Possessing Christ — Joshua Daniel

Possessing Christ as Eternal Life

1 John 5 chapter 11 and 12. And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

So, the Christian experience, or being a Christian, is to have Christ. Not just a dogma, not just a doctrine, or not just a nice feeling. The heart of the matter is Christ, possessing Christ. You know, we all know what it is to be under a very strong and emotional, emotionally stirring sermon, and we say, yes, I decide for Jesus.

But you will soon notice that there is no follow through, and you see very little of Jesus Christ at all in the subsequent events that follow in the person's life. Now that cannot be, you know. Now here the Lord Jesus Christ said, He that heareth my voice, behold, I knock at the door.

If any man hear my voice, I will come in and sup with him. You know, folks, therefore, when the Lord Jesus comes in, He just not come in as a casual visitor. But I'm afraid we make it so awkward, and inconvenient, and painful for Him, our conversation, and the rest of our demeanor.

You know, when we let down our hair, how are we? In the secret of our homes, how are we? How do we conduct ourselves? Is the King within you? He that hath the Son has life. He that has not the Son of God has not life.

Christ Within Us in Times of Crisis

In other words, he's a dead man, spiritually dead, can't do anything. You know, my dear friends, we must not feel palsied or paralyzed in the face of some of the current challenges that we face. I like a challenge.

I like tough situations. Because that's where you prove Jesus. So, a dismal scene, a desperate condition, is just the right opportunity for us. That's it. Not when everything is smooth sailing, and everything is fine.

You know, people cannot handle a crisis. In their emotional life, in their family life, out in the workday world, they don't seem to be able to handle a crisis. But that's normal. Very often, we don't have the strength.

We don't have the spiritual resources. But here we are told, he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. He who is in you. There's somebody who is working for you. Somebody who is energizing you.

Somebody who is giving you the motivation and the strength to do that which is right. It is Christ in you. That's it. Not just a nice plaque to put on the wall. You know, there used to be one of these beautiful plaques at dinner tables.

You know, saying, Christ is the head of this house. A silent listener to every conversation. I wonder what he hears. I wonder what he sees. Christ in you. He that has the Son has life. He that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

So, there you are. If we find ourselves so weak-kneed and helpless before temptation, what does it mean? It just means that Christ is not in you. You see, it's when you overcome temptation, you overcome your own nature.

Christian Character, Opportunity, and the Lord's Day

I see a lot of failure in Christian character. You know, we live in a world of opportunism today. Grab it. Grab it quick. Otherwise, you lose it. You see? So, you jump at a plum. You don't say, now, does God want me to have this?

Is this the very best thing that God has got for me? No, when it comes to an opportunity. Now, take a big salary job. Some job which carries a three-fold increase in your earnings. But, it comes to you with certain disadvantages.

Such as, it takes away your Sunday, for instance. Today, the Lord's Day. It's amazing, you know. It was a very long journey to Washington from where John Adams lived in Braintree. And there, through the snows, on horseback, for national emergencies, as he was required, suddenly.

He had to undertake those journeys. But, when it came to the Lord's Day, he would stop. Tether his horse, or give it in into the stables. And say, the Lord's Day. Such were the men who reverenced God in this country.

But, today, what do we see? Most of our fun things are on Sunday. The assumption is, as I say sometimes, you know, I've told this to pastors. Some of you have your church services by the courtesy of the NFL.

If the NFL decides to have the football game at 10 o 'clock, half your congregation or more will instantly disappear. What? The preaching of God's word and the worship of God by the courtesy of NFL? Or somebody else for that matter?

Certainly not. You know, it is recorded by some of those itinerant preachers that traveled on horseback in those days across this country to remote places to preach the word. They would suddenly happen upon horse races.

And as they would start preaching the word of God, you know what they recorded in their diaries? The horses were given little attention. People forgot about the horse race. God was real. Now we have made God just a symbol, a sentimental symbol.

The Reality of God in Christian Life

Suppose somebody says to a wife, now, you just be a symbol. Just stay by my side on formal occasions. But as far as my heart goes, I am not your husband. You mean nothing to me. You're just a symbol sticking by my side.

Which girl with any dignity would want to be the bride or wife of such a person? I don't know why and how God tolerates us. We make him a symbol. We make him an allegory. We take away the real person of the Godhead.

