WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Teleios – Uncondemed Publishing Date: 2020-11-01T05:00:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/teleios-uncondemed/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.880 Okay, guys, today the topic is Uncondemned. Uncondemned. And why would that come under 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:19.720 teleos? Because I think it's a mature final position that every Christian must stand in 00:00:19.720 --> 00:00:28.340 if he is to survive on earth. And it's not given enough emphasis. To be, to be Christians 00:00:28.340 --> 00:00:39.540 who walk uncondemned is a rarity. It's one of the weapons that Satan has been able to yield, 00:00:39.540 --> 00:00:46.740 wield against Christians very, very powerfully. And so if teleos means coming into a place or 00:00:46.740 --> 00:00:55.420 living out of a place of maturity, then walking as ones who are uncondemned is critical to both 00:00:55.420 --> 00:01:04.620 receiving things from heaven and battling things on earth. And so it's a very deliberate topic. 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:10.060 It's not something that I chose because I didn't have anything else to speak about. It is the 00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:17.020 position to operate from. It is the position to operate from. To be uncondemned. It's the position 00:01:17.020 --> 00:01:21.180 I operate from on earth. Let's look at John chapter 8. I think that's where we'll start. 00:01:21.740 --> 00:01:24.940 Can you get the Bible from my bag? I think there's a Bible in there. 00:01:24.940 --> 00:01:48.020 No? Is there a Bible anywhere there? Nope. Cool. John chapter 8. But where's mine? I like my Bible. 00:01:51.820 --> 00:02:00.700 Okay. John chapter 8. No, not that one. Cool. Thanks man. John 8. 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:09.580 I'm going to start with that scripture. John chapter 8. Okay. 00:02:13.980 --> 00:02:19.180 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again at the temple courts, 00:02:20.140 --> 00:02:26.220 where all the people gathered around him and he sat down to teach. The teachers of the law 00:02:26.220 --> 00:02:32.700 and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 00:02:32.700 --> 00:02:37.580 and said to Jesus, teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the law, 00:02:37.580 --> 00:02:44.140 Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? They were using this question as a 00:02:44.140 --> 00:02:50.300 trap in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the 00:02:50.300 --> 00:03:00.220 ground with his finger. When they kept questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, 00:03:00.780 --> 00:03:07.740 if anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. Again he stooped 00:03:07.740 --> 00:03:15.100 down and he wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older 00:03:15.100 --> 00:03:21.740 ones first, until only Jesus was left. With the woman still standing there, Jesus straightened up 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:28.140 and asked her, woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? No answer she said. Then neither 00:03:28.140 --> 00:03:34.540 do I condemn you, Jesus declared. Go now and leave your life of sin. And so here is the story that I 00:03:34.540 --> 00:03:42.140 want to start with. And I would suggest that when Jesus stooped down to write the first time, 00:03:42.700 --> 00:03:47.340 one of the ways we can figure out what Jesus wrote is just by looking at the hand of God in 00:03:47.340 --> 00:03:55.580 the Old Testament. Because whenever the Holy Spirit brings out a certain way of presenting things, 00:03:55.580 --> 00:04:00.700 he's usually done it before he wants to have a common reference point. And so I would suggest 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:06.300 that the first time Jesus stooped down and started writing, he probably wrote down Exodus 20 13. 00:04:08.700 --> 00:04:17.340 And Exodus 20 13 says, you shall not commit adultery. 00:04:21.100 --> 00:04:25.420 That was once written on a stone tablet with the hand of God. 00:04:31.420 --> 00:04:39.900 And in what he writes, he is disarming his opponents too, because they wanted to test him, 00:04:39.900 --> 00:04:45.820 saying will he stick by the law or will he not? And so on one hand, the first time he probably 00:04:45.820 --> 00:04:51.980 stooped to write, he wrote Exodus 20 13. Because that was a hand of God in the Old Testament when 00:04:51.980 --> 00:04:58.860 Moses presented, when God wrote on tablets of stone with his hand. And then the second time he 00:04:58.860 --> 00:05:10.620 stoops and writes, it's from Daniel chapter five, verse five and then verse 27, because there was 00:05:10.620 --> 00:05:22.540 a hand of God there. And he probably wrote the word tekel. And tekel means you have been weighed 00:05:22.540 --> 00:05:28.060 and you have been found wanting. Where there was a king, if you go to Daniel five, 00:05:32.540 --> 00:05:33.420 Daniel five, 00:05:39.820 --> 00:05:41.580 with my Bible, I know where Daniel is. 00:05:41.580 --> 00:05:46.460 Daniel five, 00:05:49.980 --> 00:05:55.420 verse five says, suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall 00:05:55.420 --> 00:06:02.460 near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched as a hand wrote it. And then in verse 27, 00:06:03.180 --> 00:06:03.660 it says, 00:06:07.340 --> 00:06:12.460 this is what these words mean. Many, God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it 00:06:12.460 --> 00:06:19.260 to an end. Tekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Perez, your kingdom is 00:06:19.260 --> 00:06:22.620 divided and given to the Medes and Persians. I would suggest to you that the second time he 00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:27.100 stooped and wrote, he wrote the word tekel, which means you have been weighed and found wanting. 00:06:27.980 --> 00:06:34.620 And these older men with stones there probably knew these stories better because they had learned 00:06:34.620 --> 00:06:39.260 them right from when they were kids. The first one is Exodus 20, 13, you shall not commit adultery. 00:06:39.260 --> 00:06:45.020 The second one is you have been weighed and found wanting. And the men walk away. And then you go 00:06:45.020 --> 00:06:53.180 to Colossians two, 14 and 15, and you realize that Jesus wanted to make sure that no one is ever 00:06:53.180 --> 00:07:01.820 condemned again by what is written. And so if you go to Colossians two, 14 and 15, you see the final 00:07:01.820 --> 00:07:09.100 act that Jesus engages in that for once and for all removes this condition of condemnation from 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:16.620 my life. Every time I walk the earth as a believer, condemned, there's something seriously wrong with 00:07:16.620 --> 00:07:23.900 my Christianity. And everybody here walks that way every week. And it is wrong. 00:07:26.940 --> 00:07:29.980 So Colossians two, 14 and 15, 00:07:34.140 --> 00:07:39.180 starting at 13. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:43.260 God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. I love the next part. 00:07:43.260 --> 00:07:49.020 Having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood 00:07:49.020 --> 00:07:54.300 opposed to us, he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disowned the powers and 00:07:54.300 --> 00:08:01.420 authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. And so condemnation 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:11.980 is when there's, you are judged guilty. Condemnation is judging you guilty. Condemnation 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:24.940 is stripping you of intrinsic dignity. Condemnation is making you forfeit 00:08:24.940 --> 00:08:46.220 what or who you are. Condemnation is dooming you to punishment and sentence. This is what condemnation 00:08:46.220 --> 00:08:59.500 looks like and it has no place in Christianity. Condemnation is declaring you unfit for use. 00:09:03.420 --> 00:09:11.180 None of these things apply to a Christian. None of these things. Which also means then that I am 00:09:11.180 --> 00:09:19.020 not supposed to cause anyone to feel the weight of condemnation. And if I do, then I'm doing 00:09:19.020 --> 00:09:25.260 something very un-Christ-like. I'm doing something very un-Christ-like. So condemnation, and this 00:09:25.260 --> 00:09:29.900 woman, that was what was happening to her. This woman was being brought before Jesus and here are 00:09:29.900 --> 00:09:37.340 the things that are being done to her. She's being judged guilty. She's being stripped of her intrinsic 00:09:38.140 --> 00:09:45.980 value, as in stripped of her intrinsic dignity before these men. The man who committed adultery 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:50.940 for him is missing. Only she's been caught and she's being stripped of her intrinsic dignity or 00:09:50.940 --> 00:09:56.140 worth. She's unfit for use. She's going to be stoned. She's doomed to punishment and the 00:09:56.140 --> 00:10:00.940 punishment was you shall not commit adultery. One who's caught in adultery shall be stoned. 00:10:00.940 --> 00:10:05.820 And it is forfeiting who you are or what you are. There are other people in the Bible who went through 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:11.580 the same thing and we'll talk about them. But this is what condemnation looks like and we, 00:10:12.300 --> 00:10:17.740 right from when we are kids, bear the weight of it and when we come into Christianity we still 00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:27.420 continue laboring under it. You take Absalom and you see David doing it to him. Absalom, 00:10:27.420 --> 00:10:35.820 Second Samuel, Second Samuel. Where could my Bible go? Do I sound obsessed with my Bible? 00:10:39.820 --> 00:10:41.420 No, I didn't take it out in the car. 00:10:44.300 --> 00:10:48.460 Second Samuel, 14. 00:10:52.380 --> 00:10:56.220 See in my Bible I know where it is. Here I don't know whether it's before Kings or after Chronicles. 00:10:57.020 --> 00:11:05.900 Second Samuel, 14. Second Samuel, 14. You see verse 14. Now guys the thing is sometimes condemnation 00:11:05.900 --> 00:11:19.260 is the result of something you've done. Absalom murdered his half-brother Amnon and so he is put 00:11:19.340 --> 00:11:25.820 out of the family and yet there is no place for condemnation in Christianity. This is how 00:11:26.380 --> 00:11:30.460 precious it is to God and this is how not precious it is to us. 00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:36.860 And so Absalom, Second Samuel, 14, verse 14. 00:11:39.740 --> 00:11:45.900 This is a woman from Tekoa who's been set up by Joab to talk to David and then she's pleading 00:11:45.900 --> 00:11:48.460 for Absalom and here's what she says starting at verse 13. 00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:49.500 The woman said, 00:11:50.140 --> 00:11:53.340 Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? 00:11:53.340 --> 00:11:57.580 When the king says this, does he not convict himself? For the king has not brought back 00:11:57.580 --> 00:11:59.900 his banished son. Verse 14. 00:11:59.900 --> 00:12:23.340 And then go to verse 24 and you see that David still doesn't go through. 00:12:24.300 --> 00:12:31.020 A man after God's own heart and this is his son. Verse 24, starting at 23. 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:47.260 The story of David could have been so different if he had treated Absalom correctly. 00:12:49.260 --> 00:12:52.220 David was a man after God's own heart but he was not a good father. 00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:57.900 And so before you accuse anyone of being an Absalom, make sure that you're not David. 00:12:59.420 --> 00:13:04.060 Because it's easy in, especially in churches for leaders and pastors to say, ah, Derek, oh, 00:13:04.940 --> 00:13:10.060 this guy or that guy, Derek isn't, Derek's brilliant. But it's easy to call someone Absalom. 00:13:10.940 --> 00:13:15.900 And before you call someone Absalom, you have to make sure that you haven't been David to him. 00:13:17.100 --> 00:13:21.900 Because you can be a man after God's own heart and you can still treat Absalom with respect. 00:13:21.900 --> 00:13:26.780 And you can still treat Absalom wrongly. After being given great wisdom by God through the woman 00:13:26.780 --> 00:13:33.260 in Tekoa, woman from Tekoa and Joab, David still says, but he will not see my face. In the ancient 00:13:33.260 --> 00:13:41.100 Near East to be shut off from someone's face was the ultimate indignity that you could heap on 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:47.900 someone while living in your own house. I mean, this is why God says, the Lord bless you and make 00:13:47.900 --> 00:13:54.140 his face to shine upon you. To withdraw your face was to show an unwillingness to 00:13:56.060 --> 00:14:03.740 grant favor. So it doesn't matter that this is a result of Absalom committing a heinous crime. 00:14:05.260 --> 00:14:08.860 Condemnation still doesn't have a place in the kingdom. 00:14:08.860 --> 00:14:20.220 And as we speak, you will find that we labor under condemnation on a regular basis. And it is one of 00:14:20.940 --> 00:14:26.140 Satan's most insidious and most effective weapons. 00:14:29.100 --> 00:14:32.940 Now the guy who went through this was Jonah in Jonah chapter one, verse 12. 00:14:33.660 --> 00:14:50.220 Stop complaining and find Jonah. Jonah one, verse 12. Here is condemnation that is self-imposed, 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:56.940 where Jonah tells them, listen, throw me overboard. Jonah chapter one, verse 12, he says that, 00:14:57.020 --> 00:15:01.420 Jonah chapter one, verse 12, he says that, so they asked him, what should we do to 00:15:03.100 --> 00:15:08.140 do to you to make the sea calm down for us? Pick me up and throw me into the sea, he replied, 00:15:08.140 --> 00:15:13.260 and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you. 00:15:14.060 --> 00:15:20.700 This is self-condemnation. And if you think you don't do it, I'm telling you, you're living, 00:15:20.940 --> 00:15:26.460 you're living in a dream world. You and I condemn ourselves and are so severe upon ourselves. 00:15:27.340 --> 00:15:32.460 We have no idea. There's no exception. As I look around you, I'm telling you, to the degree that I 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:39.020 know you, and some of you I know better than others, we labor under self-condemnation if nobody 00:15:39.020 --> 00:15:47.020 else condemns us, because we are very severe on ourselves. And it robs God of his ability to be 00:15:47.180 --> 00:15:52.060 who he wants to be, because he has to work through my personality sometimes. 00:15:58.220 --> 00:16:01.820 And then let's look at another one. And leprosy, by the way, was 00:16:02.540 --> 00:16:11.500 a disease that condemned you. It just banished you. And sometimes, yeah, I mean, look at 2 Chronicles 00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:23.020 26, 2 Chronicles 26, 2 Chronicles 26. It's about a king called Uzziah. And he does something that 00:16:23.020 --> 00:16:31.020 he shouldn't have done. He breaks boundaries, yes, but then because of breaking boundaries, he 00:16:31.740 --> 00:16:39.020 struck with leprosy. And it says in 2 Chronicles 26, verse 19 to 21, Uzziah, who had a censor in 00:16:39.020 --> 00:16:43.740 his hand, ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their 00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:48.300 presence before the incense altar in the Lord's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 00:16:48.300 --> 00:16:52.540 When Azariah, the chief priest, and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy 00:16:52.540 --> 00:16:58.140 on his forehead. They hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave because the Lord had 00:16:58.140 --> 00:17:05.740 afflicted him. And so here are situations where in the Old Testament, to condemn somebody was very 00:17:05.740 --> 00:17:16.060 normal because we must not forget what is said in 1 Corinthians 15, 56, that the power of sin 00:17:16.620 --> 00:17:22.780 is in the law, as in the law was given. Do not do this. If you break the law, 00:17:23.420 --> 00:17:29.580 it becomes sin. And every time there is sin, there is a curse. But Jesus comes along and he 00:17:29.580 --> 00:17:37.260 changes things and we'll talk about that. We cannot continue to labor under condemnation. It is wrong. 