Christ in us the hope of Glory!

[0:00] I'm blessed to be here with you this morning. Blessed how the presence of the Lord is here with us, I believe. Why don't we just stand again and I'd like to pray.

[0:17] I'm going to speak this morning about a mystery that was hidden for a long time. A mystery that was hidden for a long time. Father, I just ask in Jesus' name that you would make known to us more clearly those things, Lord, that have been hidden.

[0:37] And you would reveal to us, Lord, your glory. And God, we just ask for your Holy Spirit to come and abide over us.

[0:48] We ask, Lord, that this would be a time in all the nations, Lord, in our churches and in all the nations. Where your glory would be manifested more and more. And that, Lord, the name of Jesus could be proclaimed throughout all the earth.

[1:02] Or that those who are held captive by Satan would be gloriously set free. And peace and joy would flood the hearts of humanity. Pray that you would raise up this church, Lord, here in Plains, Montana.

[1:15] Lord, to be a glorious testimony of the person of Jesus Christ. Lord, that there could be a glorious testimony of the Holy Spirit of God. And Lord, that truly Christ would be formed in this body of believers.

[1:29] That there could be the fullness of Christ, the express image of Christ manifested. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. You can be seated. Moses, when he, when God was speaking to Moses and said, it was at the same time, I think, when God said, you have found grace in my sight.

[1:56] And then Moses made a statement to God. And it was along these lines as, how will it be known that we are your people? That we are your people.

[2:10] I'm not sure all the words. But basically, Moses was asking God the question. And then he was making a statement kind of in response to his question.

[2:21] Moses himself said, how will it be known that we are your people? And then Moses said, is it not that you dwell in our midst? Is it not that you are among us?

[2:33] And I was just encouraged this morning as, Steary, I don't know you guys all by name, but the one that led the worship, you know, one of the first things he said, he felt the presence of God when he walked in the church this morning.

[2:51] And then he said, there's no question that God is here. Can we believe that this morning? Can we all say there's no question that God is here? And I trust that we can say that whether we actually had goosebumps or not.

[3:07] But by faith, when we gather in Jesus' name, we believe that God is in our midst. Amen? Amen. It was actually somewhat unusual that I received a text just about 10 minutes before we left the house from James, from actually one of my daughters.

[3:28] And her text, and she had forgot that I was in Montana. So it was kind of unusual I received that text because normally we would have been in church back in Lancaster already.

[3:42] And she wouldn't have sent a text at that time. But she sent me a text just saying that she's praying for the churches this morning. And I'm not sure of the exact words, but she had a song.

[3:55] This is my prayer for the churches. And basically the song was talking about God's glory coming to the churches. And so I believe that God answers prayer. And I trust that God gave her that prayer and that we can expect that His presence will continue to come to the churches.

[4:13] Can you say amen? I had in my notes before I had got that text and before our brother that led to worship had talked about His presence, I had the first thing in my notes, one of the very first things at least, is a statement by Martin Lloyd-Jones is, what is the chief end of preaching or what is the main focus or what is the end goal of preaching?

[4:38] And he said, I like to think it is this, it is to give men and women a sense of God's presence. The main end goal of preaching should be to give men and women a sense of God's presence.

[4:54] And so again, it goes along with, you know, our brother said he felt the presence of God. He is here for sure. And we'd just like to proclaim that, that God is here for sure.

[5:07] Amen? Hallelujah. And what a joy that is to know that God is in our midst. I was thinking earlier this morning of the elder son, specifically the prodigal son.

[5:21] We know about the prodigal son, but in that story of the prodigal son that left his father and wasted his inheritance and ended up in a very bad condition.

[5:32] But we also have the, in that parable, we also have the elder son, that when the younger son who wasted his inheritance came back and the father greeted him, so graciously.

[5:46] And then the elder son, he made this statement. He said to his father, he said, you never gave me that which you're doing to your son that wasted all his things.

[6:02] And I've been, you know, a good boy, but you never gave me those things that you're now doing. But the father said this, son, you are always with me.

[6:13] You are ever with me. And all that I have is thine. I'm saying that to say sometimes God is doing things for us, and we don't realize how much he is with us or how gracious he is towards us.

