Welcome To The War Part 2

Reese Flores looking to Jesus, founder Satan tries to derail our walk with God appeals to natural desires and gets us to fulfill them in disruptive ways and more and more from which there is no escape and how a Christian can best reflect temptation from the Moody Church in Chicago this morning with Dr. Irwin, Sir Lou's clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line delete certain. Some may feel they lack the strength to fight a battle. They feel they cannot win and you know Dave, I think the truth is, all of us at times it felt that way. That's why it is so important to recognize that when we fight these battles we have to fight them together.

The church of Jesus Christ plays a critical role in our victory and in our triumph over evil. These messages are so critical because they deal with issues that many people face and certainly in our hearts.

We are constantly being tempted to let me ask you this question as a result of the covert crisis. What we've discovered is the increasing role of technology in surveillance. What does this mean is this a picture of what might happen in the future were learning a lot about ourselves were learning a lot about our country. I given a lecture entitled covert, 19 the economy and our future for a gift of any amount. It can be yours. I deal with ongoing effects actually of the economy has a result of what we've experienced effects that I think are going to be going on for a long while. Here's what you can do. Go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask for COBIT. 19 the economy and our future.

Now we go to the pulpit of Moody church were once again we talk about those temptations and the war with in. Let's listen carefully how you think about the power of the world in our lives and you think of so-called worldly Christians who love the world were absolutely determined that they are going to take in all of the pleasures of the world were talking about the wrong kind of pleasures now and they're going to pursue these pleasures and entertain them in their lives. And then they're going to learn how to manage their sin so that they can get through a worship service and manage somehow and go back and do the same thing again.

James says you hate God and yours enemy of this is so strong so strong, but some needed it strong for me and it strong for all of us. He says then you adulteresses you adulteresses my all my now in the Old Testament, you know, Israel was spoken of as having gone after other gods having committed adultery as a woman treacherously departs from her lover, so you have done to me, O Israel, says the Lord says in the book of Jeremiah. Second Corinthians chapter 11.

The apostle Paul says I have betrothed you to one husband, namely Christ that I might present you as if you were a virgin. Now all that you need to do is to talk to a woman whose husband has committed adultery to understand something of the pain and some of you are listening can say yeah I understand the pain because you've been through it.

The sense of betrayal. The sense of lack of trust. The sense of hurt that all of the relationship that is been so carefully built shattered in those moments in the rebuilding might take months if not years. That's what we do to Christ, who married us when we were redeemed. We were as a wife to her husband and said, Lord Jesus. Now you are our husband. You are the husband where the bride you have responsibility for his husbands have certain responsibilities and that are supposed to take care of the bride but Jesus, you are not meeting our deepest needs. The only way that we can meet those needs is to find the root of pleasure and find someone else who can be a better lover than you realize how that hurts God that hurts God you adulteresses James says he's talking to us and then James of course is he talking about this he says or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us and these intensely, by the way, that is one of the most difficult verses in all the New Testament to interpret because there are two problems with it.

The first is the question of what spirit is he talking about is James saying that the Holy Spirit of God within us is so jealous for God that he grieves when we sin. That's one way to interpret it. And if that's the interpretation that certainly is theological and scriptural and could be found in many other passages.

Imagine what the Holy Spirit has to go through when the holy spirit is in contact with all of the sin that we so easily bring into our life. Can you feel his pain and his great is another way to interpret it.

And that's the way the NIV has adhered, namely, that the spirit of man and we could almost say an evil spirit within him. It is there and it causes us to an it causes the restlessness it causes us to look into the world and think that we have been ripped and therefore we go to the world to meet the deepest needs of our hearts. Either way, what James is saying is look we are.

Adulteresses, if we love the world what a statement out of the second problem.

By the way, which I didn't deal with is this there is no verse of Scripture that says that the spirit that is within us causes us to envy intensely were James says or do you not think that the Scripture says there's no Scripture that says this I think that what James was doing his. He was actually thinking ahead to the next step thought that he was going to bring to people, namely the words God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. That's a passage of Scripture that comes to us from the book of Proverbs chapter 3, so I think that that's the explanation for what James is trying to say what I like to do now is to make two life-changing concluding observations of the text.

The first is that notice this, even though James acknowledges the desires that are within us and there's no person alive who doesn't know what were talking about. Even though James acknowledges that he is still holding us accountable for our actions.

He saying you know you have all of these corals you have all of these desires that are at war with your members and these desires are at war with you there at war with God. James says, but he doesn't say what you know. After all, you have to follow your desire because it is all in your genes anyway so just it out. James doesn't go that route. You know that couple of years ago. Time goes so quickly. It might be years ago Time magazine had a cover story on adultery. What it basically said was that the reason that men commit adultery is that it is because of their genetic makeup. It's it's these genes that are causing the problems, and as a result of that what you have is that men who are promiscuous because they are born to be promiscuous I was.

