Some Present Tense Realities of a Believer

Things Present in the Life of the Believer

Titus 2:12

July 31st  2011 AM

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

www.biblebc.com

 

I.       Introduction

 

A.    As Christians, we may not be much to look at, but we have some things worth getting excited about. We have been given in this life some things that are priceless

B.     Some “realities” – some facts – some present tense things!

C.     I love how the Bible speaks

 

1.      There are some things that I WAS

2.      And there are some things that I “AM”

3.      One of these days, maybe I will be able to preach on what we SHALL BE

 

D.    God can fix your past and your future – thank God!

E.     But He wants to work in our present!

 

1.      Too many people live in the past

2.      Others only live for the future

3.      A Bible believing Christian has some things right now that make them shout, and rejoice, and that make life worth living!

 

II.    Background – What I WAS (Eph 2:11-13; Romans 5:6; Eph 2:1; John 8:44)

 

A.    Lost

B.     Ungodly

C.     Dead in my Sins

D.    Without God

E.     Without Hope

F.      Without Strength

G.    A Child of the Devil

H.    Doomed – Condemned

I.       THAT’S what every Christian WAS! There is no real Christian that is like any of that now!

 

III. Message – What Every Born Again Believer IS!

 

A.    I Am Forgiven (John 5:24; Rom 4:6,7)

 

1.      Ah, FORGIVEN! What a wonderful word!

2.      What a wonderful way to live!

3.      It is in the present – happening right now. It is not just something I “WANT to be”, but something that I “AM”!

4.      No longer guilty, under condemnation – and rightly we were – WE did the crime, and in hell should have served the time! ETERNITY in punishment for our sins

 

a.       You all know what it is like to be guilty – to lose friendships and closeness because of wrong-doings

b.      I hope you know what it is like being forgiven – having relationships fully restored!

 

5.      It only happens when Jesus comes into your life!

6.      Nobody is “born” a Christian.

 

a.       Remember, we all start off separated from God

b.      But then you learned about a Saviour, and as a sinner, asked to be saved from your sins

c.       And that was when you were born again

 

7.      Twenty three things happened when you were born again

 

a.       You passed from death unto life

b.      You were given the Holy Spirit of God

c.       You were at that moment, blessed with all spiritual blessings that there are

d.      And there are twenty more things…

e.       But the greatest thing was that God really and truly did forgive you all trespasses, and iniquities, all sins!

 

1)      Burying them in the deepest sea

2)      Casting them behind His back

3)      Casting them as far as the east is from the west!

4)      Pretty good thing for us isn’t it?

 

f.       That is how everything started – how life finally begin for us!

 

8.      The Bible says, “But unto us which ARE saved…” (1Cor 1:18)

 

B.     I Have Eternal Life (John 10:27-30)

 

1.      It is NOT something I hope to gain at death – it is something I possess right now

2.      Just as real as I am standing here right now, alive, and having life, I also HAVE eternal life (Romans 6:23b)!

3.      I received not just forgiveness, but the gift of eternal life itself!

4.      If I asked 100 people on the street, “Do you have eternal life – everlasting life, right now” what do you think most would say?

 

a.       No. Not yet. Only get that when you die and go to heaven

b.      Who knows?

c.       I hope to have it one day

 

5.      Well, the moment I repented, and received Jesus Christ, I got eternal life!

 

a.       Too many people worry about being baptized to get into heaven

b.      And joining a church to get into heaven

c.       They join charities, and get involved in doing good works

d.      But a Christian is different! I got into Jesus Christ! God reached down and took me and put me into a PERSON!

e.       The moment I received HIM, He received ME (2Cor 5:17)

 

6.      As of June 15th, 1980, I Am Already in Heaven (Eph 1:20; 2:6)

 

a.       Where is Jesus right now?

b.      If I am in Him, and he is already in heaven, then…

c.       As far as GOD is concerned, I am already home – it is done and dusted!!!

d.      That’s why I know that I can’t lose my salvation – because it is completed in God’s eyes

e.       All I am waiting for is for my body to catch up with Jesus!

f.       And it will at the Rapture, or at the Resurrection!

 

7.      Isn’t “salvation” wonderful?!

 

C.     I Am Washed, and Holy, and Righteous (1Cor 6:11) - Wow!

 

1.      Washed

 

a.       I am cleansed from the filthiness of all my sins – NONE of my sins, no matter how small, were good! They ALL were filthy, and wicked

b.      I am not trying to wash away all my sins now – they already have been washed

 

2.      Sanctified – that means a Christian is Holy – a SAINT

 

a.       To be sanctified means made holy!

b.      Met several monks at an Abbey at Mt Melleray

 

1)      Some trying to be holy

2)      Some trying to get away from the world – I don’t blame them

 

c.       I have read about many people who have been “beatified” – made into saints.

d.      But you are looking at a real, honest-to-God, bona-fide SAINT!

e.       Saints don’t only live in heaven (Eph 1:1; 2:19) – they live in Ephesus, and Ballincollig, and Cork, and Carrigaline!

f.       Sanctified means made useable by God

g.      The moment I was born again, I was washed, and was made useable by God!

h.      So what are you doing with your life? Is it available to God to use and use up?

i.        I know, I know. Often we don’t feel very clean, very useable by God, but the blood of Jesus Christ constantly (PRESENT TENSE) cleanseth us from all sin!

j.        Are you still living like you are a pig in a sewer, or are you living like the clean, saint that Christ made you?

 

3.      Justified

 

a.       It means made Righteous – as if you and I had never sinned!

b.      I couldn’t ever earn such righteousness

c.       God had to provide righteousness for me

d.      And provide it He did, when He became a perfect Man and paid for all my and your sins, and offered us the chance to be pardoned at HIS expense!

