(2/15/23) The Sad State Of The One Who Will Not Die! - A Legal Problem

The speaker is discussing the idea of being crucified with Christ and why it might be a good idea. They mention that the Holy Spirit wants us to understand why we need to enter into this and that the flesh will never agree with it. They talk about the loneliness and powerlessness that come with being crucified with Christ and how meekness is important. They also discuss the concept of powerlessness and why we are powerless by birth because of our nature. They emphasize the need to be true in our beliefs and to let Christ be enough for us. They mention the story of the Israelites at the Red Sea as an example of God's deliverance and explain that we need to be buried with Jesus to be free from the power of sin. They talk about the importance of being born again and how we are naturally powerless to live a new covenant life. Let's review a little bit and I'll let, maybe I'll ask a few questions and you guys do the teaching you reference your notes guys if you didn't write the note or something let you ladies help you out but let's let's make sure we have what we have already and we'll add to that we're covered we're talking about why you might like to be crucified with Christ why that might be a good idea and I multiple times throughout and sister Julie here last time was saying something like aren't you going to get to the part where we actually got and I thought oh I wish now well three evenings to have already get to talk about that but I cannot get past the fact that it seems that the Holy Spirit wants the ground to be good he wants us to know why we so dearly need to enter into this because it by the way the you're not ever going to convince the flesh that this is a good idea okay it's bad it's very inconvenient very inconvenient like very very as I just talking with a sister the Lord has encouraged recently and she was talking about this in her life and she said what the Lord had showed me she said it feels like I'm betraying myself yep so that is probably why the Holy Spirit is making sure that that ground is good because I could tell you how to be crucified with Christ but your life won't change unless you absolutely come in faith and a desire a holy desire to come and you come say God I'm all done I'm giving up on the old man and and I want to be buried with you so be patient it's trying my patience so I'm with you okay why you might want to be crucified with Christ the sad stage of the one who will not die the bad news diagnosing this old man we found that there were two major aspects loneliness and powerlessness that you could trace to the scriptures we talked about the loneliness except a corn of wheat falls in the ground and dies it lives alone and I cannot promise that you're going to have some walk in the spirit that that the Holy Spirit is going with you into every area of life we sell these wonderful things but sometimes we're then people might say and I I trust that you're crucified with Christ well I don't trust I know me okay I want to believe it for every single one of us here but but there's a reality and there's just a talk there's a truth in the innermost being the scripture the David says thou desires truth in the innermost part you see you can say true things but there's another thing when it's true in you and it's real inside and that's what the Holy Spirit's driving at he wants you to say good things too but he wants you to be true in you okay so that's why we're talking about this and abiding alone we notice that meekness is probably in order and that he beautifies the meek with deliverance isn't that beautiful immunity beautifies the meek with deliverance when you come meek God goes oh here's what somebody I can set free that's a good posture okay powerlessness that's what we're talking about now powerlessness we talked about loneliness now we're talking about powerlessness and what are the three ways three reasons for our powerlessness we covered them by title we are talking we're marching through them our example at the Red Sea they come up to the Red Sea are their sins forgiven metaphorically example wise was not did the Passover not happen did God not spare all of them the judgment he surely did did they not apply the blood they surely did and they come in front and and here comes the enemy racing after them to drag them back into bondage and so God says okay everybody get ready your first big battle fight them oh that's not what no you mean God doesn't send you into battles that you can't win no he effectively said run except that's a confusing order if you're pinned except he opened up a way was an unlikely way and Christ is let me tell you Christ has opened up a very unlikely way to liberty and to freedom and deliverance it is not an intuitive answer no one thinks that oh I know how I'll be delivered from the power of sin in my life I'll play dead no everybody tries harder yeah it doesn't work if you have never tried it just skip it it's not that great you're not missing anything except a bunch of terror what were the three things the three areas of powerlessness and why are we powerless what we're powerless by birth because of our nature who we are that's what we talked about and somebody tell me about that what the Bible might have to say about some of those things how how are we so confident that we were powerless because of our nature why does God why does God doesn't even believe in us I mean come on God see we say all this stuff I believe in you you're the best I just want you to know you're enough don't ever say that to anyone those things sound they have a sound of something I don't know what because if you read the pages here you won't come up with those conclusions you won't say those sorts of things you'll say there's a