Man Bites Dog!

August 31, 2014 (11/10/02, adapted
Man Bites Dog!
2Kings 7:1-11 (esp. 7:9)                        NOTES NOT EDITED

SIS – The greatest joy and the most serious responsibility for Christians is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others.

[MAN BITES DOG] West Virginia is an interesting place.  So often, when W.Va. makes "news" it is less than normal, more often just a little off center.  Editor's train their "cub reporters" to look for the "unusual twist" to a human interest story.  A common dictum in journalism is: "When a dog bites a man -- it is not news, but . . . when a man bites a dog -- that's news!"  Senior editors send out the cub reporters hoping to find a "Man bites dog!" story.

Yep!  West Virginia came through!  The A.P. ran a story some time back, from Huntington, WV. headlined:  "Man Turns Tables On Growling Dog".  William Burgess was tired of being harrassed by a neighbors dog everytime he would walk by.  So, on one occassion, Burgess had all he could take so he "bit the neighbors growling dog".  I might add, he was drunk when he did it.

You see, “news,” is something that is extraordinary and beyond the mundane, anticipated events of life.  So, too, in the spiritual realm.  The Gospel is “good NEWS.”  Nothing in all the history of the world has been, and is, as extraordinary and beyond the mundane events of life as the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The Christian gospel is NEWS because it is not what is usually expected in discussions of men in relation to God.  In every other religion, the flow of activity is from man to God through some set of rituals, practices or ideas.  Religion is like the “up” escalator.  The Good News or the gospel of Christ turns religion on its head.  Whereas all other religions flow from man to God, Christianity shows that God came to man. Christianity is like the “down” escalator.” All other religions are like a dog biting a man—not news at all.  Christianity is about man biting a dog, in a manner of speaking, and that is the GREATEST NEWS OF ALL!

That news, the Good News of the gospel is the most powerful story that has ever or could ever be told.  Paul tells us that the Good News, or gospel, is:  God’s power to us who are being saved (1Cor. 1:18).

Friends!  That's It!  That's the KEY to Revival! That’s the “news” that will turn our world upside down for Christ.  The gospel is “good NEWS” because it is extraordinary with extraordinary power.

Opening our doors for worship each Sunday . . . that's not news!

Erecting tall steeples on our buildings . . . that's not news!

Half-hearted singing of far removed hymns . . . that's not news!

BUSINESS AS USUAL IN THE CHURCH . . . THAT'S NOT NEWS!

Turning our world up-side down for Christ with a bold mission to reach every person with the Gospel . . . that's news!

Paul and Silas Turned Their World Up-side Down! We can, too!

Paul and Silas preached the Gospel in Thessalonica and "Some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas" (Acts 17:4).  So powerful was Paul's missionary message that the pagan rulers of the town cried out:  These that have turned the world upside down have come here also.”

Friend . . . The revival efforts of Paul and Silas made the "news"

Because they weren't afraid to "bite a few dogs" to share the gospel!

WE WON'T TURN OUR WORLD UPSIDE-DOWN, UNTIL WE LET JESUS TURN US INSIDE-OUT. REVIVAL  MEANS CHANGE! WE HAVE TO GET WHAT WE HAVE HERE ON CHURCH ON SUNDAY MORNING OUT TO THE STREETS MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.

BUT WHY BOTHER . . . WHY SHARE THE GOSPEL? IF PEOPLE WANT TO GET SAVED, LET THEM COME TO CHURCH!  NO! NO! NO! THE WORD SAYS "GO!"

The Word reminds us:

How Shall They Hear Without A Preacher?  And How Shall They Preach    Unless Someone Sends Them (Romans 10)?

I want to share a story from God's word that shows us "Why" we must share the Gospel with others. 

