Latest / CCC West Covina / What is a Christian: By Description

Transcript

What is a Christian: By Description · CCC West Covina

0:00
Thank you, Lord, that we can gather together tonight to spend
0:03
time in Your word. And our prayer, Father, is that
0:05
you'd open our eyes to be able to see the beauty of who you
0:09
are. Help us, Lord, to honor you with
0:13
our heart and mind. And pray, Father, that the
0:17
things that you teach us tonight will enable us to live with the
0:20
glory of Your Kingdom, not just today and this week, but until
0:24
you come again, as you most surely will.
0:27
We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
0:33
As we embark further and further into the fall, we will soon be
0:39
upon the holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
0:44
And during those times, it's an opportunity for us to talk to
0:48
people about Christ, to introduce them to Christ,
0:52
whether it's friends, whether it's family, we can gather
0:55
together and talk about the reason for the season and inject
1:01
the gospel when we talk to them. The question is, will you be
1:06
able to present the gospel clearly?
1:10
Will you be able to represent the gospel clearly?
1:14
Will those in your friend and family know that you truly are a
1:21
genuine believer in the Lord Jesus Christ?
1:26
So important we're looking at what is a Christian.
1:31
After we gave you a week of introduction, we talked to you
1:34
about a Christian is known by his decision.
1:39
That's Luke 923 the next week, which was last week.
1:42
A Christian is known not just by his decision, but by his
1:47
definition. And that's Philippians 3 verse
1:50
#3 But tonight we're going to introduce to you that a
1:56
Christian is known simply by a description.
2:01
How would you describe a Christian?
2:06
The Bible is very clear on how a Christian is described, but I
2:11
would always be curious on how you would describe a Christian.
2:18
So many times we we think of things that are unbiblical
2:23
instead of biblical. We would say probably if someone
2:27
said, would you describe to me a Christian?
2:29
You would say, well, a Christian is described by someone who has
2:33
a personal relationship with the living God.
2:38
And to some degree that's absolutely true.
2:41
But what does that mean? Somebody who has a personal
2:46
relationship with the living God, How do we understand that?
2:52
You see, because as you read to you the last couple of weeks in
2:55
Matthew Chapter 7, those people who said to the Lord, Lord,
3:00
Lord, did we not do this in your name, believed that they had a
3:06
personal relationship with the Lord.
3:12
But Jesus said to them, I never knew you.
3:16
So if they believed that they had a personal relationship with
3:19
the Lord, and yet the Lord says to them, I never knew you, how
3:25
do you describe then a true genuine believer?
3:31
How can someone go through life serving the Lord, speaking for
3:37
the Lord, being a part of a church ministry, and yet the
3:43
Lord say to them, I never knew you.
3:49
How tragic would that ever be if that was you or if that was me?
3:56
So how do you describe a Christian?
4:03
How is it you know the Lord knows you?
4:10
Because in Christianity it's not about you knowing him, it's
4:12
about him knowing you. So turn with me in your Bible to
4:16
Second Timothy chapter 2. Second Timothy chapter 2.
4:23
Listen to what Paul says in verse #19 He says.
4:30
Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands having
4:35
this seal, having this sign of ownership.
4:43
The Lord knows those who are His, The Lord knows those who
4:54
are His. You might say you know the Lord,
4:58
but does the Lord know you? That's very important.
5:07
It says over in the book of Galatians the 4th chapter verse
5:12
#8 However at that time when you did not know God, you were
5:18
slaves to those which by nature are no gods.
5:22
But now that you have come to know God, or rather Paul says to
5:28
be known by God. Paul distinguishes those who who
5:33
claim to know God and those who are known by God.
5:38
Over in John chapter 10, the Lord says these words.
5:43
Verse 14 I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own, and my own know
5:51
me even as the Father knows me and I know the Father.
5:59
Now talk about an intimate relationship.
6:03
My sheep know me, I know them, even as I know the Father, and
6:09
the Father knows me. And then it says in verse #27 My
6:14
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
6:22
In John 17 John chapter 17, these words are spoken verse #21
6:37
that they all may be 1 even as You, Father, are in me, and I in
6:40
you, that they also may be in US, so that the world may
6:45
believe that You sent me the glory which You have given me.
