Trusting our Emotions or Trusting God – 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.
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 1:4-9 (NKJV)
4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
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 to take care of our guilt.
Ephesians 1:3-7 (NKJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
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.
--Today, as we continue this series on Trusting our Emotions or Trusting God, 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 1:12-16 (NIV)
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
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.
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
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, Netflixs, cable, satellite, computer (whatever the means) this world, this Cosmos has done such a good job of placing sin at the door…not only do we not resist it…we seek it out.
--So today 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. We know these answers but will we find the strength to put them into practice?
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.
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.
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. God understands my feelings!
--Someone told me…what you starve dies and what you feed grows and gets stronger. They told me a present day parable about a man who had a vicious dog (our sin nature) and a weak dove (our spiritual man).
--His dog was strong because he had fed it and nurtured it for years. He spent hours every day with this dog. This dog received attention from the man to the point he was neglecting everything else.
--The dove was weak to the point of death…he had not been feeding it or giving water to it. He spent no time with it. One day the man’s eyes were opened to what was happening.
--The man was so afraid that his dog was eventually going to get strong enough to kill him and his dove…what am I to do? It came to him like a revelation. Stop feeding the dog (isolate him) and start nurturing the dove.
--The dog became extremely violent, began to rebel and fight, but started getting weaker. The man began to feed the dove and carried him everywhere he went on his finger…the dove got strong and beautiful.
--The dog finally got so weak he died and the dove flourished and lived. Now I would like to tell you the flesh will eventually die but that is not true…he will always want to revive and thrive.
--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.
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.
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 its context. Many believe that God is obligated to give us the desires of our hearts no matter what those desires are.
--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:
1. We must trust in the Lord and do good.
2. 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.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
--This summer when it seemed like my world was spinning way to fast, and to a great degree, out of control, in the middle of my worship one day I said to the Lord…speak to me what You feel I need to hear the most.
--I felt that the Lord spoke to me this…Rick, I want you to know that I am 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.
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.
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