Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW190041S
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn. 01:11 I'm JD Quinn. 01:12 And we want to welcome you tonight 01:14 around the table for 3ABN Family Worship. 01:17 We're so glad that you're joining us, 01:19 and we always want to take the opportunity 01:23 when we come before you to tell you 01:25 thank you so much for your love and your prayers 01:28 and your financial support of this wonderful ministry. 01:31 But... Whoohoo! 01:32 It's Sabbath, and this is Family Worship. 01:36 Amen. Amen. 01:37 We're excited. 01:38 Why don't you introduce everybody, 01:40 then I'll share about the topic here. 01:42 Okay, we're going to start over here to my right. 01:44 And this is Janelle, 01:46 Janelle Owen, her precious husband Don. 01:49 We work together in pastoral. 01:50 Don is a man of God. 01:53 And then, I got my buddy here Ryan. 01:56 President accounted for... Amen. 01:58 It's a blessing to always be a part of Family Worship. 02:00 Always love being with Ryan 02:02 because Ryan is one of these people 02:04 that knows all the answers. 02:05 Oh, that's not true. 02:07 It's a good feeling being next to an A student. 02:10 No pressure, yeah. 02:11 No pressure. 02:12 Striving to know all the answers. 02:14 There you go. And then we have Jason Bradley. 02:15 We love Jason. 02:17 Jason, he's the headman of Dare to Dream. 02:20 Got some big boats that he feels totally. 02:23 Anyway, good to have you. That's right. 02:25 And we forgot to mention it, Janelle, you are in our... 02:29 Publishing. 02:30 Print, publishing department, 02:32 and you are the one who designs the magazine. 02:35 You do a lot. 02:37 So we're so glad you're here. 02:38 Your plate's full. 02:39 You know, the reason every one of us 02:42 are sitting around this table tonight 02:45 is because we are all prodigals. 02:48 You've heard the story of the prodigal son, 02:50 who was in the father's house, 02:52 left and then came to his senses 02:54 and came back to his father. 02:56 Well, you could say every person sitting here 02:59 is a prodigal. 03:01 Tonight, we will talk about God as the God of New Beginnings. 03:06 And so there's gonna be three questions 03:08 that we're gonna look at. 03:09 How can we know that God is the God of New Beginnings? 03:13 And then how can we receive a new beginning? 03:17 And finally, and thankfully, 03:21 we will talk about if we have sinned 03:24 after being born again, 03:26 how can we be sure 03:28 God will give us another chance? 03:29 Amen. I don't know about y'all. 03:31 But I found that the Lord, 03:33 it's more than just a new beginning. 03:37 As matter of fact, I had this thought this morning 03:39 when I woke up. 03:40 Every morning is a new beginning. 03:42 That's right. 03:44 You know, wake up. 03:45 Praise the Lord. 03:46 But first, we're gonna sing. 03:48 What are we gonna do? 03:49 And we've got to introduce the family member 03:52 that's sitting at the piano. 03:55 And we're going to be singing Fill my cup Lord. 03:57 I love this music. 03:59 I love the words. 04:00 Yes. 04:02 And so, it will be followed along 04:04 at the bottom of the screen. 04:05 So, step out of your comfort zone 04:07 and sing with us. 04:09 And we just want to welcome Summer Boyd 04:11 who is our pianist today, precious sister in the Lord. 04:14 Amen. 04:20 Like the woman at the well 04:22 I was seeking 04:25 For things that could not satisfy 04:31 And then I heard my Savior speaking 04:35 "Draw from My well that never will run dry" 04:41 Fill my cup, Lord 04:44 I lift it up, 04:45 Lord Come and quench, 04:48 this thirsting of my soul 04:52 Bread of heaven, 04:54 Feed me till I want no more 04:58 Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole 05:04 So my children if the things 05:06 This world gave you 05:09 Leave hungers that won't go away 05:14 My blessed Lord will come and save you 05:19 If you kneel to Him and humbly pray 05:25 Fill my cup, Lord I lift it up, Lord 05:30 Come and quench, this thirsting of my soul 05:35 Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more 05:41 Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole 05:47 Amen. Thank you. 05:49 I love that song. 05:50 One of the best. 05:51 You know, I love that story 05:53 because when Jesus met the woman at the well, 05:56 you know, what He says to her? 05:58 He said, "If only you knew the gift of God, 06:04 and who it was that speaks to you." 06:07 Jesus is the gift of God. That's right. 06:09 I wanted to start off. 06:10 I didn't put this on the... 06:12 Our little lesson study here. 06:14 But this scripture I woke up in this morning 06:17 and this scripture was in my mind, 06:18 and I just want to read it to you all. 06:21 Isaiah 43:19. 06:27 And this is what the Lord 06:30 is speaking in Isaiah 43:19. 06:36 He says, "Behold, 06:40 I will do a new thing! 06:42 Now..." 06:43 Well, let me start with verse 18. 06:45 That's where I want to start. 06:47 He says, "Do not remember the former things." 06:51 One version I have says, "Don't dwell on the past." 06:55 That's right. Amen. 06:56 It says, "Nor consider the things of old. 06:59 Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth. 07:04 Shall you not know it? 07:06 I will even make a road in the wilderness 07:10 and rivers in the desert." 07:12 Amen. That's right. 07:13 You know, this is where we want to start tonight. 07:18 God is the God of New Beginnings. 07:22 And like I said, 07:23 every day that you wake up on this side of the grave, 07:27 you have the chance 07:29 for a new beginning with the Lord. 07:30 Amen. 07:31 And what I'd like to do, JD, 07:33 do you want to have our opening prayer? 07:35 Most certainly. 07:39 Our dear precious Father, 07:40 we come to You in the name of Jesus 07:42 and we take this opportunity, Lord, 07:44 being representatives of Your kingdom of oneness, 07:47 our dear Father, 07:48 to impress upon our heart to the aid of the Holy Spirit 07:51 to do those things that are pleasing to You. 07:54 Father, as we just exchange thoughts, 07:58 we thank You, Lord, that You will just bless those 08:01 and we can just work off 08:03 of each one bringing glory to You. 08:05 We love You. We thank You. 08:06 We thank You for this Sabbath day. 08:08 In the name of Jesus, amen. 08:10 Amen. Amen, amen. 08:12 Okay. 08:13 So one of my favorite scriptures in the whole Bible 08:18 is Romans 5:8. 08:20 That says, "God demonstrates His love for us." 08:25 His own love toward us. 08:27 And that while we were still sinners, 08:30 He sent His Son to die for us. 08:33 That is the most amazing thought 08:36 that if Christ would come, 08:40 if God would come and become a man, 08:43 while we were still sinners, because His love was so great. 08:46 Let me tell you something, and I say this often, 08:49 but I make no apologies because the Lord's told me. 08:52 He told me, remember to say this every time you speak, 08:55 and that is, some people have been told you're worthless, 09:00 you don't amount to anything. 09:03 And this is the truth, you're valued, 09:07 you're worth to God, 09:09 you're worth nothing less than the price 09:11 that He paid for you 09:13 with the precious life blood of His Son Jesus Christ. 