Running To Win

Guest (Male 1): When it comes to our commitments to Christ, what God seeks is our faithfulness all the way to the finish line. King Asa of Judah was a righteous king, but lapsed at the end of his reign, trusting a Syrian king instead of God. His punishment, a foot disease we read about in 1 Kings 15 and 2nd Chronicles 14 through 16.

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, why would someone who'd been faithful for many years lose the trust he once had in God and turn elsewhere for guidance?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: You know, Dave, someone who has done the study of the heroes of the Old Testament and the New has come to this conclusion. Very few and well. Now that's sad, but it is true. And let me tell you that I believe the reason is the older you get, the more you take things for granted.

You think to yourself that even disobedience actually is okay because after all, you have been faithful throughout the years and so you can stumble at the finish line. Certainly, that's true about Asa.

And it's actually the grace of God that enables us to run successfully all the way to the finish line. I'm holding in my hands a book entitled, *Grace Awakening* by Chuck Swindoll. Now, you know who he is. He's been a minister for many years, blessed millions through his radio program and also by his books.

*Grace Awakening* is a balanced book showing you that we are saved by grace, but we should never take grace for granted in the sense. It does not give us a license to sin, it is actually a deterrent to sin. I want you to have a copy. And by the way, this is the last week we're making this offer available for you.

Here's what you do. Go to RTWOffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now if you did not have an opportunity to write down that contact info, I'm going to be giving it to you again at the end of this message.

Think of all the strong support that God wants to do on behalf of some people. First of all, we know that he would want to support them politically. That's what he wanted to do with Asa. He said, "Asa, why do you make unhealthy compromises? Why do you compromise with making a treaty with a pagan king? Asa, I will be your commander-in-chief, I will be your military person. I will strongly support you if you trust only me."

So he wants to give political support. He wants to give moral support. "There is no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. And God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation make a way to escape that you might be able to bear it." God says, "I'm going to help you through the moral temptation. I will support you morally."

I will support you emotionally. For the text of scripture tells us, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee." God says, "If you have a heart that is completely mine, I will keep you in peace in the midst of the storm, I will come to your rescue and be your support."

God says that he wants to support us financially, financially. "But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." God says, "I want to support you. I want to support you spiritually, so that you might be able to encounter those spiritual battles and I will help fight your battles against Satan." Because I've got the resources, and I'm looking for people whom I can strongly support.

We as Christians are often upset not because of what is happening to other people, but because somehow we fear that our personal peace and security is going to be jeopardized. And that makes us concerned. And one of the reasons we are uneasy is because we know that there are days ahead in which we are going to have to trust God in ways with which we are presently unfamiliar.

And we're not used to having God as our support and trusting him and him alone. And that's why it is that even though we may sing and talk about us standing on the solid rock, sometimes when difficulty comes, you would think that we were grasping our last bit of driftwood before we are taken under. Notice what the text says.

"The eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the whole earth that he may strongly support those whose hearts are fully his." The search is extensive, relentless, continuous. It is also a search that is purposeful. God wants to help people. God wants to help people.

But thirdly, and sadly, the search is seldom rewarded. Seldom rewarding. There are not few, there are only few, I should say. There are only few whose hearts are completely His. What does God see in this extensive search? What does God see as his eyes roam to and fro throughout the whole earth?

What is there that he sees as he monitors every single human heart 24 hours a day? Well, first of all, oftentimes he sees a rebellious heart, a rebellious heart. He sees people who in effect say, "God, I want you to stay out of my life. I'll draw the line in the sand, you stay over there, you don't bother me, I won't bother you, and let's just have this agreement that you, oh God, are never going to get me." A rebellious heart.

Then of course he may also see that there are indifferent hearts, indifferent hearts. It's not so much that the people are against God, it's just that he is perceived to be irrelevant. He is of no particular moment. There's no direct application as to who God is and to what the situation requires. It is, it is a matter of keen, studied indifference. Who cares about God?

Then he sees partial hearts. A partial heart is one that says, "I really do love God and wish that God would strongly support me." And he's got a part of me, but there are some things in my life that I believe I do not want God to touch. I just don't want him to touch. There are issues that I don't want to deal with, there are situations that I don't want to face, and there are some things that I will not give up. I will keep my fist clenched.

Not in anger and defiance, but I will hold to these things tightly and not let go. A partial heart. Now let me ask you a question, what would it look like to have a heart that was wholly God's? As the text says, "He goes throughout the whole earth seeking those whom he may strongly support, whose heart is completely His." What would a heart like that look like? What is God looking for?