system you're not even close enough I recommend I recommend you hide your life in Christ and let him be enough for you yes yes children of disobedience children of wrath this is who we were this is who we are until we're crucified with Christ and God doesn't say fight him at the Red Sea like we might be apt to say the person repent they say I'm sorry for my sins I'm trusted Christ to forgive me of my sin and then we say okay okay now it's gonna be a fight but you're gonna have to try as hard as you can to not sin again that's not the answer ladies and gentlemen that's not what the Bible says there's one answer to actually be free and until then you're just messed over I don't know what to tell you until we come into obedience to what the Word of God actually prescribes for our deliverance from this old man we are by nature children of wrath yes God told Moses to tell the people stand still and see the salvation of the Lord yes don't go anywhere we don't we stay right there and we let God open up the way and then we just gently cooperate with him which is very practically running away I'm going to insert something real quick in here the scripture speaks to some people's consternation to a young man to flee youthful lusts you know why you need to flee youthful us because you don't stand and fight your flesh you die to it it's the same answer as they were pinned up against the Red Sea it's not time to stand and fight it's time to go be buried with Jesus and so it's time to go down into death God doesn't send you into battles that you can't win so the directive that they were given is to stand still and wait for Jesus and we now know that that opening of that Red Sea was Jesus carving out a path through death and he paved that way right down through the gnarliest thickest of it and you can now see light through death in the work of Jesus Christ he made it a safe place he made it a very dangerous place for the enemy to follow thankfully he preserves us as we walk through but the enemy cannot follow us through that and you have the quickened we remembered if you remember it doesn't say happy quickened in the Greek it says and you who were dead you walked according to this world you walked according to the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience you mean I was born that way yep you were by nature children of wrath Ephesians 2 verse 1 says but God who is rich in mercy even when we were dead in sins he quickened us together made us alive together with Christ and Romans explains this and says Romans 6 verse 5 says if if maybe the most important word in the whole Bible is a two-letter word and it is that word if if don't ever skip the word is if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection when we know this that our old man is crucified with him that the body the whole structure of sin in our lives might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin you want to be free from the power of the enemy come galloping out of Egypt toward you and that story if they had refused to enter into the Red Sea Pharaoh would have just come he would have got them and drug them into Egypt they didn't have a prayer and you trying to fight the enemy before you are crucified with Christ is absolutely useless you do not have a prayer all the victory and stuff happens on the other side of the Red Sea all that conquest all that dominion all that and so this is why we said and I know this comes so this cloud drops hard in our hearts but brothers and sisters if today you are sinning Jesus says and in any way in our hearts search us and know us say to the Lord in your hearts Lord search me and know if any way you are sinning tonight in that way you are not yet crucified with Christ Jesus said he that commits sin is a servant to sin but he that is dead is freed from sin you and I enter into death with Jesus so it ought to be a one in a lifetime and a lifetime of living a crucified life it is both and it's not one or the other it is not only a one-time occurrence and then you don't have to worry about it but listen it is not all it is not either a well it's just a lifestyle I tried to die with Jesus tried to be crucified and you never actually came in a wholesale way and told God you're done living for you this is why we have to be born again does anybody remember what Jesus said about that very simply you must be born again you must be born again why because you are by nature by birth you are powerless the old man was born with a dead spirit when Adam and Eve sin beautiful song writes of it and says all their unborn children died as both of them bowed down to Satan's hand and you and I come into this world we pop out right on bushy tail but we're dead in our spirit and we cannot walk in the spirit you can only walk in the flesh we're going to talk a little bit about that what did we notice was an example of the fact that we are by nature not able to live a new covenant life how do you remember some of that we notice that this here this was a owner's manual to a brand new life this here part this this this this old covenant here anybody can sign up for that except it's really hard to do and it doesn't actually promise that God will write his law in your heart that's not a promise in it you will find a prophecy about the new covenant to come but just by keeping the law even if you could give it which apparently the ones who tried couldn't but it and and and the very best that we had there was a faith in the God who was promising to bring us a Savior and these all died in faith not having received the promises the righteous men and women in the Old Testament were men and women who applied faith in the God who was sending his Savior to deliver us who will deliver me from the body of this death Paul says thanks be to God who gives me the victory