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The Rock Family Worship Center
Taking The Church Outside The Walls
The Rock Family Worship Center
Different Doesn't Mean Wrong
This episode explores a fresh perspective on salvation, emphasizing the finished work of Christ and God's unconditional love. It challenges listeners to rethink the traditional narratives around salvation and encourages them to embrace their true identity in Christ without fear or striving.
• Discusses the implications of John 3:16
• Challenges contemporary misconceptions of universalism
• Explores the difference between striving for salvation and resting in assurance
• Examines the nature of God as a loving Father
• Highlights the importance of understanding one's identity in Christ
• Concludes with a call to embrace the freedom found in the Gospel and the finished work of Christ.
let me give you a little background on today's message. I read something Wednesday night. For the ones that was here Wednesday night, they got to hear it. You wasn't here, that you missed, but don't fear, because what I did is I did was an excerpt out of a book that an author had wrote and it was just very detailed in some things that we have been talking about and it just really hit me. So I took some of the things in that and just really just wanted to expound on it, wanted to study more on it and basically created a sermon out of it, created a teaching out of it that I think aligns with everything that we're talking about. It aligns with who we are. It aligns with us learning and understanding our true identity in Christ, and that's what we're about.
Speaker 1:So let me start with a verse this morning that's familiar to everybody here John 3.16. We don't even have to put it on the screen, everybody in here can quote this. For God so loved the world, he gave His only begotten Son. That's the main part I want you to hear in it that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. There was a reason for Him giving His Son. Sometimes we just that verse is so familiar to just about everybody in America. Whether you go to church or not, most people could probably quote John 3.16. But do we ever really pay attention to what it really means, those two parts in it where it said he gave his only son, and then he tells you why he gave his son, you know, so we can have eternal life and putting that together and not just looking at that one verse but then saying, okay, what does that really mean for us? What does it really mean for us today?
Speaker 1:So I want to dive into some stuff today that I hope is going to make you think. That's always my goal. I've said that for many years now. My goal is not to make you feel good. I hope you feel good when you leave, but that's not my goal. I've said that for many years now. My goal is not to make you feel good. I hope you feel good when you leave, but that's not my goal. My goal is to get you to think. My goal is to get you to think on a level that maybe you haven't thought before, to look at things from a different perspective.
Speaker 1:When we created this ministry. One of the things I said is I want it to be different. Different does not mean wrong. I said is I want it to be different. Different does not mean wrong and that's what we've got to understand. Because we may see things a little bit different, because we may go against the grain a little bit, it does not mean that we're wrong. Now, on the flip side of that, we may say something that another congregation or another church, another pastor, is not saying, and we don't look and say, well, he's different, so he's wrong. No, he's not, he's not wrong. He's seeing it differently than we are, for whatever reason. So this is not a competition between churches of who's got it right and who's got it wrong. This is just taking the Word of God and saying I want to go deeper than just the surface level and I want to get to an understanding of what God truly intended when he said this, not what some pastor thinks about it, but what did God really intend when he spoke? Whatever verse we're reading, whatever verse we're reading. So today I want to speak to you about a very dangerous misunderstanding that has taken root in the church.
Speaker 1:Now, when you hear this I don't know if you go online a lot and look at different things that's going on in the churches. I like to keep up with where the church is, what movement the church is in, because if you don't know anything about that and you haven't studied church history and stuff like that, you won't really realize it. Church is church, but church ain't just church. We go through phases. The church goes through phases. You'll have different times and different seasons where the church and I don't just mean one or two churches, I mean the church as a whole will begin to operate in certain things and begin to speak a certain way. It don't change the Word of God. We're not changing the Bible. We're just getting back to what the Bible is really saying.
Speaker 1:Okay, so when you hear this, this is going to be a little controversial to some people. There are some people that if they go back and they watch this online that don't attend our congregation, that goes to another church. They may cut it off after they hear what I'm about to say, but I believe that it's a very dangerous misunderstanding that is moving through. The church has taken root in the church overall and when I'm saying church, now understand what I'm saying. I'm saying the church has taken root in the church overall. And when I'm saying church, now understand what I'm saying. I'm saying the church overall. I'm not picking apart the Baptist, the Methodist, the Pentecostal or anything like that. I'm talking about overall in the church. And so it's taken root and it's the idea that it's an idea that misrepresents the heart of God and distorts the true meaning and the true message of salvation.
Speaker 1:Okay, let me say that again, because I want you to understand why I'm going here. It misrepresents the true heart and nature of the Father and that's dangerous. We've got to know the heart of the Father. We've got to understand the heart of the Father. We've got to understand the love that he has for us.
