The Beauty of Holiness — Richard Owen Roberts

Offerings than any excess of what we've already given we'll send another check Rather than scurrying around tonight. So if if some of you say well Oh I just would like to give some more and you can put it in Sunday's offering and indicate on the line that it's for Mr. Roberts and Actually the check, you know, our check will go to International Awakening ministries, but you can write your checks to Abingdon Bible Church that way we are able to receipt your your donations will go in with your other donations during the year and then we'll put it all together and Forward it up there to him is is that clear to everybody anybody have any questions?

So until after Monday until Monday when the offerings are counted. If anyone has any any more that you want to bring on Sunday feel free to do that. We'll just collect it all deduct what we've already given and send the additional up to Up to them and we did have a a unique thing.

I want you to hear about what happened today Mitch and Lisa and Sue have been sharing. He he has a an antique book Antiquated is what you call it, right? Mr. Roberts where it antiquarian books ministry.

But I Thought when he came he was trying to sell books, but I found out he's collecting. How many books did you how many books did you get today? I didn't count boxes, I was told six boxes six boxes of books so He can't carry those on the plane tomorrow so this afternoon the prayer request that was going up in the crew here that were involved in that was Lord show us how to get those books up to Chicago and They came from over at Sue's house and Sue said to Lisa, you know stick them in your car and take them home and Then somewhere on the way home it occurred to or at some point in the day that On the way to French's that Mitch is Leaving for Chicago in the morning driving so Put the books in the car first then whatever luggage you need.

Isn't God good didn't he could and thank you for praying for me what a what a privilege to go to mom's house and see her and and a Little Josiah crawl up by her walk over to her wheelchair and say hi.

And God so good didn't he what he what he promises what he promises. Have you enjoyed this week it's been a good ministry. Thank the Lord and we appreciate Mr. Roberts faithfulness and the anointing of God upon his life and and If Jesus tarry's and it's God's will We can have him again, you know, that's something if the Lord's if the Lord's in it and he desires us but But he cannot possibly Substitute for your personal Drinking at the fountain, right?

Feeding on the living bread. That Personal Time you say well, where does he get all that? Where does it come from? You have the same privilege and I do and The same the same you you have that sense of joy that he has and sharing what he's found.

You know when you discover in the Word of God Some truth that's of Benefit to you you'll find joy in it and you'll find privilege in sharing it with others and the joy of personal discovery in the Word of God and and of drawing near to God who's drawn near to us and So I trust there's going to be fruit in your life, that's that promise that's a that that's a real positive image Brother Roberts the promise that God has you know that and that we can be to others around us.

Clouds. Dripping with moisture and fruit, you know trees just you know, have you seen those fruit trees? Sometimes you just got to bring a. You got to bring a two before around, you know, my prayer is that we'll be like that I mean you just you just get under the tree and it just.

You get wet under the cloud you get You get pounded under the tree. Yeah. Yeah, what a joy and We still have the privilege of hearing him one more time while he's here and let me know. If you like this plan and you know, give me some feedback and that what else we can do this year so far we've had the emphasis on prayer and this This week together and and you be praying that God will make it clear to us what step is next for our Congregation, but he's made it clear to you What what you are to do and you be praying because as he said, you know, he's he has that responsibility and It's a joy, but it is also a responsibility that in in when he walks in to a place.

He's never been To be sure his clouds full of water and his tree is is Laden with fruit for those who will come and receive it. Let's pause to pray before he comes again Lord. We we have rejoiced in the in the fruit and The moisture and The guidance that charted waters and and Lord the the peace That's come from a life that's rooted in you and and Lord we see that this can be our experience if we will avail ourself of your provision in your word and in your spirit and in prayer and in In opening our eyes to the God who draws near to his people and Lord we've we've Basked in that and I pray Lord that we might we might continue to feed Upon upon you and your and your greatness and glory and and that Lord because we've been together There will be greater glory To your name in our individual lives and in in in our Corporate life and and in our community and and Lord perhaps in time to come beyond this place.

We pray it in Jesus name. Amen brother Roberts.

