Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Freedom From Sin Pt.1

What a wonderful thing to be in the presence of the Lord just to rejoice in His presence, to know His grace, and His mercy. Look over at Romans chapter six we want to talk today about the subject of living free from sin. It gets tiring having to fight with the flesh day after day doesn't it? Like Pastor says the flesh never gets any better. The sin never goes away it's always there, and every morning we wake up it's battle all over again. It will be that way until we get to go home to heaven, and we can shed this flesh, because that's where the sin abides. That's what causes us, Romans eight says, to groan within ourselves waiting for the redemption of our body. We just want to be like Him. We're like Him now in spirit and we want to be like Him in body as well. We want to receive that incorruptible body in which there is no sin. So we groan within ourselves. At times it can be weary waiting for that day longing for that moment of freedom, and liberty where sin no longer resides in us. But until that day God has provided victory for us, and He's provided a redemption, and a salvation that gives us the power to walk above sin. We see it here outlined in Romans chapter 6. I'm actually today going to borrow a principle that Pastor taught on years ago back in school of the prophets when he was teaching out of the book of Romans. I never sat through the class myself but heard a lot about it, heard a lot about this teaching that just really liberated people. But as you go through Romans chapter six there's four key words here in dealing with our freedom over sin. You can go ahead and write them down right from the beginning because we'll be talking about these today. Very important those words are, know, reckon, yield, and obey.

Know, reckon, yield, and obey. Pastor as he was sharing this years, and years ago was able to bring these principles out of this passage as Paul's speaking here. They are principles that will set you free. They are principles that will release the chains and the bondage of sin. Verse one. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" Dead to sin, what's happening here? How did I get dead to sin? When and where did this take place? Verse three. "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him." Let's talk about that first principle. You see that word "know" there, you see it in verse three, "know ye not." Verse 6, knowing this. Verse 9, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead. He's talking about a recognition on our part of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. You know you think of Jesus dying there as the Lamb of God and your mind immediately goes back to the sacrifices of the Old Testament, the method of atonement, of covering over with the blood of an animal, and rightfully so they were all symbols and types. But just like any symbol and any type the genuine goes far beyond what the type and the symbol provided. Jesus being the genuine went far beyond what those animals could ever provide. Look back at Isaiah chapter 53 for a moment, and let's begin to look at this plan of salvation that God accomplished for us. One thing we know that whatever God does His work is perfect. Nothing can be added to it, nothing can be taken from it. So His work in setting us free from sin is perfect. In the plan of God you no longer have to sin. You say, well I still do. That's not God's fault that's who's fault? That's your fault. It's the weakness of your own flesh. His plan is perfect. What He accomplished there in Jesus Christ on Golgotha was perfect. This morning as you sit here you are perfectly liberated from sin. You do not have to sin. When you and I sin it's because we choose to. It's because of the weakness and the thoughts in us. Here In Isaiah 53 we see this plan start to unfold through His prophets speaking of what will take place. Isaiah 53 verse 3. "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows."

