Transcript: Great Grace Part 3 — Why Holiness

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This message is from Believers Equipped. A meeting organized by the Disciples Christian Network where the word of God is taught with practicality and believers are raised to reign in life. Join apostle Emmanuel as he walks us through the word of God. Let's do a brief recap of what we have talked about already. We said that the gospel is the power of God. It is good news, Specifically, that our right standing with God, our righteousness is based on the grace of God, not on our performance. That the law was given to show us our need for a savior. And that salvation is more than just the forgiveness of sins. And the initial born again experience. That salvation includes everything that was purchased for us through the atonement of Jesus.

Things like healing, things like deliverance, things like prosperity are all included in salvation. Do you remember this? And I emphasize how that access to God is no longer performance based. Access to God is now by grace. Is now due to the blood that was shed on the cross of Calvary. It has given us access to the throne room. So we can stand before God boldly. We can stand before the throne of grace boldly. Because Jesus has paid that price. Do you remember this?

Yes, sir. Yeah. Now if you have been following my line of thought, then you would have a question. The same question that Paul was asking because Paul suspected that people will have that question. So in the first five chapters of Romans, Paul presented grace in such a strong and powerful way that it was inevitable for this question to arise. And what was the question? It arose three times. Two times actually, but one of them was much like a statement that resembles a question. Are you with me? The first one is in Romans chapter three verse eight.

And Paul was addressing people, nefarious individuals. Who intentionally misconstrue what they were teaching. And he says, why not say, let us do evil that good may come. As we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. In other words, some people are saying that what we are saying is, why not continually do evil? So that good may come. And Paul says that condemnation is just. Do you see this? Paul says what now? Their condemnation is is just.

Look at it in NLT. NLT says, and some people even slander us by claiming that we say, the more we sin, the better it is. Paul is saying that when you hear this message of grace, what you would think that we are saying if you are not born again is that the more we sin, the better it is. Those who say such things deserve to be condemned. In chapter six verse one, the question arises again. And these two places where the question arises, six verse one and another verse in chapter six again is gonna be where I will camp on today because Paul answers that question. In verse one, says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Have you seen the question? Verse 15.

The same thing. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not. In other words, am I saying that you can just go on and live in sin because God is now dealing with you based on grace and not based on your performance? In other words, if you're saying that my performance is not the reason why God accepts me, then why should I perform at all? Do you get that? Shall we continue to... If you say it does not matter, if you say that my sins are forgiven, if you say that God have accepted me and it's not based on the works that I have done, it is based on the grace he has released. You see, if we are truly preaching grace the way Paul did, it's inevitable that somebody will jump to this conclusion and also ask, are we saying that you can just go on living and see?

And Paul immediately hands us, God forbid. Paul immediately hands us, God forbid. As a matter of fact, in another portion of scripture, it is said that if anybody preaches such a doctrine or uses such a thing and an excuse to go on living in sin, then such a person is not even saved. Are you with me? So if you were to title my teaching today, a befitting title would be great grace part three hyphen, why holiness? Question mark. So if we say that grace has been given, why live holy? Why preach holiness at all? Why even talk about holiness? Why should a believer be holy?

Like I said, it's probably one of the most balanced exegesis on grace you would find, And it's intentionally designed so. So stay with me. If your access to God, your relationship with God, your communion with God is not performance based. If you're telling me that even when I fall, God is still holding my hands. I've not lost peace with God. The Holy Spirit still resides within me. My position and my place with God is not fallen, is not shaken. Then why live holy? Romans chapter six verse one that we read. It says, what shall we say then?

Shall we continue in sin? That grace may abound. And in those two places where that question is asked, we will attempt to answer this question from the response that Paul gives. And then I will build on it. Is that okay? Yes sir. So in verse two, Paul gives his first answer. What was the answer? Certainly not. Why?

How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Why live holy? Because you are dead to sin. Stay with me. The number one reason why a Christian does not live in sin is because we are no longer by nature a child of the devil. After being born again, it's not in our nature to sin anymore. And I know that this might give rise to a lot of question, but stay with me. We'll get there. Is that okay? You see, many people don't understand what happened when they were born again.

I'm going to open a lot of scriptures, so stay with me. The old sin nature that you were born with was crucified, it died, it was buried. When you were born again. And you rose in Christ with a brand new righteous nature. The old nature that expressed itself through sin is now dead, is now gone. And a new nature that desires to express itself through holy living has now taken root on your inside. So if a believer is truly born again, then the sin nature is dead. Romans chapter six verse three, we'll just look at Romans six then we continue to study down. Verse three, it says, although you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death. In other words, when you gave your life to Christ, when you accepted the life of God, when you became born again, what happened was that the holy spirit immersed you into Christ.

That is why you are now a part of the body of Christ. Because you are baptized into Christ. And the Bible says, when you were baptized into Christ, what happened was that you were baptized also into his death. Verse four says, therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death. We were buried with him through baptism into death. I like the fact that the Bible says, we were buried with him through baptism. It means the Bible shows you how that being buried happened because he was buried over two thousand years ago. And when he was buried, you were not there. That's why the bible shows you how you were included. You were included through baptism.

Baptism mean to a mass into. It means what the holy ghost did when you say I accept Jesus as my lord and savior is to immerse you into Christ. Yes, sir. And the moment you you were immersed into Christ, you were identified with his burial. You were identified with his death because you have been immersed into him. I hope you know that that thing happened in eternity. The bible says from the foundation of the world, the lamb was slain. That reality happened in eternity. So the moment you give your life to Christ and you accept the life of God, what happens immediately is that you are immersed into Christ. And the moment that happens, the bible says you are baptized into death.

That just as Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory of the father, did you see that? Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, even so, we also should walk in the newness of life. Oh, good Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus. In verse six, it says, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him. That the body of sin might be done away with. That we should no longer be slaves of sin. We are now dead to sin. It is important to understand that Paul was talking about sin. In other words, the sin nature, not actions of sin.

