Identification Truths Plus 2012

We are on lesson 17. I believe we got through question 6. No. Yes, we did. We will blaze through the end of this by today. Our procrastination class, we always start 10 minutes late by the time we get started. If we can keep Mike from giving 5 minute answers, we'll be fine. Don't ask any questions. It's not like it's in nature to blame somebody else. Not at all. You should come to our kids' class. We're talking about this. You telling them that quickly? Yeah. No. I'm using the example a lot of times now. All right.

First of all, I'll read, I had you read 1 Corinthians 1.30 and 2.16. I'll read those. 1 Corinthians, and yeah, we're right before question 7. I love it.

Lesson 17. 1 Corinthians 1.30 But by his doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God.

1 Corinthians 2.14-16 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.

4. Who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct him?

But we have the mind of Christ. So, my question seven, how can we have the mind of Christ? First of all, do you believe that? That to me is just one of those mind-blowing ones. You know, when he says, you have the mind of Christ. What does that mean? Part of it says it's by His doing. Perfect. And so how do we have the mind of Christ? How is that possible? He just goes, waves the magic wand and says, you have the mind of Christ? By believing in Him. Believing in Him? More specific? It's in your heart and soul? We're placed in Him? We're placed in Him. That's the whole thing. We've been placed into Him.

If you look at the 1 Corinthians 1.30, but as Russ said, by whose doing? His doing.

You are in Christ Jesus. who became to us wisdom from God. So again, the point of all these verses, and remember what the title I've put on these lessons are, verses that you can't understand unless you know the Romans 6 truths, the identification truths. I guess, how would you interpret without Romans 6 and our being placed in the hymn? How would you explain that you have the mind of Christ? How would you explain that? We wouldn't be able to. We would come back to works on oneself and just thinking. You know, I mean, you have to make up stuff to try and figure out how to make this verse meet in something.

Because how do you get the mind of Christ? It's either, you know, the magic wand is done and you suddenly have the mind of Christ. Where is that in scripture? Where does it say he magically puts you in the mind of Christ? The other is by works. Now that I have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the old Adam can now have the mind of Christ. Is that legitimate? No. So, explain to me how you can get the mind of Christ without being placed into him. You can't.

The whole point of these is, when you read these other verses, unless you understand the identification truths, they just don't make sense. You have to go through great gyrations to get to something that could kind of justify what these say. These are the kind of peripheral ones. The ones we're going to get into next are the ones that I don't know how you understand without the identification truths.

The answer I have is because we've been placed into Christ positionally, because we have the Holy Spirit indwelling, and because of God's Word, we can understand the things of God now. Remember I read verse 14 in 1 Corinthians 2, but a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. When you became a believer, Did the scriptures open up more to you than when you were a non-believer? Yep. Who would waste their time looking at scriptures if you were not a believer?

Yeah, but I mean, if the verses or whatever, you know, I'm amazed that when I read the Bible, and I've read passages, and then suddenly, it's alive. Something new just absolutely jumps out at me. It's a brand new thing. It's just like, wow, that's a new truth that I hadn't noticed before. It's a living word.

And as a non-believer, it just doesn't make sense. A non-believer, it's what? Foolishness. It just doesn't make sense. If you're a non-believer, especially if you're starting to read some of these things. You have the mind of Christ, and you're a non-believer. Yeah, right.

I used to try to share about Jesus with this real high-level manager at Lockheed. And he'd say, gosh, I've read the Bible three times too. You don't have to try to tell me about Jesus, but I was told he said he wasn't a Christian. He'd read the Bible three times.

Yeah, and it's foolishness. I mean, until the Holy Spirit works in a person's heart, it's foolishness. I think what you're saying, I think with Zodiaty, I use him all the time. look at definitions of Greek words. But I think Mike was saying that he didn't know the Lord, he doesn't know the Lord. He's a believer, but I don't think he understands what we're talking about. So I mean, you can read through it, but if you're not a believer, it's just foolishness. And you know, before I was a believer.

