S1: What is the solution to the natural inclinations that are
S1: a part of my sin nature? What do I do
S1: with the proclivities? Let me put it this way. How
S1: in the world do I fight what I like?
S2: Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford,
S2: junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago.
S2: I'm Steve Hillard. Glad you're with us. As today we
S2: continue a message called the Inner Me Enemy and pastor.
S2: I think that is the $100,000 question right there. I've
S2: been looking forward to getting to this message, because I
S2: think there are many people who say there is a
S2: sin in my life that I just can't seem to beat.
S2: Some may call it a besetting sin, whatever proclivities, but
S2: there's the sin that you just don't want to let
S2: go of. Um, because as you point out, you like
S2: that sin, right? But we know we need to fight
S2: that sin. Yes. So help us with that today.
S1: Uh, well, let me give our listening audience a passage. Now,
S1: if you study this passage, it's replete with principles that
S1: help us with that question. How do I fight what
S1: I like? It's in Second Corinthians chapter ten, verses three
S1: through eight. And it talks about, uh, in this case
S1: it's called a stronghold. It talks about entrenched, uh, sin. Uh,
S1: that's entrenched roots grow deep. And, uh, so it tells
S1: us how we're supposed to respond. Here's the first one.
S1: Understand that it's a spiritual battle, not a natural one.
S2: Hmm.
S1: You see, so an awareness of the nature of the
S1: conflict that this is, you know, a spiritual fight. And
S1: then he says, we need to avail ourselves of the
S1: weapons of our warfare. So God has given us weapons.
S1: The armor of God, the word of God. Uh, prayer.
S1: You know, and so all these, we have to utilize them. Uh,
S1: then we have to ally ourselves with proper thinking. Because
S1: as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
S1: I say it all the time. You know, we don't
S1: think with our mind. We think with our heart. Because
S1: the Bible says, as a man thinketh in his heart,
S1: so is he. We don't speak with our lips. We
S1: speak with our heart for our the abundance of the heart.
S1: The mouth speaks, and on and on it goes. And
S1: so then we need to do that. And then you
S1: can't fix what you won't face, and you can't correct
S1: what you won't confront. So then we have to repent
S1: of that and we have to confess it. Homologeo first
S1: John one nine say the same thing about it that
S1: God says so. Confession is really when I agree with
S1: God against myself, okay? And so on and on it goes.
S1: And then, uh, you know, the passage goes on and
S1: gives us some other principles, but, uh, you know, go
S1: through it, read it, study it, get those principles. And
S1: then here's the hard part implementation or application of the
S1: passage into my life. Begin to do it. It'll be difficult.
S1: It's going to be a struggle. But we've been energized
S1: by the Holy Spirit. Uh, be not drunk with wine,
S1: wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit. His
S1: power can help us overcome as well.
S2: Well, I cannot wait to get into the rest of
S2: today's message. Our series, The Enemy Enemy is from James
S2: chapter one. So you may want to open your Bible.
S2: Put a finger there. But we're going to start out
S2: today's message looking at Luke. Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: Now expectation is the motivation that gives determination to reach
S1: your destination. Now I just said something. But but you don't.
S1: You don't know what I'm talking about. We've talked about
S1: it before. Remember what Jesus did in the Gospel of Luke,
S1: Jesus told the disciples. He said, you will sit on
S1: 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Then in
S1: the next verse he said, you're going to fail me now.
S1: Now all the teachers in the house said, oh yeah,
S1: we caught that right away. Verse 30, he says, you're
S1: going to sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes
S1: of Israel. Next verse, you're going to fail me. He
S1: told them about their future before he told them about
S1: their failure, so that when they hit their failure, they'll
S1: understand it's not final. Because I already told you what
S1: your future's going to be. So I want you to
S1: have an expectation in the midst of your failure. That
S1: will be the motivation Evasion and determination to take you
S1: to this destination. Are you feeling me? In other words,
S1: what he's doing is he's saying, listen, listen, uh, let
S1: me tell you where you're going so that you'll know
S1: that what you're going through right now is not designed
S1: to destroy you. It's designed to develop you so that
S1: as you have that mindset, it'll be like when my
S1: mama used to whoop me. My mama know how to
S1: whoop some tail. Come on. Anybody, like, had a mama
S1: like me go get some switches. So you had to
S1: go get the weapon of mass destruction that she was
S1: going to put on your behind. And so and so
S1: if you came back with, you know, you had to
S1: have three because they had to be plotted together. And
S1: if they were too wispy, she would whoop you with
S1: those and say, go get me some more, because, you know,
S1: you brought me them little wispy things. So I just
S1: I cut to the chase. I didn't go back so
S1: many times. I just said, I'm going to have me
S1: three tree trunks. And here's what I would say as
S1: she was whooping me. It can't last forever. She can't
S1: beat me forever. She can't beat me forever. And you
S1: know what? Sometimes that woman made me thinking. Maybe she
S1: can beat me forever. And so you're going through this
S1: and you're going through trauma, and you're going through trial, and.
