This series of video posts “Messages on Cultural Issues” are a collection of some of Tony Evans’ powerful sermons on the subjects of race, unity, equity, and other cultural concerns.
on one occasion a man went to a
psychiatrist because he was having
problems very serious problems and so he
went to the psychiatrist and said doc
I’m something’s wrong
the psychiatrist said well what’s the
problem sir he said every time I’m in a
supermarket I’m drawn to the dog food
this is I think about the dog food all
day long and I just go there I just want
to be around the dog food I just there’s
this taste for dog food and I just got
to have it
he said dog food he said yeah he said
how long have you been struggling with
this taste for dog food
he said ever since I was a puppy you see
who you perceive yourself to be will
determine what you go after if you
perceive yourself to be a puppy then
naturally you want to want to find some
dog food
in other words one’s identity is
critical to one’s practice habits and
ways of operating many Christians are
confused about who they are which then
brings confusion about how we function
we function the way we function because
of how we perceive ourselves to be which
means if your self perception is
incorrect your function will be errant
or incorrect as well many times we want
to change what we do without a clear
understanding of who we are so we’re
really operating in Reverse in other
words your self-identification will
influence your practice so what must
first be corrected
is who you are if we’re going to correct
what we do I am tempting to do is to
show you that the event that happened
2,000 years ago on Calvary is relevant
today it’s not simply an Easter
remembrance ceremony or Good Friday but
it is the centerpiece for your personal
reference my personal reference about
who we are and there is no verse in the
Bible if I could only have one verse in
the Bible if I gotta have two verses one
verse to tell you how to become a
Christian then that would be John 3:16
for God so loved the world he gave His
only begotten Son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but
have everlasting life that would be the
verse to tell you how to become a
Christian but if I could only have one
verse to tell you how to live the
Christian life they’re many but if I
could only have one it would be
Galatians 2:20 for I’ve been crucified
with Christ nevertheless I live yet not
i it is Christ who lives in me and the
life which I now live I live by faith of
the son of God who loved me and gave
himself for me
it would be that one verse because that
one verse capitalizes what it means to
live once you become a Christian now my
assumption as I go through that one
verse today is that everybody has
already taken care of John 3:16 if
you’re not yet a Christian
John 3:16 then you can’t function as a
Christian Galatians 2:20
so if along the way you discover you’re
not a Christian then we need to get that
straight in order for Galatians 2:20 to
have any meaningful reference to you but
my assumption is is that all or at least
most of everybody in the sound of my
voice today has already plays faith
alone in Christ alone for the
forgiveness of sins and the gift of
eternal life I’m assuming that the
context of Galatians 2:20 is very
intriguing beginning in verse 11 of
Galatians 2:20 beginning in verse 11 of
Galilee
– peter is eating ham sandwiches with
the Gentiles while he’s eating with the
Gentiles some of the what I call boys
from the hood show up some of his Jewish
brethren show up and Peter not wanting
to offend his own race withdraws from
the Gentiles in order not to offend his
Jewish brethren because of the racial
problem that existed between Jews and
Gentiles Paul seeing what Peter did in
withdrawing from the Gentiles confronts
Peter it says in verse 11 Peter stood
condemned now Peters already a Christian
Peters already saved but he wasn’t
functioning like he was saved he was
functioning in a wrong way and Paul saw
it so it says he goes on to say I
condemned them before them all I
condemned Peter before everybody because
he was not functioning in concert with
his belief system that leads Paul to
tell Peter in verse 14 but when I saw
that they were not straightforward about
the truth of the gospel in other words
when I saw that their social decision
who I’m gonna eat with wasn’t being
controlled by their gospel belief system
in other words they had the right belief
but they weren’t operating by it because
it was creating racial divide in the
body of Christ
so the problem wasn’t social problems
the problem was they didn’t understand
the gospel there was a spiritual
theological issue that was bringing
about the social problem let me let me
make this broad statement we’ll get back
to my immediate context here and that is
until you can trace social issues
economic issues political issues
