Through the book of Acts, I have preached from Acts chapter
6 before, so it would be a good
stopping point tonight. What I want to do, beginning
with this morning, is do a series of messages, three messages from
2 Corinthians 5. And the first one will deal with
verse seventeen. There is a very clear alliteration of subjects here. Verse seventeen talks about regeneration. Verses eighteen, nineteen, and
twenty talk about reconciliation. And then verse twenty-one talks
about righteousness. So that will be the subject of
the next three messages you hear, beginning with this morning's
message on regeneration. Now, when I say regeneration,
the word means to recreate. It's the same as what our Lord
said when he said to Nicodemus, you must be born again, to recreate,
regenerate life. to refashion, reborn. And this is the subject. Read
verse 17 with me. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. 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 be in Christ Jesus,
old things are passed away. He's a new creature. And this
is a, I could, we could easily devote many messages to this
one verse. This is, it's a big verse, big
verse. If any man, woman, boy, or girl
be in Christ, he says, in Christ. Now let's just stop right there
a minute and not go any further. What does it mean to be in Christ,
if any man be in Christ? Now, we read that, didn't we,
in Ephesians 1 and 2? I didn't count them. I don't
have any time. But do you know more than one hundred times this is used, this phrase in
the New Testament? In Christ, or in some way. In Christ, in Him. A hundred
times. in Christ. Now, there's a threefold
state of a human soul. You have a soul. I have a soul.
It's in one of three states. Number one, it's either without
Christ. Do you remember us reading that
in Ephesians 2? Without Christ. You're either
without Christ or outside of Christ, or in our text, you're
in Christ. And then someday Those that are
in Christ are going to be with Christ. With Christ. But we're
going to dwell on this thing of what it means to be in Christ. In Christ. In Christ. What does it mean to be in Christ?
Are you in Christ? Are you in Christ? What does
it mean to be in Christ? Well, first of all, if you're
taking notes, It means to be chosen or elected by God. It means to be foreknown or foreloved,
forethought of. It means to be considered by
God to be in Christ before the world began. The Scriptures say
this, Ephesians 1-4. We read it. in Christ before the foundation
of the world, in Christ. 2 Timothy 1.9 says this, in Christ
before the world began. We are chosen in Christ before
the world began, which work he did in Christ before the world
began. Number two, it means to be chosen by God, considered
by God. Number two, what it means to
be in Christ means to be represented by Christ. when he walked this
earth. When Christ walked the planet
earth, when he came down to the earth, did he come for himself? Did he come just to make a trip? Did he come just to have somewhere
to go, something to do? Why was he here? Why did Jesus
Christ come here? Why? Because there were a people,
this is strange, stranger than fiction, but a people in him,
considered in him, and he was to represent all of these people,
just like the high priest of old had names on his breastplate
and went in that Holy of Holies One day with the blood of the
Lamb, do you remember that? And he had these names that he
represented, and he shed that blood for them. Jesus Christ
came down to this earth, and he said this. He said to the
Father, I have glorified thee on earth. I have finished the
work you gave me to do. What was the work God gave him
to do? To represent a people. to live
a life as a man for men. He didn't have to come down here
to prove himself. He was already with the Father in the beginning,
accepted, chosen, if you will, loved by God. He didn't have
to come down here to show God that he could live right. He
came down here to live for some men and women, to represent them. And he said this, for their sakes
I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified. For these
people's sake, he said, I separated myself from the Father. I left
the bosom of the Father. I sanctified or set apart myself
to come down here to this earth to represent them as man before
God. And I live a life, a holy life
for them that they also might be sanctified. And eventually
he took this life and charged it to all of their accounts.
That means imputed, right? I'm teaching you this morning,
all right? The scripture says, by the obedience
of one, many were made righteous. That is, the life lived by Jesus
Christ, many were made righteous before God. That's why he came.
That's why he came. And all of those people, when
Christ obeyed God's holy law, I obeyed it. See, I've never
obeyed it from the day I was born until today. I've never
fully, completely obeyed it. I never will. Will you? I'll
try. But I'll never fully obey it.
