Second letter to Timothy.
Chapter 2.
We'll read from verse 1 through verse 6.
Second Timothy, chapter 2, verse 1.
Thou therefore, my child, be strong in the
grace which is in Christ Jesus.
And the things thou has heard of me
in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust
to faithful men, such as shall be competent
to instruct others also.
Take thy share in suffering as a good
soldier of Jesus Christ.
No one going as a soldier entangles himself
with the affairs of life, that he may
please him who has enlisted him as a
soldier.
And if also anyone contends in the games,
he is not crowned unless he contends lawfully.
The husband must labor before partaking of the
fruits.
And chapter 4, verses 7 and 8.
These are the words of the Apostle Paul.
I have combated the good combat, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Henceforth the crown of righteousness is laid up
for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge,
would render to me in that day.
But not only to me, but also to
all who love his appearing.
May we have a word of prayer.
Lord, we do want to thank Thee because
Thy words are truth, and it is Thy
truth that sets us free.
So Lord, as we consider Thy word together
in Thy presence, we do pray that Thy
Holy Spirit will reveal Thy word to us
and bring us into Thy truth.
And to Thee be the glory, in the
name of our Lord Jesus.
If you were here yesterday morning, probably you
still remember that what we would like to
share this time is on two opposites.
But these two opposites are the two features
of Christian life.
On the one hand, a Christian must experience
the rest that our Lord Jesus has promised
and given to us.
Our Lord Jesus is our Sabbath rest.
And we need to know that.
And on the other hand, we need also
to know how to fight the fight of
faith.
So Christian life is basically composed of these
two opposites.
On the one hand, we rest in the
Lord Jesus.
On the other hand, we fight the fight
of faith.
And that is the way when our Lord
Jesus was on earth, he lived.
And that is the way that we ought
to live.
Now we do not have the time to
review what we had yesterday.
So we will just go ahead and share
together on this aspect of our life.
As soon as we believe in the Lord
Jesus, we are called and enlisted into the
army of the Lord.
We are called to fight the good fight
of faith.
You remember the story of the children of
Israel.
They were slaves in Egypt.
They had no hope of living.
And yet God, in his mercy, delivered them
out of Egypt.
And as we have already mentioned this morning,
our brother has mentioned, God commanded the children
of Israel to provide each family a lamb.
And on that night, before the angel of
destruction passed over the whole land of Egypt,
the children of Israel, they will slay the
lamb and they will apply the blood, sprinkle
the blood on the dope post, the lintel,
and our brother mentioned, the threshold.
So in other words, you will find the
whole door, the up, the sides, and the
down, is all sprinkled with blood.
And the children of Israel will stay behind
that door, in the house, eating the lamb.
And when the angel of destruction passed through
the land of Egypt, when he saw there
was blood on the door, he passed over.
So this feast is called the Passover.
He passed over them because there was already
blood shed.
And those houses, the Egyptian houses, they had
no blood upon the door.
The angel of destruction will go in and
slay the firstborn.
So it is by the Paschal lamb that
the children of Israel were saved from death.
There was a sentence of death over the
whole land.
But because the children of Israel had the
Passover Paschal lamb already slain, therefore their firstborns
were all spared.
And brothers and sisters, this is just a
type.
And the reality is, our Lord Jesus, the
Son of God, He is our Paschal lamb.
And because He is our Passover, therefore we
who believe in the Lord Jesus, death has
passed over us.
We have passed out of death into life.
And thank God for that.
But brothers and sisters, you know that this
was not the end of the story.
Because on that very night, when God commanded
them to put the blood of the lamb
on the door, they were gathered as families
in the house, eating that lamb.
And while they were eating that lamb, they
had to gird their lawns, took the staffs
in their hands, had their shoes on.
Why?
And they had to eat in a hurry.
Because on that very night, God delivered the
children of Israel out of the land.
In other words, there was not only deliverance
from death.
God wanted the children of Israel to go
out of the land of Egypt.
But strangely, you
find in Exodus 13, verses 17 and 18,
when that night the children of Israel left
the land, God did not lead them by
the way of the Philistines, which was near.
Why?
Because God said, if I lead them out
of Egypt by the way of the Philistines,
they will meet conflict right away.
And because of that, they will repent and
return to Egypt.
