Road to Victory — Roy Hession

Road to Victory — Roy Hession

Real sense. That our time together is getting warmer and warmer. Because I'm conscious of more and more love. Of course, there are some new brothers here. We're so glad they're here. But there's some of the older ones and old in the sense.

They've been with us and I can't tell you how good it is to see the same smiling eager faces before us Before me each day and there is love is flowing like a river. I Can see it amongst yourselves and there's more relaxation amongst us.

We're not frightened of one another. We've learned what we are. There's been a lot of very free sharing in these days and that's helped no end. We needn't be intimidated. We're a bunch of Mephibosheth.

At the table of the grace of God. You don't know who about who Mephibosheth was. Well, I tell you it's just like you. He was lame on both his feet. And he belonged to the wrong house like we do the house of Adam and yet David showed him amazing grace and brought him to sit at his table as one of the king's sons and So it isn't only one Mephibosheth, it's a bunch of them and they're having good times together.

Just another little preliminary Comment. I know we are human and we cannot see all of the truth and We see that in Jesus which we're meant to see and we share it. But the danger is we regard someone as a with a special emphasis.

You with your emphasis me with mine. I think that's a little dangerous a Brother said to me a young pastor in England. He said, you know, but you have a special message a Special message I said if my message is special what in the world are you preaching yourself?

Well I know of course we by the time the truth of God has gone through our Each our own mental processes. We cannot but have our own way of expressing it. But that's really at a very superficial level level.

I would like to feel we're getting back to basics. Yeah, and we're getting back to the original Simplicity, of course I have my special well-honed phrases. You can't help it and Then you hear somebody Saying as Roy Heston says well, I wish I wish somehow we could avoid that.

We want to even get beyond the well-honed phrase to the rugged Essential truth that's been there all the time. I'm praising the Lord very much for the message. We've just listened to and It put me in a little quandary because my mind and heart became so pollinated and So many lovely fresh things came to light That I could pursue in the second session That I hardly knew what was the right line.

Pan only made it more difficult, you know. Don't you think that would be wonderful your father? I said, oh, don't tell me I could so so many lovely things Because my heart was pollinated by my brother's word so praise the Lord for that.

It's been a great joy to work with manly as a team. We've had beautiful times together Traveling together and in the next door motel room and so on we've been having been a very good time. If God is blessed as he has I'm amazed.

I'm as amazed as you are Because it isn't by might or power or by a special message. It's absolutely God himself Visiting his dear redeemed people afresh and anew. I think it right To turn your thoughts to a passage, which I hardly dare mention Because I fear you'll say oh Not that chapter.

Romans 6 and the Deeper Life

I refer to Romans 6 There you are. Oh Not that chapter Because you've worked so hard on it so have I. But I want to tell you why I want us to look at this. As I said last night, I was for years in evangelistic work before the Lord went deeper with me and Met me afresh and up to that time.

I had a well-developed deeper life message God knows I needed it in my early Christian life. Now he's got it. That's fine I needed it and I did come to know something in experience of Genetians 2 20 Identification with Christ in his death that Christ might live in me and it was on the head of Experiencing something of that that the Lord called me from a London bank into full-time Evangelistic work and the fruit of those early years was really based on the fact That I would seek to see myself as ended and not mended at the cross that Christ might Live again his life through me.

And of course he did what I couldn't do and then in the after the passage of years Something went wrong and I lost it would seem what I'd once known Left it would be truer rather than lost it and I found myself Deprived of the life and the liberty I'd known in the work.

I was doing and my service became a chore. I Was still conducting evangelistic crusades and God was still being gracious and there was some fruit but nothing like it had been and I had been so and I'd become so tense in my soul and I'd really gone back to the old days of striving again.

Then it was that God sent back to England Certain missionaries and certain African leaders Who'd been involved in the East African revival as it has come to be known for it still continues to this day.

And they came back not merely to have a furlough but to share with us in England what they'd been learning in revival. They told us very little about any exciting scenes. They simply told us what had happened to them and of a simple Bible teaching on which what had happened to them was based and I identify with it because they told how dry they become.

