Insight for Living

Guest (Male): Churches and Christian organizations in the United States recognize January as the Sanctity of Life Month. And today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll concludes our four-part series on this important topic. Here is the truth: winning the cultural war to protect human life is not fought in public debate alone. It is won in the private battles within every believer’s heart.

The enemy wages war in subtle, invisible ways, targeting our resolve when we are alone and vulnerable. But God has not left us defenseless. In this study, Chuck provides five critical resolutions that will equip us for the battles ahead.

Chuck Swindoll: Psalm 102, if you read the superscript, we are told it is a prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord. There is a loss of self-respect. Look at how he refers to himself: "I resemble a pelican in the wilderness. I have become like an owl in waste places. And worst of all, I am like a little lonely bird on a housetop." I talked to men last week like that. Not all of them, and maybe not even most in places of leadership today are like that, but I want to assure you many are like that.

I do not know when my heart has been so moved over those who have God's message and have the position and the authority to declare it, and they are not doing it because of such distress. Look at verse 11: "My days"—another analogy—"are like a lengthened shadow," and he repeats it, "I wither away like grass." Oh, loss of determination. He is being eaten alive with anxiety.

Psalm 109 is a similar sounding Psalm. Again, now it is from David, but similar scenery: "O God of my praise, do not be silent," he says. Have you ever begun a prayer like that? "Lord, listen up. Lord, listen, listen! I care about this, God. Don't turn your back on me. Do not ignore me, Lord." That is the passion of verse 1: "O God of my praise, do not be silent." The implication is: speak, enter into my world.

And here he realizes the causes of those losses we just thought about. They, the ubiquitous they. There are always those people, those sources of discouragement. We all have them. "For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue." Remember his command: do not be silent, Lord; listen to where I am.

They have surrounded me also with words of hatred and fought against me without cause. In return for my love, they have accused me. I am in prayer about it. Thus they have repaid me evil for good, hatred for love. Lord, do not be silent. I am withering under the accusations and under the evil and hateful attacks. Speak, Lord, enter in, act, defend.

One more, Psalm 120. Again, there is no author named, but it is yet another plea. The writer is in trouble and he admits it. One of the wonderful things about prayer is you can tell it all and nobody will tell. God will not tell anybody. You can unload your heart and He will hear, accept, understand, and renew.

He says, "In my trouble I cried to the Lord." Now he says He answered me. "Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips"—that is plural—"and from a deceitful tongue"—I take it literally, that is singular. One deceitful tongue has created numerous lying lips who believe the deception. And now I am the victim of the verbal assaults.

"What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? Sharp arrows of the warrior with the burning coals of the broom tree. Woe is my situation. Woe is me. For I sojourn in Meshech, I dwell among the tents of Kedar. And too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who hate peace." Look at that.

I am called to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. I am called to be a man or a woman, a leader of peace. But there are those that want to fight. They want war. Look at the last verse: "I am for peace, but when I speak, they want to fight. They are for war." Tragic stories.

It made me appreciate all over again this great church God has raised up and has maintained over the years. Why would His favor rest on us like this? He is in a situation where he speaks for peace and Shalom is his theme, but he is surrounded by those who want to fight back. They want to wrestle. They want to bear arms.

I do not know what all of this is saying to you, but you cannot deny the scenery is stormy and the battle is raging. And it occurred to me that it is time for some strong resolve. As I said earlier, we cannot just sort of sail and drift aimlessly and expect to do much that will change much. The idea of resolutions is nothing new. Jonathan Edwards, 1703 to 1758—listen to those dates—from the early to the mid-18th century, this strong philosopher-theologian, this preacher of grace set forth resolves.

Listen to a few of his: "Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God and my own good, profit, and pleasure in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved, to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.

Resolved, never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life. Resolved, never to do anything out of revenge." It continues: "Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone so that it shall tend to his dishonor more or less upon no account except for some real good." You know what I am talking about in these resolutions I want to suggest. I am talking about your character.

I am talking about being people of character even more than reputation. John Wooden, former coach of the UCLA Bruin basketball team for so many championship years, writes: "Care more about your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are. Your reputation is only what people think about you." I want you to care about your character more than your reputation. And I think these strong resolutions will help make it happen.

You may not be the type to write things down and I understand if you are not, but if you are, I suggest you locate a blank page in the front or back of your Bible and put at the top of it, in your own writing: Strong Resolutions. And I want to suggest, with the little time I have left, five statements that I want to resolve before you. And I will ask nothing of you that I will not give myself to with equal vigor and commitment.

First, resolved: to be alert to the presence of evil and the strategy of the adversary. I am resolved to be alert to the presence of evil and the strategy of the adversary. Admittedly, I know much of what we face does not come directly from the devil. But I want to assure you most of it, if not all indirectly, is from the pit of hell, which wants nothing more than to demoralize and discourage and discredit every one of us, myself included.

He is the original murderer, the first deceiver. He is subtle, he is invisible, he masks and masquerades. He has insidious plans. His strategies are clever, may I even say brilliant, more than you and I would ever imagine. Be alert to his presence and to the ugly workings of evil. I so resolve. Second, resolved: to stay fervent in prayer.

