The Inner Struggle
http://www.straitwaybaptist.org/
Transcript
00:00So the title of the sermon today is The Inner Struggle, The Inner Struggle.
00:07So we all have a struggle inside of us, and it's an inner struggle, and I'm going to show
00:12you several points from the Bible that it's a constant struggle.
00:18So the first place I want you to go to is 2 Corinthians 5, 2 Corinthians 5.
00:27So in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature
00:57Old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.
01:03And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
01:10to us the ministry of reconciliation.
01:13So the Bible is talking about that when you get saved, when you believe on the Lord Jesus
01:20Christ, that means you are in Christ, that you become a new creature.
01:25There's a new creature that is inside you that is created, and the old things are passed
01:31away and all things become new, and that these are the things of God.
01:37And the inner struggle that we have inside of us is the old man and the new man.
01:42We've talked about this many times, different times, and I want to give you 7 points of
01:47what has to be done.
01:49Number one is, it's a conscience effort.
01:52It's a conscience effort to put on the new man.
01:57Go to Ephesians 4, Ephesians chapter 4, Ephesians chapter 4, verse 22.
02:17The first point is, it's a conscience effort.
02:19You have to think and do.
02:22Everything you do in life, you have to think about it first before you can do it.
02:26That's what it means by conscience effort.
02:28Ephesians 4, verse 22 says, and that you put off concerning the former conversation, which
02:34the word conversation just means the way you lived your life, your lifestyle, the old man,
02:41which is corrupt according to deceitful lust.
02:45So the old man is a corrupt old man.
02:49It's the old part of you that wants to do sin that is deceitful and be renewed in the
02:56spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in a righteousness
03:04and true holiness.
03:06So the new man is created inside of us.
03:10That is what it is in righteousness and holiness is because it's created by God.
03:17Ephesians 4, putting away lying, speak every man truth in his neighbor, for we are members
03:24one of another.
03:25Be ye angry and sin not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to
03:33the devil.
03:35So the Bible is talking about if we put on the new man after God, which is created from
03:42God, that what?
03:45That you won't give place to the devil.
03:49That's the first point is the conscience effort.
03:51Number two is all Christians, listen to me now, all Christians struggle with this.
03:57I don't care how long you've been saved.
03:59I don't care how long you've done whatever.
04:02Every single Christian on this planet who has been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ struggle
04:07with this.
04:08Go to Romans 7.
04:10Let me prove that to you.
04:13You know, when you hear people say, well, when I got saved, I got all the way saved
04:17and I don't sin anymore.
04:19They're lying through their teeth, folks.
04:21I'm here to tell you, they may think what they're doing is not a sin, but the Bible
04:26is clear.
04:27We all have sin and come short of the glory of God.
04:29And there's no point in time where you ever quit sinning, folks.
04:33The day you quit sinning is the day that you die and you're in that grave.
04:38Make sure you understand that.
04:39Don't let anybody lie to you and say, well, I quit sinning and I quit this.
04:43That's not true, folks.
04:44Look at Romans 7, verse 14.
04:50This is the apostle Paul, probably one of the, probably the second greatest Christian
04:55in the New Testament that we see, John the Baptist being the first one straight out of
05:00Jesus's mouth.
05:01But Paul, even though he started wickedly, he ended pretty good because he wrote 13 books
05:08that we're looking at right here, 13 books of the Bible.
05:11So God must have held him pretty much on a high standard.
05:14Well, look at verse 14.
05:18What does Paul have to say?
05:19I mean, Paul, he's a pretty good Christian, so he probably doesn't sin, right?
05:23Well, we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal.
05:28What is carnal?
05:29Well, carna asada is steak, is flesh, is meat.
05:33That's what it's talking about, being fleshly, being of the flesh, sold under sin.
05:38So all the way back to Genesis 2, or Genesis 3, where Adam and Eve started sinning, that
05:44made us carnal.
05:46We talked about it a couple of weeks ago, or maybe last week, where when Adam and Eve
05:51ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that's when they knew sin.
05:55That's when they started to know sin.
05:57So there's a point in time in life when a baby or a small child does not know sin.
06:02Right now, that baby right there is perfect, complete.
06:05There's no sin in that child, but at some point in time, when that child understands
06:10and there is a time, a coming of age, where the child realizes what is right and wrong,
06:17and no, it's not at age 18, folks.
06:20There's plenty of children that are going to die today, and they're going to go straight
06:24to hell.
06:26I hate to break that to you, but that's just the fact.
06:29When they understand what is right and wrong, and there's an age, it's not just one set
06:34age.
06:35It's not 13.
