We're going to celebrate the
Lord's Table this morning, so we'll get started on time. By the way, we're taking the
leftovers to Sarasota and having the Lord's Table with them this
evening, so I encourage you to continue to
pray for that work over there, and I'm very encouraged with
the response of of the believers that are there. You have your Bibles open to
Philippians chapter 2. If there be therefore any consolation
in Christ. Philippians chapter 2 verse 1. If there be therefore any consolation
in Christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the Spirit
if any bowels of mercy fulfill ye my joy that you may be like
minded having the same love being of one accord and of one mind
what a joy it is to be with God's people And the Lord knits their
hearts together and there's sweet fellowship in the unity of brethren. Bert's going to come lead us
in number 222 in the hardback temple. Let's stand together. You still have your Bibles open
to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2, we'll
continue reading from verse 3. Let nothing be done through strife
and vainglory. How often do you experience strife
in your life? In your home, with the people
you love, at work, everywhere we go we're always experiencing
some level of strife, aren't we? You know there's always one
cause for strife among men. One cause. Vainglory. Vainglory. Somebody's not getting
what they think they should get. They're not getting what they
think they deserve. And so they're vain in their
own glory and it causes strife. We all have to deal with that,
don't we? But in lowliness of mind, here's
the contrast to that. What do I do about this vain
glory? What do I do about this need
that I have to be to be recognized and to be honored and to be,
you know, what do I do about it? But in lowliness of mind, let
each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man
on his own thing, but every man also on the things of others.
Boy, if the Lord give us grace to do that, that does away with
vainglory, doesn't it? and that will quench the fires
of strife. Where do we get that from? Let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being
in the form of God He was the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God. He didn't consider
himself to be a blasphemer because he claimed equality with God.
He was equal with God. He's God. He wasn't just a superior
man. He was God. Yet, he made himself
he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above
every name." That's our hope this morning, is that the Lord,
that God would highly exalt the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts
and give him a name that's above every name, that at the name
of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess
that he's Lord to the glory of God the Father. Um, Jennifer, our daughter had to
go home sick and you all know that she's dealing with a chronic
illness and, um, just, we covered your prayers for her. Okay. Let's,
let's pray together. merciful, gracious Heavenly Father,
we ask that you would cause the Lord Jesus Christ to be exalted
here among us this morning. That you would cause our hearts
and minds to be fixed on Him. That you would cause us, Lord,
to set our affections on Him and to to flee to Him for the
salvation of our souls and for the supply of every need that
we have in this world. Thank you for the precious promises
of your Word. We pray that your Holy Spirit
would enable us to understand it, and keep us, Lord, from making
any change to it whatsoever. Father, we pray for Jennifer
and we ask that you would comfort her now with that comfort wherewith
thou only are able. Comfort our souls. We pray, Lord,
that you would touch her body that you would strengthen her. Pray Lord that you might be pleased
to heal her. We ask it in Christ's name. We're going to take the same
hardback hymnal and just go two pages over to 224. Y'all can
remain seated as we sing this hymn, I Know Whom I Have Believed. I know not why God's wondrous
grace To me He hath made known, Nor why unworthy Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own. But I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed
unto Him against that day. I know not how this saving faith
to me He did impart, Nor how believing in His word brought
peace within my heart. But I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded That He is able to keep that which I've committed
Unto Him against that day. I know not how the Spirit moves
convincing men of sin, revealing Jesus through the Word, creating
faith in Him. But I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded That He is able to keep that which I've committed
Unto Him against that day. I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me Of weary ways or golden days Before his
face I see But I know who Will you open your Bibles with
me to 2 Corinthians chapter 11? 2 Corinthians chapter 11. And I want to put everybody at
ease at the outset of this message by telling you that you're not
going to be able to follow me in all the verses of Scripture
that we're going to refer to. Okay? So, don't try. I actually, I never give Our
Spanish translators, the notes from my message, but I gave them
to them this morning because I knew they would just not be
able to keep up. The Word of God is quick and
powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword and is able to
divide asunder the soul from the spirit and expose the intents
of the heart. God's Word is what He blesses
to the hearts of His people. So I'm going to be reading and
quoting a lot of passages of Scripture that you probably won't
be able to keep up with, but that's okay. If you want to make
note of the verses or get a copy of it later, feel free to do
that. Verse 3 in 2 Corinthians chapter
11, But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through
her subtlety." We just saw that in the first hour. Satan only
changed one little word in what God said. And then he deceived
Eve to change one little word in what God said. And that word
was his subtle way of corrupting. the truth of what God had said.