Now, maybe I should explain a little bit.
God's purpose in delivering his children out of
Egypt is not just out.
It is to lead them into Canaan, the
land flowing with milk and honey, the promised
land.
Now, going out of Egypt into the promised
land, Canaan, there is a way by land.
And it is the way of the Philistines,
because the Philistines were the people who left
Africa and went to Canaan by land.
And it was the nearest way.
But God did not lead them that way.
Because if the children of Israel should get
out of Egypt, and going by the land
of the Philistines, they will immediately meet the
Philistines.
And the Philistines will block their way and
will fight with them, because they were not
yet trained.
They will be disheartened.
And immediately they will go back to Egypt,
because it was land they could go back.
So in view of that, God led them
by the way of the wilderness to the
Red Sea, so that after they crossed the
Red Sea, there was no way to return
to Egypt.
Now, this was the mercy of God.
But you noticed, even so, when the children
of Israel left Egypt, the Bible used the
word, Israel went, arrayed, out of Egypt.
And that word, arrayed, is a military word.
It means martial array.
Military order.
It means a rank of five.
It means girded.
In other words, when the children of Israel
came out of Egypt, they came out in
military order.
They came out as the army of the
Lord.
Now, they were not yet very greatly organized,
because they were greatly organized only when they
arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai.
There at Sinai, God organized them very strictly,
because you'll find in numbers.
They were all numbered, all the young men,
twenty years above, were numbered, and they camped
around the tabernacle, on the four sides, and
three tribes on one side, under one banner,
and when they marched, they marched as an
army, through the wilderness.
So brothers and sisters, what we see in
this type, because what was recorded in the
Bible, is for our admonition, for we who
live in the last of the days.
So, in the type you'll find, when God
delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt,
they came out as the army of the
Lord.
That means, as soon as we are saved
by the blood of the Lamb, of our
Lord Jesus, immediately we are enlisted into the
army of the Lord.
So brothers and sisters, we today are on
military footing.
We should not be complacent.
We must remember that we are enlisted in
the army of the Lord.
We are called to fight the good fight
of faith.
So far as the children of Israel were
concerned, you'll find that God led them out
of Egypt.
Their first fight was against the pursuing army
of Pharaoh, because destruction came
upon the land of Egypt.
From the first born of Pharaoh, the king
of Egypt, to the first born of a
slave maid, and all the first born of
the cattle and of the herd, were all
slain that night.
There was crime in all Egypt.
So you'll find Pharaoh called Moses and said,
go, go quickly.
And the Egyptians pushed these Israelites and said,
you go, because if you don't, we will
all die.
So they came out in a hurry, and
they marched out of the land.
But God, as I have already mentioned, in
His mercy, did not lead them by the
land, but lead them out through the sea.
So they came out by the wilderness, and
they came to the Red Sea.
Now Pharaoh, after he realized that the children
of Israel had left, all the slaves were
left, he repented.
So you'll find that he called his army,
his chariots, and they pursued after the children
of Israel.
And they caught up with the children of
Israel by the Red Sea.
Now when the children of Israel saw the
army of Pharaoh pursuing after them, they cried.
Why?
Because there was no way out.
The pursuing army was behind them.
The sea was before them.
So there is Moses, you lead us out
that we may die in the wilderness.
And you remember in chapter 14 of Exodus,
Moses said, be not afraid, fear not, be
still, and see the salvation of the Lord.
Because today God is going to fight for
you.
You just be still and watch.
And I believe you will remember the story.
God commanded Moses to raise his rod over
the sea, and God divide the water.
And the children of Israel went through the
Red Sea on dry ground.
Bottom of the sea is dry.
And Pharaoh's army pursued after them.
They saw the children of Israel were on
dry ground over the sea, so they pursued.
And the pillar of cloud and the pillar
of fire, where the presence of God was,
turned from leading the children of Israel and
come to the back of the children of
Israel, and stood between the Egyptian army and
the children of Israel.
The children of Israel safely passed through the
Red Sea to the other side.
But God disturbed the chariots, disturbed the army,
delayed them, until they realized that God was
working against them, and they tried to turn
back.
But the children of Israel had already passed
the Red Sea.
And God told Moses to raise the rod,
and the water flowed back.
