A Sharper Focus

Our Greatest Need -part 1

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. John Lomacang

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Series Code: ASHF

Program Code: ASHF000168A


00:18 Hello friends, welcome to our Wednesday night Bible study
00:21 here at the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:22 We welcome you with a hearty amen.
00:25 And we thank you for taking the time to tune in for
00:27 a Bible study that I believe is going to be thought provoking.
00:32 I'd like to invite you to get your Bibles and pens,
00:34 invite your family and your friends, and stay with us
00:37 for the next 57 minutes, or however long we have.
00:41 It doesn't go beyond 8:00 o'clock,
00:42 if you are in the Central time zone.
00:44 But if you are joining us from around the world,
00:46 thank you so much for tuning in.
00:48 I'd like to get the best use of our time.
00:50 After we have the prayer I'll tell you how to get a
00:52 copy of the lesson.
00:54 We will sing our theme song and we'll dive into our
00:56 topic entitled, The Truth About Our Greatest Need.
01:00 So let's have a word of prayer together.
01:02 Loving Father in heaven, we thank You for the opportunity
01:05 and privilege that You present to us when we open our hearts
01:09 as we open Your Word.
01:12 Send Your Holy Spirit tonight, Lord, to be our Teacher
01:15 and our Guide.
01:16 And may our understand increase.
01:19 But also may our dedication by Your indwelling Spirit increase.
01:23 In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
01:28 Lesson number 39, if you'd like to get a copy of that,
01:30 go to this website, the website is...
01:38 Download lesson number 39, Our Greatest Need.
01:43 What is the lesson title tonight?
01:46 Our Greatest Need.
01:49 And it has fourteen questions so far.
01:54 But as you know, I add more questions as the lesson goes on.
01:58 This is, to me, probably one of the most vital topics
02:03 I'm going to be covering,
02:04 because it talks about our greatest need.
02:07 And I'll preface that with a few more statements
02:09 on the other side of the song.
02:11 But right now we're going to sing our theme song which is,
02:13 Victory in Jesus.
02:15 Let's sing that together.
02:25 I heard an old, old story how the Savior came from glory,
02:33 how He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me.
02:40 I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood's atoning.
02:48 Then I repented of my sins and won the victory.
02:55 O victory in Jesus, my Savior forever.
03:03 He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood.
03:10 He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him.
03:18 He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.
03:26 I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory,
03:33 and I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea,
03:41 about the angels singing and the old redemption story.
03:48 And some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of victory.
03:56 O victory in Jesus, my Savior forever.
04:03 He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood.
04:11 He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him.
04:18 He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.
04:26 He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.
04:36 Amen.
04:38 Our Greatest Need.
04:41 The Truth About Our Greatest Need,
04:45 is the study of our topic tonight.
04:47 And I'm sure it's going to be the next broadcast,
04:49 and the next broadcast.
04:51 Because we're covering a large list of very important items.
04:57 Among our greatest needs, we're going to also talk about:
05:00 What is grace?
05:01 What is repentance?
05:03 What is confession?
05:05 How these elements of the Christian walk
05:09 fit into our daily lives, and how important it is
05:14 to understand how they apply to our walk.
05:17 Why do we need grace?
05:18 Why is it important to repent before we are baptized?
05:22 And how many people repent anymore?
05:25 How many people even say, "I have something to repent of."
05:29 How many people look at membership rather than
05:32 a new fellowship with Christ?
05:34 Some people say, "I want to join the church.
05:35 What does your church believe?"
05:37 rather than, "How am I to change?"
05:39 "Who am I to follow?"
05:41 "How is my life going to be different?"
05:42 And so these are really important aspects.
05:44 That's why I entitled it, let's say it together,
05:47 Our Greatest Need.
05:51 Our Greatest Need.
05:54 There you go. Our Greatest Need.
05:57 You don't say, "That was a great dinner."
06:00 "That was a great dinner."
06:02 So we're going to talk about our greatest need.
06:03 Now to dive right into it,
06:05 I'd like to go to our first question.
06:07 Because we have quite a bit to cover.
06:08 And as I lead into it, what I want to ask you,
06:12 or actually lay the foundation for is,
06:15 we live in a world where, when storms hit, when hurricanes hit,
06:22 when fires hit, when floods hit, when we lose the things that
06:28 we have relied on so much; a house, a roof over our head,
06:33 our food, our cars that are often washed away in floods
06:37 or destroyed in earthquakes, or become the victim of tsunamis,
06:43 all these basic things that we spend a lot of money on,
06:47 when you look at the relief effort, people don't say,
06:52 "I need another car."
06:54 They say, "I just want some food.
06:56 I want some water.
06:59 I want some place to lay my head.
07:02 I just need the basic necessities."
07:05 And all of a sudden, the things that they spent a lot of
07:07 money on lose their significance
07:09 when it comes down to the basic things.
07:10 "Just give me some fresh water.
07:12 I need some food.
07:14 It wouldn't hurt to have the air conditioning,
07:16 but I can forgo that if I could just have some
07:18 place to lay my head."
07:19 And so in our world today, which is a world
07:21 wracked by disasters...
07:23 And I'm sure that many of you that are watching the program,
07:25 not to date this program, but many of you that watch
07:29 the program or listen to the program know that our world is
07:31 at any given moment another disaster can break out.
07:35 We are on the verge, in some cases, of nuclear war
07:40 or nuclear exchange.
07:42 And there is no such thing as limited nuclear exchange.
07:46 It's like limited annihilation.
07:48 There is no such thing.
07:50 But we live in a world where the basic needs are often ignored
07:53 until the things that we have leaned on are no longer there.
07:57 So tonight that's why I want to begin with
07:59 one of the most basic needs.
08:01 And the first question is a very thought provoking question,
08:04 which is as follows.
08:06 Question number one.
08:19 Now we know He's willing about a lot of things,
08:21 but what's the only thing He's unwilling about?
08:24 Let us go to 2 Peter 3:9.
08:29 2 Peter 3:9
08:33 Those of you that know your Bible,
08:35 you know where I'm headed.
