The War Within | Genesis 3 | Austin Hamrick

Genesis chapter 3 let's get right down into it I consider it a great privilege to be filling the pulpit for dad tonight I'm excited to hear from the Lord and to allow the Lord to speak to us listen every time we gather together and every time we open up God's Word and ever every time we gather together as a body of believers under the lordship of the chief Shepherd Jesus Christ God wants to individually speak to you are you ready for the Lord to speak to you tonight let's open our ears open our hearts not to hear from me but to hear from God's Word to hear from the Lord because what an amazing thing to hear from the God of the universe who cares and loves for each and every one one of you individually and personally and he desires to speak to you tonight so let's open up our hearts Lord and just ask him just to take the blinders off open up our ears so that we can hear from him tonight starting in Genesis chapter 3 we're gonna read the first seven verses together Genesis chapter 3 verse 1 now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made and he said to the woman has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden and the woman said to the serpent we may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God has said you shall not eat it nor shall you touch it lest you die then the serpent said to the woman you will not surely die for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise she took of its fruit and ate she also gave to her husband with her and he ate then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings tonight my title is the war within the battle against temptation the war within and it's a lesson on fighting temptation here in Genesis chapter 3 we see the beginning of sins entrance into humanity sin means to rebel or disobey God and a show of hands who has ever felt the the pressures of temptation in your life okay good I just wanted to make sure I was with the right crowd tonight my goal in tonight's message in tonight's Bible study is to encourage us to sharpen us to caution us to counsel us to equip us through the teaching of God's Word on how to fight temptation because here we understand that humanity meets in through the door of temptation humanity meets in through the door of temptation and only one chapter later in Genesis chapter 4 God actually has a conversation with Adam and Eve's firstborn son Cain and God tells Cain before Cain if you know the story Cain come murders his younger brother Abel before that happens God actually has a conversation with Abel and he tells Abel listen Abel where he tells Cain rather Cain listen sin is crouching at your door it desires to have you but you must master it but you must master it that's the same call in all of our lives as well now being tempted in and of itself the Bible says is not a sin temptation in an in and of itself is not sin even Jesus in Hebrews chapter 4 the Bible says Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are yet he was without sin so some temptation in and of itself isn't sin but entertaining temptation to the point of giving in to sin that's where the sin lies when we entertain temptation and when we give in to the temptation that's where then sin has its fruit and the Bible says that sin leads to death now many of us ask the question well how far is too far till something turns into sin how far is too far like maybe regarding sexual sin how far is too far maybe with a little bit of gambling well it was only a $50 buy into the fantasy or anger when does anger become sin because I know that not all anger the Bible says is wrong so how far is too far how close to the edge can I get but when we ask that question we have to understand we're asking the wrong question listen if we are driving on a steep mountain and there's a road and there's a steep cliff without any guardrails none of us ask how far to the edge of the cliff can I get so that I still remain safe but that the drive remains interesting okay no one asks that question rather the question you pose is where are the guardrails where are the guardrails and in the same sense we have to be asking that in our lives where are our guardrails in our fight against temptation we have to learn to put up some biblical guardrails as safe guards in our lives so that we might be able to fully enjoy the drive of life without the constant worries and pressures of falling into the same habitual sin that has been chasing after us all of our lives so no one asks the question how far to the edge can I get of the cliff so that the drive still remains fun we always are looking for those guardrails it's the same way of life we have to be looking for and putting up biblical guardrails in our life to keep us from the edge of danger and notice on highways and whenever you come across guardrails guardrails are always put within the safety zone okay they're never put right on the edge they're always pulled within a couple of feet into the safety zone we have to be serious about putting up same biblical guardrails in our life and we're gonna look at those different guardrails as we go through our study in Genesis chapter 3 but first in order to fight temptation we have to understand the nature of temptation okay no one goes into battle without first understanding the enemy we have to understand the