Commit Yourselves to Growing Spiritually, Part 2

So good to have you with us tonight. We're in it for exciting times. You look at God's Word together Let's bow for a moment of prayer.

Father. Thank you Lord for today You are a great God and we are so blessed to be able to gather together to study your word in the middle of the week And our prayer father is that you'd open our hearts and minds to to be able to behold the beauty of your name Our prayer father is that Lord you'd make our ears receptive to your truth and that father whatever distractions that Came our way today and on our way in this evening We pray that you'd erase those from our minds that Lord We'd be able to think clearly and be able to operate in a way that honors and glorifies your precious name Until you come again, as you know, surely will in Jesus name.

Amen We're gonna pick up where we left off last week on our third point of our outline when it comes to Understanding how to to build a biblical marriage that honors and glorifies the Lord and that third point was that you need to commit yourself to growing spiritually Your growth spiritually is important to every relationship you encounter Especially when it comes to your marriage Because you want to be able to portray Christ to whoever you come in contact with That's absolutely essential, but growth doesn't happen Immediately it takes time It's like your children, you know when you give birth to your kids, none of my children ran out of the womb They were pulled out of the womb, right?

None of them welcomed me with open arms saying hey dad great to see you. Why because they couldn't speak So we had to to train them over time We had to train them on how to eat so they could begin to eat by themselves how to walk First of all how to stand then how to walk then then how to run and it takes time for for children to be able to progress Spiritually, they don't just come out of the womb ready to drive a car and go off to college No, it takes time to get there.

Well, the same thing is true spiritually in the in the spiritual realm It takes it takes time for us to get to where we need to be But we need to be diligent in getting there And so we wanted you to understand that as Peter says in 2nd Peter 3 18 We're going to grow keep growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord In other words our God is a God of grace and as we study his word We begin to understand more about the the grace that saves us the grace that sustains us the grace that secures us The grace that is is all sufficient toward us to help us to every situation And so as we begin to grow we begin to understand more about God's wonderful grace the person and character and nature of God And we're to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ it just takes time to do that And so the Bible says in Acts chapter 20 verse number 32 these words Acts 20 verse number 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace Which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified Paul tells the Ephesian elders right before he departs.

He says look I'm going to commend you to God the word of his grace because that's what builds you That's what strengthens you the word of God's grace is going to build you up And it's going to give you an inheritance that you will begin to understand with all those Who are like of like precious faith those who are saints, and that's where we said your growth begins it begins with with an Eternal or divine inheritance Everything begins with a divine inheritance at this point is so precious you need to understand this remember We took you to first Peter chapter 1 Last week where Peter says blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead?

to obtain an Inheritance, which is imperishable and undefiled and will be not fade away reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for Salvation ready to be revealed in the last time to unpack all that is just is just enormous But Peter saying you've obtained an inheritance. What's the inheritance the inheritance is eternal life? We know that we know that because that's what the Bible tells us We realize that our God is a God of life, and he gives us his life. You know what an inheritance is It's something that's passed down freely from one generation to the next generation It's a gift that is passed down.

You don't earn it It's just passed down to you and our Lord has given this great gift Romans 6 23 We know that the wages in his death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord That's what I Paul would say it in the sync with these 915 Thanks be unto God for his indescribable gift and what's the gift the gift is eternal life and Christ says I didn't come just to give you life.

I came to give you an abundant life I came to give you give you the greatest of all lives And so when Paul would begin to preach the Bible tells us in Acts chapter 26 these words Acts 26 verse number 17 When he talks about what God has did for him in terms of his responsibilities as an Apostle He says I was called to open the eyes So that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an Inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in me The inheritance is the life that God himself gives to us because of his great provision of grace in fact over in Colossians chapter 3 verse number 24 Paul says knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.

