We Know, Part 4

[0:00] Appreciate your artistry there at the piano. Thank you. And we're kind of lean this morning. People are still understandably concerned about this COVID thing.

[0:13] We don't know where that's going. We've got a number of people who are recovering from it and some who are still in it in quarantine. Shelly Jenkins has moved to assisted living where we used to have our afternoon ministry for several years.

[0:29] And we went there to make arrangements yesterday to pick her up this morning. And they're in lockdown. And because of the COVID thing, they've got some residents there who've tested positive.

[0:44] So nobody can get in and nobody can get out. And that's the way it is for the present time. So we want to say a special hello to a special couple who was here this morning.

[1:00] Dale and Connie Ward. Many of you do not know them. Do we have any Grace old timers here who remember this couple? Yeah. Hey.

[1:11] Dale and Connie making their home in Colorado now. And they have been involved in the Ariel ministry with Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum.

[1:25] And we just found that out this morning. So we were really happy to hear about their association with him. And it was 1980 or 1981 when some of us, it was Barbara and Daryl Henderson.

[1:42] And Joyce and Bill Fulton. And Bob and Denny Oaks. And let's see, there were a couple of other couples.

[1:55] And we all took this Caribbean cruise to celebrate our 25th anniversary in 1981. And Dale and Connie were along.

[2:07] And it was their honeymoon. And now they are back to celebrate Dale's 50th anniversary, graduation anniversary.

[2:18] Was it Northwestern? What school? Tecumseh. Okay. Well, I was close. It was still Clark County. Tecumseh High School. Their 50th graduation celebration.

[2:32] So I really want to welcome you folks. It's so great to see you. And wow. The years do get by, don't they? Well, as you note, the Rambeck family is not present this morning because they have a greater attraction.

[2:50] And his name is Adam. He was born Tuesday evening. And it was, well, I've got an email here from the father.

[3:05] This is from Nathan. And he says, Pastor Marv, here is a message you can pass on to the congregation. Hi, Grace family.

[3:15] Our son Adam was born late Tuesday night at the Wexter Medical Center in Columbus. It was a difficult delivery ending in an emergency C-section.

[3:32] But baby came out healthy and strong. Jamie spent 24 hours in the ICU because of complications from the surgery. But has been recovering well from the ordeal and is already back on her feet.

[3:47] During the last couple months, specialists have been concerned about Adam's abnormality in his growth and his ability to breathe outside the womb.

[4:00] However, despite some shorter limbs, he has proven quite healthy with good, strong lungs. He has been diagnosed with a common type of dwarfism, which despite small stature, has no other significant risk factors.

[4:22] He has proven to be a thriving and energetic little boy. Thanks to everyone at Grace for your love and care for us and for Adam.

[4:36] So I don't know how soon we will be able to see the little fellow, but I'm sure he will be a welcome and a special addition to the Brambeck family.

[4:47] And we will pray about that situation right now. Would you join with me? Once again, Father, we are all by the miracle of birth.

[5:00] How you have provided regeneration and productivity from these bodies that you have designed. We just marvel at the intricate nature with which we are constructed.

[5:16] And we recognize that it all comes from your benevolent and loving hand. We are marveled that you have made us in your likeness and in your image, even though somewhat marred as we are by the fall.

[5:30] We are thankful for this new little life that has come into the Brambeck family. For little Adam. We know there will be some special challenges there, but we know you have already equipped this family spiritually and emotionally to be able to handle and deal with the differences that will be in their midst.

[5:51] Thank you again for the preciousness and the value of life itself. And for this new addition, little Adam, who may be poised to make a really significant difference in the lives of many people, even with what the world would call a handicap.

[6:10] In your wisdom and in your power, you are able to overcome anything and everything that we mortals might labor as a handicap. Thank you so much for your grace, for your sufficiency, for your wisdom in all that you do and all that you permit.

[6:26] Now we ask that you will undertake for us at this time of reflection on provision that you have made for us in our inner man and for the volition that you have imparted to us and the importance of how we use it.

[6:41] Thank you for the presence of each one here this morning. In Christ's name. Amen. We have just recently begun a new series in which we are dealing with the subject of know you not.

[6:53] That's the way it appears in the King James Version, but we would translate it perhaps with do you not know or do you not understand. And there are a number of these.

[7:04] And when you put them together, there are many more than what you would think. And I want you to listen carefully as just I go through them briefly and then we'll concentrate on the one that we began with last week.

