Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Where Do We Get the Power to Change?

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Where Do We Get the Power to Change? · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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Are you on the Christian treadmill? You know
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that one, try hard, do good, fail. Try hard,
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do good, fail. You know, if you're sick of that
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life and finding that it simply isn't the abundant
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life promise with joy and peace and power, then
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today is the day for you. I have been there,
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and we as believers don't have to live there.
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Stay with me, and we'll learn from God's Word
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how to break out of the Christian treadmill syndrome.
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Most of us would love to experience real, lasting,
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positive life change. But we just don't know
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how to get traction and actually grow. That's
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the honest question at the heart of this series,
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Free at Last, How to Break Out of a Destructive
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Lifestyle. I'm Dave Drury, and this is Living
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on the Edge. Today, Chip Ingram begins our next
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message called, Where Do We Get the Power to
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Change? And the answer is one you don't want
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to miss. So in case you can't stick around to
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hear the whole message, be sure to visit livingontheedge
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.org to catch up when you can. Well, now here's
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Chip. Where do you get the power to change? Dan
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came up to me the very first time I ever publicly
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taught through Ephesians 4, 1 through 6 that
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we covered last week. I literally got done. A
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guy walks up to me. He was a young, zealous guy,
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played for a local college basketball team. We'd
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gotten to know one another, and I mean, he was
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living the life. His life was dramatically changing.
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And I literally got done, and he caught me just
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as I was going around the corner, and he stops
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and goes, stop. So I did, and he opens his Bible,
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and he opens it up right here to Romans chapter
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6. He goes, listen to this. He says, but thanks
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be to God that though you used to be slaves to
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sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed this form of teaching
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in which you were entrusted. you've been set
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free from sin and have become a slave to righteousness.
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And this big 6 '4 guard looked at me and goes,
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that's not true. It doesn't work. I said, what
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do you mean? He said, well, a lot's changed in
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my life, but there's some areas, and he was very
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specific. He said, I can't change. I'm supposed
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to be transformed, and I can't. What's wrong
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with me? We had a little discussion, and literally,
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this is one of those bizarre experiences. I leave
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that, walk on around, get a cup of coffee between
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the services, and a young mom that I'd gotten
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to know pretty well who came from a horrendous
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background, drug, alcohol addictions, fractured
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relationships, difficult home life, had come
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to Christ, amazing transformation the last couple
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years, and she walks up to me with an open Bible,
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Romans chapter 6. I'm thinking, there's something
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going on here. And she goes to a different verse.
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She goes, look, look right here. Verse 22. It
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says, but now that you've been set free from
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sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit
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you reap is holiness and it results in eternal
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life. And she goes, this isn't working. I'm thinking,
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I guess I really had a bad day on this one. And
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I said, well, what do you mean? She goes, well,
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I'm not on alcohol. God's really changed my life.
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But I smoke dope every day. Every single day.
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And I'm concerned about my four -year -old daughter.
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And I've tried to quit and I've prayed to quit
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and I want to quit and I can't quit. Where do
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you get the power to change? That's what we're
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going to talk about today. Listen to the Apostle
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Paul, interestingly, in the very next chapter
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after chapter six. He says, for I desire to do
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what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For
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what I do is not good. The evil that I don't
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want to do, this I keep on doing. I mean, he's
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basically saying, I want to do what's right.
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I find myself not doing it. And the very thing
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I don't want to do, I find myself doing that.
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Anybody in this room having that struggle at
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all? Yeah, same here. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of
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the book of Ephesians, this is what God has done
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for you. Chapter 4 opens up, and this is the
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practice. I urge you, therefore, Paul says, as
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a prisoner of the Lord, to walk in a manner worthy
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of your new life. And then he said, the way you
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walk in this new life, the way that your belief
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and behavior tell the same story is the cocoon,
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if you will, of community. He says, be humble
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and gentle and patient, bearing with one another
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in love, making every effort to maintain the
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unity of the body and the bond of peace. And
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then he gives us the reason, and he went through
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those amazing high things. There's one God, one
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Lord, one faith, one baptism. And so just by
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way of review, and then I thought I would just
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sort of poke at you and poke at me, I thought
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since I wasn't completely humble and gentle and
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patient and bearing with other people this week,
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I thought I would put down the opposite of those.
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And if I'm not humble, it means I'm proud and
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selfish. And if I'm not gentle, it means I'm
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demanding and harsh. If I'm not patient, it means
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I'm impatient and angry. If I don't bear with
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people, it means I'm kind of critical of them,
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especially those that live inside my house and
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judgmental. And if I'm not making every effort,
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I'm kind of slothful and actually I disengage
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instead of be connected to people. Is there anybody
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other than me that had some of the experiences
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on the right side of that column? Yeah. Now listen,
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here's what I want you to understand. Christ
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comes into our life. His game plan is to turn
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us from a green caterpillar and be metamorphosized.
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Remember, a walk is a process into the transformation
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of a beautiful butterfly in terms of our character
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and likeness of Christ. But listen to what the
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Apostle Paul, he goes on to say. He says, now
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if I do what I do not want to do. He identifies
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the problem. It's no longer I who do it, but
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it's sin living in me that does it. What a wretched
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man that I am. Who will rescue me from this body
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of death? And then he gives us the answer. Thanks
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be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And
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so the question is, how did Jesus conquer sin?
