WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:02.690 Today, you and I are going to have a heart -to 00:00:02.690 --> 00:00:06.769 -heart talk, and I do desire that it may be a 00:00:06.769 --> 00:00:09.630 very profitable heart -to -heart talk because 00:00:09.630 --> 00:00:12.169 I'm talking about something that is vitally important 00:00:12.169 --> 00:00:16.670 to both of us. In the riches of divine grace, 00:00:16.989 --> 00:00:21.230 I want you to know something. Provision is made 00:00:21.230 --> 00:00:27.760 for constant, unbroken victory. on the part of 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:31.280 every one of God's children, regardless of circumstances. 00:00:32.600 --> 00:00:38.340 That's right. A victory that remains unaffected 00:00:38.340 --> 00:00:45.020 by circumstances. You know, the victorious life 00:00:45.020 --> 00:00:49.460 is not something which is obtained once for all. 00:00:49.659 --> 00:00:54.240 A summit that's reached from which nothing can 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:58.500 dislodge us. Sometimes I think that we feel, 00:00:58.539 --> 00:01:02.119 you know, that when we're born again, oh, that 00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:05.920 wonderful moment when His Spirit bears witness 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:08.379 with our spirit that we pass from death unto 00:01:08.379 --> 00:01:12.180 life and we know that in that moment God has 00:01:12.180 --> 00:01:16.120 become our Heavenly Father and we enter into 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:20.640 that wonderful relationship of father and child. 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:24.840 Oh, it's a glorious experience. But sometimes 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:28.900 we get the idea, that we're going to remain in 00:01:28.900 --> 00:01:37.200 that constant ecstasy, and that there'll no longer 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:41.939 be temptations, there'll be no feeling of depression, 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:48.560 and that we'll remain on that wonderful summit, 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:52.359 away up there on Pista's lofty mountaintop. But 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:57.209 you see, the big... Victoria's life is not something 00:01:57.209 --> 00:02:05.590 which is obtained once for all. This victory 00:02:05.590 --> 00:02:11.530 is secured from moment to moment by a moment 00:02:11.530 --> 00:02:16.610 -by -moment faith. There is constant victory 00:02:16.610 --> 00:02:20.550 for the believer so long as he trusts Christ 00:02:20.550 --> 00:02:27.900 entirely and only. for so long. The moment that 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:33.659 simple faith is lost, that moment of victory 00:02:33.659 --> 00:02:43.080 over sin is broken. There must be that moment 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:51.879 by moment, that day by day simple faith in Him. 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:57.639 That's why our Lord seems to sum up sin in just 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:02.039 one word, unbelief. And the scripture says, the 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:05.360 Holy Spirit, when he is come, shall convict the 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:09.099 world of sin, of sin because they believe not 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:14.599 on me. And this is exactly why John says, this 00:03:14.599 --> 00:03:20.560 is the victory that overcometh the world, even 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:26.759 our faith. So what is the victory that overcometh 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:34.000 the world? Faith. Since then there is no such 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.280 thing as a once -for -all victory. It's evident 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:43.479 that this life is beset with perils and we must 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:55.699 constantly be on guard. Ever allow the peace 00:03:55.699 --> 00:04:02.340 of God to guard our hearts. An earnest laboring 00:04:02.340 --> 00:04:07.360 man used to insist upon quoting that little verse 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:12.819 that says, A peace of God shall guard your heart. 00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:22.100 P -I -E -C -E A peace of God shall guard your 00:04:22.100 --> 00:04:26.120 heart. Guard your hearts. And his idea was right. 