No Condemnation for Those Who Are in Christ - CREFLO DOLLAR
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00:00:00 (congregation applauding)
00:00:03 Father, thank You for this another opportunity
00:00:12 to minister to these, Your precious sheep.
00:00:16 Thank You, Lord, that revelation knowledge will flow freely,
00:00:21 uninterrupted and unhindered
00:00:24 by the satanical demonic force.
00:00:28 And Father, I pray that You will speak through my vocal cords
00:00:31 and think through my mind.
00:00:32 None of me, all of You.
00:00:37 Thank You, Lord, that You've received our praise
00:00:40 and our worship.
00:00:41 And on every ear to hear
00:00:45 and to be encouraged through Your Word.
00:00:49 In Jesus' name we pray.
00:00:52 And everybody said, amen.
00:00:54 Praise God, you may be seated.
00:00:57 (congregation applauding)
00:01:00 If you have your Bibles, go with me to the book
00:01:03 of 1 John chapter 3 and verse 20.
00:01:06 1 John chapter 3 and verse 20.
00:01:09 Today I'm gonna start a series on condemnation
00:01:13 and the danger of condemnation
00:01:14 and how to get free from condemnation
00:01:16 and what the Word has to say about condemnation
00:01:19 because I discovered that a lot of times people,
00:01:23 even when they come to church,
00:01:25 they're dealing with self-condemnation.
00:01:27 And Jesus has taken care of that for us,
00:01:31 but we've got to recognize how it works.
00:01:34 We've been talking about the nature of sin.
00:01:39 Every speaker that has come in the last couple of weeks
00:01:42 have picked up right where we are.
00:01:44 And this is important so that the enemy is not going
00:01:48 to distract us and attack us where our identity is concerned.
00:01:53 We know that we are the righteousness of God
00:01:55 and we are in Christ Jesus, amen?
00:01:58 So today I wanna talk to you about no condemnation
00:02:03 for those who are in Christ.
00:02:05 No condemnation for those who are in Christ.
00:02:09 And if you have your Bibles, look together with me
00:02:12 at 1 John chapter 3 and verse 20.
00:02:16 And he says, "For if our heart condemn us,
00:02:21 "God is greater than our heart.
00:02:25 "And he knoweth all things."
00:02:30 Now that Scripture used to concern me,
00:02:36 that part where it says, "And he knoweth all things."
00:02:39 Think about that.
00:02:41 God knows all things.
00:02:42 He knows all things about you.
00:02:45 He knows all things about me.
00:02:49 And you can't, we can't hide anything
00:02:54 because he knows all things.
00:02:58 Well, you don't have to be concerned about that
00:03:03 in a negative way because he knows all things.
00:03:08 He's the one that can help you with everything.
00:03:11 Okay, think about it that way now.
00:03:16 Because he knows all things,
00:03:19 he can help you with all things.
00:03:22 Regardless of the things you're going through,
00:03:25 God can help you with all things.
00:03:27 Please understand, not only can he help you with all things,
00:03:31 he wants to help you with all things.
00:03:33 Let's stop looking at God as the one
00:03:35 who's trying to make you feel bad,
00:03:37 he's trying to send you to hell.
00:03:39 That's not the God in heaven.
00:03:42 He wants you to make it.
00:03:45 He wants to help you with everything.
00:03:47 Don't get to the point where you're like,
00:03:49 "Well, I'm doing this thing, but I'm gonna hide it from God."
00:03:51 You can't hide nothing from God.
00:03:52 He knows all things, not to beat you up with it.
00:03:55 He knows all things not to condemn you with it.
00:03:58 He knows all things so he can help you with everything.
00:04:02 Amen?
00:04:04 God knows why we are struggling in certain areas,
00:04:09 and therefore he is also able to help us with everything.
00:04:14 Now, here's one of the things that I've realized.
00:04:17 People have--maybe they have a--and this is something where
00:04:23 we need to become more empathetic.
00:04:25 Maybe people have a habit of sin because of what they
00:04:29 experienced as a child.
00:04:32 Maybe there's a reason behind why people do what they do.
00:04:40 Okay, all you see is, "Well, bless God,
00:04:42 they're on those drugs."
00:04:43 But maybe there was something that happened
00:04:45 that you don't know about.
00:04:48 Or, you know, you know, why are they so hateful all the time
00:04:53 and hurtful and so mean?
00:04:55 Maybe you don't know what happened.
00:04:58 And I think as Christian people, before we want to go after
00:05:03 somebody because they're not keeping all the rules perfectly,
00:05:08 let's ask God for some empathy to stand in their shoes
00:05:11 for a moment and say, "Well, as children,
00:05:16 they went through this.
00:05:18 You know, as a teen, they went through that.
00:05:21 Okay, maybe they're not a prostitute for no reason at all.
00:05:25 Maybe something happened."
00:05:28 And God knows about all of those things,
00:05:31 and he is in the process of helping them with those things.
00:05:36 But church, let's not make it harder for people
00:05:39 to be transformed.
00:05:40 Let's make it easier for people to be transformed and encourage
00:05:44 them to say, "God is going to help you out."
00:05:46 Amen?
00:05:47 And so, those people may need healing.
00:05:52 They may need healing, not condemnation.
00:05:59 And as a church, we want to be for people being healed,
00:06:04 not a part of the condemnation that they have.
00:06:07 I'm sure they get enough.
00:06:10 Self-effort--listen to me carefully.
00:06:12 This is so, so, so important.
00:06:14 Self-effort won't bring the changes that we're looking for
00:06:19 in our lives, and I know we think that they will.
00:06:23 Self-effort won't bring the changes.
00:06:25 We're so busy trying to come up with the plan
00:06:32 to make the changes, and I'm not saying that's necessarily wrong,
00:06:35 but there are two things that we have to do,
00:06:38 I believe, according to the book of John chapter 8,
00:06:41 verse 32, and then verse 36, it identified something.
00:06:44 I never saw this before until, I think it was Friday.
00:06:49 John chapter 8, 32, two things that need to happen if you want
00:06:52 to see this transformation take place.
00:06:54 Number one, Christ in them, Christ in them.
00:07:00 Number two, the truth of whom they are in Christ,
00:07:08 the truth of who you are, who you are in Christ.
00:07:12 Two things that need to take place.
00:07:14 Christ in you, all right, and then secondly,
00:07:18 understanding the truth of your identity or the truth
00:07:20 of who you are.
00:07:21 I'm telling you, those two things right there,
00:07:23 those two things right there will see transformation
00:07:26 in your life.
00:07:27 I love this, in verse 8, John 8, 32, he says,
00:07:31 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth
00:07:33 shall make you free."
00:07:35 You need to know the truth about who you are.
00:07:39 You need to know the truth about who you are in Christ.
00:07:44 You need to know the truth of grace.
00:07:46 You can't separate grace from truth.
00:07:48 I mean, Jesus is full of grace and truth.
00:07:50 It's not two entities.
00:07:52 Grace is truth.
00:07:53 You will never find grace without truth,
00:07:55 but grace and truth, they go together.
00:07:57 They are synonymous in a sense.
00:07:59 They go together.
00:08:01 So, Jesus is full of grace and truth,
00:08:03 and if you're understanding grace,
00:08:05 you'll be empowered to change, and when you understand
00:08:08 the grace of God, you understand the truth of God,
00:08:11 if you shall know--let me say this.
00:08:14 Watch this, you'll know what I'm doing.
00:08:16 If you--you shall know grace, and this grace shall
00:08:18 make you free.
00:08:21 Yeah, and this grace has changed our lives,
00:08:25 and we have a new identity.
00:08:27 You need to know that you're the righteousness of God.
00:08:30 When you know that, when you know that truth,
00:08:32 transformation can take place.