Not sin as an action, but sin as a nature. Because the word seen has two descriptive words in the Greek. One is a noun. The other is a verb. The verb speaks of the action because you know verbs. Is that not so? The noun speaks of the nature. All through the book of Romans. Where the word sin was used. All through the book of Romans.

Let these people come inside. I already said that. Let them just stand anywhere or sit down on the floor or something. Let them come inside. Thank you. Let them come inside. Sit down on the floor. Sit down anywhere. You'll be fine. Thank you, Jesus.

Are you with me? So I said all through the New Testament in the book of Romans, the word sin as a verb only appeared in two places. The other places where sin is used is a noun. In other words, it is addressing the nature of sin. The nature of sin, That are dharmic nature that you inherited because you are a man, because you are born of a man. Romans five and verse 12. The bible says, therefore, just as through one man sin. Can you see that? Just as through one man, sin entered the world. The word sin there is the word nature, the nature, the Adamic nature.

The Adamic nature entered the world. Not sin as an action. Sin as a nature a nature entered the world, and death through that nature. And thus, death spread through all men because all sinned. So does it mean that all committed sins? Because the bible does not say all that have been born. The bible says all. Every human being, whether you live right or you do not live right. It is not about your action. It is about the nature.

It's about how you were born. I explained this on on last week Tuesday. Remember the dog? So it's about how you were born. The issue was with how you were born. Through Adam, sin entered the world. Not the actions of sin, but the nature of sin. And you were born. Every human being was born a sinner. And do know what it means to be born a sinner?

It means your father is the devil. It means every human being was born as children of the devil. I'm not the one who said it to his God that is Jesus that said it. John eight forty four, do you remember? Jesus was speaking to unbelievers. And he told them, you are of your father, the devil. You see, you are of your father, the devil. And the desires of your father, you want to do. Because the nature of your father is inside of you. Why you are, why is he called your father?

Because he's the originator of sin. He's the source of sin. So everyone that comes as a result of sin is fathered by the devil. And the Bible says, the desires of the devil is what the person portrays. So everything a sinner does are the desire of the devil. Ephesians chapter two and verse three. The Bible says, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh. Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Can we read the next statement together? One, two, three, go.

And whereby nature, did you see nature there? Yes sir. And whereby nature, so it was a thing of nature. So what makes people commit actions of sin is the fact that they have a sin nature. And even if some way or another, they could deal with their actions of sin and restrain the amount of sin that they act out, there is still no human way for them to change that sin nature. You cannot change your nature simply by decreasing your actions. Let me go back to my dog example. You remember my dog example? So what is particular about a dog, everybody? It barks.

Is that not so? So when a dog barks less, does it make it less of a dog? That's what happens when a... When an unbeliever thinks that if I live right, it makes me less of a sinner. There is nothing that man could do about his nature. And even if man attempted to live right, even if man attempted to be morally right, he was still a sinner. It was a matter of how he was born. Not the things that he could do or the things that he does. Are you with me? Yes, sir.

And this is what legalistic people focus on. Legalistic people wrongly emphasize actions as the basis of their access to God. They say, don't do this. Don't do that. Do this. Do that. But you see, they say if you can if you can just act right, then you will get it right. But your actions don't change your nature. That is the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. The reason unbelievers act wrong is because they are...

They have a wrong nature driving them, compelling them to do wrong. So even if we catch terrorists and we catch rapists and we catch postulates and drunkards and addicts and we open up all kinds of NGOs for them to try and rehabilitate them, it still has not changed their nature. That the action has reduced does not mean the nature has changed. So what did Jesus do? Jesus went to the very root of sin, the signature, and dealt with it. He didn't just give you the ability to overcome the actions of sin, but he dealt with the part of you that was corrupted, that was forcing you to live in sin, that made you a slave of sin. So when Jesus died on the cross, he didn't just take out the physical actions of sin, but he also took out the very root of sin. He took it upon himself. In first Corinthians five and verse 21, the bible says, for he made him who knew no sin to be seen for us. You see, he made him who knew no sin.

Who knew no sin to be seen for us. That we might become the righteousness of God in Christ. So Jesus took the very nature of sin upon himself and suffered separation from God. Sin was what separated man from God. Jesus became sin, suffered separation from God. He took your place that you might take his place so that the moment you become righteous, the separation that happened to you as a result of sin was fixed by Jesus on the cross. So it is not you that will become close to God by your acts. Jesus did that already. Because you are not separate from God by your acts. You were separate from God because you were born separate.

Stay with me. Jesus endured the rejection that we were meant to go through, the punishment of God on our sins, and he died to that whole sin nature. Jesus literally completely put sin to death. He was resurrected from the dead with a brand new life. That brand new life was no longer corrupted, was no longer susceptible to sin. This brand new life does not have the propensity or the drive or the constant motivation for sin in... Inside of it. And because of that, the actions of sin no longer has dominion over the Jesus that rose from the dead. The moment Jesus took on sin, you will see the bible starts describing actions that Jesus was undergoing that were alien to the son of God. For instance, the Bible says that he experienced great sorrow.

Sorrow is a work of the flesh. Jesus, the son of God cannot know sorrow. But the moment sin overtook him and he became sin, then sorrow became a reality. Are you seeing that? Yes. The works of the flesh, the desires of the devil, sorrow. The Bible says at some point he was afraid. How can Jesus who said peace be still to the storm, be afraid? Be afraid. He was in the water and the water was boisterous.

And he was sleeping in the storm. And the Bible say the time came, he was fearful. That is the nature of sin at work, you see? Yes sir. All of these things are expressions of sin. The desires of the devil, fear, sorrow. Depression, frustration, all these things together. But when he died and resurrected, the man that rose from the dead rose above sin. Conquered sin and paid the full price for sin. In Romans chapter six from verse five, the Bible says, for if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection.

