Learning How to STAND on a Bended Knee
1Corinthians 6:12
DATE: 6
July, 2008 AM
PLACE:
BBC Ballincollig
I.
Introduction (1Samuel
17:40-50)
A.
The theme this month is
Bow the Knee Defiantly – The need for Resistance in our Worship! Not
against GOD, but against things that interfere!
B.
What do I mean by that? That
in order to worship the Lord Jesus, I must not allow anything, not ANYTHING to
come between me and doing His will. In order to yield to God, I must stand firm
against sin – amen!
C.
Example of David and Goliath:
What an amazing stand David took against Goliath, but also against his fears,
and against even his brother who would have hindered his faith in God!
D.
Maybe it doesn’t matter to
you, but it sure matters to God how easily things become more important to us
that He is in our lives. Doesn’t it amaze you how quickly we just go back to our
“old routines” right after church?
E.
At some point, a Christian
must not only bend the knee towards the Lord Jesus Christ, but also make a stand
against enslaving sin that seeks to control their lives!
F.
This morning, I just want us
to take a look around in our homes and lives and see what is actually
controlling us, and decide to only allow the living Saviour to have control
II.
Background
(Ephesians 6:13)
A.
Meaning of
1.
A willingness to fight
2.
A casting aside what used to
control you
3.
Getting angry enough to win
against your sworn enemy
4.
A bravery towards your enemy
5.
A resistance to being
conquered
B.
Plenty of wrong times to be
defiant
1.
When you are rebuked and
corrected by someone
2.
When you sense shame and guilt
about something you are doing
3.
When you are only defending
yourself
4.
When you know you must be born
again, and yet you keep God on the long-arm, and resist His working on your
heart (Acts 7:51)
C.
But there are some perfectly
GREAT times to go against the world
1.
The opposite of defiance is
obedience, yieldedness, softness, submission
2.
When it seeks to censor the
Gospel message
3.
When it destroys the
foundations of society – i.e. the family
4.
When it would like to bring a
Christian BACK under its dominion – its bondage
D.
I am talking about living in
III.
Message
A.
You Cannot Serve Two Masters
(1Cor 6:9-10; Matthew 6:24)
1.
You cannot serve and love God
while serving and loving some secret sin
2.
Every sin in this list has a
power in it to enslave. Not one thing can be dabbled with and just walked away
from
a.
Fornication – pornography –
plagues almost all of society today!
b.
Idolatry – making THINGS into
gods – and believing they have powers (like charms and miraculous medals)
c.
Adulteries – People have
extra-marital affairs because of the rush and thrill
d.
Effeminism – men who have
feminine characteristics (more on this next week), not manly or aggressive and
strong. The lazy, weak life is very controlling
e.
Abusing of self with other men
– homosexuality – have you seen just how adamant they are in the streets?
Overpowered by that sin and its guilt!
f.
Thievery – some people live to
steal! Kleptomaniacs get a thrill out of stealing! Shoplifting takes over their
life!
g.
Coventeousness – greed,
discontentment, dissatisfaction, always unhappy unless there is a change (moving
house, a new wardrobe, new car, new wife)
h.
Drunkenness – it is
INTOXICATING! It takes over, and destroys the drinker, when the drinker thinks
he is only having a good time!!!
i.
Reviling – that’s anger,
bitterness against someone, that yelling, screaming, hating, and destroying
another person’s reputation. So many people find a great rush out of being able
to quickly tear another person down!
j.
Extortion – unjust gain.
Cheating people out of their money, and loving it! No qualms about
over-charging, or making sure the customer is happy – just making the money is
all you want!
3.
No one is simply free to do as
they please – either you a servant to SIN or a servant to GOD (Rom 6:12,16,17)
4.
Sin is deadly (Rom 6:23a)
a.
b.
Did you know that the life
expectancy of the playboys and playgirls is about HALF as long what it is with
monogamous couples! People who live to “conquer” as many of the other sex as
possible live only to 50, but those who have 1 wife or husband live till their
80 to 90!!!
c.
Drugs
d.
Smokes
e.
Sin is a killer!
B.
You Cannot Claim Powerlessness
(1Cor 6:11)
1.
Salvation is BIG! It is
referred to as a…
a.
b.
Sanctifying – making us
special, setting us apart from the filth of the world – not left to be defiled
and rubbished
c.
Justifying – no longer can the
Law condemn a believer (Rom 8:1). I have been fully, and completely pardoned by
God Almighty!
d.
It is a perfect and complete
job! “It is finished!”
2.
Do you realize what getting
saved does? It makes sin die!
3.
It all happens by…
a.
Jesus Christ and the Holy
Spirit working together in the life of a broken sinner to bring them back to
GOD!
b.
Jesus Christ – not what “I”
have done, or what the “church” has done, but what Jesus CHRIST HAS DONE!
c.
The Holy Spirit – He is the
worker in the background
1)
Always drawing me to the Bible
2)
Always gripping my heart and
convincing me of sin
3)
Always trying to open my eyes
to a different life
4.
Next time some sin gets it
grip on you remind yourself that Someone BIGGER has His grip on you and will
5.
So don’t think you are
powerless to resist, to fight against sin’s pull!
6.
