Our scripture reading this morning
is the third Psalm, Psalms number three. Psalms number three, beginning
at verse one. This is a Psalm of David when
he fled from Absalom his son. You remember his son Absalom
came to kill him. Lord, how are they increased? that trouble me. Many are they
that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my
soul, there is no help for him in God. But thou, O Lord, art a shield
for me, my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto
the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept. I awaked, for the Lord sustained
me. I will not be afraid of 10,000
people that have set themselves against me round about. Arise,
O Lord! Save me, O my God! For thou hast
smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone, and thou hast
broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the
Lord. Thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. And that word selah means
to stop, to hesitate, to consider. Thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. Our Lord said to Peter,
when Peter declared that he is the son of the living God, when
the Lord asked Peter, who do you say that I am? Peter said,
why, thou art the son of the living God. And he told Peter,
he said, flesh and blood had not revealed that unto you, but
my Father which is in heaven. And then he says this, speaking
of what Peter declared the Lord to be, the son of the living
God. Upon that rock, upon the fact
of who Jesus is, I will build my church, and the gates of hell
shall not prevail. What peace, what comfort we have,
knowing that those gates of hell are rising up as they did, just
as Absalom rose up against his own father, just as what we just
read of David in the Psalms, what he wrote. What a solid rock. It can't get any more solid than
that, folks. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Would you turn in your Bibles to 1 John 1. 1 John. All the way back there by Peter,
1 and 2 Peter. I want to bring a message this
morning that I hope, if you're listening this morning for the
first time, God has given you ears. for the first time ever
to hear his word. Ears of the heart, I hope this
is a message that will convict you. I hope it's a message that
will grab a hold of that heart that the Lord may use to cut
away that old stony heart that said, I will not have the God
of scriptures to rule over me. I also pray As we saw in our
Friday night Bible study, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, sayeth
the Lord. I pray that this will be a message that brings great
comfort to you who have heard. You may have heard less than
an hour ago, and something has crossed your mind in that little
short period of time, and troubled you. Or something may be going on
in your life helps you not to impede upon your concentration
of who our Lord is. So maybe the Lord will use this
message to comfort you. Only he can, you know. We were
talking about that in between services, Brother Mike and I.
A friend of his is a counselor to those who are getting close
to dying. We call it hospice. How can you bring comfort to
somebody who knows not God? You can't. But God could give
us the words that He might comfort somebody with. You know what I mean by that?
You understand what I mean by that? Maybe God will give me the words this
morning to comfort those who have never heard. In Hebrews
4.12, it says, Our Lord's word is quick
and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints
and the marrow. This is giving you a picture
now of a sword, the word of God being a sword, a two-edged one.
And it cuts so deeply that it cuts into the joints and the
marrow of your bones. And it's a discerner of the thoughts
and the intents of the heart. I wish to bring a message that
would bring conviction of our standing before a thrice holy
God. A warning, as Noah did. What did Noah do? Noah went about
preaching the righteousness of Christ, the only righteousness
there is, and that is in Christ the Savior. And Christ the Savior
was going to come and judge the world. God Almighty was going
to judge the world. It's going to rain. What? What
is that? We've never heard of rain before.
We've never seen it. I hope this message today is
as Noah's. The wrath of God is coming. Yet
the wrath has come for some. Noah went about preaching it
was coming. I'm here to tell you that for some, that wrath
has already come. A message that brings peace to
the hearts of those whose judgment and condemnation has been satisfied
by our substitute. Here in 1 John 1, look with me
if you would, beginning at verse 8. If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, we lie to ourselves, and the truth is
not in us. If we confess, if we admit, our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, verse 10, that we
have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in
us. Now, I'd never ask you confess
your sins, I don't want to hear your sins. It does absolutely
no good for you to go and confess your sins to a man. They can't
do anything for you. And I'm not going to confess
my sins to you. I'm ashamed of you. And you can't
do anything for me. But I'll tell you this, every
sin listed in this book. Everything about sin that is
listed in this book, the fall of Adam, where this book begins,
in the beginning, God created the world and Adam fell. Every
sin that is talked about in this book applies to me. And that's what confessing our
sin did. Confessing what we are before
God. John, why do you always, how
come you always gotta bring that up? Folks, if you don't understand
sin, you can't understand grace. If I didn't, if I couldn't comprehend
the depth of my sin, then how am I gonna see the magnificence,
the magnitude of his graciousness to me? How am I gonna understand
the depth of my Lord's love for me and giving himself for me
and shedding his blood for me. If I don't understand what it
is he shed his blood for, why do I always got to talk about
sin? Because that's where you got to begin. That's what salvation
is all about. If you don't need a savior, then
who's Jesus to you? Who's the Lord to you? He's nobody. I share that with you because
of this. Maybe. Just maybe. There's someone here
today, either here or online, who don't know their depth of
sin. How are you going to know about the one we call Jesus if
I don't tell you what he came to this world to do? If I don't
share with you what he laid down his life for, People love to
talk about a Jesus who loves. They love to tell you that Jesus
loves His creation. Everything in it. Although scriptures
tell us differently. They love to tell you about all
the love of Jesus. He's so precious. He's so humble. He's so meek. And He is all those
things. But why? Why? Because people need saving. You may not, but I do. And if you're one who's been
saved by Him, this is what brings us comfort through all the trials.
