The Beast That Roams in the Shadows
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Intro: Story about self control describing the internal and external battle of the temptation to break the diet
Tonight we will be exploring what the word of God says about our spiritual battle and how we should build our our daily lives to stay prepared and vigilante to the attacks of our enemy.
In the beginning...
Rule and Dominion Over The Beast
Rule and Dominion Over The Beast
God created the heavens and the earth.
He put into order what was formless and void.
Gave Form to the Formless
He seperated the darkenss with light and
He seperated the chaotic waters from the waters
He grouped the waters in one place and land appeared.
Filled the Void with Life
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
He created the beasts of the air, sea, and land
He created man in His image
Made us rulers over creation like Him
God is a generous God who wants to share responsibilities with His creations.
Gave us 2 responsabilities
Make babies (Fill the earth)
Subdue the beasts of creation and rule over them. (Maintain the Form/Order)
Not everyone was thrilled with this new order. Which is when we meet for the first time someone who we have come to know as one of our greatest enemies.
His Creation Rebels
His Creation Rebels
Enter the Snake
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Hostile takeover
We read that the beasts of the air, sea and land where created by God and that it was given to man the responsibility to subdue and have dominion over them.
Our job was to fill the earth and to exercise rule and dominion over the creatures created by God including the serpent.
That is our purpose and continues to be our purpose.
Yet the serpent is subduing the man and the woman in this story.
Life long battle
Since that moment war has been waging against our mortal and spiritual bodies.
What was once a blessing we turned into a curse.
To rule and subdue the beast that lives within us and desires to destroy us.
To rule and subdue the beast in the world that desires to destroy us.
Enter Truth
Enter Truth
Paul sheds light on this in his letter to Corinth
Dominate the Beasts
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Paul talks about putting his body into subjection lest he become disqualified.
Subduing your flesh keeps you from the dangers of going astray.
In Gen 4:7 We see that short after the fall of his parents Adam and Eve, Cain faces the same beast and God warns him of the beast that is lying in wait to devour him. But he can overcome it and rule over it.
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
We all fit in Cains shoes right now. We battle a spiritual battle that takes place within and without.
The biblical authors do a great Job at pointing this out and Jesus breaks it down as clearly when he says in
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Lets take for example the pursuit of comfort and pleasure.
The Pursuit of Happiness is killing our nation.
The Pursuit of Happiness is killing our nation.
We sacrifice babies to the god of personal happiness.
We abandon our families to worship the god of personal happiness.
The god of personal happiness has put us to sleep with the lullaby of comfort and convenience.
It’s taken the followers of Christ by the hand and thrown them into prisons filled with distractions that paralyze them for a lifetime.
This god of personal happiness is destroying the American church and we are blind to that fact that we are losing our souls to it as Jesus says.
We need to crucify the god of personal happiness and return to the God of real purpose and joy that we can find in the pages of this book.
He created you with purpose and gave us the Holy Spirit so we could rule and have dominion over our flesh and the temptations from the enemy.
How do we practically do this?
Meditate on the word
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
97 Oh how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
Obey the word
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
3. Build Community and stay accountable
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Church Family sin is lying at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.
I don’t know where you all stand tonight in this matter.
The Lord is the the only one who can give form to your life and fill the void in your heart with life.
Maybe you need to start there
Gospel