Transcription
So, so Hebrews 10, here's what I'm teaching here today. I'm teaching that the blood of Jesus removes you from sin, the stain of sin, the sting of sin, the effects of sin, the reminder of sin, the mark of sin, and even the action of sin. That's what I'm going to preach to you tonight.
And I'm going to prove it so much to you that nobody will ever talk you out of it because I'm going to just preach scripture, not my sermon notes. And I'm not going to give you my ideas. I'm going to talk straight up gospel. Yeah, it is.
How many people have heard, "Yeah, but brother, we're always going to sin." Well, what are you saying? Are you perfect? Come on, man. We're always sinners. We're always. And we argue the point that we're going to fail. No wonder we fail, 'cause we believe it so much. What are you saying? You're perfect? I never said that. I'm just not waiting to fail. So, I guess I'll find out how far grace can take me 'cause I guess I'm not following your and my experience. I'm following Jesus. So, I guess there's a new life waiting for me. So, I guess I'm not relating to the old, I'm pursuing the new.
The Bible says if I live righteous conscious, it'll produce its fruit to holiness without me trying to be holy. If I just believe that God sees me right in his sight, the automatic effect of believing that produces a holiness in my life without me trying to be holy. Wow, that sounds like grace. I bet you God gets all the glory. And I'm not just a super Christian. Come on, guys. I'm going to mess with you so bad tonight. 'Cause I've heard way too many limited things. I've heard people talk out of their own fallen experience. We study a fallen man and say, "This is who we are." We're supposed to be studying Jesus and say, "This is who we are."
People say, "Yeah, but I had a pastor once." We're not talking about that. I'm sorry you had that experience, but he is not your barometer and marker. Jesus is. [Applause] I'm not being mean. I'm being real and relatable and I am being challenging. I'll admit that. I I'm here to challenge those lives. Okay. She works so hard to get there. We're going to start here and then and then we're going to. Wow, you're in there now. So, you can just do it, huh? 'Cause we're going to be going to 1 John chapter 1 if you can prepare. And then we're going to go to Romans 6. We might even check out Colossians, but I think I'll quote it. But Romans 6 and 1 John 1 is on my list. 1 John, Romans in that order if you could.
Okay. Remember Colossians 1 verse like 20. It says, "You were enemies and alienated to God by the wicked works of your mind. Yet now he reconciled through the body of his death to present you to present you holy, blameless, and above reproach. If indeed you continue in the hope in which you heard and are not moved away." Here's my concern. Some of us have never heard that hope. We've just heard we're always going to fail. That no matter what he did, we're still sinners saved by grace. The Bible does not teach that anywhere. I'll challenge every theologian. The Bible does not teach that you're sinners saved by grace. The Bible teaches reckon yourself dead indeed to sin. The Bible teaches he bore your sin in my in his body and my sin in his body on a tree. He bore your sin and my sin in his body on a tree so that we having died to sin might live for righteousness. By his stripes were healed. We ought to start teaching what it means to die to sin, to its memory, its stain, its desire, its pull, and that you can absolutely live free from sin. I'm saying not that you live in perfection and never commit a sin. Live free from its identity, the detriment, the stain, and the effects. And if your heart is pure to live that way and you stumble in to something, guess what you'll do? You will run to God like a son and leap on him and thank him for righteousness and washing. And you will separate yourself from that thing. And through communion with God, you'll be wiser, sharper, stronger, and more complete than ever before. Why? Because it's the power of righteousness.
Look, the use of the word righteousness in your Bible means to be able to stand before God without any sense of guilt or shame or condemnation. The work of righteousness is any expression of God's nature through our lives. We're righteous trees, the planting of the Lord that he might be glorified. Why? You know, a tree by its fruit. Guess what? Righteous trees produce righteousness. The nature of God expressed Christ in you. The hope of the word glory simply means any manifest made seen attribute of God is the glory of God revealed. So the Christ in you is the hope of making God seen and known. Ah, sure makes sense now. That just sure beats an amen on Sunday. And we're not sure what we amen. Just sounds spiritual. Woo. No, no, no. Watch this.
The old plan, the old covenant, the old testament. Little turtle doves getting split in half, goats getting sent out into the wilderness, little spotless lambs getting crucified, sacrificed, you know what I mean, not crucified, but sacrificed all the time for the sins of the people. It's the old plan, right? The old plan was only a hint of the good things in the new plan. Since that old law plan wasn't complete in itself, it couldn't complete. Complete. Perfect. My new King James says perfect. It's the same word, complete. Couldn't complete those who followed it. No matter how many sacrifices were offered year after year, they never added up to a complete solution and never made the people free. What if they had, if the sacrifices would have done that and been accomplished that, the worshippers would have gone merely on their way, meaning perfected, no longer dragged down by their sins. Most translations say the worshippers being perfected would no longer have the consciousness of sin.
Now, if he's comparing the old to the new, he's taking away the first to apply the second. He's saying what the first one wasn't able to accomplish, of course, the second one did. So, he doesn't want us dragged down by sin and its confession, its testimony, the consciousness of sin. The new plan, its whole goal is to get us out of the identity of sin. The whole goal. But instead of removing, see, no consciousness of sin. Instead of removing the awareness of sin, removing it when those animal sacrifices were repeated over and over, they actually heightened the awareness of guilt and sin. Bummer. The plain fact is that bull and goat blood cannot get rid of sin. That means there is blood that can, because he's talking about the old versus the new. What the one couldn't, the second one could. Bear with me. Come on.