goes on to say that would be the same cry you'd hear from these Old Testament even those living in faith but what I'm getting to is that this new one here it is very possible to be reading the owner's manual for the new washing machine and still only have the old washing machine if you are trying to read the new owner's manual but you don't possess the features that belong to this new product in Christ Jesus it says created in Christ Jesus unto good work if you don't possess the features you're reading the wrong manual that's very practically how that works and we noted that sometimes we try our best we want to have that love that passes knowledge but we just can't help but letting our knowledge pass our love it just does we want to love our enemies and we try to love our enemies but we really despise our enemies but we're trying to act like we love our enemies and there's just this claustrophobia that comes over you because you you can't really express yourself because who you really are is ready to smack them you're thinking about what you said and think about the last couple days or weeks even but because you must be going in yeah and he talks to the lawyer whatever came to man with it with the greatest commandment love the Lord I go with all that heart yeah everything that Jesus teaches like we're just talking about is impossible to do yeah correct you must be born again you must be born again then this is this is how that that born-again manifest yes yes like you were saying too often we try and take that born-again lifestyle people that's kind of a new covenant life yeah new covenant life they try to live in our flesh but you must be born again because if I'm not born again it doesn't work no no no and very practically we end up just lowering the standard nobody's really living in the spirit I'm saying nobody I'm being I'm being strict I'm not referring this truth to everybody sitting here I'm just saying that if you sit there and nobody's loving their enemies we're pretending to love our enemies so that kind of becomes a new standard pretend to love you that's not what he said and and so we we just pull the standard down until it can be met in the flesh and then we all smile at each other and comfort ourselves that we're Christians and it's not actually the life of Christ you see the fruit of the spirit is not the fruit of a life that's trying so hard it's the fruit of the spirit you see it's not the fruit of effort it's not the fruit of blood sweat and tears it's not the fruit of trying to be dead with Jesus it's the fruit of the spirit he just grows it in your life and a corn seed when it sprouts and then and then it grows it isn't trying to become corn it has it in its nature and and and when you and I are actually dead with Jesus so that his life can be manifest through us like this we're not trying to love our enemies the Holy Spirit loves them through us and we allow him to do it and it's an entirely different existence then trying in the flesh to manufacture a life that somehow looks as though it could potentially at some kind of far away generalized thing look like life in the spirit joy counted all joy my brethren you can't do that unless you're walking in the spirit this is the owner's manual to a brand new life so don't be frustrated reading it it belongs to somebody these these these features described here this wonderful life described here belongs to a person crucified with Jesus until then by birth and by nature we are powerless we cannot have the peace that rules in our hearts the joy that allows us to accept joyfully the spoiling of our goods yeah I think that went through accepting joyfully the spoiling of your goods we can get in a fight over a good deal at a garage sale and be embittered against their dear sister for weeks on end maybe right there or a brother I because I got the little less profitable end of some business deal and I I'm all bent out of shape about that how about joyfully accepting the confiscation of your goods you see this is a brand new life don't try to live it without being crucified with Christ it'll waste your time okay the second way that we are powerless the second reason we are powerless is by covenant so by birth by nature you must be born again the New Testament is a testament to the new covenant and it's not for you unless you're crucified with Christ the life described therein don't get me wrong the truth therein leads you to a Christ I'm talking about the life that life it's not to be described by anything less than a life in the spirit if we are planted together the likeness of his death we will be raised in that likeness the likeness of this new life okay but by covenants what's by covenants well we have a natural problem and and maybe we have a legal problem brothers and sisters yeah we got a natural problem and we got a legal problem we got this we got a natural problem which is the powerlessness in our nature and we have a rather legal problem when we're not crucified with Christ remember we're talking about why you might want to be crucified with Christ and it's helpful to know what the scripture diagnosis our situation as so that we will be eager to apply the cure we have a legal explanation in the Word of God for why we are powerless what is that force that holds us down why can I not just wake up tomorrow and just decide to keep all the commandments of the New Testament why can I not says who why can I not is she stopping me if she stopping me yeah you're the one you're the one that won't is that what we do I mean if it wasn't for Elijah over there just the way he's looking at me hey I would have perfect peace if it wasn't for the way you're looking at me and I would be a perfect joy if she wasn't and I would yeah yeah let's just stop that for now no no see we have a legal