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Wednesday May 19, 2021
Wednesday May 19, 2021
Satan’s Favorite Plays
Various Passages May 16, 2021
I. Introduction:
A. A number of years ago the Chicago Bears were playing the Dallas Cowboys in the
playoffs. The Cowboys beat the Bears and frustrated them greatly in the process.
Four times the Bears had the ball inside the Cowboy’s 10-yard line but each time
they were unable to score a touchdown.
1. I will never forget watching the 10 o’clock news that night. The sportscaster
had gone into each of the locker rooms and asked a player from each team the
same question. “Why could the Bears not score even though they had the
ball inside the 10 yard line four times in the game?”
a) The Bears player shock his head in frustration and said “I do not know”
b) The Cowboys player said, “We know why, we watched their films.
They always do the same thing, so we stacked up against where we knew
they were going to go. We were ready for them.
2. Did you know that Satan is much like the Chicago Bears were? He uses the
same tricks over and over again.
B. God in His word has shown us what Satan’s favorite plays are so we, like the
Dallas Cowboys, can be ready for his attacks, stack up our defense against were
we know he is going to go.
• This morning we want to look at Satan’s three favorite plays that he uses over and
over again in his game plan. the first one is …
II. Confuse our plays
A. When we are in the huddle with God in His word, we get our plays that He wants
us to carry out! But Satan seeks to confuse us and get us to question what God
wants us to do.
1. We see he did this with Eve.
2. There are three parts to this play
B. First part is that he confuses us about God’s word
1. Read Genesis 2:16-17a - This is what God did say – “from any tree except
one you may eat freely.” Read Genesis 3:1 - this is what Satan said – “you
shall not eat from any tree.”
2. Satan twisted God’s word to try to confuse her as to what God said.
3. Satan will do anything to keep us from reading, studying, memorizing and
mediating on God’s word.
a) He does not want us to be clear about God’s ways. This play includes
keeping us confused.
C. Second part is tampers with the consequences
1. Read Genesis 2:17b - God said, “You shall surely die” Read Genesis 3:4 -
Satan said, “You surely shall not die!”
2. Now he convinces us that the consequences of disobeying God are really not
that bad.
3. Come on, God is a God of grace and love. He understands and forgives.
D. Third part is once he has us questioning God’s word and the consequences of sin
then he tells us that we are not complete. There is something we are missing.
Read v5
1. God is withholding something good from you. Something that you really
need. You deserve this. If only you had, then your life would be OK. He
gets us preoccupied with what we do not have and what we need.
2. Satan’s goal is to get us to go outside of Christ to find what fulfills us; job,
pleasure, person, position, possession, etc.
E. So Satan’s favorite play is to: confuse us regarding God’s word; tamper with the
consequences of sin; then tell us that we are not complete.
1. Then he gets us to indulge in sin resulting in us destroying ourselves read v6-
8
• That is Satan’s first favorite play that he uses over and over again on us. but he has
two more …
III. His ground attack.
A. Satan is looking for certain conditions that are ripe for his work.
1. Read 1 Peter 5:8
2. What kind of person is Satan seeking to devour?
B. I believe that Satan is looking for a place to stand.
1. Favorable circumstances by which he can take hold of and use, a base of
operation. Ground to stand on to take advantage of us.
2. Read Ephesians 4:26-27 read; 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 read
C. Ways that Satan can find a place to stand in our life
1. Anger Ephesians 4:26-27
2. Unforgiving heart 2 Corinthians 2:10-11
3. Selfishness - Matthew 16:21-25
4. Immorality - 1 Corinthians 5:1,5
5. Pride - 1 Timothy 3:6
6. Worldliness - James 4:4-7 1 John 2:15-16 – playing in his playground all
day
7. Unbelief - 1 Timothy 1:19-20
8. Bad conscience - 1 Timothy 1:19-20
9. Anything you love more than Jesus - Revelation 12:10-11
10. Ancestral sin (especially satanic sin) - Exodus 20:4-5 1 Peter 1:18
11. Lack of marital sexual fulfillment - 1 Corinthians 7:2-5 –
12. Idol worship (objects of idol worship) - 1 Corinthians 10:20
Beth with the dream catcher
* Exceptions: sometimes God allows Satan to work in our lives
- battle point – Job – purposes we cannot understand
- sanctification - 2 Corinthians 12:7 – messenger of Satan to keep us humble
IV. His goal line defense
A. A goal line defense that is when a team is very close to scoring a touchdown. The
goal line defense is an arrangement of players, especially big and strong, all
stacked up right in the middle so that it is hard to gain even a yard at a time. It is
designed to hold the offense right where they are so they cannot move.
B. Satan has a play like that and it is called a stronghold
1. A stronghold is a well-secured and guarded position that cannot easily be
entered into.
2. Illustrate this on the platform.
C. Read 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
1. Note in v4 the “destruction of fortresses.” Note in v5 “we are destroying.”
Destruction …. Destroying.
2. In other words, he moves from the general in v4 to the specific in v5. In v4,
he tells us these weapons are for the destructions of fortresses. In v5, he gets
very specific in telling us what these fortresses are they are destroying!
Read v 5 again
a) Speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of
God. It is a battle for the mind. It is a battle of truth
b) Has to do with every single thought that passes through our minds.
Every single worldview and philosophy that the world is promoting as it
is trying to squeeze us into its mold!
D. But this battle is not just with individual thoughts that pass through our minds.
Strongholds are mindsets, patterns of thinking, ways of thinking, and habits in
thinking that are contrary to the truth.
1. We are usually not conscious of these patterns. Our conscious thoughts are
usually the fruit of these strongholds.
2. When God destroys a stronghold in our life, He is pulling out a problem by
the roots so that the symptom are all dealt with.
• How do we respond to all of this information?
V. Conclusion
A. Read Psalm 36:9
1. The first light is God’s light shining into us
2. The second light is our light in that we see things as they really are.
3. This is not about searching out your life but rather the Spirit of God and the
word of God shining light on things I may be out of touch with or are so
deeply built into my thinking that I think they are normal
B. So pray, God
1. Are there any places in my life where my thinking about your word is
confused or lacking?
2. Are there any sins in my life that Satan is using as ground for him to work
3. Are there any ways of thinking that are contrary to your ways of thinking?
C. Quiet reflection
Wednesday May 12, 2021
Wednesday May 12, 2021
Wednesday May 12, 2021
How to Ban Satan from our Lives
May 2, 2021 – Communion
Introduction:
A. So far we have learned that:
1. “There is an invisible intelligent organized army out there whose sole desire
is to destroy us.”
2. We also learned that Satan has a game plan to destroy us: Satan will use the
world to tempt our flesh so we will destroy our selves by our own sin.
B. This morning I want to address the question: “How do we resist Satan as the
Scripture tells us to do?”
1. Scripture
a) Ephesians 6:13
b) James 4:7
c) 1 Peter 5:8-9
2. Resist means to answer an offensive action by using counter force.
C. To do this we need to go back to Ephesians 6:10 where we learned that the
spiritual foundation to this whole spiritual battle we are in is for us to be strong in
the Lord and the strength of His might.
