Dr Charles Stanley - I Am Saved, Now What - Part 2

0:00He said, work it out. Once with children of God, our life used to be an expression of the life of Jesus Christ. He said, well, where am I to work it out? Where do you live? You work it out among your family. You work it out on your job. You work it out in your school. You work it out among your friends. You work it out among people that you meet who are strangers. That is, living in a way that our conversation and our conduct and our character are exemplifying the life of Christ. Churches often hold classes to help believers know how to share the gospel. But once a person becomes a Christian, how equipped are you to instruct them in what to do next? We're glad you've joined us today for In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. In part two of, I am saved now what? Well, here's some crucial truths every believer needs to know to thrive in the Christian life.

1:01When you were saved, did anybody sit you down and say, well, let me explain to you just what happened to you? I want to talk to you about God so you don't understand who He is. I want to explain to you who Jesus is and His relationship to God. Did anybody say to you, now there are certain things you need to know that you are a Christian? And one of the things that you need to realize is it's very important that you read the Bible every day. It's food for your soul. It'll make a difference. You'll find a lot of information. It's more than information. It's divine guidance. Not only that, you need to be sure to spend time praying every day, asking for the Lord's leadership in your life, whatever the needs may be. And you need to be baptized now that you're saved because that is the command of the Lord Jesus Christ and to wait on that is not a wise ideal.

2:01Because you'll always think that something and feel that something is missing and what's missing is you were not obedient to God at that point. And then of course not only to be baptized but to join a church, whether teaching the Word of God, where the Word of God is preeminent above everything else. Because what you'll be doing, you'll be filling your mind with the Word of God. You'll be growing in your Christian life. Things will begin to change in your life. You'll begin to have understanding. You'll have a peace, you'll have a joy. You'll have trials and difficulties and hardships. But because you're in that book every day, God will be giving you wisdom and direction. And because you're talking to Him every day, He will be quieting your spirit, calming your spirit, and giving you clear direction. Not only that, you'll be wanting to give because you see God gave His Son for you and He has a principle of which we're to give. And that is a tie that we're in, come 10%. When you do that, what you're going to learn is you're going to learn to trust God.

3:05You're going to find Him blessing you in ways financial that you've never dreamed of. And not only that, you also need to tell somebody else what Jesus has done and what He's doing in your life. Because you see He said we'd to be like salt and light. Our life is to make a difference in somebody else's life. Did anybody set you down and tell you those things? Most people become a child of God and nobody ever tells them what they should expect as a result of that when they join a church. Nobody ever tells them, here's what you can expect and here's your responsibility. Now I want you to turn it to you, will, to Philippians chapter 2. Beginning in verse 5 of this second chapter, Philippians, Scripture says, have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.

4:06But emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him a name that is above every name. So that, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and on the earth. And that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now watch the next phrase, so then that is on the basis of all that, so then. My beloved, just as you have always obeyed not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with their intermly. For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

5:12That is one of the most important verses in the Bible when it comes to living a Christian life. And the first thing I want to talk about is simply this, and that is the person and place of Jesus Christ in your life. You say, oh, I've been a Christian for years and years and years, but just listen carefully. Who is He? When you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you didn't just get your sins forgiven. You assumed a position of fellowship. That is the follow Jesus Christ who is the Lord of everything and all things. And so many people who trust Christ as their Savior, nobody ever tells them about that. They say, well, I trust that Jesus is my Savior. Now I'm a Christian, a Christian to do what? A Christian to live how? No name to equal His name. He is the Lord, every knee will bow, every tongue confess why. Confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

6:13That's the will of the Father that I confess that He's my Lord. And what I'm saying is simply this. Put it in modern terms, I see Jesus Christ as my Savior. I also know Him in a practical way daily He's the boss. He has the right to call every single play in my life. He has the right to tell me where to go. He has the authority and the enablement and the power to not only tell me what to do but also enable me to do it. He is the Lord of our life. So the first thing a person needs to understand is the person and the place of Jesus Christ in their life. He's the boss. Look at this verse. He says that we are to work out our salvation with fear and journey. What does He mean by that? He simply means this. That we are to put our salvation experience into the operation mode. It's to be operational. That is now having trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I am to live out what God is placed within me which is the life of Christ.

7:20When you trusted Him as your Savior, the Bible says the Holy Spirit came to endure you, in you with you and upon you forever. And it is the Holy Spirit working in and through us that God works out our life. We are not talking about salvation. We are talking about sanctification. That's what sanctification is all about. Sanification is all about this. Having trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior, the sanctifying process is this. He sets us apart for His purpose and for His work and for His glory and honor. Once Jesus saved you at that moment, He went to work in your life. Now, four of us is one thing, but for Himself ultimately. He created you. He saved you. And He intends to live through us in order to do what? To bring about His purpose in this world. That is all of us, His followers. And I cannot imagine somebody saying, well, I have been saved and I have been baptized and I am a church member. And so, you know, what else is there?

