Participants: John Lomacang
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000012A
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00:30 I want to do something a little different
00:32 that I normally do, I want to read the Scripture, 00:35 but I want you to stand with me to read the Scripture. 00:38 I've seen this before, but it is a good reset 00:40 and I think it's a good time to just take a breath 00:42 and reset - so let's stand together. 00:44 We're going to read the Scripture on the screen, 00:46 it's a wonderful one - it is the declaration of the Apostle Paul, 00:52 and I'd like us to read this together today 00:55 with some wonderful conviction... 00:59 Are you ready? 01:20 Father in heaven, As we open Your word 01:22 now we pray that You will open our hearts to speak 01:25 to us today as to how we can find that we can experience 01:31 this life that is found only in Christ. 01:36 In Your precious name we pray... Amen 01:40 You may be seated. 01:45 Most of you don't even know it happened. 01:49 It happened July 29, 2006. 01:54 It was labeled the greatest public works project in 01:58 U.S. history, but you didn't even know it happened, 02:04 June 29, 2006. 02:08 From the day that President Dwight D. Eisenhower 02:11 signed the "Federal-Aid Highway Act" of 1956 02:17 the Interstate System of America was born. 02:21 Now, I look around, some of you could have been alive 02:24 during that time - I just want to make it clear in the record, 02:28 I wasn't - can you say Amen. Amen! 02:31 But the "Federal-Aid Highway Act" of 1956 02:36 opened up in America something called the "Interstate System." 02:42 We can simply modify it by calling it "The I-System." 02:47 Every citizen has been touched by it, if not directly 02:51 as a motorist, than indirectly as a passenger. 02:55 Every item we buy has been on the Interstate System 02:59 at one point or the other and when I read the story 03:04 a few days ago, historians all agree that the Interstate 03:09 is one of the most important achievements in American history 03:13 and President Dwight D. Eisenhower has been 03:18 credited by that invention. 03:21 He did not invent it, he did not build it, 03:23 but he signed it into law and as you travel around... 03:27 and I just discovered this when, a number of years ago, 03:30 when Angie and I were driving 03:31 from Orlando, Florida to live with the Heritage Singers 03:35 there in Northern California, I didn't know about it, 03:37 but then it came to my mind when we looked at the map 03:40 back then when we used the Rand McNally Maps, 03:44 I discovered something that I hadn't known until 03:47 I decided to travel the Interstate. 03:49 Even numbers go from east to west, odd numbers 03:54 go from north to south. 03:57 If you're in the south, the lower numbers 03:58 are there - Highway 10 and the further north you go 04:01 the higher the numbers get up to Highway 80, 04:04 and I don't know if there is a 90, but I know that in the 04:07 far west is the lowest one, Highway 5, 04:10 and in the far east is Highway 95 which takes you 04:14 from north to south. 04:16 So you will know your direction if you understand that 04:18 you are on an odd number or an even number. 04:22 Today, when we enter these super highways, 04:24 in our region, you see I-64 or I-70, 04:29 but the point of the story is this... 04:33 The interstate known as the "I-Ways" will take you 04:39 where they are designed to take you. 04:43 The interstate of human nature or the I-Ways of human nature 04:47 will take us where they are designed to take us. 04:51 Once we decide to travel on the I-Ways or the 04:56 interstate of human nature, we cannot change our direction 05:01 unless we get off of the interstate. 05:05 This morning, I want to talk about the interstate 05:09 of human nature... the I-Ways of human nature, 05:12 and I want to thank Gary Wills for being creative 05:14 in coming up with this background. 05:18 The "I's" have it. 05:20 You see the plight of humanity or, let me broaden it, 05:23 the plight of every one of us can be summed up in 05:26 the following phrase... 05:27 "We are where we are not because we failed 05:31 in our journey, but because we were born to travel 05:36 in only one direction." 05:37 Every one of us was born to travel in only one direction, 05:41 the direction of the fallen human nature. 05:44 Every one of us was born on the interstate of human nature. 05:51 We were born to go south, the Lord wants us to go north. 05:55 We were born to go west, the Lord wants us to go east. 05:59 Every one of us was born with a predetermined direction 06:04 on the I-Ways of human nature... 06:07 That's why Jeremiah the prophet asked the following question... 06:10 Notice Jeremiah 13 and let's use our Bibles. 06:13 We know it comes on the screen, but we want you 06:15 to become familiar with the Bible in how we can 06:18 use the word of God together, let's look at the word of God. 06:21 Jeremiah the prophet asked a very important question, 06:25 and it is about the direction of the human nature. 06:30 He asks... "Can the Ethiopian change his skin," 06:36 and what is the answer? 06:37 Come on talk to me, what is the answer? 06:39 The answer is "no." 06:40 Or the leopard his spots? What's the answer? "No" 06:43 Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil? 06:49 And the answer is what? No. 06:51 Every one of us was born on interstate of evil, 06:56 the interstate of human nature where we are incapable 07:00 of changing our skin color, where the leopard is 07:05 impossibly locked in the battle of changing his spots. 07:08 We cannot change, we are incapable of change. 07:13 And when I think about that, the thing that really gets me, 07:16 we think about the journeys of life... 07:18 You know many of the journeys that we set in life 07:20 having nothing to do eternity. 07:22 Many of the decisions we make having nothing 07:24 to do with eternity. 