The bottom line there been people who have been saying well you know there's an adultery gene and it gives you a disposition to adultery.

There's an alcohol gene because it runs in the family and we know that it runs in the family will discuss this when we talk about alcoholism. Identical twins can be adopted or in in different families and yet they have the they have a propensity to alcohol, even if they are raised in families where there is no alcohol so that you know that's exactly what the Scripture says the sins of the father being visited upon the third and fourth generation. So there are those social consequences and connection. But what people want to do is they want to isolate that to that alcohol gene is so that they know why some people are alcohol licks and others aren't.

I was in high school we had a student who would steal he would quote the verses in Ephesians this way. Let him who stole steel now. I think that that maybe went over some of your heads, but the rest of the verses let him that stole steal no more. That's actually the way that he said that's the way I'm born. He said ever since I was young I could not stop taking things that I saw. If he could put it in contemporary language.

He has a stealing gene and then you have people who say we're going to make sure that we uncover that homosexual gene because if we can uncover that Jean white and indeed homosexuality has to be accepted as normal bills listen to me carefully. James does not buy that.

Find as many genes as you want. We are responsible for our desires and for our actions. Please keep that in mind what the problem is, some of us maybe we don't have these sins that I've listed for you on the sheet of paper that were going to be speaking about. But you know what our problem is you don't. My problem is you know what the problem is with the pastoral staff over here world born with the sin gene. That's our problem. There's a sin gene that they still need to uncover that the seed of all of our difficulties course we may have dispositions because of genes because of desires. James does not let us off the hook and you cannot be let off the hook and you cannot be helped as long as you blame it on your gene.

Now that's the first observation.

Let's go to a second. James now says look I'm gonna tell you what to do by the way, when I preach this series of messages and I do want you to pray for me a great deal because obviously were invading Satan's territory. Once we get into the things that are listed but I want to preach very redemptive lay it on the easy thing is for a pastor to stand up and to just flail against some of these sins and rail against them, and send everybody home feeling guilty either. If you're involved in the in the problem or the sin you go home feeling guilty if you're not, you go home feeling very very self-righteous. My dear friend, the only reason we tackled the subject's the only one is to make sure that there's a helping hand extended to the needy were all fallen creatures. As I mentioned, we all got the sin gene and so when we want to do is to is to be redemptive and we as a staff have talked about that in future messages how we can give people counsel and how we can show them the way.

There was a young artist who painted a very, very dark picture and that it was just almost horrid in its what shall we say in the depth and the intensity of its darkness and there was a man who is an artist who said you know, never just paint a picture like that without painting away, leading out Scott to be a way out of the darkness, but were interested in is to find that way. So James says I got something for you to do. You've got a problem with the quarrels and the desires that are driving you and you swear them off in their back the next day. Here are the words of God. Verse seven submit yourself to God. Had a good place to start is well does that mean that my spouse is going to treat me much nicer now that I've submitted to God. Does that mean that that boss with whom I have to work and who is such an incredible irritation who does everything that he or she can possibly do to make my life miserable is that mean that on Monday morning I everything is going to be fine because of last that offices can be turned around.

According to my liking, so that they do it right now.

When they tell you that when you submit to God. Now listen that submission is a very thorough submission that is a submission that simply says God I'm herein and whatever you asked me to do so that I will not be desired or driven, I'll do it.

That's not a submission that comes easily, but James says submit yourself to God. Resist the devil.

Let's number two you say will what does he have to do with all these things on my friend the sins that were talking about. They are his playground.

This is where he spends his time making a habit doing whatever he can to get us down and to fall into a snare and he has two lives that he loves to pass off on. Let me give them to you. The first why is number one.

Just do it once and that's all.

After you've done it once he says now that you've done at your defiled, you might just as well keep doing it and you're hooked. Both our lives. Resist the devil general kinds of people who are trying to resist the devil and they not submitted to God. And it's not working because the devil comes back when Jesus even quoted verses of Scripture at in the memorized his own versus I don't know whether not he carries cards around with him or not, but he memorized his own versus and he gave Jesus Avers back in his face thing that works is dearly beloved submit yourself to God. Secondly, resist the devil. James says and nieces come near to God and he'll come near to you. And I say that to those of you who feel on the fringes. I say that to those of you who feel that you've tried it a thousand times.

I'm saying try to thousand and one times I say to those of you who may feel as if God is so angry with you. He's turned his back on you, hasn't drawn near to him and he will draw near to you. That's the promise that you can claim. Wash your hands, you sinners, purify your hearts, you double minded. Get clean as you confess your sins so that your consciences and constantly agitating you and telling you what you know now that you've done that you have to travel down the same path again. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and by the way, it's his grieve and mourn for your sins, but verse 10 humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up over why does he say that because, listen carefully, all sin begins with pride because all sin says I know better than God as to what's going to give me pleasure and we will never overcome the tremendous desires within, unless we go for pleasure, but they have to be pleasures that are on the right hand of God that had no backwash of guilt.

