Dr. John Goetsch: A Failed Flesh

take your Bible let's go to John chapter 6 tonight the Gospel of John and the sixth chapter we're going to look at just one verse as our text tonight and use it as a launching pad to the message tonight which is more of a topical type of a message but we find the truth compacted into this one verse in John chapter 6 it's a lengthy chapter and we're at the very end I call your attention to verse number 63 John chapter 6 and verse 63 Jesus is speaking and he says it is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life our flesh is absolutely worthless we are born with a flesh we sometimes call it the old nature we sometimes perhaps as the bible does call it the old man when we get saved we have now a spiritual nature but we still have the flesh one thing about salvation your flesh doesn't get saved there's nothing good in your flesh now we like to prop up our flesh we like to think of something in ourselves as good perhaps we even could look back on today and say well I think I was fairly productive we might say I I think I was profitable in some way perhaps predictable perhaps Pleasant we would like to think of ourselves in ourselves as doing some good things but Paul has a very wise perspective of himself in Romans chapter 7 and verse 18 he said for I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing and that really is God's perspective of our flesh in our flesh in our old man in our old nature there is no good thing and that flesh manifests itself in lots of different ways after we get saved I won't ask you to raise your hand but how many of you have had a battle with your flesh today now not everyone has had the same battle because the flesh manifests itself in different ways in our lives and all of us have different weaknesses and and the flesh preys on those weaknesses and oftentimes we give in to that flesh but our flesh is absolutely worthless are you living in the flesh tonight now the flesh life feels good it feels natural it feels sometimes like you know this is what I want to do this is what I enjoy doing it it feels good it the flesh life is an easy life very little resistance to the flesh life the flesh life blends in well with with culture and with those that are not saved but the flesh has a terrible endian the Bible tells us in Galatians 6 and verse 8 he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the spirit shall shall reap life everlasting in Romans 8 and verse 13 if we live after the flesh we shall die first John 2 and verse 16 all this in the world the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes the pride of life is not of the Father but it's of the world and the world passeth away and the lust thereof but either doeth the will of God abideth for ever we are never going to please God in our flesh the flesh cannot please God again in Romans chapter 8 it says in verse 8 so then they they're in the flesh cannot please God in the flesh we cannot accomplish what we desire to accomplish for God in the flesh we cannot do anything that is profitable we can accomplish nothing for the glory of God because the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these the contrary the one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would so in the flesh we are unprofitable in the flesh there is no way to please God in the flesh we can accomplish nothing and I want you to see tonight from scripture for unattainable goals through the flesh there are four goals that we cannot possibly reach there are four goals that we cannot accomplish in our flesh first of all the flesh cannot satisfy you will never find fulfilment in your flesh the flesh always comes up short in satisfying us now we're born with the desire to accomplish we're born with a human desire to accumulate we are born with a human desire to be accepted and the flesh works hard and accomplishing and the flesh works hard and accumulating in the flesh works hard had been accepted by those around us but the Bible would teach us that the labor of the flesh fails we have in us somehow humanly to put our hands to the plow to to work hard but but the labor of the flesh fails I think of the words of Solomon who said I made me great works i builded me houses i planted me vineyards i made me gardens and orchards and had trees in them of all kinds of fruits i made me pools of water to water with the wood that bringeth forth the trees I had I had men's servants and women singer servants and and I had great possessions of small and great cattle above all that were before him in Jerusalem I had me servants and maidens and had servants born in my house I had I had men singers and women singers and musical instruments and that of all sorts and and whatsoever my eyes desired I kept not from them I was held not from my heart any joy and then I looked and all that my hands had wrought and behold all was vanity and vexation of spirit there's no profit under the Sun Salomon lives his life accumulating Salomon lives his life for the material he's gathering all these things to himself but it never satisfies it leaves him empty unfulfilled because the labor of the flesh fails he goes on in Chapter six of Ecclesiastes he says all the labor of man is force mouth and yet the appetite is never filled we labor to feed ourselves we leave or to clothe ourselves we labor to house ourselves we leave or to gather all these things with the labor of our hands but our appetite is never filled the more we gather the more we want he that love a silver is never