News Flash: You're a Saint! - Part B

Although Susie combines the western sky.

Ray and shalom put some together, but he changes the word rejoice. Kia Ray into a very similar word, risks which is grace just rejoice grace and faith. These are called the Siamese twins of the New Testament you always find them together you always find grace and peace together in the order is never reversed, to find peace and grace.

You know why that is because it's grace that produces feeds Tim Keller said the God of the Bible is the one who comes down into this world to accomplish your salvation and give us the grace we can never attain ourselves today on connect with Skip Heitzig Skip shares how you can embrace the spiritual blessings God is made available to Christ. But before we begin the fuel of Bible study trip to Israel is a life changer.

Bible study will never be the same Skip has lived in Israel, and lead tours. Many, many times fewer years to invite you. One is next to her. You know there's always something new to see and experience in Israel and I'm so excited to let you know that I'm taking another tour group to Israel next spring.

In 2022. You're in for an incredible time as we travel throughout Israel and experience the culture that's so unique to that country will start on the Mediterranean Sea and head north. Seeing places like Caesarea and Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River will spend several days in and around Jerusalem and see the temple mount Calvary, the garden of Gethsemane and the Mount of olives and much more.

This remarkable itinerary is made richer with times of worship, Bible study, and lots of fellowship.

Now I've been to Israel a number of times over the years and I can honestly say that visiting the places where the events of the Scriptures unfolded where Jesus lived taught and healed. It just never gets old. I can't wait to see you in Israel start planning and saving now to tour Israel with Skip Heitzig information and inspiration. Cruises.com/see ABQ.

That's inspiration cruises.com/see ABQ where in Philippians chapter 1 today as we get into the teaching Skip Heitzig back in the days of what is called the Jesus movement. I was like I need to explain that nowadays that sold memory Jesus movement was a phenomenon in the 60s and 70s whereby thousands upon thousands of young people coming to Christ in droves, especially on the West Coast was a phenomenon but we all believe that Jesus was coming soon. I still believe that we believe what that man is he's coming so soon. Might as well just do nothing desiderata wait for this. Enjoy yourself as a beer while any minute so it created a lot of people who were irresponsible and I remember when I announced to some of my friends that I was going to go to college. They go to college.

Jesus will come back before you graduate from college.

I say well if he does he'll find me a college last time I checked, colleges need to hear about Jesus or I like the bastion of righteousness and goodness.

I feel colleges need a good witness trying to be if he comes back before I am done by Jesus said he was coming but he also said occupy until I come. Stay responsible stay busy stay involved, stay engaged.

So we are in Christ, but we are in Philippi. The same belongs to two spheres. There is a second quality of the St. New Testament same the same behaves submissively in other words a saint is a servant again. Notice in verse one.

I know I touched on it last week but there's always more numbers to know so I did one verse last week.

I'm doing verse one into this week. Just look at that word Paul and Timothy on servants of Jesus Christ.

Don't you love how Paul introduces himself inside Paul and Timothy bigwigs or Dr. Paul and Dr. Timothy eminent theologians writing to you low lifers and Philip really don't know theology like I do. He came as low as you can get.

We are bond slaves of Jesus Christ how Paul is writing as a slave as a servant to saints, but look at it this way he's writing is a servant to service see throughout this book. He's going to encourage them to become like him. Chapter 2 is an essay let this mind be in you which was also even in Jesus Christ, who, being in the form of God did not think it robbery to be the same on the same par as God, but he emptied himself and be came a bond servant to be servants like Jesus was a servant. And like I am a servant through his writing is a servant to servants now when they heard the term bond slave or bondservant it sounded different to their ears than it does to our ears. We have eradicated slavery in our culture in the Roman Empire.

Slavery was 40% of the population still 40% of people in the Roman Empire were owned by other human beings.

At that time, but it was enforced kind of a slavery, they were often despised and slaves were regarded as simply a piece of property that there was a slavery even in Judaism in the religious sector.

But if you know your Old Testament you know that you could have a slave for six years you had to treat them very kindly and then on the seventh year, you release them. But if the slave love the master remember there was a ceremony the slave could say no, no, no, I want to serve my master for the rest of my life. Well the ceremony was you take your slave to the doorpost and you run a spike through his earlobe, Laura, and all like you get in hearing you pierce it and you would designate that person is a servant voluntarily for life. That's the idea of a New Testament bondservant I'm a bondservant of Jesus because I have to, I signed up for this. I want to a voluntary bondservant bound willfully to Christ.

This is important terminology because there's another New Testament term that you hear a lot or read a lot in the New Testament is the word redeem Christians are fond of saying I'm redeem. We don't always understand what it means. Redeem used 20 times in the New Testament means to go to the slave market and pay a price for that slave releasing that slave from the slave market to be your slave. So here's what redeem means to be Sam redeem by Jesus doesn't mean I'm set free to be me. I'm set free so I can do whatever I want know you are redeemed from the slave market to be a slave of Jesus you're called to a higher slavery. That's what it means. Romans chapter 6 Paul says once you were slaves of sin. Now you have obeyed with all your heart, the new teaching that God is giving you. Now you are free from sin. Your old master and become slaves to your new master righteousness.

