Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW200003S
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00:01 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 01:09 Hello and welcome to another edition 01:11 of 3ABN Family Worship. 01:13 We are so blessed to have you joining us here today. 01:16 I don't know about you guys, 01:17 but Family Worship has become 01:18 probably my favorite program here at 3ABN. 01:21 I love all the programs but Family Worship 01:24 just has something special about it, 01:25 and we're going to have a wonderful time in the Lord. 01:28 I wanna say happy Sabbath. 01:29 It's good for you to join us. 01:31 Thank you for your love, 01:32 your prayers and support of 3ABN ministry 01:35 and we have a very, very special topic 01:38 that we're gonna be discussing this evening. 01:40 And it's entitled, get this, you must die to live, 01:44 you must die to live. 01:46 It's a little hardcore, but there's a lot of truth 01:48 in that particular statement. 01:51 But hey, while I'm... Wait a minute, 01:52 why don't I just ahead 01:53 and introduce my wonderful guest 01:55 here that are with me. 01:57 I'm gonna start in the far right side over here, 01:58 we have Mr. Donald Owen. 01:59 It's a blessing to have you, Brother. 02:01 Yeah likewise. I thank you. 02:02 It's a privilege, I mean you know to be able to sit down 02:04 as we're talking about family, 02:06 how important is that we get together 02:07 and share God's Word as a family. 02:09 But I'm just so blessed 02:10 that you invited me to come out so. 02:11 Amen, Brother, it's good to have you. 02:13 He always has some good insight, 02:14 I appreciate you. 02:15 And then we got Mr. Brian Dickens. 02:17 How are you man? It's good to have you here. 02:18 I'm doing wonderful. Praise the Lord. 02:20 And so it's a blessing to be here as Donald said. 02:23 Every chance to get to come on Family Worship 02:25 and to be able to bring the Word of God 02:27 to our viewers and you know, just to discuss 02:31 God and everything between ourselves. 02:33 It's just a blessing to be here. 02:35 Amen. 02:36 Praise God and, of course, the main man with the plan, 02:39 Mr. Tim Parton, how you're doing, Sir? 02:40 I'm well and I am as much as I love to hear you sing, 02:44 I love to hear you expound on the Word, I really do, 02:48 I do enjoy your insight and you're young 02:51 but you got something going on in your heart. 02:54 Well, that's humbling, I appreciate it, 02:55 but I think all of us have something going on... 02:57 Absolutely, yeah, 02:58 we've something to bring to the table, 02:59 that's why we're here. 03:01 Exactly. 03:02 We're gonna appreciate you, Brother, thank you. 03:03 To my left here we have Mrs. Wendy and Terry Shelton. 03:05 I have to introduce you together 03:07 because you're a unit 03:08 and so you're one in the Lord and so good friends, 03:10 it's good to have you guys here. 03:11 Thank you, I feel blessed 03:13 and it's a privilege to be here. 03:15 Praise the Lord. 03:16 And Terry, of course, most people... 03:18 Some people who are watching may not know, 03:20 you are Danny's nephew. 03:22 Yeah, guilty is charged. 03:24 You were here many, many years ago 03:26 when 3ABN was just kind of getting off 03:29 the ground and starting? 03:30 I was...Yeah. 03:32 This building is familiar yet not familiar to me 03:35 because it's been about 20 years 03:37 since I left employment here at 3ABN 03:39 so, yeah, 03:41 it's nice to feels like little bit like coming home. 03:44 And by the way Wendy and I are first timers here. 03:46 Amen. So yeah. 03:48 Praise the Lord, all right. 03:49 Well, you know what? 03:51 I wanna get into this topic, 03:53 but of course this is family worship, 03:54 so we're gonna sing a song, but before we sing a song, 03:57 we're gonna go ahead and have a prayer 03:59 because I want to invite 04:00 the presence of the Lord to be with us and, of course, 04:02 it'd be irresponsible of us 04:04 to dive into such an important topic 04:07 or any biblical topic without the leadership 04:09 and guidance of the Holy Spirit. 04:10 Amen. 04:11 So let's go ahead and have a prayer. 04:13 Terry, why don't you say the prayer for us? 04:14 Heavenly Father, we just 04:16 thank you for this opportunity to gather together 04:18 and worship You and to study Your Word. 04:23 Father, we know that there are 04:24 maybe countless people watching right now. 04:27 We just invite the presence of Your Spirit both 04:30 where we are here and where they are 04:32 that Your Spirit will be felt 04:33 and that as we study the subject 04:36 of what it means to die to self 04:38 and that you will enlighten our hearts and our minds 04:41 Lord with Your Word. 04:43 We thank You for giving us Your Word 04:45 and the opportunity to learn 04:47 what it has for us in the days that we live in. 04:50 So now, Lord, we just commit this time to you. 04:53 Bless us in a very special way as we feast upon Your Word, 04:57 in Jesus' name, amen. 04:59 Amen. Praise the Lord. 05:00 On choosing a song for to kinda match this topic, 05:03 no other song came to my mind but "I Surrender All." 05:07 So we're gonna be singing that I surrender all, 05:09 that good old fashioned hymn. 05:11 Take it away, Tim. 05:17 All to Jesus I surrender 05:22 All to Him I freely give 05:27 I will ever love and trust Him 05:32 In His presence daily live 05:38 I surrender all 05:43 I surrender all 05:48 All to Thee, my blessed Savior 05:54 I surrender all 05:59 All to Jesus I surrender 06:05 Humbly at His feet I bow 06:10 Worldly pleasures all forsaken 06:15 Take me Jesus, take me now 06:20 I surrender all 06:26 I surrender all 06:31 All to Thee, my blessed Savior 06:36 I surrender all 06:42 All to Jesus I surrender 06:48 Make me Savior wholly Thine 06:53 Let me feel the Holy Spirit 06:58 Truly know that Thou art mine 07:04 I surrender all 07:09 I surrender all 07:15 All to Thee, my blessed Savior 07:21 I surrender all 07:25 All to thee. 07:26 All to Thee, my blessed Savior 07:33 I surrender all 07:40 Amen. Praise the Lord. 07:41 That's one of my favorite hymns. 07:43 Praise the Lord, I love that song. 07:45 Thank you, Tim, that was a blessing man. 07:47 I like that line in that says, "Humbly at his feet I bow." 07:50 Humbly at his feet. 07:51 I know, I know. Beautiful song. 07:54 That song sets the tone for our message, 07:58 our discussion, 07:59 our Bible study that we're gonna have entitled, 08:02 "You must die to live." 08:06 And I find it in the gospel experience 08:09 in the Christian experience. 08:11 I don't know about, you guys, you can chime in on this. 08:13 You know, there seems to be, 08:15 you know, the Christian experience 08:16 seems to come in like levels, 08:18 you know God is taking us 08:20 it seems from one level of Christian 08:22 character development to the next. 08:24 And as I was preparing this topic 08:27 and studying for this particular topic, 08:29 the Lord was just convicting me personally 08:31 because that's what happens 08:33 when you study the Word of God, right? 08:34 You know when you come to the Lord in prayer 08:36 and then you're really humbling yourself 08:38 to study His Word, 08:40 you know the Holy Spirit's gonna grip you. 08:42 The Bible says that he will 08:44 lead and guide you into all truth, 08:45 that he will convict you. 08:46 He will reprove you of sin and unrighteousness. 08:49 And so, I just wanna dive deep into this. 08:54 The text that came to my mind as I was bringing this about 08:57 was Galatians 2:20. 09:00 So I'm gonna read the text 09:01 and I'm gonna kind of toss it to you guys 09:03 and just kind of expound on 09:05 what this particular text means to us as Christians. 09:09 So Galatians 2:20, Paul is writing and he says, 09:13 "I have been crucified with Christ, 09:18 it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. 