Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000159A
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00:20 Hello, and welcome to our Wednesday night Bible study
00:23 here at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:24 We welcome you with a hearty amen. 00:26 Can we all say amen? 00:27 Amen! 00:29 And we are thankful that you have taken the time 00:30 to tune in for this very thought provoking study 00:34 on the Anatomy of Righteousness. 00:37 You know many people desire to be righteous. 00:39 Many people desire to have freedom. 00:42 Many people desire to live their lives 00:46 above the power of sin. 00:48 But lot times we don't know how? 00:50 And so I think that, the most important study 00:53 that any one can enter into is about sin. 00:56 Since sin is the only thing that can keep us out of heaven. 01:02 And so, we're gonna continue our study tonight. 01:04 In just a moment, I'll tell you how to get a copy of the lesson 01:06 and how to follow along, 01:08 but we thank you for taken the time to join us 01:10 and before we even sing our theme song, 01:13 we are all going to begin with a word of prayer. 01:15 Let's bow our heads together. 01:17 Loving Father in heaven, we thank You 01:19 for the opportunity for the time 01:21 for this just presented privilege 01:24 to open Your Word and study it together. 01:27 Guide our minds tonight, 01:29 may we not only hear 01:31 what the spirit has to say to the church, 01:33 but may we hear what the spirit has to say to us. 01:36 And we thank You, Lord, that You'll speak to us 01:39 and then You'll impart to us 01:41 the strength that we are in need of, 01:42 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 01:47 Now if you like a copy of the lesson. 01:48 It is lesson number 38. 01:50 Go to this following website. 01:51 It is ASF.3ABN.org. 01:55 Download lesson number 38. 01:56 What number did I say? 01:58 Thirty eight. Number 38. 01:59 And it is The Anatomy of Righteousness, 02:01 and tonight we're gonna begin on number 13, 02:04 but first we sing our song and our song is entitled, 02:08 what is the title of our song? 02:10 Victory! Victory in Jesus. 02:13 Let's sing the song together. 02:29 I heard an old, old story 02:32 How the Savior came from glory 02:36 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:40 To save a wretch like me 02:44 I heard about His groaning 02:47 Of His precious blood's atoning 02:51 Then I repented of my sin 02:55 And won the victory 02:59 O victory in Jesus 03:03 My Savior, forever 03:06 He sought me and bought me 03:10 With His redeeming blood 03:14 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:18 And all my love is due Him 03:21 He plunged me to victory 03:25 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:29 I heard about a mansion 03:33 He has built for me in glory 03:37 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:40 Beyond the crystal sea 03:44 About the angels singing 03:48 And the old redemption story 03:52 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 03:56 The song of victory 03:58 Key change. 03:59 O victory in Jesus 04:03 My Savior, forever 04:07 He sought me and bought me 04:11 With His redeeming blood 04:14 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:18 And all my love is due Him 04:22 He plunged me to victory 04:26 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:29 He plunged me to victory 04:33 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:40 Amen. 04:42 Plunge me to victory, beneath the cleansing flood. 04:47 Now this song is more than a theme song, 04:50 but it is in fact, 04:52 the focal point of our program Victory in...? 04:55 Victory in Jesus. 04:56 And we have been walking through 04:58 The Anatomy of Righteousness 05:01 for now two studies, 05:02 and tonight we're gonna dive into the third part, 05:05 but I want to lay some foundation. 05:07 And I want to talk about slavery for a moment. 05:13 Slavery. 05:15 Slavery is a plight in any society. 05:20 You know, in America 05:21 there's a prior history of slavery. 05:24 Even today in this modern age there are slaves, 05:27 there are sweatshops slaves. 05:30 There are people that are involved in children slavery, 05:37 then there are those that are sex slaves, 05:40 people being transformed 05:43 or they're transport from one country to another 05:46 and sold on the black market. 05:49 There are forms of slavery still in existence today. 05:53 You know, when I read the Book of Revelation, 05:55 every slave man and every free man, 05:57 I thought, why would the Lord say 05:59 that way down toward the end, 06:01 while there will be slaves all the way to the very end. 06:04 And it's a terrible thing, 06:06 but what I learned about it also is, 06:08 it's very closely associated with sin. 06:12 When you think about slavery, it has a life all of its own 06:15 because there is a master and then there is a slave. 06:19 There is the person who is the one calling the shots 06:24 and the other one who has no choice but to follow 06:27 or to comply 06:30 with what is being enforced or forced on them. 06:33 And when the Bible talks about sin, 06:35 it talks about it pretty much the same way. 06:38 Now, we're going to get into that. 06:39 I want to get into that too soon, 06:40 but I want to lay that foundation tonight 06:42 because there's a text in John 8 that says, 06:47 "He who the Son sets free is, together, 06:51 free indeed." 06:53 Now the natural deduction will be, 06:58 is Satan a larger or stronger slave master 07:02 than Jesus is able to free us? 07:07 And the answer is no. 07:08 If that were in fact the case, 07:10 then there would be no salvation 07:11 because no one would be able to be saved 07:14 because Satan would bind everyone into slavery, 07:18 but Jesus can set us free greater than Satan can bind us. 07:22 So the question is, on that very note, 07:25 why is it that those so few of us 07:27 experience lasting freedom? 07:30 Why is it that we battle with so many things 07:32 that tend to enslave us? 07:34 We're going to talk about that how to not only be set free 07:39 but to be made free. 07:41 How not only to proclaim that we have been delivered, 07:44 but how to remain delivered, 07:46 because a prisoner that's been set free from death row, 07:49 I could be honest with you, 07:51 they're not looking forward to going back, right? 