1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:20,219 You’re listening to a sermon from Paul Conger . 2 00:00:20,219 –> 00:00:23,900 We’ve been looking at the inside story of human life 3 00:00:23,900 –> 00:00:28,580 and we’ve been learning about the extent of the human problem. 4 00:00:28,700 –> 00:00:31,860 And many people would agree, I think, 5 00:00:31,860 –> 00:00:35,060 that we all have our failings, nobody’s perfect, 6 00:00:35,060 –> 00:00:38,419 everybody messes up in some way, shape of form, 7 00:00:38,419 –> 00:00:41,400 so it stands to reason that we all need to be forgiven 8 00:00:41,400 –> 00:00:44,180 and God is gracious and kind and he will forgive us 9 00:00:44,180 –> 00:00:46,919 because Jesus died on the cross and rose again. 10 00:00:46,919 –> 00:00:48,480 All of that is wonderfully true. 11 00:00:49,660 –> 00:00:51,259 But if that is all that you see, 12 00:00:51,259 –> 00:00:53,340 you’ve only seen a part 13 00:00:53,340 –> 00:00:55,380 of the glorious good news of the gospel. 14 00:00:56,639 –> 00:00:58,320 And I have to tell you, 15 00:00:59,000 –> 00:01:03,380 I have interviewed candidates for a pastoral position 16 00:01:03,380 –> 00:01:05,660 who couldn’t give a fuller explanation 17 00:01:05,660 –> 00:01:07,059 of the gospel than that. 18 00:01:07,059 –> 00:01:08,500 That, to me, is astonishing. 19 00:01:09,440 –> 00:01:13,139 If that is all that you have seen of the gospel, 20 00:01:13,139 –> 00:01:14,699 what I’ve just given to you is 21 00:01:14,699 –> 00:01:18,940 a massive understatement of the human problem. 22 00:01:18,940 –> 00:01:21,739 And therefore, it is a massive understatement 23 00:01:21,739 –> 00:01:25,220 of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. 24 00:01:25,220 –> 00:01:27,279 And so, the whole purpose of this series 25 00:01:27,279 –> 00:01:30,599 is we are going to learn from the Bible 26 00:01:30,599 –> 00:01:34,320 the extent of the human problem more fully 27 00:01:34,320 –> 00:01:37,519 so that we will see the glory of God’s provision 28 00:01:37,519 –> 00:01:39,860 for us in Jesus Christ more deeply. 29 00:01:41,139 –> 00:01:45,800 I want you to get beyond the surface level 30 00:01:45,800 –> 00:01:49,559 kind of an explanation of what the gospel is 31 00:01:49,559 –> 00:01:52,639 that many people grasp, but many never move beyond. 32 00:01:52,639 –> 00:01:56,360 They never see more than the most bland of statements 33 00:01:56,360 –> 00:01:59,680 and therefore their experience of gratitude 34 00:01:59,680 –> 00:02:02,080 and of praise and of worship remains 35 00:02:02,080 –> 00:02:04,720 at a relatively shallow level. 36 00:02:04,720 –> 00:02:08,059 So we’ve been looking at the depth of the human problem. 37 00:02:08,059 –> 00:02:09,839 We’ve seen it runs much deeper 38 00:02:09,839 –> 00:02:12,919 than we all have failings and mess-ups. 39 00:02:12,919 –> 00:02:17,199 Behind our sins lies the problem of sin itself 40 00:02:17,199 –> 00:02:20,600 and the dreadful condition that it brings. 41 00:02:20,600 –> 00:02:24,080 We’ve seen that by nature we are sinners from birth. 42 00:02:24,160 –> 00:02:25,860 Ephesians, chapter two and verse three, 43 00:02:25,860 –> 00:02:28,479 gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature 44 00:02:28,479 –> 00:02:30,360 with its thoughts and its desires. 45 00:02:30,360 –> 00:02:32,940 That’s where all of us were, that’s our nature. 46 00:02:32,940 –> 00:02:34,240 And we’ve seen that, by nature, 47 00:02:34,240 –> 00:02:37,880 we are children of wrath, verse three. 48 00:02:37,880 –> 00:02:40,100 And, by nature, verse one, 49 00:02:40,100 –> 00:02:41,800 we saw we cannot do anything 50 00:02:41,800 –> 00:02:43,839 about the first of these two problems. 51 00:02:43,839 –> 00:02:45,600 We cannot change our position 52 00:02:45,600 –> 00:02:47,800 because the sinner is dead towards God, 53 00:02:47,800 –> 00:02:51,059 he can’t act, he can’t feel, he can’t move, 54 00:02:51,059 –> 00:02:54,880 and therefore, in and of himself, he is without hope. 55 00:02:54,880 –> 00:02:56,059 And that is what we’ve learned. 56 00:02:56,059 –> 00:02:59,259 Now, today, we move to the second stage in our series, 57 00:02:59,259 –> 00:03:03,139 and I’ve tried to picture this as a triathlon. 58 00:03:03,139 –> 00:03:05,080 Now, we’ve done the swim. 59 00:03:05,080 –> 00:03:07,339 It’s always good when you’ve finished the swim. 60 00:03:07,339 –> 00:03:08,940 The water was pretty cold, 61 00:03:08,940 –> 00:03:10,720 and so, today, as it were, 62 00:03:10,720 –> 00:03:14,619 we’re getting out of the swim stage of the triathlon 63 00:03:14,619 –> 00:03:16,860 in which we’ve been exploring the extent 64 00:03:16,860 –> 00:03:20,860 of the human problem, the issue of our own sinfulness. 65 00:03:20,919 –> 00:03:22,020 Now, we’re getting out of the water, 66 00:03:22,020 –> 00:03:23,520 we’re gonna get on the bike, 67 00:03:23,520 –> 00:03:25,600 so that is very, very good news. 68 00:03:25,600 –> 00:03:29,039 The second stage will be quite a different experience 69 00:03:29,039 –> 00:03:30,619 from the first. 70 00:03:30,619 –> 00:03:33,160 And we begin today by looking at this question. 71 00:03:33,160 –> 00:03:36,080 What happened when you became a Christian? 72 00:03:36,080 –> 00:03:37,240 What happened? 73 00:03:38,259 –> 00:03:40,119 And I want you to see today, 74 00:03:40,119 –> 00:03:42,720 I hope this will become clear that 75 00:03:42,720 –> 00:03:45,380 if we underestimate the human problem, 76 00:03:45,380 –> 00:03:48,220 we will miss the full extent of what God has done for us 77 00:03:48,220 –> 00:03:50,300 in the Lord Jesus Christ, 78 00:03:50,300 –> 00:03:51,979 because shallow views of sin 79 00:03:51,979 –> 00:03:55,119 do lead to shallow views of salvation. 80 00:03:55,119 –> 00:03:58,800 But when you grasp the extent of the human problem, 81 00:03:58,800 –> 00:04:03,220 as we tried to do from Ephesians over these last weeks. 82 00:04:03,220 –> 00:04:05,500 When you see that the human condition 83 00:04:05,500 –> 00:04:07,179 is to be dead towards God, 84 00:04:07,179 –> 00:04:08,779 spiritually dead, 85 00:04:08,779 –> 00:04:10,539 and pulled along by the sinful nature 86 00:04:10,539 –> 00:04:12,759 and under the wrath of God, 87 00:04:12,759 –> 00:04:15,919 when you really take in what that means, 88 00:04:15,919 –> 00:04:20,239 then your eyes begin to open to the weight 89 00:04:20,420 –> 00:04:24,440 and to the wonder of our salvation in Jesus Christ. 90 00:04:24,440 –> 00:04:26,239 That’s why the first stage of the triathlon 91 00:04:26,239 –> 00:04:27,799 has been so important, 92 00:04:27,799 –> 00:04:31,160 to get a proper grasp of the extent of our problem 93 00:04:31,160 –> 00:04:34,600 so that we may be able to see the glory 94 00:04:34,600 –> 00:04:36,679 of our salvation 95 00:04:36,679 –> 00:04:38,600 in Jesus Christ. 96 00:04:38,600 –> 00:04:40,359 So I’ve been looking forward to inviting you 97 00:04:40,359 –> 00:04:42,299 to get on the bike this morning 98 00:04:42,299 –> 00:04:45,320 for the second stage of our journey, 99 00:04:45,320 –> 00:04:47,119 and it’s actually quite a good analogy 100 00:04:47,140 –> 00:04:50,059 because the swim, you progress rather slowly. 101 00:04:50,059 –> 00:04:53,160 The bike, you move much more rapidly. 102 00:04:53,160 –> 00:04:54,279 Today, we’re going to, as it were, 103 00:04:54,279 –> 00:04:55,519 cycle past some 104 00:04:55,519 –> 00:04:58,500 of the most marvelous views 105 00:04:58,500 –> 00:05:00,000 that a person can gain 106 00:05:00,000 –> 00:05:02,600 of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. 107 00:05:02,600 –> 00:05:04,839 So I hope that you will have your Bible open 108 00:05:04,839 –> 00:05:06,959 at Ephesians chapter two, 109 00:05:06,959 –> 00:05:08,720 beginning at verse four. 110 00:05:08,720 –> 00:05:10,320 You notice there that it says, 111 00:05:10,320 –> 00:05:14,920 because of his great love for us. 112 00:05:15,779 –> 00:05:17,239 Pause. 