Running To Win

Narrator: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: In one sense, we have way too many options to fill our time. A thousand voices scream at us via smartphones, streaming TV, and the World Wide Web. Developing godly character requires developing our inner lives.

Narrator: Today, words of challenge on holiness. 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.

Guest (Male): Pastor Lutzer, Deuteronomy 14:2 says, you have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God. Today you'll be telling us how that impacts our entertainment choices.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Dave, the reason I speak about these matters is here at Running to Win, we do desire to help people to take the Word of God and apply it to very practical, realistic situations. And you're absolutely right. No generation has ever faced what we have faced. No generation has had a worldwide web at its fingertips with all the temptations that go with it. And yet, as you mentioned, God has called us to holiness.

I'm going to ask all those who are listening a question: Would you consider helping us get messages like this around the world? We are now in 50 different countries in seven different languages. Why? Because of our partners. Would you consider becoming what we call an endurance partner?

Here's what you can do: Go to RTWoffer.com, click on the Endurance Partner button, or call us at 1-888-218-9337. I'm going to be giving you that contact info again, but thank you in advance for your prayers and your support.

What would you do if thieves were to come into your home and steal your children? You wake up in the morning and they're not there. You say, "Well, that would never happen. The doors are locked, the windows are bolted." The police would be called and they'd find our children.

What if I were to tell you that thieves even now are already in your home, stealing the hearts of your children? Their values, their souls, and they're leaving you with the bodies to deal with. But their allegiances lie somewhere else.

What if it were true that these thieves are not only stealing the hearts of our children, but also the hearts of adults and families, and parents are blinded by these thieves that have come in and they have come in with the express purpose of taking over?

The thieves that I'm referring to, basically, one word, the media. The Trib had this article: "Media Options Swamp the Nation." The average American spends 9.6 hours a day inhaling the media, watching television, using computers, listening to the radio, going to the movies, according to the Census Bureau's statistical abstract.

We as a nation apparently spend on average two months of every year just watching TV. Brian Gradam, President of Entertainment for MTV Network says, "The more media that's consumed, the more it drives overall usage. It's like an echo chamber effect. The more you use it, the more you use it." It's called addiction. That's what it is.

Today I'm talking about television with all of its impurity that comes into our homes. I'm speaking about the movies with their violence and sensuality and occultism. And I'm speaking about the internet with all of its potential for good and its potential for harm, such as pornography. At the end of this message, I'm going to read a letter from someone who is caught in that trap. And I'm also going to read his story of deliverance.

I'm also speaking about video games. Have you ever wondered why they are so violent? I didn't know why they had all this violence on video games until I spoke to someone who has converted out of the occult. And she said that in the occult, you gain points and you gain strength in the hierarchy of demonic spirits by the shedding of innocent blood. And that's why the video games are so violent, and that's why kids kill one another on these games.

In fact, somebody told me that they were in a home, and a little boy, seven years old, comes to his mom and says, "I just killed 94 people." And she just shrugged her shoulders, "Well, it's just a game." It's just a game. It's teaching you principles of violence, however, and it is drawing you into the violence of occultism and the power of demonic spirits.

Another pastor and I here at the church tried to help a boy who was in the video game and he was going from one level of difficulty to another with all kinds of foreign gods from false religions. And clearly, he had received demonic spirits. These spirits wouldn't even let him sit down. He was just a perpetual motion machine.

And yet parents say, "Well, you know, it is only a game." But it is addictive. I saw on TV recently a new game. I can't remember the name of it. And it is so addictive that that's the thing that they talked about. They had a section on the news about the addiction of this video game where you connect with people in other countries or something like that. And one guy said, "I took off work for two days so that I could just play it straight and not have to, not have to be interrupted." Addiction, that's what it is. All of the media has the power of addiction.

I'm going to introduce you to a word today that we aren't very fond of using in our churches in this century. It's the word holiness. The word holiness makes us feel uncomfortable, doesn't it? God says, "Be holy, for I am holy." The word holiness, and it is a scriptural requirement for the church and for individuals to be holy.

Today we're going to wander right into Satan's territory, right into his toy shops. And therefore there will be some resistance to this sermon. Some of you are going to tune me out. Some of you will find it hard to stay awake. Some of you will come with so many rationalizations that you won't even be able to hear what I'm going to say.