00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:48.220 Condemnation is, I mean, let's leave the Old Testament and New Testament and think of 00:17:48.220 --> 00:17:56.460 divorcees in church. Do you know the condemnation that comes upon ones that are divorced? 00:17:56.460 --> 00:18:00.060 Do you know the condemnation that comes upon pastors and leaders that have had affairs? 00:18:00.620 --> 00:18:03.660 So Jacob, where is the space for judgment and discipline? We'll talk about that. 00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:09.340 But we must understand this thing called condemnation is very different. It has no space, 00:18:09.340 --> 00:18:19.500 no place, no attraction in the kingdom. If someone does commit an affair, if it is a family, 00:18:19.500 --> 00:18:22.700 your family deals with it. If it is a church, you dismiss a person. 00:18:23.180 --> 00:18:34.540 The stigma that you live with when you commit something like that is lifelong. 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:45.180 Now, when we talk about how to think and look at judging, discipline, forgiveness, restoration, 00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:51.500 condemnation, admonition, then you'll find that they're different, but condemnation has no place. 00:18:51.660 --> 00:18:56.780 Condemnation is what the enemy uses continuously the moment we do anything wrong. That is why I'm 00:18:56.780 --> 00:19:02.380 saying none of you are spared from it because all of us do something wrong. If you are without wrong, 00:19:02.380 --> 00:19:07.260 stand up so we can stone you. I'm kidding. I was not supposed to condemn you. 00:19:10.220 --> 00:19:17.100 The point is, because we all do wrong, this is an instrument used by Satan because the voice of 00:19:17.100 --> 00:19:26.780 condemnation is accusation. The voice that condemnation has a voice and that voice is 00:19:26.780 --> 00:19:33.980 accusation. Condemnation has a voice. It is affected through accusation. It is a chief activity 00:19:33.980 --> 00:19:43.020 for Satan. It is a chief activity of Satan. He is called the accuser. In Job chapter 1, verse 9 and 00:19:43.020 --> 00:19:52.860 10, we see that he used accusation as a means to undermine God's verdict on Job, saying skin for skin 00:19:53.820 --> 00:20:01.660 accusation. In Zechariah 3, there's this brilliant passage where Satan comes against Joshua, 00:20:01.660 --> 00:20:04.220 the high priest. You think he doesn't come against you? 00:20:04.220 --> 00:20:25.180 Zechariah 3, verse 1. Aaron, Renny, where are you guys, man? My coffee is getting cold. 00:20:27.100 --> 00:20:29.180 And you thought it was because I wanted you to be here. 00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:34.300 I'm just kidding, man. I really do. Zechariah 3. 00:20:35.980 --> 00:20:40.220 Then he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, 00:20:40.220 --> 00:20:44.060 and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, 00:20:44.060 --> 00:20:49.580 the Lord rebuke you, Satan, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you. Is this man not a 00:20:49.580 --> 00:20:54.460 burning stick snatched from the fire? Now, Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before 00:20:54.460 --> 00:20:59.020 the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, take off his filthy clothes. 00:20:59.020 --> 00:21:03.580 Then he said to Joshua, see, I've taken away your sin and I will put rich garments on you. 00:21:03.580 --> 00:21:07.660 And then I said, put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head and they 00:21:07.660 --> 00:21:15.100 clothed him while the angel of the Lord stood by. Here was the high priest being accused. Condemnation 00:21:15.100 --> 00:21:19.740 is always brought in through accusation. Let's just look at one more scripture, Revelation 12, 00:21:19.820 --> 00:21:30.380 verse 10. Just in case you thought you weren't part of this scheme that the enemy has. Revelation 12, 00:21:30.380 --> 00:21:36.460 verse 11, starting at verse 10. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now 00:21:37.100 --> 00:21:40.540 have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his 00:21:40.540 --> 00:21:47.020 Christ. For the accuser of our brothers who accuses them before our God day and night has been hurled 00:21:47.020 --> 00:21:50.780 down. This is why he's called the accuser of the brothers. 00:21:53.580 --> 00:21:56.380 Condemnation has a voice. It is affected through accusation. 00:21:57.660 --> 00:22:03.980 And the thing is guys, because Satan no longer has traction in heaven, he tries to smother you in an 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:10.460 echo chamber where condemnation and accusation is continuously thrown at you, either through people 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:17.340 or through direct voices that you hear or through the Old Testament law or through people 00:22:17.340 --> 00:22:24.300 speaking or through pastors telling you how lousy you are. Whatever the method be, condemnation is 00:22:24.300 --> 00:22:31.020 still used effectively because Satan has no traction in heaven. He now comes and whispers in your ear. 00:22:31.020 --> 00:22:36.540 It's insidious. It is soul crushing. It's like putting a hood on someone who's going to be taken 00:22:36.540 --> 00:22:42.620 to the hangman's news. You put on a hood and inside that hood you continuously hear these voices 00:22:42.620 --> 00:22:48.140 that condemn you, that remind you of your past, that remind you of how you did this, remind you 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:56.380 of regret, remind you of what if you had not done this, what if you had not done this, what if you 00:22:56.380 --> 00:23:03.180 did this, remind you of regret, remind you of what if you had not done that. It is this continuous 00:23:03.180 --> 00:23:09.660 accusation. The intent is if I keep accusing you, can I bring you to a place where you walk not as 00:23:09.660 --> 00:23:16.940 one who is uncondemned but walk as one who is condemned, desperately trying to swim in righteousness? 00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:23.420 And the older you are, the more garbage there is to throw at you. 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:29.740 Until we come every morning to a place where our filthy garments are removed and a turban is put on 00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:35.980 our heads, you will continuously be reminded of what you were thinking yesterday and you'll be 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:43.900 continuously reminded of your feisty spattered garments. That's the actual sense of the word in 00:23:43.900 --> 00:23:52.540 Zechariah 3. It is not some little mud or snow that was thrown on you. Remove the snow from your 00:23:52.780 --> 00:23:59.660 head. Remove this hood guys. It doesn't matter how young or how old you are. Remove this hood. It must end. 00:23:59.660 --> 00:24:05.420 I cannot walk as one condemned but I must walk as one uncondemned because there's far too much 00:24:05.420 --> 00:24:18.060 fuel that I'm burning up trying to work through this. What it does is it deceives or blinds you 00:24:18.060 --> 00:24:23.660 to the truth. After that it defiles you because you're continuously trying to 00:24:24.380 --> 00:24:30.780 do the Macbeth thing of washing yourself and then it distorts the finished work of Christ. It distorts 00:24:30.780 --> 00:24:36.460 the finished work of Christ. He's saying, Jacob, I nailed everything that stands against you. Every 00:24:37.580 --> 00:24:45.020 indicting legal debt that you owed, I've nailed it to the cross. I can understand your sinning. 