07:25 Almost every decision we make, as we grow up, 07:28 has nothing to do with eternity - think about that. 07:33 We have guidance counselors for educational goals; 07:36 we have financial counselors for investment goals; 07:39 we have realtors for real estate goals, 07:41 but most of the decisions we make, even as Christians, 07:45 have really nothing to do with eternity and most of our focus 07:48 is what we're going to do down here... 07:50 But, the supreme goal of life is not making a mark 07:55 in this world - the supreme goal of life 07:59 ought to be getting ready for the world to come, 08:01 what do you say? 08:03 That's the supreme goal. 08:04 If you think about it, there is no other goal 08:08 of greater importance than the supreme goal of getting 08:14 ready for the world to come 08:17 But to me, it seems like an odd thing because Adam's nature only 08:22 has one destination... 08:24 Just the first part of 1 Corinthians 15:22, 08:27 the Bible says, "For as in Adam, all die," and when you 08:33 think about the journey that we are all born on, 08:37 it is a journey to death. 08:39 None of us could change that direction by our efforts, 08:43 by our actions, by our skill, by our education, 08:48 by our ability... none of us could change 08:51 that direction because Adam's nature binds us to our 08:56 destination. 08:58 We are hopelessly locked in where we're headed 09:03 because of Adam's nature. 09:07 This has become a subject of my concentration 09:10 and you might have noticed that for one very important reason... 09:15 After pastoring 30 years and being married 33 years, 09:21 I've come up to the great realization and I want to say 09:25 this - I've come up to great realization that you can pastor 09:29 for 60 years, but if making heaven is not your supreme 09:35 goal, if becoming more like Jesus is not your supreme goal, 09:39 then you've got a great career, but you don't have eternity. 09:44 And so we have a new saying now, Angie and I, 09:47 we have this new saying together - "We are living 09:51 with eternity in view, living with eternity in view. 09:57 And I want to tell you this morning, 09:58 and I hope this becomes a focus in your life... 10:01 It is not worth allowing anything in this life 10:06 whether good or bad, failure or success, 10:10 whether what has held you or what is holding you, 10:13 it is not sensible to allow anything in this world 10:17 to allow us to miss out on the blessings that God 10:21 has prepared for every one of us and the lights said "Amen." 10:34 Adam binds us to bad habits, produces within us evil desires. 10:39 Adam's nature shackles us to immorality, a selfish mind, 10:45 it buries us in self-interests, and so where we are 10:49 is not by coincidence... 10:51 Every one of us is born, every of us is born on the 10:56 interstate to failure, to darkness, to habits, 11:00 to disease, to darkness. 11:03 Every one of us is born there, but God's love for us 11:07 has made it possible that none of us need to stay 11:11 on the highway or the interstate or the I-Way 11:14 of failure by Christ, every one of us can find freedom. 11:21 Until we are born again, we can only go as far as Adam's 11:27 interstate allows us to travel. 11:31 Until we're born again, we cannot get off of 11:34 Adam's interstate. 11:37 That's why Jesus said what He did in John 3:7... 11:42 The hopeless of our nature is revealed through the 11:46 following words of Jesus and notice what He said... 11:49 To the Christian, He says, "Do not marvel that I 11:54 say to you... let's read the last part together... 11:57 you what? Must be born again." 12:02 Jesus is looking at a grown tax collector named "Nicodemus," 12:06 a grown man, highly accomplished, 12:11 status in society, established in his community. 12:16 A grown man by the name of "Nicodemus" 12:19 who comes to Jesus by night... and I gotta pause and say 12:22 something there... it's better to come to Jesus 12:24 by night than not to come to Jesus at all. 12:29 He came to Jesus by night in the darkness of his life, 12:32 afraid to allow the other publicans and tax collectors 12:37 seeing him come in contact with Jesus, 12:40 he came to Jesus by night and Jesus made it very clear to him 12:43 that all of his accomplishments in life have brought him 12:46 nothing but failure if he stays on the interstate of self, 12:52 the I-Ways of Adam. 12:55 In other words, Nicodemus I realize how long it is taking 12:58 you to get to this point in life, but to do further 13:01 you've got to start all over again. 13:04 Now, can I pause and say something? 13:08 I believe - and this is a statement of faith, 13:14 I believe that if we really understood, by faith, 13:19 what awaits us when Jesus comes, we would be more 13:26 determined and more excited about getting ready 13:30 for the coming of Jesus. 13:32 If we only knew... if we only took the time 13:35 to inquire and although nobody has seen it, 13:39 there's enough information that you can read 13:41 to get you excited to sever this world and get ready 13:44 for the world to come and if you travel at all, 13:47 if you've gone anywhere, even if all you've gone 13:49 is to Carbondale, I can tell you today, there's nothing 13:53 in Carbondale... Cindy, I'm not talking about you and Jay, 13:56 laughter... but there's nothing in Carbondale, 13:59 there's nothing in New York, there's nothing in Paris, 14:01 there's nothing in Europe, there's nothing in Asia, 14:04 there's nothing on this planet worth giving up eternity for. 14:10 And Jesus said to Nicodemus, in verse 6 of John 3, 14:17 "You gotta start all over, Nicodemus, because that 14:20 which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is 14:25 born of the Spirit is spirit." 14:28 You see, we are where we are because of who we were, 14:32 but we will only be where we can be because of who 14:37 we've become. 14:39 I know where I was, but I want to be someone 14:42 different than who I was. 14:44 I want to be somewhere different than where I was. 14:47 And when I read in the Bible... we've got the practice every day 14:50 when we wake up in the morning, we reach right away for a 14:54 devotion and then we read our Bible later on in the day, 14:57 we don't go to bed at night without reading our Bibles... 