The Jason DeMars Podcast
The Jason DeMars Podcast
The Life of Christ Part 1
True Christian transformation requires the Word to move beyond intellectual understanding, quickening our spirits and producing Christ's attributes in our daily lives. What we manifest outwardly through our choices and behaviors reveals the authentic condition of our hearts.
• God calls us to holiness - being set apart as He is set apart from the world
• Genuine holiness springs from God's transformative work, not our self-effort
• Living "in fear" means maintaining reverential awe toward God's majesty
• We cannot expect God's blessing while deliberately contradicting His Word
• Without developing holiness, we cannot truly recognize God when He manifests
• Harboring bitterness not only hinders our spiritual growth but defiles those around us
• The outward fruit in our lives reveals whether we've truly received God's grace
We must examine ourselves to ensure what's developing within will ultimately produce life-giving fruit that reflects Christ's nature.
So, or that the revelation has never been quickened yet.
Speaker 1:It's just head knowledge. That's fine. A person can be lost and go to hell with head knowledge. I wouldn't suggest we shouldn't have head knowledge, but we shouldn't also limit it only to that. It must come forth from our life, it has to go from our head to our heart, to where it affects our entire being. Or, as Brother Bannon would say, it's not enough to be anointed in the spirit or on the flesh. We have to have that seed gene of God in our life and that has to be quickened to life. And when that's quickened to life, there's a certain nature, attribute, there's a certain function that is produced in our life that lines up with the life of Christ. And so I want to turn to 1 Peter, 1. That's sort of my foundation for looking into this.
Speaker 1:We're not trying to turn us backwards or go to live in the glare of another age. We want to live in the glow, the overflowing light of the word manifested in this day, which it's supposed to overflow from us and out from us. But it can only overflow out from us if we have it on the inside of us. And at the same time there can be hindrances. There can be things in our lives that block that, I would say, temporarily, you can't. If that life is inside of you, it can't permanently be hindered. But we certainly can make choices and decisions in our own life and things can come across our path that we refuse to deal with them by the scriptures and those things could then become a great hindrance, not only to ourselves but to others around those around us. So first peter, chapter 1, verse 13, wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as obedient children not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. So that word, fashioning yourselves, is the same word from Romans, chapter 12, verse 2, where it says do not be conformed to this world, and Brother Branham takes that and says Deformed. So it's taking your life. One is transforming you into the image of Jesus Christ. The other one is deforming you or conforming you to the image of the world. You or conforming you to the image of the world, conforming us to the attribute and the nature that the world is, or, as Peter puts it, the former lusts that we had, that we were following after with our whole heart when we were walking in ignorance Verse 15,. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Conversation is not just the words that you speak, but it's the life that you live, the conduct that you have in your own life Verse 16,. Because it is written be ye holy, for I am holy.
Speaker 1:So this is God's call to us. His desire for us is to be holy right. In order to meet him and stand before him, the requirement is holiness. And so when we look at that I was just reading this morning John Calvin says it's not right that the sanctuary in which God dwells should resemble a filthy stable. It might start out as a filthy stable. That's what the gospel is. Christ comes down to me, the filthy stable and his work. What does his work result in? It washes me clean to a place that is fit for him to dwell in, for him to be in, and so his call to us is holiness. Now, this doesn't somehow flip the gospel upside down, and the requirement is you have to be holy. No, you don't make yourself holy, he makes us holy. And holiness, at its very, very simplistic level is to be set aside or to be different. And so the root is God is holy, god is holy. What does it mean? God is different, god is separate. God is not like the rest. God is separate. God is not like the rest. He's not like the other gods. He's us and put his own life into the human race for that to be multiplied, his image and likeness to be multiplied. And so, as he is holy, therefore we have to be, we will be an expression of holiness if we're truly his seed and we're born of the word of God Verse 17, and if you call on the Father who, without respect of persons, judges according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. Amen.
Speaker 1:Brother Branham said that, living under the effects of the seventh seal, we should be reverent before God. That's where that word comes from fear. We need to pass the time of our sojourning. In other words, we're a stranger in a strange land. This age, let's put it that way, is not where we belong. This fallen world is not where our citizenship is. Our citizenship is in heaven. And if your citizenship is in heaven, then when you're here, sojourning in a strange land, in a strange world, in a strange age. You will do past that time in fear.
