{"id":18961,"date":"2018-09-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-02T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/revelation-013-secure-in-christ\/"},"modified":"2018-09-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-09-02T05:00:00","slug":"revelation-013-secure-in-christ","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/revelation-013-secure-in-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 013 – Secure in Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[490],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18961","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-revelation","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Revelation 013 - Secure in Christ","sermon_date":"20180902","sermon_month":"9","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":6006,"sermon_slides":6012,"sermon_mp3":6011,"sermon_id":"9218927243","series_or_event":490,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"3:5-6","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nSecure In Christ\u00a0\u00a0 9-2-18\n\nRevelation 3:5-6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lesson 13\n\nGood morning everybody.\u00a0 If we could take our Bibles and open them to the Book of Revelation, chapter 3, looking this morning at only verses 5-6.\u00a0 You say you can\u2019t preach a sermon on two verses can you?\u00a0 Those of you that say that probably don\u2019t know me that well.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 The title of our message this morning is Secure In Christ.\u00a0 Just reminding you where we have been in our study of the Book of Revelation, we laid the foundation of the book early on, we moved through the prologue or introduction of the book, and then we saw the first major section of the book where John is told to write down the things that he has seen.\u00a0 He records a portrait of the glorified Christ there in chapter 1.\u00a0 Then he moves into section 2, write down the things that are.\u00a0 The things that are, are essential seven letters to seven churches; they follow a pattern.\u00a0 The pattern has eight parts to it and we\u2019re in the midst, a little over halfway through that middle section of the book, \u201cthe things that are.\u201d\n\nWe\u2019ve seen Christ\u2019s exhortation to Ephesus, the love less church, to Smyrna, the persecuted church, to Pergamum, the compromised church, to Thyatira, the corrupt church and last time we saw what Christ was beginning to say to Sardis, the dead church.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen the destination of this particular letter, it\u2019s a place called Sardis there in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen how Christ describes Himself to that church, He is the One holding the seven spirits of God and having the seven stars.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We have seen what Christ commends of that church.\u00a0 The only thing really commend\u00adable is their reputation which is a reputation from life, but that commendation quickly moves into a rebuke because their present practice was not consistent with their reputation.\u00a0 Practically speaking they were in fact dead.\u00a0 He exhorts that particular church to wake up and strengthen the things that remain and he says if you don\u2019t there will be a consequence, even the things that are mildly alive within that church will quickly die.\n\nAnd that\u2019s where we left off last time and we find ourselves this morning in verse 5 and verse 6 where Christ makes three promises to the overcomers.\u00a0 Take a look, if you could, at Revelation 3:5, Jesus says, \u201cHe who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.\u201d\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice this expression \u201cHe who overcomes.\u201d\u00a0 What we\u2019ve been arguing for thus far is that overcomer is a synonym for a Christian.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to have a lot more to say about that in just a minute.\n\nSo Jesus is reminding them of their future; their future which is inevitable should motivate them in the present.\u00a0 A lot more on that to come.\u00a0 And he is announcing to these Christians within this church three things.\u00a0 Number one, they\u2019re going to be clothed in white.\u00a0 Number two, their name is not going to be erased from the Book of Life.\u00a0 And number three, they are going to be confessed before the Father and His angels.\u00a0 Let\u2019s focus on those three blessings this morning.\n\nThe first thing he says there in verse 5 is they will \u201cbe clothed in white garments.\u201d\u00a0 White, as you know, in the Book of Revelation and in the Bible represents purity.\u00a0 Isaiah 1:18 says, \u201cThough your sins are as scarlet they will be made white as snow.\u201d\u00a0 Moral and perfect positional purity before God, being just as righteous as Jesus Himself.\u00a0 How do you get that exactly?\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s one of the great questions plaguing the human race.\u00a0 The world of religion will tell you\u00a0 that you get those things through good works and good deeds; you make yourself righteous, you clean yourself up and come to Jesus, so to speak.\u00a0 Self-righteousness is the clarion call of the religious world.\u00a0\u00a0 And yet when you study the Bible you learn that self-righteousness won\u2019t get\u00a0 you anywhere with God.\n\nIsaiah 64:6 says, \u201cFor all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds\u201d interesting expression there, \u201crighteous deeds,\u201d religious deeds, \u201care like a filthy garment; [And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.]\u201d\u00a0 Romans 3:20 says, \u201cbecause by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; [for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.]\u201d\u00a0 Well, if self-righteousness is not going to seal the deal for any human being how do you get this white raiment?\u00a0 It\u2019s not through self-righteousness, it\u2019s through transferred righteousness.