That is what is meant by this prophecy put in the mouth of Christ. "You don't want sacrifices and offering year after year." This is Jesus talking to the Lord. "You've prepared a body for me for a sacrifice. It's not fragrance and smoke from the altar that wets your appetite. So I said, 'I'm here to do it your way, oh God, the way it's described in your book.'" Ah, when he said you don't want sacrifices and offering, he was referring to the practices according to that old plan. When he added, "I'm here to do it your way," he set aside the first in order to enact and get moving the new plan, God's way, by which we are made fit for God by the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
That doesn't sound like, "Yeah, but brother, you know, we're always going to sin." Oh, would you stop and listen and humble your heart and stop this thing for a moment. I am not being mean. I'm being very challenging right now. I have heard countless people rob fellow Christians with no understanding. Don't let many of you be teachers. There's too many people. We have a brother. We're never perfect. What are you saying? You're perfect. You're never going to say, "We're always sinning." And I'm probably sinning while I'm breathing. I'm probably sinning right now. I've had people tell me that my whole Christian life. And I say, "Well, you probably ought to get born again." I don't like you. You think you're perfect. I never said that. I think he sees me that way. And me believing that brings the best out in me. Yeah.
You know, there's this real concern about grace on the earth right now. There's people that have authority in the body. They have prestige speaking out of turn. They don't know what they're saying because we get into this pendulum effect and there's there's people that are preaching kind of stiff and legal stuff. So then these other camps start preaching liberty and grace and and then they get concerned. So they respond and go tighter. They react and they go looser. So then prominent people stand up and make bold statements in magazines that people read and publish stuff and Facebook and all this stuff gets hears it and prominent people, you know, be careful of this new grace movement. There's a grace revolution that's deceived and not from the Lord and da da da da da da da da da and I'm thinking what a tragic thing to write without knowing what you're saying. It's simple, guys. If you start condemning the word grace, we're saved by grace. We are what we are by the grace of God. I understand there's miscues, but don't you step in and try to fix it with overstatements. Because a new believer hears somebody talking about grace and red flags are flying and they can't even hear the grace of salvation because of your comments.
Let me tell you real plain how simple it is. Grace is different than mercy. Grace is God's etching tool. It's his power on my behalf to become like him. Mercy is afforded by the heart of God to give me a chance when I deserve none. When I receive that mercy, it ushers me in to the dispensation of grace. And all of a sudden, I'm saved by grace through faith. And God's etching tool of grace begins to make me more like him as I yield to him. And the great potter has his way. If you preach grace apart from transformation, you'll preach perversion. And you'll tell people in the long run, and this is what this other crowd is afraid of, and they hear it be, well, God knows my heart. He loves me anyway. And they're doing all kinds of things in their life or that are the same as before they were saved. And they're like, well, he understands. He shed his blood anyway. He knows I'm a sinner. That is not what I'm preaching. I'm preaching he changes us. We reckon ourselves dead to sin. He gives us new life. I didn't find a way to sin and get away with it. I found a way to be free.
Now listen to me. Grace apart from transformation is perversion. But don't you tighten the message to react to the looseness. Just preach the gospel 'cause now we got this pendulum and people get hurt and confused and back into camps when God wants to make us one. So, here's Jesus in this happy, healthy middle place going, guys. No, I'm right here. And we're all doing it in the name of the Lord and writing our big excerpts and all this stuff. You're always saved by grace. Grace is nothing to be concerned about. It's something to rejoice in. He's grace for grace. We beheld him in grace and truth. We're saved by grace through faith. His grace abounds. You are what you are by the grace of God. You're going to throw all those scriptures away 'cause somebody preached loose. No, just preach the truth. Grace is not an empowerment to stay the same. Grace is a guarantee to change. And guess who gets all the glory? Ain't no superch Christians, just believers. I'm having so much fun. Are you okay?
Every priest goes to work at the altar each day offering the same old sacrifices year in year out. Never makes a dent in the sin problem. As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins and that was it. Then he sat down right beside God and waited for his enemies to cave in. It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people by that single offering. He did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in this purifying process. The Holy Spirit confirms this. The new plan I'm making with Israel, I'm not is not going to be written on paper. It's not going to be chiseled in stone. This time I'm writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. He concludes, "I forever wipe the slate clean of their sins. Once sins are taken care of for good, there's no longer any need to offer sacrifices for them."
Are you able to go to first John 5? 1 John chapter 1 verse 5. 1 John 1 verse 5. You able. You on it, girl. Oh, I get it. I know it's there by that point. She's pumped. She's like, "You're the best." Thank you. Okay. Who's ever heard people pull this out of the book? "Well, brother, if you say you have no sin, you're deceived and the truth's not in you and you make him a liar." It's a scripture. Do you ever hear anybody pull that one out? Preachers preach that from the pulpit. Oneliner, just a oneliner. Shame on us preachers preaching oneliners. You better know what you're saying and why he said it. Because you preach that oneliner, you cause a lot of apprehension and fear and you take away a lot of grace and righteousness. You're telling people when you say, "Well, if you say you have no sin," what you're saying is if you're not always confessing, you're in a state of sin, then you're deceived. When the Bible just told you, you just read it, you're free from it. It's settled. The problem solved. You get it? I'm going to show you way more evidence. But I want you to. We're going to bust this lie up. Okay?