And Pharaoh and his army were drowned in
the Red Sea.
Now that is the way the children of
Israel came out of Egypt.
When they stood on the other side of
the Red Sea, they could look back and
saw that the army of the Egyptians were
drowned in the Red Sea, and Egypt was
behind them.
They were out of Egypt.
Now before we apply a little bit more
in detail, probably let me mention something first.
The children of Israel came out of Egypt,
and you find that they were fighting all
the way from out of Egypt into Canaan,
and even in Canaan.
But if you read the Bible, I will
just sum them up, you will find that
before they crossed the Red Sea, their fight
was against Pharaoh and his army.
Or to put it another way, it is
a fight against the world.
Because Egypt in the scripture represents the world,
the things of the world, the riches of
the world, and yet the tyranny, the oppression
of the world.
So Egypt represents the world.
Their fight is against the world.
But when they crossed the Red Sea and
get into the wilderness, you find their fight
in the wilderness during those 40 years is
against their flesh, themselves, their flesh.
We will explain that later.
And after they crossed the Jordan River into
Canaan, they fought against the seven tribes of
Canaan.
And these seven tribes serve as types of
the principalities, authorities, power of darkness in the
heavenlies.
So they fought against the spiritual forces that
is against God.
Now these are the fights typified in the
story, history of the children of Israel.
And we will apply them to ourselves.
First of all you will find, how did
they fight against Pharaoh and his army?
How were they delivered out of the world?
Because that principle is applied to every fight
afterwards.
Did the children of Israel fight against Pharaoh
and his army?
Did they turn their back against the Red
Sea?
And in desperation they fought against the chariots,
the army of the Egyptians?
They didn't fight at all.
And yet did they fight?
The Lord fought for them.
It is the battle of the Lord.
The Lord said, I will fight for you.
It is a fight.
But the children of Israel didn't really fight.
All they did was standing there, be still
and see the salvation of the Lord.
It was the Lord who opened the Red
Sea and got them through.
It was the Lord that overthrew the Egyptian
armies and drowned them in the sea.
It was the Lord who delivered them out
of Egypt.
And he delivered them in such a way
that there was no way to turn back.
Now isn't that the mercy of the Lord?
The Red Sea in the scripture is a
type of baptism.
Because in 1 Corinthians 10 we are told,
all the children of Israel, they went through
the cloud and the water and they were
baptized unto Moses.
Before they crossed the Red Sea, they were
in Egypt.
They were slaves to Pharaoh, the king of
Egypt.
And they were put into hard labor.
They were not even allowed to live because
all the male child born must be thrown
into the river Nile.
But after they crossed the Red Sea, Egypt
was behind them.
They were no longer under Pharaoh.
They were baptized unto Moses.
And Moses represents God.
In other words, there you will find by
the Red Sea, the children of Israel were
completely delivered out of Egypt.
That is the doing of God.
Now brothers and sisters, people always ask that
question.
If you believe in the Lord Jesus, you
are saved.
But why is it that we who believe
in the Lord Jesus must be baptized?
Some people say, can I believe in the
Lord Jesus and not be baptized?
What is the meaning of baptism?
I already believe in the Lord Jesus.
I am already saved.
Why should I be baptized?
Do you know why must we be baptized?
That we may be delivered out of the
world.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
And many people were moved.
And they said, what shall we do?
And Peter said, repent and be baptized that
you may receive the promise of the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
And he used many other words to exhort
them, saying, be saved from this evil generation.
And those who believe, they were baptized.
Three thousand were baptized on that day.
So what is baptism?
The water does not wash your sins away.
It is the blood that washes your sin
away.
Then what does that water do?
It is by faith we enter into the
water and by faith we come out of
the water.
When we enter into the water, the world
is buried.
Pharaoh and his army were drowned in the
water.
When we come out of the water, we
belong.
So in other words, baptism is a declaration
of our faith.
Accepting what the Lord Jesus has done for
us.
Because when our Lord Jesus died on the
cross, he judged the world.
We may say it is the world that
judged the Lord.
The world put the Lord on the cross.
But by that very cross, the Lord said,
the God of this world is judged.
So in the salvation of our Lord Jesus,
he not only shed his blood for the
remission of our sins, his very cross has
judged the world and has delivered us out
of the power of darkness and has translated
us into the kingdom of the Son of
God's love.
