The Christian's Struggle with Sin

The following passage describes the apostle Paul's struggle with sin. It also describes the personal experience of every Christian that I know. The Spirit and the flesh are at war with each other. But not permanently. When we receive our resurrection bodies that struggle will cease. It is temporary struggle that the overcoming enduring Christian will one day win.

(Romans 7:14-8:4 NKJV) For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. {15} For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. {16} If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. {17} But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

{18} For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. {19} For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

{20} Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. {21} I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. {22} For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. {23} But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. {24} O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? {25} I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

( 8:1) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. {2} For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. {3} For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, {4} that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

What is Paul's main point in this? THOUGH WE STRUGGLE WITH SIN GOD DOES NOT CONDEMN US BECAUSE WE ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. If you think I am shouting at you -then you are right and I am shouting Hallelujah! "Sin in the flesh" is condemned and will pass away but all who are in Christ Jesus will become glorious eternal beings with imperishable and magnificent bodies (1 Corinthians 15:25-55). Our sin will be far behind us then, it will have vanished like smoke on a windy day. You see for the Christian our sin is not part of us though it is closely associated with us and affects us as Paul twice says above {verses 17&20} Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. Sin is only a part of us if we actively consent to it. Paul goes so far as to say "it is no longer I who do it". What a cop out! Not at all! It's the truth. All that is truly us is under the control of the Christian's will. This sin is a compulsion apart from Paul's will. It did not proceed from Paul's will therefore it was not Paul's deed. The sin was committed by Paul's body but it was not committed by Paul the person. {22} For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. {23} But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. {24} O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? {25} I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Paul thus makes a clear division between what his mind and will want and what his flesh/body wants. He also sees his flesh as temporal, earthbound and sin-indwelt while his mind and will are in willing subjection to God. {18} For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. {19} For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

REACHING YOUR POTENTIAL

WHAT IS MY POTENTIAL?

Michael Angelo attempted to carve 44 statues in his life, but was only able to completely carve 14.  30 were never completed. Of some of the statues that were recovered, there was an arm and a shoulder sticking out of a block of granite… All incomplete. There are people like that in the body of Christ, you never get to see them the completed person. Our body produces every chemical needed to heal itself, so each of us identify literally a mass of positive potential.

THE AVERAGE PERSON HAS SOLD THEMSELVES WAY SHORT.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO REACH MY POTENTIAL?

•  Many people make short what God has attempted to make large through us.
• Col.3:17 “All that we do should be done through excellence and ultimately please/ glorify God.
• It Is a Sad Thing Because There’s No Telling How Many People in the Kingdom Are Living Far Short Of Their God Given Potential.
• By Reaching Our Potential We Become A Tool To Help And Bless Others.

KEYS TO REACHING YOUR POTENTIAL

1.  BE YOURSELF, THEN BE ALL YOU CAN BE

• Be comfortable with yourself and who you are.
• Don’t try to reach someone else’s potential, you will not be judged on other’s potential but your own.

2.  KEEP GROWING

   A MAN’S MIND ONCE STRETCHED BY A NEW IDEA CAN NEVER AGAIN RETAIN ITS ORIGINAL DIMENSIONS.       OLIVER WINDELL HOLMES

STEPS TO STAGNATION

• We’ve never done it that way before.
• We tried once but we failed.
• It won’t work/ it’s not my responsibility
• It can’t be done/ it’s not my fault that we might fail.
• In order to reach your potential, one has to start growing.
• If you stop growing, you start shrinking.

IF YOU DO NOT REACH FOR A DREAM BIGGER THAN YOU ARE, YOU WON’T GROW

3.  DON’T EXPECT EXPERTS TO ALWAYS BE RIGHT.

• We cannot always rely on the opinions of others.

“Walt Disney was told he was not good enough. He went against the opinions of an expert and became one of the world’s greatest cartoonists.”

4. EXPECT GREAT THINGS TO HAPPEN

• Jeremiah 29:11---Positive expectations always
• Adopt an attitude of “we see what we are prepared to see”

WHAT WE GET OUT OF LIFE IS WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN LIFE.

