The Power And Purpose Of God — Romans 1

0:00 Greetings and salutations, whatever that means. Greetings, know, but salutations, I don't I don't know what that means. I got saved at the age of 18. I was a freshman at Lakeland Community College playing basketball for Don Delaney, who later became the head coach of the Cleveland cadavers... I mean, cavaliers.

0:32 And... Yeah. And so he was... He taught me everything I knew about basketball. Everything.

0:42 I followed him implicitly. I worked at Willoughby Municipal Pool. And my whole goal in life, and I wrote this out every day for, like, eighteen, nineteen months, I will become the greatest basketball player that ever lived. It was one of those think and grow rich things you do, you know, motivation type of situation. And I wrote that out every day.

1:11 Just amazing. I... And that was my life my life goal, to become the best possible. But, you know, I started to realize I started to realize after I... I mean, I did this, but I had events in my life that rocked my world, and that was the death of people.

1:35 The death of my grand... My grandmother, my other... My grand father, the death of my grandfather. I didn't know about about those things. I mean, I knew that they had died, and we didn't really...

1:50 I didn't really know about it. I remember coming in, my mother ironing and crying, and I said, What's wrong? And I was, I think, in seventh grade, and she said, Nana died. And I was close to Nana. So, I mean, I just...

2:05 You have these things in your life. And then in high school, in high school, senior in high school, I had a friend, Bob Miller, pass away. He was killed in an automobile accident. And you just... These things in your life, was not born again.

2:23 I did not know where I was going. Had no idea where I was going, if I were to die. And that shook me. Those deaths. And there were...

2:34 Jim Hargrove, He was one of the kindest people I have ever met in my life. He treated me a little pipsqueak type of guy. He treated me... He was at the university... Or Miami University and a senior...

2:49 Gonna be a senior. And he treated me like a... Like an equal. Asking me questions, talking with me, listen to my opinion, which nobody was listening to my opinion in those days. And you think to yourself, wow, I I loved him.

3:07 He was killed in an automobile accident. It shook my world. And you start to wonder, okay, what what is what is life about? And they got that famous song, you know, that famous long time ago, what's it all about, Alfie? Is it life or...

3:31 I forget. Who cares. Right? And you stay... You think to yourself, what is life all about?

3:38 What is it all about? Where are you going? What are you doing with your life? And I I knew I was a religious guy. That's for sure.

3:48 I went to I went to mass every... In fact, one year between my junior and senior year, actually, during... Not only during the... Between my junior and senior year, but during the basketball season because we wanted to gain the advantage. I went to Mass and even had some of my teammates go to Mass with me.

4:10 It's just just amazing. And we lost some games. And it was... You know, you still... You wonder what what purpose what purpose do you have?

4:24 And I knew that God was was powerful. I was working towards an agnostic position though. I was working that the, you know, you can't really know God. But I was working towards that. When I went to college, my brother kept telling me that that really man made up God.

4:54 And I even thought during those days, I even thought because of circumstances in my life of taking my own life. Because what's the what's the use of living if there's nothing? And, that's what a lot of college people go through. They go through that like crazy because they're being indoctrinated with that. And I thought to myself as I was I was going, what's the purpose for my life?

5:22 Why am I here? What am I doing? And the older I get, you start really seeing that. You say, okay. What is the purpose of your life?

5:33 You know? Wayne and I are the crew of fifty two. So I'm 74 years of age. George, you're 50... No.

5:42 No. No. No. No. George is 30.

5:46 Yeah. Not nineteen thirty. He's 30, period. Okay. So you ask yourself the question, where...

5:54 Where's my life headed? What am I doing with my life? What am I doing with my life? The title of our little message is the power and the purpose of God. The power and the purpose of God because the bible shows two aspects of salvation that that makes a difference in our lives.

6:19 I like us to look at these two aspects because what are they? Well, the bible shows us the aspect of the power of God unto salvation and then also unto sanctification, the purpose in our sanctification. So... Okay. Okay.

