Brother D Parks is in his final
moments. They are waiting just any day
they they thought that it would have already been. By now, but
yesterday. They thought that he. The hospice
care thought that he had one or two more days. So that would
be today or tomorrow, You know, I just can't enter
into what they're going through, but I also can't enter into what
he's about to go through. You know, I think about that
he's about my age and we believe this, I believe it,
he believes it. And just to think, you know,
he's about to leave, he's about to cross over into eternity.
He's going to see God. I just, It's just overwhelming,
but let's pray for their family. Pray the Lord will be with them.
We're praying for our sister Irene. She had to go back to
the hospital last night, and I texted with Chris this morning. Everything is okay. They ran
some tests and did some things. She's going to be discharged
at about noon today, but let's remember her. Let's remember
Brother Gary, Sam's dad, and Sabrina's mom, and Brother Danny
King. His brother has had a lot of
trouble recently, and he is with his brother right now. So let's
remember him. My family is going to be traveling
this week to Rescue, California. I will be preaching next weekend
or this coming weekend in the conference there with Brother
David Edmondson, Brother Clay Curtis, and Brother Kevin Thacker.
and then we are going to extend it for a family vacation. So we will be, we will, Hannah
and I, we were able to see a little bit of that out there last year
and we're going to show our girls that and they're going to have
a chance to spend some time with Kevin Thacker's children. I'm
excited for them to get to know each other a little better, but
we're going to start in rescue and we're going to take the week
and end up in San Diego and we'll fly back from San Diego, so we'll
be home the following Saturday. And in my absence, Brother William
Watts will bring the Wednesday night messages to you, and Brother
Eric Floyd will be here Sunday morning to bring next Sunday
morning's Bible study and morning message, and then Brother Obi
will bring the evening message. So just be remembering them and
us and everyone. All right, let's have a word
of prayer. Our high and holy Heavenly Father,
Lord, we're so thankful. So thankful we have a God we
can call on. So thankful, Lord, we have a
Savior we can look to. We truly are blessed, truly blessed
people. And Lord, we come to you this
morning as your people. We come to you in need as the needy sheep that
we are. Lord, you're our shepherd and
we are your sheep. And we look to you this morning,
Lord, and we come to you for our help as we attempt to worship
you. We come to be fed of you. We pray, Lord, that you will
speak to us. We pray, Lord, that you'll shine
the countenance of your face upon us. Touch us by your hand,
touch us by your spirit, Lord. Would you please meet with us
today and help us and bless us? Prepare us right now, Lord, to
enter in to your word and enter in to what we're about to do.
Let us leave the world. Let our minds leave the world
for a moment, Lord, and enter into your presence, we pray. We ask that you will be with
all of our brethren everywhere. Lord, all the congregations be
with them and all the pastors who preach. Be with them, Lord,
we pray for the conference in rescue. Would you bless that
conference, Lord? And. We pray for the men who
will preach here and. Everywhere, Lord, if you would
be willing to call out one of your sheep, we would be so grateful.
We pray for our loved ones who are going through great, great
trials and great sickness. Lord, would you be with them
and comfort them and touch them? Cause us all to look to you in
these things. Lord, cause us to Never take our eyes off of you,
and we just pray, Lord, that in the midst of these great trials,
you would allow us to find great comfort in your will and your
purpose. We pray for our children. Would
you be with them? Be with our teachers right now
and plant a seed in their hearts if you would be so kind, Lord.
Please be merciful. Be merciful to us. Be merciful
to our Children. Would you please be merciful
to this city, this surrounding area, Lord, everywhere you've
sent the gospel. We pray for your people in the
other countries and continents all over this world. Lord, bless
them and strengthen them and help them in all things. May you receive much glory, honor
and praise. We ask this in Christ's name.
Amen. Turn with me this morning to
1 Corinthians chapter 5. Did I say 1 Corinthians? 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2nd Corinthians 5. Something
caught my attention and I want to look at it for our Bible study
and I want us to consider the amazing
blessing that we have received in Christ. I would love for men
and women to see this and realize this. I would love for God to
reveal this to sinners. I pray that he has sheep that
he will reveal this to and bless and comfort our hearts with it.
