Pathway to Life

Get Connected

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: PTL

Program Code: PTL000005A


00:49 Hello, television land.
00:52 We invite you here to Phoenix, Arizona
00:55 to the Paradise Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:58 My name is Jim Hakes.
00:59 I have the privilege of pastoring this particular church
01:02 that gets to host, Pathways To Life, with Pastor John Lomacang
01:07 and his friends from Three Angels Broadcasting Network.
01:11 They're all here.
01:12 And we invite you, wherever you live around the world,
01:14 we invite you here to Phoenix, Arizona for the next hour.
01:18 We've got several things that are happening here.
01:22 We've had several other musical guests that came along.
01:26 Tonight we have Dawn of Hope Ministry.
01:29 Which means Stephanie Dawn will be singing
01:32 and Dan will be at the piano.
01:34 And then after that we will have Pastor Lomacang,
01:37 as has happened the last four meetings,
01:41 opening the Bible together.
01:43 And we pray that each one receive a blessing
01:48 from being here together this evening to open God's Word.
01:53 As is our custom, when we come to opening God's Word,
01:56 seems like a good idea it should begin with a word of prayer.
01:59 Shouldn't we?
02:00 So will you pray with me as we go into our meeting tonight?
02:04 Gracious heavenly Father, thank You for the opportunity
02:10 to come together, to come together in person
02:15 or all over the television land.
02:18 We thank You for bringing us together.
02:20 We pray that as Stephanie sings and Dan plays,
02:24 that it will prepare our hearts for the message
02:29 that Elder Lomacang has for us.
02:32 And we thank You, Father.
02:33 For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.
02:37 Stephanie will be singing, Oh Glorious Love.
02:40 And after that, Pastor Lomacang will be telling us
02:43 all about how to get connected.
03:02 In my darkness Jesus found me,
03:10 touched my eyes and made me see,
03:18 broke sin's chains that long had bound me,
03:26 gave me life and liberty.
03:34 Oh, glorious love of Christ my Lord divine,
03:41 who gave Himself to save a soul like mine.
03:48 Through all my days, and then in heaven above,
03:56 my song will silence never, I'll worship Him forever,
04:03 and praise Him for His glorious love.
04:15 Oh, amazing truth to ponder,
04:21 He whom angel hosts attend;
04:29 Lord in Heaven, God's Son, what wonder!
04:36 He became the sinner's friend.
04:44 Oh, glorious love of Christ my Lord divine,
04:50 who gave Himself to save a soul like mine.
04:57 Through all my days, and then in heaven above,
05:05 my song will silence never, I'll worship Him forever,
05:12 and praise Him for His glorious love,
05:22 and praise Him for His glorious love.
05:38 Thank you, Stephanie. Thank you, Dan.
05:40 - Amen again, somebody. ~ Amen.
05:42 What a wonderful song to lay the foundation
05:44 for the message tonight,
05:46 which is entitled, Get Connected.
05:48 What is the title tonight?
05:50 Get Connected.
05:52 Let us go before the Lord in prayer.
05:57 Loving Father in heaven, thank You, Lord, for the power
06:00 that You make available to every one of us
06:04 to live a life beyond our natural ability.
06:08 And Lord, tonight as we open Your Word,
06:11 we pray that Your Holy Spirit will open our hearts
06:15 to hear and to receive the power that You so desire
06:20 to fill us with.
06:21 In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
06:26 Let me begin with a story tonight.
06:29 I remember when I received and purchased
06:32 my very first computer.
06:34 That's not a picture of it. It was much older than that.
06:38 But my wife and I lived in the mountains of
06:40 northern California, and I remember very well
06:42 I had a candy apple red Honda motorcycle
06:48 which I really, really enjoyed.
06:50 But she made me choose between the motorcycle
06:53 and the computer.
06:54 And she said to me, "I think you will live longer
06:57 with the computer than with the motorcycle."
07:00 So I got excited and bought my first Tandy Company
07:03 Radio Shack computer.
07:05 I mean, I was so excited about it.
07:07 When it came and arrived in our small home behind our church
07:11 in our parsonage there, I took all the pieces out.
07:14 I'm kind of a... I'm a gadgetarian.
07:16 I must admit that.
07:18 I like gadgets, I like electronics.
07:19 And I read the manual, put it all together.
07:22 Connected the printer to the main power,
07:25 the keyboard to the tower,
07:28 the mouse to the back of the tower.
07:30 And I hit the power button, and nothing happened.
07:36 And I took that manual out and said, "Now wait a minute.
07:39 The manual says hook the... Okay, got that.
07:45 Got that.
07:47 Got that. Okay, good.
07:49 Let's try this again."
07:51 And I hit the button, and nothing happened.
07:54 I tried that over and over for a number of times,
07:55 and I got so frustrated I said,
07:57 "You know, I'm going to call tech support."
08:00 And I called tech support.
08:02 And I was standing there, because I knew I had
08:04 done everything I needed to do to get that computer to work.
08:07 And there was a technical, the technician on the other end
08:10 was a lady, and she said, "Sir, can I ask you a question?"
08:13 I said, "Sure."
08:14 She said, "Did you plug it into the wall?"
08:18 I said, "Um, let me check."
08:22 And I crawled under my wooden desk that I made,
08:27 and in a muffled tone I said,
08:29 "I think I forgot to plug it into the wall."
08:33 And I learned a valuable lesson.
08:34 That was my opening story for my sermon next Sabbath.