00:08:34 When you know that you're in Christ Jesus,
00:08:36 transformation can take place, but then also in verse 36,
00:08:39 look at this.
00:08:41 He says in verse 36, John 8, 36, he says,
00:08:44 "If the Son therefore shall make you free,
00:08:48 you shall be free indeed."
00:08:51 So, my dependence upon the Son, Jesus Christ,
00:08:54 to make me free, I will be free indeed.
00:08:58 So, self-effort won't bring the changes in your life,
00:09:00 but Christ in you will bring the change.
00:09:03 You remember?
00:09:04 Christ in you, the hope of glory,
00:09:06 or the earnest expectation of a manifestation.
00:09:10 It's not just you're going around saying, "I'm saved,"
00:09:13 but it's also you going around and say, "Christ is in me.
00:09:17 I have a realization.
00:09:19 I have received that. I believe that Christ is in me."
00:09:23 Now, when you begin to understand and believe that
00:09:25 Christ is in you, freedom is what comes.
00:09:29 Freedom is what comes.
00:09:31 Christ is in me.
00:09:32 And you start reminding yourself, "Christ is in me."
00:09:34 Every time you do something crazy, "Wait a minute.
00:09:36 Christ is in me.
00:09:37 Christ is in me.
00:09:38 I don't have to do this anymore.
00:09:39 I have a new creation in me.
00:09:41 I have a new nature in me.
00:09:42 Christ is in me.
00:09:44 I have an earnest expectation of some manifestations.
00:09:47 I can be transformed because Christ is in me, number one.
00:09:50 I can be transformed because Christ is in me.
00:09:54 That means I'm not the same.
00:09:55 I'm the righteousness of God.
00:09:56 I've been redeemed.
00:09:58 I am holy. I am perfect.
00:10:00 I am--my stance before him is awesome.
00:10:03 I'm just like him.
00:10:04 I'm heaven ready.
00:10:05 Christ is--Christ in me is my hope of glory.
00:10:10 We have been conditioned to think--and Lord,
00:10:15 help me to explain this.
00:10:16 We've been conditioned to think that I need to do something in
00:10:21 order to change.
00:10:22 Now, let me add to that.
00:10:24 What I need to do is believe that Jesus has already done
00:10:28 everything for my transformation.
00:10:31 And as I am believing that he has done everything for my
00:10:34 transformation--now, watch this.
00:10:36 The rest of it is a matter of yielding because he's gonna
00:10:41 show me--he's in me, so he's gonna give me wisdom.
00:10:45 He's gonna show me what I need to do and what I don't need to
00:10:48 do.
00:10:49 He's gonna begin to lead me.
00:10:50 He's gonna begin to guide me.
00:10:51 That's why it's a personal relationship.
00:10:54 We're not talking about you don't do nothing.
00:10:56 Just make sure you're following him, yielding to him.
00:11:00 You know, when you're driving a car, to yield is let that car go
00:11:03 first and then you follow.
00:11:04 And, well, the transformation is, well, let Christ go first
00:11:07 and follow.
00:11:08 See, our relationship with him is a following relationship,
00:11:13 a yielding relationship.
00:11:14 And what happens?
00:11:15 He begins to lead and guide us into all the truths.
00:11:20 And the transformation takes place.
00:11:22 See, he's doing something at the same time.
00:11:24 He's not only leading and guiding you to what you need to
00:11:27 be doing, but he's also showing you what's true and what's not
00:11:32 true.
00:11:34 He's also convincing you that that's not your nature anymore.
00:11:39 You don't do that anymore.
00:11:41 God wants you to be free.
00:11:45 Let's follow him.
00:11:47 He loves you.
00:11:48 He's not trying to beat you up, whoop you, and get you back.
00:11:52 He wants you to experience the greatest of transformation, and
00:11:57 don't forget to give him the glory.
00:11:59 Okay?
00:12:00 Now, let's get into this.
00:12:07 1 John chapter 3, verse 19 through 21.
00:12:11 Let's see this now.
00:12:13 Verse 19, I'm gonna read through 21.
00:12:18 He says, "And hereby we know that we are of the truth and
00:12:25 shall assure our hearts before him.
00:12:29 For if our heart condemn us," that's interesting, "if our
00:12:35 heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and he knoweth
00:12:42 all things," verse 21.
00:12:45 "Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence
00:12:53 towards God."
00:12:56 So, we're talking about the heart.
00:13:00 "When we are full of condemnation, our hearts are not
00:13:05 at rest before God."
00:13:06 I dare to ask the question, but has anybody ever in your life
00:13:10 experienced condemnation?
00:13:12 Of course, yes, amen.
00:13:13 You don't have to raise your hand.
00:13:15 I already know.
00:13:16 "When our hearts are full of condemnation, we're not at rest."
00:13:24 We're not at rest.
00:13:25 I don't know if you can remember and recall how excruciating
00:13:30 it is to walk around feeling condemned, feeling like you're
00:13:37 not useful anymore, feeling like in the eyes of heaven you don't
00:13:43 matter anymore, coming up with all the reasons to feel like a
00:13:48 building that the local government condemned and said,
00:13:53 "It is not use for occupancy anymore."
00:13:57 And some Christians feel like that.
00:13:59 They feel like, you know, "Y'all just don't understand what I've
00:14:03 done," and you keep your own secrets, but between you and God
00:14:07 you just feel like, you know, "How can God use me, and why
00:14:11 would God want to use anybody like me?"
00:14:14 And what Taffi and I are trying to do is give you a lot of
00:14:17 reasons to get up, not to stay down, but to get up.
00:14:24 And I want you so encouraged this morning, man, that, you
00:14:28 know, when you feel condemned and you're walking around in
00:14:31 condemnation, and a lot of it may come from your past, or a
00:14:35 lot of it comes from things that you regret, "I wish I hadn't
00:14:38 have done that," or "I can't believe I did that."
00:14:41 And then what happens if you don't know how to rest before
00:14:45 God in your heart, that condemnation, no matter how far
00:14:50 you get, you get a Word, God speaks to you, you understand
00:14:54 something, you sense the anointing, and then the
00:14:58 condemnation comes to seem to try to steal it all from you.
00:15:02 This is something that is so vital that we learn how to rest
00:15:07 in our hearts.
00:15:10 And so, I want you to notice, according to this Scripture,
00:15:14 who does the condemning?
00:15:18 Notice he said this, man, "Who condemns us?"
00:15:21 according to 1 John.
00:15:22 Is it God that condemns us?
00:15:23 No.
00:15:25 Is it Jesus that condemns us?
00:15:27 No.
00:15:29 Is it the Holy Spirit?
00:15:30 I've heard that.
00:15:31 Is it the Holy Spirit that condemns us?
00:15:33 No.
00:15:34 According to this Scripture, it is our heart.
00:15:41 It is our heart that condemns us.
00:15:44 What we experience is something called self-condemnation, and
00:15:51 there are lots of people coming to church full of
00:15:53 self-condemnation.
00:15:56 And I don't want you to continue to wake up every day and have to
00:16:01 deal with self-condemnation, allowing your heart to
00:16:07 condemn you.
00:16:09 I can't tell you when--I found myself in a point in my life
00:16:13 where I was right there with self-condemnation, shame, guilt.
00:16:18 It's not--it's tormenting.
00:16:22 It's tormenting.
00:16:23 You walk around, you have the motion of a Christian, but your
00:16:28 heart condemns you.
00:16:30 And so, any time an attack from the devil comes, you don't even
00:16:34 fight back because your heart condemns you, telling you
00:16:37 you deserve it.
00:16:40 You earned that, buddy.
00:16:43 But let me show you something.
00:16:44 I want to--I'm going to use this illustration of the woman caught
00:16:47 in the act of adultery.
