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Today is January 1, 2012… the New Year is not even 1 day old. My question for you is this… have you set any goals for this New Year, and if so, what is your greatest goal? I hope the answer to this question is an easy one… one that doesn’t take much thought. The greatest goal that anyone can have… and the goal that each of us should have… is to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let me ask you another question… did you grow spiritually last year? Are you more like Jesus Christ in thought, word, and deed today than one year ago? If so, in what ways? How did you become more like Christ… what method(s) did you use to achieve this goal? I trust we can all agree on this… the mere passing of time does not make anyone more like Jesus Christ… just because we are a year older physically doesn’t mean we have grown spiritually.
The Bible teaches us very clearly how we are to grow in godliness:
1 Timothy 4:7: But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.
The key word is exercise. The Greek word is γυμνάζω, and it gives us our English word gymnasium. If you are going to grow spiritually… if I am going to grow spiritually… you and I are going to have to exercise spiritually… we are going to have to have regular workouts. And do you know where this exercise has to begin? With our thinking:
Proverbs 23:3: For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5: For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Ephesians 4:22-24: You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
This familiar text tells us to put off the old man and to put on the new man. Why? The old man is being corrupted by his deceitful desires. Now think about that just a minute… if you knew when your desires were deceiving you, you wouldn’t/ couldn’t be deceived, right?
Do you know how to discover where you are being deceived? Do you think God wants you to figure this out? Do you think you could grow to become more like Jesus Christ if you discovered where your thinking was leading you astray? God has given you the means to do this very thing.
Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Do you realize that because of the noetic effect of sin that your thinking cannot be trusted? Do you realize that you have a Benedict Arnold… a traitor… living within you? Do you realize that this traitor wants to go undetected? Do you realize that when God saved you He didn’t change your old nature… and that your old nature is at war with God?
If you think this battle is hard, you are right… but let me remind you that life gets a whole lot harder if you think this battle is not worth fighting:
Psalms 106:7-15: Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea. 8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, that He might make His mighty power known. 9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. 10 He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11 The waters covered their enemies; there was not one of them left. 12 Then they believed His words; they sang His praise. 13 They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, 14 but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tested God in the desert. 15 And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.
Exodus 14and 15 give us the miraculous account of how God delivered the Jews out of the bondage of Egypt. If you didn’t know your Bible history you would like to think the Jews never forgot God’s mighty power and thus, they lived happily ever after… but unfortunately, as Paul Harvey likes to say, “And now for the rest of the story.” They soon forgot His works. Notice they didn’t just forget His works… they soon forgot His works. Do you know how soon “soon” is? 3 days after breaking camp at Mt. Sinai. The nation went 3 whole days before they started complaining!!! How is that possible? How could their memories be that short? I hope you don’t think this is just a Jewish problem. I hope you don’t think this is just an Old Testament problem. Oh no… this is a problem that affects the entire human race.
One minute a baby is nursing contentedly at mother’s breast, but the second that baby doesn’t get what he/she wants, what happens? You know what happens… the room is filled with that baby’s cries. Why? Because we all want what we want more than we want to please God… our hearts are filled with selfish desires. As long as we are able to possess the things we want, we can seem so spiritual/content, but take those things away, and we turn into Jekyll and Hyde.
13 They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, 14 but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tested God in the desert.
Again I must point out they didn’t just lust in the wilderness… they lusted exceedingly. What are you lusting for this morning? Paul said “For me to live is Christ.” How would you fill in the blank? For me to live is____________? My husband to pay attention to me as he did before we were married. My wife to have a meek and quiet spirit and stop finding fault with everything I do. For me to live is children who give me first time, cheerful obedience. For me to live is a boss who appreciates me and pays me enough so I don’t have to live from paycheck to paycheck.
15 And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.
If your heart is not overflowing with the goodness of God this morning (if your soul is lean), then I believe this Psalm is teaching us you have been lusting after the things this world has to offer instead of lusting after God.
