To Know God - Morris L. Venden

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To *now +od -orris '. Venden /

Publishers, 0heaton, 1ll. 2sed by permission.

(ible te3ts credited to T4V are from the Good News Bible 5 6ld Testament7 Copyright

%merican (ible 8ociety !")9: ;ew Testament7 Copyright %merican (ible 8ociety !"99, !")!, !")9.

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DAY 1

God is love. But how can I be sure?

How can I know what He's really like?

Why do I need God anyway? I'! really not such a bad "erson . . .

DAY 2

What are the ste"s in co!ing to #hrist?

How can I know whether I a! saved?

How can I beco!e "ersonally ac$uainted

with a God who! I can%t see or hear?

DAY 3

Will the relationshi" with God go sour

i& I !iss a day or two o& co!!unication?

How can I still have &aith in Hi!

when everything is going wrong at once?

DAY 4

bedience. How? Why?

(nd what ha""ens when I &ail?

Which co!es &irst victory or "eace?

How can I kee" &ro! sinning?

DAY 5

#hristian growth. )ro! baby #hristian

to !aturity. How does it ha""en?

The great divide* those who know God

and those who don't know God.



To *now +od -orris '. Venden $

;o one was really too surprised when the wedding didn?t begin on time. There?s somethingabout wed dings that ma&es it easy to start late. Perhaps it?s be cause there are so many people who

have to get ready. (ut the bridesmaids had gathered at the appointed place of meeting. There was the

usual flurry of lastminute preparations, interspersed with @uic& glances at the cloc&. A1s the bridegroom here yetB

A;o, not yet. (ut he?ll come.

A1 wonder what?s &eeping himB A1 can?t imagine. 8urely he?ll be here soon. (ut he didn?t come. %nd didn?t come. %nd still

<

didn?t come.

The bridesmaids? gowns were spotless. 4very hair was in place. 4ach girl carried a brightly

burning lamp and was ready to Doin the marriage procession. 4ach was loo&ing eagerly for the bridegroom to arrive so that the ceremony could begin. (ut still he didn?t come.

%s minutes passed by, and then hours, the girls grew restless. Then tired. 6ne by one they

carefully set their lamps aside and found a comfortable place to sit while they waited. The evening was

@uiet. The day had been a busy one. %t last all ten of the bridesmaids had fallen asleep. %nd no wonder 5it was nearly midnight, and still the bridegroom hadn?t come.

%t midnight a cry was made. AHere he comes nowE

They were on their feet at once. The flurry of lastminute preparation began anew. To theirdismay, they discovered their lamps had burned low. The oil was almost gone, and the flames were

ready to go out. Five hurried to refill their lamps, but five had no e3tra oil. They had not prepared for

such a long wait. %nd even as they watched, their lights flic&ered and went out. AGoesn?t anyone have e3tra oilB The @uestion was repeated, but no one had any e3tra. The

bridegroom appeared. 1t was time for the procession to begin. The five who had oil in their lamps



To *now +od -orris '. Venden >

Doined the procession. (ut the five whose lamps had gone out had hurried away to find a place where

they could buy or borrow more oil.

AN OIL SHORTAGE

1t was past midnight now, and although the five bridesmaids hunted all over town, there was no

oil to

9

be found. Finally they returned to the wedding. A0e?ve missed the procession and the

ceremony, they said. A(ut maybe we can at least get in on the reception. (ut when they arrived at the reception hall, they found that the door was shut. 8ounds of music

and laughter were heard. They &noc&ed, and &noc&ed again. %t last the door was opened by the

bridegroom himself. A'et us in, they cried. A0e?re supposed to be in the wedding.

The bridegroom e3amined the girls before him. They loo&ed more li&e street urchins than

bridesmaids. Their gowns were rumpled and spotted. He didn?t recognie them. 8lowly he shoo& his

head. A1 don?t even &now you, he said. %nd he shut the door. They had missed the wedding. “I DON’T EVEN KNOW YOU

Iesus is the one who first told this story about the wedding. Jou can read it in your (ible, in thetwentyfifth chapter of -atthew. He was trying to impress His hearers with the importance of &nowing

+od for themselves. 1t was because the bridegroom didn?t &now the five girls that he would not admit

them to the ban@uet hall. The same truth is also taught in -atthew )7/!/$. Iesus tells of some who come, in the last day,

claiming to be His followers. (ut they are sent away. The reason is given, A1 never &new you.

*nowing +od is what Christianity, and religion, and life eternal is all about. The (ible says,

AThis is life )

eternal, that they might &now thee the only true +od, and Iesus Christ, whom thou hast sentKIohn !)7$L.

(ut there are conflicting ideas of what +od is li&e. 8ome say He is vengeful, angry, and

arbitrary. 6thers picture Him as a sort of 8anta Claus, whose primary purpose is to fulfill the wishes ofHis people. 8till others say He is li&e a giant marshmallow, who wouldn?t hurt anybody and who is

easily swayed and permissive.

0e?re told that +od is love. (ut we are also told of His anger, His wrath, and His punishments.1nsurance companies classify natural disasters as Aacts of +od. People who suffer often as& the

@uestion A0hy is +od doing this to meB Preachers tal& about +od?s love, mercy, and patience on the

one hand, and about His fiery Dudgments on the other. %nd those who listen wonder.

The purpose of this boo& is to help you discover for yourself what +od is really li&e. 1t iswritten to show how you can learn to &now Him, whom to &now is life eternal. Personal fellowship

with +od is +od?s goal for each one of us. He is longing to become our friend. He says to us today,

AJea, 1 have loved thee with an everlasting love7 therefore with loving &indness have 1 drawn theeKIer. $!7$L. He is waiting for us to respond to His love and enter into fellowship with Him. (ut in order

to do this, we must come to &now for ourselves what He is really li&e.

HOW GOD IS REVEALED

6ne way to get ac@uainted with +od is to loo&

#



To *now +od -orris '. Venden <

for +od revealed in nature. Gavid tal&ed about it in Psalm !"7!7 AThe heavens declare the glory

of +od: and the firmament sheweth his handiwor&. Psalm )7!" says, AThy way is in the sea, and thy

path in the great waters. 1n Psalm !=>7/> we read, A6 'ord, how manifold are thy wor&sE in wisdomthou hast made them all7 the earth is full of thy riches.

0e can see +od in nature. He is portrayed in the glowing sunset, the summer s&y, the swallow?s

effortless flight. 0e can be reminded of Him as we loo& upon snowtopped mountains, grassy hillsidescovered with flowers, or the une3pected blossoms of the desert. From nature we can learn something of

the love of +od.

The revelation of +od in nature is an important one. +od went so far as to set apart one day inseven to remind us of His creative power. Jou can read it in 43odus /=. The command is given to

remember the seventh day, and then the reason for the command is given in verse !!7 AFor in si3 days

the 'ord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day7 whereforethe 'ord blessed the 8abbath day, and hallowed it.

The things of nature remind us not only of +od?s love and care for all His creatures but also of

the fact that He is the #reator. 0e are only creatures. The seventh day was given as a memorial of

Creation. The memorial was not initiated after the Fall of man. 1t was needed to remind us of the natureof man5not merely the sin&ul nature of man, but the de"endent nature of man, as creature. That is why

the special day of worship is not limited to one

"

particular time or nation. +od?s relationship to His creatures, and His constant care for them,

teach of His love. !UT "LOWERS "ADE # # #

;ature, however, has a dar&er side. The flowers fade. The spotted fawn is dragged down and

&illed by wolves. 0inter snow brings slow starvation to many of the wild creatures. 0here is +od?slove thenB 4ven in the most beautiful and peaceful scenes, if we loo& again, we can see signs of death

and decay. 1n spite of the evidences still remaining that remind us of the Creator +od, there are also

evidences everywhere of the effects of sin. ;ature can and does represent +od5but only imperfectly. HU$AN LOVE REVEALS GOD’S LOVE

+od is revealed through the ties of human love. 0e can see Him depicted in the mother whocuddles her sleeping baby in her arms. 0e can see His care in the father carrying his small son on his

shoulders. 0e can see Him in the teacher or pastor who ta&es the e3tra time to listen. +od?s unfailing

longing for us is manifest in the weeping mother at the e3ecution of the hardened criminal5still herson. +od?s love is seen in the companionship and concern of friends and loved ones.

The (ible tal&s about this revelation of +od?s love. A'i&e as a father pitieth his children, so the

'ord pitieth them that fear him KPs. !=$7!$L. ACan a woman forget her suc&ing child, that she should

not have compassion on the son of her wombB K1sa. >"7!<L. !=

A+reater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends KIohn !<7!$L. (ut what about the man in -adera, California, who beat his little 9yearold girl because she

wouldn?t cryB He beat her for half an hour. %nd then she said, AGaddy, can 1 have a drin& of waterB

%nd she died. 0here was the love of +od thenB 0hat about the battered babies, the neglected children,the bro&en homes, bro&en friendships, bro&en heartsB How can +od?s love be revealed in thoseB 4ven

in 8cripture we are reminded of the limitations of human love, in comparison with divine love. 1saiah

>"7!< goes on to answer the @uestion ACan a woman forget her suc&ing childB by saying, Jes, she may



To *now +od -orris '. Venden 9

forget. Human love can represent the love of +od5 but only imperfectly.

THE !I!LE REVEALS GOD

+od is revealed in His 0ord, the (ible. 0e are told there that He is slow to anger, and of great&indness KIonah >7/L. 0e are told that He delights in mercy K-icah )7!#L. 0e are told that +od is love

K! Iohn >7#L. (ut have you ever read the (ible and found yourself in difficultyB Have you ever

wondered about the +od of the 6ld TestamentB Have you ever pondered the Dudgments and thunderand threatenings of the +od of the 1sraelitesB 4ven in the (ible it is possible, with our limited

understanding, to find ourselves in complete misunderstanding of +od, His character, and what He is

really li&e. How easy it is to get a mista&en idea of +od if we loo& only at the surface. !!

%ESUS REVEALS WHAT GOD IS LIKE

4ven Iesus? disciples had misunderstandings about what +od is li&e. Jet they wanted to &now

Him. Jou can read it in Iohn !>. Philip as&ed, A0hy don?t Jou show us the FatherB 0e?d li&e to see

HimE % student said to me one time, A1 &ind of li&e Iesus, but 1 don?t li&e +od.

A0hy notB

A(ecause Iesus is &ind, but +od is stern, and full of wrath. 1s this a true pictureB 1s Iesus theone who is loving, and is +od stern, harsh, and unforgivingB

How did Iesus answer Philip?s re@uest to see +odB He said, AHave 1 been with you all this time

and you still don?t &now -eB 1f you?ve seen -e, you?ve seen the Father. 1 am in the Father, and He isin -e. The words, the wor&s, that 1 do are my Father?s, for He dwells in -e.

Iesus? mission was to come to a world that was in complete misunderstanding of +od, to

demonstrate to them what the Father is really li&e, what He has always been li&e, and will always be

li&e. The best way to &now +od is to learn to &now Iesus. Iesus? life and death give the clearest pictureto be found anywhere of what +od is li&e. He said7 A1f you &now -e, then you &now -y Father, also

Ksee Iohn !>7)L.

“A &ERTAIN $AN HAD A "IG TREE # # #

1n 'u&e !$ Iesus told a parable to illustrate the character and love of +od. (eginning with verse

97 AHe spa&e also this parable: % certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard: and he came andsought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the

!/

dresser of his vineyard, (ehold, these three years 1 come see&ing fruit on this fig tree, and find

none7 cut it down: why cumbereth it the groundB %nd he answering said unto him, 'ord, let it alone this

year also, till 1 shall dig about it, and . . . MfertilieN it7 and if it bear fruit, well7 and if not, then after that

thou shalt cut it down. 0ho is involved in this dialogueB %t first glance it might be easy to conclude that +od, as the

owner of the vineyard, is tal&ing to Iesus, the dresser of the vineyard. %nd that +od says, ACut it

down. (ut Iesus comes to the rescue and does His best to calm +od down, to get +od to have a littlemercy.

;ot at all. 'oo& again at the parable. 1f A+od was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself

K/ Cor. <7!"L, then +od is e@ually concerned with our salvation. 8o what we see in this story are thetwo sides of both the Father and the 8on, and probably the Holy 8pirit as well. 0e?re seeing the two

sides of +od?s character5His Dustice, and His mercy. 1t isn?t Iesus pleading with +od to cool off. 1t is

+od, in the three Persons of the heavenly Family, involved with the balance between Dustice and mercy.



To *now +od -orris '. Venden )

Iustice is an inescapable part of +od?s character5and we can be than&ful for that, can?t weB (ut mercy

is also a definite part of His character. %nd we can be than&ful for that as well.

Iesus made it clear when He was here that He came, Anot . . . to destroy men?s lives, but to save

them K'u&e "7<9L. %nd we read in Iohn $7!9, !), AFor +od so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 8on, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For +od

sent not his 8on into the world to condemn the

!$

world: but that the world through him might be saved. 8omehow, in the heart of +od, His

mercy is e@ual to His Dustice, for we see the cross on a lonely hill. 4ven though +od?s mercy in no waydoes away with His Dustice, because of the cross we see the mingling of the two in the beautiful plan of

salvation. %nd year after year, century after century, we continue to hear the words A'et unrepentant

sinners alone. 'et them alone this year also. 'et them alone until 1 wor& with them some more, untilonce again 1 do my best to win them. %nd +od tries again, and again, and again, to reach us with His

love.

!EHOLD THE LOVE O" GOD

Iohn the beloved disciple, when trying to describe the great love of +od, finally ran out of

words. %ll he could do was invite us to behold it for ourselves7 A(ehold, what manner of love the

Father hath bestowed upon us K! Iohn $7!L. How do we behold the love of +odB (y loo&ing at Christ. 0e behold +od?s love by becoming

ac@uainted with Iesus, by studying the life of Iesus, by meditating upon the teachings of Iesus. (ecause

Iesus is +od. Iohn !7!, / says, A(efore anything else e3isted, there was Christ, with +od. He hasalways been alive, and is himself +od KT'(L.

6ne day in a class 1 was teaching, we were tal&ing about the love of +od. % student raised his

hand and as&ed, A1f +od loved the world so much, why didn?t He come to die HimselfB 0hy did He

send His 8onB %nother student, obviously a father, replied, A1f you have a son whom you love, it is much

easier to

!>

suffer yourself than to watch your son suffer.

1?m than&ful today for a +od who loved us enough to send the greatest gift of Himself in His8on to reveal His true character. 1?m than&ful for Iesus, who was willing to come and give His life a

ransom for many. 1t is good news that the heart of +od the Father beats with the same love for us that

His 8on, Iesus, revealed in His life here on earth. 0e can reDoice today for the revelation of +od?s lovethat is given in nature, in human love, and in the 0ord of +od. %nd we can also ma&e use of the

tremendous opportunity of &nowing +od that is to be found in a study of the life and teachings of Iesus,

where +od?s love is always most clearly understood.

!UT WHY DO I NEED TO KNOW GOD' ANYWAY(

;o one is going to ta&e the time and put forth the effort to come into ac@uaintance and

fellowship with +od unless he realies a need. Iesus said it Himself in -atthew "7!/, !$7 AThey that bewhole need not a physician, but they that are sic&.... 1 am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to

repentance. ;o one is really going to than& Iesus for &noc&ing at the door of the heart or open the

door to let Him in unless he first realies his great need for fellowship and communion with Him. ;oone ever becomes personally ac@uainted with +od unless he first realies his need for that relationship.

0hy do we need +od, anywayB 1t?s an important @uestion. 0e could approach the answer from

a secular standpoint, on the basis of logic and reason, as we



To *now +od -orris '. Venden #

!<

begin to find an answer.

8everal years ago 1 attended 8an Francisco 8tate College one summer. ;inetyfive percent ofthe students 1 associated with there believed that all there was to life was here and now5that?s all. 1t

seemed to be the sophisticated thing to believe that we live all our life on this planet, we live out our

threescore years and ten, and then we die, and we?re dead for a long time5li&e forever. Fran&ly, 1 wasn?t too impressed with their optionE 1t wasn?t a matter of ma&ing a choice

between life forever in heaven or life forever in 'as Vegas. 1t was choosing between life forever in

heaven or no life at allE 0hy, Dust on the basis of logic and reason, their socalled enlightened beliefdidn?t have much to offer. 'et?s consider it.

8uppose that you are not a Christian and that 1, as a Christian, come to you and give you a fifty

fifty chance that you are right7 there is nothing more than the here and now, and when you die, that?s it.(ut you must then give me a fiftyfifty chance that 1?m right7 that heaven is a real place and that +od is

a real person. 0ouldn?t that be playing the game fairB %fter all, in spite of the fact that 1 can?t prove

+od or heaven in a test tube, you can?t prove that He doesn%t e3ist, either. RightB 'et?s agree that

neither one of us can prove our position. 8o we start out on an e@ual footing and sha&e hands on our agreement. 1?ll give you a fiftyfifty

chance that you?re right, if you?ll give me a fiftyfifty chance that 1?m right.

'et?s say that we proceed to live out our lives of !9

threescore years and ten. %nd when we come to the end, we discover that you were right5thereis no forever. 0e both die, we?re both buried in the same ground. %nd 1 haven?t lost out on a thing.

(ut suppose that at the end of our threescore years and ten, one day we loo& up, and there in the

east is a small cloud. 1t gets bigger, and bigger, and it isn?t long until the whole s&y is filled with

heavenly beings. 1t turns out that there is a life beyond this life. +od is real, and angels are real, andheaven is real. Iesus has come bac& again. 0hat now, if you have turned it downB 0hy, you will have

lost Dust about everything, because what is life here compared with eternityB

KIDDIE KA$)US &HOI&ES

1 was invited one time to give an address to a class of &indergarten students who were

graduating into first grade. That was an ominous honor. They all came marching in, wearing their littlehomemade gowns and cardboard mortarboards with the tassels hanging down, and 1 was supposed to

try to say something appropriateE

1 had decided that 1 would have to try to involve them in the address or 1 would never be able to&eep their attention, so 1 had a problem for them to solve. The problem was this7 A'et?s pretend that in

my left hand 1 have a note for a million dollars, to be payable when you are /! years old. %nd in my

right hand 1 have a dollar that you can have right now. 0hich would you chooseB

1 could see the lollipops and icecream bars and bubble gum going by in their minds. 8o 1 triedto appeal

!)

to them, on the basis of their vast education and the fact that they were now graduates, to give

careful consideration to this &notty problem. 1 was afraid what they were going to decide, so 1 held

them off as long as possible. (ut when 1 finally as&ed for their answer, every one of them chose thesame thing. The dollarE %nd 1 could tell by their pleased e3pressions that they &new 1 would be

impressed with their careful thin&ingE

Gid that problem end at *iddie *ampusB ;o, the whole world is hoo&ed on the same thing.



To *now +od -orris '. Venden "

0e?ve been called the ;ow +eneration. %nd until we realie the need for something beyond Dust the

here and now, we will continue to ma&e the same type of choice as these graduates did.

6ne day my dad came to me and said, A8on, 1 have a proposition to ma&e to you. 1 want to give

you a million dollars. %nd 1 laughedE 1 &new a little bit more about my dad?s ban& account than thatE

(ut he persisted. APretend that 1?m a multimillionaire and that 1?m going to give you a million

dollars. %re you interestedB A6f course.

He continued. AThere are two conditions. First of all, you have to agree to spend the whole

million in one year. 0ell, 1 would have preferred to spread the fun out over a longer period of time, but better a

million for one year than no million at all.

AThe second condition is that at the end of the year, you die in the gas chamber. %nd 1 said, A1 beg your pardonB

!#

He said, A%t the end of the year, you die. There?s no way out. Jou can?t use the money to getlost on some tropical island. 1t is a sure thing that you?ll die at the end of the year. %re you still

interestedB

1 said, A;o wayE A0hy notB

A(ecause 1?d be spending the whole year thin&ing about the gas chamber. %nd that would spoil

even the fun of one year. 1?ve tried that out on many people since that time, and the answer is usually the same. 1t is not

that good a deal to trade one year, even if it is a fantastic year, for a whole lifetime.

THE $ORAL O" THE STORY*

Then my father came in with the punch line that you could e3pect a preacher to give his

preacher?s &idE A;ow pretend that 1 am the devil, and 1 ma&e you a similar offer. 1 say, OJou can have

seventy years to do e3actly as you please. ;o rules, no regulations. Jou can do anything, go anywhere. ;o inhibitions, no morality, no restrictions. Have fun. 'ive it up. (ut at the end of the seventy years

you will end up in the la&e of fire with me.

%nd my dad said, A%re you interestedB There are thousands of people who have accepted this offer and thought they were ma&ing a

wise choice.

-ost of us are willing to accept the premise that it would be foolish to settle for one year whenseventy years are available. (ut what about settling for seventy years when you could have eternityB

1t?s foolish, even on the basis of logic and reason, to turn down +od?s

!"

offer of eternal life. (ut thousands have turned it down and will turn it down. Thousands will

settle for the temporary pleasures and lose eternity.

THE S&OR)ION AND THE "ROG

% scorpion wanted to cross the river. (ut he couldn?t swim. 8o he as&ed a frog to carry him

across. The frog refused. A1 &now what you?ll do, said the frog. AJou?ll sting me, and 1?ll sin& to the

bottom and drown.

A1 wouldn?t do that, insisted the scorpion. A1f 1 did that, then 1 would drown the same as you.



To *now +od -orris '. Venden !=

8o the frog was convinced, and they started out. 8ure enough, halfway across the river the

scorpion stung the frog.

%s they headed for the bottom, the frog as&ed sadly, A0hy did you do thatB ;ow we?re both

going to die. %nd the scorpion said, A1?m sorry, but 1 couldn?t help it. 1t is my nature.

THE NATURE O" $AN

(ecause of their nature, people continue to ma&e the foolish choice of turning down eternity in

favor of the here and now. 4ven many brilliant people end up refusing +od?s offer of life, settling for

life here as the total pac&age. 0e are slaves to our nature, Dust as the scorpion was. (eing born in thisworld of sin, we are born sinful by nature. %nd unless the miraclewor&ing power of +od intervenes, no

amount of logic and reason will cause us to accept +od?s offer of eternity.

0e &now that death has come to all man&ind since %dam. A0herefore, as by one man sinentered

/=

into the world, and death by sin: and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinnedKRom. <7!/L. Geath is the wages of sin Kchap. 97/$L. (ut babies have died before they even had a

chance to Asin. Therefore, we &now that everyone since %dam is sinful, whether he ever sins or not.

0e could list numerous te3ts of 8cripture on this, but is it necessaryB Geath spea&s for itself. There is even more outstanding (ible proof that we are born sinful. 1t is the fact that no one can

see the &ingdom of +od unless he is born again KIohn $7$L. 1f this is true, then there must be something

wrong with our first birth. 0ell, what is wrong with our first birthB Here we can go bac& to %ugustine,the founder of the classic doctrine of original sin. There?s been a lot of debate about %ugustine?s

doctrine. (asically he taught that we are born sinners and held res"onsible for sin from birth. 0hich

means that his doctrine should have been labeled the doctrine of original guilt.

