Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell. Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. God places his law on the hearts of his people. and to an extent in the heart of every man. His way gives life It protects and it grows all that is good in mankind.
Sin, on the other hand, is self destructive. It destroys, separates, and distorts. In Deuteronomy 27, God reinforces the importance of the material. of following his way. commanding the priests to call out those things which bring curse on his people.
Through the lens of Christ's action on our behalf, we see the great power we can have to overcome sin. and we see the grace and blessing that Jesus gives us through His substitutionary work. Let's listen to this message titled, The Choice of Life or Death. You have become the people of the Lord. This is part four of a message first preached on October 13th, 2024.
This altar of which I speak. The altar, an altar, any altar, is a place of communion. And sacrifice. Communion and commitment, if you will. An altar is a place of communion and sacrifice.
And what is it? Let me explain it to you now. This is what I mean by living at the altar. It is a regular, habitual space in your calendar. of undisturbed communion where you seek God and delight in Him with all your heart and all your soul.
Let me say that again. I invite you to live at the altar, this place of communion. and sacrifice a regular, habitual space in your calendar of undisturbed communion where you seek God and delight in Him with all your heart. And all your soul. Nothing.
can replace that. Sin management won't even come close to replacing that. And all the busyness that you can find doing good things for God, and this one leader, Christian leader, gave example, he was very busy doing all good things, very good things, highly sought after, looked up to, admired. But he wasn't walking with God. He was not living at the altar.
He mistook his busyness for God. as if that was walking with God. And they are not the same. Mm-hmm. Living at the altar.
Three things. James invites us, James 4:8, draw near to God. near to God. Say that with me. Draw near to God.
You can. Why? Because the door has been opened. The way has been paved. The gates are open.
God invites you into his throne room. for communion with him. And in this communion with Him, as you draw near to Him, you hear from God through His self-disclosure. And you meditate. On his word, and you respond to him with adoration and confession and thanks.
At the altar. And you're surrendering yourself to him anew. Every time. Because James says. Draw near to God.
And he will what? Draw near to you. Think about that. He longs to manifest himself to you.
So that you will have an inescapable sense of his goodness. And his majesty. And his grace.
So that his goodness like a fetter binds your wandering heart to him. This is how you practice the presence of God. Because here's what comes right after that: draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. In other words, drawing near to God keeps you from doing stupid things.
You with me, folks? Are you ready to live at the altar? Let's abandon, let's abandon a life. It's just a life of sin management. We're not called to that.
We are called to draw near to God. Because what happens to when I draw near to God, we purify our hands and we cleanse our hands and purify our hearts. Because if I'm drawing near to God, then I will also, you know what else I'll be doing? I will be, number two, I will be abiding in Christ. I will be abiding in Christ.
Jesus invites his followers to abide in him like a branch abides in the vine, drawing life from it. fruit-producing life.
Now let me tell you an amazing verse. Written by the Apostle John, 1 John chapter 3, verse 6. No one who who abides in him keeps on sinning. My preferred translation of that verse is, whoever abides in him does not sin. Let me tell you why.
Because that does not sin. It is, in the original language, it is an absolute negative. does not, period.
Now what is he saying there? Let me point this out practically. John is pointing out that there are two mutually exclusive practices. in abiding in Christ. There is abiding in Christ.
And there is walking in sin. You cannot be doing both. at the same time. And that's why he invites us to abide in Christ. That's what Jesus said to his apostles: abide in me.
You are the branches, I am the vine. Abide in me, for without me you can do Nothing. He didn't give them a whole protocol for sin management. He said, Abide in me. When we draw near to God, and he draws near to us.
We are abiding in Christ. We are abiding in Christ. And we are Walking in his steps. He left us an example so that we could walk in his steps. You cannot walk in his steps if you're not abiding in him.
As I pursue him. I become like him. And becoming like him rescues me from doing stupid, self-destructive things. As I pursue him, I become like him. I want you to say that with me, please, and please say it.
Like you believe it's true. Anyway, hang on. I haven't started yet. Here we go, ready? As I pursue him, I become like him.
It's true. And this is how the grace of God works. God's grace means that He has lavished Himself upon you.
So draw near to him, abide in Christ, walk in his steps, follow close behind him. Because as you pursue him, you become like him. And as you're becoming like him, you're developing certain qualities in your life. And Peter outlines them in 2 Peter chapter 1. And he says in verse 10: if you practice these qualities, get this, you will never fall.
Think about that. If you're drawing near to God. And he draws near to you. And you're pursuing Christ and you're becoming like him, you are, number three, walking in the spirit. You're walking in the spirit.
Because Galatians 5.16, get this, right? Whoever walks in the spirit, and you will not gratify the selfish desires of the flesh. That's not a protocol of sin management, is it? It's an invitation by God. to draw near to him, to abide in him, to walk in step with him.
Because you're in passionate pursuit of him. The role of the Holy Spirit in your life, twofold. He will teach you and bring to remembrance all that I have said. The Holy Spirit in you is God's ability in you to follow Jesus. He is the author of the Holy Spirit, and he brings that truth to your understanding.
He is the one who illuminates the Word of God to you. Right. And so the psalmist says, your word. Have I hidden where? His law written upon my heart.
Your word have I hidden in my heart. To what end? that I might not sin against you. The objective, practical reality of God's Word hidden on your heart is it reminds you over and over again of the goodness and the grace of God. And it keeps you from doing stupid things and self-destructive things.
And so The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to inform and transform. Note attitudes. and your affections. That's not sin management. That's Transformation at your core.
That's the grace of God, loved ones. And you must be labor. Intensive. in pursuing. Second work of the Holy Spirit is His Spirit bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God.
His Spirit bears witness with our Spirit. We are children of God. Your identity. You belong to him. You have his righteousness.
He loves you. and accepts you. He knows you absolutely, fully, completely, and yet accepts you and loves you deeply. Thanks for joining us here at Delight in Grace. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem.
The Delight in Grace mission. Is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good. and your deepest satisfaction in Him. the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m.