Offering. Yes. Okay the offering guys. Let's go now in this final session. I want to give you some real Biblical encouragement as to how to move from where you've been and to where Christ wants you and has made all the provisions for you to get there.

Justification by Faith and Sanctification by Faith

I want to start by Talking about a problem that I see in so many places. I see people who believe that we are Justified by faith and Sanctified by hard work. Now personally, I don't know anything more discouraging than trying to be good.

Because you might go even three days just doing beautifully and then wow. You fall flat on your face. You're disgusted with yourself. But Some of us have a tendency to carry with us at all times a big stick.

If not really carrying the stick at least Acting as if we had one. So once in a while we Feel well, I did fairly good today. But as soon as we do something Disappointing as soon as we let the Lord down that we've got this stick and we pound on ourselves a lot of people that I meet are really just pounded to pulp by themselves because of failure and Thinking that somehow Though Christ died for all their awful sins still their failures they got to pay for themselves and Maybe you've been one of those in this vicious cycle where?

Perhaps the Lord has been talking to you very plainly about developing a life of prayer and You make some earnest Decision to move forward in the life of prayer. Maybe you come to the conviction that the best time to pray is early in the morning.

So you say all right from now on I'm going to become a prayer warrior. I'm gonna rise early and for Six days in a row you had a wonderful season of prayer the seventh day. You're down on your knees and you wake up Realizing you've slept through the whole time that you intended to pray.

So then you get out your stick and give yourself a good pounding. Then the next day the question is in front of you. What is worse? To sleep until I'm rested or to get up kneel down fall asleep and Prove to the Lord.

I'm nothing but a phony so your good resolve to rise early to seek God's face and prayer is destroyed and What a beautiful thing it is when You make that resolve and you do well for six days and you fail Miserably on the seventh and you wake up and you say, thank you Lord that you know all about sleeping disciples.

I'm sorry to have lost this wonderful time and opportunity, but I'll be here in the morning. We discourage ourselves out of growth and Development in the spirit because of our failures. But we really in many cases haven't adequately understood What Christ really did for us on the cross?

Walking Blamelessly by the Power of God

So our subject now for these last few minutes is what Christ did on the cross for us and I want to start with a series of verses and some of them you may wonder about and say now How does that relate?

The first is found in the book of Genesis and I would suggest you turn to each of these or at least make note of them and Carefully review them but to just a single verse in Genesis chapter 17 verse 1.

Let me read it to you Genesis 17 verse 1 now when Abram was 99 years old The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him I am God Almighty walk before me blameless. Now those words can be taken in two different ways.

They can be taken as a threat God speaking to Abram. I'm God Almighty. I'm warning you. I'm telling you walk before me blameless, and if you don't look out. But that wouldn't be much encouragement. But take it the way it's really meant I've got a task for you.

That is absolutely impossible for you to perform. You're to walk before me blameless and when I tell you that you groan and you say how could I? Haha, I'll tell you how I'm God Almighty. The Lord never laid anything on us.

That is impossible if he's at work within us and all of us need to develop this supreme Confidence in God and in his power and in his willingness to enable us to rise up above where we've ever been in all our lives and To serve him at new levels what I was saying out of Jude.

Every one of those things you can become because he is God Almighty Almighty. The next passage is in Isaiah at chapter 46 and I invite you to turn to it as well. Isaiah chapter 46. This is one of those rather amazing chapters that likens those Who worship and serve idols?

To those who believe in the true God and there's a lot of ridicule in the chapter. It depicts how stupid it is for somebody to create a God put it on a pedestal bow down and Worship that God and then when they move their household, they've got to carry their God to the next place and That over against a God who carries us.

Isn't it wonderful that I can stand here and say for 77 years God has carried me every Single step of the way. I've never had to carry him once. I never even had to reach out to steady him when he was about to trip.

But all the times he steadied me and Bore me up but notice these words in particular from Isaiah 46 that starting at verse 11 remember this and be assured Recall it to mind you transgressors remember the former things long past for I am God and there is no other I Am God and there is no one like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things Which have not been done saying my purpose will be Established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.

Calling a bird of prey from the east the man of my purpose from a far country truly I have spoken truly I Will bring it to pass. I have planned it. Surely I will do it. Isn't it wonderful? Everything that God decides to do he does and there's never anything that can stand in the way or Prevent him from accomplishing his purpose.