\u00a0 Some have even gone so far as to call it an alien righteousness meaning it\u2019s a righteousness that\u2019s not your own, it\u2019s come from somewhere else.\u00a0 Another fancy name for that is imputed righteousness, transferred righteousness.\n\nThere was a lesson that God taught Adam and Eve very early on in Genesis 3.\u00a0 After the fall of man, according to Genesis 3:7, they sewed fig leaves together and made loin coverings.\u00a0 [Genesis 3:7, \u201cThen the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.\u201d]\u00a0 That\u2019s the first act of religion in the Bible, man trying to fix his problem, guilt before God, through his own efforts\u2026 self-righteousness.\n\nAnd of course, it is somewhat interesting that when you get to the end of that chapter, Genesis 3:21 says, \u201cThe LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.\u201d\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice that they wanted to clothe themselves but God says no, I will clothe you.\u00a0 Through what?\u00a0 Through garments of skin.\u00a0 Well, where did these garments of sin come from?\u00a0 Presumably God killed an animal right there on the spot and used the skin to clothe Adam and Eve.\u00a0 You say well, what did the animal do wrong?\u00a0 Nothing, that\u2019s the point!\u00a0 The animal is an innocent sacrifice, the kind of sacrifice that we just celebrated this morning at the Lord\u2019s Table.\u00a0 Through a sacrifice of\u00a0\u00a0 an innocent substitute Adam and Eve were clothed by God rather than Adam and Eve clothing themselves before God through their own religious works.\n\nAs best as I know how to articulate it that\u2019s what Christianity is.\u00a0 In fact, if I only had one verse\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 in the Bible and I could pick which one I would pick Philippians 3:9 because Philippians 3:9 articulates in the clearest way I know of this great principle that I just talked about.\u00a0 By the way, in that chapter Paul has been busy explaining his own good works as an unbeliever and there were plenty of them.\u00a0 But he had sort of a revolution in his thinking and he says this in verse 9 or chapter the, \u201cand may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own\u201d let me rephrase that or say\u00a0 it again, \u201cnot having a righteousness of my own,\u201d can I say it another time, \u201cnot having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness\u201d what does it say here, \u201cwhich comes from God\u201d alien righteousness, accessed here \u201con the basis of faith\u201d alone.\u00a0 This is what Jesus is speaking of here when He says to the overcomes, the believers in Sardis you will be clothed in white garments.\n\nI don\u2019t know about you but I don\u2019t plan on standing before God one day giving Him a list of my accomplishments.\u00a0 In fact, somebody online posted a sermon quoting a song, it\u2019s an older song, most Christians have probably never heard it or sung it but the line goes like this: when the judge shall at last call my name from the throne and say who will answer for this guilty soul, through the darkness I see He will be waiting for me and His sweet voice will say I will answer for thee.\n\nThat just about sums it up doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 What is self-righteousness going to get me in the end?\u00a0 It\u2019s not going to get me zip, it\u2019s not going to get me anything.\u00a0 I have to have someone else\u2019s right\u00adeousness transferred to me and consequently Christ articulates to these struggling Christians that\u2019s what they have!\u00a0\u00a0 You need to live according to what\u00a0 you have; you don\u2019t live to get that, you live because\u00a0 you\u2019re that way.\n\nBut there\u2019s a second blessing and we\u2019re going to be spending most of our time on this second blessing, also in verse 5, blessing number two, not only clothed in white but number two \u201cyour name will not be erased from the Book of Life.\u201d\u00a0 Notice what verse 5 says, \u201cTo him who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life.\u201d\u00a0 You say well what exactly is \u201cthe Book of Life.\u201d\u00a0 We have a record of it in Revelation 20:12 and verse 15.\u00a0 It\u2019s a record of those who have trusted in Christ; they are put in a book.\u00a0 [Revelation 20:12, \u201cAnd I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.\u201d\n\nAnd consequently verse 15 of Revelation 20 says, \u201cAnd if anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThe Book\u201d is a record of those who are exempted from the lake of fire because they have trusted in the One who has absorbed the wrath of a holy God the Father in our place.\u00a0 It\u2019s the most important book you could ever have your name inscribed in, the Book of Life.\u00a0 And yet as comforting as this verse is I believe this verse, perhaps more than any other single verse in the whole Bible that I can think of has caused more terror to Christians because most people read it this way: \u201cTo him who overcomes\u201d that means I\u2019ve got to do something, \u201cTo him who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life.\u201d\u00a0 Oh my goodness, what if I don\u2019t overcome?\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t that verse open up the possibility that Jesus could take out the white out and take my name in the Book of Life, which was entered into that book when I received Christ as my Savior and I\u2019m not overcoming in my daily life, I had a struggle last week, I had a failing, I had a fall, whatever the issue is.\u00a0 Maybe my name could be removed from the Book of Life.\n\nThe word \u201covercomer\u201d is nika\u014d <\/em>where we get the word Nike as in the shoe company, and most people look at that verse and to them it means gosh, if I\u2019m not victorious in daily life then the possibility is open that my name could be removed from the Book of Life.