satisfied with silver nor he that loveth abundance with increase this also is vanity the labor of the flesh fails the lust of the flesh fails we saw a verse yesterday she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth in the world today in their flesh they they seek after that which satisfies their eyes or satisfies some hormone in their body or some passion and they go after the lusts of those flesh but it never satisfies the lusts of the flesh fail proverbs chapter 23 and verse 21 says the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall close a man with rags in Philippians 3 in verse 19 Paul says whose end is destruction whose God is there belly whose glory is in their shame who mind earthly things the lusts of the flesh failed the learning of the flesh fails college students came back in today and got started tomorrow they start classes many of them will adopt a life verse tomorrow Ecclesiastes 12 and verse 12 and further by these my son be admonished of the making of many books there is no end and much study is the weariness of the flesh the learning of the flesh fails today we're we're bent on academia we're bent on knowledge we're bent on on education and yet I've never heard so many wise smart people so messy so many things that are absolutely foolish why because we profess ourselves to be wise but we become fools why because the learning of the flesh fails thy wisdom and thy knowledge it has perverted thee and thou said in thine heart I am and there's none else beside me we see it all over our nation tonight people wanting more and more knowledge and more and more education and more and more this than that and yet God gets pushed farther and farther away until he's completely eliminated from this humanistic secular society we live in and yet we become fools the wise men are shamed they are dismayed and taken law they have rejected the word of the Lord and what wisdom is in them the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God he taketh the wise in their own craftiness the learning of the flesh fails the lifting of the flesh fails oh we we all like to boast a little don't we we all like to say hey look what I got done look what I accomplished look what I earned and look what I made look what I did but the lifting of the flesh fails the voice said cry sandwich like cry all flesh is as grass the glory of man as the flower of grass the grass withers the flower fadeth because the spear of the Lord bloweth upon it surely the people is grass it was a man in the Old Testament by the name of Nebuchadnezzar he was maybe the most powerful King that's ever sat on a throne upon the earth daniel addresses his grandson in daniel chapter 5 and he says o thou king the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom and a majesty and glory and honor all nations and languages trembled and feared before him who mean would he slew whom he would he kept alive whom he would he set up whom he would he put down but when his heart was lifted up and his mind hardened in pride he was disposed of his kingly throne they took his glory from him he was driven from the sons of men they fed him with grass like oxen his body was wet with the dew of heaven till he knew that the Most High God ruled in the kingdom of men and he appointed overed whomsoever he will debiting Nezzer this powerful man that's lifted up upon a throne and who me whatever he said it was the law he could exalt you he could kill you it was law and people trembled and feared before this king and yet God took him down to where he was crawling on all fours in the pasture eating the grass like the cattle his hair on his arms grew like Eagles feathers his fingernails grew like eagle's claws you see the lifting of the flesh fails there's another example of a man in the New Testament who was a king he's found in Acts chapter 12 and in verse 21 on a set day Herod arrayed in royal apparel sat upon a throne and he made an oration he made a speech and the people gave a shout they said it's the voice of a God and not a man and immediately the angel of the Lord smote him because he gave not God the glory and he was eaten of worms and gave up the ghost gruesome horrible death because the lifting of the flesh fails pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall my friend the flesh cannot satisfy us tonight our work our wants our wisdom our wins they all fall before a holy God the flesh cannot satisfy but see secondly tonight the flesh cannot justify how do we get to heaven I mean we don't have to spend a lot of time living to understand that we don't deserve to go to heaven we're sinners so how do we get to a place that's sinless how do we who are imperfect because of our sin get to a place called heaven that is perfect where God is who is perfect how do we get there how do we become justified there's no one in this room that wants to go to hell I know people boast about that they joke about that you know having a big party in hell and all that kind of thing but nobody in there in their honest mind wants to go to hell we all desire heaven and man oftentimes makes an attempt at eternal life through his flesh he attempts to get to that place called heaven through something that he can do in his flesh but notice tonight the fallacy of religion many people think well if I become religious if I join a church if I I find a congregation if I if I if I if I read the Bible if I if I follow some of its teachings if if I'm religious enough I can go to heaven Paul saw this fallacy of religion in his