6:51
I have given to them that they may be one, just as we are one,
6:55
I and them and You and Me, that they may be perfected in unity,
7:01
so that the world may know that You sent me and love them even
7:06
as You have loved me. There's something unique about
7:12
the relationship between God and his children that not only do
7:18
they know him, but he actually knows them.
7:22
And so Paul says, here is the firm foundation of the Lord.
7:27
This is his seal. The Lord knows those who are
7:32
his. And then he says this in verse
7:36
19. He says everyone who names the
7:40
name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.
7:47
Everyone who knows the Lord and the Lord knows are characterized
7:51
by the fact that they abstain from any kind of wickedness, any
7:57
kind of evil. They refrain from doing that
8:01
which is wrong, sinful. So the Bible says that it's
8:07
imperative that the Lord knows who you are, that there's this
8:10
intimate relationship between you and your God.
8:12
We are the bride, He's the bridegroom.
8:14
And there's something about intimacy that's there.
8:17
The Bible says in justice said before that Cain knew his wife,
8:21
she conceived and bore Enoch. In other words, there was
8:25
something unique about that relationship that was intimate.
8:30
Same was true about Joseph and Mary.
8:32
When Joseph knew Mary, he knew her in an intimate sense.
8:36
So to the Lord knows his own intimately.
8:40
There's this love relationship between God and his people that
8:45
goes beyond anything else that we can ever imagine.
8:50
And so the Bible says those whom the Lord knows are characterized
8:57
by the fact that they abstain from wickedness.
8:59
So a man says, I know the Lord, but he engages in wickedness.
9:03
The answer is the Lord doesn't know him, because if the Lord
9:07
knows him, he abstains from wickedness.
9:09
Not that you're perfect, not that you're sinless, but that
9:12
your habit of life is to abstain from that which brings shame to
9:17
the Lord and is an abomination to the Lord.
9:21
The habit pattern is, I want to serve my Lord.
9:24
I want to honor my Lord. The question comes, OK, if
9:27
that's the case, how is it? If the Lord knows me, I abstain
9:30
from wickedness. How can that possibly be?
9:33
Because here is how a Christian is described.
9:38
A Christian is described as being in Christ. 2nd Corinthians
9:44
517 If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.
9:53
Old things are passed away build all things have become new.
9:59
A Christian is described as being in Christ.
10:06
If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.
10:12
So the Bible says that the unbeliever is without Christ.
10:18
Ephesians chapter 2 verse #12 But the believer is in Christ
10:24
and ultimately will be with Christ.
10:27
Isn't it interesting that if if you're a you're a a Buddhist,
10:32
they're never described as being in Buddha?
10:37
If you're a Mormon, you're never described as being in Joseph
10:44
Smith or in Brigham Young. If you're a Christian Scientist,
10:52
you're never described as being in Mary Baker Eddie, not at all.
10:58
But a Christian is described as being in Christ.
11:05
If you're a Muslim, you are not in Muhammad.
11:08
You are not in Allah. That is not how they're
11:12
described. So the Christian's description
11:15
is very, very unique. He is in Christ, but not only
11:21
that, not only is he in Christ, Christ is in him.
11:27
The Bible says that we're in the Father and the Father is in us.
11:32
The Bible says that we're in the Spirit and the Spirit is in us.
11:36
There is this Trinitarian union that is in US and we are in.
11:43
That's what makes the Christian unique and distinct from any
11:48
other religious affiliation around the world.
11:51
We simply are in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and He is in
11:58
us. He takes up residence in us.
12:02
In fact it says over in John chapter 14.
12:07
These words He says in verse 16, I will ask the Father, and he
12:13
will give you another helper, that He may be with you forever.
12:17
That is the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive
12:20
because it does not see Him or know Him.
12:22
But you know Him because He abides with you and will be in
12:29
you. Verse 20 In that day you will
12:33
know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
12:44
It says in verse 23 if anyone loves me, he will keep my word
12:48
and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our
12:52
abode with him. A Christian is described as
12:57
being in Christ because Christ is in him.
13:01
He described as being in the Father because the Father's in
13:04
him. He described as being in the
13:06
spirit because of spirits in him.