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And how does that work practically in everyday
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life? The apostle Paul says it's going to be
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a struggle. In Romans chapter six, he's gonna
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give us some truth we'll look at a little bit
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later about what's actually true of this. But
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how do you overcome the struggle with sin? I
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mean, what did I say to those two people? What
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did the conversation go like? And just before
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we go too far, let me give you a private moment
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that you don't have to share with anyone. If
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there is an area in your life that you would
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say real honestly, You really want to change.
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You have the desire to change. You know God wants
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it to change. But you feel stuck. What's it with
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you? Is it a critical attitude? Is it your addiction
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to work or media? Is it some addiction? Is it,
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you know, you fill that in. Because here's what
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I want you to get. This isn't theoretical. God
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has given us all the power we need to change,
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but until we understand what happened to Jesus,
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are you ready for this? From the time on Friday
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night when he died to the time on Sunday morning
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when he rose from the dead, if you don't understand
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what he did, you'll never understand how to access
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the power to change. Because what is true in
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all the New Testament teaching is that what is
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ever true of Jesus, When you are united to him
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by faith, you are co -crucified and co -resurrected.
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And so whatever is true of him becomes true of
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us. And the Christian life isn't trying hard
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to live like Jesus or achieve some morality.
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The Christian life is a relationship with God
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the Father through the work of the cross as the
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Spirit enters your life and you live this new
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life. Remember, I am crucified with Christ nevertheless.
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In this human body I live, yet not I, but Christ
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lives in me. And this new life I live, how do
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we live it? By faith in the Son of God. Out of
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what? Who loved me and gave himself for me. Now,
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verse 7 through 10 of Ephesians 4 will explain
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how it happens. But to each one of us, grace
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was given according to the measure of Christ's
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gift. You might circle the little phrase grace
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given. It means an endowment. It's not the same
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word as a spiritual gift. It's the idea of a
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sacred trust or an endowment, something, a treasure
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that's being given to you. And therefore, it
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says, he reaches back and quotes Psalm 68, 18.
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He makes some small modifications. But he says,
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when he, speaking of Jesus, ascended on high,
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he led captive a host of captives, and he gave
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gifts to men. Underline he gave gifts to men
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because right after this, he's going to explain
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the gifts. We'll talk about the gifts and how
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spiritual gifts really interact to help us be
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conformed to the image of Christ. And then now
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he explains. Now this expression, he ascended,
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what does it mean? Except that he also descended
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into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended
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is himself also he who ascended far above all
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the heavens. And here's a purpose clause. So
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that he might fill. All things. Now, I don't
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know about you. I didn't grow up reading the
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Bible. I never opened the New Testament until
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I was 18. As a brand new Christian, the big thick
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part, the Old Testament, I didn't touch that
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for about a year. I couldn't understand it. But
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even when I started reading through the New Testament
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two or three times, and then I began reading
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through the Bible, I remember the first time
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reading this and thinking, I bet this is really
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important. But I don't have a clue what there's,
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what's it mean he ascended, he descended lower
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parts of the earth, captives. Does any of that
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make sense to you? Now for some of you it may.
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But here's what I want you to get. It tells us
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Jesus' identity and it tells us what he did on
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our behalf in such a way that if you get it like
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the Ephesians got it, it'll help you understand
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how to grasp the power to really change. These
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key words, he led captive a host of captives.
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Right above that, I want you to write victorious
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Savior. These key words are going to tell us
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Jesus' identity and what he actually did. The
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next key phrase is lower parts of the earth.
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Above that, write the word righteous judge. The
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last phrase is that he might fill all things.
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Above that, write Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
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And what you're going to see is the Apostle Paul
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will take some different pieces and pull them
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all together and he's going to describe for you
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and me what Jesus accomplished and whatever he
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accomplished that's true of him becomes true
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of us. Phrase number one. He led captive a host
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of captives. This imagery is from the Old Testament
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but was still true in many in the Roman world.
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Here's the picture. You go to battle against
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your foes. Maybe they're in a large city. You
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surround the city. You build ramparts. You may
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cut off the water, cut off the food. It may take
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months or even years in some of those battles.
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And then you defeat your enemy. And once you
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defeat your enemy in those days, you would often
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deport them to other places. And when you would
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defeat your enemy, you would come back to your
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hometown and celebrate the victory. Often the
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general or the king would be on a white horse.
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Behind him would be all of his army, often in
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their, you know, their best battle array. Behind
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them would be the captives that are described
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here. And they would chain them three, five,
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seven across, and they would be stripped to the
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waist. Or sometimes, it gets a little graphic,
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they would strip them naked. And then behind
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them would be what's called the spoils. There
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might be, you know, all the cattle, all the donkeys,
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all the gold, all the silver, all the jewelries.
