It's amazing to think about Jesus' praying for me became of his great love for me. I definitely don't feel that I deserve it, but I am a sinner saved by His marvelous grace.❤
We're here measuring our love, trying to gauge our love, comparing ourselves one with another...and so the focus shifts from God's love for us to our love for God. And when this occurs, God's love becomes more difficult to experience because His love becomes based upon merit. - Michael Durham
I’ve been having this problem recently after watching the video on your deliverance from pornography. The problem came from (and I’m sure this wasn’t intentional) when you mentioned that you was so focused on the freedom of the sin and not looking at Christ and that you weren’t in a saving relationship with him yet. I felt so convicted because I was asking myself is that what I’m doing. I was like I don’t even love Christ and I’m so focused on my freedom from sin. This was after I was also convicted of the holiness of God and how believers now that they are justified should flee from sin and be Holy as God is God. Because that’s what he called us to. Not to earn salvation but because we are saved. Even after hearing that and being overjoyed that my zeal to resist temptation and walk in holiness became strong, the moment I watched your testimony I started doubting again I was so confused, like am I saved or am I just trying to be free from sin. And do I even love Christ and so on. I believe that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ and that only a true believer will want to flee from sin and live as God wants them to. So that is my problem but I’ve been praying for God to make things clear to me.
Just to make an important point. A believer can never trust in his own works because we are justified from faith to faith. From faith from start to finish. So are you saying that a believer can go from trusting in Christ to relying on HIs own works?! That is what is sounds like to me, or am I missing something?
@@Junior___Jr Hello Junior. Believers cannot change their focus from Christ to self. A believer has found Christ and believes upon him once and for all time. Their focus cannot shift. This is not because they are themselves strong but because that is the nature of justifying faith. For example, if someone dies they die forever. Their remaining in a dead condition is not because they have themselves power to remain in that condition but because of what it means to die and to be dead so that due to the nature of dying it is once and for all time. So also in like manner we die to that law so that we might be justified by faith and so renouncing your own righteousness is one and the same as believing on Christ and accepting of His righteousness in order to be acquitted of all your sins. Justifying faith renounces all its own righteousness and is the means whereby we close with and accept Christ and are joined to Him. I think you are troubled because you do not fully comprehend the nature of justifying faith. Justifying faith looks to Jesus Christ as Priest and not as King. The soul looks to Christ's Kingly and Regal authority if it wants to be sanctified so it looks to him to be made holy and looks to his law and commandments to be ruled by him but in order to be justified and obtain a reconciled condition and be constituted a justified sinner (enter into the covenant of grace) he must do so only by faith as opposed to works and this comprehends a rejecting of sanctifying faith in order to that end and purpose of becoming reconciled by faith or in other words I cannot be justified by repentance or anything else except faith. That is, another kind of faith than sanctifying faith is required unto this end and for this purpose of justification and remission of sin which cannot be attained by repentance or any other kind of work but all is excluded but he must have justifying faith which is this looking to Christ as Priest which respects him as a vicarious substitute dying in the place of the sinner, dying vicariously in your place. So then, you must come to understand that it is only through faith that we are justified and not by the works of the law and learn that there are different kinds of faith which each look to Christ in different ways for different purposes and your purpose is clearly to have your sins remitted and enter into a justified condition and that is only by faith or justifying faith which is not submission to Christ as King but submission to the righteousness of God. Now this means that either you have not submitted to the righteousness of God and are not justified or that you are just weak in knowledge for we are not justified by a perfection of knowledge and certainly we can never be justified by perfect knowledge but only faith although faith includes a persuasion or knowledge that my sins are forgiven me for Christ's sake as to its essence. Certainly it is possible that you know enough to be justified and in a justified condition so that you might be believing but there are also hints that you do not understand and might be miscarrying in the matter of reconciliation with God. Only you can know whether you are relying on Christ Jesus only and are not expecting the remission of your sins upon any other reason but His atoning work and vicarious substitution. Lastly I would say this that in justification all sins are forgiven. Past, present and future. So we are eternally reconciled to God and have everlasting life, always enduring life. God forgets our sins and throws them into the depths of His forgetfulness so that he will never count them against us again as it is in Romans. You must come to a thorough understanding of the doctrine of faith, reconciliation and the covenant of grace and the nature of forgiveness.
I don't understand. Seems like an hyper calvinism. But what the Bible says 👇🏼 ----- 1 Corinthians 16:22:- If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed!