Jou can have problems with %ugustine?s doctrine of original guilt, but there is a legitimate(ible doctrine of original sin. 1t is found in the historic %ugsburg Confession, which says that we are

born separated from +od. That is the real issue. (ut even though we are born separated from +od, we

are not held res"onsible for that. Therefore, you don?t have to do some ritual to a baby or for a baby inorder for him to be saved, because the baby is not held responsible for his birth into this world of sin.

;o one is held responsible for being born into this world of sin until he has had opportunity to

understand the problem intelligently, /!

see his condition, and see what can be done to remedy it. Then his responsibility begins. That?s the (iblical concept of original sin, and 1?m than&ful for it. Iohn " tal&s about it, Iohn !<

tal&s about it, Iames < tal&s about it, and Romans Kthe first few chaptersL tal&s about it. +od has never

held us responsible for being born in a world of sin. %nd that?s good newsE

!UT OUR HEART IS EVIL AND WE &ANNOT &HANGE IT

0hen we tal& of original sin, we are not implying that sin passes from one to another through

the genes and chromosomes. There is insufficient evidence to believe that. ;o, man&ind is bornseparated from +od. The practical result of this is that man is born selfcentered, and this self

centeredness is the root of all the sins that follow KRom. #7)L. 0e are born hopelessly selfcentered.

%nd although many people have trouble thin&ing of a newborn baby as being sinful, few should have problems in realiing that a newborn baby is selfcenteredE

8o we can come up with a twofold definition for sin+sin singular: and sins, plural. 8in,

singular, is any life that is apart from +od. %nd sins, plural, are the bad things that are done as a result



To *now +od -orris '. Venden !!

of living apart from +od.

8in, singular, is living a life apart from +od, and it ma&es no difference how good a life that

might be. There are many people who live good, moral lives apart from +od. (ut they are living in sin.

0hether or not they ever do anything wrong, they are living in sin. Their good lives are sin. Can you buy thatB Romans !>7/$ says it7 A0hatsoever is not of faith

//

is sin. %nd anything 1 do that is not done through the faith relationship with Iesus is sin5even

mowing the widow?s lawn. (ecause if 1 am selfcentered from living a life apart from +od, then 1 can

mow the widow?s lawn only for selfish reasons. 1t is possible to do all the right things for all the wrongreasons.

0hat are the selfish motives that can prompt me to mow the widow?s lawnB 0ell, perhaps 1?m

going on vacation before too long, and 1 hope she?ll feed my dog while 1?m away. Perhaps 1 am hopingthe neighbors will see me as 1 mow the widow?s lawn, for this will give me a good reputation among

them. 6r perhaps 1?ve committed some terrible sin and 1?m trying to atone for it. 6r maybe 1?ve heard

that she?s tottering on the edge of life, and 1?m hoping she will remember me in her will. There can be

all &inds of reasons for mowing the widow?s lawn: maybe some of them 1 wouldn?t even be able toidentify. (ut the point is that anyone who is living a life apart from Iesus is going to do whatever right

things he does for wrong, selfcentered reasons.

1t is the sinful condition of man&ind that results in sinful deeds, whether the deeds are thoughtof as right or wrong. -an sins because he is sinful. He is not sinful because he sins. ;otice again that

the maDor issue in sin is separation from +od. Jou don?t have to sin to be sinful: all you have to do is

get yourself bornE 0ere we to try to put all this into e@uation form, we might say that -an&ind 8in, and

Righteousness Iesus. Iesus is the only one born into this world who was not born sinful, not born

separated from +od. Iesus is the only one who was ever born righteous. 1t

/$

is clear from this analogy that the only possibility for righteousness, as far as man is concerned,

would be -an&ind Q Iesus Righteousness. -an&ind without Iesus is still sinful. The real issue in sinand righteousness is whether or not Iesus is in the life.

0e were tal&ing about this in a class one day when a student in the bac& figuratively whipped

out his poc&et calculator and said, A0ait a minuteE Jou say that Iesus Righteousness, all by Himself.Then you say that -an&ind Q Iesus Righteousness. 1f that is true, then -an&ind ;othingE

%nd he had the worried loo& on his face as if 1 had Dust done an inDustice to the human raceE

0hat do we mean when we say that -an&ind ;othingB HEL)LESS' !UT NOT WORTHLESS

-an&ind e@uals nothing as far as righteousness is concerned. 0hat does the (ible sayB A%ll our

righteousnesses are as filthy rags K1sa. 9>79L. (ut this does not mean that man&ind is worth nothing asfar as worth is concerned. There is a tremendous difference between being helpless to produce

righteousness and being worthless. 6ur worth was proved when Iesus came to this little world, a mere

spec& in the universe, to redeem man&ind from sin. This tells us of the tremendous value of the humansoul.

1 once heard it said that if we could ta&e a giant balance and put the whole world, which weighs

9 se3tillion tons, on one side of it, and then put a little baby on the other side, the balance would tip inthe baby?s favor. 8uch is the worth of the human soul. 8o we don?t have to go around with our heads

hanging:

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To *now +od -orris '. Venden !/

we can stand straight and tall, because of the worth put on us by Iesus Christ. (ut we are still

helpless to produce righteousness. Go you see the difference between being helpless and being

worthlessB NO INTEREST IN S)IRITUAL THINGS

;ot only are we helpless to produce righteousness apart from Christ, but we have a much moremaDor problem that comes from being born separated from +od. That is, we have no interest in spiritual

things. 0e find no Doy in communion with +od. 1t?s actually distasteful to us. 6ne of the greatest

evidences that a person has not been born again5is still living apart from +od5is the lac& of interestin spiritual things.

1 had a friend who preached a sermon one day about the man who got to heaven by mista&e.

8omeone came in a little late and didn?t hear the whole sermon. This person went away spreading thetale that the preacher was saying that it is possible for people to end up in heaven by mista&e. 0ell, that

wasn?t his point. He was trying to picture what it would be li&e for the sinner, who had not been born

again, who had no Doy in holiness, no Doy in communion with +od, no Doy in unselfish service for

others, to find himself in heaven. How miserable such a person would be thereE Have you everconsidered it an evidence of the love of +od that He allows those who refuse salvation not to be in

heavenB 1t would be a place of torture to them. 1t is only after one has been born again that he finds Doy

in spiritual things. /<

$ANKIND NEEDS A SAVIOUR

1f the real issue in sin is living a life apart from +od, then where should our primary focus beB

8hould we place our effort and attention on the good or bad things we do, or should we place it on the

relationship of union and fellowship with the 8aviour, the 'ord Iesus ChristB 1f everyone in the world, e3cept Iesus, is born sinful KRom. $7/$L, then everyone in this world

needs a 8aviour in order to be saved K%cts >7!/L. The gospel is the good news of Iesus KRom. !7!9L.

Iesus, our 8aviour, provided salvation at the cross, through which the power of sin is bro&en. 0hen asinner accepts this great salvation, he is born again, and the greatest trade ever made ta&es place.

8uppose 1 were to offer to trade my ballpoint pen for a Cadillac 8eville. 1f there were someone

with that sort of car who would trade with me, either he would be stupid or he would really love me alot, one of the two. 1t would be @uite a trade, wouldn?t itB

The (ible tal&s about the greatest trade ever, in / Corinthians <7/!7 AFor he Mthat is, +odN hath

made him Mthat is, IesusN to be sin for us, who &new no sin: that we might be made the righteousness of+od in him. 0e could change the wording Dust a bit7 For +od hath made Iesus, who &new no sin, to be

sin for us that we, who &new no righteousness, might be made the righteousness of +od in Him.

0ould you li&e to have Iesus, with His wideopen arms and friendly eyes, come to you today

and offer to trade all His righteousness for all your sinsB 0ould you be interestedB The truth is that thisis e3actly what He

/9

offers to do. %nd yet, in this greatest trade ever, it would appear at first that someone will end

up with the small end of the deal. 1t?s something li&e trading a Cadillac 8eville for a ballpoint pen,

e3cept there?s no ballpoint penE %ll we have to trade for His righteousness are filthy rags, as 1saiah callsall our righteousness K1sa. 9>79L. Jou can come to only one conclusion5either the 6ne who offers to

ma&e this trade is very foolish or else He must really love us a lot.

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU DO' !UT WHO$ YOU KNOW



To *now +od -orris '. Venden !$

1n 4phesians /7#, " we find some significant words7 AFor by grace are ye saved through faith:

and that not of yourselves7 it is the gift of +od7 not of wor&s, lest any man should boast. Paul says

repeatedly, as in Romans $7/=, A(y the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be Dustified. 1n otherwords, salvation is based not upon what you do, but upon whom you &now. %nd no person really sees

the necessity for &nowing +od5and therefore sees the need to reserve @uality time for that purpose5

until he realies that salvation is based upon relationship instead of behavior. 1f you are hoping for salvation but see no need for &nowing +od and do not consider time with

+od important, then you still believe that your salvation is based upon your behavior. Regardless of

what a person says about his beliefs, if he is convinced that salvation and Christianity are based upon arelationship with Christ, then that relationship has to become top priority. %nyone who does not see&

for salvation through fellowship with +od and through &nowing

/)

Him on a onetoone basis is a legalist, trying to gain heaven by his own wor&s.

KNOWING GOD IS THE !OTTO$ LINE

0hen we come to understand that we are sinful by nature and what it is that causes sin in the

first place, we can better understand the need for &nowing +od. Righteousness is never an entity in

itself. 1t comes only with Iesus. 0hen 1 accept Iesus as my 8aviour, my 'ord, and my Friend, 1 have allof His righteousness, because His righteousness comes with Him.

(ut there is another reason why &nowing +od is important. 1t is important for God%s sa&e. Thin&

of all the grief and sorrow that has come to His heart, through the centuries, because of sinful man?sdetermination to go his own way.

0hen you really love someone, you want more than anything else for him to love you, too. +od

really is love, and He really does love us a lot, as shown in His offer to e3change all our sin for all His

righteousness. 1t?s a fantastic offer for us5but what about for HimB Goes He end up being cheated inthis greatest of all tradesB To answer, 1?d li&e to resurrect an old story that?s to the point. 1t?s the story of

6ld Ioe.

6ld Ioe was a slave down near the mouth of the -ississippi. 6ne day he was on the bloc& at theslave mar&et, the same place where %braham 'incoln later stood and watched the tears flow and the

hearts brea& and said, A1f 1 ever get a chance to hit that thing, 1?ll hit it hardE Ioe stood there, sic& and

tired of separation and tears and partings. He had determined that he would never wor& again. (ut hewas on the auction bloc&.

/#

The bidders began to bid, and Ioe began to mutter, under his breath at first and then louder and

louder, A1 won?t wor&. 1 won?t wor&. He was heard, and one by one the bidding dropped off, e3cept

for one man who traded good money for this slave who wouldn?t wor&.

The new master too& Ioe to his carriage and drove out into the country to the plantation. Finallyhe went down a little road that passed a la&e. (eside the la&e was a beautiful cabin with curtains at the

windows and flowers by the cobblestone steps. Ioe had never seen anything li&e it.

AThis is where 1?m going to liveB Ioe as&ed. AJes.

A(ut 1 won?t wor&.

AIoe, you don?t have to wor&. 1 bought you to set you free. KThe best part of the story is still tocome.L

Ioe fell at the feet of his benefactor and said, A-aster, 1?ll serve you forever.

Jou see a group of sinners. They have been slaves to sin and pain and death. They say, A0e



To *now +od -orris '. Venden !>

won?t wor&5we can%t,- Have you ever tried itB Have you ever tried to produce the wor&s of

righteousnessB 1t?s impossible. Jou can?t do it.

(ut Iesus says, /ou don?t have to wor&. 1?ve bought you, with -y own blood, to set you free,

and 1 want to live -y life in you. 1 understand He has some mansions by a la&e that loo&s li&e a sea made out of glass. There are

cobblestones and curtains, and flowers that will never fade. He offers us all this because He loves us.

That?s the way He is. %nd when we understand this trade and it really gets through to our heart, we willgladly serve Him forever.

/"

He was an old man with thin gray hair, deep wrin&les, and the trembling hands of one who has

already used up his threescore years and ten. 1 met him only once, but 1 have never forgotten him. 1t

was at an oldfashioned summer camp meeting, in the main tent Dust after the sermon for the morninghad been given. The platform chairman as&ed for each of the pastors who were present at the meeting

to ta&e a section of the congregation and lead out in a short after meeting to give opportunity for the

audience to ma&e comments or as& @uestions. This man was in my section. He stood to his feet and

with tears in his eyes said, AFor a long time +od tried to get me, and $=

He finally got me. %nd he sat down.

1 don?t remember what anyone else said that day, but 1 still remember him. How wonderful, and

how tragic. How wonderful that +od finally won out in the battle for his life5but how tragic that hehad waited so long.

Hannah 0hitall 8mith tells the story of a man who came to Christ, and in telling his e3perience

she says that it happened after he had finally come to understand what was his part and what was +od?s



To *now +od -orris '. Venden !<

part. 0ell, Christians have often debated what is man?s part and what is +od?s part in coming to Christ

and in continuing the Christian life. 8o the man was immediately as&ed, A0hat e3actly was your part,

and what was +od?s PartB

He replied, A-y part was to run, and +od?s part was to catch meE Iesus said in Iohn 97>>, A;o man can come to me, e3cept the Father which hath sent me draw

him. 8alvation is +od?s initiative, not man?s. Ieremiah $!7$ says, A1 have loved thee with an

everlasting love7 therefore with loving &indness have 1 drawn thee. %nd +od?s loving &indnesse3tends to every person. There are not some destined to be saved and others destined to be fuel for the

fires of hell. 4veryone is drawn by +od. %nd only those who persistently resist His drawing power of

love will not come to Him for salvation. However, in the process of being drawn to Christ there are certain steps that we ta&e in coming

to Him. 0hat are these stepsB First, there is a desire for something better. 8econd, there comes a

&nowledge of $!

what it is that?s better. Third comes the conviction that we are sinners. Fourth, we are brought to

realie that we are helpless to do anything at all about our condition. %nd finally, we give up5it?scalled Asurrender in Christian circles. 0e give up on ever being able to save ourselves, and then we

can come to Christ Dust as we are.

'et?s go over these five steps in greater detail as we try to understand the process that each person goes through in coming to Christ.

DESIRE "OR SO$ETHING !ETTER

1n Iohn > is the story of a woman who came to Iesus. ;otice the first steps she too& in coming

to Him.

(egin with verses < and 97 AThen cometh he MIesusN to a city of 8amaria, which is called

8ychar, near to the parcel of ground that Iacob gave to his son Ioseph. ;ow Iacob?s well was there.Iesus therefore, being wearied with his Dourney, sat thus on the well7 and it was about the si3th hour

Kor twelve o?cloc& noonL.

Here you have a strange enigma. Iesus is the Creator. He is +od. He?s the one who made thesuns and stars and systems. He created everything that was made Kchap. !7$L. %nd yet He had accepted

the burden of humanity and was apparently even more tired than His disciples, for they went on to

8ychar to buy food. (eing too tired to go farther, He sat alone on the edge of the well and waited fortheir return. Can you see Him thereB

Continue the story with verse ) of Iohn >7 AThere cometh a woman of 8amaria to draw water7

Iesus saith unto her, +ive me to drin&. $/

Here we see the -aster at wor&, drawing a soul to Him. He doesn?t try to cram His religion

down her throat. 1nstead, He as&s a favor of her. Trust awa&ens trust. AThen saith the woman of 8amaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Iew, as&est drin& of

me, which am a woman of 8amariaB for the Iews have no dealings with the 8amaritans.

AIesus answered and said unto her, if thou &newest the gift of +od, and who it is that saith untothee, +ive me to drin&: thou wouldest have as&ed of him, and he would have given thee living water.

AThe woman saith unto him, 8ir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep7 from

whence then hast thou that living waterB %rt thou greater than our father Iacob, which gave us the well,and dran& thereof himself, and his children, and his cattleB

AIesus answered and said unto her, 0hosoever drin&eth of this water shall thirst again7 but

whosoever drin&eth of the water that 1 shall give him shall never thirst: but the water that 1 shall give



To *now +od -orris '. Venden !9

him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

AThe woman saith unto him, 8ir, give me this water, that 1 thirst not, neither come hither to

draw.

AIesus saith unto her, +o, call thy husband, and come hither. AThe woman answered and said, 1 have no husband.

AIesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, 1 have no husband7 for thou hast had five husbands:

and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband7 in that saidst thou truly Kverses "!#L. $$

6bviously this woman had a desire for something better. 8he had come to draw water.%pparently she was a harlot from the nearby town, because she came at a time when none of the rest of

the women from town came. 8he also came to a well that was outside of town. 8he had grown tired of

the glances and the gossiping tongues. 8he had come alone to the well to escape their condemnation. 0e &now that she was loo&ing for something better that she hadn?t found yet. 8he had been

married, but her first husband was not what she was after, so she loo&ed for something better in a

second husband. %nd that wasn?t good enough, so she loo&ed for something better in a third husband,

and a fourth, and a fifth. %nd finally she was done with marriage and decided to follow the path thatmany are following today, to Dust go ahead and live with someone and not ma&e a commitment that she

could not &eep. %nd we see her approaching the well, still loo&ing for something better.

NEVER SATIS"IED

% friend of mine told me about a man he &new who started smo&ing. He smo&ed Chesterfields,

because they were advertised as the cigarette that satisfies. (ut he wasn?t satisfied. He started out withone pac& a day, but that wasn?t enough, so he tried two pac&s a day. %nd that still wasn?t enough, so he

increased it to three. ;ever satisfied.

4veryone in this world is loo&ing for something better. (oys and girls are loo&ing for a better

bicycle or a better ball. Joung people loo& for more acceptance, $>

better friends, more fun. 6lder people loo& for success, for pleasure, or for material possessions.(ut even things that loo& li&e legitimate desires can represent the heart cry of a person who has a +od

shaped vacuum in his life that can be filled only by +od Himself.

There are mountain climbers who climb mountains because they are there. The roc& climbers&eep loo&ing for a higher roc&, for greater ris&s. %mbition in sports, in business, in legitimate

pleasures, can be the cry of the heart for something better, the unrecognied desire for +od.

(ut the desire for something better is never satisfied apart from +od. The person who loo&s forhappiness in the world finds that the fun the world has to offer does not last. %nd he must always be

searching for something new to help him forget that the latest thing he thought would be satisfying

didn?t last.

%s Iesus said in verse !$ of this chapter about the woman of 8amaria, A0hoever drin&eth ofthis water shall thirst again. %nd all our efforts toward finding something better apart from +od will

end in nothing, because whether we recognie it or not, our desire is for Him.

There are sidetrac&s at every step of the way to Christ, to prevent us from coming to Him. 0etry to satisfy our desire for something better by trying something different. Jou see it in the story of the

woman of 8amaria. 8he had tried to satisfy her desire for something better by see&ing fulfillment in

multiple human relationships. (ut in spite of the many different things she had tried, her desireremained unsatisfied.

Iesus said, A0hosoever drin&eth of this water

$<



To *now +od -orris '. Venden !)

shall thirst again7 but whosoever drin&eth of the water that 1 shall give him shall never thirst.

-ost of us ta&e the long route to +od, the route of trouble, and pain, and bro&en hearts. %nd when all

the things that we thought we wanted go sour, we finally come to the end of our own resources and wethen loo& up and say, A%ll right, +od. 1 guess 1 do need Jou after all.

(ut there is a shorter route. Iesus offered it to the woman at the well. 1t?s found in Iohn !/7$/7

A1, if 1 be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 0hen Iesus is uplifted, we are drawn toHim. This 8amaritan woman was in the presence of the 6ne who could satisfy all her longings, but she

did not realie it. 8o Iesus moved on to the second step, a &nowledge of what it is that?s better.

KNOWLEDGE O" THE )LAN O" SALVATION

;otice Iohn >7!=7 AIesus answered and said unto her, 1f thou &newest the gift of +od, and who

it is that saith to thee, +ive me to drin&: thou wouldest have as&ed of him, and he would have giventhee living water.

8alvation is the gift of +od. That is probably one of the greatest bits of &nowledge concerning

the plan of salvation that we could ever receive. AFor +od so loved the world, that he gave his only

begotten 8on Kchap. $7!9L. AThe wages of sin is death: but the gi&t of +od is eternal life KRom. 97/$L.0e can?t earn it, we can?t purchase it, we can never merit it. 8alvation is a gift. 1t has no relationship to

what we deserve.

Thin& of the ways we try to earn what we want. $9

This 8amaritan woman might have been a woman of the streets, accustomed to selling herself toma&e a living, to try to earn something better. The people who were her customers were wanting

something better as well and were willing to pay for a synthetic love to try to satisfy their desires.

-any people today try to buy love and acceptance through similar methods. -any people today try to

buy God%s love and acceptance and become nothing more than fornicators in the spiritual sense. (utIesus comes along and says that the greatest pleasure, the lasting happiness, is free. He says to us today

as He did to the woman by the well, A1f thou &newest the gi&t of +od . . . 1f you only &new.

The sidetrac& to this step is to substitute a &nowledge about religious things for a personal&nowledge of spiritual things and the plan of salvation. 0hen Iesus brought the woman of 8amaria to

the &nowledge of the free gift of salvation and to the &nowledge that He &new her heart, she tried to

change the subDect. 8he started a discussion about which place was the best place to worship +od.8hould it be Ierusalem, or 8amariaB 8he was dodging Iesus? home thrust. (ut He was patient with her,

and He is patient with us. Thin& of all the times we have veered off course when the pressure got too

high. (ut the Holy 8pirit does not leave us, and Iesus is still there in the shadows, waiting for us to stoprunning. The water of life is still being offered freely today.

8ometimes our &nowledge of +od is limited. The 8amaritan woman?s was. 1n verse /< of Iohn

> she said, 0e &now that the -essiah is going to come. There are people today who grew up on that

&nowledge. $)

1t?s hard to be anywhere in our society today and miss the tal& about the second coming ofChrist. (ut it is possible to hear about the 8econd Coming and see the signs that it is drawing near and

even believe that it will one day happen and still not be drin&ing at the well of the water of life that

Christ offers. 0e can be than&ful, however, for whatever &nowledge of +od we have. % little &nowledge of

Him is better than none. Than& +od for what we may have pic&ed up as boys and girls concerning the

love of +od. The Holy 8pirit can use whatever &nowledge of +od we have to guide us to a deeper



To *now +od -orris '. Venden !#

relationship with the 'ord Iesus.

&ONVI&TION

The third step in coming to Christ is the realiation that we are sinners. 0e come to realie thatwe are sinful whether we have ever done anything wrong or not. 1s there anyone who has never done

anything wrongB 1f there is, that person is still sinful, because one doesn?t have to sin to be sinful. %ll

one has to do to be a sinner is to be born. %s we noticed in Gay !, we are born sinners, and Iesus saidthat in order even to see the &ingdom of +od, we must be born again. Therefore, there must have been

something wrong with our first birth.

There are many people who hesitate to ta&e this third step. They say, A1?m Dust as good as thene3t person. 1?m as good as some 1 &now who claim to be Christians. They fall into the trap of

comparing themselves among themselves. There are many sidetrac&s to this step. 6ne is to thin& that

we are not really $#

sinners, that basically we are good people. There are whole denominations today based on the

premise that people are basically good and that all that is necessary is to develop the good that is inthem.