6:37 Okay. Okay. This is not an evangelistic message. I want you to know that. If it if it tweaks you that way, that you start to think, man, what is the power?

6:47 What is the purpose of my life? I need to get right with God. Fantastic. And I hope that that's... That happens for you, that you receive Jesus Christ as your personal savior.

6:59 But I'm talking about us Christians who have trusted Christ as our personal savior, but are unsure as to the purpose for our lives. We wonder what's going on. We wonder how are we going to how are we going to live? What are we going to do? And so I like us to look at I like us to look at Romans chapter one because the Bible shows us the aspect of the power of God unto salvation.

7:28 We are kept by God. This is the beautiful thing. Yeah. I'm reminded of the story of of the kid that was being taken out because he was he was not doing so well. And I think he was, save me.

7:47 His mother was taking him out, you know, or pray for me. I forget. It's good. You can keep him here by the way. He can stay.

7:56 I'm used to hecklers. So, no problem. You, hey, you, hey, you gotta stay. You gotta stay. Yeah.

8:06 You gotta stay. Come on back. Come on back. It's alright. He...

8:10 He's he's a little fussy, but not a big deal. So we look at Romans chapter we look at Romans chapter one, and Paul declares right off the bat, well, there's a few verses ahead. But in verse 13, now I would not have you I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, but was prevented thus far, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as almost among other Gentiles. So he's talking to Christians. He's not talking, you know, this is an evangelistic thing, although it could be.

8:45 He said, I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. He owes them. He owes the world, actually. And he owes them what? And we're going to find that out.

9:00 So, as much as in me is, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. He hated Romans being a zealot himself. He was a religious zealot. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He'd hated when the Romans came in and took over as beloved Israel area and and that dominated the world.

9:21 They were not nice people. They were not nice people. And he said, I'm there... I'm here to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

9:35 And this is the beautiful thing about it. I... And I... I'm gonna ask you a question. Sermon is not a sermon unless you make application.

9:43 I wanna ask you a question. Are you ashamed of what Jesus Christ has done for you? Oh, no, man. No way. I am not ashamed of that.

9:57 That's good because... And that's fantastic because if if you are, you're gonna be hesitant to talk about them. If you are, you're gonna be not standing up for the truth. If you are, you're going to be saying, oh well, you know, I don't want those people to know that I'm a Christian because if if I do, I might might not get the raise or I might not have the in with the with the company, that kind of thing. So I'm glad you're not ashamed.

10:29 Paul is saying this when it cost him. It cost him a lot not to be ashamed. He said, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. And why? Why is that?

10:42 Because he's got it he's got it straight, for it is the power of God unto salvation. And that's why I titled this, the power of God unto salvation. The power of God. And what is the power of God unto salvation? To everyone that believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

11:31 And I was listening to this preacher, doctor David Gibbs. I was listening to him on YouTube, and, he says, you know, God delights in you trusting him in everything. Not the little, not the big things, in everything. We say that this is big for us but it's not for god. It's not for God.

11:55 You know, you have a diagnosis of cancer or whatever, that kind of thing. That's a big deal, but not for God. And we say, do we pray about everything? I mean, isn't that what Paul wrote? We pray in everything.

12:09 So, the salvation, and I'm trying to impress upon myself, that the salvation that God has given to us is much deeper than we could ever imagine. Much deeper. Eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor hath entered into the heart of man what he has for those who love him. And so what he has given to us incredible incredible gift. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

12:42 And the gift goes on forever and ever. And you know the beautiful thing about this? It's free. The gift, the power of God unto salvation is free. Truly, truly, I say unto you, he that hears my word and believes on him, what?

13:00 Has everlasting life. The moment you believe on Jesus as your personal savior, you pass from death unto life and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life. So it's free. And it's not only free, it's it's tremendous. It's free, but it's also powerful.

13:27 Powerful. Just incredible. You know, the word the word exousia in John one twelve, the Greek word exousia, it means power. First... Or John one twelve says, but as many as received him to them gave he the power, Exousia, that the...