Will you? In thoughts, in word, and in
deed, clean hands, pure heart, never sworn deceitfully or lifted
up your soul into vanity? Huh? Christ did. And that's how
this holy God sees me. When Christ stood upon the earth,
I was with him. I was in him. I was considered
in him. God was in Christ. That's what it said in verse
19. Look at it. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. By the obedience of one, many
were made righteous. So what does it mean to be in
Christ? Number one, it means to be chosen by God. Chosen by God. Considered by
God, loved by God in Christ, in Christ, before the world began. Number two, it means to be represented
by Christ when he walked this earth. I was in Christ. Number
three, it means to be represented by or in Christ when he hung
on that tree on Calvary's hill. When Jesus Christ hung upon that
cross and the wrath of God Almighty was poured out on him because
of sin, whose sin was it? It wasn't Christ's. He knew no
sin. But he was being made sin. When
Christ was hanging on the cross, God Almighty saw all of these
sinful people that were represented by Christ. He didn't see his
son. That's the reason Christ said,
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? I'm not forsaking
you, my son. I would never do that. You're altogether
lovely. You're my well-beloved, only
begotten Son. I'm forsaking, I'm turning my
back on these sinners. You are now them. And I'm showing
them how that I can have nothing to do. with sinners like they
are, and they must die. Christ didn't have to die, but
I have to, right? That's the wages of sin that
I've earned. So to be in Christ is to be in Christ or represented
by Christ when he hung on Calvary's tree. In Christ we have redemption
through his blood. We have redemption. Scripture
says, You are dead. When Christ died, God killed
me. When Jesus Christ died, God killed
me. Me. He gave Christ what I deserve. Because I was in Christ. I was
in Christ. And if you are a believer, you
were there too. Crucified with Christ. Number four. It means
to be represented by Christ in heaven right now. It means to be chosen by God.
Chosen by God in the beginning, it means to be chosen by God,
it means to be represented by Christ when he walked upon this
earth, represented by Christ when he hung upon the cross,
and represented by Christ in heaven right now. Did you know
what this meant when we read in Ephesians where it said we're
seated with him in the heavenly? I said, I don't understand. I'm
seated in row four, aisle one, row four, seat B. What do you mean seated with
Christ? No, you're not here this morning. You're seated with Christ. You're dead. You're dead. Your life is hid with God in
Christ. You're seated with Christ in
the heaven. What does that mean? Well, when Christ rose from the
grave, when he rose from the grave and entered into the presence
of God Almighty, God Almighty said, Come on in. You're accepted.
What do you mean accepted? He was always accepted. He was there to begin with. But
I wasn't. I wouldn't. And when Christ walked
into the presence of God, it was as if he was accepting you
and me, if you're a believer. And God says, Come on in. You
can be with me now. You're no longer a sinner. You
can be with me. You're holy. And he raised us
up together, the Ephesians said, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus, accepted in the blood. When God Almighty
looks at Christ, he thinks of me right now. And he looks at
Christ with a glint of love in his eye, a gleam in his eye,
a heartfelt love in his heart.
He thinks of me. He thinks of all those people
that are in Christ. All right? As difficult as it
is, I knew I was going to have a hard time with you. And you're
having a hard time listening to me, I can tell you. And if
all of that meant more to us, we would rejoice in it a little
bit more. And just because I can't get it out, that doesn't mean
it's not glorious. We're seated with Christ right
now. And when God looks at Christ, he thinks about me. This fellow,
he thinks about me. How do we get in Christ? That's
what it means to be in Christ. How do we get in Christ? Turn
back to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 with me. If you're not in Christ,
you're without Christ. You can be without gold and it
will be inconvenient. You can be without money and
be inconvenienced. You can be without friends and
it would be sad. But to be without Christ is death,
eternal death and misery beyond comprehension. How do we get
in Christ? We have to be in Christ. We must
be in Christ. How do we get in Christ? I read
a sermon by the so-called Prince of Preachers, and he didn't even
allude to this. He missed it. He missed it. He started talking about faith.
You don't begin with faith. Scriptures don't begin with faith
when it talks about us being in Christ. This is where the
scriptures begin. How do we get in Christ? Not
by our decision. Not by our choice, not by our
works, not by our morality, not by turning over a new leaf. As
I said to you, Joe, the other side is just as bad as the other
one. Turn over a new leaf. How do we get in Christ? Look
at 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30. Of him are you in Christ. Of who? Of God. Verse 27, God
hath chosen the foolish thing. God hath chosen the weak thing.
God, the base thing, things which are not. God hath chosen. to
bring to naught things that are, and no flesh that gore in God's
presence, but of God are you in Christ." Of God. This is God's eternal choice.