08:36 But let's let the Bible speak for our topic tonight.
08:40 Since it is our first verse, let's read this one together.
08:43 Here we are.
09:00 Isn't that good news?
09:02 So when you thing about it, if you were to put Jesus
09:05 in our society today, and He's walking past
09:07 people in the grocery store, or people on the train,
09:10 or people in the restaurant, or people just in general,
09:14 just passing them by, and somebody would say,
09:19 "What about him, Lord?"
09:20 "I'm not willing that he should perish."
09:22 "What about her?"
09:23 "I'm not willing that she should perish."
09:25 "What about them?"
09:27 "I'm not willing that they should perish."
09:28 The only ones that Jesus had a difficult time with
09:32 were those that did not have a sense of their own need.
09:36 And He talked about it in a sense, He said,
09:37 "If you were sick, I could do something for you.
09:41 I'm the master Physician, but you don't admit
09:45 that you even have an illness.
09:47 So I can't do anything for you.
09:49 I've come to help those who know they need a physician."
09:52 But what I like about this is, He says,
09:53 "I'm not willing that any should..." What?
09:56 "...that any should perish."
09:58 Thus John 3:16, that, "Whosoever believeth in Him
10:03 should not perish."
10:05 So this whole idea that there are those that
10:08 are predestined to be lost and those predestined to be saved
10:11 is not true about Christ.
10:13 Nobody is born to be lost.
10:15 Everyone is born with an opportunity to be saved.
10:19 And let me reiterate, no one is born to be determined
10:22 to be destroyed.
10:24 We are born in a lost condition.
10:27 But no one is born to be determined to be lost.
10:30 Each one makes a decision for him or herself.
10:34 So let's write this down.
10:35 What is the only thing that Jesus is unwilling about?
10:38 What is it about?
10:40 He's unwilling that any should perish.
10:43 When you go back and look at the Bible statistics,
10:47 you ask yourself, how is it that only eight people
10:49 got saved in Noah's day?
10:51 It wasn't that He was unwilling to save them,
10:53 it's that they were unwilling to receive salvation.
10:57 So for something to be effective,
10:59 you've got to receive it.
11:01 I say to people, and I do this sometimes in the context of
11:06 prayer meeting, inviting people to prayer meeting,
11:08 or sometimes I'd say, "If you're really hungry,
11:12 turn on the television, wait till the commercial comes on.
11:15 If you see a really nice dinner, look at that dinner,
11:18 and see if you get any nourishment."
11:20 You really don't.
11:21 Right?
11:22 You have to receive it.
11:24 It has to be ingested.
11:25 It has to be masticated, you have to chew it.
11:28 You have to ingest.
11:29 You have to chew on the Word of God.
11:31 And so, when it comes to salvation,
11:33 one of the first things we have to keep in mind
11:35 is the Lord can't do anything for anyone
11:38 who doesn't acknowledge his or her condition.
11:41 But He's not willing that they should perish.
11:42 He doesn't give up anybody to be lost.
11:45 They make that their own decision.
11:47 But now here's a passage that is very important.
11:52 Because I've heard people sometimes say,
11:54 "Well you know, there are people that are going to burn in hell
12:01 forever and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever."
12:09 I have to just keep saying it for it to be forever.
12:12 But I'm not going to do that. I only have but so much time.
12:14 They say people are going to burn throughout
12:16 eternity ceaselessly.
12:19 But that's not in the Scriptures.
12:20 Because if that were the case, then this scripture
12:23 that we're going to read in just a moment here
12:24 would not be true about the character of Christ.
12:28 So let's look at the next question.
12:29 Look at the next question.
12:31 The question is, what is God's great appeal to humanity?
12:42 This is an amazing appeal.
12:43 Moses extended this to the Israelites.
12:49 Noah extended this to the antediluvian world.
12:51 And every place where you find salvation and loss
12:54 at the same intersection,
12:57 you find both of these elements there.
12:59 But notice what Jesus extended, or the great appeal to humanity.
13:03 Let's look at this together.
13:05 He says, "For I have..." What?
13:19 Turn and live.
13:21 Which means, some of us are already on the
13:23 road to destruction.
13:25 But as the saying goes, if you're going in the
13:28 wrong direction, God allows what?
13:31 God allows U-turns.
13:33 But now here's the other aspect of it which we're going to
13:35 find out in just a moment.
13:37 It is not, if you're on the road
13:40 or if you're moving in the wrong direction.
13:43 It is, you'll find in the next few verses
13:45 or in the next few questions,
13:47 we were all born moving in the wrong direction.
13:52 So Jesus didn't just come to change our standing,
13:55 He came to change our direction.
13:59 And every time you look in the Bible on the place of
14:01 righteousness, you find the sheep on the right hand,
14:05 the way of salvation is the right hand,
14:07 we have pleasures at His right hand.
14:10 Every time the right hand.
14:11 You'll never see salvation referred to as the left hand.
14:14 The goats are on the left.
14:16 The way of destruction is on the left.
14:18 Strangely enough they have songs that say,
14:20 "To the left, to the left."
14:24 Anyway, you might have caught that.
14:27 So here's the question, what is God's great appeal
14:30 to humanity?
14:31 What is God's great appeal?
14:33 Three words.
14:35 Turn and live. Write that down.
14:36 Turn and live. Turn and live.
14:39 It's kind of like the flashing railroad signs,
14:42 the bridge out signs, the roadblocks.
14:48 Turn and live.
14:50 But there are those who are speeding to their destruction
14:54 because they don't understand their greatest need.
14:57 Thus far we've discovered that He's not willing
14:59 that any should perish.
15:01 But there's an action that each person has to take.
15:02 And what is the action?
15:04 We have to what? Turn and live.
15:07 The Lord doesn't turn anybody's shoulder.
15:09 He invites.
15:11 This is the way, this is the way; walk in it.
15:14 But you've got to make the decision.
15:16 He doesn't put anybody on the conveyor belt to salvation,
15:19 but He offers them a place in the journey of salvation.