you name the issues family issues until
you can track it back to its spiritual
and Theological route all you doing is
dabbling with fruit it is your
willingness and ability to make the
connection between what’s wrong out here
to its spiritual and theological cause
that gets you to the thing that will fix
it
rather than dabbling with the thing
that’s really just the expression of
what’s really wrong that leads Paul to
tell Peter Galatians 2:20 because this
was the contact he’s correcting Peter’s
visible action but he’s tying it to a
spiritual problem and it’s a I D problem
it’s an AI D problem and ideas your
identification
the reason we’re functioning as we’re
functioning is because we forgotten who
we are Paul says I have been crucified
with Christ
I believe that brings him across
crucifixion is Calvary Calvary is the
cross he says I’ve been crucified with
Christ in fact he ends the verse with
the cross he says that very at the end
of verse 20 and gave himself up for me
he’s talking about the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ on the cross the cross
refers to the sacrificial death of Jesus
Christ it happened 2,000 years ago but
guess what Paul says when he’s talking
right now he says I died with him I have
been crucified with Christ let me see I
know you heard that but I got to repeat
that again if you accepted Jesus Christ
as your Savior a crucifixion occurred
but the crucifixion didn’t just happen
to Jesus he says I have been crucified
with him the moment you accepted Jesus
Christ the two-thousand-year-old death
of Christ became applicable
you on that day so or that day in the
spiritual realm as far as God is
concerned when Jesus died you died too
there was a dual death it’s just been
now applied to you in history or
credited to you in history he says I
have been crucified with Christ no what
is he talking about he’s talking about a
union that has occurred the word width
now we’re gonna go through this
theologically but this may be the
importance the most important sermon
you’ve ever heard in your life
why because it is the centerpiece for
understanding how the rest of your life
as a Christian is to be lived I am
crucified with Christ alongside of
Christ he’s talking about a union
because I did it with him one of the
best ways to understand this is the word
marriage in marriage
a union occurs a man unites with a woman
we would say I am married to we’re
talking about a union a carry that union
is consummated in physical intimacy with
the goal that the two become united as
one that’s a union it’s a marriage now
the problem with a marriage is once the
couple is married they drag a lot of
their unmarried stuff into their
marriage relationship leading to
conflict the conflict occurs because
much of their unredeemed reality or
unmarried reality gets drug in to the
marriage situation and so what happens
is the new thing that the marriage was
designed to create gets interrupted by
the old stuff brought into it
so where there is a legal reality we are
now married there may not be the
experience of the legal the legal says
we are one we live in like two because
why it may be legally true it may not be
experientially my reality when you
accepted Jesus Christ a legal
transaction occurred God said you and
Jesus the two are now one I am crucified
with Christ but once I stepped over
there once I jumped the broom and step
into the family of God I drug a lot of
mine on same stuff with me and I brought
a lot of my non Christian thinking I was
brought a lot of my non-christian acted
I brought a lot of my non-christian
perspective into this new marriage
relationship I have with Jesus Christ
now the problem when I jumped the broom
and became a Christian is that there’s
only one person with a problem in this
relationship because Jesus Christ is the
perfect son of God so the one I married
to has no problem unlike human marriages
where both people have issues when I
jumped the broom with Jesus Christ
anything wrong in this relationship is
wrong with me because he’s the perfect
son of God okay so if anything wrong
there’s nothing wrong with Jesus Christ
but I still have a legal time because
I’ve been crucified with him you know
what my problem is I’ve got to get used
to living with something new
cuz I see I’ve been used to being single
for all these years and now that I’ve
gotten married and there is adjustment
to something new that up I’m not used to
I’m not used to having that say when I’m
coming in where I’m going in I’m not
used to I might used all that cuz I be
used to doing my thing but not in jump
the broom so that has now brought into
me a whole new situation now
only with marriage that’s my
illustration but with Christ now I have
two married daughters I have two married
daughters and they were single with me
for most of their life for most of their
life I was the influencer I was the
