Identification Truths Plus 2012

We were in question, just ending question three, which was, we were going over Romans 7 and verse 6, how do you explain having died to that which we are bound? It says, but now we've been released from the law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the spirit and not in oldness of the letter. You know, I guess I didn't get to it. We just started to get to it when the buzzer hit last time. Again, just for tape 2, this is identification class lesson 17. Question 3. The first part of that is important, I think, in verse 6.

It says, but now. What does but now mean? What do you see when you see but? It wasn't yesterday, but now. No, something else, something else. Yeah, all this, but now this. Right. So that phrase says there's something new. Look at verse 5, it says, for while we were in the flesh, And then in verse 6 it says, but now. So, we've gone from talking about being in the flesh to now what? We've been released from the law, having died to that by which we were bound. So, we're talking about flesh, but now. Okay, and if you notice the tense in verse 5, it's an imperfect tense, which is a past continuous action, and it was active and indicative. And the past tense were, so if you look at we were in verse 5, but now. So hence we are no longer living in bondage to flesh. It was something past and now in the but now we have been released from that. So how did you get out of the flesh?

What does verse 6 say? Died. Died. Having died. So, just even in the first few questions, are you seeing a pattern to all these things? What is the key? Crucifixion. Crucifixion. Our co-crucifixion. All these are saying about dying. So, as I title these lessons, verses that don't make sense if you don't understand Romans 6. Because it's saying about all these dying. You've died. You've died. You've died. You've died.

Wait a minute. What's that? I'm feeling pretty chipper. There's a little wind here, but nothing that two stitches won't fix up, but you know, pretty much alive here. So what does it mean with this death? What do we keep talking about death? What does that mean? Our old nature died. Positionally, what has happened? What has happened? We've been co-crucified. We've been separated from what? Our old nature. The old man. And the only way you can... What does death mean? Separation. So when we see this die, that means we have been separated. All these deaths and dying means there's been a separation.

So, remember in 7, the first part is a lot about the Jewish and talking to the Jewish believer. who was separated from the Mosaic Law. He was talking about, you know, you've been separated from the Law. So a lot of this was the Jewish, but a lot of it also applies to the Gentile or the Gentile believer who is free from any law-based system now. We're under what system now? Grace. Grace. OK. All right. Let's get...

Does it all come down to law, no law? It's really... being separated from slavery to sin? Bondage to flesh or bondage to who? God. Righteousness. We're a slave to righteousness, we're a slave to the flesh. Which one? So there is... Remember, is there one nature in us or two? Two. Right? So, we can... Are we... If you're a non-believer, how many natures are there? One. And what is it? Sin nature. So, what can you do only? Sin. Okay?

When we have what goes on in Romans 6, we have been separated from that. That old nature, positionally, is done. But what happens, and we'll get into this in 2 Corinthians, we then have what? A new creature. A new nature. Now. Okay? So we can either be following the old nature. Do we have to do that now? No. No. We don't have to now. That's the key part of this.

Is that before you only had the choice of sinning. You didn't have a choice, you just sinned. Now, you can be a slave to righteousness, or listen to that old nature, that old captain screaming who has been mutinied, and we're listening to that guy still scream at us. We've been taught in this class, in this church, about grace and identification.

What about Christians that have not been taught identification truths? What are their choices? That's a good question, which I'll get into. Even though they don't know that, is it true of them? Yes. It's true that they don't know it. Right. That's right. But is everything that we talk about true of them? Yes. True. It's absolutely true. Mine is that there are millions of believers who are saved, billions of believers, whoever. They're saved, but they're in the nursery. They have not gotten out.

I think you need to have these identification truths to have the foundation for spiritual growth. The reason is because you're always succumbing to that old nature. It wants to do something. How do you think, you know, we've talked about a lot of different churches who require, you know, confession or this or that or require this or, you know, even in our old church where, you know, it was program after program after program. And it was always to fix you up, make you better. Now that I have the Holy Spirit, I'm enabled to do this now. The old guy is now enabled.

