WHO HAS YOUR EAR, THE ADVERSARY OR GOD? -
Romans 8:1-8:1
WHO HAS YOUR EAR, THE ADVERSARY OR GOD?
SETTING THE STAGE
Many years ago in St. Louis, a lawyer visited a Christian to transact some business. Before the two parted, his client said to him, “I’ve often wanted to ask you a question, but I’ve been afraid to do so.”
“What do you want to know?” asked the lawyer.
The man replied, “I’ve wondered why you’re not a Christian.”
The man hung his head, “I know enough about the Bible to realize that it says no drunkard can enter the kingdom of God; and you know my weakness!”
“You’re avoiding my questions,” continued the believer.
“Well, truthfully, I can’t recall anyone ever explaining how to become a Christian.”
Picking up a Bible, the client read some passages showing that all are under condemnation, but that Christ came to save the lost by dying on the cross for their sins. “By receiving Him as your Substitute and Redeemer,” he said, “you can be forgiven. If you’re willing to receive Jesus, let’s pray together.”
The lawyer agreed, and when it was his turn he exclaimed, “O Jesus, I am a slave to drink. One of your servants has shown me how to be saved. O God, forgive my sins and help me overcome the power of this terrible habit in my life.” Right there he was converted. That lawyer was C.I. Scofield, who later edited the reference Bible that bears his name.
INTRODUCTION:
Our message today examines how Satan attacks the Believer with condemnation and guilt, and what the word of God has to say about the sins of our past.
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES
The following are four areas of attack and accusation that is used by Satan. When Satan, the "Accuser of the Brethren" (Rev. 12:10) attacks a Christian with guilt and condemnation, it is many times a combination of three of these, if not all four:
1. FEELINGS of UNWORTHINESS - "I’m not a good-enough Christian" "I’m too great a sinner for God to save me." "God loves others, but He doesn’t love me as much"
2. FEAR & WORRY - "I’m afraid! I don’t trust God to take care of me and supply my needs!"
3. DOUBTING YOUR SALVATION - "I’ve committed the unforgiveable sin"
4. DEPRESSION & DESPAIR - "What’s the use of trying, I’ve failed so many times" -- I’ll never conquer this addiction, habit or whatever in my life - I’m a failure!"
Here is how Satan uses guilt and condemnation in the life of a Believer. You may not doubt your salvation, but you will doubt God’s willingness to ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS because of some sin in your past. You are saved, but you have been robbed of the JOY of your salvation, and the CONFIDENCE that God will answer your prayers. You tell yourself that you are not doubting God’s promises, but deep in your soul, you doubt His willingness or ability to apply those promises to YOU! It begins with the feelings of unworthiness, then fear and worry that God will not come through for you, and that leads to depression and despair.
This work of Satan of "accusing the brethren" (believers) may also lead to addictions, or certainly FEED addictions that may have started in your past, maybe even before you were saved. How does this work? If the feelings of doubt, lack of self-worth in your own eyes, condemnation and guilt are left unchecked, or are buried rather than cleansed out and removed, you may find yourself "medicating" the pain with drugs, alcohol, wrong sexual relationships, overeating, binging and purging, or other forms of escapism.
As a Believer in Jesus Christ, if you have repented of your sins, claimed the blood of Jesus for your cleansing of ALL sin and unrighteousness, and are NOT continuing to PRACTICE those sins, you should have NO feelings of guilt, condemnation, or consciousness of that sin at all. God has completely wiped it out and forgotten it, and you are clean and righteous in His sight.
If you are continuing to practice a certain sin, then, yes, you will feel some "condemnation" from the enemy, because you have placed yourself in a position where Satan has the right to mess with you. You will also feel conviction in your spirit from the Holy Spirit, because that is His job to let you know you are doing wrong! God’s word does not give us a "license" to continue sinning, but that is another study altogether.