It is the Lord Christ whom you serve In other words everything about life begins with the divine inheritance Why because if you're gonna grow you have to have life and God gives life But listen, that's not the best part Think about this with me. If you go back to the Old Testament to the book of Joshua You realize that the nation of Israel in Peters writing to Jewish people, right? So the Jewish people would know about this and so if you go back to the book of Joshua Joshua was to a lot portions of the land of Canaan to the different tribes in Israel And they would go in and they would obtain that land because that was their inheritance.

It was the land But as you recall, there's one tribe That did not receive any portion of the land and That was a tribe of Levi So when you go all the way back to the book of Joshua chapter 13, it says this in verse number 33 but to the tribe of Levi Moses did not give an inheritance Why? tells us the Lord the God of Israel is their Inheritance, isn't that great? He didn't give the tribe of Levi an inheritance a portion of land Why because the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance. In other words the tribe of Levi was the priestly tribe and The priestly tribe had to know God and walk with God and live for God and had to represent The people to God and God to the people So God says I'm not giving you a portion of land why I'm giving you Me you have me.

That's your inheritance Now listen you go to the New Testament we are called a priestly nation We are a chosen generation for spiritual night. We are a royal priesthood, right? Revelation 1 6 says that we are a kingdom of priests and as priests what is our inheritance? It's the life that God gives and what's the life that God gives? It's his life. He says to us. I am your Inheritance, what better inheritance can there possibly ever be than the Lord Jesus Christ himself? And so as it was with the tribe of Levi So it is with people like you and me who are priests in God's kingdom.

We have God's life Remember what God said to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15? He said these words He says after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying do not fear Abram I am a shield to you. I am your very great reward Abraham listen you need to know something no matter what happens To your son no matter what happens to the land know that no matter what happens to your people I Am your reward? I am your everything Abraham you see that's what God does when he grants us a divine inheritance We inherit God the God who is the God of life.

We inherit his life and Peter is writing to people that were Persecuted and suffering for the for the name of Christ and Peter wants them to understand listen you have obtained a divine inheritance a Heavenly one goes way beyond the physical inheritance your forefathers received you received the life of God Himself, this is your inheritance. This is your Blessing and the Bible tells us the first Corinthians 2 9 that I has not seen nor has he heard Nor is it into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him It has given us this Holy Spirit first.

Excuse me Ephesians chapter 1 verse number 11 as a down payment for that inheritance he's given us his spirit and Therefore because he's given us his spirit. He's given us the divine comforter because that's who the Holy Spirit is He's given us peace because the Holy Spirit is the God of peace He's given us life because the Spirit of God is is life He gives us direction and guidance because the Spirit of God guides us into all truth Our Lord has given us everything that we need simply because we have been recipients of the eternal gift of life granted to us by God And so everything about your spiritual growth begins with the divine inheritance That's where it all begins It begins with the fact that you have life and because you have life you can grow if you don't have life You can't grow but if you have life You're growing.

At least you should be growing, right? But that would be that which begins with the divine inheritance number two.

We covered this last week is balanced by a disciplined obedience In other words, we are working on our salvation Philippians 2 12 and 13 We're working out our salvation with fear and trembling knowing that it's God who is at work in you both the will is due his good Pleasure God's at work in you and me, but there's a discipline that's there second Timothy 1 7.

What does God say? I've not given you a spirit of fear. I've never given you a spirit of timidity, but I've given you a spirit of love power and of Discipline That's a spirit God gives us for someone to say, you know what I just lack discipline in that area that that's a problem with Your relationship with the Lord God of Israel. It's it's it's you're not Understanding the spirit of discipline that resides within you God has not given us a spirit of timidity a spirit of fear He's given us a spirit of power and of love and of self discipline So he could say in first Timothy 4 7 and 8 6 and 7, excuse me He says discipline yourself unto godliness Why because bodily exercise profits little but?

exercising yourself to godliness profits for eternity But there needs to be a discipline in our lives where we are working hard and living the life God wants us to live. We just don't wake up one day and grow spiritually. No, we have to be in the words So we told you about some of those spiritual disciplines. So the first one was a spirit or the discipline of supplication I'm not I'm sorry the the discipline of Scripture.

