If God Be for Us, Who Can Be Against Us?

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8.31, If God be for us, who can be against us? If God be for us, who can be against us? He goes on to say in Romans 8.37, Know in all of these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us and gave himself for us. Do we really believe that God is for us? If God be for us, who can be against us? Do we really believe that we are more than conquerors through Christ? Let's notice Mark 4, verse 13, the parable of the sower marks who count here of how various people receive the Word of God. We could all ask ourselves, how are we receiving the Word of God? What are we doing with it? John writes in John 6.63, you've memorized, The flesh profits nothing, it is the Spirit that quickens. The words I speak, they are spirit and they are life. In Mark 4, verse 13, He said unto them, Know ye not this parable, and how then will ye know all parables, that sower sows the Word. So every Sabbath here we come to have the Word sown to us, but hopefully throughout the week the Word is being sown in your hearts and minds as you pray and study the Word of God. You may pray and study the Word of God, of course, you may read supporting material, you meditate on it. The sower sows the Word, and these are they by the wayside where the Word is sown, but when they have heard, Satan comes immediately and takes away the Word that was sown in their hearts. Just last for a few fleeting seconds, minutes, maybe days, maybe weeks, maybe a few months. So many of the people anymore who call and say they want to attend services, they haven't even yet come to the place where we're sowing the Word in the formal sense. They have searched the Internet, found the Sabbath-keeping Church, want to attend, but many of those who call never show up, and most of those who do show up. Don't come back. You see, the world is filled with people who are not willing to make a commitment in today's world. If you make it a commitment, then you have to come under certain authority, agree to be able to relate to the total whole, the total group, be able to contribute to that. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground, who when they have heard the Word, immediately receive it with gladness and have no root in themselves. Oh, I've heard the truth! I had a person call me just before the feast in Texarkana, said, Oh, I just wonderful. I've heard four sermons online. I can't wait to attend services. But they've not yet attended.

Have no root in themselves, and so endure, but for a time after, when afflictions or persecutions arises, for the Word's sake. See, the Word's sake. What does the Word's sake mean? That means that God has said such and such among those commandments, not just sayings, are, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. You shall not have any other gods before you. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. You shall not make unto you any graven image. And then you could go on and quote the other commandments. Honor your father and mother. Don't steal. Don't murder at all of them. And they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the Word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things, enter in, choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground. And hopefully that's what's happened to each one of us. The seed has been sown on good ground, and we really believe and we're really committed to it, such as hear the Word and receive it and bring forth fruit some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel or under a bed, and not to be set on a candlestick? And so in Matthew he says, and it may be in Luke as well, that we are to be lights of the world. You cannot be a light of the world unless you believe what God has really said. Let's note an exhortation of the Apostle Paul in Galatians chapter 6. One of the things we'll be talking about in just a moment is becoming weary. And sometimes I will tell Wanda, well, she'll say, Are you tired? And I say, Well, I don't know. I'm not, maybe not all that tired, but I just feel weary. I sort of feel weighted down. And almost everybody in today's world, to some degree, sort of feels weary, weighted down, and of course, tired goes along with it.

In Galatians chapter 6, verse 7, Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that sows to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. And of course, as we look out at the congregations of the Church of God around the world, to some degree, we're an exception here. We have like about three or four great divisions in the sense of age groups of those 70 plus those 50 to 6 through 69, then the young adults, and then we thankfully we have about 15, 18 people who are under 20. I don't know how well we're obeying, be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth. Of course, that is the best-obeyed commandment in the Bible. There's no question that Satan and his minions have stepped up there to seek for practices. I mean, we put out this bulletin in the news items to keep us abreast to some degree of the major trends that are out there, some of which may have prophetic implication. And of course, in addition to these, these are more on the mega-sense, the world scene, the international scene, which to some degree we're insulated against today and against in the sense that it's really not affecting us all that much.

Satan has stepped up his deceitful practices. Now, on the one hand, we're told that we live in the time of leisure and luxury and ease, but on the other hand, we know this is not true. This is not true. Growing up on the farm and working as we did from basically sun up to sun down when this season was there to plant, to till, to cultivate, and to harvest.

We had more free time and more leisure then than we do now.