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:32.399 For it is the indwelling Christ, the Son of God, 00:04:32.600 --> 00:04:39.259 who does this thing for us. Now, what are some 00:04:39.259 --> 00:04:42.560 of the dangers that beset a life of holiness? 00:04:43.019 --> 00:04:46.199 And there is such a thing as a life of holiness. 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:51.689 The Bible teaches it. You must accept it if you 00:04:51.689 --> 00:04:56.970 believe the Word of God. But what are some of 00:04:56.970 --> 00:05:01.470 the dangers that beset this wonderful life of 00:05:01.470 --> 00:05:06.449 holiness that the Word of God teaches us? To 00:05:06.449 --> 00:05:14.209 be forewarned is to be forearmed. Nor need we 00:05:14.209 --> 00:05:18.389 fear to face any danger. Don't sit there with 00:05:18.389 --> 00:05:20.829 some fear in your heart that you're not able 00:05:20.829 --> 00:05:26.170 to live this life or attain this wonderful daily 00:05:26.170 --> 00:05:29.750 consistent life of victorious living there's 00:05:29.750 --> 00:05:37.949 no need for you to fear any danger for the word 00:05:37.949 --> 00:05:43.000 of God says for in all these things, we are more 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:47.139 than conquerors to him that loved us. Not only 00:05:47.139 --> 00:05:50.819 has he made provision that we may become conquerors 00:05:50.819 --> 00:05:57.360 and that we will be conquerors over anything 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:01.139 and everything we face in life, but more than 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:05.699 conquerors. And that's quite a promise. And that 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:08.939 promise comes from the highest authority in heaven 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:14.050 and earth. Face it. Accept it. It takes away 00:06:14.050 --> 00:06:20.250 all fear. All right? First of all, we have self 00:06:20.250 --> 00:06:25.209 -effort. Now, please, if you do not hear anything 00:06:25.209 --> 00:06:26.730 else that I say in this little heart -to -heart 00:06:26.730 --> 00:06:30.889 talk today, I want you to see something. Maybe 00:06:30.889 --> 00:06:34.689 it will help you to cease from all of your struggling 00:06:34.689 --> 00:06:39.269 and the strain and this terrific effort that 00:06:39.269 --> 00:06:43.310 you're... putting forth to be a wonderful Christian, 00:06:43.449 --> 00:06:46.709 to live this constant abiding life in Christ 00:06:46.709 --> 00:06:49.810 Jesus. If you're living like that, it takes all 00:06:49.810 --> 00:06:55.230 the joy out of salvation. It takes all the joy 00:06:55.230 --> 00:07:00.269 out of being a Christian. It takes all the joy 00:07:00.269 --> 00:07:05.970 out of living, really. You know? In the first 00:07:05.970 --> 00:07:09.310 flash of joy at realizing the possibility of 00:07:09.310 --> 00:07:12.610 such a life of victory, there's a tendency to 00:07:12.610 --> 00:07:18.050 attempt to hug our possession, to make a continuous 00:07:18.050 --> 00:07:23.910 and conscious effort to cling to it, lest we 00:07:23.910 --> 00:07:28.529 lose it. A feeling that if we do not strenuously 00:07:28.529 --> 00:07:31.470 concentrate our thoughts upon the indwelling 00:07:31.470 --> 00:07:36.009 Christ, maybe we'll lose him. We go to sleep 00:07:36.009 --> 00:07:40.490 at night fearing that we might lose something 00:07:40.490 --> 00:07:45.490 even while we sleep. We wake in the morning and 00:07:45.490 --> 00:07:48.250 think, oh, I must be very careful today. I must 00:07:48.250 --> 00:07:53.329 put forth every effort because I might lose this 00:07:53.329 --> 00:07:58.050 wonderful experience or I might lose the nearness 00:07:58.050 --> 00:08:02.290 of the Master in my life. Perhaps this comes 00:08:02.290 --> 00:08:08.259 from... regarding the victorious life as a blessing, 00:08:08.439 --> 00:08:15.379 a possession we can forfeit or lose. Satan always 00:08:15.379 --> 00:08:19.300 tries to get us to regard it as such. Always. 