How tense how lacking and I said, well, that's where I am and Then they went on from there to tell how God met them and that which they brought to us didn't sound like revival. It didn't sound like victory.

It certainly didn't sound like my deeper life message. It was something so much simpler just the old old story of Jesus and his love for sinners and the redemption that he'd accomplished for them and our way of Appropriating it as believers at deeper levels, but simply through repentance and faith and I couldn't Tie in that which I was hearing and that was meeting my need with my well-developed deeper life message and This held me up quite a time.

My wife my first wife she didn't profess to be a one who was a theologian and she had no problem at all and in that one of the first prayer meetings She spilled the beans as we say and owned up before God in the presence of our brothers and sisters of the way She was so dry and defeated and brought it all to Jesus in his blood.

She didn't realize As she herself said later how significant that was Because the team were praising the Lord that the wife of the leader Had come through into blessing. You said come through into blessing.

All I've done is come to the cross. But she was to learn that having come to Jesus. She'd come to Jesus and Jesus himself Was the end of the struggle for peace for victory for revival but I Was arguing with the team about how it tied in with Romans 6 and so on and they said Roy don't argue just repent and I found it very difficult when my wife Joined the others in counseling me and said can't you see it?

It was quite humbling to be counseled at all because I was the one who's been counseling others and Here was the evangelist being counseled by these dear brothers. I'm so glad they did not take me for granted Because I was a preacher Thank God for Aquinas and Priscilla Who when they meet a mighty preacher like Apollos got a burden for him Had him in for supper and shared their destiny and taught him the way of God more perfectly.

I Be ministered to by layman if necessary because Aquila was a layman he was a tent maker and his wife was one with him in spiritual vision and So eventually I laid aside all my problems and I simply did what Naaman did.

I Went down and washed then went he down and washed in Jordan seven times and His flesh came again Like the flesh of a little child and I found there was power in the blood of Jesus and he restored That which I'd been losing.

I'd much to learn. I made many mistakes. It meant a complete reorientation of my whole ministry. It took time mercifully Certain things happened which meant that many doors were closed against me tremendous Controversy began to rage in evangelical circles over this Disconcerting message of the Bible and I was caught in the middle of it and I ceased to have invitations how good that was Because it'd be so difficult.

I know some of you can't avoid it. You've got to go through it having to Administering publicly at the same time going through a very important process of reorientation. Well You know your people will see you move.

And the new steps into new blessing will be taken to all and I believe there many in your congregation will praise the Lord. What's that verse in? Isaiah 57 I will restore Comforts to him and to his mourners and you might have some mourners.

And you're not only going to be comforted but they're going to be comforted too. Amen. Praise the Lord. We always knew there was something a bit lacking and Your cup your mourners were going to be comforted.

But I found myself Not having to do the more public larger scale evangelistic crusade. But I found myself moving around The few churches whose pastors had made a like discovery as I had and that was wonderful.

I was able to begin again and God Who broke me down as for God's self began to build me up again in Jesus in a new way now with regard to that first form of ministry I Said I know what I'm going to do.

I'm going to park it I'm going to park Romans 6 and such passages that I've worked on phrase by phrase for so many years and I'm going to leave it. I know it's in the Bible. It's important. It means something but for the moment I'm just going to go on with that which is coming to me fresh and new and Go on with my brothers in the same way and I believe one day God will bring me back to those scriptures Probably through another door and Probably I shall find it all means something much simpler Than I've made it and I want to share with you this morning a few things That I feel God has led me back to and it's exactly as I thought it would be.

So much simpler than I was making it. And so encouraging. I'm afraid my former conception was a bit complicated and It wasn't always encouraging. I was told the old man was dead, but the trouble is he wouldn't lie down.

Do I need to read the chapter perhaps we should. Because I know many of you know it so well and And I'm I know I still find it difficult not to read certain verses with all my preconceptions and All that I've heard other people say but and we can only approximate to start afresh you in a way You have problems at first I hope and only at first.