problem and and 1st Corinthians verse chapter 15 is a very helpful description explanation for this legal problem that we're in we have a covenant issue that is not going to let us be free except on one condition chapter 15 of 1st Corinthians verse 56 this is a beautiful passage and sometimes the beauty of the passage eclipses the truth that we're going to read people read over it sometimes I've heard this read at a funeral that's a beautiful passage to read a funeral of a believer when the corruptible shall have been put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written death is swallowed in victory Oh death where is your sting Oh grave where is your victory okay okay beautiful passage but now you're going to have to pay attention pay close attention he's about to explain what he just said the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law what makes death sting is sin and the power that sin has is the law we're going to unpack this a little bit and you'll understand the legal problem that we have when we are not crucified with Christ this power of sin is the law the authority of sin is the law the strength of sin in your life the strength and power of sin in my life the authority of sin in her life the power of sin is the law Paul says what in the world does that mean the power of sin is the law sin has power because of the law what law the law of sin and death okay every kind of law code throughout any kind of land for example here in this land we have a law a great big massive set of codes and ordinances by which we determine what is right and wrong and punishable and rewardable and all these things and if you were to be trying to discover some particular way that the law of our land applies to some particular facet of your life you would you might go and you might find that particular law that refers and and and and directly relates to whatever it is that you are concerned about I was telling Benjamin today I couldn't I'm not familiar with whether or not if we pull a trailer that behind my truck that has equipment on it if all of a sudden I should need a DOT I can't remember I don't know these things so I need to go speak with somebody or read some book it includes me into what I am obliged to do according to the law okay okay well there is in God's law and this is a law that's actually like bigger than the law of Moses the law of Moses was in an interest it was a kind of exemplary oh an exemplary I'll just say example it was an example of God's great law and the reason I can tell you that is because Jesus took the authority to say that if you love your neighbor as yourself you could hang all the wrong prophets on that you could take it all and hang it on that hook you see there's a law that's bigger than the law that's spelled out in the Levitical code and it's the law of God and the law of God the laws of God are not breakable they don't actually change the Levitical code has been fulfilled in Christ Jesus but God's laws don't change and that's why when we come to this here the strength of sin is the light say yeah but I'm not under the law I'm under grace that might sound like a good good thing to say but the answer to that is says who says who you're under great says who you're free from the law says who you say but God but it says somewhere that I can be yeah upon condition that we are crucified with Christ and so that's what we're discovering but there's a law here and this law gives power to sin now what in the world would give power to sin say Joshua and then and Paul talks about this he says God forbid this has the law become a bad thing no but let's discover let's see what does it say in Genesis 2 we hear the first inkling of this law and God says in the day that thou eat thereof thou shall surely what die when you eat you will die okay Adam and Eve did not keel over as soon as they sinned did they as far as we can tell right and you and I have sinned in our lives and we did not fall over at the moment we sinned right so what are we talking about is are we talking about physical death no so something died something died something was alive and now it's dead if God is true something died we die when we sin and Ezekiel comes to confirm it in case we thought that maybe enough water gone under the bridge and maybe that law doesn't matter anymore he says twice in succession into just the verses slightly after he says the soul that sinneth shall die the soul that sins shall die in the day you eat thereof you will die God says and Ezekiel says the soul that sins will die okay this is the law power of sin is the law the law of sin and death is the soul that sins will die that doesn't get broken it's always true the wages of sin is always death you saying a prayer doesn't change that the wages of sin is death the gift of God is eternal life God wants to give you a brand new life a kind of living that you haven't had he wants you to live a life that is his own life through you and the wages of sin is still death the soul that sins will die it's just the truth okay it's like this and we've drawn this diagram already when we choose sin our spirit die okay I'm gonna write body soul here this is you this is God's creation this is you you are all these things together all together but when you sin the spirit dies when Adam and Eve sin the spirit dies now this soul which direction can he walk in the spirit when he has a dead spirit can this this person right now he has a dead spirit can he walk in the spirit right now and there's no what can he do well he can walk in the flesh that's what he can do this soul can only walk in the flesh because his spirit is dead we have a problem a big problem the problem is is that when we choose sin the law says our spirit dies that's just that period and so it's like this we can only