Reformed Baptist Church in O'Fallon, Missouri
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Redemption by Blood and Power

Sermon Transcript

The following is a lightly edited transcript generated from the audio; it may contain small errors.

Passover Recap

Amen. Worship’s awesome. It’s good to be here. It’s good to worship. Thank the Lord for His Holy Spirit, amen.

So I’d like to continue our discussion from last week. We talked about the Passover as we celebrated the Lord’s Supper and we talked about how Jesus is our Passover and we talked about some of the symbolism, mainly the symbolism of Jesus and the fact that he was and is the Passover lamb. And we looked at the significance of the lamb and the inspection of the lamb and things of that nature. But I wanted to talk a little bit more and follow up on that message about the Passover last week. So if you missed you can get the podcast and I encourage you to get it. Thank you. Thank you.

And so we learned Jesus being the Passover lamb that the blood was put on the post of the door and the blood of course we know is the blood of redemption. But the lamb had to be eaten. In other words, it had to be internalized. An external application wasn’t sufficient.

So we know that we have to eat Jesus. He said, you have to eat my flesh and drink my blood. We have to appropriate the reality of what Christ did through a living internal faith in order for it to be real to us. And then we talked about some of the symbolism of the meal. So what was really going on with Israel? What was God doing for Israel? Remember they were in bondage for over 400 years, as a matter of fact 430 years. And God was doing what for Israel when He instituted the Passover? He was redeeming them. He was delivering them. That’s really what the meal was about. It was a celebration of redemption. Now remember, Israel was in slavery. Israel was in bondage. Israel was under hardship. So when the Lord intervened, the Lord intervened to deliver them out of a state of bondage and slavery and then to put them into the Promised Land, which was a state of plenty and a state of fulfillment, if you will.

Let’s go back to Exodus 12 for just a moment. So, in Exodus 12, we have the specifications, for the meal, if you will. And the Lord says in verse 12 of chapter 12, for I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am Jehovah. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. And then the Lord gives some particulars about the observance of Passover. And then same chapter, he says in verse 24, you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as he promised that he shall keep this service. In other words, the Passover was to be continually observed as a reminder, remembrance to them of what God had done for them. This is also what we do in the Lord’s Supper. It is a reminder, we are reminding ourselves of what God has done for us, right?

Notice this verse verse 26, and it shall be when your children say to you, why are we doing this? What’s the point of this? That you shall say, verse 27, it is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians and delivered our households so that people bowed their heads and worshiped. So the thing is, when God instituted the Passover, as I pointed out last week, when Israel celebrated instituted the Passover, as I pointed, out last week, when Israel celebrated the Passover, the very first Passover, where was Israel?

They were in Egypt. So technically, they were in bondage still. Technically, they were still slaves. And so God institutes this meal, And this meal is a, just fraught with symbolism, but this meal is the foundation, the foundation of their coming deliverance, their future deliverance. So when the angel came to strike the firstborn, God passed over the houses where the blood was, and so why it’s called Passover, right? He passed over. He didn’t judge where he saw the blood and where the blood was on their door. They were spared God’s judgment of that particular plague. But, you’re listening, they still weren’t free. God passed over. They were free from that plague, right? But they still weren’t Egypt. They still weren’t free. Yet the Passover was the meal, it was a celebration of redemption, but they still weren’t free.

So something else needed to happen, right? Something else needed to happen for Israel to be free. The meal in itself, yes it delivered them from that one plague, but they were were still in Egypt and they were still in bondage. The meal, eating the meal in and of itself didn’t set them free. It wasn’t like all of a sudden their legal status changed. And all of a sudden they were in the Promised Land. So redemption, the redemption that we have is founded in the blood, right?

Redeemed by the Blood

The blood of Jesus Christ redeems us. Amen.

Just in case, we’ll look at a couple of verses. We’re going to come back to Exodus in a minute. I’ll go to Romans 3 for just a moment, which we looked at last week, I think.