15:00 And you know what it has done in our lives, in our home, 15:02 it has awakened a thirst and a joy for reading God's word. 15:07 And what's so nice about that is you cannot understand 15:11 how victorious you can be unless you read in God's word 15:14 the victories that He brought to His people in the 15:18 Old Testament and in the New Testament... 15:21 And I believe one of the reasons why we have... 15:23 There's a song I sing called, "There is a Way," 15:26 you know sometimes we become friends with our own personal 15:29 cloud and we carry it with us. 15:32 Rather than looking beyond the cloud and realizing 15:35 even on a day like today the sun is still shinning. 15:40 Don't get caught up in the clouds, 15:43 the Sun of righteousness shines 24/7. 15:49 So it may not look like a cheerful day, 15:52 it may look like an overcast day, but it's only overcast 15:55 if you fail to realize that on the other side of these clouds 16:00 there is a silver lining and He is the Sun of righteousness, 16:06 and His name is Jesus. 16:10 But I want to ask a couple of questions... 16:12 I don't normally ask questions in the sermon because 16:14 that usually requires an answer, these are rhetorical questions. 16:18 No answers required, but just to think about it. 16:21 How do we become who we need to become 16:25 to get where we can be? 16:27 And I follow that with a second question... 16:30 What did Jesus do to get where He needed to be? 16:35 Open your Bibles to John 19, look with me. 16:38 What did Jesus do to get where He needed to be? 16:43 That sounds like an odd statement, 16:44 "to get where Jesus needed to be? Isn't He Jesus? 16:48 When He came to the earth, He took on the nature of Adam. 16:50 He took on the same human flesh that every one of us has. 16:55 He became subject to the very same temptations 16:59 that every one of us is subject to, but praise God 17:02 He never allowed those temptations 17:04 to cause Him to sin. 17:05 But still in His nature, in the nature of fallen Adam, 17:10 there was something that Jesus had to do to get to the other 17:15 side of the journey, here it is in John 19:17-18... 17:22 And the Bible says... 17:49 What did Jesus do to get where He needed to be? 17:53 Jesus knew that to get where He needed to be, 17:57 He had to carry His cross. 18:03 He had to carry His cross to the place of His crucifixion 18:08 He had to carry the cross. 18:10 He didn't want to carry the cross. 18:12 He said, "Father, if it is Thy will, let this cup pass from Me. 18:15 He didn't desire to carry the cross; 18:17 human nature never desires to carry the cross... 18:20 And so in its frailty, in the Adam nature, He said, 18:24 "Father, if it is Thy will, let this cup pass from Me, 18:27 but not My will but Thine be done." 18:30 You see, the reality is... many Christians identify with 18:33 the Jesus that rose victoriously. 18:35 We like to say, "Jesus was victorious," can you say "Amen." 18:40 He is victorious! He was victorious! 18:43 Where I'm headed today is... while we like to identify 18:47 with the Jesus of victory, very few are willing to walk 18:51 the road with the Jesus that was crucified. 18:54 You see, there's an element of 18:56 Christianity that seems to be odd. 18:57 There is an element of Christianity that 18:59 seems to be odd. 19:01 There seems to be an underestimation of the 19:05 Christian value. 19:07 There seems to be a dumbing down of the benefits 19:11 of Christianity. 19:13 Follow me for a moment... 19:16 Allow me to explain it in the context of a basketball player. 19:21 You know, I was explaining in the context of a 19:23 football player, but as I was telling my wife about the 19:26 sermon, she said, "Now do we watch football?" 19:28 I said, "No," she said, "Then talk about 19:30 basketball." 19:31 She said, "We never watch the Super Bowl, so why talking 19:35 about football, talk about basketball." 19:37 So if you wanted me to use the illustration 19:39 of football, my wife changed that. 19:41 Let's consider the context of the Christian life 19:43 in the life of a basketball player and let me preface it by 19:49 simply saying... When you understand the 19:52 value of the victory, there are changes, 19:55 there are patterns, there are regimens 19:58 that take place in your life because of the focus 20:03 that you now have. 20:04 Notice carefully... Consider the basketball player. 20:08 He lays it all on the line just to win - does he not? 20:13 He studies with intensity to discover the secrets of victory. 20:18 He studies the team he is up against. 20:21 He studies the players that he's up against. 20:24 He studies the strategies. 20:26 He looks through the video tapes to determine 20:28 how to defeat those who are going to be the opponent 20:31 in the next game or the next series or the championship. 20:35 He spends time studying. 20:37 He lays his life on the line. 20:39 He conditions his body to withstand 20:41 the demands of the battle. 20:43 He conditions himself, he doesn't take his 20:47 day-to-day for granted. 20:49 He lives a life of daily conditioning. 20:52 He meditates to remove any doubt that he can win the game. 21:01 He meditates to remove any doubt that he can win the game. 21:09 And finally, he refuses to entertain the thought 21:14 of defeat. 21:16 But look at 1 Corinthians 9:25, this puts it all into context. 21:22 1 Corinthians 9:25, look at it... 21:25 He does all that and the Apostle Paul, 21:28 considering the athlete says, "And everyone who competes 21:32 for the prize is temperate in how many things? 21:36 All things... but get this... 21:40 They do it to obtain a perishable crown, 21:44 but we for what kind of crown? An imperishable." 21:48 In other words, they will do all of these things, 21:52 they govern their lives, they create regimens 21:56 in their lives, they create discipline in their lives, 22:00 and they do ALL THAT just to win a gold or a trophy 22:04 or a medal or a championship that only lasts 22:08 for one year at best. 22:11 They do all that and they put themselves in subjection 22:14 of study and meditation and physical conditioning, 22:17 and they refuse to entertain the thought of defeat. 