Give Me the Bible

The Grace Of God

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox

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Series Code: GMTB

Program Code: GMTB000001


00:19 Well we welcome you tonight
00:21 to Give Me The Bible
00:22 which is a brand-new series
00:25 with Pastor Kenneth Cox.
00:28 And this series, folks, is one that is unusual
00:31 because it'll be five nights, once per month.
00:37 And Pastor Cox will be looking at a subject in depth.
00:42 Sometimes we look at just one night at a subject
00:44 then we move on to another.
00:46 And it has been a dream of his to present messages in depth,
00:51 and that's what's going to be taking place here at
00:55 Give Me The Bible.
00:56 And the only textbook we will have is God's Word...
01:00 the Holy Bible.
01:01 As most of you know, Pastor Kenneth Cox is a very
01:05 well-known speaker. He's spoken all over the world,
01:09 and he has been very popular here with 3ABN.
01:14 When I say popular, I mean people request Pastor Cox.
01:19 They want him to come be in their churches,
01:22 and they watch him on Three Angels Broadcasting Network.
01:25 He has been one of our favorites!
01:29 And I will tell you this... that the staff here at 3ABN
01:33 loves Kenneth Cox. They always look forward
01:36 to his being here because this is a man that not only
01:40 knows about the Word of God,
01:43 he knows the Lord
01:46 who is the One who has given us His Word.
01:50 And so this is so apparent in such a loving, kind way
01:55 we have found that he... our people here...
01:58 have really truly fallen in love with Kenneth Cox over the years.
02:02 Right now before we hear Pastor Cox,
02:05 we're going to listen as Pam Rhodes sings,
02:09 and she's going to sing a fantastic song.
02:12 And she's going to be accompanied by her husband Jim
02:15 and by Dona Klein.
02:18 Pam Rhodes.
02:34 I sing through the shade and the sunshine,
02:38 I'll trust Him whatever befall.
02:42 I sing for I cannot be silent,
02:46 my Father planned it all.
02:50 What though the way be lonely,
02:54 and dark the shadows fall.
02:58 I know where ere He leadeth,
03:02 my Father planned it all.
03:06 I sing through the shade and the sunshine,
03:10 I'll trust Him whatever befall.
03:13 I sing for I cannot be silent,
03:17 my Father planned it all.
03:21 He guides my faltering footsteps
03:25 along the narrow way,
03:29 He guides my faltering footsteps
03:33 along the narrow way,
03:37 for well He knows the pathway
03:41 will lead to endless day.
03:45 I sing through the shade and the sunshine,
03:49 I'll trust Him whatever befall.
03:53 I sing for I cannot be silent,
03:57 my Father planned it all.
04:00 I sing through the shade and the sunshine,
04:04 I'll trust Him whatever befall.
04:08 I sing for I cannot be silent,
04:12 my Father planned it all,
04:16 my Father planned it all,
04:20 my Father planned it all,
04:24 my Father planned it all! God bless you.
04:34 Thank you, Pam, and good evening.
04:36 I'm very happy to welcome each of you
04:39 and our television audience.
04:40 We're happy to welcome you to a new series
04:43 entitled Give Me The Bible.
04:46 And what this does is we're
04:49 going to spend time in God's Word so that people can have
04:53 something to build their faith on.
04:55 That they can look at it and say
04:57 "I know this is what the Bible says. "
05:00 What says the Bible? The blessed Bible?
05:04 This my only question be.
05:07 The teachings of men so often mislead us.
05:11 What says the Bible to me?
05:14 That's what we want to find out.
05:15 That's what we want to know,
05:17 and that's what we're going to be looking at
05:19 as we go through different subjects.
05:21 And tonight we're looking at the subject of salvation.
05:25 And for the next five nights
05:28 we're going to look at different subjects about salvation.
05:32 Tonight we're looking at the grace of God.
05:35 What does the scripture tell us about the grace of God?
05:38 Tomorrow night we're going to look at the subject of
05:41 repentance. What does the scripture say about repentance?
05:45 Do I need to repent?
05:46 Why?
05:48 In fact it's so important that if you go to the scripture
05:50 and look at it, you'll find that John the Baptist
05:53 started out preaching "Repent, for the kingdom of God
05:58 is at hand. "
06:00 If you look at it, Jesus Christ did the very same thing
06:04 when He started His ministry.
06:06 He said: "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. "
06:09 So repentance must be very, very important.
06:14 That's what we're going to be looking at
06:16 in our next presentation on repentance.