15:23 Now, look at the next question.
15:26 The next question.
15:27 Why is the appeal for salvation life, or eternal life,
15:33 I put, "salvation life," so vital?
15:34 Which, in fact, it's not just salvation, but it is a life.
15:37 Okay?
15:43 Why is it so vital?
15:44 Let's go to Romans 3:23.
15:47 Romans 3:23
15:52 So vital.
15:53 Sometimes you think of vital statistics.
15:59 Or the vitality of life.
16:01 Why is the appeal for salvation so vital to all?
16:08 Let's look at this together.
16:10 Romans 3:23
16:11 And I'd like to invite you to read this one with me.
16:14 Are we ready? Let's read it together.
16:24 What I've learned in times of disaster
16:27 is that disaster doesn't care how much your house cost.
16:34 Flood doesn't care how much you paid.
16:36 Water doesn't say, "Oh, that's an expensive car.
16:38 Let's go around it."
16:40 No.
16:41 Everything that is in the path of destruction
16:44 will be destroyed when any kind of calamity comes.
16:50 And in reality here, the calamity that each one of us
16:54 could avoid is in fact, based on this text, it says,
16:57 "For all have done..." What?
16:59 Sinned.
17:00 Every one of us is in a fallen condition.
17:03 We're born into that. That's our lot.
17:05 So why is the appeal for salvation so vital?
17:09 Why?
17:11 All have sinned.
17:12 All have sinned.
17:14 And when you look at that, if you compare that to
17:17 the other verses in the Bible such as 1 Corinthians 15:22,
17:21 the word here, or specifically the definition here,
17:25 "for all have sinned," is not just at the point of
17:29 accountability, but all are in the condition of sin.
17:33 All have inherited what Adam has given to them.
17:37 As in Adam, all die.
17:39 Even so, in Christ all shall be made alive.
17:42 Notice, provision for all on both sides.
17:46 The Lord can save everyone if we respond to His invitation.
17:52 Now, number four is very important because it talks about
17:58 the biblical description of sin.
18:00 Let's look at number four together.
18:03 Number four.
18:09 Let's look at four categories.
18:14 I've decided to look a little deeper into the Bible,
18:17 because a lot of times we go over the same scriptures.
18:20 But I decided, Lord, I know there are thousands
18:23 of scriptures in the Bible.
18:26 Let's look at a new one tonight.
18:29 Isaiah 48:8
18:31 This is an amazing one.
18:33 Maybe you have read it, maybe you have not.
18:35 But let's read this together.
18:37 The first word, "Surely..."
18:59 Wow!
19:01 Wow!
19:03 So this baby comes out into an environment,
19:08 and if you follow this text you look down at the baby and say,
19:13 "You are such a beautiful transgressor."
19:17 We wouldn't say that, would we?
19:18 Oh we say, "He looks so innocent, so cute."
19:23 Miss their feeding time.
19:25 Right?
19:27 Mothers, do you know what I'm talking about?
19:29 Miss the feeding time.
19:31 They look at you like they're saying,
19:32 "You better be glad I'm not bigger than this."
19:35 Right?
19:36 Because I've heard babies cry with a vehement wail.
19:41 They don't cry cute. They wail.
19:45 I was reminded recently on a flight my wife and I were on.
19:48 We were going to Bogota, Columbia.
19:51 And there were two babies in front of us
19:53 and a baby behind us.
19:55 And thus the reason I always carry two pairs of ear plugs
20:00 or headsets.
20:01 Because I will not be digested by the crying of a baby.
20:05 And when they cry on those planes, they really wail out.
20:08 But that's what they do.
20:11 That's their nature.
20:12 And the Bible describes that from the very moment
20:14 that we were born, we were what?
20:17 Transgressors.
20:19 We were transgressors.
20:21 It just took time for us to manifest whatever that sin was.
20:25 But we had the nature immediately.
20:28 And David says it the other way.
20:29 He says, "In sin, my mother did conceive me."
20:32 He didn't say, "My mother was a sinner when she conceived me,"
20:34 which in fact was true, but he's in essence saying,
20:36 "The environment to which I was born was an environment of sin."
20:40 I was born this way.
20:43 That's why each one of us must be born again.
20:46 Very important to understand.
20:48 So the answer,
20:50 how does the Bible describe the sin condition?
20:52 What did you put for "A"?
20:54 Transgressor from the womb.
20:56 Wow!
20:59 That would really revolutionize the nursery.
21:06 "Transgressors in this section."
21:09 I don't think the parents would like that.
21:13 But now this is the first one.
21:16 By the way, question number four, to me,
21:18 is the reality check.
21:20 It's the reality check.
21:21 Just when you think that you're just above or below,
21:25 or to the side, or elevated above someone else,
21:28 question four comes into play.
21:30 Now let's look at the other one.
21:31 Ephesians 4:18
21:34 Ephesians 4:18
21:37 Wow, wow, this is just...
21:40 When I was looking these text up, it was just
21:42 another reminder of how important it is to have a
21:45 walking relationship with Jesus.
21:48 Ephesians 4:18, look at what the Bible says.
22:08 That's the natural condition.
22:10 Let's look at that again.
22:12 "Understanding darkened," means you can't understand.
22:14 That's why when people say to me when I'm sharing in the Bible,
22:17 a particular teaching the Bible, they say,
22:21 "I don't see how the Sabbath is important."
22:23 I say, "I understand that."
22:25 Because you can't see.
22:28 Unless you are born again, we cannot see.
22:33 Unless one is born of the water and of the Spirit,
22:35 they cannot see.
22:37 So when people say, "I don't see what's wrong with this,"
22:39 or, "I don't see what's wrong with that,"
22:40 or, "I don't see what's wrong with going there,"
22:42 or wearing this, or eating that,
22:44 or this kind of activity, that is exactly what the Bible says.
22:47 Their understanding is what?
22:49 Darkened.
22:51 And why?
22:52 Being alienated from God.
22:55 Now God is light. Is He not? Amen?
22:58 So if He's light and you're alienated, where are you?
