Where Did That Thought Come From?

Introduction

Good evening.

In case I don’t speak fast enough, I wanted to add some volume into the mix. In Matthew chapter 21, beginning in verse 23, is where we will focus our thoughts this evening. And essentially, as you consider not only the hospitality of everyone here, I do want to say that a harm was done to me tonight. For years, I was given and executed on the chance to start a sermon by responding to what Ken said negatively. And tonight he robbed me of that chance. And I must admit I’m perplexed on what to do. Instead, I will extend my and Kashka and Benjamin’s extreme gratitude to everyone for spending time with us at all points in the day today and throughout the past couple days. We’re so thankful to study the Bible with you, but also to get back to be with you, to eat with you, much as the early Christians did, spending quality time, having quality conversations with quality people.

We appreciate and love you daily. Our question for this evening isn’t even just what’s an issue. It’s where are these thoughts that are causing issues in my mind coming from? Where do they originate from? Why am I struggling the way that I am? And whether it be the fact that we need to care like Jesus, or just the general idea that we need to focus more on a world that needs only what Jesus brings, or even as we talked about yesterday, how do we manage our mental health? I think one of the first things that is warranting our discussion at this point is where are all of those ideas that we have, good, bad, and ugly, coming from in the first place? When I’m struggling with my mental health in particular, what are the thoughts that Satan is using to poison my mind?

Where are the bad ideas coming from in which I try to fix it and it gets worse? And more importantly, what is it that God wants me to know and how can I know it? And really, there’s two different ways you can view a lesson like this. One of them is the age old philosophy. Garbage in creates garbage out. And if you want to put something valuable in, you would certainly want to plant the seeds of righteousness to see that in your life in the future. But on the other hand, it’s also just an examination, not of have good sources, that’s important. We’ll talk about it, I promise. But to say, when I have these thoughts, why are they so effective? How did they take such a hold in me beyond just the time I’ve given to it?

Because even some good, well-intentioned ideas, sermons, Bible classes, even can sometimes have some repercussions that we have to deal with as we kick around our minds Monday through Saturday when we’re not here. So I want us to learn from Matthew chapter 21 from Jesus, and he faces one of his many challenges. In verse 23, when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority? Now Jesus answered them, I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come?

From heaven or from man? And they discussed it among themselves, saying, If we say from heaven, he will say to us, Why then did you not believe him? But if we say from man, we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, We do not know. And he said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. So as usual, the chief priests are being a thorn in Jesus aside. They don’t appreciate his teaching. They don’t appreciate what he’s doing in terms of probably calling them out. He’s about to do that in a capitalistic way in Matthew chapter 23. But as we look at Jesus, we have to realize, first of all, as always, when Jesus is teaching, there are people who don’t like it.

And the question is, was any of his teaching wrong? Do you think it was ill-spirited? Unfair. Was he correcting his opponents? Probably. Do you think he was doing it with gentleness as Paul would command Timothy? Of course, he’s Jesus. He does all things well. He didn’t merit this. He’s probably just speaking the message of God. I don’t know how many different illustrations or parables he was using, but the point is that verse 23, he was teaching. And they said, By what authority are you doing these things? And so Jesus could have responded in any number of ways. He could have said, What problem do you have with my message? Are you denying that I have this authority? Or this is my moment to express my authority, to come down hard and say, I am the Son of God, I can say what I want when I want.

Disobeyed. We should have believed him. But if we say it’s just a man, that’s a problem because we do know that the crowd at least believes John to be a prophet. And so they have a tough dilemma here. It’s the answer they want to give gets them negative pushback. The answer they know they should give means a change of behavior. And see, keep in mind that none of these problems are Jesus’ fault. He asked them a pretty basic question. If they have a good heart and want to do the right thing, what is the easy answer? God sent his man, the man gave God’s message, and we should do what? Answer God’s word. That should be simple. It’s the people who made it complicated. And can we be honest to say, sometimes, whether it’s from external forces or our own internal language, thoughts, inclinations, we sometimes make life unnecessarily complicated.

And so they weigh their options and they choose the brilliant strategy of punting. They say, you know what, we’re just not even gonna answer. As if that is some sort of good strategy. They said, we do not know. And so Jesus refuses to answer their question, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. This is interesting. Because as we think about the fact that they refuse to answer when they have all these tough thoughts, and I don’t know all that they’re calculating. Are they thinking how can we take down Jesus in this moment? Or how can we neutralize his influence to the people who are listening? I’m not sure which one was higher on their list at the moment, but either way, they are called to a choice.

We have to do something with Jesus and his message. And our choices leave us choosing nothing. And the problem is, we see this over and over, you can choose nothing, but where does that get you? Nowhere. Sometimes what happens is we keep trying the same thing over and over, and over. And wouldn’t you know it? It doesn’t make anything better. If you’ve watched any football or basketball and you’ve seen the Orlando Magic or the Florida Gators, they do this in every sport and in every effort. They try the same thing, and guess what? It doesn’t work. But those boys get back out there and they try again, and you know what happens the next time? It still doesn’t work. And that’s frustrating, and we can laugh about it as fans.