God's Will for the Sanctification of Believers

But now that relates to us. There's a personal promise in that fact in Thessalonians it says This is my will for you your Sanctification now in Isaiah 46, I will it I Bring it to pass accomplish all my pleasure.

God wills each of us without exception to be holy. And he doesn't say to us now. It'll be a hard task. It'll be discouraging. You'll stumble thousands of times, but do the best you can. No, no, I will it I bring it to pass.

I will you to be sanctified. I'm your sanctification and with that in mind turn to the book of Colossians Chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2 2 verses Verses 6 and 7. Colossians 2 verses 6 and 7 as you therefore Have received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him having been firmly rooted and now being built up in him and established in your faith just as you were instructed and Overflowing with gratitude now lay hold of these words.

Why not memorize these words? The first sentence that we just read as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord so Walking in him now brother. How did you receive Christ Jesus the Lord by faith?

He knew that but he wasn't expecting he put on the spot and therefore for a moment to a blank. That's Understandable, but every one of us here who is in Christ received Christ by faith now listen to these words as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord so walking in him.

I began this session by saying there are those who believe they are Justified by faith and then think that somehow this heavy Responsibility of walking in holiness is dumped on their heads. And they try and try fervently but it's a discouraging task as I pointed out already and Indeed not only discouraging, but when everything is said and done It's a really hopeless task because you just don't have what it takes to be holy as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord so walking in him so We're going to focus on this beautiful simple and yet Incredibly vast subject of faith walking in faith.

Gaining in holiness by faith. Some of you may have embraced this but for some of you it may be a concept that somehow has alluded you and You haven't met it made the progress your heart craves. Every true Christian has a heart hunger for Christ and holiness.

It may be suppressed By failure it may be suppressed by temptation that keeps assaulting us and So we may lose sight of it for a season but nonetheless overall there burns within us a longing for holiness and Especially for those who have been captured by the beauty of holiness.

The Beauty of Holiness in Christian Experience

I've made reference to this in the course of the week. But I want to take a moment to stress how beautiful Holiness is. My mother and father were pagans. As when I was a child my father had a good background his mother was a godly Christian, but He never had any interest in my mother just came from a totally pagan family.

She knew nothing whatsoever. But somehow they agreed together that the children ought to go to Sunday school, so we were sent to a Methodist Sunday school and My brother and my older sister and I came home one day and we told our mother that we had been learning about the fairy story or the Tale of Jonah and the whale and my mother I Mean she was absolutely zero in Spiritual things.

She said we don't send children to Sunday school to become unbelievers, we're all unbelievers by nature. You'll never go there again. About that time an aunt and an uncle were pressuring my parents to attend some special Evangelistic meetings in the Christian and missionary Alliance Church in Schenectady, New York, and they went and they were gloriously Converted it was absolutely Astonishing the change that immediately occurred in their lives now.

It was a small church and all around the church had had placards scripture verses and then up over the Platform in the pulpit it had inscribed Jesus Christ the same Yesterday today and forever and as a boy of eight and nine I was going over all these verses and many of these verses had to do with holiness and a good bit of the preaching was on holiness and as a boy I began to think That must be the most beautiful thing in the world and as the years progressed and I began traveling and Have been to so many beautiful places in the world the mountain peaks and the glorious mountain lakes and the sunset and the flowers and the human form we see so much beauty but There is no beauty like the beauty of holiness.

Have you had seasons when by the grace of God you have just Had such a precious time with the Lord that you couldn't imagine sinning there was absolutely no interest on your part in sin holiness was simply too beautiful to be destroyed by anything whatsoever by way of flesh and sin the Captivation of the beauty of holiness.

But then when you come to grips with the fact that that glorious beauty is Truly the beauty of Christ and all the beauty of holiness in Christ. He has pledged us So that through Christ there is holiness.

So let's review what I've said to Abram I'm God Almighty therefore walk before me blameless. I Will it I bring it to pass. I accomplish all my pleasure Says God this is my will for you your Sanctification as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord walking in him every day a walk of faith.

