Chosen

Romans 8:30 "And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory."

Have you every stopped to ponder what that really means?  God chose you!!  The Word is full of reminders that we are chosen by God. 

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

Ephesians 1:4-5 “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

John 6:44 “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.”

John 15:16 “You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.”

Jeremiah 1:5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

Deuteronomy 14:2 “You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.”

Isaiah 43:10 “But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord. “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God— there never has been, and there never will be.”

When I was pregnant, I didn't get to choose my child’s gender, hair or eye color, or any other feature.  Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that God formed each of our features.  He chose our gender, parents, family, ethnicity, etc.  The Word also tells us (Ephesians 1:4-5) that he chose us to be his children.  He intended from the foundation of the world to make us his very own.  Called out, set apart, chosen to follow, serve, and love him, his special treasure! (Romans 8:30, 1 Peter 2:9, John 6:44, John 15:16, Deuteronomy 14:2, Isaiah 43:10.)

No matter how the people around us treat us, no matter how unloved we might have felt growing up, no matter how unimportant or insignificant we might feel at times, WE ARE DESIRED AND LOVED by the Creator of the universe! WE ARE CHOSEN!!!!!

Extreme Makeover – Spiritual DNA Edition (Total DNA Remodel – Part 2)

Let me quickly recap Part 1.

      1.  The process of total DNA remodel begins at salvation.  When we accept Christ as our Savior he begins the process of Sanctification in our lives.

      2. When we come to Christ we often have flawed beliefs about God. Our spiritual foundation must be rebuilt or shored up.

We will continue to see the process God takes to totally remodel our spiritual DNA as we follow the process a contractor takes when remodeling an old house.

3. The next step is to remove all the faulty wiring and plumbing.  God does this in us by transforming our minds and setting us free from the slavery of sin.  Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”  Romans 6:6 “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.”

      4.To continue, the contractor goes room by room checking every nook and cranny to determine if there is damage that needs to be repaired.  Many times they even tear holes in walls to check for mold or structural damage.  God does this by checking every area of our life (mind).  If we allow him to he will shine the light of the Holy Spirit into every nook and cranny to see what is there. 

I like to use the analogy of a hallway to describe how our minds work.  For men and women alike we have rooms along the hallway of our minds that contain each facet of our life.  My hallway for instance has rooms marked, Scott, Emma and Samuel, friends, church, ministry, extended family, etc.  In each room we keep our attitudes, opinions, feelings, desires, and needs about each area.  Ok, this is where the similarities between men and women end. 

In a man’s mind, each room has a door that can close tightly and stay closed until it needs to be opened.  For example, if a man has a fight with his wife on the way to church, he is usually able to participate in worship, listen to the sermon, and even go to the altar for prayer to respond to the sermon.  He probably won’t think about the fight again unless his spouse brings it up (which she probably will!) (I know there are exceptions to this J.)  Usually the hallway of a man’s mind is clutter free.  I think this is why they can be so logical and less emotional on the whole than women.

It is a totally different story in a woman’s mind.  We tend to leave all our doors open at once.  The stuff in our rooms usually spills out into our hallway, leaving clutter and emotions out for us to trip over as we go through our daily lives.  Using the example of the fight on the way to church, we can see the differences between men and women’s hallways more clearly.  If a woman has a fight with her husband on the way to church, typically, she will stew and think it over line by line, who said what and why.  She will then find it difficult to focus on worship and if she does enter in, she will feel like a hypocrite: 1) because she knows her attitude toward her spouse is not right, 2) because she realizes that she is not focusing her attention on worshiping God but on the fight.  She will probably be distracted during the sermon and when it is over, if she goes to the altar at all, she will be focusing her prayer on the issue from the fight not responding to the message at all.  I believe this is why most women tend to be more emotional and less logical than men.