It’s terrifying and a huge problem when it comes to our souls when we answer before God. And they can decide, they can look at Jesus and say, we don’t know. But we learned from Job last night that even a good, blameless, and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil, is gonna have Satan coming after him with everything that he has. And there is no punting. Punting is letting Satan win. In 2 Kings chapter 5, again, another story from yesterday’s evening’s lesson. If Naaman decided, okay, well, I just I’m gonna do nothing right now. I hear there’s a guy who can take care of my problem, I don’t really like the solution, and so I’m just gonna do nothing. How much of his leprosy would be healed in that scenario?

Well, none. It wouldn’t get any better. And it doesn’t matter that he didn’t understand, it didn’t matter that it wasn’t a foreign nation, it didn’t matter that it wasn’t what he thought. Remember, what was the beginning of the problem? Behold, I thought. The text even says in 2 Kings 5, he was angry and he left from there. You can choose. I can choose. We can all choose to keep lamenting how wicked the society is, how terrible I am, and how I make the same bad choices over and over and over again. But if I’m trying to fix it from the same flawed mindset, it’s not gonna magically click into place one day. So what do we do about this? Our question is if Jesus is gonna make us examine sources, it’s to examine what are the choices, and really, the source of our thoughts would matter because there’s only three.

1. If It’s From God, We Should Obey It

This is good news. I like things that are easy and bite-sized. This is it. There’s three of them. One of them is if you have a thought in your mind, I am doing really well, I am doing very poorly, I am struggling, I am succeeding. We need to be better at this. I could be better about that. If it’s from God, that’s good news. Because the only step is step A to B. Point A. God said it. Point B, I need to do it. This is the easy part of the lesson. And so enjoy this one. In Psalm 19, the 19th Psalm, turn with me there. If it’s God’s word, we should obey it. I hope that anyone who’s faithful enough to come to a gospel meeting on Tuesday night at 7 30 gets this point.

And I appreciate all of you being here as we study God’s word together. But let’s just examine the source so that we have it. We think about the perfect law of the Lord in verse 4. Their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber and like a strong man runs its course of joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. When God says it, it is complete, it is perfect.

It restores, revives, gives life to again the soul. And it is sure, making wise the simple. I think it’s interesting that we need to remember that there are thoughts in our mind. And they are happy thoughts, they are discouraging thoughts, they’re encouraging, there are challenges. And sometimes it feels like we can’t get out of it, and sometimes it feels like life is on easy. And if it is, soak it up. Because as we saw last night, the easy and the hard can come really close together. But when the message comes from God, whether it’s good news, bad news, tough news, wonderful news, joyous news, it needs to be trusted. Because God’s word always works. You know, it’s really funny to me. We have all of these advancements in society, and usually what happens is whether it comes to archaeological findings about the Hittites or translations or even just processes of being a human being, we come all the way back and we circle with all our advancements.

We found out, oh, guess what? The thing that God told us in his word for thousands of years is the best way the whole time. Even when it’s ancillary to the point of the prophets themselves, the point they were making showed something that we have just now discovered. Aren’t we brilliant? Aren’t we wonderful? Trust God from the get go, and it’ll help eliminate a lot of problems. But this is where it gets a little more dicey because God speaks and we know we should do it. I think we buy that. I don’t think we need to trample that ground any further. However, there’s this middle category, because we know the third one coming. I’m gonna forecast it. And I know a lot of you are writing down, trying to do it as fast as I speak, and so I’m gonna help you here.

2. Sometimes People Get Things Wrong; Satan Does It on Purpose

The third one’s gonna be Satan. Our options are God, people, or Satan. And yes, God can work through people, and Satan can work through people. We see examples of both in Genesis through Revelation. I promise I got that. But generically speaking, let’s view people as kind of a neutral. Whether they’re used or not, whether they’re trying their best. You have Apollos in Acts chapter 18. I believe he is preaching about Jesus and God’s word to the best of his ability. But he only knew about what? The baptism of John. Until some well-meaning Christians pulled him aside and spoke to him and explained the word of God to him more accurately. Then he went out and was incredibly successful and useful in the kingdom. I don’t think Satan was using him.

I think he was doing the best he could with the information he had. And his good heart showed when exposed to God’s good word, he changed. And it was a benefit to him and everyone around. And while that’s a great story, the reality is sometimes people get things wrong. Naaman wasn’t correct to throw a fit and to say, those waters of the Jordan are dirty. It’s logical. It was incredibly reasonable. And I gotta tell you, being someone who grew up in this area and is used to water, if someone sent me to the waters of the Jordan, I’d be like, no, thank you. East Coast is fine. Thank you. Or the beach that has the least amount of traffic on I-4, that’s the one for me.

I love clear water, that is really far from Disney World. And I want to be closer to Disney World than Clearwater. So Daytona, New Smyrna, it is. And I have good reason for that. If you’ve ever driven on I-4 in any stretch of that road, you know the less time you’re on it, the better. But if God says you go somewhere, whether my logic is sound or not, his way is gonna work out. Naaman was right. It makes no sense to dip in the dirty water as we’re gonna conclude our lesson. It makes no sense to be an Israelite in the army and be told you are gonna take down one of the most fortified cities in the history of the Old Testament world by marching, shouting, and playing an instrument.