It means, if we were baptized into his death, then it means that we are also united with him. In his resurrection. It means when he resurrected, you also resurrected with him. You were baptized into the resurrection of Christ. So that if the signature died because he died, then you became righteous because he rose again. Stay with me. Verse six. Verse six says knowing this, that our old man was crucified within. That the body of sin may be done away with. That we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Through Jesus, we are also dead with him. Sin is dead. Yes. And when the likeness of his resurrection, look at how NLT puts it. From that verse six. NLC, look at it. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ. Our what? Old sinful selves. So that sin might lose its power in our lives.

We are no longer slaves to sin. Next verse. For when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin. When we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin. Does it say, you will be? No. Or you already are? What's the most harmless animal you can think of to you personally? Snake. Snake is harmless to you?

That's that's the reason why I didn't mention any animal. I wanted to say rat, but some people are afraid of rats. So so let's make it personal. What's the most Butterfly. Butterfly. I I like that example. I think everybody can relate with butterfly. Right? Butterfly is pretty. Yeah.

Some of them. Now you imagine you meet a a believer or anybody, not even a believer, human being. Inside his house. And you were told he has not gone out. Was inside his room, missed classes, missed work, missed lectures for one month. And as his friend, you were told to come and meet him. And you get there, and he tells you that there's a butterfly outside my room. That's why he cannot come out. Now how do you feel? Where do you begin to advise him from?

Where do you begin that lecture from? The bible says that when we die with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin. The reason why that believer is probably unwise is because that butterfly has no power over him. That's why I can't think of the most harmless. The Bible says that sin no longer has power. It no longer has power over the believer. And this is not something that will happen. This is something that has happened. The moment you accepted Christ as Lord and savior, sin lost its power. That means that the sin nature inside of you died.

It means the only power sin has is the nature. So look, going back to my dog example again. Are you, are you still safe with the dog? The Bible says that Jesus Christ did not count it robbery with God. He stripped himself of glory, stripped himself of honor, and became a man. To save men. So imagine with me that you hear that your beloved dog has a disease. Pavu. Very very dangerous. And you hear that this dog is having parvo.

And normally dogs in the earth has parvo. And to save them because you love dogs so much, you must become a dog. And that means that you will strip yourself of everything that makes you man. No no you will become a dog mentally oh. You have pill. You will back like a dog. But you, you do what dogs are. What dogs do? You'll be born as a puppy. Somebody will breastfeed you.

And the person that will breastfeed you will be a dog because a dog will give birth to you. And in all of this, it's not as though your consciousness of what you left left you. That would have been easy. But you will know that ah and I'm a man oh. But I became this to save dogs. Now imagine that that process is completed. And the dog now died. You now died. As a dog that you were. Right?

And when you now resurrected, you resurrected back to your human form. And this is an imaginary science fiction. So stay with me. I'm trying to I'm trying to make you understand something. When you became irritated back to your human form, what now happened was that every dog that now somehow realizes that ah, this is a savior dog oh. This is not just one of us. I accept and I believe what this guy has done. What happened was that? That dog. Now becomes a man.

Not a dog. A man. Because its nature changes. Stay with me. The fact that its nature has changed does not mean that all the years he spent being a dog has left him. So in as much as nature has changed, you can realize he's still a man. How are you? Ho ho. Because the nature has left but the mind has not yet been renewed. Stay with me.

Stay with me. Stay with me. So the problem of the sinful believer is not a nature problem, it's a mind problem. That's where I'm going. Because the believer who still finds himself caged by actions that he know should not be my experience. Is not there because his nature cannot, so you see people say I can't just help it, that's not true. You can't help it. You can't even stop it. In your born again human spirit, you have been set free. In your recreated, righteous spirit, you no longer have the nature of the devil driving you to be like him anymore.

However, your spirit is not the only one that controls your heart. You also have an unrenewed mind that has been taught and that has been trained how to act in a certain way. In accordance with your sin nature, in accordance with your old Adamic nature. And before being born again, your old nature was reinforced by everything in the world system. And that world system taught you how to think selfishly. How to operate in anger. How to operate in bitterness. How to operate in fear. How to operate in unbelief. And in a number of other fleshy ways.

A mother was inside that room. And there was lightning, thunder, rain was falling. Lighting and thunder. You know it can be quite scary sometimes. Yes sir. And the mother had a three, four year old child, baby. And the mother was disturbed that the lightning and the thunder would scare the baby and probably she's crying or something. The mother ran to a room. Right? When the mother got there, the mother saw the baby sitting by the window with the windows open, looking at the thunder and the lightning smiling.

With the fearsomeness of the lightning. Those loud ones. The more it sounds, the more the baby will be excited. It will laugh again and be staring. And the more that stood and was wondering, ah ah. When I was your age, I would hide somewhere and think something. You see, you're not afraid. He said, no, I'm not afraid. So why are you not afraid? He said, my teacher said, anytime I see lightning and thunder, God is taking my picture.

Stay with me. Stay with me. That education removed that fear from her. In other words, what supplied the fear in the first instance? Because some of some of you as old as you are, you are still afraid of that. So I'm saying that you have been taught to be bitter. You have been taught to be hungry. You have been taught to accommodate hatred. You have been taught to accommodate offence. The old nature has educated you so much so.

Even when you become saved, all of this thing will need to be renewed. That is why the Bible propagates renewing of your mind. Until your mind is renewed, you will continue functioning the way you were previously programmed to function. Your natural mind is similar to a computer. It can only do what has been programmed for it to do. They call it garbage in, garbage out. Once you are in Christ, you have been freed from sin. That old man has been put to death. And there's no longer sin nature compelling you to live in sin. But you might still find yourself struggling with things a believer should not struggle with because you have allowed that programming to remain.

