Wage War

The Battle

Are you waging war on your flesh and sin or have you made a peace treaty with it?

What do I mean about that? Well if we aren’t careful, we can get comfortable with our sin can’t we?

It is important this morning that you are open to The Holy Spirit’s prompting because we are going to examine some very important truths.

Now I know I have pointed out some of these before, but remember these are God’s Words not mine. They are God’s views on the matter not mine. And we need reminded often why?

Isaiah 53:6 ESV

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

We are sheep and it is my understanding that sheep often wonder off. It is so important that we seek to hear our shepherds voice. Because our hearts are prone to wonder.

Do you remember what Jesus said?

John 10:27 ESV

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Are you seeking to hear the Good Shepherds voice? Are you striving everyday to follow Him?

This is hard work. There is no short cut. Our flesh defaults to sin, that is why we must wage war on sin.

Either be killing sin or sin will be killing you

~ John Owen

As we look at our text, Jesus has a warning for us this morning. And you don’t want to miss it. It has eternal significance.

The last time we were in 1 John we looked at what it meant to be a child of God, and as we look at out text this morning, Jesus has a warning look at verses 7 & 8 chapter 3

1 John 3:7–8 ESV

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

So this is the challenge we face? Are you saved? I think this is such a vital question you must answer and it is not up to you to answer it for someone else. This is between you and the Lord, but you must head his warning. This morning.

You can’t put your trust in a prayer you prayed once 5, 10, 15 , 20 years ago.

I prayed the sinners prayer when I was 5 on my neighbors back porch at 5 day club did that save me, no!

What saved me? Jesus’s death on the cross and His resurrection that is what saved me.

Some argue that the sinners prayer is not in the Bible, but I believe you could make an argument for in in Romans 10 let’s take a look at that text

Romans 10:8–12 ESV

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

So I am very thankful for those summer missionaries that gave their time and I am thankful for my neighbors, the Colbert family, for hosting them and inviting me. I remember loving the missionary story and they would always end the story on a cliff hanger to get you to come back. I am eternally grateful for the experience, but was I saved that day I don’t know what I do know is it set me on a journey that lead me to this pulpit this morning.

See the sinners pray is not wrong and leading people in it is not wrong, but it is the first step in the journey and I take issue with people who proclaim that if you said the prayer you are saved and don’t ever doubt it. Because we just read the warning, Let’s read it again

1 John 3:7–8 ESV

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Do not be deceived this morning, you can not confess faith in Jesus and be comfortable living in sin. Because if you truly believe The Spirit of God comes and lives in you. Let’s pause and let that mystery set in. If you genuinely believe the Spirit of almighty God comes and lives with in you. How awesome is that? See that is where the the power comes from to become righteous. The strength and power is not found in your flesh, it comes from the power of The Holy Spirit. But remember you have the choice to resist The Holy Spirit.

I find this to be one of the scariest truths in all of scripture. The Holy Spirit will not force you to obey, you need to make a decision to listen. Remember what Jesus said? His sheep hear His voice and follow. Are you following His voice? We need to make the effort to hear and the Spirit gives us the power to obey.

So we must feed the Holy Spirit, through the Word and Prayer.

Why must you wage war on your sin, you can’t make a peace with your sin and be His follower. I think we find the answer in Romans 10

The difficult part of Romans 10 is found in verse 9

Romans 10:9 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

You must believe in your heart. I know we have looked at how much we can trust our heart

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

So I want to ask you this morning can your heart be deceived?

I was talking to my brother at work on Friday at lunch. He made the comment that he has never flown and never will. Let’s look at the statistics

Your odds of dying in a car crash are 1 in 114, while your odds of dying in a plane crash are 1 in 9,821. For another perspective, that’s 1 fatal accident per 16 million flights.

The article went on to explain that the majority of deaths in planes comes from private flights not commercial airlines. Because commercial airliners have more safety features and the pilots have better training and more experience. But why are people more afraid.