Is that correct? No. So what are you always struggling with? So I think a lot of them are struggling with that. I think then a lot are struggling because they don't understand grace. But I don't think you understand grace until you understand the identification. Because in grace is what?

The unmerited. If you don't understand the unmerited part, because the old man, what the old man wants to do? He wants to do something. Always wants to do something. So how do you understand grace if this guy is screaming, you got to do spiritual pushups. sack it to some people with all the grace that there's no other way to explain. And then that's probably growth, too, is when God kind of works first, and then you kind of catch up to Him. God's working all the time, and His whole desire is to draw you to Him, and the intimacy with Him.

You know, we're a fast food nation. We're a microwave nation. We want it in 30 seconds or less. God doesn't always work that way. I wish He did a lot of times. I wish I learned things in 30 seconds. You know, I've said this a lot, I'm a type A right, and I do all these things, and as I told you this past night, I did things, you know, not for personal, you know, people recognition, but I did it so God would smile on me. Because if I did that little thing, that whatever, God would smile on me.

Does that fit with grace? No it doesn't, but the problem is, I just look at myself, I was so secure in the works that I was doing, But that's not grace. No. And it was not the operating principle, but mine was one of works. So I may claim to have been a Christian, but... And you are. But I only had a choice of sinning. Well, I think you had the choice of both. I could try to clean myself up, but I was certainly not operating in the realm that I believe today. Well, you came out of it. You still have both options there, regardless whether you knew it or not. It was still true about you.

You did not have to respond to the old man. As a believer, as a new creature in Christ, you did not have to respond to him. You may not have known, and that's where I think a lot of times the growth doesn't happen, because you keep leaning on the old man. There isn't growth.

That's why I want to see the milk of the Word versus the meat of the Word. You know, there are a lot of people who are still in the nursery and the milk of the world. And Paul chastises some of them, that why am I still teaching the elementary things to you guys?

You should know this. And I think a lot of believers are in that elementary nature. And it's because they don't know this identification. And I don't understand, we've talked about this, why isn't there churches of 10,000 teaching the identification truths? I don't know. God has chosen it this way. But you do know the difference between right and wrong. So... Right? Okay, so you don't. Alright. You know, when we sin, what tree are we in? What tree? Yeah, when we sin, where are we at? The tree of what? Of bad. Good and evil. So we know good, we know evil, we're bouncing back and forth.

But if you don't know identification, if you don't know that, You do know the difference between right and wrong, should you get that newspaper. I mean, you may or you may not. I don't think that's an absolute. I don't think that's an absolute. If you don't know the word, I don't think you know all the what's good, bad. And again, I think you're trying to gravitate back to a law. I'm just saying, if you don't know the identification. I think you're languishing in a baby state. You're not growing.

You know, I say that, you know, I have 20 years of non-growth, so to speak, until I started learning this, which gave me unbelievable freedom, unbelievable rest. And I get that because I don't have to work anymore. I don't have to try and please God. What more can I do to please God? He's put me where? Into His Son. He sees me through His Son. What more can I do to make him happy? I'm going to interrupt, sorry. Some churches, it seems so, want a bunch of babies because they're still going to heaven. Well, I think there's just ignorance. It's ignorance of the word. And I'm throwing rocks in a glass house. I mean, I was there, you know, in a program or this program or that, and very Bible-based. But really, once you start understanding, I mean, it's all there. That's the funny thing.

But what do you think of churches that want people from, I don't know what motivation, where their heart is, but want more people to come to Christ so that they can go to heaven? You know, I think salvation is fine. I mean, that they want salvation for them. Absolutely. That's why I say I think there are millions and billions of people out there that are saved. It's simple faith. Simple faith.

Once you understand who Christ is, the death, burial, and resurrection, and believe, there's salvation. It's almost like one church, different churches focus on different things, like some will focus on the salvation, the initial salvation, and that's done, and we're, you know, just keep working to do other stuff, and then there's the kind of growth. Yeah, and I think, again, there's just all sorts, but I think it's based on ignorance of what the truth is that we see. you know, in the identification.

