Symptoms of Translation (02/15/2004)

Colossians 1 and the Meaning of Translation

Let's turn to Colossians chapter 1 and we're going to read Colossians chapter 1 verse 12 through 13. And it talks about being translated. God has translated us. So let's read this together. Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet that means fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light and.

And we're still talking about the father there found in verse 1 the father who has delivered us. It is he that delivers us from the power of darkness. And it is the father who has translated us into the kingdom of his dear son so we've been delivered and Many times in the New Testament when you see the word saved or salvation.

It's the same word as this word for delivered. It literally means rescued rescued. So he not only delivered us from the power of darkness. But he has translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. The translating is what he does after the delivery and Really, it is the end of the whole thing.

It's the reason for it. God did not just save us to save us from hell. Although from our viewpoint that was a good thing. But he saved us to bring us unto himself. So that we might know him and we might have a personal relationship with him and that we might see him as Lord of all rather than certain Masters that we used to have before our salvation.

Sin habits in the world the flesh the devil himself. Terrible masters that we had. When Jesus saved us he set us free from those masters and he became our only Lord and he has Translated us into his kingdom and so we began to talk about that a little while back and we specifically moved into an area of Conversation that has to do with some symptoms of translation.

It's appropriate this time of year. We talked about a head cold. If you get a cold you have some symptoms that go with it. In fact, if someone tells you I've got a cold so I'm not coming into work today.

But they don't have any of these symptoms. You kind of wonder if they're just skipping work, don't you? Because there are always symptoms that go with it. And so with this idea of translation when God the Father has translated a person From the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

There are things that go along with it. It's inescapable. So we've been listing some of those things last Sunday. We just listed the first one in and took the whole time on it. And that was That you love the brethren.

Loving the Brethren and Attending Church

So let me have you read 1st John 3 14 if you would turn there. We spent most of our time in Hebrews chapter 10 verses 23 through the end of that chapter last Sunday. And it literally talks about church attendance.

Which relates to what we're going to read here in 1st John. 1st John 3 14. We know that we have passed from death unto life. Now we're talking about symptoms of translation or you could just say of salvation how is it that you can check your own salvation out and Determine if you've been translated Translated from a kingdom of darkness into a kingdom of light.

How can you know? Well, here is a way the Bible says we can know in fact it says we may know. That we have passed and that is in a tense. That means it has already happened. We may know that we have already passed from death unto life.

Because we love the brethren he that loveth not his brother abides still in death. So there's your first symptom. Is that you all of a sudden have an ability to love? Your brothers and sisters in Christ in a way that you could not do that in the flesh.

You can love them even when they're doing things that are disgusting to you. Even when they do things that hurt you even if they say things to you that are harmful or hurtful. Even if they don't do everything right in the way that you want them to do things for you.

You still can love them because if you have this kind of a goth a love that only a saved Translated person can have because it's God's love if you have a goth a love. Then your love does not depend on the other person and what they do or don't do it depends on that love that God's put in your heart that comes from him and so.

Only a translated person can have this. So if you're checking out your salvation today you ask yourself the question Do I love my brothers and sisters just when they're doing what I want them to do? And everything's going fine, or do I love them even when they're not pleasing me?

Great question to ask and that is God's kind of love and the lost world knows nothing of it and Carnal Christians can't know anything about it. But those who are walking in the spirit walking with the Lord.

Have this as a symptom of their salvation and it leads down to Hebrews that we touched on last Sunday because why? Why would you not want to be in church if you love the people that are there if? You love the brothers and sisters.

Why would you possibly want to not be with them when the meeting is called? And so that's what we talked about last time was loving the brothers and church attendants now and how they relate now. Let's move into a second area this morning.

Hearing the Word of God and Believing on Christ

Turn with me to John chapter 5 verse 24. John chapter 5 verse 24, we're going to look at a second symptom that you would have if you are really saved. John 5 24 verily verily or truly truly I say unto you.

Now Jesus is speaking here and he says I'm gonna tell you something that is doubly true truly truly I say unto you he that hears my word and believes on him that sent me has Everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is already passed.

From death unto life. So what is the symptom listed there? No. It's a result of it, but look at it again specifically. What is the symptom? Listed here that If you have this symptom you have already passed from death and the life you got half of it brother Burge.

What's the other half? Yeah. You got it the word an ability to hear the Word of God. You've been given an open ear that can hear God's Voice and sense God's heart and mind when you read the Word of God that you didn't have when you were lost.

That is very vivid in my salvation experience because I did not like the Bible before I got saved. I tried to read it a couple of times because I thought that by reading it God would have to let me in heaven.

