Running To Win

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. There are laws at work in the spiritual universe, laws that can neither be debated nor circumvented. Believers may claim freedom from the law, thinking they can do as they please.

But God has a word for those who feel this way, a word brought to us by the Apostle Paul. 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.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Pastor Lutzer, Joseph ran from Potiphar's wife. He showed a courage not enough of us have these days, as we come to understand the need to run from sin. And Dave, this will be explained in the message, but I find this very interesting and very helpful.

What Joseph said is, "I cannot commit this sin against God." And he called it a sin. And his great deterrent, if I can put it that way, is that he did not want to offend the God he loved. And the more we love God, the more we will not want to offend him, because after all, we do love him and he has redeemed us through his son.

Well, this is one of the last days we're making available for you a book I've written entitled *Managing Your Emotions: God's Good Gifts Gone Wrong*. And at the end of this message, I'm going to be giving you some contact info, because I want you to live with hope, to recognize that the negative and sinful emotions that you have can be changed by God, and they can be managed scripturally.

So let's keep in mind that God actually has an answer to our deepest need. For now, let us listen and let us benefit from the fact that there was a man by the name of Joseph who stood against great temptation.

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.

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 it 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 terrible thing. Never safe to sin just because you're under grace.

Now, I can imagine somebody who's come in here today who says, "Well, you know, this is just like Moody Church. You know, Moody Church is one of these conservative churches and what do you go there? You get this old-fashioned thing preached at you, and you know, maybe you're here today and you wished you had gone to some other church where you'd have heard more pleasant things."

Well, just in case there's somebody listening who feels that way, Paul knew that you were here and so he had a word for you. Isn't that wonderful? The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the spirit, said, "I'm talking to somebody who thinks this is just old-fashioned."

So listen, your Bible's open, isn't it? Aren't we people of the book? You'll notice it says in verse 7, "For God has not called us for impurity, but holiness." By the way, that's another reason is the calling of God.

But for those of you who think that this is just old-fashioned, here's your verse. Verse 8, "Therefore, whoever disregards this disregards not man, but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you." Wow.

So don't leave here upset with me because you're very, very uncomfortable. Don't leave here. You just deal with God, okay? I'm out of here. When I finish this message and I've given an invitation, I'll spend the afternoon preparing for tonight and you've got to deal with God.

This is very clearly, the scripture says, the word from God and not the word from man. Well, the question is, how? That's what you're saying is, how do you do it? Well, you'll notice that the Apostle Paul says, "Abstain. Abstain." It's a command.

You say, "I don't have the strength." True, you don't, but with the power of the Holy Spirit and yieldedness and the prayers of others, you can change. You can change.

So you see what we need to do is to deal decisively with this, whatever God asks you to do. Jesus said if you have to pluck out your eye, your one eye, so that you no longer lust. Of course, he doesn't mean it literally because you could pluck out one eye and still lust with the other.

But Jesus said, in effect, do whatever you just have to do. Just do it. Deal with it. Don't rationalize it any longer. Just deal with it. It may mean canceling your subscription to television. Stay away from degrading movies. Take that card. Practice plastic surgery on it.

Strong filter for your internet. And if you're a geek and you can work around it, then become accountable to somebody. We're talking serious stuff here. You say, "Well, I've invested so much in the direction I'm going. I can't even begin to think that I can pull out." With God's help, you can.

Very recently, this letter appeared and it was sent to me and I want to read it to you.

Guest (Male): Pastor Lutzer, I'd like to share my story with you. It's a story that began in pain, fear, shame, deceit, and brokenness, but it ends in forgiveness, hope, and renewal. It started a few years ago when I fell into internet pornography. I've been a Christian for many years, and I knew I was hurting Christ and my witness through my sin.

But even though I knew it was wrong, the thrill outweighed the guilt. Thanks to my excellent computer skills, I was able to keep it a secret. So for the past two years, I was struggling with this issue. I'd go without pornography sometimes for a week or two, and then fall back into old habits. I constantly asked Christ for forgiveness and yet I'd go right back.