Speaker 1:And what's going through the church right now is what I like to call a kind of universalism. Now, when we hear that word, that's a dangerous word in the church, because we automatically think about universalism as being something that we teach that everybody is born saved and it don't matter how you live, everybody on earth is just born saved and they're going to heaven. We've been accused of teaching that, and what that tells me is people don't listen to the whole message. Okay, not just me, there's a lot of people who's teaching the finished work, theology that has been accused of being universalist. We're not.
Speaker 1:I'm going to explain that to you and I'm going to tell you why I'm using this word this morning and why I'm okay using it, and I want to purposely use it. Because there is this mindset of universalism. It because there is this mindset of universalism moving through the church that has distorted our understanding of God's plan. But this universalism is not the universal hope of God's love or the universal salvation. That's not what I'm talking about. It's the belief that every soul is born damned, with eternal torment as their default destiny, unless they somehow manage to solve the riddle of salvation. Think about that a minute. I was taught that coming up. Think about how many times we say you've got to find Jesus, all these different terminologies that we use, these sayings that we spit out in the church and from the pulpit.
Speaker 1:This teaching suggests that God has created his children with a predetermined fate of destruction. Now you're going to see where I'm going with this in a minute. I'm getting your attention right now. I want you to look at me right now and think okay, where is this guy going with this? Why is he saying this? Because the truth is a lot of this is what's being taught. It may not be as strong as what I'm saying it right now. I'm saying it like this because I'm grabbing your attention. I want to but this is what's taught from a lot of pulpit that he's created his children with a predetermined fate of destruction and that salvation can only be found if you figure it out in time, if you find Jesus, if you make the right decision at the right, if you figure it out in time, if you find Jesus, if you make the right decision at the right moment.
Speaker 1:There's people in the church that have grew up in the church that literally are scared to death that right before they go, they may slip up and say a cuss word, they may slip back and fall a little bit right before they leave this earth, and they're worried, sick. Am I going to make heaven? You ain't got to raise your hand and admit it, but you do it, or either you know somebody that does, because we've all been there. I've been there, so I'm not pointing fingers at nobody else. We've all been there. I've been there, so I'm not pointing fingers at nobody else. We've all been in that predicament, because that's something that we've been taught for so long Stay vigilant, get saved and do this and do this and do this.
Speaker 1:We've been taught that for so long, trying to figure out the easiest way to say this, this is not the message of the gospel, this message of being damned to hell until you can get everything right. This is not the message of the gospel. It's not and it's certainly not good news. Some people don't want to come to church because they are scared to death of what the church has taught, and that's an indictment on the church, because we have run people away from the church because of our teaching, the church because of our teaching. But we're told this is good news. We're told that you've got to get everything right and you've got to do this and do that and you've got to do it in a certain way. And we're told all these things that we have to do and if you don't, this is what the repercussion is going to be. And we're told this is good news, this is a good news story.
Speaker 1:But can it really be good news if we portray a God as a Father who sets His children on a path to eternal separation? Can that really be good news? Unless they perform correctly, unless they do the right thing, then they're not you know, not bound to eternal separation. You see where I'm going here with this. It's things that we teach. I taught it for a long time. I don't anymore and you will never hear me teach it again.
Speaker 1:What kind of father would design his creation? You're created in the image and the likeness of God himself. Let that sink in just a minute. He created you in the image and the likeness of himself. He created you in the image and the likeness of Himself. What kind of Father would design His creation to fail unless they earn their way back to Him? Are you thinking yet? Some of you may think and some of you may get angry. Some of you may don't walk out, just hear the whole message out.
Speaker 1:But I want you to think about something. I want to challenge you today. I want to challenge the idea today, not from a perspective of human logic or intelligence or anything like that, but I want to challenge you from a biblical finished work perspective. But I want to challenge you from a biblical, finished work perspective. I want to challenge some beliefs that we've always held on to and some things that we've always taught the truth that Christ has already completed the work of salvation. I chose those words specifically. I could have said that the work is already completed in Christ. That's finished work, but I chose to say it like this the truth that Christ has already completed the work of salvation.
Speaker 1:Now, right there is where somebody I'm watching online later on is going to cut me off and they're going to say, oh, he's a universalist and they're going to miss it because they're going to cut me off right there. What does this mean? Those words, the work of salvation. He's completed the work of salvation. What does it really mean? It means that it is fully finished and lacking nothing. Fully finished means there's nothing else to do. Lacking nothing. It means that believers don't have to strive to earn what has already been accomplished.
