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Pastor Chris: Hallelujah. You know, the beautiful thing about Christianity
is that it’s far beyond religion. There are those of course who think that
Christianity is a beautiful religion and they are wrong. Christianity is not a
religion. It’s the living pulsating life of Christ in a human being. It’s God’s
kingdom alive in a human person. Last night we began to deal with an
important subject that had three important factors necessary for the
understanding of the man or woman who will preach the gospel. If you
will preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, these you must understand. And
we said these are the first one… The man Christ Jesus. And we went on to
explain that He was truly man. And the second one is what? The message
and we’re going to talk about that. And the third one? The mandate. All
of this we could easily draw from 1 Timothy chapter number 2, we began
reading from the verse 5. Could we have it again on the screen tonight?
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus.” Hallelujah. You know, I read this verse is difficult from it.
One mediator between God and men. And I’m stirred to think that God
has given me a ministry between God and men. That’s what He’s called
you into. He’s called you into ministry between God and men. Because
Jesus is that one mediator between God and men. What an honor. What
a responsibility. What a blessing. And then it goes on, “Who gave himself
a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” Amazing. Well, it says in
Living Bible, in that verse number 6, it says, “By giving his life for all
mankind.” Then it says, “This is the message that at the proper time God
gave to the world.” This is the message. The 5 verse talks about the man
th
and what He came to do. And then it tells us, this is the message. So, the
message is based on what He came to do. If you don’t know what Jesus
came to do then you cannot know His message. His message is based on
what He came to do, hallelujah. His message is based on what He came to
do. It’s so important that every Christian knows what Jesus came to do
and we talked about that yesterday, the man Christ Jesus and His
crucifixion and how that He gave us life for us. An amazing testimony, the
whole world, it says, should hear. To know that we were the ones for
whom He gave His life, the message of Jesus Christ is encapsulated in one
thought. It’s about Jesus and His liquid love. His life. Forgiveness and
righteousness. That’s what His message is about. Should I say it again? I
said it’s about Jesus and His liquid love. You know what liquid love is? It
flows. His love is liquid. It flows. The Bible says about the love that the
Father poured out, lavished, poured like water, poured upon us, all of
that came in Jesus Christ. Such extraordinary love of the Father expressed
and directed toward us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
It wasn’t when we became good. It was while we were yet sinners that He
died for the ungodly. And when you understand that about Jesus, then
about His life, who He was, that He gave His life for the purpose of saving
that which was of no lesser value then you understand what God thinks
about you. He gave His life for one who was of no lesser value. You know
what the means? That means that Jesus and His vicarious death defined
my value. If He gave His life it means He was telling me that I was worth
His life. He thought I was worth it. He thought I was worth His life. So, He
gave His life in my place. Because He thought I was as valuable to the
Father as He was. No wonder the Bible says Jesus pouring out His heart
before the Father in prayer, He wanted the world to know that the Father
had loved us even as He had loved Him, Jesus. So, He loved us same way
as He loved Jesus. Meaning that in the mind of God, I was as valuable as
Jesus. And so, Jesus came to die in my place. So, He gave His life that I
should have what? Nothing of a lesser value. He gave His life that I may
have His life, nothing less. That means the life that I should live now
should be the life of the Son of God. No wonder Paul cries out in Galatians
chapter 2 in verse 20, it tells us, “I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I
live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me.” Now, the most beautiful part. It
says, “the life that I live now in the flesh,” the means in the body, he says,
“I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for
me.” Meaning I live by His faith. Oh dear Jesus. Do you understand what
that means? That I live by the faith of the Son of God? That means I live
His dream. Do you understand what that means? The faith of the Son of
God means what He saw, what He thought that I could. For which reason
He died. What He gave His life for. What He saw in His mind about me,
what He thought, what He wanted, His dream. What’s God’s dream? I
must live His dream. Nothing short of it. And that’s when you really begin
to live when you say to yourself, I’m not going to live a lesser life than to
be God’s dream. I’m going to live God’s dream. I’m going to live by the
faith of the Son of God who thought I was valuable, who thought I was
somebody, who thought I was special to God. He wanted me and gave
Himself for me. I refuse to be poor, broke, sick. I refuse to live an
unhappy, unfulfilled life. I’m special to God. You know, suddenly you are
awakened to this reality. Living by the faith of the Son of God who loved
me. Who thought I was worth His blood. I was worth His life. So that gives
me confidence anywhere, any day, I’m what God says I am. Hallelujah.