\u00a0 And they go through the Christian life with great question marks in their mind as to whether they\u2019re saved at all.\n\nAnd by the way, what does it really mean to \u201covercome\u201d in daily life.\u00a0 I mean, what if I prayed four days instead of the fifth day?\u00a0 What if I resisted sin three days but I didn\u2019t do it the remaining days?\u00a0 What if I had a negative thought?\u00a0 What if I had some unforgiveness in my spirit and heart that I really didn\u2019t offer towards somebody?\u00a0 Nobody defines who the overcomers are so you\u2019re left with just trying to guess; there\u2019s no objective standard.\u00a0\u00a0 And so all of us are thinking well maybe I\u2019m not an overcomer and if I\u2019m not an overcomer that verse, it seems to me, opens the possibility that my name could be taken out of the Book of Life.\n\nNow a lot of people say well come on Andy, you don\u2019t really believe, do you, that a Christian could be overcome by sin?\u00a0 If a Christian could not be overcome by sin (and by the way, we\u2019re not promoting that, we\u2019re just acknowledging its possibility) if a Christian could not be overcome by sin then Romans 12:21 shouldn\u2019t even be in our Bible, should it, because what does Romans 12:21 say?\u00a0 \u201cDo not be overcome\u201d that\u2019s the same word, nika\u014d<\/em>, \u201cby evil but overcome evil with good.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now if it\u2019s impossible for a Christian to be overcome by sin why did Paul tell Christians not to be overcome by sin?\u00a0 It\u2019s a commandment that\u2019s not needed.\n\nThe reality of the situation, and your Bible supports this, read the story of David sometime, Solomon, Samson, I mean, any number of people, Lot, any number of people, Saul, people that I\u2019m convinced for a lot of reasons, I don\u2019t have time to go into it here, are in heaven but there are seasons in their lives where they weren\u2019t over-comers.\u00a0 If we\u2019re honest with ourselves that can describe us, couldn\u2019t it?\u00a0 And people say well I guess I\u2019m not an overcomer so if I\u2019m not an overcomer I guess there\u2019s a possibility, Revelation 3:5, that my name could be erased from the Book of Life.\u00a0 [Revelation 3:5, \u201cSo they go literally to their graves with this ambiguity in their minds, question marks in their minds.\u201d]\n\nSo they go literally to their graves with this ambiguity in their mines, question marks in their minds.\u00a0 What I\u2019d like to communicate to you is this: when Jesus says, Revelation 3:5, he who overcomes what he is saying is this is a positional fact already made about the believer based on what Jesus Christ has already done for the believer rather than what the believer does for himself.\u00a0 That\u2019s the right way to understand \u201covercomer\u201d nika\u014d<\/em> which means conqueror or victor.\n\nWe need to allow the Book of Revelation to interpret itself.\u00a0 Revelation 3 comes before Revelation 5.\u00a0 Do you all agree with that?\u00a0 What do we discover in Revelation 5:5?\u00a0 You learn there\u2019s only one overcomer.\u00a0 Revelation 5:5, says, \u201cand one of the elders said to me, \u2018Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome\u201d nika\u014d<\/em>, same verb, \u201cso as to open the book and its seven seals.\u201d\u00a0 The book and it\u2019s seven seals. We\u2019ll be talking about that book as our series progresses.\u00a0 It\u2019s the title deed to the earth.\u00a0 John starts to weep early on in that chapter because no one is worthy to open it.\u00a0 And if no one is worthy to open it the world just goes on and on and on in its current state of bondage to the devil.\u00a0 I would weep too if that was what I thought reality had come to.\n\nBut the whole tenor of the chapter changes when you learn there is someone who can open the scroll. Well, who is that one who can open the scroll?\u00a0 It is the overcomer, nika\u014d<\/em>, Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And because he is the only one that\u2019s ever overcome He alone can open the scroll.\u00a0 I mean, if we\u2019re all overcomers and gaining victory in daily life then we all ought to be opening the scroll and that\u2019s not what that chapter says.\u00a0 It says only He and He alone could open the scroll.\u00a0 John not only wrote the Book of Revelation, he wrote four other books; The Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and in John\u2019s Gospel he records what Christ says in the Upper Room to the disciples.\n\nJohn 16:33, \u201cThese things I have spoken to you that in you, you may have peace but in the world you will have tribulation.\u201d\u00a0 Amen to that?\u00a0 \u201cBut take courage, for I have overcome\u201d nika\u014d <\/em>the world.\u201d\u00a0 By the way, nika\u014d <\/em>there is in the perfect tense, meaning one time action with ongoing results.\u00a0 The overcoming has already happened through what Jesus has done for us rather than what we do for ourselves and that\u2019s why He tells his disciples to \u201ctake courage,\u201d some versions say \u201ctake heart.\u201d\u00a0 I mean, why would I take courage in the fact that the whole thing rests on my shoulders?\u00a0 What\u2019s there to take heart in in that?\u00a0 And if I don\u2019t do X, Y and Z maybe I\u2019m going to get erased, maybe I\u2019m going to be deleted.\u00a0 How would that\u2026 what is there to take heart in in that, that would not be a note of encouragement, it would be a note of discouragement.\n\nJohn also wrote 1 John 4:4, and what does he say, \u201cYou are from God, little children,\u201d speaking to Christians, \u201cand have overcome\u201d there\u2019s our word again, nika\u014d<\/em>, you \u201chave overcome\u00a0 them;\u201d why? Here\u2019s the answer, \u201cbecause greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.\u201d\u00a0 Notice the perfect tense again, one time action ongoing results.\u00a0 Why is it that I\u2019m an overcomer?