Talk—Phil Jennings
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Well, let's let's just look for the work for his health.
Father were so thankful for each.
One who is here today, we're so thankful for the whole day beginning with the children and then that wonderful privilege of gathering around the Lord Jesus and remembering him. That and what we're going to speak on tonight, Father, by your grace and through your health.
Will be centered in the value and the work of Christ's death.
And so we asked you, Father, that you would give grace. You know this has been spoken on before, but every time.
There's a fresh need to feel our need of your health. We pray for each one who is in the room. We pray that there will be listening ears and the Spirit of God would at some point in time in their life.
Take this message and make it good to their soul. So we give me thanks to Jesus name.
Well, I, I'm going to start tonight by saying that brother that called me his name was James. And he said that there's, there's this deal about about main time. And I don't really know what that means that I'm going to interpret it to mean that you can mainly talk as long as you want.
That.
We're trying to work with James.
No, I think I've got about.
Really, I don't want to talk any longer than that.
So I'm going to share a little something that happened on probably one of my last one of my one of my last months work in the school district where I used to work. I think I was up on the ladder and I was doing something with a cabinet that I could build and the class starts to let out and those of us who have been on the maintenance.
In the maintenance department long enough to know that.
That you need to be careful when the classes start left, not that you're on the ladder so.
I I was just kind of waiting for the kids to get by and there was kids with a spring walking, walking past me and he was, he asked his friend, he said.
You know, why do we live to die?
It comes up to the shop teacher, which is class I was right by and he asked the shop teacher, he said Mr. B, why do we live to die?
And you know, that was, that was the day I decided I, I really needed to retire.
Because that was a profound question.
With a very simple answer.
Profound question, but a very simple answer. And so the shop teacher gave him some answer and I'm not sure how much it satisfied the needs of this boys heart but.
After after class let out, I went up to Mr. B who is a professing Christian and I said Mr. BI said why do we live to die and.
He gave an answer and I said, well I think the answer is very very simple. It's it's a 3 letter word.
SI NSIN, we live to die because of sin.
And if there's anybody here in the room tonight who's living to die?
Because of sin without the remedy applied that we have been Speaking of this weekend.
I again want to put out a warning to you.
God has made a way for you not to have to live to God.
You can accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and you can live.
To live.
And that's what we're going to spend the rest of the time talking about.
Now I'm going to ask Tim Hatton a question.
Is he here?
Him what is the what is the motto of the state of New Hampshire? OK, I bet you that this this has been talked about probably 30 or 40 if you've had your conference here. Anybody.
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So the model for and. I just noticed this as we were pulling into the rest area and I thought how nicely this fits into the to the to the.
Live free or die. And you know, it's kind of nice to live in a country where basically that has been the motto of our country. We can't live free. We're willing to die so that we can live free. And many have. And we can certainly be thankful for the men and women who have given their lives so that you and I could be here and we can talk about the freedom. That is a whole lot.
Somebody break the door down. Forget us. Oh, so that's the freedom I want to talk about. But I want to take that phrase. We're free to die. And I'm going to turn it around backwards and I want to say we die.
Yeah, we can even say we die. To live free, we die.
Three and so that's the that's the subject the main subject of our talk this afternoon this evening. So let's let's turn to root now I know you're thinking that this framework to come up with this subject and.
I thought you would think that I was kind of willing.
So I'm going to draw, I'm going to, I'm going to throw a little bit of turbine here. We're going to go to race because I was, I was sitting in our reading meeting on Wednesday night sometime ago during Ruth. And this could have hit several brothers writing about the right time and it was almost a big thing. But this truth was brought home to us and we enjoyed it so.
Great if I can get there.
OK.
Now Ruth is a book that.
God is used in my life.
Teach me some very, very wonderful truth. It's the books that shines the grace of God. And you know, I didn't always understand grace. I wasn't always in the good of grace, the grace of God, even after, I will say it wasn't always going to be very successful. And the book of Ruth was used by the Lord, by the Spirit to teach me.
The goodness that is in the heart of God.
What we would consider to be.
Made some bad decisions. I'm not going to spend a lot of time in here. It's it's about a famine.
And one of the children of Israel's family's lives and.
They made a decision to address their needs, their hunger.
Without consulting the Lord and they ended up going to a place that God never intended for them to receive blessing from him in. They went to the land of Moab. The land of Moab was not a place that was friendly friendly to the Lord and it was not a place that the Lord wanted his people to get their food from even though.
The food was scarce and if I go too long in this, I won't get to that. So we'll go on down and we'll find out.
That.
Three.