S1: And you understand failure isn't final because of what I've
S1: already told you. Talk about Peter. Peter in in acts
S1: chapter 12. What happened to Peter? Peter gets out of
S1: prison and you look in the principles in the passage,
S1: how could this man sleep? Everybody was up. The church
S1: was up praying for him. Uh, Rhoda was up. Uh,
S1: the guards were up. Everybody was up. But Peter was asleep.
S1: How can you take a chill pill? Well, maybe he
S1: remembered the promise. Remember the promise? Jesus told him that
S1: he was going to be old when he died. Peter
S1: is about 3637. He's not old. And so Peter's thinking, hey,
S1: wait a minute, wait a minute. This expectation is the
S1: motivation for my determination to reach that destination. I'm not
S1: even scared. And so we need to understand. We will
S1: overcome because of what God has done now. James does
S1: the same thing. Now, remember last week what we talked
S1: about was verses 13 through 16. And remember what he
S1: said was, don't blame God and don't blame the devil either,
S1: because the enemy is the enemy. And so we looked
S1: at the inception of sin and then the reception of sin,
S1: and then the deception of sin and then the conception
S1: of sin. We said that in verses one through 12
S1: you have temptation as a noun, and it talks about problems.
S1: But now in 13 through 18, temptation as a verb.
S1: And it's talking about our passions because it's our passions
S1: that drive us. It's our passions. In other words, what
S1: happens is those two external enemies, they team up with
S1: that internal enemy, the flesh. And so they can't make
S1: the flesh do anything. They just allure the flesh. That's
S1: what they do. Draw the flesh out. So we said,
S1: you can't help what you see, but you can help
S1: what you look at. You can't help what you hear,
S1: but you control what you listen to. And so here
S1: James is going to say the same things. James is
S1: going to say when your outlook looks bleak, try to
S1: up look. He's going to give us the solution to sinful,
S1: selfish tendencies. It's in verses 17 and 18. He says
S1: every good and every perfect gift is from above, and
S1: cometh down from the father of lights, in whom is
S1: no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will beget.
S1: He us with the word of truth, that we should
S1: be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Now
S1: here's what he's doing. Remember, Jesus told Peter and his disciples,
S1: what's going to save you is my theology. Yeah, that
S1: Jesus prayed for us. So he's saying, then, uh, when
S1: your outlook looks bleak, try to up look, because Jesus
S1: is at the right hand of the father. Hebrews 725
S1: making intercession for us. His theology is what preserving us.
S1: But now James says, uh, you have to also focus
S1: on theology, that is, focus on the father. So he
S1: focuses us to God as the solution. Now get this.
S1: Don't miss this. What is the solution to the natural
S1: inclinations that are a part of my sin nature? What
S1: do I do with the proclivities? Let me put it
S1: this way. How in the world do I fight what
S1: I like? Because you know there's some sin. Just don't
S1: attract me. And there's some sin that don't attract you.
S1: And we get up giving them testimonies about something we
S1: ain't never struggled with. Yeah, well. I'm celibate. Well, you know,
S1: you you've been celibate all your life. But anyway. So,
S1: so so what's he saying? Let me tell you what
S1: it does when you realize that you already have a
S1: solution before you know you even have the problem. Here's
S1: what it does. Four things. Number one, it guides our footsteps.
S1: It guides our footsteps. It leads us to Christ. So
S1: knowing that he has this for me ought to drive
S1: me to him. So I ought to want fellowship with him,
S1: because he's the one who made the promise. Second thing,
S1: it grows our faith. Yeah, it grows our faith. We
S1: learn of Christ. We learn of Christ. Number three, it
S1: governs our focus. We look to Christ. Number four, it
S1: guards our future. We love Christ.
S2: This is treasure truth with Pastor Ford. And we're going
S2: to get back to this teaching in just one moment.
S2: I'll let you know if you ever missed one of
S2: these points in the broadcast. You can always go back
S2: and listen online to simply come to Treasure Truth Radio.
S2: While you're there, I want to ask you to consider
S2: giving a gift because we are a listener supported radio ministry,
S2: and that is exactly what it sounds like. We depend
S2: on those who listen to this program, who see the
S2: benefit of Pastor Ford's teaching to give financially so that
S2: we can cover the production costs and the airtime. And
S2: so if you value Pastor Ford's teaching in your life,
S2: if you're a regular listener and you see the benefit,
S2: would you give a gift? Simply come to Treasure Truth
S2: Radio and click on the link that says make a donation. Again,
S2: that's at Treasure Truth Radio. Again, here's Pastor Ford.
