1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,360 Now, we’re continuing our series this morning 2 00:00:04,360 –> 00:00:09,360 entitled Repentance, The Hidden Path to a Transformed Life. 3 00:00:10,100 –> 00:00:14,480 And we started by trying to clear away some misconceptions. 4 00:00:14,480 –> 00:00:17,160 Repentance is not beating up on yourself 5 00:00:17,160 –> 00:00:20,540 because you can do that a great deal and never change. 6 00:00:20,540 –> 00:00:22,920 Repentance is not simply admitting that you’re a sinner. 7 00:00:22,920 –> 00:00:26,379 You can do that and never really change either. 8 00:00:26,379 –> 00:00:29,440 We’ve been learning that repentance is a positive 9 00:00:29,520 –> 00:00:33,480 and progressive path, and that it is possible for you 10 00:00:33,480 –> 00:00:36,119 by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 11 00:00:36,119 –> 00:00:40,520 In fact, real and lasting change is God’s promise 12 00:00:40,520 –> 00:00:44,480 to every believer in Jesus Christ. 13 00:00:44,480 –> 00:00:45,959 Now we’ve called this The Hidden Path 14 00:00:45,959 –> 00:00:47,500 to a Transformed Life because frankly, 15 00:00:47,500 –> 00:00:49,639 there are many people who never find it. 16 00:00:49,639 –> 00:00:51,939 Some folks who want to change but don’t change, 17 00:00:51,939 –> 00:00:54,240 some folks who talk about change 18 00:00:54,240 –> 00:00:57,480 but never actually manage to get there. 19 00:00:57,520 –> 00:00:59,939 And we’ve been learning a definition of repentance 20 00:00:59,939 –> 00:01:03,139 given by Dr. J.I. Packer that repentance 21 00:01:03,139 –> 00:01:05,959 is turning from as much as you know of your sin 22 00:01:05,959 –> 00:01:08,339 to give as much as you know of yourself 23 00:01:08,339 –> 00:01:11,919 to as much as you know of your God. 24 00:01:11,919 –> 00:01:15,680 And it follows then that repentance will expand 25 00:01:15,680 –> 00:01:18,800 throughout a Christian’s life as our knowledge 26 00:01:18,800 –> 00:01:23,160 of sin and self and God grows and increases. 27 00:01:23,160 –> 00:01:26,059 Now last time we saw how growing in the knowledge of God 28 00:01:26,160 –> 00:01:30,459 puts you on the path to a changed or a transformed life. 29 00:01:30,459 –> 00:01:33,980 Job experienced a remarkable encounter with God 30 00:01:33,980 –> 00:01:35,699 though he was a righteous man. 31 00:01:35,699 –> 00:01:38,620 When he encountered God in a particular way 32 00:01:38,620 –> 00:01:40,500 he said you know my ears have heard of you 33 00:01:40,500 –> 00:01:42,260 and my eyes have seen you 34 00:01:42,260 –> 00:01:46,620 but now I repent in dust and ashes. 35 00:01:46,620 –> 00:01:50,820 Having this vision, this Theophany, this appearance of God 36 00:01:50,820 –> 00:01:53,019 brought him to a deeper repentance. 37 00:01:53,019 –> 00:01:55,120 And we saw there, from job’s example 38 00:01:55,320 –> 00:01:58,400 that real and lasting change begins 39 00:01:58,400 –> 00:02:00,959 with knowing God. 40 00:02:00,959 –> 00:02:04,180 Now today we’re going to try and follow on the path 41 00:02:04,180 –> 00:02:06,160 of where that leads. 42 00:02:06,160 –> 00:02:08,740 As you come to know God better 43 00:02:08,740 –> 00:02:12,639 so you will become more aware of your own sin. 44 00:02:12,639 –> 00:02:15,039 The Bible says that God is light 45 00:02:15,039 –> 00:02:19,660 and so to come near to God means to come into the light 46 00:02:19,660 –> 00:02:22,000 and when you come into the light 47 00:02:22,000 –> 00:02:23,779 you quickly find that you see things 48 00:02:24,479 –> 00:02:25,520 that you didn’t see before. 49 00:02:25,520 –> 00:02:28,160 So suppose you go to a movie theater 50 00:02:28,160 –> 00:02:31,320 and you get one of these huge buckets of popcorn 51 00:02:31,320 –> 00:02:33,639 and you get it absolutely drizzled 52 00:02:33,639 –> 00:02:36,240 with melted butter and you work your way 53 00:02:36,240 –> 00:02:38,919 through this bucket of popcorn as you’re watching the film 54 00:02:38,919 –> 00:02:40,960 and then when you come out you suddenly see 55 00:02:40,960 –> 00:02:43,080 that there are butter stains all over your shirt. 56 00:02:43,080 –> 00:02:45,240 You never saw it while you were in the theater 57 00:02:45,240 –> 00:02:46,880 but now that you’ve come into the light 58 00:02:46,880 –> 00:02:48,639 you become aware of it and you know 59 00:02:48,639 –> 00:02:51,199 that something needs to change. 60 00:02:51,199 –> 00:02:53,199 So our focus today is going to be 61 00:02:53,520 –> 00:02:55,360 and it’s turning from as much as you know of sin 62 00:02:55,360 –> 00:02:57,380 and as you come into the light so you’re going 63 00:02:57,380 –> 00:03:00,039 to see more of what needs to be changed 64 00:03:00,039 –> 00:03:02,220 in your life than you did before. 65 00:03:02,220 –> 00:03:06,039 I want to suggest very simply a three-step strategy 66 00:03:06,039 –> 00:03:11,000 for fighting sin and prevailing over it in your life. 67 00:03:11,000 –> 00:03:13,839 Very simple, I hope that it’s easy for us to remember 68 00:03:13,839 –> 00:03:17,220 and it will appeal to any of the folks in the congregation 69 00:03:17,220 –> 00:03:19,940 who have ever gone or wanted to go hunting. 