I tell you that when we speak about this, we're speaking about all of us. This is not a message where I'm up here and I'm preaching this to you. You know, those of us who have had the good fortune of never being even tempted by alcoholism or drugs, we can all identify with addiction, and we can all identify with the power of sensual, sexual temptation because we've all been there.

So this is a message in which we as a family of God's people are speaking God's Word, but it's for every one of us, including those of us who are in leadership. And because it is so important, I would like us to bow in prayer one more time. And ask that God will give us receptive spirits and hearts as we listen to His most holy word.

Father, we pray that those who have fallen into traps of sensuality. We pray today that even as they have concluded that they can't get out and they can't change, we pray that you shall surprise them and bring deliverance and hope and help. Because, Lord, apart from you we can do nothing.

And we ask now that all who are listening may say, "Lord, whatever you are going to tell me to do, I will do." By the way, those of you who are listening, are you willing to tell God that whatever you show me today, I will do? If you are, you tell Him. In Jesus' name. Amen.

First Thessalonians chapter 4, a series of messages, "When God Comes to Church." When God comes to church, the church is holy. That's the theme of First Thessalonians chapter 4, and please find it because we're going to plunge right into the text and we're going to find out what it has to say to us today.

Paul preached to pagans, and now he expected these pagans to be holy because Christianity is different from all of the other religions of the world. All other religions are external only. Christianity actually changes the heart and the desires and the aptitude and gives inner strength so that it isn't just a matter of willpower. It's actually the power of God in deliverance and strength.

So if you've never trusted Christ as Savior, I urge you to do that. That's the entry point to be able to find God's power and God's strength. Now let's plunge into the text. Finally, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus Christ, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

"For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus, for this is the will of God, your sanctification." You say, "What's that big word?" The word sanctification is really the word holy. Hagia is the word holy, to be set apart. Hagiasmos is sanctification. In fact, that's why the footnote says, "We could read it, for this is the will of God, your holiness: that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God." That's characteristic of someone who doesn't know God, they can't control their passions. "That no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter because the Lord is an avenger of all these things as we told you." Just that far.

Today we're going to answer three questions: What pleases God? Why should we please God? And how do we do it? And each one of those questions is critical and very important. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey.

First of all, what pleases God? Well, this is the will of God, even your holiness: abstain from sexual immorality. The Greek word is porneia, from which we get the word pornography. But it refers really to a whole range of sexual impurity: prostitution, all sex outside of a man-woman marriage would fall into this category, and all kinds of bizarre things that are happening in our society.

And so Paul is saying, first of all, you abstain. Next you'll notice positively, he says that you should learn to control your own body. That's probably the best translation. The word is vessel, so some people think that it has to do with a wife. But probably the way in which we have it translated here, it's correct to control your own body in holiness and honor.

The Bible says in the book of Romans chapter 8 verse 13, "Put to death the deeds of the body, because if you live according to the flesh you will die. But if you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Puritans used to say you have to hunt down sin. You have to kill sin or sin will kill you. I've been reading about that text in Romans during the past weeks and some day I'll preach a message on it. But for now to simply point out, the Bible says, "Glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which is God." And by the way, control your body with honor and holiness.

If you're giving in to somebody today sexually, that really means that you think more of them and what they want to do than you do the honor of your own body and the holiness of your own body. Therefore, glorify God in your body, the Bible says. And then the Apostle Paul goes on and he says, "Don't transgress and get involved in hurting your brother." It says in verse 6, "that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter." What's that all about? Well, you can maybe say brother or sister. Maybe Paul means it broader than simply a brother in Christ.

Maybe also what he's saying is that if you mistreat a brother's wife and get her involved, you have obviously defrauded and transgressed and hurt your brother. Or maybe if you're involved with some young woman inappropriately, and from the standpoint of impurity and you've introduced her to impurity, you're actually having an effect on some brother someday who will marry her. At any rate, Paul is very, very clear here that in our relationships there are always relational issues that are involved. There are God issues, as we shall see, but there are relational issues when it comes to this matter of sexual sin.

