Examining Christian growth. Hindrances to growing into the image of Christ
Auto - generated
0:00 [Music] all the glory must be to the lord's 0:07 [Music] 0:16 no one on earth 0:21 [Music] [Applause] 0:28 [Music] praise ye the lord 0:36 praise the lord let us pray beloved father we thank you again for 0:42 this time this fellowship this meeting that you have called 0:49 father i pray that you give me utterance give us 0:55 understanding that your word may be profitable for us in the name of jesus 1:01 and father god i pray that you teach us by yourself by your spirit 1:06 father god i may not convey your word properly or entirely what father god you can do exceedingly 1:13 abundantly beyond all i can say even in these short moments by 1:18 your spirit in jesus precious name amen 1:24 praise the lord beloved we are back again and by god's grace and we're going to pick up from 1:31 where we stopped at the last episode we were speaking 1:37 from revelations 2 verse 14 where the lord said speaking to his church 1:44 his church i have a few things against thee because thou has there 1:51 them believers in that church there were believers 1:58 that hold the doctrine of balaam who taught balak to cast a stumbling 2:04 block before the children of israel to things sacrificed onto idols and to commit fornication 2:12 in god's church as it was with the israelites which were also 2:19 his church there are some people that hold the doctrine of balaam 2:25 and we spoke last time who were saying 2:30 i hope you're gonna listen to that first before you listen to this episode 2:36 that the doctrine of balaam 2:42 sneaks in [Music] into the people of god to the house of god 2:49 to cause them to defile themselves before god 2:56 and we spoke on what the lord commands to do with the 3:01 doctrine of balaam because the doctrine of balaam is a 3:07 stumbling block he commands to do with stumbling blocks 3:14 that they be taken out of the way we read that in isaiah 57 verse 14 which 3:21 says and shall say catch you up catch you up prepare the way 3:27 listen now take up the stumbling block out of the way of my people 3:33 so what you do with a stumbling block you take it away the lord commands out of the way of his people 3:43 you take it away remove that stumbling block 3:49 remove that stumbling block 3:56 because if the stumbling block is there the people cannot progress 4:02 again i'm not going to repeat it here but we spoke about what a stumbling block means 4:08 it stops you from progressing from getting to a goal 4:14 and we said last time as we were concluding that an example of the doctrine of balum 4:22 is this currently popular it seems doctrine of one saved always 4:30 saved the so-called doctrine of eternal security 4:36 the doctrine says in effect that once a person is saved they can never lose their salvation 4:43 there's nothing that they could ever do no saying no iniquity no transgression 4:49 no lifestyle that they persist and continue in could ever make them go to hell 4:56 once they are saved they're on the way to heaven that's it no life they could ever leave 5:04 could ever change that the doctrine of balaam 5:13 you see several years ago as a young believer 5:19 i encountered this doctrine in a very unexpected way 5:24 unexpected boy back then i was a i was a young bachelor 5:32 working for a business and the owner of this business 5:38 was a young lady that was married i believe 5:44 i believe she had twin girls little girls i said that time anyway 5:52 i had also met the husband and i mean i didn't know them 5:59 like knowing them personally but hey this was my boss 6:04 kind of knowing if you know what i mean now 6:10 she was young like i said um i would guess maybe 6:17 probably i was in my 20s uh i would say 6:24 she was no more than a year or two older than me max 6:30 so she was she was that young but this was their business she had a husband 6:38 now i knew she was a christian 6:43 i mean i heard her speak um she said she had said she was a she was 6:50 a baptist again if you guys want to hate me for that that's fine you know i'm going to 6:55 just say the way the way it is that's what she said she was she said she was a baptist i don't hate baptists 7:03 i'm just saying what she said anyways one day at work 7:11 i was at my duty post and she came by my 7:18 my section and um after 7:24 some very brief you know work conversation 7:29 she unexpectedly you know started running her fingers 7:34 down my face like oh well 7:41 it was just me and her day now her husband does not work at the business the husband has a different 7:47 um uh occupation and put it like that 7:54 different different job that he does so he's not on site 7:59 and where we were it was it was just two of us that were there 8:04 myself and this boss lady now she was running her fingers down my 8:11 face uh 8:17 i was in shock i mean i was a young christian myself 8:22 young in a sense of um i was safe probably a couple years 8:32 i reacted in shock and i blotted out but