So being a believer means you defected. You ran away from your old master sin used by Satan to keep you bound keep you in fetters you ran from that to a higher form of slavery to willingly obey him. That's what's surrendering your life to Jesus.

You are free to be his slave bondservant of Jesus Christ always love the story about the husband and wife. He were talking about going to the holy land on a tour and the husband got GOT so excited Jack can't wait let's call come on, let's go to Israelites go to the holy land and he said can you imagine standing on Mount Sinai into shouting the 10 Commandments and his wife not so excited to go wanting to save a little bit of money she goes. I think it would be better if we just stayed home and The 10 Commandments. Not a wonder give that little illustration to dissuade you. If you want to sign up for to it it it got Israel.

I think you can do both. You can obey them at home, but then go see it and shouted from the mountain. So being a saint that is not having an emotional goosebumps being a saint is having a submissive heart that's part of sainthood. It's a living breathing person who lives in two spheres in Christ in Philippi but it submissive to the commands of Christ. Jesus said if you love me you'll keep my commandments out one of the things I love about you is your excitement and worship some of your very very excited an emotional worship, and I always think that God is the most worthy being in the universe and should be told so and our expression should be lackluster. It should be all in.

However, it's not how high you jump substrate you walk when you hit the ground.

It's wonderful to get all excited about worship, but it's better when you get more excited about doing what he said to do that the St. St. behave submissively. There's 1/3 quality I want you to notice a saint believes in the Scriptures saint believes in the Scriptures now I'm not can refer to a particular verse in verse one and two are word I want you to step back for a moment from these two verses and consider the whole book of Philippians. Just a moment. The whole book, a letter Paul wrote for chapters 104 verses to be exact in our Bibles and that is the letter to the Philippian church. It's a short letter are moderately sized letter piece of correspondence know when they received the letter you know they did they read it, but they didn't just read it. They obeyed it and then they did something else they circulated to other congregations. You know why they did that was it just because Paul wrote it. They actually believe that with Paul was writing was from God that it was the Scripture that we apply it, and we share it and we use it in discipleship because we believe that the writings of Paul. They believe from an early stage on word was directly from the Lord. So when Peter writes his letter in second Peter he refers to Paul's writings as Scripture, the Thessalonian church. Paul noted to them when you receive my teaching, you receive it not just as human words but as it is in fact the very word of God, and Paul believed he was confident that he wrote with God's authority.

Now look at verse two Grace and peace to you notice the authority based behind him from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ know all of that to say this saints are not people who glow-in-the-dark saints are not people who live perfect lives. Saints are not people who go through an elaborate canonization process arrears saints are people who believe that God has no problem superintending the writing of the book God has no problem making sure that human authors like Paul and Peter and John wrote with the divine author intended so that the words of these authors can at the same time be the very word of God because that's how the early church took me this is God's word to us.

A saint believes the Scriptures. Now I know there are no patron saints.

But if there were I want to be the patron saint of Bible readers. I love people who love their Bibles. I love people less Bible questions that are people who are always immersed in the things of God in the Scriptures. I've been reading the Bible now for 44 years and every single time I open my Bible. I find something to wow over.

I did notice that looking at were trying to re-orient myself to understand it all fits together. I did a funeral was sometime back of a former staff member is a former member of our pastoral staff and he was a leader of a great group for years, a leader of the navigators great great discipleship ministry and he memorized whole portions of Scripture. I was always amazed sitting and talking to George and having an counselor just how well he knew the Scriptures and was a part of his everyday life and he spent so much daily time, not only memorizing but being able to communicate so I did this funeral and after I was over the funeral. His family walked up to me and handed me this is Bible is Bible. I thought, oh man, this is you, you sure you want me to have a goes off George would want you to have so I have his Bible and as I received it with humility. I thought how much of this book was stored in that man's heart was just a part of the fabric of his life. Which leads me to ask us all a question. What is your attitude toward the book does the book occupied a prominent position in your life. Is it the book, or is it a book. How important is now.

I will say this, your love for the Bible is directly proportional to your relationship to its author, your love for the Bible is directly proportional to your relationship to its author. God is an example. There was a woman who bought a book from a bookstore local bookstore. She started reading a few pages that a chapter she could make it past the chapter 2, she put the book down because she said it was dull was boring. She was done with it until she met the author she met the author of friendship struck up. Then a romantic relationship developed. They were both unattached. Now they're romantically attached. Suddenly she was looking for that book.

And when she read that book. It was a different book.