authority figure
I was the provider for most of their
life
I was the point mail for them then some
smooth-talking jokers came talking a lot
of smack and a lot of noise and what’s
worse is they believed them and they
said I love you and I’m gonna take care
of you and I’m gonna provide for you and
and I’ma protect you and then what they
offered to do was to replace me tell us
your shame the devil they offered to
replace me they said that if you will
transfer your name because it was about
a name change if you will transfer your
name and come into my covering and to my
house I am going to take care of you
they said I do they said I love you
daddy but I got a move on and so they
entered into another union with somebody
else now the problem occurred sometime
because they were with me for most of
the time but now somebody else is
providing things in a way that they’re
not used to so sometime they want to
call me
to deal with stuff in a whole new
relationship but the reason they want to
talk to me is we have history see we we
we’ve been we’ve been hanging out for 22
23 25 28 years and here comes this new
person who wants to run the show and
they not used to that and so they run
into the conflict that even though they
have entered into a union over here
they have history back here and often
there is the temptation to appeal to
history and to ignore Union which is by
the way the Bible calls leaving and
cleaving because because there is
history back here all right when you
jump the broom and accepted Jesus Christ
there was history back here and you had
another influencer in your life who was
the dictator of your life and now Jesus
is claiming to be the new husband for
your life but you’re not used to living
with him you’re not used to living under
him you’re not used to him calling the
shots for your life so often there is an
appeal back to the one who raised you
rather than the one who married you Paul
says I have been crucified with Christ
I am now in union with him it is that
Union here it is that is my new
reference point what does it mean to be
crucified with Christ it means to have a
new point of reference it is now the
wife saying with my husband because the
husband is the new point of reference
when Paul says I am crucified with
Christ he is saying I have not entered
into our union with Jesus Christ and
everything I do is in reference to that
Union he is my point of contact
to understand Union Roman six puts it
this way I when Jesus died we died when
Jesus arose we are when he was married
we were buried it says when he arose we
arose with him is talking about a
spiritual union that occurred I drink
about one cup of coffee a day I drink
about one cup of coffee a day when I
drink my one cup of coffee a day I go to
the refrigerator and I get no cream and
I pour the milk or cream in the coffee I
pour the milk or cream in the coffee
then there is a sterile or a spoon and I
stir the cream that I brought out of the
refrigerator and poured it in the coffee
and I create a union between cream and
coffee have you ever tried to get cream
out of coffee once you have United it
with coffee
you cannot disconnect the union because
of the nature of the union it is a
permanent connection
so wherever coffee goes cream goes
because the cream has been totally
integrated with the coffee if you spend
time trying to take coffee out of cream
you’ll never enjoy coffee or cream out
of coffee it’s the nature of the union
here it is when you come to church and
stir you and Jesus and say me and Jesus
are one but you leave Church trying to
disconnect from that union you’re trying
to disconnect from something that you
can disconnect from the nature of the
fact it is a union which means if you
try to disconnect from it it’s a
miserable experience you can’t be
fulfilled and you’ll never taste the
satisfaction cuz you’re trying to
disconnect something that has been
created in the Union he says I have been
crucified with Christ I have been
brought into for
a union with Jesus Christ the Bible says
we’re no longer in Adam but we are in
Christ now what is crucifixion when
Jesus was crucified he Gus would died
cuz fiction signifies death his
sacrificial death on the cross so what
is this got to do with my day-to-day
living as a Christian you don’t have to
turn there but make a note in your mind
Luke chapter 9 verse 23 Paul says these
words he says I die daily to be
crucified means to die so guess what
you’re supposed to do as a Christian die
he says how often do you suppose die
daily how do you die daily I thought
when you did you did Paul said I die
daily every morning when you get up you
suppose a visit your own private
personal funeral home you’re supposed to
go take a look in your coffin and see
you laying there I die daily every day
Paul says I get up as a dead man walking
I die daily so what are you dying to if