In today's world, there doesn't seem to be enough time to do anything but to take care of our next obligation. What is it? What have I got to do next? Well, now there's something out there I've got to do. We're hurled from pillar to post, wrung out on the way. In so many settings, we're here in body, or there in body, but our mind and spirit, they're occupied with the cares in this world. So we're doing in this area, we're thinking in another area, we're thinking about also what I'm doing here that as soon as I get this done, I got to run over there and do that.

And at times we're just numb. It seems that our bodies and minds just about to shut down and say, I can't take it anymore. Perhaps the chief complaint of our time from both young and old is, I'm tired. I'm stressed out, but we keep pushing ahead as if we have to meet our next obligation. And so for the most part, we dutifully go meet our next obligation. We get another little surge of adrenaline and push forward. I was at a service station in recent times. A young man was pumping gas and two of his young children were with him there, standing outside by the car. After he pumps the gas, they all go into the store. They come out of the store and I sort of lost track of them and I then looked up and here they were coming back to the car. I expected the children to have soda pop and candy. They were empty handed, but the father, what did he have? He had an energy drink at nine o'clock in the morning and the children were empty handed. And with all our doing, it seems that no one really appreciates the fact that we are sacrificing and striving to do what we need to do.

And a lot of what we do is in the arena of sacrifice, just continually pushing ourselves and doing more and more. So in such a climate, how are we going to survive?

We're caught up in what they call the rat race of survival.

And at times I find myself saying, well, I'm just trying to survive. I'm trying to survive. I'm trying to get through this. And it seems that with each passing month, the stress of life increases. And perhaps you have experienced the same. The name of the game is to make it through another day, another week, and survive. And somehow we come to believe that this is just the way it is. I can't do anything about it. I'm trapped. I am where I am. And maybe to a large agree that is true.

So we're not really in control of our lives. We're controlled by situation and circumstance. And our actions are basically a reaction to the situation or the circumstance. And we really have no viable plan to change the way things are. And in some situations, you can't change it. It is what it is. And you've got to deal with it. And my saying is, what is, is. What isn't, isn't. But I've got to deal with what is. And so wherever we find ourselves in life today, that is what is.

The reason that something like a crisis in the church or in the world can gain so much attention is that we can escape from the boredom of our ho-hum drum everyday activities and focus a little bit outside of our immediate circumstance and world. So we focus on something outside ourselves, and that gets the focus off of the gnawing, aching, emptiness deep inside of us. In so many ways, we feel disconnected. And this is one of the main reasons why suicide is the second leading cause of death of persons under 30 years of age. The leading cause of death in the U.S. is automobile accidents for people under 30 years of age. Our lives are now analogous to a treadmill. We walk in the same place, think the same thoughts, do the same thing over and over, and you know when you're walking on the treadmill, you're not going anywhere. It's in one place, it's in one location. Your feet are moving, but you're not going anywhere.

We believe that we're doing the best we can, but in reality, the quality of our lives is slipping away. Now Satan the Devil has us where he wants us.

When we pray, oftentimes it's sort of out of desperation with a focus on my problem.

We go back to Psalm 77. I use this almost every time I counsel because it's a part of the problem that I see in my own life and the problem that so many people face, this obsessive concern with self. And as you heard in the sermonette, and oftentimes you've heard it, Dr. Baker spoken about it, and others, the narcissistic age in which we lived. And of course, the apostle Paul prophesied of this. In 2 Timothy 3 verses 1 and 2, where it says, No, you not in the latter times that men shall be lovers of themselves. And it goes on to describe. But here we are in Psalm 77, hopefully. I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice, and he gave ear unto me. He says, Well, I hear you.

In the day of trouble I sought the Lord. My sore ran in the night and ceased naught. And that sore running in the night, the posture of prayer that's described in the Old Testament is on your knees with hands outstretched and upwards. Just try to hold your arms there and be on your knees. It's quite stressful if you're out of condition, as so many of us are.

Then that last sentence there, my soul refused to be comforted. Oftentimes the answer is so simple, but in today's world we're led to believe that it is far more complex. You may need to read a dozen books about how you can be comforted, or how you can overcome this problem or that problem. I remembered God and was troubled. I complained, and this word complained in later verses translated communed, and really that's what it should be. Commune, it means I talked with myself and I went over my problems.

