All right. Good morning.
We don't have the full group,
and actually a number of our teens are gone
! because of the spring retreat.
So we'll have a smaller crowd anyway,
!
What the cover says, this is not week five, it's week six.
And it's not hope for the heart, it's purity in the heart.
So you can ignore that,
and the rest of the content is in place.
All right?
Let me pray for us, and we will get started.
All right?
Father, thank you for the word that you've given to us,
that living and powerful word of God
that is active, it is effective,
it is working, it accomplishes its purposes.
Lord, I pray that you would help us,
as we seek to kind of wrap up this study this morning,
that you will allow all the pieces
to really begin to come together
as we look at this subject one more time,
and we see how to apply your word
to the truths and to the difficulties
that we experience in this life.
God, I pray in all things,
not only that you would be glorified,
but that your people would be transformed.
Transformed from one degree of glory to the other
because we are moving in the direction of Jesus Christ.
You are imprinting your pattern into our life.
You are making us look more and more like Jesus.
And you are strengthening our testimony
so that we can be the light,
the city that's set on a hill that cannot be hidden.
Help our light to shine brightly for you.
In Jesus' name, amen.
All right.
So this is the last week that we're together,
and I'm grateful for your perseverance
and kind of working through this with me
as we have been kind of making our way
through the last, well, these pathways,
the roadmap that I showed you last week
and these stops that we've taken
to address this significant issue.
It's an issue that all of us struggle with.
We all struggle with sin.
And my guess is that all of us,
at one point or the other,
not have just struggled with sin,
but there have been times
where we've felt like sin has had the upper hand
in our life.
And maybe you felt like,
I want to do what God wants me to do,
but I just can't seem to find a way.
And God wants to not only inform us
to know that he has a solution,
but he wants us to enjoy the reality
of that new identity that we saw
in Colossians 1, verse 13.
You have been delivered from the domain of darkness.
You have been transferred into the kingdom
of his beloved son.
That's the reality for everyone
who has trusted in Jesus as their savior.
And so to live in that reality,
that's really what this has been about.
That's the goal.
That's what we all want to enjoy.
We want to enjoy the benefits
of what he has purchased for us
by his son, Jesus on the cross.
Okay?
Now, this last lesson is full.
I mean, it is packed full.
You may or may not be able to tell
just by looking at the notes there.
But what I've tried to do
is I've tried to have given you
as much of the information
in summary form as I can
because we're not going to be able
to cover it all,
at least not thoroughly in our time today.
But I want you to have it
so you can see it for yourself.
And you have some verses there.
You have some quotes there.
And in each of the main landing points
that we've come to,
there are going to be five strategies
this morning that we're going to cover,
five strategies for helping you
be able to experience
and enjoy the reality
of what Christ has purchased for you
in the freedom
over the bondage of sin,
over the control of sin.
So there's five strategies
that we're going to cover.
And each strategy has little sub points
that you're going to see.
And so I've included
at least four,
or excuse me,
at least two,
but most of the time
four truth-centering points
for each strategy
to kind of anchor your mind
into what does this point mean
and what am I supposed to make of this?
But I want to begin
with this question.
What can change a heart?
What does it take
to change a heart?
And maybe the companion question is,
do I need to change my heart?
Fundamentally,
we need to believe
that something has to change
in our heart
in order for anything
to change in our life.
And we said,
going back several weeks now,
that the heart
is the control center.
The heart is kind of
the operating bank.
It is the place
where your desires
give flame
and direction
to your actions.
Because we said,
what we desire,
what we want,
inevitably leads
to what we do.
And so,
we care about our heart.
We need to change our heart.
So what do we do
to fix our heart?
You see over on the left-hand panel,
kind of a cloud of words there.
Okay?
And my guess is that
all of us,
at one point or the other,
have tried to address
or counsel
or encourage others
in their struggle with sin.
Or we have tried
to get help
for the struggles
that we have with sin.
And so,
what we encounter
in that process
are these kinds of words.
Psychology,
understanding identity,
having the right kind
of treatment,
the right kind
of techniques,
this behavior management,
this coping skills.
We often hear
that what we're struggling
with is a disease.
This is behavior modification.
We need some training.