I want to make that resolution public so that you can hold me accountable. I want to be more a minister of prayer than I have ever been. I resolve—you, if you are with me, resolve—to stay fervent in prayer. Let me add a thought to that: not hesitating to call down supernatural assistance. Not hesitating to call down supernatural assistance and, when necessary, divine discipline.

To stay fervent in prayer and to call down supernatural assistance without hesitation and, when necessary, divine discipline. All the way through the Psalms, I read courageous words, strong words. In fact, you would think the man wrote them out of sheer anger as he commands in prayer. He commands God to silence the enemy, to confuse the chronic complainer and critic.

To remove the cause of unrest, to make miserable the one who makes war. Those are strong prayers. And let us make the decade that will follow this year a decade of passionate petition and courageous intercession. Let us fight our best battles on our knees. Rather than becoming better at debate and more clever in our sarcasm, and if you are in ministry, using the pulpit as your favorite hammer, let us drop to our knees and do our best work on our knees.

And if it is some great cause, if it is some great vision, if it is some great concern—whether it be worldwide or in your own tiny cubicle of life—take it first to God. To stay fervent in prayer through the decade. Third, resolved: to refuse to retaliate in the energy of the flesh. I so resolve. To refuse to retaliate, to take our own revenge in the energy of the flesh. When I am swung at, the great tendency is to swing back. I was taught how to do that.

It comes naturally and so it is with most of you. The adversary loves it when we take him on one-on-one. He loves that. Remember the story I told you sometime ago about the man who had listened to me preach on another occasion and he had come to know Christ? Early on, he gave me a phone call and he said, "I just want to tell you, Chuck, I am a new Christian and I am ready for the devil one-on-one."

Oh boy, I said, "Wait, wait, no. Do not kid yourself." Well, he called me just the other day—it has been several years now—and he says, "Chuck, remember me? I am the one who called you and said..." I said, "Yeah, I remember." He says, "I am not ready to take the devil on one-on-one." I said, "You have learned." He said, "Have I learned." That is like my taking on Larry Bird one-on-one in a game of basketball. Why are you laughing? Or Michael Jordan.

You know who I need to take on Larry Bird? I need a substitute. I need Magic Johnson who could beat both of them at the same time. One-on-one, he certainly could win, but I could not hold a candle. I could get two dribbles and watch them do a layup. I cannot do it because they are better, they are stronger, they are taller, they are more capable, more gifted. And so is your adversary.

If you attempt to retaliate in the energy of the flesh, you will experience defeat again and again. Joseph would not do it with his brothers. David would not do it with Saul. Paul would not do it with Alexander the Coppersmith. His last lines in the dungeon: "Lord, you take care of Alexander the Coppersmith. He has been misery to me in the ministry." It does not mean at times you will not confront. And it does not mean that you do not as a leader at times have to do a strong thing and make tough decisions.

But it means you are not by nature a fighter. You are by nature one who substitutes when you know you are outmanned. How important to stay accountable. Not to live our lives as Christian lone rangers. Not to think we can handle whatever pressure comes. We cannot. We are inadequate. So we resolve to refuse to retaliate in the energy of the flesh.

Listen to the Living Bible's rendering of Psalm 5, verses 8 to 10. Just sit and listen: "Lord, lead me as you promised you would, otherwise my enemies will conquer me. Tell me clearly what to do, which way to turn. For they cannot speak one truthful word. Their hearts are filled to the brim with wickedness. Their suggestions are full of the stench of sin and death. Their tongues are filled with flatteries to gain their wicked ends."

"O God, hold them responsible. Catch them in their own traps. Let them fall beneath the weight of their own transgressions, for they rebelled against you." What wise perspective. The enemies of righteousness are not your enemies; they are enemies of God. He can handle them. Let Him. Tell Him. Release them to Him. The devil is given an advantage whenever we retaliate in the flesh and he comes in like a flood.

Fourth, resolved: to refuse to slacken, surrender, or quit the path of obedience, no matter how intense the pressure. To refuse to slacken, surrender, or quit the path of obedience, no matter how intense the pressure. It is so easy to agree to this and think: yeah, that is us. We are all sitting together hovered around this same book.

But I will tell you when it is Tuesday afternoon in the middle of June and you feel all alone, or you are thousands of miles from home and a temptation drops in your lap, I will tell you it is another story unless this is your strong resolve. Ours has become a soft generation, men and women. A generation of greed. A generation of self-satisfaction. For whatever reason, we are now more prone to give up or take a path of least resistance.

Many of us raised by work ethic parents picked up a work ethic mentality, but our kids have not. And the whole idea of hard work at tough times and standing like a steer in a blizzard at cold times, or against all odds at tempting times, is foreign to many in our times. Chances are good our children are weaker than we are. And alas, some of them have learned it from us.

