First Things First: A Faith-Filled Encouragement
Each time you resist evil, you grow stronger.
Each time you flee from sexual immorality, you grow stronger.
Our loving Father in heaven equips His sons and daughters to be strong in Christ and in the strength of His might.
The deceiver wants feeble slaves, isolated & independent.
Sin enslaves and brings death.
Jesus came that you may have life and have it abundantly.
If you’re like me, you may need to hear that again. I want this reality to sink in, to go from head knowledge to heart knowledge, from intellectual agreement to experiential knowledge and real belief.
Let’s go deeper and welcome the Lord’s help to truly believe in our hearts that He is good, loving, and for us.
1. Each time we resist evil, we grow stronger.
When we face temptations and trials, our faith gets tested, and, as we lean on the Lord, our faith gets refined like raw and mixed metals are tested and refined to become pure and precious. With intentional resistance comes growth, just like our muscles grow as a result of intentionally embracing our muscles stretching and straining.
James 1:2-4 says,
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Lord our Rock, our Shield, our Source of strength,
In Your love, grant us more of an eternal perspective to see and face our trials with abundant joy, knowing that You will strengthen us through these tests of faith. May our faith be found to be real and deeply rooted in Your love and truth. May we be ones who are steadfast and solid in our identity in Christ as beloved sons and daughters. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen!
2. Each time we flee from sexual immorality, we grow stronger.
We can observe this in Joseph’s life, listed in the Bible from Genesis 37–50. Before Joseph was promoted second-in-command in Egypt, he was sold into slavery to Ishmaelites by his brothers, and sold again to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard in Egypt. Yet, despite these seemingly horrible circumstances, the LORD was with Joseph and blessed him to become a successful man in the Egyptian’s house.
3 [Joseph’s] master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. - Genesis 39:3-6
Not only was Joseph successful, he was also a handsome young man, and Potiphar’s wife lusted after him. It says, she “cast her eyes on Joseph” and sought to seduce him daily. But, Joseph feared the LORD, and his conviction was revealed his response to Potiphar’s wife in verse 9, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” So, Joseph denied her request day after day and grew stronger.
How do we know he gained strength by resisting evil and fleeing from sexual immorality?
Because Joseph’s resolve was put to the test. It turns out that Joseph’s resolve proved to be so strong, that even when Potiphar’s wife took hold of his garment to seduce him, it says “he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house.” The LORD was with Joseph, even in the midst of many temptations to lust, and Joseph risked it all to abstain from sin through sexual immorality. Nevertheless, he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, as though he was the one seeking to lie with her, and he was unjustly thrown into prison because of it. Joseph lost everything, but he was steadfast in his resolve and remained faithful to the Lord, and the Lord turned what seemed to be intended for evil for his good and the good of many nations.
It says in Genesis 39:21-23, that in spite of the seemingly terrible turn for the worse, all hope was not lost,
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.
When we resist evil and flee from sexual immorality, our trust in God grows deeper. We stop feeding our flesh and it loses its power over us. As we seek the Lord and feed on the Bread of Life, we nourish our spirits and grow stronger in Christ. When we resist evil and flee from sexual immorality, we get to better see the Lord as He is, as our Deliverer and our Savior then and our Savior now. He is our steadfast Rock in the midst of storms and our Rescuer. Our pride and ego weaken while our relationship with God strengthens. Our self-centered independence is replaced with Christ-centered dependence. We can openly acknowledge our weaknesses without despising them, for Christ’s power is made perfect in weakness (see 2 Cor. 12:9). We may be weak, but in Christ, we are strong and growing stronger.
3. Our loving Father in heaven equips His sons and daughters to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Meanwhile, the defeated deceiver wants feeble, cowardly slaves, isolated & independent.
There is a battle going on for our souls, for our attention and our affection. That much is clear. Distractions and temptations to sin abound in every direction. Struggling with temptations to sin, addictions, or shame is never fun, but these battles leave us with a choice to make. We can acknowledge our need for God, cry out to our Savior, and experience God’s presence and power to deliver us, or, we can succumb to temptation, acting more like feeble slaves than beloved sons and daughters, empowered by the Lord’s strength and equipped with the full armor of God, listed in Ephesians 6.
The accuser of our souls wants to exploit and turn our weaknesses against us and against each other. The Lover of our souls wants to display His power through our weaknesses and turn them for our good, for the good of His Bride, the Church, and for His glory.
The enemy wants us living like cowards, hiding in the dark, afraid of being exposed. Jesus Christ wants us to walk in full freedom in the light, the freedom He paid for. The Light of the world Himself said, “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). Our Lord Jesus wants to shine His light in and through us to the world living in darkness by the power of His Spirit living in us.
As recorded in John 8:12, Jesus said,
We’re encouraged again in Ephesians 5:8-16,
“At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
Come on! Let the Word of God enlighten your heart, soul, and mind. Let’s do this, friends. Jesus wouldn’t have called us to live in the light if it was impossible. Nothing is impossible with God. So, let’s refuse and rebuke the deceiver’s offer to live feeble, cowardly lives, acting like slaves rather than beloved sons and daughters. Let’s acknowledge isolation, independence, and self-reliance are false hopes that leaving us feeling disappointed, lonely, and lacking. No thanks. Not today. It’s time to wake up, forsake darkness, and live freely in the light as sons and daughters of our victorious King.
4. Sin enslaves and brings death, but Jesus came to give us abundant life.
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Within one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible, John 10:1-18, Jesus spoke these words, recorded in verses 7-11,
Our Good Shepherd Jesus, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the door through which we receive eternal life. Sin, on the other hand, is a terrible master, an accomplice of death and the devil, the adversary of our souls, a liar from the beginning. The Liar wants us to stay held captive to sin, buried under hidden guilt and shame, but our victorious Savior already paid the price to set us free from the power of sin’s hold. Only in Jesus, only through Him, do we find freedom and abundant life.
Jesus said to His disciples:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6
On this topic, the Lord’s words are recorded in John 8:31-32,
Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
The reality of this violent opposition from the devil contrasted against God’s loving-kindness and power to deliver us are laid out in 1 Peter 5:6-11.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
God be praised! Remember John 10:10, referenced earlier. Our Good Shepherd, Jesus, declares:
Today is a new day, friends. We are sheep, intentionally and lovingly cared for by Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd. Let’s choose to follow Him. Let’s choose be set free by the Truth. Let’s decide to listen and respond to The Way, The Truth, and The Life. Let’s abide in His word as true disciples. Let’s walk in the way of truth, Jesus’ way. Let’s not agree with the Liar and believe lies. We get to choose abundant life with Christ. Let’s choose freedom in Christ today.
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Remember, because of Jesus’ Victory over sin, You are Victorious through Him!
Through Christ, we have been set free from the penalty of our sins!
Through Christ, we are being set free from the power of sin!
Through Christ, we will be set free from the presence of sin!
The Faith-Filled Final Exhortation
Friends, temptations will inevitably come, but we get to face them with Jesus, the One who is able and willing to save us. We can simply call upon the name of Jesus and be sustained and delivered. It’s our Good Shepherd who invites us:
28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” - Matthew 11:28-29
Through this Victory in Christ series, “Slaves to Sons,” we are asking, seeking, and knocking together as Jesus instructs us in Matthew 7:7-8, trusting that our great God will give, reveal, and open doors. We will continue to discover how to get freedom from sexual immorality, addiction, and shame as we embrace our identity as a beloved sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven.
Our God is for us, who can be against us!
Stayed tuned for more to come. May God bless you!
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