09:24 And the life which I now live in the flesh, 09:26 I live by faith in the Son of God, 09:29 who loved me and gave himself for me." 09:33 Amen. 09:34 So someone who may pick up the Bible 09:36 for the first time and read that text 09:39 would probably become a little disturbed in saying, 09:41 think to themselves. 09:42 Wait a second, how did this guy, 09:44 how was he crucified with Christ and live, right? 09:46 In a literal sense, you kind of when your mind thinks 09:48 of this in a literal sense you think of, 09:50 you see Jesus on a cross, 09:52 you know, breathing His last few breaths of life. 09:55 But we know that there is 09:57 a deeper spiritual meaning to this. 09:59 And so that's what I want to kind of start of with 10:01 what is Paul saying here. 10:03 What does it mean to being crucified with Christ? 10:06 Well, it brings me to Romans 6:6, 10:08 it says here if... 10:10 I'm reading from the Living Bible. 10:11 Right. 10:13 "If our old self is crucified and died with Him, 10:16 and the body that was once a slave to sin is dead, 10:18 how can we possibly think 10:21 of putting ourselves back into that kind of slavery." 10:24 And you know, 10:26 until this becomes true in our personal life. 10:32 Let's see, you know... Right. 10:34 We're going to continually suffer 10:37 defeat and failure. 10:39 I was thinking, I remember hearing a quote 10:41 from German pastor 10:43 and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 10:46 He says, he wrote in his book, "When Christ calls a man, 10:50 he bids him, come and die." 10:53 That's a beautiful statement, a powerful statement, 10:56 and if you don't even have that kind of spiritual mindset, 10:59 we might think what in the world does that mean? 11:01 Right. 11:02 Yeah, something that I spoke to the guys, 11:05 some people on prayer lines, stuff I've said to them, 11:07 "You gotta put yourself on the shelf." 11:09 Oh, that's good. 11:10 You gotta put yourself on a shelf 11:12 because self is in the way and the words say 11:13 you know our heart is deceitfully wicked. 11:14 Who can know it? Oh, yes. 11:16 And so, you know, you gotta really as it says die to self, 11:19 you gotta let Christ come in, how do you do that? 11:21 What's that look like? How do you? 11:23 I think to me really to what did Jesus come to do? 11:25 He came to not to be served but to serve. 11:29 Right. 11:30 I think heaven is serving hardest. 11:31 Absolutely. I think that's a big... 11:33 To me is a huge key, you should be of servant mind. 11:37 You know, we all have our own agenda 11:40 and as we live life, 11:41 there are so many aspects of life 11:44 that we have to do, our work, 11:46 and our business paying bills and all of the things. 11:50 When I think of this verse, 11:54 being crucified with Christ to me 11:56 means allowing Him to take over our agenda 12:00 even in all the details 12:02 that we still have to do in life, 12:04 we put Christ first, 12:06 we die to His will, to His agenda, to His desire. 12:10 And it really is quite liberating 12:13 when you realize, 12:15 "I don't have to worry anymore 12:17 about how I'm going to structure things 12:19 because it's all Christ 12:20 and let Him pick and call the shots." 12:23 Well, it's a lot like Wendy said 12:25 because I also came across the Romans 6:6 12:29 and just thinking about 12:31 how much that we get baptized in Christ 12:35 being crucified and we're also baptized in Christ. 12:38 Right. 12:39 And it washes away those sins that we are a slave to. 12:42 And the slavery that I used to be 12:46 just bound by and my past 12:49 was excruciating to look at now. 12:52 You know, the things that I used 12:54 to worship before putting Christ first. 12:57 But now that you put Christ first, 12:59 everything else falls in the place. 13:00 Absolutely. 13:02 That's powerful to think about because you know, 13:06 that the image that I get in my mind 13:07 when I read this text here, Galatians 2:20 13:11 which to me is probably one of the most foundational 13:13 gospel text in all the Bible. 13:16 I have been crucified with Christ. 13:19 And again you get that image of Jesus upon the cross 13:21 and essentially what Christ... 13:24 What Paul is saying here is that 13:26 he has died the death that Christ has died, 13:29 not in the sense that 13:31 what he has done is a replacement 13:32 what Christ has done 13:33 because what Christ has done, 13:35 we can't add anything to it, right? 13:36 I mean His death is final, 13:38 His atoning sacrifice that He gave, 13:39 we can't even add to that. 13:41 But another text that came to my mind 13:42 as I was thinking about, this was Luke 9:23, 13:46 powerful text. 13:47 Notice what the Bible says here, 13:49 Luke 9:23 Jesus is speaking, 13:51 he says right here, "Then he said to them all: 13:54 'If any desires to come after me, anyone, 13:59 if anyone desires to come after me, 14:01 let him, there it is, deny himself 14:05 and take up his cross daily and follow me." 14:10 So as I see this kind of in steps 14:13 where Christ is essentially saying 14:15 in this text, He's saying, "Hey, 14:17 there's a particular series of events that must occur, 14:21 in realities that must occur in this experience 14:23 in order for it to work. 14:24 In order for you to be able to follow me, 14:26 and it starts with again denying self. 14:29 And so the question is what is that mean? 14:32 What does it mean to deny self? 14:35 Again, the title of this particular subject 14:37 that we're talking about, "You must die to live." 14:39 What does that mean? 14:41 You know not literally, we're not literally 14:42 talking about that you must give up your literal life 14:44 in order to be saved. 14:46 I mean there are some cases 14:47 where that is reality in some situations, 14:49 especially when dealing with persecution 14:51 and things like that, that happen across the world. 14:53 But we're talking about the spiritual experience 14:55 of the Christian, 14:57 what does it mean 14:59 to deny oneself or to die to self? 15:02 Let's kind of expound on that just for a few moments. 15:04 I think your song that you hit right on the head, 15:07 "I surrender all." 15:09 I couldn't say anymore but... 15:11 I was thinking about sometimes on prayer line, 15:13 I get people that they make comments that say, 15:15 you know, I love God. 15:17 But yet, they don't follow Him, 15:19 like how can you follow someone you don't love? 15:21 You don't know them so I think that denying self 15:23 is you need to have that time to communicate with God. 15:25 You need time to spend time in His Word. 15:27 You need to be in prayer, 15:30 that denying is like in the morning, 15:32 denying yourself is... 15:33 In the morning what it says in Matthew 6:33, 15:35 it says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God 15:37 and his righteousness, 15:38 and all these things shall be added." 15:40 Do you do that in the morning, 15:41 do you lay aside your plans like you're saying to him 15:43 so that he'll make your plans. 15:45 You know he orders your steps, 15:46 he knows what you're gonna do so he can shift the moves. 15:49 Absolutely. 15:50 I got a powerful verse for you that reminds me of just 15:52 what you're talking here. 15:53 In Colossians 3:1-3, it says, 15:56 "If you were raised with Christ, 15:58 seek those things which are above. 16:02 Seek those things which are above, 16:03 where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 16:06 Set your mind on things above, 16:09 not on things of the earth 16:11 for you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." 16:15 So first of all, to deny self, 16:18 to deny our natural tendencies, how can you do that? 16:22 How can you do that? 16:23 First of all set our minds on the things that are above. 16:25 Right. 