And a little at Naomi's husband died.
And she was left and with two sons.
And they took them wives of the women of Moab, The name of the one was Orca and the name of the mother Rage. And they dwelt there in about 10 years. And I just want to stop. This isn't going to have any real connection with the rest of the talk, but I love you all and I especially.
Loves you young people, and my desire for you is that you would never make the decisions that.
That Chilean and whatever this other man was a melon made and that was he made a permanently bad choice. They made a choice actually that.
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Caused them to.
Not be able to turn around in their in the decision they made. They married Moabitess women and there was no Moabites allowed in Israel for 10 generations. They made a decision that was permanent.
But it was going to affect their relationship with the women. That was a bad decision. And, you know, some of the decisions that we made have the tendency to be determined. And I don't want anybody to make, you know, by the grace of God, there's some of us that have been to sit in this room and by the grace of God have been kept.
From those decisions, and you know what, for you all that are sitting here that are young and still have these decisions to make, we would desire for you, we wouldn't make these permanently bad decisions that will affect your ability to go on with the Lord and to be a blessing.
To be useful. And so I just make that and then we're going to go on because it's so important.
So what happens then?
And it says in Melon and Chilean die. And that's all I really want to take from Ruth. Except let's go on to Chapter 2.
Chapter 2.
Verse one and Naomi.
A kinsman. Naomi had a kinsman. And I'm not going to, I'm going to act as those. This, this person was not in Naomi's family. Just for the lesson that we want to learn. A mighty man of wealth. A mighty man of wealth, you know.
We can look at what happened with the death of.
Elimelech the dust of Chile on the death of Melon, and we can say that was a terrible tragedy, but in tight it was the best thing that could have happened.
Is investing because.
God was going to channel His blessing not through the first relationships.
Grace was going to come through the line of someone else besides Elimelech.
Male.
Going to come through.
Who is going to come through the?
And Boaz was a mighty man of wealth and the reason why God could.
Green roots to Naomi into such rich blessings was because of the wealth of Boaz and because of the heart of Boaz boaz's heart is filled with grace, though as does not lack the resources to bring.
Ruth.
And Naomi into blessing.
So this is only a type, it's only a picture, but it's going to help us to see the truth that's found in the gospel. Now let's turn to Romans.
I'm going to develop a truth that we began to develop.
When they began with the meeting in Ephesians chapter one.
But I'm going to develop it a little bit farther because there's some very important versus.
To.
Pinpoint is actually a key verse if it's not the key verse.
In Romans I think it's the key verse in Romans 5 and so Romans 5 and verse 14.
Now the stars were swelled, Wherefore as I, one man sent him through the into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
So in tight.
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We've just spoken about.
A type Elimelech, Chilean and melon.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world.
Now let's go find Boaz.
Verse 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that not have had not sinned after the similitude of Adams transgression. And this is this is the phrase I want you to get ahold of. Who is the figure of him that was to come? Who is the figure of him that was to come?
The lesson we're going to learn tonight is that if there's, if there's, you know, I'm not sure how far we're going to get.
But we need to but the. But the point I want each one to think about here is here we have.
Two men.
We have atoms who send.
And passed on death to the whole human race. And we're under is the curse of Adam by nature.
But this verse 14, the end of verse 14, that the keys to understanding the truth of the gospel and the truth of deliverance, the truth of living free, is that Adam was only a figure of him that was to come.
Adam was only God. Never.
In sending for His blessing, and we have seen it so clearly in our reading meetings, the Christ is the center of all of the of all of God's purposes for the blessing of this world.
Adam was just a figure of him, and God never intended to channel his blessings through Adam.
The Romans 5.
Very important chapters we have the introduction of the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who is going to be used to channel all of God's blessings to you and I.
We have the introduction of that man in such a way that we find our identities in him. You know, if we went into Chapter 6, we would find that through the figure of baptism, we as children of atoms go down.
We're associated with the death of Christ and with God's judgment of that man.
At the Cross. And that is the reason why death is the very central part of our liberty. It was necessary for Adam and all of his room.
To find his end at the cross.
And believe me, God found atoms in at the cross.
The problem is.
We sometimes have a hard time fighting atoms in at the cross because we see too much of the atom activity in our life.
But if we will apply the truth of death and resurrection as God sees it in our life, we will realize that Adam met his end.
Just go.
And God has taken ourselves.
In resurrection life.
Because he has told us your identification with Adam is over.
Your identity, you are now identified with Christ. You know we go back to the picture in Ruth.
The Roots needed food and she needed shelter when she needed when she needed a spouse. What happened?
