The Church Today Asleep & in Bondage #6 — Milton Green

The New Creation and Conformity to Christ

And He's the firstborn of a what kind of creation? A new creation, is it? All right, is that what we're supposed to be? A new creation? An old creation, kind of like Adam, right? A new creation is going to be like a second Adam, right?

And He's the firstborn in it. We become, which means, and we're being conformed in Romans 8, 29, we're being conformed to the image of what? Jesus. But let's watch what Jesus did first. Praise His name.

Jesus’ Testing in the Wilderness

Turn with me to Luke 4, please. Luke 4. How'd you like to just stay here until about 12 or 1 tonight? That's better than sitting up and smoking all night, isn't it? I'll tell you what, I'd stay here all night.

I'm going to tell you what, some of these days, boy, some of these days, there won't be no more clocks. There's not going to be. All things are going to matter. What God's saying, He's doing so much, people are going to get it.

They're going to see the difference in life and death. Folks, I'm going to tell you what we're fixing to see right here. It's going to bless you. Now, folks, I want to tell you, everything that we're doing right here, these days and tomorrow is a foundation for what's going to take place Saturday.

What you're going to see in the Word. It's just foundation. This is so good right here. I told you you're going to see why there's no power in the church today. I want you to look very closely. In Luke 4, verse 1, and Jesus, I want you to mark it, was He full of the Holy Spirit?

May I tell you right now, that at this point in time, He hadn't cast out one demon or healed one person. I'll give you time to think about that, okay? He hasn't cast out one demon or healed one person.

You got that? Okay. Now, He's full of the Holy Spirit. You got that, Mark? He returned from Jordan, was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness. For 40 days, He was what? Tempted by the devil. He's tested.

Everything God has is tested. And He ate nothing for those 40 days. During those days, and when that ended, He became hungry. Isn't that a good time for Satan to show up? Of course, he's there all the time.

He and his demons, what would you do? Tempt him about hunger. Hadn't eaten for 40 days. So, that's what Satan does. And the devil said to Him, If you're the Son of God, which He is, tell this stone to become bread.

Well, folks, the second Adam is getting tested. Let's see if He passes it. Will you put a little warning right after that? And there comes the lust of the flesh. There's the lust of the flesh. You remember Eve was going to, and Adam was going to reach up there and eat?

Huh? It's always good for food. Well, there it is. Let's see if the second Adam passed. Second Adam don't pass. We've had it. And Jesus answered him. And watch what He said. It is written. Will you please put right there that Jesus said it is written.

Man shall not live on bread alone. See? He wasn't moved by what? What Him? He was moved by the Word of God. He just said the Word, right? He had the Word in His heart. All right, now. And then, verse 5, here comes the second temptation.

And He led him up in what? What's those two words? Showed him. Will you please mark the little two right there? He's fixing to show him all the kings of the world. Would you put a little two there and say there's the lust of the eyes, okay?

There's the second temptation. Let's see if He passes it. He led him up and showed him all the kings of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, I will give you all this demanding its glory for it's been handed over to me.

I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you worship before me, it shall be years. The devil comes to you every day, he's telling you that. Giving you parts of the world. If he can get your heart after it, you know you're worshiping a demon.

You're in reality worshiping Satan. When your heart goes after anything, you become a slave of Satan. Therefore, if you worship before me. Now, let's see if He passed the test. And Jesus answered again and said to him, watch what He said in verse 8.

It is written. He said, it is written again, right? He always answers back to Satan. He says, it is written. You shall not worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. Well, He passed the second test, didn't He?

Amen? You remember we looked over in 1 John 2. We saw the three temptations. I believe the next one will probably come in a boastful pride of life, isn't it? Huh? That's the only one left, isn't it? Okay.

All right, verse 9. And He led him to Jerusalem and had him to stand on the what? Pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. You know who always was on the court, in the courtyard there of the temple?

It's always full. Now, look at me. Now, this is something. See? Well, let's see what else He told him there first because He told him... Now, Satan kind of turns it around in verse 10. And he said, now Satan says it's written, isn't he?

