God Gives A Way Out

Lets Pray:

  Or how many of us have watched TV shows that have a judge and a Jury and lawyers?

Or maybe how many of us have watched TV shows where they’re trying to approve that somebody committed a crime they’re doing for forensics they’re doing investigations

Well, there is two things that you need in order to know if somebody did something or if they’re responsible for something in a courtroom

You need to prove the motive…

And show that they had opportunity…

Motive:

Motive is the reason for committing an act or a crime.

When a store has free samples, the motive behind that is that you buy the main product once you taste a small bit

When a car salesman comes up to you and is super nice super fun and really acts like he’s your friend. His motive most likely is that he wants to sell you a car.

Throughout life, people have different motives that really are a reflection of their desire

A person who steals an apple usually has the motive of them being extremely hungry… They are motivated by their desire for food

Opportunity:

Now Opportunity is very important as well.

Because if I have the motive, but not the opportunity, I couldn’t have possibly committed the crime…

I could have the motive to give out free samples to sell a product But not have enough resources to do so therefore I can’t

As example, I love cookies how many of us in this room love cookies, or dessert?

And maybe hypothetically, my brother has a giant pack of triple stuffed Oreos

And my desire, my motive is that I’m hungry and I want cookies

But the opportunity isn’t there since he’s all the way across the state

So the reasonI bring this up, talking about motives and opportunities

Is because we are fallen creatures.

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Each of us are weak according to the flash:

Which means that we desire things that are contrary to what God desires for us…

Galatians 5:16–17 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

There is motive Within each and everyone of us to sin

Each and every one of us are tempted to disobey God… Attempted to look at and do things that we ought not to look at and do…

James 1:14 ESV

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

Each and every one of us struggle with temptation in a different way

It looks differently for all of us, but we all have sin and desire that entices us

It pulls us to itself and tells us things that we want to hear

And we believe it doesn’t hurt anybody so it’s OK, but ultimately it’s not

15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Sin Brings fourth death

Romans 6:23 ESV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So today we must confront ourselves with the reality of our desires our motive and opportunity…

Because each and every one of us has the motive we desire sin.

So what can we do about it?

What can we to overcome this??

We can start by changing our desires, which will change our motives…

And then we can mitigate opportunities which protect us when our desires go astray.

Romans 7:21–25 ESV

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

We have to recognize that we do not have any power…

We have to begin by recognizing that we need to run to Jesus

That we need to make war against sin by pursuing God with everything we have

In this passage, Paul says who will save me from this body of death

The idea in this passage is that there is a man in a cell who is strapped to another man who is not alive and at this dead person is beginning to infect and destroy the living person

That is a picture of sin… Sin is death itself And infects and destroys any life that it touches

So who can save us from this body of death who can save us from this desire for sin?

It’s Jesus… It’s confessing him as our savior believing that he rose from the dead

It is repenting and believing…

Not just once but of the course of our entire life

It’s running to Jesus every morning, not just because we send but because we know that we’re not close to our father we will fall

We run to Jesus every minute of every day with everything that we have because otherwise we are giving opportunity for the devil

We are giving opportunity for sin to rule our lives when we don’t run to Christ every day.

And we see this stated in Galatians as well

Galatians 5:16 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Walk by the spirit:

So how do we walk by the spirit?

1. We walk by the Spirit by living in fellowship with other believers

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Acts 2:42 ESV

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

2. We walk by the Spirit by reading and memorizing Scripture

Psalm 119:11 ESV

11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

3. We walk by the Spirit by living in prayer in every moment of every day

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Ephesians 6:18 ESV

18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

4. We walk by the Spirit by pursuing Christ as if He was the most important thing in the world—because He is

Philippians 3:8 ESV

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Matthew 13:44 ESV

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Walking in the spirit conclusion:

We walk in the spirit because the only other Option is to walk in the flesh

We don’t have a multiplicity of options. We are either pursuing God or gratifying the flesh.

But if we walk in the spirit, we are not gratifying the desires of the flesh

We are getting the real thing the real experience, the real joy that is in Jesus

This world only offers counterfeit joy, counterfeit pleasure that costs you everything

(A slow fade: Casting Crowns)

“Thoughts invade,

choices are made,

a price will be paid

When you give yourself away

People never crumble in a day”

To each and every one of us have the motive for this SIN.

It’s slow, progressive, small little compromises

If I make a 1° turn over 1000 miles, I will find myself far from the straight and narrow path…

And I wanna encourage you to understand that you will either pursue the Lord and destroy the flesh

Or your flash will destroy you…

Don’t play with it, Don’t think that you can live for God and live for present things…

God wants to give you good things in his timing

The devil wants to give you the wrong things at the wrong timing in order to derail your walk with the Lord

Order to keep you from knowing him in general.

So we have the motives, And we can fight those motives with living for the Lord

But we also need to remove the opportunities

If there is a specific sin in your life that continues to rule over you, you need to remove those opportunities for that sin by any means necessary…

If it’s your phone, get a flip phone…

If it’s your social media, delete your social media

I don’t mean just delete the app I mean delete the account…

Or Instagram likes worth the quality of your relationship with God?

Or your ability to have a testimony for God…

Tonight I want us to look at our motives and ask ourselves if we are pursuing God or pursuing this world

I want us to ask ourselves have we made opportunity for the flesh?

Have we made opportunity for temptation?

And how can we take the opportunity away?

Let’s pray…