09:17 Amen. Ain't that amazing patience. 09:19 Praise God. 09:20 All right. 09:22 Why don't you, Janelle... 09:23 Ladies go first. 09:25 Do you want to read Ephesians 2, 09:27 and if you will take the first four verses, 09:32 then we'll jump on the other side of the table. 09:35 Jason if you'll take verses... 09:38 You take the first three, Jason do verse 4-7. 09:43 And then we'll let... 09:45 Ryan. 09:46 Ryan take verses 8-10. 09:49 Can I add some when we're finished here 09:51 because there's some more in that chapter 09:53 that I want that really just stuck out to me 09:56 so after we're done. 09:58 Okay. 09:59 This is Ephesians 2, we'll begin with verse 1. 10:02 "And you he made alive 10:04 who were dead in trespasses and sins, 10:07 in which you once walked 10:09 according to the course of this world, 10:11 according to the prince of the power of the air, 10:14 the Spirit who now works and the sons of disobedience, 10:18 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves 10:21 in the lust of our flesh, 10:23 fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. 10:27 And we're by nature children of wrath, 10:29 just as the others." 10:31 Hits the pause button here. 10:33 How many of us were sons of disobedience? 10:35 All of the lust sinful flesh. 10:37 Amen. 10:39 Just prodigal son. 10:40 Children of wrath. Whoo! 10:42 That's powerful. Every sinner has. 10:44 Yes, and that's, you know, something. 10:47 I remember meeting a lady who said, 10:51 "I've never broken any of the Ten Commandments. 10:53 I'm in good shape. 10:55 And she didn't have a personal relationship with the Lord 10:57 because how she said is I haven't broken the Big Ten. 11:00 I've been to church since I was a child. 11:03 But if we don't recognize our own filthy rags, 11:09 we don't recognize our need for a savior, 11:12 we don't come into that close relation. 11:14 And the thing I underlined in the beginning 11:16 in that verse 1 is, we're dead. 11:19 We're dead. We're dead. 11:20 Yeah. We need to be revived. 11:22 Right. Yeah. 11:23 And it's like, you know, 11:25 I know that I didn't recognize that I was dead spiritually, 11:29 you know, and but it's... 11:32 Praise the Lord that He brings us 11:33 out of that death into the real life, 11:37 the new life. 11:38 And that's where it's at. Absolutely. 11:40 Okay, so he made us alive. 11:42 All right, verses 4-7. 11:44 All right. 11:46 "But God who is rich in mercy because of His great love 11:49 with which He loved us, 11:50 even when we were dead in trespasses 11:52 made us alive together with Christ, 11:56 and raised us up together and made us sit..." 11:58 Oh, he says by grace you have been saved. 12:00 "Oh, by grace you have been saved, 12:02 and raised us up together and made us sit together 12:05 in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 12:07 that in the ages to come, 12:09 he might show the exceeding riches 12:11 of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." 12:15 Okay, hit the pause button again. 12:18 I just have to insert here. 12:20 I praise the Lord for that but. 12:22 Yeah. Amen. 12:24 That simple but there. 12:25 But God, because, you know, you reading verses 1-3 there 12:30 and it's just like, yeah, that's me. 12:31 Yeah, that's me. 12:33 Oh, I'm so horrible. 12:34 And then it's like, but... 12:36 But God. 12:39 Praise the Lord. 12:41 So this God who is rich in mercy, 12:43 how many of you... 12:45 I mean, if you want to jump in 12:46 and tell some of your personal stories, 12:47 feel free to, but He says, 12:51 even when we were dead in our trespasses, 12:56 He made us alive. 12:57 By grace, you've been saved. 12:58 Who wants to speak to that? 13:00 I just, you know, for me personally, 13:02 the blessing that I've been able to do prison ministry, 13:05 but how God can take such erring broken, 13:09 you know, human beings, like you mentioned earlier, 13:10 like not feeling worthless, 13:12 and to be able to stand out in front of a group of people 13:14 and lead out, 13:15 I mean, that's difficult for me 13:17 because I feel really worthless, 13:18 and like back then I feel like trash, 13:20 but when I see how God came into my life, 13:22 and He made all this junk that I was doing, 13:24 He fixed me, He just healed me. 13:27 He, I don't know, He restored me 13:29 and so now I get to go and share with other people. 13:30 And it's just, I don't know, it's just I'm so thankful 13:33 for His mercy and His grace. 13:34 It's just incredible. 13:35 And to piggyback off of that what I like 13:38 and watching Don grow, I mean, 13:41 I have that privilege to watch him grow. 13:44 But in reality, we're all growing. 13:47 And I think through the aid of the Holy Spirit, 13:51 we're tweaking this, we're tweaking that. 13:54 And so, as time goes by, 13:57 because someday we wake up and we're somewhat mature, 14:00 because we have been tweaking 14:02 through the aid of the Holy Spirit. 14:04 And I think that's what it's saying here, 14:05 you know, that because of His rich mercy, 14:08 because of His love that He gave to us, 14:11 He gives us that ability, that positive ability to tweak. 14:15 But, you know, when you think about this, 14:18 I just have to say, 14:20 it's so funny 14:22 when I first was getting to know you all, 14:25 and then I heard your personal testimony. 14:27 And I'm sitting there thinking, these two precious, 14:31 little, innocent, sweet, loving Christians were what! 14:37 What! 14:38 And then I heard your testimony, 14:40 and I'm going, this... 14:42 Yeah, I say what... 14:44 And you know what? 14:45 I haven't told all of my testimonies. 14:48 Everybody's got a story. 14:50 What! 14:52 But praise God. 14:55 I praise God for that new beginning. 14:58 And let's talk about this idea of being saved by grace. 15:03 We'll go ahead and let you read verses 8-10. 15:05 And let's talk about that. 15:08 Two of the most powerful verses in Scripture right here. 15:11 And I love how this is a response to everything. 15:13 You know, Paul's a progressive speaker. 15:14 So he's writing everything in a progressive state. 15:16 And so this is response to everything he said so far. 15:19 He says, "For by grace, 15:20 you have been saved through faith, 15:22 and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, 15:26 not of works lest anyone should boast. 15:30 For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus 15:34 for good works, 15:35 which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." 15:40 And I just have to add just really, 15:43 quickly here kind of my own little story into this 15:44 because those words there, 15:47 "For by grace, 15:49 you have been saved through faith." 15:52 Those words are so powerful. 15:55 And then they're so powerful in the sense 15:57 that the devil understands the power of those words 15:59 and he allows people to be manipulated 16:03 by not fully understanding the power of those words 16:06 and the truth behind those words. 16:08 You know, I think all of us here, of course, 16:11 have our personal testimony. 16:13 You know, you referenced the prodigal, 16:16 so the prodigal earlier. 