23:02 In the dark.
23:03 You can't see without light.
23:05 We all know that.
23:07 The other thing that results from being alienated from God:
23:12 ignorance.
23:13 Now sometimes people take the word, "ignorance,"
23:15 as a bad word.
23:16 Because growing up in New York, people use to say,
23:18 "You're just ignorant."
23:19 And we thought that was a bad word.
23:21 What it just simply means is, you don't understand.
23:23 Meaning, you don't know.
23:24 But in this case, it simply means that their understanding
23:28 is darkened.
23:30 That's why the Bible says the entrance of God's word
23:33 brings light.
23:35 Am I right?
23:38 The entrance of God's word brings light.
23:41 And then it talks about the blindness of their heart.
23:44 How many of you see with your heart?
23:47 Raise your hand.
23:52 I'll do it for you.
23:55 Because we do see with our heart.
23:57 Because what you love,
24:02 what you focus on, what really grabs your affection,
24:07 is where your heart usually is.
24:10 But when your heart is not in it, you're blind.
24:16 Somebody once said, "Love is blind."
24:17 That's not true.
24:19 That's the most misunderstood statement I've ever heard.
24:22 God is love. Amen, somebody?
24:24 If God is love, love can't be blind.
24:26 You see how they put love and blindness together?
24:29 No, the carnal heart is blind.
24:32 The blindness of the heart.
24:34 That's why the Word of God is needed on a day by day basis.
24:37 So far, so far we have transgressor from the womb.
24:41 Now the other thing is, you can summarize it
24:44 in any way you'd like to do that.
24:46 But let's go to the third one.
24:48 Let's go to Jeremiah 17:9.
24:50 Summarize it the way that you feel
24:52 will best fit your understanding.
24:54 The third one.
24:56 This is one you cannot find out with a stethoscope.
25:01 Jeremiah 17:9
25:04 Hmm.
25:09 This is the passage I've always thought of
25:11 to tell people when they say, "Well my neighbor
25:14 has a good heart."
25:17 Well according to this...
25:19 The Bible says, together, "The heart is..." What?
25:31 That means you don't know what to expect.
25:34 When a person is not regenerated, when a person
25:36 hasn't given his or her life to Christ,
25:38 you don't know what's coming next.
25:40 Because the heart is what? Deceitful.
25:42 The word, "deceitful," means, it's like a mouse
25:46 looking for an opening.
25:48 It's like a mouse that's sniffing everything
25:50 making sure this is not a trap.
25:52 It's like a mouse that comes to capitalize.
25:55 You've just cleaned your house up,
25:57 you just put everything away nice in your closet,
26:01 and the mouse comes overnight and
26:02 chews a hole in your cereal box.
26:05 Because if there's a way for that deceitful mouse
26:08 to find his way in, he's going to find his way in.
26:12 And then you can't find him.
26:13 That's why it says, "Who can know it?"
26:14 You can't, you cannot know.
26:16 The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.
26:19 That's why we all need Jesus.
26:20 Can somebody say amen?
26:23 The condition is amazing.
26:24 See, I'm laying the foundation here because
26:26 we have to understand our condition
26:30 before we understand how beautiful the Savior is.
26:32 We've got to understand our true standing
26:37 before we understand whether or not we need to be
26:39 wheeled into surgery, spiritual surgery.
26:42 If we are put on a gurney and we're being wheeled
26:45 into surgery, and the doctor says, "What's your problem?"
26:48 "I have no idea."
26:50 Then you better get off the gurney.
26:53 But if you say, "I've got a bad heart,
26:57 I can't see, I don't understand anything,
27:01 I think I have insomnia," whatever the case may be,
27:05 "I can't sleep," when you understand your condition,
27:08 then you know you need a physician.
27:10 And these are conditions that are being described as
27:12 the spiritual, let me use the word here,
27:18 our spiritual bankruptcy.
27:21 These are the places that we are
27:23 when it comes to the human nature.
27:25 Look at the other one. Look at the other one.
27:28 This is Ephesians 2:1.
27:30 So for "C", you put what?
27:32 Heart problems. Heart problems.
27:35 That's a good one. Heart trouble.
27:37 And "D", here it is.
27:39 Ephesians 2:1
27:51 Now you might think, why put trespasses and sins?
27:56 Understand the two.
27:58 It's very important to understand the difference
27:59 between a trespass and sins.
28:02 Sins were often things that people just
28:06 were gravitatedly drawn to.
28:09 They repeated.
28:11 And the word there, "sins," can be better described
28:13 as a pet sin.
28:16 Trespasses were things that people did, they stumbled into
28:21 or they did it unintentionally.
28:23 And there in the Old Testament, when you study in the book of
28:25 Leviticus and Deuteronomy, look up, "trespass offerings."
28:30 Trespass offerings.
28:32 For the person, and this is a very great example,
28:35 it says, if you are out cutting a tree down
28:38 and the ax slips out of your hand and killed your neighbor,
28:43 unintentionally, you must offer a trespass offering.
28:49 And you must remunerate, or not pay, but give something
28:53 to the family who has been injured.
28:55 And that is something that can be forgiven.
28:59 Right, but the next one is the city of refuge.
29:02 But then if you are out just killing folk with an ax,
29:07 that's not a trespass, that's an intentional act.
29:10 And it's okay if people pursue you to kill you.
29:17 That's where the city of refuge comes in.
29:20 You've got to run. But only for those...
29:23 The city of refuge is not a haven for criminals,
29:27 but it's a place where we meet with the high priest
29:31 if we have a heart of repentance.
29:33 You don't run into the city of refuge and wait till
29:35 people go to sleep and come back out and keep killing folk.
29:38 No, the city of refuge is, you run in to be saved.
29:42 And the high priest waits for you at the door.
29:44 He can't come out, you've got to go in.
29:47 And here's the beauty of it.
29:49 As long as the high priest lives, you are safe.
29:52 So now you see in the Bible, I think it's Hebrews 7:25,
29:55 we'll get there later on, but it says, "He ever lives."
29:58 Amen, somebody?