The reality of God is taken away. You know what my father and mother showed me was the reality of God. On one occasion, the assistant director of education, you know, directing some 50 ,000 students, sorry, teachers.

And she had retired. She was a very noble lady who had retired and was our guest in our home. This lady was suddenly stricken. She was late in her 70s and very feeble. And she was stricken with acute appendicitis.

And she was in such pain and agony. And she was our guest, not just for a day or two, but for a longer stay. And we could not bear, you see, my parents could not bear to see her suffer. And no doctor would take her up for an operation.

They said, she's too feeble, too old. We can do nothing. And here was this lady in such excruciating pain. But I saw my dad and mother, I was a boy. I saw my dad and mother praying. She was healed by the morning.

She did not require that operation. Christ in you. He who has the son has life. He who has not got Christ, he has no life. He's just a kind of living corpse. Just carrying on from day to day. You know, our days have become days of drudgery today.

Greed, Slavery, and the Loss of Christ's Priority

Abject slavery. And one begins to wonder, what is this? Is it just the shareholder who holds the gun to our heads? And says, hey, I require that my investment should gain more profit than your producing.

So I don't care whether you work 12 hours or 16 hours. But I want a good return for my investment. In other words, greed. When greed calls the shots, what are we? We become a bunch of puppets. It's greed that is driving us.

We must possess this. We must have this. And the wife at home says, oh, you're not able to afford my lifestyle. So out you go. What is the meaning of all this? Godliness with contentment is great gain, says the Bible.

We don't know how to gain anything. We are losers. We are losing out in this vital area or arena of family life. Losing out in that area is a terrible failure. When Christ ceases to be first in your life, then many slave masters will pull out their whips.

It won't be just one slave master. It will be many slave masters. Your flesh will dictate on one hand. Greed will dictate on the other hand. Lovelessness will dictate on the third hand. He that hath the Son hath life.

Abiding in Christ and Bearing Eternal Fruit

Now, are we fighting against this? We don't want Christ to reign over us. We don't find him worthy or we don't find the cross worthy of our response. Where lies the problem? Now, if we turn to John 15th chapter, we will see very clearly.

John 15, please. Fourth verse. Abide in me and I in you. It's a question of not just a Sunday morning. It's not just a question of glimpsing through a page of your Bible in the morning. No. It is Christ in you.

Abide in me and I in you. It's a twofold abiding. Imagine the trunk of a tree here. In fact, I wanted to bring a little plant over this morning. Imagine the trunk of a little tree here. And one branch going out this way.

And this branch is so full of fruit, it gets into an argument with the tree, the trunk, and says, hey, you see all this fruit? These are mine. I've done it all. What does the trunk say? Hey, but where are you situated?

Who is supplying all the sap? All right. Go adrift. Cut yourself off. Call for a chainsaw. And have all the fruit you want. What happens? By the evening, the branch is lying there, and most of the leaves have shriveled up, and that's the end of its fruit bearing.

Now, my dear friends, so here it is a twofold relationship, isn't it? Abide I in you and you in me. So the tree can say, hey, listen, it's my sap. It's my strength. It's my abiding. It's your abiding in me.

That does it. The last part of the fifth verse, for without me, you can do nothing. Nothing. Well, how many of us want to turn up in eternity and say, hey, Lord, I see that my record shows that I have done nothing.

I've lived 60, 70, 80, 90 years, but I have done nothing of eternal value. Nothing. For without me, you can do nothing. You need to be in that relationship, and that relationship should not be cut even for a moment.

Prayer for the Unlikely and the Forgotten

My dear friends, you know, I can't stand by and see people perish. The promise which God gave my father was a little one shall be a thousand and a small one a strong nation. So I believe in the little ones.

I believe in small families. I believe in people who are written off as being nothing. Let us pray. God is able to take them up and use them. Without me, you can do nothing. Let us pray. Let us tell God in our hearts, Lord Jesus, I have just heard this song, chorus sung by the children.

Into my heart. Into my heart. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today. Come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Yes, Lord, I want you to come in and stay. To abide with me. Hear our prayer.

Yes, tell God, I must abide in you. I mustn't be carried away by every storm and every wind. Please, Lord, let this be our daily, hourly experience. Not just something at the top of our heads, but down to earth.

In our daily life. Hear our prayer. In Jesus' holy name. Amen.