(ut the (ible says in Romans $7!=!/ that Athere is none righteous, no, not one. 6ne of the

steps in coming to Christ is to come to the point where we are willing to admit this, for it is only thesinner who needs a 8aviour.

There is nothing that wor&s so effectively to convince a person that he is a sinner than to ta&e a

loo& at Iesus and the cross. 6ne time 1 saw a man who was eight feet tall. He was built li&e a football player and was wearing an %rden?s -il& Farm shirt. He was wal&ing across a county fairgrounds.

0hen 1 first saw him off in the distance, he didn?t loo& that tall, maybe about my sie. (ut when 1 got

up close to him, 1 felt li&e a dwarf.

0hen you spiritually see Iesus off in the distance and you?re not that close to Him, He may notloo& too tall5maybe about your height. (ut when you get closer to Iesus, you will see that He looms

up li&e a mountain pea& with its snowcapped top pushing into the blue, and you will feel li&e a swamp

at the base. That?s what happened to the apostle Paul. He thought he was pretty good until he got aglimpse of Iesus. Jou can read about it in Philippians $. 6nce he saw Iesus and was brought close to

Him, then everything he had before thought was good he now counted as so much garbage. 8o it is in

loo&ing to Iesus that we are drawn to a realiation of our condition as sinners. $"

HEL)LESSNESS

The fourth step is the hardest one yet, because there is something in the human heart that resists

admitting that we are helpless. 1 have occasionally as&ed students of mine, when we were studying

these steps to Christ, to fill out anonymously a @uestionnaire indicating where on the steps to Christthey found themselves at that time. The maDority always placed themselves right here5they realied

that they were sinners, but they hadn?t yet admitted being helpless to do anything about it themselves.

The sidetrac& that many people ta&e at this point is to thin& that if they try harder or longer, theycan ma&e themselves better. (ut Iesus said in Iohn !<7<, A0ithout me ye can do nothing. Ieremiah

as&s the @uestion ACan the 4thiopian change his s&in, or the leopard his spotsB then may ye also do

good, that are accustomed to do evil KIer. !$7/$L. %fter a meeting in 8eattle on the subDect of our helplessness, 1 was tal&ing to a doctor. He said

to me, AJour message will never sellE 1 was at the top of my class in college. 1 was in the top third of

my class in medicine. 1 have a nice family. 1 have a house in the city and a mountain cabin. 1 have a



To *now +od -orris '. Venden !"

yacht in the harbor and two Cadillacs in the garage. Gon?t tell me that 1?m helpless.

He had forgotten who it was who was &eeping his heart beating, hadn?t heB (ut that isn?t the

point. There are many people who, li&e this doctor, can e3perience worldly success apart from +od as

long as He &eeps their hearts beating. (ut the point is that we are helpless to produce anything apartfrom +od when it comes to genuine

>=

goodness or righteousness. 1t isn?t until a person comes to the realiation that he can do nothing

to save himself spiritually, and that he can do nothing to &eep himself from his present sinning and

mista&es and failures, that he is ready to ta&e the ne3t step in coming to Christ. ;o one ever comes toIesus until he has admitted failure and realied his helplessness to save himself.

SURRENDER

The word surrender means Agiving up. 0hat do we give upB 0e give up on us, 0e give up on

the idea that we can do anything at all about our condition, e3cept one5come to Christ Dust as we are.

%nd Christ loves to have us come to Him Dust as we are. 1n fact, that?s the only way we can come. 0e

can never become better through our own efforts. 0e must come Dust as we are. The detour that many people ta&e on this step is to try to give up things instead of sel&. 0e try to

give up our smo&ing and drin&ing and gambling. 0e have the idea that the Christian life is based on

how many things one can give up. 1f surrender means to give up the idea that we can do anything at allapart from Christ, then for the strong person the giving up of things can become a sidetrac& for giving

up self.

The story is told about a man whose car horn wouldn?t wor&. 8o he too& the car to the garage toget the horn repaired. 1t was raining, and when he drove up to the entrance to the garage, he saw that

the door was closed. 6n the door was a sign, AHon& for service. 0e have often found ourselves in the

same dilemma in trying to surrender ourselves. %n

>!

important truth about surrender is that it is not something we can doE This can represent a maDor

brea&through to the person who has been vainly trying to surrender. The word surrender means Atogive up. %nd if coming to the end of our own resources is necessary in order for us to come to Christ,

then that helplessness would have to include the helplessness to surrender, tooE 1f 1 had the strength or

ability within myself to surrender, then 1 wouldn?t have to give up on myself5there would still besomething 1 could do.

(ut surrender is not something we do, even though we do itE 0hat?s the pointB That only +od

can lead us to surrender. 0e cannot bring ourselves there, even though when the time comes, we are theones who surrender. (ut no man can empty himself of self. 1t is only Christ who can do the wor&. 6ur

part is to consent, and as we proceed we will study more of how it is that we consent.

1f you want to &ill yourself, there are a number of ways you can do it. Jou can ta&e a gun and

blow your brains out. Jou can Dump off a tall building or bridge. Jou can ta&e an overdose of somelethal drug. (ut there is one way in which you can never &ill yourself. Jou cannot crucify yourself.

There is no way you can do it. 1f you are to be crucified, someone else must do the Dob for you.

The cross is used in 8cripture as a symbol of surrender, death to self. Iesus spo&e of our cross.He invites us to ta&e up our cross and follow Him K-att. !97/>L. He uses the cross, the crucifi3ion, as a

symbol to teach us that we cannot surrender ourselves: we must allow +od to do the wor& for us. %nd

He is >/

willing and able to bring us to the point of surrender if we will allow Him to do so.



To *now +od -orris '. Venden /=

GOD TAKES THE INITIATIVE

% desire for something better comes from +od. 1t is His drawing power that awa&ens our desire

for something more than we have. % conviction that we are sinners is the wor& of the Holy 8pirit7 AHewill reprove MconvictN the world of sin KIohn !97#L. % realiation of our helplessness is His wor&, for

Iesus said, A0ithout me ye can do nothing Kchap. !<7<L. (ringing us to the point of surrender is His

wor&, even though we are the ones who surrender. There is only one of the five steps in which we candeliberately participate, and that is in gaining the &nowledge of the plan of salvation. %lthough Iesus

ta&es the initiative there as well, we can respond to His initiative by choosing to see& Him, to see& a

&nowledge of Him. That is the way you consent5by placing yourself in the atmosphere where Iesuswor&s. 0hether it is in church, in public meetings, or in private before +od?s open 0ord, or perhaps in

reading this boo&, if you will ma&e the one attempt to respond to the drawing of Iesus and His 8pirit, to

gain a better &nowledge of the plan of salvation, He will do the rest. Iesus still offers today to accept anyone who comes to Him. The invitation is still out, ACome

unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and 1 will give you rest K-att. !!7/#L. Regardless of

where you are, and who you are, and what your past has been, Iesus offers peace to you. 1f you have

never before come to Christ you can come to Him right now. >$

STE)S TO &HRIST

Perhaps you have seen which of the steps to Christ you are on. Go you realie a desire forsomething betterB Go you realie that +od is love and that Iesus died for youB Go you realie that you

are a sinnerB Go you realie that you are helpless to do anything about itB %nd have you come to the

point of giving up on ever being able to do anything about itB Then you can come to Iesus, Dust as youare, because those are the steps to Him. +od is drawing you to Him, and you can respond, and continue

to come to Him tomorrow morning and the ne3t, until Iesus Himself comes again.

&ONVERSION+THE NEW !IRTH

6nce a person has ta&en these steps to Christ, including surrender to Him, he is born again, or

converted. 0hat is conversionB 1t must be an important step, for Iesus said we can?t even see the

&ingdom of +od unless we are born again KIohn $7<L. %nother way to say it would be that unless youare born again, you can?t even understand +od?s grace in its fullness,



To *now +od -orris '. Venden /!

>>

or really comprehend what the cross and salvation are all about. The new birth is essential

before a person can find meaning in the relationship of &nowing +od. (ecause &nowing +od is theentire basis of the Christian life, if a person hasn?t been born yet, he?s going to have a pretty difficult

time trying to liveE

Conversion is the supernatural wor& of the Holy 8pirit on the human heart. Jou?ll find that inIohn $. 1t produces a change of attitude toward +od. 1nstead of running from Him, now 1?m coming to

Him. 1t creates a new capacity for &nowing +od that wasn?t even there before. That?s what ma&es (ible

study and prayer meaningful for the first time. 1 believe that no one really begins a meaningfulrelationship with +od until he comes to the point of conversion: anyone who tries to have a meaningful

fellowship with Him before that point will find one of two things will happen. 4ither he will be led to

conversion or he will become frustrated and scrap the whole thing. 6ne of the two. %nd the thing thatma&es the difference is the sense of need. 1t is only the one who realies his deep need who will be

willing to come to Christ and give up on himself and his own efforts to gain salvation.

Conversion is the beginning of a new life. 1t is a change of direction. 1t is not a complete and

immediate change of behavior. The new birth leads to a change in the lifestyle. (ut it is li&ened to birthin that it is the beginning of growth. 0e are not born mature Christians spiritually anymore than we are

born mature people physically. There is a process. 1t ta&es time to develop the fruits of the 8pirit in the

life5love, Doy, peace, longsuffering, and so forth5as listed in +alatians <. (ut it is ><

the beginning. %nd as we continue to see& the relationship with +od, our trust in Him will grow,and we will be changed into His image by beholding Him.

“HOW &AN I KNOW WHETHER I HAVE !EEN !ORN AGAIN(

The @uestion is often as&ed, AHow can 1 &now whether 1 have been born againB Here are seven points that may help to answer that @uestion.

!. For the person who has been born again, Iesus is the center and focus of his life. First Iohn

<7!/7 AHe that hath the 8on hath life: and he that hath not the 8on of +od hath not life. 0hat does itmean to have the 8onB 0ell, what does it mean to have a friend or have a husband or a wifeB 1t means

simply to have a relationship with him or her. The people in the early Christian church who had

e3perienced a personal relationship with the 8on of +od couldn?t &eep @uiet about it. They loved tothin& of Iesus, to tal& of Him. %nd finally the people said, A'ets call them Christians, because Christ is

all they tal& about.

/. % person who has been born again has a deep interest in (ible study. 1n ! Peter /7/ theapostle Peter describes it as hungering for Athe sincere mil& of the word. (ible study is meaningful for

the converted Christian.

$. 6ne who has been born again is going to find meaning in his prayer life. He may not feel that

he is praying properly or effectively, but he is still going to find meaning in tal&ing to +od as a vital part of the relationship of &nowing +od Ksee Iohn !)7$L.

>. % person who has been born again is going to

>9

see& a daily e3perience with Christ. 'u&e "7/$7 A1f any man will come after me, let him deny

himself, and ta&e up his cross daily, and follow me. <. % person who has been born again will admit that he is a sinner. He doesn?t go around

boasting that he is no longer a sinner. Paul, one of the greatest Christians who ever lived, said, A1 am

the chief of sinners Ksee ! Tim. !7!<L. Gid this mean that Paul was sinning all the timeB ;o, because



To *now +od -orris '. Venden //

he spo&e a number of times about being more than con@ueror through Christ KRom. #7$)L. (ut he was

tal&ing about the fact that apart from +od we are sinful by nature and that only by the grace of +od can

we e3perience anything else. 1?m than&ful that it is possible to be a saved sinner. (ut it?s important to

realie that we will continue to be sinful by nature until Iesus comes again Ksee ! Iohn !7#L. 9. 6ne of the first symptoms of the new birth is peace within. Romans <7!7 ATherefore being

Dustified by faith, we have peace with +od. 1t is possible to have all sorts of e3ternal struggle and

trouble and turmoil and still have peace within. Have you discovered that yetB This inward peace is oneof the first of the fruits of the 8pirit5love, Doy, peace.

). %nd finally, a person who has been born again is going to have a desire to tell someone else

what a wonderful friend he has found in Iesus. Iesus told the demoniac whom He had healed to gohome and tell his friends what great things the 'ord had done for him K-ar& <7!"L. The desire is there

to tell someone else the good news, although it is possible for the converted Christian to refuse to share

the love of Christ >)

with others Kwhich results in losing the desire to shareL. 0e?ll tal& more about this in Gay $.

ASSURAN&E O" SALVATION

0hat is the basis of salvationB 'et?s turn to 4phesians /7#, "7 AFor by grace are ye saved

through faith: and that not of yourselves7 it is the gift of +od7 not of wor&s, lest any man should boast.1 would li&e to remind you that nowhere in 8cripture are we told that salvation comes through grace

alone. 1t is always by grace through &aith. 1f that were not true, then everyone in the world would be

saved, and we &now that will never happen. Iesus said, A4nter ye in at the strait gate7 for wide is thegate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat7 because

strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it K-att.

)7!$, !>L. 8o although +od?s grace is sufficient for every person, it is no good for anybody until he

accepts it. %nd we accept it by faith. 0hen you use the word &aith you are introducing a relationship element. 4ven though grace is

the gift of +od, it must be received by us. %nd no one can be saved until he accepts the gift that +od

has provided. Faith demands relationship, one party trusting another. 1t is possible to accept someonetoday and reDect him tomorrow. 1t is possible to be married today and not be married ten years from

now. 1n the same way it is possible to accept +od?s grace at one point and reDect it at another. 1n order

to have the continuing assurance of salvation, we must accept +od?s grace on a continuing basis Kchap./>7!$L.

>#

This brings us to one of the maDor te3ts that tells how we can be assured of eternal life. Iohn

!)7$7 AThis is life eternal, that they might &now thee the only true +od, and Iesus Christ, whom thou

hast sent. There is something more to salvation than to accept +od once. %nd that is to continue to

accept Him, today, tomorrow, ne3t wee&, and every day until He comes again. 8o eternal life, includingour hope of eternal life, is based totally on +od?s grace, but His grace must be accepted on a continuing

basis. %nd that is what &nowing +od is all about.

8o when we have ta&en the steps in coming to Christ, have come to the end of our ownresources and have accepted Christ as a personal 8aviour, we are born again. 1f 1 continue in the

relationship that began when 1 came to Christ, my eternal destiny is certain. (ut if 1 do not &now +od

as my personal 8aviour day by day and accept His grace on a daily basis, then the relationship withHim comes into Deopardy, Dust as my relationship with a friend or husband or wife brea&s down if there

is no communication.

0ould you li&e to have the assurance of salvation todayB 1t is offered to every person who



To *now +od -orris '. Venden /$

comes to Christ and continues coming to Him. The one @uestion you need to as& yourself is this7 Go 1

&now HimB Go 1 spend time in communicating with Him day by day, through His 0ord and through

prayerB %m 1 on spea&ing terms with +odB For all who continue to see& that faith relationship with

Him, eternal life is assured. THE S)IRITUAL )RES&RI)TION

1 used to thin& that the way to be a Christian was >"

to try hard to live a good life, and that if 1 had any time left over to read the (ible and pray alittle bit, it would ma&e +od feel goodE 1t wasn?t until much later 1 discovered that the relationship with

+od is the entire basis of the Christian life. That?s where it?s all at. 1t is not an option. 1t is not

something that we can choose to ta&e or leave. 1t is the entire basis of the Christian life. %nd not until 1realie and accept that premise am 1 going to do everything in my power, by +od?s grace, to find a

meaningful communication with +od.

There is going to be no such thing as your having a relationship with +od and your &nowing

+od unless you spend time together. 1t?s Dust that simple. -y dad used to tell the story of the man whotrained his horse not to eat. 1t was more economical that way. (ut Dust when he got him trained, the

horse died. %nd of course, this was the logical conclusion. 1 might be able to go along living on the

Acamel?s hump for a period of time, but if 1 do not eat physically, sooner or later 1?ll end up in a littleheap on the sidewal&, and that will be the end of it. %nd the person who has e3perienced the Doy of

coming to Christ and who has become a Christian may be able to go for a little while without ta&ing

time to feed his soul, but sooner or later he?s going to end up spiritually in a pitiful little heap on thesidewal&.

0hen you study the life of Iesus, you find that often He was in communion with His Father.

The early morning or the evening hours would be spent in prayer, that He might gain power for His

wor&. 1f it was necessary for Christ, how much more necessary it must be for us to spend time with+od.

<=

0hen +od created this world, even before the entrance of sin, He set aside one day in seven for

a time of special communion with His people. There is a rich spiritual blessing for those who will put

aside their other activities and spend this time in becoming better ac@uainted with their Friend andCreator. (ut in Iohn 9 Iesus ma&es the analogy between the physical and the spiritual life. Iust as it is

insufficient to eat only once a wee&, no matter how nourishing that one meal might be, in the same way

we cannot e3pect to be healthy spiritually by eating spiritual food only once a wee&. 1?d li&e to give you a spiritual prescription5a prescription for the vibrant spiritual life. 1t goes

li&e this7 ATa&e time, alone, at the beginning of every day, to see& Iesus through (ible study and

prayer. 'et?s bac& up and ta&e a longer loo& at each of these points.

TAKE TI$E

0e have learned that salvation comes by grace through faith. 0hat is faithB Faith is trusting

+od. Faith is trusting someone else. Thin& for Dust a moment how you learn to trust someone in thisworld. 1n order to trust someone, you must have two things. First, you must have someone who is

trustworthy. %nd second, you must get ac@uainted with him. %nd then you will trust him spontaneously.

6n the other hand, if you have someone who is untrustworthy and you get to &now him, you willdistrust him spontaneouslyE

(ut the premise of the Christian gospel is that +od is absolutely trustworthy. Therefore, all you

have



To *now +od -orris '. Venden />

<!

to do to learn to trust Him is to get to &now Him. 8o how do you get to &now HimB

0ell, how do you get to &now anyoneB 1n order to &now someone, you have to communicatewith him. %nd in order to communicate with someone, you have to ta&e time. 1t is ta&ing time for

communication with Him that brings trust. 8o if we would Afight the good fight of faith K! Tim. 97!/L,

we would be putting forth the effort to become personally ac@uainted with the 6ne who is trustworthy.1t is impossible for a relationship with anyone to grow without setting aside time for communication.

Time. 1?d li&e to propose to you that this is where all the deliberate effort in the Christian life

must be centered. %ll of it. 1 don?t spend part of my time and effort on trying to be good and part of iton the relationship with +od. 1 put all my deliberate effort toward spending time with +od, and through

the e3perience of faith and dependence upon Him He does the rest of the wor& of salvation in me.

How much timeB 0ell, reading a (ible te3t for the day with your hand on the door&nob is notgoing to suffice. From Iesus? analogy between our physical eating and our spiritual eating, we can learn

that we ought to spend at least as much time feeding our spiritual lives as we do feeding our physical

lives. %nd that thoughtful hour or halfhour with +od is the most important time of our day.

A6h, 1 don?t have time, you say. 1f 1 don?t have time for +od, then 1 don?t have time to live. Goyou believe thatB Jou &now that television has proved to the %merican public that time is no problem.

1t has

</

proved again in a modern way the old adage that you have time for what you really consider to

be important. 8o take ti!e for &nowing +od. TAKE TI$E' ALONE

Jou may have heard the story of the man who was constantly worrying. His friends became

concerned: they feared he would go to an early grave because of this. They began worrying about hisworryingE

(ut one day a friend met him on the street and noticed a completely different e3pression on his

face. He was calm and peaceful. %nd his friend as&ed, A0hat?s happenedB Jou loo& so differentE He said, A1 finally found a solution to my worrying.

A0onderfulE 0hat is itB

He said, A1?ve hired someone to do my worrying for me. His friend said, A1 never heard of such a thing. How much do you pay himB

AFour hundred dollars a month.

AFour hundred dollars a monthE the friend e3claimed. A0hy, that?s impossibleE How will youever be able to pay himB

A1 don?t &now, he replied. AThat?s the first thing he has to worry about.

1t would be ridiculous to suppose that you could hire someone else to do your worrying for you.

1t would be ridiculous to suppose you could hire another to do your eating for you. %nd yet in thespiritual realm it has often been the accepted practice for people to depend upon someone else to do

their

<$

studying, their praying, and their see&ing after +od for them.

The (ible teaches that each person must see& +od for himself. 'et?s loo& first of all at Iohn!7>$><7 AThe day following Iesus would go forth into +alilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him,

Follow me. ;ow Philip was of (ethsaida, the city of %ndrew and Peter. Philip findeth ;athanael, and

saith unto him, 0e have found him, of whom -oses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Iesus of



To *now +od -orris '. Venden /<

;aareth, the son of Ioseph. ;ow, right here Philip was showing a bit of immaturity or lac& of insight,

wasn?t heB He should have said, AIesus from heaven, the 8on of +od. (ut A;athanael said unto him,

Can there any good thing come out of ;aarethB Philip said unto him, Come and see Kverse >9L.

There?s the phrase5ACome and see. 0hatever mista&es Philip had made earlier he made up for here.Jou can never miss if you co!e and see for yourself.

;athanael did come and see for himself, and became a loyal follower of the 'ord Iesus.

4arlier in this chapter we studied the story of the 8amaritan woman who met Iesus at the well.Iohn >7/#$=7 AThe woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,

Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever 1 did7 is not this the ChristB Then they went out of

the city, and came unto him. +o on to verse $"7 A%nd many of the 8amaritans of that city believed onhim for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever 1 did. People have often

been impressed by the sensational and the spectacular. 8o, many of them believed because of what she

said. %nd from what <>

we &now of this woman, she probably wasn?t the most credible person in town. (ut some of the

people believed for a better reason. ;otice the rest of the story. A8o when the 8amaritans were comeunto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them7 and he abode there two days. %nd many

more believed because of his own word: and said unto the woman, ;ow we believe, not because of thy

saying7 for we have heard him ourselves, and &now that this is indeed the Christ, the 8aviour of theworld Kverses >=>/L.

1n %cts !)7!! it is recorded that the people in (erea were more noble than the ones in

Thessalonica because they studied the 0ord to find out for themselves Awhether those things were so.%nd Paul said to Timothy, in / Timothy /7!<, A8tudy to shew thyself approved unto +od, a wor&man

that needeth not to be ashamed. 0e are to ta&e seriously our relationship with +od.

Time alone. 0e must study +od?s 0ord for ourselves and pray for ourselves. 6nly then will

family worship and public worship become meaningful. %part from the private devotional. life of eachindividual, public worship is simply a form or routine. 1t is when we are on a onetoone basis with

+od that we come to &now Him for ourselves.

AT THE !EGINNING # # #

Psalm <7!$ says7 A+ive ear to my words, 6 'ord, consider my meditation. Hear&en unto the

voice of my cry, my *ing, and my +od7 for unto thee will 1 pray. -y voice shalt thou hear in themorning, 6

<<

'ord: in the morning will 1 direct my prayer unto thee, and will loo& up.