Outside, I looked like an ideal husband and father and probably a good Christian, and yet inside I was in my own personal hell. No matter how hard I tried to stop, I would crumble under the pressure. Even though I felt genuine shame for my actions, the shame was easily engulfed by fear that was in my heart.

I was convinced that I could not come forward with my sin. I thought that my wife would leave me and maybe take the kids away. So while the devil kept feeding my heart with fear, he also kept giving me a false sense of confidence that I could keep the secret and nobody would be hurt.

What was initially a secret thrill turned into something I just ended up doing because I could. I tried filling my life with other activities, anything to keep me away from the computer, but these were just temporary diversions and I kept going back to my sinful behavior.

A few months ago, my wife came to me asking me if I had looked at pornography. For all of my sneakiness on the computer, I had forgotten one location that was not cleaned up and she happened to see it. When she approached me, my life flashed before me and I decided to finally come clean and face my worst fears.

I had always believed that looking at pornography was the real sin, but what really hurt my wife were the lies, the deceit, and the complete disregard of her feelings. There had been a few times in the recent past where she asked me if I was viewing pornography, and each time I answered her, "No."

I convinced her that I was above such a simple sin, but now as I finally answered her every question with honesty, not only was I showing her how sinful I had been, but I was clearly telling her, "You can't trust me." He said, "I wanted to crawl under a rock and die."

That night as I was telling her my darkest secrets, a strong feeling filled my heart and mind. Now I was beginning to see how pornography had taken a complete hold of my life and how it was tearing my life and my marriage apart. I realized that I wanted to be rid of it all. I did not want it to be in my life anymore.

I know that God was working in me that night and he wanted to provide me with true deliverance. To the surprise of my wife, I told her that I would confess my sin to our pastor. After barely sleeping that night, I drove to our church the next day to meet with him. As I told him all the sordid details, he quoted scripture and explained that I wasn't the first Christian man to fall into this temptation, or woman I might add.

After much praying and tears, I renounced the demon of pornography. I cannot explain it in words, but at that moment I finally felt true cleansing. I had hope and even though I did not know what to expect at home, I felt better as a Christian than I had in years.

That night, that night my wife and I continued to share, talking, crying together for hours. We saw revelations of how my struggle with pornography was a battle of spiritual warfare that caused unrest in our house. For months, my wife had been plagued by the spirit of fear during times when she should have been happy. It was plain to see that my sin was not only permeating into all areas of my life, but it was also unwittingly rubbing off on her.

My sorrow was so overwhelming that I broke down in tears several times. I wanted true deliverance. And as a burn victim must endure the pain of having the dead skin peeled away before healing can begin and new skin can grow, the same went for me. To be truly free, I had to lay it all out. No more lies.

Again, I told her how sorry I was, and she told me that she would forgive me. She could see that I was broken, humbled, humiliated, and desperate for forgiveness and restoration. Once again, the tears freely flowed. This time not in pain, but because I had fully experienced God's redeeming love and forgiveness. The stain of pornography was washed away.

These past three months have been incredible. God did such a mighty work in my life that I haven't had a single urge to view pornography. So many images that had scarred my mind have been washed away. How is that possible, except for the power of Christ? My wife and I are closer than we've been in many years. I've never imagined that I would have this level of intimate communication with my wife after what I had done.

I look forward to my devotions each day, eager to see what God will teach me. I've also had the opportunity to briefly share my story with a fellow colleague, a single non-Christian man, who's clearly at a crossroads in his own life. I can't believe all that has taken place, and it's all because of Jesus.

Looking back, it's hard to believe the amount of time and energy I wasted, not only surfing pornography, but trying to keep it a secret. What a pathetic life I was living, trying to act like a Christian husband and father on the outside, yet on the inside barely behaving like a man.

How I wish that I had made my own decision to come forward with my sin. I regret that my fear overpowered my desire to be free. I have been scarred by my sin, but my scars are now a reminder that I am winning a battle that I do not have to be a slave to the flesh.