08:38 And the point of the matter is, I learned, until we are
08:41 connected, there is no power available
08:45 to live the Christian life.
08:47 That's why tonight in John 15:5 notice the words of Jesus.
08:52 He made it very clear. We need to be connected.
08:54 He said, together let's read this...
09:10 That computer was brand new.
09:14 Let me go even deeper.
09:15 You may have a brand new walk with Jesus,
09:19 but if you fail to connect to the power that's available
09:23 only through His Holy Spirit, you may be intellectually
09:27 connected, but spiritually disconnected.
09:30 No power to break the bonds of the former
09:34 life that you have lived.
09:35 And I've learned that through the years
09:37 in some difficult ways.
09:39 That you need to pray every day for the power of Christ
09:43 to abide in your life.
09:44 Notice verse 7 of John 15.
09:47 Jesus emphasizes even further. He says...
09:58 One of the first ways, if you want to jot this down,
10:02 the abc's of growing as a Christian,
10:04 one of the first ways of getting connected
10:07 is, you've got to stay in the Word of God.
10:12 You've got to abide in His Word.
10:15 "If you abide in Me and My word abides in you..."
10:19 The word, abide, doesn't mean, glance.
10:22 It doesn't mean, run through the Word of God.
10:24 It means, put the Word of God before you on a daily basis
10:28 as if your life depended on the Word of God being in your heart.
10:34 How many of you eat?
10:36 I don't know why I asked that survey,
10:38 because most of you are starving based on that survey.
10:42 But every day, we eat.
10:44 Am I right?
10:45 Either we eat late, you know, we eat early,
10:48 or we eat a lot, or we eat a little,
10:50 but every day we eat.
10:52 Do you know what's more important
10:53 than your physical food?
10:54 It's your spiritual food.
10:57 Whenever I'm in a situation where I'm giving a Bible study
11:01 and I'm opening the Word of God and sharing with someone else,
11:03 I lose my physical appetite.
11:06 But my spiritual appetite takes off like a hungry lion
11:10 and I just dive into God's Word.
11:12 So tonight, remember, one of the first things that we need to do
11:15 to abide and to have that daily power in our lives
11:18 is to read the Word of God.
11:22 Every day we've got to have the Word of God in our lives.
11:26 Something else I've learned is, when we were born
11:29 we were connected, but we were connected to the wrong source.
11:36 We were connected to a source that can only produce
11:39 in us fruits that result in death.
11:44 Spiritual death and physical death.
11:48 That's why the Bible says, "There's a way that
11:49 seems right unto a man, but in the end thereof
11:53 is the way of death."
11:55 And so, unless you have a devised plan in your life,
11:59 you've got to remember there are principles in the Bible
12:02 that we cannot break away from and we cannot ignore them
12:06 if we hope to have a growing relationship with Christ.
12:09 We were born connected, but what and who
12:11 were we born connected to?
12:13 Notice the Bible. 1 Corinthians 15:22, together.
12:26 As long as we maintain our connection with our natural,
12:32 with the nature that we were born with,
12:34 with the Adam nature,
12:37 as long as we maintain a connection to the Adam nature,
12:41 nothing in our lives will be produced
12:43 that is connected to life.
12:47 I've met people that talk about, you know, we have people that
12:49 come to our church, they say, "Hey, I like your diet."
12:53 So they become vegetarians.
12:56 But they don't accept Jesus.
12:58 Some people say, "I really like the fact that you guys
13:00 go to church on the Bible Sabbath."
13:02 So they come on Sabbath.
13:04 But they don't accept Jesus.
13:06 So the proper exercise without Christ in your life
13:11 is just an exercise.
13:13 You've got to have Jesus and His power in your life
13:16 how frequently?
13:18 Every day, every moment of every day.
13:22 Because that sin nature is more powerful
13:24 than we can every imagine.
13:26 We were born with a sin nature that connects us
13:30 indelibly to Adam.
13:32 Not to Adam before the fall, but Adam after the fall.
13:37 Look at Romans 5:12.
13:39 The Bible tells us...
13:56 Now it doesn't mean that babies were born sinning.
14:03 It means babies were born with a sin nature.
14:08 I read a book by Dr. Haddon W. Robinson.
14:12 And he pointed out, he said in his...
14:14 He's a wonderful professor, expository preacher.
14:18 But he points out in his book, he said
14:20 one of the reasons why God allows babies to be born small
14:24 is because their natures are so unregenerated
14:27 that if they were 150 pounds when they were born
14:29 they would beat you up.
14:32 Have you heard a baby cry when you miss their feeding time?
14:38 I was in Walmart the other day, and the people that were
14:40 on the other side of the aisle, we were just...
14:42 I had to giggle with them because it was a little baby,
14:44 he was crying his heart out.
14:46 You know when they get to that point where their cry is like...
14:50 And you don't hear anything.
14:52 They're inhaling because they're coming back with...
14:57 And I'm listening, and the mother said,
14:58 we heard her over the, she said,
15:00 "If you don't stop it, I'm going to spank you."
15:03 He didn't care.
15:07 I thought to myself, what if he was 150 pounds?
15:09 What would he do to his mother?
15:12 Now you may be smiling, but here's my point.
15:15 The nature that Adam has given to us is corrupt,
15:19 it is selfish, it is self-centered.
15:22 It doesn't care about anybody but itself.
15:26 That's why when people are unregenerated,
15:29 you see that in the things that are happening in society.
15:32 They would lie, steal, cheat.