When I died I had a System figured out where he'd have to let me in. I was gonna meet him at the gate and say I read your Bible and smile real big and hope he let me in. That was my plan for salvation and Yet every time I would try I never got past Genesis.

I never got past the flood got right in that area and I'd get so boring that I just lay it down and quit. Every time all the way through college from a little boy all the way through college on and off I tried that system never could hack it and then when I turned 24, I got saved in my car driving to work one day and Not long after that I heard the Word of God preached by dr. Rocky Freeman.

Which was the first preaching I heard after my salvation and it just came alive. And all of a sudden I wanted to study the Word every day vivid change in my life. But Jesus says in John 5 28 that this is true of everyone in the sense that you once Were in a place where you couldn't hear and now you find that you can hear truly truly.

Jesus says he that hears my word and Believes on him that sent me has everlasting life. Shall not come into come condemnation, but is already passed from death into life where the verge the belief Is least as far as how we as men look at it from our viewpoint is a result of the hearing.

It comes second not first now the way it's taught most churches today is Belief is something you can work up yourselves with from within you just make yourself believe and then all of a sudden you're saved.

It just doesn't work that way if you look at the great Apostle Paul's salvation experience. It's so vivid that he had to have an ear that would hear Jesus first before he believed anything and The belief is a result at least in our way I think with God it just all happens at once but we like to study things sequentially.

Now let's turn to John chapter 8. Turn over to John chapter 8 about verse 47. Now, let's look at this a little bit further. He that is of God. Jesus says Heareth God's words, isn't that the same thing?

He said earlier He that is of God. Hears God's words. Ye therefore hear them not. Because you are not of God. So now he puts it in the negative as well and he's speaking To a group of Pharisees in this passage.

Religious people who studied the Bible every day of their life some of the few people that were able to have access to written the written word in their day and They studied it and yet Jesus told them you are not of God because even though you're reading and studying the Bible.

You're not hearing God's Word. That amazing people like that all around us. People sitting in churches all around us today. With a Bible and they study these things so that they can out argue you any day.

And yet they don't hear what God's heart is in the stuff. It's just it's just a legal thing to them. And it's been that way since this time and Jesus warned. He said he that is of God. Here's God's Words when he studies the Word of God you could say it that way.

When a person that saves studies the Bible he hears God's words. Ye therefore hear them not. Now he's talking to the lost Pharisees. The children of the devil as he called them. He said you don't hear God's words because you're not of God.

Now, what does that tell me? What kind of person is it that will ever be able to hear God's words? Only the person that's of God. The children of the devil will never hear God's words. You can put it on the radio.

You can put it on the TV. You can put it in the easiest to understand a little booklet. You've ever written and give it to them and they can read the booklet, but they won't hear God's words in it. Jesus said then answered the Jews and said and to him say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and has a devil.

You see when Jesus told these religious leaders that they did not have God because they couldn't hear God's words. They said well, then you're demonic. Because we know we're in God they were saying because we're religious, you know, we're religious.

So you must have a devil because you disagree with us. Jesus answered I have not a devil. But I honor my father and you do dishonor me and I seek not my own glory. There is one that seeketh and judges.

Truly truly I say unto you if a man keep my saying he shall never see death. If a man keep my sayings my words He shall never see death. Now turn to John 17 in verse 6. John 17 6 I have manifested thy name unto The men which thou gavest me out of the world.

Thine they were and thou gavest them to me. Jesus said and they have kept thy what? word. For I have given unto them the words which the father Gave us me and They have received them. You see this great symptom of salvation.

They have received God's words and have known surely that I came out from thee. And they have believed that thou didst send me. So if it's true that the first symptom of salvation is that we love the brethren.

With a goth a love. The second symptom is we have a love for God's Word. Not only do we love his word, but when we study it we hear his words. And We know him. Now go to Romans chapter 8 verse 15. We're gonna see a third symptom third symptom and Remember, these are not for judging the people sitting around you this morning to figure out if they're saved or not.

It's to look at one's own self and to test one's own salvation. Do I love the brothers and sisters that come that God brings into my life in my local church is the first place to look and Then all over the world as I find my brothers and sisters.

Do I have a love for him? Number two, do I have a newfound love for the word that I didn't have before my salvation and Now number three Romans 8 15 for ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear.

But you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father. The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Another great symptom of salvation in your own life.

Do you now have a Spirit that lives within your spirit. That's one with your spirit that testifies to your spirit that you are God's child. Do you sense that if you don't sense that if you're not sure of that then you lack this great Symptom of salvation and you should certainly look at your own salvation to see if it's real or counterfeit.

