Welcome to the Truth Time podcast.
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Now for a shot of Truth with no chaser, here's Trey Searcy with today's podcast.
Last week I recognized and saluted a few ministers of reconciliation and this week I wanted to do the same.
Brother Scott Evans, who you hear on the mobile app during the Truth Time Look in the Book episodes, we're hearing from a lot of folk who are being blessed by those words can't express how grateful we are to be laboring alongside this brother.
Scott has been a part of this ministry for many years, and when you're at the website and reading the podcast transcripts, do know that without Scott, without him putting in the work transcribing those transcripts, they would not be there in text form available for YouTube for you to study through.
And I can't begin to tell you how many people do that.
Some who have had a problem understanding something, but after reading through and mowing over the transcripts, something clicked.
So thanks to Brother Scott, your service to the Lord is invaluable.
We also salute Copio Felix who ministers reconciliation throughout Kenya, Africa and is also sometimes featured right here on the app.
As is our dear brother, Donnie Holt, who preaches reconciliation like nobody's business there in North Carolina.
Thank you, sir, for all you do.
And Joseph Browning, hats off to you there in Chicago, Illinois, who's been a real blessing to the ministry here.
Thank you, Joseph.
He's been a listener of ours for years and has a great passion for rightly dividing the word of truth.
And a big thanks to Rafael Lima, who is there in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
We love you, brother.
Stay strong and hang in there.
And we salute our dear brother Aaron Taylor, Aaron holding it down there in South Alabama, Enterprise, Alabama.
A big salute to you and we thank you for all your service.
I'm reminded of our apostle and what he says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, One that planteth and one that watereth.
That's two, but Paul says they're one.
We praise God for these fellow laborers, unified co-workers who share one purpose, to see souls saved and saints edified.
1 Corinthians 15:58, Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always bounding in the work of the Lord. For as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
In a passage we often talk about there in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verses 16 and 17, For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of. For necessity is laid upon me. Yay, woe is it unto me if I preach not the gospel. For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
Praise God, ambassadors for Christ, ministers of reconciliation, here we are banding together to publish the greatest news.
You can't find anything better, the greatest news known to mankind.
When you're in the mood for some good news, it doesn't get any better than this.
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.
2 Corinthians 5:19, not imputing their trespasses into them, and this gospel, this gospel of reconciliation has been committed unto us.
To tell the world that the work, all the work necessary for their eternal soul salvation is d-o-n-e, done, already completed, and all that's left, all that's left to do is by grace through faith, acknowledge it.
Acknowledge that God has reconciled you.
Your acknowledging that is what reconciles you to God, verse 20.
So, verse 19, God was in Christ reconciling himself to you, verse 20, now you reconcile yourself to him.
That's the deal, that's the reconciliation good news, this is such a simple yet profound message.
One that bringeth great joy, unexplainable peace, peace like you've never experienced before.
Words, great words of comfort, words that give us the assurance of knowing just how expansive God's love is.
2 Corinthians 5:20, Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
This is the message, this should be the message on the lips of all believers today, telling the world to be ye reconciled.
God commended his love toward us, isn't that good news? In that while we, while you and I were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
So it's time to rest, to rest in that good news, to stop striving for God's love.
Hey, we don't have to strive for his love, his acceptance, his, listen, we don't have to take a test and we don't have to pass a test.
We don't have to endure through anything.
That's the message of religion.
That's weak, so weak and watered down for those of us who have come into the knowledge of the truth.
Hey, we're not fingers crossed, hoping and waiting to see how this thing all turns out.
We already know.
We don't have to Matthew 24:13 endure unto anything.
We don't have to endure into the end to make it because we were sealed at the moment of belief.
Ephesians 1:13, praise God, God doesn't need us to perform anything.
All he wants from us is our trust.
Believe on him that justifieth the ungodly.
Other than trusting him by believing this gospel, there's nothing else to do.
Nothing else to do for salvation.
Oh, we work.
We're saved unto good works, but no striving for our eternal soul salvation.
We already have it.
We're secure in him, hid with Christ in God and Colossians 2:10 complete in him.
Complete in the one who is head of all principality.
Complete in the one who is head of all power.
Complete in him who we were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands.
We were buried with him in baptism.
We were raised, praise God, raised through the faith of the operation of God.
The handwriting of ordinances that was against and contrary to us has been blotted out, blotted out completely, taken out of the way and nailed to the cross of Christ.
This was all done out in the open.
The principalities and powers were spoiled as Jesus was victorious, victorious all by himself.
Praise God, this is cause for celebration.
Hey, I challenge you to celebrate this.
If you're not already, go ahead and try it.
