The One Includes the Many: Why Your Spiritual Location Matters Most | Austin Gardner

"What if the message of being 'In Christ' has been there the whole time?"

In this session, Austin Gardner (with 50+ years of ministry experience) walks us through the "One Includes the Many" principle. From the loins of Abraham to the blood on the doorposts in Egypt, God has always dealt with humanity through a representative.

Inside this episode:

• The Ark Logic: Why the question wasn't "Can you swim?" but "Are you in the boat?"
• The David Principle: Why Israel won a battle they never fought.
• The Passover Secret: Why the blood on the door mattered more than the "fussing" inside the house.
• The Great Relocation: How to stop "bootstrapping" your way to God and start resting in your location.

Austin also previews some incredible upcoming interviews with Ricky Howard, Clint Woodall, and Mike Pennington on what it means to be "The Beloved."

Stop trying harder. Start realizing where you are.

#AustinGardner #Grace #DNAofGrace #IdentityInChrist #BibleStudy #ChristianMentorship

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Transcript

Identity In Christ Opens The Door

Austin Gardner 0:27

I've been out walking around this morning just thinking about how good God is and how beautiful the weather is and how I'm enjoying the life that God has given us. And I've been talking to you, except for a little break here and there, about our identity in Christ, our identity in Christ. And how that we are in Christ. We were in Adam. We've been going over that. Well, this Bible's always been teaching this. This is not something new. The one includes the many. And that's the way the Bible teaches it. Let me start with this thought. What if the message, what if the message has been talking about being in Christ, Christ in you, being included? What if that's not just a New Testament idea? What if it's been there the whole time? What if from the very beginning God has always dealt with people through one person? Think on that one. What if from the beginning God's always dealt with people through one person? So let's go back to Levi. We've talked about him just a little bit, but this is where, you know, just all this started kind of jumping on my heart. Hebrews chapter 7, verses 9 through 10, the Bible said, and as I may so say, Levi also paid tithes in Abraham, for he was yet in the loins of his father. I have to admit to you that that blew my mind the first time I heard it years ago. Levi wasn't there physically, but he was there because he was in Abraham. This is helping me. It's helping me to learn this and apply this and think of these things in my own life. One person acted, and another person was included. What we're seeing is that it's not a one-time idea. This is how God has been working out throughout all the Bible. You know, it was Noah and the Ark. Let's go all the way back to Genesis chapter 7 and verse 1. And so the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark. And think about this. When the flood came, the question was not, are you strong enough to swim? Are you good enough? The question was not those things. The question was, are you in the ark? Are you in the ark? Simple version. You ready? If you were in the ark, you were saved. If you weren't in the ark, of course you weren't saved. You don't survive the flood because of your effort. You survive because of where you are. Those who survived the flood that destroyed the whole world, they survived it not because how strong they were, but because they were in the ark. So Noah becomes a pitcher. The ark becomes a pitcher. I think you know that. I think you've always heard that taught and preached just like that. Noah is the pitcher, the ark's the pitcher of being in something that carries you through. Now, move forward to Egypt with me, to the Passover. Exodus chapter 12 and verse 13. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. Notice the wording where ye are, where ye are. The protection was not based on how good the people were. The protection wasn't based on who they were. It wasn't about how perfect they were. It was based on where they were. That's amazing, isn't it? You know, it's like if you are acting good, if you were happy, if you're having a good day. If you weren't having a good day, if you weren't acting the best, if you and your wife have been fussing, if you're in the house and the blood's on the door, you're fine. The question wasn't, are you worthy? The question was, are you inside the house? Imagine two people, one inside the house under the blood and one outside. Who's safe? Which one is safe? It's the one inside, not because they're better, but because of location. We've talked about this repeatedly, and I'm hoping it begins to sink in. I wish, I really wish you'd just chew the fat with me and let's discuss this a little bit. What about with David and Goliath? I think we've discussed that one too, but let's go to one. That's one of the most famous stories in the Bible. In 1 Samuel 17, it's David versus Goliath. Now you know the whole story, but we we miss this. The whole two countries were fighting as individuals. They were fighting under their representative. I think we sometimes just look at it as two people fighting, but it wasn't two people fighting. Do you remember Goliath came out every morning and every evening and he mocked the people of God? And he said, Send out your man. If he wins, we surrender. If you win, we surrender. You or us, one or the other, just one man will determine what's going to happen. So when David won, Israel won. When David won, Israel won, even though