13:09
Now truly mean your Bible to the book of Ephesians the first
13:12
chapter Ephesians chapter 1. The only way that I can obey the
13:19
Lord and abstain from wickedness is because he is in me.
13:26
Look what it says verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of
13:30
our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual
13:32
blessing in the heavenly places in in Christ, just as he chose
13:37
us in him before the foundation of the world.
13:46
That that's an absolutely staggering thought that we were
13:51
chosen to be in him before the world was ever created.
13:57
That's why the Bible says that our names are written in the
13:59
Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world.
14:05
This is an absolute staggering thought to realize that I was
14:12
chosen by the Lord to be in Him before the world was even
14:18
created. That in the mind of God, God had
14:22
a plan that there would be people that He would choose to
14:25
be in Him. And that when you gave your life
14:28
to Christ and you decided to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, it
14:32
was at that time that eternity intersected with time and you
14:37
gave your life to the Lord and everything that He had planned
14:41
came to fruition in your life. That's an absolutely staggering
14:49
thought to realize that everything that happens in your
14:55
life and mind when it comes to the saving knowledge of Christ
15:00
was all set in motion in eternity past by the Lord God
15:06
Himself. A Christian is not someone
15:11
necessarily who believes in Christ, but as a person who has
15:16
Christ in him and he is in Christ.
15:23
That is very, very important to understand that we as believers
15:28
are in the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 127.
15:31
Christ in you the hope of glory. 2nd Corinthians 517 we are in
15:39
Christ. Romans 8-9 says that we are in
15:42
the Spirit. In First Corinthians 619 says
15:45
the Spirit is in us. If any man be in Christ, he is a
15:52
new creation. In other words, let's say it
15:57
this way, Christianity is described as an invasion of the
16:04
Triune God into your life. That is what Christianity is.
16:11
That is why you can obey the Lord.
16:14
That is why you can follow the Lord.
16:16
That is why you can serve the Lord.
16:18
That is why you love the Lord. We love Him because He first
16:20
loved us. But in all reality, Christianity
16:23
is an invasion of the Triune God, God the Father, God the
16:27
Son, God the Holy Spirit invading your life because you
16:33
were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.
16:40
That's absolutely mind boggling to me.
16:44
And those who are who are in Christ are a new creation.
16:52
In other words, that there's, there's not a rearranging of
16:55
your life, there's not a refurbishing of your life,
16:58
there's not a renovation of your life.
17:00
There's a complete overhaul of your life.
17:04
You're a new creation. All things have passed away
17:08
build. All things have become new.
17:11
You see, when you become a Christian, you're not adding
17:13
Jesus to your existing lifestyle.
17:17
Oh no, all things have passed away.
17:22
All things have become brand new.
17:26
See that That's rooted in Old Testament theology.
17:28
In fact, go back with me, if you would, to the the book of
17:31
Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 42, and the Lord as he is talking about
17:40
the future for Israel, trying to describe them, what's going to
17:44
happen in the future, He says, behold, the former things have
17:47
come to pass. Now I declare new things before
17:51
they spring forth. I proclaim them to you.
17:54
In other words, there's going to be something brand new that's
17:57
going to take place. You go over to chapter 43 and it
18:01
says this in verse #18 Do not call to mind the former things
18:06
or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new
18:12
now. It will spring forth.
18:16
Then when Isaiah 48 verse #6 he says this.
18:21
You have heard. Look at all this, and you will,
18:25
and you will you not declare it? I proclaim to you new things
18:30
from this time. What are the new things?
18:34
Chapter 65 verse #17 For behold, I create new heavens and a new
18:40
earth, and the former things will not be remembered or come
18:45
to mind, but be glad and rejoice forever in what I create.
18:50
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and our people for
18:56
gladness. In other words, God is talking.
18:59
God is the creator of the universe.
19:01
He's the master designer and so when Paul says if any man be in
19:06
Christ, he is a new creation, that means the Creator did
19:11
something brand new in your life.
19:14
Everything changes. It doesn't change physically.
19:18
OK, So if you didn't have an arm before you were saved, you're
19:22
not going to get an arm after you're saved.