I communed with myself. I talked with myself and my spirit was overwhelmed when I laid it all out of what I'm facing.

It seems like, oh, how am I going to deal with this? It's so overwhelming. How can I cope? Really, I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel, as they say.

You hold my eyes waking on trouble, so troubled that I cannot speak. I've considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. So you go back and reflect on the past, and maybe it didn't seem to be so stressful, so hectic, so I got to do this or that or the other, as it is now. And I'm on this treadmill. I commune with my own heart and my spirit made diligent church. So I'll go back all the problems once again.

And here come the four enemies of faith. Anxious care, fear, doubt, and human reasoning. These questions of doubt, fear, and anxiousness. Will the Lord cast off forever? And will he be favorable no more?

Is his mercy clean gone forever? Does his promise fail forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? I mean, am I just left all alone by myself with all of these problems that are so overwhelming?

Then this word here, salah, some say it's some kind of musical notation. Some say that it is to introduce the solution that is coming or more enlightenment on what goes before. In this case, it is a transition to the solution. And solution is verses 10 and 11. And I said, this is my infirmity. In other words, my problem is my problem. My problems are my problems. But I'll remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the works of the Lord. Surely I will remember your wonders of old. And I will meditate also of your work and talk of your doings. Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary. That's where God dwells. Who is so great a God is our God. So when the focus was back on God, when he recognized what the problem was, then the problems began to dissolve.

So are our eyes on God, or are they on ourselves? Is that time that should be spent, or maybe could be spent, in prayer or study or meditation and meaningful interaction with others, is it taken up with some kind of vicarious activity? Now, the tough part about some of this is that it's sort of like I've got to do it. And in some cases, that's the case. You've got to do it. And so I have an idea of how difficult this world is.

A lot of people, they don't want to retreat to Bonanza land, but I think I could retreat back to the farm. And I could feel that warm, gentle breeze blowing on my face. The bobwhites were whistling. The meadowlarks were singing. The moggingbirds were mocking them all. And at the end of the day, you sort of put it behind you, and you did whatever you wanted to do. And then there were the seasons in which you did have some free time. But of course, we know we cannot retreat there. And so we must gas ourselves in view of all these things. Are we growing in grace and knowledge? Or are the cares of this world beating us down into a robotic-like state of existence? So we're just sort of going through the motions. And it's sort of going through the motions, in some cases, what we got to do. Because not to do it would be a tragedy as well. There is this saying that says, do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never ask to do less. And so in this life, at times, there are duties that are laid upon us that are almost unbearable. But we have to do them. We have to go through it. We're in a system, and we're, of course, Satan is having his sway. On the one hand, you're led to believe. And of course, a lot of people, even in this, and one of the reasons why we have this, by Monday and Tuesday, these disc jockeys are talking about the next weekend. And by Friday, it's, what is it? TGIF. Thank God it's Friday. Because I've got two days now to blow it out, and then I'll do this all over again. So is there any way to break away from this slave-like existence and be set free? Jesus Christ came to the earth to set us free from sin and death. The wages of sin is death. That's Romans 6.23. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Peter cried out on the day of Pentecost. This is Acts 2.38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. New life, life from above. The down payment on eternal life. People talk about freedom today and think they are free to do anything they want to do, but this is an illusion. They are, in fact, servants of sin, and sin leads to death. So do we really want to be set free from our robotic, slave-like addiction to this present evil world? I think in some ways we do, but then on the other hand, are we willing to pay the price? As Walter Crane's speech was today in the Leadership Club, freedom comes with a price. Freedom comes with a price. And of course, one of the ways to cope with today's world is to keep the big picture in mind of what lies ahead. That is one of the greatest ways in which I've been able to cope. That I knew when I signed on to this, I had had my, you can use different words, fling or whatever, in the world, and had gained some success. But I knew that was fleeting. That's not where it is. Where it is has to do with eternity, and where we will spend eternity.