That's number one Why because without the discipline of Scripture, we can't grow spiritually We need to be in the word day and night always meditating always memorizing God's Word and I got the best tool for you I got the greatest opportunity for you This is the best way for you to exercise discipline in your spiritual walk on Sunday We're gonna advertise for you the book.

I promised you in January the Christ of Christmas and This is gonna be your opportunity to not only get this book, but the discipline yourself when it comes to the scriptures Why because for 25 days in the month of December we as a church are going to go through this and you? Have an opportunity to go through 25 different prophecies to understand the coming of the Messiah And there's a Old Testament verse the prophecy foretold There's a New Testament verse the promise the promise of the prophecy fulfilled And all you have to do is begin to understand what God is doing And so you're gonna study the Word of God.

You're gonna hear the Word of God You're gonna listen to the Word of God. You're gonna share it with your children You're gonna share it with your wife and have the opportunity to go in depth to understand who is this Messiah? Why because you have to believe that Jesus is the Messiah in order to be saved right John 20 30 and 31 these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah and That believing in him you have life in his name You can't become a Christian unless you understand that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel So we give you the opportunity you'll have 50 verses 50 references one Old Testament reference one New Testament reference that the book is filled with all kinds of scripture But you're gonna have two references to understand so you'll have 50 References on those 25 days that you can go through with your children teach them to your children that you can meditate upon that you can Memorize because you want to saturate yourself with the scriptures And this becomes the perfect tool for you to use in the month of December before that you're gonna you're on your own, right?

You're gonna have to be in the word on your own now You can look at it in advance as you are able to to get your copy of the book But to understand this this is an opportunity that God's gonna give you to be in the Word of God It's a discipline.

It's not easy. You know as hard as well as I do It's hard to be in the word every day But you know what? That's what God's called us to do why as newborn babes as I the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby Unless we hide God's Word in our heart treasure it in our heart We will sin against the Lord, but if we treasure it there, we won't sin against the Lord It's imperative that you be in the Word of God. It's a discipline It's not easy and knowing the discipline of scripture, but the discipline of supplication You got to be on your knees and think about how hard it is just to get up every morning for those of you involved In our purging to get up and pray every day 15 minutes just for the families of our church It's a lot of work, but it's a discipline And it doesn't come easy But you know what there are great rewards and discipline It's like when you want to lose weight and you go to the gym, right?

It doesn't come easy. You're not losing 10 pounds in one day. Nobody does that It takes time, but if you stick with it and you discipline yourself, you'll see you'll see there the the results You'll reap the benefits The same is true with the Word of God the same is true with prayer being on your knees every day So important that which began with the divine inheritance is balanced with the discipline obedience discipline of scripture supplication silence solitude self-denial self-scrutiny Surrender service and the list goes on and on and the Bible's filled with all kinds of spiritual disciplines that we need to be engaged In now, I know I'm going through this rather quickly in 1997 I did a series called invitation to intimacy How to be intimate with the master how to walk hand-in-hand with the master It took me 22 weeks to get through that series and what I'm covering with you last week in tonight are What took me 22 weeks to cover back in?

1997 if I if I did it today, it'd probably take me 42 weeks But it took me 22 weeks way back when so you can go back and you can listen to those online You can study those on your own, but they give you a more in-depth detail on the discipline of scripture What does that look like the discipline of silence and solitude and self scrutiny? What does that look like? How does that happen every single day in my life? But you know what that which began with a divine inheritance is balanced with the disciplined obedience Now we're ready for point number three.

That's this it blossoms in a desert experience Your spiritual growth is going to blossom in a desert Experience There's times where your spiritual life becomes Ho-hum the doldrums You kind of get stuck in a rut Right, and there's nothing wrong with that because you need to work through those things. It's a daily grind of discipline But there's something about the desert experience. There's something about the dry place. There's something about the place of isolation There's something about the place of difficulty.