Christ as Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption

Now turn if you will to first Corinthians chapter 1 at verse 30. First Corinthians chapter 1 at Verse 30. Now, these are incredibly Important words. I wish there was some way I could just Get these words Fixed in everybody's head and heart.

Wouldn't that be wonderful? If this just laid hold of you so profoundly that you never ever lost sight of it. Again listen now carefully as I read first Corinthians 130 but by his doing You are in Christ Jesus Who became to us?

Wisdom from God. That is Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption. Now when we read we don't usually insert audibly punctuation marks. I mean when you're talking with somebody you don't run through a sentence and say period and then start comma then Colon oh wait a minute semicolon there no.

We don't but when we read we read the punctuation marks if we understand what the punctuation Marks stand for and that helps of course immensely in reading and in public reading in particular if you pay close attention to the Punctuation marks it helps now.

I didn't insert Punctuation. I inserted the equivalent. Let me give you the verse again. But of him. Are ye in Christ Jesus? Who of God is made unto us? Wisdom that is Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption.

I inserted that is. But you know those two dots one over the other. What when you come to that in a sentence? What does that mean? You want to try? Well it has a specific meaning. It means when you see those two dots that what follows flows out of what precedes.

And it's usually in the form of an enlargement. Now if you're not careful you read verse 30 as if there are four things Laid out in a line in truth. There's one thing that has three parts. That's why I've stressed this.

That is or this double dot now. Let me explain to you. This is beautiful when you get a hold of us when you're reading the Proverbs who is the wise man. Oh come now many of you know the answer. You're just afraid that you'll be wrong and that I'll make fun of you, but.

But I'm not making fun of anybody really. The wise man of the Proverbs is the man who knows God. The fool has set in his heart. There is no God but over and over and over the wise man is the man who knows God.

Now what this verse tells us is absolutely Fantastic. Jesus Christ is made unto us wisdom. He is our means of knowing God. We are made like the proverb wise man one who is in touch with God one who is familiar with God one who knows God one who walks and talks with God one who has the understanding of God.

So the principle thing stated Jesus Christ is made unto us the wisdom of God and the wisdom of God is Salvation. The wise man knows God he is in intimate relationship With him. He is saved now. What is said here is there are three separate wonderful blessings that come with salvation righteousness sanctification and Redemption.

Now lay hold of this friends. Here's new victory and joy for you throughout life. Christ is our Righteousness. Now in the New Testament the righteous person is the person who has been Justified and some of you learned perhaps when you were children even that the term justification can be very simply stated as Just as if I had never sinned.

Now maybe for some truly technical person that would be too childish but I think that's perfectly fit saying when you are Justified before God you are as if you never sinned. It's a legal term. It's like Something that would happen in a court of law where you've been tried for some crime.

But all the evidence says Innocent innocent and you can never be charged with that crime again because you've been proven innocent. Jesus Christ is our justification every sin we ever fell into and every sin of our future Jesus Christ has paid for in full.

He has marked on the debt cancelled paid in full. Now we all understand that and appreciate that. That's what we really mean by being converted by Having that inner knowledge that our sins have been paid for by Christ.

But in this passage it makes it clear that what Christ accomplished when he died on the cross Was buried and rose from the dead was not merely our Justification. I'd say merely not to downgrade Justification but to say as wondrous as that is there's more to it.

It says here he Christ has become our wisdom that is our Justification our Sanctification. Everything that's necessary. Everything that's desirable. For you to become a holy man of God or a holy woman of God is Already secure in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and going back to Colossians as You have received Christ Jesus the Lord so walking in him.

Justification occurs in a moment of time when true faith is exercised. Sanctification does not occur in a moment of time. It's a walk. Everything between the time of our Justification and the time of our final Redemption falls under the heading of sanctification.

So as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord walk in him. Now I'll Expand that further but lay hold of that precious truth. The third thing that's mentioned here is Redemption see it for yourself. Christ.

Jesus has become our righteousness our sanctification and our Redemption. Now, I don't want to get technical and lose anybody in the process. But still in order for you to really enter into this and to walk in faith in it You need to understand the word Redemption is used two ways in the New Testament and it's used two ways in our Hymnology if you love old hymns like I do you can remember hymns like redeemed.