I remember, I think I told this, I was on a flight and a guy cubby-holed me. I was in high school. And he just wouldn't let go of me. He was the four spiritual laws, just for a two-hour flight. I wanted to punch the guy. I was not, this is stupid. You're crazy. Get away from me. Is there a door on the outside? I want to get out of here. I was on the inside seat. window seat, I couldn't get out, you know. And it was just terrible, you know. And it was foolishness to me. All that he said was foolishness.

However, you know, I look back and God uses all those things. You know, when you talk to your manager, Lockheed, five years from now, ten years from now, who knows when, he may go back and go, you know. So we look in very short time frames. God works on lifetimes. Later in life he did become a Christian and his daughter said he was a believer at his funeral. Yeah, I mean, so, you know, we look at it and, you know, it was totally useless what I said to him.

Well, no, you know, God is in control of all these things. I also think that you can look at these verses from the standpoint of a believer who can rest in the fact that he does have the mind of Christ. these things are not foolishness unto him, and that the Spirit of God is working to cause him to grow into the fullness of who he is. And that it is not consistent with who he is to say, oh, I can't get it. I'm sorry, you have the Spirit of God, you don't get it without him, and he's showing it to you, so you do get it. Between the Holy Spirit and the Word.

And see, all these things link together. I go, you have the mind of Christ, then that makes sense when you say, what are we being conformed to? Christ's image. Oh yeah, we have the mind of His. Hey, this all fits together. So, you know, like I said, it's the Holy Spirit and the Word that are the ones that are convincing us of these truths. So, now we're getting into the good ones. I really like that. These are the ones that I think you really have to go through mental gymnastics to get around the identification truths. 2 Corinthians 5, 17.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away. Behold, new things have come. Again, I throw rocks in a glass house. Before I knew the identification truths, I'd look through these things and I'd just go, You know, I'm a new creature. That means the Holy Spirit is getting my old Adam. I'm now in power to do these things. That's not what this verse says. It says, therefore, if anyone is what? What's that key phrase again?

In Christ. In Christ. He is what? A new creature. The old things passed away. Behold, new things have come. So, question eight. How did we become a new creature? The word here in the Greek is kainos, and Zodiatis defines it as new, qualitatively new, as contrasted with neos, temporarily new. So this is a brand new creature, not a rehabilitated or refurbished man. So how did we get to be a new creature?

Through God. Through God. Through God how? He just sent some of us via Christ. We're in Christ. How did we get into Christ? It's the new birth of Romans 6. How did we get out of Adam and placed into Christ? Crucified. Positionally we are crucified. The only way we can get out of Adam is the Romans 6 truce. We have been crucified. Otherwise, we're still aware in who? Adam. That's the whole point of these verses. We're going to have to go back to Romans 6 again?

We spent lots of time in there. It's because we have been co-crucified with Christ, which means we have been separated. Separated positionally, right now, we have been separated from our old Adamic self. Now, remember what I said, you know, you go, wait a minute, I'm co-crucified. Remember, what was my example for trying to get you, how do you understand how God now sees you?

Use your name. Huh? No. What? Put your name there. Well, yeah, I mean, yeah, but, I mean, an example, I used an example, was the wedding example. Oh. As Christ? I'm still the old guy. How does that work? Okay, but does he see you as Christ? Because we are now in her, in Christ. That's who he sees me. That's what he doesn't see me in the old Adam. He sees me only in Christ.

And that's because I used the example with when I got married. My wife, before the marriage, she saw me as a boyfriend, a fiancé, whatever. But the minute that service, and I pronounce you man and wife, How did she see me? As a husband. As a husband.

She didn't ever see me again as a boyfriend or a fiancé. She never sees me again as that. I'm a husband. It's the only example I can come up with how God sees me now in Christ. He doesn't see me ever again. Ever again in Adam. Never. Never ever again. He only sees me, we have been placed into Christ and he just sees me in Christ. That's who I am now.

You know, maybe too, like people who adopt kids, you know, too, they say like, oh, they're part of the family and I see them as my own and, you know, they're not just some kid out there. Well, a lot of the verses we can go over, you know, we're as adopted, that we're fully vested, fully, you know, as children of God. I mean that's how we're grafted in. That's a great analogy because lots of adopted kids don't see themselves as part of the family as they grow up.

