Listen Again: A Life Worthy of Jesus - Part 2

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This is the Truth Network. Do you feel like you're on a religious treadmill? Do you feel like Christianity is just a system of rules and regulations?

I can do this, but I can't do that. Do you feel like your efforts to reach God, find God, and please God are futile? Do you feel like your faith is dead or alive? Today, Pastor Russ Andrews will walk us through Scripture to answer these questions. Join us on Finding Purpose, a local triangle ministry glorifying God by helping men find their purpose for living.

For more information and to connect with Russ Andrews and Finding Purpose, you can visit us online at findingpurpose.net or connect with us on Facebook. Now let's listen to Russ Andrews as he teaches us how to be a Christian without being religious. 1 Peter 5-8 says, be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring what?

Lion looking for someone to devour. If you're following Jesus, then guess what? You are on Satan's radar. He's coming after you and he's, listen, he's laid traps out there for you and me. He knows exactly where we're vulnerable. He knows exactly, men, what we attempted to give into sin. And listen, he is sly and he is patient and he's extremely deceptive and he can wait you out. And he will wait until you've let your guard down and then he pounces. It happens all the time to men of God who are in high positions.

Just look at Ravi Zacharias. So here's the deal. If you truly want to live a victorious life, a worthy life for the Lord, then listen, I'm going to give you this tonight. Four steps that you must take. And here's the first one.

First, you ready? You must know God's will for your life. Look at verse 9 again. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his what? Will.

How? Through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. What has God given us? He's given us the Bible, which is the very word of God.

It's his word in a letter to believers. Herein, in this Bible right here, I'm going to put it right here, in this book right here lies the complete will for our lives. Complete will for our lives. We have everything we need in this Bible to understand our purpose in this life. Why are we here? What are we supposed to be doing?

These are the million dollar questions. And so if you want to know the purpose for your life, then pick up this book and read it. Now listen, if you don't read any other book the rest of your life and you read this book day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, you will pretty soon be a very wise man. You see the Bible, this Bible right here, contains the mind of God.

So think of a funnel on top of your head. When you begin to read the Bible, you're pouring God's thoughts, which are true knowledge and wisdom. You just pour this into your mind to the point, man, where at some point you begin to think like God thinks. You begin to see things as God sees them. You begin to look at everything from a heavenly perspective and not a worldly perspective. You come to understand not only why you're here, but what you do with your life. When you come to a fork in the road, guess what? You'll know which way to go. Isaiah 30 21 says, whether you turn to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way, Russ. This is the way, Speck. This is the way, Hank.

Walk in it. See, our minds need to be renewed. They need to be transformed into a new way of thinking. And Paul writes about this in Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, where he says, therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy. Has he been merciful to you? To offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. You don't know how to worship God, that's how you do it. It says this is our spiritual act of worship. We offer our bodies, that's your mind, your heart, your eyes, your ears, your feet, your hands, everything. You offer them to God. And then he says, do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then guess what happens? Then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good, pleasing and perfect will. And when you walk in the light of God's will, you'll experience peace and joy that the world knows nothing about.

I know I've tried it both ways. This ain't come to know God's will for your life. You begin to walk with Him by faith, praying and spending time in His Word. And the more you do this, the more your mind is transformed as it absorbs the wisdom of God. Paul writes about the wisdom of God. Whenever you think about the wisdom of God, think of 1 Corinthians chapters 1 and 2. But specifically, think about 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verses 10 through 16. I'm not going to read all of those verses to you, but let me just read verse 12. Paul says in verse 12, we have not received the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. What's He freely given us?

The Word. It might have cost you $75, but you can get one. Somebody give you one.

We got them right back there. If you don't have one, just grab one. It's free. When a man who's indwelt with the Holy Spirit sits down. I know some of you guys are doing that. Ben gets to him. He's rising at five in the morning and spending, I don't know, 30 minutes to an hour with the Lord because he wants to live his life in a manner worthy of God. So when a man like Ben and I hope all of you sit down and you've got the Holy Spirit in you and you begin to read the Bible, this is what happens. The Spirit of God takes the Word of God, takes the Word of God and begins to transform your mind. And over the course of time, after spending years in God's Word, you actually come to possess the very mind of God.