And that's what I'm going through. I'm excited. I love these verses. You can't grow unless you were saved. Well, yeah. I mean, yeah, the foundation has to be salvation. But that's simple faith. And I believe there are billions of people who are saved, but they just aren't growing because they don't know a lot of these truths. I don't see how you can grow and understand it.

That's why I'm going through all these verses. When you read these verses, that's what I keep saying. How do you understand this? if you don't understand that you've been crucified, co-crucified. That's why I keep going through this. I'm excited, I tell Mike, I'm pumped on these. I love these verses, because how do you read these? And again, throwing rocks in a glass house, I read these verses, and okay, you know. I don't understand them, but I'm going to throw them under there, because that makes sense to me. But it's in the Bible, so it's got to be true. You know, sweep it out of the rug.

There's a couple of things in this conversation. One is that if a person is saved on the grace basis, pretty much, then they have a taste of grace. The second thing is that when they become a believer, J.B. Stoney made an interesting comment. He said you acquire a taste for the things of God which you didn't have before. And so you may languish in a law-based, performance-based church or an evangelistic-based church for a while, but then your hunger outgrows their ability to feed you.

And so that's why rightly dividing the Word of Truth is so important. The Word of God is the key to all of this. What you'll find in most of those either law-based or evangelistic-based churches is, is that if they study the Bible, which a lot of them don't, they focus only on a very small part of the scriptures, and mostly Old Testament, which means there's performance in the Old Testament, and not grace in Paul's epistles. It's like the Presbyterian Church publishes a New Testament and Psalms. The Psalms are not for the Christian. They are not for the Christian. Neither are the four Gospels. They're just not. They're not written to them.

So the issue is primarily the lack of the study of the Word of God. That's the biggest issue because the Word of God speaks for itself. And if you're just in it every day, feeding in it, and even though you're not being taught in your church environment or Sunday school, sooner or later the Spirit of God is going to say, What you just read means a lot more than what you know, and it creates this desire to find out. Well, I think some of this is, and I speak from experience.

I mean, we were brethren church, very Bible-based, but the edification truths were not taught, even though all the edification truths were the beginnings. They're all brethren, but we moved away from it. Exactly. You moved away. That's kind of what Mike said. You got stuck. But that's the thing. We weren't off base. We were believers. But this just wasn't taught.

And then, like I said, I guess the thing I'm saying about it is that it then becomes program after program after program after program. Substitute. And I suddenly realized after a lot... I had a flat forehead. I kept hitting the wall. I'd do a program and it was a great program.

Okay, that wasn't good. Let's go to the next program. Bonk. You know, and it's program after program after program. Well, what is wrong? It's not working. And the thing is, it was trying to get the old man better. And that's the key. Most of it is trying to fix up that old guy. Now that I'm empowered by the Holy Spirit, this old guy can now carry out the law. I can now, I'm empowered to do whatever.

Is that correct? No. And so what you end up doing is you just keep bouncing off the walls, failing until one day, you know, for me, you know, he did a lot of circumstances and coming here, it all fits. Which is awesome because God used failure. Oh, I, I, you know, I, I'm a, if you knew the past and some of the stuff, it's, I, this is Joseph, I, you know, what God meant and all this. I, I, I'm, appreciative of what, not at the time, but coming through it, I know exactly that God had me come in here for a reason.

And I thank Him profusely. You know, like sometimes, you know, I fellowship with all these guys that we went through a lot, and it's like, how do you do that? Well, I think it's perfect, because they got me here. You know, and I'm like, I have perfect fellowship with them. Thank you. You got me out of that treadmill that I was in, and got me to here. Awesome. It's like Joseph, thrown in the pit. I don't think he was going, hey brothers, that's awesome guys. I'm doing fine down here in the pit boys. But what, 20 years later, whatever? Awesome.