Now just in case I haven’t persuaded you that your heart is as corrupt as the Jews of old who witnessed God’s miraculous deliverance through the Red Sea… just in case you think your heart is more pure than Peter’s (remember it was Peter who said, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You”)… just in case you think exercising yourself unto godliness is something others should be doing, but you have too many other “important” things to do… I want to show you what the word “corrupted” in Ephesians 4:22 means when it says put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.
Back in Bible times if you were convicted of murder, do you know how some nations dealt with this? They would take the dead corpse and tie it to your body… back to back, leg to leg, arm to arm, etc. and they would tie the body so securely there was no way you could loose yourself from it. It doesn’t take much of an imagination to picture how the dead rotting corpse would soon begin to attack the flesh of the murderer. This is what lies behind the meaning of the word “corrupted.”
So this morning I would like to look at a tool that I believe can push us forward in the sanctification process.
My Journal of Spiritual Growth.
Reality check: am I a hearer of the Word only, and not a doer, thus deceiving myself? The following questions will tell me. Why is this important? Is this something only some people have to guard against, or do you recognize your own vulnerability to be a hearer only?
1. My biggest goal in life is to please God. True False
Why did you eat (or not eat) breakfast this morning?
Why did you select the clothes you are wearing?
Why did you come to church this morning?
Why do you have a job?
Why did you go to bed when you did?
Why did you get up at the time you did?
Why did you go to the doctor the last time that you were sick?
I am not looking for morbid introspection here… I am not asking you to become mechanical in the way you live… but we must realize there is a great danger of saying our biggest goal is to please God, but the fact of the matter is we don’t function that way much of the time.
There are 3 basic levels of motivation:
1. To please self 2. To please others 3. To please God
Question… in which level do you function most of the time… do you see your need to grow in living to please God?
2. Am I willing to look at MY sin without justifying or blame shifting? Yes No
Esther 3:1-5 – After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. 2 And all the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would not bow or pay homage. 3 Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” 4 Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew. 5 When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath.
Haman was upset…he was filled with wrath. What did Haman think the problem was? He thought the problem was Mordecai. But let me ask you, was Mordecai the problem? Of course not. Let me ask you another question… how is it that you and I can see this so clearly, but Haman was blind to it? Could it be that you and I are blind to our own sin? Do you think we are any different than Haman? Do you recognize that our thinking is also under the curse of sin and must be renewed by the Word of God?
I would strongly suggest to you that one of the biggest hindrances to spiritual growth is this… just like Haman, we frequently think our biggest problems in life are other people and or circumstances, but when we think that way we have been deceived… we have bought a lie.
Whether we like to admit it or not, pride lives within each of us… we all struggle with pride. A proud person thinks to himself, “I will always love God… others may fall into sin, but not me.” I would suggest to you a humble person thinks more along these lines, “I know the corruption that lives within my heart… I am not convinced of my unfailing love for my Savior, but I rest in the knowledge my Savior will always love me… His love is an unfailing love.”
I think a good question we all need to ask ourselves is this, “When was the last time I asked someone to forgive me for sinning against them?” Proud people don’t humble themselves and as such they seldom own their sins and ask for forgiveness. Humble people, however, are quick to own their sins and ask for forgiveness. We cannot trust our feelings… our feelings are telling us all the time, “I need this, and I need that,” but the fact of the matter is what we really need is the Lord.
I trust you will agree with me on this very important point… for us to be successful in this battle against sin, we are going to have do a whole lot more talking to ourselves than listening to ourselves. A person who listens to himself is a person who is ruled by his/her feelings, but a person who talks to himself (by the constant input of Scripture) is a person who is growing spiritually. Over and over again the Bible teaches us that what we think we need (what I like to call felt needs) are not our real needs at all!
Adam and Eve felt they would be better off heeding Satan’s counsel than heeding God’s counsel.
David felt that he needed Bathsheba, but God said that David’s need was nothing less than despising God.