00:24:45.020 --> 00:24:52.300 I can understand you walking away from me but I do not want you to walk in this place, gray place 00:24:53.020 --> 00:24:56.860 of condemnation. I do not want you to walk. I want you, Jacob, for the rest 00:24:56.860 --> 00:25:07.340 of your life to walk as one uncondemned. Run to God before condemnation damages your mind. 00:25:07.340 --> 00:25:13.020 Teach your children how to do this. Children who go to school are being condemned by their peers 00:25:13.020 --> 00:25:17.900 every day, are condemned by culture every day, are condemned by what they learn every day, 00:25:17.900 --> 00:25:23.260 are condemned by people who think otherwise every day. Teach your children how to deal with 00:25:23.260 --> 00:25:28.540 accusations and condemnation early. If you don't teach them that, they do not have a safe place to 00:25:28.540 --> 00:25:36.460 run to. They do not have a refuge. They do not have a place to run to. Psalm 109, two Psalms that 00:25:36.460 --> 00:25:42.220 talk about David's fight with accusation and condemnation are Psalm 7 and Psalm 109. And in 00:25:42.220 --> 00:25:49.100 Psalm 109, if you go to 21 to 31, Psalm 109, 21 to 31, before that he wishes ill on those who 00:25:49.100 --> 00:25:54.620 accused him. And you can wish that ill upon the devil but read Psalm 109, 21 to 31. 00:25:59.580 --> 00:26:04.780 But you, O sovereign Lord, deal well with me for your name's sake. Out of the goodness of your love, 00:26:04.780 --> 00:26:11.660 love you deliver me. For I'm poor and needy and my heart is wounded within me. I fade away like an 00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:17.580 evening shadow. I'm shaken off like a locust. My knees give away from fasting. My body is thin and 00:26:17.580 --> 00:26:23.260 gaunt. I'm an object of scorn to my accusers. When they see me, they shake their heads. Help me, O 00:26:23.260 --> 00:26:29.900 Lord, my God. Save me in accordance with your love. Let them know that it is in your hand that you, 00:26:29.900 --> 00:26:34.220 O Lord, have done it. They may curse but you will bless. When they attack, they'll be put to shame. 00:26:34.220 --> 00:26:39.660 But your servant will rejoice. My accusers will be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in 00:26:39.660 --> 00:26:44.620 a cloak. With my mouth, I will greatly extol the Lord. In the great throng, I will praise him. 00:26:44.620 --> 00:26:49.580 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one and to save his life from those who condemn him. 00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:58.460 From this place of refuge, guys, whenever you are struggling with condemnation, be it something that 00:26:58.460 --> 00:27:03.340 comes, say, from me, be it something that comes from your spouse or your child, be it something 00:27:03.340 --> 00:27:09.020 that comes from your own sin, be it something that comes from your past or yourself imposed 00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:14.540 condemnation, be it something that you have done wrong like Absalom, be it something where you've 00:27:14.540 --> 00:27:19.340 been caught like the woman caught in adultery, regardless of where the condemnation comes from, 00:27:19.340 --> 00:27:24.780 run to God before it damages your mind. Run to God before it damages your mind 00:27:24.780 --> 00:27:30.540 because it has the potential to damage your mind. Run to God before it damages your mind. 00:27:30.540 --> 00:27:36.300 Remember, condemnation has a voice and that voice is accusation. It uses words, 00:27:36.940 --> 00:27:42.220 words spoken by people, words spoken by the devil, words spoken by your own mind because you have 00:27:43.180 --> 00:27:49.660 a mind that is not renewed. From this place of refuge, now begin to figure out, father, 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:56.860 what I feel, how do I judge it, how do I judge it. There's no way to judge it. 00:27:56.940 --> 00:28:03.500 How do I judge it? There's nothing wrong with judging things, eh? One is supposed to judge things. 00:28:04.140 --> 00:28:09.020 To judge is to use the word as a plumb line 00:28:13.420 --> 00:28:14.940 and see whether you're right or wrong. 00:28:18.460 --> 00:28:24.380 And it's based on the nature of God and the nature of the word, nature of God and nature of the word. 00:28:24.380 --> 00:28:31.660 That's what you use to judge where you're at. Have the words that have been spoken against me. 00:28:31.660 --> 00:28:38.540 Do they carry any weight? Father, let me use your word and your nature to judge what has been spoken. 00:28:40.060 --> 00:28:46.700 Hebrews 412 talks about how the word is good for this. It helps us judge between the intent 00:28:46.700 --> 00:28:51.020 and the motives, goes right between heart and soul. 00:28:54.780 --> 00:28:59.900 Then there is, okay, were the words spoken a form of admonition 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:10.140 where God does use words that people speak to rebuke, to correct, 00:29:10.140 --> 00:29:15.260 so that he won't have to resort to discipline. 00:29:24.060 --> 00:29:33.100 2 Timothy 3 16 talks about how the word is essential for rebuke, for correction, for admonition. 00:29:33.660 --> 00:29:39.660 The point is, can I admonish or rebuke somebody or can somebody do that to me and I hear it 00:29:39.660 --> 00:29:46.060 and now I prevent myself from sowing what I should not sow and I prevent myself from stepping into 00:29:46.060 --> 00:29:53.580 consequences that I don't want to suffer. There is a place for this, but remember the nature of 00:29:53.580 --> 00:29:59.180 condemnation. Condemnation strips you of your intrinsic dignity. It dooms you to punishment or 00:29:59.180 --> 00:30:06.540 sentence. It makes you forfeit who you are. It renders you unfit for use. 00:30:06.540 --> 00:30:13.180 It always carries in it guilt, punishment and sentence. That we do not operate under in this 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:19.820 kingdom. That is for the world. If you are a new creation and the old order is passing away, 00:30:19.820 --> 00:30:23.740 step out of the old order in this area because you are a new creation. 00:30:24.300 --> 00:30:27.100 Even when it is your fault, this is not a grace message. 00:30:30.700 --> 00:30:32.700 Like a hyper grace message is what I meant. 00:30:37.500 --> 00:30:41.020 When admonition fails, that's when discipline kicks in. 00:30:42.380 --> 00:30:44.380 That's when discipline kicks in. 00:30:44.380 --> 00:30:49.900 When God now disciplines you sometimes through people because his intent is through discipline 00:30:49.900 --> 00:30:57.900 can I prevent destruction that awaits you Jacob and through discipline can I form new habits. 00:30:57.900 --> 00:31:04.540 His intent is through discipline can I prevent destruction that awaits you Jacob and through 00:31:04.540 --> 00:31:15.900 discipline can I form new habits. The last word is habits. 00:31:23.660 --> 00:31:25.180 Third one down, this one. 00:31:28.540 --> 00:31:30.540 What about you? 00:31:30.540 --> 00:31:33.980 Guys, just so you know, you guys are all wearing masks. I can't hear you. 00:31:44.940 --> 00:31:53.820 Yeah, so if we throw out everything that people say to us then we'll be like horses without 00:31:53.820 --> 00:31:59.260 blinders and we'll go wherever we want to and get into trouble. There is this place for judging 00:31:59.260 --> 00:32:05.260 things on your own. There is this place for being rebuked and corrected. And so 2 Timothy 3 says the 00:32:05.260 --> 00:32:10.060 word is good for rebuking, for correcting, for admonition. So there is a place for that and the 00:32:10.060 --> 00:32:14.940 intent with God when he wants to rebuke me over something is hey Jacob I'm rebuking you through 00:32:14.940 --> 00:32:21.020 this person or through this situation so that you do not step into consequences you'll regret and 00:32:21.020 --> 00:32:25.660 you do not want to sow things that will cause you to reap a certain weight. So rebuke is good 00:32:26.780 --> 00:32:29.500 but it shouldn't carry in it the ingredients of condemnation. 