From His Heart

Speaker 1

Today on, From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, we continue to learn how to have victory in life.

Speaker 2

How can you walk in victory over the giant of evil desires? The poem says this: Two natures dwell within my breast. One is foul, the other blessed. One I love and one I hate, but the one I feed will dominate.

That's so very true. Listen, if you'll start feeding your inner man, you'll start feeding the spirit. You'll start to get strong in the spirit.

It gives you power. It gives you strength to fight the battle with the giant of evil desires.

Speaker 3

He can heal every scar with real truth, real love, real hope from his heart.

Speaker 1

Do you struggle with evil desires? Do you try to defeat them, but you fail over and over? Are you exhausted from losing the battle? So many times have you lost hope? This battle against evil desires repeats itself over and over again in our lives. But maybe, just maybe, you're not able to fight the good fight because you're starving the spirit of God that is in you. Could that be the case in you?

This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. And today we're gonna learn exactly how to starve the flesh and feed the spirit in the lesson entitled "The Giant of Evil Desires." Now, this is part two of the message we began last time. But you can listen to part one if you missed it and also download the broadcast, or any broadcast for that matter, free, along with Pastor Jeff's sermon notes.

When you go to promisheart.org, click the listen link. Open your Bible now to 1 Chronicles, chapter 20, as Pastor Jeff begins our lesson that'll help us defeat these distressing evil desires.

Speaker 2

Hey. Do you struggle with the ungodly cravings of the flesh? Do you struggle with lust, sexual immorality, desiring that you feel that pull within you for those things? Do you struggle with the desire for pleasure, the desire for fame and for acclaim? May I answer that for you? Yes, you do. I struggle with that. Every Christian struggles with that. And maybe you're failing in the area of drugs. You're failing in the area of pornography. Maybe you're failing in the area of gluttony. Maybe you're failing in the area of jealousy. Whatever it might be, it's the giant that's killing you. It's the giant of evil desires. And God wants to teach us today how to walk in victory over that giant.

First Chronicles, chapter 21, verse 5. Scripture says this: "And there was war with the Philistines again. And Elhanan, the son of Jair, killed Lami, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam." This is now the fourth giant that the Bible talks about that David and his kingdom are facing. He's a big dude, and his name is interesting: Lami. His name, according to Strong's Concordance, literally means "foodful." Lami has an appetite. Lami pictures the ungodly cravings and appetites of the flesh. That's what we want to talk about today.

Hey. Do you struggle with the ungodly cravings of the flesh? How can we defeat the giant of evil desires? Three key steps to victory.

Step number one: recognize the enemy. Now, in our passage in 1 Chronicles, chapter 20, the enemy's name, the giant's name, was Lami—Foodful. But I think the pronunciation of the name is interesting. Lami, the emphasis on "me," the giant that you and I face of evil desire, is "me." It's the enemy within. It's that part of me and that part of you that wants to do what is wrong, what God says don't do. And the Bible has a term for this. It calls that part of you the flesh.

But listen, for a Christian, a true child of God, they feel that struggle, that tension between the flesh and the spirit, that tension for control. Now, in 1 Chronicles 20, verse 5, when Elhanan is going up against Lami, the scripture clearly says, "And there was war with the Philistines again." You know one thing about this battle with the flesh: you battle it all the time. It's again and again and again and again and again and again and again. And there was war with the Philistines again. That word "again" in Hebrew means there's a continuity. It just keeps going. It's like a broken record. That's the way it is with the flesh. It's something that you're gonna battle with again and again and again. So the first step in gaining victory is to recognize the enemy.

Step number two: not only do you recognize the enemy, but then you remember the cross. Well, what happened on the cross? Jesus was crucified on the cross. Jesus died on the cross. Yes, that's right. And not only did Jesus die on the cross, not only was Jesus crucified, but so were you. The moment that you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you were crucified too. Paul says in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." Crucified.

