Running To Win

Guest (Male): Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Our bad habits create prisons of our own making. The walls we build keep us from being all that we could be and should be. But God wants us to be free. That's why He's made for us a way of escape. Today, final thoughts on breaking the chains that bind you from the Moody Church in Chicago. This is Running To Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line.

Pastor Lutzer, some may say that for them, deliverance is not possible. What would you say to them?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: First of all, Dave, I want to say that I think there are many people who would say that. And even as you talked about it, I was reminded of a woman who gave a testimony who said that when it came to her sexual lifestyle, for her to change she thought was equivalent to asking her to take a house and move it from one side of the street to the other. An absolute impossibility. Impossibility except for God.

At the end of this broadcast, I'm going to be reading a testimony of someone who talks about the power of the Word of God applied to their lives. And I want to emphasize that today is the last day that we are making available for you a book I've written entitled How to Break a Stubborn Habit. And I genuinely believe that this book is going to be an encouragement and a help to those who think I'm in a rut and I can't get out. And I say yes, with God's help, you can. For a gift of any amount, we're making it available for you.

Here's what you can do. Call 1-888-218-9337, or go to your computer rtwoffer.com. Remember, today is the last day we're making this book available for you. We'll give you this contact info once again after this message.

Guest (Male): The Bible says that we should flee. Because you see, when we realize that we are weak in a certain area, it is also part of God's program for us to learn that and to turn away from the very suggestions or the very area in which we may be tempted, the geographical area even. But the Bible does say in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13, that no temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man. And it says God doesn't tempt anyone above that they are able, but will with the way of temptation make a way of escape that they might be able to bear it.

Now, if you continue in that sinful habit, I can say one of two things. Either you got yourself into it, or I can also tell you that you did not have to yield to it. You did not have to yield to it because the Bible says that God will not put you in a test that is too great. His grace knows how much you can take, and if you are in a sinful habit that is too much for you, it is because you yourself steered your way into that situation. Or else you can say, I don't have to commit that sin.

And I might say just to clarify that even if you brought yourself into that situation, tonight you can decide to get out of it. Because nobody has to perpetually live in defeat because the provision has been made for victory. But I want you to realize that it is important for you to accept temptation and even thank God for it as a choice and an opportunity to choose for Him. I was talking to someone who was involved in deep sin. Deep sin. It was an incredible situation and this person said, I couldn't extricate myself from it until I realized that even if I were tempted from now until the day I would die, I would thank God for that temptation and I would thank God that I had the opportunity to choose for Him.

And eventually that person broke that sinful habit through the help of the Holy Spirit. So don't think that spirituality, that you're going to reach a certain plateau where you will never be tempted. No, you'll be tempted, but spirituality is the ability to know how to handle it.

A second observation is this: We are tempted in a moment of weakness. We are tempted in a moment of weakness. Watch those moments of weakness. Notice it says that when Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights, he then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, if you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. When did he tempt Jesus? When Jesus was desperately hungry. Satan tempted him in an area where Jesus was going to be weak because it was there that Satan thought he could win his victory.

Now, I don't know what your area of weakness is. But oftentimes, Satan comes to us just in a time when we are in emotional stress. You know, have you ever found people who perhaps lose their temper and they say, well, just everything went wrong. The kids were bad. You heard about the man who decided to buy his wife some flowers one day, just out of the blue. And she met him at the door and there he was with these flowers and she said, oh no. She said, this is awful. She says, the kids have been bad, the roast is burned, I had some friends over, some company, and the house wasn't cleaned up. And now my husband comes home drunk.

Well, moral of the story is husbands, do that more often so that your wife won't be a shock to her system. But here's the thing. You find people who have all of these struggles, all of these things, a very bad day, the kids are bad, the roast is burned, and so they blow up and they begin to blame their circumstances and begin to say, well, it was because of these things that I blew up.

Actually, you can never blame your circumstances. Did you know that? Because your circumstances are neutral. It is you that has lost his temper. It is you that has to bear the responsibility for that and it is at those moments of weakness, however, that Satan likes to exploit us and likes to tempt us. And a moment of weakness is when you are very, very frustrated. Many of you say, well, I have my moments of weakness then all the time. Well, maybe you do, but those are the moments to watch.

And the moment to watch is not only when you are frustrated, but also when you have just been victorious. Those are the moments. You remember the children of Israel at Ai? They had just conquered Jericho. The city had just fallen down and then they said, well, that is they had conquered Jericho and they said, let's go and capture Ai. And they did not receive counsel from the Lord, but they sent an army up there and the army was soundly defeated and 18 men were killed. Why? Because of the self-confidence that the victory at Jericho generated. Oh, if you have won a great spiritual victory, watch and pray that you do not fall into temptation because it is at that moment that you are most vulnerable.