                                                           

This exciting story is found in 2Kings chapters 6 and 7. Before we read our text, let me summarize the background. Israel had once again rebelled against the love and grace of God.  As a result an invading army had besieged Samaria, a major city in Northern Israel.  The siege had brought about a horrible famine.  People resorted to consuming the most terrible of commodities.  A donkey’s head sold for the equivalent of a 2 pound bar of silver.  A small bowl of pigeon droppings went for 2 ounces of silver.  Times were so bad that people resorted to killing and eating their children.  Elisha, God’s prophet is thrown into the middle of this horrible situation.  Elisha prophesied that God could, and God would, at the people’s repentance, bring prosperity to the land. 

Our text shows us how God used four unlikely messengers and an unusual set of circumstances to bring in a “flood of God’s blessings.”

Stand with me as we read 2Kings 7:1-10

(2 Ki 7:1-11)  Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." {2} The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" "You will see it with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!" {3} Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die? {4} If we say, 'We'll go into the city'--the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die." {5} At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, {6} for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" {7} So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives. {8} The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also. {9} Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace." {10} So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, "We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there--not a sound of anyone--only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were." {11} The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.

Eventually the skeptic king investigated and found the the situation just as the lepers had reported.  We don’t know where the Aramaens fled to or why, but God brought His blessings just as Elisha prophesied.

This story gives us three reasons why we should pray for, plan for, and preach for revival in our church, our community, and our land.

1.  WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS (6:26-29)

(2 Ki 6:24-30)  {26} As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, "Help me, my lord the king!" {27} The king replied, "If the LORD does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?" {28} Then he asked her, "What's the matter?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son.' {29} So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we may eat him,' but she had hidden him." {30} When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and there, underneath, he had sackcloth on his body.

There was a real crisis in the land.  It was more than an economic crisis, it was a moral crisis.  History has shown us that the pit of human depravity really is bottomless.  The atrocities that humans can engage in when there is no moral restraint defy description.  Consider the atrocities of Hitler’s Germany.  But, you do not need to stop with Hitler, consider the senseless killings we read about in the paper everyday.  Think about the horrific slaughter of innocent people in the Middle East happening every single day. 

Think of the unrest, violence, and corruption on the streets of our very own country.  There are things published freely on the Internet that would have sent a person to jail when I was a kid.  Pornography flows on computer screens like water over the Niagara Falls.  Just look on the campuses of any Middle School.  If the shorts were any shorter on the girls they would be tops not bottoms!  It is more likely students will get hooked on drugs before they have a diploma to hang on their walls.  I could go on and on and on.  We live is a world that desperately—I mean donkey head eating desperation—that desperately needs to hear the Good News!

We live in a "sin-riddled world that is breeding despair like a cesspool breeds bacteria!"

Can You Watch TV or Read The Paper and Not Ask:  "How low can we go?" The World Desperately Needs What We In The Church Have . . . Whether They Admit It Or Not!  Sin is destroying the souls of men and the soul of our nation.

We must share because of What the World Needs—What people desperately need.  We MUST also share because of

2.  What We Have! (7:3-8)

(1).  First, We have the SOLUTION to man’s SITUATION (v 6)

(2 Ki 7:6)  FOR THE LORD had caused the Arameans to hear the

sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said

to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and

Egyptian kings to attack us!"

The solution to man’s desperate situation is simple: “the Lord!” Verse 6 starts, “For the Lord.”  God in Christ is the only solution.

Salvation is both God’s idea and God’s responsibility. God has provided a simple solution to man’s desperate situation.

(John 3:16)  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

All the work has already been done . . .

we just need to receive what God provided.

[An Indian Chief's Wisdom] A man walking along a road came upon an Indian Chief lying with his head on the ground.  The man thought he was listening to something and asked, "What is it?"  The Indian answered, "Large wheels...Ford truck...green...Colorado plates...going about 75 MPH.  Wow!  The man was impressed.  He put his ear to the ground but didn't hear anything.  "That's amazing!  You can get all that information just by listening with your ear to the ground?"  The Indian groaned back:  "Ear to the ground, nothing!  That truck just ran over me!"

Don't Complicate The Gospel...It's Really Simple.  Man seems to have a greater desire to be "impressed", than inspired! People flock to experts with Ph.D’s to solve their problems when what they need is the simple truth of the gospel.  Jesus died on the cross to pay for mankind’s sin and anyone who believes in Jesus has eternal life.  It’s not very complicated.  God’s provided everything in Christ.