And what does He say I am? I’m a joint heir with Christ. I’m an heir of
God, a citizen of new men’s city. And of course, I’m not talking Tarsus. I’m
talking about Zion. Hallelujah. Yeah, it suddenly lifts you. It lifts your
thinking. It lifts your thinking. Suddenly you realize you’re above this
world. You think differently. Suddenly you begin to learn to choose your
words because you discover you are not an ordinary person. You’re
royalty. I said it’s about His liquid love. He thought I was something. He
thought I was something. He thought I was valuable. He wasn’t waiting
for me to perform first. He wasn’t waiting for me to qualify first. He
wasn’t waiting for me to do something right first. He just loved me and
gave Himself for me. So, if God so loved me, I must be something. If God
so loved me, I must be something. I must be something. That means
there’s something special about my life. It’s a simple understanding. If
God so loved me, then I’m special. And if I’m special, I’m not only going to
think like that, I’m going to talk like that, and I’m going to walk like that,
and I’m going to live like that, and I’m going to have that mentality 24
hours a day. Doesn’t matter what my next door neighbor thinks. See what
I mean? Every day as you get yourself ready to go out of your house to
work or wherever you’re going, you get dressed, and you say I’m special
to God. I’m special. You’ve got to have that mentality that Jesus didn’t die
for nothing. He gave His life that you may have His life. So He did it for
me. I’m special. So next time someone’s saying to you, you think you’re
special? You say of course I am. Of course I am. Well, they may not like it,
but that’s their business. You say I’m special and I know I’m special. In
fact, you even have to practice walking special. Absolutely. Absolutely.
There’s a walk of royalty. I mean, you can stand in front of the mirror and
watch your steps and see if you’re taking them right. If you’re not taking
them right, you say hmm this doesn’t spell royalty. I’m going to practice
again. Practice again. And journey in your life to all what God wants for
you, nothing short. Say I am going to live God’s dream. I’ll fulfill my
destiny. Happy, say happy. Prosperous. Successful. Winning all the time.
Excellence. Exquisite. Hallelujah.

[audience cheering]

Pastor Chris: That’s my life, upward and forward ever. Glory to God. 

[CUT PROMO]

[CUT PROMO]

Pastor Chris: Glory to God. You see, it’s about His life. He came from God
and He went back to God. He proved it. He proved it. He proved it that He
came from God. He proved it. The Bible says Jesus Christ was proved to
be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. Oh,
think about it. What was it like in Israel when they thought that He was
gone? When they thought that He was dead, what was it like? People
began to whisper and they said, the miracle worker’s dead, are you
aware? He’s gone. And the buried Him. Oh, they buried Him. Some
thought they were now hopeless. Others thought well, to hell with Him.
He was a deceiver anyway. Well, they were divided about Him always and
now He’s buried. They say at least now we’ll rest. Others said no, but He
helped the people. He healed so many. He preached the Word of God.
Where are His disciples? Well, they’re afraid. They’re hiding somewhere.
Didn’t He say that He would come out of the grave? Uh yeah, He said so
but you know, them deceivers, they always talk like that. Uh, really. Well,
the Bible tells us early in the morning, the first day of the week, before
dawn, the Bible says an angel came out of heaven like lightning and rolled
the stone away and sat upon it. And all the soldiers fell as dead men
when they saw the angel. Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, arose from
the dead. The women are coming. They’re thinking, oh, you know, we
haven’t finished the embalmment, but they already covered the entrance
of the cave with that stone. Who’s going to help us? Well, we’ll talk to the
soldiers, they might be willing to help. Well, don’t you think they might
need help? It’s a big stone. Well, all of them, 16 of them should try. They
said alright, let’s go there. And they get there, the soldiers are gone.
