Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Redemption Realities

We’re still waiting to get started on that new series. We keep getting sidetracked, so we’ll see. The Lord’s timing is perfect, amen? A lot of good things are going on. The Lord is just doing some great things in our midst. But as we were just seeking the Lord and kind of waiting to see timing and the course, looking at where we are as a fellowship and what God is doing in our midst—we are a blessed people to know His lordship, to be partakers of the body of Christ, what Father has done in our lives. So many of us He is knitting together and making us one. We are just so thankful for that, the good things that He is doing in our midst. All the while, we want to remember and recognize that it’s not about making us one; it’s about making us one in Him.

There are a lot of organizations that have great unity, a common purpose. The key for us is to always focus on what the common purpose is, and that is the glory of the Lord, to honor the Lord Jesus in our lives, to be able to go out and to represent Him, to live lives that are holy and separate, and to be the salt of the earth, to be the light of the world, to help each other become that. Our unity is not for personal gain and comfort and safety. Our unity is for the purpose of representing the kingdom of God, of being about Father’s business. It is not something that is self-determinative. It’s not something that we are doing for a personal end, for a temporal end, but our investment in each other’s lives is eternal. It is for the glory of God.

As He has brought us and He is making us one, in that process of making us Christlike, the ongoing process called sanctification, we’ve got to realize that if sanctification is a continuing, ongoing process, then we are going to have ugliness in our midst that is constantly having to be refined and purged out. Therefore, those of us that are perfect have to be patient with those other people and let God work it in them and hope with them to the end of this.

The process of sanctification, however, is not able to work in the life of a person who has not been regenerated. What am I saying? If you are having trouble being sanctified, you might not be regenerated, or saved. So we want to talk a little bit about what it means to be saved. You think, "Here we are, Christian believers." We want to go back to the basics of understanding what the Lord did on our behalf, and what it means to trust in the great gift of salvation that has been afforded every one of us. We talk a lot about sanctification, but we need to talk about regeneration.

As you’re taking your notes right now, we want to talk about four very important words: redemption, justification, regeneration, and sanctification (which will ultimately end in glorification). We want to take a little bit of time and look at what the Lord has done and is doing in each of our lives and the great realities of redemption. Aren’t you thankful for redemption today?

When we talk about redemption, we have to understand exactly what is meant by that—"to redeem." We’ve talked about it before. How many of you are old enough to remember S&H Green Stamps or Blue Chip Stamps? Anybody here? Okay, I see you guys, you old people. Kids are going, "What in the world are you talking about?" You used to go to the store, and when you’d buy food, they would give you these—what was it here on the East Coast, Blue Chips, S&H? We had both; California has it all. We as kids remember that you would go to the store, and Dad and Mom would buy something. As they gave you your receipt, you got all these stamps. You had this little book, and you’d go home. Guess who got to lick the stamps. So the kids would lick the stamps, and then your tongue would stick to the pillow that night when you were trying to go to sleep, and all the cool consequences. Then when you filled up those books, for eight thousand books, you could get, like, a towel. You would go down then, and you would take those stamps, and you would "redeem" a towel. Until I got saved, I never really understood that that towel was under the power of Satan—it needed "redemption." You would go down, and you would pay the price, redeeming that with these particular stamps. You are paying, in essence (as it pertains to sin’s power and Satan’s dominion) a ransom. The redemption is the paying of a ransom. That which is being held in captivity is redeemed or ransomed. In the process, it is not just delivered, but it is also (as it pertains to your and my salvation) purchased. We are going to see in the Scriptures that we are no longer our own. We have been bought with a price.

How does this go on, and how do we need to view ourselves in the process? One of the main problems that we have today, especially out preaching the gospel, is we’re preaching in a time when secular humanism is the primary religion of our nation. What it propagates is existential thought processes, meaning there are no absolutes—there is not good or evil. Everything is relative to the moment of one’s own judgment of what is right and wrong as an individual. That is a long way of saying that, basically, most people today don’t think people are all that bad.

Now think with me for just a moment, because I want to show you how many of us believe that more than we think we do. When we go out and share salvation with people, we talk about them being "totally depraved." We know that is our theology. But you know, many of us don’t relate to the world like they are totally depraved. We befriend them in business deals, and we trust them, and we say they are "not all that bad." The fact of the matter is they are. I’m not saying that we’re not to have anything to do with them. I’m saying we’re in the world, not of it. But we, as believers trying to be sanctified, need to understand the power and the influence that they can have over us. They are vexing us constantly. In reality, their lifestyle, their philosophy, has access to us, because there is still something in us that relates to that. "In me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18). They have a hold on us. They have access to us.