19:24
OK? Things don't change physically
19:28
if you're blind before you're saved, Doesn't mean you're going
19:30
to not be able to see after you're saved.
19:33
You need to understand that. But what changes is everything
19:36
on the inside that there's a there's a metamorphosis, there's
19:40
a transformation on what's on the inside because you've been
19:44
cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and now your temple is the
19:48
your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
19:51
So, so the Spirit of God resides within you.
19:55
And that's why you can live a holy life.
19:58
That's why you can aspire to righteous living.
20:03
Why? Because Christ is in you and you
20:06
want to please the Lord. You want to honor the Lord.
20:08
You want to serve the Lord simply because He reigns supreme
20:12
in your life. You see, people don't understand
20:16
this. They think they can get saved
20:20
and still just live any way they want to live.
20:24
Well, the problem is you can't do that.
20:26
Why? Because God lives in you and
20:31
because God lives in you, there's a transformation that
20:33
takes place. You are now a new creation.
20:36
The old things are done away with.
20:39
All things have become new. Everything begins to change.
20:44
I don't know how many people come across and, and, and they,
20:46
they say they prayed a prayer and they gave their life to
20:49
Christ and they have a personal relationship with the Lord, but
20:52
they're still living the same sinful life they did before they
20:55
said the prayer or before they gave their life to the Lord.
20:59
Their conversion is a sham. There was no transformation.
21:03
They're not a new creation. They're living the exact same
21:07
way they've always lived. That's not what salvation is.
21:11
We need to stop confirming people in their unbelief or
21:16
confirming people in the fact that they believe that they're
21:20
one way when a reality they're another because if they're
21:23
living opposite of what the Bible says, you to call them
21:28
into account. Now, it doesn't mean that people
21:31
don't sin. They do sin.
21:34
They do stray away from the Lord, but when you confront
21:37
them, you call them back and you beg them to to repent.
21:41
They do do that because they recognize that the Spirit of God
21:45
within them and the Spirit of God is a is a convictor and
21:50
convicts us of our sin that we might learn to serve and and
21:53
follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to what Romans 8 says.
22:00
Romans chapter 8 verse #9 Paul says however, you are not in the
22:07
flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells
22:10
in you. But if anyone does not have the
22:13
Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.
22:17
If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet
22:22
the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.
22:25
But the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in
22:29
you. He raised Christ.
22:31
Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
22:36
through his Spirit who dwells in you.
22:43
Now think about this with me for a second.
22:46
Every Jew understands that God was above him and all around
22:52
him. That's why Jewish men wear
22:53
yarmulkes, right? They wear it on their head
22:56
because it's a reminder that God's above them and that God's
22:59
all around them. Jews are into symbols or they're
23:02
into rituals or into all those kinds of things.
23:05
We don't need to have a yarmulke on our head to realize that
23:08
God's all around us. We understand that or that God's
23:12
above us. We get that our Father who is in
23:15
heaven, we, we get that. The Bible says over in Psalm one
23:18
O 3 verse #19 the Lord has established his throne in the
23:22
heavens and the sovereignty rules overall.
23:26
So if you're a Jew, you understand God above us, but if
23:32
you're a Jew you also understand that God made us.
23:39
That's Genesis chapter one, that we are made in the image of God.
23:44
We understand that Jews understood that because we are
23:48
made in God's image. So God that's above us, and that
23:52
the God that's around us is the God who made us.
23:59
But the Jews also understood that God will one day be with
24:02
them, right? Isaiah 714 The great prophecy
24:06
about the virgin shall conceive and and bear a child.
24:10
You should call his name Emmanuel translated mean being
24:14
God with us. So the Jews lived in
24:17
anticipation of the God that was above them and around them, and
24:23
who made them would one day be with them.
24:27
And so when Christ was born, in Matthew chapter one, they quote
24:33
Isaiah 714 because now Emmanuel was with them.
24:39
But what they never understood and never grasped was God in
24:46
them. That was a mystery.
24:50
That was a mystery concealed in the old and only revealed in the
24:56
new. So the Bible says these words
25:03
God will to make known what are the riches of the glory of His
25:07
mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope
25:12
of glory, Christ being in you. The Jews to this day don't
25:21
understand that. They can't grasp that, but
25:24
that's what the church age is all about.