06:19 And so we hope that it will help you in your understanding
06:23 of the subject of repentance.
06:25 But as I mentioned, tonight we're looking at
06:29 the grace of God.
06:31 What does the scripture tell us about the grace of God?
06:34 You need to look for about four things tonight.
06:39 First, as we go through the subject you need to notice
06:42 what does the scripture say about man's condition?
06:46 That needs to be clear in your mind.
06:48 And then after we've taken a little look at man's condition,
06:52 we're going to take a look at the greatness of God.
06:55 Because you will never understand God's grace
06:59 until you understand His greatness.
07:02 And so we're going to take a little look at God's greatness
07:05 and then we're going to see how that comes to the
07:09 immutability of God's law.
07:12 Immutability of God's law.
07:14 How that fits into it, and then how the grace of God
07:18 brings all that together.
07:20 That's what you're looking for in tonight's subject,
07:22 and we hope that it will bless you
07:25 in a special way as we study God's Word.
07:28 Take a look at what the Bible has to say
07:31 on the subject of salvation.
07:34 So we hope that you will join us
07:36 for each one of these presentations.
07:38 It's always a special blessing to me
07:42 when we can have Jimmy and Pam Rhodes with us.
07:49 Pam's going to do a song tonight,
07:52 one that Dona Klein wrote.
07:56 One that's always blessed me very, very much.
08:00 And I hope it will help you in a special way.
08:05 The words I think are beautiful.
08:07 And it's entitled: "Sometime Before Dawn. "
08:22 Sometime before the dawn
08:27 His heart was aching.
08:33 Sometime before the dawn
08:38 His heart was breaking.
08:44 The cross was just ahead,
08:49 "Not My will, but Thine" He pled.
08:55 For me His tears were shed,
09:00 sometime before dawn.
09:06 They struck and they cursed Him,
09:12 they mocked His dear name.
09:18 They stripped off His garments,
09:23 despising the shame.
09:28 Those precious hands
09:34 they nailed to a tree.
09:39 He hung there in agony
09:45 for you and for me.
09:51 She ran to the garden,
09:57 her eyes blind with tears.
10:02 She knew she must find Him
10:08 her heart filled with fear.
10:13 The angel told her
10:18 that Jesus was gone.
10:24 He rose from His prison
10:30 sometime before dawn.
10:35 Sometime before the dawn
10:40 His heart was aching.
10:46 Sometime before the dawn
10:51 his heart was breaking.
10:57 The cross was just ahead
11:02 "Not My will, but Thine" He pled.
11:08 For me His tears were shed
11:13 sometime before dawn.
11:19 Those scenes pass before me
11:24 as I kneel at the cross.
11:30 My heart breaks within me
11:35 as I think of the cost.
11:41 How much He loved me,
11:47 and to Him I belong.
11:52 For His blood paid my ransom
11:58 sometime before dawn.
12:03 Yes, His blood paid my ransom
12:10 sometime before
12:14 dawn.
12:27 It's my practice before I speak
12:31 always to talk to my Maker,
12:35 my King, my Savior, and my friend.
12:38 So I'm going to kneel,
12:40 and if you'd just pray with me at this time.
12:48 My Heavenly Father,
12:50 I come to You tonight
12:53 asking for Your presence.
12:57 Asking that the Holy Spirit
13:00 may be able to work in my life
13:06 that the hearts of people may be drawn unto You.
13:12 Give us wisdom,
13:15 give us understanding,
13:17 that we might see clearly
13:20 the gift that You have given to each one of us
13:25 and we might reach out in faith
13:28 and accept that gift.
13:30 For this we ask in Christ's name,
13:34 Amen.
13:41 Education.
13:42 Culture.
13:45 The exercise of the human will.
13:48 Heredity.
13:50 None of those things have ever changed the hearts of men.
13:56 Never has happened.
13:59 In fact, history is full of examples
14:04 of how it failed.
14:07 I'd like for you to go back with me in time
14:09 to one of the great nations... to the nation of Greece.
14:13 Greece was a nation that brought to mankind
14:19 civilization like they had never known before.
14:23 When you start taking a look at education and you go
14:27 thumbing back through the pages of history,
14:29 great, great men at the time of Greece...
14:33 Aristotle, Plato, Socrates...
14:37 great, great minds.
14:39 They brought a system of education the world had
14:43 never known.
14:44 When you take a look at culture,
14:46 take a look at the arts,
14:48 it has been... hasn't been reached to this day.