\u00a0 It\u2019s not based on my talent, it\u2019s not based on my abilities, it\u2019s not based on my holy life.\u00a0 It\u2019s because I am united by faith to the One who has already overcome.\u00a0 Every child of God is already an overcomer, it\u2019s a positional fact because you are connected by way of faith to the One who has already overcome.\n\n1 John 5:4-5, also written by John, says: \u201cFor whatever is born of God overcomes\u201d there\u2019s our word nika\u014d<\/em> again, \u201cwhatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome\u201d nika\u014d<\/em> again, \u201cthe world\u2014our faith.\u201d\u00a0 [5] \u00a0<\/sup>Who is the one who overcomes\u201d third use of nika\u014d<\/em>, our same verb from Revelation 3:5, \u201cWho is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?\n\nI don\u2019t know what kind of week\u00a0 you had last week.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what kind of year you\u2019ve had.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know the ups and the downs in your life.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know the defeats and the discouragements but I know this: if you have trusted in Christ by positional definition you\u2019re already an overcomer.\u00a0 You say well, I don\u2019t feel like it.\u00a0 Since when did feelings have to do with anything?\u00a0 I mean, when you get on an airline, a pilot flying the plane, do you want that pilot to go by his feelings, her feelings or what the numbers subjectively say?\u00a0 Feelings have nothing to do with it.\u00a0 Mathematical facts have everything to do with it.\n\nAnd what else does it say here?\u00a0 Go to Romans 8:37, I see pages turning, what a thought, I wonder if all this technological stuff has made us kind of spiritual dumb-dumbs?\u00a0 Romans 8:37 says this, \u201cBut in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.\u201d\u00a0 Now you\u2019ll notice this word \u201cwe overwhelmingly conquer\u201d that is a compound word meaning two words making up a single word, it is the word hupernika\u014d<\/em>, it\u2019s certainly the word nika\u014d<\/em>, that\u2019s the word we\u2019ve been basing this study on but what you\u2019ll find connected to is the word huper<\/em>nika\u014d<\/em>.\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 It means\u00a0 you\u2019re not just an overcomer in Jesus Christ, you\u2019re a super overcomer.\n\nAnd by the way, the verb there is in the present tense meaning this is a continual aspect of our position.\u00a0 In other words, it never changes.\u00a0 Who are you in Christ Jesus?\u00a0\u00a0 You are not just an overcomer because He overcame; you are actually a super overcomer.\n\nLet\u2019s go over to the Book of Revelation, chapter 21 and take a look at verses 6-8.\u00a0 This is how the Book of Revelation uses the expression, nika\u014d<\/em>, overcomer.\u00a0 Now verses 6-7 is describing one category of people, verse 8 is describing another category of people.\u00a0 Verses 6-7 is describing the bell who gets the water, verse 8 is describing the unbeliever who gets the fire, two different people.\u00a0 And notice that the believer in comparison to the unbeliever is called an overcomer.\n\nTake a look if\u00a0 you could at Revelation 21 and notice if you will verses 6-7, notice what it says: \u201cThen He said to me, \u2018It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. [7] He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.\u201d\u00a0 See the word \u201cHe who overcomes\u201d that\u2019s the word nika\u014d<\/em> again.\u00a0 Who is the overcomer?\u00a0 The overcomer is the one who is a son of God, a child of God.\u00a0 They\u2019re an inheritor, the will receive without cost from the water of life.\u00a0 It\u2019s very clear he\u2019s talking about all Christians.\n\nAnd then if you go down to verse 8 it says, \u201cBut for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be<\/em> in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s very clear here that verse 8 is an unbeliever, verses 6 and 7 is a believer and what is the believer called here in the very same book that we\u2019re studying?\u00a0 The believer is called an \u201covercomer.\u201d\n\nHere\u2019s the reality of the situation.\u00a0 If\u00a0 you are a child of God it doesn\u2019t matter what\u2019s going on in your personal life, you\u2019re already an overcomer.\u00a0 And you say well, sometimes I don\u2019t act like an overcomer.\u00a0 Welcome to the club!\u00a0 The goal of progressive sanctification is you catch up with your position but that doesn\u2019t change the fact that your identity is that of an overcomer.\n\nSo having said all that, let\u2019s take a second stab at Revelation 3:5.\u00a0 What is Revelation 3:5 saying.\u00a0 Revelation 3:5 says: \u201cTo Him who overcomes,\u201d now who\u2019s the overcomer?\u00a0 The believer.\u00a0 In fact, you might even put underneath the word \u201covercomer\u201d believer, so you understand exactly who it is.\n\u201cHe who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.\u201d\n\nOn the left column is the incorrect view; now I know you guys have an imagination.\u00a0 The right column is the correct view.\u00a0\u00a0 You ready for this?\u00a0 Incorrect view, Revelation 3:5 is an imperative verb meaning a command.\u00a0 People think it means you\u2019ve got to overcome to keep your name in the Book of Life.\u00a0 That\u2019s the incorrect view.\u00a0 The correct view is Revelation 3:5 is not an imperative verb, it\u2019s an articular participle meaning it\u2019s describing something.\u00a0 Incorrect view\u2014Revelation 3:5, \u201cto him who overcomes\u201d is a command.\n\nCorrect view, Revelation 3:5 modifies \u201che.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s a description of the pronoun \u201che,\u201d overcomer is describing he already.\u00a0 Incorrect view, Revelation 3:5 is prescriptive, meaning it\u2019s a command.\n\nCorrect view, Revelation 3:5 is not prescriptive but it\u2019s descriptive, it\u2019s describing a reality.