Participants: David Asscherick
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000803
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01:00 Happy Sabbath. Happy Sabbath.
01:03 It's good to be alive, amen. Amen. 01:05 So much better than the alternative. 01:09 Amen. Amen. 01:11 I am happy to be alive this morning 01:13 and more than that I am happy to be alive in Jesus. 01:19 And it is a good thing to look out 01:20 and see all of your smiling faces. 01:23 Are you "gladventists", this morning? 01:26 Amen. Amen. 01:29 I am looking forward to our presentation this morning. 01:32 I thought it will be well for us to just spend a few moments 01:35 in review that is sort of recapitulating 01:39 what we have learned up to this point. 01:42 In our first presentation we learned that life is a wager, 01:48 that life is a bet. 01:50 And that you can evaluate any wager, 01:53 any bet by that three-tiered formula. 01:56 What is the size of the price to be gain? 01:58 What is the size of the risk involved 02:00 and what are your chances of actually gaining 02:02 the promised price? 02:04 We talked about a man name Blaise Pascal 02:06 and Pascal said that only the fool 02:10 would chose to live the godless life 02:12 because the size of the price 02:14 that is eternal life is an actual infinite 02:16 and of course as a mathematician 02:17 he was very interested in that. 02:19 The size of the risk involved is non existent 02:23 because in order to demonstrate 02:25 that there is a risk in the Christian experience, 02:27 you would have to show 02:28 that the quantity or quality of the life of the Christian 02:31 is somehow inferior to the non-believer. 02:35 But I am here to tell you this morning 02:36 with all of the enthusiasm and vigor that I can muster 02:39 that my life has been exponentially better, 02:43 more satisfying, more substantive and meaningful 02:46 since my conversion to Christ than it was before. 02:49 Can someone say, amen? Amen. 02:50 And so the size of the price is infinite, 02:52 the size of the risk is non existent. 02:54 In fact there's actually a benefit to be gained 02:57 by entering into this gospel wager 02:59 and then of course the best news of all, the third point, 03:01 what are the chances of actually gaining the promise price. 03:04 And what are the chances? 100%. 03:08 Jesus Himself said, "For God so love the world 03:11 that He gave His only begotten Son that--" 03:13 what's the next word? 03:15 "Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish." 03:17 In other words everyone qualifies 03:20 if you can but believe. 03:22 And so in our opening presentation 03:24 we saw that this thing called Christianity is very credible 03:28 but even more than credibility it is livable. 03:32 There are many things that have the appearance of credibility 03:35 but are not livable. 03:36 The great central truth of the Christian faith 03:38 is not just that it's intellectually credible 03:40 and that it's existentially credible 03:42 but that you can actually live it. 03:44 It make sense, it allows you to look at the world around you 03:48 and compartmentalize all of the various streams 03:50 of information that are coming in. 03:52 I freak-- I frankly do not know how people 03:55 who are not Christians can maintain their sanity 03:58 in this world that is falling apart at the scenes. 04:02 And so in our opening presentation 04:03 we saw that Christianity is credible 04:05 and that there is no risk, 04:06 no actual risk involved in taking Jesus at His word. 04:09 Our second presentation, we looked at the issue of worth. 04:13 The issue of what, everyone? Worth. 04:16 And you remember that 04:17 really the central feature of the idea of worth 04:20 is that worth is subjective. 04:23 It is what, everyone? Subjective. 04:25 Another way of saying that is, 04:27 the one who is willing to pay the price for a given object 04:30 is the one who determines what that is worth. 04:33 A $5,000 sports coat, 04:35 you remember the analogy is not worth it to me. 04:38 There are many things that are worth 04:39 various monetary expenditures but that would not be worth. 04:42 In another words, what I get in exchange 04:45 is not sufficient enough for me 04:47 to justify spending that kind of money. 04:51 So what are you worth? 04:53 Well, the answer is that there was a man 04:55 who was walking through a field, 04:56 Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is like the man 04:58 walking through a field and he finds there a treasure. 05:02 What does he find everyone? He finds a treasure. 05:05 And when he finds that treasure, 05:06 he's so thrilled with that treasure, 05:07 so overjoyed with that treasure, 05:09 that he liquidates all of his assets, 05:11 so he can attain that field that contains that treasure. 05:13 And we say what does this mean? 05:14 Well, what it means is that when we find Jesus, 05:17 we give it all up for Jesus. 05:18 When we find the gospel, we give it all up for the gospel 05:20 and that is in fact what the parable is teaching 05:22 but it's not all that the parable is teaching. 05:24 Can someone say, amen? Amen. 05:27 More importantly is not the treasure that we find 05:30 but the treasure that Jesus found 05:32 when He found you in that out of the way field. 05:36 Jesus looks down there and He sees a treasure, 05:39 He stubs His toes so to speak on something, 05:41 He knows it's not a rock, He knows it's not a root 05:43 and He looks down and He investigates 05:45 to see what that treasure is and the treasure is you. 05:49 Now He knows that it will cost Him how much? 05:51 How much will it cost Him? It will cost Him everything. 05:54 But he purchased it anyway 05:56 which means that God has established 05:59 your worth and your value. 06:02 Now here's something very exciting about that. 06:04 Your worth and your value are established independent 06:08 of how you feel about yourself. 06:11 Did you pick up on that, yes or no? 06:13 Your worth and your value are established independent 06:15 of how you feel about yourself. 06:17 You might say, I don't feel like I am worth xyz, 06:21 fill in the blank but how you feel about it, 06:23 frankly doesn't matter at all. 06:25 The fact of the matter is that God paid an infinite price, 06:29 in fact the ultimate price for you 06:31 and the price paid for you 06:32 determines your worth in the eyes of God. 06:36 Amen. Amen. 06:38 Now the great thing about all of this I suppose is that 06:42 when God paid an infinitely high price for us 06:45 because He is omniscient, 06:47 that is to say He knows everything, 06:49 He knew what He was getting. 06:52 God did not purchase you and then looked under the hood 06:55 so to speak and say, "Uh, I didn't-- 06:57 this is not at all what I thought I was getting." 06:59 He knew. He knew exactly what you were. 07:03 He knew your failures and your foibles, your faults, 07:06 your inconsistencies, your hypocrisies. 07:08 He knew it all and He still paid an infinitely high price for you 07:12 while you were a sinner. 07:14 Someone say, amen. Amen. 07:16 Now that was our second presentation. 07:18 You are worth, that is the great 07:20 central truth of the Christian faith 07:22 that God condescendingly become a man 07:24 but not just to become a man but to die as a man 07:27 so that He could redeem His purchased possession 07:30 and save eternally those who would exercise faith. 07:34 And that was last night's presentation. 07:36 What was the title of last night's presentation, 07:39 very complicated? 07:40 Do. That's right, do. 07:42 And we learned last night that our do 07:46 if not placed in its proper context 07:48 becomes what? Dodo. 07:55 The central feature of the Christian faith 07:57 is not primarily or predominantly 08:00 about what I do but about what Jesus did and is doing. 