Running To Win

Guest (Male): Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and proctor of our faith. The devil takes aim at any believer who takes the gospel to another person. Only by having the peace of God within can a believer handle the attack of Satan from without. Today, more from Paul's teaching about the armor of God. 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, we're in Ephesians chapter 6 learning about the armor of God and the shoes of peace.

Now, shoes seem to be an odd piece of armor.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, Dave, I find your comment very interesting because I think it is certainly true that not one of us would like to go to war or, for that matter, to cross the street without shoes. And the kind of shoes that you are wearing indicates whether or not you would be able to stand. And that's a word that the Apostle Paul uses in this context a number of times. So, yes, shoes are very important in our battle. I want to thank the many of you who support the ministry of running to win. And I want you to know that we make resources available for you that we think will help you in the race that we frequently talk about.

I'm holding in my hands a book I've written entitled How to Break a Stubborn Habit. It will help you to stand. It will give you the shoes that we have talked about. Here's what you can do. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Having done all, the Apostle Paul says, stand. Unless we're at peace, Satan will have a heyday with us through distractions, through false means by which we are going to try to get peace. And you've got all kinds of it, whether it's money or fame or anger or control or substance abuse.

People are doing everything they can to say I want peace. And the things that they do only increase the personal turmoil because they're not dealing with the issue. So, Paul is saying, understand that the gospel is a gospel of peace. But I like the fact that he says the readiness or the establishment of the gospel of peace. He seems to be drawing on the Isaiah imagery where it says how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace. So, maybe that's what Paul has in mind. It is a gospel of peace that we have to proclaim.

So, for a moment, I'm going to simply comment on that. When you and I share this gospel of peace, instantly there is satanic resistance. You don't know how much Satan hates the gospel. The Bible says that he blinds the minds of those who believe not, unless the light of the glorious gospel should shine unto them. Every time you witness to somebody, there is spiritual conflict, invisible spiritual conflict. Let me give you an example. Mark chapter 4, Jesus is talking about sowing, the famous parable that he told about the sower. And you remember what Jesus said?

He said that the sower goes out to sow and the seed falls everywhere on four different kinds of soils. But one of the soils is a hard path. You remember that? It's a very hard path. And he says the birds of the air come and they snatch up the seed before it can even get into the ground. Then later the disciples say interpret that for us, Jesus. And Jesus says, well, the seed is the word of God. Obviously, the soils are the hearts of men. And those who have the seed fall on hard ground, those who do that, the scripture says, Jesus said it is Satan who comes and snatches the seed so that it can't lodge in the human heart.

Satan snatches the seed. And unless the heart is softened by God, even while I'm preaching today, there are some of you here who are not listening. In fact, maybe there could be somebody here who intended to come here today and not listen simply because you don't want to hear what it is that I'm telling you. And there's spiritual conflict going on in you according to Jesus. Now, many of you know Don Richardson. Uh he wrote a book entitled Peace Child. In fact, many years ago, more than 30 years ago, he actually was here at the Moody Church before I became the pastor.

And I remember uh him speaking about this circumstance. He said that they were in a tribe, in a very very primitive tribe. He was working in really with almost stone age people. And they noticed that when they preached, when the missionaries preached, nobody could memorize scripture. Nobody could remember the sermon. You ask them afterwards what was the sermon and they had no idea. It was as if as the word went out, it was just being snatched, just being snatched. So, the missionaries gathered together and they said we are going to bind Satan. We're going to ask that he be forbidden to work here when we preach the word of God.

And after that, people began to memorize scripture and they began to remember what they heard and the word of God began to fall into hearts that were being prepared by God for the truth. Remember this that every time you and I share, there is a unseen spiritual being who doesn't want the people to hear. Have you ever had the experience of witnessing to people and you know you just explain the gospel, why it has to be a free gift and you go through the whole thing. And when you're finished, they say something like this. Well, that's exactly what I always believed.

I always believed that if I was a good person, I'd get to heaven. What in the world? It's as if somebody over here is speaking Albanian and somebody over here is speaking English. I mean, it's just a total disconnect, spiritual warfare. Now, I promised you that I was going to help all of us, including myself, know how we can be brought to peace. I'm going to assume here at this juncture that you are someone who has come to trust Jesus Christ as your savior. Although I am not assuming that completely because there may be many of you who have never believed on him.

And even while I'm speaking today, the Holy Spirit is working in your heart, by the way. And if the spirit is working in your heart, you know who you are, don't you? You know who you are because the Holy Spirit is here to do what no human being can. But I would like to leave with you. And by the way, in your bulletin today, you'll notice that I do give some questions that can be used to share the gospel of peace. I'm not going to emphasize those because I'd like to preach an entire message just on the issue of sharing our faith.

