Welcome, friends, to the line of fire.
Michael Brown here with you. I hope you can hear the smile in my voice. If you can't see my face, I hope you can hear the smile in my voice. It's my joy to be here with you, to infuse you with faith and truth and courage.
Come on, friend. Don't throw in the towel. Don't give up. Don't quit. Don't say it's too late.
It's over. If Jesus is risen from the dead, and he is, it's not too late. If God sits on the throne and has set his love on you, and that is who he is, and that is what is done, it's not too late. And although I didn't plan on saying any of this, I believe some of you right now, that's right where you are, even on the edge of suicide, even on the edge of just going back to your old ways, even on the edge of walking out on a marriage. And this is God sending me to tell you, don't give up. Don't throw in the towel. There is hope.
There is hope. And just say, God, right now, I need your help. And he will send that help.
Perhaps today's broadcast is some of that help. And right now he is near you. He's near the brokenhearted. And if you say, God, have mercy on me, help me, help me. I've lost hope.
I've lost my way. These words I'm speaking to you, they are God saying, hold on, I am with you. In fact, the reason you haven't fallen apart is because God is holding you up. And as you cry out to him, he will get you through.
In Jesus' name, he will get you through. Friends, all this month, we're talking about the beauty of holiness and the call to holiness. And I believe as you take in these broadcasts, it's going to be like you're washed, you're bathed, you're cleansed, you're renewed in the beauty of holiness. And we'll bathe you with the word of God.
Everything that we're talking about is found in my book, Go and Sin No More. We'll tell you he can get that at the end of the broadcast. And every month, we send out a life-changing, equipping newsletter. When you sign up today, we'll send you last month's newsletter immediately.
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We would love to be in touch with you on a regular basis. Psalm 15, Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary, who may live on your holy hill, he whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow man, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent, he who does these things will never be shaken. Friends, this is not how we earn our salvation, but as transformed people, as forgiven people, as people who have passed through death into life by the blood of Jesus and by the resurrection of the Son of God, he calls us to lead new lives, and by his grace, we can live like this.
Jesus says in the Beatitudes, blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Listen to what Dr. Herbert Lockyer said, professing Christians must be brought to realize that the preeminent desire and demand of God for us is that of the continual pursuit of holiness of life and the reflection of his own holiness. Be holy, for I am holy. Be holy, for I am holy.
Let me read that again. Professing Christians must be brought to realize that the preeminent desire and demand of God for us is that of the continual pursuit of holiness of life and the reflection of his own holiness. Be holy, for I am holy. The Puritan, William Gurnell, said this, Say not that thou hast royal blood in thy veins, and art born of God, except thou canst prove thy pedigree by daring to be holy.
Let me read that once more. Say not that thou hast royal blood in thy veins, and art born of God, except thou canst prove by thy pedigree by daring to be holy. So, when we go through scripture, there is so much in the word about holiness. And in Go and Settle No More, there's a whole chapter with that title, Go and Settle No More, what does the Bible say?
We go through text after text after text. We've been going through some already this week, but I want you to picture yourself living a holy life. If you're bound by porn, if you feel a bitterness with anger, if you're a gossip, if you've got all kinds of unclean thoughts, whatever it is, and you're a follower of the Lord, you know Jesus personally, but you're struggling, renew your mind and think, wow, can I see myself as free?
Can I see myself as different? That's God's plan, that's God's desire, that's God's destiny. So John chapter 8, John chapter 8, verse 1 through 11 is the account of the woman caught in adultery. So under the law, she should have been stoned to death. Jesus, seeing her as a repentant woman and coming to bring God's grace, says, I don't condemn you. He says to those there that are ready to stone her, whoever's without sin, you throw the first stone. Then he says to her, I don't condemn you, but what does he say? Go and sin no more. In other words, don't go back to your adulterous ways.