So do we really want to get off the treadmill? If we're serious about living as Christ lived, we will begin to control our lives instead of the issues of life controlling us. And I guess one of the ways to express this is to live the way you want to live. And of course, I know back there is the duty part of it in some of the things you have to do.

And be the way God wants us to be. Let's look at John chapter 8. John chapter 8.

This 832 forms my, I guess you would say, core of my philosophy of education. That is, of the free person. How do you become free? The state hath decreed that only free men shall be educated, but God hath decreed that only educated men are free. In John 8.31.

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, if, notice if, if you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. And that's a part of keeping this big picture burning brightly in your mind of what lies ahead, and not letting the cares of this world choke out and put out, and extinguish the flame that is in your hearts and minds of what lies ahead.

You shall know the truth, the truth shall make you free. The answer then, of course he's having this discourse with detractors, we be Abraham's seed, and we're never in bondage to any man. How do you say you shall be made free? And Jesus answered to them, verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is a servant of sin, and the servant abides not in the house forever, but the son abides ever. If the son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. So you can be in the deepest, darkest dungeon, solitary confinement, and the worst prison that man can imagine and build, and yet be free in this sense, in the spiritual domain. But it does require meditation, it does require thought, it does require keeping that big picture in mind. So look at Philippians 2, Philippians 2 beginning in verse 12. There are so many assurances in the Bible, but they're not made of the phony stuff that you hear from some of the prosperity gospel people, or the God is already within you, you just don't know it people. Life is really real. Those who have lived life, to any degree, know that the realities of life. Philippians 2, verse 12, Wherefore, my beloved, as we have always obeyed, or as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, Paul was in prison when Philippians was written. Philippians is a book about humility, about Jesus Christ humbled himself, took on the form of a man, and that we are to be as Christ is. But now, much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Of course, some people take this way of working out your own salvation. Paul is saying, look, I'm in prison, I'm not here, I'm not there at the present time. I have been there. Remember what you've been taught and lived by it. It's not, well, I don't need Paul, I don't need anybody else. I'm going to work out my own salvation.

For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do his good pleasure, do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may be blameless and harmless and sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom you shine as lights in the world.

That's one of the things that God has called us to, to be lights. You are the light in the world. You don't put the light under a bushel. Holding forth the word of life that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, when Christ comes again, that I'm not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Paul says, look, I want you to make it into the kingdom of God, because if you don't make it to a large degree, my labor is in vain. And all of us who stand before and teach and preach the word of God must keep in mind the same thing. Yes, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all, for the same cause also do you joy and rejoice with me. So we can ask ourselves, are we as shining lights, or are we as the other, on the other hand, analogous to the foolish virgins? We mentioned this, I believe, last week as well. Ten, five, or why is five a foolish? They all seem to be going through the same motions. When the bridegroom knocks on the door, they all get up to meet the bridegroom. Five are wise, five are foolish. So are we analogous to the foolish virgins whose lamps are going out because we're quenching the spirit? The spiritual oil that quenches darkness and chases away the demons of darkness? And so many of the demons of darkness are those things, those strongholds that come on the mind, having to do with what this life is all about and the rat race, everything that goes with it. You know, Paul said, we're more than conquerors through Jesus Christ our Lord, who loved us and gave Himself for us. There needs to be within our hearts and beings. And I try to have several memory scriptures out that you can just draw. And Paul speaks in Hebrews 6. I think this is verse 12 about, we have the sure anchors of the soul, the sure promises from God, these anchors of the soul. We can't have one foot in the world and one foot in the Word of God. We cannot be a foolish virgin and a wise virgin at the same time. Some think they can. I don't think that we're remotely aware of how much the world is affecting every dimension of our lives. Let's note the inspired words of the Apostle James. Let's go to James 4. James 4.

James, to a large degree, addresses what we addressed up front about this treadmill we're on, this stress, this difficulty. James 4.1, from whence come wars and fightings among you? Now, what is James really saying here? He continues, come, they not hence, from your own lusts at war in your members. First of all, we need to clarify the first interrogative, the question. And I view this question from whence come wars and fightings among you, mainly from the point of view of why do nations fight each other? Why do we have people who are not reconciled in the Church? Why do we have this and that and the other among people?

So I view this question as why are there disagreements and upsets among the brethren? However, the Greek word that is translated among in this question is...