07:54 And a person whose sentence has been commuted 07:59 is not looking forward to going back. 08:02 They don't want the word recidivism 08:04 to be in their future. 08:05 I am not going back, I'm out, I'm staying out 08:09 but, you know, there are many that go back. 08:13 There are many that end up in there 08:15 because here's the key. 08:17 They have not learned the life of freedom. 08:22 To be made free is learning the life of freedom, 08:27 so it's not enough to be saved from death row, 08:30 but you have to learn the life of freedom. 08:35 And there's a life that comes with freedom. 08:37 There's a walk that comes with freedom, 08:40 not just I'm free. 08:42 Will go ahead and live the way that you live before. 08:44 There's a life that comes along with freedom. 08:46 So tonight I want to talk about the intimate connection 08:48 that starts that life. 08:50 And we're going to go kind of back and forth in the topic 08:52 because as we go into it, 08:54 then we're gonna pause along the way to see 08:56 why what we just read 08:57 is vitally important for us to understand and to store. 09:01 Let's go to question number 13 tonight, 09:04 and the question is... 09:06 The question is: 09:10 How will the Lord produce righteousness in us? 09:16 How will the Lord produce righteousness in us? 09:21 Very important to know. 09:22 How will the Lord produce righteousness in us? 09:27 Let's go to John 15:5, 09:29 John 15 and what verse? 09:33 John 15:5. 09:38 Okay. 09:43 Okay. 09:44 Now this whole passage here, 09:46 it talks about Jesus being the vine, 09:50 we are the branches 09:52 Well, let's walk through this together. 09:55 Because it talks about it in a number of ways 10:00 starting with verse 1, 10:03 "I am the true vine, My Father is the vinedresser. 10:09 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit..." 10:12 What does he do? 10:14 "He takes away, 10:15 and every branch that bears fruit 10:19 He prunes, that it may bear more." 10:22 Let me pause there for a brief movement, 10:24 because let's look at verse 5 10:25 and then I'll come back since it's on the screen. 10:28 Read this together. 10:29 "I am the vine..." 10:30 You are the what? 10:32 "Branches. 10:33 He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears" what? 10:37 "Much fruit; for without Me you can do" what? 10:40 "You can do nothing." 10:41 So if you want to write the answer in there, 10:43 how will the Lord produce righteousness in us? 10:48 He is the vine, we are the branches, 10:50 remain connected. 10:52 And the word that indicates remain connected is what word? 10:56 Abide. Abide. 10:58 The word abide is a... 10:59 It's a bigger word than just get connected. 11:02 Abide is kind of like buying a couch 11:04 and just laying on it. 11:07 Just, you just sink into it. 11:09 It's like a recliner 11:11 that you just love to lay on it, you abide. 11:15 You know, I did that today, I was going this morning, 11:17 going this afternoon, and when my wife came home, 11:20 when Angie walked in, I was on my La-Z-Boy recliner. 11:23 We call that our sleeping pill. 11:25 You lean back on that, 11:26 in just a matter of minutes you're gone. 11:29 It just relaxes the body. 11:31 Some of us don't know what it means 11:33 to abide in Jesus. 11:35 But John, the reason why 11:37 he was the perfect one to write this is 11:41 because he was the one that leaned on Jesus' breast. 11:45 He leaned on the chest of Jesus. 11:46 He found as the youngest disciple, 11:48 he found his comfort in leaning on Jesus. 11:52 And so he was the perfect one to write this, 11:54 to inspire and write this. 11:55 When you abide in the Father, when you abide in Christ, 11:59 you are able to bear fruit. 12:00 But it also says in verse 2, that when you bear fruit... 12:04 Now, this is the part that we don't often grab. 12:07 When we bear fruit, 12:08 what does he do according to verse 2? 12:11 "Every branch that bears fruit, he what? 12:15 15:2 "Every branch that bears fruit," 12:18 what does he do? 12:20 No, "Every branch that bears fruit," 12:24 he does what? 12:26 "He prunes." 12:28 Prunes, a good word is prunes. 12:31 Have you seen a person pruning trees? 12:33 What do they do? 12:34 They cut the branches shorter, they cut the leaves back, 12:37 and so sometimes 12:39 when the pruning process happens in our lives, 12:42 I want to point this out very carefully, 12:44 because sometimes we are producing fruit, 12:46 but the Lord says, but you can produce more. 12:49 So He allows first a pruning process to happen to us. 12:53 He allows a trial to come, a difficulty to come, 12:56 and we think that, 12:57 well, the Lord is allowing us to go through hardship. 12:59 No. 13:00 It's called pruning, 13:01 but how will that pruning be necessary? 13:03 How will that pruning be accomplished 13:05 unless there are hurdles in our lives, 13:08 obstacles in our lives, 13:10 something to call out our faith and our patience? 13:13 But the point that we're trying to make here 13:15 is not only does it produce righteousness, 13:20 but when we are pruned, it produces even more fruit. 13:24 In other words, a person becomes more effective 13:26 as a Christian 13:27 after they go through difficulty 13:29 than they were before. 13:30 But can we produce any righteousness without Christ? 13:32 Yes or no? No. 13:33 Absolutely no, we cannot at all. 13:35 Let's go to number 14. 13:37 It's not possible. 13:38 It is not possible. 13:42 Not possible at all. 13:46 Okay, not possible at all. 13:51 Question number 14. 13:53 Question number 14. 13:55 We're going to dive into the Book of Romans. 13:57 Why is human nature helpless? 14:00 Why is human nature helpless 14:04 when it comes to controlling sin? 14:08 Romans 7, we're going to read a few verses, Romans 7. 14:15 I've said this before 14:16 but it bears repeating right here, 14:18 Romans 7. 14:20 Romans 7 is the book written by the Apostle Paul 14:24 after he was converted, 14:27 not before he was converted. 14:29 And let me tell you why, 14:30 and how do the Bible writers know. 14:33 You will never have a conflict with sin 14:35 until you are converted. 14:39 Because you won't even desire to get rid of it. 14:43 When you are aware of it, now the battle begins. 