Isn't that amazing? But it takes endurance, discipline, and time. Doesn't happen overnight.

If you haven't known anything that's really valuable that you can get overnight, if you can't, it ain't very valuable. First Corinthians 2 16 says, But who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. Living a life worthy of the Lord begins with the Word of God, which leads to a renewed or transformed mind.

But there's more. Not only must we know God's Word, but we, number two, we must obey God's Word. Look at verse 10. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where, for me, it's been very difficult. You see, obedience is the evidence of a changed life. Let me ask you this question. When people look at your life, do they see a changed life? Really, be honest.

Do they? You're different than the man we used to know. If they don't see a changed life, that's a big red flag. No one ever encountered Jesus in the New Testament and went away unchanged.

They were all radically changed. Jesus said in John 14 15, If you love me, you are what? Yeah, keep my commandments. Obey my commandments. So here's the question. Do we really love Jesus?

I'm convicted. I look back at my life, and there's so many times when I clearly did not love Jesus. I love some other things first. When temptation presents itself, to obey or not becomes the test as to where our love truly resides. Who do we love more, Jesus or ourselves? Nathaniel Emmons, a minister who lived during the late 18th century, said, Obedience to God is the most infallible evidence of sincere and supreme love to Him. Matthew Henry, the great commentator of the late 17th century, said, The surest evidence of our love for Christ is obedience to the laws of Christ. Love is the root. Obedience is the fruit.

Love is that taproot that goes down to the ground of God's Word, and obedience is the product. Now, let's be honest. If I take a look at my life backwards, and you take a look at your life backwards, I find it sometimes I get downright dejected.

Do you? If you're like me, you've disobeyed the Lord so many times you've lost count. I know I have. You've lost count. You've lost count. If you're like me, you've disobeyed the Lord so many times you've lost count. I know I have. Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and theologian from the early 19th century said, It is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey.

It is. I don't know about you, but I want to live. Listen, this is my desire.

Listen, more so in the last year. I'll be 67 in June. June the 19th, if you want to send birthday gifts. I know I look 50, but I can't help that. I was born that way. Seriously, the last year, I have really in my heart resolved, and I mean this, that I want to live the rest of my life more obedient than the last 65 years. I want to finish strong, and I believe I have 20, 30 more years.

I don't really want any more than that. That's a pretty long time. I've got a lot more years to live, and I want to hit the tape running at full sprint when I hit it, just like my friend J.L. Williams did when he died just a few years ago.

He hit the tape running. He was still serving God at full speed. So how do we finish strong? Number three, we have to rely on who? The Holy Spirit. Look at verse 11, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience. The only possible way to live an obedient life is by the power available to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Now I'm going to take a big risk here. I'm going to try to read one phrase of this verse in Greek with a Bethel accent because it's important that you hear this, okay? So this verse right here, the only possible way to live an obedient life is by the power available to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit, begins like this in Greek.

An passé dunamé, dunamou menoi, kata ta kratas teis dokseis autu. You want to hear that again? I was impressed with that. Got through it pretty good.

I've practiced all day. An passé dunamé. Hear that? Dunamé. Dunamou menoi.

I blew it. Dunamou menoi. That's a hard one. Dunamou menoi. Kata ta kratas teis dokseis. You hear dokseis, glory, doxology, autu. Here's a literal, this is why I want to get to this. Here's a literal word for word translation of that phrase. Listen, with all power, being empowered according to the might of the glory of Him. Now what English word comes to mind when you hear dunamé and dunamou menoi?

What word? Dynamite. And so in verse 11, we see that God's double dynamite power is available to us the moment a man puts his trust in Jesus because you're indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And it was by the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was raised from the dead. And that's the power, men, that's in us. And it's taken me about 60 years to learn that, that I've got this power in me to actually live a more holy life. Second Peter 1.3 says, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. I have tried to live the Christian life so often in my past by my own strength and I've failed miserably. But here's the good news.