Sanctification is the process of guarding ourselves against that, putting on the armor of God, resisting the devil, and causing him to flee, not giving back ground that we’ve taken, but having done all, what? Stand. Now the reason that a lot of us have trouble with that is after being saved we don’t think we’re all that bad anymore. We judge ourselves by our intentions and by our actions—"I go to church now. Externally, the body [of believers] keeps pretty good reigns on me."

What are we when we’re alone, and what are we in the presence of God as He reveals our hearts to us? If your light be darkness, how great is that darkness! So I want to take a little bit of time and cause us to step back and just remember what we were, what is still in us, and what we’re capable of. It will make us thankful—a renewing of a thankfulness, a renewing of our first love—that we’ve been redeemed from that, for sin no longer has dominion over me. Praise God for that!

So let’s go back and look at a couple of things, and I think that this will help us out. Turn to Hebrews for just a second, and we’ll look at a couple of passages to, number one, allow us to be motivated again into that hunger and thirst for righteousness, that pursuit of Christlikeness or sanctification, a renewed thankfulness of what Jesus has done for us. We are thankful. I know that. I’m not trying to diminish that at all. But the reality is it can become common. We can lose sight of those great things that have been given to us. Do you want to know why? Because it is human nature to not place the best value on something that has been given to us. When I earned it, when I sweat for it, when I bled for it, I value it. But the free gift? Think with me for just a moment. How easy is it for Satan so often to diminish the free gift and to put our focus on the things that we are acquiring in our own strength and by our own perceived righteousness and by our sacrifice and our obedience? None of that makes us right with God. Everything that makes you right with God is impossible to obtain or purchase in your own ability; it’s a free gift. How thankful we are for that!

So we have to go back to the beginning and understand who we are as the sons of Adam, that breach that came between God and His man, that innocence that was lost in Eden. We are no longer innocent. The Scripture makes it very clear in Psalm 51 that we have been "shapen in iniquity." There is nothing in us in the natural that is prone toward righteousness and holiness. Being conceived in sin, being shapen in iniquity, all of us, as the sons of Adam, were born into this. It is that which we call, of course, a "depraved nature." The thing about depravity is not just that it is wickedness that has to be judged, but depravity is relational. The depraved person is the person who is dominated, or lorded over, by Satan. Unsaved man is totally depraved not because of his actions, but because of who his lord is. That is the thing that can set many of us free and bring joy to us in our pursuit. Our righteousness is not based upon our performance, but on who we relate to and who is lord of our life. We need to begin to minimize and diminish the keeping score of our performance and instead spend the energy, the time, in our thankfulness for the free gift that has been given to us.

In Hebrews, Chapter 3, let’s take a look at this for just a moment. Look at verse 12. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation." We’re not going to take time to go back through that whole context of this, but we see here that they could not enter into the promise, ultimately (verse 10), because of their unbelief, their unpersuadableness, of the free gift of God, the righteousness of God. The evil heart of unbelief was one that looked to the natural. It was based upon personal confidence, self-righteousness, a "works" mentality. The thing that I want you to see is that unbelief, or the natural mind, is the seat of the evil heart. The inability to understand, to comprehend, what God is really doing in us and for us, this lack of trust in God, is what gives access, again, to the enemy into the mind of the believers.

He talks about man in general in Romans 3, a passage that we’re familiar with. Turn over there for just a second. It’s one that we’re very, very familiar with. We quote it when we’re out witnessing quite often. It’s part of the Roman Road that many of us have been taught in our evangelism. But in Romans, Chapter 3, verse 10, it says, "There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

We’re just taking a moment here. This isn’t where we’re going spend all of our time, but I’m just wanting to take a moment to remind you where you’ve come from and that through an evil heart of unbelief, or the lack of renewing our minds on a daily basis, that is who we are. That is where natural man gravitates. There is none that seeketh the Lord. Let me ask you something. If that is the case, how many of you are kind of proud—don’t raise your hands. How many of you are having kind of a good week? You’ve been doing your devotions and praying, been witnessing, and you just had a good week, and you’re just really kind of patting yourself on the back—"Praise God! I’m pressing on toward the mark, the prize, the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Did you have one of those weeks? That is not you, because there is none that seek after God. That is the work of God’s grace in us. He is working in us to (say it) will and to do His good pleasure.

