12 Evidences of Faith (Part 8)

Dr. Michael you Seth explores what happens when you seek to live a life sold out to Jesus. This is leading the way was God and self with remote prize you're going to have opposition because the world the flesh and the devil restrict superpowers will not start up trouble for a believer who is not living in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Welcome to leading the way. Today Dr. Michael you Seth continues his series called the 12 evidences of faith dissecting those three strategies or superpowers that Satan uses against you when you're seeking to live a righteous life. Do remember, leading the way desires to honor God with effective and efficient use of his provision through your gaps. That's why it is so important for us to know how and where you listen to let us know that information when you call to give a gift, or to order product at 866-626-4356 or you can visit us online@ltw.org to love just as much time as possible for Dr. you Seth. Let's listen as he begins. We have started a series of messages from the person of James and Fido 12 evidence of faith we have seen the theme of James, a person is very simple, antibiotic and claim to be a Christian. But James is saying that's fine you can claim all you want but is there evidence to the claim. If you go there being Christian is there any evidence to convict you in a court of law, and then he goes on to list at least 12 of those evidence in the epistle and we have seen several of them so far.

The first evidence is joy in the midst of trouble, then defeating temptation, feeding on the word of God, loving the unlovable doing regular self examination number six. The control of the tongue number seven asking and receiving godly wisdom, heavenly wisdom from above. The day will come to evidence number eight how to take down the three superpowers that are working against us. And I hope you returned to James chapter 4 look with me please. As we examine these 12 verses James here makes it very clear that spiritual warfare is for real is part of the Christian life is part and parcel of living with eternity in your heart is what he is trying to tell us here in these few verses.

First, the flesh, what is that flesh is that the human body, not necessarily in the Greek got two words translated flesh.

The human body is one word, but our fallen nature that we inherited from Adam is also called the flesh.

So what is that fleshly desires. Listen carefully. How do I recognize that fleshly desires. How does it manifest itself selfish ambitions viewing ourselves better than others. Placing ourselves at the center of the universe, or highly valuing my ideas and my opinions always want to do things my way, not God's way. That is the legacy we've inherited from Adam. It's called the flesh dog nature several names forth in the Scripture. So what happens to that legacy when you become believers. What happens does the flesh die. No, the flesh, with all of its selfish and self-centered ambitions become like a deposed dictator.

I know a dictatorship, I can sense dictatorship when I see it I lived in turn the first 18 years of my life. All of the treachery of dictatorship before we come to Christ. The flesh is that dictator is dictating you do this and you have no control and follow your slayings, your chains, so when Christ comes into my life. What happens when he comes into your life. What happens that flesh. That dictatorship is going into exile.

When I become born again that dictatorship called the flesh with all its envy and bitterness and hatred and jealousy, and selfishness and lust and pride became polished, not dead, just deposed and you don't have to have a 200 IQ to realize the deposed dictators do not like to be deposed and then I very happy and angry and they always want to come back to power always want to come back to power.

Now you can choose to live in fear of the old dictatorship a deposed dictatorship of the flesh or you can choose to have victory over that because that's what Jesus wants you to have.

He gave you the Holy Spirit so that you will have power over the dictatorship of the flesh he gave you the Holy Spirit to empower you to live victoriously elemental. Your example from history illustrate you. What I'm trying to say.

I between 1971 and 1979 there was a dictator in Uganda a beautiful country in Africa between 71 and 79 there was a dictator by the name of Idi Amin during those eight years of miserable dictatorship.

Idi Amin murdered 350,000. That's what we really think that mostly Christians.

He imprisoned countless others. The people of Uganda and I know many of at that time they lived in fear, they were terrified of Idi Amin so and 79, with the help of the neighboring Tanzania were Julius never very deposed that dictator and defeated him, and send them out into exile and he went to live in Saudi Arabia between 1979 until he died in the year 2003. Listen carefully on the just giving example of history for the sake of example, first relative to something to between 79 and 2003 wild birds dictator is in exile. Thousands of Ugandans live in fear of that dictator someone loyal to him and they wanted to install him back by their free will. This continuous fear and loyalty to the old dictate of the deposed dictator put them in conflict with the newly elected democratically elected government. Now I come to the Christian life. Now I come to the flesh and explain from that history. There are Christians who are either living in fear of that old slavery or remain loyal to the deposed dictator called the flash, but Christ the liberator has come into your life and into my life to liberate us from the deposed dictator. The flash Christ came to give us laboratory over the flash all gold nature. Christ came to defeat and set us free from the old nature, the flash, the attorney of the flesh.