Speaker 1:Salvation is about restoring an awareness, not position. We think we're working and striving and doing these Christian things for a position. What is that position? I'm going to heaven. I'm leaving here and I'm going there, so I'm gaining by my good works and by the things I do. I'm gaining a position in heaven. I mean through the years of praying and praying and saying God, I hope my name's written down in the book, I hope I make it through the pearly gates. So we teach it. And I'm not saying that's wrong. I'm saying the mindset behind what we're teaching is creating a mindset in people that says that I'm changing from one place and I'm going to do my stuff right down here so that I can gain a position up there in heaven one day. But it's about an awareness of my identity in Christ.
Speaker 1:You know, I hear more people fuss about this message, the finished work message. When we say something like this, they fuss more about it. They say why are you trying to take heaven away? We're not taking heaven away. We're saying you have access to heaven now. We're not saying you're not going anywhere someday, that this is not going to happen, but we're just saying that that was not the purpose. And I've said this many times. You can go back through the Bible, you can go study and there's no reason not to study this out. You've got Google. You've got all kinds of stuff you can look to. You don't have to just read through the Bible. Google can help you study your Bible.
Speaker 1:But this message of leaving here and going there, and this message was never taught by Jesus or His disciples. That was not the main crux of what he was trying to get through to us. His message, all through the Word of God, is kingdom on earth, kingdom here, kingdom now. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven Now. Is that saying that you're not going to go to heaven one day? No, but why do I have to wait for something that I have access to now? Because the kingdom is different than church. The kingdom is a lot different than just coming to church on Sunday morning and hearing a sermon, and that's a whole other message we can get into later, understanding what the kingdom is. We've taught on the kingdom so many times, but we've got to understand what that is. So think about it like this Salvation isn't about becoming something new, but awakening to and manifesting what has always been intended. Awakening to something that we already have access to, awakening to somebody that I already am. I know we quote the verse all the time that says we are a new creation, and we are, but we're a new creation through what Jesus Christ done and not through what I do my good works, and I do my good works and I'm not knocking good works. We should do that, but it should flow out of the identity of who I am and not because I'm trying to become. So we've got to look at this thing from a different perspective. It's about the awareness of who I am in Christ and not the position of where I'm going to. It changes. It changes our mindset. When we look at it like that.
Speaker 1:I sat there and I tried to think of I was reading some of this last night to Cindy and I was like, does this make sense? And she was like you've got to bring that down a little bit. That's too many words, that's too much. She said you've got to bring that down a little bit. That's too many words, that's too much. She said you've got to simplify something. And I do. I try to sit there. I want everything I say to be practical and I know sometimes it may not be originally, but I try to make everything that we talk about. I want you to see it in a practical way. How is this useful for me right now? How can I use this? How can I utilize this in my life? How can I take a real life event and make it where I'm understanding what this text in the Bible is talking about? Because even though some people may not understand what the Bible is saying you can understand events that's going on in life. Okay, and this is the only one that I can think about, come here, buddy.
Speaker 1:Eight years ago, for some reason, god only knows, she chose me as her husband. Okay, I chose her as my wife. We committed to each other. Eight years ago, first Community Church stood before a pastor, stood before a congregation, stood before friends and family, and we committed together. And she says I take you as my husband. Now, what if eight years ago, she would have made that decision and then said well, guess what, brian, you got to spend the eight years trying to earn that title. Listen, I'm always going to be the husband. When I leave dirty clothes in the floor, I'm still the husband. When I leave dirty dishes in the sink, I'm still a husband. I may not be the best husband, but I'm still. It does not change my position. Nothing changes that. Why? Because a commitment was made on that day that said you are coming together, you are becoming one, and nothing you do is going to change that. It don't matter what anybody else says. You have come together and you don't have to work for that title. You have stepped into it. You have chose to come into this and nothing you do will move you outside of that.
Speaker 1:Why don't we look at Christianity the same way? Why don't we say I didn't choose him, he chose me. He chose me before the foundation of the world? Now there comes a point in time where I also accepted that, and that's where we say that we chose Him Because he chose me before the foundation of the world. I come to an understanding that I'm chosen by Him, and then I come into agreement with it and we become one. There's nothing I have to do to prove myself as being united and being one in Him. You can stay up if you want to. Y'all give her a hand. One in Him, you can stay up if you want to, y'all give her a hand.
Speaker 1:That may sound like a corny little example right there, but when I got to thinking about it, that's the first thing I thought about. I do not have to strive to be a husband and be worthy of receiving that title of husband, like it or not. It happened eight years ago and even if she gets tired of me, I'm still the husband. Okay, no matter what I do, but in Christianity we take on the role and then we feel like we have to continuously, day after day after day, earn the right to call myself that we don't. That's what the finished work is all about. It's understanding my true identity in Christ.
