2017 Word of Grace Conference - Brad Jersak 1

thanks for praying and it's it's good to be here and to see familiar faces today I'm going to be speaking to the choir apparently which is always worth doing sometimes the choir the convinced the persuade is a faithful just need to hear what they already believe to maintain courage in the face of pressure and you will see this a lot in the New Testament and so I have no agenda to convince you of anything today other than simply to remind you of things that I think are probably in your hearts I also having said that have a little caveat and that is if you hear something that rubs you the wrong way don't blame the millers or the father's house because they are all they also have a reputation for wealth welcoming with hospitality those who bring a different message and they're completely not afraid of that which is their chief evidence of not being a cult right so while I'm while I'm largely on on Mike and Marilyn's page I'm not always sure if they're on my page you know and and so just weigh and test everything you hear and chew on it swallows me spit out the bones alright and what I'm going to be trying to do is is again speaking from from my theological position which which is really just an echo of the East Orthodox Church of things I'm convinced of and so so so hopefully some of it will be fresh and challenging as well I want to start with a question that I'm often asked are you saved or when were you saved and I think I know what the question means when I hear it from folks when were you saved or we might even be more presumptuous is he saved because I know right and how would I know are you saved when were you saved is he saved even more we got to get them saved get them saved okay did you get saved with a heavy emphasis on debt and so when I hear that I want to be charitable I also cringe a little but in being charitable I think what they mean the folks who might ask this and maybe you're one who uses getting saved and so on as a almost like a standard cliche how I take the question is this folks want to know when was it and did I ever ask Jesus into my heart when I asked Jesus into my heart I got saved that's usually what we what we hear and what we mean in other words that that somehow salvation is focused in on that moment when I said the sinner's prayer when I made my confession of faith and that's fair everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved you see and so the the focus there is on that moment of crisis when perhaps Paul was on the road to Damascus and Christ appeared knocked him off his high horse he saw the light and was saved and and so usually that's what's meant by that cliche as we unpack this I'm hoping today here's my agenda that we would unpack the riches of this word instead of despise it there is a cynicism that is very fashionable that actually wants to diminish salvation as a term because saved and getting saved and getting him saved has really actually it's been a very narrow focus and actually there's a huge a huge treasury of riches around this word salvation that I want to explore well if we're going to talk about when I got saved if that's a thing maybe we'll start with with giving the benefit of the doubt and I remember in 1970 I was six years old laying in my bed listening to a radio preacher who was telling me how to get saved what to pray and also what I was being saved from in ominous tones involving fire forever and as a six year old I laid there and I thought what have I been waiting for this was a close call years I spent in vanity and pride caring not my Lord was crucified I what what would have happened if I had died the night before and it was all very much about in and out and this intense urgency that one minute before you say the sinner's prayer you're going to hell forever and one minute after you say the sinner's prayer you're going to heaven forever and so what was I waiting for was I crazy these were the the thoughts I had later I would write a little testimony handwritten preparation for you know to convince my parents I want to be baptized and I remember conflating the story so that it all happened on Christmas Eve and I I kind of don't think it did but it was something like on the it was the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring except me and then I shared how I confessed my sins how I repented and invited Jesus into my heart and was saved and so I must say I experienced a dramatic change in that moment in fact it was about three days before I became angry discovering that I wasn't sinless and I thought wait a minute I thought I thought when I got saved I would be saved from sin not just the consequences of sin so why am I still sinning and where do I get my assurance then this created great doubts I was like wait quite an intense little boy that is a six year old I also shortly after that got that got my call to ministry in a dream to share the good news and in the dream I I remember it as if it was last night in the dream I was walking down an aisle of naked natives that were going to listen to me preach the gospel but as I walked down the center aisle of these folks sitting across late they were biting at my ankles turns out they were cannibal and I remember having to preach with an anointing to keep them from eating me and then it fast forwarded to a second scene and now they were all clothed and they were sitting on chairs and colonised very nicely thank you and I was now not not evangelizing that I was teaching them I was six when I had this very strange and yet I believe it was a call to share the good news of Jesus Christ for the rest of my life it took me a while to come back to that but I believe that's what we're doing