John 4:34
Dec 16, 2018 AM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I. Introduction (Geneses 2:2,3)
A. God likes to WORK
1. It actually took work for God to create this immense universe
2. Didn’t just snap His fingers, so-to-speak
3. He took six long days, to carefully design and craft every atom, every molecule, every grain of sand, every star in the sky
4. A lot of work went into this universe
5. But that’s okay – God likes to work
B. He likes FINISHING what He starts more!
1. It is a characteristic of God that we should be very grateful for! He is not a quitter.
2. He finished everything He started – and it was good (Gen 1:31)!
3. Ecc 7:8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
C. God is at work on every person in the world
1. Convicting people of their sin – conscience, preaching, Holy Spirit (John 16:7,8)
2. Drawing them to God (John 6:44; 12:32,33)
3. Calling out a people unto Himself
4. Converting people who believe
5. And then Changing them into not just better people, but a holy people
D. There are three parts of the work of God…
1. When God separates the believing sinner from the PENALTY of their sin (redemption, justification, salvation)
2. The work of God separating the believer daily from the POWER of sin (sanctification)
3. And one day, the completed work that takes us away from the very PRESENCE of sin (glorification) – absent from the body and present with the Lord!
E. God started the work of redemption, back in the Garden of Eden, with two lambs that were killed in place of Adam and Eve, so that they didn’t have to die for their own sins, and then 4,000 years later, in the fulness of time, He finished the work of redemption on the cross – and BOY was it a lot of work!
1. Then entire Old Testament was a description of all that it took for sinful mankind to experience forgiveness and rest
2. All the Levitical laws and rules and precise ceremonies
3. The Old Testament priests never sat down – they were constantly at work
4. The High priest could never rest – he not only had to constantly atone for the sins of all the people, but also had to deal with his OWN sins!
F. Well, one day, Jesus FINISHED ALL the Work of Redemption (John 19:30)
1. On the cross, everything was completed
2. In that moment, Jesus made us righteous before God – justified us – forgave us of every sin, past, present and future!
a. Joh 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
b. By living the perfect life that none of us ever could live
c. By taking the place of absolutely everyone in death, so that anyone could live forever
d. By rising again, defeating even the ultimate penalty for our sin – death
e. Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
f. Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
g. 1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
h. 2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
3. Our Salvation is finished – complete – a done deal – paid in full – perfect
4. Paid every debt we ever will get ourselves into
5. There is now nothing more to do than to just BELIEVE IT AS DONE!
a. Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
G. Most people have Sanctification confused with Salvation
1. Salvation is done only by God through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection
2. Sanctification is a cooperative process with God
a. It is a process of Growth, and personal godliness
b. You entered a state of sanctification at salvation (1Cor 1:30) – belonging to God, separated from the world system around us now (John 17)
c. But we still sin (1John 1:8-10) – still wrestle with our old nature
d. And Jesus does not leave us to wrestle alone – wrestles with us, work on us, and changes us
3. Don’t mix them up
a. Or else you will think that you have to be perfect before God will allow you into heaven
b. Or else you will constantly battle guilt and depression over sins in your life still
c. Or else you will believe you can lose your salvation
H. The need is for a believer in Jesus Christ to allow Him to finish the work that He began at their salvation
I. What is the Work that Christ is Busy At Right Now in Us?
1. To make everything in our lives actually work together for GOOD (Romans 8:28)
2. To conform us (mould our character) to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29; 1John 3:2) – also referred to as being transformed (Rom 12:1,2) – mature us (does not happen by accident)
3. To make us holy (1Thes 4:3) in an ungodly enviroment
4. To get us to live by faith and not by sight (Gal 2:20)
5. Writing the laws of God into our hearts (Heb 8:10) For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people
6. Getting us to do the will of God (1Thes 4:3) – instead of just doing whatever comes naturally
7. Enabling us to live IN this world, but not be dependant upon the world (John 17:18,19)
8. The goal is to sanctify us wholly, completely (1Thes 5:23) just as He has saved us thoroughly!
9. To get us all the way to heaven! (Php 3:21) Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
II. Message
A. God made some promises to us concerning our sanctification
1. He will never leave a believer – even if a believer leaves Him!
2. He will always be working on us, and in us, and through us (Philp 1:6)
a. Perfecting us (Psa 138:8) The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
b. Pruning us
c. Strengthening us in the inner man (Eph 3:16)
3. And he Will FINISH the work He has started in us
B.
But there are some things WE need to do,
so that God can finish the work HE has started, in the way that He meant for
us…
By the way, if we don’t do these things, we will quickly become Bitter,
Grouchy, frustrated, full of regret
1. Learn of Him (John 17:17; Matt 11:29)
a. Vast amounts of Bible reading, preaching, study, testing what you learn, and proving what you learn (1Thes 5:21)
b. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus
c. The disciples spent 3 ½ years almost non stop listening to every word and learning from Him, questioning Him, arguing with Him, proving Jesus to be true!
