The Exceeding Greatness of His Power

Q: What does the Bible say about sanctification?

Sanctification is the work of God that transforms believers, applying the redemption accomplished through Christ. Sanctification is a doctrine that encompasses a threefold work of God: the purpose of the Father, the accomplishment of redemption in the Son, and the application by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1 elaborates on this, demonstrating how God gathers all things in Christ and works everything according to the counsel of His will. It is essential for Christians to understand sanctification, as it involves the continuous empowerment and renewing of believers through the Holy Spirit, moving them to serve God in love and holiness.

Q: How do we know irresistible grace is true?

Irresistible grace is evident in the transformative power of God's calling, moving the dead to spiritual life. The doctrine of irresistible grace asserts that the work of the Holy Spirit in calling and regenerating believers is effectual and cannot be resisted. This is illustrated in the sermon by referencing how, just as Lazarus needed Christ's divine power to escape death, so too do we need God's grace to overcome our spiritual deadness. Ephesians 1 emphasizes the necessity of divine empowerment for understanding and believing the gospel, highlighting that without the Holy Spirit, no individual can come to faith or internalize the truth of God's salvation. The inability of the natural man to comprehend spiritual truths further affirms the necessity of this grace.

Q: Why is understanding the power of God important for Christians?

Understanding God's power reassures Christians of His sovereignty and ability to transform their lives. A deep understanding of the power of God is critical for Christians because it underscores the belief that true change and sanctification come not from human effort but from divine intervention. Ephesians 1:19 discusses the exceeding greatness of God's power that is at work in those who believe, which assures Christians that it is God who animates their faith and empowers their sanctified living. Recognizing this transformative power helps believers to fully rely on God and submit to His will, rather than attempting to live out their faith in their own strength. This reliance fosters spiritual growth and a deeper relationship with Christ.

Q: What does it mean to be sealed by the Holy Spirit?

Being sealed by the Holy Spirit signifies assurance of salvation and a mark of belonging to God. To be sealed by the Holy Spirit represents God's promise and His confirmation of a believer's status as a child of God. Ephesians 1:13-14 discusses this sealing as a guarantee of the inheritance promised to believers, indicating that the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives affirms our relationship with God. This seal is not merely a sign but is an active work of the Holy Spirit, ensuring that the believer is empowered, protected, and marked as belonging to Christ. It instills confidence in Christians regarding their salvation and encourages them to live in a way that reflects this eternal truth.

Q: Why is the concept of total depravity significant in Reformed theology?

Total depravity emphasizes that humanity is completely affected by sin, making divine grace essential for salvation. In Reformed theology, total depravity is significant because it articulates the comprehensive impact of sin on human nature, declaring that every aspect of humanity is corrupted and incapable of reaching God without divine intervention. This doctrine roots the need for grace and highlights the importance of God's sovereign choice in salvation. With total depravity, we recognize that individuals cannot seek God or choose good apart from the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. It showcases the necessity of a Savior and the amazing grace that comes through faith in Christ, as emphasized in Ephesians 2:8-9, which declares salvation as a gift of grace, not a result of works.