1. That is all the spiritual blessings, rights, privileges, positions, promises that
are now ours because we are in Christ and all the power that comes to us
through the Spirit of Jesus being in us!
• So this morning I want to share with you the three special rights and privileges we
have in Christ regarding our battle with Satan! The first is…
I. The blood of Christ
A. Turn and read Colossians 2:14-15
B. V15 says that at the cross God did three things:
1. Disarmed the satanic army - stripped away from them their weapons
specifically the weapon of using sin against us in v14
2. Made a public display - explain in that culture when a victory was so
complete they would strip the enemy and march them right down the center
of town to show everyone how totally defeated they are.
3. Triumphed over them through Christ - a decisive and overwhelming victory
has already been won at the cross.
4. Note that all of this is already done, already accomplished through the blood
of Christ shed at the cross.
C. Read Revelation 12:11
• The second spiritual right and privilege God has given us in His grace is …
II. The authority that we already have over Satan
A. We talked about this a few weeks ago as we learned we do not have the power to
overpower Satan but God has given us the authority, the legal right to use the
power of Jesus to defeat Satan.
1. Read Ephesians 1:20-21
2. Read Ephesians 2:6
• The third spiritual right and privilege God has given us in His grace is …
III. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ
A. Read Philippians 2:6-10
1. Acts 16 tells us about a slave girl that had a demon in her and followed Paul
around for many days. Listen to Acts 16:18
B. A name is simply a symbol that represents all that a person is and does! God has
given us the privilege to use Jesus name in both prayer and warfare!
1. Like the song says – there is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain
2. In Acts 4, Peter and John were arrested and they were brought before the high
priest and his descendants.
a) Listen to what they asked Read Acts 4:7
b) Note here they equated name with power!
C. I remember watching the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China.
1. Both the British and the Hong Kong flags were raised. In a moment, those
two flags would be lowered and China’s and the new Hong Kong flag would
replace them.
2. The announcer then said, “Those flags carry great symbolism… as each flag
represents all that is behind it.”
a) Each flag represents a different political system, different economic
systems, different military power, different rulers, different laws,
different culture and just different ways in general.
b) While at the moment of the changing of the flags it appeared very little
really happened but a ceremony. But actually very deep changes took
place that have made a great difference in Hong Kong.
3. The name of Jesus is the same! The name of Jesus represents all that He is,
does, has given us, authority, power, victory, etc. ; and at the moment that we
use it, it may appear that very little is happening but very deep spiritual things
take place.
D. Whenever Satan comes our way, we need to raise the flag of Jesus name. Satan
knows that it is the means that God has given to us to represent that Jesus and all
of His authority and power are on our side.
1. When we bring the name of Jesus against Satan, it is like a police officer
flashing his badge.
2. He is showing the people that he is a representative of a certain government
authority and that all their power is available to back what he says and does.
IV. Conclusion
A. So when I use God’s gifts to resist Satan I think of this simple little acronym
“ban”. Ban Satan by the blood, authority and name of Jesus!
1. Like any gift of God’s grace, we experience them on the basis of faith.
2. We must by faith claim our victory over Satan on the basis of the blood,
authority and name of Jesus!
3. Like Peter said, we must resist him firm in faith!
B. The best way I can picture what happens when we do this is what I saw in a
movie a number of years ago.
1. A mountain lion was devouring all sorts of animals in the wild.
2. One day this lion came across a small bear cub. The camera showed the lion
growling at the little bear cub and in a position ready to attack. Then you saw
the little bear cub stand up on his feet and growl back at him as if he was not
a bit afraid.
3. I thought this bear cub is dead; he has no chance against this lion. I figured
the lion would brush off his growl and destroy the bear. However, the next
scene you see is the lion backing off. I did not understand it this lion could
destroy that bear.
4. Then they showed a completely different camera angle. Something that we
did not see first time was shown this time. Behind the bear cub was his
mother. Standing up about ten feet tall ready to defend her cub if needed.
Not making a sound but making its presence known.
5. When we by faith stand on the foundation of God’s gifts of grace He is
standing right there behind us seeing to it that His word will be fulfilled and
the His presence will be made known to Satan.
V. Communion
A. As we go to communion this morning, consider what James 4:7 says, “Submit
therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
1. Is there any area of your life that you must submit to God then resist the devil
by banning him from your life with the blood, authority and name of Jesus?
Wednesday Apr 21, 2021
Wednesday Apr 21, 2021
The Sure Foundation for Victory
Various Passages April 18, 2021
Introduction:
A. Foundations are the ultimate support upon which something stands, whether it be
a building or an idea!
1. If the foundation is strong, then the structure that is built upon it will stand
the test of time and stress.
2. If there is any flaw in the foundation it will have a direct impact upon the
strength or the condition of the building and will become more and more
evident over time!
B. If we ever need a foundation that is flawless, it is in the area of spiritual warfare
since we are facing an invisible army who has thousands of years of experience
and their sole goal is to destroy us!
¨ This morning I want to look at the sure foundation for our
victory over Satan. In weeks to come we will continue to look
at the complete structure of our victory over Satan but we need
to get the foundation right or everything else will be off.
I. The riches of God’s grace Ephesians 6:10
C. This is one of the strongest passages in the New Testament regarding our battle
with Satan, we learn here about the armor that God provides for the battle. But
before he goes into the armor, he lays a foundation for us. Read v10
1. He teaches us here that foundational to our warfare with the enemy, even
foundational to the armor being effective for us; we must be strengthened by
the Lord in two different ways!
a) Strong in the Lord - you in Christ
b) Be strong … in the strength of His might - Christ in you
2. We need to be strong in all that we are in Christ and we need Him filling our
lives with His strength.
a) At the core of our beings, we are spiritual beings. “Christ in us” and “us
in Christ” is not just a theological phrase but rather a deeply real spiritual
relationship that we have with Christ
b) This is how God infuses us with life and power of the Spirit of Jesus,
shares with us all the rights, privileges, and victories He has already
accomplished for us!
c) I love the way the TPT says this verse! - “…be supernaturally infused
with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand
victorious with the force of His explosive power flowing in and through
you.” Ephesians 6:10 TPT
B. You in Christ and Christ in you are the two major pillars of God’s grace. The
foundation of our victory over Satan is God’s grace. If you will, it is the footing
to the foundation that upon which even the foundation stands!
1. All that God freely gives us in Christ and all that God freely gives us with
Christ in us is the heart of God’s grace.
2. Us in Christ is the way that god sees us and blesses us.
a) Remember from Ephesians 1:3 that in Christ we have already been
blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places!
b) That means that God has already given to us as a gift every blessing,
every promise, every position, every privilege, every right, and even the
victory Jesus has already accomplished over Satan!
3. Christ in us is the way that God changes us and empowers us.
a) The Spirit of Jesus within us is the one who transforms us to be people
who fight from the right foundation of Gods’ grace and the one who
empowers us to live like a mighty warrior of Jesus!
C. If we respond to Satan’s attacks by any means other than grace, we are doomed
to defeat! It is what Jesus has done and not what we can do that is the basis of
our victory over Satan!