15:34 They'll do everything to satisfy the nature that is
15:38 crying out like an addict for the things that just bring
15:42 that individual self-satisfaction.
15:46 Something else we also have to keep in mind is,
15:49 the nature of Adam, look at this picture,
15:52 the nature that we are born with is first an enslaving power.
15:56 Say that with me. Is an enslaving power.
15:59 And then it is a controlling power.
16:02 It enslaves.
16:04 It gets a hold of you.
16:07 It's like putting a dog on a leash and walking him.
16:09 Dogs don't necessarily want to go where their
16:12 owners want them to go.
16:14 But because they're on a leash, they have no choice.
16:16 When sin handcuffs us, it takes us where we may not want to go,
16:22 but because we're handcuffed to that nature
16:24 we have no choice.
16:26 I talked about that last night. Romans 7:17
16:28 "It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."
16:32 When sin handcuffs us, like a slave, it first enslaves us...
16:40 ...then it controls us.
16:42 And screaming and crying we go into the direction
16:46 that that nature is going to take us naturally.
16:51 If you don't believe that, notice how the Bible says it.
16:55 And I tried to illustrate this in the
16:58 English Standard Version.
16:59 This is a paraphrase of Romans 7:15,
17:02 but I like the way it says it.
17:04 It makes it very clear.
17:12 Have you ever been there?
17:25 Now the reason I spend two nights on this topic is because,
17:27 we're going to get into other topics,
17:29 but I firmly believe that until you meet Jesus
17:34 I can't, I don't, to tell you about what happens when you die
17:38 and all the other doctrines in the Bible
17:40 means absolutely nothing.
17:42 Because if you're just intellectually absorbing
17:45 things that make you more informed without knowing Christ,
17:48 you'll be the most terrified person.
17:50 And all you'll have to do is look forward to the judgment
17:53 and you'll have no freedom and no peace in your life.
17:58 Sin is enslaving and sin controls.
18:00 That's why sometimes we do things that we hate,
18:02 and we wonder why.
18:04 Because sin is in control.
18:08 And as I mentioned last night, sin is a law.
18:12 Like the law of gravity, sin controls us.
18:16 Like the law of gravity, it cannot be broken
18:20 until another law is put in place.
18:23 That's why I love the words of Jesus.
18:25 When we talk about Jesus came to break that power of
18:29 sin on us, He came to break the controlling power of sin.
18:33 He came to break the chains that holds us to the first Adam
18:37 and connect us to the chains that holds us to the last Adam.
18:41 Now you might say chains are horrible,
18:43 but when you are connected to somebody that only wants to
18:46 do you good, that's a good connection.
18:51 Look at the desire of Christ. Isaiah 58:6
18:58 Look at the wording. It's about slavery.
19:19 But in order for Jesus to break our first connection...
19:23 I want you to get this tonight, because we're going to
19:24 talk about getting connected.
19:25 In order for Jesus to break our first connection,
19:29 He had to take on the same nature that Adam had
19:32 after the fall.
19:34 Not the nature that Adam had before the fall,
19:36 but the nature that Adam had after the fall.
19:39 In order for Jesus to be our Savior, He had to replace Adam.
19:42 To replace Adam, He had to be subject to the very
19:46 same power that controlled Adam.
19:50 And get this.
19:52 You think that it's tough being Jesus?
19:56 He not only had to take on the very same nature that
19:58 controlled Adam, but if that nature led Him to sin,
20:03 every one of us would be lost.
20:06 You talk about agony, you talk about relying on His Father!
20:11 That's why He did not rely on His own human strength,
20:15 but He relied on the very same power that every one of us
20:19 has the privilege of relying on.
20:21 But notice how the Bible made it very clear.
20:24 Look at the comparisons between the Adam that would condemn us
20:27 and the Adam that would free us.
20:29 Here's what the Bible says.
20:47 So Jesus became sin for us.
20:51 - He became what? ~ Sin.
20:53 Notice, He didn't become a sinner.
20:55 He took on the nature.
20:58 The nature and the actions, although one produces the other,
21:02 He had the nature, but praise God, it never produced a sinful
21:08 action in the life of Jesus.
21:12 Not by thought.
21:14 I mean, can you handle that?
21:16 Somebody walks up to you and says,
21:17 "Are you really the Son of God?
21:19 Prove it. Turn these stones to bread."
21:22 You say, "How much bread do you want?"
21:24 No really, think about it.
21:26 The things that Jesus went through in His life,
21:28 most of us could not handle that for a matter of minutes.
21:33 And the devil dogged His path.
21:35 The devil made sure that everything he could
21:37 throw at Jesus, he did.
21:39 Everything he tried to throw at Jesus, he did.
21:42 Notice what the Bible talks about;
21:44 the comparisons between the first and the second.
21:46 "And so it is written," 1 Corinthians 15:45,
21:49 "the first man Adam became a living being."
21:52 That's who God created in the very Garden of Eden.
21:55 "The last Adam," who is Jesus,
22:00 became a live-giving spirit."
22:03 Don't miss it.
22:05 Unless we have Jesus in our lives,
22:07 there is no life-giving spirit.
22:12 Just death.
22:13 Just death.
22:20 I remember years ago when I first began to preach
22:22 this message talking about...
22:23 I broken it into two parts, last night and tonight.
22:26 I talked about the husband last night.
22:27 Remember that?
22:28 We talked about the husband. Remember that?
22:31 And I remember coming to the 3ABN
22:37 General Manager, Mollie Steenson, and she said,
22:39 "Let me see your sermon titles."