We've all seen a house with damaged walls, chipping paint, mold and mildew on the shower, cracked or totally broken windows.  The same holds true in our spiritual life.  Whether you are a man or woman, in your rooms you will find damaged walls, chipped paint, broken windows, mold and mildew (scares) from hurts, abuses, neglect, poor choices, etc.   It is to these areas that the Holy Spirit, if allowed, will gravitate.  He will do one of the following with each wound he finds: 

a.       Reveal the truth to counteract the lie we've believed about the wound. For example, many who have been abused believe it was their fault.  This is not true!  It is a lie of the enemy (the father of lies).  John 8:44 “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Let’s look at the following example from scripture.  1 Samuel 19:1-5 Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David, told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields. I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.” The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!”  We see here that Saul was abusive toward David; however, David had done nothing to Saul.  Remodel: abuse is never the victim’s fault!!!!

b.      He will change our perspective on the events surrounding the hurt.  We see in this happen clearly in the book of Job. Job 3:20-26 , “Oh, why give light to those in misery,

and life to those who are bitter?  They long for death, and it won’t come. They search for death more eagerly than for hidden treasure. They’re filled with joy when they finally die,

and rejoice when they find the grave. Why is life given to those with no future, those God has surrounded with difficulties? I cannot eat for sighing; my groans pour out like water.

What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true. I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes.”  Here we see that Job was struggling to understand what was happening to him.  He spoke out of his hurt and confusion.  While he never blamed God for his condition, he struggled to know how to react. 

We then read the end of the story as God changes Job’s perspective.  Job 42:1-6, Then Job replied to the Lord:  “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’ I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.“ Remodel: sometimes it is necessary to allow the Holy Spirit to change our perspective on past hurts in order to be free from the effects of that hurt.  

Extreme Makeover – Spiritual DNA Edition (Total DNA Remodel – Part 3)

Let me quickly recap Parts 1 and 2.

1. The process of total DNA remodel begins at salvation.  When we accept Christ as our Savior he begins the process of Sanctification in our lives. 

2. When we come to Christ we often have flawed beliefs about God. Our spiritual foundation must be rebuilt or shored up.

3. God transforms our minds and sets us free from the slavery of sin.  (Romans 6:6 and Romans 12:2)

4. God checks every area of our life (mind).  If we allow him to he will shine the light of the Holy Spirit into every nook and cranny to see what is there.   We all have (scares) from hurts, abuses, neglect, poor choices, etc.   It is to these areas that the Holy Spirit, if allowed, will gravitate.  He will do one of the following with each wound he finds:   

a. Reveal the truth to counteract the lie we’ve believed about the wound.  (John 8:44)

b. He will change our perspective on the events surrounding the hurt.  (Job 3:20-26 and Job 42:1-6)

We will look here at the last two steps in the average remodel. 

5. Most contractors will install a new security system once the home is totally remodeled.  When we come to Christ we receive our own personal security system, the Holy Spirit.  John 14:26 “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.”  Just as the home owner needs to hear and obey the alarms the system gives, we too need to listen to the Holy Spirit when he warns us.  The Word tells us that when we are tempted God will make a way of escape.  It is the Holy Spirit who shows us that escape.  Also, when there is danger in what we are doing or think, it is the Holy Spirit who reveals this danger to us.  Hebrews 3:7-8  “That is why the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness.’”

Remodel: We must learn to respond quickly when the Holy Spirit sounds the alarm.  We must also learn to yield to his leading. Galatians 5:25 “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

6. Finally, the last step in any home remodel is moving in.  Christ takes up residence in us when we accept his free gift of salvation. 

a. He lives in us to give life to our spirit. Romans 8:10-11 “And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

b. He lives in us to let us grow deep roots in God’s love.  Ephesians 3:17 “Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.”

c. We become the temple of God. 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?”

d. We share the glory of Christ. Colossians 1:27 “For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.”

Remodel: Christ has come to live in us.  Our life is not our own, it belongs to the one who gave himself as a ransom for our sins.  

Extreme Makeover – Spiritual DNA Edition (Total DNA Remodel – Part 1)

My family loves to watch home improvement shows.  We love D.I.Y. projects.  We get a charge out of taking something old and bringing new life to it. To illustrate, yesterday we went thrift store hunting.  We found a half couch for $10. It has good bones but needs new upholstery.  We are now in the process of learning how to make a slip cover for it.  (Thank God for youtube J.)

Through the years of watching homes be remodeled I have discovered a pattern.  Each time a designer/contractor enters an old home they all look for the same things.  They all use the same basic process.  As I was praying this morning I believe the Lord showed me that he too uses a similar process in our DNA Remodel.

    1. To begin, each contractor takes a “walk through” to see what is there and what needs attention.  For us, this process begins at salvation.  When we accept Christ as our Savior he begins the process of Sanctification in our lives.  Sanctification is a state of separation unto God; all believers enter into this state when they are born of God: 1 Corinthians 1:30 “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.”