And you might want to put a marker
in Ephesians chapter 1 and also in 2 Corinthians chapter
5. Over the past several Sundays,
I've been talking to you on the subject of sanctification. I
don't think there's anybody in here, anybody I've ever met that
doesn't struggle with this thing of sanctification. And so I wanted to set the doctrine
of sanctification before you so that you understood plainly
what it is we're talking about, this threefold work of God, the
purpose an election of God the Father and the accomplishment
of redemption in His Son Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit who
takes those things and applies those things and reveals those
things to our heart. That's what sanctification is. And in my first message, I told
you what this sanctification is. was all about, and then what
I wanted to do, my purpose in this series of messages is having
set the doctrine forth just to walk around it. I just want to
walk around the subject and I want to look at it from different
viewpoints. I want to look at it from its
legal aspect, which I showed you was the basis. This is the
basis. What was the basis for God raising
Christ from the dead? It was a legal basis. It was
a legal basis. He satisfied the justice of God. Isn't that what he said over
in the Book of Romans? It was for our offenses that
he died. But he was raised for our justification. It was a legal issue. So this
power of God that raised him from the dead, it raised him
on a legal basis of satisfaction. He satisfied the justice of God. And he perfectly obeyed the law
of God and provided all for whom he did it a perfect righteousness
and a perfect justification. And so we look at it from its
legal standpoint. And then last week we walked
around a little further and we looked at it from a psychological
point of view. That's a great big word. It just
means how does it work. That's what it means. I wanted
to show you how this thing of sanctification works. And it's through the understanding
of the eternal purpose of God and the person and work of Christ
that that love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit of God. And this love provides us with
the motive. It provides us with what we need
to serve God. You can't, you can't ignorantly
serve God. You can't do it. You just can't
do it. You'll serve self and you'll
serve Satan. Now isn't that what the scriptures
say of those men? They were, those men came to
Christ and they said, we've been not born of fornication. We have
Moses to our father. We have Abraham to our father.
We're, we're Christians. We're, we're godly folks. We
go to church, we preach, we teach. See these broad phylacteries?
That means I graduated from this class and that class and this
class. And this great big stripe over here means I sit under Gamaliel. That's what that means. And our
Lord said, God's not your father. If he was your father, you'd
love me. You don't love me. You despise
me. You're of your father the devil.
That's who you're serving. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. They taught Sunday school. They
met three times a week. They prayed. They fasted. They
read the Bible. They tried to get folks to do
good. They tried to get folks to quit drinking and quit smoking
and quit doing this and quit doing that. They were good folks. He said, you serve your father
the devil. The works of your father you
do. You can't serve God outside of Christ. You can't do it. It
has to be a godly motive. It has to be the love of Christ.
These men didn't have the love of Christ. He said, I know you. I don't need men to tell me what's
in the heart of men. I know what's in the heart of
men. You have not the love of God in you. That's what he told
them. He didn't deny that they were
zealous. Paul didn't either. He said, I bear witness to have
a zeal of God, but it's not according to knowledge. I've got to have motivation in
my heart. I have to have new principles.
I have to have life within. You can't do this thing in the
flesh. It can't be done. So I need to understand how this
thing works, and I need to have these affections born in me.
I have to have these things put in me. I can't generate these
things on my own. And I believe this is far and
away the most important aspect of sanctification. because it's
what moves men to serve. You see, that's the difference
between false faith and real faith. Real faith moves. They
move. Being warned of God, Noah moved. It moved him. He didn't sit on
the corner and say, well, I reckon it might rain. I've never seen
it rain, but maybe it will. He didn't sit over there and
they started talking about, well, you know, what do you think about
rain? Do you think it's possible? No. He was moved with fear. Nobody had to convince him a
rain was coming. He worked on that boat every
day. Every day. Moved. Real faith moves men. Did you know that? It moves men
away from this world and the attractions and the glitter of
it. It moves them to Christ. It moves them. I hear folks talk
all the time about what they did. how much they gave and how
many hours they walked and how many experiences they had. Brethren,
you haven't had anything that don't move you from this world.
You don't have anything. You just have a religious experience
is all you have. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians
chapter 5. Natural man perceives God as
some kind of big, powerful bully. He'll read this book. My sister
read this book, read the Old Testament, and she said, that's
a different God in the Old Testament. Christ is not like the Father
was in the Old Testament. I said, He's the exact image
of God. Same God in the Old Testament
as in the New Testament. But the natural man, when he