22:19 They do ALL that just to become victorious 22:23 for a perishable crown. 22:27 Paul says... and I'm going to add this, 22:32 I believe this is what he meant, I didn't see it in the verse, 22:36 but I believe this is what he meant. 22:37 I believe he meant that if an athlete is willing to do 22:40 anything that he must do to win, 22:43 we should be willing to do anything that we must do to win. 22:50 We should never entertain the idea that we are going to be 22:53 defeated somewhere or that defeat is imminent. 22:55 If the athlete does that just for his name to shine 22:59 in the light... and you've seen it, you've seen the 23:01 championship games - you may have seen one or two 23:04 or you may have heard about one or two. 23:05 When the championship team wins, they have a gigantic 23:09 celebration, all the confetti and everybody is cheering 23:12 on one side, except those who supported the other team, 23:16 breaking champagne and they're jumping up and down 23:19 and cheering to get their caps and they have the celebration 23:22 that seems to go on and on for about a week, 23:25 and then everybody forgets it. 23:28 And they get you fired up on the commercials, 23:31 buy the championship trophy or the championship 23:33 basketball or the championship cap or the jersey. 23:36 And millions of dollars flow from our pockets to the venders 23:40 just because we want to identify with the championship team, 23:45 but on the other side of that, God doesn't ask for a penny 23:49 out of our pockets to identify with the victorious Jesus. 23:53 Come on somebody! 23:56 But he does say that there ought to be some kind of 24:01 discipline in our lives when we know that we are in the final 24:05 stages of the competition that the battle is intensifying, 24:09 that the enemy or the opponent is doing 24:12 all he can to defeat us. 24:16 There ought to be some determination in us. 24:19 Let me read this... I sent this to somebody 24:22 yesterday... "Nothing so humiliates Satan 24:28 as to lose one soul whom he has counted as his own. 24:34 To have that soul flee to Christ for refuge and lay hold of His 24:41 righteousness causes Satan humiliation and then he 24:46 doubles his efforts to regain the mastery over those who are 24:52 standing under the banner of Jesus Christ. 24:55 Have you been delivered? If you have been, say "Amen." 24:57 Amen! 24:59 Has the devil attacked you since then? Yes, 25:02 Any time - the moment you leave church or I might 25:09 even say - even in church. 25:10 Sometimes you're thinking about the victory and the devil is 25:14 messing with your thoughts; he has entered your mind; 25:18 you come to worship, but you can't come to worship 25:22 because the devil is reminding you of the PAST! 25:25 The failures, the defeats, the things you have fallen short on. 25:30 But I want to tell you today, he can remind us of all he 25:34 wants, but I've got my mind FIXED on eternity! 25:39 I'm telling you today, I can't get there for you, 25:43 you can't get there for me, but we've got to make up 25:47 our minds that no matter who the opponent is, 25:50 or how intense he increases his ability to try to defeat us, 25:57 we've got a God on our side whom the devil 26:00 can never defeat, come on somebody! Amen! 26:05 And anytime the championship game begins, 26:07 we ought to be like the players. 26:09 I've seen these guys, I've looked at some of these 26:11 guys and I gotta include all the sports here, 26:14 but when these superathletes, 26:16 you gotta be good to get to the championship level... 26:19 When these superathletes enter the arena of the 26:22 final competition, there are certain things that they know 26:25 in their minds that drives them, that pushes them... 26:30 They get injured but they don't care about the injury because 26:32 their determination is to win not to fail, 26:36 and I'm going to tell you, if all you thing about 26:38 is yourself, you will fail, 26:40 but if you focus on Jesus, you will win. Amen! 26:43 If all you think about is what I can't do, how I feel, 26:46 where I've been, what I've done, what happened to me, 26:49 you are on the Interstate of I. 26:55 Gotta get off the Interstate of I. 26:57 When the game begins, when the championship game begins, 27:01 whether it's the 7th game in basketball or the Super Bowl 27:04 which is only one game, every player knows 27:08 that there is a trophy waiting for the winning team to claim. 27:12 I'm going to tell you this morning - you may not know it, 27:14 but there's a crown waiting for every one of us to claim. 27:18 They also know that there's a cap with the word 27:21 "champion" embroidered on that. 27:23 Do you know that when the game begins, 27:25 in this locker room, there's a whole box of 27:28 caps that says, "This team wins," and in the other 27:31 locker room, there's a whole box of caps that says, 27:33 "That team wins." 27:34 You can only put the cap on if you win. 27:42 And merchants invest thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands 27:47 of dollars into creating paraphernalia hoping 27:51 that that team might win when 27:56 it turns out that that team wins. 27:59 I want to tell you today, when God sent His Son Jesus, 28:04 hear me carefully... when God sent His Son Jesus, 28:08 He did not invest millions, He invested everything in our 28:13 victory. Amen! 28:17 And He didn't send Jesus hoping that Jesus might win, 28:22 He sent Jesus and He stayed with Him, 28:26 and as long as Jesus was determined to do the 28:29 Father's will, He would come out victorious. 28:32 That's why the victory never comes before the cross. 28:36 The cross always comes before the victory. 28:39 The cross always comes before the victory. 28:43 Look at Luke 9:23- we've got to be willing to carry the cross 28:47 before we experience the victory. 28:51 We've got to be willing to carry the cross 28:54 before we experience the victory. 