Grace Reigning Over Sin

All right, let's read this great scripture. He's established the doctrine of grace. Verse 21 of chapter 5. He says that like as sin hath reigned unto death. Even so might grace reign through righteousness Unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is the day when grace reigns. There was a day when sin reigned and got its strength to reign through the law and Issued only in death. But that day has changed and since the death and rising again of our Lord Jesus Christ grace reigns.

I'm not sure I'm right in that Grace has always reigned. This has always been the character of God and you know I find I can preach these sort of sweet encouraging messages just as easily from the old as from the new.

There in the old the supreme element in the divine character is revealed as Jehovah a God. It's always reigned. Law only came in as the parenthesis for the fuller Revelation of grace in Jesus Christ, then we go on what shall we say then?

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? It would seem you can abuse the grace of God if what are we going to do about that God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?

Know ye not that so many of us as we're baptized into Jesus Christ We're baptized into his death. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death. That like us Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father.

Even so we should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death We shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection knowing this that our old man I Think we can regard that as the man of old.

The man of old the man I used to be has been crucified judged with him that the body of sin. We could keep it simple. Some people think the body of sin is the end tale of sin. No, it simply means sin's body your body was sin's body, but the ownership has changed and your body as sin's body should be destroyed done away as Sin's body that henceforth we should not serve sin for he that is dead.

More literally he that has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ We believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead Died no more. Death has no more dominion over him.

But in that he died he died unto sin once. But in that he liveth he liveth unto God likewise. Reckon ye also Yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin But alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body.

That you should obey it in the last thereof. Neither yielding your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin but yield yourselves unto God as Those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God for sin Shall not have dominion over you.

For you're not under the law, but under grace. What then shall we sin because we're not under the law but under grace. God forbid. Know ye not that to whom you yield yourselves Servants to obey his servants.

She are to whom you obey whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness. But God be thanked that you wear the servants by the way the word servants is slave do not. But that you wear the slaves of sin.

That you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin. He became the slaves of righteousness. I speak after the man with men because of the infirmity of your flesh for as you have yielded your members slaves to uncleanness and To iniquity unto iniquity, I believe by the way that Paul is thinking about sexual sin.

That's a little extra light. That word uncleanness always means the same thing in Paul's life the right thing. Of course it isn't only limited to that. That is a very helpful chapter when we're trying to help somebody over addiction to impurity.

Anyway, I just pass that on incidentally as you have yielded your members slaves to uncleanness and to iniquity unto further iniquity. Even so now yield your members Slaves to righteousness unto holiness for when you wear the slaves of sin We were free from righteousness.

That's a very quaint way. Put it around the other way. You're completely free from righteousness, weren't you? He says you can be as free from sin as you are once free from righteousness. It's a quite astonishing way of putting it.

How free from righteousness a man feels we've got to be. I'm do as I like and we're given the opportunity of exchanging one slavery. For another you're never going to avoid slavery. The only way to be ceased to be a slave of sin is to be the slave of righteousness And of Jesus Christ, but details of that in a moment.

What fruit had ye then in those things whereof you're now ashamed? To the end of those things is death but now being made free from sin and Become slaves to God you have your fruit unto holiness and the end.

Everlasting life for the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is Eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Well without puzzling your head about too many details it makes good reason and you know, there's something sweet and Helpful in it.

I think perhaps the best way of sharing with you is to to zero in on verse 14 and Look at the chapter as it spreads out from that great verse for sin Shall not have dominion over you. For you're not under the law.

But under grace. It is a wonder that this chapter does sooner or later attract The attention of the earnest Christian as he goes on with the Lord. That verse itself is Suggesting something very desirable To be brought to a place where sin no longer has dominion over us and then three times In this chapter you get the phase free from sin.

Why that's what I need more than anything else to be free from sin. And this is what the chapters about I Was not alive to them at all and it's little wonder that sooner or later we give this chapter earnest attention.

I did as a young Christian I Thought there was a second blessing and this was somehow the clue to it. And I remember saying Oh God, I'm gonna pray tonight. I'm not going to get into bed until I've received this second blessing that the books I've been reading have been talking about.

