Heirs with Christ: Dying to Live

Good morning and welcome to CCC

if this is your first time to CCC WELCOME we are so glad you are here with us this morning

if it has been a while since you have been in church....welcome back home

if you are new please fill out an information card

i use that to stay in contact and and answer any questions you may have

if you have not already put your cell phone on silent take a moment and do so now

i pray that all of you survived the storm last night....if you need help please reach out

speaking of reaching out i want to take a moment and talk about groupme.....groupme is not a texting app it is for information for the group

if your message is for one person text them or call them do not put it on groupme

what happens is there is so much stuff going around that prayer requests and other requests get missed or people shut off notifications because it is always going off

groupme is for prayer requests, other requests like storm clean up help, or rides etc

it is not designed to have personal conversations in the group

if you need to talk directly to someone either direct message dm them which is available in groupme or text or call them

those of us who were able to be at the bushwhacker day booth were blessed beyond measure

we did end up cutting it short once they announced there would be no parade and the concert was going to start early

but in the time we were there we had so many conversations and due to the efforts of many but especially Josh and Kizzi we were able to hand out all 150 church brochures

all of the mustard seed necklaces that Tara had made to give out and talked with countless people

gave out lots of popsicles....

gave out lots of water.....

and Jamie painted LOTS of faces with Christian symbols

it was a glorious day and what I enjoyed most as your pastor was watching each of you

Josh and Kizzi have the gift of evangelism and watching them in action was just amazing

several others were stepping out of their comfort zone just by being there and as the day went on and conversations began to happen it was so encouraging for me to see you growing and obeying right in front of us

it was just wonderful

we have another opportunity to be in the community on Saturday July 4th where we will again participate in the First Saturday on the Square.....right now just Kenny and I are signed up......there is a sign up sheet for shifts on the table entering the sanctuary

Let’s pray

This has been an amazing week

God moved in a might way last Sunday

satan did all he could to stop God’s message and movement

the worship team had an off Sunday

we had another medical emergency

we had phone calls and phone alarms going off during the message.....please make sure you phones are on silent......

As i listened to the message back there were times my mic was cutting in and out

all of that was the enemy trying to distract

trying to keep God’s Word and Truth about Holy Spirit from being received and then responded to

he failed

God brought about so much growth through conviction and response to that conviction

i hadn’t even left the church Sunday and had been reached out to by someone who watched online and I was able to call him and have a great conversation with him

then during that phone conversation I was getting texts from another who listened online about what God was doing in their lives and a request to meet to talk about it

God moved during the message

not my message His message

He did the work

none of what happened last week was because of me

God’s Word shed light on many unsanctified areas of flesh that once in the light could be surrendered and killed through repentance and confession!!!

I pray when God moves you respond

this week was awesome and as it went on I was blessed to be able to meet and talk and text with several about what God is doing in your lives

some real chains were broken this week....Praise the Lord!

Growth is available to all who will obey and follow God’s guidance

Today we move to another major truth that should shape our lives as Christians

It is also a truth that flies in the face of the world’s demands for instant gratification

what is that truth

Christians.....all true Christians are

Heirs with Christ Jesus

_________________

Romans 8:12-17

_________________

Romans 8:12–17 “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

God begins again with Truth

dead to the flesh

you and i are not to live as debtors to the flesh

a debtor is someone who lives under the threat and control of the one who owns the debt

you owe the flesh nothing

Jesus paid your price

paid your debt

you now owe God everything

Debtors of the flesh live according to the flesh

remember flesh is our unredeemed humanness....our unsanctified parts

parts of us yet to be killed and surrendered on the cross we are to take up daily

Luke 9:23

_________________

Luke 9:23 “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

I want to spend a few moments here this morning

so many times we read scripture and see words but don’t dig deep

God has reasons that He chose the words He chose in writing the Bible

Men penned the Bible and they used their language and culture and understanding however it was all guided and directed by Holy Spirit so God wrote the Bible

This scripture is no different

what gets lost in translation and understanding today is the normal, everyday thoughts and reactions that would have been associated with words by those who read or heard the Bible as it was being written and lived out