Do you meditate often upon the cross of Calvary? As you meditate, can you see your Savior hanging there dying? I just try to picture sometimes what must have been taking place in the spiritual realm. As you're there trying to imagine your Savior and your Lord dying for you in your place, can you see your sin coming upon Him? He was the sin bearer and He bore upon himself your griefs, your sin, your judgment, your sickness, your pain. Those words there where He says He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, those two words griefs, and sorrows cover the whole sphere of sin, and death, and sickness, and destruction, and anguish, and misery. Any word in the realm that you can think of is covered by those two words. It includes physical pain. It includes physical sickness. It includes mental, and emotional torment. It includes spiritual death. All of the ramifications of sin, He bore and carried upon himself. Yet we thought He was stricken and smitten of God. We thought this was some lunatic being judged by God and that's why He's hanging up there on the cross. That's what man thought. Man didn't understand the plan of God. Verse five. "But He was wounded for our transgressions." That was your place that He took on the cross. Do you see yourself that way this morning? It's hard to imagine when you think of the horrors of the cross. There are the physical horrors and then there are the spiritual horrors. The physical horrors. . . and I don't want to take time this morning to go through, they have researched it medically, and come up with all of the scientific elements, and things that were going on inside of the crucifixion. To this day it's still undisputed, dying by crucifixion is the most agonizing torture known to man. It's the absolute worst possible way to die. When you were crucified you could hang there for days, and animals would come, and birds would come, and peck, and eat your skin while you were still alive. Just the beating, the whipping, the scourging that took place before you were taken off to be crucified killed many men died before they even reached the cross. The horrors of having your skin stripped from you, and shredded, and cut. The abuse and the beatings and the pain of the cross. The cross was just demonic genius. It was designed in such a way to cause the maximum amount of pain, and there was nothing you could do to stop the pain. There was nothing you could do to get out of the pain. You all know the design it was designed when you were hanging there, you actually suffocated, and every time that you pushed up to try to get a breath, to try to inhale, and exhale, you were pushing up against the nails in your feet, and your hands. Just excruciating pain. We all know what it's like just for your finger or your hand to be pricked, or hit with a hammer it hurts. This was just never ending pain to the whole nervous system. Very slow very torturous death. Then when we think for a moment that He was there in my place a lot of times we have a hard time believing that don't we? A lot of times we think I'm not that bad. I've never done anything to deserve a death like that. Yeah, He was there in your place. No, He was just there for the murderers for the really bad people. No, He hung there for you. That was your death. You deserved to die that way. I deserved to die that way. Why? Because of our rebellion against our creator. So He took upon your sins, your griefs. He was wounded for your transgressions. That was your death He died because you deserved that. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord [has done what?] Hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Look back at Leviticus chapter 16 and we can start to see this aspect of the Lord laying upon Him the sin: Him being the sin bearer. Because remember we're talking about Romans six. We're talking about Jesus being put to death, and us being crucified in Him. The cross this morning is your only hope. The cross is where your old man died and the cross is where your new man came to life. It all hinges on the cross. The cross is the start of your new life. Without the cross we're hopeless. Without the cross we're powerless against sin. So here in Leviticus chapter 16 we start to see how much of this was affected. Moses was told to give Aaron some instructions and Aaron was to take two goats, one you see it there in verse 15, one goat was to be a sin offering, and Aaron was to kill the goat of the sin offering, and to bring His blood within the veil to make atonement for the sins of the people there upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat. That was the first goat the goat of the sin offering. But then there was a second goat. This was to be done once a year. At other times there was just one animal sacrifice. This was a special once a year offering: The Day of Atonement. Here in verse 21 he says, "And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, [this is the second goat now] and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon [what?] The head of the goat." So there's a transference that's taking place here. This is what happened on the cross. Where in the heart and the plan, in the economy of God, we don't understand how it happened, but we don't have to understand. In the heart of God your sin was transferred unto Jesus. Just like these sins were transferred onto this goat, and then the goat sent away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. Verse 22. "And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited." Obviously a reference or a symbol of Hell. The damnation the condemnation of sin.

So Jesus bore your condemnation. It's correct and again I don't want to go through this in depth because there's a big controversy, been for centuries a big controversy over this, did Jesus go to Hell? Yes He did; He had to. He had to suffer the punishment of Hell and if He didn't then there's still punishment that you and I have to pay. But because He paid it thank God we've been set free from the punishment of Hell. Now as Pastor teaches, we believe that all of this happened in the realm of eternity, there is no time and space. We believe that at the same time that He was suffering under the damnation, and the judgment of God. He was simultaneously received by Father as a pleasing sacrifice, as a pleasing offering. Again we're talking about things we can't understand and can't explain. But we do know one thing Jesus bore our punishment for sin. Not just the physical death but the spiritual as well. And He, just like this goat, went into that land not inhabited to the judgment, the damnation of Hell. There He let the goat go into the wilderness. He carried the sins. He carried the judgment and the punishment. John chapter one verse 29 you don't have to turn there but you ought to get it down in your notes. Do you remember the account of John the Baptist? He saw Jesus and he pointed to Him and he was speaking to the crowds, and he said, behold the Lamb of God which what? Taketh away the sin of the world. That's your hope and that's my hope. The Lamb of God, which taketh away. It's not just that our sins came down upon Jesus; it's the fact that He has carried our sins away, and now we're free. Once when we were laden down with sin now we're not, our sins have been removed from us. Look over at 2 Corinthians chapter five. 2 Corinthians chapter five remember we said before that with Jesus it went so much deeper, so much further than with the animal sacrifices. The animal sacrifices were just a symbol and a type of the true. But when the true came it accomplished what God was really after. Because those sacrifices had to be made every year. Many of them everyday. It was because they could never accomplish the end result that God wanted. They were symbols and types leading up to the real thing in Jesus which was to come. But when Jesus came because the true and the genuine had come, He did away with the types and symbols, and He accomplished what God was really after.