Where are the soldiers? The entrance is bare, it’s open, the stone’s been
rolled off. And they’re thinking, what are we going to do? They come
close, they look into the grave, He’s not there. He’s not there. They can’t
imagine anything else. They thought somebody took His body away.
Somebody sure took His body away. We’ve got to tell the disciples
someone dared desecrate the grave. And so, two of them decided to run
away to the disciples, go tell them, somebody’s done something te

rrible. They removed His body. And Mary says I’ll wait here and see,
maybe that person might just come back and do something else. Let’s
see. And while she was waiting, she sees someone she thinks is a
gardener. And she says to Him, Sir, do you know where they took His
body to? She’s still looking around. But the man turns and says, Mary. She
thought that voice was familiar. So, she turned around like whose there?
It’s Jesus. She was there three days ago when the man took His last
breath. She was there when the soldier pierced His side with the sword.
She was there when the whole world became dark for three hours. She
was there when there was an earthquake. She was there. She was there.
She knew He was dead, very dead but He’s standing here. He’s alive.
What’s she going to think? She runs toward Him. Jesus says, stop Mary,
don’t touch me yet. I haven’t ascended to My Father. She stands there
trembling. She’s overwhelmed. Jesus says, go and tell My disciples we
have an appointment in Galilee. Tell them. Meantime I ascend to My
Father and your Father. It’s changed now. It’s His Father and her Father.
What a miracle. She never dared called God Father, now it’s possible. He
says tell them I ascend to My Father and your Father, My God and your
God. And so, she couldn’t wait. She takes off like a shot and she’s gone to
tell the disciples, I saw Jesus. He’s alive. He’s alive. The grave is empty. I
saw Him, He’s alive. They say, so where is He? She said, He said He’s going
to the Father. They said He’s going to the Father? Yes! But you’ll meet
Him in Galilee, He’ll be back. He’s going to the Father and then He’ll be
back. He’ll be back. Yes! But I can’t wait! I got to tell everybody. And she’s
gone! So, the disciples, they’re thinking, what do we do with this? Peter
and John take off. They said we’re going to see for ourselves. All the way
to the cave, John says, I outran Peter but when I got to the entrance I
stopped. He didn’t want to see a ghost. The young man, so he waited for
Peter to come in. Peter came in, looked in, and John looked in, and John
said when I saw the clothes, he said I believed. Glory to God. What did he
believe? He believed Jesus was raised from the dead. He believed Jesus
was alive. Now they came out, all of them, it’s amazing. Jesus is alive?
Yes. Absolutely. Now the disciples are gathered together thinking about
what has just happened. There’s news everywhere. The other disciples
who just said they saw Him. And they gathered here thinking, what
meaneth that? While they’re thinking, there’s 10 of them, Thomas I not
there. Judas is dead. Suddenly, Jesus shows up. He doesn’t come to the
door. He doesn’t come to the window. He’d never done that before. He
shows up in the room. He says, touch Me, it’s not a ghost. This is real. And
they touched Him, and they are happy, Jesus is alive. Has a few
discussions and He disappears. Short while later, Thomas shows up and
says to them, now what’s all this thing I’m hearing town. You’re all
gathered here. I’ve been hearing kind of stuff outside and Jesus is raised.
Jesus is raised. I told them if Jesus came out of the grave, He would show
me first. Then they said Thomas, sit down, we’ve got a story for you. He’s
been here. He’s been here? Let me tell you something, I’ve never been
deceived in my life. I am too old to be deceived like this. He said except I
see Him. Ha. He said, you know, I was there. I saw those Roman nails go
through His hands. I saw that spear go through His side. If He’s alive, I’ll
have to see that. There will have to be holes in His hands and I want to
put my finger into those holes. I want to dip my hand into His side and
except I see that, I will not believe. It’s 8 days now. They’re gathered
together talking. Thomas is there, pacing the floor, why doesn’t He show
up? You said you saw Him. The Bible says then came Jesus. He’s right
there. And everyone including Thomas, everyone’s trembling. They’re all
shaking. There’s so much power. The glory of Jesus is extraordinary. Let
me give you a little idea. Years ago I was sitting on my bed, sitting, alright.