Don't do this again. Matthew 1, verse 23, Matthew 1, 23, the angel tells Joseph that he will be called, the child to be born, will be called Jesus, Yeshua, for he will save his people from their sins. And if he was speaking in Hebrew rather than Aramaic, the angel would have said, Yeshua, call him Yeshua, for he, Yeshua will save his people from their sins. That's why he comes to save us from our sins, not just in our sins, he meets us where we are, but now from our sins. John 1, 29, John 1, 29, when John the Immerser, John the Baptist sees him, what does he say? Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
What's written in 1 John 1, 7? As we walk in the light, as he is in the light, as God is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. This is actually something ongoing that the blood of Jesus does as we live in this world. Revelation, chapter 1, verse 5, says that he has freed us from our sins. Romans 6, the whole passage, we die to sin, that we can live a new life in God. When we're baptized, it's the outward sign of dying to sin, to lead a new life in God.
How utterly remarkable. And that's why we consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. That's why we don't let sin have dominion over us, we're not under the law, we're under grace.
And Romans 8 lays out life in the Spirit, how life in the Spirit is a life that is crucified to sin, a life that says no to the flesh, a life that is carried higher. I shared a poem with you, it goes back to John Bunyan, but I shared it yesterday. I want to say it, share it again, and I want you to picture this. There's an ad I've seen watching sports sometimes, Red Bull, so it's an energy drink, and Red Bull gives you wings, so you're having a bad day and you're worn out. Red Bull, of course it's artificial, it's unhelpful, right? Better to eat well, get good sleep, and exercise than rely on Red Bull, but it gives you wings, right? Well, holiness gives you wings. So picture yourself lifted above the sin and pollution of the world.
So again, John Bunyan said, to run and work, the law demands, but gives us neither feet nor hands. But better news the gospel brings, it bids us fly and gives us wings. Just in your mind's eye, just picture yourself flying away from the sins that bind you, flying higher over those temptations.
That's God's grace empowering you to live a new life. John Owens, the great Puritan theologian, was commenting on Romans 8, 13. He said this, to kill a man or any other living thing is to take away the principle of all his strength, vigor, and power, so that he cannot act or exert or put forth any proper actings on his own. So it is in this case, indwelling sin is compared to a person, a living person, called the old man. With his faculties and properties, his wisdom, craft, subtlety, strength, this, says the apostle, must be killed, put to death, mortified, that is, have its power, life, vigor, and strength, to produce its effects taken away by the spirit. Put to death, therefore, the deeds of the body. That's what scripture tells us in numerous passages.
So John Owens says again, to kill a man or any other living thing is to take away the principle of all his strength, vigor, and power, so that he cannot act or exert or put forth any proper actings on his own. That's what we have to do with mortifying the flesh, and God's grace gives us the power to do it. And exhortation, after exhortation in the word, not to continue in sin. 1 John 3, verse 6, and then 8 through 10, 1 John 3, verse 6 and 8 through 10, tell us that the one who was born of God cannot sin, meaning cannot continue in sin. You cannot continue in habitual sin if you're born of God without coming to a crisis. Either you're going to say no to the Lord and turn your back on him, or you're going to say no to sin. We either say no to God, or we say no to sin.
But you can't say yes to both at the same time. Much more scripture we'll get into as well. I want to read to you from, it's a compilation of verses that I put together, and I want to bathe you with the word here. In fact, we're going to take a break. We've got an important announcement to share with you, and then we come back from the break.
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Michael Brown, so blessed to be with you. Do you know that we have over 3,000 videos on the Line of Fire YouTube channel? Did you know about that? Over 3,000 videos. Do you know that we have over 3,000 articles on the Line of Fire website? And I don't know how many thousands of Line of Fire live broadcasts over 15 years. How many would that be? It's going to be over 3,000 of those as well. And they're all free.
They're all free for you. So go to thelineoffire.org, check things out there, or go to the Line of Fire YouTube channel, click subscribe, and then there's a bell. Click on that bell.
That way you'll be informed of new broadcasts the moment they go live. So I'm going to share with you Scripture. So take this in. Let it renew your heart and your mind. Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord said, wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight. Stop doing wrong.
Learn to do right. Isaiah 1 16 and 17. The psalmist asked, who may ascend the hill of the Lord, who may stand in his holy place?
His answer was direct and clear. He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Psalm 24 verses 3 and 4. That's the one who can live in God's presence. In fact, all the prophets with one voice brought the same message from the Lord to his chosen people.
Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees in accordance with the entire law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets. 2 Kings 17 13.
