Know Your Enemy: Remedies Against the Devil’s Devices (3) | James 4:7

ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church

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Welcome back, everyone. It's good to see everybody. I've been really looking forward to today, and I'm just very excited about moving forward together.

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I wanted to make a few corrections from my sermon last week.

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In my excitement, I said that God had spoken to my wife and I when we got engaged, and that wasn't quite true.

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I've never heard God speak to me in an audible voice, and so what I meant was that God showed us.

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I do believe that God showed us providentially putting things together. He brought us,

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Shea and I, together, and we both basically saw that the

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Lord was working together to bring us together in marriage. I wanted to clarify that, and also wanted to make a little bit more clarification about the law and gospel distinction that I mentioned at the very end.

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I had mentioned that the law and gospel distinction does not mean that every single sermon needs to have an explicit gospel message in it.

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Law and gospel distinction means that you make sure that you preach the law as the law, and the gospel as the gospel, and we don't confuse those two things.

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In addition to that, I also wanted to just re -emphasize that because we are also blessed and sanctified by all of Scripture, all of God's word, both law and gospel.

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If it's God's word, it's sanctifying. It doesn't matter. Also, as our confession, the

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London Baptist Confession, explains in chapter 19, which is on the law, section 7, which reads,

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The uses of the law for the believer are not contrary to the grace of the gospel, but do sweetly comply or agree with it.

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The Spirit of Christ subduing and enabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully, to obey freely and cheerfully, which the will of God revealed in the law requireth to be done.

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So that's a very excellent summation of how the law is still a blessing to us as believers.

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We rejoice in God's law. Amen. We now love it instead of hating it and rejecting it as unbelievers do.

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So, now with that said, I want to go ahead and give another, just a recap of what I preached on last week.

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And if you missed any of the previous sermons, I do suggest that you go back and listen to them strongly, because this is a series that has been building on all of the previous messages.

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So, I encourage you to listen to the previous ones. And I want to remind us all, in light of this series about the world and the flesh and the devil, that this hard season,

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I do believe this is a hard season, but it will pass. It will pass. Amen. And we also, we need balance and discernment when it comes to dealing with both our natural and our spiritual problems and enemies.

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We need God's means of deliverance. His remedies, which

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I've called the six S's throughout the series. Number one is scripture. Number two is sound doctrine.

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Number three is the sacraments of the baptism in the Lord's Supper. Four is self -awareness and self -denial.

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And five is sage counsel or wise counsel. And six is spiritual warfare. And recall also that there is a sharp transition and substantial differences between the old and the new covenants that need to be accounted for.

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Especially when dealing with our enemy. The devil ultimately wants to steal, kill, and destroy you, us, your family, and your legacy in the church.

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And even though Christ came to destroy the works of the devil and won back dominion from the devil, we ourselves nevertheless still sin and can give the devil an opportunity to mess with us and to exploit us.

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He can also exploit us to mess with others. If we are not careful, we do not guard ourselves.

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And now I've been, I started describing specific aspects of what the devil is and what and does and laying out some strategies and remedies to fight against him and his devices.

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And of course, as a precursor, I want to continue to encourage us to memorize and to put on the full armor of God according to Ephesians 6 .10

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-17. Very important to, as soldiers, to prepare ourselves for warfare.

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The warfare that we are engaged in. And I mentioned that number one, the first thesis was that the devil is not dumb.

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The devil is not dumb. Do not underestimate the devil because we need to know how to interpret the

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Bible correctly in order to rightly understand it, ourselves, and our enemy, and to rightly apply it to ourselves and our issues and situations.

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And we also need, like God's Word says, pastors and teachers to instruct us in the analogies of Scripture and of faith, the law and gospel distinction, confessions and catechisms, and so on, to be like Jesus and to do like he did.

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To have a comprehensive understanding and worldview of God's view of everything.

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Amen? Number two was that the devil uses means. He uses means because he is not a fool.

