The Keeping Power of God

With encouraging thoughts about God's gift of salvation, here's Dr. Michael Yusef. I am personally convicted in my own heart that there is no believer in Jesus Christ, a person whose heart has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and who would not read the scripture, and would not feel absolutely exhilarated, and feel thrilled, feels overwhelmed at times by the fact that salvation is a permanent gift of the grace of God. Thank you for connecting with Leading the Way Audio with pastor and International Bible teacher Dr. Michael Yusef.

In recent years, the concepts of security and shelter have really changed. But when it comes to God's gift of salvation, security and shelter remain constant in our mighty God. And you'll see that today as Dr. Michael Yusef brings an encouraging message called The Keeping Power of God.

Here now is Dr. Michael Yusef to begin. I grew up in a Christian home and I will always be grateful for that fact. But there's one thing I've always concerned me, particularly as I matured in Christ. And that is how I watched my father live a tormented and a joyless Christian life. He knew the Lord, he loved the Lord, but he never had joy in his life, in his Christian walk, simply because as a young man he was taught that he has no assurance of heaven. He believed strongly that he was saved when he had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of his soul and the Lord of his life. But that would not guarantee him heaven as he was taught. He felt that he has to earn his daily salvation every day until that day. So if he died on the day in which he was on a spiritual high and walking with the Lord, then he will make it to heaven. But if he happened to die in a time when he is in a spiritual wilderness, he would not make it to heaven.

That's what he was taught. And I saw the torment and the lack of joy in his life. I saw in him a perception of a God who is undependable and unpredictable. I saw a perception of God who will love you when you're good, but he will reject you when you're not. I saw a perception of God as one who gives you a gift one day, but then he will take it away from you the next. I saw a perception of God who died on the cross and rose again, but only gives salvation to those who are able to keep themselves from falling. Above all, I saw a Christian who could never delight himself in the Lord's keeping power.

The Lord's keeping power. I am personally convicted in my own heart that there is no believer in Jesus Christ, a person whose heart has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and who would not read the scripture and would not feel absolutely exhilarated and feel thrilled, feels overwhelmed at times by the fact that salvation is a permanent gift of the grace of God. That salvation is for keeps. That salvation is for eternity. That salvation is not something you get one day, then you lose the next day. That salvation is a reflection of God's nature and God does not take away what he had already given away. And so as I began to grow in the knowledge of the Word of God and this truth from the Word of God, I began to grieve over my father's joyless Christian life. I began to grieve over my father's torment and fear over whether he is going to make it to heaven or not and how much harder he must try in order to make sure that he's not going to miss heaven. And it is my prayer today that everyone who's here today, that if you are in that kind of joyless tormented life, that today be a day of change for you in your life and the day in which you begin to understand the keeping power of God. I promise you, you will have joy unspeakable.

I know I speak from experience. You see, you and I are saved by the grace of God. You say you're saved from what? I like it when some of those well-meaning people go around, you know, looking at people who don't know the Lord and says, are you saved, brother? Well, if he's not saved, he's not a brother.

I mean, you know, just people do funny things. Christians really do dumb things too. But you say saved from what? We talk about being saved. We talk about salvation. What's saved from what? The answer to this question should be, in fact, it should tell you volumes about the keeping power of God.

Why? Because God saves us not just to be nice guys. God saves us not just so we can be members of a wonderful church like this. God saves us not just so we can fellowship with one another. God saves us not just so that we can have joy and peace in this life. God saves us not just so that we can play the Christian role.

No, no, no, no, and a million no. These are the benefits of salvation. These are the fruit of salvation. But the very word salvation implies that he saves us from eternal judgment, that he saved us from the wrath that is to come, that he had saved us from the shipwreck. He rescued us from eternal damnation into eternal heaven. That's what salvation is all about.

So how can anyone think that God would save you but not take you all the way home? Do you know what that would be like? That would be like somebody drowning on the high seas and about to die, and then a beautiful luxury yacht just pulls in next to him. And then the people in the yacht will pull him out, give him a shower, dress him up, feed him until he feels good, and he says, okay, now buddy, you can swim home. I'm going to swim these many miles.