We talked about this in Bible study. He had to come and show
that He has all power. He had to be made a man and shown
that He has all power in heaven and earth and under the earth.
And he did. He not only told everybody that
he did, he showed them that he did through all the miracles
that he did. How are you going to know? How are you going to cry out
for the Lord's mercy? How is he going to break your
heart? Unless you know what sin is all about to the depth of
it. Unless you know that you have sinned against God. I find
it interesting that, you know, in David, when writing this in
the Psalms, after Naaman came to him and said, you know, there's
this guy who did this. And David got all angry. He says,
you're that guy who did it. And David was convicted of his
sin with Bathsheba. I find it interesting that he
went into his closet private, whatever, and he cried into the
Lord and he says, I have sinned against you. What about Bathsheba's husband?
He sent him down to the front line to get killed, didn't he? He had an intimate relationship
with Bathsheba while she was married to another man, got her
pregnant. What about her? Did he not sin
against her too? But his cry was, Lord, I have
sinned. Not one, but sin as in multiple
sins against you. My flesh is full of filth and
broganess. My thoughts are filled with wickedness. My strength indeed is small.
The prophet Isaiah, now think about this, Isaiah was like Paul
of the Old Testament. Paul says, oh wretched man that
I am. Isaiah says it this way. Chapter
6, verse 5, then said I, woe is me, for I am undone, because I am
a man of unclean lips. The Lord used Isaiah. and quoted
Isaiah more times in the New Testament than any other prophet,
used Isaiah in great, great ways. Yet Isaiah himself said, woe
is me, for I am undone, because I am a man with unclean lips.
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes
have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. The psalmist puts it
this way. Are you still marked in Psalms
number three there? Let's read that again, but before
you do, I want to have you mark your place there in 1 John and
turn over to Psalms three. This man, David, a man after
God's own heart, a man chosen from before the foundations of
the world, a man that was loved of God with an everlasting love,
a vessel of God's mercy, a just man, was no different than any
other mortal man to walk this earth. Troubled with weakness
of this flesh as you and I are. You know, many a people, they
like to put their pastor up on a pedestal. I've seen Pastor
Gene, I've seen people do that to him. I've had to be very careful
not to do that with my own heart. I love the man dearly. Don Fortner,
his biggest regret of this world was all of those around the world
who put him up on such a high pedestal. A pedestal he never
deserved. There's only one who deserves
to be put on a pedestal, folks. That's our Savior. He's the only
one who's ever earned it, deserved it. He will have it. And if you're
his, you will put him up on that pedestal. He'll be like the brazen
serpent that Moses lifted up for all the people to look at.
In your heart, you will raise him up if you belong to him.