¨ So now, with the footing of the foundation in place now let us look at two
foundational gifts of God’s grace that we have in our battle with Satan. First, …
II. God has already won the battle
A. Turn to and read Colossians 1:12-14
B. First note the word “He.”
1. God is the one who has won the battle not us.
2. It does not say that God “will” deliver us “if” we do the right things, or pray
enough or obey enough or anything else. Our victory is not dependent upon
us but upon God.
3. Much of what I have heard in the area of spiritual warfare makes the victory
over Satan dependent upon our performance and jumping through so many of
the right spiritual hoops and saying the exact right words in a warfare prayer
so you can have the victory. In other words this way emphasizes we must do
certain things in order to be set free from Satan’s power in our life.
C. V 13 does not say that God “will” deliver us and transfer us …
1. It does say that God has “already” delivered us from the territory over which
Satan was ruler exerting his power and authority
2. God has “already” transferred us into the kingdom where His Son is ruler
exerting His power and authority.
3. Picture this with two sections on the main floor (neighborhood) as God pulls
us out of one and puts us into another.
D. I remember the day God turned on the lights inside of me to realize this.
1. It was break time of a seminar, went back to my office with the two speakers
at the seminar, and shared the deep struggle I was in.
2. As they prayed for God to work in my behalf the lights went on inside of me
as the Spirit showed me that I already have the victory. It is not something I
have to get but something I already have.
3. From that day on the foundational way, I did spiritual warfare totally changed
as I moved from doing things to get the victory to standing in the victory I
already have!
¨ Now that I know in God’s grace that He has already given me the victory over Satan I
need to recognize the third foundation and that is that …
III. I have authority over Satan.
A. To understand this properly we must understand the difference between authority
and power because I do not have the power to overcome Satan but I do have the
authority to overcome Satan!
1. Power - ability to act, capability of producing an effect or exert force.
2. Authority - the right to exercise someone else’s power. The legal right to
command.
3. A good way to illustrate authority is what a police officer has when he directs
traffic. A big semi is rolling down the road that is much bigger and more
powerful than him. That powerful truck comes to a halt when the police
officer raises his hand.
a) The police officer had the authority to stop the truck but he did not have
the power to stop it!
b) By virtue of his authority as police officer, he has the power of the
government behind him. They can bring all and every resource they
have to stand behind what the police officer is ordering.
4. God has given us the legal right, with all His strength, all His angels and His
Son and His Spirit to back it up, to command Satan from using his strength to
overcome us.
B. Turn and read Ephesians 1:19-22
1. Note first the names of demons here. (Rule - authority - power and dominion)
we learned last week that their names indicate that they do have a measure of
control, exerting some kind of influence over humans.
2. But note also where Jesus is
a) Seated at the right hand of God. God is seated on the throne in heaven
(1) A throne is the place where the king rules.
b) He is seated “far above”
(1) Jesus is in a place where He is not just above but far above all the
rule, authority, power and dominion of Satan and his army of
demons!
c) In other words, Satan and his demons are in subjection to Jesus.
C. Now look at Ephesians 2:4-6
1. Where are we right now in Christ? Seated at right hand of throne!
2. We have not only been joined together in the death and resurrection of Jesus
but also in the ascension of Jesus Christ
3. God in His grace has shared with us the authority of Jesus Christ and that is
the basis of our victory over Satan.
IV. Application
A. Let me try to illustrate how all this works with flood insurance. I shared this early
on in our Ephesians series but it fits perfectly here!
1. Required to buy at $300+ per year – bothered me because no flood at my
house since Noah!
2. I had to tell someone just how much that bother me so I called insurance
man, bank, surveyor, city – good news – not in zone
3. Called back bank, surveyor but he refused to change (pride)
4. Because it was legally mine I kept calling and kept claiming my right
5. Eventually he gave in and changed it and I got back my $300
6. It happens the same way spiritually as we stand firm in the grace God has
already given us with the victory and authority over Satan! As we fight the
fight of faith against Satan, he will eventually back down and God’s Spirit
floods us with His presence, power, and freedom!
7. 1 Peter 5:9-11
Tuesday Apr 13, 2021
Tuesday Apr 13, 2021
Be Prepared to Fight the Right Enemy
Eph 6:10-13 April 11
I. Introduction:
A. Many years ago Kim and I attended a seminar for pastors and their wives
regarding burnout and handling stress in the ministry. It was led by a medical
doctor and a pastor.
1. The medical doctor opened up the 1st session with a comment that caught me
off guard coming from someone from the medical field.
2. In essence he said “there is an invisible intelligent organized army out there
whose sole desire is to destroy us. We have to expect it, we must recognize it,
we must be prepared!” Dr. Richard Swenson
3. Did you ever stop to think that you have an invisible intelligent organized
army of supernatural evil beings whose sole goal is to destroy you?
4. It’s a war for your soul and a war for your marriage and family,
church and nation!
5. It is time for us to wake up from the illusion that being a Christian is like
going to a church picnic or a Christian concert but rather it is a war!
B. And God warned us about this many, many years ago in Eph 6! Please turn to
Eph 6:10-13.
1. Watch for the heart of what God is telling us in this passage which also will
become the heart of my message this morning: be prepared to fight the right
enemy!
2. Watch for this as I read.
• Let’s start by talking about …
II. Fighting the right enemy
A. Listen again to11b-12 as to who our battle is with.
1. Satan and his army of invisible spiritual angels – called demons.
2. He classifies 4 different kinds of demons here – rulers, powers, world forces
of this darkness and spiritual forces of wickedness.
3. To summarize, they are demons, who are wicked and relate to darkness that
have some particular role in influencing the activities of human beings.
B. And they use schemes to accomplish their purposes! 11c
1. The word schemes shows us that Satan has a strategy to take us down. He
uses a method, a technique, he tricks us and deceives us in order to ambush
or ensnare us!
2. They want us to take the bait they use to get us to sin so we will drink poison
in the Kool aid resulting in the destruction that sin brings upon ourselves and
others around us!
C. Finally note who the battle is not with. Read 11a
1. That is why I am calling this section fight the right enemy because so many
of us think the fight is with other people, flesh and blood, or even with our
own flesh and blood, but we are only the pawns – Satan only uses others to
further his purposes, he is the real source.
2. Satan’s primary camouflage is other people! Repeat
a) And if we do not recognize that and fight with the right enemy we will
end up fighting with other people.
b) Someone said “snakes do not hiss anymore, they call you babe, bro or
friend.
D. So there are 2 key implications to this:
1. If I do not learn to recognize and deal with the source/root problem, Satan;
he will be glad to feed me his resources/fruits/Kool aid all day long or even
more so all lifelong to keep me in defeat and frustration dealing with the
fruits one at a time rather than the root problem Satan himself
2. If the one I am ultimately wrestling with is not flesh and blood but spiritual,
then I am going to need spiritual weapons to deal with him!
• And my next point and the whole series is designed to address this, and that is …
III. Be prepared to fight!
A. We need to put on the full armor so we will be “prepared” to fight!!!!
And we need to be prepared to “fight!!!!”
1. I think one mistake I often make is thinking if I put on the armor then I
will avoid Satan’s schemes and he will just pass me by because he sees I
have the armor on.