Learning to enjoy God so much that we do not want to grieve him because of our sin. That's really what happens. James says folks number one there's a war within, and we say James. We agree. We've all been there, done that. Secondly, he saying you're at war with God then. And if you continue to be a lover of the world and you actually become his enemy, and that frightens us. I for one do not want to be an enemy of God. I hope that you agree with that. Don't be an enemy of God and then James is saying look, there is a way out, submit yourself to God.

Resist the devil, the clans, and humble yourself under his mighty hand and sometimes that humility means that we go to other people for help and we disclose the secrets that we have so carefully crafted and covered because it is in the process of disclosure that there is help, there is healing moody church is a place where it's okay. It's okay to have problems.

If it wasn't a we have nobody here it's okay to be needy but we encourage you to come to God. There is that old story that Indian legend that talks about the Indian who said you know I have two dogs within me. There's that ugly dog that's in the shadows.

And then there's the dog that is in the light and the old question is which one controls you in the Indian wisely answered, the one that I feed the most.

Who are you feeding today the desires which are going to drive you or are you feeding the desire for God.

That's the question James says you can change you can be different and Jesus said if the son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.

Join me as we pray in our father we come to you and we ask that with sensitivity, but firmness your blessed Holy Spirit would work in our hearts. Father, we we cannot even grasp the words that we have said this morning that the love of the world is to be an enemy of God, O father may be said of the members and friends of Moody Church in our listening audience that we never want to be around because you are opposed to the proud Ute you are at war with the proud.

The Bible says, but you do give grace to the humble. We desire that we shall have that humility now before I close this prayer. What do you today have to tell God whatever it is, would you tell him right now. Father you, nor weakness.

You know that we are but dust. You know the struggles of the flesh, you know how often we have failed you know father that all of our willpower has not been strong enough to subdue desires. Want to control us, grant us at this moment that we might submit to you father, may we love you so much that we would never want to be your enemy do that in my heart and the heart of all the leadership of the church and every person who is listening.

In Jesus name.

You know my friend. It is so important that we feed ourselves on God's holy word see only way in which we can really overcome temptation know God has taken us to a very unique place. Hasn't he in this country we are experiencing things that we never thought of before. Specifically because of the covert crisis. It's a health crisis but it's also an economic crisis and I've given a lecture entitled covert, 19 the economy and our future. You can have it either on DVD or CD for a gift of any amount and I'll tell you why I did it.

I want us as Christians to think through what this says about what money really is about the increasing effects on government dependency technology in all of the things that surround us. So ask for covert, 19 the economy and our future. Here's what you can do. Go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 one of the things that is very important is for us to realize that we should respond to this crisis differently than the people around us. It is important for us to understand the trust in God does not mean that things will necessarily get better.

But it means that God is faithful to us no matter what. Go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask for covert, 19 the economy and our future. It's time again for another opportunity for you to ask Pastor lutes or a question you may have about the Bible or the Christian life documents are today's question comes from Kelvin who lives in Michigan. He writes I have heard you speak on the dangers of false prophets, I may be incorrect, but it seems you are equating preachers to prophets. It sounded like you were saying that if the preacher did not speak biblical truth when he was a false prophet are you equating preachers with profits and if preachers are preaching and teaching ideas as doctrine which are not biblically supported then would they be considered a false prophet yes Kelvin. I believe that preachers can also be spoken of as false prophets. Another reason why you have an emphasis on false prophets in the Bible is because it is the prophets who claim to speak directly in behalf of God so you know they say that the word of the Lord came to me and said this and that, just like many do on TV and many of these are false prophets. As we well know, but if a preacher is preaching false doctrine. He can also be thought of in the same category as being a false prophet.

If I were to teach something that would be on biblical something that would be different than the historic Christian teaching regarding salvation, for example, I could be considered also a false prophet or at least I could be false in my teaching, so I'm not sure exactly why you asked the question you did, but the answer is yes, we need to make sure that we judge the work in the ministry of preachers, as well as so-called prophets. Thank you Dr. lutes. Or if you'd like to hear your question answered. Go to our website@rtwoffer.com and click on ask Pastor lutes or or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us have run into when 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. One of the tough parts of that race is wanting what others have your neighbor's car looks great. So does their house.

Yes green says I want more, but more is never enough. Read the first of the seven snares of the enemy when lutes is exposing it's the sin that no one can see what it looks deep in every one of us next time. Don't miss read the heart reveal. Thanks for listening for Dr. Erwin lutes or this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the teacher