See, it's from whence come wars and fightings among you? That Greek word is spelled in English, e-n-n. It's a primary preposition denoting fixed position in place, time, or state, and by implication, a relationship between something. The English word e-n-i-n is the equivalent of the Greek e-n. The question that is being asked is not why are there wars and fightings among brothers, but rather, why is there war and fightings in each of you? In your own mind. In other words, he's saying, why do each of you have this warfare going on in your minds? This becomes clear when you note that the Greek word translated as member is malos, and it means parts of the body. So the warfare James is referring to is within the parts of your body, in your mind, in the very center of your mind and thoughts. Now, you could apply it in the broader context of nations fighting and people not getting along, but what is going on in your mind, in your heart? The succeeding verses bear testimony to this. Notice it is ye. It is personalized. Ye, you. This ye is a very strong word. Ye are you lust, as we say, you, and have not. You kill and desire to have and cannot obtain. You fight and more. You have not. Because you ask not. You ask and receive not. Because you ask and miss, you may consume it where? Upon your lust. You, adulterers, adulterers, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God, whosoever therefore be a friend of the world is an enemy of God. Do you think that the Scripture says in vain, the spirit that dwells in us, lusts to envy? But he gives more grace, wherefore he says, God resists the proud and gives grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God. He will draw nigh to you. Clend your hands, your centers, purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves unto the mighty hand of God in due season. He will lift you up. All of these things are basically personal lives of what we are doing in our own minds and hearts. There is this phrase of you envy. And of course, envy can lead to the fighting wars, and one of the main reasons why we have them. In James chapter 1, beginning in verse 13, turn back there, we further see how self is responsible for the war in one's mind. In James 1, 13, let no man say, when he is tempted or tested of God, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil. Neither tempts he any man. So what happens? Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Satan, the devil, society, and your own lust are there to entice. But God does not entice us to do evil. So there is this warfare in your mind. Contrary to what Flip Wilson said, the devil did not make you do it. You know, that little routine he would always have in his show, that phrase, the devil made me do it. No, the devil is there, and he wants you to go wrong, but he didn't make you do it. For you to be held accountable, in the ultimate spiritual sense, you have to choose. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed, and when lust hath conceived, so he mulls it over his mind. Yes, no, no, no. Of course, the sad part about so many things that happen with youth is they act impulsively. Act before thinking.

And just the pause of, in some cases, maybe one or two seconds, of what would be the consequences of this. If I do this, what would be the consequences? Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin. So will they give in to it, go ahead and do it. And sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. Every good and perfect gift, as he goes on to say, comes from God. So what must we do when we are unhappy, when we are dissatisfied, and feel the torment of war in our minds? We must, of course, look at self. The Apostle Paul admonishes in 2 Corinthians 13.5. I think oftentimes we just sort of give this a cursory read. It is a reading in preparation for Passover. But that last part of that verse, well, the last word, is quite powerful in its meaning. In 2 Corinthians 13.5, examine yourselves. So if any of what we have said fits your life situation, I know it does mine. Examine yourselves whether we be in the faith, whether you be in the faith. Prove yourselves. Know not yourselves how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates. Now, word reprobates means castaways or disconnected.

And of course, it has other meanings as well. It can mean corrupt and other things. But you can become a castaway. How do we examine ourselves? We go back to Hebrews 4. In Hebrews 4, we examine ourselves through God's perfect spiritual mirror. God's perfect spiritual mirror will give us a reflection of our inner being of our spiritual state. If you want to hang out the thermometer out there to see what the temperature is, you have it on your thermostat inside. You may have one hanging outside. You have it on your car.