2. Yield to His Pressure – super important
a. 1Pe 5:6,7 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
b. Allow God to be in control – trusting Him – not those that are in the way, but Him (Proverbs 3:5,6)
c. Yield to His chastening (Heb 12:5-11)
1) Endure it – without murmuring
2) Waiting on God to finish what he has started
3) It will be beautiful (Eccl 3:11)
3. Trust and Rest in the Work being Done In You
a. You will trust something or someone
1) Either a drug, or a drink
2) Or a friend or a spouse
b. And it will be shown in how you rest in their care
c. But nothing and no one can hold you and carry you through like Jesus
d. Isa 30:15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning [REPENTING] and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength
e. Trusting Him is more than just believing in Him
1) Believing a doctor can do surgery is not the same as trusting that doctor to open you up and not harm you!
2) You can believe in airplanes and still not trust them
3) Many people claim to believe in Jesus, but do not trust Him to tell them what to do with their lives, how to live their lives
f. Trust God’s work, His will, His ways, His timing, and His character – that He is good
4. Obey Simple Instructions (Exodus 19:5; Deut 14:2)
a. Our will enslaves us – to our flesh, our passions, our lusts
b. But as we God’s word, even when it is against our will, we are changed
c. Examples:
1) Jonah needed to obey the will of God for his life – if he had yielded, and just obeyed, he would have been the greatest prophet ever in history.
2) But instead he went down in history as the bad attitude prophet
3) God never explained everything – like most parents do with their kids today – he just told them what to do, and expected them to obey
4) THAT made Israel mature, wiser, than all other nations
5) Because God is right
6) Like when he told them to wash when they touched dead things
7) Like when God told them to rest one day out of six
d. Obeying those simple things made Israel a holy, sanctified people
e. Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
f. Deu 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
5. Be Thankful for everything – start noticing what God is doing (Col 3:14,15
a. Such an important part of the sanctifying, purifying process
b. Change the way you look at other people – love them, cover everything people do against you, with charity
c. And choose to thank God for them!
d. It will change you the most!
III. Some Don’ts
A. Don’t block, hinder, frustrate, or limit God’s work in you and on you
1. Psa 78:41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
2. Mar 6:5,6 And he [JESUS] could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
3. Mark 5:17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
4. Isa 59:1,2 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
B. Don’t Neglect Salvation
1. Most people don’t want nor expect God to save them – they want to be able to say THEY saved themselves
2. Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation
3. Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment
C. Don’t confuse Salvation (one time event) with Sanctification (on-going process)
1. There is NO work for you to do to become forgiven – just ask and believe it to be true because Jesus made it available to anyone
2. But, when you rebel against God’s Spirit, or sin, or fall, just get back into that place of forgiveness (1John 1:9)
D. Don’t be so hard on yourself Christian
1. You WILL not ever “apprehend” what you are striving for in this life (Philp 3:13)
2. You will never be able to say, I no longer sin or no longer am selfish, or say I have complete victory over my old nature
3. Sin WILL deceive you and mess your life up
a. Rom 7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
b. Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
c. Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
d. Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
e. Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
f. Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
g. Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
h. Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
i. Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
j. Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
k. Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
l. Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
m. Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
4. The devil delights in reminding you of every mess up and sin
a. Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
b. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, but doesn not remind us of it once confessed
5. Allow yourself to BE a failure at times – just a yielded one (See Jeremiah 18)
E. Don’t Quit
1. God won’t quit on you – believe this!
2. He will remain faithful to you
a. 1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
b. 1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
c. Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
3. You CAN be faithful
a. Eph 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
b. Col 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
IV. Conclusion
A. God is at work on every person in the world
1. Convicting people of their sin – conscience, preaching, Holy Spirit (John 16:7,8)
2. Drawing them to God (John 6:44; 12:32,33)
3. Calling out a people unto Himself
4. Converting people who believe
5. And then Changing them into a holy people – sanctifying them
B. Jesus FINISHED ALL the Work of Redemption (John 19:30) on the Cross!
1. Paid every debt we ever will get ourselves into
2. There is now nothing more to do than to just BELIEVE IT AS DONE!
a. Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
C. Have you Let Jesus save YOU yet?
1. Salvation is done only by God through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection
2. Believe it is done, and accept it like a free gift and you are SAVED!
D. Sanctification is a cooperative process with God that makes you holy
1. It is a process of Growth, and personal godliness
2. You entered a state of sanctification at salvation (1Cor 1:30) – belonging to God, separated from the world system around us now (John 17)
3. But we still sin (1John 1:8-10) – still wrestle with our old nature
4. And Jesus does not leave us to wrestle alone – wrestles with us, work on us, and changes us
E. There is work for you and I and every believer to do to grow, so that Jesus the Son of God can actually change and grow you to become like He is
F. The need is for a believer in Jesus Christ to ALLOW Him to finish the work that He began at their salvation
G. And by the way, your efforts in sanctification are NOT what sanctifies you
1. You do NOT become more holy, as you labour so hard
2. It is God that sanctifies you as you yield and obey and rest, and praise Him
3. Our labour needs to be in the TRUSTING and PRAISING and just OBEYING whatever God says do, and YIELDING to His pushes and pulls and tugs and calls!