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So this is a procession or a train. And so imagine
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this general coming back into his hometown, people
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cheering. He's on a white horse. He's demonstrating
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we've won the victory. Here's who won the victory,
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the soldiers. Behind them, here's our humiliated,
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defeated foe. And behind them, the evidence of
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the great victory are the spoils, gold, silver,
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animals. And so the people would cheer. The military
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would get much of the spoils, but then the spoils
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or the gifts as an evidence of the victory would
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be given to some of the people in the town. So
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if I was a lady cheering, I might get a cow or
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I might get a bracelet. And so I would get these
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gifts, but these gifts are an indication of a
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victory that's been won and a foe that has been
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defeated. And Paul uses this imagery as Jesus
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as the victorious victor over sin, over death,
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and over Satan. And he's going to talk in a minute
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about the captives, who he's overcome. And what
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he's done in giving us gifts or spiritual gifts
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are the evidence of that victory. The next key
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word is he's the righteous judge. It says the
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lower parts of the earth. Now, if you're familiar
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with the New Testament, and some are and some
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aren't, let me encourage you later today to just
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read Luke chapter 16, beginning at about verse
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19. And Jesus tells a parable, and the story
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of the parable is pretty simple, but it gives
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us a picture of the Jewish view of what happened
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to people when they died in the Old Testament
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economy. And he tells the story of a righteous
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beggar named Lazarus and a wicked man who was
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absolutely selfish and uncaring. They both die.
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and they go into Sheol, the place of the dead,
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and there's two compartments. There's paradise,
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the abode of the righteous, and then there's
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Hades, or hell, which is the abode of the wicked.
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And so you have this picture of Lazarus is with
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Abraham's bosom in paradise, and this wicked
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man looks, and there's a great chasm, and he
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asks, please tell him to bring, I'm tortured
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with this, some water for me, and he says, There's
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no way that you can go from one place to the
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other. It's fixed. And he says, well, then tell
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my five brothers. And the response is, even if
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someone was raised from the dead, your brothers
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wouldn't believe. They have Moses and the prophets.
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But the picture I want you to get is there's
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this reality of a Jewish Old Testament picture
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of what was going on when people die. The lower
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parts of the earth then, here's what happens.
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When Jesus went into the lower parts of the earth,
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he made a proclamation and an announcement. He
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proclaimed a victory's been won to the abode
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of the wicked. And then he proclaimed the good
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news that the Savior, the Messiah, is going to
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do what? All that you hoped for and all the animal
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sacrifices, all that you believed of God, all
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the promises of God, they're finished. It's been
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won. The Messiah has come. Follow along if you
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will. Hades, this is what it says in 1 Peter
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3, 18 and 19. For Christ died once for sin, the
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righteous for the unrighteous. Why? To bring
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us to God. Important, the word preached here
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is not the same word we'll see in just a minute.
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This is a word for a pronouncement of judgment.
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The lower parts of paradise, 1 Peter 4, 6. For
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this reason, the gospel was preached, different
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word, even to those who are now dead, so that
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they might be judged according to men with regard
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to the body, but live according to God with regard
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to the spirit. Now, let me ask you to do something,
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if you will. Open your Bibles to John chapter
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5. Some of you are looking at me like, this is
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really weird. Okay, I get that. What I want you
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to do is open to John chapter 5, and I want you
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to listen to what Jesus said would happen. He's
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preaching in John chapter 5, beginning at verse
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24. Now listen to what he says. He's giving this
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tremendous offer. He says, truly, truly, or I
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tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and
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believes in him who sent me, notice the tense
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of the verb, has eternal life. And the result
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of this present possession of eternal life when
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you believe or trust in Christ is he will not
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be condemned but is crossed over from death to
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life. I tell you the truth. Notice what he says.
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A time is coming and has now come when the dead
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will hear the voice of the Son of God and those
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who hear will live. Notice what Jesus' role is.
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For the Father has life in himself and so he's
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granted the Son to have life in himself. And
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he has given him authority to what? To judge
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because he is the son of man. Notice the very
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next line, verse 28. Do not be amazed at this
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for a time is coming when all who are in their
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graves will hear his voice and will come out.
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And those who have done good will rise to live
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and those who have done evil will rise to be
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condemned. And the apostle Paul is saying in
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this little picture here, When he went into the
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lower parts of the earth, Jesus was first the
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victorious victor over sin and death and Satan.
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Second, he went into the lower parts of the earth
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and he condemned and gave judgment on the wicked
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and then told those who'd been trusting in him,
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it's over. Your faith has been fulfilled. Finally,
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this last unique phrase that he might fill all
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things. And the idea of Phil here is the idea
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that Jesus is taking back all territory. He's
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the Lord of lords and the king of kings. There's
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victory over sin. There's victory over death.
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There's victory over Satan. Remember when he's
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tempted by the devil? And the devil said to him,
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if you will bow down before me, I will give you
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these kingdoms. Apparently in God's economy,
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he had responsibility over a certain reign upon
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the earth because of sin. And Jesus avoided that
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temptation, but now what he does, Colossians
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2 says, he destroyed the works of the devil,
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and he is now proclaiming he fills all things.
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He's the ruler. He's the Lord. He's the king
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of kings now in real time. It's a defeated foe.