S1: So the first thing it does is it guides our footsteps.
S1: It leads us to Christ. It grows our faith. We
S1: learn of Christ. It governs our focus. We look to Christ.
S1: It guides our future. We love Christ. Now the traditional
S1: black church has gotten a bad rap because remember, they
S1: say he's so high you can't get over him. He's
S1: so low you can't go under him. He's so wide,
S1: you can't get around. He's a doctor in the sick room.
S1: He's a lawyer in a courtroom. He's my downsitting and
S1: my uprising. He's the will in the middle of a will.
S1: He's the bright and morning star. Now, now, whenever I
S1: began to realize. That is profound theology. Put simply, I mean,
S1: it's profound. And I didn't realize it until they asked
S1: me at Moody. This has been a little while ago.
S1: They said, we want you to do a class on
S1: black preaching. And I said, I was the last person
S1: that you. I said, now, you know, I don't hoop. Yeah, but,
S1: you know, and I did the research. Oh, man. Oh
S1: I stopped. As a matter of fact, I have a friend, uh,
S1: that I criticize. And I went back to him and
S1: apologized that that's why it didn't bother me, because I
S1: know the origin of it and where it came from
S1: and all of that stuff. And it was like, wow.
S1: But when I did this, It overwhelmed me. Now get this.
S1: Look at this theology in here. He's so high in
S1: theological circles. That's called the transcendence of God. He's so
S1: high you can't get over. That's the transcendence of God.
S1: He's so low you can't get under him. That's called
S1: the eminency of God. The eminency of God. But then
S1: he's so wide. That's called the immensity of God. The
S1: immensity of God. Uh, he's a doctor in a sick room,
S1: a lawyer in a courtroom. That's called the advocacy of God. Man,
S1: isn't that powerful stuff. He's my downsitting and my uprising.
S1: We call that the sovereignty of God. And then he
S1: say he's a will in the middle of the will.
S1: That's the mystery of God. He's my bright and morning star.
S1: That's the majesty of God. Here it is in this
S1: simple prose. It was like ah, ah. The the man
S1: went to the theologian. He was an astronomer. So, so
S1: he said to the theologian, he said, you know, when
S1: it comes to the stars, I keep mine simple. He said, twinkle, twinkle,
S1: little star, how I wonder where you are. He said,
S1: what about you? He said, I keep my theology simple
S1: to Jesus loves me. This I know. For the Bible
S1: tells me so. Yeah. That's it. It's just simple. It's
S1: just plain. Hey, you know what the test is for
S1: a theologian? Can he write a track? And so the
S1: simplicity of it, it is wow that they understand what's
S1: going on here. That all the time I was criticizing, man,
S1: I should have been praising God for the theology that's
S1: in those words. And so here's what he's going to
S1: tell us. He's going to say, look, here's what I
S1: want you to do. There are three aspects of Yahweh
S1: God that you need to focus in on in order
S1: to deal with your sinful tendencies. Here they are in
S1: their in their three incentives to overcoming our sinful tendencies.
S1: Here's what he's going to talk about in these two verses.
S1: He's going to talk about the gifts of Yahweh God,
S1: the glory of Yahweh God, and the grace of Yahweh God.
S1: Let me kind of bottom line what he's going to do.
S1: Notice what he's doing. He's giving us three looks. He's saying,
S1: look ahead and see the conclusion. That's what we already
S1: talked about. God is going to judge. He then he
S1: tells us, look around and see the consistency. So he
S1: talks about God, see the conclusion that God said will
S1: come about. He. Then he says, look around, see the
S1: consistency because God is good. Then he says, look inside
S1: and see the conversion. So here's what he's going to do.
S1: He's going to say, listen, these three things will help
S1: us to overcome our sinful tendencies, our proclivity to certain sins.
S1: Look what God has done. And and he's ultimately pointing
S1: to glorification. One day you won't have to struggle with it.
S1: Then he says, look around at the consistency of God,
S1: how good he's been to you. Don't you feel bad
S1: sometimes doing God like you do God? Okay, let me
S1: just speak for myself. You know, I, I mean, you know,
S1: you know, I'm the only one. I'm the only one.
S1: And so then he says, look inside. See the conversion? So,
S1: so so he says in verse 18 of his own
S1: will be God. He us with the word of truth.
S1: You're converted. The word is in you. The word is power.
S1: So then these three aspects, let's walk through them. So
S1: the first thing he talks about as a solution to
S1: sinful tendencies is the gifts of God. Listen to what
S1: he says again. Every good gift and every perfect gift
S1: is from above, and comes down from the father of lights,
S1: with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Here's
S1: what he says God is a giver, and he's generous.
