How to Become an Overcomer

As I was thinking about our Bible study this morning that song just came to my mind because it’s true in my heart. I remember the first time that I let Jesus come into my life. How many of you can remember, whether you were raised in the church or not, how many of you can remember that time when you prayed that prayer and it was real to you – Go ahead raise your hands. Keep them up – and Jesus came into your life and you remember what that was like? Boy, there’s a lot of you. That’s terrific. Some of you perhaps, as Ellen White wrote, have been raised in the church and from the time that you were a child all you’ve ever known is Jesus and you’ve never wavered from that. I wish I could have been more like that. And for you Jesus has just always been a part of your life. That does not make your conversion any less true or real or important.
But, you know, I remember, as a young person I participated in a lot of stuff and was involved in a lot of high school things and sports was a big deal to me. I played football, basketball, and track. I always wanted to play baseball, but the track coach always talked me into being in track. But the thing is, I remember there I was 17 years old and I remember the place. It was in a little town in Oregon, little community actually. It was called Chestshire and just to the west of Junction City, Oregon. And there was this little house out on a kind of a knoll and in my room there – I remember – I went in there and I prayed this prayer. I said – I didn’t know how to pray, when I was a kid my sisters taught me to pray, “Now I lay me” – Do you know that prayer? – “down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake” – I hated that part – “I pray the Lord my soul to take.” That part always scared me. I thought if I should die before I wake, you mean that’s really a possibility? And then I would think, I don’t know what my soul is but I don’t want it goin’ anywhere. I want it to stay right here. Those thoughts go through my mind but I prayed that kind of prayer.
But, I like to say it this way, my first real prayer – that really came from my heart – was this prayer, on my knees, by my bed, I prayed this prayer: “Lord, I want to be what You want me to be. I want to do what You want me to do and I want to go where You want me to go.” That was a prayer of surrender and I’ll tell you more of the story some other time. I’ll tell you what led up to that some other time. But I prayed that prayer, and I tell you, all of the bitterness and anger and the frustration that I was carrying in my life – I was upset with my parents, you know, restrictions and all kinds of stuff, just typical stuff – plus a lot of other things in my mind and my heart. I literally felt all of that just wash right out of my body. It was a real physical feeling I felt, besides the inner piece of mind. I just felt all of that just wash out of my body and I felt that peace that passes understanding.
So, when I sing that song “This peace that I have, the world didn’t give it to me” that is in my heart. And that peace has been in my heart from that day to this and the only thing that ever takes that peace away or ever diminishes that peace is when I get caught up in selfishness or when I get caught up in some kind of sin that’s going on. Then that peace goes away. It diminishes. But then when I get back on my knees and I confess my sins to God and I ask the Lord to come back into my heart and I make that surrender prayer a real prayer again. I want to be what You want me to be, not what I want, then that peace comes back. That peace comes back.
And you know, for many Christian people, they can’t sing that song and really mean it. They go to church every week but they can’t really sing that song and really feel it and mean it. This peace that I have; This joy that I have; This love that I have; This smile that I have – because day by day they’re lives are in bondage. They keep coming to church because they know that that’s their only hope, but they haven’t found that peace and that love and that joy and that smile that they hear people talk about. And that only Jesus can give. And that’s what the Bible study is about today. How to be an overcomer. So, I’d like you to get out your Bibles – remember, we don’t want you coming to church without your Bible. Well, let’s take that back, come to church no matter what – but come to church with your Bible.
The first text we’re going to look at is 1 Thessalonians 4:3 and 4:5. This is a really powerful verse. You know, isn’t it nice when you can actually read in the Bible and you can find something in there that says this is God’s will. You know, right now my son, Keith – our son, Keith, as my wife would correct me – our son, Keith, right now he’s trying to finalize what to do with his life. He has several different options he’s interested in and he just keeps praying for God to reveal His will as to what he should do with his life and his work experience. He’s already given his life to Christ, that part he’s decided. And we’re very grateful for that. But now he’s trying to figure out what to do with his work life and so, he’s praying for God’s will to be revealed to him. Some things we have to find out on our own a little bit, but there are some things that the Bible reveals clearly and when it says this is the will of God – Wow. You can hang onto that text and say this really is the revealed will of God.
Here in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 and 4:5, notice here is says: “For this is the will of God”. Now in my Bible it says “your sanctification”. That’s a word that you don’t hear out on the street very much and what it means is your spiritual growth. That you grow. You know, now this plant that you gave us. What a lovely gesture. Thank you so much. We’ll enjoy that plant. Now, I’m sure that all of you giving us that plant, you do not want that plant to die, right? Am I correct on that assumption? All right. You want that plant to do what? Grow! And when you gave your life to Jesus, was it your plan that you were going to spiritually die after you did it? Okay, I gave my life to Jesus. Now I’m going to spiritually die. Was that your plan? No. When you give your life to Jesus it’s your plan and your hope and your desire to grow. And if that doesn’t happen then you become frustrated and angry and upset.