@@robubabu520 The problem is that you are defending (or attacking) a theological label instead of biblical truths. The Bible says both truths: If you don't love the Lord let be cursed, but also we love Him because He loved us first (1 John) , so when we drift from that truth in our hearts we start being legalistic and not living by grace, for example, read Galatians. It's not about being "hyper-calvinist"
Saved and yet we sin. There is a very real difference between a saved sinner and an unsaved sinner, to be sure; but in the sense that we still sin, it is true that we are sinners.
@@lawrence1318 Oh boy... "for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity." "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. " "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail." Read all of Psalm 51. Was David not saved? Here's the problem with your flavor of heresy: you disprove your own pretense, every single day. You sinned yesterday, and you will sin again today, and you will sin again tomorrow. To claim you no longer sin is a sin; you're _lying_ under the pretense of being sinless. Total, delusional, satanic insanity. Repent.
@@lawrence1318 I quoted the same Apostle John who refutes you. What you’re doing is known as “abysmal hermeneutics”. Again, you’ve sinned today and yesterday, and you will sin again tomorrow. I’m thankful for the sakes of both our eternal souls that you couldn’t be more wrong. I sincerely hope you repent, as perfectionism is a heresy that dethrones Christ in His office as High Priest and Mediator; only sinners, like you and I, need a High Priest and Mediator.
1Co 2:9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”- 1Co 2:10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
But are we to live as sinners saved by grace or like we are perfect saints like we are called by Paul, with Jesus death making us perfect in Gods eyes and the spirit making us able to do anything we ask to do?
So if I’m a Judas what can be done? If I’m so in love with the world and the things of this world how can I truly repent? How can I truly be sincere if my heart is carnal and loves sin? How can I come to Christ if this is my condition and my prayers are abomination to Him and if He is not praying for me?
Do you recognize your sin and delight in it and make it your lifestyle? ask that question and you will have your answer. The fact that you are asking these questions, shows that the Spirit of God is doing some sort of stirring in you. Know this, Christ said that no one comes to Him unless the Father draws them. Do you want God? Not the idea of God, but God? If so, take assurance. And don't try to force anything through flesh and blood, but let the Spirit reveal Himself unto you and you will supernaturally start to love the things of God. Remember, Salvation =Repentance (Change of mind) and Faith. Not works. Works are the fruit and evidence, but they are not the salvation.
Any who is outside of Jesus is not there because "God didn't allow them to come into a relationship with him", people reject God and it isn't God's fault. SO the fact that you do desire to come shows the work of the spirit, to be saved is not this extravagant thing; you want to be saved? come to Jesus and believe in him and turn from your sins (repentance) and you will be saved. If you come to him he WILL NOT CAST you away, this is our confidence in coming to him! Trust in him because he is your life and salvation, repent of your sins because Christ is infinitely more worthy and better, and sin IS A LIE and leads to death.
So then, it does not depend on the person who wants it nor the one who runs, but on God who has mercy. Romans 9:16 Salvation is not based on us, but on God
Your condition is nothing special. We ALL have egregious sin, especially before Christ, but even after. You haven’t come to realize how bad your sin is by yourself. Take heart that God doesn’t just show you your sin so you can despair, but He shows you your sin so you can repent and turn to Christ. You may say, “I don’t know how to repent. I try and it doesn’t work, or my heart is always off.” Come to Jesus. Tell Him all that. And say, “But I trust in You to work in me. You save and sanctify, and You do not cast away those who trust in You.” Remember God’s character-not what you feel like His character is, but what the Word says His character is, which is, yes, full of wrath on sinners BUT that is never what He lists first. Compassionate. Merciful. SLOW to anger. Abounding in steadfast love. Just. Kind. Gentle. Don’t listen to your sinful heart lie to you about who God is. Remind yourself who GOD says He is. And come to Him. Read Isaiah 55. :)
This excerpt was taken from the full sermon: th-cam.com/video/krz0KvNVXUE/w-d-xo.html
It's amazing to think about Jesus' praying for me became of his great love for me. I definitely don't feel that I deserve it, but I am a sinner saved by His marvelous grace.❤
We're here measuring our love, trying to gauge our love, comparing ourselves one with another...and so the focus shifts from God's love for us to our love for God. And when this occurs, God's love becomes more difficult to experience because His love becomes based upon merit. - Michael Durham
I’ve been having this problem recently after watching the video on your deliverance from pornography. The problem came from (and I’m sure this wasn’t intentional) when you mentioned that you was so focused on the freedom of the sin and not looking at Christ and that you weren’t in a saving relationship with him yet. I felt so convicted because I was asking myself is that what I’m doing. I was like I don’t even love Christ and I’m so focused on my freedom from sin. This was after I was also convicted of the holiness of God and how believers now that they are justified should flee from sin and be Holy as God is God. Because that’s what he called us to. Not to earn salvation but because we are saved. Even after hearing that and being overjoyed that my zeal to resist temptation and walk in holiness became strong, the moment I watched your testimony I started doubting again I was so confused, like am I saved or am I just trying to be free from sin. And do I even love Christ and so on. I believe that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ and that only a true believer will want to flee from sin and live as God wants them to. So that is my problem but I’ve been praying for God to make things clear to me.