you’re dying daily because you’re not
physically dying every day here’s what
it means to be crucified with Christ
it means I die to self in order that I
might live to him to die he’s not
referring to physical death because he’s
dying every day he’s talking about I am
giving up the rights to my soul so that
my soul can begin to live how does that
happen
jesus’s life only comes through to the
christian who dies to themselves how do
you know when you’re dying to self when
you choose christ over you there’s a
tangible way to know if you’re dying
Jesus wants a I want B I gotta be you
just died Jesus wants a I won’t be die
to be cuz I’ve been United with a to die
daily is to make the conscious decision
daily that God’s will supersedes my will
God’s desire supersedes my desire God’s
choice supersedes my choice so I’m dying
to me but guess what happens when you
die to you he is free to let you live to
him the reason why we’re not
experiencing his life is because we’re
living our life we die to him and we
live to us and then we wonder why we
dying
we’re wondering why there’s no victory
we wondering why that’s perpetual defeat
why because we are not living up to our
crucifixion we’re not living up to our
death we’re not living up to the purpose
for our salvation which is to be
crucified listen until a wife lets daddy
go she can never fully live up to the
new union with her husband as long as
daddy and Mama is are in the picture
illegitimately in the picture she is
hindering husband fulfilling his roads
water when we are living back to our old
relationship rather than our new
crucifixion in Christ we are hindering
the life of Christ being made manifest
in these mortal bodies I am a dead man
walking now notice what he says I have
been crucified with Christ it is no
longer I who live well I can’t be living
because I died but Christ lives in me
in other words cream
important to the coffee the life which I
now live in the flesh women man I’m
confused Paul you just told me you died
you said I’ve been crucified but now you
just said the life which I now live but
how can you be now living a life if you
just told me you were crucified because
he’s gonna talk about a physical life
he’s talking about the life of the soul
the life which I now live you are your
soul you are not your body so let’s get
that straight when I’m talking to you
the thing I’m looking at is the house
for the you I’m talking to okay if I
chop off my arms chopped off my legs
chopped off my ears my eyes you know
pluck out my eyes under still me because
I am NOT for sum total of body parts all
the body is is a is a covering so the
soul can function in a physical realm
that’s all that’s all your body is
that’s why you keep living after your
body dies because you are not your body
you are your soul the problem is the you
that is the soul is flawed because of
the presence and effect of sin so in
order for the you to become the you that
you were meant to be it must die to
itself and it must now live under Christ
the life which I now live in the flesh
in the body the life I now live in this
this house this shell the life that I
now live so I’m living different cuz the
owe me died and I am living different
now okay listen we all have appliances
in our kitchen and those appliances were
created to function
each appliance has a unique
responsibility the refrigerator keeps
things cold stove makes things hot
toaster pops things up can opener opens
cans it has a function but let me tell
you something about your appliances your
appliances don’t function for their own
benefit your refrigerator doesn’t freeze
ice cream so it can eat it unless I miss
something your toaster doesn’t pop up
bread so he can eat it you can’t open a
dozen open cans
so the can oh but it can eat the food of
the can it open the refrigerator doesn’t
cook food so that he could eat the food
he cooked that’s not why it exists guess
what your appliances exist for you it’s
so you can eat so you can open a can so
you can have some hot bread so you can
eat some cold ice cream in other words
the reason that they were bought and
paid for it the reason why the price was
paid was it for the appliance it was for
the one who bought it
the purpose for the purchase was that
the thing purchase might benefit the
purchaser the moment refrigerated the a
narrow ice cream and stones eat their
own food and toasters he did own bread
and can openers eat the stuff that’s
open in the can that that appliance is
no longer existing for its reason to
purchase the appliance only fulfills its
reason to purchase when it serves the
purpose of the purchaser the Bible says
you and I were purchased with the
precious blood of Jesus Christ
so the purchase exists for the purchaser
but the moment that the pro chest
exists for the purchase rather than the
purchaser it loses its reason for being