Speaker 1:And again, it's not fear in the sense that you're terrified that something bad is going to happen to you, although, on the other hand, is you can understand if you don't follow the word of God, you can understand that God will measure that back to you. So, whatever you sow, that's what you're going to reap, even if you do have the Christian life. If you sow to the flesh, if you cater to your flesh, if you're feeding your flesh by the world's entertainment, by going after things that are not of God, by passing your time, what you're thinking about? You're thinking about ungodly things, lustful things, wicked things. You're in this place where you're not going to find the blessing of God. It doesn't mean you're lost, but you can't expect God to bless you when you're living contrary to his word. God will always give you the measure that's due you, the measure that is meet, as the Bible said Again, if you sow to the flesh, you shall of the flesh reap corruption, but if you sow to the Spirit, you shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And so, again, absolutely critical, and I think as we go along you'll see what I'm talking about a little bit more clearly.
Speaker 1:The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So you want to live a life of wisdom. You can never arrive there without first starting with the fear of the Lord, first realizing so what? Think about that. Why should we fear the Lord? There's a reason that God tells us to fear him. It's because he does measure to every man according to his works. He does do that and you say well, I'm a Christian, I'm washed in the blood. Be careful. Be careful about how you speak.
Speaker 1:Yes, that may be true, but if that, whatever you're feeding on, is leading you to live a sloppy, ungodly life, there's something wrong at the core. There's something either blocking the life of Christ from going, or you don't have it at all, or you've never started, it's never been quickened, and so we can all come to that place. There's no one that's immune to that. Preachers, five-fold ministry, deacons, trustees every believer can be in that position where they've allowed something in their life that they can greatly hinder the work of God in their own life, and God, by his grace, will allow. It's not his wrath against you, it's his correction of you, and that comes through various different spankings of life. And that's his love.
Speaker 1:And if you can't endure it, it causes you to say I don't believe this anyway, god doesn't love me, he doesn't care about me. Then you're bastards and not children. We have to endure the corrections of the Lord and so, past the time that we have, sojourning here in fear, because why? Because God is holy, so you should be holy. That's a fearful thing because I, maybe, maybe, um, maybe it's different for you, but sometimes it's.
Speaker 1:It's easy to forget our own, the wickedness of our own hearts, and we get to this place and we say, no, I'm washed in the blood, I, I'm perfect in His sight. That's true. And yet you're still in this flesh and you still have a nature to sin and you still can turn aside out of the way. Otherwise, why would the warnings of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter be there? There's warnings because we can turn aside, we can go astray. Now, ultimately, those who have the Holy Spirit, they're sealed until the day of their redemption, regardless of your behavior. But remember also we have to understand that works is faith expressed. The kind of life you live expresses what's on the inside of you, expresses what's on the inside of you.
Speaker 1:2 Peter 3.11. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? So that was 2 Peter 3.11. So Peter is speaking about the day of the Lord and the dissolution, or actually it's a change. It's the loosing, the change of all things, the regeneration of all things, seeing that this earth is going to be burnt with fire and it's going to turn into a place where righteousness dwells. Now, it's a place where filth dwells, wickedness dwells. It'll turn into a place where righteousness dwells. He said because of that, what kind of people, what kind of life should we live? What kind of conversation and godliness should we have in our life? In other words, he's using the prophetic word that's promised is you're not going to go to a place where righteousness dwells if you don't first have it in you now. You can't go to a righteous place unless you're righteous now. You can't go to a righteous place unless you're righteous.
Speaker 1:As Brother Branham says, changing when we die. It doesn't just changes our location, it doesn't change our nature. So if our nature is going to be changed, it better be changed now. If our nature is evil and manifesting wickedness constantly, well, you're going to go where that belongs.
Speaker 1:And so again, as a critical part and a foundation of living the life of Christ, is holiness, a true revelation of holiness. Actually, you can't even get saved at all unless you understand your need. And when we talk about holiness, that should immediately cause every true believer to say oh, my goodness, lord, help me, have mercy upon me, because you're holy and perfect and without fault. And if we see ourselves aright, we see how many faults we have and how many mistakes that we make, and realize our great need for him. And that's our foundation of the Christian life. You can go further and say, of course, what is the Christian life? And that is the new birth, the Holy Spirit living within us, writing the word in our lives, but to the outward manifestation of that is the fear of the Lord and holiness, and they're twins. You can't truly have the fear of the Lord unless you understand his holiness and your great need for forgiveness in all of that.
Speaker 1:Hebrews 12, verse 14. Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord, without which no man shall see the Lord. So number one is no one. The Bible says no one has seen the Lord, but the only begotten. No man has seen God right, but the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father. He has declared him, and in 1 Timothy it says no man even can see God. He dwells in light. That's absolutely unapproachable. So then, there's a number of places that we find that seeing the Lord is the reward of the righteous right.