14:46 Lot of times Christians believe that 14:47 when I become a Christian the battle is over. 14:49 No, that's when the battle begins, 14:53 because now you've got the reality that, 14:57 okay, there is the law, but here I am. 15:01 The law is holy, just and good, 15:03 I am carnal, sold unto sin. 15:08 So I am aware of the standard now. 15:12 It's like a guy that joins a... 15:13 A guy that loves to play basketball, 15:16 and he's put on a team one day, 15:18 and he realizes there is the head coach, 15:21 there is the general manager, 15:23 he has to now play by the rules. 15:25 He can't just run up and down the court. 15:27 He might like to shoot like I do. 15:31 You know, I always say, you never win by dribbling. 15:34 But the coach may say, 15:35 we don't want you to take that shot, 15:37 but you want to take the shot, but he said no. 15:39 And I heard one coach saying, this fits in Christianity. 15:43 I heard one coach once said, 15:45 "Give me an average player that I could coach 15:48 that's willing to listen to instruction 15:50 rather than a good player 15:52 that doesn't want to take instruction." 15:55 And so there are those who believe 15:56 that they're good enough, they don't want instruction, 15:58 Paul makes it very clear that the battle begins 16:01 when we become aware that God's law is there. 16:04 Look at this, Romans 7:8. 16:07 Let's start there, Romans 7:8. 16:09 Okay. 16:11 He says, "But sin, 16:14 taking opportunity by the commandment, 16:17 produced in me all manner of" what? 16:20 "Evil desire." 16:23 Underline that word desire. 16:25 If you have a King James Version, 16:26 it might say the word lust. 16:27 It's the same thing lust and desire. 16:29 But I want to show you how desire is powerful 16:32 and therefore "For apart from the law sin was" what? 16:35 "Sin was dead." 16:37 In other words, until I found out about the law, 16:39 I don't even know what sin was. 16:42 See if you're in Germany 16:43 and you're driving on the autobahn, 16:44 you love the autobahn because there is what? 16:48 No speed limit, 16:49 but a German that comes over here 16:51 and lands in St. Louis, rents a Mercedes 16:54 and he's doing 85, 90, 100 miles an hour on 64, 16:58 and he gets pulled over 17:00 and he says to the police, "I'm German." 17:01 He said, "But you're in America." 17:03 Right? 17:04 The difference is, what's the difference? 17:06 There's a law and he says, "But I'm a German citizen." 17:10 He said, "But you're on American roads." 17:13 Until the law, 17:15 I was free 17:17 until you told me about the law. 17:19 For apart from the law, sin was what? 17:22 Dead. 17:24 For without the speed limit, 17:25 there was no such thing as a law to say I'm speeding. 17:28 That's what it's in essence of being said. 17:30 So Paul when he became aware of the commandments, 17:32 all of a sudden he is now dead, 17:35 because the wages of sin is death. 17:38 And what is sin? 17:39 Sin is the transgression of the law, 17:41 so the law that was now transgressed 17:44 brings him to the point of death 17:46 because he now knows the wages of breaking that is death. 17:52 And that's why he says, 17:53 "For apart from the law, sin was dead." 17:56 But when I became aware of the law, I die. 18:01 Look at the next verse, verse 18. 18:03 Look at verse 18. 18:05 He makes it really clear. 18:07 And I'm picking verses out of here, 18:09 but I'll come back to some of the ones 18:11 that are between that, all right? 18:14 He says, "For I know that in me," that is where? 18:17 "In my flesh" how much? 18:20 "Nothing good dwells, for to will..." 18:23 Now, I want you to write the word down will 18:26 and then the word desire, 18:28 because those two words are very powerful 18:30 when it comes to this whole equation 18:32 of how to be victorious. 18:33 "For to will is present with me, 18:36 but how to perform what is good..." 18:38 What did he say? 18:39 "I do not find." 18:41 In other words, I can't figure it out. 18:43 I know what I want to do, but I can't figure it out. 18:47 I can't find it. 18:49 In other words, I'm in the dark about this one. 18:51 And Paul was very capable of doing a lot of things 18:53 but he said, when it comes to being victorious, 18:54 in this area I can't figure out how to do it. 18:57 Now, we gonna dive past this in just a moment here. 18:59 Now, let's get to third verse and then I'm going to answer... 19:02 Then we're gonna put the answer in. 19:03 Verse 20 now. 19:05 He says, "Now if I do what I will not to do..." 19:11 Verse 20, look at that. 19:13 "If I do what I will not to do, 19:16 it is no longer I who do it," 19:18 but look at that scripture, 19:19 "It is no longer I who do it but" what? 19:22 "Sin that dwells" where? 19:24 "In me." 19:26 He says, I am not the one doing it, 19:28 it's the sin that dwells in me, 19:30 so what in essence is he saying? 19:32 What in essence is he saying? 19:33 He's saying, I'm helpless. 19:36 I don't want to do it, but it's the sin that's in me. 19:40 I don't want to do it, but it's the sin that's where? 19:42 In me. 19:44 Sin and sometimes we complain about the sin around us, 19:48 that's not the issue, 19:50 the issue is a sin that's where? 19:51 In us. 19:52 As one person said, 19:54 "All the water in the world cannot sink your ship 19:57 if it stays on the outside." 20:01 So don't be afraid of the size of the ocean, 20:03 just keep the water out. 20:06 When it comes to the life of sin, 20:09 that sin was in there from the day we were born. 20:13 It was in there. 20:15 It was where? 20:16 In there, like that Prego commercial, 20:18 it's in there. 20:19 It was in there from the day we were born, 20:21 and that's why the Lord allows a baby to be born small 20:24 because they either develop, 20:25 and don't miss this point, 20:27 you either, you don't naturally develop, 20:29 you don't become good. 20:32 You don't become good over the course of period, 20:34 over the course of time, because the Bible says, 20:36 there is none that is good, no not, not one. 20:39 So you don't grow into goodness, 20:42 you just get bad, you just get worse, 20:44 you just get rotten, like a spoiled... 20:47 You heard it said, spoiled brat, 20:50 sometimes you say that about an adult. 20:52 I'm not pointing at anybody, 20:54 because I don't want to make that point, 20:56 but some people are adults and they are spoiled brats 20:59 because they have never been molded. 