8:25I had a friend of mine who said to me one time, I was talking about something that he needed to do and he said, look, I am not crossing Adeline. I am not getting that committed under any condition. And I want to say to you, if you are one of those believers, you say that you are a Christian and you have drawn a line in your life and you have said, I am not going to be that committed. It is making us what it is. You have told the boss what you are going to do and what you are not going to do. When the world you would probably get fired. In your relationship to Jesus, you suffer something worse than that. Listen, your fellowship with Him would suddenly get severed. I am not going to do the will of God. I am going to have it my way. I am going to do what I want to do. That is a disastrous attitude. And what I want you to see is this because somebody didn't explain all this to you early in life is no excuse. You said, well, you know, I want to do the best I can.

9:30What you are hearing it, that is that Jesus is the Lord of your life. And he is living and working within you to accomplish his purpose for you. And so what does that say? It says, you and I have responsibility. That is what it is all about. That is, if I trust Him as my Savior, He writes my name in the Lamb's book of life. I know I am going to heaven. He is preparing a place for me. I have responsibility. This is what I would say to any church member, for example, when you join a church wherever it might be. And you become a part of it. You have responsibility. Pray for them, support it because you are a part of something, getting the gospel to the world. He says, work out your salvation. Don't get saved and sit. It is totally unscriptural. He said to those apostles, follow me. And when he walked along the seashore and he said to Peter and John, he said, follow me. For them to have followed him meant they had to obey him.

10:39When he said, I will make you a fish of man. He gave them a big signal. Don't save your boat. Sell it. It is a different story. It is a different life. Follow me and I will make you a fish of man. When you got saved, listen carefully. Jesus had a plan for you and a purpose for you. And He made you some big promises. I am sorry to tell you what they were. Because you see many people struggle in their Christian life. And they struggle often times out of ignorance. They struggle because nobody ever gave them any instruction. They look around at other church members and say, well, I guess that is the way it is. I see how they are living and I see how they are living. Somebody may say, if that is a Christian life, I don't want it. Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life and He has the most awesome plan. But you have got to be willing to follow His leadership and His guidance.

11:39And that is, I am going to get up every morning recognizing and realizing this, that by my conversations with people and by my conduct before them and by my character, I am going to make an impact of some sort. That is what He wants you to do. You see people say, well, I came preach, I can't teach. You don't have to do either one of those. Because what you are doing is you are sending a message. Well, whether a person is standing on a platform, sending a message, you are living among other people, sending a message, you are sending a message. And the issue I would ask you is this, what is the message you are sending? Are you sending a message that you have been saved with the grace of God that you have peace and joy in your heart? Are you sending the message that the power of God is working in your life? What kind of message are you sending them? That God answers prayer, that you are not threatened and fuming over things, that you are putting your trust in Him, you are sending a message. He says, work it out. In your home, what are you working out that is inside of you in Christ? What about where you work? What do they see? What do they hear?

12:48What is implied by the life that you are living? Watch this. The more conscious you are of the Lordship of Jesus Christ who is living within you, the more conscious you are of His presence, the more quickly you are going to give the right answer. There is a responsibility to deliver God in life and He says you to work it out. You to live it out. That is our responsibility. First, He said, you need to know who He is in the place of Jesus in your life and secondly, you need to realize you have a responsibility. You have a responsibility to live out what He is placed in you. The third thing He says is simply this. Every one of us has this powerful resource within us. Listen to what He said. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed not in my presence only but also in my absence, work out your salvation and do it with fear and trembling.

13:52Now, what does that mean? Does that mean I am to be afraid? No, here is what it means. What I said to you often, you must take it seriously. You must not relate to Jesus Christ and His Lordship in a casual sort of way. That is, as the making difference in things you say, the things you do, the places you look, the places you go, yes it does. With fear and trembling means this. Not that I am to be afraid that I am going to make a mistake, we all make mistakes. But it means that I take seriously that Jesus is my Lord and I want to take it so seriously that I consider carefully before I make decisions. Before I say I will do this or I will do that or that I agree with somebody about something they want to do that I am not sure about. See, if Jesus is my Lord, it is serious business. Because you see, we are talking about eternal life. We are not talking about just these things, we are talking about eternal life.

14:57We are talking about an eternal reward. We are talking about taking seriously what Jesus said when He said, follow me. You trusted Him as your Savior, you didn't hear an audible voice but I can tell you this. His spirit to your spirit, you may have been young, follow me. I will never mislead you. I will always guide you right. He says with fear and trembling, then watch what this last thing is. That is, we have the most powerful resource. And I love what He says and the way He says in this particular passage. The last thing He says here is this. In verse 13, it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work of His good pleasure. Let me show you why that is important. Here is what this means. It is God who gives us places within us His will. He will tell you what He wants you to do in any and ever situation. And if He wants you to do something, He will place that will in you.

16:01He says, not only does He give us His will but He says in the uses of the term He energizes us to get it done. That is, He would never ask you to do anything He will not enable you to do. So when the Lord speaks to somebody's life and I met guys who, Lord called in the preaching, I can't do that. I just can't do it. And so they rebel against God. They say, I can't do it. They don't believe that verse in Scripture. This is a powerful verse. Listen to this. He says whatever He says, it is God who is at work in you both to will and work for His good pleasure which means this. Whatever you have faced in life, God says, I am at work in you. Whatever I will, I work. So that's not left up to us. And here's something else. It leaves me totally inexcusable. When God tells us to do something, we say, oh, I can't do that. What you're saying is, God you lot.