So when you, by faith, believing in what
the Lord Jesus has done, and you go
into the water, you declare that from now
on you do not belong to the world.
When you come out of the water, you
proclaim you belong to Christ Jesus, another world,
a new world altogether.
Now that is baptism.
Maybe I should explain a little bit more.
What does the word world mean?
You know, the word world in the scripture
may mean several things.
Number one, it may mean the earth that
God has created.
Number two, it may mean the people, man.
God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
The world there means mankind.
God so loved mankind.
So the world can mean the earth, or
the world may mean mankind.
And yet there is another meaning of the
world.
And the world means something
organized by the archenemy of God in opposition
to God.
So the world is a cosmos.
It is an organization.
Satan organized the world into a system.
He is called the ruler of this world,
the prince of this world.
And he used the world to oppose God.
Whether it is political, economic, social, educational, even
religious, you find that he organized the world
in all these aspects into a system to
oppose God and His kingdom.
That is the meaning of the world.
So far the world as the earth is
concerned, we should take care of it, and
not to ruin it.
Because in the beginning God gave this earth
to man, to kill, to guard, to have
dominion, to take care of this earth.
Unfortunately man failed in their mission.
So far the world as people, mankind is
concerned, we should love them as God loved
the world.
But so far as the world as a
system dominated, ruled by Satan, the archenemy of
God, in opposition to God, what is our
attitude to the world?
We should come out of it.
Once we belong to the world, all who
are born into this world belong to that
system.
It is the world that crucified the Lord.
The world hated the Lord, away with Him,
away with Him, crucified Him.
We have nothing to do with Him.
And brothers and sisters, once we belong to
that world, we are part of it.
We were born into that, but thank God,
when our Lord Jesus died on the cross,
He delivered us out of the tyranny of
the ruler of this world.
The ruler of this world was judged by
the Lord on the cross.
And He delivers.
Brothers and sisters, we no longer belong to
this world system.
That was under the archenemy of God, in
opposition to God and His kingdom.
Thank God we belong to another world, to
the kingdom of the Son of God's love.
That's where we belong.
And if this is the case, should we
not make it a public declaration?
And that public declaration is baptism.
So when we were baptized, we declare that
we have accepted the salvation of the Lord.
He has delivered us, just like Paul said
in Galatians 6, verse 14.
He said, there is only one thing I
boast of.
I boast of the cross of Jesus Christ.
So far as the world is concerned, I
am crucified.
So far as I am concerned, the world
is crucified.
The cross stands between me and the world.
It's a double death.
I am dead, I die to the world,
and the world dies to me.
There is no more relationship.
It's a complete separation.
Have you been baptized?
If you do, do you know what it
means?
You have made a public proclamation that you
no longer belong to this world.
You belong.
Are you faithful to your declaration?
This is the reason why, in this world,
especially in those heathen nations, if you believe
in the Lord Jesus, people will not persecute
you.
But once you are baptized, immediately you will
be persecuted, because they know you do not
belong to the world anymore.
Did you do anything?
You don't.
The Lord did it all.
Be still.
Fear not.
Be still.
And see the salvation.
The Lord has done it.
And by baptism, with faith, by faith, we
were baptized.
We stand on the ground of that separation
from the world.
This is the Lord's doing.
And with that, you are not able to
return.
You know, people try not to be baptized
because they want, in case it's too difficult,
they can return.
But once you are baptized, the Red Sea
has separated you from Egypt.
You have no way to return.
Thank God for that.
He knows our weakness.
But brothers and sisters, you think the fight
is over?
No.
So far as God's truth is concerned.
And truth is what Christ has done for
us.
And truth is eternal.
It never changes.
It cannot be changed by circumstances, it cannot
be changed by environment, it cannot be changed
by your feeling, by anything.
Because what Christ has done on Calvary's cross
is eternally, and it is truth that we
must accept by faith.
Now, having been baptized, having taken the truth,
then brothers and sisters, experience will follow.
The children of Israel, they left Egypt.
The Red Sea divided them.
They could not go back anymore.
They were out of Egypt.
But, dear brothers and sisters, if you read
their history, you'll find that during their 40
years in the wilderness, Egypt followed them.