08:05 And we divided, some would say, 08:08 you know, over generalize 08:09 but for the purposes of our illustration 08:11 last night it worked. 08:12 We divided all non Christian faiths 08:14 from Christianity and we asked the central question. 08:16 What is the single scarlet thread 08:18 that separates this from those 08:20 and the answer is over here in the final analysis, 08:23 it is something that I do that recommends me to God. 08:27 It is something that I do 08:28 that causes God to look upon me with favor, 08:30 so the locus of salvation 08:32 for you theologians would be centered in me. 08:35 I initiate God's happiness with me 08:39 but over here the locus of salvation is in God. 08:43 God is the initiator and we respond to God's gracious act. 08:48 Amen. Powerful. 08:52 Desire of the Ages, page 25, 08:54 one of my all time favorite quotations 08:56 from the writings of Ellen white. 08:58 Christ was treated as we deserve 09:00 that we might be treated as He deserved. 09:04 He was condemned for our sins 09:06 in which He had no share 09:07 that we might be justified by His righteousness 09:10 in which we had no share. 09:11 He suffered the death which was ours 09:14 that we might receive the life which is His, 09:16 with His stripes we are healed. 09:20 That was last night's presentation, 09:21 so that basically brings us up to speed. 09:24 What we want to address this morning 09:25 is this important question of how do I do it. 09:31 I believe presentation number one, 09:33 the Christianity is credible and there's no risk involved. 09:36 I believe presentation number two 09:37 that God has placed an infinite value on my life 09:39 knowing all of my foibles, fault and inconsistencies. 09:41 I believe presentation number three 09:43 and that is that the central truth of the Christian faith 09:45 is what Jesus has done 09:47 and not primarily about what I have done. 09:48 But in the final analysis if it doesn't work, 09:51 it might look good on paper 09:52 but if we can't make it work in our lives, 09:55 we are not going to be able to institute these great truths 09:59 that we intellectually believe. 10:00 Are we all on the same page, yes or no? 10:02 So how do we make it work? 10:03 How do I stay fresh with Jesus? 10:07 In fact I had one of the young people approach me last night 10:09 and he said you know, Pastor Asscherick, 10:10 I believe what you've said 10:12 and I resonate with what you have said 10:13 but what I want to know is how do I keep it real, 10:16 how do I keep it fresh, not just once every week, 10:18 not just once every two months, 10:20 not just once every three months. 10:22 I am tired of these roller coaster rides 10:24 up and down, and up and down. 10:25 I am on fire and then I am in the lows 10:27 and I am on fire and then I am in the low. 10:28 How do I keep it real? Do you want to know that? 10:33 Well, I think I figured it out. And I've got very good news. 10:37 It's not rocket science. 10:40 Open your Bibles with me to John 15. 10:43 Our presentation this morning is almost as easy to remember 10:47 as last night's presentation, almost. 10:51 Our presentation this morning is entitled, again one word 10:54 but this time more letters, "Abide." 10:59 What is it everyone? 11:00 Abide. John 15. 11:03 Let's go there together, John 15. 11:07 Our presentation is entitled simply 11:09 yet profoundly, Abide. 11:13 What we are going to do is 11:14 really study through the first eight verses of John 15 11:18 and we are going to pay particular attention to verse 3 11:21 but let's just read through the first eight verses 11:23 to sort of get an airplane overview of the passage. 11:26 Now this is for many of us a familiar passage. 11:29 And it's always a dangerous thing for a preacher 11:32 to preach on a familiar passage 11:34 because people think they know the passage. 11:37 But be very careful that you don't ever become 11:39 so familiar with the Bible 11:40 that you think you know everything about a given passage 11:43 even very familiar passages like John 3:16. 11:46 There are gems of truth to be uncovered inside 11:49 of even the most familiar versus in scripture. 11:51 Can you say, amen? Amen. 11:52 So please do your best to sort of disabuse your mind 11:55 of what you think you know about this morning's passage 11:58 and let's take a fresh look 11:59 at this verse of scripture, these verses. 12:02 John 15, beginning in verse 1, 12:05 Jesus says, "I am the true vine, 12:08 and My Father is the vinedresser. 12:11 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away 12:15 and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, 12:17 that it may bear--" what? "More fruit." 12:21 Verse 3, "You are already clean 12:22 because of the word which I have spoken to you. 12:24 Abide in Me, and I in you. 12:26 As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 12:28 unless it abides in the vine, 12:30 neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 12:33 I am the vine, you are the branches. 12:35 He who abides in Me, and I in him, 12:37 bears much fruit for without Me you can do--" what? "Nothing." 12:41 Verse 6, "If anyone does not abide in Me, 12:43 he is cast out as a branch and is withered 12:46 and they gather them and throw them into the fire, 12:47 and they are burned. 12:49 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, 12:52 you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 12:55 By this is My Father is glorified, 12:57 that you bear much fruit so you will be My disciples." 13:02 Now if you are going to take this passage of scripture 13:05 and you are going to distill it down to a single word 13:08 to it's most fundamental element, 13:10 what would that word be? Peace of cake. 13:12 What would it be everyone? Would be the word, abide. 13:14 Jesus uses that some eight or nine, 13:16 perhaps even 10 times in this passage. 13:18 He says, "Abide, abide, abide, abide, abide, abide.' 13:23 Now, is anyone here this morning reading from 13:25 the New International Version of the Bible? 13:27 Okay. Anyone? Raise your hands. Okay. 13:30 What does is your Bible say there? 13:32 It doesn't use the word abide, does it? 13:33 What does it say? It says remain. 13:37 You look that word abide up 13:39 and what the word abide means 13:41 is to remain or better yet, to stay put. 13:45 It means what everyone? Stay put. Stay there. 13:51 The essence of the word abide is don't move, 13:55 stay where you are, remain where you are. Abide in me. 14:00 Jesus says that some eight or nine or ten times. 14:03 Stay there, stay there, stay there, stay there. 14:07 Remain where you are, remain where you are, do not move. 14:12 Now there's an important 14:15 grammatical and theological point 14:18 to understand about the word abide 14:20 and it's very simple, very easily understood. 14:24 You cannot abide where you're not. 14:31 Amen. Amen. 14:33 Okay, this group is having little trouble with that. 14:36 Let's try that again. 14:37 Okay, you cannot abide where you aren't. 14:40 You understand that? Yeah. 14:42 Okay, they got it. Praise the Lord. 14:43 How are my A students doing? Okay. 14:47 Okay? Okay. 14:50 Well, these are the sheep on the right hand 14:53 and these are the goats on the left. 14:57 Of course from your perspective you are the sheep 15:00 and they are the goats. 15:02 But we are all sinners saved by grace. 15:03 Someone say, amen. Amen. 15:05 The A students as well as the non-A students. 