[7:16] In Romans 6.3, the Apostle Paul says, Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

[7:30] And then Romans 6.16, Know ye not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness?

[7:44] And then Romans 7.1, Know ye not, brethren, for I speak to them that know the law, how that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?

[7:57] And then 1 Corinthians 3.16, Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 5.6, Your glorying is not good.

[8:12] Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? And 1 Corinthians 6.2, Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?

[8:24] And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge in the smallest matters? And 1 Corinthians 6.3, Know ye not that we shall judge angels, how much more things that pertain to this life?

[8:39] And, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers with mankind shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.

[8:55] Know ye not, 1 Corinthians 6.15, That your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot?

[9:08] God forbid. Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? For two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

[9:20] Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

[9:35] Know ye not that they which minister about the holy things live of the things of the temple? And they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar.

[9:46] Even so has the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize, so run that you may obtain.

[10:00] And examine yourselves whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates.

[10:14] All those know ye nots. And I want to emphasize one thing in particular because it is key to the whole subject. All of those know ye nots, without exception, are found in the writings of the Apostle Paul.

[10:33] And many of these, most of them, are breakthrough new truths that were not known before God committed an update of his message to the Apostle Paul.

[10:48] It contained content that you will not find in the four gospels because it's not supposed to be there. This was a later development. All these know ye nots are intended to provoke us to an understanding that these are things that everyone who names the name of Christ ought to know and be familiar with.

[11:11] And when Paul uses that statement and asks that rhetorical question, know ye not, he is not suggesting that he is telling them something brand new that they'd never heard before.

[11:25] In fact, he is implying that they already know it. They'd already learned it. He'd already taught it. These are reminders.

[11:37] You do know, don't you? That's what he's saying. The implication is, of course they know that. Who doesn't know that? But, as Peter said in his epistle, I write these things to you even though you know them.

[11:52] But I repeat them that I may stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. And do you know? Know ye not that that is one of the principal objectives of the preacher?

[12:06] Is very often all we are doing is reminding people of what they already know. Well, why do we need to be reminded?

[12:19] Because we are prone to forget. That's why we have the Lord's table when we celebrate communion. That's why it is written across the front.

[12:31] And that's why Jesus said that we are to do this in remembrance of him. Well, now I ask you, how in the world would it be possible to forget him?

[12:47] It isn't that we just completely forget him. It's just that he no longer often occupies that premier place in our thinking. And when we come together and celebrate the communion, as we do numerous times throughout the year, as we do, we do it in remembrance of him.

[13:09] And the bread reminds us of his body. And the cup reminds us of his blood that he shed for us. And we do need to be reminded of these things. So this is exactly what Paul is getting at when he uses this phrase over and over again.

[13:25] Know ye not. It's simply another way of saying, you do know, don't you? You do remember this, don't you? You do have this in your mind, don't you? And it is for us as much as it was for those to whom he was writing.

[13:38] And all of these truths that he is sharing here, brand spanking new content that was never before known by the 12 apostles because they had a different message in ministry.

[13:52] And theirs was the message of the kingdom to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But when the apostle Paul was ordained of God, beginning with that Damascus Road experience, he came into a dual kind of responsibility where he is not to go just to the Jew as were the 12.

[14:13] When Jesus said, go not in the way of the Gentiles, don't go to the Samaritans, confine your ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, which means Jews only.

[14:24] You don't go to anyone else. Because the message they were delivering was strictly for the Jew, strictly for the seed of Abraham. And the message had to do with the nearness of the kingdom of heaven coming to earth, as is often repeated in that prayer, thy kingdom come.

[14:45] That's a prayer. And it is a prayer for the kingdom to come so that God's will in heaven will be done on earth.

[15:00] And I can't imagine anybody thinks that that's what's happening now. Just look around. But the time is coming when that kingdom of heaven will come to the earth and righteousness will be established and sin and all the things we deal with now negatively are going to be put out of the way.

[15:26] That was a special message for the nation of Israel. Unfortunately, the nation of Israel said, yeah, well, we're not buying it.

[15:40] We don't believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah sent from God away with him. crucify him.

[15:51] And they did. And three days later, he came back to life and he spent six weeks on earth with the apostles and with other brethren.

[16:04] Paul tells us there were 500 who saw him at one time. Then he ascended right before the eyes of the apostles and went back to heaven and he left them with a special commission.