Here in 2 Corinthians chapter five we get a glimpse into what that was. Verse 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." You may see it there in some of your King James versions, to be is in italics, and those were words that were just added by the translator to make it a little bit easier when you read it. But you could read it this way, He hath made Him sin. Jesus Himself there upon the cross being made our sin. Now what's actually being said here? What's being said here is what's being referred back in Romans and look back there if you would Romans chapter six that is what this baptism is all about. That's why this is so important to understand and our ability to walk free from sin. Verse three. "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His [what?] Death?" That word baptism there, baptiso, speaking of water baptism, it means to be totally immersed, to become one with, to be united with. So he's saying here when we were baptized into Jesus Christ we were baptized into Christ by being baptized into His death. Well what was happening at His death? At His death He was made to be sin with our sin. Sin was the common denominator very simply. Sin was the common factor that caused us to be united. Now see this is where He went so much further than the animal sacrifices. Though the animal sacrifices bore the sin and died in the place of the sinner; the sinner could never become united with that animal, and vice versa. There is never the union that took place here.

Now back in 2 Corinthians five you have to be very careful with your terminology here, because it says there, you don't have to turn back there, but is says that Jesus was made to be sin who knew no what? Sin. That's the important distinction that you have to make. Jesus was a perfect spotless lamb He knew no sin. He never committed any sin in all of His earthly life. He was perfect, innocent, sinless. That was the whole reason for the virgin birth. He never had the adamic nature. He was flesh; He was fully man just like you, and just like I. He was fully man subject to all of the same temptations. He was taken out into the wilderness. He was tempted by the devil. He was tempted with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The only difference is because of the virgin birth He was not born under the dominion of the adamic nature. So here He is fully man living among us, a sinless, perfect life. So when we were united with Him in His death it does not mean that He became a sinner. Jesus was never a sinner. He was the perfect spotless Lamb of God, but He was united with our sin. When He was united with our sin, when He was made to be our sin, we became one with Him in death and that's what Paul is speaking here. "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized [where?] Into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Aren't you glad Jesus didn't stay dead? He died; we were buried with Him, united with Him in death. He was made to be sin with our sin, but then when He rose again from the dead we rose again from the dead, because we had been united with Him. Verse five. "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is [what?] crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Something that is dead has no more power. Now it's very obvious from Paul's teachings. He's not saying that the lust for sin, the passions of sin become non-existent. The lust for sin and the passions of sin, the motions of sin as He calls it still reside in our flesh, but now they are without power. Sin can no longer make you sin. Your flesh now is powerless to control you. Through what Jesus did, through what He's provided you can live in victory, you don't have to sin any longer. Old Testament men were enslaved to that adamic nature. They were born into sin just like we are, but they were born into the dominion, and the bondage of sin. Now when we are born again we have been set free from that dominion, and that bondage. He says here our old man is crucified with Him. Speaking in death in just that way when something dies it is of no affect; it no longer has power over you. That the body of sin might be destroyed. Not non-existent, the power that's in that body of sin is destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead in Christ, he that's been buried, and baptized into His death, is freed from sin. "Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him."

So you and I sit here this morning as a people that have been set free from sin. It's just a very simple principle that Paul is speaking of here. When Jesus as a man died upon the cross our sins were transferred unto Him. He was made sin with our sin. In that process we were united with Him in His death. We couldn't be united with Him in His life we had to be united with Him in His death that is where the union took place of Him taking our sin upon himself. But it didn't stop there. He then rose again from the dead, and when He rose again from the dead He broke off the shackles of sin and death. He broke off the shackles of Hell. When He came back He said what? I have the keys of Hell and of death. So now He destroyed that power, and we were made one with Him in Him. Just as He rose up out of that grave now in Him we rose up out of that grave, and we've been set free, and we partake of that newness of life, that resurrection life. That one word there you see it in three places, knowing, to know. Do you really know this? Everything that we just shared about is it just dogma, is it just doctrine, or is it your life? It's hard to imagine isn't it? The natural mind grapples with it, becomes frustrated with it at times because it just can't figure it out, it can't explain it. Let me tell you there is no logical, no rational, there is no reasonable explanation. You can think about it till now until the day you die and you'll never figure it out but it's the revelation of God, and in the mind, in the heart, and the economy of God this is what took place. The mind still wrestles with it. Yeah, but Jesus died 2000 years ago, and how could His death 2000 years ago affect me now 2000 years later? You can't think that way. But it's not logical it's not rational. No, it's not but in eternity there is no time and space. The purposes of God are not confined to our puny little world of existence and understanding.