We’re taking just a moment to remind ourselves to put away all trust in the flesh, in our natural abilities, in any of our natural traits, tendencies, gifts—you know, those of you whose families and genetics are superior—and to realize that there is none that seek after God. If you have any appetite at all for God, it is His gift to you. Every move you make toward the presence of the holy God is God working in you. It is the indicator that you’ve been redeemed, ransomed, that Satan no longer is lord, majority influence, in your life. Beloved, the moment you become aware of that, you become a pursuer of holiness and sanctification. It creates in us a thanksgiving. It creates in us a reliance. It creates in us a hope that it can be done. When we lose hope is when we look to our own strength. When we get frustrated is when we begin to keep score. I want to tell you something: the price has been paid in full. The handwriting of ordinances that was against us, the Scripture says, is blotted out. This blood of Jesus that we just sang about, that we were just talking about, paid in full and absolutely abolished this handwriting against us.

We all know the classic Scriptures: "removed as far as the east is from the west," "cast into the sea of God’s forgetfulness." Has the enemy been beating you up lately with your report card this week? "No, I’ve had a good week." Well, self-righteousness is probably one of the most dangerous things that some of us—no, some of you—deal with. An absolute childlike dependence on the finished work of Jesus, and a thankfulness that absolutely captivates our hearts, that would cause us to treasure nothing but to know Him better.

I was sharing with you a little bit in the testimony, and I won’t go back into it. In that one pivotal moment in my life, in my relationship with my family, I told you what my response to my father was. He said, "Choose between your family and this Jesus." I said, "No contest. You didn’t die for my sins." Beloved, that is what it all boils down to. Sanctification is not a choice that we have, whether we want to or don’t. Sanctification is the expression of our love for Him redeeming us, for Him purchasing us from the power of Satan, delivering us from the bondage of sin that is in our members. It is the natural byproduct. Do you want to know what sanctification is? It is saying thank you to God for the free gift that He has given us.

We have to realize who we are. Some of us have been raised in this community here, and we may or may not think we’re all that bad. We haven’t tasted some of the vile things of the world, but that is who you are as Adam’s children—shapen in iniquity, conceived in sin. It is not generational salvation. You are not saved because your mom and dad are saved. You are not saved because you attend this fellowship. You are saved by recognizing the free gift, the finished work of Jesus. It’s very, very important.

Look in that tenth verse of this third chapter of Romans. It says "none righteous." "There is none righteous, no, not one." What does "righteousness" mean? What does it mean? "Right standing." There is nobody in right standing with God. No man can be in right standing with God. He is holy; He’s unique; He’s separate. We begin to realize the condition that man is in, that bondage. John 3:6 says that those that are born of the flesh are flesh—the law of Genesis, each begets after its own kind.

Here we are as a people that have all of those natural tendencies, that propensity toward sin. People think that they are their own man—"I’m my own man. I’m a free thinker." There is not one original thought that any fallen human has ever had. All of men’s thoughts, evil continually, are being propagated by the god of this world’s system, by their lord, Satan. If our minds are not being renewed, that is what we are listening to. See, it’s not about television shows, movies, or music; it’s about kingdoms and who the lord of the kingdom is that we’re entertaining, whose tune we’re dancing to. It’s okay to dance; it had just better be the right orchestra.

We are looking, then, at what has been done for us and at the universal bondage Satan has humanity in. We know he is called "the god of this world who blinds the eyes of men, lest they should believe," the Scripture says. Remember when Paul was answering the king. Turn over to Acts for just a second. This is quite a theological statement that he makes in this confrontation that he is having with the king, with Herod Agrippa. If you will look at this, as the context goes and Paul is being grilled for his message, he begins to share his testimony, some of what Father has done in his life. Look down to about verse 15. He is starting to tell his testimony a little bit about his encounter on the road to Damascus. He says this. Did I not give you the chapter? Chapter 26. There are a whole lot of verse fifteens in the Bible. Chapter 26 of Acts. He begins to rehearse this testimony. He says, "[I was just minding my own business. I was on the way, persecuting the church, and everyone was knocked to the earth.] I heard a voice…, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for [here is why] I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, [I want] to make thee a minister and a witness. [You’re going to the Gentiles.]" And then he makes a very interesting, all-inclusive statement in verse 18: "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. [To bring them to an understanding of the scope of Satan’s power.]" Look at this: "the power of Satan." Natural man is not neutral. Natural man (as we read in Romans 1) does not want to retain God in their conscience, and so God turns them over to reprobate minds to cause them and allow them to do those things that are not convenient.