Right there in the camp—verses 6-8--was everything they needed and more.  All they had to do was walk in and take it!  Salvation is as simple as that.  Don’t make life complicated. 

We have the answer.  We have the solution. We have the Good News.

Do you know a child that will wake up each morning without a Mommy or Daddy That lovingly and tenderly gets them ready for school? We have the answer. Do you know a lonely widow, or widower, who spends endless days alone? We have the answer.  Do you know a lost family member that needs to find Jesus before it is too late? We have the answer:  the Good News of Jesus Christ.

                                   

Sharing the gospel means touching a needy world with the tender hand of Christ.  God’s provided all we need in the gospel to turn our world upside-down!

(2).  Second, WE HAVE a “salvation that satisfies.”  (VERSE 8)

(2 Ki 7:8)  The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.

THESE LEPERS WERE DESPERATE MEN.  The situation in the city was bad enough. . .and these lepers weren't even allowed in the city!  Look at verse 3 . . .these were desperate men. 

[Their Names Weren't Even In The Hat] A man who owed a lot of people a lot of money had fallen on hard times.  He had lost his job and taken another at a much lower rate.  Creditors began calling because of his late payments -- they wanted their money.  Finally, in desperation he mailed this letter to each creditor.  To Whom It May Concern:  I have fallen on hard times and I am doing my best to pay everyone what I owe.  I can no longer tolerate the harassing phone calls so I have instituted the following payment plan:  each month I will place the names of everyone I owe in a hat.  I will draw out names of creditors until I run out of money until the next month.  If you continue to harass me, next month I will not even put your name in the hat!  Sincerely, Trying Very Hard.

These Men Had Begged And Eaten Garbage For Many Years -- Until That Day! Verse "8" tells us -- They Had A Party! What Do We Have In Christ?  Have you ever really considered it?

A LOVE that cannot be fathomed. A LIFE that can never die!

A PEACE that can never be understood. A REST that can never be disturbed. A JOY that can never be diminished. A HOPE that can never be dissappointed. A GLORY that can never be clouded

And a LIGHT that can never be dimmed. (copied)

In Jesus we have all that God could give if we will simply put our trust in Him.

We must "go and tell" because of what we have in Christ! We have a SOLUTION to man’s desperate situation and a SALVATION that satisfies.

Another reason to share the gospel that is often overlooked is

3.  WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF WE DON'T!  (2KINGS 7:9)

(2 Ki 7:9)  Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we

wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once

and report this to the royal palace."

The Bible teaches that "God so loved the world that he gave his only son."  The Word declares that "God wishes that none should perish, but all come to a saving knowledge through Christ Jesus, the Lord."  Jesus didn't suggest we "Go and make disciples of the whole world," He commanded it! God will not hold guiltless someone who holds the gospel in silence.

We should shake in our gospel boots if we keep quiet about what God has done for us.  Friend . . . there is still a good place in the life of a

Christian for a healthy fear of God!

[JUDGEMENT DAY]            The preacher stood up to deliver a blistering message on the "Day of Judgement."  He declared:  "Lightning will crackle . . . thunder will boom . . . rivers will overflow, flames will shoot down from the sky . . . the earth will quake and darkness will fall over all the earth.  The church members listened with anxiety.

Except for Eddie, the eight-year-old.  He leaned over to his Daddy, who was deep in thought contemplating that great and dreadful day, and Eddie asked, "Do you think they'll dismiss school out early on that day?"

           

I'm afraid too many Christians are like Eddy . . . the concept of

God's wrath does not instill much respect, or holy fear anymore.

But the lepers knew the truth . . . "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves.  If we wait until daylight punishment will overtake us!"  Obedience must be swift and decisive.  They knew the truth that Nahum, the prophet expounded:

"The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengence on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies.  The Lord is slow to anger and great in power;  the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished" (Nahum 1:2,3).