Because if one is saved. The many things that can come in life as we study the physical examples of them in the book of Joshua in our adult Sunday school class, we see the battles that were fought which picture spiritual battles in our lives.

There are many things in our lives as adults in particular that can bring fear. Children have their own kind of fear. We had Matthew sleeping On the couch in my study so he'd be close to us last night because we didn't want to sleep with Ben because Ben's got this bad cold.

Well, Matthew doesn't like like to sleep by himself and. And Certainly not in a strange room. So throughout the night there were many occasions when he would get up and come and he always goes like this.

On the side of the bed scares you to death. I mean it just you wake up and you don't know what's happening. Just a little like that and then you know, it's him. It's too dark in there. Okay, so mom goes and pulls the blind all the way up, you know, and then she comes back now.

I'm looking in there I said I don't like that now people can see in and see us sleeping. So next time you fix this problem, don't mess my problem up. I don't like blind up. I know just for the night I said, okay, so we go to sleep all of a sudden says a Person could shoot through that crack.

He says Little kid now, what's he thinking, you know? All these fears and I can hear her say your father will protect you and I'm thinking not with that window up. You know. So we had an interesting night of fear last night both Matthew and myself.

But the kinds of fears that we as adults have are different. They're more subtle. They're the kind where you wake up in the middle of night. You lay there and you gentlemen wonder Am I going to make able to make ends meet?

And someday we'll have you ladies come up and tell what you think of in the middle of the night. Not being a woman, I'm sure it's different but do you have fears I call these adult fears. But What do you do when that happens?

What is it you're able to do that? Maybe Matthew's not quite Able to do yet. You've all done it. You tell me there's no such thing as monsters or no such thing as this. No such thing as that so you don't have to worry about it.

Does that work? No. It doesn't matter what you tell them the fear is still there that you as an adult, how do you deal with it? You pray you say Lord, you know, I Know that you haven't given me this spirit of fear.

And I know that you don't have that. It's not part of your nature. Would you please remove it and then it goes away you go right back to sleep. And you just pray and you ask the Lord to take whatever burden it is.

That's on your heart Away because he can bear it and we cannot now if you don't have the ability to do that and You don't know how to deal with fears and fears are in your life all the time. You lack a very important symptom of salvation and that is that yes, it doesn't say we don't have fear.

But what it says is God hasn't given us a spirit of fear. Which is a spirit of bondage to the fear. Where we are a slave to that fear and it begins to change our very life. It's not that way for a saved person the fear can be there but you're not in bondage to it and you have in fact received the spirit of adoption which even in the midst of the fear says to you, but you're my child and after all, I'm sovereign and after all I am omnipotent.

And can take care of all your needs. So, do you have that voice that says that to you in times of fear? I'm your father just like you tell the little child I'm your father. I'll take care of all your needs.

You don't need to worry. You don't need to fear. Now we get upset with our little children when we tell me no such thing as monsters. They're not and they certainly don't live under your bed. And then they come back in 30 minutes later but Why don't you just go to sleep?

I'm telling you dad's gonna protect you we get upset with him, but you know, sometimes We know full well God is sovereign and he's our father and he owns everything in the universe and it's all ours because we've inherited it and we say.

But God, I'm still fearful. So we can learn from Matt. I use him because not here today see so you make sure you show up because I might use You if you're not here. Okay, let's go to the next one. When we're saved all of a sudden we have a newfound love for the brethren and you found love for God's Word and we have a new nature.

That witnesses to our spirit that we are God's children first. John chapter 3 verse 10. Turn to 1st John 3 10 and also Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 the fourth symptom of salvation or of translation is Good works now.

I don't really want to phrase it good works because we get all kinds of ideas. Tied in with that. But let's just call it Experiential righteousness, I like that one. It sounds doctrinal doesn't it? Experiential righteousness, you know that when you've been saved that you have been made righteous because you've been given the very righteousness of Jesus Christ.

God took your sins placed them on Christ on the cross. Trent Translated them to him. Or imputed them to him and then he took his goodness and righteousness and imputed that to us. So we know we have the righteousness of Christ.

But there is such a thing taught in the Bible as experiential Righteousness, which means some of them call it experimental. I don't like that word sound like I'm experimenting with it, but it's experience.

It is has your lifestyle changed since your salvation. The sin habits that used to control your life. Are they gone now? Are you different are your friends different the places you hang out? Are they different?

And on and on and on that's what this has to do with now. We have to understand making all those changes does not save a person. These are symptoms of having already been saved by the power of God having been delivered having been rescued.

Having been translated out of darkness into the kingdom of light. These are some when you get in that kingdom. There's just different stuff to do Than what you did when you were in the Old Kingdom. Do you find that true in our in our lives.