walk in the flesh now and Romans comes along to record to us Paul writing that if you live after the flesh you will die so let's get this straight we chose sin our spirit died when our spirit died our union with God's spirit was broken we cannot walk in the spirit we can only walk in the flesh and you live after the flesh is that and this is as hopelessly powerless as it gets you're stuck you're stuck if you live after the flesh you'll die only after living in the spirit can you live but your spirits dead because you chose sin and the law says that if you choose sin your spirit will die anybody else see a problem sounds like a problem because as much as we want to go back and go like oh oh oh bad idea I see it now eat the fruit wasn't nearly as good as the snake made it sound oh and now we're stuck walking in the flesh and I hardly want to leave I hardly want to tell you how hopeless that is except to make sure that your heart sure of it to throw yourself at the first opportunity to freedom when God gives you a chance out of this mess this legal mess you want to take it because you can all all you can line up all the ordinances in the flesh you can be trying so hard to do the right thing and do this and do that but if it's not in the spirit it doesn't count and all your righteousness is filthy rags and it makes absolutely no difference on the Day of Judgment except if you did that instead of accepting his merciful offer you see that the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law there's a law here the soul that sin will die and that law makes a choice for sin the last choice you'll make after that you'll keep choosing sin again and again because walking in the spirit is not an option anymore your spirit is dead all says as a little child and this is sticky territory sometimes theologically people argue about it but whatever as a child as they grow older he says he says I was alive once well before the law came and then when the commandment came I sinned and then I died it's like and somehow in God's justice systems little children inherit the kingdom of God there's there's a sense of innocence and a kind of naivete that they are not dead until they choose it for themselves they choose sin but when we choose sin the soul dies we were born death in a legal sense but but it also happens to us we choose the sin okay this is what we need to get to we don't we don't have to do well in this hopelessness too long but let us not forget this is the case of everybody every person who is not crucified with Christ you chose sin and then sin chose you and you can't be free you chose sin your spirit died and now all you can do is walk in the flesh that's all you can do and you madly try to paddle next to a person who's living in the spirit and you're just irritated and frustrated and jealous of them all the time because they're just so stinking smiling all the time you think this is some big funny joke it's not a joke to me that person hurt my feelings and you're blustering and boo all this stuff and you're not crucified with Christ and the only exception to this hopeless circular vicious cycle is crucifixion with Jesus where God allows us to be crucified with him he makes it brand-new brand-new unified with his spirit brand-new and then temporarily quickens our mortal bodies together with him and gives us temporary immortality and this is the life of a believer a spirit made alive quickened unified together with God's Holy Spirit and living with temporary immortality until God calls them home their bodies quickened together to serve him but until we're crucified with Christ see this this new man he can he can walk can the new man walk in the spirit this soul here he can go this way can't he he can walk after the spirit but this man he cannot walk after the spirit not until he's crucified with Christ this is the legal problem we have I'm going to say this carefully the power of sin and Satan in your life today is a legal action based on the law of sin and death because when you could choose you chose sin I repeat the power of sin and Satan in your life today in my life the power that he has the power that sin holds in your life is a legal action based on the law of sin and death because when you chose could choose you chose sin the power of sin is the law the power of sin is the law the scripture says but the wonderful part of that verse what does it say power strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ because Romans 6 says when we are buried with him by baptism into death then like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so you also even so me also can walk in newness of life for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus Paul says has made me free from the law of sin and death the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law sin and death when we are buried with him in baptism into his death then like as Christ was raised up from the dead so even we also can walk in newness of life and that new law of life sets us free from the law of sin and death this is the gospel this is the gospel because it is the power of God unto deliverance to everyone that believeth the Jew first and also the Greek this is the gospel you can be free how in death with Jesus until then you are stuck walking in the flesh because you're working with a dead spirit and none of the new covenant descriptions will apply to you we are not hopeless if we can be crucified with Christ and buried with him in death this is the only legal remedy wouldn't you like to be buried with you remember is it we're going to hit this nail a few times in Isaiah 28 if you just glance there you get to see a little bit of a description of what sin is you might not have realized what sin is sin has legal ramifications every sin has a legal aspect