00:08:20.420 --> 00:08:24.360 He makes us believe that it may slip from our 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:31.319 grasp, but it isn't true. It is not true. It 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:36.750 is a person, not... a thing. Always keep that 00:08:36.750 --> 00:08:46.029 in mind. It is a person whom you serve, not a 00:08:46.029 --> 00:08:49.250 thing. This wonderful experience of being born 00:08:49.250 --> 00:08:55.070 again is a person, not a thing. This life of 00:08:55.070 --> 00:08:59.389 holiness, this life of victorious living is a 00:08:59.389 --> 00:09:06.240 person, not a thing. It is the Lord Jesus Christ 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:12.759 himself who comes, not so much for us to possess 00:09:12.759 --> 00:09:20.120 him, but that he may possess us. He cannot slip 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:26.960 from our grasp. He holds us. His promise, I will 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:31.440 never leave thee nor forsake thee. That's why 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:39.450 I like... to dwell upon the abiding Christ rather 00:09:39.450 --> 00:09:45.470 than the fullness of the Spirit. Someone put 00:09:45.470 --> 00:09:53.970 it so wisely. Once it was the blessing. Now it 00:09:53.970 --> 00:10:01.309 is the Lord. Once it was the feeling. But now 00:10:01.309 --> 00:10:08.070 it is his word. Once his gifts I wanted, now 00:10:08.070 --> 00:10:15.090 the giver own. Once I sought for healing, but 00:10:15.090 --> 00:10:24.769 now, beloved, I seek himself alone. And that's 00:10:24.769 --> 00:10:27.009 exactly what I'm talking to you about today. 00:10:28.330 --> 00:10:38.210 He keeps us. It is not we who keep him. No. It's 00:10:38.210 --> 00:10:43.350 not like that at all. He, the Bible says, is 00:10:43.350 --> 00:10:47.490 able to keep. He's able to keep you. He's able 00:10:47.490 --> 00:10:55.230 to keep me. We do not have to keep him. Of course. 00:10:56.399 --> 00:10:59.740 We must allow the Lord Jesus Christ to be the 00:10:59.740 --> 00:11:03.600 home of our thoughts. We must be willing to be 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:08.559 kept. That's where the danger comes in. The minute 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:11.899 that you are no longer willing for him to keep 00:11:11.899 --> 00:11:16.639 you, then you get into trouble. But as long as 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:22.100 you are willing for him to keep you, for he's 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:29.100 able to keep, not only able, but willing as long 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:36.259 as you are willing to be kept in continuous victory. 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:41.220 I'm talking about a life of victory, a daily 00:11:41.220 --> 00:11:46.120 consistent Christian life of victory, regardless 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:52.580 of circumstances, regardless of depression, regardless 00:11:52.580 --> 00:11:56.820 of... Anything that might happen to you or come 00:11:56.820 --> 00:12:02.340 into your life, provision has been made for a 00:12:02.340 --> 00:12:10.220 continuous victory. Looking unto Jesus in faith 00:12:10.220 --> 00:12:18.039 and in love does not mean strenuous effort to 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:26.289 retain him. He's a willing Savior. He's a willing 00:12:26.289 --> 00:12:36.289 guest. He's a willing Lord. Our look of faith 00:12:36.289 --> 00:12:42.110 is not with strained eyes, but with a restful 00:12:42.110 --> 00:12:46.490 gaze. In the Great Miracle Service, how often 00:12:46.490 --> 00:12:52.480 I see folk as they are sitting there in the pew, 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:57.179 and there's this strained look on their faces, 00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:00.899 and oftentimes when I glance down, I see their 00:13:00.899 --> 00:13:10.500 hands clenched into almost a fist, straining, 00:13:10.779 --> 00:13:15.539 oh, straining to be healed, and almost as though 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:19.940 they're trying to heal themselves. It isn't like 00:13:19.940 --> 00:13:26.139 that. It's when you sit there completely relaxed. 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:34.679 So much so that there's a look of glory upon 00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:41.179 your face. In that moment, you're thinking about 00:13:41.179 --> 00:13:46.259 the bigness of the Lord, the wonderful power 00:13:46.259 --> 00:13:53.649 of the Holy Spirit. Looking unto Jesus, the author 00:13:53.649 --> 00:13:58.029 and the finisher of our faith, that suddenly 00:13:58.029 --> 00:14:01.470 you feel that wonderful presence of the Holy 00:14:01.470 --> 00:14:07.149 Spirit just flowing through your body. It's not 00:14:07.149 --> 00:14:13.629 looking to Jesus through strained eyes, but with 00:14:13.629 --> 00:14:19.649 just a restful gaze. It makes all the difference. 