nature of temptation but before we understand the nature of temptation we actually first had to understand the nature of man we have to understand ourselves so in Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 it talks about how God created man man was created in the image and likeness of God in the image and likeness of God now image and likeness two Hebrew words image celeb and likeness DeMuth and both of those Hebrew words actually have to do with the picture of an icon in the Greek actually in the Greeks of two engine likeness is actually II I Kon icon where we get our English word icon both of these Hebrew words sallam and DeMuth have to do with an idol or an icon now that's kind of interesting because we always think of an idol as being as a bad thing but in this sense God has created us in His image and his likeness listen an idol what's the purpose of an idol well the purpose of an idol is to bear the image of something more superior so in the same way you're seeing the connection God has created us as His image bearers we are designed and were created to be His image bearers to be his representatives on this earth to be his reflections to the rest of a dying world all of us were created in His image but also we were created as volitional beings meaning we were we have the the power we were designed with the power to make decisions freely listen God has given all of us a free will and free will is essential to God's plan of redemption God has given man a free will because a true love relationship requires it God does not want a robotic forced response from us he designed and innately created us with a free will so that we could freely respond in love to the Lord but we have to understand that with free will also comes choice the choice to either respond in love and obedience to the Lord or the choice to rebel against him we were designed with a free-will and we were created to be God's image bearers but here in Genesis chapter 3 we see that this image is tarnished because of sin and giving in to temptation when Adam and Eve deliberately chose to rebel against God and now think of all the consequences all of the evils in on this earth all of the the death and the murder and the hatred it stemmed from one incident when man forsook God's guardrails God gave guardrails you can eat of all of the trees of the garden except one those were his guardrails Adam and Eve chose to go outside of those guardrails forsook the guardrails we're tempted gave in to temptation sin sin leads to death thus we are all born now with the same heart condition wicked evil sinful bad people listen we have to understand as well that mankind you know our modern-day concept of man is well we're deep down inside we're all good people we're all good deep down inside listen that is not biblical we are all bad wicked sinful people the Bible says that no one is good no not one no one is righteous in the book of psalms it says that no one seeks god I have a two-year-old daughter her name is ava no one had to tell her how to misbehave she did that perfectly well all on her own because she's a sinner now she's the cutest little sinner I've ever known but she is a sinner because when Adam and Eve sinned they passed down sin nature and the condition of our hearts now is corrupt and evil from birth that's what David says even before I was born I was a sinner David basically says so we have to understand this about ourselves that no one is good no one is righteous and when we understand this about our own sinful condition then we are able to better fight temptation in our lives when we know our sinful state so how do we fight against it well in order to fight against temptation now we must understand the nature of temptation let's look back at our text in verse 1 understanding the nature of temptation now that we understand the nature of man in verse 1 it says now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made so the serpent the Bible actually never identifies the serpent by name it's actually serpents the Hebrew word Nahash Nahash and it appears 31 times in the Old Testament the verb form Nahash means to practice sorcery to practice divination the New Testament we always compliment Scripture with Scripture the New Testament in Revelation chapter 12 in Revelation chapter 20 it refers to this serpent as Satan it calls Satan that ancient serpent of old the dragon Satan the devil so we know here from Revelation chapter 12 and 20 that this is Satan and it says that he said to the woman in verse 1 has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden so the nature of temptation the nature of temptation temptation attacks God's word temptation attacks God's Word Satan in serpentine appearance comes to Eve and attacks God's Word by lying about God's initial instruction if you notice here Satan told Eve God said you shall not eat of every tree but no from Genesis 1:29 God told them you may eat of all the trees except one so Satan comes along attacks God's Word and lies to Eve and says this God did God really say you shall not eat of every tree Satan attacks God's Word listen when we are faced with temptation whether being tempted by Satan by our own fleshly desires temptation always makes us question God's Word did God really say that did God really say it's wrong to do this does God really say that this behavior of