You have not reprogrammed yourself by renewing your mind. As a matter of fact, many believers still seem driven to sin. And by observation, many people can't even see the real difference or any difference in their motivation for sin before they became born again and even after they became born again. It looks the same. But it's not the same. One is powered by the nature. That thing, that nature makes you lose control over it. But the moment you become a believer, the power and the dominion that sin has over you is no longer there. A believer can say no. Because the power that sin has is no longer there.

Do you believe scriptures? This is what is called reprogramming your mind. So as I'm telling you this thing, your mind, you are allowing your mind to be reprogrammed. You are allowing that reprogramming to take place. So beautiful. You are allowing that reprogramming to take place. There are people that think that they are helplessly subjected to sin. They can't help it. That is just who I am. When you think that you are defeated already.

You must know that as a born again believer, that old nature is dead. The old man taught you to act in certain ways. And once you know this, that your old man is crucified and dead. Then the programming in your own renewed mind that he left behind can then be destroyed. So that henceforth, you no longer serve that sin. If you know this, you can break the dominion of sin over your life. But it's a sad thing that many believers are still laboring under this false impression. That there is still a part of them that is sold out to the devil and there's nothing they can do about it. That is wrong. That's not true.

Your old man, the Bible says, has been crucified with Christ. That is true. You are dead to sin. That is true. The question then arises, if I'm dead to sin, why do I still act in this manner? Why am I still experiencing this drive towards sin in certain areas? If I'm dead, wouldn't I be different? Not unless you have renewed your mind. Because your natural mind is going to function the way it was programmed until it is reprogrammed. I watched the movie once.

A guy grew up in the wilderness with in the forest really. In the Savannah Rainforest and he grew up with monkeys. He grew up with white animals. And grew up with wolves and he learned their ways and he can communicate with them. He can eat what they eat, do what they do. He can speak to them literally. Can't speak English, can't walk like a human being. Because he's been taught to walk like a wolf or walk like a monkey or walk like, you know. And he lived like that for, I think thirty years or so. Then he was found.

By men. And when they found him, they took him away from the forest, rescued him, freed him. And took him to the city. And put food on his table with cutlers. How do you think he hurt it? They bathe him and put on new clothes. He tore the clothes. Went to the gutter, went to the dumpster. Was looking for death to hit. Threw away every food he was given.

Because for thirty years, the mind has been programmed in a way. The problem was not with where he was anymore. So if you say that he's behaving that way because in the forest, they've taken him away from the forest. He's no longer in the forest. Now he's in the city. There are no longer trees anywhere but the mind has been programmed in a way. In a way that still wants to him behave the way his old life has taught him to behave. You see, and he will helplessly behave so, helplessly. He will find himself tilting towards that area. That is the problem with a lot of believers right now.

A lot of believers are helplessly subjecting themselves to the education that the previous self, the old nature has given to them. Because it's not allowed for the reprogramming of their minds. You can have the life of God in you. And your born again human spirit is recreated. You are totally brand new. In your spirit. But you can still experience a bent towards certain sins. And your mind is still following the prior programming that makes you bend in that direction. Are you, are you with me? Yes sir.

In summary, before you became saved, your actions were motivated by a nature. This nature drove you and was reinforced through society. Everybody else you were living to also had this nature of sin too. So you were bombarded from every angle all the time with how to be selfish, how to be self centered, how to hate people, how to be angry with people, how to revenge when somebody hurts you. How to advance yourself, how to take advantage of others, how to slander people, gossip about people, this was how you were taught, this was how you grew. You've been taught to be depressed. To constantly look at negative side of things. To be mean to others. Many other sinful actions like that. All of these things are acquired traits from the nature that was originally on the inside of you driving you to do those things before you came to know Christ.

Then when you come to know Christ, you must understand that you must subject your mind to be reprogrammed by God. By the word, by the spirit, and by teaching priest that he sends to you. You must not be stubborn. That was why he started last week Tuesday by telling you that you must not maintain loyalty to false beliefs. Are you seeing that? Because those false beliefs will inevitably program your life wrongly. There are people that can only see the negative side of life. If not for the fact that I'm a man of God and I have to be responsible man of God and facilitate with people that might be going through things. If I were to be just a believer working in the market place. There are things that will never cross my mind.

I tell you, things that will never cross my mind. Because those things cannot be my experience. Because my eyes don't see those things. As a man of God, you have to train your eyes to see the pain of people. Glory to God. Yes. I'm not the kind of person that will start saying in those days, in those days, in Nigeria, you can buy a piece of land for 2,000 naira. Three plots of land. Now that three plots of land in Bodoja is 200,000,000 naira, people are still buying it. In fact, in fact, there are people that when that piece of land was 20,000 naira, they could not afford it.

Now that it's 200,000,000, they can afford it. That's how I think oh. So you can choose to say this and that and that. All I'm saying is the good. All I'm saying is the best. So when you find that all that you see is just bad things, evil things, negative things. It's the way the old nature has educated your mind. It's a wrong way to see. The Bible says we walk by faith and not by sight. It means faith is compared to sight.

It means faith can see. You can use faith as the eyes with which you walk. And when you use faith as the eyes with which you walk, you do not... It means you don't measure everything around you by what your physical heights can define. You measure it by what faith can define. That means even myself, I don't measure myself by what my physical heights can define because I might not have the potentialities or the tendencies or the physical appearance of how a great man should be. My path might not even signify that I can be great. But by the time I subject myself to see by faith. I will realize that I start losing respect. For the current conditions.

And I start seeing myself and my life how God has written that it would be. Despite I know how it will happen or not. Do you understand? Yes sir. That is what reprogramming can do. That you are still in a room and you are paying house rent. But you are seeing a prosperous person. That that kind of a man has been reprogrammed. It's not, it's not bold faced like I would always say. It's not an actualization that happens just when you are in the meeting.