Do I believe a Christian who does not "share the Good News," with a missionary heart will lose his salvation.  No!  Do I believe that a child of God who hoards the great blessings of God will miss God's richest blessings?  YES! I DO! Sin crouches at the door of the “silent Christian” waiting to overtake them.  Sharing the gospel assists us in living a more sanctified, holy life.

Here’s something to keep in mind. The risk of telling the good news, is not as bad as the risk of not telling the good news.  Telling the good news may offend man.  Not telling the news will offend God.

Now, last night as I was getting ready to print out my sermon notes the Lord spoke to me and said:  “You didn’t finish the story.”  I said, but I’ve already printed the sermon notes and they on have space for three points!  God said, “Let them write in the margins.”  OK.  So maybe it didn’t happen just like that but there is more to the story.  We must preach the Good News because of What the World Needs, because of What we Have, because of What Will Happen If We Don’t, and must importantly perhaps,

4.  What Happens When We Do! (16)

The most glorious part of faithfully and fearlessly presenting the good news to the lost is the celebration that follows.  Look at verse 16:

Then the people went out and plundered the Aramean camp. It was then that six quarts of fine meal sold for a shekel and 12 quarts of barley sold for a shekel,  according to the word of the Lord.

It was “party time” for Israelites.  Remember that before the lepers shared the “good news,” people were paying 2 pounds of silver (over $500 in today’s prices) for a donkey's head.  Now, after the lepers share the “good news” you could buy 6 quarts of fine meal for about 20 bucks (a shekel).  In other words, there was abundance where once there was scarcity.  There was joy where once there was the deepest despair.  There was life, where once death parked at every door. There’s a principle taught here in regard to evangelism.

What happens when a church gets on fire and begins sharing the “good news” faithfully and fearfully—there is life, and joy, and abundance in Christ!  Everything changes!

Do you want to be a part of an exciting church!  Then help make it a soul-winning church.  Go tell the Good News!  The most exciting ward in a hospital is the maternity ward (minus the labor and delivery rooms, though they have their own brand of excitement).  There’s no greater joy than to peer through the nursery windows and see all the little newborns! Man, that’s a celebration.

Jesus said even the angels in heaven “rejoice when one sinner comes to repentance!” (Luke 15:7)

Every newsperson knows that it is not news when a “dog bites a man, but it is front page news when a man bites a dog!”  It is not news when reaches for God through religion, but it IS GOOD NEWS when God reaches down to man through Jesus Christ!

Opening our doors for worship each Sunday . . . that's not news!

Erecting tall steeples on our buildings . . . that's not news!

Half-hearted singing of far removed hymns . . . that's not news!

BUSINESS AS USUAL IN THE CHURCH . . . THAT'S NOT NEWS!

But, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ fearlessly and faithfully and seeing dozens, perhaps hundreds, maybe even thousands come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ—that’s news!

<<end>>

Know Your Enemy

August 24, 2014

Defeating Your Worst Enemy                     NOTES NOT EDITED
Luke 9:23                                         

SIS:      The greatest enemy you will ever face in life is yourself.

Do you have everything you want? That's rhetorical. I know it is rhetorical because “How To” books on success sell in the multiple millions.  Everyone wants “their best life now” and apparently, most are still looking.  So, the answer is obvious. Am I experiencing a blissful life moment by moment without respect to any particular circumstances? Again, rhetorical. Why not? Who, or what is keeping me from experiencing the blissful existence as if I am walking moment by moment with God through Jesus Christ? The answer would be, "The Enemy." The Enemy is keeping me from experiencing the fullness of joy God has promised through Christ. But, "who or what" is that enemy?

“We have met the enemy and he is us,” is a phrase many have applied to describe the self-destructive tendencies of the human species.  We as human beings seem to be very adept at creating disastrous conditions for ourselves whether we are talking about pollution or politics.  “We are our worst enemy.”  This certainly applies to the spiritual condition of man as well.

Martin Luther, the reforming monk of the late 1500's described three enemies that seek the destruction of the human soul.  He outlined them as the world, the flesh, and the Devil.

