Jesus, Your Life - Part 1

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, December 21st. This time of year, most of the focus of the church is on Christ's entry into the world as a baby. But there's so much more than that. The series Good News of Great Joy continues, explaining that for all who are believers, Jesus is your life. Now this is the fourth in a series of messages on Good News of Great Joy found in Luke chapter 2. And if you will recall in this passage that the angel was announcing the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And in that announcement, this is what he said. In verse 10, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy, which shall be for all the people. For today, in the city of David, there has been born for you, now listen, a Savior who is Christ, O Messiah, the Lord. Now the angel said, For unto you has been born this day, been given to you a Savior, who is the Christ, who is the Lord. But there is one other title by which we know the Lord Jesus Christ that the angel did not announce. Now the reason was that the idea of Savior, Christ, and Lord were all terms known to those who knew the Old Testament scriptures, that this one who is coming would be a Savior, he would be the Messiah, and he would be the Lord.

What they did not know, what was not revealed to them at that time, and what the angel did not reveal was this, that this one Jesus who was coming would also be their very life. Now, I want to explain what I mean by Jesus Christ, your life. And the truth is, that is the whole key to the Christian life. And it is indeed the truth that set me free and liberated me in a fashion and in a manner I had never known before. Now I'm not going to tell you I have a full comprehension of what it means to have Christ as our life, but I do know this.

I know enough that I wouldn't ever want to be where I've been. I've experienced enough to know that without understanding that he's our life, you miss some of the cutting edge of the whole Christian life. I also know enough to realize that when Jesus Christ is appropriated as your life, it is amazing what he frees you and liberates you from and frees you and liberates you to. And I also know that many of you who have been saved but are struggling and you're totally defeated in your Christian life, if you can just simply grasp what I want to share, I assure you that your perspective of the Christian life is going to change, your understanding of it will change, your joy will take on a whole new meaning, and your capacity to understand and experience the Christian life will take on a whole new different perspective. So when you and I understand who our life is, something dramatically happens. So I want to explain to you what the Bible means when it says that Christ is our life.

For in Colossians chapter 3 verse 4, Paul said, For when Christ who is our life appears, then shall we also appear with him in glory. Now, in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had a perfect body, a perfect soul and a perfect spirit so they could relate to their environment perfectly, they could relate to each other absolutely perfectly, and they could relate to God in an unhindered human divine perfection, because their spirit was at total oneness with God the Father. The Bible says that God warned them that if they ate of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, which is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die.

Now the Scripture says that when they ate of that tree, God drove them out of the garden, indication of their separation from God. Now physically, ultimately, they died, but at that moment they didn't die. So what is it in Adam and Eve that died? Well, their body didn't die for a long period of time. Their soul didn't die because they could still think and reason will.

Their mind, their motion, their conscience, their consciousness. What died was their spirit. Their spirit died toward the things of God. So that when they died, what died was their spirit. Now when they died, the Bible says the whole human race was poisoned, and therefore all of us come into the world with a bent away from God. Now what is God going to do about this, and what is it that died?

If you recall in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1, Paul said, wherein in times past we walked according to the course of this world. But the reason was, he said, we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Now what was dead? Well, the body's not dead, the soul is not dead, it is the spirit within man that is dead toward the things of God. So that an unbeliever, an unbeliever is dead in his or her spirit toward the things of God.

When you and I receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior by faith, and by that we mean that we accept Christ's death on the cross as payment for our sin, God accepted his death as payment for our sin, the moment we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, our sins are forgiven, it is an act which God performed on the cross 2,000 years ago applicable to me the moment I accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. The moment we do that, the Holy Spirit comes into your life and mind and does what? Regenerates, places a new life within our spirit so that now we are no longer dead to the things of God. We are now indwelt by the Lord Jesus Christ. We are now indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We have been made alive under the things of God.

We have been regenerated. Something happened to the spirit that was dead to the things of God. Now we are sensitive to the things of God. We have a desire for the things of God. We have a hunger for the things of God.