But now, when the flesh—when we talk about the flesh being dead—the flesh is not dead and gone. It's still there with us, still has a pull. Although there's no more power, we don't have to obey the flesh. There's still a pull to the flesh. That's just the way we're wired. See, the old flesh is dead, but it's not gone. And when the Bible says it's dead, what that means is it's rendered powerless. You see that again in verses 6 and 7 of Romans 6. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. You don't have to obey the lust of the flesh anymore because that's not in power in your life. That has been taken out, that's been crucified, it's been rendered powerless, has no more authority over you.

And so the scripture says, because that's true, consider yourselves dead to sin. You are dead. That's true on paper, but now you have to consider yourselves dead. You have to remind yourself that you're dead. You don't put yourselves in a position to be tempted. That's why the Bible says, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh with regard to its lusts." Don't put yourself in a position to be tempted. Stay away from that. But remember, you are dead and the flesh has no more power over you. The flesh is dead. It's not gone; it is powerless. It's not voiceless.

See, the flesh can still bark out orders: "Hey, do this, do that. Hey, you don't want just one dessert; you want five desserts. Hey, why don't you sit down on the Internet and surf the web and see what kind of stuff we can bring up that would satisfy me and gratify me?" That's the stuff that the flesh says: "Hey, why don't you go to that party and get drunk? Because that's what I wanna do." You still hear that voice, even as a Christian?

I think one of the best illustrations I've ever heard on this point about the flesh being rendered powerless but not voiceless had to do with being on a ship. Picture yourself. You're on a ship. You are part of a crew. And the captain of the ship is a mean, cruel, evil, horrible person. He makes you do terrible, horrible things that make you feel so ashamed after you do them. But you have no power; he's in charge. Well, one day there's a mutiny on the ship, and he is taken out of the way. He is tied up. There's a new captain now. And this new captain is wonderful. He makes you feel so good, and he is for you. He has everything good for you.

Well, you love that new captain. You love your new life. But what happened to the old captain? Well, he's tied up; he's taken out of the way. They hoisted him up on the mast so he can't bother you anymore. He can't control you anymore. But when they tied him up and put him on the mast, someone forgot to gag him. So he can still talk to you. He can still bark out orders to you. He can still say, "Do this, do that, do the other." And you hear that voice. And you're so conditioned to obeying that voice that you think, "Oh, I need to do this. I need to do that." And you have to remind yourself, "Hey, wait a minute. You're not over me anymore. You don't have any power in my life anymore. I don't answer to you anymore. I have a new master. I have a new captain. And I don't have to listen to your commands anymore."

See, that's the picture of the crucified flesh. It's powerless, but it's not voiceless. And you and I don't have to obey.

How can you walk in victory over the giant of evil desires? Over this giant called Lami? Number one, you recognize the enemy. Number two, you remember the cross. And step number three: you rely on the Lord. Rely on the Lord.

Now, this is so beautifully pictured in the book of Romans. In Romans 6, Romans 7, and Romans 8, Paul lays out this whole process of walking with God. He says in Romans 6, "Hey, you've been crucified with Christ. Your old self is crucified. Consider yourself dead. You don't have to obey the lust of the flesh anymore." And then in Romans 7, he said, "Yeah, but we have to be honest. We have to talk turkey here. You still have this battle that goes on inside." And Paul said, "I struggle with that battle. There's evil present in me." He gets so exasperated with it. He says in Romans chapter seven, "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" Oh, I just wish I didn't have this struggle any longer.

John MacArthur, in his commentary on Romans chapter 7, verse 24, says something very interesting. You know, Paul was from Tarsus. He said, "When Paul laments, 'Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?' I think Paul was thinking about a tribe that lived near Tarsus, and they had a very gruesome way that they would deal with convicted murderers. They would take the body of the murder victim and strap it to the murderer—shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, back to back, leg to leg. And they would strap the dead body to the murderer in a way that you couldn't free that body from the murderer. And then they would send the murderer out connected and strapped to a dead body."

He said, "I think that's the picture that Paul had. Paul says, 'Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?'" Hey, listen, you get set free from the body of this death—totally free from the self, life, the flesh, from the struggle within—when you go to heaven and you're glorified. You have a glorified body; then you're not gonna have to deal with that anymore. But as long as you live on this earth, you're gonna have to do battle with Lami all the time. Because the flesh is dead, but it's not gone.