this morning so that's when I was safe or was I when are we saved from what are we saved how are we saved and what is saved and who is saved well this this comes up now as an issue in terms of speaking of universal salvation as over against Universal ism and some of these kind of debates these days and it's a real hot-button topic you know in his in his new book lies we believe about God our dear friend Paul Young is asked this question are you suggesting that everyone is saved do you believe in universal salvation and Paul Young without apology says that is exactly what I'm saying but then he denies being a Universalist what what's the difference so you see that this is up for discussion right and he says this in his book he explains it this way here's what I mean every person who's ever been conceived was included in the death burial resurrection and ascension in Jesus when Jesus was lifted up God dragged all human beings to himself John 12:32 that he drew them he dragged them in his love he could not leave them be and he drew them to his self John 12:32 and that Jesus is the savior of all humankind did you know that first Timothy 4 verse 10 he is the savior of all humankind further every single human being is in Christ and Christ is in them and Christ is in the Father John 14 20 and when Christ died the Creator in who whom the cosmos was created we all died and when Christ rose we rose 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 so then he goes on the context of salvation involves three dimensions I'm going to mention more than three but he says this first prior to the foundation of the world we were all could all included saved in eternity and I like what where did you get that well he says 2nd Timothy 1:9 I saw a race to 2nd Timothy 1:9 would you believe this is in the Bible I think I'll start with verse 8 therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of me his prisoner but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began wow that's a strong statement Paul better be careful or the watchdog's will be on his tail he said third within the context of our own experience ah here it is when I was 6 in the context of our own experience a present tense ongoing active participation to work out what God has worked in us Philippians 2 12 and 13 so there's an experience of this salvation that that's not just from the Incarnation not just from before all time again but in my life today an experience of this of this salvation okay fair enough Paul although we didn't do anything in the accomplishment of our salvation except to kill Jesus our participation in the working out of this salvation is essential our ongoing choices matter that's interesting I thought that was clever sometimes Baxter will say this folks will say well don't you need to do something to be saved and he says yes and we did it we killed him and then Jesus turns around he'll probably preach this week and Jesus turns around and I will take your death and I will enter into the darkness of your abyss and shine my light and do my saving work in the darkest place of who you are like wow so when when Baxter says that this week pretend you didn't hear it from me and just say a mighty Amen because I think that is so amazing so is everyone saved well depends what you mean does salvation include everyone definitely is our willing response necessary I think it's essential on this note I got into a fantastic discussion with these guys with Paul Young with Baxter Kruger and we had an immense immense email exchange and I want to just share quickly two of the contributions I made in terms of when were we saved when were we saved when are we saved when will we be saved and what I'm trying to do is just be super honest with what the New Testament actually teaches about this and then next week Mike can come and correct it all right so so maybe let's do this chronologically so first of all we've already heard this text that from a Paul to Timothy that from before time began salvation was secured in Jesus Christ now we call this election sometimes and I got to tell you I'm not a big John Calvin fan but I'm going to be fair to him this morning because Baxter makes me when John Calvin began talking about election he was answering a specific question how can I know that I'm saved and what Kelvin initially does is this he says if you're looking for assurance of your salvation don't look for it in your own righteousness don't look for it in your own performance don't look for it in your own goodness because the day you have a bad day you will lose your assurance that's not where you get your assurance where you get your assurance of God love for you is by looking into Jesus by looking to the grace of Christ before you did anything and he called this predestination of course the Calvinists then took off on this and it's like all right then who's predestined in whose elect and who's not elected who and it all falls apart and so in a sense Kelvin gives you assurance and then takes it back but he he was on to something in that answer wasn't he that your salvation is not found in your goodness or your performance or your badness or your failures your salvation has been found in Christ before the world began let's hang on to that second there's this element of our salvation that comes already in the Incarnation not just the cross and I think this is where evangelicals began asking the wrong question the wrong question was that how did the cross save you oh yes the cross is a very very important part of our salvation one of the climax points it's where we hear Jesus say it is finished it is accomplished so we would talk about the finished work but calling it the finished work we shouldn't called across the