you're a 8:38 christian i mean i don't know that's what came from me you know but but but but you're a christian 8:45 but her response to me 8:50 was she was a baptist and she told me 8:56 very calmly in a matter-of-fact way 9:02 [Music] i'll never forget that she did not contribute to her 9:09 salvation so there was nothing that she could do to detract from her salvation 9:18 it was by grace 9:24 [Music] i was shocked beloved i was 9:33 i didn't know what to say but of course my reaction 9:40 let her know that whatever her proposal was was a no 9:46 it was dead on arrival doa i'm not going to mess with you 9:53 for nothing whether you're the boss or not it 9:59 doesn't matter now after that encounter i 10:06 try to dive into what is this doctrine what what what is 10:11 this guys what what is it is this correct is this true 10:18 how do people think like that what does the word of god say about that 10:24 don't forget now the doctrine of balum is subtle 10:32 the lord was lamenting in revelations 2 14 there are some there in that church 10:38 that whole deduction of balaam what is that doctrine 10:45 they can you can eat things sacrificed to idols you can commit fornication 10:51 and you're all right it doesn't do anything to you it doesn't matter 10:56 that's the doctrine of balaam that's the doctrine of one save always saved that's 11:02 what the israelites would well go back to the last episode if you missed that 11:07 that was the israelites mindset not all of them some of them 11:14 kora and his crew we're all holy what you mean emmanuel 11:20 god is with us don't you see that cloud that is that that is there 11:25 by day don't you see that fire by night is the same thing 11:31 god is with us what you're talking about i can speak in tongues zac cobra 11:37 yes god is with me nothing i could ever do can change that 11:44 [Music] don't you see the miraculous that happens in this church 11:53 don't you feel the presence of god in the worship oh yes 11:58 don't you see the sister and the brother dancing in the holy ghost god is with us 12:05 that's what korah said the children of israel went were fighting the philistines they brought 12:10 the ark of god to the camp or before they did that they said 12:16 how come some of our soldiers died you know what let's go get the ark of god 12:22 let's get that ark and the ark will save us it doesn't matter we're living in sin no 12:27 disobedience to god elian and his uh eli sons i should say 12:33 that we're steep in sin in the temple of god 12:38 in the house of god that were doing all kinds of stuff they were the same ones that carried the act 12:44 to the battlefield you know the story it's in the last episode 12:50 they didn't want to deal with the dictates of god 12:56 so long as they had the things of god [Music] 13:03 the holy ghost is a gift from god miracle signs and wonders these are 13:08 gifts from god these are the operations of god 13:14 but they are different from god in the sense of 13:21 you can still have the gift and the god that gave the gift 13:27 has left you [Music] samson 13:32 was living in sin uh going to o'hara's house 13:39 the man of god and god was still moving with him until he crossed the line you see there 13:46 comes a time when we cross the line and the bible says he wished not 13:53 that god had left him 13:59 one of the if i may say so very 14:04 painful parts in the scripture 14:11 he wists not you find that in george's chapter 14:18 16 verse 20. let me read verse 19. 14:26 he's with delilah now and she made him sleep that samson upon her knees and she called the man and 14:32 caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head and she began to afflict him and his strength went from him 14:38 verse 20 and she said the philistines be upon this something and he walked out of 14:44 his sleep and said this is what he said i will go out as at all the times before 14:52 and what and i'll shake myself yeah i'm going to go out at all the 14:57 times and i'm going to speak in tongues 15:03 hallelujah i'll go out at other times in and and quote 15:09 scriptures i'm the head and not the tale i'm the blessed of god hallelujah i'm 15:14 the righteousness of god in christ jesus ah i'm blessed going out i'm blessed coming out 15:22 oh yes samson said i'll go out as at all the times before and shake myself 15:29 but the very sad clause of that verse says 15:35 and he wished not that the lord was departed from him 15:46 oh lord help us oh lord help us 15:54 one saved always saved really 15:59 is that what the scripture teaches really 16:05 let's let's let's let's let's let's spend spend some time on that 16:12 ezekiel 2018 ezekiel 18 verse 23 to verse 30. 