22:41 And I said, "Okay, here's my sermon title about the husband.
22:44 You know, the husband has to die in order for us
22:46 to be free to be married to Christ."
22:48 And she said, "Well, what's your sermon titles?"
22:50 Because she knows I like snappy sermon titles.
22:53 I said, "The sermon title is, Kill Your Husband."
22:58 She said, "I like it, but that's much too strong
23:00 for our 3ABN audience.
23:02 Could you change the title?"
23:03 I thought, "Okay, Till Death Do Us Part."
23:07 But when I travel around I still use the title,
23:09 Kill Your Husband.
23:10 And I say, "This is not a suggestion."
23:12 But this is the first step in being freed from the nature
23:16 that has bound us in sin from the time that we were born.
23:20 That's a husband.
23:22 And his name is not Adam.
23:27 Adam was captured by that husband.
23:32 Satan introduced Adam to sin.
23:36 Adam allowed that husband to come in,
23:40 and it became his husband.
23:43 Therefore, he conveyed to all of his children
23:45 the same husband that controlled him.
23:49 But I believe we're going to see Adam in the first resurrection.
23:52 Anybody believe that?
23:54 Because the Lord broke the hold that sin had on Adam,
23:57 even though he lived 930 years to regret
24:01 every decision he ever made.
24:03 Can you imagine, one decision plunged his family into...
24:07 His sons, murder; one killed the other.
24:10 And the day came that he laid his wife to rest.
24:13 And then he saw sin working itself out in his own society
24:18 for 930 years.
24:20 And can you imagine, there are some days when Adam sat down
24:23 and said to himself, "If only, if I had only not done that."
24:30 Well, tonight we're not looking back.
24:32 Tonight we're looking forward.
24:33 Come on, somebody, say amen.
24:35 Jesus did not just die for our sins, but He had to become
24:40 what we are so that He can die our death.
24:44 Look at how the Bible illustrates this.
24:46 1 John 4:10
24:50 And I tell you, that really is love.
24:52 For somebody to die for you while you're a sinner,
24:54 oh, that's love.
25:09 Now that's a huge word.
25:11 What does the word, propitiation, mean?
25:13 The word, propitiation, means, substitute.
25:16 The substitutionary death of Jesus, to make it very clear,
25:20 Jesus took our place.
25:21 When you read about the judgment that Jesus went through
25:23 in the gospels, that should have been us.
25:27 Jesus took on our judgment.
25:31 The thorns that Jesus wore on His head,
25:33 those thorns belong to us.
25:36 Why put thorns on the head of a sinless person?
25:39 Because Jesus stepped in our shoes.
25:42 He walked where we should have walked.
25:44 He took the punishment that belonged to us.
25:48 He died in our place.
25:52 Amen.
25:55 Rightfully so, what we would say is, "You did it,
26:00 you pay for it."
26:01 But His love, I want to just talk about this for a moment,
26:03 His love is so great.
26:05 Have you ever looked at earth from the perspective
26:06 of all the other worlds?
26:08 We're just a tiny little speck of dust in a cloud of
26:11 billions of galaxies.
26:13 If God had taken His divine eraser and just erased earth,
26:17 nobody would have missed it.
26:19 But His love for every one of us is so great
26:21 that He could not fathom eternity without us.
26:29 So He sent His Son to take our place,
26:31 a propitiation for our sins.
26:33 Isaiah the prophet says it this way.
26:51 So everything that Jesus went through was because of us.
26:56 He was wounded for our transgressions, our iniquities.
27:00 The peace that we have is because He took the whipping
27:04 that belonged to us; the chastisement of our peace.
27:08 And all the bleeding strips on His back,
27:11 when they tore the robe from His bleeding back
27:13 after the blood had hardened and caused His robe to stick to Him,
27:18 and they peeled it off without any mercy.
27:22 The chastisement of our peace was upon Him.
27:26 And by His stripes.
27:28 The cross He went to was our cross.
27:32 One of my favorite authors in the book, Desire of Ages,
27:34 Ellen White writes these phrases.
27:36 And I tell you, this was so beautifully,
27:41 beautifully communicated.
27:43 Page 25.
28:13 I mean, that's a thought you've got to think about.
28:16 I read a story, a pastor told me this story.
28:20 True story.
28:21 He said he had a very, very unruly son.
28:23 Person I know about.
28:25 I know him very well.
28:27 A contemporary individual. He's still alive.
28:29 He told me this story of how he got his son to behave.
28:32 His son, he just could not get his son to behave.
28:36 So one day his son did something terrible.
28:38 And he said, "Go to your room. I'll be there in a moment."
28:40 He knew the belt was coming off, time to get a whipping.
28:44 But that day his father took off his shirt,
28:47 the dad took off his own shirt, and laid across the bed
28:51 and gave his son the strap, and he said, "Hit me."
28:55 He said, "Dad, why?"
28:56 He said, "Hit me."
28:59 He said, "Why?"
29:00 "Hit me as hard as you want to, because of what you did.
29:03 Hit me."
29:05 And that son stood there, he said, and balled and cried.
29:09 And he couldn't hit his father once.
29:13 The dad said, "I didn't have to worry about him
29:16 from that day on."
29:19 "By His stripes we are healed."
29:22 Jesus did that for the whole world.
29:26 He laid across the bed of eternity, and He said to hell,
29:33 "Hit Me."
29:35 And the demons of hell unleashed on Him
29:38 with all the demonic force they can,
29:40 every element of hatred they could.