00:16:48 Go to John chapter 8.
00:16:52 In fact, let's start--let's read the whole thing.
00:16:54 John chapter 8, verse 3.
00:16:58 Let's start at verse 3.
00:17:01 And I just want to--this is amazing 'cause what I'm about to
00:17:04 tell you is going to require you to really believe it.
00:17:07 John chapter 8, verse 3, "Are you ready to be free from
00:17:11 condemnation for the rest of your life?"
00:17:15 Amen.
00:17:16 Now, condemnation is waiting outside as soon as the service
00:17:19 is over with now.
00:17:21 You understand now, as soon as it's over with now.
00:17:24 Verse 3 says, "And the scribes and the Pharisees brought unto
00:17:28 him a woman taken in adultery.
00:17:32 And when they had set her in the mist--" Now, isn't it amazing
00:17:37 that the Scripture amplifies the fact that the woman became the
00:17:43 main character to this story?
00:17:46 She had to be doing it with somebody.
00:17:48 And since they took her in the very act of adultery--I mean,
00:17:54 what happened to old dude?
00:17:55 Did he run?
00:17:57 'Cause he knew the law.
00:17:59 The law was, "You're supposed--this is your last day."
00:18:03 But they again amplified the woman.
00:18:05 They say unto him, "Master, this woman was taken in adultery in
00:18:09 the very act."
00:18:13 Now, Moses in the law commanded us under the law that such
00:18:18 should be stoned.
00:18:21 Legally, that's what should have happened that day.
00:18:24 That's what could have happened that day.
00:18:26 Legally be stoned, and they were trying to catch Jesus, you know,
00:18:31 and just kind of make him look kind of bad, you know.
00:18:36 He says, "But what sayeth thou?"
00:18:39 The law says she should be stoned.
00:18:41 You say you're from God, "What sayeth thou?"
00:18:45 Now, watch this.
00:18:46 This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse
00:18:51 him, "But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger he wrote on
00:18:55 the ground as though he heard them not."
00:19:00 Now, notice this.
00:19:01 Watch this now.
00:19:02 This is so awesome.
00:19:03 What is he gonna do?
00:19:05 "So when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and
00:19:08 said unto them, 'He that is without sin among you, let him
00:19:12 first cast a stone at her.'"
00:19:14 Watch what Jesus did.
00:19:16 He took their attention off the woman being stoned and put the
00:19:21 attention on them.
00:19:23 That's interesting 'cause a lot of times when I try to talk to
00:19:30 people about the gospel of grace and they wanna get very holier
00:19:33 than thou as they defend their reasons for living by the law,
00:19:39 you know, all I have to do is just turn the attention on them.
00:19:44 Well, are you saying that you're perfect when they go with, you
00:19:48 know, big sin, little sin?
00:19:50 You have to say big sin, little sin to try to justify yourself
00:19:54 as being all right.
00:19:56 Look what he said.
00:19:58 He put the attention on them because when the attention is
00:20:04 not on you, you're so ready and willing to condemn other people.
00:20:09 How you judge and condemn other people is when the attention is
00:20:16 not on you, but somehow before you start condemning and judging
00:20:22 other people, if you'll pay attention to you, you're not so
00:20:27 quick to wanna do that to somebody else.
00:20:31 And I don't know how we still do that.
00:20:33 I don't understand how we still do that.
00:20:36 They used to say this in the Baptist church, "Sweep off your
00:20:39 own front porch before you try to sweep off mine."
00:20:43 In other words, pay attention to your porch and leave my porch
00:20:47 alone and you'll be a lot more merciful at somebody else's
00:20:51 porch if you start looking at yours.
00:20:56 But in this society, when you're operating by the law, you know,
00:21:00 condemnation is a part of the law.
00:21:02 The law came and it condemned.
00:21:04 What an awesome, awesome Lord to know exactly what to do.
00:21:10 How do I get around this without violating the law because I'm
00:21:14 supposed to be fulfilling all of the law and still, you know,
00:21:18 see the mercy and grace come?
00:21:19 He says, "Easy, I'm gonna put the attention on them and take
00:21:25 their attention off of stoning this lady."
00:21:29 And then let's see what happened as a result of this.
00:21:31 Look at the next verse.
00:21:34 "And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground."
00:21:38 So now they're thinking about themselves now.
00:21:41 "And they which heard it being convicted by their own
00:21:45 conscience went out one by one, beginning at the eldest."
00:21:51 So somebody said, "Well, why did the old people leave first?"
00:21:56 Why did the old people leave first?
00:22:01 Because they knew they had a whole bunch of sin.
00:22:04 So when they started looking at themselves, they said,
00:22:08 "Yeah, yeah, let me go."
00:22:13 Now the younger ones were the last to leave because they were
00:22:15 still hanging in there with charisma, you know, and
00:22:19 eventually they said, "Yeah, we gotta go too."
00:22:21 This is so important, folks, because Jesus turned their focus
00:22:28 away from the woman and over to themselves, and if we think we
00:22:32 ourselves are perfect in ourselves, then we will be
00:22:36 harder on other people.
00:22:38 Did you hear what I just said?
00:22:41 You're gonna be harder on other people when you think you're
00:22:43 perfect within yourself.
00:22:45 So we all need God's grace, and this will cause more compassion
00:22:50 with other people's weaknesses.
00:22:53 And the church needs compassion with other people's weaknesses.
00:22:57 And let me say this, you need some compassion with the
00:23:01 preacher's weaknesses too.
00:23:03 Yes, you do.
00:23:05 Why in the world would you ever think the preachers are supposed
00:23:10 to be perfect?
00:23:12 Why would you do that?
00:23:15 Why would you do that?
00:23:17 The preacher ain't nobody but somebody that's been called out
00:23:22 from amongst you with an anointing to do the job.
00:23:28 It's your fault for thinking that he perfect in the first
00:23:31 place.
00:23:32 He ain't never been perfect.
00:23:33 He ain't gonna never be perfect.
00:23:35 He growing just like you growing.
00:23:43 Well, he should be.
00:23:44 See there?
00:23:45 That's 'cause you think you are.
00:23:48 See, what you're saying is that if I was a preacher, I would.
00:23:51 Now, don't look at me funny.
00:24:00 I done came a long way.
00:24:02 Y'all remember the kind of words I used to use on the pulpit?
00:24:07 You knew a long time ago I wasn't flawless.
00:24:13 But when you encounter this grace, you start--this is how I
00:24:24 see it.
00:24:25 Let me say it like this.
00:24:27 You start shedding sin like a dog sheds hair when the seasons
00:24:35 change.
00:24:36 And your season is changing.
00:24:41 And the stuff you used to wear, you don't have it no more
00:24:46 because you start shedding that stuff.
00:24:49 And when the Holy Ghost comes and start brushing you, it all
00:24:52 ends up in the brush and you're walking a lot lighter because
00:24:57 what you used to do and be, you are not that way no more because
00:25:04 of this wonderful, magnificent grace of God.
00:25:07 Now, please understand something.
00:25:14 Jesus doesn't excuse people of their errors.
00:25:18 Let me say it like this while we go to Hebrews 4:15.
00:25:21 Sin has consequences.
00:25:25 I think sometimes Christians think that, "Oh, under the grace
00:25:28 of God, I can sin and cool.
00:25:36 I can have the--well, I hate to use it, but I can have the
00:25:38 license to sin."
00:25:39 No, sin still has consequences.
00:25:43 God has forgiven you.
00:25:44 God shows grace and mercy towards you, but sin in the
00:25:49 natural still has consequences.
00:25:51 There are consequences.
00:25:53 And somebody says, "Grace, grace."
00:25:55 Hallelujah.
