HopeLives365

Mark Finley: We have it as a promise. If we will draw near to God, He’ll draw near to us. When we seek God, we need to remember that He’s already seeking us. He’s drawing near with heaven’s redeeming grace.

Guest (Male): This is HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today’s message: Living the Christian Life. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with HopeLives365 and Pastor Mark by going to HopeLives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: The year was 1859 and Jean François Gravelet, a Frenchman known professionally as Charles Blondin, became the first daredevil to walk over the Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Five thousand people witnessed this. Nobody in history had ever done it before. They watched with bated breath as the tightrope was stretched over Niagara Falls' gorge, 160 feet below. The raging waters were just beckoning for him to fall in almost.

As he walked across that tightrope, he did it that time, the first time in history, but he did it many other times from 1859 to 1860. One time, he actually walked across pushing a wheelbarrow. Another time, he walked across with a balance pole. Every time he had this balance pole. Another time he walked across and he sat in the middle of the tightrope and cooked an egg. Somebody says, "How did he ever cook an egg?" I don’t know, I just read about it. He cooked an egg.

Probably the most amazing time he ever did it was he walked across the tightrope with his manager on his back. How would you like to have been that manager? You know, there was one thing that this world-famous tightrope walker needed more than anything else, and that was balance. He said if he didn’t have that balance pole, it would have been almost impossible to walk across that tightrope.

If he was out of balance even for a fraction of an inch, he would have fallen to the waters below and plunged to death. One little misstep, one little misstep in his balance, and he would have died very quickly. As I thought about that illustration, what an illustration of the Christian life. We too are walking from here on a tightrope to eternity. And one thing that we need more than anything else is balance.

It’s very possible for the Christian life to get out of balance. What is the balance between human works and God’s grace? What’s the balance between what I do and what God does? What’s the balance in the role of salvation between understanding God’s will and my will in overcoming temptation? I hear from time to time Christians sharing statements that are way out of balance.

I won’t judge their sincerity, but we can be sincere and yet have ideas in our head that are quite faulty and quite detrimental to the Christian life. Let me give you a couple of very common statements that have some truth but have a lot of error in them. First, have you ever heard anybody say you’re struggling with temptation and they say, "Just let go and let God"?

Just let go and let God. Doesn’t that sound good on the surface? But have you ever heard some people say, "All we need to do is get out of the way and let God do it"? It reminds me of the story of the gardener who had this beautiful, well-weeded garden. He worked in his garden every day and picked the weeds. As he did that, he had healthy growing plants.

His neighbor looked across the fence and said, "My, God’s really blessing your garden. Look at my garden, it’s full of weeds. My plants are scrawny, they’re not growing." And his neighbor simply said, "You should have seen my garden when God had it all by Himself." Look, the illustration is obvious. We grow as Christians as we cooperate with God.

There’s a role for human effort in the Christian life. Do not misunderstand me, and I need to make this point: our human effort and our striving has absolutely nothing to do with gaining merit for salvation. Salvation is by grace and grace alone. But to grow in Christ, we have to cooperate with God. My salvation comes freely through Jesus Christ. Salvation comes through the cross of Christ and the atonement.

If I’m going to grow in grace, it’s not simply sitting back and saying, "God’s going to do it all with some kind of magic formula, and all I need to do is let go and let God." No, there’s the role in the Christian life, and I’ll show you that in the Bible on growing in grace. Now, let me give you the exact opposite of this coin, "Let go and let God."

Have you ever heard the saying, "God won’t do what you can do for yourself"? Have you ever heard the saying, "Heaven helps those that help themselves"? Well, that’s half true, but it’s half false because it’s not simply heaven helps those who help themselves. It’s heaven helps us before we ever help ourselves. It’s heaven helps us when we’re not really helping ourselves. It’s heaven helps us to make choices to help ourselves.

So where do I find this balance? What’s the problem with this idea that God won’t do what you can do for yourself? In other words, that kind of thinking is to work out your own salvation. It’s a human work. Grit your teeth, clinch your fist, steel your will, and you’ll be victorious. The idea here is that we grow in grace by the sheer force of the will, and that’s false. That’s certainly not true.

Each of these statements has some truth, but they are really unbalanced statements. The person who says let go and let God fails to understand the role of grace in the Christian life. The person who says God won't do what you can do for yourself fails to understand the power of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. You see, we need both sides of that coin. Saved by grace but cooperating with God in the Christian life and growth.

There’s one thing for certain: the Bible admonishes us to grow in grace daily. In fact, the truth of the matter is we are either growing or we’re dying. We’re either moving forward in the Christian life or we’re sliding backward. We’re either drawing nearer to Jesus each day or we’re slipping further from Him. There’s no plateau. The Bible talks about growing in grace in 2nd Peter chapter 3, verses 17 and 18.