And that's the big problem we have as believers is understanding that it isn't that the same old Courtney has now been adopted by Christ. It's now that Courtney is a brand new creation, brand new creature. And you are a legitimate offspring of God. And no matter how you see yourself or think of yourself, you are of Him and from Him. That's what I was going to say. The point is, especially if an adoption doesn't matter whether a child feels he's part of the family or not. No. It's nicer if he does. Isn't that the truth? And that's the perfect example for us.

That's exactly what we go through. Again, so we got, we were crucified, co-crucified, Adam removed, now new in kind, a new creature, not a refurbished old Adam, we are a new creature in Christ. So, I just blew it. So what phrase again do we see in this verse that we've seen beforehand? What? In Christ. Yes, in Christ. It was 147 times in Christ and his epistles. In Christ. You think that's important? 147 times Paul uses in Christ. In him. Placed in him. I think it's very important.

Is this true of us now or later when we step into eternity? Now? Later. How many laters? No way. I said right now. Any others? See, do you believe that though? Do you believe that right now? You are a new creature. That's how God sees you. It's not later when we shirk these shells. You know, when we step into eternity. He sees you now Just like you'll see throughout eternity in Him, in Christ. So we don't have to even think of death then. We are going to die but forget about it because we already are in eternity. It doesn't matter. Paul, to die is gain. It doesn't matter. There's a cool article in the newspaper today about one of the survivors of the shooting and that's kind of what he said.

He said, if it was my time to go, I'm going home. I told you an example from being an ex-pilot. I was on a flight and we were flying out in Little Puddle, South Dakota. Two of us sitting in the back seat. Those were the old days when they had the cockpits open on a Beechcraft 1900 with a flying pencil.

I'm reading the paper and a guy beside me. All of a sudden we see Big flashing red light, alarm goes off, and the pilot just takes it and banks and heads down. I'm reading the paper. The guy beside me is freaking, and I'm reading the paper. It's okay. I literally didn't stop. We get down and he comes down to a lower level, levels off, and the guy's freaking next to me. The pilot never said a word. And it's, what are you doing? You know, we're about, the red light, we're, hey, if it's time to go, it's time to go. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. What? You're rare. I know people that leave that would still be a little frightened. Oh my God. I literally, it doesn't matter.

If God wants me, you know, I freak my mother-in-law out on this one. You know, when this hit, you know, with this cut, if it was 6 inches farther, it would have removed my hand. A foot this way and it would have crushed my body. Otherwise, it hit perfectly and got 82 inches later, I'm fine. But, you know, my mother-in-law says, oh, it could have been. So, had it removed my hand, would that have been different? Would God have love me less, or should I be angry if he took my hand away, or if he took a finger away, or... No. No, it doesn't matter.

If you understand he's sovereignly in control of this, you can have what? Peace that surpasses all understanding. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. How do you do that? If he's in control, it doesn't matter. You never panic. It's amazing. If he's in control, I understand that.

That's why I use my ism. Does God ever say, oops, when this hit my arm and split me open, did God go, oh man, I missed it. Oh, I'm sorry, Courtney, I missed that. Missed it. I was, yeah. See, he's perfect. He knows exactly. If he was trying, it would be God. But I mean, that's the thing. It doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter, as you understand. It's because we know where we're going. But at the same time, I would have a hard time reading the paper while the plane is going down. It really doesn't. Seriously, I mean, it doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter.

If you think you're going to be one minute longer... I think it goes back to the mind of Christ and I think you can look at that as a mindset. If you are abiding in Christ and you recognize that no matter what the circumstances are, they're orchestrated for his glory and your edification. So no matter what comes your way, there may be that, uh-oh, there's a change in plan, but there's also the Spirit of God in the mind of Christ that is there, and you understand instantly, well Lord, wherever we're going with this, we're going with it, and so let's go with it. There's no reason to get all nervous about it.

Mine is, in some of these things, what do you want me to learn? Well, I think we forget that the Spirit of God is with us and influencing us with the mind of Christ, especially in crisis situations. Yeah, I mean, I go back to consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. How do you do that?