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He is not dumb. He often uses people, and usually unbelievers, but also misguided or ill -prepared believers with unresolved issues, as well as false teaching, in order to foster natural conflict and enemies in our lives, in order to distract us from our real enemies, the three, the unholy trinity, the world, the flesh, the devil.

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So we must discern with spiritual eyes to look past the natural means that the devil often uses and adopt a zero -tolerance policy against the devil in our lives and in our homes, whatever area of dominion we have, including the

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Jezebel spirit of feminism, which I covered the previous Lord's Day.

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So now this brings us to our third thesis today, which is extremely important.

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The devil knows all of our specific weaknesses, and he exploits them because the devil is a tempter, all of them.

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He knows all of them. In some cases, he may know us better than we know ourselves. He is fully aware of our weaknesses.

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He is vicious, and he fights dirty. Don't expect the devil to play nice or fair, right?

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Because like a roaring lion, he seeks constantly someone to devour, especially believers, according to 1

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Peter 5a. He wants to steal, kill, and destroy you, everything that God made, everything that comes from God, he wants to destroy it.

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And so what does this mean then? What this means is that if you have struggles with specific sins, whether it's alcohol, pornography, something from your upbringing that has caused a trauma or a deficiency in your life, any of these struggles, what theologians have called besetting sins that plague us, we need to be mindful to properly address all sin, but especially those sins that we struggle with.

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And we all have one major weak spot.

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We all have this, and it's one of the three enemies, the flesh.

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Amen? We all have the flesh to wrestle against because we are still living in unredeemed bodies.

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We have not been resurrected yet. And while our spirits may have been regenerated and glorified in Christ, been restored in Christ, so that our spirit man is good, our inner man is good, but our flesh is still evil.

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Our flesh still tempts us to sin. So, remember now that the devil conspires with the world to attack us through our flesh, especially through our senses, our five natural senses, sight, taste, hearing, touch, all of those five senses.

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And so it's important for us to take heed to what Scripture says and to what very sound theologians of the past who warn us that sinful temptation is often sensual because it assaults our senses.

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That's what sensual means. It's through your senses, right? Amen? So, Augustine, for example, from the early church in the 300s, teaches us that there is in each man a serpent, an

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Eve, and an Adam. Our senses and natural propensities are the serpent.

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The excitable desire in us is the Eve, and reason is the

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Adam. Our nature tempts us perpetually or constantly. Criminal desire or sinful desire is often excited through Eve or represented by Eve, but sin is not completed till reason consents to do it.

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So, even though this is not a proper interpretation of the Genesis creation account because it is imposing a metaphor for human nature and behavior, which is not in the text, okay?

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This is a form of eisegesis. But it nevertheless is a good application of something that is in fact true.

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This is true. Our fleshly desires regularly tempt us towards harmful or sinful thoughts, words, and deeds or actions, right?

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And so we must constantly struggle, fight, battle against sin in our flesh every single day.

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Like I read last week that we are called to die daily to self, die daily.

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And that is, we know that the devil attacks our...

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Well, okay, so how then does the devil attack our flesh, our senses? That's an important question to answer.

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Now, remember that the devil uses means, right? He uses means, and these are means that are before us every single day, like social media,

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Facebook, Instagram, all of those platforms, entertainment, music, movies, including some so -called

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Christian, quote -unquote, entertainment and music, and worldly people or people with unresolved issues, including believers, to entice or tempt us and our flesh to tap into our past weaknesses, trauma, failures, and besetting sins.

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The devil wants us crippled and to fall into a pattern of sin in order to break us and kill us.

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Social media, for example, is highly... We need to be aware of these things, amen?

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We need to be aware of how we react to things and what effect these things have on us.

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Social media is highly conducive to narcissism, to pride, to arrogance, to how many likes you can get.

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How many friends do you have? How good do you look on your pictures? Vanity, vanity of vanities, like the preacher says in Ecclesiastes, and folly, utter folly and foolishness.