Here the scripture talks to us about the necessity or the need of growing in grace. We are looking at the second chapter of Peter, chapter 3, verse 17 and 18: "You therefore, beloved, since you know these things beforehand, beware." Now when God says beware, that’s typically quite important. "Lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away into the error of the wicked."

Peter is writing to the Christian church. What does he say? He says, "Beware, lest you fall away from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked." But he says in verse 18, "Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."

Here the apostle tells us that the way that we overcome is to continue to grow in grace. But that leads to some questions. How do we grow in grace? What are the spiritual secrets of the overcomers? Why do some people struggle so much and other people seem to live quite victorious Christian lives? What’s the role of God’s grace in overcoming temptation, and what’s the role of our will in cooperating with God?

The answer to that question is found in James chapter 4. James chapter 4 will be our primary study this morning. James chapter 4, verses 7 and 8. There are three phrases here that are the three essential secrets of growing as a Christian. Do you want to grow as a Christian? Do you want to sense day by day that being saved by grace, guided by the spirit, you are cooperating with God in Christian growth?

James chapter 4, verse 7 and 8: "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Notice three things. What are the three things you see in that text? The three imperatives. The first one is what? Submit to God. What’s the second? Resist the devil. What’s the third? Draw near to God.

Let’s look at those three and unpack them. What does it mean to submit to God? The first secret in overcoming is submit our will to God’s will. The initiative in the plan of salvation always comes from God. It’s based on God’s love for us, His desire to save us. It’s the Holy Spirit that draws us to Christ. It’s the Holy Spirit that convicts us of some sin in our life. It’s the Holy Spirit that impresses us to do right.

Before we ever come to God to confess a single sin, the Spirit’s already working in our life. Before we ever come to God to come to the point of repentance, it’s the Spirit that brings us conviction.

Guest (Male): You’re listening to HopeLives365. We’ll be right back. And if you like what you’re hearing, we invite you to check out our website, HopeLives365.com. There you can find many ministry resources, encouraging messages, and even a link to our HopeLives365 YouTube ministry. And of course, an opportunity to sow into this valuable ministry. Find out more by going to HopeLives365.com. That’s HopeLives365.com. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: So who is it that always takes the initiative in our salvation? It’s God. He does that. But what is our role? Our role is to what, everybody? What does that first phrase say? Our role is to submit our will to God. What does submission to God mean? It means that in every aspect of our life, we desire Jesus to govern our choices, guide our decisions, and impress our minds.

Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life. The Holy Spirit convicts us. God takes the initiative in our salvation. He begins to stir our hearts with some area of our life that’s not in harmony with God. But our role is to submit the will to God. Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life. By yielding up your will, that’s submitting to God to Christ, you ally yourself with the power that’s above all principalities and powers.

You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast, and thus through constant surrender to God, you’ll be enabled to live the new life, even the life of faith. Notice we do not overcome by willpower. We overcome by what? God’s power. But as the old preacher used to say, "We can’t do it without God and God won’t do it without us."

The Holy Spirit impresses our conscience, but we must choose to submit that thing to God. We must choose to submit to God’s will before lasting change can take place. When guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we surrender to God’s will. He then supplies the power for us to be overcomers.

There’s an old African proverb that I love. Many of you know that one of the favorite places I have to preach, other than HopeLives365, is in Africa. Love to preach in the African nights, and I love African proverbs. When I get around my African friends, I say, "Tell me an African proverb." Here’s a marvelous African proverb: the barber can’t shave your head unless you sit in his chair. Don’t you like that? The barber can’t shave your head unless you sit in his chair.

In other words, if I want to be an overcomer of temptation, I submit to God and do not allow the devil to shave my head. In other words, I say, "Lord, my life is submitted to You and I’m not going anywhere near that barber’s chair." Therefore submit to God. What does it mean? It means to order yourself under God. It means to surrender to Him as the conquering King. It means to start receiving benefits of His reign.

Charles Spurgeon was a great English preacher, and Spurgeon would shock you with what he would say. He called his audiences to repentance and confession. He didn’t preach soft, accommodating sermons that made people simply feel good and have a warm fuzzy when they left. Spurgeon’s sermons drove people to their knees in repentance and confession. The amazing thing was that his church was always packed because people were growing in the Christian life.

Spurgeon was preaching one day about submitting to God, and this is what he said. He said, "It’s a wonder that the world does not submit to God. I have heard much of the rights of man, but it were well also to consider the rights of God, which are the first, highest, surest, and most solemn rights in the universe and lie at the base of all other rights."

"Alas, Great God, how art thou a stranger even in the world which you yourself have made." Then Spurgeon goes on. "Your creatures, who could not see if you had not given them eyes, look everywhere except to you. Creatures who could not think if you had not given them minds, think of all things except you. And beings who could not live if you did not keep them in being, forget you utterly. Oh, if they remember your existence and see your power, they are foolhardy enough to become your foes."