I think we're interdependent on each other for understanding, but I do think any believer who would just sit down and start on page one of the Book of Romans, By the time they got to chapter 6, the question would be, okay my sins are forgiven, they're gone, I'm not going to have to face them anymore, but I'm still sinning, does God have a remedy for that? And what happens I think in a lot of churches is they bump up against that question, they don't have an answer for it, so they go back and And they never get free. They never get free. Because Romans 6 says to you, you died.

Well, that's why I'm so pumped on these verses. How do you read these verses? And you have to look at God and say, did I really? I'm going to hammer this in as we get through the questions. I keep hammering it in. It just keeps saying, died, dead, gone, new.

How do you read that and not go, wait a minute? How can I read that any other way than understanding Romans 6? I don't know. How did you? And I ask myself that. I think, as I just said, I think I end up kind of just... It just takes time. Throwing it under the carpet going, yeah, okay. That's one of those ones I just kind of, you know, don't understand so I'm just going to move on. You know, if you read it real fast. I agree with everything you're saying.

My confusion exists with the fact that, okay, Holly Hills teaches these concepts, but these concepts are not new concepts. It's nothing new. Whether you read Taylor or Miles Stanford or Darby, all of them taught the same principles 100, 150 years ago. Yet, you look around and there's no real growth, so I can only assume like Holly, that most churches are satisfied in keeping you in the nursery?

It's just ignorance. I don't think it's malicious as much as it is ignorance. I can't judge the motives, but this is my personal, is it's ignorance. Speaking from the same position, it's ignorance. For us in the Old Brethren, it wasn't out of malice that we would try to keep They were the guys who brought this out 150 years ago.

I understand that, but we've got, just like anything, you suddenly, either through leadership or this or that, you get pulled and you get away from the Word. Once you start deviating away from the Word... Or focusing on, like Mike said, just one small part of it. Right. You can make up things we can do. So ministers are ignorant? I think a lot are ignorant of these truths, yes. Mike was just saying, I believe, a few weeks ago, that Chester McAuley's church has now moved to a law-based system. It's just mind-boggling.

I was thrilled, and I forget the other lady who comes. Wanda. Wanda. She said, and I loved hearing that, 83 years. And free. 83 years. of not understanding the freedom. God waited 83 years. That's his time. I can't argue with it. It took him that long to get it ready. Why did he wait 83 years? Why did he wait 40 some odd years for me? You know, why?

I was raised in a Pentecostal church and the focus on that was to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit speaking in tongues and then you were saved and one of my sons He tried and tried and tried, and he says, Mom, I don't think God loves me. I mean, it was sad. It really affected my son. It's horribly sad. I mean, he was not a kid. He was a real man. It's horribly sad.

And it's just that people are in a nursery. It's like seeing a massive nursery out there and kids not growing. And that's why I go through it. That's why I get so excited about this stuff is because The liberty that we have now is unbelievable. You know, maybe the churches that keep kids in the nursery, the kids in the nursery want other people to come into the nursery too. There's a lot of company.

Again, I go back to ignorance. And I speak for my own personal. This is my own. 20 years of being ignorant. 20 years. This may not be a good analogy, Basically, I think of when we're born, we're given a moped motorcycle without the motor. And we're pedaling and pedaling and pedaling, and we read these truths, and God puts the Holy Spirit engine in it. But those churches, they're still pedaling. They've got this motor in there. Now they don't use it. Going nowhere, yeah. What about the churches that, you know, they have rededication services? Revivals. What is that all about? Revivals. It's the same thing. It's just all those. I always read dedication. If you understand these truths, that's totally insane. It is. It's really insane.

I saw this woman on TV, whether this is true or not, but she said she lived in Tennessee during the time of these revivals, but she says how it happened is that it's like separate little communities kind of each ended up kind of going to the same place without kind of really knowing why and all of a sudden they're just like, what are you doing here?