21:02 No influence, that's why the parents' job 21:05 is a very responsible one, 21:06 train the child in the way they should go. 21:09 I heard the story and I think it fits right here 21:11 about the Indians in the Arizona Desert 21:14 a number of years ago. 21:17 Americans they call them cowboys at the time, 21:19 but I think was just Westerners 21:22 or Midwesterners or Southwesterns 21:24 that were trying to find their way through the desert, 21:26 some of the desert that had trees 21:28 and they thought the Indians had better eyesight than them 21:30 because they could walk them through the desert 21:32 at night or anything, 21:35 "Are your eyes better than ours, 21:37 they said no, but how do you know? 21:39 How do you find your way through? 21:41 And they said, there are we plant vines or trees 21:47 and when they are tender, 21:49 we bend them into a shape so they grow. 21:53 Have you ever seen those pictures of trees 21:55 that looked like knots, 21:56 and they looked like they wound around 21:59 that doesn't, trees don't grow that way naturally. 22:01 The Indians made those trees that way 22:03 when they bent it into that shape 22:05 when it was, when it was pliable, 22:07 and then when it grew one thing you cannot do is 22:10 you can't unbend a tree, 22:12 so be very careful as a parent, 22:14 if you let your children go their own way, 22:16 you'll come to the place where you realize 22:18 you can't bend them, you'll have to have... 22:21 You have to pray for the Lord to break them 22:23 'cause you can't unbend a tree, 22:25 but you can cut those branches, 22:27 that's where the pruning comes in. 22:30 So let's answer the question. 22:32 Why is human nature helpless 22:33 when it comes to controlling sin? 22:35 Because where does sin dwell? 22:37 In me. 22:39 It's a part of our... 22:40 It's a part of our nature, it's in there. 22:43 Yeah, that's a very good point, 22:44 like an alien, it's in there. 22:47 But the thing about it is 22:51 the reason why we don't recognize this, 22:53 this terrible thing that's in us. 22:56 Are you ready? 22:58 Is because it is in harmony with our desire. 23:02 Let me say it again. 23:04 The reason why it doesn't seem like such a bad thing, 23:07 it's in harmony with our nature. 23:09 Amen. 23:11 Because it's a part of our nature. 23:13 It's in the way we think, it's in the desires we have. 23:17 It's as natural as riding a bike 23:20 somebody once said. 23:22 How many of you have to take lessons to walk. 23:29 Okay, let's go to 1 John, let me show you this. 23:32 Anybody up to lesson number five on walking. 23:38 Nobody up to the walk. 23:39 Nobody signs up for classes for walking, you know why? 23:43 'Cause it's natural, it's natural. 23:45 Let's go to 1 John. 23:47 Okay, I'm going to show you some of the principles of it, 23:50 then I'm gonna come back, okay. 23:52 1 John... 23:56 Okay. 24:00 All right, 1 John 1. 24:04 And exactly Mark, my wife whispering six, 24:07 she knows me. 24:09 Okay, 1 John 1:6. 24:13 If we say we have fellowship with Him 24:19 and walk in what? 24:21 Darkness we lie 24:24 and do not practice the truth, 24:28 but if we together walk in the light 24:33 as he is in the light 24:36 we have fellowship with one another 24:39 and the blood of Jesus Christ, 24:41 His Son cleanses us from all what? 24:46 S-I-N. 24:48 Now, I want you to get this, 24:49 because the word is not plural, 24:51 the word there is not sins, it's S-I-N. 24:57 Now go to 1 John... 24:59 not 1 John, but John 1. 25:05 Now I began the program by saying, 25:08 the number one reason why we won't be saved 25:11 is because we are still in sin. 25:14 That's the only thing 25:16 that can keep us out of heaven is sin, right? 25:19 The only thing. 25:21 We're gonna transition just a moment here. 25:22 The only thing that can keep us out of heaven is sin, 25:25 but look at this, but look at this, John 1:29. 25:30 John 1:29. 25:35 Love this text. 25:37 "The next day 25:41 John saw Jesus coming toward him and he said, 25:46 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the" what? 25:49 "Sin of the world." 25:52 He doesn't take away the sins. 25:53 If Jesus... Are you ready? 25:55 If Jesus, if His only mission was to forgive us of our sins, 26:00 He could have done that from heaven. 26:03 He could have said, Yannick, you're forgiven. 26:05 He could have done that... He could have taken... 26:07 He could get rid of... 26:09 He could've gotten rid of our sins, 26:10 our sins from heaven. 26:14 But that's not the only reason why He came. 26:17 If He only, if His only function 26:20 was to get rid of our sins, the things we do, 26:24 then there would be no need for Jesus to come to earth. 26:29 But there was another reason He came to earth. 26:31 He came to earth 26:32 to not just take away the things we did, 26:35 but He came to deal with the root issue, 26:38 He became sin, He became what? 26:40 Sin. 26:42 Now that's a powerful thought to think of 26:43 and I want to just, I want to develop that 26:45 in just a moment here. 26:46 Let me go ahead and look this up here with you. 26:48 Open your Bibles, 26:49 I'm going to just show you this here real quickly. 26:52 And this is a powerful thought 26:53 because when you think about it, 26:55 when you think about it, here it is. 26:58 Oh, wow, what a text. 27:04 Okay. 27:11 Well, I tell you, let's go to Romans, 27:13 let's go to Romans. 27:27 Actually 2 Corinthians, that's a little better, 27:30 2 Corinthians, I want you to see this. 27:36 And we know 2 Corinthians 5:17, 27:40 but we are going to look at verse 21. 27:50 Okay, 2 Corinthians 5:21. 28:00 The Bible says, 28:02 "For he made him who knew know what? 28:07 Sin to be what? 28:10 Sin for us." 28:12 That's the half of the transaction, 28:14 2 Corinthians 5:21, 28:16 "He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us." 28:25 And we're going to show you, but look at the other side. 28:28 My mind is already in Isaiah, slow me down, okay. 28:32 My mind is already in Isaiah, 28:34 "He made him who knew no sin to be" what? 28:38 "Sin for us that we..." 28:40 Look at the transaction, 28:42 "that we might become the" what? 28:46 Talk to me the what? 28:48 "Righteousness of God in him." 28:51 Now, who was righteous? 28:55 He was. 28:56 Who was the sinner? We. 28:58 Who was affected by the sin? Us. 29:01 No, no, we were. 29:04 Be careful when you say Jesus was infected by the sin 29:09 because He couldn't be our savior, 29:12 right, because He was tempted in all points 29:14 just as we are, yet what? 29:16 Without sin. 29:18 Just make sure that, you got that. 29:20 He didn't sin, He didn't sin in thought, 29:22 deed or action or word. 29:25 Praise God for that, 29:26 because you could sin in all different ways, 29:27 you can sin in thought, you can sin in deed, 29:29 you can sin in word. 29:33 But I'm gonna even go deeper than that. 29:35 Are you ready? 