B. Note
1. V11 says I need to put on the armor so that I can stand firm against his
schemes. – That means his evil and deceitful schemes are going to come my
way and the only way I will be able to stand is by having on the armor.
2. V13 says I need to take up the armor so I can resist in the evil day when he
does attack me. Resisting means I need to actively oppose that wicked and
dark spiritual pressure or power that is coming against me.
• “Finally” let’s look at the word at the start of this verse:
IV. Finally
A. Read 10a.
B. This word is very clear that it is not a final thought in a series of unrelated ideas
but rather this word indicates that it is the rest of the whole.
1. It directly relates to and completes everything we have learned in the book of
Ephesians! What we need to know about our position in Christ and our walk
with Christ and yes even in our marriages, parenting and daily work in Eph
5:22-6:9
2. By the way, we will be dealing with marriage and parenting from Ephesians
as our summer series this year.
C. Position in Christ – Satan, the father of lies will continuously lie to you about who
you are at the core of your being!
1. Convincing you that you are still just a sinner saved by grace rather than a
brand new creature who has been totally transformed by God’s grace into a
saint!
2. As the accuser of the brethren he will constantly point out your failures and
inconsistencies and say to you “see this is who you really are!”
3. Or he will work to get us to focus on our performance and activities as a
believer to get the blessing God has given us and the victory over Satan
in Christ rather than living your life as one who already has the
blessings and victory over Satan.
D. Walk with Christ – Satan as the tempter will constantly be putting temptations in
front of us to side track us from our walk with the Lord.
1. And those temptations can range all the way from pornography to people
pleasing and everything in between!
2. He wants to frustrate us, control us and ruin us and he will use anything and
anyone in this world system to get us to bite the bait and drink the poisonous
Kool aid.
E. Marriage and family – God’s most precious gift of a mate or child and for those
of you not married – a close friend often becomes the closest, most intimate and
fiercest battles we can have.
1. And so often Satan is skillful at causing us to think that our real enemy is that
person who lives so close to us who is made of flesh and blood.
2. Young parents you will learn over time that one of the great parenting skills
will be learning how to wrestle with Satan for the sake of your children!
F. This world - and as we learned in Eph 2 Satan is the prince of this world and is
currently influencing the sons of disobedience. We do not have to look far to see
that in the time and nation we are living in.
1. Like never before we need to recognize who the real and ultimate enemy is
who is using politicians, entertainers, media, etc. as his pawns.
2. And there are no people in this country positioned better than Christians to
be part of the real answer when we recognize who the real enemy is and use
the spiritual weapons we have!
G. We need to be prepared! And we need to be prepared to fight and we need to fight
the right enemy.
1. Today was the introduction – the next 6-7 weeks will be the rest of the
sermon!
Tuesday Apr 13, 2021
Tuesday Apr 13, 2021
“A Story of God’s Transforming Power”
Easter Sunday April 4, 2021
I. Introduction:
A. Have any of you ever been thirsty before? I am not talking about a physical
thirst, but rather a soul thirst! A soul that craves to be satisfied?
1. A thirsty soul is the best way to describe my life before I knew Jesus
Christ.
2. All I know is that my life was driven by the need to satisfy this
unidentified nagging thirst.
a) I found myself doing all sorts of things trying to quench this thirst,
but everything came up empty, it only gave temporary satisfaction at
best, but the thirst kept coming back even stronger.
b) Jesus said in John 4:13-14
B. Today I want to tell you my story about how Jesus Christ quenched the thirst
of my soul with his living water. I shared this on Easter Sunday 24 years ago
and it is time to do it again.
II. Life before Jesus Christ
A. As a young boy I thought that I would go to heaven because I was a Catholic
and if I lived somewhat of a good life. The problem though was that I was
not a very good Catholic nor did I live a good life!
B. The real trouble started when I went away to college and all of the parental
restraints were off of me! I broke loose. I partied hardy.
1. Beer, wine, whisky, along with marijuana, hash and acid became what I
used to quench the thirst of my soul at that time!
2. I would go out and party almost every night, then sleep during the day.
Since I missed most of my classes I became a mini expert at cheating my
way through the first 3 years of college.
C. I remember one night being at a party and I was high on acid. I was walking
down the hallway and I ran into another man who I never met before who
was also high on drugs.
1. We began a conversation with one another and I discovered that we both
felt the same way. We were searching for something and we did not know
what it was.
2. We shared the common feeling that if we were at a party on the south
side something inside of us felt like we should have been at the one on the
north side. If I was with one person, something inside of me felt like I
should have been with someone else. I felt like I was always at the wrong
place, with the wrong people at the wrong time doing the wrong thing:
and to quench the thirst of my soul something had to be different.
D. In my junior year of college I transferred to Western IL Univ. A friend of
mine there was named Greg. He was the star of the baseball team, was good
looking and had a gorgeous girl friend who was a quality woman.
1. I thought “if I could just have a girl like Greg does then I know that I
would be satisfied - the thirst of my soul would be quenched.”
2. One night Greg and I went out to drink and talk.
3. As we talked, Greg told me that he had broken up with his girlfriend that
day. I was stunned! This guy had something that I thought would make
me happy and he was letting it go.
4. I said Greg, “Why did you break up with her?” He said “Pat, I had to
do it so that I could have peace of mind.” I said “peace of mind, what is
that?” He said “peace of mind is knowing that you are in the right
place, with the right people at the right time doing the right thing!
5. That hit my heart like a sledge hammer. That is what I had been looking
for, ‘peace of mind.’ This unidentified nagging thirst in my soul was a
thirst for peace, contentment and satisfaction deep down on the inside.
E. A few months later at what we called a kegger, I got seriously drunk and got
in the car and hit a tree on the way home! The car did a complete twirl
around in the air and amazingly with 6 of us in the car no one was seriously
hurt, just a few bumps and bruises.
F. This accident not only sobered me up physically but also in my soul as I
became deeply aware something was wrong inside of me and I was trying to
fix it in all the wrong ways!
1. First thing I did was go to church and try to be a better person – back to
where I started when I was growing up - religion and trying to live a good
life.
a) The problem was the same this time around – not only was I not good
at either of them but I quit my efforts with them within 6 weeks!
2. Then I went to group counseling after that but did not find the peace I
needed and still sensed something was wrong deep inside.
G. The rest of that year was a downward spin as I could not find peace of mind
and heart in anything that I pursued. So I dropped out of college at the end
of my junior year.
H. That summer I had no idea of what I was going to do with my life. I would go
up on many of the weekends to visit my friends in a town in Michigan where I
had worked the 2 previous summers.
1. One weekend I found myself sitting in this bar drinking at the counter
with a man I did not know next to me who was in his fifties.
2. He was telling me dirty jokes. Sitting in some booths across from us
were some people I knew, they were about 10 years older than me, 2 men
and 2 women. All of them were married but not to each other as they
were trying to pick one another up. Then the 4 of them left together in a
car!