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I can't tell you how many times I was tempted to and got so caught up rebuking fools on Facebook who claimed to be

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Christians. And I had to step away. I had to step away from that and just guard my time and be mindful of setting healthy boundaries around these things which tempt us.

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Social media today reminds me a lot of Vanity Fair in Pilgrim's Progress. If you haven't read that,

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I highly recommend. I commend that work to you because the temptation is everywhere there.

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And remember also regarding music, the golden calf incident in Exodus 32, where the devil ushered in idolatry and rebellion to the

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Israelites through music, revelry or wild partying, and entertainment.

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He used all of those means because remember when Moses came back, he thought he was hearing the noise of war, but he was hearing music.

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When he got closer, he realized it was music. They were mosh pitting. They were having a rock concert and a wild party, worshipping an idol because the devil was a musician up in heaven prior to his fall.

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So take heed. Once the devil and his minions gain a foothold in our lives through these means, he can and will attack and invade and attach himself even like a spiritual parasite.

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This can happen to believers as well, not just unbelievers. It also can happen to believers, which is why

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God frequently commands us to resist the devil and not give him any foothold in our lives, according to Ephesians 4 .27.

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Amen. We must resist. And with that in mind,

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I want to commend to you another one of John Bunyan's important classics that is not as well known as The Pilgrim's Progress, but it is called

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Holy War. Holy War. It's actually about a town called

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Mansoul. Get it? Soul of man? The town was built for the glory and enjoyment of El Shaddai, or God, who in its wickedness forsakes their king for Diabolos, Diabolos, the devil.

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Now, one very fascinating thing that Bunyan does in this work is that the town of Mansoul has five sense gates around it.

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They are the means to enter Mansoul. It is eye gate, ear gate, mouth gate, feel gate, nose and nose gate.

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So this is very good stuff. Bunyan was tapping into something powerful here. He recognized that sin is sensual.

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Sin is sensual. We must guard our senses, which are a part of our flesh, against sin.

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So what is the remedy for all of this, for these attacks in our flesh and all of this stuff?

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And Lord willing, I'm going to build more on the flesh, our last enemy in the next sermons.

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But the remedies are that these

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S's are for self -denial and self -awareness. That is key.

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Self -denial and self -awareness. And also to be self -aware of yourself, of your weaknesses.

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And do not tempt yourself. Have some sense.

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Have good spiritual sense of what your weaknesses are so that you do not tempt yourself.

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Some things may not be sin for others. But if they tempt you to sin, you need to stay away from them completely.

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Okay? Do not play with fire, because you're going to get burned. Amen? Now, 1

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Thessalonians 5, verses 19 -22 says, Do not quench the

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Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but examine, scrutinize, examine all things.

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Test all things, including yourself. Which 2 Corinthians 13 .5

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also tells us. Amen? We must examine everything, including ourselves. And to hold fast to that which is good.

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And this is key. Listen to this. This is important. To abstain from every form of evil.

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Even the appearance of evil, we are called to abstain. Abstinence. Remember, they used to teach sexual abstinence in schools.

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Now they don't even bother to teach that. Abstinence means to stay completely away from.

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Completely away from. Don't even tempt yourself. Run away from it. Stay away from it.

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Keep your distance from it. If it looks bad, or you know it will cause you to struggle or stumble, don't even go near it, much less do it.

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Amen? Keep a healthy distance then from these means that the devil uses to get a foothold in our lives, like social media, especially if it causes you to stumble.

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So, and I'll share this with you as well. Even though I got off of it years ago, I still sometimes stumble a little bit, and I get caught up in these feeds, and it's just pumping your senses with one video after another after another, and it sucks you in.

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Those devices, these media, video games, all of these things are designed to suck you in and to make you an addict.

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Addicted and codependent to those things. But we are called to be not under the influence of anything except God's Spirit.

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Amen? Amen? Now, as for entertainment and music, turn with me now to Psalm 101.