We need to understand ethics.
All of these kinds of words
that help
in the culture
that we're in,
in the places
where you are,
not only to identify
what they think
the problem is,
but also to try
to help provide solutions
to those problems.
Okay?
Now,
I know that
this is early
on Sunday morning.
Okay?
And maybe you haven't
had time
for your juices
to warm up yet.
But,
when you think about
these kinds
of approaches,
what is fundamentally
wrong
with these kinds
of approaches?
And maybe
before we get
to that root problem,
what are some
of the things
that you hear
or even have said
to one another,
here's how you can
find victory
over that issue?
What are some
of the solutions
that we give?
With your phone?
With your TV?
With your,
right?
What are some
solutions that we give?
Okay?
Sometimes we hear
the importance
of therapy.
You need to go
to somebody
who can really
help you with this.
Somebody who really
understands your problem.
Somebody who can
really address
the issues.
Okay, good.
What else?
Hey, yeah,
set time limits
on your phone.
Right?
This is,
obviously,
your phone
is the problem
and what you're
looking on your
phone is the issue
so just eliminate
the problem
and you'll be okay.
Right?
Now, is there
wisdom in that?
Of course there
is some wisdom
in that.
Of course there is.
I don't want to
dismiss that there
are certain helps
that we can use
to help ourselves
create patterns
of obedience.
Anything else
you might have
heard?
Yeah.
Let's find the
right filters.
Let's find the
right blockers.
Let's find the
right app that
can help you
address this
problem and,
you know,
all of you who
have an Apple
iPhone,
you're getting
that weekly report,
you know,
your screen time
and now even
if you have an
Android,
you're getting
what is the
screen time?
What are the,
where do you
find yourself?
What apps are you
on?
How long
you've been
on YouTube?
What's the
social media
usage?
All of these
things that we
do so that we
can find a
solution and so
that we can build
discipline and so
that we can fix
this problem of
sin.
Now we've
recognized,
one good thing,
we've recognized
that sin is a
problem,
okay?
And we're trying
to find reasonable,
practical ways,
solutions to address
the problem.
Those are,
that's good.
But what is the
fundamental issue
with that?
You know,
I couldn't,
I couldn't have
put it any
better.
John,
you hit the
nail on the
head.
We address the
symptoms instead
of the root
causes.
We're trying to
fix the things
we do instead
of addressing the
heart from which
those things
spring,
right?
So if we can
just,
we can just
solve my,
my action
problem,
if I can solve
the sin problem
by the things I
do,
my doing issue,
then we think
we've arrived.
The problem is
that our heart
will find a
workaround.
Our heart will
always find a
way to express
itself to find
satisfaction that
is more
presentable.
That maybe you
don't do those
sins that people
will say,
that's really bad.
What are you
thinking about?
And we even
know in our
heart how guilty
those things make
us feel.
But fundamentally,
what we end up
doing is we
then replace
those offensive
sins with those
respectable sins.
we find another
path.
And, you
know,
I was thinking
about giving an
example.
I think I
probably will.
So,
I won't tell you
who.
Sorry, I'm
trying to think
on the fly here.
For example,
somebody who has
an issue with
alcoholism.
Somebody who
is a drunkard
and knows that
that's a problem.
And it's been
identified as a
problem.
And even
confronted as an
issue.
Well, so,
then I'll go to
a 12-step
program.
I'll fix my
alcoholism.
And that's what
everyone knows
is an issue.
But then it
produces itself
then in
different addictions.
Addiction for
video games.
Addiction for
movies.
Addiction as it
relates to
leisure and
spending time.
But, see,
those are so
much more
presentable.
And so,
those are okay,
at least from
a worldly
standpoint.
But it never
addresses the
heart issue,
as John said.
It doesn't
address the
heart issue.
So, we then
give ourselves
a pass because
we're like,
well, that's not
the bad thing.
I'm just doing
the better thing.
It's the okay
thing.
It's the thing
that everyone
struggles with.
So, you
know, if I'm
just doing the
things that
everyone struggles
with, then I'm
not so bad as
so-and-so.
You understand?
