A Man’s War for Sexual Purity, Part II

Sexual purity never happens without a battle. The battles are often intense and may or may not be known to most people. But, until a man engages the enemy and wages war to kill it, he will find no rest and no peace. Sexual temptation and immorality is not something to be managed. It must be slain. An aggressive strategy is the only hope for a man to experience victory. The war rages. It is not easy, but the gospel gives hope and promise of victory. The war for sexual purity must be strategically fought on three battlefields: the heart, the mind and the body. In part one, we looked at the heart. Next we engage the mind.

The mind is the second battlefield on which a man’s war for sexual purity must be engaged. The mind is the most active battlefield in this war because every attack from the enemy begins here. How a man prepares for and engages this battle will determine much of his effectiveness in experiencing victory. If a man’s heart is not set on godly purity, his mind will not have the weapons required to win this battle. This is why the mind is the second battlefield. Second Corinthians 10:3-5 teaches, “We are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” If a man embraces a knowledge, thought pattern, rationale, or wisdom of this world, he will never know victory over sexual lusts and temptations that attack his mind. As well, any measure of victory he may achieve in his own strength will only serve as condemnation under the next defeat.

The man who sets his heart on Christ is set on growing his knowledge of God’s Word and living by faith in light of God’s truth. This man builds a storehouse of weapons in his mind ready to engage the enemy. When attacks come, they are measured against the truth of God’s Word and found to be meaningless, hopeless, deceptive, and false. The principle activity of the mind is not to focus on the enemy’s attacks, but the light of God’s truth. Philippians 4:8-9 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is noble, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” A man’s mind must be consumed with the things of God. When he exercises his mind in this manner, it will not accept the deception of Satan’s attacks. The mind that trusts in God captures the lie presented and destroys them.

For example, when a man trusts that his wife is God’s suitable helpmate for him, his mind and heart is grateful to God for her. When confronted with a tempting thought or situation, instead of capturing that thought to linger on self-gratifyng measures, he draws from the truth of God’s Word. He is reminded to thank God for his wife instead of betraying her for a false hope or deception. Even in his mind his wife serves as a guard of protection for him. If that man is not married, he trusts in God’s grace and goodness for the wife he will marry one day and the need to be pure for her. Any thought or fantasy that would dare linger becomes an attack against not only him, but his wife, for which he wars to guard her as well.

Are you believing the gospel of Jesus Christ for your life—that Jesus died for your sins and in forgiveness and cleansing, redeems you to live in righteousness by faith? Are you engaging the battle for sexual purity in your mind, consuming it with the truth of God’s Word? Are you taking thoughts captive that tempt you toward lust and destroying them by the truth of God’s Word? Take time to ask God to search your heart and reveal unconfessed sin in your life. Ask him to consume your heart with a love and honor for him. Meditate on Philippians 4:8-9. What is in your mind and heart that is not of these traits? Repent. Thank God for your wife. Ask God to purify your heart and set your mind on truth for his honor and glory.

A Man’s War for Sexual Purity, Part I

The UNIT is a television show about a group of army special operations soldiers. Their identities are hidden or falsified so their cover will not be blown. They perform military missions that no one else is trained to do or wants to know about. Their orders remain top secret and hidden, often even from the highest of ranking officials. Their work is rarely known, seen, or even acknowledged by others. But what they accomplish never holds less than a high significance for the safety and security of the country. Yes, it is just a television show, but it illustrates much about how the war for sexual purity in a man’s life must be engaged.

Sexual purity in a man’s life never comes without a battle. This war will be one of the toughest battles he will ever face. The enemy is relentless in pursuing and punishing him if he remains passive. Many men try to avoid the war while others simply try to ignore it. But the enemy will not retreat. The battles that have to be fought are often intense and may or may not be known to most people. But until a man engages the enemy and wages war to kill it, he will find no rest and no peace. An aggressive strategy is the only hope for a man to experience victory over sexual temptation and sin. The war rages and awaits every man to enter the battle. It will not be easy, but the gospel gives hope and promise of victory. The war for sexual purity must be strategically fought on three battlefields: the heart, the mind, and the body.