13:51 It's the Greek word power and where we get the word dynamite. It's power. Yeah. I love that those songs, we get used to them so much. There is power, power, wonder working power in the blood, in the blood of the lamb.

14:09 Right? We sing that kind of song, and... But we don't really realize how powerful is God. Think of it this way. When we get to heaven, gonna walk with Jesus.

14:25 Right? But it's just not that. We're gonna know him, and we're gonna continue to know him. And we're gonna get deeper in our knowledge of him, and that will never run out. It's not like we're gonna arrive in heaven and know after ten thousand years, we go, wow.

14:46 I've exhausted who God is. No. No. We will continue to know him. By the way, if we were to ever exhaust it, we would have to be God.

15:00 We would have to be God to exhaust the knowledge of God. We're gonna grow in that. So we might as well get growing on it now. We might as well get really, what, who is God? I wanna grow and I wanna know.

15:13 I wanna know him. By the way, when you and I are put in that box, if there's no rapture at the time, when we're placed in that casket, is that it? Is that all there is? No. No.

15:40 They're not there. I have to do a funeral this afternoon. I'd love to stay for the potluck. No questions about it. But John Gorman, of whom I have spoken of, his wife passed away.

15:53 And the family have asked me to to do the funeral. And I... I'm honored to do that. But what's... I mean, we're going, going, going to pass from this life.

16:08 So what is our core belief system in the sense of what we are to do for God? And it's not segmented. It's not like I do this for God and I do this for my boss. No. No.

16:25 No. No. No. I do this all for God. Everything that I do is for God.

16:32 I want to know him. By the way, the more you obey the word of God, the more you seek the... Seek seek his face. I love it when the psalmist says, seek... God says to him, seek ye my face.

16:48 Thy thy face, lord, do I seek. He wants us all the time to seek him, not partial. So when we get this, they get this wonderful gift of eternal life. It's just not, I hate to put it this way, fire insurance. That it is.

17:09 But it's just not that. It's now being born again, Born into his family. Born and changed. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away.

17:25 Behold, all things become new. We become brand new people. We might not feel it. We might not get Pentecostal about it. We might not get that liver shiver about it.

17:37 You know, the zits might not ever clear up. The hair might never straighten out or even grow. None of that. Uh-uh. It's not that at all.

18:00 Because what happens? What happens when we trust Christ as our personal savior? In chapter five, we see the the the whole action of being... Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Right?

18:14 And then he goes all the way through it talking about how mankind fell with Adam and how Jesus Christ changed that all the whole thing. And when a person places their faith in Jesus Christ... Look at Romans chapter six. Look verse one. He says, what shall we say then?

18:33 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Shall we continue in sin? And whatever is not of faith is sin. So if we're not trusting God all the time and trusting his word and obeying his word all the time, what are we doing? And so the question we have this and he says, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

19:02 And he answers the question for him. Never may... Never... Let... Don't ever be sold.

19:08 God forbid. That's pretty strong, pretty strong stuff. God forbid. No way. Okay.

19:17 And he says, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer in it? So what happened? When you trusted Christ as your personal savior, What took place spiritually speaking? Here's what happened. You died.

19:37 Ben, history at the age of whatever. Schroeder, 18. Whatever age you trusted Christ as your personal, you died. And isn't that what this says? You died, so you no longer are your own.

19:58 Okay. So he he even gets he even gets more personal on this. Notice what he says. He says, know you not? Okay.

20:08 So how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer in it? Some of you and some, you know, some of us are at this very moment in sin as Christians. And he is saying, Paul is saying, wait a second, you can't do this because you're living a lie. You are living a lie. Why?

20:32 Because you died with Christ. You died. You're dead. You have no more no more issue in this in terms of sinning. But we often do because we got the old man.

20:45 Right? And so we look at this and he says, no, you're not. Verse three, as many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ, we're baptized into his death. This is means you be are placed into his death. So, when Jesus Christ died on that cross, you died.

21:06 Isn't that what that's saying? And then notice what else he is saying. Oh, man. Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism, and this isn't water. This isn't the water.