14:52 Unrivaled in what they did.
14:55 If you go back to the time of the Pergama history
14:59 of Greece, the culture and the statues and all the things
15:04 that they did... it's not... not reached to this day.
15:08 Marvelous what they did there!
15:11 You take a look at language.
15:13 It spread across the whole world.
15:16 The Greek language was spoken by all those people.
15:19 But when you read history, you find that they were
15:24 drunken. That they had prostitutes,
15:29 concubines.
15:31 Morality was extremely low.
15:34 Slavery. None of that that they had
15:38 at all there... changed their hearts, changed their minds.
15:42 And you know, nations are pretty much like men.
15:47 They come up and they go down.
15:49 And so as Greece is fading off the scene of existence,
15:54 you have Rome coming on.
15:58 And Rome brought to the world things that they hadn't really
16:02 known before. They brought a system of government
16:04 like the world had never seen.
16:07 It took hold of things, and it made things different.
16:12 In fact, the law - under the Roman power - was elevated
16:16 and great things were done.
16:19 They made the roadways.
16:21 They made the seas safe for travel.
16:25 People could go places they had never gone before.
16:29 Soldiers marched down the road carrying a plaque
16:34 that said PAX ROMANA... Roman peace.
16:37 They made all this available.
16:40 But when you take a look at Rome,
16:44 it didn't change the heart of man.
16:47 They: gladiators, prostitutes,
16:53 drunkenness. In fact, they were known for their drunkenness.
16:57 In fact, their leaders were known as being very vile and
17:02 sinful people. Nero...
17:04 All this took place; didn't change their hearts.
17:08 And when you come on down to modern times
17:12 in which we meet at the United Nations,
17:15 gather around the table and there we are supposed to
17:18 solve the world's problems.
17:20 And yet modern nations... it hasn't changed their hearts.
17:26 Germany... Germany as it developed
17:31 brought to the world architecture
17:35 like man hadn't known.
17:38 They... They had beautiful buildings that they built
17:42 in honor to all those things.
17:44 Inventions... one invention after another
17:46 took place under Germany.
17:49 Great, great system of education.
17:52 All that was done by the German people.
17:57 And yet, out of that nation that at that time
18:01 had advanced so much, we have the Holocaust.
18:07 And even if we want to take a look at the United States,
18:12 with the development of this country,
18:15 industry like it had never been done before
18:20 began to take place and move across this country,
18:24 and man began to make things and develop things
18:27 like had never happened.
18:30 Tremendous amount of industry.
18:32 And we take a look at the question of education.
18:35 Our educational system reached the top, and we had great men
18:41 and women of stature because of the educational system
18:44 that we had.
18:45 And when you take a look at prosperity.
18:48 No country in the entire world
18:53 had known the prosperity that this country has known.
18:56 But when it comes to changing the hearts of men,
19:01 all we have to do is take a look
19:06 at greed on the part of those
19:11 in charge of the oil companies.
19:15 All we have to take a look is at the fraud
19:18 and deception by those in high places in Wall Street.
19:24 And even a nation that would sink so low as to
19:28 torture.
19:30 And morality has fallen to a new low.
19:34 Education; culture.
19:38 Those things do not change the hearts of people.
19:42 In fact, all that education really does, folks,
19:47 is make people smart sinners.
19:50 That's what education does.
19:54 So that isn't what changes hearts.
19:58 That's the reason the Bible has some very clear words
20:00 to say about this... about man's condition.
20:04 This is what God's Word says:
20:16 No one can do that.
20:19 You can't take something that is unclean and bring
20:23 something clean out of it.
20:25 In fact, it goes on and says
20:28 in Romans the 8th chapter verse 7:
20:40 The human is at enmity with God.
20:44 It's not subject to God's law
20:46 and it doesn't fit in.
20:47 And because man is this way,
20:49 and because man's heart is not changed,
20:53 Jesus had this to say to Nicodemus:
21:11 Unless a person is born again
21:14 he cannot see the kingdom of God.
21:16 You see, it takes something
21:19 outside of you.
21:23 It takes something outside of me
21:26 to change our hearts and to make us different.
21:31 We can't get there by man's own efforts.
21:37 It takes something different that has to come in
21:41 and change your heart, change your desires,
21:46 change your purpose.
21:48 All that has to take place
21:50 in order for a life to be different.
21:54 That's why we read:
22:13 You see man, through human reasoning,
22:19 can't know the things of God.
22:23 They're just spiritually discerned.