That's how somebody is in Christ. And that's where all preaching
should begin. Not begging people to do anything,
but begging God to work. That's where preaching began,
with God's purpose, God's predestinating purpose. All right? Now, remember,
we're talking about regeneration, being made new, and our text
is talking about that. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. Regeneration. All right? The
eternal purpose of God is to put a people in Christ, represented
by him, to do everything necessary for them, but in time. Now, I'm born, Christ said, if
any man, you must be born of water, that is, the first time
of fleshly birth, and of spirit. You cannot see the kingdom of
heaven. That's the way with that pre-existence theory of the Mormons.
They say we existed before. Well, when we're born the first
time, the scripture says in 1 Peter 1.23, it says we're born the
second time. How? Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of what? Incorruptible seed, which is
what? which is what? Peter goes on to say, the Word
of God, this right here. I know that speaks of Christ
primarily, but it's the preaching of Christ, the Word, this Bible
right here. God's purpose, God Almighty's
purpose to put a people in Christ. Christ came down here and did
all of that for them. represented by them, people in
the past, people in the future. He did all that for them, went
back, sat down. We're right now considered in
him. But we're born in time. We're
born in time. And something has to happen in
time to these people. God's purpose is carried out
in time by him speaking. Do you remember 2 Corinthians
4 where it says, God who caused the light to shine out of darkness
has shined in our hearts? Huh? To give us the light, the
glory, the knowledge of God in Christ? Huh? You remember that? God Almighty
has to speak again, has to create. Just like in the very beginning
when there was nothing, when there was nothing to create from,
God said, let there be light, and light was created. Let there
be a sea, an earth. Let there be, let there be, God
spoke it. And he creates something out
of nothing from you. You're nothing. You're nothing. I'm nothing. We're nobody. God
has chosen things which are not, the Scripture says. And he speaks
in time, in the fullness of time, whatever time that may be, however
old you may be, when God decides, and people take heart. God can
save someone as a child. He can save them as an older
person. It's not too hard. Is anything
too hard for God? Not at all. But in time, God
Almighty, through what I'm doing right now, preaching of the Word. That's the reason the preaching
of the Word is so important. It's the Word God uses. God Almighty
in time speaks to the very heart of all those people that Christ
did that work for. And it's like a, he says, let
there be light. It's a spark of life that's created.
A seed is planted where before there was none. There was no
heart. The preaching of his word, it's
as if God says, all right, it's time to wake up. You who were dead and trespassed
in sin, he said, wake up, sinner! You're not going to sleep the
sleep of death as others. Wake up! I'll make you alive
unto me. Alive unto me. And God speaks
through the Word. He says, I'm going! And we wake
up finally and realize, hey, he is God. You're a sinner in
the hands of an angry God. Hey, I am, aren't I? And then
he talks about Christ to us through the preaching of the Word. He
speaks the incorruptible Word, and it's incorruptible because
it never fades away. And then by faith, then faith
does come, but not until God has already purposed it, not
until God has moved through the preaching faith. No. Faith is a result of life, not
vice versa. Right? Reason, people have this
all mixed up. They're asking people to do things,
make their decisions and all that. You can't ask a dead man
to do anything. He can't do it. God, who is life, must give life.
And once he gives life, they'll believe. Christ said, they'll
hear my voice and they'll follow me, because I give unto them
eternal life and they'll never perish. So faith comes. Faith, what is faith? Faith's
not you doing anything, really. Faith's not you cooperating with
God at all, it's a response. Faith is a response to God Almighty's
work. When God says, wake up, what
faith does, it hears. God says, believe, and what faith
does, it believes. God says, see, and faith sees. Faith is a response. God says,
come. What does faith do? It responds. Come. It comes to
Christ. Come unto me. Faith comes. And by this faith, we come to
Christ. We are actually joined to Christ
in time. We are, and this has to be experienced,
we are joined to Christ in him, just like a husband and a wife
come together finally. Though that marriage was preordained
before time began, in time they have to come together and consummate
that relationship. That's what faith, that's what
coming to Christ is, a consummation of that relationship. They come
together. Here's an illustration of this,
what it means to be in Christ and how we come to Christ and
so forth, in the ark. Noah's ark. Noah's ark. Noah found grace. Noah was no
different than anybody else. He was a sinner. How'd he come
to be in the ark that day? He found grace. God one day spoke
to Noah, didn't he? God Almighty purposed it, and
then one day God spoke to Noah and said, Noah, build an ark. And then one day
when he was done he said, Noah, come into the ark. And he says
the Lord shut him in. In the ark. And Christ is that
ark. And one day God Almighty speaks
to us. He shows us how that Christ is
the ark of safety. God Almighty speaks, says, Sinner,
come in the ark. Come in and cry. And God shuts
us in. Boy, I like that, don't you?