The young man in Luke 12who was cheated out of his inheritance by his older brother felt he needed that money to be content. Jesus told him, however, his need amounted to covetousness, and unless he repented he would go to Hell.
The Apostle Peter felt he needed to distance himself from the Gentiles in Galatians 2when the Jewish religious leaders were present. God called Peter’s felt need hypocrisy.
What do all these illustrations have in common? In each case the “felt needs” were sinful… once again pointing out how important it is for us to talk to ourselves (by renewing our minds with Scripture) and not listen to ourselves. Living by your feelings is a costly thing to do… it is a “luxury” we can’t afford.
3. I did not have a hard heart today even for a moment… which means I never murmured or complained, but gave thanks in everything and for everything. True False
What does Romans 8:28, 29 teach us? What is your good? It is growing in Christ-likeness. Do you believe that God is orchestrating every single detail that comes into your life with the goal to make you more like Jesus Christ? Do you believe that? If you believed that would you ever complain? Would you? No. The only reason you and I complain is this… either we don’t believe God in His sovereignty is using even this situation (whatever that might be) to make us more like Jesus Christ, or (and I think we think this way all too frequently) we don’t want to enter into the pain that comes along with becoming more like Jesus… we would rather be comfortable than Christlike. God hates complaining because what we are really saying is this, “If I were God this wouldn’t be happening.” Complaining is a visible sign of a proud heart… a heart that thinks it deserves better.
4. The areas circled below show me where I am least like my Savior:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Cor.13:4-7.
What is the greatest commandment? Jesus has taught us the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and the 2nd is like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself.
I want you to see that God has not left it up to us to figure out what this love – this agape love – looks like. If this is the greatest commandment does it not deserve our greatest attention? Again I want to ask you, if Jesus Christ were to visit you today in your home and if He were to ask you, “Does the greatest commandment command your greatest attention,” what would you say? Do you need to rearrange some of your priorities? What does this love look like in real life?
Love is Patient:
Good example…2 Corinthians 12:1-10: It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago–whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows–such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know such a man–whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows–4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 5 Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. 6 For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Bad example: Abraham & Sarah & Hagar…Genesis 16
King Saul…1 Samuel 13
Is Kind:
Good example: Good Samaritan…Luke 10
Midwives…Exodus 1
Bad example: Cain killed Abel…Genesis 4
Does Not Envy:
Good example: Abraham…Genesis 13
Bad example: Korah…Numbers 16
Does Not Boast:
Good example: Joseph (It’s not I, but God)…Genesis 41
Bad example: Nebuchadnezzar…Daniel 4
Is Not Proud:
Good example: Joseph…Genesis 50
Bad example: Pharisee…Luke 18
It doesn’t dishonor others:
Good example: Boaz and his care for Ruth
Bad example: David and his treatment of Bathsheba
Is Not Self Seeking:
Good example: Abraham (intercedes)…Genesis 18
Esther…Esther 4
Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-Nego…Daniel 3
Bad example: Ananias & Sapphira…Acts 5
Samson…Judges 14
Is Not Easily Angered:
Good example: David & Shimei…2 Samuel 16
Bad example: Jonah
Keeps No Record of Wrongs:
Good example: Stephen…Acts 7
Bad example: Tamar (Seduces Judah)… Genesis 38
Absalom kills Amnon (Tamar)… 2 Samuel 13
Does Not Delight in Evil:
Good example: Joseph (Potiphar’s wife)… Genesis 39
Bad example: Amaziah… 2 Chronicles 25
Rejoices with the Truth:
Good example: Ezra… Nehemiah 8
Bad example: Cain… Genesis 4
Always Protects:
Good example: Jesus/woman taken in adultery… John 8
Bad example: Abraham/Sarah/Abimelech… Genesis 20
Always Trusts:
Good example: Abraham & Isaac… Genesis 22
Bad example: Lot’s daughters… Genesis 19
Always Hopes:
Good example: David… Psalm 23
Bad example: Rachel (give me children or I die)… Gen 30
Always Perseveres:
Good example: Paul… 2 Tim 4:7
Bad example: Adam & Eve… Genesis 3
Loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is the greatest commandment… does it have your greatest attention? If it doesn’t have your greatest attention, aren’t you really just a hearer of the Word and not a doer?