Speaker 1:Let's break it down and look at what I call the real good news, the truth of God's love and the finished work of Christ. At the heart of the finished work is this truth. This is really simple. There's a lot of things, but I'm going to break it down to one simple truth. Jesus did it all. What he did was absolutely 100% sufficient. Jesus did it all. What he did was absolutely 100% sufficient. He did it all. He accomplished everything that he was supposed to accomplish. Well, how do you know that? Because before he left, he said it is finished. And he was saying Father, everything that I've come to do, everything you sent me here to do, everything I'm supposed to accomplish, has been done. So the work is already finished.
Speaker 1:He came to earth, he lived a perfect life. He died a perfect death. He was resurrected so that every single person could be reconciled to Him, Back to God, every single person. The only time I normally use the word universalism is with the word reconciliation, because I believe because the Bible says I believe this, that every person is universally reconciled. Reconciliation means come back to the Father. We're reconciled to Him, no matter what you did, no matter how bad you were, no matter what happened along the way. We've all been reconciled back to the Father. There's no longer any need to perform. There's no longer any need to strive and try to figure out the riddle of salvation.
Speaker 1:Jesus did it all and some of this. When I'm talking about salvation, I threw this in there on purpose, because I knew it was going to challenge some of you, because that's what messes us up salvation is. I threw this in there on purpose, because I knew it was going to challenge some of you, because that's what messes us up. Jesus did it all once for all. And some people may stop right there and say do you have scriptures to back that up? And I do. I've got a bunch of them, but I've only got time to share like five or six with you. But there got a bunch of them, but I've only got time to share like five or six with you. But there's a lot of Scriptures that back up what I'm saying here today. So let's look at just a few.
Speaker 1:Let's start out with John 19, verse 30. And see what it says. So when Jesus had received the sour wine he's hanging on the cross, he said it is finished and, bowing His head, he gave up his spirit. Now you can really go back and study this, because it says it is finished. What does it mean? There's the question, so you can go back and get your study tools out and say what is he talking about when he says this? I don't have time to go into that. I went into it before.
Speaker 1:It's important to understand what was finished during this time. Jesus' last words on the cross were not words of defeat, but were words of completion it's done. When he declared it is finished, he was announcing that the work of salvation was done. Now, some of you may need to make a note right there. If you're taking notes, say what does salvation mean? Because if you go back and you study the word salvation, which comes from the Greek word sozo, and you study it out, you're going to get a different understanding than what we call salvation. Okay. So go back and look at that, study it out. He was announcing that the work of salvation was done, sin's power was broken and humanity's reconciliation with God was secured. Because you were so awesome? No, because of His sacrifice, nothing to do with any of us. It was because of His sacrifice.
Speaker 1:Another one we talk about often, but I want to share it with you Hebrews 10.10. A couple of these. They're going to look familiar. I want you to see them by that will. We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. We have been sanctified According to this verse right here. I know I taught this a few weeks ago, maybe a month or so ago, I don't know when it was, but we talked about that.
Speaker 1:We are so often taught that we put saved and sanctified together and we say you got to get saved and then you got to spend all this time working to get sanctified. I've been taught that my entire life. You have been sanctified already. Through what? Not through your own works, not through your own good deeds. You have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ one time for all, one time.
Speaker 1:He's not coming back to do it again. Why? Because it was already sufficient. He's not coming back no matter how bad my situation gets, no matter how much I pray, no matter how much I plead with Him. He's finished it on the cross and it's done, it's complete, it is finished, it's sufficient, and he's not coming back to do it again. He ascended into heaven and he sat down at the right hand of the Father Romans 6 and 10. For the death that he died, he died to sin. There's these words again Once for all. But the life that he lives, he lives to God. Jesus' death was final, once for all. I keep saying that Once for all. His sacrifice was sufficient and it was complete.
Speaker 1:We no longer need to live in fear or shame, wondering if we've done enough to be accepted. Did I do enough to escape my past so that he will accept me? Did I do enough because I know what I've done back in the day? I know what I've done BC before Christ. I know what I've done back in the day. I know what I've done BC before Christ. I know what I've done back then. So have I done enough now to escape that, so that my name can be written down in the Lamb's book of life? We no longer have to worry about that. According to these scriptures Not my opinion he has already done it all Ephesians 2, 8 and 9.
