"Conquering Inner Struggles!"
"More than a SURVIVOR" series part 4 of 4
Text: Romans 7:15-25 & Selected
Cross Creek Community Church
Pastor Dave Martin - May 20, 2001
www.crosscreekcc.org
God’s Word is Powerful, Relevant, and Life Changing!
Why do we do the things we do? What causes us to do things we really don’t want to do? Why do I struggle with not doing the things I really want to do? We will often do things we just can’t seem to explain or understand. Why when I do something, I feel good about it and yet when I do something else I feel bad about it? This morning we are going to look at our "inner struggles". Let’s look deep down into our being at our conscience which the Bible translators often translates heart. Conscience is our moral awareness that judges an action either right or wrong. It’s our inborn sense of right and wrong. Where did our conscience come from? How reliable is our conscience? What does God say about our conscience?
Stay with me as we see from God’s Word and paint a picture of the nature of mankind.
Understanding the nature of mankind...
1. God created us a Spiritual being with INNOCENCE.
Genesis 2:7 the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:15-18 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
18The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
Genesis 2:25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
* Innocent - uncorrupted by evil, wrongdoing, sinless. Not guilty of an offense (sin)
* When God created man, he was perfect, sinless, and innocent before God.
* Adam & Eve was naked and felt no shame. Like little children today. Have you ever watched them?
* A sweet innocence with a sense of wonder.
* A perfect environment, perfect bodies, perfect thoughts, actions, motives, in perfect union with their Creator God.
2. Sin brought Spiritual separation with CONSCIENCE.
(OLD NATURE - spiritually dead, sinful, carnal, worldly)
Genesis 3:6-7
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
* A man never outlives his conscience, it stays with you your whole life.
* When Adam and Eve sinned, their "eyes" were opened - they lost their innocence and gained a conscience with a sin nature.
* We see Adam and Eve trying in their own feeble attempt to cover up their sin by sewing fig leaves in verse 7.
* Then hiding from God because they were scared, made excuses, sin separates - in verses 9-10.
* This separation from God continues to this very day.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-
* We can’t even begin to imagine the consequences of sin - just look at society.
* All of nature fell, animals, plant life, but the ultimate was, man died spiritually. His relationship to a Holy God was severed, unrepairable by human effort.
Ephes. 2:1-3 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
* Without Christ, our conscience can give us false readings, induced by events, socially, out of habit, etc.
* The more you do a particular sin the more your conscience is dulled toward God.
Conscience is like a Wheelbarrow - The trouble with the advice, "Follow your conscience" is that most people follow it like someone following a wheelbarrow-they direct it wherever they want it to go, and then follow behind.
God wants us to have a pure conscience - 1Tim 3:9; 2Tim 1:3
1 Tim. 3:9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.
A wounded, weak conscience - 1Co. 8:7,10,12
1 Cor. 8:12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
God says the unsaved has a defiled conscience - Titus 1:15
Titus 1:15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.
* God is more concerned about your inward unseen heart than your external "looking good".
* Verse 16 - abominable, not able to do anything good for God.
An evil conscience - Heb. 10:22
Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Or a seared conscience - 1Tim. 4:2 - Like scar tissue - without feeling.
1 Tim. 4:2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
* Tragic school shootings, senseless killings, blatant in your face attitudes - (seared)
* God speaks of the homosexual & Lesbians as having a seared, without feeling conscience.
* Rom. 1:18-32 - their conscience was darkened, given over to a reprobate mind.
Romans 1:28 Furthermore, since they (homosexuals) did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
Are you experiencing an inner war zone?
If you are Unsaved...
Our Conscience seeking peace, screaming out for forgiveness of sin.
Are you attempting to make sense out of life?
A hunger to know God in a personal way.
Be a conqueror by receiving Christ as your personal Savior!
Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
* Please understand this point - No matter where you presently are - God loves you.
* No matter what you have done in your past - God loves you unconditionally.
* Drug dealer or addict, into pornography, homosexuality, adultery, Jesus came to save sinners!