The heart is the first battlefield in the war against sexual immorality because it is the core where every major life component (mind, will, emotions, desires, etc.) converges to shape the defining motivations of life. This is the most intense ground for battle. Proverbs 4:23 teaches that we are to guard the heart above all else because it is the source of life. This is no small command. A Christ-follower must be vigilant in defense of their heart. This fight is for the health and well-being of their very life. That which controls our heart controls all of life. Until God’s grace so consumes the heart that sexual immorality finds no room for existence, a man will not only struggle with defeat and condemnation in this area but will experience little victory in mind and body.

Paul challenges the Christians in Thessalonica to continue grow in the way they were to walk in life in order to please God. The first mention Paul gives in sanctification is abstaining from sexual immorality in contrast to how people in the world who do not know God were living. God has not called Christians to impurity, but in holiness. Men who live for Jesus must be consumed with a vision of sexual purity for life. This call must first be rendered complete in the heart of a man in order to experience victory over sexual sin and condemnation. The only way this will happen is to believe, as Paul says in Romamns 6:11, I am “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” This is surely no passive reality but a truth to be firmly established within the heart by faith. A man must engage the battle for his heart with this truth. Sin does not go away or improve when left alone. It must be mortified. If a man is slack or passive in engaging the battle for his heart, sin will take root, grow, and consume him. When a man reckons in his heart that he has been crucified with Christ, that he no longer lives, but Christ lives in him (Gal. 2:20), then he will experience freedom from sin and will offer his body to God as an instrument of righteousness (Rom. 6:13).

Have you received God’s work in Jesus Christ on the cross for your life by faith? Are you laboring to lessen the condemnation of sexual sin, trying to overcome the urges and temptations by sheer force of your will alone? Is your heart full of desires that compel you to think and act in ways that you know are contrary to God’s will? Confess these desires to Jesus. Repent and ask him to forgive you. Read Romans 6:1-14. Ask God to establish the truth of his Word within your heart. Thank him that he is faithful to forgive and to cleanse (1 John 1:9). Share your prayer with a brother in Christ who can encourage you and pray for you. Do not forget. Take time to meditate on Romans 6:11 for the next several days. Let Holy Spirit lead you.

An Unassumed Entrance

Christmas is a special time. The celebration captures the hearts and minds of more people than any other time of the year. The message has such broad, sweeping appeal that it transcends mere hope of the moment and speaks to the hopes and dreams of all people of all times. At the center of the celebration and message is the greatest gift; God become man in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

When a gift of great worth is given, its wrap and presentation typically resembles that same value. This was not so with the birth of Christ. In every way, the event of his birth was the antithesis to his worth, value, power, and importance for all humanity. But that is exactly as God the Father planned in revealing himself through his entrance into humanity, unassuming in every way.

Unassumed Entrance
The way God revealed himself was simply unacceptable to some. Those who claimed to anticipate the coming of the promised Messiah were not looking in this direction for the entry of their king. The way Jesus was born was unexpected by most. The vast majority of people were much too consumed with life to care or even notice this obscure birth. Jesus’ birth is unthinkable by modern-day standards for royal or high-ranking officials. It has been said that for the President of the United States to leave the property of the White House requires over 800 people to plan, organize, and orchestrate. Jesus didn’t even get a small-town radio personality to blare his name over a poor sound system to a stadium of locals.

Jesus’ birth was unassuming in every detail. Mary and Joseph were poor. She a peasant virgin and he a manual laborer who held a socio-economic status far below most accepted norms of society in that day, much less by today’s standards. The details that surrounded the birth are unimpressive to say the least. Royalty was not the standard for planning this birth. It didn’t even beckon upon the basic necessities for human rights, being relegated rather to a cave reserved for livestock. This is surely not befitting the hopes and dreams of an expectant mom for where she will first cradle and nurse her newborn baby. The only people that the birth site was fitting for were some of the first guests, shepherds fresh from the fields. At least the smell of livestock was maybe not as offensive to them. Finally, this babe would be from an unknown village that would continue this unassuming theme throughout his life until the time of his earthly ministry. Nazareth was most noted for its lack of couth, culture, and moral character. Unmentioned in the Old Testament, it would become known only by its attachment to Jesus.

Proclamation of Good News
Unassumed entrance stands as an understatement for how God chose to reveal himself to the world. Most would agree that this is an accurate description of his status once upon the earth in human form. But that Jesus was born into poverty is really only significant by earthly standards. The greatest humility displayed in Jesus’ birth is that God became man. No amount of royal planning could have adequately prepared to rightly celebrate the entrance of God. God become man is the inconceivable yet fully-revealed truth proclaimed in Jesus Christ.

