3 BATTLES YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO LOSE
1 Tim. 4:16
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Jason’s an 18 year old known for his addiction to video games and his total lack of study, so when his graduation day arrived, his grandfather felt these traits needed a little correction.
2. So when the family gathered to give Jason presents, he was given a book “How to Succeed in U.S. Business,” a set of tomes, “The Greatest Writings of All Time,” and a copy of the Bible.
3. His grandfather then stood to make a speech, "My dear Jason. You have received today a number of treasures that will enlarge your mental capacities and make you a success in life. Use them well!”
4. Then the grandfather pulled out an umbrella, "I also present you with this umbrella because I want to give you at least one thing that I’m certain you will open!"
B. BATTLES OF LIFE
1. Many things in Life are Negotiable. It doesn't make a lot of difference which way they go (kind of car, house, soap, etc.).
2. But there are some things which are vitally important:
-- Our freedom
-- Our family
-- Our faith
-- What we're going to eat for lunch- No!
3. It's the same in the Spiritual Realm. There are many things that won't affect your overall spiritual well-being. But there are some that will.
C. TEXT & THESIS
1. “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” 1 Tim. 4:16.
2. In all the Battles of Life, there are some battles we can afford to lose, others we cannot.
3. I want to speak to you this morning about "3 Battles You Can't Afford To Lose."
I. THE BATTLE OVER BITTERNESS
“…looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” Heb. 12:15.
A. IDENTIFYING A ‘ROOT OF BITTERNESS’
1. Define: ‘Bitterness’ -- "The state or quality of being bitter, severity of temper, biting sarcasm, painful affliction, deep distress of mind."
2. Occurs when a person feels he/she has:
a. Been wronged by someone;
b. Suffered a great injustice;
c. Is deeply hurt by the circumstances of life.
3. It’s the cumulative effect of continuing to dwell on an offense.
4. Jewish proverb: "A Jewish wife will forgive and forget, but she'll never forget what she forgave."
B. POWER OF ROOTS
1. Bitterness begins as a "root" -- very small, but grows into a tree!
2. Power of Roots – they can bust concrete, upset buildings, bend steel, invade pipes.
3. Bitterness shapes you. It's not just a sin, but an infection, making you bad tempered toward everybody and everything, (& not just the person intended).
C. ITS EFFECT ON YOU
1. Is it helping you to dwell on the offense? Is it improving your life?
2. If we're bitter toward another person, is our bitterness really hurting them or us?
3. Bitterness is like one person drinking poison and expecting the other person to die of it.
4. Bitterness will drag you down; it can even drag you down to hell.
5. Cain developed a root of bitterness because his offering wasn’t accepted. Resentment became hatred and hatred became murder.
D. RESOLVING BITTERNESS (3 things to do:)
1. Don't keep re-opening the old wounds; meditating on the wrongs only makes wounds worse.
2. Confess it. Ask forgiveness of God and healing from Jesus for it.
3. Let it go; bury it in an unmarked grave. Forgive them just as God forgave you.
4. Illustration.
a. In the 1800s, land armies used to lug large numbers of cannonballs around with them just in case they met the enemy in an unusual place.
b. 99% of the time, the cannonballs were an unnecessary burden that they should’ve never had to bear. Same with us!
5. Do like God, who throws our sins into the midst of the sea and puts up a sign which says, "No Fishing!"
II. THE BATTLE OVER THE AWE OF GOD
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. Ps. 33:6-9.
A. WHY IS OUR ‘AWE OF GOD’ SO IMPORTANT?
1. IF WE LOSE OUR AWE OR OUR WONDER OF GOD, WE LOSE:
a. Our respect, and reverential fear of God;
b. Our freshness;
c. The reality of spiritual things and of the Word of God.
2. Define ‘Awe’ -- "Fear mingled with admiration or reverence; a feeling produced by something majestic or sublime."
“Wonder” -- "feeling of surprise, admiration, and awe excited by something unusual, strange, great, extraordinary or not well understood.
3. Awe is often translated as fear. Fear is the negative side of Awe (which is the positive side). Fear of the Lord will:
a. Prolong your days, Proverbs 10:27;
b. Cause God to put His angels around you, Ps. 34:7;
c. God will deliver you from death and famine, Ps. 33:18-19;
d. It’s a key to friendship with God; “Friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear him!" (Ps. 25:14; NKJV).