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You can look death in the eyes because its sting
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is gone. Sin's power, broken. Sin's penalty,
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gone. In fact, we pick up. Listen, Revelation
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chapter 5. Follow along and listen carefully
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for the very end. They sang a new song. You are
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worthy to take the scroll and open its seals
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because you were slain. And with your blood you
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purchased men from God in every tribe, in every
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language, in people and nation. You have made
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them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our
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God and they will reign on the earth. And then
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I looked and I heard the voice of many angels
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numbering thousands upon thousands and 10 ,000
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times 10 ,000. And they encircled the throne
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and the living creatures and the elders. And
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in a loud voice, they said, worthy is the lamb
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who was slain to receive power and wealth and
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wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.
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Then I heard every creature in heaven. and on
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earth and under the earth and on the sea and
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all that is in them singing to him who sits on
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the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor
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and glory and power forever. We've taken some
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very remote pieces and a couple hard passages
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and the very words of Jesus and we have understood
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what does it mean that he ascended? that he also
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descended, and that now he is the ruler, the
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king, the lord of lords. He's a victorious savior,
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and everything that happened with regard to him
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of conquering sin and death and Satan is now
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true of you. And at the very bottom, just so
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there's not confusion, what you need to understand
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is all saints or all believers, we all get saved
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the same way. If you were an Old Testament saint,
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you believed. by faith, that their sacrifices
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each year in the Day of Atonement were putting
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you sort of in hold. And one day, a Savior would
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come, and your sins would be completely forgiven
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and dealt with. So they were looking forward
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to Christ. We now, as New Testament believers
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or saints, we look back on what Christ has done.
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But all believers, Old or New Testament, we all
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are saved on the basis of Christ's finished work
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on the cross by grace through faith. Now, our
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theology lesson is over. I hope you'll look up
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some of those verses, scratch your head, read
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a couple commentaries, scratch your head a little
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bit more because you will. But here's what I
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want you to get. There are three undeniable facts
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and three principles that out of this passage
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will help you and me. understand how to deal
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with the struggle of sin and tap into the power
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that we already possess. Implication number one,
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fact is, Christ is a conquering victor over sin,
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death, and Satan. The power to live a new life
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was made possible by his death and resurrection.
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By his death and resurrection. Colossians 2,
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13 through 15. Notice how Paul in this passage
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talks about the victory, talks about the conquering
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of evil. He says he made you, speaking to the
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Colossian church, alive together with him. How?
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Having forgiven all your transgressions, having
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nailed it to the cross. And then notice this
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addition, and having disarmed the rulers and
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the authorities, he made a public spectacle of
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them, triumphing over them by the cross. And
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he's speaking of this event that we just talked
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about. The principle is life change always begins
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with the truth. It's objective. Here's what I
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want you to get. We are so in an existential
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world. We think it's our experience. We think
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life change is trying harder. We think there's
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some formula. We think of religious activities.
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We have all kind of people telling you self -help
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ways of how life change happens. Life change
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metamorphosis from the inside out, New Testament,
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it always begins with the truth. And here's three
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truths that come out of this. Number one, you
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are free. Sin's power has been broken. Write
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that in your notes, I am free. Number two, you
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are forgiven. Not only has sin's power been broken,
23:39
but sin's penalty has been paid for. Christ,
23:43
when he hung upon the cross, the sins of all
23:46
people of all time were placed on him and he
23:49
absorbed it for you in your place. So write,
23:53
I'm forgiven. And third, you are secure. Death
23:58
doesn't have dominance over you anymore because
24:01
you have eternal life. The moment you turned
24:04
from your sin and the empty hands of faith trusted
24:07
in Christ, the Spirit of God came into you, sealed
24:09
you with the Spirit. adopted you into his family,
24:13
took you from the kingdom of darkness into the
24:15
kingdom of light, gave you new relationship with
24:18
God the Father through the blood of Christ, relationship
24:20
with the supernatural community called the body
24:22
of Christ, gave you an inheritance, he's preparing
24:25
a place for you, deposited spiritual gifts in
24:27
you, gave purpose for your life, and you'll never
24:29
be the same. But it happened in objective space
24:33
-time history. These are facts. Satan does not
24:38
have power over you anymore. You can give in
24:41
to sin. You can give in to temptation. You can
24:44
be fearful of demonic spirits. But you, as a
24:47
believer, a child of God, a son or a daughter,
24:49
can look death straight in the eye, can look
24:51
sin and realize you can give in to it, but it
24:54
doesn't have power over you. You're not a slave
24:56
to it. You have a choice. You have power. You
24:59
have access. Truth. That's the beginning of real
25:06
Life change. You can feel it or not feel it.
25:11
You're forgiven, you're free, and you're secure.
25:15
Begins with the truth. Fact number two. We become
25:19
co -partakers of Christ's victory over sin, death,
25:23
and Satan the moment we receive Christ as our
25:27
personal savior by faith. Remember what I said?
25:32
Whatever is true of Jesus, The teaching of the
25:36
New Testament and the Bible, it's true of you.
25:40
This gets a little bit vague and hard to understand.
25:42
I've got a picture that will help you. But I
25:44
want you, if you will, turn to Romans chapter
25:46
6. I'm going to ask you to do a little work here.
25:50
And as you turn to Romans chapter 6, I want to
25:54
read a few of the verses that came before the
25:56
questions that the young man asked me. That came
25:59
before the questions that the young mom asked
26:02
me. The Apostle Paul, what I'm going to share
26:06
is so radical, even in that day, because God
26:11
is going to say that the grace of God is so overwhelming,
26:15
no matter where you are, how far you are, however
26:18
deep the sin is, grace abounds still more. So
26:22
much so that people were bending the truth, and
26:24
they started saying, hey, you know something?