Our fear, Paul said, I hate religion in that it is based
on fear. Man-made religion puts men in
fear and it puts them under the law and it puts them in bondage
and and there's so many things about fear in this life that
are uncomfortable, aren't there? And yet there's a good fear. The good fear is that the Lord
would leave us to ourselves or that he would allow us to be
deceived by Satan. That's what he's saying here.
He says, I'm afraid that that might happen. So your minds should
be corrupted. They should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ. The title of this message is
The Simplicity of the Gospel. The Simplicity of the Gospel. I like things simple. I'm thankful
for GPS because if you try to give me directions to go somewhere
after the second turn you're gonna have to write it down.
I might get the first turn, I might even get the second one, but
third one I'm lost. But now if you say to me, get
on that road right there, and don't get off of that road, and
it'll take you right to the front door of where you're going, I
can do that. I can do that. That's simple directions. I always hated those word problems
in school. You know, the train left the
station at such and such a time, and it traveled at such and such
a speed for such a distance, and it stopped three times, and
it had so many passengers in it, and at the end of the trip,
how much did the train weigh? You know, I don't know. I don't
know. But you know, if you said to
me, the train traveled 65 miles an hour for one hour, how far
did it travel? I got that. You know, it's just
simple. Simple. Paul said, I fear lest
you be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Man-made religion
is complicated. It's complicated. It's full of
rules and regulations, touch not, taste not, handle not. You've
got to figure out what each denomination and each group requires you to
wear and what they require you to eat and what they require
you to abstain from and where they require you not to go and
to go. It's just complicated, isn't it? A young man invited to our service
recently. He said, well I don't know if I know what to do. And
the person who invited him said, well can you walk in the building? Yeah. Can you sit down? Yeah.
Can you be quiet for an hour? Yeah. Well that's all you got
to do. Well man-made religion is not that way, is it? It's
full of traditions. It's full of ceremony. It's full
of things that you've got to try to figure out. What am I
supposed to do? When do I stand up? When do I
sit down? When do I kneel? When do I do this and do that? Hoc est corpus is Latin for this
is his body. Hoc est corpus. And it's what
the priest does when he waves his hand over the bread and the
wine and somehow mysteriously translates those things into
the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know that's
where hocus pocus comes from. And that's all man-made religion
is, a bunch of hocus pocus. It's complicated. It's complicated in that you've
got to have a degree in theology to be able to understand the
doctrine. You've got to be able to parse
the verbs of the Greek and Hebrew language in order to be able
to understand the Bible. It just gets complicated. And
men in their pseudo-intellectual pursuits want to impress you
with all that they know, and it's complicated. And here's
what God says about that, turning aside to vain jangling, desiring
to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof
they affirm. They don't know what they're
talking about. Don't be impressed by it. If it's too complicated for
you to understand, it's not true. It's not true. So just ignore
it. They have a form of godliness,
but they deny the power thereof. The power of the gospel is the
simplicity of Christ. Paul said, I fear, lest through
the subtlety of Satan as he deceived Eve, that you will be corrupted
in your minds from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus. Now listen to this statement
very carefully and believe it, it's true. Everything, everything
that God requires of us is completely supplied in the person and work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything that God requires
of you and of me is completely supplied in the glorious person
and accomplished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't
improve on Him. You can't diminish Him. You can't
add to Him or take away from Him. The Lord Jesus Christ is
all and He is in all. For in Him dwelleth the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and you are complete. Complete in Him. So that God has made Him to be
for us all our wisdom. All our righteousness, all of
our justification, all of our redemption, everything that we
need is, God finds, in Christ. Man-made religion, based on fear, will corrupt your mind from the
simplicity that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. What is it that God provides
for us in Christ? First thing he provides for us
in Christ is faith. For by grace are you saved through
faith. That faith is not of yourself, it's a gift of God. It's not
of your works. God has to give us faith. He
has to cause us to believe. He has to do a work of regeneration
in our hearts. He has to open the eyes of our
understanding. He has to unstop our ears. He
has to take out the heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh.