00:25:56 And mercy will show up and, you know, I'll talk about that in a
00:26:01 moment, but it's not like God's like saying, "Oh, it's okay.
00:26:06 You did that," in a sense.
00:26:07 He's still striving for you to reach your stance.
00:26:12 Are you understanding what I'm saying?
00:26:14 He still wants--holiness is still an objective of grace.
00:26:20 Now, he's not gonna beat you up.
00:26:22 He's not gonna condemn you.
00:26:23 You ain't gonna lose nothing.
00:26:25 But holiness is still an objective of grace.
00:26:29 I don't ever want you to have in your mind, "Oh, praise the Lord.
00:26:32 I'm under grace, so I'm gonna go sin 'cause I'm under grace."
00:26:37 Well, you have just given us proof positive that you're not
00:26:40 under grace because what grace does is teaches you how to live
00:26:45 godly.
00:26:46 Now, you might fall while you're on that journey, but you're
00:26:50 learning how to live godly.
00:26:51 You're learning how to live righteous.
00:26:53 You're learning how to carry yourself in a certain way.
00:26:56 You're learning.
00:26:57 You know, I know in the process of learning, you might fall.
00:27:00 When you learn how to walk, you fell a couple times.
00:27:02 Your mama didn't beat you and kick you and say, "You better
00:27:04 not fall again."
00:27:05 No, no, they just picked you up again and say, "Come on, let's
00:27:08 try it again."
00:27:09 Pick you up again, "Come on, try it again."
00:27:11 Now, sometimes you fall, and you might hurt something.
00:27:14 You might hit your elbow.
00:27:15 You might bust your lip.
00:27:17 I did that, falling.
00:27:18 But eventually, you'll learn how to walk, and you won't fall
00:27:20 and bust your lip no more.
00:27:22 That's this journey of grace.
00:27:24 It is not God that's beating you up because you fell, 'cause he
00:27:27 knows that the part of learning how to walk is falling.
00:27:30 A part of learning how to run is walking.
00:27:32 And he's patient with you.
00:27:34 He's there with you.
00:27:35 He's not beating you up.
00:27:37 He's not doing all those things, but, you know, it's not okay for
00:27:40 somebody that's 10 not knowing how to walk.
00:27:50 But neither do we adopt the religious view that says,
00:27:57 "You sin.
00:27:59 You're going to hell."
00:28:03 And every time something bad happens, see, that's why that
00:28:05 happened, and you just feel worse and worse.
00:28:10 And part of you says, "All right, I sinned.
00:28:12 Dear God, if I can go back and fix it, I would, but I can't go
00:28:15 back and do nothing about it.
00:28:16 It's done, it's done, and they just beat me up, and they hate
00:28:20 me, and they dog at me, and they talk--that ain't how that
00:28:23 happened."
00:28:24 What we should do is take the part of everybody else.
00:28:27 The Bible says, "Restore such a one in a spirit of meekness,
00:28:32 because if it were not for the Lord, you might be the same
00:28:35 person."
00:28:36 So, as soon as you have an opportunity to help somebody up,
00:28:40 help somebody up.
00:28:41 Why?
00:28:42 'Cause when you fall, you need somebody to help you up, and if
00:28:45 we all busy helping everybody up, the devil ain't got a
00:28:48 chance.
00:28:49 Even if we enter in holding everybody up, we're gonna be
00:28:53 all right.
00:28:55 So, Jesus doesn't excuse people of their errors, but the Bible
00:29:03 says that he has compassion on us.
00:29:05 Look at Hebrews 4:15.
00:29:06 He has compassion on us.
00:29:09 He knows everything, right?
00:29:11 So, he know--he can go back 40 years and say, "Man, that's what
00:29:15 caused this right here."
00:29:18 He knows that, and they've been doing pretty good.
00:29:21 They're working their way up.
00:29:23 Yeah, yeah.
00:29:27 Come on, I gotta help 'em up, 'cause I know what happened back
00:29:31 there.
00:29:32 They're gonna be all right, but I also gotta help 'em up because
00:29:36 that thing could kill 'em one day.
00:29:38 I gotta help 'em up because that could make it worse one day,
00:29:44 because the consequences of sin in the natural is working on,
00:29:48 killing, stealing, and destroying.
00:29:50 Y'all see what I'm saying?
00:29:53 But it's not God's heart that says, "Now you get that.
00:29:56 How many lashes you get?"
00:29:57 That's not God.
00:29:59 Here's what he says, "For we have not a high priest which
00:30:05 cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmity."
00:30:07 The high priest we have can be touched with everything we've
00:30:10 ever gone through.
00:30:12 The high priest that we have can be touched with that broken
00:30:16 heart.
00:30:17 He can be touched with that sadness.
00:30:19 He can be touched with you feeling inferior, feeling like
00:30:22 you don't matter, feeling like nobody cares, feeling like--he
00:30:25 can be touched with all of that, and he's so awesome because if
00:30:28 you'll give him the attention more than giving yourself
00:30:30 attention, that's why self-pity will rob you.
00:30:34 Self-pity will rob you of what God can do for you right in the
00:30:37 middle of what you're going through.
00:30:39 And when you're in self-pity, you can't see what nobody else
00:30:41 is going through 'cause you're so busy looking at yourself.
00:30:44 Wednesday night, we talked about this five--these five words
00:30:46 that'll change your life.
00:30:47 "Behold the Lamb of God," but you can't behold the Lamb of
00:30:51 God because you're so busy beholding yourself.
00:30:55 In order to behold the Lamb of God, you gotta stop
00:30:57 beholding you.
00:30:58 And there are a lot of times in your life where you have to stop
00:31:00 beholding you, your situation, your circumstances.
00:31:03 Nobody knows the trouble I've seen.
00:31:07 Nobody knows what I'm going through.
00:31:09 Oh, nobody knows, and it feels so weird when you bump into
00:31:14 somebody that's gone through five times what you've gone
00:31:17 through, and all of a sudden, you're like, "Oh, man, I ain't
00:31:19 going through nothing."
00:31:22 But sometimes you don't know that, but we have a high priest
00:31:27 who's still touched with your sadness, your pain, your fear,
00:31:35 your concern, he's touched with your inferiority,
00:31:39 your insecurities.
00:31:41 "God, I don't wanna do this.
00:31:44 God, I don't wanna be like this."
00:31:47 You could not imagine the people that in their private time,
00:31:49 they just break down because they can't figure out how to
00:31:54 stop being what they despise about themselves.
00:31:58 And he created Christians so we can kinda be his hands in the
00:32:04 earth to kinda help show that kinda compassion, and we done
00:32:09 got carried away with rule keeping, and so all we wanna do
00:32:12 is beat people down with the rules when there is
00:32:18 mercy available.
00:32:20 We have a high priest that's gonna be touched with the
00:32:24 feelings of our infirmity.
00:32:26 He says, "But was in all points, he was tempted with unbelief
00:32:30 like we were."
00:32:32 I don't know if you remember the time when things didn't happen,
00:32:34 they didn't go right, something went crazy, and the temptation
00:32:37 was, "God, where are you?
00:32:39 Are you real?"
00:32:41 And on the deep down, on the inside, you knew he was real,
00:32:45 but there was just that little temptation in your head,
00:32:47 "Where are you?
00:32:48 I just lost my baby, and we prayed all night,
00:32:51 and my baby died.
00:32:53 Are you real?"
00:32:57 And he gives you a little time before he swoops in and comforts
00:33:01 you with a word or comfort, and you have the assurance that he
00:33:05 is real, and yeah, the temptation to leave him and to
00:33:11 walk away, the temptation to not have nothing to do with them
00:33:15 church people no more, and I ain't coming to church no more.
00:33:18 I'm done, and you can be done with it, and God won't let you
00:33:22 go.
