WEBVTT

00:00:00.170 --> 00:00:05.169
Good morning. How are y 'all doing today? Wonderful.

00:00:05.969 --> 00:00:09.310
That is a fantastic answer. Well, I'm glad to

00:00:09.310 --> 00:00:11.310
be back with you guys. Very excited to be here.

00:00:11.390 --> 00:00:13.890
If you don't know who I am, I am Pastor Nathan.

00:00:14.269 --> 00:00:16.929
And today we're going to be talking about those

00:00:16.929 --> 00:00:21.129
sins that we seem to continually struggle with.

00:00:21.410 --> 00:00:24.190
Anybody have one of those? Anybody have a whole

00:00:24.190 --> 00:00:27.550
list of those? Right? Yeah, you know, the question

00:00:27.550 --> 00:00:30.699
often comes up with, people that I get the opportunity

00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:32.939
to talk to, especially new believers, but they're

00:00:32.939 --> 00:00:35.140
like, how do we deal with the conflicting reality?

00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:39.520
That on one hand, we're forgiven, we're set free

00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:43.280
from the power and control of sin. And then on

00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:45.659
the other hand, we're continually being challenged

00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:50.140
with some particular sin that just seems to always

00:00:50.140 --> 00:00:53.740
get us, right? As we grow in our faith, there

00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:56.039
are so many things we seem to leave behind. You

00:00:56.039 --> 00:00:57.740
know, I don't wrestle with that anymore. I don't

00:00:57.740 --> 00:01:00.369
wrestle with that. But every single one of us

00:01:00.369 --> 00:01:03.530
seems to have something that is kind of like

00:01:03.530 --> 00:01:06.890
our thing, the thing we wrestle against. Well,

00:01:06.930 --> 00:01:10.549
Hebrews 12, verse 1, after the great hall of

00:01:10.549 --> 00:01:14.689
faith, says this. Therefore, since we also have

00:01:14.689 --> 00:01:17.510
such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us,

00:01:17.750 --> 00:01:21.069
let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin

00:01:21.069 --> 00:01:25.129
that so easily ensnares us. Now, that's a verse

00:01:25.129 --> 00:01:27.590
I've often read in my life, and I've read it

00:01:27.590 --> 00:01:30.549
probably, thousands of times at this point, and

00:01:30.549 --> 00:01:32.790
I've always read it with the idea that the sin

00:01:32.790 --> 00:01:35.430
is just kind of the general idea of sin in general.

00:01:36.049 --> 00:01:38.909
But in preparing for this study, I dug a little

00:01:38.909 --> 00:01:40.950
more on this verse, and I found out that when

00:01:40.950 --> 00:01:44.609
it says the sin, in the Greek, it's singular.

00:01:45.409 --> 00:01:50.150
What it's referring to is the sin, or it could

00:01:50.150 --> 00:01:55.069
be a category of sin that so easily ensnares

00:01:55.069 --> 00:01:59.500
us. In other translations, that ensnare is translated

00:01:59.500 --> 00:02:04.879
entangle, trip us up, cling so closely. One of

00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:07.599
them is the sin that so easily besets us. But

00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:13.439
the idea is that the sin that so easily holds

00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:18.199
onto us, and the us is you individually, myself

00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:21.259
included. You see, we know all sin ensnares us

00:02:21.259 --> 00:02:23.919
to different degrees, but biblically it seems

00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:28.539
to indicate that each one of us, has a sin that

00:02:28.539 --> 00:02:31.439
we individually struggle with much more than

00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:34.979
other people struggle with. And in Paul's teaching

00:02:34.979 --> 00:02:37.400
here in Hebrews, he's talking about laying aside

00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:42.900
each one of us that sin that so easily ensnares

00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:45.780
you. It doesn't easily ensnare other people,

00:02:45.860 --> 00:02:47.979
but it's the thing that seems to trip you up

00:02:47.979 --> 00:02:51.969
most. It's a thing sometimes people will say

00:02:51.969 --> 00:02:54.550
like, oh, I just can't say no to it. I just can't

00:02:54.550 --> 00:02:57.889
resist it when the temptation comes. Or for those

00:02:57.889 --> 00:02:59.729
of us that may have been walking with the Lord

00:02:59.729 --> 00:03:02.789
for a long time, it's that sin that you think,

00:03:02.909 --> 00:03:06.909
my goodness, I thought I was past this. And here

00:03:06.909 --> 00:03:10.610
we are again dealing with this temptation. Now

00:03:10.610 --> 00:03:13.030
there's many examples of this type of thing in

00:03:13.030 --> 00:03:15.930
Scripture. As you look in the book of Judges,

00:03:15.930 --> 00:03:19.479
you have a man named Samson. The sin that so

00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:22.699
easily ensnared him was lust. He just kept getting

00:03:22.699 --> 00:03:26.099
in trouble with it over and over again. We see

00:03:26.099 --> 00:03:29.780
in the lives of David and his son Solomon that

00:03:29.780 --> 00:03:32.479
the sin that so easily ensnared them was a weakness

00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:35.500
for women. And it was something that continually

00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:38.520
caused problems. In the New Testament, we have

00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:42.699
the apostle Peter who struggled with fear of

00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:46.139
others. That was the sin that he kept struggling

00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:49.219
with over and over. When he was pressed into

00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:52.319
a situation where others were going to be judging

00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:55.319
him or holding him to his beliefs, he would often

00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:58.639
freak out and struggle. We know that in the story

00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:03.099
of Jesus' crucifixion, he denied Jesus because

00:04:03.099 --> 00:04:04.659
he was afraid of what the people might think

00:04:04.659 --> 00:04:08.139
of him. And then even later on, after the resurrection

00:04:08.139 --> 00:04:10.479
of Jesus, during the birth of the early church,

00:04:11.229 --> 00:04:14.229
We see Peter, who had made these amazing professions

00:04:14.229 --> 00:04:17.529
of who Jesus is. He was a part of the early growth

00:04:17.529 --> 00:04:20.029
of the church. We find him in the city of Antioch.

00:04:20.750 --> 00:04:22.670
And the scriptures tell us that he was afraid

00:04:22.670 --> 00:04:25.829
of the Jews, so he sided with them. And then

00:04:25.829 --> 00:04:27.790
that was where Paul the Apostle rebuked him.

00:04:29.050 --> 00:04:30.930
Well, we all have something that we struggle

00:04:30.930 --> 00:04:33.449
with. And here in Genesis chapter 20 today, we're

00:04:33.449 --> 00:04:36.649
going to see that Abraham's struggle was lying

00:04:36.649 --> 00:04:40.889
when pressured or in fear of others. That was

00:04:40.889 --> 00:04:44.410
his struggle. Instead of standing firm in his

00:04:44.410 --> 00:04:47.029
trust and his dependence upon the Lord, when

00:04:47.029 --> 00:04:49.449
he was faced with a situation where someone powerful

00:04:49.449 --> 00:04:53.970
might come against him, his ensnaring sin was

00:04:53.970 --> 00:04:56.089
to lie and to try and think of how to figure

00:04:56.089 --> 00:04:59.089
out the situation in his own wisdom. And so that's

00:04:59.089 --> 00:05:00.449
what we're going to be looking at today here

00:05:00.449 --> 00:05:03.750
in Genesis 20. Not only the sin in Abraham's

00:05:03.750 --> 00:05:05.810
life, but really what to do about it. How do

00:05:05.810 --> 00:05:09.790
we follow Hebrews 12 when it says to lay aside

00:05:09.790 --> 00:05:14.029
the sin that so easily ensnares us. What does

00:05:14.029 --> 00:05:17.009
that look like practically, how we might find

00:05:17.009 --> 00:05:19.870
ourselves doing that in our lives? But more importantly,

00:05:19.970 --> 00:05:21.410
what we're going to learn today here in Genesis

00:05:21.410 --> 00:05:24.790
20 is that no matter how long you've been walking

00:05:24.790 --> 00:05:27.470
with the Lord, you're never going to be without

00:05:27.470 --> 00:05:31.370
sin in this life. Not that we want to sin, but

00:05:31.370 --> 00:05:34.629
you will never be without sin in this life. And

00:05:34.629 --> 00:05:36.370
so no matter how long you're walking with the

00:05:36.370 --> 00:05:39.569
Lord, when you stumble, and I say when because

00:05:39.569 --> 00:05:42.029
it will happen, into that sin, the sin that so

00:05:42.029 --> 00:05:45.089
easily ensnares you, God's grace is still there.

00:05:45.649 --> 00:05:47.889
And it doesn't mean that God is done with you.

00:05:47.949 --> 00:05:49.629
It doesn't mean that you've lost your salvation.

00:05:49.629 --> 00:05:51.589
It doesn't mean that God can't and never will

00:05:51.589 --> 00:05:54.709
use you again, but quite the opposite. But first

00:05:54.709 --> 00:05:56.029
we're going to worship the Lord, so let's pray

00:05:56.029 --> 00:06:00.410
together. Father, we're so grateful to you. We're

00:06:00.410 --> 00:06:02.730
so grateful to your word, and God, just what

00:06:02.730 --> 00:06:05.750
you teach us through your word. Lord, over and

00:06:05.750 --> 00:06:08.569
over again, we are learning the lesson that you

00:06:08.569 --> 00:06:11.829
are faithful when we are faithless. That is the

00:06:11.829 --> 00:06:14.629
story of man, and God, there's so much grace

00:06:14.629 --> 00:06:17.329
in that, so much mercy in that, so much forgiveness,

00:06:17.430 --> 00:06:20.350
God, in the relationship that you extend to us

00:06:20.350 --> 00:06:22.970
through Jesus Christ. Lord, we're so grateful

00:06:22.970 --> 00:06:24.829
that you died for us. We're so grateful that

00:06:24.829 --> 00:06:28.180
it's through faith. That we access the grace

00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:30.579
that leads to us being saved and being able to

00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:34.060
be your children, God. Yet, Lord, here on this

00:06:34.060 --> 00:06:37.000
earth, we battle against the devil. We battle

00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:39.180
against our flesh. And, Lord, the enemy is so

00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:44.180
good at condemning us when we mess up. Lord,

00:06:44.259 --> 00:06:47.420
the enemy is so good at pointing at the thing

00:06:47.420 --> 00:06:50.399
that we seem to wrestle with most and use that

00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:53.009
to... to make us feel like you don't love us

00:06:53.009 --> 00:06:54.990
anymore, to make us feel like that we've blown

00:06:54.990 --> 00:06:57.970
it so bad that we can never, ever be used again.

00:06:58.089 --> 00:07:00.129
And Lord, those are lies from the pit of hell,

00:07:00.209 --> 00:07:03.569
literally. So God, today we want to be encouraged.

00:07:04.069 --> 00:07:05.670
And we know you're going to encourage us through

00:07:05.670 --> 00:07:08.449
your word because that's what you do. Lord, teach

00:07:08.449 --> 00:07:11.350
us what to do with those sins that we struggle

00:07:11.350 --> 00:07:14.709
with uniquely in our own lives. And Lord, remind

00:07:14.709 --> 00:07:18.769
us again that we are saved because of you, not

00:07:18.769 --> 00:07:21.839
because of anything we've done. That, God, you

00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:23.860
are the God of healing. You are the God of restoration.

00:07:24.180 --> 00:07:26.980
You are the God of hope. And that is the God

00:07:26.980 --> 00:07:30.079
we serve. And so, God, in that, we want to worship

00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:32.319
you now and proclaim your holy name because you

00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:37.500
are amazing. We love you so much, God. We thank

00:07:37.500 --> 00:07:42.860
you infinitely because we are so blessed through

00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:47.500
you. We love you. Be praised. Be glorified, Lord.