* There is hope for you and me, we can get a new clean slate - though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be whiter than snow!
3. Be Spiritually reborn in Christ by FAITH.
(NEW NATURE - spiritually alive, justified, righteous)
John 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
* You may be restless in your spirit, seeking direction, peace, new beginning. Laden down with a load of sin.
Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
* Weary of your sin, Christ will give you a new relationship with God, that’s your answer!
Rev. 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
* Won’t you let Jesus come into your heart today?
* You have a heaven to gain and a hell to lose!
I’ll Take the Money When I Go
The old mountaineer had lived a full but not exactly saintly life and now was on his deathbed. He summoned his weeping wife. "Sara," he said, "go to the fireplace and take out the third stone from the top."
She did as instructed.
"Reach in there," said her husband, "and bring out what you find." Her fingers touched a large Mason jar, and with some effort she pulled it up. The jar was full of cash.
"Sara," said the old man, "when I go, I’m going to take all that money with me. I want you to put that jar up in the attic by the window. I’ll get it as I go by on my way to heaven."
His wife followed his instructions. That night the old mountaineer died. After the funeral his wife remembered the Mason jar and went to the attic. There was the jar still full of money and by the window.
"Oh," the widow sighed. "I knew I should have put it in the basement."
If you are Saved...
Our Spiritual battle within, our "old nature" Vs our "new nature".
Doing things you really don’t want to do, not able to gain the victory.
Are you Struggling with being faithful and obedient in your walk?
Be a conqueror by yielding your heart to God’s will, not yours.
Romans 7:15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
4. Be Spiritually YEILDED to Christ in obedience.
Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
* Many people today says, I’m a Christian and yet they never read and study the Bible.
* I’m a Christian and yet hardly ever pray.
* I’m a Christian yet never tell anyone about Christ. Not burdened indifferent attitude.
Too Proud to Yield First
In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia. Hundreds of passengers died as they were hurled into the icy waters below. News of the disaster was further darkened when an investigation revealed the cause of the accident. It wasn’t a technology problem like radar malfunction-or even thick fog. The cause was human stubbornness. Each captain was aware of the other ship’s presence nearby. Both could have steered clear, but according to news reports, neither captain wanted to give way to the other. Each was too proud to yield first. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late.
Closer Walk, December, 1991
* As a Christian, are you yielded to Christ in obedience?
* I’m a Christian and yet attend church only when it’s convenient or nothing better to do.
* I’ll go to church when it fits into my schedule. God wants your total heart yielded to Him.
* Your conscience and the Holy Spirit is convicting you right now. What should I do?
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
* Run to God, get the sin and cobwebs cleaned out of your life.
* God is a faithful God who is able to forgive. Yield your heart to Him.
If you are not saved - I invite you this morning to come to Christ.
John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--
* You need a new relationship with God, which was severed back in the Garden of Eden.
* Our conscience helps to bring us to God. You know what I am saying is true.
The Devil’s Strategy
The devil and his cohorts were devising plans to get people to reject the Gospel. "Let’s go to them and say there is no God," proposed one. Silence prevailed. Every devil knew that most people believe in a supreme being. "Let’s tell them there is no hell, no future punishment for the wicked," offered another. That was turned down, because men obviously have consciences which tell them that sin must be punished. The planning was going to end in failure when there came a voice from the rear: "Tell them there is a God, there is a hell and that the Bible is the Word of God. But tell them there is plenty of time to decide the question. Let them ’neglect’ the Gospel, until it is too late." All hell erupted with ghoulish glee, for they knew that if a person procrastinated on Christ, they usually never accept Him. Resource, July/August, 1990
* God loves you, He sent His Son Jesus to die a sacrificial death for you, He was buried and arose from the dead. That’s the good news of salvation.
* Now it’s up to you - a choice of what will you do with Jesus. Accept Him or reject Him.
* You need to be saved, settle this most important question today.
Let’s pray
Why just survive? Be a Conqueror in Christ...
Conquering your Inner Struggles! Romans 8:35-39