22:26 That just doesn't fit,
22:28 and they don't understand it.
22:30 Doesn't take place... there has to be something different
22:33 that happens in their lives.
22:35 "The heart, " we are told here in Jeremiah 17 verse 9:
22:51 In fact, what it's telling you and me
22:53 is that we don't even know our own hearts.
22:56 Have you ever said: "Well, I wouldn't do that! "
23:00 and then did it?
23:02 Yeah. All of us have.
23:06 The heart... desperately wicked.
23:10 You and I don't even know our own hearts.
23:15 OK. It says, but we know
23:19 that the law - God's Word -
23:23 the law is what? It's spiritual.
23:26 That's what the law is.
23:28 But I am carnal... sold under sin.
23:34 That is man's condition.
23:36 That's where we are, and what can I do about this?
23:39 Paul talked about this, and that's why he...
23:42 you hear him crying out here in Romans 7:24 when he said:
23:54 That's our problem.
23:56 Who's going to deliver us from this?
23:58 Let me tell you something tonight.
24:00 There's only one way.
24:02 There's only one way.
24:04 I don't care what other people have to tell you.
24:07 I'm telling you what the Bible says.
24:09 The Bible says there's only one way.
24:12 There's not many ways.
24:15 And that's the reason you've got to find out
24:17 What does the book say? What does the Bible say?
24:20 Because Jesus made it very clear:
24:36 Nobody comes to God except through Jesus Christ.
24:41 And Jesus said: "I am the way. "
24:45 I'm the truth. I'm the life.
24:47 In Me you can find a change.
24:51 In Me you can find something different.
24:54 So dear friend, tonight, man's condition
24:58 is something that you and I
25:00 of our own strength cannot change.
25:04 Impossible.
25:06 But you really don't understand what God has done for you
25:10 unless you understand His greatness.
25:14 And it says here... Psalms says:
25:28 You and I can't comprehend the greatness of God.
25:34 We will never be able to comprehend it.
25:37 But dear friends, we ought to take a look
25:40 and try to understand as much as we can of His greatness
25:45 because when you see His greatness,
25:49 then you begin to understand what He really did for you.
25:54 Marvelous! The marvelous, wonderful
25:59 grace of God... what He did for each one of us.
26:03 Because it tell us here. It says:
26:16 Think about it.
26:19 God is so great
26:21 that He can speak things into existence.
26:26 It says that He spoke the worlds into existence.
26:31 Marvelous!
26:33 A God so big, so great,
26:37 that He can speak things into existence.
26:41 In fact, you and I live because of Him.
26:47 He says here in the Psalm:
27:03 You and I move, we have our being, in God.
27:08 And you are breathing tonight, wherever you are,
27:13 because of Him.
27:15 Because if He takes away your breath,
27:18 that's it. It's over.
27:21 The greatness of God that He can hold in the palm of His hand
27:27 your life. Hold it in the palm of His hand.
27:33 Created the world; made them all.
27:36 Indeed, how great He is!
27:39 I'm sure many of you are aware of the story of Lazarus.
27:44 Very close friend of Jesus.
27:48 Received word from his sisters that Lazarus had died.
27:55 Coming there to their home -
27:57 Lazarus had been dead about four days -
28:00 and they told Him that he had died, been buried.
28:04 And it says that Jesus walked out to the tomb
28:09 and just simply said: "Roll away the stone. "
28:14 And they rolled away the stone.
28:17 And He said three simple words:
28:21 "Lazarus, come forth. "
28:25 And he who was dead ROSE and came forth from that tomb.
28:31 Just think.
28:34 There is a God that is so great
28:39 that He can speak and give an individual life.
28:46 All lies within His hand.
28:52 He is the Maker; He is the Creator.
28:56 He gives live, and He can take life away.
29:01 Both.
29:02 Now, this is the marvelous thing about it
29:05 is because it says here, Ephesians 2 verse 7:
29:12 Now that means down through eternity
29:23 In the ages to come
29:25 God is going to show to the universe
29:28 the exceeding greatness of His grace,
29:32 OK, and the kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.
29:37 In other words, this God
29:41 that could speak things into existence
29:44 is going to show us the greatness of His grace
29:49 in Christ Jesus.
29:51 So what has He done for us?
29:53 What has He done? What has He accomplished?
30:08 God's great mercy... that He loved us.
30:14 What is there to love?
30:18 I mean we just found out our condition.
30:22 I mean there's nothing good about us.