28:57 Notice Luke 9:23, "And Jesus said to them all... 29:03 And there's a word I'm going to highlight that we've been 29:07 talking about from week-to-week, He says, "If anyone, 29:10 what is the next word? "Desires" to come after Me, 29:14 let him do what? "Deny" himself and take 29:18 up his cross - how often? "Daily" and follow Me." 29:22 We'll never know the power of the cross until we experience 29:25 the death of the cross. 29:27 You'll never know the power until you go through the death. 29:30 Jesus didn't say - "All power is given to Me" until He went 29:34 into the tomb and then rose on the third day. 29:38 He didn't bypass the cross, He went through the cross 29:41 into the tomb, then into eternal victory. 29:44 Notice what the Bible says and this is a very encouraging text. 29:48 Romans 6:5-6, "For if we have been united together in the 29:54 likeness of His what? "Death," what is the very 29:57 next word? What is the next word? 30:00 Certainly not maybe, certainly we also shall be 30:05 in the likeness of His what? "Resurrection." 30:08 In other words, before I go to verse 6, if you're willing 30:11 to enter the death of Christ, you will emerge 30:16 in the life of Christ. 30:19 If you enter the... if you put yourself to death, 30:22 only then will you understand the victory and the power of 30:27 the cross - you can't find it any other way. 30:31 You can't find it any... you could try to find it 30:34 in all kinds of combinations or equations, 30:38 but you can't find the power anyplace else, 30:42 but through the grave, out of the tomb into victory, 30:46 and it all begins on your own "Skull Hill," 30:50 your own "Golgotha Hill," you've got a cross. 30:53 And before I read verse 6, I want to say this... 30:56 You know, at times, there's a severe disservice we 31:00 do to the phrase "the cross." 31:01 People think that "the cross" means "you got burdens," 31:04 that's not what the cross means. 31:06 Burdens are not the cross. 31:09 Hardship in life is not the cross. 31:12 People say, "Oh I got my cross to bear." 31:15 That's not a cross. 31:16 The cross in the Bible means "self-sacrifice." 31:21 Putting self to death... Jesus didn't say, 31:25 "Oh man, it's so hard living in Nazareth." 31:31 Jesus didn't say, "The Pharisees are making me sick." 31:37 Jesus was born with the fact that the cross is before Him, 31:42 and everything around Him was subject to the journey, 31:45 and then the destiny. 31:47 You see, if we get rid of all the little irritations of life, 31:52 and this is what the life is, He said, Jesus said, 31:54 "In this world you will have tribulation." 31:57 Do you have tribulation? Yes! 31:59 That's the part, that's this life, 32:01 that's just what happens here. 32:02 It's going to happen, we are in enemy's territory, 32:05 he doesn't like us. 32:06 But the cross He talks about is not the difficulty 32:10 you face on Monday to Thursday... 32:12 The cross He talks about is... Are you willing to be so 32:16 dead to self... This is deep. 32:18 Are you so willing to be dead to self - that when an 32:21 offence comes you way, it doesn't change your focus 32:26 about eternity. 32:30 Because you know the devil will irritate you if he 32:33 could change your focus about eternity and when he irritates 32:36 you and you lose your focus, you forget about eternity, 32:39 and you go back to your mirror and there you are 32:41 "I" back to yourself... that's the real battle. 32:45 That's why He says in verse 6, "Knowing this, 32:49 that our old man was crucified with Him. 32:53 Until that old man us crucified, you'll never know 32:56 the power of the cross, that the body of sin, 32:59 that ruling power, might be done away with that we should 33:02 no longer be slaves to sin. 33:05 Sin is a ruling power and I gotta make this very clear. 33:08 I don't want this to flow off of you just by 33:10 a whole group of Scriptures, I want to make this very clear. 33:13 When sin is in control, self is the central focus. 33:18 When sin is in control, it's all about me. 33:28 When Christ is in control, it's no longer about me. 33:34 Let's go back to our Scripture reading. 33:36 Look at this... That's why you gotta get 33:39 out of the way - until self is put to death, 33:41 we will always have self to contend with. 33:43 That's why the Apostle Paul wrote this... 33:46 We're talking about crucifixion, the old man 33:48 being crucified, carrying our cross and putting self to death. 33:51 Now when self is put to death, then we can say as 33:54 Galatians 2:20... Look at this again. 33:56 Now we look at this from different eyes. 33:59 "I, together, I am crucified how? 34:04 With Christ, nevertheless, what? 34:08 I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth where? 34:13 In Me and the life which I now live in the flesh, 34:18 I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved Me 34:23 and gave Himself for Me." 34:25 Let me make this clear... 34:27 See, I have been crucified. Let me break this... 34:29 What has been crucified? 34:31 What has been? SELF has been crucified! 34:35 So when it says, "Nevertheless I live," it doesn't 34:38 mean self-lives. 34:40 It means, "I'm still alive." 34:42 But the ruling power, the focus has completely changed 34:47 from a "me" central focus, an "I" centered focus, 34:51 to a "Him" centered focus. 35:04 And when the focus is no longer on us... let make that 35:07 When the focus is no longer on you... 35:10 When the focus... The secret to my joy, 35:14 can I reveal this? 35:15 The secret to the joy that I've been having... 35:17 I feel a little excited... 35:20 The reason why I feel the way I do, 35:24 and I'm using the word "feel," 35:26 the reason why I'm in the joy that I'm in is because 35:30 I realize it ain't about me, it's about Jesus. Amen! 35:38 Cause you know what, the devil can go into my file, 35:46 which is 50+ years long, that's all I'm giving you, 35:51 and pull out junk... come on now, you all got junk, 35:57 Pastor C.A. - we all got junk. Right? Amen! 36:00 You got junk - I got junk. You stuff - I got stuff. 