How I love to proclaim it Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb redeemed through his Infinite mercy his child and forever. I am did you ever collect green stamps? What did you do with them? Yeah, she redeemed the green stamp.

They had those redemption centers. I remember as a boy one of my Task was to lick the back of the green stamps and to put them in the green stamp books and I remember the day when my mom and dad took me with them to the Redemption Center and We got for the first time a toaster.

Whoa, what a treat we had. Making toast in this electric machine. I mean it was a phenomena. Now there is that usage of the term Redemption to buy back Christ is our Redeemer we were not born children of God our father Was the devil.

Jesus made this so clear when he said you do the works of your father you lie you murder and You prove that your father is the devil. But Christ is the Redeemer he Purchased us back he redeemed us so that instead of being children of the evil one we're made eligible for adoption into the family of God and When we are Justified by God's grace at virtually one in the same time.

We are also Adopted into the family of God we become children of God and brothers and sisters with all the other redeemed throughout the centuries and part of the major reason why church unity is so much spoken of in Scripture is because we were redeemed by the same Redeemer and brought into the same family by adoption now.

That's the one use of the term in its past tense. I have been redeemed and each person who has come to the realization of Justification can honestly and gratefully say I have been redeemed. But there's another use of the term and the other use is the one in first Corinthians 130 see how it reads.

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus Who became for us? Wisdom from God that is righteousness or justification. Sanctification and final Redemption do any of you know the hymn? Oh that will be glory for me.

Glory for me glory for me. We speak of heaven as the glory and We say even at a funeral this dear brother in the Lord Has been glorified. He's in the glory that's the usage of this second redemption. So it is future tense that's why the Apostle in Romans 8 says the whole of Creation is groaning and travailing together in pain until now awaiting the redemption.

This glorious time when all believers will be gathered together for eternity in The glory. Now friends think carefully. What do I have to do to be justified? Come on? Yes, believe I say what do I have to do to be sanctified.

All right, believe have faith. What do I have to do be glorified? No drop dead. Really. Truly isn't that glorious if I've been justified and in being sanctified then I will be Glorified that's why there's that powerful section in Romans 8 about those whom Christ justified He will also glorify.

Well put this precious truth Into your heart deeply. Christ is my justification my sanctification and my redemption. The whole of God's scheme of Salvation is accomplished in Christ and I have only to believe.

What Christ has? Accomplished and it's mine. Now let's turn to one more passage and this is in the book of Ephesians the first chapter. Ephesians chapter 1. Let me begin with verse 1 of chapter 1. Paul and Apostle of Christ Jesus.

By the will of God. To the Saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us with every?

Spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Then he proceeds to list some of these incredible blessings that have been Secured for us through Christ Jesus so verses 4 through 14 list Seven of these amazing Blessings that are already ours in Christ Jesus.

It would be lovely to have a series of seven servants on these seven Blessings, but I don't think we have time for that tonight. So let's look carefully now at these words in verse 4. This is the first of the seven Blessings just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love.

Now blameless before him just like God said to Abram. Before the foundation of the earth each believer in this room was chosen by God to be blameless. Holy. Now, let's get a hold of this. Some of you might be frightened by the term Election and if you want to be frightened, that's up to you.

But it doesn't frighten me. I want to take you back in history just a little ways. The state of California Had a governor by the name of Ronald Reagan. Maggie and I were citizens of California. When Ronald Reagan was governor and we knew that Ronald Reagan wasn't content With being governor of California he wanted to be president of the United States and some of you can remember something of his campaign for the presidency now he ran over quite a Significant period of time, but he had a favorite Saying and the reporters often picked up on it.

He would say I'm going back to the ranch all the time. Reagan was Candidate for the presidency of the United States. He had the right to return to the ranch. He could say at any juncture this business of running for presidency is a rat race.

I'm tired of it. It cost too much. I don't want the job after all. He was a candidate and the choice was his whether to persevere as a Candidate or to go home and forget it all. But the day came When he was elected President of the United States and the day he was elected President he lost his freedom of choice.