It's good news for all of us. God is not finished with me and guess what? He's not finished with you. And I'm confident of this according to Flippings 1.6, that He who began a good work in me and in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.

You know what that means? I'm in God's workshop. He's continuing to chisel away some of the stuff in my life He doesn't want and He's forming me more and more into the likeness of His Son.

And one of the ways He'll do that sometimes is through pain and suffering. You may have heard this but a silversmith when he's trying to make silver very pure, what does he do? He heats it up to a thousand degrees and what happens to the dross in there which is all the imperfections?

What is it? It rises to the top and then he takes a little mesh net and he scoops it out and he continues heating it up and pulling out the dross until he can see his own reflection. That's what God does. He keeps working on us through pain and suffering and trials and difficulties, getting rid of the dross in our life until he sees the reflection of himself in us. And one day according to 1 John 3 2 it says, I can't remember, it says that when we see Him we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He truly is.

So we're moving guys. Remember justification is when you're saved, God declares you righteous. We're moving through sanctification and we're headed towards what? Glorification.

Glorification. So we're going to face temptation every day. Anybody tempted today?

Anybody tempted the last five minutes? Listen, the closer you walk with Jesus, let me just tell you this, the more Satan is coming after you. Do you know when I feel him really coming after me on Tuesdays?

I really do. Jesus is not usually a real good day for me. So what are we to do when Satan comes after us? Well Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 13, no temptation has seized you except what is common to man. It's hard for me to believe that some of you've been tempted the way I have, but that's what it says here.

Any temptation you've had, other men have had it. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. So when you face temptation, you know what you need to do? Look for the way of escape and pray for God to give you strength in your hour of need.

And guess what? He will. He's promised to be with us. And here's the key, four things as men of God that we must do. Real quick, one, pray, pray, pray, and keep on what? That's what Ephesians 6 18 says, 18 says, full arm of God, you keep on praying.

All throughout the day, in the morning, at night, air of prayer is all throughout the day. Lord, help me, help me to keep my eyes and thoughts on You, Lord. Help me, Lord Jesus, I need You. Lord, help me not to do something that would dishonor You.

Lord, protect me. Read God's Word daily, that's number two. Lean on the Holy Spirit every hour, that's number three.

And have men in your life to hold you accountable and to pick you up when you fall. You know, when I look back at my own journey, remember that many times where I disobeyed my Lord and Savior, it makes me want to hang my head in shame. But you know what I do? Because see, Satan will remind you of a past. What you do when Satan reminds you of your past? Remind him of his what?

Future. But you know what I do? I look to the cross. I've got crosses all in my office. Sometimes I'll just walk by and put my hand on the cross. And I see Jesus hanging there on my behalf. And I fall to my knees and I joyfully thank Him for all that He's done for me.

He rescued me. And that brings us to the fourth and last step we must take to run this race to win it. We must be thankful for all that God's done for us.

So what has He done for us? Well, look at verses 12 through 13 and 21 through 23, and I'm getting near the end. And joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the sunny loves in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Unfortunately, I'm having to skip all that part about the supremacy of Christ, but I can't cover it all. Verse 21, once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior, but now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you wholly in His sight without blemish and free from accusation. If you continue in your faith established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel, this is the gospel that you heard. It has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven and of which I, Russ, Paul, have become a servant. So if you know that you're in Christ, then I want you to understand that God has done five incredible things for you. First, He's qualified you for heaven. Second, He's rescued you from hell. Third, He's redeemed you by His Son. Fourth, He has reconciled you to Himself. And fifth, He's forgiven you of all of your sins, past, present, and future. To be qualified for heaven simply means that God has declared you righteous in His eternal courtroom. Thus, listen to this, when you die, you don't have to worry about the judgment.

No legal charges can ever be brought against you because He's erased them all. Romans 8 once says, therefore there's now no condemnation for those who in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. In other words, men, the law can never be held against us. We enter God's presence by what? Grace, not by law, by faith, and not by works.

Aren't you glad? Not only has God qualified us who believe, but He rescued us from hell. Now, you don't hear much about hell anymore, do you? That's the way Satan wants it.