[16:16] And the commission was they were to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And what was the message they were to preach? It was the same message. It was the gospel of the kingdom.

[16:28] There was one dramatic thing that was really added to it and that made all the difference in the world and that was the resurrection and that became their message. So now, after the resurrection of Christ and his 40 days on the earth and his ascension back to heaven and now they have a resurrection to preach, now Peter is going to deliver that message in Acts chapter 2 to the nation of Israel as they gather for the feast of Pentecost and he explains to them in his message that Jesus was sent by God but you, Israel, you by wicked hands have slain and crucified the Lord of glory but God raised him from the dead.

[17:14] And then in chapter 3, Peter continues that same message and he says, and if you, Israel, nationally, if you will repent, that is, change your mind, reverse course from having rejected Jesus as the Messiah to accepting him, God will send him back and the kingdom come to earth is still a possibility.

[17:42] What do you say, Israel? And chapter 4 of the book of Acts makes it very clear. The religious authorities came upon Peter and the 12 grieved that they were preaching the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and they laid hands on them and put them in jail and the persecution began and all that persecution was Jews persecuting Jews and that was going to go on for quite some time and the fellow, the fellow who headed the pack, I guess we can call them the original Gestapo.

[18:30] The chief of the original Gestapo agents was a man by the name of Saul of Tarsus and while he was en route to Damascus going clear out of the city, going clear out of the country, went into a foreign country, Syria, because he had heard that a number of Jews had fled Jerusalem to escape being captured.

[18:54] These were people whom Saul of Tarsus considered and the religious authorities considered to be a dangerous cancer growing on Judaism.

[19:05] These people have to be stamped out. They are heretics. And Saul of Tarsus got together a group and they went all the way up to Syria a distance of about a hundred and ten miles one way for the express purpose of rounding up the Christians.

[19:22] We would call them Christians but they were Jews who had believed that Jesus was the Messiah and they believed in the resurrection and they had fled the persecution in Jerusalem to go out of the country to Syria and when Paul went up to Damascus, you know the story of the Damascus Road and the conversion and when God told Ananias he wanted him to go to the household of Judas on a street called Straight there in Damascus and find Saul of Tarsus for I will show him what great things he must suffer for my name.

[20:04] Can you imagine that God calls on people to suffer pain, deprivation, imprisonment for his name, for the name of Jesus?

[20:22] He called them for that purpose. Why? And I've asked you the question. The message that he is going to be delivering is the best good news the world has ever heard.

[20:37] Pray tell me why or how could anyone suffer for bringing tidings that is the best news that anyone ever heard and for that people got stoned?

[20:59] For that they got arrested? For that they got imprisoned? What is going on? Why did they not all eagerly embrace the man and his message with great thanksgiving and gratitude and they persecuted him?

[21:17] How do you account for that? And that's the essence of what we're going to be looking at now this morning because Paul was given a brand new message.

[21:29] In fact, it was a message never imagined, never heard before, completely new and this no doubt was one of the major reasons that it was met with rejection because there are those who tend to think that if anything is new it can't be true and if it's true it's something that we've known for a long time.

[21:55] That's not always the case because something new has come on the scene and it is this message predicated upon the death of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world his burial and his resurrection again to newness of life and what was accomplished in the vicarious, the substitutionary death of Christ, what was accomplished in that death was a payment sufficient to cover the sins of the entire world that could only be due to who that person was.

[22:48] Jesus Christ was God incarnated in human flesh and the payment that he made for billions, billions of people who have passed, billions who are here now and however many are to come.

[23:08] What that signifies is the nature and being and character of that person was such that he could do that.

[23:21] There was none other good enough. Jesus was the sinless Lamb of God which made him the only prospect for being an acceptable sacrifice because no human being could be sacrificed for another human being because he too is a sinful human being so there would be no worth to the atonement but in God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.

[23:59] Think of that. we're talking about billions of people. Do you realize there was no one for whose sin Christ did not die and yes I'm talking about Adolf Hitler and I'm talking about Jeffrey Dahmer and I'm talking about Joseph Stalin.

[24:17] Christ died for their sins too. Nobody was omitted. That does not make everybody saved because Christ died for their sin but it does make everybody savable.

[24:35] How can I say that? How can you not say that? If you cannot say that it could only be because you could not consider the payment that Jesus Christ made sufficient for everybody.