And so in Romans 6, Paul says, "The flesh is dead." In Romans 7, "Yeah, but I struggle with the flesh." And then in Romans 8, he said, "But there's the Holy Spirit. There's the power of the Spirit within me, and that is the way that I can walk in victory." You rely on the Lord and you yield control to the Holy Spirit. That's the key to victory. Not only do I know I don't have to obey the flesh, but there's a power within me to keep me pleasing God, walking with God, obeying God. I can't do that in and of myself. You can't do that in and of yourself. Paul couldn't do it in and of himself. But the Lord who lives in me can live through me, and he can do it.

That's why the Bible says in Galatians 5:16, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." To walk by the Spirit, to yield your life to the Spirit, to be filled with God's Spirit. See, what is the battle within between the flesh and the Spirit? It's a battle for control. It's a battle for the throne of your life. Who's gonna be in charge? Who's gonna call the shots? Who's going to be the boss?

I talked to a friend of mine just the other day. I was talking to him about playing golf. I said, "Hey, do you want to play golf this Friday?" And he said, "I'd really like to play, but I need to talk to the boss." Well, obviously, he meant his wife, right? I don't know if his wife's really the boss, but he just said that he needed to talk to the boss because they were supposed to go out of town and take care of grandkids. So he had to talk to the boss.

Now, my friend is wise, and he has learned the proverb that every man needs to learn: when mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. So you gotta know that. And so he had to talk with her. He had to make sure he wasn't gonna commit himself to something that was gonna cause trouble if she had already said, "Hey, we're gonna be in a different city at 3 o'clock Friday afternoon." So he had to talk to the boss.

I thought about that: had to talk to the boss. Well, for a Christian who has yielded to the Lord, our boss is Jesus Christ. When the Lord is really in charge, your boss is Jesus Christ. And everything you do in life, you can't do until you clear it with the boss. Every action you do, "Wait, I gotta talk to the boss." Every thought you think. The Bible says, "Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." I gotta talk to the boss. I can't think this thought unless I talk to the boss. I can't let this thought come in and get into my mind unless it clears the boss. Everything goes by the boss. He's in charge of me.

That's what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Let him be the boss. And everything goes by the boss. "Lord, I want to think your thoughts. Lord, I want to do what you want me to do. Lord, it's not my will, but it's yours that I want to have done." Why? Because you're the boss. You died for me, Lord Jesus; you're the boss. You know what's best for me. Lord Jesus, you're the boss. Now, I want to follow you.

When the scripture says that there's a struggle, there's a war between the flesh and the Spirit, I know that I'm talking to people, and lots of you are saying, "I want the Lord to be the boss. I want to do what God says. I don't want to live a life that's rooted in the flesh and that's doing all the deeds of the flesh and that's displeasing to God. I want to please God." That's what Paul's desire was. He said, "I want to do what's right, but I'm struggling with how."

Is there anything else, Jeff, that I'm supposed to do other than yielding to the Lord? There's one other very important thing. If you want to walk in victory, you need to be careful about which one you feed: the flesh or the Spirit.

Speaker 1

You're listening to the message the Giant of Evil desires on from His Heart today with Pastor Jeff Shreve. And he'll return in just a moment to explain this last very, very important truth.

But first, we wanted to take just a quick minute to thank you for listening and for praying and financially supporting this ministry. We truly could not be on the air were it not for faithful support from those who listen, who are blessed by this ministry. And then they want to become involved in an outreach that is changing lives.

This month, in cooperation with Pray.com, we're launching an initiative to translate all of our daily radio programs and the weekly TV broadcast as well into Spanish and Portuguese. Spanish is the second most spoken native language in the world, with approximately 600 million people worldwide speaking it, and about 275 million speak Portuguese. That means we'll be able to share Jesus with about 3/4 of a billion people. And we're excited about that.

But it also takes resources. As a listener-supported ministry from which Pastor Jeff receives no income, we'll need your help as God speaks to your heart to have an impact on these people groups.

This month, with the Gift from His Heart, we'd like to say thank you by sending you Pastor Jeff's seven-lesson series, the Land of the Giants, and his booklet, When You Don't Like Yourself. To get these resources and impact the world, make that gift today when you call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromhisheart.org.