Jesus always turned around saying, it's written, it's written. And now Satan, it is written. You come up here and jump off. Because it is written, He will give His angels charge concerning you to guard you.

And on their hands, they'll bear you up, unless you strike your foot against the salt. Now, let me show you what Satan was trying to do to him. Satan said, I'm up here. And he said, if you jump off, they'll all see you down there.

And they'll see that you're a Son of God because you can't be hurt because the angels catch you, let you dash your foot against the stone, so nothing can happen to you. Then all these people can see you, and they'll follow after you, and you can help God.

See how you be helping out God? You get them to follow you and your ministry? No, the only way God's works. You don't go help God out. The only thing that works, everything gets burned up except what God does through you.

Well, we'll see how you handle this. Verse 12, now there's a third temptation. Will you please write up there after 11? The boastful pride of life or the pride of life. There's a third temptation. I sure do hope he passes it, don't you?

And verse 12, and Jesus answered and said, He said, It is said you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Now verse 13, And when the devil had finished what? There every temptation was finished.

Have you marked every temptation yet? That's all of them. That's all three of them. That's everything we saw there in 1 John 2, 15, isn't it? That's all the temptation we watched the first Adam fail at, isn't that right?

And now he'd finished every temptation and he departed for him from a what? For a what? Until a what? Opportune time, he'd show up again. Now, I want you to remember, and it's on your notes in Hebrews 4, 15, it said he was tempted and all points yet without sin.

Did we already read you're supposed to walk as he walked? You overcome as he overcome. Amen? You suffer, you resist sin. Amen? Unless you got something else figured out. Now, I want you to watch what happens to him when he overcomes sin.

The Spirit’s Power for Ministry

He has not cast out one demon. He has not healed one sick person. And I want you to watch what happens to him in verse 14, after he finished all the temptation. Watch what God does with him. And Jesus returned to Galilee.

He was in the what? Glory, the power of the Spirit. He could be trusted. He laid down his deity. He came to receive his power the way you're supposed to receive power. Are you seeing it? So, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.

It was first filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. And now he finished and being full of the Holy Spirit empowered him to resist the devil. Being full of the Spirit, that was the power and grace that gave him to resist the Spirit.

And he chose with his will and in the Holy Spirit to resist it. And then when he chose against himself and chose God, then God put the power on him. And watch what he does right down here in verse 18.

He walks right straight in the church house and he said, The Spirit of God is upon me. He's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, the lost. He sent me to proclaim release to these demonized people, the captives.

Recover the sight to the blind and the healing and set free those who are downtrodden. Brother, he's got the power of God on him. He knows where he is. Amen? Brother, I mean he said it before he did it.

And then I want you to watch in verse 21. And he began to say to them, This scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. And boy, I tell you what, this excites folks for a little while when they hear things like that.

And all were speaking well of him. Isn't that sweet? They were all speaking well of him and wondering at these gracious words. His gracious words, all this authority, which was falling from his lips. And they were saying, Is this not that carpenter's son?

Carpet cleaner. What can a carpenter know? See, they began looking at him in the natural because that's where they were living. They couldn't see him in the spiritual, could they? And you know what they got?

Boy, I tell you what, will you write yourself a note to read the rest of that tonight before you go to bed? Boy, I'm telling you, it's good. They want to kill him. They just want to come and set him free from the demons, heal him.

They want to take him to the cliff to cast him off, throw him off. I want to tell you something, folks. Nobody's going to touch you until God gets ready for you to be touched. I want you to turn to me to 1 Corinthians 2.

Paul’s Gospel: Christ Crucified and the Spirit’s Demonstration

1 Corinthians 2. Boy, I praise this name. Paul learned something, didn't he? Verse 1, And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with what? Spirituality of the speech, but I imagine he's qualified to, wasn't he?

Huh? In the flesh, if that's where he's living at. He said, I didn't come with spirituality of the speech. Have you got that marked yet? Or of what? Wisdom, but claiming to you the testimony of God, for I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and be crucified.