113 00:05:18,359 –> 00:05:19,179 In other words, 114 00:05:19,179 –> 00:05:20,559 everything that follows now 115 00:05:20,559 –> 00:05:22,380 is a display of God’s love. 116 00:05:23,579 –> 00:05:25,799 We’re going to take in seven glimpses 117 00:05:25,799 –> 00:05:27,019 of the love of God. 118 00:05:27,959 –> 00:05:30,380 We’re gonna see what actually happened 119 00:05:30,380 –> 00:05:31,799 when you became a believer. 120 00:05:31,799 –> 00:05:34,899 What happens whenever a person becomes 121 00:05:34,899 –> 00:05:37,399 a true Christian, a believer in our Lord 122 00:05:37,399 –> 00:05:39,059 and Savior, Jesus Christ. 123 00:05:39,920 –> 00:05:42,059 I don’t often encourage folks to take notes, 124 00:05:42,059 –> 00:05:43,640 but just these seven headings 125 00:05:43,679 –> 00:05:46,920 that come directly out of these verses of Scripture 126 00:05:46,920 –> 00:05:48,920 may be worth just noting down 127 00:05:48,920 –> 00:05:50,359 and maybe keeping in your Bible 128 00:05:50,359 –> 00:05:53,339 or some other place as a reminder to you 129 00:05:53,339 –> 00:05:55,739 of what happened when you became a Christian. 130 00:05:56,760 –> 00:05:58,839 What God has done for you 131 00:05:58,839 –> 00:06:03,519 in Jesus Christ, because it is absolutely glorious. 132 00:06:03,519 –> 00:06:04,359 So, here we go then. 133 00:06:04,359 –> 00:06:06,420 What happened when you became 134 00:06:06,420 –> 00:06:07,320 a Christian? 135 00:06:07,320 –> 00:06:08,760 Number one, 136 00:06:08,760 –> 00:06:13,279 God gave life to you. 137 00:06:13,279 –> 00:06:14,440 Verse five, 138 00:06:14,440 –> 00:06:16,559 God, who is rich in mercy, 139 00:06:16,559 –> 00:06:20,179 made us alive with Christ 140 00:06:20,179 –> 00:06:25,079 even when we were dead in transgressions. 141 00:06:25,079 –> 00:06:27,720 Once you’ve seen what it means to be dead towards God, 142 00:06:27,720 –> 00:06:30,559 then you’ll have a whole new glimpse of this miracle 143 00:06:30,559 –> 00:06:35,359 by which he has made us alive with Jesus Christ. 144 00:06:35,359 –> 00:06:38,359 You were dead towards God, Paul is saying, 145 00:06:38,359 –> 00:06:41,079 but life came to you. 146 00:06:41,079 –> 00:06:42,399 It didn’t come from you. 147 00:06:42,399 –> 00:06:46,079 How could it come from you if you were dead? 148 00:06:46,079 –> 00:06:49,839 No, nothing in you was reaching out towards God. 149 00:06:49,839 –> 00:06:54,600 God reached out to you and he created within your soul 150 00:06:54,600 –> 00:06:56,640 what did not exist there before. 151 00:06:56,640 –> 00:06:58,839 This is wonderful. 152 00:06:58,839 –> 00:07:04,079 God created new affections within your soul. 153 00:07:04,079 –> 00:07:07,000 You began to love God. 154 00:07:07,000 –> 00:07:11,839 You began to have a hunger and a thirst and the desire for God. 155 00:07:11,839 –> 00:07:16,140 God created new convictions within your mind. 156 00:07:16,140 –> 00:07:19,079 You began to trust him. 157 00:07:19,079 –> 00:07:20,640 You became aware of your sin. 158 00:07:20,640 –> 00:07:24,359 You were drawn to Jesus in a way that was not so before. 159 00:07:24,359 –> 00:07:29,239 You saw beauty in him that you did not see before, 160 00:07:29,239 –> 00:07:32,040 and new desires were created within your will. 161 00:07:32,040 –> 00:07:35,279 You became dissatisfied with the way that you were living. 162 00:07:35,279 –> 00:07:39,140 You wanted to be clean. 163 00:07:39,140 –> 00:07:41,079 You were done with living for yourself. 164 00:07:41,160 –> 00:07:43,200 You saw that it was a shallow thing to live 165 00:07:43,200 –> 00:07:45,779 for your own comfort and for your own pleasure, 166 00:07:45,779 –> 00:07:49,000 and you began to feel that the greatest thing 167 00:07:49,000 –> 00:07:50,079 that you could do with your life 168 00:07:50,079 –> 00:07:52,500 is lay it fully and unconditionally 169 00:07:52,500 –> 00:07:55,239 at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. 170 00:07:55,239 –> 00:07:59,899 All this you experienced, and all this God did. 171 00:08:02,299 –> 00:08:04,899 What an amazing transformation that was. 172 00:08:06,459 –> 00:08:08,799 You used to feel that God was against you, 173 00:08:08,820 –> 00:08:11,200 but you came to know that He was for you. 174 00:08:12,500 –> 00:08:14,720 Your old instinct was to hide from God 175 00:08:14,720 –> 00:08:16,380 and always to retreat from Him. 176 00:08:16,380 –> 00:08:19,559 Now, you find yourself moving towards Him and seeking Him. 177 00:08:20,760 –> 00:08:22,799 There was a new hunger and a new thirst 178 00:08:22,799 –> 00:08:23,920 that was in your soul. 179 00:08:23,920 –> 00:08:27,299 Something that was not there before was becoming alive. 180 00:08:27,299 –> 00:08:30,119 You wanted more of Him in your life, 181 00:08:30,119 –> 00:08:34,440 and you wanted Him to have more of you as well. 182 00:08:35,400 –> 00:08:37,400 It was for you as if you were awakening 183 00:08:37,400 –> 00:08:39,659 from a deep sleep and rubbing your eyes, 184 00:08:39,659 –> 00:08:41,619 you were saying, well now, 185 00:08:41,619 –> 00:08:43,919 what have I been thinking about all these years? 186 00:08:43,919 –> 00:08:45,000 What have I been doing? 187 00:08:45,000 –> 00:08:46,760 How could I have lived so long 188 00:08:46,760 –> 00:08:48,320 and completely missed the point 189 00:08:48,320 –> 00:08:52,080 of what life is really all about and who it is for? 190 00:08:53,820 –> 00:08:55,820 And this wonderful miracle of grace 191 00:08:55,820 –> 00:08:58,400 that happened in the experience of every Christian. 192 00:09:00,200 –> 00:09:02,940 And we reflect it in one of the songs we sing here, 193 00:09:04,479 –> 00:09:06,640 I was blinded by my sin. 194 00:09:07,960 –> 00:09:10,700 I had no ears to hear your voice, 195 00:09:11,559 –> 00:09:14,880 did not know your love within. 196 00:09:14,880 –> 00:09:17,719 I had no taste for heaven’s joys, 197 00:09:18,960 –> 00:09:22,479 but then your Spirit gave me life, 198 00:09:23,359 –> 00:09:25,000 opened up your Word to me. 199 00:09:26,440 –> 00:09:28,440 By the gospel of your Son, 200 00:09:28,440 –> 00:09:32,580 gave me endless hope and peace. 201 00:09:33,580 –> 00:09:36,119 What happened when you became a Christian? 202 00:09:36,179 –> 00:09:38,059 God gave life to you. 203 00:09:41,020 –> 00:09:44,659 Second, what happened when you became a Christian? 204 00:09:44,659 –> 00:09:48,559 God imparted power to you. 205 00:09:48,559 –> 00:09:50,380 Notice what He says in verse six, 206 00:09:50,380 –> 00:09:54,900 God raised us up with Christ. 207 00:09:54,900 –> 00:09:58,140 Now something new is being added to being made alive here. 208 00:09:58,140 –> 00:10:01,960 What is added to made alive by this specific reference 209 00:10:01,960 –> 00:10:04,260 to being raised up? 210 00:10:04,260 –> 00:10:09,260 I think it is this, that raised up speaks not only of life, 211 00:10:09,719 –> 00:10:12,039 but also of action. 212 00:10:12,039 –> 00:10:15,340 When Jesus was raised from the dead, He did things. 213 00:10:15,340 –> 00:10:17,020 He moved, He walked, He talked, 214 00:10:17,020 –> 00:10:18,859 He engaged with his disciples. 215 00:10:18,859 –> 00:10:20,859 He met with them, He forgave them, 216 00:10:20,859 –> 00:10:22,940 He restored them, He commissioned them. 217 00:10:22,940 –> 00:10:26,580 It’s all action from the living Lord, Jesus Christ. 218 00:10:26,580 –> 00:10:27,780 He’s raised up. 219 00:10:27,780 –> 00:10:29,900 He does not only have life, 220 00:10:30,200 –> 00:10:34,760 but He has the ability to do things as the reigning Lord. 221 00:10:34,760 –> 00:10:37,619 And this is a wonderful thing that new ability, 222 00:10:37,619 –> 00:10:42,619 new capacity to act, is given to the Christian believer 223 00:10:44,599 –> 00:10:47,039 in the very act of becoming a Christian. 224 00:10:47,039 –> 00:10:48,419 This is the gift of God. 225 00:10:48,419 –> 00:10:50,179 See, think about this. 226 00:10:50,179 –> 00:10:54,200 Becoming a Christian is more than a change of direction. 