Now let's conclude the message. The Giant of Evil desires. Here again is Pastor Jeff.

Speaker 2

I believe it was Tim LaHaye who said he was teaching a Bible study of some fairly new believers. He was talking to them about Galatians 5, about walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. He was discussing the battle within. One guy said, "I get it. I see it now." He explained, "Dr. LaHaye, it's like this. It's like within me there's a white dog and a black dog, and they are struggling for control. The white dog is obviously good. The black dog is obviously evil." He continued, "And they're struggling within me. I see it now." Tim LaHaye then asked, "Well, who wins that struggle?" The man replied, "It's the one that I feed the most."

See, you can feed the flesh or you can feed the spirit. So much of the time, we feed the flesh, and then we wonder, "Why am I always losing in my battle with the flesh?" Because you're feeding the flesh. You're letting things go in your eyes that are defeating you. You're allowing things to enter your ears that are defeating you. You're not saying, "Lord, can I look at this?" You're not checking with the boss before you rent that video or look up things on the Internet. You're not checking with the boss before you listen to your friend tell you about this juicy piece of gossip she has. "Oh, so what does the boss say about that?" Don't listen to that junk. You're not checking with the boss before you listen to certain things on the radio or before you download certain things and put them on your iPod.

See, we just allow ourselves to get hammered by the flesh because we feed the flesh so much. The Bible says, "Don't do that. Don't do that. Feed the flesh, feed the spirit." That's why it's so important to have time with the Lord. That's why it's so important to have a quiet time. We talk about that. What's a quiet time? It's just time with God. It's time where you read His word and say, "Lord, speak to me." It's time where you open your heart to Him, deal with sin in your life, and talk to the Lord out of your heart.

It's so important to hear good music, music that praises God. It'll lift your spirit. God inhabits the praises of His people. It's good to memorize Scripture. Why? Because the Bible says in Psalm 119, verse 11, "Thy word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against thee." See, all those things feed the inner man. They feed the spirit within. They give you power and strength to fight the battle with the giant of evil desires.

The poem says this: "Two natures dwell within my breast. One is foul, the other blessed. One I love and one I hate, but the one I feed will dominate." That's so very true. Listen, if you'll start feeding your inner man, you'll start feeding the spirit. You'll begin to get strong in the spirit. You'll be one who is mighty inside—a man, a woman, a boy, or a girl of character who's able to stand strong, be courageous, and take a stand for what is right.

And when the flesh says, "Do this, do that," you say, "No, I'm not under your management. I don't have to listen to you. Lord, you control me. Lord, you give me the victory." Listen, La Mi is a big giant, but the Lord is greater, and His power within you is greater. Victory is won when you remember, "I have been crucified with Christ, and the Lord lives inside of me, and I surrender to the power of His Spirit."

Speaker 1

Have you been crucified with Christ? The things Pastor Jeff has been talking about in this message are for believers in Christ only. Because the only way to experience victory over evil desires is to have Christ living in your heart. If you know that you've never given your heart to Jesus or you're not sure you are a Christian, you can do that. Today. You'll not only receive eternal life, but you'll begin to experience the victory over the flesh that Pastor Jeff has been talking about.

If that is your desire, we invite you to go to our website at promisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" link. It will walk you through these questions: Questions like, "Who is Jesus?" "But I'm a good person, isn't that enough?" and "What is God's will for your life?" We’ll have a lot of free downloads for you too. Again, that is the "Why Jesus" link on our homepage at fromhisheart.org.

We also want to close the broadcast today with a scripture of encouragement to you if evil desires are hindering your walk with God. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind, and God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." What a glorious verse!

Thank you for joining us today, and we invite you to be with us again next time as Pastor Jeff brings the final message this month that continues to tackle the giants in our lives. Be with us for the lesson on how to defeat the giant of strongholds. That's on Monday when Pastor Jeff Shreve will open up God's Word and share real truth, real love, and real hope. From his heart.

Speaker 3

There is tremendous truth There is hope that you always dream Love we can heal every scars of truth Real love we.

Speaker 1

From his heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world.

Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

Find out more when you go to fromisheart.org.