00:07:47.579 --> 00:07:51.250
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, so we

00:07:51.250 --> 00:07:55.540
are in Genesis chapter 20. And like I said, we're

00:07:55.540 --> 00:07:57.300
going to be talking about those sins that we

00:07:57.300 --> 00:08:01.279
all seemingly continually struggle with. Here

00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:05.180
in Genesis 20, we have a story that is very similar

00:08:05.180 --> 00:08:07.360
to the story we read about in Genesis chapter

00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:11.160
12. In Genesis chapter 12, if you remember, that

00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:14.459
was when Abraham, who was named Abram at the

00:08:14.459 --> 00:08:17.319
time, had just arrived in the promised land and

00:08:17.319 --> 00:08:19.759
had been traveling around the promised land,

00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:22.379
building altars and worshiping God. And then

00:08:22.379 --> 00:08:24.459
there was a famine in the land that caused him

00:08:24.459 --> 00:08:26.980
and his family to have to go south down into

00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:29.779
Egypt. Now Egypt at that time with the Nile River

00:08:29.779 --> 00:08:33.279
was just very lush and very abundant with food

00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:34.840
and stuff. And so they went down there to kind

00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:36.980
of stay until the famine in Canaan was gone.

00:08:37.220 --> 00:08:39.639
And we remember that he got in trouble down there.

00:08:40.100 --> 00:08:42.620
One of the reasons he got in trouble is because

00:08:42.620 --> 00:08:46.000
the Bible tells us that his wife Sarai at the

00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:49.080
time, she was 65 years old, but she was a woman

00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:53.129
known for her legendary beauty. She was an incredibly

00:08:53.129 --> 00:08:56.649
beautiful woman. And so when they went down into

00:08:56.649 --> 00:09:00.549
Egypt, Abram at the time, he was afraid that

00:09:00.549 --> 00:09:03.929
if people found out that she was his wife, they

00:09:03.929 --> 00:09:08.090
would kill him to take her. And that was a fairly

00:09:08.090 --> 00:09:11.110
common thing at the day. And so he had told her,

00:09:11.169 --> 00:09:14.070
hey, wife, I want you to lie when we get there

00:09:14.070 --> 00:09:17.350
and tell everybody that you're my sister. And

00:09:17.350 --> 00:09:19.110
the reason behind that was because the custom

00:09:19.110 --> 00:09:21.529
of the day was if there was an older brother

00:09:21.529 --> 00:09:24.009
who was the head of the house, people would have

00:09:24.009 --> 00:09:27.250
to come to the brother to negotiate to take the

00:09:27.250 --> 00:09:30.549
sister's hand in marriage, right? If you were

00:09:30.549 --> 00:09:32.250
the husband, they'd just kill you and take her.

00:09:32.289 --> 00:09:33.789
But if you're the brother, there was enough respect

00:09:33.789 --> 00:09:36.809
to go negotiate for some reason. And so he thought,

00:09:36.970 --> 00:09:38.470
hey, you know, they're going to come negotiate

00:09:38.470 --> 00:09:40.789
with me to take Sarai, and I will just say no,

00:09:40.970 --> 00:09:43.690
right? And problem solved. Well, what he didn't

00:09:43.690 --> 00:09:45.690
count on was that Pharaoh, who was the ruler

00:09:45.690 --> 00:09:47.929
of all of Egypt, didn't have to ask, didn't have

00:09:47.929 --> 00:09:50.730
to negotiate. And he found out about this beautiful

00:09:50.730 --> 00:09:53.850
woman in his land and he took her anyways. And

00:09:53.850 --> 00:09:57.009
then in response said, hey, Abram, I took your

00:09:57.009 --> 00:10:00.110
sister. So here's riches, here's servants, here's

00:10:00.110 --> 00:10:02.769
camels, here's wealth. And so that's a good trade

00:10:02.769 --> 00:10:06.169
-off, right? And so as the story goes, Pharaoh's

00:10:06.169 --> 00:10:09.029
household got cursed because God was like, you

00:10:09.029 --> 00:10:11.169
know, or Pharaoh found out that she was married.

00:10:11.909 --> 00:10:14.669
Abram got her back. They left the land. And that

00:10:14.669 --> 00:10:17.070
whole story there in Genesis chapter 12 was a

00:10:17.070 --> 00:10:20.870
story of Abram's faithlessness. It was a story

00:10:20.870 --> 00:10:23.629
of him as a man of God, walking with God, who

00:10:23.629 --> 00:10:27.480
knew God, decided in the moment of fear. that

00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:29.779
I need to revert to my old habits. I need to

00:10:29.779 --> 00:10:33.379
revert to my old ways and act how I had acted

00:10:33.379 --> 00:10:36.600
previous in my life before God was around. And

00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:40.779
so this for Abram was lying in the face of pressure,

00:10:41.059 --> 00:10:43.379
especially when he was in the face of powerful

00:10:43.379 --> 00:10:46.299
men who might otherwise harm him. His go -to

00:10:46.299 --> 00:10:48.960
was, okay, make up a story. Make up a story that

00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:50.539
I think is great and that's how we'll get through

00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:54.750
it. Now that story actually takes place 25 years

00:10:54.750 --> 00:10:57.570
prior to Genesis chapter 20. And what we're going

00:10:57.570 --> 00:11:00.370
to be reading here in Genesis chapter 20 is almost

00:11:00.370 --> 00:11:04.970
the exact same story. The sad story of Egypt

00:11:04.970 --> 00:11:07.590
when he went to Pharaoh earlier was that as he

00:11:07.590 --> 00:11:09.429
went to this land, Pharaoh, he didn't build any

00:11:09.429 --> 00:11:11.409
altars like he did in the promised land. There

00:11:11.409 --> 00:11:13.669
was no worship. There was no faith. There was

00:11:13.669 --> 00:11:16.370
no trust. But the greater issue was that there

00:11:16.370 --> 00:11:19.200
was no witness. As he was a representative of

00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:21.899
God, he went down there and misrepresented who

00:11:21.899 --> 00:11:25.480
God was being a liar. Now in Genesis 20, Abraham

00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:29.460
is 100 years old. His wife is 90, but she is

00:11:29.460 --> 00:11:32.559
still of legendary beauty. And so he's going

00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:35.879
to be a century -old man having walked with the

00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:39.039
Lord for multiple years at this point, and yet

00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:41.600
he's going to fall into the same exact sin that

00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:44.240
he did 25 years earlier. Read with me in Genesis

00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:49.000
20, verse 1. It says, from there, Abraham traveled

00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:51.240
to the region of the Negev and settled between

00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:55.120
Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,

00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:58.320
Abraham said about his wife, Sarah, she is my

00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:01.620
sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah

00:12:01.620 --> 00:12:04.809
brought to him. Now, we're not giving any backstory.

00:12:05.129 --> 00:12:08.970
We're not, you know, told that Abraham was afraid

00:12:08.970 --> 00:12:11.289
of Abimelech and all this stuff, but we're going

00:12:11.289 --> 00:12:13.769
to find out later here in the chapter that that

00:12:13.769 --> 00:12:16.470
is indeed what was taking place, that Abraham

00:12:16.470 --> 00:12:19.809
was afraid of this powerful man, the king of

00:12:19.809 --> 00:12:22.549
Gerar there, who was actually a Philistine king,

00:12:22.690 --> 00:12:25.429
and so this is what drove him to lie. Now, when

00:12:25.429 --> 00:12:27.769
it says from there Abraham traveled, this is

00:12:27.769 --> 00:12:29.850
taking place shortly after the destruction of

00:12:29.850 --> 00:12:31.750
Sodom and Gomorrah. That was in Genesis chapter

00:12:31.750 --> 00:12:34.889
19. And so he is going to leave the place he

00:12:34.889 --> 00:12:38.090
lived, which was Hebron, and travel down south

00:12:38.090 --> 00:12:40.509
to the region of the Negev. Now, we don't know

00:12:40.509 --> 00:12:44.129
why he left. Some speculate that because of his

00:12:44.129 --> 00:12:46.549
proximity to Sodom and Gomorrah and all the sulfur

00:12:46.549 --> 00:12:48.970
and the meteors and all that stuff, that there

00:12:48.970 --> 00:12:51.129
was bad air quality and they had to get out of

00:12:51.129 --> 00:12:53.690
town until the air cleared up. We don't know.

00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:57.159
But the Negev was this desert that was south

00:12:57.159 --> 00:13:00.899
of Israel, and Shur was this other desert region

00:13:00.899 --> 00:13:04.399
that was kind of to the west towards Egypt. Kadesh

00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:07.620
was a town named Kadesh Barnea, and so what he

00:13:07.620 --> 00:13:09.519
did is went down to this kind of desert wilderness

00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:13.320
area to settle while he waited for whatever he

00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:15.960
needed to wait for to go back up north. Now,

00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.559
Gerar was a Philistine city, and it was obviously

00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:21.559
one of the capitals because the king of the Philistines,

00:13:21.559 --> 00:13:24.240
Abimelech, lived there. And this city is commonly

00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:26.440
known as kind of the southern border to the Promised

00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:29.379
Land. If you're an archaeology nut, you can actually

00:13:29.379 --> 00:13:31.899
go visit the remains of this place today in Israel.

00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:34.960
It's called Tel Haror, and look that up on Google

00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:37.860
if you want. Okay, but here's what's going on.

00:13:39.340 --> 00:13:43.100
After his faithless failure 25 years earlier,

00:13:43.820 --> 00:13:46.700
He returned to the promised land, and then as

00:13:46.700 --> 00:13:49.360
we read from Genesis 13 and 14 and all the way

00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:51.779
up to here, we read these stories about how he

00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:54.799
grew in his faith, how over the years of him

00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:57.659
walking with the Lord, he got more mature as

00:13:57.659 --> 00:14:00.519
a believer. Over the course of those 25 years,

00:14:00.659 --> 00:14:03.340
he... just grew in his faith through so many

00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:05.759
different experiences that we've looked at. One

00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:09.000
is he learned to trust God, which he didn't do

00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:12.019
in Egypt, through God covenanting and making

00:14:12.019 --> 00:14:14.480
promises, a promise about this is the land you're

00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:16.539
gonna inherit. And then God had to say, bro,

00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:18.720
for real. And then, you know, over and over.

00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:20.820
And then he said, hey, you're gonna have a son.

00:14:21.799 --> 00:14:23.679
And then he goes, you're gonna not only have

00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:25.659
a son, but it's gonna be through your barren

00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:28.539
wife, Sarah. Right, all this stuff was going

00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:31.440
on. He learned through his walking with the Lord,

00:14:31.500 --> 00:14:35.559
just like we do, how faithful God is. He learned

00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:38.320
that despite mistakes over and over and over,

00:14:38.379 --> 00:14:41.179
God is faithful. God always steps in. God is

00:14:41.179 --> 00:14:44.039
there, but God also wants obedience and God wants

00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:46.899
all these things from him in just being a good

00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:50.500
representative of God. He also had just learned

00:14:50.500 --> 00:14:54.679
how mighty God is, how God feels about sin in

00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:57.220
wiping out the entire plain of Sodom and Gomorrah.

00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:02.159
So with all that context, here we are after Sodom

00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:04.200
and Gomorrah. He goes down to this area. He goes

00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:07.320
to the town of Gerar. And he shockingly does

00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:09.879
the same exact thing he did 25 years earlier

00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:14.960
in Egypt. He succumbed to fear. He relied on

00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:18.100
his own wisdom. He forgot what God could do,

00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:23.200
what God had done. And so he lied again. The

00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.279
same exact sin that he's dealt with earlier.

00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:28.799
He lied about who his wife was. because he was

00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:31.440
fearful of this powerful man in front of him,

00:15:31.460 --> 00:15:35.279
the Philistine king. Now, in the intro, we read

00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:37.519
that verse in Hebrews where it talks about laying

00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:44.340
aside the sin that so easily ensnares us. This

00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:46.879
is the old sinful habit that Abraham is dealing

00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:50.580
with here, his habit of deception and self -preservation.

