Participants: Jim Reinking
Series Code: LDS
Program Code: LDS000024
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00:34 Well, as we began last Sabbath morning
00:37 as I shared with you, 00:38 we're going to be doing on Sabbath mornings a revival. 00:43 Do we need a revival? 00:44 Do I need a revival? How about you? 00:48 Really, for those of us who are active in 00:51 or relationship with Jesus Christ, 00:52 a revival means we have an opportunity to grow closer 00:56 and go deeper into our relationship with Jesus. 00:59 And maybe some of us, 01:00 maybe we've just kind of bend you know, 01:03 just drifting along 01:05 and a revival is a way to spark 01:09 that glow of faith and love in Jesus Christ. 01:14 And so I have chosen these subjects quite carefully, 01:17 it may not always be apparent 01:19 but anyway and I am gonna connect 01:21 with what we've studied a little bit last weekend 01:24 and I want to began by saying that 01:27 I believe that this moment was established, 01:31 was established God had a purpose for this moment, 01:34 He commissioned this moment 01:36 and He entrusted us with a message, 01:39 a message that's to be taken to the whole world. 01:41 A message that by the way, 01:43 unless there be any confusion 01:45 a message that is centered in Jesus Christ, 01:49 a message that informs us of Jesus, 01:53 His plans for us. 01:56 We found as we were in the Book of Peter, 01:58 we found we are in a time of delay. 02:02 We also found that as we looked in 02:04 just briefly looked at Matthew 25 02:07 where it talks about the 10 virgins. 02:09 Remember, it says, "While the bridegroom tarried" 02:13 that's the word delayed. 02:14 And by the way, who is the bridegroom? 02:17 My friends, that's Jesus. 02:19 While He tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 02:22 Don't miss that point, the wise virgins as well as 02:26 those who were not so wise, 02:28 they all were slumbering and sleeping. 02:31 And so I ask the question because, you know, 02:36 are we ready for the coming of Jesus? 02:39 My friend, you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, 02:41 you know the answer to that already, don't you? 02:43 Amen. 02:45 You know the answer to that already. 02:47 But that's what brings me to this subject, 02:50 the subject of being-- the subject being 02:52 righteousness by faith and it is by faith. 02:58 That's where we would put the emphasis, wouldn't we? 03:01 It's righteousness by faith. 03:02 And as we look back in time, 03:05 it's going back to the General Conference 03:08 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 03:10 Do you know the historical background of all of this? 03:13 I believe that we had this message 03:15 but it had been clouded over with so many other issues 03:18 that the church was dealing with. 03:20 And I believe that God was in His divine purpose 03:23 seeking to bring us back 03:25 as a people to the centrality of our faith 03:28 in Jesus Christ and His righteousness. 03:31 It's a beautiful message, it's a beautiful message. 03:36 It's a powerful message 03:39 as we talk about righteousness by faith. 03:41 And you know, it was not a part of the agenda 03:44 set for that General Conference. 03:46 It came out of the devotional period, 03:49 the devotional period that was put together 03:51 by A.T. Jones and Dr. E.J. Waggoner. 03:54 You can see the pictures right here. 03:57 And God moved in a powerful way 04:00 in that General Conference. 04:01 And by the way, do you remember the history of this? 04:04 Everybody just get onboard, 04:05 was everybody just jumping up and down saying, 04:07 "this is the most wonderful thing we've ever heard." 04:11 No, they were what we would probably 04:13 called the traditionalists 04:15 who said, "Oh, we've never heard it 04:16 quite this way before. 04:18 We are not so sure about this." 04:23 And you know, truth can be that way, can it? 04:26 Really, it can be that way. 04:28 No matter how beautifully portrait Christ was 04:32 in these presentations of these two men. 04:35 Yeah, there are those who opposed it. 04:38 And I believe that God would have us 04:41 come back to and for some of us 04:43 who never really studied out some of these things 04:45 back to a clear understanding of righteousness by faith 04:51 and a deeper experience in, 04:55 it is one thing to know and to understand 05:00 and we must but we must also be engaged 05:04 spiritually to experience that which we know. 05:10 The two must go together. Anybody saying amen out there? 05:13 Amen. All right, good. 05:15 I've got about handful of you together. 05:16 Let's see if we can pick up the rest of you 05:18 as we get going a little bit deeper into the subject. 05:21 Take your Bibles and turn with me 05:23 to Philippians Chapter 3. 05:26 Philippians Chapter 3, 05:28 and we're gonna began with verse 4. 05:29 I am gonna share with you a-- 05:31 the testimony of a converted Pharisee. 05:36 And I am talking about the apostle Paul 05:38 as some of you already have gather. 05:41 He shared this wonderful testimony of his experience 05:47 and see if you can relate to it. 05:49 Philippians Chapter 3, beginning with verse 4, 05:51 I remind you, I am using 05:52 the New Americans Standard translation. 05:55 And where Paul, where Paul says, 05:57 "Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh." 06:02 Here's a Pharisee saying, 06:04 well, I could have confidence in the flesh. 06:07 I mean, you know, there is the things of the spirit 06:10 and then there's the things of the flesh to be in the flesh. 06:13 You know, we're talking about 06:14 the corruptive element of sin in ones life 06:18 when we talk about being in the flesh, 06:19 being dominated by the flesh and its fleshly desires. 06:23 Paul is talking about these kind of things, 06:25 is that what he's talking about? 06:26 "Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. 06:29 If anyone else has a mind 06:32 to put confidence in the flesh, I far more." 06:34 Now we'll see when he's talking about 06:36 putting confidence in the flesh, 06:38 he is talking about it in a religious context 06:42 which is quite fascinating as you look at this statement 06:46 that religious things can relate 06:50 to this matter of being in the flesh. 