15:10 So the idea of the word abide is to remain, to stay put. 15:15 So we would say linguistically soundly, 15:18 grammatically soundly that you cannot, 15:20 listen very carefully here, the words are purposely chosen. 15:22 You cannot continue to abide 15:26 where you do not presently reside. 15:30 Amen. Amen. 15:32 That would be an exercise in futility, 15:33 its not grammatically sound, it's not logically sound 15:36 and it's not theologically sound. 15:37 You cannot continue to stay 15:39 where you are if you are not there. Right? 15:45 I get lost very easily, right. 15:48 My wife, she has fantastic navigatorial skills. 15:52 I need to appreciate that, navigational skills. 15:55 And she's one of these people 15:57 that can go through a city one time 15:58 and she just has some sort of awareness 16:01 of where things are. 16:02 First time in the city and she can find me a Thai restaurant. 16:06 I don't know how she does that. 16:07 She is like... 16:10 She can just get there, okay. 16:11 So she just has tremendous sense of awareness, right. 16:15 Now you get her in the woods and she's lost, right. 16:18 She's instantaneously lost. 16:19 Just turning in circles, you know. 16:21 I don't know what it is. 16:23 But me, I am directionally challenge, very much so 16:26 and I sometimes drive by the turn to my own house. No joke. 16:31 Frequently, in fact just a few days ago 16:33 I was driving from the airport 16:35 and I realize that I was in familiar, 16:39 I was in territory rather that looked unfamiliar. 16:42 And I thought well this doesn't quite look right. 16:44 And I started looking at the exit signs, 16:46 I have driven 40 miles past my exit. True story. 16:53 And I was like, how did I just do that? 16:56 Where was my brain? 16:58 I am very confused about this. 17:01 So I am one of those people, all right. 17:03 So I go to the big malls and you know, 17:06 I want to find a place you know, 17:07 I don't know whatever it is, 17:08 a specific place perhaps to eat 17:10 or to buy some clothes or something 17:11 and they have those, you know, 17:12 those boards with those big schematic drawings, 17:14 you know, top down architecture looking drawings 17:17 and there's the red dot there that says, "You are here." 17:20 You know what I am talking about. 17:23 You know what I always think when I see that, 17:24 I think to myself, I've always been here. 17:27 And this is not new information 17:28 and there's never been a time in my life 17:29 where I wasn't here. 17:31 So you are here and you got a kind of you know, 17:34 figure out, okay. 17:35 You sort of put it all together. 17:38 The idea of the word abide is that you are in a place, 17:43 now stay there. 17:46 You cannot continue to abide in a place 17:50 that you do not presently, what? Reside. 17:52 So if I say to you, this afternoon, 17:56 following this morning presentation 17:58 I would like to invite you for a few moments 18:00 to abide here in this gymnasium. 18:04 Is that an option that will be available to you, yes or no? 18:07 Yes. Absolutely. 18:08 Because you are already here, 18:09 so you can continue to abide here 18:11 because you are here. 18:12 If however I said, 18:13 immediately following this morning's presentation, 18:15 I would like to invite you 18:17 to abide with me in Orlando, Florida. 18:21 Could you abide this afternoon 18:23 immediately after this presentation 18:25 in Atlanta, Florida, yes or no? 18:26 Correct, Orlando, Florida, 18:27 Atlanta, Georgia, Orlando, Florida, 18:30 see, you know, I am directionally challenged. 18:34 Would that be an option, yes or no? 18:36 No. No. 18:37 you couldn't abide there because you are not there. 18:40 So Jesus says some ten times in His passage, 18:43 abide, abide, abide, abide, abide, abide, abide. 18:46 Stay put, stay there. 18:50 Now let's go back to the passage. 18:51 And what we are going to do is we are going to read now 18:53 just through the first three verses of this scripture. 18:57 Okay, just verses one, two and three. 18:59 And notice with me what word is conspicuously absent. 19:05 John 15, beginning in verse 1, 19:08 "I am the true vine, My Father is the vinedresser. 19:11 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away 19:14 and every branch that bears fruit He prunes it, 19:16 that it may bear more fruit. 19:18 You are already clean because of the word 19:20 which I have spoken to you." 19:24 What word is noticeably absent? 19:26 Abide. Yeah, the word, abide. 19:27 But what's the first word of verse 4? 19:29 Abide. Abide. Okay. 19:31 So, Jesus has to first tell them 19:34 where they are before He can tell them to stay there. 19:38 Does that make sense, yes or no? 19:40 In other words, Jesus has to first give them confidence 19:43 in their present tense position in Christ 19:46 before He can exhort them to stay in that place. 19:50 The key to understanding this whole passage is verse 3. 19:55 Jesus says, you are already clean 20:00 because of the word which I have spoken to you. 20:03 Jesus is speaking here to His disciples. 20:07 Now in the English language we can use the word "You" 20:12 to refer to either a singularity or a plurality. Okay. 20:15 So I can be speaking to one person, 20:17 say his name is Mathew and I can say, 20:19 you know, Mathew, I like to go out to lunch with you. Okay. 20:23 Does that make sense grammatically, yes or no? Sure. 20:26 But I can also be speaking to a larger group, 20:28 say four, five, six or more people 20:30 and I can say to them, hey, 20:31 why don't you come over to my house. 20:34 Would they understand that it's mean 20:35 all of them can come over to my house? 20:37 Sure they would. 20:38 So in English language, we have the "You" 20:40 that is both singular and plural depending on context. 20:44 In the Greek you have a specific "You" for the singular 20:47 and another "You" for the plural. 20:49 When Jesus says here, you are all already clean, 20:53 this is in the-- guess what? Plural or singular? 20:56 Plural. It's in the plural. 20:57 So Jesus is speaking to His disciples 20:59 and we would substitute the word, 21:01 we would insert the word, 21:02 you are all already clean through the word 21:06 that I have spoken to you. 21:09 Now I want you to notice with me, 21:10 not just the plurality of the verse 21:12 but notice that Jesus uses the word "already." 21:17 What does the word "already" mean? 21:20 What is that word mean? 21:22 Is that something that's going to happen, 21:24 is happening or has happened? 21:26 Something that has happened, that's exactly right. 21:27 So if my wife says to me, "Sweetie, please pick up 21:29 such and such from the grocery store." 21:31 If I say, "Sweetie, I've already been to the grocery store 21:34 and I've got those groceries." 21:35 She knows, I've been there in the past 21:37 and mission is accomplished already. 21:40 Jesus says, you are already, past tense. 21:44 And what's the next word? What is the word everyone? 21:48 Clean as oppose to dirty. Clean as oppose to impure. 21:55 You are all already clean, 21:59 and then He says something very interesting, 22:01 because of the word that I've spoken to you. 22:06 What word is that? 22:09 I wonder, I wonder what He's talking about. 22:11 Here Jesus speaking to His disciples, 22:14 He says, you are all already clean 22:16 because of the word that I've spoken to you. 22:18 Well, what word is He talking about here? 22:21 Well, commentators are not agreed on this, okay. 22:26 There are variety of options here 22:28 but I like to share with you this morning 22:29 what I am absolutely confident He is referring to. 22:31 It's something that occurred just probably two hours before. 22:36 Just two hours before He had used this identical language. 