But what I want to do now is to talk about how we can have peace. Are you ready? Thank you. All right. Number one. We must receive peace from God. We must receive peace from God. You say, well, that's very elementary. Yes, I know I'm beginning at the beginning here. What I mean by this is we have to take God's promise of peace seriously. For example, be anxious for nothing, says in Philippians. But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. And the thanksgiving is absolutely crucial. With thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will garrison your heart and will keep your heart and mind in Jesus Christ.

You say, well, Pastor Lutzer, that's not where I'm at today. You have to begin by rehearsing these promises and know that God is promising you that peace. Isaiah, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. You see, there's God's part, but then there's also our part. You'll notice God says, I make the promise, but it isn't automatic. You have to receive. And if you're here today and you've never received Christ as savior, the Bible says, as we mentioned, that he is peace. So, that's the beginning point for you.

Before you can even begin to claim those promises, you have to claim the promise that you belong to God because you've acknowledged individually that you need Christ as savior. I think of the testimony of the young woman we just heard in our baptismal service. What a marvelous testimony. She, you remember, was asked to throw out a New Testament away. Colleague says throw this away. She didn't feel right about it. She takes it home. She begins to read it and she reads it until 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning and comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

You see, that's the way people are saved is through the word and through individual witness and through the ministry of the word and listening to the gospel. But that's where we begin. What we must do is to see God's forgiveness, those promises, and the care of God because he careth for you and the promises that God makes. I think, for example, of Jesus, my peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Could you imagine Freud saying that to somebody? My peace I give to you, my peace I give unto you. I mean, what in the world?

Could you imagine Buddha saying that? Could you imagine Krishna saying that? My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives give I unto you, but not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Wow, that's coming from Jesus. That's coming from God. So, the first thing is what we need to do is to receive from God. Now, we get to the difficult part. What we need to do is to commit to God, commit to God. And I speak here from the word of God, but I also speak from personal experience because there have been times in my life when I've not been at peace.

And it's been difficult to genuinely commit to God and to believe God. I have not always found that easy to do. And by the way, that 's why you have to be here next week when we speak about the shield of faith. It says above all in every circumstances take the shield of faith. Because if you drop the shield of faith, all of the other pieces of armor are not going to be very effective. And so, what we need to do is to make sure that we understand what committing something to God is all about.

You remember, you know, cars nowadays, you know, they're so electronically set up that uh they have these little things on the dashboard that I always am amused at, check engine. Check engine. What do you mean check engine? What part of the engine? Thank you. And if you named the part, I wouldn't be able to find it anyway. I mean, I don't know sometimes which end to pick up a screwdriver with. Check engine though. Engine, engine's got lots of parts. But what you need to do when you have that sign, of course, is to take it into the garage and then they hook it up with all kinds of fancy equipment and the electronics will tell you what's wrong.

You're here today and you have anxiety. That is a check engine sign from God. Almost certainly something is wrong. So, what you need to do is to ask what is that wrong? What is that that's causing me anxiety? And that which is causing you anxiety almost certainly is something that you have refused to commit to God and leave with him. Almost certainly that is the cause. We have a staff member here at the Moody Church. This was not a member of the pastoral staff, but he's a member of our support staff and an incredibly faithful guy.

Works all kinds of hours overtime, doesn't get paid for the overtime, conscientious. But he went on a uh a trip this summer, vacation. I think he took his cousin along. And in Australia, he actually went bungee jumping and had it videoed so all of us could see it. I bought him lunch the other day. Wanted to see whether or not he was normal in other ways. So, I said to him, tell me what was it like? I mean, you're not you've not done this before. Tell us what it's like. And he said, well, he said you get up there and you check the rope and and you hope that the rope is uh is strong.

And then he said, you know, I checked to make sure that the rope that I'm tied to is the one that the guys who are staying back, they know which rope it is. And then, you know, you check your ankles to make sure that it's fastened good. And then I say, well, what do you do after that? He says, well, after that, what you do is you check the rope. You make sure that your rope is the one that they know about. And then you check to make sure that your ankles are properly fastened. And after you've done this a few times, then you jump.

That's the way in which I have often been in my Christian life. And I've been afraid to jump. You know, you check the promises. Oh, they are there. Casting all your care upon him for he cares for you. You check the promises. They are there. My peace I just gave you one. I leave with you, Jesus says. So, all the promises are in place. So, you check all the promises. You check all of the issues and you go over them again and again and you memorize them and you know them all. And then when it comes to jumping and to say, God, I trust you, suddenly there's a disconnect because there is some area of our life that we do not wholly want to give to God because we are afraid of what he might do with that area.

And it might not be what we want. Sometimes we stand there and we fear what happens if we were to jump. What if we were to make this commitment? What would God do? That's our fear. We feel as if at times we are standing there and we're the next person to jump when the person before us has just jumped and the rope broke and they dashed their heads against the rocks below. And so, we're full of fear. God says, you know, you're not trusting me in that area either because A, you have a sin that you're not willing to give up or else B, you're unwilling to commit.