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Psalm 101. We're going to start in verse 2. In Psalm 101, starting in verse 2,

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God's Word says, I will walk, walk, peripateo, this is walk, lifestyle, within my house, in the integrity, blamelessness of my heart.

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I will set, hear this, hear this carefully, see this carefully, I will set no vile, wicked, or worthless thing before my eyes or ears by extension, before my senses.

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That's what he's getting at. I hate the work of those who fall away.

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It shall not cling to me. A crooked heart shall depart from me.

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I will know no evil. Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him

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I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty or proud look and an arrogant heart,

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I will not endure. My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may abide with me.

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It's just like Scripture says in Colossians, set your mind not on earthly things, but on heavenly things.

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Amen? Spiritual things of God. He who walks in the way of the blameless is the one who will minister to me.

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He who practices deceit, on the other hand, shall not dwell within my house.

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He who speaks lies shall not be established before my eyes.

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Amen. So, as you can see, God's word is emphatically, categorically, universally clear.

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The Lord commands us to be strict with our time and our entertainment.

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What we set before ourselves. When we turn the

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TV on. When we turn the music on. When we watch a movie. All of these mediums.

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Scripture says very clearly, I will set no wicked, no vile, no worthless thing before my eyes.

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And not allow it in my house. So, we need to carefully go through our entertainment.

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What do we spend our time doing? How do we entertain ourselves? Are we entertaining ourselves?

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We need to examine ourselves. Amen? Are we entertaining ourselves with ungodly means or entertainment?

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We may need to fast forward, skip ahead, change the channel, or just turn it off.

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Amen? Now, also, another important remedy is to fast and pray when you should and when you need to.

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Especially when you're having trouble resisting temptation or controlling your appetites.

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When you're lacking self -control. When you struggle with self -control. Fasting and prayer is a very important remedy.

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Remember, Jesus did not say if you fast. He said when you fast.

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Amen? Matthew 6 .16. In the Sermon on the Mount. Remember, also, we, like the

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Apostle, must die daily. In 1 Corinthians 15 .31.

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We must deny ourselves, our flesh, daily. Take up our cross daily and follow

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Christ in a life of sanctification and holiness. Abstaining from evil.

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There's the positive, right? There's obeying God positively and obeying God negatively by mortifying, putting to death sin in our lives.

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Abstaining from evil and from sin. Completely. 1

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Corinthians 9 .26 -27 also says,

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Therefore I run in such a way as not without aim or purpose. I box in such a way as not beating the air.

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Not beating nothing. There's a purpose. But I discipline my body.

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My physical body. And make it my slave. I become its master.

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So that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. Paul is talking about denying himself.

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Denying his flesh. And part of those means of denying ourselves is fasting and prayer.

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Okay? We must also be considerate of others' weaknesses.

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Both unbelievers and believers. And not cause them or tempt them to stumble.

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And to see what the Lord says about that, let's go to Romans 14. Sorry, Romans 14, starting in verse 13.

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In Romans chapter 14, verse 13. So I'm going to read verses 13 -15 and then jump over to verse 21.

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Therefore, God's word says, let us not judge one another anymore. But rather judge this.

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Not to put a stumbling block or a fence before a brother. I know and am convinced in the

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Lord that Jesus, of the Lord Jesus, that nothing is defiled in itself. But to him who considers anything to be defiled, to him it is defiled.

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So he's saying, even though it may not be sin, it may be sin to others. That's what he's saying. For if because of food your brother is grieved, you are no longer walking according to love.

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It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

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Amen? Now turn back to Romans 6 with me and we'll finish capturing here what

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God's word says on this issue. In Romans chapter 6, verse 15 -16.

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What then? Shall we sin or continue to sin because we are not under law but under grace?

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May it never be. Never. Do you not know that when you go on presenting yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to whom the one you obey?

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Either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness. Very clear.

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So if we present our members to temptation and to sin, it will lead to disobedience to sin and to death.

