Participants:
Series Code: HCAU
Program Code: HCAU200008S
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00:11 And this is the record
00:13 that God hath given to us eternal life 00:16 and this life is in His Son. 00:20 Welcome to 3ABN Australia Homecoming. 00:30 Welcome to our program today 00:33 and I know I always say welcome, but I mean it. 00:36 Welcome. 00:37 This is number eight 00:39 of our 3ABN Australia Homecoming, 2020, 00:43 and we're going to be looking at Chapter 8 00:46 of the book Steps to Christ 00:48 in our preparing for eternity, 00:52 because knowing Christ is our preparation. 00:56 The verse we have is 1 John 5:11, 00:58 you would have heard that in the open, it says, 01:00 "And this is the record 01:02 that God hath given to us eternal life 01:05 and this life is in His Son." 01:07 So if you know Jesus, you have eternal life. 01:11 It is going to be yours when He comes back. 01:14 Our previous program with Pastor Peter Watts 01:18 on Chapter 7, 01:20 The Test of Discipleship, 01:22 and these are the summary points 01:24 that he had for his talk. 01:26 Number one, 01:27 disciples are new creations in Christ. 01:31 Number two, 01:32 disciples love to dwell on Christ, 01:35 His will and His Word. 01:37 Number three, 01:39 disciples exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. 01:42 Four, obedience is the fruit of the spirit, 01:46 of fruit of faith, sorry. And 01:48 five, love is the motivation. 01:53 The love of God is what motivates us 01:56 to obey Him and to love Him back. 01:59 And I just want to thank our audience for being with us. 02:03 I know you'll be blessed 02:04 by what Pastor Geoff Youlden brings to us today 02:08 with Chapter 8, Growing up into Christ. 02:12 But before we listen to Pastor Geoff, 02:15 we're going to have Marleta Fong sing for us 02:19 and Sanja Kitevski playing piano, 02:22 and they're going to present the beautiful old song, 02:27 Precious Lord, Take My Hand. 03:00 Precious Lord, take my hand 03:05 Lead me on, let me stand 03:11 I'm tired, I'm weak 03:16 I'm lone 03:22 Through the storm 03:24 Through the night 03:27 Lead me on to the light 03:32 Take my hand precious Lord 03:38 Lead me home 03:43 When my way grows drear 03:49 Precious Lord linger near 03:53 When my light 03:56 Is almost gone 04:04 Hear my cry, hear my call 04:09 Hold my hand lest I fall 04:14 Take my hand precious Lord 04:19 Lead me home 04:24 Precious Lord, take my hand 04:29 Lead me on, let me stand 04:35 I'm tired, I'm weak 04:40 I'm lone 04:45 Through the storm 04:47 Through the night 04:50 Lead me on to the light 04:55 Take my hand precious Lord 05:00 Lead me home 05:06 When that bright dawn breaks 05:10 And heavens trumpet sounds forth 05:16 And my Lord in our hearts 05:20 I'm satisfied 05:26 The desire of ages 05:30 Still got my feet and hold my hand 05:35 Take my hand 05:38 Precious Lord 05:40 Lead me on 05:45 Precious Lord, take my hand 05:50 Lead me on, and let me stand 05:55 I'm tired, and I'm weak 06:00 I'm lone 06:05 Through the storm Through the night 06:10 Lead me on to the light 06:15 Take my hand 06:17 Precious Lord 06:20 Lead me home 06:25 Take my hand 06:29 Precious Lord 06:34 Lead me home 06:54 Well, thank you very much indeed, Mars, 06:56 I'm sure all of us were tremendously blessed 07:00 by that beautiful song. 07:05 Let's suggest that you want to buy a house 07:09 and you go along to the real estate agent 07:11 and explain that, want to purchase this house, 07:17 but unfortunately, you say to the agent, 07:19 "I don't have enough money for a deposit." 07:24 And the agent says, 07:25 "Well, that's really not possible." 07:29 But he said, "I do have a house myself 07:33 that I'd be willing to sell." 07:35 And he said, 07:36 "Furthermore, I'll not only sell it to you 07:38 without a deposit, 07:39 but I will even pay the stamp duty." 07:43 So you're very excited about that possibility. 07:47 And then you say to him, 07:49 "Well, how much do I have to pay per month 07:53 in paying it back?" 07:56 And he said, "Well, $7,000 a month." 08:01 Now, heaven and salvation 08:04 that is offered to us free sounds wonderful. 08:09 But if the down payments, 08:12 the nitty-gritty of living the Christian life 08:15 is going to knock us out. 08:18 Then the free gift loses its shine. 08:23 And I'm going to suggest to you today 08:25 that if Christ has provided to us salvation 08:31 as a free gift, 08:33 but then we're not going to be able to pay 08:38 the regular payments, 08:40 and we're going to go bankrupt, 08:42 then the free gift has lost its shine. 08:46 And today I want to talk to you 08:47 on the subject of growing up into Christ. 08:50 I want to talk to you about 08:51 how to live the Christian life. 08:54 In fact, I'm going to suggest that 08:56 as the diagram is on the screen now 08:58 that there are three aspects to the Christian life. 09:04 First of all, 09:05 there is justification by faith. 09:08 Now, that is the foundation, 09:10 that's why I've put it on the bottom of the triangle, 09:13 because that is the foundation, 09:15 that is the bottom line of salvation 09:19 that we are justified by faith. 09:21 Now, the word justified is a big word. 09:24 And for some of us we may not understand 09:27 what it means. 09:28 The simple meaning is 09:30 that we are just as if I'd never sinned. 