Learning to Possess Your Possessions | Part 1

We'll be right back. Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the profound yet practical messages from pastor and teacher Adrian Rogers. As we just heard, there seems to be a gap between what the Bible says we are in Christ and what we are in reality. We are called to be victors, yet so many live as victims. Pastor Rogers said, we need not to make the Bible match our lives, but to make our lives better. Our lives match the Bible.

We must appropriate what God has already understand. Really, the dog was just a mongrel, but the little boy, proud of his dog, said, he's a police dog. And someone said, well, he doesn't look like a police dog.

And the little guy said, well, he's in the secret service. Now, I know a lot of Christians who are saved, but they don't behave like it. They're not living victorious lives, and there's something wrong. There's something missing.

There seems to be a gap. For example, the Bible says concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are complete in him. That is, we don't have need of anything in the spiritual realm in the Lord Jesus. But how many Christians would remind you of somebody like that? The Bible says concerning those of us who are saved, we are overcomers. Most believers I know are overcome.

They are victims rather than victors. The Bible says that when we're saved, we have the peace that passeth understanding and joy unspeakable and full of glory. The Bible says, would you say, I know a man, I know a woman, a boy and a girl, a great deal of them that have peace that passes understanding, that have joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Jesus said, if you drink of the water that I will give you, you will never thirst again. How many satisfied people in this congregation who say, I am completely satisfied in the Lord Jesus? The Bible teaches in Romans chapter 8, we're going to get to the first part of that chapter this morning, that in Christ we are more than conquerors.

Well, I wonder if we're conquerors at all. And we could just go on and on and on and talk about what the Bible says we are, and then what reality shows that we are. Now, where's the problem? I mean, what about this contradiction? Do you think you're right and the Bible is wrong?

So what are we going to do? We're just going to dumb down the Bible? Are we just going to judge the Bible and lower the Bible to match our lives? The bookstore manager told me in Florida one time, said, pastor, do you know what happened to me? Said, a lady came in here and wanted to know if I had a lavender Bible, she said next Sunday was Easter and she was going to wear a lavender dress and she wanted a Bible to match her dress. Now, nothing really wrong with that, but I got to thinking how many of us want a Bible to match our lives, don't we? We want to somehow bring the Bible down to our lives rather than bring our lives up to the Bible. The regiment got out ahead of the flag, the flag rather got out ahead of the regiment in a battle, and the man said, sergeant, the flag's out ahead of the regiment. Shall I bring it back?

He said, no, bring the regiment up to the flag. And that's what we need to do in our Christian life. We need to bring our lives up to the standard that God has for us. The truth of the matter is, that we are all of these things that I just described. We are overcomers. We do have peace that passeth understanding. Jesus Christ is made under this wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. But somehow we need to bring the regiment up to the flag and we need not to make the Bible match our lives, but to make our lives match the Bible. Now, what is the key?

What is the answer to this riddle, this problem? Well, you need to understand there are two key words. And first, the first key thing that we're thinking about is what God does. We'll call that provision. God has made provision for us.

That's one key word. But the other key word is appropriation. Now, God has made the provision for us. But that provision does us no good until we appropriate what God has done for us. That's the reason I've called this message learning to possess your possessions.

I think I can illustrate what I'm talking about and the difference between provision and appropriation. For example, the Bible says in 1 John chapter 2 and verse 2 that Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins. That's a double-jointed word which means satisfaction. He's the satisfaction for our sins and not fires only, but for the sin of the whole world. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Jesus died for the sin of the world. Yes, but is there still sin in the world? Of course.

Why? Because people have not appropriated what Jesus did on the cross, right? They have not possessed their possessions. That's the reason the Bible says in John 3.18, he that believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is condemned already because he has not believed. I mean, provision has been made, but he has not appropriated that which is his. See, provision on the one hand, appropriation on the other hand.

Or let me give you another example. Once you get saved, we're crucified with Christ, that when Jesus died, his death had our name on it. And so the Bible teaches clearly in Colossians 3, verse 3, for ye are dead, ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. Now that is true about every mother's child who's saved. You are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Jesus died, you died with him.

Well, that is true. That's Colossians 3, 3. But Colossians 3, 5 says, mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. The word mortify means put to death. Wait a minute.

Wait a minute. Doesn't the Bible say we're already dead? Is that a contradiction?

No. What he is saying is, yes, technically you are dead with Christ. But practically, you must appropriate what you have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember when the children of Israel came out of Egypt. They were going into Canaan. They were coming out of the land of bondage into the land of blessing. And God told Joshua in Joshua chapter 1, I love this.

He said, Joshua, every place, every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, now listen to this, every place have I given you. Not will I give it to you. I have already given it to you.