36:05 He could spend so much time throwing your stuff at you 36:10 that you can't see nothing but stuff coming, 36:14 and you start catching stuff and looking at stuff, 36:20 and remembering stuff and thinking about the stuff that 36:24 happened to you or the stuff that is happening to you, 36:27 and you forget about Jesus... 36:30 and then all of a sudden you have a birthday party, 36:35 it's called an "I birthday party," 36:37 you only invite one person, yourself... 36:41 it's called a "pity party." 36:43 and you spend all your time lamenting all the failures 36:47 of your life rather than saying, "as Jesus said, "If the world 36:56 hates you - if the devil hates you - remember he hated Me 37:00 before he hated you. 37:03 He wants to keep the Jesus out of us. 37:06 And nothing is more irritating, as I said in that quotation... 37:10 Nothing is more irritating to the devil than to know that 37:13 somebody has been rescued from his hands... 37:17 Nothing humiliates him more than to know that we 37:20 are no longer focusing on ourselves, 37:23 but we're now focusing on Jesus. 37:26 Can I make it even clearer? 37:28 Don't even let the offences become personal 37:32 because the devil wouldn't come after you 37:35 to try to make you upset if he didn't believe that 37:38 you are a child of God. 37:39 He doesn't waste time with people that don't claim Jesus. 37:42 That's why we look at the world... 37:43 If you read the Psalm of Asaph, Asaph was distracted by 37:48 the wealthy - he saw all their success and he wondered why 37:53 he couldn't have that kind of success. 37:55 He saw all their fame, he even said that 37:57 "in their death there are no pangs." 38:00 He said, "They have more knowledge that even God has," 38:03 because they look like they were just so successful 38:06 with no problems, no hardships of life, 38:10 no bills that couldn't be paid... 38:13 He got caught up in all that until God said, 38:16 "Asaph, come into the sanctuary and let Me show 38:20 you their end," and when Asaph saw the end of the wicked, 38:25 he said, "I got it." 38:28 So I want to say it as my dear brother, 38:29 Elder Brooks would say it... 38:34 cause that was a profound statement that I'm about to say. 38:36 He says, "It doesn't make sense to live in hell, 38:39 go through hell and end up in hell." 38:44 This world is... there's hell all around us. 38:49 We might think that Thompsonville is 38:53 exempt from that... don't fool yourself. 38:56 You can go to the north, to the south, 38:58 to the east, to the west, it's all around us. 39:01 It's in our homes, it's in our families, 39:03 it's in what we watch, it's in what we listen to, 39:06 it's in what we concentrate on... 39:08 And we try to live this Christian-centered life 39:10 during the week while hell is being shot at us in 39:14 every direction and where you get thrown off course 39:17 is when you think it's all about you and you fail 39:21 to realize that the only purpose for all that difficulty 39:25 is to get you off-centered from looking at Christ. 39:29 That's why He says, "Look unto Me, and be saved." 39:33 "Look unto Me, the author and finisher of your faith." 39:36 We gotta keep our minds focused on Christ. 39:38 Come on, somebody say "Amen." Amen! 39:40 It can't be about you because you know why? 39:43 You're a vapor - you're here today whooh... 39:48 I thought, "Man, if I live to be 100, 39:50 I got almost 50 years left! 39:56 Not so bad, 100- that's a long time. 40:00 But then I turned to the right and I saw this word called, 40:02 "eternity," and I said, "Wait a minute, I like that 40:06 better than 100." Come on somebody! Amen! 40:08 That's a whole lot more enjoyable 40:09 than 100 and you know what? 40:11 We're not going to go through eternity with aches and pains, 40:14 and hardship and difficulty, we're going to go 40:18 through eternity with none of the former things 40:22 ever being brought back to our minds - praise God for that! 40:25 Sometimes we say we're Christians and somebody says, 40:29 "Well why is the guy that's not a Christian seem so much 40:33 more happy than you?" 40:42 The Lord has given us the promise that 40:47 if we focus on Him, the image that He has, thank you Jesus, 40:53 will one day be the image that we reflect and let me give you 41:01 the caveat - Not in eternity but here and now. Amen! 41:07 1 Corinthians 15:49, look at it. "The transformation that 41:11 takes place in us is profound." 41:13 I'm going to move a little quicker... 41:16 I might do some jumping, but I know I'd rather be moving, 41:19 keep up with me. 41:21 The transformation that takes place in us is profound. 41:26 The promise that the Lord made and, by the way, 41:28 1 Corinthians 15 is a chapter of promises. 41:31 He says in verse 49... 41:43 We used to look like Adam, 41:44 but now we could look like Jesus. 41:48 We used to be distraught like Adam, heading for the grave, 41:51 now we're heading for the resurrection. 42:01 But in order for the image of Christ to be seen in us, 42:04 we have to get rid of the image of self. 42:07 We have to be willing to put self to death. 42:15 You see, when Jesus came... Jesus came not just to 42:19 forgive sins - somebody asked me this question once. 42:22 If Jesus could forgive sin, why did He have 42:24 to come to this earth? 42:26 Why couldn't He just forgive sin and not have to die? 42:30 I said, "Jesus didn't just come to forgive sin..." 42:33 2 Corinthians 5:21 says... 42:43 Jesus didn't come just to forgive sin, 42:46 He came to trade places with us. 42:50 He came to take MY struggles, My nature, go to MY cross, 42:56 DIE for MY SIN and to forgive MY SINS, 43:01 and then give me HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS 43:03 and HIS GLORY, and HIS FREEDOM. 43:06 He didn't just come to die, He didn't just come 43:09 to forgive sins - He could have done that by email. 43:12 Your sins are forgiven you... your sins are forgiven you. 43:15 He could have done that from a distance, 43:16 but He came to take our place. 