16:20 a stumbling block to many believers because they have a wrong mindset 16:28 they don't aim for the prize they don't aim towards the goal that god 16:35 said for us to aim ephesians chapter 4 he will be conformed to the image of his 16:41 dear son to be conformed to the image of christ the fullness of christ 16:47 they are content yeah i was saved 25 years ago i said a prayer 16:52 and now i'm about to hook up with so-and-so i know he's not my wife or my husband 16:58 but it's all right i mean whatever i do it does it doesn't change anything i didn't earn my salvation 17:04 so i can i can't put i can't spoil my salvation 17:09 you know i didn't hold god up so i can't bring him down uh 17:15 okay ezekiel 18 23-30 17:24 have i any pleasure the lord says at all that the wicked should die said the lord god 17:30 and not that he should return from his ways and leave verse 24 17:35 but when the righteous turned away from his righteousness and committed iniquity and do it 17:41 according to all the abominations that the wicked man do it shall he leave 17:49 listen the lord is saying when the righteous man turns from 17:54 his righteousness and commits iniquity and does everything 17:59 all the abominations that wicked people do will that righteous man leave 18:07 this is the lord saying that not josh i'm not saying anything i'm just copying and pasting 18:13 the lord continues all his righteousness that he has done shall not be mentioned 18:19 in his trespass that he has trespassed and in his sin that he has sinned 18:24 in them shall he die yet you say the ways of the lord are not 18:30 equal here now all house of israel is not my way equal are not your ways on equal 18:39 when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and dies in them 18:46 meaning the this righteous man that that did iniquity did not repent he continued 18:51 in his iniquity and he died in his iniquity for the iniquity that he has done shall 18:58 he die verse 27 again when the wicked man 19:04 turn it away from his wickedness that he has committed and do it that which is lawful and right he shall save his soul 19:10 alive verse 28 because he considered and turn 19:16 it away from all his transgressions that he has committed he shall surely live he 19:22 shall not die yet say the house of israel the way of the 19:27 lord is not equal oh house of israel are not my ways equal and not your ways on 19:33 equal therefore i will judge your house of israel 19:38 everyone according to his ways saith the lord god repent repent 19:44 repent and turn yourself from all your transgression so iniquity shall not be your ruin 19:52 the doctrine of balaam seeks to make iniquity the ruin of the 19:58 christian as it was the ruin of the israelites because 20:04 it is ruined coming from within it's not from without 20:10 it's is a self-sabotaging 20:16 doctrine it is a self-sabotage 20:22 scheme of the enemy it is a self-sabotaging 20:27 while of the enemy but the lord was saying in revelations 2 20:33 14 there are some believers that are holding that doctrine 20:38 and it's going to be to their ruling beloved and the lord is saying remove that 20:44 stumbling block from before my people remove it 20:51 remove it take up the stumbling block out of the way of my people isaiah 57 14 20:59 because it will be to their ruin 21:05 okay yeah somebody may say well that's the old 21:10 testament that's fine that's fine let's go to the new testament 21:16 matthew 7 verse 21 to 23 the lord said not everyone that says to me lord lord 21:25 shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of my father 21:30 which is in heaven verse 22 many we say 21:37 to mean that the lord lord have we not prophesied in your name 21:42 mm-hmm in thy name have cast out devils 21:48 and in the name done many wonderful works lord don't forget 21:54 we prophesied in your name don't forget lord in your name we cast our devils 22:02 i was bishop wonderful i was prophet awesome 22:08 lord i did his stuff in your name and in your name i did many other wonderful works don't forget that lord 22:15 verse 23 and then will i profess unto them i never knew you depart from me ye 22:23 that walk iniquity hmm 22:30 i never knew you 22:36 that's but how can the lord say i never knew you 22:45 hmm i never knew you 22:50 we'll we'll get to that later john 15 verse 1 to 10 jesus is saying i 22:56 am the true vine and my father is the husband man every branch in me that buried not fruit he take it away and 23:02 every branch that buried fruit he projected that it may bring forth more fruit 23:08 now you are clean to the word which has spoken unto you so as a believer 23:15 a branch in the vine which is jesus if you don't bear fruit cut 23:24 verse 4 abide in me and i knew hold on 23:31 why is jesus telling believers that are already in him to abide in him 23:37 because they can choose to own abide one saved is not always saved you still 23:43 have a choice you still have a say so by your actions 23:49 by your will you still have a choice 23:57 abide in me and i knew as the branch cannot be a fruit of itself except it abide in the vine 24:04 no more can ye accept you abide in me i am the vine you are the branches here about it in me and 24:10 i in him the same bring that forth much fruit for without me you can do nothing 24:19 verse 6 if a man abide not in me 