I am crucified with Christ nevertheless
I exist in my own uniqueness I don’t
lose my uniqueness I don’t lose my
personality I don’t lose my gender I
don’t lose my orientation
it’s just now this reliance exists for
the purchaser experience the Christian
life that as it was meant to be I will
never see the power I’m supposed to have
I will never have the victory that Jesus
Christ promises in the Bible unless I
understand that I no longer exists for
me as long as you are living for you
then the power of the Cross will never
be your experience it’ll be a historical
event that happened 2,000 years ago that
does nothing for me
accept me make me feel good on Sunday
maybe but Monday through Saturday the
supernatural will never function in the
natural because this refrigerator
refrigerator so it can eat its own ice
cream see see most most Christians
believe I am a Christian for what God
can do for me that’s why I run around
here looking for a blessing if I run
around looking for but nothing wrong
with being blessed but everybody’s run
around looking for a blessing coz God
exists to bless me that’s why God exists
let’s call backwards Christian soldiers
I am crucified with Christ you have to
understand there is an enemy out here
that knows that we’ve changed sides and
he is out to get you but God says if you
will hang with my plan and my program
you’ve got a new name cuz I’ve named you
a son or daughter of the Living God
you got a new location cuz I’ve moved
you to heavenly places and I got you
covered because you’re not in Christ he
says nevertheless I’m alive I live I’m
alive how does it work
watch this now he’s not finished he said
here’s how it works the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God who loved me and gave himself
for me he says I’m alive I’m just not
alive in the same way because I died I
no longer live for me I live for him
I live for him if you were to ask Paul
Paul what are your plans today he said
my I don’t know dead people don’t plan
Paul what’s your goal the death know
dead people don’t set him I’m dead no
the last time you’ve seen a dead man
setting a schedule said I’m dying dead
but now if you changed the question a
little bit and said Paul what are God’s
plans for you he said let’s talk one of
God’s go for you we can have a
conversation all day long
cuz I’m crucified to me because I’m
crucified with him nevertheless I really
I’m still alive how do you work that
Paul the life which I now live why watch
this now I live by faith in the Son of
God some versions have that translated I
live by faith of the Son of God some say
in something of others a little clearer
I’ll tell you why
because his meaning here it’s not how we
use the phrase well I trust in Jesus you
know we all say I trust in Jesus that’s
that’s not quite what he’s saying he is
saying the way I live my day to day life
Sunday through Saturday the way I live
it it’s not so much my faith in Jesus
but the way I live my Christian life is
my faith in Jesus’s faith in Jesus now I
know that shot right now you stick with
me a little bit it’s not that I just
believe in Jesus I believe in Jesus’s
belief in Jesus here’s a word I live by
faith of the Son of God the faith that
the Son of God has not not my faith
simply in the Son of God
but my faith of Jesus is faith it is
because of my confidence that Jesus has
full confidence in himself that I hears
the word piggy-back
I pick anybody ever taking their kids
for a piggyback ride you know what
they’re believing they’re not just
believing in you they’re believing that
you believe in you see what they are
believing is that you have confidence in
you that’s why they will ask you do you
have me do you have me in other words
they want to know do you believe you
have me now I have doubts but but but I
feel better if I believe that you
believe you have me see it’s not simply
your faith in Jesus it’s your faith in
Jesus’s faith in Jesus see my faith in
Jesus may be weak Jesus’s faith in Jesus
is real strong so I’m not gonna worry
about how much faith I have
I’m worried about how much faith he has
in himself and since he doesn’t have a
problem leaving I’m gonna put my faith
in the faith of Jesus
I’m piggybacking on what he believes to
be true that changes my faith it changes
my faith not cuz I got this whole bunch
of fake see a lot of folk going around
looking for more faith that’s really not
your problem
Jesus said faith as a grain of mustard
seed can move mountains and other what
mustard seeds real tiny he said the
amount of faith is not your issue he’s
saying the object of your faith is the
issue you know if you if you have a
little bit of faith in a big thing you
got all the things you need if you have
a lot of faith in a little thing you may
not have enough the problem is the thing
the problem is always the object of your
faith not the amount of your faith when