06:53 Think about that, think that through a little bit 06:55 because it goes on in verse 5 to say, 06:57 "Circumcised the eighth day." 06:59 That's what was required by the Mosaic Law. 07:02 It was a sign of the special relationship 07:05 between the Jews and God, it was all of that. 07:09 "Of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, 07:13 a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the Law, a Pharisee." 07:19 It was all of that. 07:20 I mean, these are pretty, 07:22 I mean these are on surface it very religious things. 07:26 What a heritage he's talking about, 07:28 "The nation of Israel, tribe of Benjamin." 07:30 That was a renowned tribe. 07:32 The first king of Israel by the way, 07:34 came from the tribe of Benjamin. 07:36 They were renowned warriors among the Israelites. 07:39 They could use this sling 07:42 with either the right or the left hand. 07:45 You know, those were the missiles of that day. 07:47 And so they were really quite renounce. 07:49 So he was on one hand 07:52 proud of his religious heritage, wasn't he? 07:57 We can translate that into modern terms. 07:59 You know, I can be a baptized member 08:01 of the Seventh-day Adventist church 08:02 and more than that a third generation Adventist, 08:06 maybe even a fourth generation Adventist. 08:10 And I can have had the best education 08:14 that the Adventist system can possibly offer. 08:18 I may be an officer of the church 08:21 and zealous for the truth 08:25 and yet, based upon Paul's teaching here, 08:28 yet be in the flesh. 08:32 That's kind of disturbing to hear that, isn't it? 08:35 It is kind of disturbing to hear that 08:37 but the Paul is really bearing witness 08:39 to his pre-conversion experience. 08:42 It was deeply religious on one hand. 08:46 But there was one thing that was missing. 08:48 What was that one thing that was missing 08:51 in Paul and Saul's experience? 08:53 What was missing? Jesus. 08:59 In a word, there was Jesus that was missing, wasn't it? 09:04 And I'll tell you, we can have it all, 09:06 we can have been raised in it, 09:09 we can be comfortable with the Adventist culture 09:14 and be culturize Adventist and yet without the relationship 09:19 without Jesus be more than just something we know about 09:25 but we're experiencing it is really nothing. 09:30 Really it's nothing. 09:32 And I am not down playing 09:33 importance of the fellowship in church and all of the things 09:36 that go with being a part of this wonderful moment. 09:40 I take you on in Philippians Chapter 3 09:42 and we're looking at verse 6. 09:44 Verse 6, he asks-- he says, "As to zeal, 09:48 a persecutor of the church, as to the righteousness," 09:51 now we're getting to the issue 09:54 that we're going to be studying this morning. 09:56 "As to the righteousness which is in the Law, 10:00 in the Ten Commandments, found blameless." 10:05 Well, from a human stand point 10:08 and in his pre-conversion experience, 10:11 he thought he was on track, didn't he? 10:14 He thought that he was blameless 10:17 when he kept the commandments. 10:20 But my friend, I tell you, 10:22 we'll see it when he found Jesus Christ 10:25 he began to see things 10:26 from a totally different perspective. 10:30 And he began to see his previous experience 10:32 for what it really was. 10:34 It was a Christless experience. And so it will be for us. 10:41 You know, we can all of to this things, 10:43 we could be a part of the system 10:46 but it's not until we come to Jesus Christ 10:48 that we really began to see ourselves in a different light. 10:52 Jesus gives us perspective, doesn't He? Amen. 10:56 He always gives us perspective. 10:58 And let me tell you, 10:59 if there's anybody that hasn't really found it, 11:01 I mean, it's more than just a doctrine, 11:03 knowing about the doctrine of salvation, 11:05 knowing that Jesus died for sins. 11:07 It means a personal engagement in a relationship, 11:11 a committed relationship to Jesus Christ. 11:14 And so having the knowledge of it 11:16 without the engaged relationship, 11:20 my friend, we will always have-- we will not have the perspective 11:24 to see things for what they truly are. 11:27 Now, I would guess probably most of us this morning 11:30 know something about what it means to be 11:32 in a committed relationship. 11:36 If you are married, among other things, 11:39 you are in a committed relationship. 11:42 How many of you are in a committed relationship? Okay. 11:47 Well, there are some parallels from the human experience 11:51 as we talk by committed relationship. 11:54 To the committed relationship on this-- 11:56 in this spiritual realm there are some correlation, 11:59 aren't there? 12:01 And there, you know, 12:02 it's something that goes fairly, fairly deep. 12:05 So anyway, as he came to Jesus, 12:08 he gained a totally new perspective. 12:11 He thought he was self-satisfied. 12:16 That was the term, wasn't it? Self-satisfied. 12:19 In his religious experience he felt the need of nothing 12:25 until one day he found Jesus for what He really was. 12:30 In Titus 3:5, it says, talking about righteousness, 12:34 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, 12:40 but according to His mercy He saved us." 12:47 And my friend, you can be 12:49 an excellent Christian committed on a certain level 12:54 but again without that committed relationship 12:56 to Jesus Christ, 12:59 my friend, all that you 13:00 and I can do will always come up short. 13:07 We are not saved. 13:08 I hope, I believe that probably 90% of us here 13:12 this morning are fairly clear of this, 13:14 clear on this intellectually. 13:17 It's not by our works of righteousness 13:19 that by we were saved, it's by what? 13:23 What's the key word here? It's by His mercy. 13:28 It is through His love, 13:30 it is through His grace that we are saved. 13:34 And so it's not based on our performance, 13:37 it's not based on anything that we could do outside 13:40 our making-- and it's a response. 13:42 It's God that took the first steps, 13:44 it is response of faith 13:47 to embrace Jesus as a personal Savior 13:50 and to enter into a committed relationship 13:53 this is what will prepare 13:55 each one of us for the comic of Jesus. 13:59 Right? 14:01 Oh, you are a quite-- 14:02 we need a few African-Americans here this morning, don't we? 14:06 They always add a little flavor to the fellowship of the church. 