In Romans 3, verse 21, but now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, is revealed. being witnessed by the law and the prophets. It’s apart from the law in the sense that you don’t earn it by obedience to the law, but the law testifies to it. The law, meaning Moses and the prophets, the other scripture, they all testify to the fact, the fact of this, that the righteousness of God is through faith in Christ Jesus to all who believe. For there is no difference, no difference between Jew and Greek. Why? For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God sets forth as a propitiation by His blood through faith. So the believer’s redemption, the believer’s freedom is by the blood of Jesus Christ. Now, here’s the thing. Imagine you walk into, there’s a small group of your friends, and they’re just chit-chatting, and you walk into the room, and you hear somebody’s talking, and you hear them say, and he kicked the cat, and everybody goes, ho, ho, ho, ho. You think, I missed the joke, but I heard the punch line. So it’s not funny to you. You didn’t hear the joke. Let’s say I walk up to you and I say, four. Well, what’s the question? What are you answering? Two plus two? The hair’s on my head? I mean, what do you know? What? What? What? What is it? Four means nothing without the context, right? But redemption means nothing to us if we don’t understand the fact that redemption is an answer to a problem.

The Gospel, as I’ve said a million times, and if if I had a quarter for every time I said it, I wouldn’t be here, I’d be on the beach somewhere.

The Gospel is good news. But it’s not good. If people don’t understand the bad news. That’s why the proclamation of the gospel isn’t as simple as, God loves you and have a happy life. The gospel is an answer to a problem. Redemption, which is only one part of the gospel, there are many parts, the propitiation, the justification, the sanctification, the reconciliation, all the shun words, right? You believe in them and then people shun you, though those words, right? The shun words? Redemption’s the only part, but it’s a big part. It’s a foundational part. But redemption is God’s answer to a problem. You see, Israel had a problem. Israel was literally in slavery in Egypt, literally, and the Passover meal, which is a celebration of redemption, This was God’s answer. I’m going to answer all the years of prayers, ten generations of prayers, and I’m going to intervene, and now I’m going to redeem. So when we talk about redemption for the Christian, we have to understand that God is providing a solution to a problem. Okay, well what’s the problem? The problem is the same problem they had. The problem for mankind is that mankind is in bondage.

In Bondage

Mankind’s in bondage. You say in bondage to what? First of all, we’re in bondage to sin. The scripture says that before Christ, or apart from Christ, that we are under sin, and it even says that we are the slaves of sin. Read the book of Romans closely. The slaves of sin. Now I was thinking about this, you know, anybody know Plato’s allegory? The cave? You know? Right? Yeah. Well, one of the points of the allegory is that if you’re born in a cave where it’s dark, that’s your normal for you. And so when we’re born into the world, sons of Adam, we’re born fallen, and we’re born in bondage to sin, but we call it freedom. I can go sleep with whoever I want. Why? I’m free! I’m free! So we’re like a bunch of people, a bunch of prisoners who are having a riot in the prison, We’re free because we can rattle our chains. So that’s our normal. When, when, when you are born in darkness, the darkness is light to you. That’s why Jesus said, if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness. I mean, it’s bad, right? It’s bad when we sin, but what’s really bad is that we’re not going to be able to It’s bad when we sin, but what’s really bad is when your sin you call good.

When you start calling evil good, then you are truly in darkness. So we, meaning we, humans, mankind, mankind is born in a condition of subjection to sin.

We do not have power over sin. subject to it. The Word of God says that, secondly, mankind is subject to the curse of the law. That sin that we all commit violates the law of God, and the result of that is what Paul calls condemnation or the curse. Look at Galatians 3 for a minute. Galatians These is like an abbreviated form of Romans. Paul says here, in verse 10 of chapter 3, For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. Now he’s talking to an audience in which some of the people believed that adherence to the law was going to justify them, or was at least necessary in addition to believing in Jesus. Most of these people probably believe that salvation was a mixture of faith and works. He says, For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who is not continuing all things that are written in the book of the law to do them. Paul says, But that no one is justified by the law, and the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. He’s quoting the Old Testament. Yet the law is not a faith, but the man who does them shall live by them.“ In other words, if you’re going to make works the ground of your salvation, if you’re going to make works the ground of your acceptance with God and your relationship with God, then you better do them. You better do all of them. That’s what you say. If you’re going to do them, then do them. But notice what he says in verse 13, Christ has redeemed us from what? I’m the curse of the law. Having become a curse for us for it is written curses everyone who hangs on a tree that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. We’re going to come back to the Spirit in a moment. But the point I’m making here is that the Redeases Christ is addressing the problem first of our bondage to sin, and secondly of the fact that we’re also by nature under the curse of the law. Jesus Christ has redeemed the believer both from sin and from the curse of the law. Jesus Christ thirdly has redeemed the believer from bondage to Satan. Are you thinking, I was never in bondage to Satan? Yeah, you were. If you don’t think you were, all the more evidence that you were. Because he is the master deceiver, right? Master deceiver.

