The Trinity Of Man Series

THE TRINITY OF MAN

(Part Two of the Christ in You Series)

Recently we have been looking at ways of overcoming the devil and living a victorious life in Christ. Last week we found that Christ wants us to "destroy the works of the devil". That is important.

This may surprise some of you, but equally as important is our to willingness to submit ourselves completely and unconditionally to the "works (and ways) of the Lord".

The devil can bring grief and trouble from time to time. But how many of you know that sometimes the devil isn’t really causing our problems as much as we are (causing our problems)?

Sometimes the devil may not be getting his way in your life, but then there are also times that God isn’t necessarily getting His way, either.

I see some puzzled looks on some faces. What do I mean?

Last week we learned how to "destroy the works of the devil".

But today we are going to be looking at how we can "destroy the works of our flesh".

I want to look at overcoming one of our greatest problems we will ever have to overcome. That is, ourselves.

I don’t expect to see anyone running the aisles shouting amens/hallelujahs. But I want us to open our hearts to what the Word of God has to say.

Prayer:

We will be looking at several verses today, but let me first read to you again the passage (we opened the service with) from Revelation 3:20-21

20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

21 "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

In order for us to deal with our selves today, we need to consider man’s position with God.

We know from what is written in the book of Genesis that we all have been born into this world separated from God. But the Good News this morning is that Jesus Christ has given us a plan -

• To bring us back to God.

• To establish a Holy Communion between ourselves and our Father.

It is apparent to me (in Revelation 3) that there is a door between ourselves and Christ. This door that Jesus referred to is often closed.

This door is closed as a result of:

• deadbolt of disbelief - no desire to possess the things of God

• disobedience - nailed shut with wrong desires & opposing God

• key of ignorance - we don’t understand the importance of Christ in us

Revelation 3 tells us of the desire on God’s part for each of us to experience the physical presence of Jesus living in us, through us, and for us.

Having the Life of Christ in you can make the difference.

You can wait and hope for Christ to force His way into your life and maybe change you on the outside into what you think you ought to be.

The result should be that you would start acting a different way.

I would propose to you - this is not the answer.

God is not wanting to change you on the outside, rather He is wanting to

change you on the inside.

Let me illustrate it this way. Let’s all go back a few years to our childhood.

How many of us can remember returning glass soda pop bottles to the store and getting a deposit for them?

When I was a kid, we wanted to redeem the old bottle for money.

This exchange meant 2 cents for the 16 oz., and 10 cents for the quart size?

As a child, the kids in my neighborhood would scrounge around in the ditches (on the roadsides) looking for these dirty/nasty bottles.

This meant money. We would take the money and buy a new (ice cold) bottle of pop. It was a fair exchange for a hot and sweaty ten year old boy.

You see, I didn’t want that old dirty pop bottle. What I really wanted was to be refreshed. I wanted a new clean pop bottle that was filled with ice cold Coca-Cola. The Real Thing!

Likewise, I want you to know that my Jesus wants you to have the Real Jesus. Living on the inside. He has paid the price to redeem you and even refresh you.

Many times our way of thinking can become so complicated when we think of what our relationship with Christ should be. And yet Jesus has made it so easy for us. He just wants to redeem you, renew you, and to live inside of you. My friend, Jesus Christ is the only Real Thing you will ever need!