3. I think that the 1st time the Spirit of God ever spoke to me was while I
was sitting in that bar. It was like someone deep inside of me spoke
to my soul to take a look around. Is this what you want of your life? I
thought to myself “this is not where I want to go with my life.”
a) I do not want to be sitting at a bar at the age of 50 telling some kid
the same dirty jokes that have been told for years.
b) And I certainly do not want a marriage where my wife or I was out
messing around with others.
c) It’s like God opened up the eyes of my heart to see where my life was
heading, and it was not what I wanted. I was deeply shaken on the
inside.
I. I had to do something drastic and I only knew of one other option to fix me
and that was enlist in the Marine Corps. If anybody could do it, it would be
the marines. So the next morning I left town immediately and came back
home to Chicago to enlist!
III. How I came to Christ
A. During boot camp I did great since I was removed from all my old friends and
substances and had a drill instructor watching over me 24/7 for 3 months.
B. After boot camp, when all the external controls of the drill sergeants were
removed, I began drinking again in a heavy fashion. Then I started having
flashbacks of a bad trip.
1. My days were full of fear and my nights were full of horrifying night
mares.
2. Internally I was a mess. I went and talked to a counselor and he put me
on tranquilizers.
C. A few weeks later, a Chaplain came in to speak to us men. He said if we ever
needed help that he was available.
1. I immediately went and talked to the man. He told me how he could help
me and that he would be available to me at any time. I left with a sense of
security knowing someone could and would help me.
2. A week later I was having a very difficult time so I went over to the
Chaplain’s office. He was not in. They called him at his home but he
could not come in. My last hope was dashed.
3. I asked the woman in the office to please call the base drug rehab center
to come and get me. She called and they said they would send a jeep for
me.
D. As I was waiting a different Chaplain came in and asked the secretary what I
was doing there. He said that he would talk to me if I wanted. I wanted.
1. Rather than offering himself to me as able to help and always available he
told me that Jesus Christ could help me and would be always available to
me.
2. He told me of story after story of how Jesus Christ had changed the life of
other men and women on the base who had struggled with drugs and
alcohol.
3. He told me it was not dependent upon what denomination I was with nor
how good I had lived my life nor anything I could do for God. Rather it
depended on how good Jesus is and what he did for me.
4. He told me how my sin separated me from God and that Jesus died to pay
for my sins.
5. Then he shared this verse with me. Rev 3:20
6. He told me that Jesus wants to come into my life and walk with me and
help me with my problems! Then he asked me if I wanted to invite Jesus
into my life?
a) I asked for time to think about all of this. It was all so new to me.
b) Went into the next room and prayed to God. For the first time I did
not come to him with some recited prayer that I learned as a child
but rather I spoke to him from my heart. I said “God, I do not know
if this is some weird religion or what, all I know is that I need your
help.”
c) And guess what, that same inner voice in my heart that spoke to me
about 6 months before in the bar was back. He said “Pat it is ok, this
is the right thing to do.”
7. I just knew it was right. I got off of my knees and I went back into the
room and told the Chaplain that I wanted to trust Jesus Christ.
E. He led me in a prayer that was in essence something like this “God, I
know that I am a sinner, thank you that Jesus Christ paid the price for my sin
and offers me a brand new life. Right now I transfer my trust from anything
I can do and put it all in what Jesus did for me! Right now I invite Jesus
Christ to come into my life.”
IV. What Jesus has done since trusting Him:
A. Instantly my heart was filled with peace. That which I had for so long
searched for was now deep down inside my soul like I never knew before.
1. For the 1st time in my life I felt like I was in the right place with the right
people, at the right time doing the right thing! For the 1st time I
experienced what Greg was telling me about.
a) For the 1st time my thirsty soul found the drink that it was craving
for, the drink that could satisfy it.
b) Jesus said in John 7:37…
2. For the 1st time I felt clean inside. This heart that felt dirty because of
the way that I had lived all of a sudden felt clean and filled with joy!
3. The best way I can describe it is that I felt like I had a 2,000 pound back
pack on me and someone had cut the strings and I was free of it.
4. My soul felt light and free and clean and joyful and above all full of
peace!
B. Those were some of the things that God did instantly. Other things God has
worked in over a period of time to change, things like attitudes, motives, and
mindsets. Many things He is still working to change in my life.
V. Conclusion
A. Maybe you are here today and you have a thirsty soul. Maybe you find
yourself in circumstances that are bigger than you are strong and smarter
than you are smart. Maybe you are at the place where you are tired of trying
to find the road to peace, or satisfaction or freedom from habits, hurts or
hang-ups. Maybe it is something else.
B. This is the very hope of the Resurrection. Not only do we celebrate on Easter
the historical fact that Jesus rose from the dead, but also the implications of
that Resurrection.
1. Without the Resurrection all we would know of Jesus is that He was a
man who was executed for claiming to be God himself! Listen to Acts
2:22-24 impossible
2. When Jesus was raised from the dead He proved in the most powerful
way to not only be God but also the Lord and our Savior and the Judge of
all!
3. The Resurrection also shows us Jesus is the Author of Life and He offers
to you and me a brand-new life.
a) 1 Pet 1:3
b) John 3:16
C. Today may be the day you are hearing that same voice speaking to your heart
that I first heard in the bar and then in the Chaplain’s office telling you “this
is the way, walk in it!”
D. Pray my prayer “God I know that I am a sinner, thank you that Jesus
Christ paid the price for my sin and rose from the dead to offer me a brand
new life. Right now I transfer my trust from anything I can do and put it all
in what Jesus did for me! Right now I welcome Jesus Christ into my life.”
Wednesday Mar 31, 2021
Wednesday Mar 31, 2021
Walking by the Spirit
Various Passages March 28, 2021
I. Introduction:
A. I have a concern that too many Christians are trying real hard to live for Jesus
and too many preachers are calling people to commit more and give their all for
Jesus.
1. Now those are not bad things but they are not the basis for the Christian life,
but actually they are outcomes when someone lives from the right starting
point.
2. It is the difference between me living for Jesus and Jesus living for me! It is
the difference between trying and trusting! It is the difference between the
power for the Christian life coming from me or coming from the one who
lives in me!
3. Listen to 2 Cor 4:6-7
a) Treasure of the glory of God in the face of Jesus dwelling inside our
bodies, our clay pots
b) The power for the Christian life is supposed to come from God and
not from ourselves.
4. Simply to walk by the Spirit means I am trusting the One who lives in me
and not trusting myself so that the surpassing power in my life
might be from God and not from myself!
B. All Christians trust in the substitutionary death of Jesus for their salvation, but
few are trusting in the substitutionary life of Jesus for their walk.
1. So for many of us, we get saved by trusting Jesus Christ’s death for us but
then we move on to our own working hard for spiritual growth.
a) The North American culture has engrained into us that we are self-made
people! The American dream has convinced us that if we work hard
enough we can achieve anything we want!
b) So there is always a feeling that there is more for me to do, even if I do
not know what that more to do is!
2. We are saved by faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross and we are to
walk by faith in what Jesus is and will do in my heart
3. I love the way Bob George says “Jesus gave His life for us; so He could give
His life to us; so that He could live His life through us.”
• Let’s start with the:
II. Series of slides regarding walking by the Spirit!
A. The truck will be dumped on you today but I am putting these slides with the
verses on the website along with my notes by the end of this coming Wednesday.