21:24 This is I've been baptized and placed into the death of Christ. I've been placed into Christ. First Corinthians tells us that we are baptized by the Holy Spirit. We're placed into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. The moment you believe.

21:43 That very moment you believe. And so this is exactly what he is saying to us. And then so he is he is saying to us that we have died with Christ. And then notice verse four, therefore we are buried with him by baptism unto death... Into death that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we should walk in newness of life.

22:09 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also in the likeness of his resurrection knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him knowing that Christ Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more. That that no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once.

22:47 And that he liveth, he liveth unto God. And then notice verse 11. Likewise, reckon yourselves. And that's an accounting term. Add up.

22:59 That's exactly what he's saying. Add up what I just said. This, this, this, this. Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto Christ Jesus Christ our lord. Alive unto god through Jesus Christ our lord.

23:16 We are to do this. He writes to the Colossians. Paul writes to the Colossians saints and says the same thing in chapter three. He says exactly the same thing. He gives the position and then in chapter three verse five, he tells us, mortify therefore the members are upon the earth.

23:36 Put to death those things that are in the flesh. Put those to death. Put them to death. It's a decision that we make. So when you're tempted as a Christian to look at pornography or if you're tempted to cheat in your mind on somebody, on your wife, or a significant other, or whatever, you're you're tempted to do this, stop it.

24:08 Believe the Bible. I've died with Christ. I've been raised with Christ. I'm to walk in newness of life. Period.

24:14 End of story. He says that we should not serve sin. But many of us who are Christians, still Christians because we're permanent. By the way, if we've died with Christ and we've been raised with Christ, that's permanent. It has nothing to do with how you're living in the sense.

24:52 John chapter 10, please turn there, would you? John chapter 10. John chapter 10 is a very, very... Man, I love it. And this is what I I tell people when...

25:12 Well, I tell people what Jesus said. You know? Here's what it is. Verse 27, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

25:32 That word never, it's interesting. They shall never perish. If I use a double negative, I need some help with this. Grammarians. If I use a double negative in English, what does that mean?

25:47 It's the opposite. It means it's true. I ain't got no money means I got money. I ain't got no money, but it means I got... Double negative in in English says that it's a it's a factual thing, but not in the Greek.

26:09 If you have a double negative in the Greek, it strengthens it. It makes it rock solid. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall, what? Never perish. The Greek word for that is in the double negative.

26:27 That is to say, never, never. And I can say it again, never. So you can never lose your salvation. It's free to those who receive it. It's free.

26:43 It's powerful, and it's permanent. So now what? So now what? Not only does he tell us this, the power of God unto salvation, but the Bible shows us the aspect of the purpose of God in our sanctification. Ephesians chapter five, please.

27:04 Ephesians chapter five. I want you to notice something in verse 15. He says this, see then that you walk circumspectly. And other translations might wanna wanna say, see that you walk carefully. So when you have your little one, what's her name?

27:26 Maisie. Okay? Maisie, when you walk with Maisie, you're not... Man, that thing, you fall down, you're you're taking the head blow, you're taking the header, you're taking it so you can protect her, right? And then when you walk, you're not walking at a job site.

27:43 You don't got Maisie on a on a on the mud cell and you're walking the mud cell with the, you know, stuff not, you know, all the junk on the bottom there. You're not walking with Maisie on the mud cell mud cell. You're walking very carefully without her. Circumspectly. See that you walk circumspectly, it can be translated walk very carefully.

28:06 I like the word circumspectly because you're looking around. Circumspectly. You're looking around the circumference. You're looking all around. What's danger?

28:17 Where is this happening? This is what why that I think the King James translated it circumspectly because just not carefully. It's like you're walking very attuned to what's around you. See that you walk circumspectly. See that you walk carefully.

28:38 And then notice what he says, not as fools but as wise. So we we look at this as the purpose of God in our sanctification, not as fools but as wise. Once you get saved, once you receive Christ as your savior, he's now telling us how to walk as Christians. Look around. See what's bad.

29:06 See what's going on. And this is how you have to walk. This is... I mean, he's telling us this. He's telling us for our benefit and for his glory, actually.