As you read these words in the Psalms, keep in mind our most
formidable foe. You think of, you know, David's
writing here about his son. He's writing about those around
him. Remember Saul chased after David for years. David had a
lot of enemies. Why? He never did anything really
wrong to anybody else. He was always just being a nice
guy. For some reason, when he beat, when he conquered people
in the battles that he fought, everybody came and David in his
10,000s. Saul was the king. Saul just
got jealous of him. That's all it was. His son, Absalom,
all he wanted was the power that his daddy had. So David really
never did anything deserving of what people looked at him,
but people hated David all around. Our most formidable foe, though,
even though David had many enemies, our most burdensome enemy is
the flesh that you and I walk in. Listen to these words, Ephesians
6 verse 12, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood. Remember that. Read this psalm. But we wrestle against principality,
against power, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual, wickedness, and high places. Those are all
things inside of us, inside of the very body that we walk in,
inside of the very mind that we think with. Now, with that
in mind, look with me at Psalm number 3. Lord, how are they
increased that trouble me? Were you ever troubled by your
sin before the Lord called you out of darkness? Has the Lord
troubled you with your sin, is a better question. I'm not talking
about, well, what I used to think. I used to, you know, I used to
have thoughts go through my mind, but I don't anymore. That's not
what we're talking about here. We're talking about things that
go through your mind right now. Right now where you're sitting,
right here. Right now where I'm standing, right now. How are
they increased? That troubled me. Many are they
that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my
soul, have you ever felt this? Has this word ever got a hold
of you? Many that say of my soul, there is no help for you in God. Have you ever cried out, Lord,
where are you? How could you let me go through this? How can I be going through this
trouble within me? Where are you, Lord? Do you care
about me? Isn't that what his disciples
said that day on the ship when the waves were smashing up against
him? How can you sleep? Don't you care about us? Don't
you love us? Verse three, but thou, O Lord,
art a shield for me. Notice David still calls him
O Lord. David still has that small little
mustard grain of faith that says he's my Lord. Despite what I'm
feeling right now, despite what's going on around me in my life,
despite what's trying to kill me from outside and from within. He's still my Lord. Thou, O Lord,
art a shield for me, my glory and lifter up of mine head. The
one who's going to lift me up out of this danger that I walk
through is him and him alone. I can't do it myself. I have
no strength in this flesh to do so. Verse four, I cried unto
the Lord with my voice and he heard me out of his holy hill. I laid me down and slept. I wake and the Lord sustained
me. The very fact that I didn't die
in my sleep last night is because of the one who is Lord. Verse
six, I will not be afraid of 10,000s of people. that have set themselves against
me round about. Arise, O Lord, and save me. Where
does he call for salvation? The very one who saves, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Oh, arise, O Lord. Save me, my
God. For thou hast smitten all mine
enemies upon the cheek. How? By sending his Son to take
our enemies upon himself. He who knew no sin was made Our
sin, what greater enemy do we have than the sin that dwells
within us, the sin that besets us? Thou hast smitten all mine
enemies upon the cheekbone. Thou hast broken the teeth of
the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the
Lord. Thy blessings is upon thy people. Remember the demoniac man of
Gadara? Gadara? Remember he had legions? You know what a legion is? A
legion is four to 6,000 men. And the Bible tells us that that
gathering, that demoniac man had legions. Think about that. What have we got within ourselves?
Oh, the demons that dwell within our members. Back in our text,
in 1 John. It says, if you say you have
no sin, you deceive yourself, and the truth is not in you.
Now look at verse 9 again if you would with me. If we confess
our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us. our sins, to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. Lord, how? How? How can I be
cleansed from all this wickedness, these legions of demons that
dwell within this flesh? All the wickedness that I see
when I look in the mirror. Look over verses 4 and 5 of chapter
1, 1 John chapter 4, chapter 1. And these things write we
unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message
which we have heard of Him and declared to you, that God is
light and in Him is no darkness at all. In Him is no darkness. That's what I want to talk to
you about this morning. In Him, in Christ. In God is
no darkness. This is speaking of Christ Jesus.
In the second chapter of 1 Peter, we read in verse 22 and 23, we
read this, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth,
who when he was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered,
he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judged righteously. in God is the key in Christ. Listen to these verses. I've
wrote down several, so I'm just gonna read them for you. If you'd
like, take a pen and write them down sometime and read them for
yourselves. I'll begin in Romans chapter
eight, verse one. It says, there is therefore now
no condemnation. You know what that means, right?
That means there's nothing to condemn you for. You can't be
condemned. There is nothing to condemn you
for. There is therefore no condemnation
to them which are in Christ. What's the key? What's the key
to our Lord saving us, looking upon us as righteous as himself,
is to be in Christ. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. There's the war right there.
The flesh and the Spirit. God give us the opportunity,
give us the ability, not opportunity, the ability to walk after the
Spirit. Romans 8 verse 2, we read this,
for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
me free from the law of sin and death. What did the law of sin
and death, what did it do? It condemned us. We have all
sinned and come short of the glory of God. Every single man
and woman and child, even your grandmother, has sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Yet for those who are in Christ
Jesus, according to verse one, there is no condemnation. Why? Because the law of the spirit
of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
sin and death. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 2, under
the church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified,
that means made holy, that means set apart, those who are taken
apart from the world of religion and brought into the Lord Jesus
Christ, those who are given the knowledge of who Jesus is according
to scriptures, sanctified, set apart in Jesus, called to be
saints, With all that are in every place, call upon the name
of the Lord Jesus, both theirs and ours. And then in 1 Corinthians
1, verse 30, we read this, but of him, but of God. Remember
we talked a little bit ago, I mentioned that Peter, the Lord had asked
him, who do you say that I am? When we started, after we sang
the song, who do you say that I am? Remember that? But of him,
of God. Flesh and blood have not revealed
this unto you, Peter. Flesh and blood have not revealed
this unto you, dear folks. Flesh and blood have not revealed
this. I know a guy stood up in front of me and preached, but
it wasn't him talking to the heart. Only God can talk to the
hearts of his people. But of him are ye in Christ. I'm sorry, but of him are ye
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom. That means
God has made his son, the Lord Jesus, our wisdom. We must be
taught of God. Isn't that what scripture says?