\u00a0 Incorrect view, Revelation 3:5 says the believer must overcome.\n\nCorrect view says the believer is already an overcoming one.\u00a0 See the difference.\u00a0 Well, you can\u2019t see the difference, can you hear the difference?\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 Incorrect view, what the believer ought to do.\n\nCorrect view, who the believer already is.\u00a0 Incorrect view, these are conditions, if you don\u2019t meet the conditions\u00a0 you don\u2019t get the benefits.\n\nCorrect view, it\u2019s not a condition, it\u2019s a statement of fact.\u00a0 Incorrect view, possible benefits.\n\nCorrect view, inevitable benefits.\u00a0 Incorrect view, motivation in the present through potential loss,\u00a0 you\u2019d better keep moving, you\u2019d better keep overcoming, you\u2019d better keep empowering,\u00a0 you\u2019d better keep subduing because if you don\u2019t do it you don\u2019t get the benefit.\u00a0 What\u2019s the benefit?\u00a0 Keeping your name in the Book of Life.\n\nCorrect view is its motivation through what\u2019s inevitably yours.\u00a0 In other words, because of who you are what he\u2019s simply saying is act according to your identity.\u00a0 If you know you\u2019re a king, if you know you\u2019re a prince\u00a0 you know what you\u2019re going to do,\u00a0 you\u2019re going to start acting like it.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a threat that your status is going to be ripped out of\u00a0 your hands; what it is, is a revelation of who\u00a0 you are which changes how we behave.\u00a0\u00a0 Incorrect view, motivation in the present through potential loss.\n\nCorrect view, motivation in the present through what\u2019s inevitably ours.\u00a0 Incorrect view, keep performing to maintain your position.\n\nCorrect view, let your practice catch up to your position.\u00a0 Incorrect view, position is maintained through human works.\n\nCorrect view, position is maintained through divine grace.\u00a0 Now amount of backsliding, no amount of disobedience can cancel who you are in Christ Jesus.\n\nSo that really changes the meaning, doesn\u2019t it.\u00a0 So what, then, is Revelation 3:5 saying?\u00a0 Let\u2019s go back to Revelation 3:5.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what it\u2019s saying.\u00a0 \u201cHe who overcomes\u201d who\u2019s the overcomer?\u00a0 All believers.\u00a0 \u201cHe who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not<\/u> erase his name from the Book of Life,\u201d now what does it mean \u201cI will not\u201d?\u00a0 What is that saying?\u00a0 In Greek it\u2019s two negatives together, it\u2019s what you call an ou m\u0113<\/em> construction.\u00a0 It is the strongest negation you could ever have in the Greek language, with two negatives together.\u00a0 It\u2019s like when my daughter, when she was seven, asks for the keys to the car.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t just say no, I said no, no, no, no! That\u2019s what the double negation is; translated \u201cI will not erase his name from the Book of Life.\u201d\u00a0 You could read it this way: \u201cI will not, not ever, no not ever erase his name from the Book of Life.\u201d\n\nWho gets that promise?\u00a0 The overcomer who is already a believer, not because of their practice but who they\u2019re related to by way of faith, Jesus Christ, the ultimate overcomer.\u00a0 That\u2019s what that verse is saying.\u00a0 So rather than this being\u00a0 used as a verse for insecurity, which is how many people believe it reads, it\u2019s not saying that at all.\u00a0 It\u2019s probably one of the strongest verses you could have in the whole Bible, not for insecurity but for security if you understand it right.\n\nIn fact, it may be just as strong as John 10:27-29, which says, \u201cMy sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; [28] and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.\u201d [29, \u201cMy Father, who has given them<\/em> to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them<\/em> out of the Father\u2019s hand.\u201d\n\nWhen it says never perish that is your double negative construction.\u00a0 In fact, I don\u2019t know why English translations don\u2019t pick this up but what\u2019s thrown into the double negative is the word ai\u014dnia<\/em> which means forever.\u00a0 By the way, that\u2019s the same word used to describe God Himself.\u00a0 Romans 16:26, \u201cthe eternal God\u201d is the word ai\u014dnia<\/em> so when it says they will never perish what you have there in Greek is two negatives coupled with the word forever.\u00a0 In other words, this cannot happen, absolutely cannot happen and that\u2019s a promise that\u2019s eternal.\n\nNow that becomes one of the strongest verses that we have in the whole Bible on the eternal security of the Christian.\u00a0 I believe that\u2019s what Jesus is talking about in Revelation 3:5 when it talks about the overcomer.\u00a0 The overcome will never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER have their name erased from the Book of Life.\u00a0 And you say well,\u00a0 you\u2019re creating a climate where people are just going to sin up a storm; don\u2019t you realize\u00a0 you\u2019ve got to threaten them with hell every week to get them to live right?\n\nAnd preachers will do this; they will dangle your salvation in front of you every single sermon\u2014you\u2019d better live right this week because gosh, your name is going to get erased from the Book of Life.\u00a0 And so they teach a doctrine of insecurity.\u00a0 You know what?\u00a0 That really doesn\u2019t solve the problem of holy living either because you know what happens to folks?\u00a0 They get saved on Sunday, they live like the devil Monday through Saturday, within the back of their mind what can they do the following Sunday?\u00a0 I\u2019ll just get saved again.\u00a0 That\u2019s why in a lot of churches where they give altar calls you see the exact same people getting saved every single week.\u00a0 And you say well, what\u2019s the matter with these people.