Our scripture reading for this morning is Psalm 113 verses 1 through 9.

Psalm 113. Praise ye the Lord. Praise O ye servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised. Amen.

The Lord is high above all nations in his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth? He raises up the poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill, that he may set him with princes even with the princes of his people. He maketh the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.

May the Holy Spirit grant us understanding.

Turn in your Bibles, if you would, this morning to the book of John, chapter 17. We're going to start the year off with a basic message.

And while you're turning to John 17, allow me to read this from John 15, verse 9. Actually, I want you to do me a favor. Stop what you're doing looking for John 17 for a moment. I want you to close your eyes and I want you to think about this as I'm reading it to you. I want you to picture something.

If you're a child of God, if Christ shed His blood for you, this ought to grab a hold of you. This ought to be something that you can grab a hold of yourself and say, okay, I made this statement earlier in Bible study, I remember when I heard the words that Christ says in John chapter 10, my sheep hear my voice. And I thought to myself, I think I hear the truth. I've read part of this Word of God. I've had men preach this Word of God to me all my life. their version of it. I don't know what they preached because I didn't hear it. I couldn't hear it. I didn't have ears to hear it. All of a sudden, I heard what was being preached.

And they just jumped out and said, I hope this does that for you. Here we go. I'm going to read from John 15 verse 9. Listen to this. Think about it. This is the Word of Jesus. This is the Word of the Lord. This is Christ Himself saying this to you and I.

As the Father hath loved me. As God the Father hath loved His Son. You think there's anything that could be less of that? I was looking for a word to say great! How great that would be! How great! We couldn't even describe it! how much the Father loves the Son. But listen to what he says to this. He says, as the Father loved me, so have... Wow! So have I loved you.

Can you grasp that? Christ has loved you as much as the Father has loved Him, Roger. Oh my goodness. I can understand God the Father loving His Son. Oh, what we go through in this world for our children, huh? I can understand how great the love is for God the Father for His Son, but He loves me! He loves you! He loves His sheep! Those who hear His voice in the preaching of His Word.

Isn't that wonderful? I heard that this morning. I haven't even gotten to my message yet for you. This is all icing on the cake, or whipped cream on the pie, as it were. Right, James? Is that not good news, folks? Not only... Christ is comparing how much He loves you and I to what His Father loves for Him. If that's the case, how can we deny those words? If God before us, who can be against us? I want you to be so blessed today by what God says in His Word that you walk out of here into the world again, the world where chaos is going on all around us every day, where we step in our own, well, you know, every moment of every day, where we walk out of here and we see the sinner in our own hearts and we wonder the despair of that. I want you to walk out and say, my Savior loves me.

He loves us, folks. He gave himself for us. He not only gave himself for us, He cuts away that old stony heart that we came into this world and says, I will not have that one rule over me. Well, we're made willing, as it says in Psalms 110. We are willing to love Him back now. We're willing to love Him. Nowhere near as much as He loves us. It just can't happen until we're out of this body.

Man, I'll tell you folks, there's a day coming And I know some folks who are getting pretty close to that day, who are sitting there thinking to themselves right this very moment, going, I just can't wait. It's just, I mean, it's right here. It's almost here. I could just, I could just, you know, and I'm talking about my pastor, Gene Harmon. I'm right where the Lord would have me, John.

Our Lord loves us so much that He dwells in a new heart. That's what it means to be born again, isn't it? How else could we be born again? Are we going to climb into our mother's womb like Nicodemus asked? No, that's not what it's talking about at all. It's talking about the new heart. The new heart that is willing to love our Lord because He first loved us.

I want you to go out those doors today knowing that Christ loves you so much, more than you can comprehend. I want you to feel, wow, I can't even understand the depth that He loves me. But He does. He does with all His being. What a verse to start off the subject with, huh?

Over here in John chapter 17, well before I get to that, let me read these words for you from Romans 8 verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation. Here goes where that love, that love that He has for us, He took our condemnation. What we deserve to be condemned for, what we deserve from the wrath of God was all laid upon Him. That's how Paul states, there is therefore now no condemnation. He who hung on the cross for us, hung in our stead. Substitution.

But then it says this, and this is what I want to talk to you about this morning. This is the subject. I use this as a teaser for the folks in Bible study. There is therefore now no condemnation to them. Notice that it says to a particular people. Did you catch that? It wasn't to the whole world.

Folks, we are so blessed, so blessed. Not only does Christ love us like His Father loves Him, we've been set aside. That's what sanctification means, set apart. To sanctify, the word sanctification comes the priest of the church, sanctify the things of the temple. Set them apart. These are not, this pot that you're using, this lamp that you're using, this candle that you're lighting to light up the temple is not like the one you use in your house. This is a special one. This is one that is used to worship God.