[24:49] It was sufficient for good people but not for bad people. No. No. No. No. It was sufficient for everyone. There was no one for whom Christ did not die because as in Adam all die.

[25:05] Who? All of us. All die. Physically and spiritually. All die. Even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

[25:17] And this ties in with this volition thing that we're going to be examining right now because it is an incredible concept. Every one of us every one of us possesses this thing called a volition a will.

[25:28] And the Apostle Paul is going to be confronting thousands of people through the preaching that he's going to be giving and they're going to be people who have a will and that means they have the ability to say no!

[25:42] We will not have this man to reign over us. And there are those who are going to say you mean he died to pay the penalty for my sin he did well the very least I can do is commit myself to him with great thanksgiving for his doing what he did for me.

[26:09] And let me tell you what the death of Christ provided. Well let's go quickly first to Acts chapter 13.

[26:19] this is just marvelous marvelous stuff. Acts chapter 13 on his very first missionary journey he is delivering this message and it is absolutely stunning.

[26:31] You talk about a showstopper. Boy that's what this was. It was remarkable. They're on their first missionary journey and they arrive in a town called Antioch but it is Pisidian Antioch it's not the Antioch from which they left which is up in Syria.

[26:49] This is a different Antioch different city same name and we are told in verse 14 that they went into the synagogue and sat down and after reading of the law and the prophets and so on they sent to Paul and to Barnabas and they said this is a synagogue situation I want you to get the picture this is a Jewish synagogue and it is Friday evening and there's probably a great number of people there and probably even some Gentiles there or God fearers they are they are not proselytes but they're God fearers they are Gentiles who have embraced the concept that the only true God there is is the God of Israel and they were there and Paul is preaching to this mixed message and we are told when he is given his commission through Ananias I will show him what great things he must suffer for my name and he is going to take my message to kings to princes to Jews to Gentiles to everyone because that's what Paul's that's what Paul's parish is going to be it's going to be the whole world the twelve apostles had a limited parish that was the children of Israel don't go to anyone else but Paul and Barnabas are commissioned to go to the whole world and they are going with an amazing message and the message isn't do this do that and do six other things and maybe you'll make it and maybe you'll be saved none of that

[28:17] Paul's message is not going to be a do do do Paul's message is going to be it's done done done and Jesus is the one who did it and for time's sake let's hasten on through this passage we are told in verse 32 Paul is preaching to this group in the synagogue and he says and we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers and whenever they use that word like that the fathers it always means the same thing doesn't mean the immediate preceding generation the fathers the fathers in Jewish lingo in the Bible the fathers always refers to Abraham Isaac and Jacob those three they are the three and out of them comprise the twelve tribes of the children of Israel because Jacob had twelve sons and each one of them became the progenitor of the twelve tribes of Israel and they are involved here and when he says this in verse well let's just we can't read the whole chapter because it's it's it's longer than so let's let's begin with verse verse 33 we just read verse 32 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that he raised up

[29:53] Jesus as it is also written in the second psalm thou art my son today I have begotten thee and as for the fact that he raised him up from the dead no more to return to decay he has spoken in this way I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David therefore he also says in another psalm thou wilt not allow thy holy one to undergo decay this is a quote from Psalm 16 and the psalmist was not speaking of himself because Paul goes on to explain here that David wasn't talking about himself David's body did see corruption we know where his tomb is we could locate him he said but he was speaking of another the son of David would not have a body that would see corruption that means he would not be in the tomb long enough for corruption to invade his body in the process of decay and deterioration but he would be raised from the dead it had always been a mysterious verse to the Jews who read this because it was a thousand years before Jesus was ever born and it was spoken of by David and everyone thought that how can that be we know where

[31:10] David's buried his body did see and he's bringing him up to speed and he's saying he's not talking about David verse 36 for David after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation fell asleep he died and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay but he whom God raised up did not undergo decay therefore let it be known to you brethren that through him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you you know there are some people who would read that and who do read that and they say yeah but you don't know what I've done you don't know how great my sin is and you don't know how many times I've committed it surely

[32:11] God couldn't and God wouldn't forgive that I don't deserve to be forgiven and to that we can only say amen you don't that is what is so incredibly startling about this no one who receives forgiveness of sin deserves it no one that's what makes it so outstanding thou has not dealt with us according to our iniquities for who could stand nobody folks this is marvelous listen to what is coming it is so spellbinding so stunning and for many it is so hard to believe because you don't know what