Shuts us in. Shuts the door. He said, No man
will ever perish. Why? The door is shut. You can't
go out. You can't go out. The city of
refuge. Those cities of refuge, that
guilty man. Terry and I were cutting wood
yesterday, and he was swinging a a moth splitting the wood,
and I was standing right in front of it. And I said, Terry, you
better be glad we're not back in the Old Testament days, buddy.
He said, why? I said, because if that head
of that axe flies off of there, you're a dead man. If it flies
off there and hits me in the head, you're guilty until proven
innocent. I said, you're going to go to jail. You're going to
die for killing me, whether you meant to do it or not. That was
what happened back in the Old Testament. It doesn't matter. The family could come and grab
this guy and hail him to jail, and buddy, he was in trouble. Unless he could get to one of
those cities of refuge. There were cities that God mercifully,
in his justice, you see, God's just, he's good. In his justice,
he said, there's a place you can go to find refuge from your
oppressor. And you get in that city, you
run, and I guarantee you, whoever that happened to, they didn't
walk. They didn't dilly-dally around.
They got to that city of refuge just as fast as they could. And
when they got in it and shut the door, they were safe until
their case was proved. And Christ is that city of refuge
that a guilty, condemned sinner can flee to, and there's no condemnation. if we're inside Christ. And that's
what faith does. Faith just merely sees Christ
as the ark, sees Christ as the city of refuge, and we say, I
need you, Christ. I need you. And we come to him.
Scott said, don't move a muscle now. Don't come down to the front. Christ is not here. Don't come
down here in the morning. It's come to Christ. Don't ask
the preacher to pray for you, ask Christ to pray for you. Don't
shake the preacher's hand, come to Christ. You see, I'm giving
the invitation right now, people. Save time at the end of the service. Come to Christ now. Now, don't
get up, but come to Christ. Come to Christ. As your city
of refuge, as a guilty sinner, say, Christ, I'm guilty, I need
you. I want to be in you, I want to be safe in you. So, to be
in Christ is to be chosen by God, considered by God, loved
by God, put in Christ to represent you on the earth, on the cross,
in heaven. In time, the Holy Spirit joins
you to Christ by faith, by preaching this word to you. And now look at this, look at
the text again. Now let's look at this. It says, Now, if any
man be in Christ, He is a new creature. A new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things have become new. Does that give you any problems?
Hmm? Does that give you all any trouble?
Are old things passed away? Are all things become new? All
things? Huh? Does that give anybody any
problems? Nobody's willing to admit it.
He gave me problems when I first read it. Huh? He's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things have become new. You got any problem with that?
Huh? I see one head do live. Everybody's
ashamed to admit it. I will. They're giving me problems.
All things are passed away in this old fellow. If you're honest
with yourself, you admit it, too. All things haven't become
new. I'm still plagued. I've still
got some problems, some old things. What's this talking about, then?
Paul the Apostle said it in Romans 7. He said, Oh, wretched man
that I am. The things that I want to do,
that's not what I do. The things I don't want to do, that's what
I do. Didn't he? If Paul admitted, I'll admit
it, too. Will you admit it? Got any problems with this verse?
All right, now remember what we were just talking about. If
any man be what? In Christ, he's a new creature. He's a new creature, a new creation. You remember when the angels
came down, and this is a mystery. The only way I can explain it
is through the Scripture. When the angels came down to
announce the birth of Christ, do you remember what they said
to Mary? They said, that holy thing. In other words, this is
mystery here. This God? God in the body of
a woman? God in the body of a man? God,
a God-man, never been seen before. This thing, what a mystery. Great
is the mystery of godliness. Christ in you. And this is what
this is saying. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature, creation. This is a new thing here. The
reason you and I can't grasp it, the reason you and I can't
totally understand it, the reason I can't stand up here and try
to explain it, but I'm just stating it. If any man was crucified
with Christ, he says, you're crucified with Christ, you're
dead, your life is hid with Christ, well, you say, well, I'm not
dead. Yeah, you are. According to the Scripture, in
the life you live, the Scripture says we live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me. I'm not, you see, I'm not living
right now. He says, not me. This is not me you're looking
at. You're looking at Christ. I died on Calvary's tree years
ago. I died. I died. I am Christ. I'm not saying I
am the Christ. I am in Christ. I am in Christ. If any man be in Christ, he says,
I'm dead. My life is hid with Christ in
God. To God Almighty, he doesn't see
me anymore. He can't. God's eyes are too
pure, the Scripture says. He can't look upon iniquity,
doesn't it? Isn't that what the Scripture
says? It says the sun and the moon are not pure in his eye.