06:36It's not whatever.
06:37There's a point in time where people understand what is right and wrong, and they can understand
06:42salvation, and it's not the same age for every person.
06:45And I'll preach a sermon on that for you.
06:47I don't have time to preach that, but I want you to understand that Paul is fixing to explain
06:53this to you, for that which I do, I allow not.
06:59So he's saying the stuff that he tries to do, that he automatically does, he doesn't
07:05allow it.
07:06He does not want to do it.
07:09For that I would, that do I not, for what I hate, that do I.
07:14Now that sounds like a tongue twister, but it's pretty simple.
07:18What he's basically saying is that we're all prone to sin.
07:21We're all wanting to sin.
07:23I mean, if you really thought about it, sin is fun.
07:27I mean, when you get down to it, and that's what Paul's trying to say, is the stuff that
07:31he does not allow, it's easy for him to do.
07:36The things that he does not want to do, that he knows is wrong, it's easy for him to do.
07:42But the things that he knows he needs to do, the things he knows he needs to do, like going
07:46to church, reading his Bible, praying, doing the right thing, it's hard for him to do.
07:52I mean, that's not hard to figure out.
07:53This is Paul, one of the greatest Christians we see, telling us this.
07:57If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
08:05Now then, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
08:10You've heard people say, well, it's not me, it's the devil that made me do it.
08:14That's kind of true, but it's not true.
08:17The devil is of sin, but it's your flesh.
08:20It's the old man that's wanting to do it.
08:23The old man wants to stay in and sleep and not get up and go to church.
08:27The old man wants to read Facebook instead of reading the Bible.
08:32That's what the old man wants to do, and that's what it's talking about.
08:36That's what he's talking about.
08:38For I know that in me that there is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.
08:44Folks, I'm here to tell you, your flesh, inside your flesh, there's nothing good there.
08:50There's nothing good.
08:51It's of sin.
08:53That's what he's telling us right here.
09:00For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.
09:07For the good I would, I do not.
09:10But the evil which I would not, that I do.
09:13Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
09:19He's saying, look, the stuff that I don't want to do, I need to do it.
09:25But the sin and the bad stuff, I don't need to do it.
09:30It's easy for me to do it, and that's what he's trying to tell us in this whole part
09:35of Scripture.
09:36I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me.
09:43For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.
09:47So he's saying, look, I'm trying to do what's right, and that's what he's trying to tell
09:50us.
09:51It is a struggle for every single Christian.
09:56It's a struggle for me.
09:57It's a struggle for you, and we have to realize and we have to consciously remind ourselves
10:04that we have to do it.
10:05It's not automatic.
10:06That's number three.
10:07Number three, it's not automatic.
10:11Just because you're saved, just because you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ at some
10:14point in time and have done that, it's not automatic.
10:20Don't think I'm just automatically going to do right, because that's wrong, folks.
10:25I just told you, we are prone to sin.
10:28That old man, it's a fight between the old man and the new man every single day.
10:33When you wake up today, you woke up today, it might have been a struggle for you to come
10:37to church.
10:38You won that battle.
10:39Tomorrow's going to be a different battle, and the next day, and the next day, and the
10:43next day, and it's a constant struggle between it.
10:46It's not automatic.
10:47Look at Romans 7.
10:48You're still in Romans 7.
10:49Look at verse 23.
10:50But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me
10:58into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members.
11:02Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death.
11:08I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, so then with the mind I myself serve the law
11:15of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin.
11:19He's clearly telling us, he's saying, these struggles are within me, and it's not automatic.
11:25I'm constantly fighting this battle, just like you are.
11:27Go to Romans 8, verse 4, one page over maybe, 8.4.
11:36That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh,
11:42but after the spirit.
11:43That's what it's talking about, is that when you're doing the wrong things, and you say,
11:48well, I know that fornication is wrong, but I'm going to still do it.
11:51You're walking in the flesh.
11:53You're not in the spirit.
11:54You say, well, I know that drinking this beer is wrong, but I'm still going to do it, or
12:00whatever it is.
12:01I don't have time to name off all these sins.
12:04So when you realize it, and folks, we know.
12:07We know what's right and wrong.
12:09You know what's right and wrong, but when you decide to do it anyway, and say, well,
12:14I'm just going to do whatever I want to, you are walking in the flesh, not in the spirit.
12:19For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.
12:23So when you're in the flesh, you're worried about the fleshly things of your body, but
12:31they that are after the spirit, and you're trying to think of the things of the spirit,
12:35the things you're trying to find those things, the things of the spirit.
12:40For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
12:47Look at this next verse, because a carnal mind is enmity against God.