30:25 Condition is bad, but God in His great love
30:30 loved us. And because of that love,
30:36 He is going to give to you and to me His grace.
30:42 Marvelous grace that He's going to give to us.
30:46 We don't deserve it!
30:48 We certainly haven't done anything to deserve it.
30:52 And He says:
31:10 Now He said: "I'm going to betroth... "
31:13 marry, if you please...
31:16 "you to Me in righteousness. "
31:19 Then He also says: "in justice,
31:23 and in lovingkindness, and mercy. "
31:26 I've often looked at that text and wondered
31:29 How could God be willing
31:35 to let me take His name?
31:39 That He's going to betroth, and let me take His name?
31:43 And let me be called a child of God?
31:47 Who is depraved
31:51 and nothing good about me in any way?
31:55 And God in His lovingkindness
31:57 is going to reach out and do that for me?
32:01 Righteousness?
32:03 Give to us? And justice?
32:07 See, that's telling us that God's not only going to
32:12 reach out and save us
32:14 but He's going to do it in a way that settles all questions
32:19 because it's in righteousness and justice.
32:24 How do you have justice?
32:26 Where do you get justice from?
32:30 How do you know that something is just?
32:32 Where does that come from? Do you pull it out of the air?
32:38 No, justice comes from something that has to be written down.
32:43 It has to be delineated, it has to be spelled out.
32:46 That's what we call law.
32:50 Law determines whether something is right or whether it's wrong.
32:53 Whether it's just or whether it's not.
32:56 And God says that He's going to satisfy the law.
33:01 Marvelous, 'cause I'm a sinner!
33:08 But He's going to satisfy the law.
33:12 That's what He promises in lovingkindness and in mercy.
33:17 OK:
33:28 I remember reading where it says
33:31 that John Wesley got up once
33:34 and he said: "Well, I broke all the commandments but one. "
33:37 And his wife got up and said: "You broke that one, too. "
33:40 And so, we're sinners, folks.
33:45 And it says here the law was added so that the offence might
33:50 abound. Man, I thought my... my sin was bad enough
33:56 it didn't need to be added to or abound that much more!
34:00 But it says it does.
34:02 But is also says "but where sin abounds, " what?
34:07 "grace abounds much more. "
34:11 Marvelous.
34:13 That the grace of God abounds much, much more.
34:19 You see, there's no sin that you've ever committed
34:25 that is so dark that God can't forgive it.
34:32 Put it down. I don't care who you are
34:35 in the listening audience tonight,
34:37 you have never committed a sin so bad
34:41 that God can't forgive it.
34:44 Because where sin abounds,
34:48 grace abounded much, much more.
34:53 My Savior is able to come...
34:58 this is part of His grace.
35:00 And if you tell me that God can't forgive you your sins,
35:05 then you're limiting... you're limiting what My Lord could do.
35:09 He will forgive us.
35:11 He will make us what we could never be of ourselves.
35:17 That's what He does for us.
35:19 That is His grace.
35:32 Nothing wrong with God's law.
35:35 It's spiritual.
35:37 It says that God's law is holy.
35:40 It's just; it's good.
35:42 There's nothing wrong with it in any way.
35:45 The problem's not with the law,
35:49 the problem's with me.
35:51 That's where the problem is.
35:54 Not with God's law... with me.
35:56 But God said: "Listen, I'm going to give you My grace
36:01 and I'm going to satisfy righteousness,
36:05 and I'm going to satisfy justice... both. "
36:08 And you watch how He does that.
36:21 So if I do something wrong,
36:24 if I sin, I have broken God's law.
36:28 I have sinned. And when I break God's law...
36:33 Sorry... there's a penalty for that.
36:36 Absolutely.
36:39 Two things the law demands:
36:42 And when I say two things the law demands,
36:46 dear friend, let me tell you something.
36:48 That's not just referring to God's law.
36:50 Every law demands these two things...
36:56 every law.
36:57 And one thing the law demands is:
37:03 Have you ever walked in a china shop
37:06 and saw the little sign there? It says:
37:09 Don't drop it.
37:11 If you break it, you bought it!
37:13 They're very, very definite.
37:16 The law says if you break it you're going to have to pay
37:21 the penalty. Every law says that.
37:24 Of course with God's law,
37:26 it simply says the wages of sin is...
37:31 DEATH.
37:32 Hmmm.
37:35 I broke it. I broke God's law.
37:40 Therefore I have a penalty
37:44 of death on my head.
37:48 And so do you.
37:50 So do we all.