43:17 He came to become what we were born as, 43:20 to take us off of the "I-Way" of self. 43:24 So when the fullness of time came, God sent forth 43:28 His Son born under that law. 43:30 He was born under law, not under the Ten Commandments 43:33 or the Ceremonial Law, He was born under the 43:35 law of sin that held onto every human being from the 43:39 day of creation, from the fall of man. 43:43 Every human born was held under the law of sin. 43:49 And Jesus knew that they couldn't free themselves 43:54 from the law of sin, so He came - He came 43:58 not only to take our place, but here's what gave me joy... 44:02 Every sin that Adam failed in, Jesus was victorious in. 44:08 Every temptation that Adam faced, Jesus endured. 44:13 Every trial that overcame Adam, Jesus overcame... 44:18 But even deeper than that, hear me carefully... 44:21 Every sin that we would EVER commit was laid on Jesus. 44:26 Every sin that is in the past, 44:28 and every sin that is in the future, Jesus made provision 44:32 for those not only to be forgiven, but to overcome. 44:37 Look at Isaiah 53, you know the text. 44:41 Isaiah 53- go there quickly with me. 44:46 Sometimes you can't preach, you gotta teach... 44:49 I'm teaching today, but I forgot my glove. 44:54 Does anybody have a glove? 44:56 Surely somebody has to have a glove - it's cold outside. 45:02 Forgot my glove. 45:04 But look at Isaiah 53:5-6 45:40 I used the illustration once with a glove, 45:43 and you've seen a glove before, so I don't have one visible, 45:46 but I want to just make the illustration very, very clear. 45:49 The glove represents us, the glove has no 45:52 power in and of itself, but it does have a function. 45:56 We have no power in and of ourselves but we do have a 46:00 function in God's eternal plan. 46:04 Yet when the Lord enters into our lives, it makes the glove 46:09 look as though it is alive, but it really has 46:11 no life in and of itself... 46:12 But Christ moves in and gives it a power that 46:15 it has never known, and this glove that was an 46:19 inanimate object unable to do anything but just lay there, 46:23 the hand now enters into that glove 46:25 as Jesus enters into our lives and gives us a power 46:29 that we have never known and He begins to work out His will 46:34 in us - then He begins to work out His will for us... 46:39 Then He begins to work out His will through us. 46:43 Let me say that again... 46:44 First He begins to work out His will where? IN US.. 46:48 Then He works out His will FOR US. 46:51 Then and only then can He work out His will THROUGH US. 46:55 You see, until self is put to death, 46:59 there's no room for Christ to come in 47:02 until we are no longer the focus and we leave sometimes... 47:05 the first thing we often do after the service is 47:07 ...what's going to happen this week? How am I going to make it? 47:10 Where am I going to get a job? 47:12 How am I going to make ends meet? 47:14 How is this relationship going to work out? 47:16 What's going to happen with so-and-so? 47:18 We dive into the caldron of self-focused issues 47:23 and forget who we are in the presence of Christ. 47:28 I'm going to go to 1 Peter 2:9... to let you see 47:31 the transformation that takes place when 47:34 "I" is put to death, Christ comes in and He 47:37 doesn't just forgive our sins... 47:39 He doesn't just deliver us from the power of sin, 47:42 but He changes our standing in the 47:45 presence of our Heavenly Father. 47:48 Notice what He does... and I believe that if 47:50 we understood this the way that it's intended to be understood, 47:52 I believe that we would have a lot more joy in our position 47:56 before God - I believe if we knew who we are in 47:59 the sight of God, this would bring us reasons to rejoice. 48:03 Notice what He says in 1 Peter 2:9... 48:05 He says, "But you are a what kind of generation? 48:08 CHOSEN GENERATION, a ROYAL priesthood, 48:12 a holy nation, His own special people, 48:15 but get this... 48:18 That you may proclaim or show forth the praises of 48:22 Him who called you out of WHAT? Darkness into 48:27 this what? MARVELOUS LIGHT." 48:30 The marvelous light that He brings us into is not just 48:34 INCLUDING marvelous teachings, but it's Jesus. 48:39 Jesus - He said, "I am the light of the world." 48:42 And then He says, in His absence, 48:44 "Let your light so shine." 48:46 You see this thing called, "Christianity" 48:48 is not a second chance to do what we couldn't do 48:51 the first time, but it is an opportunity 48:55 to see that self has been crucified and when self 49:00 is crucified, our darkness is removed... 49:04 The light of the world comes in and I'm going to tell you, 49:07 even if all you are is a pumpkin, if you put a candle 49:11 on the inside - somebody is going to see your light. 49:16 But I ain't a pumpkin, I'm a child of God... 49:18 Come on, say Amen! Amen! 49:20 When Jesus moves in, you don't see the sad face 49:23 carved out by Satan, you see the joy - the Joy! 49:27 What happens to the joy that's supposed to be 49:29 in the Christian's life?. Happy Sabbath 49:38 And then you go downtown to the football arena... 49:41 "HEY was" - people are infused with this passion 49:45 that you wonder - "Where is it coming from?" 49:48 If people can get that excited about things that are 49:51 going to pass away in a matter of hours, 49:55 why cannot a Christian exude with joy? 49:59 I'm not talking about the "prosperity gospel," 50:03 I'm talking about the gospel of Jesus... 50:05 Why cannot we celebrate our deliverance in Christ? 50:09 We ain't destined for hell once we're in Jesus, 50:14 we're destined for heaven. 50:17 You see, the power of sin has been broken, 50:20 and Jesus is the power that moves in. 50:22 The control of sin is removed, Jesus moves in and 50:26 takes control, sin no longer dominates us... 50:29 Jesus is the one calling the shots. 50:32 Sin no longer commands us, Jesus is the new commander 50:35 in our lives. 50:37 Sin no longer has authority. 50:38 Jesus is the only authority in our lives. 50:48 Jesus moves in and changes the old "I" 50:51 in the process of His work for "It is God who works in us 50:56 both to will and to do of His good pleasure." Amen somebody. 51:01 "And He who has begun this work in you will complete it." 51:04 He will finish that work but look at Philippians... 