This good news is the irony of ironies. God, who is infinite in glory, power, and wisdom, who has no nature of need for humility but is fully worthy in every way, willingly and freely humbled himself to become the Savior for a sinner like me. And I, who by nature and being, am finite in every measure of life, even in the reality of my own understanding though maybe concealed by my outward appearance or persona, struggle to cease trusting in self and release control over life to receive what God has already done for me. The obvious question would seem to be, “Can I do enough to please God so he will accept me?” The real question is, “Can I release the pre-conceived visions of grandeur and glory for my life and the pretenses of sin that blind and deceive me to trust and receive the good news of this God-Man?” Every part of my nature fights against the goodness of every part of God’s gift and plan for me. But though my nature opposes God’s goodness, my heart and soul desperately long for the hope, peace, and joy that he proclaims.

God’s promise in Jesus Christ is the salvation for my soul! In Christ, God proclaims good news to the poor, liberty to the captives and the oppressed, sight to the blind, and the favor of the Lord. He has met every need for both now and all eternity in Jesus Christ. He ransoms from eternal damnation and rescues from hell. He renews my spirit to know and love him. He reconciles to my Father and redeems my life. The good news of Christmas is that God has made complete provision for salvation in Jesus Christ.

Invitation to Eternal Life
Many great gifts have been passed over because the wrapped presentation did not seem to reflect a gift of great value. Life teaches, even in small ways, that the gift cannot be measured by the wrapping or the presentation. But God’s gift is not like the world’s at all. The power of God’s gift is in its presentation as well. When God humbled himself, he modeled the means by which we must come to him, not in measuring up, but rather in bowing down. There is no one who is exempt from this invitation, except those who continue to perceive themselves to be above or beyond need for God. His invitation unto eternal life remains for now but will not remain forever. When the invitation is heard is the time it is to be received. Today, as you hear his invitation, do not harden your heart. Bow before him, repent of your sin, and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. Receive the gift of eternal life in the way God has revealed it, in humility. Experience the full power of the gift as only God can give it, for all eternity beginning today. May Jesus consume your life and may his birth be the good news of new birth in your life. I pray this Christmas season will reveal God’s gift of greatest worth for your life. I pray you will receive and worship Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Learning to Meditate on Scripture: Developing a Discipline for Spiritual Growth

Reading the Bible can be a challenge. This I have learned through years of encouraging people to develop this discipline in their life, not to mention learning and re-learning the discipline for my own life. I have learned that reading the Bible changes from one stage of spiritual growth to another. As I have grown in my relationship with the Lord, Bible reading has developed into reading a number of different ways for encouragement, understanding, and insight.

One of the most important ways to read the Bible, that seems seldom mentioned, is to read larger passages in a single reading, i.e. read a whole book in one or two sittings. This gives a much broader perspective of the content of the particular book, as well as encouraging the reader of the readability of each book. To begin this approach to reading Scripture, begin with the Gospel of Mark. This sixteen-chapter book will only take approximately 45 minutes to complete. The epistles of the New Testament are also great books to approach in this way. Then, as your comfort level grows with this approach, larger books in the Old Testament can be read in two or three sittings. New understandings and insights are sure to come from this plan of reading.

Second, reading Scripture for personal meditation should be practiced by every Christian. When a person approaches the Scriptures to meditate, an expanded time of interacting with the Scripture should be given so Holy Spirit can use the verses and passages to bring heightened illumination and deeper application for personal repentance and renewal. Colossians 3:16 instructs to “let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.” This is a mandate to spend time allowing the Word to saturate our minds, hearts, and lives by lingering over it in thought and reflection. This practice will immediately result in great value for any person who practices meditating on the deep riches of God’s Word. Proverbs 2:1-8 serves as a great guide for learning how to meditate on God’s Word. While there is no one right way, I will give a brief overview of how a time of meditation could flow as guided by this passage in Proverbs:

First, in all Scripture reading, the most important truth to glean does not begin with “what is the application of this passage for my life” or “what do I think this passage means for me.” First, one must seek to understand “what does this passage say?” or “what does this passage mean?” Once the clear meaning and message of a passage is present, then the Spirit of God will make specific personal application to life by convicting of sin and righteousness.