[33:24] I've done look at this through him everyone who believes is freed from all things well maybe it should be read everyone who believes is freed from most things except the big ones freed from all things from which you could not be freed through the law of Moses now I want to make a comment and state a position that I trust you will never ever ever forget and that is the reason that God is able to forgive eager to forgive the most heinous horrible terrible things that human beings can do to other human beings the reason that God is able and willing to forgive is because of the value that was wrapped up in the person who made that penalty payment you understand that we are not talking about a mere man we are talking about

[34:56] God man that's what the word Emmanuel means God with us God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself the world didn't leave out one single solitary person the vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives are you serious that's what the death of Christ is able to accomplish let me put it this way however vile an individual is and frankly we all know human beings that are capable and have been capable of unspeakable atrocities not only murder and rape and cannibalism and some of the vilest things that you could ever imagine that you wouldn't think a human being could be capable of doing but they did you mean to tell me that God can forgive somebody like that

[36:20] I mean to tell you that if he can't he's out of business if he can't the finished work that Jesus Christ accomplished on that cross wasn't quite finished wasn't quite enough can you believe that for a moment boy I can't all we are saying is everything that was wrapped up in this person called a human sacrifice for human sin was of such a kind such a nature so divine so god like so god so perfect so innocent so everything that's good that the payment he made effectively cancels the sins of the entire world now I know we're talking about billions and billions of people but we are also talking about the infinite character and nature of deity and the most amazing thing the world has ever heard is that he who knew no sin was made to be sin on our behalf so that we might be made the righteousness of god in him well that's the message that god committed to paul predicated upon the death burial and resurrection of christ that's the message listen this message had never been preached before before all they had was the law of moses and you know what the law of moses prescribed the soul that sinneth it shall die and if you sin you're going to die you're going to be executed for your sin in the jewish setting it would be by stoning so what's the remedy well we either kill you or god said god said that he would be acceptable he would be accepting of an innocent animal sacrificed by you in your place and this animal has no moral sin or guilt it is an innocent animal and it will atone for it will provide a covering for your sin it will be a temporary respite for your sin but the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin that's why it was inadequate and yet the principle of animal sacrifice and substitution was drilled into the psyche of the nation of Israel so they had an altar that was constantly flowing with animal sacrificial blood and all it spoke of was the sin of the people the sin of the people the sin of the people is covered temporarily taken out of the way by the blood of an innocent animal and that's what it was all about when John the Baptist identified

[39:55] Jesus as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world Jesus didn't die on that cross just for good people there weren't any there still aren't any we're all tainted we're all compromised all of us and the proof of that is your impending physical death we are all going to die physically because we're all sinners but our human spirit that is internal is that which was regenerated when we received Christ as our Savior God made us new on the inside made us a new creation in Christ Jesus and when we die physically that spirit exits the body this is the same thing

[40:58] Jesus was talking about when he was on the cross and he said father into thy hands I commit my spirit and he bowed his head and died and no one saw his spirit leave his body but it did and when Stephen was stoned to death in Acts chapter 7 by no less than the elite people of Israel the shakers and movers the chief priests the scribes and the Pharisees they were the ones who threw the stones that crushed the body and took the life out of Stephen the first martyr and the one who was standing there holding their garments while they did the dastardly deed was a fellow by the name of Saul of Tarsus and as the stones were raining down upon Stephen as he was in that pit throwing those boulders down and crushing and breaking his body and Stephen cried out

[42:07] Lord Jesus receive my spirit and he died now this message this brand new message that Saul of Tarsus now become Paul the apostle has got to deliver is a message the world never heard before it's a message of pure grace plus nothing look at this Acts chapter 13 therefore verse 38 let it be known to you that through him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you and through him Jesus everyone who believes is freed from all things from which you could not be freed through the law of

[43:12] Moses oh my word are you serious this was a thunderclap to the whole community to the whole Mediterranean basin this is the message that Paul has been given to preach and can you understand it is such a bizarre message such a message of free grace you mean to tell me that all I have to do is put my trust confidence faith reliance in Jesus Christ who died on that cross and God frees and pardons me from all my sin well what do I have to do well the do part has been done all you have to do is exercise a non meritorious act of your will and you believe there are no hoops to jump through there are no baptisms you have to undergo there are no promises that you have to make there is no money that you have to give you simply believe on the