What did Moses say to Pharaoh? Let my people go that we may go worship God. We've been set aside from the world. We've been set apart. Not because if there's anything... God didn't look into John and say, well, John's going to make a decision for me. I know he'll love me, so I'll do this for him. No! I can't do anything without the fact that God loved me first. We've been set apart. Made holy. Again, not in anything that we have done. My title this morning is In Christ. Look here at John chapter 17 and look with me if you would, beginning at verse 17.

Sanctify. Catch that word? Set apart. Make holy. Them. Through what? Through something that they might do? Through making a decision to follow Jesus? Through coming down to the front and saying a prayer? Through getting into the waters of baptism? Through going into a box and telling a man your sins? No! There's only one way to heaven, folks. There's only one way, and Jesus Christ is the way. That's what it says.

Sanctify them through thy truth. What does our Lord say about himself? I am the truth. I am the way. Those who worship me must worship me in spirit and in truth. That's why I had such a problem with my mother. She would go out once a month with her and the ladies of the church up there at Pollock Pines. They would go out and they would go to different churches and have lunches with them. And I said, why are you doing that? What are you accomplishing? by going out and worshiping with these folks that come from all kinds of different churches, Catholicism, I don't know if Mormonism was in there, I don't think any Jehovah Witness, but you know, Episcopalian, all those other ones. But what are you accomplishing with that? They don't believe the way you believe. Well, they believe in Jesus. They believe in a different Jesus. They believe in a Jesus of their own imagination, one who says you gotta worship on Saturday. The Lord says here, sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.

As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. That word used there is set apart. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. Did you know that I came to know the Lord Jesus through a man preaching His word? I bet you James could say, he's back there waving his hand already. I came to know the truth of who our Lord was through the preaching of the gospel." That's what he says. Whosoever calls upon me shall have everlasting life. How are you going to call on somebody you've never heard of? How are you going to believe on them if you've never heard of the truth? If you're hearing some other Jesus, you're not hearing the truth, right? There's only one way.

Neither pray I, verse 20, for these alone, but for them also 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 also may be one in us. Did you catch that? That brings us right back to that verse that I read a moment ago, doesn't it? As the Father loveth him, so he loveth us. If Christ is in the Father, and the Father in Him, He wants you and I to be in Him as well. It's in Christ. That's the title of this message. I want you to go out of here with a sureness in your heart that you're in Christ, because if He is in you, you are hearing His voice. You can't hear His voice without Him.

That they all may be one as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may 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." The question we need to ask ourselves is, are we in Christ? It has to be something that you must ask God and God must answer you through the preaching of His Word. This is a personal question. It's a question that only the heart can answer. Only you can answer it to yourself. Am I in Christ? Is Christ in me? And the answer is actually very simple. It's exactly what I read to you a moment ago in John 3, verse 16.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son That whosoever, I've shared this with you before, folks whose sins have just overwhelmed them. You ever get that way? I do. What? You're the pastor, you're not supposed to get that way. Any pastor tells you he doesn't, he's lying. were just men. Does your sin ever overwhelm you? Does it ever get to the point where you really have to ask yourself, Lord, how could you love me when I sin against you that way?

The question is, whosoever believeth. That's what the Lord says. That's not my word. That's not my interpretation of it. This is God's Word. Take it for what it is. Whosoever believeth. What did He say to John chapter 10? I can't remember. I think that was in the Bible study. I read that. He said this to the unbelieving Jews. to the ones who came to Him and asked Him, He says, why do you make us to doubt? Tell us plainly. He says, I told you, and you believed not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me, but ye believe not, because ye are not 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.

Folks! That's the key. Do you believe? Well, yeah, but I just, I feel like my faith is so weak. I'm not asking you how much you believe. Do you believe He's God Almighty? This One that's called Jesus, who came to this earth and dwelt in a body that was prepared for Him before the world began. That's what it says in Hebrews chapter 10, or 9, one of those two. A body has now prepared for me. I came to do thy will, he says. Do you believe Jesus Christ is God in the flesh? Well, yes, I do. Okay, you're partway there. Do you believe he saved his people? Not maybe, not might, not by something they have done, but by what he did on the cross that day over 2,000 years ago. Do you believe that? Okay, we're almost there. Do you believe it was effectual? Do you believe that what Christ did was all that was necessary? That anything you could do will pollute it? Do you believe? Well, yes. Okay. One more step. One more step. One more step. Do you believe that God accepted what He did on the cross? Did God accept what His Son did? Was there anything that He did on that cross? Was there anything that He did while walking this earth that God would say, oh no, wait a minute now. No! Absolutely not! He knew no sin, folks. The sin that Christ went to that cross and died for, that wasn't ours! That's what we deserved! He took...