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That is why Scripture tells us not to do those things. Do not give the devil an opportunity, especially through your flesh, your senses.

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Remember also that this is a very important principle of the strong man that we now need to turn to in Mark chapter 3.

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It's the principle of the strong man that the Bible refers to, that the Lord Jesus refers to.

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If we turn to Mark chapter 3, starting in verse 23 in the

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Gospel of Mark. The Gospel says, starting in verse 23,

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And he, Jesus, called them to himself and began speaking to them, to the crowd, in parables.

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In fact, he was speaking to his accusers because they were accusing him of being possessed by a demon.

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And Jesus responds, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom is divided against himself, that kingdom cannot stand.

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And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

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And if Satan rises up, has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished.

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This is an important principle to keep in mind after service, when I make the announcement, okay?

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Keep this passage in mind. But no one can enter the strong man's house, listen, this is important, and plunder his property unless he first binds or captures the strong man.

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And then he will plunder his house. Very important lesson that Jesus is teaching us here.

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One of the devil's easiest and most effective devices is to attack the family by creating dysfunction, abuse, trauma, abandonment, rejection, and many of those things in our upbringing, in our youth, in our childhood, in order to make it haunt us for the rest of our lives, to cripple us, and also to make it a generational curse to pass it over to our children.

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If we don't deal with those issues, those are unresolved. If those issues are unresolved, we need to deal with them and get deliverance from them and ask the

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Lord to free us from those burdens and from those trauma and abuses in our youth. All of us have had some form of dysfunction or abuse or trauma or worse.

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All of us. We live in a fallen world. Amen? Our parents were not perfect.

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Even if our parents were believers, the devil can still gain an opportunity and gain a foothold in our lives, especially when we're young because that's when we're most very vulnerable.

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The youth are the most vulnerable. And the devil feeds off of these various kinds of dysfunction.

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He loves it because it gives him a foothold in your life. It gives him an opportunity to mess with you and to change your legacy, to cripple your legacy.

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So it's very important to understand this principle. What this also illustrates, there's a spiritual lesson that has consequences in the natural because this is what

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I basically call the fatherless syndrome. The fatherless syndrome, which is very rampant today in our time.

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Because what happens when the father is not there, is not in the home, he is either there, but he is not actually present, being actively a father and guarding his family and raising them up in the ways of the

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Lord. Or he's just simply not there. You were abandoned. When that happens, fatherlessness is one of the most common problems in our society today.

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And it is the reason for so many of the ailments in our society. Fatherlessness. Because God is our father.

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Fathers are important. Fathers affirm us. They give us our identity. And then when we lack a father, we lack an identity and we look for it in other places where we shouldn't.

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It creates a deficiency. And we start looking for other idols, other people to worship and other idols to validate ourselves.

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That's why men join gangs and women become very sexually deviant because they want a man to affirm them.

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So it's very important. And that's what scripture is talking about.

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When the strong man is bound or taken out of the home, that leaves everybody else vulnerable, including the wife, the spouse.

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But we must remember. We must remember that we have a father in heaven.

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Amen? Who is a father to the fatherless. He is our father.

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So if you did go through those deficiencies, if you did go through those struggles, there is an answer.

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Amen? Jesus is the answer. Our father is the answer. And the church is the answer. The church provides for those means.

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You may not have had a father, but there are strong men in the church that can help to model that and help to mentor us and to help us to come out of that abuse or that trauma.

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If the devil... Now, okay. So if you did struggle with fatherlessness, this can make you more susceptible to attack if you are not careful.

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Because in the home, the father is the protector. When the father is removed or incapacitated or taken out, that leaves the family also spiritually vulnerable to the devil.

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And so you have to be extra careful with what you expose yourself to. That you can be extra sensitive to those things.

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Whereas those of us who did have fathers may not have had that weakness, and so we're able to withstand a little bit more.