26:26
This New Testament stuff's really great. If God
26:29
gives more grace, if you sin more, why don't
26:31
we just start sinning more? Chapter 6 opens up
26:35
with an emphatic, that is not at all an option.
26:38
He says, what shall we say then? Shall we go
26:40
on sinning so that grace may increase? By no
26:43
means. Now, follow carefully. This is the key.
26:46
We died to sin. How then can we live in it any
26:50
longer? Or do you not know that all of us who
26:52
were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized
26:55
into his death? We were therefore buried with
26:58
him through baptism and death in order that just
27:01
as Christ was raised from the dead through the
27:04
glory of the Father, we too might live, or literally
27:08
it's our same word, might walk in newness of
27:11
life. Now follow along carefully. If we've been
27:15
united with him like this in his death, we will
27:18
certainly be united with him in his resurrection.
27:21
For we know that our old self was crucified with
27:24
him so that the body of sin might be done away,
27:27
that we should no longer be slaves to sin because
27:30
anyone who has died is freed from sin. Now, if
27:34
we died with Christ, we will believe we'll also
27:36
live with him. For we know that since Christ
27:38
was raised from the dead, he cannot die again.
27:41
Death no longer has mastery over him. The death
27:45
he died, he died to sin once and for all, but
27:48
the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same
27:51
way, application. Count yourselves dead to sin,
27:55
but alive to God in Christ Jesus. And then he
27:57
begins to explain what that is and how to do
28:00
that. And we'll discuss that as we go along in
28:02
this process. You will learn how to count yourself
28:06
dead to sin and how to present your members by
28:09
faith. But let me give you a picture that's been
28:11
very helpful to me. I'm going to just take this
28:15
block of wood. I put a cross on it. And let's
28:18
let this represent Christ. And let's have this
28:21
very heavy looking bolt represent us apart from
28:25
Christ. And all I want you to get is what we
28:27
know is wood has a certain nature or properties
28:30
and steel bolts have a certain nature or properties.
28:35
There's a gravitational pull in life. And there's
28:39
a gravitational pull for all of us away from
28:41
God called sin. And left to ourselves, does anybody
28:45
know if I take this heavy bolt and put it in
28:47
this water, what will happen? Any predictions?
28:50
It's going to sink. Let's test this theory. My
28:53
lands, we're an amazing group. Now, the properties
28:58
of wood are quite different. If I take this piece
29:00
of wood and lay it in the water, can you tell
29:03
me what's going to happen? It's going to float.
29:05
Why? Is it better? It's different. It has a completely
29:10
different nature. What the Bible teaches in Romans
29:13
chapter 6, what Paul is explaining in verses
29:17
7 through 10 of Ephesians chapter 4, is that
29:20
Christ died in your place. He descended to the
29:26
lower parts of the earth. He declared victory
29:30
over the wicked. He proclaimed new life. He rose
29:35
from the dead. He's conquered sin. Death and
29:39
Satan. And the moment that you believe and trust
29:42
in him, you become a co -partaker by faith, which
29:47
is this rubber band. And so what you see is when
29:52
God the Father sees you, remember justified?
29:55
When God sees you, and you need to get this.
29:58
You need to get this in your intellect and get
30:01
it into your heart. God declared you righteous
30:04
based on his work. And when he looks at you,
30:07
Despite your experiential times of sin, he sees
30:11
you as righteous, as forgiven, as through the
30:14
lens of the blood of his son, as precious, as
30:18
a child, as adopted. You'll never be more loved
30:22
than you are today. And you're connected to him
30:25
forever. Now in this journey of sanctification,
30:29
how do I live out what's true of me? He says
30:32
this is how it works. Whatever is true of him
30:35
is now true of you. Now, can I pull the rubber
30:40
band off and get wet if I want to? Sure. I am
30:45
crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live.
30:47
Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And this life
30:51
I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God
30:54
who loves me and gave himself for me. It's not
31:00
religious activity. It's not a formula. It's
31:03
not my self -effort of trying hard. It's understanding
31:07
the bedrock truth that when you trusted Christ,
31:11
you're connected to him for all eternity. So
31:15
principle number one, life change begins with
31:18
the truth. Principle number two, we must act
31:21
on the truth for life change to occur. Life change
31:27
demands that we act on the truth. Do you know
31:30
what acting on the truth is called in the Bible?
31:33
Faith. Faith, that's what it is. Now, faith isn't
31:38
a feeling. Faith isn't some ooey -gooey thought.
31:40
Faith is believing what God has said to the point
31:44
of acting on it, whether I feel like it or not.