\u00a0 The problem with it is they\u2019re not under proper doctrine and\u00a0 understanding.\u00a0 So dangling salvation and teaching insecurity over and over again doesn\u2019t help someone lead a holy life.\n\nI\u2019ll tell you what does help though, is understanding who you are, what you have and what you possess.\u00a0 You start understanding the promises of God who promises that you will never ever ever be erased from the Book of Life, you know what you\u2019ll say?\u00a0 You\u2019ll say God has done so much for me that what is reasonable is for me to simply yield to Him on a moment by moment basis. What else can I do?\u00a0 I mean, isn\u2019t it reasonable considering what Christ has done for me that I would offer Him my body as a living sacrifice?\u00a0 I\u2019m not doing it because I\u2019m afraid of losing salvation, I\u2019m not doing it because somehow I think Jesus is going to take white out and push me out of the book of life.\u00a0 I\u2019m doing it because I\u2019m blown away at the promises of God.\n\nYou know, the story of the Bible, if you don\u2019t learn anything in this church but just this one thing it would be this: the story of the Bible is not what we do for God; it\u2019s what God has done for us.\u00a0 And when the human mind starts to understand that I don\u2019t know of anybody that will say well, you know, I\u2019m just going to go out and live like the devil.\u00a0 Once we understand our position you start to have a basic desire to live holy; you\u2019re not doing it out of fear, you\u2019re doing it out of worship which is a far more powerful motive than doing X, Y & Z to keep yourself saved every single week.\n\nRevelation 3:5 is not talking insecurity, it\u2019s talking about security.\u00a0 When we understand that the overcomer is someone who has trusted in Jesus who is the overcomer, and we\u2019re united to Him by way of faith.\n\nI don\u2019t know if you guys in the back had the ability to turn over to Philippians 4:2-3, one of the slides, if you don\u2019t that\u2019s all right, the church survived for 2,000 years without PowerPoints, I think it will survive for the next 15 minutes.\u00a0 Philippians 4:2-3, take a look at this: Paul says, \u201cI urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 You\u2019ve got two people in this church that are fighting with each other.\u00a0 So what does Paul say, well, ya\u2019all maybe you aren\u2019t saved any more?\u00a0 What he says is right down there in verse 3, Philippians 4:3, their \u201cnames are in the\u201d what? \u201cbook of life.\u00a0 [Philippians 4:3, \u201cIndeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of<\/em> the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.:]\n\nHe doesn\u2019t say gosh, you guys are acting sinful so maybe\u00a0 your name is going to be removed from the book of life.\u00a0 He says you\u2019re in the book of life now start acting like what God has already decreed you to be.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 Carnality itself can\u2019t take you out of the Book of Life.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the title of this message is Secure in Christ.\u00a0\u00a0 You remember when Jesus sent out the seventy in Luke 10:17?\u00a0 \u201cThe seventy returned with joy, saying, \u2018Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.\u2019\u201d\n\nRemember what Jesus said, Luke 10:20, \u201cNevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 Lord, look at the spiritual gifts\u00a0 You\u2019ve given me to help build Your church.\u00a0 Don\u2019t rejoice in that, rejoice that your name is in the most important book it could ever be in, The Book of Life.\u00a0 Lord, I had one of the greatest years I\u2019ve ever had in terms of finances and personal income and job growth.\u00a0 Don\u2019t rejoice in that, rejoice that your name is recorded in heaven.\u00a0 Lord, I led 15 people to Christ and I gave X dollars to that ministry, and that ministry.\u00a0 Don\u2019t rejoice in that, rejoice that your name is recorded in heaven which is the most important book your name could ever be entered into.\u00a0 And once the name is entered into Revelation 3:5, nothing can remove it if you understand who the overcomer is.\u00a0 [Revelation 3:5, \u201c'He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.\u201d]\n\nIf you misunderstand who the overcome is what becomes a verse of blessing will become a curse.\u00a0 That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to be in a doctrinally biblically based church that knows how to rightly divide God\u2019s Word because if you\u2019re not in that kind of environment you\u2019re in an environment where people can misrepresent all kinds of verses to teach all kinds of things that the verse is not saying.\n\nThis verse, Revelation 3:5, is not talking about any insecurity, it\u2019s talking about security.\u00a0 You say well preacher, wait a minute, haven\u2019t you read Exodus 32:32, what you\u2019re supposed to say?\u00a0\u00a0 Exodus 32:32, which says, Moses is speaking, \u201c\u2018But now, if You will, forgive their sin-- and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Isn\u2019t Moses saying there Lord, take me out of the book?\u00a0 I mean, if our names are forever in the Book of Life this seems to contradict that because Moses says take me\u00a0 out Lord.\n\nOr how about Psalm 69:28, David writes \u201cMay they be blotted out of the book of life, and may they not be recorded with the righteous.\u201d If we\u2019re in the book forever why is David and Moses talking about folks being removed from the book.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t Psalm 69:28 and Exodus 32:32 contradict your interpretation of Revelation 3:5?\u00a0 And here\u2019s my answer: it seemingly contradicts it, unless you understand this very important fact.\u00a0 There are two books.\u00a0 Every time you see the word \u201cbook\u201d in the Bible it\u2019s not talking about the same book.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why I have my second chart.