You know, Pharaoh will not give up that
easy.
You'll find that Egypt followed them.
Outwardly, they were out of Egypt.
But inwardly, Egypt was still in their heart.
You remember the story?
How they cried out and said, we are
tired of this manna, the food that comes
down from heaven.
Oh, we are thinking of our days in
Egypt, when we have fish, when we have
garlic, when we have onion, leeks, all these
smelly things.
They long for the things of Egypt.
They were out of Egypt, but Egypt was
not out of them.
Dear brothers and sisters, is this not true
in our experience?
You were baptized.
You were out of the world system.
You belong to the Lord.
You should be satisfied with Christ.
He is your manna.
He is your drink.
He is your very life.
But brothers and sisters, how often we are
still tempted by the world.
In 1 John 2, verse 16, it says,
what is the world?
The world is represented by the things of
the world.
The lust of the eyes, the lust of
the flesh, the pride of life.
Love not the world, because if you love
the world, the love of the Father is
not in you.
Dear brothers and sisters, isn't it true that
we are still longing after the things of
this world?
Things that appear to our eyes, things that
appear to our flesh, things that appear to
the pride of our life, what are they?
That's the world.
The world pursued after you.
God gave this world, that is the earth,
and all the things on this earth for
our enjoyment.
He knows our need, and yet brothers and
sisters, we lust for the things of this
world.
It means that we are not satisfied with
what God has given us.
We want more.
Lust, lusting after the things of the world.
What we shall see, what we shall eat,
what we shall drink, what we shall be
clothed with.
Our Lord Jesus says, these are the things
that the Gentiles ask for.
Your Heavenly Father knows your need.
Look at the birds of the air, observe
the lilies of the valley, how God took
care of them, how much more precious you
are than these birds.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and
His righteousness, and all these things shall be
added.
Brothers and sisters, do you believe that?
We cannot serve two masters, either mammon or
God.
And yet, how we long after the things
of this world, never satisfied.
More, more.
In Luke chapter 21 it says, be careful,
lest your eating and drinking, and the cares
of this life, so burden your heart, that
when the Lord shall return, you will be
left too heavy to be taken.
Dear brothers and sisters, are we completely delivered?
How can we overcome the world?
When the temptations come, how can we overcome
them?
By the word of God.
You remember when Satan tempted our Lord Jesus
in the wilderness.
He showed our Lord Jesus the whole world,
and all the riches in the world.
And he said, if you bow down to
me, I give all to you.
And our Lord Jesus said, you shall worship
the Lord your God, and serve Him alone.
He quoted.
We overcome the world by the word of
God.
When temptations come, the word of God will
come to us.
And by the word of God, we have
the strength to reject.
You think the world rejects you?
No, we reject the world.
Our Lord Jesus rejects the world.
Therefore the world is His.
The more you grow in the Lord, the
more you see what the world really is.
You know the world is not only the
things of the world that appears to the
lust of your eyes, the lust of your
flesh, the pride of your life.
Remember, if you love the world, the love
of the Father is not in you.
Because the world is in opposition to God
the Father.
But as you grow in the Lord, you
will find the world is something more than
just things.
The world is a mold.
A mold.
In Romans chapter 12 verse 2.
Be not conformed to the world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that
ye may prove what is a good and
acceptable and perfect will of God.
Be not conformed to the world.
In other words, the world is like a
mold and it requires you to be conformed,
belong, be as one, otherwise you are out.
You know the world has a mold.
Use an illustration.
Actually, what it means is, in the original,
the feeling, the force is, do not squeeze
yourself into the world.
Because we Christians are too big for the
world.
It is below our dignity to squeeze ourselves
into the world.
And yet you find how many Christians try
very hard to squeeze themselves.
To use an illustration, if this summer a
new fashion comes out of Paris, what happens?
All over the world try to squeeze themselves
into that fashion.
If it is short skirt, short.
If it is long, long.
Meaningless.
After several years, going back.
So you better keep your clothes for a
number of years.
It will come back into fashion.
Isn't that terrible?
Pitiful?
Let the world follow the fashion, but let
the world follow us, not we follow their
fashion.
The world is a mold.
How terrible is that?
It is like a straitjacket.
Oh, we need to be delivered from that.
With the renewing of our mind, we begin
to see things differently.