We all know how the “worldly” influences can war against the development of a more godly self.  Pornography is one example of a worldly influence that is eating out the heart of our country from the inside.  We all know the negative influences of “advertising” that has sent the average American into a sea of dept just trying to keep up with what advertisers have successfully convinced us is necessary to our existence.  The world has a great influence upon our lives without a doubt.

The Bible says of the world, “Be of good cheer I have overcome the world.” Jn. 16:33.

Martin Luther also pointed out that the Devil is the arch-enemy of of spiritual growth and well-being.  A personal Devil, however, has been largely dismissed as myth in the collective psyche of America.  This makes him a much more formidable foe because he can operate in obscurity, shattering lives with his stealth attacks.  C.S. Lewis once said this about man’s often extreme views of the Devil:

C.S. Lewis on the Devil: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.

The Bible says of the Devil:  fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.  (Rev. 20:9-10)

The Bible also says “Resist the devil, and he must flee from you” (Jas. 4:7)

There is no doubt that the influence of the world and the involvement of the Devil are fierce influences against the development of a healthy, happy relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  However, the Devil is defeated and the world has been conquered. 

So, that leaves on enemy of the soul we must face that has not been completely overcome–and will not be until we enter heaven’s gates–that is, the flesh.  The flesh is described in the Bible as the “sinful nature of man that pursues that which brings decay and destruction.”  Paul describes the flesh as:

Galatians 5:16-17 ¹⁶ So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷ For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other,

As Christians, we have a New Spirit encased in an Old Flesh.  The Old Flesh is the Old Self which wars against the New Spirit.  Our Old Self is a persistent enemy that seeks to drag us back into the camp of bondage to sin.  That's why Paul says, (Gal 5:1)

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

This is the essence of discipleship:  learning to practice the new habits of the spirit to eliminate the old habits of the self.

Jesus never asked us to defeat the Devil and His Holy Spirit and His Holy Word gives us the power to keep the world from destructive influence on our lives, so that leaves just “you” to defeat through “self” denial.

Here are four characteristics mentioned by Jesus that will “defeat the enemy within.”   Jesus packs all four of these characteristics into one verse:

(Luke 9:23)  Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

1.  The first characteristic of a godly person involves a DEFINITE DECISION . . .

“If anyone would come after me . . .”

The word, “if,” implies a conscious choice, or definite decision.

This phrase sets up an unusual question. It is a special class of conditional sentence that does not “assume” that the condition will take place—but if it does take place, the results are guaranteed.

Jesus questions whether anyone really is willing to follow him.  This is an unusual statement because the fact was--literally thousands were following Him everywhere He went.  In fact, this text is immediately proceeded by the event in which Jesus fed a hungry throng of 5000 men, not including the additional 10,000 to 15,000 women and children present. 

In fact, this entire teaching moment with His disciples was set up by a question Jesus asked in verse 18: “Who do the CROWDS says I am?”  Jesus was outlining a Scriptural truth that has been a distinctive among true believers since the first churches in Antioch and Jerusalem: following Jesus requires a DEFINITE DECISION not a casual acquaintance. 

Many other denominations believe that a person may become a Christian based upon the act of another.  Many denominations erroneously believe that through infant baptism and a regimented catechism or course of study, a person may become a member of God’s church.  For a fact, many people do come a believe in Jesus Christ as a result of going through catechism — BUT, it is because they make a definite decision to follow Christ, not because they accumulate a prescribed amount of information about Christ.

A person can learn everything there is to know about Christ and Christianity, and still remain in the crowd.

It takes a personal relationship, birthed in a “definite decision,” to move out of the crowd to become a committed follower of Christ.

The first step of discipleship is a DEFINITE DECISION to accept Jesus as the Lord of your life.

Yet, another very prominent group baptizes for the dead supposing that by the faith of another, a loved one who has passed on, may pass over into glory.  Catholics have a similar belief in purgatory. This passage resolutely and unreservedly disputes any such doctrine as baptizing for the dead.  The dead cannot make the DEFINITE DECISION required to become a true believer.