In the heart of God when Jesus died you died, you were baptized. When Jesus was raised you were raised. Do you know this? Now this knowing is a very important word here because there are lots of different types of knowledge out here. In this world we deal with intellectual knowledge, we deal with learned knowledge, knowledge that we acquire through experience, there's all different types of knowledge. But here and I'm going to use a word that was very popular among the faith movement years ago, and hopefully we'll define what we mean, but this word "knowing" here is really the word revelation knowledge. Revelation knowledge it's not human knowledge, it's not learned knowledge, its not intellectual knowledge, its not experiential knowledge. Revelation knowledge does not come from any natural or human source. Revelation knowledge has one origin and one origin only it's God. It's when God comes and speaks to your heart, and illuminates your heart to be able to receive His truth. Far surpasses the human mind but yet you accept it, it changes you, it's your conviction, you're willing to die for it. Human knowledge is something that you posses. Revelation knowledge is something that possesses you, it changes you, it molds you, it makes you into what you are. It's a knowing within your heart that you're willing to die for it's a conviction. That's what this word here know were He says, know ye not in verse three, and then knowing this in verse six, knowing that Christ in verse nine. When you think about the cross of Calvary, when you think about Jesus taking your place dying beneath your sins, I want to ask you something this morning, is it just another Bible story to you? If it's just another Bible story, if it's part of your belief system, if it's doctrine, if it's dogma, then you will never be free from sin because you don't know this in the way that Paul speaks of it. I think one of the best ways to understand it look over at Job chapter 42 for a moment. This incident in Job's life is one of the best ways I think that illustrates what we're talking about when we're talking about this kind of knowledge. This type of knowing goes far beyond doctrine. This kind of knowing goes far beyond information. We live in the information age and man is so proud of the information he has. The information is worthless in light of eternity. We don't need more information; we need to hear from God. Man can be so proud. We're so proud so many times of the way that we can access information, and assimilate information, and I've got this plan figured out. The revelation that comes only from God blows all of that away. Man cannot boast in revelation knowledge. Man cannot boast that somehow he's been able to figure God out. This knowledge comes from God comes from that still small voice, and no man can take glory in it.

Here in Job 42 verse one this is the end of Job's trial. He's been through a lot hasn't he? When you go through the life of Job you begin realize that Job was perfect in his generation. Job was a man that God called righteous and so we call Him righteous. We don't want in any way to degrade his biblical reputation. Yet when you begin to read through this trial that he was going through you realize that Job was really a self-righteous guy. He thought he was righteous was proud of his righteousness, and then at the end of this trial God speaks to him. We won't take time to go through that but it changed Job's life forever. When you read through those chapters and you hear the discourse that took place between Job and his friends a lot of good stuff in there. How many of you have ever read through the book of Job and have been blessed by a lot of the things that Job said? Learned a lot by those things that Job said. He had a lot of knowledge about God. Had a lot of good information about God the only problem was his heart still needed to be changed. Job had assimilated and learned a lot of things about his creator but he needed to learn a lot more. So God speaks to him and Job answers here in chapter 42 verse one. He says, "I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? There fore have I uttered that I understood not." I uttered that I understood not. He said a lot of good things a lot of right things, but he really didn't understand their depth, and he didn't understand their meaning. Job was a very smart person but he was missing that revelation knowledge. Had acquired a lot of knowledge about God on his own but he was missing the voice of God. I don't care how much knowledge you have, how much education you have, I don't care how much information you've assimilated, spiritually you are stupid until you hear from God. God cannot be grasped with your understanding, and with your ability to calculate, and compute, and reason, and think. God so far infinitely surpasses any human understanding that we can't even begin to phantom. God doesn't fit into our puny brains. He chooses to reveal himself line upon line, precept upon precept, truth upon truth, but it initiates in Him. So Job is beginning to understand this and he says, "I've uttered things, good things, right things, but I didn't understand that. Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me." Verse five is the key. "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee." Job here got a glimpse of that knowledge that surpasses all human knowledge. Job heard from God he partook of that revelation knowledge. He says in verse six. "Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Now let me ask you a question this morning, have you just heard of the cross by the hearing of your ear, and it's doctrine, it's dogma, you believe it, it's your belief system, but does the cross of Calvary seem distant to you, kind of hard to imagine, hard to believe? It's kind of like the fairy tales of old, "Yes, I believe it, but it's just not really real to my heart." If that's the case then you've been educated, you've been taught, you've assimilated information, but you haven't heard from God. Being baptized into His death is not real to you, and therefore it offers no daily power to you. You won't experience the freedom from sin. You won't experience what it's like to be a new creation with old things passing away, and all things becoming new. He says I've heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye what? Now I see you face to face. Now I've encountered you. Now I've experienced your presence. When you think of the cross of Jesus do you see yourself hanging there? Do you feel the agony? Do you feel the torment? Do you know that was your death that you deserved to die? How real is it to you? Is the cross of Jesus Christ a Bible story or is it your reality? Is it your testimony? Is it your conviction? Are you willing to die for Him just like He died for you? Those are all of the distinctions.