beginning of that finished word our salvation as far as it concerns the work of Jesus Christ in this world did you know it began the moment he was conceived and here's why God needed to save us from what himself no he needed to save us from death and to save us from death he had to go down into death and how is he going to go down into death if God can't die he's going to take huh he's going to need to take on a human nature but here's the marvelous cosmic thing I want you to think about God the creator of all things who is in all places and fills everything God the Creator and then God's creation the whole universe the cosmos including this world including you and somehow somehow God God wants to come into union with that creation and he does it the moment of his conception all creation comes into union with all that God is Father Son and Holy Spirit in that one person Jesus Christ Jesus Christ is the link between eternal God and the whole created order they all find their union in him this is profound and powerful now what will happen to a created order into human beings who need saving who are broken who are desperate who are fallen when when they come into contact with God religion says it would fry you the gospel says it will make you whole and this is why that word salvation in the Greek so though it means saving but also healing and so when when when God takes on a human human nature human nature comes into the healing contact without with its creator it's healed and so everything about human nature that's fallen and broken begins to get healed gregory of not C&S will say it this way what is not assumed is not healed that means God has to assume everything he assumes our brokenness romans 8 says he assumed the likeness of sinful human flesh and in doing so he doesn't sin he heals us of our sin this is the amazing thing when you come into union with God through the person of Jesus Christ he begins to to restore us what did you call it recovery we recover and we recover step by step not just at the cross but right from the moment of that conception when Christ dignifies childbirth and heals us a infancy toddlerhood puberty awkwardness that moving into adulthood and in Christ experiences all of this to heal all of this he experiences human emotions to save us from broken human emotions he experiences our mind so he can save us from mental illness he experiences our our conscience so he can save us and heal us of the torment of a harsh conscience or a dead conscience or just every element of the human condition he takes it on and by by touching it cleanses it can see this really in a dramatic way with the lepers right the lepers touch him he steps supposed to make him unclean you can't touch it God God his holy you know it's like no no no touch him watch what happens you don't defile God he cleanses you he heals you he saves you and this is what's going on that that Christ appeared for the salvation of the world Christ appeared for the salvation of the world he is the salvation you don't get saved you get married and you get married to the one who saves you he is the salvation that appeared to all men and women and children boys and girls so his from all eternity salvation is in him in his incarnation salvation appears through him and like I said we end up seeing a climax to this at the cross on Good Friday where Christ dies for all without exception Christ dies for all without exception so humankind is in folded into the salvation worked through Jesus death and resurrection humankind is in folded into that salvation in him and this is where Romans five is such a powerful passage now I had said we don't need to put that up on the board but if you want to you can I'm using the New King James Version and I'll tell you why in a bit so Romans five is a huge key about when were you saved when were you saved well in the sense that there is a past our salvation is is already accomplished in the Incarnation you'll see this in Romans five you'll also see some future element therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom also we have access by faith into His grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God and not only that but we also glory in tribulations knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character character hope now hope does not disappoint so this must be a different kind of Hope than I have this hope is not wishful thinking this hope is with a capital H and his name is Jesus Our Blessed hope so don't when you hear hope in Romans five don't think about wishful thinking don't think I hope so think about a person he is our hope and we are confident we are I did that this hope has come does come and will come to save right so now hope does not disappoint because the love of God let's put that with a capital L the love of God has been poured out in our hearts and he has a name the name of Jesus he is our hope and he is the love of God incarnate and he has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us when for when we were still without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly not just for the believers his death was for all without exception verse 7 for scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die but God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us before I said the sinner's prayer before I asked him to forgive me before I spent years in vanity and pride then then he died for me and and he verse nine much more than having men now justified by his blood shall we be saved from wrath through him now if your Bible says from you'll be saved from the wrath of God you have my permission to stroke those words out because of God is it not in a single manuscript of any Greek New Testament of God