The first characteristic, or step, in the Christian life is

a DEFINITE DECISION to make Jesus the Lord of your life. A life of victory and abundance begins with this most important step.

2.  Another characteristic of the true believer is DARING DISCIPLINE . . .

(Luke 9:23)  Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, HE MUST DENY HIMSELF.

Here in this verse you meet your greatest enemy—YOURSELF! I don’t know about you, but I have met my greatest enemy, and it has been truly frightening and has proved to be a formidable foe.  Jesus could not have given us a more difficult assignment.

Over and over again the Scriptures warn against the “sin of pride.”  Pride is the human inability to look past ourselves and see the value of others.  Pride is the number one sin, because we each want to be number one. 

Have you ever seen the throne of a king. They are usually very large and very extravagant.  But, the most important aspect of any throne I’ve ever seen is the fact that they are all–“one seaters!”  Monarch’s are not accustomed to sharing the throne.  This is certainly also true of the King of Kings.  In your heart is a throne and a cross.  Either Jesus is on the throne, and your self is on the cross, or you are on the throne and, for you, Jesus is still on the cross.  Paul said,

(Gal 2:20)  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The hardest thing you will ever do is “deny yourself.”  In fact, this is a process, not an event.  The Holy Spirit directed Luke to write this is a particular fashion according to the original language that means, “keep on denying yourself.”  This is a life-long process for the one who wants to live a devil-defeating, God-honoring life.  It requires DARING DISCIPLINE to daily deny yourself because when we are ourselves, there is no animal more vicious, cunning, or self-serving.

After examining the attitudes and actions of men and women around him one writer declared, “It’s silly to go on pretending that under the skin we are all brothers.  The truth is more likely that under the skin we are all cannibals, assassins, traitors, liars, hypocrites, poltroons.”

I read that and said to my ‘self,’ “I dare that man call me a poltroon.  I’ve been called a lot of things in my life–but I am certainly not a poltroon.”  Then I decided to look up poltroon in the dictionary.  A poltroon is an “absolute coward.”

The fact is, we are poltroons, or cowards, when it comes to facing our selves.  It is a horrible thing to look in them mirror of conscience and hear the Bible say, “Even our acts of righteousness are like stinky, smelly rags” (Isa. 64:6).  We must constantly work against nature to become what we want to be.  That takes DARING DISCIPLINE

We must be on constant guard against the tendency to serve the self, and neglect the Savior.  The Bible says, we must

(2 Cor 10:5)  take captive every thought to
make it obedient to Christ.

We cannot afford to waste an action or even a thought on ourselves.  Every time we do, we set our Christian life back.  A young man went to a fortune teller.  The fortune teller said, “I charge $50 for two questions.”  The young man inquired, “Isn’t that a bit high?”  The fortune teller said, “Yes it is.  What is your next question?”

Godliness requires that we “keep on denying our self.” It is hard work to take a hard look at our selves. This takes a DARING DISCIPLINE.

3.  Third, Godliness requires DAILY DEVOTION

 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily . . . .

Here again, the emphasis is on continual action. Discipleship is a “daily” devotion.  For most people in America, the extent of their discipleship is one or two services per week, as time permits.  We give God the left-overs of our time, our talents, and our treasures. 

Tonight we will be looking at Paul’s admonition in Ephesians:

(Eph 5:16)  making the most of every opportunity,

because the days are evil.

G. Cambell Morgan, an English preacher during the early part of this century expressed man’s dilemma eloquently.  He said, “The bulk of human activity is material, . . . . It is so of necessity.  I am not saying this is wrong.  The majority of our hours are necessarily given to things that are material, transient, perishing,. . . .The rush and speed of life today are against man’s development and the character of love.  The hurry and the jostle and the crush of life do not help the development of Christian character.”

Anyone living in Rome at that time knew what the cross meant.  They knew it was a “one way trip.”  A condemned criminal was required to carry the cross, or the cross beam, to the place of execution.  It was his own cross and his own execution.  There was no turning back.  Crucifixion was a hard, cruel way to die—and effective!

