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 5 of a message first preached on October 13, 2024.
It's part of a series from Deuteronomy titled, It Is Because the Lord Loves You. To hear the whole message or others in the series, visit www.delightingrace.com 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. 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. Yeah. 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 walk 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. your 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. That. 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 that 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. His Spirit bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. And the result of that in my life is that I can cry out, what? Abba. My dad.
Romans 8. Verses 13 to 16. Really, really good verse. You've memorized, hopefully, memorized Romans 6. They need to memorize Romans chapter 8.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. There you go, right? Sin is self-destructive. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit are.
Okay. Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. God.
He reminds you of that. This is who you are. Act accordingly. You because you can. Because you have something so much higher, and better, and more beautiful, and more perfect.
Feast from the banquet table of God's goodness instead of feeding out of the dumpster of self-preeminence. That his goodness, like a fetter, bind. your wandering heart to him.
So, the nature of your temptation, and each one of us has them. What is the nature of your temptation? For this particular, it was uncontrolled urges, uncontrolled passion. But there are many of them that we talked about today from Deuteronomy 27. Could it be idolatry?
You're you're looking somewhere else for your security and your satisfaction. Could it be ingratitude? Could it be greed? Could it be cruelty? Could it be partiality?
Those people. Could it be uncontrolled urges? Could it be hatred? Or could it be just a benign Not benign, but a moral. indifference.
I don't care. That will lead you to be stupid. These all come by feeding from the dumpster of self-preeminence. But Romans 8, 6, Romans 8, 6. Read this with me.
For to set the mind on the flesh is death. but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. Remember I said earlier in the part of Deuteronomy now where you have a choice of life and death. Here it is.
Okay. And it's not coming from a protocol of sin management. It's coming from where you set your mind. And you have the power. to control that.
You have the ability, you have the resource. If you live at the altar. If you live at the altar. Paul Tripp said sin is a battle of the heart. and is won or lost there.
It is true. Living at the altar means you never lose the wonder of a passionate. Pursuit. Of God. May God rescue us.
from wandering. this morning. Stand with me, please. Father, we confess this morning, first of all, that you are good, you are holy, you are Perfect in all of your ways. You are light, and in you there is no darkness at all.
Father, we also confess and acknowledge this morning that we are creatures. And we have been broken. And we are prone to wander because we can be so easily distracted, Father. Lord, it is my prayer this morning that your goodness, like a fetter, will bond. bind our wandering hearts to you.
And may we Know your good. May we feast on your goodness, Father. as we draw near to you and you draw near to us. As we Follow Christ and become like him. as we walk in step with the Spirit.
Illuminated your word. transforming, informing, and transforming our attitudes and our affections. Your spirit bearing witness with our spirit. And we are Loved. and accepted it.
And kiss. For short. Father, work in our hearts, I pray this morning. Each one of us knows, in all honesty, where We might be prone to wondering what particular category. Father, rescue us from simply relying on protocols of SIN management.
Work in our hearts this morning, I pray, Father, that we would be a people who truly delight. Because you are good. Thank you, Father. for what you are doing in us. Yeah.
Thank you. That you are doing that based on what you have done. In Jesus Christ. And we will thank you, Father, for the work that you will continue to do. In us.
shaping us and fashioning us. In the measure, the stature of the fullness of Christ. It's in his name and for his sake we pray. Amen. 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.