As a matter of fact, how many here, anybody here do four-wheeling? Go up in the mountains with your four-wheelers or anything like that? Anybody here like that? I don’t see any hands. Oh, I see one, okay. One or two. Well, you know, I think it’s really amusing when those four-wheelers come back and they are just covered, just caked with mud. But I don’t think it’s very amusing when they’ve been in the car wash just before I get there. And then they leave behind this big pile of mud, you know? As they’ve washed it all off, you know. But when they get up there and those wheels are turning and they’re moving and they’re going up – I’ve done a little bit of it, not a whole bunch, but a little bit – and when you’re up there and moving up these roads and coming up over these hills and around all these obstacles, it’s pretty exciting. But when you get stuck, which I have been with a friend of mine. We got stuck at the bottom of a hill and there was no way to get out but up and we weren’t able to get up very easy. Then it’s not very much fun. You think of yourself – and this was before cell phones – so, you think of yourself down there, stuck at the bottom of this mountain trail. Nobody knows where you are and you’ve got to get yourself out somehow. That can be a little bit intimidating. When you’re there all by yourself. We finally got out but it took a lot of effort and a lot of work. And oh, were we happy when we got unstuck. Oh, we were happy. Yes! Unstuck.
And that’s exactly how it feels when you get stuck as a Christian. It can be scary. It can make you angry. It can make you frustrated. It can make you start to doubt and your doubts then lead you away from God. It can get you discouraged. And discouragement is one of Satan’s biggest tools. And the first thing you know you don’t want to go to church anymore and the next thing you know you’re not reading your Bible anymore. You’re not praying anymore. The next thing you know you’re going right back to where you were before and maybe even worse than you were before.
But, oh, when a Christian gets unstuck. Shouts of Glory, Hallelujah! Unstuck. And that’s what God says – this is the will of God. You could just put in there; maybe pencil it in, for this is the will of God that you get unstuck. That you should abstain from sexual immorality. That each of you should know how to possess His own vessel in holiness, some Bibles say, or in other words in righteous living and honor. Not in passion of lusts like the Gentiles who what? Are you there with me? What – Gentiles do not know who? Like the Gentiles who do not know God. You know, the Bible says, that there oughta be a difference between a person who knows God and a person who does not know God. If you agree with that say Amen. Amen.
The Bible says there oughta be a difference between a person who knows God and a person who doesn’t know God. A person who knows God oughta be filled with love and joy and peace. There oughta be a purpose in their life and they should be growing in their life with God. And this can be confusing to young people in the church and church members because sometimes they see people outside the church, who don’t go to church, who seem to be growing and have peace and joy and love in their heart; and then they see people in the church who aren’t growing and do not have love and joy and peace in their heart. And they go, uh, what’s wrong with this picture? Right? Now that’s the truth isn’t it? And it’s because the Bible teaches us that not all of God’s children are found in the church. God has a lot of children that are not in the church, but they’re His children nonetheless. Right?
You’re thinking about that, but that’s true. There are lots of people outside the church who know God. And they love God. They just aren’t going to church right now. And when the issues become clear in the last days, they’re gonna throw their energies into the truth when the day comes. And there’s a lot of people in churches today who are not going to be ready when Jesus comes and are not going to go to Heaven because they’re just playing a game. And they’re not living the life that God called us to live. Now that’s true isn’t it? All right. It’s kinda serious, but it is true.
Okay, here’s the next verse. Turn to Titus 2:11-12. Titus 2:11-12. You know where Titus is? It’s right after Timothy. Do you know where Timothy is? It’s after all the “ians”. Remember where all the “ians” are? Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians – it’s right after all that. Then you have Timothy and then you have Titus. Titus 2:11-12 and it says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to” – how many men? That means there’s nobody here in this church today that God’s grace has not been extended to and offered to. There is no one here, no matter where you’ve been, what you’ve done, how bad it was – there’s nobody here that God’s grace is not offered to. Right now. Today. This morning.
And then it says, “Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly” – that means serious – “righteously, and godly, in the present age.” God’s power and grace is available to us to live a life like Jesus today.