How you know you have gotten it with what is what you do outside. What you do on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Thursday. What comes to your mind? What influences your thought? Is how you know you have gotten it? Does this make sense? Yes sir. I thought you knew you have gotten it. As I'm here teaching you this. The devil will not bring thoughts to your mind.

That you are unworthy, that you are whatever thoughts used to come to your mind because the atmosphere does not permit for that. Your environment does not allow for that. The moment you step out of there, it will come. I can promise you. And you will think because you were rejoicing when Apostle was teaching, that means deliver deliverance. Deliverance is the moment you step out and it comes, what do you do? That's why you know that your mind has been reprogrammed. Because it means you just smile, you say you came late. You came late. Same thought patterns that are flooding your thinking but you know that this is not me.

This is the devil trying to change the picture of myself that I have. But I know. That I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Oh, that mind. That mind has been reprogrammed. Stay with me. The only thing that causes many people to remain under the bondage of sin is an already mind. Men don't know that they've been freed. We think I'm only human, I'm just a man, I'm just a woman, but that's not true, you are not only human. You're not just a man.

You're not just a woman. You have been born again. There's now a brand new born again spirit on your inside. One third of you is fully holy ghost. Because the holy ghost resides within you. You like, how how dare you say I'm only human? What happened to the holy ghost on your inside? You are a new person in Christ. You are a new breed that has never been seen before. You have a new nature in Christ.

That is how you think about yourself. And if you can allow this thought to find expression in you, you will find that you begin to alter your actions. If you don't know and you don't understand this, if you think you are only human, then when opposition comes, when demonic powers arise against you, when temptations get strong, you may resist for a while, but then you will think well I'm only human, I'm just a man. I can only do so much. I can only go so much. Yeah, there are limits to this thing. See, body no be firewood. And then you end up giving an end to that temptation. Because you have believed, you have convinced yourself to believe and to agree that you are only a man. But there is the holy ghost on your inside that supplies divine strength to you.

You're not just a man. You need to understand that you are a new person in Christ, a brand new creature. Full of God's supernatural ability on your inside. If you notice, then you will know that what you see, what you smell, what you taste, what you hear doesn't dominate you. Your opinion of your born again self is based on God's word. If that is what is controlling you, if that is what is dominating you, then you can overcome any temptation that comes. Your victory as a believer is to the degree to which your mind is transformed. In other words, you only battle in reality with things that your mind has not conquered. Or that has not been conquered in your mind. Your battles are a reflection of things your mind has not conquered.

Right. Your struggles are a reflection of things that are not that have not been conquered in your mind. Because it's not a nature problem, it's a mind issue. So if this is the area of my struggle, it only means this is where I've not allowed the word of God to renew my mind. This is where I'm deficit in God's word. This is where I've not permitted God's word. To gain space into my mind, to clear space, to clear this nonsense, this gibberish in my mind. Back in the eighteen hundreds, Abraham Lincoln issued an emancipation proclamation. That freed all slaves in The United States. They were freed.

But they were not necessarily free. There are documented cases in history of a number of African Americans who did not hear about this emancipation proclamation for many years. And even after they have been declared free legally by the president of America and there was to be no slave trade anymore and nobody is to be a slave again. They still remain slaves, some for thirty years. Because some slave owners did not inform their slaves. And back in those days, they didn't have access to mass media communications the way we have it today. It took some of those slaves many years. Some of them threw the grapevine, some of them was when they were sent on Heron. That they got the news. As far, some of them remain serving in their house, they died slaves.

Despite they have been freed. Despite they have been freed. So they were freed but they were not free. Because they didn't know something. They could have been free. But it was dependent on them knowing the truth. And then having the boldness to step out and to test that truth by standing up against their old master and drawing on the strength of the legal system and the authority of legal system to back them up. And when they go and meet their old master and say I'm no longer a slave, the man can say nothing about it. Because it is true. As a matter of fact, there was a punishment assigned to anybody who was still holding people against their will.

So it was a risky business for anybody that still had slaves, but as long as the slave did not know, they could still dominate them. Such is the experience of many believers. We are freed but not free. Remember, Romans six verse seven, the Bible says, for he who has died has been freed from sin. So a lot of believers are freed. We're not free. And it is because we do not know what has been done in our minds. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Lord. Whether you walk free or not, depends on how much you know.

In verse eight, the Bible says, now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Can you see that? We believe that we shall also live with him. It doesn't say that if we died with Christ, we will live with him. If we died with Christ, our living with him is on the strength of our belief. You didn't get that. If we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. But it doesn't end there. In verse nine, he then continues to say, knowing that. Knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead, dies no more.

Death no longer has dominion over him. Knowing that, it means if you don't know this, if you're not established in it, then you will not experience the resurrection life of Jesus. The victory, the power that belongs to the believer will not work inside your life. You have to know. Knowing that. Knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over who? Remember the Bible says, sin. Came through one man and death came through sin. So the Bible says death no longer has dominion over him.

Means sin no longer has dominion over him. How many of you agree with me? That Jesus is not struggling with sin. How many of you agree with me that Jesus is not up there right now denying himself? Trying to put down the sin nature. Because he's not saying struggling with the lust of the I may never agree with this. That with Christ, all of that experience is over with. Jesus is now completely holy, totally pure, right? Yes sir. Verse 10.

One, two, three, go. He lives to God. God's talking about who? Jesus. So we all agree. That he now lives to God. But look at the next verse. The Bible now says, likewise you also. That verse 10, we don't have problem with it. We agree that Jesus is not struggling.