S1: When he gives us, he gives us more than the world,
S1: the flesh and the devil can offer us. See, the
S1: devil doesn't give any gifts. None. How do you know that, pastor?
S1: For glad you asked. You ask intelligent question because you
S1: always pay. When the devil gives you something, always pay. Yeah.
S1: And now remember, verse 16 told us. No excuses. So
S1: you can't come up and say. It's not my fault.
S1: She made me do it. I couldn't help it. Everybody
S1: else is doing it. Nobody's perfect. Oh, the spirit is willing.
S1: The flesh is weak. Get Scripture in it. Get, you know,
S1: get some scripture in there for your for your sin.
S1: I was pressured into it. The devil made me do it.
S1: I didn't know it was wrong. It was just a mistake. No.
S1: Tell me one thing that the devil gave and it
S1: didn't cost. Go back through scripture and you can see
S1: individuals who paid, uh, messing around with the devil. Uh,
S1: because it always cost them. It cost Adam and Eve. Paradise. Uh,
S1: it cost lot. His family. It cost Jacob 20 years.
S1: Remember what he said? His mother said, let's trick your daddy. Uh,
S1: get your brother's blessing and birthright and go to my
S1: brother for a little while. A little while turned into
S1: 20 years. He never saw his mama alive again. Cause
S1: in his life, it cost Samson his eyes. It cost
S1: David his children. It cost Nebuchadnezzar his sanity. It caused
S1: John Mark fellowship with the Apostle Paul. Let's start here.
S1: What did it cost you? Yeah, it cost us. And
S1: so what's going on? He talks about three things. About
S1: the gifts that God gives. Hey, write these in. He
S1: talks about the measure of the gifts, the motives of
S1: the gifts and the manner of the gifts. Let me
S1: say it again. He talks about the measure of the gifts,
S1: the motive of the gifts, and the manner of the gifts.
S1: Notice he talks about, first of all, the measure of
S1: the gifts. It's the kind of gifts that God gives.
S1: God gives only good gifts. And so these gifts that
S1: he gives are good and perfect. Now let's talk about it.
S1: The word good is agathos and the word say agathos.
S1: Agathos Foss speaks about the quality of goodness. There's about
S1: eight words in the New Testament translated good. This one's
S1: at the top. This is the one where it says
S1: God is good. In other words, the essential essence of
S1: who God is is agathas. And so he is a
S1: good God. Now, why focus in on this so that
S1: you will know that he is the one? Let me
S1: read Proverbs 1022. Here's what it says about God's gifts.
S1: In Proverbs 1022, he says, God gives gifts and adds
S1: no sorrow with it. Proverbs 1022 the blessings of the Lord.
S1: It maketh rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.
S1: Man that that God has used the word that's used
S1: to describe the character of God itself in Mark chapter
S1: ten verse 18. Ain't so. God gives only good gifts.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James
S2: Ford Jr. A message called The Enemy Enemy, and we're
S2: going to continue this look from James chapter one on
S2: our next broadcast. If you want to make sure that
S2: you don't miss that program, obviously you can be listening
S2: to your radio, but if you can't do that, you
S2: don't have to miss the teaching. You can come to
S2: our website right now. Sign up to begin podcasting the program.
S2: You can also download the Moody Radio app. Both the
S2: podcast and the app are free, and it makes it
S2: really convenient for you to listen whenever it fits your schedule.
S2: Now you can also listen through our website. If you
S2: have a computer or mobile device, simply come to Treasure
S2: Truth Radio. Org and there you can stream the program.
S2: You can download an MP3, or you can even order
S2: copies of this broadcast on CD however you choose to listen.
S2: The easiest place to get started is simply Treasure Truth radio.org.
S2: You know, if you're a regular listener, you know that
S2: Pastor Ford often talks about marriage and relationships and the
S2: importance of them. And he believes in that so strongly.
S2: He's written a number of books along those lines. You
S2: can check those out when you come to Treasure Truth
S2: radio.org and click on the Books by Pastor Ford link.
S2: On the left side of the homepage, you'll see the
S2: different titles available as a paperback or in an e-book format. Again,
S2: you'll find that at Treasure Truth radio.org. Also, quickly, before
S2: we go, if you're listening in another part of the world,
S2: we'd love to hear from you. You can visit our
S2: contact page at the website. Leave us your comments. Let
S2: us know where you're listening and how you found us. Again,
S2: our website address one last time. Treasure truth radio.com. Well,
S2: for Pastor Ford and our producers, Amy Rios and Ryan McConaughey,
S2: I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening. Treasure truth is a
S2: production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.