29:43 And they didn't stop hitting, and they didn't stop hitting,
29:47 and they didn't stop hitting.
29:48 They hit until they exhausted themselves.
29:52 And then they nailed Him to a cross
29:54 and tried to keep Him in.
29:56 But I say today, praise God, He's no longer in that tomb.
30:01 But they hit Him.
30:02 They did what He did not deserve.
30:06 Every sin that Jesus faced, He did it because He loved us.
30:11 The apostle Peter says it this way.
30:29 Jesus didn't just walk in our flesh.
30:33 What I've come to learn as I get older
30:36 is that Jesus also understands our weaknesses.
30:40 He understands that we are but flesh.
30:43 He understands when we fail.
30:45 He understands that in our human flesh...
30:48 That's why the apostle says, "I would rather boast
30:51 in my infirmity, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
30:54 Because when I am weak, He is strong."
30:57 Jesus is always strong.
31:00 But notice how the Bible illustrates this.
31:03 He understands when we fail.
31:05 Look at this.
31:07 Hebrews 4:15
31:21 Somebody said to me once, "How could Jesus be
31:23 tempted just like we are?
31:24 They didn't have crack cocaine in those days."
31:28 Every sin is in one of three categories:
31:31 the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
31:34 and the pride of life.
31:35 Adam and Eve were tempted in only three areas.
31:38 She saw the tree was good for food,
31:40 pleasant to the eyes, a tree desirable to make one wise.
31:43 Only three areas.
31:45 And then the Bible says in 1 John 2:15,
31:47 "All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh,
31:49 the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life."
31:51 Every sin that is ever committed falls into
31:54 one of those three categories.
31:55 That's why Jesus was tempted in all points.
31:57 How many temptations? Three.
32:00 Only three.
32:01 He was tempted in all points, yet without sin.
32:04 You know why?
32:05 It was not that Jesus said, "Oh, I can make it through this."
32:07 He was thinking about us.
32:17 He crucified Adam's nature so that we can
32:19 one day have His nature.
32:20 You know what encourages me?
32:23 One day I am going to be just like Jesus.
32:26 Every one of us one day will be just like Jesus.
32:30 He's begun a work in us and He's not going to finish it
32:33 until He's completed.
32:35 Isn't that right?
32:37 But the assurance is in this verse.
32:39 Romans 6:5-6
32:46 We've got to die in order to break that power
32:49 from that old nature.
32:51 Before we are connected to the new nature we first have to die.
32:54 The old nature has to die. And here's the promise.
33:24 Slaves of sin.
33:26 In other words, when we submit ourselves to Christ
33:29 and enter into a covenant relationship with Him,
33:32 that old man is dead.
33:35 And we now enter into a new relationship.
33:38 And we can look back at the things that we once were held
33:41 captive by and not even have a taste or desire for it.
33:49 But you can never have that experience
33:51 until you submit yourself to the power that alone
33:54 can deliver you, break the connection,
33:56 and enter you into a relationship
33:59 that keeps you free and no longer slaves to the past.
34:03 So the question is, "Why did Jesus have to die?"
34:05 Look at Romans 6:7.
34:12 We often think, "sins."
34:15 But, "sin." The nature.
34:17 The what? The nature.
34:19 The clothing.
34:20 The very nature that held us.
34:22 The way we think, the way we move, the way we live.
34:27 When we are freed from sin, the chains of the past are broken,
34:32 the sins of the past are forgiven,
34:35 the condemnation of our past is removed,
34:39 the controlling power over sin is broken.
34:43 But there's a part that we must play.
34:45 There's a part that we must play.
34:47 There's something we must do in order to step out of the old
34:51 and into the new.
34:53 We have another topic coming up in about five or six nights
34:56 that I'm going to give you the third portion of it.
34:59 I gave you part one last night, part two tonight,
35:03 and in a few more nights I'm going to give you part three.
35:06 Because there's a part that every one of us must play.
35:09 But the first thing we must do, and the reason why this text
35:12 is important is because until you admit you have a problem,
35:16 you can't get help.
35:18 Amen?
35:19 The hardest thing for human nature is to say,
35:22 "I've done wrong. I need help.
35:24 I don't have the power to live right."
35:27 And you know what?
35:28 The longer you take to make that decision,
35:30 the more recalcitrant your nature becomes.
35:33 Almost to the point where you're calcified.
35:35 And you can't even admit that there's a problem.
35:40 But the Bible says in 1 John 1:9...
35:59 Because if I kept saying, "all," it still couldn't be sufficient.
36:06 You ever seen, Extreme Home Makeover?
36:10 They take these houses that look like you should just
36:13 torch them and burn them up.
36:15 My wife and I like the HG channel because it's always a...
36:18 That entire channel, most of the programs are about redemption,
36:21 but they don't know it.
36:24 You know, you walk in a house and say,
36:25 "Look at that. How much is it?"
36:26 "It's worth $15,000."
36:28 And they turn it into an $80,000 castle, and it's beautiful.
36:32 And you say, "Is that the same floors?"
36:33 And you look, "Oohhh!"
36:35 If man could do that with brick and stones and paint,
36:39 what can Jesus do with His perfect character?
36:44 We are under construction, and one day we will stand before God
36:49 when Jesus has completed His extreme home makeover.
36:54 That's what He does. That's what He does.
36:58 Notice what happens.
36:59 When we are broken, when the power is broken
37:02 that use to hold us, notice how the relationship changes.