[44:35] Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved and it's only because of the efficacy the efficaciousness the effectiveness the extent of the payment that Jesus made because he was in a position to make it and nobody else was nobody only he could do it and why should he do it you don't deserve it why should he do it I don't deserve it why should he do it gives new meaning to that phrase God is love incredible incomprehensible matchless love God so loved the world this stinking sinful fallen rebellious world how could God love a world like that

[45:43] I don't know and not being God I'll never know but I'll tell you what God did and humanity made in his likeness and image fell into sin rebelled against him broke the heart of God I don't know how else to put it just like a human child is well capable of breaking the heart of a mother and father God's creation broke his heart if you will incredible love God so loved that he was willing to give and the son so loved that he was willing to be given so he could say not my will but thine be done and what shall I say what shall I say Jesus shall I say save me from this hour but for this hour came I into the world oh my goodness let it be known to you brethren that through him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you and through him everyone who believes is freed from all things from which you could not be freed through the law of

[47:08] Moses and you know Paul was by many jumped on and saying oh he's he's downgrading the law of Moses he's saying that the law of Moses is not enough it doesn't do the job well in in essence that's exactly what he was saying but he is also saying God never intended for the law of Moses to be the be all end all because he's going to provide a new covenant and the old covenant which embraced the law of Moses was temporary until the promise should come and Christ has come and he is the promise and he is the new covenant mediator of the new covenant and that's what Jesus meant the night that he took that cup and the bread the night that he was betrayed and he held up a piece of bread and he broke off a piece and he handed the balance to the disciple next to him and he said this is my body which is given for you

[48:08] I can imagine those apostles looked at each other with that quizzical expression on their face what did he mean by that looks like a piece of bread what did he mean by that and then he took the cup and you know Jesus didn't drink of the cup he gave it to them common cup passed it around each of them drank from it but he didn't drink from it and he said this cup is the new covenant in my blood the old covenant was ratified by animal blood that Moses poured on the people the new covenant is going to be ratified by the blood of God in Christ can't get my brain around that

[49:09] I cannot fathom that all I know is it's true and when that text says God so loved the world it doesn't let me listen it doesn't mean quantity doesn't mean that God loved the world so so and then as time went on and as generations came and went God's love for the world grew and it got bigger and bigger and he loved more and more and finally it got to the place where it reached a crescendo and that he was willing to be given for no no no it doesn't mean that at all it means that God's love is of such a quality or kind so that it has nothing to do with the mount it has everything to do with the nature the kind of love and that little word in John 316 is translated so

[50:10] I told you this before I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance that little two letter word so S-O in English in the Greek it means in this manner indicates it was this kind of love that caused God to give his only begotten son it was you see when God loves he loves with the totality of his being he doesn't hold anything back he's all in and Jesus was all in and that enabled the death that he died to be sufficient for the sins of the whole world and that's the message that Paul is going to be preaching and still preaching and it's called the gospel the good news of the grace of God best good news the world has ever heard and do you know the world still largely stands in ignorance of that and there are a couple of reasons one is our fallenness doesn't allow us to perceive things as we ought and another is it just seems too good to be true you mean

[51:39] I don't have to be baptized well you are baptized you are baptized by the spirit of God into the body of Christ and you are made a new creation in him and it's got nothing to do with water it's got everything to do with the new birth and you don't have to join a church and you don't have to do this and you don't have to do that and you don't why is it you don't have to do all of those things because listen because Jesus paid it all you get that he paid the whole shebang he paid everything and all he does is bid you come and dine for the master calls come and dine everything's paid for it's all free well that's too good to be true you have to do this and you have to do that and you got these hoops to jump through and then maybe just maybe you'll make nonsense when people think there is something that has to be added to what

[52:41] Jesus did on that cross by way of payment for sin they are saying Jesus didn't quite do the job oh he did 95% of it but you've got to do the last 5% and you know this is where the volition thing comes into play and scholars have debated over this for a long time as to whether volition and an act of faith is meritorious or non meritorious it is a non meritorious act in other words it is something that you are able to do and it is something that you are also able not to do and that's the message that he is going to be giving and I apologize for taking the time away from my message this morning but this is the way it went so let me just say this we were going to deal with the issue of volition and I was after I delivered the message last week I got to thinking about it and I woke up probably 3 o'clock in the morning thinking did I and I said well Marv why don't you get the