22:40 Now, I say two hours, it could have been four, 22:41 it could have been one but just the few hours before 22:44 Jesus had used this identical language 22:46 of being clean, completely clean 22:48 because of something He had done. 22:50 Go with me to John 13. 22:52 Keep your finger in John 15, go back two chapters to John 13. 22:58 Now, I know in your Bible 23:00 that looks like a great big distance, right. 23:01 John 15, all the way through 14 23:04 and back to 13 but John 13 is the last supper. 23:08 It's the what everyone? Last supper. 23:10 So the amount of time that transpires between John 13 23:12 where Jesus is in the upper room 23:14 and He washes the disciple's feet 23:15 and the time He tell His disciples 23:16 abide in Me and I in you. 23:18 The amount of time that transpired there 23:19 could have been as little as an hour. 23:21 Okay, it could have been as much as you know, 23:23 maybe four or five hours 23:24 but we are talking about a small amount of time. 23:27 So when Jesus says, you are all already clean 23:30 through the word that I've spoken to you, 23:32 it would have made sense to them 23:33 because He had just used that very same language 23:36 an hour or two before. 23:38 John 13, beginning in verse 1. 23:40 Here we go, "Now before the feast of the Passover, 23:43 when Jesus knew that His hour had come 23:45 that He should depart from this world to the Father, 23:47 having loved His own who were in the world, 23:48 He loved them to the end. 23:50 And supper being ended, the devil having already 23:52 put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, 23:53 Simon's son, to betray Him, 23:55 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given 23:56 all things into His hands, 23:57 and that He had come from God 23:59 and was going to God, rose from supper 24:01 and laid aside His garments, 24:02 and took a towel and girded Himself. 24:05 After that, He poured water into a basin 24:06 and began to wash the disciples' feet, 24:08 and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded." 24:14 It's impossible for us, 24:16 literally impossible for us to understand the magnitude 24:20 and frankly the magnanimity of what is happening here. 24:23 The infinite, illimitable God of the universe 24:27 is stooping down to wash the dirty, 24:29 dusty, urine laden, manure laden feet of His disciples. 24:36 In Jesus' time if you went to visit someone 24:39 and you enter their house, 24:41 it was not uncommon for them to have a wash basin 24:43 either just outside or just inside of the door 24:45 in a same way that you might have a welcome mat 24:47 just outside or just inside of the door. 24:49 And so if you came to this person's house, 24:52 you should wash your feet 24:53 before entering that was just kind. 24:56 It was just a common courtesy. 24:57 If however this person's house 24:59 that you went to visit was a person of affluence or means 25:01 and they have servants, 25:02 then frequently the servants would come and wash your feet. 25:06 Now if there were say six servants 25:09 and five of them were Jewish and one of them was a Gentile, 25:13 the responsibility of washing the feet 25:15 always revolved upon the Gentile. 25:18 It was considered the lowliest of the lowly duties. 25:21 And so the idea of washing feet was not something that was, 25:26 you know, it had a very negative connotation 25:28 in the days of Jesus. 25:29 And so the discussion arises there 25:31 as they are preparing for the Passover meal, 25:33 the last supper, the feet need to be washed. 25:34 The discussion arises, who is going to do it? 25:38 Nobody wants to do it. 25:39 I mean, it would be the equivalent 25:42 in our day of cleaning the toilets, right. 25:44 Get a bunch of the theology students together and say, 25:46 you know what, we got to clean the toilets, 25:47 who's going to do it? 25:48 And they will, oh, me, me, can I. 25:50 I love the way they plunger, 25:51 I like that little swish up on to the edge. 25:53 It's just not going to happen. 25:55 You know, somebody say, "Oh you know, 25:56 I love to clean the latrines but I got to write a sermon." 26:01 Somebody will say, "I am working on my Greek." 26:02 You know, it's just everybody's going to have a reason 26:04 why they can't clean it. 26:05 That's basically what's happening here. 26:06 Nobody wants to be the bottom guy. 26:10 And then Jesus does something 26:12 that was almost impossibly difficult for the disciples 26:15 to understand culturally and contextually. 26:18 Jesus gets up, takes the wash basin, 26:21 fills it with water, girds Himself with the towel 26:23 and starts going around, again, to wash the dirty, dusty, 26:26 manure laden, remember, manure. 26:29 Today we have the internal combustion engine, 26:31 we have cars and all of that but not in those days. 26:33 If you got around you had a camel or a donkey 26:36 and I've been to the parades and I know what happens. 26:40 Are you hearing what I am saying? 26:42 Last night we talked about dung, do we need to say anymore? 26:44 You know what happens. 26:46 Will you walk on those same streets, right? 26:49 And so here's Jesus, the incarnate God, 26:54 that is the in fleshed God condescending to kneel down 27:00 and wash all of these junk 27:04 off of the feet of the disciples. 27:06 And the disciples are in credulous, Peter the most. 27:10 You have got to be kidding me. 27:15 When they joined the Messiah club 27:17 on the shore of the Sea of Galilee there, 27:20 this is not what they signed up for, right. 27:23 Follow me and I will-- and they are thinking you know, 27:24 we are going to thrash these obnoxious Romans, 27:27 I want to sit on the right, maybe you can sit on the left. 27:30 When they joined the Messiah club, 27:32 they didn't sign up for this. 27:35 And here goes Jesus calmly 27:38 and yet I would add in a dignified way 27:41 washing the feet of His disciples. 27:47 You could probably make a case for the fact 27:49 that if there was a single scene 27:52 that you can just take a snapshot picture of 27:55 and show to people of other religious persuasions, 27:58 what is the essence of Christianity. 28:00 You can make a case for this scene. 28:03 The infinite, eternal, illimitable, 28:05 omnipotent God of the universe serving manure laden sinners. 28:12 So then, He comes to Peter 28:16 and Peter in prototypical Petering fashion protests. 28:22 Verse 5, "And after He had poured water into a basin 28:26 and began to wash the disciples' feet, 28:27 and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 28:29 Then He came to Simon Peter. 28:30 And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?" 28:32 Let me translate, "Lord, are You kidding me? Really. 28:39 What do You think You are doing, Jesus?" 28:44 Jesus could have easily responded, 28:45 "Well I am doing the very thing that none of you wanted to do." 28:49 Verse 7, "Jesus said, 28:51 'What I am doing now you do not understand, 28:53 but you will know after this.'' 28:55 The washing of the disciples feet 28:57 is a foreshadowing of the cross. 29:01 The cross event-- see, Jesus alone can wash the dirt 29:05 and the dust from in between our toes. 29:08 Jesus alone can wash away the sin, 29:11 that hardened sin that gets into the creases 29:14 and crevasses and cracks of our life. 29:16 Can someone say, amen? Amen. 29:17 And so this is a symbol here that it is Jesus alone 29:21 who can clean us and who can wash us. 29:23 And Peter basically says that, He says, "Okay, Peter, 29:25 I understand that you don't have a clue 29:27 what I am doing right now. 29:28 But in just a little while you will get it." 29:32 Well again, in prototypical Petering fashion, 29:34 he absolutely protests. 