09:33 In other words, God through His death on the cross 09:36 regards us 09:38 as never sinning in the first place 09:41 once we accept Jesus, 09:43 isn't that a wonderful, exciting gift? 09:47 But the good news even gets better. 09:51 Because the second aspect of the gospel 09:54 goes beyond the understanding 09:56 that Jesus has forgiven our sins. 10:00 And actually says that God has now provided us 10:03 power to stop us sinning in the future, 10:07 so that we can overcome our faults and our failures 10:10 and our mistakes. 10:12 That's why it's called a gospel of sanctification. 10:16 Now, that's another big word, 10:18 but it simply means to be made holy. 10:22 And God not only wants us ask to understand 10:24 that our sins are forgiven, 10:26 but He wants us to live a holy life. 10:29 You see, if God only forgives me 10:30 my sins, 10:32 it doesn't help me too much. 10:34 For I'll tell you why, because tomorrow, 10:37 and the next day, and the next day, 10:39 and the next day, 10:40 I'm going to continue on doing the same things. 10:43 Because I need more than forgiveness, 10:46 I need a power to stop me doing the wrong things 10:50 in the future, isn't that true? 10:53 And forgiveness is wonderful. 10:55 And as I said, is the foundation. 10:57 But there's more to the gospel than just forgiveness, 11:01 wonderful as that is. 11:04 And the third aspect of the gospel 11:05 is also good news, 11:07 because the Bible says 11:10 that Jesus is coming back very soon 11:13 and so, He's going to right the wrongs in this world 11:18 and that's why we call this glorification by faith 11:22 when God returns a second time, 11:26 and provides us 11:27 with a new heavens and a new earth. 11:30 Now, some Christians today 11:31 emphasize the matter of justification by faith 11:35 when they talk about the gospel. 11:39 Other people, a growing number 11:40 are talking about glorification. 11:43 That is the time 11:44 when Jesus comes back the second time, 11:47 but I find there are very, very few Christians today 11:53 that are talking about sanctification by faith, 11:58 that is becoming holy. 12:00 And if you, I read the Bible, and if you read the Bible, 12:04 particularly the Book of Revelation, 12:06 it tells us there that there's a special message 12:08 that's going to be given in the last days, 12:10 just before Jesus returns. 12:13 And this message goes beyond what the reformers taught, 12:16 because the reformers taught very clearly, 12:19 justification by faith and forgiveness of sins. 12:23 But this message according to the Bible 12:25 goes a step beyond that, 12:27 and explains that build upon that foundation 12:31 is the truth of becoming holy, by Christ, 12:37 living his life through us. 12:39 Let me read you the scriptures that support what I'm saying. 12:42 1 John 1:9 makes it very clear. 12:46 And many of us will know this verse because it says, 12:50 "If we confess our sins, 12:53 He is faithful 12:55 and just to forgive us our sins," 12:58 that's justification by faith, 13:00 "to forgive us our sins," 13:01 and then the little word and links 13:06 what's being said, 13:07 with what's going to be said now, 13:09 "and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 13:14 Notice that little word all. 13:16 So the Bible teaches 13:17 that not only does God want to forgive me 13:19 for my sins, 13:20 but He wants to cleanse me also from all sin. 13:25 And He wants not only to purify our records, 13:28 but He wants to purify our hearts and our lives. 13:33 When you pick up the Book of Revelation, 13:35 there are two words that occur over and over and over again. 13:40 The two words are this, overcoming. 13:45 You can't help read the fact of overcoming 13:49 in the first few chapters of Revelation, 13:52 and then the other word is victory. 13:56 And just a casual reading of the book 13:58 will very clearly reveal that. 14:00 And Jesus had a lot to say about the gospel. 14:06 He talked about His death on the cross, 14:08 and He talked about forgiveness of sins. 14:12 But He also talked about the fact 14:15 that Christ wanted to live in us. 14:16 In fact, there is twice as much emphasis by Jesus 14:21 on the area of sanctification by faith 14:25 as there is on justification by faith, twice, 14:29 at least twice as much, 14:31 maybe three or even four times as much, 14:35 but I'm being conservative by saying twice, 14:37 twice as much. 14:38 And I have seen this over the years 14:40 in the work that I have done in preaching around the world, 14:44 I have found that I have seen 14:46 thousands and thousands of people 14:50 who have accepted Jesus as their Savior. 14:55 But those same people 14:57 when it's pointed out from the same Bible 15:01 that Jesus said, 15:02 "I want you to take up My cross 15:06 and follow Me." 15:09 And we talk about commitment 15:11 and we talk about obedience, 15:14 suddenly, 15:16 a large number of those people drop away. 15:21 Because the Bible 15:23 not only talks about forgiveness, 15:26 it's talking about a commitment. 15:29 We must take Jesus' cross, 15:31 as He said, "If you love Me, you'll keep My commandments." 15:35 So there is an act of obedience. 15:38 And I want to talk to you about that. 15:40 In fact, over here in the Book of Peter, 15:42 1 Peter, in fact, 2:21, 15:46 Peter makes this statement where he says, 15:48 "For to this you were called, 15:51 because Christ also suffered for us, 15:54 leaving us," 15:57 notice what it says, 15:59 "an example, 16:01 that you should follow His steps." 