70 00:03:19,940 –> 00:03:21,199 Here it is. 71 00:03:21,199 –> 00:03:22,639 Know it. 72 00:03:22,660 –> 00:03:24,559 Stalk it. 73 00:03:24,559 –> 00:03:25,839 Kill it. 74 00:03:25,839 –> 00:03:27,160 Know it. 75 00:03:27,160 –> 00:03:28,600 Stalk it. 76 00:03:28,600 –> 00:03:29,440 Kill it. 77 00:03:29,440 –> 00:03:32,119 That’s the three-part strategy for fighting sin 78 00:03:32,119 –> 00:03:34,179 and prevailing over it in your life. 79 00:03:34,179 –> 00:03:35,300 Know it. 80 00:03:35,300 –> 00:03:37,179 Stalk it. 81 00:03:37,179 –> 00:03:38,220 Kill it. 82 00:03:38,220 –> 00:03:39,199 First of all then, know it. 83 00:03:39,199 –> 00:03:41,300 And here let’s turn to the passage that was read 84 00:03:41,300 –> 00:03:45,059 for us, James, chapter one, and particularly verse 14. 85 00:03:45,979 –> 00:03:48,479 Each one is tempted, James says, 86 00:03:48,479 –> 00:03:51,639 when by his own evil desire, 87 00:03:51,720 –> 00:03:55,240 he is dragged away and enticed. 88 00:03:55,240 –> 00:03:57,639 Now notice that James makes it quite clear 89 00:03:57,639 –> 00:03:59,199 that we will all be tempted. 90 00:03:59,199 –> 00:04:01,600 Now there’s no ifs here, it’s when. 91 00:04:01,600 –> 00:04:04,779 Each one is tempted when he is dragged away 92 00:04:04,779 –> 00:04:07,559 by his own evil desire, and this is something 93 00:04:07,559 –> 00:04:10,279 that we anticipate happening throughout 94 00:04:10,279 –> 00:04:13,119 the entire course of a Christian’s life. 95 00:04:14,320 –> 00:04:15,960 And then James makes it very clear 96 00:04:15,960 –> 00:04:20,880 that the root of temptation lies not outside of us, 97 00:04:20,880 –> 00:04:22,220 but inside of us. 98 00:04:22,220 –> 00:04:23,359 Do you notice that there? 99 00:04:23,359 –> 00:04:27,720 Each one is tempted when by his own evil desire 100 00:04:27,720 –> 00:04:30,820 he is dragged away and enticed. 101 00:04:30,820 –> 00:04:33,239 Remember he’s talking to Christians here. 102 00:04:33,239 –> 00:04:35,920 He is reminding us that sin is not simply 103 00:04:35,920 –> 00:04:37,920 something out there in the world, 104 00:04:37,920 –> 00:04:40,760 but it is something that remains in here, 105 00:04:40,760 –> 00:04:45,040 and I have to contend with it throughout my entire life, 106 00:04:46,040 –> 00:04:47,660 so that when you become a Christian, 107 00:04:47,660 –> 00:04:50,700 you see, the guilt of your sin is forgiven, 108 00:04:50,700 –> 00:04:53,899 as you are covered by the shed blood of Christ. 109 00:04:53,899 –> 00:04:56,040 The condemnation that would have come to you 110 00:04:56,040 –> 00:04:57,839 because of your sin is removed 111 00:04:57,839 –> 00:05:00,660 because Christ died in your place. 112 00:05:00,660 –> 00:05:03,420 The rain of sin over you is broken. 113 00:05:03,420 –> 00:05:05,440 You are no longer sin’s prisoner. 114 00:05:05,440 –> 00:05:10,019 You are under grace, but the root of sin 115 00:05:10,019 –> 00:05:12,980 remains in the life of a Christian believer, 116 00:05:12,980 –> 00:05:15,239 and that is why the Christian life 117 00:05:15,239 –> 00:05:18,760 for all of us is always a struggle. 118 00:05:18,760 –> 00:05:21,940 The flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit Paul says 119 00:05:21,940 –> 00:05:24,459 and the spirit desires what is contrary to the flesh. 120 00:05:24,459 –> 00:05:27,019 They are in conflict with each other. 121 00:05:27,019 –> 00:05:30,480 That’s Galatians chapter five and verse 16. 122 00:05:31,399 –> 00:05:33,220 Now, this is what James is talking about. 123 00:05:33,220 –> 00:05:38,220 Your flesh will be drawn to various kinds of sin. 124 00:05:38,660 –> 00:05:39,859 It’s just how it is. 125 00:05:41,440 –> 00:05:43,899 Now, the particular variety of sin 126 00:05:43,899 –> 00:05:45,220 to which you are drawn, frankly, 127 00:05:45,220 –> 00:05:46,980 will depend on a number of factors, 128 00:05:47,019 –> 00:05:49,799 temperament, background, past experiences and so forth 129 00:05:49,799 –> 00:05:51,359 as well as opportunity. 130 00:05:52,700 –> 00:05:54,459 But the reality for each of us 131 00:05:54,459 –> 00:05:59,459 is that there is that within us which is drawn to sin. 132 00:06:00,100 –> 00:06:03,459 Each one of us is tempted when by his own evil desire 133 00:06:03,459 –> 00:06:06,839 he is dragged away and enticed. 134 00:06:06,839 –> 00:06:10,260 Now, what James refers to here as evil desire 135 00:06:10,260 –> 00:06:13,739 can refer to the drawing power of many impulses 136 00:06:13,739 –> 00:06:15,980 that are offensive to God. 137 00:06:16,000 –> 00:06:17,600 Let me give you seven examples 138 00:06:17,600 –> 00:06:19,619 and they may ring a bell with you. 139 00:06:19,619 –> 00:06:24,619 Pride, greed, envy, anger, laziness, lust, gluttony. 140 00:06:26,279 –> 00:06:31,160 These are often referred to as the seven deadly sins. 141 00:06:31,160 –> 00:06:34,480 And notice, by the way, that none of them are actions. 142 00:06:35,399 –> 00:06:38,339 They are all impulses 143 00:06:38,339 –> 00:06:41,000 because sin is not simply about actions 144 00:06:41,000 –> 00:06:42,500 that are offensive to God, 145 00:06:42,500 –> 00:06:46,279 it includes the impulses that lead to these actions 146 00:06:46,279 –> 00:06:48,579 and that, of course, is where our greatest 147 00:06:48,579 –> 00:06:51,420 and most critical battles are actually fought. 