5. I believe God allowed “heat” to come into my life today to show me the idols of my heart (not to make my day miserable), to show me He can satisfy my heart regardless of circumstances, and ultimately to make me more like His Son. True False
There is a very important principle that runs throughout the entire Bible that we must frequently remind ourselves of:
Exposing our sin is more important to God than alleviating our suffering.
In Luke 12 we find the story of the younger brother cheated out of his inheritance. Could God have prevented this? Yes. Why did the younger brother seek out the Lord Jesus? He wanted Jesus to change his circumstances. Why did God allow this to come into the younger brother’s life? God wanted the younger brother to see he had a covetous heart that needed to be redeemed. Being cheated out of an inheritance won’t keep anybody out of Heaven, but having a heart ruled by covetousness will keep you out of Heaven.
6. I sinned today because I was willing to disobey God’s Word (lie, cheat, steal, fornicate, do drugs, etc.) to get what I wanted. True False
Are you making plans to sin, or does sin deceive you and take you by surprise in spite of your plans to please God? Pigs get in the pigpen and love it. Sheep, on the other hand, slip and fall into the pigpen… but we hate it.
6 b. I sinned today because the good thing I wanted became a demand (not just a desire), and I thought I couldn’t be content unless ______________________ (like Martha in Luke 10, Mary did things my way)
7. My actions were no different from the unsaved.
True False
It is one thing to believe in God… it is quite another to believe God. If an unsaved person followed you around for 24 hours, would he be convinced of your salvation?
8. I have confessed my sin to God, and to those against whom I have sinned. True False
Fellowship with God is NOT based on our goodness or our perfection, it comes from walking in the light, and walking in the light is having an open attitude about our sin!
Psalm 16:11 “In Thy presence is fullness of joy.”
So if you do not have fullness of joy what is the problem? According to this verse, you are not in God’s presence… perhaps you have unconfessed sin in your life.
Psalm 119:165: Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
So if you don’t have great peace, what is the problem? According to this verse you don’t love God’s law.
9. I should have overcome evil with good, and in this situation I could have done that by _______________________________________________________
It is one thing to confess our sins, but it is quite another to take the time to figure out what we should have done in that situation, so when that situation comes up again we will choose to please God instead of pleasing self.
10. I have prayed and asked God to give me godly repentance (not worldly repentance) so I can change and grow to become more like my Savior Jesus Christ.
True False
Worldly sorrow: I am sorry I got caught. I am sorry because of the punishment. I am sorry because of the embarrassment. Godly sorrow: I am grieved that I sinned against God.
Peter when he denied the Lord, wept bitterly. He never denied the Lord again. To the contrary, Peter spoke up boldly for the Lord (Acts 2,3).
11. Which troubles me more… my trials (the way people treat me and my circumstances) or my sin?
You can answer this by examining the pastures in which you let your mind graze. Do you frequently find yourself thinking, “Poor me… nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.” If so, you have probably slipped into self-pity.
One word of caution. Balance is the key word. It is very easy to go into one of two ditches. Either we don’t take our sin seriously enough, or we beat ourselves up unnecessarily. Jesus took the punishment we deserved so that we wouldn’t experience the wrath of God. But that’s not all. God has also clothed us in the perfect righteousness of His Son, and He wants us to bask in the fact we are adopted sons. He wants us to bask in the truth that He has taken us from a standing of enmity to a standing of acceptance.
Ephesians 2:19: Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
His plan for us at this present time is to struggle with the corruptions of our heart. Are you winning the struggle more and more frequently? If so, this is worship. Happy New Year.