%nother classic te3t on the subDect is 1saiah <=7>7 AThe 'ord +od hath given me the tongue of

the learned, that 1 should &now how to spea& a word in season to him that is weary7 he wa&eneth

morning by morning, he wa&eneth mine ear to hear as the learned. % number of passages in 1saiah,including this verse, have to do with Iesus. %nd the e3ample of Iesus praying is recorded again and

again, as in -ar& !7$<7 A1n the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed

into a solitary place, and there prayed. Ganiel prayed three times a day, morning, noon, and eveningKGan. 97!=L. 0e are invited to follow the e3amples recorded for our benefit Ksee / Tim. $7!9L.

1f 1 am going to be in touch with +od and be sensitive to His guidance and depend upon His

power instead of my own, and if this is a daily matter, then isn?t it &ind of late to get my direction forthe day Dust before going to bed at nightB 1f religion is a daily matter, then it?s @uite obvious when we

need the power. 1t is ridiculous to write a chec& when you don?t have the money in the ban&. Hebrews >

says that Iesus is a faithful High Priest, who Awas in all points tempted li&e as we are Kverse !<L. Then



To *now +od -orris '. Venden /9

it says, A'et us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find

grace to help in time of need Kverse !9L. ;otice the se@uence. Guring our time with +od in the

morning we receive power from Him, so that when we draw on that during the day, there will be

something there to bac& our need up. <9

8ome who have trouble in their devotional life and who have been relying upon time spent thelast thing before going to bed may find that one of the greatest helps is to change that time to the first

thing in the morning. 1f we ta&e up our cross daily, it ma&es the most sense to do so when the day

begins. # # # O" EVERY DAY

6ne of the significant reasons for beginning with +od first thing in the morning is for the purpose of consistency. The universal testimony that 1 have come up against again and again is that

when the time alone with +od is left for the last thing at night, it becomes spasmodic5onagain, off

again.

The purpose of the daily relationship with Christ is communication. There is no need to as& the@uestion A0hat happens if 1 miss a dayB That?s not the issue. The important thing is your pattern. 1f

you maintain regular communication, you will have a relationship. 1t?s true with other people, and it?s

true with +od. %nd if your communication is only sporadic, the relationship will suffer. 1t is possibleeven in one day to find yourself at a distance from Iesus, and it may ta&e time to regain the peace that

you have lost. 1s this because +od li&es to play hideandsee& or perhaps punish you for one day?s

neglectB ;o. (ut when we neglect personal communion with +od, then there is an enemy who ma&esthe most of it: isn?t that trueB

The devil will use every maneuver he can to separate us from Iesus and &eep us at a distance

from

<)

Him. 0e?ll loo& more at some of his methods in Gay $. (ut when we neglect personal

communion with +od, 8atan does everything possible to &eep the separation going. 6ur only safety liesin determining to give +od first priority each day, regardless of what happens. %nd as we see& Him

each day, our friendship and fellowship with Him will deepen.

0e are not saved by our devotional life. 0e are saved by our acceptance of Christ?s sacrifice for us at the cross and by continuing to accept Him on a daily basis. (ut because so many Christians allow

the relationship with Christ to disappear, their assurance also disappears. Iesus is often little &nown

even among His professed followers. 'ittle wonder, then, that they find it hard to trust Him forsalvation. (ut when we spend time each day considering and meditating upon His love, how much

easier to &eep His love fresh in our minds and to believe in His loving acceptance.

TO SEEK %ESUS

Iohn the (eloved wal&ed with Iesus for three years. He &new what it was li&e to eat with Him,

to travel with Him, to touch Him, to help Him with His daily needs. %nd for three years Iohn bic&ered

and argued with the other disciples about who was to be the greatest. For three years he was still theson of thunder. Those who thin& that conversion and wal&ing with Iesus is supposed to change one

completely overnight Kand if it doesn?t happen, then he doesn?t have the genuine e3perienceL had better

ta&e a second loo& at Iohn and Peter and the other disciples. 4ven in the upper room the night beforethe crucifi3ion,

<#



To *now +od -orris '. Venden /)

they were still scrapping about who was to be the greatest. They &new it was wrong, but they

&ept doing it, even though they were embarrassed by it. (ut Iesus treated them &indly, patiently, and

even after He had gone bac& to heaven Iohn and the others continued to wal& with Him.

Jears later Iohn writes, in his first general 4pistle, AThat which was from the beginning, whichwe have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have loo&ed upon, and our hands have

handled, of the 0ord of life: . . . that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also

may have fellowship with us7 and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his 8on Iesus ChristKchap. !7!$L. Iohn says, years after Iesus had returned to heaven, A0e have fellowship with Iesus

Christ. Jou can have fellowship with Christ as well. The purpose of the devotional life is to come into

fellowship with Iesus Christ. The purpose of wal&ing and tal&ing and communing with Him is forfellowship.

1n all our devotional e3perience the invitation is, the challenge is, to read for the purpose of

communication, of fellowship, with Iesus. A0e would see Iesus KIohn !/7/!L. ;ow if we accept thatas truth, then this is going to have some influence on what we read.

;ot long ago 1 was reading the boo& of Ioshua. 1 li&e to read a little bit out of the 6ld

Testament, along with the ;ew. 1n the first part of Ioshua 1 read about a lot of battles and victories and

the con@uering of the peoples of Canaan. 1n the last half of Ioshua 1 read about meticulous boundaries.1t describes the territories of each tribe, how the borders for the tribe of

<"

(enDamin went from here and around through here and down to there, and included this and

that. %fter reading a couple of chapters of that, 1 found it rather hard to see Iesus.

There is a time and purpose for studying each boo& of the (ible, but if the primary purpose ofthe devotional life is to see& Iesus, where will 1 spend most of my timeB 8tudying the last half of the

boo& of Ioshua, or studying the 8ermon on the -ountB 1t is possible for the Ten Commandments to

become nothing more than a lethal weapon in the hands of one who doesn?t &now how to sit with -ary

at the feet of Iesus and learn of His love and &indness. The law and the gospel must go together. 1t is aswe see& 0esus where He is most clearly revealed that we find fellowship with Him and grow more and

more into His li&eness. The purpose of the devotional life is to learn to &now Him and trust Him more

fully. THROUGH !I!LE STUDY # # #

How do you study the (ible for a meaningful devotional lifeB %gain let?s underscore the factthat you are loo&ing primarily for Iesus. 4ternal life doesn?t come from Dust searching the 8criptures.

Read it in Iohn <7$", >=. The religious leaders did plenty of searching the 8criptures. (ut they still

reDected Iesus and refused to come to Him. 1t is in coming to Iesus that we have life: the 8criptures are primarily a means to enable us to come to Him.

There was a man of the Pharisees, ;icodemus by name, who came to Iesus by night. He

essentially said to Iesus, AJou?re a great teacher, and 1?m not so bad

9=

myself. 1?m from the 8anhedrin, Jou &now. 'et?s have a discussion.

Iesus said, A0hat you need is to be born again. Jou can read it in the third chapter of Iohn. ;icodemus couldn?t understand the things of the &ingdom of +od, because he had not yet been

converted. ! Corinthians /7!> says, AThe natural man receiveth not the things of the 8pirit of +od7 for

they are foolishness unto him7 neither can he &now them, because they are spiritually discerned. The understanding of 8cripture depends not so much upon the strength of intellect brought to

the search as upon the earnest longing after righteousness. The carnal man is at enmity against +od.

0hen we have not yet been born again, we will invariably use +od?s 0ord for information only. 1t is



To *now +od -orris '. Venden /#

when we have been born again that we are enabled for the first time to e3perience fellowship with

Christ through the 8criptures. %nd the primary purpose of bible study is not for information, but for

communication.

The (ible is not primarily designed as a history lesson. %s you read, put yourself in the picture.1f you are reading about the woman at the well, you are the woman at the well. Jou are the one who has

been see&ing to satisfy your heart desire by the things of the world. Jou are the one who is loo&ing for

something better. %nd you are the one who finally comes face to face with Christ Himself. 1f you arereading about the lost sheep, you are the lost sheep. Jou are the one that the 8hepherd has come

searching to find. Jou are the one who is borne on His shoulders bac& to the safety of the fold. 0hen

you read about the thief on the 9!

cross, you are the thief on the cross. Jou are the one who says, AOIesus, remember me? K'u&e/$7>/, T'(L. %nd you are the one to whom the reply is given, AOJou will be with me in Paradise?

Kverse >$, T'(L.

8ometimes people as&, A0hat should 1 do if my mind wandersB 0ell, let me as& you a

@uestion. 0hen you were in school and studying for the most boring class you had to ta&e, what didyou do when your mind wanderedB Gid you throw the te3tboo& into the wastebas&et and @uit schoolB

6r did you &eep going bac& and rereading until you got what you needed to understandB

1f the lessons in school have to do with only threescore years and ten, and if the 8criptures haveto do with the things of eternity, then shouldn?t you at least give the (ible e@ual running with the

schoolboo&sB

The primary purpose of (ible study is to enter into communication and fellowship with Iesus.%s you invite His presence when you open His 0ord and see& to put yourself in the picture, to

understand what He is saying to you day by day, you will come to &now Him better and to trust Him

more.

# # # AND )RAYER

Prayer is what ma&es the Christian church something other than a club or fraternity or secular

organiation. Prayer ma&es the difference between Christianity and the other world religions. 0ithout prayer we have nothing more than a (oo& of information, a creed to try to live by. (ut the fact that we

9/

can actually tal& to +od, communicate with Iesus Christ, ma&es prayer a top priority in the

Christian life.

'et?s turn to 'u&e !#7!=!> in order to get a setting for the subDect of prayer and itssignificance7 ATwo men went up into the temple to pray: the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, +od, 1 than& thee, that 1 am not as other men are,

e3tortioners, unDust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 1 fast twice in the wee&, 1 give tithes of all that

1 possess. %nd the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, butsmote upon his breast, saying, +od be merciful to me a sinner. 1 tell you, this man went down to his

house Dustified rather than the other7 for every one that e3alteth himself shall be abased: and he that

humbleth himself shall be e3alted. 6ne of the first prere@uisites for a meaningful prayer life is humility. 6nly the person who has

ta&en the steps to Christ, who has been convinced that he is a sinner and that he is helpless to save

himself, is humble and surrendered to Christ. 0ould it be possible for a person never to understand thedeeper meaning of prayer because that person has never come to Christ yetB 1t is very possible.

(ut once we understand that the entire basis of the Christian life is the relationship with Christ,

and we come to Him for salvation, we will be enabled to pray aright. 1t was when the publican admitted



To *now +od -orris '. Venden /"

his sinful condition and came to +od, as&ing for His mercy, that he was Dustified.

6ne of the usual ideas of prayer is that its primary

9$

purpose is to get answers. 1 would li&e to ta&e the position that if your primary purpose in

praying is to get answers, it won?t be long until you will stop praying. To have life eternal is to be

involved in &nowing +od. %nd the primary purpose of prayer is to &now +od. 1t is primarily forrelationship, for communication5not to get answers.

How long would your human relationships last if your only purpose in tal&ing to others was to

get answers, to get them to do things for youB 0hy, we tal& to our friends Dust for the sa&e ofmaintaining friendship. %nd the same thing goes for prayer. Iesus said it in -atthew 97$$7 A8ee& ye

first the &ingdom of +od, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you. %nd it is

tal&ing about the necessities of life. +od &nows our needs. Prayer is not primarily to detail to Him ourneeds. 1t is to develop and maintain the friendship with Him.

The subDect of prayer is an e3haustless theme. 0hole boo&s have been written on the subDect

and have only scratched the surface. (ut there is one other point 1 would li&e to touch on briefly now,

and that is the fact that we should slow down. -any, even in their seasons of devotion, fail to receivethe blessing of real communion with +od. They are in too great haste. 0ith hurried steps they press

through the circle of Christ?s loving presence, perhaps pausing for a moment within its sacred precincts

but not waiting for counsel. They have no time to remain with the Givine Teacher. 0ith their burdensthey return to their wor&. These can never attain the highest success until they learn the secret of

strength. They must give

9>

themselves time to thin&, to pray, to wait upon +od for a renewal of physical, mental, and

spiritual power. ;ot a pause for a moment in His presence, but personal contact with Him5this is our

need. 8lowing down in your prayer life is one of the greatest secrets to finding personal communion

with Christ.

THE DEVOTIONAL LI"E

1?d li&e to conclude with a brief review of the typical devotional life as outlined in this spiritual

prescription. %t the beginning of your day, whatever time that may be according to your occupation, you find

some place where you can be alone. First of all, you offer a short prayer for the guidance of the Holy

8pirit, that you will be directed in your relationship with +od. Then you study something about the lifeof Christ, focusing on Iesus, and place yourself in the picture with Him. Jou find yourself ta&ing the

steps to Him again for that day, convinced that you are a sinner, realiing you are helpless to save

yourself, and giving up yourself to His control.

%fter you have pondered the passage for that day, you pray a longer prayer, telling +od aboutwhat you have read. This gives a freshness to each day?s prayer life and &eeps it from becoming

routine, simply repeating certain set phrases.

%fter tal&ing to +od about what you have read, you add whatever petitions you feel inclined to bring, both for yourself and for others. 0hen you?ve finished your speech, you slow down and wait.

Jou continue

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in the attitude of prayer, waiting to see whether +od wants to communicate something bac& to

you.



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1 believe that +od spea&s to us through our mind. %t times you will be aware of it, at other

times not. (ut if you stay on your &nees and allow +od to impress your mind, you will discover that at

times He has special messages for you, insights into spiritual truth, or convictions of His plans for you

for the day. WHAT I" IT DOESN’T WORK(

1?ve often heard people say, A1 tried the devotional life, and it doesn?t wor&. %nd 1?ve as&ed, AHow long did you try itB

AThree days.

0hy, we don?t e3pect our human relationships to grow that fastE How can we e3pect ourfriendship with +od to mature in such a short timeB 8o the only conclusion you can come to is that if

you determine that from now on you will spend a @uiet time alone with +od day by day, and if you will

continue to do this until Iesus comes again, you will be in fellowship and communion with Him, andyou will come to &now Him, whom to &now is life eternal.

Go you want to &now +odB Ta&e time, alone, at the beginning of each day, to see& Iesus

through His 0ord and through prayer. %nd you will become ac@uainted with the best Friend you?ll ever

&now. 99

6nce upon a time Kwhich should give you a clue as to what sort of story this is going to beL

there were two people who loved each other and decided to be married. The husband thought his bride

was @uite the most beautiful and gentle creature he had ever seen, and the wife thought her newhusband was the most fascinating and handsome man in the whole world. The marriage began, as many

marriages do, with high hopes and great e3pectations.

4very morning when the husband had to leave for wor& he would linger over the goodbyes, and



To *now +od -orris '. Venden $!

his wife would stand in the doorway and wave, watch the

9)

car bac& out of the drive, and wave again. 8he didn?t go bac& inside until all that was to be seenwas an empty spot down at the corner where the car had turned and gone out of sight. 1n the evening

she would pee& out the window every minute or two and would be at the door to welcome him home.

%fter a while when the husband had to leave for wor&, he would Dust gulp down a hot drin& andrush out the door. %nd sometimes she wasn?t even out of bed yet. 0hen he came home at night, often

he would find her busy at some household tas&, and she would loo& up in surprise and say, A6h, are

you home alreadyB 1?ll be finished here in a few minutes and then 1?ll start supper. The marriagewasn?t over, but the honeymoon was.

0ell, one day not too long after this the bride, who was now Dust a wife, was busy sewing.

8omewhere in the bac& of her mind she e3pected to be interrupted any minute, because it was almostevening. (ut she wasn?t interrupted. Finally she finished sewing and got out the iron and pressed the

new shirt she had been wor&ing on. Then she started supper. (ut still her husband didn?t come home.

%fter a very long time she ate supper by herself, but she was worried now and Dust pic&ed at her food.

-uch later she finally cried herself to sleep on the living room couch, because he never came home atall that night.

He did come home the following evening, and when he wal&ed in, she as&ed him, A0here have

you beenB He loo&ed at her, astonished. A0hat do you meanB

Where were you last night?-

9#

He loo&ed even more surprised. A0hy do you want to &nowB 8urely you don?t e3pect me to

come home every night. That?s the most ridiculous thing 1?ve heard in a long time. There are thousands

of married people who spend time apart. 8o what?s the big deal if 1 don?t come home now and againB0e don?t have to be that rigid about our marriage. 'ast night 1 Dust didn?t &eel li&e coming home. 1 had

some more important things to do. 1 have a busy schedule, you &now. %nd 1 come home to you most

nights. 1sn?t that enoughB A;o, it?s notE she replied, and started to cry.

AHey, loo&, he said more gently. AThe trend of our marriage is for me to come home. Jou

shouldn?t get upset about the occasional night here and there that 1 want to spend with one of my otherfriends. 1 don?t have to come home every night in order for us to stay married. 1 thin& it?s much more

healthy for our marriage not to get into some &ind of legalistic routine. 0ouldn?t you hate to see me

come home every night Dust out of habitB 1f we don?t get into such a rut, we?ll have a much moree3citing marriage.

ARE YOU I$)RESSED(

1f you are curious about the ending to this little parable, let me assure you, they did not livehappily ever afterE 0hyB (ecause marriage involves commitment. %nd while there may be times when

the feelings are high and times when the feelings are low, a good marriage is never based on feeling. 1t

is based on a lifetime commitment to someone you love, and who loves you in return. 0e?ve tal&ed about the prescription for a successful

9"

relationship and fellowship with +od. 0e have seen that the basis of the devotional life of the

Christian is to ta&e time, alone, at the beginning of each day, to see& Iesus through His 0ord and

through prayer. Iust as in marriage, there is commitment involved in the relationship with Christ.



To *now +od -orris '. Venden $/

(ecause of that commitment, we will continue to see& Iesus day by day, regardless of our feelings.

;ow suppose that you have made the commitment to this relationship with Christ. 8uppose that

you have determined to set aside prime time in your day for the purpose of getting to &now +od. 0hat

will be the resultB 1f you ma&e this decision before you have been born again, when you are not yet converted,

there are two possible results. 1n the first place, it may be an uphill tre&, for it is only with the new birth

that a relish for spiritual things is e3perienced. (ut it is possible to begin a relationship with Christ andfind that by beholding Iesus and His love, you are brought to conversion.

% second possibility for the unconverted person who ma&es the commitment to the devotional

life is to end up in complete frustration. The factor that ma&es the difference between the two outcomesis your sense of need. Iesus said, AThey that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sic&

K-att. "7!/L. 1t is the sense of need that ma&es the difference.

A"TER THE NEW !IRTH

For the one who has been born again and who ma&es the commitment to the relationship with

)=

Christ there are also two possibilities. The relationship can grow and become ever more

meaningful, or it can go sour. 6nce again, what ma&es the difference is the sense of need. (efore one?s

conversion the sense of need is often created by the bumps and bruises of life. (ut what about afterconversionB How do we get, and &eep, the sense of needB %t this point 1?d li&e to add one thing that 1

didn?t include in the basic prescription for a devotional life. 1 left out Christian witness. %nd there was

a reason for leaving it out until now. 1n the first place, in order to be a witness you must have something to tell. 8uppose you were

called to be a witness in a court of law, and when you had been sworn in and ta&en your place on the

witness stand, the Dudge said, A0here were you at the time of the crimeB

%nd you respond, A1 was at home in bed, asleep. A0ell, did you hear anything, see anythingB A;o, Jour Honor, 1 slept right through it. 1 didn?t even &now anything had happened until the

ne3t morning.

A%nd you?re a witness?- They?d throw you out of courtE

8ometimes Christian churches have the idea that if they could Dust get everyone involved in

witness and outreach, that would bring revival and reformation and spiritual life. (ut the very first prere@uisite for being a witness is to have something personal to witness to. 0e cannot be witnesses to

hearsay, or grapevine, information. 0itness demands personal &nowledge and e3perience. Therefore,

true witnessing )!

can begin only after a person has a onetoone relationship with Christ.

WITNESSING, &AUSE AND RESULT

Jet witnessing is both a cause and a result of Christian life. 6r perhaps it would be more

accurate to say that witnessing is the result and cause of Christian life, for we cannot witness until wefirst have something to tell. (ut as we become involved in witness and outreach toward others, it

increases our sense of need, it drives us to our &nees, and thus becomes an effective means of causing

the devotional relationship with +od to continue to be fresh and meaningful. This was +od?s purpose ingiving us a part to act in sharing the good news of the gospel with others.

1n our becoming ac@uainted with +od it is vital to spend time in direct communication, in

tal&ing to Him and in listening to His voice through His 0ord. (ut witnessing is the third way by



To *now +od -orris '. Venden $$

which we become ac@uainted5through going places and doing things with Him, through wor&ing with

Him.

The same principle applies to any relationship. Few friendships are based completely on

conversational communication5yet few friendships survive without it. 0e ta&e time to tal& to andlisten to the ones we love. (ut we also become even better ac@uainted as we wor& together, travel

together, play together. 1t has been said that there are two tests of a marriage7 First, wallpaper the

bathroom together. Then, if you?re still married, try cleaning out the garage together. 1f you?ve evertried either of these,

)/

you should be able to give personal testimony to the fact that it is possible to find out things

about your mate when you are doing things together that you might never have &nown if you had only

sat and tal&ed and loo&ed at each other. WITNESSING IS # # #

(efore we go any further on this point, perhaps it is important to discuss briefly what

witnessing is and what it is not. Have you ever had the idea that witnessing is primarily going out toring doorbells of people you have never seen before and trying to tell them about religionB Have you

thought that you would be e3pected to drop Agospel bombs by rural mailbo3es or pass out pamphlets

to the people in the tollbooths when you?re travelingB 6r have you perhaps been afraid you?d be as&edto stop people on the streets or at the airport and try to get them to accept the gospelB

1f you have ever felt uneasy at the thought of such activities and been convinced that you?re Dust

not the type, welcome to the club. %nd 1 have good news for youE Iesus suggested to the man He healedin the country of the +adarenes that he go home to his &riends and tell the! what great things +od had

done for him K-ar& <7!"L. He wasn?t e3pected to begin by approaching total strangers or traveling to

some distant land. Iesus said instead, A+o home to thy friends. %nd he was not as&ed to begin

suddenly giving (ible lessons about prophecy and doctrine. He was to tell what Iesus had done for him personally.

6n the other hand, people sometimes give the

)$

impression that it is not necessary ever to say anything but simply ta&e refuge in being what is

called a silent witness. 'et?s bac& up a minute to the courtroom again and see how that would wor& out. The Dudge says, A0here were you on the night of the twentyseventhB

8ilence.

A1 said, 0here were you on the night of the twentyseventhB -ore silence.

Finally, Dust before the Dudge charges you with contempt of court, you manage to say, A1 would

li&e to simply be a silent witness. 1 thin& that my mere presence here in the courtroom should indicate

where my loyalties lie. 1?m not good at spea&ing, so 1?ll Dust be a silent witness. ;o, a witness not only has something to say5he says itE 1t is, no doubt, vital to our Christian

witness that we are &ind and loving and interested in helping those in need. (ut there are atheists who

may do many &ind and loving things. 1n order to be a witness for the 'ord Iesus Christ, we must havesomething to say about Him and His love and what He means to us personally. 0hen telling what great

things He has done for us is united with the life of care and concern for the welfare of others, we uplift

Iesus. THE THREE TANGI!LES

Paul says in Philippians /7!/, A0or& out your own salvation with fear and trembling. How do



To *now +od -orris '. Venden $>

you wor& out your own salvationB 0hat is your partB 0hat can you doB Three things. The study of the

)>

(ible and spending time in prayer are the first two. The third is Christian witness. (ut youreally can?t become involved in telling what a wonderful Friend you have found in Iesus until you have

a meaningful relationship with Him. 8o (ible study and prayer become an absolute necessity in order

to end up with a genuine Christian witness. (ut it is inevitable that if we do not become involved inChristian witness and outreach and service, the (ible study and prayer will go sour, and we?ll end up

worse off than we were before we started.