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. —Pro.2:1-8

Choose a passage that is not too lengthy, 5-20 verses, so you can spend time in each verse. As you come to the Word, begin to pray verse one and ask God to make your mind and heart receptive to his words. Pray that his Word, as the seed of life, would find good soil in your life to grow deep roots. Read through the entire passage for familiarity with its content. Then, go back to the beginning and begin to read each verse, sentence, or phrase and work through these questions. As you work through the questions, it is a good practice to record answers in a journal.

Begin with these questions about the passage: Do I understanding what this passage about? Who wrote it? Who was it written to? What is it saying? How would it apply to its target audience? What result was the author trying to accomplish by writing this passage?

Once these questions have been answered, read through the passage reflecting upon these questions:

1. Have I accepted these words as God’s revelation?
2. Have I stored up the commands of this passage in my heart, “turning my ear to wisdom” and “applying my heart to understanding?” What do I need to commit to memory in this passage? What area of my life is this passage dealing with? What area of unbelief in my life is God beginning to deal with in this passage?
3. Have I prayed for insight and understanding? Ask Holy Spirit to convict you of any hidden sin in regard to this truth you are studying, immediately confess and repent of it as he brings conviction. Record any specific actions that God instructs you to take.
4. Am I seeking this truth as an “eternal treasure” for my life? Ask God if there is any motivation, desire, or habit in your life that is preventing you from desiring a full and complete application of this truth in your life. How is God leading you to embrace this truth as an eternal treasure for your life?
5. How has my fear for God heightened and my awe of God increased? Do I know and understand God’s character better? Am I developing a deeper love for him because of an increased knowledge of him? How has my worship of God increased as a result of lingering on this passage?
6. Ask the Lord for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Have I thanked him that he gives these to those who ask?
7. Thank the Lord that he is our shield and guard, watching over his saints as we strive to live the Word in this world for his honor and glory.

When Commitment Starts With $

LifePoint’s City on a Hill campaign has been good for our people. There is a great sense of seeking and yearning for the Lord by so many. You can hear it in their conversations and questions. I have had the privilege of meeting with a great majority of LifePoint people over the last three weeks and conversing with them about the direction and vision the Lord has set forth for LifePoint. I’m watching some go through challenging and difficult personal times during this campaign. I’m listening to others as they work through many of the details of their life in seeking to follow the Lord. I’m hearing how God has already been so faithful in just a short time, specific to decisions regarding life and LifePoint. All of these are encouraging for a pastor. I can only imagine how large God smiles on his people who earnestly seek him. I want to share a couple of lessons that I am learning personally, but also for my role in leading LifePoint’s mission.

It was easier when it was just Christin and me yearning for the Lord and preparing to lead LifePoint’s mission, even as we added a few who were excited to join us. All the questions were ours and the issues of life our own. It has proven much more rewarding to be used to lead others to work through this same yearning for the Lord and experiencing the Lord’s transformation. I am learning that though many questions of others are the same that we asked, some are not. It is always humbling and challenging to answer questions and lead a person through such an intimate process of discerning God’s will for their life. Every question and answer drives me back to God’s Word and Holy Spirit in prayer, as I pray it is for all of us, to follow God’s leading by faith as he reveals his will among us. I can only imagine how God is using this time at LifePoint to prepare and equip us for future missional effectiveness.

I was told by a pastor, in preparing for the campaign that “people are going to get funny when you talk about money.” I know what he meant and in many ways it is true. I also believe LifePoint is experiencing a breakthrough with people during this campaign. City on a Hill has never first been about money, nor as it been our first conversation about money. It is about what the Lord is doing through LifePoint. We have talked about money a significant amount. The people of LifePoint have been very receptive, I would say even eager to discuss this aspect of the campaign. I pray we never stop and that our conversation encourages every person to pursue financial faithfulness in obedience, generosity, giftedness, and in talents. If you are new to LifePoint or have not even attended yet, please understand that our heart is not to hoard treasures for earthly gain, but to steward all that God has given to us for the advancement of his kingdom.