He has to give us faith and He does that in the Lord Jesus Christ. So Paul said, I'm crucified with
Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet it's
not I, but it's Christ that lives in me so that the life that I
now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God
who loved me and who died for me." You can't have faith apart
from Christ. You can't drum it up. You can't
work it up. Religion is all about men having
faith in their faith. The faith that God gives is all
about the object of that faith. Not the strength of it, not your
part in it, but it's all about the object of the faith, the
one with whom the faith is placed, the Lord Jesus Christ. So the
simplicity of the gospel is in faith. All of our redemption
We are in need of being redeemed. We come into this world estranged
from God. We come into this world fallen.
We come into this world dead in our trespasses and sins. And we're in need of being purchased,
being redeemed. And the only purchase price that
God Almighty accepts for the redemption of a sinner is the
precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ shed on Calvary's cross.
And so all of our redemption is in Him, being justified, Romans
3.24, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus. So our faith is in Christ Jesus. Our redemption is in Christ Jesus. The Scripture says that God's
eyes are too pure to look upon sin. He can only have fellowship
with that which is just as perfect and pure and sinless and holy
as He is Himself. That's it. It's called sanctification. It's called being set apart,
being made holy. Where is that sanctification?
To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 10,
we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ
once for all. all of our holiness, all of our
sanctification. For by one offering He has perfected
forever them that are sanctified. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 11, you
are washed, you are, are, are, past tense, sanctified, you are
justified, where? In the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Oh, don't be corrupted away from
Christ. He's everything. This is a simple
gospel. This is one road. If God puts
you on it, it'll take you right to the front door of heaven.
You won't have to make any turns. You won't have to refer to your
GPS. You won't have to write down directions. You just stay
right there on that one road. It'll take you right to glory.
The Lord Jesus Christ said, I am the way. I'm the way. All of our faith is in Christ. All of our redemption is in Christ. All of our holiness is in Christ.
There's no degrees of that. You can't add to Him. You can't
add to Him. In religion they say, well you
come in and then you've got to get better. You've got to progress
in your sanctification. And they measure that progress,
of course, by the law. They put you under the law in
order to see if you're getting better. Are you keeping this law better
than you kept it before? That's the yoke of bondage. No, our
sanctification is not progressive. It's in Christ. If there's anything
about sanctification to the believer, it's digressive, isn't it? Paul, as we read in Corinthians
just this morning, he said, I'm not one whit less than the least
of the apostles. In another place he said, I'm
the least of all the saints. In another place he said, I'm
the chief of all sinners. There's sanctification. We just
see more and more of our sin and more and more of our need
for Christ. So that Paul said in Philippians
chapter 2 verse 9, being found in Him, in Him, not having my
own righteousness which is of the law, but that righteousness
which is of God through the faith of Christ. Righteousness of God. through
the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has made Him to be sin for
us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. All of our redemption, all of
our sanctification, all of our faith, all of our righteousness
is in Christ. The simplicity that is in Christ
Jesus, don't be corrupted away from that. Don't be drawn away
from that. Jeremiah chapter 23, the scripture
speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ says, His name shall be called
Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. The Lord our righteousness. We sing that hymn, don't we?
And then ten chapters later, speaking of the church, in Jeremiah
chapter 33, And she shall be called the Lord our righteousness. God puts the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ on his church and on his people so that all of
our righteousness before God is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Election. Election. How are we going to? We're not
going to choose God. Not if we're dead. What's a dead
man going to do? What's a spiritually dead person
going to do? Go down to the cemetery and see
if you can get somebody down there to do something for you.