What James is saying every time you let the old nature out of its cage every time you let the old nature out of its exile what happens conflict and turmoil would be the norm now translate that into your life. Think about the times when you allow the flesh out of its cage and how chaos, conflict, grief you desire. What you don't have.

He said then you, you can obtain so you fight and your quarrel. Now there's a biblical principle. But I plead with you, I plead with you, don't miss it though missing here this a covetous person is an ungrateful person I covetous person is an ungrateful person when you are filled with thanksgiving when you are filled with thanks living. You are too busy to cover somebody else's stuff. James said when you ask and you don't receive why because you asked with the wrong motive, this desire will not only lead you into wrong actions. It will lead you to pray the wrong prayer and when God does not answer your wrong prayer you get angry with God and then your anger and resentment toward God inevitably is gonna spell over into your relationships with other people and you become angry with those whose prayers are being answered. How because you think God has let you down is that you listen to me when you pray, you complain us for anything you want on that God is not a fall of his loan because you asked for something, but listen to me when you conclude in your heart and in your spirit in your mind that will be done when you pray the will of God. Contentment is going to grab hold of you because you are contented that you are very word of God.

When you pry for the glory of God. You will be amazed what he gives you second enemies. The world again.

When the Bible talks about the world is not talk about the beautiful outdoor on the planet's nature. No when the Bible talks about the world is talking about the world system and there is no secret that the world system is at enmity with God is constantly in a state of rebellion against God. Sadly, many Christians get caught up and have fallen into the wheels of the world system. Spurgeon used to say. And I'm quoting from memory here. Christians are the only soldiers who fraternize with the enemy. Beloved is a rule of thumb, listen to me whenever you compromise your Christian conviction under the guise of witnessing or whatever it is you are fraternizing with the enemy whenever you compromise your biblical values.

You're a friend of the world system.

I am privileged to have non-Christian friends I go to the parties. I got the bin is with them and I'll go to the functions but I share Christ with them and they know the angular compromise. Nothing for them. Listen to me both the old and the New Testament has a an imagery that runs through the God's people of the bride and God is a bridegroom in the Old Testament Israel was the bride of Jehovah in the New Testament it tell us that the church is the bride of Jesus Christ, amen.

That's in the Scripture. It's very clear and that is what James is saying, fraternizing, flirting, compromising, appeasing the world system is a form of idolatry is out of commit adultery as what he saying don't shoot the messenger. Now, and if you go to the Old Testament. Isaiah and the Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and certainly José, if you've never read the book of Hosea gonna read it.

Use this figure of speech to address Israel as an adulterous generation, and Paul said in second Timothy 410 of one of the his disciples by the name of Dimas.

He said he succumbed to the lure of the world. He succumbed to the world system that he had forsaken me a beloved, let me tell you something. It breaks my heart to tell you this but it is the truth that we have lots of Dimas Star preachers in the church today. They want to please this world system so much that they sold out their convictions they want to be accepted by this politically correct culture so much that they approve what God disapproves.

They want to be like so much by this fallen system that they become spiritual adulterous.

The third enemy. The James talks about here is the devil verse six God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Verse seven submit yourselves to God than resist the devil and he will flee from you. Verse eight come near to God, the new company, do you wash your hands and purify your hearts verse. Then again, humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up. Don't miss what I'm going to tell you though missing because fighting these three superpowers, the flesh, the world and the devil corresponds to the three members of the Trinity, father, son and Holy Spirit. The world is in conflict with God the father. The flash isn't not a conflict with the Holy Spirit. Paul said in Galatians. There's a war going on the flesh against the spirit and asparagus the flesh, then the devil opposes God the son, let me ask you a question. What is the sin that caused Lucifer the angel of light was serving at the throne of God be thrown out of heaven.

What was that sin, bless you. Therefore you can be absolutely sure that pride is Satan's chief weapon in the battle against the saints, and the Savior. What is God's goal for you, you child of God, you, the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, Lord, what is this our goal is mentioned in the Scripture many times is one goal becoming like Christ, becoming like Christ. What is the greatest characteristics of Christ. He was called yet he did not count that equality to be something to get be grabbed but he surrendered it, he humbled himself and took a form of American Satan goal for you is the opposite of God's goal for you. God wants us to be dependent on his grace every moment of every second of the day Satan wants us to be dependent on ourselves. Every time Satan infiltrates our ego and inflates our pride entices us… That dictator out of its cage very quickly. There are three keys to victory there right here in the text. Three keys to victory. James gives them close key number one submit to God. James speaks of these two things almost with one breath is not even taking a breath between seven submit to God and then resist the devil and he flee from you. We got together you can do one without the other.