12:53Now what does enmity mean?
12:55It means a fight, enemy.
12:58So the Bible is clearly saying that with God, I'm sorry, when you're carnal, you're
13:06against God.
13:07You can't please God.
13:10That's the next point.
13:11The flesh cannot please God.
13:13The flesh cannot please God.
13:15Your flesh, doesn't matter how much you try, cannot please God, because it's constantly
13:21fighting against God.
13:23It's that enmity.
13:24It's an enemy against God, because being carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded
13:30is life and peace.
13:32Because a carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither
13:38indeed can be.
13:39So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
13:44When you're in the flesh, folks, and you're thinking about fleshly things, things to please
13:49yourself, you cannot please God.
13:55What the Bible is trying to show us here, but you're not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.
13:59It's so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
14:03Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
14:08And if in Christ being you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because
14:15of righteousness.
14:16But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, who is that?
14:23That's the Holy Spirit.
14:25He's saying if that Holy Spirit, the same Spirit, folks, I love this verse.
14:29I want you to underline it, because the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, when he was
14:35in the pit of hell, we understand that Jesus Christ died for every man's sin.
14:41When he died, they put his body in the tomb, his soul went to hell for three days, and
14:46he paid for your sins in hell.
14:48And then guess who brought him out of hell?
14:50The Holy Spirit and God the Father.
14:53The Holy Spirit and God the Father.
14:54And it's saying that same Spirit, if it dwells in you, he that raised up Christ from the
14:59dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.
15:05He's talking about the day that you die and your body's in the grave, the same Spirit
15:11that raised up Jesus from the dead is the same Spirit that's going to do what?
15:17When he comes in the clouds, when Jesus comes in the clouds, he's going to raise your body
15:21up to be an incorruptible body.
15:24That's what it's saying.
15:27The flesh cannot please God.
15:29Number five is the new man cannot sin.
15:33Go to 1 John 3.
15:34There's no way the new man can sin.
15:37The new man is created by God.
15:40It's that Holy Spirit inside of him.
15:42It's that Mark 2.0, so to speak.
15:45It's that other person that God has created.
15:50Now people have twisted these verses, just like unlearned people always do.
16:01Why don't you look at 1 John 3.4.
16:03So first, we're going to define what sin is.
16:07Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for the law, for the sin is a transgression
16:18of the law.
16:19So the Ten Commandments, the laws in the Old Testament that God created and said thou shalt
16:26not, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill.
16:30These are laws, and guess what?
16:32He made them so we would know that we needed a Savior.
16:37It's not that we have to keep these laws to be saved, folks.
16:41The purpose of the law is a schoolmaster, it tells us in Galatians, that it's to teach
16:45us that, hey, you have to have a Savior.
16:49You can't be perfect.
16:50You can't get into heaven by being perfect.
16:52The only way you can get into heaven is by the blood of Jesus Christ covering your sins.
16:57That's what it's talking about.
16:58But it's clearly telling us sin is what?
17:01When you break one of God's commandments.
17:06Now I told you before that some of the commandments, some of the laws that the government has may
17:11not be the same as what the law is in God's world in the Old Testament.
17:19Now some of them are, but some of them aren't.
17:21So what the Bible is saying is that when you sin, you break the law of God, and you know
17:28that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin.
17:34So the Bible is clearly telling us that there's no sin in Jesus, He was perfect, He was complete,
17:41but He was manifested.
17:42He was to bring our sins on Him on the cross.
17:47Verse six, this is where people get mixed up in verse nine, whosoever abideth in Him
17:53sinneth not.
17:55Whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither know Him.
17:59So when people think, they say, well whosoever means what person?
18:04If you go out there, this is the way they interpret it, if you go out there and you
18:09abide in Him, then you're never going to sin.
18:13Wrong folks, wrong.
18:16That's not what it's talking about, the whosoever is not you.
18:19Whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither know Him.
18:22So they'll say, hey if you ever sin, you're not saved.
18:26That's wrong, that's completely wrong, that completely contradicts exactly what Paul was
18:31teaching us in Romans 7 and 8.
18:34So what is it talking about?
18:35Little children, let no man deceive you, like people were trying to do, he that doeth righteousness
18:41is righteous, even as he is righteous.
18:44He that committeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
18:49For this purpose the Son of God, which is Jesus Christ, was manifested that He might
18:54destroy the works of the devil.
18:56So people will put all that together and say, see if you ever commit a sin, you're of the
19:01devil.
19:02Folks, that's everybody, even Paul, even Moses, every single person.
19:10That's why this doesn't make any sense when people say this, look at the next verse, this
19:14is a verse that people like to twist.