I am very far from home. You would say that's impossible. How can you do that when you save somebody out of a shipwreck, somebody who's dying, somebody who's perishing, then you take them in the yacht, you take them all the way home, don't you? Ah, that's what God does.

That's what he does. I want to give you four things. Four things. You've got to write them down if you have a pen and paper.

I want you to write them down. Four things will assure you of God's keeping power. Four things that will absolutely revolutionize your life. If you're a joyless Christian, you'll begin today to be a joyful Christian. If you're a sad and sorrowful Christian, this will change your life.

It changed mine. Four things about the keeping power of God. Number one, the keeping power of God is based on his promises. Secondly, the keeping power of God is guaranteed by his love. Thirdly, the keeping power of God is sustained by Jesus' continuous intercession for us right now. And fourthly, the keeping power of God is maintained by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The keeping power of God is based on his promises, not on a feeling, not of what you think or what somebody thinks, and not of some theologian's opinion, not of that or the other thing. It is based on the promises of God, period. That's the only basis on which you can trust the keeping power of God in your life. John chapter 6, verse 37. Listen to what Jesus said. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away, for I have come down from heaven not to do my will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose none of all those he has given me, but that I raise them up in the last day. You know, in the Greek language, there is a grammar principle here called double negative, two words, oo and meh, that means no, not, never. Whenever you see the double negative, this is not just, well, no, it might be a good idea to say no, no, no.

It means no, never will I lose them, or I will never, never lose them or cash them out. Then turn a few pages over to John chapter 10, verse 27 following. Here's what Jesus said. My sheep listen to my voice.

I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. And no one shall snatch them out of my hand.

My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. You know, when I studied this passage in depth back in my first year in seminary, I remember the day I just sat there and I wept, I wept and I wept, and not bad weeping, it was great weeping. It was wonderful weeping.

Happy weeping. Because, you know, if you haven't noticed that, I want to point it out to you. Some of you have got it. There is a double security lock here, the double security lock. Jesus said, nobody can take them out of my hand. And then He says, the Father who's great, nobody can take them out of His hand.

Double security lock. You see, God's keeping power is based on His promises. Secondly, God's keeping power is guaranteed by His love, is guaranteed by His love. His love is unchangeable. It is for eternity. It's eternal. His love is constant. And that is why John 13 one says, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to what? To the end.

He loved them to the end. Not part of the time. Not some of the way. Not halfway. Not just only when they're successful. Not only when they're just doing the right things.

No, no, no, no. Jesus' death and resurrection were the ultimate proof of His unchanging, unending, undying, unaffected love. Jesus' death and resurrection have permanently and completely blotted out our sins before His eyes. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 17. It says that their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.

I will remember no more. You see, God's keeping power is based on His promises. God's keeping power is guaranteed by His love.

And thirdly, God's keeping power is sustained by Jesus' constant intercession before the Father. Have you noticed what the Bible said about that? Let me read it to you and you can say right or wrong, okay? I want you to tell me right or wrong. Jesus is forever before the Father making excuses for our sins.

May God bless you. The Bible said Jesus is forever imploring the Father to be merciful to us. Wrong. In case you're not sure. No, no, no, no. You see, that wouldn't be right to make excuses for our sins. No, no, no, no.

No. Here's what the Bible said. Jesus is forever before the Father presenting His own blood before the throne as the only remedy for the condemnation of sin. 1 John 2, 1.

He's speaking to believers and He said if any man sin, we the believers have one who speaks to the Father on our defense, Jesus Christ the Righteous One. Can you imagine the devil accusing me before the Father says look at Michael, he's inconsistent. Look what he's doing. Look what's happened.

Look at this and look at that. And Jesus says to the Father, He came to you Father, covered by my blood, not by His good deeds. He trusted in the shed blood of my shed blood on the cross.

And the Father says, not guilty. Amen belongs here. You see, God's keeping power is based on His promises. God's keeping power guaranteed by His love and God's keeping power is sustained by Jesus' constant intercession on the behalf of the believers.