37:53 "The wages of sin is death. "
37:58 We are all under that penalty.
38:15 Death spread to all men because all sinned.
38:20 None of us exempt.
38:22 Doesn't make any difference who you are.
38:25 Doesn't make any difference where you were born.
38:30 Doesn't make any difference who your parents were.
38:33 Doesn't make any difference what you've done.
38:36 We ALL have sinned.
38:39 Come short of the glory of God.
38:43 OK. The law says if you break it
38:46 you've got to pay a penalty.
38:47 Another thing the law says, it says:
38:56 God's law or man's law
39:00 will not be satisfied with anything less than 100%.
39:06 What's this?
39:08 When you take a look at God's law,
39:10 it says here:
39:31 See the law demands 100%.
39:34 If I get in my car,
39:39 drive down the road here,
39:41 and I run the stop sign.
39:43 Cop pulls me over.
39:46 Says: "Mr. Cox, didn't you see that stop sign? "
39:49 I say: "Yes, sir, I did. "
39:51 He said: "Well, why didn't you stop? "
39:53 I say: "Listen, officer.
39:55 I'm holding some meetings over here,
39:57 and I go back and forth here all the time
40:00 and I go back and forth past this stop sign all the time,
40:04 and I only run it 1% of the time. "
40:07 What do you think he's going to do?
40:10 Going to give me a ticket and say:
40:12 "You stop EVERY TIME. "
40:16 Law demands 100%.
40:20 It will not settle for anything less than that.
40:24 OK. You see, God will not let you be like Ivory Soap.
40:30 That won't... it won't count.
40:33 You can't be 99.44% pure.
40:37 It requires 100%.
40:40 It's what's required; you have to be that.
40:43 That's what the law requires.
40:46 Therefore... question:
40:51 If the penalty for breaking God's law is death,
40:55 how is that penalty paid?
40:59 Like the fellow who had a dream.
41:02 Got up to heaven,
41:05 and there was St. Peter at the gate.
41:10 And Peter greeted him;
41:13 told him how glad he was
41:14 that he was there and all.
41:16 And they talked for a little bit
41:17 and Peter said to him... Said:
41:18 "Well I'm sure you'd like to go
41:20 on in. " And the fellow said: "Yeah, I really would. "
41:23 And Peter said: "That's fine. "
41:26 He said: "All you've got to do is have 100 points to get in.
41:29 That's all that's required. "
41:31 And the fellow said: "Well, what do I have to do
41:34 to get 100 points? "
41:36 And Peter said: "Well, what have you done? "
41:39 The fellow said: "Well, I've lived a good life. "
41:43 Said "I've gone to church.
41:45 I've raised my family.
41:47 I took them to church.
41:49 I tried to be good to my neighbors. "
41:50 He said: "I've... I've lived a good life. "
41:53 And Peter said: "OK. " He said, "that's good for a point. "
41:57 The fellow said: "What? Good for a point? "
42:02 And Peter said: "Don't you have something else?
42:05 Isn't there something else you have? "
42:07 He said: "Well, yeah. I'll think about it. "
42:09 He said: "Before I died I left a large contribution
42:12 to the church. I left them a large contribution
42:16 to help people and to help humanity and all. "
42:19 He said: "I gave that to the church.
42:21 That ought to be worth something. "
42:22 Peter said: "Yeah, it is. It's good for another point. "
42:26 He said: "You mean to tell me all my life and all that I gave
42:32 is only worth two points? "
42:34 He said: "I'll never get in except by the grace of God. "
42:38 Peter said: "That's good for 100 points! "
42:40 That's the only way that you and I get there
42:45 is by the grace of God.
42:47 No other way.
42:50 So, I'm a sinner.
42:53 I broke God's law.
42:55 I'm guilty.
42:57 How is my penalty going to be paid?
43:00 In Him we have?
43:03 In Him we have what?
43:06 Friend tonight, if you're lost,
43:10 if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ,
43:13 if your soul is lost,
43:16 IN HIM you have REDEMPTION.
43:20 That's available to you through His blood...
43:23 the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His
43:28 grace.
43:29 You don't deserve it, so don't try to think up
43:33 some reason why He should give that to you.
43:36 There is no reason why He should give that to you
43:39 except out of the riches of His grace.
43:42 NO OTHER WAY is it given to you!
43:46 He died that you might be redeemed.
44:00 While we were still sinners Christ died for us.
44:04 He didn't say: "I'll tell you what.