Speaker 1:For, by grace, this is that other one. We talked about the other day, that messes with people because we think coming to the altar and repeating a prayer that's our definition of salvation, accepting Him, and there's a protocol to where we have to do that a certain way and it's not necessary. It's not wrong If somebody raised their hand right now and said I need to find the Lord Jesus, I need to be saved, and they would come up and say, will you pray with me? I would pray with them, but is it necessary? See, we've turned something that is okay to do if you choose to. We've turned it into an obligation that you have to do. You have to do it like this, that you have to do, you have to do it like this and you have to do it like this. For by the grace, for by His grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, verse 9.
Speaker 1:Not of works, lest anyone should boast, it's not about the works that we do. I don't know how many times we can keep saying that Works is great. We're not knocking good work, but we're saying good works flows from who we are and not because of what we're trying to become. I'm not trying to become a good Christian. My works and what I do and my love for people and my eagerness to help people and to do these things flows out of my identity of who I am in Christ. I'm a child of God, created in the image and the likeness of God. He is love. He created me in His image, so therefore I am love. I should naturally push out love. I should naturally push out peace and joy. People should not get mad and angry and upset. When I walk into a room, peace should come to that room, no matter what's going on, what the chaos is. When I walk in or you walk in as a child of God, you should bring peace to a chaotic situation, simply because of who you are, not because of what you are, not because of what you're going to go in and do Colossians2 13 and 14.
Speaker 1:I've just got a couple more verses here. I want you to see and you being dead to your trespasses. Here's the sin again. Here's the things that we think we've got to wake up every day and fight Because, pastor, you just don't know what I've done in my past. You don't know what I'm running from. You don't know what I'm trying to escape. You don't know the sins that I deal with on a daily basis. In my mind I don't, and because I believe in the finished work of Christ, I really don't care, because that's not who you are and I'm going to choose not to see you that way.
Speaker 1:When I look at you, I'm not seeing. Listen, there's some of you I do know from the past. There's some of you know me from the past. I would rather you see me in my identity, in Christ, than who I was when I was 21. Okay, I'm going to choose to see you who you are now rather than who you were back then. So you're being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh he has made alive, together with Him, having forgiven a few of your trespasses, all the little, tiny one and the great, great big one that you think you can't never escape. He's forgiven all your trespasses, having wiped away the handwriting on the wall, the requirements. That was against us, which was contrary that right there will preach. It was contrary to us, which really means that's not who I was, anything that I was doing, all that sin, all those trespasses, was contrary to my true identity and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Speaker 1:If it's out of the way, why do I keep tripping over it? You don't trip over something behind you unless you're walking backwards. You don't trip over something behind you unless you're walking backwards. Why do I keep tripping over this? Why do we teach people? This is a better question why do we keep teaching people to trip over it? Keep it up here in the front of your mind. You've got to be aware of what you've been through. No, the more you're aware of it, the more you're going to keep walking in it. Realize who you are, realize that you are dead to sin and get it behind you. I will not trip over something behind me if I'm moving forward.
Speaker 1:Last one I want you to see here 1 Peter, 3 and 18. For Christ also suffered there's that word again Once, one time for sin. If he suffered one time for sin and we've never read this word once or one, three or four times in these six verses right here he done it one time. But we teach Christians they need to come every Sunday to the altar and keep dying to sin. How can I die to something that's already dead? We have to change the mindset. Does that mean you are perfect. See, this is where we get messed up at, because people miss the bigger message in here. They take what I just said you're dead to sin and think well, if I'm dead to sin, why am I still sinning? If I'm dead to sin, if we're all dead to sin, why do we see Christians keep backsliding? Why do we see Christians keep messing up? Because you're in this world, we live in this world. What's the Bible say? We're not of this world, but we live in it.
Speaker 1:You know how many people is going to keep reminding you of your past until you remind them that it's gone. It's gone, it's dead. I don't live there anymore. People will continuously remind you of it. You know why? Because if I put you down, it lifts me up. So a lot of people will continuously remind you that you're not who you think you are, you're not what you think you are, because they need that boost in their own life. Listen, it don't matter. I'm dead to sin. My old life has passed away. Behold, all things have become new. I'm a new creation. I know my identity in Christ. I don't have to worry about that anymore. Anything that was Brian BC has been nailed to the cross Period. Christ's suffering was, once for all, a singular event with eternal consequences. It was for us, the unrighteous that he suffered. Everybody says I'm not worthy of what he done. They wasn't then, but he did it. He did it for all of them.