I don't care whether you're the rank president or the janitor. Is Jesus Christ your Lord? That's the only issue today. Do you know that? The issue is not tongues. The issue is not healing. The issue is not demons.

The only issue today is Jesus Christ your Lord. That's the only way he wanted to know. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my message, my message, please mark his message, and my preaching, his message and his preaching were not in what?

They're not in persuasive words, O wiseman, but here's the way it come, in the demonstration of the Spirit and of what? Glory be to God. He's got what Jesus had, hadn't he? Power. Amen? He had to get it the same way Jesus got it, too.

And I want you to watch what he tells you right here. Are you ready? Mark this five. That your faith should not rest on the what? The wisdom of men, but on the what? I'm telling you, you can always, if you ever go to a place and you wonder if God's there, I'll tell you how you can tell.

Son, I'll tell you how you can always tell when I'm in a place. If you see me doing something, then you know I'm there. If you don't see me doing nothing, I ain't there. Isn't that real profound? Chapter 1, verse 17.

Back up a little. I just looked at it. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to what? Preach the gospel, not in what? Cleverness of speech that the cross of Christ should be made void. I don't want to turn there, but Romans 15, be part of your knowledge.

I will not presume to speak anything except what Christ accomplishes through me. In the power of signs and wonders, Paul says, the power of the Spirit so that I fully preach, fully preach, fully preach the gospel of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2. Well, we already read that. It's good enough to read again. So the second Adam, what'd he come? To reverse back into fellowship with God, and here he is. He went in the church, and he said, I'm here, and I come in power, and I'm the firstborn of all creation.

And he who believes in me, the works I do, shall he what? He'll do also. And Jesus came in the likeness of God to conform us back to the image of God from where the first man, Adam, had fell. And so I've already told you in Romans 8, 29, we're conformed to the image and likeness of God when we're in covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Everything reverses back to God. And the sin of man today is refusing to accept the provision God has made to get rid of this old sin nature. God has made provision. The first Adam fell, you were cursed.

He sent the second Adam and made a provision for you to get rid of it and to come back. That's the nature of the devil. And this provision he's made is for us by us accepting the Lord Jesus Christ and walking in this covenant right here.

By rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and walking in this covenant, we elect to bear the penalty of sin ourself. This means that we enjoy walking and talking and acting like the Satan, find their portion in this world, and live in a temporal just a few days for this carton.

Mercy, Grace, and the Pattern of Temptation

Get all we can and can all we can get worth. I won't turn to it, but I'm going to tell you that in Hebrews 4, 15 and 16, he was tempted in all points yet without sin. And in the next verse, 16, it says, When tempted, draw near to the throne of grace, you receive mercy and grace.

What's mercy and grace a type of? Loving kindness. That's a God kind of love. You can come and get it, but you can't come and get it double-minded and deceitful. You receive mercy and grace to help in time of need.

I'm going to tell you what, we are needy, afflicted people too. Turn with me to James 1. I'm going to do it anyway. Do it? I heard a bird down near this mouth open and say, Do it, do it, do it. Boy, you ever hear that said scripture in Psalm where they just paint for the Word?

I'm going to tell you, I just almost live here, leave here. I just pick up one, you know, and he's about to fall on the floor every once in a while, just ready to... He just loved God. That's good. That's good.

All right, now. In James 1. Now, before I start, I want you to look at me. I'm going to read this to you. Now, I'm going to tell you something. You suffer their trials, their persecution, and it's not the blessed my flesh days are over.

Is that right? Boy, we live for the inner man. We don't live for the temporal things. Our heart and our mind is on heavenly things. Now, Adam and Eve, they were innocent. And then God told them, He said, Now, I'm telling you not to do one thing.

You're not going to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Here comes Satan. He came with words. Now, here is word right here. Is this seed? That's seed, isn't it? All right, this seed right here.