Cross is one of those words

to us we see salvation

we see love

we see grace

we see mercy

we wear it on necklaces and jewelry

we wear it on t-shirts and wristbands

we even have a few crosses here in the sanctuary

nothing wrong with any of that but to the people of the day

cross meant a violent degrading death

the cross was repulsive

the cross put fear into man because of how painful and cruel it was and the stigma associated with those crucified on it

the word cross would have brought to mind a violent

degrading death

Jesus chose cross on purpose

God chose to use the cross for Jesus’ sacrifice on purpose

there are no coincidences with God

Jesus here in Luke mentions cross to the disciples for the first time because He was showing them He demanded total commitment to Him....even commitment to physical death.....a violent degrading death

Total surrender to Jesus not only from them personally but that had to be in the message they would preach

when it comes to Jesus

you

your humanness doesn't matter

humble yourself

die to it and the world so you man live in Christ Jesus

Jesus makes this clearer in the next verse

Luke 9:24

_________________

Luke 9:24 “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”

Are you fighting to save your worldly self

hanging on to the things of the world when God demands you to surrender them to Him

God calls you to die to them

morally good people tend to hold on to the world because they are good people

you are not good

i am not good

no human is good

Mark 10:17-18

_________________

Mark 10:17–18 “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”

Only God is good

Jesus was and still is God however He chose to be humble as a human as well

His flesh meant He was not good

you and I don't stand a chance

your works cant make you good

your tithes cant make you good

your ministry cant make you good

your morals cant make you good

the only good in you is God

i beg you to get this in your heart and change your life

die to you

die to the flesh

die to sin

die to the world

Are you willing to hold on to this temporary fleeting life and spend eternity in hell separated from God

or

will you take up your cross today and die to self and live for eternity with God in heaven

i will be honest with you there are so many times in a day I need to die to Josh

those of you who know me well and spend time with me see this played out

when i try to do things...good things...ministry things....on my own i start to get overwhelmed and when i get overwhelmed i get defensive and sometimes even aggressive with tone and words.....that happened a time or two yesterday and I am sorry for that

by nature i am an introvert......I sure miss Melody when she is gone but I am so happy that she gets to do this with her mom every year....we don’t know how long we have with each other and need to take advantage of it when we can....that is a whole other sermon.......but one of the things I love to do when Melody is gone is just sit in quiet....be alone.....just me and Ellie now.....go for a long drive just....no radio....just windows down listening to God’s creation all around and think about whatever God puts in my mind

i love to be alone and maybe you can relate

but that is not who God called me or you to be....that is where we are comfortable but not useful

God called me here to the pulpit to do life with you guys to teach and preach and be front and center

when I do that in my power i get overwhelmed and fail

so do you

so that makes figuring out what taking up your cross daily looks like

Colossians 3:5

_________________

Colossians 3:5 “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:”

Mortify......Put to death........I want us to understand what we are to put to death here in Colossians

Fornication

_________________

this is any kind of sexual sin

adultery

homosexual relationships

gender issues

sex before marriage

sex outside of marriage

lust

thinking about sex with someone in your mind which Jesus says is adultery

sexual comments

porn

any kind of sexual sin must be put to death

not just put to death in you but around you

that means changing what you watch

changing what you listen too

putting protections in place such as Covenant eyes or any other Christian porn blocking app on your phones etc

kill it

mortify it

nail it to the cross

Uncleanness

_________________

evil actions but even more than evil actions....evil thoughts

evil intentions

God knows your hearts and intentions

just because you do something good doesn’t make it good

if you intentions are selfish

if your intentions are in fact evil...people do good to people to take advantage of them later

if your intentions are anything other than saving the lost and growing the saved as Jesus tells us in great commission

if your intentions are anything other than loving God with all that you have and all that you are and loving others the same way then they are evil intentions

Inordinate Affection, Evil Concupiscence

_________________

sexual lust

inordinate affection.....passion.... is the physical side....if you are not married and burn with passion for someone that is sin

evil concupiscence is the mental side the thinking about sex with someone that is not your spouse

Covetousness

_________________

to have more

insatiable desire to gain more and more

especially the things that are forbidden

Which is Idolatry

_________________

when you give in to your desires

when you give in to temptation and sin

you are placing your lusts and desires ahead of God making them an idol

you are worshipping yourself in those moments

put them to death

nail them to the cross

leave them there to rot!