Oh man, that verse... I don't know about you, but that verse is really getting a hold of me now. You folks, I'm telling you, ever since I heard Pastor Todd preach, he started his message, I turned it off right after I heard him say that, because that's what I'm going to preach on this morning. The love of Christ for you and I. I want you to go out into the world and remember, it's not how much you believe, it's that you do believe. And you believe because of why? Because of Him. You couldn't believe on the Lord Jesus Christ if it weren't for the Spirit of God dwelling in you. Giving you the hope of glory. Glory in our Savior, the Lord Jesus. Oh! Whosoever believeth on Him.

Turn over to Ephesians chapter 1. I've gotten so far off. Our Lord says this, while you're turning to Ephesians 1, He says in John 1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made, and the Word was made flesh, in verse 14.

In 1 John 5, verse 7, we read these words, 7 and 8, Three are one, and there are three that bear witness in the earth. The spirit, the water, which is the word, and the blood, which is Christ. And these three agree in one. If you're in Christ, then you will believe that his word is truth.

We must worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. If you are in Christ, then you'll believe the declaration of total depravity. Listen to these words from Romans chapter 5, 3, and 8. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Chapter 3, verse 11, there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. Chapter 8, verse 7, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

If Christ is in you, you understand through the preaching of his word that there is nothing in you to have any confidence in. And we've talked about that from Philippians chapter 3, verse 3 already, a couple weeks ago.

Look here at chapter 2, verses 1-3, Ephesians chapter 2. And you hath he quickened, made alive, gave life to. Remember what it said in John chapter 3, or chapter 10? What did he say? My sheep hear my voice, and I give unto them eternal, what? Life. eternal life. And you, hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sin, where in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince and the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversations in times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."

If Christ is in you, you will understand how depraved this flesh is of righteousness. You'll understand that there's only one place where there is any righteousness at all, and that is in the Savior, the Lord Jesus.

If you are in Christ, then you'll believe the declaration of unconditional election. Listen to Mark chapter 13 verse 20, and accept that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved, but for the elect's sake, whom He hath chosen, He hath shortened the days.

I remember one time I called in to a radio station, it was back when I was young and didn't know much about the Word of God, but I did know Ephesians chapter 1. And I called into one of these radio stations where they had the questions and answer guys. I think that's even what they called themselves. And they were talking about something. I don't remember exactly what it was, but I said, what about Ephesians chapter 1? where it clearly declares God's chosen people from before the foundation of the world. You know what they told me? Oh, that was just to the church at Ephesus. He was only talking to them. He wasn't talking about his people throughout all the world. Bolonialism.

Mark chapter 13 verse 20, what did it just say? Whom he hath chosen, but for the elect's sake. whom he hath chosen. John chapter 15 verse 16. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit.

Look here at Ephesians 1 verses 3 and 4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Why? in Christ. Isn't that what we're talking about? We're talking about being in Christ and Christ in us?

He's not blessing us, folks, with the air that we breathe, with the water that's running down through the creek today, with the replenishing of the earth, with the food that we'll put in our bellies afterwards because of anything that we have done. It's for Christ's sake. Do you realize what that means? And I've said this before, everything in the entire world, everything is for our sake. Even the evil and the wicked is for our sake. Christ has done everything for us, folks. Everything that happens, is for our good. Isn't that what he says in Romans 8.28? Everything? That means that guy who sat in the White House for the last four years was for our good. I don't see a whole lot of that. But that's okay. Some people might. I don't want to take it away if they do. But Christ says it was for our good.

Look at verse 4. According as He hath chosen us in Him. In Christ. Before the foundation of the world we should be holy without blame, before Him in love. If you're in Christ, then you'll believe the declaration of limited atonement. Listen to these words from Hebrews chapter 9. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, Christ's own blood He entered into once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption."

If Christ died for the whole world, and the whole world is not saved, that statement is a lie. That statement could not be true. So it has to be for a people, like we just saw, the elect, the chosen, those that he's loved with an eternal love, an everlasting love, the very ones that are spoken of in John chapter 15 that I read at the beginning.

For if the blood of bulls and goats, it goes on in verse 13, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifyeth and purifying of the flesh, And how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Oh, this is good stuff.

John 6 verse 55 and 56, For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. I'm going to go a little bit further with those verses for our communion time.

Look here at verses 5-7. Ephesians 1 verses 5-7. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted, In the Beloved, in Christ, in whom we have redemption, in Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.