29:35 In verse 8, "Peter said to Him, 29:37 'You will never wash my feet!" 29:42 Give me a break. 29:47 Jesus said, "Alright, If I don't wash you, 29:51 then you have no part with Me." 29:54 And here we go pendulous Peter. 29:56 From this side, right, all the way over to this side. 29:59 He says, okay, Lord, sorry, I made a mistake there, 30:01 then why don't you wash my head maybe a little shampoo 30:05 and my hands as well, just give me a bath. 30:09 Swinging from this extreme to that extreme. 30:11 Now watch Jesus' response here. 30:13 Remember the reason that we came to John 13 30:15 is we're trying to understand John 15:3 30:18 that's what we're looking for John 15:3. 30:20 "You are already clean through the word 30:22 that I've spoken to you. 30:23 We ask a question, what word is he talking about? 30:25 Well, just a couple of hours before, 30:26 He had used that identical language. 30:29 The whole concept of being washed or being cleaned 30:33 as a symbol of the forthcoming cross. 30:35 Now look at this right here, absolutely amazing, 30:38 verse 10, and Jesus said to him, 30:39 "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet 30:43 but is completely" what's the word everyone? 30:46 Clean, now watch this, "And you are all" what? 30:51 Cleaned. 30:53 And then He adds but not all of you. 30:55 Now the but, not all of you part is a reference to, who? 30:58 Judas plainly. 30:59 So do you see the similarity in language in this passage 31:02 and our passage in John 15, yes or no? 31:04 Jesus says here, listen, you are all already clean. 31:08 In fact here He adds, you are completely clean. 31:14 They were not clean by virtue of their spotless lives. 31:18 They were not clean by virtue of their rigorous adherence 31:21 to the Mosaic Law or any other law. 31:24 They were clean because the infinite God of the universe 31:27 had cleaned them up Himself. 31:30 And He says here, already clean, in fact completely clean. 31:34 So it makes perfect sense that just a couple hours later 31:36 when He says, "You are all already cleaned 31:39 because of the word I have spoken you." 31:40 Immediately they would have thought of that experience 31:43 that just happened a few moments before. 31:44 A few hours before perhaps 31:46 in the upper room when Jesus said, wash their feet. 31:50 Are we all in the same page, everyone, yes or no? 31:52 Yes. 31:53 Powerful. 31:54 Now, Jesus cleans the dirty, dusty feet of the disciples 32:00 as a symbol, as a what everyone? 32:03 As a symbol of His condescension, 32:05 in fact not just a symbol of His condescension 32:07 but as a manifestation of His condescension. 32:09 But as a symbol of the forthcoming cleanliness 32:12 that they would receive only from His blood 32:14 shed on the cross. 32:17 Now with that in mind go back to John 15. 32:21 Let's go plug this in. 32:24 And as we're prepared to plug this in, 32:26 some of you I'm afraid are going to be mildly uncomfortable 32:31 with some of the conclusions 32:32 that we're going to draw from this. 32:34 But I assure you they will be biblical conclusions. 32:38 Let us just think here for a moment 32:39 about the condition of the disciples 32:41 when Jesus tells them 32:43 that they are all already completely clean, 32:46 as oppose to dirty and filthy. 32:49 The disciples are perfect at this point. 32:54 Yes or no? 32:56 Far from it. 32:58 In fact, the reason that Jesus had to wash their feet 33:01 is that they were busy arguing 33:02 about who is going to be the greatest. 33:09 Still having issues with pride. 33:11 Still struggling with sin in their life obviously. 33:17 Did the disciples at this point understand the concept, 33:21 the theological concept of the crucifixion? 33:24 Yes or No? 33:25 No, they are totally confused. 33:27 I mean that, that was right out there in John 13 33:29 I mean, it's just plain as day. 33:30 Jesus says to him, you do not understand. 33:32 Now but you're going to understand, 33:34 so the disciples we could say fairly were theologically inept. 33:39 If they don't understand the crucifixion, 33:40 it's a guarantee I mean, its prima facie proof 33:43 that they don't understand the resurrection. 33:46 Right, if you don't have the crucifixion part, 33:47 you definitely don't have the resurrection part. 33:49 And so here we are with these disciples 33:51 still filled with the spirit of pride, 33:53 still struggling with issues in their lives, 33:55 no question about that. 33:56 Who do not understand all of the nuances of theology, 34:00 the crucifixion, the resurrection and all. 34:02 No. 34:03 And Jesus has the temerity to say to these guys, 34:06 you are all already completely clean. 34:14 Forgive me for being so bold here 34:16 but the only conclusion 34:18 that I feel that we can safely come to is this conclusion 34:21 and its going to make some of you uncomfortable 34:22 for which I don't apologize. 34:26 And that is that cleanliness in Christ 34:28 must precede Christian character perfection. 34:34 Did you get that? 34:35 Amen. 34:36 It was kind of a scary amen there. 34:38 It's kind of a... amen. 34:43 And some people try to say amen and nothing came out, 34:45 they are like... 34:48 what did he say, let's say it again. 34:50 Apparently cleanliness in Christ precedes being a perfect person. 34:55 Amen. 34:57 In fact, my thesis this morning 34:58 and how to make the Christian faith works goes something like, 35:01 how to make the Christian faith work, goes something like this. 35:03 You'll never even get to Christian character perfection, 35:06 if you don't have confidence 35:07 about your cleanliness in Christ today. 35:09 Amen. 35:11 Now we are back in John 15. 35:13 Let's look at verses 1 to 3 again 35:15 and it's going to make by the grace of God, 35:17 perfect sense I mean, such logical sense, 35:21 I'm fiercely logical, sometimes to a fault. 35:25 But here we're going to see how it's just all fits together. 35:29 John 15, beginning in verse 1, 35:31 "I am the true vine, my Father is the vinedresser. 35:36 Every branch in Me that does bears no fruit, he takes away, 35:38 and every branch that bears fruit he prunes, 35:39 that it may bear more fruit. 35:41 You are all already clean 35:42 through the word that I have spoken to you." 35:45 And then the first word of verse 4 is "stay there." 35:50 Stay where? 35:52 Stay clean in me. 35:55 Jesus could not exhort them to stay in Christ 35:59 to abide in Christ 36:01 until He had first made it crystal clear to them 36:03 that they were in fact in Christ. 36:08 He can not exhort them to remain 36:10 where they don't know they are. 36:14 And so He says you are all already cleaned 36:16 not because of what you have done 36:18 but hallelujah because of what I have done. 36:20 Now stay in that faith relationship 36:23 trusting to what I have done for you. 36:25 Amen. 36:27 And then the rest of the verses 36:28 make such good sense, stay there. 36:31 Stay there. Stay there. 36:35 Remain there. 36:36 Stay right there, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay. 36:42 May of you have disobedient dogs 36:44 that you pretend are obedient. 36:48 I have seen this a hundreds times if I have seen it once 36:51 and that is the person that, 36:54 you know, they persuaded themselves 36:55 that their dog is really obedient 36:56 and say, oh, yeah, it's a good dog, great dog. 36:59 And so the dog, you know, all of a sudden a squirrel comes. 37:05 Going out to the squirrel. 37:06 Rover, come here. 37:08 No but he obeys. 37:09 Rover, come here. 37:11 And he finally get Rover to come over and you say, now stay. 37:13 And the dog just shoots off around the block. 