24:26 he is cast for that branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned 24:32 so the man that was once in him that chose not to abide in him 24:38 is cast forth as a branch and it withers and is guarded and is cast in the fire 24:45 and is burned one save always saved really 24:52 if you abide in me verse 7 and my words abide in you you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you 24:58 verse 8 hearing is my father glorified that you bear much fruit so shall he be my disciples 25:05 as the father has loved me so have i loved you continue ye in my love that's verse nine 25:12 verse ten if you keep my commandments you shall abide in my love even as i have kept my 25:18 father's commandments and abide in his love jesus is saying 25:24 the way to abide in his love is to keep his commandments 25:30 even as he jesus abides in his father's love because he 25:35 has kept his father's commandments remember now the father said 25:41 in uh book of philippians chapter 2 i believe that god was highly exalted that jesus 25:48 has had obeyed him even unto death even unto death 25:54 and gave him a name that is above all names now 26:00 it was obedience till the end that that gave jesus that promotion 26:07 the bible says that's in philippians chapter 2 from verse 26:12 let me see verse 5 let this mind being you which was also in christ jesus who being in 26:18 the form of god thought he don't rob it to be equal with god but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form 26:25 of a servant and was made in the likeness of man and being found in fashion as a man he opened himself and 26:32 became obedient unto death unto death jesus was obedient unto death even the 26:39 death of the cross wherefore verse nine god has god also has highly exalted him and 26:45 given him a name which is above every name that name of jesus was stained every knee shall bow of things in heaven and 26:51 in earth and things under the earth and every tongue should confess that jesus is lord to the glory of god the father 26:58 jesus is so plain is scary 27:03 yeah i'm preaching to myself you thought i was preaching to you oh no no no i was talking to myself 27:11 ah help me lord i kept my father's commandments that's 27:16 how i abide in his love you better keep my commandments so you abide in my love but i thought god loved us 27:22 unconditionally [Laughter] oh help me jesus help me jesus 27:31 help me jesus yes he did why we were yes sinners christ died for 27:37 us yes he did after he saved us 27:43 he demands of us to obey his commandments 27:48 that's not too hard to understand is it oh well 27:55 romans 11 17 to 22 and if some of the branches be broken off and thou being a wild olive tree 28:04 were grafted in among them and with them partakers of the root and fatness of the olive tree 28:10 boasts not against the branches but if thou both die beerus not the root but 28:15 the root d that will say then the branches were broken off that i might be graphed in 28:21 well verse 20 because of unbelief they were broken off and thou standed by faith 28:28 listen now thou standed by faith be not high-minded but fear 28:34 for if god spared not the natural branches take heed 28:40 lest he also spare not thee verse 22 behold therefore the goodness 28:46 and severity of god now this is new testament guys this is romans 11 reading verse 22. now this is now old testament 28:54 behold therefore the goodness and severity of god on them which fail severity but towards the goodness if 29:01 thou continue in his goodness otherwise thou also shall be cut off 29:08 now it says then verse 20 thou standed by faith 29:17 well because of unbelief they were broken off and thou standed by faith be not high minded by fear 29:24 yeah yeah i know you guys say by grace true faith thou standed by faith 29:31 but again like we said in the introduction the first 29:36 podcast in this series that's the introduction the word of god 29:42 checks itself it balances itself you don't take one and run 29:49 if there's a counterbalance now there is a counterbalance 29:54 to romans that says we are saved by faith it's not a 30:00 counterbalance to contradict it no it balances it so we can get the full counsel of god 30:07 james chapter 2 gives some of that counter balance james chapter 2 don't forget now we just 30:15 read romans 11 20 you stand by faith 30:21 james chapter 2 from verse 17 reads as follows even so faith 30:28 if it has not works is dead being alone 30:34 so if you're standing by faith and your faith has no works 30:40 oh well um that's a different topic but they're different kinds of works 30:45 it's important that we don't mix them up and lose sight of what god is saying 30:51 they're different kinds of works that the works of the law 30:58 their works of faith their self-righteous works 31:04 there are different kinds different kinds here he is talking about the works of faith 31:13 even so faith if it has no works if it was the it faith 31:19 if faith has no works so