00:15:50.580 --> 00:15:53.759
It presented itself again before him, and he

00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:57.169
gave in to it. And then, unsurprisingly, the

00:15:57.169 --> 00:15:59.850
result was exactly the same. He still had his

00:15:59.850 --> 00:16:02.789
wife taken from him. And, you know, we have these

00:16:02.789 --> 00:16:08.009
sins in our lives. All of us have the sin, the

00:16:08.009 --> 00:16:10.409
category of sins that we seem to wrestle with

00:16:10.409 --> 00:16:13.769
the most, the ones that keep coming back into

00:16:13.769 --> 00:16:16.789
our lives the most, and yet so oftentimes we

00:16:16.789 --> 00:16:18.950
find ourselves when faced with that particular

00:16:18.950 --> 00:16:21.809
temptation, we give in the same way we always

00:16:21.809 --> 00:16:24.580
have. And then we're surprised that the result

00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:28.519
is the same. And, you know, you've heard the

00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:30.639
statement before, the definition of insanity,

00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:33.179
doing the same thing over and over and expecting

00:16:33.179 --> 00:16:37.120
a different result. That's insanity, okay? And

00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:41.139
so here Abraham is doing the same thing. Now,

00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:44.500
the question is, might be, why did Abimelech

00:16:44.500 --> 00:16:47.440
take her? Why did he do this? We get no backstory

00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:51.000
here. And very simply, the conjecture is, one,

00:16:51.299 --> 00:16:53.320
it was her legendary beauty. It's kind of everywhere

00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:56.139
they went, people would go, wow, she's beautiful.

00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:58.779
And those that were in power, kings and rulers,

00:16:58.860 --> 00:17:01.019
had the right to come in and just take what they

00:17:01.019 --> 00:17:04.420
wanted. But the other thing is by this time in

00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:06.660
Abraham's life, he's been roaming the promised

00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:08.859
land for about 25 years. He had a reputation.

00:17:09.619 --> 00:17:12.440
People knew who this Prince Abraham was from

00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:15.220
the land of Canaan. And so in these times, if

00:17:15.220 --> 00:17:17.539
you wanted to ally yourself with another powerful

00:17:17.539 --> 00:17:20.160
ruler or a powerful house or tribe, what you

00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:22.140
would do is marry into it. And so that's how

00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:25.319
alliances were made that daughters and sisters

00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:29.380
would be traded off to people to unify countries

00:17:29.380 --> 00:17:32.400
and great houses and power. powerful people.

00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:35.099
And so it's likely Abimelech was just going,

00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:37.720
hey, I've heard of this Abraham guy. You know,

00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:40.000
if we could ally him with us, it would be a good

00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.759
thing. But above all of that, we can't forget

00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:48.400
something very important. Abraham is a saved

00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:52.759
believer here. He's what we would call today

00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:57.700
a Christian. A truly saved individual. He had

00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:00.599
been given a new name by this time. His relationship

00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:02.940
with God had grown so much where God said, you're

00:18:02.940 --> 00:18:05.599
no longer Abram. We're gonna now call you Abraham

00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:08.319
because that reflects the new nature you have.

00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:10.579
That reflects who you're gonna be, who I've called

00:18:10.579 --> 00:18:13.160
you to be. And so Abraham has been in this really

00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:18.119
kind of great place of spiritual growth. But

00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:20.359
like every single one of us in this room, he

00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:23.559
still had an old nature. He had an old nature

00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:26.920
that remained with him. And this old nature is

00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:30.660
what he goes back to even after all this time

00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:35.059
walking with God. Now then, God strikes him down

00:18:35.059 --> 00:18:37.140
dead. He loses his salvation, and that's the

00:18:37.140 --> 00:18:41.460
end of the story, right? That's how we feel,

00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:44.279
don't we? You may have been walking with the

00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:49.400
Lord for 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 years. And there's

00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:53.799
that sin. that so easily besets you. And you're

00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:56.380
like, gosh, I know people all around me, they

00:18:56.380 --> 00:18:58.680
don't wrestle with this. Why is it my thing?

00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:01.279
Why won't God take this out of my side? I am

00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:03.400
sick and tired of hearing the thorn that was

00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:06.240
in Paul's side. And God said, Lord, just take

00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:09.819
it away from me. I've been walking with you long

00:19:09.819 --> 00:19:13.039
enough now, Lord. Why am I still wrestling with

00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:18.279
this thing? And the Bible is just very clear.

00:19:18.829 --> 00:19:21.430
Paul talked about it in Romans. Your old nature

00:19:21.430 --> 00:19:23.049
exists with your new nature while you're here

00:19:23.049 --> 00:19:26.890
on earth. One day, that'll be gone. But you have

00:19:26.890 --> 00:19:28.950
this old nature that is still struggling against

00:19:28.950 --> 00:19:32.369
you. And every Christian here watching online,

00:19:32.490 --> 00:19:35.430
you know about this, right? You know about this

00:19:35.430 --> 00:19:37.329
struggle. The struggle is like, I've been given

00:19:37.329 --> 00:19:39.849
new life. I believe everything the Bible says.

00:19:39.970 --> 00:19:42.230
The Holy Spirit dwells within me. My heart of

00:19:42.230 --> 00:19:43.970
stone has been replaced with a heart of flesh.

00:19:44.109 --> 00:19:49.970
And yet, my old nature is still. The Bible talks

00:19:49.970 --> 00:19:53.349
about the flesh warring against the spirit and

00:19:53.349 --> 00:19:58.069
the spirit warring against the flesh. And we

00:19:58.069 --> 00:20:00.589
see that in our lives as the daily fight against

00:20:00.589 --> 00:20:04.970
the desire to relapse into old habits or to do

00:20:04.970 --> 00:20:09.690
things the way we used to. Right, when before

00:20:09.690 --> 00:20:13.029
I was saved, I would get very, I would go from

00:20:13.029 --> 00:20:16.890
zero to 60 in anger very fast. My mom used to

00:20:16.890 --> 00:20:21.630
call it Hulk smash. I'd lose my keys, and I'm

00:20:21.630 --> 00:20:23.410
looking for my keys, and the longer I couldn't

00:20:23.410 --> 00:20:25.890
find my keys, the more angry I got to the point

00:20:25.890 --> 00:20:27.630
where I started throwing stuff off the tables

00:20:27.630 --> 00:20:30.450
trying to find my keys, and just super silly.

00:20:32.549 --> 00:20:36.769
And yet, even today, every once in a while, someone

00:20:36.769 --> 00:20:40.089
will cut me off on the freeway, and I'm just

00:20:40.089 --> 00:20:43.450
like, I'm going to run you off the road. And

00:20:43.450 --> 00:20:46.289
then I'm like, whoa. That's not who I am anymore.

00:20:47.769 --> 00:20:49.269
And then I'm still like, oh, right there would

00:20:49.269 --> 00:20:50.430
be a good spot. Right there would be a good spot.

00:20:50.450 --> 00:20:55.069
No, can't do that, right? And it's like, I've

00:20:55.069 --> 00:20:56.509
been walking with the Lord for a long time. Why

00:20:56.509 --> 00:20:58.690
does that still rear its head in my life? And

00:20:58.690 --> 00:21:01.769
it's because of that old nature we have. And

00:21:01.769 --> 00:21:03.369
like I said, it seems like no matter how long

00:21:03.369 --> 00:21:05.349
we've been walking with the Lord, no matter how

00:21:05.349 --> 00:21:07.490
many things we have victory over, right? Oh,

00:21:07.529 --> 00:21:09.750
I haven't done that in years and God delivered

00:21:09.750 --> 00:21:11.690
me from that and I'm free from that addiction

00:21:11.690 --> 00:21:15.420
or whatever. No matter how many victories, There

00:21:15.420 --> 00:21:18.960
still seems to be that one thing that so easily

00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:21.880
ensnares us, and this is exactly where Abraham

00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:25.720
is at. The thing, his natural inclination, his

00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:29.059
go -to when pressured is to trust himself instead

00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:32.859
of trusting in God. And again, we all have that

00:21:32.859 --> 00:21:36.259
issue, right? For some of us, it's gossip. Others,

00:21:36.339 --> 00:21:40.220
it might be lying or anger, lust. It could be

00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:44.569
doubt. It might be the things that you turn to

00:21:44.569 --> 00:21:47.769
when you're worried or stressed or anxious, right?

00:21:47.849 --> 00:21:51.950
It could be drugs or alcohol, pornography. It

00:21:51.950 --> 00:21:54.210
simply could be emotional stuff you used to do

00:21:54.210 --> 00:21:56.210
where before you were saved, when you were stressed

00:21:56.210 --> 00:21:58.049
out or angry, you would emotionally disconnect

00:21:58.049 --> 00:22:01.170
and get really cold and harsh and mean, and yet

00:22:01.170 --> 00:22:03.549
that flares up still after you've had a changed

00:22:03.549 --> 00:22:06.029
heart. For some, it's being condemning instead

00:22:06.029 --> 00:22:10.269
of forgiving, whatever it is. The sin for you

00:22:10.269 --> 00:22:15.230
might not be an issue for someone else. And the

00:22:15.230 --> 00:22:17.250
devil will use that to condemn you. Well, they

00:22:17.250 --> 00:22:18.609
don't struggle with that. They must be a better

00:22:18.609 --> 00:22:21.609
Christian than you. Well, guess what? They're

00:22:21.609 --> 00:22:22.869
dealing with the same thing and the opposite.

00:22:22.970 --> 00:22:26.309
Their sin is the thing that you're like, I don't

00:22:26.309 --> 00:22:28.329
deal with that at all. And the devil's condemning

00:22:28.329 --> 00:22:30.089
them. Oh, they must be a better Christian than

00:22:30.089 --> 00:22:33.490
you. And so we have this back and forth between

00:22:33.490 --> 00:22:36.109
our new nature and our old nature that keeps

00:22:36.109 --> 00:22:38.970
rearing its head. Now, Paul the Apostle dealt

00:22:38.970 --> 00:22:41.049
with this. We're very familiar with passages

00:22:41.049 --> 00:22:43.849
in Romans in chapter 7 where Paul goes through

00:22:43.849 --> 00:22:46.289
this entire thing where he's like, look, the

00:22:46.289 --> 00:22:49.809
things I don't want to do, I find myself doing.

00:22:50.490 --> 00:22:53.210
And the things I do want to do, those are the

00:22:53.210 --> 00:22:56.869
very things I don't find myself doing. And he's

00:22:56.869 --> 00:22:58.210
going through this whole thing of going, what

00:22:58.210 --> 00:23:01.549
is the deal here? And in verse 24 of Romans 7,

00:23:01.630 --> 00:23:04.980
he gives us the answer. Oh, what a wretched man

00:23:04.980 --> 00:23:07.339
that I am. Who will rescue me from this body

00:23:07.339 --> 00:23:12.079
of death? Right? Just the frustration. Why can't

00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:14.259
this go away? Why do I still struggle with this?

00:23:14.359 --> 00:23:16.539
Why won't this leave me? I've had such victory

00:23:16.539 --> 00:23:19.339
over so many things, but this one thing keeps

00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:24.059
getting me. What a wretched man that I am. In

00:23:24.059 --> 00:23:27.380
verse 25, here was his answer. Thanks be to God

00:23:27.380 --> 00:23:31.509
through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with my

00:23:31.509 --> 00:23:34.930
mind, I myself am serving the law of God, but

00:23:34.930 --> 00:23:38.309
with my flesh, the law of sin. You see, earlier

00:23:38.309 --> 00:23:40.470
in this chapter in Romans 7, Paul says something

00:23:40.470 --> 00:23:42.430
that's very surprising on the surface when you

00:23:42.430 --> 00:23:44.670
read it. As he's talking about the struggle between

00:23:44.670 --> 00:23:46.970
the old nature and the new nature, he says, you

00:23:46.970 --> 00:23:49.950
know, so I've discovered a law then, that when

00:23:49.950 --> 00:23:53.150
my flesh sins, it's not me who is sinning, but

00:23:53.150 --> 00:23:57.710
my flesh. But with my spirit, I want to serve

00:23:57.710 --> 00:24:01.660
God. And you could read that and go, Paul, are

00:24:01.660 --> 00:24:04.799
you excusing yourself? That's what the Gnostics

00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:07.319
said in the early church. It doesn't matter what

00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:09.440
your flesh does. It's going to perish anyways.

00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:12.980
So you could just let your flesh go out and sleep

00:24:12.980 --> 00:24:15.359
around and do drugs and hurt people and steal.

00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:18.400
It doesn't matter. It's just going to be destroyed.