Next one, Galatians chapter 1. Now we’re gonna go back a few pages. Galatians chapter 1. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Galatians 1:3-4. It says, “Grace to you”, which is also God’s power. It’s not just God’s forgiveness; it’s also God’s power. “Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that He might deliver us” from what? “This present evil age, according to the will of God our Father.” You see it is God’s will that you not be caught up with the sins of our time. It is God’s will that you not be beaten up by Satan every day. It is God’s will that you be victorious. It is God’s will that you overcome. That you grow and become like Jesus. That is God’s will. “To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Okay, here’s another one. Philippians chapter 2. So we’re gonna go back a little bit here towards the back of the Bible. Just a little bit. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Philippians 2:15. “That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God, without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” You see, people out here – I don’t like that bumper sticker. I mean bumper stickers are okay as far as it goes, but there’s a bumper sticker out there that kinda bothers me a little bit. You might have seen it. It says ‘Christians are not perfect just’ what? Have you seen that bumper sticker? Am I the only one who’s noticed that bumper sticker out there? ‘Christians are not perfect just forgiven.’ Well, now, are you glad like I’m glad today to be forgiven? How many of you are glad today? Come on now. How many of you are glad to be forgiven? But are you satisfied with just being forgiven? Hmm? Somehow in the depths of your own heart you know that to just constantly be forgiven doesn’t really cut it. That isn’t a Christian supposed to get to the point where he doesn’t do it anymore. Huh? Okay, so I don’t want to be just forgiven. Although I want to be forgiven. Yes. Amen. I want to be forgiven, but I do not want to be just forgiven. I want to grow. I want to get to the point where I don’t do that anymore. Whatever that may be in your life.
And the Bible says right here in Philippians that it is God’s will for us that we become blameless without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine. You see, the people out here around us, they want to know – they need to know, they’re dying to know if there’s a way to do it better. If they can become better, if they can get out of their own disgusting situation and be able to leave that behind and become a better person. Lots of people are looking for that kind of faith and that kind of power. So, we are to be the light of the world, shining like Jesus shown, to the people in our world around us that there’s a better way that we can live a life for God, even right now in this world. Do you believe that? That’s what the Bible says.
Now, notice here Romans 6:23. Read it with me – by the way I’ve got this really neat little, see that, I can do that with this thing. I noticed that first thing today. It’s really tempting to play with it though. And I also thought of this, I thought if any of you go to sleep out there I can kinda just go like that, which I won’t do. But it says, “the wages of sin is” what? Death. But the gift – read the rest of it with me. “But the gift of God is eternal life.” Now, anything that’s dead in your spiritual life, that’s the result of what? That’s the result of sin. God doesn’t want us to have sin and the result, which is death. He wants us to have the gift He offers us. The gift of God is life.
God wants us to be alive in the Lord. And there are some very Biblical steps to follow, but before we get into those steps let’s repeat this verse that you probably have heard before. Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Now here’s a little tune that goes with this.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

It uses the old King James.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Day by day, hour by hour, I am kept through His power.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Can you remember all that? Let’s try it.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.
Day by day, hour by hour, I am kept through His power.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Let that sink into your hearts. Believe His promise. I can do all things. Somebody here – have a habit of smoking? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I just baptized a lady. She tried to quit – like Mark Twain, she quit a thousand times. Tried to quit. Tried to quit. Tried to quit. But finally, through three ABN she began to have hope in Christ. We started Bible studies and not to long ago I baptized her; just before we came here. And she overcame her habit through the promises of God. We don’t necessarily have to have a five-day plan. We just need God’s five-minute plan, where we put our trust in Him and He will help us. If we will put our trust in Him and surrender, He will help us. Got a problem with drinking? A lot of young people today find drinking difficult to refuse. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Have a temptation and lust some way? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. The Bible says that the Lord Jesus will deliver us from the difficulties in this world that we face.
Now, here is a person from the past. This is – who knows who this is? Anybody? Give me her name. Starts with a “W”. How many of you know it here? Anybody know this? If you know it’s really interesting, very interesting to me, especially since I was so involved in sports when I was younger. Glory is fleeting. You know that? Fame is here just a short time. This woman was once the fastest woman in the world. And most of you out there have probably heard her name somewhere. She died in 1994 at the age of 54 from brain cancer. But when she was a young lady, she won three – she was the first woman ever to win three gold medals at an Olympics. First woman ever. Anybody know her name yet? Starts with a “W”. She has the same name as somebody on the Flintstones. Oh, see, I knew. I knew that if I brought that up, you’d all know that. Okay. So, Wilma. Does anybody know her last name? It starts with an “R”. Rudolph, yes, that’s right. Wilma Rudolph was once the fastest woman in the world; three gold medals.
