Something More Powerful than the Word of God pt 2

SPEAKER A You once to every time in the sight of the good or evil sky don't break on you that I choice of life forever with that darkness. And. SPEAKER B The Bible assures us in Ephesians two, verses eight to ten, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Welcome to faith to faith Here are your hosts, Ettienne McClintock and Braedan Entermann. SPEAKER C Dear listener, greetings. A warm welcome to the program. Thank you for joining us again today. We are glad that you're able to spend some time with us as we look at part two of this fascinating subject, something more powerful than the Word of God. Now, if this is the first time you've heard that topic, maybe go back to our website threeabnaustralia.org Au. Click on the Listen button and then go to our On Demand section where you can look at faith to faith and then listen to the previous program which unpacks what we are talking about here. Because we've always spoke about the powerfulness of God's Word, where he commands and it stands fast. He says it and it's done. He says, Let there be light and there was light. So we found something here that can actually override that power. And in the previous program we unpacked that, didn't we Braedan? SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C But as we start the study, we just invite you again for a word of prayer to ask God to bless us and lead us, father in Heaven, we just commit ourselves at this time to you. We just ask that you would lead us through Your Word, through your Holy Spirit, as you have promised. And we thank you for this in Jesus'name. Amen. SPEAKER D Amen. SPEAKER C Now, we look at the promises of God in the Bible. We look at the prophecies of God. And quite often people say that the prophecies are failing us because nothing has happened. World continues as it has from the very beginning. But there's a text in the Bible that tells us that God is actually long suffering, he is patient, he is kind. I know that there is propaganda out there from the enemies of God to say that God is not that, that he can be vindictive, that he is very judgmental and he's an arbitrary judge and he doesn't cut you any slack. But the Bible presents a very different picture. And especially we look at the life of Jesus, we see a very different picture of God. And Jesus says that the words that he spoke, the works that he did, these represented the Father. He presented the father. And even when people asked us, show us the Father and suffices us, and then he said, have I been so long with you, Philip, and you have not known? The Father Jesus came to reveal what God was really like. And we go to this text in Romans chapter two and verse four, where it talks about some people who actually despise some of the attributes of God. And we read in Romans chapter four and verse two, it says, or do you despise the riches of his goodness? Now, there's an abundance of goodness with God. That's why he uses the word riches. God is not impoverished when it comes to goodness. He is abundantly rich, far above that we can even consider, says, the riches of his goodness, his forbearance and long suffering. So the riches of his goodness, forbearance and long suffering are despised by some, and they are ignorant of something. And it says, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance. So what does God ultimately want from us? He wants repentance from us. Repentance from what? SPEAKER D From sin. SPEAKER C From sin. Now, what does sin do? It separates us from us, from God. And it actually shows an ongoing state, a mindset of rebellion against God and His Constitution, his law, his law of his government, which is the law of love. So God here, through the apostle Paul, is telling us that we shouldn't despise his goodness, his forbearance and long suffering. And why there's an apparent delay in the fulfillment of certain prophecies, like Christ's second Coming. SPEAKER D Interesting, because we can be very, very critical, and I think we've all heard it and unfortunately participated in some times where we're critical of God's way of dealing with this problem of sin. We're like, God, why aren't you doing this? You're being unfaithful. Why aren't you doing this? And it's interesting here that there's a group of people that are described as yet despising God's goodness and his forbearance and his long suffering. The thing is, God could solve the problem very easily. When he spoke into the darkness and said, Let there be light, it happened straight away. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D God, with the power that he has as the omnipotent ruler of the universe, he could fix every problem with one click of his fingers, with one thought of his mind, with one word from his mouth, whether we would like to. SPEAKER C Cooperate or not, whether we'd like to do it. SPEAKER D That's right. He's capable of doing it. But what we have here is the first thing god is good. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D And because he is good and because he cares about us, it has determined the way that he responds to this rebellion. Rather than force it into submission, he would rather woo it and draw it by the power of his love. And it's interesting. It says, the only thing that can make a difference, the goodness of God leads you to repentance. And so God is so faithful. He's so faithful to his promise, to us. He's so faithful to the human family that he does not stoop to use those demonic methods of forcing and coercion. He doesn't stoop to do that. He would rather wrestle with our rebellious wills over a lifetime. He's patient with us. He's working. And what does he want? He's trying to bring us to repentance, which is a sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. SPEAKER C And it's an acknowledgment that the government of God is just. And that the principles of God's government, his constitution, his law is the law of love, which is the law of life. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C And while we in rebellion against this, he cannot bring everything to a close because he wants to save as many people as possible. But while the rebellion continues and while people have not really received and understood a revelation of what God is really like, because the Bible tells us that it's only by love that love is awakened. The Bible tells us at first John, chapter four, that we love Him because he first loved us. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C So God demonstrated what love is like, and as we look at them, we go, wow, God loves me that much. He cares about me that much. That's when that response is provoked to us through the Holy Spirit, as God quickens and awakens our mind to what he is really like patient, long suffering, amazing. Yeah. SPEAKER D Over here, in Two Peter, chapter three, there's a prediction about the mindset that people will have just before Jesus second coming. And it says verse three, knowing this first this is Two Peter three three. Knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. It's very interesting how they make that charge. Where is the promise? SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D Where is the promise? SPEAKER C But there's no spiritual discernment there because it actually says they walk according to their own lust. In other words, they're controlled by the appetites of the flesh. They're not walking in the spirit. And spiritual things being spiritually discerned, they now look at these things, they try and analyze it a bit like Eve did when she started analyzing a word contrary to the word of God. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C Saw the tree. And everything that God said about the tree didn't seem to measure up. And according to her assessment of it, the tree looked good for food, desirable to make one wise, beautiful tree. Now, these people here also make an assessment based on what they see around them, and they start scoffing at in the last days, walking to their own license, saying, where's the promise of his coming? Now, the promise there are the prophecies concerning Christ's return. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C So they now despise the word of God in the form of prophecy and is saying, look, things have continued as they were since the beginning. So they deny God and they deny the God of prophecy. And then it says here in verse five that there's something that they do and it's willful they willfully forget that by the Word. And this is the same Word that brought the prophecies about, that told the future of Christ coming. They willfully forget, but by the same Word, the Word of God. The heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water. Now, we've spoken about that a few times. When God spoke, it happened. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C And by His Word and he made the waters stand out, the land stand out from the waters and so on. And that was on the third day of Creation. And it says then verse seven sorry, verse six. By which the world then perished, being flooded with water. And then verse seven, but the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same Word and reserved for fire until the Day of Judgment and petition of ungodly men. So there will be a day of justice, there will be a Day of judgment. And those who do not reconcile themselves with God, who stay in rebellion, will receive what's the Word? Recompense the reward of that rebellion, ultimately, which will be the final annihilation and destruction. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C Now, God is not in a hurry to move in that direction, is he? SPEAKER D This is the thing it cites here, the Flood. So it cites, firstly, creation. And think about God's purpose for creation. It was that the human family would be blessed in his love and friendship for all eternity. That's God's plan. And so His Word established this world not to he didn't create people to perish, he didn't create them to suffer. He created them to experience joys forevermore. Because the Bible says, I think it's Psalm 16, that in your presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. And so God, that was his original design. But then it talks about the Flood, and we can see very, very clearly here, this is not something that God's excited about. SPEAKER C No. SPEAKER D And how do we know that? Because 120 years of probation that's right. Was given to that particular generation. And there was someone who was speaking on behalf of God, calling people to repentance. SPEAKER C Right. He was called a preacher of righteousness. SPEAKER D He was preaching and preaching God's righteousness, God's faithfulness. And he was calling them to come into the boat. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D And so Peter's writing to these people about these people who are just like, where's the promise of his coming? They're critical of God. They're critical of everything that he's doing. They don't trust him. And he know God doesn't want to destroy people. God wants a relationship with people. And because of that, he gives time of probation because he wants to save people more than anything else. What we see with the story of Noah 120 years is a very long time. And God just keeps pleading through noah keeps pleading to the people to choose God. And they had a decision, will they trust God? Will they trust the people around them? Even when the animals were walking two by two, mysteriously and unaccountably into the ark, even when the door swung shut without any hands, there was just people just so hardened in their unbelief that they were not willing to cooperate with God, and they were destroyed. Yes. So what's communicated to me very, very clearly here is that God loves people more than anything. And it's because he loves people that he doesn't just march on ahead without keeping us up to date. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D He keeps the door of the ark open for 120 years. And this is the conclusion of where Peter goes in verse nine. SPEAKER C I love that text. SPEAKER D He says, the Lord is not slack. I just love that the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. It's very interesting. It's God's goodness and his forbearance and his kindness that can sometimes frustrate us when if we really think about it, it's the only hope that we have. We wonder, why is this world so? Why has God let it go like this? It's because God doesn't want to destroy people. He could if he wanted to. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D But he's wrestling with our rebellious wills. He's calling us to himself. And how often we frustrate or make it difficult for God to actually do the work that he wants to do because of our unbelief. SPEAKER C Yeah. And he's given us free will. He wants us to choose to love Him and choose to follow Him and to be convinced that his way is the right way and the best way. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C Not only for ourselves, but for our society, for governments, for nations, and for the whole universe, ultimately. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C There's a big, great controversy raging, and the whole issue that started this problem of sin on our planet was unbelief distrusting the word of God, accepting another word and putting it down this path of destruction and perdition. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C But then in the middle of it, God steps in and takes on humanity, becomes man. God manifests in the flesh and then pays the price for all human beings. God demonstrates his commitment to saving people by becoming one of us and dying as one of us, paying the price for every single person, demonstrating his love in the process as well, so that we can, by beholding and looking to Jesus, see God's incredible love and willingness to sacrifice, not just for a short period of time, but for all of eternity. Because it says unto us, a Son is given. And God so loved the world that he gave, not he's not alone. Jesus was given, gave his begotten, only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish. Yet the word perish you use again, you use that there in two Peter, chapter three and verse nine that God is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish. See, John 316 says that anyone should perish but have eternal life. SPEAKER D It's interesting that God created the world in six days and he rested on the 7th six days. He could have done it even sooner than that, but in six days, the sequence of days where he did new and greater things every day to make a beautiful world a home for Adam and Eve. How long has it taken Him to resolve the sin problem? It's been 6000 years. SPEAKER C 6000 years? Yes. SPEAKER D It's very interesting. It communicates a whole lot. We often think that when Jesus healed the leper, when he healed the blind man, we think that that's the most amazing miracle ever. I reckon Jesus would say to us, you have no idea. It's very, very easy to to speak and a blind man is healed. Yes, but it's very hard to recreate a human heart because they have to cooperate with me. It took six days to create the physical world, but it's taken 6000 years to deal with this sin problem. And why? Not because God is not powerful, but because he's actually good. And he is knocking at the door of our heart and he's waiting for us to accept Him and that his power can come into our lives. But yeah, how often we can have turned the tap off. God's grace is just so abundantly available to flood our lives and to cleanse us from sin and to enable us to live the life of Christ. And yet we're unwilling to receive the grace of Christ. We say, this far and no further. This far and no further. SPEAKER C So is it possible for us to receive the grace of God but then not fully receive it, half receive it and then actually end up receiving it in vain? It reminds you of that text we quoted in the previous program. So I think it is two Corinthians, chapter six. And I'll just page there very quickly, two Corinthians, chapter six and verse one. It says we then as workers together with Him, also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. Now, grace is something that God has extended to every single person. He's offered it as a free gift. And if we go to Ephesians chapter four and verse seven, paul the Apostle says very clearly but to each one of us, is anybody excluded? No, to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Now, the gift of Christ is eternal life. He paid the price for our sins, he paid the price for eternal death and then offered us the opposite, which is eternal life. But that grace has been given according to the measure of Christ now, what is the measure of Christ? How big is that measure? SPEAKER D That gift is everything. It's the fullness of the Godhead bodily, as the Bible says. It describes Jesus as the fullness of God in a human being. SPEAKER C Wow. SPEAKER D It's everything