14:11 But anyway, you know us littlie white, 14:14 maybe I shouldn't say, this is after all being taped. 14:17 Us littlie white proper Anglo-Saxons 14:20 you know, you know how we are, 14:23 we just-- we feel these things at heart. 14:27 We are just nice demonstrative of these things 14:29 as our black brother and sisters. 14:32 But I like some of their enthusiasm, don't you? Amen. 14:35 I have a statement from Ellen White 14:37 that I want to share with you 14:38 that really fits into what we were talking about. 14:40 It's Letter 48, 1903, take a good look at what the-- 14:45 and remember from Revelation 12, 14:48 it describes is as the testimony of Jesus. 14:50 This is I believe Jesus speaking to us. 14:53 It says this, all the work done-- 14:56 "All the work done, however excellent 14:57 it may appear to be." 15:00 And my friends, you know, let's examine our experience. 15:03 All the things that we may do in the church, 15:04 all the things we may do in a community, 15:07 all the things that we were doing 15:08 in this six weeks seminar and there's a lot of effort 15:11 and there's a lot of work that's involved in it. 15:14 At least for some us there is. 15:15 All of the things that we can do, 15:18 notice it says, "Is worthless if not done" How? 15:25 "In the love of Jesus." 15:28 Let me tell you something, I think you probably know this 15:32 but do you know with God motivation 15:36 is most often more important to God 15:40 in what we do than what we actually do. 15:45 We can do the right things from wrong 15:49 and selfish and self-interested motivations, right? 15:55 We can do that. 15:56 And so it's more than just what we are doing, 15:59 that's the exterior, it's how it correlates 16:03 to what's within the heart that's he crucial question. 16:07 Is it self in throne or is Christ in throne. 16:12 That's central to it all. 16:14 "Is worthless if not done in the love of Jesus." 16:18 What we do here this morning 16:20 as we gathered together as God's people, 16:21 the songs we sing, the things that's being preached 16:25 all of the activities that are going on here in this place 16:28 and beyond in our outreach into the community again, 16:31 is absolutely worthless 16:33 if it is not done in the love of Jesus. 16:38 And I tell you all of the preaching that I can do 16:40 or the Pastor Gale can do through the years 16:43 and I am gonna be doing quite a bit of preaching 16:45 in the next six weeks, five weeks now of this series. 16:48 I am gonna do a lot of preaching, 16:49 I am gonna be doing a lot of those kinds of things 16:51 but if it is not done in the love of Jesus 16:54 it is worthless. 16:57 We wasted our time, we wasted our money. 17:01 And I don't know about you 17:03 there's a lot of demands on us when it comes to time. 17:05 I don't have time. I don't have time. 17:08 You don't have time to waste it 17:13 and just kind of playing the game. 17:16 You know what I am talking about? 17:18 And we can do this, I can do this. 17:21 This was always a good text for me, 17:23 this always keeps this in sharp focus for me. 17:27 It goes on to say, "One may go through 17:28 the whole round of religious activity, 17:31 and yet unless Christ is woven into all that he says 17:36 and does, he" now notice the word is will, 17:39 not maybe or possibly, will. 17:42 "He will work for" whose glory? "For his own glory." 17:47 So unless Christ is woven into everything 17:51 that he does and says or she does 17:56 and say we will end up working for his own glory. 18:00 And those of us who are in public ministry, 18:02 this is a particular concern that we ought to be aware of 18:05 because self is so insidious, it's so easy for self to be in 18:09 and define ourselves we're doing good things, 18:11 we're preaching good things and to find out in the end 18:14 and the end to find out how tragic it would be, 18:16 in the end to discover that we've been working 18:18 for our own, our reputations, 18:21 for our own interest 18:23 and it's really been very much about self 18:27 and what people think about me, 18:29 and what I am doing and what I am saying. 18:33 And my friend, it is truly the spirit of God 18:36 that is at work. 18:37 It is not about me, 18:40 it's not really about you, is it? 18:43 It's about Him. Amen. 18:46 And that's my desire, purpose and prayer 18:51 for the time that we spend together 18:53 in what we are doing during the six weeks of this seminar. 18:56 I want it and it's gonna happened 18:59 because we desired and it will come 19:01 as a result of all of us participating in this desire, 19:06 this prayer that it is truly about Jesus 19:09 that He is the one that is present, 19:11 that He is the one that is speaking through His word, 19:14 through the songs that were singing, 19:16 working to touch and affect hearts. 19:18 Which means those of us who are the instruments, 19:21 our hearts and our minds must be open 19:24 and we must be touched with His love and grace. Amen. 19:30 You know, I've been doing this 26 years plus, 19:34 that's' a long time. 19:35 There are few of you here, 19:37 there are more than a few of you here today, 19:39 26 years, you haven't lived 26 years. 19:43 And my friend, those of us who have been at this 19:45 for a very long time this can become a kind of route. 19:49 We've done this, we've said this, 19:50 this is the way we do it, this is how we 19:53 you know, do our thing in church 19:55 and we just-- in the end 19:57 we're just kind of going through the motions of it. 19:59 My friend, we don't have time 20:01 to just go through the motions of that. 20:04 I don't have time for that. 20:07 You know, I am spending a good part of my time 20:09 away from my family 20:11 and I think most of you would think about, 20:12 that would be pretty tough lifestyle. 20:15 I don't have time just to play games 20:18 and just go through the motions. 20:21 If I am going to be leaving my family 20:23 and living somewhat of an unusual lifestyle 20:27 that goes with the kind of work I do, 20:30 I want to be sure that 20:32 what's happening is being done for His glory. 20:35 And something eternal is going to come out of it. 20:38 And it's not going to happen, 20:40 again, it isn't about me, it's not. 20:45 You can say an amen, to that if you care. Amen. 20:49 2 Corinthians 5:21, talking about how 20:54 this righteousness by faith comes. 