30:00 So any time you want to run into the city of refuge,
30:02 or into the arms of Christ, He ever lives.
30:06 He's always there.
30:07 You're not going to run and find, "Where is He?"
30:11 He ever lives to make intercession for us.
30:15 So on "D" you'll put, dead in trespasses and sin.
30:22 These are the conditions that we're in.
30:23 So you might meet a person that is very wealthy,
30:25 a person that's good, that has great means,
30:28 or you might meet a person that just has nothing.
30:31 From the person with absolutely nothing to the person with
30:34 appearingly almost everything, each one of those individuals
30:39 without Christ falls into all four of these categories.
30:44 No deception here.
30:47 But let's keep going.
30:49 This lesson is to paint the most horrible picture
30:52 so that the next lesson can paint the most beautiful.
30:55 And we're going to transition somewhere along the way.
30:57 So you're not going to leave here depressed.
31:00 You're going to leave here encouraged.
31:01 Amen?
31:02 Let's go to number five, though.
31:04 We've got to get all the conditions outlined here.
31:06 Very important.
31:08 Okay, question number five.
31:17 What if we put on the most expensive perfume?
31:20 What about the most expensive suit?
31:23 What about if we got a new haircut?
31:26 Nice clothes?
31:28 Beautiful house?
31:29 There's a problem.
31:30 How capable are we?
31:32 Look at what the Bible says in Jeremiah 13:23.
31:35 Jeremiah, those prophets that told it like it is.
31:39 The Bible says...
31:47 The answer? No. But look at this.
31:58 The word, "accustomed," means evil is a trend in your life.
32:02 And the person without Christ is...
32:04 Let's use the analogy here.
32:07 You find some dark analogies in the Scriptures.
32:10 But the word there, "accustomed," is tending toward
32:14 Genesis about the antediluvian where their thoughts
32:17 and intentions were only evil, how?
32:19 Continually.
32:21 And so when you look about it, if you think of a person who
32:24 is a liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, lair, liar, liar,
32:29 thief, thief, thief, thief, thief,
32:30 murderer, murderer, murderer, murderer,
32:31 and they have no resentment, no desire to change,
32:35 no second plan to accept Christ,
32:38 they get to the point where they are calcified in their lives.
32:44 Because they are accustomed.
32:46 Have you ever met somebody who is just almost at the point
32:50 where they just lie naturally?
32:59 We had somebody in our family once that said that,
33:01 "If their lips are moving, they're lying."
33:04 You ever heard that before?
33:06 "So what do you..." "You're lying."
33:09 "So what..." "You're lying."
33:10 "Let me see your homework."
33:12 I remember growing up I knew someone that,
33:16 "Did you get any homework?" "Nope, did it in class today."
33:19 So the teacher and I created a pact.
33:22 Now I'm not going to ask, I'm not going to say
33:25 male or female, I'm not going to ask my family member
33:28 if he or she has homework.
33:31 I'm going to tell you to call me
33:33 and tell me that they have homework.
33:36 It's amazing what the human heart will do.
33:38 And the things that they will do just to get away
33:42 from doing homework.
33:43 Photocopy stuff and photocopy...
33:46 You know, young people are foolish at times.
33:50 So I said to the teacher, "You send home a sheet of paper
33:56 with the specific instructions on it."
33:58 And the paper had lines on it.
34:01 And I'll look at that, and I'll sign it.
34:04 And if they come back tomorrow with my signature,
34:07 then that means I saw it.
34:08 What do you think the first attempt will be?
34:11 Try to sign it.
34:13 Well the teacher figured that one out.
34:17 So the next thing they did was to try to,
34:20 I had a photocopy machine,
34:22 so they put a blank sheet of paper over a piece of paper
34:26 that had lines.
34:28 A paper with no lines over a piece of paper that had lines.
34:32 And they photocopied the paper with no lines
34:34 to cover the paper that had lines.
34:36 And then they gave me the photocopy and said,
34:38 "See, I don't have any homework."
34:40 I said, "I've never seen a piece of paper that
34:42 runs out of lines halfway.
34:47 So why is this the only sheet of paper I've ever seen
34:50 that has lines only halfway down?"
34:54 "I don't know."
34:56 Come to find out, accustomed to doing evil.
35:01 Thank the Lord that person I'm referring to grew up.
35:04 Amen?
35:06 But that's the human heart. Accustomed.
35:08 We get so, we practice evil to the point where
35:13 when a heart is deceitful and desperately wicked,
35:18 and doesn't even sense his or her need of Christ,
35:21 they become, the term that's used often times in the
35:23 criminal world, they become career criminals.
35:27 Or they are career sinners.
35:31 Accustomed to do evil.
35:33 And they can't change.
35:35 This is something that's very important.
35:37 A person cannot change his or her ways.
35:43 Cannot do it.
35:45 I wish I had that quotation in front of me.
35:47 We cannot not, we can't say, "Okay, you know what?
35:52 Today I'm not doing it."
36:02 They could stand there.
36:03 The moment they move from that spot, they're going to do it.
36:07 That's why they say "Never say,
36:09 'I'm not going to eat the doughnut.
36:11 I am not going to eat the doughnut.'"
36:14 You know what happens?
36:16 The doughnut is gone.
36:18 It's a psychological conditioning.
36:20 The very thing you focus on that you're not going to do,
36:24 you do.
36:25 Paul said it. Didn't he say that in Romans?
36:28 "That which I don't want to do, that's what I'm doing.
36:31 And what I want to do, that's not...
36:33 I hate myself. Oh wretched man that I am."
36:37 So don't think that this is willpower.
36:39 This is not a study about willpower.
36:41 This is a study about our need of the power that Jesus offers
36:46 that is not native to us.
36:48 Amen?
36:50 The power outside of ourselves.
36:53 Cannot do it.
36:55 Let's go to the next question. Number six.
36:57 Cannot do it.
36:59 Cannot do it.
37:01 What did I say?
37:02 Cannot do it.
37:04 Just make sure it's clear.
37:06 Okay. Here it is.