So the question is, what pleases God? And the answer is sexual purity. That's what pleases God. And the next question is, why should we please God? I mean, why bother? Why listen to this message? Why order the CD? Why should you keep hanging in here at this point? Well, let me give you some reasons why we should please God. First of all, you do want to please Him because you love Him, don't you? Don't you want to please somebody that you love? Isn't that the whole motivation of love is to please? That's what the scripture says right there in verse 1, "that you ought to live and to please God just as you are doing," but he says, "do it more and more." You want to please God.

And pleasing God is the one fact that we cannot rationalize in all of this business. I often think of Joseph when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him. He could have justified it rationally. He could have said, "Nobody's going to know about it. We're going to come armed with a pack of lies if we're found out." Today you can add to that, "We can control pregnancy. We can do all this, and we love one another." And furthermore, as one couple told me, "It's much cheaper to live together."

And so we can rationalize it all, but the thing that you can't rationalize is God. Joseph said, "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? I don't want to hurt the God I love," he said. And that's the one thing that you can't rationalize. All the lies in the world, all of the deceptions in the world, you can't get around the fact that you're hurting the God you love. You're displeasing God.

And so that's one reason. It says that you want to please God. That's characteristic of somebody who has been born of the Holy Spirit. If you're here today and you're blowing God off and saying, "I don't care what he thinks," then you have all the marks of somebody who does not know Christ as Savior. You're not part of the family. We're glad that you're here, we're glad that you're listening, but you haven't entered into the family yet. I hope you will.

So that's one reason. The other reason is in verse 6. You'll notice I read it briefly a moment ago, "that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter because the Lord is an avenger of all these things." Ouch! God is an avenger to those who are involved in sexual immorality. Hmm.

God does this in two ways. First of all, inherently in his moral law. Inherently. There are two kinds of laws. There's the law of the stop sign. You can put up a stop sign, and then City Hall can say, "Hey, we don't need a stop sign there." They can take it down. But there's another law characterized by the law of the fire. The law of the fire says that when I put my hand into the fire, it will get burned. You say, "Well, City Hall could change that." I mean, the Congress of the United States could change that. I'm sorry, Congress can't change that.

Because you see, that's inherent within it. And inherent within sexual sin are certain consequences that can never be expunged or circumvented. Society tells us that isn't true. But Congress can't change that. Hugh Hefner can't change that. You think of all of the broken lives. You think of the degrading experiences that I don't need to tell you about today, because God just put it right in into the whole business of sexuality, that there are certain consequences that can't be overcome.

And then in the future, God will judge us. You say, "Well, not us as Christians, because after all, we're under grace, and so it is safe to sin." Did you know that under grace, and how we thank God for grace, but under grace it's not safe to sin? Because someday, even at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ, the Bible speaks about it as a time that connects it with the word terror. Now that doesn't mean that God is going to judge us or condemn us because it is true, there is no condemnation which is in Jesus Christ. But when we see our lives just burn up as wood, hay, and stubble, and when we have nothing to offer Jesus. That's why the Bible says, "Live in such a way that you will not have shame at His coming." It's a, it's a terrible thing. Yeah. Never safe to sin just because you're under grace.

Guest (Male): I don't know about you, my friend, but that is very convicting, isn't it? We here at Running to Win exist to get the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. And because of people just like you, there are sermons, blogs, articles, and of course, programs just like this available at no cost. And we can do that because of our partners, because of those who pray for us and support this ministry.

Let me ask you a question: Are you indeed willing to pray about the possibility of becoming an endurance partner? I encourage you to check it out. Here's what you do: Go to RTWoffer.com. When you're there, you click on the Endurance Partner button. That's RTWoffer.com. Or you can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Remember, the reason that we are able to offer all of these resources for free is because we have partners who stand with us and who run along with us all the way to the finish line. May I thank you in advance? Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your gifts as we join hands together around the world, sharing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in so many different countries, 50 different countries, seven different languages. Why? Our desire to get the Gospel out to many, and thanks to you, it's happening.

Guest (Male): It's time again for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life.

Narrator: Daryl listens to Running to Win in Ohio and wants advice on what for him is a real dilemma. Here's his story. My wife's dad lives over a thousand miles away and is a Jehovah's Witness. Every year my wife insists that our children should spend the month of June with their grandfather. I disagree. I don't think as a Christian that our children should be separated from us for weeks while they're exposed.