16:27 I like what Jesus said, 16:28 "And I if I be lifted up from the earth, 16:29 would draw all men unto me." 16:31 You know, behold Jesus, 16:32 keep Him in mind and folk keep him in mind 16:34 and focus every part of your life, 16:36 everyday and that'll go a long way 16:38 towards denying yourself. 16:40 And the only way we can do that is how what Owen said, 16:43 Donald said is by praying, 16:46 you know, taking time to seek God 16:49 early in the morning. 16:50 Right, absolutely. 16:51 Without prayer and study of the scripture, 16:53 we can't do it. 16:54 Absolutely, yeah. 16:56 It's like that first prayer in the morning, 16:57 when you get out of the bed 16:58 or even before you get out of the bed, 17:00 before you even put that first foot on the floor, 17:01 it's like you know, 17:02 calling for the Holy Spirit 17:04 to come inside you and to help guide your heart 17:06 and your mind throughout the rest of the day 17:08 because as you know, 17:10 when you think about denying yourself, 17:12 the Bible even tells us 17:13 and even going back to Romans again in 7:18, 17:18 it says, you know in that verse 17:21 it's basically saying since nothing in us 17:24 is good because the verse says, 17:25 "For I know that in me, 17:27 that is in my flesh nothing good dwells. 17:32 For to will is present with me, 17:34 but how to perform what is good, I do not find." 17:37 Oh, yeah. 17:39 So you can't find it in yourself 17:40 since we are corruptible. 17:42 Well, if we give to ourselves, 17:44 we will fall off the path 17:47 if we give in to our own will and carnal desires. 17:51 Right. 17:52 You know, God, you know, makes sure 17:54 that we stay away from those carnal desires 17:56 and leads us to the right path. 17:58 Absolutely. 17:59 In that way we deny ourselves 18:02 since nothing is good found in us. 18:04 You made us think of a story one of the Bible characters 18:07 Peter, you know, he says, 18:09 "Hey God Jesus 18:10 why don't you command me to walk on water?" 18:11 Yeah. 18:13 He gets out of the boat and he starts walking 18:14 and he takes his eyes off Jesus 18:16 and he looks left and right and he sinks. 18:18 That's right. He goes "Help, Jesus save!" 18:21 Jesus save me, I mean I still try to picture that. 18:23 How is a fully grown man, 18:24 of course, it's Jesus but walk on water, 18:26 grab a fully grown man 18:27 out of water, put him in a boat, 18:29 I mean that's incredible but just the fact 18:30 that you know here is kind of bold brash Peter 18:33 you know but then later you see, 18:34 I think it's in John 20:1, where he talks about, 18:37 here Jesus comes up to him and says, 18:38 "If you love me, if you love me more than these, 18:41 you know he says three times feed my sheep... 18:42 That's right. 18:43 So then you see Peter in Acts, man, 18:45 what a powerhouse he became 'cause Jesus said, 18:48 you know, Satan is desired to sift his wheat, 18:50 and I'm praying for it when you are converted 18:52 and show strength in your brethren 18:54 so that real heart surrender that transformation, 18:57 I think that's huge. 18:59 Yeah. That's right. 19:00 It's interesting you mentioned the... 19:03 You kind of launched us 19:04 into some biblical examples of... 19:06 I was thinking as I was preparing 19:08 these Bible characters, people that come to our mind 19:11 that the Bible gives an example of someone 19:12 who struggled with denying self. 19:14 And we can relate to that because we all struggled, 19:16 that it's a part of the gospel experience. 19:18 It's not easy to deny one self. 19:21 It is a struggle. 19:22 It is something that you've... 19:25 It's fighting your own pulses that he died daily 19:27 but yet you know, he also says in the latter part of it, 19:29 I fought the good fight. 19:31 You know, it's a struggle, it's a fight. 19:32 Jesus said those who persevere to the end shall be saved 19:35 and I think in Revelation that he says to each church age, 19:39 you know, to those who overcome. 19:40 So all of these words are an indication 19:43 that this battle with self, that's really, 19:45 that's ultimately we think of the enemy like, 19:47 you know, the enemy is keeping us 19:49 from the Kingdom of God but, 19:50 you know, who is that we're really battling? 19:53 Oh, oh, you stepped on my toes, be careful. 19:55 Absolutely, you know, I heard a minister say one time, 19:58 there's a thousand moments in every day 20:00 that I need to be rescued from what? 20:03 From who? You! 20:04 You need to be rescued from you! 20:06 You know because Satan doesn't necessarily have 20:08 control over us unless we give that to him, right? 20:11 So he's going to access and use us 20:14 to get in between us and the Lord. 20:16 And so I think of, 20:17 you know, it's interesting he went to Peter 20:19 because I thought that's a person 20:20 who came to my mind. 20:21 I think a lot of times when you think of someone 20:23 who struggled with the battle of self, 20:24 you know, denying self, you think of Peter. 20:28 And, you know that text comes to my mind where, 20:30 you know, him and Jesus were having a conversation 20:33 and Jesus just brings the reality, 20:34 just write to him and says, 20:36 you know, Satan has asked for you 20:39 that he may sift you as wheat. 20:41 That's terrifying like the fact... 20:43 That's the great controversy right there. 20:45 The fact that the devil can communicate with God and says, 20:49 "Hey, give me that person. 20:50 Let me have that person over there." 20:52 You know, just like you gave me Job, 20:53 let me have that person. 20:55 Let me have Donald, let me have Terry. 20:56 And it's interesting that Jesus never said, 21:00 "No, I told him no, he can't have you." 21:04 That's interesting. God prayed for you. 21:06 He said, I prayed for you 21:08 that you will be strengthened 21:13 and that when you are converted... 21:15 That's the key. 21:17 You know, then go strengthen the brethren. 21:18 So it's interesting, you know, thinking of Peter, 21:21 what are some other Bible examples? 21:22 Are there any other characters that come to your mind? 21:24 Someone who struggled with the fight of denying self 21:28 and overcoming self? 21:29 Another one comes in mind is Joseph. 21:30 Joseph? 21:32 You don't really see it but he was kind of like a... 21:34 I don't wanna use the word, 21:35 he was just a kinda hardy, high minded... 21:37 Little pompous. 21:38 Yeah, pompous, I was gonna use another word, 21:40 and I'm gonna ask you. 21:41 But, anyways you know the brothers 21:43 like really upset with him. 21:44 He's got this code of many colors. 21:45 He thought he was all the stuff and then they take him 21:47 and put him in a pit of all things 21:48 and then they pull him back out and they sell him to slavery, 21:51 but he was humble. 21:53 Talk about that man, 21:54 he's put in Potiphar's household 21:55 and the wife's trying to say "Hey come lay with me." 21:57 He says, "No, I'm not doing that. 21:59 How can I do this? It's sinning against my God." 22:00 But you see him put in prison now unjustly. 22:03 So you're talking about humbling experience 22:05 of two or three years. 22:06 That was a battle. Praise the Lord. 22:08 And it's interesting you mentioned Joseph 22:10 because Joseph, when we think of Joseph 22:12 we think of he's one of few characters in the Bible 22:15 that there's not really much negative said about 22:17 other than the fact that he did 22:18 kind of dealt with those inner... 22:20 That fight of self, you know, of exalting himself 22:23 and kind of being a little arrogant 22:25 and pompous to the point that his brother said, 22:26 "You know what, we can't stand this guy." 22:28 But nonetheless you know what about... 22:31 I was thinking of someone just came to my mind 22:34 and it just completely slipped my mind. 22:36 I think of all the disciples, right? 22:38 Not just Peter but what about all the disciples? 