Jesus says o ye of little faith
he wasn’t talking about the size of
their faith he was talking about their
view of the object of their faith
because they viewed the object small
their faith was small or you’ve got to
do is increase the size of your object
and then you got more than enough faith
if the object is worthy of it I don’t
know if y’all with me look a high jumper
high jumper he’s got a seven foot seven
and a half foot height he’s got a jump
he backs up gets in his stance he takes
off he begins to run he lifts his foot
up and he jumps over with all the effort
that he can muster to get as high as he
can go and he believes he please I can
do that he believes it and he does it
and he gives it everything he’s got
he may make it he may not make it but it
wasn’t because he didn’t try and if he
knocks over the pole he goes back and
guess what he tries harder he runs
faster and he springs higher because he
really is trying to make it over then
there is a pole vaulter pole vaulter is
trying to do the same thing he’s trying
to get over he did on the pole vaulters
trying to do is get over but because he
has a pole in his hand he is not merely
resting on his ability to make it he is
resting in confidence in a pole that the
pole has enough strength that it won’t
break
enough elasticity that it will bend up
but it will also propel but guess what
the pole vaulter is dealing with 18 or
19 feet not seven to eight feet the pole
vaulter is going way up the high jumper
is kind of going up because the pole
vaulter is banking on the fact that what
he is attached to that pole will launch
him further than he could ever launch
himself a pole vaulter doesn’t think he
can make it on his own a pole vaulter
doesn’t think he can get there on his
own wife coz ways trying to get is too
far to go a hot jumping thinks he can
make it all by himself
but he trying to get that far but a pole
vaulter is trying to go way up see a lot
of us are satisfied to get by and so
we’ll get up and jump as high as we come
try as hard as we can and we’ll make a
little something something something
something but that’s not what Jesus is
about Jesus
in saying if you are crucified with me
the life which you now live is to be
leaned on my ability to propel my
ability to hurl you father than you can
ever hurl yourself it means it is a
total leaning on what I believe about me
that’s why Paul’s magnum opus his great
work his great statement in Philippians
fours I can do all things through Christ
who strengtheneth me now for most
Christians that’s a cutesy saying that’s
nice and you sound spiritual when you
quote it for Paul II wasn’t the cutesy
saying Paul knew that he had a post that
could hurl him higher than he could ever
hurl himself not because he had all his
faith but because he believed Jesus had
all his faith where does all this faith
come from he says Christ in me it’s
Christ in me Paul’s goal was that Christ
would be manifested in these mortal
bodies what happens when Christ is
manifested in these mortal bodies these
mortal bottles be bodies begin to
function supernaturally and not
naturally paul says i won’t i won’t quit
in galatians 4 he says I won’t quit tell
Christ be formed in you that is Christ
manifest his life in you the problem is
Jesus Christ hasn’t been free to
manifest Jesus Christ in us and what
keeps them from being free to manifest
Jesus Christ in us is we’re living for
self and not Savior as long as you’re
living for self the supernatural Christ
will not be manifest in you the
supernatural will only be manifest if
you are now existing for him Christ in
me the life which I now live I live by
faith of the Son of God watch this who
loved me and gave himself for me so this
is a relationship in fact he goes on to
say you can’t do this by rules
you can’t do this by a list you got to
do this by a love this has got to be
you’ve got to understand that what Jesus
Christ does he wants to do because you
have entered into in the intimate union
with him that there is this closeness of
relationship that there is this
connection with him and he is the
pinpoint purpose of your life which
takes you back to the cross because he
says you loved me and gave himself for
me that’s taking us right back to the
cross let me explain something let me
explain this how do you know Jesus loves
you
there is one overarching way you know
Jesus Christ loves you he gave himself
for you the cross okay okay he gave you
a new house no that ain’t it you got a
new car that’s nice that’s a blessing
and all that that ain’t it
you wear nice clothes that has its place
that’s fine that is not it the way you
know he loves you is he gave himself for
you now you say how do I know how do I
feel that now you feel that now because
if you return to the cross
you’ll get fresh love you’ll get a fresh
experience of his reality one of the
reasons we don’t know he loves us is