19:17Whoever is born of God does not commit sin.
19:20And they'll say, see if you ever commit sin, and then these newer Bible versions, what
19:27do they say?
19:28Well that don't make any sense because everybody sins, so they change it to whoever makes a
19:33practice of sinning.
19:34And I've told you that's dumb too, because nobody says, hey I'm going to be the best
19:39fornicator I can, I'm going to keep practicing to make it better.
19:42Folks, you practice to get better at something.
19:45You play basketball, you shoot hoops, right, to try to get better.
19:49You go hunting, you try to shoot a gun to make sure you do better.
19:54Practicing makes perfect.
19:55Nobody goes out there and practices sin to be better at sin, that just don't make any
20:00sense.
20:01But what the Bible is saying is whoever is born of God does not commit sin.
20:05That's the Holy Spirit, folks.
20:08That's what was created inside of you.
20:10The moment that you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, the moment that you believe
20:14that you're a sinner, the moment that you believe, hey God, I can't save myself, I'm
20:19not good enough, and you put your trust on what Jesus did, his death, burial, and resurrection,
20:25and you confess that to the Lord Jesus and say, Lord, I'm a sinner, I can't do anything
20:31about it, I have to believe that you are the Savior of the world, and I believe that you
20:36died and was buried and rose three days later, and the moment you confess that with your
20:40mouth, guess what?
20:42You automatically have that indwelling of the Holy Spirit inside of you.
20:47And you know what the Holy Spirit can't do?
20:49Can't commit sin.
20:50That's a whosoever.
20:51It's not the whosoever person, it's the whosoever's inside of you cannot commit sin, for his seed,
21:00whose seed, whose seed remained forever inside of you, Jesus, and cannot sin because he is
21:09born of God.
21:10Folks, I understand that we are made in God's image, but if you read this verse and you
21:15break it down, his seed is the seed of Jesus Christ, which is the Holy Spirit, remaineth
21:21in him, and he cannot sin.
21:24He's there forever.
21:26The Holy Spirit is inside of you forever because he is born of God.
21:34Go to John 5.1, I'm sorry, 1 John 5.1, 1 John 5.1, maybe one page over.
21:45Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.
21:50So this is clear.
21:51The Bible says anybody who believes that Jesus is the Christ, which the word Christ means
21:56Messiah, is the anointed one, is born of God.
22:01And everyone that beloveth him, that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him.
22:08By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments.
22:15For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments and his commandments are
22:19not grieveth.
22:20Here's that word whatsoever again, look at verse four.
22:23For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.
22:30And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
22:34Who is he that overcometh the world?
22:37But he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.
22:39So the Bible pretty much explains this.
22:43Now when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you put your trust in his righteousness, then
22:48you are, you are overcome the world.
22:52And that whatsoever, whosoever that is inside of you that is overcome is born of God.
22:59It's the Holy Spirit, that's how we've overcome the world.
23:02Folks, don't ever let anybody tell you and show you and hear that the King James Bible
23:09is wrong because it says that whoever is born of God does not commit sin.
23:14They don't understand, that's the Holy Spirit.
23:17Because the Holy Spirit does not commit sin.
23:21Point number six, the old man is sin, go to Colossians 3.
23:26The old man, make no mistake, the old man, the flesh cannot do any good.
23:31It's impossible to please God.
23:36A new man is not sin, it's born of God, it's created by God.
23:40But the old man is sin.
23:43Look at Colossians 3, verse 1.
23:50See you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth
23:55on the right hand of God, set your affection on things above, not on the things of the
24:00earth.
24:01For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
24:06When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory.
24:12So he's saying, look, you should put your affection, your love on the things above,
24:18the things about God, because when he appears, we will be changed in a moment's notice to
24:24this corruptible body to a glorious body like the Lord Jesus Christ.
24:28Mortify, what does mortify mean?
24:30Means kill.
24:31It means to kill, therefore, your members which are upon the earth.
24:37Fornication, uncleanness.
24:40What is fornication?
24:41It's having that physical relationship between a man and a woman before they're married.
24:46Uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is idolatry.
24:53He's saying these things, these sins that you have in your life, kill them.
24:58It's because it's of the old man, for which saying, sake the wrath of God cometh on the
25:04children of disobedience, in the which he also walked some time when you lived in them.
25:10But now you also put off all these things, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication
25:20out of your mouth, lie one not to another, seeing that you have put off the old man
25:25with his deeds.
25:27So you have to literally put off the old man.
25:31You have to say, I don't want to have anything to do with the old man because he's nothing
25:34but sin.