has been inserted by translators with a system who lay who are laying their agenda on that text where it's the wrath of God and they'll say in commentary because it's understood no it's not understood God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and the wrath he is saving us from is the wrath of sin the wages of sin the self-destructive trajectory I was on wrath is wrath is not poured out by God here Jesus isn't saving us from his father Jesus is saving us from sin and the consequences of sin and those will you remember earlier in Romans the wages of sin is death the free gift of God is eternal life wages versus free gift sin vs. God where's the wrath coming from if I overdose on math does God kill me where's the wrath coming from from the mess and my use of the math am i over how about let's do the flip side if my self-righteousness corners me into self-destructive pride does God come and pour out his wrath on me no pride comes before a fall pride tripped me pride knocked me down self-righteousness took me out where is God in that he's saving God is in Christ saving us from the wrath through Jesus God is saving us from the wrath through his son not Jesus is saving us from an angry God for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his son much more having been reconciled shall we be saved by his life did you just notice that he's not just saying Jesus died for your sins he's not just saying that Jesus forgave your sins he's even saying while you were still enemies he reconciled you now as a good Baptist growing up we would have we would have said Jesus died for your sins but you are not reconciled until you say the sinner's prayer confess with your mouth Jesus Laura believe in your heart god right then you'll be reconcile is like that's not what Romans 5 says when were you reconciled when you were still his enemy now this is also a really important point in the Eastern Church God is not reconciled to you God doesn't change God was never your enemy it is we who made ourselves enemies we who alienated herself we who hid behind the fig leaves we and ended and Jesus doesn't come to change God's mind God sends Jesus to do the saving work of reconciliation to change our minds to change our hearts to look back and to say look the father's house has never been closed to you the door has never been locked to you the father has never abandoned and forsaken you run home right so this is this is the very mission of God through Jesus is to reconcile us even even those who still made themselves his enemies verse 11 and not only that but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom he through whom we have now received the reconciliation and so now oh yes so there is this present this present tense reconciliation that I get to finally enjoy I didn't enjoy the Father's love when I was running from it in fact it kind of felt hellish felt like wrath Paul Young will say this it's like the wrath of God is his furious love battling against everything that would prevent us from enjoying it everything that would hinder us from experiencing the goodness and love of our Father that's where his wrath is directed and it's a it's a fearsome love sometimes I'm my wife reminds me that her love is fierce and the men get it don't we if my wife's love were not fierce she would left me long ago with good reason and when she said my love is fierce she means do you know what I have gone through to save this marriage and I'm like I understand the wrath now the wrath is a fierce love that says no to alienation no to separation and clings with all its might to union and to love you know and so this is what's going on here there is a kind of ugly wrath that is the consequences of our own sin and then there's this beautiful fearsome love that pursues us and pursues us and pursues us so that we will ultimately receive the reconciliation and so so is it just that God has saved us and were automatically and oh no his love his saving love summons us calls us invites us maybe drags us a little bit but but there is a call for our willing response now and then how far does this go well Paul says we've got a long paragraph here I won't read it all but verse 12 therefore just as through one man Adam sin entered the world and death through sin and thus death spread to all men because all sinned amazing how Universalist we are about that here's the here's the true retributive universalism all are damned in Adam automatically oh then why is it that all are loved in Christ is so offensive as if the impact of Adam on the world is greater than the impact of the love of Jesus on the world as if sin and Adam or more powerful and more extensive and more inclusive than Jesus Christ himself the savior of all men and so we push back on that verse 18 therefore as through one man's offence judgment came to all men resulting in condemnation even so through one man's righteous act the free gift came to all men and you know what it's not just even repeatedly in this chapter Paul says us how much more if death how much more life if sin how much more salvation if Adam how much more Christ right so these are some things that Romans 5 teaches us about salvation now it add this to so-so this salvation that it sits before the foundations of the world before time again but you see it in the Incarnation starting at the conception all through the human condition coming to a climax on the cross but then also BOOM the resurrection this saving saving victory and while I'm warming up to tell you about that could I get someone to grab me a copy of Jesus showed us the new kids book it's over at the book table because when we talk this way the question will come up then you know then why did Jesus die because we have