Emotions or Trust – 4

Emotions or Trust – 4

Subject – Battling our Emotions When a Test Comes

By Rick Welborne

Genesis 4:1-8 (NKJV)
¹  Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD."
²  Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
³  And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.
⁴  Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering,
⁵  but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
⁶  So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
⁷  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
⁸  Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. 

--Last week we looked at guilt and sorrow and how God desires for us to be free from our past and from our sin. We can’t live here and now if our emotions are tied to something or someone back then.

--If you are human at all, you have done things, said things, caused things in your past that you are so sorry for, but you must trust that God has the power to set you free and to forgive you.

1 John 1:9 (NKJV)
⁹  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

--What’s your point, Pastor Rick? No matter what you did back then (I did some stuff) we must know that if we have received Christ and are attempting to love and serve Him…His blood is enough.

Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV)
⁷  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…

--I have been redeemed by His blood and I am forgiven of all sin and guilt according to His wonderful grace.

--Tonight, as we continue this series on Emotions or Trust, I want us to look at the power of desire. Listen to what God told Cain in our text.

Genesis 4:7 (NKJV)⁷  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it." 

--Sin lies at the door and sin’s desire is for you, but you should rule over it. NIV – you must master it. NLT – You must subdue it and be its master. How is that even possible?

--How many of you know that we are bombarded every day with information that has been created to appeal to our sinful nature and to cause desire. Why is that a dangerous thing?

James 1:14-16 (NIV) ¹⁴  but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
¹⁵  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
¹⁶  Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 

--I see two people in these verses…the person who perseveres under the test and the one who is tempted, enticed, and drug away by his own evil desire.

--Through phones, social media, Netflix, cable, satellite, computer (whatever the means) this world, this Cosmos has done such a good job of placing sin at the door. 

--So tonight can we look at what the Lord told Cain and what I truly believe He is telling all of us…Sin lies at the door and sin’s desire is for you, but you should rule over it.

--Today let’s look at three ways to rule over, to master, to subdue these desires, feelings, and emotions. 

1. Stop feeding the beast!

--Why do you call this desire a beast? The Word says that when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. The goal of the beast for you is death…physical and spiritual.

John 10:10 (NKJV) ¹⁰  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

--Desire is hungry and desire will not stop until you are enticed into the trap and you are destroyed.

1 Peter 5:8-9 (NLT2)
⁸  Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
⁹  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

--It did not take long after I was saved to realize that this Christian life was going to be a battle. Sadly, there were many who were in church already who had surrendered to the enemy. 

--What you starve dies and what you feed grows and gets stronger…feed your spiritual man. Pastor Rick, I have no control over these desires. Really? I think the Word says something different: Stop feeding the beast!

Galatians 5:22-25 (NKJV)
²²  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
²³  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
²⁴  And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
²⁵  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

--God has given us the power to stop feeding the beast…He has given us Holy Spirit and he who has Holy Spirit power has self-control available to them…we must choose to crucify (to kill) our flesh.

Genesis 4:7 (NKJV)⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."  NIV – you must master it. NLT – You must subdue it and be its master. 

2. Start feeding your spiritual man every day.

Psalm 37:1-5 (NKJV)
¹  Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
²  For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.
³  Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
⁴  Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
⁵  Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 

--Verse 4 is probably one of the most quoted scriptures in the Bible and many times it is quoted out of context. Many believe that God is obligated to give us the desires of our hearts no matter what.

--What is David saying here? Don’t worry about evildoers and don’t desire the things they crave. We want so much to be like the world…we want to be accepted by unbelievers…we want to be cool.

--David says to feed our spiritual man: We must trust in the Lord and do good. 

--Live your life and as you do, feed on His faithfulness (His truth). Feed on His truth, His Word, on Him…eat My flesh and drink My blood! Have communion with Him!

--Here’s what is usually left out when we quote this verse…Delight yourself also in the Lord. To delight yourself in the Lord is to find a high degree of gratification in Him and Him alone.

--When I feed my spiritual man by worshiping Jesus, by singing songs of exaltation to Him, when I thank Him for all He is and all He does, when I magnify Him over my mess…I find myself delighting in Him.

Psalm 69:30 (NKJV) ³⁰  I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. 