Iesus told a parable in -atthew /< to illustrate the fact that if we do not become involved inwor&ing and sharing with others, we will lose what spirituality we already have. Jou can read it in

verses !>$=. 1n the conclusion, verse /", Iesus said, AOAFor to every person who has something, even

more will be given, and he will have more than enough: but the person who has nothing, even the littlethat he has will be ta&en away from himO KT4VL. 1t is in sharing +od?s love with others that we &eep

our own soul alive.?

1f we do not grow, we will die. That is true in nature, as well as in spiritual life. % plant must

either grow or die. 6ne day my wife brought home two rosebushes. 0e planted them in the best soil.0e tried to give them plenty of water. (ut neither one of them grew. Finally when they loo&ed as

though they were dead, we transplanted one into a different spot. 1t began to growE 0e transplanted the

other one, too, but that plant was dead. 1n spite of everything we tried, nothing renewed it. The plantthat did not grow died.

)<

Iesus tal&ed about the principles of growth in -ar& #7$<7 AFor whosoever will save his life shall

lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life for my sa&e and the gospel?s, the same shall save it. 1t is in

giving to others in service that we grow, and as we grow, spiritual life continues.

REASONS NOT TO WITNESS

There are several common fears that people have that result in their not wanting to get involved

in service and outreach. The first is spiritual uncertainty in ourselves. 0e find it hard to convince othersthat +od will accept them Dust as they are if we are not yet convinced that He accepts us. 0e find it

difficult to introduce Iesus to others when we don?t &now Him for ourselves.

% second fear is the fear of failure. 0e worry that we might not succeed in witnessingeffectively. 0e prefer to leave the witnessing to the Aprofessionals, who we thin& will &now how to do

it right. (ut success or failure has never been our department. 0e are not to worry ourselves about

success. 1t is only the power of the Holy 8pirit that can win hearts. % third fear that is often e3pressed is the fear of somehow giving wrong information5of not

being enough of a theologian to be able to answer all the @uestions and arguments that might be raised.

Here again, if we are tal&ing of witness in terms of what Iesus has done for us, we should &now the

answersE 1t is not re@uired that each Christian become a theologian and student of prophecy and learnthe +ree& and Hebrew and all the rest of it before he or she can tell

)9

someone else about the love and power of Christ.

%nother maDor obDection to witnessing is that it ta&es time. Here again, this obDection is often

based on the misconception that witnessing is a maDor addition to our daily schedule, of going out tospend perhaps hours tal&ing to strangers or passing out tracts. (ut for the one who is in relationship

with Iesus and has something to tell, witnessing becomes a way of life. 1t does not necessarily involve

an e3tra amount of time to spea& of Iesus to family and friends in our daily contact with them.



To *now +od -orris '. Venden $<

(ut +od has given us a gift of time specifically for the purpose of entering into the Doy of

wor&ing with Him. 1t is called the 8abbath. 6ne day in seven +od gives us time5time to communicate

with Him in a special way and time to Doin Him in service to others. Go you have a friend who has been

ill and would welcome a visit, but you Dust haven?t had time to go to see himB +od has given you the8abbath. 1s there a neighbor who you &now is lonely and you?d li&e to invite over, but you?ve been too

busyB +od has given you the 8abbath. Have you been intending to ta&e your children out into nature or

maybe for a picnic by the la&e, but you haven?t found the timeB +od has given you the 8abbath.0hether we are sharing +od?s love with family and friends or reaching out into the world beyond,

there is time, every wee&5+od?s special answer to the problem of finding time, in our busy schedules,

to reach out to others. 1n addition, it is +od?s purpose that witnessing and service become a way of life. There will be,

it is true, times of more structured outreach and sharing.

))

(ut our witness can never be limited to these times alone. 1n fact, whether we &now it or not,

we are witnesses all day long, in everything we do. (y our lives, by our actions, by the very

atmosphere that surrounds us, we are giving witness for or against +od. 0hen we have a vitalrelationship with +od, it will color all our witnessing, both silent and verbal, and will be used by +od

to share His love with others within our sphere of influence.

OTHER )RO!LE$S IN THE DEVOTIONAL LI"E

1n nine cases out of ten, if there has been a time of meaningful communication with +od day by

day but it has gone sour, it is because of a lac& of involvement in outreach and service and sharing withothers. (ut there are some other things that can shortcircuit the relationship with +od. 'et us loo&

briefly at several of these.

6ne problem that many people encounter is the problem of an irregular devotional life. They

spend time with +od on occasion and are thrilled with the insights into His love and acceptance thatthey discover. Then they get busy, and they miss a day or a few days or maybe a wee& or two. Then

usually because of some problem or trouble in their life, they begin again to see& Iesus. (ut after a few

days they are past the crisis and once again find it easy to forget and to neglect. 8ometimes peoplewonder, as they see the lac& of spiritual growth that comes from the onagain, offagain relationship,

whether +od is angry at them for neglecting Him and whether that?s

)#

why they are punished with the results that come.

(ut they are forgetting that when we neglect personal communion with +od and personalfellowship with Christ, we have an enemy who ma&es the most of it. 1n the (ible, where it spea&s of

+od, it also spea&s of His enemy, the devil. 0e are told that our Aadversary the devil, as a roaring lion,

wal&eth about, see&ing whom he may devour K! Peter <7#L. 0hen we neglect fellowship with +od, we

can be sure that the enemy will do everything he can to &eep us from again finding meaning in therelationship with Iesus, for he &nows this is our only source of power. He will try to &eep us too busy to

ta&e time for +od. He will bring in all the problems of life. He will wipe us out with temptation and sin,

and then tell us that we don?t dare come bac& to Iesus until we have put in a couple of wee&s of faithfulservice. Then ten days later he causes us to fall and fail again. This can go on and on and on until the

strongest person becomes discouraged.

%nother problem that causes some people to scrap the relationship with +od is amisunderstanding of what faith is all about. )aith is a very misunderstood word. There are people who

thin& that faith is something you wor& up, something you generate yourself. (ut 1?d li&e to propose that

faith is never wor&ed up by the person5faith is the gift of +od. Paul tells us that clearly.



To *now +od -orris '. Venden $9

There are whole churches built on the false premise that faith is something you wor& on. People

have gotten the idea that you must e3ercise your faith, and that the way to e3ercise it is to ma&e

yourself believe

)"

that something is going to happen. They feel that if you can believe strongly enough, what you

believe is going to happen will happen. THE LITTLE GIRL WITH THE U$!RELLA

The story is told of a little girl who came to a church service where people were gathering to pray for rain. The crops were drying up, and they needed rain badly. The little girl came bringing her

umbrella. The people smiled at her faith.

(ut it did rain. %nd so they said that it rained because the little girl brought her umbrella. %nd if you have enough nerve and courage to bring your umbrella, it?ll cause the rain to come. (ut the truth is

not that it rained because she brought her umbrella, but that she brought her umbrella because she &new

it was going to rain. 1s there a differenceB

4phesians /7# says, A(y grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves7 it is thegift of +od. Faith is a gift from +od. Jou don?t wor& it up. Faith is more than belief. 1t is more than

Ata&ing +od at His word, which many Christians have accepted as a definition. Faith is trust5and

trust comes from communication and ac@uaintance with 6ne who is absolutely trustworthy. % misunderstanding of what faith, or trust, is all about can lead to problems in the relationship

with Christ. % false idea of faith leads us to e3pect Him to act or react in a certain way to our petitions.

%nd when we pray and don?t get the answers we are loo&ing for, or when une3pected trial comes intoour

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lives, we give in to the temptation to scrap the whole business. 6ne time 1 went to see a man who was a hard customer. 1 was holding some public meetings in

his town, and someone said, A0hy don?t you invite him to the meetingsB 1 went to his home, out at the

edge of town, and &noc&ed on his door. He opened the door, and when he heard who 1 was, he said,A6h, you blan&etyblan& preachersE K6nly he didn?t say blankety1blank,2

Then he invited me in5and that didn?t ma&e senseE (ut 1 went in and sat down, and he began

to unload on me, trying to insult me. 6ne of the things he said was A1 have tal&ed to the blan&etyblan& pillow Dust as many times as to any blan&etyblan& preacher, and 1 never got any blan&etyblan&

answers from either.

He had scrapped his prayer life on the basis of whether or not he got answers. 1f the only reasonyou pray is to get answers, you are going to scrap your prayer life sooner or later.

There was a time when 1 thought that (ible study and prayer were an end in themselves. (ut

then 1 discovered that these are the great avenues that +od has given so we can communicate with Him.

1f we will ma&e the commitment to communicate with Him through these avenues, we will get to &nowHim. %nd when we get to &now Him, we will find that trust is awa&ened spontaneously.

"AITH IS S)ONTANEOUS

6ne of the greatest single symptoms of genuine

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faith, or trust, is its spontaneity. 1t is a&in to love in this respect. Have you ever tried to ma&e

yourself love someoneB How did it goB Jou can?t turn love on and off, can youB

6ne of the most tric&y deceptions of the enemy is to get a person to wor& on anything else



To *now +od -orris '. Venden $)

e3cept his ac@uaintance with Iesus. % person says, A1?m interested in religion. 1?m interested in

becoming a Christian. %nd the devil says, A6h, ohE %nd he calls together a ways and means

committee. 1t has nothing to do with money. 1t?s ways and means of sidetrac&ing the person from

&nowing +od. The devil says, A1f this person is going to insist on trying to become a Christian, thenlet?s get him to wor& on righteousness. 8o he begins to whisper in the person?s ear, AJou?ve got to be

good if you?re going to be a Christian. Jou?ve got to do what?s right. Jou?d better wor& on itE 6h5you

slipped today. Jou?d better wor& harder. Have you ever tried so hard to go to sleep at night that you wo&e yourself upB Have you ever

fought the devil so hard that you became more li&e himB 1f you &eep loo&ing at yourself in the mirror,

you will soon begin loo&ing more li&e yourselfE (y beholding we become changed. 'et me remind you again that we don?t wor& on righteousness. Righteousness comes through

Iesus: it is not wor&ed up. Romans >7>, <7 ATo him that wor&eth is the reward not rec&oned of grace,

but of debt. (ut to him that wor&eth not, but believeth on him that Dustifieth the ungodly, his faith iscounted for righteousness.

#/

This doesn?t mean that righteousness doesn?t come. (ut it comes as a gift from +od, not as thefruit of our own efforts. 0hen we are finally brought to the realiation that righteousness is by faith,

then the devil says, AThat?s right5now you?ve got itE 0or& on faith. -a&e yourself believe. 1f you

believe strongly enough, you?ll get the victory, or the answer to prayer you?re loo&ing for. (ut the devil is a liar5in fact, the (ible says so in Iohn #7>>. The truth is that both

righteousness and faith come as the result of a relationship with the 'ord Iesus Christ. Faith is not an

end in itself. 1t is a means to an end. %nd it always comes and grows, in its genuine form, from arelationship with Iesus that is firm and alive.

Righteousness does not come to those who see& it. Righteousness comes to those who see& only

Iesus. Faith does not come to those who see& it, but to those who see& only Iesus.

1 invite you today to accept what it is that produces genuine, saving faith. 1t is the basis of theentire Christian life. 1t is the way of salvation. 1t is in &nowing Iesus as your personal friend. %nd the

relationship and fellowship with Iesus will lead you into all the rest of what Iesus has in mind for you,

both in this world and in the world to come. WHY THINGS GO WORSE WHEN SEEKING GOD $ORE

6ne more problem that can cause people to scrap their devotional life, a problem that is socommon that it should be dealt with, is that often when we

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begin to see& a relationship with +od, everything goes wrong at once. ;ow, it doesn?t always

happen, but it does seem to happen more often than not.

1t would ma&e sense, of course, if you were the devil, and you &new that the relationship with

Iesus was the entire basis of the Christian life and growth, to do everything you could to discourage the person who was see&ing Him. (ut what perple3ed me when it first happened to me was the thought

1sn?t +od big enough to &eep this sort of thing from happeningB

The answer to this dilemma is a fascinating one and is found in the first two chapters of the boo& of Iob. 'et?s go to the story, beginning with chapter !, verses 9 through #7 A;ow there was a day

when the sons of +od came to present themselves before the 'ord, and 8atan came also among them.

%nd the 'ord said unto 8atan, 0hence comest thouB M6r, 0here are you fromBN AThen 8atan answered the 'ord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from wal&ing

up and down in it.

A%nd the 'ord said unto 8atan, Hast thou considered my servant Iob, that there is none li&e him



To *now +od -orris '. Venden $#

in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth +od, and escheweth Mturns away fromN

evilB

8atan?s contention was A1?m from the earth. 1?m in charge down there. +od?s contention was

AJou?re not in charge of everyone. Have you considered my servant IobB AThen 8atan answered the 'ord, and said, Goth Iob fear +od for nought Mfor nothingNB Hast not

thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and

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about all that he hath on every sideB thou halt blessed the wor& of his hands, and his substance

is increased in the land. (ut put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse theeto thy face.

A%nd the 'ord said unto 8atan, (ehold, all that he hath is in thy power: only upon himself put

not forth thine hand. A8o 8atan went forth from the presence of the 'ord Kverses "!/L.

0hat was the issueB 8atan?s charge was that the only reason Iob served +od was that he got

wealth and blessings from +od, rightB That was his charge. %nd at least in the case of Iob, +od saw

best in His wisdom to let 8atan try to prove his point. 8o +od gave him permission. %nd 8atan came inwith all his guns blaing, so to spea&, and too& away everything Iob had.

;ow, Iob misunderstood. He thought it was +od who too& away everything he had Kverse /!L.

There has always been a great deal of misunderstanding of +od, hasn?t thereB (ut in spite of Iob?smisunderstanding of +od, he did not become as one of the foolish ones. He maintained his trust in +od.

He must have &nown +od well enough to have a basis for trust that could endure even in the face of

some misunderstandings. 'et?s go on to chapter /7 A%gain there was a day when the sons of +od came to present

themselves before the 'ord, and 8atan came also among them to present himself before the 'ord. %nd

the 'ord said unto 8atan, From whence comest thouB %nd 8atan answered the 'ord, and said, From

going to and fro in #<

the earth, and from wal&ing up and down in it. A%nd the 'ord said unto 8atan, Hast thou considered my servant Iob, that there is none li&e him

in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth +od, and escheweth evilB and still he

holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. A%nd 8atan answered the 'ord, and said, 8&in for s&in, yea, all that a man hath will he give for

his life. (ut put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy

face. A%nd the 'ord said unto 8atan, (ehold, he is in thine hand: but save his life.

A8o 8atan went forth from the presence of the 'ord, and smote Iob with sore boils from the sole

of his foot unto his crown Kverses !)L. %nd still Iob maintained his integrity.

-rs. Iob, however, did not. Iob had lost everything he had e3cept his wife. (ut the devil &newshe would be a useful tool in his hands. %s soon as he got -rs. Iob he must have sat bac& and smiled

and congratulated his imps, and reminded them that if they &ept at it they would get Iob as well.

%O!' )ART 2

'et?s not loo& at the story of Iob as simply a history lesson. 1t can teach us important truths

about why things get worse when we are see&ing +od more. 1 would li&e to suggest that the e3perienceof Iob is wor&ed out in every person?s life sooner or later. Jou can e3perience Iob, part !, part /, or part

!=. 1t wor&s something li&e this7 8atan &nows that all

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To *now +od -orris '. Venden $"

he needs in order to &eep us in his ran&s is to &eep us away from personal fellowship with +od.

He doesn?t care so much what he causes us to do or not do. 6ften he gloats not so much over what we

do wrong as in what we don?t do wrong if we &eep from wrong through our own strength. 8atanevidently arbitrarily chooses to leave some people on the throne, while he pushes others into the gutter.

% person can be lost while glorying in his successes if his successes are won in his own strength, apart

from Iesus, Dust as easily as he can be lost while wallowing in his failures. 8o 8atan probably couldn?t care less what he causes us to do or not do as far as evil deeds are

concerned. The one thing he chews his fingernails over is whether or not a person is actually coming

into fellowship and communion with +od. He is worried sic& when he sees a person becominginterested in the e3perience of salvation by faith, for he &nows that this is what will defeat him in the

long run.

8o when we begin to become interested in &nowing +od, the devil calls his ways and meanscommittee to &eep this from happening in your life and in my life. %t the same time he sha&es his fist at

+od and ma&es the same sort of charge he did concerning Iob. 8atan says to +od, AJou see this

personB The reasons he?s searching for Jou are selfish ones. He wants to get into heaven. He wants to

get over his ulcers. He wants to get the peace that he hears other Christians tal& about. He wants his problems solved and his prayers answered. He?s not see&ing Jou because he loves Jou. He?s see&ing

Jou because of what he can get out of Jou.

#)

Then he tells his imps to come at us with all barrels blaing. 1 am tal&ing from personal

e3perience, because it ta&es a thief to &now a thiefE 0hen 1 first began to see& a real e3perience with+od, everything caved in. Tal& about trouble5physical trouble, financial trouble, family trouble. ;ot

only that, but the devil comes personally with every temptation he can muster and causes us to fall and

fail, and sometimes even to live a worse life than before. %nd in spite of the fact that we are see&ing

+od, spending time in His 0ord and on our &nees, everything caves in. ;ow, you &now what 1 did the first time that happenedB %t the close of the day 1 said, A0ell,

that didn?t wor&E The ne3t morning 1 decided to sleep in.

+uess what happened. 1 had a good dayE 4verything went smoothly. 1 didn?t even Asin. %t theclose of the day 1 congratulated myself on the fine life 1 had lived that day. %nd the devil went bac& to

his ways and means committee, and they all had a laughing sessionE Their strategy had wor&ed.

1 had a student tell me one time, A1 @uit being a Christian two wee&s ago, and 1 haven?t sinnedsinceE 6ften we find that at the point we scrap the relationship with Christ, things apparently go better.

6ur problems seem to cease.

0ell, now, right there you would thin& that the devil would be smart enough to leave wellenough alone. (ut as number one sinner in the universe, 8atan has a remar&able lac& of selfcontrol. 8o

he goes along for a couple of wee&s leaving me alone, and he has me, because 1?m not see&ing +od,

not praying, not into the 0ord of +od. (ut then he comes at me again Dust for

##

fun this time. He?s not happy Dust to see a person lost: he?d li&e to have him in the gutter as

well. 8o when he comes in after a wee& or two and brings more trouble, it drives me to my &nees. Haveyou ever had it happenB 0e say, A1 guess 1 do need this e3perience with +od, after all. %nd we once

again begin to see& +od. Then the devil gets really nervous. He chews his nails some more, and he

complains to his imps and says, A0hat?s the matter with you, anywayB %nd once again they come atus with everything they have.

1f the devil had been smart enough, he would have left some of us alone, and he would have had

us a long time ago. (ut he continued to needle us until we were driven to +od permanently. +od can



To *now +od -orris '. Venden >=

bring some of the devil?s maneuvers out to His own glory, can He notB

THE SE&RET O" %O!

1 hate to admit how many times 1 went through this sic& routine until one day it dawned on mewhat had been happening. 1t was Iob, part /. %nd what was Iob?s secretB 0hen Iob proved before the

universe and before the opposing forces in the great controversy between Christ and 8atan that he was

serving +od not for selfish reasons, but because he loved Him, then +od could come in with His blessings and cause the devil to flee. %nd in the end the blessings of Iob were doubled.

How does Iob, part /, wor& outB 0hen the devil ma&es his charge that our motives for see&ing

+od are selfish, +od has to let the devil try to prove his point until our own motives have been revealedto ourselves, to the devil, and to the entire universe. +od

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has always been fair, even in His dealings with the devil. %nd the time will come one of these

days when every &nee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess that +od has been fair and

Dust Ksee Phil. /7!=, !!L. %nd 8atan himself will go to his &nees and admit that +od has never

overstepped Himself. %ll right, so 1 begin to see& +od, and 8atan says, AHe?s see&ing Jou only for selfish reasons.

%nd 1 was &ic&ed out of heaven for selfishness. Jou can?t help him anymore. +od is in a corner. The

only one who can prove whether +od is right or the devil is right is you or 1. 0hat happened at the end of that first day when everything went wrong and 1 said, A0ell, that

didn?t wor&, and slept in the ne3t morningB 6n whose side did 1 cast my voteB 1 proved the devil right.

0hen things didn?t go as 1?d planned, 1 forgot about see&ing +od, and 8atan was absolutely correct inmy case. 0hen it finally dawned on my mind what was happening, 1 realied why it was that +od had

to let him be hard on me. 1 realied that my motives for see&ing +od had been wrong.

(ut 1 can?t change my motives. The selfish heart cannot change itself. There is only one place

where motives can be changed, and that is at the feet of Iesus. SEEKING GOD "OR THE RIGHT REASONS

8o when we see the issue, we go to our &nees and say, APlease, +od, 1 see my problem. 0illJou give me Jour grace to change my motives and to begin to see& Jou for Jour sa&e, instead of for

my ownB 0ouldn?t

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you li&e to see& +od for His sa&e, instead of for your own sa&eB 0ouldn?t you li&e to be able to

see& +od as a response of love, because of what Iesus has already done for us at the crossB 0ouldn?tyou li&e to &eep see&ing fellowship and communion with Heaven regardless of what is happening in

your life, good or badB 0hen you do that, you begin to e3perience the rest of the story of Iob being

fulfilled in your life.

6ne day you see +od coming to the devil, and He says, AHow are things goingB K1f you will,forgive me for putting words into +od?s mouth.L

The devil says, A1?m giving him everything 1?ve got. %nd +od says, A1 &now. 1?ve been

watching. (ut he is still see&ing communion with Heaven, isn?t heB The devil begins to fidget.

%nd +od says, ACould it be possible that this person is see&ing -e because of what -y 8on has

doneB Could it be that he is see&ing -e because of love, rather than for selfish reasonsB %nd about this time the devil fades away into the distance. He has nothing more to say.

)ROVING GOD RIGHT



To *now +od -orris '. Venden >!

+od?s contention was that Iob loved Him and that that was why he was faithful. %nd Iob proved

that +od was right. 1t is my privilege today to prove that +od is right again. +od help us to see& Him

because we love Him, and to surrender our selfish motives to Him. 1t is only then that +od can come in

with all the blessings and power from heaven that He longs to bring. "!

0hen 1 was a little boy, 1 sat me down to cry

(ecause my little brother had the biggest piece of pie.

-y father used to repeat that bit of verse to my brother and me on occasion. 1 remember thatone year Dust before Christmas some nice church members gave us boys each a bag of Christmas candy.