We’re not living in a neutral world. Those that are not of the kingdom of light are of the kingdom of darkness. They are of their father the devil, the liar, the deceiver, he who goes about seeking whom he may devour, he who has come to what? Kill, steal, and destroy. Beloved, we’re at war. Many of us, though it is contrary to our doctrine, treat the world’s system like it is neutral, treat the people that we deal with like they’re neutral. We almost make apologies for being Christians in this humanistic society because of our tolerance. We don’t want to make waves. We know the extremeness of our position as the sons of God, and they hate us because they hated Him.

Our cowering down in society, our apologies for our beliefs, is the dominion of Satan. So what do we do? Those of us that are saying, "Well, it’s hard being sanctified." I’ve heard Jeff so frustrated before. You’ve heard it a number of times, talking about our kids—"Well, I just don’t want to make that total commitment." Let me tell you something. If you haven’t made a total commitment, you’ve made no commitment, because you are not your own when you know what redemption is all about, when you’ve been bought with a price. Do you want to know what a person who has not made a total commitment is? A hypocrite—to both kingdoms, a liar in both kingdoms. Why? Because it is the tendency of their father, the devil. Why would we come to church and not make this absolute commitment? Because we haven’t come to understand how valuable this gift is that has been given to us, how much we’ve been loved of God, how precious that blood really is. We don’t really believe that to retain our lives is to mock and diminish and to tread under foot the blood of Jesus Christ. We think we can put our own standards of morality and our own measure of what is acceptable and unacceptable in the pursuit of holiness.

We’ve heard parents say here in our midst, "Well, our kids are good kids." If they are not holy, they are of their father the devil; there is not any good in them. We have to come to that understanding if we’re going to understand what redemption is, what we have been redeemed from. There are no good people that don’t know Jesus as Lord. Well, we’ve sure taken a long time to make that statement, haven’t we? But you see, this is where it is. I don’t care if you’ve been born in church, raised in church. We’ve all been conceived in sin, shapen in iniquity. We all have to be purchased, bought back from the lordship of Satan, the power of sin, and receive that free gift and embrace it. Then by the gift of God’s faith, we can believe unto regeneration—faith to receive the grace to partake of that spark of life, that regeneration, that renewing of the spirit man, that being born again. We’ve got too many people trying to be sanctified that aren’t saved. That’s what the problem is. Many of us have deluded ourselves and those that are around us into thinking, "Well, they’re trying. Their hearts are right. Their intentions are good."

Now, don’t mistake what I’m saying. In this pursuit of holiness and godliness, in this walk of sanctification, we’re going to mess up. We’re going to fall; we’re going to sin. And He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thank God for that. That is not what I’m talking about. What value have we placed on the blood of Jesus? How do we perceive our sins, as our "rights", or "it’s not all that bad"? Some of us took the teaching on disputable matters and ran with it. We need to remember what manner of men we are and how dangerous it is and that there are only two kingdoms.

Romans 6 talks about it. Turn over to Romans 6 for just a second. Paul is speaking here, of course. This is the classic passage on our freedom from sin’s power. We’ve spent, over the years, a lot of time going through these few chapters. "How shall we, that are dead to sin [Paul says in verse 2] live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" Basically, all he is talking about is this. We recognize the effectual working of Jesus’ redemption, the Lamb, slain from before the foundations of the world, this vicarious work that was done on our behalf, and Jesus, made sin with our sin that we might be justified or proclaimed righteous with His righteousness. Are you thankful for that tonight, or have we been deceived like so many people before us in the body of Christ and the history of Christendom, into thinking that somehow we can embrace salvation and not lordship? If Jesus isn’t lord, Satan is.

Paul, addressing that, continues on in this chapter. He said, "[We’ve been] buried with him [recognizing His death and our need to embrace it, as we present our bodies living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God] 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 [not a cleaned up life, but a different life—old things have passed away, and all things have become new, the Scripture says.] For if we have [partaken of that, if we’ve embraced and] been planted together in the likeness of his death [if we’ve died to self-will, self-confidence, ability, worship of the creature more than the Creator], we shall also [experience] 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 [no longer] serve sin."