Now, remember,
just for review,
what are those
presentable sins
that we talked
about, those
gateway sins,
those things that
start you on the
path that everyone
excuses, but then
it leads down the
road to these
things that everyone
understands now
is bondage.
Remember?
What were some
of those?
Anger.
Perfect example.
You know, of
course I fly off
the handle.
Everyone flies off
the handle.
Everyone loses
control once in a
while.
It's okay.
That's what people
do.
Just give me a
break already.
What else?
Comfort.
I deserve a
little bit of
satisfaction.
My life is
hard.
Do you
understand how
hard my life
is?
I deserve a
break.
I need some
comfort.
And so we
pacify ourselves.
We give
ourselves a
pass.
And so we
run to comfort
instead of running
to God when
things are hard.
We want to
create escapes.
We want to
pacify ourselves
instead of
anchoring ourselves
in the,
God, this is
really hard and
I know you
can help me.
I know that
you're bigger
than this.
What else?
Remember?
Anything else?
Fear.
Fear is one
and I think we
actually talked
about that as
kind of a
heart motivation
and a lot of
these things are
kind of blurred
together and we
want control.
We are afraid and
so we want to,
again, as it
relates to control,
we want to remove
the potential fear
issues away from
us and so we'll
do what we need
to do to ease
our hearts.
And our hearts
drive us to
sin that we
then excuse
because it's not
so bad as this
other sin over
here.
And so we're
building patterns,
aren't we?
We're building
pathways, aren't
we?
We're teaching
ourselves that
sin is okay.
That certain sins
might be really
bad but other
sins, eh, you
know what?
God understands.
God will forgive
and of course he
does.
God's grace will
forgive.
But as soon as we
come to a place
of saying, you
know what?
I'm okay.
Then we remove
the opportunity for
real change to
actually happen.
And so there's no
wonder why we
continue to struggle
with sin because
we have all these
other sins that
we're just okay
with.
We've just
learned to say,
well, it's fine.
You know, I'll
work on this
eventually but,
eh, you know,
everyone is
struggling with
this so I will
too.
And that's the
problem.
The problem is we
give ourself a
pass.
So what are the
strategies that we
need to put in
place?
And I've already
taken up too much
time so I want to
try to knock these
out a little bit
faster.
First is you need
to become a
disciple of the
gospel of grace.
Become a disciple
of the gospel of
grace.
Now, I know that's
kind of ambiguous a
little bit.
In real practical
terms is learn that
Jesus has answers for
your sin.
And learn that his
solutions are found
in his word.
word.
And it's found in the
gospel.
Okay?
That as we come to
know who Jesus is,
we come to know what
Jesus did, we come to
understand our identity
because of what Christ
accomplished for us,
then we can begin to
enjoy the benefits of
that as we say, no,
wait a second.
God has done this for
me.
God has called me to
this.
God has delivered me
from this sin.
This is the new,
should be the new
posture of my heart.
So, Lord, help this to
now be the expression,
the consistent expression
of my life.
Well, we talked about
the importance of
confession and
repentance.
And again, each of
these are going to have
some truth statements.
I'm not going to be able
to cover them all.
But this first true
statement here is
confession brings sin
into the light where
grace can work.
Hidden sin thrives in
secrecy.
I want us to pause for a
moment.
I think we all would
acknowledge this is true.
We would all say, yeah,
confession is really
important.
So why is confession
hard?
If you're honest, why is
confession hard?
We don't want to see
the truth because it's
stinking bright.
Okay.
I'll get to that in a
second.
What did you say?
Often we don't want to
see the truth, but we
don't want to.
Okay.
So we don't want to face
the reality of what
we're confessing.
We get this impression
that if we push this
down, if we bury it,
that maybe no one will
really know who we are.
No one will really
come to appreciate or
see what we know to be
true of ourselves.
And somehow we feel
like if we don't push
it out in the open,
then maybe we can also
bury that truth.
And it's not really
going to be very real
for us too.
Okay.
So we don't confess
because we really don't
want to admit how bad
things are.
Okay.
Pastor, you said it
was an issue of pride.
Okay.
What about pride is in
the way?
It's good.
Okay.
So we don't want to
confess sin because we
want to give everybody
the impression that we
have it together.
Every time I sin, I
thought it was a good
idea.