37:16 We live in a world with multiplicity.
37:19 Duplicity is just two choices.
37:21 But multiplicity.
37:22 Meaning, we say, "I want to be Christian, Buddhist, Muslim,
37:28 Hindu, Sikh, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness..."
37:33 And the list goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on.
37:35 We think of multiplicity.
37:37 And often times people pick what fits them better.
37:45 So they say, "I want to be in this religion
37:49 or that religion."
37:50 But what I like about this question, it guides us
37:54 and it narrows down our options to just very minimal.
38:01 What options do we have in searching for salvation?
38:04 Look at Acts 4:12.
38:07 What options do we have?
38:08 People say, "What are the options?"
38:10 What options do we have...
38:13 ...in this world where Jesus is being denied?
38:19 Acts 4:12, the Bible says...
38:35 And what is that name? Somebody tell me.
38:38 The name is Jesus.
38:40 "He shall save His people from their sins."
38:43 Matthew 1:21
38:46 Luke 19:10, "He comes to seek and save that which was lost."
38:49 And in the world today, I could see how there's a
38:52 great controversy going on.
38:54 Because the devil makes people think,
38:56 "Oh, you don't really need Jesus."
38:57 So in some religions they make Him a good prophet,
39:00 some they make Him a good teacher,
39:02 Some they say, "Well, it's obvious He was around."
39:04 But then if you think about all the other prophets,
39:06 and teachers, and philosophers that have existed
39:09 in our world today, whether in the area of
39:13 psychology, music, or religion, or whatever the area may be,
39:17 no singular man has impacted the world as Jesus has.
39:22 Amen?
39:23 I mean, the entire dating system of the world
39:25 is based on His existence.
39:28 B.C., which is what?
39:31 Which is, "Before Christ."
39:33 And A.D., "Anno Domini;" "in the year of our Lord."
39:37 So when people say,
39:38 "Well, Jesus is a fictitious character."
39:42 Who would impact the world in such a way...
39:49 ...as a fictitious character?
39:52 He is not a fictitious character.
39:54 Jesus is real. What do you say?
39:58 There's no salvation in any other.
39:59 What options do we have?
40:01 There's only one name. And the name is Jesus.
40:04 Wow!
40:07 Now, we're going to start chiseling away.
40:10 We looked at the negative side of our condition,
40:14 then we now introduce the only one through whom
40:17 we can find salvation.
40:19 Now we're going to find out what He does.
40:23 We're going to find out what He does.
40:25 Because a lot of times we say, "Well I know He's our Savior,
40:27 He's our Lord."
40:29 You know when you think of those terms, Savior and Lord,
40:32 different functions.
40:34 But let's look at question number seven.
40:38 Are you ready for it?
40:39 Here it is, question number seven.
40:55 What glorious benefit do we receive?
40:58 Acts 10:43, you all turn there.
41:01 Okay, I like to hear those Bibles turning.
41:03 Even though the text...
41:04 The text is primarily for those who are not here.
41:08 But we use our Bibles.
41:10 Here it is, Acts 10:43.
41:13 The Bible says...
41:19 Remember, there is no other name.
41:30 Have you heard the term, "remission," before?
41:32 What is it often connected to in our society?
41:35 Cancer. We say what?
41:38 "Your cancer is in remission."
41:39 Wouldn't it be nice to say, "You know what?
41:41 My sin is in remission."
41:44 Right?
41:45 Wouldn't it be nice to go to the Lord and
41:47 the Lord say, "You know, I've checked.
41:49 You are sin free."
41:52 Amen?
41:53 Because to hear the words, "cancer free," is beautiful.
41:56 When we accept Jesus, He comes in and cleans us up.
42:00 Didn't He say that?
42:01 1 John 1:9, here it is.
42:03 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
42:06 to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from
42:10 all unrighteousness."
42:13 So what does that mean?
42:15 If you're cleansed from all cancer, you are what?
42:18 Cancer free.
42:19 If you're cleansed from all unrighteousness, you are what?
42:24 It's very important to understand that.
42:26 Now some people will say, "Okay, let me see.
42:28 Is that safe to say, that I'm sin free?"
42:31 That means you have been taken off of death row.
42:34 That means your sins are no longer hanging over you
42:36 as the penalty for death.
42:39 That's what that means.
42:41 It doesn't mean sin has been eradicated.
42:43 It simply means the sin that condemned you
42:46 no longer condemns you.
42:48 But now you move into another phase in your walk with Christ.
42:52 This new phase means, "Okay, I've just been
42:55 taken off of death row.
42:56 I'm no longer in prison.
42:57 I'm no longer in chains.
42:59 I'm no longer incarcerated.
43:02 But now I have been made free,
43:03 which mean I have to now walk free."
43:06 That's why James says, "Stand fast in the liberty."
43:10 The word there, "liberty," means, the freedom.
43:12 You've got to live a life of freedom day by day.
43:14 Freedom from the power of sin.
43:16 And you've heard me say that before.
43:17 Salvation is, in fact, in three phases.
43:20 Salvation from the penalty, salvation from the power,
43:23 and salvation from the... What?
43:25 ...presence.
43:27 When is salvation from the presence of sin going to happen?
43:30 Somebody tell me.
43:33 Say it again.
43:34 The second coming.
43:35 When Jesus returns, He is going to eradicate sin.
43:39 Wouldn't it be good to live in an environment without sin?
43:42 Amen?
43:44 That means you won't even sin in thought.
43:46 That means you won't look across the room and say,
43:49 "I wonder what they're thinking."
43:51 Because they won't be thinking evil thoughts.
43:54 Because their character will have been remade
43:56 in the perfect image of Jesus.
43:58 But the decision to do that is now.
44:02 The decision to walk in that process.
44:04 And as you have seen those shows, Extreme Makeover.
44:08 Every day Jesus is molding us one room at a time.
44:13 Right?
44:15 So if you hear the hammering, if you feel the chiseling,
44:18 submit to it.
44:20 Despise not the chastening of the Father.
44:22 Submit to it.
44:24 I said to somebody yesterday, we are gold tried in the fire.