I want us to look at what it means to say that God's people
are in Christ. I've titled this Bible study,
New Creatures in Christ. New Creatures in Christ. And we're going to use 2 Corinthians
5 verse 17 for our text. It says, therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. If any man, and that includes
women, mankind, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. That's what it means for a soul
who is in Christ. That soul is a new creature. That sounds so good to me. Old things are passed away. Everything
old is just done away with, passed away. All things are become new. Every old thing about this flesh
in Christ is removed, done, gone. And all that remains is something
that's brand new, completely brand new. Now let's start by
seeing what we were in ourselves and then we'll see what we are
in Christ. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
two. Ephesians two verse one, it says,
and you have, he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. What is man naturally in his
own flesh? Here's the answer. Dead in sin,
dead in sin. The old creature of man, the
old man is the scripture words. enters this world dead in sin,
dead because of sin, dead. 1 Corinthians 15, 22 says, in
Adam all die, all died. Romans 5, 12 says, by one man,
sin entered the world and death by sin. So death has passed upon
all men for all have sinned. death. The old creature of the
flesh is a dead creature. Dead creature. Everybody's always
trying to figure out how can I do something with this? You
can't. The old creature is a dead creature. The old creature of this flesh
is a vile, decayed, repulsive, offensive creature. Why am I
so vile, decayed, repulsive, and offensive? It's because you're
a dead creature. That's the reason why. It's all
that death is. Isaiah 1 says, the whole head
is sick, the whole heart is faint, from the sole of the foot even
unto the head there is no soundness in it, only wounds, bruises,
and putrefying sores. That's man's natural condition. Paul said, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The body of this death. In Philippians
3, he said, our vile bodies. That's what he called it. Vile
bodies with vile souls. That's what we are naturally.
And a vile dead soul without Christ is in a terrible condition. Look at Ephesians two verse 12.
It says that at that time you were without Christ being aliens
from the Commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants
of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. That's
what it is to be without Christ. Aliens, strangers, no hope. without God, that's what it is
to be without Christ. What a terrible thing to be,
what a terrible condition to be in. That's the condition of
the old man outside of Christ, the old creature in the dead,
decaying ruin of his sin, okay? But, and I wrote that in big words
and I circled it, okay, this is, But here's the change. Our text said, if any man be
in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become
new in Christ. We are new creatures. And I just want us to see that
for a minute from the word here. I want us to see that in Christ
we are everything that we are not in the flesh. In Christ,
we're the exact opposite of what we are in the flesh. We're going
to scroll through a bunch of scriptures, okay? We're just
going to scroll through a whole bunch of scriptures here. I want
to show you a few things. Turn with me if you would to
Romans three. Romans 3 verse 24 it says, being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. In Christ we are justified. We're justified. The old man
right here is not justified in anything that he has done. This
old man, this flesh right here, is not justified in anything
that I have done. I'm not justified in anything. But the new man in Christ has
done no wrong in God's eyes. No wrong. The word justified
means rendered righteous. That's what it means. It means
regarded as innocent. It means when God looks at something,
he deems that is innocent. That's completely innocent. I am not innocent in myself,
but I'm innocent in Christ. All of God's people are in Christ. We are justified through his
redemption. That means he was made to be
sin so we could make, be made to be the righteousness of God
in him. He was made to be guilty so we can make, be made to be
innocent. And again, as I tell you, sometimes
I just really get ahold of things. And it just really hits me that
he was made to be guilty because I feel so guilty. I'm one who
has guilt over my sin. And he was made to be guilty. So I could be made to be innocent.
Justified, redeemed. That's what we are in Christ.