I’m sitting in that position and suddenly, someone was coming on the
corridor. The door is locked but the walls tell me someone’s coming. The
power of the One coming was so much the walls began to tremble in an
extraordinary way. Not like vibrating because there’s some noise or
there’s some trouble or something. There was so much power that
permeated the walls, that even the walls reported the divine presence.
I’m in a sitting position. And Jesus gets to the door and I do a somersault.
I’m falling face down to the ground. The power was too much. I can
imagine what happened to these disciples when Jesus showed up. Now,
He said, Thomas, come, put your finger into My—Put his trembling finger
into the hole in Jesus’ hand. It’s right there, he can see through it. He said,
dip your hand into My side. And he’s there shaking, puts his hand into the
bosom of Jesus, and when he does, Jesus says to him, you know, he said
something when he touched Jesus like that. When he felt that wound that
had been there from the—the marks had been there from the wound by
the sword that pierced His side, he said he can call him Master now. He
said, my Lord and my God. He fell on his knees. And Jesus said, Thomas,
because you have seen me, you believe. Blessed are those who have not
seen and yet believe. Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe.
And He taught them many things but Jesus, you know, the wondered at
Him. Can you imagine? You couldn’t take your eyes off of Jesus. They just
kept looking at Him. Everything He said, they were listening. Every step
He took, they followed. You know, well, He was a different man because
they saw Him die. They saw Him die. This is an extraordinary life. He’s
come back from the dead. This is the resurrection. Hallelujah. This is the
resurrection. Now, they’re thinking, what are we going to do with our
lives? You know, what are we going to do with our lives. They want to
preach the gospel. They want to run off and tell everybody. He says hold
on, not so fast. He says, I’m going to the Father. Oh, You’re going again?
Yeah. It is expedient for you that I go away because if I don’t go, the
Comforter will not come to you. But if I go, I’ll send Him to you. So, I’ll
leave. And then something so beautiful, hallelujah. They’re waiting for
Jesus. Where’s He going? Book of Acts, chapter 1 tells us something so
beautiful. He said to them you shall receive power after that the Holy
Spirit is come upon you. You will not be ordinary. You shall receive power,
ability, spiritual ability. You shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is
come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto Me. And after He had
instructed them and given them commandments Jesus ascended. You
know, it’s something that the church hasn’t majored much on. They’ve
talked about His death, His burial, His resurrection. Not many have talked
about His ascension. But that ascension of Jesus is a most extraordinary
thing that happens. That man went back to God. Man ascended in reality
outside this world. It tells us something. There’s a life beyond here.

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Pastor Chris: He didn’t suddenly disappear. He didn’t vanish into the thin
air. There out there looking for Him without being sure where He’s gone.
They’re watching Him ascend, as He levitated and left this world before
their very eyes. Jesus ascended and went beyond the clouds. And one day
He’s coming again. Amen? And He will come back the same way He went
away. He’ll suddenly show up from there. Hallelujah. So, that’s what’s
going to happen. So this gospel is about this great life that was not only
lived for us but given for us and then He received it again. He had said this
one thing I receive from My Father. He gave Me power to lay My life
down and He gave Me power to take it up again. And now He hath taken
it up again and hath ascended into heaven. Glory to God. It’s about
forgiveness. Do you understand forgiveness? Jesus brought forgiveness.
There’s no forgiveness in religion. There’s no forgiveness in religion
because there’s no way to provide the expiration of sin. There’s no way.