A person that has no desire for God, no hunger for God, no faith in God is dead to the things of God separated from God and is lost. It is in this experience that Jesus called the new birth, this regeneration, this renewing, this new life, this experience whereby the Holy Spirit makes us alive under God. It is that moment we receive the life of Christ. And therefore the Bible talks about this new life. Now if you'll turn to John chapter 10 verse 27. And you recall as Jesus is speaking here that he talks about his relationship to us as being the shepherd to the sheep. But listen to what he says in verse 27. He says my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them. Look if you will in verse 28.

He says I give unto them what? Eternal life. Now what kind of life is that?

What is that? Eternal life. What is eternal life? It is forever life.

When somebody says what is eternal life? It's forever life. Well how long is forever?

Well there's a real simple answer to that. How long is forever? Forever. How long is forever? Forever. How long is that? Forever.

And how long is that? Forever. There is no end to forever life. But now usually when we talk about the life that our Lord gives and remember he said in John chapter 14, I am the way, the truth, and the what? The life.

He says I am the life. What is eternal life? It is forever life. Now what is this forever life?

If you'll turn to 1 John in the little pistol, Revelation, Jude, 2 John chapter 5. And if you'll notice in this 11th verse he gives us an idea of what this forever life is. What is this forever life? It's eternal life.

Usually we only limit that in terms of quantity of life, how long it's going to be. But in 1 John chapter 5 verse 11 he describes what this life is. And the witness is this. That God has given us what kind of life? Eternal life.

And this life is in whom? His Son. He who has the Son has what? Wait a minute.

You didn't read it all. He who has the Son has what? The life.

Now listen, you can be lost as you can be and have life. But what kind of life do you have? Physical life.

He that has the Son has what? The life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have what?

The life. We are talking about the life of Christ within a person. Now Jesus has given to us himself.

Remember what he said? He said I'm going away but if I go away I'll come again. He said the Holy Spirit is going to come and when he comes he'll be in you with you and upon you.

He will not speak of himself, he'll speak of me. The Holy Spirit comes into our life as salvation, regenerates this spirit of ours, dead to the things of God, and Christ Jesus comes to indwell us as believers. So that a believer, listen, a believer is one in whom the glorified resurrected Christ is living his life through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

So now when Paul said, when Christ who is our life, what is he speaking of? He's not speaking of some extension of time, the very life within you, that which is going to last beyond this life. For example, if you died physically, that is physically, you just, your heart stops beating and they say, they declare you dead.

Well you and I know that nobody can ever declare you dead. Now here's the reason, because your life is, listen, the life that is within you is Christ Jesus. He was living from eternity past and will be living in eternity future. You cannot destroy the Lord Jesus Christ who is life, who holds the keys of life and death. That same Christ has come to indwell you in your spirit. And there is no separation of the Lord Jesus Christ from your spirit because the two become now one. Christ is your life. So what happens is when you were saved, God just grafted you into the stream of eternal life. And now you are living in the stream of eternal life which goes from eternity past to eternity future.

You just get in today and for eternity future you will forever be living in the Lord. Now, I want to show you how Jesus describes this and how Paul described it and then go a little deeper. John chapter 15 verses 4 and 5. Jesus is taking something that is very simple and all these apostles will understand this. Jesus said, here's the new relationship.

Remember now, he is establishing a new covenant with them. He says, here's the new relationship we're going to have. He says, it's like a vine and a branch. He says, I am the vine, Jesus. He says, you're the branch, the believer.

And you and I have been grafted in upon our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and grafted in, the graft takes. And so the sap that runs in the vine runs in the branch, in the stem and produces grapes. Now, branches do not produce grapes. Branches simply bear what the sap that runs in the vine that runs in the branch produces.

It is the sap that's in that grape. Branches don't produce grapes, they bear them. Now look if you will in verse 4 and 5 what Jesus said. He said, abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, so neither can you except you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing.

