Goal:the object of a persons ambition or effort.
Everyone is chasing something and you have to decide what you will use this life to chase. If you're smart you will allow God to help by guiding you.
Every Christian has 3 major enemies. The World, The Flesh, & The Devil. All three enemies exert their powerful influence in order to bring us down to defeat.
- The World.
- Now “The World” means the great system of evil round about us.
- It is everything around us that has a tendency to lead us into sin.
- Things that can cause the world to be evil are:
- Society-being in the company of others.
- Culture-customs of a certain nation, people group.
- Law-the system of rules enforced by penalties.
- People-we were born into immorality, disobedience, and disorder because of mankind's sin.
- Opinion-the beliefs or views of people.
- Certain elements of daily life are not sinful in themselves, but they can lead to sin if they are abused.
- Abuse literally means “extreme use,” and in many instances, overuse of lawful things becomes sin.
- Making money, the necessities of life and taking care of one’s family is essential.
- But this can degenerate into anxiety, and then, as Christ reminded us, the cares of this life choke the spiritual seed in the heart.
- But money-making is apt to degenerate into money-loving, and then the deceitfulness of riches enters and spoils our spiritual life.
1 John 2:15-17 (NLT)"Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. [16] For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. [17] And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever."
- Worldliness includes the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.
- The “lust of the flesh” (sensualism) is a craving for anything that satisfies the senses.
- The “lust of the eyes” (materialism) is the selfish desire that rises when we see things which we really don’t need but want. It is the longing to possess, the desire to get, the eagerness to acquire.
- The “pride of life” (egotism) is the desire to enhance our own achievements and to push ourselves up. Reputation inflation.
2. The Flesh.
The Bible teaches that the flesh is fallen human nature or character that we have inherited from the first human beings.
Romans 7:18,19 (NLT)
"And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. [19] I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway."
- Flesh is the birthplace of all those ugly sins that so easily impair the Christian’s happiness, fruitfulness and hinder his/her testimony.
- The sins of temper, irritability, moodiness, jealousy, pride, selfishness, an unforgiving spirit, anxiety and fretfulness, harshness, complaining, criticism, lust—all of these things characterize the flesh.
- People say this is just what I am well if so change your appetite.
- The flesh is bent toward rejecting authority; it tends to be lazy; quick to develop vengeful thoughts; slanted toward the worship of self, our abilities, our strength, our cleverness, our ideas, our good looks.
- To “walk” is “to advance by steps.” Daily we are to live under the influences of the Holy Spirit.
3. The Devil.
His objective is to defeat the will of God in the world, the church and the Christian.
He is the unceasing enemy of the soul.
He must be met and overcome.
Ephesians 2:1-2 (NLT)
"Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. [2] You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil-the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God."
- Thank God, through the victory of Jesus Christ on the cross, this mighty enemy has been fully defeated and vanquished forever.
- One day the whole world will witness to the win.
- Meanwhile, Satan is busy in the world, sometimes appearing as an angel of light.
- Things that appear good but are actually evil and destructive.
"But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. [15] So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve."
Other times as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour destroying every life he possibly can through means of deception, lies, selfishness, hate, and rage.
1 Peter 5:7, 8 (NLT)
"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."
Alert-quick to notice any unusual and potentially dangerous or unusual circumstances.
- God cares about you!
- Jesus gave his life for you.
- The Devil traded his life for selfishness, hate, disorder, disobedience, envy, jealously, and defeat.
John 10:10 (NLT)
"The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."
How do we deal with the devil?
James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
John 10:27-30 (NLT)
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, [29] for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand. [30] The Father and I are one."
- We can overcome "The World" by separating from it.
- Refuse to be guided by the world’s standards of right and wrong.
- We can overcome "The Flesh" by denying it.
- Learn to say “No” to the desires of our fallen nature.
- We can overcome "The Devil" by resisting him, take a determined stand against.
- Another scheme Satan uses is to deny truth.
- He tries to break down the sacredness of marriage, the sanctity of human life, and the absoluteness of moral standards.
- The Devil seeks to instill complacency, keep us from concentration in prayer/worship, distract us from the careful study of the Word and seek to make us cowards when it comes to witnessing.
- He influences teachers of religion to present a mixture of truth and error – so that people become confused, mixed up, and uncertain.
Overcome through Christ because you can
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