148 00:06:52,380 –> 00:06:54,619 Now Christian writers sometimes refer 149 00:06:54,619 –> 00:06:58,059 to all this as indwelling sin. 150 00:06:58,059 –> 00:07:01,519 That’s an important phrase to get hold of, indwelling sin. 151 00:07:01,519 –> 00:07:05,299 In other words, the impulse or the drawing to sin 152 00:07:05,299 –> 00:07:09,140 that remains within the flesh of a Christian believer 153 00:07:09,140 –> 00:07:10,700 and against which we battle 154 00:07:10,700 –> 00:07:13,799 throughout the course of our entire lives. 155 00:07:13,799 –> 00:07:17,559 Indwelling sin means you have a battle on your hand 156 00:07:17,559 –> 00:07:20,179 and this is true of every Christian 157 00:07:20,179 –> 00:07:22,140 throughout our entire lives. 158 00:07:22,980 –> 00:07:27,079 Now notice that this impulse to sin as James speaks about it 159 00:07:27,079 –> 00:07:30,200 often acts in a hidden way. 160 00:07:30,980 –> 00:07:35,980 James says, after desire has conceived, 161 00:07:36,320 –> 00:07:39,320 now of course, the whole point about conception 162 00:07:39,339 –> 00:07:40,700 is that it’s a hidden thing 163 00:07:40,700 –> 00:07:43,959 nobody sees, knows exactly when it happens, 164 00:07:43,959 –> 00:07:46,839 It’s just that the fact that it’s happened 165 00:07:46,839 –> 00:07:48,799 becomes evident later. 166 00:07:48,799 –> 00:07:53,299 Conceiving is a hidden thing, always hidden from the eye. 167 00:07:54,799 –> 00:07:59,320 And when the impulse to sin conceives 168 00:07:59,320 –> 00:08:03,820 and remains hidden, unchallenged and undetected, 169 00:08:03,820 –> 00:08:06,079 James says that, that sin will grow. 170 00:08:06,079 –> 00:08:08,619 He talks about sin being full grown. 171 00:08:08,619 –> 00:08:11,380 Verse 15, sin grows, and as it grows 172 00:08:11,380 –> 00:08:13,519 it gains strength in your life. 173 00:08:13,519 –> 00:08:17,760 Like a weed that takes root, it becomes established. 174 00:08:17,760 –> 00:08:19,220 And it becomes harder to pull out. 175 00:08:19,220 –> 00:08:21,160 Then James says, when it is full grown, 176 00:08:21,160 –> 00:08:24,040 verse 15, sin leads to death. 177 00:08:24,040 –> 00:08:26,739 So here’s a dreadful path that we have now, 178 00:08:26,739 –> 00:08:28,660 three horrible steps. 179 00:08:28,660 –> 00:08:32,140 Sin hidden, sin grown, sin leading to death. 180 00:08:32,140 –> 00:08:34,700 And obviously this is the path 181 00:08:34,700 –> 00:08:37,460 on which we do not want to move. 182 00:08:38,780 –> 00:08:42,140 We rather are choosing to pursue the path 183 00:08:42,140 –> 00:08:47,140 of repentance, the hidden path to a transformed life. 184 00:08:49,239 –> 00:08:51,239 Now, we find that path therefore 185 00:08:51,239 –> 00:08:54,919 when, instead of our sins being hidden, 186 00:08:54,919 –> 00:08:57,859 we move in the other direction and they are revealed. 187 00:08:59,039 –> 00:09:01,039 And the obvious question is, well then, 188 00:09:01,039 –> 00:09:03,679 how is sin revealed so that it does not 189 00:09:03,679 –> 00:09:06,940 remain hidden taking us down the wrong track? 190 00:09:06,940 –> 00:09:08,799 The answer, of course, is that sin 191 00:09:08,799 –> 00:09:11,859 is revealed through the Word of God. 192 00:09:12,679 –> 00:09:17,440 It is the entrance of God’s Word that gives light. 193 00:09:17,440 –> 00:09:19,739 Remember, that’s what happened to David 194 00:09:19,739 –> 00:09:21,599 when although he was a believing man, 195 00:09:21,599 –> 00:09:24,840 he’d actually managed to push out of 196 00:09:24,840 –> 00:09:28,080 the range of his conscience what he had done 197 00:09:28,080 –> 00:09:31,080 until God sent the Word to him through the prophet Nathan 198 00:09:31,080 –> 00:09:33,440 who told him a parable about a rich man 199 00:09:33,700 –> 00:09:36,539 who stole a poor man’s single lamb, 200 00:09:36,539 –> 00:09:39,299 and David was so far gone he didn’t even 201 00:09:39,299 –> 00:09:41,700 recognize the story was about himself 202 00:09:41,700 –> 00:09:44,659 until Nathan said, David, you are the man. 203 00:09:45,919 –> 00:09:48,000 And God’s Word through the prophet 204 00:09:48,799 –> 00:09:52,340 wrote what was hidden so that it was revealed. 205 00:09:53,919 –> 00:09:55,760 Now let me ask this question then. 206 00:09:55,760 –> 00:09:59,739 How much do you know of your own sin? 207 00:10:00,700 –> 00:10:05,539 How familiar are you with the workings of your own heart? 208 00:10:06,460 –> 00:10:11,299 What would you say were the top three sins 209 00:10:11,299 –> 00:10:15,340 to which you are most vulnerable at this point in your life? 210 00:10:17,099 –> 00:10:19,020 Now if you can’t answer that question, 211 00:10:19,020 –> 00:10:21,359 you need to take some time till you can do it. 212 00:10:22,299 –> 00:10:26,179 What would you say are the top three sins 213 00:10:26,179 –> 00:10:29,280 to which you are most vulnerable at this point in your life 214 00:10:29,280 –> 00:10:31,679 if you don’t know the answer to that question? 