25:26
That's what Christianity is, that that's what separates
25:30
Christianity from Judaism or any other religion.
25:35
We are in Christ and Christ is in us.
25:38
So this, this God that's above us and all around us is the God
25:44
who made us in his image, who promised to one day be with us.
25:48
So what did he do? God gave us His only beloved
25:51
Son, John 316 so that God would be in US.
25:58
And if God is in us, then we know that God is for us.
26:07
Romans chapter 8 verse #31 says What then shall we say to these
26:12
things? If God is for us, who can be
26:18
against us? So think it through with me.
26:22
The God who is above us and the God who is around us is the God
26:27
who made us, who made a promise to be the God who would be with
26:32
us. In order to be with us, God had
26:36
to give us his only begotten Son.
26:38
Once He gave his only begotten Son.
26:40
Now God now is in us, those who believe in his name.
26:44
And if God is in US, God is for us.
26:48
And if God is for us, guess what?
26:50
God sends us as the Father sent me, so send I you.
26:58
You see, it's so important to understand that.
27:00
Why? Because that's what Christianity
27:02
is. Christianity is described as the
27:05
Christian being in Christ and Christ in them.
27:12
That is the hope of glory. That is the hope of future
27:17
glorification. It's all about Christ being in
27:19
me. That's what enables me to be
27:22
able to say the firm foundation of the Lord is this.
27:25
The Lord knows those who are his.
27:28
This is his seal and those who name his name are the ones who
27:32
abstain from wickedness. Why?
27:36
Because Christ is in them. That's why He is the the
27:41
motivation. He is the drive behind all of
27:46
that. So the question comes, if all
27:51
things are passed away, that means I've died to myself, Paul
27:56
says in Galatians 2. I am crucified with Christ.
28:00
Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me.
28:04
OK, I've died to myself, so Christ lives in me.
28:07
In a few moments we're going to have some baptisms up here.
28:11
And why do we have people go down into the water and come
28:13
back up out of the water again? Because it's a sign.
28:16
It's a a symbol that signifies that they had been buried in the
28:21
likeness of his death and raised in the likeness of his
28:24
resurrection. Why?
28:26
Because we are in Christ, so old things pass away.
28:33
Old values, old ideas, old plans, old loves, old desires,
28:42
old beliefs, old passions, old interests, all things that are
28:49
worldly centered, old things passed away.
28:53
Behold, all things become new, new things that accompany
28:57
salvation. God gives us new desires.
29:01
God gives us new loves. God gives us new motives, new
29:06
plans, new values, new wisdom, new knowledge, new
29:11
understanding. In other words, the old things
29:14
that are done away with are done away with because you live for
29:18
self. The new things though, come
29:20
because you live for Christ. That's why Paul said for to me
29:24
to live is Christ and to die is gain a new creation.
29:32
Let me explain to you how Spurgeon stated it.
29:38
Well over 100 years ago he said this.
29:41
If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.
29:49
Read and the reading will be accurate.
29:53
He is a new creation. This is a very sweeping
30:00
statement. A man in Christ is not the old
30:03
man purified, nor the old man improved, nor the old man in a
30:14
better humor, nor the old man with additions and subtractions,
30:20
nor the old man dressed in gorgeous robes.
30:24
No, he is a new creature all together.
30:30
As for the old man, what is to be done with him?
30:35
Can he not be sobered, reformed, and made to do us useful
30:40
service? Answer.
30:43
No, He is crucified with Christ, and bound to die by a lingering
30:50
but certain death. The capital sentences passed
30:54
upon him, for he cannot be mended, and therefore must be
30:58
ended. The carnal mind is enmity
31:01
against God, for it is not subject to the law of God,
31:04
neither indeed can be. You cannot change the old
31:08
nature. It is immutably bad, and the
31:13
sooner it is put away as a filthy and unclean thing, the
31:18
better. For all the believer, so far as
31:22
he is in Christ, is a new creation.
31:26
Not the old stuff put into new fashion and the old material
31:31
worked up into an improved form, but absolutely a new creation.
31:37
To create is to make out of nothing, and that is precisely
31:41
how the newborn life came into us.