It'll bring peace that passeth all understanding.
We can stand firm in the ministry of reconciliation.
We can open our mouth and declare that we are holy.
We are blameless.
We can say that because we're a child of the living God.
And don't let the God of this world convince you otherwise, to convince you of anything that would contradict this news.
If that's what you've been doing, repent, ten toes down, stand firm and change your mind, flee all the expectations that religion has placed on you.
As the old song says, Free your mind and the rest will follow.
You know, while to some, including works with salvation, oh, it just seems harmless.
No big deal.
I mean, God did all that for you.
You must have to do something for him to be saved.
To them, including a little self-effort seems harmless, but it's not.
It's an admission of your own self-righteousness is what it is.
So, repent, change your mind of that today and start enjoying the liberty,
start enjoying the rest that you have in his righteousness,
righteousness done in behalf of you.
He loves us unconditionally.
You don't have to strive for God to love you more because he can't.
You ever thought of that?
God can't love you any more than he already does.
When you believed the gospel, the good news of your salvation, you were adopted into his family, Romans 8:15, eternally safe, eternally secure, at the moment of belief you became one of his children, Galatians chapter 3.
You know, many, many teach that the whole world is God's children.
You hear that all the time, but the Bible doesn't teach that.
You'll hear a lot of universalists say that, but that's not Bible.
That's their imagination.
Galatians 3:26, For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
See that?
It always amazes us how simple Bible truths get overlooked.
Children of God are only those who have believed, put their faith in, their trust in, Christ Jesus.
Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Children of God are only those who have believed Paul's gospel.
And under the current administration of grace, this economy, the believer's life is not about striving harder to win brownie points with God.
Hey, you're either in Christ or you're not.
And in Christ, in him there is no need to prove anything.
No need to prove your worth.
How can you prove your worth anyway when your worth no longer hinges on you?
Kind of hard to do, right?
Your worth is no longer found in yourself.
So, it's pretty free when you come to realize you come to this knowledge
that, and understanding that your worth is in Christ, in him you can let go of all the endless worry, strife, and work and performance.
God's not looking at your performance so that he can evaluate you.
You're in his Son and he's already been evaluated.
His test score is your test score.
How about that?
Now that's really good news.
You don't have to be any more than you already are.
In him you can let go of all the anxiety.
No need to carry it around any longer.
The best way for you to find rest in him is to let your thoughts align with his thoughts.
We have the mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians 2:16, For who hath known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ.
Now those are good words.
Having the mind of Christ and actually using it, now that's different.
We have the mind of Christ in 13 epistles.
The mind of Christ is understanding his purpose for us in this dispensation of grace.
The mind of Christ stands in opposition to the wisdom of man.
The mind of Christ enables us to spiritually discern and separate what is actively going on in the, "but now," from that which is past and will be in the future.
This is why Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:7 wrote, We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory.
And in Philippians 2:5 he said, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
This is about the revelation of the mystery that was revealed to Paul, the faith of Christ that he penned with 13 epistles directly to you.
Your instructions for salvation, your walk, your destiny, hey, understanding this allows us to let go of the performance works based lifestyle that religion has enticed us with.
Which can only offer endless distractions.
Some of us know full well what it's like to be trapped in the religious bubble, running the hamster wheel.
We wasted valuable time and energy striving to achieve the impossible, to please the Lord in the energy of our flesh.
It never worked.
To live by faith is opposite to walk by orchestrating.
Instead of orchestrating, we should just allow God's word to do its work in and through us.
In Christ, we're not judged by our weaknesses.
We're not judged by our failures.
One thing that can help us, this can help us.
It can help us to cease from all the striving is to receive what Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 and 2. I love this passage. If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Where's your focus?
That's what this is about.
Understanding your identity will change your focus.
Listen, once we change our affection, we can cease from striving.
It's this world that demands that we strive for this and strive for that, but in Christ we find rest.
In him we find peace.
In him we find contentment.
Blessed with all spiritual blessings, lacking nothing, equipped with all knowledge.
Okay, guys, keep pressing on, keep pressing forward.
Second Corinthians 5:19, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.
The work for your eternal soul salvation was completed.
Acts chapter 13 verse 37, But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
Be it known unto you, therefore men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you, the forgiveness of sins. And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
This gospel is something to be celebrated.
He, who knew no corruption, God raised from the dead.
And through this man, Jesus Christ, is preached unto all the world, the forgiveness of sins.
And all that believe are justified from all things.
That's shouting ground good news.
I am a boat rocker.
If you've landed here and are searching for something to help you escape the chaos found in the denominational system, your search is over.
Here to help you sort it all out, this is WTTR Truth Time Radio.
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