227 00:10:55,419 –> 00:10:58,119 It is a change of direction, but it’s more than that. 228 00:10:58,919 –> 00:11:02,359 See, let me give you an example of a change of direction. 229 00:11:02,359 –> 00:11:04,940 Suppose a man has an ability to make lots of money. 230 00:11:05,979 –> 00:11:07,440 And he makes lots of money 231 00:11:07,440 –> 00:11:09,919 and he basically amasses it for himself. 232 00:11:09,919 –> 00:11:11,619 And then he has a change of mind and heart. 233 00:11:11,619 –> 00:11:12,900 He sees the needs of others 234 00:11:12,900 –> 00:11:15,580 and he decides that he’s going to now use his ability 235 00:11:15,580 –> 00:11:18,239 to make a lot of money for the benefit of orphans. 236 00:11:18,239 –> 00:11:21,479 So now he makes a lot of money, he uses the same ability, 237 00:11:21,479 –> 00:11:23,840 and he gives it all to the benefit of orphans 238 00:11:23,840 –> 00:11:24,960 and so forth and so on. 239 00:11:24,960 –> 00:11:28,619 Now that is a radical and a wonderful change of direction. 240 00:11:30,119 –> 00:11:32,739 But there is no change of ability. 241 00:11:32,739 –> 00:11:34,280 There is no change of capacity. 242 00:11:34,280 –> 00:11:37,080 Nearly, he had a certain gift and he used it this way, 243 00:11:37,080 –> 00:11:39,559 now he’s turned direction and he takes that same gift, 244 00:11:39,559 –> 00:11:42,760 that same capacity, and he moves it in another direction. 245 00:11:42,760 –> 00:11:43,960 That’s a wonderful thing. 246 00:11:45,280 –> 00:11:48,039 But to become a Christian is much more than that. 247 00:11:48,880 –> 00:11:51,159 It’s not just, I used to be going this way 248 00:11:51,159 –> 00:11:52,320 and now I’m going that way. 249 00:11:52,320 –> 00:11:53,919 It’s more than that. 250 00:11:54,840 –> 00:11:56,979 You see, what Paul is saying here 251 00:11:56,979 –> 00:11:59,520 about being dead and being raised 252 00:11:59,520 –> 00:12:03,239 clearly means that you are put in a different position 253 00:12:03,239 –> 00:12:07,659 and given capacity that you did not have before. 254 00:12:07,659 –> 00:12:11,500 Now that, friends, is of huge importance. 255 00:12:11,500 –> 00:12:14,840 Paul says we are risen with Christ. 256 00:12:14,840 –> 00:12:17,739 He’s saying that gives you the ability to act 257 00:12:17,739 –> 00:12:20,380 in a way that you did not have it before. 258 00:12:20,380 –> 00:12:23,320 You are no longer a slave to sin. 259 00:12:23,320 –> 00:12:25,539 You no longer need to be pushed around 260 00:12:25,539 –> 00:12:27,820 by the sinful nature as you were before. 261 00:12:27,820 –> 00:12:29,559 Take this in today. 262 00:12:29,559 –> 00:12:32,780 God has imparted power to you. 263 00:12:32,780 –> 00:12:35,440 The Holy Spirit lives within you. 264 00:12:35,440 –> 00:12:37,059 Oh, we’re going to see in this series 265 00:12:37,059 –> 00:12:38,739 that you face many battles, 266 00:12:38,739 –> 00:12:40,659 but the reason you’re able to face them 267 00:12:40,659 –> 00:12:43,000 is that you have the power and the presence 268 00:12:43,000 –> 00:12:45,580 of the Holy Spirit of God within you 269 00:12:45,580 –> 00:12:47,840 that puts you in an entirely different position. 270 00:12:47,840 –> 00:12:50,280 You did not have the Spirit of God before, 271 00:12:50,280 –> 00:12:52,640 you do have the Spirit of God now. 272 00:12:53,479 –> 00:12:54,739 Raised. 273 00:12:55,880 –> 00:12:58,059 So the Christian, not only is a person 274 00:12:58,059 –> 00:13:00,760 who has changed direction, that’s true, 275 00:13:00,760 –> 00:13:02,159 but the Christian is a person 276 00:13:02,159 –> 00:13:05,479 who is in an entirely different position. 277 00:13:05,479 –> 00:13:08,619 He has the Spirit of God. 278 00:13:09,659 –> 00:13:12,159 So I’ve told you before how many times 279 00:13:12,159 –> 00:13:14,719 I’ve been in a conversation where someone has said to me, 280 00:13:14,719 –> 00:13:17,719 oh, this temptation, it’s just too strong for me, 281 00:13:17,719 –> 00:13:19,280 it’s just too powerful for me, 282 00:13:19,280 –> 00:13:20,700 it’s much bigger than I am. 283 00:13:21,119 –> 00:13:25,200 And I say to that person, well, let’s pray together, 284 00:13:25,200 –> 00:13:28,059 let me lead you to Christ so you can become a Christian. 285 00:13:29,219 –> 00:13:32,280 And then the guy says, oh, you don’t understand, 286 00:13:32,280 –> 00:13:33,880 I’m a Christian, Pastor, I’ve been Christian 287 00:13:33,880 –> 00:13:36,179 for 20 years now, I’m a member of the church. 288 00:13:37,099 –> 00:13:39,340 I say, well, now wait a minute. 289 00:13:39,340 –> 00:13:44,340 If you are a Christian, the Spirit of God lives within you. 290 00:13:46,520 –> 00:13:49,979 And if the Spirit of God lives within you, 291 00:13:49,979 –> 00:13:54,979 well, how’re you saying here that this temptation is bigger? 292 00:13:56,179 –> 00:13:57,859 It may be bigger than you as you were, 293 00:13:57,859 –> 00:13:59,580 but are you telling me that it is bigger 294 00:13:59,580 –> 00:14:02,280 than the Spirit of God who lives within you? 295 00:14:03,979 –> 00:14:06,539 Man, you can face this, it may be the fight of your life, 296 00:14:06,539 –> 00:14:08,140 you may fail many, many times, 297 00:14:08,140 –> 00:14:10,380 but don’t repeat the devil’s lies 298 00:14:10,380 –> 00:14:12,700 that this temptation is bigger than you are 299 00:14:12,700 –> 00:14:14,400 if Christ lives within you. 300 00:14:15,940 –> 00:14:18,320 Oh, it’s bigger than you without Christ, 301 00:14:18,840 –> 00:14:21,460 but in Christ, you are put 302 00:14:21,460 –> 00:14:23,799 in an entirely different position, 303 00:14:24,640 –> 00:14:26,479 and that is the most important truth 304 00:14:26,479 –> 00:14:28,640 that you need to know about yourself, 305 00:14:28,640 –> 00:14:30,200 that in becoming a Christian, 306 00:14:30,200 –> 00:14:31,440 this is part of the definition 307 00:14:31,440 –> 00:14:33,059 of what it means to be a Christian, 308 00:14:33,059 –> 00:14:35,359 God has imparted power to you, 309 00:14:35,359 –> 00:14:38,159 and for that reason, you are able to engage 310 00:14:38,159 –> 00:14:40,039 in the great struggle with all the conflicts 311 00:14:40,039 –> 00:14:41,539 and temptations and difficulties 312 00:14:41,539 –> 00:14:43,880 and pressures of the world. 313 00:14:43,880 –> 00:14:45,020 You can go into this week 314 00:14:45,020 –> 00:14:47,799 and you can say because he is at my right hand, 315 00:14:47,799 –> 00:14:49,400 I shall not be shaken. 316 00:14:49,400 –> 00:14:51,039 That’s what a Christian can say. 317 00:14:52,880 –> 00:14:56,200 So what happened when you became a Christian? 318 00:14:56,200 –> 00:14:58,559 I’m going to ask you to search your own life 319 00:14:58,559 –> 00:14:59,679 in the light of this, 320 00:14:59,679 –> 00:15:01,979 to ask the question, am I then a Christian? 321 00:15:03,960 –> 00:15:05,679 God gave life to you? 322 00:15:07,340 –> 00:15:10,080 God imparted power to you? 323 00:15:11,020 –> 00:15:13,200 Wonderful, wonderful. 324 00:15:13,200 –> 00:15:15,799 That’s your hope this week, whatever you’re facing. 325 00:15:16,719 –> 00:15:21,719 Third, God secured heaven for you. 326 00:15:22,239 –> 00:15:23,119 Look at verse six, 327 00:15:23,119 –> 00:15:25,239 God raised us up with Christ 328 00:15:25,239 –> 00:15:28,960 and seated us with him 329 00:15:28,960 –> 00:15:33,059 in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. 330 00:15:33,059 –> 00:15:34,539 What an amazing statement. 331 00:15:35,520 –> 00:15:37,000 Now, taking your place in heaven 332 00:15:37,000 –> 00:15:39,260 is obviously something that belongs to the future, 333 00:15:39,260 –> 00:15:40,559 but God speaks about it here, 334 00:15:40,559 –> 00:15:43,119 clearly, as something that has already happened. 