this lifestyle is wrong temptation always twists God God's Word the nature of temptation number 2 temptation tells us what we want to hear temptation tells us what we want to hear look at verse 4 verse 4 then the serpent said to the woman you will not surely die for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil so there Satan says you won't surely die basically doing this won't have consequences indulging in this won't lead to addictive behavior and when temptation tells us what we want to hear then it makes us start to question God and His goodness we start to think God is the liar God is holding out on me my feelings are superior God is a killjoy this pleasure is what will bring me fulfillment and full joy but God is holding out on me temptation will tell you about all the pleasures all the fun all the benefits but it will never tell you about the consequences temptation loves to whisper into our ears telling us what we want to hear about the benefits about the pleasures of sin which the Bible says sin is pleasurable for a time but it will never tell you the consequences thirdly the nature of temptation temptation appeals to our senses look at verse 6 temptation appeals to our senses in verse six so when the woman saw you can either highlight or circle some of these words so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise she took of its fruit and ate she also gave to her husband with her and he ate so the Bible says she saw she ate listen the enemy loves to use things that we find attractive and appealing to Loras in I love fishing especially in the summer with my dad fishing growing up that was one of the ways we bonded growing up and we still you know life's gotten a little bit busier for the both of us but in the summer time we'll always try to make at least one or a couple of different occasions where we go fishing together and if you if you know anything about fishing or you're familiar with fishing you love fishing then you're probably familiar that there and aware that there are different fish attractants and there's actually a fish attractant it's called liquid mayhem and it's just a kind of a sticky substance that you actually put on the the bait and you rub it on the bait and it's this specific one liquid mayhem it's made of shad which is a fish and so then you cast it into the water and it is very appealing and attractive to the scent and the taste of the fish it lures the fish in and the whole design and purpose is to target the fish's sense of smell and sense of taste which attracts them then to your hook temptation is the same way it appeals to our senses and it lures us in until we're hooked ok if I could give you a picture of what temptation looks like here's a picture so this is a deep-sea anglerfish now if you notice protruding from its head this is the ugliest looking thing probably that God has ever created sorry Lord but if you notice it has a rod protruding from its and then at the top is a little blob and it completely all the time it illuminates a light and it attracts fish to its light and so this is the image of temptation they wave it to entice their prey and then obviously eat their prey because the fish were it was attracted to the the glowing light this is the picture of temptation in our lives Church temptation attacks God's word temptation tells us what we want to hear and temptation appeals to our senses now how do we fight it how do we fight it by putting in place biblical guardrails so guardrail number one recognize that you're in a battle how do I fight the temptation warring within me recognize that you're in a battle its guardrail number one you don't have to turn there or you can't if you'd like Galatians chapter five Galatians chapter five verses 16 and 17 and this is Paul writing to the church at Galatia and Paul says I say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh I'll read that again walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh for the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit lusts against the flesh and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish so Paul is saying here that there are two forces your flesh which is your sinful nature and the spirit which God has given to every believer who submits to him your flesh and the spirit two forces but Paul says that these two forces they are contrary to one another the ESV says that they are opposed to one another the NIV says that they are in constant conflict with one another the Greek word is aunty kamae and it's actually a military term that means to be in war to be constantly fighting in battle the NLT puts it this way the spirit and the flesh are constantly fighting each other Church we need to recognize that we're in the midst of a battle listen half the battle is recognizing that you're in one when you get that part down you got half the battle down because most of us are walking around not even realizing that we are in the midst of a daily battle we have to constantly be on guard constantly be aware constantly allowing the spirit to be speaking to us we're on the battlefield every day and if you're not aware of this then you're gonna take a bullet years ago my dad was at a conference and he's told this from the pulpit before but it's a it's a it's a good one so I'll remind you of it maybe you haven't heard it before but my dad was