been we've often heard such a narrow version that Jesus died because you know God had to punish our sins and so the Jesus was a sacrifice and all of that but if if that's not what's going on if God was in Christ reconciling to the world to himself then why why does Jesus die well let me tell you I've been working on this for years I probably have meditated on most days since about 2007 even earlier and so I've got two pages in this kid's book where I'm addressing this if if Jesus didn't have to appiy the wrath of his angry father happy Father's Day through his violent death then what is going on how does the cross play into our salvation how does the resurrection play into our salvation and I'll just read you two quick pages and this will summarize it and save us time what is God like Jesus showed us Jesus showed us what God is like in many ways didn't he Jesus showed us God's love most of all on the cross that's first John three and four God was where's God God was in Christ on the cross showing us his love what does the cross tell us about God's love Jesus showed us on the cross God gave the very best gift to the whole world what gift did he give us yes God gave us Jesus his his firstborn son Jesus was God's great love gift for all of us on the cross Jesus forgave everyone in the whole world God even forgave the people who killed Jesus Jesus shows us that God can forgive anybody and anything on the cross Jesus suffered with everyone who suffers God became a human so that God could feel what we feel on the cross Jesus shows us that God understands Jesus showed us God's love even when he was dying jesus never stopped loving us Jesus showed us last time I was here I preached this under with adult language that the cross revealed that God is self-giving radically forgiving Co suffering love that's what the cross showed us but also we have the resurrection the resurrection shows us how the cross was also a victory what is God like Jesus showed us Jesus showed us that God is alive when Jesus died death could not hold him because Jesus is God Jesus is life and life is bigger than death amen Jesus came back from the dead jesus is alive God is alive Jesus showed us Jesus wind life wins love wins God wins because Jesus died to beat death salvation my favorite review of this book so far is a by a three year old girl who at this point in the story threw up her hands and said Jesus is the winner she gets it she gets it Jesus died to beat death Jesus died so he could even go into the grave and rescue those who died even Adam and Eve remember them Jesus rose from the dead and brought them back with him a whole parade of people followed him now they're alive - what was the first thing Jesus said when he rose from the dead don't be afraid why not because Jesus is alive what is Jesus saying to you today don't be afraid why not because Jesus is alive and jesus loves you now that's really good news so so here we get salvation from all eternity from the birth the life the death the resurrection the Ascension of Jesus into heaven we even get the experience of this salvation as we open our hearts and open our eyes to see that all it's for me - oh yes it's always been for you now I want to also suggest that Romans five adds a future dimension to this often when we would hear if you believe in your if you believe in God you will be saved or if you call in the name of the Lord you will be saved and even here he says he says that how much more will you be saved and we thought will be as soon as I pray the right prayer I think honestly what Romans five is talking about the resurrection that the ultimate manifestation of our salvation is that when we pass into the next life and are raised up with glorified resurrection bodies our salvation will truly come come to its completion and not not just that I'll be raised up but I will when I see him I will become like him that God God is not just saving me from something he's saving me to something and what he's saving me to is this eternal relationship with him in an uncorrupted spiritual existence that was the plan from the very beginning that's that was the plan even you know it's like even we thought of fall and then redemption Oh is much bigger than that it was the plan from the beginning was to take me into a union with Jesus Christ where I would be completely mature and complete and like him imagine absolute Christ's likeness Wow and what if he started now all right so we've got we've got what sort of when we've when we've been saved past present future and even in this present form I don't think we want to nail it down to what day you said the prayer what if your whole life journey is an outworking of this incredible salvation in Christ where I'm progressively waking up to how good he is and how much he loves me well we'll come back to that momentarily when do you want me to start alright so that's a little bit about when I want to just add a few more dimensions to save from what so I've already suggested that that Christ isn't just wanting to save me from sin or or that salvation is about dealing with my guilt you know that actually is not a big deal in the world in the West is let's say in the European West for us guilt is a big deal the whole psyche 'aqaq a psychiatric industry began with Freud's discovery of our obsession with guilt and the torment of our conscience and the need to be declared not guilty which is all very legalistic kind of language right but most of the world doesn't even think that way we thought they should you know so we would send missionaries to Japan to versatile ball convince them they're guilty and they're like what's that well because you've sinned what's that and like they're not relating to it's like oh it's