20:57 This is such a wonderful, beautiful study in God's words. 21:01 2 Corinthians 5:21, I love this passages scripture 21:06 where it says about God in relationship to Jesus. 21:09 It says, "He made Him" 21:11 God made Jesus "who knew no sin," 21:16 He is spotless, He is untainted of sin, 21:20 He certainly understand sin, He certainly has been 21:23 you know, He's been observing 21:25 what sin is been doing in our lives 21:26 and upon this planet 21:28 that's why He stepped in to deal with it. 21:31 But He is absolutely and totally innocent. 21:35 Experientially when it comes to this matter of sin, 21:39 "He knew who-- 21:40 Him who knew no sin to be--" He made him. 21:43 Let me get that back together, 21:44 "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf." 21:51 Now often we talk about Jesus bearing our sins 21:55 and it's true, He bore our sins. 21:57 But this text says that 21:59 when Jesus as a representative of the human race 22:03 having taken human flesh upon Himself 22:05 and the incarnation, taking our place 22:07 as the divine substitute on the cross of Calvary 22:11 He not only bore our sins but, listen to this, 22:15 His identity was so complete and so full with-- full with us 22:21 as sinners that the text says, He became sin itself. 22:28 His identity was that He became sin itself. 22:31 And I don't think you and I can began to appreciate 22:34 what this did to the innocent heart 22:38 and soul of the Savior as sin was being laid upon Him 22:43 and as He was becoming sin, 22:44 as He became the object of God's wrath. 22:47 And let me tell you, God is-- God rightfully-- 22:50 somebody better be angry about this mess that we are in 22:53 and the horrible things that are happening 22:55 because of sin, don't you think? 22:56 What kind of God is gonna be sitting up there 22:58 you know, twiddling His-- 23:00 well, I don't about that what to say about God, 23:02 you know, that's just gonna be sitting up there 23:04 and you know, all of the stuff is going on. 23:08 No, there is a place when it talks about 23:10 and angry God I am glad, I am glad we serve a God 23:13 that sometimes is angry about 23:16 the horrible things that are taking place 23:18 when there's physical and sexual abuse 23:20 I am glad that there's a God that's angry about it 23:23 but I am also glad that we serve a God 23:25 that also is loving. 23:27 Amen. 23:29 And even many of those who were in the very depths 23:32 of the grip of the horribleness and awfulness of sin 23:37 who by His grace yet will be saved. 23:41 That's-- you know, that's a delicate balance 23:44 that must be caving of course God is perfect. 23:47 So He is in perfect balance, we would say that, 23:49 wouldn't we about God? Perfect balance, He is. 23:52 But think about, Jesus not only bearing our sins 23:55 but becoming sin itself, the wrath of God against sin. 24:00 That sense of absolute abandonment 24:04 that He experienced on the cross off Calvary 24:05 because of sin, that separation from God that 24:08 you know, run from His lips, 24:10 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 24:16 Again, I don't think you and I 24:17 can be even began to appreciate 24:21 the depth of pain and grief and sorrow 24:26 that Jesus experienced on the Cross of Calvary 24:29 when He became sin itself and when He finally died. 24:34 My friends, He didn't dies because of the wounds, 24:36 because He was crucified or that He'd been abused. 24:39 He died because of sin. Sin killed Him, right? 24:45 And in the end sin is gonna kill us 24:48 without the relationship. 24:51 And that's why God stepped in. 24:54 That's why Jesus stepped into this mess 24:57 and said this will not stand, I am not gonna let this happen. 25:01 There's more to this, so there's two sides on this substation 25:05 as we are taking a look at it. 25:06 So, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf," 25:10 it goes on to say, "So that" 25:11 this is giving us a reason for it, 25:14 "So that we" that's' you and me, 25:16 vast in the grasp of sense, 25:18 "So that we might become the righteousness of God." 25:22 And notice the phrase, "In Him," in Jesus. 25:26 This is how it all takes place. 25:28 It is in the relationship, isn't it, 25:31 that we become the righteousness of God. 25:32 So this is the divine transaction 25:35 that takes place at the Cross of Calvary. 25:37 It's a transaction of love and the part of God 25:40 in the person of Jesus 25:42 as He on one side bore our sins, became sin itself 25:45 and on the other side of the transaction 25:47 by faith in Jesus Christ we become righteous. 25:51 He became sin so that we might become righteous in Him. 25:57 Don't ever forget that word, that phrase, in Jesus. 26:00 That's what it's about, isn't it? Amen. 26:03 And it's all there at Calvary, it's all there. 26:08 Let's go back to Philippines 3:7, 8. 26:13 Philippians 3:7, 8, 26:17 we're gonna pick up where we left off. 26:20 As Paul continues to bear his testimony something dramatic, 26:24 something fundamental changed in the life of this Pharisee. 26:30 Those religious things that seemed so important 26:32 but they were Christ-less. 26:34 Those things that seemed so vital 26:36 but they were Christ-less 26:39 when he really discovered Jesus. 26:41 I tell you a change, a fundamental change 26:43 came into his heart and it will with us as well. 26:46 Verse-- verse, let's see, we read verse 6 26:49 and we want to look up verses what? 26:51 Let me look at my notes, it helps, 26:53 yeah, its verses 7 and 8 26:55 where it says, but what-- "But whatever." 27:00 That word, "but" is a contrast. 27:02 A contrast to what preceded it to what now follows. 27:09 And my friend, as you and I 27:12 come into that committed relationship with Jesus Christ 27:15 there will be a contrast between what we were 27:19 without Christ to what we now become in Christ. 27:24 Amen. Okay. 27:26 So it says, "But whatever things were gain to me," 27:29 I mean this was his life, this was his life, 27:32 this Pharisee and all that went with it. 27:35 "But whatever things were gain to me 27:37 those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ." 27:43 You see what began to really captivate him. 27:47 And my friend, it was Jesus. 