37:15 Get the dog back, now stay. 37:18 The dog go to some or other place, now stay. 37:20 That is the imagery I want you to have here. 37:23 The dog wants to run away, the master is saying stay. 37:27 That's exactly what Jesus is saying, 37:28 stay there, stay right there. 37:31 Stay put, don't move, 37:33 stay clean in me. 37:38 Beloved you cannot continue to abide in Christ, 37:43 if you do not have the present tense confidence 37:45 that you presently reside in Christ. 37:49 Just try staying somewhere that you don't know you are. 37:56 But this is the rub, 38:00 many people, many sincere Christian people 38:07 are trying desperately to remain in Christ, 38:12 to abide in Christ, to be a good Christian, 38:15 to live the good Christian life 38:17 without the present tense confidence 38:19 that they are in Christ. 38:22 How can you remain in Christ 38:24 if you don't believe that you are in Christ? 38:28 That's Jesus' whole point. 38:30 He says, abide in me, stay in me, 38:33 stay put, stay right where you are. 38:37 What about the disciples, were they perfect, yes or no? 38:40 No. 38:42 But you know, something interesting about the disciples. 38:45 Disciples would go out in the course of the day 38:47 and they make a mistake. 38:48 They were very good at making mistakes, weren't they? 38:50 Yes or no? 38:52 Yeah, almost as good as some of you. 38:54 They're very good at. 38:55 They make a mistake in the day, 38:56 they would say things like 38:57 oh, Jesus we went to this city 38:59 and they didn't want to receive you and we got a great idea, 39:01 we want to burn the place to the ground. 39:06 And Jesus would be like, 39:07 well, let's not think so outside of the box. 39:14 Let's look at this from a different perspective writing 39:16 and or another example 39:17 you know, the young people, 39:18 you know, the children want to rush to Jesus 39:20 who was right there, get away, get away, 39:21 the master doesn't have time for this 39:23 and Jesus would then turn on and say, 39:24 "Suffer the little ones to come unto me." 39:26 And He would look at His disciples and say, 39:27 "Except you become one as these, you are not going to heaven." 39:32 Oops. 39:34 So the disciples were very good at making mistakes, 39:36 very, very good at making mistakes 39:38 but you want to know something interesting about the disciples. 39:40 Every night, do you know where they were? 39:45 They were in camp with Jesus. 39:49 And every morning, you know what, 39:51 they would wake up in Jesus' camp. 39:54 And they would go out 39:55 and I tell you they have the very best intentions 39:57 that day to not make one of those mistakes, 39:59 do not say something foolhardy, 40:00 they have the very best intentions 40:02 but in the unlikely or if we prefer a likely event 40:05 that they made a mistake, 40:07 that they fall or fell that they-- 40:09 that they said something stupid 40:10 or that they did the wrong thing. 40:13 I guarantee that at the end of the day 40:14 you know, where they were? 40:16 They were back around that campfire with Jesus. 40:20 The next morning they started that day with Jesus. 40:24 And so you could have pointed to the various failures, 40:27 the various inconsistencies 40:28 and the various hypocrisies of their life 40:30 but Jesus wasn't looking at the occasional deed or misdeed, 40:34 Jesus was looking at the general tendency of the life 40:37 and the general tendency of the life for 3 1/2 years 40:39 was to be in camp with Jesus. 40:43 So I am reading from Steps to Christ, page 57. 40:45 "The character is revealed 40:46 not by occasional good deeds and occasional misdeeds, 40:49 but by the tendency of the habitual words and acts." 40:57 The disciples imperfect though they were, 41:00 always ended the day with Jesus 41:03 and they started the day with Jesus. 41:07 And God evaluated them 41:09 and told them that they were clean 41:11 on the basis of the general tendency of their life. 41:16 They stuck it out with Jesus. 41:21 The Bible says, a just man. 41:23 A what kind of man? 41:25 A just man falls seven times, 41:30 and rises up again. 41:33 The difference between the just man and the unjust man 41:36 is not that the just man never falls, 41:40 it's that when he falls, he gets back up. 41:42 Amen. 41:44 The difference between 41:46 the just woman and the unjust woman 41:47 is not that the just woman never makes a mistake 41:49 or never gossips or never gets upset. 41:52 No, no, no, the difference is when you fall, 41:54 you choose to get back up. 41:58 The disciples made mistakes many 42:00 and you have made mistakes many 42:02 and the devil tries to discourage you 42:04 with your mistakes and with your failures 42:06 and with your faults and with your foibles. 42:08 But the trick to the-- 42:09 the whole trick to the Christian experience is get back up. 42:13 Amen. 42:15 Stay with Him. 42:17 Get dust yourself off. 42:19 If you have to come to Jesus, 42:21 say Jesus, clean my feet I need help 42:23 and he's gonna clean those feet up 42:24 and He's gonna send you back in to the game, go get him boy. 42:30 Just get back up. 42:33 When you fall if you stay down, 42:35 the devil has gained a victory. 42:38 If you get back up and go to Jesus, 42:40 the devil can't touch you. 42:46 Jesus says, stay there. 42:48 Stay where? 42:49 Stay in a faith relationship with me. 42:50 Paul was writing to the church in Galatian 42:52 and he said, wait a minute, wait a minute confusion, 42:54 you started this thing by faith, 42:56 are you now made perfect by the works of the flesh, 42:59 by the works of the law, no, no, no. 43:01 Listen, salvation is by faith 43:03 from beginning all the way through to the end. 43:06 Amen. 43:08 You are justified by faith, you are sanctified by faith 43:11 and you will be glorified by faith. 43:15 There is no transition point where it's by faith 43:18 and then it quickly transitions in to works, no, no, no, no. 43:21 Its by faith, by faith, by faith 43:23 you believe what God has done, 43:25 is doing, you fall down, 43:27 you make a mistake get back up, 43:29 dust yourself off, and by the grace of God 43:31 those periods of mistake will become further and further apart 43:36 and your victories will become more and more grand 43:38 and more numerous in consistent 43:40 and before you know, what, you'll look in the mirror 43:42 and you won't even recognize that person. 43:44 Amen. 43:47 Because God is working. 43:51 Abide in me, stay right there. 43:57 There's a question, people say Pastor Asscherick, 44:00 do you believe in victory over sin? 44:06 To ask that question is to answer it. 44:10 If I don't believe in victory over sin, 44:14 then I must believe in sin over victory. 44:18 And if the devil contempt me to sin 44:21 but Jesus can't keep me from sinning, 44:23 then I'm serving the wrong being. 44:28 If the devil is strong enough and powerful enough 44:30 and clever enough to tempt me and entice me into sin 44:33 but my God is not strong enough to keep me from sinning, 44:36 then I am in trouble. 44:40 Of course I believe in victory over sin. 44:42 How can you read both the Old and the New Testaments 44:44 and not believe that God's plan for His people 44:47 is not just deliverance from the penalty of sin 44:49 but also deliverance 44:50 from the very power of sin in their lives. 44:53 Amen. 44:56 I say with C.D. Brooks, I am not the man that I want to be 44:59 but I can rejoice that neither am I the man I used to be. 45:04 There is a transition. 45:07 God begins to work in you His marvelous work, why? 45:11 Because you are super saint now, 45:13 because you are on your own now, no. 45:14 Because you are abiding in Christ by faith, 45:16 you're sticking it out with Jesus. 