4. Remember back to when you were first saved, how excited you were? How special it was to know God and to be saved? We must keep that!
B. DAVID – LOST HIS AWE, BUT GOT IT BACK
1. One day David was Eyeball to Eyeball with Prophet Nathan, who was saying, "You are the man!" HORROR came over him as God's judgment loomed over him. But it hadn't always been like this.
2. As a boy, David loved God. David sang to God on Bethlehem's hills. He wrote many songs to God -- the book of Psalms. David had the Spirit come on him.
3. But somewhere, David lost his Awe of God, lost his Wonder of God, lost his Reverential fear. The fires of his love grew cold, and this coldness ended in lust, adultery, and murder.
4. But he got it back -- God chastened him. Hallelujah!
C. DON’T LOSE YOUR AWE OF GOD
1. Pray for a good fear of God (which draws you closer).
2. Meditate on His Mighty Works & Nature.
3. Treat all spiritual things with great respect.
III. THE BATTLE OVER PRIDE
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” Prov. 16:18.
A. HUMOR
Actor Tom Selleck said, "Whenever I get full of myself, I remember that nice couple who approached me with a camera on the street in Honolulu one day. When I struck a pose for them, the man said, "No, no, we want you to take a picture of us!"
B. HOW BAD IS PRIDE? Bad enough that it:
1. Caused the fall of the Arch-Angel Lucifer (Isa. 14:12);
2. It destroyed Pharaoh of Egypt (Ex. 5:2);
3. It caused King Uzziah to get leprosy (2 Chr. 26:16);
4. It made Nebuchadnezzar lose his mind seven years (Daniel 4:30ff);
5. It made Paul have a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7).
C. 3 POINTS OF PRIDE
1. It makes us think we're better than others because of our skills, wealth, beauty, intelligence, attainments, etc. What do any of us have that wasn't given to us by God?
2. Pride promotes strife; "Only by pride comes contention" Prov. 13:10. This means that:
a. There's never been a war, a divorce, an argument, a church split but that pride was a major factor!
b. Problems are not too big, but pride is too big to solve the problems.
c. 2 Egocentric people, ruling their own lives, get married. You have 2 kingdoms living under one roof. It's a house divided against itself & cannot stand -- divorce.
d. But, if Christ is put on the throne of each life, then there's one King and one kingdom and suddenly the problems can be worked out.
e. The Devil would rather start a church fuss than sell a barrel of whiskey any time!
3. PRIDE SAYS -- "I know more even than God and the Bible." WHEN…
a. God wants to treat us with the prescription of the Word, Pride doesn't want to be told what to do.
b. God wants to bring us out of dark closets, Pride says, "My secrets are nobody’s business."
c. God wants to help us with our problems, Pride denies there is a problem.
d. God wants to set us free, pride thinks we’re free enough.
D. PRIDE KILLS
1. PRIDE KILLS.
a. Union General John Sedgwick was inspecting his troops. He got to a parapet in a stockade, and gazed towards the Confederate Army.
b. His officers suggested he should duck when passing the parapet. He snapped, “Nonsense! They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist…”
c. A moment later, he fell to the ground fatally wounded.
2. INSTEAD, FIND A REASON TO BE GRATEFUL. A man needed his pants ironed. His wife, as she ironed the pants for him, burned the pants. Her husband started to say something smart-alec but stopped. He looked up and said, "Lord, thank you that my leg wasn't in those pants!"
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION. Don’t you really need God to help you?
1. The actor, Charles Dutton was the main character of the TV show Roc. Before Mr. Dutton became a famous actor, he was a prisoner.
2. One day, he was being interviewed by a reporter who asked him why he never became a repeat offender. "Why didn't you keep committing additional crimes like so many other men who have ended up back in prison?"
3. He said, "Unlike other prisoners, I never decorated my cell." In other words, I never made my prison cell by home.
4. Many people are not in a physical prison, but in a spiritual one. And they've decorated the cell there in, resigned to stay there indefinitely.
5. But Jesus has come that we might be free; Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord…has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free” Lk. 4:18.
6. You don’t have to stay in prison; Jesus came to set you free.
B. THE CALL
1. If you're battling/facing a battle in one of these areas, raise your hand.
2. If you need Jesus to come into your life for the first time, or because He hasn't been there for a long time, raise your hand.
3. All come to the altars.