There's something about the place of tragedy There's something about the place of loneliness that does something for you that nothing else can Someone said this way in Psalm 119 He said this before I was afflicted. I went astray But now I keep your word someone 1967 before I was afflicted I Went astray But now I keep your word If you read through Psalm 119 the psalmist speaks about his love for the Word of God His passion for the truth of God His submission to the ordinances of God But he makes it very clear that Before his affliction he did his own thing.

He did what he wanted Acted as he wanted to act But now he keeps the Word of God There is something about affliction there was something about that desert experience That drives you to the truth of God's Word He would go on and say this Verse 71 it is good for me that I was afflicted that I may learn your statutes It was good that I was afflicted because I need to learn your statutes in other words I wasn't learning your statutes When I wasn't afflicted But now that I am afflicted now, I'm learning everything.

I need to know about who you are in what you have said There's something about affliction There's something about isolation There's something about the dry place the desert experience that drives you to the scriptures that nothing else does I Wish it worked another way It doesn't in the scriptures makes it very clear. In fact, he goes on to say this verse 76 I'm sorry verse 75. I know O Lord that your judgments are right righteous and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me Oh may your loving-kindness Comfort me according to your word to your servant.

I know Lord that in your faithfulness You afflicted me Now Lord, I need you to revive me and comfort me according to your word He would go on to say in verse number 92 if your law had not been my delight Then I would have perished in my affliction If your law had not been my delight and missed my affliction I would have perished he goes on to say in verse number 107 I am exceedingly afflicted Revive me O Lord according to your word There is something about affliction There's something about Tragedy, there's something about difficulty.

There's something about hardship and pain Isolation that drives me to the Word of God because that where else does the believer go? There's no place else to go And so you're driven to the truth you're driven to the Lord to understand who he is and what he's done and You know the perfect illustration of this The perfect illustration is Job Remember what God's testimony was of Job? God said that Job was the greatest man on the planet I'm not sure that God would say that About any one of us in the room But about Job he did Greatest man on the planet.

He was one who? Was upright blameless feared God and turned away from evil Those were God's words about Job He was a God-fearing man. He was a blameless man. He was an upright man And he kept turning away from evil that's what happened to him and yet He suffered severe affliction Severe why? Because no matter how upright how blameless how God-fearing you are how much you turn away from evil. Let me tell you something There's something that moves you to grow faster deeper and better when affliction comes your way if Job Needed affliction to drive him to his God how much more so do we?

Need that desert experience to drive us to the Word of God So Job would say these words Job would say in Job chapter 23 verse number 10, but he knows the way that I take when he's tried me I shall come forth as gold. My foot is held fast to his path. I have kept his way and not turned aside I have not departed from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food But he is unique and who can turn him and what his soul desires that he does For he performs what is appointed for me and many such decrees are with him Therefore I would be dismayed at his presence when I consider him.

I am terrified of him It is God who has made my heart faint and the Almighty who has dismayed me But I am not in silence by the darkness nor deep gloom which covers me Job says something Astronomical as he knows that God is true and he is in his faithfulness Afflicted him and everything happening to him Has come about because of God But he's not there yet So when you come all the way to the end of the book of Job Job 42 Job answers the Lord remember God never gave Job what an explanation he only gave Job a revelation God never explained to Job Job.

This is what happened Let me explain to you how Satan came to present himself before me one day We had this conversation and I offered you up to Satan.

I Let Satan have his way with you, but he couldn't kill you Job you lost everything because I gave Satan the opportunity To test you to try you to afflict you and he did Now we know that because we read the book Job didn't know that Job never knew that he was never explained why But he was told who and God Began to reveal himself to Job as he spoke to Job And this is Job's response in chapter 42 I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. I know that now Lord you can do anything you want and whatever your purpose is it cannot be thwarted Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge therefore I declared that which I did not understand things too wonderful for me Which I did not know All God did was reveal the power and purpose of his existence before Job all he did revealed to him the greatness of his creation and all that he's done and Job says here now and I will speak I will ask you and you instruct me I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes See you therefore I retract and I repent in dust and ashes Job readily admits that even though he was blameless God fearing upright turned away from evil He said I've only heard of you with the hearing of my ear, but now finally I have seen you When did Job ever see God?