They look at it as beautiful, we look
at it as ugly.
The Apostle Paul said, I look at the
things that I loved before, they are but
tross.
Now I consider the knowledge of the Lord
Jesus as most excellent.
I give myself for it, for anything.
Is that your attitude?
Or more?
If you go deeper with the Lord, you
will find the world is not only things,
not only a mold, it is a spirit.
In 2 Corinthians 2 verse 12, God has
not given us the spirit of the world.
He has given us the spirit of God,
that we may know the things of God.
Thank God for that.
What is the spirit of the world?
The spirit of the world is the spirit
of the Antichrist.
It is the spirit of Satan.
It is the spirit of rebellion.
It is the spirit of hatred, of jealousy,
of pride.
That is the spirit of the world.
O brothers and sisters, we need to be
delivered from that spirit.
We need to have the spirit of the
Lamb, spirit of the cross, spirit of humility,
spirit of obedience, of submission.
Spirit of Christ, not the spirit of this
world.
We need to be delivered.
And brothers and sisters, our Lord has done
it.
All you need to do is be still
and see the salvation of the Lord.
You just stand on the finished work of
Christ, and the world is crucified to you,
and you are crucified.
That is the first fight.
Are you fighting?
Or have you yielded your ground?
I hardly begin yet.
Ok, let's go on a little bit more.
Now this is the fight with the world.
Then the children of Israel enter into the
wilderness.
Now in the wilderness you find there is
another kind of fight.
It is not fighting against Pharaoh and Egypt.
It is fighting against the flesh themselves.
Now read the scripture.
Deuteronomy chapter 8.
And know in thy heart that as a
man chastened is his son, so Jehovah thy
God chastened thee.
And thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah
thy God to walk in his ways and
to fear him.
Now maybe, again, I have to explain what
the flesh means.
Because the Bible, the word flesh in the
Bible has several meanings.
And you have to determine its meaning by
the context.
The flesh in the scripture first may mean
this flesh, this body.
Flesh and blood.
1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 50.
Flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom
of God.
It means this body is corruptible, so cannot
inherit the incorruptible kingdom.
You have to have a new body, a
spiritual body, incorruptible body to inherit incorruptible kingdom.
Now here is the flesh.
Romans chapter 9 verse 3.
Paul said he loves his kinsmen, his own
brothers, brethren, brethren in the flesh.
That means physical.
That is one meaning.
Another meaning of the flesh means, again, mankind.
In Romans chapter 3 verse 20 it said
no flesh shall be justified by works.
That means no man can be justified by
works.
But these are not the two things we
are talking about.
We are talking about the third meaning of
the flesh.
And the third meaning of the flesh is
the unregenerated part of your being.
That is the flesh.
Romans chapter 7 verse 18.
In me, that is in my flesh, there
is no good.
You know when you believe in the Lord
Jesus, your spirit is regenerated.
But the body and the soul have not
been regenerated yet.
So the flesh means the soul and the
body in their unregenerated state.
Or to put it another way, the life
of your soul also is yourself.
The expression of yourself is the flesh.
So the Bible call it the works of
the flesh.
The unregenerated part of your being.
Now we do not know ourselves.
We think that after we believe in the
Lord Jesus that we are totally changed.
We are a new man, totally changed.
And thank God in the beginning days it
seemed to be like that.
Because you are in first love with the
Lord.
So your flesh is dormant, hid itself, waiting
for opportunity to rise up.
And when temptation of the word comes, then
the flesh has opportunity.
And he rises up to respond.
Do you know that our flesh never changes?
Even after you are saved, your flesh is
still the same old flesh.
Do you know that?
Maybe you have already discovered it.
And it is a surprise maybe to you.
You discover that after you have believed in
the Lord Jesus you think everything is new
now.
But wait.
When temptations come, somehow you find there is
still lust within you.
You find that the flesh within you is
the same old flesh.
It hasn't changed.
And you try to change your flesh.
You try to powder it.
You try to paint it.
You try to improve it.
You try to suppress it.
But it still doesn't change.
You remember the word says, he that is
born of the flesh is flesh.
Eternally is.
He that is born of the spirit is
spirit.
Forever spirit.
So in other words, the flesh that is
the all creation in us, our soul and
body, dominated by that self in us, expresses
itself in the flesh, in the works of
the flesh.
