Participants: Dick Nunez, Elora Ford, Ethel Carlsson
Series Code: BAS
Program Code: BAS000004
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00:31 Hello! My name is Shelley Quinn
00:32 and welcome again in "Issues and Answers"! 00:34 We are going to talking once more with Margaret Davis 00:38 from Armstrong British Columbia. 00:39 And our topic today is going to be: 00:41 How can we cooperate with God for salvation? 00:44 You know one of my favorite scriptures 00:47 and probably yours as well in the Bible is Ephesians 2:8. 00:50 That says that "we are saved by grace through faith 00:53 not by works that any man should boast". 00:56 But it goes on in verse 10 and he says... Paul writes 01:00 "But we are God's own handiwork. his workmanship 01:04 He's work of art recreated in Christ Jesus once we born new 01:09 that we may do does good works which God predestine 01:14 before Him for us to do. " 01:16 Salvation is by grace! 01:18 And I thank God every day I tell Him I'm so glad 01:21 that I'm saved by grace because I know I could never save myself 01:25 I know as Margaret does, that He's asking me to cooperate for 01:30 Him and Margaret, thanks for coming back 01:32 because you're going to teach us today: 01:34 How we can cooperate with God to take part 01:40 in this wonderful gift, of salvation? 01:42 That's right. 01:43 And I would like, in case our viewers didn't see you 01:46 when you were here before 01:47 I'd like you to tell us a little bit about yourself. 01:54 I grew up in a church. 01:57 and I tried for many years to follow God, to do His will 02:02 to work for Him. 02:03 And it wasn't until I was about 42. 02:08 And my father cried for help that I couldn't help him 02:13 in his problems and so I went to search how to help him. 02:18 And trough the search I discovered my own lost condition 02:24 and... Your father's cry for help! 02:26 We learned last time was that he was a man who had brought 02:29 his children up in the church, very strict disciplinarian. 02:34 Had a long list of don'ts and never understood 02:38 how to experience that new birth and the conversion 02:41 and the power that God gives us because of His love, 02:44 the power to save. 02:45 Yes! 02:46 So! We had the obedience of law! 02:50 We did not understand the obedience of faith! 02:54 And the obedience of faith, you lift your soul to God 02:59 and we receive His Holy Spirit to empower you. 03:02 Amen! 03:03 To do what He wants you to do! 03:06 Amen! 03:07 And you are a minister's wife and you were missionary. 03:10 Where you were missionary? 03:12 In the Philippians and in India. 03:14 So you for many years, 42 years, you've been serving 03:18 Grow up in the church, serving in the church 03:20 but you have not really experienced 03:23 that new birth and conversion. 03:24 I didn't know how the Holy Spirit worked! 03:27 So! Tell us now! 03:28 What is one of the first thing that God does? 03:31 Now, that you have studied this out! 03:33 What is one of the first things He does to bring us 03:37 into that saving relationship with Him? 03:39 Well! I would like to share a text 03:41 Philippians 2:12 and 14 03:45 It says: 03:46 "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. " 03:51 Amen! 03:53 And we knew that text! 03:54 And so we were working our own salvation! 04:00 I didn't know the next part! 04:02 Amen! 04:03 And many people don't think of the next part! 04:05 "For it is God, which worked in you both to will and 04:12 to do of His good pleasure. " 04:14 And when I learned that then I sad: Ok, Lord! 04:18 Show me how to cooperate with You so that You can work in me! 04:25 So, you know! 04:26 Your experience and mine was similar, I think for many. 04:30 I parked in Philippians 2:12 for a long time. 04:32 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 04:35 And I did tremble! 04:36 I was fearful! 04:37 Until one day the Lord showed me that I can not separate 04:42 the Philippians 2:12 from Philippians 2:13. It's not 04:45 in your own strength that you work out your own salvation. 04:48 That's right! 04:49 It's God working in you to will and to act 04:51 according to His good pleasure. 04:52 And He is asking us to work out what He puts in us, right? 04:56 So, what should our response be to such a great God? 05:00 And so then, when I wanted to share with others 05:03 I developed a chart where I show that God has a part! 05:09 OK! 05:10 And we have a part! 05:12 And Gods part... 05:14 all of Gods part has to do with working in us! 05:19 All of our part has to do with working out 05:23 what God has already worked in. 05:25 Amen! 05:26 But He doesn't do everything at once. 05:28 He waits for our cooperation! 