5.  DEVOTE YOURSELF TO DO SOMETHING WELL.

• Play your strengths and never to your weakness.

   LIST TWO THINGS THAT YOU DO AND ASK YOURSELF?

•      Am I doing it more or less today?

•      Am I developing it more or less? / Am I working on them?

•      Am I bringing others around me to compliment my weakness?

6. NEVER TAKE SHORT-CUTS

THERE IS NO QUICK WAY TO REACH YOUR POTENTIAL…ZACK4:10

 People who take short-cuts lack:

  a).  Gratitude

  b). Maturity

  c). Discipline

  d). Exposure

7.  FACE YOUR FEARS

• Most bars we face, we put them there…..proverbs24:16
• Fear keeps you from reaching your potential.
• Give what you have!!!!!!!!!!

8.  CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS WISELY

• He who walks with the wise will be wise.

• God builds relationally, if you with someone that lacks potential, you will lag behind!!!!!!!!!
•  Growth comes from friendship; if friends grow then you will grow too.

9.  HAVE A MISSION THAT MOTIVATES YOU.

• Without a vision, people perish/ cast off restraint, go wild, lose hope.
• Have a dream, a vision, a goal…something to work towards achieving.
• God gives you a vision to carry you high so that you can carry others higher and enrich and help others as well.

10.  DEDICATE YOUR LIFE TO GOD

IF GOD IS YOUR PARTNER, YOU CAN MAKE YOUR PLANS BIG.

GIVE YOUR LIFE TO GOD, NO MAN HAS REGRETTED IT.

DESTINY PERSPECTIVE: True Potential

DESTINY PERSPECTIVE: True Potential: "It’s time to acknowledge that niggling feeling and make a success out of your life. Here’s how to understand your potential and use it to ..."

True Potential

It’s time to acknowledge that niggling feeling and make a success out of your life.  Here’s how to understand your potential and use it to your benefit.

Your true potential comprises all the things you would be doing, if you didn’t allow negativity to stop you. You maybe wealthy or happy with your career, but that don’t necessarily mean that you’ve reached your full potential.

Sit down in a quiet place and ask yourself these questions.

1.       What did I excel at as a child?

2.       Which activities am I naturally drawn to?

3.       Which dreams am I not achieving because of the obstacles?

4.       If money wasn’t important, what would you want to do for a living?

The answer to these questions is your true potential. Let go of fear. For many fear is the reason they chose to lead a mediocre existence. While some are afraid to pursue their true potential others are afraid to explore that potential. For these individuals fears manifests itself in three ways:

·         Fear of change

·         Fear of failure

·         Fear  of excelling

1.       FEAR OF CHANGE

Many people have an inherent fear of changes and therefore refuse to take on any challenges as they would risk being out of their comfort zones. Think about this?

·         What would be the pros and cons of either staying in your comfort zone or taking a risk?

·         Is the risk to great? Is it well calculated?

·         If you  don’t make the change how would it affect the rest of your life

Many would choose risk over regret, but often the greatest risk does reap the greatest rewards

2.       FEAR OF FAILURE

This is the most common reason for mediocrity. Few seem to realise that failure is the best way to learn and learning is the best way to grow

·         What are the odds that you would fail?

·         If so what can you learn from failing?

·         If you fail what would you lose? Your life? Your friends? Your respect? Will the sky fall on you?

3.       FEAR OF EXCELLING

Cases like these may be rare, but they do exist. Many people fear greatness due to feeling inadequacy and their inability to cope with the expectations of others. Ask yourself the following questions?

·         How much do you care about the opinions of others?

·         Does your success rely on the approval of others?

If you’ve answered “YES” to either of these questions, it’s time to find another motivator.

WHAT DRIVES YOU?

Think back to when you excelled as a child. What where you rewarded with?  This will usually remain your key motivator well into adulthood. If you were taken for ice cream when you passed a test, you will reward yourself with food as an adult.