You cannot resist the devil without submitting to God is already submit to God. This devil is going to sleep.

I know and you know that in our culture submission is not the hottest thing on Madison Avenue.

Listen, I dare you to show me a commercial selling a product using the concept of submission. Submission is a dirty word in our culture, even Christians.

They snub and ridicule the idea of submission to anyone. I want you to imagine an army in the Army anyway where the private of the corporal decides to take it upon himself and act as a general list documenting the true plug is a general now want to think about this chaos will rule supreme, it's a disaster and defeat is the end result but that works everywhere it works in the home works in the church works in the country. What works everywhere. God placed Berenson authority over their children children to submit to their parents authority oblast. Today we have parents were obeying their children. I wanted what my kids one really that solid. The Scripture says the same thing happens in the church God play spiritual authority leaders in the church are not perfect the decisions are not perfect.

But submission to spiritual authority is the key to victory. Now we are not like the laws in the United States, and I thank God that we still live in a country where we can work hard to change laws, but once it's a law we are told by even if I don't like the slow speed limit on the publication told by but what happens if the law is contrary to the word of God were going to be like the early Christians would be like the early church, we can say God is to be obeyed or not. Caesar and then be prepared to pay the price. The second key to victory is drawing near to God and he will draw near to you. What is a drawing near to God. Listen carefully. This is not physical activities is something you have to do physically drawing near to God is an inward it's an inward activity is not constantly listening to his word and the constantly giving back his word back to him.

How do you know that your drawing near to God. You know that your drawing near to God when you immediately repent of the sin that you committed your spirit has become so sensitive you don't wait for a director with regard to church on Sunday and then confess you become so sensitive to the Holy Spirit that you immediately confessed you know you drawing near to God. You know your close and intimacy with God.

You're constantly being cleansed and purified. That's what you said here 13 to victory. Humble yourself before the Lord and then he said something about mourning and weeping and I know probably some of this is the order James Wallace to look miserable all the time and and walk around with a sour face and look like been baptizing vinegar now this has nothing to do with outward appearance is nothing to the outward appearance, it's an inward it's an inward all of these keys are inward.

When you become sensitive toward grieves the heart of God as a final warning in verses 11 and 12. I don't want you to miss it.

He is saying get rid of your critical spirit. Get rid of your critical spirit because a critical spirit is going to keep you from victory every time it will and will keep you from victory for sure.

Verse 11 brothers do not speak evil against one another. Did you know that a critical person is a prideful person a critical person is the person who, saying God on the judge not you I'm in a sit on the throne.

I'm going to judge everybody but you will receive victory, every time you resist the devil, but not unfairly and unjustly criticizing a brother or sister. I know this is a tall order but I'm here to testify to you regarding the defeating of the critical spirit of course is a difference between rebuking a sinning brother, which we have a biblical mandate for the rest the brother who's in sin to repent and turn to the Lord and reported that sin not criticize him as a personal her as a person, but the sin and the smell of in the spirit of criticism but in the spirit of restoration because we want to restore the processed today. You can expose the critical spirit to God and he will begin to do and you know what is done in my life. Many of I know what he did for me are not known. He will do it for you.

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Now there are links to subscribe@ltw.org/candid if you'd rather you can listen to an episode online at that same page. LTW.org/candid again. It's called candid conversations with Jonathan you Seth hello and welcome to candid where we never settle for less than the truth. I'm your host Jonathan you Seth each week we're going to tackle some tough to hear you thinking of a way to save the world.

That's not probably have do it when we live in this world of non-this Marvel universe. We had these injuries are talking about law and gospel dirt. There are groups out there that would separate those two things and say they don't really have anything to do with one another. The prof said is that Jesus said that the law is good and the Bible compels, we need to encourage our young people think devil was encouraged young people to question because when there's truth in all truth is Christ, truth. We should be afraid of any of I think people often don't think about what happens after they take their lives they see you now and ending to their pain that they don't think about the loved ones that they leave behind and what their left-handed is a podcast from leading the way with Dr. Michael you Seth if you like today's episode, please share it with a friend leave a review and subscribe.

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