16:04 In other words, Jesus came to this earth 16:07 not only to die for us, 16:10 but to show us how to live. 16:12 That's why Peter's saying, He is an example for us. 16:16 Now, Jesus is not an example for us in justification. 16:22 Because Jesus didn't, doesn't need justification, 16:25 is that right? 16:26 Because He never sinned. 16:29 The example that Jesus is for us 16:32 is in sanctification, in obedience, 16:35 in victory and overcoming. 16:38 Let me read that to you too, 16:39 from the Book of Revelation 16:41 in the third chapter, and verse 21. 16:44 It says this, Revelation 3:21, 16:49 where it says this, "To him who overcomes 16:53 I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, 16:58 as I also overcame and sat down 17:04 with My Father on His throne." 17:07 So when it comes to Christian living, 17:11 Jesus is our example. 17:13 That's why He came to live on the earth for 33 years. 17:16 If He just came to die, 17:18 He could have come down Thursday afternoon, 17:19 and gone back to heaven on Sunday morning. 17:23 But Jesus came to do more than to die for us 17:26 and to be resurrected. 17:27 Foundational and exciting and wonderful 17:30 as that truth is, 17:31 it's also true that He came to live 17:34 and to show us how to live. 17:36 And that's what Revelation here is, 17:39 is talking about. 17:41 He overcame, as we are to overcome. 17:46 In other words, 17:48 the same dependency that Jesus had upon His Father, 17:53 you and I are invited to have the same relationship. 17:57 You know, the devil has, 17:59 I guess, many traps, but two main traps for us 18:02 when it comes to the study of the Bible. 18:06 And especially the big subjects, 18:07 and we are talking today 18:09 about one of the biggest subjects 18:11 in the Bible. 18:13 And he has two traps. 18:16 The first trap 18:17 is that people will completely ignore 18:23 the subject, 18:25 and not even consider it. 18:26 That's the first trap. 18:28 But the second trap 18:29 is particularly for those who do study the Bible. 18:34 The trap is that he will get them 18:37 to emphasize one aspect of truth 18:40 and forget the rest. 18:44 Because error can be taught by an overemphasis 18:49 on one aspect of truth 18:51 to the neglect of the other. 18:52 Can you understand what I'm saying? 18:55 And it's very important 18:56 that we don't fall into either of those traps. 19:00 And as we look back again at our diagram 19:04 just to remind ourselves, 19:05 we find here that 19:07 the gospel of justification by faith. 19:10 This is all the gospel. 19:11 There are three aspects to the gospel, 19:15 not just one, 19:16 it's not just justification by faith, 19:19 because to emphasize that over the others 19:23 is to distort the wonderful truth 19:25 of the gospel. 19:27 Then there is the gospel of sanctification by faith, 19:31 whereby Jesus changes our life 19:35 and gives us a desire 19:37 to want to do what He wants us to do. 19:40 And people are thrilled to know 19:42 that Jesus forgives our sins 19:44 and, of course, all of us are. 19:46 Where will we be without the basic understanding 19:50 that we are just as if we had never sinned? 19:53 What a wonderful exciting truth that is, 19:56 but that's not where it ends 19:59 because then there is, 20:01 it's just as thrilling to know 20:02 that Jesus provides us with power 20:07 to want to do what He wants us to do, 20:09 and gives us that power 20:11 through the agency of the Holy Spirit. 20:13 And it's also thrilling to know 20:16 the gospel of glorification that one day soon, 20:20 Jesus is coming back to this earth 20:22 to make a world where there are no more tears, 20:24 no more heartaches, no more death, 20:27 no more sorrow, what an exciting world that is. 20:32 And for those of us who have lost, 20:34 lost loved ones, and that's all of us. 20:38 One day, we're going to have the privilege 20:40 of seeing those loved ones again. 20:42 Surely that is some of the most exciting truth 20:45 that you could ever understand. 20:48 And that's part of the gospel. 20:50 And it's these three aspects 20:53 that we need to understand 20:55 and not neglect some 20:57 at the expense of emphasis 21:00 on one over the others. 21:02 Because it's a perfect triangle of truth, 21:08 build upon the foundation of justification by faith. 21:14 Now, I want to be practical in our chat together today 21:18 as we study the Bible, 21:19 because we have been talking more about the theory of it, 21:22 so that we can understand where we're going. 21:25 But now, I would like to put some emphasis 21:28 on the practical side of Christian living 21:31 because Christian living is not just a theory. 21:34 It's not just something that appeals to our head. 21:37 Christ wants to change our lives. 21:40 And He wants us to have the joy 21:44 and the satisfaction of knowing Jesus as our Savior. 21:48 Jesus came to Nicodemus one day 21:51 when Nicodemus actually met Jesus, 21:53 and you'll remember it was by night 21:55 because Nicodemus wasn't very proud 21:58 of meeting Jesus, 21:59 but he felt that Jesus had something that he needed. 22:03 And in the third chapter of John, and verse 3, 22:07 Jesus made a statement to him and this is what he said, 22:10 "Jesus answered and said to him, 22:12 that's Nicodemus. 