335 00:15:44,280 –> 00:15:45,320 What does this mean? 336 00:15:46,039 –> 00:15:47,219 Well, it means this, 337 00:15:48,200 –> 00:15:50,559 that everything that needs to be accomplished 338 00:15:50,559 –> 00:15:52,359 for your entrance into heaven 339 00:15:52,359 –> 00:15:55,799 has already been done by Jesus Christ. 340 00:15:55,799 –> 00:15:57,280 This is wonderful, good news, 341 00:15:57,280 –> 00:16:00,280 Christian, your entrance into heaven 342 00:16:00,280 –> 00:16:01,419 on the day that you die 343 00:16:01,419 –> 00:16:03,799 or on the day that the Lord Jesus comes, 344 00:16:03,799 –> 00:16:06,000 it does not depend on your performance 345 00:16:06,000 –> 00:16:07,200 in the Christian life. 346 00:16:08,440 –> 00:16:11,400 It does depend on the completed work of Jesus 347 00:16:11,400 –> 00:16:14,880 in his death and resurrection for you, 348 00:16:15,799 –> 00:16:17,520 and Paul says very wonderfully here 349 00:16:17,520 –> 00:16:19,400 that God raised us up with Christ 350 00:16:19,400 –> 00:16:21,080 and seeded us with him 351 00:16:21,080 –> 00:16:24,799 in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. 352 00:16:24,799 –> 00:16:28,559 You see, when you come into this living union 353 00:16:28,559 –> 00:16:31,400 with Jesus Christ through the bond of faith, 354 00:16:32,320 –> 00:16:34,000 there is a real sense in which 355 00:16:34,000 –> 00:16:37,799 because Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father 356 00:16:37,799 –> 00:16:40,179 and you’re in him and he is in you, 357 00:16:40,179 –> 00:16:41,479 there is a real sense 358 00:16:41,479 –> 00:16:43,719 in which you are already there. 359 00:16:43,739 –> 00:16:48,299 You’re there in him and he is there for you. 360 00:16:49,419 –> 00:16:51,039 And of course, the joy of heaven 361 00:16:51,039 –> 00:16:53,400 is that the Lord Jesus Christ is there 362 00:16:54,520 –> 00:16:57,700 and our foretaste of heaven is that even in this world 363 00:16:57,700 –> 00:16:59,280 with all of its difficulties, 364 00:16:59,280 –> 00:17:02,239 the Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit is here. 365 00:17:02,239 –> 00:17:06,079 He’s present with you by his Spirit. 366 00:17:06,079 –> 00:17:08,339 He is with you in everything that you face. 367 00:17:09,459 –> 00:17:11,160 I love the fact that it says here 368 00:17:11,180 –> 00:17:14,660 that the Christ is seated in the heavenly realms 369 00:17:14,660 –> 00:17:18,660 and that we are seated with him. 370 00:17:19,920 –> 00:17:21,800 And if you remember in the Old Testament, 371 00:17:21,800 –> 00:17:26,140 before Jesus came, the priests served in our room 372 00:17:26,140 –> 00:17:28,760 in the temple and before that in an area 373 00:17:28,760 –> 00:17:31,859 of the tent structure in the tabernacle. 374 00:17:31,859 –> 00:17:34,540 And before Christ came, they served in an area 375 00:17:34,540 –> 00:17:39,540 where there was a table, there was a lamp stand 376 00:17:40,359 –> 00:17:44,199 and there was a basin and no chair. 377 00:17:45,119 –> 00:17:46,800 Think about that. 378 00:17:46,800 –> 00:17:49,619 A room where there’s a table for eating 379 00:17:49,619 –> 00:17:53,239 and there is a basin for washing 380 00:17:53,239 –> 00:17:58,239 and there is a lamp stand for lighting and no chair, 381 00:17:59,800 –> 00:18:03,479 the temple featured a chairless room 382 00:18:04,839 –> 00:18:07,459 and the chairless room was a statement. 383 00:18:08,040 –> 00:18:09,420 Significant 384 00:18:10,380 –> 00:18:15,219 because people sit down when their work is done 385 00:18:16,420 –> 00:18:18,579 and before Christ came, 386 00:18:18,579 –> 00:18:22,079 the work of the priests was never done. 387 00:18:22,079 –> 00:18:24,020 Another sacrifice always had to be made. 388 00:18:24,020 –> 00:18:25,739 Another confession always had to be heard. 389 00:18:25,739 –> 00:18:27,819 Another offering always had to be given 390 00:18:27,819 –> 00:18:30,719 but then the Lord Jesus Christ came as the sacrifice 391 00:18:30,719 –> 00:18:31,859 and as the offering. 392 00:18:31,859 –> 00:18:34,500 He lived and then laid down the perfect life 393 00:18:34,500 –> 00:18:36,099 then he took it up again 394 00:18:36,099 –> 00:18:38,380 and he then ascended to the right hand of the father 395 00:18:38,380 –> 00:18:40,180 and when he arrived there, what did he do? 396 00:18:40,180 –> 00:18:41,040 He sat down. 397 00:18:41,040 –> 00:18:42,599 He sat down. 398 00:18:42,599 –> 00:18:45,439 That’s telling us something of huge importance. 399 00:18:45,439 –> 00:18:47,020 No priest could ever do this 400 00:18:47,020 –> 00:18:49,520 but Jesus, our great high priest, did. 401 00:18:49,520 –> 00:18:50,359 Why? 402 00:18:50,359 –> 00:18:52,959 Because he says I go to prepare a place for you 403 00:18:52,959 –> 00:18:54,319 and that work is done. 404 00:18:54,319 –> 00:18:56,520 It’s been done by his dying on the cross, 405 00:18:56,520 –> 00:18:58,760 his rising from the dead 406 00:19:00,160 –> 00:19:01,859 and at the right hand of the father, 407 00:19:01,859 –> 00:19:04,640 there he intercedes for us. 408 00:19:04,640 –> 00:19:05,619 There he intercedes for us. 409 00:19:05,660 –> 00:19:08,140 So Jesus is there and that’s the security 410 00:19:08,140 –> 00:19:11,160 of heaven for you. 411 00:19:11,160 –> 00:19:13,180 So what happened when you became a Christian? 412 00:19:13,180 –> 00:19:15,020 God gave life to you. 413 00:19:15,020 –> 00:19:17,339 God imparted power to you. 414 00:19:17,339 –> 00:19:20,300 Christ secured heaven for you. 415 00:19:21,500 –> 00:19:22,660 Here’s the fourth thing. 416 00:19:23,959 –> 00:19:28,739 God showered grace on you. 417 00:19:28,739 –> 00:19:33,079 God showered grace on you. 418 00:19:33,079 –> 00:19:33,920 Verse five, 419 00:19:33,959 –> 00:19:38,119 it is by grace that you have been saved. 420 00:19:39,540 –> 00:19:40,760 And you see it’s so important 421 00:19:40,760 –> 00:19:42,540 that he repeats it absolutely again 422 00:19:42,540 –> 00:19:44,739 in just a couple of verses later, verse eight, 423 00:19:46,060 –> 00:19:49,819 it is by grace that you have been saved. 424 00:19:51,260 –> 00:19:53,300 Then in verse seven, he goes at it again. 425 00:19:53,300 –> 00:19:56,780 He says, he speaks about the incomparable riches 426 00:19:56,780 –> 00:20:01,780 of God’s grace that are expressed to us in his kindness. 427 00:20:03,939 –> 00:20:08,939 In Christ Jesus, the incomparable riches of his grace. 428 00:20:12,880 –> 00:20:14,939 That word that’s translated incomparable 429 00:20:14,939 –> 00:20:16,959 is a combination of two words, 430 00:20:16,959 –> 00:20:18,920 one that means throwing out 431 00:20:20,119 –> 00:20:23,439 and the other that means over the top. 432 00:20:23,439 –> 00:20:25,839 It’s the word from which we get our word hyper. 433 00:20:27,239 –> 00:20:29,760 An over-the-top throwing out of grace. 434 00:20:29,760 –> 00:20:30,819 Isn’t that beautiful? 435 00:20:31,540 –> 00:20:34,760 And indeed God’s grace is over-the-top, isn’t it? 436 00:20:34,760 –> 00:20:36,260 That it would come to us 437 00:20:36,260 –> 00:20:38,359 who were his enemies making us his friends 438 00:20:38,359 –> 00:20:41,420 and it would come to us who are dead in our slavery 439 00:20:41,420 –> 00:20:42,800 to the sinful nature. 440 00:20:44,459 –> 00:20:46,520 And that while we were still sinners, 441 00:20:46,520 –> 00:20:48,099 Christ should die for us. 442 00:20:48,099 –> 00:20:50,400 It would come at the infinite expense 443 00:20:50,400 –> 00:20:53,079 of the Son of God taking flesh himself. 444 00:20:55,180 –> 00:20:59,780 The over-the-top distribution 445 00:20:59,800 –> 00:21:03,160 of God’s unmerited free favor. 446 00:21:05,439 –> 00:21:08,479 I wonder what you think about the occupation of Wall Street. 447 00:21:10,060 –> 00:21:12,819 Probably got a good idea as to what a lot of you think. 