27:49 And in light of Jesus 27:52 and what Jesus came to mean to him, 27:56 he really began to see things 27:58 from a totally fundamentally different perspective. 28:02 Those things that he once-- 28:03 those things that were gained to him 28:06 he count them as loss, as worthless. 28:10 And my friend, all that we can do 28:12 apart from Christ even in the religious realm, 28:14 if done apart from Christ is absolutely worthless 28:20 and he counted it as loss for the sake of Christ. 28:24 But my friend, it is the relationship 28:26 that gives meaning to what we do, 28:30 to what we do in church, 28:31 what we do as Christians in our everyday walk up there. 28:36 Not just here but up there. 28:39 Jesus makes a totally difference within our lives 28:42 as we come to Him as you know. 28:45 And my friend, for the apostle Paul 28:47 it was you know the difference between 28:50 a life that really though religious 28:52 was very much centered in self. 28:54 Those things that once were gained to him, 28:56 that's self centeredness. 28:58 And my friend, nothing worse than a self-centered religion. 29:02 But again when he came to Jesus 29:04 there was this change, this fundamental change. 29:07 Again, those things that were gained to him 29:09 he consider to be loss for Christ 29:11 because now it's not centered in self it is now centered-- 29:16 a experience that is centered in whom? 29:19 In Jesus. 29:21 And my friend, that makes all the difference. 29:25 It's fundamental, but that-- 29:27 everything falls out of that, right. 29:31 It does. 29:34 And some of us have been content 29:36 in our experience for far less than this. 29:42 We have, I am not here to beat anybody down 29:44 but I am just saying there's something more. 29:48 I know some people, they says like 29:50 when you get married the first year or two, 29:51 it's wonderful, it's all this emotion 29:54 but then let the few decades go by, 29:56 you just kind of settle down. 29:58 And they look at the religious life something like that. 30:01 But my friend, it is our privilege 30:03 with an active relationship with God through Jesus Christ 30:06 to continue on in our first love experience. 30:12 It may not be something of the history of our past, 30:15 it can be an active part of who we are 30:18 in Jesus Christ today and tomorrow 30:21 and on through the ages of eternity. 30:28 And I believe that God is calling back 30:30 some of us who lost it 30:32 or calling us back to our first love experience. 30:36 Oh, the joy and the vitality 30:38 and oh, the-- yeah, all that joy. 30:41 That's why when I talk about doing evangelism, 30:44 I tell people it can be one of the most joyous things 30:48 that you can do. 30:50 When Jesus is present and He said where two or three 30:54 or I will be present. 30:56 But we need to be sensible to His presence, don't we? 30:59 And when Jesus is touching hearts 31:02 and when Jesus is revealing Himself 31:04 through His word and Jesus is being exalted 31:07 and He is the focal point let me tell you there is joy. 31:12 And my friend, that's where the traditional 31:13 more doctrinal approach is really kind of short. 31:17 I mean, it's more than making you know, the gospel 31:22 and what Jesus did at Calvary, one of the things that we teach 31:26 in the sequence of our teachings. 31:28 It's making Jesus as He ought to be, 31:32 the focal point and the thread 31:34 that goes through everything that we teach, 31:38 preach and sing about. 31:42 And that can't happen, you can't just learn that by education, 31:46 going to seminary. 31:48 That comes out of our, once experience in Jesus. 31:54 That's how it works. 31:56 And so we can't contrive this, we really can't contrive it. 32:00 And as I said, this-- for Paul this all happened 32:03 on the Damascus road, it was life changing, 32:06 fundamentally it was life changing. 32:08 I take you on to verse 9, he continues, 32:12 I don't think, did we read verse 8? 32:15 Oh, I got caught up in verse 7, 32:16 so I didn't finish verse 8, we have to do that. 32:18 "More than that," Paul says, "I count all things to be loss 32:22 in view of the surpassing value 32:25 of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." 32:27 Now when he talks about knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, 32:30 this is more than knowing about Jesus, 32:33 it's more than knowing the doctrine 32:37 and the teaching about Jesus. 32:40 Knowing Jesus is speaking 32:42 of an intimate committed relationship in Jesus. 32:49 It is speaking of a love connection 32:52 between us and Christ. 32:54 His love flowing by His spirit into our hearts 32:57 and in return our love flowing 32:59 back in connection to the one we love, right. 33:05 So when we talk about knowing Jesus, 33:07 it has intellectual content through it 33:11 but it must be experiential and it must go-- 33:15 you know, listen, it's not either 33:18 or, the intellect or the experiential. 33:21 If you lead one-- you know, you got to have both of that. 33:24 Intellect without experience is pretty dry. 33:27 The experience without the content 33:29 of the intellect side of what we were studying here 33:33 and whatever else we might study these, 33:35 the experience pretty shallow, right. 33:38 We need both. 33:40 It's none and either or proposition whatsoever. 33:43 So I don't want to be misunderstood 33:45 but I am talking about, 33:46 we gonna have the intellectual side-- 33:48 we gonna have the truth but without Jesus 33:50 we really don't have the truth 33:51 because He is the truth. Amen. 33:55 That's the testimony He bore 33:57 and that's what we ought to be preaching, 33:58 that's what we ought to be sharing. 33:59 So anyway, "The surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord 34:03 for whom I have suffered the loss of all things." 34:07 There's that perspective 34:08 that changed fundamentally for Him. 34:10 "And count them but rubbish 34:11 so that I may gain Christ." Amen. 34:16 This becomes the focal point, 34:18 this becomes the most important thing in one's life. 34:22 And my friend, this is what swings it 34:24 when things are going well in our lives 34:25 and when things are going bad. 34:27 We are going through tough times. 34:31 It's Jesus that can get us through. 34:33 And I went through this 34:35 some two years ago in my own family. 