215 00:10:31,679 –> 00:10:34,679 How can you possibly be on your defenses against them 216 00:10:34,679 –> 00:10:36,679 and how can you possibly be launching 217 00:10:36,679 –> 00:10:38,659 an assault towards them? 218 00:10:39,679 –> 00:10:41,419 You gotta know them. 219 00:10:41,419 –> 00:10:43,440 You’ve gotta know where the battle is 220 00:10:43,440 –> 00:10:44,979 in your life right now. 221 00:10:46,200 –> 00:10:48,539 I found a very helpful exercise to list them. 222 00:10:49,619 –> 00:10:51,039 Identify them clearly. 223 00:10:53,479 –> 00:10:54,820 Now I want to encourage you in this 224 00:10:54,820 –> 00:10:59,820 to use the Bible as a regular tool for self examination. 225 00:11:00,520 –> 00:11:03,039 Being brought up I was taught a very simple method 226 00:11:03,039 –> 00:11:06,919 of Bible study that included three important questions. 227 00:11:06,919 –> 00:11:08,940 Whenever you read the Bible, ask, 228 00:11:08,940 –> 00:11:12,219 is there a command to obey? 229 00:11:12,219 –> 00:11:14,739 Is there a promise to believe? 230 00:11:14,739 –> 00:11:17,340 Is there a sin to avoid? 231 00:11:17,340 –> 00:11:18,580 I find that very helpful. 232 00:11:18,580 –> 00:11:20,020 Is there a promise here to believe? 233 00:11:20,020 –> 00:11:21,500 Is there a command here to obey? 234 00:11:21,500 –> 00:11:23,500 Is there a sin here to avoid? 235 00:11:23,500 –> 00:11:26,900 Whenever you read the Bible, ask these questions. 236 00:11:26,900 –> 00:11:29,419 So for example, sometimes it opens up things 237 00:11:29,419 –> 00:11:30,960 that aren’t quite obvious, you see? 238 00:11:30,960 –> 00:11:32,719 And God speaks to you through them. 239 00:11:33,900 –> 00:11:37,419 I was reading recently the story of the four men 240 00:11:37,419 –> 00:11:40,919 who took their paralyzed friend to Jesus 241 00:11:40,919 –> 00:11:42,599 and got discouraged at first 242 00:11:42,599 –> 00:11:44,979 because they couldn’t get anywhere near him, 243 00:11:44,979 –> 00:11:47,020 and then they got creative. 244 00:11:47,020 –> 00:11:48,700 And they climbed up onto the roof, 245 00:11:48,700 –> 00:11:49,659 you remember the story? 246 00:11:49,659 –> 00:11:51,580 dug a hole through the roof and then 247 00:11:52,359 –> 00:11:53,940 lowered their friend on the mat 248 00:11:53,940 –> 00:11:56,140 so that he came right down through the roof 249 00:11:56,140 –> 00:11:58,380 to the very feet of Jesus, you’ve gotta say brilliant. 250 00:11:58,380 –> 00:12:00,140 I mean, it is absolutely brilliant. 251 00:12:02,539 –> 00:12:04,039 What’s the sin to avoid? 252 00:12:06,419 –> 00:12:08,059 The sin of giving up too quickly. 253 00:12:10,820 –> 00:12:13,619 The sin of saying it’s too difficult. 254 00:12:16,119 –> 00:12:18,500 The sin of saying I can’t be bothered. 255 00:12:18,940 –> 00:12:22,059 And I found that helpful, 256 00:12:22,059 –> 00:12:23,979 because God spoke to me through that. 257 00:12:25,659 –> 00:12:26,900 When you read the Bible, ask the question, 258 00:12:26,900 –> 00:12:28,580 is there a sin to avoid? 259 00:12:28,580 –> 00:12:30,520 God’s word is light. 260 00:12:30,520 –> 00:12:34,340 And if we’re going to succeed in our battle against sin, 261 00:12:34,340 –> 00:12:37,619 we need to understand where it is going on within us, 262 00:12:37,619 –> 00:12:40,119 and it is the scripture that God will use 263 00:12:40,119 –> 00:12:45,119 to identify where the struggle is at its most fierce. 264 00:12:45,119 –> 00:12:50,119 Now, it’s also useful alongside this regular self-examination 265 00:12:50,719 –> 00:12:52,739 to have particular times 266 00:12:52,739 –> 00:12:56,820 when we examine ourselves more closely. 267 00:12:56,820 –> 00:12:59,659 And again, you can use the scriptures to do this. 268 00:12:59,659 –> 00:13:00,919 The most obvious way to do it 269 00:13:00,919 –> 00:13:02,640 is perhaps the Ten Commandments. 270 00:13:02,640 –> 00:13:04,039 Write down on a piece of paper 271 00:13:04,039 –> 00:13:09,039 what each command requires in your own words, 272 00:13:09,539 –> 00:13:11,679 and then use that to examine yourself 273 00:13:11,679 –> 00:13:15,099 and to explore, what is going on in your life, 274 00:13:15,099 –> 00:13:18,000 in relation to the calling that God has given to you. 275 00:13:18,960 –> 00:13:21,640 There are other passages of scripture that you can use. 276 00:13:21,640 –> 00:13:26,619 Remember that last Sunday, we looked at Job chapter 31, 277 00:13:26,760 –> 00:13:30,960 where Job goes through 17 areas of his life 278 00:13:30,960 –> 00:13:34,840 and declares to God that he has maintained integrity 279 00:13:34,840 –> 00:13:36,799 in all of them. 280 00:13:36,799 –> 00:13:39,080 Now, I have to tell you, when I read that last week, 281 00:13:39,080 –> 00:13:40,919 I found myself saying I’m not sure 282 00:13:40,919 –> 00:13:42,780 that I could go through all of these 283 00:13:42,859 –> 00:13:46,159 and come up with that conclusion before the Lord. 284 00:13:46,159 –> 00:13:47,859 So what I’ve done here for us 285 00:13:47,859 –> 00:13:52,599 is to turn Job’s 17 statements in chapter 31 286 00:13:52,599 –> 00:13:56,940 into 17 questions, so that we can read through them, 287 00:13:56,940 –> 00:13:58,500 as I have done this week, 288 00:13:58,500 –> 00:14:02,299 and use them as questions to examine ourselves. 