He was president. He could still go home for a rest. But even at home he was president. Now friends you are not a candidate for holiness. You have been elected from before the foundation of the world to be holy.

If you elected yourself, it wouldn't be much encouragement. If your pastor Elected you it still wouldn't help If I added my vote to his Election of you. It's still not going to do any good. But the person who elected you to be holiness has never failed in anything.

He set out to do. As we read in Isaiah 46, I will it. I Bring it to pass. I fulfill all of my pleasure. He elected you to be holy and blameless Before him in love. If you are not holy and blameless Before him in love it is not because he failed to make provision.

It's because you failed to lay hold of the provision. Some of us when we are tempted Say to Satan, oh, no, I mustn't do that, but that's not right and Satan may very well say I wouldn't expect you to do anything awful like that.

I wouldn't even suggest such a thing. All I was indicating was you might like a little look at it and When we look down we go. Now what if we truly learn to say when we're tempted Satan go bother the non elect.

What if we really? Believed that God himself had elected us to be holy. Suppose we were to take the Apostle Paul. Seriously when he said to us Reckon yourself to be Dead Indeed to sin and alive unto God.

You don't have to struggle day by day with these things. You have simply in faith to say I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet, not I but Christ liveth in me. Don't bother the non elect.

God has called me to a life of holiness. I need every single day to claim What Christ has already? accomplished. I Repeat in his death in his burial in his resurrection He provided holiness and each day I need to say Thank you Lord for what you've provided and today all day long I'm going to live in the enjoyment of my election to holiness but you see often we don't do that or anything near to that and Just to put it out very candidly dear friends Many that I know who want to lead a holy life and want to bring glory to God through a life of holiness don't get up early in the morning and Don't allow themselves enough time to get things straight.

Every morning we need to rise early enough to carefully rehearse who we are. If you get up at the last minute and rush off about the day's Activities you may not be halfway into the day when you so thoroughly forgotten who you are.

That you're acting like somebody you're not but you are holy and You need to start the day by having a good fresh look at the Lord and Reminding yourself even of what he said to Abram. I get up in the morning and say you know perfectly well Lord I don't want I don't have what it takes to make this a holy day, but you do Everything you promised to do for Abram you've promised to do for me.

Everything you provided in the cross and in the tomb and in the resurrection is available today. I'm going to join Paul and say today I Reckon myself to be dead indeed unto sin, but something better than that.

I Reckon myself to be alive Unto God in Christ Jesus today all day I'm going to live like one fully alive in Christ. Now I'm not talking about an experience that you suddenly have and from then on everything goes beautifully.

I'm talking about a daily walk when every single day in faith you lay hold of what Christ has done and You say that's for me today. All day long I draw upon the sanctified power of Christ. Now let's move to the end of this first chapter and Let me show you some further beautiful truth about this verse 15 for this reason I too having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus Which exists among you and your love for all the Saints?

Do not cease giving. Thanks for you while making mention of you in my prayers but the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Glory May give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be Enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling? What are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints? And what is the surpassing greatness of his power?

Toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might which he brought about in Christ When he raised him from the dead and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and Dominion and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come and he has put all things in subjection under his feet and Gave him as head over all things in the church.

Which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all. Now, this is a lovely prayer and I pray it for you That you may know each of you may know and this word know here is know experientially not Intellectually, but experientially in your daily life that you may know.

What is? The power of God the glory of God. Now the passage mentions three specific things That happened to Christ. He was raised from the dead he Was raised from earth back to heaven and Seated on the throne all other powers were put under his feet so he Reigns over all.

The Resurrection Power of Christ in Daily Holiness

Now how much power? Did it take to raise Christ from the dead? Well, I don't suppose any of us could say. But we can say it took no more power to create to raise Christ from the death of the grave Than it takes to raise us daily from the death of sin.

The very Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from that tomb is at work every single day in your life to raise you from the death of sin and to make you fully alive to enable you as I've Suggested already not only to reckon yourself dead to sin, but Alive to God.

Have you had a Practice every day of saying can you imagine this incredible truth? I am alive in Christ fully alive as Alive as Christ was alive as he was raised from the dead. So all the power Necessary to raise you from death.