[53:51] CD and listen to the message but I never enjoyed listening to me preach so I didn't do that but I need to clarify if I've done that and when I put the emphasis in Romans chapter 6 on your will and your volition and Paul says yield your members as instruments of righteousness he's talking about your body parts arms legs eyes and feet and so on you yield those and I made an emphasis on the fact that you are to yield that's not a divine suggestion that's a command and you are to do that because you can do that it is within your ability to do that you have a volition and a will and you can do that you can also choose not to do it and Paul says to do it and if we yield our members as instruments of righteousness we will not be tempted to do the things that we know we ought not to be doing and the volition comes into play here and I was really concerned that maybe I gave the impression that this volition thing simply means you have sufficient willpower to yield and you have sufficient power to do all of these things so that your walking in the spirit is simply an act of your will it's just human willpower no it isn't didn't mean to get that impression at all but listen here is where the divine dynamic comes together and it is marvelous because it is a divine human thing divine slash human cooperation whereby God utilizes our will but the will is yours but the power is his you don't have the power none of us do that's key that these two elements working together your will and God's power

[55:50] I've tried it with my power doesn't work and the reason it doesn't work is because my power is woefully inadequate for whatever the task but God's power is sufficient and I remember giving you an illustration and it was the best one I could come up with and it's still inadequate because there is nothing that illustrates this like it needs to be illustrated if you can think of a better one let me know and I'll include it in my barrel of sermons but the power and the will the way they work together the best way that I can think of it is I want you to take a firearm I know some people are scared of them but you don't have to be scared of a firearm you just have to be careful sometimes of who's wielding it that may be the problem and that firearm has a trigger on it and when the trigger is pulled it sends a hammer against an item that creates an explosion it's an enormous amount of energy that is derived just from pulling that trigger assuming of course there's a live round in the chamber and once that explosion takes place that bullet is hurtled through the barrel of that gun out to wherever it's going to go and the best way

[57:27] I can illustrate this combination is you pull the trigger that's your volition but you don't have the power what you do is you set in motion you activate the power by pulling the trigger and once you pull the trigger the power takes over it's out of your hands you just release it you are not the power the projectile and the explosion is the power so when we exercise our will we are requesting God to provide the power we provide the will I want you to think of that because next week we're going to take this even further and I think you can see where it's going it is a marvelous marvelous it is a wonderful condescending way whereby

[58:33] God commits himself to working in concert with us as a human and he respects our will and our volition but he knows we're powerless to affect what needs to be done can it actually be said that with our volition we are requesting we are giving God the opportunity to provide his power power and it's also a recognition that we don't have the power we're dependent upon him so that Paul could say I'm crucified with Christ and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me and the power is his I do not have the ability to live the Christian life the way God wants it lived I don't have that ability and neither do you because we are all confronted with self-centeredness we are all confronted with the flesh we are all confronted with temptations etc and the power has to be provided by a source that has the power and that's

[59:48] God but do you know what God will not just ignore your power and say well Marv you've messed up so many things I'm not even going to give you the volition before I'm just going to do what I want to do and your volition doesn't matter and your will doesn't matter I'm just going to have my way I'm going to override your volition it doesn't make any difference what you think or what you do or what you will I'm going to do what no no no no no God is too much of a gentleman to do that God is willing God condescends he condescends to work with us fallen creatures that is amazing that's amazing grace I tell you what this Christian thing this Christian thing called life in Christ is just bottomless it is wonderful beyond description I don't believe there is a Christian that has ever lived anywhere I don't care how well they knew the Bible I don't think we have ever begun to enter into what God has really provided for us it is just stunning beyond words I was talking to someone for the service started talked a little bit about heaven and I said well there's two things for sure that I'm convinced about heaven one is going to be no disappointments and the other is going to be a lot of surprises you and

[61:20] I have no idea how rich we are in Christ all because of what Jesus did for us just well I'm not finished but I quit so pray with me please father we've been talking about some things that we know very little about longer we live the more we hope to learn about them because we believe that the more we understand what you have done for us at such an enormous cost that will enhance our gratitude increase our appreciation our thanksgiving to you for who you are and will make us more productive servants it will give us a greater heart and love and compassion for you and for others and we know that delights your heart thank you that we have not even begun to scratch the scratch on the surface of these wonderful truths we just pray that you'll use them to whet our appetite for even more now we know a little bit about why Paul kept saying know you're not know you're not we're to know these things enjoy them and appreciate them so we can be appropriately thankful we bless you for what little we do know and understand in Jesus wonderful name amen