29:18 And then look at verse 16, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Man, is that true or what? It is so true. It's unbelievable. And it's, you know, we're like we're like as a culture, we're like frogs in a hot...

29:34 In a warm, lukewarm kettle with the flames turned up. You know, the frog is going on. Isn't this great? It feels really nice. I really like it.

29:44 Next thing you know, he's boiling over. That's how our culture is. It's every small little increments of incredible wickedness that is happening to us in America and in the world. And we've gotta be walking circumspectly. We've got to really understand.

30:04 And I'm I'm so sorry, Scott, that I have to say this. But when I go back to Michigan, I go back to the state the state... Let's see. Let's see. You know how they have Idaho as the gem state?

30:17 Michigan is the cannabis state. I can't believe how many. If you've ever gone and passed Michigan, you... Cannabis here, cannabis here, and cannabis here, And they even have one. Where's the hash?

30:33 Hashish is... Man, that's the the wicked drug. But it's legal. It's legal. You have to walk circumspectly.

31:23 And he is not playing some hind go seek game. He wants you to know. He wants you to know what his will is. I'm not talking about, well, you know, should I take this job or shouldn't I with your will? That's good.

31:40 That'd be, you know, good to ask that and wait for the confirmation from god. That's for sure or who you're to marry, etcetera. But this every day, and the will of God is right in our hands. It's the word of God. You wanna know what the will of God is?

31:57 Look at the will... The word of God. He will tell you exactly what it is. And so he says he says, to us understand what the will of God is. And isn't that...

32:10 Quite frankly, isn't that a disposition on our part? Vice president and dean of education, Alfred Martin, at the Moody Bible Institute told us a long time ago, long long time ago. He said, every time you pick up that bible, you're praying, asking God to teach you what he wants you to know. Even if he rebukes you, show me. I will...

32:38 Because he's doing it because he loves us. Christians are rebuked. And if you're not rebuked, Paul says, you're not one of his. You're not a child of God. So he is going to discipline us.

32:52 He's going to chastise us. He is going to minister to us. And then notice here, I want you to notice, and be not drunk with wine, which is excess. So the contrast is coming. The contrast is coming.

33:11 I've seen a lot of drunks in my life. I've never been one. I've never been inebriated, so I don't know what it's like. And I'm not gonna do it because I wanna find out. I'm not gonna do it.

33:25 But I've seen them. I've seen them. And they're... Are they in control of their own faculties? The answer is no way.

33:33 No way. He says... Paul is saying, he's making this contrast. Be not drunk with wine which is excess, but what? Be filled with the spirit.

33:45 Actually, what is he really saying? He's saying be controlled by the Holy Spirit. How do you be controlled by the spirit? How does that work? Well, I got a little formula for you.

34:00 Here's a little formula that I think it'll really bless your socks off if you're wearing them. John is not. He's sandaling it. Your sandals are history, man. Okay.

34:15 Formula for the Holy Spirit's control of my life. You first of all gotta have you gotta have... I I'd write this down if I were you. In fact, I did write it down. God's word in my life and my understanding of it.

34:31 God's word in my life and my understanding of it. I wanna know what the word of God has to say, and I want to obey it. And then... Oh, come on. Go back.

34:47 K. My will through prayer. I bend as I study the word of God, my understanding of it. I bend my will through prayer. Lord, I see what you have to say.

35:02 I want to obey it. Show me the commands you want me to obey. Show me the things that I want to avoid. Show this to me, Lord. Help me.

35:13 My will through prayer and then if you've received Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you have the holy spirit in your life already and his power already in your life. It's not like I gotta feel this. No. He's there and he's there permanently. He tells us not to grieve him.

35:37 Grieve not the holy spirit of god whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Him by following the dictates of a dead man. The flesh. Don't do it. You have the holy spirit in your life.

35:57 So if you have the word of god in your life and you are seeking to understand it the best of your ability and you have bend your will through prayer, you... And you already have the holy spirit, that equals a controlled or filled life. And so you're obeying this. By the way, be not drunk with wine which is excess, but be filled with the spirit. That's a command in the Greek.