We agree that Jesus is alive. But the Bible now says likewise you also. Reckon yourselves that the same way he's now dead. And you cannot imagine him struggling. The Bible says, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin. Look at the progression. The progression says, you are dead to sin. It makes you know you are dead to sin. It then says, that doesn't mean that you will have the experience of one who is dead to sin. It says likewise you also, you now have a part to play.

What is your part to play? Recon yourself. That's why it starts by knowing this. Because we have known this, we now reckon ourselves dead. But alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I'm dead to sin. Thank you Lord Jesus. This is why a believer lives holy. Because he's dead to sin. Because he's dead to sin.

Say it again, I'm dead to sin. I'm dead to sin. Look at verse 12. Verse 12 says, therefore, do not let. What does that mean? That means you now have the power. Remember, this sin longer has power over you. So that says, therefore, having several have said, do not let sin reign in your mortal body. That you should obey it in its lust. Because you now have power.

Do not let it. So if a believer, if sin reigns in the body of a believer, what has happened therefore? The believer has allowed it. So for the believer, sin is not an issue of allowance. The signature itself is dead and gone. But it's up to you to now determine whether you let it continue to reign through you, through the prayer programming that it leaves behind. Or you say no, never. Don't let the tendency you have towards sin because of an unrenewed mind reigning your mortal body. And since the Bible commands you not to do this, it shows you that you have the power to deny sin access to reign in your life. Yes sir.

A believer has the power too. A believer has the authority too. A believer can say no. I will thank you Lord Jesus. Reason number two. So what's the first reason now? And we drew this inference from the question that Paul has. Is that not so? Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound? Certainly not.

For how shall those who are dead to sin? So the reason why we cannot continue is because we are dead to it. The believer who is saved by grace actually desires to live pure. Yes. He might have struggles here and there. But there is an inherent desire in his in his heart. To live pure towards God. Whoever preaches otherwise is not a believer. Whoever tells you that a believer can by grace do whatever he wants to do is not a believer. Because one very mark that you're a believer is that you have a desire inside of you to live pure.

That's why there is a part of you that knows that whatever it is that you have done is wrong. That's a proof that you're still in touch with ever. That's a proof that God is still inside of you. Yes sir. That's a proof you are still okay. Yes sir. Because the moment that stops happening, I'll get there. I'll get there. I'll get there. Thank you Lord.

Until revival comes until I see your face oh mold me lord until revival comes until I see your face oh more against all hearts You see, this process is what is called many believers have have given it all kind of names. This process, some have called it consecration, some have called it denying the self, some have called it dying. You see, dying. That simply means that the old nature still wants a real estate in your mind. It still wants a real estate in your life. And it's up to you. To give who is not paying rent. Space in your mind. Space in your life. The old nature knows that it is death.

But it is still seeking avenue to find expression. Through masturbation, through pornography, through deep self mental deprivation, through depression, through anxiety, through fear, he still wants to find expression. He still wants to he still wants to act like he's the owner of your body. He still wants to rule. He still wants to reign. But the question is how can a believer be afraid of that which have no power? How can a believer submit the control of your life to the Don't you realize that this guy no longer has a hold over you? I will leave for you for you hold you hold my life I'll leave for you for you hold you hold my life I will live for you oh oh for you owe you all my life listen because you died for me I really Give me Romans chapter 12 and verse one. Now, with everything I've said, you will now understand the scripture. It is therefore, I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God.

Before this year runs out, we have to do the mercies of God. Some of us we we will lie down on the floor and weep and say mercy Lord. Mercy. By the mercies of God, that you do what? Because by the time we start to teach grace, somebody will say where is this scripture? He said I beseech you. That you present your bodies a living sacrifice. Look at what it says. It says present it. It's not something that God forcefully takes from you.

It is a response of love. Do you know, do you know why he calls it your reasonable service? Reasonable means commonsensical. It it is just the logical thing to do. How would it logical thing to do? Why? Why? Let me show you why. It's for you die for me I will live for The way many people preach this thing is is is rape. It's as though God wants to rape You know what it means to rape somebody?

That's how some of us preach this thing. As though God wants to just take you like this and just force you. He said present yourself. The picture of this is a man and an and his wife. The man pays the bride price. As demanded by the groom's family, the bride's family. And he brings the dowry. He brings everything. And it depends on where where you are marrying from. If God, if you have found favor If you have found favor with God.

And you go to a family that will shake you small. They give you 10 lists. And by the time you are bringing the first list, then the father's brother will say it's not that one. That one is for businessmen. Bring the other one is for pastors. Then they will bring a heavier one. Because they want to see if you are poor or you are rich. If you can take care of their daughter. And you now pay the bride price and it is 6,000,000. That is only to secure the items in the list.

We have not even talked of the dowry. They now ask for the dowry. They say mama, mama, mama unkechi. How much is your share in this thing? And I want to say, you see, God has helped us to be humble. I I don't really want too much. We are not sending our daughter. What I just want is 1,000,000. You see, I'm not... We are we are very humble.

And then everybody... And then they say, but that is 3,000,000. And then the party now holds. On the wedding day, the bride is happy and rejoicing like this. The groom is just Some of you don't know why you see those pictures. And you will see the bride like this. The groom is the the guy is thinking how many bills are there to pay? The event is over. Wedding has concluded. Everybody has gone oh.

We now enter into our jeep. And enter. And we go to the hotel room. And I'm going to meet my wife in the night. I said, sister, sister Nkechi. Wait. Wait. Wait. Sister Ketchi. It is time for the evening sacrifice.

For you for me. Listen. I will now look at her, I will say present them for your body. A living sacrifice. Holy and acceptable. For it is your reasonable service. Because I didn't pluck you out, I paid a price for you. And if perventually a price was paid, it means you belong to me. That is the reason why it's a reasonable thing. To realize the depth of the price that was paid.