448 00:21:14,300 –> 00:21:15,880 Here are some people who are saying 449 00:21:15,880 –> 00:21:19,079 some folks have all the money or too much of the money 450 00:21:19,079 –> 00:21:21,780 and why are they not distributing it? 451 00:21:23,020 –> 00:21:24,920 And then there are other people who are saying, 452 00:21:24,920 –> 00:21:26,079 well, if folks want more money, 453 00:21:26,079 –> 00:21:27,739 why don’t they go and earn it? 454 00:21:27,739 –> 00:21:29,400 I think that’s kind of the polarities 455 00:21:29,400 –> 00:21:30,699 of what we’re hearing at the moment. 456 00:21:30,699 –> 00:21:33,020 And folks it’s spreading all around the world. 457 00:21:33,959 –> 00:21:36,359 Starts in this country, it’s happening in New Zealand now, 458 00:21:36,359 –> 00:21:39,180 believe South Africa moves by the day. 459 00:21:39,180 –> 00:21:40,619 Everybody’s talking about it. 460 00:21:42,140 –> 00:21:44,359 What could you usefully say as a Christian 461 00:21:44,359 –> 00:21:47,359 when people are talking about the occupation of Wall Street? 462 00:21:48,339 –> 00:21:50,219 Well, you might like to move the conversation 463 00:21:50,219 –> 00:21:51,300 in this direction. 464 00:21:53,239 –> 00:21:56,540 Where in the world would you ever imagine to see 465 00:21:58,079 –> 00:22:02,819 a massive throwing out 466 00:22:04,180 –> 00:22:07,020 of incomparable riches 467 00:22:08,780 –> 00:22:11,800 to people who have done nothing to merit it. 468 00:22:12,839 –> 00:22:15,479 You’ll get attention if you say something like that. 469 00:22:17,300 –> 00:22:22,119 The incomparable riches of His grace 470 00:22:22,880 –> 00:22:27,880 grace would leave us in awe and saying, 471 00:22:28,640 –> 00:22:32,599 oh, God, we did nothing to earn this, nothing. 472 00:22:34,439 –> 00:22:36,739 There’s nothing like this in all of the world 473 00:22:38,780 –> 00:22:43,780 and it’s yours if you are in Jesus Christ 474 00:22:44,719 –> 00:22:46,599 by whom all these things come to us. 475 00:22:48,459 –> 00:22:50,160 What happened when you became a Christian? 476 00:22:50,160 –> 00:22:51,280 God gave life to you. 477 00:22:51,319 –> 00:22:53,119 God imparted power to you. 478 00:22:53,119 –> 00:22:55,160 God secured heaven for you. 479 00:22:55,160 –> 00:22:58,119 God showered grace on you 480 00:22:58,119 –> 00:23:00,439 and grace means that which is unmerited, 481 00:23:01,760 –> 00:23:03,339 unearned, undeserved. 482 00:23:05,199 –> 00:23:06,640 Number five, God saved you. 483 00:23:08,119 –> 00:23:12,239 It is by grace that you have been saved. 484 00:23:12,239 –> 00:23:16,479 Wonderful word and he repeats it not only in verse five 485 00:23:16,479 –> 00:23:17,619 but also in verse eight. 486 00:23:17,619 –> 00:23:22,339 The same words, it is by grace that you have been saved. 487 00:23:23,819 –> 00:23:27,540 Now that word gets tripped around a lot in our culture. 488 00:23:27,540 –> 00:23:28,380 Doesn’t it? 489 00:23:28,380 –> 00:23:31,160 Saved and sometimes it can lose its meaning. 490 00:23:31,160 –> 00:23:32,319 Saved from what? 491 00:23:32,319 –> 00:23:35,300 Well saved from everything that we were learning about 492 00:23:35,300 –> 00:23:36,540 in verses one to three. 493 00:23:36,540 –> 00:23:38,420 Saved from spiritual death. 494 00:23:39,739 –> 00:23:43,199 Saved from being dragged around by the sinful nature. 495 00:23:43,979 –> 00:23:48,979 Saved supremely from the fearsome prospect 496 00:23:49,560 –> 00:23:52,260 that hung over you and me 497 00:23:53,439 –> 00:23:57,239 of an eternity under the wrath of God. 498 00:23:58,199 –> 00:24:01,140 You’ve been saved from that. 499 00:24:01,140 –> 00:24:02,680 Saved from that. 500 00:24:05,739 –> 00:24:10,739 Divine wrath burned itself out on Jesus Christ 501 00:24:11,020 –> 00:24:14,079 at the cross as far as you are concerned 502 00:24:14,079 –> 00:24:15,459 if you are in him today. 503 00:24:15,459 –> 00:24:16,979 That is glorious. 504 00:24:19,800 –> 00:24:21,800 And you will never know what it is like. 505 00:24:24,239 –> 00:24:27,479 There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 506 00:24:29,280 –> 00:24:30,979 That’s why Paul in First Thessalonians 507 00:24:30,979 –> 00:24:34,180 describes Jesus as the one who rescues us 508 00:24:34,180 –> 00:24:35,640 from the coming wrath. 509 00:24:37,579 –> 00:24:39,599 And in Romans chapter five he says this, 510 00:24:40,040 –> 00:24:43,540 since we have been justified by his blood, 511 00:24:44,439 –> 00:24:46,239 how much more shall we be saved 512 00:24:46,239 –> 00:24:49,099 from God’s wrath through him? 513 00:24:51,020 –> 00:24:53,359 And all this is the display of his love. 514 00:24:55,099 –> 00:24:56,680 What happened when you became a Christian, 515 00:24:56,680 –> 00:24:59,400 God gave life to you, God imparted power to you, 516 00:24:59,400 –> 00:25:00,760 God secured heaven for you, 517 00:25:00,760 –> 00:25:04,319 God shed grace on you, God saved you. 518 00:25:06,119 –> 00:25:08,760 And then number six, yet another view. 519 00:25:10,119 –> 00:25:11,819 God gave faith to you. 520 00:25:12,739 –> 00:25:13,880 Verses eight to nine. 521 00:25:13,880 –> 00:25:17,479 It is by grace that you have been saved through faith 522 00:25:17,479 –> 00:25:22,060 and this, not from yourselves. 523 00:25:23,160 –> 00:25:25,520 It is the gift of God. 524 00:25:25,520 –> 00:25:27,479 And it’s not by works 525 00:25:27,479 –> 00:25:30,260 so that no one can boast. 526 00:25:31,920 –> 00:25:34,219 Now, of course it is true that you believed. 527 00:25:34,219 –> 00:25:37,500 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. 528 00:25:37,500 –> 00:25:39,760 You exercised faith in coming to Christ 529 00:25:39,760 –> 00:25:43,099 and you exercised faith in walking with Christ. 530 00:25:44,020 –> 00:25:46,739 But Paul is stating quite plainly here, 531 00:25:46,739 –> 00:25:48,939 just looking at these words, 532 00:25:48,939 –> 00:25:52,739 he is saying that this faith which you exercised, 533 00:25:52,739 –> 00:25:55,180 it was the gift of God to you. 534 00:25:55,180 –> 00:25:57,780 And how could it be anything if you were dead? 535 00:25:57,780 –> 00:25:59,680 How can someone who is spiritually dead 536 00:25:59,680 –> 00:26:02,099 towards God generate faithful within themselves? 537 00:26:02,099 –> 00:26:03,819 It has to come from outside. 538 00:26:03,819 –> 00:26:05,359 It has to be the gift of God. 539 00:26:05,359 –> 00:26:06,699 And here’s how it happened. 540 00:26:06,699 –> 00:26:11,579 The eyes that finally saw the glory of Christ 541 00:26:11,579 –> 00:26:13,939 were opened by God. 542 00:26:15,000 –> 00:26:17,719 The ears that finally heard His word 543 00:26:17,719 –> 00:26:21,439 were opened by God. 544 00:26:21,439 –> 00:26:24,000 Behind your decision to trust Jesus, 545 00:26:24,000 –> 00:26:25,839 which truly was your decision, 546 00:26:25,839 –> 00:26:27,439 He led you to it, 547 00:26:28,339 –> 00:26:30,380 but behind it, 548 00:26:30,380 –> 00:26:34,439 there was this massive, amazing work 549 00:26:34,439 –> 00:26:36,540 of God laying hold of you 550 00:26:37,680 –> 00:26:39,780 in your death and in your slavery 551 00:26:39,780 –> 00:26:41,359 and in your condemnation 552 00:26:41,359 –> 00:26:42,640 and giving you life 553 00:26:42,640 –> 00:26:43,719 and raising you up 554 00:26:43,719 –> 00:26:46,900 All this God has done for you personally, 555 00:26:46,900 –> 00:26:49,520 it is the work of the Holy Spirit within you. 556 00:26:49,520 –> 00:26:50,900 It is amazing. 557 00:26:50,900 –> 00:26:53,380 It is His love for you that He’s done this. 558 00:26:55,640 –> 00:26:56,880 And this wonderful truth 559 00:26:56,880 –> 00:26:59,439 that faith is the gift of God 560 00:26:59,439 –> 00:27:01,040 and therefore, much more than merely 561 00:27:01,040 –> 00:27:01,959 my decision 562 00:27:02,880 –> 00:27:07,560 is to me the most marvelous builder of confidence 563 00:27:07,560 –> 00:27:08,959 with regards to the future 564 00:27:08,959 –> 00:27:10,119 and here’s how. 565 00:27:11,780 –> 00:27:14,319 If faith was just my personal decision 566 00:27:14,319 –> 00:27:15,560 to trust Jesus, 567 00:27:16,839 –> 00:27:19,400 I make a lot of decisions in life as you do 568 00:27:20,760 –> 00:27:23,920 and sometimes we change direction, you know. 569 00:27:25,239 –> 00:27:27,079 If it’s just my personal decision, 570 00:27:27,079 –> 00:27:29,380 then I might come to a really rough time 571 00:27:29,380 –> 00:27:32,380 and I might make a different decision. 