Justified. I'm ready to know that I'm ready
to experience that and know that we are that. But one of these
days, we're going to live it. I'm ready to live it. Turn with
me to 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 1, it says,
Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will
of God in Sosthenes, our brother unto the church of God, which
is at Corinth to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called
to be saints. with all that in every place
call upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, both theirs and ours. In Christ, we are sanctified. That means holy. That means holy. We think about our God and we
think holy, holy, holy. God is holy. You think about
that. In Christ, we are holy. That means set apart from sin,
completely separate from sin. It means perfectly pure and clean. In myself, in my flesh, I am
not sanctified. I never will be. People try to
sanctify the flesh. In my flesh, I'm the farthest
thing from holy that I have ever seen in my life. I think about those lepers. They
had to, you know, as they were walking down the road, the law
was that if they passed anybody, they had to go to the other side
of the road crying, unclean, unclean. Well, that's what I
have to cry before God. Unclean, so unclean, but in Christ
as He is, so are we. His blood has washed us and made
us white as snow, holy, pure, separate from sin, justified,
sanctified. Look with me at 1 Corinthians
15. First Corinthians 15 verse 22
it says, for as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive. In our flesh, we're dead. But in Christ, we're alive. Do you ever, and I know you do,
I know you do, I do too, but I'll ask the question anyway.
Do you ever feel dead inside, spiritually dead? Do you ever
feel dead? Do you ever think, I just feel
so dead. I would love to enter into worship. I would love to
enter into the word. I would love to enter into prayer. You ever feel like you just give
lip service in prayer? Do you feel like it's very few
moments that you're sincerely, honestly praying, and most of
it is lip service? In Christ, we're going to feel
alive. We're going to be alive. We are
alive. But one of these days, that's
what we're going to feel. You know, we're not going to say, I just feel
so dead. We'll never say that again. Never say, I feel so dead inside.
In Christ, there is no death. Only life in Christ, we live
and move and have our being. His spirit has quickened us,
quickened us together with Christ, quickened us together in Christ.
And we're alive. We're alive. So in Christ, we're
justified, we're redeemed, we're sanctified, we're alive. Now
turn with me to Galatians chapter three. Galatians 3 verse 26, it says, For you are all the children
of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 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 if you be
Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the
promise. In Christ, we are the children
of God. That's an amazing statement to
me. The children of God. Outside of Christ, Ephesians
2 says, we are children of disobedience. Children of wrath. Outside of Christ, the Lord said,
we are of our father, the devil. Outside of Christ. But in Christ,
our father is God. In Christ, God is our father.
Our Lord said he's my father and he's your father. Look right
here at Galatians 4 verse 4. It says, but when the fullness
of the time was come, God sent forth his son made of a woman,
made under the law to redeem them that were under the law
that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are
sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a
servant, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ. That's good news. Oh, we're so
blessed in Christ. We're just so blessed in all
that is in Christ is blessing. That's all that's in Christ.
Blessing upon blessing. Look at Ephesians one. A couple
of pages over Ephesians one. Verse 3 says, Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
In Christ, God chooses us. In Christ, God chooses us. In Christ, we're made to be one
of God's elect. I choose you. Verse four, according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. There
it is again, sanctification, justification, sanctified, justified,
holy without blame. Verse five, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of his will. There it is again, children of
God. Verse six, to the praise of the
glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved. In Christ, we're accepted. We're
accepted. There is nothing about this old
creature that can be accepted by God. Nothing. Nothing. We so It's just amazing
how, you know, we'll do some bad stuff and then we think,
you know, God's going to be mad at me and he's not going to accept
me. And well, that's the state we
were in anyway. And then we, I tell you what,
I'm going to straighten up and fly right and do a little better
today. And I'm not going to think so many bad thoughts. And then
we think maybe God's a little happier with me now. No. No. We are accepted in Christ. Outside
of Christ, there is nothing that this flesh can do for God to
be happy with it and to accept it to himself. Nothing. Is that
an excuse to sin? God forbid. There's no excuse
for us at all. None whatsoever. But our only
acceptance is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God, in Christ,
everything about this old flesh is passed away. That's good. Everything about the new creature
is accepted because verse 7 says, we're redeemed, we're forgiven,
in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins according to the riches of his grace. Look at Ephesians
2 verse 13. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
In Christ, we're near. We're made near, near to God.
We're constantly saying, Lord, draw us near to you. Lord, be
with us. Come in here, be near to us.