29:37 Sometimes people have said, 29:39 how could Jesus really save us from sins 29:45 that He was never tempted by? 29:48 And they cite, 29:49 well, did Jesus have issues with drugs, 29:52 or marijuana, or alcohol, or pornography, 29:56 or theft, or covetousness? 29:58 People say, 30:00 there are certain sins that exist today 30:02 that Jesus didn't even have in His day, 30:04 how could He possibly have been tempted 30:08 in all points just as we are? 30:11 Well, the first point is, 30:13 there are only three kinds of sin. 30:15 Lust of the flesh, 30:17 lust of the eyes, and what? 30:18 Pride of life. 30:19 How many temptations did Jesus have to endure? 30:22 Three, you hungry? 30:24 Why don't you turn those stones to bread? 30:27 Looks good, could be made food, see. 30:30 Then the lust of the eyes. 30:33 The devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, 30:36 said, "I'll give You that if you worship me." 30:42 So all the sins that we face, Jesus, 30:46 but I want to make it even deeper than that. 30:50 If you get tempted and you say I'm not going to do it, 30:55 I'm not going to do it. 30:57 Do you think you could endure 15 seconds? 31:00 Come on now, really. 31:01 Let's just get into the human side of it. 31:03 If you tried for 15 seconds not to take a drink, 31:07 do you think you can last 15 seconds, 31:09 I think I can, 15 seconds, 31:11 but don't, well, you see, I don't drink anyway, 31:13 but whatever the temptation is, 31:15 if you say, okay, I'm not going to do it, 31:16 not going to do it, not going to do it, 31:18 but now let me, let me blow you away. 31:20 Try that for 33 years. 31:25 Try that for the entire, your entire life of 33 years. 31:29 Jesus lived in a world of sin and temptation 31:32 for His entire human existence 31:35 and never sinned, come on, can somebody say amen? 31:38 Amen. 31:40 Do you know of any human who could do that? 31:44 But let me tell you how He did it? 31:45 He did it the same way that we must do it, 31:48 complete reliance on His heavenly Father. 31:51 And this is huge because here is the key. 31:54 If what He experienced is not possible for us, 31:59 then this text cannot be true, 32:01 for he made him 32:03 who knew no sin to be sin for us 32:06 that we might become 32:08 the righteousness of God in Him. 32:12 If that weren't true, 32:13 then this is not a valid scripture. 32:15 In other words, 32:17 we could become righteousness because He became what? 32:19 Sin. 32:21 Isaiah 53, let's go there quickly, 32:23 Isaiah 53. 32:27 Not only does He... 32:29 Not only has He come to get rid of the root issue, 32:32 but He wants to do something else. 32:35 He wants to do something else. 32:37 Here it is. 32:38 Let's look at this because sometimes we, 32:41 you know, we think, 32:42 well, really couldn't be that much, 32:44 I mean it couldn't be all that. 32:46 Oh, it said, all that and more, all that and more. 32:51 So be careful when you say 32:53 I went a whole week without sinning. 32:57 Don't give yourself that kind of credit, 32:59 say, "Lord Jesus, 33:00 the Lord delivered me this week 33:03 from that thing that bound me last week. 33:05 Give Him the glory. Amen someone? 33:08 Look at this. 33:12 Verse 3, 33:16 "He is despised and rejected by man. 33:21 A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief 33:26 and we hear it as it were our faces from him, 33:30 he was despised and we did not esteem him, 33:34 surely he has borne our grieves and carried our sorrows." 33:38 Now when you look at all this, He didn't just, 33:41 He didn't just become sin for us, 33:43 this was what was on His shoulder, 33:45 this was what was on His mind and in His heart 33:49 every waking moment of His earthly ministry. 33:54 "Surely He has borne our grieves 33:55 and carried our sorrows, 33:57 yet we esteemed Him stricken, 33:59 smitten by God and afflicted." 34:01 We said, God's doing that to him. 34:03 We didn't know that we were doing that to Him. 34:08 Verse 5, "But He was wounded for our... 34:13 For He was, talk to me, 34:15 but He was wounded for our transgressions. 34:17 He was bruised for our iniquity, 34:20 the chastisement of our peace was what? 34:23 Upon Him and by His stripes we are healed. 34:26 In other words, you know, what that mean chastisement? 34:28 In other words, the whipping that we deserved, He took it, 34:32 so that the peace that He has we could have. 34:36 He took the stripes that belonged to us, 34:38 so that we can have the peace that comes from Him. 34:42 What a transaction. 34:45 And it says, "By His stripes we are" what? 34:47 "Healed." 34:50 But what did we do? 34:51 All we like sheep have done what? 34:53 Gone astray. 34:55 We have turned everyone to his own way 34:57 and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of what? 35:01 Us all. 35:02 Now, I'm going to take this to the next level. 35:05 Not only did Jesus faced temptation 35:07 for all of His earthly life and never sinned. 35:12 But all of our iniquity was added to it. 35:16 So everything we had done wrong, 35:18 every sin we ever committed was laid on Him. 35:23 In other words, it was charged to Him. 35:25 It was charged to Him. 35:27 So have you ever had anybody pay for your bill 35:30 when you went to a restaurant? 35:32 Nobody really. 35:34 Have you ever had that privilege? 35:35 You go to the door and they say, 35:36 it's already been taken care. 35:38 Who did it? 35:40 I don't know they already left, and you wonder who did that. 35:43 Who is so nice to take care of our bill. 35:45 Let me tell you something, Jesus paid. 35:51 Jesus paid 35:54 the wage of sin for everyone 35:58 who would ever be born. 36:03 Even before they were born, the wage was paid. 36:08 But the reason why people... 36:10 I want to go right to my notes. 36:12 The reason why people often miss it... 36:17 is because salvation... 36:21 The reason why people often reject salvation 36:24 is because they don't know what it is. 36:26 Salvation is the justification 36:30 of the sinner, 36:33 not the justification of the sin. 36:38 Let me make it. 36:39 Jesus is not trying to justify what we did, 36:42 He's won to justify us, amen? 36:45 He's not saying, what you do is okay. 36:47 No, no, He hates sin so much, 36:51 because it caused Him His death. 