I don’t like following rules generically, but can you imagine being a soldier being told these walls will fall if you walk for seven days and you shout with all your heart? I think that might be the day I leave dishonorably from the military. People sometimes get things wrong even when it makes sense. Because the way we look at the world isn’t the way God knows he made the world. And there’s a difference. What we do is we have our whole tapestry, and you put together a puzzle, and there’s those of you who like people, and there’s those of you who like puzzles. I am a puzzle person. Kashka’s a people person, but for my puzzle people, there’s one way to do a puzzle and to not be an animal about it.

What is that? You keep the box and you use the corners. Anything else is chaos, and I don’t want to share my puzzle with you. Right? You are gonna have the picture. You got to know what it’s supposed to end up like. And you start with the framework that you have. Okay, well, what happens is we get a couple pieces in our life, and as you get older, you get more pieces, and that’s awesome and kind of infuriating when you don’t have them. And then you’re confused because you realize how many more puzzle pieces you don’t have when you’re older and you finally get more. And we take our three pieces, our five pieces, our 15 pieces, and we go, God, these don’t fit. Why isn’t it working the way I wish it was?

It just doesn’t work. I have tried all I can. I’ve cut off the corners, I’ve pasted them together, I’ve glued it, I’ve taped it. It still doesn’t work. Because God is the only one with the entire plan from start to finish. He’s the only one who knows everything. He gives us what we need, not what we want or think we know. We sometimes get things wrong. And that does, can we be very honest? And this is very upsetting to me as someone who teaches, and in James 3 and verse 1 is told teachers are held to a stricter judgment. We sometimes, well-meaning, hopefully well-studied, and trying our best, like Apollos, teach and get taught things incorrectly. And that can be hard to overcome, can’t it? Because you put your trust in people.

One of my favorite and least favorite stories, I’m gonna be honest, Mike Manier’s not here. I want to tell you a story where I was incredibly embarrassed. One night I was preaching, one morning, excuse me, I was preaching from Matthew chapter 5, verses 43 through 48. And in my Bible, like everyone else’s, after verse 48, chapter 6 starts. And I looked at that all week, and I saw that’s gonna mess me up. That’s gonna mess me up. And the entire sermon, I said, Matthew 6, 43 through 48. If you want to do a quick check of that, that’s not gonna be helpful for you. And he came by my office and he said, You know, I couldn’t believe it. I just assumed that my online Bible was wrong because you hadn’t been wrong before, and the internet glitches sometimes.

And at first that felt great, and then I felt that small. Because sometimes we try, and I made a mistake, and I’m sorry about that. But sometimes people make mistakes out of malicious purposes, but a lot of times people are trying their best to teach the truth. And there are negative ramifications when we insert our opinion on top of God’s good word. People feel unnecessarily guilty, people feel unnecessarily safe. People feel like God is mean, people feel like God doesn’t care. People feel like God should have blessed me, people feel like God already has, and I can keep doing the wrong things I’m doing. And we don’t do it on purpose, but we have to make sure we don’t become like the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 15, and we bind our traditions as if they’re the commandments of God and ignore the commandments of God.

Have people taught us doctrine the commandments of men? Sure. Does that make it okay? Of course not. Satan wants that. Because unlike people who might do it on accident, Satan’s doing it on purpose. You see that in Job 1 and 2. He keeps looking at God who says, I have this great servant. He’s awesome, he’s Job. And Satan goes, You don’t have him. His stuff is why he’s faithful. And then in chapter 2, you don’t have him. His health is why he’s faithful. And by the way, Satan had a little bit of a point there because after he got stuck in a room with his friends for a long time, Job’s faith started to hit a challenge, didn’t it? God had to put him back in his place as we get to the end of the book of Job.

And God has some pretty powerful thoughts around chapter 37. But Satan is absolutely out to get us. Look at Luke chapter 22. You talk about some of God’s strongest warriors. Look at Luke chapter 22, beginning in verse 31. Jesus is going to talk to Peter. Oh, and isn’t Peter one of those people who is so well intentioned and so close to Jesus? And he just gets some things wrong, like you and I. In Luke 22, verse 31, Simon Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Peter said to him, Lord, I’m ready to go with you both to prison and to death.

And Jesus said, I tell you, Peter the rooster will not crow this day until you deny three times that you know me. Don’t you admire Peter’s faith here? I can instantly find, by the way, the glass half empty, folks, because you all just laughed at that, as if, ha, Peter. It’s awesome that he has a faith that says, I’m going to stand with you. The realists and me, and I’m on that side of the room, the skeptical, knows that Jesus is not only always right, Jesus was right. And then when you look at the end of Matthew chapter 26, where do we find Peter? Weeping bitterly, having failed Jesus after the rooster crowed. And I wish that wasn’t the case. And I wish I had the news that if you really just were perfect enough or if you had strong enough faith, Satan would leave you alone.

And that’s not the promise. If you can go for Job, if he can go for Peter, he for sure can come for me. And I need to make sure I’m not letting Satan’s lies get through my head, whether I hear them from a pulpit, a friend, social media, or forbid the news. Wherever it comes from, your closest family member, your closest friend, your nearby church, check it against God’s word. Because Satan’s going to use anyone he can. And he wants to make you think people are good. And because they’re well intentioned, they can’t be wrong. And unfortunately, that’s not the way it works. God is the only one who is good, defines good, and is always right. So as we consider the source of our thoughts, I want us to consider some common thoughts to consider the source up.