And what are you doing? It seems like they're trying to sort of force that to happen. You know, like let's make it happen. I think some of the things, you know, also from this is that the old man is so strong and, and that where's your comfort level. with that guy you've been living with. It's easy to fall back into there and to do things, because it feels comfortable to do things. It's kind of like being thrown in a fishbowl.

It's like, wow, when you have that freedom, it's like, what do you mean? Where are these walls? I need a wall here to kind of feel where I'm at. and I can do this. There's a responsibility with not being in the law because then it comes down to you and God. What is the key? Listening. Faith. Faith. Faith.

And is that meritorious? Is there any work in that? No, no, but that comes down to sometimes there's going to be something to do. Sometimes you're going to, God's going to want you to go to Canada, you know, whatever it is. But, you know, again, that's, that's, you know, the Lord directing your life. Right. And he works, you know, I mean, I rest in all this that he's in control of all this stuff. Well he is, but still it's to a point where you've got to, you know, cooperate. Because you could choose not to cooperate.

So Roy didn't go to Canada. So what happens? Does God go checkmark against Roy? No, no, not that, but I bet it would be uncomfortable for Roy. If he goes or doesn't go. Did he go? I don't think it changes God's love or anything like that. I think it's for Roy. I think Roy would be kind of like, huh? But it doesn't matter whether he goes or not, and he goes. God loves him. Can you ever be separated from his love? No. So if he went or doesn't go, or he goes or doesn't go, or he does this or he does that, it doesn't matter.

It's not anything you do. The only thing you lose is the intimacy with him, which is all that... I spent a lot of time in John 17. You lose that intimacy. That's what you lose because of your choice to go left or right or whatever. So, okay. You've got a guess of the verses? Sorry. I'm trying. Verse, or question four. We've gotten to four. We might get to two today here. In Romans 8, 1 and 2, there is no condemnation for those who are what? And then how did we get there? In Romans 8, 1, there is, therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I think we should change the question to where? Where? Those who are what? Oh, well, yeah, I mean, yeah. Oh, where?

For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. So there is now no condemnation for what? For what? What does the verse say? Those that are in Christ. Those who are in Christ. Okay? So my question is, how did you get there? Called crucifixion. Right.

How do you understand this? I think this is where I'm getting a lot of in hymns, in Christ, in hymns. When you are a believer and you believe, if you're not identification, you're this new kind of empowered person or something, or you now have the Holy Spirit to be able to do this or do that, how does this verse fit? If you're just an empowered new... It doesn't fit. It can't. That's the point. If you're an empowered old Adam, this verse says there's no condemnation for what?

Those who are in Him. Placed in Him. It doesn't make sense if you are not understanding the identification of co-crucifixion and then what? We are new creatures in Christ? We'll get to that verse. It's about being placed into Him. that there's no condemnation. Short one, I swear. I can't swear. A lot of, maybe, some people say Christ is in me. They'll say the Holy Spirit's in me.

So it's almost like you can keep the old man if you say Christ is in me, but to turn it around and say I'm in Christ, there's not another way for that to happen. Perfect. Perfect. That's exactly right. You know, I've received Christ in my heart. Okay? What does that mean? You're on your way to becoming a Christian someday. You know, what does it mean? It doesn't make sense with what we see in Romans 6. And perfect, Holly, that's perfect. The Holy Spirit's in me. But the more important thing is, I'm in Him. I'm in Him.

What a terrific difference that is. So you know actually I had in there's no combination for those who are in Christ in verse 2 who in verse 2 who we who are in Christ are free from the law of sin and death. What a wonderful proclamation and place to be. So what does what does in Christ mean? And I you know I got to the Greek I like I like to go to the Greek words and Zodiaty's definition for what in means. And it says it's a primary preposition denoting fixed position in place or time. In place, time, or state. A fixed position. Where's that fixed position? In Him. We are a fixed position in Christ. So, how did we get there?

If you remember, in Romans 6.11, Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but what? alive to God in Christ Jesus. There it is. 611. Remember that? I keep saying that's a linchpin. Even so, consider yourselves to be, or reckon yourselves dead unto sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Also, if you look at Romans 6 through 7, you see a lot of that.