31:48
Let me say that again, because sometimes I think
31:49
we think, I don't have enough faith. You don't
31:51
have to feel anything. Faith. is believing what
31:56
God has said to the point I act on it whether
31:59
I feel like it or not. God says that sexual purity
32:02
is my will for this relationship. I don't feel
32:06
like that maybe in a relationship. And I say,
32:08
you know what? I'm gonna act on that. And the
32:10
moment I act and make provision to be sexually
32:13
pure, God gives grace. And then he does a lot
32:16
of wonderful things in that relationship that
32:18
sin block. Faith says, I'm gonna prioritize the
32:22
first portion of my life my future, my priorities,
32:26
and my relationships by what God says. I don't
32:29
always feel like loving my wife. I don't always
32:31
feel like turning off the remote and walking
32:33
over and dealing with one of my kids. I don't
32:35
always feel like doing, but when by faith I trust,
32:38
the other side of faith is the moment I take
32:40
that step, it's obedience and I get grace. That's
32:44
how transformation occurs. Left to myself, I
32:47
don't do very well. So there's community of people
32:49
who their gifts and their love and their encouragement
32:52
helped me on my walk. Because remember, what
32:53
did we learn about the little babies when they
32:55
walk? Step, step, step, great then, right? And
33:00
we're all going to keep falling. And we have
33:02
a heavenly father who understands, who says,
33:05
look, that's who you really are. My dad did not
33:10
grow up as a Christian. And I had been a Christian
33:13
a year. And you know, sometimes when God's changing
33:15
you, it's so close to you, you don't see how
33:16
it really works. And all I knew was what I just
33:20
shared with you about what Christ had done. I
33:23
trusted him in 1972. I went away to college and
33:27
there was a bricklayer who was a godly man who
33:30
came up and taught me how to get in the Bible
33:32
for myself. And so I started reading the Bible
33:34
in the mornings and I memorized, you know, just
33:37
a few verses. And I got in a small group and
33:40
did some Bible study. You know, little by little,
33:42
just the old was passing away and new had come,
33:44
but I had a long way to go. And I came home that
33:47
summer, and after about three weeks, my dad said,
33:49
what happened to you? I said, what do you mean?
33:53
He said, what happened to you? I said, I mean,
33:56
what do you mean what happened to me? There's
33:59
a piece about you I can't understand. And I said,
34:02
well, Dad, I... You know, we went to church,
34:05
but we didn't believe the Bible, and we didn't
34:07
know about a personal relationship to God, so
34:08
it was hard to say. I said, well, I put my faith
34:11
in Christ, and I have a new relationship with
34:14
God. So he said, well, how'd you get it? And
34:17
honestly, this is not really good news for the
34:19
people that were helping me, I suppose. I said,
34:21
I don't know. You know? And so eventually I just
34:25
said, well, the one key I said, I started reading
34:28
the Bible. And so, you know, you got an ex -Marine,
34:31
okay. That's how you do it. He got up at five
34:34
every morning, read the Bible for a year, almost.
34:37
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew, Mark,
34:38
Luke, and John. Then finally, like six months
34:40
into it, he goes, do these guys not know the
34:42
story? They keep telling the same story over
34:44
and over. And I had to say, well, actually, Dad,
34:46
you know, Mark's writing to the Romans and Luke
34:48
to the Greeks. And, you know, it's sort of a
34:50
composite picture. And after six months, my dad
34:53
comes to me. And, I mean, he'd been in religious
34:56
all his life. And in his own words, he would
34:58
say, I went to church whether I was drunk or
34:59
not. So he's a recovering alcoholic who, because
35:03
he knew he was going to lose his marriage, stopped
35:04
drinking a year earlier, and he wants to change
35:07
and doesn't know how. His kid comes home, and
35:09
there's something different. His kid can't explain
35:11
even, you know, I wish I could have said, oh,
35:14
Dad, it's a substitutionary work of Christ. He
35:17
died in your place on the cross, rose from the
35:19
dead. What he wants to do by faith turned to
35:21
him. I couldn't explain it. And so he just, but
35:24
here's the point. Truth. Life change begins with
35:28
the truth. He got in the Bible. I'll tell you,
35:31
with the people that I meet and talk to in terms
35:32
of their journey with God, I would much rather
35:35
have someone read the Bible with me and have
35:37
coffee and might put my arm around them as a
35:39
friend and let's just talk about what this is
35:41
like for months as opposed to someone feeling
35:44
some quick moment of guilt and praying a quick
35:46
prayer. Because I will tell you, God's word never
35:49
returns void. After six months, he says to me,
35:52
you know something? I don't know what this whole
35:55
deal is you have, but it has something to do
35:57
with faith. I mean, here's a guy that's never
36:00
read the Bible. It's faith. And I said, dad,
36:03
I think you're right. He says, so what do I do?
36:05
I said, I don't know. You know? So he goes another
36:09
nine months or so, and I go off to school, and
36:12
I get a call a little bit later, and he said,
36:14
I got it. I got it. I said, what do you mean
36:15
you got it? I'm a Christian now. I said, really?
36:18
What happened, Dad? He said, well, I knew it
36:20
was about faith. I kept reading, reading, reading,
36:21
and I don't know where it came from, but I was
36:23
walking by my dresser, and there was a little
36:25
pamphlet called The Four Spiritual Laws, and
36:27
I read it. It had all the stuff I've been reading.
36:29
God has a plan for your life. What separates
36:31
you from God is your sin. Christ died in your
36:33
place. You need to trust him by faith, and it
36:36
had a little prayer. And it was like, wow, so
36:38
that's how you do it. And he says, what I did
36:40
is I got down right on my bed, and I said, God,
36:42
I have killed thousands and thousands and thousands
36:44
of people, and I've lived with nightmares and
36:46
shame all my life, but I received the blood of
36:49
Jesus to forgive me right now at this moment.