It will take time for these truths to sink in and it will be worth the review and
study on your own and even re-watching this message a few times on YouTube.
B. Slides
1. Humans/creation– original design (Adam and Eve)
a) This slide speaks to the way we were created as 3 part beings and how
each part is connected to that around them!
b) Turn and read Gen 2:7
c) I Thess 5:23
d) Body – relates to the environment; soul – relates to others and our
unique personality. Spirit part of us that relates to God
2. Lost/fall - this is what happened to mankind at the fall and the state we were
in before we were saved. This shows our depravity
a) At the fall man was depraved, that means he was corrupted from
his original design. Man has been totally depraved!
(1) Total depravity does not mean that man is as rotten as he can be.
(2) Total depravity means that every part of man’s being (his body,
soul and spirit) has been touched by corruption.
b) Turn and read Gen 2:16-17 – something died that day and it was not
their bodies or souls but rather their spirits.
(1) Death does not mean the cessation of life but rather separation
from life!
(2) Listen to Eccl 9 description of the dead, read 9:5-6
(a) Simply they no longer share or participate in what is taking
place here on earth.
(b) We know physically when a person dies their body stops
functioning but their life (soul and spirit) does not cease but
continues on either in heaven or hell.
(c) And the same way when Adam died spiritually and we were
born spiritually dead, that meant we are separated from
God and unable to share and participate in the things of
God.
c) Turn and read Gen 5:1,3 – since Adam, everyone that has been born has
been born in Adam’s image – that is the image of God but corrupted in
every part of his being.
(1) Sin entered into man’s body and began the process of death in his
body. Rom 6 teaches us that the body is the place where sin
operates and dwells. Rom 7 teaches us that this body is dead when
it comes to doing God’s will – unable to obey God.
(2) Sin impacted his soul so that man’s mind, will and emotions have
been corrupted. Note on slide
(3) Man’s spirit is dead and is at heart a sinner.
(a) Read Rom 5:12 - because of Adam - all died
(b) Rom 5:19a - because of Adam - all became sinners
(4) The Bible calls that our old self/man and who we are in Adam
d) Remember we just learned in Eph 4:17 that the lost have a futile mind
that operates apart from God and His Word.
3. Saved
a) This slide speaks to the way we are as a new creation in Christ. Read 2
Cor 5:17
b) To be saved, a person’s spirit must be born again – read John 3:3.
Gospel opportunity
c) Rom 5:19b -because of Jesus - all believers became righteous!
d) Now our spirit is made holy and righteous - read Eph 4:24
e) Eph 4, Rom 6 and Col 3 calls this our new self
f) You are no longer just a sinner saved by grace but rather a saint
transformed by grace.
g) But as saved people, our bodies and souls stay the same.
h) And this defines our core problem – we are saved people living in an
unsaved body! We are brand new creatures at the core of our being who
are separately linked to a fallen flesh!
4. The ministry of the Spirit is simply to make me holy – that is called
sanctification. Listen to Gal 5:16
a) Dismantle sin in me, that is in my body, that is my flesh! Turn and read
Rom 8:13 - keep open because we will come back
b) Fill us with resurrected life to overcome the deadness of our bodies and
give us the ability to obey God. Turn and read Rom 8:10-11
c) The Spirit also is the one who defeats Satan in our lives. Read 1 Jn 4:4
d) And the Spirit of Jesus is the Guardian and Shepherd of our souls! Read
1 Pet 2:25
5. Walk by the Spirit
a) Read definitions on left side of slide
b) We already learned that we do not have the ability to do God’s will.
Death is the ultimate weakness, impotence, inability, emptiness,
powerlessness!
c) So when I depend upon everything that I inherited from Adam – body
and soul to overcome sin or do God’s will I am walking in the flesh and
I fail every time.
d) But when I depend upon the indwelling Spirit of Jesus He overcomes
sin and can do God’s will in and through me! Turn and read Rom
8:2-4.
e) I need to transfer my trust from myself to the One who lives in me! My
dependence is not upon myself but the One who lives in me. Read Gal
2:20
f) But to be clear I am not talking about being passive.
(1) We should not consider the engagement of my soul and
body as in opposition to walking by the Spirit but rather as
complementary!
(2) We tend to go to extremes in either depending upon Spirit
and not engaging our soul and bodies or depending upon our souls
and bodies but not engaging the Spirit.
(3) This is depending upon the Spirit as the source and I
engage my soul and body as the resource to dismantle sin
and empower me to do God’s will!
g) If we are to trust Christ will work in us, why are there so many
commands in the Bible telling us how we should live? When I read
command verses, I take it that is my responsibility to obey.
(1) Yes it is my responsibility to obey those verses but the way I do it
is by turning to and trusting the Spirit of Jesus to enable me to
obey in a manner that is pleasing to Him.
(2) Phil 2:12-13
(3) Heb 13:20-21
• Now let me close by just directly quoting some of the things
III. Watchman Nee says about these things!
A. Love the way he starts the book where he lays out his premise for the normal
Christian life:
1. What is the normal Christian life?
2. We learn it is something very different from the life of the average Christian.
3. Indeed a consideration of the Word of God – of the Sermon on the Mount for
example – should lead us to ask whether such a life has ever in fact been
lived upon earth, save only by the Son of God Himself! But in the last saving
clause lies the answer to our question.
4. The Apostle Paul gives us his own definition of the Christian life in Gal 2:20.
It is “no longer I, but Christ” I live no longer, but Christ lives His life in me.
a) In all of God’s dealing with us, He works by taking us out of the way
and substituting Christ in our place. The Son of God died instead of
us for our forgiveness and He lives instead of us for our
deliverance.
b) So we can speak of 2 substitutions – a substitute on the cross who
secures our forgiveness and a substitute within us who secures our
victory!
B. Listen to just a few more key quotes from his chapter on the Spirit!
1. To live in the flesh is to do something “out from” myself as in Adam. It
is to derive strength from the old natural sources of life that I inherited from
him. Living in the Spirit means that I trust the Holy Spirit to do in me what I
could not do myself!
a) It is not a matter of trying but of trusting!
2. We think of the Christian life as a “changed life” but it is not that. What God
offers us is an “exchanged life” a “substituted life” and Christ is our
substitute within!
3. Now what is the law of sin and death?
a) If someone passes an unkind remark about me, at once something goes
wrong inside of me. That is not the law of sin, that is sin. But if when
different people pass unkind remarks, the same “something” goes wrong
inside, then I discern a law within – law of sin! Like the law of gravity,
it is something that is constant and always works the same.
b) Now as to the law of death – death as we have said, is weakness
produced to its limit. Weakness is “I cannot.” Now if when I try to
please God in this particular matter I find I cannot, and if when I try to
please Him in that other thing I again find I cannot, then I discern a law
at work.
c) There is not only sin in me, but a law of sin! And there is not only death
in me but a law of death! How can I be delivered from the constant
repetition of weakness and failure?
d) The law is there, but another law superior to it is operating to overcome
it, namely the law of life.
e) God delivers us from one law by introducing another law. The law of sin
and death is there all the time, but God has put another law into
operation – the law of the Spirit of life in Christ, and that law is strong
enough to deliver us from the law of sin and death!
f) The law of life in Christ – the resurrection life that is in Him has met
death in all its forms and triumphed over it!