36:53 He didn't die to justify what we did, 36:55 He died to justify us. 36:58 But the reason why people miss it is 37:00 because they think that Jesus, 37:02 they think that God sent His Son 37:04 to obliterate the sinner. 37:06 The devil's got people afraid of Jesus. 37:10 He didn't send His Son to obliterate the sinner, 37:12 He sent Him to obliterate the what? 37:15 Sin. 37:16 He said, "For God sent not His Son 37:18 into the world to condemn the world 37:21 but that the world that is already condemn, 37:24 through Him might be saved." 37:25 John 3:17. 37:27 So this beautiful gift of salvation, 37:29 salvation is the annihilation of sin 37:32 and the exoneration of the sinner. 37:35 Sin is annihilated, the sinner is exonerated. 37:37 And you know what? 37:39 That's why it's called a free gift, 37:40 because we couldn't pay for that... 37:42 but let's go to the next level, every sinner that ever sinned, 37:46 everybody that was ever on death row 37:48 that accepts Jesus, 37:49 their sentence is immediately commuted, 37:52 their record is expunged and they are made free, amen? 37:56 So you don't go around after accepting Jesus 37:58 four years later and say I wonder 38:00 if that is still hanging over my head. 38:02 I wonder if He really loves me that much. 38:05 Let's go to the next question to see how beautiful this is. 38:08 Let's go to the next question 38:10 to see how beautiful this is. 38:12 Question number 15: What is the only hope 38:14 that we have to be victorious over the sin nature? 38:19 What is the only hope that we have 38:21 to be victorious over the sin nature? 38:25 Let's go to 1 Corinthians 15:57, 38:27 well, this is a, this is a text that when Paul wrote this, 38:30 he didn't write it just... 38:32 I can guarantee when he wrote it, 38:33 he wasn't sitting there in a quiet state, 38:37 because this text does not exude quietness, 38:40 it really doesn't, it really doesn't, it doesn't. 38:43 You know, when somebody pays your bill, 38:46 you don't say thanks, appreciate it. 38:49 You say thank you so much, I mean, I really appreciate it. 38:55 So Paul the Apostle, 38:56 1 Corinthians 15:57, I'd like us all to read this, 38:58 it's going to be on the screen. 39:00 You at home read it with us. Here it is. Are you ready? 39:03 "But thanks be to God, 39:06 who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 39:11 Amen? Amen. 39:14 The word there, but thanks, it's the word of exuberance, 39:18 I am so thankful that Jesus gives us the victory 39:23 through our Lord, Jesus Christ. 39:26 So when you get that victory, 39:27 this victory that's talked about here 39:29 is not just the victory 39:30 over the sins that we have done, 39:32 but the victory over the sin nature. 39:35 Now, I'm gonna to you in, I'm gonna take you back in. 39:38 Are you ready go back in? 39:40 Now that we rejoiced, we reset, 39:41 let's go back again and see what else 39:44 is going on in this battle over sin. 39:47 So write the answer down, 39:48 what is the only hope 39:49 that we have to be victorious over sin? 39:54 I know you were going to say that. 39:57 Yeah, that's right, 39:58 but the only hope we have 40:00 is to accept the victory. 40:04 Now, imagine going to the Olympics 40:06 and you show up 40:08 at the Olympics representing America, 40:09 you're there to run the 100 yard dash and they say, 40:15 they mention your name. 40:18 The gold medal winner tonight is Dan Geer, 40:23 and Dan says, "But I haven't even run." 40:25 He said, "Hey, we've given you the gold medal." 40:28 And your whole country just explodes in applause 40:33 that he didn't even have to run and he got the gold medal. 40:37 You see what I'm trying to get you here 40:39 because if you ran and won the gold medal, 40:42 it'll be a victory by works, 40:45 wouldn't have been? 40:46 Let's make this clear. 40:48 Victory by works meant, I ran and I won. 40:51 But for by grace are you saved. 40:55 The wages of sin is death, 40:57 but the gift of God is eternal life 40:59 through Jesus our Lord. 41:01 You get the medal before you even run. 41:06 Now, you know, I know why I should not insist 41:10 that you make sounds tonight 41:12 because really this is a serious topic, 41:14 it's got to sink in, you mean... 41:20 You get the medal and you don't even have to run, 41:24 not of works lest any man should boast. 41:29 See if you had to win, 41:30 if you won the victory over sin, 41:32 you could say, "I beat him by 2.3 seconds, 41:36 that's how I won the victory." 41:39 But the Lord said, "No, no, no, 41:41 I beat the devil by a mile. 41:45 That's how you won the victory." 41:46 Amen? 41:48 He didn't prevail in heaven, 41:51 and he didn't prevail at the cross, 41:53 and he knows he has but a short time. 41:55 Praise God for that. 41:57 The devil didn't win in heaven, 41:59 he didn't prevent Jesus 42:00 from coming forth from the grave, 42:01 he lost the second time. 42:03 See everything in the Bible is in threes, 42:04 three temptations, 42:06 the devil had three opportunities. 42:08 He blew it in heaven. 42:10 Blew it at the cross, 42:12 and he only has one more the last rock, 42:14 he's going out, but now he knows that. 42:16 Let me get this. He knows that. 42:19 He knows he lost in heaven. He knows he lost at the cross. 42:24 So his alternate plan since I am a loser, 42:29 I want to take everybody down with me. 42:34 But Matthew 25 says, 42:35 "Hell is prepared for the devil and his angels." 42:40 And I said to my wife today, 42:49 "I've been burned once, I ain't burning again." 42:54 Anybody ever been burned? 42:57 I ain't burning again. 43:00 Really, does it make sense? 43:02 Does it make sense to forfeit that you've ever been given, 43:05 but thanks be to God who giveth us the victory. 43:07 We're talking about the victory, 43:09 we're talking about justification. 43:10 We're going to dive into sanctification. 43:12 But I want to let you see, it's a beautiful thing. 43:13 Let's go to question number 15. 43:15 Let's go to the question number 16. 43:19 What is the experience of every sinner? 43:23 What is the experience of every sinner? 43:27 Let's move a little faster, Romans 7:15. 43:30 Are you ready? We're in Romans 7:15. 43:32 What is the experience of every sinner, 43:35 not just some, but every one of them? 43:38 The only time we don't have that experience 43:40 is when we are in denial. 