And so I got down on my knees. I'm afraid I eventually did go to bed without getting that coveted experience. I had a many wrong conceptions to get rid of Before I know what this was really talking about and I did have Some sort of experience along these lines.

But as I said it went dead on me. I Said and I was in great need and God more brought a new Well, the simple message of grace and only later as he led me back Through another door to this chapter. Let's start then as I say with this great text It first of all speaks about the dominion of sin.

Sin’s Dominion Through Guilt and Condemnation

Now, what do you think the dominion of sin? Consisting. Well, I used to think that it consisted in sin fascinating me and me yielding to it and doing it so often that this and that had become a bad rotten habit and I was caught I was under the dominion of sin Unable to stop doing those things.

I Don't think that really is What the dominion of sin is Maybe part of it, but the basic dominion of sin is the guilt it always brings with it and in the guilt an Experiential guilt not necessarily. We're not thinking about guilt in the books of God, but how I think and I feel myself accused and Condemned by what I am and what I've done it doesn't necessarily mean that I'm repeating that sin a man can commit a particular sin just once in his life and Never repeat it and yet be under his dominion For 20 years if only by the fact it's still condemning the passage of time.

Does nothing to minimize the dominion of sin over a man? Here's a cup of coffee. You've drunk a cup of coffee before you went to bed you were too tired to wash it up and You left it. The next morning you'd saw the cup the coffee was gone.

But the stain was left. So you said it's quite simple. I'll leave that for a few days. This is when your wife's away and you You hate washing those dishes, but after a few days the stains still there leave it a week.

It's still there leave it a month. It's still there and the passage of time does nothing to remove the stain and the passage of time Does nothing to remove this basic handle of sin. And it could be there spoiling your fellowship with God hindering your service indeed when we're under the dominion of sin in this sense a Little demon from hell seemed to sit on our shoulder and even as we're preaching or trying to counsel somebody That demon is saying hypocrite hypocrite hypocrite.

Did you get on very well when that's happening? Do you enjoy liberty in in sharing with others? No. And we are hanging our hands Hang down and we're weak and I want to say This is one of the new things I see that is the dominion of sin and so often when Paul Talks about sin.

He doesn't only mean the unethical act. He means all that follows it. I think if we had time we could look at some of Paul's use of the word sin and you could see it's more than the one unethical act or the several.

It's this thing that always accompanies sin. It has power to accuse us. Now when we feel in that state of things our first natural thing is to resort to the law and If this verse speaks about the dominion of sin It also talks about the law.

Sin shall not have dominion over you for you're not under the law and The natural thing for all of us is to try and improve our spiritual condition by doing more promising more Extending our devotion or being more devout in this way and that that is all variance of the law.

Of course the law in Bible times was had two parts of ceremonial law and The moral law and I believe Paul means perhaps both. Because for the Jew the way by which he would hope to be his relationship with God restored or improved would be a closer adherence to the ceremonial law and We evangelicals have had the ceremonial law too.

Every denomination has its own Ceremonial law there are certain things that are considered the way to improve things amongst the Baptists the Presbyterians. We have something a little different another group.

But it's all of the same order by the doing of this or that and the adherence to what I'm told should be done. This is going to change and improve the situation and the natural thing. Unless we're taught otherwise by the Spirit is having come out of Egypt and finding we're in a desert we want to go to Sinai and that's the way of Moral and spiritual increase and then there is the moral law That is never abrogated.

That is an expression of God's holy character. But what has been abrogated that the moral law is not the way to peace with God. Indeed its intention in being given to us was that by it we should come to the knowledge of sin.

The moral law let down from Sinai was like a great mirror let down from Sinai in which people saw what they really were and That really was the main purpose it was an expression of God's character but the giving of the law was Meant to convict men to show them what they were and to show them their inability to keep that law.

Trying to get peace with God by the works of the law is like pouring water on. Have I got this right line. Or is it slate line. As you pour the water on it fumes. Oh goodness sake get some more water and the more water you put on the more it fumes and That is the effect of the law upon Our fallen nature.

It doesn't subdue them. It seems to bring out worse and That is exactly really what God originally intended in Giving the law now he says You're not under the law. But as I say the natural thing is for us actually to go to Sinai now.

