Releasing the Power of Life, Part 2

Today on Summit life with Jamie Greer. If you live with any other master besides God is going to lead you to spiritual death. It's going to introduce all these insecurities and jealousies and unable to control yourself. Probably the worst of them or the beginning of them at least. It's just as big to never be satisfied you ever wondered why even though you've made Jesus Lord of your life, you keep on sending the question every believer asked at some point in the struggle. The apostle Paul understood first hand today in Romans chapter 6 Pastor Jenny teaches us how we get the power to live up to our new identity in Christ and how when we give ourselves to Jesus.

We actually experience that eternal life now. If you miss any part of this study through Romans.

So far, going all the way back to January. Remember you can always catch up online@jdgreer.com right now let's dive on in castigating David Palace in the Christian counselor says your four titles of which all the other rivals can be grouped in the sofa for me. Firstly, you got idols of power you have people who do things because what they do to help them get more power. This could be through status to achievement through money you love those things because they help you get a hold on the power's and secondly you got idols of control their people who want everything to go according to their plan and when they look in the future they want to know that most of the things in the future are going to go according to their plans are to deliver. They want their kids to live there to go to the colleges they want their kids to go to their going to retire in the means of the time, but they retire to their health is gonna be a predictable pattern.

These people don't like uncertainty. They don't like things are unstable.

They want things to happen on their terms and according to their timetable mentally you think about it in terms of retirement.

They also think about it in terms of you right, you felt these people busy.

All I could do their way and if these you mess with it their way. They get irritable, they get impatient, even angry.

Those are the idols of control he said thoroughly got idols of approval. There are some people just crave to be accepted by others to be praised by others. They just can't be happy unless people are happy with them unless they are attracted to others and people admire them and praise them for these kinds of people. Criticism is devastating to them as you get at their core identity not being affirmed. Enough is devastating. Feeling like you're not attractive enough, is devastating like their their husband otherwise is a bigger attractive is devastating being picked last for any kind of thing is devastating to them. A lot of times people are cowards they are entitled to the right thing, not because they don't know what the right thing is, and not even because they don't want to do the right thing, but because they're afraid that they'll get about his disapproval of late arriving Seville came on their convictions because they need people's approval more than they need anything else so they can't stand up the difference.

There's are four categories pleasure. Pleasure some people long for physical delights, sensual pleasures.

Now again, it's good to be across the dam it could be sexual pleasure could be a nice house, good food, nice car going on the right vacations creature comforts like that's what good life is as lots creature comforts and Solomon to pursue that there power, control, approval, and pleasure.

Again, just little hard chat which of these four do you feel like is your biggest one. By the way, okay clear that while many other things, power control, approval and pleasure mean that that's a normal part of life and and and we seek those things. Listen, it's when they become central in your life. It's when they become ultimate something you can't live without something that compels your obedience even over what God wants something that matters more to you then. Then God and you like I can be happy in life. Once I have that. That's when it becomes insulating, we always say around here. False worship is when a good thing turns into a God thing, and thereby becomes a bad thing that Paul uses a very illuminating word to describe the nature of sin but not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. Also such an important record board passion in Greek is epic to me that Mia Mia means desire at that means huge so it's a big huge desire now backboard epi-literally means on top of so what you gotta get this image is of a desire that's not the plan desire which is not the one desire, which becomes this gigantic tower and it so weighty that it just takes over your soul. So for example you like I desire money will desire money. Well, this will have jobs okay but you start thinking unless I make a certain amount of money unless I have missed in lifestyle unless I get this salary level unless I get this much in the bank. I can't be happy. I can't be secure. I can't. I can't. I can have peace of mind, little second-class life until I get this wrong.

There is taken over its become an epic to me. It's become a controlling desire. For example, I want a family. Nothing wrong with that. Again, I'm not want to get married, have a family you*think there's nowhere to be happy unless I get married, there's no way unless I'd be happy was I get remarried. There's no way I can be happy to.

We have kids. There is no way that I can be happy if my kids don't live close by. There is no way I can be happy of my kids will make the decisions. I think they're supposed to make and so you become very controlling and if life of your family. This is not what it should be for life not worth living. Your worried about it all the time you become resentful, jealous of other people who have a family you think you want or how about this when I want to be noticed and all that know what you want people like what you do. Would like who you are but you start thinking I don't have my coworkers approving me and I gotta have my boss a good they cannot husband my children to recognize my value and commend me for not nondominant nurse resentment and I want to be insecure and depressed, or I really really really want a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Nothing wrong with that but you like.