You can receive this seed and you know, and it goes into your heart, the field right here, right? And it can conceive. And then, you know, it brings forth fruit, doesn't it? Now, the opposite of that, which we're going to see a little later, we're going to see that Satan also has seed.

Of course, we already know that. But he has seed and they come here words. You know, like the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and boastful pride of life. That's his seed right there. Get your heart off of God and get it down here, earthly.

Amen? And so, he came to Eve and he began talking to her. And immediately, she should have shut that conversation off, but she didn't do it, which means these words were conceived, wasn't it? She received those words, didn't she?

Amen. She received those words and then it gave birth to sin, didn't it? The seed. You know, when you receive the seed, it's conceived. Just like in pregnancy. Isn't that correct? All right. The seed was conceived.

It gave birth to sin. And sin was accomplished when she reached up and got the fruit. And then the next thing, it brought forth death, didn't it? And he said, and that always follows sin. It's death. Now, let me show you something.

Now, look at me. The Lord says for you to forgive. Isn't that right? All right. Let's see. So, a situation comes where you're hurting and everything and here comes a seed of unforgiveness. You have an opportunity to resist it.

You don't resist it and then that seed comes on and then it's conceived. You receive it, right? Because you don't resist it. Is that correct? Do you follow me? And then it gives birth to sin, doesn't it?

And sin is accomplished when you have murder in your heart. When you receive something in your heart from a devil, sin is accomplished when you do it in your heart. Is that correct? And then the next step, that unforgiveness, he enters in and death is working in you.

Isn't that right? You're cursed. One demon is a curse. Now, watch what you read right here. Now, as in James, where you find that Scripture about anoint with oil and you will be healed, not maybe or perhaps or could be or when it gets 70 degrees, but you will be restored if you anoint with oil.

Well, let me tell you something about that. There's four chapters and 13 verses before you get there. And this is a menacing Scripture. Some menacing things in James before you get over there. Now, watch here starting in verse 12.

Would you rather be cursed or blessed? All right, then, in verse 12, Mark got blessed. Here's how you get blessed. Blessed is a man who what? Well, you don't fall apart the first time a little heaviness comes over you or have a pity party or whatever like that.

You persevere. A man who perseveres under trial for once he's been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he's tempted, I'm being what?

Mark gets tempted. I'm being tempted by God for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself does not tempt anyone. May I ask you something? If God doesn't tempt anyone, who tempts you? Satan and who else?

Say it again. Say demons. You got by with it, didn't you? All right, they come along and tempt you. Well, if God doesn't, wonder how they tempt you. Now, here's one of the most... Well, I want you to mark this good.

Don't you forget where it is. Here's how they come and tempt you. Here's how the trials come. But each one is what? All right, circle that tempted. Each one is tempted when he is what? Carried away. Carried away is when you drifted away.

That's what I've been telling you about. You're just like in a boat. Next thing you step, you find your way over here. You listen to those things and you're gone from the Word. It's tempted when he's carried away and what is that word?

Enticed by his what? There it is. Right, right after that, fleshly desires or carton desires, whichever you want to put there. That's what they come along and tempt you with. Now, isn't it an interesting thing when we never found the Word of God too important?

You know, it says they can come and take the Word right out of your heart. We never found it important enough to even, you know, after you've said those words and you can't lose it, then there's no need to pay attention to things like that.

It kills you and steals you and destroys you. Right there. Hmm? Right there. That's how they talk to you. They entice you. Are you seeing this, folks? They come and entice you all the time. They talk to you.

I mean, brother, if you don't have your mind on the Lord, they start your morning off to report you to Satan. You're getting ready to walk with Satan the whole day. But you're carried away and enticed beyond lust.

And then, here it is. Here it is. Now, there's this unforgiveness. Then when lust, that's the lust the flesh has what? Conceived. You start listening to them and then it gives birth to sin. And then when sin is accomplished, your heart's in agreement with it.

Are you seeing it there? I don't have to go back over that again, do I? One of you said I didn't. Shake your head over here. Alright? Sin is accomplished. They're talking to you. And then they're enticing you.