    2. Next, they often have to rebuild or shore up the foundation.  When we come to Christ we often have flawed beliefs about God.

a.       In our world we see a prevalent belief that Jesus is one way to God.  Remodel: Jesus is the ONLY WAY to God.  John 14:6 “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’”

b.      Many view God like a hard task master who never shows approval and who must be obeyed in order to keep him appeased.  Remodel: God is a loving Father who longs to shower his kids with good things.  1 John 3:1 “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.” He does require obedience; however, he loves us no matter how often we fail.  He is just and holy and desires for his children to be holy, not because he is cruel, rather, because he knows that living a holy lifestyle will keep us out of many dangers and hurts we might otherwise have to face.  1 Peter 1:13-16 “So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.’”

c.       Due to the popularity of Halloween, people view Satan as a guy in a red suit with a pitchfork.  He seems none threatening or bothersome.  Remodel: The devil is alive and well.  He is working overtime to destroy the church.  He is at work in the lives of anyone who calls on the name of the Lord.  On Sunday my pastor said that if the devil is not attacking us and our family we need to make sure we are not traveling in the same direction he is. 1 Peter 5:8 “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”  If we didn't need to be concerned about the devil God would not have warned us to watch out!

d.      In our culture and unfortunately even in the church we see a harmful trend.  Many come to Christ, but then continue in their old lifestyle. Often this is due to the tolerance mentality. We don't preach against sin because we want to be politically correct and not offend anyone.  Romans 5:20-21 tell us that God gives grace when we fail, however, let’s read Romans 6:1-8,12-18, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.” 

Jesus has already paid for our freedom.  The author of Romans tells us that once we come to Christ we are dead to sin.  Does this mean we won’t be tempted to sin ever again?  No!  It means that we are no longer slaves to sin; when we sin now it is because we choose to.  We choose to listen to and believe the lies of the enemy, who tells us it won’t hurt us to sin, or tells us we will never be free from our past/sin, or that we can control our lives and live above sin (i.e. a former alcoholic still hanging around with his drinking buddies).  Remodel: All sin is wrong.  We are dead to sin; no longer its slave; and we can overcome our flesh through Christ who lives in us!!!

Extreme Makeover – Spiritual DNA Edition (Faulty DNA: Sticks and Stones Do More Harm than Words)

I read in the article Gender Jabber: Do Women Talk More than Men?  that researches used a device called an EAR (for electronically activated recorder) to digitally collect data on the chatter patterns of 396 university students.  The daily average for all 396 was 15,942 words spoken.  (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/women-talk-more-than-men/)  

If the average person lives to be 70 the total average words spoken over a life time is somewhere around 407 million.  That is staggering. If we speak that many words in our lifetime (I know some are less talkative), how important is it that our words be tempered by the Spirit? 

Aesop illustrated it well in this fable: Once upon a time, a donkey found a lion's skin. He tried it on, strutted around, and frightened many animals. Soon a fox came along, and the donkey tried to scare him, too. But the fox, hearing the donkey's voice, said, "If you want to terrify me, you'll have to disguise your bray." Aesop's moral: Clothes may disguise a fool, but his words will give him away.

I. Our Words Matter

The old saying, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me” is not true at all.  In fact, Proverbs 18:21 tells us, “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”  Our words can potentially bring life or death to the hearer.  This is a powerful thought.  With our words we can build others up, or tear them down. 

Matthew 12:36 “And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.” Jesus makes it clear here that we are going to be held accountable for ALL the words we speak. It is generally understood in church circles that we will be accountable for profane or perverse language, however, here Jesus tells us that we are accountable for every idle word. Webster defines idle as: lacking worth or basis.  How often do we talk just to talk?   

Greek Philosopher asked his servant to provide the best dish possible. The servant prepared a dish of tongue, saying, "It is the best of all dishes, because with it we may bless and communicate happiness, dispel sorrow, remove despair, cheer the faint hearted, inspire the discouraged, and say a hundred other things to uplift mankind." Later the philosopher asked his servant to provide the worst dish of which he could think. A dish of tongue appeared on the table. The servant said, "It is the worst, because with it we may curse and break human hearts; destroy reputations; promote discord and strife; set families, communities, and nations at war with each other." He was a wise servant. (Taken from http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/life-and-death-are-in-the-power-of-the-tongue-neal-gracey-sermon-on-wisdom-57113.asp)

II. How can we use our Words best?

A.      Do not use words as weapons. Often we use our words to hurt others who have wronged us. Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”  Here we read Jesus (who if anyone had a “right” to use his words in retaliation he did) teach that we are to bless those who hurt us. 