22:14 'Most assuredly, I say to you, 22:18 unless one is born again, 22:23 he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" 22:26 So this statement 22:30 that Jesus made to Nicodemus 22:32 implies that there's something wrong 22:35 with my first birth. 22:37 If I've got to be born again, 22:40 that implies that birth number one 22:43 was a problem. 22:47 In fact the problem is simply this 22:50 and all of us who have had children 22:52 will identify with what I'm going to say now, 22:55 you've never had to teach your child to be naughty. 22:59 Is that right? 23:01 None of us have ever had to teach 23:02 our children to be naughty. 23:04 They do it automatically, why? 23:09 Because that's the nature 23:10 that you as their parents gave them. 23:14 And that's been inherited 23:16 from the fallen nature of Adam and Eve. 23:19 And so every child that's born into the world 23:23 has a fallen sinful nature. 23:28 And we see that in our whole attitude to life, 23:34 and to say we see it from our children. 23:37 And imagine if God was to take someone into heaven, 23:42 there whose nature was not changed. 23:46 And the nature was just like 23:48 the nature we have before we meet Jesus 23:51 and took us into heaven. 23:53 What's the first thing that would happen? 23:56 When they walked in through the gold, 23:58 the beautiful gates of heaven? 24:03 And then they look 24:04 and they see the golden streets. 24:06 What do you think will happen? 24:08 What would you think would go through their mind? 24:11 What would go through a person's mind 24:13 if the streets out here in Morisset 24:15 were made with gold? 24:20 Yes, because that's, that's the nature that we have. 24:25 And that's exactly what would happen in heaven. 24:27 That's why it's important that God forgives us our sins. 24:32 And we understand that, of course. 24:34 But there's more to it than that. 24:36 We've got to experience the new birth, 24:39 because unless our natures are changed, 24:42 we would take the same problems here, 24:45 up there. 24:47 And so I need more than forgiveness. 24:50 And besides being justified by faith, 24:53 I need to be born again, 24:56 according to what Jesus said, 24:57 and I can't go to heaven without it. 25:01 No person will enter heaven 25:03 unless they're born again according to what Jesus says. 25:07 And being born again 25:09 is simply the supernatural activity 25:12 of the Holy Spirit 25:14 in which he changes my attitude. 25:17 He changes my life, 25:19 so that I want to do the right thing. 25:24 Before conversion, for example, 25:26 I have no interest in the things of God. 25:30 Neither does anyone else. 25:33 In fact, if you had someone come in here, 25:36 you drag them into this meeting, 25:38 I would guarantee that before long, 25:41 they would want to get out 25:44 if they're not born again, 25:45 because we don't have a capacity 25:48 to understand the things of God 25:50 unless our hearts have been changed. 25:54 And only God can do that, 25:56 you and I can't change our life. 25:58 Only Jesus can do that. 26:00 And so He gives us the ability 26:02 to study the Bible and enjoy it. 26:05 And some of us will remember the time 26:08 before we became Christians, 26:10 the idea of studying the Bible 26:11 and sitting through a Bible study, 26:14 or through a sermon or through something like that, 26:18 we're just about driven us crazy. 26:21 But now, we can't get enough of the Bible, 26:24 we love to study the Bible, 26:26 because our hearts have been changed. 26:30 And we have a new capacity. 26:31 And that capacity is the new birth. 26:34 And that doesn't happen overnight. 26:37 Unfortunately, in many ways, 26:39 we would all love to have an instant tea, 26:42 you know, we live in an instant world, don't we? 26:44 Everything instant, instant this, instant that. 26:47 And so we've been brought up 26:48 in the gratification of instant things. 26:54 The Christian pathway is not an instant thing. 27:00 In fact, if you come over to the book of Mark 4:28. 27:06 Mark 4:28, Jesus made the statement. 27:12 He said, 27:15 "For the earth yields crops by itself, 27:19 first the blade, then the head, 27:24 after that the full grain of the head." 27:28 So what is Jesus teaching here, 27:31 just like we all understand 27:33 that when we throw the seed in the ground, 27:36 then we go out and we look for the first shoot, 27:39 that's coming up to make sure it's still alive. 27:42 And then we keep watering, we keep fertilizing, 27:46 so that we nurture the growth of the seed 27:49 until it grows up into the full grain, 27:52 as Jesus says here. 27:54 Now, that is exactly an illustration. 27:56 And that's what Jesus is talking about here. 27:59 He's not giving us a lecture on agriculture. 28:01 What He's doing here, 28:02 He's giving us an insight 28:04 into the spiritual side of life 28:07 that it happens exactly the same way. 28:09 First of all, we have the blade, 28:12 the spiritual growth, 28:14 and just as a sprouting seed 28:16 is the evidence of physical growth. 28:19 So the change of a person's life 28:22 is indicative of the change 28:26 that's taking place in their life, the new birth. 28:30 And although God gives me a new heart instantly, 28:36 that happens instantly. 28:39 The new life takes a long time 28:45 to take place to change, 28:46 because our whole lifestyle needs to change. 