572 00:27:33,619 –> 00:27:34,780 I might be moving one way 573 00:27:34,780 –> 00:27:36,640 and then 10 years from now be moving another way. 574 00:27:36,640 –> 00:27:39,280 How do you know that that won’t true of you? 575 00:27:39,280 –> 00:27:41,660 It’s so hard you go another way 576 00:27:41,660 –> 00:27:44,239 if that’s all it is, just you and your decision. 577 00:27:46,420 –> 00:27:50,060 But friend, if it is true as we are seeing in the Bible here 578 00:27:50,060 –> 00:27:55,060 that behind that decision there is the gift of God, 579 00:27:55,300 –> 00:27:57,579 what that means is this, 580 00:27:57,599 –> 00:28:00,819 the gift that God gives is a living seed. 581 00:28:00,819 –> 00:28:02,380 Faith is a living seed. 582 00:28:03,579 –> 00:28:05,459 And because it is a living seed 583 00:28:05,459 –> 00:28:07,939 that has come from the hand of God, 584 00:28:07,939 –> 00:28:09,599 it is a seed that will grow 585 00:28:09,599 –> 00:28:11,979 and it is a seed that will bear fruit 586 00:28:11,979 –> 00:28:14,459 within the life of every Christian believer 587 00:28:14,459 –> 00:28:19,020 until the day when that faith has fulfilled its function 588 00:28:19,900 –> 00:28:21,420 and it is no longer needed 589 00:28:22,560 –> 00:28:24,780 because faith has turned to sight 590 00:28:25,160 –> 00:28:28,380 and you are in the presence of Jesus 591 00:28:28,380 –> 00:28:32,780 with great joy, forever and forever. 592 00:28:34,219 –> 00:28:36,780 Thank you Lord that the faith that is within me, 593 00:28:36,780 –> 00:28:38,439 that truly is my faith 594 00:28:39,339 –> 00:28:42,380 is of the seed that you have planted 595 00:28:42,380 –> 00:28:46,459 within my soul and it is indestructible 596 00:28:46,459 –> 00:28:49,319 because it is the seed of God. 597 00:28:50,979 –> 00:28:52,260 That’s assurance, you see? 598 00:28:53,199 –> 00:28:54,839 That’s your confidence. 599 00:28:54,839 –> 00:28:56,359 That’s what you do when Satan says, 600 00:28:56,359 –> 00:28:57,640 how you do know if you’ll keep it up. 601 00:28:57,640 –> 00:29:00,079 You say, well if it was just my decision, 602 00:29:00,079 –> 00:29:03,000 I might not but hey, there’s something more going on here. 603 00:29:03,959 –> 00:29:05,099 It’s the gift of God. 604 00:29:06,119 –> 00:29:07,319 And that’s why I can’t boast. 605 00:29:07,319 –> 00:29:09,400 That’s why I can’t say hey, look, 606 00:29:09,400 –> 00:29:11,660 I’m the kind of guy that makes the right decisions 607 00:29:11,660 –> 00:29:12,839 and follows the right path 608 00:29:12,839 –> 00:29:15,119 and chooses the right trust in Jesus Christ 609 00:29:15,119 –> 00:29:15,959 and all these other people. 610 00:29:15,959 –> 00:29:18,260 Well, of course, they just got it wrong. 611 00:29:18,260 –> 00:29:19,099 No! 612 00:29:20,099 –> 00:29:23,540 The gift of God that leaves me staggered in worship 613 00:29:25,500 –> 00:29:27,099 and enables me to say oh God, 614 00:29:27,099 –> 00:29:29,619 do this miracle of grace in the life of my brother, 615 00:29:29,619 –> 00:29:32,359 my sister, my friend, my neighbor, oh God. 616 00:29:34,300 –> 00:29:38,040 I am wrapped in wonder 617 00:29:39,140 –> 00:29:42,680 at your amazing grace to me. 618 00:29:42,680 –> 00:29:43,520 You feel that? 619 00:29:43,520 –> 00:29:44,359 Do you see that? 620 00:29:44,359 –> 00:29:47,500 And I feel it. 621 00:29:47,500 –> 00:29:52,500 Number seven, what happened when you became a Christian? 622 00:29:53,839 –> 00:29:56,400 God prepared work for you. 623 00:29:57,500 –> 00:30:02,040 Verse 10, for we are God’s workmanship 624 00:30:02,040 –> 00:30:04,520 created in Christ Jesus 625 00:30:05,660 –> 00:30:08,040 to do good works 626 00:30:08,040 –> 00:30:13,040 which God prepared in advance for us to do. 627 00:30:14,000 –> 00:30:18,520 We are God’s workmanship. 628 00:30:18,520 –> 00:30:20,280 Isn’t this beautiful? 629 00:30:20,280 –> 00:30:24,079 Every Christian is handcrafted by God. 630 00:30:25,760 –> 00:30:30,000 And God has no mass production line. 631 00:30:31,979 –> 00:30:34,880 He creates us with unique individuality 632 00:30:34,880 –> 00:30:38,540 so he saves us with that unique individuality 633 00:30:38,540 –> 00:30:42,979 and he has handcrafted the new life in you himself. 634 00:30:42,979 –> 00:30:43,819 It’s wonderful. 635 00:30:44,839 –> 00:30:47,439 You are God’s workmanship. 636 00:30:48,540 –> 00:30:50,079 The potter and the clay. 637 00:30:50,079 –> 00:30:50,920 Beautiful. 638 00:30:52,520 –> 00:30:56,459 The word translated, workmanship, here is the word, Poima, 639 00:30:57,599 –> 00:30:59,119 from which we get our word, poem. 640 00:30:59,119 –> 00:31:01,660 So for all of you who are artistic today, 641 00:31:01,660 –> 00:31:04,199 this is another glimpse of the love of God. 642 00:31:04,199 –> 00:31:07,819 Every Christian is God’s work of art. 643 00:31:07,819 –> 00:31:09,339 God’s poem, literally. 644 00:31:10,040 –> 00:31:12,900 In other words, there is something beautiful 645 00:31:12,900 –> 00:31:14,780 about every redeemed life. 646 00:31:15,939 –> 00:31:18,719 If you are in Christ, then something of the beauty 647 00:31:18,719 –> 00:31:22,339 that has been imparted by his own workmanship 648 00:31:22,339 –> 00:31:24,800 crafting you in the likeness of Jesus Christ 649 00:31:24,800 –> 00:31:28,660 will become increasingly evident in what you do 650 00:31:28,660 –> 00:31:32,780 and what you say as you grow in Jesus Christ. 651 00:31:32,780 –> 00:31:33,599 Wonderful. 652 00:31:33,800 –> 00:31:38,800 I’m gonna risk a culturally foreign illustration here. 653 00:31:41,260 –> 00:31:43,160 There are many Scottish poets but only one 654 00:31:43,160 –> 00:31:46,819 who is known, and that’s Robert Burns. 655 00:31:46,819 –> 00:31:49,160 And the style of his writing was so distinctive 656 00:31:49,160 –> 00:31:52,000 that it’s very recognizable, so if I was speaking 657 00:31:52,000 –> 00:31:54,479 in Scotland this would be dead easy, 658 00:31:54,479 –> 00:31:57,400 but I’m not, so I’m on dangerous ground here. 659 00:31:58,400 –> 00:32:00,719 Burns wrote many poems, one of them, 660 00:32:00,719 –> 00:32:03,079 one of the most famous, Tuath Hagais, 661 00:32:03,119 –> 00:32:04,739 which is something that you eat. 662 00:32:04,739 –> 00:32:06,819 And if you’ve been to Scotland you know 663 00:32:06,819 –> 00:32:09,239 they have these occasions when they bring in the hagas 664 00:32:09,239 –> 00:32:11,859 and they open it up and you’re looking 665 00:32:11,859 –> 00:32:15,839 in doubt of me already, and someone will then 666 00:32:15,839 –> 00:32:19,800 quote Robert Burns, and he says these words 667 00:32:19,800 –> 00:32:22,140 about the pudding and how the pudding 668 00:32:22,140 –> 00:32:25,839 is well worthy of a blessing as long as your arm, 669 00:32:25,839 –> 00:32:27,479 and I’m very conscious right now 670 00:32:27,479 –> 00:32:30,400 as I’m about to give you these words 671 00:32:30,479 –> 00:32:32,939 that we have folks translating, 672 00:32:32,939 –> 00:32:35,760 and this is absolutely impossible, 673 00:32:35,760 –> 00:32:38,260 my dear brothers and sisters, for you, 674 00:32:38,260 –> 00:32:41,300 here are the words of Robert Burns, 675 00:32:41,300 –> 00:32:44,599 great chieftain of the pudding race, 676 00:32:44,599 –> 00:32:47,699 a boon the maul you’ll tack your plase, 677 00:32:47,699 –> 00:32:51,699 weel are you worthy of a grace as lanes ma arm, 678 00:32:53,719 –> 00:32:57,319 now anyone in the country from which I come 679 00:32:57,800 –> 00:33:01,560 who hears these words would say that’s Burns, 680 00:33:05,040 –> 00:33:07,859 nobody else writes like that. 681 00:33:07,859 –> 00:33:11,000 With which you could probably heartily agree. 