“Jesus and Others Did It
Anyway” #9
Pastor Mike Barnett
THEME: AT TIMES YOU WILL FEEL LIKE A WEAK SINNER, BUT
CHOOSE TO ACT LIKE A SAINT ANYWAY BECAUSE THAT IS WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST AND
YOUR POSITION IN HIM DOES NOT CHANGE EVEN WHEN YOUR BEHAVIOR AND FEELINGS DO.
John 17:1-24 (pg. 765) says:
1After Jesus said this, he looked toward
heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your
Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over
all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have
brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your
presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
6"I have revealed
you[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me comes from
you. 8For I gave them the words you gave me and they
accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed
that you sent me. 9I pray for them. I am not praying for
the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10All I have is yours, and all you
have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11I
will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of
your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe
by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to
destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13"I
am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so
that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14I
have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the
world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is
not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil
one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of
it. 17Sanctify[b] them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the
world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may
be truly sanctified. 20"My prayer is not for
them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are
in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe
that you have sent me. 22I have
given them the glory that you gave me, that they may
be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May
they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and
have loved them even as you have loved me. 24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me
where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved
me before the creation of the world.
·
God ordained and appointed Jesus to be the Holy Messiah
to have all authority over mankind.
·
God also ordained and appointed believers to be
adopted into the
·
God gave “Christ followers” to Jesus while he was on
earth.
·
And now, in this prayer before departing, Jesus
acknowledges that these believers God gave to Him, ultimately belong to God the
Father.
·
Jesus also prayed for us – his future believers that
we would be sanctified by the Word of God and unified as one.
·
To be sanctified means to be set apart.
·
The Word of God speaks into a believer’s life and
sets them apart from the ways of the world.
·
A believer is sanctified (set apart from sin) through
the spoken and written _______________________(word)
of God!
·
In other words, you were chosen by God to be Holy,
righteous and pure and that is who you are in Christ.
1 Peter 2:1-12 (pg. 857) says:
Therefore,
rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of
every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual
milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now
that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4As you
come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to
him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into
a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in
Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame."[a] 7Now
to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,[b]"[c] 8and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."[d] They stumble because they disobey the
message—which is also what they were destined for. 9But
you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging
to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness
into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people,
but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you
have received mercy. 11Dear friends, I urge you, as
aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war
against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the
pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good
deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
·
Many professing Christians today do not feel holy,
righteous and pure.
·
Instead of being set apart from the World’s ways, most
Christians have been sucked into the World’s mold.
·
Many Christians today feel ugly, inferior, sinful and
defeated.
·
This dilemma is not a new problem for followers of
Christ – Peter felt inadequate to follow Jesus 2000 years ago.
John 13:6-10 (pg, 763) says:
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to
him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7Jesus
replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will
understand." 8"No," said Peter, "you
shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you
have no part with me." 9"Then,
Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my
head as well!" 10Jesus answered,
"A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body
is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." 11For he knew who was going to betray him,
and that was why he said not every one was clean.
·
Peter told Jesus to wash just not his feet, but his
hands and his feet as well.
·
The head represents were sinful thoughts __________________________(originate).
·
The hands represent how sinful thoughts are ___________________________(carried) out.
·
Jesus told Peter that his physical body did not need
a bath because Jesus had _________________________(declared)
him __________________(clean) spiritually.
·
What Jesus declares clean is for all eternity.
John 15:1-8 (pg. 764) says:
1"I am the true vine,
and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch
in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to
you. 4Remain in me, and I will
remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5"I
am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a
branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown
into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my
words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit,
showing yourselves to be my disciples.
·
Once again, we see in Scripture where Jesus declared
his followers clean because of the Words He spoke to them!
·
Many professing Christians today do not understand
this principle of the Word of God declaring them clean!
·
Christian you are clean – because God’s Word
__________________________(declares) you to be spiritually
clean forever despite your behavior!
·
Sometimes Christians feel dirty because of past
sexual sins.
·
If you had premarital sex, you can be completely
clean in Christ.
·
If you have been in an immoral, adulterous
relationship you can be completely clean in Christ.
·
Your body parts that once sinned against God and
defiled your body are now declared clean in Christ.
·
If you have confessed and repented of your sin, you
are now declared clean, regardless of how you feel.
·
Feelings are the result of your ___________________(thoughts), and when your thoughts
___________________(reflect) God’s Holy Word, your
______________________(feelings) will also___________________(reflect) God’s
truth about you.
Ephesians 4:22-24 (pg. 829) says:
22You were taught, with regard to your
former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its
deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of
your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Romans 12:1-2 (pg. 803) says:
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in
view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and
pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do
not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's
will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
·
Instead of feeling dirty and rotten, you will feel
clean and whole in Christ as you __________________(renew)
your ____________________(mind) with God’s ____________________(truth)!
Romans
5:12-21 (Pg. 798) says:
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one
man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all
sinned-- 13 for before the law was given, sin was
in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to
the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as
did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the
trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more
did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus
Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the
result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought
condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death
reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's
abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life
through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one
trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of
righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the
disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the
obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was added so
that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all
the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death,
so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5: 12-21
·
Justification – is the doctrine in the New Testament
that says…We are never more saved or more loved, or accepted by God than the
____________________(moment) we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior!
NOTE:
Some of us have been carrying so much guilt, shame, and condemnation around for
so many years, we think it is normal to go through
life weighted down with the emotional baggage of the past.