[6:26] Can you say amen? Again, the elder brother said, you know, I've always been with you. And now here, my younger, I don't think he even called his brother. He said, your son, you know, he had a real attitude about what his father was doing for his younger brother.

[6:41] And he said, you're doing all this, but you've never done, you never gave me these things. But the father said, son, I've always been with you, or you're always with me. And all that I have is thine.

[6:54] Before we continue, I'd like to just bring out the statements about the hope of glory and the riches of the glory, because they'll see that in some verses, some verses that we're going to look at.

[7:11] But when we think about the hope of glory or the riches of the glory, the hope of glory, the hope of glory, assurance of sharing his glory. These are some of the different versions.

[7:24] When I was trying to grasp more, when the Bible talks about the hope of glory, and again, or the riches of the glory, we think about the hope of glory, the hope of realizing the glory.

[7:36] We can look forward, the hope of glory. We can look forward to sharing in God's glory. And this message that I'm going to speak about this morning actually comes from a couple years of pondering several years ago, and I like to put things in my journal usually when I'm inspired by things.

[7:58] But over the last several years, I just titled it in my journal, The Message. And when I say The Message, it seemed like this aspect and some of what I'm going to share this morning, I hope it comes to a point of clarity that I believe is one of the most important elements that we could embrace as we think about the last days, the trials that we're going to face.

[8:27] So I have a number of things. First one, as I mentioned, about the mystery that has been hidden for a long time. So I'm going to be looking at that, the mystery that's been hidden for a long time, and God desires to now make it known.

[8:44] God desires to now make this mystery known. And how great are the riches of the glory of this mystery. Okay? How great are the riches of the glory of us coming to understanding, coming to have revelation of this mystery.

[9:01] We're going to look at what is the mystery. And again, I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time on each of these points, but I trust that we will see them in the scriptures. And understanding this mystery, then we have the hope of glory, the riches of the glory.

[9:16] Okay? When we understand this mystery that God speaks about in His Word, then we have the hope of glory. So when we think about hope, I had a number of verses there, but I took a lot of them out for the sake of time.

[9:31] But it says, I will give her vineyards from then, and then the valley of anchor for a door of hope, and she will sing there. I think if you look at that, the valley of anchor for a door of hope.

[9:45] Acre, I think, was actually a difficult valley, a valley of anchor. I think it was a place of difficulty. But in that place of difficulty, God promises a door of hope, and she will sing there.

[9:58] I heard something recently about singing. Actually, I'm not going to go there, but she will sing there. It's good for us, if we have a hope in us, it's good to praise the Lord.

[10:12] Is it not? It's good for us to sing to the Lord. And when those things die down, that's where I was thinking about going with my story, but probably won't go there. But when our songs begin to go down, then we have to say, well, where's my faith at in the Lord?

[10:27] When we lose our joy, when we lose our peace. I was inspired recently. I shared it at Grace and Truth, I think, last Sunday, where it talks about, I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart, and I will enter his courts with praise.

[10:41] There was a new element of that. And I should have maybe asked you this question first. But when a sheep went into the temple, what was the purpose for a sheep going into the temple?

[10:52] Well, if you know what a sheep went into the temple for, it was for one purpose. It was to make a sacrifice, right? To offer. For that's the only reason a sheep. Well, in that portion of verses where it talks about, I will enter his gates, it's talking about we are the sheep of his pasture.

[11:08] So somebody expounded on that. When we come into the house of God, we should come with praise. We should come with rejoicing that we have an opportunity to offer our lives as a sacrifice to the Lord.

[11:20] We're talking a little bit about hope here, that by these two immutable things, in that which was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, which who we have fled for refuge, to lay hold upon the hope that is set before us.

[11:36] To lay hold upon the hope that is set before us. I think in these verses, clearly when we're laying hold upon the hope that is set before us, it's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ.

[11:46] We're laying hold of the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you say amen this morning? Is that not the hope that is set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.

[12:01] He entered into the veil for us, and we lay a hold of him. He is our hope, and that hope is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.

[12:11] Okay, a mystery, which has been hidden for a long time. You think about a mystery, what do you think about a mystery?