Every time we sin, we
think it's a good idea.
And maybe even the times
we know it's not a good
idea, we believe that
somehow this is going to
get me what I want
because God is holding
out on me in some way.
Right?
And that's a real
problem.
Good.
What else?
Okay.
I don't want to bring
it out and now I have
accountability.
It's good.
I don't want people to
know because I don't
want the accountability.
And let's be honest,
confession makes things
really public.
There's no wonder why we
don't confess.
Because oftentimes there
are real consequences
to confession.
confession.
And we think that if we
just live with it a
little longer, people
will not just not know.
God will give us a pass
on that.
And then somehow those
consequences aren't
going to come to bear on
my heart.
One of the things that my
dad said to me constantly,
he says, son, make sure
your sin will find you
out.
Make sure your sin will
find you out.
That's a verse, by the
way.
And that's a good path
because it cuts short
this process of sin
working in our life and
creating bondage and
idolatry and all of that
brokenness that happens
in relationships,
brokenness that happens
with not being able to
serve in the way that we
want to, the testimony
that gets sullied.
And then the longer we
walk down the path, the
more we feel comfortable
with that sin.
And it calluses our
hearts.
And all of that is what
we can relinquish if we
just say, you know what,
I'm going to cut this
short.
It's going to be really
hard, but it's going to be
so much better for me to
just get it out in the
open.
And it doesn't always have
to be out in the open
with everybody, okay?
But getting it out in the
open with somebody who you
have a relationship with
who can really help in a
significant way, helping
overcome that sin, right?
Good.
Yeah, Elliot.
I think sometimes we
struggle with confession
because we don't
understand the events of
others.
Okay.
Think about David.
Yeah, that's good.
And then it wasn't
only for you to not
confess it when Nathan
came to him.
That's good.
That's right.
That's good.
And so the blindness of
David's heart didn't start
with a sin with Bathsheba.
Okay?
And that's how it always
is.
The blindness of our
heart starts much, much
earlier in the things that
we give a pass to before
we ever arrive at the big
sins.
Okay?
That's the gateway that
we're talking about.
We give ourself a pass when
it comes to comfort.
We give ourself a pass when
it comes to anger.
We give ourself a pass when
it comes to needing to be
in control and not trusting
God for his provision.
All of those things.
And so we're like, no,
that one's okay, but this
one over here, well, I've
got to stay away from that
one.
But all along, the way we
are cutting these grooves
moves in our life.
There's no wonder why we
end up where we end up.
It doesn't happen overnight.
And so it requires us to
have a very clear perspective,
a very true perspective of
the nature of our hearts
early on so that we can put
sin to death before it ever
becomes a tree in our life.
Okay?
And we're pulling it out by
the roots.
John, just going back to
what you said, we don't
understand the root of the
problem.
We don't understand the
significance of the issue.
We're dealing with symptoms
instead of root issues.
And so we never pull it up
by the root.
We're just kind of, hey,
people can see that.
I'm chopping it down.
People can see it.
I'm chopping it down.
But it never fixes the
root problems.
You know what I'm saying?
Okay.
I love what David says.
He says in Psalm 32, 5,
I acknowledge my sin to
you.
I did not cover my iniquity.
I said, I will confess my
transgressions to the Lord
and you forgave the iniquity
of my sins.
That's the prize.
The prize of confession.
The prize of repentance.
And we talked about how we
need to keep calibrating our
heart, keep tuning our heart
to the standard that God has
given to us.
And that's what repentance
does.
It continues to compare our
life with the standard of
God's word.
And there's a turning.
There's a direction to
repentance.
There's a direction to our
life that happens.
So confession repentance is
the beginning of that
process.
Saying out loud what is
really the problem.
Coming to a place of
admitting that there's an
issue.
Not trying to conceal it.
The next is weakness and
humility.
Here's a quote from the
book.
It says, victory is not
found in saying, I can do
it.
I can make it happen.
I can try harder.
Or I can be stronger.
Victory is found in
acknowledging weakness and
abandoning self-effort.
What do you think?
Do you agree or disagree with
that statement?
What do you think?
Okay.
Do you agree with that?
Okay.
So it's there in your
guide.