1t was hard candy, the &ind that seems to stay in your mouth for hours.

-y parents were immediately concerned. They didn?t want us to ruin our teeth or our stomachs,

and so they made a rule. 6nly one piece of candy at a time, and that at mealtime. ;o candy betweenmeals.

"/

1 was 9 years old, and my brother was #. %nd those rules were too much for a little guy, so 1 gotinto my bag of candy between meals. 0hen my father heard about it, he promptly destroyed my candy.

%t that point 1 became very concerned about my brother?s health, and decided to help him out by dumping his bag of candy down the toiletE

%s a result of my intervention in his behalf, diplomatic relations around our house were not too

good for a while. -y brother still loves to tell the story every chance he getsE (ut why do we do this&ind of thingB 0hat is it that drives us to war, in the e3treme manifestation, or to apparently innocent

parlor games at the other end of the spectrum5or to football and baseball somewhere in betweenB

0hy do we rally so completely around the @uestion of who?s going to win, who?s going to be on top,



To *now +od -orris '. Venden >/

who?s going to be firstB

1t all began with sin, didn?t itB 'ucifer, covering cherub, the Ason of the morning, said in his

heart, A1 will ascend into heaven, 1 will e3alt my throne above the stars of +od7 1 will sit also upon the

mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north7 1 will ascend above the heights of the clouds: 1 will be li&e the most High. Jou can read about it in 1saiah !>7!/!>. %nd he carried this same temptation to

our first parents, in the +arden of 4den. +enesis $7<7 AJe shall be as gods. 8in began with ta&ing glory

to self that belonged to +od the Creator alone, and much of our lives we spend in contention overwho?s the greatest. 0e have our recreation, our fun, over it. 0e see it in the business world, in the

neighborhood, and at times even in the

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church. %nd in its final struggle it brings death.

%s we have noticed earlier, the basic issue in all sin is separation from +od, which results and ismanifest in this insatiable desire to be first, to be the greatest. This selfcenteredness is the basis of all

of the sinful deeds and thoughts and actions that we see in our lives.

8ometimes people have thought that when they e3perienced the new birth, they would be totally

and completely and forever finished with selfcenteredness and sin and its resulting disobedience. %ndthey were astonished and appalled, the wee& after the wee& before, to discover some of the same sins

and problems and failures in their lives as before they ever entered into a relationship with Christ. %nd

all too often this has resulted in the newly converted Christian becoming discouraged, scrapping therelationship with Christ and waiting for the ne3t revival or altar call or spiritual awa&ening. (ut

conversion has never been a guarantee of instant and absolute perfection, and thus the @uestion of how

the growing Christian relates to falling and failing and sinning is a very practical, if painful, subDect. HOW %ESUS TREATED KNOWN SINNERS

1s it possible for saints to sinB 1s it possible to sin and &now that you are sinning, and &eep

doing what you are doing wrong, and still be a ChristianB How does Iesus treat saints who sinB This isa practical @uestion, and has an answer that is e3citing and encouraging.

">

(ut let?s try to build our case as we notice from 8cripture how Iesus treated sinning Christians.

The te3t is -ar& ", beginning with verse $$7 A%nd he MIesusN came to Capernaum7 and being in the

house he as&ed them Mthe disciplesN, 0hat was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the wayB (utthey held their peace7 for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.

Jou see Iesus and His disciples traveling down the dusty roads toward Capernaum. Iesus had

set His face toward Ierusalem, and the disciples were certain that He was going there to set up His&ingdom, which they e3pected to be an earthly &ingdom. (ut they had some unfinished business. They

hadn?t yet settled who was to be president of the class, who was to be prime minister, who was going to

be chancellor of the e3che@uer, who was to be the greatest.

8o as they wal&ed along toward Capernaum they were trying to ta&e care of their unfinished business. They &new their strife was wrong, and so they lagged behind Iesus. 0hen they reached

Capernaum, they were so far behind Him that He could not hear their conversation, and when they

were alone in the house, Iesus as&ed them what they had been tal&ing about along the way. This teaches us something very interesting about sinning. 1t is difficult to sin in the presence of

Iesus. Have you discovered thatB 1n fact, most people, even the wea&est people, would admit that it?s

difficult to sin in the presence of someone you love and respect highly. -ost sinning has to be carriedout in the absence of those we love and respect. 8omehow we

"<



To *now +od -orris '. Venden >$

have to feel that we?re away from +od, away from Christ Iesus, in order to continue in

deliberate, &nown sinning.

%nd so you see the disciples lagging behind Iesus, hoping to hide from Him the topic of

conversation that they found so absorbing. (ut when they arrived in Capernaum at the house wherethey were to be staying, Iesus sent Peter off on a strange mission down to the seashore, to the ban& . . .

to the bank, %n interesting ban&, as you may recall. % fish?s mouth. %nd while Peter was gone, Iesus

as&ed the rest of the disciples a @uestion. %pparently He had more than one reason for sending Peter off to the ban&E He didn?t want Peter around when He came in with His home thrust. He wanted the other

disciples to have a chance to thin& without Peter answering all the @uestions first.

8o Iesus sent Peter away, and then said to the disciples, A0hat were you tal&ing about on theway to CapernaumB

They began to &ic& their feet in the dust, and fidget. They didn?t answer. Verse $> says, AThey

held their peace. 1t was a good time for them to hold their peaceE 0hen 1 was as&ed what happened tomy brother?s bag of Christmas candy, 1 held my peace tooE (ut Iesus continued to press His @uestion,

and at long last one of the disciples said, A0ell, uh, ahemE 0e were wondering, er, who is going to be

the greatest in the &ingdom.

“GIVE $E ANOTHER TWELVE*

;ow Iesus? life had been a life of humility. Iesus

"9

had emptied Himself, and Amade himself of no reputation, according to Philippians /7). He

who had had the homage and worship of all the heavenly hosts had come to this earth and been born ina humble stable. He who had been rich beyond all imagination had become poor, that we through His

poverty might become rich K/ Cor. #7"L. %gain and again He had tried to help the disciples understand

that real greatness is based upon humility. (ut they hadn?t gotten the message.

%t this point 1 suppose it might have been easy for Iesus to say, A+et out of -y sight, youmiserable twelve. +ive -e another twelve: 1?m starting overE (ut instead He called them unto Him

and said, A1f any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. %nd he too& a

child, and set him in the midst of them7 and when he had ta&en him in his arms, he said unto them,0hosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me7 and whosoever shall receive

me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me K-ar& "7$<$)L. He used a little child to illustrate what the

&ingdom of heaven is really li&e. He was &ind to His disciples. He was patient with them. He didn?t condemn them. He gave

them His lessons, and when they didn?t learn, He continued teaching. %nd above all He continued

wal&ing with them. He continued fellowshipping with them. He continued eating with them, travelingwith them, wor&ing with them, trusting them with His wor& and His mission.

")

GUILTY O" THE WORST SIN

From this lesson in 8cripture we have evidence of how Iesus treated His disciples when they

sinned. 0hat was the sinB 1t was the sin of pride. 6h, we say, everybody has a bit of pride. That?s whatour world is based on. That?s what ma&es it fun to play games li&e -onopoly or Pit or 2no. %nd

sanctification is the wor& of a lifetime: Dust before we die, maybe we?ll get on top of that little problem

of pride. (ut no, pride is the worst sin. 1t was the sin of pride that started the whole mess in this worldin the first place. %nd while it is true that in +od?s estimation, Dust as in ours, there are degrees of sin,

He has a different scale. Pride is the most offensive to +od, because it is most contrary to His nature.

This sin, of which the disciples were guilty, was one of the worst sins, if not the worst. 1t was



To *now +od -orris '. Venden >>

sin: it was bad sin. %nd they &new it was wrong, because they saved their indulgence in this sin until

Iesus was out of earshot. %nd yet they continued doing it. 1n fact, they continued in this sin the whole

three years they were with Christ. They were still at it in the upper room on the night before the

crucifi3ion. %nd so it @ualifies as &nown sin, continuing sin, habitual sin, cherished sin, persistent sin, presumptuous sin5you name it. The disciples were guilty of the worst sin.

1 can remember during my teen years hearing someone ma&e a point that the only &ind of sins

that +od forgives is sins of ignorance. %nd he came up with a verse or two from the 6ld Testament,trying to prove from the sacrificial system that there were provisions only for sins of ignorance. %nd

this Dust about finished me off, because all my sins were not

"#

sins of ignorance. How about yoursB

There are some scholars who say that Asinneth not in ! Iohn $79 means we will not commit any&nown sin. 0e might slip, we might miss the mar&, but we won?t sin intentionally. 8o you get the

impression that the &ind of sins +od can forgive are the ones you accidentally slip into. (ut there are

too many people whose sinning is far more severe than that and who can find no comfort in that

approach. (ut in the e3perience of the disciples we can learn how Iesus treated sinning sinners who &new

they were sinning and who &ept on sinning.

WERE THE DIS&I)LES &ONVERTED(

%t this point someone might say, AThe problem with these disciples was that they were not

converted. Gon?t tell me thatE 1 need to remind you that these disciples were the ones who werecasting out devils and cleansing the lepers and healing the sic& and raising the dead. +od doesn?t

normally give power to unconverted people to do that. 0hen the seventy came bac& from their mission,

reDoicing in the power to cast out devils, Iesus said, A(ut rather reDoice, because your names are written

in heaven K'u&e !=7/=L. %nd Iohn $ says you can?t even see the &ingdom of heaven unless you are born again. 8o by inference we must accept the premise that the twelve disciples were converted.

1t is true that Iesus said to Peter the night before the crucifi3ion, A0hen thou art converted,

strengthen thy brethren Kchap. //7$/L. (ut we forget that conversion is a daily matter5and thatreconversion

""

for Peter is what?s being tal&ed about here. %fter Peter?s denial of Iesus, he needed to be

converted anew and repent of his sin. (ut in the upper room, before the denial, when Peter surrendered

to Iesus to allow Him to wash his feet, he was clean. Iesus said so in Iohn !$7!=. 8o we cannot simply pass off this problem of the &nown sinning of the disciples as a lac& of

conversion. How, then, does Iesus treat disciples who are guilty of &nown sinningB He made His

classic statement in -atthew !/7$!7 A%ll manner of sin . . . shall be forgiven unto men. 1s that good

newsB THE UN)ARDONA!LE SIN

0hat about the unpardonable sinB That same passage in -atthew !/ tells us about it. (ut wait aminute. 1f all manner of sin shall be forgiven, that would have to include the unpardonable sin, too,

wouldn?t itB Iesus said, A1f we confess our sins, he is faithful and Dust to forgive us our sins, and to

cleanse us from all unrighteousness K! Iohn !7"L. 8o Iesus is willing and able to pardon all sin, isn?tHeB He says that all manner of sin shall be forgiven. Then what is the unpardonable sinB The only sin

that would not be pardoned would be the one 1 don?t as& pardon for, that 1 don?t repent of. The

unpardonable sin is Dust that simple. 'et?s circle it in red and green and orange and purple that all



To *now +od -orris '. Venden ><

!anner o& sin . . . shall be &orgiven unto !en- including &nown sin, including habitual sin, including

persistent sin, including the worst of sins, such as pride.

%nd if Iesus made it clear that all manner of sin shall be forgiven, and if He forgave the

disciples and !==

continued to wal& with them even after they persistently had committed the worst sin, thenIesus must have provision and must be able and willing to forgive all lesser sins, such as murder and

stealing and adultery, rightB

NO &ONDE$NATION

The (iblical principle is that A+od sent not his 8on into the world to condemn the world: but

that the world through him might be saved KIohn $7!)L. To the adulterous woman whom scribes and Pharisees had dragged to Iesus He gave the great

twopronged answer that is good for anyone caught in the trap of sin. He said, A1 don?t condemn you,

but that?s not all He said. 0hat else did He sayB A+o, and sin no more KIohn #7!!L. There you have the

perfect balance. 6ften when we find someone whom we love in trouble or in sin, we say, AThat?s all right: 1

don?t condemn you. %nd we forget the last part. +od loves sinners, but He hates sin. +od has provided

forgiveness for wea&, immature, growing Christians, and He has also provided power to overcome. %swe are learning how to appropriate that power in our lives, He continues to wal& with us. Iesus sees a

man beside the pool. He says, A8in no more. There is power available. (ut it is the acceptance of Iesus

and the love of Iesus and the relationship with Iesus that bring with them the power to sin no more. 1t isthe presence of Iesus that ma&es it hard to sin. That?s why it is absolutely a necessity for any sinning

sinner to be able to count on the presence, the continuing presence, of Iesus.

!=!

The greatest need of any young person who is striving to overcome but who is having problems

falling and failing and sinning is to &now that someone loves him. The only one who grows out of his

mista&es is the one who &nows he?s loved and accepted while he?s ma&ing them. %nd does this lead tolicenseB ;o, it is only this loving relationship, this continuing relationship with Iesus, that leads to

victory.

)EA&E !RINGS RELEASE

For a long time 1 thought that if 1 could somehow overcome my faults and sins and failures,

then 1?d have peace. 1t was a real brea&through to discover that when 1 had peace, then 1 could for thefirst time begin to overcome my faults and sins and failures. 1t is only when we &now by personal

e3perience that Iesus does not condemn us, that He accepts us Dust as we are, that we gain peace5and

that is the beginning of the changes in our lives. There are four te3ts that ta&en together show the truths

of forgiveness, love, and obedience so beautifully. The first is found in -atthew !#7/!, //7 AThen camePeter to him, and said, 'ord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and 1 forgive himB till seven

timesB Iesus with unto him, 1 say not unto thee, 2ntil seven times7 but, 2ntil seventy times seven.

1t was the custom among the Iews in the days of Christ to forgive three times. Peter in anattempt to be generous suggested forgiving twice that, and one more for good measure, bringing the

number to seven, the Aperfect number. (ut Iesus? reply was that

!=/

seven times isn?t nearly enough. *eep forgiving until seventy times seven. %nd what do we

understand that to meanB %re we to &eep a ledger and forgive e3actly >"= timesB ;o, He was saying



To *now +od -orris '. Venden >9

that our forgiveness should be unlimited.

0ould +od as& us to be more forgiving than He isB The answer is obviously ;o. 8o this reply

of Iesus teaches us that +od?s forgiveness is unlimited.

The ne3t passage is found in 'u&e !)7$<7 A1f thy brother trespass against thee, rebu&e him: andif he repent, forgive him. %nd if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day

turn again to thee, saying, 1 repent: thou shalt forgive him. %nd the apostles said unto the 'ord, 1ncrease

our faith. 8ometimes a pastor is called upon to settle people?s differences. 6ne time 1 received a phone

call from a parishioner who was upset because the neighbor?s horse had run through his petunias. -y

first response was to try to &eep from laughingE (ut then 1 said, ACall the copsE This was perhaps an unfortunate answer. %s 1 reflected on it later, 1 thought of this passage in

'u&e. 1 should have said, A1f the horse runs through your petunias si3 more times today, you should still

forgive him. 0hat would you say if your neighbor?s horse had been through your petunias seven times in

one day and the neighbor came again for the seventh time to say A1?m sorryB Jou &now what 1?d sayB

1?d say, AProve itE 'oc& up your wretched horseE

(ut the maDor premise is that if Iesus told us to !=$

forgive our brother seven times in the same day, +od would do no less. +od would not as& us todo something that He was unwilling to do. %nd here again we see that +od?s forgiveness is unlimited.

How long has it been since you went to +od at the end of the day after falling and failing seven

times that day, and really believed that you were forgivenB That?s hard, isn?t itB (ecause human beingsdon?t thin& that way. That is not human: that is divine.

0hen you tal& about this &ind of forgiveness, there?s always someone who gets nervous and

says, AJou?re going to do away with the need for obedience. Jou?re going to bring in license. Jou?re

going to get people to play fast and loose with +od?s grace. (ut here we add a third te3t, 'u&e )7>=>$. The setting is the feast at 8imon?s house. -ary

comes in5 the one whom 8imon had led into sin. 8he anoints the feet of Iesus, and 8imon is upset. He

has the gall to condemn -ary as a sinner. 1n his own mind he says, verse $", AThis man, if he were a prophet, would have &nown who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him7 for she is a

sinner.

(ut Iesus &nows his thoughts and says, A8imon, 1 have somewhat to say unto thee. %nd Iesustells a simple story that only 8imon understands.

AThere was a certain creditor which had two debtors7 the one owed five hundred pence, and the

other fifty. %nd when they had nothing to pay, he fran&ly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, whichof them will love him mostB

A8imon answered and said, 1 suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.

!=>

A%nd he said unto him, Thou hast rightly Dudged.

8o you come up with the conclusion that the more you are forgiven, the more you love. 1t?s a

universal and timeless principle. %nd then we need to add Dust one more te3t, Iohn !>7!<7 AO1f you love me, you will obey my

commandments? KT4VL. This means that when we come to understand +od?s forgiveness, we find that

it does not lead to license or cheap grace: it leads to obedience. "ORGIVENESS' RELATIONSHI)' O!EDIEN&E

0ith our human limitations we find it hard to really accept such unlimited forgiveness. 1t is



To *now +od -orris '. Venden >)

only as we continue to see& Iesus, to learn to &now and trust Him more, that we come to e3perience

that which we can recognie in theory5the love and forgiveness of +od. 0hen we love Him, we will

obey, but even though we are growing in love and trust and fellowship with Him, often we ta&e

ourselves out of His hands. 1t is then that we fall and fail and sin, and need once again to come to Himfor repentance5even seven times in a single day.

8o it is possible for the growing Christian to discover that he has a &nown sin going on in his

life and at the same time a continuing relationship with Iesus. This is the conclusion we get from thescriptures we have considered in this chapter. The disciples had a relationship with +od going on and a

&nown sin going on in their lives at the same time. (ut as you study you see a further conclusion. 4ven

though it is !=<

possible to have a relationship with +od going on and a sin going on at the same time, sooner or later one or the other is going to go.

;ow, Iudas was the smart one of the disciples. He was a fast thin&er. %nd he got the message.

He understood this principle, that sooner or later either the sin is going to go or the relationship with

Iesus is going to go. %nd he said, A1 don?t want my sin to go. 8o he deliberately scrapped the relationship in favor

of the sin.

;ow we have come to the real issue in cherished sin, presumptuous sin, highhanded sin5the&ind of sin that gives evidence that we are on dangerous ground, e3ceedingly dangerous ground. 0hen

we choose to scrap the relationship with Iesus or refuse the relationship with Iesus in favor of the sin,

then we are in peril. Perhaps you have met people who did not want to get too religious because they were afraid

their lives would change. Perhaps you?ve met religious people who didn?t want to go any further in

their relationship with Christ because they didn?t want any more changes in their life style. This was

Iudas. (ut the other disciples stayed with Iesus. ;othing could ta&e them from His side. % classic e3ample of the opposite of Iudas is Iohn the (eloved. Iohn had Dust as bad traits as

Iudas. (ut Iohn was the man who was always there. Iohn was one of the first disciples to follow Christ.

He was there to hear Iesus preaching. He was there to see the miracles. He was there in the +arden, inthe court of

!=9

Caiaphas, at the cross, and at the tomb. Iohn was the man who was always there. (ut he had

problems. He Doined his brother in re@uesting permission to call down fire on the 8amaritan village. He,

his brother, and his mother went to Christ to solicit a place of favor in His &ingdom, one brother at theright hand of Iesus and the other at the left. He was a son of thunder. (ut he continued to choose to stay

with Iesus, and proved in the end that if you continue the relationship with Iesus, sooner or later your

sin is going to go. That?s the way it wor&s. That?s the only way it wor&s.

0e see Iohn years later. He?s the only one left now: all the other disciples have sufferedmartyrs? deaths. Iohn is on the 1sle of Patmos, and he writes Iesus? own message. He has written letters

that have said things such as this7 A(eloved, let us love one another7 for love is of +od. . . . He that

loveth not &noweth not +od: for +od is love K! Iohn >7), #L. There?s been a change in Iohn5he has been transformed by grace.

Perhaps earlier he had received a visit from some of his friends of past times, and they said to

him, AIohn, you?ve changedE %nd Iohn may have loo&ed at them and said, A0ho, meB (ecause the people who are changed

are the last ones to &now about it and the last ones to advertise it. (ut +od?s grace has been doing its

wor&.



To *now +od -orris '. Venden >#

THE &ONTINUING RELATIONSHI)

-ay 1 remind you that if you continue to &now Iesus as your personal friend day by day, if you

become !=)

meaningfully involved with Him in your private life, if nothing can ta&e you from His side, thenyou will Doin Iohn the (eloved in a transformation of character that will be unobtrusive, and

imperceptible to you. (ut your friends will probably &now it. %nd whatever sin you?re struggling with,

whether it?s &nown or un&nown, whether it?s habitual or cherished or any of the other &inds, it willultimately fade away.

8ometimes we get impatient and try to put timetables on Christian growth and victory and

overcoming. (ut we?d better notE That?s +od?s business: that?s the Holy 8pirit?s wor&. The discipleswere transformed gradually, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. %nd so long as the

relationship with Christ continues, that relationship of love has its own builtin safeguard against

license. The deeper the relationship with Iesus, the further we go from license, or playing cheap and

loose with +od?s grace. 1?m than&ful today for the way Iesus treated &nown sinners. 1t brings hope andcomfort to the struggling, growing Christian.

%nd if it is true that we are transformed through the continued relationship with Christ, then that

gives us a maDor clue as to the howto of obedience. 0e are transformed by grace, through thecontinuing relationship with Christ5not through our own struggles and resolutions and efforts in

fighting sin and the devil.

For a long time in the Christian faith, many have held two incompatible beliefs7 on the onehand, that we can &eep +od?s commandments, that we can

!=#

overcome, that we can have victory over sin: and on the other hand, that we need +od?s hel" but that we?re supposed to wor& hard on our own obedience.

There are some today who have become so frustrated with the best obedience they have been

able to produce in their own strength that they have decided to scrap the belief in victory andovercoming altogether. Jet this is not what we find taught in 8cripture. The disciples sinned and failed

and fell again and again, yes. (ut there is more to the story than thatE Through the continuing

relationship with Christ they were changed into His image and became more than con@uerors throughHim who loved them.

0hile it is true that our acceptance with +od is not based upon our obedience, and while it is

true that His forgiveness is unlimited, these in no way discredit the truth that +od has power availableto &eep us from sinning.

1t is good news to come to the realiation that Dustification is by faith alone, and have complete

confidence in our acceptance before +od, based totally upon what Iesus has already done in our behalf.

1t is good news to learn that His forgiveness is unlimited and that He has infinite patience with us as wegrow in grace. (ut it is possible to go further and to accept the truth that obedience and victory and

overcoming are available and can become realities in our lives today. 1t is good news to learn that

obedience is by faith alone, Dust as forgiveness is by faith alone. Paul said it a long time ago, inColossians /797 A%s ye have therefore received Christ Iesus the 'ord, so wal& ye in him.

!="

REASONS WHY O!EDIEN&E &O$ES !Y "AITH ALONE

;ow 1?d li&e to list briefly eight (ible reasons why obedience can come by faith alone and not



To *now +od -orris '. Venden >"

by your own efforts.