He has made his son wisdom unto you and I. That wisdom of God,
of Jesus Christ allowing himself to be crucified, laying down
his life for you and I, that's foolishness to the world. The
world says, I got to be able to do something. Pinch me. See, I'm alive. I can do something,
can't I? Can't I come down and make a
decision? Can't I get in the baptismal? Can't I come to the
table? And the Lord says, no, that's not it at all. Only Jesus
saves. Nothing else can. He's our wisdom. He's our righteousness. Only
God can convict a person of their sin to the point where they know
there is nothing in them worthy of any merit to win favor with
God. Only through his son, the Lord
Jesus. He is our sanctification, our holiness, and He is our redemption. And this is all made to us by
God Himself. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus. John 17, verse 20 through 23,
listen to this. This is the Lord speaking Himself.
He says, neither pray I for these alone, speaking of those that
He was praying for right there in the world that He was walking
in, but for them which also which shall believe on Me, through
their word. Those who will come later on
after the Lord has left this world, after he has hung on that
cross and shed his blood for his people and gone on to be
with his Father in heaven. Those who will hear the words
of his ministers at that time. Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them which shall believe on me through their word, that
they all may be one As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they may also be one in us. There we go. We see the key
again. What's the key to salvation?
What's the key to not walking in darkness? Being in Christ. Well, how do I be in Christ?
If God has made you a vessel of mercy, that's how. They may
also be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent
me. and the glory which thou gavest
me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one,
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one,
and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved
them as thou hast loved me. Those who are in God will have
the light of God dwelling in them. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 6,
we read these words, for God, who commanded the light to shine
out of darkness. This is that one who has no darkness
in him. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
the very one that we read about in verse 5 of John chapter 1.
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declaring
to you that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
It says, God commanded the light to shine out of darkness has
shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. There you go. Those who are not in God, those
who are not in God will spend eternity never able, always coming
up short of the glory of God. Look up. Turn over to John chapter
3. Continue to mark your spot here
in 1 John. Look over at John chapter 3.
The world loves to use this verse 16 and stop right there. Have
you ever asked somebody, how do you know Jesus loves you?
You know they see you maybe walking around, they got bumper stickers
on their car, Jesus loves you. Have you ever stopped and asked
anybody? I have. One time I was walking,
we were in Sturges, South Dakota, on a motorcycle run. And some
people, some Christian, so-called Christian folks, were standing
in the corner doing their ministry to all the bikers. And, uh, Jesus
loves you! Passing around, Jesus loves you!
I had to stop and walk back. How do you know Jesus loves me?
For God so loves the world. Let me tell you something. If
God loves the whole world, the whole world will be saved. If
he's not, then your God is a failure. This God, the very God that's
spoken of in this scriptures is not a failure. Those for whom
he loves he shall save, period. Here in John chapter three, beginning
at verse 14, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so much the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever, that
whosoever, That means there's some who won't. Whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For
God sent not his son, verse 17, into the world to condemn the
world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth
on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son. And this is the condemnation,
that light is coming to the world, and men loved darkness rather
than the light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone
that doeth evil hateth the light, Neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. Light is coming to the world,
and the world rejects the light of truth. It is our nature to
reject that light, because that light reproves our evil wickedness
within us. When Adam fell, all of mankind
fell in him, and we love the lie of I. We love the lie of
I. The lie that I am the decider
of my destiny. The lie that I have the will
to do right or wrong. The lie that I know good from
evil and will choose to do as I please. Folks, if I'm left
to my own choice, I will choose evil. You say, oh, what kind
of man are you to stand before people and say that? A sinner. A sinner. A sinner who's saved
by grace and grace alone. It is our nature to put ourselves
in a place of gods. That's what the devil said. You'll
be as gods. When Adam ate of that apple,
from that moment on, all mankind places themselves as gods. John
the Baptist was sent as a forerunner to declare the coming of this
light. Look over at John chapter one.
Turn to the left, just one page, two pages. In chapter one, verse
six, we read, There was a man sent of God whose name was John.