Now by the Spirit we can fulfill the law's demands. Romans 8 1 through 4 and Romans 6 12 to 14. Now holiness is written on our hearts.
Hebrews 8 10 Hebrews 10 16 Ezekiel 36 26 and 27. We are called to live holy life and that means it's a divine requirement. Anything else is rank disobedience.
That's why the word is so strong on this subject. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy. Without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Your very life depends on it. You see sometimes we know that people have been beaten down by legalism and they walk around feeling condemned and I don't know what to say. They walk around feeling condemned.
I'm not good enough. I need to try harder and it's so important that we bring the message of grace to them the message of God's love to them the message of God's kindness the message of God's mercy the message of new life and new beginnings in him. That message will never ever get old.
On the other hand sometimes we just want people to feel good and we don't want to confront them and we don't want to tell them the truth. People have have come and said I need to make a lifestyle change. I'm 100 pounds overweight. I've got high blood pressure.
I'm developing diabetes. They say look we want to help you but you have to make some hard choices. You have to make some serious choices. We need to speak the truth in love. Proverbs 28 23 says the one who rebukes someone will find more favor in the end than the one who speaks with a flattering tongue.
Proverbs 27 5 says open rebuke is better than secret love and then verse 6 says Proverbs 27 6 the kisses of an enemy are profuse but faithful are the words of the wounds of a friend. So I want to tell you the truth. I don't just want to tell you what you want to hear but what you need to hear.
Like a doctor is going to tell you okay you get a serious illness but if you'll go with this regimen here take these pills go to rehab do this this this you can come out better than you've ever been. See to it Hebrews 12 15 that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. So the question is we're forgiven we're cleansed we're washed but does God's word give us the right to continue in willful sin? I want to read to you from 1st John. 1st John chapter 1 beginning in verse 8.
1st John 1 beginning in verse 8. John says this 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'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin but if anyone does sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus the Messiah the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. What does it say in 1st John chapter 2 beginning in verse 3.
1st John chapter 2 beginning in verse 3. And by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word in him in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him. Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
To quote James Edmund Orr again the only proof of the new birth is the new life. Maybe you're a Christian by tradition maybe you're Christian by upbringing but if you're not living a changed life if you're not living a new life in Jesus if you're not bringing forth fruits of repentance the Word of God questions the validity of your profession. Doesn't Jesus say in Matthew 7 21 not everyone who says to be Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but only those who've done the will of my Father. What does Jesus say in John chapter 8. John chapter 8 words that are familiar to many beginning in verse 32.
He's speaking to Jewish people who are believing. He says if you continue in my word you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. They answered him we're offspring of Abraham have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it you say you'll become free? Jesus answered them truly truly I say to you everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever.
The son remains forever. So if the son sets you free you will be free indeed. You do not have to be a slave to sin. You do not have to live in continual bondage.
I know some habits are very deep. God instantly set me free from drugs. Getting free from unhealthy foods was a greater battle.
Some people they have to go into a serious program. They're alcoholics, they're drug addicts, they're gambling addicts and they have to go into a serious program like a teen challenge kind of thing and you're separated from others for months and you live with tremendous disciplines around you and you relearn how to live and how to separate from certain things whether it's instant whether it's just being a member of a local congregation growing in your relationship with the word whether it's through the discipleship process with with more mature brothers and sisters whether it's through instant deliverance where where demonic strongholds are broken whether it's through a long-term program you can be free. In Jesus you do not have to be a slave to sin and in Jesus we do not have the right to continue in sin. To say it again you either say no to God or no to sin. Conversely you either say yes to God or yes to sin. You can't say yes to both at the same time and if you if you feel despair over this the same God who has changed my life can change your life. The same God who has set hundreds of millions of people free from the worst most unimaginable bondages can set you free. If you will seriously say God I want to be free. I want to live for you.
He will give you the grace. This is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks so much for tuning in. Just a reminder that we are listener supported. If we have been a blessing to you if you're being enriched in the word and prayer and your own walk with God through this broadcast then stand with us so that we can reach many many more and bless many many more. Together friends we're making a difference. So go to thelineoffire.org thelineoffire.org and click donate.