When Paul there in Romans chapter six says, know this: that's what he's talking about. When Jesus died there on the cross do you see yourself dying to the passions that are in your flesh? Do you see yourself being crucified to this world, dying to this world as Paul speaks about there in Galatians to where this world system doesn't dominate and control you anyway, you live in another kingdom? This revelation knowledge is what imparts the power to us and without it you won't live free from sin. Let me show you what I mean here look over at Ephesians chapter three for a moment. We'll look at a couple of verses. Let me show you what this revelation knowledge will do for you in your life. So many times in our life we need to put down the books, put away the commentaries, and we just need to hear from God. Reading about men that heard from God won't save your soul. Reading about men who heard from God and reading their works won't save your soul. You must hear from God for yourself. Now we do we use these teachings do we use these testimonies of other men? Sure they're a great help to us. But you've heard the expression so many times you're going to have to go and dig your own well. The foolish virgins went to the wise virgins and said what? Can I have some of your oil and what was the answer? There's a place in your relationship with God that nobody else can go; it's up to you. If you don't do it nobody can do it for you. This is what we're talking about here if you see here in Ephesians chapter three verse 16, Paul says I'm praying for you that God would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit. We can begin to tie things together here. Empowered by His Spirit, strengthened with might by His Spirit. What did Jesus say was one of the primary functions of the Holy Spirit there through John 14, John 16? When the comforter is come, when the Spirit of truth is come He will lead, and guide you into what? Truth. Do you know this morning that you can't find truth on your own? Let me say that again you can't find truth on your own unless God speaks to your heart you will never know truth. I don't care how many hours you spend in prayer, I don't care how many commentaries you memorize, you cannot come to truth on your own you must be led there by the Spirit of God. Unless the Spirit of God opens your eyes you will never know truth. So all of the toil and all of the work, and labor, and striving trying to make yourself more spiritual is in vain, it's useless, it's counterproductive. All that it does is build your own self-righteousness and ego. Knowledge does what? Puffs up. We must hear from God. When He says here to be strengthened with might by His Spirit how are you strengthened with might? You know it just from your own personal experience. What happens when you're in your prayer closet and God truly does speak to you, and God truly reveals to you some truth out of the Scripture, how do you leave? Do you leave with a long face? No, how do you leave? When God truly speaks to your heart you're energized aren't you? You leave happy, joyful. You leave strengthened and renewed, and refreshed, and ready to take on the devil. See this revelation as He leads you into truth, that revelation imparts life to you; it imparts strength to you. It gives you the power you need to accomplish the task. This is what He's saying here in Ephesians three, "strengthen with might by His Spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that you being rooted, and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; to know the love of Christ." Again, this is not through any natural education we're coming to know the love of Christ because of revelation knowledge, we're not hearing from God, we're in an intimate relationship with Him. We're coming to know the love of Christ which passes what? This is supernatural knowledge that surpasses human knowledge. Man can't attain to it. Man can't understand it. Man can't comprehend it. No amount of education or learning or Bible study will acquire this for you this is from a supernatural source. That you might be filled with what? The fullness of God.