Now, most people don’t know however, that when she was a child she was almost habitually, constantly sick with double pneumonia. And she also was attacked by Scarlett Fever and on top of all that when she was 4-years-old she got polio. She had to where a brace and they thought she would die. She wore that brace until she was nine and when she was a little girl she came to her mother and she cried and said am I ever going to walk. And her mother said to her – by the way, Wilma was the 20th of 22 children. And she said to her mother am I ever going to walk and Wilma’s mother said to her, “Sweetheart, you are going to walk.” The doctors told her you’re not going to walk, but her mother said what? You will walk.
Now, Wilma had a choice. Now, listen this is the foundation – I’m about to tell you something right now that to me is one of the most powerful teachings of the whole scripture. What you believe is what you will become. We’re going to look at that verse in a minute. In fact, I challenge you – if you doubt my words, if you doubt my words – I challenge you today to think about why you do what you do. Ask yourself the question: why do I do what I do? Whatever it is. And if you trace it back you’ll find that at the basis of why you speak the way you do, why you act the way you do, why you do what you do – at the basis of it, will always be a belief. There’s a belief there somewhere.
Now, Wilma had a choice. She could either believe the doctors, who said you will never walk. Now you tell me, if Wilma had chosen to believe the doctors – I will never walk – and she really thought that was true and she believed that, would she ever have walked? The likelihood of her walking while she believed she could never walk is very great. But she chose to believe her mother who said, you will walk. And they rubbed her legs, they massaged her legs – they had lots of helpers, all those kids in the family. But they massaged her legs every single day of her life and her mother once a week drove her, over 90 miles one way – back there in the ‘40s, because she was born in 1940. So in the late ‘40s, early ‘50s, she would drive her 90 miles one way to see a specialist who monitored her progress.
Finally, the day came when she did walk without her braces. Something that the doctors thought would never happen. As a matter of fact, she continued to progress until she walked without a limp. Now, I’ve known a lot of people who’ve had polio and they all usually had some sign. I remember, Dr. Hepker at Walla Walla College. He had polio when he was a young man and he always had that slight limp that he walked with. Wonderful Christian man. But she got to the point when she walked without a limp. Then she got to the point where she ran and then she tried out for sports. And the rest is history, as they always say. And she went on to achieve great things, this Wilma Rudolph, because she chose to believe that what her mother said was true.
Now I’m going to challenge you again this morning. Do you believe what the scripture says, when it says in John 8:36, “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” Now, I’m not going to ask for a show of hands because some of you are going to struggle with this a little this morning because you’ve been stuck. And after you’ve been stuck awhile, it’s hard to even imagine that you wouldn’t be stuck. As a matter of fact, after you’ve been stuck long enough you get to the point where you kinda like being stuck. Or you tell yourself that you like being stuck, cause you’ve been stuck so long you tell yourself you might as well like it. And some of you have been stuck to the point where people have told you well it’s normal to be stuck. Some of you have been stuck so long that you’ve come to think that it’s easier to be stuck. But the Bible says if the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be what? Do you know that there are people who have actually refused a pardon from the Governor? Can you imagine that?
There was a guy who was in jail over 20 years. I forget how many 20; it was 20-something. He had been in jail over 20 years, falsely accused, falsely condemned, in jail over 20 years. So, finally enough evidence came to light that the Governor just wrote him out a pardon. But his guy – this is a true story – this guy had been in jail so long he could not even imagine life apart from jail. And so when they offered him a pardon, he was more afraid to get out of jail than he was to stay in jail and so he refused the pardon.
Now listen, I have talked to a lot of people who feel that way about their habits. It’s kinda scary to think about really being free sometimes. Well, how would it be if I was really free, I mean, what would I do? Do you realize that people who smoke – one of the big challenges for people who smoke is what do I do with my hands? I mean how will I look if I don’t smoke? What will people think? How will I appear without that cigarette in my hands or in my mouth? It can be a real challenge to have a different image of yourself and to think of yourself differently being free. But the Bible says that Jesus will help you with all that. If the Son makes you free you shall be free indeed. So, the very first step is to give your life to Jesus.
It says in Ephesians 2:1, read it with me, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” I had an alcoholic guy come to me one time; I was trying to help him. And his name – let’s see, what was his name now. I was thinking of another guy. I can’t remember his name now, but it happened over on the coast when I was pasturing there. He had a problem with alcoholism and I was trying to help him. One day he sat me down, he said look I’ve studied more about alcoholism and alcoholics than you ever will probably because it’s my problem. I said you’re probably right. And he said I want to tell you something about me. He said until I’m good and ready to quit, I won’t quit. And he said, I probably won’t quit until I get to the point where I’m so miserable I can’t stand myself anymore. He said, then I’m at a danger point where I’m either going to quit or I’m gonna die. And he said, I don’t know which it’s going to be, but I won’t quit until I’m ready to quit. He said I want to tell you that. And I’m probably going to do everything I possibly can to make you quit helping me, so that I can prove to myself that nobody really loves me and cares about me. And I’m going to try to do everything I can to discourage you, so that you’ll give up on me, so that that will prove to myself that – see there’s another guy who really doesn’t care about me and that will somehow justify my behavior. But the point that he made in talking to me is really true. When you get to the point where you’re miserable, then you’ll be ready to quit.