You find our flesh never changes.
He that is born of the flesh is
flesh.
You think that before you believe in the
Lord Jesus there is no good in you.
But after you believe in the Lord Jesus,
now somehow that no good has become somewhat
good.
And to the surprise of the apostle Paul,
in Romans chapter 7.
Oh, he said, well, I want to do
the will of God.
I can do the will of God.
I am the Lord.
Surely I want to please the Lord.
And whatever the Lord commands, I will keep
it.
I have the strength to do it.
I have the will to do it.
I have the power to do it.
And then one commandment comes.
Do not be greedy.
Now all the ten commandments, only this commandment
is not external.
Is more than external.
It has something to do with our desire.
And Paul said, well, I was not a
greedy person.
I was always a very broad-minded person.
I wouldn't be greedy.
But before the commandment came, he wasn't very
greedy.
But when the commandment came, he found that
he got greedier and greedier.
You know how true it is.
When you have a sign, do not dump.
That's where all the dumps are.
When you learn to ride a bicycle, you
know, when you see somebody is coming, you
say, don't hit him.
And you hit him.
He that is born of the flesh is
fresh.
Paul said, I want to please God.
I want to do the will of God.
I think now I can do it.
But I found I still couldn't do it.
And he said, I don't want to do
things against God.
But I found that somehow I did it.
I don't understand.
Until he cried out and said, well, in
me, that is in my flesh, there is
no good.
Brothers and sisters, your flesh is strong to
do your will, but weak to do God's
will.
You have to come to a place where
you realize there is no good in your
flesh.
You hate it.
You cry out, O wretched man that I
am, who can deliver me from this body
of death?
Thank God through Jesus Christ.
For forty years, the children of Israel were
tested and tested and proved that there was
no good in their flesh.
They did not keep the commandment of God.
They couldn't do it.
God chastened them.
Child-trained them.
Not until they crossed the river Jordan.
Then the flesh is behind them.
You remember the story how they crossed the
river Jordan.
I'm sorry.
It's too late.
If anyone feels you have to go, please
go.
It's alright, because I have transgressed.
You'll find the children of Israel, you know,
for forty years in the wilderness, they were
proven to be weak in the flesh.
Weak in keeping the commandment of God.
They just couldn't do it.
So, how could they be delivered from the
flesh?
It is typified by the crossing of the
river Jordan.
Because when they crossed the river Jordan, you
remember, the ark led away.
The priest with the ark on their shoulder,
they stepped into the water and the river
Jordan divided.
And they stood on the ground, riverbed, and
the children of Israel passed by.
And then twelve men took twelve stones out
of the wilderness, going to the place where
the priest stood with the ark.
Took twelve stones there and replaced them with
the twelve stones from the wilderness.
And then took the twelve stones out of
the riverbed and carried them over to the
other side of the Jordan river and set
them there as a memorial.
You know the difference between these stones?
The stones that were taken from the wilderness
were rough stones.
But the stones that were taken from the
riverbed are smooth stones.
So, it represents the old Israel was buried.
The flesh.
And the new Israel came into life.
Now, that is how they were delivered from
the flesh.
Brothers and sisters, isn't that the same thing
with us?
How are we delivered from this flesh?
Number one, you have to realize there is
no good in your flesh.
As long as you still think there is
some good in your flesh, you will not
be delivered.
You will still have to wander in the
wilderness.
But when you come to see there is
no good in your flesh, then you begin
to see what God has done is right.
God said, you are hopeless.
I cannot repair you.
I cannot reform you.
I put you to death.
When Christ died on the cross, He took
Adam, the whole Adamic race, with Him and
crucified.
Knowing our old man was crucified.
When Christ died on the cross, you and
I were crucified there.
You don't believe it?
You think you are too good to be
crucified?
Too early to die?
Two thousand years ago, God said, you die.
That is your salvation.
Not until you see there is no good
in your flesh.
Not until you see, oh, this wretched, who
can deliver me?
You know, again, Paul is using, there is
a historical background, you know, in the Roman
world.
There is one way to punish murderers.
If somebody murders another one, they use that
murdered corpse and bind that corpse to the
murderer.
Eye to eye, nose to nose, mouth to
mouth, hand to hand, feet to feet, and
bind them together.