to it in relation to the law of God and and and and we're going to discover this in just a little bit of diligence there 28 verse 15 because you have said we have made a covenant with death and with hell we are at an agreement when the overflowing scourge shall pass through it's a lot come on to us for we have made lives our refuge and under falsehood we have hid ourselves you might say oh my what kind of terrible personality is this in description of well just people who were wearied with God teaching them people who when he said this is the rest where with you cause the weary to rest they they didn't want to hear because he was teaching them line upon line and they got bored with that and then he says of them see I don't actually believe you can argue with me I you might be right but I don't actually believe anybody said this with their lips I don't think anybody said oh by the way I've made a covenant with death and and I made an agreement with hell and I decided to make lies my refuge and I've decided to hide myself in falsehood no no what they did is they they walked away from the commandments of God and God said that's what you're saying in your heart you are hiding in life you see Eve when she was standing there the only way you can take that fruit that God said in the day you eat thereof you shall surely die is if you start to believe that you shall not surely die and you are putting refuge in a lie you are hiding yourself in falsehood and when you do that brothers and sisters here when you do that you are coming into a covenant with death and you're making an agreement with hell you're sidling up to the enemy and saying can we work something out if I can do this and this will make me happy and I don't think God will mind at least not too much you might like I might like lose some eternal rewards but you know this seems pretty nice and and you're underestimating what is occurring in that moment Eve dramatically underestimated what she did I believe Adam dramatically underestimated what he did and you and I are dramatically underestimating what a sin is it is a covenant with hell can't recommend that but praise be to the Lord I'm not heaping anything on you that Jesus Christ has not the authority to break off but you need to know where you are you need to know who you are without him and what he's done for you if indeed he's done when we choose sin listen we make a covenant with death an agreement with hell we make lies our refuge and falsehood our hiding place and the strength of that sin to keep us in bondage is the law the soul that sins will die see the devil knows if he can tempt you to sin he can work death and now you can't help it but to walk in the flesh he only needs you to obey him just one and now you have to obey the lusts of your flesh and he can cause all creation and all human race to go into chaos because of death sin working death the scripture said we sin we die and now we cannot live but in the flesh we sin we die and then all we can do is work after the flesh live after the flesh which the scripture says if you live after the flesh you will surely die okay now is anybody ready for some good news I'll pray the Lord Romans chapter 7 Romans chapter 7 and this is the heart of a beautiful context all talking about these things and and and and I I don't need to discuss all these things you go and you study and the Lord will give you insight and understanding and conviction I just I'll just light a little fire and you blow on it and let the Holy Spirit build it in you but we're just going to speak right into the smack middle of this giant argument that he's making literally about this topic and he says in chapter 7 of Romans no you not do you not know because I'm talking to people who know the law he says how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he lives so you and I might not have known that right that's might be news to us but by the way the law and he's referring here to the law of Moses as an example of the greater law that as long as a man lives it has dominion in his life and then he's going to use an example a specific example of God's law the woman which has been husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he live it but if the husband be dead she is loosed from the law of her husband so then if while her husband is alive if while her husband is alive she is married to another man she is an adulteress but if her husband is dead she is free from that law so that she is not an adulteress though she is married to another man are we all tracking so far it's okay for not this is just he's giving us an example here and it's worthy of note that we have also drifted in so-called Christianity from the basis of this argument which is not good because it is the basis of what he's proving another truth on so if you if you start saying that the covenant of marriage isn't the covenant of marriage and that only death breaks it then all of a sudden everything else doesn't make any sense that's a big problem but let's just for now let's just take it for granted like we ought to okay let's let's pretend like we and Paul are all like even if you were like this before you're like oh yes Paul yes okay yes you got it yes Paul Paul thinks that by the way remind me Paul thinks that a woman can't be divorced from her husband as long as he's alive okay okay wherefore my brethren verse 4 says oh look at this you also are become dead you also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ in the body of Christ oh we're going to talk about this soon Lord willing dead to the law by the body of Christ that you should be married to another even to him who is raised from the dead that we should bring forth fruit unto God for when we were in the flesh the motions of sins which were by the law did work in our