They're tempting you. Are you seeing this? And sin is accomplished and it brings forth what? I'm telling you what, either life is working in you or death is working in you. Are you seeing that? But you know something?

I sure do want you to see that next verse. Because it had asked you, unless you've got something else worked out, brethren, verse 16, do not be what? Do not be what? Deceived. Which means you could be deceived about these things.

Do you think anybody's being deceived about these things right there? See, so when God says do not be deceived, we better make sure that we're not too smart, that we just look at it a little and see we don't be deceived.

Is that right? There's a bunch of folks being deceived over this. Do you understand that? He said, do not be deceived, my beloved, what? Well, how about that? Now turn to 2 Corinthians 2, uh, 11. 2 Corinthians 11.

2 Corinthians 11. 2 Corinthians 11. 2 Corinthians 11. Now I want to ask you something before we even start. Are you a New Testament? Alright, you're not an Old Testament, are you? You're a New one. You're a New Covenant right now, aren't you?

Now you watch very closely. What I read back there in James 1, is that the same way that Eve was deceived? And she later on said, I was deceived by the serpent. Is that what she said? Is that put up there for a warning for us?

Now you listen very closely. Here we go in verse 2. For I'm jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a what? You don't want a pure virgin to be?

I know, it doesn't sound like it'd be much of somebody acting like Satan, does it? Let's go on. Three. But I'm afraid, get ready, mark this good, I'm afraid lest that the serpent did what? Oh! Well that's still over here.

He's still around maybe. The serpent deceived Eve by his what? His craftiness. Your what? Look at me. That's where the war is. Your minds. Your minds should be what? Well, you could be deceived like Eve if I can read.

You'll be led astray from the what? The simplicity and the purity of the devotion to Christ. I want to tell you something. It's a simple thing to turn your heart totally over the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything's up to God.

I'll give you a second to think about that. It's not a complicated thing to do once you just choose to do it. You don't have to perform. Get in on it. It's a simple thing. Now I want you to watch very happily the next scripture.

What happens when your mind is led astray? This is how Satan leads your mind astray. Are you ready for it? Here it is right here. For if one comes and preaches a what? I'm going to give you a second to put a circle around another Jesus.

How many Jesus are there? Well, we find Jesus today that can do this and this one can do that and this one can't do anything. There are all kinds of Jesus, but there's really one. Amen? You know what in Matthew 24?

You find scripture and they say, and here's Jesus, over here's Jesus, over here's Jesus, but he said don't believe any of them. Is that what your Bible's saying? I wonder what he's talking about. If one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, are you receive a what?

That's them. You don't have to skip that anymore. You receive a different spirit which you have not received are a different what? That's how your mind gets led astray by perverted gospel. You see it over in Galatians 1 starting in verse 6.

That's how they lead you astray. Are you seeing it? Another Jesus in a different gospel and it's all led to in this different spirit, does it? Amen? Which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.

Let's look in 14. Verse 14. For no wonder, for even Satan disguised himself in angel light. May I ask you something? Look at me. Is this a false prophet? No, he's a false prophet. Does a false teacher know he's a false preacher?

He's a puppet. Demons use people, they don't even suspect it. They capture them, they don't even know it. He doesn't know it. You could sleep in the same bed as a false teacher and not even know it if you don't know the Word of God.

Do you know that? You don't know the difference if you don't know the Word of God. If Satan can talk you out of not knowing the Word of God, then you'll be a people follower or be deceived. Alright, now look here.

Verse 15. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also what? They disguise themselves as what? Servants of righteousness whose end shall be according to their what? Their deeds. Boy, I can't resist it.

Now the deeds is their walk. You're going to know them of their fruit. And of course we wouldn't dare want to rebuke anybody today because we're just nice folks. We're going to love them into it, aren't we?

We're going to love them into it, aren't we? With a human compassion. We're going to help God out and we're just going to love them into it. Don't, don't, don't. We're nice Christian folks. We don't rebuke anything and get their carton upset, do we?