The weather guy gives the weather. He flashes up 29 cities. He puts up 29 temperatures and proceeds to read everyone, with the difference being two degrees between them all. I can see every one of them when he puts them up there. In Hebrews 4, verse 12, For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, soul, life essence, the innermost being and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and its discerning of the thoughts and intents of the heart. He goes to the quick. It lays it all bare. So examine yourselves. It's where we start. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in its sight, but all things are naked and open under the eye of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. These next two verses are awesome, but I think at times we take them for granted in that we can at any time have an audience with the two greatest beings in the universe, and we pray directly to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tried, tested like as we are, yet without sin, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So we examine ourselves. Isaiah 66 too says, "'To this man will I look, he who fears and trembles at my word.'" So a major cause of anxiety and feelings of guilt, stress, and all of the things that go on inside a person's mind. Some of it has to do with deep inside a person says, you know, I know that I'm just not, I'm just not overcoming the way I should be. I'm not growing. I'm not making any progress. This may be a way of saying I'm still sinning the same old sins. But if God's Spirit is working with you, then one of the things that it does is to convict you of sin. So there is a remedy to that. And that remedy, turn to 1 John 1, 1 John 1, and 1 John 1, verse 5, This then is the message that we have heard of Him and declare unto you that God is light, and Him is no darkness. Of course, this is a response to the Gnostics who said that God is pure light, that you go away from God, you have lesser light, and finally you come to the demiurge, the Prince of Darkness that created the physical material world.

But He's saying God is all light, there's no darkness in Him. The Gnostics taught dualism. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship, one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. One of the ways that you can purge a lot of the stress, guilt, anxiety that might reside in your mind, anybody's mind, is to go before that throne of grace and to, in repentance, confess your sins and ask God for forgiveness. It's amazing how that can lift a load off your mind and heart and how much brighter the world can be. Now, you look a little further at this in 1 John chapter 3. In 1 John chapter 3, verse 18, verse 18, My little children, let us not love and word neither in tongue, not just do one or the other, but in deed and in truth.

Hereby we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before Him, for if our heart condemn us, in other words, if we have these feelings of guilt, anxiety, stress, and it weighing on our minds, and our heart deep inside is condemned, or if our heart condemn us, I mean, if that's the way we are, what about God? God is greater than our heart and knows all things. He knows what's there. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. Now, you look at 1 John 5, in verse 15, And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petition that we desired of Him. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, he shall give him life for life, that sin not to death. There is a sin unto death. I do say that he shall pray for it.

Really, what I want is chapter 4, verse 16. Sorry about that.

We have known and believed the love that God has taught us. God is love, and he that dwells in love dwells in God and God in Him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in the world. This is a key verse I wanted to get to. You see, if our heart condemn us, I mean, if we have it already, well, God knows that. But if we go before Him and confess it and get rid of that, it lives a tremendous burden in one of the great enemies of faith, which is fear. As you'll read here, there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.

So if we don't seek God's forgiveness and mercy, then feelings of guilt and anxiety can overcome a person and cause them to be of all men and women most miserable.

Why is it that some people would rather go to the pit and go into ganafire rather than face a situation and repent? Why is it that some would rather go to the pit than to just fess up to what they are? There are three main responses to sin. Adam and Eve, Adam in chapter 3 of Genesis, hide, sow the sow fig leaves together and try to hide, to blame, and to try to justify.

Now, some people try to pay for their own sins. The sad outcome of self-deprecation and self-pity, they become slaves to their feelings of guilt and worthlessness. The sad outcome of self-deprecation and self-pity is that it can lead to bitterness, which then becomes a person's reason for being. This is dangerous ground. Look at Proverbs 14 verse 10.

God does not ever want us to wallow in the pity pits. God has made several promises to us. If we wallow in the pity pits, we're in essence denying the promises that God has made.

God who has promised, God who cannot lie. He has promised us eternal life upon remaining faithful. In Proverbs 14, 10, the heart knows his own bitterness, and a stranger does not intermetal with his joy. Some people take pleasure in being bitter. Is there a reason for being? Well, if you knew what had happened to me, you would be on this way too.

And they refuse to give it up. See, we may perform a type of penance in a seemingly fruitless effort of trying to pay for our sins, but there's only one way we can truly be made free, and thus through the sun, as we read from John 8 and verse 36. If the sun makes you free, then you shall be free indeed. The human race has not learned the fact. You cannot hide from sin, and you cannot outrun sin. The sins will always come to light. The sins will always catch up with you. But the good news is that God and Jesus Christ are long-suffering.