In
fact:
·
Most of us are so use to feeling guilty and shamed, we
feel insecure when we have no baggage!
·
For some people, having a little baggage to dwell on
provides a comfort Zone for them
NOTE:
God wants his children to be free from _________(all)
emotional baggage of the past and it starts by being
___________________(JUSTIFIED) before God.
·
Justification: is being ___________________(declared) righteous by God through the
____________________ ______________________(imputed holiness) of Jesus to his
followers.
Colossians
1:21-23 (pg. 833)says:
21 Once you
were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because ofn your evil
behavior. 22 But now he
has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy
in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm,
not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. Colossians 1:21-23
1 John 1:8-9 says:
8 If we
claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and
will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9
NOTE: You don’t practice _________________________(justification)! It happens once for all, upon conversion
and is restored through the confession of sin.
NOTE: You will never be more justified
than you are the first moment you trust in the person and the finished work of
Christ at conversion!
·
Because sanctification is a process you will be more
sanctified (set apart from the world) as you continue to walk in God’s grace!
NOTE: The weakest believer and the
strongest saint are alike, equally ________________________(justified)
before God.
·
Justification admits no _________________(degrees) - A person is either wholly justified or wholly
condemned in the ___________________(sight) of God.
THE MISTAKE OF THE LEGALIST:
THE TRUTH IS: Apart from the cross of
Christ, _________________________(condemnation) is _________________________(normal).
Without Jesus, we all deserve to be condemned and punished for sin.
THE TRUTH IS: For the Christ follower a
feeling of condemnation is _______________________(irrational)
because his/her sins are forgiven and forgotten by God.
Romans 8:1-2 says:
Therefore, there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus,n 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit
of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2
Condemnation is defined as: - A
sustained sense of guilt and shame over sin for which you have repented to God
and to any appropriate individuals.
QUESTION: When you read scripture, does
it reveal the boundless love of the Savior or merely intensify your
condemnation?
QUESTION: Are you more aware of your
sin than you are of God’s grace, given to you through the cross?
A BIBLE ILLUSTRATION:
Luke 7:36-50 (pg. 731) says:
36 Now one of
the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the
Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 When a
woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at
the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she
began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed
them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw
this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who
is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner."Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have
something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. Two men
owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,n
and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay
him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him
more?" Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.""You have judged correctly," Jesus
said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this
woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but
she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the
time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured
perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins
have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little
loves little." Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even
forgives sins?" Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you;
go in peace." Luke 7:36-50
NOTE:
IT’S ONLY WHEN WE RECEIVE HIS FREE GIFT OF GRACE AND LIVE IN THE GOD OF TOTAL
FORGIVENESS THAT WE’RE ABLE TO TURN FROM OLD, SINFUL WAYS OF LIVING AND WALK IN
_________________ (GRACE ____________________(MOTIVATED)
_____________________( OBEDIENCE).
·
God’s Grace leads the authentic “Christ follower” to ___________________________(gratefulness)
and (repentance)
NOTE:
The Christian who desires to live a cross centered life will regularly face his
or her own depravity and the seriousness of personal
sin, squarely and unflinchingly. It’s a reality. But the reality of the death
and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin is even greater.
·
When you feel guilt and shame regarding past sins you
repented of, it is important to realize that you are not on trial, God’s
Promise - the ___________________(blood) of
________________________(Jesus) is.
The Bible says in Psalm 103:8-13 (pg.
428)
:8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger,
abounding in love.
PS 103:9 He will
not always accuse,
nor will he
harbor his anger forever;
PS 103:10 he does
not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us
according to our iniquities.
PS 103:11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is
his love for those who fear him;
PS 103:12 as far as
the east is from the west,
so far has he
removed our transgressions from us.
PS 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD
has compassion on those who fear him;
The Bible says in Micah 7:18-19 (pg.
656)
18 Who is a
God like you,
who pardons
sin and forgives the transgression
of the
remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to
show mercy.
MIC
you will tread
our sins underfoot
and hurl all
our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
·
When a repentant person walks in shame and guilt,
they are trusting their ____________________(feelings)
more than God's ____________________(word) and that is _____________(sin) that
_________________(separates) them from God and His blessings.
A
BIBLE EXAMPLE OF LIVING BY FAITH!
Romans
7: 21 - 8:2 (pg. 800) says:
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good,
evil is right there with me. 22 For in my
inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see
another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my
mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from
this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ
our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the
sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,n 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit
of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 7:
21 - 8:2
·
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ,
because they have already been declared righteous regardless of their future
sins and behavior.
NOTE:
It’s impossible to resolve issues of yesterday by doing ___________________________(better)
tomorrow -Yesterday is resolved by _______________________(confessing) your
sins to God and repenting of them on a daily basis as needed!
The
Bible says in 1 John 1:8-9 says:
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1
John 1:8-9
·
Only God’s Grace allows a person to move on, not
better performance!