 

4.      95% of the world is working so hard to

 

a.       Cleanse their hands and consciences from sins and guilt

b.      Become saints and holy people in their religion

c.       Be righteous with God

d.      And yet here we are – all done and dusted for the person who simply looks to Jesus, and trusts in His righteousness!

 

D.    I Am Owned (1Cor 6:19,20)

 

1.      Like these guys on world cup soccer teams – they are OWNED

 

a.       They are told when to show up for practice, when to play, what position to play

b.      They are told what to eat, when to sleep, and even what clothes to wear

c.       Same goes for Olympic athletes, and boxers and

 

2.      I Belong to Jesus (1Peter 2:9,10) – Accepted into the beloved!

3.      It didn’t come cheap! I was bought with a price! A very high price!

4.      I Am Debtor

 

a.       To no longer live like I used to

b.      To preach the Gospel (Rom 1:14-16) – not try and hide my light

c.       I live now out of a great debt that I owe

 

5.      The Christian life is SERIOUS Stuff! We belong to Jesus now!

 

a.       Our hands are not free to do as they please

b.      Our eyes are not free to watch what we want

c.       I do things that please Him who paid off my sin debt (John 8:29) – who freed me from the bondage of my sin and of the devil!

d.      The reason why you continue to do as you please, have the same old attitudes, is because you don’t have the foggiest idea just how much in debt you were to God!

 

E.     I Am Loved (Gal 2:20)

 

1.      The whole world is “looking for love” Well, I found it!

2.      And by the way, it is a HIM

3.      He IS love (1John 4:7-10)

4.      Jer 31:3 has God loving us with a love that lasts forever!

5.      Understand that God loves you Christian, and cannot ever stop loving you

6.      Yes he may need to chasten you (Heb 12:6) but that only proves that He loves you! If He didn’t correct you, and humble you, He would be negligent and an absent heavenly Father!

 

F.      I Am Inhabited (Gal 2:20)

 

1.      Wild thought! Ever notice all the weird movies today about demons and aliens inhabiting people? Freaking everyone out?

2.      Well, it’s true!

3.      People do get filled with all kinds of wicked things – all angels are not good angels.

4.      Broken, contrite, hungry hearted believers are inhabited by the Holy Spirit of God

 

a.       We are supposed to be FILLED with Him

b.      Full of HIS thoughts, of HIS words, full of HIS will

 

5.      I am never alone anymore. He loves me enough to stick with me (Heb 13:5; Psalm 23:4)! He is STUCK in me – sealed inside me is how the Bible describes it!

6.      You better remember THIS next time you are around people you shouldn’t be with, and watching things that are sinful, and listening to music that is wicked!

7.      If you are not full of the Holy Spirit, you will end up being full of something else

 

a.       Depression

b.      Anger

c.       Wrath

d.      Lust

e.       Covetousness

f.       Jealousy

g.      And the list goes on and on!

 

G.    I Am Free (Gal 5:1; John 8:32,36)

 

1.      From the Penalty of Sin (Rom 8:1)

2.      From the Power of Sin (2Tim 2:19) – we can walk away from sinful habits

3.      One day I will be free from the very Presence of Sin

4.      Don’t let the devil enslave you ever again into the bondage of: smoking, drinking, lusting, depression, wrath, revenge, bitterness, covetousness!

5.      You have been MADE free – so live that way!

 

H.    I Am Locked in a Battle (Eph 6:12; Rom 7:21)

 

1.      In all areas – physically, emotionally, and spiritually

2.      The world, the flesh and the devil won’t let me alone

3.      I cannot escape it!

 

a.       Oh there will be times when there are lulls, and quiet times of rest and victory

b.      But most times, there will be just vicious wrestling and struggles!

 

4.      I have to constantly cast down imaginations – present tense

5.      I have to constantly remind myself of God’s promises

6.      I have to constantly submit to God so that I can resist the devil’s attacks

7.      Don’t ever forget you are in a battle

8.      But also, don’t forget, that one day, that battle will be over! AMEN!

 

I.       I Am Called - I Have a Job to Do (2Cor 5:20)

 

1.      I have been gifted

2.      I am being enabled

3.      I will be rewarded based on whether I do what God has designed for me to do (2Cor 5:10; Gal 6:7,8)

 

a.       Samson failed to do what God designed him to do

b.      David succeeded because he did God’s will for his life

 

4.      You and I have a great purpose to fulfil right now!

 

a.       Not when you are 50 years old

b.      Not after you have had all your fun, and are finally tired of all your sin

c.       Not when you are bored

d.      Not when you can’t do anything else

e.       But RIGHT NOW – PRESENT TENSE

f.       A twelve year old child should be about the Father’s business!!!

g.      An eight year old should be king if called upon to be such as was Josiah in 2King 22

 

5.      Do you even know what God saved you to be? What He designed you to accomplish with your life?

6.      It’s time to ask God and find out what it is! And then started being it and doing it!

 

IV. Conclusion

 

A.    God can fix your past and your future – thank God!

B.     But He wants to work in our present!

C.     Heb 3:7, God says, “Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts”

D.    2Cor 6:2 says, “Now is the accepted time! To day is the day of salvation!”

E.     Do you remember what you were before you were born again? Lost, Ungodly, Dead in Sins, Without God, Without Hope, Without Strength, A Child of the Devil, Doomed – Condemned

F.      THAT’S what every Christian WAS!

G.    This morning we have looked at What Every Born Again Believer IS! Not what we hope to be, but what we ARE!

 

1.      Forgiven

2.      Possessing Eternal Life

3.      Washed, and Holy, and Righteous

4.      Owned

5.      Loved

6.      Inhabited

7.      Locked in a Battle

8.      Free

9.      Called – You and I Have a Job to Do! Let’s get to it!

 

H.    All of that is THE way to live!