Spurgeon speaks. He said, "Look, God’s given you a mind to think. God’s given you eyes to see. God’s given you ears to hear and not to submit to Him is the height of folly. It is the essence of foolhardiness." Then Spurgeon went on to say, "If God were a tyrant, it might be courageous to resist. But since He is a Father, it is ungrateful to rebel."

He’s our loving Father. He impresses us with His Spirit. He convicts us of sin. He invites us to come to Him in repentance, and then as we submit our will to Him, He empowers us. Why should we submit to God? I submit there are at least five reasons we should submit to God.

First, we should submit to God because He created us. He made us. We did not choose to live, we are not our own. Secondly, we should submit to God because His rule is good for us. He wants only the best for us in life. Thirdly, we should submit to God because all resistance to Him is absolute folly. Fourthly, we should submit to God because such submission is absolutely necessary for salvation. Fifthly, we should submit to God because it’s the only way to have peace with God.

If you’re battling against God, if you’re not submitting to God in every choice you make in life, there’s no peace inside. But when you submit to God’s will, that brings great peace inside. When I submit to God, what do I get? I get His power, His grace. He leads me to penitence. He places inclinations to right in my life. He pardons my sins. He presents His righteousness before the throne of God for me.

If you would gather up all that is holy, all that is noble and lovely in man, then present the subject to the angels of God as acting a part in the salvation of a human soul or in merit, the proposition would be rejected as treason. If you can get all the righteousness in you, all the merit in you, all the goodness in you without submitting to God, and then all that righteousness, all that goodness, all that merit, if that were presented to the angels, it would be counted as treason.

It’s Christ that died. Christ that lived. Christ that saves us. Christ that intercedes for us. Christ that strengthens us. Christ that empowers us. Christ that impresses us by His spirit to do right because it is right. What is our role? Our role is to yield to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, to submit our wills to God, make a conscious choice to resist the devil’s temptations.

That leads us to the second step in this process of overcoming. What’s the first step everybody? Submit to God. What does James say is the second step? Resist the devil. Our work is to resist the devil. Not to be overwhelmed by his power, not to be filled with doubt about the possibility of overcoming, not to cower in fear because of our weakness.

We can rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit, recognizing that Jesus has never lost a battle with Satan yet. What does it mean to resist? How do you resist? When I submit my soul to God, when I submit to God in every choice I make, when I submit to God in every decision of my mind, when I say resist, is that just gritting your clinched fists and saying, "Okay God, I’ve submitted, now I’m resisting"? Not at all.

There is only one way which by which we can do this, and that is by faith. So I resist Satan when he tempts me by faith, taking Christ as our helper and pleading with Him for strength. When Satan suggests doubt to our soul, when he tells us that we are too unworthy, too sinful to realize the blessing of God, present Christ before him as your advocate and Savior.

When I’m feeling weak, when the temptations seem to be overwhelming, I resist by facing Satan head-on and saying, "Jesus is my advocate, Jesus is my Savior." Tell him you know that you are a sinner, but that Christ came to seek and save that which is lost. He came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Repeat His promises.

When I’m tempted, when we’re tempted and we’ve submitted our will to God, how do we resist the devil? By repeating the promises of God. What promises should we repeat? "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6, verse 37. Repeat this promise: "Let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me and he shall make peace with me." Isaiah 27, verse 5.

Let’s open our Bible. You see it on the screen, but I want you to see it in the text. When the devil comes, once we’ve submitted to God, how do we resist the devil? We face his temptations head-on. We face his temptations in the power of Christ with the word of God. Did Jesus do that when He was tempted in the wilderness? Did He face Satan’s temptations with the word of God? Isaiah 27, verse 5: "Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me."

God invites us to take hold of His strength, to repeat the promises of God. "Whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing you shall receive." So in the midst of temptation, in the midst of Satan’s insinuations leading us to evil, we repeat the promises of God’s word. "Let him take hold of my strength." We come to Christ in prayer with His promises.

We quote Matthew 21:22: "Whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing you shall receive." Be simplehearted enough. I don’t have to reason myself out of God’s hand. Be simplehearted enough to believe these promises of God. When Satan comes to you and tells you that because you are unhappy, perplexed, and troubled you are not a child of God, do not become discouraged for one moment. But gird up the loins of your mind. Let your heart rest in God. He has promised that if you come to Him, you shall find rest to your soul. If you have done this, rest assured that He will fulfill His word.

Guest (Male): You’ve been listening to HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at HopeLives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to HopeLives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.

Mark Finley: The devil’s going to do everything he can to knock you off balance. But the moment we sense his attack through temptation is the moment that we face it and deal with it for what it is. How do we resist the devil? We resist the devil by making a resolute choice to trust the promises of God rather than our own feelings, our own weakness, our own inadequacy, our own failure. The weakest believer who faces Satan with the promises of God will be victorious.