He says, your relationship is that now you're going to be in me and I'm going to be in you. And that was transacted when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost and then a whole new relationship developed between the Lord and the church. So when he says that you and I are abiding in him, that is we have been placed into him by the grace of God and now the life of Christ is now the life in the vine. And therefore the fruit that you and I bear, we do not produce it. The fruit we bear is the fruit that comes from the Spirit in Christ Jesus living within us now and that fruit is love, joy, peace, goodness. That is the whole cluster of the fruit of the Spirit. The Bible doesn't say the fruit of the believer but the fruit of the Spirit you and I simply bear. That is the life of Jesus Christ who has become your life as he is free to express himself through you is going to bear what? Love and joy and peace and self-control and goodness and gentleness and meekness and all the rest that you and I are bearing, we are reflecting, we have become the channels through which the life within us who is Christ Jesus is living through us so that a believer is one in whom the resurrected glorified Christ is living his life in and through us. Now if you'll turn to the 17th chapter of John and this is a prayer that Jesus prayed for his apostles and for us and notice what he says in this 17th chapter. Now in this chapter he uses two phrases again. Look if you will in verse 23.

Oh go to 22 so we can get a little context. And the glory which thou hast given me, Jesus speaking to the Father, I've given to them that they may be one just as we are one. Now listen to what he says. I in them, thou in me. Look if you will in verse 26. I have made thy name known to them and will make it known that the love wherewith thou didst love me may be in them and I in them. Now here's the key phrase that Jesus in his relationship. When Jesus looks upon us, here's what he sees. He in us, we in him. An inseparable, listen, an inseparable relationship.

Why? Because you see Christ Jesus didn't just come to dwell within us. He came and established himself as our life. All the life within you that is Godward is the life of Christ. This physical life of ours is very temporary. The eternal forever Christ's life within you has no end. It is a life from which you can never be separated.

Now here's what I want you to watch. The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 2 as Paul describes here our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll notice in this passage he says something that often times we wonder about. He says and he has in verse 6, he raised us up with him and seated us with him that is with Christ in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. Now if I should ask you today according to the Scriptures where is the Lord Jesus Christ? Where is Jesus? Where is he? He's in heaven seated where? At the Father's right hand.

Where are you? You are down here on earth for all practical purposes but the truth is if you're in him and he's in you, now watch this, if Jesus Christ is in you which he is and you're in him wherever he is you are and wherever you are he is. Alright so the Bible says that Jesus Christ is seated at the Father's right hand in the heavenlies. If Jesus Christ is seated at the Father's hand in the heavenlies where are you as the believer? You are in the heavenlies seated with the heavenly Father in Christ Jesus. Now if Christ Jesus is in you and you are on earth where is the Lord Jesus Christ? He is on earth in you. Do you see that there is an inseparable relationship between you and the Lord Jesus Christ? Why do you think he said I'll never leave you nor forsake you?

And the reason I emphasize this and reiterate it again and again and again is because 99% of believers have been programmed to think in this fashion. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. He came into my heart. Now I'm going to serve him and live for him. That is I've added Jesus into my life.

No you didn't add Jesus. He came to be your life. You see if Jesus Christ has become my life and he is living in me and I'm living in him and he has bound me in an inseparable relationship he says my sheep hear my voice I know them and they follow me I give unto them eternal life they shall never perish neither shall any pluck them out of my father's hand for my father which gave them to me is greater than all period that doesn't leave any out for eternal security. Listen if salvation is something that God gives to me apart from Jesus okay maybe I can lose it but if Christ comes within me to dwell in me and Christ comes to be my very life how can I lose my life? You see you can't ever be what you are because you've been regenerated made new established in him and an inseparable relationship because of the nature of Christ and because the nature of the people. Listen if I'm in him and he's in me and he's in the heaven is not let me ask you a question how's the devil going to heaven and snatch you out of the Lord Jesus Christ who's seated at the father's right hand both the father the son the spirit all omnipotent beings incomparable omnipotent beings who have committed themselves all three of them for your eternal security how in this world can you be lost and you can't answer that because you can't be. Thank you for listening to Jesus Your Life. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries Atlanta Georgia.