I'll Be Honest

Jesus Christ came to inaugurate a Kingdom that consists of people who have been inwardly changed and made righteous. But we need to make a clear distinction between the righteousness that God produces in His people and the external righteousness of the Pharisees. We need to understand how these righteousness's are different because one leads to heaven and one leads to hell.

When it comes to obeying God, are you seeking to obey Him as close as you can from a heart of love, or are you constantly looking for loopholes to get yourself out of unwanted religious duties? Are you trying to get as close to the edge of the cliff of disobedience, or are you trying to be as far away from it as you can?

Judgment is coming for everyone. You might know what I’m going to say now: “Are you ready?” That can become almost a cliché. Are you ready? We all – Christian and non-Christian - have one of two events in our future: we’re either going to die and face judgment as Hebrews 9:27 says, or we’re going to be alive at the second coming of Jesus and then face judgment as 2 Corinthians 5 tells us. That’s it - one or the other. There are no other options.

Now, let’s look at forgiving ourselves. What does Scripture say about that?... Nothing. Nowhere. Scripture never gives counsel on forgiving yourself, whether explicitly or implicitly. Never. Honest. Go ahead. Look for it. You won’t find it.

[Outline]
0:00 - How Oprah and those in the world speak about forgiving yourself.
0:37 - This video is directed at Christians.
1:06 - The forgiveness which God grants to people.
1:45 - The forgiveness a person gives to another.
2:30 - The forgiveness a person gives to themselves...
2:58 - Why do people think they have to forgive themselves?

When a person becomes a true Christian, they have been changed at the deepest level; in particular, they've been changed down to the level of their appetites and desires. The world and many professing Christians hunger after many different things, but very few people hunger and thirst after righteousness. Very few people feel a longing ache in their souls that can only be relieved by conformity to God's will and the image of Christ. Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness?

Repentance includes a sorrow over sin, but it is actually possible to sorrow over sin without hungering after righteousness. What are some reasons why a person would be sorry for their sin and yet not be earnestly longing to be righteous?

A sensitive and controversial topic in the Bible is biblical womanhood. It's a topic that much of our modern culture is utterly repulsed by. And there are even accounts in the Bible involving women that can make Christians feel uncomfortable. But regardless of what this wicked generation says, we need to understand and be unashamed of what God says about women in His Word.

Outline
0:00 - Introduction
0:47 - Start of Study
4:59 - The Family Series - dealing with women first.
12:47 - Examples in the Old Testament.
39:52 - Genesis 12 - Abraham letting Sarah get taken.
49:11 - Lot offering his daughters? Genesis 19.
55:26 - Imitate all Old Testament examples? No.
1:03:00 - A jealous woman drinking the water of bitterness?
1:06:00 - Why those Laws?
1:14:48 - What about how the Benjamites took wives?
1:20:27 - Why does the OT teach separating from a male child for a longer period of time?

The Lord Jesus Christ taught that heaven will be inherited by people who are merciful. At the same time, we need to understand that Jesus' teaching in no way contradicts the reality of salvation by grace. So how do we reconcile these truths; namely that we're saved by grace, and yet there's a requirement that our life be a life of mercy for us to go to heaven? The answer to this question is vital because it will test whether or not our faith is genuine.

0:00 - Logo Intros
0:14 - Start of Sermon - Matthew Chapter 5 - Blessed are the merciful.
3:07 - What the Greek lexicons say about the definition of mercy.
4:02 - What is the distinction between grace and mercy?
7:07 - The lost world is not merciful.
8:49 - Job intentionally showed mercy to those in need.
11:44 - In the beatitudes Jesus is describing what Christian character actually looks like.
14:40 - Jesus was moved with compassion.
16:21 - Christianity is something that controls us.
19:08 - What are the beatitudes so heart searching?
21:37 - Does the Bible speak about cause and effect? Getting mercy for showing mercy?
27:55 - 1 Corinthians 15 - What is Grace?
35:47 - Context of Luke 10 - The Good Samaritan
46:14 - Luke 10, considering the parable.
57:38 - Think of everyone you passed by on the way to church this morning?
1:06:05 - How do we release such radical mercy as this?
1:08:33 - Closing Prayer

If you were asked to define grace, the idea of "gift" may come to your mind, but would the idea of "power" also come to your mind? When we look at God's grace in the Bible, it doesn't just speak of pardon and forgiveness, but also of power to be transformed and to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to be able to say with the Apostle Paul that when we've labored far more abundantly than our contemporaries, that it's not us, but the grace of God in us.

My friend, we are all eating something in this life. What are you eating? The forbidden food that doesn’t satisfy? Or The Christ - who satisfies the longing soul? Taste and see that HE IS GOOD!