4. Let me close with this one – why do men use willpower to try to please God?
a) They may be born again and the life is there, but they have not learned to
trust in that life!
b) It is no longer a question of our will but of His life!
C. This is me now and not Watchman - you have heard me say this before – the way
we are saved is the same way we walk with Christ! We are saved by transferring
our trust from ourselves to what Jesus did for us on the cross. We walk by
transferring our trust from ourselves to what Jesus will do in my heart.
1. Whether we walk by the Spirit or walk by the flesh is all the difference
between: joy and frustration, fruitfulness or bareness, praise or
discouragement! Between rivers of living water flowing out of your heart and
just a drip of the Spirit, experiencing the surpassing greatness of the power of
God or constant defeat!
Thursday Mar 25, 2021
Thursday Mar 25, 2021
Living Under the Influence
Eph. 5:18-21 March 21, 2021
I. Introduction:
A. At the recent No Regrets men’s’ conference, the speaker Chris Brown gave a
powerful message about the life of Samson. He made this powerful statement
“the scariest verse in the whole story was when Sampson woke up after having his
hair cut but he did not know that the Spirit of God had left him!” Did you catch
that – let me repeat that.
1. Then he asked this very convicting question: “If the Holy Spirit left your
life/ministry, how long would it take you to figure that out?” Wow!
2. I had a similar question asked of me many years ago when I first came into
the ministry from an older friend of mine named Bob Block! His question
was this: Pat, if the Holy Spirit was removed from your life and ministry
would anything be different? Did you catch that – let me repeat that.
3. As we discussed these questions the following week at the men’s breakfast, it
led us to this: before we know that He left us, we need to know what it looks
like when He is here!
B. This morning I want to answer this question– “What does it look like when the
Holy Spirit is in control of our lives?”
• Turn in your Bibles to Eph 5 where it talks about…
II. Being filled with the Holy Spirit
A. Read v18
B. The first thing I want you to note is that there is a contrast in this verse and that is
being drunk with wine and being filled with the Spirit. The point he is making is
simply this:
1. When a person is drunk they are under the control of alcohol so that their
behavior, attitudes and talk are all influenced by alcohol.
a) By the way when it says “for that is dissipation” it is simply saying in
this context that it is a reckless and mindless waste of time and
opportunity!
2. When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit they are under the control of the
Holy Spirit so that their behavior, attitudes and talk are all influenced by the
Holy Spirit.
3. Just as everything is different about you when you are drunk so everything
will be different about you when you are under the influence of, filled with
the Holy Spirit.
C. And by the way, this is an imperative, a present imperative. It is a command that
indicates the way we should always and habitually be living our lives, filled with,
under the control and influence by the Holy Spirit.
• So the question now is “What would be different in my life when my life is controlled
by the Holy Spirit?” That is what we see in the following verses…
III. The results of being filled with the Holy Spirit:
A. We see this in verses 19-21.
1. It is clearly laid out for us with 4 participles which describe for us what it
looks like to be filled with the Spirit. These participles are: speaking,
singing, thanks, be subject
2. Watch for these as I read this section, and more importantly as we read be
radically honest with yourself and ask if this describes your life!
3. Read v19-21
B. Let me describe each one briefly:
1. Speaking: read 19a
a) This is one that takes place during worship times with other believers as
we speak to each other, that is teach one another truths about God and
the spiritual life as we sing together
b) So let me ask you are you just one of those who stands quietly either
disengaged or critiquing while we sing or are you participating with all
your heart?
2. Singing: read 19b
a) This not only takes place on Sundays during worship but all week long as
you are walking through life
b) So let me ask you 2 questions:
(1) Sunday mornings-are you just singing songs or are you directing
your singing as a love song to God?
(2) And also, as you sing is it from the core of your being, your heart
or are you just singing words and hitting the right notes?
(3) And finally during the week, when you are not even trying do you
find a song ringing in your heart? Do you have a singing heart that
is singing to the lord?
3. Thanks: read v20
a) Simply, are you a grateful person or more of a critical and complaining
person?
b) Are you grateful both for the big gifts and the small gifts that God gives
us, and both for the good things and the painful things that He uses to do
good things in us?
4. Subject: read v21
a) Do you submit to others in the body of Christ? Do you joyfully abide
under the authority and opinions of other believers that they have for
your life?
b) Or do you not take serious what others bring to you about you, blow
them off, or even shut them out and even refuse to listen to them?
C. The way you answer all these questions will indicate if you are under the control
and influence of the Holy Spirit or not!
D. There is another passage that we can look at to see if the Holy Spirit is actively
working in our lives. It is Gal 5:22-23 where we learn what the fruit of the Spirit
is.
1. Fruit is what a tree or plant produces. So the fruit of the Spirit is what the
Holy Spirit produces in our life when we are walking with Him in control of
our lives
2. Read gal 5:22-23
3. How are you doing there? Are these evident on a regular basis in your life?
Or is your life more characterized by selfishness, complaining and
criticalness, uneasiness and anxiety, impatience, unkindness, evil, doubt,
harshness and undisciplined?
a) These are the things that are just the opposite of these fruits!
b) The way you answer that will tell you if the Spirit is in control or not?
4. And note: this is a single fruit, not fruits as if there are 9 separate fruits. It is
one fruit that has 9 different aspects to its DNA.
5. Let me try to illustrate it like this with just one aspect of this fruit:
a) It is a patience right in the middle of very difficult, discouraging
or stressful times that is full of love, a joyful patience, a
patience that is full of peace and not anxiety, it is a
patience that is kind and good, it is a patience that if full of
faith rather than doubt, a patience that is characterized by
gentleness rather than short and sharp with those around you, and it is a
patience that is in control of your thoughts and desires!
b) You see every one of these qualities is intertwined with all the other
ones!
E. So now we know what it looks like for the Holy Spirit to be in control of your life,
and if these things we talked about in Ephesians 5 and Gal 5 are not what
characterize your life and heart then we need to be honest with ourselves and not
be like Sampson that had no idea that the Holy Spirit had left him!
• Let me close by briefly speaking about 4 ways we get filled with the Holy Spirit. So
let’s look at:
IV. 4 ways we get filled with the Spirit:
A. First, be radically honest with God and yourself if you do not see the evidence of
the filling of the Spirit in your life. Confess to God that you are walking by
means of the flesh rather than the Spirit.
B. Second, ask God to fill you with the Spirit. We see in this context that it is
directly connected to God’s will.
1. Read 1 John 5:14-15
2. Start by asking the Father to fill your life with the Holy Spirit.
C. Third, I practice being where the Holy Spirit is!
1. If the Holy Spirit produces a worshipping, grateful and submissive heart then
I am intentional to practice whole hearted worship, be intentional to practice
daily gratitude and submit to and welcome those who come to you and speak
into your life.
2. I find that as I intentionally and daily practice those things the Holy Spirit
takes over and what started as a practice has become a new manifestation of
the Holy Spirit in my life that comes naturally.