Whatever else it meant, “daily cross bearing” was a difficult task.  Daily devotion is ESSENTIAL TO Christian growth.

Disregard it and you will die a little inside with each passing day. Carrying the cross of Christ can be a hard, often cruel way of living.  Christianity is NOT FOR WIMPS. It requires a DAILY DEVOTION to the disciplines that lead to godliness: daily Bible reading; daily prayer; daily witnessing to others; daily ministering to those in need.

Godliness requires a DAILY DEVOTION to Christ.

4.  Fourth, a devil-defeating, God-honoring victorious Christian character requires DAUNTLESS DETERMINATION.

(Luke 9:23)  Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily AND FOLLOW ME.

There is something profound in those words, “Follow me.”  Like everything else in this passage it suggests a continuing journey–a plan with a purpose.  Salvation is an event, but a devil-defeating, God-honoring victorious Chrisitian life is a process.  A purposeful process following God’s plan—not ours.

We are not called to deny ourselves, or take up the cross of service for the sake of self-negation or worldly asceticism, such as you find in ancient monks, and Eastern gurus.  Our goal is not to escape the world—but fully engage it as a soldier for Christ.  Purposeless denial of self will lead to depression, defeat, and desperation.  What is called for here in this text is purposeful denial.  This type of denial breeds a healthy self-esteem and feeds a DAUNTLESS DETERMINATION.

If my sins were not behind me and heaven not before me I would have ZERO motivation to deny myself and take up a cross.

The fact is, we can go on because we have a great coach and a great cheering section.  Listen to this remarkable verse from the Word:

(Heb 12:1-2)  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. {2} Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

With your sins behind you and heaven before you, you can endure any hardship that befalls you.  AMEN? [repeat]

It will give you DAUNTLESS DETERMINATION knowing that each step you take follows in the footsteps of Jesus, Himself.

When you make a definite decision to make Jesus the Lord of your life; and you full that decision with DARING DISCIPLINE and DAILY DEVOTION, you will discover that this creates a character marked by DAUNTLESS DETERMINATION.  There is nothing that a self-denying, Jesus-following faith cannot overcome.  PERIOD!

A father took his little boy to a toy store. As the father shopped, the little boy got away and went over to a statue of a man made out of balloons.  The boy looked at it curiously and then drew back his fist sending a frightening blow to the balloon man’s nose.  The balloon man fell down and popped right back up again.  This confused the little boy.  The little boy drew back sending another crushing blow to the balloon man’s nose.  Down the balloon man went.  Then he popped right back up again.  The boy’s father noticed what was going on and asked his son, “Why do you think he keeps popping up every time you knock him down?”  The boy thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know.  I guess it’s because he is standing up on the inside.”

When a person denies himself, takes up his or her own cross daily, and follows Christ, they will always remain standing on the inside, regardless of what pounds them from the outside. That’s Dauntless Determination!

There is only one enemy that can defeat you—your “self.”  Martin Luther’s description of our enemies was:  the world, the self, and the Devil—an external enemy, and internal enemy, and an infernal enemy.  Of the three the Bible states:  the Devil is a defeated foe; Jesus conquered the world; and that leaves only your flesh, or “self,” for you to “crucify and defeat through denial.”

The great scholar of the church, Augustine, once said, “All truth is God’s truth.”  The means or mouthpiece of that truth is secondary.  With that in mind I’d like to leave you with the words of a Sixth Century B.C. Chinese military general by the name of Sun Tzu: “It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle” (Sun Tzu, The Art of War). Knowing one’s enemy is a key component to defeating that enemy.

It will take a DEFINITE DECISION to surrender control of your life to Jesus.  It will take DARINGLY DISCIPLINE  to deny your sinful inclinations.  It will DAILY DEVOTION to Christ through prayer, Bible reading, daily witnessing, and fellowship with other believers.  It will require a DAUNTLESS DETERMINATION that hardens you against the trials and tribulations of life. 

Only you can defeat you—and only you can defeat you when you are filled with God’s Holy Spirit.

It is your decision.

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