Every place that you put your foot down, it's yours. It's already yours. It's already yours. It's already yours. Now, it was theirs, but they had to possess their possession. God didn't say, if you put your foot on it, I will give it to you. God said, I have given it to you. Now, go in and possess your possession. Are you following me, folks? Are you listening to me? Now, what I'm trying to tell you is that you have so much that you have not yet possessed. There is God's provision, but there might not be. There must be your appropriation.

And it doesn't matter what God has done for you. If you don't appropriate it, it won't be yours. I think I can give you one more illustration about what it means to possess your possession. How many of you, now be honest with me, have books in your library at home, but you haven't read them yet? Now, is that book yours? Well, yes, but you haven't possessed your possession.

I mean, it's doing you no good. It's there. It is your book, but you have not appropriated that which is yours. Now, remember, on the one hand, there is the word provision. On the other hand, there is the word appropriation. Now, with that in mind, in Romans chapter 7, we're going to learn how to appropriate.

We're going to learn how to possess our possessions. Now, let's read in Romans chapter 7, verse 1. Romans chapter 7, verse 1. Romans chapter 7, verse 1. Why did Paul, right in the middle of this passage, why does he start talking about marriage and divorce and dying and remarrying?

What on earth is this? Well, he's giving us an incredible lesson, an object lesson. And I'm amazed at the genius of the apostle Paul.

Of course, he did it by divine inspiration as he gives this story. Here's the story. This is the story of a woman who is married to a man.

Now, don't miss the analogy that Paul is making. That man's name, we're going to call him Mr. Law. Mr. Law. She is married to Mr. Law.

Now, you know that the law of the Lord is perfect. And so, she is married to a perfect man. She's married to a perfect man. Now, you might think it would be wonderful to be married to a perfect man. She thinks, I've got the catch.

Man, I've got the best guy. I am married to a man, a gentleman named Mr. Law. And she says, what a wonderful, noble husband I have, Mr. Law. And Mr. Law is a very rigid man.

Mr. Law has extremely high standards. And each day before Mr. Law goes off to work, he tells his wife what to do. He says, do this and this and this and this.

And he says, don't do this and don't do this and don't do this. She's going to obey him and do everything that he tells her to do. But in the course of the day, she finds out that she did not do everything he told her to do. And there's some things he told her not to do that she slipped up and did. When he comes home, he checks up on her. He finds out that she did not do everything that she was supposed to do, and she did some things she was not supposed to do, and he scolds her.

And she feels guilty over it. But she says, I'll do better tomorrow. And he gives her instructions tomorrow. Do this, do this, do this, and don't do that, and don't do that, and don't do that. She says, yes, husband, you're so wise.

You're so strong, and everything you've told me to do is right. And then when he comes home, she has failed again and again and again and again. And after a while, she says, I'm sick of being married to him. I don't want to be married to a perfect man.

I can't please him like the woman who made up her mind one day she was going to please her husband, no matter what he said. So she said, sweetheart, what would you like for breakfast? He said, eggs. She said, how would you like them fixed, sweetheart? He said, I want one fried and one scrambled. She said, all right. Went in the kitchen and fried an egg and scrambled an egg and put them on the table.

He still had a pouch. She said, now what's wrong? He said, you scrambled the wrong egg.

That you just can't please. And so she says, I wish I could get out of this thing, but I can't get out of it. I'm married to him as long as we live. I'm not free to go off and marry some other man.

God's plan is not that way. I'm stuck with this guy. And then she says, oh, wait a minute, though. I'll wait till he dies. I'll wait till Mr. Law dies, and then when Mr. Law dies, I'm free because she's been looking at another man already. That man's name is Mr. Love. And she said, I'm tired of Mr. Law. I want to marry Mr. Love, but I can't marry Mr. Love because I'm already hooked to Mr. Law. But I'll wait. When Mr. Law dies, but then it dawns on her, Mr. Law is not going to die. This man has an iron constitution. As a matter of the fact, the Bible says about him, till heaven and earth pass.

One chop or one kettle will fail from the law. She says, he's not going to die. I am stuck with him. And then she has an idea. Maybe he won't die, but maybe I'll die. Maybe I can die. And then if I die, then I can be married to Mr. Love.

I know what you're thinking. How can a dead woman marry anybody? Well, here's a wonderful story. Here's what the apostle Paul is saying. Watch this now. You're in chapter 7, look in verse 4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law, now watch this, by the body of Christ. He's talking now about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, that ye should be married to another, even to him that is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

Hey, is this true? This is not a great illustration. What Paul is saying is this, that yes, by nature, we're married to the law. And the law makes demands upon us that we cannot meet, no matter how hard we try. But when Jesus Christ died, we died with him. We became dead to the law by the body of Christ. His death had our name on it. His burial had our name on it. His resurrection had our name on it. And we died with him. We were buried with him.

We are raised with him. And we have a new life. And now, friend, we're the bride of Christ.

We're the bride of Christ. Isn't that a good analogy? All right, now, here's the first step now in possessing your possessions.