22:40 Yeah. 22:41 I mean these guys were in the presence of Christ 22:43 all the time. 22:45 And I think of that last moment, 22:48 this is amazing 'cause this is very humbling 22:50 when you think about it. 22:51 You know, I've often said to myself kind of in my mind 22:54 and even to some of my close family members that, 22:56 man, if I could just have a few moments 22:58 to walk with Jesus, 23:00 you know how much my faith would beeped up 23:02 then how much, 23:04 you know, sometimes we say like, 23:05 if I could just see a miracle of the Lord, 23:06 if I could just have this experience 23:08 like these Bible characters had the experience. 23:10 We're talking about 12 guys that walked with Jesus 23:13 every single day. 23:15 And up to the very last moment that they're with Him. 23:18 I think of that very intimate moment 23:21 that they're in the upper room with Jesus there 23:23 on pass overnight, 23:26 and they're all in the presence of the almighty, 23:29 humble God of the universe. 23:31 That step battle of self, denying of self, 23:35 they struggled with that even all the way up 23:36 to their last moments because there they're arguing on, 23:39 who's greater than the other and who's gonna wash... 23:40 No, you're gonna wash my feet. 23:42 No, I'm not washing your feet, 23:43 you know, and there's the humble Jesus, 23:46 He girds himself, no words just bend down and then, 23:50 you could just imagine the silence 23:51 that went across that room like what, 23:53 you know, the King of the universe 23:55 showed them in that moment, 23:57 this is what it means to deny self. 23:59 It means to humble yourselves, 24:01 it means to make yourself a servant 24:03 even when self tells you, you don't want it, right? 24:06 That's powerful to think of, 24:08 you know, just there's so many different examples 24:11 in Scripture that come in to my mind of people who, 24:13 you know, even those who may have not even won 24:15 the battle because you think of the disciples, 24:18 they were taken through a process, right? 24:20 And which you're 'cause denying self 24:22 and overcoming sin is a process, 24:24 the growing in Christ is a process 24:26 but what about those characters like Saul? 24:31 God called him, he was chosen, 24:34 but he fought that battle and he didn't win that battle. 24:38 And that shows the realness of this. 24:40 Yeah, I was gonna say, 24:41 if you wanted to do a character study 24:43 of how to deny your own life, 24:47 go back and read all those who didn't deny themselves, 24:50 you know, the kings that are so pompous 24:52 in their leadership that had to have their way 24:55 and how God humbled them 24:58 because they didn't deny themselves. 24:59 Absolutely. 25:01 I think of Jonah, you know, Jonah was... 25:02 I was just thinking of Jonah, I was. 25:03 I mean, this is a prophet of the Lord, 25:05 I mean this is a guy who speaks for God 25:08 and it's like this guy struggled 25:10 and the Lord said, "This is My will, 25:11 this is My way, this is what I want you to do." 25:13 And he's like, "Yeah, I'm gonna go do this." 25:14 This is my way, you know, so it's a real struggle, 25:17 it's a real battle. 25:18 Another text that comes to my mind 25:20 and we can kinda continue down on this line 25:21 and break this apart, but John 12:20-26, 25:26 when I read this, you now, Jesus often speaks in parables, 25:29 He speaks in symbolical languages, 25:31 uses examples to communicate a spiritual lesson 25:34 and this is a powerful, 25:36 this is actually coming right after on the same day 25:40 of the triumphant entry. 25:42 So he's literally one week out from dying on the cross 25:46 but notice what he says here, Jesus says... 25:49 Excuse me, Bible says "Now there were certain Greeks 25:51 among those who came up to worship at the feast." 25:55 Verse 21, "Then they came to Philip, 25:57 who was from Bethsaida of Galilee and ask him saying, 26:00 'Sir, we wish to see Jesus.'" 26:04 I just want to pause there. 26:06 Pause there and take that moment in for a moment. 26:08 You know, I think that there's a lesson to learn here 26:10 that in overcoming self, 26:14 we have to wish to see Jesus. 26:17 We have to have that desire, we have to wish to see Jesus. 26:19 That's the word right there, desire. 26:21 Desire, absolutely. 26:22 In verse 22, "Philip came and told Andrew 26:25 and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus." 26:28 And then here's verse 23, 26:29 "But Jesus answered to them saying, 26:32 'The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 26:35 Most assuredly I say to you, 26:36 unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, 26:40 it remains alone. 26:42 But if it dies, it produces much grain." 26:46 That's powerful. 26:47 "He who loves his life will lose it 26:50 and he who hates his life 26:53 in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26:56 If anyone serves Me let him follow Me, and where I am, 27:00 there my servant will be also. 27:01 If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.'" 27:06 Wow. 27:08 You know, I'm amazed at 27:09 how much we do to try to live longer. 27:13 Yeah. 27:14 We do pushups and, you know, run... 27:20 You run, you're a good runner and I don't, 27:22 to me that would kill me 27:24 rather than make me live longer. 27:25 We eat well, we do all these things, 27:28 and we put lotions on to make us look younger 27:30 and so it's funny how that goes 27:33 in the flies in the face of this. 27:36 We are born to die, we truly are born to die. 27:40 It's a pointed unto man once you die. 27:43 But in this case, 27:44 I love if we will use that same concept 27:48 just die to Christ, 27:51 but those that scripture is so powerful 27:53 what you just read. 27:55 Yeah, absolutely. 27:56 I mean just to repeat verse 24, "Most assuredly I say to you, 27:58 unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, 28:02 it remains alone. 28:03 But if it dies, it produces much grain." 28:06 And so that, you know, this even, 28:08 let's take this kind of step further, 28:10 does this feed into the importance of mission 28:15 and our work on winning souls for Christ? 28:18 In other words, can you truly be 28:20 a legitimate soul winner for the kingdom of God, 28:22 a successful spirit filled soul winner for the Lord 28:25 and not have died to self? 28:28 I have a little something that might speak of that 28:30 is some of our viewers maybe familiar 28:33 with a book called "Early Writings" 28:35 and I found out this little, 28:36 two little paragraphs and it says, 28:38 "Many who profess the name of Christ 28:40 and claim to be looking for His speedy coming, 28:43 know not what it is to suffer for Christ's sake. 28:46 Their hearts are not subdued by grace, 28:48 and they are not dead to self, 28:50 as is often shown in various ways. 28:52 At the same time 28:54 when they are talking of having trials. 28:56 But the principal cause of their trials 28:58 is an unsubdued heart, 29:01 which makes self so sensitive that it is often crossed. 29:05 If such could realize 29:06 what it is to be a humble follower of Christ, 29:09 a true Christian, 29:11 they would begin to work 29:12 in good earnest and begin right. 29:14 They would first die to self, then be instant in prayer, 29:18 and check every passion of the heart. 29:21 Give up your self-confidence and self-sufficiency, brethren, 29:25 and follow the meek pattern. 29:27 Ever keep Jesus in your mind that He is your example 29:31 and you must tread in His footsteps." 29:33 Wow. It's beautiful. 29:35 Jesus is our example 29:37 and no one has put forth a pattern of self service 29:40 and self sacrifice more than Him, 29:43 you know, and let's face it. 29:45 I'm gonna venture to say 29:46 that none of us have been called to sacrifice our self 29:49 to the decree that He did and He did it willingly. 