16:18 The prodigal son, he leaves the father's house, 16:21 and he goes and does his wild... 16:22 sows his wild, you know, seed and oats 16:25 and whatever you wanna call it, out into the world, 16:27 all the while, he's also got a son 16:29 that never left his house. 16:31 And we know that there's two sons, 16:32 you know, in this story, 16:34 one that goes and does all the bad things, 16:36 the one that stays with the father, 16:37 but when the one returns, 16:39 the other one becomes bitter hearted, and... 16:42 But, you know, my experience was interesting in the sense 16:44 that I was kind of an amalgamation 16:46 of the two brothers. 16:47 In that I was... 16:49 I never really fully left the father's house, 16:50 but I was a prodigal in the father's house. 16:53 And, you know, I never really left the church, 16:56 I always was somehow connected a churchgoer. 17:01 But at the same time, man, I was in the world. 17:03 I was a professional DJ for 4.5 years, 17:06 playing in clubs, and joints and places 17:10 and atmospheres, playing horrible music, 17:12 living horrible lives. 17:14 I had an anger problem, 17:15 and I could just build up all of these horrible things. 17:19 But in that state, you know, 17:20 God had every right in the world 17:22 to say you're not worthy. 17:24 You're the hypocritical hypocrite, 17:26 you're not worthy. 17:27 But praise the Lord, 17:28 that I'm saved by grace through faith. 17:30 Because the Lord never... 17:32 As the Bible says, He never leaves us 17:33 nor forsake us. 17:35 And I love the story of the prodigal son 17:36 because get this. 17:37 A lot of times we study that story, 17:39 we read that story 17:40 from a Western cultural perspective. 17:42 But when you study it 17:43 from an Eastern cultural perspective, 17:46 there was a guy by the name of Kenneth Bailey, 17:48 he was a seminary professor. 17:50 He took a sabbatical that ended up 17:51 being a 40-year sabbatical, 17:53 a four week sabbatical turned into a 40-year sabbatical. 17:56 He went overseas. 17:57 And you can actually read this online 17:59 and study this up. 18:00 It's interesting what happened. 18:01 He was reading that parable of the prodigal son. 18:05 And he went over to the Middle East 18:06 to do research to see, is this possible the kids, 18:10 the children ask for the inheritance beforehand. 18:13 Long story short, 18:14 he come to find out that in the Middle East 18:16 and 99% of the time, even still to this day, 18:19 if a young man or woman asked for the inheritance 18:22 before the father dies, 18:25 that is a penalty of death, 18:27 that brings a penalty of death. 18:29 They will stone you alive in these cultures. 18:33 And it's amazing how you see the grace of God in this story, 18:36 because what does the father do when the son returns? 18:39 He runs. 18:41 Why did he run? 18:44 You see, he found out this is powerful. 18:47 See, in the Middle East, the father understood. 18:50 When you study it from that perspective, 18:52 the father understood the penalty 18:53 that that young men was coming home to, 18:56 and instead of allowing his community 18:58 to stone that which was shameful, 19:02 he runs at the son 19:03 and he throws himself on to the son, 19:05 and he hugs him and he kisses him. 19:06 In another word, and he puts his, 19:08 you know, his coat around him, he gives him the ring. 19:10 He did everything to tell that community, 19:12 this is my son 19:13 and I will not allow him to die. 19:17 Save by grace. 19:18 It's powerful. 19:19 And then that's all of us here. 19:21 That's all of us. 19:22 You know, I think of Revelation. 19:24 We're talking about God of New Beginnings. 19:25 Revelation 21:5, 19:26 "God is gonna make all things new." 19:28 He says right there. 19:29 Then he that sat up on the throne said, 19:30 "Behold, I make all things new." 19:32 Jesus accepts us like we are. 19:34 But He doesn't want to leave us the way we are. 19:35 He says, "You come to me, I'm gonna make all things new." 19:39 Praise the Lord for God's grace. 19:40 And you know, it's just like Paul said 19:42 in 2 Corinthians 5:17, 19:43 "When we are in Christ, we're a new creation." 19:47 The old is gone and new has come. 19:49 And that's the way God looks at us. 19:51 There's a beautiful scripture in Ezekiel, 19:53 which I really love and I share with people on prayer line. 19:55 I'll just try to read it here. 19:57 Let's see I got it somewhere. 19:59 He talks about in us. 20:00 It's Ezekiel 16, it says in verse 6... 20:04 Amplified. Yeah, in Amplified. 20:05 It says, "And when I passed by you 20:07 and saw you rolling about in your blood, 20:09 I said to you and your blood, 'Live!' 20:10 Yes, I said to you still in your natal blood, 'Live!' 20:13 I cause you Israel to multiply as a bud 20:15 which grows in the field 20:16 and you increased and became tall, 20:18 you came to full maidenhood and beauty. 20:22 Your breasts were formed and your hair grown, 20:24 yet you were naked and bare. 20:26 Now I passed by you again and looked upon you, 20:29 behold you were maturing at that time for love. 20:33 And I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. 20:36 Yes, I plighted My troth to you 20:37 and entered into a covenant with you, 20:38 says the Lord and you became Mine." 20:40 So that speech is talked about that idea that prodigal son, 20:44 the father, you know, putting his arms, 20:45 just like covering him. 20:46 Covered him, covered you in your skirts. 20:49 And, you know, that's the beautiful thing. 20:50 I love this whole topic about New Beginnings 20:54 because I'm so thankful 20:56 that I received a new beginning. 20:57 I was once looking at a potential 20:59 maximum prison sentence of 15 years in prison. 21:02 Fifteen years, that's a long time. 21:05 And, you know, it was for a drug charge. 21:09 Anyway, to make a long story short, 21:12 I ended up getting sentenced to two years probation 21:14 and other stipulations with that drug test 21:17 and all this other stuff. 21:19 But what took place was I had a plea deal, 21:22 first offenders deferred adjudication. 21:25 Now when you have first offenders deferred, 21:27 the rest still shows up on your record. 21:30 So it's still there, it's lingering there. 21:35 But later on down the line, 21:37 I was able to get my record expunged. 21:40 So my record is sealed 21:42 and so there's nothing that shows up 21:45 when that check is done. 21:47 Shh! 21:48 We won't tell anybody. 21:49 They'll never know. 21:51 There we go. 21:52 But that's what Christ wants for each and every one. 21:55 He wants to give us that new beginning 21:57 that second chance at life. 21:59 Blot out our sins with His blood. 22:01 Blot out our sins with His blood 22:03 where we committed the crime, He did the time. 22:06 We were walking down death row. 22:09 We're walking down death row, and He said, 22:14 "You just stay right there. I got this." 22:16 That's amazing. 22:17 And, you know, what I love about 22:18 how even though we make those choices 22:21 and suffer the consequences, and when He finds us, 22:26 we don't have to live in that shame 22:28 because now He can use us in ministry to reach people 22:33 that were or are where we were, 22:36 and nothing is wasted with God 22:38 and He redeems the time through our bad choices. 