28:51 Our habits need to change. 28:53 You don't change your habit overnight. 28:55 Let me tell you. 28:56 In fact, those who have studied the nature of human being, 29:01 say changes takes about three weeks 29:05 to be able to change a habit into a new habit. 29:11 At least three weeks. 29:13 So that's not instant. 29:15 But God gives us the new birth instantly, 29:18 but the new life that's got to take place 29:21 is a process. 29:24 You'll remember the story of the prodigal son 29:27 and how he was converted down there in the pigpen. 29:31 And he changed his life. 29:34 As he went toward his father's house, 29:37 he had a tremendous change in attitude toward his father. 29:42 But we must never forget 29:44 that when conversion took place 29:47 with the prodigal son, where was he? 29:51 He was still in the pigpen, 29:57 and the journey back to his father's home 30:00 was a long, long journey. 30:03 Sure, he changed his attitude, 30:06 he changed toward facing his father's home. 30:09 But it was a long journey home. 30:14 And so we must not be discouraged 30:18 when we first become Christians. 30:20 And we accept the fact that Jesus has justified us 30:25 and forgiven us, 30:27 and we're accepted in the beloved. 30:30 But there is more yet, 30:32 there's more exciting parts of the Christian life, 30:36 that are part of the gospel, 30:37 and that is that God wants to change 30:39 our nature. 30:40 Now, the question is, 30:42 how do I live the Christian life? 30:46 How do I follow the nitty-gritty 30:48 of Christian living day by day? 30:50 Well, let's say that we've asked God 30:52 to forgive us our sins, 30:53 and we have been justified by faith. 30:59 And the new birth is beginning to take place in our life, 31:03 a change of our attitude is beginning to take place. 31:07 And we're taking steps now toward our father's home. 31:12 The best scripture that I know in the Bible 31:16 that illustrates this point 31:19 is in the Chapter 15 of the Gospel of John. 31:23 I don't know of anything that's more clear and simple, 31:27 even a child really can understand 31:30 what Jesus is talking about. 31:31 That's why I love to study what Jesus said, 31:34 because Jesus didn't deal in deep theological language. 31:39 He used simple terms, 31:40 things that everybody understands 31:43 to make the gospel message very clear. 31:46 And as I said, 31:48 the clearest scripture is John 15. 31:50 And it teaches that what God wants us to do, 31:54 is natural, and it's spontaneous. 32:00 And He teaches there that obedience to all 32:02 that God requires us to do 32:05 is unforced. 32:09 It's the result of something else. 32:11 In fact, let me read you verse 4, 32:13 where it says this, "Abide in me," 32:16 this is John 15:4, "Abide in Me, 32:21 and I in you. 32:24 As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 32:28 unless it abides in the vine, 32:31 neither can you unless you abide in Me." 32:36 Now you think about that verse. 32:39 And what Jesus is saying here. 32:41 Abiding, what does it mean to abide with Christ? 32:47 He uses this word, abide. 32:49 What's another word that we could use for abide? 32:51 Because sometimes, when we use biblical terms, 32:55 we've heard them so often 32:57 that they can shoot over our head. 33:00 And we can repeat them, 33:01 because we've heard it many times. 33:03 But the meaning of it 33:05 doesn't always settle in our minds. 33:06 What does it mean to abide in me, 33:11 as Jesus speaks here, abide in Him? 33:15 What's that mean? 33:19 Yes, if I was to use the word relationship, 33:22 would that help us? 33:25 That Christ wants to be in a relationship with us. 33:30 If you abide with someone in your home, 33:33 that means you're living with them. 33:37 Now, the same is true here with Jesus, 33:40 He wants to live in us. 33:43 He wants to abide in us, 33:47 and to be in a relationship with Christ. 33:49 And He wants us to continue that way. 33:53 There are two things that I noticed 33:55 as I read the 15th Chapter of John through 33:58 that are very, very important. 34:01 The first is to come to Jesus. 34:04 That's the first very, very important thing 34:07 to understand that Jesus forgives me for my sins. 34:10 I come to Jesus, I accept Him in my life. 34:15 But the second point 34:17 is just as important as the first point, 34:19 and that is to stay with Jesus, 34:23 because there's no good coming to Jesus, 34:25 if I don't stay with Him. 34:29 Anymore in a married relationship, 34:32 you might get married, 34:34 but if you have no relationship from then on, 34:37 there is no marriage. 34:39 Is that right? 34:40 And that's what Jesus is saying here 34:42 that it might as I said, 34:44 might seem very basic what I'm saying now, 34:47 except the fact 34:49 that the vast majority of Christians 34:51 do not understand this, 34:53 because they are under the delusion 34:56 that once you come to Jesus and get with Him, 34:58 then everything is fine from that point onwards, 35:02 but that's not true. 35:04 Because all of us have got a sin problem. 35:09 How are we going to deal 35:10 with the sin problem in our life? 35:13 And the only way that I know as I read the Bible. 35:17 And I think you'll come to exactly the same conclusion 35:19 if you study the Bible 35:21 is to abide with Christ 35:22 to be in a continual relationship 35:25 with Him. 35:27 I need to stay with Jesus and the union. 