A fourth observation and that is this, that every temptation must be dealt with immediately. Every temptation must be dealt with immediately. And if you're taking notes, this is the one that should be underlined in red. Notice that Jesus as soon as Satan presented this to Him, Jesus did not stop to consider it. He didn't necessarily stop to debate it, but he simply said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Now, I want to talk to you very plainly tonight because one of the problems that we have in our society is sensuality and sensual temptation. And I want to stress in the strongest possible words that you must deal with those thoughts that come into your mind at the very moment that they enter. That's the time to deal with those thoughts and to say, I reject those thoughts in the name of the Lord Jesus. That is the time.

Do not say to yourself, well, I will enjoy these immoral thoughts for a while and then afterwards I'll back out of them. If you say that, I'll tell you what will happen. You can reject the thoughts, but the desires of your body continue. And because the desires of the body continue, consequently, those thoughts will reappear and reappear and reappear because you have set in motion certain desires which cannot be rejected like that. Thoughts can be, desires take longer.

And I want to give you a little bit of practical advice here. If you reject those thoughts immediately in the name of the Lord Jesus, if the desires have already been set in motion, which is to say that you have sinned, the thing to do immediately is to confess your sin immediately. Don't wait until you get home at night. Don't wait until you have a more convenient season. Whether you're riding on a bus or whether you're walking down a street, no matter where you are, instantly confess your sin.

Here's why. Because the Bible says if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us. Did you know that if you confess your sins immediately, God will actually cleanse the desires of your body so that your thought life will be able to get back on the right course? Because you see, God not only can deal with the mind, He can actually deal with a cleansing process of the soul and that's why it is so desperately important to deal with temptation immediately, immediately.

Oh, how I've had to learn that because sometimes I've thought to myself, well, in a while I'll confess my sins because you think I'll put it off. And you think to yourself, you know, I'm embarrassed about this. Why should I confess my sins immediately? But listen, you're going to have to end up confessing that sin anyway. So why not do it immediately? Then not only will you be forgiven, but also God will take the desires and cleanse them.

He will do that subjectively in your soul as you apply 1 John 1:9. I refer again to a man who was a homosexual and he said to me, he said, sometimes I had to confess my sin perhaps four or five times per minute. The temptation was so strong. But eventually, he said, Satan gave up on me and that man today is delivered. But the time to use 1 John 1:9 is not at some future moment, but immediately. Deal with that sin and you will find that it will not gain the root in your life and how important that is. Now, that is true regardless of whether the sin is sensual or other kinds of sin. To deal with it immediately is very important.

Now, a last observation and that is this, that victory is won by our authority, by our authority. Now, perhaps you are struggling in some area. Some thought comes to your mind and you say, I reject that thought in the name of the Lord Jesus and just like that, that thought is back. Perhaps some of you are experiencing a spiritual struggle that is so intense, that is so great, that even when you reject thoughts, they come back to you immediately.

Now, when you encounter that, it could well be that you are not merely dealing with your sinful habits, but that you are dealing with the devil. You'll notice that Jesus here did not argue with the devil, but Jesus constantly quoted the Word of God. And finally, Jesus said to him in verse 10, begone, Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. And it says then the devil left Him.

And there may be times in your experience and in your life where you have to use this formula and simply say, begone, Satan, for it is written, and then quote a verse of Scripture that relates directly to the problem that you are facing. Now, sometimes people think that the way in which you deal with the devil is to simply shout a verse of Scripture at him and it'll do the work. No, it won't. It isn't a matter of having a shouting match and the person who can shout the loudest will win. You shout a verse of Scripture at the devil and he might shout one back as he did in the case of Jesus Christ.

The power of the Word of God is not that it is some sort of a fetish that we can simply throw at the devil. The power of the Word of God is simply this, that when we bring our lives under the authority of the Word of God, it is then that we have the ability to exercise authority. You remember the centurion? He says, I am a man who has authority and I can say to so-and-so that you go and he goes. But the centurion says, I am also a man under authority.

And as we bring our lives in subjection to the Word of God and bring them under the authority of the Scriptures, then we can say with confidence, begone, Satan, for it is written, and Satan must flee when we use truth that boldly. He must flee when we use truth that boldly.

And there are passages of Scripture that talk about the fact that we are seated with Jesus Christ in heavenly places. And just as Satan is under Jesus Christ's feet, so he is under ours because we are there with Him if we so to speak in boldness say, begone, Satan, for it is written. And it's amazing what sometimes happens in people's lives when they exercise their authority.

I think that one of the best kept secrets in the Christian church is the authority of the believer. And people do not realize that they have that authority. It is an amazing authority that God delegates to us as we bring our lives under the authority of the Word of God we can exercise that authority.

Some of you parents who are praying for unsaved young people, or maybe your children are out in the world involved in all sorts of iniquity. The best way that you can pray for them is not merely to say, oh God change them, but you as a parent, as a high priest before God, what you ought to do is intercede on their behalf and to say, in the name and the authority of Jesus Christ, we as parents take back the ground that our young person has given to Satan. We take back that ground as a priest before God.