And so he deceives people thinking their bondage is freedom, right? Their shame is, glory.

And he completely inverts the order of God. And he tells people they’re wise when in fact they’re foolish in their own eyes, the word of God says, right? So he’s called the God of this age in some places, other places the prince of the power of the air. Second Corinthians, if you want to look there, just one scripture, there’s several.

But Paul says in second Corinthians 4, he says, if our gospel is veiled or hidden, it is veiled to those who are perishing. Listen to, verse 4, look at this, whose minds the God of this age has blinded. Now you have to understand, and I appreciate what David said about coming to Christ as a child because that produces its own set of problems for people. I didn’t have that problem because I came to Jesus as a young adult and I had a long history and a long catalog of sins that I could thank God for saving me from.

In that state, I thought I saw. When I was unsaved, did not know Jesus Christ, I believed that I knew truth.

I believed that I was wise in my own eyes. Yet I didn’t understand the gospel. As a matter of fact, I was rejecting the gospel. Well, why was I doing that? Paul says here because my mind was being veiled by the God of this age.

He was blinding my mind and that’s why I was not believing the gospel. But if you ask me, is the devil blinding you? Say, are you insane? Are you in bondage? No, I’m free. I’m free and I can see. The fact of the matter is, I was a slave and I was blind. It’s called being deceived. Right? Deceived. Well that’s man’s natural condition. So we’re in a bad way. By nature, we are in a very, very bad way. I say we, I mean all men and women born as sons of Adam. And they are in bondage, and that bondage called forth the love of God in Christ Jesus. That bondage, just as God heard Israel’s prayers all those years, 10 generations, God heard them cry, Lord deliver us from this bondage. So God looked at us in our bondage and God had pity on us. Amen.

He had mercy on us as he saw us in our wretched bondage, shaking our chains, saying we’re free, celebrating in the prison, living on the plantation. He saw us in our misery, in our slavery, in our bondage. And so, God in His great love for us, then sends His, His Son Jesus Christ, the true Passover Lamb. And this ordinance of Israel, this Passover is a symbolic act, which was a type and a precursor and a symbol of the true Lamb, the true Passover Lamb to come, Jesus.

A Complete Redemption

So the redemption that is wrought by Jesus Christ is a complete redemption.

He didn’t partly redeem us. Jesus fully redeemed us. Amen.

Now here’s the thing you have to understand. Well let me just say this first. When you actually study redemption in the Bible and you look up all the words and there’s actually three different words that are used. And they’re really cool because I like, you know, but I won’t quote all the Greek words. But one of the words means to buy, right? Well, of course, because this is the imagery of the slave, right, in bondage.

And so somebody comes and buys and that payment price is called a ransom. So Jesus said, I came to give my life a ransom for many, right? You see the word ransom in the Bible. That’s the payment. It’s the payment for the slave. Now think about it. We don’t, I mean slavery’s in the world today and it’s all over the place. We just don’t see it in the open. But it used to be conducted in the open all around the world. And so a slave would be purchased but a guy might bid on a slave and say, okay, I’ll take that slave and I’ll come back in two weeks and get the slave, pick up the slave. was bought, but he wasn’t free. To be bought by one evil master from another is not freedom.

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Even though a ransom was paid, even though there was a transaction, the poor slave went from slavery to slavery, bondage to bondage, just a different master. So that’s why in scripture when it talks about our redemption it not only uses the word buy which it does and that emphasizes the fact that Jesus had to pay something for us. It cost him something right? There had to be a payment for our sin that payment is was his own blood his own life laid down for us so there had to be a payment there had to be a ransom if you will but the the other word is the same word with a prefix to the word buy and the prefix means to buy out of.

So the imagery in scripture of the purchase of the slave is not that the slave is bought by one slave owner and transferred to another, but when the ransom is paid, the blood is paid the blood of Jesus Jesus only buys us he buys us out of slavery out of slavery it is to be taken a off of the the platform where slaves were bid on it is to be taken out of the slave market so no one else can buy you so So when the scripture says that we are redeemed, we’re not simply paid for, we are paid for and then set free. That’s redemption. Now when you think about Israel again, they celebrated the Passover, right? It’s fun. Good lamb, lamb chop. Good stuff. Celebrate it, but they’re still in Egypt. So you could say they were paid for, or they were bought but they weren’t bought out yet.