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\nSee, the devil knew what he was doing with all this stuff.\u00a0 Now rest easy, this chart is easier to understand than the other chart, but it\u2019s a chart describing the two sets of books.\u00a0 One is called the Book of Life; one is called the Lamb\u2019s Book of Life.\u00a0 How do you get into Book A?\u00a0 You get into Book A through physical life.\u00a0 When does physical life start?\u00a0 Contrary to what the pro-abortion movement tells you life begins at what?\u00a0 Conception, the moment there is conception in a human being their name is put into Book A.\u00a0 How do you get into Book B, spiritual life?\u00a0 You get into Book B, the Lamb\u2019s Book of Life through regeneration; you believe in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into you, spiritual life begins just like it began with physical life at the point of conception,\u00a0 at spiritual conception the Holy Spirit comes into you, you\u2019re a new creature in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 The theologians call this regeneration.\u00a0 And your name is written into book B.\u00a0 Book A, physical life entered at physical conception.\u00a0 Book B, spiritual life entered into at the point of regeneration.\n\nThe first book, the book of physical life, is primarily spoken of in the Old Testament.\u00a0 If you\u2019re in the Old Testament and\u00a0 you\u2019re reading about a book it\u2019s probably Book A.\u00a0 In fact, it\u2019s that 100% of the time.\u00a0 If you\u2019re in the New Testament and you\u2019re reading about a book it\u2019s talking about Book B, the Lamb\u2019s Book of Life.\n\nWhat Scriptures talk about the book of physical life?\u00a0 Exodus 32:32; Psalm 69:28.\u00a0 What Scriptures talk about the book of spiritual life?\u00a0 Luke 10:20, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 12:2, Revelation 20:15; Philippians 4:3.\n\n[Exodus 32:32, \u201cBut now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.\u201d\u00a0 Psalm 69:28, \u201cMay they be blotted out of the book of life And may they not be recorded with the righteous.\u201d\u00a0 Luke 10:20, \u201cNevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 3:5, \u201c'He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 12:12, \u201cFor this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 20:15, \u201cAnd if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.\u201d\u00a0 Philippians 4:3, \u201cIndeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.\u201d]\n\nWell, if there\u2019s two books that changes everything, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 What is Moses saying there in Exodus 32:32?\u00a0 Exodus 32:32, \u201cBut now, if You will forgive their sin--but if not, please blot me out of the book you have written.\u201d\u00a0 What is Moses talking about here?\u00a0 Is he talking about loss of salvation?\u00a0 NO, he\u2019s talking about Book A.\u00a0 He\u2019s saying Lord, if You\u2019re going to kill them, the rebellious Israelites, then kill me too.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he\u2019s saying.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing here at all about a loss of salvation.\n\nWell, how about Psalm 69:28, \u201cMay they be blotted out of the book of life and may they not be recorded with the righteous.\u201d\u00a0 This is David, this is an imprecatory Psalm where David is praying not for the loss of salvation of his enemies; he is saying Lord, kill them.\u00a0 You say well how can you be so sure of your interpretation.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure of my interpretation because I\u2019m aware of the fact that the word \u201cbook\u201d in the Bible doesn\u2019t mean the same thing everywhere it\u2019s used.\u00a0 And because nobody is up front of the Christian public explaining these things to people your average Christian is left to their own devices and they are looking at books, they\u2019re thinking the same book and they\u2019re developing a doctrine of insecurity and they\u2019re living their life in fear when God is saying that\u2019s not how you\u2019re to live, in fear.\n\nYou know, the example I like to use with all of this is the Golden Gate Bridge.\u00a0 I\u2019ve used this example many times.\u00a0 The Golden Gate Bridge, as you know, is a great place to commit suicide because of its height\u2026 maybe I shouldn\u2019t say \u201ca great place to commit suicide,\u201d\u00a0 [laughter] an effective place, I made it sound like it\u2019s a vacation spot or something.\u00a0 It\u2019s an effective way to end your life because once you plummet and hit that water it\u2019s like hitting concrete, you just die instantly.\n\nSo they were constructing the Golden Gate Bridge there in northern California and you had workers working on the bridge and they were plummeting to their death and then somebody had a bright idea, why don\u2019t we put a safety net underneath the workers so that way when they slip inadvertently while they\u2019re building their life will be spared.\u00a0 And they did very careful studies on this concerning the productivity of the workers before the net was in place and after the net was in place, and you know the results of the study from common sense, because the workers were secure and death wasn\u2019t an issue, they could focus on what they were doing and they were far more productive.\u00a0 As long as the worker was divided between work and security their work was nullified.\u00a0 You see that?\n\nThis is why the devil is working overtime to convince people and misrepresent verses to make it sound like maybe they\u2019re not saved, because if the devil can sidetrack you into those kind of anxious thoughts he\u2019s just dissipated the productive energies to deal with what God has actually called you to do.\u00a0 That\u2019s why to me this issue of eternal security is a big deal.\u00a0 This is why I\u2019m against people taking verses out of context and teach something that the Bible is not teaching.