3. I’m Not Good Enough

This is the specifics of our lesson. One of them is, I’m not good enough. Right? I’m not enough, you might even say. If you’ve ever thought this, get in line. Because if you have any humility about yourself at all, you probably have struggled with this. And again, I want to look at Acts chapter 8 here. I want to look at some New Testament examples. So this isn’t just how we feel, and even though that is important. In Acts chapter 8, we’re going to see what the New Testament says about this. In Acts chapter 8, look at verse 18. Acts chapter 8 and verse 18. After Simon has been baptized, Simon is the person that Philip comes across in Samaria. He is baptized in verse 13. This is an awesome story.

And then in verse 18, when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money. Then give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money. You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. And Simon answered, Pray for me to the Lord that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.

Now, I will offer a hundred dollars to anyone who finds themselves saying to themselves constantly, and I need you to have three witnesses on it, because I really don’t want to give you that hundred dollars. I am stuck in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. Anyone use that catchphrase? We don’t talk like that, but all of us feel like that. Can you imagine being someone who is on top of the world? You believed in the resurrected Jesus enough to be baptized. You finally see Peter, who’s finally figured it out, which is an awesome change, by the way, showing you can overcome past failure. And then he comes to you, and your first opportunity to talk to the head honcho apostle, he looks at you and says, You’re the worst.

You’re sinning, and if you don’t repent right now, you’re doomed. I don’t think this feels small enough. Can you imagine? And we come to church and we hear rightly lessons that say, if you don’t clean up your life, you are in sin. God hates sin. He can’t look at sin. And we think about how I’m not good enough. I can’t be perfect. I won’t be perfect. I am not perfect. I am Simon. Every time I’ve got it figured out, I ask another question, it leads me down the wrong road again. And I want to say two things about this. Number one, if you are not good enough because you were actively living in sin, stop actively living in sin. Get help. We’ve talked about that a lot.

But I want to talk about the other side of the same coin. I think a lot of us feel like we’re not good enough, and I have good news and terrible news for you. The terrible news is we’re not. We are not good enough. And by the way, there’s a bit of a teaching on this that’s problematic too, because we either teach that we can be good enough if I do the right things in the right sequences, God will love me because God loves me once I’m cleaned up. God can see what a mess I was and he’ll see how good I can be. And when I get to that realized form, I’ll feel confident. I gotta tell you, if you take that approach, not only are you missing the New Testament message, you won’t feel confident because you’ve made your salvation about you and not Jesus.

Jesus is the only one who saves. Good behavior does not save you. Good behavior cannot make Jesus come and die on the cross and be resurrected. Only God the Father could do that. I am not good enough. And the fantastic good news is the gospel, isn’t it? The power of God into salvation for everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek. That at the right time, Christ died for the weak and the ungodly. That God demonstrates his own love towards us and while we’re still sinners, Christ died for us. There’s a reason Romans 5 has found its way into every lesson, because in a society that wants us to think that there’s a million ways to be right, Jesus teaches there’s the narrow way and the broad way.

There’s a good tree and there’s a bad tree. There’s those who do the will of the Father and those who do not. And we look at ourselves and we say, I can’t think that I’m only on the narrow way. I’m not good enough to just be the good tree, and I’m not good enough. And the point is, you’re not. Jesus died for you. Not to wallow in it, not to spite him and say, Well, thanks for the forgiveness. I’m going back to the mud, but that you can change because Jesus can get you out of the pit that we have all deserved with our behavior. The only thing I have ever deserved is God’s wrath. And as long as I live on this earth, almost the only thing God’s ever offered me is love, grace, mercy, and opportunity.

Isn’t that awesome? If Satan is whispering to you, you’re not good enough, tell him, thank you for reminding me that I’m the person Jesus died for. Because if you think you are good enough, you don’t need Jesus. Jesus is for sinners. In Mark chapter 2 and verses 15 through 17, who is he dining with that made guess who mad? The tax collectors and the sinners. And what did he say? These are great people. They’re awesome. How dare you judge them? They are good the way they are. I love them, and that’s enough. He said, the physician. I want Jesus’ healing, which means I have to acknowledge I am sick. Can you mess with the grammar of what I’m saying a little bit? Sure. We need to be cleaned up.

4. I Should Just Give Up

We need to be different. We need to be better. But please, let’s take the majority of what I’m saying that Jesus died for us, not because I clean up nice, but because I needed to be cleansed of my sin. It is not about the end product, it’s about the soul that God cares about when he created it, when he sent Jesus to die for it, and when he wants to reclaim it with the blood of his son. Another thought that we have is I should just give up. Right? Because I know I’m not good enough, and I know Jesus died for me, and that’s awesome, but there is still judgment. There is still the narrow way. There is still the idea that I have to be better, and it’s just not working for me.

And I’m not trying the same thing over and over and over. I’ve been there, done that, didn’t help, even though I bought the t-shirt. I tried a different way. I got help from my deacon, my elder, my preacher, my friend. None of it worked. I keep on sinning. I’m the worst. And by the way, again, please hear me clearly. The Bible doesn’t say it’s okay to just do whatever you want. But should we just give up ever? That’s not in the pages of Genesis 1 through Revelation 22 in a good way. It’s in the pages. We see that with Elijah. And what does God tell him? Does he say, you know what, Elijah? You’re right. You are the only one. The situation’s pretty dire. Jezebel is in fact the worst.