682 00:33:11,000 –> 00:33:15,160 That’s Burns, they wouldn’t even say that’s like Burns. 683 00:33:18,119 –> 00:33:22,140 They’d say that’s Burns because the poetry 684 00:33:22,140 –> 00:33:24,640 is an extension of the poet, 685 00:33:24,640 –> 00:33:26,979 the man himself is in it, 686 00:33:27,199 –> 00:33:29,699 the way he is expressed by it. 687 00:33:30,780 –> 00:33:33,680 Now I take these moments with that remote illustration 688 00:33:33,680 –> 00:33:36,660 because you see, the whole point about the works 689 00:33:36,660 –> 00:33:38,180 that are spoken about here, 690 00:33:38,180 –> 00:33:40,680 he’s prepared good works for us to do, 691 00:33:40,680 –> 00:33:42,680 the whole point of this is when redeeming 692 00:33:42,680 –> 00:33:45,260 love from Jesus Christ is at work 693 00:33:45,260 –> 00:33:47,300 in the life of a Christian believer, 694 00:33:47,300 –> 00:33:49,760 a lightful flow out of that that would cause 695 00:33:49,760 –> 00:33:52,099 people to say, that’s Jesus! 696 00:33:52,900 –> 00:33:54,739 And not even that’s light Jesus. 697 00:33:54,739 –> 00:33:56,439 That’s Jesus. 698 00:33:57,520 –> 00:34:00,819 Because it is a representation of Jesus Christ 699 00:34:00,819 –> 00:34:02,260 that I’m seeing here. 700 00:34:02,260 –> 00:34:04,739 There’s something that becomes recognizable. 701 00:34:04,739 –> 00:34:06,619 That’s where it comes from. 702 00:34:06,619 –> 00:34:09,780 It’s an extension of that life in this life. 703 00:34:11,300 –> 00:34:14,280 We are God’s workmanship created by Jesus Christ 704 00:34:14,280 –> 00:34:16,560 to do good works which God prepared in advance 705 00:34:16,560 –> 00:34:17,399 for us to do. 706 00:34:17,739 –> 00:34:19,639 And that’s why our Lord Jesus says, 707 00:34:20,800 –> 00:34:23,620 let your light so shine before men 708 00:34:24,899 –> 00:34:27,060 that they may see your good works 709 00:34:28,080 –> 00:34:30,959 and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 710 00:34:33,699 –> 00:34:35,800 What happened when you became a Christian? 711 00:34:37,379 –> 00:34:38,639 God gave life to you. 712 00:34:39,760 –> 00:34:41,419 God imparted power to you. 713 00:34:42,379 –> 00:34:44,219 God secured heaven for you. 714 00:34:45,219 –> 00:34:46,860 God showered grace on you. 715 00:34:47,979 –> 00:34:49,340 God saved you. 716 00:34:50,219 –> 00:34:51,879 God gave faith to you. 717 00:34:52,739 –> 00:34:54,419 And God prepared work for you. 718 00:34:54,419 –> 00:34:55,260 Glorious. 719 00:34:55,260 –> 00:34:57,100 Seven views of the love of Christ. 720 00:34:57,100 –> 00:34:59,100 And these are all the realities 721 00:34:59,100 –> 00:35:01,260 that have taken place in your life 722 00:35:01,260 –> 00:35:02,739 if you’re a Christian believer. 723 00:35:02,739 –> 00:35:04,340 They’re true of every Christian. 724 00:35:05,719 –> 00:35:08,820 Now here’s the conclusion in three very simple questions. 725 00:35:08,820 –> 00:35:13,379 Number one, are you savoring the joys of God’s love? 726 00:35:14,659 –> 00:35:16,179 It began in verse four. 727 00:35:16,179 –> 00:35:17,939 Because of His great love for us. 728 00:35:17,939 –> 00:35:21,199 All of this is the love of God in Jesus Christ to you. 729 00:35:22,659 –> 00:35:26,159 So as we’re cycling past these seven views, as it were. 730 00:35:26,159 –> 00:35:27,340 Take them in. 731 00:35:27,340 –> 00:35:31,060 Look at was God has done in love for you. 732 00:35:32,600 –> 00:35:34,300 And my first prayer for us today 733 00:35:34,300 –> 00:35:36,260 is that God would bring many 734 00:35:36,260 –> 00:35:39,179 to not only see the extent of our own sinfulness 735 00:35:39,179 –> 00:35:40,560 and our deadness towards God 736 00:35:40,560 –> 00:35:42,699 and the captivity of the sinful nature 737 00:35:42,699 –> 00:35:44,520 with which we were born, 738 00:35:44,520 –> 00:35:47,780 but that we would come to see in the light of that 739 00:35:47,780 –> 00:35:50,000 the glory of what God has done for us 740 00:35:50,000 –> 00:35:52,840 and does for us in Jesus Christ, 741 00:35:52,840 –> 00:35:54,520 that you would come to a place of saying, 742 00:35:54,520 –> 00:35:57,000 Lord, I knew that You loved me, 743 00:35:57,000 –> 00:35:59,840 but I never knew that You loved me like this. 744 00:36:01,280 –> 00:36:02,340 Second question. 745 00:36:03,340 –> 00:36:07,060 Do you see the unique glory 746 00:36:07,060 –> 00:36:08,540 of Jesus Christ? 747 00:36:09,560 –> 00:36:14,060 Do you see today the unique glory of Jesus Christ? 748 00:36:14,840 –> 00:36:16,459 I’ve left this point until now 749 00:36:16,459 –> 00:36:18,280 because I want to make it especially clear 750 00:36:18,280 –> 00:36:21,199 and not to lose it in our journey through the seven views. 751 00:36:21,199 –> 00:36:23,260 But did you notice how everything that God 752 00:36:23,260 –> 00:36:25,780 has done for us in love and in mercy 753 00:36:25,780 –> 00:36:28,620 is tied to Jesus Christ? 754 00:36:29,679 –> 00:36:34,679 So you have it five times in just six verses. 755 00:36:35,760 –> 00:36:40,679 God made us, verse five, alive with Christ. 756 00:36:40,679 –> 00:36:44,399 God raised us, verse six, up with Christ. 757 00:36:44,439 –> 00:36:48,739 Verse six again, God ceded us in heavenly realms in Christ. 758 00:36:48,739 –> 00:36:51,639 Verse seven, the incomparable riches of God’s grace 759 00:36:51,639 –> 00:36:54,639 are expressed to us in His kindness in Christ. 760 00:36:54,639 –> 00:36:58,659 Verse ten, we are God’s workmanship created in Christ. 761 00:36:58,659 –> 00:36:59,679 Now you can’t miss it. 762 00:36:59,679 –> 00:37:03,459 It’s like a drumbeat all the way through. 763 00:37:03,459 –> 00:37:04,760 So friends, understand this. 764 00:37:04,760 –> 00:37:07,000 Your life is in Christ. 765 00:37:07,000 –> 00:37:09,239 Your strength is in Christ. 766 00:37:09,239 –> 00:37:11,439 Your salvation is through Christ. 767 00:37:11,439 –> 00:37:13,399 Your faith is in Christ. 768 00:37:13,399 –> 00:37:15,280 Your works are for Christ, 769 00:37:15,280 –> 00:37:18,199 and your heaven will be with Christ. 770 00:37:19,600 –> 00:37:23,159 So when somebody asks you next week or next month, 771 00:37:23,159 –> 00:37:26,879 how can you really believe that Jesus is the only way, 772 00:37:28,959 –> 00:37:31,199 you might like to respond by saying, 773 00:37:32,679 –> 00:37:34,300 the only way to what? 774 00:37:36,739 –> 00:37:38,860 Because you see, when you understand 775 00:37:38,860 –> 00:37:40,840 what the New Testament is saying 776 00:37:40,840 –> 00:37:42,800 about what salvation actually is, 777 00:37:42,800 –> 00:37:46,560 it leads to these questions, who else gives life? 778 00:37:47,939 –> 00:37:49,979 Who else is raised from the dead 779 00:37:49,979 –> 00:37:52,419 and therefore able to raise others from the dead? 780 00:37:53,520 –> 00:37:55,719 Who else is seated at the right hand 781 00:37:55,719 –> 00:37:57,459 of the Father in heaven? 782 00:37:58,760 –> 00:38:01,040 Look at the spectrum of God’s love, 783 00:38:01,959 –> 00:38:04,120 look at what our salvation actually is, 784 00:38:04,120 –> 00:38:05,899 look at these miracles of grace. 785 00:38:05,899 –> 00:38:07,199 No one else could do them. 786 00:38:09,280 –> 00:38:11,719 These gifts are ours in Christ, 787 00:38:11,860 –> 00:38:13,800 they are gifts because of Christ 788 00:38:13,800 –> 00:38:18,000 and through Christ and none of them are ours without Christ 789 00:38:18,000 –> 00:38:21,120 and that’s why unashamedly we worship him 790 00:38:21,120 –> 00:38:24,560 as savior and as redeemer and as Lord. 791 00:38:24,560 –> 00:38:25,679 There is no one else like him, 792 00:38:25,679 –> 00:38:27,340 no one else can do these things. 793 00:38:29,560 –> 00:38:31,360 Last question is simply this. 794 00:38:32,840 –> 00:38:36,959 Have you then grasped what it means to be a Christian? 