And to realize you could not have done anything about your state. And when you understand the weight of the price that was paid, then you will know it is wickedness. Do not present your vessels a living sacrifice. So that every time you find yourself struggling with what you are not meant to you, know that there is one that demands for you. He says, he says, listen, I must get something back if I paid for you. I have no doubt that you are mine, but you must live as though you are mine. You can't live for yourself. Because the life that we live, we live in him. That is what the Bible says. It says that this life we live is now in him.

He says present yourself. But watch this. Watch this. He knows that there is something that can serve as an hindrance. In verse two, he now says, look at the context oh. Yes, sir. Do not be conformed. In other words, how does the presentation of yourself happen? It happens by refusing conformity to the world. Because your old nature has been educated by the world.

Are you with me? Yes sir. And when you now accept Jesus as Lord and savior, and the context here are people that have been saved, not unbelievers. Paul isn't writing to unbelievers. He's writing to people who have been saved, and he's telling them present there for your body. How would you do that? By not conforming to the world. Do you remember that scripture says friendship with the world? Is enmity with God. Friendship with the world is enmity with God because the the world has value systems that you cannot find in the divine life.

And as such, conforming yourself to the world automatically means making yourself an enemy of God. It says not conform yourself to the world, But be transformed by the renewing of your mind. What is the context? Presented for your body. In other words, that refusal to transform your mind will lead to difficulty in presenting your body. Because how you present yourself is by the transformation of your mind. The hindrance to this verse one is now shown in verse two. And if your mind remains unrenewed, if your mind remains programmed by the old nature, then you would see yourself living to fulfill the desires of the flesh. The bible says walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill desires of the flesh or the lust thereof. Walking in the spirit starts by renewing your mind.

Because the spirit will give instructions to your mind. And if your mind is unrenewed, it will be difficult for that mind to bend to the instructions and the leadings of the spirit. Renew your mind. Present your bodies. I have to conclude at this point because I want to answer questions. So let's let's do Romans six. Let's consider the second reason while Paul says holiness is of essence to the believer. Next is verse 15, it's where the second reason is, he asked the same question, he says shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? It says, certainly not. Now, this time around, what is the reason?

Next verse, it says, do you not know that to whom you present yourselves, slaves to obey. Plus, I hope we know that reading from context, it says, you are no longer slave to sin. In other words, sin is not the task master anymore. Yes sir. So in this verse, it's not saying that whosoever you are slaves too, it says if any, if for any reason you are still a slave, you presented yourself such. So the bible says, do you not know that to whom you present yourself slave to obey? You are that one slave to whom you obey. You are that one slave. So the principle has changed. You prevent yourself slave by obedience, then you become a slave.

Whether of sin leading to or of obedience leading to righteousness. Stay with me. Of obedience leading to righteousness. If if the bible says that the believer is no longer slave, but the believer can present himself as a slave and become a slave of sin that eventually leads to death. That tells you. That if you live by choice a life subject to sin. Then you are giving Satan an inroad into your life. Because he's the ruler of sin and death. Everything that leads to death can have access to your life because of sin. Did you see that?

Stay with me. Yes, sir. Stay with me. John chapter 10 verse 10. The Bible says, the thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I have come that you might have life and have that life more abundantly. Jesus comes to give life, but the devil comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. And since Satan is the author of sin, when you yield to sin, you have yielded to Satan. So lack of holiness will give Satan an access to your life which you don't want as a believer. It means God still loves you.

But you will be trying to run the race weighted down. God still loves you. But Satan will punish you. Are you not getting what I'm saying? Because you have given Satan an authorization, an inroad. To find expression in your life. So we are living in sin. May God reject you. Not necessarily no. But it will make you reject God.

You did it alright, Joseph? Yes sir. Because it will harden your heart. Yes. To God. Hebrews chapter three verse 13. The Bible says, but exalt one another daily. While it is called today, lest any of you be ardent through the deceitfulness of sin. It means sin can add in your heart to God. It is at this point a man loses his salvation.

So if anybody tells you that it is impossible for someone to lose his salvation regardless of what he does, the person has deceived you and himself is deceived. Does God reject? No. But that sin can add in a man's heart to the point where he by himself rejects God. The Bible says that sin is capable of slowing the believer down. Hebrews chapter 12 verse one. Yes. One, two, three, go. Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, us lay aside every and the sin which so easily ensnares us. In other words, the sin that easily traps you.

And let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us. So in other words, running the race of life can be inhibited by sin. Running the race of destiny can be inhibited by sin. A man can be beset by sin. He can be ensnared by sin. Ensnared means trapped. In other words, a man is trying to run but he's trapped. It's like when you set Bakute, you know Bakute? Yes sir. Trap for rat.

The rat is trying to run but he is caught in the trap. You agree with me that you will still be exercising energy. But is trapped on his spot, unable to move. It means sin in that progress. On the path to destiny, the Bible says, when we are running that race, now all this thing I'm saying, does he have to do with God? Who does he have to do with? Me. God loves the believer. God loves you. But you would destroy your life.

So I said that it gives Satan access to the life of the believer. Remember? John chapter five, is it? This thing, this thing. If I show you, some people don't even believe it's in scripture. But Jesus himself is the one that said that. Once a believer goes to sin. Yes sir. This is not a matter of Jesus or God. This is a matter of you and the devil.

That once a believer goes to sin, you can give Satan an inroad into your life. What happens when you give Satan an inroad into your life? He will come and steal. He will come and he will come and... So if he's stealing, what is he stealing? That which God gave. So it looks as though God is the one punishing you. This is in scripture. Calm down. This is a bible study.

So I'm to show you everything in scriptures. So that your understanding can be fashioned by scripture. John chapter five and verse 14. Can we read this together everybody? Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple. Pause, that means you have been healed. Go on. Left with an MSG. Jesus is the one speaking. Jesus is the one speaking.