really hard to share the gospel here okay because we're using our categories and imposing it on them and now now it's very similar here in America with the Millennials are like guilt sin these are loaded toxic terms but what what what if that's not the whole thing so here's a few other examples some people don't need or don't feel the need to be forgiven of sins so they can be a free of guilt what they feel the need for is to be cleansed of shame and so some folks who don't even think of themselves as sinners live in deep self-hatred and shame and they feel dirty and they experience self-loathing and you could tell that person you're a sinner they're like I am NOT it's like do you ever feel ashamed and they will fall apart shame is deeply rooted and powerful and it's also middle turn this is the context the Judaism was dealing with far more than guilt categories which are sort of legal that we picked up later in the medieval European theology but in biblical times it was much more about being washed being washed of shame though your sins be as scarlet I will make them whiter than snow and and those who look to the Lord will be radiant and shame will never cover their face you see and so you say this in Japan and they totally get it their version of it would be this here's what they're the oppression in much of Asia saving faith you negotiate with in a street market and they say I give you face you give me face don't shame me in other words don't embarrass me with a by low-balling me and I won't embarrass you by gouging you and that sounds pretty good but it gets ugly a little old lady falls down on a sidewalk and all her groceries are rolling off into the gutter and she's scrambling together and no one will help her why we don't want because we want to save face it would shame her if we helped her I'm like okay now we're getting into the demonic and in fact you know I'm not real big into the exorcism thing anymore but I must tell you the most violent demonic manifestation I've ever seen was when we identify a demon called shame and it took five five people to just restrain this person from damaging themselves because because faith faith this demonic need to save face had so engulfed them in shame that when it began to loosen it became like super by like holy smokes I thought we were past this stuff oh no shames a powerful powerful spirit not only that we've got those who would may not relate so much to guilt or shame but how about alienation feeling all alone and isolated feeling like you don't exist and no one sees you feeling lonely in the middle of a crowded shopping mall alienation and how that just cuts right into families where husbands and wives feel disconnected and you're like this is alienation where you're wondering where God is it feels like he's far away when he's like closer than your own heart what is that about that's alienation and what if an enormous part of Jesus coming into the world was to save us from alienation through union with him and to restore broken relationships all around us and save us from alien nearly oh I get that you're a sinner I'm not a sinner we have but have you ever filled alienated yeah and it all comes out even probably in little children right when we're counseling them and then maybe one more that I'll mention now this one's kind of funny some folks believe that right now in the world we are the most selfish generation of all time what if Jesus came in part to save us from selfishness self-will self-centeredness what does the Bible say about that let's just check any Bible verses of okay be patient I'm seeing Matthew 16:25 according to Christ the one who wishes to save themselves that they die but those who die to self and it's tyranny find themselves truly alive but I love 2nd Corinthians 5:14 and 15 oh listen for @k being saved from self self will selfishness self-centeredness radical American narcissism with your Canadian vassal state to the north big wannabes for if Christ's love compels us because we are convinced that one died 4 and therefore all died and he died for all that those who live should no longer why did he die for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again now that might not sound like a popular message if to a narcissist it's like I want to live for myself but I am Telling You the Millennials are coming to the end of this and they are bottoming out on self-centeredness and self-will and selfishness some of them understand I need to be saved for myself so this is this is really remarkable that Jesus didn't just only come to save us from sin or the consequences of sin or from the fires of hell but also also from from self from our own selfishness our own self we'll all right I'm going to wind up I think just about about this great hope for all and I'll give you an example of Titus 2:11 2:13 for the grace of God has appeared right and his name is Jesus bringing salvation to all men it does not say offering some translations will Rowen offering it does not say offering bringing and offering are completely different great the grace of God Jesus has appeared bringing salvation to all men instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly righteously and godly in the present age looking for the Blessed capital H hope and the appearing of the glory capital G Jesus of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ and so so in in Titus and in the epistles to Timothy we see that this the disc salvation really I mean it's gone God's heart for everybody so I'm God's heart for everyone some of the boldest Bible texts about this are in these pastoral epistles so for example Paul tells us what God wants do you know what God wants he desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth so if God wants it and he's able to do it but he doesn't just want people to be saved well that's no problem he's already done that but he wants them to know it because knowing it changes things it really and so and notice like some folks would rather that Paul had said and God desires all Christians to be saved or all the elect to be saved I used to say that as a young Calvinist but it doesn't say that what the Bible says is all he wants all to be saved if you really want this all and he wants them to know it and it's not that everyone just enjoys salvation automatically or without knowing Jesus no but Paul knows the means to that end so he says this first Timothy 2:1 so then I urge you that you would petition and pray and intercede and bring Thanksgiving for all people Oh okay so there is a means to this end it includes praying well if they're in any way why praise like because they don't know it so pray for them and pray for them and pray but oh Jesus if my kids would all just know what you have already done for them wouldn't that change their lives holy smokes yeah would and while prayer is necessary Paul knows there's other work to do too you know what he says we labor and we strive for this because we put our hope in the Living God who is the savior of everyone especially those who believe so is the savior of everyone but it's especially true when you're experiencing it we when you're experienced it always already begun in some this is awesome but then he says so we're labour and straight why'd you have to labor and strive it's like because apparently there's opposition to this level of inclusion the self righteous don't like it and in fact they put him in jail for it I'm convinced some would still do that if they could the labor which he's referring to is the mission of sharing this good news however you do it whether it's through a book called The Shack or through a fellowship here or through CDs that Wendy produces this is we what are we striving for it we're striving against this this exclusive hateful God message to say Oh salvation is on his heart where we're going and we're going to we're going to share share it so people would know because it changes everything alright I want to I want to close with a story about this this just happened in in Tennessee and and I have permission to share it from the guy to whom it happened the story is going to show you the impotence of a punishing God gospel a retributive gospel how how what a pathetic solution that would be in contrast to a revelation of the love of God in us opening our eyes that he has always been for us and in us and with us and that his salvation is retroactive even all right so I meet this man really sweet guy and I can see that he's weeping as I did the gospel in chairs remember the gospel and chairs if not you can check it out online gospel and chairs jours act and he's weeping and I could see what a soft heart he has but he comes after me up to me afterwards he said could you have a little bit of time I need some prayer about about what you just shared I'm not sure let's do it right now we're at a table and he's like no no no not here it has to be in private so he grabs his best friend and they take me out and go and sit out in a field together alone and in this field he begins to tell me his store and he starts this way I'm on the sex registry for the state of Georgia like okay and he said when I had two girls when my oldest daughter was in her teens I was sexually abusing her regularly at the pattern and she finally was able to escape this and now he was grooming the second daughter for sexual abuse and he was completely bound up in this and yes it's absolutely wicked and we could say inexcusable and at that point his friend intervened and the kids were able to testify and he ended up going to jail and he served the full penalty prescribed by humans for his sin it did nothing whatsoever to rehabilitate him or to restore those girls punishment did nothing perhaps at least he was separated from the population that would be vulnerable but the punishment didn't save then he got out he went on parole he served his parole for a while but then he broke it again through porn use and so they had to extend the parole and he ended up paying for his said with the full the full amount and more of his parole and that came to an end and that parole did nothing to save him from his sins or his guilt or his shame or his wickedness or his addictions or you know you know nothing and it did nothing to heal his daughters to restore his daughters to undo the damage done to the nothing if retributive justice is so impotent do we think that's God's justice do you think a billion years in a fiery hell would restore him whatsoever would it heal his daughters to see him they're useless so then I said you know I asked him what do you want he's like I just I I just I don't remember what he said I knew what he needed he needed to meet Jesus because retribution had not worked and even a retributive God through a volatile conscience had not worked so I I said okay let's let's do this I'm going to teach you how to how to find Jesus and how to have a safe place with Jesus and to talk about where he wants to meet you and he and you know Jesus had this tiny little crack this little opening the god the guy made that much space for Jesus and Jesus came rushing in and he took him right back to a memory of when he was a little boy a tiny little boy and his dad would take him out and strap him down to a chair in the barn and take out a whip or some kind of strap and belt him and belt him and belt him until he was screaming and then until he said I remember all the pain I remember all the screaming I remember from the first time