25:37Point number seven, how do you put on the new man?
25:39You say, you're telling me about we need to do this, we need to put on the new man, put
25:44off the old man, but how do we do this?
25:47How do we do this?
25:48Look, keep looking in Colossians three, look at verse 10.
25:53So it tells us you got to put off the old man with all his old deeds, all his bad things
25:58and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge.
26:03So let me explain to you the first thing, knowledge, knowledge.
26:07How do you get knowledge?
26:08Well, first of all, you can sit down and you read the Bible yourself and you get knowledge.
26:13But I know everybody's too busy and a lot of people aren't going to do that.
26:16So the next place you can do it, you come here and I'm not saying I'm part of knowledge,
26:20but when you sit here, my prayer is that you learn something or you get something that
26:25you forgot.
26:26And that's knowledge.
26:28You know, knowledge is not just knowing or learning something new.
26:32It's being reminded of things that we forgot sometimes, knowledge.
26:37After the image of him that created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision
26:45nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, nor bond, nor free.
26:49But Christ is all and in all put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved.
26:56Why are you the elect of God?
26:58Not because God chose you to be saved, it's because you chose to believe on the Lord Jesus
27:03Christ.
27:04Then you have been elected.
27:06Once you have done that to go what to heaven.
27:11It's not that you were elected or chosen by God to go to heaven, no.
27:15Everybody has the right to choose heaven or hell.
27:18There's nobody that's going to be in hell and say, well, I didn't know God.
27:22There's no excuses, folks.
27:24There's no excuses.
27:26Everybody who's burning in hell, they had the choice to choose God, they chose not to.
27:31They choose not to choose Jesus Christ.
27:34Holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness and humbleness of mind, meekness and long
27:40suffering.
27:41If you read all the list of all the sins that they say is the old man, he's saying this
27:45is how you put on the new man, is all these things, meekness, long suffering, forbearing
27:50one another and forgiving one another.
27:55If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
28:03So make sure you understand that.
28:06When you get mad at somebody, and we all do this, folks, but I have to remind myself of
28:11this verse all the time.
28:12When you get mad at somebody, somebody at work or a family member or whoever, a friend,
28:17and you say, I don't think I can ever forgive that person.
28:20They have wronged me, they've done me wrong, and I don't think I can ever forgive them,
28:25ever, ever, ever.
28:26First of all, you need to realize that the Bible clearly states if you don't forgive
28:31that person, God's not going to forgive you.
28:35And that has nothing to do with going to heaven or hell.
28:37The moment you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, your past, present, and future sins are already
28:42washed away.
28:44But, but, if you don't forgive others, you know, I think about sometimes when people
28:51go to court, they may say, well, the sentence here is one to ten years, and the judge could
28:58throw the maximum ten years on you, or he could say, you know what, I'm going to have
29:02mercy on you and give you one year.
29:04Well, that's what God does too, folks.
29:06When we sin, we get punished by God.
29:09Whom the Lord loves, he chastens every one of us.
29:12That's one of the examples of being saved.
29:14But what we need to understand is that if you don't choose to forgive other people when
29:19they've wronged you, guess what?
29:21They can say, I'm not going to forgive you either.
29:24Instead of giving you a lighter sentence, I'm going to give you the maximum sentence,
29:28and God can rain down on you all day long.
29:35But the other thing is you need to understand is the moment you believed on the Lord Jesus
29:39Christ, all the sins you have done from the moment you understood that you were a sinner,
29:47and then the moment you had that age of accountability, to the day that you die, you are walking in
29:53heaven scot-free, no sin.
29:59And I guarantee you, I can almost bet you that what that person is doing to you, whatever
30:06it may be, is a whole lot less worse than the sins you did that Jesus Christ died for
30:12you on that cross.
30:14Make sure you understand that.
30:17So when you get all, I'm never going to forgive that person, make sure you understand that.
30:23And above all things, look at verse 14, that above all things, put on charity, which is
30:29what?
30:30Love.
30:31Charity is love, which is the bond of perfectness, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts
30:37to the which ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful.
30:43Let the word of Christ dwell in you, richly in wisdom, and here's the point, how do you
30:49put on the new man?
30:50Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
30:57grace in your hearts to the Lord.
30:59So when you get to that point, and you say, well, how can I put on the new man?
31:03First of all, is reading the Bible, knowledge, having more knowledge, coming to church, understanding,
31:10because folks, we all live in the same world.
31:13We all go to work, and we have people that bring us down, and you know what?
31:18It's teaching and admonishing one another.
31:21The other thing is maybe showing somebody.