B.      Do not participate in gossip. Proverbs 20:19 (NIV) “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much.” Proverbs 16:28 (NIV) “A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.”  Gossip is deadly but subtle.  A conversation can turn to a gossip session without much trouble.  We must be careful what stories and news we share with others. 

C.      Do not use unclean language. Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

D.      Do not lie.  Use only truthful words.  Matthew 5:37 (NLT) “Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.”

In the early 1900s George Riddell acquired the sensational London newspaper The News of the World. Meeting British journalist Frederick Greenwood one day, Riddell mentioned that he owned a newspaper, told Greenwood its name, and offered to send him a copy. The next time they met, Riddell asked Greenwood what he thought of The News.   "I looked at it and then I put it in the wastepaper basket," said Greenwood, "and then I thought, 'If I leave it there the cook may read it,' so I burned it."   (Today in the Word, November 3, 1993.)

Coming from a big city, my friend David wasn't prepared for the approach rural Maine businessmen take toward their customers. Shortly after David moved there, he rented a rototiller. The store owner showed him how it worked and explained that the charge was not based on how many hours he had it out, but rather how long it was actually used. Looking over the tiller for some king of meter, David asked, "How will you know how long I've used it?" With a puzzled look, the owner simply said, "You tell me." (Loren Morse, Reader's Digest, March 1991.)

E.      Use words that build others up. Ephesians 4:29b (NIV) “…but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”  One popular Zig Ziglar saying is, "He climbs highest who helps another up."

III. We need to transform our tongue.

A.      We must be slow to speak. James 1:19-20 “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.”

B.     We must think before we speak.  We must guard against speaking without thinking first. Pastor Rick Smith gives us the T.H.I.N.K. test for our words. If what we are going to say does not pass the test we don’t say it!

T - is it true?

H - is it helpful?

I - is it inspiring?

N - is it necessary?

K - is it kind?

We need to seek God’s assistance in controlling our tongue and transforming our speech.   

2 Corinthians 5:17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”  Philippians 4:13 “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

The Remodel: God holds me accountable for my words.  I must control my tongue with the Lord’s help!

Extreme Makeover – Spiritual DNA Edition (Faulty DNA: The Devil Made Me Do It)

1 John 4:4 “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”

In the 1970s comedian Flip Wilson made "The Devil made me do it" a national catchphrase. As host of his own TV variety show, Flip Wilson created a recurring character named Geraldine. And every time her husband accused her of doing something wrong, whether it was buying a dress that was too expensive, or crashing the car into the side of the church, her excuse was always the same: "It wasn't me. The Devil made me do it."

Many of us grew up hearing that catchphrase, and its affected the way we see the devil. We believe he has the power to "make" us do things. Or we imagine him as a little guy wearing a red suit, with a pitchfork, sitting on our left shoulder, whispering in our ear. And meanwhile, there's a little angel perched on our right shoulder, trying to counteract whatever temptation the devil is whispering to us. And in the cartoons, the devil usually won.  (Taken from http://www.lifeway.com/Article/sermon-devil-made-me-do-it-sin-temptation-matthew-4)

Is the Devil as powerful as God?  Let us read again 1 John 4:4 “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”  Emphatically NO! 

Matthew 3:16-17 (NIV) As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Jesus has just had the spiritual high of his life.  He has heard the Father say he was loved by the Father and was well pleasing to him.  He also received the infilling and anointing of the Holy Spirit. Then in Matthew 4 we read of the temptation of Jesus, his lowest moment. 

We need to clarify something here.  God never tempts anyone.  James 1:13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.  God does, however, test us.  James 1:2-4 “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

We read in Hebrews that Jesus was tempted but he did not sin.  How did he overcome temptation?  Hebrews 4:15 “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.”

Matthew 4:1-11 gives us some keys to overcoming temptation.