I’m going to try to condense this a little bit. He is outlining for us the clear understanding that whatever kingdom it is that has dominion over you, whatever kingdom it is that delights you, whatever kingdom it is that you associate with or identify with (and I’m not talking doctrinally, I’m talking about practically), the thing that strikes the chord of our heart—. When you begin to talk about certain subjects, people’s eyes will light up. "Cold Stone"—eyes light up. What he is talking about in this whole passage—you’ve read it so many times, but what I’m wanting you to see is we minimize the blood of Jesus. We fail to recognize that it was sufficient to pay the full price to ransom us from Satan’s lordship.

Get the picture, whatever story you would think of, of somebody being kidnapped and held for ransom. Now what do we do? Whoever the kidnapper is, the first thing he has to determine is how much are they willing to pay for this guy. Right? Some of you are going, "I hope I never get kidnapped!" Growing up, my dad constantly reminded me of my worth. I guess that’s why nobody ever kidnapped me. But anyway, the real issue is not what we are worth, but what it took to redeem us—the value of the blood of Jesus. He placed the value on us. In me, that is, in my flesh, dwells what? No good thing. There is nothing good in us; there is no value in us.

Why this love affair? Why does God love you? Because we were created in His image. We were created to have fellowship with Him. Because God is love. He is not willing that any would perish. Some of you have probably thought about this in depth. Others of us just don’t. Have you ever tried to—it’s futile, but have you ever tried to put yourself in God’s place; and when you’re doing that, how many of you would have just started over? Have you ever thought about that? I would have. I would have said, "You guys are out of here!" Do you know why? Because I’m judging out of a natural heart. God can’t do that. I would have done that in a heartbeat. Is anybody here thankful I wasn’t God? I am! The eternal expression of the attributes of God—His justice, His mercy, His love, His faithfulness, His patience, His kindness—has always been there for His creation, whether it is the angels or man. And His intention for mankind is always good. He made it possible even after the tragedy of the great rebellion and the fall.

To satisfy His own justice—we all know how it works—the price was paid. Part of what I’m trying to take time tonight to do is this: we know the theology, but where is the expression of our thankfulness? There are times we’ll sing about it, but do we live it? Do we require it of those who are around us when they’re making decisions that "probably wouldn’t be best"? It’s not about whether it is best; it’s about the fact that it is a mockery to the price that Jesus paid to set us free from the power of that thing, from identifying with that kingdom. If we begin to think in that vein, we’re going to have more of a jealousy for God’s holiness. We’re going to have more of a thankfulness for the price that has been paid. We’re going to have more of an awareness that we are not part of this world’s system, that we are not under sin’s dominion and power anymore.

That is what Paul goes on to say here. Look, he says it this way. "What you need to do is recognize the reality of the price that has been paid, the victory that has been won once for all. Death no longer has dominion over Him. He has destroyed death, hell, and the grave and its power." "Destroy" doesn’t mean "annihilate." It means "making it ineffectual." So he says, "Likewise reckon [We know what that means: acknowledge. Acknowledge that it is put to your account. Make the declaration.] ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Many of us keep saying, "I just can’t get over that thing. That’s just who I am. That’s just my genetic makeup. That’s just the influence of society." Why don’t we start recognizing what Jesus has done to pay the victory that that no longer influences our lives? I mean habitually. I mean constantly, consistently rising up in the morning. Put it on your mirror: "Sin no longer has dominion over me. I’m bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus." Begin to acknowledge this great work of redemption practically, not doctrinally.

Paul goes on and says, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God." That is not through personal endeavor. We’ll share a little bit later on, as we get into the sanctification aspect of this, that we are participating with this. We are cooperating with Him working in us to will and to do. I’m making that decision based upon the great privilege and the gift we have of individual volition. We call it "free will." But God is constantly moving me in that direction. You are not that guy anymore. You are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Those appetites, those thoughts, no longer dominate your mind. You have been renewed in your mind. You have been given the capacity to pull down every thought and evil imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Reckon yourself dead indeed unto sin. Put it to your own account. Recognize it done once for all. You don’t have to merit it. You don’t have to do it. It is done. We are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ.

Knowing it—if you know who you are, you don’t have to prove who you are. You just know it. Knowing who you are is the greatest—the greatest—ingredient of true biblical humility. It lets you express that you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you and not apologize for that, because you’re not boasting in what you can do; it is through Christ. So we make no apologies. True humility makes no apologies for the greatness of God in us, for the ability to do the impossible, because the boasting is in the Lord.