Right now, we are focusing on the SINS of your PAST, and any residual feelings of guilt or condemnation that are interfering with your walk with the Lord or your ability to BELIEVE His promises. Let’s walk through the steps of repentance and restoration just to be SURE you have done everything the word of God says to do. Then, "having DONE ALL" you must learn to "STAND on the promises of God" (Eph. 6:13), and again, "take your thoughts captive" when any accusations or thoughts come to your mind that tell you otherwise (II Cor. 10:3-5).
GOD WANTS to RESTORE to YOU the JOY of YOUR SALVATION -HERE ARE THE STEPS to RESTORATION:
1.) Humble yourself before God, and confess and repent of all sin. Repent means to turn around and go the opposite direction, to completely change your mind (way of thinking) about something.
2.) Receive and accept by faith your complete forgiveness and cleansing, just because of what Jesus did for YOU on the cross, not because of anything you did to deserve it.
3.) Close any doors that might still be open to Satan and his demons to have access to your life. Satan is a liar, so cast out any demons that may have been attached to you, especially the "spirit of condemnation."
4.) Begin to walk in that freedom and forgiveness.
Psalm 34:18 "The Lord is NEAR to those who have a BROKEN HEART, and He saves such as have a CONTRITE spirit."
II Corinthians 4:2 "But we have RENOUNCED (confessed as wrong) the hidden things of SHAME, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully...."
Psalm 51: 1-4, 10,12 "Have MERCY on me, O God, according to Your loving kindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, BLOT OUT my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and CLEANSE ME from my SIN. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight..... Create in me a CLEAN HEART, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. RESTORE to ME the JOY of YOUR SALVATION, and uphold me with Your generous Spirit."
Psalm 51:16-17 "For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a BROKEN SPIRIT; a BROKEN and a contrite HEART — these, O God, You will not despise."
Isaiah 1:18 "‘Come now, and let us reason together’, says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’"
Acts 3:19 "Repent, therefore and be converted (turn around), that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."
2.) Receive and accept by faith your complete forgiveness and cleansing, just because of what Jesus did for YOU on the cross, not because of anything you did to deserve it. It is vitally important that you not only believe that God has forgiven you, but that you also FORGIVE YOURSELF! There are no sins that are worse than others - sin is sin, in God’s eyes. Just when you think you’ve committed the worst kind of sin ("an abomination" to God), you can find Scriptures which state that something else is an abomination to God. Abortion and homosexuality are not worse sins than lying and coveting. Drunkenness is not worse than gluttony (overeating). PRIDE is always an abomination to God. In I Cor. 6:11, Paul is speaking to Christians, showing us that the Church of Jesus Christ is made up of sinners, because he says, "such were some of you." It is only by the blood of Jesus Christ that we are forgiven and CLEANSED of those sins. A person who has NOT trusted Jesus Christ for salvation and forgiveness of their sins has NO PART in the kingdom of God. Jesus said, "Unless a man is BORN AGAIN, he cannot [even] SEE the Kingdom of God." (John 3:3)
Proverbs 6:16-19 "These six things the Lord HATES, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a PROUD look, a LYING tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren."
•Ephesians 5:5 "For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an IDOLATER, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."
I Corinthians 6:9-11 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers (users of abusive language), nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were WASHED, but you were sanctified (made holy), but you were JUSTIFIED in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to FORGIVE us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Psalm 103:10-14 "He has NOT dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, SO GREAT is His MERCY toward those who fear Him (reverence Him); as far as the east is from the west, so far has He REMOVED our TRANSGRESSIONS from us."
Colossians 2:13-14 "And you, being dead in your trespasses (sins)......... has He made alive together with Him, having FORGIVEN you ALL trespasses; BLOTTING OUT the handwriting of requirements (God’s laws that you could never keep) that was against us, and took it out of the way, having nailed it to His CROSS."
Hebrews 10:16-17 "‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,’ says the Lord. ‘I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’ then He adds, ‘Their SINS and their lawless DEEDS I will REMEMBER NO MORE.’"
Isaiah 43:25 "I, even I, am the One who WIPES OUT your transgressions for My own sake; and I WILL NOT REMEMBER your SINS."
Micah 7:18-19 "Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious acts of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving kindness. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."