I just can't be happy.

I just can't be happy until until that's part of my life and I will compromise whatever standard I need to in order to be able to obtain that again. There's nothing wrong with any of those things are just name it when they become your masters that they lead you toward death. Tim Keller says that there are three short fire test that will show you when something is become a spiritual master.

These are the first tremors of death and you okay because number one number one anger becomes epi-anger. But here's what I mean by that. Okay. When something blocks you from getting a good thing you got upset that's normal and it's fine but if something blocks you from getting an ultimate thing, something you have to have you get epi-angry you rage you snap because that thing that person has come between you and the thing that you gotta have in order for life to be good to have the anger. Here's your second son.

Epi-worry if something good in your life is threatened right then you worry in that's normal. But if something ultimate in your life gets threatened. You become paralyzed. You don't just worry you have epi-fear. You become anxious, so anxious, you can't think right right you develop all kinds of issues and not try to diagnose anything that I'm saying you did all kinds of problems and and and and we spiritually just look in the spiritual realm.

What contributor that is I just had this gotta have this and and and without this life is not to be worth living. So you have sex with her or her. Thirdly, epi-sadness, if some people you lose something good in your life, you lose a loved one. You, you lose a job, you lose a situation even a possession.

That's sad and you cry and that's okay. It's normal. It's natural, but if you lose something ultimate. You despair. You said you get epi-said you fall party thought life and I were living those three emotions .2 were something is displaced. God is the spiritual master of your heart to disaster self, where where do you those three emotions most often get provoked and you where in your life.

Have you gotten angry is anger that you couldn't shake where you most recently get angry. What causes you the most worry consistently what what what is cost you the most sadness or grief that but you just cannot shake. I told you before that that the two bit others were categories. The two biggest ones that I kind of like resonate with me or control elegance goes the way that I want them to go in money.

The brew that is the first year to a marriage like many married couples biggest lights were on about money, because I was like honey to have surmounted the bank so that I can feel like going to be okay and I was afraid and open up the bank account. This is nothing left and and it was like paralyzing to me and it just was. It led to this because I needed control and need to feel like I can promise and guarantee the future if I was going to be to be happy and secure another one is always been approval of told you that prove lifelike I just need people to respect me and look up to me and talk about me being good in order for me to be happy and so I translated that into success of the church that was way that people admire me if the church is successful and so the fact that I depended on approval. Let me all kinds of honestly irrational fears. Just before I remember driving up one Sunday morning into church and I and there's a 3000 people are part of a church. At this point and I'm like this is the weekend where everybody at once decides to go to another church right because most you guys are not usually go to the church you want. So, this is the weekend that no volunteer shows up and everybody says you know what we're sick of guardians on the same stories and were tired.

It is not that good of a preacher we're going somewhere else in church and I come in here and on Sunday mornings with me little room. My wife sit on the front row. She got her headphones and listen into that channel because he's so funny is a preacher and she liked it better. Anyway, he is a preacher's up hi I'm like you, that's good. I have in this weekend if that's irrational and stupid. But the reason is because he went back to kind of a core fear of mine and that is I will need approval. I need approval in the way that I might get approval is by being successful and it just was controlling to make it control my emotions. It made me epi-angry and epi-worried and happy sad when things didn't work out, but would shake his head if he hear me say that he got yet and everybody's got one of those everybody serving somebody you gotta serve somebody. Don't you understand that if you present yourself anybody as obedient slaves, your slaves are the ones you obey either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience leads to righteousness. In other words, every spiritual master besides God is going to lead you to death.

I don't mean death like hell.

That's ultimate death. What I mean is deathlike if you enslave you approval your life gets plagued by constant self-pity in the hurt feelings. Feelings of inadequacy.

Like I said you will always be a coward you not to be willing to do the right thing of the evening to disapproval if you're enslave the pleasures you won't be able to say no to the pleasures of food or sex or pornography or shopping, so you'll spend yourself in the debt. You'll get hooked on pornography you become an alcoholic again I'm not trying to unpack complex things. I'm just saying that part of what contributes to some of these things is I've got have that to be happy and it's death being worked in you because you become addicted to it. If you are enslave the power you become domineering, you become vengeful. You become self-promoting. You become harsh you even become abusive. If you are enslave to control you worry all the time you're obsessively worrying you're losing your temper a lot people around you start to feel manipulated this article here is using them for your purposes and that feeling but always true as you are. You've got people even in your family that you like I do play this role my life. And if you're not doing that I'm in a you write and I need you to be this and need you to be there in an initial feel in control because you desperately depend on them that I can honestly be clear, I realize that I'm in some pretty complex emotional stuff and a lot of times there is not just spiritual factors.