37:06 Romans 8:1-2
37:22 Before I go to the very next verse,
37:24 when the bonds of the past are broken, you've got to
37:28 choose to walk differently.
37:31 Am I telling the truth?
37:32 You can't go back to that bar to see if you're over alcoholism.
37:37 You can't peruse the internet on pornographic websites
37:40 to see if that no longer appeals to you.
37:42 You've got to make a covenant with your life
37:44 and with your eyes.
37:46 You've got to walk through the mall and choose what to see
37:49 and what not to see.
37:50 Because you know what?
37:51 Our world is designed to keep your mind corrupt.
37:55 You've got to turn the music when it comes on
37:57 that you know you shouldn't be listening to.
37:59 You've got to refuse to watch shows like, Lucifer,
38:01 and all these horrible demonic shows on television.
38:05 You've got to make sure that the mind that God has kept clean.
38:08 That's why the Bible says, "He that has this hope
38:10 in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure."
38:14 Like mama, I remember when growing up
38:16 my mother would clean the house.
38:17 And she'd go out to the store, she'd say, "Keep it clean."
38:22 You ever had that before?
38:25 Oh, Lord have mercy.
38:26 One day my sister and I, when we were younger,
38:28 we had a curry rice fight.
38:32 Just so happened we were sitting at the table eating curry.
38:35 We were eating rice that was made with curry.
38:37 And I threw some at her, and she threw some at me.
38:40 And the kid sitting next to her threw some at me,
38:43 and the kid sitting next to me threw some at them.
38:45 And before you know it, there was curry rice
38:47 all over the walls of the kitchen.
38:53 When mama got home, we understood what she meant.
38:57 Just put it that way.
38:59 She gave us a bucket and four sponges,
39:03 and she said, "You're not going to bed
39:05 until every bit of curry is gone."
39:09 That was the first and the last time
39:12 we ever had a curry rice fight.
39:15 But watch this. You've got to make decisions.
39:16 Here's my point.
39:18 When the Lord cleans you up, you have to make decisions
39:20 to stay clean.
39:23 And every one of us has the power to make choices.
39:27 You've got to walk not according to the flesh,
39:30 but according to the Spirit.
39:31 And here's the reason why the freedom is so possible.
39:43 So many pastors think this is talking about the commandments,
39:47 and it is not.
39:49 When it says, "The law of the Spirit of life,"
39:51 that means the power available through Christ is like a law.
39:55 This means, once you're connected,
39:57 it's going to stay powerful.
39:59 Once you disconnect, the power shuts off.
40:01 The law of sin and death, once you're connected,
40:03 it's in control.
40:04 Once you disconnect, there's no more power on you.
40:06 So when the Lord disconnects us from the law of sin and death,
40:09 it can't control us because He connects us to the
40:12 law of the Spirit of life, which now controls us for good.
40:15 And both of them are laws, because it means the law
40:18 cannot be violated, it cannot be broken.
40:21 So the only one that can make the difference is,
40:23 He has to break the connection to the old law,
40:26 the thing that controls us, so we can be connected
40:29 to the new law.
40:31 Not the commandments, but the controlling nature.
40:35 That's why this text is often misunderstood.
40:37 Romans 6:14
40:41 "...dominion..." That means power and control.
40:49 People think that has to do with the commandments.
40:51 So they say, "If you get rid of the commandments,
40:53 you're saved by grace."
40:55 No, you're not.
40:58 Why would people be preaching salvation today
41:02 if there were no commandments.
41:05 Salvation from what?
41:06 And the pastor will say, "From sin."
41:08 How can you say that somebody needs salvation from sin
41:11 if you tell them that there is no law.
41:15 I got stopped by the police a few times.
41:18 Unscheduled stops.
41:22 I was going through Indiana on my way to New York
41:24 when my dad passed away.
41:26 My natural father, when he passed away.
41:28 I was going through Indiana.
41:29 And this was before I bought an actual in-dash GPS.
41:32 And I was doing 87 miles an hour.
41:35 And I got pulled over by a highway patrolman.
41:37 Now in most cases 87 miles an hour means
41:40 you are not driving from this point.
41:42 Your car is going to be impounded,
41:43 you're going to spend your night in jail,
41:45 or they're going to do something that
41:47 you're not getting back on the road.
41:48 Well the officer came to me and he said,
41:50 "License, registration, insurance."
41:54 And he came back, he said,
41:56 "Could you tell me why you were speeding?"
42:00 I said, "You know, honestly officer,
42:02 I was looking down at my GPS."
42:04 It was my laptop.
42:05 It was before this, you know. It was a while ago.
42:08 "I was looking down at my laptop and I honestly didn't
42:10 see what the speed was."
42:11 He said, "Do you know how fast you were going?"
42:15 "No."
42:16 He said, "Eighty-seven miles an hour.
42:20 Give me your registration and your insurance.
42:22 I'll be right back."
42:24 He came back and he said, "I tell you what."
42:30 He went like this with my license, registration,
42:32 insurance; he gave it to me, he says,
42:33 "I tell you what.
42:35 You keep it down, we'll call it a night.
42:36 Is that okay?"
42:41 Now watch this.
42:42 Do I say, "Thank you, officer."
42:48 I drove 54 miles an hour for a long time in a 65 zone.
42:56 That's grace.
42:58 Come on, somebody. That's grace.
43:00 We don't need grace if there's no law.
43:03 So you can't preach grace if you say that
43:06 the law is done away with.