[12:23] When you think about a mystery, right? It's something that's hidden, right? It's a secret. It's a mystery. And the Bible talks about different places where it talks about a mystery.

[12:34] One of them actually talks about the mystery of iniquity, and that one's an interesting study in itself, where it talks in 2 Thessalonians 2 about the mystery of iniquity is already at work.

[12:49] Iniquity, I believe, is lawlessness, and I find it interesting in the same Bible. It talks in Matthew 7. Jesus said, Depart from me, you that work iniquity.

[13:01] So you that work lawlessness. He's talking about preachers there, the people that were prophesying, casting out devils in his name, doing many wonderful works in his name. But it's a mystery, and that's where we find ourselves in our day, I believe, in the midst of the mystery of iniquity.

[13:15] It's very subtle. It says if it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived. And my conviction or my conclusion is a large part, I believe, of the mystery of iniquity, the mystery of lawlessness, that secret thing of iniquity is actually when believers use their liberty that we have in Christ for fleshly purposes.

[13:39] Okay, that's lawlessness. It becomes lawlessness, but it's very difficult to detect because it's all done under the name of that we are free in Christ. And we are free in Christ, and Paul talks about, to the Galatians, about that liberty, but then he says, don't use your liberty for an occasion to the flesh.

[13:59] And so when people begin to use their liberty in Christ for fleshly purposes and are all preaching the gospel or using Bible verses, it becomes a mystery. Okay, so that's one of the mysteries.

[14:11] Again, a mystery, for you to understand a mystery, what does it take? It takes revelation, right? It's like you don't really get it until God opens your eyes, at least from the point of mystery that the Bible talks about.

[14:30] I believe it takes revelation, and we can see the importance of revelation. When Jesus asked the disciples, who do you say that I am? They said, well, some people, you say you are John the Baptist.

[14:43] Some say you're Jeremiah. Some say you're one of the prophets. But he said, well, who do you say that I am? And Peter said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus said, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in heaven.

[14:56] So what? He had a revelation, right? So he could understand that Jesus wasn't just a good person. When they said he is Jeremiah or one of John the Baptist, they actually weren't speaking negative about Jesus Christ, but they were missing the whole point.

[15:13] Is that correct? Just being one of the prophets was not sufficient. He was the Son of God. So again, mystery, another mystery we can see in the Bible is that the two shall become one flesh.

[15:28] Talking about marriage, this is a great mystery, it says. When two become one flesh in marriage, he says this is a great mystery. And so it's good for us when we think about when the Bible talks about a mystery and the mystery I'm going to talk about this morning, I think we would have a tendency to say that, no, we understand that.

[15:48] But I think it's good for us to say, well, when the Bible talks about a mystery, we should search out the depths of this mystery. Yes? Including the mystery of husband and wife becoming one flesh.

[16:01] He says that's a great mystery. And then he says, I speak concerning Christ and the church. So there's some really deep things about John and Ellie being one flesh. And again, Paul calls it a great mystery.

[16:16] Okay, my next point is God desires to make it known. And after a bit, I will put all these thoughts together and we're going to see that this, actually I'm expounding on scriptures.

[16:32] And this says, but now is made manifest to his saints. Okay, first of all, it talks about, excuse me, a mystery. But now is made manifest to his saints, which is now revealed to his holy people.

[16:46] Another place in the scriptures, Paul said that by revelation, God made known unto me the mystery. I think when he said that, it was a little bit of different place in the Bible and may not have been exactly the mystery that we're talking about this morning.

[17:02] But God made known by revelation, Paul said, by revelation, he made known unto me the mystery. Jesus said, in that day you shall know.

[17:14] Okay, in that statement, I think I might have in my notes again later. But Jesus said, you shall know. And I'm not going to say what he talked about that we shall know until later in my preaching here.

[17:28] The fullness of the spirit, and this is now Samuel Chadwick saying, the fullness of the spirit brings the certainty of revelation to the soul. Okay, we're talking about knowing.

[17:39] We're talking about understanding the mystery because, again, it says that he would now make known this mystery that we're talking about. He now wants you to understand.

[17:49] He wants the saints, he wants his people to understand this mystery. He doesn't want it to be a hidden thing. It says for ages, it was a mystery.