They're not going to do anything. Why? Because they're dead. We
come into this world spiritually dead. We can't choose God. No
man seeketh after God at any time. We'll choose Him. He has
to elect us. And how does He elect us? He
elects us according to His grace in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 1,
4, before the foundation of the world. So before God ever created
the first man, He chose a people according to His own purpose
and will. And He gets all the glory. And
He did it. He did it. in Christ Jesus, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto
Himself. Second Timothy chapter 1 verse
9, he has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
he has given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Before
the world began. So whether we're speaking of
election, whether we're speaking of faith, whether we're speaking
of sanctification, whether we're speaking of righteousness, whether
we're speaking of justification, it's all in Christ. Here's the simplicity of the
gospel. When the Bible says that the Lord Jesus Christ is all
and that he's in all, that's exactly what it means. Exactly
what it means. 2 Timothy 2 verse 10, all of our
salvation. Paul said, I endure all things
for the elect's sake that they may also obtain the salvation
which is in Christ Jesus. So all salvation is in him. There's
no salvation apart from Christ. Now I know that most folks believe
that there's a grandfather in heaven that's wringing his hands
in desperation for men to let him have his way and that he
has a spurned and failed love for all men. That's not the God
that is. That's the God of men's imagination.
All the love of God, all the love of God is in Christ it's
in Christ Romans chapter 8 verse 38 for
I am persuaded I'm persuaded and I'm persuaded of this and
I hope you're persuaded of it that neither death nor life nor
angels nor principalities nor present nor things present or
things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature
I'm persuaded of this, that nothing shall be able to separate us
from the love of God. Our president quoted this verse after 9-11 and he left out the
last phrase. He left it out. Nothing shall
be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus." There's no love God has for anyone outside of Christ.
He loves Christ. He loves righteousness. He hates
iniquity. Oh, but what a sweet love He
has for Christ. And for those that are in Christ,
His love for them is exactly the same as is His love for His
own Son. Exactly the same. All life, all life, all real
life, all eternal life, all true life is in Christ. John chapter
1 verse 4, in Him was life and the life was the light of men. First Corinthians chapter 15
verse 22, for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ Jesus
shall all be made alive. There's no life outside of Christ. For in Him, in Him, in Him we
live and move and have our being. No existence outside of Christ.
There's no being outside of Christ. All right, I have you move, turn
with me to this passage in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. 2 Corinthians chapter 3. All understanding is in Christ. The natural man cannot receive
the things of the Spirit. They're spiritually discerned.
Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast hid these things from the
wise and the prudent, and You've revealed them unto babes. lest you become, as a little
child, dishonored in the kingdom of heaven." We come to God as
a little child, completely dependent upon Him to teach us the truth
as it is in Christ. And all of our understanding
of the gospel, all of our persuasion, is in Christ. Look at verse 12
of that chapter. For we commend not ourselves,
I'm sorry, Wrong chapter. Verse 12 of chapter 3. Seeing
then that we have such hope, seeing then that we have such
hope, we use great plainness of speech. We're not using theological
terms to impress men. We're not talking in circles
or out of both sides of our mouth. That's what religion is all about.
This word simplicity in our text is also translated into the word
singleness in the New Testament. Singleness. And it's set in contrast
to that which is complex. That which is complicated. That
which is mixed together. And that's what religion is.
Religion is just a mixed nonsensical thing that, that, and the gospel
is simple, simple. It's Christ. Look what he says. We use great plainness of speech. We're not trying to, we're not
trying to befuddle people. We're not trying to impress people
with words that have no meaning. We're telling them about Christ. And not as Moses, which put a
veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not
steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. What
is that which is abolished? The law. Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. The Lord
Jesus Christ fulfilled the demands of the law. Moses had to approach
the people with a veil over his face. Moses was a type of Christ. I'll send you another prophet
like unto him. Moses is the type of Christ,
and he's got a veil over his face, so the people of Israel
can't see his true appearance. Now the radiance of God's reflected
glory is what they were afraid of, but it's an allegory. It's a picture here, isn't it?
It's a type. And Moses had a veil over his
face so that they couldn't see. But their minds were blinded,
for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in
the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ. How are we going to understand
the Scriptures? How are we going to understand the law of God?