only after that he dissociated and it's like his spirit would watch it happening to this other person and he wouldn't feel it but he could watch himself as a little boy enduring these oh he's awful torture and then his dad after each time he would do this he would express deep remorse oh I'm so sorry regret that did not lead to repentance regret is not repentance because repentance is turning to the kindness of God to heal our deepest wounds and meet our deepest need that's repentance repentance is turning our hearts towards the love of God and the good news of Jesus course his dad never did that the law in his own conscience would just torment him and that came out is this these regretful remorseful please oh please forgive me please forgive me in the little boy would because he knew if he didn't his dad would beat him again but his dad beat him again anyway on and on this when that dot was at the root of all this other stuff a man totally alienated from his own psyche so brutally that he's able to abuse his own daughters and then I said could Jesus meet that little boy in the barn remember I said Baxter's quote that God comes down what do we contribute to our salvation we killed him we crucified Him what did we contribute to what did he contribute to his own salvation he abused his own daughters and what did God do he went into that man the man's the darkest the darkest abyss of his own heart and he found that little boy like Jesus going down into Hades to find Adam and Eve and he and he dissolved the walls off of that barn and he lifted the ceiling off of that barn up into the sky and he took the straps off of that little boy and he held him and I don't know what will happen but I know this that man now has totally owned what he did he is totally connected with the love and the grace and the mercy of God who loves that little boy and this will be the beginning of his recovery it is the beginning in fact he was able to stand up in front of what ninety or a hundred men and he shared the whole thing publicly the guy who couldn't tell me at the table we had to go out to a field in front in front of the room and I remember I remember men weeping their eyes out I remember other men they couldn't close their mouths it was like a gate I member other men having to go through a crucifixion of their own selves wanting to abuse that man for doing that and they could not get their head around I could never do that to my daughters how could he and all of that stuff that was unli in the room by his confession and in that place Jesus showed up ah he'd already been there already saving that guy from before the world began well let's pray as we pray I just would invite you to think about your salvation not in terms of the day you said the sinner's prayer but how about today in this great journey that began before the before the creation of the world in this great salvation that appeared in Jesus incarnation death resurrection and ascension in this great journey that will end at your completion as resurrected human beings for all eternity in the image of Christ in that journey where are you right today maybe maybe you you responded somehow 10 years ago or 20 years ago or 30 years ago but today today think of it as your path think about all the things Christ has saved you from and is saving you from and will save you from but more think of what he saved you for and is saving you for and will save you for and we just zoom in to this moment right now and I'd invite you just to see yourself on that path we'll call it the Jesus way and you're walking the Jesus way and just locate Jesus he's with you he may be in you or before you or beside you as he has always been and so we're just going to start by saying Jesus thank you thank you for being the love and the hope and the glory of our God and Savior thank you for saving me that you have that you are and that you will we thank you that you are healing me so though that you're restoring me that I am in a process of unfolding recovery thank you and and through Christ we say happy Father's Day to his father and ours thank you father thank you for the father's house which is our own hearts thank you for inviting us home there thank you that the door was open and that your arms were open you drew us to yourself thank you that while we were still in the Pigpen you had forgiven and reconciled us thank you now in terms of being saved from or saved for let's just give them a chance to speak Lord Jesus Christ son of God is there anything you want to say to me about salvation today what are you saving me from these days or what are you saving me for these days and to see what he says what the thoughts come through I'm hearing a few things some of this might be for others but some some are being saved from a very small view of salvation as if it means I have to be fixed today oh that's a very small view of salvation salvation is far better than fixing and it's not a drive-through it's an epic story you're an epic story another thing I'm hearing is that God is saving you from the tyranny of the tiny angry image of God and he's doing a good job at it your vision or image of God is so much bigger than it used to be isn't it he's so much kinder his love is far more powerful incredibly extensive he's saving us from that little God of our own imagination then he opened it he's opening us up to the big God of love

Channel: Father's House Ministries

Views: 8,845

Rating: 4.7666669 out of 5

Keywords: The Father's House, Mike Miller, Grace Teaching, Grace Theology, Judgment of God, Nature of God, Healing Teaching, Word of Grace Conference, Brad Jersak

Id: nD44h1L9TWk

Length: 69min 28sec (4168 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 03 2017