34:37 Some horrible things were happening 34:40 and when I talk about my family, 34:42 I am talking about my birth family. 34:44 And probably I shouldn't get into this too much 34:47 but I just went through an experience where I just said, 34:50 God, I don't know how this is gonna work out 34:52 but I am gonna do this one thing, 34:54 I am gonna trust You no matter what. Amen. 34:57 Took about two years for this, whole family-- 34:58 I dealt with money and I tell you 35:01 when a family money it can be blessing, 35:03 it can be a curse. 35:05 But anyway there's someone in family that felt 35:08 that they should have it all and start to take all of us down 35:13 in their attempt to get out the money. 35:16 And my mother is still alive, she's 87. 35:20 They really had their eyes on her assets 35:23 and felt the rest of us ought to-- 35:26 anyway, we have gone into it. 35:27 It was horrible, it's awful. 35:30 But I tell you, when things are going badly in life 35:35 my friend, once faith in Jesus will make all the difference. 35:41 It will. 35:42 I don't know what's going on in your life, 35:44 I don't know what's going on in you heart 35:45 but anyway, that's what it's about. 35:47 Verse 9, it goes on to say, "And may be found in Him," 35:50 in Jesus "not having a righteousness of my own." 35:54 Take a good look at this, "Not having a righteousness 35:56 of my own derived from the Law." 35:58 That is not based upon my obedience, 36:00 what I can do and measuring up to what the law requires. 36:03 So, "It's not righteousness of my own derived from the Law, 36:07 but that which-- that which that is that righteousness 36:12 which is through faith in Christ." 36:16 It is through the relationship 36:19 that we derive our righteousness. 36:22 And it's not really-- it becomes ours 36:25 but it's really about His righteousness 36:28 that by faith becomes ours because you know He's perfect. 36:35 And by the way, to be perfect is to be perfect in love, 36:37 for remember, the law is summed up in these words 36:42 from Romans 13 where it says, 36:44 "Love is the fulfilling of the law." 36:48 So to be perfect in love is to be perfect-- perfect-- 36:51 yeah, man, I don't want to get into it 36:54 but that, you know, perfection. 36:57 People got all tied up in this matter of perfectionism 36:59 forgetting the essence of it. 37:01 Some of the most unlovely and most unchrist like things 37:03 have been done in the name of perfectionism, 37:08 right and many have forgotten it's really about love. 37:16 It's about love, truly it's about love. 37:20 Anyway, where do we leave on? 37:21 And okay, "And may be found in Him, 37:23 not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, 37:26 but that which is through faith in Christ, 37:28 the righteousness which comes from God 37:32 on the basis of faith." 37:37 And faith is that-- commitment 37:38 faith is that love that binds us 37:41 into this committed relationship that we are talking about. 37:47 And let me share with you another statement, 37:48 this one, 1 Selected Messages, page 367, 37:52 this really puts it together in a way you know, 37:55 I am trying to emaciate it 37:56 but this really puts it together. 37:57 "The law demands righteousness." 37:59 It does, but the problem is we've been tainted by sin. 38:03 It could demand righteousness for as long as the day 38:08 you know, it can demand all of the righteousness 38:10 it wants of us but we have been corrupted by evil. 38:16 We just can't measure up and you and I can't produce it. 38:20 It can demand it and it does. 38:22 And be assured of it, 38:23 God's standard is absolute perfection. 38:27 Did you hear me? 38:29 Not 99.9% will do, it is 100% perfection. 38:34 I didn't mean to get into perfectionism 38:36 but I guess it's on my mind here. 38:39 100% righteousness alone 38:42 is our qualification for heaven. 38:44 You just stay with me though. 38:46 Okay, just stay with me I am going to put this together. 38:49 It demands it and we see this awful scripture, 38:52 there is this high standard, this is what God requires. 38:57 And many of us have you know, 39:01 we struggle with this and because you know what, 39:04 you and I cannot possibly measure up 39:07 to what's required of us. 39:09 Who of us here is able of ourselves to measure up? 39:12 Let me see your hand and afterwards, 39:15 Gale, you and I will sit down 39:16 and we will have a little conversation. 39:20 You tell me, you know. 39:22 Anyway, "The law demands righteousness, 39:23 and this the sinner owes to the law; 39:25 but he is incapable of rendering it." 39:30 I tell you there are those who have gone through a lifetime 39:33 in the church seeking to do what God requires of them, 39:37 they have sweated blood itself. 39:43 And some people never come to an understanding, 39:45 particularly the strong willed individual, 39:47 he can't do it. 39:50 You and I can't do it. 39:52 We are incapable and we are incapable 39:56 because of what sin has done to us, 40:00 in our hearts and minds. 40:02 "The only way in which he can attain 40:03 to righteousness is through faith." 40:05 We've already seen that, the word of God. 40:07 So it clearly indicated there. 40:08 "By faith he can bring to God the merits of Christ, 40:12 his perfection and the Lord places 40:15 the obedience of His Son to the sinner's account." 40:17 It is like a bank account. 40:19 You are in a deficit situation, 40:21 you and me as sinners were in deficit situation. 40:25 And my friend, the righteousness of Jesus 40:29 is put into our account 40:33 and the debt is satisfied. 40:36 That's the way it works. 40:38 "Christ's righteousness is accepted 40:40 in place of man's failure," praise His name. 40:43 "And God receives" this is all by faith. 40:47 I know there's gonna some that say, 40:49 "This can't be this easy. It's just faith. 40:53 There's nothing that we have to do." 40:55 Oh, yes, there's something you have to do. 40:57 You have to respond in faith and that's all you and I can do. 41:03 "And God receives, pardons, justifies, 41:06 the repentant, believing soul, treats him 41:09 as though he were righteous." 41:11 He treats us as we never sinned. 41:13 Can you imagine that? That's pretty good stuff. 