It's not as obvious as that but really and truly so many things that are considered so important for us to do are subtle variants of the law of the way of the law. I mean these how-to books Which are coming out how to do this and how to do that.

It assumes you've got the power to do it. All you need to know is how to but I haven't got the power to do it. I just can't do these things. But there it is. This is the way I could only do it with the aid of a how-to book I would get what I need and I would be used of God.

But Actually all these attempts and only God can show you. What is an incursion of law into your Christian life and service? It differs with everybody. Sometimes it's very subtle. It's a mercy when the Spirit of God says that's law.

That's mere works by the doing of which you hope for spiritual increase in actual fact, however. The law is never any help for the Christian indeed. It always makes the situation worse. The law rather than minimizing the dominion of sin increases it because it gives The law it gives sin more to accuse me of.

Had I not embraced those higher standards. Had I not made those promises? Had I not said I'm going to spend so long in prayer so long this that and the other I Wouldn't be able to be accused of not doing it when I don't and you don't you don't I Remember years ago of hearing a pastor give his testimony of these lines and he told the people apparently before our meetings That God had told him he was going to spend so much to spend so much time in prayer.

And he invited the people to make similar promises that he was going to give a double time and Everybody thought they ought to do it and many other things and He announced it not merely to get me well thought of though.

I don't suppose he objected to that. But the others might feel they ought to do the same. But he got up and gave a testimony said I told you that I didn't tell you something else later. I never was able to do it.

And I just left you with feeling you ought to. And you weren't able to and it only added to this sense of condemnation and This is what Paul means when he says in 1 Corinthians 15 56 the strength of sin is the law.

It doesn't say the strength of sin is temptation. But the strength of sin is the law. What does that mean? It gives sin more to accuse me of and it brings me more quickly to a place of despair. Which isn't too bad a thing.

Because it can mean the gateway to something better. This is what Paul meant in Romans 7 the commandment Which was ordained to life if I could keep it in actual fact I found to be undead and this in turn Gives Satan his power over me.

Not only under the power of sin because it now has added power to accuse me. But of course it gives Satan above all his power. He points to the promises with me. He points to our consecrations. He points to our fresh starts and he's more to accuse us of he is called the accuser of the brethren as you know and this in turn Leads to more sin.

You're so down. You feel so out of touch with God that really nothing is to be lost by a little more sin and The devil dangles certain baubles in front of you. You're so down. Come on indulge and so. It's the law that adds to the dominion of sin.

It has these effects upon us and it leads us To further sin. Think of the tablecloth which mom puts on the table on Sunday. Lovely clean tablecloth and everybody's very careful not to upset coffee or produce any stain.

That's on Sunday, but by Wednesday. There are so many stains that a few more don't matter. They're simply part of the general pattern and we can get to that state when there are so many stains. We feel so wrong and out of touch.

That a bit more wrong Isn't going to make much difference and it's right. I'm amazed where the Holy Spirit has been working in revival one man. Cherishing a wrong attitude to another brother in the church can hinder the whole work of the Holy Spirit.

Where is another church? There's already so much more so much of it that a little bit more doesn't make any difference. It's only because that first church has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

They've become sensitive. And One such thing can have very Tremendous results and the repentance of it opens the floodgates again. Whereas the repentance of that one thing and another church doesn't seem to make any difference because there's so much Already that's never been seen now.

Grace as God’s Undeserved Favor

This is something then. What it means to be under the dominion of sin and how the course to the law only makes things worse but We are told good news sin Need not have dominion over you in that sense.

For you're not under the law, which would only accuse you the more. But you're under grace. Grace is a is the most beautiful element in the divine character. It's not merely love. It's undeserved love if it be of Works if it be of grace, it is no more of works.

Otherwise grace is no more grace grace. I'm telling you of course what you know. So well, it's God doing things for men on the ground That they deserve nothing. There's a difference between love and grace.

All grace is love and not all love is grace. I think you can regard The sunshine is a picture of the love of God bathing everything in its beauty. Willing good for every man and it's beautiful, but there's something more beautiful than sunshine.