44:29 Now often we focus on the fire.
44:31 But focus on what you are in the sight of God.
44:34 We are what?
44:36 Come on, say it. We are what?
44:38 Come on, say it. We are what?
44:40 Gold.
44:41 Why are we being tried in the fire?
44:43 Because He wants us to be purified.
44:46 So if you ever see a pure bar of gold...
44:50 I've never seen one.
44:52 I've seen, you know, representations of one,
44:55 but I've never seen a pure bar of gold.
44:56 What makes it pure?
44:58 It's been smelted down. Liquefied.
45:01 And all the impurities have been, what's the word there,
45:05 cleansed away.
45:06 Or scraped off the top.
45:08 And then all that's left is the pure spotless gold.
45:14 So we're going through the spotless process now.
45:17 But one day we will be clear.
45:18 And the remission of sin is the process that begins
45:22 the moment you accept Jesus.
45:24 That's what, "repent," means.
45:26 Repent, means to change direction.
45:29 Remission, means your life is going in the opposite direction.
45:32 Instead of piling up sin, sin is being removed.
45:37 It's a difference all together.
45:38 That is number seven. Was that number seven?
45:40 Okay, so when we receive Jesus,
45:42 what glorious benefit do we receive?
45:44 Write down, remission of sins.
45:48 Which is important.
45:49 Which is vitally important.
45:54 It's a hard thing to say, and this is where the
45:57 practice of Christianity comes in,
45:58 it's a hard thing to say that I'm a Christian,
46:03 but I live my life practicing sin.
46:05 It's a hard thing to say that.
46:07 Because if you see a person that's a racing car driver,
46:11 or a person that's a professional basketball player,
46:13 or a person that claims to be in any particular profession
46:16 or a particular practice, you'll say, "Well then, how come...
46:19 I thought you were a basketball player.
46:21 Why do you have on a doctor's uniform?"
46:23 Why do you look differently than you profess to be?
46:27 The difference between those vocations that are earthly
46:32 and the vocation that's heavenly is, you don't have anybody
46:35 trying to prevent you from being a doctor,
46:37 or trying to prevent you from being a basketball player,
46:39 or trying to prevent you from being whatever other
46:42 occupation there is.
46:43 But you've got to daily battle.
46:47 And that daily battle is against what?
46:51 Okay, say it again.
46:53 Self. That's right.
46:54 The devil doesn't even have to tempt some of us.
46:57 The daily battle, the greatest battle we'll ever
47:00 fight is against who?
47:02 It's against self.
47:04 When self is put to death daily...
47:07 How often did Paul say he had to die to self?
47:10 "I die every day."
47:12 Because self is really stored in the flesh.
47:15 I'm setting up the questions here.
47:17 Self is stored in the flesh.
47:20 We have been regenerated in life,
47:23 but until this flesh is replaced, all the practices
47:28 and things that we remember are stored.
47:30 They call it...
47:31 There's another thing that my throat doctor said.
47:35 He said, "Because you had a throat injury,
47:37 try not to do anything new.
47:39 Because muscles have memory.
47:43 Muscles have...
47:45 So if you start doing something different while you're trying to
47:47 heal, your body is going to remember it and think of it
47:49 as a process that now you must continue to practice.
47:54 And then what happens is, when the injury is there
47:56 it builds up what's called, like a fascia muscle.
47:59 They've got to break up all those things that have
48:01 taken you in the wrong direction,
48:03 the remission process, and get you ready
48:06 for the process that the Lord is extending to you.
48:08 So here's the question.
48:10 Here's the question. Number eight.
48:12 Here's the question.
48:13 When we receive Jesus, to what degree are we saved?
48:18 Question number eight.
48:19 When we receive Jesus...
48:24 Let's look at it together.
48:26 Hebrews 7:25
48:27 One of my favorite passages in the Bible.
48:30 And there are a lot of 7:25's in the Bible.
48:32 Like Daniel 7:25, "...think to change times and laws..."
48:35 Those famous scriptures.
48:36 Here's another one, Hebrews 7:25.
48:39 And I've highlighted a couple of words so that you can
48:41 get the answer very quickly.
48:43 When we receive Jesus, to what degree are we saved?
48:47 Now if you're joining us from home, read this along with us.
48:50 We're going to read this one together.
48:51 Are we ready?
48:52 Because this is a powerful scripture.
48:54 Together.
49:12 Who's able?
49:14 Who's able?
49:16 Who's able? He is.
49:18 To do what?
49:20 Save to the uttermost.
49:24 In other words, He can carry the process all the way through.
49:29 He doesn't just stop at, "Hey, your baptized.
49:32 Welcome. See you later."
49:34 No, it's a day by day commitment to Christ.
49:36 And the devil's part is to reintroduce you to the past,
49:40 where Christ's part is to say, "Let's begin the day in prayer.
49:44 Let's begin the day in studies.
49:46 Let's open our Word.
49:48 Let's put our lives in the hand of the Lord.
49:51 Because I'm able to save you today.
49:53 And I'm able to save you tomorrow.
49:56 And I'm able to save you the next day."
49:59 He's able to save to the uttermost.
50:02 If somebody was drowning, they wouldn't want you to
50:04 save them on the first time they go down
50:06 or the second time they go down.
50:07 They want that Peter experience.
50:09 To be saved from drowning.
50:12 Not to be left in the same condition.
50:14 He's able to save to the uttermost.
50:16 And how does He do that?
50:18 Let me help you understand a particular word.
50:19 "Intercession." This word was included there.
50:21 And somebody watching many not know what intercession is.
50:24 Intercession is a role of the high priest.
50:27 You have the Father, you have the Son,
50:31 you have us.
50:33 Jesus is the bridge.
50:36 With His hand He reaches down to us.
50:39 With the other hand He reaches up to the Father.
50:42 This is an illustration.
50:43 So He brings divinity in connection with humanity.
50:49 And He brings humanity in connection with divinity.
50:52 He's the Intercessor.
50:54 But the Intercessor is more than just bringing
50:56 divinity and humanity together.