My appeal to you is don’t wait until you’re hurt, near death, or miserable and physically broken to decide to live for God. If you give yourself to Jesus, He will make you alive. There’s no life in sin. It always leaves a bad taste. It always leaves guilt. It always leaves sorrow and frustration and fear. You try to act like it doesn’t, but it does – cause I’ve been there. But when you give your life to Jesus, He makes you alive. And the devil tells you there’s no fun following Christ – that’s a lie. The devil tells you that there’ll just be restriction and no joy in life – that’s a lie. All the joy, all the fun, all the good stuff God gives you without any of the guilt and sorrow. He says He made you alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. He says I am the resurrection and the light, He that believes in my though he were dead, yet shall he live. You don’t have to live anymore with dead emotions. You don’t have to live anymore with dead physical capacities, or dead mental capacities, or dead relational capacities. You don’t have to live with any of that deadness anymore. God wants to perform a resurrection in your life through Jesus Christ.

Okay, two more steps here, but here’s a divine principle in the Bible and I’ve simply put it HE + DP = V. Just to put it in a chemical formula type of way, okay? HE – what is that? Human Effort + Divine Power = Victory. Now, there’s only one thing in the Christian life that you get without any effort and that is the gift of eternal life. That’s when Jesus comes and He gives you eternal life. You cannot earn it. You cannot deserve it. Amen? You can’t earn it. You can’t deserve it. It’s given to you as a gift. But when it comes to spiritual growth, you have a part to play. God is not going to suddenly just snap his fingers and make you be something you’re not. If you want to grow there’s a part for you to play. Now, it’s way easier than you may think. But there’s a part for you to play and before I go on any farther let’s just put it as simple as this.
This plant, I think, was providential today because we can use it again for an illustration. Now this plant – Dolly will you just kinda hold that up a little bit so people can see it? Asked my wife to hold that up. Now that plant is in a pot of some kind and in that pot there is dirt in there that’s been formulated probably with the right nutrients for that plant to grow. Now the time may come, and probably will, when that needs to go into a bigger pot. It’ll have to have fresh dirt and more fertilizer. Now, if I want that plant to die it’s very easy. If I want that plant to die it’s really easy. You know what I do if I want it to die? I’ll just take it out, set it out in my backyard there in the full sunlight. Just set it out there and then I won’t water it and I won’t fertilize it and I won’t give it any care of any kind. And what will happen? It’ll just die. Right? I mean, that’s really easy to let things die; you just don’t do anything. But if I want it to live, then I will water it and I will make sure it has enough soil and fertilizer in the soil and the right conditions to grow. That’s you’re part. You can’t – I can’t make that plant grow. I cannot. I didn’t make that plant; I didn’t create it. I cannot command it to grow. I can’t make it grow. I can’t grab it by the leave and say – Grow! You know? I can’t make it grow, but it will grow because God gives it the power to grow if it is in the right environment to grow. And the same thing is true of your Christian life. God will give you the miraculous power to grow, but your job is to put yourself in an environment where you can grow.
Let’s use another illustration. I’ve had a lot of young people through the years come to me and say Pastor, you know, I’m getting to the point where I’d really be interested in a relationship with another person but I don’t really know what I should do. And I said, well, it’s like this, if you’re a fisherman and you want to catch a fish, where do you go? And I said, it’s pretty simple isn’t it. You go either to a lake or a stream or the ocean, because that’s where the what? That’s where the fish are. Okay? It’s very seldom that God drops a fish out of the sky into your lap, right? When was the last time a fisherman just woke up and found a fish there on his bed when he woke up, right? I mean, it doesn’t happen usually that way, right? Now it might if somebody threw some dynamite in the lake near by, but that doesn’t usually happen. You’ve got to put yourself in the place where the fish are if you want to find the fish.