35:30 If I keep in union with Jesus and abide in Him, 35:33 then He will take care of the sin problem. 35:39 Now, how do I do that? 35:42 Colossians 2:6 makes 35:45 a very, very important statement, 35:47 particularly those who just want to emphasize 35:50 justification by faith or one aspect of the gospel. 35:56 Colossians 2:6. 36:00 And this is what it says, 36:03 "As you therefore have received 36:07 Christ Jesus." 36:10 So how do we receive Christ Jesus? 36:14 By faith, we accept His death 36:17 on the cross by faith, isn't it right? 36:20 We're justified by faith, 36:22 as therefore you have received Christ Jesus. 36:26 What does the rest of the verse go on to say? 36:28 "So walk in Him." 36:31 In other words, the walk with Jesus, 36:35 the staying with Jesus is done in exactly the same way, 36:41 as coming to Jesus by faith. 36:46 I walk by faith, 36:48 sanctification is by faith, 36:50 the same as justification is by faith. 36:55 And the word faith, 36:56 the best word that I believe 36:59 that you can come up with 37:01 when it comes to describing faith. 37:03 Because I often have people say to me, what is faith? 37:05 The Bible talks about, I hear talked about so often, 37:08 what is faith? 37:11 The best illustration that I know 37:14 is simply the word trust. 37:18 Because faith, people say faith is belief. 37:20 Yes, it is belief. 37:22 But it's more than just that. 37:24 It's not just an intellectual thing. 37:27 It's the word trust, that you trust someone, 37:33 because I can believe someone. 37:38 But unless I'm willing to trust them, 37:41 I really don't believe them fully. 37:44 And that's what the Bible talks here about faith, 37:48 it's talking about trust. 37:49 Every time we talk about faith, 37:51 you can substitute in your mind trust, 37:55 just put the word trust there. 37:56 And that, that helps us to understand 37:59 what the Bible means by faith. 38:01 It's not just an intellectual thing. 38:06 It includes understanding, of course, 38:09 and an intellectual side of it. 38:11 But it's vastly more than that. 38:12 It's to deal with trusting. 38:16 And in a relationship, 38:18 you've got to have trust in that person, haven't you, 38:22 for it to work. 38:26 In fact, we walk with Him by faith, 38:32 the same as we come to Christ by faith. 38:35 In other words, obedience is by faith alone, 38:41 the same as forgiveness is by faith alone. 38:46 It's exactly the same. 38:49 And as we move along, in the next few moments, 38:51 I'm going to explain why that is so important. 38:53 Just have a look at John Chapter 15 again, 38:56 and this time, verse 4, where it says, 39:00 "Abide in me, and I in you. 39:02 As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself," 39:09 now that's very, very important to notice, 39:11 "the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 39:15 unless it's connected or abides, 39:21 or in a relationship with the vine, 39:25 neither can you unless you abide in Me." 39:29 So it's very important here to remember 39:31 that the fruitage that Jesus is talking about here 39:35 is the fruit of the branch, or is it the fruit of the vine? 39:41 What does the text say? 39:42 This is very important to understand 39:44 at this particular point. 39:46 The fruitage, 39:47 is it of a branch or is it of the vine? 39:51 It's of the vine. 39:54 Because Christ is the vine, 39:58 you and I are the branches, isn't that right? 40:02 And it's not our fruit. 40:05 It's the fruit of Christ. 40:07 It's the fruit of the vine. 40:09 In other words, our obedience, 40:11 whatever we do in the Christian life 40:13 is not our own righteousness. 40:15 It's the righteousness of the vine of Christ. 40:20 And God wants us to produce fruit, 40:23 because He, originally He created us 40:26 in His image, 40:28 and He wants to work with us 40:30 and to produce fruit through us. 40:32 And if I try to produce fruit as the branch, 40:39 and the branch is detached from the vine, 40:42 as Jesus goes on to say in John 15 here, 40:46 "The branch will wither and die." 40:52 The only fruitage 40:54 that takes place is the fruit of the vine. 40:59 And Jesus wants us 41:00 to be continually connected to the vine. 41:03 And as long as we're connected to the vine, 41:05 it's actually the fruit, 41:07 whatever righteousness or whatever good deeds, 41:10 whatever we do, it's not our righteousness. 41:14 It's actually the righteousness of Christ 41:17 working through us. 41:20 In fact, have a look at verse 5, 41:24 where it goes on to say this. 41:26 "I am the vine, you are the branches." 41:30 There it's very, very clear. 41:33 "He who abides in Me 41:35 and I in him bears much fruit, 41:39 for without Me 41:41 you can do nothing." 41:46 God wants us to produce fruit. 41:48 And He wants us to bear fruit. 41:51 And the context here 41:52 is that we can't do anything toward producing the fruit, 41:57 except we abide in Jesus. 41:59 Now, if I want to understand this subject 42:02 of righteousness by faith, 42:04 there are two texts that sum it all up. 42:06 And if you just remember these two verses, 42:09 you'll understand righteousness by faith. 42:11 The first verse is, 42:12 "Without Me you can do nothing." 42:14 I just read it. 42:16 The second text is Philippians 4:13, 42:19 "I can do all things through Christ, 42:21 who strengthens me." 42:22 That's the summary of righteousness by faith. 