Answer he never saw him with the physical eye So how did he see him? He saw him with a spiritual eye Why because God revealed himself to him through the speaking of his words God revealed himself to Job through the words that he gave him and Job was able to see his God simply by hearing his God speak So the Bible says in Matthew 5 verse number 8 Blessed are the pure at heart for they shall see God Yes, you're gonna see God in eternity But there's something about the spiritual eye that allows you to see God In fact, the Lord said this way in John chapter 14 verse number 21 He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me and he Who loves me will be loved by my father and I will love him and I will Disclose myself to him.

I will manifest myself To him How does God manifest himself to you and me We know the answer The answer is found in first Corinthians chapter 3 verse number 18 We all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being Transformed into the same image from glory to glory Just as from the Lord the Spirit in other words when we open the perfect law of Liberty When we open the Word of God, it's like a mirror and in the perfect law of Liberty I see the glory of the Lord and when I see the glory of the Lord, I am being changed I'm being transformed from one level of glory to the next level of glory even asked by the Spirit of God And so it's the Word of God that reveals God to us That's why the disciplines are so important in the discipline of Scripture but your growth blossoms in a desert experience Maybe you're going through that right now.

I Have no idea Maybe you're going through a turmoil right now in your life. That's turning your insides Outside and all of a sudden your life's a mess You got to ask the Lord Lord Whatever you're doing. I need you to reveal yourself to me That before this affliction I did whatever I wanted to do But drive me to your word to keep your word to understand your word because through that I begin to understand you you see Christ is seldom a Reality until he first of all becomes a necessity Why is it we don't experience the reality of God in our lives every day Because we live as if we don't need him Christ is seldom a reality until he first of all becomes a necessity and What a suffering do it burns out?

shallowness That's what it does Brokenness and suffering burn out the shallowness of our lives And God knows that That's why the Hebrews 12 verses 5 to 11. It speaks about how a father disciplines his child. So the father Disciplines us right that we might bring forth the peaceful fruit of righteousness That's why in James chapter 1 verses 2 to 4 It talks about counting it all joy brethren when you fall into various trials knowing that the trying of your faith produces patience Right and don't you know that in John chapter 15?

There's that whole process the pruning process of the vine that the father's involved in He's the vine dresser. We're the vine and the pruning process is a painful process But in there he says in John 15, I want you to bear much fruit not just fruit I want you to bear a lot of fruit and the only way you're gonna bear a lot of fruit is for me to prune Away, all those things that are distraction to your walk with the Lord all those things that hinder you from keeping Close to me. I'm gonna strip all those things away That you might learn to walk in a way that honors and glorifies me This is so important We need to grow spiritually why?

Why because in my marriage I am representing God to my wife My wife is representing Christ to me That's what makes the relationship pure and true and holy That's what makes it so good But when I stop doing that, I can't paint an accurate picture of Christ's relationship to the church And so the Lord will stop at nothing to make me holy the Bible says be holy for the Lord your God is holy first Peter 1 15 and 16 Matthew 5 48 says be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect And so how does that happen?

Yes, I'm in the scriptures. Yes. I'm on my knees. Yes. I'm by myself in my room in prayer Yes, I'm examining my life, but there's something that that propels me into the depth of the riches of Christ And that's the tragedies I go through the difficulties that I face the pruning process That Christ puts me through Though I might come out the other side like gold and Job If the greatest man on the planet had to go through what he did If the most upright God-fearing man who turned away from evil Who was blameless had to go through what he did to see God?

What must we need to go through in order for us to see the true living God? That's so important that doesn't mean that You're gonna be stricken with cancer tomorrow or doesn't mean you're gonna be in a car accident or your family's gonna die or all that It could involve that it could I'm not gonna tell you that it's not going through I don't know But every one of us goes through stages in our lives where we face the difficulties and the hardships of life every one of us does and They're not easy But they drive us to our knees they drive us to the Word of God Like Joe like Joseph Like the Apostle Paul Like Moses he experienced his desert his lasted 40 years 40 years.