Just to make an important point. A believer can never trust in his own works because we are justified from faith to faith. From faith from start to finish. So are you saying that a believer can go from trusting in Christ to relying on HIs own works?! That is what is sounds like to me, or am I missing something?
@@Junior___Jr Hello Junior. Believers cannot change their focus from Christ to self. A believer has found Christ and believes upon him once and for all time. Their focus cannot shift. This is not because they are themselves strong but because that is the nature of justifying faith. For example, if someone dies they die forever. Their remaining in a dead condition is not because they have themselves power to remain in that condition but because of what it means to die and to be dead so that due to the nature of dying it is once and for all time. So also in like manner we die to that law so that we might be justified by faith and so renouncing your own righteousness is one and the same as believing on Christ and accepting of His righteousness in order to be acquitted of all your sins. Justifying faith renounces all its own righteousness and is the means whereby we close with and accept Christ and are joined to Him. I think you are troubled because you do not fully comprehend the nature of justifying faith. Justifying faith looks to Jesus Christ as Priest and not as King. The soul looks to Christ's Kingly and Regal authority if it wants to be sanctified so it looks to him to be made holy and looks to his law and commandments to be ruled by him but in order to be justified and obtain a reconciled condition and be constituted a justified sinner (enter into the covenant of grace) he must do so only by faith as opposed to works and this comprehends a rejecting of sanctifying faith in order to that end and purpose of becoming reconciled by faith or in other words I cannot be justified by repentance or anything else except faith. That is, another kind of faith than sanctifying faith is required unto this end and for this purpose of justification and remission of sin which cannot be attained by repentance or any other kind of work but all is excluded but he must have justifying faith which is this looking to Christ as Priest which respects him as a vicarious substitute dying in the place of the sinner, dying vicariously in your place. So then, you must come to understand that it is only through faith that we are justified and not by the works of the law and learn that there are different kinds of faith which each look to Christ in different ways for different purposes and your purpose is clearly to have your sins remitted and enter into a justified condition and that is only by faith or justifying faith which is not submission to Christ as King but submission to the righteousness of God.
Now this means that either you have not submitted to the righteousness of God and are not justified or that you are just weak in knowledge for we are not justified by a perfection of knowledge and certainly we can never be justified by perfect knowledge but only faith although faith includes a persuasion or knowledge that my sins are forgiven me for Christ's sake as to its essence. Certainly it is possible that you know enough to be justified and in a justified condition so that you might be believing but there are also hints that you do not understand and might be miscarrying in the matter of reconciliation with God. Only you can know whether you are relying on Christ Jesus only and are not expecting the remission of your sins upon any other reason but His atoning work and vicarious substitution.
Lastly I would say this that in justification all sins are forgiven. Past, present and future. So we are eternally reconciled to God and have everlasting life, always enduring life. God forgets our sins and throws them into the depths of His forgetfulness so that he will never count them against us again as it is in Romans.
You must come to a thorough understanding of the doctrine of faith, reconciliation and the covenant of grace and the nature of forgiveness.
I don't understand. Seems like an hyper calvinism. But what the Bible says 👇🏼
----- 1 Corinthians 16:22:-
If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed!
@@robubabu520 The problem is that you are defending (or attacking) a theological label instead of biblical truths. The Bible says both truths: If you don't love the Lord let be cursed, but also we love Him because He loved us first (1 John) , so when we drift from that truth in our hearts we start being legalistic and not living by grace, for example, read Galatians. It's not about being "hyper-calvinist"
That was powerful and passionate. So full of truth, wisdom and genuine love!