31:44
It is not a development or an outgrowth, but a creation, a
31:48
heavenly something called into being by a power from above.
31:52
The new man in US is made out of nothing that was in us before,
31:58
for nature does not assist grace, but as opposed to it,
32:03
Christ has not found light stored away in our darkness, nor
32:08
life amid the corruption of our spiritual death.
32:12
The new birth is from above, and the life produced thereby is a
32:18
completely new creation. Absolutely perfectly said.
32:27
And so many times we go through life affirming people in a non
32:33
new creative state. We should never do that.
32:39
We should encourage them. We should move them to examine
32:44
the Scriptures. If they say they're born again,
32:48
if they say they know the Lord, if they say they're a follower
32:52
of Christ, if they say they serve the Lord, is their life a
32:56
new creation? Is it different than it was
32:59
before they were saved? Has there been a transformation
33:04
of the inner man? Are there new desires, new
33:08
loves, new pursuits, new goals, all with Christ in mind?
33:14
Or are they the same pursuits, the same sinful goals, the same
33:19
worldly aspirations as they were before?
33:25
For the man being Christ, he is a new creation.
33:31
So what changes? Let me give you 7 word.
33:35
Excuse me, let me give you 10 words.
33:39
I had 7. I had a few more 10 words that
33:43
will help you understand a new creation.
33:46
OK, what changes? Number one, there is a new
33:56
condition, a new condition. This is what Paul says in
34:02
Ephesians 4 verse #17 He says this.
34:08
So this I say and affirm together with the Lord that you
34:11
walk no longer. Just as the Gentiles also walk
34:14
in the futility of their mind being darkened in their
34:18
understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the
34:22
ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their
34:26
heart. And they have become callous,
34:29
have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of
34:33
every kind of impurity with greediness.
34:36
But you, you did not learn Christ in this way, since indeed
34:43
you have heard Him and have been taught in Him.
34:48
Just as truth is in Jesus. That in reference to your former
34:54
manner of life, you lay aside the old self which is being
34:57
corrupted in accordance with the lust of the sea.
35:00
And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on
35:02
the new self which in the likeness of God, has been
35:05
created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
35:12
See, there's been a creation when it comes to righteousness
35:15
and holiness and truth. Things truly do change.
35:23
There's a brand new condition. You once in darkness, now you're
35:32
in the light. Your condition was once the sons
35:37
of disobedience, and now your condition is the sons of
35:42
obedience. You once were taken captive by
35:48
Satan to do his will, but once saved, you've been transferred
35:53
into the Kingdom of God's dear Son, and now you can become the
35:56
slave of God to do his will. Your whole condition changes
36:03
simply because of what God did in your life.
36:09
God does this. You don't reform yourself,
36:12
remake yourself, recreate yourself.
36:14
No, God does this. It's the work of the Spirit of
36:17
God in the life of a soul made new.
36:22
Not only is there a new condition, there's a new
36:25
commitment, a brand new commitment.
36:31
Second Corinthians chapter 5. Second Corinthians chapter 5,
36:38
verse #14 says, For the love of Christ controls us.
36:44
Having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all
36:47
died, and he died for all, so that they who live might no
36:52
longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again
36:57
on their behalf. See that?
37:01
So there's a brand new commitment.
37:04
You commit no longer to living for yourself.
37:07
You made a commitment to live for the one who lived and died
37:11
on your behalf. That's what a new creation is.
37:16
His commitment changes. Her commitment changes.
37:19
So Paul said for me to live is Christ.
37:21
To die is gain. I live for Christ.
37:23
I make it my ambition to please Christ and please only Him.
37:28
Why? Because He is everything to me.
37:32
I've committed my life to Him. And when you committed your life
37:35
to Christ, that's a brand new commitment.
37:38
It's a brand new condition #3 there's a, there's a brand new
37:48
conduct, a brand new conduct. Titus chapter 2, verse 11.
37:55
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to
37:57
all men, instructing us to denying godliness, worldly
38:01
lusts, and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the
38:04
present age, looking for the blessed hope, the appearing of
38:08
the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus, who gave
38:12
Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to
38:19
purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for
38:26
good deeds. Everything about our conduct
38:30
changes. We are now zealous to please the
38:34
Lord. We are now zealous to do the
38:35
right things. Why?