00:24:19.380 --> 00:24:22.640
And of course, 1 John, he talks about that very

00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:24.720
extensively. Basically, I'm going to sum it up.

00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:29.799
That's dumb. That's not true. It does matter

00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:32.799
what we do. However, what Paul is addressing

00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:36.079
here is the idea of saying, because I have done

00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:39.299
bad, therefore God must not love me anymore.

00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:43.460
Because I have sinned, God must be against me.

00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:45.400
And that's exactly what the devil loves to tell

00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:48.420
us, especially when it's the sin that so easily

00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:52.740
ensnares you. I thought you were over this. Apparently

00:24:52.740 --> 00:24:56.900
not. You can't be saved. Or maybe you're in ministry

00:24:56.900 --> 00:25:00.460
and you're serving and that thing just rears

00:25:00.460 --> 00:25:03.059
its head and it gets you again and then the devil

00:25:03.059 --> 00:25:04.799
starts saying, oh, you need to step down. You

00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:08.559
can't serve God. You're gross. You're tainted.

00:25:08.660 --> 00:25:11.039
You shouldn't be teaching the kids the Bible.

00:25:11.059 --> 00:25:12.940
You definitely shouldn't be sharing your faith,

00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:16.240
you hypocrite. Am I the only one that's dealt

00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:22.799
with that? We all deal with it, right? And yet

00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:26.279
Paul's answer is thanks be. to God through Jesus

00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:29.680
Christ our Lord. You see, we're going to talk

00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:33.059
more about this later, but when you've put your

00:25:33.059 --> 00:25:37.579
faith in Jesus Christ, you're saved. You are

00:25:37.579 --> 00:25:39.779
God's child. You're in his family. You've been

00:25:39.779 --> 00:25:42.220
adopted. The promise and the hope of heaven stands

00:25:42.220 --> 00:25:47.859
before you. It's a guaranteed done thing. And

00:25:47.859 --> 00:25:51.759
we go, but, but, but, yeah, we don't want to

00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:55.140
sin, but guess what? You are never gonna be without

00:25:55.140 --> 00:26:00.119
sin in this life, ever. So get out of your head

00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:03.619
the idea that until I'm perfect, God is mad at

00:26:03.619 --> 00:26:07.720
me. You're not perfect and God loves you now,

00:26:08.059 --> 00:26:12.519
right? That's the thing the devil keeps trying

00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:17.099
to assault in our life. No, God's mad now. Oh,

00:26:17.140 --> 00:26:19.200
God's happy today. God's mad now. And we do this

00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:22.059
back and forth constantly and it drives you nuts.

00:26:25.160 --> 00:26:26.920
So we're going to see some things here as we

00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:30.960
move through these verses of how God views Abraham

00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:35.500
in light of this old habit, this old ensnaring

00:26:35.500 --> 00:26:37.400
sin coming into his life. The first thing we

00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:39.599
notice here is that in light of salvation history,

00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:43.000
God would not allow Abraham's ensnaring sin to

00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:47.180
derail his plan. See, I've said it before. If

00:26:47.180 --> 00:26:50.319
God says, this is going to happen, and I'm going

00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:52.359
to do it in your life, and this is how I'm going

00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:55.309
to do it, As hard as this may be to swallow,

00:26:55.450 --> 00:26:58.970
and this is not in condoning sin, but if God

00:26:58.970 --> 00:27:01.690
said it is going to happen, you cannot change

00:27:01.690 --> 00:27:06.289
that. Now, there's a lot of things God hasn't

00:27:06.289 --> 00:27:09.009
specifically said this is exactly what's gonna

00:27:09.009 --> 00:27:12.250
happen. There are things in our lives where there's

00:27:12.250 --> 00:27:16.970
blessing that is gonna come when we're living

00:27:16.970 --> 00:27:18.750
faithfully, and then there's blessing in our

00:27:18.750 --> 00:27:20.849
lives that we can inhibit or slow down when we're

00:27:20.849 --> 00:27:23.670
living sinfully. But here in Abraham's life,

00:27:23.750 --> 00:27:26.390
God said, you're getting this land. You're going

00:27:26.390 --> 00:27:28.529
to have a child. Through that child, the whole

00:27:28.529 --> 00:27:30.049
world's going to be blessed, and there's nothing

00:27:30.049 --> 00:27:34.329
Abraham could do to change that. But it doesn't

00:27:34.329 --> 00:27:37.769
mean there was consequences. It just means God's

00:27:37.769 --> 00:27:41.109
plan couldn't be derailed. 2 Timothy 2 .3, it

00:27:41.109 --> 00:27:42.769
says, if we are faithless, he remains faithful,

00:27:42.910 --> 00:27:46.869
for he cannot deny himself. If God made a promise,

00:27:46.990 --> 00:27:49.349
God's going to fulfill that promise because God

00:27:49.349 --> 00:27:52.779
is God. If he doesn't fulfill the promise, then

00:27:52.779 --> 00:27:56.940
God would be a liar, and God's not a liar. God

00:27:56.940 --> 00:28:03.839
will work his will despite us sometimes. That's

00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:05.619
a prayer I pray every Sunday before I teach.

00:28:05.720 --> 00:28:10.299
God, please speak your word to your people despite

00:28:10.299 --> 00:28:14.619
me. Because I know what I've done this week.

00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:19.569
I know how sinful I am. And so God, please don't

00:28:19.569 --> 00:28:22.049
let this be, you know, based on me. Don't let

00:28:22.049 --> 00:28:24.109
this be based on, oh, well, you lived a very

00:28:24.109 --> 00:28:25.829
righteous life this week. I'm going to let this

00:28:25.829 --> 00:28:28.069
message be powerful. No, because I never live

00:28:28.069 --> 00:28:31.769
a righteous life. God knows that. And so it's

00:28:31.769 --> 00:28:33.869
God, I'm a tool in your hand. Please do what

00:28:33.869 --> 00:28:38.470
you're going to do despite me. And so Abraham

00:28:38.470 --> 00:28:41.450
here has done a sin. He has lied again. He's

00:28:41.450 --> 00:28:45.339
gone back to that old lie. But God said, Genesis

00:28:45.339 --> 00:28:47.460
18, I will certainly come back to you in a year's

00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:51.319
time and your wife Sarah will have a son. And

00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:53.640
so verse three. We're flying through this chapter.

00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:57.960
Okay. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by

00:28:57.960 --> 00:29:04.200
night. But God. That is one of the greatest phrases

00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:08.619
in all of scripture. You see, it is one of my

00:29:08.619 --> 00:29:11.720
favorite phrases. It's the phrase that I love

00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:15.470
to cling to when it comes to My old nature, my

00:29:15.470 --> 00:29:20.309
old habits, my fallen tendency to sin. See, it's

00:29:20.309 --> 00:29:21.950
everything we need to know when we fall, when

00:29:21.950 --> 00:29:23.549
we stumble, when we mess up, and when we give

00:29:23.549 --> 00:29:26.809
in to that sin that just so easily seems to ensnare

00:29:26.809 --> 00:29:30.869
us. But God. There's all kinds of but God's throughout

00:29:30.869 --> 00:29:33.349
scripture, but one of my favorites is in Ephesians

00:29:33.349 --> 00:29:36.990
2, and it says this. And you were dead in your

00:29:36.990 --> 00:29:39.430
trespasses and sins in which you previously walked

00:29:39.430 --> 00:29:42.529
according to the ways of this world. According

00:29:42.529 --> 00:29:44.410
to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit

00:29:44.410 --> 00:29:48.329
now working in the disobedient. We too all previously

00:29:48.329 --> 00:29:50.809
lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying

00:29:50.809 --> 00:29:53.890
out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts.

00:29:54.109 --> 00:29:57.910
And we were by nature children under wrath as

00:29:57.910 --> 00:30:03.170
the others were also. Verse four, but God. Right,

00:30:03.230 --> 00:30:05.410
that's where you hear the sound of the heroes

00:30:05.410 --> 00:30:08.069
arriving, you know, Gandalf's on top of the hill.

00:30:08.170 --> 00:30:11.640
Ah, the staff shines. That's the moment. But

00:30:11.640 --> 00:30:13.859
God, who is rich in mercy because of his great

00:30:13.859 --> 00:30:17.200
love that he has for us, made us alive with Christ

00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:21.660
even though we were dead in trespasses. You know

00:30:21.660 --> 00:30:25.720
what that says? You didn't do anything to accomplish

00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:28.880
that work. It wasn't your good deeds. It wasn't

00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:30.640
your this and that. It wasn't you cleaning up

00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:33.339
your life. It wasn't anything. He died for you.

00:30:34.259 --> 00:30:36.559
And through his death, you would be made alive.

00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:40.380
All we do is say, God, I believe it. I'm a dead,

00:30:40.420 --> 00:30:44.220
wretched sinner, but I believe in you. It says,

00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:47.940
you were saved by grace. He also raised us up

00:30:47.940 --> 00:30:49.720
with him and seated us with him in the heavens

00:30:49.720 --> 00:30:52.500
in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he

00:30:52.500 --> 00:30:54.920
might display the immeasurable riches of his

00:30:54.920 --> 00:30:57.619
grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:00.519
For you are saved by grace through faith, and

00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:03.200
this is not from yourselves. It is God's gift,

00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:06.640
not from works, so that no one can boast. We

00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:09.420
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus

00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:12.059
for good works, which God prepared ahead of time

00:31:12.059 --> 00:31:17.720
for us to do. But God. Every believer has this

00:31:17.720 --> 00:31:20.140
story. We're going our own way, living our own

00:31:20.140 --> 00:31:24.200
lives. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We

00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:27.259
were enemies of God, the Bible says. And then

00:31:27.259 --> 00:31:32.930
one day, But God. We're people who have walked

00:31:32.930 --> 00:31:34.609
with God. And some of us have been walking with

00:31:34.609 --> 00:31:37.910
God for years. Years and years in walking with

00:31:37.910 --> 00:31:41.970
God. Overcome so much. But there's that one thing

00:31:41.970 --> 00:31:43.950
that just seems to keep rearing its head. And

00:31:43.950 --> 00:31:46.210
you know what the answer is to that? But God.

00:31:48.730 --> 00:31:54.190
That old nature. But God. And it's the same for

00:31:54.190 --> 00:31:57.210
Abraham here. 25 years walking with the Lord,

00:31:57.289 --> 00:32:00.910
miracles. Melchizedek blessed him. So many wonderful

00:32:00.910 --> 00:32:03.009
things have happened in his life. So much growth,

00:32:03.130 --> 00:32:06.269
so much maturity in his own walk and generosity

00:32:06.269 --> 00:32:11.549
and humility and yet here he is. Oh, king, my

00:32:11.549 --> 00:32:19.150
wife's beautiful, lie. But God. Verse three,

00:32:19.210 --> 00:32:21.009
but God came to Abimelech in a dream by night

00:32:21.009 --> 00:32:23.009
and said to him, you are about to die because

00:32:23.009 --> 00:32:25.799
of the woman you have taken. for she is a married

00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:28.740
woman. Now Abimelech had not approached her,

00:32:28.859 --> 00:32:32.579
which means he had not slept with her yet. So

00:32:32.579 --> 00:32:34.619
he said, Lord, would you destroy a nation even

00:32:34.619 --> 00:32:38.059
though it is innocent? Didn't he himself say

00:32:38.059 --> 00:32:41.599
to me, she is my sister? And she herself said,

00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:45.920
he is my brother? They're both culpable. He says,

00:32:45.940 --> 00:32:47.500
I did this with a clear conscience and clean

00:32:47.500 --> 00:32:50.859
hands. Now, can you imagine, would it get your

00:32:50.859 --> 00:32:52.500
attention if you were dreaming one night and

00:32:52.500 --> 00:32:57.270
God showed up and said, you're a dead man? What?

00:32:57.270 --> 00:32:59.089
You're a dead man because that woman you took,

00:32:59.109 --> 00:33:03.549
she's married. Right? Instant defense. I did

00:33:03.549 --> 00:33:08.170
nothing wrong. I was told that she was his sister.

00:33:08.309 --> 00:33:11.269
They both lied to me. How was I supposed to know?