Jesus is the one speaking oh. Yes, sir. There have been many ministers of God who have lived you know misappropriating the funds of the ministry, living flamboyant lifestyle that are very unwise Living immoral life with several church members. Among many other things. And it is possible that these people were truly born again, really loved God from their heart. But they just caught, Jesus got caught up in sin. Now I don't know their heart, but if this is true, then God still loves them based on grace. Are you with me? Yes, sir. But the devil made sure that they paid dearly for that thing.

Some of them lost their ministries, some of them lost their families, it cost them respect, it cost them honor. In some cases, they have to spend time in jail. Is that God? No. They suffered ridicule, they suffered shame, they suffered guilt, they suffered condemnation. Some of them on their way to jail. The holy spirit is still inside of them saying I love you. Because it is primary name is comforter. So even in foolish things that you brought upon yourself, is still comforting you? Yes sir.

Is still comforting you? If you pay attention to hear, you will hear that you will see that it's still comforting you. But there are people who are paying the price of folly, paying the price of foolish decisions that they made. One of my young girls was telling me, she went to preach in her fellowship or something, I can't remember. And she shared a little bit of experience I experienced in the past just to encourage people. And probably some people heard it and just bad boys up and down and she found her way in the same medical world where she's practicing with one of those foolish guys and the guy was engaging her in a conversation and was specifically asking her about her past Specific question. Have you slept with somebody? Have you done this? Have you done? And the girl was uncomfortable just answering those kind of questions.

So she was just, she just kept on deviating, but she didn't want to be rude. She just kept on deviating the question and she thought that this was just a sincere brother who wanted to know something. That is how I caught glimpse of the guy's phone and saw that the guy was recording her. Oh my god. She said, wait. Are you recording me? The guy said, oh, oh, no. No. It's mistake it's a mistake she snatched the phone from the guy's hand deleted the recording went to his saved record to see if there's anything there then that was when she found out that the guy had several conversations between him and women in the church. Escos in the ministry, in their fellowship.

Workers in their fellowship. That they had saved with their name, the time, location where they had the conversation. Waiting for the right time to deploy. So if a Christian sister who falls in the lap of that one, is it God that punishes No. It's not God that... It's your foolishness. Yes, sir. The devil just used that young man, and lady told me something, she said, sir, I can already see that a lot of women here when they become great will be destroyed by this young man. Yes, sir. Because she knows from experience that some of them have dated him.

Some of them have, you see, messed up. And you think that every guy that comes to you has a good intention because he he looks nice. Because he looks nice, and he talks nice. And when you're advising young women on time, they just look at you as though you hate them. Then block this guy's number. They they... Block this guy's number. Yeah. I love him. Wait.

Wait. Don't... You see, my own is just don't say God is responsible. No. No. No. Because inside you're paying the price, Jesus still loves you. That should give you comfort. You know that song? I am loved.

Yes. I am loved by God. So you'll be singing it. This is the reason why a believer knows that it's reasonable to present yourself. Because the devil is looking for every access point. And he wants to wreck you. Yes. He wants to. And he is looking for every hidden road into your life as a believer. Although sin hurt these believers tremendously or this men of God tremendously, it's not God that is punishing them.

They gave place to the devil. Who then came in and stripped them of what God has given. Satan is the one that causes such grief and such agony, not God. Satan. There is an entity called Satan and he wants to steal. He wants to kill. He wants to destroy. How? You see? Let me tell you this thing oh.

Everybody can be doing it. And getting away with it. You will just say let me let me just try this thing once. And and listen, listen, listen. And the moment you try it, what comes out of it is HIV. And you now come and say, nothing even happen. Nothing even happen. Nothing even happen. I don't even know how I ended up with HIV. And and then you now hear a minister say, that must mean God really loves you.

It does not mean God really loves you. It means that I was waiting for you. Yes. So God really love... You see, very foolish doctrine. Say, your your own tongue, they now catch you or something bad happens to you. It means it shows you how much God loves you. He he he wants to just protect you by by giving you HIV. There was one time I believe this. Titus chapter two verse 11.

The Bible says, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. How many men? What does that grace of God do? Verse 12, does it teach us to sing? What does it do? That is what the grace of God pitches. Romans chapter six verse 17. The Bible says and God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart, the form of doctrine to which you were delivered. It means you were born like a slave to your old nature. But now through Jesus, we have been delivered.

Verse 18 says, and having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. In other words, the same way people become slaves of sin, it is because it is possible for you to be a slave of righteousness. That you cannot but be righteous. You cannot but live exemplary lives, live righteous lives. Verse 19 says, I speak in human terms because of the weakness of the flesh. For just as you presented yourself members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present yourselves members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. That is what grace teaches. Present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. So grace does not excuse holiness. Grace reinforces holiness.

Grace makes holiness a possibility. Without grace is is impossible to be holy. It's impossible to live holy. Grace is the force that empowers men to live holy. It is the grace of God that is empowering force. And so, the problem now becomes when you, when you rely on the works of your flesh, the Bible says we have no confidence in the flesh. When you rely on the confidence of your flesh, alright, and you think you can do what is expected of you by God on the strength of the flesh, you will find that you are always failing. Because you have not relied on the grace of God. Are you with me? Are you present on for one minute?

Holy holy holy holy holy is the great I am holy holy holy he's the great I am holy holy holy holy eastern great I am glory to the living god glory glory glory to the living god glory to the living god glory glory glory to the living god holy to the great I am holy holy holy to the great I am in Jesus name we have prayed. To the living god holy holy to the living god holy to the living god holy holy holy to living If you commit to see yourself as corrupted, as defiled, as aided by God, as you know, unworthy, as all kind of things. You will keep on replaying a self fulfilling prophecy. You have to change your mind to see as God sees you. That's the beginning of deliverance. You must see that I'm righteous. And it is what grace has made available. It's what grace has made available. Have you been blessed? Yes, sir.

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