We were sinners. We were saved by grace. We are no longer sinners.
Saved and yet we sin. There is a very real difference between a saved sinner and an unsaved sinner, to be sure; but in the sense that we still sin, it is true that we are sinners.
@@matthewdyer2926 No. "He that is born of God cannot sin". 1 John 3:9.
@@lawrence1318 Oh boy...
"for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity."
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. "
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."
Read all of Psalm 51. Was David not saved?
Here's the problem with your flavor of heresy: you disprove your own pretense, every single day. You sinned yesterday, and you will sin again today, and you will sin again tomorrow. To claim you no longer sin is a sin; you're _lying_ under the pretense of being sinless. Total, delusional, satanic insanity. Repent.
@@matthewdyer2926 Your argument is with the apostle John, not me. Again: "He that is born of God cannot sin". 1 John 3:9.
@@lawrence1318 I quoted the same Apostle John who refutes you. What you’re doing is known as “abysmal hermeneutics”.
Again, you’ve sinned today and yesterday, and you will sin again tomorrow. I’m thankful for the sakes of both our eternal souls that you couldn’t be more wrong. I sincerely hope you repent, as perfectionism is a heresy that dethrones Christ in His office as High Priest and Mediator; only sinners, like you and I, need a High Priest and Mediator.
I haven’t once felt the love of God. If I did I’m blind to it.
This is a revolution…. Thanks Pastor
Oh great God this is what I'm experiencing right now please help me God.
I needed to hear this❤
1Co 2:9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”-
1Co 2:10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
What an excellent sermon !
Beautifully encouraging💕
wow. thats a revelation!
How do I get to the point where I see the beauty of Christ? What's the secret to getting him to showing himself?
Amen
Wow I'm plagued with this, God help me.
But are we to live as sinners saved by grace or like we are perfect saints like we are called by Paul, with Jesus death making us perfect in Gods eyes and the spirit making us able to do anything we ask to do?
So if I’m a Judas what can be done? If I’m so in love with the world and the things of this world how can I truly repent? How can I truly be sincere if my heart is carnal and loves sin? How can I come to Christ if this is my condition and my prayers are abomination to Him and if He is not praying for me?
Do you recognize your sin and delight in it and make it your lifestyle? ask that question and you will have your answer. The fact that you are asking these questions, shows that the Spirit of God is doing some sort of stirring in you. Know this, Christ said that no one comes to Him unless the Father draws them. Do you want God? Not the idea of God, but God? If so, take assurance. And don't try to force anything through flesh and blood, but let the Spirit reveal Himself unto you and you will supernaturally start to love the things of God. Remember, Salvation =Repentance (Change of mind) and Faith. Not works. Works are the fruit and evidence, but they are not the salvation.
Any who is outside of Jesus is not there because "God didn't allow them to come into a relationship with him", people reject God and it isn't God's fault. SO the fact that you do desire to come shows the work of the spirit, to be saved is not this extravagant thing; you want to be saved? come to Jesus and believe in him and turn from your sins (repentance) and you will be saved. If you come to him he WILL NOT CAST you away, this is our confidence in coming to him! Trust in him because he is your life and salvation, repent of your sins because Christ is infinitely more worthy and better, and sin IS A LIE and leads to death.
So then, it does not depend on the person who wants it nor the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.
Romans 9:16
Salvation is not based on us, but on God
Jesus saves. Salvation is not something we can do ourselves. Jesus saves.
Your condition is nothing special. We ALL have egregious sin, especially before Christ, but even after. You haven’t come to realize how bad your sin is by yourself. Take heart that God doesn’t just show you your sin so you can despair, but He shows you your sin so you can repent and turn to Christ. You may say, “I don’t know how to repent. I try and it doesn’t work, or my heart is always off.” Come to Jesus. Tell Him all that. And say, “But I trust in You to work in me. You save and sanctify, and You do not cast away those who trust in You.” Remember God’s character-not what you feel like His character is, but what the Word says His character is, which is, yes, full of wrath on sinners BUT that is never what He lists first. Compassionate. Merciful. SLOW to anger. Abounding in steadfast love. Just. Kind. Gentle. Don’t listen to your sinful heart lie to you about who God is. Remind yourself who GOD says He is. And come to Him. Read Isaiah 55. :)
Amen
Amen