You are actually running for your life. Just take it easy. You’re done. Go into an early retirement. You’ve worked hard. He tells him, you need to get up and look. And there was the great wind and the earthquake and the fire, but guess where God was? In the whisperer. And when he finally listened to the word of the Lord, Elijah had the courage to say, I’m still the only one left. Israel has forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and I am the only one left. It is enough now, Lord, take my life. And what does God say to him then? I have work for you. Go anoint Jehu. Go train Elisha, whom I have chosen. Remember that thing about God having all the pieces and all the plan?

Those pieces and those plan involve his people, realizing not only were we made, created in Christ Jesus for good works, but he has a plan for us to help other people who are struggling too. Do not believe Satan when he tells you, give up, because the only person you’re pleasing is Satan. Because when you give up, guess what you feel more of? Like a failure. If you feel like a failure, it’s either because you’re letting the wrong people tell you that or you’re listening to Satan’s lies. God doesn’t make junk and he didn’t send Jesus to die for junk either. He loves you.

And part of his plan to reach out to you is for you and I, as brothers and sisters in your local congregation, to reach out. Look at this in Galatians chapter 6. Galatians chapter 6. This implies, first of all, that we not only care about people who are about to give up, but that I have a relationship with them, such as I know what they’re feeling, I know what they’re struggling with, and they trust me enough to talk to me about it. And that means, by the way, I don’t just say hello, it means I have a conversation. It doesn’t just mean I say, hey, how are you doing? What are your sins? Stop doing that. Punch them in the face. We have to have trust.

We have to have a relationship that says, you can trust me because I am with you in the name of Jesus. We are on the same side. We are all in the hospital together with the IVs, limping along because of the good news of Jesus, when we can then run. In Galatians chapter 6 and verse 1, brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgressions, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself lest you two be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor, for each will have to bear his own load.

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. True tape letters is one of my favorite things to read. C.S. Lewis writes a great book. And it’s from the perspective of a demon or demons trying to trick humans or deceive them, push them, guide them away from God.

But think for a minute, just like a demon or like Satan. Why would he want you to just give up? Why would he want you to think that? Because, number one, if I think that like Elijah, I’m doing no one any good in the cave. God’s greatest prophet at the time is sitting there helping no one while he’s throwing his pity party for what? But even if we pretended like that’s fine and understandable, here’s the harm. As I continue to think about how I’m not good, I’m struggling, and I should just give up. I am not doing what Galatians chapter 6 says, which is what? Sowing so that I can reap later. When you are having the party that says, I am alone, I should just give up, what are you usually doing about it that will help you in the future?

Nothing. The more I’m thinking about how unfair it is, how big of a failure I am, or how I should just give up, the less I’m helping myself along the way. And I think probably someone sitting here going, Yes, but my question is, how do I get out of it? And that answers also in Galatians chapter 6. What are we supposed to do? If someone is caught in a transgression, this is a spiritual problem. This is a sin problem. In verse 2, we are to do what? Bear one another’s burdens. And so if you’re struggling that way, please do your part. At least put your hand up. At least let it be known. But man, don’t we need to do better as people who, if you’re not in that storm, if you’re not facing this thought, being able to identify and help find people who are feeling it before the devil wraps his fingers around their neck?

It’s really hard to get someone away from the edge when they’re already almost falling over it. How much good could be done if we stopped them before it happened? Kash and I moved on March 13th of 2020. The weekend the world shut down. Alabama was so upset we came there, they shut the entire country down. Can you believe it? What happened in a lot of churches? Everywhere I’ve spoken to, there’s a lot of good that came out of it, there’s a lot of bad. One bad thing that happened almost everywhere I’ve heard that has people, not only people problems, but specifically, anyone who was close to the edge, when the church doors closed, like they did most places for any amount of time, they fell off.

And one of the problems is when we let people get so close to the edge that one more push, one more breath from Satan pushes them over. It’s too late, and we go, how didn’t we see it coming? Why didn’t I help them? Why wasn’t I there? Because we’re not trained to look. We’re not training ourselves. You gotta plant the seed of eyes to look. Pray about this. Pray, God, help me see those who need a kind word. Help me see people who are on the verge of giving up so that they don’t get to the point of desperation. And then when Satan sends a huge hammer at it, it’s too late. And I’m not blaming myself or anyone here for anyone who fell away. We answer before God alone.

But clearly we’re supposed to be part of a team. And that team involves people who watch each other’s back and care so that we’re not surprised because we have too many relationships for someone to slip through the cracks or to get to the edge unless they just really want to be there. Don’t give up. Don’t let Satan convince you to give up, and don’t think you can’t change. And Job 3, we won’t read this for the sake of time, but in his soliloquy, after he does not charge God with sin in chapter 1, he does not charge God with sin in chapter 2, despite his wife telling him to curse God. In chapter 3, he says, I wish I wasn’t even born. I don’t know why I’m here.

We took our best shot, fire from heaven, and they’ve torn down your altar and forsaken your covenants. Just take me now, I’m the only one. This is straight an easy thing to hear. This is from Satan. It’s difficult to change it, though. It’s easy to understand. This doesn’t come from God, and this doesn’t even come from people unless they are evil and vile. This comes from the deceiver. And please know if you have any thought that comes from Satan, it needs to be rejected on site as fast as possible. And if it’s getting any traction in you, find someone who can point that out to you so you stop thinking it’s about you and rather realizing it’s Satan working to pull you, to sift you like wheat, like he did Peter, to tear down Job like he did in chapters 1 and 2.