1st John 3 10 very clear in this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil. So whatever it is, we're about to talk about. Brings to light who God's children are and who the devil's children are.

Whosoever doeth not Righteousness is not of God. Neither he that loveth not his brother. Now I think it's amazing how that statement is given. It doesn't say here is how the children of God are manifest.

They do righteousness all the time. Aren't we glad it doesn't say that. Because we're not perfect are we because we still walk in a body of flesh that is not saved yet. That pulls against everything that God wants for us and everything that we want, you know to do for God.

But it puts it in the negative and it reveals who the children of the devil are. The children of the devil are people. Whosoever doeth not Righteousness, they can't do righteousness. It's not within them to do it.

Neither they that love not their brother. They can't have a goth a love ties in with the other point. We've already studied. So this adds a new point though those who do not have the ability to do righteousness and to walk with God and to Fight those old sin habits and to win like Joshua did as he went into the promised land they were defeated and So That is the calling of the righteous person is as you are born again.

One of the symptoms is you begin to have victory after victory after victory over the old Sin habits in your life and you in fact do become more righteous in the experiential sense of it you change people that went to high school with you if you were lost when you were in high school and then you got saved at the age of 24 like I did after they were all gone and then they meet you at the.

You know the 100th anniversary or whatever you call it at your graduation and and you're different to them because God has changed you little step by little step and It's not so much. He made you righteous.

He called you righteous when he saved you but as far as the experience he begins to take away the unrighteousness little at a time and Since there can't really be a vacuum. It just fills up with stuff you do for God and You may not even realize the change.

But your buddies from high school will see the difference and the ones that will see it. The most are the ones that also got saved during that time period they meet you and they're saved too. What do they want to talk to you about?

Hey, I got saved. Well, so did I man, isn't it? Great if you had discussions like that with old friends from the past that also got saved. It's it's really wonderful. It's because of this new nature. So the new nature is in itself a great symptom of salvation and so are the good works.

That stem from it. Let me give you one other one Ephesians 2 8 that deal with the good works Ephesians 2 8. Ephesians 2 8 and 9 we talked about the salvation experience, but verse 10 is just as much a part of it.

That's why it's connected to it in the scriptures. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves? It is the gift of God. No one saves themselves. It's a gift from God. It is not of works.

Even though we're talking about works right now. Being a symptom of salvation. The symptom doesn't cause the disease. Does it brother Clarence? That's not how it works. Is it the symptom is not what causes the disease?

There is a disease that makes the symptom come forth. And so it is not the good works that cause salvation. No number of good works can cause a person to be saved. The works are an outpouring from The salvation that had to take place first.

So here in Ephesians 2 8 and 9 we see the salvation taking place first. We see that it's through faith. We see that it's by grace. We see it's a gift from God. It is not of works and no man can boast about it.

So it doesn't come from man. Doesn't have anything to do with man in it. It's from God salvation is from God. However. Look what verse 10 says? That when there is salvation present. It says then we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus.

For the very purpose. That's what the word unto means of good works. We were saved to do good works. One of the reasons he saved us. We were saved unto Good works not only that but it says God has before ordained.

In other words. He has predestinated that We will walk in those good works if we are saved. In other words when we are saved the word should there in the English. Would be more nearly translated would.

From the Greek doesn't mean that you should but you might not doesn't mean that at all doesn't carry that sense. It is saying that you've been ordained that you will walk in good works. When you're saved another great symptom of salvation.

Speech That Edifies and the World’s Hatred

First Peter chapter 4 if you turn there, I'll give you the fifth symptom. The fifth symptom is has to do with your speech. Believe it or not. How you talk? Changes when you get saved. First Peter 4 11 if any man speak let him speak as the oracles of God.

All of a sudden your speech carries with it Bible principles, which of course it never did when you were lost. But after you're saved and you begin to study the word because you can hear God's words and you're in the word your speech will carry with it either words from God's Word or Principles from it and it will be there.

It might not be that noticeable to yourself. But others around you will notice it. In fact that old crowd you hung around with before you got saved will not like it. They'll begin to notice it through the years.

It becomes more prevalent as you grow in the Lord your speech becomes more like the oracles of God. What are the oracles of God. The oracles of God are the things that the Jews had in the Gentile world didn't have?

What was it? That was first of all the oral tradition of God's Word that came down from Adam all the way through down the godly line and Then when Moses penned it and put it in written words so that we had the written Word of God those are the oracles of God.

Your speech are supposed to be as God's Word if Any man minister let him do it as with the ability that God gives him that God and all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ to Whom be praise and dominion forever and ever.