They're merciful, and there are no sins that cannot be forgiven upon repentance. As we have read, He is faithful and just to forgive us of all unrighteousness. When Job was in the very depths of despair, and he had come to the end of his rope, covered with whatever the affliction was from head to toe, having lost his family, sons and daughters, having lost his wealth, only apparently his wife remained, as he sat in the ashes, clothed in sackcloth, with his three friends, and they tried to help him, but to no avail.

They did not see Job's problem. God says that they did not properly assess what was wrong with Job. See, what was wrong with Job was that he came to the point that he accused God of being unrighteous because of the trials that had come upon him. And through it all, he was saying, look, this is why people say that the book of Job is about self-righteousness, is that in every case when the friends would speak, he would say, but I've done such and such.

I've done it all right, and look at me. Then finally, Elihu gets his attention and says, Job, I'm made out of clay just like you are, and my word should not be heavy upon you. You see in this world today, and it's been this way, I guess, all along.

See, one of the things that Job had said, oh, that God would speak to me. I just want an audience with God. I don't want to talk to any of you. And then Elihu comes on the scene, the young man who had kept silent, and said, I am, as you requested, in God's stead. In other words, I am God's messenger. I'm God's minister to you. Now listen up, Job. And he said, the principal thing I want to do is for you to be justified before God. The point is, God works through his ministers. Moreover, we must humble ourselves and ask for help.

Oftentimes, I'm the last one to know about X, Y, or Z. I guess people reason he's too busy. He has his own problems. He doesn't really care about me. But none of these are valid. But on the other hand, they'll call a person who probably has more on his plate than I do and tell them.

And then they have to get busy scurrying around to try to take care of the needs. You see, God knows everything. He sees everything. He's the one that we're trying to please. The war and fighting within is won through spiritual weapons at our disposal. Paul describes those spiritual weapons. Let's look at 2 Corinthians chapter 10. In 2 Corinthians chapter 10, many times we have pointed to put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand. In 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 2, But I beseech you, I beseech you, that as we stand before you each week, that's what we are doing. I beseech you, the very vowels within our being, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, they are not of physical flesh, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. What are the strongholds? The strongholds are those things that we talked about in the first part of the sermon. The trials, the difficulties, whether or not I can make it, the stress is so great.

Where is the next blow coming from? Does anybody really care? Does God listen to me? And whatever all we may say that our enemies of faith, anxious care, fear, doubt, and human reasoning, that we have spiritual weapons, we have promises that God has given us. And He tells us to cast down the strongholds, the fortresses that we may have built in our own minds, casting down imaginations. Where are those? They're in the mind. From whence come wars and fightings within you, come they not of your own lust, casting down imaginations.

Every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience. The beginning of fear, as it says in Proverbs 8, 13, is to, the beginning of wisdom, is to hate evil.

To hate evil, to take revenge against it. And having a readiness to revenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. Well, brethren, we have these share of promises in the Word of God. God, who cannot change, God who does not lie, has entered into a covenant with you and I, and we've entered into a covenant with Him. He's promised never to leave us or forsake us. Even though we are on the treadmill that we described to some extent at the beginning, and for some, in some situations, we'll have to endure it to the end, or whatever it might be. There might be relief coming down the road, there may not be, but at the same time, these precious promises are sure. And, you know, one place Paul writes, we are saved by hope. Hope is a helmet of salvation. It is that which covers the mind that casts out everything else. You have that clear vision. As Abraham, he looked for a city which has foundations whose builders and makers God. It was not going to be turned away from that by the cares or whatever of this world. Christ said in Luke 10, 19, Behold, I have given you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and all the works of the evil one, and they shall not harm you. Christ said, Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. 1 John 4, 4 says, Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. We have to not just know these things in an intellectual sense. Yeah, we can quote them, but they have to be internalized into our being. Are we so busy being busy that we are forgotten that we have access to the power of the God who created heaven and earth? He gave us power to tread on serpents and scorpions. He gave us power to have a new mind and to become as Jesus Christ. We are going to fulfill that mission, the mission he's given every one of us. So, brethren, let us not wish our lives away. You know the old song, wishing my life away, hoping for a brighter day. Today is that day. This is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. That's what the psalmist wrote. So let's stir up the gift that was given us by the laying of hands, and thus light up the world. You are the light of the world.