45:18 You're reminding yourself daily, hourly, 45:20 moment by moment if need be that Jesus washes you, 45:23 Jesus cleanses you. 45:24 It's about what Jesus has done and everything that you do 45:28 is in response to that great initial act of God's love. 45:34 Your obedience does not cause God to love you. 45:37 Your obedience is the sign that you've accepted the love 45:39 that He has already demonstrated by dying on a tree. 45:47 Do you believe that Jesus could keep you 45:50 from sinning for one second? 45:54 Anyone believe that? 45:56 How about two seconds? 46:00 Okay, how about 60 seconds? 46:06 Anybody think that's possible? 46:08 Right. 46:09 I can hold my breath for 60 seconds. 46:12 Right. 46:13 So technically I can just say, okay, here we go. 46:15 No sin zone. 46:19 Now think about Jesus, I'm gonna hold my breath, 46:21 I can't say anything, I can't move too fast or too quickly. 46:24 So I believe there for a full 60 seconds 46:27 Jesus could give me the power to not sin for 60 seconds. 46:30 You believe that's possible? 46:32 Yeah, but you know where this is going. 46:36 Ooh! 46:38 Oh, that's just fiercely logical, isn't it? 46:40 So if He can keep me from sinning for one second, 46:42 then by definition for two seconds 46:45 because all that a two is just two ones. 46:49 Right. 46:50 And if He can keep me for two, 46:51 then He can keep me for three 46:52 and if He can keep me for three, He can keep me for four, 46:54 four for five, all the way, why not? 46:59 Why not? 47:00 Now here's the good news. 47:02 You are not thinking about that. 47:05 You are thinking about Jesus. 47:10 God is more powerful than Satan. 47:16 God wants to grow you 47:19 into a person that you may scarcely recognize 47:23 when He's done. 47:25 It can be a little exhausting, 47:29 it can be sometimes laboriously slow 47:33 but dare I say it, 47:35 that if you will end up in camp with Jesus every night 47:41 and you will wake up with Jesus in the morning. 47:45 If you will stay there 47:48 that God is gonna do something in your life, 47:51 that even you could scarcely believe. 47:55 Now in closing open your Bibles to Mathew 5, 47:58 last passage of scripture. 48:01 In speaking of the subject of Christian growth, 48:05 I personally know of no other 48:08 more simple encouraging 48:15 and profoundly beautiful passage than the Beatitudes. 48:18 Now I want to show you 48:19 the Beatitudes by the grace of God 48:21 in a way that may be you've never seen before. 48:22 We're gonna do it quickly. 48:25 This is Jesus' first public address, right? 48:29 He is baptized there in the opening chapters of Mathew 48:32 and this is really the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. 48:35 This is sort of His, the opening state of the kingdom address. 48:41 Jesus begins and He gives us these things 48:44 that we refer to as the Beatitudes 48:45 but really the Beatitudes are like a Christian ladder. 48:49 A Christian, what everyone? 48:50 Ladder. 48:51 Moving from A to B 48:54 then from B to C, from C to D 48:57 and right up the ladder, he gives us a progression. 48:59 A what every one? 49:00 Progression. Progression. 49:02 See sometimes we study the Bible, 49:03 if we don't study the Bible carefully, 49:04 we think we're just getting 49:05 these little isolated anecdotal proverbial statements, 49:08 well, that's nice. 49:09 Blessed are the poor in spirit, 49:11 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That's so nice. 49:12 I think I am going to cross-stitch that 49:14 and hang in my bathroom wall. 49:18 Hey, good, knock yourself out. 49:19 But there is something more there. 49:23 The Beatitudes are not just 49:24 these little sound bites of religious wisdom, 49:27 there is something there. 49:29 I want to show it to you by the grace of God. 49:31 Here we go, right in the beginning, Jesus says, 49:32 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, 49:34 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 49:36 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 49:38 Jesus says, "Blessed are those 49:39 who recognize their spiritual poverty, 49:43 For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 49:45 Now we have three verb tenses 49:46 in the English language past, present and future. 49:49 And Jesus here employs the word is, which is present tense. 49:52 He says, "Blessed are those who recognize, 49:54 happier are those who recognize their spiritual poverty, 49:56 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 49:59 You say, amen. Amen. 50:01 Present tense. So what would be the next step? 50:03 After we come to the cross, 50:04 after we realize our spiritual impoverishment. 50:06 After we realize that it is God's work and not our work. 50:09 We realize that we are sinners in need of a Savior. 50:11 We come to Jesus and we realize at the foot of the cross 50:13 that we are spiritually bankrupt. 50:18 There is no salvageable material in you. 50:21 So just disabuse your mind of that ridiculous notion. 50:24 There is no good thing in you. 50:26 When you come to the foot of the cross, 50:27 God starts with from scratch. 50:31 David said, create in me a what? 50:34 Clean heart, O God. 50:35 And when God creates, He creates us, 50:38 the theologians would say Ex nihilo, 50:40 that is out of nothing. 50:42 He doesn't have some raw material that you dig in there 50:44 and say Oh, yeah I think 50:45 we got a little we can work with here and that. 50:47 No, He just throw, you go-- 50:51 Right, we guys have to get in and throw that out 50:52 that's we can't keep any of that. 50:54 He's got to start from scratch with you 50:56 and so He recognize your spiritual poverty 50:58 and Jesus says, happy are those 50:59 who recognize their spiritual poverty 51:01 because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 51:03 The thief on the cross. 51:06 He knows he is bankrupt. 51:10 I mean, if ever there was a time to trust God 51:12 it's when you're hanging from a tree. 51:17 That would be a good choice. 51:18 Hedge your bets, right? 51:21 So the thief on the cross, 51:22 he doesn't have time to become a vegan. 51:29 He just has time to put his trust in this man there 51:33 that's crucified between him and the other. 51:36 He knows his spiritual bankruptcy 51:38 and so he trusts Jesus. 51:40 And Jesus says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you today. 51:44 You are gonna be with me in paradise." 51:47 Second verse, "Blessed are those 51:49 who mourn for they shall be comforted." 51:50 When you realize your spiritual bankruptcy 51:52 you don't throw a party. 51:55 You mourn your present spiritual condition. 51:56 Can some one say, amen. 51:57 Amen. 51:59 Follow the sequence, it's very simple. 52:00 You recognize your spiritual poverty 52:01 and then you mourn that spiritual condition 52:03 but notice what Jesus says here, 52:04 "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." 52:07 Notice with me that the verb tense has changed. 52:11 In the first Beatitude, your's is the kingdom of heaven, 52:14 in the second Beatitude, you shall be what? 52:17 Comforted. 52:18 What happens after that, 52:19 what happens after we mourn our spiritual condition? 52:21 "Blessed are the--'' what? 52:23 "Meek, for they shall inherit the earth." 52:25 When you realize that you're spiritually bankrupt 52:26 and you're mourning that spiritual condition. 52:28 This would cause you not to be proud and hardy 52:30 and high-minded but to be humble. 52:33 Realizing beloved that the ground is level 52:35 at the foot of the cross 52:36 and you are no better and praise the Lord, 52:38 no worst than any other sinner. 