05:32 You see, its a together working. 05:36 And so we look at the first one: He will draw all. 05:41 The Bible says in John 12:32 05:45 "I if I belifted up from the Earth will draw all man on to 05:53 me" Amen! 05:54 Then we have to respond! 05:56 And so this is how I'm going to share! 06:00 And so as we sense God drawing us then what must we do? 06:17 I thought I had responded all my life 06:22 And God knew that I was a foolish virgin! 06:25 He knew it! 06:26 Now explain what you mean by a foolish virgin 06:29 because some people may not understand that! 06:31 Right! I shared that last time! 06:33 And a foolish virgin has been reading the Bible 06:38 but has not understood how to invite the Holy Spirit 06:41 in to the life. 06:42 And this one comes from Matthew 25 06:44 where the Lord is talking about the ten virgins 06:46 five wise, five foolish 06:49 And we determined last time that the wise ones 06:51 when the Bible says that they went out with their lamp 06:54 and with extra oil in their vessel. 06:57 That the lamp is the word of God 07:00 and the oil in the vessel in us is the Holy Spirit. 07:05 Right! 07:06 But you were one of those foolish ones who had a lamp 07:09 but not relaying the Holy Spirit or the power of the Holy Spirit. 07:15 OK! 07:16 And God knew I was sincere and so He kept knocking at my door! 07:23 You know He says: behold, I stand at the door and knock. 07:27 I didn't know what the knock was for! 07:30 But the impression was study! 07:34 Study year after year! 07:36 He knocked! 07:38 Study! 07:39 And it wasn't until my father cried for help! 07:42 That I knew what I had to study! 07:45 Right! 07:47 As I study the plan of salvation I discovered many things. 07:54 The very first and most important thing is 07:57 melt the Soul by the love of God! 08:00 Amen! 08:01 We have to know that God loves us! 08:03 Amen! 08:04 Our son didn't feel that God loved him because he had 08:07 dyslexia and the teachers rejected him, they didn't 08:12 understand what he had, he didn't feel savable. 08:15 And it wasn't until we discovered his problem 08:17 and he realized how much God loved him! 08:21 Amen! 08:22 That he could relate to God! 08:23 And so we need to understand God loves us 08:26 with an everlasting love. 08:29 And with loving kindness He draws us. 08:32 I think at the years that I was a foolish virgin 08:35 and didn't know the way. 08:37 But He was continually trying to get my attention! 08:41 And helping me and drawing me to Himself. 08:45 If we do not resist we shall be drawn to the foot of the cross. 08:51 Or as we stop resisting, what can you do? 08:56 Well, Jesus came to save us from sin. 09:02 The Bible says that He, Himself bore our sins 09:07 in His body on the tree. 09:09 That we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 09:13 And so He has to bring us to the place where He can convict us 09:19 of our sinful state. 09:21 And then cleans us from all unrighteousness 09:26 And since I was a good girl all trough my life and tried 09:32 very best to do what was right and my only sins were 09:36 a little impatience and irritation with the children 09:39 and a little resentment toward my husband 09:42 You know, those sins, I didn't feel so lost! 09:47 But now I realize that's the very character of the person. 09:52 As a man think it in his heart so is he! 09:56 And so I began to realize that I had no righteousness! 10:02 Because the Bible tells us in Isaiah 64:6 that 10:05 "All of our righteousness is as filthy rags" 10:08 Filthy rags, right! 10:10 So, you were looking for Jesus to salvation 10:12 you were trying to save yourself. 10:14 I was trying to be good! Right! 10:16 And now I was convicted, I had no righteousness! 10:19 I was not ready for the judgment! 10:22 Like the Bible says: "He will come and will prove us 10:25 and help us to understand our condition. " 10:28 And as I understood my condition, what did I have to 10:33 do? Acknowledge my guilt! 10:37 The Bible says: 10:39 "Return faithless Israel, says the Lord 10:45 I will not look on you with anger 10:47 for I am merciful, says the Lord. 10:49 Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the 10:56 Lord, your God!" 10:57 That's in Jeremiah 3, isn't it? 10:59 Yes, Jeremiah 3:13! 11:01 And you see, this was where my father was stuck. 11:09 I acknowledge his guilt! 11:12 I think the scripture right before that, the Lords says: 11:15 "I thought you will call me Father and not turn away 11:18 from following Me!" 11:20 That's what He wants us to have that intimate one on one 11:24 personal relationship with Him, as a child and father, trusting. 