The sun and the moon, the sun shineth not, not pure enough.
But all of those who are in Christ, represented by him, are now looked
upon by God Almighty as being just like his son. being just
like his son. I want to reveal that a little
bit more in tonight's message. God looks at, let me pick somebody
here, looks at Virgie Jones, if she's a child of God, he looks
at her as being just like Jesus Christ. Oh, Virgie says, oh,
not me. I know, not you. You're dead.
You're put out of the way. You've got to be. You stink to
God. I can't explain it. It's a new
creature in Christ, a new creation inside, in the heart. Old things,
that is, the old man. Remember the message about the
old man's crucifixion with Christ? Now, what about these things?
You say, Paul said, But the things I want to do,
I don't do. The things I don't do, that's
what I want to do. It's no more I that do it, but what? Sin that dwelleth in me. I died. I'm dead. If it was me, he'd have to hold
me accountable, wouldn't he? He's not going to hold me accountable
twice. He already held me accountable
in Christ and killed me, put me out of the way. Now, this
new creature. You see, it does not yet appear
unto us what we shall be, even what we are now, before God.
It's too much of a mystery. But this old man, Paul Mahan,
is crucified to all things that become new, a new creature in
Christ. First John, chapter 3, and I
heard it. First John, chapter 3. Look over there. First John
3. He says this. Has this passage ever given you
any problems? Look at 1 John 3. This is a mystery
now. It's unexplainable, really. Supernatural. It's a spiritual work, but it's
a fact. 1 John 3, look at verse 5. We
know that Christ was manifested to take away our sins. That is,
Christ came down here to put away our sins. You know, sins,
me and my sins, are one and the same, aren't they? But it says,
"...in him is no sin." Look at verse 9. Whosoever is born of
God doth not commit sin." Does that give you any problems? Read on. Why? How can this be? "...for his sin remaineth in
him." That incorruptible seed, Christ who is the Word. He cannot
sin. Who can't sin? Christ in you
can't sin. This new creature created in
the image of Christ can't sin. He's born of God. It's a new
creature, creating the image of Christ Jesus. The new creature, that holy thing,
this new person, is a sinless, Christlike Son of God Almighty.
That's the only way God can accept us, this new creature. And like
I said, it does not yet appear unto us. Someday we're going
to know, even as we've been known. Now, back to the text, and here's
the proof of it. Here's the proof of this new
creature. Spiritually speaking, the old
man is passed away, all things become new. But Philippians 1
says this, I'm confident, Paul said, I'm confident that he that
hath begun a good work in thee will perform it, will finish
it until the day of Christ Jesus. If any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature. Old things are passed away, all
things become new spiritually. He's a new creature. And also,
practically, things have changed. Things have changed in this old
boy. You remember that story about that little girl who said
to her daddy, Daddy, Scripture says that Christ is in us, doesn't
it? He said, Yes, honey, it does.
He said, Well, how big was Christ, do you think? Her daddy said,
Well, I'm probably a man about my size, 5'10", 150-160 pounds,
an average-sized man. She said, Well, you know, if
Christ was in me, I'm a little girl. He said, If he was in me,
he'd stick out, wouldn't he? Well, this is what this is talking
about here. If you're in Christ, if Christ
is in you, this new creature in you, if you're in Christ,
this new creature is within you. like a bottle of smoke and smoke
in the bottle, a bottle in the water and water in the bottle.
But if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature practically.
Thou art evidence of this inward work. You cannot be in Christ
and Christ in you if it does not manifest itself. No way. Proof of this new life is manifested. Now, take heart, people, it's
not perfect yet. I just quoted to you Philippians
1.6, didn't I? I'm confident, though, that he
that began this work in you, good work, he'll perform it,
he'll finish it. And that's what's going on. This
is a conformation to Christ, predestinating us to his image.