You understand he's in control. You understand that in Romans, can you ever be separated from his love? No. So in that trial, when he's testing you or doing whatever, if he rips me apart, does he not love me? He loves me every bit as much as he did before. And he's using this for his purposes and his glory. I rest in that fact. That gives me the peace that surpasses all understanding. The rest that he's promised.

Go ahead. I think that you're talking about the death and the gash and everything, but I find it in my life, it's the little annoyances that are the harder things to go, okay, because I have a sense of, but that's something that I can control, and so letting, you know, whether the kids are on my nerves or the chicken for the potluck didn't turn out how I wanted it to a little more, and it's, and just, you know, it's the little, The things that we feel that, okay, you've got the big things, but I can handle the little things, but when those aren't going right, then I still trust you.

And guess where God's going to be working on you all the time? Exactly. And he does. Until what? Until I recognize. Rest. Yep. Rest. I don't think you rest without biblical knowledge and the work of the Spirit persuading you that the grace you live under is true. So if you don't read your Bible, you're never going to get there. You're going to go through all these exercises and they're going to be minimally helpful to you because you don't know the words. Well, you know what, I don't know if I'd agree with that because I think the way God works sometimes with grace is that looking back stuff when Karen says like, The chickens didn't turn out and I didn't even care.

You know? Even if she wasn't like, you know? But see, that's where I think, again, the time frames. We live in very short time frames. God works on us all the time, 24-7. Yeah, and I would say, I don't even know if you could tie, like, reading the Bible or something to it, like saying, like, oh, you know, if I read the Bible more, then that stuff won't happen. I don't mean it from an academic standpoint, I mean it from an intimacy with Christ.

And that's where, Mike, whatever, years ago when I first came here, that was one of the first things, was you read the Bible, not to know facts, not to know procedures, a law-based, if I do this, but it's to know Him, 2 Peter 3.18, to grow in the grace and knowledge of Him. How do you become conformed to somebody? Beholding, studying, looking at, observing, know everything about that person. figure out how I make the chicken right. You do it to know him.

And then it becomes a life. Remember, I say it's a life. It's not an ABC checklist. It's a life. And as a life, you respond out of that life. And that's the key. Like I said, you don't tell a dog to bark. He barks because he's a dog. You, as you become conformed to that image, you react and manifest that life as you're conformed to that life. But you need to know what that life is, you don't do it by osmosis. You have to know, you go to the scriptures to know Him, and the Holy Spirit will reveal Him, as who you are in Christ. And that's why these verses, I love these verses, because these tell you, you're placed into Him.

I mean, just take a little bite of that. But you know, I believe, and I am not afraid of death, But if I were in a house and the house was burning and I was in the middle of it, I would definitely scream. You know, I would know God is... and I'm going to heaven and all of that. But, you know, just the thoughts...

See, you kind of touch in a little bit of an area. You know, I cannot be afraid of death. But there are consequences. There are consequences to actions. I can go play in the middle of I-25 and say, Lord, protect me. And he'll send the truck and say, boom, you're an idiot. Come on home. We've got to clean the DNA pool. A little more chlorine in the DNA pool. So there are consequences to actions down here. and test God. They're consequences of the actions. I just have peace and understanding. And, you know, if you're in a fire, get out of the house. You know, don't just say, Lord, protect me. And there was an old joke about the guy on the roof on that flood.

And you know, maybe you don't even know how you would react. Maybe you, maybe at that moment, God would give you all the peace and strength that you needed. And you would expect Him to. And maybe you wouldn't react how you think you might. As you understand who you are in Christ, it's a lot easier to understand. Understand he's in control.

It's like, okay, Lord, whatever. I don't understand. I say a lot of times, I don't understand, Lord. I don't understand what you're doing. But I rest in the fact that you do. And that's the key. I don't know why. There's this whole, like why I took Hal home. I mean, Hal, a great teacher. Lord, what are you doing? He's a great man. A man who just... It's time for other people.

I love the old saying that God didn't part the Red Sea until the Jews got there and Pharaoh's boys were coming down on them. Up until that time there wasn't a need, so don't worry about it until you get there. So, going back to the 2 Corinthians 5-17, a very, very good verse to know. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature.