    1. Jesus prepared through prayer and fasting.  Verses 1-2: “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.”  We see here that the Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 

We live in an instant culture; instant potatoes, t.v. on demand, instant messaging (it seems no one writes letters anymore), instant oatmeal, etc.  We have lost the art/understanding of tarrying (waiting).  When I was growing up, I remember prayer meetings that lasted 3-4 hours and church services that ran long into the night (we still had to get up for school on Monday!)  We prayed/tarried until we heard from God.  We also prayed for a need until our prayers were met (days, weeks, months, even years in some cases.  Today we get upset if prayer meeting (if we even attend) goes over an hour or if our church services run longer than an hour and a half.  We also have lost our waiting skills. We want God to speak/answer in or time (instantly).

Isaiah 40:31 teaches us why it is important to wait: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.“ (KJV)

Jesus stayed in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights fasting and praying.  Talk about waiting! 

    2. Jesus used the Word against the enemy.  Verses 3-10, During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

Jesus was God, yet he was fully human while he walked on the earth.  As a man, he had to use the same tools we do to overcome temptation.  The primary tool he used was the Word.  In each of the three temptations, he quoted scripture to silence the enemy.  It is vital for us to be students of the Word.  We need to read, study, and memorize the Word so that when we are tempted or in need we have God’s truths to draw upon for ammunition or for strength.

    3. The final thing we see from Matthew 4 is: when we resist the devil he flees and the Spirit ministers to us.  This is found in verse 11, “Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.”  When we resist the devil he has to flee. James 4:7 “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  “Don't miss the word "flee." Flee is something someone does when he is on the run from a superior force. The devil's a coward. He picks on us when we are feeling weak, but he turns tail when we show the first sign of strength. And he knows that there are plenty of easier targets than a Christ follower who stands up to him with God's Word!” (Taken from http://www.lifeway.com/Article/sermon-devil-made-me-do-it-sin-temptation-matthew-4) 

We also see in verse 11 that after the devil flees the Spirit ministers to us bringing peace and strength.  He also begins equipping us for the next battle. 

In conclusion, we see from the Temptation of Jesus that the first way to overcome temptation is to use the Word. 

The second way to resist temptation is to understand how temptation works. We are tempted when desire and opportunity come together. Think of every time you gave in to a temptation. It always happens at the intersection of desire and opportunity. So when you feel the desire to sin, ask God to remove the opportunity. When you have the opportunity to sin, ask God to take away the desire. Remember, God will always provide a way of escape. Look for it. It may be that you can get yourself out of the situation in which you have the opportunity to sin. (Taken from http://www.lifeway.com/Article/sermon-devil-made-me-do-it-sin-temptation-matthew-4) 

1 Corinthians 10:13 “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

The Remodel: Understanding that the devil has no more power than we give him.  We can use the Word to silence his voice in our mind and resist the temptation he throws at us.  The Devil Can’t Make Us Do ANYTHING!!!

Extreme Makeover – Spiritual DNA Edition (Faulty DNA: My Thoughts are My Own)

Psalm 19:14: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Mark Twain wrote, “What a wee little part of a person’s life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself. All day long, the mill of his brain is grinding, and his thoughts, not those other things, are his history.” (Reader’s Digest [1/93], p. 155).

Why is our thought life important?  I think Mark Twain had it partially correct; however, he missed this important truth: our thoughts influence our actions.  Jonathan Edwards put it this way: “The ideas and images in men’s minds are the invisible powers that constantly govern them” (Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards.) 

When the Bible talks about our heart it is talking about our thoughts.  Every action or behavior begins in our mind, this includes sin.  Jesus said, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” Mark 7:20-23

Romans 8:5-7 “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.”

We are challenged to think about the things of heaven not of earth.  Colossians 3:1-3 “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”  

If we are followers of Jesus Christ our thoughts are not our own.  God desires to help us control them. If we want to live lives of peace and joy even in difficult times we must think rightly. We do this by:

   1. Evaluating our thoughts.

a.       Where did this thought come from?

b.      Is it a godly thought?

c.       Will this thought build me up or tear me down?

d.      Where will it lead me?

e.      What will the results be if I follow this thought through?

f.        Can I share this thought with others?

   2. Rejecting ungodly thoughts. If you evaluate the thought and see it is ungodly, you need to reject it.  Philippians 4:4-9 “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

   3. Cultivating godly thoughts. Turn your thoughts to things of God.  Meditating on the Word and praying will turn your thoughts back to the right path.

The old saying is true: You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair.  We cannot stop ungodly thoughts from entering our mind, but we can keep them from staying around long enough to cause trouble.  

Psalm 19:14: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

The Remodel: Understanding that our thought life affects all areas of our life.  God desires to help us control our thoughts.