There's a world of difference between being a male. This is critical. There's a world of difference between being a male and being a man. I am a man once again, taking control of my life, my thoughts, my actions for the glory of Christ, for the glory of my family.

By his grace, I will no longer succumb to the easy desires of the flesh, for I was bought by Christ's precious blood. Christ's death has given me life once again, and I will not waste my life any longer.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: What a letter. Where do you go from here?

In 1974, my wife and I and a couple in Northern Wisconsin, middle of winter, were on our way to a restaurant. They thought they knew where the restaurant was. They were new up there. They thought they knew. Here it is in the evening, it's dark. That night it was to get below zero. And we began to drive, drive, drive, drive. And after five, six miles, they realized they're on the wrong road.

The big Buick was going into the snow. No one had traveled this road in days. And it was clear we were going nowhere and we were going to get stuck. The question was, "What do you do?" Nobody would know where to look for us. There were no cell phones in those days. Well, we figured out a way by which we could turn around when we came to a side road. It was difficult. We jack up the car and put branches under the back wheels so that we could go a few feet. We kept doing this over and over again until eventually we turned around.

That night I learned something that when you're on the wrong trail, you lose. You lose time that can never be regained. We lost time that night. In fact, my wife and I have never yet been to that restaurant. It's true.

We learned something else. The ruts that we leave can mislead others. We don't know it was the case, but someone else could have taken the trail because they said, "Oh, a car's been here. This must go somewhere." David in the Old Testament, when he committed adultery, he was able to get back to God, but his kids didn't. Your ruts may mislead others.

We learned also that the mistake can't be corrected by going on adjacent roads. And the bottom line is this: there never is or was a convenient time to turn around. If you're saying to yourself, "Well, I want to live differently, but this is not the time to turn around," there never is a convenient time to turn around. Today is the best time to turn around.

And by the power of the Holy Spirit and by yieldedness and the cleansing of Jesus. And let me say that Jesus is adequate for your sin. Did you know that? His forgiveness, his cleansing, the power of the Spirit. He had you in mind when he died. Your sin is not bigger than his grace and his forgiveness.

Why doesn't he just deliver us when we try to do it privately? Well, the answer is that God wants the humility, the humility of brokenness. And he uses brothers and sisters and wives and husbands in the process of healing us and restoring us. You can get into the ditch alone, but you need help in getting out.

And so, the bottom line is from God's holy word. For God has not called us to impurity, but in holiness we've been called. When God comes, the church is holy. Let us pray.

Father, we ask today in the name of Jesus, would you do a work in the lives of all of us who have listened to this message? Would you, Father, oh, Father, you know the power of shame. The power of shame is so great. We'll do anything to avoid it. We'll continue along the wrong road, even if it is going nowhere.

Help in this moment that those who have listened to this message by your grace might shame shame, because Jesus did that on the cross. That's what we read in the book of Hebrews. And we ask today that your Holy Spirit would do in our lives what needs to be done. Now, before I close this prayer, would you pray? And would you tell the Lord Jesus, would you respond to him in light of what God has shown you?

Father, we pray, help us. I think of the struggle that's taking place in the lives of many today. Oh God. Oh God, the need is so great. We ask that you will come by your spirit. Would you come to church and help us? In Jesus' name. Amen.

You know, my friend, when God comes to church, so to speak, one of the evidences is a sense of conviction of our sin. We're living at a time when oftentimes sin is excused. It is not necessarily pointed out. And so, as a result, we no longer have that great overwhelming sense that when we come into God's presence, we are coming into the presence of a very holy God.

Let me ask you a different question. Are you going through a time of disappointment? Are you going through a time of great pain because of that disappointment? How would you like to think about that disappointment, not as a stumbling block, but as a stepping stone to something else, to something that God has prepared for you that you've not seen before?

Well, those are the kinds of questions I answer in a book I've written entitled *Managing Your Emotions*. And I want to emphasize that this is one of the last days that we're making this resource available for you. I hope that you have a pen or pencil handy, because this is what you can do. You can go to RTWoffer.com. That's RTWoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-800-