51:06 You've read this before, but today I believe 51:08 you're going to see it quite differently. 51:10 Look at Philippians 4:13, a text that you know by heart! 51:17 And I'm going to preface this by saying... 51:19 "This text could not be true unless the old "I" has 51:23 been put to death and the Lord has given a new power 51:27 to the new "I" because before, you couldn't 51:32 do anything. 51:33 But it is amazing that Paul begins with this verse... 51:37 He begins this verse with the letter "I" 51:40 What does he say, together, together... 51:42 "I," together, "I," one more time, 51:47 I want to hear that, "I" can do all things HOW? 51:51 Through Christ who strengthens me." 51:55 How much can I do? Come on now... 51:57 ALL things! 51:59 How could this "I" who failed become an "I" that succeeds? 52:02 How could this "I" who had experienced defeat 52:04 become this "I" who experiences victory? 52:07 How could this "I" who was bound be the "I" 52:09 that is set free? 52:11 How could this "I" that failed be the "I" that knows the joy 52:15 and the power of victory? How could it be? 52:18 Because Christ has come in and given the "I" the glove of me, 52:25 a new power that I've never known before. 52:27 You see brothers and sisters, when we become the new "I," 52:30 there's a change in every area of our lives. 52:35 As I begin to close... 52:37 The change has come here, we begin to love the things 52:42 we hated and we begin to hate the things we love. 52:47 We embrace the life we despised and we DISPISE the life 52:52 that we once embraced. 52:55 We change our direction and we experience transformation 53:01 in our affections. 53:04 I want to make sure that I end on the right note... 53:08 You see, the new "I" can now do, hear me carefully, 53:13 look up, this is the close... 53:15 The new "I" can now do what the old "I" could never do, 53:20 and now the new "I" is not focusing on what I failed, 53:25 but the new "I" can say with confidence, 53:27 look at the last text... 2 Timothy 4:7-8, 53:31 the new "I" could now say this with confidence 53:37 Thank you Jesus. 53:42 What does he say, together... "I have fought a good fight, 53:48 I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 53:55 You couldn't say that if you were still living in the old "I" 53:58 because the old "I" couldn't fight. 54:00 The old "I" couldn't finish anything. 54:02 The old "I" had no faith, but until the new "I" 54:05 has been filled by Christ, and the old "I" has been 54:10 put to death, now we have a better looking forward. 54:13 Notice verse 8, he says, Finally... together, "Finally 54:18 there is laid up for me a what? Crown of righteousness 54:22 which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 54:26 will give to me on that day and not to me only, 54:31 but unto all those that what? Love His appearing." 54:37 Dwight D. Eisenhower created the Interstate in America. 54:41 Jesus created the Interstate to Eternity. 54:47 He says it's a little narrow highway... 54:50 It's a little narrow highway... 54:54 and I'm going to tell you today, there's enough space on 54:57 that little narrow highway for every one of us 55:00 to leave the old "I" and get on the new "I." 55:05 Put the old "I" to death and travel with Christ 55:09 as the central focus. 55:10 "It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me." 55:15 I now have a new power, a power to be 55:17 delivered from the old "I." 55:19 I don't look at life with failure anymore. 55:21 I don't look at life as obstacles 55:22 anymore... I don't look at life as... 55:24 "it cannot happen that way anymore." 55:25 I look at "I can do all things through Christ 55:28 who strengthens me," not prosperity, 55:31 but victory in Jesus. 55:33 So today, the moment we say the benediction, 55:38 a new battle is going to begin, but that battle 55:42 can only have its way over us if we still allow the things 55:46 that occur following this service to be all about us. 55:51 Is it about us? No, it's about Jesus. 55:57 If it's about you, it's going to be a burden. 56:00 If it's about you, it's going to be nothing 56:01 but sadness. 56:04 If it is about you, it's going to be nothing 56:06 but defeat and a looking back at the failures and the 56:09 obstacles that were there before, 56:11 but if it's about Christ, we will go from victory 56:17 to victory. 56:18 Even in the midst of the battles, 56:21 we'll find that in Christ we can have that deliverance 56:25 today - don't want to go back, I want to go forward in Christ. 56:31 Anybody else today - I want to pray for you. Lord Jesus... 56:38 As I pray, I'm going to ask you to stand... 56:46 Our Heavenly Father, 56:55 The gospel is simple but profound... 57:00 How can an old I become a new I? 57:05 How can we overcome the obstacles that have hindered 57:10 our progress and now face the battles that we have 57:15 been exposed to with the assurance of victory. 57:20 How can we find strength and deliverance 57:26 in every area of our lives? 57:28 How can we leave the old past buried and walk into the 57:34 irresistible future? 57:35 How can we abandon the irreversible past? 57:40 Lord Jesus, today help us to realize it's not about us, 57:45 but the benefit is for everyone of us. 57:51 Jesus wants to not just deliver us and forgive our sins, 57:55 but He wants to give us a walk of joy, a walk of power, 57:59 a walk of freedom and today, Lord Jesus, we pray that 58:03 every one of us can experience that in our own lives. 58:07 So come and speak to us today at the point of our need, 58:10 help us to shake off the old I, to open our hearts to Christ, 58:16 invite Him to come in and to transform the journey that 58:20 lays before us. 58:23 So today, Father, we give You that privilege, 58:26 we open the door with joy to find that You are our ONLY hope, 58:32 our ONLY safety. 58:35 Help us to find victory at the base of our Christianity 58:38 that one day we will stand at the summit of our Christianity, 58:43 and we give You the Praise and the Glory and the Honor 58:45 in Jesus name... Amen |
Revised 2017-10-25