41:17 And furthermore it says, "And loves him or her 41:21 as He loves His Son." 41:23 Well, does that put a value on you and me? 41:26 Amen. God loves me like that? 41:30 All of the words and all of the-- you know. 41:35 It is secrecies of my life and it says 41:37 "This is how faith is accounted" or considered "righteousness." 41:44 Oh, my friend, embedded in the bible 41:46 and in the Revelations of this Spirit of Prophecy 41:49 it bares testimonies is this wonderful truth 41:53 in Jesus Christ. 41:56 And see, knowing and understanding the truth 42:01 by faith leads us into a deeper understanding 42:06 and experience which is absolutely essential. 42:09 But what do we do? 42:11 We have those texts 42:12 but then there's texts like Revelation 14:12 42:15 where it says, "Here are they 42:16 who keep the commandments of God." 42:19 We've already settled it, 42:21 it can demand righteousness of it, 42:22 we can't render it as we are incapable of rendering it. 42:25 And we are accepted by faith, we are accounted, 42:28 we are considered righteousness by faith in Jesus. 42:32 Then where does this whole matter 42:33 and it's all through the bible, 42:35 this whole matter of keeping the commandments, 42:37 you know John 14:15, 42:39 "If you love me, keep my commandments." 42:41 "Here are they we just ready to keep the commandments of God." 42:45 This is love for God that you keep His commandments. 42:49 You know, we got to find harmony there's some are, don't we? 42:52 And there is harmony if properly understood 42:56 and experienced as I will not point out. 43:00 And I am going to touch this part of our study 43:04 this morning in the context of the relationship. 43:07 And that's where it ought to be look at, 43:09 in the context of relationship. 43:10 In John 15:5, Jesus said, 43:13 "He who abides in Me and I in him." 43:18 Boy, that's pretty intimate, isn't it? 43:21 "He who abides in Me and I in him" he will what? 43:26 "He bears much fruit." 43:31 One of the most powerful things 43:32 that we experience in life are relationships. 43:36 Relationships, they are, think about it. 43:40 The relationships, 43:42 a relationship between a husband and a wife, 43:44 family relationships, a parent and a child. 43:48 Well, I love-- I just love my kids 43:50 you know, I just learn so much more about God's love 43:53 when I had children. 43:55 You can bear witness to that, 43:56 those of you who are parents, right. 43:58 I love them in the good times 43:59 and I love them in the bad times. 44:02 I love them when they are doing what is right 44:04 and I love them when they are failing. 44:07 And you know what, we are made in the image of God, 44:09 that's the reflection of God's love for His children. 44:13 God's love not conditioned on our performance, it's not. 44:18 And that's what wins hearts over, 44:20 that's what keeps winning my heart over 44:22 and that's why I keep preaching it. 44:25 So out of the relationship we bear fruit. 44:29 It says, we bear fruit, tie into it Philippians 1:9 44:35 where Paul says, "I pray, that your love" 44:38 It comes out of the relationship, 44:39 we love because He first loved us. 44:41 So if we love it means 44:43 because we are experiencing His love and some other. 44:46 "I pray, that your love may abound still more and more" 44:50 that's talking about growing in love. 44:54 Amen. Growing in love. 44:56 "I pray, that your love may abound still more 44:59 and more having been filled" What does it mean, filled? 45:05 Who's been filled? We. 45:08 "Having been filled 45:10 with the fruit of righteousness," 45:13 notice the next part, 45:14 "which comes through Jesus Christ" 45:20 as a result of the relationship. 45:23 Relationships on a human level are transformational. 45:29 Now that can go two different directions, can't they? 45:33 But they could be transformational. 45:35 But above every relationship 45:38 that you and I can possibly experience 45:39 on the human level is the relationship 45:42 we are privilege to experience in Jesus Christ. 45:45 That relationship is the most powerful of any relationship 45:50 and is truly transformational. 45:54 Not instantaneous 45:55 because it's growing in love more and more 45:59 you know, it's growing. 46:01 It becoming, the process of becoming-- 46:03 have you ever seen two people 46:05 that have spent decades together 46:07 who even look alike and talk just alike? 46:13 How does that happen? It's love. 46:17 It's the years of being together, 46:20 of being molded and being you know, 46:22 the two shall become one, becoming truly one. 46:26 They start to sound alike, even look alike, you know. 46:31 And that's how it is with our relationship with Jesus. 46:34 We become like Him, the one that we love, 46:37 the one who has promised to come to abide in us, 46:40 abiding in us. 46:42 And if He's in us, 46:44 He begins to infiltrate into every aspect of life, 46:47 into our thinking, into our value system, 46:51 into what we do and into what we say, 46:54 even how we speak is affected by His love embrace 46:58 when Jesus is present in the life. 47:00 This is a growth experience. 47:03 It's growing in Him, isn't it? 47:06 And that take you to 1 Peter 1:1, 2. 47:10 For the Holy Spirit has a part in all of this too 47:12 and I can only touch on this 47:14 but look at the salutation here 47:17 1 Peter 1, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 47:20 to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, 47:25 Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 47:29 who are chosen," 47:30 its talking about God's people who are chosen. 47:34 And my friend, we have been chosen. 47:37 You have been chosen, I've been chosen. 47:38 But notice what is says of them, 47:39 "Who are chosen 47:41 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, 47:44 and by the sanctifying work of the Spirit." 47:49 We've been chosen by the sanctifying 47:52 work of the Spirit and for what purpose. 47:55 "To obey Jesus Christ 47:58 and be sprinkled with His blood." 48:01 We have been chosen by God 48:04 through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. 48:07 And remember, it is through the Holy Spirit 48:09 that Jesus abides in us anyway. 48:12 Right? Okay. 48:16 And so this through the sanctifying, 48:18 that's being set apart, that's what it means. 