So, the same thing is true with your Christian life and that’s these next steps here. Human Effort + Divine Power = what? Now God has promised the divine power, here’s the human effort part. We want to minimize the negative influences in our life. Minimize – we can’t eliminate. In this world we cannot eliminate all the negative influences, but we can minimize the influences. Now, hang on. Don’t start going works on me here now. I want you to think about it this way. My wife, Dolly, and I got acquainted in college. We first met each other in academy, but we got really acquainted in college. And when I decided that I wanted her to be my special girl, I fasted. Now, when I said fasted you thought what? Don’t think food. Cause fast is not about – primarily, is not about food. Fasting is when you get rid of other things that are detrimental to what you need to have and want to have in your life at that point. Okay? That’s fasting. Sometimes it means food, but it also means a lot of other things. So how did I fast when I met Dolly? What did I do Clayton? Yeah, forgot about the other girls. I fasted from other girls.
Now, what do you think, is that common sense? Okay. It’s Bible common sense. Now, why did I do that? Did I go – when I started going with her did I go: oh, man, I gotta quit seeing these other girls, what a bummer. No, I didn’t. But if I had that kind of attitude what would you think? Would you think I really loved her? Come on, now. Huh? No. You see, and a person who hasn’t experienced that yet doesn’t understand. But the day is coming when you will. You’ll find that person and that person will mean so much to you. And you’ll love that person so much it’ll be something you’ve never experience before in your life. And you will gladly lay aside all the other relationships because you want that one relationship.
Now Jesus put it this way, the kingdom of God is like unto a pearl, He said, for which a man will sell all that he has and go and buy that one pearl. So, he got rid of everything else so he could have that one pearl. Now it wasn’t about works. We’re not talking works; we’re talking love here. I love this pearl. Oh, wow, I’ve waited my whole life for this one pearl and here it is. And so he tells this guy don’t sell that pearl to anybody else. Here’s the down payment. I’ll be back in a little bit. He goes and disposes of all his possessions so that he can have that one pearl. Jesus said the kingdom of Heaven is like unto a treasure in a field for which a man found this treasure, then he went and sold all that he had and bought the field so that he could have the treasure. We’re not talking righteousness by works here. We’re not talking about salvation by works. We’re talking about a relationship. And if I want to have a good relationship with my special girl, I better not be having some other girls on the side, right? All the women said, Amen, I heard it.
Okay. The same thing is true with Jesus. If I love Jesus, then I will keep His commandments and His commandments are all about relationship and about having an atmosphere conducive to that relationship. That’s a whole other sermon. But He says that we should lay aside the things that get in the way. Here’s what it says; read it with me again. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you, and if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. Now what is Jesus teaching in this parable? He always spoke by parables. What is He saying in this parable? He’s saying whatever causes you to sin, get it out of your life. Okay?
Now here’s a simple illustration. You might think this is kinda silly, but hey, it was real for me. After I accepted Jesus as my savior because sports was my god, I came home and I went into my room – I think it was even a Sabbath day, after church. I went into my room and I got a box and I put all my trophies in this box, that I had acquired in sports, and I started going out with this box. And my mom said what are you doing? And I said I’m cleaning some stuff out of my room. She says what are you cleaning out? And I said I’m getting rid of my trophies. She said no you’re not. And she said that because she was proud of me and my accomplishments. I said yes, I am. And she said no you’re not. You’re not getting rid of all those trophies. Why do you want to throw away those trophies? I said because they are a god to me and they remind me of the past and they want to pull me in that direction and I don’t want to follow those things. I want to follow Jesus now. I want Jesus to be my life. By the way, you know, I like that song that we sang earlier today that says, “Lord, I lift Your name on high.” You know that song? I like that song. Lord, I life Your name on high. But part of that song I have a little bit of a problem with because it says I’m so glad you’re what? In my life. Now, don’t get me wrong that’s a good thing, but I think that’s a little bit wrong. I don’t want Jesus just to be in my life. I want Jesus to be my life. Are you with me?
Philippians 1:21 says that Christ is my life. I want Jesus to be my life not to just be in – like He’s a part of my life, you know, my bicycle is in my life and my guitar is in my life and my dog is in my life and my wife is in my life. You know, there’s lots of things that are in my life. I don’t want Jesus to just be a part of my life. I want Jesus to be my life.
So, He says whatever gets in the way of our relationship, get it out – throw it away. Now I can guarantee you that if there was something in my wife’s life that was getting between she and me, I would be talking to her about it. Right? Yeah. It’s a relationship, see, it’s a relationship. It’s not about proving that I can do these things so that I’m better than everyone else and all that stuff. No. It’s about having an atmosphere where you can grow. And whatever get in the way between you and the Lord, get it out. That’s one of the teachings of the Bible.