Until the corruption gradually corrupt the living one.
And eventually died.
And that is what Paul had in mind.
Oh, wretched man that I am.
Someone is bound up with me.
And who is that one?
Himself.
Who can deliver me from this bondage?
Do you feel that way?
Thank God through Jesus Christ.
It is only then and there, you look
up at the cross of the Lord Jesus,
and you saw, in Him, you were there.
And you say, Amen.
That is what it ought to be.
Then you are delivered.
So Paul said, I am crucified with Christ.
No longer live I.
It is Christ who lives in me.
And I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loves me and gave
Himself.
Brothers and sisters, do you do anything to
be delivered from the flesh?
In this fight, do you do anything?
Be still and see the salvation of the
Lord.
By faith, believing what Christ has done on
the cross for you and for me.
And thank God through Jesus Christ.
That is the way we are delivered from
the flesh.
Finally.
Then they crossed the river.
They were in the promised land.
But do you think that there will be
no more fighting in the promised land?
No.
The real fight begins.
They had to fight against the seven tribes
of Canaan.
And there were giants there.
Look upon them as grasshoppers.
But did they have anything to fear?
No.
The Lord has already given the land to
them.
It is theirs.
They just put down their feet and it
is theirs.
Because the battle is the Lord's.
How did they fight?
The ark led the way.
Do you remember how the ark led the
way?
And the children of Israel, the army of
Israel, they followed the ark and they surrounded
Jericho, the city of Jericho.
And they go by the city once a
day and on the seventh day seven times.
And they just shouted and the wall of
Jericho fell.
That is the way.
The ark led the fight.
Brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus on Calvary's
cross has won.
Our brother read this morning in Colossians chapter
2 verse 15.
On the cross, by the cross, he has
spoiled the principalities and authorities and make a
public show of them.
In other words, when our Lord Jesus was
on the cross, he judged the ruler of
this world.
He judged the world.
He had won the battle.
He has ascended up on high.
Seated at the right hand of God his
father.
He has in his hand the scroll.
He is exercising his authority and power to
bring this whole world back to himself.
The victory is already won.
Now, what do we do?
Do we fight?
We do.
But how do we fight?
Stand.
And we stand.
And stand.
Do you understand?
Stand in the finished work of Christ.
We do not fight to victory.
We fight from victory.
The enemy was already beaten.
All we do is just round it up.
All these scattered.
Defeated.
That's all we do.
So claim the victory of Christ over every
situation.
And you know the battle is over inheritance.
God has given us inheritance.
He has already given us.
We have the seal.
The Holy Spirit is the seal of our
inheritance.
That we will receive our full inheritance.
Our inheritance is the fullness, the richest of
Christ.
It's all ours.
But the enemy tried to stand in the
way from our inheriting our inheritance.
And that is what the fight is all
for.
We fight to get through to the fullness
of Christ.
And the way to get through is to
stand in the might of his grace.
In the might of his grace.
And withstand the assaults of the enemy.
And stand to carry through the will of
God in spite of opposition.
Brothers and sisters, that is the fight in
the heavenlies.
We fight against the world around us.
We fight against the flesh in us.
We fight against the evil forces of darkness
in the heavenlies.
And thank God, in this fight of faith,
all we need to do, fear not.
Be still.
And see the salvation.
Now finally, finally, I think I have to
put in a few words here.
We may think that all these fighting are
personal and individual.
But actually not.
If you read very carefully the word of
God, you find we fight as an army.
Ephesians chapter 6 verse 10 onward.
That warrior is the church.
You cannot fight the spiritual battle on your
own.
In the battlefield, if you try to fight
on your own, you raise your head and
you will be.
We have to fight together.
So nobody can be individualistic.
We protect each other.
We help each other.
And we fight together.
And that is the way of the Lord.
Let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank
Thee that before the fight, there is the
rest.
Before the stand, there is the sit.
We thank Thee that we do sit with
Christ in the heavenlies.
Therefore we can fight with Him, under Him,
after Him in the heavenlies.
And we do praise and thank Thee that
the victory is already ours.
We do thank Thee for our time together.
We just pray that Thy word be living
and real to each one of us.
To Thee be the glory.
In the name of our Lord Jesus.