reads of the judgments of God and the sovereign will of God
which is declared throughout the Old Testament. They look
on this God and they get this image in their head of this big
bully who gets his way through intimidation and threatening.
That's why they incorporate that in their preaching. All this
threatening and intimidating. The believer perceives God in
Christ as a loving Father. That's the difference. A loving
Father. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, look
at verse 14. He said, For the love of Christ
constraineth us, because we thus judge. That is, we rightly understand. That word judge here is the same
as it is in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. We rightly understand that if
one died for all, then all were dead. What constitutes a dead
man? Let's don't go past this. If
you've missed this, you've missed it all. What constitutes a dead man? Well, physically, he begins to
decay and rot. That's why when the Lord died,
that's why they brought that 100 pounds of ointment. That's
why they anointed Lazarus, and that's why his sisters, when
Christ said, take the stone away, they said, oh no, by now he stinketh. Just the thought of the corrupting
flesh of their brother was more than they could bear. By now
he's rotten. That's a dead man. He's corrupting. He's going back to the dust from
which he was taken. That's the direction he's going.
He's unaffected by the issues of the living. Darkness and light,
heat and cold, hunger and thirst. There's no fear of God before
his eyes. He's dead. He's dead. I can stand up here and preach
till believers' knees tremble and the natural man will just
sit there unaffected. It rolls off him like water off
a duck's back. He's unaffected by the issues
of the living. No fear of God before his eyes.
He's in darkness. That's all he knows is darkness.
He don't know light. He's born in darkness. That's
all he's ever heard is darkness. Our Lord said, if that one opening
that shines into your room is evil, and all that comes through
it is darkness, how great is that darkness? That's all you
know is darkness. That's all you know. He's in darkness, and it's useless
to talk to him about light because he don't know anything about
it. All mobility ceased. Brethren, I've seen a lot of
men and women laying there in the casket. Now, I'm going to
tell you something. I've never seen one yet set up.
I think that'd be frightening, don't you, if one would set up,
suddenly open his eyes. Yeah, I think I'd leave the room.
All mobility. He can't hear. You speak to him,
he can't hear you. You're standing right on top
of him, he can't see you. You want to embrace him, but
his arms don't work anymore. He just lays there. He can't
embrace you. You want him to go home with
you, but he can't walk. All mobility ceased in the dead man. Dead
men are beyond reason. You don't need to go in there
and try to convince him how wrong he was about something. He's
dead. He's dead. Dead men are beyond
the reach of those who love them. Men are dead physically. They're
dead spiritually. We're born in sin. We come forth
from the womb speaking lies. Evil men and seducers wax worse
and worse. We're corrupting from the inside
out. And we begin at birth. We begin
at birth. Void of all these issues of life.
We're not concerned. I'll tell you what we're concerned
with, what's going to be on the table around 12, 1 o'clock. That's
what we're concerned about. We're concerned about what the
temperature is outside. We're concerned with all of these
fleshly things. But none of the issues of life
touch us. Completely void. Beyond the reach
of reason and argument. Neither convinced nor disturbed.
Stiff as a board. He's incapable of the least spiritual
activity. He's got no eyes. Our Lord said
to His disciples, blessed are your eyes for they see. But it's
not been given unto them to see. Not been given unto them to hear.
No mind to understand, no arms to embrace, no feet to run. Like
the man at the pool of Bethesda, he's near, so near to the water
of life, he could almost reach out and touch it. But he had
no arm. He's paralyzed. And he had no
man to put him in. You see what I'm saying? That's
the dead man. That's the dead man. Believers
thus judge that if one died for all, then all were dead. They're
dead. This is what the natural man
doesn't know apart from the revelation of God and this experiential
knowledge that he's dead. And he'll never know deadness
until God gives him life. When God gives him life, he'll
understand deadness. He'll start mourning about what's
in him immediately when God gives him life. He ain't going to mourn.
He don't see anything wrong with himself. I've got a few flaws,
but I, you know, if you just give me a break, I think I can
do a little better. You just be a little more patient
with me and I'll get a haircut and clean up a little better,
dress a little better, you know, maybe circumstances will let... You're dead! Dead! Man don't know he's dead until
he lives. When God gives him life, then
he looks back and he says, And he started telling people, you're
dead. Huh? Boy, you're mad. Boy, you're
mad. It's an experiential knowledge.
This knowledge is an inward revelation of grace. This knowledge brings
to him the reality of his lost estate, his helplessness, his
hopelessness. And men and women who still run
around talking about choosing and free will and all this kind
of baloney. They're dead! They're dead. We quit talking like that when
you're born again. God raises you from the dead. Dead man has nothing to hope
in but the love of God. He'll look back. If God ever
gives you life, you'll look back. Why did He pick me? Huh? Sovereign grace. That's the only