00:33:13.970 --> 00:33:15.950
Now we're going to find out later that Abraham

00:33:15.950 --> 00:33:17.769
still is like, well, that's kind of the truth,

00:33:17.890 --> 00:33:20.950
but we'll deal with that in a little bit. But

00:33:20.950 --> 00:33:23.059
look at this phrase he says. Will you destroy

00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:26.619
a nation even though it is innocent? We don't

00:33:26.619 --> 00:33:29.539
know here how much time passed between Abimelech

00:33:29.539 --> 00:33:33.440
taking her and what we're reading about here.

00:33:33.619 --> 00:33:35.240
We don't know if it was the same exact night

00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:38.220
or later because he says, would you destroy a

00:33:38.220 --> 00:33:40.339
nation? We're going to read later on in verse

00:33:40.339 --> 00:33:43.720
18 that God had closed up the wombs of all the

00:33:43.720 --> 00:33:48.420
Philistine women. So he says, would you destroy

00:33:48.420 --> 00:33:50.400
a nation? Guess what? If the Philistine women

00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:52.839
can't have Philistine babies, that means what?

00:33:53.940 --> 00:33:58.559
No more Philistines. And so he's like, I'm innocent.

00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:00.799
I've done this. He's proclaiming his innocence.

00:34:01.079 --> 00:34:04.000
And we would think, well, good. The Philistines

00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:06.140
are going to be a problem for Israel in the future.

00:34:06.400 --> 00:34:08.599
It's a good thing that he closed up the wombs,

00:34:08.599 --> 00:34:11.840
right? Get rid of them right now. But we've already

00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:15.019
seen in Genesis where, I believe it was the Amalekites,

00:34:15.059 --> 00:34:18.139
where he said, look, they haven't filled their

00:34:18.139 --> 00:34:20.920
fill of sinning yet. God is patient. You know,

00:34:20.920 --> 00:34:25.039
even with those who don't follow God, our Lord

00:34:25.039 --> 00:34:28.820
is still gracious. He is still long -suffering.

00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:33.099
He still extends kindness. Yes, the day will

00:34:33.099 --> 00:34:34.860
come where he's like, okay, that's enough. You've

00:34:34.860 --> 00:34:38.280
had enough opportunity. But here, the Philistines

00:34:38.280 --> 00:34:41.599
obviously hadn't met that place yet. This pagan

00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:45.500
king, Abimelech, obviously, apparently recognizing

00:34:45.500 --> 00:34:47.860
God somehow in this dream, knowing it was him.

00:34:48.619 --> 00:34:51.039
He says, I didn't do anything wrong. There was

00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:52.699
no intentional wrongdoing here. I'm not trying

00:34:52.699 --> 00:34:54.820
to wrong him. I'm not trying to wrong her. I'm

00:34:54.820 --> 00:34:58.699
definitely not trying to wrong you. And God agrees.

00:34:58.820 --> 00:35:01.659
Look at verse six. Then God said to him in the

00:35:01.659 --> 00:35:04.300
dream, yes, I know that you did this with a clear

00:35:04.300 --> 00:35:08.059
conscience. I have also kept you from sinning

00:35:08.059 --> 00:35:09.619
against me. Therefore, I have not let you touch

00:35:09.619 --> 00:35:13.849
her. God is taking the credit for Abimelech not

00:35:13.849 --> 00:35:16.130
having yet gone to consummate the marriage, if

00:35:16.130 --> 00:35:21.110
you will. God is keeping a pagan king from sinning

00:35:21.110 --> 00:35:25.269
against him in this particular regard. That's

00:35:25.269 --> 00:35:28.710
pretty amazing. That's gracious. Now, in the

00:35:28.710 --> 00:35:30.650
big picture, yeah, we know Abimelech was a sinner

00:35:30.650 --> 00:35:33.250
like any sinner. We know he was a sinner against

00:35:33.250 --> 00:35:35.789
God like any other sinner without having put

00:35:35.789 --> 00:35:38.349
faith in God. There's no salvation. We know that.

00:35:38.989 --> 00:35:42.130
But the scope of this is very narrow, and so

00:35:42.130 --> 00:35:47.250
God in his omniscience is declaring Abimelech's

00:35:47.250 --> 00:35:49.730
innocence with him. Yes, I know you did this

00:35:49.730 --> 00:35:52.809
with a clear conscience. I know you didn't intend

00:35:52.809 --> 00:35:57.469
to sin against me. And so my grace in that was

00:35:57.469 --> 00:36:00.889
I kept you from sealing the deal. I kept you

00:36:00.889 --> 00:36:04.800
from violating her. Why? Because God's plan was

00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:06.739
to have her get pregnant with Abraham's baby

00:36:06.739 --> 00:36:10.239
because that's the son of the promise. God's

00:36:10.239 --> 00:36:13.119
not going to let his plan get derailed. But it's

00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:15.019
interesting, God says, I've kept you from sinning

00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:18.260
against me. Right? It's like, wouldn't it be

00:36:18.260 --> 00:36:21.380
like, no, you've sinned against Abraham. You're

00:36:21.380 --> 00:36:24.559
sinning against Sarah. But God says, no, you're

00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:27.360
sinning against me. And the specific thing is

00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:29.480
I kept you from sleeping with her. Now, this

00:36:29.480 --> 00:36:32.789
is a brief aside, but I believe this is a picture

00:36:32.789 --> 00:36:36.789
that shows us that the sin of adultery is way

00:36:36.789 --> 00:36:39.369
more than you cheated on this spouse or cheated

00:36:39.369 --> 00:36:42.429
on this spouse. You're sinning against God directly.

00:36:44.090 --> 00:36:46.030
Adultery is a sin against God because he's the

00:36:46.030 --> 00:36:47.329
one that created marriage. He's the one that

00:36:47.329 --> 00:36:49.110
created intimacy. He's the one that set the whole

00:36:49.110 --> 00:36:53.710
thing up. And when we violate that, yes, we're

00:36:53.710 --> 00:36:55.869
sinning against people. But the bigger crime,

00:36:55.989 --> 00:36:57.489
the ultimate crime, is you're sinning against

00:36:57.489 --> 00:37:02.079
God himself. And so, verse 7. He tells Abimelech,

00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:04.079
now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet,

00:37:04.239 --> 00:37:06.280
and he will pray for you, and you will live.

00:37:06.300 --> 00:37:08.380
But if you do not return her, know that you will

00:37:08.380 --> 00:37:13.679
certainly die, you and all who are yours. Sin

00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:19.679
is sin. You break God's law, there's judgment.

00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:23.219
One of the objections atheists always have is,

00:37:23.239 --> 00:37:25.519
well, I mean, how could the pygmies in the rainforest

00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:28.219
have any idea? Nobody told them it was God's

00:37:28.219 --> 00:37:34.349
law. I don't know. But God is God. God is going

00:37:34.349 --> 00:37:36.829
to be completely righteous and just when he judges

00:37:36.829 --> 00:37:38.750
the pygmy in the forest who's never heard the

00:37:38.750 --> 00:37:41.190
Ten Commandments. Somehow God has communicated

00:37:41.190 --> 00:37:44.409
who he is to those people. And they too have

00:37:44.409 --> 00:37:47.269
had the opportunity to respond to him. They might

00:37:47.269 --> 00:37:50.369
not know him by the name we know him. There's

00:37:50.369 --> 00:37:54.349
a story about, I think it was in Australia, Aborigines.

00:37:55.690 --> 00:37:59.550
And some missionaries went out to them. and started

00:37:59.550 --> 00:38:01.449
telling them about God and everything, and they're

00:38:01.449 --> 00:38:04.289
like, yeah, yeah, we know him. And the missionary's

00:38:04.289 --> 00:38:06.250
like, what? You're like an unreached people group.

00:38:06.309 --> 00:38:09.650
This is crazy. How do you know him? They're like,

00:38:09.710 --> 00:38:11.570
well, we don't know him by Jesus Christ, but

00:38:11.570 --> 00:38:14.150
we know him as the God of the thumb. They go,

00:38:14.190 --> 00:38:16.710
what? They're like, well, our peoples at some

00:38:16.710 --> 00:38:20.010
point went, you know how much of life is not

00:38:20.010 --> 00:38:23.349
possible without the thumb? This had to have

00:38:23.349 --> 00:38:27.019
been created by somebody with intelligence. And

00:38:27.019 --> 00:38:28.480
they're just like, we worship the God of the

00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:31.300
thumb. And they're like, oh, well, his name is

00:38:31.300 --> 00:38:34.239
Jesus, right? It was just, God knows. God can

00:38:34.239 --> 00:38:37.159
reach people. He doesn't need us, but he wants

00:38:37.159 --> 00:38:38.619
to use us, but that's a different Bible study.

00:38:38.760 --> 00:38:42.679
Okay, back to Abraham. Return the man's wife,

00:38:42.739 --> 00:38:47.699
for he is a prophet. Does that ring weird to

00:38:47.699 --> 00:38:52.480
anybody? Here's this man, Abraham, proclaims

00:38:52.480 --> 00:38:56.969
the Lord, comes up, lies. God shows up in Abimelech's

00:38:56.969 --> 00:38:58.730
dream. You're a dead man because you took her.

00:38:58.889 --> 00:39:01.510
That's his wife. What? I didn't do anything wrong.

00:39:01.650 --> 00:39:03.250
Yeah, well, whether you knew it was wrong or

00:39:03.250 --> 00:39:04.510
not, if you don't return her, you're going to

00:39:04.510 --> 00:39:12.710
die. So return her because he's my prophet. God

00:39:12.710 --> 00:39:16.110
didn't say to Abimelech, yeah, I know. I'm so

00:39:16.110 --> 00:39:19.909
sorry. My people are dumb sometimes. You know?

00:39:20.050 --> 00:39:22.349
I mean, yeah, you're completely innocent. You

00:39:22.349 --> 00:39:24.940
know, I mean. Gosh, if you didn't want to go

00:39:24.940 --> 00:39:26.900
to church anymore because the Christians in the

00:39:26.900 --> 00:39:29.719
church can be dumb sometimes, I get it, Abimelech.

00:39:30.920 --> 00:39:33.039
He's just a big fat liar, a faithless weakling.

00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:37.219
I apologize for him. Go about your life. I'll

00:39:37.219 --> 00:39:39.420
just let you off the hook this time. That's not

00:39:39.420 --> 00:39:44.199
what God says. He says he is a prophet. despite

00:39:44.199 --> 00:39:46.300
his error, despite his weakness, despite the

00:39:46.300 --> 00:39:48.300
lapse of setting aside the sin that so easily

00:39:48.300 --> 00:39:51.860
snares him, in this moment, God says, he's mine,

00:39:51.960 --> 00:39:54.679
he's my child, he's my spokesman, he's my representative,

00:39:54.980 --> 00:40:00.900
he speaks for me. What does that tell us? So

00:40:00.900 --> 00:40:03.280
many of us in the church will sometimes deal

00:40:03.280 --> 00:40:07.059
with, I can't serve God, I can't speak for God,

00:40:07.260 --> 00:40:09.159
I can't do what God's calling me to do because

00:40:09.159 --> 00:40:14.130
I've messed up. And we want to repent of our

00:40:14.130 --> 00:40:16.190
sin, yes, and all that. But God is saying here,

00:40:16.250 --> 00:40:18.969
he's like, I don't see you through your sin.

00:40:19.030 --> 00:40:20.949
If you've trusted in Jesus Christ, I see you

00:40:20.949 --> 00:40:22.289
through the blood of Christ. What that means

00:40:22.289 --> 00:40:25.309
is I see you spotless. I see you without sin.

00:40:26.429 --> 00:40:30.090
You're my child. I've called you to do a thing.

00:40:32.650 --> 00:40:36.210
I'm the one who is faithful. You're not disqualified.

00:40:39.170 --> 00:40:43.239
Now, do we go on and continue in sin? No. Does

00:40:43.239 --> 00:40:45.539
the Bible talk about, you know, those that want

00:40:45.539 --> 00:40:47.340
to go continue and live in sin, that you are

00:40:47.340 --> 00:40:50.519
withdrawn, especially in the ministry of pastoral

00:40:50.519 --> 00:40:53.340
ministry and type of stuff? Yeah, that does exist.