43:08 But when it talks about we are no longer under the law,
43:10 it has no more dominion over us, that means it doesn't
43:13 control us any longer.
43:16 The power of sin is broken.
43:17 Jesus is the power that moves in.
43:19 The control of sin is removed.
43:21 Jesus now moves in and takes control.
43:24 Sin no longer dominates us.
43:27 Sin no longer commands us.
43:28 Sin no longer has authority over us.
43:32 - Amen? ~ Amen.
43:34 Well how is that possible?
43:37 When Jesus rose from the grave, He declared
43:41 not only His liberty, but He declared to the entire world
43:44 that He had something that being victorious over sin
43:48 give Him the right to possess.
43:50 Notice what He said in Matthew 28:18.
44:04 My message to you tonight, as we talk about the connection,
44:07 here's the transition, we can be connected to all power
44:10 because Jesus has all power.
44:15 So don't tell me that you have to sin.
44:17 Some people say... That song that...
44:19 We've sung this song, "I'm only human.
44:23 I'm just a man."
44:25 No, don't say that.
44:27 When you accept Jesus, you become a partaker
44:30 of His divine nature.
44:33 Having escaped the world, and the lust of...
44:37 You become partakers of a power that you never had before.
44:41 So don't walk around and say, "Well, you know,
44:43 we're all sinners saved by grace."
44:45 Oswell Chambers said, "If you're not a saint,
44:47 the question is, why not?"
44:49 Because Jesus didn't come to keep us as sinners,
44:52 He came to transfer us from sinners to saints.
44:56 And, "saint," doesn't mean, perfect;
44:59 a saint is one perfect in the righteousness of Christ.
45:06 Which gives me daily assurance.
45:08 And the saddest thing to be is to be a Christian
45:10 that has no assurance.
45:13 When we die to that nature, when we take hold of the
45:16 power of Christ, then and only then does this text
45:19 really come into being.
45:21 Philippians 4:13, I can do how many things?
45:24 I can do how many things?
45:36 I did a sermon not too long ago about conversion.
45:42 Not just forgiveness, not just repentance,
45:46 but conversion.
45:48 Because we can ask for forgiveness
45:50 and not be converted.
45:51 We can ask for forgiveness and not repent.
45:55 Forgiveness, repentance, and conversion.
45:59 When we are converted, we are converted because the strength
46:02 of Christ is abiding in us, working through us,
46:06 so that we can live day by day and allow the image of Christ
46:11 to abide in us.
46:13 Now this is a strange question.
46:15 I forgot my glove tonight.
46:17 But does anybody in here think that Phoenix is
46:20 cold enough to have a glove?
46:23 Does anybody have a glove in here tonight?
46:26 - You have a glove? ~ Yes.
46:27 Give me that glove.
46:29 Give me that glove. I need that.
46:31 But you've got to be quick.
46:32 You've got it? Thank the Lord.
46:34 Okay, she's got a pair of gloves here.
46:36 If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
46:42 Now I don't know how big your hands are,
46:44 but this is going to be a very terrible illustration.
46:48 This is the new life.
46:50 See my hand?
46:54 I'll buy you another pair of gloves if I pop them.
46:57 My wife will buy you another pair of gloves.
47:00 Do you see my hand?
47:03 No.
47:05 Do you see my hand?
47:07 Is my hand there?
47:09 But it's covered by the righteousness of Jesus.
47:14 This is the new life.
47:17 Christ is now operating in this lifeless...
47:21 This is me without Christ.
47:24 Can't do anything.
47:25 I'm going to drop your glove. I don't disrespect you.
47:27 That's me without Christ. No power at all.
47:29 But this is me when Christ moves in.
47:31 Amen, somebody?
47:35 Without Christ, we are powerless.
47:38 We are powerless.
47:39 We are what? Powerless.
47:42 So when you accept Jesus Christ, it's not an opportunity
47:45 to do the second time what you could not do the first time.
47:47 Notice Romans very carefully. Let's move on.
47:50 1 Corinthians 15:49. Let's go to that first.
47:53 Here's what the Bible say. Very carefully.
48:07 That means you use to be this way, but when you are in Christ
48:11 you will now come out this way.
48:14 When the sin power is broken that kept you connected to that,
48:18 Jesus comes in and now allows His power in you,
48:22 as you submit yourself daily to that power,
48:25 to bring you to this side.
48:27 Moving quickly.
48:28 Moving quickly, Romans 8:9-10.
48:31 Look at them both together.
48:53 The body is dead because of sin.
48:57 But the Spirit comes in and there's life
48:59 because of righteousness.
49:02 You see, this body, that sin nature
49:04 has lost its power over you.
49:05 What kind of power did it have?
49:07 Look at who we were and who we have become in Christ.
49:10 Now you might get disgusted by your past,
49:12 but I've got to show you this to appreciate
49:14 what Christ does in us.
49:15 Here we are, Galatians 5:19-21.
49:46 Are you exhausted like I am?
49:49 That's a horrible list.
49:50 That's what the old nature does to us.
49:53 And you know what? We have no power to stop
49:55 those things from happening once we connect to that nature.
49:58 As I said, we do things we never thought we would ever do.
50:01 But when we are in Christ, we do things
50:03 we thought we never could do.
50:05 But look at the other side of that.
50:06 When the Spirit of God comes in.
50:24 In other words, nothing can prevent that
50:26 from happening in your life.
50:28 Amen, somebody.
50:30 And when it happens, our standing before God changes.
50:34 We use to be enemies, but we are no longer enemies.