That's you. That's speaking of you. That's very important. A new creature, not a refurbished, empowered old Adam. Going back to our Romans 6, we have been separated from him and placed into Christ. Another good one. Again, how do you explain this? How do you explain this without understanding the Roman six truths? Galatians 2, 20 and 21.

How without Romans do you explain, I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly. So, first question, verse 20.

The verb tense is used for... What verb tense is used for our crucifixion? And how does that relate to the Roman six truths? So just in English, what is the verb tense? Past tense. Past. So yeah, just English. Past. So what does that mean? Done. Done! So...

You what? What has happened to you? Have been. Have been what? Crucified. Crucified! Do you believe it? I mean, these are these things where you go to... I mean, yeah, it's easy. Oh yeah, and you say in class, I've been crucified. You go outside and go, what? No, you have been crucified. Important point, because sometimes you... You encounter believers who are sort of bumping off of these truths and you'll ask them how they're doing and their answer is, I'm dying to self. And I'm thinking to myself, you know, that's like I'm trying all day long to be a human being. I am one.

I already did die. To get back on the cross and die. Do a little dying on the cross. I need to get back up there. I need to do this a little bit. Well, I'm going back to your examples where I wasn't afraid of dying. Well, why should we? We've already died. Good point. That's the whole point. I've been there, done that. I know what's to expect. That's the whole point.

We are new creatures. physical body will be eventually. Sown into corruption. Sown into corruption. It's God. But God sees us and we're a new creature in Christ. He sees us in Christ. He looks down and He sees us in Christ as a new species of people. Who is the firstborn of a new creation? Christ. He's the federal head of this new species of who we are, which is the body of Christ.

But it's just amazing. that God doesn't see our sinful nature when we do screw-ups. Right. So, that's a perfect thing. So why are you worried about when you do something? God's done with it. Why aren't you? Yeah. I mean, that's the whole point. It's done. He doesn't even see you. Paid for. See ya. Don't beat yourself up. You may suffer consequences for a sin. You know, if you, you know, like I said, go out and play in traffic. There are consequences to that. Or you sin and there's a consequence. Whatever, shoot somebody. There are going to be consequences for that.

That's also why Paul never refers to believers as dying. He always refers to them as sleeping or being sown or some other view like that. But never dying. It's already done. It's already been done. And the pain and everything was taken by Christ. Therefore death wears those things. It's not there.

In the English, it's past tense. I have been crucified. And the verb, I have been crucified, is in the perfect tense, which means past completed action with present results. It's also in the passive voice, which means the action was done to us. And the mood is indicative, which says that it's a fact. So past completed action, done, with continuing results, today. And it was done to us. and now it's a fact.

Is there any other way to be placed into Christ? What does verse 21 say? For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly. So is there any other way to be placed into him? Could the law have done it? No. Could any other action have done it? No. No. And if it is, then Christ died needlessly. So God, do you think that's a good plan? That God put Christ up to die needlessly? His only begotten son?

Not good. Okay. Reiterating, how does this verse make any sense outside of what we know from Romans 6? I have been crucified and it is no longer I who live. Anybody explain that to me without the Romans 6 truths. Can't. There's no way. You can't explain that verse. So, do you see the building mound of evidence that you can't get away from what's true in Romans 6 and the identification truths?

Paul just keeps on referring to these things and building the case back to you have been crucified and placed into him 147 times. He reminds us that we have been separated from Adam and placed into Christ. In reverse, then, these truths can't be applied we come to understand that we've been crucified.

A little bit of clarification on that. It doesn't matter, once you believe, and you've been placed in it, it doesn't matter whether we believe it, I mean, we understand it, it's true of you. Regardless of whether you understand it fully, or, you know, all these things, it's true of you regardless of your reaction to it. No, what I'm saying is these truths, and actually even becoming a Christian cannot be until I'm crucified. I have to die to self. It will happen.

Once you believe in the gospel message, which is what? Death, burial, and resurrection. That's the simple gospel message. You believe that. All these things that we talk about in Romans 6 happen to you. That moment. So whether you believe and understand it all at that time, or even know about it, it still doesn't change the fact. There are cults out there that teach some of these truths and try to tell you who you are, and it can't be because they have not truly believed and been crucified. Yeah. With grace. Right. I'm just going to the point that, you know, if you were a believer, that through the simple gospel, this is all true, whether you understand it, know it, or whatever. It's true.