Speaker 1:I've asked this question so many times, and maybe it's because I can't figure it out and I guess it just remains in my brain and every time I come across it I think about it. But how can we believe? Because we say and we teach in the church that sin is huge and sin occurred why? Because of Adam. So we tie ourselves to Adam and we say because Adam sinned, that he was our representative and because he sinned all of mankind, he sinned, all of mankind have sinned. And then I use a verse to say that we're all sinners. Okay, why do we not have a problem believing that?
Speaker 1:But then we step over here and Christ says I died once for all. And we have a problem believing that. We know we're tied to Adam, but we can't perceive the idea that we're tied to Christ and everything that he did. We're tied to Adam and what he did, but we can't see ourselves tied to Jesus. He said I died once for all. When I died, you died with me. When I died, you died with me. When I was buried, you were buried with me. When I rose, you rose with me. I am seated at the right hand of the Father and then he comes back and says you are seated in heavenly places.
Speaker 1:What's the difference? I truly can't figure out why we struggle with that and I'm saying we as a church, why we struggle with that concept. We don't mind connecting to Adam and seeing all that truth that's in the Word, without Adam being the spokesman for humanity, but we struggle with Jesus being the spokesman for humanity. But we struggle with Jesus being the spokesman for humanity. All is all. If all sin because of Adam, then all sin is gone because of Jesus. But we struggle with that. He brought us to God, making us acceptable to the Father to work as finished.
Speaker 1:When we examine the nature of God in light of the finished work of Christ, we realize that the God we worship is not a distant, angry judge that's standing over us with a clipboard just waiting to start checking negative things off. That's not the kind of God we worship. He's not an angry judge standing over us just waiting for us to get things right. This picture of God here that people think about it does not reflect the truth of who he is. God is good. We're quick to quote that, but do we believe it? God is good, god is merciful, he is love. He created us out of love and he desires none to perish, but all to come to the knowledge of the truth and experience the fullness of His grace. That's Scripture. He don't want anybody to perish. In the finished work perspective, we see that God's heart for humanity has always been one of restoration. Whether it's broken churches, broken relationships, broken homes, broken families, god's message is that of restoration, bringing it back together.
Speaker 1:And what happened? Like most churches believe that Adam did this and Adam caused chaos. It was great in the garden, it was really good in the garden, everything was perfect. God would come and God would walk with him. In the cool of the day. It was really good in the garden, everything was perfect. God would come and God would walk with Him. In the cool of the day, everything was just magnificent.
Speaker 1:Until that woman come along and she brought that apple and she gave him that apple and she said eat this. And he ate it. And all of a sudden, boom, chaos took place and there was a separation. And all of a sudden they had been walking naked for however long they was in the garden and then all of a sudden they had this bright idea that I need to cover myself. Never had to cover yourself before, but all of a sudden it come to them that I've got to cover myself. The mindset changed, adam and Eve's mindset shifted and they were now afraid of the Father. They were hiding. Why do you hide? You hide when you're afraid. They were hiding from Him. He says Adam where are you?
Speaker 1:These messages, even back in Genesis, they take on new meaning if we look at them from a finished work perspective, if we see that God was bringing us back and he was restoring us back to who we really are. Jesus died on the cross not just to forgive us for our sin. That wasn't the only reason. That's part of it. But he died on this cross. He put Himself on the cross to restore us back to our true identity in Christ, to restore us back to relationship, to true relationship with the Father, not just to escape hell. Escape hell is a byproduct of it. That wasn't the main focus. Well, how do you know that? Because Jesus never preached that. He never preached it. Go, look it up. I challenge you, prove me wrong on it. That was not the main message of what him and the disciples taught. You'd be surprised when that message actually become popular in the church, wasn't that long ago? If it wasn't that long ago, then we know Jesus and his disciples wasn't teaching. Long ago, then we know Jesus and his disciples wasn't teaching. Study it out.
Speaker 1:Jesus talked about hell more than he did heaven. No, he didn't. No, he didn't. I don't know where that come from. He did not talk about hell more than he did heaven. And anybody that says that. I keep it real simple, I don't debate. I told simple, I don't debate. I told you I don't debate. Show me the verses, show me the Scriptures. Prove to me that he talked about hell more than he did heaven. Now you can twist and turn some of it to make it seem that way, but true context of that word he never talked about it more than he did heaven. He talked about heaven here on earth, kingdom, kingdom coming. Now, his desire is not to watch us struggle and fail, hoping we'll get things right one day.
Speaker 1:In Christ, he has already reconciled the world to Himself. He is not waiting for us to figure out salvation on our own. The message of the Gospel is not find the secret to salvation before it's too late. That's often the way it looks. Get it right before you die so you can escape torment forever, burning forever. See, when you say these kind of things, it sounds crazy, but we teach this.