[18:01] It was a hidden thing for a long time. And again, we'll look at those verses after a bit. But now we're talking about, Samuel Chadwick talks about, the fullness of the spirit brings the certainty of revelation to the soul.

[18:13] No theological instruction would have given Peter the doctrine he preached concerning Christ's life, death, and resurrection. And Jesus said, in that day you will know.

[18:23] And when the day came, they knew, and they knew the things that Jesus had said they should know. The spirit-filled people know. They have knowledge that does not depend upon intellectual capacity, scholarly training, or even on experience.

[18:39] And their certainty is, their certainty is the secret of their power. I want you to remember that. Their certainty, their knowing, their having understood the mystery, the things that have been hidden, and suddenly your eyes are open, and you know, and that is the secret of our power, of our strength, of our courage that we have.

[18:59] Because God has revealed to us. God has opened our eyes. And if you would think about that, we could all probably remember the day when our eyes were just opened in a new way.

[19:10] And I trust that we have that experience on a regular basis. We read the scriptures that we've read for so many times, and suddenly it's like, wow, I never saw that before. I remember last week it was, I probably shouldn't go there because I forget what it was, but it was like, that is so amazing.

[19:26] Like, did I ever read that before? And that's like when God gives us, our eyes are open, and we see deeper things. And again, Samuel Chadwick says, their certainty is the secret of their power.

[19:39] You know, again, we were told this morning that God is here for sure. There's no question about that. There's a certainty of that statement, is it not? There's a certainty.

[19:49] And that certainty, if we would know for sure, not just with words, and I trust that we do, but we would know for sure that God is in our midst this morning.

[20:00] What strength do we get out of that? What courage do we get out of that? Yes? Hallelujah. Again, these verses that I'm going to read shortly about, how great are the riches of the glory of this mystery.

[20:15] How great are the riches of the glory of this mystery. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles.

[20:27] I was wishing this morning as I was pondering, how could I get a greater revelation of the riches of the glory of this mystery? That sounds like something deep, right?

[20:40] The riches of the glory of this mystery. The riches of the glory of this mystery. God was pleased to make known how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery.

[20:55] Now, I told you in my points, I was going to get to the point that said, what is the mystery, right? That was one of my points. And that's what we're looking at next is, well, what is the mystery? According to the scriptures, this mystery among the Gentiles, which is?

[21:13] Christ in you, the hope of glory. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Isn't that amazing? This is the mystery that I'm talking about this morning. It's Christ in you, the hope of glory.

[21:27] It says this has been hidden for a long time, but now God would make known, God would desire to make known to you, Dan, that this mystery is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

[21:38] I hope we don't take that lightly. It's like, well, we all know Christ is in us. Do we really know that Christ is in us? Do we really know that for sure Christ is in this place?

[21:48] When we came into this building this morning, we know for sure that Christ is here. Are we very certain that no matter what we go through, that Christ is in me? And I have a full understanding.

[22:00] I have a full revelation of that. And if I do, what will be the outcome of me understanding clearly, having clarity of this mystery that Christ is in me, the hope of glory.

[22:15] I found it interesting as I've studied this. And by the way, I will say now, when I say in my journal, I have this tag that says just the message because I didn't know how else to tag it.

[22:26] But when I have tagged very numerous thoughts in various places, tagged the message, to me, the message for me is, again, I didn't know how to word it.

[22:38] It was simply this, that Christ is in us. Christ is with us. Christ dwells with us. And I felt like the Lord put it on my heart. This is going to be so important for us in the days that we're facing to have the full assurance, as David said, right, what?

[22:55] The Lord is my shepherd. I will not fear. What does he say? Help me out. I shall not fear. No, he says, because he is with me, right? Is that what it says?

[23:06] I think I will fear no evil before thou art with me. Huh? I will fear no evil because you are with me. Get it this morning. If you have the understanding, your eyes have been opened to this mystery that has been hidden for a long time, according to the Bible, that Christ is in us, the hope of glory, I will fear no evil.

[23:27] I'm not going to be afraid. And what did he say? I will be with you until the end of the world. So we have the assurance, not just that he's with us this morning, but we have the assurance, he said, and lo, I will be with you even to the end of the world.