How are we going to understand the prophets? In Christ! For all of the promises of God
are yea, and all the promises of God are amen in Christ. Oh, don't be taken away from
Christ. Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of
the world. He's everything that we, everything that God requires. is completely supplied in the
glorious person and accomplished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why would we want to go anywhere
else? Why would we want to look anywhere else? So all of our understanding is
in Christ. The veil, the veil that keeps us from being able
to see the truth of God is taken away in Christ. in Christ. We look to Christ, the veil is
taken away. You have a hard time having a
thankful heart sometimes. Circumstances get to where you're
just not grateful as you ought to be. True thankfulness is only
to be found in Christ. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians
chapter 5, in everything give thanks for this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus concerning you. There's no true gratitude
without looking to Christ. Oh, we can be happy when our
circumstances are going well and enjoy them and indulge them,
but until we have a thankful heart in Christ rejoicing and
acknowledging the fact that God has given us these things, there's
no real thankfulness. All true thankfulness is to be
found in Christ. Peace. Peace. You have a problem with
that? Sometimes the conflicts of life
get to where you just lose your peace. Therefore, being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. The only way that we're going
to have peace, the only way we're going to experience the peace
of God is to have peace with God. And the only way we're going
to have peace with God is for the Prince of Peace to be standing
in our stead before God and representing us before God in His own righteousness. We have peace with God. We don't
have to fear the wrath of God. The judgment of God has been
quenched. When God put His Son to death on Calvary's cross,
He satisfied His wrath once and for all. The Lord Jesus Christ
is our propitiation before God. In other words, God is propitious
towards us. There's nothing but peace between
God and those for whom Christ died. Nothing but peace. We have peace with God. through
our Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul said in Philippians
chapter four verse seven, and the peace of God. If you think on these things,
think on these things, these things that are holy and pure
and just and worthy. Turn with me there, Philippians
chapter four. Look at verse 8. Finally, brethren,
whatsoever things are true... Now, what's true? Christ is true. I'm the true
bread. I'm the way, the truth, and the
life. All truth is to be found in Christ. So, whatsoever things
are true is Christ. Whatsoever things are honest,
honest, venerable, praiseworthy, Whatsoever things are just. How
is the law of God justified? How are we justified before God?
How's God going to be just and justifier of sinners? Only in Christ. Whatsoever things are lovely.
Oh, what's lovely in this world? What's lovely in you and I apart
from the Lord Jesus Christ? whatsoever things are of good
report. That's the gospel. That's the good news. It's all
done. It's finished. It's accomplished. If there be
any good news in it, if there be any virtue, if there be any
praise, do what? Think on these things. Meditate
on Christ. Set your affections on things
above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And
look at verse 7, and the peace of God which passes all understanding
will keep your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Paul said in Ephesians chapter
2 verse 13, but now in Christ Jesus you who were sometimes
far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. You've been
brought near to God. We have access to the throne
of grace in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't conclude
our prayers within Jesus' name just because it sounds good. or because the way to wrap up
a prayer. We're acknowledging the fact
that the only access that we have before God is in the advocate
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything that we'll ever know
about God, we'll find it out. in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. For the scripture says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse
19, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. In John chapter one it says,
in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word
was God. And the Word dwelt among us and
we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father.