22:42 He still can use us, and you know, 22:45 make something out of that. 22:47 That's what gives me the hope. 22:48 Amen. 22:50 Well, it's interesting because, 22:51 you know, life is constantly moving, 22:54 and life picks up where you meet somebody. 22:57 So this is what Shelley was saying, 22:59 you know, you're both just a neat couple, 23:04 a loving couple, a helping couple. 23:06 And that's the people that always knew. 23:08 So it's kind of interesting, 23:10 you know, that there was another couple out there. 23:15 And so, but I think that, especially since, 23:20 wow, that's who you were. 23:22 Now, you start looking at consistency. 23:25 We gauge things by consistency. 23:28 And I mean, you've been here for five years now? 23:30 Six. 23:31 Six years, and you've been continually consistent. 23:35 So you can't picture anything else. 23:38 With you, I mean, with you, I mean, 23:41 this kind of like because of your consistent 23:42 and your walk with the Lord, this is who you have become. 23:48 And then you just add tweaking on top of it, 23:51 and it's gonna be interesting, 23:53 should the Lord tarry 23:56 how this end of the story is gonna end. 23:58 There's a scripture in here 23:59 and you kind of touch on a little bit, Shelley, 24:02 concept that when He blots out your transgressions 24:04 and when people actually realize, 24:06 and I had a lady on prayer line, 24:08 she's in her late 70s, early 80s. 24:09 And I said, "You realize, 24:11 if you confess your sin and repented of it, 24:13 Jesus takes His blood 24:14 and He smears it over your record. 24:16 It's wiped out. It's gone." 24:17 She said, "Are you telling me that's gone, it's on record?" 24:20 As you talked about expunge, and she's just like, 24:23 "Oh my goodness, I feel so free. 24:25 I haven't seen it before." 24:26 She is in 70s... 24:27 Praise the Lord. 24:29 I think they call that the good news. 24:31 Yes, very good news. 24:34 Amen. 24:35 When you were talking about the prodigal son 24:39 and his brother who stayed, you know, this brother, 24:46 and you were the prodigal in the church. 24:48 He was really a prodigal 24:50 in the home of the father, was he not? 24:52 That reminds me of the lady who said, 24:55 "I've always gone to church. 24:56 I've never broken any of the Big Ten." 24:59 She actually said, 25:01 "What's the big deal about Jesus?" 25:05 And so this is, 25:08 I think when people who are in the church 25:11 and think that church going is gonna save them, 25:14 nothing saves you except the blood of Jesus. 25:16 Or taking a step further, what's powerful is, 25:19 you have those who are in the church, 25:21 they're in the Father's house. 25:23 All the while they have one leg in the world and they think 25:26 that the Father's not going to notice their departure. 25:29 And that was me, that was me. 25:31 I would show up on Sunday, I was the drummer. 25:33 I was up on stage playing the drums, 25:35 singing the pray, leading out in praise and worship. 25:37 You know, I was helpful in classes, 25:40 you know, teaching and all that. 25:41 And then on weekends, you know, 25:43 I was out playing for the devil, 25:45 living a life. 25:46 That's amazing. 25:48 And justifying. 25:49 Yeah, all the while thinking I'm saved. 25:51 Okay, so we have established, 25:54 there is no if ands or buts about it, 25:56 that God is the God of New Beginnings. 25:59 We've all experienced, 26:00 and we hope at home 26:03 that you have experienced it as well. 26:05 If you haven't, we want to talk about 26:07 how can we receive a new beginning. 26:11 And, first of all, 26:12 we just have to accept it by faith. 26:15 You pray, acknowledge your need 26:18 for a savior. 26:19 And just as God, 26:21 you can't even turn away 26:23 from your sins by your own power. 26:24 Acts 5:32 says, 26:26 "God gives us the gift of repentance." 26:29 So you ask Christ to come into your heart, 26:33 be filled with the Holy Spirit, 26:35 and to give you the power to repent. 26:38 And I'll tell a quick story. 26:40 My sister was gang raped when she was 13 years old, 26:46 messed her little head up pretty badly. 26:49 But anyway, she ended up on drugs. 26:52 And I prayed for that child for 15. 26:54 She says 20 years but I remember, 15 of them. 27:00 I prayed so hard for her and she came to live with us 27:03 when we'd first been married. 27:05 And because she was coming out, 27:09 you know, we'd sent her the plane tickets. 27:12 She was coming out of this horrible lifestyle, 27:17 and poor JD, he was a nervous wreck. 27:20 And it was enough to make anybody 27:22 a nervous wreck, 27:23 but we'd take her to church with us 27:25 and I would pray with her at night and talk to her, 27:31 catch her shooting up in the bathroom. 27:34 I mean, we were arm wrestling with this syringe, 27:39 and then she left 27:41 and went to live with my mother. 27:42 And she called me two weeks after she got there. 27:45 You know what she said, 27:46 "I know that, I know that, 27:48 I know I'll never do drugs again." 27:49 I said, "How you know?" 27:52 I mean, she'd been, you know, 27:56 she'd been through several rehab programs. 27:58 Nothing ever worked. 28:00 And I said, "How do you know?" 28:02 She said, "I just went out in the backyard last night, 28:04 looked up at the stars and said, 28:06 'Okay, Lord, if it's true what my sister says, 28:08 all I have to do is tell you that I recognize I'm a sinner. 28:14 I need a savior, and Jesus, You'll come live in my heart, 28:19 by the power of the Holy Spirit, 28:20 fill me with Your Spirit. 28:21 Give me the power to turn away from this.'" 28:24 Did you know? 28:27 God healed her. 28:28 I mean, she was doing cocaine and heroin, 28:30 shooting up together. 28:32 I mean, hardball, speedball or whatever. 28:36 God delivered her and for, until the day of her death, 28:40 she had not done drugs again, after all of this. 28:44 So you can receive a new beginning. 28:46 Now Cheri Peters always says, "I hate that story." 28:49 And I said, "What do you mean?" 28:51 And she said, "Well, with me it was day by day," 28:53 but God knows what we need. 28:55 So let's talk about 28:57 being born again and giving the new heart. 29:00 Why don't you hit that one on those two points? 29:04 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, 29:10 he is a new creation." 29:12 Praise the Lord. 29:13 "Old things have passed away, 29:15 behold all things have become new." 29:18 Wow. You know... 29:19 Let me stop and ask you. 29:21 How often do you feel like everything's new 29:24 and all the old is passed away? 29:26 Oh, my, I feel like Paul in Romans 7, 29:28 the things I don't want to do, I always do little things. 29:31 Man, what a wretch I am. 29:33 I know, I mean, you gotta remember Romans 4:17 29:36 that God is the God who gives life to the dead 29:39 and calls sins that are not as though they already were. 29:41 In Romans 8:1. Yeah. 29:43 "Therefore there is no condemnation 29:45 for those who are in walk." 29:46 Amen. 29:48 Because, you know, this is what God is telling us 29:50 when you're in Christ, 29:52 when you accept Christ as your Savior, 29:55 you become a child of God. 29:58 He's adopting you. 30:00 In His eyes, He's seeing you 30:04 with the robe of righteousness of Christ, right? 