52:41 Can someone say, amen. Amen. 52:42 Oh, no matter what the Pharisee say. 52:47 Jesus says, "Blessed are the meek" 52:49 and so you see the progression it's so chronological, 52:52 it's so powerful, you recognize your spiritual poverty, 52:54 you mourn your spiritual condition 52:56 and then this causes you to be meek. 52:58 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 53:01 What's next? 53:02 Well, of course verse 6 is next. 53:04 Well, what do you mean at that point? 53:06 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for food. 53:12 What you are hungering and thirsting for 53:14 when you realize your spiritual bankruptcy, 53:15 you're mourning your spiritual condition 53:16 and this causes you to be meek. 53:18 What are you hungering for? 53:20 You need righteousness. 53:23 A righteousness that you do not own that you do not possess, 53:26 your righteousness's are like filthy rags. 53:27 You need an external righteousness 53:29 that God gives to you as a free gift 53:31 and so you hunger and you thirst for righteousness 53:34 and Jesus says, "They shall be filled." 53:37 Do you see the progression everyone, yes or no? 53:40 Verse 7, "Blessed are the merciful, 53:42 for they shall obtain mercy." 53:43 When you realize that you are the recipient, 53:46 the undeserved recipient of God's mercy, 53:48 then you would want to bestow that mercy 53:50 upon those around you. 53:52 Amen. 53:54 Beloved, coming to the foot of the cross 53:56 causes you to say, I am the recipient, 53:57 the undeserved recipient of God's mercy. 53:59 I now want to be an instrument 54:01 through which God can shed His mercy upon others. 54:05 And God here begins to work the transformation 54:07 and it sometimes refer to as sanctification. 54:09 Sometimes we get all caught up in this theological 54:12 Norman Geisler, justification, 54:13 sanctification, blah, blah, blahfication. 54:16 Beloved, it's about Jesus, stay with Jesus. 54:20 Now I am not in any way down playing the importance 54:23 and the sophistication of the study of the Bible 54:28 and of the significance and the sophistication of theology. 54:30 What I am saying is, don't loose Jesus in your theology. 54:36 The goal is to find Him there. 54:38 Amen. 54:40 Verse 8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, 54:42 for they shall see God." Wow. 54:43 You know what happens 54:44 when you start bestowing mercy upon others. 54:47 God starts to work a change in you. 54:50 That change comes about when you stop paying attention 54:53 primarily at your own needs and your situation 54:55 and you start trying to find opportunities 54:57 to lavish mercy upon others, 54:58 God begins to work a change in you, 55:00 He begins to purify the springs of your heart. 55:03 What are we seeing, rejoice, ye, pure in heart. 55:07 Well, notice what he says. 55:08 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall, what? 55:10 See God. 55:11 And so what's happening here is 55:12 you're climbing the spiritual ladder, 55:13 you recognize your spiritual poverty, 55:15 you mourn your spiritual condition. 55:16 This causes you to be meek to those around you. 55:18 You hunger and thirst for righteousness. 55:21 You realize that you are the undeserved recipient 55:22 of God's mercy and so you are merciful to others 55:24 and then now where we are? 55:27 Where we are? 55:29 Yeah, our heart is becoming pure. 55:33 We're to the final or to the second to the last step, 55:35 you are the penultimate step. 55:37 Verse 9, "Blessed are the-" what? 55:40 "Peacemakers, for they shall be called the Son's of God." 55:42 Now, peacemakers, what that means is blessed are those 55:45 who take upon themselves the personal responsibility 55:48 of being ambassadors for Christ 55:50 and communicating to the uninformed, uninitiated world 55:54 that God has made peace with them through Jesus. 55:57 That's how you became a peacemaker. 55:58 Jesus was the prince of peace 56:00 and He came to make peace in that sense. 56:02 And so we too when we give Bible studies, 56:04 when we preach evangelistic service, 56:06 when we extend the arm of Jesus to those around us, 56:09 we are becoming peacemakers, we are becoming like Jesus. 56:12 Can you say, amen? Amen. 56:14 Powerful, you find that there in 2 Corinthians 5 56:16 where the Apostle Paul says, we beseech you therefore, 56:19 we beseech you on behalf of Jesus, 56:21 be reconciled to God 56:23 and so we become peacemakers 56:24 when we don't just keep our religion to ourselves. 56:33 If your neighbor doesn't know you are a Christian, 56:37 maybe you're not. 56:42 If your co-workers don't know that you are a Christian, 56:45 maybe you're not. 56:49 If your employees don't know that you're a Christian, 56:53 maybe you're not. 56:55 And someone had said, 56:56 if you were accused of being a Christian in a court of law 56:59 would there be enough evidence to convict you? 57:03 True religion is not kept to oneself, amen. 57:07 Every disciple is born into the kingdom of God 57:09 as a missionary and so we become peacekeepers 57:12 and notice it says, you are peacemakers. 57:13 "Blessed are the peacemakers, 57:14 for they shall be called the sons of God.'' 57:15 Of course after Jesus who was the son of God. 57:18 Now we are at the top of the ladder, 57:19 everything is up to this point, okay, get this. 57:21 We are talking about Christian growth. 57:22 We are talking about abiding in Christ. 57:23 So what's the first step at the ladder, say with me. 57:25 You recognize your spiritual, what? 57:27 Poverty. 57:28 And then you mourn that spiritual condition. 57:30 This causes you to be meek 57:31 and then you're hunger and thirst for righteousness. 57:33 You realize that you are 57:34 the undeserved recipient of God's mercy. 57:36 And so you want to bestow that mercy upon other. 57:38 So far so good everyone? 57:39 Okay. 57:40 And then you reach out to others communicating that mercy, 57:42 you become a peacemaker all the way up the ladder of faith 57:46 you're climbing up the ladder of faith 57:48 until you reach the top, 57:50 the ultimate apex of this ladder of faith. 57:53 The final Beatitude, Jesus says, "Blessed are those 57:55 who are persecuted for righteousness sake, 57:57 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 58:03 It's the same thing. 58:05 The last promise is the same as the first promise. 58:09 You know what Jesus is saying? 58:11 Wherever you are on the ladder, 58:14 your's is the kingdom of heaven. 58:15 Amen. 58:18 Wherever you are on that ladder, 58:20 your's is the kingdom of heaven. 58:21 Right here, right now, yours is God's kingdom. 58:27 You might be the thief on the cross 58:29 at the very bottom, bottom, bottom, 58:30 but your's is the kingdom of heaven. 58:33 You might be all the way up at the top 58:35 being persecuted for righteousness sake 58:37 because you are so filled with the spirit of Christ, 58:39 and you get the same reward 58:41 but let me tell you something 58:42 that even my five year old boy understands. 58:44 Ladders offer climbing. 58:49 It's not the divine lazy boy. 58:54 It's the divine ladder. 58:57 So if you are at the bottom, 59:00 you shouldn't be content to stay there. 59:04 So you climb but you take that step in the confidence 59:08 that yours is the kingdom of heaven. 59:10 You cannot continue to abide in Christ 59:14 if you don't have a living confidence 59:15 that you presently reside in Christ. 59:17 I think I figured this thing out. 59:21 You stay with Jesus, you stick it out with Jesus 59:27 and He will take care of the hard part. 59:31 You hang in there with Jesus 59:35 and He will finish the work 59:40 that He has begun in you. |
Revised 2014-12-17