Victory is not found in
saying, I can do it.
I can make it happen.
I can try harder.
I can be stronger.
Victory is found in
acknowledging weakness and
abandoning self-effort.
What do you think?
Is that true?
That's good.
Sure.
And probably not just
hard for us to do in
trusting God in that way.
I think it's probably
hard for us to really
understand.
Okay.
Because this doesn't,
this isn't the let go
and let God.
That's not what we're
talking about here.
Okay.
And I think that's the,
that's the opposite
pendulum swing.
We're like, well, I'll
just let go and let God
and I guess if I sin,
then it's God's fault
because he hasn't kept
me from it.
No, that's, that's not
right either.
No, it's not, well, I
can do it all on my
own.
That's the one side of
the pendulum.
Or the God will do it
all for me.
That's the other side of
the pendulum.
It's, no, God has given
me very clear instructions
in his word.
And by his grace, he has
given me the spirit with
all the power I could
ever need to obey the
instructions that he's
given to me.
So I will apply my
heart to know what God
says.
And I will apply my
heart to finding
strength from the Lord
to do what he's called
me to do.
It's not about self-help.
It's about understanding,
identifying God's
strategy and following
the strategy that he
gives to us.
It says here,
self-confidence fuels
failure.
Humility invites help.
pride isolates.
Humility draws strength
from God.
And then drop down to
number three.
Humility keeps believers
teachable and accountable.
Pride resists correction.
Humility welcomes it.
I love what we find in
James chapter 4 verse 6.
And here's where the
gospel of grace comes to
play.
Understanding what God has
done for us.
Understanding the grace
that's available for us
and how we get it.
How do we get grace?
What does grace
accomplish?
Well, notice, he, speaking
of God, he gives more
grace.
Therefore, it says, God
opposes the proud.
He gives grace to the
humble.
So there's got to be a
spot in our life where
we say, you know what?
I cannot do this on my
own.
I am not capable.
This is not something I
can work out on my own
strength.
This isn't something I
can figure out on my
own.
I need not only to
invite the help of the
word of God and the
spirit of God.
I need to be in the
company with godly men,
godly women, who can
help me as I am.
I go in this journey.
But because as soon as
the enemy has isolated
you, and you think you
can do it alone, you've
lost.
At least that's the first
step of losing the
battle.
This really important
passage, 2 Corinthians
chapter 12, verse 9,
where Paul is talking
about his thorn in the
flesh.
And he says, he
prayed.
Remember, he prays that
God would take that
thorn away, and God
says, I got a better
answer for you.
And I think it's
important to understand
that God did not say
no.
But God had a better
yes.
This was his yes.
He said, my grace is
sufficient for you,
Paul.
You want power?
You want strength?
Well, there's better
strength.
Because my power is
made perfect in your
weakness.
So therefore, I will
boast all the more
gladly of my weakness,
so the power of Christ
may rest upon me.
You know, I don't need
you, God, now.
I understand.
I don't need power that's
resident within myself.
I need power that comes
from you.
And so, I'm praying that
you would remove this
thorn in the flesh so I
can have strength to do
the ministry you've
called me to.
But I'm realizing now,
because you've come and
corrected my perspective,
that I get actually more
power when I'm weak,
physically weak.
I get more power when I
come to the place of my
own limitations.
And I begin to depend on
your sufficiency.
That's what I'm going to
now begin to rejoice in.
Coming to a place of
recognizing our weakness.
Coming to a place of
humility.
Next, we get freedom.
We can't have freedom
from sin's dominion.
You see, Christ has
broken sin's authority,
not merely its
consequences.
Sin may tempt, but it
no longer rules.
That's the reality of our
life now.
Colossians 1, 13 and 14.
He has delivered us from
the domain of darkness
and transferred us to the
kingdom of his beloved
son.
Now, wait a second, Paul.
I'm still here.
How has he transferred me?
What is your problem?
What's going on?
Well, the reality of your
life is that you are in
Christ.
And if Christ is there,
then you are there.
It's kind of the already
not yet that we find
throughout so much of the
scripture.
That the reality has been
accomplished.