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized, we're into Christ, placed into, have been baptized into his death. Therefore we have been buried with him through the baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we might too walk in newness of life. For if we become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin, for he who has died is freed from sin." Again, the transaction is made, replaced, baptized, put into, fixed position, into him. It's critical, because now you understand these verses, they make sense now. Okay, let's go on to five, move on here.

If Romans 8.8 is true, can we please God if we have not been placed into Christ?

And Romans 8.8 says, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. No, number six.

If you've not been placed into Christ, you can only be in the flesh, and therefore you can't please God. For the believer, you can walk in the flesh or walk in the spirit. If we are walking or being controlled by the flesh, can we please God? No. So, again, the point being is, if you're only in the flesh, if you're just a refurbished atom, can you please God? No. Nobody who is in the flesh can please Him. So the transaction has to be made to get you out of the flesh. and into Christ. So, you know, if you're trying to please God in the flesh, it's not possible.

Okay? Six. Moving quickly. In Romans 8, 15 through 17, and also in Galatians 4, 6 through 7, how can I cry out, Abba, Father, or Daddy? And I'll read Romans 8.15-17. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him.

6. Because you were sons, God has sent forth the spirit of a son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God.

Romans 8.29 For those whom he foreknew, he predestined to become conformed to the image of his son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren. Hebrews 2, 11.

For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Okay? This is all true because of what? All these things are true. Our adoption, heirs. All these things are true. Why? Crucifixion. What? That's not your buzzword. Why? What does that mean? What does that do? It places us into Him. Because Jesus is God's son, we're in Jesus, so we're sons. That's exactly right. And daughters. If you don't understand this crucifixion and placement baptism into, how are you a son? Are you a son in Adam? An heir of God?

No. No. So, if that's true that I'm not, how can I cry out Abba Father? I'm not his son, not anything. I'm crying daddy. Then you can't. You can't. So there has to be a transformation, a separation from the old, which if I'm calling out daddy in Adam, in the old Adamic, who is daddy? Adam. He's long gone, long dead. But I mean, he's ultimately my daddy. All the federal head of everything and flesh is Adam. So when I cry out, Abba Father, to God, I'm now this lineage. And who's the, I read that, who's the first born?

Christ. Christ of the new. Yeah. In the discussion we just had about how come they don't get it, do believers who are stuck in a nursery or a lost system, is the Spirit of God crying out in their hearts, Abba Father? I think he is. From his side, yeah. This is from us calling him daddy. I don't know if the understanding of what that relationship is, if you don't know that.

And it's strategically placed in the Word. It's right where it ought to be, because you wouldn't cry out the Father in Romans 3 or 5. That's the whole point, it's after Romans 6. And what's interesting is that we live as believers in this incalculable unlimited grace, and if we're ignorant about it, we don't get to enjoy it. That's the insanity of all this. If you're peddling the moped, if you're in the nursery, you could have this unbelievable intimacy with Christ. Unbelievable. Daddy! You know, my notes, what I said. Do you believe what the scripture says?

Since you've been placed into Christ, and as we studied in John 17, Jesus asked God the Father to have the same relationship with us as he had with God. Can you go to God with such an intimate relationship as to call God Daddy? What more do you have to do to make the relationship intimate enough to do this?

You don't have to do anything. Right, but do you feel comfortable? Going to God and saying, Daddy? Yes. You do. You should. That's the key. In John 17, he wanted that intimacy. He's saying, God, the Father, I have this relationship with you that's been since an eternity past. I want that same relationship to be with these who are now the firstborn of the new creation. Do you believe that? Some people. who had poor fathers on earth probably have a hard time with that. That is true.

And that's what I think the freedom of this message is, is that this is a different father. This is one that loves you with a love that is infinite, that will never disappoint you. And I think that's the most freeing thing of if you had a father that was abusive or whatever, You now have a Father that loves you with an infinite love. You have something else that's even more important. The verse says that the Spirit of God has been placed in us. He's the one that activates this Abba Father environment. So even if you came from a dysfunctional family, you're being educated by the Spirit of God about what Father should really be.