And so it's a growing process, all right? This creature is perfect
and complete. It has all of the faculties,
like a newborn baby. When it's born, it has all the
hands and arms and legs, everything necessary to make it a man. It's
not a man yet, is it? Huh? You understand what I'm
saying? It has everything to make it
a full-grown human being, but it's not. It's a baby. And we're
babes, and these things have to grow. They have to grow. All
the organs and so forth. Well, it says, "...all things
have passed away. Behold, all things have become new." Number
one, you have a new heart. If you're in Christ, you have
a new heart. He said, and it's not deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked. No, that's the old heart. You've
got a new heart. He said, I'll take away the stony
heart and give you a heart of flesh, a new heart. A new heart,
a tender heart that's sensitive to God, God's word, that loves
God. The affections are changed, as
set on things above, not on things on the earth. Not a worldly,
carnal heart, but a spiritual heart that loves the things of
God. If this is not within you, you're not one of his. If any
man has not the Spirit of Christ, he's not one of his. If you don't
love the things, if you don't love what we're doing here this
morning, I seriously doubt your salvation. A heart, love and affection turn
toward God, turn toward heavenly things. And like I said, that's
not perfect, though. It's not perfect. But it's there. It's there. A mind, a mind, your
mind has been changed. Old way of thinking has been
put away. You've got a new way of thinking. Your thoughts change. Have your thoughts changed about
things? Have your opinion of things,
your opinions of things changed? Sure they have. You think about
things in light of God, in light of eternity, in light of Christ,
don't you? You think about everything in light of Christ. Old things are passed away and
all things become new, a new mind. Are they? A mind of Christ? Do you think on things above?
Do you think about God? Once again, it's not perfect,
but it's there. It didn't used to be there at
all, did it? Take heart. Your eyes have been
changed. Your old eyes, old way of looking
at things. You see things differently, don't
you? Used to be, you saw things the way the world saw it. Everything.
You'd go with the flow, you know. The world would say, let's jump
over a cliff. You'd say, OK, must be the thing
to do. You see things differently. You have your eyes open. You
say, no, it's a cliff! Right? I want to jump off a cliff. You
see, your eyes are open. Old eyes, fleshly, carnal, worldly. The way you're looking at things
has passed away, and you have spiritual vision now. You walk
by faith, not by sight. Somebody says, where are you
going? He says, I'm not sure. What are you looking at? Him. Where are you going? I'm going, I'm thinking for the
sure thing. Oh, it's a cliff. I see you going over a cliff.
I see me going to Christ. Going to heaven. I walk by faith
now, not by sight. Can't trust these eyes. You see,
my eyes are getting worse all the time. I'm thinking about
having that radial keratotomy done, Sherry. My eyes are getting
worse. Someday I may have to wear those big pop-bottle glasses
if something's not done. And all men and women by nature
are born nearsighted. And without these eyes, you don't
see things very clearly, do you? Everything's in a fog, in a fog. Ears, your ears are open. Old
ears are passed away. Used to be you had an ear only
for the things of this world, the clamor and the commotion
and the music and this and that and the other. Used to be, I've
told you this before, used to be I used to love to hear the
Rolling Stones. That's what used to charm my
ears. Think of it. Would you think
of that? That's what used to charm my
ears. Now, when I hear the Rock of Ages, it charms me. years years open
to the Word of God used to you heard listen to the world now
you listen to God. What God's Word saying used to
you listen to the popular opinion now you only live you say I don't
want to hear that. Science you know it's proven
fact that this is this this this is what science is I don't care.
You can give me all the evidence you want to all the scientific
proof and all that you want to. I ain't going to listen to it.
I'm going to listen Because when those sciences are gone and dead
and gone, this will still be around. When what is accepted
as fact today is thought of as foolishness tomorrow, this is
going to be still wise as ages. Right? So you just shut your
ears, like an old pilgrim running out of the city of destruction.
Life, life, eternal life. He didn't want to hear what anybody
had to say. Huh? You say, you're being narrow-minded.
Yeah, that's right. Just as narrow as God's Word.
Just as narrow as Christ. You're being closed minded. That's
exactly right. I'm going to close my ears to everything in this
world. Your hands have changed. Used
to, all you did with these things was for your own personal pleasure
and pleasure and gratification. Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. That's
what you were born doing, wasn't it? Right? First thing you did
with these hands really is grab something for yourself, right?