31:25Somebody may ask you a question, and folks, don't ever have the idea, well, if I ask them
31:29this question, they're going to think I don't know.
31:32The only dumb question is a question you don't ask.
31:34Make sure you understand that.
31:37And then, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, folks, we just sang a bunch of hymns
31:43before the service.
31:45Those hymns are created in psalms and hymns that they lift you up.
31:51The songs of the day, you may feel good by listening to something on the radio, but it
31:56really doesn't.
31:58It really doesn't.
31:59You may feel good about listening to this song and singing along with it, but the only
32:03songs that can lift you up and put on the new man is the songs, the psalms in the book
32:10of psalms and the hymns.
32:12That's the only one.
32:15And spiritual songs, songs that are lifting up the Lord Jesus Christ, singing, with grace
32:19in your hearts, O Lord, and whatsoever ye do in word or deed.
32:25What does that mean?
32:26You say you're going to do something, but you don't want to do it.
32:32The deed is where we are.
32:33God is a God of action.
32:35I want you to understand that.
32:36You may say in your mind you're going to do this or do that, but He wants us to do.
32:41We're all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.
32:47Make sure you understand that.
32:48When you have a bad day at work and you say, man, this job stinks.
32:53I don't like this job.
32:54I want to find me another job.
32:55I want to find me a better boss.
32:57Make sure you understand that same boss that you go to the next job is the Lord Jesus Christ.
33:03And I have to remind myself too, you know, just this week I had a guy that was getting
33:08on to me.
33:09He said, man, I'm tired.
33:10I'm going to go do something else.
33:11I'm just tired.
33:12I don't want to quit the job, but I was going to go to somewhere else.
33:15And I had to remind myself, it doesn't matter where I'm working in Tallahassee or Tipton,
33:19that same boss is Jesus.
33:23And Jesus is watching.
33:24He's watching what I do.
33:25He's watching what you do.
33:27And you got to understand that, that whatever you do, you're doing it in the name of the
33:32Lord Jesus.
33:33And He's looking down and He's saying, well done, my good and faithful servant.
33:36I may give you a raise.
33:38And when we overcome these things and we just say, I know I'm supposed to do this and that's
33:44what I'm going to do, then God rewards us.
33:47Go to 2 Corinthians 4.
33:52Whatever we do is for the Lord.
33:55I have to remind myself too.
34:03How do you put on the new man?
34:09Look at 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16.
34:15For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man, I saw the outward man, the old
34:23man, these are the same words, perish, talking about killing the old man, yet the inward
34:30man is renewed day by day.
34:36You've done it today.
34:37You showed up to church.
34:38Great.
34:39What are you going to do tomorrow?
34:40You got to do it tomorrow.
34:41The day tomorrow when you wake up and you decide, what am I going to do?
34:45Am I going to watch the stupid stuff on television?
34:46Am I going to look at Facebook?
34:48Am I going to look at some stupid YouTube video or am I going to look at, you know,
34:53the Bible?
34:54Am I going to read a chapter out of the Bible?
34:57Am I going to read whatever?
34:58Because, you know, if you can't, a lot of people say, I don't know where to start.
35:02Well, you can start at Genesis, but by the time you get to the book of Numbers, you're
35:07going to bog down.
35:08What I'm going to suggest to you is the book of Proverbs.
35:12The book of Proverbs is 31 chapters.
35:14Read a chapter a day.
35:16Today is the 23rd of June.
35:18Read chapter 23.
35:21And you'll always get something out of Proverbs.
35:23And then when you start reading it, your day won't be wasted.
35:26You'll put on the new man every day.
35:29Sometimes I just think, alright, what am I going to read?
35:31You know, I always read Proverbs because you're going to get something out of it.
35:34It is knowledge and wisdom from one of the wisest men that walked on this earth.
35:42For a light affliction, what does that mean?
35:44It means the stuff that you go through at work or at home or whatever, that means nothing.
35:52Compared to what Jesus Christ went through on the cross, which is but for a moment.
35:58When you think about your lifetime, folks, your lifetime of eternity, the time that you
36:04may spend on this earth, even if it's 75 or 80 years, is just a teeny tiny drop in the
36:10bucket from the time that you're going to live in eternity in heaven.
36:16That's what he's talking about.
36:17Worketh for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, for while we look not at
36:24the things which are seen, folks, the things that you see, the things that you can touch,
36:29the things that you can feel, those are not the things of God.
36:33It's not.
36:35The things are of God, but are things which are not seen.
36:40You can't see what's in heaven.
36:41You don't know what's in heaven.
36:42I don't know what's in heaven.
36:44Folks, we don't have any idea of what is in heaven.