42:26 So the whole purpose of the Christian life 42:28 is to produce fruitage. 42:34 And to live as God wants us to live, 42:39 but our righteousness, 42:40 according to Isaiah is as filthy rags. 42:42 So there's nothing that I can do. 42:45 Even my best intentions, 42:46 even the most helpful, wonderful, 42:50 good things that I do and you do as individuals, 42:53 the Bible says, 42:54 our best endeavors are filthy, filthy rags. 43:01 That's why none of us can ever earn, 43:04 can ever do anything to contribute 43:07 toward our salvation, 43:08 because there's nothing 43:09 that we've got that can contribute. 43:14 And let me ask you this. 43:15 If we go over now to the Book of Galatians 2:20, 43:20 I wanna read a verse 43:21 and then I want to ask a question. 43:24 Galatians 2:20, which says this, 43:29 "I have been crucified with Christ, 43:32 it is no longer I who live, 43:35 but Christ lives in me." 43:41 Once again, let's pause 43:42 as we think about every word in this verse. 43:45 "And the life which I now live in the flesh, 43:47 I live by faith in the Son of God, 43:50 who loved me and gave Himself for me." 43:53 Now the question I want to ask 43:55 as we think about that, verse is this. 44:02 If Christ dwells in my heart, 44:04 and He dwells in your heart, 44:08 will He produce an imperfect life? 44:13 If Christ is dwelling in me, as we just read in our verse, 44:17 it's not I that live, but Christ lives in me. 44:20 If Christ is in my heart, 44:21 will He produce an imperfect life? 44:25 If the Holy Spirit is dwelling in my life, 44:28 is He going to muck my life up? 44:32 Is He going to be imperfect? 44:34 Absolutely not, 44:36 because it is not I that live according to Paul, 44:39 it is Christ that takes over my life. 44:43 And then the question is asked, 44:47 is it possible then to be obedient and to obey, 44:50 obey all that God wants me to do? 44:54 Is it? 44:55 Absolutely, 44:57 because it's not me that's doing it, 45:00 it is Christ dwelling in me. 45:04 And He couldn't do anything else, 45:06 but live a perfect life, 45:09 it would be impossible. 45:11 If the Holy Spirit lives in my life, 45:13 it is possible to produce real obedience. 45:19 And if I take the truth 45:20 that when Jesus died on the cross 45:22 and He made a provision for me 2000 years ago, 45:27 and then I take the position 45:29 that living the Christian life 45:31 is totally my responsibility. 45:33 And so I start, 45:35 I've accepted justification by faith as a gift. 45:38 But then the idea of living the Christian life 45:41 now is up to me. 45:43 So I grit my teeth, I get into my strong will. 45:48 And I determined that I'm going to do this 45:50 and to do that. 45:53 It'll never work. 45:55 Because obedience, 45:57 no matter even if you overcame certain bad habits, 46:01 or whatever other is the problem in your life, 46:04 even if you did overcome it, 46:05 it's still regarded by God as filthy rags. 46:09 Because it's only Christ 46:11 that can produce true righteousness. 46:15 On the other hand, 46:16 I can still believe that Christ took my place 46:18 on the cross 46:19 and made it possible to have my sins forgiven, 46:24 yet when it comes to the Christian living, 46:26 I also believe that I cannot save myself 46:30 any more than I could have saved myself 46:32 when Jesus died on at Golgotha. 46:35 He is able to produce obedience. 46:38 He is able to produce righteousness which I cannot. 46:41 So the obedience that comes from my life 46:44 comes by faith by trusting in Jesus, 46:47 who will change my life from the inside out. 46:52 That's the righteousness 46:54 that the Bible talks about and wants us to have. 46:58 In fact, I noticed if you read Timothy, 47:00 you'll find that Paul talks when he's talking to Timothy, 47:03 about two fights. 47:05 There's the fight of sin, 47:08 and then there's the fight of faith. 47:11 The fight of sin is the fight 47:13 that most of us want to get into. 47:15 We recognize that there are so many things 47:17 about our life that are not really good, 47:20 and we got bad habits, and so forth, 47:23 we set about trying to fight them. 47:26 But all of us know that that is a one way street 47:29 we can never overcome, it might. 47:31 Let me give you an example. 47:32 We might decide that we're going to give up 47:34 eating sugar, 47:35 we know that it's not very good for us. 47:37 And so I make a determination, no more sugar in my life. 47:41 And, of course, I love chocolate. 47:44 That's a major problem. 47:47 And so I grit my teeth. 47:50 And I try to determine that I'm not going to do it. 47:54 But it always ends in failure, 47:56 because that's the fight of sin, 47:58 which none of us can ever fight 48:00 because we're fighting an enemy 48:02 that's so much bigger and stronger, 48:04 and it's got more ability than any of us will ever have. 48:09 He's been around a lot longer 48:10 than you and I have been around. 48:12 But the other fight that Paul talks to Timothy, 48:16 he said is the fight of faith. 48:20 That's the fight that God wants us to fight. 48:22 The fight of faith is where we spend time 48:24 getting to know Jesus. 48:26 The fight of faith is to spend enough time each day 48:29 getting to know Jesus, 48:30 so that He dwells in our heart and drives out sin, 48:35 because it's impossible to have light and darkness 48:37 at the same time. 48:41 The fruits of the Spirit become natural. 