reason you can find. Wasn't nothing in you. He rightly divides the truth
and knows in His heart that if one died for all, then all were
dead. Now watch this. 2 Corinthians
5, verse 15. And that he died for all that
they which live, those given the blessings of life, eyes and
ears and arms and feet and understanding and a broken, contrite heart. That those who live, you see
the difference? They which live should not henceforth
live unto themselves. but unto him which died for them
and rose again." Are you with me so far? Now watch this. Verse 16, word four. Henceforth
know we no man after the flesh. Since all are dead in trespasses
and sins, I cannot judge or make any distinctions based on the
color of a man's skin, male or female, bond or free, religious
or heathen, Jew or Gentile. Because all those distinctions
are taken away in Christ. He broken down the middle wall
of petition that divided the Gentile heathen from the Jew.
He made them all one in Christ. Took away all the distinctions. Now, none of these things distinguish
believers from unbelievers. He can only be discerned by this
experiential knowledge of Christ that has raised Him from the
dead and moves Him to serve the living God. That's the only way
you can know Him. The only way you can know Him.
I tell folks all the time, you're going to, you know, I just don't
know. I don't know if that man's a
believer or not. I don't either. I don't either. Give him about 20 years. I got
a pretty good idea then. I don't want to form one right
now. Since all are dead in trespasses
and sins, I cannot judge or make any distinctions based on any
of these things. It can only be discerned by that
experiential knowledge of Christ that raised him from the dead,
moves him in love to follow Christ unto the grave. So now I've got
this legal basis, this right and privilege to become the Son
of God, and we're moved by love and gratitude to serve Him and
follow Him. Now this morning what I want
to show to you is this. I want to move a little bit further
around this doctrine. I want to get clear over here
on the right-hand side of it where the power is. I want to
talk to you about the power behind sanctification. And this power
is the power of the Holy Spirit of God. I'll tell you, this whole
generation has men convinced that they can do this and they
can do that. You can't do anything apart from
Him. Isn't that what our Lord told
His disciples? You can do nothing without Me.
Nothing. No, you can't. No, you can't.
No, you can't. How come some believe and some
don't? How come some are moved while
others just sit there unaffected? How come sanctification works
in some while it don't seem to take in others? Why is that? Well, this is what the old writers
called irresistible grace. That's what it is. Irresistible
grace. And the Holy Spirit himself is
the agent of sanctification. I'm telling you this, it's utter
lunacy to imagine a fallen son of Adam to sanctify himself. He can't do it. He can't do it. Listen to this, over in Jeremiah
chapter 13, the old prophet said this to the people by the Holy
Ghost. He said, can the Ethiopian change
his skin or the leopard his spots? Can he just sit there and say,
well, I don't want any spots anymore, and they all just fall
off? Is that how it works? This black
man down there, can he just sit there? I'm tired of being black.
I'm tired of being the one on the bottom of the pole. I'm going
to be white for a while. Can he do that? No. He said, then can you do good
that are accustomed to do evil? You can't do it. You can't do
it. You can't by your will accomplish
it. You can't do it. You can't do
it. It takes an act of God. Now that's what it takes. Listen to this. Isaiah chapter
1 verse 5. He said, why should you be stricken
anymore? And I suggest you go home this
afternoon and read that chapter. What all God struck those people
with famines and all these things. None of them drove them back
to Christ. None of them made them do any better. And finally,
he says, why should you be stricken anymore? You'll just revolt more
and more. The whole head's sick and the
whole heart's faint. From the sole of the foot even
to the head, there's no soundness in it. It's just full of wounds
and bruises and putrefied sores. Just old runny sores. Listen to Job. Job 15. Listen to this. What is man that
he should be clean? And he which is born of woman,
that he should be righteous? Behold, he putteth no trust in
his saints. Yea, the heavens are not clean
in his sight. How much more abominable and
filthy is man that drinks iniquity like water? You see what I'm trying to get
across to you? We're dead. until God gives us
life. When He gives you life, He's
going to give you understanding. There's none that understandeth
until God gives you the understanding. When God gives you the understanding,
here's what you're going to understand. You don't want to live like you
were when you were dead. You want to live like you're
supposed to live when you're alive. That's what He's talking
about where in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, you're going to live
unto Him that raised you from the dead, if you're alive. Irresistible grace. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
1. Man is helpless in himself. He's like that woman with the
issue of blood. He spends everything he's got
trying to get rid of this problem that he's got. And he's just
none the better. He's the same as he was when
he started. And so he goes through the press until he finds Christ. He's like Lazarus laying in the
tomb. Nothing short of a work of God
can benefit a dying sinner. Lazarus couldn't help himself.
He had to wait on Christ himself to come to the tomb and speak