HOW DO I
DEAL WITH THE GUILT AND SHAME FROM PAST SINS THAT PLAGUES ME:
1) Do not __________________________(minimize) sin – ____________________(Confess) it and ____________________(repent)
of it.
The
Bible says in 1 John 1:8-9 says:
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1
John 1:8-9
·
We should never let ourselves off the hook lightly;
never suggest in any way that the sin, whatever it was, is not important.
·
By giving the sin a less offensive name, we attempt
to sneak the guilt past our moral guard. We actually began this practice in
childhood – when our parents accused us of lying we called it a "white
lie" or a fib.
·
You cannot make a deadly thing friendly by employing
a light name. Cancer is cancer even when you call it indigestion.
·
It is easy to deceive ourselves into believing that
sin is justified by the circumstances at hand. I broke God’s holy boundaries
because I was lonely…well, aren’t there a lot of lonely people out there who do
not sin?
·
Admit the sin and own up to it. There is nothing
quite so healthy, nothing so spiritually healing as dropping all evasions and
admitting fault!
Romans
8:1-2 says:
Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,n 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit
of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2
NOTE:
Conscientious believers usually do not minimize their sins, but rather maximize
them!
How
do we maximize our sins?
ANSWER:
By failing to forgive ourselves after we have accepted the forgiveness of God.
"I am convinced that this is a fatal
flaw in the life of many believers. We do not doubt God’s forgiveness; we just
never seem quite able to forgive ourselves. The memory of the trespass
lacerates us and we cannot get it out of our minds". Earl Wilson
·
When we do not forgive ourselves, we are really
saying, "How could I have done that?" I have so many spiritual
advantages and have been trained in the Word of God. How I hate myself.
NOTE: This self hate does not aid
repentance, it destroys us.
THE
BIBLE SAYS IN ROMANS 8:28-39 (pg. 800):
"And we know that in all things God works for the good
of those who love him,n whon have been called according to his
purpose. 29 For those God
foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those
he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he
justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If
God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did
not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along
with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who
will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who
justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ
Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to
life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall
trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:"For
your sake we face death all day long;we
are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."nRO 8:37 No, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,n neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans
3. Realize you cannot _________________(undo) the past.
4. Understand
that God will __________________________(redeem) the
past.
·
The greatest illustration of that,
is the CROSS! Putting Christ on the cross was the foulest thing that human kind
ever did; but it became the most sublime thing God ever used. The cross was
humanity’s worst, but at the same time it was heaven’s best; our worst, but
God’s zenith. If God is able to do that with the cross, can He not do something
similar with your worst?
"He will not encourage you to talk about it,
but He will use it to help drive the engines of your will". Earl
Wilson
NOTE:
It is Satan’s wish to cripple our lives; God in his grace,
restores us to our new life in Him. Recognizing God’s ability to do that should
inspire us to not allow the past to paralyze us, but to move with confidence to
our future in service to Him and His church.
·
When the devil reminds you of your
______________________(past) – remind him of his
______________________(future)!
5. Exercise
the gift of __________________(faith) that God has
given you to ______________________(believe) that Jesus died for the very sins
you feel condemned for.
NOTE:
We must guard against putting anything beyond the grace of God; even saying
that God has never kept and never will keep a redeemed person from sin.
NOTE:
Even though this perfect Christ lives in us, we are imperfect people; we still
sin. But we need not turn completely away from Christ. Rather we can go to our
advocate, our blessed Lord, repent of the sin, and find forgiveness. Then we
can forgive ourselves and move from that point of failure to serve the Lord
with joy.
THE
BIBLE SAYS I HAVE AN ADVOCATE IN CHRIST!
1
John 2:1-2 (pg. 862) says:
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you
will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in
our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the
atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also forn the sins
of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2
QUESTION:
Do you often find that you’re more aware of your sin than of what Jesus
accomplished on the cross?
When
you picture God’s attitude toward you, do you think God as disappointed with
you rather than delighting over you?
NOTE:
Being freed from condemnation doesn’t require that we forget or deny the depth
and depravity of our sins, whether they’re sins committed prior to our
conversion or sins committed since our conversion.
TRUTH:
Paul called himself "the worst of sinners – yet he was not paralyzed by
condemnation.
1 Timothy 1:14-17 (pg. 839) says:
"The grace of our Lord was poured out on me
abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a
trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me,
the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an
example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the
only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen".1 Timothy
TRUTH:
Everyone of us can honestly claim the "worst of
sinners" title because we know more of the folly of our own heart than we
do of other people’s.
NOTE:
We can either listen to ourselves and our constantly changing feelings about
our circumstances, or we can talk to ourselves about the unchanging truth of
who God is and what He’s accomplished for us at the cross.
"I feel as if Jesus had died only
yesterday". Martin Luther.
THEME: AT TIMES YOU WILL FEEL LIKE A WEAK SINNER, BUT
CHOOSE TO ACT LIKE A SAINT ANYWAY BECAUSE THAT WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST AND YOUR
POSITION DOES NOT CHANGE EVEN WHEN YOUR BEHAVIOR AND FEELINGS DO.