[23:41] The last three words in Jesus' prayer before the cross, and I think, what is it, John chapter 17, I think, and I don't have the full statement of that, but John chapter 17, the last three words that I think is recorded in Jesus' prayer before the cross is I in them.

[23:59] I in them. This is not a little topic for us to have our eyes open that Christ is in us. This is the mystery. This is the hope of glory.

[24:10] Christ dwells within us. He made the way through the blood of the cross. He sanctified us. That where God now could dwell with us, where we could now be the temple of the Holy Ghost.

[24:23] Again, I think this is Samuel Chadwick. He says, the indwelling of that, that of a real personal spiritual presence. The indwelling is that of a real personal spiritual presence.

[24:37] It is not a gift that can be located somewhere in the brain or heart of man, but a personal spirit that indwells another personality, a personality within a personality, by which the spirit becomes the life of my life, the soul of my soul.

[24:55] He that is Christ not merely has the spirit of Christ ruling in him, leading him, guiding him, sanctifying him, preparing him body and soul for glorification, but has him also as the new animating soul of his soul, spirit of his spirit, repeating in himself the mystery of the union of two natures in one personality.

[25:16] Now again, the Bible, the scriptures that we've been preaching out of, I'm going to just now quote it word for word. The mystery, which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints.

[25:29] I'm reading out of Colossians chapter 1, verse 26 and 27. The mystery, which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

[25:49] Can you say amen this morning? The hope of glory, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. The hope of glory gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

[26:00] You might say, the hope of glory. What is the hope of glory? You now have the hope of glory. You now have the assurance of sharing his glory, the hope of realizing the glory, Christ in you.

[26:11] Therefore, you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. Again, taken out of my journal from some time back. How exceeding great is the glory and abundant blessing that comes when a person walks in the revelation that Christ dwells within and among his people.

[26:32] Yes? How glorious. How could we begin to grasp the fullness of the blessing and the opportunity and the joy and everything that we have just to have the knowledge and the experience that Christ dwells within us and among his people.

[26:54] A.B. Simpson says this, the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in our hearts, the incarnation of the Father in Jesus and the incarnation of Jesus in us by the Holy Ghost. This is the climax.

[27:05] This is the consummation. This is the crowning glory of redemption. This is the climax. This is the ultimate of ultimates.

[27:16] This is the most incredible thing. This is God dwelling with his people. This is Christianity, if I might say that.

[27:27] Yes? This is why we're not just another religion. Yes? This is why we're not just a people that are following just a book and some rules and some regulations and like, okay, we have our way of doing religion.

[27:43] No, this is Christ dwelling with us. This is God dwelling with his people and there's nothing more incredible. There's nothing more glorious and there's nothing more that can give you a greater peace or a greater joy than to know that God is dwelling within me.

[27:58] I was pondering yesterday, you know, Christ dwelling in us. My joy, the joy that you have. Sister Mary, the joy that you have, it's his joy.

[28:13] It's not just that you're happy. I mean, that might be sometimes, but when we're happy, it's him being happy in us. When you have that amazing peace that passes on understanding, where did it come from?

[28:25] It's his peace inside of us. I hope we can grasp that this morning because there's a difference between us just doing things for God or him living in us and he's doing it through us.

[28:40] It's us just trying to grasp for peace or just trying to be happy or letting him have his peace flowing through us or his joy that we're abiding in him and he's abiding in us.

[28:53] There's some, you know, numerous scriptures this morning we could look at, many scriptures, but that's one of the things. He says, abide in me and I abide in you and you're going to bring forth much fruit. This is the mystery of grace that passes, this is Samuel Chadwick again, that passes all understanding.

[29:14] This is the mystery of the ages and the miracle of grace by which the incarnation is brought into the body of Christ. Again, lay hold upon the hope that is set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul but assured steadfast which entereth into that within the veil whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

[29:42] My exhortation is this morning, let's lay hold of him this morning as yes, he is living inside of me. I'm not going to let that go. I'm going to lay hold of Christ this morning.

[29:53] I'm going to abide in him, which is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

[30:04] And again, I had mentioned earlier about you shall know and that actually is taken out of John 14. In that day, you will know. What will we know? That I am in the Father, Jesus said, and you are in me and I am in you.