So it helps, I don't think, as we mentioned before, I don't think you can grow until you understand these things, and that's what we talked about last week, that a lot of people are in the nursery, because they don't understand this, because you're always trying to fix up the atom, empowered by the spirit now, atom can do this, atom can do that, I need to work, which we're going to get into grace, I don't think you understand grace fully without understanding this, because the old man is always wanting to do something, under grace it's unmerited.

So we're building upon all these truths, placed into Christ, and then we can begin to understand what grace is, unmerited. There's nothing that we can do, and it's only the old man who's under a legal system wants to do anything. So when you understand that, you can begin to operate in grace. Know who you are in Christ, know Him intimately, and that will become manifest, and then you'll understand grace, that there's nothing we can do. It's God's blessing just poured out upon us because of His grace. I think what Bruce might be getting at is the infinite benefit of knowing that indication truths are just lost and people are working, struggling.

I did it for 20 years. I don't fault anybody for that. I can't throw rocks. I look in the mirror and say, that guy did it for 20 years. I rest in the fact that the Lord is working. in small groups like this and is getting it out and works more individually than in a church of 10,000.

It's his way, you know? Alright, let's try and go on here. How do I live now? Question 10. Who does the living? By the faith in the Son of God. And who lives now? I live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. So I live by faith now. I live by the faith of the Son of God. Who does the living? Christ. Christ! So again, getting back to some of our earlier conversations, why are you worried? Because Christ is in us. Indwelling in us. The Holy Spirit indwelling in us. So again, when you're worried about things, who's doing the living?

If you go on a website called withchrist.org, there's all the Miles Stanford publications there, and the one you want to look at is called An Eye for an Eye. An Eye for an Eye. A letter I? A letter I. For an I. And it very carefully goes through exactly what we're talking about today. It's really good. Who does the living Christ through the Holy Spirit now lives in me? Who does that work? And what does the verse say? Who does the work? The Spirit of God. And so we do that by faith. We believe what is true of you already.

Believing does not make it true. It's true of us whether we believe it or not. So why not believe and trust in what God says is true of you? It's not going to change the fact. It's already a fact. Whether you believe it or not, it's true of you. My point is, why don't you believe what's true of you?

Well, it's like salvation when you're presented with the gospel. The gospel's true whether you believe it or not. But you don't get to derive any benefit from it, or it doesn't open up to you until you believe it. And it's the same thing with identification truths and spiritual growth. The facts are there and they are true, but they will not have any Conditional benefit in your life until you believe them. Until you believe them, yes. And again, I think it's through the growth and knowing who you are in Christ. It's the conformity.

It's your 2 Corinthians 3.18, being transformed. You're being transformed from glory to glory. And that's what's happening to us.

Actually, how do we know what is true of us? How do we know what's true of us? No, how do we know? Because it's just on the Bible. So God's Word and the Holy Spirit. Right. Basically that's what we know, however we know it's true of us. Question 11. Verses 20 and 21.

What was the basis of our new life and is there any other way to live a righteous life under God? No. The basis is that my old man has been judicially, positionally crucified with Christ. And then four, if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly. The only way is through Christ and what he has done. Okay, let's see if we can blaze on here and get through this.

Read Galatians 6.14, and that is, But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. So what is our relationship to the world?

Dead. Crucified to it. Dead. Dead. So, Monique? Yes. Politics, you and I, politics. I'm getting better. Okay. It's just like watching a football game. We aren't from around here. So, what is Christ's relationship to the world? Separated. Separated. Crucified to the world. If we're crucified to the world, What are we then? Sojourners. Sojourners. What else? Ambassadors. OK. All those through. Anything else?

It almost seems like we're characters in a big plan, like in a big play. Interesting. doing, like God's the big director and we just get our part. But you know what, it sounds like he's a big puppeteer and he wants to make, what is his primary goal? Be conformed to his son. First to glorify himself. Yeah, for his glory. For his glory. But then It's to have this relationship.