00:33:24 He won't let you go.
00:33:29 God is like, "I'm fighting for our relationship, and even though
00:33:32 you want to leave me, I'm not going to let you go.
00:33:35 I'm attached with you.
00:33:36 I will fight every day for you.
00:33:40 I'm not going to let you go.
00:33:42 I'll talk to you in your dreams.
00:33:43 I'll wake you up in the morning.
00:33:45 I'll overwhelm you with goodness, praise God.
00:33:48 I'm not going to let you go.
00:33:50 You can quit on me, but I ain't never going to quit on you."
00:33:56 And when you have come to the end of yourself, when you've
00:34:02 come to the end of yourself, you realize, "I have a high priest
00:34:07 that understands me even in my worst pain.
00:34:17 I have a high priest who loves me."
00:34:25 But the Bible says he was tempted in all those areas,
00:34:29 mostly in the area of unbelief.
00:34:32 Can you imagine in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating blood out
00:34:37 of his pores?
00:34:38 That's pressure.
00:34:40 Physical bodies, blood, physical body going through, his emotions
00:34:46 going through, fear entering in, depression was coming in.
00:34:51 You don't see that, Jesus, but go and read the--when he was in
00:34:55 the Garden of Gethsemane, that Jesus in a human flesh, that
00:34:58 flesh was like, "Wow, what I got to go through.
00:35:01 I have got to--I got to be whipped with a cat o' nine tails."
00:35:05 He knew all of that.
00:35:06 "But I've got to be nailed to a cross."
00:35:09 He knew all of that.
00:35:10 "I got to die."
00:35:11 He knew all of that.
00:35:12 "And I got to go to hell for three days and three nights."
00:35:15 He knew all of that, but what Satan didn't know is that
00:35:19 through all of that suffering, that's when he was glorified.
00:35:24 [congregation applauding]
00:35:29 Wow.
00:35:31 Wow.
00:35:38 Go back to John chapter 8, verse 9.
00:35:42 I want to finish this with the woman.
00:35:44 God said to me the other day, he said, "Oh, Brother Dollar,
00:35:51 I watch you on TV, especially when you say something
00:35:53 controversial, ha, ha, ha."
00:35:55 And I thought, "Well, you might want to watch every day."
00:35:58 'Cause this grace does not fit in what God has delivered us out
00:36:07 of, when you are attached to the law, you cannot see this grace.
00:36:12 Verse 9, he says, "And they which heard it being convicted
00:36:20 by their own conscience went out one by one, beginning at the
00:36:24 eldest, even unto the last, and Jesus was left alone."
00:36:28 And watch this, "The woman standing in the mist."
00:36:33 When Jesus had lifted up himself and he saw none but the woman.
00:36:39 This is so awesome.
00:36:44 He said unto her, "Woman, where are those thine accusers?"
00:36:49 "Hath no man condemned thee?"
00:36:54 And she answered, "No man, Lord."
00:37:00 And he said unto her, get this, "Neither do I condemn you.
00:37:05 Go and sin no more."
00:37:12 Jesus did something not a lot of Christians recognize.
00:37:14 He gave her a gift of no condemnation.
00:37:21 We see she sinned.
00:37:23 We see the law commanded her to be stoned.
00:37:26 And in the midst of the law being broken, something greater
00:37:32 than the law showed up that day, Jesus.
00:37:35 And Jesus says, "I don't condemn you."
00:37:41 You remember in earlier Scriptures he says, "I did not
00:37:45 come in the world to condemn the world, but that the world
00:37:49 through me might be saved."
00:37:52 So, Jesus says, "I came so those who are condemned can be
00:37:56 saved through me.
00:37:57 I didn't come to condemn the world."
00:37:59 And church, we are in Jesus.
00:38:01 We are of Jesus.
00:38:03 We should not play the part of condemning the world or people.
00:38:07 Sinners sin because that's their nature.
00:38:09 Let's pray that their nature change and they get the nature
00:38:12 of Christ that we have, praise God.
00:38:14 They had the gift of no condemnation.
00:38:20 Now, what can a person do with the gift of no condemnation?
00:38:23 What can you do when you recognize that heaven
00:38:28 doesn't condemn you?
00:38:32 He said to her, "Go with this gift and sin no more."
00:38:38 Now, you can go and sin no more.
00:38:44 I guarantee you she didn't have no more problems with adultery.
00:38:48 Why?
00:38:49 Because there's no condemnation.
00:38:51 But when there's condemnation, there is this pressure
00:38:54 to keep sinning.
00:38:56 When you get knocked down and people continue to beat you and
00:39:01 keep you down, there's the pressure of, "Well, I might as
00:39:04 well just, you know, you know, I can take the condemnation.
00:39:08 That's all you do anyway, but I'm just going to keep doing it
00:39:10 because now the enemy's trying to convince me that's who you
00:39:13 are, so just go ahead and do it anyway."
00:39:15 You can never be successful over sin by allowing condemnation to
00:39:22 minister to you every day of your life.
00:39:26 Jesus said, "I know what happens.
00:39:28 Since I know everything, I also know a way out of your
00:39:32 situation, and I will not condemn you."
00:39:36 Because where there is condemnation,
00:39:38 there was the continuation of sin because you feel condemned.
00:39:45 Even if you go back to verse 9 and you see that those people who
00:39:49 left sin more, you look at verse 10 and 11,
00:39:53 "He gave her the gift of no condemnation first,
00:39:58 and that gift enabled her to go and sin no more second."
00:40:03 And this is why we need to get rid of all of the condemnation.
00:40:07 We need to get all the condemnation out of our lives.
00:40:10 How many of you are still coming to church self-condemned?
00:40:14 It gotta go.
00:40:15 You have got to deal.
00:40:16 Please deal with the condemnation.
00:40:19 Don't let the condemnation deal with you.
00:40:21 Deal with that condemnation.
00:40:23 Remember who you are.
00:40:24 Remember what Jesus has already done for you.
00:40:28 If we are full of condemnation, we might end up going and
00:40:32 sinning some more if we're full of condemnation.
00:40:36 Now, but you still might be around people who condemn,
00:40:38 but do not be full of condemnation.
00:40:42 Look at what he said in Romans chapter 8, verse 1.
00:40:46 What happens when we get in Christ?
00:40:48 What happens when we get born again?
00:40:51 He says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which
00:40:55 are in Christ Jesus, period."
00:40:59 If you study the Scriptures, the rest of that is in italicized.
00:41:01 And if you rightly divide the Word, if you read the rest of
00:41:06 that, it's saying you have to do that in order to have
00:41:08 no condemnation.
00:41:10 What he says is, the original text says, "There is therefore
00:41:14 now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
00:41:18 period," okay?
00:41:20 You have no condemnation, those of you who are in Christ Jesus.
00:41:25 In Christ Jesus is a safe place from condemnation.
00:41:29 In Christ Jesus is a safe place from condemnation.
00:41:32 And then go to 1 John chapter 3 in 20 one more time.
00:41:36 I want to answer that question about all the stuff
00:41:40 that he knows.
00:41:42 He says, "For if our hearts condemn us,
00:41:44 God is greater than our heart, and he knoweth all things."
00:41:47 What is it that he knows?
00:41:48 Well, he knows about the blood of Jesus,
00:41:51 and he knows about Jesus have paid the ransom and the
00:41:55 compensation for our lives.
00:41:57 He knows about all of those things that can be responsible
00:42:00 for keeping us in condemnation.
00:42:01 And so, what he is saying is, is I want you to focus on the
00:42:05 things you know, just like we did in communion this morning.
00:42:07 Focus on the blood.
00:42:08 Focus on the broken body.
00:42:10 Focus on what Jesus has done on that cross.