USING YOU POTENTIAL

What have you always wanted to do/achieve? Don’t think about the obstacles or risks. If there was no fear and no uncertainty, what would you most like to have achieved in your life? Why have you not achieved this goal yet? What are the reasons/excuses for not achieving these dreams?

Here’s the plan:

SET GOALS

Clearly set your goals out on paper and take it everywhere with you. Set deadlines, but don’t be deterred if you don’t achieve certain goals when or in order that you hoped. Be flexible and make use of all the unexpected opportunities that come your way.

Try Everything New, Be open to everything

Testing to determine if someone is a true prophet – teacher of God or a false prophet of man

People claim to have glorious information even Divine insight into how we should live and conduct our lives. But is their information really good and useful? Even though some of it sounds good and does have a certain worldly appeal, what standard should we use in determining if their directions are legitimate and are going to have Everlasting Value for us or is it just a part of a fad of the moment that sounds good but is really of little use in cultivating a lasting relationship with Jesus.

Here is a good start - does the information draw us closer to the Holy, Living, Loving, Caring, God, then good, but if the information gives credit to mankind while neglecting to give Honour and Glory to God then that information needs to be carefully considered and even rejected as harmful and unhelpful in helping to direct and guide our lives.

Here is good test to determine if someone is a prophet of God or a false prophet.

Jeremiah 23:21-23 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. Am I a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off?

Also God is reminding us that He is close to us and that when we need Him we should call on Him ourselves and not always look to others to call on God for us or to prophesy for us.

Keep in mind that False - worldly teachings are often passed off as Christian in nature yet are far from Christian/Biblical.

2nd Peter 2:1-9 but there were False Prophets also among the people, even as there shall be False Teachers among you, who privately (in secret) shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of which the Way of Truth shall be evil spoken of... (Remember) The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished:

An Exciting part of being a Christian is in thinking through our thoughts and our actions to determine if it will have good consequences towards God or a bad consequence for us and this includes thinking through what others are trying to get us to say and do. Sometimes Saying "No" is necessary and it is also powerful as saying no to the ways of this world is generally part of the first step of saying "Yes" to God.

True Obedience Part 2

Disobedience is about voluntary sin.

In order to be able to understand what obedience is, we need to pay attention to the difference between voluntary sin and involuntary sin. When God talks about disobedience, He is talking about voluntary sin.

It seems to me that a student who is trying to get 100%, but missed a few points, is different from the student who says that he doesn't care and is just trying to get by. In the same way, there is an enormous difference between the person who prays everyday to be obedient and the person who believes that obedience is unimportant or unattainable.

The obedient Christian is always sensitive to his failures and mistakes, and by prayer and the engrafting of the Word of God by the Holy Spirit, he is ever pressing on toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

You might be saying, "But it sounds to me like you are saying that obedience is a relative word." In a way it is. Remember there will be no one saved from any generation who in his heart of hearts was knowingly disobedient to God. Everyone in every generation who was fully committed to the Lord was filled with a heartfelt desire to please and obey Him.

Let me point out that when we realize that obedience is an attitude of the heart, only God, who can read hearts, can determine who is obedient or who is in their hearts disobedient. We cannot be judges of each other. To do so is in itself to be disobedient, because we have been commanded to judge not that we be not judged (Matthew 7:1).

Another aspect to bear in mind concerning true obedience is that:

Temptation is not disobedience.

Let me interject at this point a comforting thought, and that is, temptation is not disobedience. Our natural man, the flesh, and the Devil will continually call us to pride, impurity, and unloveliness.

We will come to realize that there is in all of us a carnal nature, which delights in disobedience. We need to continually stop our ears to the siren song of the disobedient nature and die to this part of us, which enjoys doing its own thing. I repeat, the temptation to disobey is not disobedience. We need to understand this, otherwise we could think that we were insincere or something.

Let us remember, too, that:

True obedience can never come from fear, guilt, or duty.