289 00:14:02,299 –> 00:14:06,059 Use these questions as the scripture is God’s light 290 00:14:06,059 –> 00:14:07,859 to shine into your heart 291 00:14:07,859 –> 00:14:10,260 to help you know where the issues are 292 00:14:10,260 –> 00:14:12,940 and therefore where the battle has to be fought. 293 00:14:12,940 –> 00:14:15,179 The first priority in turning from sin 294 00:14:15,179 –> 00:14:17,119 is that you should know it, 295 00:14:17,119 –> 00:14:19,419 and if you can’t identify what it is 296 00:14:19,419 –> 00:14:21,659 from which you need to turn at this point in your life, 297 00:14:21,659 –> 00:14:24,260 you will make very, very little progress. 298 00:14:25,739 –> 00:14:30,080 And it’s a vagueness about repentance 299 00:14:31,299 –> 00:14:34,460 that causes so many Christians to get stuck 300 00:14:34,460 –> 00:14:37,440 so that the path remains hidden to them, 301 00:14:38,359 –> 00:14:42,400 and very little progress is made or change is seen. 302 00:14:42,400 –> 00:14:45,440 So first strategy, know it. 303 00:14:45,440 –> 00:14:49,760 Second strategy, stalk it. 304 00:14:49,760 –> 00:14:54,479 Once you have identified where the heat of the battle is, 305 00:14:55,880 –> 00:15:00,200 then you need to deal with the area of sin 306 00:15:00,200 –> 00:15:02,359 that you have clearly identified 307 00:15:02,359 –> 00:15:07,200 by watching for its movement in your life. 308 00:15:08,119 –> 00:15:10,260 So let’s take some practical examples. 309 00:15:11,239 –> 00:15:13,400 Suppose that you have discerned 310 00:15:13,400 –> 00:15:14,780 as you’ve looked at the scriptures 311 00:15:14,780 –> 00:15:17,280 and you’ve examined your own heart 312 00:15:17,280 –> 00:15:19,239 that you really need to deal with some issues 313 00:15:19,239 –> 00:15:24,239 of pride or lust or laziness or unbelief 314 00:15:28,820 –> 00:15:32,159 or whatever it is, but you’ve identified an area 315 00:15:32,159 –> 00:15:33,880 or a couple of areas where you say 316 00:15:33,880 –> 00:15:38,659 there needs to be significant change in my life here 317 00:15:38,659 –> 00:15:41,140 if I’m to move forward as a Christian. 318 00:15:41,140 –> 00:15:42,659 What are you going to do next? 319 00:15:45,679 –> 00:15:47,440 As you stock these things, 320 00:15:47,440 –> 00:15:49,659 you’ll be asking questions like this. 321 00:15:51,239 –> 00:15:54,679 When am I most vulnerable to this? 322 00:15:56,760 –> 00:16:01,760 In what ways do I see this being expressed in my life? 323 00:16:04,500 –> 00:16:09,440 Now, nobody, at least in my own reading 324 00:16:10,780 –> 00:16:15,780 has proved more helpful on this issue than John Owen. 325 00:16:16,359 –> 00:16:18,119 I’m gonna put his book there. 326 00:16:18,119 –> 00:16:22,099 It has the marvelous title, The Mortification of Sin. 327 00:16:22,099 –> 00:16:23,820 My wife looked at the cover last night, 328 00:16:23,820 –> 00:16:27,460 and she said, wow, looks seriously interesting. 329 00:16:28,919 –> 00:16:31,440 I tell you, and I promise you, this is pure gold. 330 00:16:31,440 –> 00:16:34,119 John Owen wrote in the 17th century, 331 00:16:34,119 –> 00:16:38,380 he was a master physician of the soul. 332 00:16:38,380 –> 00:16:40,599 I don’t know if there’s been any Christian writer 333 00:16:40,599 –> 00:16:42,760 throughout history, outside of the New Testament, 334 00:16:42,760 –> 00:16:47,760 who had a deeper and more penetrating understanding 335 00:16:47,799 –> 00:16:52,739 of the inner-workings of a Christian believer’s wife, 336 00:16:52,739 –> 00:16:54,599 wife, I’m sorry, life. 337 00:16:54,599 –> 00:16:58,260 I do apologize. 338 00:17:02,619 –> 00:17:07,439 Let me give you a sample of Owen on stalking sin. 339 00:17:08,380 –> 00:17:13,380 Ask, he says, ask envy what it aims at. 340 00:17:16,500 –> 00:17:18,680 You say, isn’t that brilliant? 341 00:17:18,680 –> 00:17:21,619 Where are you taking me, envy, where are you going? 342 00:17:21,680 –> 00:17:26,680 Murder and destruction are envy’s natural conclusion. 343 00:17:27,979 –> 00:17:32,500 So set yourself against it as if it had already got there. 344 00:17:32,500 –> 00:17:34,119 That’s brilliant. 345 00:17:34,119 –> 00:17:37,359 In a similar vein, he says, every unclean thought 346 00:17:37,359 –> 00:17:41,900 or glance would be adultery if it could. 347 00:17:41,900 –> 00:17:45,060 Every covetous desire would be oppression 348 00:17:45,060 –> 00:17:49,380 and every unbelieving thought would be atheism. 349 00:17:50,380 –> 00:17:52,560 See, so you look at that unbelieving thought 350 00:17:52,560 –> 00:17:54,959 that plagues you and you say, you draw it out 351 00:17:54,959 –> 00:17:57,719 and you say, I know where you’re going 352 00:17:57,719 –> 00:17:59,780 and if I follow you, I’ll be an atheist 353 00:17:59,780 –> 00:18:01,079 and I’ll have no hope for this life 354 00:18:01,079 –> 00:18:02,680 or the world to come either. 355 00:18:02,680 –> 00:18:03,719 I’m not going there. 356 00:18:03,719 –> 00:18:06,939 So you draw it out, you ask it where it’s going. 