38:37
Because we've been bought with a price.
38:39
We are now sons of God. We are slaves of God.
38:43
He's our master. We want to serve Him.
38:47
Our life's passion is to be not just committed to him, but to
38:52
live a life that honors Him. So there's a new condition.
38:59
I've been transferred from the Kingdom of darkness into the
39:02
Kingdom of God's dear Son. There's a brand new commitment.
39:06
There's a brand new conduct. Here's one.
39:10
There is a brand new conversation.
39:14
Matthew, Matthew, chapter 12, verse 33.
39:24
Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree
39:27
bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
39:32
You brood of Vipers, how can you be an evil?
39:35
Speak what is good, for the now speaks out of that which fills
39:39
the heart. The good man brings out of his
39:42
good treasure what is good, and the evil man brings out of his
39:47
evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every
39:51
careless word that people speak they should give an accounting
39:55
for in the day of judgement. For by your words you will be
39:59
justified. And by your words, you will be
40:05
condemned. You see, the mouth speaks of
40:11
that which fills the heart. And when you're a new creation,
40:16
everything about your conversation changes.
40:21
The way you say it changes. That's why the Lord could say
40:25
that every careless word that a man speaks, he'll be held
40:29
accountable for on the day of judgement.
40:32
Why? Because your your lips are the
40:35
clearest indicator of your spiritual condition.
40:38
How do I know your heart? Just listen to your words.
40:42
Because that of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
40:46
So however you use your words, that will tell me the condition
40:51
of your heart. If you're a bitter, angry
40:54
person, you have a bitter, angry heart.
40:58
Is your heart really a new creation?
41:00
If you're a person that likes to swear and cuss and use foul
41:04
language, are you really a new creation?
41:08
Because that speaks from the heart.
41:10
That's your heart manifesting itself through the mouth gate.
41:14
That's why it's so imperative that when you realize that
41:17
someone's born again, their conversation changes because
41:21
their commitment changes, because their condition changes.
41:26
Everything changes. All things become new old things
41:33
that passed away. All things.
41:36
Your conversation, your commitment, your condition, your
41:40
conduct, everything changes once born again.
41:50
Next the course of your life changes.
41:56
First Corinthians chapter 1 Paul says this to the Church of God
42:03
which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified or set
42:08
apart in Christ Jesus. Saints by calling with all who
42:15
in every place call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ their
42:19
Lord and ours. And Paul goes on to describe the
42:24
course of those who are called Saints.
42:28
Remember, you are never, ever called the Sinner.
42:31
Once you're saved in the Bible, you're only called a St.
42:38
It doesn't mean you don't sin. You do, but you're not a Sinner,
42:43
not characterized as a Sinner. That's reserved for the
42:46
unbeliever. The unbelievers are sinners.
42:49
The believers are Saints. You're called Saints by God
42:56
himself. You've been set apart under God
42:59
for his purposes. You are sanctified.
43:03
Once saved, you are set apart, sanctified.
43:06
But there is this continual practice of sanctification as
43:09
you move along your spiritual life where you are further and
43:12
further set apart under God for his purposes.
43:15
That's the course of action that you take as a believer.
43:19
That's the direction you go. You're constantly being
43:22
sanctified. You're constantly being set
43:24
apart more and more from the world unto God for His purposes.
43:30
That's a new creation number six.
43:37
There's a new certainty, a new certainty.
43:44
First Corinthians chapter 15 verse #22 says this.
43:51
For as an Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made
43:58
alive. There's a brand new certainty,
44:02
and that certainty is what? That I will be resurrected.
44:06
I will never die. That is, I will never be
44:10
separated from God ever again. And I am absolutely certain of
44:15
that. The unbeliever does not have
44:18
that certainty. Top of that number 8 #7 excuse
44:24
me, a new character, a new character.
44:28
Revelation chapter 3, verse #12 The Lord gives you a brand new
44:33
name, and name refers to nature and character in the Bible,
44:37
right? So you have a brand new
44:40
character because the saving grace of God, everything about
44:43
your character changes. How about this?