--When your world is spinning way to fast, and to a great degree, out of control, in the middle of your worship, ask Him what He would say to you. Am I not more than enough in your life.

 

3. Don’t open the door.

Ephesians 4:27 (NIV) ²⁷ ...do not give the devil a foothold. (NCV) ²⁷  Do not give the devil a way to defeat you.

--Don’t open the door to the devil but daily open the door to Jesus and Holy Spirit.

Revelation 3:20 (NKJV)
²⁰  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

The Joy of Discovering Hidden Treasure – 4 – Missions 2024

The Joy of Discovering Hidden Treasure – 4 – Missions 2024

Subject – We Should Not Live for the Dot but Live for the Line

By Rick Welborne

Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)
¹⁹  "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
²⁰  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
²¹  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

Luke 12:15 (NIV)
¹⁵  Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 

--Why is it that so many people have roadblocks to giving? Christ commands us to give and we know He promises great rewards for giving. Maybe we even believe that giving brings happiness.

--So why is it so hard to give? The roadblocks can be unbelief, insecurity, pride, idolatry, and a lack of trust in God. Our culture makes it normal to keep more than we give. It’s my money!

--It appears that the greatest deterrent to giving is the illusion that this earth is our home. We must understand that Heaven and the New Earth, not this earth, is our home.

--Think about it…the Bibles says we are pilgrims, strangers, aliens on Earth. We are just ambassadors.

Hebrews 11:13 (NIV)
¹³  All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

2 Corinthians 5:20 (NIV) ²⁰ We are therefore Christ's ambassadors…

Philippians 3:20 (NIV) ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Hebrews 11:16 (NIV) ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 

--Where we choose to store our treasures depends largely on where we think our home is. Let’s say America is your home but you are in Spain doing work and staying in a hotel for three months. 

--You are told you cannot bring anything back with you on the airline but you can make money and send it back home by making deposits. Would you buy expensive furniture for your hotel room?

--Of course not, you would only spend what you needed in your temporary residence, sending your money (treasures) ahead so they would be there waiting on you when you got home. 

--The Bridegroom is getting ready for us by building us a place in Heaven. Everything we do for Him, everything we send on ahead, will be waiting for us there. Treasures in Heaven. 

--Jesus was a builder by trade. Can you even imagine what kind of place He has been preparing for us? We need to stop trying to furnish our temporary hotel room and send more to our eternal home.

1. We Should Not Live for the Dot but for the Line.

--Think about this…everything that we put so much emphasis on will all be burned with fire. Disappear.

2 Peter 3:10 (NKJV)
¹⁰  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

--Our houses, cars, boats, motorcycles, phones, computers, furniture, private jets, everything will burn and be gone. We have heard, he who dies with the most toys wins. This is more accurate:

Alcorn – He who dies with the most toys still dies—and leaves his toys behind. When we die after devoting our lives to acquiring things, we don’t win—we lose. We move into eternity, but our stuff stays behind, filling junkyards.

--Think about your lives in terms of the dot (0) and the line. Our lives have two phases: one a dot, the other a line. Our present life on earth is the dot. It begins. It ends. It’s brief.

0------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ETERNITY

James 4:14 (NIV) ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

--From the dot extends a line that goes on forever. That line is eternity, which Christians spend in Heaven.

--Right now we are living in the dot but what are we living for? The shortsighted person lives only for the dot. The person with the right perspective lives for the line…eternity. Which are you living for?

2. Giving is Living for the Line.

Matthew 6:20 (NIV) ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…

--All of us will part with our money. The only question is when. We have no choice but to part with it later. But we do have a choice whether to part with it now. Say what? Missions!

--We can keep our earthy treasures for the moment and get some temporary enjoyment from them. But if we give them away, we’ll enjoy eternal treasures that will never be taken from us. 

Missionary Jim Elliot – He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.

--If you hear those words and think Elliot was just one of those super spiritual types who did not think about gain, you missed the point. Re-read. 

--Gain was exactly what he was talking about. He just wanted the gain he could not lose. He wanted his treasure in Heaven not here on earth. He was living for the line not for the dot. 