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So we have to guard ourselves. Be aware of these things so that you can guard yourself and seek that deliverance that we need to be truly free in Christ.

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Now, this is important. If the devil does gain a foothold and attacks us, which has been going on in our church this very hour, it happens even to believers, it may require spiritual warfare, deliverance, and exorcism, if necessary, to kick him out of our lives.

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This is not something to be afraid of. This is a means God has given us to set us free from demonic oppression.

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And do not be deceived and do not be scared by what you see in horror movies. And do not watch horror movies, please.

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That is the worst thing you can do. One of the worst things you can do. Those are channels for the devil.

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So, because horror movies exaggerate the power of evil. They make evil look overwhelming because they want to scare you.

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They want to make you feel like there's no way out. And they minimize or completely deny the power of God and the authority that believers have in Christ.

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Amen? So, therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

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No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man, because of our flesh.

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But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. He won't allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

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According to 1 Corinthians 10, verses 12 -13. So, the Lord always provides a way out, but we have to take hold of it.

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He always gives us a parachute when we struggle through temptation. He doesn't promise us to keep us away from temptation.

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Jesus was not taken from temptation. He was tempted more than anybody ever has been.

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But He trusted God, and He relied on the Spirit to be delivered from the devil and his temptations.

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Now, of course, the Gospel itself is the most foundational remedy and a powerful reminder of how

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Jesus Christ was rejected and abandoned. He Himself was rejected and abandoned.

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He Himself experienced fatherlessness, because the Lord turned away

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His face, His right hand of blessing, and He poured out

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His wrath, His left hand of cursing, in our stead.

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Why is that? So that we could be accepted and embraced by the

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Father. Amen? Because He was despised and forsaken.

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He was rejected by men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

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And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem

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Him. But surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows

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He carried in His life and on that cross. Yet we ourselves esteemed

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Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions.

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He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace fell upon Him.

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And by His wounds we are healed. Amen?

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That's from Isaiah 53, verses 3 -5. That's why they call Isaiah the fifth gospel.

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Powerful prophetic promises, gospel indicatives, all jam -packed in this chapter and in the book of Isaiah.

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So, by His wounds we are healed from fatherlessness. And all of that trauma, that abuse, that rejection, all of it, we are healed by His stripes, by the gospel, the most foundational of all remedies.

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Amen? Now, wow, this just gets me so excited.

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Our God is an amazing God. Now, thesis number four.

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The devil seeks to ensnare you with bad influences and to isolate you in your weakness.

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Just like a lion. If you've ever seen those nature shows, when you see a lion hunting its prey, it's just like a lion who goes after the weakest or injured animal in the herd that falls behind, that gets away from the pack.

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That's who the devil tries to go after first. In 1 Corinthians 15, verses 33 -34,

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God's word says, Do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals.

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Watch who you hang out with, who you spend time with.

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Become righteously sober -minded and stop sinning. For some have no knowledge of God.

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Literally, that's what the word says. Stop sinning. Do not sin. And I forgot to mention as well,

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I need to clarify a little bit, the issue of demonic possession.

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As believers, we can never be fully possessed by the devil because we have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ.

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But if we have unresolved issues, the devil can still attach himself like a parasite. And he will burrow himself and cause you to sin and to stumble.

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So that may require spiritual deliverance. It's not necessarily in the movies where the head is spinning around and you're climbing up on walls.

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That does happen. I'm not denying that. Slithering like serpents, but that's typically with unbelievers.

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But we just need to be mindful of the enemy. The enemy can invade us.

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He can attack us. We are not completely immune from that. Now, Proverbs 18, verse 1 says,

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He who separates himself, he who isolates himself, seeks his own desire.

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He breaks out in dispute against all sound wisdom. It is so important to not isolate ourselves or to not expose ourselves to bad influences.

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The Bible is very clear. The Word is very clear. What's the remedy then for isolation and for bad influences?

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The remedy is, obviously, to abstain. Stay away from the bad influences. And also, and this includes books that we read too as well.