Why do you think I went through John 17 so intimately? He wants a relationship with you. All this orchestration is to conform us and to have that relationship with us. That's what he wants. All this grand plan is not just to act out a play. It's for us to be intimately in fellowship with him. That would be the whole point. So all these things that happen to you, it's done in love to conform you to what? To bring you to this intimate relationship that he wants with you. Which results in the manifestation of his glory. Yeah. It all fits. It all works together.

The other thing I had was, if we're crucified to the world, we're sojourned to that. Philippians 3, 20 and 21. For our citizenship is in heaven. from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory." So if you note, the verb tense is, in the Greek, present active indicative. Right now, not later. Right now, you are a citizen of heaven.

So when we get wrapped up in politics, It don't matter. It don't matter. You know yesterday I was listening before I went to bed there was a little synopsis of the Olympics and there was this one fellow that was interviewed I don't know if you've seen it but he I don't know what his prize was and what he even did but he was a Christian and it just brought tears to my eyes because he and his wife and the family and they're so into it, whether he lost or not. He said the same thing, he was in Christ and I was thinking, I'm listening to Mike. That's the point, it doesn't matter.

Yeah, it's just wonderful. I'm a type A-er obviously, you know, and I'm a competitor, just maybe. A little bit. Just a tiny bit. But I realize whether I win, lose or draw, it doesn't matter. I will compete at the highest level I can, but whether I win or lose doesn't matter. And that takes the bumps and the lumps and everything out of the road. You know, it's interesting when you watch Christians interviewed at the Olympics. The Olympics is about representing your country.

But if they interview you and you're a believer, you represent none of those countries. You represent the Lord and that's what's important to you. Yeah, I mean, you weren't thinking about the country at that point. You were, yeah, the country of heaven. is when he's talking, you don't think he's Greek, Italian, American. He's from a different country, different planet, different whole deal. And he said, if he were going to lose, he said that was okay with him because that's how God does it. Oh, I meant to have you win. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

There'll be no Sunday school classes next week. If you're going to the camp out, there'll be a short sort of Bible study up there and there'll be the regular service here without Sunday school. So we'll pick up two weeks from today. And do you want to spend a little time?

Yeah, just finish that. I'd like to go through the Ephesians. And then we'll start the introduction to grace. Yeah, I'd like to finish. Just read Ephesians 1 and 2 and really look over that because that's our position in the heavenlies looking down. This is telling us all that we have now.

So read Ephesians 1 and 2 before next week or two weeks. What is it, like 142? I don't want to count them. Oh, no. No, this is only in Ephesians 1 and 2. This is only 1 and 2. Yeah. I'm just saying, when I called Dr. Echol to mention that I had prostate cancer, and he was talking to me, the first thing he said is, boy, you know, Russ, it just makes us realize that our address isn't here.

It is. And you can rest in all this. God knows what's going on. He's in control. You know, it's also odd. I did worship music, like worship leader kind of stuff for a couple of years. And for some reason, it's like every time we sing the songs, it's like whoever set up the song, it's like, they did that because I needed to hear all this encouraging stuff. So it's like there's this amplified as I'm singing these songs.

Oh, yeah. The Lord works in a lot of ways that, you know, I mean, a lot of times when we talk about down here in the herd will reinforce exactly what we said or some of the songs just fit perfectly. And we don't coordinate that. We don't. He does. Right. Yeah. All right. Let's close. Heavenly Father, thank you for this time. Father, again, thank you for the truths that you have in your word. Father, we thank you that you didn't just leave us alone. You left us with the Holy Spirit in your word.

And that allows us to figure out who we are in Christ. As we study and look at and just get more intimate with Christ, we figure out who we are. And we are excited about that. The fact that as we know Christ, we know who we are. And what a joy that is. What a comfort that is. What strength we derive from all that.

We just thank you that that's your plan and that you co-crucified us and did away with all that was associated with Adam and we don't have to worry about that anymore. You only see us in Christ and we rest in that and just relish that. Father, we just again pray that we will just grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as we study. Father, we just thank you for going upstairs again. Just pray for him and prepare our hearts to receive that word. We just thank you for this time in Jesus' name. Amen.