44:06 You clean yourself up. "
44:09 I have people do that so often to me.
44:13 Talk to them about giving their heart to the Lord,
44:15 and they'll say: "Well, Brother Cox, there's a few
44:16 things I've got to take care of yet. "
44:18 Just... sorry, you'll never come to the Lord.
44:22 That will never happen if you're going to wait till
44:25 you've got a few things to take care of...
44:27 You'll have a few things to take care of from now on!
44:31 You've got to come to Jesus Christ just as you are.
44:37 No other way.
44:39 Just as you are.
44:41 HE paid your penalty.
44:45 HE died in your place.
44:52 What about the perfect life?
44:54 Because the law demands a perfect life.
44:57 Can't get there without it.
45:02 "Be ye holy, as He is holy. "
45:06 Demanded:
45:19 Now it didn't say "When you were His friend. "
45:23 It says that "while we were enemies. "
45:29 I'm still talking about His grace, folks.
45:31 While we were enemies, OK?
45:35 We were reconciled to God through the death of His Son.
45:41 That paid the penalty.
45:43 That paid what you and I owe.
45:45 But then Paul goes on
45:50 and he says: "Much more... "
45:53 "Much more than being reconciled, " he said.
45:55 More than just Him dying that you might be saved.
46:00 It says: "We shall be saved by His life. "
46:05 That's the reason Jesus Christ
46:11 stayed around for 30 years.
46:15 You see, if all that was necessary
46:19 to save you was for Jesus to die,
46:23 He could have done that as a baby.
46:25 Herod would have helped Him out.
46:28 See? But it took more than that.
46:32 It took a perfect life.
46:34 And Jesus Christ came to this old earth
46:37 on which you and I live,
46:39 and He lived an absolute perfect life.
46:43 He never sinned one time...
46:46 not even so much as in thought.
46:50 Lived a perfect life that you and I
46:55 might have His righteousness.
47:01 Christ told a parable about this.
47:03 He said:
47:16 It says that she took this yeast...
47:19 leaven. Put it in three measures,
47:22 and that yeast leavened all the meal.
47:26 So when you and I come to the Lord Jesus Christ
47:30 and accept Him into our hearts and He comes into our lives,
47:33 His grace comes into our life
47:36 and it begins the leavening process.
47:39 It begins to change us.
47:41 It begins to make us different.
47:43 Oh how thankful I am tonight that God doesn't say to me
47:46 "Change yourself. "
47:48 That it says: "Accept Me.
47:51 Give Me your heart, and I will change you. "
47:56 The leavening process begins to take place
48:00 and it begins to change our lives and make us different.
48:05 That's the grace of God, folks.
48:08 That not only is He willing to die to save you,
48:11 He's willing to go farther and He's willing to change you
48:15 and make you different.
48:18 You see it takes a power greater than you and I.
48:22 It takes a power outside of us
48:25 to come into our lives and to change us
48:29 and to make us different.
48:31 This is what is required.
48:43 You see, that is wonderful text, folks.
48:48 It doesn't say that God gives you His grace
48:52 by addition.
48:56 He gives you His grace by multiplication.
49:00 Multiplies it unto you.
49:03 He gives us grace, and more grace, and more grace.
49:07 Gives that to us over and over,
49:10 multiplies it to you and to me.
49:14 Marvelous in His grace!
49:16 If you didn't underline
49:20 or you didn't remember any other text
49:25 in what I've talked to you about tonight,
49:27 underline this one.
49:30 Write it down.
49:32 Remember it.
49:33 It's one of the great, great scriptures because it says:
49:48 "Him who knew no sin. "
49:52 He who was pure,
49:54 spotless, undefiled,
49:57 became sin for you.
50:01 Became sin for you.
50:04 He died on the cross.
50:07 He didn't deserve it,
50:09 but He did it out of His grace.
50:13 Out of His love for you He died that you might live.
50:19 Took Him who knew no sin
50:22 and He became sin for you
50:27 "that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. "
50:33 You see, not only... Not only does He
50:37 come and pay your penalty
50:39 but He turns around and says:
50:42 "Here, I'll give you My righteousness. "
50:46 Marvelous. His righteousness.
50:50 Let me tell you something.
50:52 He said: "Listen. "
50:54 He said: "I'm going to take care of it in righteousness
50:58 and in justice. "
51:00 And His righteousness is pure!
51:04 It's undefiled.
51:05 It meets all the requirements,
51:08 and He gives that to you and to me.
51:14 It's the greatest gift that's ever been given.