00:14:19.580 --> 00:14:28.399 in the world. Abide in me, says our Lord. Just 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:33.100 rest peacefully in Him so far as your life of 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:39.200 victory is concerned. At every alarm, at every 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:45.720 approach of temptation, just abide in Him. He 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:53.299 is the Rock of Ages. He is all -powerful. Consider 00:14:53.299 --> 00:14:56.899 the lilies of the field, how they grow. Not by 00:14:56.899 --> 00:15:02.159 self -effort, not by toiling or striving. They 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:05.600 just abide in the sunshine and they drink in 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:10.879 its life. And the word says, which of you by 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:18.340 being anxious, by worrying, by screaming, can 00:15:18.340 --> 00:15:24.360 add one cubit to his stature. That's exactly 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:27.840 what our Lord asked in the Sermon on the Mount, 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:31.980 and in his mind was something more than physical 00:15:31.980 --> 00:15:39.200 stature. It's not our faith, but his faithfulness 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:44.779 that maintains the victorious life. Trust in 00:15:44.779 --> 00:15:52.240 the Lord, Do good, so shalt thou dwell in the 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:57.399 land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Read it. 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:03.019 It's in the 37th Psalm, the third verse. I read 00:16:03.019 --> 00:16:05.120 it so very often on Monday night in the Monday 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:08.919 night services because sometimes I think we need 00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:11.019 it more on Monday than we do on Sunday, you know. 00:16:12.220 --> 00:16:20.639 Trust in the Lord. Trust in Him. Do good. And 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:24.419 you cannot trust in him without doing good. The 00:16:24.419 --> 00:16:28.279 two go hand in hand. You just cannot. There's 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:30.139 something about it. If you're not doing good, 00:16:30.179 --> 00:16:31.600 then there's something wrong about your trust 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:34.620 in the Lord. And as sure as you're trusting in 00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:41.840 the Lord, you will invariably do good. Then go 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:45.899 on from there. So shalt thou dwell in the land. 00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:52.059 and verily thou shalt be fed in other words and 00:16:52.059 --> 00:16:58.620 verily the lord will take care of you is that 00:16:58.620 --> 00:17:03.779 simple we may remark in passing that even our 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:10.240 conflict with evil around us and i know the powers 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:13.200 of the enemy are great i know the hour in which 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:17.130 we live I know the temptations. I know the frustrations. 00:17:19.970 --> 00:17:24.309 But even in view of this fact, our trust must 00:17:24.309 --> 00:17:29.910 be entirely in Him and not in our own power and 00:17:29.910 --> 00:17:34.890 in our own effort. How remarkably this is brought 00:17:34.890 --> 00:17:37.730 out in our Lord's instructions to His disciples 00:17:37.730 --> 00:17:43.170 when He said, Behold, I send you forth as sheep. 00:17:44.359 --> 00:17:51.160 amidst wolves. That's exactly what he says. Now 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:55.359 look at this. How does he proceed? Does he say, 00:17:55.500 --> 00:18:00.880 Be ye therefore armed to the teeth? No. No, he 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:06.380 doesn't say that. He continues by saying, Be 00:18:06.380 --> 00:18:14.609 ye therefore harmless as dogs. Why? Because he 00:18:14.609 --> 00:18:22.369 is our defense. He is our shield. Sometimes it's 00:18:22.369 --> 00:18:27.049 not the easiest thing in the world to just commit 00:18:27.049 --> 00:18:32.109 everything unto him. It's not the easiest thing 00:18:32.109 --> 00:18:36.150 in the world to say, well, oh, dear me, in this 00:18:36.150 --> 00:18:42.029 hour of frustration and... with the circumstances 00:18:42.029 --> 00:18:48.109 under which I have to live, it's not easy to 00:18:48.109 --> 00:18:56.950 be harmless as dogs and relax. But the Word of 00:18:56.950 --> 00:19:04.690 God says we can afford to relax because He is 00:19:04.690 --> 00:19:08.910 our defense and our shield.