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You know, all of that is included.

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But, we need God's means of grace. God's means of grace.

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These S's now are for Scripture, preached faithfully, the sacraments, the

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Lord's Supper, baptism, and sage and wise counsel, fellowship, mentorship, counsel.

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In other words, congregate. Fellowship with God's people.

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Go to a sound church and fellowship because we need each other. Humans are social creatures. You know, this will happen to everyone at some point.

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When you isolate a human being, especially like what happens in solitary confinement, when you isolate a human being for extended periods of time, they will go either insane or kill themselves.

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Because humans are not designed to be in isolation.

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We are social creatures. The Lord has made us to be a communal people, a fellowship of people because we are the church.

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Amen? Even the world loves its own. Even the world loves its own.

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What's the saying? Gosh, I forgot the saying. A little leaven leavens a whole lump.

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Sin loves... What is that? Well, that's one.

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But yes, that's true. One rotten apple spoils a bunch. But also, sin loves company.

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Sin loves company. You know, your old friends that are not saved, they'll try to lure you back into your old ways of sinning and whatever else you all did.

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Very important. Now, I had six S's. Now I have three R's. I didn't do this on purpose.

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It just kind of worked out that way. Number one, refuse to be a victim. Number two, repent.

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And number three, be reconciled. Be reconciled. Deal with yourself.

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Be reconciled to God and to anybody else whom you have offended or sinned against. Hebrews...

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Now, let's turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 and we can wrap it up here.

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In Hebrews chapter 10 starting in verse 19.

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God's word says, Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence, confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.

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That's a gospel indicative right there. Powerful. By a new and living way which

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He inaugurated for us through the veil that is His flesh. And since we have a great priest over the house of God, Jesus is our high priest.

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Amen? Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.

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Faith. Powerful gospel promises there. Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

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Amen. Let us hold fast to the confession then of our hope without wavering, without stumbling.

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For He who promised, He who promises faithful, He is faithful even though we may fail.

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And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, good works.

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Not forsaking the assembling together of ourselves, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.

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And all the more as you see the day drawing near. This is why fellowship, church is so important.

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We all need someone to be preached. We need someone to preach to us.

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Amen? God raises up men and calls them to lead churches.

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Because this is how He designed the church to operate. In local churches, in congregating together, in person.

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Amen? COVID church is not real church, y 'all. That doesn't count. That's not real church.

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There is energy. We share each other's spirit and energy when we are around each other.

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There's people that you can sense. You feel energized and they give you energy.

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They build you up. They encourage you. And there's people that also drain the life out of you. We need to watch who those people are.

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And guard our distance from them. And if they are believers, to confront them.

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But this is why it's so important. We need to encourage each other and to warn each other against sin. And to help each other.

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To restore us. To restore each other. When we see each other struggling.

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Amen? So, with that said now, let's go ahead and close this out.

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I'll close this out with a word of prayer. Our gracious Heavenly Father and precious

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Lord, we thank you so much Lord for the blessing of the fellowship of the saints in and by and through your local church,

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Father God. We're so grateful for everything you've done in us and through us. And through this church, Lord.

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We ask that you bless us. That you continue to bless us. And that you continue to equip us, Father God. And to encourage us,

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Lord, in spite of all of these trials and difficulties and hardships. To continue to stand fast and to stand strong.

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Together. To be there for one another. To bear one another's burdens. And to so fulfill the law of love and of Christ.

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In Jesus almighty name. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermons of Thorn Crown Covenant Baptist Church.

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Where the Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is applied to all of faith and life. We strive to be biblical, reformed, historic, confessional, loving, discerning

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Christians who evangelize, stand firm in, and earnestly contend for the Christian faith.

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If you're looking for a church in the El Paso, Texas area, or for more information about our church, sermons, and ministries, such as Semper Reformanda Radio, and Thorn Crown Network Podcast, please contact us at thorncrownministries .com