5. I Can’t Change

I can’t change is one of the biggest lies Satan has been using since the beginning. What you see, Eve, is what you can have. And when he tells me I can’t change, he’s saying, look at your life. Count your failures. I was there, you were there, you said the wrong thing, you did the wrong thing, you had the sin and you came back to it. You got cleaned up and you went back into the mud. Over and over and over, Satan plays them like an old school projector. You’re just going through in your mind at night. I am bad, I am wicked, I can’t change. And you know who’s loving it, eating popcorn? Satan. Because eventually we just stop. And we want to give up. We want to think we’re not good enough.

I think it’s really interesting in a world that’s so wicked, we feel like we just can’t break out because I can’t keep my standard of living and be a Christian. So maybe, by the way, we need to pop the bubble of the standard of living, right? Or maybe I just don’t have the skill set. In Acts chapter 8, verse 1 through 4, it’s fascinating. It’s one of my favorite verses in the New Testament. It’s kind of random, but I still love it. In Acts chapter 8, verses 1 through 4, as you think about what Jesus says in Acts 1, he basically gives an outline for what’s going to happen. That the gospel’s going to start in Jerusalem, it’s going to spread to Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth.

And what we have in Acts chapter 8 is the beginning of the transition. And we think, right, in Jerusalem, the apostles were there, the Holy Spirit inspired them. This was the coming of the kingdom. It was here, it was powerful, it was awesome. Then in Acts chapter 8, we think, okay, it’s going to start spreading. And you know who’s going to do it? It’s going to be Peter. It’s going to be John, it’s going to be those apostles. That’s not what happens. In Acts chapter 8 and verse 1, Saul approved of his execution, and there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. So keep in mind now, every Christian, essentially, has been sent out except who?

The powerful chosen apostles. But Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house. He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now, verse 4. Those who were scattered went about preaching the word. And that includes Philip in verse 5, who went to Samaria, who found Simon the sorcerer, who was baptized, who sinned again like we do, and repented and found himself back in the grace of God. Isn’t that pretty awesome? We would say if a government is taking away all their rights, if they don’t have the training and they don’t have the Holy Spirit like Peter and John and the rest of the apostles did, these aren’t the people to go. And God said, Oh yeah, this is exactly who my kingdom needs, and exactly when they need him.

At a time Saul is coming after them, door by door. The Romans continued to be no friend to Christianity, and the apostles were of no help outside of their location. When did the church grow? When people, without the training, without a home, without much hope, decided they could talk about how great Jesus is. I can talk till I’m blue in the face about all my limitations. I have a ton of them. And if you don’t think that’s true, ask the row up there. They got an even longer list than I have. But it’s never been about me. Just like being good enough’s not about me. Giving up isn’t about me. The fact that I can’t change isn’t about me. It’s about God loves me so much he sent Jesus to die for me, knowing I struggle before and after baptism.

Knowing I am limited, I can still change. And remember, by the way, it was Moses, who four times in Exodus 3 and 4 tells God, you have the wrong guy. And one of his last attempts is, God, I’m not eloquent enough. And God says I can fix that problem twice. Checkmate. Number one, I’m going to give you the helper, Aaron. Number two, be very careful who you talk to, Moses, about what you can and can’t do, because who made you? Who made your mouth? God says, You’re talking to the wrong guy. I know you. I know what you can do, and I didn’t make a mistake choosing you. We can change. And if Moses can change, if he can consider the reproaches of Christ worthy of leaving the treasures of Egypt, I can move on too.

6. It’s Not That Bad

And one of the things I think Satan’s really crafty with on the other side of the ledger is this one right here. We say, okay, well, I know I’m not good enough, and that’s awesome. I’m not gonna give up because I know God is there for me. I know Jesus died for me, so I can change. I can be awesome, I can be important. And then we keep this little sin basket in the corner of our house, and we just keep it there kind of like a little pet, right? It’s not that bad. In Acts chapter 5, we have just a little lie, just a little greed. And what does God do with that? Strikes them dead. How’s that for a heartwarming story on Tuesday night?

I don’t know exactly why God chose then and there to operate with that level of punishment. But what I do know is the text says, a great fear came upon those who believed. And wouldn’t you believe lying stopped for at least a day or two after that when they saw the power of God? Strike just like that. But I don’t want to look at that. I want to look at one a little bit less extreme, more of a narrative. Luke chapter 15, the story of the prodigal son. But when we think about the prodigal son, we love that because he’s the sinner who comes back. But again, what was this about? We talked about this briefly. In verse 1 and 2, guess who? The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him, and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them.

The fact that Jesus can even be around the Pharisees and the scribes and maintain his faith is unbelievable. The fact that he cannot lash out at them. We need to have more grace for people. But as you look at verse 25, here is the older brother. This is what the prodigal son’s story is probably actually about. The older son sees his son, his excuse me, younger brother, his father’s son come back in the celebration that came because the son was dead and now is alive. His older son was in the field as he came and drew near to the house. He heard music and dancing, and he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, Your brother has come and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.