The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that
all men through him might believe. John was not that light. He was
not that light, it says, but was sent to bear witness of that
light. That's what I'm doing this morning. I'm shining the
light of comfort. I'm declaring the word of God,
the light of comfort to his people. and the light of a Savior to
those who've never heard. In the eighth chapter of John,
verse 12, we read these words, then speak Jesus again unto them,
saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Folks, what we just established
through all that we have just said, and we'll wrap this up,
is that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, God
in the flesh is the very one spoken of in our text in John
chapter 1 and 1 John. God is light and in him is no
darkness at all. And we've seen by several verses,
and there's more than that. We don't have time to go through
all the scriptures, old and new, and see where the Lord refers
to his people being in him. Those who were chosen in Him
from before the foundation of the world, as it says in Ephesians
1. Those who are in Him when He went to the cross. Did you
know you were in the Lord Jesus Christ when He went to that cross?
You have been in the Lord Jesus Christ since before the world
left. Everything created was so that you would be exactly
where you are. right now and God will be talking
to you through his word as he is right now. This is what it
is to be in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's hear these words from John
chapter 10. The Lord speaking to some unbelieving
Jews who said, how long do you cause us to doubt? He says, I
told you who I am. I told you and you believe not.
The works that I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me.
But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. This is
what it is to be in Christ. It's to be one of his sheep.
You don't get to decide if you're one of his sheep. You either
are or you're not. You're either a vessel who's
been created unto mercy, or you're a vessel who's been created unto
condemnation. You believe not, because you're
not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand. This is what it is to be
in Christ, folks. This is what it is to walk in that light. This is what it is to have no
darkness in you. What? Are you saying that I'm
righteous? If you're in Christ, you're righteous.
Are you saying that there's no sin in me? Christ's saying that
your sins are paid for in Him. He's saying that He was made
sin for you, that you would be made righteous in Him. This is the whole key to that,
being in Christ. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. If you're one who's never heard
the word of God in truth, and the Lord is speaking to your
heart for the first time today, then you're sitting there thinking,
You mean I don't have to work anymore? I don't have to try?
No, you're gonna try. You're still gonna try. God will
lead you to that. But he's done it all. All to
him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain,
he washed me white as snow. This is what it is to be in him.
We are in Christ before the world was made. As the great three
in one made an everlasting covenant, agreement, God the Father would
give his people a son. God the Son shall redeem these
people unto the Father, and God the Spirit will give life and
call each one in the day of his love. We were in Christ when
he walked this earth. We were in Christ when he died
and went to the grave. We were in Christ when he arose
from death, a victor over death. And we are in Christ right now
as he sits on his throne of glory, making intercessions for you
and I. preserving us in himself to be revealed in that last day.
Oh, what a blessed hope it is to be in Christ. Folks, we have
a good hope, a hope and a surety in the light where there is no
darkness. God looks upon his chosen people
as we are as holy as his son. I confess that I'm a sinner deserving
of his wrath to come, yet my lawyer, He who is just and justifier
of his people. My lawyer says he paid my price. He received my condemnation. That's why we read in Romans
8, 1, there is therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ. He
has redeemed me. He has bought me with his own
blood. I belong to him. Back in our
text in 1st John chapter 1, look at verses 8 and 10 together.
Skip over 9. I just want you to read 8 and
10. Look at those words once more if you would. If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not
in us. If you say that I'm saved and
I don't sin anymore, you deceive yourself. There's a lot of Christians
who believe that. Verse 10, if you say that we
have not sinned, we make him a liar and the word is not in
us. Now look over at verse nine.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And
we'll close before four through seven. And these things write
we unto you, that your joy, our joy may be full. This then is
the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that
God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that
we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and
do not truth. But if we walk in the light,
as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and
the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. What
is it to walk in the light? It is to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ according to his word. He is the author and the
finisher of our faith. That's his word. Ephesians 2,
verses 8 through 9, for by grace are you saved through faith,
through belief, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of
God, not of works, unless man should boast. Don't take this wrong. I'm not
giving you any kind of okay to go out and sin. You know, if you're a child of
God, that it's not okay. Every time you think a thought,
every time you do something that you know is a sin against God,
if you belong to Him, you'll be on your knees asking for forgiveness. I remember a time when it didn't
bother me. I could lie to the IRS and it
didn't bother me at all. And much, much more. And it wouldn't
bother me one bit. Belonging to God has caused me
to desire to walk according to his will. Belonging to the Lord
Jesus and knowing what he has done for us causes, knowing the
love that he has for you and I, causes us to love him, causes
us to want, to desire in the new spirit, the spirit of life,
to walk. according to His will. That's
walking in the light, loving Him because He first loved us. Amen.