She found every single resource that she needed.
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For her wife, for her blessings, for her liberty, for her food.
In Town and Boa.
Have to worry about Jillian.
They were dead.
We don't have to worry about.
Because at the cross, God took care of him.
And that's not what I say.
That's what God has determined.
And if I believe the truth of the gospel?
I will see my identity with my Boaz.
I will see.
A mighty man of wealth, one who is able, who has the resources, who has the ability to help me.
With everything that I am dealing with in my life, you might say, Phil, this is pretty much doctrine. No, it's really not. It's pretty much absolutely necessary for me to live.
And absolute freedom from everything that once found a.
You know, as I share these truths.
I didn't get them from a book.
I'm sure that I got a little help from the writings of the brethren, but I needed these truths.
When I was the age of some of you out there, I needed to know how.
Three, I had influences in my life. One of those influences was the power of sin.
The power of sin if you're a child of Adam.
You know what the power of sin is when I take it we're all child children and that.
And there is a necessity for us if we're going to be free.
There's a necessity for us to know what God's remedy for the power of sin is, and you know what it is.
Another.
Well, we could make it a three letter word, but maybe a 5 letter word. You know God, he doesn't.
He doesn't make things, so he communicates in a very, very simple way the answer.
To me, living free.
Is death.
When I understand what took place at the cross.
Where God didn't just judge my sins, but He judged everything that I was, including that nature that was so completely opposed to His holy character. He took that and as it were.
Putting it at the cross where the Lord Jesus.
Was put to death from my transgressions.
So as I'm baptized in figure, I go down into the waters, and those of the waters of judgment.
And I died.
Under the water.
And then in figure I rise up.
That I rise with no connection to what I want.
I'm now associated to another man.
On resurrection ground.
Now that sounds easy.
Wasn't easy.
Because I didn't.
I didn't take care of the same question. I didn't die with a penalty of what? I wasn't having the Lord Jesus.
Wasn't easy for him to provide liberty.
Freedom.
But he did.
When I rose and figured on resurrection ground.
I was a new creature.
Not an atom.
But impress.
Now you say no. That's wonderful, doctor.
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And if that's all it is?
Then I won't be free.
I won't be free, and the Lord Jesus will have gone to the cross, and I will only have gotten part of the benefit, you might say.
I can truly say that faith in the Lord Jesus does.
Free me from the penalty of my sentence.
But.
In the truth that I died there with him, I went into death with him, and I rose up again in newness of life.
That is freedom.
That is deliverance for my life now.
That's deliverance for my life now. So what is the key?
So there's a key.
It's fake.
Now I can share these groups with each one of you. And I prayed in my prayer, I asked the Lord that in his time.
He would show you the reality of these truths.
In his time, I can stand here and I can, I can, I can give you these truthful and glue in the face. I've done it before. One time I had a final study in my basement with one of the brothers in our meeting. I love to do this, by the way. I love to see. I love to set forth, contribute to romance.
And I had set forth the truth of deliverance.
And at the end of the time we have together, he looked at me and he's the kind of guy that's just absolutely as honest as he's been being honest. And he said Phil.
He said. I didn't understand a word he said.
I I knew the truths were true.
I knew that their work wasn't in jeopardy because of the lack of his just his ability to take it in where he was in his life right there.
And I'll guarantee you tonight you are where you are in your journey of faith with the Lord. I can give you these truths, and I hope.
That the effect of them is that there might be a longing in your soul. If there is a longing in my soul, that you, if you cannot appropriate them or make them good to yourself right now, I hope there's a longing in your soul that says I want to be free.
I want to be free, because if there's a longing in your soul that wants to be free, God is going to answer that long. But he may have.
Experience for you to pass through as I stand up here. I cannot tell the Lord how to bring these truths home to your soul. If I were to tell you how long it took for me to really enter into these things to the degree, whatever that degree is.
I enjoy them. I would have to tell you it was way too long and much longer than you'll want to wait to really be able to enjoy them.
And so we know that there is nothing.
Deficient in the work of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know there's nothing deficient in the blood which He shed cleanse us from our sins. We know there's nothing deficient in being associated with His death.
In the resurrection was absolutely not one flaw or weakness in God's design to set you and I free from the policy. And now I'm just going I'm just going to bring up to one more thing because as I've been chatting with the dear Saints that so many of my I just haven't known you and so we get to talking and I like to talk.
But a lot of times talking gets gets around to what you're interested in.
And obviously I think you can tell what I'm interested in. So I talked around to what I'm interested in and I find out.