I like flying, but there is still more of a consciousness during take-off of the danger involved, because I know that is the most dangerous part of the flight and there is more concern during landing because that is the second most dangerous. So why am I so aware of the danger posed during take off and landing but I have no anxiety starting my truck and driving to the airport when it is far more dangerous than the flight?

Part of the answer is our heart’s are deceitful. My heart often ignores the danger of driving, except when you training your teenager to drive that brings a little bit of reality back of the dangers of driving. Why do I feel comfortable driving at over 70 mph looking down at my radio and going the distance of a football field without looking at the road? How dangerous and deadly is that? Yet we do it without thinking? But because I only fly occasionally, I am not comfortable. Also, when flying I am not in control the pilot is right?

Do you see what I am saying? Even tough I mentally know this truth my heart reveals What I really believe.

Now let’s look back at the war each of us is in. You need to fight sin, but how. Remember this isn’t about you trying harder is it? Let’s look at what Pastor Charles Spurgeon had to say about it?

I love how The Lord works, this is from Spurgeon’s devotional Morning and Evening that Amber and I are working our way through, This is from yesterday’s morning devotional.

We go to Christ for forgiveness and then too often look to the law for power to fight our sins. Paul issues this rebuke: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?

…Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish?

Having begun by the spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Take your sins to the Christ’s cross, for the flesh can only be crucified there: we are crucified with Him.

The only weapon to fight sin with is the spear that pierced the side of Jesus. To give an illustration - if you want to overcome an angry temper, how do you go about it?

It is very possible that you have never tried the right way of going to Jesus with it. How did I get salvation? I came to Jesus just as I was, and I trusted Him to save me.

I must kill my angry temper in the same way. It is the only way in which I can ever kill it. I must go to the cross with it and say to Jesus, “Lord, I trust You to deliver me from it.” This is the only way to give it a deathblow.

Are you covetous? Do you feel the world entangle you? You may struggle against this evil as long as you please, but if it is your besetting sin, you will never be delivered from it in any other way than by the blood of Jesus.

Take it to Christ. Tell Him, “Lord, I have trusted You, and Your name is Jesus, for You save Your people from their sins. Lord, this is one of my sins; save me from it!” Ordinances are nothing without Christ as a means of mortification.

Your prayers, and your repentances, and your tears - the whole of them put together - are worth nothing apart from Him. Only Jesus can do helpless sinners good, and helpless saints too.

You must be conquerors through Him who has loved you if you will be a conqueror at all. Our laurels must grow among His olives in Gethsemane.

The challenge is for you to examine yourself, I want you to be sure you believe I don’t want you to be deceived. We must examine ourselves because verse 3 of 1 John chapter 3 is very clear.

1 John 3:3 ESV

3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Are you in the process of purifying yourself? If you remember from the seder last week, one of the cups Abraham tied to Jesus as our sanctifier. Sanctification is the theological word for purifying yourself. Remember what Paul had to say about this?

Romans 8:12–17 ESV

12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

As we conclude, John’s message to the church and to us is clear. He has a father’s heart for fellow believers and he really doesn’t want to see his dear little children to be deceived. If you are a child of God, the Holy Spirit lives in you. And if you feed the Spirit with time in His Word and time in prayer and if you strive to kill sin, The Holy Spirit will purify you and your reward is what? Look with me at Luke chapter 6

Luke 6:22–23 ESV

22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

Who wants a great reward in heaven? TO get that you did notice what you will face here, right?

People will hate you and exclude you and revile you, and spurn your name as evil.

How are you called to respond to this treatment?

Rejoice! Leap for joy! Because this world is not our home, we are just passing through.

The Lord wants us to focus on heaven and store up our treasure there! And Jesus does not want us to be deceived and with the heart of our loving Father in Heaven, He encourages us to what?

To purify ourselves As He is pure. So one day you will receive your reward in heaven.

Amen?

Let us pray.