Now, Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so” what? There’s that principal I was telling you about. Whatever you believe is the way it’s going to go. Now listen carefully – listen up here, as we say in America. I was so glad to hear those words when we came back from Scotland. “Listen up” the lady at the airport said and I said yep, we’re in America. So, listen up! Why do you think the way you think? I mean you weren’t born thinking that way. When you came into this world there was no computer chip – I mean, the nurse didn’t slip some little computer chip inside your ear when you were born, you know, that made you think the way you think. Why do you think the way you think? You think certain things are okay. Why do you think that way? You think certain things are not okay. Why do you think that way? Everything you think has to do with what you put in. In computer terminology it’s called garbage in, what? Garbage out. Whatever you put in determines what you think, and what you think determines what you become.
See, whatever I put in the soil of that plant is going to affect that plant. As a matter of fact, they tint flowers sometimes by putting dye in the water because it becomes part of the plant. So, what you put in determines what you think. And where did you get that stuff? You got it from a teacher. You got it from a preacher. You got it from your mom. You got it from your dad. You got it from a friend on the street. You got it from somewhere – from a book, from a tape, from a movie. But is that stuff, that’s affecting how you think is that really good stuff? And how is it affecting your relationship with God? That’s why He says in Proverbs 4:23 “carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.” And if I’m going to carefully guard my thoughts, then I need to guard the stuff the makes me think what I think. Are you with me? You’re thinking. I need to guard the stuff that causes me to think the way I do because that is what determines my life. That’s why we need to minimize the negative. So, that’s why God says to be careful about the things that we touch; the things that we see; the things that we hear; the things that we smell and taste. Because all of these things come together to produce affects in our bodies.
Now, listen I’m going to tell you something else that I know is true. For a lot of people, the reason that they’re having spiritual trouble can be found in one of two or three possible places. Most likely. Here they are: the refrigerator, the entertainments they have in their life, and the friends they keep. That’s it. If you’re having trouble in your spiritual life, I would look first in those three places. Your refrigerator, your spiritual life with your friends and the type of entertainment you have. Those things affect the atmosphere of your spiritual relationship with Jesus. Now, if I stop holding my wife’s hand, if I stop kissing her, if I stop giving her some affection – putting my arm around her, that kind of thing – she’s going to talk to me about it and she’s going to say, okay, what’s going on? Now, I’ll tell you when that usually happens between us, it’s when we get really, really busy. Last week with refresh I was so busy. Oh man, I can’t remember ever being that busy. And my wife said to someone this morning at church, she said, we got reacquainted this week. And I said it’s literally true, cause we were so busy just rushing off here and there. Getting home late, getting up early, taking off, coming back – Whoo! Wow. You know, we were getting reacquainted this week. Had more time. Kinda feel like human beings again. If I’m not being affectionate to her, she knows I’m too busy because that’s the first thing that happens. If I get too busy with work, she starts to suffer, and since the Lord gave her the ability to be discerning and to also express that discernment she will say now look here, we’ve gotta have a little change come in this relationship. That’s all I’m saying this morning. Take a look at your spiritual life and if your spiritual life is suffering there is a reason why – and what is that reason? Most likely it will be found in those areas right there.
Einstein said this, to repeat the same procedures and expect different results is what? He’s actually the one who originated that statement. You’ve heard it rephrased in different ways, but he’s the originator of that statement. To repeat the same procedures and expect different results is folly. Okay, listen; some of you folks have been struggling in your spiritual life for... Now you fill in the blank. It’s just private. How many years? Five years? Fifteen years? Twenty years? Been struggling with the same thing all that time. How long have you been struggling with that thing?
You know what, Biblically speaking, probably the reason why you’re still struggling with it is not because you haven’t made a commitment at the altar and an appeal, but because when you left the altar you went back home and you did not change anything about your environment. I mean I can plant seeds in the pot from now until eternity, but the plant is not going to grow unless I do something about the soil and the environment of that plant. How many of you have made any serious changes? How many of you have taken any steps of growth in your environment and why things are the way they are in your life? That’s the reason why we struggle. Not because God isn’t there ready to help, but because we’re often unwilling to take the steps we need to take to grow. Okay?
Now sometimes we’re in a situation where we can’t change that growth situation. We can’t always change it and the Lord knows that. And here is an encouraging promise if duty calls him were circumstances are not favorable he will have special help from God, and thus go fully girded for a conflict with the enemy. I had one lady tell me one time: Pastor, I was listening in your sermon and you said whatever is in your life that is causing you to sin you should get it out of your life. And then she looked at me and she says what if that’s my husband? And I said, well, then we have a really special, encouraging promise that if we are forced by circumstances to be in a situation that is not the best, God knows that and He will give us the help that we need to endure that situation.