36:47In fact, the Bible talks very rarely about heaven.
36:51It talks more about hell than it does heaven.
36:53Why?
36:54Because I believe there's no words to describe the glory that we will see in heaven.
37:00But of the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal.
37:04The things that you have today, that you can touch, your job, your car, your house, is
37:11temporary.
37:13And every one of them are going to burn up one day, and you'll never see it again.
37:19But the things which are not seen are eternal.
37:23The things, the friend that you get saved by showing them the Bible verses in the Bible,
37:30and they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, folks, that stuff won't go away.
37:35The friend that you have that is saved, and they're dealing with a problem, and you show
37:39them in the Bible, hey, let me show you in the Bible what the Bible says, so you'll know
37:43what the Bible says.
37:44Those things are eternal, folks.
37:47Those things are eternal.
37:48So I want you to turn back to where we started, which is 2 Corinthians 5.
37:54So I want to explain this to you.
37:592 Corinthians 5, verse 17, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old
38:09things are passed away, but behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God.
38:16So I want you to understand, when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, all things are become
38:22new.
38:23So what is this Bible verse talking about?
38:26The things that are new are what?
38:28Well, let me just go through a list of the old man versus the new man.
38:33The old man is unrighteous, means he's not right, he's not righteous.
38:38The new man is created in righteousness.
38:40The old man is unable to please God.
38:43The new man is able to please God.
38:45The old man is unable to be changed.
38:48Your flesh can never change.
38:50The new man is perfect and sinless.
38:53The old man is not of God.
38:55The new man is born of God.
38:56The old man is full of lies.
38:58The new man is full of truth.
38:59The old man steals.
39:01The new man does not steal.
39:03The old man is driven by the flesh.
39:06The new man is driven by the Spirit.
39:09The old man has a carnal mind.
39:11The new man has a spiritual mind.
39:14The old man is enmity or at war with God.
39:19The new man is not at enmity with God.
39:21The old man is automatic.
39:23The new man is not automatic.
39:25But when you hear people say, or hear a preacher say, see, all things are become new.
39:30And that's true.
39:31This Bible verse wouldn't be any good.
39:33We could just take it out.
39:35But what things are new?
39:37Well, let me tell you some of the things that are new.
39:38The moment you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you put your trust in His righteousness,
39:44and you can believe that you can never lose your salvation, let me tell you what becomes new.
39:48Your destination changes from hell to heaven.
39:52The Bible clearly says, and I've got verses to prove it.
39:55I can't prove it.
39:56I can't show you right now.
39:57I don't have time.
39:58But the Bible says, the moment you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, before that, you're headed to hell.
40:03And now you're headed to heaven.
40:06What else is new?
40:07The Spirit is now alive.
40:09The Spirit was dead inside of you.
40:11The Bible says that the moment you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, your spirit is made alive.
40:15You've changed from death to life.
40:20Death being hell.
40:21Life being heaven.
40:23You have the indwelling, or the Holy Spirit, the new man that enters inside of you.
40:28Before that, you don't have that.
40:30The Bible says that the moment you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you become saved, guess what?
40:35You can understand the Bible.
40:39People cannot understand the Bible who are not saved.
40:42They can read it all day long, but unless you have that Holy Spirit showing you the truth,
40:47you can never understand the Bible.
40:48The Bible makes it clear that the moment you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
40:51it's like scales or blinders on your eyes that just fall off that you can understand now.
40:57So we can understand the Bible.
40:59We can have our prayers heard and answered.
41:03Heard and answered.
41:04Folks, there's a lot of people out there praying to God and he ain't hearing one lick of it.
41:08Well, they're not saved.
41:11Make sure you understand that.
41:12You have to be saved for God to hear your prayer.
41:14The only prayer that the Lord Jesus Christ will listen to of an unsaved person is the request to be saved.
41:22That's it.
41:24We have that power.
41:26We have the ability to have God hear our prayers and answer them.
41:31We have the chastening of God.
41:33That's one of the things that are new.
41:35You say, well, why would that be good?
41:37Well, because God's going to chasten you.
41:39You go out there and commit a bunch of sins, especially sins that you know are wrong.
41:43He's going to beat you down and he's going to try to steer you right.
41:47And sometimes it takes some of us because we're hard-headed and we just don't understand.
41:52More chastening than others.
41:53Some people get it pretty soon, but when we're young teenagers, we don't get it.
41:58It's just in our DNA.
41:59It's just in our mind as a teenager.
42:01Well, I know my parents are stupid and all this.
42:04I'm just going to do what I want to.
42:05And then God has to step in and say, OK, let me show you what you're doing wrong.