Colossians 3:6

_________________

Colossians 3:6 “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:”

why must you put them to death

berceuse the wrath of God is coming for them and those who do them

either

or

there is no gray area or fence to ride

not my words

God’s words

Pastor josh that is harsh

maybe but it is true

it is God’s Will

God didn't send Jesus to die for you so you could run around acting like a fool the whole time claiming you are saved and an ambassador of Jesus

Spiritually massive things happen when you get saved

Forgiveness of all sin

past

present

future

eternal life

adoption....you become a son or daughter of God and as a son and daughter you get all the rights and privileges that go with that adoption

we discussed this last week

our scripture today points to one of these rights and privileges

Heirs with Christ

_________________

What does being an heir mean

it means you have legal access to inheritance

What inheritance

Eternal salvation....eternity face to face with Jesus forever

God Himself

Lamentations 3:24

_________________

Lamentations 3:24 “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”

God is your portion and that is why your hope is in Him.....He is with you

Revelation 21:3-4

_________________

Revelation 21:3–4 “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

what a glorious picture these scriptures paint

being with God and the results of being with God

perfection...not for our glory but in His glory

former things dead forever!

another part of your inheritance is

Glory

_________________

Romans 5:2

_________________

Romans 5:2 “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

again not our glory

so many read about being glorified and try to understand that through human terms

physical terms

thinking they will be glorified

no we will be in His glory!!!!!!!

Romans 12:19

_________________

Romans 12:19 “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

So many look to this verse as God is getting revenge for you...you miss the point and you miss God’s heart

This should send shivers down your spine

this should break your heart

what God is saying is don’t worry about revenge but pray for them because in the end they will face My wrath if they never accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior

many today say that can’t come from a loving God

if God is love then He would never destroy anyone

He would never condemn anyone

He would never allow anyone to choose hell

what they miss first is they are using human definitions of love

humans define love especially today as all inclusive

if you do not accept someone’s beliefs and actions even though sinful then you hate them you don’t love them

God says just the opposite

if you condone...overlook someone’s beliefs and actions that are sinful you hate them you do not love them

They also miss that God is a just and holy God

He said there is a price to pay for sin and unless you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and His death to pay your price you will have to pay that price

you should not be rooting your enemies on to God’s wrath but praying them on to find Jesus and repentance that leads to salvation through the Holy Spirit

You should be willing to die for them so they can live

that is exactly what Jesus did for you when you were His enemy

this is so important not only for the lost but especially for the saved

our motto....driving belief here at CCC is

Save the lost

Grow the saved

We believe that is the great commission

what Jesus expects of us as Christians

in doing that well you must develop true and deep relationships

in developing those relationships we experience the best and worst of each other

there are times....maybe you are here now....where you have to make a choice

do I love as Jesus loves me and choose to suffer long

or

am I going to give in to my flesh and become angry

upset

hurt

offended and get mad with them

put them on blast

call them out

the choice is yours and the ability to do it is the Holy Spirit’s living inside of you

die to you....live in Spirit

The last part of the inheritance I want to point out is

The Entire Universe

_________________

Hebrews 1:2

_________________

Hebrews 1:2 “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

You are heirs with Christ and when promoted home or Jesus returns you will have the entire universe why because you have Jesus and Jesus created all things

that is why you do what you do here on earth

that is why you have faith

that is why you don’t need instant gratification

that is why you can die to you

the world

sin

flesh

that is why you can choose to suffer long when it is painful and costs you a great deal

because you know what is coming and it is more amazing and awesome than we can ever know in our futile human brains

this is why I said at the beginning of the message Heirs with Christ flies in the face of the world

the world demands instant gratification

God says be patient

all is coming your way in His time

be patient....suffer long

you die to self and the world and sin and flesh

you put to death sexual immorality and all sin because of what is coming our inheritance

but God loves you so much He gave you an earnest

a down payment

a preview

Himself living inside of you as a Christian in Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit enables you to be patient and keep the main thing the main thing

salvation and discipleship

that is always the main thing

Holy Spirit enables you to die to you

Holy Spirit enables you to kill sin in your life

so you will be found worthy at judgment day....not because of your works but because of Jesus’ blood covering your sins

the worship team is coming and they are going to lead us in a time of reflection

during this time get with God

many, probably all of you have felt conviction this morning

God loving you so much He pointed out flesh that needs to be put on the cross this morning

maybe He encouraged you and showed you something you were doing well especially in an area you doubt...give him praise this morning

maybe you realized through Holy Spirit that you are in fact lost...a sinner screaming towards hell and condemnation

come

talk with us

i will be here

tony and michael and kenny your leadership team will be here

we will pray with you

we will listen to you

we will love you as Jesus loves us

whatever it is come

Where are you this morning?