these are the works of faith 31:25 i hope you get that even so fate if it has no works 31:30 is dead being alone yeah verse 18 a man may say that has 31:38 faith that i have worked show me that faith without thy works and i will show them my faith by my works 31:45 that i believe is that there is one god that do as well the devils also believe and tremble yeah 31:50 yeah yeah i know you have faith in god praise the lord uh 31:56 devils also have faith in god because they believe god exists 32:03 they don't say god doesn't exist devils are not atheists [Laughter] 32:11 is by faith we haven't seen god but we believe god exists 32:20 devils also believe god exists that's what james is saying so they have faith also 32:27 verse 19 again i believe is that there is one god that do as well the devils also believe and tremble 32:36 but verse 20 without know o vain man that faith without walks is dead 32:47 faith that did not produce works 32:52 is dead faith 32:58 faith that did not produce works is dead faith 33:06 so the lord could tell the people in matthew we read in matthew 7 verse 23 33:14 says i never knew you yeah but the devil was in your name 33:20 but we hear the sick in your name we did miracles in your name uh yes 33:28 but that faith should have produced good works 33:34 that faith should have produced righteousness that faith should produce holiness 33:40 devils can't produce that but they have faith they can produce righteousness they 33:46 can't produce holiness so the lord says i never knew you because you were workers of iniquity 33:57 because if a grown tree has no fruit 34:02 and you cut it down it's like the tree never existed 34:09 yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah it grew for a couple of years remember that fig tree that that 34:15 would grow for three years and the lord was saying uh i need some fruit here now 34:21 what's happening there was none because when it cuts it down 34:29 it's like it never existed i never knew you oh well 34:34 verse 20 james two but without no o vain man that faith 34:41 without walks is dead verse 21 was not abraham our father justified by walks 34:46 when he offered isaac his son upon the altar cs thou how faith 34:53 wrath with his works and by works was faith made 34:58 perfect hmm 35:04 faith without works is an imperfect faith and when the works continue to be 35:10 lacking that imperfect faith will die 35:16 verse 23 and the scripture was fulfilled which said abraham believed god and it was imputed unto him for righteousness 35:23 and it was called the friend of god you see then how that by walks a man is 35:28 justified and not by faith only likewise also was not rahab the harlot 35:34 justified by works when she had received the messengers and has sent them out another way 35:40 for as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without walks is dead also 35:48 one saved always saved really 35:55 once she made a confession of faith but your works were works of iniquity 36:08 the doctrine of balaam that's going to stop you from progressing beloved 36:15 but the commandment of the lord isaiah 57 14 take up the stumbling block 36:21 out of the way of my people that's why we are speaking beloved 36:27 that stumbling block if you're holding on to it beloved is time to let it go 36:33 because that stumbling block will prevent you from getting to where god wants you to be 36:39 first corinthians 9 verse 24 to 27 know ye not that day which run in a race run 36:45 all but one received the prize so wrong that you may obtain and every 36:50 man that strivet for the mastery is temperate in all things now 36:56 they do it to obtain a corruptable crown but we are incorruptable 37:02 i therefore surround not as uncertainly so fight i not as one that beated the 37:10 air listen now verse 27 but i keep under my 37:15 body and bring it into subjection lest paul is saying this 37:20 lest that by any means when i have preached to others 37:27 i myself should be a castaway 37:32 once saved always saved really 37:41 really paul says i got to watch myself 37:50 because there's the possibility that i can preach to others 37:57 i can hold crusades around the world i can be bishop wonderful 38:03 i can prophesy i can lay hands i can raise the dead i can preach the 38:09 gospel i can do all these wonderful things 38:15 it is possible that at the end of the day i 38:22 might become a castaway oh god forbid oh father please have mercy 38:30 beloved it's right there the doctrine of balaam 38:36 the doctrine of balaam you can defile yourself and you're all right with god the devil 38:43 is a liar the devil is a liar 38:48 first corinthians chapter 10 ah 38:54 i would have to wait beloved i would have to wait let me pick this up next time we meet 38:59 may the lord bless you and keep you make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you lift up his countenance upon 39:04 you and give you peace in jesus name amen 39:10 [Music] be 39:17 [Music] 39:29 [Music] glory to himself 39:38 [Music]