Yeah, he's doing the work. When you look at how we can't be separated from God's love. Nothing. And it lists everything. Including God. There's no way to separate us from his love. So when boo-boos happen, blessings come, or anything comes, can you go, oh he didn't love me as much today. 82 stitches later, he didn't love me. No, he loved me exactly the same.

He knew exactly what's going on. He knew everything about that. I rest in that fact. I consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. How do you do that? He loves me. Never to be separated. He's sovereign. He controls all these things. He's promised me rest. He's promised me a peace that surpasses all understanding. That's because I rest in this.

You might not even understand why you have to go through this, but years later, it all shrugged a puzzle and you say, there was a reason for all that. As I say, the circumstance and everything that got me here at the time was probably Some of the hardest things I've ever been through. I look back now and I praise God for what He did. I praise Him. I didn't understand at the time. There are lots of things that you don't understand at the time, but He's using it for His purposes in what? To bring glory to Himself and to use us. You rest in that no matter what happens. Rest in it. Blessings or trials.

He loves you. You're one of His. Abba, Father, Daddy. You're one of His children. Did He love Christ with a love that was infinite? Absolutely. We have that same love. Whatever you're going through. Does He love you? Absolutely. I was just thinking that we make it personal, but if the country I live in goes to the dogs Is that orchestrated of the Lord for my spiritual growth, my spouse's spiritual growth, and to glorify Him? Absolutely.

When we get into grace, you know, these are some principles. Just look at the requirements. I always say, go back. If you look in the requirements for a husband and a wife, is there the caveat or the condition that says, I saw that exception. You wrote that personally in your own.

So I mean these are things that no matter what goes on, it's not conditioned. I mean there's not this or that or it's not law based. It's not if I do this I get this. Maybe you could say it this way that circumstances can't change. how God views us, and it can't change our position. And God will use the circumstances to enhance our position, not to defeat it. His whole purpose is to try to... To enhance our position, did he say? No, I should have said condition. Yes, I was going to say condition.

And that's the whole thing, is that whatever he's doing, He's drawing you to this intimacy. That's why I love John 17. He wants that intimacy. Who's the one pushing off and going the other way? Me. So everything he does is meant to what? Bring you closer, to have that intimacy. All this, as you start looking, everything just fits together.

Alright, maybe we can at least quickly read the verse for question 7, which is 1 Corinthians 30 and then 2.16. 1 Corinthians 1.30. But by his doing you are in Christ who became to us wisdom from God. And then... And righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Did you ever say that? I cut it off there. Go ahead. Why did I do this? I had also... Yeah, I did 14-16, that's what it was. I have 1 Corinthians 2, 14-16, just to give more context.

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct him? but this one, but we have the mind of Christ. Wowzer. Do you have the mind of Christ?

We'll get into that question seven. We'll start at question seven next week. So ponder those. Read those verses ahead of time, the ones as we get in, so we can get into the verses quicker and get to them. So we'll start in question seven with going over those Corinthian verses. All right, let's close.

Father, we thank you for this time. Father, we thank you for all your truths that you have in your Word. We thank you for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and his work in our spiritual growth and development. Father, we thank you that we can cry out, Abba, Father, Daddy. You want that intimacy. Christ wants that intimacy with us, and we thank you for that.

And we just rest in all the circumstances that you have, because if we have true faith in your word, what is true, there is no way we can be separated from your love. And what comfort, peace, and rest we have knowing that no matter what goes on in times of blessing and in times of trial, your love never changes. And we thank you for that. That allows us to have that peace that surpasses all understanding.

So Father, we thank you for this time. We pray for Vern upstairs with the message to come that he'll bring forth the word clearly and also just prepare our hearts to receive it. And Father, we just love and thank you for who you are. And we just thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.