30:07 So let's talk about the new heart. 30:09 Let me bring something tonight before we move on. 30:12 I learned this along whenever I had a 51 Ford, 30:16 a flathead 51 Ford, I took a beautiful car, messed it up. 30:21 It's nice you need to hear it, that's another day. 30:23 But I learned something with that old 51 Ford, 30:26 it had a great big back windshield. 30:29 And then I had the rearview mirror a pair. 30:32 And I've probably spent half of my life 30:34 as I'm driving down the road, 30:36 look in that rearview mirror and see what was behind me. 30:38 Now how come I did that I don't know, 30:41 but I learned a valuable lesson. 30:43 And I talked to people quite often 30:46 that they want to do this. 30:48 They want a change in their life, 30:51 but they've got their eye on that rearview mirror 30:53 because they haven't quite made that total change. 30:57 And so my challenge to you out there 31:00 is if you're concentrating 31:01 on that rearview mirror too much, take it out. 31:06 You don't need to harbor on the things of yesteryear. 31:09 Isaiah 43:18 and 19. 31:12 I would like to kind of, I guess, 31:15 also add to what you're saying is the fact 31:17 that I think sometimes, you know, 31:20 like we always talking about having a balance 31:21 is acknowledging where we came from 31:23 not forgetting where we came from, 31:25 and what God brought us from to use that, 31:28 you know, to see how much the work that He's done in us. 31:32 And, you know, 31:33 sometimes I think it's kind of like, 31:35 we can get so far away from where we were 31:37 that we forget how to relate to people. 31:39 And I think that's a danger to that, you know, 31:42 if we forget that, we don't want to dwell there, 31:44 but we don't want to forget it either. 31:46 That's kind of like part of, you know, who we are. 31:48 It's a testimony. 31:50 And that's where Romans 8:1 comes in. 31:52 It's when, if you're looking back at the past, 31:56 and dwelling on the past with shame and condemnation, 32:01 you know, that's not God's will, 32:02 I mean, you're not accepting and receiving His forgiveness. 32:06 Yeah, yeah. 32:07 And that's where you... 32:08 Like you said, when you're just focused on that... 32:10 Now what you're talking about, 32:12 everybody needs to look up now 32:14 and then make sure my pet peeve is a tailgater, 32:20 you know, 'cause I know how dangerous tailgate is. 32:23 So I will check my mirror from time to time, 32:25 and I had a guy the other day 32:27 that was like 3 feet away from me. 32:29 So I kind of sped up, I saw a place and I pulled off, 32:32 and I just let him go around because, 32:34 I mean, it's amazing 32:35 how to get to, you know, gain two seconds. 32:38 They're just... 32:40 But we do need to look back every now and then 32:43 and use that as our testimony. 32:44 Especially in Southern Illinois 'cause we like a lot of places, 32:47 there's deer everywhere when we're going home. 32:50 Boy, you know, it scares me because, 32:51 you know, you're just taking, 32:52 going down the road at normal speed 32:54 and people right behind you 32:56 and you slam your brakes on 32:59 because there's a deer runs out in front of you. 33:01 And I probably never in a million years 33:02 thought about that, pay attention to consequences. 33:05 Amen. 33:06 Both the ends like comes to my mind, 33:08 we're talking about this looking behind 33:09 and not looking beyond, Philippians 3:12 says, 33:11 "Not as though I had already attained, 33:14 either we're already perfect, 33:15 but I follow after if that I may apprehend that 33:18 which also I am apprehend of Christ Jesus brother, 33:20 and I count not myself to have apprehended. 33:23 But this one thing, 33:24 I do for getting those things which are behind 33:26 and reaching forth under those things which are before, 33:29 I press toward the mark of the prize 33:31 of the high calling of God and Christ Jesus." 33:33 Amen. 33:34 Pressing forward, I think that's important, 33:36 you know, because you can stay stagnant. 33:39 What is your relationship with Christ 33:41 and if you're just always focused on the past 33:43 all the time, you've got to move forward. 33:46 Let's get into... 33:47 I mean, this new beginning, when you make this prayer, 33:53 God doesn't expect us, you know, as you read, 33:56 He said that we're saved by grace 33:58 not by works that anyone should boast. 34:00 But then He went on to say, for we are God's workmanship. 34:05 We are His work of art, 34:08 created in Christ Jesus for good works, 34:12 which God had prepared beforehand. 34:14 So this new beginning, 34:17 sometimes I think people think that, 34:19 "Okay, yeah, I do want to follow Jesus." 34:22 They say that prayer, and then they struggle. 34:26 But God will give us a new heart. 34:28 This is God's work, we just have to cooperate. 34:31 So let's talk about Ezekiel 36:26 and 27 'cause... 34:38 Why don't you take that, Jason? 34:40 Okay. 34:42 Ezekiel 36:26 and 27. 34:46 Okay. 34:47 "I will give you a new heart 34:49 and put a new spirit within you. 34:51 I will take the heart of stone, 34:52 that old hardened heart out of your flesh 34:55 and give you a heart of flesh 34:59 sensitive in responsive to God's touch. 35:03 So we can live in obedience. 35:05 I will put my spirit within you 35:07 and cause you to walk in my statutes, 35:10 and you will keep my judgments and do them." 35:12 So this is a new covenant promise. 35:15 Of course. 35:16 And God is saying, I'm gonna give you a new heart. 35:19 You know what? 35:20 I even, I found myself praying for that, 35:23 a few weeks back. 35:25 I just woke up one more... 35:27 No, actually I was going to bed one night. 35:29 And I'm just, Lord, I need a new heart. 35:32 I've just had, I've just been apathetic, 35:34 the last couple of weeks, just reach down here, 35:37 do a heart transformation on me. 35:40 And, you know, just because we're on TV... 35:43 I'm gonna share something with you. 35:46 You can get so busy 35:48 in the Lord's business that you... 35:51 You know, I talk with pastors all the time. 35:54 One pastor we interviewed quit and 12 years later came back. 35:59 But he said, I still given good sermons, 36:04 according to my congregation, great sermons, 36:07 but he did not have the personal time 36:09 with the Lord. 36:11 And so we all have to keep that finger 36:13 on our spiritual pulse. 36:15 And this is something that 36:18 when you think about this new heart, 36:20 I love verse 27. 36:23 Read, read that again, honey, verse 27. 36:26 It says that, "I will put my spirit 36:28 within you and cause you to walk in my statute." 36:30 Oh, I'm glad that you emphasize that. 36:34 See, God will cause us to be 36:39 what He has called us to be. 36:44 It's God working in us to will and to do His good pleasure. 36:47 Right. I think... 36:49 I think that sometimes when people say that prayer, 36:51 asking Christ into their life, 36:53 and I think that sometimes after they pray that, 36:58 they still try and do things in their own strength. 