But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father Look, these many years I have served you and I have never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came and has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him. He said to him, Son, you are always with me. And all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad. For this your brother was dead and is alive, he was lost and is found. If you don’t identify with the prodigal son, and you probably should, you need to identify with the older son, and I think Christians should.

These are the folks sitting there, and we think, okay, yeah, I’ve been there. I felt like I wasn’t good enough. And I’m thankful Jesus died for me. I wanted to give up, but Jesus showed me he can work through my weaknesses. I can change, I can be better, I can bounce back. But then we do a couple things. One is we get mad when anyone else follows that same formula that I desperately needed and wanted from Jesus, which means grace, mercy, and love. But the second thing is we kind of forget that, yeah, I’m way better than I was, but I’m still letting sin in my life. And God never says just the little sin is okay. We are to strive to be better all the time.

And isn’t it awesome that we know we can be? Don’t let Satan tell you it’s not a big deal. Don’t let him say you won’t surely die. Don’t let him lie to you. Sin matters. But beyond that, God’s given you not only the help we need to pray together, but he’s promised that if you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive them and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That is amazing. Sin is that bad. It can separate you from God, but it doesn’t have to, because God promises and he always keeps his promise, his love is bigger than my failure. But I do have a job to keep. And so when I’m thinking about this, I need to know it’s not that bad.

Conclusion

That’s a worldly thought. And that worldly thought comes from Satan. And if you can identify a person it came from, great. You may have just found someone Satan’s using as pretending to be an angel of light. Scary, but possible. So how can we conclude and better control our thoughts? One of them is consider and control the source. It is true. Look at Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 through 24. We need to guard the gate. Where are our treasures? Right? What are we focused on? If we focus on worldliness and all that comes with making me happy and all the things that make me feel good about me because self-improvement is about me being the best me I can be, because if I have enough knowledge, I can be awesome and me will be good.

Then I’m going to think about that. I’m going to dwell on that, and I might even enjoy that temporarily. Or I can be like Abraham who lived my worst nightmare. In Genesis chapter 12, verses 1 through 3. In Genesis chapter 12, notice what God says to him, and this is the entirety of what we have on this until Hebrews, which makes it worse. Genesis 12, verse 1. Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I’ll make of you a great nation, I will bless you, make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you, I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

So what did God tell him? Leave everyone you know, leave the area you’re used to, and go somewhere. Hebrews chapter 11, turn with me there. Hebrews chapter 11. We get a little bit more insight on it. And the faith that Abraham uses to obey this courageous call. In Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 8, by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called out to go to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was going. Now, as we know, there’s two types of people. There’s surprise people and planning people. They’re the same in vacation planning. There are planners and there are wackos. Planners plan a vacation. They know when they’re leaving, which airline they’re gonna sit on because the chairs are good or the baggage policy is good, or the loading policy is good.

We know the streets we’re gonna visit, we know where we’re going to eat there because that’s what vacation is, just eating in a different place a lot of times. And we’re gonna find roads we’ve been, hotels we’ve stayed at, and we’re gonna go the same places over and over because we’re used to it, it’s safe, and it’s good. Crazy people either pretend to not know, and the planner is doing it for them, or they go and they figure it out and just hope tragedy doesn’t strike. I gotta tell you, do it enough. Tragedy’s gonna strike you. Here is Abraham told by God, you go, essentially now, and I’m not telling you where. Can you imagine? How many hours we put into a fun vacation? And Abraham’s told to leave everything he knows for the rest of his life and just go.

It’s easy to act like I’m faithful and I’m in control of my thoughts when everything God wants for me happens to be exactly what I want anyway. When I want the sweetest wife in the history of the world, and Kashka comes and meets me, and she is silly enough to want to marry me, that’s awesome. Isn’t God’s will great? It’s easy to celebrate that. But what is God’s will when he wants me, who doesn’t like to go anywhere without knowing it first, and told to just go. Go today. Don’t know where you’re going, don’t know how long it’s gonna be, don’t know when you’re gonna come back, just go. Then I have a bit of a faith conscience. Isn’t it funny how those voices start to speak up?

Is that really right? Is that really what God wants for me? Will you really die? Consider where is the voice coming from that’s giving you the advice on your life? Is it well-meaning, well-intentioned people? I hope it’s good advice, but know that it might not be. Is it from Satan? Please shut that down. But if it’s from God, verify it. Seek his answers. Naaman didn’t hear from the prophet himself. He heard from a messenger. But it was God’s word. Because I gotta tell you, as great as Elijah, great as Elisha, as great as the apostles are, they couldn’t do anything if they didn’t have the power given to them by God. There is no healing, there is no benefit to anyone unless God granted the ability and the power to execute.

And so when Naaman was told what to do by God, he had a choice accept it and be healed or reject it. It didn’t matter that it was a messenger. It didn’t matter that the prophet didn’t come out to see him, and it didn’t matter that he went a really long way, and he is really, really important. When God said it, it would be happening. Colossians chapter 3. This is how we guard the gate. This is how we seek his answers. Notice this is Colossians chapter 3. Rather than fixating on all that is my weaknesses, which I will find, all that is unfair in my life, like Joseph experienced with the pit in the prison, which I will find. Now think of all the ways that people have failed, man could be better, and they can, they have, and they will continue to.

I need to do this instead. Verse 1 if then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. As Brother Walcott says, three points here, one of them in verse one. Seek, set in verse two, and verse five, separate. Seek the things that are above. Stop focusing on how unfair things are. Satan wants you to see that. Here’s the news flash. Life is unfair. And I hate that. But it is.