00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:35.100 You want to answer the message? Don we can wait. Okay, just checking. 00:32:40.220 --> 00:32:44.140 Like that Cuba Gooding movie, if it ain't God, don't take it. 00:32:44.140 --> 00:32:55.500 Condemnation is a sentence to punish, to forfeit, to attribute fault and guilt. It's fueled and 00:32:55.500 --> 00:33:01.420 sustained by accusation. It carries penalty. It's an ancient satanic device. It brings sin. It brings 00:33:01.420 --> 00:33:08.140 guilt. Ah and then it brings torment and the demonic and we'll talk about that. On the other hand, 00:33:08.380 --> 00:33:16.540 after all this, there's this place where you forgive through a process of restitution and 00:33:16.540 --> 00:33:25.020 restoration. Where there's a change of habit and if people insist that they want to see a change of 00:33:25.020 --> 00:33:31.500 habit and they say show us that you're changing, go through a process of discipline. Be restored. 00:33:31.580 --> 00:33:34.380 Be restored. Great, go through it. 00:33:39.340 --> 00:33:44.780 Any questions before I go on? I just wanted to show you this so that we don't think that this 00:33:44.780 --> 00:33:49.660 is a life where there's absolutely no discipline, no correction. I'm just saying there is no 00:33:49.660 --> 00:33:57.660 condemnation. I'm deciding that I will not walk condemned anymore because I condemn myself because 00:33:57.660 --> 00:34:06.940 I'm severe on how I am. I'm severe on myself. I condemn myself through your words, attitudes, 00:34:06.940 --> 00:34:12.060 thoughts. I condemn myself through listening to what the devil is saying, casting doubt. 00:34:13.820 --> 00:34:19.180 I condemn myself thinking of things that I may have done long ago that I am well forgiven for, 00:34:19.180 --> 00:34:27.580 but it's thrown up again as muck. I condemn myself after I sin because it is like, am I back in God's 00:34:27.740 --> 00:34:33.100 good books? Can I continue from where I started or do I have to work my way through into his good books? 00:34:35.260 --> 00:34:40.060 I refuse to live like this. It's a horrible way of living when I'm supposed to be someone 00:34:40.060 --> 00:34:41.660 who is already in the kingdom. 00:34:45.420 --> 00:34:49.260 This is why I'm saying it's a mature way of living. It's a fully formed way of living. 00:34:57.580 --> 00:35:06.940 So can God destroy with his anger? 00:35:06.940 --> 00:35:13.660 Yeah, he did. He just destroyed Jesus. Put all his anger upon him who hung on the cross, 00:35:14.220 --> 00:35:20.540 and it was a bloody mess, like a piece of butchered meat, the likes of which even Mel Gibson 00:35:20.540 --> 00:35:25.980 could not capture in the movie Passion. On him we see the wrath of God. And the, 00:35:27.580 --> 00:35:30.940 you know, the strange thing is you are not forgiven because you're sorry for your sin. 00:35:30.940 --> 00:35:36.860 You're forgiven because someone took your sin and was punished for it. We often think that it is 00:35:36.860 --> 00:35:43.900 our sorryness that makes God forgive us. Our sorryness is an admission of a violation of a 00:35:43.900 --> 00:35:51.980 relationship. But we are forgiven because someone was punished cruelly for it and was undone by it. 00:35:52.940 --> 00:35:58.940 What bothers me often when I read Isaiah 52 is that he was so butchered that his mother could 00:35:58.940 --> 00:36:04.540 not recognize him because his face was so deformed by the beating. In Mel Gibson's thing, we can still 00:36:04.540 --> 00:36:13.180 know it's Jesus. The Shroud of Turin, if it ever was real, was just a bloody mess. There was no 00:36:13.180 --> 00:36:19.340 outline there, let me assure you. Sorry Diana, I'll come back to you. 00:36:21.500 --> 00:36:27.500 The question that Karuna asked was, the Old Testament God seems to be an angry God and the 00:36:27.500 --> 00:36:34.380 New Testament God seems to be a kind God. Does God destroy? And I would say to you that the Old 00:36:34.380 --> 00:36:41.740 Testament and the New Testament God aren't angry, that in Exodus 33 he reveals himself as one who is 00:36:41.740 --> 00:36:49.500 kind and loving and compassionate to thousands of generations. But his absolute hatred for sin 00:36:50.380 --> 00:36:58.140 is what Israel shows us is happening. Israel should be commended. I mean if there's any 00:36:58.140 --> 00:37:04.060 obligation that we owe to that nation, it is that that nation showed us God's holiness 00:37:04.140 --> 00:37:09.020 and that nation paid the price for unholiness and 00:37:09.020 --> 00:37:13.980 example for us what we as Christians should be, that I owe them a debt for. 00:37:15.980 --> 00:37:22.380 And then along comes Christ and he now says this cannot go on forever. I must step in so that 00:37:22.380 --> 00:37:27.180 people may come back to me and know me as a kind, good father. 00:37:27.180 --> 00:37:37.340 As a kind, good father. What does the world think most of God? It thinks that he condemns. 00:37:38.380 --> 00:37:44.780 Please understand what we're dealing with here. This is far greater than we think. The world thinks 00:37:44.780 --> 00:37:52.220 that God condemns. What does the world think of the church that we condemn? 00:37:52.380 --> 00:37:56.300 What does the world think of the church that we condemn? 00:38:00.060 --> 00:38:05.500 And in a sense, the foundational message of God that we are supposed to announce to the world 00:38:06.060 --> 00:38:10.060 is that we are willing to pour out in our lives to communicate this simple truth. 00:38:10.060 --> 00:38:12.060 There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. 00:38:12.060 --> 00:38:19.900 Romans 8.1 is so much more than a personal stance. It is what God's heart is towards the earth. 00:38:23.900 --> 00:38:27.900 Does it answer your question? Okay, ask again. 00:38:27.900 --> 00:38:38.060 No. So if he is kind, he will not destroy. He's paid the price to pull back. Now, 00:38:38.060 --> 00:38:42.140 we're not talking about God. We're talking about God's heart. He's paid the price to 00:38:42.140 --> 00:38:48.140 destroy our personal life. He's paid the price to destroy our personal life. 00:38:48.380 --> 00:38:57.820 So if he is kind, he will not destroy. He's paid the price to pull back. Now, 00:38:57.820 --> 00:39:03.980 the only way a person can destroy himself is by rejecting Christ. By rejecting life, 00:39:03.980 --> 00:39:10.300 you can destroy your life. But you cannot, God is not here to destroy. God is here to give 00:39:11.260 --> 00:39:16.380 life. I have come to give life and life more abundance. Satan comes to steal, kill, and 00:39:17.100 --> 00:39:23.180 destroy. Very clear demarcation. But having given you life, the only way, Jacob, 00:39:23.180 --> 00:39:25.980 that you can destroy yourself is if you reject that life. 00:39:33.820 --> 00:39:38.220 Even when the Bible says, because we interpret this wrong quite often, when it says, 00:39:39.020 --> 00:39:43.020 don't you know you are the temple of God and that if you destroy the temple, I'll destroy you. And 00:39:43.020 --> 00:39:46.220 so people would say to me that if you smoke, you're destroying the temple, so God will 00:39:46.220 --> 00:39:50.380 destroy you. I'm thinking to myself, shucks, don't want to die for a cigarette. And so 00:39:53.420 --> 00:39:59.660 the point was not that he will destroy us if you smoke or do something, but if you go around 00:39:59.660 --> 00:40:07.660 destroying the church, he will remove you from the equation. And we think death is destruction. And 00:40:07.660 --> 00:40:15.660 I want to say that death is not destruction. Death is removal. Death is as simple as me 00:40:15.660 --> 00:40:26.780 removing this red sketch pen from here and putting it inside the piano. That's what death is like. 00:40:27.980 --> 00:40:33.100 Just remind me of before Sheldon plays. Diana, you had a question? 