Now watch this verse 19. As you know the love of Christ you will be filled with the fullness of God that's what that verse is saying. The more you know how much Christ loves you the more you will be filled with the fullness of God. The more you know and understand how much He wants to bestow upon you, and impart to you, you will be filled with the fullness of God. So when Paul is going through in Romans six and saying, know this, knowing this, this is what he's talking about. He's talking about that revelation knowledge that imparts life, and strength, and victory, a supernatural source and without it sin will dominate you. Look over at Colossians chapter one. Colossians chapter one we'll look down at verse ten. Paul here again is giving us a glimpse into his prayer life. He says I'm praying for you that you might walk worthy of the Lord into all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in what? The knowledge of God, and as you increase in your knowledge of God you will be strengthened with all might. When you hear from God that's when you're energized. This revelation knowledge releases the power of God into your heart and into your life. That's when you begin to walk in supernatural strength. It's when you wait upon the Lord and become quiet before Him, and you hear that still small voice. As you wait upon Him refusing to move by any natural inclination, refusing to move by any natural wisdom, by any natural ability, as you wait upon Him, and Him only, and you say, Father I won't move until I know your heart, and mind. When He speaks to you His heart, and He opens up His heart to you, and causes you to understand His truth, and His purposes, that's when you mount up on wings as eagles. That's when there's the supernatural flow through your life. Now look back at Romans chapter six. Without that revelation knowledge, without that intimate knowing, without the Holy Spirit leading you into truth, you'll never know this freedom from sin in your life. Look at verse three. Know ye not, and really what He's saying is, know this, you need to know this, you must know this, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? His death is where the union was consummated because in His death is where He was made sin with our sin. Then we were raised with Him. He says in verse six, know this, that our old man is crucified with Him. When Jesus died we died in Him. This old life has no power. Dead people don't have any strength. This old life has no power to dominate us we've been set free. The body of sin is not necessarily been annihilated to where it's non-existent but it has been destroyed, all power destroyed. That henceforth we should not serve sin. Verse nine. "Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, and we've been raised in Him, Christ dies no more; death has how much dominion?" No more dominion. Know this. Do you know this, this morning? It's not have you been taught this it's do you know this? It's not have you studied this in your Bible studies it's do you know this? Yes I've heard of Jesus dying on the cross with the hearing of my ears. No it's not that have you seen Him suffer and die upon the cross with the seeing of your eyes? In your heart, in those times of prayer, and in those times of mercy, and forgiveness before His presence as you're there meditating on the tender mercies of the Lord with the eye of faith have you beheld Him on that cross crying out, my God, my God, why has though forsaken me. Is it real to you or is it just doctrine? Paul is saying it's going to have to become real to us. We're going to have to know that His death is my death. I died to this world. I died to the passions of sin. It no longer controls me there's now a higher power that I walk by. Until we come to that revelation knowledge sin will dominate us, we'll still have all the same additions, and chains wrapped around us, but there's freedom for us this morning. There's freedom in His death and in His resurrection. Let's close there for this morning. Tonight we're going to pick up on those other aspects of reckoning and yielding. Once you know, and Dan you can go ahead and come forward, once you know, and reckon, and yield, then the obedience is the natural consequence of the first three. It's just fruit that's being born of the first three. So we'll talk about those this evening.

Father, we thank You for Your Word this morning. We look to You, Jesus. You are our only hope. Father, when we come to the end of ourselves, and we have nothing left to try, we cry out to You, "Jesus I need a savior." Lord, You have so graciously come and saved our souls. You've set us free from sin. You've put us on a path of victory. Father, we thank You for it, and we'll serve You all the days of our life, thank You for bearing our sin upon Your body. We know that we were joined with You in death. Father, we rejoice at being raised in Jesus in resurrection power, and now we walk in that newness of life. For it, Father, we give You all the praise. Let's stand before the Lord. Dan if you would go ahead. We give You praise and glory and honor. We give You praise and glory and honor. We do magnify Your name. Just as we're here waiting before the Lord you never know it's possible that someone might be here this morning that's not born again. You've never accepted the free gift of Jesus Christ and what He provided there on the cross of Calvary. Just while all the believers are praying let me see, is there anybody here this morning, and you just want to raise your hand and say, I want to receive the gift of Jesus Christ this morning. Just with the raising of your hand. I see the one hand in the back there is there anybody else you just want to receive Jesus as your savior? Father, we thank You. We give you all the praise and all of the honor. That one that raised your hand You'll be ministered to after service as soon as we conclude here. Father, we worship you and give You all of the praise. We give You all of the glory. We thank You for the cross of Calvary. We thank You for taking our place. We thank You for setting us free from sin. Father we recognize this morning that body of sin has been destroyed it can no longer hold me captive. Oh it's still there I still fight it everyday but it no longer has the power to make me do anything, I've been set free. We thank You for it, Father. Let's sing this together. "Create in me a clean heart."

As you go today I want you to mediate on the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. I want you to mediate upon what Paul says there in Romans six, to know this. You're freedom from sin will never start until you see yourself hanging on that cross, until you see the fact that you deserved it, and until you see the fact that someone else took your place, and that's where it begins, and that's what Paul was speaking towards. We'll finish that passage up probably tonight. God bless you we'll see you this evening.

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