And that's the rainbow and what's the rainbow? It's the sunshine still but sunshine shining through rain on dark Thundercloud and then that light is split up into its component part and becomes the most beautiful phenomenon in nature.

And grace is the love of God shining through tears and remorse. And failure and loving you're just the same. Working on your behalf as if there was nothing amiss. Indeed finding its opportunity in all that which is amiss.

This is grace, amazing grace. Not amazing love, but John Newton the converted slave Knew he deserved nothing but hell, but he received heaven and much else amazing grace how sweet this art and This is the day of grace When grace is on the throne When God is acting in this one direction.

That which might have hindered grace has been settled by Jesus on the cross the demands of justice against the sinner have been met in the person of Our dear beloved substitute and grace now reign. It was always there it was grace that gave him to take our place, but now it's enthroned in a way as never before and God can be just as you know, so well and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus To send his son.

God did not, thou didst not spare. The hymn says thou didst not spare thine only son, but gavest him for a world undone and Freely with that blessed one thou givest all. Would you give your son? That boy you love so much I think you'd rather kill the other person than let him touch it.

You might love other people But not to that extent, but God did. God so loved, a world despaired for him That he did not spare his only son that gave his up for us all And gave him up not only to live on earth, but Take the sinner's place upon the cross.

He accepted Responsibility For what I and you have done. More than that he became an effigy of us In the likeness of the man who'd done the trouble. And God judged him on the cross as if he was responsible for our sins.

God wasn't judging the son as the son so much As so but as the one who was judging the one Whose likeness he was wearing. I paid my penalty in Jesus. If you owe a debt and Someone pays your debt for you as far as the creditor is concerned you've paid it and if one died for all then all died.

Now the moment Jesus Christ took our responsibility He became subject to our judgment. But the moment the blood had been shed and he said it's finished God raised him from the dead for there was nothing more to be done.

And of such value was the blood he shed that sin Lost its power to condemn it. If there are other Worlds discovered on which human life is and where sin has occurred What happened on this earth is going to go over the whole vast universe.

He died unto sin once and Sin has no longer any power to condemn him though the Sin for which he's responsible may be the sins of millions world yet undiscovered He cannot die again. It's enough once for all he lives unto God.

And it says here sin No more has dominion over him and because sin Has no more dominion over him has lost its power to accuse him. I'm sorry because death has no more dominion over him sin Needs have no more dominion over him.

If it's lost its power to condemn my substitute It's lost its power to condemn me. I could be no more condemned than my Savior can Be he finished it. Because death has no more dominion over him death can't claim him again.

He's dealt with that which caused the death fully completely sin Can have no more dominion over me in the same way speaking of the world. If of course you think you've got to come to a place where you'd have no more Consciousness no more solicitations to sin.

That's another matter. But that's not what's talking about yet as I understand it and do you see How it really makes sense of that verse if you're thinking not of being dead to the solicitations of sin.

Sin shall not have dominion over me in that sense. What does that next phrase mean for you're not under the law but under grace people have wrestled with that. Andrew Murray came up with the most helpful thing because Whereas under law self is asked to do its utmost and the grace We appointed her Jesus to do all and that's helpful, but it doesn't really quite satisfy me but if I see the dominion of sin its ability is this is its ability to condemn me and Get me down and beat me down.

Then the next phase means everything for I'm not under the law Which accuses me of my sin but under grace where everything has been settled by Jesus to the Satisfaction of God and where the work is finished.

This is a wonderful word of Encouragement. You needn't be down. You needn't be flogged. You needn't be thrashed for any longer than it takes you to get to the feet of your dear Lord Jesus. You need not be under the dominion of sin always dog with a sense.

You're not good enough, and you're not making it always dog with a sense. You can't get too far time working as they should be you can't get the message you needn't be dog. They've got any longer. It takes you to admit your lack as manly were saying.

You can't be accused any longer of the fact you're not seeing fruit. Any longer than it takes you to get to the car, so it's true I'm bad. All right, stop there for a moment. That's the world. What about the future you need to be forgiven for being.