If you are saved, you are not
a drunkard anymore… you are not a thief anymore… you are not an adulterer
anymore or a porn addict anymore… you are washed, sanctified, justified,
forgiven, pardoned, clean, FREE!
C.
You Cannot Lose Your Salvation
(1Cor 6:12a)
1.
There is NO Law against a
Christian now, that can ruin him
a.
It used to be, all I did was
THINK a sin, and I was ruined!
b.
Now, even the act of the worst
sin cannot send me to hell
2.
The Law of God was necessary
to show us our sinfulness and our need for a Saviour
3.
The grace of God allowed Jesus
to take away all our sins… completely! You see, once I accepted God’s verdict
against me, I could accept God’s forgiveness to me!
4.
Now, this verse does NOT mean
that I can do anything I want now – no way!
a.
No one may do as they please
and not be chastened by God
b.
No Christian can get away with
sinning
5.
The right idea
a.
God has made full payment on
the cross for
b.
I actually can do anything
against God’s laws and still go to heaven… yes!
c.
But a Christian can’t live
that way for very long! God won’t let us get away with sin (Rom 8:13). Period!
d.
A true Christian won’t/can’t
enjoy sinning – they will not find it enjoyable, or helpful anymore
e.
A real Christian will hate the
way sin enslaves them, and will flee anything that seeks to trap them in a yoke
of bondage (look at 1Cor 6:18a)
6.
But You CAN Lose Everything
Else.
a.
You can lose your health
b.
You can lose your mind
c.
You can lose your joy
d.
You can lose the peace that
passes all understanding – just try and hide your sins and see how long you pray
and read your Bible!
e.
You can lose your family –
just try and watch pornography and see how long your wife stays with you!
f.
You can lose your job – just
try stealing from your boss and see how long you keep working there!
g.
You can lose your life – die
early
h.
You just can’t lose your soul
– once you are born again!
D.
Therefore, Resist Anything That Seeks to Take Control
– Period! (1Cor 6:12b; Proverbs 25:28)
1.
He that hath no rule over his
own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
2.
This scripture should be a
wake up call for the disobedient.
a.
In the old days, a fortified
city had big, thick stone walls around it to protect it. In the absence of these
walls, invaders could come and go, at will, robbing the city and its inhabitants
of everything of value.
b.
When a person has no
discipline they are like that city with no walls. There is no protection so
Satan, and all other manner of unclean spirits can invade your life and do as
they please.
c.
Remember when Jesus called
Peter "Satan" in Matthew 16?
d.
Remember when Jesus rebuked
James and John for wanting to torch a whole village?
e.
No wonder so many Christians
are walking around defeated. They have exercised no discipline to know God and
resist sin. As a result, they are a broken down city. And the devil easily comes
and goes as he pleases!
3.
Go back to 1Cor 6:12b… Did you
see it?
a.
He said, "I will not be
brought under the power of any." You too can say it out loud right now. I will
not be brought under the power of my television. I will not be brought under the
power of my job. I will not be brought under the power of sin. I, instead, will
be brought under the power of God. In Jesus' name, Amen.
b.
Paul also said: “But
I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when
I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” 1 Corinthians
9:27
4.
Folks, your “inner man” (soul)
should dictate what the “outer man” (body) is going to do as you are guided by
the Holy Ghost.
5.
Hey! What do you allow to
control your life?
a.
Your TV? How many HOURS does
it control you?
b.
Your Friends? How much sin
have you learned and done simply because some idiot of a friend pushed you and
embarrassed you until you did it? Like girls talking guys into earrings…
c.
Your Family? How many people
think their family is more important thank putting the Lord first? And we wonder
why our families are rapidly falling apart!
d.
Secret sins? Those things you
have
e.
What about your Fears?
f.
What about your anger and
bitterness? Did you settle your anger by sundown (Eph 4:26,27),, or does it now
grow and dominate your thoughts and feelings so that there is no room for
forgiveness?
g.
How about drink, or some drug?
h.
How about your Music
collection… does it control you? If I came along and showed you how sinful Rock
Music is, would it be easy for you to throw away the CD, or would you put up a
fight?
6.
Anything that controls you
other than the sweet, gentle tug of the Holy Spirit of God, is to be ignored –
to be put off – to be resisted
7.
If you have no one to turn to,
then you need Jesus in your heart and life!
E.
How to Make a Stand so that You Can Bow your Knee to Jesus.
1.
Make a Stand – draw a line in
the sand and go no
2.
Resist controlling sins
steadfast in the faith – believing God will help you
3.
Bring every thought and
imagination into the presence of God Almighty (2Cor 10:5)
4.
Cast all your worries and
burdens onto Christ’s shoulders (1Peter 5:7)
5.
Stay in perfect love with
Jesus.
a.
Don’t keep focused very long
on your sins and on your past and on your failures
b.
Instead, keep your heart
focused on your best Friend, the lover of your soul!
IV.
Review and Conclusion
A.
You Cannot Serve Two Masters
B.
You Cannot Claim Powerlessness
C.
You Cannot Lose Your Salvation
D.
You CAN Resist Anything That
Seeks to Take Control
E.
It’s Time to Make a Stand so
that You Can Bow Your Knee to Jesus only!
Craig Ledbetter | Pastor |