37:00 And they take matters 37:01 into their own hands and they try. 37:03 And so when they do that, they fail, they fall. 37:07 And so that right there 37:11 just tells us, you know, it is God, 37:14 it is Christ that will work in us. 37:17 I like that. Pardon. 37:18 I'm sorry. 37:20 It's kind of like having training wheels. 37:21 Yeah. 37:22 He's causing you. 37:24 That's right. 37:25 Because you get in the habit of doing that, 37:27 then it becomes who you are. 37:29 That goes back to that consistency 37:30 that I was talking about while ago. 37:32 Amen. 37:33 Amen. 37:36 Verse 26 that Jason read in that version, 37:40 the version of the Bible at the end of that, 37:43 it says sensitive and responsive to God's touch. 37:47 And I like that because it's, 37:49 it really does describe the attitude that our hearts 37:53 should have is sensitive and responsive to his touch. 37:58 So it's only the new heart filled with the Holy Spirit 38:01 that can be sensitive to him, right? 38:04 So if the Holy Spirit is in us... 38:10 So, you know, what in Jesus... 38:12 When God came down 38:14 and became a man, I mean, some of us... 38:18 I think some people think about, oh, the little God's, 38:22 Son of God came down to become a man. 38:24 No, God came down to become a man, 38:27 to become the Son of God, right? 38:29 So when He came here, 38:32 what did He take back to heaven 38:36 that He didn't have when He arrived? 38:39 Humanity. 38:41 Flesh. 38:42 Flesh. 38:44 So if He's in the flesh, 38:47 He can't actually dwell in our hearts 38:50 except by faith, right? 38:52 It's by the Holy Spirit because if the Father, 38:56 the Son and the Spirit are the same, 38:57 it's by the Spirit. 38:59 So let's look... 39:00 Honey, why don't you read, Ephesians 3:16-20? 39:05 "He would grant you 39:07 according to the riches of His glory, 39:09 to be strengthened with my through the Spirit 39:12 in the inner man." 39:13 So how are we strengthened with might? 39:15 By the Spirit. 39:16 By the Holy Spirit. 39:18 Through His Spirit in us. 39:19 Amen. 39:20 That Christ may dwell in your heart through faith... 39:22 Whoo! 39:23 There's the thing. 39:24 It's when the Spirit is in you, that Christ is in you by faith. 39:30 That's right. 39:32 That you being rooted and grounded in love, 39:35 may be able to comprehend 39:36 with all the saints what is the width, 39:39 the length, the depth, and the height. 39:41 To know the love of Christ, 39:43 which passes knowledge that you may be filled 39:46 with all the fullness of God, 39:49 and now to him who is able to do 39:51 exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, 39:54 according to the power that works in us. 39:58 It's a bunch. 40:00 It is. 40:01 That's right. 40:02 You know, I think of, you know, 40:04 someone who may be watching this program at home right now. 40:06 And they're thinking to themselves, you know, 40:07 all of this sounds great and all but I'm too far gone. 40:12 I'm too far gone, I'm too, 40:14 too much drowned in my current situation 40:17 that there's no turning back for me and, 40:19 and I just want to encourage everyone 40:20 who's watching at home, 40:22 and anyone who may watch this program 40:24 that it's never too late. 40:26 There's just too many biblical examples 40:27 of people who were drenched in their sin, 40:30 who were living a life of sin, who, 40:31 some people might say they're too far gone. 40:34 And what we see is 40:35 when they have an encounter with Jesus, things change. 40:39 And I just, I wrote down just a few examples, 40:40 as I was brainstorming, as I was studying through this. 40:43 You know, I think of the demoniac 40:45 that Jesus had an encounter with. 40:46 I mean, that's about as far gone 40:48 as you could possibly imagine. 40:49 This guy is full of not just one demon, 40:52 maybe not two or three but a legion of demons. 40:56 So much that this brother comes storming down the hill 40:59 as Christ is getting out of the boat, 41:01 almost in an attempt to maybe attack 41:03 as he had everyone else who would pass through. 41:05 But when he had an encounter with Jesus, that's it. 41:09 And it's amazing because 41:11 when you read that story, you know, 41:12 he's coming at him in a demonic way at first. 41:15 And then when he banishes those demons out of them, 41:17 the response of the people versus this demoniac, 41:21 the people who didn't have all these demons, 41:23 they're the ones saying, Jesus get out of here. 41:25 And that yet this man is at Jesus' feet saying, 41:27 please take me with You. 41:29 You know, that's what we would call 41:31 a radical transformation. 41:33 And so and sometimes 41:35 it's a quick transformation for some, 41:37 sometimes, you know, it's a fight, it's a struggle, 41:40 but I think if you know, 41:41 I think of another one like Mary, 41:42 Mary Magdalene who was caught in adultery. 41:44 I mean, she struggled with this all of her life, 41:47 and but yet she had an encounter with Jesus. 41:50 And what did Jesus tell her? You know what? 41:52 I don't condemn you, but, hey, go and sin no more. 41:54 And we see a radical transformation 41:57 in her life from that point forward. 41:59 I think of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts Chapter 8. 42:02 I mean, this guy, you know, he's an Ethiopian, 42:04 he's from a country 42:06 and an area steeped in paganism. 42:08 And he comes and he has an encounter 42:10 with Christ in His Word, encounter with the Holy Spirit. 42:14 And he walks away changed, forever change. 42:16 And then, of course, 42:17 here's probably the champions of all major conversions, 42:20 and that's Paul, in Acts Chapter 9. 42:22 I mean, he thought he was, 42:25 he was living in sin because he was basically, 42:29 as Paul himself says in his own writings, he says, 42:32 "I once was a blasphemer, a persecutor." 42:35 He was persecuting people in the name of God. 42:38 A religious zealot. Yeah. 42:39 And so we see that amazing transformation. 42:42 He's blinded in for three days, he has this, 42:45 this amazing experience with the Lord 42:47 in a blinded state where the Lord 42:49 is able to humble him and sometimes 42:51 we have to go through that, I think. 42:53 And it may sometimes for some of us, 42:55 be in a quick, you know, 42:57 almost instantaneous thing like what you said with your sister, 43:00 you know, I said that prayer and, you know, and then others, 43:03 you know, it's a struggle, it's a fight. 43:06 But I think we have too many biblical promises here, 43:09 where God has promised us and said, "I'm there." 43:12 But I had to say this. 43:14 My sister never did drugs again. 43:16 But I watch, I mean, we all, nobody just is like, okay, 43:21 this is it, we're there, 43:22 because my sister had a very strong personality. 43:26 And I remember being at her home once 43:29 and she was kind of 43:30 in a spiritual valley, I'll say. 43:34 And so, boy, I mean, 43:37 I felt like when you're around her, 43:39 if she wasn't with the Lord, it was like, 43:42 you are hit with a bulldozer, the word I was thinking, 43:48 I mean, you just, you know, 43:50 so I am praying like everything, 43:52 you know what I said? 43:53 I said, "O Lord, change her, change her. 43:55 She's just so overbearing. 