Well, first of all, God is looking for a clean heart, a clean heart. A heart that says, "So far as sin is concerned, every single sin that God brings to our attention is a sin that we confess and by his grace forsake." A clean heart. A heart that has used 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from every single unrighteousness." That's what kind of a heart God wants. Is a clean heart.

Secondly, a yielded heart, a yielded heart. Let's just talk about some of the idols of our age, these idols that grow up within us, and like a vine, wrap themselves around our very being and hang on for all that they are worth. Why is it that we do not find it easy at all? I do not find it easy at all to have a heart that is completely God's.

Why didn't people tell us when we were growing up that to have a heart that was completely God's is a tremendous battle because all of the idols that are so deeply ingrained hang on? And once the heart is completely God's, it has to let go and say, "God, whatever you want. Whatever you want."

I think, for example, of the idol of sensuality, sensuality, which takes so many different forms. We may think of immorality or pornography, but it also includes alcoholism and drugs, all of the things that are debilitating, even though on the surface, they grant a certain amount of pleasure.

Now, what if God says to you, "I want you to give those up," as you know right well that he does. Are you this morning listening, if that is your idol, are you saying, "No!" "I will not give that up. I will not separate. I will not!" And God is saying to you and to me, "That I will deal in your heart, and I can never strongly support you until, even if it kills you, you say yes, yes, I will give it up."

Remember Bruce Wilkinson during Founders Week said that another idol was money, and he said, "Oh, what a beast, what a beast that is." Because if we love money with even the slightest bit of love, even if there is that twinge of love in our hearts for money, God cannot strongly support us because we are not completely his. Because the love of money is the source of all kinds of different evil.

And therefore we have to wrestle with God. So that if God says, "Empty your bank account," you say, "Yes, yes, yes, it's yours. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes." Oh, but the struggles of the soul. Oh, the rationalizations of the heart. Oh, the deep roots of that idol that has been so firmly cemented into the very fabric of our soul.

And now to have God rooted out, what screams and what rationalizations and hollering takes place. And yet God says, "I cannot strongly support you because unless you take care of that idol, you're not completely mine." Then I think of the idols of relationships, the idols of relationships.

And no matter what God says, "I want this person, I want this relationship, I want what I want," to quote the words of Woody Allen, "The heart wants what it wants, and it will have it." And when God says, "Give it up," you say, "No, I will not give it up. I will not let go. I will not, I will, I will, I will hang on to what I want."

God says, "I can't strongly support you because your heart is not completely mine." And then we think, for example, of vocations that are idols. We're into this fulfillment bag today. Everybody needs to be fulfilled. And I'm not opposed to that. I, I have the good fortune of having a vocation that I find very fulfilling, and I wish and pray the same for everybody.

But people are saying today, "Unless I have this, or unless I have that, I can't be fulfilled." And, and God says, "I want you to give me all of your dreams and all of your aspirations. So that if I send you out into the middle of the desert and want you to be there, you will say yes, yes." You see, those are the struggles of the soul.

And the text of scripture says that God will strongly support those whose hearts are fully His. And so he travels from one end of Chicago to the other, in one end of Dallas, and, and London, and Atlanta. And, and he's looking, and he's looking for those whose hearts are completely His. You see, the extent of our yieldedness.

The extent of our yieldedness is the extent to which we really want God. The extent of our yieldedness is the extent to which we really want God. And God says to us, "Unless you are completely mine, I'm not completely yours." And you see what God asks you and me to do continuously, because this is a continuous battle.

What God asks you and me to do is always to be giving up more of ourselves so that he might be able to give us more of himself and to strongly support those whose hearts are completely His. That's what God wants. Now I want you to look back at the text. It says in verse 10, "Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time."

And you know what happened to Asa? He got sick. He had problems with his feet. Says in verse 12, "And in the 39th year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians." Wasn't so wrong that he sought the physicians, though they were magicians probably. But what he wanted to do is to say, "God, even though I'm diseased in my feet, I will not seek you."

Now, mark my word, Asa was actually a righteous man when he began. If we took time to read the preceding chapter, we'd discover that he followed the Lord and did away with idols and a whole lot of good things. But he was so angry at God. So angry at God. So mad that God was going to discipline him because of his disobedience. He shook his little fist at God and said, "God, even if I die with this disease, I'm never going to ask you to help me again."

Did God strongly support him? No. No. No. Why? Because God strongly supports those whose hearts are completely his. Have you ever met a Christian who dies just an old, complaining, bitter, angry man? If that happens, you can write it down that very probably somewhere along the line, God laid his finger on some part of this man's life and he said in his heart, "No! No! No!"

And that's the way he dies: angry, unbowed. Foolish. Because God said, "I don't support those whose hearts are divided and not completely mine." God has all kinds of resources. But he saves them for those whose hearts have been weaned from the idols.