Amen, our very speech will be different. Look at Ephesians chapter 4 verse 29. Ephesians 4 29 let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. But that which is good to the use of edifying. The only thing that should come out of the mouth of a believer is something that will make another believer stronger make him grow.

Anything that comes out of your mouth that doesn't do that is coming from the devil himself. You say well, how can that be if I'm saved because if you're walking in the flesh it can be. Why is it that more often than not it's your Christian brothers and sisters that hurt your heart more than anybody else in the world.

Doesn't usually tend to do that. It's because all of a sudden they found themselves in a place where some corrupt communication did proceed out of their mouth. It was not from God. It was from the flesh or the devil.

That does not bring edifying to the hearer. It tears down the here. It makes him feel badly. It makes his heart hurt. It sets him back for several days. If not longer that's not from God. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but only that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace to the hearers.

And I find it interesting that the very next verse is the one that says grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. Whereby you are sealed into the day of redemption. It grieves the Holy Spirit when words come out of our mouths that strike at another Christian rather than building the other Christian.

So what is one of the symptoms of salvation is that our very words? Are seasoned with the salt of grace the grace of God and they edify and lift up other believers. All right. Let's go to another one first John 3 13.

The next one is that you will be hated by the world itself. A Symptom that you've been translated from the kingdom of darkness is that the kingdom of darkness no longer likes you. Because you have made it clear that you are not part of that kingdom.

First John 3 13 marvel not my brethren at the world hate you. John 7 -7 the world cannot Hate you. But me it hated now. That seems like a contradiction, but keep read on. Because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil.

So when you see the world hating you who are they really hating? They can't really hate you. Because all they're looking at is flesh. They don't see the real you anyway, so they're not hating you. Who are they hating Christ in you?

They're hating Christ in you. So if the world does not hate you, who are they not seeing? They're not seeing Christ in you and I'm not saying that you're not saved necessarily. You may have some of these other symptoms and so you may know you're saved.

But you may be to the place where you're not walking in the spirit enough where the world notices. If you walk with the Lord though, the world will hate you. John 1516 you have not chosen me. Jesus said so I don't like the bumper sticker that says I chose Christ.

You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and Ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain now there's an interesting symptom of salvation and We're going to end with those same two verses at the end of Hebrews chapter 10 today that we have several times in this study.

We are not all of those that fall away. Notice that this backs that idea. It says if you're saved you have fruit that not just that you have fruit, but you have fruit that remains. It doesn't go away.

That whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name he may give it you. These things I command you that you love one another. If the world hate you. You know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world the world would love his own.

But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. Therefore the world hated you. Remember the world the word that I said to you. The servant is not greater than his Lord if They have persecuted me.

They also will persecute you. If they have kept my saying then they'll keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake because they know not him that sent me. Another symptom of salvation is That you're not a friend of the world.

John 17 14. I have given them thy word and the world had hated them. Wow. The very thing that is the greatest blessing in your life was the day your eyes and ears were open to hear God's words. That's the very thing that causes the world to hate you.

I have given them thou word and The world had hated them because they are not of the world even as I am NOT of the world. I pray not to the father that you would take them out of the world. But thou should keep them from the evil one while they're in the world.

I added that last phrase. They are not of the world even as I am NOT of the world. Sanctify them set them apart Through that truth. Thy word is the truth. That's what sets us apart. That's why they hate us.

We have God's Word in us first. Peter 3 14. But and if ye suffer for righteousness sake happier you be not afraid of their terror neither be troubled. Little children should be listening to this because this world gonna change so much between now and when you're our age.

You see when this world comes after you. He said don't be troubled. Don't be afraid of their terror. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always have a special place for God in your heart that you never let the world into that place.

Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to. Every man that asked you why you believe the way you believe. Always be ready to give an answer but do so in meekness and in fear not haughtiness and pride which I've seen so often in People.

Christians who purport to be arguing the faith. Don't bring pride and haughtiness into it. It should be with meekness and fear. First Peter 4 12 beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery trial.

Which is to try you as though some strange thing had happened to you. But haven't you had even asked this yourselves, but had you your Christian brothers and sisters loved ones? Just say I just don't know why God did that or let that happen.

We have a tendency to blame God. But look what it says here. He says don't think it's strange. Concerning the fiery trial which is going to try you. God's already told us it's going to it's his will. Don't think it's strange as though some strange thing had happened to you.

Do you know that it's strange when things are going smooth in this world? I? Mean we're not on the other side of the garden. We're on this side of the gate outside of the garden. There was a fiery sword put there to keep us out of that place.