people the Jews he said in Romans chapter 10 and verse 1 brethren my earnest desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved for I bear them record they have a zeal toward God but not according to knowledge for they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves to the righteousness which is of God man tries through the religion to somehow make himself justified before God but religion falls far short every religion in the world boils down in their teaching to one of two things you either believe that you are reconciled to God through faith or you believe that somehow are you are justified or reconciled to God through your works no matter what religion you study it's either by faith or it's by works now it can't be a little of both in Romans 11 verse 6 the Bible says and if by grace then it is no more work otherwise grace is no more grace and if it be of works it is no more grace otherwise work is work so salvation cannot be a gift if you can work for it because the minute you work for it it ceases to be a gift if salvation is something we work for then we dare not call it a gift because the minute it's a gift you can't work for it anymore so if by grace it's no more work otherwise grace is no more grace and if it be of works it's no more grace otherwise work is no more work so which is it well Ephesians 2:8 tells us what it is and what it isn't for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast man tries to justify himself through religion but the fallacy of religion is that it leaves you short of eternal life I walked into a church one night portage Wisconsin one of the ushers came up to me he said Billy get there is a couple here tonight with the same last name as yours their name is get and he said they want to meet you they think they're related to you well there aren't a whole lot of gadgets in the world I thought well maybe they are I mean I'm from Wisconsin they're in Wisconsin maybe were related so I went in and I met this this couple he was 83 years old she was 81 nice people all guesses are nice people nice couple we chatted a bit and I said you know I I'd like to talk to you more the service about to start I said why don't why don't you just hang around a little bit after the service we can talk and find out if we're related so I went back and had some prayer with the passion we came out started the service and I preached that night out of John chapter 3 and what it means to be born again simple salvation message they listened but made no response or indication whether they were saved or not and so after the service hi I went to them again and we began to chat a little bit and and they began to ask me some questions about certain people and some of the names I kind of recognized and and by putting some pieces together we kind of thought that maybe we were related some distant you know relation but couldn't really pin it down and we kind of talked for that about that for awhile and after about 15 or 20 minutes I I said mr. Goetsch if if you were to die tonight do you know for sure are you 100% certain that you would go to heaven have you ever been born again as we talked about in the message tonight and his wife said and I always get a funny feeling when you ask a man a question his wife answers it but his wife said why of course were Christians we have sung in the Church of Christ choir for 43 years I said ma'am that's wonderful I I'm sure your church is grateful but man I don't find any place in the Bible were singing in the choir gets a standard you see many people want to justify themselves through some religious activity they wanted to hear nothing more of the gospel they wanted to hear nothing more about how to be saved they were they were they were counting on their religion to get them to heaven but we see the fallacy of religion we see the futility of riches now most of everything that we have tonight is something we've attained I realize that some things we have may be a gift from someone else but but even in a sense we've attained a friendship or a family relationship that that they would give us something of value most everything that we have the cars we drive the clothes we wear the homes we live in are things that over time we have been able to attain but richest can never attain eternal life salvation is not an attainment it's an atonement it's already been paid for it's already purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ we're not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from our vain conversation received by tradition from our fathers but by the precious blood of Christ we get so infatuated with these things these material things the the things of this earth and and we think somehow if I have enough of that and I'm prosperous enough and if I give enough if I'm you know a philanthropist and I I give away some of my things I'll get to heaven I can buy my way there but jesus said in Luke 12 and verse 50 take heed beware of covetousness for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth God does not evaluate our life by what we wear God does not evaluate our spiritual condition on what we drive or where we eat or what kind of neighborhood we live in he goes on and he says the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully and he thought within himself what shall I do I have no room to bestow my fruits and my goods he said this will I do I'll pull down my barns I'll build greater and there will I bestow my fruits and my Goods and I'll say to my soul soul now as much Goods