to him in divine power and call him out of the tomb. Lazarus didn't need a plan of
salvation. That's what they're talking about
today, the plan of salvation. He didn't need a plan. He needed
life. He needed life. He passed coaxing
down an aisle, he passed counseling, and he was way beyond loving
tears even of his sister and his friends. Only God could do
him any good. Now watch this here in Ephesians
chapter 1. This chapter is one that you
know well. In verses 3 through 12, the apostle
sets before us this threefold work of sanctification, this
purpose of the Father, this purchase and acceptance through the Son,
and then this receiving the benefits of all that was purchased and
purposed by the Holy Spirit of God. That's what he's talking
about in this. Everything God the Father purposed
in eternity, and so on. And it culminated in this gathering
together. That's what the Holy Spirit does.
Gathers together all things in Christ. Both which are in heaven,
which are in earth, which are under, they're all things. Everything's
in His hands. It's being gathered together
to Him. He's purchased them now. The Holy Spirit goes out and
He gathers all that He's purchased. And this gathering goes on clear
to the end of time until all things are gathered to Him, even
under the judgment. Now watch this, Ephesians 1.11,
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise
of his glory who first trusted in Christ, that is, in whom God
the Father first trusted. Verse 13. in whom ye also trusted,
after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, in whom also, after that you believed, you were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise." Now, let's just keep you a marker
there. I want to stop right here for
just a minute. I want to see if I can deal with
this statement of, after that you believed, you were sealed.
That's difficult, isn't it? That's difficult. Because we
know over in Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9, in no uncertain times,
he says, by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. So now wait a minute. I can't
believe apart from the Spirit, so how am I sealed by the Spirit
after I believe? It's kind of a difficult verse,
isn't it? Well, let me see if I can help. When Paul says, after
we believed, he's simply talking about the first part of faith,
which is understanding. It's understanding. He declares
plainly here in these first 11 or 12 verses, he declares what
God purposed to do and what God purchased in His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and how these things are applied to your heart by
the Holy Spirit of God. How this gathering takes place.
And so when he talks about after we believe, he's talking about
the first part of faith, which is understanding. Now you can't
call on him in whom you have not believed, and you can't believe
in him of whom you have not heard, and you can't hear without a
preacher. And he can't preach except he be sent. That's what
Paul's talking about. After that you believe. After
that God gave you an understanding. That understanding He has to
give, you're not going to come up with it on your own. You're
not going to go home and stick your tongue in your jaw and take
your Bible and go get in the closet somewhere with a flashlight
and figure this thing out. It ain't going to happen. It's
going to be declared to you. And then God, the Holy Spirit
and power is going to open your heart and mind to receive it.
It's going to be an experiential knowledge. It's going to be a
knowledge that moves you. that calls you out of the tomb,
that tells you. He told that man, take up your
bed and walk. That man was paralyzed. He couldn't. But he did. There's that man's,
that withered hand, been withered for 30 years. Couldn't move that
hand. Strips forth that hand. He couldn't. But he did. Lazarus come out of that tomb. He couldn't. But it is. That's the difference between
knowing something here and this experiential knowledge that I'm
talking about. This knowledge makes you to feel
your sin. It makes you to experience that
sin within. I don't know how to explain it.
If God ever gives you life, you'll understand it. You'll understand
it. And this is that understanding
that he's talking about. After that you believe, after
that you come to know the purpose of God in Christ after that you
understand why He died and who it was that died. That's the
issue. There's no other issue here.
Who died? Who was raised? Natural men know nothing of the
eternal purpose of God. Never heard about it. Sat in
church all their life. Never heard anybody even mention
it. Take away the purpose of God and nothing's left but chance
and circumstance and evolution. That's it. That's it. I heard a man stand up one night.
He was in a big way in a free will Baptist church doing the
best he could to preach and he stood up and he said, God only
is obligated to call you one time. Huh? God's not obligated to call you
at all. The Word of God says, He worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will. We don't know
anything about God like that. Natural man don't. Natural man
knows nothing of the character of God. To him, God is all love. God is love. I don't deny that.
I believe that. I hope in that. I know that God
is love, but He's not all love. God is all gracious. I beg your
pardon. He's gracious, and He's merciful,
and He's loving. But He ain't all gracious, and
He ain't all merciful, and He ain't all love. God's also just,
and righteous, and holy. There's a lot of things that
make up the character of God. And when we're talking about
redemption, all these things have to stay in harmony. He ain't
like us. We show one attribute and compromise