And to the extent that in
Ephesians chapter 5,
we're already seated with
him in the heavenly places,
actually Ephesians chapter
2, we're seated with him
in the heavenly places.
That's where we are.
In God's mind, that's the
reality that's been
accomplished for us.
We have to not be okay
with sin because we need
to understand that if we're
going to live consistently
with the identity that God
has accomplished for us,
that we've been delivered.
So don't be a walking
contradiction.
Don't be okay by being a
walking contradiction.
All right, moving on.
Living in grace.
Well, what does this mean?
What does it mean to live
in grace?
I like this statement from
the book.
Grace does more than
impart knowledge.
It serves to train the
believer in godly living.
Grace does more than fix
my present sinful condition.
Grace is what fuels
obedience.
As I come to understand
what Christ has accomplished
for me, it drives me,
it compels me to want
to obey him more.
That's how it should work.
Living in grace produces
perseverance, not panic.
failures become occasions
for growth rather than
surrender.
As I'm learning that God
does forgive sins,
then it helps me not to
give up.
It helps me not to feel
like a failure that I'm
stuck.
It helps me understand that
God's grace fixes that
issue in my life,
that brokenness in my life,
so that I can move beyond
it and enjoy the benefits
of that continuing grace
that he has invited me to
experience.
I don't have to be stuck
in my sin.
I don't have to be a
captive to it anymore.
I don't have to feel
defeated because of what
Christ's grace has
accomplished for me.
Does that make sense?
What a beautiful thing.
And because of that,
grace sustains long-term
obedience.
independence.
See, change is not,
change is progressive.
It's not instant.
We want, we live in an
instant world.
We want the instant
product.
But it is a measure of
God's grace to lead us
one step at a time in the
process of sanctification,
learning more and more
about his faithfulness.
Strategy number two.
Strategy number two is to
clean up your life.
Not just be a disciple of
grace, but now take sin
sin seriously.
To clean up your life
through thoroughly and
biblically.
And the standard that God
has given to us is a
standard of himself.
It's a standard of
holiness.
And we're familiar with
what Peter says in 1
Peter chapter 1.
He says, be holy as I am
holy.
That's the standard.
And we're like, come on.
That's a little unrealistic,
don't you think?
No, it's not unrealistic.
It's what God has called
us to.
And it's so significant
that God actually says,
well, this is my will.
This is my will for you.
1 Thessalonians 4, 3 to 8
says, this is the will of
God, your sanctification,
to be like me.
You belong to me.
You represent me.
And so I want you to
look like me.
So God is intent on
working out this
sanctification process in
us.
And how does it look?
In 1 Thessalonians
chapter 4, it says that
you abstain from sexual
immorality.
That each one of you
knows how to control
his own body in
holiness and honor.
Not in the passions of
lust like the Gentiles
who do not know God.
and that no one
transgress in wrong
his brother in this
matter because the
Lord is an avenger in
all these things.
As we told you
beforehand and solemnly
warned you.
For God has not called
us to impurity but in
holiness.
Therefore, whoever
disregards this disregards
not man but God who
gave his Holy Spirit.
Wow.
Someone summarize this
for me.
What is...
Who's interested in
your sanctification?
Obvious answer?
God is.
How interested is God
in your sanctification?
Like what will God do
if you don't care about
sanctification?
Is he personally vested
in this?
You better believe it.
What does he promise to
do for those who are
like, eh, you know,
it's not that important.
What's the word there?
An avenger.
God is personally
going to take matters
into his hands.
If you are not willing
to do it yourself.
Boy, God help me not to
be in the crosshairs of
your vengeance.
Help me to take this
seriously.
Help me to understand the
significance of holiness.
holiness.
And again, holiness,
this is, I think,
fundamentally our problem.
Holiness doesn't start
with sexual immorality.
That's where you're
beginning to cross
the finish line
of that James 1 process.
It starts way back here
with a complaining heart.
with a critical heart.
With an ungrateful heart.
With a, I deserve this
kind of heart.
And this is okay
kind of heart.
An excusing kind of heart.
It starts there,
not here.
You understand?
That's our problem.
Our problem is we're
addressing issues
after we've walked
down the road so far
that we're kind of
already at the place
of that final process
in James where sin
has finally had its way
and it's leading to death.