D. Fourthly, it is interesting to note that in Col 3:16 it talks about God’s word richly
dwells within you, that does not mean you getting in the word but the word
getting in you deep enough that it becomes a part of who you are and the way you
think.
1. Then v17 tells us when that happens, when we are filled with the word, the
same results happen to us that happen when we are filled with the Spirit.
2. Listen to Col 3:16-17
3. This is no surprise as Jesus said that His words are Spirit and life!
4. When we meet with God in his word on a regular basis in a way that it is not
just you getting your time in the word but in a way that the word gets in you,
those very words fill you with the Spirit and life!
E. Finally, come next week as we spend a whole message talking more about how
we walk filled with the Spirit moment by moment!
Wednesday Mar 17, 2021
Wednesday Mar 17, 2021
Be Wise – Know the Will of God
Ephesians 515-18 March 14, 2021
I. Introduction:
A. Pastor’s kids have a unique life style and have to endure a lot, especially if you
were one of Pastor Pat Peglow’s kids! One thing I made them endure was that
every time as a family we were with a man or a woman I considered a godly
person I would ask them, “What advice would you give to my kids about life?”
1. One I remember in particular sums that up the heart of this passage and I
would have to say in hindsight was great wisdom. His answer was “know
God’s will and do it!”
B. That is the heart of today’s passage so please turn to Ephesians 5:15!
1. We are in the section of the book of Ephesians that talks about our walk as
new creatures who have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ!
2. Today we see that we are to walk as wise men!
C. The structure of the passage we will look at today is simple and will guide our
preaching both this week and next week. There are two things in particular that a
wise man/woman does in their walk.
1. 15 – call to walk wise
2. 16 – how to walk wise (general)
3. 17-18 - how to walk wise (two specifics)
D. Read v15-18
E. We are to be wise by making the most of our time, the most of the opportunities
we have during these evil ungodly days.
1. I love the word wise because it means to be skillful! To be an expert at
something, to be masterful!
2. I like to describe it this way – wisdom is being an expert artist at living life!
- PBP
a) I say living life because wisdom is not about head or classroom
knowledge but it is about the ability to live life well on the streets of real
life
b) I say an expert artist because wisdom is an art rather than a science that
just follows all the rules
c) This expert artist in living life knows just the right time and the right way
to apply the right truth of God to the right situation!
F. So bottom line, we learn in this passage that a wise person, the expert artist at
living life is going to make the most of their time as they live in this ungodly
world!
1. The first way we see in v17, we do that by understanding God’s will is for us
– we will deal with that this morning.
2. The second way we see in v18, it is by being filled with the Spirit - we will
deal with that the next two weeks.
• Let’s start by looking at
II. God’s will
A. Read v17
1. It appears that a foolish person is one who does not know what God’s will is
for their lives.
2. But the wise person, the one who is an expert artist at living life in this
ungodly world is one who understands what God’s will is.
B. To understand God’s will we need to understand that the Bible speaks of God’s
will from two perspectives and I think there are two aspects to each perspective.
1. The two areas of God’s will we will call His decreed will and His directed
will.
C. By God’s “decreed will” I mean that which God has ordained is going to happen
and they will happen because he decreed them! His sovereign or supreme will!
That comes in two different aspects.
1. First His revealed will – these are the things God has already revealed to us in
His Word that He has ordained
2. I believe that is primarily found in the covenants that he bound himself to!
Those were the covenant promises he made with Abraham, David, and in the
new covenant.
3. Second, His secret will – I believe these are the things in life that God has
ordained that He has not specifically revealed to us in His Word.
a) Example – turn and read Ephesians 1:11
b) Read Daniel 4:35
D. By God’s “directed will” I mean those things which God wants or desires for us
to do. This also comes in two different aspects
1. First, His revealed will – simply these are commands in God’s Word that He
has called us to do and they may happen because we can either obey Him or
disobey Him.
a) Every command to believers in the Scripture is an example of this:
b) Actually the verses we are dealing with today and next week are
examples of this – to understand God’s will and be filled with the Spirit
are commands – these are things God wants us to do!
c) They have to do with our thinking, attitudes, actions, talking, practices
etc.
2. Secondly, His secret will – those are the things God’s wants and desires for
us to do that are not specifically revealed in His Word.
a) This has to do with things like where do I go to school, who do I marry,
which job should I take, where should I live, etc.
b) Acts 16:9-10
E. So which of these wills is he referring to here in this passage so we can be expert
artist in living life in this evil world? I think it is both His decreed will and His
directed will.
1. I think His revealed decreed will because we can find great future hope in
what God has revealed about the future. In these evil days we need a hope to
keep us going
2. I think also it is His secret decreed will to be able to live wisely in this world
there will be so many things I do not understand. I need to fall back upon the
assurance that God is working all things both in this world and in my life
after the counsel of His will!
3. I think it is His revealed directed will in the commands that are revealed in
Scripture as we can only live like experts in this world if we follow God’s
commands – to not do so is only to our own hurt.
a) As Romans 12:2 says God’s will is good, acceptable (well pleasing) and
perfect!
4. Finally, His secret directed will; in the details of my life, God’s wisdom and
direction are necessary for me to live well in these ungodly days.
F. Summarize these very simply in a chart
decreed ordained will happen
revealed covenants/prophecies hope
secret details of life assurance
directed wants may happen
revealed commands perfect
secret details of life wise
• So let me close by addressing how I can know God’s will so I can walk wisely in
these few days I have on earth.
III. Knowing God’s will
A. Turn to Romans 12:1-2
1. Read NASB then read in NLT
2. Note that the ultimate end of this passage is discerning God’s will. “so that”
3. Three key principles from this passage
a) Make your life a blank check by handing it entirely over to God
(1) Your bodies represent your entire life here on earth and we are to
present our entire life to God as sacrifice, by making it fully
available to Him to do whatever He wants with our lives.
(2) Problem is this: God, tell me first what you want me to do then I
will consider if I like that or not and if I will say yes or no to it
(3) God is saying: say yes to me first, and then I will tell you what my
will is!
b) Reject the world’s ways and wisdom
(1) This simply means that I do not allow the world and its ways and
thinking to shape my ways and thinking, literally it means to not
let the world squeeze the way I think and live into its mold!
(2) Thus when I consider what God wants me to do my thinking is
driven by the world rather than God
c) Know God’s Word
(1) Our way of thinking needs to be totally transformed by God’s
Word.
(2) Thus when I consider what God wants me to do my thinking is
driven by God and His Word, then I can discern what God wants
me to do, that which is good, acceptable and perfect!
(3) The problem here is that so few Christians know God’s Word well
enough to discern the difference between that which comes from
God and that which comes from the world
(4) The more God’s Word has shaped our hearts and minds the better
we will be able to discern God’s thoughts, desires and voice
speaking to our hearts!
B. Leave you with two other things you can do to know God’s will
1. Pray – Colossians 1:9-10
2. Counsel with a few godly, biblically informed Christians
a) Read Proverbs 11:14
C. You want to walk wisely in these ungodly days? Know God’s will and do it!
Wednesday Mar 17, 2021