43:58 She's so... 43:59 And you know what the Lord said to me?" 44:01 He said, "I gave her that personality. 44:03 That's what makes her such a strong witness 44:07 when she is surrendered." 44:09 Yeah, and it is true. 44:11 When she, I mean, 44:13 it didn't take her 48 hours to be surrendered again. 44:16 And she was kind of like you. 44:19 I mean, she could approach 44:21 any stranger anywhere and would... 44:25 She was constantly witnessing for the Lord. 44:27 Wow. Amen. 44:29 Demoniac. 44:30 Yeah, yeah. 44:31 I was gonna, I would like to go back 44:33 to what Ryan was talking about, 44:34 all those examples that you shared to me, 44:36 like when I was a baby Christian 44:38 those what gave me hope is reading these stories 44:41 about imperfect people, that had problems, 44:44 that God still used despite their issues. 44:47 And to me that's, that's hope, you know, and because, I mean, 44:53 when I was a kid, I thought God was a dictator, and... 44:59 And that's amazing because 45:00 when you look at the Old Testament, 45:01 so many people, you know, again, 45:04 I've made them all the time. 45:05 In fact, I used to think this because it was kind of 45:07 taught to me that the God of the Old Testament 45:09 and the New Testament are two different people, 45:11 that you see a God of grace and love in the New Testament, 45:14 but you see a God of, you know, 45:16 of harsh vengeance and judgment. 45:19 But I, as I have come to know God through His Word, 45:22 I'm like you, I see, 45:24 I see a God of compassion in the Old Testament, 45:26 I see that same love 45:28 being put on display all the way through. 45:30 Yeah. 45:31 Man, he is the, sick. 45:33 That is a mystery of life right there, 45:35 trying to explain all of that. 45:36 I think that when you touch on that, 45:38 you know, the Lord impressed me. 45:39 I studied some scripture, John 1:18. 45:41 It says, "No man has seen God at any one time." 45:43 Yeah. 45:45 Adam was a man. 45:46 So who did he see when he opened his eyes? 45:48 He saw Jesus. 45:49 So if you see Jesus in the very beginning 45:50 of the Old Testament, 45:52 you'll see Him all the way through, 45:53 you're going to realize who God is, 45:55 and I think that's powerful. 45:56 But I do want to make this comment right here, 45:58 talking about the people that are, 46:02 that think that they're not worthy. 46:05 That is probably the number one life saving right there. 46:09 You know, just got, 46:11 you are worthy as Shelley mentioned earlier, 46:13 worth nothing less than the price 46:15 that He paid for you. 46:16 Amen. Yeah. Amen. 46:18 He puts a great value on us. 46:19 Okay, so, we're, I kind of want to, 46:24 let's get to our third question. 46:26 We're going to skip much of this. 46:28 But the bottom line is that, 46:30 you know, Philippians 2:12-13 says, 46:33 "Work out your own salvation," 46:35 Paul says, "in fear and trembling." 46:36 I used to stop there and my knees knocked, they did. 46:41 I was trying to be a good girl for the Lord 46:44 trying to do everything and I grew up 46:46 when you said like a tyrant. 46:48 I remember walking away from the Lord once just saying, 46:52 I can't please you. 46:54 You know, you're too demanding. 46:56 No use even trying because I was and I thought 47:00 that I was consigned to eternal punishing, 47:05 I thought I was just gonna, and I thought, 47:08 I may as well enjoy myself now. 47:10 Yeah, and torture yourself, you would torture. 47:12 So yeah, but when God got a hold of me, 47:18 you know Philippians 2:13 is one of my favorites, 47:22 that and this is what he's saying, he says, 47:25 "Work out what God's put in you, 47:27 but not in your own power," 47:29 because He continues to say, 47:31 "It is God who works in you both to will and to do." 47:38 So first, He lines our will up with His, 47:42 but then He doesn't force us to act. 47:45 It's when we take a step of faith, and we say, 47:48 "Yes, Lord, I want Your way." 47:50 We take one step of faith 47:51 and the power of the Holy Spirit shows up 47:54 and He works in us to do. 47:57 That's right. Yeah. 47:58 So, Jason, if we sin after being born again, 48:05 how can we be sure that God gives us another chance? 48:08 Well, let's look at 1 John 1:9 and see, 48:11 see what we can find out. 48:13 "If we confess our sins, 48:14 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 48:17 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 48:21 All unrighteousness. 48:25 You know, when you think 48:27 about the price that Christ paid, 48:29 why would He pay that if He wouldn't forgive us 48:32 if we confessed our sins and had been, 48:35 were genuine in our repentance? 48:38 You know, why would He not forgive us? 48:41 And then when you look at the word, if you, 48:44 if you don't believe that God will forgive you of your sins 48:50 when you confess, 48:52 and then essentially you're calling Him a liar. 48:54 'Cause the God that I serve, He doesn't lie. 48:56 He's the same, He was the same way back when, 49:01 He's the same a couple years after that, 49:03 He's the same today 49:05 and He will be the same tomorrow. 49:06 And He's unchanging, He loves us so much. 49:09 You know with the whole second chance thing, 49:11 He's standing there. 49:13 If you feel like you've gone too far, 49:14 He's standing there with open arms, 49:17 waiting, just come home, just come home, just come home. 49:21 God wants a relationship with everybody. 49:25 He wants to save as many people as He possibly can. 49:28 That's right. Absolutely. 49:29 I mean, that's incredible. 49:31 That's the God of love. Amen. 49:32 Thinking of 1 John 2:1 goes right along with it. 49:35 It says, "My little children, 49:36 these things write I unto you that you sin not. 49:39 And if any man sin, 49:41 we have an advocate with the Father, 49:42 Jesus Christ the righteous." 49:44 Amen. 49:45 He stands on our behalf. Praise the Lord. 49:46 He's good. 49:48 You know, go ahead. 49:49 No, go ahead. 49:50 Okay, I was thinking on that same note, Proverbs 24:16. 49:53 Oh, yes. 49:55 Which says, "For a righteous men 49:56 may fall seven times and rise again, 50:00 but the wicked shall fall by calamity." 50:02 I love that scripture because, you know, you can't. 50:05 It's interesting. 50:06 You can only fall if you're standing. 50:09 If you're laying on the ground, you know, 50:10 and a lot of people do this, they, 50:12 in their walk with the Lord, 50:14 they struggle with the battle of self, 50:16 welcome to the club that's what I tell, 50:18 welcome to you all. 50:20 So we often find ourselves and again, 50:21 this is no excuse for sin. 50:23 And we're certainly not communicating that 50:24 because God hates sin, He loves us. 50:28 But He hates the sin and He wants to, 50:30 He wants to purge us of that sin. 50:32 But He understands that, you know, 50:34 He has patience with us, yes, we're in a sanctifying process. 50:38 And so when we come to Him, and we become born again, 50:40 because we're fully converted to Him, there's times, 50:43 as a righteous man, you're going to fall. 50:46 But when you fall, here's the key, 50:47 don't stay down. 50:49 Because a lot of people they get into that 50:50 perpetual state of, 50:51 "Oh, I fall, I've fallen so many times. 