36:51
And in my dad's late 50s, he came to Christ.
36:55
Life change begins with the truth. Life change
37:00
demands that we act on the truth by faith. Let
37:04
me give you the greatest example of acting on
37:06
the truth. At the very bottom, I put a little
37:08
chart, if you will, and I put a verse, because
37:12
it's truth, and I want you to get to act on it
37:14
if that's where you're at. The truth is Romans
37:17
6, 23. It says, for the wages of sin is death,
37:20
but the free gift of God is eternal life through
37:22
Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, what I've put there
37:25
is a picture of kind of like two cliffs, if you
37:28
will. There's us on this side, and there's God
37:32
on this side. And when you look at that, on the
37:35
us side, it says the wages. What are wages? It's
37:39
what you earn, right? It's what you get for what
37:41
you do. The wages of our sin, what's sin? It
37:45
just means you missed the mark. It means you
37:47
blow it. It means you had a thought that you
37:50
know was not a good thought. It means that, you
37:53
know, you know what's right to do, but you don't
37:54
do it. Everyone has sinned and falls short of
37:56
the glory of God. But the wages of sin, there's
38:00
this chasm, like in Luke 16. There's this chasm
38:04
that separates us from God forever. But the free
38:08
gift of God through Jesus, you have eternal life.
38:14
So what you need to do is you need to pull your
38:17
pen out, and I want you to make a bridge because
38:20
Jesus is the bridge to life. So make a little
38:23
bridge, okay? And once you make the horizontal
38:26
line, why don't you make it a really cool, nifty
38:28
bridge and put a vertical line. And if you put
38:32
a vertical line and a horizontal line, what do
38:34
you have there? You got a cross. Now here, we're
38:39
right back to what Jesus said. Jesus said, the
38:42
day will come when I'm gonna speak to all that
38:45
are dead. One day, all of us will be dead. And
38:48
one day, Jesus will return. And he said, truly,
38:51
truly, or verily, verily, it's just for emphasis,
38:54
this is really important, I say to all of you,
38:57
those of you who hear, my word and believe on
39:05
him who sent me has, present tense, eternal life.
39:10
So you are looking at truth. The truth is there's
39:14
a fact that the eternal son of God, fully man,
39:17
fully God, walked upon the earth, lived a perfect
39:19
life. He built a bridge and he paid for the wages
39:24
of your sin and he atoned or he's covering death.
39:28
And it's by grace, it's a complete free gift.
39:31
And if by faith you receive the free gift, you
39:34
move from this side of the bridge to the other
39:36
side. And according to Jesus, it means you hear
39:39
his word and then you believe. And when you do
39:44
that, the gift of eternal life, you're taken
39:48
from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of
39:50
light. You're free, you're forgiven, and you're
39:56
secure. There's some of you today that this is
40:01
the most wonderful day in your life ever. Today
40:04
is better than the day that you were born because
40:07
today's the day that you will be born a second
40:10
time or be born spiritually. Jesus said physical
40:13
life requires a physical birth. Spiritual life
40:16
requires a spiritual birth. If you have never
40:20
by faith not come to church, not tried to be
40:24
a moral person, not tried to read the Bible a
40:26
little bit. I'm not talking about giving to the
40:28
United Way. I'm not talking about being religious.
40:30
If you have never by faith said, I'm gonna trust
40:34
in the objective facts of what Christ did in
40:38
my place, then right now in your seat, the greatest
40:42
thing you could do is cry out to God. Whether
40:46
you feel or not feel is to say, your sin separates
40:50
you from God for all eternity. And God's word
40:54
says, his desire is that not one person would
40:57
perish. And so he's offered you a free gift.
41:00
And so you, by faith, say, I'm going to trust
41:04
in Christ. I want to be united to him. Will you
41:08
please forgive me right now? I'm sorry for my
41:11
sin. I turned from it. It's called repentance.
41:15
And I want to receive right now eternal life.
41:17
You can pray that in your seat right now at this
41:20
moment, and God will hear. Jesus came to give
41:24
you that today. Fact number one. His death and
41:29
resurrection is the key. Life change always begins
41:31
with the truth. Fact number two, you become a
41:34
co -partaker when you receive Christ personally.
41:38
Principle number two is life change demands that
41:41
we act on the truth. Remember when the conquering
41:45
victor, general, or king, when he was declaring
41:49
his victory, remember there's the military, he
41:52
humiliates his foes, but remember what's in the
41:54
back of the spoils? He gave gifts to everybody.
41:58
He gave gifts of what was conquered. So every
42:01
time people got a gift, they were reminded what?