!. (ecause the (ible says so. 1s that a good enough argumentB 1n Romans !7!) Paul says, AThe

Dust shall live by faith. 0ho are the DustB They are the ones who have accepted of +od?s Dustifying

grace, rightB %nd here the (ible tells us that the Dust, those who have been Dustified, shall live by faithas well.

/. 6bedience can come by faith alone because of the nature of man&ind. 0e spent some time

discussing this in Gay !. Romans <7!" says that by one man?s sin many were made sinners. %nd Iohn $says that unless we are born again, we cannot see the &ingdom of heaven. 1f it is true that Aall our MownN

righteousnesses are as filthy rags, as 1saiah 9>79 reminds us, then obedience would have to come from

total dependence upon another Power. 0e couldn?t do any of it ourselves, because of our very nature. $. 6bedience can come by faith alone because of the nature of surrender. %s we studied in Gay

/, surrender means giving up on ourselves KRomans " and !=L. 1f we have given up on our own ability,

then we must depend upon the power of %nother. 1t is impossible to be trying hard to obey, and give upon ever being able to obey, both at the same time. +iving up negates the possibility of trying hard to

accomplish. 0hen we give up, or surrender, we are placing ourselves in total dependence upon +od.

>. 6bedience comes by faith alone because of the

!!=

fact that +od wants us to be controlled by Him. Romans 9 tal&s about it. 0e have two options

in this world, two possibilities, of who can be in control of our lives. 4ither +od is in control, or thedevil is in control. There is no middle ground. The only control we have is in choosing which of the

two powers we want to control us.

+od?s control is the control of love, and as we surrender to His loving control, we will becomeobedient.

<. 6bedience can come by faith alone because of the nature of repentance. Repentance is not

our own wor&, but a gift K%cts <7$!L. Go you &now the classic definition of re"entance? 0hat is

repentanceB 1t?s sorrow for sin and turning away from it. 8o if repentance is a gift and if repentance issorrow for sin and turning away from it, then turning away from sin must be a gift as well, rightB 1t?s

not something we achieve: it?s something we receive.

9. 6bedience comes by faith alone because of the fact that obedience is the fruit of faith. Iohn!< is the teaching of Iesus on this point, and He made it clear that obedience is a fruit. Fruit is the result

of something else. Jou don?t get fruit by trying hard to produce fruit5you get fruit from the Vine. 1f

we are connected to the Vine, we will produce fruit, spontaneously, naturally. ). 6bedience comes by faith alone because of Iesus? mighty e3ample. Iesus did His wor&s and

lived His life through power from above Him KIohn !>7!=L, rather than from power within. He came to

this world not only to die for us, to pay the penalty for sin, !!!

but also to show us how to live by dependence upon a Higher Power. Iesus lived His life of

obedience by faith alone, and He became the greatest argument in showing that we are invited to live asHe did, in obedience by faith.

#. 6bedience can come by faith alone because of the fact that we are offered rest in living the

Christian life, as well as rest from the guilt of sin. 'et?s loo& at this last point in a little more detail.Hebrews >7" tal&s about it7 AThere remaineth therefore a rest to the people of +od. K;otice this is for

+od?s people5 those who have already accepted Him and become His children.L

-ost of us &now what it?s li&e to be tired physically. %nd most of us also &now what it?s li&e to be tired spiritually. 'et?s face it. %ll of us in every generation have struggled with the burden of

holiness. %nd at times there?s not much difference between the burden of holiness and the burden of

sin. 0e often find the Christian life to be li&e climbing a steep hill with a heavy pac& on our bac&. (ut



To *now +od -orris '. Venden <=

Hebrews > offers rest to the people of +od.

'et?s notice several other passages that tal& about rest. Revelation !>7!!, of all places, in the last

message of the three mighty angels7 AThey have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his

image, and whosoever receiveth the mar& of his name. 0ell, you say, that?s tal&ing about the finaldestruction of the wic&ed at the end, in the la&e of fire. (ut wait a minute. There?s more to it than

simply the prophetic and historic understanding.

Iesus said, ACome unto me, . . . and 1 will give !!/

you rest K-att. !!7/#L. Then if people have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast andhis image, the reason is that they are not coming to Iesus, rightB

%nd there?s another verse in this passage in Revelation !> that has a very interesting spiritual

meaning. Verse !$7 A1 heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, 0rite, (lessed are the dead which diein the 'ord from henceforth7 Jea, saith the 8pirit, that they may rest from their labours: and their wor&s

do follow them. ;ow, 1 &now this has something to do with cemeteries and tombstones and those who

die in faith loo&ing forward to the second coming of Iesus. (ut ta&e another loo&. There is spiritual

meaning here too. A(lessed are the dead which die in the 'ord. Have you ever heard of death to self,through ChristB AThat they may rest from their labours5 ACome unto me, all ye that labour and are

heavy laden, and 1 will give you rest. A%nd their wor&s do follow.

%nd Hebrews > tal&s about rest again7 AFor he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceasedfrom his own wor&s, as +od did from his Kverse !=L. When did +od rest from His wor&sB %t Creation,

rightB %nd that was when He gave the seventh day as a memorial, a sign, to remind us of His creative

wor&. 0e are invited here in Hebrews > to enter into the 8abbath rest. 6f what is the 8abbath a signB8anctification. 43odus $!7!$ tal&s about it. 4e&iel /=7!/, /= tal&s about it. The 8abbath is a sign of the

+od who sanctifies His people. The truth about +od?s day of rest and the truth about rest from our own

efforts to overcome are closely connected.

!!$

REST "OR THE WEARY SINNER' REST "OR THE WEARY SAINT

There are three &inds of rest referred to in Hebrews >7 rest from wor&ing for acceptance and

pardon with +od Kverses /, $L, rest from wor&ing to overcome the enemy Kverses ", !=L, and rest from

wor&ing to get to heaven, or enter the Promised 'and Kverse 9L. 1t is possible to accept rest on one leveland not on another.

-any people have accepted +od?s rest in terms of their hope of eternal life, and they trust in

Christ?s finished wor& in their behalf. (ut at the same time it is possible to still be battling andstruggling to live the Christian life. Jou can begin to feel that even though the down payment is free,

the monthly payments are going to wipe you out. %nd you begin to thin& that this gift of salvation is

pretty e3pensive after all.

(ut 1 invite you today to enter into +od?s rest, to cease from your own wor&s in trying to obeyand overcome and be victorious. 1f we will continue to see& personal fellowship with Him, +od will

lead us to the rest that is symbolied by the 8abbath rest.

HOW TO O!EY

1 will try to put all this in the simplest possible terms. 1f you enter into a relationship with the

'ord Iesus Christ and continue that relationship with Him from now until He comes again, He will dothe rest. That?s the simplest answer to the @uestion of how to obey. Philippians !79 says, AHe which

hath begun a good wor& in you will perform it until Mcarry it forward toN the day of Iesus Christ.

Forgiveness is a gift,



To *now +od -orris '. Venden <!

!!>

salvation is a gift, and obedience is a gift, all to be received through continuing fellowship and

communion with the 6ne who is the giver. +enuine obedience can be understood and e3perienced only by the committed Christian. 1t is

not simply another selfhelp, behavior modification, or positive thin&ing approach that offers outward

change for those who are strong willed enough to pull it off. 6bedience by faith alone comes only fromthe heart and can come only to the one who is in day by day communication with Iesus Christ.

Jou can choose to continue this relationship with +od day by day, and the result of &nowing

Iesus will be the obedience that comes by faith alone. 1t is good news what +od wants to do in us andthrough us to glorify His name before the world and before the universe.

!!<

0e were Dust married, and 1 was eager to do everything to please my wife. 1 spent a great deal

of time and effort trying to do everything Dust right to please her. 1 even became involved in the

household duties. (ut 1 put the wrong wa3 on the floor and had to spend a lot of time getting that off. 1

tried to do the dishes, but bro&e some of our new wedding presents. 1 even tried to do some of theironing, but 1 burned a hole in her favorite dress. 0hen 1 made brea&fast, 1 turned the dial too high on

the toaster and not only burned the toast blac& but burned out the elements in the toaster, too. 1 endedup spending my brea&fast time scraping charcoal off the toast into the sin&. 1

!!9

tried sewing on some buttons, but sewed the front of her dress to the bac& of her dress.

8he &ept wanting to tal&. 8he &ept wanting to spend time with me in communication. (ut 1 had

a lot of things to do. 1 was scraping toast, repairing the toaster, and removing wa3E 8o 1 didn?t have



To *now +od -orris '. Venden </

time Dust to tal& and be with her.

1 hope you realie by now that this is a parableE (ut it is possible to become so involved in

trying to do things to please someone that you forget that the thing that pleases him or her most is

sitting down and tal&ing. %nd our efforts to please are going to end in disaster if we try to accomplishthat which we are unable to do.

Jet how often in our relationship with Iesus Christ we find ourselves in the same shoes as the

+alatians, to whom the apostle Paul wrote, AHow can you be so foolishE Jou began by +od?s 8pirit: doyou now want to finish by your own powerB K+al. $7$, T4VL. How easy it is to slip bac& into the

legalistic approach to Christianity and discover in practice, if not in theory, that the fellowship with

Christ has once again ta&en a bac& seat while we wor& and struggle to do what?s right, once againtrying to save ourselves.

Paul had to remind the early Christians repeatedly that the wor& that +od had begun in their

lives He would carry forward to the end KPhil. !79L. He told them, A%s ye have therefore receivedChrist Iesus the 'ord, so walk ye in hi!- KCol. /79L. A;ow the Dust shall live by faith7 but if any man

draw bac&, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. (ut we are not of them who draw bac& unto

perdition: but of them that believe to

!!)

the saving of the soul KHeb. !=7$#, $"L. A'oo&ing unto Iesus the author and &inisher of our

faith Kchap. !/7/L. 1t is never enough simply to begin a relationship with Christ. 1t is not enough to accept once of

His pardoning grace. 0ithout the continuing relationship with Him, the initial receiving of Christ will

never be sufficient for salvation. There is far more to marriage than saying A1 do. +etting married isimportant, but staying married is e@ually important. Consider a few e3amples of the continuing

relationship principle as stated in Iesus? own words7 A;o man, having put his hand to the plough, and

loo&ing bac&, is fit for the &ingdom of +od K'u&e "79/L. A(ecause ini@uity shall abound, the love of

many shall wa3 cold. (ut he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved K-att. />7!/, !$L.A1f ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed KIohn #7$!L.

(ut let?s turn to Iohn !< for Iesus? most complete discussion of the need for continued

relationship with Him, spending time with Him in the vineyard. A!IDING IN THE VINE

Iesus says, A1 am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 4very branch in me that beareth not fruit he ta&eth away7 and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring

forth more fruit. ;ow ye are clean through the word which 1 have spo&en unto you. %bide in me, and 1

in you. %s the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, e3cept it abide in the vine: no more can ye, e3cept yeabide in me. 1 am the vine, ye are the branches7 He that abideth in me, and

!!#

1 in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit7 for without me ye can do nothing Kverses !<L. 1n this analogy we have first of all the vine, who is Iesus. He says, A1 am the true vine.- 1n 6ld

Testament analogy 1srael was supposed to have been the vine: but they proved to be an unfruitful vine,

and so there is a new application, a new interpretation of the vine, through Iesus? words in this chapter.1srael was supposed to have been +od?s people, but one of their problems was that they felt secure

because of their connection with the nation of 1srael. The modem analogy would be those who thin& of

the vine as the church and who thin& that as long as their names are enrolled on the church boo&s, theyare assured of eternal life. (ut Iesus said, A1 am the true vine. He is spea&ing here of relationship and

connection and communion with Him, not merely of belonging to some church organiation.

These words in Iohn !< were spo&en by Iesus Dust after the upper room e3perience. Iesus and



To *now +od -orris '. Venden <$

His disciples were on their way to the +arden of +ethsemane. %s they wal&ed along, apparently they

passed a vineyard. Iesus pointed to a grapevine that was visible in the moonlight, and used it to teach

His disciples by means of this parable.

Have you ever loo&ed closely at a grapevineB Go you thin& it?s beautifulB 1 don?t mean duringthe summer, when the branches are all in foliage. 1 mean during the winter, when you can see the vine

itself. 1t?s uglyE 1t loo&s li&e a root out of dry ground, doesn?t itB 1t is brown, and &notted, and croo&ed,

and loo&s as if it were never to live again. 1t can remind us of the !!"

6ne of whom it was said, AHe shall grow up . . . as a root out of a dry ground K1sa. <$7/L.Iesus? beauty was internal rather than e3ternal. Verse / also says that Awhen we shall see him, there is

no beauty that we should desire him. His beauty came from within, and from His connection with His

Father, the husbandman in the parable. 6bviously we are the branches in the story, and it?s amaing to discover that the branches often

appear more beautiful than the vine, with their green leaves in spring and summer and their bright

colors in the fall. That which comes from the vine to the branches results in beauty that apparently

Iesus Himself is willing to contribute to His followers, while He stands in the bac&ground. TWO KINDS O" !RAN&HES

;otice that there are two &inds of branches in this Iohn !< parable5two &inds of branches thatare Ain the vine. Verse /7 A4very branch in !e that beareth not fruit he ta&eth away. Goes this mean it

is possible to have a branch in Hi! that doesn?t bear fruitB That?s what it says. 1t doesn?t say every

branch that pretends to be a true branch or every branch that is connected to the church: it says, A4very branch in me . . .

8o it is possible to be in relationship with Him and not bear fruit, at least for a short while.

Perhaps Iudas was an e3ample of this. 1t is obvious that he did not bear fruit and was ta&en away.

%pparently Iudas was never fully surrendered to Christ, but he did have the privilege, along with theother eleven, of casting

!/=

out devils, healing the sic&, and raising the dead through the power of Christ. 1t is possible for a

person to become a Christian, to be genuinely converted, to be in the Vine, in Christ, but not to stay in

that relationship with Christ, to bear no fruit, and be ta&en away. The &ey word is abide in Him. 1t is notenough to be Doined to Christ initially: we must abide in Him in order to bear fruit. This parable also

spea&s to the @uestion of Aonce saved, always saved. 1t shows that it is possible to be a branch but to

be ta&en away. To be Doined to the Vine, Christ Iesus, is a beginning, but it?s only the beginning. 1t is e@ually

important to abide in Him. 0hat does it mean to abideB 1f you do a word study in 8cripture on the word

abide you will discover its simple meaning is Ato stay. 0hen Iesus approached 4mmaus with the two

men on the day of the resurrection, He was invited to abide with them5stay with them. 1n the story ofacchaeus, Iesus said, ATo day 1 must abide at thy house. AO1 must stay in your house today? KT4VL.

%biding in the Vine does not ta&e place automatically. The union with the Vine, the union with

Christ, must be maintained. This parable gives great insight into the @uestion of divine power andhuman effort in the Christian life. This was Iesus? treatise on how to use one?s will and willpower in the

ongoing Christian e3perience. 0e are to abide in Him and He in us. ;o branch will produce fruit if it is

only occasionally connected to the Vine. The connection must be consistent. The branch must abide inthe Vine.

% grapevine bears grapes because it is a grapevine, never in order to be one. % healthy branch

will produce



To *now +od -orris '. Venden <>

!/!

healthy fruit, naturally and spontaneously. 1f you have a healthy vine and a healthy branch

connected to that vine, you will have fruit. 1f you do not want fruit from a branch, you can separate itfrom the vine, and nothing further need be done to prevent fruit. Fruit is one of the most spontaneous

things that happens with a true vine and branches. 1f you want grapes, you don?t try to produce grapes

apart from the vine. 8ome people have tried. They have produced plastic grapes, and some of the plastic grapes loo& pretty good e3ternally. (ut if you?ve ever tried a bite of one, you have found that it

is very disappointingE

WHAT ARE THE GRA)ES(

0hat do the grapes representB Philippians !7!!7 A(eing filled with the fruits of righteousness,

which are by Iesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of +od. Please notice first of all that the fruits arefruits of righteousness: second, they are by Iesus Christ: and third, they are unto the praise and glory of

+od. %nd of course, +alatians <7//, /$ spea&s of the fruit of the 8pirit7 love, Doy, peace, longsuffering,

and so forth.

8o, then, the fruit is righteousness5and righteousness is spontaneous for the branch that isconnected to the True Vine. This means that the Christian never wor&s hard on righteousness. He has

never been as&ed to do that. Christ does not tell us to wor& hard on fruit5He invites us to abide in

Him. 8o the deliberate effort in the Christian life is always and only toward fellowship with Iesus,toward abiding in the Vine. 1t is never toward producing the fruits of righteousness. For when we

continue the

!//

connection with the Vine, the fruit will come.

Christ is the end of trying to produce fruit apart from the Vine. 0hen we see our condition, see

our total failure to produce real fruit apart from Him, then we can come to the place of admitting, withPaul, that the good that we try to perform we find not KRom. )7!#L. %nd not until then can we discover

what it means to be truly connected with the Vine. 6nly then do we realie the necessity and privilege

of abiding in Him. “WITHOUT $E YE &AN DO NOTHING

8ome people are afraid of a donothing religion. (ut the words of Iohn !<7< are straight fromIesus? own lips. ;otice them with a little different emphasis on the first phrase7 I a! the vine, ye are

the branches. 1 am the vine. Jou are not the vine. Jou are the branches. %nd Awithout me ye can do

nothing. Please notice that although this is stated negatively, it can also be stated positively, as inPhilippians >7!$7 A1 can do all things through Christ. 0ith Him we can do all things.

%s wonderful as salvation in heaven is, and as certain as our assurance of eternal life is, there is

also the truth that Iesus can fulfill His purpose of living His life in us now as we submit to Him. %nd

then He will bring forth much fruit. There is hope for a harvest, for produce, for results, in the 'ord?svineyard. +od Himself is interested in fruit. +od Himself is eager to see results, to see a harvest. He is

the husbandman, the great gardener, and a gardener hopes for results. He doesn?t e3pect nothing.

!/$

;ot too long ago 1 was discussing with one of my neighbors the finished wor& of Christ at the

cross and how our salvation and our eternal life is assured because of the sacrifice of Iesus. Then heas&ed, A8o what is the purpose of sanctificationB 0hat purpose is fulfilled by living the Christian lifeB

0ell, what is the purpose of fruitB 1t is for Athe glory and praise of +od. -atthew <7!9 says,

A'et your light so shine before men, that they may see your good wor&s, and glorify your Father which



To *now +od -orris '. Venden <<

is in heaven. 8o what is the purpose of fruitB 1t is to glorify and honor +od, and thus to reveal His love

to others. 0e have, on the basis of Iesus? own teaching, the hope of a harvest, of fruit in the vineyard,

for the glory of +od.

HOW TO A!IDE

How do you abide in the VineB How do you stay in this close connection with Iesus ChristB

6nce you have come to the end of your own resources, once you have realied your own inability to produce fruit apart from Him, once you recognie that without Him you can do nothing, what do you

doB 0hat does it mean to abide in Christ, to be in Christ, and have AChrist in you KCol. !7/)LB

6bviously this is referring to a very close relationship. That?s what it?s tal&ing about. Christ is sayinghere, 3tay in the relationship that was begun when you first accepted -e as your only hope. 8tay in

relationship with -e.

Please don?t fall into the trap that we tal&ed about earlier, of thin&ing that the way to stay inrelationship with someone is by trying to do things to please him,

!/>

to purchase his love with our deeds. The relationship produces the deeds, not the other wayaround. That is not the way we stay in relationship with anybody.

0e accepted Iesus in the first place and became connected to the Vine, not by trying to produce

deeds to ma&e us worthy, but by accepting the mighty gift of His grace. However, let?s not imply thataccepting His grace has no effort attached to it, for most sinners have discovered that it is hard wor& to

give up on themselves and come to Christ. (ut it is a different &ind of wor& than wor&ing for

righteousness and acceptance with +od. The effort involved is in admitting, on a daily basis, that wecan do nothing and in coming to Christ to accept His grace.

Have you ever found that coming to Christ on a daily basis is hard wor&B 1t is often that way.

Jou?ll have to admit that Paul used the right language when he called it a fight, Athe good fight of

faith K! Tim. 97!/L. 1t isn?t always easy to &eep a corner of your day reserved for onetoonecommunion with +od. 1t isn?t always natural to &eep in touch with Him all through the day. 8ometimes

it ta&es real effort.

1n Iohn !< Iesus tells us where the effort should be directed. He never as&s us to wor& on producing fruit5He tells us to abide in Him. %nd if we choose to abide in Him, we have no choice on

the fruit. 1t will be the natural and spontaneous result of that abiding.

0e accept Iesus in the first place by faith in Him as our personal 8aviour. That?s how the unionwith the Vine is formed. That is also how it is continued. 1t is of utmost importance to realie that Iesus

is not

!/<

placing the responsibility of our wor&s, or our fruitbearing, upon us. 0hile it is true that we

are to bear fruit, it is also true that it is accomplished by faith alone in Him. AFor without me, ye can do

nothing. AThe branch cannot bear fruit of itself, e3cept it abide in the vine. (ut if it abide in the Vineit will bring forth much fruit. The fruit is the natural result of abiding in Christ.

!UT IT TAKES TI$E

;ow there?s something else in this analogy of Iesus and the vineyard that we don?t want to

miss. That is, fruit doesn?t happen overnight. The idea of a vine and branches and a vineyard all show

that there is growth, progression. 1t happens little by little, not all at once. ;o vineyard is in a conditionof perpetual harvest. Fruit ta&es time.

Jou may not be too familiar with wor&ing in a vineyard, but perhaps most of us have tried to

transplant something. 'et?s go into the garden, instead of the vineyard, for Dust a moment as we notice



To *now +od -orris '. Venden <9

this principle of growth. -y wife brought a plant home from * -art one day. For a while it did @uite

well in its buc&et, but then it began to outgrow the buc&et. 8o it needed to be transplanted. 1 pic&ed a

place at random, without her counsel, and put the plant there.

%s a result of my planting it in the wrong place, 1 had to dig it up and transplant it again. %nd 1didn?t li&e it in that place, so 1 dug it up and transplanted it again. The plant is getting a little tiredE

%bout the time its roots begin to get enmeshed and fused with the soil, along comes this gardener and

digs it up !/9

again. 1t?s not doing too well51 noticed the leaves drooping on it the other day. ;o, as you study the parable of the vineyard, you?ll have to come to the realiation that even

when the branch stays connected with the vine, there is still a process of growth. This becomes very

intriguing, because most of us are aware that even when we have chosen to stay with Christ, ourimmaturity is often demonstrated, and we are painfully aware that the Dob is not yet completed.

0e also notice in the vineyard that it?s not an onagain, offagain connection or partial

dependence that enables the vine to bear fruit. 1t is not +od?s plan that we trust partly in Him and partly

in ourselves. 0e are reminded of the man in the olden days who was wal&ing along a road with a pac& on his

bac&. %nother man came by with a horse and buggy. The horse loo&ed old and tired, the buggy loo&ed

a little small, and when the man with the pac& on his bac& was invited aboard for a ride, he &ept the pac& on his bac&. He didn?t thin& it would be fair to as& the driver and his horse to carry him and the

pac&, tooE

%nother man boarded a boat on the -ississippi River for a fourday Dourney. He bought a tic&et, but it too& all his money. He couldn?t afford to pay e3tra for meals on board the ship, so he brought

along some crac&ers and cheese to eat on the way. %t each mealtime while the rest of the people would

go to the dining room, he would hide behind a smo&estac& and eat his crac&ers and cheese. %fter a day

or two his crac&ers and cheese began to get moldy, and he felt that he was about ready to starve todeath. Then he was discovered

!/)

in his hiding place and was told, A0hat?s the matter with you, manB 0hen you bought your

tic&et, you paid for all your meals as well. Come on and eat with the rest of us.