36:26 It's an imperative and it's a command. You must be filled. By the way, here's here's another thing too about the Greek on this. It's in the passive. So the Holy Spirit acts on your life.

36:42 You don't do it. You don't... I'm gonna fill myself. No. No.

36:46 No. You are just yielding to the spirit of God who will control you. I look at this and I say to myself, I wanna do this. I wanna do this. Only one life will soon be passed.

37:45 It's not something I come... And we're gonna have a dinner, you know, and that's great. I love that kind of thing. But we're family. We minister one to another.

37:59 You hurt, I hurt. I... You joy, I joy. It's family. That's what we are because we are born into the family of God.

38:13 And that's exactly how we have to operate. I wanna care about George. I wanna care about his being so young. I wanna care about the aches and pains. I do.

38:25 I wanna care about them. I wanna think and pray about those things. I wanna pray for those who have lost loved ones and are grieving terribly, but won't ever tell you. We are a family. This is a local expression of the body of Christ because the body of Christ is all over the world.

38:51 All over the world. We pray for those twins in Claremont Bible Chapel who have been told... Twins, who have been told, toddlers now, that they won't live past the age of eight. We pray for those families, that family. We pray for the family of the kid that sat on a pencil, a sharp pencil, and he thought...

39:15 His friend thought it was really a fun idea, put a pencil, and this kid jumps on the seat not knowing that, doing damage to his spleen, doing damage to his colon, doing... It's just incredible. We pray. We hurt with that family. We hurt we hurt for the kid that did it.

39:34 He was thinking it was a big joke. 10 years of age, you thought this was funny. Boom. We hurt. There's so many people that are hurting.

39:46 We love each other. We care for each other. And you have the local expression of the body of Christ right here in which you can do that. We don't look on ourselves. Philippians chapter two tells us that.

40:06 We want to be controlled. So we've looked at the power of God unto salvation and the purpose of God in our sanctification. We need to grow in these two aspects of salvation that the Bible shows us. That will make a difference in your life. You know, I had a friend, I mentioned him before.

40:36 I I mentioned my friend, Bob. We got more swatched together than anybody at Willoughby Junior High School. We led the league. We did. Led the league.

40:51 But when we got to Willoughby South High School, we kind of drifted apart. He became a greaser. I was a collegian. You know, Madras shirts, cuffed pants, penny loafers with dimes in them. He had the he had the Regal shoes, band line up to here, all that kind of stuff, and got in a lot of fights and was hanging with the wrong crowd, getting drunk, and all this kind of stuff.

41:20 Bob was killed in an automobile accident. And I remember a year after I... A year after that took place, I I trusted Christ as my savior. But what I didn't realize what I didn't realize is that it was the exact same day, but a year later that I trusted Christ as my savior, that he died 1970. I've been to this cemetery, and it grounds me in the sense of this.

42:21 To the back over my shoulder, you have Johnny Billson who died of Sid's death at 18, and his parents made me a surrogate son. I mean, they... You know, you have this. And let me tell you, it's tough to have two Irish two Irish mamas in one town. Very tough.

42:42 But I go here often at the Willoughby Cemetery to remind myself that life is very short. Life is very short. It's short for you. We might as well just let God be God and Lord of our lives and let him let him have control. Our salvation is permanent.

43:11 It's free. It's powerful. He wants us to turn our whole life over to him, and he's given us the the wherewithal to do it. This book and its obedience to it. Understanding it, rightly dividing the word of truth.

43:33 You do that, your life is gonna be different. It's gonna be different. It'll be powerful. You'll have stuff happening to you. You'll go, man, that was a coincidence.

43:49 No one... It was God. Father, we just ask you that you would help us and forgive us when we have not done the things that you have wanted us to do because we have followed the dictates of the flesh. Forgive us. Help us to realize our position in you, in our thought life, and in our actions, which derive from the thought life.

44:20 We ask you, Lord, that our thoughts would be of you. We ask you to bless. Please bless. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.