00:40:33.100 --> 00:40:37.580 Diana, it's very hard to figure out what you're thinking with that mask on. I usually know what 00:40:37.580 --> 00:40:41.020 your question is going to be, when you're going to ask it, whether you're happy with the answer, 00:40:41.020 --> 00:40:44.780 whether you're unhappy with the answer, whether there's a follow-up question. I know all this. 00:40:44.780 --> 00:40:55.260 Now you've got the blooming mask on your face. Ask. Can anyone hear and understand? Oh, you do. 00:40:55.260 --> 00:41:03.420 Can you try again? No, not yet. Okay, go ahead, Diana. What a relief. 00:41:25.420 --> 00:41:32.620 I'll leave the second one alone, because it's 00:41:32.620 --> 00:41:34.620 a very important one. 00:41:34.620 --> 00:41:36.620 I think it's a very important one. 00:41:36.620 --> 00:41:38.620 I think it's a very important one. 00:41:38.620 --> 00:41:40.620 I think it's a very important one. 00:41:40.620 --> 00:41:42.620 I think it's a very important one. 00:41:42.620 --> 00:41:44.620 I think it's a very important one. 00:41:44.620 --> 00:41:46.620 I think it's a very important one. 00:41:46.620 --> 00:41:48.620 I think it's a very important one. 00:41:48.620 --> 00:41:50.620 I think it's a very important one. 00:41:50.620 --> 00:41:52.620 I think it's a very important one. 00:41:52.620 --> 00:41:54.620 I think it's a very important one. 00:41:54.620 --> 00:42:01.260 Because it's very long, and he does invite everybody, and then doesn't take away our free will. 00:42:01.260 --> 00:42:09.180 But the answer to the first question, how do you deal with children who are from backgrounds where they don't have Christ and face condemnation on a daily basis? 00:42:09.180 --> 00:42:12.780 If you are there, you are there to help them come out of their condemnation. 00:42:12.780 --> 00:42:22.780 If you have a child who you can teach to help themselves first and then help the other, you do not know the amount of money you're going to save their parents in just counseling. 00:42:22.860 --> 00:42:27.260 Guys, I cannot tell you how condemned kids are on a daily basis. 00:42:27.260 --> 00:42:33.820 If they are even slightly different in a good way from the rest of the world. 00:42:33.820 --> 00:42:35.820 You just have to be a little different. 00:42:35.820 --> 00:42:43.180 Culture condemns you, education condemns you, teachers condemn you, your friends condemn you, parents condemn you. 00:42:43.180 --> 00:42:45.180 It is a very, very difficult world. 00:42:48.220 --> 00:42:50.700 If you are there, you're supposed to lift them up. 00:42:51.660 --> 00:42:57.820 Don't teach your kid to be macho, to get to be strong, get to be, you've got to do this alone. 00:42:57.820 --> 00:43:00.300 All that is a bunch of, is crap a bad word? 00:43:00.300 --> 00:43:03.580 No, it's a bunch of crap. 00:43:09.580 --> 00:43:11.580 Teach your children how to cry. 00:43:11.580 --> 00:43:13.580 How to cry. 00:43:17.580 --> 00:43:23.580 Satan uses the curse of the law to condemn, to enslave, to torment, to destroy. 00:43:23.580 --> 00:43:25.580 Satan uses the curse of the law. 00:43:25.580 --> 00:43:27.580 He uses the power and the curse of the law. 00:43:27.580 --> 00:43:29.580 He uses the power of the law. 00:43:29.580 --> 00:43:31.580 God said, do not do this. 00:43:31.580 --> 00:43:33.580 Well, if you do this, now I can curse you because you've broken the law. 00:43:33.580 --> 00:43:39.580 He uses it to condemn, to enslave, to torment and to destroy. 00:43:39.580 --> 00:43:41.580 He used it in the Old Testament with Israel. 00:43:41.580 --> 00:43:43.580 He's still using it today with Christians. 00:43:43.580 --> 00:43:47.580 This is what God wants to put an end to. 00:43:47.580 --> 00:43:55.580 The damning legal debt that is imposed on me with a sentence, whenever I do wrong, 00:43:55.580 --> 00:44:01.580 gives these powers the right to deceive me, to torment me and to trespass into my life. 00:44:01.580 --> 00:44:07.580 And I don't realize that they have been terminated at the cross because divine justice was met and these powers were shamed. 00:44:07.580 --> 00:44:15.580 Every time you and I do wrong, my God, when are we going to escape this vicious cycle of going into that place 00:44:15.580 --> 00:44:23.580 where we feel now that now there's a legal debt owed and that there's a sentence that's going to be imposed. 00:44:23.580 --> 00:44:25.580 I've got to drive more carefully because I might have an accident. 00:44:25.580 --> 00:44:29.580 I've got to study more because I might fail my test. 00:44:29.580 --> 00:44:31.580 I've got to do this better because my child may be harmed. 00:44:31.580 --> 00:44:35.580 The way we think is so stupid, man. 00:44:35.580 --> 00:44:47.580 And it starts with a whisper in your ear and that whisper is coming either from your own background or from your family or from the devil. 00:44:47.580 --> 00:44:53.580 But it is this torment that begins to settle in. 00:44:53.580 --> 00:45:01.580 I just know that God is here to set us free from the condemnation we feel for the things done in the past and for the things we will do tomorrow. 00:45:02.580 --> 00:45:06.580 So Jacob, by saying this, aren't you afraid that people will begin to sin? 00:45:06.580 --> 00:45:12.580 Probably, but that doesn't take away from the truth of this. 00:45:12.580 --> 00:45:21.580 Just because you may choose to sin now that you won't feel condemned doesn't take away from the truth that you should not feel condemned. 00:45:21.580 --> 00:45:26.580 We cannot change truth to make you walk in truth. 00:45:27.580 --> 00:45:31.580 It's an old church trick. 00:45:31.580 --> 00:45:35.580 Don't tell them the truth because if you tell them the truth, they may begin to walk in the truth. 00:45:35.580 --> 00:45:44.580 So, Christ redeemed me from this cursed life. 00:45:44.580 --> 00:45:48.580 I love how the Passion Translation puts it in Galatians 3.13. 00:45:48.580 --> 00:45:52.580 Christ redeemed me from the cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. 00:45:52.580 --> 00:46:02.580 Christ redeemed me from curse, from condemnation, from the sentence that could be imposed on me, from the legal debt that I would otherwise owe, 00:46:02.580 --> 00:46:11.580 from the freedom to trespass that I would give my tormentors, in this case the powers, all that he absorbed into himself. 00:46:11.580 --> 00:46:13.580 He absorbed into himself. 00:46:13.580 --> 00:46:17.580 He became a curse and at the same time dissolved the curse. 00:46:17.580 --> 00:46:19.580 He became a curse and dissolved the curse. 00:46:19.580 --> 00:46:27.580 He absorbed into himself everything that should have fallen on me like you owe a legal debt now. 00:46:27.580 --> 00:46:29.580 The powers can do what they want with you. 00:46:29.580 --> 00:46:31.580 There is a sentence that is upon you. 00:46:31.580 --> 00:46:33.580 You have to pay a price. 00:46:33.580 --> 00:46:35.580 These sicknesses can fall upon you. 00:46:35.580 --> 00:46:37.580 These gods of Egypt can harm you. 00:46:37.580 --> 00:46:41.580 All those things he becomes and he absorbs the curse. 00:46:41.580 --> 00:46:48.580 And in absorbing the curse, he dissolves it off me so that I don't have to live under the fear of it anymore. 00:46:48.580 --> 00:46:50.580 Thank you. 00:47:18.580 --> 00:47:24.580 No, that's not the right response. 00:47:24.580 --> 00:47:27.580 And Romans 6 deals with it. 00:47:27.580 --> 00:47:29.580 Romans 6 deals with it. 00:47:29.580 --> 00:47:36.580 Because there is this truth that we need to confront. 