0e accept +od?s grace and we say, That?s marvelous. He has made provision to save meeternally in heaven. ;ow 1 must carry my own pac&. %nd we e3change the burden of sin for the burden

of holiness as we struggle to produce fruit in our own strength. Iesus has invited us to the marriage

supper of the 'amb for fellowship with Him, and we thin& we have to bring our own food. 0e acceptHis mighty gospel as a gift and are thrilled with it, but the thrill dies out because we fail to see that in

wal&ing and fellowshipping with Him we are to wor& by the same method as when we first came to

Him5all by faith. 0e &eep wanting to add something to it, and so it becomes a painful process for us

to allow Him to ta&e our burdens, our sins, and our failures. 0e don?t let Him give us the power forobedience that we so sadly lac&. 0e don?t realie that He wants to give us victory and overcoming as

gi&ts. %ESUS' OUR EA$)LE

There is another lesson we can learn from the vineyard parable, and that is the fact that Iesus is

our e3ample in abiding. Gid you &now that vines need supportB Vines cannot stand alone, but musthave the support of a trellis or some other mechanism. Iesus said that He was the vine, and His support

came from His Father, who was the husbandman. 1n His life on earth Iesus became the greatest

e3ample of abiding and depending upon %nother in personal fellowship



To *now +od -orris '. Venden <)

!/#

and communication. 0e are told in 8cripture of His arising a great while before day to go alone

into nature for a time of communion with His Father. He often spent entire nights in prayer. The idea of spending an entire night in prayer can be pretty awesome. (ut Iesus is not as&ing

for that. His disciples weren?t re@uired to do that. (ut how long has it been since you spent fifteen

minutes or half an hour responding to Iesus? loving invitation to abide in Him through personalfellowshipB

1 see two men wal&ing along the trail toward 4mmaus K'u&e />L. % 8tranger Doins them. Their

hearts burn within them as He tal&s to them on the way. 1t?s late when they arrive at home, so they sayto the 8tranger, %bide with us. 1t?s getting late. 8tay at our house. They responded to Iesus even before

they realied who the 8tranger was.

-y friend, it?s getting late today. The signs all foretell that it?s getting late. 1t?s getting dar& outthere. 1t?s always been dar&, but it?s getting even dar&er. 0on?t you Doin these two unsung disciples who

chose to invite Iesus to abide with themB 0on?t you Doin them in saying to Him, Come and abide at our

houseB

THE &O$ING O" THE HARVEST

%s we continue the abiding relationship with Christ, continue to allow Him to do His wor& in

our lives, continue to see& for fellowship and communion with Him, we can loo& forward with Doy tothe time of the harvest. The time of harvest will come in our lives as we abide in Him. %s His wor& is

continued in us, the fruits of the 8pirit will develop to maturity.

!/"

1 had a friend who had a little girl who was $ or > years old. -y friend traveled a lot. 6ne day

he came bac& from a trip, and when he came into the house, the little girl, who hadn?t seen him for

several days, came running to him and said, AGaddy, loo&E 1?ve learned how to write. %nd she had atablet with all &inds of scribbles and smudges and blotches all over it. 1t was a mess.

'i&e any good daddy he said, A8ure enough, you did learn to write. 1sn?t that wonderfulB That?s

really good. %nd he carried on so much about it that her eyes got big and her mouth dropped open and she

said, A0hat does it say, GaddyB

Then he went hot and cold. He didn?t &now what to say ne3t. He stumbled for a moment or two,and then it came, and it must have come from above him. He sat down and said, AHere, 8weetheart, 1?ll

tell you what it says. 1t says here that you are a little girl and that you really want to be able to write. 1t

says you are trying hard to learn how to write. 1t also says that you are a growing little girl andsomeday you will write beautifully.

%nd she loo&ed up and said, AGoes it say all that, GaddyB

AJes.

1 struggle as a growing Christian, and 1 produce my obedience, which is not real obedience atall. 1t?s Dust li&e scribbles and blotches and smudges. %nd 1 ta&e my obedience to +od and 1 say, A'oo&E

1?ve learned how to obeyE

%nd as my heavenly Father, He says, AGo you !$=

&now what your efforts tell -eB They tell -e that you are a real Christian, that you really care.They say that you are growing, and someday you will &now the real thing.

%nd so we can loo& forward to the time of maturity, of harvest, in our own lives, and we can

also loo& forward to the time of harvest for the entire world. +od is able to finish what He has begun in



To *now +od -orris '. Venden <#

our lives. 8o long as we stay with Him we have nothing to fear.

There are millions of people today who believe in the second coming of Christ. There was a

time when those who preached Christ?s second advent were charged with being calamity howlers and

prophets of doom. (ut today even scientists and statesmen who analye world events are predictingdisaster. 4ven secular leaders realie that this world is coming @uic&ly to its end, and they are

powerless to avert it.

8everal years ago my father and my uncle were holding public meetings in a town. -y unclehad Dust started preaching one night about the end of the world and the second coming of Iesus when a

man Dumped up right near the front. He turned around and began shouting at the congregation, AGon?t

believe what these Venden brothers are saying. They are Dust a couple of calamity howlers come totown to deceive you. They?re tal&ing about the end of the world, and it?s never going to happen. Things

continue Dust li&e they always have, and always will. %nd he turned to my uncle and said, AJou can?t

show me one single proof that it?s going to happenE %nd my uncle said, AJes, 1 canE Jou?re the latest one 1?ve seen.

!$!

The man said, A0hat do you meanB -y uncle turned the pages in his (ible and read from / Peter $7$, >7 AThere shall come in the

last days scoffers, wal&ing after their own lusts, and saying, 0here is the promise of his comingB for

since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. %nd the man slumped into his seat. 43citing things happened bac& there on the sawdust trailE

The 'ord gave the right scripture at the right time.

+od doesn?t start something and then leave it unfinished. 0hen He begins a thing, He sees itthrough to the end. 4ven when Iesus left the tomb on the morning of the resurrection, He paused long

enough to fold the grave clothes and neatly put them down. He was finished with them. He needed

them no more. %nd how much more surely will He finish the great plan of redemption, of restoration.

He has made provision to more than ma&e up to us for being born into this world of sin. %ren?t youthan&ful that He is able to follow through on His plan of salvation, clear through to the end, which is

only the beginning of eternityB ;othing can deter him.

SE&OND &O$ING, GOOD NEWS OR !AD NEWS(

0hat is your reaction when you read or hear or thin& of the second coming of ChristB Goes it

seem li&e good news, or bad newsB %re you e3citedB or scaredB The crucial @uestion is %re you goingto be readyB A6h, you may say, A1?m too far from it. 1?ll never ma&e it. There?s not a chance in the

world for

!$/

me. 1 as&ed a young man what would be the first thing he?d want to do in heaven. He replied,

A1f 1 got to heaven, 1?d be so surprised 1 don?t &now what 1?d doE

That?s why 1?d li&e to bring you a te3t that spea&s hope to each one, because it tells how we can be ready for Christ?s coming. 4phesians /7!$7 A(ut now in Christ Iesus ye who sometimes were far off

are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Go you feel that you are a long way offB Through Iesus? blood,

through His atonement and sacrifice at the cross for you, you are made near. %nd that?s good news,isn?t itB 8alvation is not something we earn: it is something we receive as a gift. %nd we can receive it

anew every day.

%re you savedB Can you &now that you are saved nowB 0ell, it depends on what you mean.There are three +ree& words for salvation. 6ne relates to the @uestion AHave 1 accepted the death of

Iesus for all man&indB %nother, A%m 1 presently in a saving relationship with IesusB %nd a third,

A0ill 1 be saved at some time in the futureB



To *now +od -orris '. Venden <"

'et me as& you7 Have you accepted the death of Iesus for all man&indB Then you are saved in

that sense. %re you presently in a saving relationship with Iesus ChristB %re you on spea&ing terms

with HimB Gid you tal& to Him todayB Gid you spend time with Him personallyB Jou ought to be able

to &now the answer to that @uestion. %nd we don?t have to worry about whether or not we will be savedat some future time. 0e cannot predict what we may decide in the meantime. (ut we can &now that we

are saved today.

!$$

%nd we can continue to choose +od today. That is the big issue. Have you accepted Iesus and

His blood today, which brings you close to heavenB Jou can ma&e that choice. %nd as you continue to ma&e that choice, you can loo& forward with Doy to the end of sin, to the

time when Iesus comes again for His people.

KNOWING GOD . LI"E ETERNAL

Iesus said in Iohn !)7$, A%nd this is life eternal, that they might &now thee the only true +od,

and Iesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. The entire basis of the Christian life is in &nowing +od. This is

the avenue by which we accept His salvation, His forgiveness, His power. %nd &nowing +od or not&nowing +od becomes the crucial issue at the end. ;otice how it happens.

0hen Iesus comes again, there will be two groups of people. They are called by different

names5the good and the bad, the righteous and the wic&ed, the sheep and the goats, the Dust and theunDust, the wheat and the tares, the wise and the foolish, the hot and the cold, and so on. (ut there are

only two groups when Iesus comes again.

1n Gay ! we studied a story about a wedding recorded in -atthew /<. There were five wise bridesmaids and five foolish. %nd Iesus gave us insight as to what determined the difference between

the two groups. 0hen the foolish girls came to see& admission to the wedding ban@uet, the answer was

given to them, A1 &now you not. 1n -atthew ), the same division is described. Verses //, /$7 A-any

will say to !$>

me in that day, 'ord, 'ord, have we not prophesied in thy nameB and in thy name have cast outdevilsB and in thy name done many wonderful wor&sB %nd then will 1 profess unto them, I never knew

you* depart from me, ye that wor& ini@uity.

From these scriptures we can see that there will be only two classes of people at the very end5 those who &now +od, and those who don?t &now +od. There will be no other option.

(ut let?s add to this another scripture, found in Revelation $. The first three chapters of the boo&

of Revelation tell about seven churches. Chapter $, verse !$ and onward, describes the last of theseseven churches in the history of churches up until shortly before Iesus comes. The last church is &nown

as 'aodicea. AHe that hath an ear, let him hear what the 8pirit saith unto the churches. 2nto the angel of

the church of the 'aodiceans write: These things saith the %men, the faithful and true witness, the

beginning of the creation of +od. 0ho is thatB That?s Iesus. %nd don?t forget that Revelation is Iesus? own boo&. The +ospels are written about Iesus, but

they are not Iesus? own boo&s. (ut Revelation is the only boo& that starts out with AThe Revelation of

Iesus Christ, which . . . he sent . . . unto his servant Iohn. 6f all the (ible boo&s Revelation is Iesus? boo& in a uni@ue way. 8o it ought to be of supreme interest to those who are interested in Iesus.

Then comes the description of the church &nown as 'aodicea. Verse !<7 A1 &now thy wor&s, that

thou art neither cold nor hot7 1 would thou wert cold or hot. 0ait a minuteE That?s a startling thought. !$<

0ould +od rather have people cold than lu&ewarmB That?s what it says. Verse !97 A8o then



To *now +od -orris '. Venden 9=

because thou art lu&ewarm, and neither cold nor hot, 1 will spue thee out of my mouth. That?s another

way of saying that lu&ewarm people ma&e +od sic&E A(ecause thou sayest, 1 am rich, and increased

with goods, and have need of nothing: and &nowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor,

and blind, and na&ed Kverse !)L. 8o there you have the description of 'aodicea, the lu&ewarm church. WHAT IS LUKEWAR$(

;ow if 'aodicea is &nown for being lu&ewarm, what percentage of people do you supposewould be lu&ewarmB The maDority would have to be lu&ewarm if it?s &nown for being lu&ewarm, rightB

That?s logical. 0hen we say that %merica is a democracy, what do we mean by thatB 0e mean that the

maDority of people in %merica believe in a democratic form of government. 8o at least <! percent of the people in 'aodicea would be lu&ewarm. %nd that?s a pretty heavy statement right there, isn?t itB That

means that the church up until shortly before Iesus comes will have a lot of lu&ewarm people in it.

1f the maDority of people in the church are lu&ewarm, you could e3pect to have some lu&ewarmteachers, couldn?t youB Jou could e3pect some lu&ewarm pastors and leaders and administrators. 1

mean, the lu&ewarm are li&ely to put into office some of their own, aren?t theyB Jou would find

lu&ewarmness permeating everywhere, because the maDority of people in the church of 'aodicea are

lu&ewarm. !$9

That leads us to another @uestion. 0hat is lu&ewarmB 0hat ma&es a person lu&ewarmB 1sometimes use an old illustration that has to do with the &itchen sin&5a little lesson in home

economics. Jou have a single spigot on the sin&, and a handle on the left for hot, and one on the right

for cold. 1f you want to get lu&ewarm, what do you doB Jou turn on e@ual parts of cold and hot, andyou get lu&ewarm.

This illustration may not help a whole lot, because it would be ridiculous to thin& of a

'aodicean person as one who is cold on the right side and hot on the left side. (ut it does give a clue

that lu&ewarm is somehow a combination, or mi3ture, of hot and cold. 1f we let 8cripture interpret itself, we discover what it is that ma&es a lu&ewarm person. Read it

for yourself in -atthew /$, where Iesus made it very clear that the problem of the people in the days

when He was here was that they were hot on the outside but cold on the inside. That?s what ma&es alu&ewarm person. Iesus said, AJou people are li&e whited sepulchres that you go out and whitewash

every spring. Jou loo& good on the outside, but inside you are full of dead men?s bones. 1n other

words, they were rotten on the inside. That was pretty strong language, rightB Iesus went so far, in-atthew /$, as to call them AOsna&es and sons of sna&esE? Kverse $$, T4VL. Jet He had tears in His

voice as He said it.

1n the same chapter He said, AJou hypocrites. Jou clean the outside of the cup. 0hat youshould do is clean the inside of the cup, and the outside will be clean as well. 1f the inside is right, the

outside will be right too. (ut it is possible for the outside to loo& right

!$)

and the inside to be rotten still. % person can loo& good on the outside and go through all the

right motions and perform all the right behavior and be simply a moral person. -orality has to do

primarily with outside, e3ternal conformity to the laws and rules and regulations. The moral personfollows the mores of his society on the outside, but inside he may be Dust the opposite. 8o a lu&ewarm

person is one who does all the right things but for all the wrong reasons.

The maDority of people in the church up until shortly before Iesus comes are e3ternalists. Theyare trying to do what?s right on the outside, trying to get righteousness by wor&s. They do not &now

+od, yet they try to live as His children. %nd the pitiful thing is that 'aodicea doesn?t even &now its

condition. 1t doesn?t &now. 1t is Awretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and na&ed, and &nows



To *now +od -orris '. Venden 9!

it not.

(ut wait a minute5when Iesus actually comes again, how many groups of people will there

beB 0e?ve already noticed that there are going to be only two groups of people when Iesus comes

again. 0ho are theyB They are the hot and the cold. 0hen Iesus comes again, bringing His reward withHim, there are only two groups of people. There will be no lu&ewarm reward for the lu&ewarm. There

is no lu&ewarm la&e of fire for the lu&ewarm. There is no lu&ewarm heaven for the lu&ewarm.

8o if there are only two groups of people when Iesus returns, then the ne3t @uestion would be0hat happens to the large group of lu&ewarm peopleB They disappear. 0here do they goB They go

either hot or cold. That means that from the time of 'aodicea, the

!$#

last of the seven churches of Revelation, until the time that Iesus actually comes, there is an

interim when people go one way or the other. There is a polariation that ta&es place, and nobodyremains lu&ewarm any longer.

SIGN O" &HRIST’S &O$ING

;ow the reason 1 am interested in this subDect is that 1 believe this polariation has beenhappening for several years already and is becoming more pronounced every day. 1 believe that this is

the greatest single sign that Iesus? coming is right upon us. The evidence is that immediately before

Iesus? coming, people are going to be divided into two groups, only two groups, the hot and the cold. 0ith that in mind, let?s read Revelation $7!#, !". Here is the counsel to the people who are in

'aodicea and who are lu&ewarm. A1 counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be

rich: and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy na&edness do notappear: and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. %s many as 1 love, 1 rebu&e and

chasten7 be ealous therefore, and repent.

'et?s brea& this message to the lu&ewarm down into two parts, for the sa&e of our

understanding. The first part is verses !<!). 1t?s the rebuke to 'aodicea. 1 &now your wor&s: you areneither cold nor hot. 1 wish you were either cold or hot. (ut you say you are rich, increased with goods,

and have need of nothing, and don?t &now that you?re wretched and miserable and poor and blind and

na&ed. That?s the rebu&e to 'aodicea. !$"

;ow there?s something beautiful about +od?s patience in relationship to His church. 1t?s nice to&now that even 'aodicea, a lu&ewarm body, can still be His church. He must be very patient. (ut +od

never rebu&es people without giving them help. 8o the second part of the message to these 'aodiceans

is counsel. A1 counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich: and whiteraiment, that thou mayest be clothed . . . : and . . . eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

8o the second part, verse !#, is the counsel to the 'aodiceans. The first part is the rebu&e, and

the second part is the counsel.

'et?s ta&e a minute to get together on what the counsel is all about. Those who have studied thesymbolism in Revelation tell us that gold represents faith and love. %nd white raiment5what is thatB

1t?s the righteousness of Christ. %nd eyesalve indicates spiritual discernment, insight5which comes

through the Holy 8pirit. 8o the counsel to the 'aodiceans, the lu&ewarm people, is that they need therighteousness of Christ by faith, which brings love and is accomplished through the Holy 8pirit. The

counsel to the 'aodiceans is their need of the righteousness of Christ by faith, and faith comes only by

a daily, personal, onetoone relationship with Iesus. THE RESULTS O" THE &OUNSEL

0hat will be the result of this counsel of the True 0itnessB 1t will be the thing that will cause



To *now +od -orris '. Venden 9/

the third group, the lu&ewarm group, to disappear, to go either hot or cold.

!>=

;ow it?s easy to see that a rebu&e could cause some polariation. 1t?s possible to get up and givesome scathing rebu&e, cry aloud and spare not, really let people have it for their sins, and split churches

right down the middle. (ut there is one thing for sure+revival has never happened on the basis of

e3ternals. ;everE 43ternal change may be called reformation, but reformation is no good unless it is preceded by revival. 1t?s the revival that brings genuine reformation, and revival has to do with the

heart, with the inward spiritual life.

8o we have to underscore it carefully here that any time we have genuine spiritual revival, it isgoing to be based on the righteousness of Christ, and faith and love and the Holy 8pirit and the oneto

one fellowship with Iesus.

(ut Revelation $ indicates that this message is the great dividing message7 it causes people to polarie into either of two groups5hot or cold. 0hat is there about the message of the righteousness of

Christ by faith and the need for the relationship with Christ that causes people to go one way or the

otherB

There?s only one answer. 'aodiceans, lu&ewarm people, have gotten used to finding theirsecurity in something other than the righteousness of Christ, and faith and love and the Holy 8pirit.

They have found their security in the e3ternal things they have been doing. 8trong people can find

security in e3ternals, because strong people can live good moral lives on the outside. They say, Gon?t bother me with the righteousness of Christ by faith and with my need for a onetoone relationship with

+od to receive His faith

!>!

and love. 1?m living a good moral life. +od, Jou &eep Jour planets from running into one

another, and help the drun& in the gutter and the harlots and the thieves. (ut meB 1?m getting along fine,

than& Jou. That?s the problem of the 'aodicean, the lu&ewarm person. That was the problem of the

e3ternalists in the days of Iesus. 0hen Iesus came along and tal&ed about +od and faith and love and

surrender, it was a threat to their security. 1t pulled the rug out from underneath them. %nd the personwho has been thin&ing that he has assurance of heaven someday because he is living a good life cannot

stay the same when he hears the emphasis upon the righteousness of Christ as our only hope. 4ither he

will welcome it as good news and enter into the faith relationship with Christ, accepting of Hisrighteousness and love on a daybyday basis, or he will wal& away from the whole pac&age and say,

A;o, than&s, 1?m not interested. 1t?s a mystery that is hard to e3plain.

(ut wherever Iesus went, people never remained the same. 0herever Iesus is uplifted, there?seither a revival or a riot. 0herever the apostle Paul went, determined to &now nothing e3cept Iesus and

Him crucified, people went one way or the other. 4ither they welcomed him into their synagogues, or

they ran him out of town. There is no possibility of straddling the fence in the presence of Iesus.

8o this is what causes the large middle group to disappear Dust shortly before Iesus returns. %tthe time of His coming there will be only two groups. This emphasis upon the righteousness of Christ

by faith alone has been rising steadily, and nothing is stopping

!>/

it. 1t?s the last message Dust before Iesus returns, and it causes the last events Dust before He

comes again. 0e can reDoice when we see it happening, for it tells us that Iesus? coming is very, verynear.

THE GREAT DIVIDE



To *now +od -orris '. Venden 9$

This great divide is going on right now. 1t is happening in every church, it is happening in the

world at large. Iesus said, 1 am not come to send peace, but a sword K-att. !=7$>L. He tal&s about

relatives ending up being against one another. %nd this is also being seen today. For years it has been

possible for two people to live together as husband and wife under the same roof and be verycompatible because they were both lu&ewarm. (ut as lu&ewarm people disappear shortly before Iesus

comes, sometimes one goes hot and the other goes cold. %nd what happens in the homeB There is

incompatibility, isn?t thereB Gid you &now that the divorce rate in the 2nited 8tates is something li&e <$ percent of the

marriage rateB Gid you &now that the divorce rate among church members is basically the sameB 1t

didn?t used to be that way, not at all. 8o we have all &inds of results as the polariation goes down thecenter of families, down the center of churches. People are going one way or the other, and it?s

happening fast.

1 am willing to ta&e the ris& of saying that every one of us &nows today which way we aregoing, right now. How can we &nowB %s we have noticed, it?s determined on the basis of &nowing +od

or not &nowing +od. 0e could boil it down to one @uestion7 Go you &now Iesus as your personal

friendB %re you

!>$

spending time with Him, one to one, continuing to accept His saving graceB That?s the vital

@uestion. Jou may be going through real, agoniing struggles, but if you &now Iesus on a personal basis

day by day, you?re going to be on the winning side. %nd even though we may lose an occasional battle,

+od has already won the war. 1f you?ve read the end of the (oo&, you &now we?re going to winE Iohn !)7$ says it so clearly7 AThis is life eternal, that they might &now thee the only true +od,

and Iesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 1t is in &nowing Iesus that our salvation is received and

continued to the end, which is only the beginningE

!>>



To *now +od -orris '. Venden 9>



To *now +od -orris '. Venden 9<

To Know God - Morris L. Venden

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