That I'm not the only one that not only struggled, that the power of sin in my life and didn't have any idea how to get out the numbers until I realized the power of my death with Christ. But there was something else I struggled with. And if you've heard me speak a little bit about this, please forgive me.
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But as I I was having conversations, it kept coming up in conversations, different conversations.
I think it's up to about four or five or six, but there's been a struggle with that.
You know the law was given to bring righteousness to the man. The man and flush.
It was given to try to produce righteousness to the first man.
It was God's way of showing man that he couldn't produce righteousness.
Every single one of us in this room have a difficulty with law and you say, boy, you're a rough guy.
But it's because I know that's what Scripture says, because when God says I want to bless you in the Old Testament, Man said.
Whatsoever you said, and it was without, it was, it was everybody who said.
Said whatsoever you say it to me will do whatsoever you say. And so man was saying, give Lord, give me a law, and I'll merit your listen.
That's what law is about.
But if we want deliverance from it.
We have to get free from the one that the law is given to. That's the first name.
Well, how do we get free from the first man? Well, we went through that principle before, yeah.
And so we get into when we get into Romans Chapter 7.
Of this reverse.
Verse 4.
It says, Wherefore, my brethren?
You are, you are. We also are becoming dead.
In the law, and I won't go any farther, you have become dead to the law. Why have you become dead to the law? Because the law was given to Adam.
And God tested that for 4000 years.
And he decided to stop testing.
And he presented a way in which he wouldn't have to seek blessing from man.
On the principle of law.
It was going to be for being to the deliverance of the Council.
And so.
It kind of hurts me sometimes.
When I think of how sometimes long it takes for us to lay the law.
To this to the to to, to lay aside the standards that we set up to try to to these righteousness for God. I'm not suggesting.
License.
Christian liberty has nothing to do with the activity of flesh. Christian liberty has nothing to do with the activity of the flesh.
Flesh is judged when there is liberty.
The life of Christ is an activity when there is liberty. The new nature is acting in a way that it desires to where there is liberty and there's no thought.
Taking part in Christian liberty. So the thought of not having liberty, not walking in liberty because you're afraid of the of of the questions we do need to be.
But if we really understand deliverance, if we don't really understand freedom, we'll understand that we don't have to be afraid.
That to speak about.
Setting along.
Well, OK, I just shared a message that really needs probably five or six meetings. But what I do desire for each one is that these truths become really, really good here so that your life begins to be characterized.
By.
Your association.
Life.
You know when it says?
I don't think I'm getting in the meantime.
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But.
Romans.
I.
It says in verse 16th For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
For is the power of God unto salvation to everyone to believe it? You know God has power. You know, we spoke in the reading meeting today about God's power to bring to pass the things that He has purposed for the glorification of Christ and our association with him. God lacks no power.
Boaz was a mighty man of wealth.
And.
I'm not sure of the gospel of Christ.
For it is the power of God unto salvation. That salvation is delivered. Deliverance from the penalty of our sins, it's deliverance from the power of sin, it's deliverance from the man who was guilty of that sin, Adam, it's deliverance from.
The the consequences of what law does in our life, which causes the activity of the power of sin to well up and overcome us, and it delivers us.
Flesh in Romans 8.
We are not in the flesh.
My cave and I can see my. I can see my.
I might even be able to see my deliverance from the power since but the flesh.
You know.
These are truths.
That God is going to have to show you. He's going to have to apply them in your daily life.
But yes.
We are not in flush, but who are we as?
We're in.
The Spirit is the life.
For the Christ life.
Doctor, the Spirit is the power for the Christ life.
The flesh.
Is the power.
Of my atom nature.
Under an unsubjective will to God.
My flesh is activated because I have a, because by nature I want to think of that guy anymore.
I have a nature that opposes the will of God.
And the flesh is the power of that old man.
But I'm not in it.
That's why, because God said.
That's why.
So sorry.
Thank you very much.
We'll just give thanks for the food and.
Loving God our Father, we do thank Thee.
For this time that we've had through the weekend, thank you for the message that has gone out.
Think of the beautiful reality of these things.
And the reality of the power of God in our lives.
Can have to walk in it, I see.
Yeah. So we pray for each one here, each of us with our own.
Struggles.
And thank thee for the provision all the ministry each year.
Has fed us, has fed us again together this year.
Thank you for the food.
Natural food also prepared and the care that has gone into it and pray for each one as they would spend the evening together. Tomorrow morning perhaps.
We would all go back to our.
Daily responsibilities for assistance for us that we take these things with us and chew on them and make them our own. So we ask this now in the blessed name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.