And unless God changes it, it ain't going to let go of it.
But God changes it. And now you want to give. Give. Feet. Your feet used to
be swift to shed blood. Walk the path everybody else
is walking now. Where are you going? I'll go,
too. This is the well-ridden, this is the wide road. Everybody's
going, OK, I'll go, too. Your feet have changed to walk
in paths of righteousness now. It's a narrow path, a crooked
path, right? And not many people are going,
but that's the path you intend to walk on, isn't it? Huh? Sure
it is. Your mouth, your mouth changes. Your mouth changes. Your speech,
not the size of it, but what comes out of it. Your speech
changes, right? It better. A woman got mad at
me one time for attention to the word luck. I tell you what,
that will get out of the conversation of every believer. That word
luck, chance, accident, no such thing in the conversation, the
talk of a believer. No such thing. You say it's the Lord. Whatever
happens, you'll say, you won't say luck, you'll say it's the
Lord. It's the Lord. The talk changes.
It quits So much cursing and bitterness, too. That will be
gone. Cursing and bitterness. Praise and thanksgiving begins
to replace it. Old things pass away. Old things
become new. Not perfectly. All right. Take
heart, Barbara. You're not perfect yet. It's
obvious. You say that about me, too. But I'm confident that he
hath begun the good work in you. Is there a mouth of praise? Is
there any at all? Can you sing these songs at all
from the heart? I'm confident that he has begun
that good work. You didn't begin it, did you? He has begun the
good work, and he will finish it. Someday when you're in his
presence, you're going to sing, Barbara, from the bottom of your
heart and the top, with a mouth full of praise without a wrong
motive and so forth. And your feet, everything will
be totally then. God, all that old rubbish should
be gone. And you know, the old things
pass away, old friends pass away. It seems to be something that's
hard to let go by people, but they do. I've told you before,
don't you be the one to put away your friend. Don't say, I can't
be with you now, I'm a Christian. You're probably not, if you say
that. Right? You don't have to put
away your friend. I'm telling you, but if you love
Christ and walk with Him and are seeking Him and that's the
direction you're headed, they'll drop you. They'll drop you. Old friends will pass away. All
things become new. I used to think I had friends
until I found out that they weren't friends really at all. They were
just friends for what they could get out of me. Friends because
I like to do the things they like to do. I thought the way
they thought. Right? I've got new friends now. Old
habits. Old habits change. Yeah, they do. Yeah, they do. Old habits change and no doubt
about it. No doubt about it. Old loves
change. All things become new, brand
new. Now, take heart, like I said,
take heart. If you don't see these things
perfect in yourself, all things are not totally new
yet. That new creature, that one that God sees, it's perfect. It's perfect. But it's growing,
and this old, this body of sin and the flesh and the devil who's
the accuser of the brethren and assaults us and so forth on every
hand. I tell you, we're not laboring. We're not wrestling against flesh
and blood, principalities and powers. And a baby can't fight
against those things, right? A baby can't fight against a
strong man. But a stronger than he is your
daddy, is your elder brother. And he says every time, Come
to me, I'll take care of that old bully. I'll take care of
him. If things aren't totally new
yet, and if old things still plague you, it's not you that
do it. It's sin that plagues you. But
you need to ask yourself. You need to ask yourself. Examine
yourself, whether you be of the faith. Know you're not your own
self, Paul said. Christ be in you, except you
be reprobate. Ask yourself this. Is Christ my all or not? Do I
love Christ or not? Do I? If you do, it's because
he first loved you. But you ought to be able to know,
huh? Is Christ your desire? Do you
need this gospel? Do you truly desire and love
and need these things? We need to take a serious inventory
of our own heart. If you do, it's a good hope that
you're in Christ, and he's in you, and this new creature is
within. And he will be in you. If Christ is in you, you're in
Christ, he'll be in you. He'll be in your heart, he'll
be in your mind, he'll be coming out of your mouth. Paul said,
Christ our life, didn't he? Christ our life. And I know this
is all difficult. It has to be experienced. I'm
trying to make it as clear and as plain and as understandable
as possible, but really it has to be experienced. Christ in
you, you ought to know whether or not he means anything to you
or not. You ought to know whether or
not, truly, he's wrought some kind of change within, huh? Sure
you should. OK, stand with me.