speaking at a conference years ago I went with him and after the conference there was kind of like a question-and-answer portion and so dad was on stage and people just could raise their hands freely and ask ask dad questions and at the time I was maybe 11 12 years old and I distinctly remember a 20-something year old guy he stood up raised his hand he said hey pastor gay have a question and he asked he said does regarding sexual temptation does sexual temptation get easier the older you get and before my dad could even answer an 80 85 year old man he he stood up he raised this and he said I can answer that question it doesn't good better and then he sat back down and my first thought was like man that's really depressing for me as a 12 year old kid that is really depressing and then the second thought I was like you dirty old man you dirty old man but this is the fact of the matter listen until the day we die until the day we go to be with the Lord in eternity we will constantly be living in these bodies of flesh with the temptation of the world and the pleasures of the world constantly whispering into our ears fighting against the spirit that we have been given by the Lord and we have to realize that we are in the midst of this battle and the conflict will never stop until we are perfected in the glory of the Lord that is guardrail number one recognize that you are in a battle guardrail number two resist the devil resist the devil James 4:7 James 4:7 says resist the devil and he will flee from you resist the devil and he will flee from you Paul says in Ephesians chapter six verse 12 we do not war against flesh and blood but we war against principalities and the authorities of the darkness 1st Peter in 1st Peter a 5 8 through 9 he says be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour resist him steadfast in the faith knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your Brotherhood in the world James 4:7 resist the devil but listen here's the key what many people leave out is the sentence before that do you know the sentence before that it says submit to God therefore resist the devil and he will flee from you listen a lot of a lot of people want the devil to flee from them but they're not willing to submit to the Lord's way this goes hand in hand we have to first be willing to submit to the Lord submit to the Lord's way submit to the Lord's will submit to the to the Lord's word and how he tells us to live and behave under his lordship before we are able to resist the devil are you submitting to the Lord are you surrendering during your life to the Lord with your speech with your attitude with your habits with your mind with your thoughts so how do we resist the devil in temptation by first submitting ourselves under the lordship of Jesus Christ and many of us are walking in this life scared of temptations scared of Satan wanting to quote this verse resist the devil and he will flee from you but we are not willing to submit to the Lord's way and our behavior does not reflect who our Lord is submit to the devil therefore and he will flee from you that's guardrail number two resist the devil guardrail number three remove yourself from tempting environments remove yourself from tempting environments and the key verse here is Galatians 6:8 in Galatians chapter 6 verse eight it says for he who sews to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption but he who sews to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life listen we have to be willing to remove things people remove ourselves from those environments that tempt us I always find it it's interesting that within the body of believers us as as Christians we are so frustrated by temptation that continues to just war within us and temptation that is just constantly before us and we're always frustrated that Satan in our flesh constantly seemed to be winning and yet you're still going to those parties you're still hanging out with those people you're still hanging out with people who don't influence you towards the Lord but influence you away from the Lord with your speech and with your behavior and with your lifestyle it's no coincidence that temptation is hard to ignore when we constantly insert ourselves into tempting environments remove yourself or remove from yourself different people different things different objects different items that are constantly feeding our flesh and then we will be able to resist the devil to not give in to temptation to follow after the spirit when we just get things out of our lives and you know I know that the tug and pull is well I still need to have non-believing friends so that I can reach them with the gospel and that's true I'm not saying to shelter yourself to the point where you're also not effective and you're also not a light into the workforce or into the people's and friends and family members lives that you don't know the Lord that is needed there is a place for us being obviously the light of the world going into the world and being that light to a lost dying unbelieving world but I think sometimes we use that as an excuse as and as a justification as to why we can still go to those places why we can still hang with those people remove yourself from those places in those environments that don't better your walk with Christ that don't edify yourself that don't edify