So religion has no forgiveness. There’s no religion in the world that has
forgiveness. Forgiveness is only in Jesus. And that’s why the Bible says
through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by Him
all that believe are justified from all things from which you could not be
justified by the law of Moses. Forgiveness, no religion in the world has
forgiveness. You’re going to have to pay for your sin and you’ll never be
able to pay. They go through all kinds of things, all kinds of forms and
rituals to pay for their sins. And they’re never able to pay. They go
through all kinds of penance trying to atone for their sins. No religion in
the world has forgiveness of sins. I said to a religious man one day when I
was preaching Jesus to Him, and He was ready to turn the gospel down. I
said what’s your hope? He said well, when I die I’ll go to a good place. A
good place, where is this good place? He says well, it’s a good place with
God. I said who’s been there? Has anyone who’s come from there who’s
going to take you there? He says no, I don’t know. I said but Jesus has
been to God and He’s coming again. So, there’s hope in Jesus. Then I said,
what are you going to do about your sins? Did you ever do anything
wrong? He said yes, many. Well, what are you going to do about your
sins? I said, in Christianity Jesus gives forgiveness. What are you going to
do about your sins? Realized he had never thought about it. I said if
you’re thinking that your good works will outweigh your bad works then
things will be alright, then you’re wrong. No amount of good water will
purify bad water. You still there? Yeah. Forgiveness is in Jesus, He came
with forgiveness. He’s the only one who could. Think about it, we talked
about that last night. He was on the cross. His captors and accusers were
there. They’re going to take Him and they brought Him down here, nailed
Him to the cross, lifted Him on that cross, spat at Him. While they were
saying all those terrible things against Jesus, and He’s on that cross in
terrible, excruciating pain, He looks at them with liquid love and He says,
“Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.” No one ever did
that. No one, no one, no one, no one ever did that. No. No. But Jesus did.
Jesus did. He proved He could forgive. And this wasn’t political
forgiveness. It was real. It was real because look at this, this is so
important, He had the power. He had the power. He talked to God. And
He says forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing. So, Jesus
brought forgiveness. He made it possible. He made forgiveness possible
which means you can have a record as though you never sinned. Isn’t that
wonderful? Before God you can have a record as though you never
sinned. No matter what you do. You turn to the Lord and in love, you are
cleansed. Purified as thought you never sinned. Forgiveness that’s
available every day. Without the sacrifice of a lamb. Without killing a
goat. Without spilling anymore blood. Forgiveness that’s real, true, and
powerful. It’s all in Jesus. And so, we go preaching not only the remission
of sins but the forgiveness of sins. Because sins are irrelevant in Christ
Jesus through His blood but there’s forgiveness every day. For those little
things you do. He says you’re forgiven. God’s not counting your sins
against you. I think that’s wonderful. I think that’s wonderful. What a
gospel. And no matter how terrible that life has been, we can share the
gospel with you, and let you know Jesus forgives you and when Jesus
forgives you, He gives you power to live beyond it. That’s amazing. He
gives you power to live beyond it. So, you’re not going to be thinking, oh,
even though I’m forgiven, I’ll never be able to stop this. No, He forgives
you and then He gives you the power to live beyond it. That’s the next
thing. It’s about His righteousness. His righteousness. I am talking about
the message of Jesus Christ. It’s about His righteousness. Oh boy. Oh boy.
Oh boy. What is His righteousness? We’re dealing here with the nature of
God. We’re talking about the rightness of God. His power to be right and
always right. His power of righteousness. It’s His very nature. You don’t
know what’s right until you meet God. He’s the only one who knows
what’s right. Think about it. I mean, something that’s right in this country
may be wrong in South Africa. If you don’t know it’s easy. Shortly after
you’ve landed if you’re coming from which either one to the other you
would know when you start driving or when you get into a car and you’re
on the wrong side of the road. If you’ve been there you know what I’m
talking about. You’re driving on the right side of the road and they are
driving on the wrong side of the road. Notice I didn’t say the left side of
the road. They’re driving on the wrong side of the road. You’re on the
right side of the road. You see. And so, when they come from there to
here, they wonder why you are on the other side. That’s what is in many
countries. So, something can be right in one country and wrong in the
other. Alright? So, you don’t know until you know the laws. So, God is the
only one who can tell us what He accepts and what He rejects. So, He
decides righteousness. And to be able to stand before God without not
only guilt but also without even the sense of guilt, condemnation,
inferiority. Oh my goodness. It’s the ability to present yourself before Him
with your life indicating His rightness, in praise and adoration. You just
pour out your heart before God in praise. I tell you, you can’t stand in His
presence without praising Him. If you stood before Him, praise will come
out of your mouth. He is too glorious. He is too glorious. He is too great.