Are you ready for it? Learn dying and start living. That's not contradictory. Learn dying and start living. You will never possess your possessions until you come to the end of yourself. Remember, this woman had to die. Now, you say, well, I don't want to die, Pastor. Well, I'm not being morbid. I didn't say just learn dying. I said learn dying and start living. Die to the old way. That's the reason Jesus Christ said, if any man will come after me, let him take up his cross.

A cross is not for wearing around your neck. It's for dying on. You die. Well, you say, I don't want to die. It's the old man that dies. It's the old woman that dies so that you can become a new person.

I can't do it, Jesus. You died for me. I died with you.

I come to the end of that old way. Learn dying, and then you'll start living. Now, I'll admit, nobody wants to say I want to die. You know, everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

Isn't that right? But you've got to go through something to get to something. You have to go through something to get to something. You have to go through death to get to heaven. And, friend, you have to go through death to yourself to get to the victorious life. The reason that so many of us are not filled with the Spirit is, very frankly, we're so stuffed full of ourself, there's not room for the Spirit. We have to come to the end of ourselves and learn dying. Learn dying so we can start living.

I am not being morbid. I am being joyful because Jesus didn't say, I've come that you might have death. Jesus said, I've come that you might have life. But not until you're sick and tired of that old life. Not until you say, yes, Jesus, because you died.

I died with you, and thank God, when you rose, I rose with you. So, we're talking about possessing your possessions. Number one, learn dying so you can start living.

Number two, second principle. You ready for it? Stop trying and start living. Start trusting. Learn dying and start living.

Stop trying and start trusting. Now, most of us don't understand that. We think when we get saved, boy, I came down the aisle, I gave my heart to Jesus Christ. I got baptized up there in that baptistry. I am saved, hallelujah. I won't sin anymore.

I'm married to Mr. Love. We go along for a while, and then something happens. And that old flesh rises up. We do something, say something, think something, and we say, oh, I thought I was saved.

Where'd that come from? Oh, God, I'm sorry. Forgive me, Lord. I reconsecrate my life to you.

I'll never do that again, Lord. And we fall flat on our face. We get in a preaching service, and the preacher will preach.

We get under conviction. We'll say, I haven't been there. I'm the kind of a Christian I need to be and I ought to be, and we rededicate and reconsecrate our lives, and we say, I will do better.

And we fail again. And again, have you ever been there? I've been there.

I think almost every new Christian has been there. You find out that you don't have what it takes. Now, folks, I'm telling you that a lost man cannot keep the law of God, and I'm telling you also that a saved man cannot keep the law of God in his own strength. Here's what Paul found out. Look in verse 18. For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.

I want to serve God. I delight in the law of God, in the inward man. But I find another law present in me. Now, there are two laws I want you to look at here, beginning in verse 21. And, folks, listen, we are just hitting the top.

We're skimming the surface. Listen, here's Paul's testimony now as a young carnal Christian. I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. Anybody say, been there, done that?

Let me see your hand. I find a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me, for I delight in the law of God after the inward man. Paul wasn't a hypocrite. He loved God.

In his heart he did. But I see another law warring in my members against the law of my mind. The law of his mind was the love that he had for God.

But there's another war in his members, his eyes, his ears, his tongue, bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. So Paul says there are two laws. First of all, there is the law of sin. Do you know what the law of sin is? The law of sin is the law that makes you do what you do. You are a sinner. You are a sinner. There's a principle that's in you and in me, and it's called the flesh, and every one of us have it. There's not a one of us that does not have it.

It's working in us. I don't care how pious you look and how nice you look. You have in you a law, a predisposition called the law of sin. Now what did Paul discover? Well, he came to a place where he was almost broken hearted, and he says in verse 24, now here's the man who's no longer married to Mr. Law. He's married to Mr. Love, and he says, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body or from the body of this death? Well, he asks the question, and thank God he gives the answer in verse 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. That is, deliverance comes through Jesus Christ our Lord.

That's the conclusion of this important message. Maybe today you have questions about who Jesus is, what he means to you, how to begin a relationship with God through Christ. Go to our website and click on the Discover Jesus page.

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Mention the title, Learning to Possess Your Possessions. This message is also part of the insightful series, Foundations for Our Faith, Volume Two. For the complete collection, all 27 powerful messages, call 877-LOVE-GOD or order online at lwf.org slash radio. Or you can write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38 600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Be sure to sign up for our daily heartbeat emails, and you'll get daily devotions and message links sent straight to your inbox.

You can find that at lwf.org slash radio. And don't miss tomorrow's program when Adrienne Rogers concludes this powerful message, Learning to Possess Your Possessions, right here on Love Worth Finding. One of our Facebook friends reached out not long ago with a message I want to share. She said, I thank God for Pastor Rogers' wonderful words, and that we can still learn and grow from them, even today. God bless all of you for the work you're doing.

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