43:43 That's it, you can't say you don't have this experience, 43:45 Romans 7:15, well, here's what Paul says, 43:48 "For what I am doing, I do not understand. 43:52 For what I will to do, that I do not practice, 43:55 but what I hate, that I do." 43:57 No amens required, 43:59 because I know everybody's been there. 44:01 I know that we've been there more times 44:03 than we want to be there. 44:06 For what I'm doing, 44:08 I do not understand and after you do, 44:09 you say, "Did I do that? 44:11 Did I really do that? Did I say that? 44:17 Did I do that?" 44:18 And when guys go to jail 44:21 and they sit on their bunk 44:23 after the sentence has been pronounced, 44:25 they say, "What was I thinking? 44:29 Did I think I could actually get away with it? 44:34 Did I do that? 44:36 And I tell you that's why in jail 44:38 a lot of people accept Jesus, 44:40 because they know they shouldn't, 44:41 they know that he's their only way out, 44:44 and sometimes they're doing life, 44:47 but they realize after their mind is clear 44:49 because that's what the devil does, 44:50 he fogs your brain up 44:51 to get you to do something wrong 44:53 and then when you get caught, he says, 44:55 "Hey, how does it feel to be 44:56 in cell number 36-451 Cell Block 6. 45:00 And you think, oh, man, 45:02 it just took one sin to get me in here. 45:04 How many sins? One. 45:07 And the devil throws the book at you, 45:09 but the Lord comes and exonerates us. 45:12 The accuser of our brethren, so the answer is. 45:15 What is the experience of every sinner? 45:19 Now, if you look at that. 45:23 If you look at that 45:25 what key thing can you pull out of that? 45:33 No, that's not the answer, that's not the answer. 45:37 It's in the very beginning of the text, 45:38 "For what I am doing, the next four words, 45:41 I do not understand." 45:44 I want you to write it down, I'll show you why? 45:45 I do not understand, because if you understood it, 45:48 you wouldn't do it. 45:50 The key thing is if you understood, 45:53 you wouldn't do it. 45:56 Sin is a mind numbing experience, 46:01 it's enslaving, it captures your mind, 46:04 so you don't understand and you walk into it. 46:08 If Adam knew, get this, 46:10 Adam had an intellectual understanding 46:12 that what he was about to do could plunge him into sin 46:15 because he never had, 46:17 but because he didn't trust God's word, 46:19 he wanted to figure it out himself 46:21 and ended up where we all are now. 46:26 And I'm sure after Adam did it, 46:29 he said what I just said, what did I just do? 46:35 Because the Bible ended 46:37 Genesis 2 by saying, 46:40 "The man and his wife were naked 46:42 and they were not ashamed." 46:45 But Genesis 3 says, 46:46 "They were naked and they knew it 46:49 and they were ashamed." 46:51 Sin, righteousness, 46:55 they were covered by the righteousness of God, 46:57 not their own righteousness. 47:02 But let's go further. 47:04 I don't understand sin, you know, so when you... 47:07 Let me just add it, 47:08 so when you try to make sense out of sin. 47:11 Here Paul doesn't understand what he's doing, 47:13 how you gonna explain it? 47:15 Explain what you just did 47:17 and, you know, Yannick will say, 47:18 I don't know how it happened. 47:21 I can't explain it. 47:22 I don't know what I was... 47:24 I don't know what I was doing. 47:26 J.R, did you just tail off a police officer? 47:29 I don't know why I did that. 47:31 I'm messing with J.R., 47:32 cause I know he wouldn't do that. 47:34 I don't know why I did it, I just, I don't know, 47:39 but we're gonna bail you out. 47:42 Because I've visited people in jail, 47:45 how did you get in here? 47:46 I... 47:48 Pastor, I can't tell you. 47:51 I just lost my temper in split moment, 47:52 I don't understand why I did it. 47:55 Sin is, you can't understand it. 47:57 Let's go over to next question, number 17. 47:59 We're going to move along. 48:00 We're going to get here tonight. 48:02 What is the power that is in control 48:05 of our human nature? 48:06 What is the power that is in control 48:08 of our human nature? 48:10 We are ready to dive in now. 48:12 Let's move here, Romans 7:2, Romans 7:2, 48:16 we're going to get deeper now. 48:19 Romans 7:2, here is the answer. 48:21 What is the power 48:22 that is in control of our sin nature? 48:23 Here it is, "For the woman, here it is, 48:28 for the woman who has a husband is bound by the law 48:32 to her husband as long as he lives. 48:35 But if he dies, but if the husband dies, 48:37 she is released from the law of her husband." 48:41 Now, a lot of people read this and they think the only way 48:44 I can get married again is if my husband is dead. 48:46 This is not what the scripture is about, 48:49 although it includes that, although God hates divorce, 48:53 that's really not what the scripture is all about 48:55 because Paul began by saying, 48:58 Paul began by saying, 49:00 "I'm speaking to those... 49:04 I'm speaking to those who know the law, 49:08 "For I speak to those, who know the law." 49:10 In verse 1. 49:12 I'm speaking to those of you who know the law. 49:15 That the law has dominion over a man 49:17 as long as he lives. 49:19 The law has dominion over man then all of a sudden 49:22 he switches it to the woman. 49:26 I'm speaking to those of you who know the law. 49:28 Now, this is powerful, this is deep, 49:30 because Paul is saying, 49:31 there is a law that you know about 49:34 and this law says, 49:36 as long as that law exists, 49:38 it has dominion over you. 49:40 You want to find out what it is? 49:41 Well, let's answer this real quickly 49:43 then so what's the answer? 49:44 What is the power 49:45 that is in control of our human nature? 49:47 The law. Write that down, the law. 49:50 Now, please don't think it's the Ten Commandments, 49:53 that's not what it is, 49:55 that's the mistake that evangelical leaders teach 49:59 and they think, 50:00 now you've got to get rid of the law, 50:01 so when they say you're not under the law 50:03 but under grace, that's what they think it is, 50:05 it's not under the law. 50:07 And let me even go a step further, 50:08 we often say under the condemnation of the law, 50:11 it's even deeper than that. 50:13 It's deeper than that because some people say, 50:15 well, what that actually means 50:16 is you're not under the condemnation 50:17 of the commandments, it's deeper than that. 50:19 It means, you're not under the law 50:20 but under grace. 