42:04
The love of their king and the victory that they
42:06
shared in. Fact number three, every believer
42:09
is given a spiritual gift, a supernatural enabling
42:13
at the moment of salvation for two reasons. Every
42:17
believer. What does it mean? He gave gifts to
42:21
men. Reason number one, to remind us that life
42:24
change occurs on the basis of grace. not self
42:27
-effort. When that lady's milking that cow, when
42:31
that other lady sees the bracelet, when the blacksmith,
42:34
when he came through town, he said, hey, wow,
42:36
here, you can have a donkey and two camels. When
42:39
he's taking care of those animals, he's reminded,
42:41
my king won a great victory. The evidence and
42:46
reminder that I was given this gift is my king's
42:51
work for me. And that's the imagery. Can you
42:55
imagine what would happen if every time you used
42:57
your spiritual gift, if you really discovered
42:59
what it was, and you realized you have this supernatural,
43:02
sacred endowment that you use to get to love
43:06
people in a supernatural way, that it would remind
43:09
you it's a gift. Your salvation is a gift. The
43:14
second reason is to be empowered as other -centered
43:17
agents of grace who supply what others need to
43:21
be transformed into the likeness of Christ. Remember,
43:25
if life change happens in community, sort of
43:27
in that spiritual cocoon, well, I was pretty
43:31
honest with you. This last week, I wasn't humble
43:34
and gentle and patient and bearing with and making
43:36
every effort all the time. I had a lot of the
43:39
right side. And you know what I need? To learn
43:43
to be humble, I need people that put me first.
43:45
I need people that'll be patient with me. I need
43:48
people that won't be critical and judgmental,
43:50
that will be grace -filled and loving and kind.
43:52
Because you know what happens? Whoever you're
43:54
around, you become like. And when the Jesus inside
43:57
of you and the Jesus inside of me, as we do life
44:01
together from the heart honestly, the Spirit
44:03
of God will take your gifts and meet my needs
44:06
and my gifts to meet your needs. And so you'll
44:09
have wisdom and I'll make a great decision to
44:10
experience God. Or I'll really blow it and I'll
44:13
feel ashamed and down on myself and beat myself
44:15
up and the enemy will say, see Ingram, you're
44:17
a lousy, stinking, and you'll have the gift of
44:19
mercy and you'll say, no, no, no, no, no, Chip.
44:22
That's your experience. That's who you are. God
44:24
loves you. The world's not over. And so it gives
44:28
us power as we use our gifts with one another.
44:32
The principle is life change is both a gift and
44:36
a responsibility. It's a gift. You're listening
44:42
to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. and a
44:45
message called, Where Do We Get the Power to
44:47
Change? It's part of Chip's latest series, Free
44:50
at Last, How to Break Out of a Destructive Lifestyle.
44:53
Well, Chip has a final word for us in just a
44:55
moment. Life change is both a gift and a responsibility.
44:59
That's where Chip landed today. And it's the
45:02
thread running through every page of his book,
45:04
Yes, You Really Can Change. It's honest, hopeful,
45:08
and written for anyone who genuinely wants their
45:10
faith to stop being something they know and start
45:13
being something they actually live. And for a
45:16
limited time, we're including a second copy with
45:18
every order, one to keep, one to give to someone
45:21
who's ready to take this step with you. So get
45:23
your copy of Yes, You Really Can Change and a
45:26
copy for someone you know by going online to
45:29
livingontheedge .org slash offers. If Living
45:33
on the Edge is making a difference in your life,
45:36
we'd love your help to keep it going. Every gift,
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whatever the amount, goes directly toward reaching
45:41
more people with this kind of practical biblical
45:44
teaching. Give online at livingontheedge .org
45:47
or by phone at 888 -333 -6003. You can also reach
45:53
us by mail at Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007,
45:58
Atlanta, Georgia 30024. And every message in
46:02
this series will also be available on the Living
46:05
on the Edge podcast. Subscribe so you can get
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46:11
And the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast has every
46:14
sermon in full, unedited from start to finish.
46:17
Find it wherever you listen. Well, now here's
46:20
Chip. For the last two days, we've been talking
46:22
about how to experience Christ's resurrection
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power in our lives. There's three transformational
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principles we've dealt with. Number one, life
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change always begins with the truth. Number two,
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life change demands that we act on the truth.
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And number three, life change is both a gift
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and a responsibility. Today, as I begin to apply
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that, I talked about the evidence of walking
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by faith and God having the first portion of
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our money and the first portion of our time.
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And then I talked about that very sensitive area
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of forgiveness. And I want to camp there. I want
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to stop there. I sense that maybe many of you
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listening to my voice have an issue with forgiveness.
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I can't imagine how many people with ex -mates,
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bad bosses, rebellious kids, abusive parents,
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have unforgiveness in your heart and your life
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that is quenching the power of God. The application
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today is release them. Forgive them. It's not
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a feeling. It's a choice. It's a decision. And
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I want to call you before God right now to act
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on the truth that you know. They don't deserve
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it. They have hurt you. But you release them,
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you entrust them to God's justice, and you make
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a commitment that you will not bring up in your
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mind negative, destructive thoughts, or you will
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not say negative, destructive things about them.
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You let it go. You forgive. And then I want to
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encourage you that to seal that deal, begin today
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praying for them, asking God to encourage them
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and help them, and literally even bless them.
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Remember those words of Jesus, bless those who
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persecute you. Who do you need to forgive? Do
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it today. That's the end of today's program.
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Join us next time as we continue our series,
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Free at Last, How to Break Out of a Destructive
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Lifestyle. That's next time with Chip Ingram
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on Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced
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and sponsored by Living on the Edge.