laid up for many years take thine ease eat drink and be merry you know that's the American dream right there working hard attaining all these things being a wise steward laying it all up so that you can retire early you'll have your picture on Forbes magazine you'll be the model that everybody wants to follow but in the next verse God said thou fool this night thy soul shall be required of thee then whose shall those things be which thou has provided so is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God friend if you're trusting riches to buy your way into heaven if you're trusting your success and your accumulation of things in this life to make you a ticket into heaven you according to Jesus Christ are a fool what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul what shall a man give in exchange for his soul the fallacy of religion the futility of riches and notice the frustration of restraint some in this this attempt in the flesh to be justified they think well if I if I if I'm good you know if I restrain myself and I do more good than I do bad if I if I stop sinning so much if I if I if I try to be a little better person I'll treat my neighbor like I I want them to treat me I'll I'll do good to others I'll I'll work hard I'll have a good ethic at work I'll be moral I'll be I'll be a good citizen and and we think that somehow you know that those works of goodness will get us into heaven I was witnessing to a man one day and he was convinced he was going to go to heaven by his works and I saw what what kind of things have you done to to get into heaven I mean what what have you done to to earn your way to heaven he said well this last lent season he said I gave up my favorite beer and I drank light beer for the whole Lent I thought wow what a sacrifice I thought God was really impressed with that and amazing we think that somehow we can we can do something of Merit in ourselves to earn points with God the frustration of restraint the Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God we come up short there's not enough money there's not enough religion there's not enough good works to get us to heaven if I jumped as high as I could jump I could not touch that ceiling up there I know you're disappointed I I couldn't do it if you gave me a running start I couldn't do it now we could get some younger people up here maybe some basketball players from the high school or the college and and they could jump and they would get a lot closer to that ceiling than I would but they would be short we could even give them a trampoline give him a shot run you start having jump as hard as they can that template and they would get higher than I would get but they wouldn't touch that ceiling up there you may be sitting here tonight thinking well I'm a better person than so-and-so and I've got more religion than some and I've got a little more money than most and I've got some good works in my resume listen you're short of the glory of God the flesh cannot satisfy the flesh cannot justify notice thirdly the flesh cannot sanctify now how do we get saved well the Bible says we get saved by faith faith cometh by hearing hearing by the Word of God we hear the word of God priests we understand that we're a sinner we understand that we cannot save ourselves and so we call unto the Lord we call upon him as Savior we ask him to come into our life and forgive our sin and give us eternal life and we turn to God in faith so now how are we sanctified we're saved by faith so how are we sanctified how do we live this Christian life Paul to the Galatians said this only would I learn of you received ye the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith what's he asking that they're in Glacius 3 2 he's asked him how did you get saved did you get saved by some work that you did or did you get saved by faith in Jesus Christ well the answer was obvious they knew how they got saved they got saved by faith that's the only way you can get saved no one is saved by their works therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law Romans 3:20 7 so they knew the answer to that so then in the next verse he said are you so foolish having begun in the spirit are you now made perfect in the flesh we're justified by faith how are we sanctified to our works how do we grow how do we mature can we do that on our own can we somehow manufacture that in our in our flesh well the answer's no you see there's a failure of impulsive determination have you ever been just determined to do something well you just maybe it was a new year's resolution maybe it was just some point your life you said you know what I'm gonna search saving money yep I'm gonna start saving money next paycheck I'm gonna put this much in the bank to save it how you doing on that you ever said I'm gonna lose weight yes sir I'm gonna lose weight good year's resolution determined how we doing on that you ever said well I'm to turn I'm gonna read through this Bible this year I'm gonna do it they gave me that reading schedule I'm gonna do it I'm gonna read through this Bible this year it's January 28th how you doing I'm going to start tithing well I'm gonna I'm gonna start giving 10% a my income to the Lord I'm gonna do it it reminds me of Peter he said Lord though all men shall deny the yell I never deny thee and I believe Peter was sincere I believe he was determined never to deny the Lord but a few hours later he's not only denying the Lord he's denied he ever knew the Lord there's a failure too impulsive