00:40:53.440 --> 00:40:58.019
But the idea here is that Abraham is not disqualified

00:40:58.019 --> 00:41:00.260
because he went back to his old ensnaring sin.

00:41:02.960 --> 00:41:07.000
God didn't say, oops. Well, you know, I mean,

00:41:07.019 --> 00:41:09.119
I change whether you're saved from day to day,

00:41:09.179 --> 00:41:13.130
and today you're not. No, he says he's a prophet.

00:41:13.369 --> 00:41:15.969
You know, my greatest hope, my greatest comfort

00:41:15.969 --> 00:41:19.869
in life is that despite the fact that I will

00:41:19.869 --> 00:41:23.730
continue to sin in this life, not that I want

00:41:23.730 --> 00:41:27.130
to, but I will, my greatest hope is that God

00:41:27.130 --> 00:41:29.530
will always see me because of my faith in the

00:41:29.530 --> 00:41:32.369
blood of Jesus Christ. He will always see me

00:41:32.369 --> 00:41:35.590
as the one he knows I am, the one he created

00:41:35.590 --> 00:41:42.719
me to be. And he still works through me. It just

00:41:42.719 --> 00:41:46.659
blows me away. And not only does he still see

00:41:46.659 --> 00:41:49.139
me as his spotless child through the blood of

00:41:49.139 --> 00:41:52.780
Christ, he can still use me for his purposes.

00:41:55.539 --> 00:41:58.860
Now again, don't misunderstand. There are consequences

00:41:58.860 --> 00:42:02.579
to sin. There's consequences to sinful living

00:42:02.579 --> 00:42:07.800
here on this earth. There are... results of us

00:42:07.800 --> 00:42:11.239
being disobedient. There's results of us giving

00:42:11.239 --> 00:42:15.860
in to those old ensnaring sins. But the point

00:42:15.860 --> 00:42:17.579
that I want to make today and what I'm trying

00:42:17.579 --> 00:42:22.420
to encourage all of us with is that the power

00:42:22.420 --> 00:42:27.099
of the blood of Jesus Christ, the power of God's

00:42:27.099 --> 00:42:32.599
promises The power of God to say, I've saved

00:42:32.599 --> 00:42:34.820
you because you put faith in me is infinitely

00:42:34.820 --> 00:42:40.019
more powerful than our stumble when that ensnaring

00:42:40.019 --> 00:42:44.300
snare rears its head again. Don't let the devil

00:42:44.300 --> 00:42:46.179
condemn you. You're not condemned. There is no

00:42:46.179 --> 00:42:47.699
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

00:42:49.119 --> 00:42:51.300
Don't let the devil tell you that God is done

00:42:51.300 --> 00:42:53.099
with you and he will never use you again because

00:42:53.099 --> 00:42:54.960
all you have to do is go through the Bible and

00:42:54.960 --> 00:42:56.940
you're like, I see a whole bunch of people he

00:42:56.940 --> 00:43:01.630
used again after they sinned. Don't think that

00:43:01.630 --> 00:43:04.690
you can't speak for the Lord and proclaim the

00:43:04.690 --> 00:43:07.869
gospel and share your testimony because, wow,

00:43:08.110 --> 00:43:10.989
I did that thing that I've been struggling with

00:43:10.989 --> 00:43:16.829
for 30 years. God's more powerful than that.

00:43:20.210 --> 00:43:25.030
Paul says where sin abound, grace super abounded.

00:43:27.670 --> 00:43:31.190
Grace super abounded. If you're a child of God,

00:43:31.250 --> 00:43:34.389
you cannot out -sin his grace. Now, I'm not saying

00:43:34.389 --> 00:43:38.170
go try. That's not at all what this is about.

00:43:40.130 --> 00:43:42.150
I'm talking about those who know God, right?

00:43:42.389 --> 00:43:44.829
If you're truly saved, you truly know God, you're

00:43:44.829 --> 00:43:46.710
truly in that position of having that relationship

00:43:46.710 --> 00:43:48.710
with him, guess what? You're filled with the

00:43:48.710 --> 00:43:50.650
Holy Spirit. What that means is you're going

00:43:50.650 --> 00:43:53.230
to feel the guilt when you mess up. You're going

00:43:53.230 --> 00:43:56.429
to feel it. You're going to feel the sting. It's

00:43:56.429 --> 00:43:58.269
one of the things I've told people so many times

00:43:58.269 --> 00:44:00.309
in counseling when they're like, I did a thing.

00:44:00.369 --> 00:44:03.030
I don't think I'm saved anymore. And I'm like,

00:44:03.050 --> 00:44:05.329
do you feel guilty about it? Yes, I do. Why?

00:44:05.489 --> 00:44:08.269
I've sinned against God. And I go, that's proof

00:44:08.269 --> 00:44:11.789
you're saved. Because the Bible is very clear

00:44:11.789 --> 00:44:14.389
in 1 John 3. If you are practicing lawlessness,

00:44:14.510 --> 00:44:16.130
if you are living in sin and you don't think

00:44:16.130 --> 00:44:19.110
anything's wrong, you look at the Bible and God

00:44:19.110 --> 00:44:20.489
says, don't do that. And you're like, no, he's

00:44:20.489 --> 00:44:24.039
wrong. I'm not doing anything wrong. 1 John 3

00:44:24.039 --> 00:44:29.239
says, I can question your salvation. But if you're

00:44:29.239 --> 00:44:31.760
in tears and going, oh, I'm so afraid. Okay,

00:44:31.820 --> 00:44:35.920
let's start with, you're saved. The Holy Spirit

00:44:35.920 --> 00:44:38.760
is convicting you. Let's start there. And now

00:44:38.760 --> 00:44:40.440
let's start walking to the promises and the truth

00:44:40.440 --> 00:44:44.300
of God's word. Did he die for you? Yes. Did he

00:44:44.300 --> 00:44:45.800
die for all your sins, past, present, and future?

00:44:46.079 --> 00:44:48.400
Yes. Does that include the one you're upset about

00:44:48.400 --> 00:44:53.809
now? Yes. Are you his child? Yes. Does he still

00:44:53.809 --> 00:44:58.849
love you? Yes. Can he still use you? Absolutely.

00:45:00.750 --> 00:45:06.449
And so, we understand that Scripture tells us

00:45:06.449 --> 00:45:09.329
that although there are consequences to sin,

00:45:09.469 --> 00:45:13.449
there are repercussions, there's all this stuff

00:45:13.449 --> 00:45:16.050
that happens, when it comes to our salvation,

00:45:16.369 --> 00:45:20.739
it's by grace through faith we are saved. Not

00:45:20.739 --> 00:45:24.900
of works lest anybody should boast. And so when

00:45:24.900 --> 00:45:28.679
you feel that guilt, yeah, okay, God still loves

00:45:28.679 --> 00:45:30.519
you, but you've got to sin. You've got to repent.

00:45:30.639 --> 00:45:32.960
You've got to deal with this thing. And that

00:45:32.960 --> 00:45:34.820
leads us to that question. It's like, well, what

00:45:34.820 --> 00:45:37.699
do I do with the sin that keeps ensnaring me?

00:45:38.940 --> 00:45:41.860
And it so easily ensnares me. It's almost embarrassing

00:45:41.860 --> 00:45:44.539
how easily it ensnares me. What do I do with

00:45:44.539 --> 00:45:48.380
this thing? Well, you know what? You do practical

00:45:48.380 --> 00:45:52.519
things. Practical things like what? Avoid the

00:45:52.519 --> 00:45:54.860
temptations and the situations that are going

00:45:54.860 --> 00:45:59.039
to trigger that sin. The Bible says in Romans

00:45:59.039 --> 00:46:03.480
13, 14, make no provision for the flesh. Right?

00:46:03.539 --> 00:46:07.639
If you struggle with drinking, don't go to the

00:46:07.639 --> 00:46:15.119
bar. If you struggle with drugs, don't hang out

00:46:15.119 --> 00:46:19.619
with people who do drugs. If you struggle with

00:46:19.619 --> 00:46:25.579
pornography, don't think, oh, I could, no. Put

00:46:25.579 --> 00:46:27.420
blocks. There's software blocks. There's all

00:46:27.420 --> 00:46:29.840
kinds of stuff. Make yourself accountable. If

00:46:29.840 --> 00:46:31.320
you're married and you have a problem with that

00:46:31.320 --> 00:46:33.639
stuff, give your spouse the passwords to every

00:46:33.639 --> 00:46:36.519
device you have. Be accountable. Be open because

00:46:36.519 --> 00:46:38.739
you can't do it on your own. You can't fight

00:46:38.739 --> 00:46:42.670
it on your own. Pray for wisdom. Pray for the

00:46:42.670 --> 00:46:44.409
strength to change your habits. And this is the

00:46:44.409 --> 00:46:46.570
kicker. When you say, okay, God, what do I need

00:46:46.570 --> 00:46:50.030
to do to fight against this sin? I know I'm never

00:46:50.030 --> 00:46:53.050
going to be completely sin -free, but God, I

00:46:53.050 --> 00:46:55.050
want to sin less. I don't want to give in to

00:46:55.050 --> 00:46:57.369
this. And the Spirit tells you to do something.

00:46:58.130 --> 00:47:03.690
Here's the secret. Ready? Do it. That's where

00:47:03.690 --> 00:47:06.849
we get tripped up. God, please help me. Okay,

00:47:06.989 --> 00:47:09.489
well, you need to then, you know, talk to this

00:47:09.489 --> 00:47:11.329
person, make yourself accountable, and blah,

00:47:11.389 --> 00:47:13.989
blah, blah. Oh, no, I can't do that. Tell me

00:47:13.989 --> 00:47:17.909
to do something else, Lord. You know why he told

00:47:17.909 --> 00:47:20.769
you that thing? Because that thing is going to

00:47:20.769 --> 00:47:23.449
help. The other things you've already tried,

00:47:23.530 --> 00:47:27.170
they didn't help. So the idea here is take the

00:47:27.170 --> 00:47:30.769
steps, the practical steps, right? But again,

00:47:30.849 --> 00:47:33.610
in the scope of this study, after all of that,

00:47:33.690 --> 00:47:41.570
when you sin again, because you will, seek God's

00:47:41.570 --> 00:47:45.309
wonderful mercy and grace immediately. 1 John

00:47:45.309 --> 00:47:47.469
1 .9 says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful

00:47:47.469 --> 00:47:49.150
and righteous to forgive us of our sins and to

00:47:49.150 --> 00:47:52.829
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Don't give

00:47:52.829 --> 00:47:54.650
time and place for the devil to condemn you and

00:47:54.650 --> 00:47:57.570
beat you up. Because the longer you wallow in

00:47:57.570 --> 00:47:59.489
that, the more our weak, pathetic minds start

00:47:59.489 --> 00:48:04.250
to believe him. Don't give him opportunity. I

00:48:04.250 --> 00:48:09.190
know it's hard. It's humiliating to come to God

00:48:09.190 --> 00:48:11.630
in prayer in the moment of your sin and go, God,

00:48:11.650 --> 00:48:16.550
I just did a thing. And I'm so sorry. Please

00:48:16.550 --> 00:48:19.710
forgive me. I'm weak. Thank you for dying for

00:48:19.710 --> 00:48:27.869
me. In the moment. Now, Verse 8, early in the

00:48:27.869 --> 00:48:29.590
morning, Abimelech got up. Yeah, we're going

00:48:29.590 --> 00:48:31.530
to do this fast. All right. Called all his servants

00:48:31.530 --> 00:48:33.789
together and personally told them all these things,

00:48:33.869 --> 00:48:38.010
and the men were terrified. Yeah, duh. God says

00:48:38.010 --> 00:48:40.789
you're a dead man. Pretty terrifying. Verse 9,

00:48:40.909 --> 00:48:42.650
then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to

00:48:42.650 --> 00:48:45.630
him, what have you done to us? How did I sin

00:48:45.630 --> 00:48:47.150
against you that you have brought such enormous

00:48:47.150 --> 00:48:49.710
guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things

00:48:49.710 --> 00:48:53.389
to me that should never be done. Verse 10, Abimelech

00:48:53.389 --> 00:48:59.119
also asked him, what? Made you do this. Right,

00:48:59.139 --> 00:49:01.420
when we're out in the world, whether people believe

00:49:01.420 --> 00:49:05.000
in God or not, there is still this assumption

00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:09.019
on what a Christian is. Like when someone says

00:49:09.019 --> 00:49:12.420
I'm a Christian, there's a general idea, even

00:49:12.420 --> 00:49:14.619
amongst the unsaved in the secular world, of

00:49:14.619 --> 00:49:18.559
what type of person that might be. And I know

00:49:18.559 --> 00:49:21.420
there's also weird misconceptions all over the

00:49:21.420 --> 00:49:26.239
place. But when a Christian lies to a non -believer,

00:49:26.300 --> 00:49:29.400
sometimes it's like, I thought you didn't do

00:49:29.400 --> 00:49:34.239
that. When we do something sinful before them,

00:49:34.280 --> 00:49:37.480
I thought you didn't do that. You know, Proverbs

00:49:37.480 --> 00:49:40.519
25, 26 says, a righteous person who yields to

00:49:40.519 --> 00:49:42.460
the wicked is like a muddied spring or a polluted

00:49:42.460 --> 00:49:45.719
well. When it says yields to the wicked, what

00:49:45.719 --> 00:49:48.619
it's meaning is the righteous person who stumbles

00:49:48.619 --> 00:49:51.719
in the face of the wicked, stumbles before them.