00:42:13 Focus on what happened when he was resurrected.
00:42:15 Focus on the stance that you have with God right now.
00:42:18 Focus on the Spirit of God that's in you that's not
00:42:21 condemning you.
00:42:22 Focus on the perfection that you have,
00:42:25 that you are the righteousness of God and that you have
00:42:27 been made righteous.
00:42:28 Focus on these things.
00:42:30 In fact, I want to get very specific.
00:42:32 What do I remember right away when condemnation wants to rise
00:42:36 up in my life?
00:42:37 First John chapter 2 and verse 1 through 2.
00:42:40 Focus on this.
00:42:41 Focus on this.
00:42:42 Start practicing this.
00:42:44 There's a lot of times, you know, I'm preaching,
00:42:46 and you're saying, "Well, yeah, that's good, that's good."
00:42:48 I'm not preaching so it's--yeah, that's good sounding.
00:42:51 I'm preaching so you can begin to rehearse this in your life.
00:42:55 It makes a big difference when you say stuff and remember
00:42:58 things in your life, you see.
00:43:00 He says, and here's what you do.
00:43:02 When that condemnation shows up, we got to be free from it.
00:43:05 That condemnation shows up, he says, "My little children,
00:43:07 these things right under you that you sin not."
00:43:11 So that's the perfect will of God for us.
00:43:15 He doesn't want us to do it because he does not want us.
00:43:17 His love and his mercy doesn't want us to have to, you know,
00:43:20 deal with the consequences that are built into this natural
00:43:24 world of what goes around, comes around.
00:43:26 It's in the natural cycle here.
00:43:29 He says, "So my will is that you sin not, and if any man sin,"
00:43:33 all right, I'm going to put provision in there.
00:43:36 We have an advocate with the Father.
00:43:40 We have somebody that'll go and plead for us.
00:43:44 We have an advocate with the Father,
00:43:46 Jesus Christ the righteous, and look what he says.
00:43:50 Here's what you do, "And he is the propitiation."
00:43:53 Now, that is, he is the compensation.
00:43:57 He is this peace offering, the sin offering,
00:44:01 and he is the ransom that has been paid for you to be free
00:44:06 from the sin man.
00:44:07 Glory to God.
00:44:09 He is the--he says, "So," he says,
00:44:11 "So when condemnation comes," or even when sin comes, he said,
00:44:14 "Here's what I want you to do.
00:44:15 I want you to remind yourself of this, that we have an advocate
00:44:20 who is our compensation, who paid for that.
00:44:24 We have an advocate who became the peace offering."
00:44:27 Glory to God.
00:44:29 We have an advocate who has given us the gift of no
00:44:32 condemnation, praise the Lord.
00:44:35 And he says, "And not for ours only, but also," this is
00:44:38 awesome, "also for the sins of the whole world."
00:44:41 I don't think Christian people realize it, but Jesus Christ did
00:44:44 what he did for the entire earth, and when they come to him,
00:44:50 he is ready, the plate is ready, the table is ready.
00:44:53 He didn't ask us to bring anything to the table.
00:44:56 He made everything ready.
00:44:58 So when your friends get born again, when they get tired of
00:45:01 condemnation, when they get tired of shame, when they get
00:45:04 fed up with the judgment and the pain and the brokenness of the
00:45:07 world, they should be able to look at us and see some peace,
00:45:12 some similitude of this grace that will cause them to say,
00:45:16 "Help me," and please don't get so deep and just say,
00:45:21 "I'll help you.
00:45:22 Can I pray with you?"
00:45:24 Will you invite Jesus to come in and make it simple?
00:45:27 Don't make it complicated.
00:45:29 Just if you have to go to him and just say,
00:45:30 "Repeat after me, 'Jesus, save me.'"
00:45:33 That's enough.
00:45:35 Somebody says, "Well, what do I do after I get saved?"
00:45:45 Get to know Jesus.
00:45:48 How do I get to know Jesus?
00:45:49 Talk to him, pray, read your Scripture.
00:45:53 If you don't understand it right now, listen to these sermons and
00:45:56 teachings, get to know him.
00:45:58 And I say today, get to know him right 'cause the Jesus I got to
00:46:03 know, I didn't get to know him right.
00:46:06 I got to know a Jesus that would judge me and condemn me to hell,
00:46:10 a Jesus that would get on me if I broke any of the rules,
00:46:16 but I just felt like that wasn't him.
00:46:20 All the time I just knew that that wasn't him.
00:46:23 And then when the gospel of grace was ministered to me,
00:46:27 I said to myself, "Now, that's the Jesus I always thought he
00:46:32 was."
00:46:37 That's why I'm never going back to the rule keeping.
00:46:40 I'm never going back to trying to live by a law that doesn't
00:46:44 give life.
00:46:45 I'm never going back to a law, glory to God,
00:46:48 that can't save nobody.
00:46:49 I'm never going back to a law.
00:46:51 Now, remember, the law was perfect, but I am not perfect.
00:46:55 I need a Jesus who can deal with somebody who's not perfect.
00:46:59 I need a Jesus who can deal with somebody that's not flawless yet.
00:47:03 But the promise is if you let me come in you, glory to God,
00:47:08 and I in you, and you in me, that I'll start working on you,
00:47:11 and I promise you the day when I come back,
00:47:14 you're going to be perfect.
00:47:15 You're going to be just like me.
00:47:16 I promise you a total transformation,
00:47:20 and it'll be finished when I come back.
00:47:22 I didn't know that Jesus.
00:47:27 I didn't know that Jesus.
00:47:32 I know that Jesus as a preacher that I had to preach something
00:47:36 to condemn you, tell you how bad you are, and tell you you ought
00:47:41 to be ashamed of yourself, and that you're going to hell
00:47:45 by 12 o'clock.
00:47:46 And bless God, the reason why you're having such a hard time
00:47:52 is 'cause you won't give 10 percent and put enough fear in
00:47:57 your heart to give 10 percent, and then you were smart enough
00:48:00 to recognize, "Well, that didn't help.
00:48:02 I'm still going through hell," because what we do for God under
00:48:08 this new covenant needs to be from our heart,
00:48:14 something we want to do.
00:48:16 I want to give.
00:48:20 I want to pray.
00:48:21 I want to come to church.
00:48:23 I want to lift my hands and worship him.
00:48:26 I want to do those things.
00:48:27 These are things that God'll put a want to in you.
00:48:30 He'll take away your old want to,
00:48:32 and he'll put a want to in you.
00:48:34 You'll want to do it, and God wants you to do it 'cause you
00:48:38 want to do it.
00:48:39 I mean, who?
00:48:40 Which of you want to continue to receive something
00:48:44 under condemnation?
00:48:47 "Here's this shirt for Christmas,
00:48:49 but I sure didn't want to get it for you 'cause you sure didn't
00:48:51 deserve it.
00:48:52 I wish I could've kept it, but him."
00:48:54 Nobody wants the shirt.
00:48:55 As soon as you leave, I'm going to burn it up.
00:48:58 I hate the shirt.
00:49:00 Nobody wants anything from anybody under those conditions,
00:49:03 and yet the church said, "That's how we ought to give it to God.
00:49:07 Give it to God in fear.
00:49:09 Give it to God in condemnation.
00:49:11 Give it to God out of shame.
00:49:12 Give it to God trying to manipulate him and grease him up
00:49:16 to do something for you."
00:49:18 And I found out he wasn't like that at all,
00:49:23 and I found out it was okay to cry in my private time before I
00:49:29 even got to praying, and I realized that all my prayers
00:49:33 didn't need to be asking him nothing.
00:49:35 I mean, God's name not Jimmy.
00:49:38 Gimme, gimme, gimme.