He was on the backside of a desert And when he came out he came out a different man than when he went in Because God had to refine him God had to break him from his self-reliance He had to break him from his independent spirit. He had to break him from his self-sufficiency To make him totally dependent upon God himself Because 40 years earlier. He thought he could pull off the exorcist After all, he was Nixon line to be the Pharaoh After all, he was raised in the finest school system of the day the Egyptian educational system He was raised in immense wealth But none of that made him fit to lead the people of Israel out of bondage He'd be humbled broken All of that shallowness in his life Had to be shattered It took God 40 years To do that in the life of Moses And when he comes out of the desert at the age of 80 He was a brand new man Because now he was walking with God and that man became Israel's greatest leader But God had to break him first Why?

Because his growth like yours and mine blossoms in a desert experience Because it drives us to the truth that drives us to our knees that we might grow in our walk with the Lord so If my growth begins with the divine inheritance balanced by a disciplined obedience blossoms in a desert experience Ready for this it will be battled with a diabolical vengeance It will be It will be a war Why Because Satan doesn't want you to walk with God Satan doesn't want you to represent God effectively Satan doesn't want your marriage to work.

Do you know? There are only four chapters in the Bible where Satan is not present Did you know that Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 Revelation 21 and Revelation 22 in Genesis 1 and 2. What do you have paradise? In Genesis 21 22, what do you have the eternal state paradise? But in between those four chapters Satan is everywhere Why because he's the prince in the power of the air He's the ruler of this world He will stop at nothing to destroy your testimony He will stop at nothing to destroy your marriage destroy your church destroy your family compromise Everything you stand for when you begin to grow spiritually Your spiritual growth will be battled beyond anything you can ever imagine You're engaged in warfare every single Day And that's why the Bible says These words if you go back to 1st Peter chapter 5 It talks about verse 6 humble yourself Therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in the proper time.

Why do you do that? Remember the mighty hand of God is is a phrase used in the Old Testament when it comes to the destiny of Israel speaking specifically of Israel's discipline as well as Israel's Deliverance, they were delivered by a mighty hand. They were disciplined by a mighty hand All because God's mighty hand was controlling their destiny Peter picks up on an Old Testament phrase and says you need to submit yourself to God's Mighty hand of destiny in your life when it comes to your deliverance when it comes to you your discipline Submit yourself to God's mighty hand of discipline and deliverance That he may exalt you at the proper time God will exalt you at the proper time And then he says this casting all your anxiety on him because he cares for you Then he says down in verse number 10 after you have suffered for a little while the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself perfect confirm strengthen and establish you Makes it very clear that after you suffered for a little while you'll be established.

You'll be made firm You'll be solid, but you won't be unless you suffer why because everything blossoms in a desert experience But in between there verse 6 in verse 10 He lets you know That as you submit yourself to God's mighty hand the destiny and you begin to grow spiritually You are facing an incredible battle So he says in verse number 8 be of sober spirit Be on the alert your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour But resist him firm in your faith knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world He says listen you your life is going to be battled immensely They're what Paul says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 He says I am afraid that as a serpent deceived Eve verse number 3 by his craftiness Your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ I'm concerned That as the serpent deceived Eve because he's a master deceiver As he deceived Eve he'll deceive you And lead you away from the purity and the simplicity of devotion that you have for the Lord He says earlier in 2nd Corinthians 11 verse number 10 He says but one whom you Forgive anything I forgive also for indeed.