He's the one that's full of grace and full of truth. He's God. The fullness of the
Godhead is in Him bodily. Oh, those disciples. Lord, show
us the Father, and it sufficeth us." We've been with you now
for three years, and we've heard everything you have to say, but
we want to see God now. We want to see God now. Oh, have
I been with thee so long that you don't know if you've seen
me? You've seen the Father, for I and the Father are one. Everything that a sinner will
ever know about God, You'll learn it in the Lord Jesus Christ who
is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Our freedom from the law. Our freedom from the law. We're
not under the law, we're under grace. Stand fast therefore in
the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free. And be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage. There's no life there,
there's no freedom there. All of our liberty is to be found
in Christ. Every child of God wants to be
fruitful. Wants to bear fruit to the glory of God. Here's what
the Lord Jesus Christ said about that. I am the vine, you are
the branches. If you abide in me and I abide
in you, you shall bear forth much fruit for without me you
can do nothing, nothing. All fruitfulness is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. All good works are in the Lord
Jesus Christ. We are His workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good works which He has ordained that we
should walk in them. All true rejoicing. True rejoicing. is in Christ for we are the circumcision
not the circumcision of the flesh but the circumcision which is
done without the hands of man in the spirit in the heart we
are the true circumcision which worship God in the spirit and
rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh no
confidence in our flesh all true humility is in Christ
we just read that passage in Philippians chapter chapter 2
didn't we? let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus who though he was equal with God
thought it not robbery to claim equality with God but made of
himself and he humbled himself and became a man he became a
man being found in the fashion of
a man he humbled himself let this mind be in you looking to Christ all the promises
of God the scripture says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 verse
20 in him are yes and in him are amen all the promises of
God You're not going to do anything to make the promises work for
you. You're not going to do anything
to make yourself righteous before God. You're not going to do anything
to justify yourself before God. Everything that we need and everything
that God requires is found in Christ. When Paul said, I fear
lest through the subtlety of Satan that your minds will be
corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus. He's
everything. Everything. Do you believe that? The fulfillment of the law is
in Christ. He's the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. We're not under the law. We don't
go back to the law. All true boldness. Do you have
a problem being bold sometimes and being confident? Sometimes
we're timid. Sometimes we're not sure about things. Ephesians
chapter 3 verse 12, in whom, speaking of Christ, in whom we
have boldness and confidence by the faith of Him. Looking to Christ, you have boldness
before God. You can approach the throne of
grace with boldness if you're looking to Christ as your advocate
before God. And if you can stand before Almighty
God with boldness and confidence, then what is a man? What is a
man? What man do you have to be afraid
of if you're able to stand in the very presence of God Almighty
with confidence and knowing that you're accepted by Him? What
can men do to me? If God is before me, who can
be against me? All boldness and confidence is in Christ. Our position before God is in
the Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 6. He has raised us up together
and made us to sit in heavenly places in Christ. We have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one, and
God sees us in Him. All true unity. You know, there's
such disunity in religion and in the world, isn't there? Men
arguing with one another. You know, God's people just,
they just all believe the same thing. And it's not a conformity
to a man, except the man, Christ Jesus. We're conformed to His
image. But we just, He's taught us all
the same thing. We don't debate the gospel. We don't argue the
gospel. Listen to what Paul said in Galatians
chapter 3, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond
nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one
in Christ Jesus. And our Lord prayed in John 17,
Father I pray that you would make them one, even as I am one
with thee. I pray not for the world, I pray
for them that thou hast given me out of the world. The Lord
Jesus Christ says right there in John 17, He's not praying
for the world. But for those He prays for, God blesses them
with unity. Christ is not divided. True change of life is to only
be found in Christ. I know people get religion, people
get bound up in their bad behavior and they turn over a new leaf
or they get reformed and they'll change some things in their life
so they can get a little more peace and prosperity in life. That's not what we're talking
about. We're talking about a new life. The scripture says, if
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are all
passed away. All things have become new. The
newness of life is to only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I close with Colossians chapter
3, if you'll turn with me there in your Bibles. Aren't you glad you didn't have
to keep up with all that? Colossians chapter 3. You can... Rinaldo tried to translate that just
now. Thank you, brother. You have your Bibles open to
Colossians chapter 3. If you then be risen with Christ,
if when Christ died on Calvary's cross, you died in Him, if you
were crucified with Christ, If when Christ raised from the dead,
Paul said, oh, that I might know Him, the power of His resurrection.
What is the power of the resurrection? When Christ raised up, I raised
up with Him. My resurrection took place 2,000
years ago when Christ raised from the dead. When He ascended
into glory, I ascended with Him. The Word of God did not return
to God void. He took with Him the names of
those for whom He lived and died. if then we'd be risen with Christ.
Seek those things which are above. Set your affections on Christ.