Speaker 1:The message of the gospel is different than that. The message is that Christ chose us. He chose every single one of you. The Word says before the foundation of the world. He chose you and in him the work of salvation, which means to save. Bring back together sozo by doing what he done in him choosing you. The work of you being saved is already finished.
Speaker 1:Now is that pastor standing up there saying there's no need for salvation? Absolutely not. What I'm saying is the way to salvation has already been secured when you accept what he did here. That's all it takes. There's certain practices that I don't have to participate in to be born again. And listen, you may think I'm being funny by saying that, but there's some places that if you don't do it in a certain way, you're not born again. And listen, you may think I'm being funny by saying that, but there's some places that if you don't do it in a certain way, you're not born again. They don't consider you born again. That's really not anybody else's decision. That's mine and God. It's between us. The cross is not a place of future possibility. It was the place where it was finished at, where the way has been made for all to go back, all to go back to their true identity in Christ. Here's where I'm going to get ready to end right here. This is the key point I want you to get.
Speaker 1:More and more people are seeing the contradiction. What contradiction the contradiction of what's always been taught and the contradiction of the truth of the word of God. More people are seeing it. Everybody's not saying it yet, but more people are seeing it. Everybody's not saying it yet, but more people are seeing it. I shared with you last week. There's a local pastor here I'm going to call his name. He's seeing it. He preaches in a Baptist church. There's things that he is seeing and saying that he is seeing and saying that he would not say from his pulpit. There's a lot of people that's catching this contradiction.
Speaker 1:I know many are hearing these distortions of the gospel all the time, every Sunday, but more people are starting to reject the version of God that paints Him as some architect of some type of survival game, waiting and watching to see who makes it out alive, who's going to make it in? I've heard this phrase. He just squeaked through the pearly gates. He barely got in See.
Speaker 1:Some want to say that the finished work teaching is rejecting the truth and they're talking about the truth of the Bible. So they want to say that what we're teaching is rejecting the truth and they're talking about the truth of the Bible. So they want to say that what we're teaching is rejecting the truth or it's rejecting God, or it's rejecting all these other things. But I challenge them. I challenge that by saying this, we're not rejecting the truth or rejecting the Bible. We're not rejecting God. We are rejecting a distorted version of Him that never truly existed. It never truly existed this version that we have of Him. I'm not going to speak for anybody. That's what I'm rejecting. I'm not rejecting God. I'm not rejecting the Scripture. I'm backing myself up with the Scripture.
Speaker 1:That's why it's important to learn these verses. That's why it's important to be able to know there are certain things that it says in that Word, in context, and when you understand the context of that Word, man, that changes everything. There's a lot of Scriptures that's been used out of context. That has bound people in the church. I preached a message that time and I said don't let the Word of God bind you. And people thought I was a heretic for saying that. But it's the truth. If you read the Word of God out of context and misinterpreted, it will bind you. But if you read the Word of God out of context and misinterpreted, it will bind you. But if you read the truth and you know the truth, it sets you free. That's the difference. That's why we push context.
Speaker 1:The finished work perspective shows us that God has already done the work. The good news is not a message that says, maybe, if you try hard enough, god will accept you. The good news is that God has already accepted you in Christ. It's already done, the work is finished. There's no more striving, no more wondering if you've done enough, no more guessing if you'll be chosen. You are chosen Not based on your ability to figure it out, but because of God's love for you, demonstrating this through the finished work of Christ.
Speaker 1:What he's done on the cross answers our question. We're seeking answers out here. We're seeking answers in man and in church and in a building. The answers happen on the cross. And if I just go back to the truth of the Word and look at what happened on the cross, there's my answer, because he says that everything that you've given, the holiness that you've got, the righteousness, the reconciliation, the salvation, all of that comes through the cross, jesus, the sacrifice that he made on the cross. None of that comes through our works. None of that comes through me being a good person. All of that flows out of my identity, not because I'm trying to create it.
Speaker 1:Embracing the finished work is key to understanding God's heart. For us, god is not playing a game. He's not standing at a distance watching to see who can make it into heaven. He has already secured the way, not standing at a distance watching to see who can make it into heaven. He has already secured the way. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and life, because no one comes except through Him. Now it's time for us to live in the reality of that truth. It's one thing to know the truth, but it's another thing to actually live in the reality of that truth. That's the key difference. I want joy now. I want peace now. I want this stuff in my life now, everything that a lot of people's waiting to get when they get to heaven. I want it now Because I'm entitled to it as a child of God. I can bring heaven here. That's what he told us to do. So my goal is to understand my identity in Christ, understand that what he did gave me and entitled me to everything that I'm seeking, and to participate and be a part of that right now, here on earth. So I'm not waiting to get it one day.