\u00a0 This is why I\u2019m in favor of slowing down and explaining these things because it has a ramification on daily life.\n\nRevelation 3:5, far from teaching insecurity is teaching security, if you understand that the overcomer is Jesus, He\u2019s already overcome, we\u2019re connected to Him by way of faith, that makes me an overcomer whether I feel like it or not, which means that nothing, not anything, absolutely nothing with 100% certainty, can ever remove my name from the Book of Life.\u00a0 I hope you leave today knowing that you\u2019re blessed.\u00a0 Number 1, you\u2019re clothed in white through imputed alien transferred righteousness.\u00a0 And number 2, you have ultimate security.\u00a0 And there\u2019s a 3rd<\/sup> thing you have, which we\u2019re going to go over very fast, also in verse 5, going back to Revelation 3:5.\n\nWhat does Jesus say, \u201c\u2026I will confess his name\u201d who\u2019s the \u201chis\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s the overcomer; who\u2019s the overcomer?\u00a0 All Christians.\u00a0 \u201cI will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.\u201d\u00a0 Do you mean to tell me that Jesus is going to publicly stand up for me one day in front of the Father and the angels themselves and say that one belongs to Me.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I\u2019m saying.\u00a0 That\u2019s what Revelation 3:5 is saying, that one belongs to Me.\u00a0 Why is that\u201d\u00a0 Because they are in Me by way of faith.\u00a0 Well, if I\u2019m going to be spoken for like that then why am I so upset about people in this world rejecting me?\u00a0 I mean, why do I get so bent out of shape if this person doesn\u2019t like me.\u00a0 Or that person doesn\u2019t like me, or this group over here won\u2019t accept me or that group over there won\u2019t accept me?\u00a0 Or this place of employment turned me down, why am I upset about that?\n\nThat\u2019s just minor stuff when you consider that the day is going to come when Jesus Himself will confess\u00a0 you, not only in front of the Father, that would be enough, but in front of the angels too!\u00a0 How many angels are there?\u00a0 Then thousand times ten thousand, they\u2019re innumerable.\u00a0 In fact, in the Bible that\u2019s why angels are analogized to stars.\u00a0 How many stars are there in this universe, in this galaxy.\u00a0 Well, with the invention of the Hubble Telescope the galaxy is so broad that nobody even knows how many stars there are; they\u2019re incalculable.\u00a0 So Jesus is going to say in front of all of these angels, all of these stars, and God the Father Himself, he or she is Mine.\u00a0 WOW!\u00a0 Clothed in white, name will never be erased from the Book of Life, confessed before the Father and His angels.\n\nVery fast, verse 6, how does it end?\u00a0 An exhortation to listen.\u00a0 \u201c'\u2018He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Are\u00a0 you listening to this?\u00a0 Are you hearing this?\u00a0 Or is this just another religious ritual that we go through this time of the week.\u00a0 Folks, this is transformative if you understand this.\u00a0 And not only that, He doesn\u2019t just say \u201cHe who has an hear, let him hear what the Spirit says,\u201d he says \u201cwhat the Spirit says to the\u201d what? \u201cchurches.\u201d\u00a0 Now is the noun \u201cchurches\u201d at the end of verse 6 singular or plural?\u00a0 Plural, this is not just something that Jesus aimed at Sardis, a church that\u2019s been dead and gone for the last 2,000 years.\u00a0 This is a message to the whole church, to the whole body of Christ, regardless of what geographical locale they find themselves in and what time in history they\u2019re living in.\u00a0 This is to you!\u00a0 This is to me!\n\nThree blessings, clothed in life, name is not erased from the Book of Life, and you\u2019re confessed before the Father for the angels.\u00a0 What did Jesus say? \u201cNevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 Is your name recorded in heaven?\u00a0 How do you get\u00a0 your name recorded in heaven?\u00a0 It\u2019s very easy, you trust in the One who overcame in\u00a0 your place.\u00a0 That\u2019s the point of this.\u00a0 You trust in the One who did the work on our behalf; Jesus is the overcomer, Jesus did it all.\u00a0 How do you trust in the One who overcame it on your behalf?\u00a0 You simply believe in what He has done.\u00a0 \u201cBelieve\u201d is not just intellectual assent, it actually means to trust.\n\nAnother way of saying it is via faith, faith by itself.\u00a0 The Spirit of God convicts people of their need to trust in the overcomer, Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And so our exhortation to you is to do that.\u00a0 God help us to leave this kind of message with the flesh trying harder to do something it can\u2019t do anyway.\u00a0 May God spare us from that as we trust in Jesus Christ and Him alone.\u00a0\u00a0 You can do that right now, where\u00a0 you\u2019re seated.\u00a0 It\u2019s a matter of privacy between you and the Lord.\u00a0 Will you trust in what Jesus has done.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a matter of walking an aisle, raising a hand, giving money; it\u2019s a matter of personal and private faith.\u00a0 And so if it\u2019s something you need more explanation on\u00a0 I\u2019ll be available after the service to talk.\n\nShall we pray.\u00a0 Father we\u2019re rich, we don\u2019t even realize it, we\u2019re so preoccupied with emergencies that we don\u2019t even stop to consider what we have.\u00a0 We thank\u00a0 you Lord today that we\u2019re clothed in white, we have eternal security, and we\u2019re going to be confessed before the Father and the angels.\u00a0 Be with us, Father, as we continue to navigate our way under Your illuminating Spirit the Book of Revelation this next week as we start the church at Philadelphia.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026. Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t