that God could give in one gift. SPEAKER C So that is the measure of Christ's gift, and which is that this is the grace that we have according to the measure of Christ's gift. It is the fullness of God. SPEAKER D That's right. If we're trying to understand how much grace is available, we say how much of God was made available. Everything God's fullness was revealed in Jesus. And because God is gracious and merciful and long suffering, we received infinite grace in that infinite gift of Jesus Christ, and it's available to every single human being. But that creates a problem. We go, well, if God's grace is freely available to us, why isn't everyone being transformed by that grace? And that's because, number one, people reject the grace of God and refuse to allow God to do his work. Yes, but secondly, there's another group of people, as you've just read in two Corinthians, who receive God's grace in vain. So there's a way that we can receive it that doesn't allow it to actually accomplish what it could. SPEAKER C So the fullness of the grace is not experienced. SPEAKER D It's only a part we only experience part of the grace. SPEAKER C So it's a half a good news. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C Not the full good news. SPEAKER D That's right. It's kind of like if you want to take the family to the beach or something like that, you pack the car, you cut the sandwiches, everything like that. You're wanting to go to the beach. It's what the whole family is excited about. And you get to the beach and the signs up, the beach is closed. You've done the trip in vain. SPEAKER C That's true. Look, we've experienced the same thing. It's Christmas time, and we know that the church is running a beautiful Christmas carol program. We're going to go to the Christmas carol program. We read about it. We got the time right, except we didn't pay enough attention because we assumed they're going to do it the same day as they did the year or two ago. It's on a Sunday. We think we show up there on a Sunday and then turns out it was on a Saturday. We ignored the word. Interesting, the writing of the church. It was actually on the notice board. As we get up there, church is shut, the gates shut. No one's here. What's going on? This is supposed to be and then we go look at the notice board in front of the church. SPEAKER D Missed the by day, so you got ready in vain. SPEAKER C In vain. SPEAKER D That's why we it's so interesting with the beach analogy. The best thing you can do is just stand there and look at the water. Can't get in. And for you just you can stand there and look at the church. Can't get in. SPEAKER C Can't get in. SPEAKER D Receiving the grace of God in vain. Is it's coming right up to the border and just not fully experiencing what God has to offer. You can be there at the beach, but not actually be in the water. Yes, you can see the water, but you can't be in the water. For a lot of people, their experience with grace is God's pardoning, mercy for the things that we've done in the. SPEAKER C Past, which is beautiful. SPEAKER D Which is beautiful. Praise the Lord. SPEAKER C Such a wonderful thing, such a wonderful gift through grace. SPEAKER D The Bible says that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and this is the next part and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And so we got two things that God is faithful to do to forgive our sins. When we come to the Lord and we have a sense of conviction of the sins that we have done in our lives, we can bring them to the Lord, acknowledge them and be open and real with God and claim the blessing of forgiveness that God has poured out in Christ Jesus. The guilt rolls away. Praise the Lord and we are forgiven. And we get to experience this beautiful reality of being forgiven. But that Bible verse in one John one and verse nine, it says he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, which means to clean up our lives from all those polluted things that caused all of those sins. SPEAKER C I like where you're going with that because that ties into what we've just read there in Ephesians chapter four and verse seven where it says to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. And then if we read along there, we get to verse twelve. What was this grace to do? What was grace doing amongst men through the spiritual gifts that was bestowed upon the church, the grace of God according to the measure of Christ's gift is there, verse twelve, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ. Now the word edifying, it just means the building up of the body of Christ. So it's for the building up of the church, but it equips us. The grace of God equips us. It allows us to do the work of ministry. Without the equipping we won't be able to do. And is there to edify the body of Christ or to build up the body of Christ for what purpose? It says till so there's a process. So you start somewhere and then it takes you to the conclusion till we all come to the unity of the faith. So unity in the church is very important. Matter of fact, Jesus in his prayer in John chapter 17, says that God, I want them to be one as we are one, you and me and I and you. That they may be one in us that the world may believe. So until this unity is there, there's going to be a lot of people who cannot look beyond the activity and actions of church people to believe. SPEAKER D This is interesting. You talk about the unity of the faith. Another way to say that is the faith that unites. Because if you look at the story of the children of Israel on the borders of Canaan, there was a division, they were not united. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D There was Joshua and Caleb. There was Moses and Aaron. These were a group of people who had faith and the others had unbelief and there was a conflict there. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D God is wanting to bring us to the place where, as a group of people, a collective, we're united in this common principle of trusting God, knowing his goodness and trusting his goodness. And that is what God is wanting to bring every single one of us to, to be united in faith. SPEAKER C The unity of God. That's right. Because, I mean, in the same chapter, in Ephesians chapter four and verse five, it already told us that there's one Lord, there's one faith. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C So the unity is to bring us into the faith that has been authored by Jesus Christ, as we've spoken about in previous programs. So the grace of God is to equip us for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of faith. How are we to come to that unity? It says, through the knowledge of the Son of God. So the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. Then it says this interesting word, grace is able to bring us to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. So what does that perfect man, or a mature man, as some translations say it what does that maturity look like? It says it measures up to the stature of the fullness of Christ. How is that possible? SPEAKER D The fullness of Christ? SPEAKER C That's big, that's massive. Because we just looked about, the grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. And then you quoted the Colossians, chapter two, verse nine, that says that in Him dwelled that's in Christ dwelled all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. SPEAKER D That's right. This here, it intimidates us, number one, and excites us number two. It does, because it says that God's grace is able to help us to grow to the stature, to the measure. And what is that measure? In the previous chapter, it describes the love of God and it says that we may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of God which passes knowledge. It's a limitless dimensionless. Love and goodness. And here it says that God is wanting his people by the power of his spirit, to grow up to the measure, to the dimensions and the stature of the fullness of Christ. SPEAKER C Well, you're quoting the arrow Ephesians, chapter three in verse 18 and 19. But that last part of verse 19 where it says to know the love of God, which passes knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. SPEAKER D Interesting. SPEAKER C So grace and the fullness of God work hand in hand, and the love of God works with all that as well. It's a complete package. SPEAKER D And so if we summarize here, we've been given grace, unlimited grace unlimited. It is a measureless grace. It's a complete and total outpouring of God Himself for this planet. SPEAKER C It's allowing God to do what we consider impossible in our lives. SPEAKER D That's exactly right. SPEAKER C Trusting Him to do it too. SPEAKER D That's right. And because God has poured out Himself in Christ, jesus is the fullness of God in a human being if we receive that gift, and that is, we receive Christ in everything that he is and everything that he offers. He says that he's willing to come into our lives. And when we receive Christ into our lives, we become a new being. Because the apostle Paul says in Galatians two and verse 20, I have been crucified with Christ means I've died to the old ways. I've been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I. Christ lives in me. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. And so this is the beautiful thing. God pours Himself out in one gift, Jesus. Everything is poured out in Christ. We receive Christ, we receive everything. And if we realized the gift that's on offer, that is, that we us broken human beings can be filled with the fullness of God in Christ and reflect that character to the world. But what stands in the way is our unbelief. Yes, our unbelief. That's the devil's work to tempt us to not believe what God promises. God says, I've got enough grace, enough power, enough goodness to transform your life. That old temptation that you've been battling with, let me take control. And you'll just see the Red Sea open and away, are made for your feet to go onto the promised Land. SPEAKER C So God here tells us, it says, for the equipping of the saints, the ministry edifying the body of Christ too. So there's a process that takes place here. And during that process, God is patient, he is long suffering. He's not rushing us, he's taking his time because he doesn't want anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C So that's a growth that's mentioned there in verse 13 of Ephesians, chapter four. But then in verse 15, it says, but speak the truth and. Love that we may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ. So that growth is a maturity in Christ and we are covered as we are not fully matured in Christ yet, even if we just attend the plant that has just shot up. Now, growing up in Christ means that we're continuously covered by his righteousness and his perfection until we can fully reflect the maturity which is the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, which is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Dear listener, we pray the God will bless you as you contemplate the life and the glory of the majesty and the amazing grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Until next time. SPEAKER B Thank you for joining us on Faith. To Faith. 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