[30:19] Can you say amen? He said, you're going to know that. That's what he told his disciples. In that day, you're going to know that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you.

[30:34] Hallelujah. Paul said it this way. He said, this is an amazing thing. And I personally have this thought that when Paul made this statement, he wasn't just speaking a doctrinal statement.

[30:48] He was speaking something that he was experiencing when he said that it's no lower eye that lives, but it's Christ that lives in me. That was a doctrinal statement, I believe, because we're looking at this morning that he lives in all of us.

[31:02] But I personally believe that Paul was experiencing the reality that he came to the conclusion that he wasn't in control of his life anymore. It was Christ living his life in him and he was doing completely surrender to Christ and it was him being in full control.

[31:22] John the Baptist said this, he said, I must, he must increase, but I must decrease. Right? And we say that this morning that, Lord, let it be so that Christ is going to increase and I'm going to decrease and it's going to be him living his life in me.

[31:44] Some of my thoughts, Brother Laverne went, you know, we had made a statement and I'm not going to expound a whole lot on that, but we made a statement recently and we had a little bit of a discussion that the statement is, you'll hear it now and then and usually when I hear it, I usually push back on the statement because of what I'm preaching this morning.

[32:06] The statement is, you should find out your identity in Christ. The state, the thought is who you are in Christ.

[32:17] Okay? There's some truth to that. Who are you in Christ? But if you think about it, it's not who you are in Christ, John, it's who he is in you. Huh?

[32:30] Now think about that. That's not who you are in Christ because John the Baptist said, he must increase but I, I, must decrease. That's not who you are, it's who, and that can be life-changing in itself when you begin to ponder not who you are and you try to find your identity, who you are, but when you try to find the identity of Christ living in you.

[32:53] Who is he? Who is this living in me? Who is this Lord Jesus reigning in my heart? You begin, I heard this statement a couple years ago and then for about five months after that I, I, I made a practice of every morning doing something different.

[33:12] This person had said and he was preaching when he said it, he said every morning on the way to work he, and I don't know if he said it this way but basically he proclaims his identity in Christ, who he is in Christ.

[33:25] Okay? That's what he was expounding on. And so he was quoting verses about, you know, I'm more than a conqueror. That's who you are in Christ, right? I'm more than a conqueror. Many, many other things that you could look at.

[33:36] Again, I'm not saying that's all wrong but every morning he takes, I think, ten minutes to proclaim who he is in Christ and I felt, wouldn't it be worthy to every morning begin by looking at who God is in us or just who God is and yes, he's living in us and so I did that for about five or six months.

[33:56] Every morning I would take a certain aspect of God. I would take his greatness or I would take his redemption or I would take his love or I would take and I would just ponder on the various elements in scripture that would expound on that.

[34:09] Rather than thinking of who I am, I was trying to think of who he was and it was really life changing for me. How great are the riches of the glory of this mystery.

[34:22] What is the mystery this morning? It's Christ in us that God would make known to you now this mystery that was hidden for a long time but now God would have you understand this.

[34:37] God would make known this to his people and it's interesting that he wants to make known even among the Gentiles this mystery.

[34:49] Right? I used to think I was a Jew because I was Amish. She was like, no, no, no, I was a Gentile. Right? And that's why it's amazing that even the Gentiles can have this experience not just a selected group of people in Israel that can have the experience of God abiding in their midst but the ends of the earth can have this joyous revelation that Christ can be in you the hope of glory.

[35:21] This person said it this way, all my thoughts and feelings all my affections and purposes will come and surrender themselves to the holy power that sits within on the throne of my heart.

[35:36] And this person I may expound on a little bit the opening message this afternoon but he expounds on in the Old Testament you had the tabernacle and you had the holy place and you had the most holy place the holy of holies and what was that?

[35:56] What was in the holy of holies? It was God's presence. Right? And this person expounds on it that's what this whole thing was about is the holy of holies God's presence in that place.

[36:08] Should that not be what our lives are all about? What Christianity is all about? What church is all about? It's about God dwelling there in the holy of holies and then Jesus gave his life and shed his blood and the veil was rent from the top to the bottom so that all of us could enter in to the holy of holies into the very presence of God.