He goes on to say, "…but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you." How many of you have that underlined in your Bibles? How many of you have that starred and underlined with neon lights? Do you want a great revelation? If you don’t know that sin doesn’t have dominion over you, it will. "Wow, that’s profound!" It is. How are you living? What is dominating your thoughts? Fear? Lust? Envy? Bitterness? Jealousy? Pride? Ambition? Humanism? Worldliness?

We realize that all of those tendencies are in us. They are going to be crying out constantly. Don’t panic when it evidences itself in you. It’s there. It’s not dominant; it’s not lord any longer. Why? Because we’ve embraced the redemption of God. The ransom has been paid. I’ve been bought back from Satan’s power. I’m no longer being held captive.

Now, watch. Here’s the kicker. Here’s what we’re going to end with tonight. The problem is that with many of us, the ransom has been paid, the transaction is once for all. Isn’t that what the Scripture teaches? Jesus entered into the Holy place once. He died once. The Scripture made it clear as we just read a little bit earlier. Look at this. "Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him" (verse 9). Once for all.

So we’ve been purchased with a price. We’ve come out of the bondage of Satan, many of us in our lives. We’ve started this journey, this process called sanctification, and then somehow thought that we could live separately—thanking Him for our deliverance from sin, but failing to realize practically that He did not liberate us to self. He purchased us unto Himself. Slaves of God. Theologically, we say, "Amen. Praise God! I understand all of that." How about practically? Did anybody do anything on their own today without checking with the Boss? How many of you cleared the priority list today with the Boss, the Master? Our alarm goes off; we jump up; hit the snooze—no. We jump up and run in, right? We shave, brush our teeth, microwave our Pop Tart for three seconds, and we’re out the door. Time to work. Why? It’s Monday. Did you ever think the Lord may not have wanted you to go to work today? "I have to go to work. Work, that’s what I do." How many things do we do without even giving God any consideration of what He wants to order our steps in for the day?

I’m using that just as an example to point out how habitually we do not acknowledge His lordship. "Well, I’m just trusting Him. I’m just going about His business. He said if you don’t work, you shouldn’t eat, biblical principle. I’m off to work." Yes, it is a biblical principle, but it’s not a biblical principle that allows us to shut out His lordship, to not listen to His voice and celebrate the privilege of our health and the fact that He gave us the job. What am I saying? We are so prone to our independence. We are so prone to unthankfulness, because we think we deserve what we have. We deserve a devil’s hell. Everything is a gift. Let’s not forget what manner of men we are, and let’s not judge ourselves any way other than the Scriptures allow us to be judged—by our fruit.

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?" The world’s system, family, friends, and ambitions, lusts, recreation—name it. When we understand the reality of redemption, it’s evidenced in the elevation of sanctified living. Matthew 20, we’re going to end with this. Get a couple of verses into your notes, and we’ll pick up with this on the next session, very possibly. In Matthew 20:28, the Scripture makes it very clear that Jesus’ life was a ransom for many, or for all, the Scripture tells us. Universal redemption does not mean universal salvation. Though all men have been purchased and God is not willing that any would perish, according to our faith it is unto us. Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14); few there be that find it (Matthew 7:14). This, many of us count common.

First Corinthians 6, verse 20, we talked about: "For ye are bought with a price [therefore, you are not your own]: therefore glorify God in your [what?] body." So, as we acknowledge that precious—go back to the kidnapping thing. You’ve just been kidnapped, and you’re being held hostage. The problem is, many of us in this life have friends and jobs and recreations that we enjoy. We’re partaking of life. It doesn’t end here. It doesn’t end here. Our lives are a vapor. This is the devil being nice. This is the "we aren’t going to hurt you" part of the kidnapping. The isolation, the darkness, the terror, the torment, is always the fruit of "the thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy."

Question: Do you think that men would be more thankful if they got to spend fifteen minutes in hell and then got ransomed? How many of you think we probably would be? For how long? "Though one come back from the dead, they won’t believe." For a thousands years, He is going to rule and reign, and they are going to turn on Him. What am I saying? Aren’t you thankful for the ability that He has given us to believe? It’s not in us. It’s not natural for man. "No one seeks the Lord." And the torment, you see, most of us just truly don’t believe what we’ve been ransomed from—eternal damnation, separation from God. We’ve been bought with a price.