your family and walk in the spirit guardrail number four the most important guardrail that tends to be overlooked remember you have the Holy Spirit I'm gonna Park it right here for the remainder of our Bible study remember you have the Holy Spirit John 14:16 through 17 jesus said and I will pray to the Father and He will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you Jesus has promised to his 12 disciples that the Spirit would dwell with in them this is Galatians 5:16 I read it before walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh Romans 8:11 one of my favorite verses blows my mind the same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives within you do you believe this church the same power the same spirit that rose Jesus from the dead lives within you first John 4:4 John the Apostle wrote to his church he said you are of God little children and have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world you have the Holy Spirit Church listen you are not alone in this fight you have the Holy Spirit temptation always starts in the mind temptation always starts in the mind Romans 12:2 Paul says that we have to therefore have the transformation transformation comes through the the renewal of our minds and the only other word that that Greek word renewal the only other time that that word appears outside of Romans 12:2 is in the book of Titus Titus 3:5 nowhere in the Greek Old Testaments of to agent does this word appear nowhere else in the New Testament other than Romans 12:2 does this word appear than in Titus 3:5 and Titus 3:5 says he saved us not on the basis of deeds which have been done in righteousness but according to his mercy by the washing of regeneration and the renewing by the Holy Spirit so how does the renewal the renewing of the mind happen it comes by the power of the Holy Spirit Titus 3:5 the only way our minds can be renewed is through the Holy Spirit now the question becomes how does this spirit empowered renewal happen so that the mind can be transformed to stop wanting what my flesh wants and to start craving the desires of the Spirit key verse here jot down 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18 2nd Corinthians 3:18 and we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed there's that word into the same image from one degree of glory to another for this comes from the Lord who is the spirit okay Paul says that the key to a transform mind is the steady gaze upon the glory of Jesus Christ - and we need the Holy Spirit to do two things to work from the outside within putting before us God glorifying truths from his word to encourage us and we need the Holy Spirit to work inside of us outward by softening our hard hearts of Pride and giving us a heart of flesh to be sensitive to God what do you want what do you want in my life what glorifies you what honors you what in my life do you disapprove of that I might confess and give to you and commit to you so we have to have the Holy Spirit do two things a working outside to the in and a working inward to the out and church it comes just through constant prayer and gazing upon the glory of Jesus Christ another verse 2nd Corinthians 4:4 the god of this world that is Satan the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God the devil fears one thing more than anything you're seeing the glory of Christ the devil fears one thing more than anything and is you seeing in the spirit and in the mind of the Spirit the glory of Christ and the way we participate in this and this feeding of the Spirit is to stop feeding our flesh and Galatians 6:8 says for he who sows to the flesh will reap corruption but he who sews to the Spirit will reap everlasting life so the question you have to ask yourself is which appetite am i feeding which appetite am i feeding are you feeding the things of the flesh are you feeding the things of the Spirit because the appetite you feed the most will be the very thing that overwhelms you and consumes you which appetite are you feeding because when you develop an appetite for something and you taste it you naturally want more of it years ago and this happened around the same time in that conference I was probably 10 or 11 years old and you might have heard this story as well this is a story from dad it's a good one but we had a dog and I told this to the young adults on Monday night because we were kind of talking along the same light here but we had a dog her name was Augie and we called her Augie the doggie and she was just a beautiful dog Labrador Retriever chocolate lab and just what what an awesome dog she's a rescue at rest in peace Augie she's gone to be with the Lord we miss her we love her but one of these days my family and I we went out to dinner and we just let our own free one of these nights for whatever reason and we came back and all over the floor diarrhea and throw-up just all over the floor and we got home and my parents looked at me like like I was the culprit it's like I've been with you the whole time what are you talking about and so then we we finally tracked down the the culprit and it was Augie she was just passed out laying there on the floor and we found out in my parents room she had gotten into a half a pound of Dov dark chocolate and so my dad got on the phone called poor's in control and he was like hey just describe the scenario