This is adapted from a sermon based on Judges 16
In every legend, the story of every hero or villain, there is always a source of power that can be discovered and exploited. For Superman, it’s kryptonite. For Zurg (Toy Story), it was the double AA battery (or so Buzz thought).
I believe that for the believer, our secret source of power has to do with our inner walk with God. Deep in the recesses of the heart and soul, where we walk and talk with Him, where we have our conversations with Him, in the closet of prayer and intimacy, there is our secret source of power.
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Series: Journey Through the Word – The Book of Numbers
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“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”—1 Peter 1:7
Tests come daily! God never tempts us to sin, but He allows various kinds of trials, including temptation, into our lives to test us. God’s testing is never for the purpose of failing us, but rather for refining us. God’s tests are always designed to make us successful at living life while Satan’s temptations are designed to make us fail. One of my favorite quotes comes from Philips Brooks…
Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you yourself shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God.
By submitting to God’s tests, we allow ourselves to be refined and purified in the fiery trials of life. What are you going through now that may be a test? How can God refine your life through this? Say a prayer today that God would give you power equal to whatever you may be facing, that your life might
“Marriage is honorable in all…” -Hebrews 13:4
Perhaps the hottest social topic of the moment is the Federal Marriage Amendment, scheduled for vote on the Senate floor in the next few days. The liberal pundits have come out screaming that this is simply a ploy by President Bush and conservative Republicans to drum up votes for the November election. That may, in some respect, be true as no politician is immune to the temptation to “play politics.” But as a Christian, am I merely being duped into focusing on an issue because my conservative leaders have pulled the wool over my eyes? Hardly.
For me, as a conservative Christian, the Federal Marriage Amendment is an issue today because of the pressing need to defend the basic institution of society against attack by a liberal minority. Scripture is an eternally binding revelation of God upon my life and I’m to stand for its truths. If Jesus is Lord of who I am in church on Sunday, then He is equally Lord of who I am as a citizen in the voting booth.
The fact is, no Amendment would be necessary were it not for the imminent threat that at some time and place, a judge will reinterpret the law, override the will of the people, and choose on the side of immorality to defend gay marriage and thereby redefine what marriage is. This judicial relativism has the potential to stray far beyond the realm of normality. Who is to say what marriage is? Perhaps it could be polygamy? If such radically immoral groups such as the “Man-Boy Love Association” had their way, it might be that marriage could be a union of a grown man and a young boy. Will that be the future of marriage?
I cannot presume to speak for the world, but I can, as a Bible-believing Christian, stand for my beliefs in the public square and I’ll not be shamed into the corner for doing so. The Old Testament revealed that a marital union was to be between members of the opposite sex. The New Testament plainly clarifies that marriage should be between one man and one woman, thereby excluding polygamy. For me, as a Christian, there is only one alternative – marriage must be preserved as between one man and one woman alone. If a Federal Marraige Amendment is what it takes to protect this timeless institution from the threat of jucial activism (a reality, not just a “Bush term”), then so be it.
“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification… For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3, 7)
It’s very easy to get caught up in the pursuit of something secondary to God’s great purpose for us as believers. We constantly face the temptation to be driven toward success or popularity, possessions or prestige. But God has caught us and called us to a higher purpose, a better life, a heavenly goal. We’ve been called to cleanness.
While many believers will suffer spiritually as they struggle to gain the freedom to rule their own lives (and thus resorting back to the old, unredeemed life), we must pursue the purpose for which we have been apprehended by Jesus – holiness, cleanness, and sanctification. What other pursuit could be more important in our personal journey of faith?
If you’re a believer, you’ve been caught! Jesus, the fisher of men, has apprehended you. He has purchased you in such a way that you are no longer your own. Contrary to popular opinion and American individualism, you are not your own any longer. God has placed certain spiritual authorities in your life. He’s placed you in the family of God and your church has a mutual stake in the outcome of your faith. While you may scream for the freedom to rule your own domain, God’s Word will remind you that the greatest freedom of all is to be enjoyed within the boundaries of God’s will.
His will is in one respect, an individual issue. In another respect, His will is universal to all believers. We cannot resort to a Christian brand of moral relativism. Instead we must realize that certain rules are applicable for all Christians, regardless of individual circumstances. This is not legalism, which is seeking to please or “pay off” God through rule-keeping. Rather it is merely reverencing God’s moral authority as our Father, Lord, and King.
If Jesus is your Savior, then pursue that for which you’ve been saved – holiness! It’s a worthy pursuit. Holiness brings the confidence of spiritual assurance, it earns a crown in heaven, it pleases the Lord who purchased us with His precious blood, and it supports our verbal witness to a lost world. Give yourself wholly to this goal – total perfection, total spiritual completeness, and total Christlikeness!
“And it came to pass in an eveningtide that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself… And David sent messengers, and took her.”—2 Samuel 11:2, 4
King David was at the peak of success. He had risen to his greatest glory. All of the surrounding nations had sworn allegiance to him and his nation trusted him as their shepherd-king. But “it came to pass in an eveningtide,” in one night, that he found himself morally shipwrecked.