A lot of times there's emotional trauma on the same physical factors. We don't think is a diagnosis of you or anybody that you know I'm just saying that that when you're looking at it through the spiritual wins. What Paul is saying is a lot of what is behind some of these things is ultimately it's an ultimate thing to you and you become its slave. It is your master and you gotta have it and that has introduced the power of death into your life so we come to verse 23 says that what the wages of sin is death. Now verse 23 is a verse many of us know and we think it is a perfect little summation of salvation, and it is but in context. Paul is talking about death in you right now what you're alive in the book of Romans. Listen this death and life are not just conditions that you go into in the afterlife deathlike of things returns right now and what Paul is saying is if you live with any other master besides God.

It's going to lead you to spiritual death.

It's going to introduce all these insecurities and jealousies and unable to control yourself. Probably the worst of them or the beginning of them at least. It's just this big to never be satisfied your job Martin purchaser. Sometimes Joby tell story about this that I think just like perfectly and it just sounds so like him some unbilled justice. But when I first moved to Jacksonville I Jacksonville, Florida. He sold the first things that I got invited to do was go to the dog races is a nonevent or dog races under their nose like people money on their gambling.

He says and I just sit there and cover was going on. This is the LB's dog sees greyhounds are behind these dates on what looks like a miniature you know horse racing track. He says and then all of a sudden the announcer comes on and says here's a rough day he says I love and always it might screw crazy in this little mechanical rabbit you get start getting dragged around the nieces and their dogs. Dogs lose their minds.

This is there a certain breed against the gate try to get out of that rabbit and then they open that gate and the dog hair off after that rabbit and just shake their rabbits go around chasing a rabbit decision right before the finish line is this rusty disorder magically disappears his just disappears decided to see where it went just disappears.

You can imagine those dogs back in the kennel that night and one of them was like manna. I almost had rusty home was right there. Another was like me till almost had rusty man when they will get and anyone says anything rough to be back out tomorrow bet you he will and we looking we went willing like dumb dogs right like like a mindnumbing you know you never get rusty. You never catch Rusty Rusty you never get Jim and and and Jeremy says not to fast so because every single morning. Some of you your alarm goes off in your lawn might as well be.

Here's a rest day right you jump out of bed like today's.

That man I wanted to temper motion and I'm enough to that level. And, will meet that person and things are going to be awesome. And every day you go through it you never quite get rusty, but every day you get back up and your run again. Jim said maybe the saddest part is there are situations where something was wrong. I wanted all jacks to catch the little mechanical rabbit pieces.

Now imagine that experience that poor dog like this for his whole life he's been running after the remedy finally catches it tears into that thing lazing around it might be easier is like what is this right and Jeremy says that people who do you think say that if that ever happens. What is greyhounds. The Greyhound will lose a significant amount of motivation to run the next time and that that's where we are dumber than dogs. He said because some of you found that rabbit so you caught right here like you like I did it assistant manager assistant to the regional manager I got I made at the top and your chewing doing you like. This is not about what or are you with that person in your life, I thought.

And but it's is not what I thought it was but being dumber than a dog with sin makes is dumber than dogs you like what I must've just called the wrong rustic cottage get a new rusty and then that'll be the one that fills me, and even the dogs aren't that dumb. You and I constantly give ourselves to these idols that just lead us to greater and greater depths of death usual pulses in verse 21 to back versus what fruit is produced therefrom. Things are now ashamed of my definitions of death. Did you look and see that, can't you see that Rusty wasn't even a rabbit. Did you see that you gave her whole life chasing something that you probably wouldn't find and then if you did find it.

It would be what you wanted to be to begin with now is to see the free gift of God, though the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Pulses see there's another master that actually gives you like you looking for is what your soul was created for the best part even required to work to obtain because it is a gift because he was loving his acceptance insecurities gift receipt every other master besides God. Every other one as a condition if you will work for me and if you can obtain me. I bless you my fears of money says my says work hard enough getting the right school to the right job, get a promotion hold onto me. Be wise with your money.