True obedience is an attitude that a person has who is truly born again. A person who truly loves God would never obey Him for fear of the consequence. The Scripture says perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

A person who tries to obey God because they are afraid not to has not learned, nor are they enjoying, the blessing of obedience. A person who is seeking to obey God and keep His commandments, because they would feel guilty if they didn't, does not enjoy the blessing of obedience either. A person who is trying to obey God in every particular, because they feel it is their duty to do so, is not enjoying the blessing of obedience.

A person who lives under grace obeys for that very reason. A person who lives under law cannot obey in the true sense of the word inasmuch as obedience is an attitude of the heart. True obedience is heart deep. However, the obedience that comes from fear, duty, or guilt is false obedience and is only skin deep.

Does a born-again Christian keep the commandments? Of course, but the issue is how and why, not what. The Ten Commandments will tell us what not to do, but not do anything to help us obey. A Christian is not driven, if you please, by a desire to keep the Ten Commandments, but by a desire to please God.

You can love the rainbow, but it can't love you. You can love the Ten Commandments, but they only tell us what we ought to do and show us where we are wrong. True love, to be meaningful, must be placed on something that has the capacity to return our love. Don't love the commandments; love God. Don't pray to obey the rules; rather let's pray to obey Jesus and do His will.

Some people say that they want the will of God for their lives. Others even say that they are doing God's will. But there may be a certain dishonesty involved. You see, many people reserve the right to decide for themselves what God's will is or isn't.

They are like the man who said he could speak every language but Greek. When a friend asked him to prove it he replied, "They're all Greek to me!"

There are people who say that they are praying to do God's will, who in practice have often decided for themselves what part or which of God's commandments are important for them. In reality they are doing their own will rather than what He asks them to do. You've heard the type of person who, when they run off with someone else's wife says, "But my God wants me to be happy."

We must ever be aware that the issue is obedience, pure and simple. And obedience means that we will do what He asks us to do rather than what we have decided He wants us to do. Some people are willing to do anything for the Lord except what He asks them to do.