29:54 And to set an example, first of all to save us, 29:56 but to set an example for us. 29:58 And what a pattern we have to look after. 30:01 Right. Praise the Lord. 30:03 That's powerful to consider that, 30:07 you know, often times in this lifetime 30:08 we may find our self saying, 30:10 you know, "Lord this life isn't fair, 30:12 you know, that's not fair. 30:13 Why me, Lord?" 30:15 If you had that moment in your life where you're like, 30:16 I'm going through this trial, going through this tribulation, 30:19 this challenging moment in my life 30:21 and you find yourself, 30:23 you know, you recently did a message on prayer 30:26 and the concept if many people 30:29 that's really crying out to the Lord 30:31 but it seems like their prayers are hitting the ceiling 30:33 and then it's like, "Lord, why me?" 30:35 But sometimes as you just brought out, 30:36 I don't think that we stopped to really think 30:38 what Jesus had to go through. 30:42 You know, and even to bring, 30:44 you know, Jesus is the ultimate example 30:46 but sometimes I think 30:47 of what others around the world have to endeavor, 30:50 you know, there's people that don't even have homes, 30:53 people they're waiting to see for moment to moment 30:57 where they're gonna get food 30:59 and you sure start to consider all of the challenges 31:01 that people around you have to go through and it's like 31:03 what are my problems, 31:05 you know, and so in this concept 31:08 or this the question of denying self, 31:10 sacrificing self for God's mission, 31:14 for God's kingdom 31:15 that Christ can fill me and change me 31:17 because ultimately that's the goal, right? 31:19 What is the goal for denying self? 31:21 The point of denying self 31:23 is to be emptied of self so that what can happen. 31:26 Right. Christ can fill in. 31:27 Right. 31:29 What did John the Baptist say, 31:30 you know, He must increase and I must decrease. 31:34 And it brought to me a clear reality here, 31:36 we can kind of expound this a little bit more, 31:38 Galatians 5:22 through 25 31:41 and you'll recognize that this is the listing 31:44 of the fruits of the Spirit. 31:46 And so notice among this list again, powerful. 31:50 This is about the fruit of the Spirit is love, 31:52 and I could just pause there and say 31:54 everything after this, it comes back to love. 31:58 If you really wanted to sum up the fruit of the Spirit, 32:01 you could just say, the fruit of the Spirit is love. 32:04 It's kind of the umbrella and everything underneath 32:06 falls under this, of course, 32:08 which is joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, 32:12 goodness, faithfulness, 32:14 gentleness and then notice this last one, self control. 32:18 But do you notice what it continues to say though 32:20 'cause lot of times we stop there, 32:22 but notice what this scripture continues to say, 32:24 "Against such there is no law." 32:26 And then verse 24, 32:27 "And those who are Christ have, there it is, 32:30 crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 32:35 If we live in the Spirit, 32:38 let us also walk in the Spirit." 32:40 What does that mean? 32:41 Like there may be someone right now 32:43 watching and saying, "Okay, 32:44 but what does that mean to live in the Spirit 32:46 to crucify the flesh, 32:49 the passions and the desires to live in the Spirit 32:52 and to walk in the Spirit?" 32:54 What does that mean to you, guys? 32:55 I guess I can share a story that caught my mind was a... 32:58 I'm sure a lot of people heard the movie hero 33:00 of "Hacksaw Ridge", Desmond Doss. 33:03 You wanna talk about incredible story of a man 33:05 who went against all odds, a small man, 33:08 not very big in stature, but I mean, 33:10 he had the power and faith of the God 33:11 and he went up there on the escarpment 33:13 they call and he saved how many men, 33:15 and he risked losing his own life. 33:18 I mean, he was near, I mean, exhaustion, 33:20 just, I mean for 12 hours straight 33:22 this man kept pulling men out, 33:24 rolling them down, 33:25 and he only weighed they said 135 pounds of weight. 33:28 He is rolling men, incredible, I mean. 33:30 That's amazing. And that's one thing about. 33:32 I mean, he basically laid down his life 33:34 for these people so they could have life 33:36 and that to me, it says, 33:38 somebody's really walking with the Lord. 33:40 I couldn't, I mean, you got bullets flying all around me, 33:42 I'm like, "No, I'm sorry. 33:44 You have to buy yourself man. 33:46 I'm gone." 33:48 He headed and he kept marching and pulling those men over. 33:50 I mean, wow, it's... 33:51 You know, that's a powerful story. 33:53 I have heard that story of Desmond Doss 33:55 and it's incredible, 33:56 this sacrifice that he made 33:58 and it just goes to even further prove exactly 34:00 what all we are talking about that it is possible 34:03 for someone to be so in tune with Jesus. 34:05 This man was a... 34:07 He was a man of faith, he was a man of God. 34:08 And as I'm reading back through this text 34:10 that we just read in Galatians Chapter 5. 34:11 I just wanna bring something out here to kinda lead us 34:14 into a different conversation but there is, 34:17 you know, directly related to what we are talking about. 34:20 Notice Galatians 5:24 again, so it says, 34:22 "Those who are Christ have crucified the flesh 34:27 with its passions and desires. 34:29 If we live in the Spirit, 34:31 let us also walk in the Spirit." 34:33 So here's the thing, as I read that, 34:36 I think I see that 34:37 as a direct council of the Holy Spirit 34:39 telling me and you 34:40 that there's something that you can do, 34:43 that there has to be surrendering aspect here. 34:45 There has to be a surrendering of your will to His, 34:49 but yet in the Christian world that we live in today 34:52 and it seems like there's different forms of the gospel 34:54 that are floating around and one aspect of this, 34:57 you know, popular evangelical gospel 34:59 that's floating around says, 35:01 "You know what, I'm already saved, 35:03 I'm saved by grace alone, 35:04 you know, so therefore I can't do that, 35:09 I can't crucify self, I can't sacrifice self. 35:14 Kind of goes back to the grace versus works conversation, 35:17 the law versus grace conversation, 35:19 Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments," right? 35:22 But yet, there's Christians that they say, 35:24 you know what, I'm saved by grace through faith, 35:26 I don't take a work's approach to salvation, 35:28 I take a grace approach to salvation 35:30 so I can't keep the commandments, 35:31 that's impossible. 35:33 So there may be someone who is listening to us 35:34 talk about this denying factor, 35:36 this important aspect of denying oneself 35:39 and they're probably saying, yeah, 35:40 but none of that really matters 35:42 because I don't have the strength to do that. 35:44 And therefore Christ understands, 35:46 that's why He saved me by grace, right? 35:48 So let's talk a little bit about that. 35:50 How do we make this in kind of harmonize together 35:53 with what the scripture is saying? 35:54 I think James would disagree with that person 35:58 who came forward with that, 35:59 you know, what you were saying there, 36:01 reminds me of James Chapter 2, beginning of verse 17, it says, 36:07 "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, 36:11 is dead. 36:12 But someone will say, 36:13 'You have faith, and I have works. 36:16 Show me your faith without works, 36:17 and I will show you my faith by my works. 36:20 You believe that there is one God. 36:22 You do well. 36:23 Even the demons believe and tremble! 