I'm so grateful to have all of you here today.
Thank you for coming...
In continuation of our current teaching series on
the Understanding Authority Of God, today we're beginning part six.
Dear Heavenly Father,
As the heavens declare Your glory,
Your church is gathered today to glorify You.
We acknowledge Your Sovereignty,
and we are never more joyful, than when we are
worshiping and acknowledging You
Open our ears, O Lord,
to hear Your word and know Your voice.
Through the written Word,
and spoken word
Speak to our hearts O Lord
and strengthen our faith
that we may joyfully serve You today, now and always.
That may we better know Your Son
Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
Amen!
"who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him"
Hebrews 5:7-9
"For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs(meat) to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
Hebrews 5:13-14
Notice the terms milk and meat..
Now almost everybody loves babies!
Isn't that true?
And we often hear people say, “Oh, they just grow up too fast!” Part of what makes them so appealing is that they are constantly growing and learning. They develop new sets of skills and abilities also.
The same is to be true of us as Christians!
When we are born again, we are as babes in Christ.
In learning the elementary truths of God's Word, we need milk, not solid food..
However, as we mature in Christ, moving on from first principles to deeper spiritual truths,
we no longer partake of the milk, but the meat of Scripture!
"As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious."
1 Peter 2:2-3
I've had a great many people ask, "So what is Spiritual milk"?
Milk, not a reference to certain doctrines, but to the more easily digestible truths of doctrine that is given to new believers.
In contrast, “solid food, or the meat", features the deeper doctrines in Scripture. The difference is not in the kind of truth, but the degree of depth of the Word.
"Spiritual immaturity makes one unable to receive the deepest, richest truths.”
Milk is like pre-digested truth, easy to swallow whole, but meat requires development of teeth and the action of chewing. There is more involved in the process of eating solid food.
Sometimes, when we believe certain things for so long, we no longer test them, and we begin to live by assumption.
Does any one know the process Noah used to board the animals onto the Ark?
This is one of my all time favorite analogies on the earlier subject of believing the assumption verses testing!
That is the story of Noah and the Ark!
Now, traditions say Noah filled the Ark with the animals, boarding them 2 by 2!
This is just not so!
It was actually 7 by 7!
Let's go to the Scripture and read Genesis 7..
"Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him."
Genesis 7:1-5
Do you see what I mean about believing the traditional assumptions?
We have been studying concepts of the authority of God…
Today we're looking at the roll it plays in our redemption.
GOD ORDAINED HIS AUTHORITY IN THE UNIVERSE!
And guess what?
And actually He expected all of us to obey it!
Can I get a witness?
And some of the angels and most humans rebelled...
God may have removed his presence,
but allow me to make something abundantly clear...
He never removed His authority!
Amen?
There are three levels which have to obey him… Heaven, Humans, and the Earth
Philippians 2:7-12
And we do too!
We showed in our study that only those that are under authority can be truly in authority = POWERFUL
WHENEVER WE COME TO SUFFERING: WE NEED TO LEARN OBEDIENCE!
We have the example of this in Matthew 26:39
"He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Salvation should make us obedient as well as Joyful!
Only those that will learn through suffering, can be truly useful to God.
Some folks increase in suffering, but not in obedience!
If Christ had to learn it, so do we..
Does our salvation come by faith alone?
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
Romans 5:1-2
Belief alone does not secure salvation, if it did, satan would be saved!
"Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?"
James 2:17-20
There is more to securing salvation then just thinking about it…
"For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?
Concerning our salvation ... THERE IS SOMETHING TO OBEY AND SOMETHING TO DO!
SALVATION COMES THROUGH FAITH!
Faith is activated by OBEDIENCE!
"Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."
Acts 2:37-42
I'm trying to demonstrate how we must respond to God's authority with obedience!
But Make No Mistake, it is our FAITH that triggers it all!
God secured the principle of authority through the cross.
He suffered and became the SOURCE of salvation for all those that will obey.
You must FIRST have faith in the work of the cross… in order to obey the Gospel, to walk through the door provided
THE GOSPEL CALLS US TO US TO OBEY HIS COMMANDS AS WELL AS TO BELIEVE!
"and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in
flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on
those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,"
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9
Because we are not just sinners…
Because we are sons of disobedience..
He will render His judgment upon those who do not obey the gospel.
"Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth."
Colossians 3:6-8
"But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath."
Romans 2:5-8
Are you seeing that?
OUR SALVATION IS A MATTER OF RESPONDING TO THE AUTHORITY OF GOD!
In closing ...
Because we are subject to the authority of the Lord as well as to believe in him!
We should also be called OBEYERS and not just BELIEVERS!
Amen?
The FIRST step to salvation is to acknowledge God, believe on him = FAITH!
THEN to OBEY, submit to him!
When Paul realized the authority of the Gospel, he readily repented.
He DEMONSTRATED his understanding of Grace by obedience to God’s authority.
So we receive his life through FAITH - and then submit to his authority.
Faith without works is dead.
So if you remember nothing else from today:
IF YOU DESIRE TO BE SAVED, YOU MUST FIRST HAVE FAITH
THEN SUBMIT TO HIS GOSPEL, and OBEY His WORD!
And now for the blessing...
And now may the the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Brian Monzon Ministries