795 00:38:39,000 –> 00:38:40,919 I have a good friend who some years ago 796 00:38:41,000 –> 00:38:44,879 came to a church with a distinguished history 797 00:38:44,879 –> 00:38:46,580 in Washington D.C. 798 00:38:48,139 –> 00:38:50,479 and when he began as a pastor there 799 00:38:50,479 –> 00:38:53,179 what he discovered were that there were many 800 00:38:53,179 –> 00:38:55,919 good and model people 801 00:38:57,360 –> 00:39:02,360 who did not really have a living and personal knowledge 802 00:39:02,439 –> 00:39:06,300 of Jesus Christ, a walk with him as some people say. 803 00:39:06,739 –> 00:39:11,739 And I suppose the New Testament would describe it like this, 804 00:39:12,320 –> 00:39:14,699 Paul talks on one occasion about many people 805 00:39:14,699 –> 00:39:18,580 who have a form of godliness but denying the power, 806 00:39:18,580 –> 00:39:20,020 it’s a very important phrase, 807 00:39:20,020 –> 00:39:22,560 a form of godliness but denying the power. 808 00:39:22,560 –> 00:39:24,000 In other words, they are moral 809 00:39:24,000 –> 00:39:28,699 and they are dutiful and they are generous 810 00:39:28,699 –> 00:39:32,060 and they do so many good things 811 00:39:32,060 –> 00:39:33,520 but there is not much knowledge 812 00:39:33,520 –> 00:39:35,280 of the life of Christ 813 00:39:36,300 –> 00:39:37,659 within their souls. 814 00:39:39,219 –> 00:39:40,979 They would sign off on a creed 815 00:39:42,020 –> 00:39:46,479 but there isn’t much of the heart experience of worship 816 00:39:46,479 –> 00:39:50,139 or of love for Christ or of prayer 817 00:39:50,139 –> 00:39:53,939 or of these evidences of spiritual life. 818 00:39:55,959 –> 00:39:58,320 And we got to talking about his ministry. 819 00:39:58,320 –> 00:39:59,280 I said, what did you do? 820 00:39:59,280 –> 00:40:02,040 And he said, you know, for the first year 821 00:40:02,979 –> 00:40:05,959 I preached my way through Mark’s gospel 822 00:40:06,000 –> 00:40:08,379 and every sermon was basically a sermon 823 00:40:08,379 –> 00:40:10,540 about what it means to be a real Christian. 824 00:40:12,560 –> 00:40:14,820 And he said, gradually what was happening 825 00:40:14,820 –> 00:40:18,820 was that over time, people began to figure like this. 826 00:40:20,340 –> 00:40:24,939 If that’s what a real Christian is, that’s not me. 827 00:40:27,060 –> 00:40:29,899 And so maybe having thought for 20, 50, 70 years 828 00:40:29,899 –> 00:40:32,139 that I really am a Christian and I was born that way 829 00:40:32,139 –> 00:40:33,500 and all that kind of thing, 830 00:40:34,159 –> 00:40:37,939 maybe I need to begin seeking after God 831 00:40:37,939 –> 00:40:42,060 and to start asking of God that these realities 832 00:40:42,060 –> 00:40:44,659 that I’m hearing about will become true in my life. 833 00:40:46,659 –> 00:40:48,600 And he said, the wonderful thing was, 834 00:40:49,840 –> 00:40:51,580 over the years that followed, 835 00:40:53,159 –> 00:40:58,159 so many people came to new life in Jesus Christ. 836 00:40:59,139 –> 00:41:04,139 And I wanna tell you, having been pastor, 837 00:41:05,620 –> 00:41:07,639 you’re pastor here for 15 years now. 838 00:41:09,560 –> 00:41:14,399 I thank God from the bottom of my heart 839 00:41:15,719 –> 00:41:19,239 for every one of you who have said to me 840 00:41:19,239 –> 00:41:21,179 at some point in the last 15 years, 841 00:41:21,179 –> 00:41:25,280 you know, I used to think that I was a Christian. 842 00:41:26,120 –> 00:41:30,179 And now I’ve discovered I didn’t really know what that was. 843 00:41:31,419 –> 00:41:33,479 But I find new life in Jesus Christ now. 844 00:41:34,919 –> 00:41:37,860 It’s happened to scores of us. 845 00:41:39,800 –> 00:41:41,139 Has that happened to you? 846 00:41:44,739 –> 00:41:47,939 Can you say today, really measure 847 00:41:47,939 –> 00:41:49,280 your life by the word of God? 848 00:41:49,280 –> 00:41:51,320 What’s the point in opening it otherwise? 849 00:41:52,159 –> 00:41:56,020 Can you say today, God has given life to me. 850 00:41:58,100 –> 00:41:59,959 God has imparted power to me. 851 00:41:59,959 –> 00:42:01,959 The Holy Spirit lives within me. 852 00:42:03,500 –> 00:42:05,060 God has secured heaven for me. 853 00:42:05,060 –> 00:42:08,659 Can you say today, God has saved me, God saved me. 854 00:42:09,939 –> 00:42:13,479 Can you say today, God has showered grace on me. 855 00:42:13,479 –> 00:42:14,899 Is that your testimony? 856 00:42:14,899 –> 00:42:17,679 Can you say, God has given faith to me? 857 00:42:18,139 –> 00:42:19,600 Are you going to go out into this week and say, 858 00:42:19,600 –> 00:42:21,600 God has prepared works for me. 859 00:42:23,540 –> 00:42:25,080 That is true of every Christian. 860 00:42:25,080 –> 00:42:27,979 If it’s true of you, I want you to come before the Lord 861 00:42:27,979 –> 00:42:29,979 right now and to thank him, 862 00:42:29,979 –> 00:42:33,479 and to say, miracles of grace have happened in my life 863 00:42:33,479 –> 00:42:37,199 for which I cannot in all eternity adequately thank you. 864 00:42:39,300 –> 00:42:40,659 And if these things are not true of you, 865 00:42:40,659 –> 00:42:42,219 will you not bow your head and your heart 866 00:42:42,219 –> 00:42:44,500 and draw near to Jesus Christ in faith 867 00:42:44,500 –> 00:42:46,540 and say to him, God has granted in me 868 00:42:47,419 –> 00:42:49,500 the grace of Christ in faith and say to him today, 869 00:42:49,500 –> 00:42:51,139 Lord Jesus I see now that I need you 870 00:42:51,139 –> 00:42:53,459 to give me what I do not have 871 00:42:53,459 –> 00:42:56,600 and to make me what I have not been 872 00:42:57,679 –> 00:43:00,820 for your sake and for your glory. 873 00:43:00,820 –> 00:43:02,719 Let’s bow in prayer together shall we? 874 00:43:05,300 –> 00:43:08,300 Please make one of these prayers yours right now would you. 875 00:43:10,620 –> 00:43:13,899 Of these seven things that are true for you 876 00:43:13,899 –> 00:43:16,500 your heart surely must rise to Christ 877 00:43:17,340 –> 00:43:18,500 whatever the circumstances of your life 878 00:43:18,500 –> 00:43:23,260 and say thank you for that over the top grace 879 00:43:25,760 –> 00:43:28,899 that you have poured out lavishly 880 00:43:31,179 –> 00:43:33,260 on me in Jesus Christ. 881 00:43:37,699 –> 00:43:41,280 And for the person who has been wonderfully awakened today 882 00:43:43,979 –> 00:43:45,659 you can come to the Savior 883 00:43:47,459 –> 00:43:49,179 you can say Lord Jesus, 884 00:43:49,179 –> 00:43:52,600 I am the sinner who needs this miracle of your grace, 885 00:43:56,260 –> 00:43:58,399 I have thought all was well with me, 886 00:44:00,540 –> 00:44:05,020 today I see and feel my need of Christ, 887 00:44:07,379 –> 00:44:08,459 save me, 888 00:44:10,419 –> 00:44:13,020 pour out your grace on me 889 00:44:13,939 –> 00:44:16,600 I need you. 890 00:44:16,600 –> 00:44:18,379 And he does this in Christ, 891 00:44:18,379 –> 00:44:21,360 so believe on this Christ who came and died 892 00:44:21,360 –> 00:44:23,280 and rose for you and even now is at 893 00:44:23,280 –> 00:44:25,300 the right hand of the Father for you. 894 00:44:26,879 –> 00:44:27,719 Trust him, 895 00:44:29,260 –> 00:44:30,100 ask of him, 896 00:44:31,939 –> 00:44:35,020 give yourself wholly to him right now, 897 00:44:36,899 –> 00:44:39,459 and this promise is from his own lips, 898 00:44:39,620 –> 00:44:41,919 whoever comes to me, 899 00:44:42,939 –> 00:44:47,340 I will never turn them away. 900 00:44:49,340 –> 00:44:50,739 Thanks be to God, 901 00:44:52,000 –> 00:44:54,340 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 902 00:44:55,879 –> 00:44:56,719 Amen. 903 00:44:58,639 –> 00:44:59,860 You’ve been listening to a sermon 904 00:44:59,860 –> 00:45:02,260 with Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 905 00:45:02,260 –> 00:45:07,260 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 906 00:45:07,260 –> 00:45:11,000 or visit our website, openthebible.org.