357 00:18:07,979 –> 00:18:10,500 Sin’s expression, he says, is modest in the beginning 358 00:18:10,500 –> 00:18:12,339 but once it has gained a foothold, 359 00:18:12,339 –> 00:18:14,819 it continues to take further ground 360 00:18:14,819 –> 00:18:16,859 and presses onto greater heights. 361 00:18:16,859 –> 00:18:18,180 Again he says we need to be 362 00:18:18,219 –> 00:18:21,420 intimately acquainted with the ways, 363 00:18:21,420 –> 00:18:25,000 whiles, methods, advantages, occasions 364 00:18:25,000 –> 00:18:27,859 which give sin its success. 365 00:18:27,859 –> 00:18:31,260 This he says is how men deal with their enemies. 366 00:18:31,260 –> 00:18:33,339 He’s thinking warfare now you see. 367 00:18:33,339 –> 00:18:35,699 They search out the plans of the enemy, 368 00:18:35,699 –> 00:18:39,500 ponder his goals and consider how and by what means 369 00:18:39,500 –> 00:18:42,060 the enemy has prevailed in the past. 370 00:18:42,060 –> 00:18:44,819 Then the enemy can be defeated. 371 00:18:44,819 –> 00:18:45,680 Know your enemy. 372 00:18:46,420 –> 00:18:49,500 One of the most important parts of spiritual wisdom 373 00:18:49,500 –> 00:18:52,939 he says is to find out the subtleties, policies 374 00:18:52,939 –> 00:18:55,619 and depths of any indwelling sin 375 00:18:55,619 –> 00:18:58,800 to consider where its greatest strength lies. 376 00:18:58,800 –> 00:19:00,979 How it uses occasions, opportunities 377 00:19:00,979 –> 00:19:03,199 and temptations to gain advantage. 378 00:19:03,199 –> 00:19:06,520 We need to find out its pleas, its pretenses, 379 00:19:06,520 –> 00:19:09,160 its reasonings and to see what its strategies 380 00:19:09,160 –> 00:19:11,640 disguises and excuses are. 381 00:19:11,640 –> 00:19:15,000 We need to trace this serpent in all its turning 382 00:19:15,040 –> 00:19:18,040 and windings and to bring its most secret tricks 383 00:19:18,040 –> 00:19:18,859 out into the open. 384 00:19:18,859 –> 00:19:21,680 We must learn to say to our sin 385 00:19:21,680 –> 00:19:25,119 this is your usual method 386 00:19:25,119 –> 00:19:27,920 and I know what you are up to. 387 00:19:29,680 –> 00:19:31,680 Now isn’t that marvelous when you have 388 00:19:31,680 –> 00:19:33,439 the kind of discernment to be able 389 00:19:33,439 –> 00:19:35,880 to say to your prevailing sin 390 00:19:35,880 –> 00:19:38,280 this is your usual method. 391 00:19:38,280 –> 00:19:40,719 I know how you work in me. 392 00:19:40,719 –> 00:19:42,760 I know what you are up to 393 00:19:42,880 –> 00:19:44,959 and because I’ve gained a handle 394 00:19:44,959 –> 00:19:48,180 on how and when and where the enemy operates 395 00:19:48,180 –> 00:19:50,459 therefore I am put in a position 396 00:19:50,459 –> 00:19:51,599 to gain a victory. 397 00:19:51,599 –> 00:19:53,459 Stalking sin. 398 00:19:53,459 –> 00:19:55,880 You have to know it, know what you’re going after, 399 00:19:55,880 –> 00:19:58,079 you have to stalk it. 400 00:19:58,079 –> 00:20:00,079 And stalking is the way in which you move 401 00:20:00,079 –> 00:20:03,979 from knowing your sin to being in a position 402 00:20:03,979 –> 00:20:06,839 where you are able to kill it 403 00:20:06,839 –> 00:20:08,359 or to mortify it. 404 00:20:08,599 –> 00:20:09,920 So I was, 405 00:20:09,920 –> 00:20:13,479 I was talking to a Christian counselor recently 406 00:20:13,479 –> 00:20:16,239 and he said to me very helpfully he said, 407 00:20:16,239 –> 00:20:21,079 when we have folks come to us with addictions, 408 00:20:23,040 –> 00:20:26,239 one of the first things we try to do 409 00:20:26,239 –> 00:20:30,380 is to help them define the problem in Biblical language 410 00:20:30,380 –> 00:20:32,520 and call it by it’s proper name, 411 00:20:33,479 –> 00:20:35,000 which is 412 00:20:35,000 –> 00:20:36,640 idolatry. 413 00:20:36,640 –> 00:20:37,479 Now you see what that is, 414 00:20:37,479 –> 00:20:40,280 that’s stalking sin, 415 00:20:40,280 –> 00:20:43,079 that’s finding out where it is, 416 00:20:43,079 –> 00:20:44,640 then identifying how it works 417 00:20:44,640 –> 00:20:47,439 so we can get in a position to gain the mastery over it. 418 00:20:50,439 –> 00:20:53,739 Don’t underestimate the importance of this, 419 00:20:55,719 –> 00:20:58,760 if you become aware of a particular area 420 00:20:58,760 –> 00:20:59,900 of sin in your own life, 421 00:20:59,900 –> 00:21:01,040 you know it 422 00:21:02,319 –> 00:21:06,219 and you do not move forward by stalking it to kill it, 423 00:21:07,680 –> 00:21:09,859 then if you simply know it and ignore it, 424 00:21:09,859 –> 00:21:13,800 it will end up growing in your life 425 00:21:15,660 –> 00:21:17,239 and if that has happened to you, 426 00:21:17,239 –> 00:21:19,800 then you very, very urgently need 427 00:21:19,800 –> 00:21:22,219 to deal with that sin decisively, 428 00:21:22,219 –> 00:21:23,520 the more your sin has grown, 429 00:21:23,520 –> 00:21:26,180 the more difficult your battle will be to kill it 430 00:21:26,180 –> 00:21:27,479 but the more the sin has grown, 431 00:21:27,479 –> 00:21:28,880 the more urgent it is 432 00:21:28,880 –> 00:21:32,060 that you begin that warfare against it now. 433 00:21:33,280 –> 00:21:34,800 Sin is a power, 434 00:21:34,800 –> 00:21:36,800 it has a vigor within it, 435 00:21:36,800 –> 00:21:39,140 you have to track it down and deal with it 436 00:21:39,140 –> 00:21:41,319 or it will destroy you. 437 00:21:43,339 –> 00:21:48,339 Now you see this in a very powerful way, 438 00:21:48,540 –> 00:21:49,939 in the first reference 439 00:21:49,939 –> 00:21:52,900 that we ever have to sin in the bible 440 00:21:52,900 –> 00:21:57,079 and that is in Genesis in chapter four and verse seven, 441 00:21:58,140 –> 00:22:01,079 it comes in this story of Cain and Abel. 442 00:22:02,160 –> 00:22:05,280 Abel brought an acceptable sacrifice to God 443 00:22:05,359 –> 00:22:08,020 and Cain did not and after worship 444 00:22:08,020 –> 00:22:10,760 Cain became angry with God 445 00:22:10,760 –> 00:22:13,680 and this is the very first reference to sin in the Bible 446 00:22:14,859 –> 00:22:17,680 and Cain is angry and God says to him, 447 00:22:17,680 –> 00:22:19,560 why are you angry, why are you downcast? 448 00:22:19,560 –> 00:22:22,280 If you do what is right will you not be accepted? 449 00:22:22,280 –> 00:22:24,199 But if you do not do what is right, 450 00:22:24,199 –> 00:22:29,180 sin is crouching at the door. 451 00:22:29,180 –> 00:22:31,579 Now the picture there is of a wild animal 452 00:22:31,579 –> 00:22:35,180 outside the door crouching ready to spring 453 00:22:35,920 –> 00:22:38,319 an attack is ready to be launched by sin, 454 00:22:38,319 –> 00:22:41,239 speaking of sin in almost personal terms 455 00:22:42,680 –> 00:22:45,500 and the Lord says to Cain, 456 00:22:45,500 –> 00:22:48,959 sin is crouching at your door verse seven, 457 00:22:48,959 –> 00:22:53,959 it desires to have you but you must master it. 458 00:22:59,660 –> 00:23:02,339 So if you imagine that we’re all in a primitive jungle 459 00:23:03,079 –> 00:23:06,739 and there are many dangers especially for wild animals 460 00:23:06,739 –> 00:23:09,939 and one day we hear that there is a huge leopard 461 00:23:09,939 –> 00:23:12,300 and it has come into the village 462 00:23:12,300 –> 00:23:14,699 and it has taken the life of a child 463 00:23:14,699 –> 00:23:17,699 and because the leopard now has the taste of blood 464 00:23:17,699 –> 00:23:21,859 in it’s mouth, you know that it will come back for sure. 465 00:23:23,339 –> 00:23:26,020 And so there really is only one choice for us 466 00:23:26,020 –> 00:23:29,060 at this point in the village that is that the leopard 467 00:23:29,060 –> 00:23:30,420 should be hunted and killed, 468 00:23:30,459 –> 00:23:32,219 and so the chief asks for volunteers 469 00:23:32,219 –> 00:23:35,020 and a group of us step forward. 470 00:23:35,020 –> 00:23:38,140 We take our spears, we move out of this village 471 00:23:38,140 –> 00:23:39,939 and we go hunt for the leopard. 472 00:23:39,939 –> 00:23:42,180 You move through the bush, you’re stalking it. 473 00:23:42,180 –> 00:23:44,579 You’re looking for signs of movement, 474 00:23:44,579 –> 00:23:48,020 tracks, a dead carcass, any sounds 475 00:23:48,020 –> 00:23:50,660 of the movement of a large animal 476 00:23:50,660 –> 00:23:54,199 but you walk very slowly as you stalk the leopard, why? 477 00:23:54,920 –> 00:24:00,520 Because you know that the leopard is stalking you. 478 00:24:03,319 –> 00:24:07,479 You are the hunter but you move very carefully 479 00:24:07,479 –> 00:24:09,339 because you are also the hunted. 480 00:24:10,739 –> 00:24:12,319 That is how it is with sin. 481 00:24:12,319 –> 00:24:16,400 You are stalking sin, sin is stalking you 482 00:24:16,400 –> 00:24:19,880 and for that reason an engagement is inevitable 483 00:24:19,880 –> 00:24:23,520 and either you will kill it or it will kill you. 484 00:24:24,439 –> 00:24:29,199 And that takes us to the last part of this strategy. 485 00:24:29,199 –> 00:24:34,199 You must know it, you must stalk it, you must kill it. 486 00:24:38,819 –> 00:24:40,760 And if that sound violent I want to assure you 487 00:24:40,760 –> 00:24:42,400 that it is biblical language 488 00:24:42,400 –> 00:24:44,699 and we desperately need to understand it. 489 00:24:45,560 –> 00:24:47,439 I need to be devastating towards 490 00:24:47,439 –> 00:24:49,920 the movements of sin in my own life. 491 00:24:50,780 –> 00:24:54,619 Always be killing sin, says John Owen. 492 00:24:54,619 –> 00:24:56,979 Our sin will be killing you, great statement. 493 00:24:59,020 –> 00:25:01,780 Chapter eight and verse 13 of the book of Romans. 494 00:25:01,780 –> 00:25:04,800 Turn to it with me if you would. 495 00:25:04,800 –> 00:25:09,800 Paul says if you live according to the flesh you will die. 496 00:25:10,099 –> 00:25:11,979 But if by the Spirit you put to death 497 00:25:11,979 –> 00:25:15,199 the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 498 00:25:15,199 –> 00:25:19,660 You have to put to death the misdeeds of the body. 499 00:25:19,660 –> 00:25:23,500 That’s what this word mortify actually means. 500 00:25:24,520 –> 00:25:25,959 Owen defines it in this way. 501 00:25:25,959 –> 00:25:28,540 It consists, he says, in three parts. 502 00:25:28,540 –> 00:25:32,380 Number one, a habitual weakening of sin. 503 00:25:32,380 –> 00:25:35,239 In other words, every time you say no 504 00:25:35,239 –> 00:25:37,199 to a particular area of temptation, 505 00:25:37,199 –> 00:25:39,560 to a particular movement of sin in your life, 506 00:25:39,560 –> 00:25:42,680 every time you say no you weaken its power. 