Speaker 1:So think about it this way when you see the Lord not just you, not a believer, not just talking about heaven but when the Lord has manifested people that aren't following peace and aren't following holiness, what is their response? What is their reaction? They say that's not the Lord, that couldn't be the Lord. They reject him, they hate him, they crucify him. That's the ultimate condemnation of our heart condition from our birth, from our natural birth, is we don't want to see the Lord, we don't have any love for him. We have something within us that, when he comes and manifests himself, we don't like it. You say what are you talking about? I loved it. I'm the predestinated seed I'm ordained to see.
Speaker 1:Well, you can't circumvent Romans 3. It's not you seeking after God, it's not you wanting God, it's not you desiring God. It's God seeking you. It's God desiring you, it's God coming for you. You never would have responded unless he first opens your heart. Lydia only responded to the message that Paul was preaching because the Lord opened her heart.
Speaker 1:And who are the ones that believe? The book of Acts tells us as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the statement of Jesus, as I preached last week in John 6, no man can come to me unless the Father draws him first. And so man in his own carnal nature hates God and doesn't want to see him. So a prerequisite for seeing God is holiness. Now we're in trouble Again. This is what the gospel is for. That's why he comes to us. He gives us a new heart, he changes us, he gives us a new nature. Right, and so those who don't have holiness in their life, they certainly would not be pleased to see the Lord. They wouldn't enjoy being in heaven, they wouldn't like it, it would be displeasing to their nature because it completely goes against them, because it is a place of purity and holiness. And so we can't. Unless we're following peace, unless we're following holiness, we will never see the Lord Again.
Speaker 1:This is one of those verses where you go hey, are we saved by our works. No, again, looking at what's manifested on the outside. The outside, this is the outward manifestation of an inward work. If an inward work is there, you'll follow peace and holiness. You're not going to be a brawler. There's not going to be a fight wherever you go. Right, right. The inward peace will produce an outward peace and that outward peace is not only with yourself but it's with others. And it'll be manifested outwardly in that you are different from other people. You are a stranger and a pilgrim. You're not the same.
Speaker 1:And verse 15, looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled Once again, I think in. I believe it's in chapter 10, and here again in chapter 12, and here again in chapter 12, paul is showing that within the outward people of God there are different kinds of believers. Paul is emphasizing two. Brother Branham shows us that there's actually three the believer, the make-believer and the unbeliever. Paul is looking here and he's seeing there's. There's people that produce the right fruit and there's pretty people that produce the fruit of weeds and thorns and briars. Right who's? He says their end is to be burned.
Speaker 1:But amongst the people of god, or the, the. The jesus calls it the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is like when a sower went forth to sow and now you suddenly see there's right in the kingdom of heaven, there's children of the devil and children of the son of man right in the midst of it. And so here, as we're looking at this I'll never be able to get through this. I just have a couple minutes, but just laying the foundation for the future times is that there can be a root of bitterness that can spring up and trouble not only yourself but defile people around you, and so there's a place where that you know others are defiled when the fruit grows right. So once the fruit grows from that seed that's been planted, so first, anytime there's a root, we know that there had to have been in seed form first.
Speaker 1:So the root of bitterness and we're not going to be able to get to it this time, but in Deuteronomy, chapter 29, it speaks about the fruit is what actually ends up defiling the fruit, defiling others around you, and this bitterness that can be planted within your soul is something that is what hinders or causes the grace of God to fail in your life. Now, again, this requires a whole explanation, but the grace of God can never fail, but we can fail the grace of God that's presented to us Now. Once you receive the grace of God, you can make mistakes, you can fall away, but you'll come back. You can go up and down. So, looking at the outward manifestation of God's grace in the kingdom of heaven versus the person himself that's predestinated unto eternal life, there is a great danger in misunderstanding eternal security and the sovereignty of God, and we understand that our lives are the outworking of the mind of God, and so if our lives fail to put forth the fruit of eternal life, it shows that there's a problem. Again, it can either be a problem in the grace of God being hindered by how you've chosen to live, or it can be the fact that you actually are not a recipient of the grace of God being hindered by how you've chosen to live, or it can be the fact that you actually are not a recipient of the grace of God. Right, and so how critical it is then to understand and realize that we can't let a seed of a bitter fruit be planted in our heart. And when we allow that to be planted without dealing with it, what ends up happening is you are ruined, you are hindered and those around you are also hindered.
Speaker 1:I'm going to have to just stop, take the parachute and jump out. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your word. We pray, lord, that you would reveal it more and more to our hearts, lord, and that you'd draw us closer to Christ, that our lives would be an expression of him. We commit ourselves to you. We commit the service and the worship and the preaching of the word to you. May you be glorified in our midst. We ask in Jesus' name Amen.