00:49:53.079 --> 00:49:57.480
You're a polluted well. Why? Well, I could tell

00:49:57.480 --> 00:49:59.260
you why. All the Christians that I did drugs

00:49:59.260 --> 00:50:01.039
with and partied with in high school, I wasn't

00:50:01.039 --> 00:50:05.699
one. They partied harder than I did. And then

00:50:05.699 --> 00:50:07.539
when they try and tell me about Jesus, I'm like,

00:50:07.639 --> 00:50:10.880
why do I want what you have? You're just like

00:50:10.880 --> 00:50:14.480
me. Muddied well, polluted well. There's no life

00:50:14.480 --> 00:50:17.059
there. There's no joy. There's no hope there.

00:50:18.559 --> 00:50:21.699
But Abimelech says, what? made you do this? Why

00:50:21.699 --> 00:50:24.619
would you do this to me? Why would you put me

00:50:24.619 --> 00:50:27.380
in the face of God's judgment? In verse 11, Abraham

00:50:27.380 --> 00:50:30.199
replied, I thought there's absolutely no fear

00:50:30.199 --> 00:50:32.760
of God in this place. They will kill me because

00:50:32.760 --> 00:50:35.739
of my wife. You know what the problem is in that

00:50:35.739 --> 00:50:41.400
verse? Where did he err? I thought. that's where

00:50:41.400 --> 00:50:44.940
he messed up, I thought, I figured, I concluded,

00:50:45.119 --> 00:50:48.539
I decided, not, well, I prayed and asked God,

00:50:48.760 --> 00:50:51.980
not, I got some counsel, not, I got into the

00:50:51.980 --> 00:50:53.719
word, not that he had the word like we do today,

00:50:53.820 --> 00:50:56.860
but in our case, none of that, I thought. You

00:50:56.860 --> 00:50:59.159
see, when we approach these temptations or these

00:50:59.159 --> 00:51:02.960
situations of temptation, especially these snares

00:51:02.960 --> 00:51:06.019
that so easily get us, and then we follow our

00:51:06.019 --> 00:51:08.440
own wisdom in those things, we're gonna find

00:51:08.440 --> 00:51:13.699
ourselves ensnared again. It just happens over

00:51:13.699 --> 00:51:17.840
and over. Well, last time I tried this, I'm going

00:51:17.840 --> 00:51:21.739
to try it again. Insanity. How about you go to

00:51:21.739 --> 00:51:24.300
the Lord? How about you go get the Lord's counsel?

00:51:24.400 --> 00:51:25.880
How about you pray? How about you talk to him?

00:51:27.420 --> 00:51:29.440
And he says, well, I thought there was no fear

00:51:29.440 --> 00:51:30.860
of God in this place. You know what the irony

00:51:30.860 --> 00:51:33.559
of that is? Abraham is the one demonstrating

00:51:33.559 --> 00:51:37.329
a lack of fear for God in this. He's the one

00:51:37.329 --> 00:51:40.010
who, instead of going, God is almighty, God is,

00:51:40.050 --> 00:51:42.570
I don't need to worry, I'll let God handle it.

00:51:43.050 --> 00:51:44.829
He's the one saying, no, God, I'll handle this.

00:51:44.889 --> 00:51:48.690
My plan's gonna work better. And yet he's saying,

00:51:48.750 --> 00:51:50.929
oh, I thought you guys didn't fear God, and it's

00:51:50.929 --> 00:51:52.489
right back on him. You're the one that's showing

00:51:52.489 --> 00:51:55.150
no reverence for him. So then we go on, verse

00:51:55.150 --> 00:52:00.869
12. Besides, oh, justification. She really is

00:52:00.869 --> 00:52:03.690
my sister. The daughter of my father, though

00:52:03.690 --> 00:52:05.650
not the daughter of my mother, like that matters.

00:52:05.809 --> 00:52:08.969
And she became my wife. So when God had me wander

00:52:08.969 --> 00:52:10.889
from my father's house, I said to her, show your

00:52:10.889 --> 00:52:13.530
loyalty to me wherever you go and say about me,

00:52:13.630 --> 00:52:17.230
he's my brother. Just like he did in Egypt. Well,

00:52:17.369 --> 00:52:21.869
I'm not technically lying. But for a believer,

00:52:21.969 --> 00:52:23.469
if you're a believer and you know Jesus Christ,

00:52:23.710 --> 00:52:25.750
and you're gonna be like, well, I'm gonna tell

00:52:25.750 --> 00:52:30.179
a half -truth. I'm going to leave out information

00:52:30.179 --> 00:52:34.840
that they don't need to know. And your intent

00:52:34.840 --> 00:52:38.800
is to deceive when doing that? You're a liar.

00:52:40.860 --> 00:52:44.340
It's like, oh, it's only a half lie. You notice

00:52:44.340 --> 00:52:45.980
nobody ever calls it a half lie. They call it

00:52:45.980 --> 00:52:50.800
a half truth. Isn't that interesting? If your

00:52:50.800 --> 00:52:53.980
intent is to deceive, you're in sin. And what

00:52:53.980 --> 00:52:55.719
Abraham's doing here is just like us, right?

00:52:55.780 --> 00:52:57.139
30 years later, I'm still struggling with the

00:52:57.139 --> 00:52:59.119
same thing. I'm tired of it. I'm over it. Man,

00:52:59.179 --> 00:53:00.639
what's going on? And then we start to defend

00:53:00.639 --> 00:53:05.179
and justify. Well, I can't resist. It's just

00:53:05.179 --> 00:53:07.239
maybe that's the thorn God wants me to live with.

00:53:07.340 --> 00:53:09.659
No, I don't think God wants you to live with

00:53:09.659 --> 00:53:13.960
cheating on your spouse. That's sorry. That's

00:53:13.960 --> 00:53:17.599
the thing you need to deal with. But we learn

00:53:17.599 --> 00:53:20.739
here from Abraham that this wasn't his snap.

00:53:21.239 --> 00:53:23.000
judgment thing that he just did when he was pressured.

00:53:23.059 --> 00:53:24.960
This was a pattern. This was something planned.

00:53:26.599 --> 00:53:28.539
You know, back when I left my father's house,

00:53:28.599 --> 00:53:30.719
that either means er or when he left Haran before

00:53:30.719 --> 00:53:32.480
he got into the promised land. He had already

00:53:32.480 --> 00:53:36.000
pre -planned, hey, when this happens, wife, lie.

00:53:39.500 --> 00:53:41.960
And so that was like some 30 years ago this strategy

00:53:41.960 --> 00:53:44.239
was put into place and yet here we are 30 years

00:53:44.239 --> 00:53:47.980
later in Abraham's life. The sinful habit had

00:53:47.980 --> 00:53:49.960
still not been fully worked out of his life even

00:53:49.960 --> 00:53:55.280
after all this time. That's not to excuse the

00:53:55.280 --> 00:53:57.039
sin and I'm gonna say that a thousand more times

00:53:57.039 --> 00:54:01.239
probably. We aim to sin less. God wants us to

00:54:01.239 --> 00:54:04.559
pursue obedience to him. But when the devil tries

00:54:04.559 --> 00:54:06.519
to condemn you because you messed up and you

00:54:06.519 --> 00:54:09.039
sinned, we need to understand we're never gonna

00:54:09.039 --> 00:54:11.340
be sin free in this life. And that's why God's

00:54:11.340 --> 00:54:13.400
grace and God's mercy super abounds over all

00:54:13.400 --> 00:54:19.769
of it. Verse 14. Then Abimelech took flocks and

00:54:19.769 --> 00:54:21.710
herds and male and female slaves and gave them

00:54:21.710 --> 00:54:24.030
to Abraham and returned his wife Sarah to him.

00:54:24.690 --> 00:54:26.730
Abimelech said, look, my land is before you.

00:54:26.769 --> 00:54:29.269
Settle wherever you want. And he said to Sarah,

00:54:29.349 --> 00:54:31.949
look, I'm giving your brother 1 ,000 pieces of

00:54:31.949 --> 00:54:34.769
silver. It is a verification of your honor to

00:54:34.769 --> 00:54:36.889
all who are with you. You are fully vindicated.

00:54:38.250 --> 00:54:41.889
Now, Abimelech isn't giving all of this to Abraham

00:54:41.889 --> 00:54:44.550
because he suddenly has this great respect for

00:54:44.550 --> 00:54:47.510
Abraham. He's giving it to Abraham because he

00:54:47.510 --> 00:54:51.869
has great fear and respect for his God. And so

00:54:51.869 --> 00:54:55.170
he's like, just settle wherever you want. I don't

00:54:55.170 --> 00:54:58.670
care. Right? He's afraid. He's afraid of judgment.

00:54:58.730 --> 00:55:00.989
He's afraid of the Lord. And then look what he

00:55:00.989 --> 00:55:03.010
says to Sarah. Look, I'm giving your brother

00:55:03.010 --> 00:55:05.469
1 ,000 pieces of silver. He's already been told

00:55:05.469 --> 00:55:08.050
that she's married. There's already the assumption

00:55:08.050 --> 00:55:10.130
that, yeah, the one you took her from, it's his

00:55:10.130 --> 00:55:14.650
wife. And so I read this very sarcastic. Hey,

00:55:14.650 --> 00:55:18.619
Sarah. here's a thousand pieces of silver to

00:55:18.619 --> 00:55:22.079
give to your brother. You want to call him brother?

00:55:22.199 --> 00:55:24.980
Sure, we'll go with that. Get out of here. I

00:55:24.980 --> 00:55:28.679
don't want to die, right? So verse 17. Then Abraham

00:55:28.679 --> 00:55:30.920
prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his

00:55:30.920 --> 00:55:33.280
wife, and his female slaves so that they could

00:55:33.280 --> 00:55:35.719
bear children. For the Lord had completely closed

00:55:35.719 --> 00:55:37.780
all the wombs in Abimelech's household on account

00:55:37.780 --> 00:55:42.170
of Sarah, Abraham's wife. Now here's this beautiful

00:55:42.170 --> 00:55:46.070
thing. Abraham, you went, you lied, you misrepresented.

00:55:47.769 --> 00:55:52.510
They took your wife. God steps in. Abimelech,

00:55:52.670 --> 00:55:58.250
give her back. You're sinning against me. Give

00:55:58.250 --> 00:56:00.989
his wife back because he's a prophet, not a liar,

00:56:01.130 --> 00:56:05.210
not a wretched lost sinner. He's saved by faith.