You're on death's door.
And so you need to back up
and come to the place
of recognizing,
no, wait a second.
It started much earlier
than that and there are
a lot of things I need
to begin to work on
in my life so I can be holy
and then, by God's grace,
this will never be
an issue for me.
Understanding the significance
of holiness.
Next, kill sin.
Kill sin.
Every time we succumb to sin,
we are performing
acts of worship.
Let me read that
one more time.
Every time we succumb to sin,
we are performing
acts of worship.
You are saying,
I worship this, not God.
That's, we understand
how serious that is.
It's idolatry.
It's so easy to excuse
though, isn't it?
And thus we become
a devoted idolater.
Nearly refusing yourself
these pleasures
will never purify your lust
because self has not died.
But when you truly die to self
and to the elemental spirits
of the world,
Paul affirms that
this is the right kind
of death.
For you have died,
he says,
and your life is hidden
with Christ in God.
Mere behavioral modification
and strict self-discipline
without a death experience
will never bring
complete purification.
Kill your sin.
Do not let even
the roots survive.
Pull it out.
Sin must be confronted
aggressively,
not managed cautiously.
Well,
I'm not gonna,
I'm gonna avoid
this kind of sin
because I know
this is wrong.
But this kind of sin,
you know,
it's okay.
Don't manage sin.
Partial obedience
leaves sin alive.
Next,
enliven righteousness.
And here's the beauty
of God's strategy.
There's a both and,
not an either or.
Because the Lord knows
that when we just
remove certain things,
it leaves a vacuum
in its place.
When we just remove
certain things,
then we're left to,
okay,
so what happens next?
And that's what Jesus
kind of describes
when that man
with the demons,
was healed,
right?
And then the demons
come back
and he brings more
because the place
has been swept
and it's clean
and you know
what I'm talking about?
And this is the same
kind of issue,
right?
So we clean our lives
up for a little while
and we just can't
do it anymore
because what we've
been counting on
and relying on
are the self-help
behavioral modifications
of kind of just
not doing this
over here
but it's never
replaced
by new good habits.
And that's the strategy
that God invites us
to enjoy.
Colossians 3, 5,
put to death
what is earthly in you
but it doesn't
stop there.
Put on,
verse 12,
then as God's chosen ones,
compassionate hearts,
kindness,
humility,
meekness,
patience,
bearing with one another
and forgiving each other.
There's this
beautiful strategy
of replacing
those sinful tendencies
with godly ones.
Building new grooves,
new patterns,
new impulses.
Now the impulse
is to do
what is good
and the more
you are involved
in doing the things
that please God,
the more
it invites
your heart
to experience
the benefits
of that
and to want
that more
instead of wanting
the sin.
Strategy number three,
do not trust
the weather vane
of your feelings.
And that's
what we talked about
the first week,
remember?
See,
feelings are
meant to be
tools for you.
They're meant to be
tools to address
or help to awaken
or to see
this awareness
of who you are
and to then
drive you
to dependence
on the Lord.
That's what our
feelings are meant to do.
And we all know this,
that feelings change
quickly
and cannot serve
as reliable guides.
Some of you
are more steady
than others,
okay?
But, you know,
I thought I was
a pretty steady guy.
I thought,
you know,
I'm not very emotional.
I don't cry.
Well,
that's not
the only kind
of emotion
that God talks about.
There's emotional,
emotion of anger
and even as a kid,
anger,
that emotion
was
so impulsive
and it was like
trigger ready,
okay?
That's also an emotion
by the way.
And so I was
a pretty emotional guy
but didn't think
I was.
Our emotions
serve as very
poor guides
to life.
Feelings are
indicators,
they're not
authorities.
You don't have
to believe
that your feelings
must be obeyed.
And here's how
David does this.
What is his strategy?
I love this.
Psalm 56,
3 and 4.
When I am afraid,
I will what?
I will trust
in you.
In God,
whose word I praise,
in God I trust.
I will not
be afraid.
What can man
do to me?
I love that.
Psalm 112,
7.
He is not afraid
of bad news.
His heart is firm,
trusting the Lord.
I will not
let my feelings
have the best
of me,
have their way.