Redeemed by Power

So something else needed to happen. Go back to Exodus for a minute. So there’s the Passover. God calms in chapter 12. Verse 29, He came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, for the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. So he called for Moses and Aaron by night and he said, Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel.

Go and serve Jehovah as you have said. Also, Also take your flocks and your herds as you have said, And be gone, and then bless me also. The Egyptians urged the people that they might send them out of the land in haste, for they said, We shall all be dead. So the people took their dough before it was unleavened, having their kneading bowls round, bound up in their clothes, on their shoulders. Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold and clothing, and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them with their requests, Thus they plundered the Egyptians. So here’s the beginning of redemption, in fact, in experience.

So after the plague strikes, then Pharaoh says, Good riddance. Go get out of here. Get out of Egypt. This is. is coming from Pharaoh. So they plundered the Egyptians. They leave, verse 40, now the soj, of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt, was 430 years. This is so, man, this is so good. Look at verse 41. And it came to pass at the end of 430 years on that very same day.

It came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. very same day they went out. Now we know the story. They leave, they start to head toward the Promised Land. Pharaoh changes his mind, right? And he goes after them, and so what does God do? He, what’s that? Yeah, well God intervenes on their behalf, right? And you know the story? They come after the Israelites, God intervenes, God parts the Red Sea and the children of Israel go through the Red Sea and then as the Egyptian armies come God closes the sea and he destroys their enemies. You see the Passover meal was symbolic and it was the foundation of redemption because there had to be the shedding of blood but for Israel their their Their redemption, in fact, had to be experienced by power. By power. They believed in the blood, and this is good. They left Egypt. They were even cast out by Pharaoh. This is good too. But God had to do a work of power for them to get through the Red Sea. Amen? So, the redemption that we have in Jesus Christ, is not just a redemption of blood, it is a redemption of power. And you see, here’s the problem. The problem is that often we believe the redemption in the blood part, but we don’t believe in redemption by the power part. We know this because too many Christians are still living on the plantation. And too many Christians are still rallying their chains, celebrating in prison saying, hallelujah, I am free. What’s that clanking of the chains that I hear? The redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ. He purchased by his blood, but he affects in your

The Spirit Makes It Real

Are you listening? Yes. He affects the reality of that redemption in your life through the power of His Holy Spirit. Yes. The Spirit of Jesus Christ sets you free from the power of sin.

He sets you free from the power of Satan. And He sets you free from the guilty conscience of the law. The Spirit of the Living God is the person of the Trinity that takes the finished work of Jesus and his blood and applies it to your soul so you are not only free in theory, you are free indeed. Jesus said he that knows the Son will be free and he will be free indeed. So Israel was delivered by blood but they were delivered by power. And when they went through the Red Sea, they have a big celebration. They’re singing of the song of redemption, man. And then they end up, they go into the wilderness like, this isn’t what I signed up for. This is hard. This is hard. God, in His infinite patience, put up with their whining and mumbling and grumbling and murmuring for a whole generation. And all through that time God provided for them and all through that time God worked miracles for them. It’s amazing. You should go back and read it. Here’s the thing. As I said last week, the journey from the Red Sea to the Promised Land, some scholars say they could have made it in a couple months, some say a month, some say, I’ve read, some said it as quickly as 11 days. Different scholars have said different things. It wasn’t 40 years. It wasn’t even a year. So God provided the blood. He provided the manifestations of power, not only in striking the firstborn, which caused Pharaoh to say, get out of here, but then the power dividing the Red Sea. God then worked, God then in the wilderness, which was supposed to be a reef journey, God God gave the pillar, the cloud in the pillar, right? In the wilderness, God gave them manna. God gave them turn the bitter water to sweet. God provided for the needs. And God said, this whole time, this whole time, the soles of your shoes didn’t wear out. In other words, I was taking care of you. The problem is, they didn’t like the menu. Right? You read the story. We don’t like the menu. We’re sick of this manna stuff. We want the garlics and the leeks and the nuts. We want to go back. It was better in bondage. It was better being a slave because the food was better. That’s what they were saying. The problem was, as I said last week, they came out of Egypt, but Egypt wasn’t out of them. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, If you are truly saved, then you have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. That means be that Jesus has bought you, and not only bought you, Jesus has bought you out of the slavery of sin, Satan and death. He has taken you out of the slave market and you are not for sale anymore, which means means that in fact and in experience, you should be free. He’s purchased your freedom. We didn’t save you so you could live the rest of your life in chains. Amen.