God is good and faithful. God is wild. I remember the first time I heard a pastor say this about God. It captivated me. Yes! I know God’s goodness and grace in never-ending amounts lavished upon my life! But I also know that God does not operate the way we do. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours. But even in his wildness I can trust him. When all is for his glory then I do not have to worry at all! Mine is to trust. And this I give myself to. LifePoint, let us give ourselves to trusting in the Lord. Let us lose our lives for the sake of Jesus. Let our lives be an offering of sacrifice, holy and pleasing unto the Lord.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. —2 Cor. 9:8

As you pray this week and discern what God has put in your heart to give, commit it to the Lord, be encouraged, and offer it with cheer and gladness in your heart. Let LifePoint celebrate the greatness of God as we commit our lives to his kingdom mission.

What Is God Doing Through a City on a Hill?

The question of “What does God want to do through LifePoint?” has resonated in me for years. It didn’t begin this fall, nor in the summer leading up to. This question has been a dominant point of meditation since God birthed a vision within me to plant LifePoint. It actually began as “What is God doing/wanting to do in the world?” Among all the verses of mission in the Scriptures, I am drawn to Ephesians 3:7-13, which teaches a larger perspective of all that God is doing joined with a specific understanding of the Church and personal ministry. The “plan” of God is to reveal his manifold wisdom through the Church. The work of LifePoint is very real in the present but bears the priority and impact of all eternity. While this was not the first question I asked, it is the specific application for LifePoint of the eternal purpose in the heart of God. LifePoint’s City on a Hill campaign is a continuation of defining what God has been doing from the very beginning.

“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes” (Is. 54:2). The prophet speaks to God’s children and says, “Prepare to be enlarged with more people.” It is God’s plan to ransom people from the city that is (earth), redeem them for the city that shall be (heaven), and strategically utilize in the city on a hill (local church). Two specific acts direct what LifePoint must do in order to prepare for God’s blessing: strengthen our membership and expand our mission.

I will elaborate in more detail what each of these mean in the weeks to come. But for now understand that what LifePoint has begun by following God in faith is a path of experiencing God as he uses us for his divine, ordained purpose as a local church. It is humbling to entertain the thought, yet simultaneously obedient to know, that God is revealing his manifold wisdom through LifePoint. While his purposes are eternal, his work is intimately practical. God has not given us the commission to “go and make disciples of all peoples” without also ordering our steps to follow him and empowering our work by faith to accomplish his will.

I invite you…join LifePoint in this work. I challenge you to embrace the vision and allow it to resonate deep within you as God leads, Jesus saves, and the Spirit empowers. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5.14). God said let there be light and there was. Now he’s setting it on a hill to do its work. Get ready to be seen.

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City on a Hill—A Call to Pray

One question we will surely hear over the next several weeks is “What is City on a Hill?” Each week we will communicate more information in answering this question. Let me begin by simply saying this, City on a Hill is a vision for LifePoint Church to become an ever-increasing influence for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord has prepared the way and is now leading LifePoint to follow him and build a city on a hill.

For today, we must recognize City on a Hill as a campaign to take the first step in following the Lord’s leading as we pray together so God can shape us to his will and use us, unite together so Holy Spirit can empower lead each person, and commit together so the Lord can reveal his will for how each person will participate in this vision. Every true movement of God begins in prayer. Join us and pray for…

• Unity among the people of LifePoint. Each person must be surrendered listen to and follow God’s Spirit as he moves among LifePoint (Psalm 133; 1 Peter 3:8).
• Guard against attacks form the Evil One. Guard your mind (Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:4-8). Guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23). Guard your way of life (1 Timothy 6:11-12).
• People will make a deepening connection with Christ and LifePoint (Hebrews 13:1-19).
• Spiritual growth for each person and for LifePoint as a church (1 Peter 2:1-3; Ephesians 2:19-22).
• Favor with people for missional advancement (Colossians 4:5-6).

As we pray together, the Lord will work in each heart that is surrendered to him and bring forth the purpose that he has ordained for LifePoint. There will be a time for each person to consider and commit to a financial pledge. There will be a time for each person to gather and bring their offering to the Lord. There will be a time for LifePoint to consider and count the costs in order to be faithful stewards of God’s entrustment to us. Today is not that day. Now is the time to pray and prepare for God’s move among LifePoint. Let us bow before him in humility and surrender. If you were unable to be present with LifePoint on Sunday, September 7, listen to the sermon here and let the Lord begin to prepare your heart.

Let LifePoint delight ourselves in the Lord, so he might delight in LifePoint.

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