Consider the thought. Why am I dwelling on it? Does that help me at all? Unless it points me to how good God is, stop thinking about it. Seek Christ. Verse 2. How do I do that? Well, I gotta set. Set my mind on things that are above. And maybe I’m struggling to seek consent appropriately because verse 5, I haven’t separated from those things that are earthly in me. Maybe there’s so much of the world that I’m getting close to the ledge and I don’t even know it because I’m listening to the world, which makes me think like the world, which makes me love the things in the world. In 1 John chapter 2, we are told loving the things in the world in and of itself is a problem.

Not just caving to them, loving things in the world that are not eternal is its own problem. If it’s from God, seek his answers. If it’s from men, check it against God’s will. Because ultimately, there will be a point in time where you have to decide, will I do what God says or will I do what man says? And when they contradict, the answer is easy. Do what God says. That’s very difficult in practice. And by the way, this verse gets used all the time, right? I gotta do what God says. We must obey God rather than men. It applies way less frequently than I hear people cite this one. Okay, so be very careful. If you’re one of the men or women applying this, just because it’s there doesn’t mean it’s for everyone all the time.

God spoke to humans and said, Build thee an ark, but none of us are building it. And if you are, don’t invite me to your backyard. There’s a time and a place. We call it context for God’s commands and God’s word for us. If a man says it, even a man from up here, check it against God’s word. When your shepherds and deacons and Bible class teachers say something to you. Check it against God’s word. And by the way, if I or anyone else has a problem with that, that’s on us because I don’t have the puzzle piece. I got a couple of them, maybe, but God has the box and every piece in the right order. I am not above reproach and above questioning. If it’s from man, including yourself, including whoever you think is the best teacher you’ve ever heard, check it with God’s will.

Social media can have awesome self-improvement. They can have awesome ideas that even look and sound good. In fact, there’s even a calendar that has scripture of a day. And you know what it cited one time? This wonderful verse in Matthew chapter 4. And you know who spoke these wonderful words of encouragement to trust that angels will take care of you? Satan. The verse left off the point of the context that it was Satan trying to tempt Jesus with the words from the 91st Psalm. And if I just saw it on social media real quick or on my calendar, I think, isn’t that a lovely verse? And it is in context. But Satan uses pieces of that context to make me get close to Jesus, but there is no close.

There is with the Savior or on my own. Verify, seek, set, and separate. If it’s from Satan, please let it go. He is going to lie to you. He has lied since the beginning. He has lied since the middle. He is lying today. And as long as this world exists, and before he burns in the lake of fire and brimstone, which is made for him, he is gonna lie to you again and again and again. And he’s gonna use it from clever ways. He’s gonna get those politicians who you’re gonna listen to when we go home tonight, and he’s gonna make them say all these bad things and make you think all these bad things and make you forget that this world needs Jesus. He’s gonna make you think she or he are the actual enemy.

Satan is the enemy. And if they want to work for him, they’re the enemy too. That’s on them. But I am to pray for my leaders in 1 Timothy 2 and verse 1. I am to be thankful that God sets up governments that allow for some semblance of order in Romans chapter 13. When it’s from Satan, don’t just let it go. Drop it and chuck it as far as you can. If you were talking to Job, you would say, like his friends did, Job, maybe you’re just going to be more humble. Maybe this is your fault because we always want to have a reason for something. Maybe that reason is the source I’m not paying attention to. Internet, the podcast, the radio, the news, the debate, my family.

All these inputs. They’re mostly good, they’re kind of good. And Satan loves to use kind of because it leads to all kinds of bad and wrong. If it’s from Satan, let it go. Don’t be the older brother who sees something to be excited about and be the flying of the ointment and say, How can you celebrate him? He was the worst. I’ve been here the whole time. Matthew chapter 6 and verse 25, Jesus says, do not be anxious about your life, what you’ll eat, what you will drink, what you’ll wear. Your Heavenly Father knows that you need these things. This is in the context of a people who in Matthew 6, he’s saying, don’t pray for attention. Don’t give for attention. Don’t pray with useless repetitions to sound good.

Don’t lay up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. These things are real problematic. Life is hard and we need all of them, but God has got that. When you feel like you’re not good enough, please know that God doesn’t make junk. But sometimes we choose to jump in the junk pile. And even despite that, through that, and especially then, the scriptures teach us that when Jesus that is when Jesus shows us the most compassion and love. Have the humility to say, I need Jesus. If you’re not a Christian, recognize if you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, if you’re willing to confess Him as Lord, repent of your sins and be baptized, God’s word teaches us you can be connected with the only thing that can fix you with your sin problem, the blood of Christ.

And you can tonight be a new creature. You can be saved. You can have confidence in your salvation. Isn’t that amazing? Sinful people like you and I can have confidence that we can be with God. Or maybe you’re a Christian and you doubt that confidence because Satan says, You’re not good enough. Tell them then, isn’t it awesome that my God’s smarter than you and sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sins? And if I repent and confess them, he will forgive. And God’s word is always good. God’s word is always faithful. And if I seek, set, and separate, I will be with my God forever. How’s that? For truth is everlasting. We can help you at all. Come forward as we stand and sing the invitation song.