Last passage, turn to Ephesians. We are really, really, truly, for sure, I promise, I hope, ending with this one. Ephesians, Chapter 1, we’ll unhook with this. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world." Now, not just individuals. It’s not just that He said, "Before the foundations of the world, I choose Bob." But, in fact, He did do that. Redemption was unto all, but upon all them that believe, the Scripture says. So He has called us, and He has given us grace to believe.

"He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be [what?] holy and without blame before him in love. [Do you love Him? Are you thankful, or have we taken for granted, have we counted common, do we think we deserve it? ‘Eh, it’s free.’ Those that have known Him, those that have partaken of the free gift, understand that we have been predestined.] Having predestinated us unto the [maturation, ‘huiothesia’] of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. [We’ll end with this one.] In whom we have redemption [we’ve been ransomed, redeemed, purchased] through his blood, [and have partaken of] the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches [the unsearchable riches] of his grace [His unmerited favor toward us]."

What do you really think you deserve? Aren’t you glad He has given us grace? Aren’t you thankful tonight that He is causing us to see the dangers of this kingdom of darkness, of the vaunting of the creature, of the self-confidence, the boasting of man against God, that many of us have even been vexed into thinking about others and ourselves, "We’re not that bad" or "I’m not that bad"? Do you want to know how bad you were? It cost the blood of Jesus Christ to appease the justice and holiness of our God. To deny it, to fail to reckon it to the account, is to for sure fall back under the lordship and dominion of Satan and sin.

Father, make it real to us, we ask. Cause us to fall in love with You again, to recognize the value of what’s been done on our behalf—the price paid, the victory won, the task at hand to go out and freely share what has so freely been given to us. Our task: light of the world, salt of the earth, ambassadors of Christ, witnesses unto God. Make it real. Make us effectual, Father, we ask, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As Katie comes, we’re going to take just a moment. As we begin to introduce this study, we are really wanting to look at the working of justification in our lives and sanctification. But it just can’t be done until we understand that propensity to continuously want to do our thing and justify our actions, and just humble ourselves before the Lord.

As Katie plays, Larry is scheduled for a major surgery and was wanting us to pray for him, to anoint him with oil. Possibly, there are others that are facing some major adversity, some war that you would like prayer for this evening. We are going to anoint you with oil. We are going to pray the prayer of faith, and the Lord is going to raise you up. Why? Because the price has been paid. "Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil." That’s what this ransom is all about, having been paid.

Larry, come if you would, and any of the others that would like to be anointed tonight and want to know the reality of His blood that was shed that breaks sin’s power. Part of that is healing. Do you need prayer? Do you want to be anointed? Come. I’m not talking about you have to be on your deathbed. I’m talking about we are going to see the blood of Jesus bring about healing. If we can have the other pastors come.

I’m going to anoint you all first, and then we’re going to pray for everyone together. The blood of Jesus—not the prayer of faith. That’s the appropriation; the blood of Jesus has paid the price. We pray in His name, but the blood of Jesus has paid the price. Let’s stand together. Direct your hearts in this direction, and we’re going to believe God tonight. We’re going to believe God tonight in the name of Jesus.

He said, "They shall anoint them with oil, pray the prayer of faith, and the Lord shall raise them up." Let’s pray in the name of Jesus. Father, we come because You told us to, Lord, not on our own merit. (Go ahead and lay hands on them, guys.) Let’s pray.

It’s not on our own merit, not trusting in a prayer, not trusting in a doctrine, but in Your love and the price paid by the blood of Jesus. Those of you that are praying, let the Holy Spirit put somebody on your heart right now and being to direct your faith in that direction. Begin to pray. Begin to do some battling as we reckon to ourselves wholeness.

We are healed in the name of Jesus, because the price has been paid. I reckon it. I acknowledge that. I put it to my account by faith. You’re great, Lord. Hallelujah! Let’s sing it together. "Holy Lord, most holy Lord/You alone are worthy of my praise…." Just acknowledge it done tonight. Raise your hands and just thank Him for what He has done tonight.

We thank You for our salvation. We thank You for the adoption of sons. Lord God, we thank You for the indwelling Spirit in our lives. We thank You for the healing by the stripes of Jesus. Be glorified in our lives, Lord. We do thank You for what You’ve done. We give You all the praise. Thank You, Father, in Jesus’ name, amen. Turn to somebody next to you and say, "It’s paid in full." Go in peace. God’s love go with you.

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