I was in a service preaching this and I said, "Never fails when you're preaching this. Somebody has been trained and taught and while you're preaching this, their mind is going bonkers and they're going, 'Yeah, but brother, if you say you have no sin.'" And I'm looking right at a man over here. I'm looking right at him. I said, "They say if you have no sin and it's usually a pastor." And he said, "Sir, I'm a pastor." And that is bombarding my mind. It's in the Bible. I said, "Well, let's take a look at it." 'Cause he was so trained in his ministerial training. If you say you have no sin, meaning if you're not always seeing yourself in a state of sin, you're not facing the truth. It is unscript. It is not what the Bible's saying. Let's look at it. You ready?
"This in essence is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you. God is light. He's pure light. There's not a trace of darkness in him. Where's he at? He's in you. I like that. If we claim that we experience and shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth." What translation is this? What is it? The Message. Okay, I get the Message. If we claim that we experience and shared life with him, I have to repeat this. Continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth. We're not living what we claim.
Do you know James 3:13 says this, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them prove by the good conduct of their life that their works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have envy or selfseeking in your heart, don't lie and boast and lie against the truth." What's he saying? Deal with your heart. Get a grip. Stop saying you are what you know you're not. If you have selfishness and envy in your heart, stop boasting and lying against the truth. 'Cause your life won't produce him. It'll produce what's in your heart. Watch what it says. "For this wisdom, selfishness, this wisdom did not come from above. It's earthly, sensual, and demonic. And where there's envy and self-seeking, every evil work is present." And you say, "Why is God letting all this happen?" He's not. You're wide open for it. Watch this.
You're in your bedroom crying, praying for your spouse from a place of pain, frustration, hurt, unforgiveness, quoting, declaring, rebuking, and the whole time you're doing it, you're a landing strip for every evil work 'cause you're praying from self-centeredness, right? And you think you're being spiritual and you got all your girlfriends praying or your your guy friends 'cause it's your wife and they're all praying 'cause they're hurt for you and they're mad at the spouse 'cause they're acting like a jerk and everybody's victim villaining it and we're wondering why God ain't moving. You guys all right or am I like just too pointed with this stuff that's good? Am I off track? You're in your bedroom, man, and all you are is hurt. You're offended. You're praying for yourself. There's selfishness driving you. You're not. You don't have compassion. You're hurt. Enough is enough. I'm done with this. I'm done being their doormat. God, you need to change them. I rebuke every foul spirit in their life. And God, I thank you for knocking them off their high horse. And man, you sound like a powerful prayer warrior. And every evil work is landing in your home. Somebody ought to be bold and teach this. 'Cause if your motive is selfishness, you got where you live from. But if your motive is love and compassion and mercy, they ain't got nowhere to land. They'll crash and burn somewhere in some foreign hell. But Jesus is landing in your home.
There's two times prayers aren't answered in your Bible. When there's no faith and when it's a miss your own lust or desire. It's the only two times prayer is not answered. So, it's either a faith thing that we need to see clearer or we need to get our motive pure because the pure in heart shall see God. Amen. Come on. I got this thing so laced with scripture. How do you get out? Do I got this thing all boxed in? I'm painting a picture for you. Did you figure that out? By the time I'm done, then we got a puzzle all put together. And the only reason you rebutt is 'cause you're a rebutter. You feel like that's your calling. Yeah, but yeah, but. And you can tell when people are contentious when they come at you with the yell butt. They're trying to defend something instead of become something.
So if we claim that we're free of sin, we're not only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins, make a clean breast of them, he won't let us down. He'll be true to himself, he'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claimed, see in if in in in your Bible that's verse 8, the middle is verse 9 and the last part is verse 10. Verse 8 says, "If we say we have no sin, that we're free from sin. We have no sin." 'Cause can you back up to verse the the other one you were at 'cause I didn't finish that. That's really important. Watch this. "We're not living with claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience and share life with one another as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's son, purges all our sins." Watch.
If we claim we're free from sin, in other words, what sin? Why do I need the blood? What do you mean purged by the blood? What sin? I'm a good person. He's saying if you say you have no need for the blood. In verse eight he says if you have no sin. In verse 10 he says if you say you have never sinned. He clarifies verse eight in verse 10. People pull out verse eight and make a doctrine. Verse 10. "If we claim that we've never sinned, don't need the blood. I'm right in my own sense. I got my own righteousness cooking for me. What blood? Why do I need the blood? I give pies to my neighbor. I rake their leaves. I'm good." Then we're out and out contradicting God. Make a liar out of him and claim that only shows off our ignorance of God.