We want to be near him. We want to draw nigh to Him. There's a poem that says, by
nature and by practice, far, how very far from God. Yet now,
by grace, brought nigh to Him through faith in Jesus' blood. So nigh, so very nigh to God,
I cannot nearer be. For in the person of his Son,
I am as near as he." In Christ, we're as near to God as Christ
is. As near to God the Father, God
the Spirit, as Christ is. Just listen, Ephesians 3 verse
6 says, in Christ, we're partakers of the promise. These wonderful
promises. Philippians 3.14 says, In Christ
we are pressers toward the mark. In this flesh, you know what
this flesh is? Prone to wander, Lord I feel
it. Prone to leave the God I love.
In Christ we are pressers toward the mark of the prize of the
high calling of God. Turn over to Colossians 1. Colossians 1 verse 28, it says, whom we preach, warning
every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. In Christ, we're
perfect. We are perfect. Could not be
any more perfect. And it's because he's perfect. As he is, so are we. Look at
chapter 2, verse 7. It says, rooted and built up
in him. In Christ, we have roots. And
we're built up. In him. Verse 9 says, for in
him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, And you
are complete in Him. In Christ, we're complete. We're
complete. That's what I want men and women
to understand. We're complete. And we're just scratching the
surface of what the scripture says we are in Christ. But here's
the point I want to get across. Hopefully, I've done that. But
here's what I'm trying to get across. In Christ, we can stop looking
to the flesh. In Christ, we can stop looking
to the flesh. Our Lord did not say that which
is flesh is spirit. And that which is spirit is flesh. He didn't say that. He said that
which is flesh is flesh. And that which is spirit is spirit. They're separate. They're separate. In Christ, we can stop looking
to this flesh. We are the circumcision. We are
God's people, which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in
Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh, none whatsoever.
In Christ, we can stop looking to the flesh because in Christ,
everything about this old flesh is passed away. It's all passed
away. Everything concerning us in Christ
is brand new. Look at Colossians 3 verse 1,
it says, If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of
God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead and your life
is hid with Christ in God. If we're in Christ, we're in
God. We're in God. So. With that being
said, with that being understood, let me ask this question, all
right? I'm done, but let me ask this question. How do we get
in Christ? I've told you so many times before
when I was growing up, I used to listen to my dad stand behind
a pulpit talking about being in Christ and you must be in
Christ and it's only in Christ and everything's in Christ. And
I used to think, how do you get in Christ? I want to be in Christ,
don't you? How does a sinner get in Christ? Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
1. 1 Corinthians 1, this is speaking
of God, verse 30 says, 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30, it says,
but of Him, of God, are you in Christ Jesus? If a sinner is
going to be in Christ, God is the one who has to put that sinner
in Christ. I used to think, you know, how
does a sinner get in Christ? I didn't like hearing at first
that it was not in my hands. That was his decision. That was
his will. And I used to think, well, what
if he doesn't choose me? God has an elect people, and
what if I'm not one of them? That's a fearful thing. That's
a fearful thought. If a sinner is going to be in
Christ, God is the one who has to put the sinner in Christ.
And if God puts a sinner in Christ, two things will happen. All right,
two things will happen. Number one, God will reveal to
that sinner that it is God who puts sinners in Christ. That's
the first thing that'll happen. God will truly convince that
sinner that that's God's work, not mine. God will reveal to
that sinner that sinners do not put themselves in Christ. Sinners
do not get themselves in Christ. Sinners don't make the decision
to be in Christ. Sinners don't make the effort
to be in Christ. God Almighty is the only one
who can put a sinner in Christ. And if God puts a center in Christ,
number one, he will reveal that to the center. All right. And
number two, he will cause that center to believe it and to bow
to it and to love it and to glory in it. and to thank God for it. He will cause that sinner to
say, if he doesn't put me in Christ, he's right for doing
it because I'm a dead, vile, wretched creature. But if he
did, I will love him. I will thank him. I will bow
to him as my God and my Savior. Verse
30 says, but of him, are you in Christ Jesus? who of God is
made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
that according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord. If God has revealed his sovereignty
in Christ to us and caused us to love it and caused us to thank
him for it, then we're in Christ. then we are in Christ. And if
we're in Christ, we are brand new creatures. Old things are
passed away. Behold, all things have become
brand new.