Choose wisely when the lottery whatever it is I now make you happy and if you don't do that if you fail me. I'll make you miserable you live a second-class life. No never be having romance says hey find me. Make sure you meet the right person. Make sure you're married the right person and if you're not skinny and pretty now. You never can find me and I want to curse you as you to be without me. Pulses were Jesus is the one God, the one master. This is not enough work for me. I will give you everything I have is a gift on what your soul was created for and you don't have to work to obtain me to succeed like to give the free gift of God is eternal life not in heaven only, but now it's eternal life right now and it's in Christ Jesus our Lord is received through a gift that is eternal life. Eternal life is not a condition in heaven. Eternal life is a condition you experienced today pulses. This is the only spiritual master that will satisfy you to see God. God is more secure than money by because God can give your life more meaning and give you more security than money ever cutting God never crashes or dips below 10,000. And God is more fulfilling than romantic love. The tenderness that you long for the that the specialness that you long for the security long for the arms.

You long for were actually his arms out to your grade for knowing God is better than having earthly power because what greater power could there be than to know that the sovereign God who controls every molecule in the universe has commandeered all of them for your good and his purpose.

God is better than physical health and wellness.

Why, because he says I'll give you abundant life the matter the condition of your body and I'll give you eternal life that can never be taken away.

God is better than achievement because I promise you, hearing well done good and faithful servant from Jesus enter enter your reward is better than 10,000 trophies made out of plastic that nobody can remember.

Anyway, no matter what you compared God to the winds. Every time Sullivan Tim Keller is a quaint little way of saying this, Jesus is the only master who is he find them will satisfy you and asked her to fill him will forgive you every other master says if you fail me out. Curse you when you find them, you find that they won't really Rusty that would really rabbit them just as empty kind of thing to pulses. Turn your heart to Jesus because he's the master you're created for today and in conclusion to thankful to have a life but you want half versus wrecking yourself dead to sin reckon that God has told the truth about you even when you don't feel it, believe it will happen much is all the sudden sins power over you will begin to it won't be able to hold you captive it won't threaten you, it won't be able to say this is who you are.

This is all that's in your future vocational say no.

Yes, that is not how sinister Satan, God has declared that I am sure a son or daughter God has declare that I did a sin. God has declared that resurrection is in me, and resurrection is my future to save all captivity over me anymore because I am a child of God and all the promises of God for me yes in Christ Jesus. And I promise you you approach situations differently this place heavenly gas in my family not was enough gopher for our units rendered by the lake and there's no one around lasers like dogs and watching easily reviewed use of the parking lot. They are going someplace else visiting right and usually usually sore.

Live and let live will get along Johnson McGee's and sometimes my family like my kids and I underwent somewhere out there were feeding your bread to the service having an awesome mother's needs, bows up a little bit you read this long wings also one-of-a-kind.

I am sort ice or Stratton tortoise. He got his wings out me and my four kids, all of us instinctively like and we run run back about four steps okay my when does the goose is an Internet fangs Internet talons so I get about 4000 Mike. I'm scared because I've forgotten who he is and who I am now a member in your goose and I'm a man I have a four step center around like I went back to survey those like I know who I am and I know who you are and I don't care how wide wings are you don't threaten anymore.

What follows is sin puts it was wings out in your life who you threaten me because this captivity is not dumb belong anymore this for some Jesus put on the cross used to terrify me used to hold me captive Jesus spoke in a stronger wording.

I believe him. Now you may reckon yourself dead to sin, then you present yourself to God and you say God show me how to live in ways that are consistent with life because of greed and insecurity go with my life anymore.

You and Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Really curious little things as sprinklers, why, why would he take time to say that because he try to show us living people shouldn't wear dead people things Paul say in Romans six is someone just ration from the dead take all those great clothes of insecurity and greed and anger during all that stuff because they don't belong to a living person is been raised with Christ are present yourself to somebody who is alive to God. You want a life that God has for you, reckon yourself that is you present yourself to God is alive only there to find him. I feel him will forgive you.

That's great news from Pastor Janie Greer on Senate life if you like to catch up on previous messages or if you want to view the transcripts. You can find an online Janie Greer.com as we journey through this teaching together will grow to understand God's righteousness. Our unrighteousness apart from him. The significance of God son, Jesus Christ, and the implications of the gospel message for everyday life.

The subject of our newest Bible is a three-part series you can get the second book right now will send you Romans volume 2 expression of thanks when you donate today to support this ministry for Romans part two when you get by calling six 339-5220 866-335-5220 we can get online Janie.

On while you're there, you also have the option of requesting volume 1 finally checked out has called me anything you want to do that today. I think you need to get honest answers to question you can find it online. Janie Greer.or for your favorite hot. I'm only doing this again tomorrow when you are series program and my Katie clear ministry