44:45
You have a new course. That's number 8, a brand new
44:49
chorus, Psalm 40, Psalm 40 verse #3 you put a new song in my
44:57
mouth, a song of praise to our God.
45:00
Many will see in fear and will trust in the Lord.
45:06
There's a new chorus, a brand new song.
45:10
Never when we were we were growing up, of course, maybe not
45:13
you but me. When when I was growing up, they
45:16
we used to sing those old time religious hymns, right?
45:21
And one of them was in my heart. There rings of melody.
45:26
Remember it goes like this. It says I have, I have sung
45:30
that. Excuse me, I have a song that
45:32
Jesus gave me. It was sent from heaven above.
45:34
There never was a sweeter melody.
45:37
Tis the melody of love. I love the Christ who died in
45:40
Calvary, For he washed my sins away.
45:42
He put within my heart of melody.
45:44
And I know it's here to stay, To obey my endless steaming glory
45:48
with the angels. I will sing to obey a song with
45:51
glorious harmony when the courts of heaven ring.
45:55
For in my heart there rings a melody, rings a melody in
46:00
heaven's harmony. In my heart there rings a
46:04
melody. There rings a melody of love.
46:08
There's something about the heart of the believer that sings
46:12
the chorus of the redeemed soul. There's something about being a
46:18
Christian that changes the song in your heart.
46:22
It's a chorus. You sing for the glory of God.
46:28
What else changes? Your conflict changes.
46:32
Your conflict changes. For now you are in conflict with
46:39
Satan as you've never been in conflict before.
46:43
That's why when you get saved, things get worse.
46:46
They don't get better in your family, at work, with your
46:49
friends because there's a spiritual battle that's going on
46:52
in Ephesians 6 talks about the the the armor of God that we are
46:56
to equip ourselves with with as we go to fight not against flesh
47:00
and blood, but it begins those principalities and powers of the
47:03
air, those things that we cannot see.
47:05
There's a brand new conflict that takes place when you are a
47:08
new creation. And lastly #10 there's one
47:11
that's a negative and that is there is now no condemnation.
47:18
For there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
47:24
None. Those in Christ, no
47:28
condemnation. Why?
47:31
Because our sins were condemned at Calvary and Christ bore those
47:37
sins in his body on the tree for you and for me.
47:43
Listen, are you a new creation? Are you in Christ?
47:49
Has there been a change in your life?
47:53
Has there been a transformation from from the inside out?
47:57
This is how a Christian is described in Bible.
48:00
In the Bible, 77 times the believer said to be in Christ 70
48:09
times he is said to be in him 45 times he is said to be in the
48:17
Lord Jesus 192 times. In the New Testament, the
48:22
Christian is described as being in Christ in the Lord.
48:28
Because that's who we are. And that's why there's a change.
48:34
And that's why my my whole life is transformed, because now
48:38
Christ is in me and I'm in him. And there is this union, there
48:44
is this relationship that I have with the living God that
48:47
satisfies the deepest aspects of my soul.
48:52
Only Christ can do that. Nobody else can.
48:56
Why do you think the world's so unsatisfied?
48:58
Why do you think the world is always searching for something?
49:01
To feel the emptiness of the soul?
49:05
Because the things in the world can't do that.
49:08
Only the Lord Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness of your soul.
49:14
And how does he feel it? He fills it with His presence.
49:20
The Trinitarian invasion of a soul is what we describe as the
49:28
Christian life, for we are in Christ.
49:31
Let's pray. Father, we thank you for
49:34
tonight, a chance to be able to look into the Word of God for a
49:37
brief moment to examine our lives in light of what the Word
49:41
of God says. Are we in Christ?
49:44
For the Lord knows those who are his.
49:47
And let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from
49:50
iniquity. Well, the only way we can do
49:53
that is because of you. You're in US.
49:58
You dwell in US. You've made your abode with us.
50:03
We are in you and you are in us, as you are in the Father and the
50:09
Father is in you. Lord, that is just so mind
50:14
boggling, but it's the reality of what Christianity is.
50:18
It sets us apart from every other system of religion around
50:23
the world. We are in the Savior of our
50:29
lives and our Savior is in US and we thank you in Jesus name,
50:38
Amen.