Let us take on resolve. Let us stop the whole idea of "if it is uncomfortable, then just do not pursue; if it might offend someone, then do not make waves." No. Obedience is a lonely path. Let us walk it together. Let us determine today to walk it together. I hope you can say as you watch my life and as you hear my words and as you read what I write in the coming decade, I hope you can say, "There is a man who has not slackened or surrendered or quit the path of obedience." I hope that. I so resolve.

Fifth and finally, resolved: to seek to glorify the Lord God and trust the Word of God regardless. To seek to glorify the Lord God and trust the Word of God regardless. How much do I mean that? I mean that more than pleasing people. I mean that more than promoting self. I mean that more than escaping affliction.

This ultimately becomes the major filter of one's life. Whatever we do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, for the glory of God the Father in the power of the Spirit of God. What a way to live. It does not mean we become killjoys, grim reapers in a day of joy. No. No one can laugh like a believer. No one has a freer conscience than one whose conscience and heart have been washed by the blood.

No one has reason to laugh at life like the believer. To glorify God does not turn life into a series of grim demands. It is load-lifting. It is freeing. May I repeat the resolves one after another? To be alert to the presence of evil and the strategy of the adversary. To stay fervent in prayer, not hesitating to call down supernatural assistance and, when necessary, divine discipline.

To refuse to retaliate in the energy of the flesh. To refuse to slacken, surrender, or quit the path of obedience, no matter how intense the pressure. To seek to glorify the Lord God and trust the Word of God regardless. You might think this is new. You might think: I do not think anything like this has ever been said around here. This is not new. I did a little research and found Martin Luther's words from 1531, and I got new courage from a sermon preached in the early part of the 16th century.

Listen to this courageous man: "Christendom must have people who can beat down their adversaries and opponents and tear off the devil's equipment and armor that he may be brought into disgrace. But for this work powerful warriors are needed who are thoroughly familiar with the Scriptures and can contradict all false interpretations and take the sword from false teachers, that is, those very verses which false teachers use and turn them round upon them so that they fall back defeated."

"But as not all Christians can be so capable in defending the word and articles of their creed, they must have teachers and preachers who study the Scriptures and have daily fellowship with it so that they can fight for all the others. Yet each Christian should be so armed that he himself is sure of his belief and of the doctrine and is so equipped with the sayings from the word of God that he can stand up against the devil and defend himself when men seek to lead him astray." A man of great resolve.

Are you sure you have the power within to make these resolutions occur? These are strong resolutions that can only be a reality through the power of Jesus Christ living through us. So these imply that you know Him in a personal way. Let us take care of that. Let us bow together. Could it be you have never received the power that only Christ can give? That you have become more a defender of your reputation than one whose character models righteousness.

You are surrounded in this world today by Christians, people who have admitted their inability to do it on their own and they have come with sins in hand to the cross. And they have acknowledged the only way to find relief from sin and power for the future is through faith in Jesus Christ. And they have deliberately and consciously, we have, turned our lives over to Him who can make a difference, who can transform us and give us radical faith and passionate zeal and wonderful forgiveness. Come today. Give your life to Jesus Christ.

Father, thank you for strength that comes in just verbal reminders of the truth. Now as we attempt to take truth that has been verbalized and appropriate it, make us men and women of courage that will create within us men and women of character. Begin today building a body of strong saints so that we are able to resist the adversary firm in faith. Enable us to see the future as a challenge, not as a tragic problem, and to see victory written across it because of the victory of Jesus Christ. In His mighty and powerful name we pray. And everyone said, Amen.

Bill Meyer: You are listening to Insight for Living. Today’s program featured the final sermon in Chuck Swindoll’s four-part mini-series called The Sanctity of Life. Chuck titled his message A Time for Strong Resolve. Because this is the final day of the series, it is the last time I will mention the Bible companion on the sanctity of life.

During January, churches all across America are drawing attention to this painful and personal issue. This resource from the creative team here at Insight for Living has been used in classroom settings, in life groups, and in personal devotions as a means for digging deeper into God’s Word for timeless wisdom about the precious value of human life. This is the perfect booklet to pass along to a son or daughter who is navigating these complex issues, or to a grandchild who needs biblical wisdom in a confused world.

It would also make a thoughtful gift for your pastor, equipping him with compassionate counsel for those he shepherds. Because here is the reality: not everyone struggles with abortion, but everyone wrestles with the sanctity of life. We all wonder what to say when the topic comes up, how to respond with both truth and grace, and showing you how to stand strong in a culture that devalues what God declares precious.

Our Bible companion is thoughtfully designed to be read alongside your copy of Scripture, helping you think through these issues biblically rather than just emotionally or politically. You can request your copy of The Sanctity of Life Bible companion when you support Insight for Living with a donation. Call us at 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org/donate.

Remember when you first started listening to Chuck Swindoll teach the Bible? That moment was sponsored by someone you may never meet. It was a monthly companion who sponsored you. If you are one of our regular listeners, is it not time you took that step to provide for someone else what was once provided for you? We invite you to become a monthly companion. Call 800-772-8888 or you can become a monthly companion by going to insight.org/monthlycompanion.

I am Bill Meyer. Chuck Swindoll resumes his biographical series called Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives Monday on Insight for Living.