00:49:39 I realized that my prayer could simply be 30 minutes of tears if
00:49:46 I wanted it to be, talking about how awesome you are,
00:49:51 'cause he already knows what I need,
00:49:53 and he already answered my prayer before I even asked him,
00:49:57 so I didn't need to turn that into a rule.
00:49:59 I just wanted to spend time with him.
00:50:03 Tell him I love him.
00:50:05 I appreciate you.
00:50:07 I feel better than what I felt before.
00:50:10 Lord, I know you didn't have to heal me, but you did.
00:50:14 Lord, you've been good to me.
00:50:17 I think I can buy some bread, some groceries.
00:50:22 I appreciate it.
00:50:24 I'm never gonna take it for granted that I can.
00:50:26 I just thank you that I can.
00:50:28 I just thank you that I'm not what I used to be.
00:50:31 I thank you that you've mellowed me out.
00:50:33 I thank you that you took a hard heart and made it solve.
00:50:37 I thank you I can be empathetic to people.
00:50:40 I thank you that I can be a giver.
00:50:42 I was in Los Angeles last week, and oh, by the way,
00:50:46 my kids won the whole thing, by the way.
00:50:48 My girls, they won.
00:50:50 By the way, not that I'm talking about it.
00:50:56 It's like they--I sit up there and they're--
00:50:58 Grammy people, I'm like, "Dang, Taff, we had Grammy kids."
00:51:03 And we cried and rejoiced.
00:51:06 That touched me more than anything that in our private
00:51:12 time as a family, we just cried and rejoiced,
00:51:15 and the kids looked at us like, "I know we didn't make it easy."
00:51:19 Taff was like, "Sure, we didn't."
00:51:21 And we just celebrate them.
00:51:27 We just--oh, I'm just so--I'm like the biggest proudest.
00:51:29 You should have seen me.
00:51:30 I was like beamed, and I thought I was going to just float up in
00:51:33 the air, you know.
00:51:35 Okay, so what was I about to say?
00:51:37 Uh-oh.
00:51:43 Private time.
00:51:49 Well, I guess we're going to have to miss that one right now.
00:52:09 I don't know where it was.
00:52:11 If the Lord wanted us to have it, it'll come back up, but--
00:52:17 Okay, so in our private time with the Lord,
00:52:23 you don't have to go in with the rules.
00:52:30 The Holy Spirit will teach you.
00:52:34 "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving.
00:52:40 Come into his courts with praise.
00:52:45 Be glad and worship him."
00:52:49 And you know, it'll go from there.
00:52:52 It'll go from there, and you'll start thanking God and being
00:52:56 appreciative, and he's changing you,
00:53:01 and he's making the difference.
00:53:04 That's the kind of God that I serve.
00:53:09 It's okay as a man to go to God and weep and cry,
00:53:14 and you feel his presence hugging you.
00:53:20 You don't even know how to deal with the situation ahead of you,
00:53:23 but in prayer, God says, "It'll be all right."
00:53:27 And you come out of prayer, you still don't know what to do,
00:53:30 but you sure feel better now than you've ever felt.
00:53:35 And then in that walk throughout the day,
00:53:39 wisdom comes, and you know what to do when you didn't know what
00:53:43 to do.
00:53:45 I am talking about a Savior that walks with us every day.
00:53:51 I'm not talking about knowing the rules of having church,
00:53:56 which is why I stopped the music this morning.
00:53:59 "Oh, the music's starting.
00:54:00 I'm supposed to dance."
00:54:01 No.
00:54:03 Learn how to dance without it.
00:54:06 Learn how to dance 'cause you want to and not because you--yeah,
00:54:12 you feel like you're pumped up.
00:54:14 We're supposed to dance now.
00:54:16 And I ain't got no problem with none of that.
00:54:21 My job is not to condemn none of that,
00:54:23 but I remind myself of what he is to me.
00:54:29 There is no condemnation at the throne of grace,
00:54:34 and when we have made mistakes and when our heart condemns us,
00:54:38 there is one place where we're safe,
00:54:42 at the throne of grace.
00:54:44 Watch this, in Hebrews 4, Hebrews 4,
00:54:48 14 through 16.
00:54:50 I'll be finishing in a minute, and you can start your Super
00:54:52 Bowl stuff.
00:54:54 Some of y'all thinking, "Is it all right for us to have a
00:54:59 little ball of kvass during the Super Bowl?"
00:55:04 See, there you go with rules.
00:55:06 All right, here's what I'm gonna do.
00:55:08 I'm gonna put it back on you.
00:55:09 Ask Jesus.
00:55:11 "Well, I don't know if I can hear from him."
00:55:15 See, that's what you need to know.
00:55:17 You need to figure out how to--he live in you.
00:55:19 You figure you need to learn how to, you know,
00:55:21 hear from somebody that live in you.
00:55:27 Look at Hebrews chapter 4, 14 through 16.
00:55:29 This is awesome.
00:55:33 "Seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed
00:55:39 into heavens, Jesus the Son of God."
00:55:44 Now, we have a high priest, a perfect high priest.
00:55:49 In the old covenant, they would have to take the animals to the
00:55:53 priest, and the animals needed to be acceptable because if the
00:55:58 animals were not all right, then the people that bought the
00:56:01 animals were not all right, and they would leave without their
00:56:04 sins being covered.
00:56:06 So, under the sacrificial system of animal sacrifices,
00:56:11 the blood of the animals would cover the sin that was called
00:56:15 atonement, atoning blood.
00:56:19 Now, see, we really mix that up in the New Testament.
00:56:21 It should never be atoning.
00:56:23 Atoning blood is the blood of the animals.
00:56:25 It covers it up, but it could never completely get rid of it.
00:56:29 "We have in heaven a perfect sacrifice,
00:56:33 a perfect high priest and a sacrifice."
00:56:35 Man, he says, "So let us hold fast our profession," verse 15,
00:56:42 "for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the
00:56:46 fillings of our infirmities, but was in all points he was tempted
00:56:50 like as we are," verse 16, "without sin.
00:56:57 Let us, therefore," here's the part I love,
00:56:59 "come boldly to the safest place around, the throne of grace."
00:57:06 What happens when you come to the throne of grace?
00:57:08 You obtain what?
00:57:10 Mercy, and you find what?
00:57:13 Grace to do what?
00:57:15 Help, when you need help, right, in a time of need.
00:57:19 So, notice what happens when you go to the throne of grace.
00:57:22 You find mercy.
00:57:23 Mercy is the bad you deserve, the condemnation
00:57:28 and the judgment.
00:57:29 Mercy is the bad you deserve.
00:57:31 Go to the throne of grace and get mercy.
00:57:37 He says, "But not only do you get mercy," which is the bad you
00:57:40 deserve but you don't get, the judgment you deserve,
00:57:44 the condemnation you deserve, and this is from heaven's place
00:57:46 that you don't get.
00:57:48 When you go to the throne of grace, there is not gonna--he's
00:57:51 not gonna judge you.
00:57:52 He's not--yeah, I'll say that's for real.
00:57:55 He's not gonna judge you, hurt you, or take blessings from you.
00:57:59 Y'all don't get that.
00:58:04 No, he's not gonna judge you, condemn you, hurt you,
00:58:09 or take blessings from you.
00:58:10 I used to think, "Well, I done missed it, so I guess he gonna
00:58:15 take this from me."
00:58:17 Somebody said one time, "I used to think the same,
00:58:19 but God took my voice away."
00:58:21 Uh-uh.
00:58:22 First of all, he says the gifts and callings of God are given,
00:58:26 watch this, without repentance.
00:58:28 That means he gives it without changing his mind
00:58:31 about giving it.
00:58:33 Okay?
00:58:35 You will obtain mercy and then you'll find grace.