because everything has gone stale
everything is historical we haven’t seen
him live afresh in us today and why
haven’t we seen it well verse 21 in
closing he says I do not nullify the
grace of God for if righteousness comes
through the law then Christ died
needlessly here it is here it is here it
is it all comes to this now I do not
nullify the grace of God let me repeat
that again I do not nullify the nullify
means to cancel out
I do not cancel out the grace of God
what is God’s grace here it is God’s
grace is all that God is free to do for
you because of the cross let me say that
again grace is all that God is free to
do for you because of the cross let me
tell you something about grief it’s like
rain it’s free
whenever the Bible talks about grace it
talks about free grace the grace of God
that is freely given so I got good news
for you this doesn’t cost you okay it’s
free what is it it is what God flows
down from heaven it is the goodness of
God that he is free to express in your
life because of the cross let me say
that again God’s grace is what he reigns
down into and through you because of the
cross in order for God’s grace to flow
the cross has to be in focus the cross
has to be your identification with Jesus
Christ has to be there that’s why in
John chapter 2 it says people became
Christians but Jesus Christ would not
walk with them because they would not
they denied him there was no
relationship with him after salvation so
he would not stay close to them I have
some bad news for many of us today we
are Christians but Jesus is not in our
vicinity why because we do not have a
living connection with him we’ve got a
legal PI without a love relationship and
he says and that will cancel out nullify
the flow of God’s grace to us let me
explain what I mean your refrigerator is
not working your refrigerator is not
working the ice cream is melting the
food is beginning to get stale you’ve
got a book you’ve got a book this book
tells you about the operation of the
refrigerator it’s got all the
explanations of the refrigerator it
shows all the parts of the refrigerator
you are studying the book you are
studying the book you are look you got
your tool kit there cuz you’re ready to
work on this refrigerator because
everything is gone stale and nothing is
is working nothing is fresh and and
things that are supposed to be frozen
are frozen it’s not working and you
study in the book you’re looking at the
book you’re examining the book because
you really do want the refrigerator the
refrigerator it’s just not working and
you get out on your knees and you
unscrew this and you unscrew that
because you want the thing to work you
sincerely want the thing to work so you
get out on your knees and turn and twist
and ten
hours later after sweat and all of this
perspiration it’s still not working
only to discover the baby’s not plugged
in let me explain something no matter
what you do to make that thing work if
the power is not flowing you’re wasting
your time you can come to church every
day of the week and you can look at the
book because the book has got all this
stuff in it you can studying and you can
read it you can meditate on it you can
pray on it you can say it’s what I’m
gonna do differently and I’m gonna try
this and i’ma try to have you do that
all day long
but if you have canceled out the flow of
grace and it’s not plugged in all that
stuff you do by reading an accurate book
won’t work for you because the grace of
God has been nullified God is not free
to flow if you’re not connected with the
cross and to be connected with the cross
means you’re living for Christ not self
until you make the decision tomorrow
morning today you won’t live you will
just bounce around from day to day doing
the best you can trying to do better
tomorrow than you did today but there
will be no flow but the moment you
decide to die daily
that is crucifixion the moment you
decide to join Jesus on the cross to die
itself
I hope you know Jesus had to do that
Jesus said not my will die will be done
he had to die to what he wanted in his
humaneness in order to live to what God
had for me a lot of us are blocking what
God has for us because we’re trying to
live for ourselves and we are clipping
the cord where the grace flows but boy
when you experience God flowing and
you’re not forcing when you experience
God bringing it and you’re not making it
when you experience God doing this then
you will understand the supernatural
visiting the natural but not unless you
understand you are new
the crucifixion if you ever let Jesus
Christ in the front seat to run the
agenda of your life you will be amazed
and how you can turn stuff around and
get you to where you need to go cuz when
you identify with him you become
significant you become somebody and you
become something he can use in history
for his glory
[Applause]