Now, the best example of commitment I know is the story of Potiphar who trusted Joseph with all of his house, the Bible says. And he trusted him so much that he concerned himself not with anything that was going on in the house except the food that he ate. He said, I am just trusting Joseph. That verse has just gripped me and will not let me go. Do I trust God that much? So, what you need to do is to say, okay God, what I need to do is to make a commitment of all the issues that trouble me.

I have to give you my marriage. I have to give you my vocation. I have to give you my health. I have to I have to sign off and commit it to you with thanksgiving that it is in your hands and not mine and the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your heart and mind through Jesus Christ. It's difficult to do. I've wrestled with having to do it. But when we do it, God comes through. And at last, we're at peace. What is there in your life today, sin that you've not dealt with, an issue that you've kept to yourself, that you've not given to God?

What is it? Is it your past? Is it your future? Have you said, God, I want to trust you totally. Here it is. Finally, what we have to do is to accept things from God, to accept things from God. You see, the peace that I'm talking about is not a peace that's always dry eyed. It's a peace that sometimes is mingled with tears when we go through tragedies in life. It's not a plastic peace that I'm talking about where in tranquility you deny everything that's going on around you and just pretend like a zombie that everything is fine when in point of fact it isn't.

It's not that kind of peace. It is a peace that is compatible with a funeral. It's a peace that's compatible with the tears and the and the heartache of a broken marriage. Does the name Horatio Spafford mean anything to you? Not Stafford, but Spafford. Does that name mean anything to you? He was a wealthy attorney here in Chicago in the 1800s. Spafford not only was an attorney, but he had holdings in real estate. When the Great Chicago Fire came in 1871, Spafford lost a lot of what he owned because his buildings went up in flames.

That was a trial, but it was nothing like the trial he was about to endure. By the way, he became a friend of D.L. Moody and helped Moody financially with some of his wealth. 2 years after the fire, he decided that he would go to England with his family and establish his four daughters in a school there because the schools in Chicago had not yet been rebuilt and he wanted them to go to school. But as he was about to leave, a business matter came up that prevented him going. But he sent his wife and his four daughters uh to England.

And he himself stayed back intending to go on another ship. They were on the Villa de Havre ship. But that ship en route to England hit an English vessel. His four daughters drowned. His wife was found semi-conscious clinging onto a piece of wood. So, she was rescued. When she was picked up and got to England, she sent back and lo behold, a telegram basically just said saved alone. The girls are dead. Little Annie, little Jenna, little Molly, all four of the daughters are gone, drowned. How do you like that for tragedy and tears and loneliness and tongues of unanswered questions?

Just like you and I, we've got unanswered questions that just don't make sense. But out of the depths in the crucible of that experience, he wrote these words. When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well. It is well with my soul. And then the second stanza, though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blessed assurance control that Christ has regarded my helpless estate and has shed his own blood for my soul. Why could Spafford write something like that in the wake of a horrendous personal tragedy?

It's because he had a bigger problem actually that God solved for him. His problem that God solved for him was much bigger than even the life or death of his family. What does the third stanza say? My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh my soul. Paul says, we're in spiritual warfare. Satan does buffet. Doubts do come. Peace is difficult to receive because of our own rebellion and lack of faith.

But stand with your shoes planted and accept those assaults knowing that we have the armor to do it. Let's pray. Father, I'm praying today for all those who came to church today without peace. I'm praying for the person who doesn't know Jesus Christ as savior. He and she or she do not have peace. Show them today that peace is found in Jesus if they receive them. I pray today for Christians who are going through turmoil, the likes of which many of us have never experienced and they find no peace. No peace about their past, no peace about their future.

Today, Father, may we see you as the God of peace. And we quote the words of Romans chapter 16 verse 20. The God of peace shall crush Satan under your feet shortly. Do that we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Guest (Male): Well, my friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. Isn't it wonderful to know that God has given us pieces of armor so that we can stand? And really when you stop to think about it, it all has to do with what Jesus Christ already accomplished for us. I'm holding in my hands a book I've written entitled How to Break a Stubborn Habit. Now, chapter 11 has to do with satanic activity because we must recognize that there's an enemy out there that wants to mislead us. For a gift of any amount, this book can be yours. Of course, it deals with various issues that have to do with temptation and often times the repetitive nature of our struggles.

Once again, I'm going to give you some contact info. And here's what you do. You can go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or you can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Remember the title of the book, How to Break a Stubborn Habit. Our desire here at running to win, and you've heard me say this many times before, is to help all of us run successfully to the finish line. And thank you so much for your prayers. Thank you for your investment in our ministry. And we want this resource to be a blessing to you.

And we believe it'll be a blessing to you and to others. Once again, the title of the book, How to Break a Stubborn Habit. Simply go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

Guest (Male): You can write to us at running to win 1635 North L'Avenue Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Christians have a strong defense to ward off Satan's fiery darts. We can use what the Apostle Paul calls the shield of faith. Next time, we'll learn how to use this peace of the armor of God and see how a strong faith can block arrows of doubt. Running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church.