Next chapter, verse one. Watch this. 'Cause it's all one letter. So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not. If we left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? This is a Message Bible, man. Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? Yeah, but you're always going to sin, brethren. If you say you have no sin, you're deceived to make it. No. Stop pulling that one line out of there. Yeah. Is this clear or am I just whacked? I'm probably whacked, but is this clear? Don't answer the second question. Is this clear? Oh, the Message Bible. I haven't read the Message for 10, 12 years. It's fun. It's actually fun. Or didn't you realize we backed up and left there for good? The King, the New King James says, "Little children, I write these things to you so you do not sin." So, how is he saying you're always gone and if you say you're not, you're deceived? He's saying if you say you have no need for the blood, you're way off because every man has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But watch this. We are not going to keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiven. I should hope not. If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, sin in control, Romans. Oh, yeah. This is I Yeah, 'cause I love Romans. I'm like that. I I was just thinking this that the Message sounds like Romans 6. That's what I was just hesitating for. [Applause]
Look, look, look. Here it is. My little children. See, there was the Message. So, I told. Did I quote that right there? Oh, I know the Bible. But thanks for telling me that was Romans 'cause I thought the Message took Romans and wow, I was impressed. I thought, how'd they do that? It was just hitting me. I'm like, this is going to be a nail bam and when we get to Romans 6, this is going to be confirmation. That was going through my mind. She's throwing me with that Message Bible, man. "My little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin." So, you're telling me in verse eight, he's saying you always are gone. And if you say you're not, you're lying. Verse 10 says, if you say you have not sinned, he's talking about if you think you have no need for the blood, you're deceived. But once the blood comes, you're clean. He's teaching righteousness. He's teaching salvation. He's saying, "My little children, the reason I'm writing this stuff to you is so you may not sin." You went to New King James on me, didn't you? Thanks. I feel so at home. That Message was fun, but it was freaking me out. Watch this. Watch this. What? No. No. Back up, honey. Back up, honey. And And And when you sin, Yeah. But you know, you're always gone. Why didn't you just settle it? See? See that? See how wicked that thing is? The Bible doesn't say in when you sin. It's not expecting you to. It says, "If you slip into that thing, if you fall into weakness, why don't we let grace decide what our lives can look like instead of past experience."
Has anybody ever really laid down their life and settled in righteousness to let grace decide what they can be? Are we already determined in that by our own failures, our own perceptions, and our own experiences? Are we really living by faith and trust in the grace of God? Because my Bible says, "If I live by the spirit, I will not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Now, what are you going to do with that? Get deep in theology and talk God out of what he said? Get so deep and psychological and study human behavior that you come up with some out. Come on. I'm not being sarcastic. I'm I'm being challenging. I admit if I live by the spirit, I will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. What do you do with that? Well, brother, you're freaking me out. That's blasphemy. You're saying you're perfect. No, I'm saying I never think about sin because I'm not supposed to. I left that country. Remember. [Applause] I moved out of that house for good. Yeah.
So if you stumble along the way and come face to face with human weakness and sin, don't be discouraged. Don't give up. Don't identify yourself through failure. Don't get condemned. Don't throw away your destiny. Don't call a friend crying and be devastated. You let the of that get your heart into godly star. You run to God and say, "Wow, Lord, I so thank you for what you're doing in my life. You are so shining light in me that I see that for what it is. My whole life that wouldn't even move me. I would have thought that was justified. That is so not who you created me to be and is so not the desires in my heart. You were swallowing up every weakness. You were exposing every lie. God, I thank you for sanctifying my life." Watch.
"Because if if not when, if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the father. He's Jesus Christ the righteous. Watch this. And he himself is the mercy, the propitiation for our sins. And not only for ours, but also the whole world." Do they need to repent and get saved? Absolutely. But is the mercy waiting for them? Is blood speaking better things? It's why that right there is why an unbeliever can be healed right on the streets. I've seen people say to me, "I don't believe in God." I said, "It's okay. I do. Give me your hand." You ought to see Todd with that one. Well, I don't believe in healing. I'm not asking you to, man. I believe. I'm way past that. Just give me your hand. Let's see what's real. I've seen him talk like that. And God, and they go, they usually swear and then they cry.
Romans 6 because now I'm pumped because we already tasted to see Romans 6 is good. Man, I thank you for yelling out Romans 6. You have no idea what was going on in my mind. I read that thing like three times 'cause it's so life-giving. I'm going, how did the Message interpret the revelation of Romans 6 right here in 1 John 2? This is awesome. 'Cause to me, why shall we, you know, continue? Why and and and how, you know, about I write these little these things to you little children that you may not sin. It sounds it's the same point. So, I just thought the Message took it, you know, and made the point, but now we're home. Home. Oh, I love the word of God. I'm really going to freak out when I preach this, so bear with me. You guys okay? Yeah. Okay. So, that thought, remember, I'm attacking it, by the way. Well, brother, you know, we're always going to sin. We're never perfect. We're always going to sin. I mean, what are you saying? You're perfect? I mean, see, that's a misunderstanding person that's quick to speak and slow learning. I'm not being mean. I'm being real. They get stuck on an issue and won't humble themselves to understand 'cause the Bible should take away the issue. Right? So, we're letting human expression experience and I'm just going to say it because it's right here. The people that are talking like that, it's because their own life is substantiating their belief. They have violated consciousness. They're living in weakness. It proves their own life fits it or they wouldn't be so adamant. It's because it's the way they're living. I'm just telling you. 'Cause if they weren't living that way, they wouldn't be so adamant. So, they're justifying their own experience and twisting the word to accommodate their flesh without realizing what they're doing. They're giving themselves away when they say, "Yeah, but we're always going to sin." Because they're conscious of sin. And the old covenant was a hint of the thing to come and left people conscious sin. The new that came takes away the consciousness of sin. We just looked at that. Watch this. This is going to settle it and wipe you out. All right. It wiped me out 21 years ago, man.