51:19 The Lord is saying to you this evening:
51:21 "Listen, if you will give Me your sins,
51:26 I will give you My righteousness. "
51:32 There's no gift on earth like that gift.
51:36 Marvelous.
51:39 You see, the scripture compares
51:44 God's grace to water...
51:47 to living water.
51:49 And that's what it says here:
52:10 So it says that wherever water comes they'll live...
52:14 wherever it goes.
52:16 The grace of God is that way.
52:19 Wherever it goes, it brings life...
52:25 that men and women can reach out and accept it
52:27 and have life.
52:30 Who all can accept it?
52:33 Who all's invited?
52:52 Marvelous that you can reach out and receive God's grace
52:58 as the water of life.
53:04 Receiving God's grace is kind of like the man who
53:10 went with his friends to a city to party.
53:13 They spent the weekend
53:16 drinking and partying.
53:19 And then the next thing he knew
53:22 he woke up. Found himself beaten
53:28 and in very unfamiliar territory in the desert.
53:33 As he staggered down the road,
53:35 he realized that he had been robbed
53:39 and he had been left out in the desert to die.
53:45 Head is throbbing.
53:48 He's weak.
53:49 As he staggers down the road
53:51 the sun is beating upon him unmercifully
53:54 and he's thirsty.
53:58 Exhaustion has taken place.
54:00 Dehydrated.
54:04 Start walking down a road that he doesn't know
54:07 where it's going to; in fact, going nowhere.
54:11 And on the third day he's very, very weak.
54:18 He realizes if something doesn't happen soon,
54:20 he's going to die.
54:22 And as he struggles down the road,
54:26 off in the distance he can see a line of trees.
54:32 And he heads for that line of trees,
54:34 walking, sometimes falling, sometimes crawling,
54:39 hoping just to get there.
54:41 And finally, struggling for all he's worth up the last hill
54:46 he looks over the hill and there are the trees.
54:50 And there is water... cool water.
54:55 And renewed in energy, he struggles on
54:58 to get to the river. And as he's going to the river
55:01 he says to himself:
55:03 "This can't be true.
55:05 There's no river out here in the desert.
55:09 This is my imagination.
55:11 This is not true.
55:15 This is a mirage. "
55:18 And the man died beside the stream
55:23 of living water.
55:26 God's grace is offered.
55:29 All you and I have to do is accept it.
55:31 You see, you can't win God's grace.
55:35 It's already been given.
55:37 And since it's already been given, you can't lose it.
55:40 All you can do is either accept it
55:43 or reject it.
55:46 God offers to you His grace.
55:49 As He says:
55:50 "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift. "
55:57 Jesus said in John the sixth chapter
56:00 "I am the living bread that cometh down from heaven
56:03 that a man may eat thereof and not die.
56:06 He who comes to Me will never hunger or never thirst. "
56:11 He went on to say:
56:12 "The words that I speak unto you
56:15 they are spirit and they are life.
56:17 Just as the Father sent Me,
56:19 and I live because of the Father,
56:21 so he who eats of this bread
56:24 will live because of Me. "
56:28 So many people in this world are literally starving and weak
56:33 because they do not feed on the Word of God.
56:36 Their minds are filled with matters of minor importance
56:39 instead of eating the bread which came down from heaven.
56:42 If they would only eat the Bread of Life,
56:45 they would be regenerated and renewed.
56:48 The bread sent down from heaven would give them new life.
56:51 The Holy Spirit would show them things of God.
56:54 As we feed upon the Word,
56:57 we would become new creatures in Christ.
57:01 Our whole ministry exists for one purpose only:
57:04 to bring the Bread of Life to those who are hungering
57:07 and thirsting for truth.
57:09 I wish you could see the eagerness
57:11 with which they take hold of the spiritual food
57:13 that we offer them.
57:15 I wish you could see the light that comes on in their eyes
57:18 as they accept Him as their Savior.
57:20 Christ is able, Christ is willing,
57:24 Christ is longing to save all who will come unto Him.
57:28 Please pray for these souls.
57:31 And I hope you will consider supporting our ministry
57:34 as we continue to offer Jesus, the Bread of Life,
57:38 to all who are hungry and thirsty for new life.
57:42 We thank you for your support.
57:46 If the Holy Spirit impresses you to support this ministry,
57:49 please send your tax-deductible gifts to:
58:05 Thank you for helping us to bring the gift of salvation
58:08 to millions all over the world.


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Revised 2014-12-17