And fourthly, God's keeping power is maintained by the indwelling Holy Spirit in us. You see, whenever you came to Christ, confessed your sins, recognized that you cannot save yourself, only His blood will make you acceptable to the Father. When you have come to that point in your life and realizing that religion won't cut it, that church won't cut it, that all your hard work won't cut it, that all of your good work won't cut it, when you come to that point in your life when you realize that only the shed blood of Jesus Christ will get you to heaven, when you come to that point in your life, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in you. He comes and resides in you. He comes and lives on the inside of you. And He constantly confirms the promises of God to you, constantly confirms the Word of God to you.

Now, beloved, let me tell you something. I know and you know that believers in Christ may grieve the Holy Spirit at times, that believers in Christ quench the Holy Spirit at times, that believers in Christ even resist the voice of the Holy Spirit at times. But the Holy Spirit does not permanently leave the quenching and grieving and resisting believer.

He just waits. You see, He is God's gift to you and God does not take back what He has given to you as a gift. Now, please don't misunderstand me.

I don't want you to misunderstand me. We will bring pain upon ourselves when we are disobedient. Yes, we bring agony upon ourselves and we bring hurt upon ourselves and even those around us when we are disobedient, when we grieve the Holy Spirit, when we quench the Holy Spirit. Yes, we bring pain to ourselves, but the Holy Spirit will just wait.

You wait. You know, in foolishness, we might try to silence the voice of the conviction of the Holy Spirit, but He just waits and He waits until you come back to your senses, until you listen to His voice, until you repent and ask Him to renew you. Listen, I can testify to the times in my foolishness I grieved the Holy Spirit. I can testify that in times of foolishness I have taken the devil's bait by his hook and I quenched the Holy Spirit in my life. I can testify to you that I have tried to silence the voice of the Holy Spirit at times and stop His conviction from working in me, but the gracious God the Holy Spirit waited for me, contending with me, even wrestling with me at times, wooing me, bringing me back to my first love. I know many of you understand exactly what I'm talking about. Some of you need to stop quenching and grieving and silencing the voice of the Holy Spirit as He speaks to you, as He's speaking to you right now as I'm speaking to you.

The Spirit of God is talking to you. You know, watching my father being tormented and living a joyless Christian life because of his unawareness of the power, the keeping power of God. That kind of thought was contrasted one day back in January of 1977. It was contrasted so vividly to me that I could never ever forget the sight. January of 1977 we were leaving Sydney, Australia for Los Angeles, California and we were in the city making last minute shopping and our eldest daughter was two years old at the time and you know she was always independent. She was always independent.

Always active and always had a creative mind. My mother-in-law and my father-in-law were right in front of us and Elizabeth and I were walking behind them in this busy city, busy traffic, crowds and we were right behind them with our second daughter Natasha who's about a few weeks old and as we were following I could see my father-in-law holding Sarah's hand and they're walking busy streets, traffic, crowds and she kept trying to wiggle her hand and say, don't hold my hand grandpa. The wise Mr. Bailey grabbed into her hand and then she began to negotiate and she said, okay, okay, okay, come. Let me hold your hand, you don't hold my hand and I saw Mr. Bailey's hand instead of holding her by the hand he grabbed in her wrist knowing full well that the moment he allowed her to hold his hand she could easily let go and jump in front of the coming traffic and I looked at this loving act of a grandfather's hand gripping the granddaughter's hand and I thought to myself, this is the keeping power of God. My heavenly Father knows that if my salvation were dependent on my holding on His hands, in foolishness I could let go of His hand and fall down to my demise. Oh, but thank God, thank God, He would not entrust me, He would not entrust me to hold His hand but instead He takes a grip of my hand and oh what joy, what comfort, what rest, what peace of mind, what assurance.

Beloved, you are in the grip of His keeping power. My joyous Christian life did not begin until I began to understand these truths from the Word of God and it is my prayer that if you are living a joyless Christian life that these truths from the Word of God, of the character of God and of the nature of God that will begin today your joyous life in Him. Dr. Michael Yusef bringing comfort and challenge as he helps you experience the keeping power of God. This is Leading the Way. If you'd like to talk with someone about any questions you have about Jesus, salvation and living out the Christian life, please visit ltw.org.

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