I have forgiven if I have forgiven anything I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ said no advantage be taken of us by Satan For we are not ignorant of his schemes He's talking to him about how this this son had committed incest in his family with his mother and That there was sin rampant in the church and that you needed to to discipline him. That's in 1st Corinthians So evidently they disciplined him. He'd come back and ask for forgiveness He says this one I've forgiven you need to forgive him because if you don't forgive him We are not ignorant of Satan's schemes We're not ignorant of Satan's Devices we know how Satan operates if you don't forgive him Watch out for bitterness Watch out for vengeance What's out for smoldering resentment watch out For anger because we're not ignorant of how Satan operates Paul knew firsthand how Satan could deceive How Satan could cause you to doubt How Satan does everything he can to destroy Everything that God does And when Satan shows up in Genesis chapter 3 He wants to destroy marriage Because that was God's design It's God's institution and So he did all he could to destroy it So Paul says Ephesians 6 verse number 10 finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might Put on the full armor of God said you will be able to stand firm against the schemes the devil For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers and against the powers against the world forces of this darkness Against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places Paul knew the struggle.

He knew there was a warfare going on Why because Satan is at war with God in the battlefield Is man That's how it works ask Job Right God now Satan's at war with God If he can destroy Job's testimony if he can ruin Job's life He can bring down the credibility of God, but he can't Says God preserved that man watched over that man protected that man Even though he went through severe affliction But you and I Your marriage my marriage your family my family your friends my friends That's the battlefield And Satan is doing everything he can to destroy What God?

Does In a few weeks, we'll we're coming up on Halloween Isn't it interesting the number of children that dress up like devils Some of them maybe are devils. I I don't know but they dress up like devils Yeah, that's one of Satan's ploys To get us to think lightly about the reality of Satan. He does that very effectively Everyone says over in in Second Corinthians 10 which says our weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God Casting down imaginations in every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ Spiritual warfare is a battle for your mind all the the the the worldly ideologies that permeate our homes through social media through television through The Internet all kinds of ways Satan uses those to to dumb down our spiritual senses So we're not aware of the things around us that are wrong To get us to think lightly about sin and the consequences of sin.

Oh Satan's devices are masterful But remember Satan is not omniscient He doesn't know what you're thinking He's not omnipresent He can't be everywhere at one place And he doesn't talk to you Some people think Satan talks to them. No, he doesn't First of all, you're not that high up in the totem pole for Satan to be talking to you.

Okay Satan doesn't talk to you But the Bible says right Love not the world Neither the things that are in the world the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes a part of life Why there of the world?

and Satan's the ruler of the world and The Lord has allowed him to run amok for a while And Satan will use everything in the world. He can at his disposal. Listen.

He can't read your mind, but he's well Astute to the way man functions He knows how you function Why he has lots of years of experience of watching So he knows what kind of temptations to put your way and Satan can use anyone Satan use Peter in the life of Christ When Christ would talk about going to the cross and Peter said no, no, no, no You don't heaven. You don't know what you're doing You're not gonna die on the cross and Jesus said get behind me Peter. Nope He said get behind me Satan Why? Because Peter had allowed his mind to think Rationally instead of thinking theologically He can only think about what was best for him.

Not what was best for the world And so all he could think of is that the Messiah can't die What kind of Messiah is that? And Christ says get thee behind me Satan because you don't have in mind the purposes of God in our marriages.

Do you know? That our spouse can be used by Satan to move us away from the purposes of God Peter was the righteous man Peter was the leader of the twelve Peter was a godly man But when you begin to think the way of the world When you begin to think contrary to the truth of God's Word You're gonna lead Those astray who want to think according to the Word of God and you got to be very careful about that Satan works in all kinds of ways He perverts God's Word we know that from Matthew chapter 4 he opposes God's Word Zephaniah chapter 3 He hinders God's servants 1st Thessalonians 2 18 He hinders the spread of the gospel 2nd Corinthians 4 by blinding the mind of the unbeliever He snares the wicked 1st Timothy 3 desires to control nations Revelation 16 He's described as an angel of light in 2nd Corinthians 11.