48:21 And we're set apart for the powerful 48:22 working of God's love and grace through Jesus Christ 48:26 as He is abiding in us 48:30 through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. 48:34 To obey, oh, no, in Jesus Christ, 48:38 we are not uncomfortable with this word, 48:40 obedience in its proper setting. 48:45 We better not be because those of us 48:47 who are parents are going to have a lot of trouble 48:50 if we don't believe that there's a proper place for obedience. 48:53 You know, when you love somebody you want to please them. 48:56 When you love somebody as we love Jesus 49:00 we want to be obedient 49:02 but also know we are still dealing 49:04 with what sin has done to us, right. 49:07 And that's where the growing comes into. 49:11 I will share with you this statement. 49:13 "He who is being sanctified by the truth" 49:15 and remember, the spirit is the Spirit of truth. 49:19 "Will be self-controlled, 49:20 and will follow in the footsteps of Christ 49:22 until grace is lost in glory." 49:25 Now notice, "The Righteousness 49:27 by which we are justified is imputed." 49:30 That's what we consider righteousness. 49:34 "The Righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted." 49:38 So there are these two aspects of righteousness by faith. 49:42 The first, we spent the greater part on 49:44 that is by faith in Jesus, 49:46 we are accepted through His righteousness, 49:49 not-- it's not derived from keeping the law, 49:51 it is through the righteous life of Jesus 49:54 we are accounted, we are considered to be righteous 49:57 but as in time we are abiding in Jesus, 50:01 we are becoming like Jesus. 50:04 His life, when it talks about 50:06 the impartation of the righteousness here, 50:09 it's talking about the impartation 50:11 of the very life of Jesus. 50:14 Don't lose that connection. 50:17 For the righteousness to be imparted to us 50:20 is to have the life of Jesus imparted to us. 50:23 It is our faith, it is through love 50:26 and it is through time 50:28 that process of becoming like Him. 50:32 And we may stumble along the way, 50:35 may, we probably will at time stumble along the way. 50:38 And when we do, oh, we blew it, 50:43 we are in a stage of discouragement 50:45 until we get on our knees and we confess our sins 50:48 and then everything gets solve. 50:49 Is that the way it works? 50:51 No, even at the point where we may fail 50:54 in our growth in Jesus 50:55 we are still covered by His perfection. Amen. 51:00 And so when it says the law requires of His righteousness 51:03 and I went on to say 100% righteousness 51:06 will do and only do 51:08 and is the primary qualification for entering into the heaven, 51:13 my friends it is 100% pure in Jesus 51:17 and it is Jesus righteousness and through His perfection 51:22 that we are accepted and we will be saved. 51:27 It is nothing of self, it is all about Him. 51:32 See, we are growing into that 51:33 because you know sometimes it is about me, 51:36 sometimes self gonna way, right. 51:39 It's making Jesus the center point of it all, it is. 51:44 There's been swing in passers of this whole thing. 51:48 There was legalism going on. 51:50 What we need to guard against when there are extremisms 51:53 that go on in the church is that we don't overreact and end up 51:58 and find ourselves in the opposite extreme. 52:02 And I believe that's happen in part. 52:04 Nobody is interested in going back to the legalism. 52:08 Anybody here want to back to it into the legalism 52:11 that some will experience and some were teaching? 52:15 I don't believe everybody was into it. 52:18 But there certainly seem to be a fair amount of it 52:22 but on the other side of it we want, 52:25 this is where we need to be balanced in all of this 52:27 and that-- we do that through our experience in Jesus 52:29 and keeping focus on the truth. 52:32 And the truth is that there is this process 52:34 of becoming like Him. 52:36 Steps to Christ, my last statement here, 52:39 "There are two errors against 52:40 which the children of God, especially need to guard. 52:43 The first is that of looking to their own works, 52:46 trusting to anything they can do, 52:48 to bring themselves into harmony with God. 52:51 The opposite and no less dangerous error 52:55 is that belief in Christ releases men 52:57 from keeping the law of God 52:59 that since by faith" and I know there 53:02 some confusion out in the church over this whole matter. 53:06 "That since by faith alone" and it's true, isn't it? 53:10 "By faith alone 53:11 we become partakers of the grace of Christ, 53:14 our works have nothing to do with our redemption. 53:18 Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, 53:23 and faith only," that is the relationship 53:25 "that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, 53:27 which enables us to render obedience." 53:31 Amen. Who does the enabling? 53:34 Just try harder to live the better. 53:38 It's how it comes the-- what do you say? 53:42 Well, it says we partake the grace of Christ 53:45 that we are enabled, it's a process of becoming. 53:50 And my friends, it's all about knowing Jesus. 53:55 It's all about coming into this relationship in Jesus Christ. 53:59 I am gonna end with the song, I want you to bow your heads 54:03 and I want you to mediate upon the words of the song 54:06 because it's a capstone 54:08 to what I shared with you this morning. 54:25 What is this thing I feel? 54:31 What makes my heart reveal? 54:37 This strange attraction to be like Him 54:47 Why can I not ignore 54:53 Like so many times before 54:58 His Invitation to be like Him 55:09 Somehow I can't escape 55:13 the love He has shown 55:19 Somehow His spirit finds a way 55:24 to make it known 55:30 To think that God my life 55:34 Jesus gave up His own 55:39 It makes me want to serve Him 55:45 and trust Him, Him alone 55:53 He chose to lay aside 55:58 all the fame and pride 56:04 That's how my Lord became 56:08 the greatest of all man 56:13 And He is not ashamed 56:19 to let me share His name 56:25 That I might find my life in Him 56:44 What made Him come descend 56:50 to love me like a friend? 56:55 In spite of all my sin 56:59 He bled on me and died 57:05 Lord God, I offer you 57:11 my sin to renew 57:17 Cry unto mighty self 57:21 to be like Him 57:43 Say you desire this morning, 57:45 just raise your hand right there. |
Revised 2014-12-17