He's the one that's above. He's the one that's seated at
the right hand of God. Look to Christ. Look to Christ. Where Christ is seated at the
right hand of God, set your affections on things above, not on things
of the earth. Don't look to your life and your behavior and your
success and your friends. Look to Christ. He's everything. The simplicity of the gospel
is you get on that road and it'll take you to the front door of
glory. Don't get off of it. Don't get
off of it. For you are dead and your life
is hid. With God, in Christ, that's a
good place to be hid. If I'm hid with God in Christ,
who's gonna get me out of there? If God's put me there, how am
I gonna get myself out of there? No man can pluck you out of my
hand. You can't pluck yourself out of his hand. Christ is all. You say, well, my life doesn't,
doesn't reflect that very well. Well, no believer's life does.
No believer's life does. But the only way that the life
of a believer is going to reflect that at all is not by going back
to the law, not by bolstering your efforts, but it's by looking
to Christ. Look at those first three verses.
Aren't they so clear? When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then we shall also appear with Him in glory." Mortify,
therefore, in light of this glorious truth of who you are in Christ.
Reckon yourselves to be dead in Christ. The only mortification
that there is is not some sort of flagellation or self-discipline. You know, people around the world,
they'd go through all these religious things trying to mourn. They'd
go down to Mexico, they'll crawl up those, what do they call those things?
Those pyramids. You know, until they're bloody in their knees.
You go to the Philippines, they're whipping themselves on the back.
There's actually people today that will literally crucify next
Sunday. Is that next Sunday Easter? I
guess maybe it's going on today. on Good Friday. There's people
in this world that will literally crucify themselves, literally
nail themselves to a cross. What are they trying to do? Trying
to mortify the flesh. I've been in Ukraine where they had catacombs
and these monks would put themselves to death they would starve themselves
to death in crypts trying to mortify the flesh they didn't
know who Christ was the people all over the world will do all
sorts of things to try to mortify don't be deceived don't be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in I want to mortify my flesh I
don't want to be a slave to the members of my body I want to
honor God with my life You do too if you're a child of God.
How are we going to do it? Looking to Christ. Looking to
Christ. Mortified therefore the members
that are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection,
evil concupiscence, covetousness which is idolatry, For which
things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience,
in the which you also walked in some time when you lived in
them? But now you also put off all
these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communications out of
your mouth. Lie not to one another, seeing that you have put off
the old man and his deeds, and have put on the new man, which
is renewed in knowledge, renewed in knowledge. You say, well,
I see the seeds of this in my life all the time. Yes, that's
why you have to keep coming to Christ. To whom coming? It's
renewed, isn't it? Day by day, Lord, give me my
daily bread. I'm the bread that came down
from heaven. This bread that your fathers ate, Moses didn't
give it to them. I'm that bread of life. Father, give us our
daily bread. You have to keep coming to Christ,
don't you? Why? Because that's the mortification
of the flesh, is coming to Christ. Otherwise the flesh will just
take over, won't it? Renewed in knowledge after the
image of Him that created Him. Who created the new man? Christ
Jesus. It's His image. Now look at verse
11. Where there is no... Well, I'm different. I'm different. My life is harder. My life is
different. My sin are worse. No! There is neither Jew nor
Greek. There is neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond or free. Doesn't
matter what kind of life you've come out of or what your problems
are. Christ is all and He is in all. You see, every one of us are
taking the same medicine. Every single one of us. God's
prescribed the exact same thing to every one of us. And it's
Christ. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We pray
that your Holy Spirit would cause us to believe it, apply it effectually
to our hearts, expose the intents of the heart and the mind, and
lead us to Christ. We thank you for this table,
for the simplicity of it, For how the bread reminds us of the
body of Christ, lived in perfect righteousness without sin and
offered as a sacrifice on Calvary's cross. And how the wine represents
for us that shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which redeemed
us and made us holy and perfect before you. And Lord, as we receive
these elements that are otherwise very common, bread and wine,
we pray that you would give us spiritual eyes to see them for
what they represent, and that we would find ourselves putting
all our hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, who himself is our life. For we ask it in his name. Amen. I want to ask the men if they'll
come. And Bert, number 145 in the hardback
temple, you could just remain seated.