50:22 Let's find out what law? 50:23 Genesis 3, Genesis 3, 50:25 let's go now. 50:28 Genesis 3. 50:31 A woman and her husband, remember that. 50:35 Genesis 3. 50:38 This is amazing, amazing. 50:43 All right Genesis 3, let's look at verse 16. 50:47 Now remember, we're talking about the woman 50:48 and her husband. 50:51 "To the woman He said: 50:54 I will greatly multiply your sorrow 50:57 and your conception..." 50:58 Now, I want to pause, 50:59 I want to go through the whole thing 51:01 and I'll break it down. 51:02 "In pain you shall bring forth children..." 51:06 Ready for the focal point of the text? 51:08 "Your desire" your what? 51:10 "Desire shall be for your" what? 51:13 "Husband and he shall do" what? 51:16 "Rule over you." 51:21 Did it say that the woman 51:22 is going to let the husband rule over her? 51:25 It said he shall rule over you. 51:28 He's going to do what he wants. 51:32 He's going to turn you every which way but loose, 51:36 and furthermore 51:40 when you see the children that this husband produces, 51:45 you're going to be full of sorrow. 51:50 And you're even, even bringing forth these children 51:53 is going to be an experience of pain, 51:54 but even deeper than that, 51:58 even deeper than that. 52:01 Your desire 52:03 is not just that your husband's going to rule over you 52:05 because if it was that, if that's all it was, 52:08 you'll say, I don't like my husband. 52:12 But it's deeper than that. 52:13 He said, you don't like what he's doing to you 52:16 but your desire is for him. 52:19 In other words, come here, Yannick, 52:22 hurry up, come up, come up, come up here, come here. 52:26 Yannick always sits so close, I can pick on him any time. 52:30 So if Yannick, if Yannick was always doing me wrong, 52:34 what's the natural thing? 52:36 Get rid of Yannick, right? 52:37 But the reason why Yannick is always doing me wrong 52:40 is because I always want Yannick around. 52:43 My desire is for Yannick. 52:45 If I will let him go, 52:46 evil company corrupt good habits. 52:50 Ain't that right? 52:51 1 Corinthians 15:33, 52:53 "Evil company corrupts good habits." 52:55 But now, it's saying, I want Yannick, 52:59 so as long as I want him, 53:01 my desires for Yannick, as long as I want him, 53:02 he's gonna do me wrong, 53:05 but no matter what happens wherever Yannick goes, 53:08 I want Yannick I'm not letting Yannick go, 53:10 I want Yannick. 53:12 Go ahead, Yannick, thank you. 53:13 The Bible says 53:14 that your sinful desire is for that man 53:17 that will do you nothing but wrong. 53:22 And it ain't gonna stop until he's dead. 53:29 Sin, there is no... 53:31 You cannot become sinless by tweaking, 53:35 you cannot become freed from this by taking, 53:39 I when you to hear me, 53:40 you cannot become free from sin by taking 28 Bible studies. 53:47 You just become informed by taking 28 Bible studies. 53:53 But you don't get set free. 53:54 You just simply admit 53:56 that what the Bible said is true 53:58 but that ain't freedom. 54:01 That nature that binds you. 54:03 Let's go to John 8:44, 54:05 you want to see it deeper than that? 54:07 Hurry up, John 8:44. 54:11 How does the Bible describe the law of the husband? 54:14 Desire rule over you, write that down. 54:17 It rules over you and you want it, you desire it, 54:23 because you and your husband have the same aims in life. 54:28 John 8, did I say John 8? 54:30 Okay, then wait till I get there. 54:34 This is a powerful, is that powerful? 54:37 Is that powerful? 54:38 You're already there, just slow down. 54:40 Look at this. 54:42 You wonder why you do what you do. 54:44 Look at John 8:44. 54:47 Look at John 8:44, 54:49 "Jesus said this straight up, 54:51 He looked at them, and He looked at these people 54:52 that claim to be Abraham's children 54:55 that had the right diet, kept the Sabbath, 54:59 didn't eat anything unclean, am I getting close? 55:06 And they knew they had the truth, 55:09 but what did he say to them because they were not, 55:11 they were whitewashed sepulchers, they were tombs. 55:17 He said to them in verse 44. 55:20 "You are of your father the devil, 55:24 and the next word, 55:26 the desires of your father you want to do, 55:31 he was a murderer from the beginning 55:34 and does not stand in the truth 55:37 because there is no truth in him. 55:40 When he speaks a lie, 55:41 he speaks from his own resources, 55:44 for he is a liar and the" what? 55:47 Father of it." 55:51 You know why you act in that way? 55:54 Because your desire is for a liar, a murderer, 55:59 that's what your desires are for, 56:01 that's why you act in that way, 56:03 your desires. 56:04 The thing that's down inside of you 56:07 is keeping you lying, keeping you murdering, 56:10 and every other sin that comes along with it, your desires. 56:13 Are you ready to go on? Are you ready for another one? 56:16 James 4:1, hurry up, hurry up, 56:19 this not on the screen so we can run there real quick. 56:21 James 4:1, 56:24 let's see this thing explode in front of us. 56:27 James 4:1. 56:31 James 4:1, 56:35 this is for those folk that love to fight 56:37 "Where do wars and fights come from among you? 56:42 Do they not come from your what? 56:45 Desires for pleasure that war in your members. 56:50 You lust and do not have, 56:54 you murder and covet and cannot obtain, 56:56 you fight and war, 56:58 yet you do not have because what? 57:01 You do not ask." 57:03 The father wants to give us, but we'd rather fight, 57:07 you know, why? 57:08 Because our desire, 57:10 desire is controlling us 57:11 and I have a few more scriptures, 57:13 but I'm going to just give it to you real quickly, 57:15 we wouldn't talk about that, 57:16 if anyone desires 57:21 to be my disciple. 57:24 When the desire is changed, 57:26 the will, the action follows, 57:30 until the desire is replaced, 57:33 until the old desire is replaced 57:36 with a new desire, 57:38 you'll always be a slave to sin. 57:41 When the old desire is replaced with a new desire, 57:45 you become a slave to righteousness, 57:47 why slave? 57:49 Because when you had no choice to do wrong, 57:51 when you become a slave to righteous 57:53 that you have no choice but to do right. 57:55 Amen. 57:56 We're gonna talk about that, and so if doesn't make sense, 57:58 stay tuned because one day 58:00 it will come into A Sharper Focus. 58:03 God bless you. |
Revised 2017-05-22