50:57 The Intercessor is the one who is in the functioning of the
51:01 role of the High Priest.
51:03 The one who has provided the way of our sins being forgiven;
51:09 the remission.
51:10 He's the Lamb.
51:11 The lamb is included in the ceremonial services.
51:14 So when the lamb is killed, when the blood is shed,
51:17 only then can the sprinkling of the blood
51:20 transfer the sin from the sinner to the tabernacle,
51:27 to the temple, and then later cleansed from the temple.
51:31 So this work of the intercessor is
51:33 when we ask for forgiveness.
51:35 If we ask for forgiveness, will we get it?
51:39 Because He is able to save to the uttermost.
51:41 And how often does He do that?
51:43 He always lives to make intercession.
51:46 He's not just living, but He's living to make intercession.
51:49 Can you imagine the job, can you imagine the function,
51:53 how many billions of people throughout the centuries,
51:56 throughout the millennia, have relied on the blood of Jesus?
51:59 Can you imagine the number?
52:01 How many of them is He able to save?
52:04 Every one of them He is able to save to the uttermost.
52:08 Praise God for that.
52:09 Now let's look at number nine.
52:11 Moving right along tonight at a good pace.
52:14 And I want you to see this.
52:16 These were thought out very carefully
52:17 to put them in a particular order.
52:19 So if you put the answer to number seven...
52:21 When we receive Jesus, to what degree are we saved?
52:24 Put this. To the uttermost.
52:28 Whereas we use to say in New York,
52:30 "From the guttermost to the uttermost."
52:32 From the lowest He saves us and brings us into the image
52:37 of His own righteousness.
52:40 Okay, question number nine.
52:42 Question number nine.
52:51 I had to pause when I was putting this one together.
52:54 Just thank the Lord for this promise that He has made,
52:59 for this promise that He has made.
53:01 Because let me just put it this way.
53:02 If a person is delivered,
53:04 if a person is delivered from a situation,
53:08 you might say to them, "Try to stay out of trouble."
53:11 Have you ever heard that before?
53:13 "Try to stay out of trouble."
53:16 "Well if I don't, I'll call you the next time
53:17 I get into trouble."
53:20 This passage takes it to the next level.
53:22 Because the question is, to those who receive Jesus
53:25 what promise has He made?
53:26 2 Timothy 4:18
53:28 Look at that with me.
53:30 2 Timothy 4:18
53:32 He's made a promise, not just to save you to the uttermost.
53:35 Because salvation is not the only thing we need.
53:39 Alright, here it is.
53:41 Here's a new scripture for you.
54:05 See, this is one of those, "amen," scriptures.
54:07 He's not just able to deliver me, but to what?
54:11 Preserve me.
54:13 That's why Jude 24 says, "Now to Him who is able to
54:18 keep us from..." What?
54:19 "...falling, and to present us before the presence
54:22 of His glory with exceeding joy."
54:26 He's not able just to deliver me.
54:28 I don't just want to be delivered,
54:29 I want to be preserved.
54:32 The word, "preserved," means, kept.
54:35 In other words, He builds around you a fortress.
54:38 By the way, for those who don't know,
54:40 the Bible talks about this in the Old Testament,
54:42 as the wall that the Lord built around Israel,
54:45 as a fence He built around Israel.
54:47 And the fence He built around them was His Ten Commandments.
54:50 So it's impossible to say, "I'm saved," and ignore
54:52 the commandments of God.
54:54 The commandments of God are there to continue to guide us
54:56 in our relationship one with another
54:59 and our relationship between us and the Lord.
55:01 The commandments are the fencing that surrounds us.
55:03 But He's not only able to deliver us,
55:06 but He's able to preserve us.
55:08 And He delivers us from every evil work.
55:12 Praise His name for that.
55:14 So did you write that down?
55:16 To those that receive Jesus, what promise has He made?
55:18 Deliver and preserve. Write those two down.
55:21 Deliver, and what else? Preserve.
55:24 And for those of you that like to can foods,
55:27 You know what that preserve means.
55:30 Keep it fresh for a long time.
55:33 Some people need that in their Christian experience.
55:35 Because there's nothing worse than a
55:36 stale Christian experience.
55:39 It's not preserved.
55:40 That day by day walk with Christ will bring us
55:42 to the point of preservation.
55:45 Okay.
55:47 Now, this is a transitioning stage.
55:51 I don't know how far I'll get on this.
55:52 But now that we know...
55:53 Let's look at the two stages so far.
55:56 First we talked about our condition.
55:57 Did we not? Amen?
55:59 Then we talked about who Jesus is and what He does.
56:02 Right?
56:04 Now we're going to go to the next actual phase
56:07 and look at what He had to do, I want you to follow carefully,
56:15 what He had to do to save us.
56:18 Because somebody asked me the question once,
56:21 listen, listen, somebody said, "If Jesus, if His work is
56:24 just to save us, could not He have done that from heaven?
56:29 Did He have to come down here to save us?"
56:31 Couldn't He have just said, "You're saved.
56:35 I ain't coming down there."
56:40 Why did He have to come down here to be our Savior?
56:46 We're going to find this out in the next question.
56:50 Or maybe, or maybe I should hold off till next week.
56:53 Let's give one text at least.
56:56 Here it is. Are you ready?
56:58 Question number ten.
57:05 In the interest of time, I'm going to
57:07 give it to you very quickly.
57:09 Hebrews 10:5 Hebrews 10:5
57:12 Look at it.
57:26 We're going to talk about that body and why it was necessary
57:32 for Jesus to come to this earth to qualify as our Savior.
57:37 Is He God? Yes or no.
57:40 Amen?
57:41 But He had to become our Savior.
57:44 He could not, and this is my exit statement,
57:48 He could not have saved us from a distance.
57:52 He had to come down here to be our Savior.
57:55 Keep studying the Bible.
57:57 And if we've made some sense tonight, praise the Lord.
57:59 But if not, one day we know it will come into a sharper focus.
58:03 God bless you.


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Revised 2018-01-30