The Lord said to me a long time ago, Dan, do you know why you live the way you do? I knew what he meant. Consistency. Wake up every day. I don't even try. I don't even try to be a Christian. I don't even know what that means. How to live the Christian life. That sounds like a weird book title to me. Sounds like robotic. It sounds like mechanics. I don't. The Lord said, "Do you know why you live the way you do?" I said, "Yeah, 'cause you're amazing. Your grace is sufficient. You're all merciful God, and you love me as a father." And he said, "Well, that's true, but that's not the answer I'm looking for." I'm like, "It's the only answer." So then you question what voice you're hearing, what impression you're getting. You know, it's the only answer. And he said, 'Dan, you think it's the only answer, but the answer you're giving me is true, but it needs a place to land. It's one thing for me to say, you know, Jesus loves you. I'm always right. It's another thing for you to be loved by God. Two different worlds. He said, "Do you know why you live the way you do?" I said, "'Cause you're amazing." He said, I heard him chuckle in my heart. He said, "Dan, that's not the answer I'm looking for." I said, "That's the only answer." He had me a mess. I was supposed to preach. I was on the floor crying so hard. I mean, I was crying. I went through a box of Kleenex. It's not a joke. I ran out of Kleenexes. A lady lifted my arm and slid a box under there during worship. I am so messed up because God was saying, "I love you. I appreciate you. I'm so proud of you." It's one thing if somebody says, "For the Lord says he's proud of you." And a tear comes to your eye. When God himself comes and his presence overtakes you and he says, "Love you, boy. You're done. It don't matter if you're supposed to preach." So, I'm laying there fighting, trying to fight my way out of this and get my composure. I got mascara everywhere, man. I was crying so hard. I had mascara lines. He's like, "No, I'm just kidding. That would have scared me. I I went through a box of Kleenexes. I'm not joking. I'd try to get up and he'd go, 'Love you.' I try to get up and my mind I'm going, 'What are you doing? I'm supposed to preach. I'm done. I'm ruined. I'm a mess for days. What are you doing?' And I get up slow learner. About the third this amazing bright idea came to me. I thought, I bet you God knows I'm supposed to preach. He can probably read. I bet he read the bulletin. I bet he knows I'm supposed to preach. And yet he's doing this to me. I probably ought to enjoy it and get the message and forget about preaching. So when I gave in that lady, whoever she was, she could see I threw in the towel and I was a mess and I get my clean and there's nothing there like the box. There's nothing coming out of the hole. It's like there's just no rabbit, you know. And all of a sudden I feel tenderly my arm lift in a box slide on such a mess. Swollen eyes. I was a mess. And while I'm laying there and I said, "Okay, Lord, I don't know what you're doing, but go ahead and love me." And I just curled up and cried. He was just loving on me. And right in that moment, he said, "Hey, do you know why you live the way you do?" I knew exactly what he meant. He gives you that ability to understand. I said, "Cuz you're awesome." Blah, blah, blah. He said, "That's not the answer." I said, "It's the only answer." No. What you just said I am needs a place to land in your life. Let me tell you why you live the way you do. Oh, okay. He said, "Because the night you got saved, you saw your need for me and were sin conscious for a moment. And ever since that moment, you've been a son in your heart. And you've let nothing change that up to now. Consistency. There's two things I never think about. Sin and the devil. Why? You just saw why I don't think about sin. We left the country. Why don't I think about the devil? He's a cut off withering branch coming to nothing. He loves when you put him up here. He's a cut off withering branch coming to nothing. Why are you thinking about the devil? If he shows up, we deal with him. But he's cut off. Let it forget it. You just don't be unaware of his devices. You give him no place. Yeah. Two things I never think about. Sin and the devil. It's the two things through pastoring I found that are conscious in Christians the most. The sin and the devil. And you see why there's not consistency. Because the eye is the lamp of the body. And what you focus you become. You guys all right? You ready for this? Are you sure you can handle this? 'Cause we're going to pray for something tonight. It's going to be fun. It's one of my favorite things to do on the planet. And I have a real green light. So, I'm excited. Oh, it's because I don't minister a lot because people tend to gravitate to you. You're the guest speaker. Everybody wants you to pray for their situation. The whole goal of the guest speaker is to multiply the people to live a life in Christ. It's not to line everybody up and pray for everybody. It's to teach the word and get everybody to participate and teach us. The kingdom's among us. It's in us. It's with us. So some folks just go to the mall and have fun today. It was good testimony. Years ago, you don't know me back then. Years ago, the reason I got invited to church is because of the blowup. Because of the way I ministered, I ministered to everybody. I prayed forever. I felt if everybody wasn't stuck to the floor, we didn't have church. I would just call people out. Ma'am, stand up for you. And Gusters didn't even get a chance to get there. Fall sound like they have met me in their head. And I just thought that was awesome. But it got weird in me. And people stroke you and they make you a hero and they think you're somebody. Oh, it was horrible, man. It was working in my heart slowly and subtly. And none of that stuff is in me. None of that's my desire. But I didn't realize how people were idolizing celebrity and s and I was getting invited to churches because of the way I manifest. I'd just line everybody up and I'd say, "Don't tell me why you're here. God will." And I'd say, "You're here because this, you're here." And it would freak everybody out. Whoa. And they just stroke you and worship you. And then everybody channels through the narrow door of your life to get a piece of you so they can get a piece of what's in you. It's like, "Well, you got to go where the river's flowing, brother. You got to get to the anointing. You got to grab the hem of the garment. It's not my shirt. It's Jesus." And I was missing it horribly and didn't even realize it. And it seemed like the more that I wanted to manifest, the more I could. It was a strange thing. My motives got a little