And who've taken the time to say, "If it kills me, no matter what, I'm going to say yes, God, you have my whole heart." Yes. Yes. Yes. Let's pray.

Now, Father, the dearest idols we have known, whate'er those idols be, help us to tear them from the throne and worship only Thee. We think, Father, of all the idols that are in our lives, all the things that are there that compete, that compete with you. Father, I can't pull them out of my own heart. How shall I pull them out of the hearts of those who've listened to this message?

That is your work, Lord. I pray only that in your grace you shall do it. We pray that you will not let us alone until we have said yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Grant us that, Father, we pray in mercy. And now, before I close this prayer, how many of you this morning say, "Pastor Lutzer, God has talked to me and by his grace, I'm going to say yes, yes, yes."

Would you raise your hands as an indication of your desire to follow God? All over the auditorium, just keep them raised for a second. Are there others of you who say, "It's going to kill me, but by his grace, I want to say yes." Others of you who want to join these. Father, you see the hands that have been raised and you see the hearts that were behind the hands that were raised.

And we pray, Father, that in all of our hearts, with all of the struggles, that you will grant us the ability to say, "Father, we are too weak to do this on our own. But in the strength and name of Jesus, by your power, we lay down all of our dreams at your feet." And say yes. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Guest (Male 1): My friend, I certainly hope that that is your prayer. It's my prayer. May we be willing to be able to lay down those idols and live for you alone. I'm holding in my hands a book written by Chuck Swindoll, entitled *Grace Awakening*. I'm reading to you some of the chapter titles. Chapter 12: "A Marriage Oiled by Grace."

Chapter 13: "The Charming Joy of Grace Giving." Grace, it really is accepting. It talks about the application of grace to our lives, showing that grace actually keeps us away from sin, rather than being a license to sin. We're saved by grace and we live by grace. I hope that you have a pen or pencil handy, because I'd like to give you some contact info.

Here's what you can do. Go to RTWOffer.com. That's RTWOffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. For a gift of any amount, this book can be yours, and as I've already emphasized, it's the last week we're making it available for you. Let me give you that contact info again. You can go to RTWOffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

When I think of the ministry of Running to Win, I think of thousands of people holding hands together. By God's grace, running successfully all the way to the finish line.

Guest (Male 2): It's time again for another opportunity for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question you may have about the Bible or the Christian life. Today's question comes to us from Glenn, who lives in Illinois. He writes, "Several years ago, I left a very successful job to open my own business. Unfortunately, my business failed after five years. I lost our family savings and returned to the corporate workplace. My wife has never forgiven me for being so irresponsible. I have lived with this guilt and shame for years. Every day I am depressed over it. My question is, if we make a decision based on what we feel is God's will, but it brings negative consequences, does that mean that the decision was out of God's will?"

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, Glenn, I'm so thankful for your question, but I need to confess that it is not an easy question to answer because all of us have made decisions that we thought that these decisions were God's will, and yet they turned out very negative. Now, just having read your question and listened to it, I need to say that I'm not so sure that you were out of God's will in beginning that business.

Maybe God wanted to teach you some lessons as a result of its failure that you could not have learned if you had just been a complete success. I always say that failure oftentimes is a much better teacher than success. But now back to your wife. She needs to lay down that bitterness. I pity you if she continually reminds you of the mistake that you made.

Once it's dealt with between you and her, once the confession has been made, "Yes, it was an unwise decision." She needs to put all of that behind her. And if she doesn't, she needs to be reminded of what God does when we sin. Does he constantly remind us and say, "Well, you know, that was sure a silly decision. I forgive you, but I'm going to continue to throw it up in your face." No. God doesn't do that, and the Bible says that we should forgive even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven us.

Your wife needs to get on her knees, and she needs to receive God's forgiveness for her attitude. Then she needs to come to you and get your forgiveness too. Because both of you are believers, both of you can move on from here and you don't need to let the past destroy your future. Final word.

I know a man, a very close friend of mine, who had $800,000 that he lost as the result of a company making unwise decisions. I met with him recently, his life is full of joy. And he says that he learned things as a result of this experience that he could have never learned in any other way. He isn't angry at those who made bad decisions. He sees it all as part of God's plan and he's decided to move on. And you and your wife need to do the same.

Guest (Male 2): Thank you, Dr. Lutzer, for those words of counsel. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at RTWOffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer. Or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North La Salle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614.

Running to Win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life. In Erwin Lutzer's series on commitment to Christ, we're learning that God expects us to be faithful to him and not lose that faith when the going gets tough. Next time, we'll turn to "Commitment: What Caring Means." Plan to join us. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAlister. Running to Win is sponsored by The Moody Church.