members to bring fruit unto death but now we are delivered from the law that's being dead to what we were held dead to what we were held we should not serve excuse me we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter okay wherefore brethren he says in 4 you are also become dead and then in verse 6 we are now delivered from the law that being dead wherein we are held dead to the thing dead in the way that we were held in that we can live in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter just like we're buried with him in the likeness of his death we will be raised in the likeness of his resurrection knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin this is this same truth and brothers and sisters just for clarity marriage is not dissolved by adultery and you are not freed from the curse of sin and death by being in love with Jesus loving Jesus does not set you free from the law sin and death asking Jesus to forgive your sins does not set you free from the law sin and death only death sets you free from the law sin and death see see you know maybe a woman is rather wanton against her husband and he's kind of boring and fuddy-duddy and and she her eyes are looking to the ends of the earth and she finds her some handsome hunk and and she she she she her she takes her emotions and she loves on that person does that mean that her marriage is void no no she will be an active sin against her marriage if she participates in that behavior and so you mean that just because Jesus healed me and I love him because he healed me doesn't mean I'm crucified with Christ you mean just because I was at a meeting and and I seven demons were cast out of me you mean that's not the same as being dead with you because I love Jesus no see you're just cheating on sin and death is what you're doing you can be free to actually be betrothed to Christ when you're dead to the law and there's only one route and that is being dead in the body of Christ by faith and we're going to talk about what how to do this but by faith Joshua is crucified in that faith inside of that faith and inside of my happy participation with my physical body to go down and we'll talk about the actual applications of these things but my soul moves in faith and my body participates in this action together with physical baptism into water and I express as a whole being that I am coming into death with Jesus and he quickens me and makes me alive on that faith and I can serve in the newness of the spirit not the oldness of the letter marriage is not dissolved by adultery and you are not free from the curse of sin and death by only being in love with Jesus you're free from the curse of sin and death by being dead with Jesus only when we are dead to what we were legally held are we free to serve in the newness of the spirit you and I have a legal problem and only when we are actually dead can we be free to be married to Christ we have to be dead to that old man and that old law that applies to that old man and I'd love to if you allow me the time I want to tell you how this works in a very candid way very quickly first though for confirmation of this truth or in answer to how does this work let's quickly turn to Colossians 2 this is a beautiful passage Colossians 2 verse 11 and you remember a little earlier I told you that what we're talking about this this being dead with Jesus is the action it's the spiritual action of being circumcised in our hearts that that's you're going to see that connection here when I read it in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision that's not made with hands in putting off the body of sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ buried with him by baptism wherein also you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who has raised Jesus from the dead and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he made alive together with him having forgiven you all your trespasses this is my favorite part blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and he took it out of the way and nailed it to his cross I love that brothers and sisters this is the reality of a life that is crucified with Christ and buried with him by baptism into his death when you and I can be crucified when you and I can be buried with Christ oh then he in that action of faith he blots out the handwriting of ordinances and condemnation against us so how does this work very quickly do you remember that the power of sin and Satan is a legal action based on the law of sin and death remember that okay the power of sin you can tell the devil to shut it and you can tell him that by the way devil I don't appreciate you and you better just get out of my life and you can say all these big tough things and he just laughs at you devil I you just you just leave me alone and he just laughs at you because you're powerless you can say big nice-sounding things it doesn't make a lick of difference he knows his legal right and as long as you're alive you're still bound to the law the law of sin and death and until you'll die with Christ he and God moved nothing the power of sin and Satan in your life is a legal action based on the law of sin and death remember that so that's important with what I'm going to tell you this is how this goes when you can be crucified with Christ and buried with him in baptism Jesus answers the door and Satan looks up a little bit starting he says oh yes I'm looking for Elijah um I have legal notice and warrant for his captivity based on the law sin and death and Jesus says you have the wrong house he says oh no I'm sure I don't I've been here many times to serve him condemnation and I have here I have here brand new charges against him covetousness pride disobedience unthankfulness high-mindedness loving pleasure more than loving