my dog she's about 70 pounds got into a half pound of dark chocolate and if you're a dog lover like me you know that that dark chocolate is poisonous to dogs and so they asked my dad for the weight of the dog the height of the dog and they measured the ratio of the weight to the amount of chocolate and they said okay good news your dog won't die but it will continue to have diarrhea and vomiting xed week so that was a that was at least better we were willing to deal with that but one thing that the doctor told my dad that we will never forget the doctor said listen once she has tasted chocolate she will always crave it you have to keep it away you have to keep chocolate away put it up high you had to just be extra cautious when it comes to chocolate because now that she has tasted she will always crave it it's the same thing with temptation and sin in our lives once we give in to sin and temptation in our lives once we have tasted it it builds a natural appetite and a desire to crave it again and the only way that you ignore and disregard the appetites of sin that we have already tasted is when you learn to starve it starving that appetite you have to starve it because once we taste sin and we give into it because the Bible says sin is fun and sin is pleasing for a season naturally we will begin to crave it and then the steady slope begins we taste it we crave it we want it again and we go back to it we have to starve those appetites James 1:14 through 15 says but each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed and then when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death we have to feed the spirit so how do we feed the spirit we spend time in his word church we spend time in his word your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you psalm 119 spend time in his word listen get before him and pray remove things in your life that don't edify yourself or your walk with the Lord surround yourself with like-minded believers listen we have to be serious about the discipline of prayer and reading his word in our lives and I know that especially in Loudoun County we all have what we think our busy schedules but if we are serious about starving the appetites of our flesh and if we are serious about putting behind the same habits and the same desires the same sinful passions that we have been struggling with for years when are you gonna get serious and I speak this to myself and I say this in love but it will take discipline it takes discipline the walk with Christ is a life of discipline get in the bird get alone and pray and grow in the Grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ Peter says the way we starve those appetites is when we stop indulging in the sinful nature we stop doing those things we remove them out of our lives and then we just focus on the Spirit we focus on the Lord we get alone with him we read his word even a chapter a chapter a day something I'm doing right now as I'm going through Scripture and so this year started in Genesis and reading two chapters in Genesis one chapter in Psalms two chapters in Genesis one chapter in Psalms I'm not providing something as a form of legalism like hey here's what you should do but just as kind of some some boundaries just as a way to maybe encourage you to get started just two chapters in Genesis one chapter in Psalms make your way through scripture and then just pray the words of what you read Genesis 1:1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth read that chapter go into your prayer closet Lord create a new heart and a new spirit in my life just as you spoke the universe into being just as you spoke the earth and everything in it Lord your words have power Lord speak into my heart speak into my life get into your closet and just read his word and then pray the words of Scripture get the spirit invite the spirit into that time get the Word of God into your minds into your hearts that it might guard your minds guard your hearts it's a way we starve the flesh and we bring forth righteousness in our lives and we feed the spirit so recognize that you're in a battle it's guardrail number one guardrail number two resist the devil number three remove yourself from tempting environments and guardrail number four remember you have the Holy Spirit you have the Holy Spirit Church but let me close by encouraging you with this verse Hebrews 4:15 I want you to write that down Hebrews 4:15 the writer of Hebrews says for we do not have a high priest that is Jesus who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses for we have one who was in every way tempted as we are yet was without sin therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness and confidence so that we might receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need isn't that a beautiful promise church that we know Jesus was tempted just as we are therefore when we go to the Lord within our prayer time we know that God doesn't he's not just sitting up there like listen you know I'll I'm there for you I'm gonna encourage you I'm gonna give you my spirit but I have no idea what you're going through he sent his one and only Son Jesus Christ who allowed himself to be tempted to feel our pain to feel our struggle to fear we're you to feel where you've been so that when you pray to the Lord we have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses for he was in every way tempted as we are yet was without sin therefore it says boldly approach the throne of grace for God will give you grace and help in time of need boldly approach the throne of grace listen in your shame and in your guilt from past sins and past mistakes you do not have to be ashamed to go to God because Jesus knows what you were going through he was tempted just as we are he can sympathize and empathize with our weaknesses the Bible says that Jesus is interceding for us daily to the Father you can boldly approach his throne of grace and he will amply supply you with what you need that's a promise from Scripture temptation and sin offer so much but deliver very little temptation and sin offers so much but deliver very little there's only one who offers everything there's only one who offers everything and was able to perform it and is able to deliver it and his name is Jesus Christ it's the only place in the arms of Jesus Christ well you will find all of the joy all of the satisfaction that you've been searching for in a thousand other places it's right there for you in the arms of Jesus Christ and as the body of believers let me encourage you tonight with that verse from Hebrews 4:15 and just a reminder I know you know this church but just as a reminder that all of the joy and satisfaction and the pleasures of life that you've been searching for outside of the Cross and outside of Christ they are found in the loving arms of Jesus in him you will fully be satisfied you will fully find joy you will fully find rest you will fully find that peace that you think you can find in something else in another relationship or in another drink or whatever it might be it is found in the arms of Jesus Christ run to him know that there is grace for us that God's grace goes deeper than our sin that He desires to have relationship with you that he wants us to continue to participate in our feeding of the Spirit by getting alone with him by reading his word by praying to him by asking him to help us by giving us an extra portion of his Holy Spirit to help us in this fight of temptation know that you're not alone you have a spirit we have each other my goal and hopefully was just to encourage you tonight and just to remind you that we're all in this fight together it's a daily fight to resist the temptation in our lives that daily whispers to us but to not go there but to find life and fulfillment in the arms of our Father and in the arms of Jesus Christ amen Lord we come before you and we do just ask that you would help us Lord that you would continue to be with us that you would speak to us daily through your word Lord that we would be disciplined in this fight against temptation Lord we are in a daily battle Lord where there are two forces the flesh and the spirit and those forces war against each other Lord and I pray in the name of Jesus Lord that you would guard our hearts that you would guard our minds maybe someone even tonight was considering and has been contemplating just giving in to a certain or specific temptation Lord whether that's just continuing to just go into just anger or lust or just not having the patience we need Lord and so we're just we're just tempted and or we feel the arrows of the enemy just coming against us from all different directions Lord just warring against our flesh lord I pray that tonight Lord and the power of your Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ Lord that you would help us in that fight against against temptation Lord that we would live holy lives in pursuit after you Lord that we would starve the flesh and that we would feed the spirit Lord but it's not going to come unless you give us your Holy Spirit Lord we need your spirit we need your help Lord in this constant battle Lord and so we just petition you tonight and we ask that you would hear us Lord that you would help us and what an amazing promise it is Lord in Hebrews 4 Lord we are so grateful that we have a high priest Jesus Christ who is not who is able to empathize and sympathize with our weaknesses Lord and because of that Lord we can boldly approach your throne of grace and you will amply supply all of our needs in Christ Jesus and so we humble ourselves before you lord give us a heart of flesh remove our hearts of stone lord help us to recognize when we're being tempted help us to resist the devil submit to you lord help us to remember that we have the holy spirit God we just pray all of these things in Jesus name that you would build us up tonight that you would encourage us as we go about the rest of our week Lord we love you Lord it's in Jesus name we pray and all God's people said amen amen

Channel: Cornerstone Chapel - Leesburg, VA

Views: 2,527

Rating: 4.8518519 out of 5

Keywords: Cornerstone Chapel, Calvary Chapel, Biblical sermons, cornerstone chapel leesburg virginia, great sermons by great preachers, why am i tempted to sin?, how do I deal with temptation?, how do i deal with tempation as a christian?, help i keep sinning, how do i avoid falling into temptation, should christians still struggle with temptation?, why do christians struggle with tempation, how to combat temptation, how to win against temptation, The War Within

Id: VcbMpj6qESg

Length: 44min 55sec (2695 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 06 2020