True Obedience Part 1

Through the years there has been a lot of confusion about the relationship between faith and works. We have tended to go from one extreme to the other. At times we emphasize faith; other times we emphasize works. There is no doubt that we are saved by faith and faith alone. The problem, I believe, is most of us either don't know what salvation by faith is or we have a wrong idea of how it works. Personally, I think that it is a mistake to believe that a person is saved by a simple affirmation of faith or by accepting some intellectual truth or by repeating a sinner's prayer. Many people seem to have mistaken knowledge for Christian faith. They get some new views of religious truth, which gets them excited, or someone convinces them that faith is a formula. They are led to believe they are saved by repeating some magic words. I like how one person put it, "Don't let any person tell you that you are saved. You know your heart!" But then, let's go back to the question of faith and works; or, to say it another way, let's talk about the question of faith and obedience. It is absolutely true that salvation is by faith alone. "By faith alone" simply means that we cannot save ourselves. Only God can save us. However, it is also true that you can know when a person has received salvation by faith, because he will always, and there is no exception to this, desire to be obedient. Faith and true obedience simply always go together. You can't have one without the other, because obedience in the final analysis is what salvation is all about. A person who is not converted cannot obey God, because the carnal heart is not subject to the law of God. This is the reason a person who has not accepted Christ cannot be obedient in the true sense of the word. Obey is what people who have received salvation by faith in Jesus do. What I am saying is that it is impossible to truly obey God without faith in Jesus. In a sense, we can say that the first step in salvation is that the lost are called to come to Christ, and then, that having come to Christ, they are called to a life of obedience in Him. Obedience is the objective test as to whether a person has really received salvation. Jesus said, putting it in plain English, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." In another place He says that "a tree is known by its fruits." True obedience is not an act, but an attitude. You hear me refer to "true obedience." You may ask, "But is there such a thing then as false obedience?" Not really, but the word obedience is often used rather loosely. The fact is, a person is either obedient in God's eyes or he is disobedient. You see, God does not measure obedience like we do. We look on the outward appearance; God looks on the heart. For this reason we need to understand that obedience is, first and foremost, something that comes from the heart. Obedience is an attitude. I say that because a person can appear to be obedient on the outside and actually be hating every minute of it. Many of us have been somewhat confused in respect to obedience. We have thought that obedience was somehow our part in salvation. We have thought salvation had two parts: God's part and our part. The fact is that all of salvation is God's part. He not only forgives my sins, but He, in a miraculous way, gives me an attitude that actually wants to obey whatever He asks. The whole plan of salvation has as its primary purpose to create in us a new heart--that is, a new attitude--which says, "I delight to do your will, O my God. You have written Your commandments in my heart." If there is anyone here today who doesn't enjoy obeying God or feels that God's will--His commandments--are not fair or is asking too much, do not pass "Go," do not "collect two-hundred   Rands," but go directly to your knees and acknowledge to God that you have not let Him give you the greatest gift of all--the gift of obedience. Jesus said, "He that has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me." (John 14:21). And in another place He said, "If a person loves me they will keep my words." (John 14:23). Some people think that in the Old Testament a person was saved by obedience, and in the New Testament we are saved by faith. Jesus didn't do away with obedience. He made obedience an even greater issue then Moses ever did. The Old Testament said don't run off with another person's wife. Jesus said don't even think about it. I am thrilled as I realize Jesus is giving me a heart that loves to obey. A new attitude is necessary though, because a person persuaded against his will is always of the same opinion still. A person who does not have an attitude of obedience will tend to play what we might call "obedience games." That is, he will be obedient in some things and disobedient in others. But true obedience is nondiscriminatory. It is an ongoing attitude that operates all the time. A person who knowingly obeys part of God's commandments and not others is not 50% obedient or almost obedient--that person is simply disobedient. When we talk about what it means to be "true to God" or "faithful to God," what are we talking about anyway? Think about it. How can a person ever be true to God or faithful to God unless he is obedient to what God requires? So the first characteristic of true obedience is that it is an attitude that God puts in our hearts. Another point that we need to understand about true obedience is that: God measures obedience in a person's life by his capacity to obey. As I have already pointed out, true obedience is an attitude that comes when a person accepts Jesus as His Savior and the process of salvation begins to impact his life. Does this mean then that a person who has an attitude of obedience will obey God in the absolute sense of the word? A life of obedience must not be confused with a kind of absolute perfection. The Scripture is clear that God takes into account where a person was born (Psalm 87:6), that is, where he is coming from, his background, who he is and what opportunities he has had. It is an eternal truth that the Ten Commandments are, and always have been, the standard by which absolute obedience to the will of God is measured But remember, God looks at the heart. A first grader goes to school with an attitude to learn. He makes mistakes along the way, but his attitude to learn makes it possible for him to grow. In the Christian life, it's a little like going to school. Obedience is an attitude. Along the way we make mistakes, but the mistakes are committed by an obedient attitude, which will acknowledge the mistakes and learn from them. Using the illustration of school again-a good student tries to get 100% on his examination. When he misses a question, he is not satisfied. But knowing that this is his area of weakness, he will actually give special attention to the matter until he is able to get the question right next time. I believe that God judges a person in relationship to who the person is and where he is coming from. God does not hold us all equally accountable. That may not be fair, but it is just. By the way, we tend to see things from a point of view of "is it fair?" Fairness says that, if you have a Rand and there are four people, each one gets a quarter. But God acts from the principle of justice. Fairness gives to each person equally. Justice will divide the Rand up among those with the greatest need. Although God uses the same yardstick on all of us, He doesn't hold us all equally accountable. The standard by which a first grader gets A's would, if applied strictly to a person studying for a PhD, be absurd. In the same way, the standard that applies to a PhD candidate would completely crush a first grader. Obedience must be seen from God's point of view. He says, "To him who knows to do good and doesn't do it, to him it is sin." (James 4:17). In other words, a person is held accountable by God according to the light he has. Does this mean ignorance is bliss? Not at all. A child of five can be as implicitly obedient as a youth of 22. But the difference between the two lies in what is expected of each one.