That’s not why we’re redeemed. It is a contradiction of redemption to say, Well, I’m saved, but I just got to live this way. Really? The question that we have to ask ourselves, Christians, is Jesus our Savior or not? If Jesus is our Savior, then why do some of us live like we’re not saved? Is Jesus not sufficient for any situation that we face? Is He not sufficient to conquer any sin that we’re dealing with? Is He not sufficient to provide for any need? Is He not sufficient to heal any illness? Is Jesus sufficient or not? Yes or no? This is our Savior. And He has redeemed us by His blood. And He is redeeming us by His power. And the redemption that Jesus wrought is a complete redemption. D therefore, you do not have to live in bondage. That’s not what He’s done for you. redeemed you. The redemption of Jesus Christ, which is a complete redemption. This redemption is available to us and it is made experientially real in our lives through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Now I actually believe some Christians accept Jesus and they’re content to stay in prison. Just so at the end, they’ll get in heaven. Are they really Christians? That’s between them and God. But I don’t want to live in the prison, do you? I mean, do you want to live that way? Anybody here want to live in defeat? Come forward. Do you want to live in defeat? Come forward. You want to be miserable? Come forward. I mean, really. Go to Exodus 15. If we had time, we’d read this whole chapter because it’s so awesome. So they come to the other side of the Red Sea. Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord and spoke saying, I will sing of Jehovah for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea. Amen? The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. He is my God and I will praise Him, my Father’s God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war. Jehovah is his name. The Lord is a man of war in the sense that he uses his strength and power to defeat our enemies. He uses his the strength and power to defeat sin, in our lives, he uses his strength and a power to defeat Satan in our lives. Amen.

He uses his power to set the Christian free so he experiences the reality of the redemption

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Redemption of Israel was first by blood. Secondly it was by power and the same is true of the Christian. Our redemption is first by blood and it is second by power. Go to Romans and then we’re going to close. In the book of Romans, I’ve said this also many times, but we need to understand, in the book of Romans Paul spends seven chapters laying out what we call, the plan of salvation, The Gospel, seven chapters saying what Jesus Christ accomplished through the cross, His blood, the forgiveness, the reconciliation, the redemption, seven chapters. It’s deep, it’s dense, it takes literally years to unpack it all. It’s so rich. Seven chapters. The Holy Spirit is mentioned how many times? One time in seven chapters. But then chapter eight. This is the pinnacle of the arch of the gospel. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Notice, he doesn’t say the blood made him free, or the cross made him free, but it It is rather the Spirit that has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, because it was weak to the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sin for flesh on account of sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk.

Not according to the flesh, but according to… say it… In whom then is the righteousness fulfilled? Those who walk according to what? Who then have no condemnation? Those who walk according to what? Who then are set free from sin and death? Those who walk according to what? Yes, not just those who believe the blood, but those who experience the power. Those who are saved by God have received His Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit of God will set you free from the power of sin. If you walk in the Spirit, you will not be in subjection to sin. If you walk in the Spirit, you will not be in slavery, you will be set at liberty. If you walk in the Spirit, for those who live according to flesh set their minds on the flesh. But those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death. To be spiritually minded is life and peace. The carnal mind is enmity against God. If you’re in the flesh, you don’t even like God. For it’s not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can it be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God, but you, you’re not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, then he’s not his. If you are his, you have his Spirit. Doesn’t mean you’re walking in his Spirit, but you have his Spirit. Jesus bought us, you know what else he bought? He bought a gift for you. And that gift is the Holy Spirit. And he gave you that gift. The moment you were born again, you received the Holy Spirit. The moment you were born again, you received the power to have victory in yourBlessed. The moment you were born again, you received power to conquer the evil one. The moment you were born again, you were set free. 10. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh. You don’t have to live in the flesh. You can be free! The flesh, the law, and sin has no authority over the believer anymore.

For if you live according to flesh, you’re going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

And I tell you what, you want to be miserable, let me tell you how to be miserable. Try to live the Christian life in your own power. There’s little gerbils on the wheel. Eventually, well, they go nowhere and eventually they just fall off tired. I saw, I was watching funny videos the other night. And they showed this dog on a treadmill. People would crank it up. They thought it was funny, I’m thinking, is this really humane, you know? But anyway, I laughed anyway. So, you know, the dog’s doing okay, and then they turn up a little bit of the dog, so fast, so fast, he’s doing good, he’s hanging, they turn up more, fast, and eventually the dog goes, boom, goes flying off the thing. Because that’s the punch line, it’s supposed to be funny, right? I didn’t laugh at that, no.