determination there's a failure of inconsistent discipline all we think if I was just disciplined if I was just like that person is really disciplined boy if I could get some discipline in my life if I could just you know just have a routine and get discipline in my life you know what's interesting look down at verse 66 here in this chapter 6 of John it says from that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him now I find the choice of words there by the Holy Spirit very important many of his disciples that this was not the fringe crowd that came to church once in a while or on Christmas and Easter these were people the disciple was someone who had denied himself had taken up his cross and had followed Jesus Christ a disciple a disciplined follower of the Lord Jesus Christ but now all of a sudden when the teaching got a little bit hard and the way got a little bit tough they went back and walked no more with him there's the failure of inadequate oh we think well I can I can discern I I can know what I'm starting to slip I can know when when I when I'm not right with God I I can figure that out in my flesh and it reminds me of Samson Samson played around with his Nazarite vow one day told his heart to Delilah that he had taken a vow of a Nazarite his hair had never been cut as he slept on her lap she shaved those locks and it's interesting in judges 16 and verse 20 Samson awakens to the voice of Delilah who's saying the Philistines be upon thee Samson the Philistines be upon thee and Samson said I will go out as at other times and shake myself I'll shake this off he knew exactly what had happened but he said I'll I'll shake myself off I'll fight the Philistines I'll I'll win as I've done before but he whisked not that the Lord was departed from him he thought he was discerning enough to figure out where that line of his flesh was and he thought why I don't need the Spirit of God any longer I I'm the strongest man that's ever lived I can conquer anybody I don't need the Spirit of God's power in my life and how many times do we preach a sermon or teach a class or or try to serve God in some way in our flesh we say I'll just shake it off and rely on my talent rely on my personality rely on my training to get the job done and like the Church of Laodicea we sit back and we say I am rich and increased with Goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked and God isn't even in the house because in our flesh we've lost our discernment of what we need the flesh cannot satisfy the flesh cannot justify the flesh cannot sanctify and finally tonight the flesh cannot multiply now God desires Christians to reproduce hearing as my father glorified that you bear much fruit we are commanded to make disciples go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you and he that winneth Souls is wise but can I tell you something it's all impossible in the flesh you see multiplication is a matter of genetics if you go back to the book of Genesis everything that God made reproduced after his kind after his kind you know what the flesh produces more flesh the flesh can only produce the flesh it's a matter of genetics and when we serve God in our flesh when we try to minister in our flesh when we try to do God's business in our flesh it is a misrepresentation of God for God said no flesh can glory in my presence if I preach in the flesh God isn't here he left if I pray in the flesh he's not attending the prayer meeting if I go soul-winning in the flesh he's not coming along in the book of Acts chapter 8 Simon the sorcerer offered Peter money for the power to be able to heal and cast out spirits like like Peter was doing and Peter said thou it's neither partner lot in this matter for thy heart is not right in the sight of the Lord repent therefore this thy wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of that heart may be forgiven thee and as God's people tonight we need to ask God to forgive us of serving in our flesh the flesh is faulty the flesh is a failed flesh so if you're looking for satisfaction in the flesh you won't find it but God says now you're a complete in me if you're looking for salvation through your flesh you'll never get to heaven because God says neither is there salvation in any other for there's none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved if you're looking to be sanctified through your flesh God says if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit if you're looking for multiple occasion in the Philip flesh God says I am the vine ye are the branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me you can do nothing so what must we do then we must die to the flesh I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not i but Christ liveth in me and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me in our flesh we will never find satisfaction we will never find justification we will never find sanctification we will never accomplish multiplication we must die to the flesh and become alive in Jesus Christ it is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life alive in the flesh oh no die die to the flesh and live in Christ

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

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Keywords: lancaster baptist church, lancaster baptist, baptist church, paul, chappell, paul chappell, pastor paul chappell, Dr. John Goetsch, week, of, awakening, John 6

Id: stlAWexG6Ts

Length: 42min 27sec (2547 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 29 2019