Because we surely don't want, we'd rather that carton not to be upset as pleased God, hadn't we? Huh? And this day of compromise Hosea says they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. You know how you sow wind?

Tell us some more beautiful stories, preacher. Words. Words. Words bring up straw. We'll see us later on Hosea. Saturday. The word brings up grain on the straw which is fruit. In other words, words just bring up hay and stubble.

So he says, you sow the wind and you reap the whirlwind. You know who the whirlwind is? Them. You know what wind means? Words. And in Psalm 107 it says, it talks about that being in the shadow of death, which means being in the presence of death working in you and we see the person is set free then the waves of the sea you understand that this is water right here?

And the waves of the sea were hushed. That means the words were cut off because he was led to his desired haven his desired haven, which is peace. Waves are words. Now, I want you to turn with me to Ephesians 4 Ephesians 4 and I just want to read you one verse.

I might read two. I'm going to read three. Verse 11. Now here's what the Lord is saying. Do you want to know who craftsmen are? Do you know craftsmen back during the time of the tabernacle? The ones that built all the articles and the gold pieces and things you know for the ten of meeting and all these things?

The holy place? Now they were craftsmen. Do you know what the craftsmen are today? They build the house of God and things. Do you know what the temple of God is today? It's lively stones that make up a spiritual house.

See Jesus Christ is a living stone we're lively stones that make up a spiritual house to a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God in Christ Jesus. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy priesthood of peculiar people to show forth praises unto Him who has delivered us out of the darkness into His beloved Son.

Do you know what craftsmen build this up? This kind of body up? See while they're watching one temple being built somewhere else that you can see with the eye, you miss another temple called Israel of God.

And here's the one that's building it. And it's well underway. Verse 11. And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers for the what? The equipping of the saints for the work of the servant to building up the body of Christ until we all are what?

We're supposed to attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of Man to a pure man. Now look in verse 14, as a result we're no longer, no longer to be like some children tossed here and there by waves, which is words, and carried about by every word of doctrine.

There are all kinds of words of doctrine. Do you see it? You're not carried about by every word of doctrine, by the trickery of men, but there's that word again called crafting us. Which said talking about your mind being led astray by crafting us in what kind of what kind of deceit for what?

Satan have schemes? What do you think that happens to people that's not in a war? Think they might fall for some of this right here? Well we found out they've been a good reaction ever since the Catholic Church started, hadn't we?

We ain't gone into that, hadn't we? Well, you know I've been telling you what the fruit of righteousness is, that's when you're walking in covenant, the fruit of righteousness in Proverbs 11 30, and you don't have to turn there, but I want you to be sure to know it that the fruit of righteousness is you become a tree of life.

I'll give you a second thing about that. You become a tree of life, you give life. I mean somebody comes to your tree, they get life. You're full of life, and from your tree you know there's a tree of death?

A tree of death gives off death. Let me give you an example of it. Did I talk about unforgiveness? You know what, when that gets down to bitterness, you remember what it said in Hebrews? Be sure that a root of bitterness does not what?

Spring up. You know what the bitterness in a person does? It goes and it gets other people. It goes and gets them and it corners them over them. And it becomes with this critical mouth and everything, and it begins building this, it becomes a tree of evil.

And from this root of bitterness springing up, you begin talking about someone and then you get there and that person starts receiving those words and taking those words to heart and the next thing you know, that that person is also feeling unforgiveness and resentment toward this person too because they ate those words and then many become defiled.

Are you seeing it? Well then that's why God said you have discipline in the church. This is why you don't see folks get out of wheelchairs and things like that when you pray for them because people have something else worked out.

They think somebody else come from heaven and think that's old fashioned to do it like God wants to do it. I'm going to tell you what, I'll tell you something better than old time religion is acts. Grandmother and grandfather miss some things, just get adjusted to it.

False Teachers and Corrupted Doctrine

Alright, let's look at some false teachers. We don't need a break, do we? You need to learn to be tough. Turn to the second beater. We're going to look at a false teacher and then we'll take a minute.