Oh, to be in Christ. It's to be redeemed. It's to be called. That's what we look at next. If Christ is in you, you will believe the declaration of the irresistible calling. Listen to 1 Peter 2, verse 9. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you. out of darkness into His marvelous light. Oh, this is the irresistible, effectual call that God said when He passed by the sea with the fishermen, He said, Come, follow Me. And they got up and left everything. And don't scriptures tell us? Did He not say to Lazarus, who was dead in the tomb, Come, Lazarus, come forth. And what did Lazarus do? He came forth.

It's the irresistible call that he gave to John Reeves when John was sitting there. He says, I'm God Almighty in the flesh. Come, worship me. And I've done it ever since. Not because of me, but because of Him. He's the one who brought me here. How often have I told you I didn't know what I was doing? I went to Pastor Gene and Steve Doyle several times going, I don't understand why I keep coming here. I don't understand it at all. I've been around religion all my life and never had any desire to go to it. Never had any desire to just walk out of my house on a Sunday morning and go worship the Lord. But that's what was going on. Christ brings us to Him. Aren't you thankful for that?

If He loved us, if He loves us, and He does, as much as His Father loves Him, do you think He's going to let us go any other direction? He's God! He's not going to sit there and wait for me to make a decision. He's going to make me willing. I'll be willing in the day of His power, is what it says in Psalms 110. Are you not the same? Look at verse 17-19 of Ephesians chapter 1.

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in what? In good works? In causing you to go and feed the poor and causing you to do this? Folks, don't get me wrong, the Holy Spirit does all of that. I never want to take away from what the Spirit does in us, but that's not our glory. What the Spirit does in you and I and the world is not what we glory in. We glory in our Savior. We glory in the One who's done it perfectly for us. That's what 1 Corinthians 1-31 or whatever those last verses of chapter 1 are. It's all about giving Christ the glory.

If I'm telling you what I'm doing and what the Spirit is doing in me out in the world, I'm taking the glory for it instead. I'd rather tell you what my Savior did for me. That's where the glory needs to be. It needs to be in Him. Verse 18, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. that ye may know what is the hope of his calling. Irresistible calling. What hope is it? It's all in Christ. It goes on at the end there and says, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe. There we go. Did you notice how it all comes right back around again? Did you see how that big circle just went around? And it comes right back around to what? Believing. Believing God. Believing His Word about Him.

I have... I know people who say, I'm only four and a half points. I don't believe in limited atonement. What they're saying is that God's atonement was presented to everybody. And that's not what he says. That takes the power away from God. Did you know that? That's what men do as described in the book of Jude. Men who were ordained from before the world was to come in, privily, sneaking into churches and speak lasciviously. That means wickedly. about the power of God. They deny the power of God. Well, that's what half, that's what not believing in limited atonement is. It's not believing in the power of God. It's taking the power away from Him and putting it in man's hands. That's what it's doing. Read verse 19 again. No, we'll come back to that in just a second.

If you're in Christ, Not only will you believe those four points, we'll bring this back to a close with this, you'll believe in perseverance of the saints. In John chapter 17 verse 12 we read this, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. That's the Lord Jesus. He's telling us He kept them. Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is law, except the son of perdition.

1 Peter 1 verse 2, he starts off his message with this, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace be multiplied Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you."

And then listen to this, here it is, it's all right down to this, who are kept by the power of God, Through? Here comes that word again. Now, the word is faith. Exactly. But that means belief. Faith. To have faith means that you believe. I believe. Through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed.

Look at verse 19 now, again, and we'll wrap this up. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ? Folks, that's the message today. I want you to walk out of this building today knowing, not just guessing, not wondering. I want you to know, is Christ in you? The hope of glory. According to His Word, according to what He's telling me in His Word, He's in me. I can't know these things, I can't hear the truth of these things that He's put in His Word if He wasn't in me. Do you get the point? I believe. Because the Lord Jesus is in me. Not because I got smart one day. Not because I decided I was tired of walking down the wrong path. That I needed something better in life. I believe because Christ came into me when I was dead. How about you? Is that when He found you?

If we're in Christ, we're in Him from the foundation of the world. We're in Him as He walked this earth perfectly satisfying everything that God required of you and I. We were in Him when He went to the cross and shed His blood. And we're in Him right now as He sits in heavenly places. Isn't that what it says over there in Ephesians 2? Let's read that. Ephesians chapter 2. You're already there in Ephesians 1. But God, who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace, ye are saved, and hath raised us up together, and made us to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Oh, folks. Are you in Christ? If so, then He is in you, and His promises are sure. Look at verse 10 of chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember, that ye, being in times past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcised by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.

But now, in Christ Is Christ in you? It says here, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us. Are ye in Christ? Is Christ in you?