36:24 But do you want to know, O foolish man 36:27 what faith without works is dead? 36:30 Was not Abraham our father justified by works 36:32 when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 36:35 Do you see that faith was working together 36:37 with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?'" 36:42 Right. All right. 36:44 So what he's saying there to Isaac... 36:46 And we're familiar with the story, 36:48 you know, Abraham, 36:49 he hears the voice of God one day and God says, 36:52 "I want you to go and take your son 36:53 and sacrifice him." 36:55 Now first of all, it's important to point out, 36:58 he knew the voice of God, 37:00 which means he was already 37:01 in a covenant relationship with God. 37:03 As when God comes up with this idea 37:07 that normally any other person would say, "What? 37:10 We can't believe you'd ask me that!" 37:12 Abraham already knew the voice of his Father 37:14 and he knew that the voice of his Father 37:16 wasn't gonna lead him astray and so he goes to take his son, 37:19 you now, and James is saying, 37:22 you know, his works made his faith perfect, 37:25 you know, I like it, there's a little saying that 37:28 we like to say that sometimes we don't keep 37:31 the commandments so that we can saved, 37:34 we keep the commandments because we are saved. 37:36 Right, that's beautiful. 37:38 So based of 'cause you just read James 37:40 and I've heard a lot of people say, 37:44 "Seems like James and Paul are contradicting themselves." 37:47 So the scripture I'm referring to, 37:49 the very popular text in Ephesians 2:8 through 10, 37:53 Paul says in verse 8, 37:55 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, 37:58 and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." 38:01 Verse 9, "Not of works, lest anyone should boast." 38:05 Pause, that's where usually they paused right there. 38:08 They don't read verse 10, 38:10 but lot of people read those two verses 38:12 and say based off a kind of a twisting 38:14 and a misunderstanding of those two verses, 38:16 they'll say, "See, it's just grace and grace alone." 38:19 So therefore Ryan all this denying self, 38:22 you know, crucifying self and being obedient, 38:25 all of that is a works approach to salvation 38:28 and I can't do that. 38:29 You want me to keep the commandments 38:30 but I can't do that, that's why Jesus died for me 38:32 because He knew I couldn't, right? 38:34 But then you read verse 10, 38:36 which I believe harmonizes 38:37 with what James is saying there in Chapter 2. 38:39 He says, "For we are His workmanship, 38:42 created in Christ Jesus for good works, 38:46 which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." 38:50 So while we're not saved by our works, 38:52 I know we have a lot of conversation about this. 38:54 I have to give this story real quick. 38:56 So my brother, 38:59 recently few months ago came to 3ABN 39:02 and he'd done an interview with 3ABN and, 39:04 you know, as they do with all of their guests, 39:07 you know, they'll put, 39:08 you know, information up there and, 39:10 you know, contact them 39:12 and so ever since that is aired, 39:14 my brother's has gotten several phone calls, 39:17 and you would think it would be from people 39:19 who would be encouraging him or, 39:21 you know, but he's got a few phone calls 39:22 from people who are rebuking him. 39:25 And it's interesting that he told me, 39:27 he said, "I got a phone call the other day, 39:29 a lady called me up and she said, 39:30 you know, you guys at 3ABN, you just preach law, law, law." 39:34 And I just have to say for the record, 39:37 you know, we do talk a lot about the law. 39:39 And the law is a vital important part 39:41 of the Christian experience but just for the record, 39:43 and I wanna make this clear, as what I believe and I think, 39:46 I can speak on behalf of 3ABN 39:48 and faith to know that we do not believe 39:51 that you are saved by works. 39:53 We believe what the gospel teaches 39:55 and that you are saved by grace through faith. 39:58 That's what this scripture says. 39:59 So we don't believe that 40:01 by the perfect keeping of the law that's gonna, 40:03 you know, gain you access to the kingdom of God 40:06 because you kept the law so perfect. 40:08 But the question I'm asking in connection 40:10 with this is how do we make this harmonize 40:12 if I'm not saved by the works of the law, 40:16 but yet I am to be obedient 40:18 and have those good works in my life 40:20 because evidently, verse 10 says, 40:22 "That's what we were created for in Christ Jesus, 40:25 for good works." 40:26 How do we harmonize that 40:27 and how does that fit into this concept 40:30 of denying oneself? 40:32 You know, I thought of this example years ago, 40:37 when Wendy and I started dating, 40:40 and we agreed that we're gonna get married, all right. 40:42 So one day, we went before our pastor and we got married. 40:46 At that point, we are in a marriage covenant 40:49 with each other. 40:50 Now, after that point, we began to ask ourselves, 40:54 how might I live and adjust my life 40:57 that will be in pleasing to her as my wife, right? 41:01 So you know, if I come home one day 41:03 and she says, "Dear, you know, can you take out the garbage?" 41:07 I don't think to myself, well, 41:09 I'm gonna score some good brownie points with her 41:11 or I'm gonna, you know, or I better take up 41:14 the garbage or she might divorce me. 41:16 No, I don't think that way at all. 41:17 I think I love her 41:19 and she has asked me to do these things 41:21 and I do it because it'll make her life easier 41:24 and because we are already 41:26 in the marriage covenant relationship. 41:28 So when we talk about law keeping, 41:31 we talk about, you know, 41:32 observing the commandments whatever, 41:34 we don't do it 41:35 as hopes of scoring brownie points with God. 41:37 Absolutely. We do it because we love Him. 41:39 That's right. 41:40 And that's why Jesus said, "If you love Me," 41:43 you know, some Bible translations will say 41:46 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." 41:49 So the love comes first. 41:52 The relationship 41:53 and the covenant relationship comes first 41:55 and then the obedience comes after 41:57 or should in that case. 41:59 Absolutely. That's nice. 42:00 Now when you're talking about dying over self, 42:03 I think you're talking about maybe 42:04 if we all look into the sanctuary blueprint, 42:08 and how it shows the importance of dying to yourself. 42:10 Oh, that's a good point. 42:11 You know, as the lamb is placed upon the altar of sacrifice 42:14 in the opening scenes of the courtyard 42:17 and Christ also commands us to place self upon the altar 42:21 before we can live in His presence. 42:24 Right. 42:26 That's a powerful point because Psalm 77:13 says, 42:29 "Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary." 42:33 And so I love that you brought that out 42:35 because this sanctuary model 42:37 is God's blueprint of salvation. 42:39 And so what's... 42:41 As you brought out, 42:42 what is the very first thing we come to in the sanctuary? 42:45 We find ourselves there at the altar of sacrifice. 42:47 It's almost like the Lord says, 42:49 "Look, I wanna take you on a journey." 42:50 And that's what the Christian journey is really, 42:52 it's really a journey, it's a Christian walk. 42:54 We don't take one big giant leap 42:57 from the altar of sacrifice 42:58 right into the most holy place, right? 43:00 So it's a journey, it's a process, 43:03 and I love that God says, 43:04 you know, it's like He's given us a tour, 43:06 a heavenly tour and He says, you know what, 43:08 our first stop here is the altar of sacrifice, 43:11 and this is where we see the lamb 43:13 that is slain for the sins of the world. 43:17 Jesus says, I've died for you, now I want you to die for Me, 43:23 not that our death can do anything 43:27 or add anything to what He has done. 43:30 But our dying to self shows 43:33 how committed we are to Him 43:35 in response to what He has done for us, right? 