[36:30] I think there's nothing more glorious for us to think about that God is dwelling in our midst not just in our midst but within our hearts. What's it say?

[36:43] Christ dwells in our hearts by faith. It's good for us to think about that. You don't have to go by your feelings this morning. Do you feel God? You can go by faith and say no I believe.

[36:55] Christ dwells in our hearts by faith and we could just preach on that verse Christ dwells in our hearts by faith. Christ dwells in our hearts. God dwells within me.

[37:07] God lives inside of me. It's an incredible thought. I heard a preacher years back saying you know when when he comes in the door God comes with him. When he goes somewhere God goes with him.

[37:19] Do we believe that? He dwells in us. When you go somewhere and this could be this the more enlightenment we have on this we could and I think maybe I have that thought after a minute.

[37:32] God now send me with your presence to the world to bring life to bring joy to the hopeless to those who are in despair. again Jesus said abide in me and I in you.

[37:47] He says in 2 Corinthians I will dwell in them and walk in them. Samuel Chadwick the very essence of the Christian religion is in the realized presence of God in the soul.

[38:03] The very essence of the Christian religion is in the realized presence of God within a soul within your soul. Andrew and Mary says this along the lines of God actually living our lives for us.

[38:23] God will actually live their life for them. It was himself who lived and breathed in them. And that's the difference between you Laverne trying to do your best to be a good Christian versus letting God live his life in you.

[38:39] It's two different things. I'm going to do my best. I'm going to try my best to live for God versus saying God you take control of my life. Fill me with your spirit and you live your life in me.

[38:51] We tried the other one before and we weren't very successful at least I did. I tried my best to be a good Amish person and I wasn't very successful. But the day came when I opened up my heart and said Jesus come live in me.

[39:02] Take over. Take control. And everything began to change. Instead of me trying I surrendered and let him live his life in me. And again Andrew Mary says that right?

[39:14] What does he say? He will actually live their life for them. It was himself who lived and breathed in them. He lives and breathes his life in us.

[39:26] And that's why when we think about peace it can be without which passes our understanding because it's not peace that we're trying to get. It's his peace in us. When we think about joy it can be exceedingly joyful because it's his joy in us.

[39:43] It's him living his life in us. Again I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live but not I but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

[40:01] Hallelujah. It's awesome to just think that we could be crucified and some of you got baptized I think last Sunday and that's you know I am dead to the old man.

[40:15] I have been crucified with Christ and then you come up in newness of life. Baptism is such a glorious thing and that's why maybe some of you have just been sprinkled I don't know but I think a biblical baptism I would encourage you to consider even if you were sprinkled no I want to be baptized a biblical baptism because I'm buried with him and I come up in newness of life.

[40:38] I think that's truly a biblical baptism to be buried with Christ. I am crucified with Christ. I live not I he says it's not me living it's Christ living in me.

[40:53] If we grasp that it's not me living how can you be frustrated you're dead Dan you can't be frustrated unless he's frustrated you know how can you get angry no you're dead and to take the position I am crucified with Christ I don't have to let my emotions control me anymore because I am dead the old man is dead it's now him living his life in me so when you think about him living his life in you what do you all think about what could you all he's your guide he's your strength he's your comfort he's your peace he's your joy he's your protector yes you have everything you need you don't have to worry about anything because he's living his life in you God almighty God the one who created all things this one Laverne and I talked about not along the lines exactly but a month or so ago we talked about two things that one Saturday morning about the authority that we have where do you get that authority what did him the one that's seated above all principalities and powers he's living inside you think you have power you think you have authority absolutely not in yourself but the one who has authority over all things lives inside of you

[42:17] Tony you have authority in him he his authority in you and again the focus isn't on the authority you have the focus is the authority that lives inside of you yes it's not who you are it's who he is my son Dave I had this in my journal come to me he said Jesus said and despair and hopelessness comes from being away from God if we are with God there are no circumstances that bring us to despair no circumstances that bring us to despair and again Abraham the Bible talks about he went out not knowing where he went yet he knew who went with him that made all the difference yes William Gernal says a soul not persuaded to this how uneven and unstable is he even when he's walking in obedience every threat from man if mighty dismays him because his faith is not fixed on this fact that God is with me you said when you you were