48:44 When we have Christ in our hearts, 48:46 the fruitage of the Christian pathway 48:51 becomes natural, and becomes automatic. 48:56 And more of us are going to spend time 48:58 weeping often about our failures, 49:02 because all of us know 49:05 that that fighting trying to fight sin 49:07 is a losing battle, 49:10 but the fight of faith. 49:12 Let me read you something. 49:13 You know the story that over here in Luke 17. 49:16 You know, when Peter asked Jesus, 49:18 how many times have I got to forgive? 49:21 And you remember what he said? 49:23 Seventy times seven. 49:26 Now, once again, we glib over that. 49:29 But I want to suggest to you here in Luke Chapter 17, 49:33 where Jesus says, "Take heed yourselves. 49:35 If your brother sins against you, 49:37 rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him. 49:39 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, 49:43 and seven times in a day returns to you saying, 49:46 'I repent, you shall forgive him.'" 49:50 Could you do that? 49:51 If someone has, is trying to disgrace you, 49:57 and he does it seven times, 49:58 and he comes back and ask you to forgive. 50:00 It's not within our hearts to do that. 50:04 That's why the disciples the next verses, 50:06 and the disciples said, well, who then can be saved? 50:10 And God has made him a standard 50:13 that is impossible for us 50:15 to ever reach in our own strength. 50:19 That's impossible. 50:21 Because someone forget, 50:22 you might forget them once but to come back 50:24 and do it seven times in the one day? 50:28 I don't think so. 50:32 And so, it's impossible to live by that standard. 50:37 A few years ago, I planted a fig tree in my house 50:40 and we love figs and last year, we had abundance of figs. 50:46 But I've never noticed that my fig tree 50:48 has to labor to produce figs, 50:49 it doesn't automatically. 50:51 As long as I prune it, 50:53 and then I fertilize it and I water it, 50:56 the figs naturally appear. 51:00 And that's the way it is in the Christian life. 51:02 God wants us to spend time with Him 51:04 and automatically it will change our life. 51:08 Let me read you a statement that I think is just 51:12 such an amazing statement 51:14 from a book called The Desire of Ages. 51:21 And Desire of Ages says this. 51:24 This is, to my mind the greatest book 51:27 that's ever been written outside the Bible 51:29 on the life of Christ. 51:30 And if you haven't got this book in your library, 51:33 you must get it. 51:34 Write to 3ABN, and they'll help you get it. 51:38 This is what is said, 51:39 "All true obedience comes from the heart. 51:45 It was heart work with Christ. 51:48 And if we consent, 51:49 He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and names, 51:52 so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, 51:56 that when obeying Him we shall be carrying out," 51:59 what? 52:01 "Our own impulses?" 52:02 How would you like to have obedience like that, 52:05 that you were doing it naturally? 52:07 That's what the aim says. 52:10 And then the statement goes on to say, 52:13 "The will, refined and sanctified, 52:16 will find its highest delight in doing His service. 52:19 When we know God 52:21 as it is our privilege to know Him, 52:25 our life will be a life of," what? 52:28 "Continual obedience. 52:32 Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, 52:34 through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us." 52:41 And then I can read you 52:42 so the Bible says, if I spend time with God, 52:46 sin will become hateful to me, 52:47 then is it going to be a struggle 52:49 for me to give up sin if it's hateful to me? 52:53 Of course not. 52:54 But I need to spend time with God. 52:56 Let me read you another verse from the Bible, 52:58 which says the same thing. 52:59 This is 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. 53:04 It says, "For the weapons of our warfare 53:07 are not carnal 53:08 but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 53:11 casting down arguments 53:12 and every high thing that exalts itself 53:14 against the knowledge of God, 53:16 bringing every thought into captivity 53:19 to the obedience of Christ." 53:21 Every thought Paul says, 53:23 so it's possible. 53:26 But apart from Christ, it is impossible. 53:30 And in Matthew 5:16, 53:32 we're told that the reason 53:34 why that we come to Christ 53:38 so that we can bring glory and honor to God. 53:41 And God is asking us to be faithful to Him. 53:46 And as we read back in Revelation 3:21, 53:51 where it says, 53:52 "You are to overcome as I overcame." 53:56 People say to me, "Well, Geoff, I can't obey." 54:01 Well, my answer is, neither could the paralytic. 54:04 But Jesus gave him the power to be able to walk. 54:08 You remember the story of Joshua, 54:10 he couldn't make the son stand still. 54:12 But he did, because of the power of God. 54:15 And so God is inviting us to spend time with Him 54:18 and I want to make one challenge. 54:20 And that is to us all, 54:22 that we spend time every day 54:24 getting to know Jesus. 54:25 And I promise you that if you do that, 54:28 then God will give you obedience 54:30 and give you victory, 54:32 and you'll be an overcomer exactly what Jesus said. |
Revised 2021-06-03