17:02The Bible is not true because in Scripture says whatever He wills us to do, He will work it out in our life. And so you and I have the right to be determined and to be confident and to be assured that when we start walking His path, He will be there every single moment to enable us to accomplish it. Whatever it is, that is His divine commitment that He is in us. Listen, He who wills it works it. Next time you come up to some difficult situation, you think, well, Lord, now what am I going to do about this and what am I going to do about that? Remember this verse of Scripture. Just look at it. Whatever He wills, He works. That's real simple, but it's powerful because this is God's awesome promise. Whatever He requires of you, you can absolutely be confident that He is going to equip you, enable you to do it no matter what it is.

18:05Just be sure it's the will of God, that is that He's the one who said it and not someone else. He says in verse 13, it is God who is it working you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Now what's that? This is God's good pleasure that you and I follow Him and become Christlike as we work out and play out our salvation experience that we become Christlike. That's what He's up to. That brings Him the most good. Listen, watch this. What you and I become in the eyes of God is far more than what you and I do. He said, He will work in us what He wills for us and it will bring Him great pleasure. And the verse of Scripture to prove that is Romans 8, 29. He says, He predestined. He predetermined what? That you and I would be conformed to the likeness of His Son. That's the will of God. That's His purpose in your life. That's His plan for your life.

19:17And if you will acknowledge His Lordship, He is the Lord. He's the boss in my life. If you don't like bosses, you just remember this. He's loving, kind, generous, and I could just go on and on with the wonderful attributes of God. He's the boss. But He God's and leads us for our own good and for His great pleasure. He says, it's a pleasurable thing to God that you and I would walk in His Spirit. While God places believers in many different roles and areas of service, Dr. Stanley's message focused on the singular goal the Lord has for all of us to become more like Christ. And if you have any questions about this on that and submit your life to God's transforming work, if you have further questions about knowing the will of God, search the many resources on our website in touch.org to find clear guidance.

20:19And be sure to look for the link to today on radio to hear this message again. If you'd like to order a copy of Dr. Stanley's complete message, I am saved now what? Visit our online store. And you'll find these resources at in touch.org. You can also call or text 1-800-INTouch. To write to us, address your letter to in touch, post office box 7900-Atlanta-Georgia-303-57. Being a Christian is about so much more than escaping eternal torment. Encouragement is just ahead in today's moment with Charles Stanley. Trusting God each day can be a challenge, but working to grow that trust brings greater joy and peace than we could ever find on our own. In trusting God with today, the 365-day devotional from the teachings of Dr. Charles Stanley, we are encouraged to believe in God's love and rest in his purpose for us. Available now at intouch.org slash today.

21:23Does your prayer life need a jumpstart? With the in touch praying with purpose cards, the time you spend talking with God will take on a whole new level of energy and intimacy. Beautifully designed and easy to use, or to share with a friend. There are prayers to lift up each day of the month, along with corresponding Bible verses and more. For your set of praying with purpose cards, call 1-800-INTouch or go to intouch.org slash store. Your listening to in touch. Once you're a Christian, God has things for you to do that have eternal significance. Here's a moment with Charles Stanley. Jesus is the Lord of the Church. He has the right and the authority to give direction to every single one of us and the truth is, when you live your life, or try to live your life, ignoring the fact that he has the right and authority and peace. And the authority and place and position to tell you what to do, how to spend your life remembering it all came from him, then you have a spirit of rebellion.

22:29And there are many people, nobody ever explained to them how important it is to see Jesus Christ as the Lord. And so we talk about following God's will and being obedient to him and all the rest. Listen, that should have been the issue settled right up front. The day you trusted him as your Savior, you said, Well, God the Father said, He's Lord. If He's Lord, that means He's the boss, He's the boss. I follow. I'm a sheep. I follow the master. Follow the shepherd. If you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior and refuse to follow Him as Lord at any point in your life, then at that point in your life, you are going to be in trouble. Because God the Father has provided the best for us. And by being Lord, that doesn't mean He is this judgmental Lord who is up there looking down to see what you're going to do wrong next. He is this awesome supportive Lord who loves you, who listen, who's paid the way, who has lived the life, who suffered everything imaginable, and says to you and me, follow me.

23:34He didn't say it would be easy, but He said, Follow me. I make it vicious of men. Follow me. I'll make your life count. Follow me. You'll be like salt and like light. That your life will make a difference if you follow me. Learn more about surrendering your life to Jesus Christ at Intouch.org. And if you gain new insight from today's program that helps you grow in your faith, please tell us about it. Tomorrow on Intouch, are you being shaped by the world or shaped by God? Friday will hear how to position ourselves to be molded by the master. I hope you'll join us then for Intouch, the Teaching Ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. This program is a presentation of Intouch Ministries at Lanna, Georgia and remains on the station through the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts. Thank you.