the other. God's not like that. God operates
in harmony with His attributes of His character. He can't do
anything out of character. That's the only thing God can't
do. He can't cease to be God. He's God. He's not going to break that.
He's not going to compromise His character. Natural man knows nothing of
inflexible justice or perfect righteousness or holiness without
which no man shall see the Lord. And natural men know nothing
about absolute sovereign deity, a potter that has power over
the clay, that can reach down and scoop up the dust and breathe
in it and make one vessel and breathe in it and make a totally
different one. That's sovereign deity. That's God. Cannot I do
with my own what I will? Who art thou that replies against
God? Shall the thing formed say unto
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? He's God. That's what men don't know. I
never knew anything about that. I went to church all my life. Power to hold all men accountable
and power to gather all men over all time into one judgment. Revelation comes before this
thing of seal. Revelation. Understanding. Trust in the Jesus this world
preaches isn't any different than rubbing on a golden calf
or dancing naked before it or looking on a little fat Buddha.
It's the same thing. It's got no basis, got no foundation,
got no understanding. It's just a superstitious imagination
of man. That's all it is. They're just empty dreams, superstitious
hopes, and emotional desires without reason or foundation
or understanding. And the Scripture said, there's
none that understandeth. Boy, that's puzzling, isn't it?
There's none that understandeth. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man the things which
God hath prepared for them that love him. But God, that's what
you need to understand. God hath revealed them unto us
by His Spirit. And that's the only way you can
know. The only way you can know. That's why I say to you all the
time, if God doesn't bless my heart, this message is not going
to bless yours. If he don't speak to my heart, he ain't going to
speak to yours. I've got no power to make these
things effectual. Only God can do that. Everything, everything in Solomon's
temple came from somewhere else. Did you ever think about that? It came from somewhere else.
And it was already finished when it got there. All they had to
do was put it together. It was already done. Already
done. Even so, in the spiritual temple,
faith just puts together what Christ has already done. That's
what faith does. That's how the Spirit, he said,
you're built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Faith, through
the understanding of the Spirit, it puts it together. The things of the Spirit of God
are things already prepared. Isn't that what he says in that
scripture? never entered into the heart of man the things that
God hath prepared for them that love him." They're already prepared.
They're already prepared. And a natural man cannot be saved
because he receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.
The things that's prepared for him, he won't receive them. That's
why he can't be saved. His can't is because he won't.
That's the can't. and the Word of God. These are
the things of the Spirit, the Word of God inspired by the Spirit. Try to shut a man up to the Word
of God sometimes. Just sit down at the table with
him, open up the book, and try to shut him up to the Word of
God. You can't do it. Well, it just seems to me... Who cares what it seems to you?
Let's look in the book and see what God says. Let's see what
God says. That's the things of the Spirit
is the Word of God, the preacher of the Gospel. He's of the Spirit. It pleased God through the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Natural man, he won't receive
those things because they're foolishness to him. To them that
perish, the preaching of the cross is foolishness. He just
looks at them. What do you mean, I can't understand? You can't understand, that's
what I mean. I meant what I said. Now go back to Ephesians 1. After that you believed, you
were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Two things. Number
one, the Holy Spirit of God Himself is the promise. He is the promise. Our Lord said to His disciples
over in John chapter 16, He said, It's expedient for you that I
go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto
you. But if I depart, I'll send Him unto you. And when He has
come, He will come. Because God cannot lie. Christ said, If I go away, I'm
going to send Him. Alright? When He's come, He's going to
convince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. There's not going
to be any convention apart from Him. When He's come, He's not going
to speak of Himself. He's going to take the things
of mine and show them unto you, and He's going to glorify me,
and so are you. The Holy Spirit of promise comes
to seal His elect. Because you're sons of God, He
sends forth His Spirit into your hearts, crying, And then secondly,
he seals us with the promise, the Holy Spirit of promise. Is
Christ in you the hope of glory? He takes that promise and unveils
it in your heart. Christ is my hope. He's my hope. I don't know any other way of
knowing if a man truly believes except to watch him. If he truly
believes, Russell, he's going to be moved. you're going to
be moved to rejoice in Christ. He's not going to be able to
sit under the preaching of foolishness. I'm not even going to bother
trying to tell you what church is what. You'll discover that
on your own if God ever gives you an understanding. Nobody
will have to put a sign out here. You'll figure it out. You'll
figure it out. I couldn't stand it, could you?
I just couldn't stand it. I see so much foolishness in