I think Dave Wilson posted that video, no. The point is, yeah, really. So let me just, I could go on and on and on, but let me just come to a point of conclusion here.

How do I want to say this? A lot of durable Christians out there. And after running on that treadmill for a while… Oh, there’s my soda. Mmm. Mmm. Holy ghost and Diet Coke, you can’t beat it. After running on the treadmill for a while, the gerbil falls off. The dog fell off the treadmill because you get worn out. You just get worn out. Now I believe that the Lord actually lets us for a while run on the treadmill. Because we really do believe we can do this. We believe we can do this. And that’s why you have Romans 7. Because when you read Romans 7, this is a guy who thinks he can keep the law in his own power. And the conclusion of the matter is, oh wretched man that I am. Right? But some Christians don’t make it from chapter 7 to chapter 8. Just as some Israelites didn’t make it from the wilderness to the Promised Land, some Christians don’t make it from in chapter seven and chapter eight. They never get there. Now, they might still go to church, they might. But inwardly, they’re a wasteland. The richness of their experience of Christ is of olderness. There’s no reality. And here’s what I’ve seen over the years. People who are trying to do this thing in the flesh I get worn out They become barren on the inside They can live that way for a while. Maybe five years maybe ten years their kids are young

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Some of them just quit and go go quietly, some quit, and go with the Big Bang. Some deny the faith. There are people that used to be on this stage who now deny Jesus Christ. After years of professing Him. And I want to say this to those of you that are at least a little younger than me. If you’re not experiencing the reality of Jesus Christ in your life through the Holy Spirit, that’s going to be you in another 10 or 20 years. And we’re going to be hearing about you getting divorced and your kids denying the faith and all the other terrible things that happen.

It’s going to be you. It’s the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen in my life. And it breaks my heart to even think that will happen to some of you. But it will happen. If you don’t. Now. Now, today. Determine. That you are going to truly seek to walk with Jesus Christ in the power of his Holy Spirit.

As I said last week, the most heartbreaking thing about the things that we have seen come out of the church, all the divorces and broken homes and broken children and broken lives, the thing that’s most heartbreaking is that it basically says Jesus isn’t the because he didn’t save those people. Well, I believe Jesus is a Savior. And I believe Jesus can save you from anything. I mean that. But you have to, just as Israel had to apply the blood, just as they had to eat the flesh, guess what else they had to do? They had to walk through that. When God parted the Red Sea, they had to walk through that. You don’t think that was terrifying? And then when they got in the Promised Land, it wasn’t just, hey, let’s party, party. God left some enemies in the land on purpose. And he had to teach his people how to fight for the land, although it was theirs by right. God gave it to them. They had the title to the land. God still said, okay, I’ll drive them out, but you have to cooperate with me and you have to fight. Not at their own power, but in the power of the Lord. Right? Christian life, my friends, is not just, hey, I’m saved. This is just easy. That’s not how it works. Jesus said we have to take the kingdom of heaven by violence, by force. We have to press into the things of God. We have to press into God. We have to do battle. We have the victory. Now God is saying, okay, I’m giving you my Holy Spirit. Let’s live this victory out. All things for life and godliness have been given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.

But we have to appropriate it and by faith.

Closing Prayer

Let’s stand. Lord we thank You for Your blood and we thank You for Your spirit.

Lord Jesus, I thank You that You are a total Savior. I thank You that You have made provision for every need of Your people. Every need. And I pray, Lord, that You would teach us that we are not debtors to the flesh. Teach us, Lord, how to be led by Your Spirit. how to walk in your spirit so that we walk in victory and that by walking in victory we honor you we bring you glory we thank you that you are good

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Thank you. The presence here, I thank you for your very personal ministry and the hearts of each of your people.

Comforting, convicting, challenging, teaching, enlightening all that you do through your Holy Spirit. I pray Lord for each of us to truly take to heart your word where you call us to walk in the spirit and not in the flesh. I thank you again Lord for your full redemption in your son.

I pray that the fullness of his work would be manifested in each one of, and that he would receive the honor and glory. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.