43:37 Amen. 43:38 That's a powerful thing to consider. 43:40 Let's consider Romans Chapter 6, 43:43 we mentioned Romans 6 earlier, you brought us there. 43:45 I wanna go back to Romans 6. 43:47 This is probably one of the single most 43:50 powerful passages in all of the Scripture. 43:54 I consider Romans as one of my favorite books 43:56 and I consider probably the manifesto of Paul's, 43:59 all of Paul's writings. 44:00 If you could... 44:02 I think Paul put all of his theological mind 44:04 in the Book of Romans. 44:06 And so right here in the opening verses 44:08 of Romans Chapter 6, notice what he says here. 44:11 He says, "What shall we say then?" 44:13 I wanna pause this for a moment because he's asking a question. 44:16 So if you were to come to Romans 6:1, 44:19 what shall we say then, saying then about what? 44:21 He's just come out of Romans Chapter 5 44:23 which again, 44:25 you know, the Bible is broken up 44:26 into chapters and verses, 44:27 but if you were to read this book or this epistle, 44:30 this letter to the Romans, 44:31 you would see that there's a continuance 44:33 from the latter portions of Romans Chapter 5 44:35 into the first verses of Romans Chapter 6. 44:37 And so we read in those latter verses of Romans 5, 44:40 basically Paul has said, you know what? 44:44 Basically that concept of grace is because of grace, 44:49 you know what? 44:50 All is taken care of that even though I have sinned 44:53 and even though I am a sinner, 44:55 grace does so much more abound 44:57 over all of the sin that I've done. 44:59 So there's a lot of people that will take those closing verses 45:01 and I was paraphrasing by the way. 45:03 You can go read, I haven't memorized Romans, 45:05 those closing verses but basically, 45:07 lot of people take those closing verses of Romans 5 45:09 and they say, "Oh, you know what? 45:11 Every time I sin, 45:13 Jesus just keeps pouring on a big pile of grace. 45:15 So if I had all of my future sins, 45:17 and I've actually had Christians tell me this, 45:19 all my past, present and future sins are forgiven, 45:22 so therefore all of the future sins 45:24 that I commit or that I do, 45:27 Jesus just keeps pouring 45:28 more and more and more grace on there. 45:29 As much as I sin, 45:31 Jesus says here's more grace and so, 45:32 that's kind of like a misuse 45:34 and abuse of the loving grace of God. 45:37 And so what is Paul has a response to those verses 45:40 and it's Romans 6:1-4. 45:43 Notice what he says here. 45:44 He says, "What shall we say then?" 45:45 'Cause he's responding to what he just said. 45:48 What do we say about what I just said? 45:50 He says, "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" 45:54 What's his response? 45:55 "God forbids. Certainly not! 45:58 He says, how shall we who, there it is there again, 46:01 die to sin, 46:03 so there's that dying factor live any longer in it? 46:08 Or do you not know that as many of us 46:10 as were baptized into Christ Jesus 46:13 were baptized into His death? 46:16 Therefore we are buried with Him 46:18 through baptism unto death, 46:20 that just as Christ was raised from the dead," I love this, 46:23 by the glory of the Father, 46:25 even so we also should walk in newness of life." 46:29 Okay, I'm gonna toss the ball in your court now. 46:32 What are these verses saying 46:34 in relation to the beginning stages 46:38 and I guess you can go and say 46:39 the continual stages of living for the Jesus 46:41 so it kinda starts 46:43 in the beginning stages and it continues. 46:45 What are these verses saying here? 46:46 What is Paul trying to communicate? 46:49 You have a quote here, I can share. 46:51 It's from 21 Manuscript, page 35. 46:54 It says, "Many people have never yet been converted, 46:58 therefore they're old self indulgent habits 47:00 have been brought with him into the church. 47:02 They were not dead to self 47:04 when they observe the ordinance of baptism, 47:07 talk about baptism you read, they were buried alive. 47:12 And they have remained full of murmuring, 47:15 full of foul finding, hating the messages 47:17 that come to them through the Lord's servants. 47:19 Because of the wickedness of their hearts, 47:21 they are at enmity with God and their children breathe 47:24 in the same atmosphere." 47:27 And we think it, expand our mind, 47:29 we think about buried alive. 47:30 That doesn't sound very pleasant, 47:32 you know, but it's true 47:33 when we believe in the right of baptism, 47:37 when we go into that, 47:38 we should come up new internally and externally, 47:42 everything. 47:44 You know, we are new creatures in Christ. 47:47 And, you know, if we are... 47:50 I think it was Danny who told the story about 47:53 getting pulled over by the police officer 47:55 because he was speeding or something and he says, 47:57 "Now after the police officer goes easy on him, 47:59 he said, I'm gonna go easy on you this time, 48:01 you don't tear out of there 48:02 going on a 100 miles an hour, right? 48:04 You're throwing rocks everywhere 48:06 because the police officer offered you grace that time. 48:08 No, no, you say, 48:09 "While I'm thankful for the grace, 48:11 now I'm going to abide by the law 48:13 because the authority offered me grace before him 48:17 when I was caught." 48:19 Somebody else? 48:20 Yeah, I was just thinking of Romans 8. 48:23 Came to my mind started reading here 48:24 so as verse 14 says, 48:25 "For we know that the law is spiritual, 48:27 but I am carnal, sold under sin. 48:29 For that which I do I allow not for that, 48:31 a word that I do not, but what I hate, that I do. 48:35 If then I do which I would not, 48:37 I consent on to the law that is good. 48:40 Now then it is no more I that do it, 48:42 but sin that dwells in me, 48:43 so we're talking about the sin factor. 48:45 This is Romans 7? Romans 7. 48:47 Yeah, Romans 7, 48:48 "Now then it is no more I that do it, 48:50 but the sin that dwells in me, for I know that in me, 48:52 that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing, 48:54 for to will is present with me, 48:56 but how to perform that which is good I find not. 48:58 For the good that I would, I do not, 49:00 but the evil which I would, not that I do. 49:03 Now if I do that I would not, 49:05 it is no more that I that do it, 49:06 but sin that dwells in me. 49:08 That's a lot. Yes, I know it. 49:10 But the fact is just, here it is, 49:12 you know, here he says, I'm a wretched man, 49:14 you know, Paul says I'm a wretched man 49:15 who's unable to save me from this body of this death. 49:18 I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, 49:20 and I really like Romans 8:1, just have to do it, 49:22 "Therefore there's now no condemnation to them 49:24 which are in Christ Jesus." 49:25 You were talking about this baptism, 49:27 you know, you're now baptized in the Christ. 49:29 And so it says, "Who walk not after the flesh, 49:31 but after the Spirit." 49:32 So we should have a transformational walking, 49:34 not carnal but after the spirit. 49:36 So when you're baptized, 49:37 and you should be coming up to want to walk, 49:39 after where Christ walked after so that's a... 49:41 Haven't we all done that before? 49:43 You say, "I'm never gonna do that again, right?" 49:46 And later on, you do that thing and say, "Man! 49:48 I can't believe I did that again!" 49:50 You know, I like what Paul says though, 49:52 I can do all things through Christ, not by myself, 49:56 through Christ who strengthens me. 49:58 That's the key. 49:59 So it's not impossible to be obedient to God. 50:02 No. 50:03 It's not impossible to experience 50:05 this crucifying of self, 50:07 surrendering of the will to the Lord 50:08 because all things are possible through Christ Jesus. 