11:29 But we think we have it! 11:31 We think we have it, see? 11:32 If we excuse our heart's sins we are actually working out 11:38 our own salvation! 11:40 Because we are not allowing God to work in the heart. 11:44 We are not allowing Holy Spirit to give us His righteousness. 11:51 And that's where our problem was! 11:54 And my father could not acknowledge that he was wrong. 12:00 And when I went to visit and we were talking about 12:06 what is righteousness, how do we find it? 12:12 Some of my brothers and sisters said: let's pray! 12:16 And let's make sure that there's nothing 12:18 between the Lord and our souls. 12:22 And my sister looked up at father hoping 12:25 he could acknowledge how deeply he had wronged her. 12:29 He couldn't do it! 12:30 And he jumped up and ran outside. 12:33 And I jumped up and run after him to protect him from himself. 12:39 What do you mean to protect him? 12:41 Well, I remember as a child, if my father had to take the blame, 12:45 for getting angry or whatever he did, 12:49 he could threaten to kill himself. 12:52 And so I put my arms around his neck and I held him tight. 12:57 And then I said: Lord, what shall I say to my father? 13:01 And the Lord gave me strong words. 13:05 I said: Dad, you have so deeply wronged your children. 13:11 The only one you have not wronged is me! 13:17 He thought for a moment, he said: 13:20 Margaret, I have wronged you to! 13:24 What was he doing? 13:25 For the first time acknowledging his guilt! 13:30 And then he took me in the house and the guilt just pored out. 13:36 The guilt of his youth, the guilt of his fatherhood. 13:40 And he said: Margaret, help me! 13:43 Bless his heart! 13:44 And I couldn't help him! 13:46 So, that's why I went home and studied! 13:49 And that's why the Bible says: 13:51 "Only acknowledge your guilt" 13:54 Yes! 13:55 "That you rebelled against the Lord, your God" 13:58 Don't blame anyone else for anything that you do wrong! 14:04 Go to God and say: Lord, I have sinned! 14:08 If I get impatient, who's sin is it? 14:12 It's mine! 14:14 It's not my husband's, it's not my children's, it's mine! 14:20 So, your father was at that point where he took 14:23 the first step towards salvation. 14:25 That is acknowledging his guilt. 14:27 Acknowledging his guilt. 14:28 Now, what's next? 14:30 Because, how can God cleanse me if I don't give him my sins? 14:34 Right! 14:35 If I don't acknowledge? 14:36 The Bible says in Jeremiah 3:13 14:40 "Only acknowledge your guilt that you rebelled against the 14:46 Lord, your God" 14:47 Right! 14:48 And I began to realize 14:51 if I get impatient with my children or irritated 14:56 or have resentment toward my husband I am sinning. 15:00 Right! 15:01 And I was convicted and I needed to go to God and say: 15:07 Lord, I have sinned! 15:09 Forgive me! 15:10 And if we confess our sins what will He do? 15:14 He is faithful and just, not only forgives our sins 15:17 but cleans us from all unrighteousness! 15:21 In verse 1:9 15:23 But what if we excuse our unrighteousness? 15:25 Right! 15:27 See I will never excuse cheating or lying or stealing! 15:31 People don't excuse those sins. 15:34 They just excuse their heart sins! 15:37 The anger. 15:38 Yes! 15:40 The bitterness. 15:41 Because they feel someone else had done something 15:42 and they have a right to fell that way. 15:45 And yet this is the very heart of the matter. 15:48 Right! 15:49 How can Jesus cleans my heart if I don't give him my heart sins? 15:55 Amen 15:56 So, I went to God and I said: 15:58 Lord, here I give you my right to have resentment 16:02 toward my husband no matter what he does. 16:05 I give you my right to get irritated with the children 16:09 no matter what they do. 16:11 I want you to work in me Your Spirit, Your love 16:17 so that I can be loving and understanding. 16:21 And I can deal with my family in love. 16:24 What is the greatest problem in families? 16:28 This little problems! 16:30 Yes! 16:31 That irritate and bring about quarreling and resentment. 16:35 And I begun to understand what real religion was! 16:38 So, when you pray this, Margaret I'm interested 16:41 you went to the Lord and said: 16:43 OK! I'm giving up rights to self rights to be offend because 16:49 once the Lord told me, 16:50 and you know what I'm saying when I say that 16:52 The voice of the Lord, He impressed upon mind. 16:55 That the Spirit of offense is a Spirit of pride, 16:58 which is Spirit of Antichrist. 17:00 And when we think about that you really can not be offend unless 17:03 your pride does give it the way. 17:05 So, when you go before the Lord to say: 17:07 I give up my right to be offending, 17:09 I give up my right to be resentful. 