twisted. Pride was in my heart that I didn't even realize. And one day I got to the car and God said, "Why do you feel that way? I'm the one that does everything." And I cried. I couldn't even drive. You think that would settle it, right? About two months later, I go to a church and everybody says, "Oh my gosh, we're so glad you're here. I can't wait to see what God does. I ain't never met anybody. You're so w and I'm like, "Wow, I must be anointed." I had my black suit on. I had my little gold tie with my little chain. I had my sweet little black shoes on. Oh yeah, I was looking good. My wife liked it. She said, "Woo!" She called me her kenda all the time. I'd come out of the bathroom, she said, "Woo, Ken." "Stay down, girl. I got to go preach. I'm messing up bad right now." I get to this church. I get to this church. Jesus is there. The worship team's wrecked, man. Michael, get this. Nobody's playing, right? You see that? You That's a powerful time. The keyboard lady is on her knees. She don't even know what she's doing. She's just reaching up and somehow tinkering high keys. It sounds like rain. It's ridiculous. Like, she's going tink. And the room's going tink tink tink. And I'm standing there going, "Wow, you're here. Well, you're going to do awesome things. God, why don't you just give me a word? What do you want to do? I look around. Everybody's laying on their face. Pastor and his wife are pressed to the floor prostrate. Probably would have been a good idea to just probably worship Jesus. But I looked and I saw this lady right about where you are, ma'am. And I said, "Hm." And the the Lord gave me a word for her so specific that if I'm wrong, you look like a fool, but if you're right, people go, "Wow." And I went, "Here we go. I'm not even understanding the atmosphere. I am not doing this. I just can't wait to manifest. I flip on the mic. I ease in. I'm not going to be belligerent. You know, you know, you get in that flow. You know, guys, you know God is here right now, man. I know you feel his presence that you're going to ease in, right? I flip on the mic. Man, I had a word of knowledge so clear. I flip on the mic and I go, "I had no human ability to speak. That'll mess your life up forever." 'Cause that happened to me. I don't share it from the pulpit, but I'm sharing it with you. I had zero ability to speak. Not one word could come out of my I went and the Lord said, "See Dan, you couldn't even talk if I didn't let you." And I fell to the ground. The microphone I remembered to this day. I dropped the microphone like a brick. It hit this wooden pulpit, clanged feedback and and crashed. And my body sounded just as loud. Woo! Eyeballed for probably 40 minutes per profuse and insanely cried and no one knew what was going on. They kind of came to their feet and everybody just sat there and waited for me to get up. And when I got up, I staggered to the pulpit, cried and asked the people to forgive me of sin. And I've allowed my life to get into a place of whirlwind and manifestation and woohoo. But it feeds everybody and everybody chases it instead of knowing him. And I'm not even sure everything that was happening was the Lord because I had such a wide open door and my motives weren't pure. You might be amazed manifestations are a dime a dozen. I saw people shake for an hour on the floor, get up, and still have cancer. That bothers me. I don't need you to shake. I just need that cancer to go. I had people stuck to the floor. They carry him to their car, but I'm still counseling them over their marriage and they're hurt by their spouse the same week. Something's wrong with that people. And it freaked me out. And it put me in this search for truth and for God. And I'm not afraid of manifestations. They're real. I've had God do a lot of amazing things in my life and to my life, but I don't need you to manifest and I don't need to. I need you to be free and I need that cancer to go and I need your eyesight to be restored and your ears to open. He said, "You go back and tell John, are you the one or should we look? You go back and tell John. The lame are walking, the blind are seeing, the deaf are hearing, the poor are having the gospel preached." He didn't say they're shaken, stuck to the floor and manifesting. I'm not against it. Never let it be your pursuit. There's a place for God to manifest. It's not our focus or our goal. I've been in spirit schools where all the students feel like they're more spiritual the more they manifest. And the kids that aren't experiencing nothing follow along to fit in. They tell me that in secret with tears. I called it in several schools and exposed it and watched the place blow up and cry. It's not about manifesting. It's about being like him. God personally loved me so much that he stopped my ability to speak for a moment. That was a change I promise in my life. People say, "You carry yourself in such humility. You this and this and this." It's not my fault. You let God take your voice and see how it affects you. For almost a year, I didn't even minister. I just taught the word. And I was praying one day and the Lord came and said, "You know, I never told you to turn off. I told you to find a healthy place." I said, "But Lord." And I was so afraid of missing it. And he said, 'How about putting more faith in my ability to keep you than you missing it? And how about going after me? And I said, 'All right. And I feel more healthy in ministry in the last 12 years than I've ever been in my life because of that one night, that one experience. I don't know why I shared that with you. I hope that's okay. Y'all ready?
"What shall we say then?" This is not First John and it's not the Message. This is so good. Look, man. Six. Romans 6. I read this stuff so much. I've read this paragraph a thousand times in my life. It's never old. It's always exciting. It's alive. You don't say, "Well, I know that." No. Become that you don't know it till it's your life. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" The reason he's saying that, guys, because the end of verse five he says this. You don't have to go there. He says where sin abounded grace did abound much more. We all know that. You know that's in five. So Paul's sharp in the Holy Ghost. He says, "Hm, where sin abounds grace abounds more. So what should we do? Keep on sinning so grace abounds?" [Music] Watch. See, some of you have only been taught to pray a prayer to go to heaven. Some of you have been taught that Jesus died on the cross to forgive your sins and take you to heaven. Some of us weren't taught that we die so we can live, that we give back our life. We give back what was never us. We die in water baptism to live. Amen. Watch this.