God and Jesus says the person that you're looking for doesn't live here by faith he's been crucified with me and we laid him to rest in my very own just before you got here he doesn't live here anymore I live here now this is now my house and in that case you can take your ordinances against him and get off my porch yes yes that authority to deliver you from sin and the power of Satan lies in the ownership of Christ that ownership happens when your life is with him as long as you open the door Satan's got the right place as long as you're still running the show and you're still trying in your flesh he has legal right to read off his warrant and he will bring you into captivity to every sin and every sickness and everything that he wills against you is all his legal right it is only when Christ has this new ownership can he tell him to get off the porch making void the handwriting of ordinances that was against us nailing it to his cross there is but one remedy in bondage to sin and death only when we are dead to what we are legally held are we free to serve in the newness of the spirit would you like to be crucified with Christ the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law remember Christian the strength of sin is the law a soul that sins shall die but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ for the law of the spirit of life now in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death and this leads the last of our discoveries Lord willing will discuss the last area of bondage is powerless by territory the old man is powerless by territory but let us not forget until we're dead with Jesus you are legally powerless there isn't any fancy talk there isn't anything you're going to say there isn't any big blustering sound that you're going to declare to the devil it's when you're crucified with Christ and on a very practical note this is why if I I need to do better than I have in the past I have some regrets I've attempted to minister at times to people who did not qualify for delivering and so if you have before and Lord willing you have the opportunity again to be together ministering to somebody who needs to be free somebody like you somebody like me who needs to be free you need to qualify for that deliverance and so you might ask the person are you crucified with Christ is this part of you tucked into death with Jesus are you still making excuses for why you get to be this way are you still making excuses can I bring you into a place where he has to leave would you let me bring you into a place where we have the authority and that's that's important because there's there's a lot of mystery not really in the Word of God but there's a lot of confusion there we go that surrounds you know bondage in the lives of believers and can believers even have bondage to the enemy and maybe maybe if I if I you know I don't like the idea that the devil would own me and things and is that people say a lot of things we're brothers and sisters this is what it comes down to there are wonderful exceptions we talked about sometimes we're allowed to just go in there and jerk them out yeah but it's temporary until they will surrender so you and I if you're going to minister effectively to somebody else if I'm going to minister effectively to you I have to bring you to a place where you qualify for deliverance I have to bring you to where we have the authority in Christ Jesus where Jesus Christ can say get off my porch but until then we can holler and we can yell we can scream at the demon or whatever the situation is and it does not have to leave because it has legal right to be there but when we can come into a place where he's lost his legal rights and who Joshua is is tucked into the grave with Jesus and he's reading off his list to somebody who's dead and Jesus has ownership oh now we can tell him to get off the porch and it's a very simple matter deliverance is not complicated when we qualify okay praise the Lord is there any questions that we need to answer anything that needs to happen right now before we submit our lives anything unclear anything that needs a little bit of explanation you have a natural problem and you have a legal problem only crucifixion with Christ and burial with him the answer thank you Jesus thank you chief thank you for blowing a hole in death we thank you you have made a way it's a narrow way it doesn't let us bring all our carnality and things along with it but it's a way of righteousness it's a way of life it's a way of peace I found it so his yoke is easy this burden is light and I thank you Lord I sang that so many times when it wasn't true for me and now I can sing it's true you have this law spirit of life in Christ Jesus has really lifted me lost and in death search me Oh God and know me try me and see if there's be there's any more wicked ways and anything not crucified anything not surrendered to you not laid on the altar without any more excuses without any more bargaining about any more parleying for my own way anything that just needs to be laid there and tucked arrest so that I can live in you in newness of spirit search us search us I pray and I trust you Lord Jesus I trust you that you're doing this work that you're going to finish the work that you started and that you're going to bring a a wonderful and almost unbelievable deliverance to each of our hearts and lives in ways that maybe right now even we are not aware maybe we are now aware of areas in our lives that need to be crucified with Jesus teach us Lord lead us on Oh King eternal and lead us to victory lead us to conquest lead us to building your kingdom and and one big final push till you come in glory this help us to fall in rank in your kingdom in your army and to be effective where you put us we pray in Jesus name amen