50:53 Well, I'm just going to, 50:55 obviously I'm losing this battle." 50:57 Then they see God in a different light. 50:58 They see God as the devil wants you to see Him, which is, 51:02 surely God is disappointed in me so much 51:04 that He's just given up on me. 51:06 And so people stay in that laying position. 51:08 And can you fall in a laying position? 51:11 No, because you've already fallen? 51:12 But if righteous men may fall, notice, 51:15 seven times he rises again, when you fall, quick, 51:18 be quick to repent, 51:19 flee to Him and He will forgive you 51:22 if you are genuine and you are sincere. 51:24 And I just want to also add here, 51:26 because a lot of times, 51:28 and I think you guys are all understanding 51:30 where I'm going with this. 51:31 And that is when you ask this question sometimes, 51:32 if we sin after being born again, 51:34 can we be sure that God gives us 51:36 another chance? 51:37 That absolutely, 51:38 that is true that He does give us another chance, 51:40 but sometimes we may hear a gospel that is false 51:45 that tells us that you know what? 51:47 I was once saved way back here. 51:49 I got saved back in 19 whatever, and my sins, 51:53 and I actually heard this the other day 51:54 because I saw someone posted on Facebook, 51:56 my sins, past, present and future are wiped away. 52:00 In other words, I can sin, sin, sin. 52:01 In fact, this person actually posted online. 52:04 I'm going to continue to sin, sin, sin until Jesus comes, 52:06 because I can't help it. 52:08 Well, that's presumptuous for one thing and number two, 52:12 what victory has God given you? 52:13 Right, right, What victory, you know, 52:15 Jesus died for much more than forgiveness. 52:18 And He will forgive us. 52:19 He does want to cleanse us. 52:21 But again with that He wants to give us complete victory. 52:24 And the Bible says that He came 52:26 to destroy the works of the devil. 52:29 Amen. Amen. 52:30 I think and we don't have time to get into this, 52:33 but I'm just gonna say it. 52:34 I think that the covenant narrative 52:38 has been so filled with error, that people you know, 52:43 like in the old covenant that people will say, 52:45 "Oh, it's a covenant of works." 52:47 No, no, no, no, it's never been a covenant of words, 52:51 and it's a progressive covenant that this everlasting gospel, 52:56 the Lamb who was slain 52:58 from the foundation of the earth. 53:00 It's a progressive, 53:01 it just kind of builds one on the other. 53:04 So, when Jesus said, 53:08 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 53:11 See, the whole idea of covenant 53:14 is that God makes all the promises. 53:17 Then He says, 53:18 "You want to come into covenant with Me. 53:20 I expect covenant loyalty. 53:23 I want you to love Me. 53:25 And you know, you can't even love Me 53:26 with all your heart, soul, mind and strength 53:29 unless I pour My Holy Spirit into you," 53:32 Romans 5:5. 53:33 You know, He shed a blood, 53:35 He fills us our heart with the Holy Spirit. 53:38 So there's people who, oh, I'm safe, but, you know, 53:41 I grew up not ever hearing about grace. 53:44 I grew up in a New Testament Church. 53:47 You think you'd hear about grace? 53:49 No, I mean, it was pretty legalistic. 53:55 And I never heard about grace, 53:58 had a love affair with the Father. 54:00 I mean with Jesus, scared to death of the Father, 54:04 because all I thought He was going to do is watch me 54:07 and zap me and throw me into hell. 54:11 And when I studied my way out of that, 54:16 I got into this environment 54:18 where all of a sudden it was grace, 54:19 grace and no obedience. 54:21 And I knew this weren't right, as I'm reading. 54:24 And then it was when I just, 54:26 you know really studied to the Lord, 54:27 understood grace that... 54:29 Good. 54:30 When you're finished, 54:31 I was going to share something that kind of goes along 54:33 with everything we're talking about. 54:35 There was a verse. 54:37 We read from Ephesians earlier in Chapter 2 verse 21, 54:41 it reminded me of something that we had read in devotional. 54:45 Anyway, it's Ephesians 2:21. 54:48 It says, "In whom all the building 54:50 fitly framed together groweth 54:51 unto a holy temple in the Lord." 54:54 In whom, this is verse 22, 54:56 "In whom you also are built it together 54:57 for the habitation of God through the Spirit." 54:59 And it's that process that He's building us. 55:02 And I have to share this too, 55:03 because this is from the Faith I Live By, 55:05 this devotional we've been going through. 55:08 It says, "Those who refuse to be heed 55:10 by the prophets and failed to purify their souls 55:12 and obeying the whole truth and who are willing to believe 55:15 that their condition is far better 55:16 than it really is, 55:18 will come up to the time of the falling of the plagues, 55:21 and see that they, 55:22 they needed to be hued and squared for the building." 55:25 And it's that, the idea that God is, is on, 55:29 he's got us on that journey of building us 55:32 so that we can be indwelling for him. 55:34 And I just think that, you know, it's kind of, 55:36 it's what he's doing in each of our lives 55:38 as we let him hue us. 55:40 And it's a process. 55:42 It takes time. 55:43 How is it work? 55:44 Why don't you read Micah 7:7-9 55:46 because that goes with the verse from Proverbs 55:48 that you've read that, JD, why don't you read that? 55:51 Yes. 55:53 "Therefore I will look to the Lord, 55:54 I will wait for the God of my salvation. 55:57 And my God will hear me, 55:59 do not rejoice over me my enemy. 56:01 When I fall, I will arise and when I sit in darkness, 56:04 the Lord will be a light to me. 56:06 I will bear the indignation of the Lord 56:08 because I have sinned against Him. 56:11 And until He pleads my case and executes justice for me, 56:14 He will bring me forth to the light 56:16 will see His righteousness." 56:18 Amen. Praise the Lord. 56:20 Do not rejoice over me, 56:21 my enemy because my God's mercies 56:24 are new every morning. 56:27 Great is His faithfulness. 56:29 He's running for us, 56:30 He's running to us to embrace us. 56:33 And we just, oh boy, we're right down, 56:36 just have to say this. 56:37 What a system. 56:39 Our judge Jesus Christ is also our advocate, 56:43 our defense attorney. 56:44 You talk about an amazing plan of salvation. 56:51 God wants you to know 56:52 that His mercies are new every morning 56:55 that He will do a work in you. 57:00 Don't dwell on the past, He will do a new thing, 57:04 it will suddenly spring forward, 57:07 and He's gonna make rivers in the desert. 57:11 Thank you all so much for being here. 57:14 We can all celebrate and give God the praise 57:17 for the new beginnings. 57:19 And we want to encourage you at home please, 57:23 day by day pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 57:27 Don't try to, 57:28 if you're trying to do this on your own, 57:30 you're to be pitied, but with the power of God, 57:34 you'll have the new beginning every day. 57:36 God bless you. |
Revised 2020-01-08