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin?" Well, brother, you know you're always going to sin. If you say you don't have any sin, you're deceived, man. And the truth's not in you. You know everybody sins. What are you saying? You're perfect. Does it sound like that's saying that? Or does that sound like that's deception? Watch this. "Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" That means its identity, its impulses, just letting it have its way, its memory, its stain, its effects, its desires. No, we're not going to live that way. Watch this.
"Or do you not know?" It's why I'm preaching it because some of us don't know. It's a very important phrase. "Do you not know?" You're going to see that at least three times. "That as many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death." What's his death? We'll see in a minute. "Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death." What death? We'll see. "That just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we should walk in the newness of life. For if we've been united together in the likeness," there it is again. We better find out what this is soon, huh? "Certainly, we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this," second time, you better know something. "That our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died," oh my goodness, "he who has died," ah, has been, say it, [Music] "Yeah, but brother, you're always going to sin. And you know you're."
going to have sin. What are you saying? You're perfect. Wow. For he who has died has what? So God's not a heretic. God's not a blasphemer. His word's true. So if it's his word, wow. Freed, man. Just look at that. Isn't that beautiful? Freed from sin.
Now, if we died with Christ, we believe we shall also live with him. See, it's not just about dying. It's about living. Oh my goodness. Third time, you better know something. Knowing, see, and all you're getting, get understanding. You're destroyed for the lack of knowledge. No, no, no. Knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead, he dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him. Remember I say what were we buried into? What was his death? What did he die to? You're going to get the answer right now. Watch this.
For the death that he died, remember buried into death with him. And I say, what was his death? For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all. But the life that he lives, he lives to God. Watch how quick he makes you and him one. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Yeah, but brother, you're always going to sin. What are you saying? You don't sin. Everybody sins. Are you perfect? Do you see how much of a lie that mindset is? And it keeps you from walking in the grace of this. And it actually tells you who you are apart from his finished work. Cuz this is who you are. And you better know it. Come on. This is it's all scripture. It's not my notes. I'm just reading the Bible off the big screen. Is that cool or what? You can't say I'm adding it. It's right here.
Ah, therefore, don't let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lust. Sounds like you have some options here. Watch this. And do not present your members. Stop believing this is who you are. Don't present yourself to this life anymore. Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteous. Stop waking up thinking you're ready to fail. Stop presenting yourself as instruments of unrighteousness. Stop thinking you're filthy and dirty and weak. Let the weak say, "I'm strong." Do not do not present your members as instrument, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
You know what that looks like? You waking up in the morning. Father, I thank you. You've made me free. I thank you sin has no hold of me. And who the Son has made free is free indeed. You've cleansed me of all unrighteousness. You've forgiven me of all sin. And I thank you. I stand holy, blameless, and above reproach. Accepted in your sight, complete through Christ Jesus. I don't have needs today. Nobody has to say the right thing. You've done the right thing. And I believe I am not sin waiting to happen. I'm a son in the making. And you're manifesting your glory to me and through me. And somebody's going to know you more because of your great love. God, thank you for life. That sounds better than complaining and dreading the day and waiting to fail.
If you wake up and try not to sin, of course you will. You're sin conscious. If you wake up and manifest righteousness and accept being his, wow, you don't wake up and try not to sin. You wake up and enjoy being a son. And I mean a daughter, too. Girls, I'm talking to you. Come on. If I'm a bride, you can be a son for this sermon. You ought to see me in my dress. He thinks I look good. He made me look good. I think on that day I think that'll never happen, but I think I'm going to take my time and come down the aisle slow. Cuz man, I look good to him. He's going to say, "Father, he's awesome. Look what I've done." Yeah, you've done good, son. I love him. I know. I wish he'd get down here. Now, it ain't going to work like that. It's just something I toy with. I'm just going to be like, you just paint these funny little pictures.
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under the law, but under grace. That's an amazing phrase that see this is what people that are saying there's this false grace grace revolution out there. They're missing the beauty of this. What he's saying is don't get condemned. Don't become a product of what you fail in. Run to God and let him keep perfecting you. Keep working out your salvation with fear and we haven't found a way to sin and get away with it. We found a way to be free. So you can't fail cuz you're not under the law. You're under grace.
But he knows how far some people will try to take that. So he says, "What then? Shall we sin because we're not under the law but under grace?" No, we already settled that. You're dead to sin and alive unto God. And he who has died is free from sin. And we're not going to present ourselves members to sin. We settled that. Certainly not. Oh, what is this? Fourth time. Do you not know this fourth time? Do you not know? Maybe some of us don't. That to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey. What you believe you are is what you'll serve. Right?
And the people that are saying, "Yeah, but you're always going to sin, brother." are very conscious of sin, which means they can't be conscious of righteousness, so they can't produce the fruit of holiness. They're preaching their own experience, not the finished work. Wow. Is that fair? Is that safe to preach in your house? Good, man. I knew I liked you from the get. See, honestly, I like everybody, but man, I'm telling you, there's people speaking out of turn. Yes. And there's people that have too much to say and they haven't been with him. They haven't really they're just preaching what they've been taught. Seminary stuff, circle camp stuff. Come on. God's doing away with all that. Thank you, Lord. And he's preaching his son.
