they can take, with help, 22:41 to receive the grace of God in their lives. 22:44 Amen. 22:46 This would be a true justification 22:49 for the existence of a church in your community. 22:54 This is what Jesus came to do, 22:57 He came to set the captives free. 23:01 To heal the sick, to comfort the afflicted. 23:07 Jesus was in a serious ministry to suffering humanity, 23:14 and anybody who approached Jesus and declared 23:17 that they had no goodness within themselves, 23:21 the fullness of the grace of God was shared upon them. 23:26 Doesn't matter how far in the pit of sin 23:28 they might have been, that made no difference to Jesus. 23:32 Because He understood fully 23:36 that His grace is available to those 23:39 who acknowledge their ungodliness. 23:43 They have nothing in and of themselves to offer God. 23:49 Convicted that there is no righteousness 23:54 of your own, within yourself 23:57 that you can actually offer to God. 24:02 Are you willing to come to God in other words, 24:05 just as you are? 24:07 Amen. 24:08 And acknowledge the fact 24:10 that you are an ungodly sinner, in need of grace. 24:17 You'll have it all. 24:19 You will have it all. 24:22 All right so the first step is out here, 24:25 now the first two steps are out, 24:27 without strength and ungodly. 24:35 We're going to pause at this moment 24:37 and have a prayer together 24:41 and then we're going to move on to our second section. 24:45 Let's bow our heads together, 24:47 Randy, could I call on you this evening, to pray for us, 24:51 the microphone is miraculously finding its way to you. 24:54 Thank you. 24:56 Our Father we just want to lift up Jesus today. 24:59 Amen. 25:00 That He has taken our place, 25:04 for we are ungodly, Father, unworthy, we have-- 25:09 we're sinners, we're helpless 25:12 and right now we praise You, Father, 25:15 for the grace of God to fall on us, 25:18 in this meeting together 25:20 and we thank You for the precious blood of Jesus 25:24 and His grace. 25:27 We ask that each one of us would recognize that, 25:31 who we are, that we are ungodly, helpless, sinners 25:37 and need of Your touching grace this evening, 25:42 we ask and we thank You for receiving it, it's a gift, 25:47 we can't earn Him, 25:48 and we thank You God 25:50 and we lift and praise Your name for giving it to us. 25:53 Amen. 25:54 Creative Media ministries is a Faith Based Ministry, 25:57 dedicated to the sharing of the good news 25:59 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 26:01 We need your help to take this dynamic message 26:03 to the uttermost parts of the earth. 26:05 If God has touched your heart 26:07 and the word of God is come to life like never before, 26:10 contributions can be sent to Creative Media ministries, 26:14 PO Box 9485, Bakersfield, California 93389 26:20 or you can make your donation online 26:22 by visiting our website 26:24 at www.creative mediaministries.org. 26:29 To order the complete series of Victory in Jesus 26:31 and many other seminars and DVD or CD format, 26:35 contact us at www.creative mediaministries.org. 26:40 You can also call us at 888-744-0443 26:46 that's 888-744-0443 26:50 or write to us at Creative Media ministries, 26:53 PO Box 9485, Bakersfield, California 93389. |
Revised 2015-03-19