00:56:05.269 --> 00:56:08.869
He's mine. And then what we see here, God still

00:56:08.869 --> 00:56:12.809
uses him. God still uses them. Abraham prays,

00:56:12.809 --> 00:56:15.449
and God heard it, and he healed Abimelech and

00:56:15.449 --> 00:56:17.369
all the people, the wives and female slaves,

00:56:17.590 --> 00:56:21.030
and that's just the big lesson here in this chapter.

00:56:23.250 --> 00:56:27.170
If you've sinned, God can still use you. If you've

00:56:27.170 --> 00:56:31.809
blown it, God can still use you. If you're like,

00:56:31.909 --> 00:56:35.889
but I keep doing the thing. Do you feel bad about

00:56:35.889 --> 00:56:39.010
it? Yes. That's the Holy Spirit convicting you.

00:56:40.039 --> 00:56:45.039
I can't serve anymore. Yes, you can. Now, yeah,

00:56:45.199 --> 00:56:48.260
got to deal with the sin. You can't be living

00:56:48.260 --> 00:56:51.699
in the sin and, you know, but you're not disqualified.

00:56:52.699 --> 00:56:55.000
You know, the sad commentary here is due to Abraham's

00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:58.880
sin, he lost his witness to Abimelech. You know,

00:56:58.880 --> 00:57:00.719
we all have people in our lives that we've blown

00:57:00.719 --> 00:57:04.019
our witness with. People in our lives that have

00:57:04.019 --> 00:57:07.119
been hurt by our behavior. specifically hurt

00:57:07.119 --> 00:57:10.199
by our ensnaring sin that seems to have misrepresented

00:57:10.199 --> 00:57:13.280
Christ to them or hurt them in some way. And

00:57:13.280 --> 00:57:15.639
the reality is is they might not listen to you

00:57:15.639 --> 00:57:17.320
anymore when you try and share the gospel with

00:57:17.320 --> 00:57:20.719
them. You're the hypocrite to them. You're the

00:57:20.719 --> 00:57:22.639
one that's like, you know, oh, no, you need to

00:57:22.639 --> 00:57:23.719
get saved. You need to come to church with me.

00:57:23.739 --> 00:57:26.000
And they're like, whatever, right? You may have

00:57:26.000 --> 00:57:27.960
really damaged that, and that's unfortunately

00:57:27.960 --> 00:57:30.559
just the fruit of the sin. That's the fruit of

00:57:30.559 --> 00:57:32.659
that disobedient moment, that giving in to that

00:57:32.659 --> 00:57:35.360
ensnaring sin. But you can still pray for them,

00:57:35.440 --> 00:57:38.360
right? You don't write them off. Well, lost that

00:57:38.360 --> 00:57:40.460
one. See you in hell. All right, let's go after

00:57:40.460 --> 00:57:44.460
this person. No, if they won't hear you anymore,

00:57:44.559 --> 00:57:47.659
don't stop praying for them. Don't stop going

00:57:47.659 --> 00:57:51.480
to the Lord. God, I blew it. Yes, God, please

00:57:51.480 --> 00:57:53.900
restore my opportunity. Please let them see your

00:57:53.900 --> 00:57:55.820
grace in my life. But if they won't, bring somebody

00:57:55.820 --> 00:57:58.679
along. Bring something along. God, because whether

00:57:58.679 --> 00:58:01.380
or not I blew it, I still love them. I still

00:58:01.380 --> 00:58:03.929
want to see them saved, right? Pray for them.

00:58:04.550 --> 00:58:06.369
You know, the reality is God can bring beauty

00:58:06.369 --> 00:58:10.730
from even the ashes of our sinfulness. Even if

00:58:10.730 --> 00:58:13.030
it's not you that gets to be the one to have

00:58:13.030 --> 00:58:15.789
that conversation anymore, God can still do a

00:58:15.789 --> 00:58:19.730
miracle. But even if you've blown it, it doesn't

00:58:19.730 --> 00:58:21.670
mean God is done with you. It doesn't mean you've

00:58:21.670 --> 00:58:23.750
lost your salvation. It doesn't mean you're kicked

00:58:23.750 --> 00:58:28.329
out of the house. You see, life on earth post

00:58:28.329 --> 00:58:31.949
-salvation, it can be really difficult. It can

00:58:31.949 --> 00:58:34.389
be confusing as we wrestle with these dual natures

00:58:34.389 --> 00:58:38.150
we have now. Right, I've had conversations with

00:58:38.150 --> 00:58:39.570
God where I said, you know what, before I was

00:58:39.570 --> 00:58:41.389
saved, God, just everything was so much, God,

00:58:41.489 --> 00:58:45.170
so much simple. There wasn't this wrestling with

00:58:45.170 --> 00:58:48.650
stuff all the time. I was just lost. And then,

00:58:48.690 --> 00:58:50.630
of course, I'm like, that's stupid, Lord, I know,

00:58:50.750 --> 00:58:54.429
but, you know, it's hard. It's hard wrestling

00:58:54.429 --> 00:58:56.809
with this. It can be depressing. fighting against

00:58:56.809 --> 00:58:59.710
the condemnation of the devil constantly. It

00:58:59.710 --> 00:59:02.949
can be, it can make us feel hopeless, right?

00:59:03.070 --> 00:59:05.469
Because we gave in again and we gave in again

00:59:05.469 --> 00:59:07.789
to that thing and it's just, we give in to the

00:59:07.789 --> 00:59:09.949
world and we have these things that just we keep

00:59:09.949 --> 00:59:15.150
falling back into. But Jesus said, be of good

00:59:15.150 --> 00:59:18.829
cheer because I've overcome the world. That word

00:59:18.829 --> 00:59:23.949
overcome means he conquered it. It got you, yeah.

00:59:24.489 --> 00:59:30.090
But I died for that sin. But God, I want to stop.

00:59:30.150 --> 00:59:31.809
Okay, well, let's put these things into place.

00:59:31.849 --> 00:59:35.230
Let's do this. And then a week later, a month

00:59:35.230 --> 00:59:37.570
later, it got me again. Yeah, I died for that

00:59:37.570 --> 00:59:42.190
sin. Oh, wretched man that I am, Lord, when will

00:59:42.190 --> 00:59:44.349
I be free from this body of death? When you're

00:59:44.349 --> 00:59:47.969
dead. then you'll have a new one and we'll be

00:59:47.969 --> 00:59:50.110
in heaven and it'll be all good. But right now,

00:59:50.110 --> 00:59:53.750
I want you to live the life of striving for obedience,

00:59:53.889 --> 00:59:56.289
not leaning on your own, lean on the Holy Spirit.

00:59:56.369 --> 00:59:58.570
But your very life of when you fall and you're

00:59:58.570 --> 01:00:01.469
restored, that very moment can be a testimony

01:00:01.469 --> 01:00:03.329
to people because the very thing you're preaching

01:00:03.329 --> 01:00:05.789
is God loves you and wants to save you. He wants

01:00:05.789 --> 01:00:07.570
to forgive you and it's not about you doing good

01:00:07.570 --> 01:00:10.550
works. And yet, we'll put this pressure on ourselves

01:00:10.550 --> 01:00:13.250
that we have to be perfect in our works before

01:00:13.250 --> 01:00:16.710
we share God's mercy with people. Don't let the

01:00:16.710 --> 01:00:18.750
devil rob you of that. You see, as born -again

01:00:18.750 --> 01:00:21.889
believers, we don't want to sin. That's not our

01:00:21.889 --> 01:00:23.949
goal. We strive to be obedient through the power

01:00:23.949 --> 01:00:26.909
of the Holy Spirit. We pursue that, that we would

01:00:26.909 --> 01:00:29.769
have life, right? That we would have joy, that

01:00:29.769 --> 01:00:31.849
we would have peace, that our witness would be

01:00:31.849 --> 01:00:34.889
strong. Of course, that's our goal, that's our

01:00:34.889 --> 01:00:40.510
trajectory. But when you sin, never forget that

01:00:40.510 --> 01:00:42.769
you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ,

01:00:43.010 --> 01:00:50.400
the righteous one. Let's pray. Father, we thank

01:00:50.400 --> 01:01:00.039
you. God, in so many ways, grace can seem like

01:01:00.039 --> 01:01:06.860
an excuse. Grace can seem like a get -out -of

01:01:06.860 --> 01:01:14.360
-jail -free card. But Lord, we weren't set free

01:01:14.360 --> 01:01:17.159
from the power of sin and death without cost.

01:01:19.690 --> 01:01:22.889
Lord, it was your brutal death on the cross that

01:01:22.889 --> 01:01:30.469
paid the price for all of our sin. And yet, God,

01:01:30.530 --> 01:01:33.809
three days later, you rose from the grave proving

01:01:33.809 --> 01:01:38.489
that you defeated sin and death. And God, when

01:01:38.489 --> 01:01:40.530
we put faith in that, there are these wonderful,

01:01:40.690 --> 01:01:44.889
beautiful, life -changing, eternity -changing

01:01:44.889 --> 01:01:50.489
promises that are now true in our life. And yet,

01:01:50.510 --> 01:01:52.769
God, the devil works overtime to rob those things

01:01:52.769 --> 01:01:57.889
from us, to make us feel like because that old

01:01:57.889 --> 01:02:00.590
ensnaring sin got us one more time that you're

01:02:00.590 --> 01:02:03.289
done with us, Lord, and that is simply not true.

01:02:04.590 --> 01:02:06.530
And so, God, for those in this room hearing this

01:02:06.530 --> 01:02:08.130
message, Lord, that maybe have been struggling

01:02:08.130 --> 01:02:12.530
with that, yes, Lord, they need to repent. Yes,

01:02:12.670 --> 01:02:14.489
Lord, they need to deal with the sin. Yes, Lord,

01:02:14.550 --> 01:02:18.019
they need to put in place the... barriers and

01:02:18.019 --> 01:02:20.280
the accountability and all those things they

01:02:20.280 --> 01:02:22.420
need so they don't give into those things. But

01:02:22.420 --> 01:02:26.179
God, even while that's happening, that they would

01:02:26.179 --> 01:02:29.780
know you're not done with them. That there is

01:02:29.780 --> 01:02:35.960
always hope because of you. That God, you still

01:02:35.960 --> 01:02:39.320
see them as their beloved children. That you

01:02:39.320 --> 01:02:43.420
still love them as much as you always have. And

01:02:43.420 --> 01:02:46.480
that, God, your desire is to walk with them and

01:02:46.480 --> 01:02:50.400
clean them up and move them forward. But God,

01:02:50.539 --> 01:02:52.739
never let them forget that you died for them

01:02:52.739 --> 01:02:54.579
while they were dead in their trespasses and

01:02:54.579 --> 01:02:59.619
sins. All of us need that, Lord. We want to be

01:02:59.619 --> 01:03:01.880
used by you. We want our witness to be strong,

01:03:02.039 --> 01:03:06.599
God. We want to be obedient people. We want people

01:03:06.599 --> 01:03:09.559
to see our lives and go, oh, that's what a Christian

01:03:09.559 --> 01:03:12.820
looks like. But Lord, let us not forget that

01:03:12.820 --> 01:03:14.880
a part of what a Christian looks like is a saved

01:03:14.880 --> 01:03:20.619
sinner. And so Lord, let us not become prideful.

01:03:21.320 --> 01:03:26.840
Let us not lose sight of the reality that God,

01:03:26.880 --> 01:03:30.539
although we may sin again, your salvation is

01:03:30.539 --> 01:03:34.860
not taken from us. That you are with us and will

01:03:34.860 --> 01:03:36.820
be with us forever, Lord. We love you so much

01:03:36.820 --> 01:03:40.500
for that. God, I pray you bless us, bless your

01:03:40.500 --> 01:03:43.460
people, bless your church, Lord. We pray for

01:03:43.460 --> 01:03:45.699
many more to come to know you, that they too

01:03:45.699 --> 01:03:47.599
would have the freedom that is found in the gospel

01:03:47.599 --> 01:03:52.139
of Jesus Christ. We love you so much. It's in

01:03:52.139 --> 01:03:55.699
Jesus' name we pray, amen. Well, amen, let's

01:03:55.699 --> 01:03:56.099
worship church.