17:11 What did He do in you? 17:13 Well, I surrender all, right? 17:16 Now I was not just surrendering other sins, 17:20 which I had not done, but the heart sins. 17:23 Then He can change my heart! 17:26 Then He could create a new heart and a new mind 17:29 and a new attitude, a new way of understanding 17:33 what is mean to be a Christian! 17:35 And I knew immediately He changed my attitude toward my 17:39 husband. And I said: Thank You Lord! 17:42 I believed He can cleans me from all unrighteousness 17:46 when I went all the way with Him. 17:48 So, Gods part is: we come to Him first He's drawing us to Him 17:55 Yes! 17:56 And He is the one who's gonna give us, grant us forgiveness 18:01 and repentance turn us away from those sins. 18:03 Yes! 18:04 He is going to empower us what's our part? 18:06 What is the obedience by faith? 18:09 Up until this point He's not even asking us to be obedient. 18:15 He's asking us to acknowledge our guilt and then 18:19 He works in us repentance, true heart surrender. 18:23 Right! 18:24 And then as we surrender to Him then He cleanses us 18:29 Right! 18:31 from all unrighteousness and gives us a new heart 18:35 and a new mind and then He asks us: Follow me! 18:40 Right! 18:41 And I just want to read a few quotes here 18:46 on His part of forgiving and cleansing and regenerating. 18:52 "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just forgive us 18:57 our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " 19:01 Yes! 1 John 1:9 for those 19:03 Forgiveness has two parts. 19:05 Amen 19:07 Forgiving and cleansing and regenerating. 19:10 Amen 19:12 That's why Jesus said: Except you're born again, 19:14 you can not see the Kingdom of Heaven. 19:16 And at this point of total surrender, where 19:20 Jesus can create a new heart and a new mind. 19:24 Exactly! 19:25 Because He can cleanse us from all of the old ways of thinking. 19:29 And that's when 2 Corinthians 5:17 said: 19:32 "We can become new creations in Christ because 19:36 the oldest fall, the new is come" 19:37 The for bitterness, the anything was there God takes away. 19:42 How many of us could knock at the door of heaven and say: 19:47 Lord, let me in! 19:48 If we have bitterness toward someone. 19:52 Toward parents or anyone. 19:54 How could He let us in? 19:57 He can't, He cannot take sin into heaven! 20:00 He must take it away from us! 20:02 And so it's very important to understand the heart's sins. 20:08 That would be even like when Jesus was talking about 20:11 in Matthew 5 that, you know, we know 20:15 it's evil to commit murder, but He said: 20:17 If you hate someone that's part murder. 20:20 It's evil and it's against the law of God to commit adultery, 20:24 but He's saying: If you lust after someone, 20:27 so it's that heart sin, that you're talking about that. 20:30 When we are born again Colossians 1:27 says that: 20:34 "Christ in us is our hope of glory the hope of being changed" 20:38 So, this is what you are talking about! 20:39 Yes! 20:40 Gods gonna do it all for us! 20:42 He works in us to line our will up to His will. 20:45 Then when we say: OK, Lord! 20:48 And we're ready to step forth, He's gonna work in us to act. 20:52 We're ready to give our hearts and let it be cleansed 20:55 from all corruption. 20:58 Then He says: I will live in you! 21:01 Amen 21:03 But now, there is a very important part for us to do 21:06 when He has promised to forgive and cleanse, 21:10 what do you think is our part? 21:12 After total surrender? 21:14 To believe! 21:15 Ah, to believe! Amen 21:17 To believe He can cleanse you! 21:19 To believe He can change you! 21:21 Without faith it is impossible to please God! 21:24 Amen 21:25 And if we don't believe He can do it, He can't do it! 21:33 I agree! 21:35 So, it's a very important step for us to cooperate with God 21:40 and believe what He can do! 21:43 You know, when the Bible says in Hebrews 11:6: 21:45 "Without faith it's impossible to please Him" 21:48 One time I was praying, Margaret and I asked the Lord 21:51 why is that impossible? 21:52 You walk this Earth, you know how the challenges. 21:56 And He took me to 1 John 5:10 and it says there that: 21:59 "If we disregard the testimony of God we're regarding God 22:04 as a liar". No wonder it's impossible. 22:06 And He can't do a work in us if we are not gonna trust in Him. 22:11 That's right! 22:12 Believing that His promises are ours in Christ Jesus. 22:15 But how do you get that kind of faith? 22:18 The Bible said: Faith comes by hearing 22:21 What? 22:23 The words of God. 22:25 And as I searched the word of God 22:28 I began to have that kind of faith. 