42:10And I've been there, folks.
42:12I know that's why I can preach about it.
42:14And you think your parents are the dumbest people in the world.
42:17And then when you get married and you have your first child, you think, man, my parents are the brightest people in the whole world.
42:24It's just everybody goes through that.
42:27But the chastening of God is one of the reasons I knew when I was doing wrong, when I was drinking, when I was being selfish in my own life,
42:36and I kept getting chastened by God, that's how I knew I was saved.
42:39It kept reminding me that I was saved.
42:43We have the ability, once we put on the new man, and we have that new man, to get another person saved.
42:51You have to have the Holy Spirit inside of you to show somebody the Bible and for them to understand it.
42:56And that Holy Spirit inside of you is one that pricks that other person to be saved.
43:01I have a mansion in heaven.
43:04I have a mansion in heaven.
43:05We have the ability to receive rewards.
43:07And the last thing is that is new.
43:09You have the protection of God.
43:13I am protected by God.
43:14I can't tell you how many times things would happen in my life that I knew that I was protected by God.
43:22So this verse says the old things are new and all things are new.
43:30And I've heard preachers say, see, if you're not coming to church, if you're not being a good person,
43:38all these things is proof that you're not saved.
43:41Folks, that's a lie and a pit of hell.
43:44It's just a lack of understanding.
43:46Let me tell you the things that are new.
43:48If you look down this list, these are things you can't see.
43:51It's the things, we just talked about the things that are unseen are eternal.
43:56The things that are unseen are spiritual.
43:59It doesn't mean that, well, little Johnny got saved yesterday, but he's still out there drinking.
44:04He must not be saved.
44:05Wrong, folks.
44:07That's wrong.
44:08You can't see a person's heart.
44:10You can't see the spirit inside of them.
44:12You can't see the change.
44:14The changes that you can see in a person has nothing to do with their salvation.
44:21Because you can't see inside of a person.
44:24It's the things you can't see.
44:25The things that are unseen that proves that somebody's saved.
44:29Now, sometimes we can see things and it can show us, but the biggest thing is what's in their heart.
44:36And how do you find that out?
44:38By asking them.
44:39Hey, if you die today, you're 100% sure you'll go to heaven.
44:42And then what's inside usually is going to come out.
44:47And if they don't have the right answer, then they're probably not saved.
44:50Now, look, there's been people that they don't have the right answer and you show them in the Bible.
44:54I've had people, they say, yeah, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
44:57but I think you can lose your salvation if you quit believing.
45:00And you show them a Bible verse where it says that in Titus, where it says,
45:05even if you quit believing that the moment you believe,
45:09because John the Baptist, who I just told you Jesus said was the greatest person on this earth
45:16in his mind, the greatest believer, John the Baptist that was ever born of a woman.
45:21And what did he do?
45:22Well, when he was in prison, right before they cut off his head, you know what he said?
45:25He asked Jesus, are you he or should we look for another?
45:28Folks, do you understand John the Baptist was a person all the way back in the Old Testament
45:33that they said was going to pave the way for Jesus Christ.
45:36And he doubted who he was.
45:39Was he saved?
45:40Yeah, he was saved.
45:42We can all get to a point in our life where things are happening
45:46and we just start to doubt believing.
45:48But you know what?
45:49When somebody shows you the Word of God, and I've had people say, well, I'm just not sure.
45:53And you show them, say, well, the Bible says that John 3, 16 says,
45:57for God so loved the world that he gave his only son to whosoever.
46:03Believe it.
46:04Should not perish.
46:05Means you won't go to hell, but have everlasting life.
46:09And you tell them that and you say, well, how long is everlasting life?
46:12Oh, it lasts forever.
46:14Well, then how can it end?
46:16And then people, oh, yeah, that makes sense.
46:19It never does end.
46:22Sometimes we had to be reminded of the things.
46:25And I've been in my life where I doubted and I just didn't know.
46:29And guess what?
46:30Let me tell you that the common denominator, I'm not saying that's the way it was with
46:33John the Baptist, but I'll tell you the common denominator, when you start doubting your
46:37salvation, you start doubting who God is and you sin.
46:43It's when you're deep in sin.
46:44It's when you start in sin, because sin will keep you out of this book.
46:50I'm a believer.
46:51I'm an understander.
46:52I know it.
46:53I've seen it.
46:53I've lived my own life.
46:55If you're deep in sin, you won't open this book and this book will keep you out of sin.
47:00That's what you need to understand.
47:02The old things that you can see in a person's life are not the things that are changed.
47:07It's the things you can't see.
47:09Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.