Feelings of hopelessness.
Believing feelings
over God
always results
in trouble.
I love that.
Despair often
follows repeated
failures,
but it does not
define reality.
And in this process
of growing in Christ,
we're going to
continue to discover
how broken we are.
That's okay.
Because where sin
abounds,
grace abounds
even more.
What a blessing
that is to us.
But it's not
now a license
for us to continue
to sin.
Or to feel
the sense of hopelessness
when I'm like,
I just can't seem
to find victory.
Well, God has answers
and I'm going to
trust Him
for those answers.
So past sin
does not negate
present grace.
God's grace
is there.
It's present.
It's available.
It's ready
to meet you.
Again,
Psalm 27,
verse 13.
These are a couple
of my favorite
verses in the Bible.
I would have lost
heart unless I had
believed that I
would see the
goodness of the
Lord in the land
of the living.
So then what do we
do?
You wait on the
Lord.
You be of good
courage.
Wait, I say,
on the Lord.
He settled his
heart on the truth
of who God was.
And regardless
of what was
taking place
around him,
he was steady.
Man, I want that.
I want that
steadiness.
I don't want to
be tossed about
my feelings
becoming now
the thing
that I have
to obey,
the authorities
in my life.
Number four,
strategy four,
be vigilant
about occasions
of temptation.
Temptation is
strongest when
opportunity meets
vulnerability.
wisdom recognizes
patterns,
environments,
and situations
that consistently
weaken resolve.
Come to a place
of knowing and
seeing.
Become aware
of the patterns
where you are
most vulnerable.
Those relationships
that often lead
you into sin,
those places
that lead you
into sin,
those private
occurrences
where you are
and knowing
I often
fall here,
I need to
find a solution.
I need to
run.
And I love
how Paul puts
it.
He doesn't say
stand up
against sinful
lust.
He says flee
sinful lust.
We often have to,
that's the best
strategy.
That's the strategy
we need to
employ most
often,
I think.
Fleeing
youthful lust.
Finally,
sorry we've
gone so quickly.
There's so much
here.
Man,
there's so much
I wanted to
cover,
but I'm
already taking
you too long.
Finally,
learn to
trust the
Bible,
the Bible
teaching church.
God has
graciously
given us
one another.
You are a
gift to me.
You are a
gift to one
another.
I am a
gift to you.
And God has
put us
together.
And as we
try to
conquer sin,
we're going to
find most
often that when
we isolate
ourselves,
then we become
vulnerable.
We open
ourselves up to
danger.
That is when
times are most
perilous.
And that's what
Satan wants to
do the most.
He wants to
separate you,
to isolate
you,
to make you
feel one way
or the other
either you're
strong enough
or that you're
too weak and
it's not worth
the effort.
One of those
two extremes.
He wants to
get you on
your own.
But God,
by his grace,
has given us
the church.
The church is
part of the
gracious provision
of God for
every Christian
who is struggling
with debilitating
sin.
It provides
positive examples
to follow as
well as
authoritative,
loving,
accountability.
God's gracious
gift to you
is his people,
the church.
And the more
we understand
that,
the more we'll
enjoy the
benefits of
freedom from
sin and the
grace that God
has given to
us.
It is a
gracious thing
that God has
given us,
his people.
Isolation
weakens
spiritual resistance,
but fellowship
strengthens it.
Sin thrives
in secrecy.
Don't forget
that.
Sin thrives
in secrecy.
Holiness
flourishes
in the light.
Let's be those
who walk in
the light
as he is
in the light.
And what does
it do?
Well,
John says in
1 John 1,
then we have
fellowship with
one another.
That's what it
does.
Walking in the
light brings
us together
that we can
continue to
enjoy the
benefits of
light and
fellowship and
freedom and
victory over
sin.
That's the
strategy.
But it's one
of several.
And so I
want to dismiss
you to be able
to talk about
this again.
We have some
smaller groups
today.
Men will be
back in the
education wing
first floor.
Women over in
kind of the
NPR area.
And I think
the questions
are neutral
enough so
that teens
can be a
part of this
too.
But if you
have a teen
in your group
just be
sensitive to
the conversations
that you have.
Alright?
Thanks.
God bless you.