She wanted to turn over every phrase and every sentence and wonder what you mean by that. With that experience about what made the difference.

Love love relationship love is now the interpreter of applicant. So let me just say this what it from now on, you saw the Bible as a love letter from God to you if you started seeing the Bible is a love letter from God to you. I daresay we would all read it differently. We would just read in the Bible we would feed on the Bible when he mean by that was that phrase all about what's his experience the same believes in the Scriptures. There's 1/4 and final quality of St. benefits spiritually. That's the second verse, Paul writes Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ she's wishing that they will experience God's grace and enjoy God's peace. Now I know I know this is a typical salutation.

It's a typical ancient salutation you could look up thousands of letters from antiquity. Thousands of papyri fragments and you will find a very similar orientation, which by the way I like the way old letters were written like this and here's why it's the sound kind of dumb, but they put their name the author puts the name at the beginning and when we write a letter, we say dear so-and-so, we write the letter.

The very handgun signed and put our name so what I do whenever I get a letter. The first thing I do I turn it over to find out who it's from. So it's is awfully nice that we begin, Paul and Timothy okay now I know the road to the saints at Philippi.

Okay now I was addressed to all their and one little sentence. What Paul does is Paul combines readings from the Western world and greetings from the Middle Eastern world and combines them into one greeting, and then he tweaks a little bit and explain that the common Greek greeting 2000 years ago in the Greek speaking world, was the word rejoice, rejoice, Chi Ray, they would say in Greek Aire see somebody cut Ray rejoice in the Middle East in Israel when you saw somebody and say peace, shalom hello and goodbye. Shalom shalom so apologizes. He combines the Western Chi Ray and shalom put some together, but he changes the word rejoice. Chi Ray into a very similar word, wrists, which is grace not just rejoice, but grace and peace. These are called the Siamese twins of the New Testament you always find them together you always find grace and peace together and the order is never reversed. You never find peace and grace. You know why that is because it's grace that produces peace.

God's grace produces peace when you have experienced the grace of God, you start experiencing the peace of God.

Grace is the fountain peace is the stream that flows from the fountain of grace, so let me ask you do a piece today.

Is there peace in your heart is that there is not peace in your heart. Could it be that you've not experienced the grace of God. Did you know that Caesar Augustus the emperor of Rome once heard that there was a man in that city of Rome, who, though he had many problems in life and was sky high in debt. Slept like a baby every night and that intrigued the Caesar.

So he demanded that that man be brought before him and what he did Caesar offer to buy that man's bed because I was the answer to a good night sleep. It's a Tempur-Pedic mattress. It's the right sleep number but that is not the answer. The ability to sleep with a clear conscience and a heart at ease comes from understanding the grace of God and that settles the piece Romans five verse one. Therefore, we have been justified through faith, that's God's grace and so we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and then peace so newsflash if you're a believer in Jesus Christ this morning if you belong to Christ, you are St. can nudge her like a promising member that has been promising so it's perfectly appropriate if you want to call me saints. From now on to say in got a ring to it. Biblical summary asked the little boy if he knew the same was in the little boy was raised in a traditional church and all he knew were stained glass windows. It was I noticing this. It's a person. The light shines through these on the summoning the light of the gospel, the light of Christ shines through you imperfect perhaps. Certainly, the light shines through so you and I we are saints in Christ Jesus in Philippi or Albuquerque or wherever we might live now. The word St. means holy or the most holy thing how Diaz I know you're going yeah man, I feel that way and your life going and you don't act that way but I want you to know God sees you that way. The reason God sees you that way is because you are in Christ, so you might want to think of it this way God sees you through rose colored glasses. God sees you through bloodstained glasses because of what Jesus did for you on the cross he sees you in Christ, and he sees you as righteous because of what you've done, but because of what he's sees you through rose colored glasses and he says you're saying that include Skip Heitzigs message from the series Technicolor joy right now use a resource it will give you the tools you need to live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Counselor comforter advocate helper.

These are some of the names for the Holy Spirit found in the Bible. The Holy Spirit isn't a warm fuzzy feeling or vague cosmic force. He's a person who loves you and cares for you and wants to empower you to be everything God calls you to be here. Skip I think I think there's a lot of Christians with heard the term Holy Spirit. Obviously they have a very vague idea of who the spirit of God he is and what he supposed to do in their lives.

We want to help you better understand the holy.

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Please consider getting a gift today to bless even more people in the same way, just call 800 9218 88.892 1888 or does it connectwithskip.com/donate.connectwithskip.com/donate to coming up tomorrow Skip talks about the family business.

All God's people are part of and you play a vital role you might be a financial investor review of another business, you might be consultant that you have another visits you might be construction worker have another business might be a student you have another business you might be a single parent, you have another business you might be in between jobs which are always on this job. It is a business that comes from God. And what's more, it's a family business so Skip presentation of connection communications to guns, never changing to