He brought sin into the world Genesis chapter 3 And the whole world lies in the lap of evil one And do you know that Every unsaved person That you know is ruled by Satan How do I know that Ephesians chapter 2 verse number 1 You were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked to the course of this world According to the prince of the power of the air of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of the flesh Indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest Paul makes it very clear that the unbeliever is a child of Satan under the control of Satan think about In the scriptures When you begin to understand That what a Christ tell the religious leaders in John chapter 8 You are of your father The devil he told the religious establishment in Jerusalem that they were of their father The devil he called them children of Satan because that's what they were It's exactly who they were And even though they were the religious elite in Jerusalem they had not embraced Christ as their Messiah and Therefore they were children of wrath sons of disobedience Under the direction of the prince of the power of the air Satan uses all kinds of people He uses the unbelievers Your unbeliever at work that you work with the unbelievers in your family The unbelievers that are your friends He even uses believers whose minds are not set on the things of God To move you away from the purposes of God when you begin to walk with God in an intimate setting It will be battled with a diabolical vengeance You must be aware of that that's why Paul says Resist him steadfast in the faith You are nowhere ever in Scripture told to rebuke Satan never You are only to resist him steadfast in the faith same thing that Peter says in the first Peter 5 verse number 8 Resist him firm in the faith He uses a military term You've seen those those movies where there there are long lines of military men all the guys in the front have shields and it goes on for thousands of yards and There are five and six and ten and twelve rows deep of all these men And the front men all have shields and the men in the back.

They have arrows It's called a phalanx where they lock arm-in-arm together And the only way to defeat the enemy is to break through the phalanx but if you remain firm and steadfast and Leave no gaps in your phalanx if you resist Satan firm in the faith You gain the victory because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world And the victory comes because we stand firm in the faith We allow no gaps in our spiritual armor Whether it's the helmet of salvation the breastplate of righteousness the sword of the spirit the belt that girds everything together the belt of truth We take up the shield of faith and we stand strong against the wiles of the devil But you got to be aware that you're going to war And lastly and not least Your spiritual growth is beautified in a determined reliance It is beautified in a determined Reliance in other words You are determined to trust and obey and rely only On one person and that's the Lord You can't rely on your husband You can't rely on your wife Can't rely on your kids Can't rely on your pastor Can't rely on your elders You got to rely upon the Lord trust only in him My wife and I got married 37 years ago We stood together at our reception And I thanked everybody for coming And my wife and I we would read the Psalms From the day that we were engaged until the day we got married and read them backwards read them down to Psalm 1 We read it with a purpose to find the Psalm that would best describe our marriage That we'd want to have as a verse for our our marriage for the As long as the Lord gave us together And we chose Psalm 20 verse number 7 Which says some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God They shall be brought down a fall, but we shall rise up and stand firm You must learn to trust in the name and the character in nature of the Lord Jesus Christ Trust only in him That's what the Bible says trust in the Lord with all your heart Never lean on your own understanding Don't do that in all your ways acknowledge him.

He'll make your paths smooth But you got to trust in him. You've got to rely upon him. You've got to wait upon him. You have to believe in him What makes your family your marriage so beautiful Is that there is a determined? reliance Upon our God he is everything Takes all the way back to the very beginning, right? It's balanced or it begins the divine inheritance. What's the inheritance? It's Christ who is our life We inherit Christ And all that he has to give to his children But we inherit his life.

He is our very great reward. Why would we not trust him? Why would we not believe in him? Why would we not lean upon him? Because we need him so someone 27 one says that unless the Lord build your house You will labor in vain. You're labor in vain. You're gonna work hard To build your legacy to build your house with all the energy you can muster up But if you don't rely upon the Lord to make it happen, it's not gonna happen. You need the Lord Jesus Christ To govern every aspect of your life My prayer for you and me is that we would grow we'd commit ourselves to growing spiritually This is a big commitment It's what every one of us should be committed to every day and my prayer for all of us is that we would be committed to growing deeper and Deeper and a walk with the Lord.

And so as we anticipate all that God's going to do May these principles guide us as we go. Let's pray together father Thank you for tonight Chance to be together a chance to study your word a chance Lord to once again be reminded of how great you are And what you've called us to do May we be obedient to you in Jesus name Amen