You may be at the top of your spiritual game, but take heed, stay awake, be sober, for Satan is on the prowl, waiting to knock you off of your throne. The only way for you to prevent it from happening to you is to make sure that Jesus is constantly, moment-by-moment, on the throne of your life.
Terrible things can happen in a single night, things which change the course of our lives forever. Spiritual warfare can be a brutal battle. Are you prepared? If not, then strap on the armor of God today. You can read about it in Ephesians 6:10-18. The most valuable resource is prayer used in conjunction with the Word of God. Now… on guard!
Temptation. This one word encompasses all of the greatest threats to a consistent and successful Christian walk. Let it be known that you cannot resist temptation. That is, temptation will always be a part of your life. But you can refuse to give into it in the power of Christ.
The Best of Circumstances
“…all our fathers were under the cloud… passed through the sea… baptized into Moses… at the same spiritual food… drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.” – 1 Corinthians 10:1-5 (NKJV)
Paul points us back to the Israelites in their wilderness journeys. He quickly reminds us that great circumstances do not guarantee freedom from temptation, nor from the consequences of yielding to its power. Five times, he says that all of the Jews were at the center of God’s blessings. Then, he lists the top five…
• They all witnessed the guidance of God in a pillar of cloud and fire.
• They all witnessed the parting of the Red Sea.
• They were all identified with a great leader in Moses, the lawgiver.
• They all ate the manna that God provided them miraculously.
• They all drank from the rock, which symbolized Christ’s presence.
But the Bible says that they failed… miserably. Their bodies were scattered across the wilderness as a result of God’s judgment. An entire generation of people, all of whom had seen some of history’s greatest miracles died in the tragedy of overwhelming rebellion.
What you and I need today is not a perfect set of circumstances. It isn’t even a great manifestation of God through the miraculous. Where we must begin to be successful is in getting to know the God of the miraculous. Again and again, the Israelites demonstrated that they had all the gifts God could offer, but the did not know Him well enough to remain faithful. They had tasted His goodness, but had not indulged themselves in Him. Have you met Him? Have you gotten to know Him more today?
The Worst of Decisions
“Now these things became our examples,… that we should not lust after evil things… and not become idolaters,… nor let us commit sexual immorality,… nor let us tempt Christ,… nor complain.” – 1 Corinthians 10:6-10 (NKJV)
Even in the best of circumstances, we can make the worst of decisions. In fact, Paul will make the argument that our self-assurance is really Satan’s playground. Paul reviews the five-step downward spiral of yielding to temptation. You may find some of the steps surprising, but valid nonetheless.
First, we lust. The miraculous becomes boring and commonplace. The miraculous whets our appetite for more of God, but if we don’t seek Him in our hunger, we’ll find other junk to fulfill our desires. Then comes idolatry. When the thing we lust for becomes the object of our worship and the focus of our attention. Willpower is quite self-destructive because it often placed our gaze on the very thing we’re trying to resist.
Step three is committing the act. For the Israelites, it was sexual immorality. For us, it could be anything that breaks down our relationship with God. The word “commit” is significant here. It not only infers that we take action once, but that we resolve to give into a particular behavior. We “commit” ourselves to doing this evil thing. Beyond committal comes a change in our spiritual character in which we “tempt Christ.” That is, we begin to question the very beliefs that might have saved us to begin with. We lose our convictions.
Finally, we complain. This is more than a simply comment. It describes the heart’s calloused reaction to self, God, and the world around us. An old gospel song proclaimed, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go. Slowly, but wholly taking control. Sin will leave you longer than you want to stay. Sin will cost you far more than you want to pay.”
Are you on the downward spiral of sin and rebellion? Whichever of the five symptoms describes you, bail out of your rebellion now and repent. Confess your sin and return to God’s overwhelming grace.
The Greatest of Promises
Now all things these happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition… Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will now allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 (NKJV)
Today we have the privilege of learning from thousands of years of human civilization. The story of the Israelites’ rebellion in the wilderness was recorded and preserved in an infallible Bible so that we could learn from their mistakes. Satan is still up to his old tricks. In fact, He doesn’t need new ones when the old ones still work just fine.
If you want to overcome temptation, you must rely on God’s precious promises. Paul gives some of God’s great promises to us here. The battle for purity always begins in the mind, so you must begin to replace the lust, idolatry, and questioning of your convictions with God’s alternative thoughts. Namely…
• If you think you can handle temptation on your own, think again!
• Every temptation you face has been faced many times before. You’re not alone.
• God is faithful! Enough said. He’ll be there for you, never leaving nor forsaking you in the heat of the battle.
• God will never allow you to be tempted beyond your ability. This removes our excuse, but it also removes our fatalism.
• God will always give an alternative thought, action, or attitude that will rescue you. There’s always an escape route!
• You’ll be able to “bear” temptation. This literally means to “stand up under the weight” of temptation.
Perhaps you feel trapped in habitual sin today. You may feel too weak to overcome temptation. It’s possible you’ve even questioned whether the battle against temptation is worth it. I can assure you it is! The reward will be greater intimacy with God and a greater reward in heaven. You’ve been entrusted with the years of your life, however many they may be. Trust the great promises of God and determine today to overcome in the power of Christ. He’s worth it!
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