50:11 And I think that's where the focus 50:12 and the emphasis needs to be put 50:14 'cause oftentimes, we can sit at this table 50:15 or any other table and talk about 50:17 how we gotta keep the Ten Commandments, 50:19 Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 50:21 Commandments, commandments, commandments, 50:22 and those things are important 50:23 and we believe 50:25 in being obedient to the Lord's law, 50:27 but if that aspect of Christ working through us 50:31 is not emphasized, 50:32 then it becomes a self works approach to salvation. 50:36 And we know that can happen. 50:38 I like what Terry said a while ago 50:40 about when Abraham followed God, 50:41 it was because he trusted God, 50:43 he knew that God had his best interest in mind, 50:46 so he was gonna go through it. 50:48 So I think that's where we need to be 50:50 to trust that God's agenda is our best plan, 50:55 we can do no better than to follow that. 50:59 Back to the Galatians, it says in 5:16, 51:03 in fact before the list of the fruit of the Spirit, 51:06 it says, "I say walk and live in the Holy Spirit, 51:10 then you will certainly not gratify the cravings 51:13 and desires of the flesh." 51:15 So it's living in the Spirit, it's relying on the Spirit, 51:19 the Spirit came for what reason? 51:21 Jesus says, "I will send you the helper." 51:24 That is the helper. 51:25 He's there to help us, so how can we die to self? 51:30 It's impossible on our own. Right. 51:31 True, it is. 51:32 Even in the scripture that it says 51:34 the fruit of the Spirit. 51:35 Even self control, there is a fruit of the Spirit. 51:38 Can you go down here to the town to the factory 51:40 where they make those apples? Okay. 51:42 No, you can't because tree fruit, 51:45 fruit grow on trees. 51:48 It's not made in the factories. 51:50 That's a good point. 51:51 So it's not a self manufactured thing. 51:53 It is the Spirit fruit. 51:55 Right. 51:57 So, I'm saying as we desire to know how we can do this, 52:01 we have to cling to the Spirit. 52:04 Even if we do keep all the commandments, 52:06 it's still not gonna... We're gonna foul someway so... 52:12 I think I love how you just took us there 52:15 'cause that's where I was going 52:16 and that is how can this dying to self 52:21 and again notice dying to self, is it a one-time thing? 52:23 Is it I wake up, 52:24 I die in this moment and then that's it, right? 52:27 No, no, it's a daily moment by moment thing 52:31 and so the question is, how does that become a reality? 52:36 How can I make sure that I am in a constant surrendered, 52:39 you know, dying of self state 52:42 and Tim just opened the box for us 52:45 to talk about and that is according to the Spirit. 52:48 It only comes by the Spirit, but the question 52:50 I have in the closing moments that we have together. 52:53 Man, this time went by fast. 52:55 The question I have is, 52:57 how can I make sure that I'm walking in the Spirit? 53:02 How can I make sure that 53:05 I'm keeping self in check 53:08 and completely guided at all times 53:11 by the Spirit of the Lord? 53:14 You know, someone came up with this little thing, 53:16 I don't know where it came from WWJD. 53:19 There you go. 53:20 We've heard that alone a thousand times. 53:22 What would Jesus do and it sounds simple but it is. 53:26 If we look at every decision that we're going to make. 53:29 First of all, you know, there's a prayer 53:32 in the book of Steps to Christ, 53:34 where it says, you know, when you get up in the morning, 53:36 you say, Lord, "I lay all my plans at Your feet. 53:39 Use me in Your service 53:40 and my plan's either to be worked out 53:44 or given up as you see fit." 53:46 So like we said, it has to begin on a daily basis. 53:50 Lord, what would you want me to do? 53:52 Even in a little thing like should I eat this thing 53:55 or should I go to this place or should I talk to the... 53:58 What would you have me to do? 54:00 And God would direct us, 54:01 and He will guide us in those steps. 54:02 Absolutely. 54:04 So walking in the Spirit, 54:07 you know, Mrs. White says 54:08 that there's no other passage in Scripture that communicates 54:12 the plan of salvation more than a conversation that Jesus 54:17 had with Nicodemus in John 3. 54:19 I have examined and I've brought this out 54:21 a few times in some of the previous lessons 54:23 that we've done, 54:24 but I just have to emphasize this. 54:25 When you read that conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus. 54:30 There's only one thing that Christ emphasizes 54:33 that we can do to hurry the work 54:34 of the Holy Spirit in our life. 54:36 So you read that entire passage and, 54:38 you know, Nicodemus's mind is focused on the physical, 54:42 the physical, the physical and Jesus is like, 54:44 "No, no, no, it's a spiritual thing." 54:46 But it's interesting that he says in verse 14, 54:50 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 54:52 even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." 54:56 So all that's in here, what can I do to make sure 54:59 that the Holy Spirit is working in me? 55:03 Well, when you go back to that story in Numbers 21, 55:06 where Moses lifts that serpent up, 55:07 there's only one way 55:09 that the people were gonna live, by looking. 55:13 How can I make sure that the Holy Spirit 55:15 is leading and guiding me each and every day 55:17 that I remain in a crucified state? 55:21 There's life in the look at the savior. 55:24 Life in the look at the savior. 55:26 It says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus." 55:27 And we have a couple of minutes left. 55:30 I just want to encourage you my friend, 55:32 there's a little book here that I have read many times, 55:36 has been such an incredible ministry in my life. 55:39 It's called Steps to Christ. 55:41 Probably the simplest, most incredible way 55:43 of understanding and coming to understand what it means 55:47 to have a daily relationship with Jesus, Steps to Christ. 55:51 But probably, one of my favorite chapters 55:52 in this particular little book here 55:54 is a chapter entitled Consecration. 55:57 I wanna read something from this. 55:59 She says, "The warfare against self 56:01 is the greatest battle that was ever fought. 56:04 The yielding of self surrendering 56:07 all to the will of God requires a struggle, 56:11 but the soul must submit to God 56:13 before it can be renewed in Holiness." 56:17 And then, in the very last part of this chapter here, 56:20 the closing part, 56:21 I like to read this last verse or this last paragraph, 56:25 "Through the right exercise of the will, 56:28 an entire change may be made in your life. 56:31 By yielding up your will to Christ, 56:33 you ally yourself with the power 56:35 that is above all principalities and powers. 56:39 You will have strength from above 56:41 to hold you steadfast 56:43 and thus through constant surrender to God, 56:45 you will be able to live the new life, 56:48 even the life of faith." 56:51 That's powerful. 56:53 Surrendering to God, 56:54 surrendering your will to Him and saying, 56:56 "Lord, give me the Holy Spirit." 56:58 Amen. Jesus did that, didn't He? 56:59 And He said, "Nevertheless not My will, but Yours." 57:03 We have come to the end, guys, 57:05 thank you so much for joining me. 57:06 It's been a blessing. 57:08 We've come to the end of this awesome family worship. 57:10 We encourage you to worship with your family and, 57:13 you know what? 57:14 We thank you for joining us today. 57:16 May God continue to bless you in your walk 57:18 and in your journey with the Lord 57:20 and you know, we'll continue to pray for you, 57:22 continue to pray for us here at 3ABN. 57:25 And until next time, we love you all, 57:27 God bless and have a blessed day. 57:30 Amen. |
Revised 2021-02-08