Speaker 1:God's love is not conditional. It's not conditional on our ability to solve a riddle of how do I get saved? I take you back to the story in the Bible when the guy asked Jesus that how do I get born again? There's biblical evidence to back up what we're saying here. We can take you to those stories. We can read through them, we can look at them, and they say the same thing that we're saying right here can take you to those stories. We can read through them, we can look at them and they'll say the same thing that we're saying right here. God's love is not conditional. It's unconditional because of the finished work of Christ. So here's my challenge. It's real simple. Here's my challenge to you today Stand firm in the truth that salvation is complete and that we have been reconciled to God, not because we earned it, not because you're that good, but simply because Jesus earned it for us. We are invited to rest in the finished work. See when I stop fighting sin every day.
Speaker 1:Anybody in here besides me ever been in a fight Like a real fist fight? I'm sure I can look around. I'm sure there's many of you that have man, it will wear you slap out. I remember about 10 years ago ago, 12 years ago, I was in my 30s, let me put it that way, and I had to restrain a kid at work one day. I wasn't working for the school, I was working for a mental health agency and I had to restrain a kid. This kid was 15, I was probably 35 and I had to take him down and hold him for probably about 10 minutes, because it was only me and the secretary there. I had to hold him until somebody got there. Can I tell you, after 10 minutes of holding that 15-year-old, I felt like somebody had beat the mess out of me. He never hit me. He never done anything. It was just trying to restrain him. He never hit me, he never done anything. It was just trying to restrain him.
Speaker 1:And we wake up every day and fight and then we wonder. We wonder why we're stressed, we wonder why we got all this stuff going on. I'm not saying that's all of it, but if I fight every day and I wear myself out every day, what's the opposite Rest? Does that mean they just kick back and don't do anything? No, it just rests in the assurance that what he did was sufficient and I don't have to add anything to it Already completed. We're invited to rest in the finished work of Christ, to live in the freedom and love that he's already secured for us. There's nothing more that has to be done. It's already finished. Jesus said that. I believe that I. Jesus said that I believe that I want to manifest that. How do I manifest it? I rest. You can see some people you know. You ever been around somebody? You can just look at them and you're like man, this person is just so chill. They're always. They never get upset.
Speaker 1:I had a guy tell me that one day when I worked in the prison. He come up to me and he said man. He said there's a lot of hmm, goes on around here. He said you never respond. And I took that as a compliment because I don't. It don't faze me, because it's not what I'm worried about.
Speaker 1:I'm not worried about all that Because I don't it don't faze me, because that's not what I'm worried about. I'm not worried about all that stuff that's going on. We're going to deal with it. All the stuff going on in your life, deal with it. I'm not saying, sit there and ignore those things. You've got a common sense. You have to deal with things. But I can also rest in the fact it's easier to deal with when I'm resting in the fact it's easier to deal with when I'm resting in the fact that he's already secured it. So really I'm not dealing with it. What am I doing? I'm coming into agreement with what he's already said. Why does this depression not have a hold on me? Because of what he did. He's already completed the work. Now I'm going to come into agreement with what he's already done. I'm not creating anything new, I'm manifesting what was already intended. Big difference. Now, that's a lot easier said than done. Let me say that Because it takes a lot of faith and prayer to be able to get to a lot of faith and prayer to be able to get to a place of truly realizing it's complete and I'm going to rest in death.
Speaker 1:Like anything else, it takes practice to do that. Some people might say well, if you're a Christian, you'll just do it. That's bull. Same way, jesus stepped in the boat and looked at his disciples the one that seen him produce miracles every day. He looked at them and he said, oh ye of little faith. They watched him and then he still rebuked them because he said I ain't got no faith. Did I not tell you this was going to happen? Did I not tell you that if you would just believe what I said and I always go back to the story you can stand to your feet. We're going to close right here.
Speaker 1:I always go back to the story of Jesus in the boat, when he looked at His disciples and he said we're going to go to the other side. They were moving across. He said we're going to the other side and the storm rose up and they got scared and Jesus was over there snoozing and they woke Him up and they said can you save us? And that's when he was. I'm paraphrasing this. He says God, I've given you everything you need. When are you going to believe me? Did I not tell you we're going to the other side? If I told you that, rest on that fact. I didn't tell you a storm wasn't going to come. I didn't tell you the waves weren't going to be against the boat. I didn't tell you the lightning and the thunder wasn't going to come. But I told you we're going to the other side. When are you going to believe me?