[43:32] I think specifically talking about when you left Michigan he said it this way there was times going that time specifically he couldn't see two steps ahead of him and guess how you said it that I could only see one or two steps ahead of him but if God is with you that's okay yes you don't have to see farther than one step ahead of you because God is with me I will fear no evil the Lord is with me I will not be afraid can you say amen this morning I'm going to ask you to stand to your feet I think I still have some notes I'm not sure exactly how soon we're going to finish but probably shortly but can we embrace that this morning I'm not going to be afraid the Lord is with me he's made known this mystery that was hidden from ages he's made it known to his people he wants to make it known to his people what is the mystery Christ is in you the hope of glory you have a glorious hope when you understand this mystery when God opens your eyes to say

[44:42] God dwells in our midst he said if two or three gathered together in his name he's going to be there in their midst he says I will dwell in them and walk among them he says you are the temple of the Holy Ghost you are bought with a price you're not your own you're not your own anymore sister sister Rachel you're not and hallelujah that should say oh that's the most glorious thing that it's no longer me that lives because I know what my life was like before it's now him living in me I'm not my own anymore he paid an amazing price for us he gave his blood for us for what purpose so that he could have us so that he could live with us that's why he gave his life for us because he longs to be with his people he's a God of love this afternoon we'll be speaking about love he's a

[45:46] God of love he's not content just that you follow all the rules real correctly and do everything real correctly unless you have a love relationship with him and he's abiding in you and you're abiding in him and you're saying God you're my best friend you're the love of my life you're the one that brought me out of my captivity and Lord I just want to love you I just want to serve you I just want to walk with you is is it possible that's possible Dan for man to walk with God he not walk with God he walked with God I just say this yeah I find it interesting it doesn't say God walked with him God's willing to walk with anybody but no I gotta walk with him it doesn't say God walked with Enoch it says Enoch walked with God absolutely they walked together but it was

[46:50] Enoch saying no I'm gonna walk with God I'm gonna put my faith in him I personally think when we come to the place of it's no longer I that lives but it's Christ that lives in me I think everything just becomes so much easier because it's not me anymore it's him I'm just yielding I'm just believing I'm just trusting I'm just saying here I am abiding in you and you're abiding in me everything becomes a whole lot easier we might cry we might you know the devil might fight real hard against us but it's not my battle it's not my problem it's his problem not my problem if dad asked you what are you going to eat tomorrow I may have said that story before a pastor from India was a younger smaller boy so I'm kind of picking on the biggest guy in here but you know the pastor asked his son what are you going to eat tomorrow he said it's not my problem it's your problem we can have that confidence not arrogantly before God but God

[48:09] I'm your child I'm your son I'm your daughter and I don't have to worry about tomorrow yes I usually use this illustration you know if you want to be a big boy or a big girl then it is your problem right as long as my children stayed small it's like it's my problem I got to take care of them but if they want to be big boys and do their own thing okay now it's your problem you take care of yourself but Jesus said if you become like little children so we should all say God I'm here just to be a little child and then we can hear him saying okay then your problems are not your problems I'll take care of you because you're a little child you're my little daughter you're my little son I'm walking with you I'm inside of you you don't have to worry about anything I will fear no evil because the Lord is with me make me an island I'm quoting somebody else set me apart alone with you God holy to you prepare me to carry your presence to the busy world beyond yes make me an island set me apart that's what it means to be holy right set apart for him alone with you

[49:25] God holy to you prepare me to carry your presence to the busy world beyond God would have his people to feel the impact of the presence his presence within us I just enjoy when the Holy Spirit directs and sometimes I know we can get a little bit but you know the song we sang what was it during the offering time and I knew what I was going to preach and I had that song written in my thing but maybe we could sing that song that was the song that the Holy Spirit I believe led us to live in me Lord Jesus live in me that should be our passion this morning that should be our number one thing that we live for live in me Lord Jesus live in me yes live in me

[50:26] Lord Jesus live in me live in me Lord Jesus live in me there's a work that must be done there's a victory to be won every hour by thy power live in me my power work through me Amen Amen