I've seen some of the most amazing answers to prayer when parents pray just that boldly because their young people perhaps are in a position where they aren't going to do it, and so the parents say we as priests before the living God, we not only intercede for our young people by asking God to change them, but we by faith stand between heaven and hell for them and we take back that ground. That is your authority as a believer and God answers such boldness on our part.

Now, I want to conclude by simply saying that the best way that you can insulate your life from satanic attack is through righteousness. You know, the Bible talks about the breastplate of righteousness. You know that some of you may be experiencing demonic activity in your life, but the real reason that you are experiencing it is because there is some sin in your life that you haven't really dealt with.

I remember talking with someone who had such demonic activity in their life that they were so deeply agitated that sometimes those spirits had to be rebuked just in conversation. That's the intensity with which this person was in spiritual struggles and I was giving them all sorts of ways to deal with Satan and nothing helped. And finally I asked this person, I said, is there some sin that you have not told me about that you have never been able to put under the blood of Christ? And this person said, yes. And then they told me about an incident in their past where there was an immoral relationship and they had never been able to gain victory over that and that guilt was so exploited by the devil.

Now, when does Satan accuse you? I'll tell you when he does it. He does it during the night and he does it during the day. You remember that verse in Revelation, he says he accuses the saints day and night. Now, once this person was able to see the victory of the blood of Jesus Christ and claim by faith that the blood had indeed cleansed them from that sin and that there was no way that that sin could ever be held against them again because God's forgiveness is so complete, a remarkable thing happened. The demonic activity ceased.

In most cases, what is really at root is some sin that people haven't dealt with. If you intend to have any victory at breaking your sinful habit, if you intend to be victorious in the struggle that we have with satanic powers, you must deal with sin. And you tell a lot of people that and they say, if that's what I've got to do, I'm not going to do it. Because dealing with sin is painful. And you can go to all sorts of conferences and have all sorts of remedies, but you will never be free in your spirit until you deal with sin.

So first of all, accept the fact that you will be tempted. Recognize and be very, very cautious in moments of weakness, when you've been victorious or when you're under strain and pressure. Deal with the temptation immediately like Jesus did and deal with it by bringing your life under the authority of the Word of God like Christ did. Jesus Christ's life was lived under the authority of the Father, therefore Jesus could exercise authority and say, begone, Satan, for it is written, and you can exercise that authority too as your life deals with sin and then your life is brought into subjection to the living God.

And you will learn that in the process of breaking that sinful habit, God will teach you things that are just tremendous. That's why I'm so excited when I talk to people. When people come with problems, I always look for sin because there's such a good remedy for that. And the thing that God wants us to do is to use these sorts of struggles to teach us things about Himself that we wouldn't know otherwise. So rejoice. Don't look so sad, some of you. Be exceedingly glad, for God is going to do great things in your life as you apply the Word of God to your life.

Now, there may be some of you here who have never known what it is to ever put your sins under the blood of Christ because you're not even saved. You know, in a moment we're going to be singing a song and if you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, you ought to get out of your seat and follow the counselors to these rooms and to say, Lord Jesus, You died for me and I am a sinner and I accept You tonight. Now, you do that. You do that and I encourage you to because you will discover freedom and forgiveness from the only One qualified to do those things for us. Let's pray together.

Our Father, we thank You so much that You have given to us, Your Word says, You have given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. I thank You that there is not one person here tonight who has sinned too much or is in too deep sin for You, because You anticipated all of the uglies of life when Jesus died on the cross. Help us, Father, as we try to break our sinful habits, as we dedicate ourselves to You and Your Word, and as we deal with sin. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Now, my friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. I don't know where you are, but regardless of where you find yourself today, God is there. And as I emphasized in the message, if you've never come to saving faith in Jesus Christ today, you can receive Him as your Lord and as your Savior. You find yourself in the grip of habits that you can't break because you are trying to break them in your own strength, but Jesus offers not only His forgiveness, but also His power.

I want to thank the many of you who support the ministry of Running To Win. It's because of you that this ministry goes to many different countries. We are around the world and your help is so vital to us. Today is the last day we are making available for you the book entitled How to Break a Stubborn Habit. It discusses such topics as our identification with Jesus Christ, our authority over Satan, and the importance of openness and honesty before God and before others. For a gift of any amount, this book can be yours. Here's how you can get it. Call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. Ask for the book How to Break a Stubborn Habit.

Or if you wish, go to rtwoffer.com. Of course, RTW stands for Running To Win. rtwoffer.com. One more time, the number to call, 1-888-218-9337. Thanks for being with us today and let's go together following the instructions of God's Word to break the habits that separate us from the living God.

Guest (Male): On the next Running To Win, we'll start a series on the basic pillars of our faith, looking at the solid foundations on which the gospel is built. For Dr. Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running To Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.