Finally, step number three – maximize the positive. So when you eliminate the negative, maximize the positive. Now, when I gave my life to Jesus I changed my friends. I changed the books I had in my room. I changed the music I listened to, the programs I watched. I got rid of a bunch of stuff out of my life that the Holy Spirit told me was bad for my life and my walk with the Lord. I mean it was pretty clear if I was involved in this I didn’t love the Lord. I put two and two together and I said well that’s gotta go ‘cause I want the Lord. So, then what do I do? I need friends. I want friends, especially as a young person. I need activities in my life. I need music in my life. I need, you know, stuff like that in my life.
So, the Bible says to replace the bad with the good. In Romans 12:21, right there at the top, what does it say? Overcome evil with what? With good. Overcome evil with good. So, we get rid of the bad and we replace it with what? With good. If I have bad soil in the pot, I take the bad soil out and what do I put in the pot? Good soil. God provides the growth. We take care of the environment. We make decisions about our environment. So, here are some things the Bible says to do that are positive things that help us in our walk with God. Changing our music and having music be uplifting. Now I don’t want to get into a bit debate about styles of music. Depending on the generation we grew up in and all of that, that affects a lot of those decisions. Okay? I mean I have my personal convictions, but I try hard not to make my personal convictions be everybody else’s. But I can say this, the Bible teaches us that – in Philippians 4:8, it says whatever is good, whatever is pure, whatever is true, etc. If it’s uplifting, that’s good to listen too. If it’s uplifting to you. And listen, may I make an appeal here? Please, do not judge your brother. If your brother is listening to music that you don’t like, but it’s uplifting for him, don’t judge him. I didn’t hear any “Amens” on that... Do not judge your brother. He may not be listening to music you want to listen to, but if it’s uplifting to him then let him listen to it. And if it’s something that the Holy Spirit is not finished with him on yet, then He’ll lead him on to something else. But don’t try to be the Holy Spirit to that person. If it’s uplifting to that person – if it’s really drawing them to God – who are you to get in the way. Okay?
So, read the Bible, but don’t read it like a list of codes and do’s and don’ts. Read it like a relationship, like a letter from your friend. Try to understand who is writing that letter and why and what was behind it. And then attending church, getting together with Godly friends – these are all influences. As we get together in our little groups, in our social occasions at church and Sabbath school – oh, listen, there’s a good reason to be gathering together with your friends, whether it’s in the mountains or whether it’s here at this building. Get together with your friends on Sabbath because it’s mutually encouraging for one another.
Simplify your life. Try to make your life as simple – we live in such a complex, difficult world the Bible says that if we simplify our life that will be helpful in our relationship with God. And then, healthful living – take healthful living a little more seriously. When was the last time that you took a step forward in the area of healthful living? Just one little more, teeny, baby step maybe in the area of healthful living. When was the last time you did that? You’d be surprised how much that will help you. I mean think of it like this, when you’re tired and sick do you feel very spiritual? No. Most of the time when we’re tired and sick we feel grumpy. Leave me alone. Don’t touch me. That kind of stuff. But, when you’re feeling good then your inclination towards spirituality is much better as well. So these are some areas the Bible says are positive things we can bring into our life. Finally, in Isaiah 41:10 God makes this promise. Let’s read it together. “I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Let’s stand for prayer. Dear Father, we are not happy when we know we’re not living right, but sometimes we get frustrated, Lord, because we seem so weak. We ask you today to help us as we’ve read in the Bible. We want to renew, first of all, our relationship with you, our Savior. We ask You to come into our heart, into our life, and we want to surrender our life to You. We want You to take control of our life. We don’t want you just to be a part of our life. We want You to take control of our life. Now, Lord, as we stand here in Your presence in prayer, please illuminate our minds. What are the negative influences in our life that we need to change, Father? If it’s a job, give that person today the courage to look for a new job. If it is a relationship with a friend or a relative, give that person today, Lord, the courage to make a change in that relationship; to set a boundary or to terminate that relationship. Lord, if it’s a place or a thing then I pray that you’ll give the person today courage to take that thing out of their life and throw it away. Now, Lord, illuminate our minds once again and show us the positive things that we can do to replace these things that You, through Your Spirit, have told us are not good for our growth. Show us the people, the places, and the things that we can bring into our life that will encourage us in the right way, because our relationship to You is so important. We don’t want anything to damage that relationship. So, please reveal to us, Lord, the changes we need to make so that we may have the atmosphere that is best for growth in our life with You. And thank you for Your patience, Your forgiveness, Your grace to us, and that You do not condemn us when we struggle. But that You encourage us to keep trying and to do what we need to do until we gain the victory. Now just pray your own prayer to God just now. Just take this moment of quietness. Talk to the Lord about the things in your life, whether bad or good, that need to change. Talk to Him about it right now. If you’re ready, make a decision in prayer, right now, with God about these things.