--People get caught up in living for the dot. Moms and dads spend about six times more time shopping than playing with their kids. More people in America file bankruptcy than graduate from college. 

--Listen to people whose treasures were in the dot and their responses, very sobering:

W.H. Vanderbilt – The care of $200 million is enough to kill a person. There is no pleasure in it.

John D. Rockefeller – I have made millions, but they have brought me no happiness. 

Andrew Carnegie – Millionaires seldom smile. 

John Jacob Astor – I am the most miserable man on Earth.

Henry Ford – I was happier doing a mechanic’s job.

--There have been shows on TV telling us about the misery of lottery winners a few years after they won. 

--We think we own our possessions, but they own us. Nothing makes a journey more difficult than a heavy backpack filled with nice but unnecessary things. Pilgrims travel light. But money is not evil.

A.W. Tozer – As base a thing as money is, it yet can be transmuted into everlasting treasure. It can be converted into food for the hungry and clothing for the poor; it can keep a missionary actively winning lost men to the gospel and thus transmute itself into heavenly values. Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality. 

--If America being blessed with so much wealth is the disease, what’s the cure? If materialism is the poison, what’s the antidote? Paul answers:

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NIV)
¹⁷  Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
¹⁸  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
¹⁹  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

--Paul brings us back to laying up treasure in Heaven. The giving of our resources here on this earth is laying a solid foundation in Heaven for us. A great retirement plan! Missions!

--Paul says that being “generous” and “rich in good deeds” allows us to “take hold of the life that is truly life.” This the abundant life Jesus promised. 

3. Giving is the Cure for Materialism.

--The very act of giving is a vivid reminder that life is all about God, not about us. It’s declaring that I am not the point, He is the point. He does not exist for me. I exist for Him.

--God’s money has a higher purpose than material comfort. Giving is a joyful surrender to a greater Person (God) and to His greater agenda. Missions! Giving takes me off the throne!

--As long as I have something in my possession, I’m tempted to believe I own it. But when I give it away, I relinquish control. I realize it belongs to God. 

 Ps. 24:1 (NLT2) ¹ The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. 

--When we give what we have away we recognize God as owner, ourselves as servants, and others as those He wants us to bless. Missions. Therefor I have treasure in Heaven. 

--Money is not all we can give. Time, wisdom, and meeting felt needs are all wonderful too. When we give these things out of love, these things will no doubt result in treasures in Heaven.

--Giving is the cure for materialism. Missions can be the cure for materialism. Listen to Paul:

1 Timothy 6:18-19 (NKJV)
¹⁸  Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,
¹⁹  storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Missionary Jim Elliot – He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.

Emotions or Trust - 3

Emotions or Trust - 3

Subject: Battling Our Emotions When a Test Comes

By Rick Welborne

Psalm 51:1-14 (NKJV)
¹  Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.
²  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
³  For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.
⁴  Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight-- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
⁵  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶  Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
⁷  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸  Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
⁹  Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.
¹⁰  Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹  Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
¹²  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
¹³  Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.
¹⁴  Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. 

1. Miriam-Webster – Guilt - the fact of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating law and involving a penalty. A feeling of deserving blame for offenses.

2. Guilt - the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously. Feelings of deserving blame especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy. 

--Whenever God leads me to preach something (Emotions or Trust), He always deals with me personally or leads me to someone who is fighting guilt.

--Today we are looking at this emotion of guilt. David had to deal with his guilt after being confronted by the prophet Nathan and was told…You are the man…the guilty person. 

--I was speaking to someone just having a normal conversation and I thought we were done…this person asked…can I please talk to you about something? Of course!

--Before I knew it, this person was confessing guilt and condemnation about things that had happened in their life thirty years ago. Their pain and guilt were very real to them.

--We expressed from the first sermon of this series that there is an “Accuser of the brethren” who attacks God’s children night and day…he had not let up on this person for thirty years.

--Now, we could take a survey tonight and probably find out that there are a great number of God’s children who are living in guilt and condemnation. Satan harassing you.

--Unfortunately, Satan is good at what he does because the person I was talking to, as I shared several scriptures, said, I know what the Bible says but I still feel guilty and ashamed.