22:31 Amen 22:32 I realized what God expected of me, how to cooperate with Him 22:37 and then how to come in to that living faith, that accepts 22:42 what God can do in a heart. 22:44 Amen 22:46 And... 22:48 You know the Israelites, as they were traveling in wilderness 22:52 they started murmurings and grumbling. 22:56 And God gave them a freedom. 23:00 He withdrew Himself a bit and said: 23:04 OK, if you're grumbling all the time I'll withdraw a little bit. 23:07 Let you do what you want. 23:08 And the snakes came out and bit them. 23:11 They were always there but God had protected them. 23:14 Then they cried to God because they were dying. 23:18 And then they put up this pole in the wilderness 23:22 and if they were to look at that serpent 23:26 and believed that God can heal them, He could do it. 23:30 Many looked. 23:33 They were instantly healed. 23:35 But others didn't look. 23:37 And they died in their sins, in their grumbling. 23:41 That's amazing! 23:42 We must believe what God can do trough Jesus! 23:47 Amen 23:48 So, that's our first part! 23:49 After we've surrendered our part and cooperating with God 23:53 is to trust Him, lean not on own understanding, 23:56 but lean on what His word says. 23:59 And in the next session we will talk about: 24:01 How to have victory day by day? 24:02 What to do if you fall? 24:05 Wonderful! 24:08 It's very-very important to understand 24:09 how to cooperate with God? 24:11 And it works! 24:13 Amen 24:14 You've mentioned the obedience by faith, 24:16 we only got a few minutes left. 24:18 Explain to me what you mean? 24:20 Explain to our viewers what you mean by obedience by faith! 24:23 I will explain in the next session, 24:25 but I'll do it a little bit. 24:27 When temptation comes to me if I lift my soul to God 24:34 I receive the power to do whatever I need to do to resist. 24:41 Amen 24:42 If God tells me to do something and I lift my soul to God 24:47 to receive power, He empowers me to do what He wants me to do. 24:51 Amen 24:52 You know, it's not hard to be a Christian 24:55 when you understand how to cooperate with God. 24:58 Moment by moment He is there to empower you with His love, 25:04 His forgiveness, His caring for others. 25:08 So, you can live His love and love's the fulfilling of the law 25:12 Amen 25:14 That reminds me of a scripture in Hebrews 13 and verse 20. 25:22 It says: "Now made a God of peace who brought again 25:25 from among the dead Lord Jesus Christ that great Shepard 25:28 of the sheep. 25:29 By the blood of the everlasting covenant may this God 25:33 strengthen, complete perfect and make you what you want to be 25:37 and equip you with everything good for doing His will. " 25:41 He will do that! 25:42 It's so sad when we try to do Gods will without His power 25:47 because we can't, it doesn't work! 25:50 It doesn't! 25:51 You might be able to do the outwork things. 25:54 But the heart... 25:55 Amen 25:56 The heart can be full of pride and envy and jealousy. 26:00 You know Margaret, you wrote a book called: 26:03 "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26:06 And actually it's a compilation of scriptures and 26:09 inspired Bible writing. 26:12 And this little work can be gotten... 26:16 I mean first of all the Lord is using it in a mighty way. 26:21 You told me you've had Muslims who've joined the church. 26:26 You've had Jehovah's Witnesses who've come into greater truths. 26:33 And you said that this is available on your web site 26:37 and that's: www. whatshallido. org 26:42 Right! 26:44 And this is a result after you learned this things 26:48 God gave you a ministry to go out and do seminars. 26:53 Right! 26:54 To teach people how to learn to surrender to God 26:57 and live totally dependent upon Him. 26:59 When I went and shared with my family and my father 27:04 then they said: Margaret, you can't keep this to yourself. 27:07 This will change our whole lives. 27:09 And that's how my ministry started. 27:12 Because then people started to ask me, to come and share. 27:16 So, for 30 years I've been on the road! 27:19 Anywhere in the world, whatever the Lord calls 27:22 Praise the Lord! 27:23 I've been doing my seminars. 27:25 I am so glad that you've joined us today 27:28 and I know you're gonna be back we're going to learn some more 27:31 from Margaret Davis. 27:32 And I want to encourage you if you are looking for the answer 27:36 to what shall you do to inherit eternal life? 27:39 you can go to her web site www. whatshallido. org 27:45 and order this precious book! 27:47 Now may be grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of 27:51 the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 27:53 be with you today and always. 27:56 Thank you! |
Revised 2014-12-17