Colossians 1:14 "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the FORGIVENESS of sins."
3.) Close any doors that might still be open to Satan and his demons to have access to your life. Satan is a liar, so cast out any demons and deceiving spirits that may have been attached to you, especially the "spirit of condemnation." COMMAND all demons to leave you in the NAME of JESUS! John 8:32 "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you FREE." Tell Satan and his demons that you belong to Jesus, and he has no more right to attack you or oppress you. Tell Satan he cannot deceive you any longer, because you know the truth, and the truth has made you free. He is no longer your master — Jesus is your Lord! CLOSE any DOORS that have been opened to allow demons into your life by saying something like this, "In the NAME of JESUS, I close the door that may have been opened to allow Satan into my life through my participation in (Name the sin)--I ask You, Lord, to keep the door closed with the precious blood of Jesus." Do this for each individual sin.
•Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to those who are IN CHRIST JESUS, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
Ephesians 4:27 "And do not give place (opportunity) to the DEVIL."
James 4:7-8 "Therefore SUBMIT to God. RESIST the DEVIL and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. CLEANSE your hands, you SINNERS; and PURIFY your HEARTS, you double-minded."
I Timothy 4:1 "Now the Spirit expressly says that in the last days some will depart from the faith, giving heed to DECEIVING spirits and doctrines of DEMONS; speaking LIES ......."
John 8:44 "You (non-believers) are of your father, the DEVIL, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him....for he is a liar, and the father of lies."
4.) Begin to walk in that freedom and forgiveness. Realize that God sees you as being completely righteous because you are in Christ. God does NOT see you with a label from your past: adulterer, fornicator, idolater, drunkard, etc., because you are JUSTIFIED, your sins are FORGIVEN, and God does NOT REMEMBER your sins anymore (they are WASHED away in the BLOOD of Jesus). Justified means that God by His GRACE declares RIGHTEOUS the sinner (that’s you!) who believes on Jesus Christ. It is NOT a process of becoming righteous, it is a ONE-TIME ACT of GRACE — we are MADE RIGHTEOUS the moment we accept Jesus as our Savior! It is NOT merely FORGIVENESS, although forgiveness is INCLUDED — God does indeed FORGIVE and FORGET OUR SINS. However, JUSTIFICATION means God even FORGETS that we WERE EVER SINNERS! There is NO MORE RECORD of our sins. Now, WALK in that freedom!
I John 1:7 "But if we WALK in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the BLOOD of Jesus Christ His Son CLEANSES us from ALL SIN."
II Corinthians 5:21 "For He made Him who knew no sin (Jesus) to BE SIN FOR US, that we might be MADE the RIGHTEOUSNESS of GOD in Him."
•Hebrews 9:12 & 14 "Not with the blood of goats and calves (the Old Testament sacrifices), but with His own BLOOD He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption [for us]. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without sin to God, PURGE your conscience from dead works to SERVE the living God?"
I Peter 2:24 "Who Himself bore our SINS in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might LIVE for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed."
Jesus is OUR "advocate" or defense attorney against Satan (I John 2:1). If Satan accuses you before God, Jesus INTERCEDES and steps forward and says, "That’s already PAID for - it’s covered by My BLOOD!" (Romans 8:33-34). If Satan makes the accusations to you, in your own thoughts, that’s where "taking your thoughts captive" comes into operation. You must recognize those thoughts as being AGAINST God’s truth, and counteract with the word of God. James 4:7 says "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee (run away) from you." RESIST Satan by quoting scripture (God’s word) OUT LOUD to him, and then BELIEVE GOD’S WORD, instead of Satan’s accusations. Two things happen when you speak God’s word out loud: first, it is a weapon against the enemy, and second, it allows YOU to HEAR the word of God, and get it down into your spirit, and that builds your faith (see Romans 10:17).
I John 2:1 "My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
Romans 5:1 & 9 "Therefore, having been JUSTIFIED by faith, we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Much more then, having now been JUSTIFIED by His BLOOD, we shall be saved from WRATH (God’s judgment and anger) through Him."