00:47:36.580 --> 00:47:43.580 That when grace increases, sometimes lawlessness increases and the heart of many grows cold. 00:47:43.580 --> 00:47:51.580 But it is not something Jesus is going to cancel because of my willfulness to exploit his kindness. 00:47:51.580 --> 00:48:01.580 Because I know God's grace is plenty, I can go lawless and my heart can grow cold. 00:48:01.580 --> 00:48:04.580 But he still won't change his ways. 00:48:04.580 --> 00:48:08.580 It only means that these things will kick in a little more. 00:48:08.580 --> 00:48:14.580 Admonition, rebuke, discipline will kick in more. 00:48:14.580 --> 00:48:24.580 I come from a place that does not doom to sentence, that does not rob me of dignity, that does not make me guilty, that doesn't do those things. 00:48:24.580 --> 00:48:26.580 God does not do them that way. 00:48:26.580 --> 00:48:30.580 Even when I discipline on behalf of God, I may convey it wrongly. 00:48:30.580 --> 00:48:32.580 But he does not. 00:48:32.580 --> 00:48:40.580 Jesus, the pharaoh told Bishopening. 00:48:40.580 --> 00:48:47.580 Today, when Goddt feels his light in him, he tells us he will break his bread祭eta over to him. 00:48:47.580 --> 00:48:52.180 Light remember the light. 00:48:52.180 --> 00:48:59.580 Read King James, like I did with the ball with Online History. 00:48:59.580 --> 00:49:03.420 Christ happened to me. You want to see what happened to you go read Isaiah 53 00:49:03.420 --> 00:49:08.900 verse 4 to 6 and 10 to 12. What happened to him happened to me. I do not carry 00:49:08.900 --> 00:49:13.660 them anymore. If I am in Christ what happened to him happened to me. I must 00:49:13.660 --> 00:49:22.780 walk free. I must walk free. This is why in Colossians 2, 14 and 15 Jesus is 00:49:22.780 --> 00:49:30.460 saying listen your tormentors I disarmed. Your tormentors I dethroned. Your 00:49:30.460 --> 00:49:38.140 tormentors I paraded in chains. The very tree that I was hung on like in the 00:49:38.140 --> 00:49:43.020 movie Transformers transformed into a victorious chariot and in front of me 00:49:43.020 --> 00:49:49.620 now a paraded in chains. The very tormentors who used to demand a price of 00:49:49.620 --> 00:49:53.040 you, who used to threaten you, who frightened you, who condemned you, who 00:49:53.040 --> 00:49:57.300 brought guilt on you, who accused you, who brought whispers. I am saying to you 00:49:57.300 --> 00:50:01.460 Jacob that the tree which I hung transformed into a victorious chariot. 00:50:01.460 --> 00:50:06.540 I've dethroned them. I've disarmed them. I parade them in front of me as prisoners 00:50:06.540 --> 00:50:10.820 in chains so that you no longer for the rest of your life if you were to live 00:50:10.820 --> 00:50:17.880 another 40 years will ever walk as anyone else but the uncontemned. You know 00:50:17.920 --> 00:50:27.880 it robs the tormentor of power. It's like Velcro, condemnation. It causes the 00:50:27.880 --> 00:50:33.120 elemental spirits of the world. It causes tormentors. It causes accusers. It causes 00:50:33.120 --> 00:50:40.360 sin and it causes the demonic to be able to attach easily because you walk in 00:50:40.360 --> 00:50:46.640 condemnation. Condemned sometimes by you. Condemned sometimes by others. Condemned 00:50:46.640 --> 00:50:50.560 sometimes by your pastor. Condemned by your friends, your spouse. Condemned by 00:50:50.560 --> 00:50:58.320 what you think is God. One of the things I want to do before we end is write down 00:50:58.320 --> 00:51:05.360 accusations that you still carry in your heart. Write down condemnation that you 00:51:05.360 --> 00:51:15.120 feel and then come to a place where we end the torment in those areas. 00:51:21.680 --> 00:51:27.200 This is why in Romans 8.1 it says, Therefore, in view of all that we've 00:51:27.200 --> 00:51:34.160 just said, there remains, I love this, there remains no accusing voice of 00:51:34.160 --> 00:51:39.240 condemnation against those who have joined their lives to Jesus the 00:51:39.240 --> 00:51:44.160 Anointed One. Listen to it. Therefore, in view of everything we have said, there 00:51:44.160 --> 00:51:50.200 remains no longer an accusing voice of condemnation against those who are 00:51:50.200 --> 00:51:59.720 joined in life with Christ the Anointed One. I mean Captain America has a shield 00:51:59.720 --> 00:52:13.120 right? Use it man. Every time you begin to face condemnation, I can handle Captain 00:52:13.120 --> 00:52:18.800 America. Thor is a little too mythological for me but Captain America 00:52:18.800 --> 00:52:28.720 just got a wrong injection. Any questions? If God is justified who can condemn? If 00:52:28.720 --> 00:52:37.520 God has justified who can condemn? If God has justified who can condemn? Does the 00:52:37.520 --> 00:52:41.560 devil remind you, oh you went to this particular land I told you not to go and 00:52:41.560 --> 00:52:45.080 you did this and look what has happened and you haven't been able to free 00:52:45.080 --> 00:52:49.720 yourself for years? Oh remember what you did? You were married and you did this. Oh 00:52:49.720 --> 00:52:52.240 remember what you did? You were not married. You knew this was wrong and you 00:52:52.240 --> 00:52:56.120 did it. Remember what you did? You've been indulging in porn for this thing or 00:52:56.600 --> 00:53:00.080 think anything's gonna happen good for you? You think just because one or two 00:53:00.080 --> 00:53:03.640 things happen good, you think day after tomorrow you won't go back into your sin 00:53:03.640 --> 00:53:07.480 and it won't happen again? What do you think you're worth? You think Jacob 00:53:07.480 --> 00:53:18.320 doesn't know he'll find out one day God will tell him? That's on the extreme side. 00:53:18.320 --> 00:53:23.360 On the other side, what did your spouse say? What did your fiance say? What did 00:53:24.080 --> 00:53:30.000 we take these accusations and we let them stick when we are supposed to 00:53:30.000 --> 00:53:36.480 filter them through these three things? How farther must I judge it? Can I use 00:53:36.480 --> 00:53:41.040 the plumb line of the word to see if this is real? Is this who I am? May I say 00:53:41.040 --> 00:53:46.560 to you that we have a decent estimation of who we are and an accusation is 00:53:46.600 --> 00:53:52.600 always supposed to undermine the decent estimation of who I am. 00:53:57.960 --> 00:54:04.280 Paul never says become something. Paul always says become who you are. 00:54:07.400 --> 00:54:12.040 Paul is never saying I need you to become holy. He says you are holy so 00:54:12.040 --> 00:54:25.720 behave holy. Part of the reason the church cannot tell the world that they 00:54:25.720 --> 00:54:30.480 are not condemned is because the church feels condemned. How do you tell somebody 00:54:30.480 --> 00:54:33.960 else, no you're really not condemned but there's this loud voicing, of 00:54:33.960 --> 00:54:38.000 course you're condemned and he is more condemned than you. 00:54:43.040 --> 00:54:48.360 Guys, being a forgiven people is critically. The forgiven people are a 00:54:48.360 --> 00:54:52.240 people who are not condemned. Being a forgiven people is critical. Do you 00:54:52.240 --> 00:54:57.520 realize that the basics of Christianity, the basics of Christianity is that we 00:54:57.520 --> 00:55:02.760 are a forgiven people and do you realize that's a bigger struggle for all of us? 00:55:02.760 --> 00:55:14.000 We do not even believe that we are a forgiven people. That is like the lowest 00:55:14.000 --> 00:55:21.520 rung of Christianity. I'm a forgiven people and if I can't even stand there, 00:55:21.520 --> 00:55:27.600 I'm struggling with, I mean tomorrow will bring its own set of sins. I'm a 00:55:28.080 --> 00:55:34.280 I mean tomorrow will bring its own set of sins. I'm a forgiven people. What does 00:55:34.280 --> 00:55:38.880 forgiveness, why should you ask for forgiveness? What does forgiveness 00:55:38.880 --> 00:55:50.240 get you? What does forgiveness get you? I'm looking for a specific answer which 00:55:50.240 --> 00:55:54.140 you won't give because it's in my mind and so it'll be hard to guess. What does 00:55:54.140 --> 00:56:01.020 forgiveness get you? That which is in my mind. So let me tell you, so let me, 00:56:01.020 --> 00:56:07.980 smart answers with that mask on. So let me tell you what is in my mind. 00:56:07.980 --> 00:56:15.060 Forgiveness gets you God. Forgiveness gets you God. 1st Peter 318 says it that 00:56:15.060 --> 00:56:22.060 he might bring us to God. Forgiveness gets you God and therefore condemnation 00:56:22.060 --> 00:56:26.940 and unforgiveness separates you or keeps you distant enough from God. 00:56:26.940 --> 00:56:32.940 Forgiveness gets you God. Can you and I ever come to a position this week where 00:56:32.940 --> 00:56:36.580 we actually believe that I'm a forgiven people despite what I may do tomorrow 00:56:36.580 --> 00:56:42.620 or despite what I may have done an hour ago. Can we live there? I assure you if 00:56:42.620 --> 00:56:46.020 you begin to live there you will walk in greater righteousness than 00:56:46.020 --> 00:56:48.700 unrighteousness. 