00:58:37 Grace is the good that you get that you didn't deserve.
00:58:46 And I prophesy a lot of good is getting ready to come your way
00:58:52 that you won't be able to take credit for.
00:58:54 All you gotta do is be ready to receive it.
00:58:56 I receive--say this out loud with me.
00:58:58 I receive the good that I don't deserve.
00:59:04 Yes, amen.
00:59:05 Yes, amen.
00:59:06 I receive the good that I don't deserve.
00:59:10 Oh, amen.
00:59:11 I receive the good that I don't deserve.
00:59:16 My goodness.
00:59:18 And then in Romans 2 and 4, I believe he says,
00:59:23 "Why would God give good to people that don't deserve it?"
00:59:28 Why?
00:59:30 He says, "O despise thou the riches in his goodness and
00:59:32 forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of
00:59:37 God leadeth thee to repentance."
00:59:42 You know what God says?
00:59:44 He says, "I'm gonna use the thing that you don't think will
00:59:46 change people, goodness, when they don't deserve it."
00:59:50 And this goodness is gonna cause you to repent.
00:59:56 Let me give you an illustration.
00:59:59 Let's say you're driving in the car and you have too many people
01:00:01 in the car.
01:00:03 You come down to Old National and the policeman stops you.
01:00:08 Okay, you know you're gonna get a ticket.
01:00:10 You know it was too many people in the car.
01:00:12 You know about the rule.
01:00:13 You just heard it on the news.
01:00:14 They sent you a piece of mail.
01:00:15 You know about it.
01:00:18 And the policeman comes and says,
01:00:20 "Do you know you have too many people in the car?"
01:00:22 "Yes, sir, I do."
01:00:24 And you're ready for the ticket.
01:00:26 And he says, "You know what?
01:00:29 I feel really good today.
01:00:31 What you deserve, I'm not gonna give it to you."
01:00:36 And then he turns around and he says,
01:00:39 "And you know another thing?
01:00:41 My wife made me a bucket of chicken,
01:00:43 and I really feel amazing today.
01:00:49 You hungry?"
01:00:53 And he goes and gives everybody a chicken.
01:00:57 They share names, and that's some good they receive
01:01:02 they didn't deserve.
01:01:04 So, the next time they drive down that street,
01:01:09 they make sure that they're obeying the laws,
01:01:14 and they have the right number of people in the car.
01:01:17 Now, was that because of the fear and judgment that came
01:01:22 from the policeman, or was it because the grace
01:01:31 and the goodness?
01:01:33 See, that'll change people.
01:01:37 It'll change people when we know how to show people grace,
01:01:41 when we know how to be good when people don't deserve it,
01:01:44 and they'll wanna do right because of that goodness
01:01:48 and the grace.
01:01:49 But the church thinks the only way you gonna get folks
01:01:52 that right is you gotta judge 'em, beat 'em up,
01:01:57 stick fear on the inside of 'em, and telling 'em every Sunday
01:02:02 they're going to hell and they asked to be ashamed of theyself.
01:02:06 That's not how you get people to change, but God knows how.
01:02:10 He says, "I know how to get 'em to change."
01:02:12 How you gonna do it?
01:02:13 "I'm gonna show 'em goodness."
01:02:15 You do that with everything around you.
01:02:20 You adjust your parenting to that.
01:02:23 You don't ignore boundaries, of course,
01:02:25 and God has boundaries as well, but you learn how to be a
01:02:31 carrier of grace.
01:02:33 It is good for your heart to be filled with grace and to show
01:02:39 goodness to people, not only to those who deserve it,
01:02:44 but you wanna win College Park and South Fulton County and our
01:02:50 city and state to Jesus?
01:02:52 You wanna win 'em to the Lord Jesus?
01:02:56 Let's learn how to operate like this and not condemn people.
01:03:01 And ask God to help you.
01:03:04 "Lord, help me to be better.
01:03:08 Help me to change.
01:03:10 Help me to continue to be transformed."
01:03:13 And then don't forget to thank him.
01:03:15 "Lord, I'm not where I wanna be, and I may not be where you want
01:03:18 me to be, but I am so grateful that I am not what I used to be."
01:03:23 Can you praise him for the fact that you're not where you used
01:03:27 to be?
01:03:28 Yeah.
01:03:31 Can you praise him because you don't think like you used
01:03:34 to think?
01:03:36 Bow your heads.
01:03:43 Father, we're so grateful.
01:03:50 We're so thankful that we get to serve you,
01:03:54 we get to be in you and live in you.
01:03:58 Thank you for your love and your Spirit.
01:04:06 Thank you, Lord, that we get to be branches connected with you.
01:04:16 Thank you, Lord, for our transformation.
01:04:19 Thank you, Lord, that we're better every day.
01:04:24 But, Lord, this day we thank you for the gift of no condemnation.
01:04:31 Thank you, Lord, that we can finally rid ourselves of that
01:04:41 feeling and torment of being condemned,
01:04:46 that you still have need of us, you still have use for us,
01:04:49 you still are willing to occupy us and love us and to care for
01:04:52 us and raise us and to stay with us on this journey.
01:04:56 And now may grace be upon all who are here.
01:05:01 Teach us how to walk with you because we desire to,
01:05:09 and as we draw near to you, you draw near to us.
01:05:12 Teach us how to take the breath that you've put into our lungs
01:05:18 and let us open our mouth and show forth the praise
01:05:24 that's due to your name.
01:05:26 Teach us not to be afraid of giving financially.
01:05:32 Teach us not to be afraid of witnessing to others
01:05:34 who don't know you.
01:05:36 Teach us, Lord, how not to be afraid to apologize and to
01:05:40 repent and to just keep going.
01:05:44 Teach us the fruit of the Spirit.
01:05:47 Show us the way, O God.
01:05:51 We give you praise for the move of your glory that has never hit
01:05:57 this earth that is about to work through us.
01:06:02 Show us your glory, God.
01:06:06 Show us your glory, God, and let us feel after this anointing.
01:06:12 Let this anointing occupy this space right now where we are.
01:06:18 Let your presence occupy this space right now where we are.
01:06:21 We thank you.
01:06:26 Holy Spirit, move up and down every aisle.
01:06:29 Holy Spirit, touch every person that's in need right now.
01:06:33 Spirit of the living God, we depend on you.
01:06:39 Deliver us from the condemnation of the law and allow us to be
01:06:45 free by the Spirit of the living God.
01:06:54 Oh, I sense your presence, Lord.
01:07:00 I sense your presence, Jesus.
01:07:06 We trust you.
01:07:11 We need you.
01:07:15 We receive you now, and by faith,
01:07:19 everything that you've made available to us,
01:07:22 we receive by faith.
01:07:26 In Jesus' name.
01:07:30 Every head bowed, for just a few more moments,
01:07:34 we're gonna pray about something,
01:07:36 and we're gonna do it, two things.
01:07:38 We're gonna receive an offering.
01:07:40 Second thing, we're gonna pray for people who have been
01:07:42 diagnosed with cancer.
01:07:44 Father, speak to our hearts on what you would have us to give,
01:07:48 and let us not give out of duty or obligation,
01:07:52 but out of a heart, a cheerful heart,
01:07:56 a heart that wants to do because we love you.
01:08:01 Help us to give generously and not under compulsion
01:08:07 or pressure.
01:08:09 Secondly, Lord, after we receive this offering,
01:08:14 would you sit down upon us, give us miracles and victory over the
01:08:20 cancer.
01:08:22 Let there be many testimonies of miracles.
01:08:29 We need that today, Lord.
01:08:33 Somebody need a miracle today.
01:08:35 We thank you for it in Jesus' name.
01:08:40 Amen.
01:08:44 If you need an offering envelope,
01:08:46 (sighs)