Series: Lies Satan Tells 6/05/05a RRC
#3 GOD CANNOT BE TRUSTED ...
TO HELP ME WITH MY PROBLEMS
2 Peter 1:2-3; Ephesians 3:20; 2 Cor. 12:9
God’s word is absolutely filled with promises that He had made to his people. Our focal passages today are promises that will absolutely transform your life if you choose to believe them...
(2 Peter 1:2-4) Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
NIV (2 Peter 1:3) His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
(Eph 3:20) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
(2 Cor 12:9) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Do we really believe these promises?....before you answer me...I want to ask you another question.....Then why don’t we live like we do? When I look around at the condition of the church today I can’t see that we are much different than the Israelites in Isaiah’s time.
Although God had promised Israel time, time and time again that He would never forsake them....they simply chose not to believe that God would keep his promises. Instead, they went looking for help elsewhere when trouble showed up at their house.
(Isa 31:1-3) Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD! 2 Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. 3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.
1) Satan undermines the promises of God by the deception that God cannot be trusted to help me with my problems
a. The People of Israel had REAL problems
b. They Chose to Deal with their problems in the Wrong Way
God’s People Believed that God could not help them
faced with the threat of the Assyrians God’s People Sought Help from the World rather than God
sought out Egypt (picture of the world)
2) When people believe Satan’s deception, then they turn to the world to look for alternative sources of help with their problems
a. Moral Alternatives...
Manipulation
Dishonesty/Deception
b. Substance Alternatives
Alcohol
Illegal Narcotics
3) The world prescribes chemicals as an effective solution to man’s problems.
Satan is slick, slick, slick. If I were having a problem and someone came to me and handed me a fifth of liquor or a case of beer and told me this would help my problem I would send them down the road. Or if he handed me a joint I would kick him out of my house.
But what if, it was a professional, a doctor if you please and he handed me a prescription? That might make a little difference.
We take chemicals....
To help us
lose weight and to help us Gain weight
Go to sleep and to help us Stay awake
Give us energy and to help us Slow us down
4) The Use of Chemicals/Substances is appealing to the Natural Man as it
a. Provides a “Quick Fix”
- we want something that is going to make us feel better right now
b. Provides an “Easy Way Out”
c. Redefines the Problem in Less Threatening Terms
redefines sin as a disease, genetic disorder
d. Takes the Pain Away for a Time
we live in a world that tells us that we are not suppose to have pain
pain is natural and it can be helpful
Paul concerning his thorn
(2 Cor 12:9-10) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
e. Meets Societal Approval and Encouragement
5) The Use of Chemicals/Substances is dangerous to the Spiritual Man as it
a. Skirts the Real Issues
Addresses the symptoms rather than the problems
Pain is the alarm that warns us of a problem
depression is not the problem, but a symptom of a deeper problem
anxiety is not the problem, but symptom
stress is not the problem
b. Opens the Door for Dependency
- Chemical Dependency
- Psychological Dependency
c. Undermines the Walk of Faith
(2 Cor 5:7) For we walk by faith, not by sight:
(Heb 11:6) But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
d. Promotes Spiritual Idolatry
anything one places trust in more than God is an idol
e. Destroys Spiritual Growth
CONCLUSION
Song: Drugs or Jesus (chorus), recorded by Tim McGraw
Everybody just wants to get high
Sit and watch a perfect world go by
We’re all lookin’ for love and meaning to our lives
We follow the roads that lead us
to drugs or Jesus