Jesus is too great. Listen, Jesus, Jesus, the Bible says He made the world. I
want you to hear that. Jesus made this world. Can I tell you something?
Maybe you didn’t know this or it’s not coming to your consciousness. Did
you know Jesus created you? Did you know? Did you know you’re His
creature? That’s why, you know, and that’s 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse
17. Let me give you how it’s presented in different translations. It says, “If
any man be in Christ he is a new,” the King James uses the best rendering.
The Old King James translation when it says, “he is a new creature.” I’m
going to explain to you. But in newer language, a lot of times, the other
translation use the word, he’s a new creation. And if you are interested in
rhymes, you made choose creation many times, like I do many times. But
the actual, actual translation is the word “creature.” Where it says, “If any
man be in Christ he is a new creature.” He is a new thing. You get it? It’s
not about the creation. He’s a new thing, creature, something made. He’s
a creature. And they use the term creature to say that this thing is
indescribable. It’s a creature. I saw a creature. He’s a new animal. Are you
getting what I’m saying? Alright. He’s a new species. And he’s saying I
don’t know what this is except with the light of God. Get me some light so
I can see this creature. Can you imagine it’s nighttime and you see
something moving, I’m going to tell you. What’s that? You say get me
some light. What are you seeing? I’m seeing a creature of some kind. You
see I’m unable to describe what I’m seeing. It’s a creature of some kind.
You don’t say I’m seeing a creation. No, you say I’m seeing a creature. It’s
a thing, a living thing of some kind, and you need some light to be able to
describe it and tell what it is in the realm of the spirit when we were born
again. Are you hearing this? We came out a new creature. Something
built, born, created by God. Hallelujah. Something different. A new
species. A new kind of man. That’s how James saw it. A new kind of man.
Glory to God. He’s a new creature. Something different. Brother, don’t be
deceived by what you look like on the outside. Your body’s only your
house. It’s your domicile. That’s just where you live. That’s not you.
There’s something more glorious, more worthy, more sublime on the
inside of the quarters of this body. Can you shout amen somebody?
Hallelujah. Glory to God. No wonder he says greater is He that is in you
than he that is in the world. I know who I am. Hallelujah. Yeah. What a
message. It’s about His righteousness. It is the expression of His heart. Oh
God, oh God. His holiness, His truthfulness, His lights, everything about
His heart, He came in Jesus and He gave me that heart. Now, we have the
heart of Christ. It’s in us. We think like Him. We can see from His point of
view. His Word is in us. He’s made us. Oh, you know, we’ve got three
expressions in the Bible that are so powerful. One is that we have been
declared righteous, declared righteous, that’s so powerful. Then we are
His righteousness. I don’t know whether you ever thought about it. The
amazing difference between these two. To be made righteous, I’m to be
His righteousness, two different things. That I’m made righteous is how
He has presented me before Him, before Himself, He has made me
righteous by giving me the righteousness of Jesus Christ. So I have His
righteousness. Everything that Jesus qualifies for before the Father, He
has given to me as a gift. So now, He’s made me righteous. And this is so
amazing because you see, look at this. The righteousness of Jesus Christ
He gave me so I don’t stand in my righteousness. I stand in the
righteousness of Jesus Christ. Then I say wow, I have His righteousness. I
have His righteousness. Glory to God, I have His righteousness, it’s a gift.
And then with that gift I am brought into the presence of God and
declared righteous. Can you see it now? I told you there are three
aspects. I want you to listen to this. His gift of righteousness is my ticket.
And with His gift of righteousness, I’m in His presence. And then, now
that I’m in His presence I am declared righteous. Hallelujah. You’ll be
amazed everywhere you go you’ll be the manifestation of God’s
righteousness. Hallelujah. Oh boy. Oh boy. I know who I am. My life is full
of glory. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I’m full of His love.
Full of His power. Full of His victory. I have His nature. Yes, no wonder he
says ye are of God, little children, and I’ve overcome them, because
greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. I’m born of Him.
Worship Him. Hallelujah. 

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