Romans 3:24-26 "Being justified freely by His GRACE through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His BLOOD, through faith....." ".....that He might be just and the Justifier of the one who has FAITH in JESUS."
Ephesians 1:7 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the FORGIVENESS of sins, according to the riches of His grace."
What do you do when your prayers don’t seem to be answered? Don’t allow Satan to bring you under condemnation, and make you think God is holding your past sins over you, and that is why your prayers are not being answered. Instead, examine yourself, and look at some Biblical reasons as to why your prayers may SEEM to be unanswered. There is nothing beyond God’s ability, but there may be some things that are not His will for our lives, and therefore He will withhold those things. The reasons are various, and only the person praying can examine himself to find the reason (i.e. - we should not JUDGE or speculate on why someone else’s prayers are not answered).
Genesis 18:14 "Is ANYTHING TOO DIFFICULT for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son."
Jeremiah 32:17 & 27 "Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm! NOTHING is TOO DIFFICULT for You." "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is ANYTHING too DIFFICULT for Me?"
Mark 10:27 "But looking at them, Jesus said, ‘With men it is impossible, but not with God; for WITH GOD all things are POSSIBLE.’"
Luke 18:27 ".....The things which are IMPOSSIBLE with men are POSSIBLE with God."
Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is ABLE to do EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us."
CONCLUSION:
When Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman was a student for the ministry at Lake Forest University, Illinois, he heard the famous evangelist D.L. Moody speak. Charmed by Moody’s simple presentation, Chapman followed him from one service to another. Finally one day he told Moody that he didn’t have assurance of salvation. Though he was studying for the ministry, one day he was sure he would be in heaven, then the next day was in despair for he did not know for sure if he were saved.
Moody pointed him to the verse, "He that believeth on the Son shall not come into condemnation" (see John 5:24). Moody asked, "Do you believe on the Son?" "Yes," replied the young student. "Will you come into comndemnation?" "That’s what I don’t know for sure. That’s why I’ve come to see you," answered the young man. Then D.L. Moody said in his firm way of dealing with people, "See here, young man, whom are you doubting?"
In a flash it dawned on young Chapman that he was doubting none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, whose word is truth and cannot be broken. That was the beginning of better days for young Chapman. He never doubted his salvation from that day on, and became an evangelist known the world over.
You may not be a great Bible scholar as C. I. Scofield in our opening story, or a world traveling evangelist like Wiblur Chapman, but if you have trusted in Christ..in His Person, Word and His sufficient sacrifice on your behalf for sin...if you have received Him as your Lord and Savior repenting of your sinful natured ways---you are no longer condemned under the divine justice of God for you have been robed in the righteousness of the risen Jesus.
Stand on those truths and, at at the portal of death, grace will usher you into the glory of God and everlasting life.
Oh yes....and don’t forget, "...resist the devil and he will flee from you." But first we must humble ourselves before God, for His power is made perfect in our weakness.
NOTE:
Special thanks to Love Lifted Me Ministry where the main body of this message was taken with their permission. Please feel free to write to Pastor Tom and his wife Dottie at the following ministry address, for any of their topical Bible studies or the recovery material which they offer.
TOM & DOTTIE HOOPER
LOVE LIFTED ME RECOVERY MINISTRY
2404 FREY AVE.
VENICE, CA. 90291
MARANATHA
JD
#print-friendly-header{ margin:0 0 25px 0; padding:0; width:470px; display:block; float:left; } .logo-link{ float:left; } .logo-link img{ border:0; } #print-friendly-header ul{ font-size:12px; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight:bold; list-style-type:none; float:left; margin:0; padding:0; } #print-friendly-header li{ float:left; padding-right:25px; } #print-friendly-header li a{ text-decoration:underline; color:#000; } .bannerad{ float:right; font-size:10px; color:#CCC; text-align:center; font-family:verdana; text-transform:uppercase; } .bannerad img{ border:none; }

Home
Sermons
Illustrations
Videos
PowerPoints
Bible
Advertisement
No comments:
Post a Comment