507 00:25:44,260 –> 00:25:46,760 And he says secondly, it is a constant fighting 508 00:25:46,760 –> 00:25:48,359 and contending against sin. 509 00:25:48,359 –> 00:25:50,500 In other words, don’t expect that the temptation 510 00:25:50,500 –> 00:25:54,280 will go away just because you’ve said no to it many times. 511 00:25:54,280 –> 00:25:56,859 The root remains. 512 00:25:56,859 –> 00:25:59,020 And the struggles though, they may change 513 00:25:59,020 –> 00:26:02,699 in the course of life and with different circumstances. 514 00:26:02,699 –> 00:26:04,180 The struggle with sin remains 515 00:26:04,180 –> 00:26:05,880 throughout a Christian’s lifetime. 516 00:26:07,260 –> 00:26:09,479 But mortification he says is marked thirdly 517 00:26:09,479 –> 00:26:12,579 by frequent success. 518 00:26:12,579 –> 00:26:15,839 Sin’s activity and actions become fewer 519 00:26:16,199 –> 00:26:19,920 and weaker than before, and sin he says 520 00:26:19,920 –> 00:26:22,099 is not able to hinder man’s duty, 521 00:26:22,939 –> 00:26:24,900 nor to interrupt his peace. 522 00:26:27,380 –> 00:26:31,079 Now notice that this is the work that God calls us to do. 523 00:26:32,780 –> 00:26:37,780 If by the spirit, you put to death 524 00:26:38,439 –> 00:26:39,859 the misdeeds of the body. 525 00:26:42,040 –> 00:26:43,500 We’ve to do this. 526 00:26:44,420 –> 00:26:48,520 But the good news is that you do not do it alone 527 00:26:48,520 –> 00:26:50,359 because as a Christian believer, 528 00:26:50,359 –> 00:26:52,939 the spirit of God lives within you. 529 00:26:54,160 –> 00:26:56,800 And he says, if by the spirit you put to death 530 00:26:56,800 –> 00:26:59,060 the misdeeds of the body then you will live. 531 00:27:01,439 –> 00:27:03,959 Oh, and it lists beautifully, six ways in which 532 00:27:03,959 –> 00:27:05,760 the spirit is at work 533 00:27:05,760 –> 00:27:08,479 in putting to death sin in the life of a believer. 534 00:27:08,479 –> 00:27:10,380 Let me just mention them quickly. 535 00:27:10,380 –> 00:27:12,479 The spirit will convince you 536 00:27:12,479 –> 00:27:15,199 about the sin that needs to be killed. 537 00:27:15,199 –> 00:27:19,900 He’ll reveal the provision of Christ for your relief. 538 00:27:19,900 –> 00:27:23,459 He’ll establish your heart in the expectation 539 00:27:23,459 –> 00:27:24,739 of relieffrom Christ. 540 00:27:24,739 –> 00:27:26,540 In other words, he’ll arouse faith 541 00:27:26,540 –> 00:27:29,099 so then instead of saying oh, I’m going to be defeated, 542 00:27:29,099 –> 00:27:31,020 you come to the position of a believer 543 00:27:31,020 –> 00:27:33,920 saying I can conquer this through Christ. 544 00:27:35,380 –> 00:27:38,239 He brings the cross of Christ into your heart 545 00:27:38,239 –> 00:27:41,199 with its sin killing power says Owen. 546 00:27:41,219 –> 00:27:42,760 I love that phrase. 547 00:27:43,880 –> 00:27:46,479 He begins and will complete your sanctification 548 00:27:46,479 –> 00:27:50,160 and he supports all your prayers to God. 549 00:27:52,239 –> 00:27:55,459 See what he’s saying is that the Holy Spirit is with you 550 00:27:55,459 –> 00:27:59,239 to apply the provision that has been made 551 00:27:59,239 –> 00:28:02,819 in Jesus Christ for you to move forward 552 00:28:02,819 –> 00:28:07,400 on the path of repentance and to have frequent success 553 00:28:07,400 –> 00:28:10,680 in your struggles with indwelling sin. 554 00:28:11,959 –> 00:28:14,900 By faith, last quote, he says, ponder this. 555 00:28:15,979 –> 00:28:18,640 That though you are in no way able 556 00:28:18,640 –> 00:28:21,040 to conquer your disordered state, 557 00:28:21,880 –> 00:28:25,119 and though you are weary of fighting it, 558 00:28:25,119 –> 00:28:30,119 there is enough in Jesus Christ to give you relief. 559 00:28:31,400 –> 00:28:32,560 I love that. 560 00:28:32,560 –> 00:28:34,099 Think about this with faith. 561 00:28:35,680 –> 00:28:39,280 That though you can’t sort out your disordered state 562 00:28:40,280 –> 00:28:43,339 and though you are weary from fighting it, 563 00:28:44,699 –> 00:28:49,699 there is enough provision in Jesus Christ for your relief 564 00:28:51,079 –> 00:28:55,280 and the Holy Spirit will bring that reality into your soul 565 00:28:56,400 –> 00:28:59,540 so that you’re able to move forward on this path. 566 00:28:59,540 –> 00:29:02,540 And he says those who are walking this path, 567 00:29:02,540 –> 00:29:04,520 those who are moving on this path, 568 00:29:04,520 –> 00:29:07,500 this is the distinguishing mark of a true Christian, 569 00:29:07,500 –> 00:29:10,319 this person will live. 570 00:29:11,760 –> 00:29:13,540 Because those who are walking this path 571 00:29:13,540 –> 00:29:15,800 are those who are led by the Spirit 572 00:29:16,680 –> 00:29:20,959 and those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. 573 00:29:22,439 –> 00:29:27,099 The threefold strategy for fighting 574 00:29:27,099 –> 00:29:30,900 and prevailing over sin in your life. 575 00:29:30,900 –> 00:29:36,540 Know it, stalk it, kill it.