Do you not know that whom you present yourself a slave to obey, you're that one slave whom you obey? Whether it's sin leading to death or obedience leading to righteousness. Come on, that's simple, guys. But God be thanked that though you were were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart. We're not using grace. We obeyed from the heart. That form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And h here it is again. Having been set free from sin. You became slaves of righteousness. I looked that word up. You know what slave means? Bound and chained and destined to serve. I am bound to the testimony of righteousness and chained to it to serve it the rest of my life. I have one testimony right in the sight of God. Oops.
And it's his fault. You see that cross over there? Anything hanging on a pole has been cursed by God. You have to understand that God did not curse his son on the cross. Some people think he cursed his son. He made his son to be sin and cursed sin. Sin was killing us. God cursed sin in the flesh and sin shall have no dominion over us. For the law of the spirit of life through Christ has made us free from the law of sin and death. You say, "Yeah, but he was made a curse so we can receive the promise and the blessing through Abraham." Galatians 3. Yeah. He who knew no sin was made to be sin. What God curse on the cross? The thing that was killing us.
As Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, so shall the Son of Man be lifted up. What's he talking about? Because if you go to the SC story, they were complaining, loathing the worthless bread. God's your terrible leader. Moses, you're no good at all. We're lost. We ought to just go back to Pharaoh. Wish we never left Egypt. It was bad. These serpents, it's a crazy story. These like these things just showed up and started biting people by the thousands. Sin and death. It's It's not It's crazy, huh? They went, "Ah, we sinned." They said, "Moses, would you please go to God and tell him we're sorry? Would you ask him to remove this thing?" It's Numbers 21. You guys know this isn't a The medical symbol today is a snake wrapped around a pole. comes from this story.
God goes to Moses, type in shadow of Christ on behalf of the people, priest unto God, priest unto men. He goes and says, "Listen, the people are realizing how bad they sinned and they're asking you to relent and remove this thing." And he said, "Listen, Moses, I I'll take it away. Here's what I need you to do. That serpent that's biting them, you make a replica and put it on a pole. You make it of bronze and you lift it before the people." Well, that sounds like a graven image. It sounds weird. Why do you make the thing that's killing them and put it on a pole and hold it before the people? Why don't you hang up a flag that wave a flag that says yah? Like why don't you take Aaron's rod that budded and hold it up and represent life as if to why don't you point to God? Why are you putting a serpent on the pole? So I'm asking the Lord, I'm a year old in the Lord. I'm laying on my bed. Lord, I don't understand why you're putting a serpent on a pole. It sounds like a grave image. Why are you putting on the pole? What's killing them? Why don't you encourage them with something that you are? He said, "Because they're my Hebrew people and they know my Levitical law and they know anything hanging on a pole has been cursed by God." So when Moses lifted the bronze serpent, they knew that I heard Moses's prayer and I cursed what was killing them and faith rose in their heart and they were instantly healed. And even so shall the son of man. He who knew no sin was made to be sin so we might become the righteousness.
He doesn't want you to see a suffering savior. He doesn't want you to cry at Easter and watch the movies. He wants you to go, "God, you're amazing. You put your son to pay the price that I could never pay. You cursed what was killing me and I instantly go free. Wow. I reckon myself dead to sin, alive under righteousness, and by your stripes I am healed. It's all in that book. Oh, it's there.
For just as you presented your members, uh, let's back up. But God be thank though you were slaves to sin, yet you obeyed from the heart the doctrine which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became a slave to righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves for uncleanness and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for so how are you going to wake up every day?
Father, I thank you for making me clean. I thank you for washing me and making me pure and seeing me apart from every mistake I've ever made. God, I thank you that you've placed me back in the garden of your paradise and your delight, the very garden of Eden, and you take pleasure in me. God, I thank you surround me and fill me with good things. And it's your pleasure to give me the kingdom. I so appreciate the gift of life through Jesus Christ. Thanks for loving me. Wouldn't it be awesome if you actually believe that and start communing that and actually exchange that with the Lord? Wouldn't that be awesome? That sure beats feeling like a failure. Wondering if you're going to get it right today. Wondering if God's mad at you. Wondering it. Oh yeah.
For when you were a slave of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Do you see why it's so detrimental to tell people they're always going to sin and they're never going to be perfect? And what are you saying, brother? You never sin. They're keeping the church sin conscious and then they're free in regard to righteousness instead of slaves to righteousness because you can't think you're both. You're either sin waiting to happen or you're righteous. Do I need any more proof? I showed you three sections of scripture. And there's more. Well, I could show you. And I know you believe me.
What fruit did you have with those things? You're now ashamed. For the end of those things is death. But now, here we go. Third time. Unbelievable, huh? Believe it. But now having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God, that just means you're chained and bound to his testimony. You have your fruit. So look what the lies trying to do. Well, brother, you know you're always going to sin. You're never going to be perfect. Look what it's trying to stop. It's trying to stop the fruit of a holy life. And misguided people stand strong in that thing and don't realize what they're dismantling because the fruit of believing you're righteous is what? Holiness without you trying to be holy. So I guess all glory goes to God and you are what you are by his grace. And the and everlasting life for the wages of sin, death, gift of God, eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Is that rich or what? Is there any worship people prepared that could just help me for a little and