it, I couldn't stand it. He causes that promise of Christ
to become all. Christ is all. That's what he
said over in Colossians chapter 2. He's all. He's moved. That man's moved
by the Holy Spirit of God. He's purged from dead works to
serve the living God. when the Holy Spirit, that is
figuratively speaking, when the Holy Spirit sprinkles the blood
of Christ on his heart by faith. And brother, you don't need to
preach anything else to him until he dies. Just tell him about
Christ and he's happy. He's happy. If you can stand
up here and say it in eloquence, he's happy. If you can stand
up here and just mutter through it, he's happy. He's happy. Because he's happy in Christ.
He's happy with the promise. He's happy with the revelation. Ephesians 1, 15, Wherefore I
also, after that I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, now
watch this, and love unto all the saints. Because that's the
effect of it. I cease not to give thanks for
you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the
Spirit..." Little s. See that? He's not talking about
the Holy Spirit there. He's talking about your understanding,
your perception. "...may give unto you the Spirit
of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him the eyes of
your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the
hope of His calling, that is the reason for it, the means
of it, the design of it, and the power of it. And what the
riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, a people just
like Christ for the glory of His great name. Now watch this,
verse 19. And what is the exceeding greatness
of His power to usward who believe according to the working of His
mighty power." What kind of power does it take to call us out of our depravity
and darkness into His light? What kind of power does it take?
Watch this. "...which He brought in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead." and seated Him at His own right
hand. That same power, William, by which God, on this legal basis, and in love, and in purpose of
mind, that same power by which God raised Him from the dead,
that same power is what it takes to resurrect our sinners, just
like you and me. from our dead depravity into
His light. Same power. Same power. Calls us out of darkness. Translates
us into the kingdom of His dear Son. To believe on Christ is
a divine work and it moves those who cannot be moved to commit
themselves totally into the arms of Christ. Their future their
destiny, their preservation, their acceptance, their lives,
and all the lives of those who are affected by them. The whole
shooting match gives it to Christ. And brother, you can't do that
apart from a divine work. You can't do it. A perfect example of this, and
I'll close with this, The rich young ruler come to Christ and
he said, good master, what must I do to be saved? And the Lord
said, well, you can keep the law. And he said, which one? All of it. But our Lord was merciful
to him. And he just gave him two or three.
He said, well, all those I've done from my youth up. Huh? That's great. He said, now, take
everything you've got and go sell it. Take all the proceeds,
give it to the poor, and take up your cross and follow me.
Huh? He couldn't do it, could he?
Neither can we. I'll tell you when you can do
it, when he gives you life. He gives you life, you can take
the whole sheet, man. You can take yourself, your fortune,
your business, your children, your wife, the circumstances
of life and death, all things. Diseases, no diseases, whatever
it is. You can take the whole shooting
mat and you say, here it is. Here it is. Here it is. And you can take up his cross
and follow him. Now that's what it means to be
saved. That's what it means to be sanctified.
And I'm telling you this right now, you can't do it on your
own. It takes the power of God. The power of God. And when that
power comes, when it comes, it's going to come with an understanding.
An understanding of who you are, and who He is, and what He's
done. And an understanding of His love,
and His grace, and His mercy, and His justice, and His righteousness. And when it's over, you're going
to take the whole sheet of magic, and say, here it is. And you're going to see in Him
something you can't see anywhere else. And you're going to be
so awed by it, you're going to follow Him and seek Him until
you die. And before it's over, you're
going to long in your heart to be just like Him. Just like Him. Father, take the words this morning.
I've delivered them the best I know how. Bless these words. Accompany
these words by your spirit. We know that no matter how we
say it, no matter how good we say it, or how bad we say it,
it's not going to have any effect on the hearts of men apart from
your spirit. Be pleased today to carry this
message home to the hearts of those gathered here this morning,
for Christ's sake. Amen.

The Exceeding Greatness of His Power

What does the Bible say about sanctification?

How do we know irresistible grace is true?

Why is understanding the power of God important for Christians?

What does it mean to be sealed by the Holy Spirit?

Why is the concept of total depravity significant in Reformed theology?

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The Exceeding Greatness of His Power

What does the Bible say about sanctification?

How do we know irresistible grace is true?

Why is understanding the power of God important for Christians?

What does it mean to be sealed by the Holy Spirit?

Why is the concept of total depravity significant in Reformed theology?

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About Darvin Pruitt

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