00:56:52.220 --> 00:56:57.780 This is why this is such a part of teleos. A mature complete people but it 00:56:57.780 --> 00:57:02.740 begins with these basics. I can't remember the last time I've consciously 00:57:02.740 --> 00:57:08.380 thought that I'm a forgiven people throughout the day. I know how to ask 00:57:08.380 --> 00:57:13.460 for forgiveness. I'm really good at it now but to walk in the sense of I'm a 00:57:13.460 --> 00:57:19.460 forgiven people. When I look at you do I think so? No. I'm looking straight at Diana 00:57:19.460 --> 00:57:30.980 and the answer is no. Oh don't even look at Mike. Are you feeling condemned brother? 00:57:33.700 --> 00:57:40.380 There's a difference between conviction and condemnation. 00:57:40.380 --> 00:57:52.140 So if you're a forgiven people it's such a relief not to be thinking it's four 00:57:52.140 --> 00:58:02.900 o'clock. Is that clock right or is it 2.15? Done. I just thought I'll try. 00:58:10.380 --> 00:58:36.180 A forgiven people are confident that there is no hostility or held back anger 00:58:36.460 --> 00:58:47.580 against them. What a cool place to live where you've just sinned but you're 00:58:47.580 --> 00:58:56.500 confident there is no hostility or held back anger against you. What a cool 00:58:56.500 --> 00:59:02.900 place to live. You really think you'll continue sinning? I doubt it. Kindness has 00:59:02.900 --> 00:59:11.940 a way of shifting your headspace man and your heart space. A forgiven people 00:59:11.940 --> 00:59:32.100 do not experience separation or thoughts of abandonment. They do not experience 00:59:32.100 --> 00:59:41.180 this even when they have gotten it wrong even then when they have sinned and 00:59:41.180 --> 00:59:52.100 really blown it even when they have they do not think like this. A forgiven people 00:59:52.100 --> 01:00:07.820 do not think in terms of fear, torment, punishment. A forgiven people don't think like this. 01:00:07.820 --> 01:00:16.220 A forgiven people don't think like this. They don't think fear, torment, punishment, 01:00:16.220 --> 01:00:28.740 affliction. Guys what's happened to us guys? How far we are from this? This is basics of Christianity. 01:00:28.740 --> 01:00:40.500 Do not, forgiven people do not experience separation or thoughts of abandonment. A 01:00:40.500 --> 01:00:57.940 forgiven people are confident that what I did is not remembered. A forgiven people are 01:00:57.940 --> 01:01:12.020 confident that what I did is not remembered. A forgiven people believe that there is immediate, 01:01:12.020 --> 01:01:29.500 forgiven people believe that there is immediate condition free intimacy when they turn to God. 01:01:29.500 --> 01:01:38.700 I used to struggle with this. I used to struggle with this. Can't be, can't be. After what I've 01:01:38.700 --> 01:01:53.060 done I cannot, it cannot be immediate. It can't be condition free. I've got to prove myself. Could 01:01:53.060 --> 01:02:01.940 you put Karen on probation for two months? Yeah she said because of this teaching no more probation 01:02:01.940 --> 01:02:10.700 and that she was she was condemning you to joblessness. But don't worry I got your back man. 01:02:10.700 --> 01:02:34.340 Forgiven people only know kind-hearted compassion and if necessary kind-hearted discipline. It 01:02:34.340 --> 01:02:40.900 changes the nature of God. Kind-hearted compassion and kind-hearted discipline. 01:02:40.900 --> 01:02:56.660 If I ever disciplined Phoebe it would be so kind-hearted. Why? Because I like her. She 01:02:57.500 --> 01:03:06.860 I can handle her for about 20 minutes. What when God is your father and he's so much better? 01:03:06.860 --> 01:03:23.220 A forgiven, last one, a forgiven people know boldness of entry into his presence. Boldness 01:03:23.220 --> 01:03:38.340 of entry into his presence. That's what forgiven people live like. Guys the world does not see a 01:03:38.340 --> 01:03:45.740 God who is good because Christians don't walk like this man. I mean we are supposed to be a 01:03:45.740 --> 01:03:55.060 relatively decent church that's learned enough, that's taught pretty well, that knows freedom 01:03:55.060 --> 01:04:09.660 and knows him as father and yet we are struggling with this. Any questions? Because I felt that 01:04:09.660 --> 01:04:15.300 it's one thing to talk about government and all that stuff and telly us but this is something 01:04:15.420 --> 01:04:22.220 so basic that we're not walking in. So how do I rule with my nature tethered to God when I don't 01:04:22.220 --> 01:04:32.860 have this one sorted out? That I'm uncontained and this is the one that I mean what did Jesus 01:04:32.860 --> 01:04:38.580 come to do? I came to restore people to myself and how do I restore them? By forgiving them so that 01:04:38.580 --> 01:04:43.620 they can walk as a forgiven people with me. If I don't get that right what can I get right? 01:04:43.620 --> 01:04:55.820 Can you live condemnation free this week? Can you try it? Can you try and live condemnation 01:04:55.820 --> 01:05:00.180 free this week? It doesn't mean that you won't get things wrong. It doesn't mean that you won't do 01:05:00.180 --> 01:05:06.100 wrong. It doesn't mean that you won't be sinful but it does mean that you can still be condemnation 01:05:06.100 --> 01:05:11.580 free by summarizing these points some way in your head and saying okay I'm gonna walk condemnation 01:05:11.580 --> 01:05:18.740 free this week. Can you walk condemnation free where accusations, sin and torment will not adhere 01:05:18.740 --> 01:05:27.500 to you because you no longer wear Velcro shirts? Guys remember there's something death delivering 01:05:27.500 --> 01:05:35.500 about condemnation. There's something death delivering about condemnation. Both when I deliver it and 01:05:35.500 --> 01:05:41.140 when I receive it. There's something death delivering over it. Romans 8 verse 2 says and 01:05:41.140 --> 01:05:47.180 therefore the spirit of life in Christ has set me free from the spirit of the spirit of from the law 01:05:47.180 --> 01:05:52.060 of death. Therefore there is now no condemnation. There's something death delivering in condemnation. 01:05:52.060 --> 01:06:00.060 It destroys something in you but the spirit of life that is flowing in you that is flowing here 01:06:00.060 --> 01:06:07.980 today can liberate you from condemnation. So I want you to do this right now. I want you to write 01:06:07.980 --> 01:06:16.820 down accusations that are still alive in your heart, in your mind either from the long past or 01:06:16.820 --> 01:06:24.220 from the recent yesterday. Write down some accusations that come to mind. Write down the 01:06:24.220 --> 01:06:32.700 voice of what you're being condemned with. Don't get too forensic or too analytical about it. Just 01:06:32.700 --> 01:06:40.940 write down as it comes and then after you do that write down the torment it is bringing with it. 01:06:40.940 --> 01:06:44.420 What is the torment? What is the fear?