But Jesus spoke 70 times in the New Testament, more than anyone else, about hell. Why do you think He did this? To scare us? Maybe.

Maybe. He wanted to warn us, but He may be to scare us. If that's what it takes to get us to come to Him. In fact, right here, Matthew 10 28, Jesus says, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul, but rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. I want you to notice in that, He says, can destroy both soul and body in hell. When a non-believer goes to hell, he will be in a physical body. Just like believers will be in a physical body, those bodies are made to last for eternity. Never, you can never commit suicide. You can never, you're never consumed and burned up. You will exist forever and forever and forever. It never ends.

The late R.C. Sproul said, perhaps the most frightening aspect of hell is its eternality. People can endure the greatest agony if they know it will ultimately stop. In hell, there's no such hope. The Bible clearly teaches that the punishment is eternal. If we've got friends who are lost and we know it, that's what they're facing.

And we just go about our daily lives like no big deal. When Jesus saved me as a young boy in Bethel around age 10, I don't remember exactly how old I was. I didn't really understand the concept of hell. I just knew that I didn't want to perish and I like this thing called eternal life. But now, I really understand it. And I thank the Lord every day that He rescued me from the dominion of darkness and brought me into His kingdom.

This is an everlasting kingdom of light. When Jesus went to the cross, He paid the price for my sins and for your sins. And that is what this word redemption means. He purchased our salvation with His blood.

Not only did His blood redeem us, but it also brought reconciliation with God. And this is what so many religious people, men, do not understand. They think we're all God's children because that is what the ministers have been telling us for years. It's all God's children stand up and recite the Apostles Creed.

Really? We all God's children? Listen, here's the truth. We are not born God's children. We are actually born God's enemies. Look at verse 21. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. This explains why a man must be born again.

And here's the good news. When a man is truly born again, he has to become God's friend. In John 15 verses 14 and 15, Jesus says, You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his father's business. But see, He's revealing God's Father's business to us. Instead, I've called you friends for everything that I learned from my Father I've made known to you.

How? Right here. This is why I love to sing to Him, what a friend we have in Jesus. What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Do you have some burdens on your heart tonight?

I do. I came in with a big burden on my heart tonight. And you know what I've been doing about it today? I've been taking it to Jesus. I've been taking it to my heavenly Abba because He knows how to deal with this burden. If you sit here tonight in Christ, then you should be so thankful that God has forgiven you. And this is truly what He delights to do for anyone who will come to Him in faith. Micah 7, 18 and 19, two of my favorite verses in the Bible says, And I said to God, Who is a God like you, Lord, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of its inheritance? God, how could you forgive me after all I've done? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us.

You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. That's what He's done for me. And I said to God, Who is a God like you, Lord, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of its inheritance?

That's what He's done for me. I don't deserve to be up here, but God in His mercy did not stay angry with me forever. And He's taken all of my filth, all of my sinful thoughts, and He's cast them into the depths of the sea. And He's learning, He's teaching me now how to think. My battle has moved from my eyes, thank goodness, to my mind. And God's still working on my mind. You have trouble with sinful thoughts in your mind, okay?

If you're shaking your head, you're lying. But God can help you with that. John Newton, an Anglican minister during the 1700s, is best known for writing hymns, the most famous of which we sang tonight, Amazing Grace. After a long life of serving the Lord in public ministry through music and advocating for the release of slaves, after being a slave trader himself, Newton passed away in 1807. And near the end of his life, this self-proclaimed wretch saved by God's amazing grace said this, and this is what I really want on my tombstone.

My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I'm a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior. Until the end of his life, Newton marveled at the grace of God, the grace that eventually led him home. And Russ Andrews tonight is filled with awe when I think about God's amazing grace towards a sinner like me. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Lord Jesus, thank you for your grace and mercy. I pray for every man here tonight who's carrying a deep burden, I know there's some deep burdens in here, that they will come to the throne of grace, that they might receive mercy in their hour of need. We love you, Jesus. Lord, give us the strength to live to live holy and pleasing lives that are worthy of you. It's in your name that I pray. Amen. This is the Truth Network.