Israel wasn't in the fight. They didn't fight. It's like a championship sport game. It's if your team wins, you celebrate, even though you didn't step on the field. Fact is, you'll say, we won when your high school team even plays. David is a picture of Christ. David is a picture of Christ. Israel is a picture of us. One fights, many benefit. You see, it's a recurring idea throughout the scriptures that one takes and represents all of us. One is the head, the rest of us are in one or the other. Same thing happens in the Red Sea story. Think about this: 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 2. And they were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They passed through the water. They walked with their leader. They didn't go through alone. They went through connected to Moses. Life is like following a guide through something dangerous. If you stay with this guide, you make it through. You see, I just want you to see that in the Bible, over and over, we're taught the story that one and in Adam all die, and in Christ all live. So let's bring all these stories. We've just been mentioning stories just to have us something to think about. Let's bring it all together in Christ. Let's put it together. Noah, people were saved in the ark. The Passover, people were saved in the house. With David, people were saved, and one through one man. Moses, they passed through the judgment together. What's the pattern? One includes many. In 1 Corinthians, or 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17, that you know so well that you have memorized and you have said it many times. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 22, in Christ shall all be made alive. Boy, look at those verses. You see, I want you to focus on in Christ. In Christ, you're a new creature. In Christ, you're made alive. Jesus didn't just come to help individuals, he came as the one. He came as the one who includes many. That's who Jesus is. That's what he did. And the question is, are we in Christ? That's where we want to be. One is doing this for us. So where are you? Where are you? Not how good are you, not how hard are you trying, but where are you located? You see, this really kind of blows away all this stuff we do where we're, what would you call it, where we are condemning each other and criticizing each other and comparing ourselves to each other when we realize it's Jesus that does the saving. If you're in Christ, everything that's true about him is what defines you. It's been hard for me to get a hold of. But if you're in Christ, whatever is true about him is true about you. So from the beginning of the Bible to the end, the message has been the same. God works through one to include many. And in Christ, that pattern reaches its fulfillment. So we saw it through the Bible so that we get a hold of it. We saw it through the Bible so we get a hold of it. We live in America and we're very individualistic. It's like, I do this, and I raise myself up by my bootstraps, and it's how I compare to you. But the gospel's not about trying harder or doing more or becoming worthy or being better than someone else. That's just not what the Bible's about. It's really about realize where you are. Because if you are in Christ, you're already included. If you're in Christ, you're already included. You don't carry yourself to God. You're carried in Christ. That may be mind-blowing for us because we want to focus so much on our effort. And all of us would agree, I'm pretty sure that all of us would agree that salvation is by grace. But a lot of us, we take salvation by grace to the point of getting saved. I was just thinking this morning about how mean we can be to somebody who's messed up. We can be mean to them because it's like we've got to let them know we don't agree. When the truth is, it's not about our behavior and it's not about their behavior. And we put the emphasis on our super spirituality too much. If you want, I can tell you that it's not about you. You see, it's about Jesus. It's about who you're in, it's about being in Christ. And so it's a liberating thought, but it's a scary thought because we want to do the work. When I was a boy, my daddy used to joke about how people will not accept grace. He said, if you told them that if they jumped across the school bus they could be saved, they'd all be out here trying to jump across the school bus. But if you tell them just accept a gift and trust Christ, they don't look at it that way. And I would challenge you today for us to look at it and say, no, that's not who we are. Not what we want to do. We want to trust Christ. Well, I really thank you for the opportunity I have to talk to you. I thank you for listening, and I hope you'll share it and help somebody else with it. I'm very excited because I've got some interviews coming up that I think are going to just bless you. I'll be talking to Ricky Howard about what Grace did to him. He's a pastor out in Utah, and I was just out preaching for him. And then I've also got uh Clint Woodall lined up. He's a pastor up in uh Daresville area, and God has greatly worked in grace in his life. And then I'm excited about uh talking to my cousin Mike Pennington. I was at a funeral of my aunt, Mike's mom, and Mike got up and spoke about being the beloved, and I cannot wait for him to tell you how God has taught him about what it means to be the beloved of the Lord. So I think it's going to be fun for you. I think you're going to enjoy it. Thank you for listening. And if you can share this, I'd appreciate it. I hope it is a blessing. And thank you for listening, and God bless you all.