Romans 8:1-2 (NKJV) ¹  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 

²  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 

--The Word of God says there is no condemnation and that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free. Sadly, we live in condemnation and we are not free. 

--King David evidently was not bothered by his conscience after committing adultery and having a man killed to cover his sin…it took Nathan showing up. What’s your point, Pastor Rick? 

--We cannot always trust our consciences to lead us into all truth because our consciences can be affected by how will live and what we think.

Titus 1:15 (NLT2) ¹⁵  Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 (NKJV) ¹  Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
²  speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 

--Our consciences can be weak, our consciences can be violated, and our consciences can be corrupted and seared…in other words our consciences can even die. I think we all have met people like this.

James Dobson –I tend to believe that a sense of guilt occurs when we violate our inner code of conduct. Guilt is a message of disapproval from the conscience which says, in effect, “You should be ashamed of yourself!”

--In over forty years of ministry I have found that there is no lack of believers who struggle with guilt, shame, and sorrow. Satan makes sure you never forget what you have done.

1. There is An Answer for This Kind of Guilt.

Romans 7:21-24 (NIV)
²¹  So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
²²  For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 

²³  but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 

²⁴  What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 

--J. Vernon McGee says this is not an unbeliever struggling with sin and guilt but a believer who is in a major battle between his old nature and his new nature…let’s face it, we have all been there. 

--Many say and I have probably said…this body of death was a practice of barbarians who were extremely brutal in their punishment: I agree with Barnes’s Notes on the NT.  

Barnes’s Notes: Some have supposed that he refers to a custom practiced by ancient tyrants, of binding a dead body to a captive as a punishment, and compelling him to drag the cumbersome and offensive burden with him wherever he went. I do not see any evidence that the apostle had this in view.

--The truth is we cannot speculate exactly what Paul was thinking but Barnes goes on to say that this is probably the best illustration that could be given about what Paul was going through.

--The friend I mentioned earlier was crying out to me basically, who is going to deliver me from this body of death…this thing that has attached itself to me for over thirty years. 

--What a wretched man I am! I can’t believe I did that to that person or those people. I can’t believe I sinned against God by doing this! I feel so much guilt, shame, and sorrow for my sin. Such torment.

--The sad thing is this…this person and probably every other person in this situation have asked God at least a thousand times for forgiveness and have truly repented. Satan is unrelenting. I am wretched!

Thru The Bible with J. Vernon McGee - This is not an unsaved man who is crying, "O wretched man that I am"; this is a saved man. The word wretched carries with it the note of exhaustion because of the struggle. "Who is going to deliver me?" He is helpless. His shoulders are pinned to the floor -- he has been wrestled down. Like old Jacob, he has been crippled. He is calling for help from the outside.

--So Who can deliver us from this guilt and condemnation of the enemy who accuses us night and day?

Romans 7:25 (NIV) ²⁵ Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

Romans 8:1 (NKJV) ¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

2. Help in the Word of God - Children Who Are Not Serving God.

--One of the tools the enemy likes to use against us is condemnation and guilt about kids who have chosen a different path. You got angry in front of them…you sinned in front of them!

--If the only children who grew up to serve God were the ones who had parents who did everything right, or who never sinned, there wouldn’t be any kids living right!

Romans 3:23 (NKJV) ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

--The Book of Romans tells us later that each one of us will bow our knees and confess with our tongues Jesus is Lord and we will give account of ourselves before God. 

Ezekiel 18:19-22&30-32 (NLT2)
¹⁹  “‘What?’ you ask. ‘Doesn’t the child pay for the parent’s sins?’ No! For if the child does what is just and right and keeps my decrees, that child will surely live.
²⁰  The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness.
²¹  But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die.
²²  All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done.
³⁰  “Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign LORD. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you!
³¹  Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel?
³²  I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign LORD. Turn back and live! 

3. Guilt or Sorrow That Is Good.

--I believe we have the opportunity to turn these feelings and emotions of guilt around for good. Listen to what Paul said to the people about a tough letter he had written to them:

2 Corinthians 7:9-11 (NKJV)
⁹  Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.
¹⁰  For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
¹¹  For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

--Godly sorrow or guilt that drives us to our knees and to repentance is good. It can lead us into a right relationship with God and with each other (our families and our church).