50:37 We changes our standing from a failing individual
50:40 to a royal child of the most high God.
50:44 1 Peter 2:9. Oh, I love this passage.
50:48 This is the after effect of being connected to Christ.
50:52 Let's read this together.
51:10 That means you love the things you hated
51:13 and you hate the things you loved.
51:15 You embrace the life that you once despised,
51:20 and now you despise the life you once embraced.
51:26 Christ came in to change your direction
51:28 and also to transform your affections.
51:30 And that very heart that could not fathom living for Christ
51:34 has been renewed.
51:35 Why? Because you prayed out of a sincere heart
51:38 this very prayer...
51:41 Psalm 51:10
51:50 Tonight I'm going to invite Stephanie to come,
51:53 and Dan, as they come to the piano.
51:55 I'm going to read a particular passage, then I'm going to
51:57 tell you a wonderful story about how God transforms life.
52:00 You see, every one of us is in process.
52:03 And the Lord wants to change our hearts and transform us;
52:06 make us brand new in Him.
52:08 And I love the fact that He's working on us.
52:11 That heart that was once connected to sin is now a
52:14 heart that's connected to the righteousness of God.
52:17 The love relationship holds us bound to the God
52:21 who now connects us to all the power we need
52:24 to live above the power of sin.
52:27 And then we read these words.
52:38 Look at this.
52:42 When are we children of God? Now.
52:57 Amen?
52:59 I'm going to make an appeal as
53:00 Stephanie sings this song tonight.
53:02 And this is, first, intellectual.
53:03 But I'm going to appeal to your heart.
53:05 I know that tonight we've come
53:07 longing to know more about Christ.
53:10 But as Stephanie sings this song,
53:13 if there's somebody tonight that wants to say,
53:15 "Lord Jesus, I want to break from the power of my past
53:21 and I want to live and abide in the power that You have
53:24 made available to me."
53:27 If there's somebody here tonight that wants to experience
53:29 the abundant life that comes only through Jesus,
53:32 while Stephanie sings I want to pray for you tonight.
53:36 And wherever you may be, just don't think about anybody else.
53:38 Think about your own walk with Christ.
53:40 Wherever you may be, just come out tonight.
53:43 Just come down front and I want to pray with you
53:45 as Stephanie sings this song.
53:46 It's about your walk with Christ.
53:48 Nobody else's.
53:52 Jesus, keep me near the cross,
54:00 there a precious fountain;
54:08 free to all, a healing stream
54:16 flows from Calvary's mountain.
54:24 In the cross, in the cross,
54:31 be my glory ever,
54:39 till my raptured soul shall find
54:46 rest beyond the river.
54:54 Just before Stephanie sings the next verse,
54:56 if there's somebody else, just come on down.
54:58 We want to take hold of the power that wants to
55:00 transform and change our lives tonight.
55:04 Anybody else, as she sings the next verse.
55:06 Go ahead, Stephanie.
55:18 Near the cross, a trembling soul,
55:24 Love and Mercy found me;
55:31 there the bright and morning star
55:38 sheds its beams around me.
55:45 In the cross, in the cross,
55:52 be my glory ever,
55:59 till my raptured soul shall find
56:07 rest beyond the river.
56:16 Dan, play softly for me.
56:20 Is there somebody else here tonight that wants to say,
56:22 "Jesus, I want that power that You've made available to me
56:27 to transform my life."
56:29 Maybe there's somebody here tonight that want to
56:30 recommit himself or herself to renewing your walk
56:35 with Christ tonight.
56:37 The opportunity is extended to you.
56:40 If you're watching and you want to submit yourself to Christ,
56:43 contact us at 3ABN, go to our 3abnphoenix.com website
56:48 and inform us about your decision
56:51 so that we can contact you and pray with you.
56:54 Is there somebody else here tonight that wants to
56:55 stay with Christ?
56:58 If you want to keep trusting the Lord with your life,
57:00 why don't you stand with me tonight.
57:03 That invitation is made to every one of us.
57:07 That invitation is for all who want new life in Christ.
57:11 Our loving Father in heaven, these precious souls
57:13 have come tonight.
57:16 They've come because they sense their own personal
57:18 need to be near the cross, to be in the cross,
57:25 to have Christ transform them and move them beyond
57:29 just a life that has intermittent power to the
57:33 life that will have all power.
57:36 And so strengthen us tonight, Lord Jesus,
57:39 as we make a commitment to You to take us from
57:41 where You have found us to a place where our
57:45 lives will be transformed.
57:46 And then we will be able through our lives
57:49 to proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness
57:54 into this marvelous light.
57:57 We thank You, Lord, for breaking the bonds of the past,
58:00 for renewing our walk with You,
58:03 for showing us that we don't have to remain slaves
58:06 to our habits, and practices, and desires, and sins
58:08 that have made a havoc of us.
58:12 But we can know that we are forgiven
58:14 and we are Your children now.
58:17 And the kingdom is being prepared for every one of us.
58:21 So Father, we thank You and we praise You for these decisions.
58:27 But may there be more.
58:28 As the doors of eternity are still open to us tonight,
58:31 may there be more transformations
58:34 and more commitments to Christ.
58:37 We thank You for Jesus,
58:39 for the power that He has for us.
58:41 May we live that others may come to know Him.
58:46 This is our prayer, that when Jesus comes
58:50 we will be in that redeemed host.
58:53 In Christ's name we pray.
58:56 And all of God's people said, "Amen."


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Revised 2018-07-11